Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. Everything belongs to JK Rowling, and I'm merely allowed to play around with them. No copyright infringement is intended.

WARNING: This chapter contains very explicit... erm... scenes, so if you don't like those, you might as well skip half of it. You have been warned!

Chapter 39

-o-O-o-

Life didn't get better for Hermione. In fact, one could argue that it got even worse.

She and Regulus were both there to welcome the students back at the start of the school year. The new first-year class was not, thankfully, a very troublesome one, so work was not so hard. However, their differences in hours were starting to take their toll on their life as a married couple, what with Regulus working during the day and Hermione up until late. It was only during the weekend, after all their grading done, that they could have some time together.

Regulus had more calls from Voldemort, although none of them happened while he was in class, which was almost a miracle. They were getting increasingly more painful, something that was due, according to Severus, to the fact that he ignored them. He had no other option, though, so he usually lied down on his bed and let Hermione soothe him as his arm burnt and burnt and burnt.

But the worst was that Hermione had to see the date of Lily and James' death grow nearer and know that she couldn't do anything.

She tried though. Sometimes when she was over at the Potters', she would complain loudly about Peter and insist about how she didn't trust him. But both of them would just shrug it off and point out that her husband was a Death Eater, and that maybe he shouldn't be trusted either.

And every time Hermione would see Harry, she would be at the same time amazed at how fast he was growing and sad. Sad for what she knew was an inescapable fate. Harry would have to live an orphan at his aunt and uncle's house for ten years, not knowing of the wizarding world's existence.

There were times when she wanted to tell Lily and James everything, about her jump back in time and Peter's betrayal, their death and Sirius' incarceration, but she never could. She just couldn't change the way things happened.

Regulus sometimes sensed something was up with her. She knew he did, for he always did, but he didn't do anything. She couldn't tell him either, as she feared his reaction. It was difficult for her, but she still kept her tongue.

The calls got less and less frequent, and Regulus could live normally again. Hermione managed to switch her midnight hour with her fourth years on Wednesdays to a one o'clock on Fridays, so she and her husband had a whole night to themselves per week. Things started to look better for our favourite couple. Days passed by easily.

Days turned into weeks, weeks into months and, soon, they were in March.

It was Regulus' birthday, and Hermione had prepared a small special day, with breakfast in bed, green lingerie and balloons hanging off the walls. She was just waiting for him to wake up, huddled up against him in flimsy green fabric with very high heels (in bed, I know) a garter belt and stockings.

He squirmed and sighed a little before opening his eyes. They roamed over her body appreciatively and he murmured: "Good morning."

His voice was thick with sleep and lust, and she liked that, in a weird way. "Good morning to you too." she whispered, and bent over to kiss him softly.

He responded eagerly, probably sensing what was going to happen next, but she just chuckled and pulled away. He looked puzzled. "Is that it?" he asked.

She laughed and slipped out of bed. He stared after her as she bent to retrieve something from the closet. She walked back towards their bed and threw something green at him.

It was a wrapped parcel. "What's that?" he asked, still confused.

"Open it." she answered simply.

He did as she asked, ripping the green paper apart in his eagerness to get this over with and the next part started, put as he plunged a hand down the parcel, he froze. He stared at her and she smiled. He retrieved his arm and pulled out...

A pair of handcuffs.

He raised an eyebrow at her, but it was no longer in a puzzled way. It was appreciative.

She bit her lip. "Oh, sir," she said in a fake high pitched voice. "I'm awfully sorry; I didn't know this wasn't authorised behaviour."

He smiled and slipped out of the bed, handcuffs in hand, oblivious to the fact that he was entirely naked. "That's inconvenient." he told her. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be punished."

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "I didn't mean to!" she started to back away from him, and he advanced, ready to pounce.

"I'm afraid you can't be an exception, milady." he said, his voice slightly dark.

She spun around and darted towards the bathroom door. Smiling like a hunter would, he ran after her, and, before she could wrench the door open, he had her in his arms. She squealed and wriggled a bit, and he let her go, wanting this to be more of a chase.

She went to hide behind the bed, but he ran after her. Laughing a little, she circled the bed, trying to escape him. His light silver eyes intense, he hopped onto the bed and grabbed her, pulling her down with him. He rolled them over so that he was lying down on her back, and pulled her arms into her back so that he could put the cuffs on.

She purred a little but, against odds, he pulled away. She looked behind herself and saw that he had a very evil look on his face. He bent forward to grab her by the cuffs and pulled her up, into his chest. He pressed his erection into her back and whispered: "Listen, doll, if you try anything funny, I've got a gun, and I won't hesitate to shoot. You alright with that?"

"Yes." she whispered, her breathing quickening.

"Good." he said, one hand reaching down to reach her buttocks. "Now let's get you to the station."

He pushed her around a little before he led both of them to their office. He pushed a couple of things out of the way and pressed her into the edge of his desk.

"You have the right to keep silent." he whispered, stroking her ass with his right hand. "If you decide to deny that right, anything that you say can and will be held against you. That means shut up, doll. Capice?"

"Yes." she whispered, and he slapped her ass.

She gasped. "I said shut up!" he hissed. He undid one of the cuffs and pulled her arms to her chest. "Now, you are going to do exactly as I say." he declared. "Understand?"

She nodded.

"Good." he smiled. "Now... bend over."

She obeyed and bent herself over the desk in a very suggestive manner.

He smiled. "Can I trust you not to move while I fetch something?" he asked, to which she nodded eagerly once more. He left the room and came back a couple of seconds later, his wand in hand.

He went back behind her and pulled her arms from her chest and re-cuffed her. With a wave of his wand, a long iron nail was planted in the middle of his desk, and he pulled the cuffs so that the chain was behind it. Then, with another wave of his wand, the nail bent so that the chain could no longer escape.

He took a few steps back to admire his work while she just stayed there, bent over the desk and unable to move, breathing very heavily. He gave another wave of his wand and the lingerie disappeared, leaving her naked, with stilettos. "I like those shoes." he declared, before moving to stand behind her again.

He threw his wand away and grabbed her roughly to press himself at her entrance, while she mumbled: "Please..."

He pinched her backside and she gasped. "Please what?" he asked.

Reminding herself that she had a role to play, she squirmed against his member and mumbled again: "Please... Don't hurt me."

He smiled. "This is standard procedure, miss. I promise that if you don't move or make any noise, it won't hurt... Much."

Getting a better grip on her, he spread her legs further apart as she felt herself dampen more than she thought possible. She was so wet that he slid into her easily and she gave a long moan at the feeling of being so deliciously full.

He slapped her left buttock very hard and she twitched around him, making him groan. Slowly, he pulled back, only to ease himself back in, just as tauntingly. He continued that rhythm for a couple of thrust before she whimpered and squirmed against him. He slapped her right buttock then, but dived deep into her, filling her up to the hilt.

She stifled a moan as he began a faster rhythm, gripping her hips so roughly that she was sure to have bruises later. He was oddly quiet, and for a couple of minutes the only sound that echoed around the room was the wet slapping sound that was made when his hips slammed against her ass.

However, Regulus didn't want to play fair and so reached between her legs, only to give her clit a hard rub. "Oh!" she said, her head shooting up in surprise. He pinched her backside hard but she didn't care anymore. He continued rubbing her with his right and she moaned, never stopping, so he slapped her again and again with his left hand, all the while thrusting deep into her. She bucked against him with every thrust, her legs spreading even further apart as she begged him to dive deeper into her.

Then he pulled his right hand away, actually pulled away altogether, and she froze with shock. She had been so close! She then felt a hand on her clit again, whilst the other hiked her leg up so that it rested on the desk. "Listen doll," he said, his voice ragged. "If I have to tell you to shut up one more time, I'm going to pull out and wank right there, right in front of you. Get it?"

She nodded frantically, her sweaty curls bouncing up and down. He pressed two fingers into her folds and started moving them inside her. As she willed herself not to make a noise, he spread them so that she was open for air to come in, which it did. He spread her legs as well and pressed himself against her ass, entering her one way while his fingers worked miracles in the other.

It hurt a little, at first, but the glorious feeling of being full took over once more and she would have moaned, had he not cut her. "Now, doll." he said. "I'm going to cum up your tight little ass and you'd better not make a noise."

She shook her head. She'd never done this before, and goodness knows how many things she'd tried with both Sirius and Regulus, but it felt awfully good, and she wasn't about to give this up.

He started moving then, and then room was once more filled with flesh on flesh slaps, although there was no more wet hint to it. She bit her tongue to keep her moans in check, but Regulus did no such thing. At first, he was quiet, but then he started groaning, and when Regulus starts groaning, it sounds as if a whole pack of wild animals were in the room.

She felt the tension building up as her husband's groans grew even louder, and, quite suddenly, it released itself. Her mouth popped open in a perfect 'O' as waves of pleasure crashed down on her and she willed herself quiet still. Waves after wave, she clamped down onto his hand, not letting the slightest whimper escape her lips.

With a groan still louder than the others, he spent himself inside of her, before collapsing, panting, onto her sweaty back. After a few minutes of lying still, he kissed her shoulder blade and whispered: "Feel free to surprise me like that whenever you want."

-o-O-o-

Their wedding anniversary came and went, and they got a replay of Regulus' birthday, which pleased them both very much. Soon enough, it was summer and, even sooner, it was over. September came and Hermione grew more and more restless as fate grew nearer.

September passed in a blur and soon, it was halfway through October. Little did Hermione know that it was October 19th that would seal James and Lily's fate.

Peter Pettigrew was walking through the corridors of Malfoy Manor, wheezing and puffing with stress as he directed himself towards the Dark Lord's chambers. He knocked on the door twice before Bellatrix went to open. He slid inside easily as she closed the door behind him. As soon as he saw his master, he fell to his knees, trembling. "Master..." he whimpered.

"Rise, Wormtail." Voldemort told him.

Peter stumbled to his feet awkwardly, staring at the floor at he counted his day's achievements. "I have been to the Potters' new house, today, master. They have explained Black's plan of making me Secret Keeper, as well as the bases of the Fidelius Charm. They went through the ritual and..." he stopped to wipe sweat from his brow. "They have made me their Secret Keeper, master. I am now the keeper of their location... as well as Harry Potter's."

Voldemort smiled. "Very well, Wormtail. Now, pray tell me... Where is that foolish Potter boy hiding?" he asked, his high voice menacing.

Wormtail wiped his forehead again. "In Godric's Hollow master, they have a house near the cemetery." He looked up, his watery eyes afraid. "May I take my leave, now, master?"

The snake-like face gave an almost imperceptible nod and Peter scampered out of view, visibly trembling. When he was out of sight, Voldemort snapped his fingers and Bellatrix was instantly at his side. "Bella, dear," he said.

"Yes, master?" she whispered.

He grinned. "I'd like you to give the Longbottoms a little... visit, if that's alright with you."

She nodded, knowing better than to decline a proposition. "Yes, master." she said.

"Not now, though!" he added. "It might be better if you waited until I go about to my business. The 31st sounds good."

She nodded again.

"Be sure to be free that day." he added menacingly, his voice almost a hiss. "I won't tolerate any absence."

She agreed quietly and he waved her off, watching her leave the room with as much dignity as she could muster. Once she was gone, Lord Voldemort started to laugh.

-o-O-o-

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