Since the night before, Draco had been unusually quiet. When he did happen to dart by Hermione's room, he gave little more than a nod or, if she was lucky, a wave. He seemed almost shy, though it felt highly out of character for him. Hermione wondered what he was thinking, and how he felt about her. He hadn't mentioned whether or not he even accepted her feelings at all. She was left feeling confused, and worried.
She spent most of her time sitting around in her room, staring at the walls. She didn't dare to attempt magic again. What if it had been someone else to walk in on her the way Draco had? She would probably be dead. She knew it had been stupid of her, but she had learned from her mistake. She would be far more careful from now on.
Around mid-afternoon, Draco sent for her to come to his room. She followed the servants down from the attic and through the hall, a path she was well familiar with by now. Draco greeted them at the door, expressionless. He looked like a porcelain doll, with large crystal eyes and ivory skin. Sometimes she wondered if he was really a human being at all.
He sat down on his bed and stared at her. She stood uncomfortably in front of him. She wished those doll-like eyes would stop looking at her. Sometimes it felt like he could see right into her, all her secrets and all her feelings. Finally she broke the silence. "What did you need?" she asked.
"I've been doing some thinking about our situation," he said, "If we're going to continue having sex, we need to take some necessary precautions."
Hermione felt a bit stunned. She didn't expect him to be so blunt about it. "Oh… all right," she said, "is there a birth control spell?"
Draco ran a hand through his hair. "I think so, but I'm not familiar with it. I'll have to look it up. But there are also other precautions to take. For example, you can't breathe a word of our… activities… to anyone. Absolutely no one can know about this. In the presence of my parents, we must behave as if I detest the thought of touching you."
"Easy enough. You act that way most of the time anyway," Hermione replied.
Draco frowned, but didn't argue. "I also want to make it clear that the master/slave relationship has not changed. If you break the rules, you'll still be punished. Don't think I won't hurt you just because I'm shagging you."
Hermione nodded. "And don't think I'll respect you as a master just because I like you."
Draco stared at her silently for a moment. Then said "However you want it to be."
Hermione smiled. Draco seemed uneasy, and she found herself liking it. It was a refreshing feeling, as if the tides were very slowly changing. She wondered if one day he would fall in love with her and set her free. Perhaps in many years, though it was still doubtful. Regardless, she entertained herself with daydreams of such things.
They were continuing their conversation when a scream rung out across the mansion. Draco and Hermione both looked sharply at the door, then to each other. "What was that?" Hermione asked.
Draco shook his head. "No idea."
The two of them walked slowly over to the door. Draco opened it up carefully and they peeked out into the hall. Seeing nothing, they headed toward the main hall. From the stairs, they could see Draco's father and a couple of servants standing over a small girl.
The girl was very thin and very dirty. Her clothes were ragged and her hair was limp and matted to her head. "Who is that?" Hermione asked Draco. He shrugged in response.
Draco's father kicked the girl hard, and she cried out again. "Filthy little thief! I can't believe the audacity of these Mudbloods!"
"Mudblood?! Did they buy another slave?" Hermione whispered.
"Not that I know of," Draco answered.
One of the servants stepped forward and gave a kick of his own. "They get braver every day. I couldn't imagine stealing food from a wealthy Wizarding family's kitchen, even in the most desperate of situations."
The girl trembled on the floor. "Please… I'm so… hungry…"
The other servant spat on her. "How did she even escape from the cells?!"
Hermione looked horrified. She tugged at Draco's sleeve. "Do something!" she hissed into his ear.
He shoved her away. "Do what? Go against my father on behalf of a dirty little Mudblood?!"
"They'll kill her!"
"So what? She tried to rob us! As far as I'm concerned, she deserves whatever she gets!"
Hermione looked at him as if he were a complete stranger. "I must be insane to think I could love someone like you."
Draco turned away from her, just in time to see his father deliver another kick to the girl's rib cage. She coughed up blood on the carpet, earning her yet another kick.
Hermione covered her eyes. "They're killing her. She was starving and now they're killing her for it!"
Draco stood up. "Come on. Let's go back to my room."
"You coward!" Hermione whispered furiously, "If you're going to sit back and let her die, at least have the guts to see first-hand what you're doing to her!"
Draco growled and grabbed Hermione's arm. "If you're so hell-bent on saving her, do it yourself! Or do you have the courage?!"
Hermione jerked her arm free. "All right then! I will!" she said loudly, then headed down the stairs.
Draco's eyes went wide. "No, I wasn't serious! Hermione, they'll squash you like an insect!"
But it was too late. Hermione had appeared at the bottom of the stairs and had focused all her energy and anger on making the girl disappear. Before anyone knew what had happened, the girl was gone, and Hermione could sense her outside the house, free to escape.
Everyone looked at Hermione. Draco's father stepped forward. "What did you just do?"
Hermione was speechless. She'd successfully helped the girl, but had left herself in a terrible dilemma. "I… I…"
SMACK! Draco's father backhanded her. "Tell me what you did!" he screamed.
"I don't know… I don't know what I did," she lied, hoping that fake ignorance would save her.
She glanced at Draco, who was half-way down the stairs. He looked stunned, as if he were frozen. His mouth was slightly open, but he couldn't say a word. He couldn't think of anything to say.
Draco's father hit her again, sending her crashing into the floor. "You used magic! You may be stupid, but magic is forbidden! There is a severe penalty!"
"I didn't know it was magic, sir! I didn't mean to! I swear!" She didn't even flinch at the consecutive lies. She was too desperate. She was praying that Draco would step in for her defense. Surely she meant something to him. Surely he would help her. But no help came.
"Take this girl out to the court yard and string her up by the beating posts. She'll receive her penalty tomorrow morning."
Hermione looked frantically to Draco, her eyes wide and terrified. Draco just stood staring, as if the reality of the situation had begun to sink in yet. As his father passed him on the stairs, he put a hand roughly on his shoulder. "I'm very disappointed in you, Draco. I would've thought you'd have better control over your slave."
Draco didn't even blink. He just stared at Hermione as she began to struggle and fight against the servants. More were called in immediately, and soon they had Hermione restrained. Even when she called out his name and cried for help, he still couldn't bring himself to move an inch. At one point she broke away from the servants and ran toward him. She crashed into him and they both fell into the stairs, her on top of him and her arms bound behind her back. She was crying loudly but he couldn't make out what she was saying. It felt as if something in his mind had shut off, and nothing made sense anymore.
Finally the servants pried her away from him, and he sat watching the scene with a detached, emotionless expression. She looked him in the eyes as they dragged her outside, her own eyes speaking far more loudly and clearly than her words ever could.
And when she was gone, he could still see those eyes, sad, frightened, and betrayed, burning into his. He could still hear her inaudible cries, and he could still feel her soft body against his. Her words "I'm in love with you!" echoed in his mind, and the memory of her opening up herself and allowing him inside her the night before haunted him. He had made a terrible mistake, and there was no way he could undo it now. So as the day faded into night, Draco sat on the stairs, staring into nothingness and being reminded just how much he hated his life.