Hermione and Ginny sat on a low wall, watching the knights training for the upcoming tournament. They had been back from Gryffindor for a few weeks and with the tournament fast approaching the knights were spending all their spare time in training. Since returning from Gryffindor Hermione had experienced things in little bursts again, although she remembered everything perfectly and knew exactly how busy she had been preparing for the tournament.
Because Hermione had been busy organising the tournament and events surrounding it and Draco had been busy training the couple had spent very little time together recently. As such Hermione was making the most of watching her lover training, she just hoped the arousal she felt watching him wasn't too evident. While the knights often practised in full armour they were currently practising in their regular clothes. Draco was currently wearing a white shirt, which clung to his body in the heat. The sight was almost proving too much for Hermione and several times she had to force herself to stop staring. Luckily the only other person around was Ginny and the redhead seemed equally distracted by the other knights on display.
Hermione was so engrossed in the action on the training field that she barely registered King Severus appearing and sitting down next to her. Hermione greeted the King politely but quickly returned her attention back to the knights, or more specifically Draco.
"Can I get you anything, Sire?" Hermione vaguely heard Ginny ask the King.
"No thank you, Ginevra."
Hermione's head whipped round at the King's response and she looked on in shock at the smile he bestowed upon her maid. Hermione wasn't aware the King knew Ginny's name, let alone that fact he seemed to know her given name that she rarely used.
"Just let me know if you need anything." Ginny replied, smiling at the older King. "Anything at all."
"I will." The King smirked and Hermione could have sworn that he checked Ginny out.
Hermione watched the entire exchange in shock, before she turned her head back towards the training field. However, she now wasn't paying attention to the knight's, she was thinking about what she had just witnessed. She would have sworn that Ginny and King Severus were flirting with each other and as much as she hated to think about it she thought she had spotted a flicker of sexual tension simmering between the pair. Hermione was not only repulsed by the fact her best friend and maid was flirting with the King, who also happened to be her husband, but that fact that Ginny was flirting with Snape. Hermione already had more than enough to deal with regarding her Potions professor and she really didn't need the image of the pair flirting in her head.
"They're good aren't they?" The King asked, drawing Hermione's attention away from her disturbing thoughts.
"Very." Hermione admitted. "I've never seen the Gryffindor knights work this hard."
"That's because Sir Draco is a hard taskmaster." The King chuckled. "I'm glad I don't have to train with them."
"I heard you were pretty good with a sword." Hermione commented. She'd heard her father mention the rival King's sword skills on many an occasion growing up and he had again brought it up on her recent visit home.
"I was, in my youth." The King said, downplaying his skills. "But that was a long time ago, these days I'm more than happy to watch the younger men in action."
"That's what my father used to say when I was growing up." Hermione chuckled. "Although he would then spend the entire tournament wishing he was competing."
"I'm sure your father could have gone on competing for a lot longer than he did. I saw him fight once when I was a young prince, he was quite impressive."
"More impressive than that?" Hermione asked, gesturing at Sir Draco who was busy fighting two men at once.
Hermione and King Severus watched the top knight for a few minutes. The blond effortlessly weaved amongst the other knights, his blade never stopped moving as he quite easily disarmed the lot of them. Once the knights were re-armed he began again, taking the men on one at a time and dispatching them with ease.
"I'm not sure you can get more impressive than that." King Severus replied, after watching Draco in action. "Sir Draco is a rare talent."
Hermione mumbled an agreement as she once again lost herself in watching Draco training. She was still watching the knights ten minutes later when King Severus announced he was heading indoors. Out of the corner of her eye Hermione spotted the King and Ginny sharing a quick smile before he left.
"Were you just flirting with my husband?" Hermione asked Ginny, once the King was out of earshot.
"Whatever gave you that impression?" Ginny asked. "I was just being friendly. The King is a nice man."
Hermione nodded but she was watching Ginny's reaction carefully. After years of being friends she knew her friend pretty well and it was clear from the way she spoke about the King that she had some sort of feelings for him. Hermione wasn't sure exactly what was going on there, she was actually hoping it was just a harmless crush on Ginny's part, anything else would just be too horrid to think about.
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Hermione's suspicions about Ginny and the King continued to fester for the rest of the day. All day Hermione watched Ginny carefully whenever the King was mentioned, but she never noticed anything strange about her maid. Hermione even mentioned Ginny a few times over dinner but King Severus seemed totally oblivious to the existence of the redhead. Hermione was trying to convince herself she had been imagining things earlier in the day, but that was easier said than done. Despite trying to convince herself nothing was happening between her maid and husband, Hermione couldn't shake the memories of witnessing the pair of them exchanging warm smiles.
Hermione was still slightly distracted by the thoughts when Draco came to her chambers after dinner. However, the blond knight's presence in her room distracted her for a while. Before Draco had arrived Hermione had yet again arranged the cushions in front of the fire, so they could curl up in front of the flames. For a while Hermione was quite content to snuggle up with Draco as they ate their way through a bowl of strawberries and sat talking.
"Are you okay?" Draco asked after Hermione had lapsed into silence.
"I'm fine." Hermione sighed.
"Clearly you're not." Draco replied. "What's bothering you?"
"I witnessed something odd earlier today." Hermione admitted. "When we were watching the training the King came to watch for a bit."
"I noticed. But that's not odd, he often watches us train."
"That wasn't the odd thing." Hermione paused, wondering if she should really be talking about this to Draco.
"Well, what was the odd thing?" Draco prompted.
"I think he was flirting with Ginny." Hermione said quietly. Hearing it being said out loud was making the situation even stranger for Hermione.
Draco chuckled at the thought. "I didn't know the King was the flirting type."
"Neither did I." Hermione muttered. "I thought he wasn't interested in women and sex."
"You sound jealous." Draco noted. "I thought you liked the fact he doesn't bother you in that department."
"I do. I have no desire to share his bed." Hermione reassured Draco.
"So what's the problem?" Draco asked.
"I don't know, it was just weird watching them together." Hermione shrugged. "He's never shown any interest in me and it was slightly unnerving to see him looking at Ginny like he did."
"Are you sure you're not jealous?" Draco asked, sounding upset.
"I'm sure." Hermione said. "I just don't understand why he's never shown any interest in me and he's smiling and flirting with my maid."
"Probably because Ginny is exactly his type." Draco chuckled.
"What do you mean she's his type?" Hermione asked.
"She's a servant." Draco replied. "That's how the King likes his women, in a position where they can't refuse him if they want to keep their job."
"Are you telling me King Severus regularly beds the maids?" Hermione was totally shocked with Draco's implication and she was sure she had misunderstood what he was saying.
"Yes." Draco nodded. "He's been doing it for years."
"So he's not as sexless as I thought." Hermione muttered. "So if he isn't against sex, why hasn't he bothered me? Even though I'm really pleased he hasn't tried anything, as his wife he's entitled to expect something from me?"
"My guess is, he's never tried anything with you because he's afraid of you turning him down." Draco explained.
"As much as I would want to turn him down, I can't." Hermione said. "It's expected that I'll allow him into my bed."
"That wouldn't be a problem if he expected something normal from you." Draco smirked. "But the King likes it rough."
"What do you mean by rough?" Hermione questioned.
"He's likes to dominate in the bedroom and he's not against using restraints."
"How do you know this?" Hermione looked at Draco in bemusement, wondering how long he had known about the King's kinks.
"The maid's like to gossip." Draco shrugged. "The whole kingdom knows what he's like, we just don't spread it around."
"Has anyone ever refused him?" Hermione asked.
"I'm sure some have." Draco responded. "There's being a few maids that haven't lasted long but on the whole I think most of the girls in the castle don't mind servicing the King."
"And you think Ginny is one of those maids?" Hermione questioned.
"I don't like to cast aspersions, but your maid has a bit of a reputation." Draco spoke warily, as if he was unsure how Hermione would react to his words.
"Tell me about it." Hermione laughed. "She may be my best friend, but I know exactly what she's like."
"She might not have slept with him though." Draco pointed out.
"I'm sure if she hasn't already, then she will." Hermione responded. Now she knew King Severus wasn't as sexless as she thought she had no doubt that her maid would end up in his bed. "Although, I'm still not sure why he hasn't bothered me in that way, not that I'd be up for anything kinky."
"Shame, that could have been fun." Draco grinned mischievously.
Hermione smiled and leant forward, until her lips were inches away from Draco's. "I didn't say I wouldn't be up for anything kinky with you." She whispered, before pressing her lips against Draco's.
Draco kissed Hermione for a few minutes before he pulled back. "Seriously though, I'm betting the reason he hasn't bothered you will be because he's afraid of your reaction. According to one of the maids the only way he can perform is if he has total control over the situation and the woman in his bed at completely at his mercy."
"And if he tried that with me, he would have been worried I'd be disgusted." Hermione nodded, suddenly understanding why the King had never bothered her in a sexual way.
"Exactly, he wouldn't want you running back to your father and telling him that he had married you off to a kinky king." Draco said. "He was also taking a gamble by not taking you to bed, but he probably figured you didn't want to sleep with him anyway so you were less likely to go and complain about him to your father."
"That's what he was checking with you when we returned from Gryffindor, wasn't it?" Hermione asked, suddenly remembering the way King Severus had summoned Draco as soon as they returned. "He was asking if I complained about him."
"It was one of the things he asked." Draco admitted. "He was more concerned that the trip ran smoothly, but he did ask about what you had told your parents about him."
"What did you say?"
"I told him the truth, that as far as I knew you only said nice things about him." Draco replied.
"Which I did." Hermione said. "The last thing I want is for my parents to find out things aren't the way they hoped. I really don't want them pressuring us to consummate the marriage."
"So what I've told you hasn't piqued your interest in the King?" Draco teased.
Despite Draco's teasing tone, Hermione could hear the uncertainty in his voice. It was clear from her lover's reaction that she had given him the wrong impression, all she wanted to know was what was so wrong with her that the King wasn't interested in sleeping with her. Instead she seemed to have given Draco the impression she was jealous of the maids he was sleeping with.
"No." Hermione shook her head solemnly. "I've never been interested in the King and what you've told me has only turned me off further."
"I thought you said you weren't opposed to getting kinky?" Draco smiled.
"I said I wouldn't be opposed to getting kinky with you. There's a big difference between you and the King." Hermione smiled at Draco as she moved closer to him and straddled his hips. "I really don't what the King anywhere near me, but I have no objection to anything you want to do to me."
Draco smiled as he reached up and pushed a curl of Hermione's hair out of her face. "I love you." He said softly.
"I love you, too." Hermione smiled as she bent her head and connected their lips together. "Do you want to discuss something kinkier?" She asked, when they parted for air.
Draco shook his head. "Not tonight. Tonight, I just want you."
Hermione smiled as they resumed their kiss, talk of the King and his conquests forgotten as hands started to wander and clothes started to come off.