Chapter 11

Hermione arrived at Flint's house around midnight.

"I don't have to go along with this." She said. "You don't own me."

"Of course not." He said and sat down on a sofa in a large room, which must have been his bedroom, because there was a large bed further down. "You are under no obligation whatsoever."

"I can just leave." She stated more to clarify so they were both clear.

"Only Draco is under the obligations of the bet." He said leaning back and studying her. "Would you like a drink?"

"What? No." She said. "What does that mean?"

"It means he has to give up any stake he has on you if I have any interest in you." Marcus said, his eyes sparkling a little in the darkness. "But you are your own person, you can scurry on back to him if you want."

Hermione snorted and crossed her arms, which seemed to amuse Marcus. Hermione was trying to think through what would be best. She wanted to be rid of Draco and had just managed it, albeit unexpectedly. She wasn't entirely sure that Marcus would serve as a good patron, she couldn't imagine him settling down for a quiet life, but then again you never knew with men.

"I, however, would love for you to stay." He continued after a moment of silence.

If she walked away, she would be stuck back in MQ, but her access to potentially suitable patrons would be seriously diminished along with her prospects for taking care of herself. Patrons weren't exactly walking around MQ looking for love matches. She would probably lose Grimmauld Place either way, and she had just spent the morning moving in.

"I live in one of Draco's properties." She stated.

"I will of course provide you with similar comforts." Marcus said.

Hermione wasn't sure what to do. She wished she didn't have to make this decision. What would Connie do? Actually she knew just what Connie would do. Capitalise on the opportunity presented, after all, she had just achieved Draco giving up his claim, which was just what she wanted.

"If you were to stay," Marcus said in a low tone with a smirk, "I couldn't imagine anything in the world that would piss of Draco Malfoy more."

Hermione smiled. Ok, that was a pretty appealing bonus, downright sexy actually. She would get what she wanted, plus she would seriously piss off Malfoy. There have been times in her life, in school, when she would have given anything to piss off Malfoy, and now the opportunity presented itself in the tidy package that was Marcus Flint. Orchestrated by Malfoy himself.

She had never really had much to do with him before. He was quite a few years ahead of her in school, obsessed with Quidditch and he had been a fearsome competitor according to the Gryffindor players. He wasn't handsome, but he wasn't revolting either. He had a nice body.

He stood up and came over to take her hand. He was tall. Hermione wanted to pull away. She didn't feel comfortable with the idea of sleeping with him. Sleeping with someone has never been a decision she had taken lightly. It had always included some serious reflection on what the person meant to her, until now, when it was more about survival. The whole thing was still intensely uncomfortable.

It was for the best, no matter how badly it went with her sentiments. This is what she did now. He wasn't some old disgusting slob. It was him or Draco, and Marcus had made it clear that it was her choice, as opposed to Draco who had ruined her life and forced her to sleep with him.

Marcus had said he would take care of her, and she could use this time to find the patron who would hopefully who would share his home for the rest of her life. How bad could it be? And it would really, really piss off Malfoy. The balance was seriously weighing towards Marcus.

Hermione's heart was beating violently as he led her to the bed. He indicated that she sit down, which she did. Her throat was dry at this point. Maybe she needed a bit of water.

He handed her a vial.

"What?" Hermione asked, she was under the most bomb-proof contraceptive spells thanks to the Ministry, so she had no idea what this potion was. "What is that?"

"You don't know what this is?" Marcus said with a raised eyebrow. "Malfoy doesn't use this on you. How every interesting."

"What is it?" Hermione said eyeing it suspiciously. She had a strong urge to bolt.

"It is called the Igneus potion." He said. "It makes things a lot better for you. You've seriously never used it?"

"I never heard of it." She said, still very uncertain.

"Its not a potion taught at Hogwarts." He said.

"Is it dark?"

"No." He laughed. "But it has been used by women in the wizard world since the beginning of time. You should try it, I think you will find it improves things substantially. Here, I will try some." He said and took a sip from the vial.

Hermione's natural curiosity kicked in. A potion for women that wasn't taught in Hogwarts. What exactly were they hiding? Her recently enhanced scepticism for this society left her with no doubt that they would withhold things that were beneficial for women. He said it help her. Nothing in her instincts told her that Marcus was lying. Her curiosity was killing her.

She threw caution to the wind and downed the potion. The effect was immediate. Goosebumps travelled over her skin and her whole body tightened. It was a lust potion and it was very effective. Not a love potion, just lust, pure unadulterated, fuck me now lust. The height of lust. She hadn't felt this way since she'd been with Dean, which had frankly been a long time now.

She could barely sit still, she wanted a shag so badly she didn't know what to do with herself. She couldn't help but to grind her legs together. The hot, heavy feeling in her core was practically pulsing. And the answer to her little problem was standing in front of her, watching her as she was panting with desire. So his nice body was looking utterly fantastic. She wanted to rip his clothes off.

Fortunately he was open to oblige, but to Hermione's utter frustration, he wanted to play, to taste and to tease. None of while she had any interest in, she just wanted it hard and fast, right now. She was almost in tears of frustration by the time he finally entered her, which was probably in actuality close to two minutes later. The feel of him inside her was fantastic and sent waves of heated sensation throughout her entire body.

But it wasn't enough, she yanked him by the hair until he lay down on the bed and she could get on top. From where she could control everything. Seeing him at mercy to his own sensations was only fuelling the fire, which fully ignited as she watched him contort as he was trying to fight his rapidly developing orgasm. She felt merciless. She felt like she ruled the world. She came for the first time in a very long time and it was glorious. All the stress and worry just evaporated.

She laid back on the bed trying to catch her breath. That was fantastic. Skip all the hassle, the worry about how you're looking or performing, or what your partner is thinking of you and just skip to the reward. This she could do again, and then probably again after that. Just glorious lust. Is this how it was for men?

She could see why this was not part of the Hogwarts curriculum. The school would probably have gone nuts if the student all knew how to brew this.

"And Malfoy doesn't know about this?" She said when she caught her breath.

"He does." Marcus said beside her.

"Then...?" She started without finishing. Did he want her to suffer? He could have given her this potion and, as Marcus said, things would have been a lot better for her. Maybe he just didn't care how she was faring. She cursed him for being a bastard.

There was no note asking her to move out the next day. There wasn't one the next day either. She didn't know what to do. Should she be trying to move to a property Marcus was providing, or did her 'earning' the right to live here extend for some time?

Trying to decipher ethics or etiquette in this whole thing was doing her head in. She decided not to do anything until she spoke to Connie. Apparently she would see her tonight, if Marcus' judgement was right.

She liked Marcus, he laid everything out. Where they would be going, who would be there, what they would be doing. She liked that she knew exactly what was coming. He also warned that Malfoy would not be happy. Not exactly used to not having his way. Not that he had anyone else to blame but himself, Hermione thought. And he would be there tonight.

Hermione decided to wear one of her green dresses tonight. She refused to wear green for Draco, but she would tonight in a desire to twist the thorn. He probably would never even get the gesture, but she didn't care. In her mind it was a big 'Fuck You' and that was enough for her.

Marcus gave her a bracelet before they left for the evening. It was a silver bracelet with a line of small diamonds along its surface. Marcus giving her jewellery would send a stronger message to Draco, according to Marcus, one that said that her current amour valued her and intended on keeping her happy.

The evening's festivities were held the house of one of the younger Slytherins. One she had never paid any attention to in school but was now clearly part of the gang.

She made a beeline for Connie as soon as she arrived.

"Well that was an interesting turn of events." Connie said as Hermione sat down next to her. "Did you engineer that?"

"No." Hermione admitted. "But it means his claim on me is over doesn't it. The fatwa is over?"

"It does. It would have been brilliant if you had. Very effective."

"I wish I was that cunning, but it was pure circumstance."

"Well mission accomplished." Connie said. "We will accept the victory gracefully nonetheless. And yes, Draco has given up his claim according to the code of conduct they prescribe to."

"For good?"

"I don't know. I haven't really come across this particular situation before." Connie said. "Either way, Marcus is not a bad person to be linked to. He is generous. Perhaps not patron material, if that is still what you are interested in."

"I am." Hermione said. "How do I go about achieving that?"

"It is better to look amongst the older men or the lesser families." Connie said. "By nature, the type of man you are interest in, are hard to access. They tend not to go to these kind of places, or gather in any places for that matter. The best way is let the girls know, particularly the more established ones, who will recommend unattached men they know of."

"I don't know any of the girls." Hermione said dishearted.

"I will ask around. Shopping is a good way to see them outside of these types of events. Now I must go entertain." She said with a sigh before getting up and seeking out Nott.

Should I be entertaining as well? Hermione wondered. Then kicking herself for forgetting to ask what she was going to do with her living situation.

Hermione decided that she probably needed to follow Connie's lead and went to where Marcus was sitting. Malfoy was sitting in the same circle of chairs. Hermione avoided looking at him as she walked up and went to stand behind Marcus' chair. She lightly put her hand on his shoulder and leant down to ask him if he wanted her to get anything for him.

There was a loud screeching noise as Draco suddenly got out of his chair and walked away. In fact, he left the party all together. She guessed he wasn't happy. What a shame.