Chapter 10

Hermione moved into Grimmauld Place the next day. Edna and Delia were sighing with approval. Now they each had a bedroom with a proper bed and bathroom. A proper kitchen, stocked with food.

The house had been stripped of any objects that were not Black family heirlooms and furniture. Harry's things were long gone as were Sirius' things. The lack of life in the house was almost tangible, the fires were struggling to fight the chill of the long time vacant house.

Every corner held memories of better days. Especially the kitchen, which had been the central meeting place of the house when it had served as Head Quarters. Hermione chose Harry's room. She wondered if anyone had slept in the bed since Harry had. She couldn't imagine anyone had stayed in the house since. She tried to see if she could find Harry's scent in the sheets, but they were completely clean and devoid of any human scent.

Moving into Grimmauld Place was bitter sweet. It reminded her of a different time, a different life. A time when she still had faith in the world she lived in. She wasn't sure what she believed in anymore. It certainly wasn't her own innocence.

Draco was true to his word. He didn't bother her until the next day. He called her over early and they had sex on the living room sofa. Draco had a hangover and Hermione had learnt that a hangover seemed to make his horny. Maybe that was a faulty assumption, she accepted as he repeatedly thrust into her, he always had a hangover and he was always horny, doesn't necessary establish a foolproof link.

He so unapologetically revelled in her body and what he was doing. His concentration on what he was doing was absolute. Hermione watched as very muscle in his body strained with effort. He did have a rather beautiful body. There were no soft bits on him, which was amazing considering the lifestyle he led. He cried out as he came, arching back as he ground her hips to him.

He seemed to completely deflate after, his head sinking down and his eyes closed.

"Stay here until I come back from dinner." He said after a minute of catching his breath. "I don't think I can get through tonight without murdering someone if I don't have this to come back to."

Hermione nodded, happy that she didn't have to go with him.

"Fine, but after you come back, I am going home."

"Stay the night." He said, still inside her. Hermione tried to wiggle away, but he held her where she was.

"You know I need to take care of the ladies."

"I will send one of the elves over to look after them."

"No." She said. "They are my responsibility."

He stared at her. She wriggled harder making it obvious that she wanted him out. Still he held on. Slowly he started moving insider her again, growing harder with the friction. Hermione could tell that he was angry. As soon as he was hard again, he grabbed her off the sofa and placed her on the carpet where he forcefully thrust into her much harder than he ever had before.

Hermione didn't mind, she wasn't shocked. Somehow it seemed more authentic in some way she couldn't quite explain. And it was almost... sexy. Draco was shaking with exertion when he finally came, thrusting through it. Hermione had never taken herself for a girl who liked it rough, but she had to admit there was something appealing in a bit of anger.

He rolled off her, sweat covering his body now. She wasn't sure who just won their little power struggle, but she was sure she didn't lose. She wasn't going to give up whatever power she had in this relationship. He had begged her to come back and providing her a place to live was not going to change that dynamic.

Staying the night meant something and Hermione felt that it threatened her independence. It was all she had left.

She waited downstairs while Draco went upstairs and showered. When he came down he was formally dressed. Deep black robes, impeccably cut. Silver and emerald cufflinks, collar links and pins. The belt buckle was also an austere silver variety that screamed understated elegance. He looked good, if you were into that kind of look. It showed his shoulders and chest well. The well tailored pants didn't do any disservice to his hips and thigh muscles either. The intervening years had served him well, because she never recognised that he looked this good in school. Perhaps it was the fact that he wasn't a gangly teenager anymore, as much as his personality and behaviour seemed to suggest it.

She didn't ask where he was going. She didn't care, but she guessed that he had to behave. He was planning on 'using' her after which suggested that he could not get too drunk. Hermione was pleased at the reprieve from having to spend the evening with him and his friends.

Hermione spent time in the library while he was gone. She had been served dinner in the dining room. The silence of the house seemed opposing as she ate alone in a room made for entertaining. There was an interesting collection in the library, mostly old texts. Hermione fell asleep by the fire with a blanket over her lap.

"Sometimes I wonder if you are twenty three going on eighty, Granger. No wonder you love the companies of the biddies so much." Draco woke her. "Provide you with the kind of companionship you've always dreamed of?"

Hermione didn't respond, she knew he was still angry about their little disagreement before. He walked over to the serving table with glasses and decanters. Poured himself a large glass. Hermione could tell he was sober and probably resented it.

"Had to spend the evening with the parents and the she-bitch." He stated and flopped down in the other chair. Hermione could only assume that he was talking about his wife. "I swear the world cringes whenever she is near."

"Well, I am hurt Malfoy, I thought I was the biggest bitch you had ever met." She said.

He chuckled at the statement and stared down into his drink.

Hermione contemplated his actions. He obviously didn't like his wife and thought her a bitch, but then went out and sought out the bitchiest girl he'd known, and he had pointed out that fact on numerous occasions during their school years, to bed on a regular basis. She wondered if he was a bit of a closet masochist.

They had sex again that evening, slow and meticulous, which was different. Draco watched her dress from the bed, while sipping on his firewhiskey. His pale skin shone in the diffused light from the fire. Hermione knew he wasn't happy about her leaving, but she didn't care. Actually she was pretty glad she was defying him because maybe he would let her go sooner. Although walking around MQ at two in the morning had its hazards, crawling back in bed with a warm, naked Draco had a set of risks all of its own.

He didn't call for her the next day and Hermione had twinges of hope that he had grown tired. Her careful hopes were premature. He owled for her the next evening. He was already pretty intoxicated when she got there. Not drunk, but Hermione wouldn't want to apparate with him in this state. He was dressed to go out and they floo'd somewhere. It was a club of some kind this time. It was full of wizards and ladies who weren't their wives, probably nobody else's either.

Funnily, the whole place was in Gryffindor colours, red velvet and gold. It gave a warm look to the room along with the million burning candles. Maybe the houses were finally unified as a consequence of their mistreatment of people with lesser status, Hermione thought bitterly. People were drinking, gambling and flirting. This was the pureblood male playground. Hermione had never seen anything like it. She thought their house parties were pretty bad, but this was much bigger in scale. There was music, pretty women serving drinks and scantily clad girls dancing. Hermione flashed back to what Draco had done to her before but pressed down the anger she still felt.

Draco was seemingly well familiar with the place, including some of the girls who flirted and pouted at him. They found the table with Draco's friends. The table was filled with all sorts of alcohol, and the odd bit of finger food. She got handed a glass of wine by someone and thanked them absently. Theo and Connie wasn't there, but the rest of the regulars were.

Hermione spent a bit of time looking around the room. There were a few people she recognised that she hadn't seen in a long time. She saw Cormac McLaggen with his arm around some girl while chatting to a Rawenclaw from his year. If she could have one thing going her way this evening it was to not run into him.

Hermione settled down for a long evening. She listened to their conversation for a while and it was interesting. Politics, Ministry inner workings and such, but after a while the drunkenness was setting in, leaving the conversation less diverting. There was gambling going on at the table and Draco was doing fairly well.

Occasionally he would get up and go to the bathroom, stroking her neck every time he walked past. She knew he was too drunk tonight to need anything from her beyond someone to get him to bed, and she was pleased.

Their gambling started to get more reckless, even to the point where Blaise and Draco were gambling with some of their lesser property. The excitement was clearly affecting them because they were caught up with each turn of the cards. The intensity even affected Hermione, who really had nothing better to do than to watch the game unfold. Draco won in the end and Blaise was furious.

"I am the undefeated champion." Draco exclaimed. A bit of his whiskey spilled out of his glass as he shot his arms in the air. "Nobody can take me. The fates love me. I dare anyone to take me on."

"Really?" Marcus Flint said laughing. "I'll take you on."

Draco smiled, "Yeah? Get ready to have your balls handed to you."

"You think so?" Flint said with a smile. They stared at each other for a while. Not unfriendly, but not quite friendly either.

"I will play you for that little cottage you have in Switzerland." Draco said. "I dare you. I will put up the hunting lodge I have in Norway."

"No." Marcus said. "Granger."

Hermione head shot up at her name being said. What was going on? Marcus and Draco were staring intently at each other. The whole table was quiet.

"Fine." Draco said and then sneered, and Hermione mouth dropped open. "I will enjoy my summer in Switzerland this year."

Hermione couldn't believe her ears, surely he wasn't gambling with her as the stakes. Was that even legal? The game started and Hermione waited with baited breath at each turn of the cards. She didn't really know the game well so she wasn't sure what was happening. The intensity of the game was involving lots of people, who were standing around the table watching the game unfold.

Hermione frantically looked around as the crowd hissed. People were practically chewing on their fists and finally the crowd gasped and then cheered.

Hermione looked at Draco and his face was in a dark scowl. Marcus was laughing and pumped his fists in the air in a little victory dance. Hermione was feeling queasy with tension. What had just happened? Marcus had just won. Won her. What did that mean?

"Best two out of three." Draco said.

"No way." Marcus said, still laughing.

"Come on." Draco demanded, "You have to give me a chance to recover."

"Nope." Marcus said. "Come my lady." He said and held his hand out to Hermione.

Hermione was shocked, she didn't know what to do. Not being able to think of anything else to do, she hesitantly took his hand. Her eyes sought out Draco, who looked positively murderous. Marcus pulled her out of her seat and tucked her arm between his elbow and side.

"Time to go I think." He said smiling, then more quietly, "Before Draco loses it."

She heard a large commotion behind her as they walked down the stairs to the exit. She could hear Draco screaming some very colourful expletives. Language she had never heard him use before.

Hermione was positively shaking with adrenalin as Marcus Flint led her towards a fireplace. Her mind was whirling to grapple the implications of what just happened. There didn't seem to be enough oxygen in the air tonight. Hermione was too shocked and confused to think, unable to string together any coherent thought, she just let him led her into the fireplace.