"Granger?" Draco's voice was muffled and panicked. "Granger, wake up."

Hermione fluttered back to consciousness, seeing his silver eyes looking over her. Blood was dripping from his mouth, and her heart skipped a beat in fear for just a moment until she remembered what had just happened.

"Oh my god," she whispered, her head tilting back, but his hand held her upright, as it was still positioned at the base of her skull. She felt him still inside her, his cock becoming soft as his cold cum dripped from her cunt.

"Are you okay?" he asked, still in a state of shock.

Her arms wrapped around his neck, her legs were twitching, "I've… that was… Draco…"

His hand went to her cheek. "What is it, baby?"

"That was… holy shit, Draco. That was amazing."

He shook his head, "No way we're doing that ever again."

"Why not?" she asked, catching her breath still. "You didn't like it?"

"Quite the opposite, if you couldn't tell. But you passed out without any warning. Didn't even tap me or say anything."

"It felt so good," she whispered. "I didn't want you to stop."

"You're going to have to learn boundaries at some point, Granger, or you're going to get killed." His voice was calm, but had a hint of annoyance. He pulled away from her, waving his wand to dress them both and clean up the shattered glass from the floor.

Hermione reached for his arm, but Draco jerked away from her. "Draco, I'm okay. Nothing happened," she pleaded.

"I could have fucking killed you, don't you understand how dangerous that was?" His eyes were closed and his jaw clenched, creating harsh lines that made Hermione take a step back.

The nervousness she used to feel in his presence started to creep up again, but she knew he was pushing her away because he feared himself around her.

"Nothing happened, Draco. I'm still here with you. I should have told you when it was too much."

His eyes darted to her chest, and Hermione realized that her blood had soaked through her new shirt. "Don't you understand, Granger? What if I didn't stop, even if you did say something? You couldn't have done anything to protect yourself."

"We won't do it again. I won't ask. I'm sorry. Look at me, Draco. Please," she begged.

"I'll send Twinkle to help with your wound. I'm being called," he flatly said, as he took a brief look at his arm.

"I'm sorry," she called to him, the pain in her voice amplified in the empty ballroom.

"Granger, it isn't your fault. Stop being sorry for things you aren't in control of," he said as he turned away from her and left her alone in the ballroom.

–

Astoria knocked lightly on Hermione's door, nervously waiting for her to answer. Draco had asked her to make sure she was ready for Dolohov's party. He had handed her several calming draughts, but Astoria stowed them away in her purse, not wanting to give them to Hermione unless she asked. Astoria had only ever dueled in the classroom, and normally, her opponents would let her win because of how frail she looked. She wasn't sure if calming draughts would impact Hermione's abilities at all, and wanted her to have a clear head.

"You ready, Hermione?" she said through the closed door.

Hermione cracked the door slightly ajar. "Is this dress really necessary?" she whispered.

Astoria nervously picked at her fingers, looking down at her heels that were dark green with silver gem flowers as accent pieces. They were custom made for her in Italy, so they were extra comfortable and would cause less fatigue than other shoes she had. They relaxed her as she observed the fine details and counted the gems.

"I'm afraid so, pretty girl. Dolohov and his wife insisted. Can I see what you look like? It looked lovely when I saw it in the box."

She opened the door slowly, revealing the gold trumpet style dress. Her hair was tied plainly to the side, and as beautiful as she looked, the hair needed work.

"Do you want some help with accessorizing?"

"And bring even more attention to myself?" she laughed softly, but Astoria heard the hint of sadness behind it.

"You are the main event," Astoria smiled as she entered the room and sat Hermione down in front of the vanity. With a graceful flick of her wrist, Hermione's hair was elegantly weaved into an updo with golden leaves tucked into her curls.

Astoria noticed that Hermione's original hairstyle had covered a light bruise that surrounded two puncture marks on her neck. She made the mistake of staring too long to the point where Hermione brought her hand up to cover it.

"I've tried several spells and potions to make it go away. It's a lot lighter, but still visible," she shamefully said.

"Nothing a little makeup can't fix," Astoria replied, pulling out a bag of cosmetics and powdering her neck.

"I asked him to. Please don't think any less of me."

Astoria kissed her check. "I could only think the best of you, Hermione."

They arrived at Dolohov's estate after an awkward carriage ride. Astoria spoke for the entire forty-five minutes of travel, with very little input from Hermione and absolutely none from Draco. They had avoided each other all together, not even looking in each other's direction. Astoria almost confronted them about it, but decided not to, as upsetting Hermione now was probably not the best idea.

"Astoria, darling, you look lovely," Dolohov said as she stepped out of the carriage. He helped her down from the steps, and kissed her cheek. A chill ran up her spine. He always had unsettled her. Everything about him seemed untrustworthy, from the unflattering toupe he wore down to his snake skin shoes.

"Thank you, Antonin," she said as sweetly as she could.

Draco stepped out of the carriage, reaching for Astoria's hand and nodding to their host for the night. He pulled her along into the home, with Hermione following closely behind. Astoria had dressed Draco and herself in complete black with green accents, something he felt comfortable in and she could style it easily. And though their marriage was a facade, she thought they looked awfully cute together at every party and event, thanks to her.

Draco immediately went to the bar and had three whiskeys poured for them. It was the first time he acknowledged Hermione since they were all together, and Astoria was thankful for that. She could see the tension on his face and the nervousness in Hermione's eyes as everyone in the Dolohov's dining hall began to turn their attention towards them.

"Are you feeling prepared?" Astoria asked Hermione.

"Yes, Teddy and I have been practicing the past few days. Are they even here yet?" Hermione looked around the room, not finding the familiar faces.

"Late as always," Astoria scoffed, looking at the dainty silver watch on her wrist.

Just then, the room went quiet. Not even a murmur could be heard, and the hair on Astoria's neck stood up as the goosebumps began to cover her body.

"Please, resume your activities and chatter," Voldemort's voice called to the room, the sick sound bouncing off the marble floor.

Astoria took a deep breath, letting her mind fog over, just to cover her thoughts enough to not let anything slip. Draco and her father had worked with her and Daphne for years, slowly showing them how to preserve their mind against Voldemort's painful probing.

Next to the Dark Lord stood one of his most loyal followers. Someone who she's called auntie but almost feared more than Voldemort himself.

"Little Tori," Bellatrix Lestrange said as she walked towards her with open arms. "How is my niece?"

Bellatrix wore a dress that looked as if it would have been fashionable before the First Wizarding War. Her air was wild, and she still wore that crazed look in her eyes she always sported. Astoria thought if she brushed her teeth and used conditioner in her hair twice weekly, she would look quite pretty.

"I'm good, Auntie Bella," she replied, holding her arms out to her for an embrace that she knew would smell like vodka, tobacco, and mothballs.

As she hugged Astoria a bit too tightly, she looked over to Draco, almost with a hint of disgust. "Nephew, you look taller," she said flatly.

It seemed ridiculous to Astoria how jealous Bellatrix was of Draco. As devoted as she was to Voldemort, he always had Draco as his right hand. And she hated that he was a vampire. To her, he had lost his pureblood status the day he turned. Even worse, she didn't even care that her own sister was gone by the Dark Lord's hand. She celebrated alongside him, ridding themselves of the traitorous Narcissa Malfoy.

She wondered how sisters could end up so different from one another. Hugging Bellatrix was one of Astoria's least favorite things. Something that was supposed to feel warm felt so cold, like slugs had crawled up her body and left slime on her.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my least favorite mudblood," Bellatrix said as she looked Hermione up and down. "Tori, I can't believe you let Draco bring this trash into your home."

"She's been helping me, since I've been sick," Astoria said softly.

"You better watch your things, this ones a thief. Stole Gryffindor's sword out of my vault at Gringotts. I should take one of her hands for that," she spit at her.

"The mudblood is mine," Draco scoffed, annoyed. "If you want one to play with, ask the Dark Lord."

"I'm excited to see you squirm, mudblood. See how you fair against the other wards. Should be a good show," she smiled her yellow teeth at her.

Bellatrix turned and went back to Voldemort's side, and Astoria took a sharp breath out. Draco rubbed her lower back gently, trying to comfort her as best he could. But looking at Hermione, who had downed another whiskey, she wished he could comfort her instead.

"There you guys are!" Theodore beamed as he walked up to the three standing with their drinks. "Are you ready for this, Granger? You're going to kick ass," he said as he tapped the tip of her nose with his finger. She blushed, turning away to drink more.

"Ready as I can be. You've worked me to the bone the past few days," she answered.

"Well, if you lose, at least you look hot," Daphne told her.

"What took you so long, Daph?" Astoria asked. "You missed seeing Auntie Bella."

"Oh, what a shame," she sighed dramatically, the sarcasm was endless in Daphne Greengrass. "I saw you know who over there. Looks terrible. All veiny and shit."

"Watch yourself," Draco warned. "Ears everywhere. Let's not ruin the night even further."

Astoria saw that Draco couldn't keep his eyes away from Hermione any longer. He looked concerned, like he wanted to tell her something but couldn't.

The attention of the room was drawn to the echoing voice of Dolohov, who has his wand pointed at his throat to amplify the sound. "Everyone, I think it's time to start our main event. My wards, along with several others, have been diligently training in the art of dueling to put on a lovely show for us."

A long platform was raised in the center of the large dining room, reminding Astoria of the one at Hogwarts Lockhart had students face each other on. Dolohov called up Farrah Abbot and Amber Tripe.

The two women were dressed beautifully, wearing gowns that were fitted perfectly to them. However, they seemed incredibly plain compared to Hermione's. They all watched as the women threw spells at one another, except for Hermione, who had her back turned. It went back and forth for several minutes, until it looked as if Farrah was going to tip over. She was bleeding from her forehead and had a swollen eye, looking on the verge of blacking out. With the final Confringo, she was thrown off the platform, with Amber standing alone as the audience cheered.

"And up next to take on Miss Tripe, the Golden Girl herself," Dolohov grinned. The people around them started to move so there was a direct path for Hermione to the platform. Astoria's stomach sank as she watched her slowly make her way to the front.

"Remember, this one's a mudblood. Potter's mudblood," Dolohov said to Amber. The witch nodded, a blank look on her face.

Amber's attacks against Hermione felt relentless compared to what they were against her previous opponent. Astoria nearly closed her eyes at every cast from her wand, but Hermione expertly countered them all, barely flinching.

It was mainly defensive spells that Hermione was using, until the duel hit its climax and Hermione had no choice but to escalate. The spells from Amber were no longer small jinxes and hexes, but full on curses. Draco muttered under his breath, wondering why Hermione wouldn't simply curse them back.

"She's her friend, Draco," Astoria whispered to him.

He took a sharp breath after a slicing hex nearly took off her arm. "Not right now. She could cast a Knockback at least."

Finally, Hermione's disarming spell landed, and Amber's wand went flying. Astoria and Theodore couldn't help but clap loudly and cheer for her while others booed and showed distaste for Potter's mudblood's victory. Draco merely breathed a sigh of relief that it didn't end up horribly.

"It's like you don't have faith in her," Theodore nudged him.

"I know that she'd win any duel, but her fucking heart will be the death of her," Draco replied, taking big gulp of whiskey.

They sent out three more wards without a break for her. James Prewitt, Trisha Brown, and lastly, Ernie MacMillan. It seemed with each duel, Hermione became more confident with every spell she casted. The boos from the gallery were slowly replaced with cheers as she became more flamboyant with her movements and spells.

While they threw curses and hexes that would have seriously injured or maimed if they landed, she kept throwing non-lethal charms their way. They were flashy and silly, making her opponents take cosmetic effects or look incompetent, causing gasps and laughter from the audience. Astoria thought she should have been exhausted by the time Ernie came out, but she stood tall.

"Atta girl!" Theodore yelled through cupped hands, ensuring Hermione heard him.

Hermione casted a few spells towards Ernie, making his shoes ten times larger, causing him to lose balance. And as he began to tilt off the platform, she sent a Pumpkin Head Jinx his way, causing a splat as he fell to the ground.

Draco made his way towards Hermione through the crowd of people that were applauding for her. Astoria followed behind with a glass of water for the witch who was sweating and still perched on the platform. She nearly stepped off until at the other end, Bellatrix emerged from the viewing area.

"I outta get rid of you, mudblood. Standing there all smug," she hissed out from her pale lips. "I'll show you a real duel."

"Enough," Draco barked. "She's done enough."

"I don't think I have," Hermione insisted as she turned to face Bellatrix with a smirk on her face.

Astoria grabbed her hand. "Hermione, I don't think it's a good idea. You're probably very tired."

"I feel great, don't worry," she said, raising her wand and pulling away from her.

Draco and Astoria took a step back, and watched as Bellatrix's body curved to the side, assuming her signature stance. Bellatrix had to have had the second highest body count in Voldemort's rank after Draco. She was feared and hated by most because of how lethal and cruel she was. Astoria's hands began to shake nervously, and Draco took the glass of water from her.

"She's going to kill Hermione," Astoria whispered to Draco.

Draco shook his head. "No, she won't. Granger's smarter."

The curses Bellatrix were flinging towards Hermione were enough to make Astoria sick. They slammed against the walls of the ballroom, melting away the marble and starting fires that had to be put out by the wait staff.

Hermione had escalated her spells. They were no longer silly, they felt intentional and deadly. There was a hatred behind every movement, and Astoria was shocked to see the pure rage she saw behind her eyes.

Was this what Draco was talking about? She has heard them screaming at each other before, but never imagined a ferocity quite like this.

Astoria tried to imagine a time she felt like this. She had been mad at Daphne after she wore one of her favorite cashmere sweaters without asking and getting a snag on the sleeve. But enraged? Not even close.

After her mother and father died she felt angry for brief moments, but her grief made her feel more sadness than anything else.

She had been upset with Draco after seeing him corner Pansy in the hallway, realizing that they still had feelings for one another despite being told otherwise. But mostly, she directed it towards herself because of how naive she was.

There was a beauty in Hermione's rage, the way her soft features twisted into something that could strike fear into anyone sensible. And the way Draco looked at her in this frenzied state was enough for her to know that if she did go, he would be completely okay with her around.

A splash of acid struck Hermione's shoulder, causing her to yelp. Her teeth grit, and she caused a sputter of flames to ignite the fabric of Bellatrix's dress. Bellatrix began to sneeze, as green, bat shaped objects began to fly from her nostrils. As she tried to shoo them away, Hermione threw her off the podium with a jinx, causing her to hit her head against the marble floor.

It was silent for several moments, all that could be heard was the heavy breaths from Hermione and she tried to catch her breath. It wasn't until Theodore began to clap and cheer that others joined in.

Hermione ignored it all though, stepping down from the podium, her golden dress catching the lighting, the fabric slightly burnt and torn in several spots.

"I hope they're plenty entertained," she mumbled.

"You gave them a better show than they deserved," Draco whispered, speaking to her for the first time in several days probably.

Bellatrix stood and began to storm over to them, holding her head. "You filthy brat," she said under her breath.

Draco stood in front of Hermione, shielding her away. "That's far enough, Bella."

The bewildered look she had gave Astoria a small sense of pleasure. There were few people in this world who could challenge Bellatrix and get away free, one of them happened to be Draco, but now Hermione had entered that category.

"I just wanted to congratulate my opponent, Draco. You've trained the mutt quite well," she said, faking a smile.

"She's spent the last ten years in active combat, I didn't show her anything she didn't already know," he remarked, turning away from her. "Now, I think that we've crowned our victor of the night, don't you, Dolohov?"

The lord of the home looked at the three of them, shock burned into his eyes. "Indeed. I must say, I am quite impressed, Lord Malfoy. You have tamed this one well, I didn't think it was possible."

Voldemort, sitting in a chair, clapped slowly. "I knew my most prized weapon could tame her. She is quite skilled for being muggle-born. Do you know her lineage or any family history?"

Astoria saw Hermione's eyes go wide with horror at that question. She handed her the glass of water, urging her to take a drink.

"My Lord," Astoria said, "I do believe she is an only child. No family other than her parents. She's the last one."

Hermione looked down at her feet, crossing her arms and rubbing them softly. Astoria's heart broke for her. She was so alone. No family and away from her few friends.

Dolohov scoffed. "For the best. She's likely an anomaly. Either way, congratulations, Lord Malfoy. Enjoy the rest of your evening, everyone."

Astoria kept a close eye on Hermione for the next few hours. Several people impressed by her had come up to pick her brain. She felt Hermione could have spoken nonstop with as many people and drinks that were coming her way. A healer had come by to tend to her wounds, but her dress was still in tatters. As much as Astoria insisted on mending it, Hermione opposed, wanting to toss it out immediately after they got home.

By the time they made it to the carriage, Hermione could barely stand, propping herself up against Theodore as he walked her out of the estate.

"She's sloshed, Draco," Astoria sighed as the carriage began to move. Hermione was laid out on one side of the carriage, while she and Draco sat across from her.

"After the night she's had, she deserves it," he said, watching her closely.

"Are you two fighting?" she asked him.

He sighed, running his hand through his white hair. Astoria could tell by his demeanor that something was off, but she didn't know exactly what it was.

"No, I just needed some space away from her for a few days."

"Why?"

"It's just becoming too much, Tori," he said, sounding defeated and broken.

"What is?"

"Can we cool it with the interrogation? I'm tired."

Astoria leaned her head on his shoulder. "I am too."

–

Hermione woke up before the sun, her head spinning and shoulder on fire, not remembering how they got back to the manor. She was so exhausted, but couldn't get herself to fall back asleep. Finally, she opted to get a coffee and began making her way to the kitchen. As she walked down the stairs, she saw Draco sitting by the fireplace, and nearly turned around to go back to her room, but felt too stubborn to make herself.

She went directly to him, standing in front of the half-asleep vampire slouched in the armchair. He didn't acknowledge her presence at all, just continued to sit quietly. For several minutes she stood there, waiting for him to lift his head.

When he didn't, she kicked his shin softly with her socked foot to get his attention. There was no reaction, he just mumbled something under his breath.

"Wake up, Draco," she demanded, crossing her arms.

"Come here," he drunkenly said, reaching out to her and pulling her onto his lap. He held her close, kissing her temple, and she tried to fight away from his grasp.

"Stop. You don't get to do this," she told him. "You don't get to ignore me and then pretend like everything is okay."

"I'm sorry, baby," he whispered in her ear. All she could smell was whiskey on his breath.

Hermione stood up, trying to pull him up with her. "Come on, Draco."

"Where are we going?" he asked, stumbling to his feet.

"You made me train all last week. It's your turn now," she replied. "We're going to practice summoning your Patronus."