Still I Look to Find a Reason To Believe

Chapter Seven

Hermione woke up from the feeling of someone nudging her. When she turned over to see who it was a pair or bright green eyes were starring at her. "Carly?" Hermione asked, squinting her eyes. The blond girl in front of the bed nodded. "Yes, now, get ready for work. He won't like it if you start late."

Hermione nodded and whispered thanks. "What about Dakota? Yesterday he told me she would have to complete chores too." She informed Carly. Carly shook her head, looking over to Dakota's sleeping form in the next bed. "The letter only listed chores for you and me, it said nothing about Dakota."

As Carly left off out of the room, Hermione looked behind her, to Dakota's bed. 'Maybe he forgot what he said about Dakota serving him.' Hermione thought, hopefully. Hermione dressed in only her robe that had been lying on her chair since yesterday. She glanced over to Dakota, who was still sleeping peacefully before Hermione walked over to her. Hermione sat on her bed as Dakota stirred. "Mommy?" Dakota said, squinting her eyes and yawning. Hermione smiled and brushed some hair out of Dakota's face. "Yeah, baby, it's me. Hey, mommy has to go to work, ok? You know who Mr. Malfoy took us into his home?" Hermione paused, looking at Dakota. Dakota nodded. "Well, he also has Carly here too, which means if we are lucky, Willie might be here and you'll be able to play with him."

Dakota smiled, her eyes still closed. Dakota always played with Willie when she had the chance. Hermione's and Carly's cells had been right near each other and usually Dakota would read to Willie. "I'd like to play with Willie." She told her mother. Hermione smiled. Maybe she would be able to work something out with Draco. Hermione frowned as she thought of this. 'God, I'm thinking about him as if he was seventeen again. I shouldn't even be calling him Draco. What's the matter with me?' She asked herself. Hermione looked down once more at Dakota. She leaned down to kiss Dakota's forehead, before covering her more securely with the blanket. "Love you, babe.'' Hermione said. "I love you, too." Dakota answered, just as Hermione reached the door to her room. She looked back once, and then left the room.

The living room or the part of the floor that seemed to be the living room was just as it had been the night before. The only difference in the room was that Carly was there, mopping the wood floors. "Where is the list?" Hermione asked her. It took a minute for Carly to answer. She didn't realize Hermione was there at first. "Oh, sorry, yeah, it's on the table." She told her, gesturing with her hand towards the coffee table.

Hermione walked over to the coffee table in the center of the room, picking the piece of paper up and reading it. Hermione frowned, looking to Carly, who was still busy with the mop. "Is he really serious?" Hermione asked her. "What do you mean?" Carly asked. She stopped moving the mop around. "He expects us to do all this in one day?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

Carly nodded. "Hermione I know its a lot, but I don't want to give him any reason to use my body for any other thing, but cleaning. I've heard what he does to women who don't make him happy, and that was why even though I was happy I would only have to be near one or them," Hermione knew that by them she had meant Death Eater, "it would still be horrible if he asked me to do for him what the others did."

Hermione nodded. "I know, Carly, I'm sorry." She smiled. "Do you think he will be different than what the girls back in 308 told us?" Carly asked Hermione. Hermione shrugged. "I don't really know. He was always evil though. I remember him when I was younger, before Dakota. He was a spitting image of his father, and now he is worse than Lucius Malfoy." Hermione answered, walking over to the kitchen. Carly sighed and went back to the floor. "I think that if we do nothing to upset him he won't ask us to do anymore than this." Carly said, hopefully. Hermione nodded, unsure.

"I wouldn't count too much on that. After all there has to be a reason he would need us. Why not just hire house elves? He has a thousand of them." Hermione informed her. Hermione looked over from the dishes she was now scrubbing, to Carly, who had stopped mopping. "I was hoping this would be better for me, and Willie. I don't think it will be though…" She told Hermione. The two had remained silent for the rest of the morning and afternoon, except when figuring our what chores were supposed to be done by who.

When they did finally start talking again it was evening time and Draco would be home soon. Hermione was worried about the whole thing. She felt so different from when she was still at Hogwarts. She had changed, and she knew Draco had too. He was evil, more evil than he had been. He wasn't the man who she had loved. Of course, the man she had thought she loved, she also thought loved her too. She was wrong. His love towards her had been a lie, and if that had been a lie, had the love she had for him been one too? After all, she thought he had loved her. That was a big part of her loving him too. The point was that Hermione had no idea whether to tell him or not. He was so cruel, so mean. How could ever care for her or Dakota?

That was the thing. Hermione didn't think he could care, and why let him deny the whole thing and hurt Drakota and Herself? Wasn't that stupid to hurt a little child who had know her daddy to be dead, and then say, "Yeah you have a dad, but he doesn't want you."? 'No,' Hermione thought, 'I won't tell him. Not now. Maybe someday, but not now.'

Hermione sat down on the chair that was seated at the table. She needed a break. All she had done all day was work and she was used to that, but what she wasn't used to was things other than her legs hurting her. Carly sat down next to her.

"So where did you know him from?" She asked. Hermione couldn't tell her the truth. Carly was very sweet, but somehow it would slip and she would tell Draco. Hermione couldn't let that happen. "Well, just around, I guess. His whole family was big and my friend went to school with him. They were pretty much enemies." Hermione explained.

Everything remained silent, until the women heard popping, and before they could realize what was happening, their master had apparated into the room. Hermione and Carly stared at him, wide eyes. They had no idea what to do. They weren't done they're chores yet. All Carly could think was that he was going to be mad, and Hermione found her ability to think disabled.

His silver eyes stared at them. "Why are you two sitting on you asses when you should be cleaning?" He asked, calmly. Carly shot up and began dusting the cabinets. "Sorry, master it won't happen again." She promised. Hermione continued to look at him, trying to take in all his features and see what had changed from Hogwarts. Hermione barely had time to compare. "Why are you still sitting there like an idiot?" Draco barked at her. "I needed rest. You can't really expect just two of us to do all of this!"

Carly pretended not to notice the exchange. Draco grabbed Hermione's throat and backed her into the refrigerator. "Go into your room. If your lucky I will send food." He barked at Carly. Carly practically peed herself making her way over to her room. Once, Draco her the door shut, he began talking, while making his grip around Hermione's neck tighter.

"Obviously, you didn't listen to me yesterday, Jane. You are mine. You will not disrespect me in any way. I didn't give you permission to sit down did I?" Draco waited for Hermione's answer, but he didn't receive any. He pulled her from the refrigerator again, only to bang her harder into it. "Did I?" He demanded an answer. Softly, Hermione said, "No."

When Draco saw she was getting no air at all, he released her and watched her fall to the floor. "You will finish all the chores by yourself and will have double the amount tomorrow. You will no longer be working with Michelle, as it seems you to cannot work together. Also, no food for you tonight or tomorrow. You will, however, bring in Michelle's food to her. I do not expect you to talk to her."

He told Hermione, leaving her on the floor, tears in her eyes. With a snap of his fingers, food appeared for Carly and Willie and before Hermione got up off the floor she asked, "What about my daughter?"

Draco turned around to look at her, his eyes fixed hard on her. "What about her?"

"Doesn't she get food?"

There was a long silence and for a moment Hermione thought he would tell her no.

"Yes, she does, but she will be going out with me later for it."

Before Hermione could protest he walked into his room and shut the door. Hermione wasn't allowed in there. 'What did he mean she would be going out with him?' Hermione wondered…

A/N: An update before I go back to school. I am sooooo proud of myself, over ,1000 words! Please review, and before I go I wanted to make something clear:

One of my reviewers had a question about something, which made me wonder if all of you thought the same thing…

Draco and Dakota will no be having sex or any kind of sexual relationship. The closest thing would probably be a kiss on the cheek, and that would be a father-like gesture. I will never have that kind of thing in one of my stories. I am against it in all ways…

Sorry I just wanted to make sure you guys knew that. I am not that perverted….