Chapter 7

When Malcolm Baddock was eleven he went to Hogwarts. A long awaited milestone, and just like his parents before him he was sorted into Slytherin. He finally felt he was where he belonged. There was, however, a hierarchy - and as a first year he was on the bottom of the barrel. The head boy and girl escorted the first years down to the dungeons after the feast, telling them about the rules and the unwritten rules: Slytherins stick together. Not only did the other houses band against them so they only had each other - but even the teachers were sometimes prejudiced towards them. Malcolm felt a fierce sense of loyalty that day, not only to his fellow first year Slytherins, but to his house as a whole. From that day forward it was his duty to bring Slytherin to glory.

Sadly, his first year at Hogwarts did not allow him that luxury. House points were not as important as the Triwizard tournament which seemed to affect everything. Malcolm didn't know what the norm was at Hogwarts, but he felt that the deviation from classes and towards the competition was a tad much. Sure it was entertaining, and making fun of Potter with everyone else was fine - but he also wanted to learn.

So he didn't care about the drama, didn't care about the nonsense. He had one goal - and that was to be successful. And successful people were also popular and well liked. That's where Draco Malfoy came in. Trying to befriend a fourteen year old when you're eleven wasn't going to work very well. His second year however, he tried a little harder to get on Malfoy's good side. Malcolm's father had said how influential the Malfoy family was, a connection with them would be fantastic for anything he planned on doing in the future.

Malcolm began hanging around Malfoy, being in his general vicinity. Sitting close to him at mealtimes, hearing the conversations, listening to his interests, finding an in. Finally his chance arose. Malfoy, as part of the newly created inquisitorial squad, was complaining about Potter again and his gang, saying how Umbridge would look well on those that helped catch them in whatever rule breaking they might be doing. His frustrations lay in the fact that he hadn't been able to catch them yet.

"You need a spy," Malcolm said calmly. "I can help with that."

There were doubts expressed, scoffs and eyebrows raised at this second year pretending to be a big shot. But Malcolm knew he was good at not being seen. Sure he had ambition, he wanted to succeed, wanted to be popular and well known and looked up to - but he knew with his age and short height came an advantage. He could be easily overlooked.

That's how Malcolm got into Malfoy's good graces, by tailing the Gryffindors in between classes. However, he quickly noticed it wasn't just Gryffindors, but Ravenclaws and Huffelpuffs too. So he followed them. Specifically, he followed two Ravenclaw girls who seemed to spend a lot of time together (most of which they were giggling obnoxiously while gossiping). It was thanks to him that the inquisitorial squad knew who to talk to to get the right information. It was thanks to him that they found out about Potter's little 'study group' - and yet he got no credit for his work.

The rest of the year was disappointing, though his grades were good.

Third year was more of the same, except this time Malcolm did lookout work for Malfoy. What was he looking out for? He did not know. However, he knew Malfoy had a couple of people on rotation as a lookout on the seventh floor, and though Malcolm didn't know what he was doing - he knew Malfoy obviously did not want to get caught doing it.

Fourth year was the best time of his childhood. He was top of the food-chain. Malcolm had all the information on everyone. Some days he would answer directly to the Carrows, rewarded even for bringing other students to detentions. He relished it. The first time he got to cast an unforgivable in the classroom was such an adrenaline high he never wanted to let it go. His fingers buzzed for days afterward, as if seeking to crucio anyone who came around the corner. Sometimes he would imperio a first year, just to see if he could, see if anyone would notice. The thrill of maybe getting caught too addictive to ignore so he made games of it. He would create riddles and tasks for students, but they were boring, they were stupid. Quickly, he lost interest.

He had to put up a front nowadays, be professional. But a professional job didn't suit Malcolm as the things he worked on at home did. No, the frenzied air of potion brewing, riddle making, and scheming could never be compared to something as frivolous as customer service. Let alone such a lowly job with muggles. Hah.

Malcolm had sought out Malfoy again after his graduation from Hogwarts, Malcolm applied for a job at Malfoy's new company and got it - there was high demand for workers especially since not a lot of people wanted to associate themselves with the Malfoy name anymore. But Malcolm had grander plans than healing potions for muggles.

Much grander plans.

Sadly, for a measly theft he was sacked and banned from the premises. However, such bans were no match for his wits. Malfoy may be smart, but he was never a spy. He was never the person in the know, was he?

No, after that day Malcolm transformed himself. He needed to not only blend in (which came to him naturally), but also stand out. From then on he made his business in blackmail, and what a thriving business it was indeed. Everyone had something to hide, something to protect and would pay handsomely when threatened.

It all worked out so well.

He had a foolproof system, with a blend of magical and muggle techniques no one was ever able to find out who he was.

Then the opportunity presented itself for revenge - to get back at Malfoy - in the form of one Hermione Granger. Malcolm hadn't expected it to be so easy to blackmail Granger, in all honesty he had expected a bit more from the woman who had all those formidable stories about her. But, everyone was human at the end of the day, and everyone had secrets to exploit.

Malcolm didn't even care he wasn't getting money out of the deal, he had loads of that already from his other business endeavors, this bit of blackmail was for fun. He got to watch as Malfoy ruined himself - he wished he could be there in person when he sent those pictures of him with Potter's best friend bare-chested in front of him. The look on Malfoy's face would be priceless. He wondered how much he could demand off him, what price he would pay for those pictures not to leak. The noble Malfoy heir sullying himself with a mudblood? There would be a scandal among the wizarding elites. Not to mention if he did release the pictures to the press the scandal on Granger's name would be even juicier.

Yes, Malcolm thrived on blackmail and this would be his most successful and enjoyable scam yet.

Hermione awoke with a knot of guilt in her stomach. She followed her morning routine in her head as she lay in bed and decided that being productive wasn't going to happen today. So instead she grabbed a book off her nightstand and read for an hour before her stomach started protesting. She grabbed a robe and wrapped it around her pyjama-clad body and descended to the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. With a wave of her wand the kettle started to boil and seconds after it made a loud noise Kreacher appeared along with a plate of breakfast on the table. Hermione thanked the elf and prepared her tea.

After breakfast she needed a fresh perspective.

Ginny stepped through the floo with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder. She flung it on the floor and sat down in the sofa opposite Hermione who was folded in on herself, clutching an empty teacup.

"What's wrong?"

"I just need a bit of girl talk," Hermione said, then she gestured to the bag. "You have practice later?"

"Yeah, we have a game in a couple of days, I'd like it if you came."

"I'll make sure to attend."

"Thank you," Ginny said and leaned back on the sofa. "So, what happened that you want some girl talk?"

"Well…" she hedged. "It's about Malfoy, actually."

"Oh?"

"Well I almost… uhm… you know, with him. Twice."

"You almost?"

Hermione nodded, leaning over to set her teacup down on the coffee table. Then she went into explaining what had happened between her and Malfoy, recalling their little seduction game.

"So, what I need to know is - how crazy am I?"

Ginny shook her head. "You're not crazy for enjoying being seduced."

"But it's-"

"Malfoy? Hermione, I don't know if you've noticed but Malfoy is hot. Like, another level hot. Not to mention he has the bad-boy thing going for him, so you're not being crazy you're just being normal, for once."

Hermione chuckled. "It doesn't feel like it though. It feels weird. To want him."

Ginny nodded. "Lust is pretty powerful, sexual tension even more so. Plus what you guys did, it sounds really hot actually."

She blushed. "I've never really talked dirty like that before, it was intimidating but also… really rewarding."

"I bet," Ginny said with a cheeky grin.

"I can't stop thinking about it, and I know I'm insatiably curious but how do I separate that obsessive behaviour with actual feelings? How can I know what is just me being curious and needing to know about this different way of exploring my sexuality - and what is me genuinely having feelings for Malfoy?"

"Hmm, well your mind is especially tricky, but didn't you say that he stopped before you actually did anything?"

"Yeah… and then it all went… wrong." She sighed. "I don't know Ginny it's all really messy."

Ginny looked at her for a moment and then her whole body shivered. "Okay look, as much as I hate asking this - and I do, I really really do - but did you feel sexually satisfied in your last relationship?"

"Ginny!" Hermione picked up a pillow and covered her reddening face with it, she groaned.

"I don't want to talk about it either, but I need to ask Hermione," Ginny said, pulling the pillow away from her face.

"It was perfectly satisfactory," Hermione said, the blush spreading all the way to her chest at speaking about her sexual relationship with Ginny's brother. Yuck.

"But it wasn't earth-shattering, it wasn't life changing?"

Hermione scoffed. "It's just sex Ginny. It's not like jumping out of a plane."

"See, that's where I think the problem lies. I don't really see my-... your ex being very adventurous. So this new territory that Malfoy has opened up to you is exciting. So yes, some of it is your insatiable curiosity - and that's not a bad thing. You should totally explore your sexuality and what you might like. Who knows, maybe you have a kink or a fetish even you didn't know about. But, and this is the crux of the matter, you can't use him to learn about your sexual desires if you're being blackmailed. That's just morally wrong."

Hermione groaned. "Ugh, you're right. It's such a weird situation. So, what do I do?"

"Go to Malfoy." Hermione groaned. "No, Hermione, I'm serious. Just be honest. Go to him and say - hey wank-stain, I think you're hot and I want to jump your bones but it's like all in the name of science, also I'm being blackmailed to seduce you, any idea who it might be?"

"That would be the worlds weirdest and awkwardest conversation ever." Hermione pointed out.

"I'm sure you can figure out a better way to phrase it, if you don't like jumping his bones there's always climbing him like a tree, ravaging him, satisfying your needs." Ginny ticked each new phrase on her fingers.

"Thank you!" Hermione said, grabbing her hand so she'd stop. "That's quite enough."

"Communication is key," Ginny said with a shrug. "Maybe you don't want a relationship with Malfoy, but having casual sex is okay. It's not as taboo as you might believe."

"Right." She sighed and rubbed at her face. "I guess I should try to talk to him."

"You should," Ginny agreed, standing up and picking up her bag. "I gotta go, let me know how it goes?"

Hermione nodded. "Thank you for the girl talk."

"Anytime."

They stood and hugged before Ginny left. Then Hermione went back up to her room and got dressed. She tried to catch up on some work to procrastinate what she knew she should be preparing for. What she would say to Malfoy.

In the end she decided that she would come clean about the blackmail, make it very clear that she hadn't intended to lead him on except to follow her blackmailers instructions - which wasn't good anyway. Gods she dreaded this. It was going to be awful. He might not even want to talk to her after this and then she might be putting her parents' lives and her friends' lives in danger.

Deciding she wanted to go the professional route she contacted Malfoy's company, asking if she could have a meeting with him. The person she spoke to was incredibly nice and helpful, even telling her that he should be in his wizarding branch office at this very moment and she could probably go there now as he had no scheduled meetings. Hermione put her hair up in a bun, donned a suit and skirt ensemble that made her feel confident but suitably professional for the occasion and left to Malfoy's company in wizarding London.

The office space was strangely welcoming, white walls and lime green lines leading towards the company logo above the welcome desk. Hermione spoke to the receptionist and was pointed in the direction of Malfoy's office. Just outside it she took a deep breath to steel her nerves and calm her shaking hand, then she knocked twice on the door and waited.

"Come in," came his perfunctory reply.

Hermione pushed the door open and then closed it behind her. Malfoy stood at the other side of his desk, looking down at a stack of papers, as he looked up it seemed he was expecting anyone except her because when their eyes met his whole face changed. He was scowling.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"Wh-what?" Hermione was caught off guard.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" Malfoy picked up a piece of parchment off his desk and waved it at her. She couldn't see anything except the back which was addressed to him. "Think you're being clever?"

"I don't…" She shook her head. "What are you talking about?"

"You know there are a lot of people I would have expected this from," he said, dropping the letter back on his desk and glaring at her. "But I would never have thought you would stoop so low."

Her breath caught in her throat. He knew?

"Malfoy you have to listen to me, I didn't plan to hurt you-"

He let out a vicious laugh. "Hurt me? You don't think your actions have already done that? I never thought you'd be so despicable."

"Malfoy-"

"Leave."

Hermione faltered, stuck in a limbo between following through with his request (which would be the right thing to do) or going against it (which would be rude). But there were things she needed to say.

"Malfoy please listen to me," she pleaded, taking a step closer.

"I have no interest in hearing it."

"I had to okay? My parents were being threatened if I didn't so I had to do it - I'm sorry. I really am so sorry, and I was coming here to tell you about it-"

He held up his hand to stop her. "Wait go back and say that again."

"I'm sorry-"

"No, not that, about you being threatened."

She was caught off guard. "I'm being blackmailed and they threatened to hurt my parents."

He seemed genuinely surprised, then his cheek twitched and he looked back down at his desk.

"That's… not what you were talking about," she said, realising and stepping closer.

"No," he said and looked back up at her. "I am also being blackmailed."

Hermione stepped forward and took the letter he was handing to her, at the bottom were copies of pictures. She gasped, it was her pushed up against a bookshelf, with Draco's head covering her very exposed chest. Her eyes flitted up to the top of the letter.

I wonder what would happen if this went circulating in the press

Hermione shivered with disgust. This had to be the same blackmailer. It had to be.

Do as I ask and your reputation won't be ruined.

She swallowed and looked up at Malfoy. He had thought she was blackmailing him. At the bottom of the page it said: I'll be in touch.

"I received that an hour ago by owl post," Malfoy said, everything about him stiff and rigid. "The only person I knew to be there at the time was you so, naturally…"

Hermione swallowed and nodded, putting the letter back down on his desk. She wondered why she wasn't being blackmailed with this as well, these were practically nude photos of her. "He sent me a letter last night after I left yours… saying he was disappointed I left because he was 'enjoying the show'." She grimaced and glanced up at Malfoy.

"How long has he been blackmailing you for?"

She hesitated. "A week and a bit."

Malfoy furrowed his brow. "What were you to do?"

"Seduce you," she said, looking at him for a reaction. His head snapped up to her face, to scrutinise it for truths.

"To what end?"

"He said you had something valuable behind blood wards and I would have to marry you within four weeks to retrieve it."

Malfoy barked out a laugh. "What a joke." He sat down in his chair and cupped his chin, deep in thought.

"What?"

Malfoy shook his head. "The things I have locked up by blood wards are not of any value to anyone except myself. You were tricked. Not to mention I would have never married someone after meeting them for only four weeks. The blackmailer gave you an impossible task to humiliate you."

Hermione stood there and gaped at him. "So his threats… are they false?"

Malfoy shrugged. "I don't know, do I? He has the ammunition to expose what we were doing behind closed doors and he has no reason not to leak these photos. Especially now after you've told me what he's doing." He shook his head. "What he wants in the long run is anyone's guess."

"Harry thinks he might be someone who worked for you, someone that maybe got fired or harbours a secret hatred for you."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "He can get in line. What surprises me is he isn't after anything, he makes no demands. This is personal. He has a personal vendetta against me and wants to enjoy seeing me suffer." He picked up the letter again, staring at the pictures at the bottom and Hermione wished he wouldn't.

"How did he get these?" He mused aloud. "The angle of them…" He set it back down and stared off into space.

"He probably used a muggle device, but I don't know how he could have gotten into your study. That photo looks like it was taken from the inside of the room."

"Mmm" he said, deep in thought, still staring at the picture.

"Could you maybe… stop looking at it?" Hermione asked with a blush.

Malfoy looked up, eyebrow cocked. "Does it make you uncomfortable Granger? Why, because a sociopath has them or because it's my eyes looking at them? You do recall I was there and I can bring up the image myself without the aid of a blackmailer's photos?"

She swallowed. "Well uhm," her blush crept up her face. "I guess when you put it like that."

Malfoy shook his head. "Why did you come here then? To come clean, was it?"

"Well… yes," she said, wringing her hands in front of her. "Yes," she said more decisively, deciding against talking about her sexuality with Malfoy when there were more pressing matters to focus on. "We should probably talk to Harry about this-"

"Potter?" He groaned, loudly, and petulantly. "Really, I have to talk to sodding Potter about this? Fantastic."

Hermione huffed. "It's hardly that bad, Harry is very professional-"

Malfoy looked at her sceptically, then his eyes narrowed and she cowered under his gaze. "What?" She asked.

"He already knows doesn't he? You told fucking Potter about you being blackmailed. Did he help you pick an outfit by any chance? Hey, Potter, does this outfit look good for me to be fucked in?"

Hermione winced. "No," she said, indignant. "And there's no need to be such an arse Malfoy." She shook her head, wondering how on earth she had thought she might fancy this man-child. "I told him, yes, because my family was being threatened and I felt backed into a corner. He's a very skilled Auror - whether you believe it or not," she added at his eye-roll. "And I trust him. You should make a list of all employees you've fired and currently have."

"That could be hundreds."

"Then you better start soon." She crossed her arms and watched as his lips pursed.

"Fine, whatever. But after this, when Potter finds whoever has done this, then no more. I don't want to have to see Potter's stupid scar-face ever again."

Hermione opened her mouth but then shut it, reading the double meaning behind his words. He didn't want to have to see her again either. Then no more. That was a good thing right? She wouldn't have to deal with his annoying Malfoy-ness any longer or have to listen to him whine about Harry.

Yeah, this was a good thing.

Hermione turned around and left his office.

The best thing really.

So why did she have knots in her stomach?