After that day, Hermione chose not to disobey or rebel against Lucius. She still hated to work for him, but she did not want to cause him trouble any longer. He had enough to deal with at present. His job kept him occupied, and he was still mourning the death of Narcissa.

Lucius noticed that her behavior was improving right away. He encouraged her to keep it up, but it sounded more like a threat if anything.

Draco made a comment about it to him. "She's obviously learning that she has no power any longer. It's time that she did. You won't have to expect trouble from her now," he remarked with a chuckle.

Hermione was serving them their dinner when Draco told him this. It took all of her brain power to keep her mouth closed. She did not mention it to Lisette either, in case she would be overheard. She vividly remembered what happened that last time she caught speaking to her while they were working. She had no desire for Lucius to beat her the way he had ever again.

And so, more days passed by. Hermione woke up and did the duties that she had been given. She continued to eat her meals with Lisette and the other servants. When she was finished all of her chores, she slept in her cellar bedroom. Her nightmares did not come as often now, so she was able to sleep without interruptions.

XXX

Two weeks had gone by when a particularly bleak day had arrived.

Hermione felt in the atmosphere as soon as she had woke up that morning. At first, she did not understand why it was so dull. It was not cloudy or rainy. Nor were there any cries of pain.

It was not until she was serving breakfast when she noticed that Lucius and Draco appeared rather glum. Draco also was much less talkative than usual.

If he's quiet, then something is very wrong, Hermione thought.

She asked Lisette is she knew why they were behaving like this when she had a good opportunity to.

Lisette's expression darkened. "Today is ze one-year anniversary of Mistress Malfoy's death. I almost forgot zat eet was today until I saw zeir faces," she whispered.

"Mmm. No wonder Master Draco is barely speaking," Hermione observed.

Neither he nor Lucius interacted with her, Lisette, or the other servants very much. Lucius just told them what their chores were and left them alone.

"And if any of you dare to disturb me or my son, you will wish that you had never been born. Is that understood?" he demanded.

"Yes, Master Malfoy," they chorused.

Each of them had enough duties to keep them occupied for hours. It was not long before they started to feel worn out.

Hermione was used to having a lot of work to do by this time. Even though she had gotten tired in the first couple of hours, she was still able to do her chores without slowing down.

Lisette fared better, having been a servant in the Malfoy Manor for over a year. She was done each chore in time to help Hermione finish the ones that she was doing.

"You really don't have to do this," Hermione stated.

"I don't mind 'elping you. Eet is no trouble," Lisette assured her.

When they were serving Lucius and Draco their lunch that afternoon, Hermione saw that they were more withdrawn than ever. She also noticed that Lucius kept turning to gaze at her as he and Draco ate their food.

This made her feel uncomfortable. She did not have the slightest idea of why he was peering at her so intensely. He was not just staring into her eyes, but giving her once-overs.

Hermione looked down to see if her outfit was dirty in any way. No...it wasn't that. She wiped her face with her hand. It was clean, so she knew that her face was too.

"Girl, there is nothing wrong with you. Stop fidgeting this instant," Lucius snarled.

"Yes, sir. I apologize, sir," she murmured.

Nothing else happened for the rest of the meal. Hermione and Lisette took their dishes when they were finished. Once they had washed them, they had their own lunch before cleaning the kitchen and dining room.

Hermione was about to go upstairs to clean the bathroom when she heard a man weeping in the parlor. She thought that it was one of the servants, so she decided to see what was the matter. He may have been the first one to catch Lucius' wrath.

When she opened the door, her jaw had all but unhinged from her face. It turned out to be Lucius himself. He was sobbing over a photo album in front of him.

Hermione did not know whether to feel amazed, sympathetic, or both. The last thing that she would ever have expected was to witness him crying. He did not seem like the type of person who would, but this was clearly untrue.

Lucius must have sensed that he was being watched because he pivoted to look at her.

She jumped and backed away. "I apologize for my intrusion, Master Malfoy," she stammered.

Then she hurried to the upstairs bathroom before he could respond.

What surprised Hermione more was that he did not follow or punish her after that. She had had no doubt that he would. Perhaps he was not in the mood to.

She told Lisette about it while they were cooking dinner.

Lisette clucked her tongue. "Poor Master Malfoy. I feel sorry for 'im. But you should 'ave seen 'im after 'is wife died. 'E cried everyday for a month when 'e wasn't working, 'e did. I remember eet like eet was yesterday."

"Really?" Hermione questioned, taken aback.

"Mmm-hmm. 'Is son cried even longer zan 'e did. I theenk zat Young Master Malfoy was closer to 'er."

"I suppose so. He always seems to look up to his father more, though."

"Oh, 'e does. But 'e 'ad a special connection with 'is mother too."

To their astonishment, it did not take long to prepare the meal. That was saying something because they were almost completely exhausted.

Lisette glanced at the clock when she shut the oven's door. "That is the last chore zat we 'ave to do before we server dinner in less than an hour. We should ask Master Malfoy eef 'e wants us do anything else," she pointed out.

They found Lucius in the den this time. He was slumped in his chair. Hermione began to think that he had fallen asleep when he gazed at them.

"I beg your pardon, Master Malfoy, but we 'ave finished ze chores zat you 'ad wanted us to do so far. Is there anything else we can do?" Lisette queried.

"No, there is nothing. You may take a break until you serve our dinner," he replied in a low voice.

Hermione frowned inwardly. It was quite odd of him to tell them that. Lucius never gave any of them a break for as long as she had worked there. He would rather tire his servants out.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Lisette remarked, distracting her.

He nodded. "You may both stay in the kitchen until then."

"Yes, sir."

They left the room. As they did, Lucius stared after Hermione.

She is the most beautiful young woman that I have ever seen, other than my dear Narcissa. She reminds me of how gorgeous and carefree and vivacious she had been when she was younger. I want her. I need her, he thought.

Hermione, who was now sitting in the kitchen, had no idea of the predicament that she was about to find herself in. Nor did she know that her life would go downhill for a long time...starting that night.

(9:03pm)

She was having a talk when Lisette in the hall, preparatory to going to bed, when Lucius entered the mansion. He was drunk, and his breath reeked of firewhiskey.

They watched as he ambled over to them.

"You," he said, pointing to Hermione. "I need to speak to you in my bedchamber upstairs."

"Uh...y-yes, sir," she returned, the smell of his breath filling her nostrils. "A-Am I in t-trouble, sir?"

She was certain that he was going to beat her for intruding on him in his moment of privacy.

Lucius narrowed his eyes at her. "Do not ask questions. Just come with me."

"Yes, sir."

Hermione glanced at Lisette as she followed him. He led her upstairs to the third floor and down the hall to his bedchamber.

She turned to view her surroundings. His room was magnificent. The four-poster bed had a green and silver wool coverlet on it. The wood had been painted an elaborate black color. There was a velvet emerald armchair to the right of the bed, with a velvet emerald couch diagonally across from it. There was a polished oak desk, a tapestry with the Slytherin crest on it, and marble figurines here and there. To the right of the door was a fireplace.

Lucius locked the door and put an enchantment on it. Something about this action made her feel worried.

He gestured to the couch. "Have a seat," he ordered.

"Yes, sir."

She lowered herself onto it dubiously. He perched on the cushion on the other side of her.

It was quiet for a moment until he cleared his throat.

"To answer the question that you have just asked me, no. You are not in trouble for anything. You did nothing wrong. I brought you up here to tell you about my wife. It is about time that I did," he claimed.

Hermione nodded slowly. "I understand, sir."

Lucius paused to rub his face. "Well...I met her about thirty-three years ago, in my second year of Hogwarts. But I did not know very much about her for at least three years. However, I will admit that I thought she was pretty. By the time I was in my sixth year, and she was in her fifth, she had grown to be even more beautiful. I asked her in she wanted to court me, and she was more than happy to, for she had been longing for me to since her fourth year."

He stood and went over to a cupboard that she hadn't noticed earlier. He pulled out a bottle as well as a silver ornate goblet. Then he filled it with red liquid before sitting down once more.

"Oh...do you care for any? I can lend you a goblet," he added.

"Er...no, thank you, sir. I'm not very partial to wine," she replied.

"Well, in that case, I shall continue. From that point onward, we had always been a couple. However, after I had graduated from Hogwarts, I did not see very much of...Narcissa. Not until she finished Hogwarts in the next year.

"Our relationship strengthened more than it had when we were in school. It did not seem long before I had proposed to her. She accepted it, of course, and we were married within three months."

Lucius rose an eyebrow to ask Hermione if she understood him so far. She inclined her head.

He drank deeply from his goblet and continued. "Because of our jobs and duties to the Dark Lord, we did not have much of a chance to think of having children until I was twenty-five. Narcissa and I agreed that it was the right time to. In the next year, when I was twenty-six, Draco was born.

"All three of us lived very joyously as the years passed. It had been challenging raising Draco, but it had been worth it. In his fourth year, it was just as well that he was away at Hogwarts because we were busy. It continued that way for the next three years."

He sighed deeply, his eyes growing more bleary.

"The next thing I knew, the Order of The Phoenix raided my house and killed my Narcissa. They took her away from me while leaving me and Draco injured."

Unable to think of how to comment on all of this, Hermione stayed quiet.

Lucius eyed her intensely. "You remind me of my wife in some ways. You are carefree, strong, lively, and vivacious. You are also very beautiful," he nearly whispered. He reached out and slid his hand along her skirt.

She trembled, feeling nervous and uneasy. "Uh...s-sir..." she murmured.

"Be quiet," he hissed. Then he scooted over to bury his face in her neck.

Hermione tried to push him away. Knowing what was happening caused fear to rise within her. "M-Master, please stop. Please? I don't feel comfortable with this..."

"I said, keep your mouth shut. And you will never presume to push me. I am your master. I can do what I wish with and to you. I own you," he snapped. He held her down by her wrists and nuzzled her jugular for a moment. After that, he stood. "Go to the bed and lay down."

"M-Master, please. I really don't want to do this...This isn't right..."

"SILENCE! When I give you an order, you are to obey me!"

As he shouted at her, Lucius yanked her up by the hair. She cried out in pain as he threw her onto the bed.

There was a struggle as he dove on her and proceeded to tear off her clothes.

"We will do this whether you like it or not, so I suggest that you do not fight me on this! You had best prepare yourself!" he slurred.

"Please...no..." Hermione wept.

Lucius ignored her. He took off her underwear and used his wand to pin her onto the bed. He removed his own clothes, then hovered over her.

She tried to keep any parts of his body from touching hers. "Master Malfoy, please don't do this to me. I'm...I'm a virgin..."

He scoffed. "You are a lying whore! I know that you and that Weasley boy have fornicated already. Now, be quiet, or I will make you!"

And before she could even attempt to protest further, he shoved his penis into her roughly and without warning.

The only thing that Hermione was able to do was scream and sob. Any pain that she had experienced before was nothing compared to this. This pain was unendurable. It was as if she were being burned and stabbed at the same time.

Lucius growled with irritation and silenced her with his wand.

So there was nothing that Hermione could do. She could only lay there bound and mute as her virginity was mercilessly robbed from her in hard, greedy thrusts. He moaned and grunted, not noticing that blood was seeping onto his and her inner thighs, as well as bed's comforter. Tears ran down her face in torrents.

"Fuck...you feel just as good as...ungh...Narcissa did...fuck...H-Hermione..." he groaned, clutching her jaw.

She cried even harder when he uttered her name. The way he used it sounded like poisoned honey. It was almost lovingly, but she believed that she could hear malice and cruelty in his voice.

Hermione did not think that he would ever stop. She prayed and wished that he would soon. The pain was growing more excruciating as time passed. Her entire body was cramping. Besides that, her eyes and throat were sore from crying.

About a half an hour passed when the speed of Lucius' thrusts increased. Then he half-yelled as pushed farther into her. She felt a warm liquid shooting into her.

Lucius collapsed before straightening up. "We are done. You can go. Wait a moment," he declared abruptly. He took his wand and removed the blood from their thighs. "Now you may leave."

It took a long time for Hermione to put her outfit on because of the agony that she was in. However, she was finally able to slip on her stockings and shoes. He unlocked the door for her, and she crept out of the room gingerly due to the pain between her legs.

She eventually made her way downstairs. Her knees almost gave out as she pounded on Lisette's bedroom door.

Lisette opened it right away. "'Ello, 'Ermione, what are you steel doing up?" she questioned with smile. Then her expression changed into one of horror. "Oh, my God, what 'appened to you?! Blood is running down your legs!" she gasped. "We need to get you to ze bathroom!"

Hermione choked on a sob. "I don't think that I can walk upstairs," she whimpered.

She frowned. "Why not?"

"Because Master Malfoy...he...he..." Hermione tried to explain.

Then she broke down completely.

Lisette rushed to hug her. "Don't worry. I will take you upstairs myself."

And to Hermione's surprise, she lifted her into her arms with ease. She carried her to the bathroom on the next floor.

She turned on the light, rose the toilet seat, and placed her on it carefully.

"Now," Lisette began. "What did Master Malfoy do?"

"He...he...he forced himself on me...He raped me..."

The color drained from Lisette's face. "Oh, my God...Oh, my God," she mumbled. Tears filled her own eyes. She embraced her again. "Oh, my God, dear. I'm so sorry that 'e did zat to you. I reelly am."

She held her for a while, patting Hermione's back as she cried. Then she took out a black washcloth.

"I am going to wipe ze blood off of your legs and run a 'ot bath for you. Do you trust me?" she inquired gently.

"Y-Yes. I always trust you," she responded.

Lisette removed her shoes and stockings. After that, she cleaned away the trickles of blood.

The bath that she ran for her was a godsend. The heated water soothed her aching body and diminished the pain between her thighs. She washed her vigorously before helping her out of the tub. She also gave her a shower to clean her off again.

Once Hermione was dry, Lisette presented her with her nightclothes. She assisted her in putting them on before carrying her to her cellar bedroom.

"'Ere. Try to sleep. I will come to wake you up in ze morning..." she whispered.

"No, Lisette! Please don't leave me here by myself. He might come here," Hermione added, shaking violently in fear.

She nodded in understanding and laid next to her. "There. Does zat 'elp?"

Hermione bobbed her head, calming down.

"Good. Get some sleep now. I will wake you up."

"I'll try to, and Lisette...thank you for being her for me."

"You're welcome. And as I told you before, 'Ermione. Eet is no trouble."

XXX

Hermione did not acquire much sleep at all that night. Her thoughts were plagued by flashbacks of Lucius raping her. She tried not to disturb Lisette as she trembled with sobs.

Even when she dozed off, her flashbacks merged into a nightmare. She relived the terror of the previous evening over and over until Lisette finally woke her up at the usual time. She was already dressed.

"Come on, 'Ermione. You need to take another shower before we cook and serve breakfast," she remarked.

She shook her head. "I don't think that I can serve breakfast today. I don't think that I can be anywhere near that...that man!" she spat.

Lisette drooped. "You 'ave to, I'm afraid. 'E is still your master. You 'ave to work for 'im no matter what 'e does to you."

Hermione did not comment on this. She knew that she was right, and she hated that she was.

She reluctantly gathered her maid outfit and slowly went upstairs to wash up. Twenty minutes later, she was joining Lisette in the kitchen.

They made breakfast without conversation. Hermione was not in the mood to speak. Lisette did not know what to talk about.

At seven o'clock, they heard Lucius and Draco enter the dining room. Hermione tried not to shake as she carried her tray.

She did not even peek at Lucius as while she scooped his food onto his plate. That is, until she had walked back to the kitchen door. And what she noticed confused her.

He was looking entirely woebegone. His face was drawn and pale. Anguish and...was it shame?...was also etched into it.

Hermione turned to Lisette, who was just as bewildered as she was. She exchanged glances with her and shrugged.

"Father? Are you all right?" Draco queried in concern. He was frowning at him.

Lucius started. "Oh, yes. I am just trying to recover from yesterday," he grumbled.

"Ohhh. I understand."

Neither of them mentioned it a second time. They ate the breakfast rather quietly. Lucius mostly picked at his.

It was not long before they were finished. Hermione was clearing away the plates and silverware when her eyes met his.

As they held each other's gaze, the despair in his eyes became more profound. Then Lucius said the last thing that she would have ever expected him to say.

"I truly apologize for hurting you last night, Hermione."

(A/N: PLEASE REVIEW/LEAVE A COMMENT!)