Title: Betrothal: Prologue
Author name: Sanna
Author email: [email protected]
Category: romance
Keywords: Draco/Hermione, romance, Malfoy curse
Spoilers: none
Rating: PG

Summary: What would you do if you found out you were betrothed to your worst enemy? And what if you do if you found out that marrying him/her was the only way to save your family from complete evil? Read and find out how Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger put aside their differences and fell in love.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros.,Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Note: Yes, I am that same sanna from ffn.net, and yes, I'm alive again! For those of you who were bugging me to continue Hidden Behind the Mask, thank you, you made me write again, but unfortunately, I'm really uninspired to continue that story. It's really hard for me to write the scenes coming up, so I temporarily gave up on that. Maybe I'll continue it one of these days, but its definitely on hold at the moment. In the meantime, since I couldn't finish that, I decided to go ahead and start writing a story I really, really wanted to try writing for a while. I hope you like it! D/hr forever! I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Midnight Star, my Beta, to who I am forever grateful. Read her story, San Fairy Ann! It's the best!

Betrothal
by sanna

Malfoy Progenitor Dirus
The Malfoy Family Curse

Malfoy. The man laughed scornfully. They were supposed to be meeting at their secret room beneath the dungeons of the castle they had rebuilt. Where was he now? Off with his muggle-loving friends. He'd show him. No one crossed Tom Marvolo Riddle. No one.

Riddle clenched his fist tightly, opening it and then closing it again, trying to control his anger. Auctor Malfoy hadn't graced the castle with his presence for a whole week now, and Riddle knew he had no reasonable explanation other than avoidance of his partner.

The castle's location was Unplottable on any map of Britain, sitting near the edge of its shores. The cold air surrounding the area seemed to reflect the frigidness of the two wizards' souls.

After graduating from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry together, Malfoy and Riddle had found the remains of this deserted castle and used their magic to rebuild and put safety wards all around it. But of course, they did not forget to put in the deadly traps for those who dared to try and break into the fortress.

Sweeping his cape behind him, Riddle moved away from the window and decided to take matters into his own hands. Malfoy was going to pay dearly. He stood behind his cauldron, mixing the last ingredient he needed to complete the curse. Getting Malfoy's blood had been easy; they had both stored a good amount of blood for potions and curses they were experimenting with. Riddle had merely taken some of his without asking.

After years of reading up on deadly curses and poisons, Riddle could conjure up several spells to kill Muggles and weak wizards in his sleep. But that wasn't good enough. As Malfoy had been his partner for so many years, Riddle needed a much stronger curse to obtain revenge worthy enough. And after days of experimenting, he had decided on the perfect curse for a wizard who was strong in power, but weak in morals.

As the mixture glowed a bright red, the man cursed his former best friend to a lifetime of service and woe. He shall not survive this terror, and neither shall his descendants, Riddle laughed to himself. Malfoys for generations shall serve the Dark Lord known as Voldemort, he thought to himself. Forever.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Muggle-born wizards have every right to be here!" Optime Weasley argued hotly, his eyes blazing similarly to his fiery red hair. Having heard Tom Riddle and Auctor Malfoy approach and begin to bully Joseph Andrews, he leapt to the second-year's side and began to defend him. "They were allowed into Hogwarts because they have a high Magical Quotient, probably even higher than yours." After giving the two boys a glare, he led Joseph away.

Riddle took out his wand from his pocket. "I'll teach you to talk back to me," he seethed.

But before he could curse Weasley, Malfoy grabbed him by the arm. "Don't," he said. "He's a pureblood like us. Our goal is only to eliminate and injure the muggle-borns who are unworthy." By this time, both had conveniently forgotten that Riddle was a half-blood.

Riddle turned his death-glare to his partner. "Purebloods like that are unworthy of the name! They are just as bad as those muggle-borns," he said with utter distaste. He paused for a moment, before looking at his friend in suspicion, "Why are you defending him, anyway?"

Malfoy hesitated for a moment, remembering.

There were two boys playing together in the small field between their houses. They were young, around seven years of age. Financially, both weren't that well off, but at such an age, money and material things weren't worth much to them.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Auctor!" the boy with the red head said with a wave, as he headed home.

"Bye, Optime!" Auctor shouted back, running in the opposite direction. "Let's play together again tomorrow!"

It had been a long time, and both had moved on from the friendship they had once shared. In fact, both boys now had a strong dislike for each other. So, Malfoy could not help but wonder why he didn't want Riddle to hurt his one-time friend. He turned to Riddle, remembering he had asked him a question. He gave a slight shrug. "He's one of us. He may be on their side, but let's get rid of the muggle-borns first."

Riddle stares at him for a long time, trying to read into his thoughts and figure out why Malfoy was defending that Weasley-scum. Suddenly, Riddle felt that he couldn't trust in his partner as much as he used to. Sure it was a small argument now, but later on he just might stab him in the back.

"Fine," he finally, said putting away his wand. Malfoy hesitated, knowing that Riddle was angry. But before he could say a word, Riddle turned his back swiftly, and walked away. Malfoy grimaced, before running to catch up with him.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The boy entered the Hogwarts Express with much apprehension. The forceful glare on his face contained his amazement at the magic of this place. Everything was new to him, and everything intrigued him. A half-born, yet muggle-raised, he had yet to learn more about the world that he had just become part of.

Arriving alone on his first year in this new school, he knew not where to go, but instead relied on common sense, ingenuity and a few others he thought were wizards themselves. He followed them discreetly, keeping enough distance to make others aware that they were not to approach him.

He sat in a compartment alone, not because no one wanted to sit with him. Rather, he preferred solitude rather than annoying company. Many heads popped in through the doorway, looking for a place to sit. The heads popped out quickly after being on the receiving end of the glare that seemed to kill. An evil smile crossed his lips. What chickens, he thought to himself.

One wizard however, walked right in and dumped his trunk on the other side of the compartment. He looked his age, yet his will was much stronger than that of a first year. The first boy glared at him, standing up and crossing his arms to seem intimidating. Surprisingly, the wizard glared right back at him, unwilling to back down.

The two met glare for glare until, finally, two smirks crossed theirs faces. They were matched evenly it seemed. The blonde young wizard who had just entered extended a hand in greeting. "Auctor Malfoy. And you?" he asked, raising his chin slightly in greeting.

"Tom Riddle," the dark-haired boy said, extending his hand, and firmly shaking with the other. This seemed to indicate the respect that flowed between them, something that Tom rarely gave. The handshake was a bit tighter than obligated, but both boys came from difficult backgrounds; they were made from tougher stuff than necessary for their age. The similar smirks remained on the two young wizards' faces, yet both knew they had met someone who might actually understand.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"That was uncalled for, Riddle!" Malfoy shouted. "Those were innocent wizards without a single drop of Muggle blood flowing within them!" They were in their secret room within their castle. Malfoy was so mad that he was tossing tables and chairs, spilling potions of all kinds on the cement ground. "We've debated over this before, you had no right-"

"I had every right!" Riddle roared, glaring at his partner-in-crime. "They were Muggle-lovers… just as dirty as their friends. They don't deserve to be called wizards! Might as well take them down in the process!"

Riddle then began to compose himself, turning upright a chair that had formerly lain on the floor. He sat down calmly. "As my partner, Malfoy, you shall respect my decisions and continue helping me, as I do to you. Now, are you in or are you out? Don't tell me you've let your love for Muggle-Lovers get in the way of your goal of becoming the richest wizard alive."

Malfoy looked him straight in the eye as he did when things between them got tense. His voice had considerably softened, but the resentment was still there. "I can't continue to work with you while we have such different views. Neither of us will back down, so going our separate ways is the only possible choice. As for my fortune, I'm already halfway there. See you around, Riddle," and he turned and left.

The room was filled with silence for many moments. "Never turn your back on me, Malfoy. You should have known better. You'll pay for that. And you'll regret this day for as long as you shall live," Riddle hissed.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Congratulations, Mr. Riddle," Armando Dippet said, shaking the boy's hand after awarding him with his trophy. He flashed him a worried smile. "You must promise never to tell anyone else about Rubeus' involvement."

Tom Riddle gave him his winning smile. "Of course not, Professor. I wouldn't dream of it." He in turn, faced the rest of the Great Hall where everyone was watching him receive his award, and smiled widely, concealing his sarcastic thoughts.

As he returned to his seat in the Slytherin table, Riddle found Malfoy waiting for him. He greeted him with the cool and aloof non-smile that he had given him the past few weeks while they hadn't been speaking to each other. Malfoy didn't say anything, and Riddle didn't care that much, why should he be the one to apologize?

"Tom," Malfoy said, after much hesitation. "Congratulations, I guess."

"Thanks, Auctor," Riddle replied, with a shrug of indifference.

There was a pregnant pause. "Look, Riddle," Malfoy began to say. "I just wanted to apo— say that— well, you know…," he drifted off, unable to beg pardon from his sort-of friend. "I know we have our different views, and although I still think your take on this is too extreme, I just want you to know, that— I guess, I missed your company."

Riddle grinned inwardly. It was strange seeing Malfoy stutter out his apology. Although Riddle would die before apologize, he had to admit, researching Slytherin and his Chamber of Secrets had been quite lonely. "I accept your, apology," Riddle said, with Malfoy cringing at the last word.

They sat down across from each other in the Slytherin table and began to catch up on the past weeks they had missed on each other's lives. "So what was that award for?" Malfoy asked, pointing to the award that the Headmaster had just given Riddle.

After much thought, Riddle had decided not to inform Malfoy about all he had discovered about Slytherin and the Chamber. While he had resolved to put away that project for a few years, now was not the time to tell his partner. "It's just like Professor Dippet said, for bravery and honesty," Riddle said with an overly innocent face.

Malfoy glanced up from his dinner to look at his partner suspiciously. "Yeah… sure…." But he dropped the topic. It was obvious Riddle didn't want to talk about it, and was most likely going to be difficult if not impossible to get out of him. He could find out later on what Riddle had been up to recently. Things always had a way of coming out.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"What kind of subject is Defense Against the Dark Arts anyway?" Riddle asked with a loud sigh, pushing his book away. The Librarian who sat five tables away from them at her own desk shushed him loudly.

Malfoy tilted his head knowingly, indicating that this wasn't the first time this topic had been brought up. "If only I had been able to afford a better school, like Durmstrang perhaps, then I would have gotten a better education than this! The Dark Arts are meant to be learned, not to be defended against."

"Rotten school," Riddle spat in disdain. "A real school would show us how to use the powers of the Dark Arts. And what decent magical school accepts dirty muggle-borns like these?" He shut his book loudly. "If I were in charge, all muggles would be killed. Dirty, good-for-nothing…" he continued mumbling, as the two continued to rant.

Having been partners or friends, or whatever they called it, for a while, Malfoy and Riddle had realized that they had both had come from desolation and resentment. Riddle had come from a muggle environment, which he had hated, while Malfoy had been raised pure but poor, and had come to despise his origins.

The two spent most of their time in the Library, but not studying and keeping high grades as most of the professors and fellow students thought. Rather, they were reading extra books concerning the Dark Arts and how to 'defend' themselves, hoping to fulfill their goal of removing themselves from 'the filth' of their beginnings.

"When I'm the Lord of the Dark," Malfoy started bragging, as it was routine to them, "I shall be the richest wizard of them all! No one shall look down on me, lest they want to be killed." An evil grin formed upon his lips.

And so Riddle continued. "When I will be the Dark Lord…."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Auctor Malfoy suddenly doubles over in pain. He howls in agony as his whole body glows. Everything around him blurs, until he realizes he has been transported to Tom Riddle's lair. "You!" he manages to hiss softly, wincing in pain. "I should have known you'd be behind this."

Riddle chuckles evilly. "You should have known better than to turn your back on me, Malfoy. And now, you, and your pitiful descendants shall spend the rest of your lives in service to me, Lord Voldemort." A loud and evil laugh fills the room, so loud that it can be heard for miles away. Nearby, birds feel the evil at work and take flight. Evil has captured a prisoner, and has begun spreading its poison.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Friend turned traitor,
Must forever serve,
The Lord now known as Voldemort.

Heir after heir,
Malfoys shall obey,
Until the day,
The Queen of the Light,
Shall bow down,
And love the dragon of Malfoy.

Only then,
Shall the Dark Lord be defenseless
And the Heirs of the Founding Four
Shall bring down the Master of the Dark.

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