Monsters of Capri
May 5, 2000
The war had changed everyone more than they would have liked to admit. It had a way of either bringing out the best or the worst in you. Hermione personally believed that it had made her better, and her boys had agreed. Yet as the rest of the Wizarding world bowed before her in shock, most shaking more than her neighbor's annoying chihuahua, and looking at her like she was a Voldemort reincarnated, she was inclined to believe that it was a matter of perspective.
Hermione couldn’t feel too bad about what had happened, though; these witches and wizards had no one to blame but themselves. They had two years to rebuild… two years to improve… two years to begin to undo all the damage Voldemort had done.
TWO- GODSDAMNED- YEARS to fix the prejudice plaguing their society.
Yet they hadn’t.
The Ministry had done nothing but line its own pockets, making empty promises, and the wizarding populace had eaten out of their hands. Hermione couldn’t believe that they hadn’t learned anything. They were still allowing themselves to be so easily led, and any attempt she made to talk about that was met with backlash from her friends. No one had wanted to discuss the resistance groups that had formed in the months after the battle, the New Death Eaters and the Muggleborn army. Both had been constantly fighting for change, albeit two very different views, and had been constantly fighting, attempting coup d'état after coup d'état. Yet everyone around her acted as if it wasn’t happening. The Aurors and Wizengamot were content to stick their heads in the sand, much like they had when Voldemort had come back.
Honestly, it was a miracle no one had succeeded before this.
Today was the second anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, and all the biggest names in politics, celebrities, and war heroes had shown up to pay their respects to their fallen comrades. At one point, Hermione would have felt bad about interrupting such an event, but she knew it wasn’t about those who had died since, if it were, they would have already started trying to make changes; no, it was about publicity. Making themselves look good in the public eye; at least with her as ruler, she would be able to fulfill what they had fought for.
She had spent the last two years of her life recruiting, preparing for this moment. She had only agreed to come back to Hogwarts to gain access to the largest House-elf population in the United Kingdom. She promised them the freedom to choose who, if anyone, they wanted to serve, and she had already drafted laws to help protect them from being abused or forced to reproduce just for their babies to be ripped away from them. The mention of protection had been enough to convince many of them to join.
Then she had spent the past year journeying around to visit the werewolf pack, now being led by Lavender Brown after she had been turned by Fenrir, and then promptly killed him with a ferocity that Hermione hadn’t known the girl could possess. The number of werewolves had almost tripled due to the Battle of Hogwarts, and Hermione knew how much they were struggling not just to support themselves but also with everything they had lost. They had been ostracized for risking their lives to save the Wizarding World; it had turned so many of them bitter.
So when Hermione had turned up with a plan and a promise to help, they had readily agreed. She had systematically continued to work through all the creatures the Ministry had wronged until she had an army.
Now she stood before the most powerful witches and wizards as a conqueror. It was only fitting that she had come into the world as a third-class citizen and would be leaving a queen.
As she stood before the group of unarmed witches and wizards before her, she felt two familiar presences behind her. She didn’t have to look back to see Draco standing on her right and Theo on her left. She couldn’t help but smile at how naturally they fit into their positions.
Draco, her frigid, right-hand, second in command. While sweet, bloodthirsty Theo, their third in command stood on her left. She had always known they were dark wizards, the opposite of who she had used to surround herself with. Yet knowing everything they had done and what they were willing to do for each other, made her love them even more.
“How could you do this, Hermione?” She heard Harry ask from where he was being detained by two werewolves. At one point in her life, the very idea of betraying her best friends would have made her vomit, but that had been before she had seen how far the supposed “light” side was willing to go.
What- who- they were willing to sacrifice for the “greater good.”
She approached him, and with her sharp, freshly done muggle nails, roughly grabbed his hair and pulled him forward, in a move she had seen villains on the telly do, “Oh, Harry, you only made this too easy,” She pushed him away, and he fell onto his back and crashed into one of the many politicians present.
“You're a monster!” Ron’s accusing voice rang out through the audience, causing both Draco and Theo to take a threatening step forward. Ever protective of her, she put a single arm out, signaling silently for them to stop, and they did. That was what made them so different from Harry and Ron. They wanted to protect her but respected and trusted her enough to deal with this on her own.
“Oh, Ron,” She walked around him once before purposefully scratching his cheek with her sharp nails, and a sense of pride flooded her when she saw him flinch in pain, and the cut began to bleed.
“If I’m a monster, it’s only because that’s what you turned me into.”
~000~000~000~000~
Fifth year had been a nightmare from before they had even boarded the Hogwarts Express. It had been a hellish three months with no contact with either of her boys. They said it would put her in too much danger, so when she had caught sight of them from afar, it had taken everything in her to stop from running to them. Still, she hadn’t been able to resist getting a bit closer to them. She could see Draco’s distinctive hair from across the platform and knew that Theo wouldn’t be far. She got within fifteen feet before stopping, and she could see Theo standing slightly behind Draco on his other side, but she couldn’t get a good look. Instead, she turned her attention to her silver-eyed love.
He was dressed in one of his fancy suits. She had never seen him in anything more casual than that, though she would be lying if she said that it didn’t work with his personality. It also didn’t hurt that he looked extremely fit in it. He had also changed his hair; it was now parted to the side and a bit shorter. Honestly, he looked like he belonged in the CEO's office of a corporation more than getting on a train to school.
She had been staring at him too long, though, because he caught her eyes and gave her a sly smirk. She had been caught, and even though they were fated for each other, she couldn’t help the blush forming on her cheeks as she whipped her head back towards the train, embarrassed that she had been caught staring. Draco, without a doubt, would be teasing her with this moment later that evening and probably for many more evenings down the road.
The train’s whistle went off, marking the beginning of the student’s boarding. Normally she would have been in a rush to try to find a compartment, but she had seen a group of gingers board the train ahead of her giving her time to look back and try to catch a glimpse of her dark-haired teasing soulmate.
It was when he stepped forward, though, that her blood froze; even from fifteen feet away, she could see the discoloration on Theo’s face, and as Theo moved his head, she caught sight of his neck. There was no mistaking what those marks on his skin were.
Bruises.
As the realization set in, rage began to flood her body, and her bond screamed for vengeance. It was startling to realize that she wouldn’t hesitate to kill for her boys. The thought stalled her; she stood frozen as the realization hit her. She had always known she would do anything to protect their bond, but she had always assumed there would be a line she wouldn’t cross. Yet she knew without a doubt that whoever had done that to Theo would pay for that mistake with their life.
“Mione, come on!” She could see Ginny yelling out one of the windows from a compartment and reluctantly began boarding. As she went, she could feel a familiar pair of hands on her shoulder, and though she didn’t dare turn around, she knew it was Draco; Theo’s hand slipped into hers briefly as she slipped something into her palm. Even though the contact was short, it had helped soothe their bond. It was moments like these when she was grateful her bonds were Slytherins. They were able to come up with so many ways to interact with her that wouldn’t draw suspicion. It was honestly surprising no one had said or seen anything. Though even if they did, she did not doubt that Theo and Draco would find a way to keep them silent… one way or another.
She had seen them beat up Colin Creevy last year when he had taken a picture of Hermione and Draco kissing. Luckily Theo had noticed him and had dragged him over to where they had been. Where they proceeded to beat him up when he refused to give up the picture, Hermione should have been horrified by her boyfriends’ when they stood up covered in the boys’ blood, photo in hand. Yet she had been more annoyed about being interrupted than she had about Theo and Draco beating him up. Draco obliviated him, and they had gone back to making out while Theo watched.
The most surprising thing about the interaction wasn’t that they beat him up; it was that Theo hadn’t hesitated to act with violence. He was normally the down-to-earth peacekeeper out of the three of them. They had both laughed when she told them this, stating that the Notts were some of the darkest wizards and witches out there, with short tempers and prone to being violent and bloodthirsty, particularly when it was over things they considered theirs.
If they were willing to beat a boy to within an inch of his life, there was no doubt that they would cross any line to keep their bonds safe.
~000~000~000~000~
Dolores Umbridge was horrid, and her bloody inquisitorial squad was a menace. Draco and Theo had both been forced to join it by their fathers, while Harry had insisted on starting Dumbledore’s Army. In Hermione’s opinion, the idea of starting a club to learn dueling was a brilliant idea; she just wished that Harry would have named it something else. It also drove her mad that someone had shown him the Room of Requirement, aka The Come-and-Go room. That was her special place with Draco and Theo, and now that Harry knew about it, they would no longer be able to use it.
It also didn’t help that because of D.A., and the boys' inquisitorial squad duties, they didn’t have any time or place to meet up and instead were stuck sneaking touches in the hallways and finding stolen moments in broom closets. While it was a mild inconvenience to her, she knew that Theo and Draco hated having to regulate their time in cupboards. In their words, they were treating her like a “slag” and not like the “love of their lives.” She blushed at the last part and tried to assure them that she was fine with sneaking around and that it was only temporary, but she could tell that they still felt awful. It also meant that they were reluctant to give in to the stolen moments because of their irrational guilt. This was the downside of their being raised with a medieval-like protocol, that she often found sweet.
Unfortunately, the bond didn’t understand nor care about their guilt or anything going on and was straining and fraying from everything. It was putting her in a foul mood, so much so that many of the Gryffindors had begun to avoid her whenever possible; even Harry, sweet oblivious Harry, was beginning to notice. She couldn’t bring herself to care, though; she was instead planning how they were going to spend their first anniversary together.
Technically, their relationship didn’t become official until after Yule, but that night of dancing was one of their fondest memories to date. They had all collectively agreed that since it was that night that set in motion and changed their relationship, then that was going to be their anniversary.
Hermione had come up with a brilliant plan for them to spend the entire break together. Hermione’s family owned a small villa on Capri, and her parents had given her permission to spend Yule there with her “friends,” while Draco and Theo had written to their parents that they were going to spend Yule in Italy. It meant that they were free for two full weeks to be a couple.
The villa itself was one of her family's smaller villas. It was nestled on a cliff overlooking the ocean on one side and Capri on the other. The walls were covered in family photos of her parents and a young child from all their previous vacations there.
“Phwwwwwhht,” Draco whistled as he looked around the living room, “When you said we were staying in a small villa, this was not what I was expecting.” He caught sight of a picture of her as a child.
Theo had walked straight to the patio overlooking the island and water, “When you said little villa, I assumed it was a quaint house in the city… but this seems more like what one of our families would own.” Theo and Draco seemed to be circling her like sharks.
“So tell us, Tesoro,” Theo started, and though she didn’t know what he had called her, she had an idea if the possessive gleam in his eye was any indication.
“What exactly have you been hiding from us?” Draco finished as he gently pushed her onto the couch before plopping down on her right while Theo sat on her left.
“I say this not as an insult, but please explain how two dentists can afford something like this.” Hermione was surprised it had taken them this long to figure it out.
“I’m surprised it took you this long to question me about this. You’ve both met my parents, and you have seen our house. It may not be a manor, but it still isn’t small by any means.”
“Mon âme, just spit it out, please,” Draco was giving her his signature smirk, and she couldn’t help but melt a bit.
“My parents may be dentists, but we are technically aristocrats, at least in the Muggle world.”
“Wait, but- your parents- you-” Theo seemed genuinely confused by her admittance.
“My parents didn’t want to raise me surrounded by money; they wanted me to grow up normal and not reliant on family wealth. So, for the most part, the only money they used was what they earned from the Dentist's office. Occasionally they would take a bit of money and donate it to charity or use it to help with their work, but otherwise, we mostly just invest the money.” She rambled, “I have a lot of respect for my parents since they could have coasted their entire lives on money and never made a dent. Instead, they chose to try to use the money for good.” She was proud of her parents for the choices they made, “Besides if they hadn’t, I may have ended up like you two pompous prats,” They all chuckled a bit at that since they were more than a little spoiled. “Though the summer homes we have all over the world have been in our family for generations, and as such, they don’t mind using them to our advantage for vacations.”
With that, she leaned in a kissed Theo, “I think I can get behind this advantage,” Draco mumbled from where he sat. Hermione knew he was watching and wiggled her butt teasingly.
“Minx,” Theo said as he playfully swatted her butt as he picked her up and the three of them headed to the bedroom.
The next day Hermione led them down to Capri; it was so relaxing to know she could hold both their hands and kiss them without worrying about anyone seeing. Sure, the locals and other residents stared- or at times glared- at them, but it was still freeing. They sat down at a little cafe; they shared gelato before heading down to Marina Piccola. They put their best sunscreen charm on Draco before Hermione added on the strongest sunscreen she could find.
Hermione knew the charm would hold and that adding sunscreen was redundant, but she just wanted an excuse to touch her boyfriend. Theo and Hermione also applied their sun charm while still leaving it weak enough that they could tan, something Draco’s skin was incapable of.
They set up an umbrella, and Hermione took her book out and laid on her towel. “Hermione don’t tell me you plan to read right now,” Theo whined.
“Come swim with us Mon âme,” Draco and Theo were both now giving her their best puppy dog eyes, “Maybe later, but I’ve been dying to finish this,” Draco and Theo both gave up, which raised Hermione’s suspicion, neither one of her bonded gave up without a fight. “What are you two up to?” She asked an eyebrow raised in question.
“Draco can you believe she doesn’t trust us?” Theo said, “Our own soulmate” If it wasn’t for his teasing voice and relaxed stance, Hermione might have thought he was hurt.
“I know it’s almost as if she thinks we are up to something nefarious,” Draco moaned. “I’m wounded, Granger, wounded,” He said handing over his heart as he swooned.
“Dramatic is more like it,” She muttered just loud enough for them to hear,
“Oi, can you believe she called us dramatic!” Draco said offended as he looked at Theo for backup, only to find Theo howling with laughter.
“Oh, I can believe it! You are a drama queen of the highest degree.”
“Hey! I thought you were on my side!” Draco was looking between his two soulmates for someone to defend him. “Hermione, are you going to let Theo speak to me like that?”
“Oh absolutely! Remember when he used to say ‘Wait till my father hears about this!’” Hermione and Theo were both peeling with laughter.
“The Malfoys are some of the most dramatic people known to man. I remember one time they ran out of ice cream at his fifth birthday party, and from the way he reacted you would have thought that they had told him he was never going to have another birthday again.”
Theo and Hermione continued to talk about Draco’s “dramatics” while he pouted on his towel. Hermione would have felt bad if he was upset, but she knew the difference between when he was actually upset and when he was just being his pompous self.
Hermione noticed as Draco grabbed something from the bag of beach stuff Hermione had brought with her but didn’t look to see what he grabbed before she went back to watching Theo act out one of Draco’s tantrums. The next thing she knew water was hitting her, knocking her sunhat and sunglasses off, and soaking the book sitting open on her lap. Theo looked amused for a brief moment before Draco turned the water gun on him. This time it was Draco’s turn to laugh.
“DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY!” Draco turned to look at Hermione, only to see fury in her eyes, as her hair began to float around her head, making her look like the angel of death. “You ruined my book!”
“Bloody hell,” Was all he said before he was off running for the water with an irate Hermione giving chase. Theo who was smart enough to stay quiet watched from the shore, as Draco attempted to swim for it, only for Hermione to quickly catch up to him. It was entertaining to watch five-foot-three Hermione pull a six-foot-four Draco to the shore by his ear, and many of the other beach dwellers thought the same since they were watching with the same fascination that Theo had when he watched the telly.
Theo sighed and decided it was time to save his boyfriend, he grabbed the other water gun and rushed towards the pair. Theo’s interference led to what they would later refer to as ‘The Great Water Fight’.
The trio spent the rest of the day splashing each other with water, building sand castles the muggle way, unsuccessfully.
Then Hermione took them to a secluded spot on the beach, saying she wanted to show them something. They grabbed their things and Hermione said she was going to teach them how to cast a Patronus charm. It took a few hours but they eventually all managed to cast one and they were all thrilled at what it turned out to be, except for Draco who exclaimed, “Shite!” When a hippogriff came out of his wand.
They couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of the situation, since the hippogriff was known for being proud, commanding respect, being fierce and violent, but also highly protective of those who belonged to them.
Hermione was a bit confused since weeks earlier her Patronus had been an otter, yet it had changed to a female hippogriff today. Though she couldn’t have cared less, since it meant that she matched her soulmates.
“I believe that this is what is called irony,” Theo said still snickering as Draco groaned. He wasn’t truly upset but Hermione knew that he still carried a lot of weight over Buckbeak. Hermione had told him that Buckbeak was still alive and doing fine, but he still felt awful that had she not been there, he would have died.
They stayed on the beach and watched as the sun set, before heading back. The streets were dimly lit and the closer they got to the villa the fewer street lamps they found lighting their path. As they came around a corner, they were met with two men standing in front of them blocking the path.
“Oh, and what do we have here?” One of the men stepped forward.
“Let’s go back guys,” Hermione said, she wasn’t scared of these two muggle men, but they would cause trouble that the three of them didn’t need. They turned around and began to walk back down the path at a run, but before they could get very far, Hermione felt a hand grab her. She cried out as it squeezed her neck and pulled her back to the two muggles.
Draco and Theo had stopped turned back and were trying to grab her. Hermione knew they didn’t want to fight these two men, since they weren’t worth it but when she cried out, it was like a switch was flipped.
Hermione elbowed the man and smashed her foot into his in an attempt to get away long enough to grab her wand but before she could the other man grabbed her wrist, “Now, that wasn’t very nice.”
“Let. Her. Go!” Draco had stepped forward wand drawn.
“Aww look the bitch has bodyguards” Both men laughed, as they pulled out their wands, “No I don’t think I will. Besides what are you going to do with a stick? Tickle me?”.
Before the men could move a muscle, Theo had immobilized them. Draco rushed over to Hermione, “Are you okay, love?”
“I’m fine, what are we going to do with them?” Hermione knew they couldn’t release them without at least modifying their memories and turning them over to the police.
“We are going to take them with us,” Theo said, voice detached, he sounded so cold that Hermione couldn’t help but shiver. This wasn’t her teasing, fun-loving boyfriend. No, this was something much darker.
“Draco carry Hermione.” Hermione opened her mouth, but before she could say anything Theo cut her off, “Don’t argue,”.
“I’m going to cast a disillusionment charm on us and float these two back to the villa.” Draco just nodded and picked Hermione up. As much as she hated to admit it, she didn’t mind being carried by Draco. Not because she couldn’t walk, but because being wrapped in his arms made her feel safe and comforted. However, she hated how she felt like she had been a damsel in distress.
They made their way into the villa and Draco set her down on the couch before heading off to help Theo. Draco grabbed two chairs and helped Theo tie them up, Hermione watched in disbelief. They moved with such precision that Hermione knew that they had done this many times, and it was jarring to think that her soulmates could do this without a word.
“Hermione since they hurt you I’ll give you a choice you can help Draco and me, or we can help you shower and go to bed.” Theo was in charge right now since Draco hadn’t muttered a word.
Hermione thought about it for a minute, “Are you sure we can’t just modify their memories and hand them in to the police?”
“Hermione,” Theo never used her full name, so for him to have done it twice spoke volumes about where his head was at. “You know I’m extremely skilled in legilimency?” She nodded, “Then believe me when I say, that one look into their minds told me everything I needed to know, and how much worse tonight could have gone.” Theo closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “The things they were planning to do to you-” His eyes opened and she could see the loathing and fury he was feeling, “We could have- we could have lost y-you.” For a brief moment, fear appeared on his face, “So, to answer your question, no, letting them go isn’t an option.”
Hermione felt sick at what Theo had implied, “So I’ll ask you again Hermione are you in or out?” Hermione looked towards Draco who was levitating the chairs and putting plastic down underneath.
She looked at the muggles tied to the chair. This was her chance to prove she wasn’t some weak person in need of saving, “I-I’m in.”
That night Hermione’s innocence died, along with her inherent sense of black-and-white justice. She should have felt sad and scared but instead, it felt freeing, like the chains that had been holding her down, had loosened.
Hermione also got to witness a whole new side of her boyfriends. They cast soundproofing charms all over the house, and by the time the sun came up they were all covered in such much blood they could fill a bathtub which was exactly what they did.
It was a strange sensation for her, she remembered so much in vivid detail, yet Theo and Draco taking her hand and gently leading her into the bathroom was a blur. It didn’t feel real what had happened, she was certain it was just a bad dream.
Yet as Draco helped undress her, and lead her to the tub where Theo already sat, she began to come to terms with the fact that they had done unspeakable things to those men, and what was worse was part of her had liked it.
After that things were somewhat of a blur, she knew she had begun to cry, while Draco had whispered things to her, in an attempt to reassure her. Meanwhile, Theo had begun washing her hair, taking great care to be as gentle and soothing as possible.
By the time they were done the bath water, looked more like a dirty brownish red. She felt them both grab one of her hands as they led her to the bedroom and then just held her until she fell asleep.
When she woke up sometime later, she had made her way to the kitchen where Theo and Draco were making food. Neither mentioned what had happened the night before, and Hermione didn’t ask, she had assumed that at some point they had disposed of the evidence, but was content at not knowing.
That night had brought them together in a way she hadn’t thought possible. They had already been bonded, but to see just how brutal they- she- could be, they had all gotten a glimpse of the darkest parts of each other, and rather than scare her, it excited her.
The rest of the trip was fairly normal, they explored some more, they cuddled, and spent as much time together as possible.
Unfortunately, all too soon it came to an end and before they knew it, the last day of their vacation had arrived. Their bags were packed and they were about to step into the Floo which would take her to France to meet her parents, and Draco and Theo to Germany to meet up with a few of their other Slytherin friends.
She gave Draco and Theo one final look before she stepped into the fireplace and was gone.
~000~000~000~000~
Hermione hadn’t realized how much that night in Capri had changed her until she was back at Hogwarts. Hogwarts itself was just as hectic as when she had left but now it felt like she was being suffocated like somehow the vast castle had been transfigured into a snow globe.
She was also having trouble settling back into Gryffindor. Gryffindors were a loud rambunctious lot, and while it was no secret she found it irritating, now it was intolerable.
She was quick to anger and had snapped at the slightest thing, making her responsible for more than one student ending up in tears. Of course, none of her friends had noticed this change or the growing bags under her eyes, from the nightmares that visited her anytime she closed her eyes.
All she wanted was for everything to go back to normal, to before that night.
She didn’t regret what she had done to those men, not in the slightest, and it made her sick. The guilt she felt was eating her alive, how could she have tortured and murdered two people and not feel guilty? It went against her very morals, yet she hadn’t hesitated.
She felt no remorse.
Was this what becoming a monster felt like?