A/N sorry for the belated update - life is rather getting to me at the moment, so please REVIEW! That would be a much needed boost of morale so to speak.

Enjoy!


Hermione was sitting on the hospital bed shocked. She would have sex with Draco Malfoy! She had agreed to... She had agreed to being his wife as well. She had allowed for him to unleash a fire within her that she was unable to control. Trying desperately to keep herself from crying she pulled her legs up and hugged them tightly.

She was married to him and she knew, that she had allowed herself to really look at him during their wedding party. He had been a bit hesitant and unsure at times, but more often than not had he tried his best to be the self assured prat she knew. And loved...

The realisation hit her hard. He had made her fall in love with him when he had kissed her in Ron's room at the Burrow. Ron! He had been at her flat with her. He would probably be worried sick about her suddenly disappearing. How had she managed to just vanish in any case? She wouldn't have been able to apparate. Or floo for that matter. Her mind had been on fire and she had felt things she wouldn't admit even to herself.

Her head fell on top of her knees. What was she going to do now? She had to consummate this marriage and she knew wizarding law well enough to know, that after having done it a divorce would be a lot harder to come by. Then again in their case she doubted that anybody would object to it. How was the wizarding world to cope with the fact that she, Hermione Granger, war hero and best friend of Harry Potter, was married to a known Death Eater? It was unthinkable that something like this could ever happen, but it had happened and it had happened to her.

Tears were slowly rolling over her cheeks. She was tired and exhausted. She wanted to go home and never again have to face the world ever again. She didn't want to be brave for once. She didn't want to have to face this. She wanted to be... with him. To her utter horror she felt herself missing him, his warm body, his gently hands and his stormy eyes. She groaned. She wanted these feelings even less than everything else. As her heart was filling with longing she started crying.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting on the bed weeping, but she knew that somebody had just apparated right next to her and was now gathering her into skilled arms. She didn't open her eyes to see who it was and she didn't resist him picking her up either. She was tired of fighting. Her head lay against a male chest and consoling warmth was flooding her body. She kept her mind trained on the knowledge, that she would be free as soon as he was finished with her. She would allow him to do whatever was necessary and then she would just go home and hide for the next eternity, trying to forget that last four days.

She felt herself being apparated. The tugging was familiar, but it still made her feel slightly sick. It always did. For a brief moment she was wondering, if there was anybody that actually enjoyed apparating.

She could feel a soft breath in her hair. It felt comforting, but the knowledge about what was to come had her stomach in a knot. She couldn't comprehend why she was so scared. Yes, she was positively scared. It would be a somewhat weird experience, she knew, it being her first time and with Malfoy of all people, but there was something else. Deep within the recesses of her logical mind there was the hidden knowledge that whatever happened would change her. It would mark the final end of adolescence, she would be no longer a girl, she would be a woman afterwards. She shuddered.

Knowing the theoretical mechanics and actually having to act them out might just proof to much for her. There were warm lips kissing her hair now. He was trying to sooth her nerves. It was sweet really. He seemed to be genuinely concerned for her. How extraordinary! She would have never thought him... She was laid down on a soft bed. Keeping her eyes shut she waited for him to join her. He didn't. Was he just staring at her in her pajamas? Why wasn't he saying anything either?

Raising her lashes just enough to peek through them she saw the back of a figure in black robes. It was a tall figure with dark hair. Dark hair? That couldn't be right. She fully opened her eyes. Short black hair was what she saw. It should have been white-blond though. Was that Harry? No, he moved differently. This person was a rather elegant mover. He turned to face her.

"Hallo, Granger."

She gasped. It was Blaise Zabini!


Harry sat in his drawing room together with Ron, Ginny and Mrs. Malfoy. They had been trying to stay civil in St. Mungo's, but it had proven to be difficult, at the beginning any way.

Ron had been wanting to hear all there was to hear. He was rather quiet after learning about the row his ex-fiancé and her now husband had. He had looked at Ginny for a very long time and then had just retreated into his own thoughts. Ginny had been concerned for her friend and her brother and how they would be handling the situation.

She was sitting next to Harry on the large couch and tried to stay positive. Nothing would happened to Hermione. She was with the ferret, that was true, but he was bound to her. Any pain he caused her he would most likely feel himself so that should protect her from him. She shuddered as she contemplated the implications of her and him being now alone somewhere. Having to... Her mind refused to go that way. Imagining her best friend with the Slytherin doing all the things she did with Harry was something she didn't want to have to face. Ever, if that was possible.

Draco's mother was now sitting elegantly in a large armchair holding on to her cup of tea. Her face didn't betray the inner turmoil she was experiencing. She had left her son with his wife and then they had discovered that both of them had vanished out of his room. Though she seemed to have been the only one noticing that Blaise Zabini had disappeared at some point. She didn't have any real reason to feel uneasy about this, but her instincts told her that something wasn't going according to plan, something important.

Harry stared into his mug of tea and was wondering for the upmteens time why he had yet again been robed into the life of his best friend in a way he could well do without. Why couldn't she just have found some nice guy, fallen in love, got married and be happy. Seemingly normal wasn't a feature in her life. It never had been and probably never would be.

He sighed. Was he sorry, that he couldn't just have the normal existence he had seen at the Dursley's? No, if he was honest, this was far better than having the ordinary nine to five routine, he saw with most of the Ministry employees. He would miss the excitement, the unexpected, the need to think on his feet. He had grown up in a state of permanent alertness. Normal wasn't part of his genetic make-up.

There was a sudden crackling noise and Draco came stumbling out of the fireplace.

"Where is she?" He yelled.

Four pairs of eyes were looking at him. Green ones filled with instant worry, ice-blue ones wide with surprise, blue grey-ish ones showing their owner wondering and a pair displaying the knowledge that Hermione might be in danger. It was Harry who spoke first.

"What do you mean? You left the hospital together, didn't you?"

"No." There was an uneasy pause. "She needed some time to... get ready."

Ginny's hands were covering her mouth before she was aware of having gasped in the first place. Hermione had got prepared to... She shook her head. Better not think about that one.

"Draco," the voice of his mother was surprisingly calm and collected,"what did happen?"

He gave her a rather strange look for the briefest of moments and then leant against the mantlepiece.

"We talked. We decided to do the only thing left for us to do in order to avoid the Pain. I was supposed to come and collect her."

"You were already together. Why would you need to collect her, dear?"

"She needed to... I have no idea. Mentally prepare? When I came back she was gone."

"Could Blaise have taken her?"

Draco looked at his mother, as if she had asked him to grow another head.

"Why would he do that? He is my friend."

"That may be true, but do you remember Sophia?"

What little colour there had been in his face was draining away. He seemed to remember.

"What is this all about, Malfoy? And where does Zabini come into it?"

There was a heavy silence settling on the room, broken only by Narcissa's quiet voice.

"She was a girl Blaise met at the Ball we gave at the Manor last Christmas. She is a cousin of Pansy and was staying with her over the holidays. Alas she had taken a shine to dear Draco."

"It was her own bloody fault, if she doesn't think no means no," Draco interjected.

"Blaise was quite fond of her, but she had nothing better to do than tell him his best friend had tried to come on to her against her will when Draco refused her."

Ginny's face showed a strange kind of compassion all of a sudden, but nobody seemed to notice.

"There was a punch-up at the New Year's Eve party and after that things had been a bit rocky between them."

"We talked about it about two months ago. I told him, what had happened, nothing. He had seen her on several occasion since Christmas and had found out for himself just what kind of mind was lurking in her made up head. He apologised for being stupid enough to believe her lies."

Draco's voice was calm, but Ginny noticed the hidden pain behind his words. She wondered, if he had true feelings for her friend, if Hermione had managed to get to him in a way he hadn't thought her capable of.

"Why would he then kidnap Draco's...," Harry struggled for the right word, without using the appropriate one, wife, and then muttered, " Hermione."

"Maybe he hasn't kidnapped her at all."

They all turned to face Ron.

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe he thinks, that she'd be better off without him. Zabini probably had to listen to a lot of ramblings before he brought Malfoy to St. Mungo's. What, if he thinks that Hermione needs to be protected from him?" He pointed to the wizard still leaning against the mantlepiece.

Draco's head slowly rose as he turned to face the youngest Weasley. His face was expressionless, hie eyes cold and emotionless.

"She doesn't need protecting from me, Weasel!"

There was a tense silence after this one sentence was all he replied to the accusation. Mrs. Malfoy got up and went over to her son. Her hand lay lightly on his shoulder. She captured his gaze and found exactly what she had expected to find. She leant towards him and whispered into his ear. Without saying a word he stepped into the fireplace and vanished in a roar of green flames.

'He really loves her!' Was all that Ginny could think of.

Unseen by the other persons present, his mother's eyes were showing a twinkle of mischief. Hopefully Blaise would have had enough time to talk some sense into her daughter-in-law before Draco arrived.


Hermione gazed at the dark skinned wizard before her. He was looking at her with an amused expression.

"Who would have thought that it would be you to finally get him to own up?"

She didn't know what to say. What was he talking about?

"What do you mean?"

There was only the hint of smirk on his lips, but for a moment she actually wondered, if you had to be able to smirk in this way to become a Slytherin. She sighed and looked at her hands. Zabini sat on the bed facing her.

"Draco."

"What about him?"

"He had girls swooning over him since the day I first met him. He was always the talker, the one getting them all flustered without ever having the same done to him."

He grinned broadly.

"You got him flustered..."

She looked at him, then frowned. There was the urge to contradict him welling up within her. She stopped herself before she could act upon it.

"What, Granger? You don't know about the power you have over him now?"

He laughed at her shocked face.

"Merlin, girl! He has never got drunk before just because of some girl didn't want him. He never cared about any of them enough for that. He nearly drowned himself in alcohol because of you. In a lot of Muggle alcohol..."

She didn't dare look at him any longer.

"So?"

"You are Muggle born. It was his feeble attempt to get closer to what he perceives as your world, to get closer to you."

Hermione knew, where this was heading and she refused to go there. She didn't want to hear that the man she had married out of necessity was actually feeling something for her. Something that was real, strong and might make him want to do something silly. She tried to distract Zabini with her next question away from the prickly topic of her... her... She couldn't bring herself of thinking of him in terms of her lawful wedded husband, even if that was exactly what he was right now.

"Why did you bring me here?"

He didn't answer straight away. His dark eyes were travelling over her body. Taking in the gentle curves, appreciating the possible pleasure it promised. Pleasures his friend would be enjoying, if he wasn't daft enough to mess this up.

"He'll come to get you. And once he has done that, there will be no turning back for him any longer."

She gasped. Why was he doing all this? What was in it for him?

"Why do you want him to suffer? Is that some kind of sick Slytherin thing to inflict pain on the people you call friends?"

If he noticed the sarcasm in her words, he pretended not to. He took her hands into his. She was shocked. His fingers were long and felt warm. His dark skin was a stark contrast to her own cream coloured complexion.

"No. It is not. I'm only doing this, so that he can finally be with somebody that loves him. Somebody worthy of being loved by him."

He smiled as she stared at him in shock.

"You know, they say you are the smartest witch of our age. Maybe that is correct in academic circles, but when it come to life and how to play it, you have no idea, have you?"

It took several minutes before she could even start to think of an answer.

"You don't play life, Zabini." She spat.

"See, that's where you are wrong. Life it the biggest game of all. With the highest stakes and the greatest pain, should you get it wrong. I don't want him to loose again. I want him to win for once."

His calm words touched something deep within her soul. For a moment she could feel what he was talking about, but then it was gone as fast as it had come.

Blaise moved a bit closer, still holding her hands. She tried to move back, but found herself frozen to the spot. She looked at him with the hint of panic in her eyes. He smiled, slowly continuing on his way towards her. Her heart filled with dread now. What was he doing? Feeling his thighs right next her own she didn't dare look at him any longer. She closed her eyes, willing him to just get it over with whatever he seemed to be intending to do.

His soft fingers trailed slowly over her cheek now. She bit her lip. There was a sudden sharp roar, boot clad feet running and then her tormentor was yanked away from her. She opened her eyes just in time to see an enraged Draco holding Blaise by the front of his robes, before swinging a heavy punch at his friend. Zabini's jaw connected quite sharply with a well aimed fist and she winced.

"Keep your hands of my wife, Zabini!" Draco growled before stepping over to the bed she was sitting on.

"Are you okay?" He asked gently.

She nodded. Without hesitation he gathered her into his arms and disappeared them a moment later.

Blaise rubbed his aching face, grinning.