A/N: I know that it has been a while since I updated this story its just that I had this whole chapter written out but then my brother and his stupid friends erased all of my files. I just couldn't remember what I wrote. Now it doesn't matter and I've decided to try again so here goes. And as for my other stories, I would like to use the trump card of freshman year of college.

The Girl with the Copper Hair

Chapter Two

Hermione raced down the stairs and corridors till she came to the servants' quarters. She collapsed on her bunk and put her head into her hands. What in the world just happened? She shuddered. No one had told her that Draco, Master Malfoy, was like that! Hermione took deep cleansing breathes, trying desperately to calm herself down. When she was finally able to breathe, she got up and headed toward the kitchen. No one must suspect anything happened between her and the Master. Besides he was rarely home, what was the likelihood that she would see him again anytime soon anyway?

She stopped outside of the kitchens and forced herself to calm down even more. Everything was going to be perfectly fine. Except not.

"Hermione! Darling! I feel as though I have not seen you in ages!" Hermione laughed. That was exactly how Maria always acted. Maria was really the only motherly figured she had ever known and she was so thankful that as part of their wedding present the senior Malfoy's had included their award winning chef and gardener as well as Hermione.

"Maria I was down here for lunch!"

"Hermione dear you were here for all of five minutes before that she-witch screeched for you to clean up some imaginary stain on some ugly dress." Maria huffed and scooped her up into a hug. "I hate that woman she's making my poor baby's heart hurt isn't she?"

"My heart can never hurt when you are around!" Hermione gushed when Maria set her down.

"Oh my darling. How I love you! Now you must eat dinner with Hank and me tonight down in the gardener's cottage." Hank is her husband. "He has been just dying to see you! So meet me there at nine I shall be done with dinner and breakfast preparations by then so just come on by! Oh and one more thing. Master Malfoy says that he requires dinner immediately and has requested you bring it up to his study. I have everything set up right... Hermione are you all right?"

Hermione gasped, black spots clouded the edge of her vision and her breathe rasped from her throat much too quickly. This was not good. She had convinced herself that she would never have to be alone with him again. What would he want with a stupid servant girl anyway? She stumbled over to the nearest table and sat down, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes. She just had to calm down. Fainting in front of Maria would just make everything worse. If she told her what had happened….. No! That was not going to happen. She would pull herself together and suffer through this dinner. After all, she only had to drop off the tray then she could leave. It was only a few minutes nothing more. Nothing more.

She shook herself and removed her hands from her eyes and looked up at Maria's concerned filled face. She laughed shakily and stood up, swaying slightly as she forced the blackness away. "I'm fine Maria. Just a little dizzy spell. I guess you were right about lunch. Must not have eaten enough." She smiled as Maria gasped and began bustling around the kitchen, collecting some food for her to eat before she had to go to the Master. She was going to be fine. He just wanted to mess her up. He just wanted to get hurt or caught so that that bitch Pansy could punish her. That was it. She was going to be fine.

That was what she was still chanting to herself fifteen minutes later as she raised her hand to knock on the study door. She was going to be fine. She sucked in a deep breathe and let her hand fall against the dark wood with a resounding crack. She waited a few tense moments before she was called in. She turned, picked up the dinner tray and let her self into the room.

"Shut the door." Hermione glanced around to see where the voice had come from but all she saw was darkness. She set the tray on the nearest table and quietly closed the door. Almost immediately the room was flooded with light. She gasped and lifted her arm to shield her eyes. A low chuckled met her ears as she desperately tried to regain her bearings. "I knew you would come. You were always a good little slave."

She whirled, squinting through the brightness. "Mr. Malfoy? Is that you?" Another chuckle. She turned back forward and staring sharply at the shape that was slowly focusing as her eyes got used to the light. " Mr. Malfoy?"

The shape suddenly got taller and she vaguely realized that her must have been sitting at his desk. "I believe, as a slave, you are supposed to address me as Master Malfoy." Years of habit kicked in as Hermione immediately swept into a curtsy.

"I'm terribly sorry for the oversight Master. It will not happen again." This time a full-blown laugh.

"I see my mother trained you well. I wonder how many beatings it took for that to sink in?" He mused to himself. Hermione grimaced as she felt the long healed scars flair on her back. It had taken a lot, and not just from his mother. But she now knew her place and didn't say anything, just straightened and kept her eyes trained on the floor. She stiffened as she heard him walk around his desk to stand in front of her. "Trained you very well indeed." He pushed himself off the desk and began to circle her menacingly. She trembled but did not move. Then her stopped and took a step closer to her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him raise his hand, almost instinctively she winced. He froze his hand still held in the air and she forced herself to take a deep breathe. "Amazing," he whispered. "how many scars can be carried by someone so small." He let his hand drop to his side and he turned quickly away from her. "Girl!" He barked.

Hermione straightened and jerked her head toward him. "Yes Master?" She whispered, staring at his back.

He halfway turned back to her and she briefly caught a glimpse of one silver eye before she dropped hers to the floor once again. She could feel his eyes on her for a long moment before he continued. "You are to bring me my dinner at exactly this time and place whenever I am in residence. You will be informed ahead of time if I am to leave. I will tell my order to the cook and I expect my meal to be hot whenever you finally bring it here. Are we clear?" He asked, turning to face her fully. She trained her eyes on the floor and nodded stiffly.

"Yes Master."

"Good now bring the tray to my desk and be gone." Hermione curtsied and hurriedly picked up the tray, setting it quietly on the desk and made her way back to the door. "Girl!" He said again. She stiffened and turned once again back to face him. "How many scars did my parents give you?" His voice was quiet and soft, much less harsh than it was at their last encounter.

Boldly Hermione lifted her eyes from the floor and stared directly into his. "Too many to count sir." She saw him wince and turn away from her again. He waved her behind his back. She turned and headed once again to the door. Just as she was about to close the door she got one last glimpse of him. Both of his hands were planted firmly on the desk and his head was bowed over it. Suddenly he lifted one hand and slammed his fisted down onto the wood. She heard a slight crunch and a splintering noise. He cursed and slumped wearily in his chair.

Hermione stayed a moment longer, then quietly closed the door. She leaned against it for a minute before making her way back down to the kitchens. She had a dinner to get to.

Her dinner with Maria and Hank went as well as can be expected when her thoughts were constantly occupied with the man with the silver eyes. He confused her so. One moment he was overt and sexual. The next he was quiet and maybe even a bit…nervous. The master of such a large house nervous of her. Ridiculous. She was a lowly slave with no magical abilities and no future.

Hermione sighed and slipped into her bed. Her dreams were sure to be interesting tonight.

He did not know why his thoughts kept on straying back to that slave with the copper hair. She had occupied his waking thoughts since the first time he had seen her when he was 15. He had come home from school early, a surprise to his parents that had not gone over well. She was cleaning his room and ever since he had been entranced.

Flashback

Draco crept through the house, feet silent on the carpeted floor. He had left Hogwarts earlier than usually so he could get home for his mother's birthday for the first time since he had started school. He did not want her to see him yet. He was the surprise.

He glanced down the hallway that lead to his room and frowned when he saw that his door was wide open. Surely neither mother nor father knew he was home, He reasoned that it must be a slave preparing his room for his arrival. He smirked and straightened. He always did enjoy bossing the slaves around; this time would be no different.

He sidled down the hallway and stepped in doorway to his room and froze. A petite girl with wild brown was bending over his desk, carefully dusting the framed photographs on it. True she was beautiful but that wasn't what made him stop. What caused him to freeze was the soft, quiet melody that was floating about his room. The tune was simple mix up of notes but every second that left the slaves mouth enchanted Draco.

She moved from his desk and began straightening and shaking out his bed linens. Her movements were lithe and graceful, even as she did such menial work. Draco's breathe caught as she laughed, picking the sheet she mussed off of the bed. He had never seen a slave laugh.

"GIRL!" A voice boomed down the hallway. "Girl get down here! Draco should be home soon and I don't want him seeing your filthy hands all over his things. Draco's eyes widened and he darted away from the door to his room. He did not see the girl leave but he did see her smiling face dissolve into one of utter misery.

End Flashback

After that day Draco would try to keep his room neater and would even leave small flowers out on his desk. He never dared to leave anything more substantial. If his parents had ever discovered his infatuation with the slave she would have been either fired or killed. Knowing his father it would have been the second.

Draco sighed and rubbed his face. That girl had haunted his thoughts as a boy and he felt almost relieved when he was married and moved to a house away from her. But then his parents had decided that their best slave would be a great addition to his household and there she was. Continuing to haunt his every moment. Would he never be free of her?

Hermione woke with a start. Something was stirring in the darkness around her and she felt, deep in her bones that whatever it was, it was not a good thing. She swung her legs over her small cot and winced as her bare feet made contact with the chilled floor. She picked the thin linen blanket off the bed and made her way out into the small garden that surrounded the slave quarters. She stopped for a moment, gazing into the heavens as her breath fogged the air. Something bad was definitely coming this way.

Her feet carried out of the small garden and past the door to the kitchen. Maria was long gone but the fires were constantly tended, providing heat for the inhabitants. Smoke momentarily blocked Hermione's view of the stars and she floundered briefly. The stars were telling her something, guiding her somewhere. She quickly moved away from the kitchen, desperate to feel the light of the moon on her face and bask in the rays of the stars. As soon as the light once again touched her face any agitation she had felt immediately melted away. She felt the warmth of the celestial beings seep into her skin. It spread throughout her veins and caused every cell in her body to glow contentedly. She sighed and shifted her body so she was completely bathed in the wonderful white light. She felt like she truly was glowing, from the inside out.

Draco woke to a strange light illuminating his office. He groaned and rubbed his, bemoaning the fact that he had once again fallen asleep in his office. He had had a couch put in here so if he did fall asleep at least he would be laying down. So much for that. But, he shrugged, anything was better than sleeping with Pansy. He groaned again and shook his head, running a hand through his silvery hair, and glanced toward the window. The light was a pale copper, weightless and whimsical it swept throughout his office, illuminating every insignificant corner. He frowned and squinted his eyes, trying to bring what was causing the glow into focus.

His eyes widened as he finally saw what, who, was glowing. He air left his body in rush. He blinked furiously as the window fogged in front of him. He pressed his hand, furiously rubbing the condensation away. But even as he did so he saw the light slowly fading away.

"No!" He gasped pressing his face closer to the window. "NO!" he cried again, slamming his hand into the glass. Suddenly the fading light disappeared all together. "No!" He slid his hand down the window, quickly following the movement with the rest of his body. "No…" The word whispered through his lips as he brought his knees to his chest and cupped his head in his hands. His whole body tingled where the light had brushed him and relished, even that small amount of feeling. But that was fading just as fast as the light had.

A girl, with not magic and no home to call her own, had been glowing in his courtyard.