In this chapter, we learn the identity of the street urchin. And yes, he doesn't resemble his canon-counterpart [in the book, or film], for story purposes.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Favors

"C'mon, Pet. Time to wake, now."

Hermione stirred at the sound of Master Lucius' voice purring in her ear. Rather than paying him heed, she snuggled back against him beneath the covers.

"Starting off the morning with disobedience, are we?"

She giggled sleepily, yet still refused to open her eyes. Instead, she turned her head, grazing her teeth along underside of his jaw—earning her a rumbling sound of satisfaction from him and he slid his arms around her.

"Can't we just stay in bed today?" she asked in whisper as she turned in his embrace. Honestly the entire week that had passed since she'd received Master Draco's gift, it seemed like the Malfoy men were in competition and they'd not deigned to tell her. The constant—and decidedly rigorous—attention was delightful. And exhausting.

He scraped his teeth against his bottom lip as held her gaze. Tipping his head, her kissed, hard and rough.

Letting out a little, ecstatic whimper, she stroked his plunging tongue with her own. She pressed her naked form closer to his beneath the covers as she reached down, circling his cock with eager fingers.

Master Lucius groaned low in the back of his throat. His arms tightened around her and he broke the kiss, dragging the edge of his teeth along her jaw to her throat, lapping and nibbling at her skin.

Yet, rather than rocking his hips against the motions of her hand—as he'd all but trained her to expect from him—he lifted his head, his breath a bit harsh and his grey eyes hazy.

"We could certainly stay in," he said, a smirk on his handsome face. "But I'd thought today, we would go look for your street urchin."

A shock ran through her—her own bloody plan, and she'd forgotten! "Oh, um, you're right Master Lucius. We have to get ready for the day!"

She slipped from his arms and threw back the covers, hopping up from the bed. But as she took as step, he latched his hand around her wrist.

Brows shooting up in question, she looked back at him over her shoulder. A shaky breath erupted from her at the sight of him. The covers tossed aside as she'd left them, he simply lay there in the bed, hard, and sleep rumpled, and absolutely exquisite.

"Perhaps first, you might see to this little problem you have created."

A smile curved her lips as she turned toward him and walked back to the bed. "Little?"

That smirk returning, Master Lucius shrugged. "Well, fine. But to call it a big problem makes it sound as though I am boasting."

"Mmm," she said as she climbed onto the bed on her knees. "And far be it from my Master Lucius to boast."

Teeth sinking into his bottom lip, he rose up and moved behind her. "I do like the sound of that," he murmured as he pushed her down on her elbows. "Call me yours again, Pet."

Her eyelids fluttered as he gripped a fist into the hair at the back of her head and entered her with the fingers of his other hand. "My Master Lucius."

So deliciously wet she was for him, already. Withdrawing his hand, he positioned himself, sliding inside her in a single, sharp thrust.

Hermione trembled at his entry. Letting out a moan, she pressed tighter to the bed, lifting herself to meet his thrusts.

He slid his free hand around her as she moved back against him, the tips of his fingers rubbing between her thighs.

"Oh, gods," she said with a breathless giggle as a fine tremor shook through her muscles. Honestly, they had just started!

He leaned over her, his chest against her back. "It's all right, Pet," he murmured, "I know it seems fast, but I want you to come, and we are pressed for time."

Nodding in his grip, she followed his urging. She strained, pushing back against him as hard as she could and then stilling.

With a grin, he held her tighter, thrusting into her harder and faster until she cried out. He knew by the way she shivered in his grasp, the way she way her voice shook, and her body clenched tight around his cock, that her orgasm was crashing over her.

"Your Master Lucius," he said in that purring whisper as he decided he could not wait—the rocking of his hips becoming jerking and erratic.

As her orgasm ebbed enough that she was able to move, she ground herself against him as he pushed into her in that last, sharp thrust before he stilled.

She loved the feel of his breath on her neck, of his lips trailing over her shoulders and back in lazy, helpless kisses as he spent himself. Hermione slowed, rocking to a halt as he all but collapsed on top of her.

Lucius managed to avoid colliding, entirely, with the poor girl, however. He rolled onto his side at the last minute, pulling her to fall with him.

She snuggled against him, resting her cheek in the hollow of his shoulder as they caught their breath.

He uttered a chuckle as he toyed with a lock of her wild hair. "Not certain lounging was part of what I had in mind when I pointed out we are pressed for time."

"And you would be the first to point out to me that the marketplace is not going anywhere."

Master Lucius nodded, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Hermione lost herself for a few moments. In the beat of his heart beneath her ear, in the sensation of his bare skin against hers, the sound of their slowly steadying breaths.

If there were nothing more than this, life would be perfect.

"I want to belong to you forever," she said, before she even realized the words had left her lips.

Swallowing hard at her admission, he lifted his head to look at her. "Do you understand what you said?"

She turned her face, delicately balancing her chin on his chest to meet his gaze. "Yes. I want to be the Malfoy Pet until my last breath."

"Are you certain of that?" He raised a hand, tracing her lips with one finger. "We Malfoys are rather greedy creatures. Once we decide something is ours, there is no letting it go."

Hermione arched a brow as she brushed a kiss over his fingertips. "Then, I suppose you two really have made me a Malfoy."

"Oh?"

She nodded. "I have decided that you and Master Draco are mine, and I am never letting you go."

"Possessiveness never sounded so lovely," he said, the faintest smile tugging the corners of his mouth ever so slightly upward as he leaned to kiss her lips.

Hermione glanced about from her place between the Malfoys as they strolled through the main street of the marketplace. Past all the lovely shops, all brightness and color, the delicious scents of the bakeshops and eateries.

"Perhaps after we find him, we can lunch at that café you so like," Master Draco said, his tone thoughtful as he glanced from their surroundings to meet his pet's chestnut eyes for a brief moment.

She nodded, consulting Master Lucius with a quick look—he nodded, as well. "When we're finished there, you two can run along, I feel like another bout of shopping is in order."

Draco folded his lips inward on a laugh as Lucius sighed. "Pet, you know the rules."

Pouting, she let her shoulders droop. "But I—"

"If you've a mind to secretly buy more gifts for us, I assure you that can wait for a day when we can arrange you a chaperone."

Hermione halted, mid-step. The men on either side of her paused, as well, each turning to look at her.

"This city is not so dangerous, and I have done nothing to earn mistrust," she said with a displeased frown replacing her pout. "Why can't I be here alone? Without Dobby and Mr. Goyle to mind me?"

The Malfoys exchanged a tense look before Lucius ducked his head toward hers, his voice dropping to a whisper. "We trust you implicitly, Pet. True you have not always shown the wisest of judgement, but it is not you who are the source of our concern."

She understood, and actually was rather upset with herself for not thinking of it before it was mentioned. "Voldemort? You think if he were to hear that I travel unaccompanied, he would take the opportunity?"

"Steal the opportunity," Draco said in an unhappy mutter as he shook his head.

"Voldemort was once someone I believed I could put faith in." Master Lucius shook his head, as well. "But since he has come to power, I feel there is nothing I would not put past him. If he decided he wanted you, if Bellatrix ever let it slip that you are possessed of magic—no matter how unusable to him—I would trust him not to forgo the opportunity to simply snatch you away on a whim."

Hermione nodded, her pout turning into a thoughtful puckering of her lips as she flounced in place a moment. "So, then, after he is dealt with . . . ?"

Lucius sighed again as Draco chuckled. She certainly was persistent. "Yes, after he is dealt with, you may roam Godrick's Hollow freely, whenever you so choose."

Beaming, she bounced onto her toes to place a kiss on each of her masters' cheeks before she started them all walking, again.

The walked every street, it seemed, only to find the street urchin in the same alley where Hermione had spotted him on that first outing. He sat, at the base of a lamppost, a loaf of bread in his hands.

Her heart clenched a little as she watched him take careful little bites, clearly afraid to eat too much of it at once.

She broke away from her masters to draw close to him. He didn't seem to notice the proximity until she spoke. "Excuse me?"

He jumped a little, but a smile—small and uncertain—split his face when he looked up to see the speaker.

Hermione smiled back. "You remember me?"

"'Course I do," he said, fishing something from his pocket. "You gave me this."

Her jaw dropped and her heart sank at the sight of her gold bangle resting on his open hand. "Oh, no! I . . . I meant for you to use it! Exchange it for money!"

He nodded and put the bracelet away, again. "I know you did, Miss. But no one would believe I hadn't stolen it, so I didn't bother."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize," she said, her throat tightening a little at his circumstances.

"No one has ever thought to do me any courtesy, at least you did. So please don't apologize."

"What's your name?"

"Neville."

"Neville," she repeated, nodding. "My name is Hermione, those are my masters, Lords Lucius and Draco Malfoy."

Neville looked past her toward the two men waiting not far away. "Masters?"

"I'm a pet," she said, her tone matter-of-fact. "Neville, I have a proposition for you that would get you off the streets. Somewhere you could have a place to sleep and steady meals."

His eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he nodded. "I'm listening, Miss Hermione."

Relief caused a sensation, like a bubble bursting in the center of her chest. The Malfoys kept an eye on their surroundings as Hermione explained what she wanted of Neville. How much better Voldemort's strangely amicable captivity was than the streets, how as long as he let the former king and queen do all the talking while in Voldemort's presence, he would be safe.

Neville snorted a laugh as he picked at another bit of bread. "You make being a prisoner sound pretty damn good."

She grinned, even as she hated the sight of him plucking at that grainy loaf. Turning her head to meet Draco's gaze over her shoulder, she nodded toward the bread, her face pinching in a pleading expression.

Scowling, he exchanged a quick glance with his father before he pivoted on a heel and walked off toward the nearest dining establishment.

"But, why should I?"

"What?" Hermione's heart fell into her stomach, her eyes flashing wide as she returned her attention to him.

"It sounds fine, an' all, but . . . ." He shrugged, shaking his head. "What's the point if I'm just going to end up back out here when you don't need me anymore?"

Her thudding heart calmed as she thought. If she pulled all this off, there would be no request from her the Potters wouldn't grant. "Well, are you willing to work?"

His brows drew together. "'Course. Just no one wants to hire someone like me to do anything that isn't unsavory."

"If you help, if you do this, I can promise you that you will have a job at the palace, once the Potters are free. It would include room and board, in the servants' quarters. They're always in need of good stable boys."

Again, Neville smiled. "I can do that!"

He furnished Hermione with the locations he frequented, so she would have little trouble finding him when it came time to put her plan into action. And, though he'd witnessed the interaction that led to it, there was no masking Neville's surprise as Draco returned with a steaming container.

It was all Neville could do not to tear off the lid and upend the too-hot bowl of stew into his mouth at the first whiff of rich gravy and succulent hunks of beef. But that would be rude . . . and probably burn his throat. It was also more food than he'd had in one sitting in gods only knew how long, and he was not going to squander it by giving himself indigestion.

Hell, he'd turn the world upside down if this girl asked!

Hermione and her masters bid him farewell, and started off, again.

"Should you really have made such a promise?" Lucius asked when they were out of earshot of the urchin.

Sighing happily, Hermione leaned her head against Master Draco's shoulder, meeting Master Lucius' gaze from the corner of her eye as they walked. "Were you in the Potters' place, wouldn't you be willing to do such a kindness for the person who made the restoration of your freedom and throne possible?"

"Well, when you put it like that, I suppose I can understand your confidence on the matter."

She beamed all over again as they led her to the door of her favorite café.

"Post for you, Miss," Dobby said when they stepped into the foyer.

Hermione's brow furrowed as she took the missive from the toddling house elf. "Post for . . . ?" Then she recalled, before she even looked at the beautiful, swirling script on the back of the envelope.

"Everything all right, Pet?"

"Hmm?" She met Master Draco's curious gaze. "Oh, yes. Just a letter from Mother Fleur."

"We'll leave you to read it in privacy, then," Lucius said, nodding to his son.

They each kissed her before they headed off to different parts of the house. Left in the silence of the first floor, Hermione walked to the sitting room as she carefully opened the envelope.

She couldn't believe she'd forgotten that she'd written to Fleur about seeing Pansy next week.

Dearest Hermione,

I am so happy to hear from you, it is good that your circumstances have turned for the better. I would like, if you do not think it too forward, that we might maintain a correspondence. Sometimes it becomes difficult to recall that there is a world beyond Solitude's walls.

As for Pansy . . . . Mes dieux! I miss her every day. If there was any message that I would wish for you to bring to her, please, just tell her I still love her. I hope someday to see her, again, if the gods are kind.

Yours,

Fleur

Smiling bitterly, Hermione folded the letter and put it back in its envelope. Her heart had broken for Fleur and Pansy when she'd learned of their relationship, just as it had broken for herself where Sirius and Severus were concerned.

Nodding to the empty room, she decided she would bring the missive with her to the dinner party. She would let Pansy read her love's words with her own eyes.