Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Harry Potter Universe. It all belongs to the Queen, J.K.

Beta Love: Dreamingofstars85

A/N: I really appreciate the patience, guys! Between moving, and a new puppy, and life, I haven't been able to write as much as I'd like. Hopefully, soon I'll get back into frequent updates! For now though, enjoy!

Xoxo, Luce


CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

Honey, I'm Home

As soon as Hermione and Finn made it back to their room, Hermione headed for the shower. She desperately needed to wash Dolohov's touch from her skin. She was scrubbing herself for the second time, finally starting to feel almost clean, when she heard a distinctive shout, and what sounded like something hard falling over.

"HE WHAT?"

Hermione perked her ears, trying to hear what was going on over the noise of the shower. There was a bit of a scuffle and what sounded like grunts from both parties.

"You can't yet!"

"Fucking let me go, Finn!"

That one was clear as day, as it came from right outside the bathroom door, which slammed open against the wall a moment later. Draco burst in and he looked livid. Hermione rinsed the soap from her body and raised her eyebrows at him. He was red-faced and clearly angry.

"Are you ok?" he asked gruffly.

Hermione sighed; Finn told him. "I'm fine, Draco.

He kept his eyes on hers for several moments, as if trying to gauge whether she was telling the truth or lying. Finn sauntered into her line of sight, leaning on the doorframe and casually putting his hands in his pockets.

"I told him," he said with a shrug.

She rolled her eyes and replied dryly, "I gathered."

"You're alright though?" Draco asked again.

Hermione nodded, trying to sound as sure as she could. "Yes, I'm fine."

"And naked," Finn added, smirking in appreciation and wiggling his eyebrows.

As if he only just realised she was, indeed, naked, Draco shouted at Finn, "Hey! Get out you fucker!" He shoved Finn in the chest until he was out of the bathroom and slammed the door, crossing his arms and looking like he was planning on standing guard.

"I don't need you to watch over me," Hermione said with a laugh. She rinsed her hair and body once more before turning the taps off.

"Apparently you do," he growled, walking to the counter and handing her the towel that was waiting there.

Hermione silently took the towel, drying off and wrapping it around her body before grabbing the second towel and scrunching her hair with it. She looked at Draco, standing there so clearly furious and protective, and sighed. "I really am ok, Draco," she said, placing one of her hands on his forearm as she passed by him, exiting the bathroom.

Draco stopped at the table where Finn sat and picked up the bottle of firewhisky, taking a considerable swig. Hermione continued on to her wardrobe, opening it and searching out something specific. She found what she was looking for and, picking up a pair of black heels, brought the stack of clothes to the bathroom. She didn't bother shutting the door—there was no point when they didn't care about her privacy anyway.

Hermione pulled on the half-sleeve, black dress. It hit just at her knees—not too long, not too short. It also prominently displayed her Mark, which she was not used to seeing yet, but knew would please the Dark Lord and anyone else she may run into. She slipped into the black heels, pointing her wand at the buckles. She dried her hair and used a few simple makeup charms. In a matter of minutes she was more than presentable; Narcissa would most certainly approve.

Walking out of the bathroom, she felt Draco's eyes on her. "I need to see the Dark Lord," she said, taking the bottle from him and pouring herself a glass.

"What? Why?" he demanded. "You should still be resting!"

"I need to see him before he leaves, assuming he isn't gone yet." Hermione gave him back the bottle and walked to the door.

Draco stood and walked toward her, but she shook her head. "No, Draco. I have to go alone on this one."

"I'm sorry, what?" he said, anger already tinting his voice.

"I have to speak to him and I think I have to do it alone. You're too emotional about this, and I need him to—I just need to do this alone."

"Like hell you do! You were alone for five minutes today and nearly got raped! I'm not letting you go anywhere alone ever again!" he shouted, blocking her from getting to the door.

Hermione sighed and put her hand out to grab his. She shook her head slightly. "Draco, you can't protect me everywhere I go. I made a mistake today, going without my wand. It won't happen again. Especially now that I'm allowed to have it everywhere I go. I won't let something like that happen again. Stun first, ask questions later, alright?"

"I don't like this, Hermione."

"I know you don't," she said softly. Hermione reached up, cupping his face and gently stroking her thumb across the smooth skin there. "I will be back soon."

Hermione leant forward and kissed him softly on the cheek before leaving the room and heading toward the Dark Lord's office. When she got there she took a steadying breath and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Turning the knob she pushed open the door, bowing her head slightly as she entered his office. She walked to the chair in front of his desk, placing her hands on the back of it and waiting for him to finish his writing. When he looked up he was clearly surprised to see her.

"Hermione, please sit," he said gesturing to the chair in front of her. "How are you?"

"Very well, thank you, sir," she said, delicately sitting down. Both the energy and pain potions seemed to finally be wearing off, and honestly, she was feeling tired and sore. But still better than she had any right to.

"I'm surprised to see you up so soon," he said, leaning back in his chair and interlinking his fingers, laying them in his lap.

Hermione smiled demurely. "Yes, well I've several things to do and spending my time asleep in bed isn't one of them."

He laughed, genuinely surprised and pleased it seemed. "Well then, alright. What can I help you with?"

Hermione swallowed. She really wasn't sure how this meeting would go, and she was nervous to find out. "I want to accept Draco's contract, My Lord."

His eyebrows rose. "That isn't what we discussed," he said, sounding intrigued but unwavering. "I wasn't aware he had presented a contract yet."

"Well, he hasn't, sir. But he will. And I realise that it wasn't the plan, My Lord," she said, bowing her head. "However, certain… complications have arisen, and I think a simple change to the plan would be for the best."

"What complications?"

Hermione lifted her head, making eye contact. "Antonin Dolohov, My Lord."

The Dark Lord tilted his head, curious. "And what exactly is complicated about him?"

"He rather fancies me, My Lord. Or, rather, he fancies possessing me. We have had two altercations now, and I can't say I feel safe around him."

"Altercations?" he asked.

Hermione took a deep breath. "He can't seem to keep his hands to himself, My Lord. Even if we put aside the two times he has tried to force me to be sexual with him, he still does things like sit by me at dinner every chance he gets and fondle whatever part of me he can reach. I'm not sure I can control myself much longer." She paused, gauging his reaction. "If I may be frank?" she asked.

He nodded, bringing one hand up and indicating she should continue.

"The next time his fingers seek me out underneath the table, I'm likely to hex both his fingers and his bollocks off, sir. However, I know how much he does for you, and I don't want to upset you by maiming one of your inner circle."

The Dark Lord surprised her by laughing, deeply, at her statement. She wasn't sure what to make of it until he spoke again. "I like you, Hermione. And while I'm sure I would enjoy seeing you handle Dolohov in your own unique way, you're right. I do need him to have continued use of both hands."

Hermione breathed a quiet sigh of relief and let herself smile a little. She waited patiently as the man seemed to be truly thinking about what to do with her problem. After a moment, he sat up straighter and spoke again.

"How about, rather than changing our plan, because I think it is going to work best just as it is, we simply relocate you?" he said,

"Relocate me, sir?" She wasn't sure if that would be a good thing, or a terrible thing, and her stomach was tight with knots.

"Yes," he said. "I think it would be alright for you to accompany Mister Rowle back to his private apartment, at least until you and Mister Malfoy are ready to move forward. I've been needing him to resume his usual work again anyway, and once he is settled back at his place instead of here all the time, he will be able to. Win-win," he said, finishing with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

It was actually much better than what Hermione had hoped for, even if it did leave her confused and more than a little peeved. Finn had an apartment? Why hadn't he told her?

Hermione pushed her varying feelings down and smiled at the man before her. "Win-win, My Lord."

He picked up his pen and pulled the parchment on which he had been writing back in front of him as he spoke. "Once you're settled, I'd like another meeting with you to discuss your role in this organization. I think you are ready for a more active part."

Hermione nodded in acceptance. "Yes, My Lord." She stood from her chair and turned toward the door.

"Oh, and Hermione?"

She turned back to face him. "Yes, My Lord?"

He looked up with a sly smile on his face. "While I'd appreciate if you didn't maim my followers with permanent hexes, feel free to use some of the other skills you've been learning."

"Sir?" she asked.

"Mister Dolohov has never trained for physical fighting, Hermione. I think you'd have quite the advantage there."

Hermione smiled broadly, bowing her head slightly. "My Lord," she said with as much thanks as she could get into her tone. She turned for the door and left, feeling like she'd somehow won something.

Her body was definitely getting sorer by the minute, so she quickly made her way back to the bedroom, thankfully not passing anyone on her way there. When she walked inside, both heads snapped up to see her, and Draco stood from the chair and walked over to where she was taking her shoes off. She faltered a little as she pulled one of the heels off and Draco's hands were immediately out, steadying her. She looked up and smiled at him. "Thanks." She quickly took the second shoe off and walked to the bed, sitting on the edge. Rather than spending the energy to find and change into pyjamas, she took out her wand and transfigured the dress slightly. She changed the material to a much more comfortable silk and got rid of the sleeves entirely, leaving thin spaghetti straps in their place. She pulled back the covers and crawled into the heap of blankets.

"So?" Draco asked, waiting until she was settled in and then sitting down next to her.

"You gonna tell us what that was all about, doll, or are you just going to make us sweat it out? It's really not nice to keep secrets," he said with a chuckle.

"It's not nice to keep secrets? Care to tell me then why you didn't let me know you had your own place, Finn?" she asked, eyebrows raised at the man.

"Uhh, it didn't seem important?" he said, surprised. "How do you know about that?"

"The Dark Lord obviously told me about it," she said, covering her mouth as she yawned and then looking at Draco. "I went to tell him that I wanted to accept your contract early, to get Dolohov off my back, and he suggested that we just relocate. He said it would be fine for me to just accompany Finn to his apartment, if…" she paused, suddenly nervous about why Finn wouldn't have told her about having his own place.

"If what?" Finn asked.

"If you'll have me, I guess," she said softly, feeling unsure.

"Well, obviously I'm not going to leave you here, doll. I'd miss you too much," he said with a laugh, standing up and walking over to the bed, sitting on the end near her feet. "You look tired."

Hermione nodded and covered another yawn. "I think I need more practice modifying the potions. They seem to have run their course, and I feel pretty shite, honestly."

"You need to sleep," Draco said sternly. "You pushed yourself way too fucking hard today."

"Yes, alright, thank you mother," she said sarcastically.

He glared at her. "Seriously, Hermione."

"Alright, alright," she chuckled, scooting down further under the covers until she was curled up on her side, facing Draco. He put his hand on her forehead, brushing away the hair that fell in her face.

"You sleep. We will figure everything out and when you're ready, we'll move our things to Finn's."

Hermione nodded and closed her eyes. She felt like she could sleep for days at this point, and wouldn't actually be surprised if that really happened. She felt Finn stand up from the bed and a moment later the room darkened. Draco remained next to her, brushing his hand ovwe her head slowly until she fell asleep.

xXxXxXx

"Hermione, Hermione! Wake up! You're ok, wake up!"

Gasping, Hermione woke up, sitting up in bed and looking around, frightened. The room was dim but she could see Draco sitting next to her, worry etched on his face. Over his shoulder, Finn sat at the table, also obviously concerned. They'd clearly both been sitting there together, as there were papers spread out between the two chairs, one of which was pushed back from the table. She looked up at Draco and reached out to clutch his shirt.

"It's alright, Hermione. You're here with us," he said, placing his hand over hers on his shirt.

"I had a nightmare," she said, her breathing regulating a little. "I was, it was—"

"I know," he said, looking down and not meeting her eyes. "We heard."

"Oh," Hermione said, dropping her hand. She'd been dreaming of the girl, from her initiation.

"It's only been a few of hours, can you go back to sleep?" he asked.

"I don't—" she shook her head. She wasn't sure that she could sleep again after that. She didn't want to relive that experience ever again, yet she felt somehow that it was also part of her punishment, to have to remember it.

"Ok, ok, that's fine. We were about done anyway." He looked over to Finn and asked, "You good?"

"Yeah," Finn agreed.

Draco nodded and then stood from the bed, undressing himself down to his boxers. "Scoot over," he said.

Hermione made her way to the middle of the bed, hissing as the cold sheets chilled her body. Draco climbed into the bed next to her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. He settled his head into the crook of her neck, placing a kiss there before whispering in her ear, "I've got you."

Hermione nodded as a tear slid down her cheek. It took another twenty minutes, but eventually, she fell back into a dreamless sleep.

xXxXxXx

Hermione slept for a full seventeen hours straight after she'd awoken that first time. When she woke up it was eleven in the morning, two days since she'd been marked. Both Draco and Finn were there, and they had breakfast brought to her in bed, making sure she ate at least a good portion of it before they allowed her to shower and dress for the day.

She picked another all-black outfit, trousers and a half-sleeve blouse, and dried her curls but left them unruly around her face. She stepped out of the bathroom feeling very refreshed and better than she felt she had any right to. Draco and Finn were both dressed and waiting for her, so she walked over to where Draco stood and linked her arm with his.

"I assume you know where we're going?" she asked, looking up at him.

He nodded and then looked to Finn. "Shall we?"

"It's warded up pretty tight, best only try for the alley," Finn said before he disappeared with a quiet pop.

Draco looked down at Hermione and smiled. "Ready?"

She nodded, and a moment later found herself standing in a quiet alley that was just off of a bustling street. The corners of her mouth quirked up into a smile as she took in the surroundings—not what she had been expecting at all, though she hadn't really had any expectations. There were no markers for her to know where they were, but it was clearly a busier area.

"Where are we?" she asked.

Finn linked arms with her free arm and when she turned to look at him, he grinned down at her. "Home," he said.

They walked around to the front of the building and Hermione was shocked to find out they were in a muggle neighbourhood. "But where?" she asked again, insanely curious.

Finn grinned at her. "London," he said, walking up to the corner townhouse and opening the door to let her walk in first.

It was very nice. Much nicer than she suspected it had been when it was owned by muggles. There was a staircase dominating the front area, and a little hallway leading back to the rest of the first floor. She walked down the hall and found a very large kitchen, a dining area and a formal sitting room, and a bathroom. It was all decorated, unlike Finn's room at the manor. There were photos on the walls, paintings, tapestries, plants, for Merlin's sake there were vases.

"Finn, why didn't you tell me about this?!" she asked, spinning to face him.

"Honestly, I wasn't sure you'd ever be able to see it, and it didn't seem fair to… I don't know, tease you with it?" He shrugged and sat in a barstool at the counter in the kitchen. Draco joined him, and Hermione walked around the space, opening cupboards and peaking inside drawers.

"You live here by yourself?" she asked. "It seems pretty big for one person."

"Yeah, for the most part. Draco usually stays part, if not most, of the summers with me, and his strays are here more often than not with him. But during the school year, it's just me."

"Strays?" she asked, backing up to the counter and hopping up.

"Like you don't enjoy their company," Draco said, rolling his eyes. "He means my friends."

"Oh?" Hermione tilted her head.

"Pans, Theo and Daph, Blaise," he shrugged. Sometimes some others will show up, but usually just those four.

Hermione nodded, biting her lip. She looked around the kitchen again and then hopped off the counter. "Can we keep looking?" she asked.

"How about you give her the grand tour and I'll go grab our stuff? Unless you want to stay another night at the manor?"

Hermione recoiled and raised her eyebrow at Finn.

He chuckled and nodded. "Figured as much. It shouldn't take too long to grab everything, but I don't have any food here. Should I stop and grab something for dinner? Takeaway?"

Hermione's eyes lit up. "Chinese?" she asked. "I've been dying for some good Chinese food! Please please please?"

Finn laughed again and nodded. "Anything for you, doll," he said. "What do you want?"

"Egg rolls," she said. "Lots of egg rolls."

Finn laughed and shook his head at her. "Draco?"

"Anything. You know what I like," Draco said with a shrug.

Finn nodded. "Alright," he said before apparating away.

Hermione left the kitchen and walked into the sitting room, running her hands along the bookshelves that lined the walls. She walked slowly, taking in as much as she could. It felt good to be here. Like she was breathing fresh air for the first time again. The stench of Dark Magic didn't permeate this place like it did the Manor and she felt like she was freer than she had been in months.

"Did you want to see upstairs?" Draco asked, coming up behind her and putting his hands on her hips.

She nodded and then followed him out of the room, up to the first floor. There was a large library, an office, and another bathroom. There were three bedrooms on the third floor, and two on the fourth. The house was starting to remind Hermione of a mixture of Grimmauld Place and the Burrow. The last floor was actually empty. There were four walls and flooring, but it looked as though there had been construction planned and never finished.

"Finn was going to do something with this last summer I think, but he never finished the project," Draco said when she questioned him about it.

"Is he—Can he do this kind of work himself?" she asked. Building charms weren't necessarily hard, but they were complex and most upper-class witches and wizards didn't bother learning them.

Draco looked around and shrugged. "He did this whole place," he said.

"Oh." It seemed there was still a lot about Finn that she didn't know.

Hermione walked back down to the third floor, intent on choosing a bedroom that wasn't right next to Finn's. Not that she'd minded his company, but it would be nice to have some space where she and Draco could just be alone together.

Hermione walked into one of the bedrooms but stopped in the middle, suddenly unsure. She turned around and looked at Draco, who had silently trailed along behind her as she explored the rooms.

"Are we—Are you…" she bit her lip, not sure how to ask without sounding ridiculous. "Where are you sleeping?"

His eyebrows rose and he studied her face for a moment. "Where do you want me to sleep?" he asked, putting his hands into his pocket and leaning on the door frame.

"With me?" she said very quietly.

A slow smile spread across his face and he was suddenly crossing the room, backing her up until her knees hit the bed behind her. Hermione let him push her down onto the bed, his legs straddling hers and his hands coming up to hold either side of her head. "I was hoping you'd say that," he murmured before leaning down and capturing her lips with his. The kiss was intense and deep in a matter of moments; her fingers were threaded through his hair pulling him closer, and one of his hands trailed down her front, under her shirt, and was now cupping her breast.

Draco slid his hands up her body until he reached her arms, pulling her hands gently from his hair and pushing them back on to the bed, pinning her wrists above Hermione's head. He was nipping and kissing along her jaw and down her neck. They were both breathing heavily and Hermione could feel the length of his arousal pressing against her. He drew one hand down her arm to cup her breast again, massaging and pinching the nipple through her thin blouse.

Her head was tilted back, giving him better access to her neck when his thumb brushed along her forearm causing a sharp pain where he touched. Hermione's body immediately froze and she jerked her arm down to her side, almost as if she could hide the appendage. Draco sat up slightly and looked at her, his gaze falling on her arm which she was now clutching to her chest. His forehead creased momentarily and then his expression softened.

"Hermione," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—it just, I wasn't thinking about it, but you touched it and it hurt, and then it just brought everything back and—"

"Hey, hey, hey, it's alright, ok?" He pushed himself off of her, and Hermione could see that he was still very hard as he adjusted his trousers to sit comfortably. He pulled her to sit up next to him and tucked her into his side, putting his arm around her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know," she said. "I'm not sure what to say."

"Well, how are you feeling?" he asked gently.

Hermione sighed and thought about it. "Tired, sore, changed. I can't explain it, but something feels different, in my body."

"That's the connection to the Dark Lord. It doesn't go away," Draco said flatly. "It will lessen over time, though. You won't notice it as strongly as you do now."

Hermione was quiet as she held her arm out in front of herself, examining the Mark. She very gently brushed her fingers across the still reddened skin. "I can't stop thinking about what a horrible person I am, how disgusting I've become. The things I've done, it's just too much, Draco, it's too much."

Draco took her outstretched arm in one of his hands, placing his other palm every so lightly on top of her Mark. His voice was tender when he next spoke. "A very smart witch once told me that this Mark doesn't define you. It isn't who you are."

Hermione's heart caught in her throat as he continued on.

"She asked me if I'd forgotten which side I was really fighting for and reminded me that what I'd done, I did to survive. This isn't who you are, Hermione."

A tear rolled down her cheek as she let his words sink in. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she had been the one saying those words to him. She didn't feel like the same person at all. Hermione wiped the tear from her cheek and nodded her head.

"We are in this together, Hermione. I know this isn't what you signed up for, but—" he let her arm go and turned her cheek up so she was looking at him. "I've got you, Hermione." He held eye contact for a long moment, letting that sink in.

She nodded at him and tried to believe what he'd said. She knew that she had meant it when she'd said it to him and tried very hard to apply those same feelings of forgiveness to herself.

Draco leant down and tenderly kissed her once but didn't pull away, giving her the option. She kissed him back fervently, knowing she was using him to try and forget but not caring. She needed him now.

She moved so that she was straddling him on the bed, his hands on her arse and hers knotted in his hair. She was grinding her hips against him knowing they both needed more. It seemed Draco had the same thought because he brought his hands to the hem of her shirt, lifting it over her head and tossing it aside. Hermione began unbuttoning his shirt as his hands swept up her torso, landing on her breasts. Her bra was a very thin lace and he easily plucked her nipples through the material, making it hard for her to concentrate on his buttons. When she'd finally got the last one, she spread her hands across his chest, sliding them up to his shoulders and pushing the material from his body.

They were so caught up in each other that when Finn yelled out, "HONEY! I'm home!" they both nearly jumped out of their skins. Draco growled and Hermione laughed. They could hear Finn coming up the stairs, so Hermione quickly hopped off Draco and searched for her shirt. She had just picked it up from the floor when Finn made his way through the doorway of the bedroom.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," he said with a laugh, immediately turning and walking back down the hallway. "You can't even keep it in your pants for ten minutes? Is this what I have to look forward to now?"