Chapter 3: Violated.
He saw the hint of recognition and terror in her eyes flash for but a moment when he took his mask off. For some reason this surprised him, not the feared bit of course, but the recognition. He was sure he had never seen this girl. Perhaps it was his notorious reputation.
Or fathers.
"This is Draco Malfoy, your new owner." The deatheater shoved her towards him so that Malfoy could take a better look.
"Cloak." He snapped. Instantly, two house elves popped out of nowhere gently taking off his cloak. "The girl you idiots!"
The house elves immediately went to Hermione and took her cloak off. Hermione suddenly felt exposed as Malfoy scrutinized her. His eyes took her in making her feel more violated than she had ever felt before.
"Clothes." Malfoy snapped once more. The house elves snapped their fingers and her clothes disappeared before her eyes, leaving her in only underwear and heels. She had never felt more violated in her entire life as she stood there nearly naked in front of her school nemesis. He pinched at her sides and poked her in the legs, as if studying some scientific specimen. Then he grabbed her chin and inspected her face.
His steel blue eyes looked at, what Hermione felt, was every imperfection on her face. Inspecting every pore, every dimple, and every line, and he wasn't done. His stare went to her eyes. It was menacing, demanding, powerful, but most of all, cold, like his soul.
Hermione's heart raced. Did he recognize her? There was no possible way. She was sure the charm was set in place.
"Did you feed her like I told you too?"
"Of course Lord Malfoy."
"Well obviously not well enough! Look at her she's practically skin and bone and she's only been in your hands for a week! You know that I like my girls strong and healthy." He finally let get of her chin and Hermione jerked it away. "It makes them more feisty." He smirked at her. It had been a very long time since she had seen that smirk. Its familiarity almost comforted her. Almost. "Leave us."
The deatheater hurriedly backed down into the dungeons, terrified of the consequences if he didn't obey the young Lord Malfoy. He smirked upon seeing the fear in the deatheaters eyes. He had more power than he thought he did. But of course he was a Malfoy.
Once the door was close he brought his attention back to the girl at hand. He had several women before, but they all quickly became boring, so he disposed of them. He hoped that this one would be different.
The young man walked back towards the woman. He had several questions for her to answer, but first, he needed to take her back to the manor for privacy. Malfoy fished out a smooth stone from him pocket and handed it to the girl. It was a portkey that would take them both back to the manor when he pleased. He then held onto her arm. She looked at him as if he were mad when he handed the rock to her seconds before they popped out of sight.
Hermione felt the pull at her navel when Malfoy took a hold of her arm and before she knew it she was stumbling into the Malfoy Manor. As soon as she steadied herself he let go of her and stepped away. She looked at her surroundings. They were in a den. There was a large fireplace with a typical wizard family picture above the mantle. The fire crackled and lit up the room to show there was also a rug and some furniture in the room. Malfoy snapped his fingers once more, this time a different house elf appeared at his side.
"Fire whiskey, please, Artimes." The house elf disappeared with a pop for a few moments before coming back with a glass and a large bottle of firewhiskey. "Thank you." The creature disappeared again.
Malfoy poured himself a glass then set the bottle on top of the mantle and sat down in one of the chairs. He stared into the fired and sipped on his drink for a few moments, then took the rest in one go. He stood back up, poured another glass to the brim, and sat back down, again staring into the orange flames.
"Sit." He commanded.
Hermione moved from her spot and sat down in the opposite chair, away from her school enemy. She looked at him cautiously, wondered what he would do with her, thinking the worse.
"I've had many women in my service in the last three years." He paused, still gazing into the flames. "None of them have yet suited my needs for very long so I—let them go. After the first seven, I started doing a little more prodding around to find the right one, but alas, they didn't last. So when I heard about you, Miss Velia de Galdo, it was quite a curious thing."
Malfoy finished off his second glass and poured yet another before sitting back down. He took a drink before continuing.
"Records told me that none of the families in Galdo had any 23 year old women in them. So I was a bit confused that you're records said otherwise. Your mother and father were Francesco and Matte, brothers Antonio, David, and Marco, and of course your little sister Sofia, were all mentioned on your file, but the Ministry never recorded a Velia as part of the family."
Hermione'sart pounded in her ears. This was it. He caught her. He would turn her in to the Dark Lord and she would be tortured to death or thrown in prison to rot. She tried her best to keep her breath steady and avert her eyes away so he couldn't see the nervousness in her eyes.
"Curious, yes?" Malfoy finally took his eye away from the fire and looked at Hermione, his face was emotionless.
"I—I was adopted. They took me in after Sofia was born. They were very kind to me when I had nothing."
"Ah yes, I thought of that as well, however, I saw no records indicating adoption. The Ministry has always been sure to keep records of adoptions."
"They didn't adopt me legally. I was homeless. My parents were dead and I had been living on the streets."
He was silent.
"I told you. They gave me everything when I had nothing. No family. No food. No friends. They took me in and made me part of their family."
"Hmmm. So tell me then, how old are you really?"
"I—I'm 23."
"You're lying." He said flatly.
"No I—"
"The truth. What is your age?"
"Twenty."
"Ah that's better."
"But I had to lie! You see! I couldn't let them split their family apart. They had been so kind to me for so long. It was the least I could do after all they'd done for me. Please, Malfoy, please don't inform the Ministry of what I did. I beg you."
"Silence." He said simply.
Malfoy topped off his third glass of firewhiskey and sat his glass on the table. He then looked at her, boring his eyes into the side of her head because she refused to look at him. Her eyes were filled with tears that she dared not shed in front of him.
She called him Malfoy. It was odd to him to be so informally addressed. No one had called him by his surname since Hogwarts.
"Look at me." Hermione turned her head and looked at his cold steely eyes. He stood up and walked over to her, never taking his eyes off her. "Stand up." She did, and berating herself to succumbing to his will so easily. "I've had many Italian girls. You're nothing like them. They were selfish and spineless. They'd never give themselves up, even for their families. I always thought Italians were all about family too. Then you came along, using wandless magic on the guards, giving yourself up for family, trying to fight your way off the stage. But why? What is it you're hiding?"
Malfoy inched closer to her and picked her chin up again, making her look him in the eyes before whispering in her ear.
"Velia de Galdo, perché lei è stato dissimulato d'Italia?"
Hermione jerked her chin out of his hand and looked into the fire, clamping her mouth closed.
"Answer me."
She didn't reply. Malfoy instantly saw red. No one dared not to answer his questions. He was Lord Malfoy. He brought back his hand and slapped her clean on the cheek. She looked shocked and cradled the offend cheek with her hand.
"I tried playing nice with you, remember that. I gave you a chance." He snapped his fingers for a house elf and told him to take the girl to her room. He didn't look back as he stomped out of the room.
Hermione shivered as she watched Malfoy leave the room. It was still cold in only underwear, even near the fire.
"Come miss. I take you to bed." The small creature held out his arm for her to grab. She did and with a squeeze they disapparated into a small bedroom. It was cold and gloomy in the room and without any windows. There was a bed covered with a black comforter, and small dresser and another room that was doorless that led to the bathroom.
"Clothes is in dresser. Miss will be up at six to help with breakfast." The house elf was short and to the point before walking out of the room and closing the door. Hermione heard a click at the door. She briefly wondered why they would lock it when she had no idea where she was in the first place, so escaping this hell hole would be pointless.
The first thing Hermione did was run to the dresser. Being in her knickers only was not the most pleasant feeling in the cold stone manor. In the dresser she found what she assumed was her daily uniform which consisted of black pants and black v-neck shirts. There was also bed clothing, it was very similar, black shorts and black t-shirts with black slippers. She was very grateful for the slippers. Her feet were killing her in the high heels.
Hermione had no idea what time it was. There was no clock anywhere, which made her wonder how she could possibly be up at six to help with breakfast. Perhaps the house elf would wake her when the time was ready.
After she changed into her night clothes she found a cloak hanging on the wall in the bathroom and wrapped it around herself. She couldn't believe how cold it was in her room.
In the bathroom there was a small tub with soap, shampoo, and conditioner sitting on the railing. She decided a bath was exactly what she needed at a time like this. She soaked for what could have been hours. Her finger and toes were wrinkled, but her water had not lost its warmth. It was exactly that which made her decide to stay in there so long. The warm water felt good on her cold skin. Grudgingly, Hermione finally stepped out of the bathtub and wrapped a towel around her body. She found all the supplies needed for her hair, teeth, and skin, so she went about to drying her hair and brushing her teeth before getting back into her night clothes.
Hermione wasn't sleepy at all. She needed to think. How could she find means of escaping? Was it even possible?
Any house is escapable.
Could she simply run out the front door?Or would she need a wand to disapparate?
Hermione slowly drifted off to sleep as she thought of ways to escape her new prison. He dreams were filled with Draco Malfoy finding out who she was and torturing her before taking her to Lord Voldemort. She awoke, startled, as a knock came on the door and the house elf name Artimes came in.
"It is time to wake up now miss. You must make breakfast." The house elf squeaked.
Hermione, breathing hard from her dream, nodded her head and the house elf left. She quickly hopped out of bed and splashed water on her face before donning on her clothes. Once she was fully clothed she opened her door, unsure of where to go.
Before she even took a step out the door a different house elf popped in front of her.
"Come! Come! Quickly! We must hurry before master gets awake!" It was a female house elf this time. She grabbed Hermione's hand and hurried down the hall to the kitchen. Hermione found out that the kitchen wasn't far from her quarters.
"Master like bacon, eggs, French toast, freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee in the morning. You is to make this for him before he is awake. Hurry now!" The little elf gave her a push into the kitchen and showed her where everything was.
Hermione had learned to be a fairly good cook in the past year and a half at Galdo, so she had no fear of cooking these foods for Malfoy. She quickly pulled out a couple pans and started the bacon and eggs. While those were cooking she made the French toast and threw it in a pan as well.
It took her 30 minutes to make everything the little elf had order and by the time she was finished she was sweaty and tired. She had never cooked that many things for one person to eat. Malfoy was so spoiled. Just as she squeezed the last orange into a small pitcher a bell rang.
"Master Malfoy is here! Hurry! You must take his food!"
Hermione hurriedly put the breakfast dishes on trays and followed the elf to another room. Malfoy was sitting at the far side of one of the biggest tables Hermione had ever seen. It seemed a bit unnecessary, especially for one person.
She gently laid the food in front of Malfoy, along with a napkin and utensils, then poured him a glass of orange juice and hot coffee. Malfoy looked at the food for a moment before picking up his utensils and taking a bite of food. He chewed slowly and swallowed.
"Why are you still standing there? Leave!" He bellowed. Hermione and the house elf quickly began departed. "Expect for you Velia. Stay. Sit. Eat." Hermione pulled out the chair closest to where she was standing and began to sit down. "No, come closer. Sit next to me." Malfoy ordered.
Hermione stood back up and went to the chair next to him and sat down.
"Now eat."
"But I didn't bring another plate or utensils."
"Astarte! Velia will dine with me this morning. Bring her a plate and utensils."
"Yes, Master Malfoy." The house elf popped out of sight and came back shortly with a plate and utensils.
"Thank you. You may go." He paused as she left again. "Now eat."
Hermione filled her plate up with food and began eating. It was quiet in the room besides the few clinking of glass and metal. Once Malfoy was finally finished he finally spoke.
"You have strict chores to do every day. In the morning you will make my breakfast and dine with me. And you will also fix yourself up. I don't want to see you without your hair and make-up done. We I am finished with breakfast you will clean up, then tend to the gardens. If I ever call for you, you will drop what you're doing and come to me immediately."
"How will I know?"
Malfoy pulled out a golden bracelet from his pocket. It was simple, but elegant.
"This will heat up when I need you. Just say my name and it will take you to me. Hold out your wrist." Hermione did as she was told. "Only I can take it off. So don't bother trying." He paused as if thinking about what else he wanted to say. "It also works the other way around. If you don't come soon enough I can make you come to me. However, if this happens, I will not be please.
"When you're done with the gardens the animals will need to be fed and water. My hawk only eats mice and my cat has special food. Astarte will show you where everything is. When you're done with the animals my room will also need tending. I expect it to be spotless when you're done.
"I eat lunch at noon, exactly. I'll give the elves my order and you will fix it and again, you will dine with me. If I am not impressed with your cooking there will be consequences. In the afternoon I am not to be disturbed. I will be in the study. Only come to me when I call you. You will clean up after our meal and start on the rest of your chores. The library will need to be dusted. Windows need to be cleaned, floors need to be swept and mopped. And I expect you to do this all the muggle way. No magic. If I catch you doing magic you will be punished.
"We will eat dinner at precisely seven thirty. I expect you to be dressed properly for dinner. Again, I will let the house elves know what I want to be served. You will clean up after dinner and entertain me for the rest of the night until I let you go. You can do what you want with the rest of your time. Do you understand your schedule?"
"Yes." The young woman stood from her seat and began to pick up her plate.
"You will address me as Master Malfoy." Hermione looked up at him incredulously.
The hell I will! She thought.
"Is this understood?"
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"I said no. You are not my master. I am my own free person. I don't care how many galleons you—" Malfoy was up in a flash as he pushed the girl into the wall. It knocked the breath out of her effectively making her drop that plate. It shattered to pieces on the floor. He held her wrists high above her head sticking his face against her ear.
"That's twice you've defied me in less than 24 hours. Were I any other man, I'd thrown you to the lower level deatheaters and had you tortured to death. Lucky for you, I enjoy a little feistiness from my women, but disobedience is not one of them. You will do as I say, or I'll take you to the dungeons and show you a little bit of discipline.
"Now clean this up." He let go of her wrists and again walked out of her sight without looking back.