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Hermione stifled a sob, her shoulders slumping in relief when she heard the click of the front door opening downstairs. He was finally home. It had only been three days since Severus left for the potions conference, but being parted from him for so long had made her restless and weepy. She’d realized with startling clarity how much she needed both of her alphas.
Not that Lucius’ scandalous stories about the wizarding world’s most elite families and his delightful tendency to perch her on any obliging surface and bury his head between her thighs hadn’t been a lovely distraction, but she still longed for Severus. She needed his gallows humor and wry wit, his sultry baritone voice telling her how good she was as his long fingers strummed over her clit, his thick knot swelling inside her, claiming her as his own. Hermione shivered at the thought, slick dripping down her thighs and pooling on the thick layer of wool beneath her.
Her breath hitched when she heard the heavy thud of dragonhide boots on the stairs and the sound of Lucius and Severus conversing in hushed tones as they approached the bedroom. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was in trouble. She was going to be punished, particularly since she’d done the very thing Severus asked her not to do while he was away.
Hermione had almost complete liberty in deciding where to nest in Malfoy Manor. Her pregnancy had made both wizards pliant and solicitous to meet their omega’s needs, and there were only two places that she had been expressly forbidden from nesting: Severus’ potions lab and his closet. The lab was too dangerous an environment for her to nest, and Hermione had little trouble staying away from the space, as the potions often smelled noxious to her overly sensitive nose.
She’d also managed to stay away from his closet, as she knew he insisted on keeping his wardrobe methodically organized. This morning, however, had been her breaking point. She desperately needed his scent. In a blind panic, she pulled every stitch of clothing from its appointed place and tossed it in a pile on the closet floor. Every hanger, hook, and drawer was left barren in her wake, and it wasn’t until she’d turned off the lights in the small space and gathered the cravats, frock coats, and billowing cloaks around her that she felt like she could breathe again.
Hermione extended an arm from her mountain of wool and linen to open the closet door just enough to see out into the bedroom. Severus and Lucius stumbled into the room, the skitter of buttons following them as Severus quickly rid him of his Normandy linen shirt. Lucius gave him a reproving pout.
“That’s one of my favorite shirts you just destroyed.”
Severus’ lip twitched in an unrepentant smirk as he pulled Lucius to him roughly. “Then it’s fortunate that you’re a hoarder and have at least a dozen of them in your closet.”
Lucius glanced surreptitiously over to where Hermione was hiding. “Speaking of closets, we may need to have a talk about–”
“Right now the only thing I wish to discuss about clothing is ridding you of yours, Lucius.” Severus didn’t wait for a reply, pulling his husband into a bruising kiss.
Hermione watched with rapt attention, the faint whisper of arousal beginning between her thighs as Lucius’ full lips pressed against the thin line of Severus’ mouth, gently coaxing and teasing with his tongue. She was content to watch as Severus pulled Lucius against him, rutting his clothed cock against Lucius’ bare stomach, but when Lucius reached for Severus’ belt, she couldn’t stop her jealous whimper. She quickly slapped her hand over her mouth, but it was too late.
Severus was staring directly at her through the crack in the door. “I know you’re there, my pet. I smelled your needy little cunt the moment I walked in the door.”
Hermione slowly emerged from the pile of wool, the cool air making her skin erupt with goosebumps. His expression was stern, but she saw the affection in his eyes as he regarded her. She shuffled across the floor, throwing her arms around him and burying her nose in his chest. The smells of mint and sage flooded over her, the tension that she’d felt since he left finally relaxing as his arms circled her, holding her close.
“I missed you, Severus.” Her words were muffled against his coat.
“I missed you too, Hermione, but–”
“But?”
“You know you have to be punished.”
“Why?”
“What were the two things that you were not to do while I was gone?”
“Nesting in the lab.”
“And?”
She bit her bottom lip. “Nesting in your closet.”
“Yes. Having my space organized helps me to feel prepared, and when I come home to find that you’ve made a mountain of all of my clothing, it makes me quite cross.”
“But I missed your smell. I needed–”
“No.”
“But–”
“No. You blatantly ignored my wishes, and now my entire wardrobe is in chaos. Don’t argue with me, my little omega. Climb up on the end of the bed on your hands and knees.”
Hermione briefly considered prolonging the argument, particularly since needling Severus into his full alpha dominance always made his “punishments” all the more pleasurable. The insistent throbbing between her legs ultimately won out, and she crawled up on the end of the bed, lowering herself onto her elbows and knees, arse presented submissively.
Severus growled appreciatively, kneading her cheeks hard enough to leave bruises. He stopped abruptly when a flash of silver drew his attention. His eyebrow shot to his hairline when the polished base of a butt plug greeted him. An engraved serpent with emeralds for eyes glittered at him menacingly.
“It seems Lucius has been busy while I was away.”
He wiggled the base experimentally, drawing a needy whine from his omega.
“Stop!” Lucius yelled angrily.
Hermione and Severus both froze. While Lucius was every bit the alpha that Severus was, he wasn’t as prone to displays of possessiveness and anger, preferring to stake his claim with gifts and pampering. They were consequently shocked to see his pupils dilated and his chest puffed out aggressively.
“We agreed that you would breed our omega first, since you had no children, Severus, but you’re not to touch that plug. Until it’s my turn to fill my little dove to the brim with my cum and plug her with my knot, that hole is mine .”
Hermione clenched at the word, a fresh wave of slick painting the insides of her thighs. Severus chuckled at her reaction. “She certainly appears to be enjoying your display, Lucius, and I have no intention of naysaying your claim. I have far more pressing matters to attend to.”
Lucius stared at Severus a moment before giving a sharp nod of acceptance. Having asserted his claim, he was content to enjoy the show for now, shedding his trousers and leaning against the headboard. He stroked himself a few times as he looked down at Hermione, growing hard at the sight of her submissive, prone position.
Hermione trembled with anticipation when she heard the chink of metal as Severus unbuckled his belt, whimpering pitifully when the cold metal of the buckle tickled her arse cheek. Her eyes flew open when she heard the drag of leather as he pulled the belt through the loops of his trousers. He’d always spanked her with his hand before.
“Severus,” Lucius' voice was laced with concern, “do you really think you ought to do that? She’s seven months along.”
Severus answered with his patented headmaster glare. “She has to be punished, Lucius, and the love taps I usually give her certainly aren’t enough to address the egregiousness of her offense.”
“Egregiousness? She threw your clothes on the floor to make a nest.”
As much as Hermione adored Lucius, she wanted nothing more than to fling a silencio at him. Her breathing turned shallow at the thought of Severus stopping, the sting of leather and the stretch of his cock the only things that could release her. Severus seemed to sense her need, folding the belt over on itself and snapping the leather against his open palm.
“It’s quite alright, Lucius. Our little omega can take it, can’t you?”
Hermione was nearly sobbing at this point. “Yes! Yes, please, alpha! I can take it.”
He smirked down at her. “Ten lashes will do for now, I should think. Be sure that I can hear you count them, my pet.”
Hermione yelped when the leather smacked against her right cheek the first time, startled more by the sound than anything else. “O–One”
Snap!
“Two.” The second lash was heavier, and Hermione recognized the sharp sting as one that would leave a red streak of broken capillaries across her arse. The marks would drive Severus mad for days, sending him into a possessive rut every time he saw them.
Snap…snapsnap!
Hermione jumped when he delivered another heavy stroke to her right cheek before delivering two quick blows to her left. “Three…fourfive.”
When he spanked her before, he always soothed her between blows, but not on this occasion. He seemed intent on tormenting her, making her ride the tenuous edge between pleasure and pain. She glanced up at Lucius, his eyes fixed on her as his hand flew over his cock.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
Three more lashes alternating cheeks. “Six, seven, eight.” Tears of frustration were pouring from Hermione’s eyes, her knuckles white as she gripped the sheets and fought the urge to beg him to impale her. Severus leaned forward, massaging the gland on her neck.
“Look at you, my little omega. Always so wet and ready for me.”
Snap! Snap!
“Nine. Ten.” Hermione gasped when she felt a trickle of moisture on her chest.
Severus’ mouth curled into a wicked grin. “Such a good girl taking your lashes. Now…what do we have here?”
Hermione squeaked in protest when he pulled her off the bed, holding her back to his chest. Drops of cloudy liquid trailed from her nipples down over the bump of her stomach. Severus’ hand snaked up to her throat. Lucius’ expression was feral as he watched her heaving chest.
He crawled down the bed to them, cupping Hermione’s breasts as he pulled a sensitive nipple into his mouth. She gasped at the tugging feeling as Lucius suckled her, more liquid spilling from her nipples. He switched to her other breast, groaning around her nipple as her body eagerly responded with a surge of colostrum.
Severus squeezed her throat, stroking the curls at the apex of her thighs as he expertly found her clit, circling it lazily with his index finger. His voice rumbled against the shell of her ear. “Look at you so wanton, nursing a serpent in your bed, my little omega. Now, let’s give Lucius what he really wants, shall we?”
Hermione groaned in frustration when they both released her just as she was about to climax. “You are both unconscionable teases. I should just leave you here to finish each other off.”
Both wizards grabbed an arm when she pretended to leave. Severus laid on his back and positioned Hermione over his hips. He’d spelled away his clothing, and Hermione mewled as he slid his hard cock through her slick-drenched folds, bumping her clit with each pass. “Lucius, our little omega was trying to leave us wanting.”
Lucius appeared behind her, gripping her hips as Severus moved the tip of his cock to her entrance. “Then clearly we need to pin her so she feels no desire to leave.”
Lucius pulled her down onto Severus’ cock, keeping a firm grip on her hips when she tried to move. “No, my dove. You aren’t choosing the pace this time.” He placed a strong hand between her shoulders, pushing her forward as far as she could go with her swollen belly. Severus helped her find a position to prop herself up more comfortably.
Hermione groaned as Lucius moved the base of her butt plug in slow circles, gently withdrawing the tapered head from her. She felt hollow and empty without her toy, but Lucius didn’t give her long to lament the loss before teasing her puckered hole with the head of his cock. She heard a whispered spell and felt a cool gel coating the tight muscle before Lucius breached her.
She was quickly reduced to a series of stuttering whines as she tried to adjust to the intrusion. Severus flicked his thumb over her clit in an effort to distract her from the uncomfortable stretch. Lucius nibbled her neck, licking her scent gland to arouse her. “That’s it, my little dove. Just let go and let us take care of you. You’ll be so stretched and full of your alphas, you won’t be able to move.
Hermione finally started to relax as Lucius continued lapping at her neck. She slowly sank down his cock, breathing a sigh of relief when her arse was cradled against his hips. Lucius’ voice was strained. “I’m not going to last long.”
“Nor am I.” Severus answered from beneath her.
“Then you’d better make it good,” she teased them.
Severus chuckled at her cheekiness, but Lucius appeared to take it as a personal challenge, pulling back and thrusting back in forcefully. Hermione lurched forward, the reality of having two cocks inside her becoming clear as Lucius set a punishing pace. Each thrust dragged them both against her inner walls, creating a spike of pleasure that made her grind down against them, meeting Lucius’ thrusts enthusiastically. Lucius laughed as he pounded into her, his hips hitting her arse with an obscene smack. “That’s it, dove. As much as I’ve enjoyed the heat of that tight little throat of yours, I’ve longed to bury myself inside you. Now I want you to come for me, omega. Now!”
Hermione’s mouth fell open as she approached her peak. She looked down into Severus’ dark eyes. He was panting as Lucius’ thrusts pushed Hermione up and down his cock frantically, but he managed to school his features long enough to give her a stern glare. “Do as you’re told, omega.”
She instantly shattered, clenching around her two alphas and enjoying the chorus of ragged groans she forced from her otherwise restrained and calculating wizards. Severus’ hips canted as his knot swelled inside of her. Lucius quickly pulled his cock from her before his knot expanded, thrusting his cock against the track of her spine until cum erupted all over her back and curly mane.
Severus tilted his head to the side to get a better look at Hermione’s back, rolling his eyes when he saw the strings of cum all over her. He cast a cleansing charm over her to clean up the worst of the mess. “Haven’t we talked about you being a messy drama queen, Lucius?”
Lucius collapsed on his back next to Severus. “Haven’t we talked about you being such a dour nag, Severus?”
Hermione snorted inelegantly. Her cheek was pressed to Severus’ chest as she recovered. “Haven’t we talked about how much I hate your passive aggressive rhetorical questions after sex? Now make yourselves useful and spoon me.”
Severus rolled her over, keeping her leg slung over his hip to accommodate his knot. He splayed a hand over her belly as he held her to his chest. “Such a bossy little omega.”
“Welcome home, Severus,” she murmured groggily as her energy flagged.
Lucius snuggled against her back, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Indeed. I’m glad you’re home too, Severus. I had trouble handling her on my own. She’s demanding and absolutely insatiable.”
Hermione was already snoring into Severus’ chest, completely unbothered by his rumbling chuckle. “Perhaps that’s why magic decided that she needed two alphas.”
Lucius reached over to cup Severus’ cheek. “I really did miss you.”
Severus tilted his head to press a kiss to Lucius’ palm. “I missed you too, love.”
They snuggled closer to Hermione, summoning the blankets over them as they fell into an exhausted, sated sleep.
***************
Severus and Hermione instantly jolted awake, wordlessly summoning their wands as Kingsley’s lynx patronus bounded through the bedroom window. Lucius continued snoring lightly, completely unperturbed by the intrusion.
The lynx came to perch on the end of the bed. “I apologize for the disruption at such an early hour, but I’m afraid that I must ask the three of you to join me outside.” There was a long pause as if the Minister had been embarrassed to proceed. “Ronald Weasley contacted our offices this morning to invoke the right of a wizards’ duel. We’ve all gathered in the garden for you to receive his formal challenge.”
Hermione crawled out of bed, quickly pulling on the black leggings and t-shirt that had become her uniform since entering the seventh month of her pregnancy. “Has he lost his mind? A wizards’ duel? He’s going to get himself killed.”
Severus chuckled as he rose to dress. “There’s no cause for alarm, my pet. Lucius and I have always preferred torture to murder.”
Lucius finally stirred, groaning as he stretched languorously. “That’s usually quite true, but in Weasley’s case the murder part is sounding increasingly appealing. I must confess, though, that I’m curious about his motives.”
Hermione’s brow furrowed, biting the end of her thumb as she was apt to do when trying to figure out a puzzle. “Well, he didn’t get any of the money when he sold me off, and he was fired from the Chudley Cannons. He’s apparently been living at the Burrow, and his only source of income has been working part-time at Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes.”
Severus nodded thoughtfully. “By law, if he were to win the duel, he’d not only win you back, but also have all of your assets. In spite of his tendency to dramatically overrate his abilities, I don’t think even he could delude himself into thinking he can win.”
Hermione busied herself with helping Severus fasten the buttons of his frock coat. “Exactly, and if the goal isn’t winning, he must stand to benefit from the media circus whether he wins or loses.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Skeeter?”
“Quite likely. He gets to play the martyr and make a few galleons when he loses the duel, and Skeeter gets a chance to air our dirty laundry.”
Lucius gave a huff of frustration. “Be that as it may, you’re aware that that won’t stop me from annihilating him?”
Hermione grinned affectionately. “Nor would we deny you the pleasure, but we also need a plan to counter Rita Skeeter’s story.”
“Which is?”
“Luna.”
Lucius’ brow furrowed in confusion. “Miss Lovegood?”
Severus immediately sensed her reasoning. “Yes. What people really want isn’t Ronald Weasley. They want us, and we’re going to give it to them.”
Lucius watched enviously as Hermione kissed Severus’ cheek before making sure that his cloak was secure. Lucius pretended to struggle with his cravat until she gave him a knowing smile and helped him straighten it, giving him a kiss as well. “We’re going to give an exclusive interview to The Quibbler and answer the public’s burning questions about Britain’s enigmatic magical triad.”
Severus hummed approvingly. “Our pet is going to steal his proverbial thunder.”
Lucius snorted as he pulled on his boots. “I thought we did that when we stole his wife.”
“Apparently he didn’t learn his lesson the first time, so it’s incumbent upon us to be clearer in our delivery. Some lessons are worth repeating, Lucius.”
Hermione leaned back into Severus, tilting her chin to look up at him. “Really? It’s been a while since I was in your classroom, but you always hated repeating yourself.”
He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “All the more reason why I need to hex his bollocks off to make the lesson stick this time.”
Hermione sent her patronus off to Luna with an explanation of their situation and a request to publish their interview in The Quibbler .
Lucius offered Hermione his arm. “Then let’s just get this over with, shall we?”
Hermione paused to snatch a pair of sunglasses from the bedside table before accepting his arm. “You’re snippier than usual, Lucius.”
Severus laughed as he followed along behind them. “He’s hangry, Hermione, and he hasn’t had any caffeine yet.”
Lucius scowled at him. “You laugh now, but I doubt you’ll find it funny when I instruct the house elves to put peanut butter on your waffles.”
Severus’ eyes narrowed. “You do that and we’ll be divorcing before you even have a chance to slather your eggs with that disgusting pepper sauce you love so well.”
“You really should try it, Severus. I fell in love with it the first time Hermione took me to that Muggle store. What was the name of it, my dove?”
Hermione bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smirking. “Tesco.”
“I don’t really care where you got it. That’s no way to treat an egg.”
“That’s enough, you two.” Hermione slipped on her sunglasses as they passed through the doors and took the flagstone path to the gardens. “I wouldn’t be surprised to find Rita Skeeter crawling around in her beetle animagus form, and I don’t think either of you fancy having your waffle woes end up on the front page of The Prophet .”
The two abandoned their bickering as they meandered down the path. Hermione had been part of the wizarding world long enough to know what to expect, and consequently she wasn’t alarmed by the flashing bulbs and the barrage of questions from the media when they finally rounded the corner into the courtyard. The presence of the aurors and Kingsley’s army of bureaucratic minions were also not particularly surprising.
What was unexpected was Ronald Weasley slipping away from the crowd to slap Lucius across the face with a tattered silk glove.His voice cracked slightly as he did his best to look brave. “I– I challenge you to a wizards’ duel.”
To his credit, Lucius didn’t so much as flinch when Ron struck him, a slight flare of his nostrils the only acknowledgment that the younger wizard had insulted him. When he finally did deign to speak, he assumed the same tone he had with Draco when he was a toddler. “Are you quite finished behaving like a hopeless, attention-mongering fop, Mr. Weasley?”
Something pitifully like hope flitted over Ron’s features as he mistakenly believed that Lucius was declining his challenge. “Of course, if you’re too old and weak to fight me, I’ll accept your forfeiture,” he glanced over at Hermione, “and perhaps even forgo my right to your wife…for a price.”
Lucius glared at him, the ice in his voice enough to make any wizard tremble in fear. “You have threatened my family and questioned my ability to protect them. I accept your challenge, but I can’t speak for Severus, of course.”
Ron glanced over at the wizard in question, his distaste for his former professor obvious. “What does he have to do with anything?”
Lucius rolled his eyes, ignoring Ron’s question and looking past his shoulder to the Minister. “Kingsley, you’ve allowed a wizard to issue a challenge for a wizards’ duel without fully understanding what one is.”
Kingsley plastered on his best placating diplomatic smile. “In all fairness to Mr. Weasley, the rules governing wizards’ duels and magical triads are a bit obscure, but your point is well taken, Lucius.” He turned his attention to Ron. “Mr. Weasley, when the witch you are dueling for is part of a triad, you must challenge both of her spouses to duel.”
All the color drained from Ron’s face. “Two wizards? That doesn’t make sense–”
Kingsley’s smile dropped, his voice lowering to a whisper so that the crowd couldn’t hear him. “No, Mr, Weasley. What doesn’t make sense is the fact that I’ve spent the last several months repealing the law that allowed you to sell your wife in the first place only for you to turn around and use an equally archaic practice to make an ass of yourself in public all over again. Now, if the two of you wouldn’t mind stepping away from the media circus for a moment, we can discuss the ground rules.”
Hermione could see from Ron’s gesticulating hands that he was angry, but she was so focused on watching Lucius that she didn’t notice Rita Skeeter’s approach until she nearly choked on the smell of the woman’s cloying verbena and geranium perfume. Skeeter looked her up and down, a vicious little gleam in her eyes. “It’s so nice to see a witch confident enough to just let herself go during her pregnancy. I’d ask what you’re eating during your confinement, but it’s quite obvious that the answer is ‘everything.’”
Severus moved to draw his wand from his sleeve and hex the odious woman, but Hermione placed her hand over his, silently asking him to play along. She gave the reporter a saccharine sweet smile. “Indeed. I do find that I enjoy food so much more these days, especially ones I never enjoyed before.”
Skeeter instantly took the bait, ready to hear even the most mundane details of Hermione’s life. The public was apparently clambering for any scrap of news about the witch who was sold by her husband seven months ago. “Really? Do tell.”
Hermione lowered her voice, whispering conspiratorially. “Well, I’ve always heard that women have strange cravings during pregnancy, and I’ve had my fair share of those. I woke up one evening during my first trimester thinking that pistachio ice cream topped with pickled radish was an excellent idea.”
Severus’ nose wrinkled in disgust. He remembered the night in question. He’d somehow managed to make her a dish of the disgusting concoction without vomiting, but he’d refused to stay in the room while she ate it.
Hermione leaned in closer, clearly convincing Skeeter that she’d taken her into her confidence. “But it’s gotten even worse since then. I–” she bit her thumb, pretending to think better of being so forthcoming with the other witch.
“Yes, dear? Go on.” Skeeter encouraged her.
“If I tell you, you must promise not to tell anyone.”
“Of course. I am the very soul of discretion.” She waved her hand to dismiss her Quick-Quotes Quill, though Severus could clearly see it continuing to scribble behind her back.
Hermione nodded shyly, and Severus couldn’t help but be impressed with how well she was luring Skeeter into a false sense of security. “If I’m being completely honest, I’ve taken to pillaging snacks from Severus’ potions cabinet.”
Skeeter’s mouth made a delighted “o” of surprise before settling into a malicious smile that made every hair on the back of Severus’ neck stand on end. “That is…most peculiar.”
“I know! It all started rather innocuously. I’d nibble on a bit of ginger he had lying about the lab to soothe my stomach. I might occasionally take a sprig of mint for my tea because I knew that no herbal tea that we bought would be as good as something Severus had foraged.”
Hermione dropped her eyes dramatically. “But then the cravings got very bizarre.”
Skeeter was practically buzzing with excitement. “How bizarre?”
“I tore through his entire supply of ashwinder wings, flitterby moths, and woodlouse in less than a week, and lately…well, lately I’ve developed a frightful taste for–”
“Yes?” Skeeter’s eyes grew wide with anticipation.
Hermione met her gaze, a small smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Beetles.”
Skeeter stared at her in shock, and for the first time since Hermione had met the gossip-monger, her quill had stopped moving. Taking his cue, Severus intruded on the conversation. “Oh yes. Hermione has depleted my supply of scarab, green tiger, and rose chafer beetles, not to mention my prized stag beetles. My wife is quite insatiable,” he splayed his hand over Hermione’s swollen belly possessively, “but the reward will be well worth the inconvenience. In fact, I’ve promised my little witch that I’ll catch any beetle she longs to nibble.”
Skeeter was finally starting to recover, a sneer of anger contorting her features. “I do not appreciate being threatened.”
Hermione looked over her shoulder at Severus, feigning innocence. “What on earth is she talking about, Severus? I was just trying to share the peculiarities of my delicate condition to a sympathetic ear. I really don’t see what could have upset her so much.”
Skeeter’s face had graduated to a very unbecoming shade of puce by the time she turned on her heel and stormed away from the snickering pair. Severus buried his nose in her hair to hide his smile from unwanted onlookers. Hermione wrapped an arm around his waist and buried her nose in the wool of his frock coat, her body shaking with suppressed laughter.
Their amusement was interrupted by Kingsley’s announcement that they were ready to begin the duel. They moved with the rest of the crowd to where the two wizards were positioned on the lawn. The aurors made a path for them so they could stand at the front of the waiting crowd.
Kingsley eyed the two wizards warily, not at all confident that the combatants would abide by the expected practices. “Gentlemen, you may begin.”
Hermione was struck by the contrast between the two wizards as they stood facing each other, raising their wands in salute. Ron’s usual boyish features were drawn and haggard. If the mottled purple skin under his eyes was any indication, he hadn’t slept in days. His curling ginger locks had grown long, falling haphazardly over his face, and though she doubted anyone else noticed, his hand trembled slightly when he raised his wand. Were he not threatening the two people she loved most in the world, she would likely have felt pity for him.
Lucius, on the other hand, was the picture of aristocratic elegance. Despite their rush to get dressed this morning, not a single hair was out of place. He looked polished and alert, if a bit annoyed by the current proceedings.
When the triad was first bonded, Hermione had honestly been shocked to find herself so drawn to Lucius’ more classically handsome aesthetic. She’d long been attracted to Severus’ angular features and razor-sharp intellect, but the idea that she might also be attracted to a blonde with patrician charm had never occurred to her.
In the months since, Hermione had come to appreciate both of her alphas. She’d mapped every inch of Lucius’ body with her tongue and tugged on his flaxen locks often enough that it was nothing short of a miracle that Lucius had any hair left at all.
When Lucius turned on his heel to assume his dueling stance, Hermione felt a hint of wetness seeping through her leggings. Severus’ head whipped around to look at her, his nostrils flaring to scent the air. His hand traveled up the length of her spine, coming to rest on the back of her neck.
The calloused tips of his fingers dug into her scent gland possessively as his voice dropped to a low growl that only she could hear. “Careful, my little pet. Keep that up and I’ll take you here in front of everyone…your ex, the aurors, all of these reporters. Would you like that? I’ll stretch you over my knot and remind everyone who you belong to…omega.”
Hermione’s pupils dilated as she desperately fought the urge to pant, chasing Severus’ touch when he moved his hand to the small of her back. “Alpha…” she whimpered softly.
His responding chuckle was riddled with dark promises. “Soon.”
“Expelliarmus!” Ron’s first attempt at an attack snapped her out of her lust-induced haze.
Lucius met the attack with a bored flick of his wrist. “Mr. Weasley, you do realize that this is a wizards’ duel, not a first-year DADA class, correct?”
Ron’s face was already turning red with embarrassment. “You stole everything from me, you greedy bastard!...Confringo!” Ron bellowed, but the intent of his spell was belied by the tremor in his voice. Lucius easily deflected the spell, a nearby hedge exploding dramatically.
Lucius shook his head. “You were so lucky, Weasley. You had a job that brought a generous salary and some degree of fame, the respect of your peers, and the brightest witch of your age for your wife. You were the one who destroyed your good fortune by not appreciating her, a mistake that Severus and I will never make.”
Ron’s face contorted in anger. “Are you serious? You claim that you’ll protect her, but you called her a mudblood for years and believed it so much that you allowed Bellatrix Lestrange to carve it into her arm in this very house.”
The constant chattering from the spectators that naturally accompanied any public spectacle came to a conspicuous halt, every eye watching Lucius warily. Lucius waved his wand with a dramatic flourish, a wave of fiendfyre erupting effortlessly from the tip of his wand. Ron cast a protego, his eyes filling with terror as the flames burst through his protective shield.
Hermione flinched as she watched, remembering their last experience of fiendfyre during the hunt for Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem. She often had difficulty forgiving Ron for trying to sell her off, but she still had some degree of empathy for him given the terrifying memories that Lucius’ spell no doubt forced to the surface. Ron instinctively raised his arms to protect his face, but just before the inferno brushed his skin, the flame drew back, circling around him menacingly. Lucius’ wand was held high, keeping the flame at bay.
“If you had challenged me to a duel and spoken to me in that manner prior to the war, I would have killed you, Weasley, but people change. You’re right that I allowed terrible things to happen here. I put my family in constant danger and–” his voice broke off. Rita Skeeter’s quill was scribbling frantically, documenting this rare show of vulnerability from the Malfoy patriarch.
Lucius took a deep breath before continuing. “I didn’t protect Narcissa. That’s all the more reason why I’d do anything in my power to protect Hermione and Severus.” Lucius dropped his wand to extinguish the flames. “You made a mistake in coming here, but it’s not too late to relent.”
Ron didn’t seem particularly moved by his speech, in part because he was distracted by the acrid smell in the air around him. He wrinkled his nose as he touched his hands and face, quickly realizing that the intense heat of Lucius’ spell had singed the hair on his arms and scorched the sleeves of his shirt. Even parts of his eyebrows had been sacrificed.
His face slowly turned purple with rage. “You may have Hermione fooled, but you’ll never change. You’ll always be a Death Eater.” He raised his wand. “Expulso!”
Lucius parried easily before pointing his wand at the patch of ground at Ron’s feet. “Deprimo!”
The lawn exploded violently beneath him, sending Ron tumbling backwards and showering the onlookers with bits of dirt, sod, and hedgerow. In spite of the gravity of the occasion, Hermione couldn’t stifle her bark of laughter when Severus slowly turned to her, one eyebrow raised and clods of earth stuck to his silky black hair.
“Do be advised that you are about to become a widow, Hermione. I’m going to kill our husband.”
Hermione reached up to remove the more obvious clumps of dirt from Severus’ hair until Ron’s strident voice brought her back to the issue at hand. He’d managed to get to his feet again, clutching his side as he raised his wand again.
“Petrificus totalus!”
Lucius suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. It was clear the wizard had no intention of listening to reason. He deflected the spell, answering with an incarcerous that prompted the exposed roots from an upended hedge to grow and wrap around Ron’s ankles and calves, pinning him in place. He looked at Lucius directly then, his eyes wild and desperate in a way that reminded Hermione of a cornered animal.
His lip trembled as he raised his wand again. “Sectumsempra!”
Hermione heard Severus’ sharp intake of breath, her grip on his arm the only thing that kept him from intervening in the fight. Lucius’ protego shield glittered silver in the light, impervious to the younger wizard’s assault. Ron looked like he was about to crumple when Lucius took pity on him, deciding to bring the duel to a close.
“Langlock!” Ron’s tongue melded to the roof of his mouth, effectively rendering him mute and powerless, as he’d never had an aptitude for nonverbal magic.
“Relashio!” Ron’s wand flew from his hand, rolling into one of the nearby garden beds.
Kingsley stepped forward as Lucius lowered his wand, releasing Ron from the spells currently binding him. Severus and Hermione both rushed over to Lucius, pulling him into a tight embrace that prompted another round of flashing bulbs from the press.
Lucius cupped Hermione’s cheek as he pinched the end of one of Severus’ locks. In spite of Hermione’s best efforts, they were still sporting clumps of dirt and grass in their hair. Lucius gave them a cheeky grin. “What happened to the two of you? It looks like a herd of thestrals dragged you through every filthy riverbed in Cokeworth.”
Severus narrowed his eyes. “It’s the result of some very foolish wand waving. I’ve been considering how I should punish the party responsible.”
Lucius brushed his thumb over the tip of Severus’ nose. “Don’t be cross. I promise to wash you both very thoroughly after this sordid affair is done.”
Kingsley’s voice disrupted the moment. “You have lost the first duel, Mr. Weasley. Do you wish to stop now?”
Ron appeared to ignore the question at first. After taking a moment to retrieve his wand, he approached Severus. Hermione blocked his path. “Don’t you think you’ve caused enough problems? You’ve already embarrassed yourself enough. Just go home and lick your wounds.”
He nearly received another hex from Lucius when he put his hands on Hermione’s shoulders and moved her out of his way. His eyes were empty as he met Snape’s dark, unyielding eyes. “I challenge you to a wizards’ duel.”
Severus nodded. “I accept, but I invoke the right of the challenger.”
Kingsley’s mouth twitched in amusement. “Your right is acknowledged, Severus.”
Ron looked irritably between the two wizards. “What the bloody hell is the right of the challenger?”
Kingsley placed a hand on Ron’s shoulder, as though they were having a casual conversation. “When the laws for wizards’ duels were first established, the combatants were purebloods. When half-bloods and muggle-borns began fighting duels, however, a condition was put into place that allowed them some freedoms if a pureblood challenged them to a duel. The idea was that since purebloods were raised with knowledge of magic, they could have an unfair advantage over wizards who were not. The right of the challenger gives a half-blood or muggle-born wizard the right to choose the weapons for the duel.”
Ron’s jaw dropped as the implications finally dawned on him. “So we might not be fighting with wands?”
Severus handed his wand over to Kingsley. “That’s correct, Mr. Weasley. In fact, today we’ll be fighting unarmed.”
Ron panicked, shaking his head when Kingsley reached for his wand. “I’m not going to fight you without a wand. That’s barbaric!”
Severus gave a put-upon sigh. “No, Mr. Weasley. Selling your wife to the highest bidder is barbaric. Challenging another man to a duel that could result in the death of one or both combatants in a matter of a few spells is barbaric. Asking you to settle things by throwing a few punches is relatively tame by comparison.”
Kingsley didn’t wait for Ron to respond, snatching his wand out of his hand. “The terms have been set. Good luck, Mr. Weasley.”
Hermione drew Severus and Lucius closer so that only they could hear her. “He has another wand. I saw it up his sleeve during his duel with Lucius. Be careful.”
Severus nodded before kissing her on the forehead. “I saw it too, my pet. I’ll handle it.”
He turned to kiss Lucius’ cheek before approaching Ron. “Since I selected the type of fight, I think it only fair to let you take the first swing, Mr. Weasley.”
Both wizards raised their hands and assumed a defensive guard posture. Hermione knew that Severus had been in numerous fights in his life, first with his abusive father and later with his bullies and fellow Death Eaters, but even if she hadn’t known this information, it was obvious that he was the more experienced party. He kept his elbows close to his body, tracking Ron’s movements carefully.
They circled each other a few times before Severus dropped his fists slightly, finally tempting the younger wizard into attacking. He easily rolled away from Ron’s clumsy jab, countering by clipping his cheek. Ron reached up to prod his cheek, a trickle of blood running over his fingers.
“You’re still tormenting us, just like you did in school. Hermione must be under the imperius curse to stay with you when all you did for years was call her an insufferable know-it-all.”
Severus easily evaded Ron’s attempt to box his ears, punching Ron’s ribs with a satisfying thud. “Do you want to keep going, Mr. Weasley, or shall I have Hermione step in to destroy you like last time?”
Ron dropped his fists, hatred seething from him as he stared unblinking at his former professor. “You know what? I’m not going to do this with you, Snape. It’s beneath me.”
Before Severus could reply, Ron pulled the wand he’d been hiding from his sleeve. “Crucio!”
Hermione screamed as a jet of red light shot toward Severus. Without realizing it, she’d drawn her own wand and was only prevented from attacking Ron by Lucius' iron grip on her arm. “Wait, Hermione! Look!”
Severus stood with his left hand raised and palm open, the livid streak of Ron’s curse gradually dissipating. All the color drained from Ron’s smug face. “That’s impossible. You can’t stop that curse wandlessly and nonverbally.”
Severus didn’t bother with a reply, raising his right hand and curling his fingers slightly. Ron lurched abruptly, levitating several feet in the air. He clawed at his neck in an effort to dislodge the invisible force that held him captive.
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the frenzied whispers behind her. She listened with satisfaction as the reporters dubbed Severus “the most powerful wizard in all of Britain.” She’d never been one of the lovestruck witches who fixated on Severus’ power after the war, but as she watched him defending her, she couldn’t deny the effect his display was having on her. The back of her neck itched violently as she tried to fight her body’s response, reminding herself that now was most assuredly not the time or place.
Kingsley approached Severus slowly. “You can put him down now, Severus. He’s lost.”
Ron fell to the ground coughing and sputtering. He managed to raise himself to his knees, pointing at Severus accusingly. “That bastard just tried to kill me! Arrest him!”
When no one moved, he gestured wildly at the aurors. “Why aren’t you arresting him? He’s still a murderer, just like he was during the war.”
Kingsley shook his head. “Severus was cleared of all war-time charges long ago, Mr. Weasley, and we aren’t arresting him now because he was simply responding to your attack.”
Ron’s voice rose an octave, as it was apt to do when he was being particularly petulant and argumentative. “He was strangling me!”
Kingsley remained unmoved. “He was defending himself from the cruciatus curse that you cast against him. By all rights, I should have you arrested for casting an unforgivable curse against an unarmed man, but it isn’t up to me.”
He glanced over at Severus. “How do you wish to proceed?”
Ron’s voice was little more than a squeak by this point. “Why are you asking him?”
Kingsley’s sigh suggested that even he was reaching the limit of his patience. “When a wizard violates the terms of a duel, his opponent is responsible for assigning his punishment.”
Severus had been in the position of being despised and mocked, and while he admittedly enjoyed other people’s discomfort on occasion, he didn’t enjoy making people’s lives miserable. He’d also grown up in poverty and understood what it was like to struggle for money. The tiny scrap of sympathy that he had for Ron’s financial and social position was the only thing that could account for what he did next.
“Mr. Weasley, I’m only going to make this offer once, so do listen carefully. You have an important decision to make. You can either spend the next several years in Azkaban, or you can agree to two conditions: First, you will take a wand oath vowing never to harm my family and never to speak of them without my express permission. Second, you will become my apprentice and work in my apothecary in Diagon Alley.”
Lucius looked like he’d been kissed by a dementor. “Severus, what in Merlin’s name are you doing?”
Hermione was similarly distressed. “Severus, have you suffered some sort of amnesia? You know that Ron is absolute rubbish at potions. He blew up almost as many cauldrons as Neville did.”
Ron shuddered at the thought of being the sole source of Severus’ scrutiny. “I honestly think I’d rather go to Azkaban.”
Kingsley nodded to the aurors to take Ron into custody, but he raised his hands to stop their approach. “Wait! Let’s not be so hasty. I was only joking. Of course I agree to Snape’s terms.”
Severus crossed his arms over his chest, glaring down at his new apprentice. “You will address me as Master Snape from now on, Mr. Weasley.”
Ron’s face turned bright red as he fought the urge to argue, his mouth seemingly incapable of forming the words until the aurors glared at him threateningly. “Yes…Master.”
The entire crowd erupted in whispers at the strange turn of events. Kingsley pulled Severus and Ron aside to witness the wand oath away from the clamor of the crowd. Rita Skeeter looked positively dejected, her plan to get a titular tale out of Ron foiled by Severus’ requirements.
Lucius’ brow furrowed as he considered Severus’ choice. “Well, that was unexpected.”
Hermione shrugged. “Perhaps, but it’s also brilliant. He’s essentially bound Ron from attacking us again, and he’s getting free advertising for the shop. You know people will go there just to watch the two of them try to work together.”
“Mr. Weasley has never struck me as particularly bright. Severus is going to find it very taxing to work with him.”
Hermione raised a brow suggestively. “Then we’d better do our best to help him relax.”
“Speaking of which, I was promised a bath now that this sordid affair is over.” Severus wrapped an arm around each of them, steering them back on the path toward the Manor away from what remained of the gawking crowd.
“Wait!” The trio turned to find Rita Skeeter tripping over her heels to catch up with them. She smiled obsequiously and placed a hand on Severus’ chest, which Hermione promptly slapped away with a jealous huff.
“Surely Severus Snape, the most powerful wizard in all of Britain, has something to say to his adoring public.”
“Of course. Please be sure to tell your readers–”
“Yes?” she prompted when he didn’t immediately continue.
“Tell them that if they wish to know more about my new apprentice, Mr. Weasley, and Britain’s most mysterious magical triad, then they should pick up a copy of next month’s Quibbler , which will feature our exclusive interview.”
Hermione and Lucius laughed tauntingly as Skeeter stalked away. Her quill stayed behind to jab at them menacingly until Hermione reduced it to ashes with a well-aimed incendio. They were still chuckling merrily by the time they stumbled down the hall and into the bathroom. There was no need for Hermione and Lucius to undress, as Severus had systematically removed every stitch of their clothing, depositing it at random as they made their way through the Manor.
Lucius busied himself with adding oils and soap to the water from a cabinet devoted specifically to the purpose. Severus shook his head as he watched the process. “Must we do this every time, Lucius? I hardly think it necessary to have a collection of seventy bottles just for bathing.”
“You have a potions cabinet with hundreds of ingredients, and you’re lecturing me?”
“Those ingredients are designed to make potions that will save people’s lives.”
Lucius arched an eyebrow. “And these soaps are designed to save my life.”
Severus rolled his eyes as Lucius stirred the steaming water with his wand until he was satisfied with the vanilla and bergamot scent.
Hermione ran her hand over the buttons of Severus’ frock coat and grinned at him cheekily. “You’re overdressed. May I help you with that…Master?”
She gasped as Severus’ hand shot up to her throat. He leaned forward until his lips ghosted over hers. “Say it again.”
Her pupils dilated as he applied gentle pressure to her throat. “Master.”
She cast a silent divesto in her haste to get to him. His cock pressed against her, smearing precum all over her swollen belly. “Get in the tub, my pet.”
Hermione rushed to follow his instructions, groaning appreciatively as she sank into the steaming water. Severus scowled when he dipped a finger in the water. “You’ve made it too hot again, Lucius.”
“It’s good for you. It’ll help you to relax. Besides, my little dove likes it hot, and I’ve no wish to deny her anything.”
“You always spoil her.”
“That’s a bit hypocritical coming from the man who stuffs her full of his knot the moment she so much as whimpers for it.”
“That’s different,” Severus groused as he sank into the water, stretching out his long legs.
He offered Hermione a hand, pulling her from the other side of the tub and turning her to face away from him. He gently brushed the hair off her shoulder, and Hermione whined when his fingers danced over her scent gland.
“Please, Severus. Alpha…”
Severus chuckled, pausing to cast a cleansing spell over their hair to remove the more obvious debris. “Patience, my pet.”
He squeezed a portion of her favorite jasmine shampoo into his palm. Hermione cooed as he worked his long fingers through her hair. Lucius finally joined them, straddling Severus’ legs and facing Hermione. He summoned a soft cloth, soaking it in the warm water before washing her neck and shoulders. He was especially gentle with her breasts, rubbing his thumbs over her sensitive nipples until she was mewling and leaning into his touch.
Severus smirked. “You do realize you could do that using magic, Lucius.”
“No!” Hermione yelped, looking at Lucius pleadingly. “I need you to touch me too, Alpha.”
“Stop teasing her, Severus.”
“Fine, but since you’re both so impatient, you’re going to ride me, do you understand me, pet?”
“Y–Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
Hermione ground her hips against him. “Yes, Master.”
“Good girl.”
Severus’ hands settled on her hips, lifting her gently and sliding her slowly onto his cock. Hermione moaned as she sank down onto him until her hips settled on his thighs and her buttocks nestled against his stomach. He brushed his thumbs over both cheeks, growling possessively when Hermione winced as she felt the sting of her punishment from the previous night.
She keened when the tip of Severus’ tongue darted out to lap at her gland. He squeezed her hips encouragingly. “You need to work for it if you want my knot, my little omega.”
She took the hint, slowly lifting up a few inches before sinking back down. She leaned forward slightly until she found the angle that she loved, grinding her hips in earnest when she felt the jolt of pleasure. She gripped the sides of the tub, keeping her eyes closed to focus on her task. When she felt Lucius’ thumb press circles into her clit, she opened her eyes to see the dark pink head of his cock peeking up at her from a nest of bubbles.
She reached for him immediately, her little hand closing around his cock and pulling a startled groan from him. He purred in her ear as he continued to tease her clit. “Yes, my dove. Make me come all over those gorgeous tits.”
Hermione’s hand dragged along the silky length of Lucius’ cock as she raised herself again. She soon found a rhythm that suited all of them. Lucius shifted so that he was closer to her, rutting into her fist as he approached his peak. Hermione picked up the pace, her frenzied bouncing on Severus’ cock sending waves of water over the sides of the tub. Lucius pressed harder against her clit to help her grind against his thumb each time she raised her hips.
Her back arched as she came, her walls squeezing Severus until he could barely move. He wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her and pistoning his hips until his knot bloomed inside her, stretching her almost to the point of discomfort. Lucius threw his head back as Hermione’s amorous little hand brought him to completion, jets of cum drenching her chest and dripping off the tips of her pebbled coral nipples.
Hermione felt boneless, sinking back against Severus’ chest and relaxing as her two alphas set to work cleaning her up. Lucius was obviously reluctant to remove the evidence of his pleasure, massaging the sticky mess into her skin until Severus gently suggested that he make himself useful instead of staring at his cum all day. When Severus’ knot had contracted enough to slip out of her, they toweled her off and moved her to the bed, strong hands caressing her as they massaged cocoa butter over her distended belly.
The house elves brought them breakfast when it became clear that they intended to spend the day in bed. They fed her her favorite lemon madeleines and plied her with cups of ginger tea until she insisted that she would burst if she had more. They pulled her into a close embrace as the food inevitably brought on a groggy stupor. She was just on the verge of falling asleep when Luna’s hare patronus bounded through the window, her friend’s lilting voice echoing in the room.
I’m sorry I missed the event today, Hermione. Father was having an awful time with his wrackspurts. He was quite disoriented, and I couldn’t dream of leaving him until we’d handled the troublemakers. It’s really a pity, though. I’d love to see a wizards’ duel. Did you know the last one was over one hundred years ago? At any rate, I would love to feature your interview in The Quibbler. We’d probably better plan on doing it sooner rather than later. With the new legislative session starting soon, Lucius will be quite busy with the Wizengamot, and Severus will no doubt have his hands full managing Ron. I hope all is going well with your pregnancy. I look forward to greeting the babies when they arrive. Just send me a patronus or an owl when you’re ready to meet.
Hermione was just wondering how her friend had found out about Ron’s apprenticeship with Severus so quickly when she finally processed Luna’s message. She looked back and forth between Lucius and Severus. “Did she just say ‘babies’?”
Severus looked deathly pale as he cast the diagnostic charm. The golden light of the charm danced around Hermione, revealing two heartbeats, both steady and strong. He’d known about his son for months, but the second heartbeat had been hidden, the one that belonged to…his daughter.
Severus was fighting back tears when Lucius slapped him on the back happily. “Well, it looks like we get to go back to Diagon Alley for another crib, old man.”
Hermione cradled his face in her hands. “Welcome home, Severus.”