The following Monday was fairly uneventful; I went to class, took a test, took notes… nothing out of the ordinary. It surprised me how normal things were after how very abnormal the last several days had been. It also surprised me that out of all the emotions I was feeling about all of it, guilt wasn't one of them.

I could blame it on being under the influence of that uninhibition spell, but that would be dishonest; I knew exactly what was going to happen and what I was getting myself into. The enchantment certainly had nothing to do with any of what had happened the following afternoon… multiple times.

I thought of Ron and felt what I usually did: love. It was a simple feeling. What had happened with Draco didn't complicate that. I knew Ron was the perfect man for me; the perfect partner. The perfect match.

So what was it that I could possibly see in someone like Draco Malfoy?

After I finished up my final class of the day, I walked across campus to my dorm room. Finding that my roommate had not yet arrived, I decided to lay down and take a nap for a little while. Only I couldn't really sleep.

I couldn't clear my head. All I could think about was Draco, the way he teased me, used me, completely had his way with me. The way he felt inside of me, stretching me, tearing me open, violating my pussy, my body; corrupting me…

I got out of bed, groaning, sitting in my chair and turning on the TV. I didn't pay attention to what was on. It was just something to do. Or something to make me feel like I was doing something.

I looked down at my cell phone by chance to see Draco was calling me; it was on silent, so this was really luck (if you could call it that…) I picked up.

"Hello…" I said timidly, determined not to repeat the mistake that I made over the weekend again.

"Hermione. Hey…" he paused for a long time.

"Draco? What is it?"

He sighed. "Alright. I need to… share something with you. Do you know that old mansion by the Warlock's Hideaway?"

He was referring to the old wizarding hotel right down the road from the campus. I had to think for a moment…

"Mansion?"

Draco chuckled. "Exactly. Think about it. Think really hard. Big mansion… It's massive. You might say you can't miss it, but that's the trick really."

I thought and I thought again, and then it came to me. How could I have missed that? Why had I never heard anyone mention it? It was an ENORMOUS mansion right on an urban road…

It was enchanted!

"Yes! Yes, okay. It's… what is it doing there? Who lives there?"

Draco paused; he seemed to be putting words together.

"Nobody necessarily lives there. I'll have to show you. I've secured our connection over the phone, but I don't want to risk disclosing anything else. Just get down there as soon as you can."

He hung up the phone.

This was a terrible idea. That place was spooky as hell. What the hell was he going to show me?

But of course I was going to go. My curiosity has never stopped getting me into trouble.

...

As I crossed the road and walked down a block past the Warlock's Hideaway, I saw that towering mansion; it was really more like a castle. People walked past it; no one paid any attention to it. It was right there, in plain sight, but it was as if no one was paying it any thought.

I walked up to the gate; it was closed. There was a bell; I rang it.

A voice called out… it was in my head.

"State name. Purpose. Loyalty."

I almost ran right the hell out of there, but that was scary enough that I was honestly frozen in place.

I closed my eyes. "Hermione Granger. Visiting Draco Malfoy. Loyal to…"

What was I really loyal to?

"…myself."

That was the most honest answer I could come up with at the moment. I found myself doubting any real "loyalty" to anyone or anything lately."

"Your honesty serves you well. Enter."

The gate opened. I looked behind me to see… nothing. Darkness. The sky above it all; darkness. There was only the area of the property, lit by the lamps along the walkways and the light escaping the mansion's windows. I was standing on nothing, or so it looked. It still felt like a sidewalk, but it wasn't until I stepped onto the walkway and heard the gate close behind me that I could actually see the ground I was walking on again.

The front door of the mansion opened and I saw Draco walk down the steps, taking a seat on the last one. He patted a spot next to himself on the step… deja vu.

"Hey. Have a seat. We need to chat before you come inside."

Without really thinking, I did as he told me to.

"What is this place?"

Draco looked at me. "This is… think about the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, the old Black place, that one Harry inherited, right?"

"Mhm…" I must have looked a little puzzled. "What about it?"

"This… is our headquarters, our hideaway."

I was a bit concerned. "Who are "we"?"

Draco's expression turned more serious.

"What I'm about to show you… it may not be black and white. It may frighten you. But I want you to see it. I want… I want to give you an opportunity to be a part of this."

"Of what?" I asked. "Can you stop avoiding actually explaining yourself and just tell me?"

Draco's eyes were fixed right on mine. "Can you promise to keep an open mind, to not make a judgement or a choice until I ask you to?"

I look away from him; why did everyone have to be so fucking dramatic about everything. Details, information. Give me a concise explanation and I can figure it out for myself. I'm smarter than nearly everyone else I've ever met.

"Yes, okay. Just show me."

Draco stood up, opened the door, and I followed him inside. Wizards and a few witches stood inside, as if they were waiting for me. We walked down a hall into a well furnished living area. The furniture and the decorations were comfortable but… generic. Plain.

"I think I've found our new recruit," said Draco. "The one we needed, that we discussed earlier…"

"Very good," said a man wearing a black cloak sitting on a couch, his face obscured by shadows beneath his hood, his voice obscured by some sort of enchantment so I couldn't quite make out its qualities.

The man stood. There were other people around us as the others who had been waiting at the door entered.

Everyone was silent, looking at him, standing straight, arms at their sides, at attention like soldiers.

"Initiate meeting 976 of the Wrath of Albus," the man said.

What the fuck had I just walked into?