I gave and gave the best of me

But couldn't give you what you need

"Go away, Potter," Draco said acidly from his desk at the Manor.

Harry reigned in the impulse to smash in Malfoy's nose. It couldn't be that the man who had almost pleaded to his friend to let them be together again was going to believe that she had willingly left him and their two sons. Two children Harry had seen her take great care of and who had received all the love that their mother had to offer. This made him angry and the window behind Malfoy cracked into many lines.

Draco looked at the window briefly and then went back to his work, or as much as he could with Potter hovering there like some type of troll. He sighed and sat back, looking at the other man in vehemence.

"How can you possibly believe that she is capable of abandoning her two sons?" Harry asked darkly.

"She said she was tired. Maybe that's why she left. I just… I can't understand why she just didn't talk to me about what she was feeling. I could've taken the twins with me in order to give her a break. She just didn't have to up and leave completely," said Draco, averting his eyes from the fiery green glaring at him.

Harry scowled. "She didn't do this, and if you ever loved her even a fraction of what you said you did, or still do, you will look for her and prove that she up and left of her own free will. You and I both know Hermione and we know that she would never abandon the two children she took so much care in when they were growing in her womb."

Draco let out a deep breath. "What if…" he gritted his teeth and began again. "What if we find her… and she did leave of her own free will?"

The dark haired man shook his head. "She wouldn't. Our Hermione wouldn't do that. She never would've left Ron in the first place, had you not blackmailed her into it. Remember that. Remember how long it took you to get her to trust you and to let go of her resentment in order to be with you."

Draco stared at him and swallowed hard. Potter had very valid points, though he wasn't about to admit that to the other man. She had been gone for only a few days now, but it still hurt to think of the letter he had found. He hadn't wanted to believe it, and still his brain refused to let him believe it. But also, his heart was afraid of what he had just told Potter. What if they found her and she had actually left willingly? What would he do then? He grunted and sat up in his chair. "What do you propose we do, Potter?" he asked.

Harry let out a deep breath. "Verify that the letter is legit. Do you still have it with you? Also, we can hire a private investigator to search any mode of her leaving the country. We can also have him ask around to see if anyone has seen her. Until I hear it from her lips, I will not believe that she left of her own accord," he said with conviction.

Draco nodded and grabbed a quill and parchment to write a letter for an investigator he knew to be the best. "For all our sakes, Potter, let's hope that she really didn't just leave because she wanted to get away from me and her children. I want to trust her, but the doubt is there," he admitted.

Harry didn't know what to reply to that. Hermione and Malfoy's relationship had had so many ups and downs; he understood what the other man was getting at. But he had been Hermione's best friend since they had been twelve. More than half of their lives. He trusted Hermione and knew she wouldn't have left behind her sons or the man that she loved. They would find her and get some answers.

Hermione woke with a start, her heart racing in her chest, and her head pounding in pain. She looked around the darkened room and felt her breathing speed up when she didn't recognize anything around her. The curtains were drawn shut and she stood slowly to open them, squinting at the bright sunlight that flooded the room. She swallowed hard when she recognized nothing on the outside either. All her eyes could see was an expanse of tall trees and no other houses nearby.

What the hell had happened? Where was she? She felt her head, high above her ear and grimaced when her fingers touched a scabbing wound. She thought back as much as she could, trying to remember how she had gotten there. Then it all came back to her suddenly, and she nearly swayed as she remembered what had happened that afternoon when she had opened the door only to encounter…

"Hello," she greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"May I come in? There's something of dire importance that we need to discuss."

Hermione hesitated but finally nodded and stepped aside to let her visitor in. She just hoped that the visit was quick so that she could get back to her sons and Draco. Her visitor wasn't dangerous. At least, that was what she thought. "What can I help you with Lavender?"

"I just wanted to come visit you, to see how you were doing with your kids and Malfoy," she said with an easy smile.

Hermione smiled back and motioned her to follow her to the kitchen. "We're okay; I'm just getting some bottles of formula for them. Harry and Pansy are waiting with Draco and the kids at the park. We're going to lunch. Why don't you and Ron join us?"

"I don't think we can. Ron's a little busy right now," replied Lavender.

"Right," Hermione said with a small smile. "Probably with Roan. How is he, by the way?"

Lavender frowned. "Who?"

Hermione frowned and started to shake one of the bottles. "Roan," she said, faltering slightly when the other woman shrugged and looked puzzled over the name. Something occurred to her, and she subconsciously reached for her wand, realizing too late that she had foolishly left it in her purse.

"Let me see your hands," said the woman standing behind her, poking her with the tip of her wand against her temple.

Hermione let out a slow breath and lifted her hands, turning to look at her. "Who are you?" she hissed. "I know you're not Lavender because Roan happens to be her son, who you knew nothing about. You're either an idiot or a hermit because the birth of that boy was all over the papers."

"Very smart, Hermione. I guess you're not as stupid as I thought," said the Lavender impostor. "Now walk ahead of me and don't you dare try anything stupid. You may have been a very accomplished witch back in school, but so was I. I was one of the best in my House."

Hermione walked slowly, her hands held up where the impostor could see them. She was trying to think quickly, but if this person was as good as they boasted, Hermione was risking getting hexed or disarmed in an unpleasant way. She let out a deep breath and ducked, sending her arm into the impostor's, causing her to drop her wand. Then it was an all out cat fight, confirming to Hermione that though they were in a Lavender façade, the person behind it was a female too.

Being the accomplished fighter that she was—and she had to be, to take down a man like Draco—Hermione nearly beat the stuffing out of the other woman, who also got in some good jabs into her ribs and jaw. The Lavender fake used her to feet to slam them into Hermione and throw her back onto the floor, scrambling to her feet quickly as Hermione stood again and wiped the blood from her nose. Before Hermione could do anything else but draw breath, she was on the floor again, but this time with a wound on her head, and with her vision unfocused, the remains of a broken vase all around her.

"Did you really think that you could best me, Hermione? Did you? Merlin the great, I never knew what Draco saw in you or Pansy. He really does not know the difference between beauty and common looks. Cormac was a fool as well, but he doesn't matter to me that way anymore. As soon as you're gone, he'll have me to take care of him," she said with a smirk. Lavender's face moved into Hermione's line of vision.

"What? Cat got your tongue, little Hermione?"

Hermione tried to reply, but the vase breaking on her head had left her dazed and dizzy. She lay there, unable to do a thing as the Lavender fake immobilized her and then proceeded to clean up the glass and any traces of their fight with more charms. Then she disappeared into her bedroom and Hermione lost sight of her for a few minutes. While she was gone, she tried desperately to free herself from the spell, but she couldn't. With no wand, and wounded, there wasn't much she could do but gasp in effort.

Lavender came back and kneeled next to Hermione, producing a short letter from her pocket. "Can you guess what this is?" she asked with a sweet smile. "I'll read it to you, since you seem to be a bit… dazed at the moment." She read it and smiled at the cry of rage that Hermione released. "When they come looking for you, they'll find your clothes and you gone. Poor Draco will be so angry and devastated, I'll be the perfect shoulder for him to mourn on. Don't worry, there's someone willing to take care of you while I take care of Draco. I can't wait for your brats to grow up and leave for Hogwarts. I won't hurt them, don't worry. But if they become a nuisance, I'll make them disappear, maybe even send them with you. But enough talking, I don't want anyone to catch me here, and if anyone did see me, they'll think that the last person you spoke to was Lavender Brown. Say goodnight, Hermione," she said with a sinister smile.

Before Hermione could utter a word, her vision blurred as the woman cast a sleep spell over her, and she could've sworn that the brunette had turned into a blonde.

Hermione cursed Daphne high and low in her head. If she was participating in this, then McLaggen wouldn't be far behind. She remembered the fake saying that there would be someone to take care of her. He was the only person who came to mind. She checked the windows and the door, knowing that she was hoping for too much, if her captors had been foolish enough to let her wander out. As she looked at her face in the mirror, she grimaced when she saw the greenish bruises and a few cuts that had been cleaned.

There was nothing in the room that would help her break out or pick the lock on the door. All there was, was a simple twin sized bed, a small dresser, a table, and one chair. The bathroom was just as bear, except for little bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and some towels. Just as she was exciting the bathroom, the doorknob on the main door turned and the lock clicked. Her breath came out in an angry 'whoosh' and she tried with all her might to remain calm.

McLaggen and the ex-McLaggen entered the room, smug smiles on their faces as they shut the door. "Good morning, my love. Did you sleep well these past three days?" asked Cormac. "I was about to murder my dear ex-wife because I thought she had thrown you into a coma because of the head injury, but we had someone check you out and they said you were fine, but you needed rest. The exhaustion, paired with the concussion put you to sleep easily."

"Don't thank me for taking you away from the hell that it must be to take care of two little brats," said Daphne with a look of disgust on her face. "But don't worry. I really have nothing against them. Once I marry Draco and move into the Manor, I'll just have the house elves take care of them and keep them as far away from Draco and me as possible."

Hermione's hands were itching to rip the blonde hair right out of the woman's scalp. "Take me back McLaggen. Even if Draco believes that I would abandon him out of the nothing, Harry and Ron will not, and they will look for me. When they find me, I will use every influence I have to crush you if you don't take me back this instance," she said softly.

Cormac chuckled and shook his head once. "They can look, but it doesn't mean that they will find you. They won't even be able to trace your magic because you won't be able to use any here. The land we are on has been charmed to only allow my magic. So even if you get a hold of my wand by some circumstance, it won't work. Wandless magic won't work either. I know how you and Potter react to stressful situations, breaking glass and affecting the weather. Consider your magic void and null while you are in this house and on this land. You're powerless," he said, relishing in the feel of power and superiority he had over her.

"What do you want with me?" Hermione snarled as she moved forward. "Why couldn't you just accept the fact that I had no interest in you? You as a man have no appeal to me whatsoever. You didn't in school, and you don't now. Why can't you just leave me alone?" she ended almost in a scream.

Daphne rolled her eyes at the dramatics. Really, what had Draco seen in her? "Tell her what she's won by denying you Cormac," she said with glee.

Cormac nodded and smiled at his ex-wife. Her evilness competed with his own, and that had been one of her main appeals as a partner to him, but he had always had an itch that Daphne couldn't scratch. He'd always wanted Hermione Granger as his own and had had to watch her be with Ron Weasley and then Draco Malfoy. Apparently Malfoy had been much more important to her than the other man because she had bore him two sons. But they didn't matter anymore. He was going to have his way with her and Malfoy, Potter, and Weasley weren't here to get in the way.

He was aware that he was smirking evilly while staring into space, but then she was in front of him and her fist had connected with his jaw. She was tiny, but her hook was mean and she nearly threw him to the floor. Then she sidestepped him and went for Daphne, grabbing a handful of blonde hair and pulling with all her might. Daphne screamed in pain and they broke into an all out brawl, occasionally Hermione took some hits at Cormac.

He didn't want to hurt her, but she was a wild thing and she knew very well how to fight. After slamming Daphne into the full length mirror by the dresser, she came after him, using the momentum to slam a knee into his gut and breaking his nose with her fist. His anger got the better of him and he grabbed her around the throat and slammed her into the wall, pinning her with his body as she thrashed in his grip.

"I will kill you, sweetheart," he murmured against her ear, cutting off her air supply as his hand tightened around her throat. "Make mistake, I have no qualms about killing you if you don't cooperate with me." He smiled. "Now, you have three options. One, you willingly submit to me, which I know you won't do. Two, I obliviate you, and make you start from scratch. Or three, I have you take a love potion, which will make you more than willing. If I obliviate you, you will forget Malfoy, and your children, but I suppose you won't want that. If you take the love potion, you will do all I want you to do, and you will love every second of it. Personally, I suppose you will prefer option one. You can warm up to me slowly, in your own time, and you will remember your children."

"Fuck… you," she hissed, not caring that she usually wasn't one to resort to such vulgar language.

"That's what we're negotiating right now, sweetheart," he murmured, his hand still around her throat in a tight grasp. "I have no problem doing this in front of my ex-wife right now," he said with a feral grin, his free hand smoothing over her waist and hip.

"Don't touch me!" Hermione screamed, letting go of the hand around her throat and digging her nails into his face.

Cormac let her go with a yell of pain and before Hermione could draw in a deep breath, his hand was in her hair and he was dragging her out of the room. She regained her footing but with much tripping over her own feet, and she saw that he had locked her in a servant's bedroom. They passed through the kitchen and stopped in front of a bare wall. He knocked it five times with his wand and it opened much the same way the wall at Diagon Alley parted. She grunted in pain as he pulled her down a long stairwell made of stone.

"Where are you taking me?" she hissed, digging her nails into the hand that was pulling her hair. She could feel blood seeping out of the wound that had only begun to heal on her head.

McLaggen let go of her hair and grabbed her forearm instead, dragging her down a corridor that lead into many cells with black bars and surrounded by stone walls. He threw her inside one and locked it. "This is your punishment for harming me and Daphne. I'm going to leave he here for a week maybe, so that you can have time to think about what you want to do. I won't let you starve, but you won't get the luxurious that you are so used to, my love."

"Go piss yourself," Hermione spat, turning her back to him. "I will rather die of starvation down here than willingly be with you. Asshole. I will never accept you, and when Harry and Ron find me, I will make sure that you rot in the darkest cell of Azkaban."

Cormac chuckled softly. "We'll see. We'll see," he said before leaving her alone in the damp cell, with only a small window high above her head. All she had available to her was a toilet covered by a short wall, barely giving any privacy.

Once Hermione heard the distant clatter of the wall closing, she let the tears loose and couldn't choke back her cries as much as she tried. Bastard, he was right. Her magic felt like it was gone. She had always felt it there, like light static in the background that she had grown used to feeling. Now it was gone and she felt bereft. Her thoughts turned to her twins. Oh, her babies would miss her terribly while she was gone, and she was missing them now as well. Draco… something inside her broke at the thought that Draco wouldn't trust her enough to not believe the note. If he did believe it, she would never forgive him.

Unfortunately, her only hope was with Harry and Ron at the moment. They knew her better than anyone, and they would realize that she hadn't willingly abandoned her sons and the man she loved. Merlin, she hadn't even said it back to him. She had never told him that she reciprocated the feeling. More tears trailed down her cheeks as she paced the cell and tried to think of some way to get out of her predicament.

A thick blanket appeared in front of her along with something that looked like a cot for her to sleep on, as well as a clear bag with gauze and alcohol for her to cure her own wounds. She paid the things no heed and kept pacing. What could she do aside from cooperating with McLaggen in order to get out of the cell?

'Please, Draco. Don't give up on me,' she thought desperately.

Draco watched his sons as they all sat out in the sun, on a large blanket. They had finally learned to sit up, though their pediatric healer had said that their milestones could be a little late because they had been born smaller than most children. Moving them into the Manor again had been a great change for both boys; they missed their mother and had expressed it with two sets of very healthy lungs and in the middle of the night.

Hermione had been gone for nearly two weeks now, but Potter was always there reminding him that she hadn't gone willingly. Draco had kept his hope up, even though each day that passed without knowing anything about her made something die inside of him. His sons helped to keep that hope high. Though they had the color of his eyes, the shape was all Hermione's. Same for the nose, mouth, and cheekbones.

He smiled slightly when Darius, his little brown-haired twin, handed over a saliva dripping toy. He picked up the boy and set him on his left arm before taking Darien, who was happily sucking on a pacifier, in his other arm. He had never thought that fatherhood would be such a hard job, he thought as he rocked them both in his arms. Darius looked up at him and Draco smiled again as a little hand reached for his nose.

Even if Hermione had left, these two little brats were counting on him to be a good father for them. It was up to him to forge them into good, honorable men as they grew. He would always be there for them, even when their mother wouldn't. He looked down and noticed that Darien was now asleep, a chubby little hand wrapped tightly around his shirt. Darius' eyes were slowly drooping shut, and with a deep breath he finally drifted to sleep.

He was contemplating his predicament on how to stand up without waking either one of the boys, when Potter walked out through the back door, looking only slightly disheveled. "Need a hand?" he asked, noticing that both twins were asleep and that there was no possible way of Malfoy standing without either squeezing one boy too hard, or dropping either one.

"If you will," said Draco in annoyance.

Harry grabbed Darius gently and rocked the boy when his eyes opened slightly. He settled back into sleep quickly and snuggled into the familiar arms. Draco stood with very little jostling of Darien and they moved into the Manor to set both boys down for their afternoon nap. Afterwards, they walked into Draco's office to talk in peace.

"Have you found anything?" asked Draco.

Harry shook his head. "Which is unusual because we haven't been able to trace her magic either. Each person has a different magic signature that is recorded by the Ministry. Hermione's hasn't been used since the day she disappeared. I'm telling you that there's something going on because even if she had left, wouldn't she still use her magic?" he asked.

Draco nodded once. "The investigator hasn't found anyone who has seen her either. He has been asking all her friends and acquaintances, so we can expect that soon this will be leaked to the media and everyone who was close to her will be hit by the explosion. Rita Skeeter will have a ball with all this," he muttered angrily.

"We can't let her influence all this, Malfoy. You have to keep thinking that Hermione wouldn't be capable of doing this. She isn't that type of person, though you may be blinded by this because of the circumstances, I know that deep down you know that she wouldn't do something like this to you, to all of us," Harry said, running a hand through his hair. "Besides, she worked damn hard on the trauma center, and she wouldn't have left her research and all off her precious work behind like this. "Have you given any thought to reporting this to the ministry as a kidnapping?"

"We have no proof that she was taken against her will. If we tell them of the note, they will say that it wasn't a kidnapping," Draco replied. "Is your source still examining the letter?"

Harry nodded. "He has suspicions that it's a forgery. Just a few more days and we'll know for sure. If it's a forgery, we'll go to the ministry so that they can look into this. Also, once this reaches the media, you'll have to make a statement. We may be able to use this to our advantage by asking for the public's support. If anyone has seen her, they will speak up and we can have drink veritaserum in order to make sure that what they tell us is the truth."

"You've given this a lot of thought, Potter," said Draco quietly.

"Something you should be doing as well," Harry replied. "Since you were the one who said that you loved her."

Draco sighed and nodded. "We'll keep using all of our resources to find her. I'm beginning to believe all that you have been saying. Hermione wouldn't give up all that she loves so easily. Not even magic. What else can we do?"

"Did you take her keys from her flat?" Harry asked.

The blond nodded and opened a drawer on his desk, taking the keys and tossing them to the other man. "What are you going to do with them?"

Harry shrugged. "I'll take another look around the flat to see if there's anything out of the ordinary. If Hermione was taken against her will, she would've put up a fight. She would've waged war against whoever attacked her. There has to be something," he murmured.

Draco nodded. "If the investigator learns anything new, I will contact you as soon as I can," he said, standing and walking Potter towards the foyer, where he would be able to apparate out of the Manor.

"Hang in there, Malfoy," Potter said seriously. "For the sake of the twins, if not your own, don't believe that Hermione left. Keep thinking that she was kidnapped. Nothing more," he said before he was gone.

Draco stood there for a moment and let out a deep breath. Potter was right. He couldn't give up hope, even though it was a very fragile hope he was holding onto.

Harry looked around Hermione's flat for the fifth time in the last two weeks that she had been gone. Everything was clean and in its place. Whoever had taken Hermione had been planning this for a while and they had been smart. He walked into the sitting room and spotted the stroller the boys had been using the day she had disappeared. There was also a diaper bag and some stuffed animals sitting inside.

He moved into the sitting room and noticed the magical photos moving around, many of him with Ron, of them together, and many more of the twins. If she had taken the time to find the beautiful frames for the amazing photos of her sons, she wouldn't have left on her own.

As he leaned down to look at one picture of Hermione holding Roan, while Harry held Darius and Ron held Darien, his wand fell out of his pocket, clattering and rolling under one of the sofas that Hermione had been dead set on buying before she had moved into the flat.

He dropped to his knees and reached blindly for the smooth piece of wood. "Son of a bit—…" he stopped his curse only to look at the blood oozing from the cut on his finger. What had he cut himself on? It had felt like glass.

He stood and walked to the kitchen to find something to clean the blood with, but he was hesitant to dirty any of her kitchen towels. He walked towards the stroller and looked around for any type of napkins. He found some and winced as he pressed them onto his finger. Then something caught his eye and he felt his suspicions confirm. Sitting inside the diaper bag was Hermione's wand. She would've never left it behind if she had been planning on deserting her sons and her ex-husband. Another clue that would work on reporting this as a kidnapping to the ministry.

Harry set the wand on the coffee table and moved to lift the couch slightly to grab his wand and find what had cut him. He found pieces of glass under the couch and frowned as he picked up the one with his blood on it. The glass looked familiar and with a start he realized that it was the vase that Pansy had given to Hermione as a house warming gift. Hermione had loved it, and Harry remembered seeing it in its spot by the pictures on the end table the day they had last seen Hermione.

He looked under the other couch and found more pieces, but he saw something else that made his blood freeze. On those pieces of the vase, he saw that there was dried blood that he hoped did not belong to Hermione. Well, now they had their proof that she hadn't gone anywhere with anyone willingly.

Hermione scrubbed at the dirt and grime on her skin and forced herself to not shudder. After spending more than a week—almost two, which meant that she had been gone about three weeks already—in the cell, eating nothing but broth and bread, and drinking water, she realized that she would've rather stayed there instead of cavorting with McLaggen. But alas, she couldn't. She had realized that it would be easier escaping the room in the house, than the cell in the dungeons of the house they were in.

His stipulations to let her out had been that she would wear the clothes that he chose for her, which were sitting in the dresser, and that she would have dinner with him every time he chose to see her. She had reluctantly agreed, since there was no other way of getting out of the cell without magic or anything to pick the lock either. Now she was back in the bedroom she had started in, showering and rinsing the dried blood from her face and hair. She had been in there for about an hour now and still there were some dirty spots that were giving her problems.

When she was done, she reluctantly slipped into a silky, red dress that hugged her hips and flattered her figure. Her hair was still damp but in her usual, wild curls. She ignored the make-up he had bought for her, as well as the jewelry and waited impatiently for McLaggen to arrive. She would have to refrain from pounding his face in, lest she risk being locked in the cold, dreary cell again.

She looked up from examining the ever present bruises, including the ones that hadn't faded completely from her neck, and watched as McLaggen stepped into the room, a smug look on his face. "You aren't ready yet?" he asked.

"I am," she replied darkly. "I just don't feel like wearing any make-up or jewelry. Take it or go fuck yourself," she spat as she slipped into the matching shoes.

Cormac merely shrugged. "Fine, do I don't suppose you'll want to wear this either," he taunted, bringing out the medallion that Draco had given her a while back.

Hermione tried not to react, because he couldn't possibly know of the emotional significance that the piece of jewelry had. She sighed in fake irritation and nodded. "That I will wear," she said, extending her hand and trying not to recoil when his fingers brushed hers.

"Now, don't try any funny business. I won't hesitate in taking you down either magically or physically," he said, motioning to the door.

They walked side by side towards the dining room, Hermione looking rather stiff, and with McLaggen carrying his wand in his hand just in case. The sun was already going down in wherever it was that they were, and the table was set, food hot and wine served. In his bid to be a gentleman, McLaggen helped her into her chair, while Hermione sneered and refused to even speak to him anymore.

"Eat," he said as he sat down and picked up his fork.

Hermione did, but only barely, trying very hard to not spit the food out in his face. She still wasn't ready to try an escape. She needed a foolproof plan, which incredulously enough, she had not been able to come up with yet. She stared at the food in the fine china and almost jumped when he spoke again.

"Eat more and drink your wine," he said, sounding very serious.

She glared at him and took an unlady like gulp from her wine, watching as he grinned in amusement. She sat back and just stared into space, not caring that she really was hungry; she wouldn't give him the pleasure of seeing that though. She took another sip of her wine, fully intending on acting out, when a slow feeling crept over her. She knew the symptoms but couldn't do a thing about it as her eyes shifted to Cormac, a smile curling her face as feelings of love and desire went through her.

"Had a change of heart, my sweet?" he asked with a knowing smile.

"Do you know how much I love you, Cormac?" she asked happily, her hand reaching over to touch his.

McLaggen stood. "As much as I would love to take advantage of you in this state, Daphne is pretty incompetent when it comes to potions. She was only able to make the easiest love potion and it will only last two hours. Now, normally it's enough for a person to take advantage of someone else, but the ministry frowns upon it. They call it date rape or something of the sort," he said, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles.

He walked her outside and showed her the setting sun as he spotted his ex-wife lounging by the tree with a camera in her hand. He wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist and nearly lost it when she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Daphne came closer and took as many pictures as she was able to while Hermione remained oblivious, fawning over him and telling him how much she loved him.

"Go along, Hermione. Be a good girl and go back to your room," he said gently, knowing full well that once the door closed, it would automatically lock. "And don't forget to close the door, lest you get a cold draft."

"Will you be joining me, Cormac?" Hermione asked with a seductive smile, her heart pounding when he returned it.

"Not tonight my love. I have a lot of work to do," he said. Hermione pouted but walked away, a smile still curling at her lips.

"That was sick on so many levels," Daphne said with a laugh.

"Develop the pictures as soon as you can and you know what to do after," said Cormac. "I never knew you were so conniving," he said with a grin. "Taking those pictures was the best thing you have ever thought of. If Potter and Malfoy needed convincing that Hermione left willingly, well, here it is. In a few days time, the whole world will know that Hermione Granger is mine."

Daphne sniffed in contempt. "Cormac, I'm feeling neglected with all this talk of Granger. Take care of me before I go?" she asked in a breathy voice, batting her eyelashes and raising his desire the way only she had been able to ever do.

"Fine, but tomorrow morning, you get these pictures developed and delivered to Rita Skeeter," he said, taking her hand and walking her back into the Manor that had been in his mother's family, but no one really knew of. It wasn't even registered to him, now that he was the only McLaggen alive. It had been the perfect place to keep his little pet and have his way with her. Merlin, he loved being evil.

Tomorrow, Malfoy wouldn't know what hit him.