Chapter 1
"Hermione Granger," a gruff, magically magnified voice called out across the squatter. "Please report to the assignment office, ASAP." Hermione gasped. She was actually getting assigned to a pureblood! This was the moment she had been dreading all year.
Hermione said a tearful farewell to Laura and walked stiffly through a throng of dirty, ragged muggleborns toward the only real building in the whole squatter. She held her head high as she crossed the threshold into the assignment office. A squat man sitting behind a desk eyed her maliciously.
"I am Hermione Granger, here to receive my assignment," Hermione said stiffly, looking the man firmly in the eyes. Without a word, he thrust a manila envelope at her which she opened. "No!" she whispered, looking aghast.
Hermione stared at the paper with her mouth open in shock and horror. Draco Malfoy had specifically requested her as his servant. Apparently, Draco's parents had died during the struggle for power and he now had his own mansion. Hermione would be enslaved along with three other girls.
"You will be shipped to the Malfoy manor tomorrow at 6am sharp. Gather your belongings, if you have any, and be in this office at 5:45," the man instructed in a bored voice, leaning his chin in his hand and staring into space.
Hermione turned and practically sprinted out the door and ran back to the hut, tears streaming down her face.
"'Mione! What's wrong?" Laura asked in concern, putting her arms around Hermione and allowing her to cry on her shoulder.
"My life is going to be a living nightmare! I just got assigned to Draco Malfoy!" she wailed. When she saw that this had no effect on her, she explained. "He was my worst enemy at Hogwarts." Laura patted her back sympathetically. She pulled away, held Hermione at arms length and looked her in the eye.
"Hermione Granger, you can get through this," she said firmly. "You are a smart and strong young woman who can get through anything if you set your mind to it." Hermione wiped her eyes and looked at her sheepishly.
"Thanks Laura. I knew I could count on you," she said quietly. She gave her friend a grateful hug and began packing her few belongings.
Hermione stood in the assignment office at 5:50 the next morning waiting for the train that would take her to the Malfoy manor. A single tear slid down her face though she took no notice. Her expression stayed in a look of resigned defiance. After a few minutes, a wizard sauntered toward her, a wand in his hand and a disgusted look on his face.
"Come on, mudblood. It's time to go meet your new master," he said nastily.
"I've already met him," Hermione said quietly, trying to keep the quiver of hatred out of her voice but to no avail. When he looked stunned, Hermione explained. "He was my rival at Hogwarts."
"I don't care about your school life," he said viciously. "All I care about is getting you to the Malfoy manor in three minutes or else I get fired. Now go!" He pointed toward a large, rundown looking carriage. Hermione stalked past him and sat down on the hard, splintery seat, her bag at her feet.
The man climbed into the front of the carriage, which had a large cushion on it, and tapped his wand on the side. The carriage sped off, bouncing and jostling Hermione into the shabby walls.
It took exactly two minutes and twenty three seconds until they pulled up in front of Malfoy manor, the white marble walls reflecting the sunrise, staining it brilliant pinks and purples. Hermione climbed out and straightened her shabby dress. She looked up and Malfoy was striding toward her, his familiar sneer firmly in place.
"Well, Granger," he said amusedly. "Aren't you looking shabby lately?" Hermione just glared at him. Her face showed nothing of what was racing through her head.
'Was he always this handsome or is it just because he is the only decent looking man I've seen in a year? He really has matured…well at least his body has. His sense of sadistic humor is the same as always. His hair looks much softer than the last time I saw him. He is totally hot…wait, what am I thinking?! He is the one enslaving me like a house elf! He has been my enemy for nine years. I can't even like him.'
"Come on, Granger," Malfoy sneered. "I have to show you your new quarters." He beckoned up the stairway, a malicious grin on his face. Hermione picked up her bag and followed him up the stairs and into the blindingly white marble entrance hall. He led her down a narrow marble stairway off to the side.
After about a hundred feet, the walls changed from marble to dark, slick stone and the floor changed to carelessly hacked out steps. He led her down the rest of the steep passageway and to a door with a large padlock on it.
"Your room, madam," he said spitefully, bowing her through the door. The room consisted of a small cot and a bureau with a small mirror on top. It was dimly lit by one small oil lamp on the bureau. It was bare and shabby to say the least, drab and depressing. But, admittedly better than her previous quarters at the squatter.
"I will send a house elf to show you to my study at 6 o'clock tomorrow morning for your assignments,' Malfoy instructed, then he slammed the door behind her and Hermione heard the distinctive sound of a padlock clicking into place. She placed her bag on top of the bureau and sat carefully on the cot, hoping it would hold her weight.
Hermione laid down and wrapped the thin, ragged blanket around herself, and tried to get some sleep. She would need all she could get to make it through the next day.
'My life is going to be a nightmare…'
