AUTHOR'S NOTES:

This was going to be my 2014 Samhain Smut Fest (sanmhain-smut . livejournal . com) entry. However, I didn't get the piece into the Mod until after the fest had begun posting, and so missed my chance. From what I can tell, the fest is not running anymore (they didn't run in 2015), so I'm going to post this up here.

It's a multi-chaptered, completed fic.

My prompt for the fest was: #H1. - Droit du seigneur (a.k.a. jus primae noctis) = the right of a Mediaeval lord to bed his vassal's brides on their wedding night, claiming their virginity for his own. Bill Weasley enacts this ancient custom after the war, to ensure solid breeding of each of the women destined to be Weasley wives (Audrey, Angelina, Hermione). He assures this happens on Samhain, which is the day every Weasley has historically married. You can throw in some sort of serious fertility ritual into it if you wanted to excuse Bill for being a horny, greedy bastard. Or not. Your choice. Would love it if you were to show an encounter with each wife separately, but you can pick just one wife to focus on if you want.

Thank you to my lovely beta, G! You are Hecate-sent, m'lady! :)

DISCLAIMER:"Harry Potter" is the property of J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. This fanfiction was written entirely for fun, not for profit, and no copyright infringement is intended.

TIMELINE: Alternate universe–takes place in Muggle Medieval England (see below)

CHARACTERS FEATURED: Bill x Hermione (main); others: Bill x Angelina (implied), Ron & Hermione, Fred & Angelina

SUMMARY: Hermione Granger is to marry Ronald Weasley, her childhood love, but his eldest brother, William, is now Baron of their family and lands, and he has invoked his ancient right to bed the bride and to breed her first.

RATING: NC-17

WARNINGS: Explicit het sex (non-con & dub-con, including virginity loss), breeding/pregnancy/child birth, main character death, secondary character death, manipulation & mind games, loss of innocence, use of aphrodisiac and sleeping drug to control someone, infant death (off-screen), mention of illness, dismemberment (off-screen), cannibalism (implied), dark magic use, forced transfiguration into animal form, characters OOC for the sake of the plot. This is a VERY DARK fic that takes place in an Alternate Universe! Please take the warnings seriously.

CHIOMARA'S REVENGE

By: RZZMG

This is a very dark Alternate Universe story. Please read the warnings above before going further. If it's not your cup o'tea, I have plenty of other lighthearted fics, as well as favourite story recommendations on my profile page that you might find more interesting to read.

This first "chapter" is really just a series of notes containing historical information & translation information for the story. The actual tale begins in the second chapter.

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Timeline:

The tale takes place over the course of a single year in Medieval Muggle England, from 1198-1199 C.E. For reference, Hermione and Ron are both 19 years old (rather old for a first marriage during this time period, in reality), and Bill is 28. Bill's attack by wolves took place in this fic in 1191 C.E.

Notes about the world:

The characters aren't aware of magic in this fic, but it exists and waits to be unleashed. It's more superstition to them...until Hermione's magic wakes up. I've twisted things a bit to make the Weasleys powerful land owners during this time, too.

The Song in this fic:

If you want to hear the song Ginny & Molly sing during the ceremony, it is called "Y Galwd (The Calling)" and is sung by Ceredwen (www . youtube watch?v=XVnJg8nHjrU). The English translation is:

"The dawn is breaking, the tension mounting. My fate is waiting. I'm ready for the journey. The elders are calling from morning till night, awaiting the sacrifice to give them freedom. Early in the morning voices are calling. The time has come and I must go. Many years have I spent preparing for this moment. I offer my body for the Druids."

Historical & Cultural Notes:

Speech patterns: People of the 11th-13th centuries spoke what we term 'Middle English', which is as foreign to read to modern English speakers as Latin. However, I have opted to have everyone speak in a bastardization form of Early Modern/Modern English so my story doesn't require much translation work to be read. Hope that doesn't offend any lovers of history!

Religious affiliations: Devon's religious affiliation was the Roman Catholic Church and its Ordinary (its officer of the Church, entrusted to oversee the spiritual laws of the religion within its community boundaries) was the Bishop of Exeter.

Social Customs-Time Keeping: I have opted for a mix of cultural time-keeping methods in this fic, combining Latin and Welsh ideas. Nine days = A Welsh counting of a week. In their calendar, 9 days = a week. Three sets of 9 days = 3 weeks. To express a 30-day period (a month in the Julian calendar), they would say, 'three of nine-days and three" or "nine-days, three times more and three".

Social Customs-Weddings: There typically wasn't a wedding ceremony between partners; usually, it was a father & the intended groom shaking hands and/or signing paperwork & exchanging a dowry (only higher nobility/royalty made a to-do about marrying houses, usually to quell succession issues). However, I wanted a wedding for this fic, so I invented the marriage ceremony here using a combo of Celtic-Roman-Saxon-Norman traditions. I also know women didn't usually wear white dresses during this time period, either. However, I found several costume recreationist groups online whose clothes are amazing (even if they are part-period, part-fantasy) and I couldn't resist putting our characters in those clothes, just for fun. See Hermione's outfit here (www . polkadotpanther costuming/pre-12th-c/12th-c-white-court-bliaut). See Ron's outfit here (armstreet catalogue/full/medieval-long-mens-tunic-with-overcoat-5 . jpg). See Bill's outfit here (armstreet store/medieval-clothing/eastern-europe-linen-overcoat-costume).

Social Customs-Fostering & Children: Wealthy women or women of the peerage rarely, if ever, breastfed their own children (there were a few notable exceptions, but in general, this was not done). Wet nurses, called waiting-women, were usually brought in from trusted sources to feed children instead. These women were from typically poorer families who were vetted for various superstitious, religious, and/or ethnocentric criteria. Because of the invention of wet-nurses, wealthy/titled mothers rarely interacted with their children until they were out of the nursery (around age 4 or 5).

It is an old wives' tale that breast milk from a new mother may heal a barren woman's womb. This superstition was incredibly popular in some of the poorer districts, especially after major disease epidemics passed through a region, and so many priests (who were seen as authority figures in Mediaeval Britain) would often convince mothers who gave successful birth and who were healthy enough to collect their breast milk at the end of every day and give it to the priests in ritual bowls. The priests would then sanctify the donated milk with prayers and pass it on to all the women of a village, hoping to encourage all their wombs into being fruitful.

Swaddling a child and 'hanging them a-peg' was an extremely common and ancient practise for the handling of babies. There are records of it dating all the way back to ancient Egypt and in some cultures, it continues today. Although it is said this practise helped ease unexplained crib death and colic in young, and was beneficial to helping babies fall asleep faster and easier, it had several downsides to it, too. For instance, lazy wet nurses would leave children hanging for hours in their own feces and urine, which encouraged illness. Also, hip dysplasia was common in swaddled and pegged babies, as being tied down discouraged a child's muscle and motor development. There was also the possibility of a squirming child somehow falling off its peg or of a peg splintering. Falling from such a height could kill an infant or cause permanent physical damage. The great debate about swaddling continues today.

References to literary & real historical figures in the fic:

Boadicea = Also called Boudicca. Queen of the Iceni (died in 61 C.E.).

Cartimandua = Queen of the Brigantes (43-69 C.E.).

Chiomara = A Galatian noblewoman in 189 B.C.E. who was raped by a Roman centurion. For violating her, she cut off the soldier's head and presented it to her husband afterwards stating, "Only one man who has lain with me shall remain alive."

Eleanor = Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of England (1154-1189 C.E.). Wife of Henry II. Not to be confused with Eleanora Granger, who is Hermione's mother in this fic.

Hecate = Mythological Greek Titan (a primordial/chthonic deity), known as the goddess of magic, witchcraft, and the moon. Dogs were closely associated with Hecate in the Classical world. In many works of art and literature, she is shown accompanied by a dog or in dog-like form. It was written that her approach "was heralded by the howling of a dog." In later statues featuring Hecate, she is shown as a TRIPLE ASPECT – a warrior, a witch/seductress, and a mother. *Note: Wolves are cousins of dogs, and werewolves change under the light of full moons.

Hera = Mythological Greek goddess, wife of Zeus, and Queen of the Olympians. Her symbols are the diadem (female royalty), the sceptre (ruling power), and the pomegranate (fertility). Her chief function was to govern the affairs of women and marriage (often she is prayed to for protection against and for revenge upon abusive/cheating husbands). She is known to be a very aloof, conservative, petty, and vain goddess in general. She's less a motherly figure, and more a stern matronly figure, who you wouldn't want to thwart.

John Lackland = King John I's nickname.

Lycaon = In Greek mythology, Lycaon was a king of Arcadia. His story is told in the text of the fic. Lycanthopy, the disease of shape-shifting into a dog or wolf form, is attributed to him.

· Mathilda = Mathilda of Flanders or Maud, Queen of England (rules 1068-1083 C.E.). Wife of William the Bastard (a.k.a. William the Conqueror).

Pasithea = Greek goddess of rest and relaxation, wife of Hypnos.

Rhea = Mythological Greek Titan (a primordial/chthonic deity), known as the mother of the Olympians Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hades, Hestia, and Hera. In myth, she is known as the ultimate mother-protector, saving Zeus from his fate of being swallowed by his jealous father, Cronus, and hiding the young god away to raise him in secret so that one day he could kill her husband and free her children from Cronus' gut. She is often shown as riding lions or chariots drawn by lions (ironic, given Hermione's House mascot).

Zeus = Mythological Greek god, husband of Hera, and King of the Olympians. His symbol is the lightning bolt (which is his primary weapon of choice, being the God of Thunder). He is known for being a lustful, fickle, cunning, provoking, and a wrathful god with little mercy in general. He is less a fatherly figure and more a twilight-aged playboy with a nasty temper.

Translations & Explanations of slang terms:

Energia = Greek for 'energy'. A concept that first appears in writing in the 4th century B.C.E. by the Greek philosopher, Aristotle. Was believed during that time to also include magical properties, as well as be responsible for things such as happiness and pleasure.

E'er = ever

E'ermore = evermore

Leofman = Mediaeval slang for "sweetheart" (only used for a lover, though, not as a general endearment)

'Twould = it would

'Twill = it will

Standing-maid = Mediaeval slang for a woman who stands at the side of the bride as her witness.

Witching hour = midnight

Imperium Romanorum = Latin for Roman Imperial Empire, a.k.a. the Eastern Roman Empire (known as the "Byzantine Empire" by the mid-1500's)

A winter mistress = Mediaeval slang for to a woman who warms a man's bed during the colder months of the year, but when spring comes around, he kicks her to the kerb. She is a woman hoping to better her circumstances for a little while by taking what she can get from a single patron while the getting's good. They are different from 'public girls', who worked in a brothel or walked the streets, as winter mistresses do not sell themselves for coin (although they would also never turn down the gift of a new dress or a pretty piece of jewellery from their patron). They are a lot like today's 'candy girls' who get kept by a 'sugar daddy'. Also called a 'convenience woman'.

Doves = Mediaeval slang for 'childhood sweethearts'.

Ken = knowledge/understanding/to know

Culver = Mediaeval slang for 'dove' (an affection term for a girl).

Prithee = Mediaeval for "please"

Non = French for 'no'

Ben ona değebilir? = Turkish for "may I touch it?"

Hadd érintse meg? = Hungarian for "may I touch it?"

Tylwythe teg – Welsh for faery/fairy folk, akin to the Irish concept of Aes Sidhe.

Stew = A Mediaeval English term for a brothel. Most villages had one. Although prostitution was not frowned upon by the Church during the 11th-13th centuries (the opposite, in fact – prostitutes were seen as necessary evils to keep men from masturbation and homosexuality or from engaging in sex positions or deviant sex acts outside the proscribed allowed ones with a wife, all of which were considered sins of the time). Here's a good general reference page on the subject.

Cratch-cradle = Cat's-cradle, a string game.