chapter 3 HUMILIATION
Even though she promised herself she wouldn't fall asleep, after a few minutes Hermione was lost in a dreamless sleep. Her body desperately needed to rest. Laying on the cold floor wasn't exactly the best choice, but there was no other option.
"Wake up, mudblood."
Hermione heard his voice, but she couldn't concentrate on it. It sounded as if it was coming from far away , but it was enough for her to come back into reality. Then there was creak in the corridor. Her eyes snapped open, expecting the first sun raysof the rising sun to warm her face, but there was nothing. Just cold darkness. Memories of the previous day came flooding back, but Hermione didn't have the time to think about it as she heard his voice again.
"Are you deaf as well? I said wake up and that usually involves getting up too,"he said in a sarcastic voice.
Hermione shifted her body slightly and bit the inside of her cheek to prevent the cry of pain to leave her lips. The wounds on her body were closed, but they still hurt.
Finally she pulled herself to her feet and turned into the direction of his voice.
"Because you were a good girl and didn't try anything while I was sleeping, I will allow you to clean yourself," Lucius informed her and Hermione couldn't help but feel glad that she was finally going to rid herself of all the dirt and blood. She smelled like death, her hair, her skin, her clothes, simply everything seemed to smell like death.
But his next words caused Hermione's breathing to quicken, her heartbeat accelerating unbearably. It was beating so fast that it was almost hurtful.
"Care to join me in the bathroom?" he drawled coldly.
Hermione shook her head in panic:"No, I won't..."
"No what? You would not like to clean yourself?,"he smirked," I knew that your kind of people were lazy, but I had no idea that they liked to remain dirty."
She took a deep breath and slowly let the words out of her mouth:"I can clean myself. I'm not a child nor I am stupid. I don't need your help."
All of the sudden she felt a small shiver of pain run right through her. She gasped, but it was gone in a second.
"I don't recall giving you permission to disobey me or talk to me. Now, will you do as you are told?" he said angrily and Hermione knew she had no chance in convincing him otherwise.
So she crossed her arms protectively in front of her chest, shaking her head. "No."
"I thought so," with that he grabbed her arms. Hermione tried to struggle but he was much stronger than she was and pulled her effortlessly into the bathroom. He pushed her towards the bathtub, watching her expectantly. Hermione grabbed the bathtub for support, then turned around to face him even though she couldn't see him.
It will be alright. Just breath. Hermione repeated in her mind.
"Alright, I'll clean myself," she said, desperately trying to keep her voice steady. "Please-"
"Don't be ridiculous," he snapped as if he knew what she was about to ask, "You will do as I say. I will not compromise."
Hermione realized there was no way out of this situation. She wrapped her arms around herself and closed her eyes, feeling her nose sting with tears as her body curled in on itself with fright.
"What could you possibly be afraid of, Mudblood?" he asked with annoyance in his voice, "I will not touch you if that is what you are thinking."
She felt anger building inside of her:"Then why are you here? Why do you insist on helping me wash myself?" she then added with disgust,"Is that what you enjoy? Harassing seventeen-year-olds? You are disgusting!"
Knowing she made a fatal mistake, she stummbled a few steps back, expecting her punishment any moment. In few strides he was close to her and Hermione could almost feel rage radiating from his body.
"Don't you dare, you disgusting creature!" he hissed, before he whipped his hand across her face. A slap burned her cheek again, and again, and again. Hermione cried out and fell to the ground, her head ringing. She had never in her life been slapped so many times in a row and it wasn't a good feeling. She could hear his furious breathing and all she could do was hope he would calm down soon.
After a few moments, he took a deep breath and his voice was controled once again:"You will not fight against me, you ridiculous girl. Stand up."
Hermione obeyed and pulled her shaking body up, holding back tears as she waited for his next order.
"Let me make something clear to you. You disgust me. Never again dare to make a mistake in thinking I would be interested in you or your body. You are beneath me," his words were calm and filled with disgust. He was standing close to Hermione and she could feel his breath on her neck. It sent shivers down her body, but she didn't dare to move.
He then backed away from her and flicked his wand at the sunken bath, and all the taps attached to it turned themselves on.
"Now, are you stupid enough to think you can take a bath with your clothes on?"
Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath, realizing what she had to do. She tried to comfort herself by pretending that he felt too disgusted to look at her. She was convincing herself she was alone and in her bathroom. But his voice cut through her and ended her fantasy.
"Hurry up, I have better things to do today than to stand in the bathroom all day long. Or do you maybe need my help?" he asked, amusement clear in his voice. It was obvious he was having fun and all Hermione wanted was that Earth would open and swallow her.
Her hands slowly traveled to the buttons of her shirt and she had to take a moment to calm down. Her fingers were shaking so much it was almost impossible for her to undo the buttons. Once it was done, she stopped again. There was a complete silence, apart from her breathing. Lucius made no sound and Hermione wasn't sure if he was still in the bathroom.
Then she heard him flick his wand at the taps again, which turned themselves off. That was the only evidence that he was still standing in the bathroom. Hermione couldn't help but picture how he must be looking at her, how he must be enjoying her discomfort.
Slowly, she pulled her shirt off and dropped it to the floor. When her hands reached for the jeans, someone knocked loudly against the door. Hermione tensed and wrapped her arms around her body. She didn't even realize that Lucius had closed the bathroom doors. Why did he do that?
She heard him open the doors and then ask, irritated:"What is it, Pippy?"
"Pippy is truly sorry for disturbing you, Master, but someone is here to see you."
Hermione knew immediately he was talking with a House elf. She relaxed, knowing she was not alone with Lucius anymore.
Lucius sighed in annoyance:"Alright, I'll come down."
Hermione let out a breath she had been holding and her body relaxed at his statement. He would leave her alone now, because he had a visitor.
"Pippy, clean her up. I don't want to see the tiniest bit of blood or mud on her skin when I see her the next time. You have twenty minutes," he explained threateningly to the house-elf before he turned to Hermione again,"I will deal with your disobedience later. Be prepared, girl."
With those words he left. Hermione listened to the sounds his boots were making and only when she was positive, he was nowhere in sight, she relaxed and let calmness overtake her.
"Miss, we have to hurry up. Master says we has twenty minutes," Pippy squeaked and Hermione noticed the fear in the voice of the small creature.
Hermione quickly undressed, wanting to be finished with her bath by the time Lucius comes back. She almost tripped over the small elf as she panickly tried to get out of her clothes. Then she carefully slipped into the tub, feeling warm water on her skin.
The bubbles on the water surface made her remember how she used to play with them when she was still a little girl but she knew that those were just memories, she knew that those happy times were over.
The House elf handed her a sponge and she started to rub her skin with it to get rid of all the blood and mud that covered her. She quickly started to wash her hair and gritted her teeth as she felt the cuts that still covered her body burn from the hot water.
"Pippy?" Hermione called out.
"Yes, Miss?"
"Who came to visit Malfoy?" she slowly asked, hoping the elf would answer her.
"Pippy must not tell. The Master ordered Pippy to say nothing to the girl."
Hermione turned her head to where she thought the elf was standing and asked calmly:"When did he tell you that?"
"Pippy must not tell. Pippy must not tell anything to the girl," the elf started repeating in a loud voice.
"Alright, calm down!" Hermione didn't want Lucius to know that she was asking a House elf about him.
"Miss cannot know a thing," the elf added.
Hermione tried a different approach:"Fine, I don't want you to tell me anything about why I'm here. But...where are Malfoy's wife and son?"
She heard Pippy gasp at her question:"Miss has to stop asking questions! Master will punish Pippy if he finds out..."
Hermione was starting to lose her patience:"He won't find out. I won't tell him. But, please, tell me, why am I here? What do you know?"
"Me know nothing!"
"You do know! Answer me!" Hermione insisted.
Then she heard the small elf let out a shriek of shock.
"Leave us, Pippy," drawled a cold voice and Hermione immediately recognized it.
How was it possible he came back so quickly? Hermione felt anger at herself for losing her time with questioning the elf rather than to dress herself. Now she was in the tub and alone with Lucius.
"You never cease to amaze me. Now you've decided to demand answers from my House elf?" he asked, not giving away his emotions.
Hermione stayed quiet, trying to prepare herself for what she was positive would come.
She heard him walk over to the bathtub and her body tensed. She hoped she was hidden beneath the foam, even though she was aware of the fact that she couldn't hide from him forever.
"Step out of the bathtub," he ordered and his silky voice cut through Hermione like a knife.
"Please-"she began shakily.
"No," he cut her off,"Mudbloods aren't allowed to have privacy or dignity. You should be thankful I even allowed you to clean yourself."
Hermione's head felt dizzy. It occurred to her that maybe she could drawn herself in the bathtub, but then she abandoned that idea. He wouldn't let her to that. He wouldn't let her take the easy way out. So pressed her lips together to stop any sound that would come out of her mouth and closed her eyes to hold back tears of humiliation. The last thing she wanted was to cry in front of him.
She slowly straightened up, covering her most private parts with her hands. At that moment she was glad she was blind. She wasn't sure she could stand the look in his eyes. The proud aristocratic look that was probably mocking her at this very moment.
But she could still hear his voice. His voice that would haunt her until the rest of her life. Without a warning he grabbed her arm and forced her to step out of the bathtub onto the cold floor. Hermione shrieked at the contact, but he quickly let go of her. The water was dripping from her body, building a small puddle around her feet.
Hermione tried to imagine a happy place in her mind. She was rejecting the cruel reality in which she stood naked in front of Lucius Malfoy. Her body wasn't listening to her and tears threatened to roll down her cheeks, but she held them back with tightly shut eyes. She could imagine the smirk on Lucius's pale face.
"I should punish you for questioning my House elf," he whispered dangerously,"Is not giving you clothes a proper punishment? What do you think?"
Hermione stiffened, shock filling her body, then he chuckled evilly:"As much as I would enjoy your discomfort, I do not wish to feel sick every time I see you."
More tears formed in Hermione's eyes at his cruel words. Not only he was humiliating her, but also insulting her and that caused hate to build inside of her.
No, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he hurt her. She would stay untouched by his words and his actions.
"Open your eyes," he suddenly demanded and Hermione's decision to not let him see how affected she was by his words, turned against her.
If she opened her eyes, he would clearly see how broken she was. So she bit her tongue and ignored his demand.
"Open your eyes," he repeated dangerously,"If you know what is good for you, girl."
Hermione accepted what she had to do when she heard the warning in his voice. She prepared herself for his laugh, because she knew what would happen when she opened her eyes.
Gritting her teeth in humiliation, she opened her eyes and instantly felt hot tears running down her cheeks.
She made no move to brush them away, she couldn't, because she was covering her body with her hands. Tears were dropping from her chin onto her skin, then to the cold bathroom floor. Hermione could almost hear the sound they made when then touched the hard floor.
"You are crying, poor little Mudblood," he said with false pity, then his voice hardened;"I suggest you stop acting like a child. If this situation, when I didn't even touch you, made you cry I don't know what will happen to you later. There will be a lot more tears, I assure you."
Hermione shuddered involuntary, a tremor taking over her body. Then next thing she knew was that she was dressed. Lucius probably used his wand to dress her and dry her hair. Her hands traveled down her body and she realized she was wearing a mid-thigh nightgown with spaghetti straps and rounded neckline. She was wearing knickers underneath it, for what she was thankful, but besides that, nothing else was on her body and that made her feel uncomfortable.
"Come to the room, Mudblood. It's time for your lessons to start,"he informed her coldly and then walked out of the bathroom, leaving Hermione alone.
She knew she wouldn't solve anything if she disobeyed him and stayed in the bathroom, so she decided to follow him. But that was harder than she thought. She walked slowly, careful not to trip over anything until her hands finally found the doors. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the bedroom, terrified of what Lucius had planned for her.
I'm glad you liked the previous chapter and I'm really thankful to all of you who reviewed. Soon Lucius's reasons behind Hermione's kidnapping will become clear. Tell me what you think of this chapter and make my day! :)