Chapter 37

SPOV

I made love to her over and over and over again that night. I'm not sure if it was the thought that someone else had seen her in that beautiful, vulnerable state that was making me want to reclaim her, or if I was simply trying to pour forty years of repressed emotions into her. Bringing other people into the playroom always changed the dynamic, but there was never any way to know exactly how it would change until you did it.

I had expected Hermione to be aroused by watching her friends together, but amazingly it didn't seem to be enough for her. I had known other submissives that were largely incapable of having an orgasm with, in front of, or at the command of anyone other than their regular Dominant, but it had never happened with me. There were many new things about a long-term relationship that I was now experiencing and in many ways I felt unprepared and overwhelmed. Knowing that she belonged to me and wanted only to be with me weighed heavily on my heart… and on my sex drive.

Miss Weasley had done well. All Dominants felt some level of apprehension the first time weather from fear of hurting a loved one in the pursuit of pleasure, or in determining that they weren't really as sadistic as they believed themselves to be. It was never the sadism that got me off, although I wouldn't deny a sadistic streak, and I didn't think that it would be for Miss Weasley either. It was about cultivating an atmosphere that made me feel powerful. Ginny had picked up on that, and I was quite sure she would be back with additional questions as she learned to experiment. It was a fun evening. I would not hesitate to have them here again, if it was Hermione's desire.

I shifted slightly so that I could see the outline of her face in the dark. Keeping her here, in my home, overnight was dangerous, and I knew that I shouldn't be doing it. Even having her in the lab would be hard to explain to any of my fellow Death Eaters. I should have sent her home with her friends, but I simply hadn't been able to. She was making me soft, and it was dangerous for as all.

"Go back to sleep," she murmured. Her eyes were still closed.

"You go back to sleep," I countered. I felt guilty. I hadn't meant to wake her. I pressed my lips to her temple and inhaled her scent. She put her arms around my neck and pulled me down to her. I rested my head on her soft chest and traced the curve of her hip with my fingers. God, I loved her.

The next day I sat down with Alastor, Remus, and Minerva. I wanted this to end sooner rather than later. I had reaffirmed the realization in the night that I would never really be able to be with my love until Tom Riddle was dead. I wanted her in my bed every night, and I did not want to fear for her safety when it happened. We reviewed plans for each of the remaining Horcruxes, and I insisted on the most accelerated time line.

Removing the Horcrux from the room of requirement was the easiest of the remaining artifacts and so we had plans to begin there. We were splitting up responsibilities, and I was not personally responsible for anything except the Dark Lord himself, and possibly the snake, depending on how that worked out in the end. I urged my comrades to hurry.

Life went back to its steady routine for the next few days. Hermione and I worked together daily and she remained safe, despite her connection to me, but the dread that filled my stomach every time I thought of losing her never quelled. We did have one close call when Wormtail showed up unexpectedly one morning. Hermione was able to make it out the floo and into the safe house before she was discovered, but the whole incident still haunted me.

Ginny had taken to joining us in the lab occasionally, and I would discuss various techniques with her and enjoy watching the blush spread across Hermione's face when she found our discussions particularly embarrassing or arousing.

The Order made two failed attempts at two different Horcruxes before managing to acquire the cup that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. Destroying it proved even more difficult than obtaining it. I was thankful that it wasn't my problem. I had enough to worry about.

The Order was also insisting that the students (I had a really hard time thinking of her that way) needed to be able to sit their final exams. So, in addition to helping in the lab, Hermione now needed time to study. Between that and trying to develop plans to bring down my deranged part-time boss, I wasn't getting much time to be alone with her, and even when I was, we weren't spending that time in the playroom. I could tell that it was wearing on her, but there was little I could do; I was pressed for time too.

"Name the three common uses for unicorn blood," I drilled between the stages of her potion. There was no reason why she couldn't study and work at the same time.

"Seriously?" she asked raising an eyebrow. "I knew that by first year."

"Are you refusing to answer me?" I threw back. She was right of course. It was a stupid question, but I was not really in a mood for this right now. She let out a heavy sigh, but still didn't answer me. "All right," I finally capitulated. "I get it. I'm bored as well. Let's see if we can't make this more interesting shall we?"

She didn't speak but her eyes lit up.

"Up on the table." She scrambled up on the empty work surface across from me. I would have a lovely view from here while I worked.

I quickly vanished her clothing and rearranged a few things until she was kneeling naked on a cushion on the table. I transfigured her shoes into stiletto heels and returned them to her feet. She wrapped her small hands around the heels at my bidding, which forced her hands behind her and straightened her posture. Absolutely fucking breathtaking. I cast a slow rotating charm on the table. I wanted to see her from every angle as I worked.

I returned to my potion. "Answer the question." I commanded.

She complied despite the fact that it was still a stupid question. Her answer was, of course, correct. "Good girl." I went to the chalkboard on the wall and made a square with two columns: correct and incorrect. I charmed the chalk to add a tally to either side as appropriate. So far she had one in the correct column.

"For every five correct answers I will grant you one orgasm. For every incorrect answer you will sustain fifteen minutes of my attentions without release. You will serve them back-to-back, so I would suggest that you don't make too many mistakes. Do you agree?"

"Yes, Master," came her obedient reply.

It was time for some harder questions. I smirked to myself. Poor girl had no idea what she was in for.

I drilled her mercilessly for the next forty-five minutes, only allowing her reprieve twice to stretch her legs. She had been developing a tolerance for kneeling, but I could see the strain it caused as she struggled to remain still.

Even with the added stress of nudity and fatigue, question-by-question she amazed me. I asked her things that she truly had no business knowing as a seventh year student, but she knew them anyway. I had always known of course that she was book smart, but I didn't realize until this very moment how much she knew. The woman could recite facts and figures like a Muggle computer. I tried not to let it show, but I was flabbergasted. I eventually resorted to pulling questions from my University texts when I couldn't think of anything challenging enough.

At eleven o'clock she had two incorrect answers and twenty-three correct ones.

"Stand up," I commanded. She did as I asked, wobbling slightly on the tall heels with her tired legs. I handed her wand to her. "Time for the practical portion of your exam."

"Yes, Sir," she said.

"Do you need a break to use the loo?"

"No, Sir."

"Are you hungry?"

"A little, Sir."

"We'll eat when we're finished with this. Agreed?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good. Perform for me a levitation charm."

I watched her from behind as she performed countless acts of magic perfectly. I tried to quell the raging erection that formed in my pants as I watched her ass sway with her want movements. There were moments when I was sure this was harder for me than it was for her. I exercised self-control and started another potion.

Her charms were quite good as a general rule, but we had one wash where she technically managed to transfigure a beetle into a bowling ball, but she accidentally killed the bug in the process. I counted it as incorrect, but she managed to convince me that she had correctly performed the task so we opted for leaving it off the board altogether.

She did have some difficultly with the harder defensive spells, which added two marks to the incorrect side of the board. It also worried me. Of all the areas for her to be weak, why did it have to be the spells that she would probably need the most? I made a mental note to train her harder in that area. She needed more practice with dueling.

After a half an hour of practical exams, the score was six incorrect to thirty-five correct. I owed her seven orgasms and an hour and a half of torture.