The next time that Draco came to visit Hermione, he brought another student with him. To Hermione's great disappointment, it was Millicent Bulstrode. She had never gotten along with the much larger girl, and didn't understand what Malfoy was trying to do by bringing her here. Maybe she misjudged Malfoy and he was just trying to annoy her.
"Malfoy. Bulstrode," she scowled when she entered the library.
Narcissa had ordered a tea service, and when neither of the other people in the room moved to take tea, Hermione realized that she was meant to serve the other two. Honestly, she thought to herself, she hated making herself into the little hostess that Narcissa wanted her to be.
"Granger," Malfoy greeted.
"Granger," Millicent said, looking uncomfortable. Still, she accepted the offered cup of tea. Hermione took the time to look over the other witch and noticed that her eyes seemed to be red from crying.
"Granger...I wanted to say sorry, for um, dragging you around in fifth year when I was on the Inquisitorial Squad." Bulstrode looked like she wanted anything but to apologize, but she did it anyway. Malfoy elbowed Millicent in the arm. "And for putting you in a headlock in Dueling Club in second year."
Hermione was surprised. She didn't even think that Millicent would even remember doing those things to her. "Thank you Bulstrode. Apology accepted," Hermione told her, still surprised to be sitting across a table from this girl.
"Please call me Millie," she said quietly, no longer meeting Hermione's eyes.
Hermione was surprised that this harsh girl would have such a girly nickname, but she actually thought it suited her quite well. "Then I must insist you call me Hermione, Millie," she answered, this time with a smile.
Millie looked up surprised and gave Hermione a tentative smile back.
"Well, I didn't realize that you and Malfoy were...close?" Hermione asked, surprised that Malfoy would bring her along, and not someone else, or no one at all. "And just how do you keep getting out of class Malfoy?" She looked over at the blond who was stirring his second sugar cube into his tea. Hermione smirked at that. She never would have taken Malfoy to have a sweet tooth.
"Well, when you are a godson to the Headmaster of the school, it comes with some privileges. I could leave the grounds whenever I wanted to; it was no trouble at all for Headmaster Snape to allow me to bring a friend," Malfoy told her, with a mean little smirk, enjoying being spoiled. "After all, his floo is directly connected to the Manor."
Hermione rolled her eyes at how entitled Malfoy was acting. It was typical behavior, so she didn't really know why she was surprised.
"Draco and I have actually been friends for many years," Millie told Hermione, knowing that Draco didn't answer her question. "How else would he get info on whatever scheme Pansy came up with to make him her boyfriend?" Millie asked her with a grin.
Hermione did have to grin at that thought. "Yes, although it is surprising that anyone would want him at all," she quipped. Millie chuckled at that.
"Actually, things have not been very good at school at all...or at home," Millie revealed, her eyes dropping to her lap. "Draco knows that I have been having trouble lately, and well, invited me to come here for a little break."
"What kind of trouble?" Hermione asked, surprised. Millie seemed like such a strong witch, she couldn't imagine what was going on to cause her trouble.
"Well, I am not very good with my spell work, and when I am unable to successfully cast the curses, the Carrows sometimes cast them on me instead," Millie explained, her eyes welling up with tears. "And then last week, Belvina Blishwick — she's a fourth year — told everyone that I am a half-blood and, well, things have just gotten a lot worse."
"That's awful Millie," Hermione told her with a frown. "I had no idea."
She suddenly felt quite selfish, being annoyed that she was being kept in Malfoy Manor, when she was surrounded by such luxury. Things could be so much worse for her, she suddenly understood.
"Yes, the school is a shit show. I think that we already established that, Granger," Draco said tersely. "And I will take whatever excuse I can to get out of there. Sometimes, I..." he trailed off.
Hermione sucked in a deep breath, but tried not to show that she was too eager to hear what he was going to say. Luckily, Millie asked before she had to. "Sometimes you what, Draco?"
Draco looked between the pair. "If I talk about this with you, it cannot leave this room," he told the two of them. "In fact, I will take an oath."
Draco, Millie and Hermione all joined hands, and Draco spoke the oath for them, before Hermione and Millie agreed to their terms. A bit of blue light surrounded their hands, where they were connected, before slowly dissipating.
Draco returned to the couch first. "Sometimes, I wonder if us winning isn't going to destroy everything good in the wizarding world. I mean, the Death Eaters have been in charge of Hogwarts for two months and it's already gone to shit," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Hermione held her tongue for now, seeing that his words had affected Millie greatly. She had tiny little tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. Hermione stood and walked around the table to sit on the couch next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "What's wrong Millie?" she asked gently.
"I hate them being in charge," Millie said. "They think that they can just make you do whatever they want. And there is nothing that you can do about it."
Draco must have seen her confusion at the statement, so he filled her in. "Millie's father has entered into a contract with the Goyles. A marriage contract," Draco said. "I thought maybe you might have some advice, seeing as you also had an arranged marriage.
"And what's wrong with Goyle?" Hermione asked Millicent. "I thought that you went to Hogsmeade together once last year."
Hermione actually thought that Goyle and Millicent together were adorable, although Ron had said some rather rude things about them when they saw them at Madam Puddifoot's last year. Honestly, Hermione thought to herself, for someone with so many freckles on his white arse, he was one to talk about others' looks.
"No, it's not Greg," Millie told her, a fresh wave of tears coming down her face. "It's his father. I wish that it was Greg — I love Greg — but his father is so old and he's already had a son, so I don't see why they are trying to get more out of me."
Hermione was shocked. She'd had the displeasure of meeting Goyle Sr. once before over breakfast, and she felt awful for Millie. "Chin up, Millie. I am sure that, if you just let them know your feelings for Greg, something might work out," she suggested.
"I've tried telling father, but no luck," Millie told her, utterly miserable and using a handkerchief to blow her nose in a completely unladylike fashion.
"Well, maybe I can mention it to Narcissa. She and I see each other with some frequency and she has listened to me in the past," she reassured Millie, taking a moment to meet Draco's eyes for some hint that his mother might listen to her. "And, if she can't help me, I can talk to Rabastan. Surely, they know that heirs are more likely if the betrothed actually like each other."
"Alright," Millie said, nodding, feeling like she had some control over her life again. "That would be really appreciated, Hermione. I forgot that you had married Rabastan. Looks like you and I are in the same boat. Except Rabastan is quite handsome," Millie said, giving her a secret little smile.
"Yes, how are things going with your husband, Granger?" Malfoy needled her, again giving her that vicious little smirk, which Hermione was coming to understand was a little tease.
Before she could help it, her cheeks were painted with a rosy blush and she looked away from the two Slytherins on the couch.
"Salazar, you Gryffindors wear your hearts on your sleeves!" Millie said in surprise at Hermione's embarrassment.
"Last we spoke, he was only attempting to seduce you. Don't tell me he has gone and done it! It's only been two weeks," Malfoy said, surprised. "Come on, spill. Give us the details."
"No! He did not seduce me," Hermione insisted. "I just...well, he kissed me. That's all that happened."
She didn't know why she was feeling so embarrassed about this. He was her husband after all. Wasn't it more weird that this was just the first time that they had kissed? Or maybe she was just embarrassed by the bodily reaction that she had to him. She still remembered the subtle throb that had lingered between her legs after he'd left.
"So...you want more, then, Granger?" Draco asked her, examining her subtle body language. He was well adept at reading women, or so he thought.
"I don't...I don't know for sure," Hermione revealed. But saying the words out loud made her realize that deep down she did want to kiss him again, but she didn't know why. He was still a bigot, thinking of her as some kind of little exception to his ideas that purebloods were better. So much so, that he accepted her as the future mother of his children. "It's just that...the vows that I am bound by require fidelity and are broken by death only. So if I want any kind of...sexual relationship...he is it."
Draco made a face. "Ugh, I thought that I could tease you about this, but it's just too much for me."
Millie punched Draco in the arm. "What, are you uncomfortable with the idea that Hermione is a sexual being?" she asked. Then the dark haired girl turned to look at Hermione. "I think you should go for it. Like I said, he's a good looking man and...you never know what will happen. Life is short, enjoy it while you can."
Hermione shrugged her shoulders, but Millie's words niggled around in her brain. Clearing her throat, she desperately wanted to change the subject off of her non-existent sex life. "Are we still under the oath of secrecy?" she questioned. Seeing Draco's hint of a nod, Hermione continued. "Are you guys serious about wanting Hogwarts to go back to normal?"
Draco and Millie stared at each other for a few beats, having some kind of silent conversation, before both of them affirmed that they were. Subconsciously, they both leaned forward, eager to hear whatever it was Hermione was going to say.
"Well, I have been looking for something that will help. I have reason to believe that it's housed somewhere in the school, but, obviously, I can't look for it if I am locked up here," Hermione explained, looking at the two of them nervously.
"How exactly will it help?" Draco asked her, suspicious.
"I...I am not ready to reveal that to you at this juncture," Hermione decided. She knew that it had been a big deal for Harry to reveal to his two best friends that they were trying to destroy the horcruxes. She had already broken the boys' trust by telling Rabastan about their existence; she wasn't sure that she also wanted to bring in the two additional people.
"What are you looking for, Hermione?" Millie asked, encouragingly. She wasn't sure that she was going to be able to help Granger, but she could definitely kick Draco's arse into gear. She was, after all, bigger than him. It wouldn't be the first time she'd pushed him around.
Hermione shoved her hand in her pocket, and pulled out the piece of paper that she'd torn from the book. She would repair it when she got her wand back, she'd promised herself, but she still wasn't finished reading it, and she wanted the opportunity for Draco to take the scrap of paper back to school with him. She handed the paper to Millie first, whose face was scrunched up in confusion.
She handed the paper to Draco, who looked at it with knitted eyebrows, before finally pointing at the paper. "I have definitely seen this before somewhere. I just can't for the life of me remember where," he said.
"What is it?" Millie asked, entranced by the beautiful headpiece.
"It's the lost Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw," Hermione answered quietly, still afraid that someone would overhear her talking about it.
"Are you sure you don't want me to find it just because it's a pretty tiara, Granger?" Malfoy asked, signature smirk in place.
"Please, Draco, she's not Pansy," Millie retorted with a roll of her eyes. "If Hermione wants this, she must have a good reason. It's an artifact, not just a piece of jewelry."
"Alright, Granger. I will keep an eye out for it, but I can't make any promises," Malfoy told her, with extreme seriousness, understanding the gravity of the situation. "Now that I remember that I have seen it, it will annoy me until I figure out just where that was."
When Rabastan returned to their rooms for dinner that night, he noticed a remarkable improvement in Hermione's demeanor. It seemed that Draco Malfoy was good for something after all. For a brief moment, he worried if there was something more going on between his wife and the Malfoy heir, before he remembered that their bond required physical fidelity.
Not to mention that he brought the Bulstrode girl along this time.
"Did you enjoy your time today with Malfoy and the Bulstrode girl?" he asked her, while she raked a bit of French bread through oil and vinegar.
Hermione smiled at him. "Surprisingly yes, Millie and I got along great. Did you know that she once put me in a headlock during a duel?" she asked him with a hint of teasing in her voice.
Rabastan was surprised to hear that. He hoped that Bulstrode didn't have any ideas about hurting his wife. "When was this?" he replied.
"Second year. Gilderoy Lockhart was in charge of a dueling club," Hermione said, grimacing at the memory. "Anyway, it was nice to have another girl my age to talk to. And one who isn't quite so intent on dressing me up as a doll."
Rabastan supposed that would be nice. He hadn't thought much about Narcissa's relationship with Hermione, but now knew that there was a little bit of friction there. He smiled at her, pleased that she was able to find a bit of happiness here. It was strange, he thought, to have such an innocuous conversation with this young woman who was his wife. Clearing his throat, he shared with her a bit of good news. "I...I was able to track down the fourth edition of Blishen's Advanced Runic Translation." He let his eyes linger over her face. "That's the correct edition, right? The one you...needed?"
Hermione, hearing that he had been able to track down the book, felt her eyes flicker to his lips. Unbidden, the memory of him pushing those perfect lips against hers, demanding she return the kiss, came to the forefront of her mind. "Um.." Hermione bit her lip, nerves and excitement permeating her body. "What was it that you wanted...in exchange again? A kiss?"
Rabastan felt a stab of guilt. It was wrong of him to blackmail her into this, even though he wanted it. Since they'd kissed during their argument, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her lips, her soft body rubbing against him. It had taken him two days just to face her again. He swallowed, feeling her dissecting every move he was making. "It's alright. I don't require anything in return," he said, his eyes dropping to his plate.
Hermione felt...disappointment race through her body. Then, she remembered Millie's encouragement that she go for it, if it was something that she wanted. Taking every ounce of her Gryffindor courage, Hermione stood from the table and walked around to Rabastan's side.
He pushed his chair away from the table, desperately wanting to stand up, but Hermione got there quicker, settling herself in his lap. Her eyes trained onto his lips, she leaned forward, pressing her small mouth against his in a slow kiss. When he didn't respond to her kiss, Hermione felt a bit embarrassed and moved to pull back from her husband.
Rabastan's thoughts were racing a mile a minute, before he realized that she was kissing him. Hermione, sweet Hermione, had her lips pressed against his, in a tentative, sweet kiss, of her own volition. Feeling her pull back, he surged forward, capturing her lips once again. He brought one hand up to wrap around her waist, the other diving into her wild curls, holding her to him.
Hermione was the first to part her lips, but he followed quickly behind, letting her tongue into his mouth to move and caress against his tongue in a sensual embrace. She brought her hand up to touch his scruffy beard, delighting in the slight scratchiness that she found there.
Quickly overwhelmed by the feeling of it all, Hermione felt herself moaning louder and louder...she wanted more than this. She wanted kisses all over her body. Her nipples hardened at the idea of his lips wrapped around the pink peaks, of his fingers caressing the curve of her waist.
Sensing that this was moving faster than he wanted it to, Rabastan pulled back from the kiss. He took one moment to stare into her eyes, pupils blown so wide that you could barely see the ring of amaretto brown around it. Merlin, she was bewitching, he thought to himself, before encouraging her to stand up from his lap. He stood and gave her one last longing look before he turned around and left the room, not sparing Hermione a second glance.
He didn't return to their rooms that night, either.