A/N: Thanks for all the lovely reviews! I noticed there were a few requests for some more Dramione scenes, and I've been working to include more in the story. I've also added some additional Dramione action in Chapters 13 and 15.

Disclaimer: All rights to J.K. Rowling for content borrowed from Harry Potter.

Chapter 17 – Training the Recruits

Hermione helped herself to a large serving of porridge drizzled with honey and topped with berries. The berries were fresh and another reminder that Spring had arrived. It was almost May, and the Easter long weekend would soon come to an end. Beautiful weather aside, Hermione was excited to be back at school in a normal classroom. After the first night with the recruits, she had been working almost constantly as the real training begun.

There were three areas of training: mental, physical, and magical. As one of the most proficient Death Eaters, Hermione spent most of her time training recruits in the practice of magic. Mostly Dark Magic, but also some defense, and after working with the D.A. Hermione had no trouble with this. Naturally Bellatrix had to ruin it for her, and insist that she also conduct training in the other sections as she had not completed that training herself. So that afternoon, Hermione would take over the physical and mental training.

Eventually this would include weapons training, but for now Hermione was expected to train them in hand to hand combat. Thankfully Draco had offered to help prepare her, so after her breakfast she headed to the small ballroom where training would be held that afternoon. Draco was waiting for her when she arrived. He had been quiet since their discussion about Moody, but last night after they'd made love, he'd told her he loved her and Hermione found herself saying it back without a thought. She knew she loved him, her relationship with Draco was so different from her relationships with Harry and Ron, but the connection was just as strong. What bothered her now though, was that he sounded so sad when he said it.

"All you need to teach the recruits today is hand to hand combat," Draco said. "Most of them are pretty eager to throw their fists, so you shouldn't have too much difficulty. But the Dark Lord wants to ensure that they have some skills and not just brute force." Hermione nodded and moved towards Draco and the mats laid out on the floor.

"As I recall, you can hit pretty well," Draco said causing Hermione to laugh. "But that was in third year, most of the Death Eaters you are training will be larger and stronger than you are, so finesse is less important for them. You need to focus on hitting your opponent on pressure points: the middle of the forehead, collarbone, nose etc." Draco said, pointing to each area as he listed it. "That would be for real situations though, in training you don't want to cause and permanent damage, not that anyone would punish you if you did." Draco said with a small scowl. Hermione wondered if he was thinking of Bellatrix…or of what she did to the recruit on that first night.

"Now I want you to try and punch me, just so I can see gauge how much help you need," Draco instructed. While Hermione didn't like the idea of hitting Draco, after all the time they had spent with weapons training, she knew better than to hesitate. So Hermione clenched her fist, making sure not to tuck in her thumb, and threw it forward at Draco's stomach. He doubled over at the impact and Hermione yanked back her hand. Having seen Draco shirtless, she should have known that his abdomen would not be soft.

"Are you okay?" She asked as he straightened back up.

"I'm fine," he said. Hermione was surprised that he actually did seem fine. "That wasn't a bad hit, but you need to put more force in it." Draco moved to stand close behind her so that their legs touched. Draco nudged her knee with his own, "spread your legs a little more," he instructed, causing Hermione to blush. She was thankful he couldn't see her face.

"Now," he said, grabbing both her hands and raising them in front of her face, "always keep your fists up near your face to keep it protected. When you punch, you need to put your whole body into to it. Step forward and use that momentum to power your punch and twist a little." He demonstrated the move a few times still holding her wrists. Hermione could feel his breath on her neck, and every shift in his body as they practiced. She felt the stirrings that were becoming more familiar to her every time Draco was close or touched her in a particularly sensitive area. His gentle grip on her inner wrists at the moment was making her pulse pound. Too quickly, he moved away and let her try the move on her own.

"Wouldn't a punching bag be helpful?" Hermione asked, trying to focus her wayward thoughts. She continued punching the air as instructed. Draco smirked.

"What's the fun of a punching bag when you could punch a person instead?" Draco asked dryly. Hermione smiled, having forgotten for a moment, who she was now working for.

Draco stayed with her a little while longer, teaching her how to use her elbows, knees, and palms in a fight. Hermione's muscles were already beginning to feel sore from exertion, but she kept practicing until it was time for her to set up the training room for the recruits.

Hermione consciously stood a little taller when the recruits started filing into the training room. She could see a couple of familiar faces among them, including Blaise Zabini.

"Welcome to your physical training session," Hermione said, raising her voice to call everyone to attention. "I'm Hermione Malfoy and I will be leading this session. I recognize several of you from your magic and mental training." She spotted one recruit who had been performing dismally in both, but was still as arrogant as ever. She stared at him and added, "Hopefully some of you will be able to increase your performance with these less…difficult concepts." The boy glared at her, but Hermione ignored him and began her lesson, going through the various stances and tips. The class was being well-behaved, but Hermione was unsurprised, as long as she had her whip close at hand they tended to stay in line.

"Alright," Hermione announced, once she had concluded the theory portion. "Now it is time for you to demonstrate your physical ability. Partner up and let's see if you can impress me." The recruits did as instructed and Hermione walked among them, finding that Draco was right, and most of them ignored technique in favour of brute force. She had already instructed them to avoid hitting the face, but somehow two recruits managed to get broken noses, and one lost a tooth.

Hermione was at the back of the room when she thought she saw a flash of white-blonde hair. She looked up to find Draco leaning against the doorway watching her. She gave him a tight lipped smile, careful not to show too much emotion in front of the recruits.

"Hello Hermione," a voice purred behind her, as a hand enclosed her upper forearm. Hermione fought the urge to cringe as she turned to face Blaise. She could feel Draco's eyes burning a hole in the back of her head, probably intended for the wizard smirking down at her. "I was wondering if you could give me extra lessons?" he asked. "You seem like the type of witch that would be very good with your hands."

Normally Hermione would have rolled her eyes and ignored the comment, but she heard a couple of snickers and knew she had to act. Her hand automatically fell to the whip coiled around her waist, but Blaise interrupted her before she could go any further. "Careful Hermione," he said, his voice held a dark and sinful edge to it, "some men enjoy a little whipping." Hermione's jaw dropped slightly at his insinuation, and he winked. Hermione closed her moth quickly, furious.

"Tremlett," Hermione called, turning to address one of the largest and more vicious recruits.

"Yes, Ma'am," he asked coming forward with a dumbstruck expression. He reminded Hermione of Crabbe and Goyle, large and intimidating, but not much going on upstairs.

"You and Mr. Zabini in the center of the room," she said, "the rest of you move to the side. They will be demonstrating some hand-to-hand combat for us. Now." The recruits moved quickly, whispering the entire time. The smirk had fallen off Blaise's face by this point as he studied his opponent. Tremlett was a head taller than Blaise and easily twice as broad. Blaise was lean, and smarter than Tremlett, so he darted in quickly for the first hit.

Tremlett stumbled, but recovered quickly and pummelled his fist directly into Blaise's stomach causing him to double over. Within seconds, Tremlett had knocked his legs out from beneath him. Without sparing a glance at Hermione, Tremlett drew back his fist and aimed it at Blaise's face. Blaise groaned as it made contact with his eye, and Hermione decided it was time to intervene.

"Well done Tremlett," Hermione said. He rose to his feet and blinked twice as if shaking himself out of a stupor. Blaise stumbled to his feet much less gracefully. By his disjointed breathing, Hermione expected he had broken some ribs, and his eye was swollen shut and quickly turning a vibrant shade of purple. Despite that, his expression was murderous, and he stared daggers at the other recruit.

"Training is over for today," Hermione said, and heard the familiar shuffle of students hurrying for the door. She was surprised when she looked at the doorway and saw that Draco had disappeared, though she had felt his presence there a moment earlier. Blaise's eyes lingered on her as he left, and Hermione forced herself not to look away, even when his eyes dipped the length of her body and back up. She breathed a sigh of relief when the last recruit left the classroom.

After she had taken a moment to compose herself, she followed them out, into the now empty corridor. She turned the bend, but stopped suddenly at the sound of hushed voices. She recognized Draco's voice immediately. He sounded angry.

"-you again, Zabini," Draco's voice hissed, "Stay away from her."

"My, my," Blaise's voice answered mockingly, "Someone's got his knickers in a twist. I wonder why that could be." There was a momentary pause, before Blaise continued. "Maybe, it's because her dreamy duo were spotted near here. I wonder if Potter wanted a tour, there's such lovely scenery around here. Then, of course, there is the main attraction. Your wife seems to attract all kinds of trouble. Does she even know?" Hermione froze, her feet rooted to the carpet beneath her. Harry and Ron had been nearby.

"You shouldn't believe every rumour you hear, Zabini," Draco all but spat, "Gullibility won't serve you well as a Death Eater." Hermione's stomach tightened. He was lying. She was almost positive.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep at night," Zabini replied, "I'm sure it hasn't escaped your notice that since you're married now, the trace is no longer on her." Hermione eased closer, as silently as she could.

"I don't have any trouble sleeping," Draco reported, "Not with Hermione in my bed. If I were you, Zabini, I would mind your own business. Accusations like the ones you are implying will not have favourable consequences for you. I suggest you get moving. You have magical training in ten minutes." Ten minutes? That meant she was supposed to begin mental training at the same time. Hermione quickly came to her senses and scrambled out of the hallway and out of sight.

She could barely keep up with her thoughts as she raced to the dungeons. She was not aware her trace had been removed. As long as she did not cheat on Draco, the Marital Vow shouldn't prevent her from being with Harry and Ron. Her mind buzzed at the possibility. If Draco had really kept something like that from her, she would not hesitate to leave. Her jaw clenched at the thought. She had thought they had moved past all the lying. She had come clean to him about her secret. Well, after she got caught, but still! Hermione inhaled deeply through her nose to calm herself before entering the dungeons, it would not due to lose her composure in front of Bellatrix.

Bellatrix looked up eagerly when she arrived, having just finished manacling an unconscious person to the wall. "So how did the physical testing go?" she asked, her eyes scouring Hermione, searching for injuries.

"Smooth sailing," Hermione replied airily. "Tremlett excelled, which is no surprise. He'll be a valuable asset even if his spellwork isn't as developed." Bellatrix nodded, grudgingly. "What do we need to do for the mental training?" Hermione asked, changing the subject.

"Firstly, they will get to experience the Cruciatus first hand," Bellatrix said, with a gleam in her eye. "I know some of them already have when good ol' Barty impersonated that fool Mad-Eye Moody, but they will get to again today. We will be doing that part, they got to have enough fun during physical training. The second component is where they will perform the curse themselves, which is why he is here," Bellatrix said, jutting her chin in the direction of the man chained to the wall.

"What we need to do," Bellatrix continued, draping an arm around Hermione's shoulders, "is keep an eye out for unfavourable candidates."

"Unfavourable?" Hermione asked.

"Those who can't take the pain of course would need to be weeded out," Bellatrix explained, "but we are really hoping to eliminate any moles that might worm their way into our ranks." At this point, Bellatrix's claw-like nails were digging into her shoulder.

"Naturally," Hermione asked, attempting for a cavalier tone, "Will we be executing the suspects or…extracting information?" Bellatrix's eyes got their maniacal glint, and though her arm did not loosen, Hermione knew she had passed that test.

"I suppose we ought to be precautious and determine whether or not they have any information of value, but that will be done outside of training," Bellatrix decided, "We don't want our recruits to think we have any tolerance for traitors." With that said, Bellatrix drew her arm away from Hermione. Hermione could sense her bouncing on the balls of her feet next to her as the recruits entered.

Bellatrix had the recruits form two queues, on in front of her and one in front of Hermione. Hermione found it almost comical that they would line up so willingly to get tortured. These were grown men and women, it was not like when they were in fourth year.

Hermione prepared herself before performing the unforgiveable for the first time. She knew it had to be effective with Bellatrix watching her so closely. Hermione thought of all the horrid things Bellatrix had done. How she killed Sirius and drove Neville's parents insane. With that in mind, she raised her wand and said clearly, "Crucio."

The first recruit hit the ground faster than Hermione had expected, but she did not release them from the curse until they were screaming from the pain. None of the recruits looked shocked at this display and Hermione could detect a hint of smugness coming from Bellatrix. Hermione ignored all of this and called forward the next recruit. She went through the line, the face of each recruit blending with the next, and before Hermione knew it the first portion of training was finished.

"Maybe you do have what it takes to be one of us after all," Bellatrix whispered as she passed Hermione to stand before the prisoner. Then louder, for the recruits to hear, she said, "this man is a Half-Blood who dares to question the plans of the Dark Lord." There were jeers from the recruits, much to Bellatrix's delight. "Now he must pay for his crimes. You are to deliver his punishment."

Once again, the recruits formed an orderly line, reminding Hermione of the toy soldiers she used to see in shops at Christmas time with her parents. She eyed the line carefully as Bellatrix gave the first in line a pep-talk about using the Cruciatus Curse. She could spot three recruits already that looked hesitant and uncomfortable and one that looked downright queasy. She made a mental note of the names as she went over the list of recruits. She would have to inform Bellatrix of at least some of them. Moody needed to make his spies more convincing, she thought to herself.

The prisoner awakened as soon as the first curse hit him, and moments later he was begging for them to stop. As Hermione predicted, the recruits she singled out struggle with the task more than some of the recruits coming in from Death Eater families. She made a note of the worst ones on Bellatrix's list.

The queasy-looking girl barely managed to cast the curse and it had the weakest impact by far. Bellatrix taunted her, and she managed to steel herself to do a slightly better job, but the damage was done. Hermione had just made a note next to her name, when she looked up and had to do a double take. Hermione was positive the next recruit was a spy. She recognized him from one of her meetings with Kinglsey Shacklebolt. Hermione watched him carefully, and was surprised that he performed the curse expertly and without hesitation. He was not as morbid as some of the other recruits, but he performed well enough to stand out without drawing enough attention to be garner suspicious. Hermione was impressed. She debated making a note in favour of him on the list, but decided against it. Her position with the Death Eaters was fragile enough. He would have to get through training on his own.

After almost an hour of torture, the prisoner had screamed himself horse. Hermione did not feel sorry for him the last recruit had finished and Bellatrix turned her own wand on him and he was blasted with a shot of green light. If he had lived he would only suffer more, she convinced herself. Some of the recruits were surprised at the open display of murder, but most of them had learnt to school their expressions by this point. Hermione had learnt that quickly as well, almost nothing surprised her now. The frequent Muggle killings had not dulled her horror, but it had eliminated the surprise factor.

Hermione was glad when she was able to escape the dungeon. She went straight to the greenhouse to check on the potion's she had brewing there. The earthy aroma of the green house was welcoming and Hermione felt at peace for the first time since she had trained with Draco that morning. The thought of him brought forward a host of unwanted emotions. She felt angry and betrayed, even though she knew she, too, had lied to him.

He knew what she was now, and he knew what Harry and Ron meant to her. How could he keep something like that from her? Hermione knew her role as a spy was an important one. But the ultimate goal was to defeat Voldemort, and the best way she could help with that was to be helping Harry and Ron hunt down his Horcruxes. As she stirred her cauldron, she looked out at the ground and wondered if they really had been as close as Blaise had implied. Where were they now?

Hermione worked until long after sunset, ensuring that she would not have to spend her evening meal with Bellatrix and Narcissa. Lucius had gone to oversee the final training component with several other Death Eaters, and Bellatrix was raging about not being allowed to go. Finally when Hermione could ignore the hunger pangs no longer, she crept back to the manor where the elves provided her with a meal for one. She wondered if Draco had eaten with his mother and aunt or gone along with Lucius.

That question was answered when she retired to their room for the night and found it empty. So her confrontation with him would have to wait. With her new found knowledge that the tracker on her had been removed, Hermione had never felt such an urge to run as she experienced now. With so many Death Eaters gone, no one would notice her absence until much later that night when Draco returned. She would have a few hours head start. Then she would just have to find Harry and Ron. But surely they would have some sort of charm concealing their location? She hoped they had figured out to perform one. Concealment charms could be tricky. Hermione reigned in her panicked thoughts. Harry and Ron had survived this long.

Her mind strayed back to the conversation between Draco and Blaise, and she wondered for the hundredth time that day who was telling the truth. She had a feeling Draco was lying about something, but maybe it had nothing to do with Harry and Ron. She should know better than to trust Zabini of all people. Perhaps there was no truth in what he was saying. Hermione tried to convince herself of that as she lay in her lonely bed. At least tomorrow they would be on their way back to Hogwarts, and then she would get a chance to ask Draco about the conversation.

Hermione did not get a chance to talk to Draco the next day. In fact, she was pretty sure he did not come home at all that night. Her suspicions were growing and she was disgruntled when Narcissa announced that she would be going back to Hogwarts alone and Draco would be arriving later. Hermione stayed in a foul mood all morning, she was not even calmed when she spend some time in the green house storing her potions. Finally it was time for her to floo back to Hogwarts. Arragements had been made for her to use Snape's fireplace. She watched the manor spin out of sight happy to be away from it.

Snape was not in his office when Hermione arrived and she was surprised that he would leave it unattended. She moved closer to peer over his papers, and then stopped abruptly when what looked like a heat haze clouded her vision. She jumped back quickly so as to not set off his protective shield and fled from his office. She spent her evening alone in the library, surrounded by many Muggleborns who were preparing for their mandatory Ministry assessment. Alecto Carrow was assigned to the testing process and the pretesting would begin in a week's time. Since Hermione did not have to undergo the testing, she buried herself in N.E. material. However, her mind was still at war with itself over if and when to confront Draco about what Blaise had said.

One week later and Hermione had still not decided whether or not to confront Draco about the issue. Death Eather training was still going on, but she had not been pulled out of school for it as Draco often was. Instead she spent her days and nights forcing herself to study for exams that now seemed pointless. She had seen Draco three times that week. Each time he would catch her without warning on her way back from the library and they would steal away to the Room of Requirement for a few blissful hours.

The first night he did this Hermione had some misgivings; she didn't feel right sleeping with him when she hadn't asked about Harry. But when he'd started kissing her inner thighs and then higher, her concerns were wiped away with her self-control. Hermione decided she had more reasons to distrust Blaise than Draco. So she allowed herself to enjoy his company every chance she got.

One night on her way back to the Common Room, Hermione had been hoping to see Draco, but stumbled across a crying first year instead. She recognized him as a first year Muggleborn, and from the look of him, he must have just finished his pretest. Hermione wondered how bad it had gone. He probably feared that he would be expelled and exiled from the magical community. Hermione approached him, but when he saw her and expression of terror crossed his face and he ran before she could open her mouth. Horror filled her for a moment at what she had become. She knew word had already spread about her whip, she suspected Blaise had done that, but she did not think it had reached quite this far.

Hermione turned dejectedly and headed towards the Common Room. It was only as she was undressing for bed that she realized that they boy's wrists had been red and bloody. Death Eater training had not finished, and with dismay she realized that they were using the Muggle born students for the torture component. Fury filled Hermione, igniting a fire in her heart that she had not felt for a long time. She could not stand by and watch children get tortured. She laid awake most of the night seething and failing to remind herself that what she was doing was for the greater good. She had taken to reminding herself of the phrase she had seen on the wall at Durmstrang. After all, all the things she did as a spy were not really her, they were just things that needed to be done to bring down Voldemort. But even that thought did not help when Hermione recalled the boy's helpless expression.

Hermione's fire was fueled even further the next morning when she say the headline of The Daily Prophet: Potter Spotted Near Westbury. Her eyes widened as she re-read the title and then proceeded to read the article carefully, her heart sinking. Westbury was not far from Malfoy Manor. Draco had lied to her. The words seemed to echo in her head for a moment before she pulled herself together. Careful not to express her emotions, as the whispers about the news flooded the hall, Hermione casually scrolled up paper and left the Great Hall. She marched towards the Slytherin Common Room, planning on breaking in if she had to. Her disillusionment charms were getting better, she could sneak in as another student exited. Her planning was unnecessary though, as before she even got to the dungeons she walked right into Draco.

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately, his expression concerned. His hands cupped her face and Hermione pulled away. She quickly pulled him into a passage hidden behind a tapestry where they would not be disturbed.

"This!" Hermione said, her voice shrill, "This is what's wrong!" She brandished the newspaper at him. His expression went carefully blank as he read the title.

"Hermione," he said quietly, attempting to grab hold of her arm, "You can't react like this every time someone thinks they've seen him. It will only raise suspicions."

"Don't treat me like a fool, Draco," Hermione said harshly, "I overheard your conversation with Blaise."

"And you naturally believed him over me," Draco said, equally angry. "And since when have you called him Blaise?"

"That doesn't matter. And I didn't believe it at first," Hermione replied, "but then I saw this, and Zabini doesn't have the motive or influence to get a headline in the Prophet." Draco did not reply, so Hermione continued, just barely containing herself from shouting. "I read through the article. I know the signs when the sighting are fabricated. None of them are this is legitimate. You knew, and you kept it from me!"

"I didn't know, Hermi-" he began.

"Don't you dare lie to me Draco Mafloy!" she cut him off angrily.

"Why not?" Draco snapped. "You've lied to me often enough." Hermione's face contorted, and Draco tried to take it back. "No, I'm sorry Hermione. I should never have said that. I…I knew he was there." Hermione stepped away from him her face falling. "Him and Weasley came one night during training, but the Dark Lord was there I had to get-"

"I don't want to hear anymore," Hermione said, her voice was like ice, and any sadness on her face was replaced with an eerie calmess. "You know what I am now. You can't out me as a spy without ruining yourself, and we know you are too selfish to put yourself at risk. So we will continue to play happy couple, but I am going to find a way to break our Matrimonial Vow."

"What?"

"The moment the Dark Lord is defeated, I want a divorce."

Coming up in Till Death Do Us Part:

Voldemort turned to her next, his expression so curious that Hermione was glad she had taken the time to learn Occlumency.