AUTHOR'S NOTES:

This was my 2nd of 2 entries to the 2016 Dramione-Remix Fic Fest - Round 7 (2016) (dramione-remix . livejournal . com) entry. The fest is over and reveals are out, so now I can post this for you here. This fanfic is finished. It is multi-chaptered.

My prompt for the fest was: Wrath & Elizabeth "Beth" Randall (the Black Dagger Brotherhood series)

Other requirements: Fic must be under 25,000 words

Thank you to my amazing betas, "gjeangirl" and "Wronskiiifeint", for helping me brainstorm during difficult moments and checking my SPaG. Any errors are mine.

Thank you to the fantabulous Mods, "withdrawnred" and "unseenlibrarian" for all their hard work in bringing us another fun-filled remix!

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: Pre-Hogwarts & Hogwarts era (head-canon up to end of HBP, then A/U), Post-Hogwarts (A/U)

MAIN CHARACTERS FEATURED (alphabetical order, last name): Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy

SECONDARY CHARACTERS FEATURES (alphabetical order, last name): Mr. Granger, Viktor Krum, Neville Longbottom, Remus Lupin, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Alastor Moody, Pansy Parkinson, Harry Potter, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Severus Snape, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley + original characters

SUMMARY: Draco Malfoy is magically bound to help Hermione Granger through her Transition, a dangerous time in a witch's or wizard's life when they evolve into adulthood. That childhood vow follows them through their life together, from their first meeting on the Hogwarts Express through a war that threatens to tear them apart...

RATING: NC-17 (MA)

WARNINGS: Explicit profanity, explicit & implied Het sex, sex pollen fic (consensual, though)

ADDITIONAL NOTES: This is NOT a vampire tale, despite the choice of story to remix (the Black Dagger Brotherhood is an urban paranormal romance story about a race of vampires). This is a wizarding tale featuring the HP universe. I've merely borrowed elements from the B.D.B. universe and made up some wizarding lore surrounding the idea of the Transition. I also took several B.D.B. proprietary terms & re-worked them for this fic (see end notes below).

The fic is head canon (events around novel canon), and is compliant up to the end of "Half-Blood Prince". After that, it's an extended war A/U scenario (not at all DH compliant), with OrderMember!Draco.

The end of some chapters will contain unique "Black Dagger Brotherhood" terminology that I borrowed for this fic. I have explained those terms to you there in the end notes.

PYROCANT

By: RZZMG

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Autumn, 1987

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"Lucius, please. I'm asking for your help."

Lucius Malfoy glanced over at the man who had once been his best friend, the boon companion of his heart during their Hogwarts school days, and felt a painful hitch in his chest as the horrible truth finally hit home: His fourth cousin, Richard Granger Burke, son of pure-bloods Herbert and Belvina Black-Burke, Princeps of the House of Burke, whose line extended back to the days of the Plantagenet, was dying.

The blood wards Richard had created around his heart to suppress his magical talent and make him appear to be no more than just another mundane, to keep him and his filthy Muggle lover safe from the Dark Lord's notice all those years ago, had worked entirely too well. The wards had not just blanketed the man's magic, but devoured it entirely, turning him into a Squib.

With the loss of his magic years earlier, so too had Richard's physical health been diminished, for in a Transitioned male, one's magical core and one's body were intricately linked. He'd become susceptible to common Muggle ailments as a result. One such illness, a rather nasty and deadly sickness known as 'leukemia' now held sway over his former friend and was slowly draining his life.

With Richard's eventual death, his family would officially become extinct, for the man's younger brother and sister had both been killed in the war fighting for the noble cause of pure-blood primacy, and Richard had no proper heir to inherit his title.

The loss of a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight had Lucius reeling, for it meant their circle's political power would wane a bit more.

"Will you aid me this one last time, my old friend?" Richard urged, drawing Lucius back into the conversation.

He sighed, unsure as to why he'd even agreed to this meeting from the start. "And why would I do that, Grange?" he asked, referring to Richard by the nickname he'd had all through their childhood. He fiddled with his Malfoy family signet ring on his right hand, reminding Richard of all he'd left behind eleven years before when he'd turned blood-traitor and Muggle-lover. "You left us, if memory serves. You turned your back on your heritage."

"Which is something I can no longer do, it seems," Richard said, sounding resigned to his fate. "Hermione is… The magic is in her blood, Luc. She accidentally turned the cat bright pink yesterday, and today she levitated a book she wanted from the shelf." He leaned forward in his seat. "She's powerful, a shining star of this generation, even for a–"

"Muggle-born," Lucius firmly reminded him, careful to use the politically correct term in the post-war atmosphere. One never knew when Aurors might be listening through walls, after all. "You were a Squib when the child was conceived, yes? And her mother is…" He gave his former friend a humourless smile. "Well, we both know what she is, don't we?"

An angry glint came into Richard's eye, but he was careful to curb his tongue, too. "Yes, she's an intelligent, beautiful, kind, and compassionate woman. I'm blessed to have her love."

"Then I'm sure her daughter, who you've said inherited your wife's looks and temperament, will not lack for a proper Transition partner once the time comes," Lucius politely pointed out. "Find a nice half-blood to settle upon her when she's of age."

"Please, Luc, don't punish her for my sins," Richard appealed. "You know that the odds of surviving Transition are iffy even for those born to fully-magical parents, but for those born to Squibs and Muggles…" He shook his head. "Her magical strength is no guarantee that she will survive the change without a pure-blood's help."

Lucius gave him a triumphant smirk. "Ah, so now you admit that blood status actually matters?" Reveling more than a little in the moment, he leaned forward in his chair and hissed under his breath, "It's too bad you hadn't considered that before having sullied your family's great heritage with a lowborn, hmm?"

At such insult, Richard sat up straight in his seat, and despite his obvious illness, Lucius was reminded keenly of the younger man he'd once been. Grange had always been as large and as lionhearted as his namesake, more swaggering Gryffindor than the house he'd really been sorted. His ambitious nature and cunning was why he'd made such a formidable Slytherin, however. It seemed that part of him hadn't completely faded away, despite having married filth.

"As it is clear to me that you refuse to help my daughter freely, you leave me with no choice, my old friend. For Hermione's sake, I think I must insist upon your aid," Richard stated, and then raising his voice, he pronounced, "Let it be heard by the heavens and the stars, and by those that dwell Beyond and down Below, that I, Richard Granger Burke, do here and now call in the rhythe owed to me by Lucius Abraxas Malfoy."

Lucius felt the ancient magic of the life debt he owed to Grange take hold of his magical aura as assuredly as an Unbreakable Vow might. It was as tight as a hangman's noose about his neck, and just as unshakable. He bared his teeth, and gripped his wand in his hand, prepared to do whatever it took to escape the hold on him.

"How dare you! You will not make my son into your daughter's pyrocant! I forbid it, you foul, Muggle-loving‒!"

Just then, Draco wandered into the library, chasing a paper bird his Nanny had obviously enchanted to fly. Lucius bit back on the string of curses he'd almost let loose, not wanting his impressionable son repeating such things during this, a still politically-volatile time. The war had ended only six years before, and people were not yet ready to forget a Malfoy's involvement.

"Ah, excellent," Richard commented, giving Lucius' child a sly smile. "Just the boy I wanted to see!"

Lucius snarled, furious. "Don't you involve my son in this preposterous scheme, blood traitor!"

"Silence, and be still," Richard said, throwing him a sharp eye.

Immediately, the magic of the rhythe took hold, keeping Lucius in place and quiet until such a time as the life debt was spelled out to completion.

So it was from his seat by the fire that Lucius warily watched his son approach his former school chum, and fumed at his helplessness. He'd been a fool for having misjudged Richard, considering the man harmless due to his Squib status. He'd forgotten that Grange had once had a reputation for not just being brash, but also for behaving rather ruthlessly on occasion. Now it seemed that complacency was about to place a burden upon Draco's small shoulders, one that the boy would later come to resent.

Richard turned his whole attention on Draco then, giving the boy the same charming smile he'd used back when he'd been in school and looking to gain an advantage over someone. He leaned forward and extended his hand for Draco to come over and shake.

"Hello, Draco. I'm Richard Granger Burke, an old friend of your father's."

Draco cautiously approached their guest, glancing at his father as he did so. Lucius tried to warn him off, but his face and body, along with his voice, were frozen in place and did not obey his commands.

Hesitantly, Draco took Richard's hand and shook it, his grey eyes blown wide with curiosity. "Good afternoon, sir."

Richard beamed in pleasure. "What nice manners you have, lad! Your parents have taught you well, it seems." He threw Lucius a sly smirk.

If Lucius could have Crucio'd the man on the spot, he would have.

Leaning closer to Draco, Richard stared the boy in the eye when he asked him, "Tell me, son, have you ever played at being the white knight who rescued a princess in distress?"

Reluctantly, Draco nodded.

Lucius' former friend smiled, and it was a cunning fox-like grin, all shiny, white teeth and filled with a Slytherin's manipulation.

"How would you like to do it for real someday?"

TO BE CONTINUED...

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Brief backstory for the "Black Dagger Brotherhood" series: Wrath-broody, dark, insightful, and bigoted King of the Vampire race-is asked by his closest friend, Darius, to help Darius' half-human/half-vampire daughter (a half-blood named Elizabeth "Beth" Randall) through her Transition, a time in a vampire's life when they evolve into full adulthood. Many vampires die during their Transition, and Darius believes Wrath, the last pure-blood vampire on the planet, is the only one strong enough to ensure Beth lives through her Transition. Wrath is vehemently against the idea at first, as he is very anti-human and prefers females as close to pure-blood descent as possible for his blood-feeding needs, but the moment he meets the feisty, intelligent, insatiably curious, brave, and brash Beth, he forgets all about her being half-human and falls into a serious case of lust and love with her. Their emotional, spiritual, and physical bonding is inevitable at that point, despite the fact they seem to be exact opposites (they fight all the time, but their make-up sessions are extremely passionate).

Pyrocant = In the B.D.B. universe, it refers to a critical weakness in an individual. The weakness can be internal, such as an addiction, or external, such as a lover.

Princeps = In the B.D.B. universe, this is the highest level of the Vampire aristocracy (the nobility), second only to members of the First Family (the royalty) or the Scribe Virgin's Chosen (the holy priestesses). Must be born to this title; it may not be conferred. In this fanfic, it means the head of a pure-blood family lineage - the grand patriarch or matriarch.

Rhythe = In the B.D.B. universe, it is a Vampire ritual manner of assuaging honor granted by one who has offended another. If accepted, the offender chooses a weapon and strikes the offender, who presents himself or herself without defenses. In this fanfic, it is a life debt that can be magically called upon and bound to be satisfied by the owner of the debt at any time.

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Please review!

XOXO,

RZZMG