Hermione felt herself fall face first into a deep plush carpet. She desperately wanted to rub her ears after the side along apparition, but the full body bind was still in effect.

'Side along apparition is such a pain,' the voice spoke. Hermione could hear him walking away from her, his footsteps muffled by the soft carpet. She heard glasses clinking and drinks being poured; Hermione guessed about three glasses were filled.

'What are you doing? I told you to take her straight to the cellar!' the second voice rang out, startling Hermione.

'I wanted to have my fun with her first,' the first voice whined.

'You will get your chance, now take her to the cellar.'

'You know what, I'm sick of you always being in charge,'

'That's because we are at my home,' the second voice was barely concealing his anger now. 'Now. Take. Her. To. The. Cellar.'

'Fine.' The first voice was sounding very surly now, rather like a teenager who was having a particularly bad day.

Hermione suddenly felt her body relaxing. It took Hermione three seconds to realize that the body bind had been lifted, but it was three seconds too long, for by then someone had already used magic to tie ropes around her upper body.

'If you co-operate and do as we say, you won't get hurt. Do you understand that, Miss Granger?' the first voice said. Hermione didn't respond, instead she began to struggle, trying to get free of the ropes.

'What did I just say, Miss Granger?' the voice growled. Hermione felt herself being lifted upright with a quick jerk.

'It is within your best interests to behave, mudblood, otherwise we cannot promise you'll keep your life.' The second voice snarled. Hermione froze in place, her breath catching in her throat out of fear.

'That's a good girl. Now, come with me.' the first voice whispered into her ear. Rough hands grabbed the rope that was tied around Hermione and pulled so that they were dragging her away.

Hermione followed as best as she could, but as she still couldn't see she found herself stumbling often. It felt like they had walked the length of the Quidditch pitch before they stopped.

'I suppose I can take this off now.' The voice mused; Hermione felt hands at her temples, and the eye mask was pulled off. She stood blinking in the light, getting her bearings as her eyes adjusted.

She was standing in a high ceilinged room. She didn't recognise the room, but the furnishings were familiar to her. Her arm was throbbing violently.

'Come on, Miss Granger. Down here.'

Hermione turned her head towards the voice. Finally, she could confirm her suspicions as to who it was. Her eyes found the small, hazel pair that she had been expecting.

'Down you go, no complaining now.' Mr Humphries gestured towards the cellar door.

'Mr Humphries, why are you doing this?' Hermione asked, standing her ground.

'Because I thoroughly enjoy it. Now, this is your last chance, get into the cellar, or I will force you down there.' Mr Humphries growled, getting frustrated.

Hermione blanched at the sight of the cellar door, but made her way over to the door. When she drew in line with it she stopped to look at Mr Humphries.

'Why are you doing this to me?' Hermione had no idea why she had been kidnapped, nor what she was in for, but she needed clues so she could try and figure it out. And eventually escape.

Mr Humphries seemed to be considering whether or not he should tell her. Finally he gave in.

'Ever since I met you at that dinner, I have wanted you. But then Lucius' son protected you, and I knew that you had him under your spell. Doing this not only means that I will get my chance with you, but it also gives time for Draco's spell to be lifted, allowing him to marry Miss Greengrass and carry on the pure Malfoy bloodline.' Mr Humphries smiled menacingly. 'I cannot wait to have my way with you.'

Hermione felt chills go down her spine.

'Now, in you go,' Mr Humphries slapped her behind and she stumbled down the stairs into the dark cellar.

Hermione made her way down the stairs blindly; when she'd finally made it to the bottom she felt the ropes around her body disappear before the cellar door slammed, leaving her in complete darkness.

'Weasley, did you find anything?' Draco leapt off his broom and ran the few metres to Hermione's front door, where Ron was standing.

'Nothing at all,' Ron replied anxiously. 'Did you?'

'Not a trace of her,' Draco ran his hand through his extremely messy hair as the pair walked in the door. 'I don't where else to look.'

'We'll find her, don't worry, Draco.' Ron clapped a hand on Draco's shoulder reassuringly.

'Did you find her?' Luna asked, emerging from the kitchen.

'We didn't find anything,' Ron sighed dejectedly as Draco ran his hand through his hair again. Luna frowned and gestured for the two to follow her into the kitchen.

Once they were all seated, the boys each with a large cup of firewhiskey in front of them and Luna a glass of gillywater, Luna shared her idea with the boys to find Hermione.

'So you both have searched the street and Diagon Alley by broom. I think we need to call for help. I thought we could call Harry, Ginny and George for now and send out search parties. We will meet here every two hours, even if we don't find anything. If all of us still cannot find her, then we can ask the rest of the family to help out, too.'

Ron nodded in agreement and stood up, 'I'll floo to Harry and Ginny's before I floo to George's place.'

'What can Draco do?' Luna asked. Ron eyed Draco thoughtfully.

'I will go to Malfoy Manor and see if my parents will help. They both approve of Hermione, so maybe they will be willing to lend a wand or two.' Draco said, standing.

'Good. I'll stay here in case Hermione comes back home. Ronald, you can tell the others that I will also babysit while you are all out searching.' Luna said.

'I'll let them know, Luna. See you soon. Take care, Draco.' Ron kissed Luna's cheek and clapped Draco's shoulder again.

'I expect you back within two hours, Draco, or I will send a search party out for you.' Luna said. Draco was struck by the amount of concern Luna squeezed out in that one sentence.

'Of course. Two hours. I'll see you then.' Draco smiled.

Hermione jumped as a loud Pop sounded throughout the dark cellar.

'Hello?' she asked into the darkness.

'Miss?' a squeaky voice seemed to echo.

'Peggie?' Hermione gasped.

'Miss Hermione. Peggie has your dinner.'

'Peggie, I can't see a thing, can you give me some light?' Hermione asked. There was silence for a heartbeat, and then a noise of someone clicking their fingers rang out. A soft light surrounded Hermione, finally allowing her to see her surroundings. Hermione kept her eyes fastened on Peggie.

'Peggie, can you get me out of here?' she asked desperately. Peggie shook her large head sadly.

'Peggie was ordered to give Miss Hermione her food and then to leave Miss Hermione alone. Peggie is forbidden to help Miss Hermione out.' Peggie said, looking incredibly sad. Hermione felt her shoulders slump in defeat. Wearily she eyed her dinner – a loaf of bread, a hunk of cheese and a bottle of expensive looking wine.

'Peggie,' Hermione had a sudden thought. 'Can you tell Draco where I am?'

Peggie seemed to stop breathing as she thought it over; she was obviously remembering her orders and figuring out if she could do as Hermione asked.

'Peggie cannot go to Master Draco, unless Master Draco calls for her, but when Master Draco calls Peggie, Peggie can tell Master Draco where Miss Hermione is.' Peggie said slowly.

'Oh, please do, Peggie!' Hermione leant forward and hugged the little house elf. 'Please tell Draco where I am as soon as you can!'

'Of course, Miss Hermione.' Peggie gasped. Hermione let the house elf go, smiling with relief.

'Peggie was told to make sure Miss Hermione ate all of her dinner. Peggie is not allowed to leave until Miss Hermione is all finished eating.'

Hermione gave a sigh and began eating her meagre dinner, hoping against hope that Draco would find her soon.

Draco blinked against the sunlight. He had apparated facing the setting sun, and it was blinding. For a few moments he simply admired the view, before turning and walking towards the Manor.

As Draco neared the border of the Manor's property, two figures appeared ahead of him, directly in front of the large entrance gates. Draco stopped and stepped into the shadows of a large tree, watching the figure.

The figure on the left glanced around coolly; as they did so, Draco's blood ran cold. It was one of his fellow Slytherin's at school, Theodore Nott. Draco guessed that Gregory Goyle would be the figure on the right. The two had become fast friends once they had finished their years at Hogwarts, but many rumours had been circling the pair. Draco had even seen their photos on the muggle news more than once.

What the hell are they doing here?

Draco waited until the pair had disappeared into the Manor before he moved away from the shelter of the tree. But once he was on the grounds, he didn't walk in through the front doors, he made a detour around to the kitchens entrance.

Walking into the kitchens he found the house elves in a flurry; they were cooking an extremely large feast.

Draco held out his hand and stopped one of the elves passing by. 'What's going on here? What is the feat for?'

'Master Draco, Master Malfoy is hosting a bachelor's night. We house elves are preparing dinner for Master Malfoy's friends.' The little elf said. Draco wasn't sure what its' name was, it hadn't been a Malfoy house elf for long.

'Thank you. You can get back to your work now.' Draco straightened up, dread filling his stomach.

'Yes, Master Draco.' the little elf gave a deep bow and scurried off.

Draco took a deep, steadying breath. Then he sprinted out of the kitchens and made his way upstairs.

Draco bolted through the Manor, along the long hallways until he found himself outside his fathers' study. He took another deep breath to steady his breathing, smoothed his hair back and made sure his clothes were straight.

Feeling like he was about to step onto a stage, Draco opened his fathers' study door.

'Father, I need to speak with-' he cut himself off and raised his eyebrows at the sight of his fathers' visitors. 'Sorry to interrupt, I did not realize you had company.' Draco desperately hoped he looked and sounded off hand.

'Draco, how nice to see you,' Lucius said with warmth, but he was eyeing Draco coldly. 'What did you want?'

'I wish to speak with you, father, alone, if you will.' Draco shrugged apologetically at the visitors, making note of everyone there but making sure that he seemed disinterested in them all.

'Of course, son. If you would all excuse me,' Lucius rose gracefully and led Draco out the door. In silence the two Malfoy men made their way to one of the many sitting rooms just down the hall from Lucius' study. It was the one sitting room that Lucius favoured; Narcissa and Draco steered clear of this room as it had more dark objects and books in it than either of them cared to count.

'What is it, Draco? I'm rather busy.' Lucius said harshly, finally dropping the polite act now that they were no longer in the presence of company.

'Father,' as Draco spoke, he felt a sudden surge of panic that Lucius Malfoy was not going to help him find Hermione. Thinking quickly, Draco took a different approach.

'I have decided that I no longer wish to be with the mug-mudblood Granger. I have seen the error in my ways. I need to carry on the pure Malfoy bloodline, and I cannot do that with a filthy mudblood.' Draco felt sick, but he kept up the act. He had to find Hermione.

'Father, I wish to return home and live with you and mother once again. I have every intention of marrying Daphne Greengrass, just as you'd planned. If you will allow it, that is.' Draco said. Lucius did not move, his cold eyes seeming to assess Draco.

'Of course, Draco. Welcome home.' Lucius gave Draco one of his rare smiles. 'But before I owl the Greengrass family, come join in with my bachelor's night. I think you'll find this particular night to your liking.' Lucius smiled cruelly.

Draco swallowed the bile that was rising up his throat but managed to form a satisfied smirk on his face. 'Of course, father. Just allow me to change into more suitable attire.'

'Of course. We are meeting in the main drawing room in five minutes for the main attraction. I will see you there, son.' Lucius walked past Draco, clapping him on the shoulder as he did so. This was the closest to affection Draco had ever received from his father.

Moving quickly, Draco made his way upstairs to his room. There he owled his mother and Luna a quick letter each before changing into dress shoes, black suit pants and a white button up shirt, only doing up half the buttons in his haste. He dragged out his old Hogwarts trunk and opened it up; pulling out his wand he turned to the rest of the room, 'Pack!' He watched as everything he owned, short of the furniture, packed itself neatly into his trunk. Non-verbally he then sent his trunk to his apartment.

Stowing his wand in his pocket, he quickly made his way out of his room and downstairs to the man drawing room. He guessed it to be around fifteen minutes since he left his father. Dread filled him as he thought of the poor girl who was tonight's victim.

Once every three months his father held these bachelor nights for himself and a few select friends. They had started when Draco was about three; he and his mother would spend a night or a weekend in the country or somewhere overseas while his father used the mansion. The year before Astoria had passed away Draco had finally been invited to his father's famous once-a-year-bachelor-weekend.

He still had nightmares about that weekend. His father labelled the bachelor nights and weekends as a time for the men to unwind, sharpen their duelling skills and talk about things that they didn't discuss with their wives and families. Things like their days as Death Eaters.

The night Draco had attended, there had been around nine guests, including himself, all of the guests had been ex-Death Eaters, and they were all well-known to specialize in torture or rape. That night there had been three girls, all of them muggle borns who had been struggling to make ends meet. All three girls were thoroughly tortured, all in different ways, from being strung up from the roof and whipped to having the cruciatius curse used on them. All three girls were tortured to the point where they had stopped crying and begging; they had lost all hope that the pain would end; they were nothing more than a shell of who they had previously been.

Each of Lucius' guests had placed bets as to how long each girl was going to last; which one would break first, which one would cry first, which one would fight back, the list was endless. Draco himself had bet that one of the girls, a pretty red head, would be the last to start crying. He had assumed that they had been betting with money, so when his father had picked up the girl and shoved her into Draco's arms, he had been most confused.

'You won your bet. This mudblood was the last to cry, so she is yours for tonight.' Lucius had looked most proud of his son. As Draco was about to ask who the other two girls were going to, a loud shout interrupted him.

'AVADA KEDAVRA!'

Draco and Lucius turned to watch as one of the girls, a blonde who Draco had been sure had been in the year below him at school, fell to the floor.

'You'd better clean that up, Nott.' Lucius had sighed. 'What did she do?'

'The mudblood slut tried to hit me!'

'Nott, you can't keep killing every mudblood you win. Someone will find out.' Another Death Eater who Draco didn't know spoke up. Nott had only rolled his eyes and stormed out.

'Well, go have some fun, Draco.' Lucius had dismissed Draco.

Draco had led the girl out of the drawing room by the hand, but once they reached the main staircase, he'd picked her up gently and carried her upstairs to his room. Once there he had placed her softly on his bed, and ran a bath for her in his adjoining bathroom. Her clothes had been torn off her at the start of the night, so Draco had hunted down some old clothes of his for her to wear.

'There's a bath for you through that door. Take as long as you need.' Draco had told her, frowning as she had flinched visibly. Draco had felt himself growing frustrated as she did not make a move. Sighing, Draco had picked her up and put her in the bath. He'd stood up to see that she had shock written all over her face.

Draco remembered that even though his views towards muggles and muggle borns hadn't yet changed, he'd taken great care of the girl. He had been seriously shaken by the torment that the girls had undergone. He stayed with the girl while she had her bath; he talked to her and assured her that he wasn't going to force himself upon her. He'd found out that her name was Katelyn and that Lucius had picked her up off the street. She had been promised a bag full of gold if she followed him.

While Katelyn had slept, Draco had crept downstairs for a glass of water. In the kitchen he had bumped into his father.

'Father,' Draco had started.

'Draco, how was she?' Lucius had a gleam in his eye that, even now, sent shivers of fear down Draco's spine.

How do you answer a question like that? Draco remembered asking himself.

'She was terrific. Didn't complain once.'

'Excellent. I'll be throwing her back out on the street in the morning, so make sure you screw her enough to satisfy yourself.' Lucius had smirked and sauntered off. Draco had been planning on asking if his father had intended on keeping to his promise of giving her gold, but at that moment he had seriously doubted it.

Slowly Draco had collected his glass of water and made his way upstairs. He had made it to his bedroom and stood watching the poor girl sleep. That night he had made a huge decision. He had made the decision to kill the girl.

Not literally, though. He wasn't like his father or his fathers' friends. He would fake that he killed the girl and leave her somewhere safe, where his father would never find her again.

So, in the early hours of the morning, Draco had collected some galleons that he'd found around his room, around nearly two hundred, dressed Katelyn and stole out the back door with her.

He had taken her to his mother. That weekend Narcissa had been staying in a five star muggle hotel in London. Draco left Katelyn with Narcissa and made his way back to Malfoy Manor, where he had told everyone he had killed the girl and disposed of her body.

His father had never been more proud of him.

Trying very hard to keep his thoughts on the present day, Draco hurriedly made his way to the main drawing room. As he turned the door knob, he heard an all too familiar voice on the other side, pleading; 'No, please, don't. Please, stop.'

Then she started screaming. It was a truly terrifying sound; it sent shivers down Draco's spine and brought tears to his eyes. But he also felt anger coursing through his body.

How dare his father kidnap his girl from under his nose?

Gritting his teeth, Draco sauntered into the room. There he found his father and his friends standing together in a small circle. The girl wasn't visible.

Draco closed the door with a sharp snap, and sure enough, he attracted the attention of the men.

'Hello, gentlemen.' Draco greeted them coolly.

'There you are, Draco.' Nott greeted him.

'It's your turn with the mudblood.' Someone Draco didn't know spoke up.

'What are the running bets?' Draco asked as he made his way over to join the circle.

'Well, so far none of us have won our bets. So if you win yours, you win her for the night.' Lucius spoke up, smirking. Draco looked down at the poor girl and felt his heart stop. He knew the girl would be Hermione, but what he didn't expect was to find her looking so … destroyed. She was lying on the ground naked, her hair was a mess, open wounds and blood covered her body, and any skin on her arm was almost invisible through all the blood covering it.

Hermione opened her eyes, her eyelids fluttering. Her dead eyes met Draco's grey ones. He knew what she could see; her boyfriend, who was here to rescue her. But that's not what she would get just yet. He had a part to play, and the thought sickened him. He had to be the Draco Malfoy she hated for now.

'Draco..' she started, pleading with him. 'Draco, please.'

'Shut up, bitch.' One of the Death Eaters snapped and kicked Hermione in the stomach. Hermione gave a yelp of pain and curled up on her side.

'What's your bet, Draco?' Goyle laughed. Draco coolly assessed Hermione, trying to think of a bet that would make sure he would win it, and could take her away from this.

Hermione opened her eyes again, full of tears. Draco stepped into the circle and walked around her as if she was a piece of meat he was deciding whether or not to buy; her eyes never left his face. He watched sadly as her expression changed slowly, from hope, to hurt, to hatred.

He bent down so that he was sitting on the balls of his feet, his arms on his thighs, and reached out with one hand to grasp her chin and turn her face from side to side.

'Come on, kid. What's your bet? If you don't want her I'll be all too pleased to take her.' Mr Humphries said. Draco looked up to see the older man licking his lips greedily. Draco fought the urge to curse the man and turned back to Hermione. She was no longer looking at him; she was glaring at the floor and crying silently. Lazily Draco pulled his wand out of his pocket, pointing it casually at Hermione.

'I bet she wouldn't go quietly with you, Mr Humphries. If you tried to take her for the night, she would fight you all night, and you wouldn't enjoy yourself in the slightest.'

'Is that your official bet? Because I'm willing to take you up on that.' Mr Humphries stepped forward, his hand outstretched. Draco clasped it and stood up, carefully keeping his eyes averted from Hermione.

'Go have fun. If you can, without killing her.' Draco smirked.

'Oh, don't worry, I will. I have some plans for this mudblood, ever since that dinner.' Mr Humphries bent and picked Hermione up from the waist, throwing her over his shoulder. But Hermione didn't fight, she hung there limply, tears streaming down her face.

No, my Gryffindor Princess, don't give up! Draco thought desperately. I'll recuse you before his hands so much as reach his belt buckle, just don't give up!

'Hey, Nott, Goyle. Do you remember what she was called at Hogwarts?' Draco called out, loud enough that Hermione would hear.

'Other than mudblood?'

'That's what I meant. In our last few years, wasn't it her everyone called the Gryffindor Princess?'

'Oh, yeah! Everyone wanted a date with her.' Nott laughed.

'Look at her now.' Goyle sneered. But Draco wasn't listening; Hermione had looked up as Mr Humphries was nearing the door. She had heard Draco's comment. Their eyes locked as Mr Humphries opened the door.

'Fight!' Draco mouthed at her, praying that she would understand.

As the door closed, Draco heard Hermione scream out; 'PUT ME DOWN!'

The Death Eaters all laughed.

'I think you've won your bet, Draco.' Lucius said. Draco smirked back, picking up a glass of wine.

'Now gentlemen, if you would all make your way outside, we can begin our duelling practise.' Lucius announced. Loudly the Death Eaters made their way out the room, with Lucius leading. Draco lagged behind and made a dash for the stairs when he was sure no one was looking for him. He stopped and listened, making sure they made it outside before he sprinted up the stairs.

He crashed into the spare bedroom, the only spare bedroom that was reserved for the bachelor nights.

'Stupefy!' Draco cursed Mr Humphries, who had been struggling to tie a thrashing Hermione to the bed.

Draco kicked Mr Humphries aside as he made his way to the bed and quickly began untying Hermione, who was glaring at him.

'Come on, let's go, I'll take you home.' Draco spoke quickly, half listening for any Death Eaters coming up the stairs.

'Why should I trust you?' Hermione hissed, crossing her arms. 'You just fucking sold me. You didn't try to take me yourself.'

'I'm sorry, Hermione. But it was the easiest way I could save you without blowing my cover and having to battle all those ex-Death eaters by myself.' Draco gazed into her eyes. 'Please forgive me.'

Hermione stood up in front of Draco and gazed into his eyes.

'If I have to, I'll make an Unbreakable Vow. I'm not going to hurt you or take you back to them, I'm going to take you home and protect you. Please, Hermione, let me take you home.' Draco held his hand out. Hermione eyed his hand in fear for a few seconds, and in those few seconds Draco could see how much pain she was in, and how scared she was.

'Hermione, it's me, it's your Draco. I'm going to protect you.' Draco spoke earnestly. Hermione glanced up to meet his eyes.

Finally she held out her hand. Draco spun on the spot and apparated them away.