Disclaimer: I do not, and never will own or profit from J.K. Rowling's writings! This is purely for entertainment purposes. Rated M for later chapters. Story is set in the trio's 6th year.
Chapter 1
Hermione Granger raced down the corridor, ignoring the pit of anxiety that was her stomach. Yet another late night of tossing and turning had led to her getting up late, missing breakfast, and had now resulted in her being nearly 15 minutes tardy for her first class of the day. All in all, things seemed to be starting off in the same fashion they had for the last few months.
She swore to herself each day that it wouldn't happen again, that she'd be sure to get up on time, but...she now saw it as a fruitless endeavor and no longer saught to remedy it. Upon reaching the doors to Runes, Hermione paused with her hand hovering just above the handle. A thought streaked through her mind.
Why? Why should she have to sit through Runes, knowing all the assigned material anyway? What was the point of wasting her time here? There were more important things to be done these days, and sitting through a class that she had no interest in was...pointless.
She worried her lip between her teeth for a moment, before shaking her head in decision. Turning away from the double doors, she spared no thought to what anyone would think and headed to the one place she could find solace from the world and its worries...the Library.
Hours later found Hermione hunched over in the Restricted Section of Hogwart's Library, her nose buried in the pages of an old, musty text. With a heavy sigh, she closed the tome and scrunched her eyes shut. No cure there either. None for her ailment, at the very least. Then again, after having raided nearly every shelf in the Restricted Section, she wasn't terribly surprised. A lone tear slid down her cheek as she thought of what was to come that night. She could feel the need building up inside of her, the irrisistable pull of the bond that had been formed in one nightmarish encounter several months ago, at the end of her 6th year.
She had been perusing a questionable book store in Diagon Alley, curious as to what books she could find in the delapidated area. Her curiosity had directed her to the back of the store, to a dimly lit corner in which she could barely see. Just as she had reached up to pull one book in particular down for inspection, the heavy thud of a boot on the hardwood floor startled her.
She looked up, eyes wide as she took in the stoic form of Lucius Malfoy. His perfect lips raised in derision of her very presence, ice blue eyes piercing her to the very core of her being and bringing with it an emotion as strong as a storm...fear. Another thud of his boot brought him closer, driving her back in tandem with his steps until she could retreat no more. He loomed over her, his undoubtedly expensive cloak draped over his broad shoulders and his long mane of silvery blonde hair drifting forward with his movements. "Miss Granger, I believe?" he drawled in aristocratic superiority.
Gathering the last of her supposed Gryphindore courage, she threw her shoulders back and glared up into his gaze. "I'm surprised you remember my name, Mr. Malfoy." Her voice came out stronger than she had thought it would, gifting her with a bit more confidence. At least, until he smirked with a raise of his brow. "Of course I remember you, Miss Granger. How could I forget someone as...memorable, as you?" His tone was one she was not familiar with, not when coming from him. Every time she'd ever seen him, he'd always been so politefully malicious. Here he was, standing before her, almost sounding genuine. Almost. Then again, Malfoys were known for there ability to play falsities. Deciding she'd had enough of whatever game he was playing, Hermione clutched the book she had managed to grab to her chest and attempted to edge out of the corner he had herded her into. "Mr. Malfoy, I wish I could say it has been a pleasure seeing you again, but alas, I cannot lie. If you'll just...scoot a little to the side, I'll take my book and be on my way," she spoke hurriedly, hoping he would just move out of the way.
Her hopes were quickly dashed away when, instead of backing away, he pressed closer to her, so close that she could feel the cool silk of his cloak brushing against her arms and the freshness of his breath upon her face. His long hair fell in a curtain around them as he leaned down, and a soft grip on her chin directed her wide-eyed gaze upwards into his cold, gleaming orbs. His lips parted ever so slightly as his body bridged the small distance between them, robbing her of breath at the feel of his surprisingly firm body. Lucius' other hand drifted slowly from the darkness of his cloak, coming to rest with fingers splayed against the wall beside her right ear. Painfully aware of his dominating aura and the vulnerability of her position, she froze. His voice, tender though it was, sliced through any reservations she had not to run. "My dear little Mudblood, so naive, so...innocent. We haven't even begun and already you're so eager to leave," he hissed the last few words, breaking through her daze and sparking a rush of adrenaline through her.
Shoving with all her might, she managed to push him aside and made a mad dash for the door, about to scream for help when she tripped, her body unable to move. Landing with a solid bump, she growled loudly. Malfoy's wand flashed in her direction, placing what she assumed to be a silencing spell. Panting, afraid, and desperate to escape, she could only pray to the gods that someone will have heard the scuffle, would come to see what the noise was all about. Her prayers, it seemed, went unheard. His now rough hand grasped her about the arm, hauling her stiff body up and into his embrace.
The next thing she felt was the tug and dizzying pull of Apparation, and a whump as they landed. She closed her eyes in an attempt to dispell the queasiness that had settled deep in her belly ever since she had realized just who had followed her into the store. Hermione couldn't escape long, though, for Lucius decided to speed things up a bit by throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her down a brightly lit hallway. The sound of a door opening, the whoosh of cold air against her overheated flesh, the blur of the floor as Lucius sped up his pace were all sensations and details that came to her slowly, as if delayed by a few seconds. None of it really registered in her mind until her body went flying, landing on soft sheets. Lucius sat on the bed beside her, stroking the length of his wand with one finger reverentially. "You are priviledged, Miss Granger. I am granting you a most honorific position on this night, one that most pureblood women can only dream of..." he paused, as if gathering his thoughts, before continuing. "When you leave, you will not be able to say anything of what has transpired without my express permission. You will not be able to slander the Malfoy name with rumors. You will be driven to please me, by any means necessary...do you want to know why, Miss Granger?"
He turned to her, a manic expression to his face. It made the fear in Hermione grow to see Lucius Malfoy, the man who was always so perfect and never seemed to be disturbed by anything that went on around him, so very flustered. Crazed. Her lips parted in a silent whimper, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. He chuckled and placed a hand against her cheek, brushing the tears with his thumb. "Of course you want to know why. Draco has recounted just how inquisitive you can be. The Griffyndor Princess, friend of Harry Potter and the Weasley brat. It's what aroused my curiosity of your person in the first place. When we first met, you were so very bold, unfearing even when facing me. You must be wondering why I've brought you to this place," he gestured around him, though with her vision obscured by strands of her hair and without the ability to move her head, she could only catch fleeting glimpses of the decor around her. Leaning forward, he brought his face close to hers, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear with each word he spoke.
"I. Want. To. Break. You. I want your innocence, to cure you of your..naievete. I want to purge the world of your filthy existance...to protect those pure of blood from your dirty mudblood wiles. I will burden myself with your existance..for the good of the Wizarding Community," he finished, breathing heavily now as he brandished his wand and pointed the tip at her chest.
"You'll know soon enough, Miss Granger, what I mean," he hissed ominously, before whispering four words in Latin. The spell hit her chest, knocking the breath from her lungs in a swirling wave of dark red and streams of silver. It enveloped her in a calming silence for all of two seconds, before a streak converged and shot towards Lucius, twining itself around his right wrist. She coughed and choked as an irritating feeling infiltrated her body, seemingly crawling under her skin and pricking her. She barely had time to notice the dark band that had formed around his wrist when darkness overtook her, bringing with it a brief respite from the nightmare into which she had fallen.
Hermione shuddered at the memory of his assault, of the events that had taken place after she had woken. Certainly, he had robbed her of her innocence. No longer the repressed, naive girl she had once been. As he had promised, he had bound her to him. The bond, which she had been seeking a way out of, left her unable to go for help, to talk to anyone about her situation. It had only worsened since her return to Hogwarts. Often she found herself left wanting, desperate to quench the thirst Lucius had forced her to feel. Only able to whet her desire in his arms, she both dreaded and craved the days he would visit the school. Under the guise of visiting his son, Lucius would somehow find her...always he would find her alone, as if he knew exactly where she was. Tonight would be no different. She had been closed up in the library all day, but her very being knew he was here, somewhere in the castle. Her womb clenched and her breath caught in her throat.
Deciding she'd had enough of studying, she numbly closed the book and whipped out her wand, levitating it to its designated shelf. Gathering her things, she exited as swiftly and as quietly as she had entered. Her nipples tightened and her cheeks flushed as her need grew greater, making her walk faster. Eyes trained on the floor, she was unaware of the figure ahead of her until she walked straight into it. Instinctively she raised her hands, grasping fistfulls of pitch black material to catch herself.
Scents assailed her, sandalwood and pine, definitely masculine. She moaned and pressed herself closer to the man, whose hands had reached up to catch at her shoulders. The ground shook beneath her, and she only held tighter to the man in hopes of stabilizing herself. It wasn't until the deep baritone voice of the man invaded her ears that she realized the ground wasn't shaking; she was.
The hands grasping her shoulders weren't pulling her closer, they were tearing her away. The first thing she noticed when her eyes focused was a large, hooked nose. The dark, furious eyes were the next thing she noticed. Finally, she noticed the fearsome scowel that had darkened Hogwart's most feared professor. Snape. Lips raised in a snarl, he shoved her away from him, throwing her off balance. She managed to catch herself on the wall, breathing heavily. "What on earth is WRONG with you, you foolish girl?!" he hissed, fists clenched at his sides as he stared down his hawkish nose at her.
Hermione balked, all color draining from her face as she struggled to find a way to explain what had happened without infringing upon Lucius' curse. "I-I'm so sorry, Professor! I'm just..not f-feeling too well, and was trying to go back to-"
"I don't care WHY you are runnning about the halls as you were, Miss Granger. Detention, Friday night! 8:30 and do NOT be late or you will suffer severe consequences. Do I make myself clear?"
Hermione fervently nodded, hoping beyond belief that he would leave it at that. Thankfully, he seemed unwilling to help her or deal with any situation which might have befallen her, as he turned immediately and strode down the halls, disappearing through the shadows.
She stood, shaking like a leaf, for what seemed like ages. After taking a few deep breaths, she was able to pull herself back together and make her way to her Head Girl's quarters. She threw the door open and darted inside, book clutched in her clammy hands. The frusteration that had begun to build combined with the nervousness instilled by Professor Snape had set her on edge, almost an emotional overload.
Having forgotten her previous fear of the night, she didn't perform her cursory check of her sitting room and bathroom. At this point, Hermione was just desparate to sleep. These days, it was one of the harder things for her to come by. Her room was dark upon her entry, but the darkness didn't faze her. It helped her hide, made her feel safe. Things were more easily noticed in the light.
She quickly stripped down to her underclothes, not even bothering to put her robes away, before pulling the covers back and collapsing into them. Swaddled in her sheets, her body felt cooler and her mind more relaxed. So relaxed, that she didn't notice the dark shadow approaching her bedside as she quickly slipped into a deep, troubled sleep.
So what did you guys think? This is my first fanfiction, so I'd love some constructive criticism or good feedback! Also, Supplicio Sempiterno stands for "Long-lasting punishment". Just fyi! :)