Hermione stared, stunned, up at her lover. Severus had never hit her. No matter how angry she made him with her 'Gryffindor impudence' or 'ceaseless nattering' he had simply snapped at her and then, usually, wrapped her in a fierce embrace that transcended all anger. He would never let his temper loose or throw her to the floor like she was trash.

Lucius glowered down at her. "Don't fail me Hermione," he hissed, "Trust me; you're not prepared for what will happen."

She shivered. "I will take care of it Lucius." Inside her mind she finished the thought, 'My way.'

"You've been a naughty girl!" Lucius pronounced gleefully, fastening Hermione's arms to the legs of the settee behind her. "And we well know naughty girls cannot go unpunished."

Hermione struggled against her restraints knowing it would excite the man before her. She closed her eyes. Her careful planning was rapidly deteriorating. How had she underestimated Severus so badly?

Lucius' ice-cold hands tore at her clothes and she arched her back to give him better access.

Hermione played her part beautifully, moaning and writhing beneath those hands as her mind rushed to find a way out of the mess she'd created.

Hermione kept her eyes closed as the blonde man ravished her. The Muggle meditation techniques her mother had taught her years ago allowed her mind to focus on the problem at hand, ignoring Lucius' ministrations. Involving Lucius was a mistake. She saw that now, but how to fix it?

He came with a rasping moan his juices dribbling into her womb.

Maybe she could turn herself in. No, there had to be a way to shift the blame. If not to Severus as she had planned, perhaps to Lucius? Yes, she thought as she screamed false ecstasies: that would work.

A sharp slap across the face interrupted Hermione's scheming.

"Look at me!"

She stared silently at Lucius, berating herself for such stupidity. Draco had inherited his father's need for attention. Closing her eyes and mind to Lucius' advances was ill-advised at best.

"You were thinking of him weren't you?"

She said nothing.

"I asked you a question Mudblood." Lucius hissed dangerously.

"No," Hermione answered quietly. It wasn't exactly a lie; she hadn't been thinking of sex with Severus, just about how to rearrange her scheme to fit his new role in it.

Lucius slapped her again. "Don't lie to me."