Disclaimer: JK Rowling is a goddess and I am only allowed to play with her characters. I make absolutely nothing from any of this.
A/N: Thanks for the awesome reviews everyone! I'm glad that there has been so much interest in this story. Well I would hate to keep you waiting any longer so here is the next chapter!
The next day Hermione went to breakfast which included only Narcissa, Draco, and herself. It was a quiet affair, each absorbed in their own thoughts. She briefly wondered where Voldemort and Lucius were but then decided that she really didn't want to know.
Bellatrix entered the room about a half an hour after Hermione but did not bother to sit. "Finish up your breakfast and meet me in the ballroom." She then turned on her heal and exited the room.
Suddenly Hermione was very nervous as she felt her heart drop into her stomach. Her appetite gone, Hermione stood from the table and on shaky legs made her way out of the dining room and into the hall. She had tried to prepare herself for this earlier in the morning. She had worn comfortable clothes that she had found in her room that would allow her to move freely, she had even managed to pull her hair back into a high pony tail.
She had told herself that this was going to be easy, that it was nothing to worry about but now that she was here and about to actually face Bellatrix her Gryffindor courage was starting to falter. She approached the ballroom doors; her heart rate increasing with each step she took. Taking a deep breath she pushed open the doors.
Before she had time to even look around the room she was thrown into a wall by some invisible force.
"Lesson number one, you must always be on your guard. Your enemies won't wait for you to be ready." Bellatrix stepped out of the shadows in a far corner of the room. Hermione dazedly looked in her direction and heard a clatter on the floor. She looked down and saw her wand rolling towards her.
She quickly snatched it up and was on her feet, wand pointed straight at Bellatrix. They began to slowly circle each other. Bella seemed to have a joyful gleam in her eye as she smiled crazily at Hermione whose face was screwed up in concentration trying to figure out her game.
"Before I teach you anything I must know what level you are at so we are going to duel, don't hold back." As she said this she spun around and shot a spell toward the chandelier which crashed down missing Hermione by inches as she jumped out of the way.
"I won't" Hermione now determined to beat Bellatrix yelled, "Protego!" Attempting to throw up a shield but before the shield could completely materialize she was hit with what looked like a ball of lightning. Pain seared through her body but left quickly leaving her feeling disoriented and tingly and quite painfully so.
"First thing we need to work on is casting non-verbally. If your enemy knows what you are going to cast then they have the chance to strike. Non-verbal is quicker and more efficient."
"Stupefy!" Hermione blasted the spell towards Bellatrix who rolled out of the way quickly and jumped to her feet. Hermione could see the rage and craziness in her eyes as she lashed her wand and screamed, "CRUCIO!"
Hermione was caught off guard and pain coursed through her body, every nerve ending was on fire. She heard someone screaming and realized that it was her. The curse seemed to last for hours when in fact it had only been seconds.
"A STUNNER IS WEAK!" Bellatrix grabbed Hermione by her hair and forced her head up to look her in the eyes. "Do you think your dear little order members will hesitate to use a painful curse on the Dark Lords spawn?"
Bellatrix sneered as she dropped Hermione's head and backed away. "Get out of my sight. We are done for today."
Hermione on all fours, her body still racking with pain, flinched as she heard the ballroom doors slam shut. She collapsed to floor, the cool stones bringing some relief to her aching muscles. She wasn't sure quite how long she had been lying there when she heard the door creak open and shut quietly. Hermione opened her eyes and saw a pair of feet in shiny black shoes approaching her just before she blacked out.
Hermione woke up a few hours later lying on her bed still in her clothes from earlier that day but noticed that her shoes were neatly set by her wardrobe. She had no memory of how she had got here, the last thing she remembered was Bellatrix leaving the ballroom.
She glanced at the ornate clock on her wall and saw that she had 45 minutes until she had to be at dinner. She briefly considered not going but quickly changed her mind. She wouldn't allow them to believe that she had been beaten.
She took a quick shower, not wanting to allow herself to enjoy the relief that the hot water provided otherwise she may never leave. Bellatrix had taken her wand before she left so Hermione tried her best to style her hair in a presentable manner; managing to get it into an elegant high pony with only minimal frizz.
She went to the wardrobe next and opened the door chewing on her lip as she contemplated her options which was surprisingly many more than she originally thought. The wardrobe must have been recently charmed to be extended as it now appeared to be more of a walk in closet.
She eventually decided on a conservative black cocktail dress. It had a square neck and tightly gripped her curves until her waist where the dress flared out landing just above the knee. She also found some simple black pumps that she slipped into.
She turned to her vanity to examine herself when she spotted a small box and card sitting there. Carefully she opened the card to read the short message that was written.
This once belonged to your mother and now belongs to you. It would mean a lot to her if you wore it.
-Dad
She closed the card and eyed the box suspiciously before reaching for it and slowly opening the lid. There sat a stunning necklace. It was two silver snakes in the shape of a heart their tails intertwining at the bottom. Each snake had a different stone where they eyes were, one with sapphires and one with emeralds.
Hermione carefully lifted the necklace from the box and clasped it around her neck. She stepped back to admire it in the mirror, when she faltered. This had been a gift from Voldemort, what if it was cursed or had some other spell placed on it? Professor Flitwick had once said that an enchanted object would give off a slight hum of magic if you concentrated enough. She had once been able to do it with an enchanted quill. This wouldn't tell you what the enchantment was only that there was one there.
Hermione closed her eyes and concentrated on the object around her neck. She could feel her magic stretch out of her to flicker up at the object feeling it out. But the probing did not proffer a response. Satisfied Hermione broke her concentration and once again glanced at her clock. It was about time to head out for dinner.
Dinner went by quickly. Hermione was surprisingly ravenous after the day she had so she hardly paid any attention to what was going on around her. That was until she was addressed directly which took her by surprise.
"Hermione!" Her head snapped up to look at Voldemort.
"You should pay more attention Daughter. I was just saying that you will be joining us for a meeting of the inner circle at the end of the week. You will need a proper gown. I am sending you and Narcissa to the shops tomorrow as part of your lesson."
"Fine." She saw the shocked faces around the table at this response and she quickly added "sir." This seemed to appease at least most of them.
Shortly after that dinner ended and Hermione found herself wandering around the manor. She had intended to go straight to her rooms but she had become lost in thought and now she wasn't exactly sure where she was.
Directly in front of her was a rather beautifully carved door; Hermione instantly felt drawn to it. She cautiously approached the door and laid her ear to it trying to see if there was anyone inside. Once she was satisfied that the room was empty she carefully opened the door and slipped inside.
Her breath caught and happiness swelled up inside her as she looked upon what had to be thousands of books. She had found the Malfoy library. She tried to contain her excitement but an extremely girly squeal escaped her lips as she ran to the first shelf running her hand along the spines of the books as she read the titles.
"Well well it seems that the book worm has found the books." Hermione spun on her heel only to come face to face with Draco Malfoy who was leaning against the shelf smugly.
"What are you doing here Malfoy; I was told that I was free to roam the Manor." Hermione snapped out.
"Yes you are, but seeing as this is MY house I am also free to be wherever I like." With that he crossed to the other side of the library grabbed a book and plopped down on one of the couches.
Hermione scowled, her perfect alone time now ruined. She grabbed a couple of interesting looking books and went over to the reading area sitting on the couch opposite of Malfoy. The first book she had chosen was one on non-verbal casting. If she was supposed to learn this than she might as well get a head start and at least learn the theory.
They read in silence for a long time, neither acknowledging the other the only sounds were pages turning and the occasional quill against parchment as Malfoy took notes on what he was reading. Hermione caught herself glancing up at him every now and again.
She hadn't taken him for the scholar type but he seemed to be very interested in the dusty tome that he was reading. She tried to read the title of the book but it was too worn for her to discern the lettering. She went back to reading her own book but soon her eyes started to flutter and her head began to droop as sleep tried to claim her.
"Come on Granger let's get you to bed, my mother would kill me if she knew I let you sleep in the library." Malfoy stood above her his hand outstretched, annoyance etched on his face.
Groggily Hermione took his hand and was yanked to her feet. She followed him out of library trying to remember exactly where they were so that she could find her way back to the magnificent library. They stopped in front of her doors where he bid her goodnight and turned on his heel and left.
Who knew that Malfoy could be a gentleman? All she had ever seen at school was his cruelty. But then again she was the Dark Lords daughter now; he was probably ordered to at least be cordial to her. She shook her head as she entered her room.
She slipped into one of her nightgowns and went to the balcony as was her nightly custom. She stared out into the stars. She had decided that this was the only time she would allow herself to reflect on her situation. She let herself feel the grief of loss once again and silently cried, holding herself as the wind blew about her.
She eventually came back inside the room and slipped under her covers. It wasn't long before sleep claimed her.