Here's my offering of the day. I hope you like.


Hermione was feeling really grateful for her lunch and that annoyed her. Why the Hell was she feeling grateful that the bastard was allowing her to eat? He hadn't even really done anything – except banishing her from her quarters for the night – and already she was having these groveling tendencies? It was day one and she hated this already. Really hated it. Irritably, she picked at her bread, until she realized that there was nothing left but a pile of crumbs on her plate. She stared at it. Great, now she was wasting food too! She threw down the bit of crust she was still holding, ready to strangle someone.

Something at the Slytherin table drew her eye and she looked up to find Malfoy almost shaking with laughter. She narrowed her eyes. Good that someone was having fun! Her eyes went to Zabini sitting next to him, figuring that he'd be the source of the amusement, but he was just looking perplexed. She looked around the Slytherin table to see that nobody else was interacting with Malfoy – Nott wasn't even there, and Pansy Parkinson was at the other end of the table, talking to Daphne Greengrass, oblivious to her reputed boyfriend's mirth. Hermione looked back at Malfoy to find him smirking back at her.

He's laughing at me, the prat!

Her lips twisted into a sneer, which only seemed to amuse him further. Deciding that she was quite full, she got up and left the hall to find her bed. She could nap for a few hours before Harry, Ron and Ginny were done with their Quidditch practice. That was… unless Draco decided that she couldn't nap. She really hated this.


"What are you laughing at?" Blaise asked Draco as Draco watched Hermione leave out of the corner of his eye. She was so predictable sometimes.

"Nothing," Draco automatically answered.

Blaise's eyes narrowed. "You know, you came in quite late last night," he said.

"Did I, now?" Draco neutrally asked.

"But I saw Pansy go to bed," Blaise continued.

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Nott was also gone last night…"

"What's the matter, Blaise?" Draco taunted. "Feel lonely? Was Tracey gone too?"

Blaise smirked derisively. "I was just wondering what the two of you were doing out, by yourselves, that has you in such a disgustingly good mood and Theo now sleeping, if I'm not very much mistaken…"

Draco put down his fork, staring at his friend. "What are you suggesting, Zabini?" he growled.

Blaise faked sincerity. "Hey, your secret is safe with me…"

Draco snorted. "Get your mind out of the gutter. God." He pushed away his plate, rapidly losing his appetite. Sometimes Blaise's imagination was a little too vivid.

"It would certainly explain your lack of interest in Pansy," Blaise mused. "And why you're aiming so hard to please him…"

"Oh, ha ha!" Draco grumbled.

"Want to give me another theory, then?" Blaise asked.

Draco scowled. "No. Had enough trouble with Theo over this."

Blaise gaped. "You told Theo what's going on and not me?" he sputtered. "Well, I guess that says a lot, doesn't it?"

"I didn't tell him," Draco defended himself. "He just sort of tripped over it and then gave me a hard time."

Blaise didn't respond but merely drank the last of his juice and got up to leave.

"Blaise?" Draco asked.

"See you around, Draco," Blaise said without looking at him and then walked away.

"Bloody Hell," Draco groaned. Snatching an apple from the bowl of fruit, he hurried after Blaise. He'd have to tell him. He didn't want to lose any more friends because of Granger.


When Hermione awoke later that afternoon, she had this nagging feeling that something was off. Malfoy had left her alone all day on the first day of her enslavement? Not bloody likely. It certainly wouldn't be like him to allow her to rest or to allow her a respite. She stared hard at the bracelet, trying to figure out if she somehow missed the pull of a summons while she was asleep, but she felt absolutely nothing. Of course, he might be busy plotting something truly nefarious and hence have no more time for pettiness. But this was Draco Malfoy – he always had time for pettiness. He might also just be trying to unsettle her, in which case he was succeeding fairly well. She shrugged it off, deciding that he'd probably give her her fair share of trouble over the next month, so there was no use fretting. Only… the nagging feeling that he was up to something wouldn't go away.

None of her friends were in the common room. Hermione checked her watch; it was four o'clock. They couldn't still be practicing Quidditch, could they? They must be starving by now. She sighed. Well, they weren't here and she wasn't being bullied around by Malfoy at the moment, so she'd better go to the library and get as much studying done as possible, before he remembered that he wanted to interfere with that. Perhaps she could catch her friends later. If she was lucky.


Draco and Blaise were sitting in their usual place in their common room and Draco was watching Blaise with rapidly thinning patience.

"So, wait," Blaise said for what must be the hundredth time. "You and Granger made some stupid bet and she actually let you—"

"Use the bracelet on her, yeah," Draco finished the sentence. It wasn't that hard to understand, was it?

"The bracelet I saw?" Blaise asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, I suppose it is pretty," Blaise mumbled.

Draco stared at him. "So, after three hours of me explaining, you deduce that she let me enslave her because the bracelet is pretty? Bloody Hell, Blaise…"

"Yes, well, excuse me if I find any other explanation completely inane!" Blaise huffed. "Granger allow you complete control of her for a month? It almost spells Death Wish! She's too smart for that!"

"First of all," Draco sighed, "that explanation isn't inane? She didn't even realize how valuable it was, for Merlin's sake! And, second of all, I told you about the contract she had me sign. I pretty much can't kill her."

"You can kill her good name, her integrity, her friendships, make her lose Head Girl…"

"I can try," Draco mumbled, not bothering to hide the evil glint in his eyes.

"That's exactly what I mean!" Blaise exclaimed. "I bet you're itching to do all of that and she knows this. By the time you're done with her, she'll probably regret not just allowing you to kill her!"

Draco raised an eyebrow at that. "That is how my fantasy plays out, yes, but I have to be careful or Theo will have my head. Besides, Granger is too damn smart. I need to be very specific for my orders to have any effect at all."

"Speaking of… Why aren't you bothering her right now?" Blaise asked.

Draco smirked. "No worries," he said. "I am…"


It was completely impossible for Hermione to concentrate. She kept glancing at the bracelet, wondering if it was broken or something. She didn't want to be abused, she really didn't, but she knew that Draco would love doing just that. So why wasn't he? She was mostly nervous that she had somehow missed a summons and that he would punish her. She could just imagine the kind of punishments Draco Malfoy would give a Mudblood that he had complete control over. True, he couldn't be violent, but he could make her go stand in the lake all night if he wished, making her fall deadly ill… She should have made a more specific contract! She had to remember that for the next time she made a dangerous bet like this with someone who wanted her dead! Gods, what had she been thinking, when she agreed to this?

Someone sat down in front of her. Hermione was almost afraid to check and she gave herself a severe scolding before looking up. When she realized it wasn't him, she let out a relieved breath. Then she frowned at herself.

"Interesting reaction," Ginny observed.

Hermione rubbed the bridge of her nose. Why couldn't Draco just harass her already? "What do you want?" she sighed, feeling very uncharitable at the moment.

Ginny's brows went up. "I was going to apologize…" she said. "But you aren't really inspiring it."

Hermione's hand dropped and she gave Ginny a weary stare. "I'm not going to grovel for an apology," she said. "And why are you apologizing, anyway?"

Ginny shrugged. "Harry says I've been a bitch. And I guess I have. I just sometimes feel like you and Ron are trying to interfere in something that's none of your business."

If this was Ginny when contrite, Hermione would hate to see her with no regrets. She sighed again. "It's not about us interfering. It's about you realizing that it's not all about the two of you."

Ginny slowly nodded. "I guess I can see that," she said. "And I really didn't mean to be a bitch." She shrugged again. "I guess that, with six older brothers, I've just always had to put my foot down pretty strongly?" she suggested, sounding a bit hesitant.

Something in Ginny's tone of voice made Hermione look at her more closely. She was putting on an act, she realized. She wasn't as blasé and uncaring as she would like to seem. Hermione suddenly understood that perhaps she wasn't the only one presenting a front to others.

"Don't worry about it," she softly said. "You just want us to respect your relationship with Harry. I know that Ron might seem a little—"

"I can handle Ron," Ginny coldly interrupted.

Hermione glanced at the other girl, whose face was now stony. "Just remember to respect his relationship with Harry as well," she said, not having much hope that Ginny would really hear her. She sighed and tucked one of her own wayward curls behind her ear.

"Hey, where did you get that bracelet?" Ginny asked, distracted by the new and shiny object. "I haven't seen it before."

"Oh, um, heirloom," Hermione mumbled, not technically lying. She vaguely recollected Malfoy saying something about it being old and such.

"Some heirloom!" Ginny exclaimed, catching Hermione's wrist to get a better look. "This is platinum! And those are most definitely diamonds…"

Hermione yanked her wrist free, feeling a little annoyed at having her shackle admired like this. "How can you tell?" she asked. "It looks just like silver!"

"No, it doesn't," Ginny said, shaking her head. "Look." She held up a silver ring to the bracelet, and Hermione noticed the slight difference in the color. The silver was a more dull grey, where the platinum was more whitish.

"That's it?" Hermione asked. "That's the big difference?"

Ginny snorted. "Remind me to only get you iron or nickel, or some other cheap crap, for your birthday. It's all about the rarity. This bracelet is almost wasted on you."

Hermione blushed slightly. She'd never cared much for such frivolous things. Perhaps it would be better if she somehow transfigured or charmed it, so she wouldn't draw too much attention.

"It's a bit showy for school, too," Ginny continued.

"Yes, well," Hermione said, stalling, searching for a reply. "Where else would I wear it? It's just for a while, while it's still new…"

"But it's obviously a very expensive piece of—"

"And it's mine!" Hermione interrupted. "And don't tell the boys about it either. I don't want them on my case, too, taking away my fun."

My fun? Yes, fun, fun, fun, wearing this thing!

Ginny snorted indelicately. "They wouldn't know an expensive piece of jewelry if it bit them in the—oh, good afternoon, Madam Pince!"

Hermione hid her face in a book, trying not to laugh at Ginny's facial expression as Madam Pince sought her out to shush her.

"Fat load of help you were," Ginny almost growled after the librarian had disappeared.

Hermione shuddered at the thought of the looks Madam Pince could shoot people. "Oh, no," she said. "She already hates me enough as it is."

"She hates you?" Ginny asked, looking stunned. "I'd think she'd love you."

"No, she doesn't," Hermione said with an exaggerated sigh. "See, I actually touch her books. A lot."

They both sniggered.

"So, we good?" Ginny asked.

"We're good," Hermione confirmed with a small smile, feeling some of the tension leave her. Maybe all of this was doable after all.


"What's the matter?" Blaise was asking Draco, who had all of a sudden started frowning for no apparent reason.

"Hm? Oh, I was just trying to figure out what to do to the Mudblood first," Draco vaguely said. "What do you think?"

"You mean you don't know?" Blaise incredulously asked.

Draco scowled. "I have some ideas, but between Quidditch, Deputy Head Boy, Pansy and actual school, I haven't found as much time to think about it as I'd like."

Blaise grinned. "In that order? Oh, don't look at me like that. Yeah, you are sort of busy. It's a pity that you can't actually be around to enjoy most of your handiwork."

A slow smirk spread across Draco's features. "Oh, I'll find a way, I'm sure," he purred.

"I'm sure you will," Blaise replied, leaning back. "Will you be bothering her tonight?"

Draco waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, I'm tired. Besides, she's been so busy fretting all day that I didn't even need to do anything."

"How do you know?"

"Hm?"

"You said Granger has been fretting, how do you know? You only saw her around lunch."

"That was enough," Draco replied. "She was fidgeting like mad and avoiding looking at me. It was enormously amusing.

"So you were watching her?" Blaise asked thoughtfully. "And you weren't humiliating her in any of the countless ways available to you?"

Again Draco waved him off. "Only about half the school was there. Much better to do the first time in front of everyone, including her moronic friends, who were also absent today."

Blaise was astounded by just how much thought Draco had given to this. He was right, of course. The first time she was humiliated in front of everyone would be the worst, so waiting until the worst possible moment would escalate the effect. He reminded himself to never truly get on Draco's bad side.

"I suppose the ultimate question is…" Blaise hesitated for a second and Draco's gaze turned questioning. "How many of your current privileges are you willing to sacrifice to get your revenge on this Mudblood?"

"That's easy," Draco replied. "Every single one of them."


Don't worry, Draco is just biding his time... :P

"So, why did you suddenly decide to tell everyone?" Blaise asked.

"I didn't, really. I don't trust them to know about the bracelet. I just told them vaguely about the bet and dropped a few hints…"

"Hints?" Blaise frowned. "Like, that she has to obey?"

Draco's smirk widened. "No, that she wants to…"