Welcome to the Neighbourhood

Hermione did not walk to her cottage when she left. Instead she went to the Councillors' home and knocked on the door before kneeling at their doorstep in supplication.

Marcela answered the door. "Something is wrong?"

"They will be fine, ma'am. Is Ariulo available?" Hermione was having a hard time keeping the tears from spilling out of her eyes. Although Marcela had been her confidante, she needed someone with more fire than she had right now. She was going to burst soon, the toll of the day finally catching up to her. She felt like only Ariulo could help her through this.

"I'll get him."

The sun had just set when Ariulo opened the door with a small raccoon-like cat, who was called Dondi, on his shoulder. He touched her shoulder, and Hermione stood, head still bowed, to follow him from a pace and a half's distance. They moved into a fire pit at the centre of the main square. Once there, Hermione kneeled down at his feet, Acara and Dondi curling up together on a great cushion a few feet away. When everyone was set, Ariulo made a great burst of flame, and he and Hermione Apparated to an isolated courtyard in an ancient temple.

When they arrived, Hermione finally felt free to weep as she had never dared since she'd come to the village. In fact, she hadn't really cried at all except out of physical exhaustion or magical frustration. She could talk objectively to Marcela or Ariulo, or distantly to Harry and Ron, and her friends at home, but she'd never let it get beyond a scientific evaluation of her situation. Now, seeing, hearing, and touching Draco Malfoy had overwhelmed her.

Ariulo let her weep. They were in an ornate pit for bonfires, which had been built over a volcanic vent thousands of years ago. When this temple was in use, Earth fire was worshiped in conjunction with the sun. He knew that whatever Hermione put into this moment of surrender, she'd get back a thousand times over in strength.

Finally, Hermione quieted, wiping her eyes and nose on the same shift she'd put on after lunch, which seemed like ages ago. She snorted at her thoughts and sent up bluebell flames from her palms as they rested on her thighs. Finally, she looked up at her mentor with complete trust for his guidance.

"Is that boy in the school yard pulling your pigtails again, Hermione?" Ariulo asked as he pulled her up by her hands and swept her into a deep hug. Ariulo was a very handsome man, and Hermione knew that without that sodding brand they would be lovers. It was one of the things she loved about this place, the polygamy. It was still a minority practice. Most of the regular citizens were monogamous, but the mages were hard pressed to feel too possessive over individuals, especially when there was so much to learn by sharing.

Hermione looked carefully at the man holding her. He was older by about forty years, but he looked perfect, aging slowly. His body was toned from manual and magical labours, his skin a nice toasted brown. Ariulo had nice lips and a strong nose. His bone structure was strong. Best of all were his eyes. Because his element was fire, when they blazed, she could see the actual fire behind his eyes. Hermione knew that her eyes were the same way now. How badly she wanted to burn with him in bed, instead of just this sacred temple.

Ariulo pressed his hands down Hermione's sides, following the curve of hip to her thighs. Hermione arched against him, smiling. "Tell me, Hermione, what did the mean boy say?"

Hermione loved that her mentor could boil her problems down to the fine points for her, and trivialise them to make her able to surmount the insurmountable.

She pressed her hands through his thick curly hair and smiled. "He's put me in a cage. He rubs my nose in it. Then he exalts the cage. He tries to make me feel like I am nothing without him, that I am so inferior without him that there is no one who would want me, and that I should be grateful for his sociopathic behaviour."

By the end of her listing, she could tell that her fire had begun to burn within her skin again. Ariulo had begun to rub her back with firm strokes, pressing her further and further into him.

These were the ways they'd gotten around the fidelity charms of the brand. It registered only intent, never product. If he touched Hermione with the intent to soothe, there was no problem, even if it pressed her against his body and aroused him. Arousing him would arouse her, but since that wasn't the primary intent but only a by-product, the charms lay dormant. It made Ariulo very pleased that they were both practised in meditation and could thoroughly clear their minds easily.

"He said you could find no other mate?" Ariulo asked as he moved to kneel in front of Hermione, pulling her thighs against his shoulders and massaging them. He knew this would break his concentration and soon his fingers would tingle unpleasantly, but he couldn't deny it tonight. Seeing the men who had made the world dangerous for Hermione made him want to do almost anything to defeat them.

"He said, 'I'm sure one of those short fellows would take you to his hammock,'" Hermione sneered in her best imitation of Ferret Boy. She slid down Ariulo's body before his treatment could begin to sting. She'd wondered frequently this sort of thing could lead her into S&M if she let it go long enough, but tonight she just needed the good parts. She needed her mentor to cleanse her and put her back in balance.

"Indeed, many short fellows would." Ariulo pressed his forehead to hers, locking eyes with her. In the moonlight, being directly over a volcano, Hermione ached once again for Ariulo to kiss her and possess her mouth, but he couldn't. It was like there was a magical chastity mouth guard there, blocking them. Her body was responding, but they could never really get past second base together. "I know a mage who dreams of your breasts in his hands, suckling until you weep with joy."

Hermione shivered at the flames flickering in his eyes as he spoke of his fantasies. When they were here, they were like living matchsticks. "I hate him so much, Ariulo, so much!" Hermione said before she pressed her face into his chest, rubbing against him. Cinders began to fall from their hair.

"Should I touch it?" Ariulo asked, pulling her against his erection before he teased her neck trying to make her giggle. His fingers came closer and closer to the brand. It made her whole body shiver, and he delighted in it.

"You are too old to be so childish," Hermione chided, but she was still smiling. Part of her wanted Draco to know that she did have other options, that even though she had been nigh invisible at school, here she was wanted, even craved.

"I would kill him if it would release you, but I'm certain it wouldn't. We will have to go another way." He licked his dry lips by her ear, inadvertently flicking her ear lobe.

Hermione moaned. She wrapped her arms around Ariulo's neck and begged him to burn her. To please, please set her ablaze and cleanse her. And then he did, and it was just like during her spirit quest. When the fuel from the combined magic was gone, they crumpled to the ground next to each other.

Hermione slept for several hours, and it was the best sleep she'd had in a long time. She didn't know if Draco could find her here or if he'd even tried. It didn't matter. She actually rested for the first time in ages. Ariulo had woken up shortly after their fire-burst and picked her up and carried her to a large, soft bed in a room that overlooked the sea. He took off her shoes before laying her to rest and climbing in himself. They had slept there together many times, Ariulo curling around her protectively. Always in the morning, she would awake renewed.

The sky was a pre-dawn grey when Ariulo felt Hermione's familiar body stretch beside him. She blearily rubbed her eyes and smiled at him as if she had not a care in the world. "Care for a game of catch before breakfast?"

"I've been wondering when you'd ask."

Ariulo tousled her hair playfully and ran into the plaza barefoot. Hermione made chase and pushed a basketball-sized wad of fire at him as he turned around. Ariulo pushed back, adding a spin to it. They lost themselves to this for a long time; it was a part of the practice they did.

After about forty-five minutes, the sun came up, and they paused to glory in it. When the last bit came over the horizon, Ariulo turned to her and said, "Make it hotter."

Hermione took a deep breath and pushed a slightly whiter ball of fire at him. "Hotter!" he goaded. The ball got tighter and whiter. "Hotter, girl!" Hermione threw her tightest ball of fire at him, experiencing a kickback from the force of expulsion. "That won't keep the Dragon in his place. Make it hot, lover."

Hermione looked at him from her place one hundred feet away. She'd forgotten about Draco while she and Ariulo played. Hermione smiled at him. Thinking of everything that Draco meant to her, she closed her eyes and forced her hands down to the size of a billiard ball and waited for things to get hot. After a moment, her hands began to glow white. When she opened her eyes to look at her partner, Hermione's irises looked like molten lava, and she sent a ball of blue fire at her mentor with such a force that he stepped back as he caught it. The look of pride in his eyes as he regained his footing set Hermione's skin on fire, and her spirit leapt. Draco Malfoy would not be her master.

Having spent most of the afternoon and all of the night unconscious, Draco was also up slightly before the sun rose. As he lay in his hammock, he listened. No matter where he was, he liked to be up when no one else was so he could listen to the peaceful beginnings of the day. Pre-dawn was when he felt the day had the most hope, the most potential.

He would use this time to learn about the place. He crept out of his hammock, careful not to wake his father as he put his shoes on and walked out the door. First, he wanted to orient himself in relation to some landmarks he'd spotted on the way in. He'd made four trips back and forth from different locations before stopping to watch the sun rise. He tried not to consider Hermione's parting words too much. Draco knew that they were on opposite sides of things, so what he did out of love and affection she could only perceive to be malice. She would learn. His Hermione was a very clever witch that way.

Having been away from his world looking for her, he knew he'd changed. Well, maybe not changed, more like evolved. If he thought it would benefit him, he would abduct Hermione in a heartbeat; he had a Portkey back to the Manor, and from there they could go to any of the other properties, and he could keep her to himself. However, Draco knew that her elemental and wandless magic could destroy him. She could probably turn his wand to ash without touching it. Then where would he be?

After the sunrise finished, Draco went to the centre of town. He came to where Acara and Dondi were sleeping by the temple portals, and he was confused that Acara was there and not with Hermione. Where could she be? Come to think of it, he'd tried a couple times to dream of her, and nothing had happened except that he fell even deeper asleep.

Draco sat down on a bench a little away from the sleeping cats. He couldn't be sure that Acara was the same here as she was in dreamland, but that wasn't a risk he wanted to take. Looking around, Draco had to admit that this was a fully functional city, larger than Diagon Alley, but still it somehow felt wild. As he leaned back to listen to the morning calls of the birds, he couldn't help but doze off, feeling more at peace than he probably had at any other point in his life.

Draco woke up under the weight of a small child. Kress had seen him on the way to breakfast. He bolted to where Draco was sitting and launched himself on his lap. A pretty, slender, yet very pregnant woman smiled at the two and slowly came to sit with them on the bench. Behind her, a creature that looked like a large white anteater strolled lazily, climbing up on the bench beside her and curling against her side.

Once she was settled, the woman reached over to the amulet around Draco's neck and uttered the translation spell so that Draco could talk freely among the people.

"Good morning, Dragon," the woman said, and Kress began talking to him a mile a minute. Now Draco could understand him, as much as one could understand an overly energised seven-year-old.

"Good morning to you, madam, and thank you. I have been going out of my mind hearing and not understanding. Especially with this one." Draco smiled down at Kress and picked him up, sitting him across his lap so could also face the woman and talk.

"Oh, yes, Kress was the first up this morning, very early, and couldn't wait to get to breakfast. I can't imagine why." The woman gave Kress a knowing look and smiled at the boy. She was clearly delighted in the boy's excitement.

"I also can't wait for breakfast," Draco said, turning to Kress. He was about to continue when the portal from the temple burst into flames, resulting in the arrival of Hermione and Ariulo. Watching the two mages come out of the flames was a resplendent sight, except that Draco didn't really care to see his witch kneeling in front of another man. She was certainly beautiful. The man moved off the platform first, and Hermione rose, following him with her head down in supplication. Now, that was something new.

Before Draco knew what was happening, Kress and both the cats were bounding for the pair, the smaller cat jumping on Hermione's shoulders and Acara rubbing against her legs. Kress had latched on to her middle, but then suddenly grabbed her arm and began leading her toward the bench where Draco and his mother were sitting. The man turned to look at the disruption, and Hermione looked up apologetically. She'd inadvertently broken ritual, but the man just burst out laughing as she was clearly harassed by the whole prospect. Ariulo picked Acara up and put her over his shoulders, which seemed fine by Acara. She dropped her head down onto his shoulder.

Draco thought Hermione looked beautiful. Perfect. The way he'd imagine she'd look after he'd given her a thorough shagging. This thought made him clench his teeth. The man was looking pretty pleased himself. The logical part of Draco kept saying that no shagging was possible. Shagging was impossible. Hermione can't touch another man out of lust. She can only come to Draco to meet her need. He is the only man who can have her. Still, there was a tiny voice inside his head that whispered, Hermione makes the impossible possible. And with this in mind, Draco set himself the task of finding out just what was going on here.

When Ariulo, Kress, and Hermione had arrived at the bench, Ariulo moved toward Kress' mother and caressed her forehead, smoothing her hair back. It was clearly very affectionate, and Draco thought he should feel uncomfortable, but he didn't.

"So you've met Paruin?" Hermione turned to Draco and asked evenly. She reached up to grab Dondi's tail and stroke it, scratching it every now and again. Dondi purred loudly.

Draco couldn't believe she was being so... not unfriendly. He immediately became even more suspicious, but kept his voice neutral. "Not officially, but Kress dragged her out of bed to catch an early breakfast." Draco smiled as Kress dropped Hermione's hand and crawled into his lap.

Hermione laughed. Kress loved strangers. Draco may think that he'd charmed the boy, but if he could stand Kress' attentions for more than a couple hours, she'd be a Blast-Ended Skrewt. Not that that would stop Kress. No! Draco had dug his own grave on this one.

"Well, then let me introduce you officially. This wonderful woman is Paruin. She is the head of engineering and public works. And..."

"And my mother," Kress interjected. Everyone smiled.

"And Kress' mum." Hermione tousled his hair and accidentally brushed Draco's shoulder. Draco took a deep breath through his nose and licked his lips, looking at Hermione intensely.

"And this is Ariulo. He's the council's Fire Mage, and the highest ranking Fire Mage in the community right now." Hermione looked at the man with literal fire in her eyes. Draco could see glowing embers behind Ariulo's when he looked at Hermione. Draco was overwhelmed by the things he was inferring now.

"And your father, right?" Draco tore his eyes away from Hermione to look at Kress.

"No. My father is Kapli. He works in the treasury. He is water. Mother is earth. I can't wait to find out what I will be."

"Soon, Kress. Three moons and you are eight years old. Then you can be an initiate," Hermione said automatically.

Kress sunk onto Draco's chest looking a little glum. "I know." Without thought, Draco put his arm around Kress, pulling him closer.

"You get to train at eight? I had to wait until I was eleven!" Draco said to the boy, suddenly jealous that he had had to wait to go to Hogwarts. Not that Draco hadn't had tutors. And his own wand. And broomstick. And whatever he wanted. But Draco secretly loved Hogwarts and would have loved to go to school much sooner than he had.

"Kress knows. He knows a lot about Hogwarts, right, Kress?"

"Yes. You have to be eleven years old. And you can bring a familiar, which is like a spirit beast, but not quite. And you meet lots of kids on a big caravan called a train. There are people there to teach different ways to use a wand. I'd really like to see Hogwarts one day." Kress was nodding at Draco, his troubles forgotten at the prospect of seeing the great castle from Hermione's books.

"I think it's time to eat, Kress, what about you?" Hermione held out her hand, and Kress pushed away from Draco. Acara lifted her head and swept her tail in a big circle before Ariulo bent to let her down.

"Dondi, come," Ariulo said after he stood. The cat on Hermione's shoulders opened one eye and began purring louder. Ariulo was not impressed. Usually Dondi would wait for Ariulo to come and pick him up, stealing a caress off Hermione's shoulders. Neither man nor beast wanted to alter the routine, but Ariulo knew Draco would not be pleased and wanted to be diplomatic at this point. The beast didn't give a whit.

Hermione looked at Ariulo and bowed her head. "My apologies, sir. Dondi, go." Hermione moved to stand about a foot away so the cat could jump to his master. Dondi took his time getting up, and as he moved to leap from Hermione to Ariulo, he let his long fluffy tail stroke along the back of Hermione's neck. She shivered, but kept her head lowered.

Draco felt the fur tickle his chest as well and rubbed it gently to mute the sensation.

Ariulo turned to him once Dondi was settled and said, "Come, Dragon. The men take breakfast without the women and children. I will answer your questions. I am sure you have many."

"Yes, thank you." Draco stood and adjusted his tunic, bidding farewell to the others as he followed the Mage and his cat toward breakfast.

"Dondi is a troublemaker," Hermione said as she and Paruin watched Kress race ahead to breakfast, joining in with some other children on the way. The beasts travelled behind them a few feet, and it was easy to imagine them in some variety of discussion as well.

"Just like Ariulo. You can't tell me that you were at the temple just to meditate?"

"You know he is the only one who can contain me when I am out of sorts." Hermione's reply pled innocence, but Paruin knew better.

"You cannot fool a woman with seven children, who is again ripe with child. Especially Ariulo's child. I see the looks."

"I can't even kiss him, Paruin." Hermione grabbed the other woman's hand and squeezed it, looking at her sadly.

"But you can kiss the Dragon." Paruin wagged her eyebrows at her. "Have you kissed the Dragon?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at the other woman who giggled like a little girl and turned Hermione to look at her.

"He is so handsome, Hermione, and I can feel the power on him. And his father. Delicious." The older woman stopped short of licking her lips, but only barely.

Hermione looked at her friend and couldn't help but be reminded of the giggling ninnies at school. Oh, yes, Draco Malfoy was the dashing bad boy, and every girl in every House would titter as he walked by, preening for them and showing off. "They are bad men."

"If you keep them here, we can show them the way. We need the new blood."

"Lucius can't be a mage, Paruin, he has murdered." Hermione was exasperated. What was it about that man that made people just put him in power? He must have found the devil and made a deal with him. Or, maybe, he was the devil himself.

"Yes, yes... but look at what he'll do for those he loves. He has done everything in his power to get the perfect bride for his son."

"His son, who has made a point of making all my magical years as miserable as possible, Paruin."

"But imagine if they used their powers for good instead of evil," Paruin said knowingly.

Hermione held her tongue. There was something about this place that brought out the best in people. Or at least soothed the worst. Which was not to say that there weren't disputes and disagreements. They were all just people, after all. However, the community was such that they could always be counted on to move through or past things. Part of it was that they were fairly isolated and resistant to the destructive trends. Only those with magic could find this place. It was a South American Avalon.

Like the faeries had cut away from the wizards, and the wizarding priestesses and druids had cut away from the isles, so had this little pocket tribe of modern Incans. The other part of it, Hermione knew because she could feel it, was that the power of this place was love. They loved the magic, the land, and each other.

Hermione sighed and sat down at a table. She was ravenous; she always was after she came back from the temple. Kress brought his plate over from another table and sat close to her. Hermione was looking forward to losing herself to the village chatter and relaxing into the routine when the inevitable happened: Draco and Lucius were mentioned.

"So, Paruin is your wife?" Draco asked as he walked beside Ariulo. It was clear that he was one of the leaders here, as many people came to clap his shoulder as they passed or moved to get out of his way.

"No, she is Kapli's wife. She is carrying my child," Ariulo explained as if it were as simple as the sky being blue or fire being hot. He also seemed rather proud of himself, which he was.

"And Kapli allows this?" Draco asked incredulously.

"It is not for Kapli to decide. Paruin is New Blood. We encourage her to breed as she pleases. It is the same for all the women, but New Blood especially."

"But then Kapli is responsible for your bastard."

Here, Ariulo chuckled. "There are no bastards among the mages. It is a fact we hide from outsiders because it is so contrary to how most of the world works, but for us it is an extension of our magic and ourselves. Kapli's children are my children, and mine are his, and we love them all. With that love, they grow to harness the powers of the elements."

"So only children of mages can become mages?"

"No. Anyone can study to be a mage. We begin general magical control when a child turns eight. Once they go through puberty, they can begin to train as a mage if they decide to. Few do since it requires higher than average intelligence, power, and focus."

"Which is why you always accept New Blood." Draco nodded. The two men sat at a centre table. Another man came over to Ariulo, and he introduced him as Kapli.

Ariulo turned to Kapli and said, "Kress has found his latest victim." Kapli moved to sit next to Draco.

"So you are the infamous Dragon. I have to say that Kress could not stop telling me about you last night. I was away hunting when you arrived; I'm sorry to hear I missed it." Kapli pulled a big piece of warm flat bread onto his plate from a centre dish and piled fruit onto it.

Draco noticed that he was the only man at the table without a beast, large or small, in tow. When he asked, Kapli replied, "I do have a beast, but not one I can bring to breakfast. There is a sanctuary for beasts like mine."

"I was just explaining to Draco about our children here," Ariulo interrupted. He had much to discuss with Draco, and he wanted it to go a specific way.

"Ah!" Kapli said, nodding. "That can be a challenge, indeed. It took a lot of discussion for Paruin to understand it. She is also European, but she came here at only fourteen, so many of us forget now."

"So there are many Europeans here?" Draco followed the example of his host and dug into flat breads and fruit, with a little pork from the night before. It was a delightful blend of spicy meat and sweet fruit.

A man who had been sitting at the table when they sat down spoke up. "Some. You can tell by the nose."

"Too right, Maank," Kapli said, pointing his fork at him and nodding. "You Europeans have these pointy noses. There was one here many years ago. He was very pale with dark hair, and he had a great hook for a nose. It stuck right out of his face like an eagle's beak."

Draco couldn't help but laugh at Kapli's description of a classic Roman nose. It was easy to see where Kress got his exuberant personality.

"Old Blood gives flat noses." He gestured between himself and Maank, who were both darker than Ariulo and had flat noses and squarish faces. "Ariulo here has one European on his mother's side and one on his father's side. That's why he's so damned handsome."

Ariulo chuckled and nodded. He had grown up in the village, but he was always set apart by his strong cheekbones. When he first started courting, these kinds of compliments would embarrass him terribly. "Don't let these two goats fool you. They have many whelps of their own, more than I have, in fact."

Draco watched the other men fill their chests with pride. They went about their breakfasts for a few minutes. Maank and Kapli were watching Draco covertly, but soon Draco was starting to feel a little bit on display.

Ariulo cleared his throat and looked at the other men sternly. "You are worse than children. Like chittering birds! I haven't even mentioned it yet."

Neither man looked too ashamed, though.

Finally, Ariulo turned to Draco and said, "Come, let us walk, for there is much to discuss. Maank, let Marcela and Isova know that I will be back with him after lunch."

"After lunch? But... my father, Hermione..."

"Hermione has already taken him breakfast and checked on him. He will rest another day or two. She has gone to the fields to gather supplies for the library. You will see her again at dinner. Come. Dondi, come."

Draco turned to see the cat hop off the bench to follow beside the two men as they walked out of the village.