Disclaimer:I do not own Harry Potter nor any of its characters.
Chapter III
Hermione stirred from her troubled sleep when the sounds of what seemed like knocking reverberated throughout the spacious bedroom. She uncurled herself from the tight ball that she had been wrapped in all night and stretched her cramping limbs. Brushing the hair from her face, she propped herself up slightly before realising that the surface on which she had woken was much softer than the one that she had fallen asleep on last night. Her head tilted slowly to check the other side of the bed, expecting to see him drinking her in with his greedy eyes but was greeted by the sight of the empty sheets.
She sighed with relief when she realised that he had not slept beside her last night, for she could only guess at the kinds of perverse deeds that someone like him could do to her whilst she was sleeping. She glanced at the window which she had fallen asleep beside the previous night and scolded herself mentally for allowing herself to sleep, for she knew that he had come here at some point during the night. She knew that he had moved her to the bed, although his motives still remained a mystery to her. He had even put her in the covers, but why? She was just relieved that he didn't wake her in the process because surely then he would continue with his sickening desire to touch her.
The sound of the door unlocking caused her to quiver and shrink back into the bed, feigning sleep again in case he had decided to return. She knew it was inevitable that he would eventually force himself on her, but she was going to try and put it off for as long as she could. Perhaps his interest in her would wane. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned away from the door while trying to steady her rapid breathing before the door squeaked open.
She could hear muffled footsteps on the floor as someone approached the bed, walking around to her side. She remained stone still as a long, bony finger prodded her shoulder uncertainly. She cracked an eye open to see an old house elf looking at her with disgust. The elf had droopy ears, a long nose and a pair of dull green eyes which completed an unfriendly looking face. She stayed for a moment, just looking at the elf's eyes, noticing how much they looked like Harry's. As the name passed through her mind, her throat clenched of its own accord and she rapidly spiralled into her grief. Oh how much she missed Harry, and Ron too for they were so much more than just her best friends. She had spent seven years by their side, through thick and thin as they endured a war and all the perils that came with it. They were a part of her and to be without them for so long was what hurt her the most. It was only her people that had kept her going, and now she didn't even have them.
The elf cleared his throat. "Pardon Miss, but I is ordered by Master Draco to be getting you. Even if it means I be taking you there without Miss' permission." The elf said in a polite voice with a cold uptight tone laced within his words.
"What is your name?" Hermione asked randomly, much to the elf's annoyance at stalling his order. He wasn't open to the idea of having to work for an unworthy Mudblood, even if it belonged to Master Draco.
"I is Blinky, Miss. Now please be getting up." He said haughtily.
"Where am I going?" She asked.
"Breakfast with Master Draco, Miss." The elf replied as he picked up her arm and tugged in order to encourage her to get out of bed. Hermione was indeed hungry, but if it meant sitting across the table from him, then she would rather starve herself. She sat up on the bed as the elf let go of her arm, but didn't make more of a move than that.
"Blinky, did…he…sleep elsewhere last night?" She asked hesitantly.
"Does Miss mean Master Draco? I does not know Miss, now please come or I is being punished by Master Draco." Hermione gasped at the statement, wishing that such cruelty did not exist amongst house elves as she had since Fourth Year when she had started up S.P.E.W. She smiled at the memory of the nights by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room with a basket of wool and two knitting needles as she had tirelessly knitted hats, scarves and socks for house elves. Had she been a free woman upon leaving Hogwarts, she would have carried it on as she went into the Ministry, hoping to acquire a position in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. She had her whole life mapped out back then, but now it was just wishful thinking. After all, she wasn't entitled to a life because of her heritage.
"I is having to apparate us if Miss does not come to breakfast." The elf said sternly.
"I'm sorry. What time is it?" She asked, looking out of the window for any indication of the time. The skies were blue without a single cloud in sight. She could see the wind threading through the different coloured leaves that remained on the trees, ranging from red and orange to brown and yellow. She imagined that the air was crisp and cool, one that would bring a slight flush to your cheeks as you walked about in its path.
"Half past eight, Miss. But I is urging you to hurry. Master Draco is usually leaving the house before this and he being kept waiting for long. Now please, follow Blinky."
She did as she was told as the elf seemed to be getting more and more agitated with her, the longer she kept him waiting. She had many questions for the elf, although he seemed very reluctant to talk to her more than necessary. She knew it was because of her blood, for she had seen the same thing with Kreacher back in Grimmauld Place. She silently followed the elf as he led her out of the bedroom where she immediately began to drink in her surroundings. She wasn't in Malfoy Manor, she was thankful for that, for had she been then a wealth of snobbish portraits would have started yelling derogatory comments at her from the moment she stepped out of the bedroom. Besides, she didn't want to accidentally encounter one of Malfoy's parents for they were probably just as spiteful and cruel as he was.
She observed the interior of the house properly; as she had not been able to the time that she was brought here for she was too busy being dragged through the hallways by Malfoy. It wasn't the soulless grandeur of Malfoy Manor and didn't feel like an ancient museum of artefacts, but it was still cold and dark. Perhaps that could be down to her and the fear of the owner of the house which in turn had led to a fear of the house itself?
She silently noted the layout of the house, hoping that if she were ever allowed out of the room again that she might make some sort of escape, but in order to do that she would need to find an exit. Insofar, they seemed to be evading her. The elf suddenly came to a halt before her, opening a door and ushering her inside where she found herself in an elaborate dining room which had a high, ceiling while the walls were painted a dark red; upon them were several portraits which were of Malfoy's ancestors if the platinum hair and cold aristocratic features were anything to go by. All of their eyes turned on her as she entered the room and she shrank slightly under their intimidating gazes before her eyes finally fell on Malfoy who was sitting at the dining table central to the room.
For each additional second that his steely eyes bore into her, she became more and more self-conscious. She watched as his eyes wandered down her body, fixing on the tears that he had made in her robe which revealed to him the smooth expanses of milky skin which lay beneath. She could see him clenching his fists and so she shakily reached for the flap of fabric that was hanging from her tattered robe, holding it in place to cover herself.
Blinky nudged her into the room, forcing her to start taking small and hesitant steps towards him. She could feel his predatory gaze and so hardened herself and lifted her head up high in defiance. She would not show him that she was scared, despite the unbearable fear that was racing through her veins. She felt as though she was marching into a courtroom where she would be judged and dealt with accordingly, but she knew her fate had already been decided for her by him. He was in complete control of her and these small acts of defiance were the only thing that she could do to try and convince herself that she still had some shreds of free will left.
She saw him nod slightly at the elf behind her who she turned to see leaving the room. Taking a deep and shaky breath, she turned back towards him staring at her calculatingly, as if he were either trying to figure her out or mentally undress her.
Probably the latter.
He stood from his chair, causing her resolve to falter slightly before he started slowly making his way from the far end of the table. She thought momentarily that he was coming for her, that he would continue with his deprecating and humiliating assault in front of all of his ancestors to show them just how worthless she really was but almost audibly sighed with relief as he drew back her chair for her.
"Sit." He said harshly. It wasn't an invitation, it was a command. She looked from him to the chair and started taking indecisive steps towards him which became smaller and more forceful as she neared him. When she finally stood before the chair, she felt his cold hand on her shoulder before he forced her to sit down, hurting her behind in the process.
"No need to waste good manners on the Mudblood, son." Came the drawl of Lucius Malfoy from one of the portraits on the wall as Draco walked back to his seat at the opposite end of the table. Hermione almost wanted to laugh out loud hysterically. Good manners? For the entirety of her stay, Malfoy had treated her with anything but good manners.
"Draco?" Barked a gruff voice from another portrait. "Is what your father speaks the truth? You have a Mudblood at the table? We taught you better than this boy!" Draco's grandfather Abraxas reprimanded him.
"Let her eat her food from the floor outside like the filth that she is." Snarled another voice.
"Are you trying to sully the Malfoy name boy?" Barked another.
"Oh sod off Uncle Brutus." Draco rolled his eyes and with a flick of his wand, he silenced the portraits. Their screeching was not pleasing to the ears so early in the morning and he would be better off without it.
Hermione sat rigidly the entire time, seemingly unaffected by their cruel barbs and taunts that were being flung her way. After 7 years of the same insults, she was somewhat immune to them but that's not to say that they didn't hurt from time to time. Draco watched her with fascination as she kept her eyes fixed on the black tablecloth, seemingly disinterested and –dare he say it– bored.
"I'm glad to see that you look well-rested." He said as the corner of his lips twitched into a smirk. She knew what he was getting at, trying to taunt her because she had slept in his room, in his bed.
"I'm glad to see that you aren't." She backfired, mentally pumping her fist in the air when she saw the smirk slip from his features. It was true, he did look rather worn with dark shading beneath his slightly bloodshot eyes.
"It seems that your arrogance has returned with your energy. By all means, do continue but I assure you I can take both away as easily as they came." He said with a hint of malice laced in his tone. Hermione shrunk in her chair at what he was suggesting, causing his grin to reappear. "It would serve you well to hold your tongue in the future and show some respect."
"Respect?!" She scoffed. "I could never, nor will I ever come to respect you. Do you forget what you have done to me?" She exploded.
"Believe me, sweet Mudblood. You will respect me in time." He said dangerously low, his eyes boring into hers, delighting in the fact that he could see the fire raging behind them with her anger. Now all he had to do is elicit the same fire, but replace her anger with passion.
"I'll be damned before I ever willingly-" She began.
"May I remind you of what will happen if you decide to continue?" He raised an eyebrow in her direction, effectively silencing her briefly.
"What more can you do to me? You have taken my friends away from me, you have taken my freedom and everything I care about! Merlin knows what you've done with Adrian! Knowing you, you've probably already killed him out of pure spite and jealousy." She spat out each word and watched as his eyes darkened.
He stood up abruptly from his seat and slammed his fists down on the table. "I told you never to speak of him before me, else I will hunt him down and force you to kill him yourself under the influence of the Imperius Curse. Control yourself at once." He bellowed.
"Or what?" She challenged, shooting up from her own chair with such force that it tipped backwards and crashed to the floor. "What more can you take from me? You took my friends, my dignity, my love." She heavily emphasised the words and watched as his nostrils flared. He was just about done with her defiance for one morning and was ready to jump across the table and smack her before brutally reminding her of her place, but was stopped when the door reopened and in came two house elves.
Draco immediately sat down back in his chair while Hermione bent down to pick her chair back up before she too sat back at the table. Blinky came to her with a variety of platters and trays levitating behind him, as a house elf that Hermione wasn't familiar with walked towards Malfoy's end of the table. She noted that the house elf was probably female, as her facial features were much softer and curved than that of Blinky's. Her fingers were smaller and had less wrinkled and she generally seemed more petite.
Blinky lowered the different trays to the table before lifting the lids and handing Hermione her silverware so that she could serve herself, while the other house elf served Malfoy, placing food on his plate before stepping away and bowing her head obediently. Hermione hesitantly began to pile her plate with meagre amounts of food, when in reality she was ravenous and could probably eat the entire contents of each of the trays which were full of sausages, bacon, toast, beans, tomatoes and all manner of eggs. Hermione was in food heaven after being starved for so long, however she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her eat food that he had given to her.
She could see the irritated look on Malfoy's face as he watched her, before he turned to the house elves and with a rude wave of his hand, he dismissed them both. She heard him take a deep breath before turning to her again.
"To answer your previous questions, I shall remind you that had your fate been in the hands of someone else then you and your friends would be nothing more than a pile of ashes on the pyre while the luckier ones would have shared a similar fate to yours. I must say that you hold the better end of this bargain, for simply banishing such vermin is not nearly as fulfilling nor as permanent as I would like, however it is a compromise that we can both accept." He said calmly. "I will again remind you that your obedience was a part of our bargain was it not? And I believe that I have endured your childish defiance long enough while fulfilling your needs more than adequately. I have given you a bed in which to sleep and judging by your state, the best food that you have eaten in a long while. As for Pucey, I would have taken much delight in killing him indeed for aiding such parasites; however he has been saved from the Dark Lord's wrath for now and has been stationed in nearby Wiltshire all down to my doing. Now, I do not want to hear you asking of him again, do I make myself clear?"
She lowered her head in defeat. "You've taken everything from me, so tell me why I should stay with you." She whispered through a sob.
"Because my sweet little Mudblood, you know as well as I that I will tear apart the whole of England until I find you, burning each and every Mudblood man, woman and child that gets in my way. Then you will choose between the grave and my bed." He sneered maliciously.
"What kind of man are you?" She whispered inaudibly as he started to pick up his silverware and begin to eat.
"If you do not eat, I will have the house elves hold you down while I shove it down your throat. Eat." He commanded sternly. She didn't wait to be asked twice, fearful of what else he might do if he held her down. He watched as she hesitated for a moment before placing down her silverware. He was about to call for the house elves when he saw her clasp her hands together and bow her head.
"What are you doing?" He asked her cautiously, having never seen such a strange ritual before. She looked up irritated to see an expression of genuine curiosity on his face. Had he truly never seen this before? She raised an eyebrow.
"Praying." She muttered quietly.
It was something that Draco had heard briefly in Muggle Studies going back a few years now, something which Muggles used in order to communicate with their Gods. It was a strange concept to Draco and he wondered why someone with Magic would resort to such things. He quickly masked his curiosity which was undermining the powerful speech he had made only a few moments ago, for now she had the advantage. Instead, he switched back to his old, cruel self.
"To your God?" He guffawed.
"I see nothing funny about this. What do you know about religion anyway?" She spat. "I'm sure you'll burn in Hell for the things you've done to me and my people."
"Ah, my sweet little Mudblood, such things are trivial. Your God turned his back on you by delivering you to my clutches." He sniggered. "In fact," He paused. "He turned his back on you the moment that he decided to give you to a pair of filthy Muggles."
"Don't you dare say anything about my God, nor my parents! They're the most loving parents I could ever have wanted for. They accepted me for what I was and they loved me anyway. Tell me Malfoy, if you had been born a Squib would your parents still love you?" She screamed at him.
"If your parents were so loving, then what made you strip them of their memories and send them away?" He jeered.
"I did what I had to protect them." She frowned.
"Well it obviously didn't work, did it?" He grinned evilly.
Hermione's head whizzed round and she looked at him fearfully. "What do you mean? Wait a minute, how did you know…"She trailed off as the realisation struck her. He watched as her hands began to shake and her eyes filled with unabashed tears.
He was momentarily taken aback. "You didn't know?"
Her lip was quivering as she shook her head to him. Her throat was clenched so painfully tight that any words that she tried to formulate would come out as incoherent squeaks.
"When?" She choked a pained whisper.
He looked at her with pity. How could she not have known? The raw grief in her eyes made him want to forget who he was, if only for a few moments and comfort her. He wanted to take her into his arms and hold her while she expelled her tears. He would be the one to tell her everything would be okay, even though it probably wouldn't be.
He became angry at himself for thinking such thoughts again, and squashed them down inside his mind before putting up his cold exterior to try and hide the fact that she had gotten to him.
"Approaching two years now, I must say that the world is much better off with two less Muggles traipsing around and producing their dirty children." He said indifferently.
"You're a heartless monster!" She stood from the table and screamed at him. Her vision became distorted through the blurriness of the tears as the world spun about her. The colour and beauty of the world was quickly disappearing before her eyes as she allowed his words to wash over her. The arms that she had planted on the table before her had begun to shake violently before she allowed her sobs of grief to overcome her. She let out an anguished cry before her legs buckled and she fell to the floor. Not caring that she was showing him that she was vulnerable, or that she was squealing like a banshee. All that she could feel was a her sorrow tearing through her, ambushing her fragile heart and savagely tearing her parents from the special place where she held them, leaving behind a bleeding cavity that left her with the feeling of emptiness washing over her.
She had hoped that the day when she would have to say goodbye to her parents would be long in the future, when they were old and grey and surrounded by the grandchildren that Hermione would have given them. By this time Hermione would be on the verge of greying herself, with a loving family about her that would be able to pull her through the misery that came with their departure. She would have a husband that would act as her source of strength and balance as she put on a brave face for the children. She knew that they would have been wonderful grandparents, spoiling the children that she would have as well as Harry's children and Ron's children too, giving them the sugar-free Chupa Chups lollipops because too much sugar was bad for the teeth after all…
She hadn't known for almost two whole years which had made things so much harder to bear. She loathed herself for being the terrible daughter that she was, forgetting about them while taking their memories of her away. She briefly wondered how scared they must have been, being interrogated by strange people in black robes about a daughter that they didn't recall having, dying without remembering her. Hermione thought momentarily that perhaps her God really had turned his back on her once and for all.
It seemed as though those few moments on Malfoy's dining room floor dragged on for hours every single memory which featured her parents that had once been a source of comfort quickly turned unbearably painful for her to endure. She had lost not one, but two parents and now she had nothing more to live for. Just when she thought that he could take no more from her he had told her heartlessly, using it in order to bring her down. It seemed that he wasn't above kicking her when she was down, but every kick would hurt even more because she was sure that she couldn't get any lower than this. Her life truly wasn't worth living anymore.