A/n: A longer chapter this time for part two. Part three will be a bit lengthier than chapter one as well. We are two-thirds of the way done. There is a beta for this story now so big thanks to JDeppIsMyLovely!
Eventually, the tasks set before Hermione began to act like a needle; meaningless things like eating or walking to class put a hitch in her side and she slowly began to feel like her very existence was begin sucked out of her, a little bit at a time. Malfoy paid no mind to her sudden change in attitude, for he was still too lost in the patterns he could leave on her skin with burnt medal and replicate with his lips. She had once thought him a monster and the devil for stealing her away, but now she only saw a madman. Who grew lustful over kissing away the blood from another's body?
She found that the days were slowly beginning to meld together. No matter how she tried to contact any of her Gryffindor friends, there was forever something standing in her way. When it came to notes, it was but the cruel burning that rocketed through her body whenever she wrote Harry or Ron's names, for the Dark Lord would not have her betraying him and confiding in her friends. Every precaution had been taken to ensure her silence as Malfoy continued to punish her, looking for clues and answers.
In the hallways, she often watched the floor, for there was no reason to look up. She either saw the angry faces of those who now believed her a traitor, or the amused faces of Slytherins who were in on the joke. During meals she dared not glance up from her food and accidently lock eyes with the wilted, sad orbs of Ginny Weasley for a second time. The first time their gazes had met had been like a hailstorm, a tornado of emotions that could not get out and would never be voiced. But for the most part, it was like putting a gate up between Hermione and the rest of her world, for when the girl who was supposedly her dearest friend stood pointedly and flipped her off, she knew she was alone.
Harry and Ron- who for a while were under the impression like everyone else that she was dead, all because of a vile, fake note Malfoy crafted- tried to owl her repeatedly in the days following the beginning of school. But Malfoy took a blade to the neck of every bird and tossed the carcass out the window, burning the letters before her very eyes. No amount of bartering would cause him to change his mind and allow her to reply to them, for that would go against orders. And to go against orders would mean that he was throwing away his mother's safety, and the blonde would never trade Hermione for his own flesh and blood.
She just had to hope that at some point these relentless bandits would slip, and she would find a way to talk to someone- anyone- and explain her absence. She had to let Harry and Ron- and even Ginny- know what was really happening and that she was not willingly going to the dark side. Didn't they know her better than that?
The days drifted on, and she continued to sleep in Malfoy's bed at night, clad in little, with his inept friends leering at her when they thought he wouldn't notice. They wouldn't get away with anything though, for she was always within the bastards reach these days, and he watched her with an unusually careful eye.
Entering the second month of school Hermione found herself in the usual position on Malfoy's bed, fastened down with nowhere to go while the git undid her blouse bit by bit. It always unnerved her how his nimble fingers could disrobe her without the assistance of his eyes, which had recently taken to watching hers while he did so, as though searching for a response. The room was barren of guests again- as he always persisted it be- and round silver balls were looking down at her again.
"You put yourself through so much pet, for people who hate you now. They must think you are betraying them."
"Or hexed," she seethed, closing her eyes. She never held his gaze, for that was what the git desired. "Perhaps if you did not murder every owl that came to your window seeking me then perhaps they would see me differently."
He clicked his tongue. "If only Mudblood," he whispered, fingering the cups of her bra. Her eyes squeezed tighter, her body trying to shy away from his touch. She hated when his hands strayed. "But allowing you contact would be bad for me."
"Yes, and we can't have that can we," she mocked, turning her head to one side. His fingers ghosted over the tops of her breasts for a moment, and she inhaled sharply. This was new.
Long fingers continued their pattern, drawing meaningless designs over the exposed halves of her tits, daring to sink down into the dip of her cleavage. She bit her lip, suppressing the urge to scream at him. He had never really touched her before, never wanted to soil himself with her flesh. What was the difference now?
One stray finger attempted to flee from the rest, taking a chance by sliding beneath the fabric of the bra to touch hidden skin. She found this quite violating and wiped her head back up. "Bastard! Get your hands off me!"
A bemused smile passed over his lips, and he retracted his hands. "I always knew you had a voice pet. I was beginning to miss it."
"You despicable-"
"Ah," he said, holding up a finger, "We will have no backtalk. I was merely making sure that all of your vocal cords still worked. Now, roll over."
"Get away from me Malfoy," she seethed, unable to get over his brief attack on her body.
With a roll of his eyes, he set down the cool rod and his wand, before bending over her to grasp both her shoulders. In one fluid, effortless motion, he had her flipped on her stomach. The sound of shredding material above her told her he was destroying her shirt.
"Stop that!"
"Sorry pet, but you're being a bit of a pain tonight. First you refuse to speak in long spurts for weeks, then you have the audacity to call me a bastard, and now you will not comply to move. Let it be a lesson."
She wanted to point out that none of her actions would be necessary if he would only leave her be, but the burn of hot medal had her slamming her eyes shut for a second time. It was not unusual for him to burn other areas aside from the front of her torso, but she secretly thanked Merlin that he was human enough to stay away from the private areas of her body. If he burned those, she honestly doubted she could repress a scream.
He was on burn seven of the usual nine when it happened. The door to the dormitory opened and the blonde spun around immediately to glare at the arrivals, dragging the hot stick down her side as he went. She whimpered, but just then he could pay her no mind.
"Crabbe! Goyle! Get the bloody fuck out of here this instant!" He watched his bodyguards pause in their steps as the realized what was going on in the space. It should've been obvious, since he took over the dorm for exactly an hour and a half each night to perform the same ritual. But it was Crabbe who spoke first.
"Having fun," he asked, glancing past the blonde's shoulder. Granger looked mighty pretty bound to the git's bed on her stomach, her feet just barely dangling off the edge. The ripped shirt and multiple burns would leave different thoughts in the minds of those who were unaware of what Malfoy had been instructed to do to her. But what Vincent found most interesting was the girl's eyes now that she had turned to look at the intruders. They were dark, as though she was suppressing anger, but he got a different message. Surrounded by three dangerous, rather cold-hearted Slytherins while behind bound to a bed was not the ideal situation for someone like Granger to find herself in, and he liked to think that the emptiness in her eyes was simply a well-constructed mask to hide her true fear.
"I said out," the blonde repeated, his eyes flipping between the two men. They had a hungry gleam in their eye that was not at all appreciated.
Goyle from his position, had taken to eyeing the former Gryffindor as well. But he was not looking at the curve of her body. "Have you only just begun? She looks pretty healthy to have been receiving the same punishment for a month."
Draco blanched, having not expected Goyle of all people to pick up on the lack of scars on her body. It was no secret that he was not supposed to heal her, but since he was the only person performing the tasks, no one ever had to know that he faked a few things sometimes.
"In the hall," he deadpanned, "Now. We need to talk." The blokes exchanged a look, but a soft jab from their leader with that hot stick had them reluctantly turning away.
Malfoy didn't waste a moment cooling the rod before he dropped it to the floor. He flicked his wand and the invisible binds holding his pet to the bed let up, allowing her to tumble off the side, attempting to clasp her ruined shirt over the exposed flesh.
Knowing that the gits would not wait long for him to come along, he grabbed her hair, forcing her to look at him. "Get in bed, and don't go anywhere. I will return in a few minutes to finish this." Over her shoulder, he could see the blood running down her back and cringed. Now his sheets really would be tarnished.
Through whatever pain he knew was raking up her body, she raised her head and glared up at him. "Give me my wand. Your fucking Lord may have put spells on it to restrict me from doing certain things, but at least give me the privilege to heal myself."
He could only gaze down at her sadly, before snatching ahold of one of her arms and dragging her onto the bed where he threw a blanket over the top half of her. "That is one of the restrictions pet." He ghosted a hand over her temple for a moment. "Now stay, I'll be back soon."
Turning, he did not need to glance back to know she was glaring at him from her spot on the bed, nor that she was probably blushing as the brutes in the doorway ran their eyes over a body that was now hidden. He was glad they could not see the curves that he often looked upon.
In the hallway however, a tranquil calm could not be achieved. "Are you both batty," he asked, clocking the two men in the head. When they had been towering giants compared to his slim frame just a few years before, he now matched them in height. They no longer had that daunting advantage over him. "You can't just come in while I'm working!"
"It didn't look like work though," Goyle pointed out with a tilt of his head. "There aren't nearly enough marks on her for you to have been doing a very good job for our Lord."
Draco rolled his eyes. "I can't just have her wandering around like a rag doll you know. Someone might see something, might suspect. It's hard enough selling the idea to the school that she was moved to Slytherin for some bullshit House Unity. And with the lot of you bloody followers doing nothing to assist me I have to take precautionary measures to save my skin. I'm constantly seen with her. People will pinpoint me as the abuser in no time and then we will all be in a tight situation."
The two exchanged a look. "Well, we could walk her around sometimes," Crabbe said with a shrug. "That way you really can harm her."
"No you oaf, then I am breaking the rules our Lord carefully set up." Malfoy rubbed his head. "Keep this between us."
Goyle crossed his arms. "Why should we? What is in this for us Draco?"
He rolled his eyes. "Well, what would you blokes want?" The pair exchanged a look, and he could easily guess what was flowing through their minds. "Out of the question!"
"You're supposed to be breaking her though," Vincent said, rubbing his head. "We could help-"
"I'm doing this on my own," he snapped.
"But-"
"Shh," the blonde said suddenly, cutting his friend off. He glanced around, eyes narrowing.
"What," Gregory asked, finally speaking up again.
"This hallway has ears," he hissed, before looking back at the door. "We will discuss this in the room, but you will give me a moment to remove Granger."
"You have to finish though," Greg said again.
"It appears I will have to finish later," he hissed, glaring at the two. "Now wait here a moment or go down to the common room, whichever fits your fancy. Granger will not be present during this discussion."
The blokes exchanged another glance. "If you say so," Crabbe grumbled, before they began to wander off. He was glad to see them go, but afraid of whom they might speak with in the common room. Zabini and Nott were down there, and they had a knack for extracting information from a person when they desired. He had better hurry.
Inside the room Granger had remained in much the same position as before. She glared at the blonde as he made his way over. "You are lucky today pet, for I cannot finish this right now." He pulled the blanket back none to carefully, and found that some of the blood had begun to stick. She whimpered quietly as he removed the fabric from her open wounds. She was ever so good about suppressing pain.
He didn't have the time for much of the usual ritual. He used his wand this time to remove the gashes, all except one. The wound he had burned over the area where her heart would be he healed with his lips as well, chanting the same words softly. When he was done he fetched her a garment from the wardrobe, and she was not very thankful for his thoughtfulness.
"If I go downstairs in your shirt Malfoy people will think we are sleeping together."
He rolled his eyes, holding the shirt out for a second time. "People already think that's what I do to you Mudblood, this would make no difference." Tossing the shirt to her, he watched without amusement as her face paled. "Dress. I will shrink it to your size."
She did as she was told, thankful that she had the cover of fabric again. He fitted the material to her body maybe a bit too tight, but she wasn't going to complain. Snatching up her wand, she hurried for the door.
"And pet?"
Stalling at the door, she resisted the urge to tell him to fuck himself. The sooner he spat out what he was going to say the faster she could leave. "I expect you to be at the bottom of the stairs at nine tonight. You do have to complete the ritual I'm afraid, and I need a sleeping partner."
"Yes," she hissed, throwing the door open. "I'll see you tonight then Malfoy."
"Yes, you will."
Hermione couldn't remember a time when she had run so long before. She wanted to put space between herself and that bastard, even if it only lasted a few hours. She found a secluded place and beat at the walls, plants and everything she could out of frustration. He could control her, and she was helpless to do anything about it. And what was worse? Feeling the bastards lips on her very skin was too disturbing for her to consider!
She hated him so very much. She wanted out of his control, but every precaution had been taken to ensure she couldn't spill her secrets. And damn it, if she only could she would be up in Gryffindor by now telling Ginny and Neville all about it before owling Harry. But things just weren't that easy. After fighting with everything, she collapsed in defeat.
"Hello Hermione," said a voice that nearly made her heart jump from her hardly covered chest. Sitting up, she locked eyes with one Luna Lovegood.
"Hi Luna," she replied, surprised the Ravenclaw would speak to her after everything. She expected Luna to be like Ginny and Neville, and turn her back on her because things seemed horrible. But then, she really hadn't gotten the chance to speak with anyone when Malfoy wasn't around. This was the first time.
The blonde came to sit beside her. "This is a strange place to be angry; it's such a calming room."
She blushed. "You saw my outburst?"
Leaning in, Luna whispered in her ear, "I heard breaking and came to investigate. We have to watch Hogwarts while Harry and Ron are away." She leaned back, studying her friend once more. "That's why you are in Slytherin, aren't you? You're spying for them?"
That practically knocked Hermione to the floor. How could Luna think that? Sure, she hadn't been expected to meet up at the Weasley's over the summer, but she wasn't stupid. "No, I'm not spying," she replied quietly.
"Well you haven't switched sides either or you wouldn't be talking to me. If you were bad, you would be trying to curse me."
"You think that?"
"It's just what I know of you; you are not kind to your enemies. And Malfoy is an enemy. You must hate living in that house."
"Yes."
"You should go back to Gryffindor; your housemates are really upset. They don't understand why you won't reply to anyone."
Hermione just shook her head at that, helpless to answer. She could reveal nothing.
The blonde's eyebrows rose. "Are there Wrackspurts in your ears?" Thrown by her comment, she sat silently as Luna surveyed both of her ears. It had to be yet another of those crazy creatures she always mentioned.
When she finally decided there were no Wrackspurts in Hermione's ears, she sat back. "There's nothing boggling your head Hermione. Why do you act so strangely? Something is wrong."
She pressed her lips together saying nothing. Luna was bright, but she doubted the airy girl would ever get to the right result.
Slowly, Lovegood's eyes widened. "You're with them against your will, aren't you?" Her silence and downcast eyes were enough of a reply. "That's why you do not talk to us, because something is wrong. I should've listened for Wrackspurts sooner! You're not yourself at all." She scooted closer, holding eye contact with her friend the whole way.
"Does he hurt you- Malfoy I mean?" She pursed her lips but gave no reply, and the blonde sighed. Her arms came to rest and then tighter around her friend.
"Don't you worry Hermione, I have a brief idea what's going on now. I'll be sure to let the others know; Ron and Harry won't let it stand." The brunette wanted to protest, but it was weak. The very idea that someone had finally picked up on her stress was relieving, and she hugged her friend tightly. For right now, she was her only friend.
"Don't worry pet," he whispered that night, the two of them stripped down to their undergarments once again, "They will not bother you again."
"The curtains are drawn tonight," she noted dully. Usually the blonde let his friends see who shared his bed, who he had control over.
"Boundaries needed to be set," he replied simply, stroking her cheek. "They can't hear us in here; no one will bother you."
Except you. "I gathered as much."
He continued to lightly touch her skin. "They will not come in ever again when you are so bare and open. I'll make sure of it."
So will I Malfoy. If Luna follows through with whatever plan she has, you're never going to touch me again.
