Giada – Who said anything about her becoming a mistress?! Haha! Hermione would NEVER allow that.

SereniteRose – Ack! Making me blush again! Hermione's having a hard time, isn't she? Better days will come! OR will they? xD

Jazziet – Thank you for reviewing dearie! Yes, Hermione has never been one to let herself be pushed around. She's badass! :D

Athena – Thank you love! I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

REBIRTH

CHAPTER FOUR

Hermione Granger could only watch as the man before her whirled around and left her completely alone in the servant's room. She allowed herself to take a deep breath and looked around feeling somewhat disorientated. That had been a clear threat. Salazar Slytherin somehow knew that she was a muggle-born and that made her feel completely perturbed. How foolish of her to think that she was safe within these walls. Did everyone else know as well? Were Eowa and Clarice aware of her blood-status and had been playing along? Had they pretended to befriend her to gain her trust? She swallowed hard and realized that in order to survive this was to trust no one.

She felt truly alone now and thoughts of home plagued her mind. What were her parents up to? Last time she saw them, she put them under a memory spell erasing herself from their lives and now… would she be able to go back and undo it? Would she return to see her parents once again? What were Harry and Ron doing? Most important, were they alright? She felt like collapsing to the floor and curling into a ball and cry herself to sleep. What had she been doing? Playing house-maid while she should have been trying to find a way to escape!

She was suddenly yanked away from her own conflicted thoughts as Eowa opened the door and peeked inside, giving her a shy smile. Hermione swallowed hard and tried to smile back. She needed to pretend that everything was alright. She could not afford to show any weaknesses or these people would eat her alive. Trust no one, she thought to herself.

"Everyone's wondering if they can go back inside now..." Eowa spoke and bit her lower lip as she looked at her mysterious roommate. She was extremely curious to know what had been discussed between the bushy-haired witch and Lord Slytherin but she dared not ask. She could hear her own mother's advice when she was about to start as a maidservant in the Slytherin's household. "The Slytherin's do not like curious folk. They are high reserved and mysterious, and bad things happen to those that try to pry into their business."

Hermione blinked and nodded, "Of course." She said as she fixed her apron, a feeble attempt to hide her own nervousness, "I just need to go for a walk."

Eowa drew her eyebrows together as she could clearly see through Hermione's façade. It was obvious that she looked absolutely shaken after seeing Lord Slytherin. Pressing her lips together, she simply nodded and watched as the young witch turned around and made her way out of the now busy room.

Once in the hallway, she moved a hand to the stony wall to keep her balance. Get a hold of yourself, she thought firmly. She could not afford to let herself break down. Hermione took a deep breath and slowly straightened her back. How dares he?! She thought angrily, I'll show him!

Immediately, she regained her balance and walked down the hallway with her head raised high. A fiery determinate look plastered on her face as she pushed the door to her room open. With a wave of her wand, the door of the armoire was yanked open and a piece of parchment was set on the small desk. Why didn't she think of this sooner? She felt power rush through her as she wrapped her fingers around the quill. She was from the future for crying out loud! She possessed knowledge that not even the founders themselves ever dreamt of.

Could he be trusted? Surely, he could not be any worse than Salazar Slytherin… right?

There was a sudden knock on the door and she quickly looked over her shoulder, her gaze meeting her secretive roommate; Katherine.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Katherine immediately apologised, "I didn't think anyone would be here at this time of the day," her long dark hair cascaded down, covering most of her beautiful face.

"There's no need to apologise. This is your room too, isn't it?" Hermione smiled a little, moving a lock of her hair behind her ear, "Are you done… with your duties?" she asked, trying not to sound like she was prying.

Katherine shook her head, "I'm sorry, I n-need to take your belongings back to the main house," she said and looked down at her worn out shoes, avoiding eye contact, almost as if she was scared of Hermione.

Hermione blinked and then she remembered what Salazar had said and she clenched her jaw, "I'm sorry Katherine, my belongings are staying. I don't plan to go anywhere." She said and took a deep breath to calm herself down. The look on Katherine's face was one of sheer astonishment. Probably no one ever dared to contradict Salazar Slytherin, well tough, she was not going to be pushed around and be treated like dirt.

"B-but," Katherine started, "But you must! Lord Slytherin will not be pleased!" she added quickly, a hint of fear present in her frail voice.

"Katherine…" Hermione swallowed hard as she eyed her fellow roommate with concern, "Has he ever hurt you?" she asked and her entire being was suddenly filled with pure anger. She tightened her fingers harder around the quill until it broke.

"I… deserve it…" Katherine replied and offered the bushy-brown haired a sad timid smile, "I'm f-f-filthy. Tainted."

"What?" Hermione's eyes widened slightly and all the anger she was feeling increased tenfold, "You're nothing of the sort! Don't let anyone, much less the likes of Salazar Slytherin tell you otherwise!" she suddenly stood and marched towards the other girl, "Do you hear me? They're wrong! All of them!"

"Y-you're mad…" Katherine whispered, taking a few steps back away from Hermione. She shook her head, tears now falling down her cheeks, "You are truly mad… that kind of thinking will get you killed!" she added desperately and quickly whirled around just when both Eowa and Clarice arrived.

"Hey! Watch yourself!" Clarice exclaimed as Katherine bumped against her shoulder, hurrying out of their bedroom.

"What happened?" Eowa asked as she looked over at Hermione.

"Nothing, nothing happened." Hermione replied and reached for the parchment she had been writing on. She did not wish for any of the girls to see it.

Salazar Slytherin.

Son of Nicholas Slytherin.

Like it was expected of those that were honoured to have the Slytherin name, Salazar possessed great skills in magic. He was the best of the best when it came to duels, having yet to be defeated. People told tales of his speed, reflexes and senses. From all his brothers and sisters, Salazar was the strongest, the most powerful. Everyone knew why; the dark arts, no one could master the dark arts as well as Salazar did.

Not only he was an incredibly skilled man, he was also gifted with handsome features. Dark hair, piercing green eyes and a smile that could make any girl go weak in the knees, that and his intimidating aura around him - one that clearly told everyone to approach with caution.

Salazar strode through the halls of Slytherin's castle, chest out and head raised high. Servants and nobles alike both feared and respected him. The heir of the house of Slytherin pushed the doors open and watched as people at the feast clapped and cheered for him. He smiled but he was boiling inside, they were all faking how happy they were for his return. It was not as if he was glad to be back – he hated it here. He hated these people.

"Salazar!" a tall blonde-haired man pushed through the crowd to reach out for him, two others followed behind.

"My friend," Salazar spoke, a genuine smile coming to his face. The only ones he trusted was his cousin, Aaron and his two childhood friends, Eric and Jonathan.

"We're excited to have you back! Didn't I tell you he would get easily bored confined in that ridiculous school?" Aaron asked with a loud laugh, making both Eric and Jonathan smile.

"I have to return there soon." Salazar replied, taking Eric's drink from his hand and taking a long sip.

"Is it true?" Jonathan asked as he moved an arm around Salazar's shoulders, "Ye' brought a lassie here. What happened? Got her pregnant?"

Salazar laughed and shook his head, "She's just a wee lass I found lost in the woods." He said not wishing to bring any unwanted attention towards the little wench.

The three of them changed knowing looks. Salazar was keeping something from them. It was obvious that the Salazar they knew would never bring anyone back home without a good reason. Still they knew better than try and pry into his business.

"She's a servant now, isn't she? I heard she refused to remain a guest." Salazar's cousin added, as he couldn't contain his curiosity. Who would be as foolish as to refuse a good bed and good food and kill themselves with cleaning and serving others? "Still, she has yet to make an appearance. Ingrid keeps her locked in the servant's quarters as though she's a precious little thing."

Salazar smiled and both Eric and Jonathan knew that smile. It was one that clearly told Aaron to shut his mouth.

"I reckon we all need more drinks!" Eric interrupted and sighed in relief as the mood changed and both Aaron and Salazar forcibly changed subject.

The feast was in full swing, filled with people chatting, laughing and telling stories. There were people dancing and others remained in small groups. A few young women tried approaching Salazar's group with the intention of being noticed by the heir but he felt no true interest in them but that didn't mean he couldn't have fun with them. He considered all of them to be simple toys for his amusement and entertainment.

A few hours later, he had a beautiful young woman attached to his arm and he wished his friends good-bye. They all smirked and watched as Salazar exited the room, a blushing young maiden behind him.

"And what is your name, love?" Salazar asked, moving his arm around the woman's waist pressing her closer to him. A smirk made its way into his handsome features as she blushed.

"Marina… d-don't you remember?" she asked, her big doe-eyes looking up at him hopeful that he remembered her.

He simply smiled, "Why don't you refresh my mind?" he asked as he forced her towards his bedroom, tugging on the laces of her beautiful robes.

She couldn't sleep.

Sitting up, Hermione glanced around and stared at both Clarice and Eowa, both sleeping peaceful in their beds. Her chocolate-brown eyes gazed at the empty bed and a shiver ran up and down her spine as she found the bed to be empty. Where was she? Was she alright? She swallowed hard and suddenly felt a knot down in her stomach. Had her refusal of leaving the servant's quarters landed Katherine in trouble?

With a deep breath, the lioness pushed the blankets off her and left the bed. She reached out for her long dark green cloak and wrapped it securely around her, hiding her night gown perfectly. Biting down on her lower lip, she wrapped her hand securely around her wand and left the safety of her room. She knew perfectly well that servants were not allowed into the main house without Ingrid's permission but right now the Gryffindor in her was speaking louder and she felt that she needed to find Katherine; she needed to make sure that nothing bad happened to her.

As she approached the main house she could hear loud music and she cursed inwardly. Of course they would be throwing a party of sorts on the night she decided to trespass into an area that had been forbidden to her. Well sort of, she thought with a smirk. Salazar did tell her to pack her things and to abandon her duties as a servant, didn't he? Well if she got caught, then she was simply obeying his orders. With a renewed sense of confidence, she opened the main door and was finally inside.

She looked at her surroundings in awe. She was sure that this entire house was under a very powerful spell to make it look bigger and spacious than it originally was. From outside, it looked like a simple three-floor house but once inside, it was as if it was a castle. Just then, as Hermione rounded a sharp corner, she bumped into someone, and she immediately prayed it was no one extremely important. She looked up slowly and found herself face to face with a blond-haired man, he was incredibly handsome and she chastised herself for having these thoughts in such an inappropriate time.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she breathed, her cheeks a little flushed and she quickly moved the hand she was holding her wand behind her back.

"No problem," he answered with a smile, "I'm Fergus. I don't think we've met."

The young man lowered his eyes and took a good look at the robes she was wearing.

"You are a servant, aren't you?" Fergus asked, with his head tilted slightly to the side. He did not wait a reply and instead took a step closer, "Perhaps… are you that mysterious woman Salazar brought in?"

She swallowed hard; denying would only cause her trouble. He knew she was from the servant's quarters and he could easily have Ingrid here and have her dragged her back.

"Yes." She replied, "Yes I am." She told him and held her chin high.

The look on Fergus face told her that he was surprised that she talked back with such confidence. Every servant in this house hold always brought their heads down in a bow and spoke quietly, almost scared of their own voices.

"Are you perhaps looking for your master?" he asked and hid his smirk when he watched her flinch and frown at the term. "Here, I'll take you." Fergus added without waiting for a reply.

Without a question, Hermione followed him, making her strides larger to keep up with Fergus. She noticed that he too must be some kind of noble from the way he carried himself. His robes were a rich colour of dark red and if he had his hair loose from his ponytail then it would definitely reach his mid-back. They walked in silence, both lost in their own thoughts until Fergus finally came to a halt.

"Here we are. This is Salazar's room." He said and smiled at her, surprising her with his perfect white teeth.

"T-thank you." She muttered as she shyly knocked.

"Good luck." Fergus offered before turning on his feet and carried on walking down the hallway.

Hermione watched him go before she knocked again. When there was no answer, she turned the door's handle and was surprised when the door opened before her.

Her lips parted in slight shock as she spotted Salazar's naked back turned on her. He was pushing a smaller woman into his bed, his hands tearing at her beautiful robes; a growl escaped from his throat and it made Hermione shiver all over. With the woman still trapped against his hard body, Salazar moved his lips roughly across hers enough to make Hermione hear the other woman whimper.

Hermione could not tear her gaze away as the woman was tossed into bed, Salazar was now mounting her with no hesitation, much like a stallion mounted a mare. With a thrust he was inside her and the woman's moans – a mix of pleasure and pain – filled the room.

"My lord!" the woman screamed, her eyes wide with horror as she clutched onto him, her eyes set on the paralyzed Hermione.

"Silence!" he hissed, pumping into her even harder making the bed shake violently.

"N-n-no… my lord, look!" the woman managed to gasp, pointing at Hermione.

With a growl, Salazar looked over his shoulder.

"I... c-came looking f-f-for.." Hermione stuttered and quickly pulled the door and closed it, shielding her away from Salazar's amused look.

A/N: You reviewers make me so happy! Hey, as a thank you for reviewing, here's a small preview J

Salazar pressed his palms flat against the wall, on either side of her head, looking down at her. She could do nothing to stop him. Not only she was wandless but was also trapped against the cold stone wall. He lowered his head down to her level, "So…" he began in a low dark voice, "You tend to have eyes for seeing things that they ought not to see…"

:) AACK what was it that Hermione saw?! Stick around :3