Did I dedicate the last chapter to Hymnophile? Maybe I did. Hmm. Then this is to all of you, for your lovely reviews. 11 – my most reviewed chapter yet. AND a C2 add. Loves, I'm flattered. And this is ESPECIALLY for Emily for being the best cousin ever. What? Don't you all look at me like that. Trust me, this isn't the chapter you want dedicated to you. Draco's not in it?

But I have reassurance from Hymnophile that all of you are getting rather anxious for our favorite blond to enter the scene, so I actually cut out half a chapter from my outline. Just for you. Draco in two, I think. It's too dark for me to check my outline so I can't say for sure.

And it's dedicated to her in spirit for, if nothing else, her sarcastic little comments that keep me going. Here's the chapter.

Chapter Four

Of Pincushions and Common Whores

Bellatrix yanked a brush painfully through Hermione's hair, muttering to herself under her breath. She turned up the girl's face roughly and fixed her makeup so violently that it hurt.

"What's bothering you?" Hermione asked, shying away when Bellatrix tried to put more mascara onto her. "Are you angry about the way I answered?"

"No." Bellatrix just stepped closer to her and almost jabbed the mascara wand into Hermione's eye. "That has nothing to do with it."

"Is it Avery?"

She said nothing for a long moment, and then ran her thumb under Hermione's eye almost gently, wiping the smudge away on her skirt before letting go of her head. "Yes, it's Avery. I don't know what gave him the right to invite himself or why Lucius didn't tell him no. He's an insufferably perverse man with the table manners of a pig. Lucius does not favor his company in the least, and he does not want you exposed to someone who treats his whore like such garbage." She rolled her eyes. "In that respect he's being an overprotective fool, but that doesn't change the way I feel about Jacob." She appraised her makeup job, and then nodded curtly. "Your dinner dress is in the corner. I suggest you hurry up – they'll be here any minute." And with that, she swept away.

Hermione looked blankly at herself in the mirror for a few, long moments. She was still too pale from her encounter with Voldemort; her eyes were wide and she realized that her hands still shook. She folded them together tightly and closed her dark-rimmed eyes, taking deep breaths and trying to empty her mind rather than relive the past hour. Screaming still echoed in her head, bouncing painfully around her skull and giving her a nauseous headache. She'd caused that. She would have to apologize to Emmeline somehow…

How had Harry managed it all those times? He'd been alone, and he'd been unprepared, but he'd never come out of an encounter with Lord Voldemort with more than a lightning shaped scar or more news to report to Dumbledore. How many times had they faced each other? Five. At least five, in some form or another. Not to mention all the dreams that Harry had had in between confrontations… How was it that he was so brave and she and Ron were really so clueless?

Unless, of course, Harry and Ron had been up to something in her absence .She wouldn't put it past them; she didn't expect Harry to stay still and wait around for so long. It had been at least a month now. What would they have done without her? Had they made any progress?

Her eyes snapped open and she dressed in her blood red dinner dress before she could let herself think about them anymore. She'd had enough pain and frustration in one day. She didn't need more.

Lucius was waiting for her outside the bathroom door, wearing rich, black robes and an unreadable expression. He held his arm out to her, and she took it tentatively. "You look nice," he said, leading her to the door.

"Thank you, My Lord. As do you." She looked at her feet rather than at him, still afraid that he would be angry over her behavior from earlier.

He sighed. "There are a few things I should tell you about Avery before I force you to spend a mealtime with him. You saw how little he cared for Emmeline Vance – he has very little respect for women. He likes challenges, and I'm afraid that you caught his eye when you stood up first to the Dark Lord, then to him today. It would be prudent of you to avoid attracting his attention for the remainder of the evening."

She glanced up at him, and was startled by the worry in his eyes. Her stomach turned unpleasantly.

"What does it matter, anyway? It's not like I'm anything special here. I'm just Lucius Malfoy's whore. I'm dispensable, remember?"

For a moment, she thought he was going to hit her. She'd never spoken to him like that before. But then she saw vulnerability in his eyes much like she'd seen the morning after she'd thrown up and cried after sex. What was the bastard doing? Was he trying to drive her mad? Act like he had feelings for her? How dare he be concerned when he was the one who'd locked her up and brought her to this in the first place?

"When you're in my house, you're more than that, if only a little," he murmured into her ear. She shivered but didn't dare try to pull away. "I won't have Avery shaming you under my roof. Even you deserve better treatment than that." His lips skimmed her cheek briefly before he straightened up again.

He led her out into the foyer where the house elves had set out aperitifs and tea light candles. She sighed. Apparently, Jacob Avery was important enough for the guest treatment. That meant heavy food, lots of manners, and some obnoxious, awkward staring.

Lucius directed her to sit on an overstuffed green footstool right beside his favorite armchair and she sighed again. They were really taking it so far that the whores would sit at their masters' feet. She sat reluctantly, and he sank into the high armchair, reaching for her hand. She let him take it, a little surprised.

There was a knock on the door and Bellatrix hurried through the room, in one door, and out the other, in the direction of the front door. Hermione heard the door open, and Lucius gripped her fingers painfully. She resisted rolling her eyes, more than a little annoyed with him.

"Avery," Bellatrix drawled from the hall. "How nice of you to drop by."

"Bella," Avery said coldly, his disdain no better hidden than Bellatrix's. "How nice of you to have us."

"I'll take your cloak," Bellatrix seethed, "if you two would like to go ahead and meet Lucius and Granger in the foyer."

"Oh, are we letting the vermin all the way into the house now?" Hermione heard the sharp distaste in the man's voice. "I must say, the lioness is taming him in more ways than I would have expected. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

"I have no idea," Bellatrix said flatly. "I only do what he tells me. Please go ahead. Miss Vance, I'll take your cloak too, if you'd like?"

Hermione winced at the dull, unenthusiastic tone of her voice. She could imagine how Bellatrix would be glaring at poor Emmeline, and almost expected Emmeline to answer back sharply. But she wouldn't. Of course, she wouldn't, with a monster like Avery for a master.

Did that mean she didn't consider Malfoy a monster?

He stroked his thumb across the back of her hand absently, and she wanted to pull away. Suddenly, her body flooded with an overwhelming urge to piss him off tonight. She was sick of him, sick of his acts and his lies. She'd suffer for it, but it might be worth it. She leaned into the arm of his chair stiffly, and he smiled absently as the sound of Avery's heavy footsteps and Emmeline's smaller, timid shuffling came toward them.

"Lucius!" Avery exclaimed, in his harsh, too-loud voice. "How good of you to have us."

Lucius rose, pulling Hermione up with him. "How good it is to see you," he said, moving over to greet the Death Eater. They shook hands familiarly, and Hermione looked over to Emmeline, who was carefully not meeting anyone's eyes. Lucius nudged Hermione, and she looked up at Avery and smiled.

"It was good of you to come, Lord Avery," she said dutifully, leaning on Lucius' hand for balance and dipping into a curtsy. She saw his eyes fall to her cleavage, and pushed her chest forward, pouting in what she hoped was her most attractive way. He smiled bemusedly.

"You look lovely tonight, Miss Granger."

"Thank you, My Lord." She straightened and fluttered her eyelashes, feeling ridiculous. Lucius and Emmeline both looked at her sharply, questioningly, but she pretended like the embarrassed heat in her cheeks was an intentional flush.

There was an awkward pause, and then Avery shoved Emmeline forward. "I suppose you two have some catching up to do," he leered. "I won't stop you. Emmeline's been going on and on about how much she wanted to see you, haven't you dearest?" He looked down at her threateningly, and she nodded quickly.

"Yes, My Lord."

Lucius freed his hand from Hermione's and gestured widely to the foyer. "Avery, if you would like to come in for refreshments," he began, "maybe Hermione—you could take Emmeline to your room for a bit? We'll call you when dinner is ready."

"Yes, My Lord." Lucius looked at Hermione expectantly and she rose up on her toes to kiss his cheek.

"This isn't what I'd planned. Please behave and do as I say," he whispered into her ear. She nodded quickly and held out a hand to Emmeline.

"This way, if you please, Miss Vance."

Emmeline looked up at Avery, who nudged her not-too-gently toward Hermione. Hermione took her arm and led her slowly away from the men, noticing that Emmeline leaned heavily on her, and moved slowly. She felt sick with guilt again – had this all been her fault? What else had Emmeline been subjected to? As soon as the men were safely in the foyer, Bellatrix had swept off somewhere, and they reached the stairs, Hermione stopped and told Emmeline to sit and catch her breath. The woman sank down onto the lowest step gratefully, her body seeming to shake with effort. Hermione noticed that, under her dress, Emmeline was painfully thin, and that her joints seemed to stick out too far at odd angles.

"Are you all right?" Hermione asked anxiously, sitting slowly down beside her.

She looked like she was going to mumble something about being fine, and Hermione took her hand. "You don't have to lie to me," she said softly. "I know how it is. Trust me."

"Can I?" Emmeline's large, dark eyes were wide and almost accusatory. "I saw the way you acted with Malfoy today."

Hermione suddenly found it very hard to breathe. "And how was that?" she asked levelly.

The older woman flinched at the edge in her voice, and she tried to soften her expression. Clearly, Emmeline had been mistreated. She was dealing with trauma. Hermione had to remind herself to be gentle.

"He… he… I don't know how to explain it. He didn't treat you like you're total garbage. I saw it in his face, Hermione. There's something more there, something deeper. He was genuinely afraid for you every time He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named got angry. He didn't just want you to hold your tongue to keep from embarrassing him, but he wanted to keep you safe."

"Lucius isn't like Avery," Hermione said flatly.

Emmeline looked at her in disbelief.

"What?"

"Lucius? Since when is Malfoy Lucius?"

"I – " She wanted to deny everything, but the accusations rang true. "I've been wondering about him myself. He doesn't always act like a complete arse, and I can't understand why. I haven't given him any reason to like me or even to treat me humanely, and mostly he doesn't, but there are times…" Like when he held her when she cried. Like when he reached for her hand when they were both distressed. Like when he kept Bellatrix from hurting her.

Emmeline's eyes were gentle, concerned. Hermione wanted to run far away, first from Lucius, then from Emmeline, who was sitting there and giving her sympathy when she should have been the one apologizing.

Heels clicked angrily across the floor and Hermione looked up to see Bellatrix coming at them, carrying a tray of champagne.

"Oh," she said acerbically. "It's you two."

Emmeline hid slightly behind Hermione, who lifted her chin haughtily. "Yes, do you have a problem with that?"

Bellatrix's dark eyes flickered from her face to the woman cowering behind her, and a hint of a smile played across her thin lips. "I suppose I'll leave you two to catch up then, won't I?" she smirked. "I can only imagine that you have much to discuss. Do try to behave yourselves."

Hermione glared. "Go wait on Lucius, Bella. You know he doesn't like to be kept waiting. How did you get roped into being the serving maid tonight? Was he angry with you? I thought that was house elf work."

"The house elves are busy in the kitchen," Bellatrix sneered. "I'll see you ladies at dinner." She hurried on ahead, and Hermione couldn't help feeling satisfied that she'd gotten under the woman's skin.

"What the hell was that?" Emmeline demanded. "Hermione, I don't understand anything here. Bellatrix is Malfoy's… erm…"

"Houseguest?" Hermione supplied.

"Does he know you're being so rude to her?"

"It amuses him, although he doesn't let it on. I suppose she'll go tattle to him and I'll pay for it later. He can't really have me getting away with that."

"Why doesn't she just take it out on you herself?"

She shrugged uncomfortably. "He prefers to punish me himself. He'd rather that she doesn't touch me. He's not so much for pain, and whenever I tell him that she hurts me he gets very angry. He prefers his own methods of… torture."

Emmeline flushed pink and her mouth formed a little "Oh" of understanding, but her brow was still creased with confusion.

"Come up to my rooms," Hermione said. "I'll explain everything to you once we're less in the open."

They made their slow, painful way up the stairs, and then Hermione guided Emmeline into her softest, most comfortable armchair.

"I'm sorry about earlier," she said awkwardly, watching the woman settle gingerly.

"Don't be." Emmeline winced and sat back. "Your job is to protect Harry."

"That doesn't mean you have to get hurt at my expense. It isn't fair that I lie and you pay for it. I should be the one being punished for something like that."

Emmeline reached for her hand. "Hermione, don't worry about it. I knew it was coming. I upset Avery earlier this week – he promised me that I'd pay for it. You do your job and I'll do mine."

"Your job is not to be a pincushion," Hermione retorted angrily.

"If it's the best I can do right now, then it's what I'll do." The woman lifted her chin proudly, and Hermione was ashamed of herself.

"I'm sorry. I was just so surprised to see you there. We hadn't heard from you in so long… We'd thought… We'd assumed…"

"That I was dead?"

An awkward nod.

"In the future, never presume dead until there's a body found." Emmeline rubbed her hands together absently. "We learned that lesson a long time ago with Peter Pettigrew." She was silent for a moment. "I'm surprised Alastor didn't remind you."

"Professor Moody…" Hermione had hoped it wouldn't come to this. Emmeline didn't need bad news on top of it all. She twisted her hands in her skirt, watching the silky material bunch between her fingers. "He's not with us right now. He's in hiding."

"In hiding? Alastor?"

"Things aren't very safe right now," she sighed. "Most of the remaining adult Order members are on the run."

"The remaining Order members?"

Hermione winced. "There have been many… deaths and disappearances. You weren't the only one."

"Tell me," Emmeline said flatly. "I've gone long enough without news."

And so Hermione told her. She told her about how they'd dropped out of school and how Dumbledore had given them a mission. She told her how the Death Eaters had started picking them off, one by one, starting with the Weasley family and then moving quickly through the upper ranks of the Order. She recounted how, finally, the Order had realized that they were safer spread apart than all together, and so those who could protect themselves well enough had taken off to all different parts of the country, where they'd be harder to track. Finally, she told her about how news reached them from time to time – Kingsley had gone missing. Dedalus Diggle's body had turned up, face down, in the Thames. Mrs. Figg's house had been completely burned down, and Mrs. Figg herself hadn't been seen since. Elphias Doge hadn't turned up when he was supposed to meet them at the Leaky Cauldron three weeks prior to Hermione's abduction, and they'd heard no news.

She had to stop. The weight of their losses sat heavily on her chest, making it hard to breathe. Tears pricked in her eyes, but she'd gotten good at suppressing them.

"So now it's down to you three?" Emmeline asked softly.

"Now it's down to us." Hermione was still looking at her hands. "Or, I guess, Harry and Ron now. There's a few of us all over, so maybe they've met up and regrouped. I really don't know. It's been a month, and I haven't heard anything since."

"Do they know where you are?"

She managed to shrug a shoulder. "I don't know. I would only assume so. There's been more than enough press outside the Ministry every time Lucius and I are there together. There must be something in the papers. But I'm not allowed to read The Prophet, so I really have no idea."

"So now you're stuck here with a Lucius Malfoy who's treating you strangely." Emmeline sighed. "I'm so sorry, Hermione. You never should have gotten roped into this."

"Neither should you!" she said hotly. "No one deserves this."

"But I knew what I was getting into," Emmeline said patiently. "I knew my risks. And we were supposed to protect you three at all costs, because you had to be together. The Order was relying heavily on you. You weren't supposed to be taken out of play. It was against anything in the plans."

"Yes, well, we've sort of had to drop the plans now that everyone's in hiding, haven't we?"

Emmeline looked abashed. "So, what's the plan now?"

"Now?" Hermione sighed. "Winging it, mostly. I'm in half a mind to piss off Lucius right now, just to tell him that I'm confused by what he's doing. I know he won't like it at all, but it would feel good to do something."

"Is it safe?"

"God, I don't know. I don't even know if I care anymore." She bit her lip. "I'm here. I might as well use this opportunity."

"Don't hurt yourself."

"I won't. Actually I –" She broke off, blushing.

"You what?"

"Lucius doesn't like Avery much," she said slowly. "And he's an overprotective fool…"

"You have that much of a death wish?" Emmeline asked, almost amused.

""Can you think of anything better?" Hermione said hotly. "I'm just bored. It's something to do. And anyway, aren't whores supposed to be infidels or something?"

"Hermione, you're not a whore," Emmeline said gently.

"I feel like it. I might as well be."

"You're no more a whore than I am," the woman said sharply.

"Yeah, well, look at yourself," Hermione said, almost unkindly. "Not so much a whore as a knife sharpener. Do you really think that's how I want to end up?"

"Because I want it so much, do I?"

"I'm sorry. You know what I mean."

"I know. I'm sorry, too. But please, Hermione. Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. I said earlier that Avery isn't like Malfoy and I meant it. He's not nearly as… courteous as Lord Malfoy. And that's saying something."

"Not really. He's all about his refined tastes and good breeding. He does a good job of pretending to be a gentleman."

"Usually, the ones who pretend to be gentlemen are the worst underneath."

"I've learned that one well enough."

The door opened unceremoniously and Hermione was a little startled to see that Bellatrix was still playing the role of Lucius' housemaid. She stood crossly in the doorway and glared at the two women. "I'm to tell you that dinner's ready, and that you should go down at your convenience, since you're clearly enjoying yourselves up here. God forbid anyone should come break up your gossip session."

"We'll come now," Hermione said coldly, helping Emmeline to her feet. "So nice of you to come and warn us, Bellatrix."

"Watch it," she murmured, as Hermione slipped past on the way out the door. "What Lucius doesn't know won't hurt him."

Emmeline's grip on her fingers tightened sympathetically, and she shrugged, unwilling to let the older woman get under her skin.

They made their way slowly downstairs. Bellatrix looked like she wanted to sweep past them, but she grumbled the whole way down, mocking Emmeline's slow pace. She led them across the hall and into the dining room, where Lucius and Avery were already waiting.

"So nice of you to join us, my dears," Lucius said brightly, standing. Avery stood too, probably out of necessity more than actual desire. Malfoy's house, Malfoy's rules.

"It was thoughtful of you to send for us," Hermione said, shooting what she hoped was a coy smile toward Avery. "We wouldn't have wanted to miss dinner with such fine wizards as yourselves."

The shorter, pudgier wizard almost seemed to blush at Hermione's words. Lucius looked at her curiously, but said nothing, merely pulling out a chair for her at his side. Emmeline gave her hand one last squeeze before reluctantly taking her place next to Avery. They all sat, and Lucius rang the bell for the house elves to come in.

Hermione's stomach churned uncomfortably when the first whiffs of dinner reached her nose. It would be more of the same, then. Of course, when they had company. Lucius was one for rich, fine foods that were far too heavy for her taste. What she wouldn't give for Mrs. Weasley's cooking just then…

A diminutive house elf put something that looked terribly like a whole duck in front of her, and glared at her through narrowed, tennis ball eyes. She shivered at the dislike in them – surely not even elves were prejudiced against her. Calico was nice. She'd thought they all would be…

"Thank you," she murmured, trying to ignore the nausea that swept through her.

The elf looked at her for another moment, and then scuttled away. Lucius poured her a goblet of wine, and she sipped at it tentatively.

"Granger," he said conversationally. She winced at the use of her last name. "Avery was telling me some rather interesting news about some friends of yours."

"Were you?" Hermione set her goblet aside and leaned across the table to make eyes at Avery, all too aware that her posture gave him ample view of her cleavage. "Well I'm sure an important Ministry man like you would hear all the news, wouldn't you?"

Emmeline took a deep sip of her wine and looked as if she were choking. Hermione let herself smile faintly, knowing she was probably pushing the sultry voice a little too hard.

Avery blinked at her, and then puffed up his chest almost ridiculously. "Yes, well." He fingered his collar. "When you're in a position such as my own, word does get around."

She choked back a laugh. Assistant Head of the Department of Wizards in Muggle Housing was hardly the top rung of the Ministry. "I'm sure," she almost purred. She had to sit up a little, though. The beads around her neck were trailing in the duck sauce. "And what word might a prestigious man like you have heard?"

"Ah, Miss Granger." He chortled deeply and took a large bite of quail. "You know that information like that is strictly classified."

"You can't tell me?" she pouted, ignoring that her heart was going a mile a minute. News from Harry and Ron!

"Well." He glanced over at Emmeline, and then at Lucius, who was sitting stiffly at the edge of his seat, his eyes cold and hard. "I suppose a little news wouldn't hurt, eh, Lucius?"

"Do as you see fit," Malfoy said curtly, barely moving his mouth. Butterflies fluttered in Hermione's stomach. He was mad.

"Well." Avery lowered his voice conspiratorially even as his eyes drifted lower over Hermione's body. She leaned a little more forward. "There have been rumors of a break in."

"A break in?" she said, as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world. Her heart was in her throat, now. What would Ron and Harry break into? And why? "Where?"

"Now Jacob," Bellatrix said stiffly. "Do you really think it prudent?"

"Oh, lighten up Bellatrix," he said. "A little information won't hurt, eh?"

"She's a Mudblood," Bellatrix hissed. Her knife glittered in the candlelight, catching the light as she gripped it tighter, more like a weapon than a piece of cutlery.

"Who's she going to tell?" he snapped back.

"I would never do such a thing!" Hermione said, as if outraged. She fluttered her eyelashes madly. "What sort of way would that be to repay the wizards who have so kindly taken me in and given me so much?"

"Has someone told you yet how lovely you look tonight, Miss Granger?" Avery asked abruptly. She frowned, annoyed. He wasn't supposed to get this distracted. Just distracted enough to let a little more information slip.

There was a loud clatter as Lucius' silverware slipped through his fingers. "Hermione, you're not eating. Is your food not satisfactory?" There was a razor's edge in his voice.

She winced and shaved a tiny piece of meat off her duck. It smelled nauseatingly strong. When she put it into her mouth, her stomach heaved and she had to shove away from the table. Her shoe slipped off as she ran, head spinning dizzily, into the nearest bathroom and lost everything to the toilet. She heaved and heaved until she thought there could barely be anything left in her stomach, but it kept coming.

An eternity later, she lay, panting, with her cheek pressed to the cool marble of the floor. A throat cleared dryly above her, and she looked up faintly to realize that Lucius was standing, looking down at her with sharp disapproval. She tried to stand, but swayed. He caught her at the elbow and forced her upright.

"My Lord, I'm sorry," she whispered quickly, her voice rasping. Her tongue tasted like something had died and her throat was like sandpaper. "I'm sorry I ruined the meal, I –"

"Silence." She saw none of the warmth in his eyes that had been there before, when he complimented her dress. He looked furious. He looked like a Death Eater. He gripped her arm too tightly, and tears welled into his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I –"

"Bellatrix will take you to your room," he said, shoving her ungracefully toward the woman who hovered behind them, a mixture of disgust and glee on her face. "You won't be eating with us tonight, since you clearly can't stomach it." He swept away, and Bellatrix poked Hermione in the ribs.

"Come on. Up."

Twenty minutes later, Hermione was locked into her room, starving, parched, and curled up on her bed, sobbing again.

If you want Draco to come in, clap your hands! *REVIEW* Oh, and tell me. Getting curious about Harry and Ron? Or can they be a side story until they waltz in later and… erm. That's a spoiler. Hmm. The next chapter is a good one, too. You know what makes me write faster.

LOVE YOU ALL!

xoxox, Lily