((A.N. Hello, I wrote another LONG LONG chapter for some unknown reason! Hope it's not too long! (Please tell me if it is) I'd like to thank reviewers buffy, ahhh, sweet-77-thang, nixendronea-weasley, SamAnn, RebelRikki, Apollonia2, SaDiStIc-FrEaK, got2bmefree, and Twisted Silver Dagger for the fantastic reviews!!! You guys really inspire me to write well!!! In case ya'll were wondering, Croch the house-elf's name was meant to add a little humor in this otherwise serious story!!! Ok read and review!!))
Draco stalked down the dark dungeon corridor, fuming at Hermione. How dare she insult him. The nerve she had to have had to call me a bastard while in chains!! He thought suddenly. He also wondered why he had backed down at the last second. He remembered her face, so passionate with anger, her eyes flaring at his every word. Why hadn't she been afraid? He had tried to scare her, to make her weaker, but his words had only seemed to give her strength.
So wrapped up in his thoughts Draco was that he crashed into his mother while whirling around a corner. She shrieked and fell to the ground.
"Mother!" Draco said in astonishment. He reached out a hand to help her up. She grasped it and stood up, looking quite flustered.
"What are you doing in the dungeons?" Draco asked suspiciously. Narcissa had never liked the dungeons.
"I was down here to get another case of wine for Lucius and myself," she said, brushing herself off.
"I should have been more careful," she added, looking up at him. Draco realized that he was now taller than his mother, and she was of an average height.
"Lucius is waiting," Narcissa muttered quickly. She seemed in an awful hurry. Deciding not to hold her up, Draco simply nodded and continued out of the dungeons. He felt sick by the time he'd reached his room, although he could not pin the reason. Granger had made him awfully upset, and he wondered now if she was right about Harry and Ron.
Suddenly there was a rap on the door.
"Come in," Draco said curtly, expecting the house-elf. Instead his father opened the door and stepped in. Draco immediately became suspicious. After all, it wasn't as if his father came to tuck him in every night before bed. If that ever happened, Draco was positive that Crabbe and Goyle would become Aurors for the Ministry.
"Ah, Draco, how was your visit with the mudblood?" Lucius drawled, a smirk playing across his face.
"It was . . . enjoyable," Draco said, hoping to sound as confident as he had meant to.
"Good," Lucius said, continuing, "That's what women are for, Draco. Your pleasure."
Draco nodded curtly, wondering if his father's words were true. Lucius walked over to Draco's dresser and ran his hand along the smooth, dark wood.
"I... that is to say, Narcissa and I, are hosting a party tomorrow night at six." He paused and opened a box on Draco's dresser, apparently interested in the contents.
"Of course I expect you to attend. The house elf will bring up the clothes I wish you to wear. There will be very important people at this dinner party, Draco. I expect you to mingle with and impress all of them."
Lucius's back was turned to Draco, so Draco couldn't see the expression on his fathers face, but the words had sounded threatening.
"Understood?" Lucius said, turning around at last. He snapped Draco's box shut suddenly, making him jump.
"Yes, father," Draco said automatically. It was the mandatary response for agreeing with Lucius.
"Good," Lucius said again. "I will see you tomorrow, then." Lucius walked away from the dresser and out through the door without waiting for a response from Draco.
Draco lay back on his bed, wondering what kind of important people would be at this party. Ministry officials or servants of the Dark Lord? he wondered. Draco wondered if the Parkinson's were invited and if he would get to see Pansy. Slowly his mind eased and he drifted off to sleep.
_** ** ** ** **_
Hermione laughed to herself and pulled out Draco's wand. I wonder how far away I'll be by the time he realizes it's gone? she thought, chuckling again. Her plan had worked for the most part. She had diverted his mind from her with words, and he hadn't done anything to her. Well, barely diverted him, she thought with relief.
She fingered the wand in her hands and wondered which spell would break her chains. After that it was a simple matter of unlocking the door.
She yelped as the door flew open. Draco! She thought, her heart sinking. He knows I've stolen the wand! Hastily she shoved it into her robes. It wasn't, however, Draco Malfoy that entered, but Narcissa. She entered meekly, quietly closing the door behind her. Hermione was astonished to see the woman standing before her. Of course, Hermione though to herself, she isn't to be trusted.
"What do you want?" Hermione questioned carefully. Narcissa seemed quite jumpy. She started at every small sound and was constantly glancing behind her, as if expecting someone to burst through the door at any moment.
"I-I came to bring you some dinner, in case you were hungry. I wasn't sure if they fed you," Narcissa added quickly. To Hermione's surprise, out of her robes came a container o chicken and some delicious looking raspberry treacle.
"Oh, they feed me. Well, one meal a day," Hermione amended shortly. Narcissa pushed the food closer to Hermione so she didn't have to reach. "Thank you," she added awkwardly. Hermione was so hungry that she had eaten all of the chicken in two minutes. Narcissa sat in silence, timidly watching her eat.
Hermione felt uncomfortable and tried to make conversation.
"This treacle is good, did you make it?"
"Oh, heavens no," Narcissa said quickly, continuing, "I don't even know how to cook. Lucius makes the servants do it all."
Hermione and Narcissa stayed on the subject of food for a while until Narcissa brought up Draco.
"I don't like it," Narcissa said quietly," what he's doing to you, I mean."
"Oh," Hermione started quietly, "he hasn't really done anything to me yet." Narcissa met her eyes hopefully.
"I begged Lucius to buy him the new broom that he wanted, but Lucius...didn't agree,"
Narcissa whispered the last part.
"I don't want Draco to be like him," she said suddenly. Hermione shivered inwardly at the fear in her voice.
"I'm sorry," Narcissa murmured, looking down, " I'm spilling out my problems to you and I don't even know your first name."
"Oh!" Hermione laughed suddenly, smiling. "I'm Hermione." It occurred to Hermione had only known her as 'The Granger girl' until now. She also wondered how Narcissa felt about Draco being with Hermione.
"Lucius is terrible," Narcissa whispered. "I regret ever marrying him."
Hermione nodded and asked, "Why did you marry him?"
"Well, it just seemed so perfect at the time. He was handsome, rich, and a pureblood. And we were in love, so we married. As soon as he got the Dark Mark though, something in him changed. He became as cruel and corrupt as his father before him," Narcissa reminisced, her eyes filled with pain.
Suddenly she looked down at her wristwatch.
"Lucius is waiting," she spoke quietly, "I must go now. I will, however, visit you tomorrow night."
"Thank you for the food. And the company," Hermione said gratefully
"I will see you tomorrow," Narcissa said again. She turned and left quickly.
At last, Hermione thought joyfully. She pulled out the wand once again. Now which spll to use? She wondered. Hastily she began trying charms.
_** ** ** ** **_
Draco tromped up stairs to his room. He found a green suit, perfectly ironed, lying on his bed. It was the next evening, and an hour before the party began. At least I won't have to se Granger tonight, he thought with relief.
Quickly he showered and put on the suit, then dug into his robes for his wand. He would need a hair slicking charm because his hair was all messy from flying on his broomstick. He dug around in the pockets for a few minutes but couldn't find it. He looked on his dresser, in the small box, on his bed, but it was nowhere to be seen.
Where did I leave it? Draco thought irritably. He remembered having it at dinner the night before. Lucius had said something and Narcissa had dropped her glass. Draco had used his wand to repair it quickly. After dinner, he had visited Granger, then come straight up to his room. He had been flying all day.
His head snapped up. He remembered not locking Granger's door because he couldn't find his wand.
"GRANGER!" he yelled angrily, throwing his robes down on the bed. He dashed downstairs and into the basement, then farther into the dungeons. He found the door and wrenched it open.
Hermione Granger sat in the middle of the cell, as always. She looked up in surprise.
"GRANGER!" he roared accusingly, "You have it!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Malfoy," she said offhandedly. "I don't have it. Why doesn't your father just go buy you a new one? I'm sure he has the money," she snorted, smiling sweetly. This only increased Malfoy's suspicions.
"Where is it?" he said, grabbing her robes suddenly, trying to check the pockets.
"I told you, I don't have it!" she said, trying to squirm away.
Draco lost what patience he had. "YOU FILTHY LITTLE MUDBLOOD!" he screamed, "GIVE IT TO ME!" But Hermione's gaze was fixed over his shoulder.
Draco turned around and his heart plummeted. Lucius Malfoy and another man strode through the doorway. Draco looked down and realized his hands were still on Hermione's robes. Taking into account the sentence he had just screamed, he realized what it looked like he was doing.
"Draco, I've been looking for you," Lucius said cooly. "Now is not the time to do that," He softly muttered. He continued, "I would like to introduce you to my good friend, Lemanus Gilroy."
Draco stuck out his hand and felt his face flush. Lemanus shook his hand very slowly, gazing into Draco's eyes. He looked sickly pale and had long, plaited black hair. Lemanus turned to Hermione.
"And who do we have here?" he asked slowly, a sickening smile spreading across his face.
"Just a small birthday gift for me son," Lucius said swiftly.
"Ah, I see," the pal man murmured. He squatted down to where Hermione was sitting. She shrunk back against the wall. He cupped her face in his hands and brought her to look at him.
"Such a beauty," he mocked slowly. Hermione couldn't tell by his voice if he was serious or not. Then his cold lips touched her head and she began shaking uncontrollably. He stood up briskly and walked back over to Lucius.
"Better get back to the party. Come, Draco," Lucius said briskly, beckoning to him. Draco gave her one last seething look that said. 'I'll take care of you later.' Hermione realized that she had finally whatever boundary Draco had set for her by making a fool of him in front of his father. And she knew him too well to hope for mercy.