"What are you doing out and about without your guard dog, mudblood?"
Hermione politely bowed her head. "'My apologies, I should get back to the party."
"Tsk, tsk," Bellatrix shook her finger. "I didn't tell you that you could leave."
Though the costume didn't have any pockets, Hermione had her wand tucked in a garter around her thigh. But she couldn't act rash, not now, as much as she wanted to rid the world of Bellatrix and Dolohov for everything they've taken away. They hated muggle-born, and did everything they could to make that known to all.
And so did Draco.
It was naïve to think that she could change his mind. Sure, Draco had to kill to survive. But did he have to torture? That comes out of hate, disgust, and spite.
And she was sure that Bellatrix would do the same to her now. For embarrassing her in front of everyone. A muggle-born, besting her at a duel. It nearly made Hermione smile again, remembering her contorted body being flung off the platform.
Bellatrix approached, and Hermione Occluded any emotions she would have had. The smell of tobacco lingered in the air, making Hermione even more nauseous than before.
"You're causing a lot of trouble, mudblood. More trouble than you're worth." Bellatrix began to circle around Hermione, tapping her wand against her own shoulder. "I wonder why my dear nephew is so protective over you. I wonder what secrets you might be hiding. Any of his secrets?"
Hermione shook her head and in response, and Bellatrix cackled. "I don't believe you, mudblood," she hissed. "Crucio."
Hermione fell to her knees, writhing in pain. Her jaw clenched, not being able to scream. Desperately, she tried to reach for her wand, but the cut of her dress exposed where it laid, and Bellatrix snatched it off her leg.
When the spell released, Hermione fell flat onto the stone pathway. She attempted to lift herself off the ground, but she felt Bellatrix's heel press into her shoulder.
"Bella, dear, leave the thing alone," Dolohov said. "As much as I'd love to watch you torture her, the vampire will not be happy."
"He's hiding something, I know he is." She paced back and forth, tapping her wand against her temple. "And she has the answers."
Hermione didn't know exactly how many times the Crucartis curse was casted on her by Bellatrix, but it was enough to leave her gasping for breath. Laying in a fetal position, she held her knees to her chest.
Bellatrix scoffed, shaking her head. "I forgot how boring this one is to torture. My dear nephew has her too tight-lipped. But her lack of compliance is proof itself that The Dark Lord's special little boy is up to no good."
Dolohov looked anxiously around them, watching their surroundings. Hermione knew he was keeping an eye out to avoid the wrath of Draco. "Bella, darling, let's go."
"Don't be such a baby, Antonin. The mudblood won't say a single word now, will she? She'll make sure her guard dog doesn't sick us, because she wants to keep all her little captive friends safe, right?" Bellatrix taunted, holding Hermione's jaw with one of her cold hands. "Right?" she repeated, digging her nails into her cheeks.
Hermione nodded, the pain still searing through her body. Bellatrix's dark eyes lingered at her throat for a moment before reaching out to grab hold of her necklace. She examined the dragon skull for a brief moment, a twisted smile creeping on her lips.
"Oh, the mudblood is getting presents, I see. How peculiar," Bellatrix remarked.
After she released her face, Hermione crawled over to the stone fountain that sat among the shrubbery, resting her back against it. The pair left, arm in arm, chatting as they strode back towards the manor. The cool night air soothed the pain, and she did her best to catch her breath for a moment.
Her eyes closed, wanting to fall asleep as the night wrapped around her. The sounds of crickets chirping and the soft fluttering of birds roosting in the trees made her eyes feel heavy. Her trembling hand went to her necklace, rolling the glass sphere between her fingertips to distract from the dull aches..
"Hermione?" Astoria's voice called out, waking her from her slight doze.
"Hi Astoria," she managed to reply.
Astoria gasped when she found Hermione. "What happened? Are you okay?"
"Yes, just drank too much," Hermione fibbed. "Only need a minute to get myself together."
Hermione saw Astoria's eyes glance to her bloodied arm and wand that was tossed feet from her. "Let me go get Draco," she said quickly.
"No," Hermione begged. "Please, don't. I'm fine, I promise."
"But Hermione…"
"Astoria, please. One little secret between us."
Astoria picked up Hermione's wand and brought it to her, sitting on the stone fountain. Hermione pointed her wand to herself, casting a few charms to relieve the pain and clean up her scrapes.
"Only if you tell me what really happened to you," she said as she fixed small pieces of her hair in the gold crown.
"Just a small encounter with Bellatrix is all. She was just upset about that duel. That's why you can't tell Draco. He'll overreact."
"I think you're under-reacting, Hermione. But I won't tell him if that's what you wish."
Hermione stood, hiding the ache she felt. She held her pinky out to Astoria, trying to stop her hands from shaking. "Pinky promise?"
A confused look came over Astoria's face. Hermione smiled as she grabbed her hand and formed it to match hers. "A pinky promise is extra special to muggles. Since they don't have anything like an Unbreakable Vow, this is the most sacred bond they can make. If you agree to enter this oath of secrecy, you'll hook your pinky with mine."
Astoria giggled and locked her pinky with hers. "Pinky promise. I like this."
They walked back to the manor, the night drawing to a close, the crowd thinning down. The two witches sipped on champagne at a table in the corner of the ballroom as Hermione told her about other muggle customs she was unfamiliar with.
"Where have you two been?" Draco asked as he gave Astoria a quick kiss on her head.
"Took a walk through the gardens," Astoria convincingly said.
He raised an eyebrow. "Dressed like that? It's freezing out."
"There's such things as jackets, Draco," Astoria laughed.
Draco looked at Hermione, concern creeping over his expression as he saw her hands twitch. "You okay, Granger?"
Theodore and Daphne stumbled towards them, cackling, making Hermione relieved at the distraction they had caused as Draco turned to the pair. Theodore took off his top hat and bowed to the table. "Ladies, you're looking ravishing tonight, but let's see what my lovely doll has to say."
His hands went to Daphne's sides, pretending to move strings attached to her hands. "You both look great, but not nearly slutty enough for this Halloween," she said in a high pitched voice.
Seeing Daphne so relaxed and being silly was strangely comforting. Very rarely did she smile or emote, making her difficult to read. It seemed most times that only Astoria or Theodore could pull deeper emotions from her.
Theodore pat Draco on the back. "About ready to kick everyone out?"
"It's the only thing I've been thinking about," Draco responded.
"Sure it's the only thing?" Daphne teased. "You haven't had a single thought about a nerdy, little witch dressed up as a beautiful goddess?"
"Daph, ears everywhere," Draco reminded her.
"Oh sure, you're shy about it now but when it's just us at home, you don't mind fucking her brains out loud enough the rats in the basement can hear," Daphne scoffed, sending Astoria and Theodore into a fit of laughter. Hermione went red in embarrassment, and she was sure Draco would have too if it were possible. They sat and chatted until the last guests left and Tappy began to clean the ballroom. The music was dying down as Hemione won her fifth hand in poker.
"It's not fair," Theodore exclaimed. "Why do we even deal her in? She can count the damn cards."
"I'm not counting cards, Teddy. It's just so obvious when you're bluffing. It's probably less fair to play against Draco, he can read our minds," she teased.
"Hey, I may have to kill people for a living, but I draw the line at cheating," Draco defended himself.
"Except when it's on your wife," Astoria snorted, making everyone at the table freeze for a second before laughing with her.
"Speaking of wives and marriages and affairs and such, Teddy and I decided on a date for the wedding," Daphne announced. "Christmas Day. Figured we'd make it a small event. Just family and close friends."
"Daphne Greengrass having a small event?" Draco shook his head. "No way that's serious. You and Teddy deserve something big, just put it under my name."
Theodore shook his head. "Not a chance. I saved up for this."
Astoria brought her hands to her head. "Why so soon? We won't have any time to plan."
"They'll be plenty of time. We can plan while those three go off hunting for those nasty things we need for your cure," Daphne assured her.
"That means we need to work extra hard on summoning your Patronus, Draco. We've got deadlines now," Hermione said as she sipped her champagne.
"Can't you and Teddy protect me from those scary, scary lethifolds?" he joked, downing his fire whiskey, and setting his hand on her knee.
Theodore stood, beaconing Draco to follow. "Humor your old pal, please," he said as he waved his wand, stating the Patronus charm with conviction. The form of a bloodhound sniffed about the ballroom while wagging its tail, making Astoria clap happily.
"Me next!" she cheered, steadying her hand that shook slightly as she held her wand. Though she seemed to use a lot of her strength to cast the spell, a dolphin formed out of the silvery light from her wand, and Astoria looked proudly upon it as it gracefully swam around her.
Daphne casted her Patronus after, and Hermione looked in awe as a leopard emerged from her wand. It was sleek and elegant, nearly resembling her features in every way. It pounced playfully on Theodore's bloodhound, and the two spectral forms moved together, as if they had known each other their whole lives.
"Your turn, Hermione," Astoria nudged her. Before, Hermione had always thought of fond memories with Harry and Ron to summon her Patronus. She and Ron's first kiss, the first time she met Harry on train, or when the three of them got drunk for the first time in the Room of Requirement. These days, those were too painful to successfully produce the charm, so she thought of various birthdays she spent with her parents. This time, her seventh one. Her mom and dad baked her a cake, and they spent the day at the local library, reading books together. Tears nearly fell from her eyes as her otter swam to Astoria's dolphin, almost as if the room was full of water around them.
Theodore positioned Draco, straightening his shoulders out and making him stand upright. "With conviction, Lord Malfoy," he commanded.
Draco rolled his eyes, and uttered, "Expecto Patronum."
Silver and blue light swirled around his wand, manifesting small flashes. Everyone stood and stared, waiting for something, anything to appear. It had been one of his better attempts Hermione had seen, but after several seconds, it vanished.
"So close," Theodore encouraged.
"It maybe looked like a dog or horse of some sort," Daphne said.
Astoria shook her head. "No way, Draco's is going to be something totally huge. Like a dragon. That would make the most sense."
"Only way to find out is to get it to take form," Theodore said, patting Draco's shoulders.
"I'm too drunk for this. Can we try tomorrow?" Draco whined.
"I'll be here, dinner then training? Tappy knows I like his Yorkshire pudding," Theodore winked.
They said their goodbyes, and Draco laced his fingers into Hermione's as they made their way to the north wing of the manor. She couldn't stop the images of Draco pulling out eyes and ripping out throats. The same fingers that she let comfort and enter her body were the cause of so much pain.
"Granger," Draco said when they entered the hallway. "Why are your hands shaking?"
"Too much champagne," she replied, Occluding her thoughts just as a precaution.
"I thought we were done lying to each other," he said, opening the door of the room for her. She went and sat down at the edge of the bed. Draco kneeled down, slipping the shoes off her feet. "Tell me, Granger. What happened to you tonight?"
"Nothing," she moaned softly as his hand wrapped around her foot, pressing into the sole and relieving the tension. Her eyes closed, begging for rest. She felt the skirt of her dress move to the side, exposing her skinned knees.
"Someone hurt you," he said, his fingers massaging her calves, making the pain almost melt away with his cold touch. "Tell me who. Now," he demanded.
"Or what?" She looked directly into his eyes. She felt her monster surface, wanting to challenge him, wanting him to know that she had more control than he did. "You going to hurt me too? Pluck out my eyes and make me swallow them? Perhaps you'll just rip my throat out."
Draco kissed her thighs, pulling up on her dress, "Must you always be so fucking difficult? Why won't you tell me?"
"You really want to spoil the night, Draco?" she asked, letting the sleeves of her dress slip off her shoulders. "When I look like this?"
Hermione stood, looking down at him, letting the dress fall to the floor. Underneath, she wore sheer white lingerie that somehow covered and revealed every bit of her at the same time. Astoria had dozens of pairs laid out in her dresser, as if she was playing Cupid. Draco took a sharp breath out, his hands began to roam her body, hooking his fingers into the garters around her thighs.
"You look like a fucking angel," he said, almost breathless as he kissed down her chest and stomach. Her fingers twisted into his hair, feeling his cold tongue paint her skin as he worked his way lower.
Draco looked up into her eyes as he began to lick her through the thin fabric of her lingerie. Her lips parted, and she felt herself salivating as his cold, rough tongue lapped away at her. He pulled her knees over his shoulders and stood. She wrapped her thighs around his head, holding his hair tightly, balancing herself as he rubbed the bridge of his nose into her wet cunt.
He pressed her against the wall, where she felt his teeth rip away at her underwear, giving him full access. His hands firmly held onto her sides, keeping her from bucking too much with every assault his tongue had against her.
It felt electric as he held her high off the ground, not letting her feet touch the floor. He hummed and whispered into her, every vibration making her whimper out in pure delight. She knew exactly what he was doing, worshiping her, savoring her, making all of her desires come to life.
"Draco," she gasped out. "Lay down. On the floor."
It took him several more seconds until he stopped and set her gently on the ground. He untied his cloak and tossed it to the side, his eyes didn't leave her at any point as he laid down on the rug beneath them. As she lowered herself onto his face, he kissed at her inner thighs, not being able to wait.
"Just like that," she called out, looking down and watching his hungry expression. His arms held her down as he began humming, lickling, and rubbing until Hermione felt like she was going to explode, her legs shaking uncontrollably.
She came so hard she nearly collapsed, falling forward and catching herself with her own arms. Her chest heaved as she tried to calm her breathing, her body spasming from both the pain of earlier and the pure pleasure she had just experienced.
Immediately after she rolled off of him, he sat up and kissed her deeply. It surprised her how warm his face felt. "Can you taste yourself on me?" he asked on her lips. "You taste so fucking good."
Her hand reached down his pants, feeling him throbbing, pulling on him gently. "It's your turn," she whispered to him. "Tell me what you want."
A look of pure lust filled his eyes. "I want to fuck your pretty face and cum on it. Can I do that, baby?"
Hermione nodded, and Draco lifted her off the floor and laid her on the bed. Her head hung off the edge of the mattress and she watched him undress. The monster inside her stirred as she watched him stroke himself, his eyes fixated on her lips.
The head of his cock pressed against her mouth, and she licked at, making him groan. Draco pushed further between her parted lips, going as deep as physically possible until Hermione choked. Once he hit that point, he slowly pulled out.
"Is that okay?" he asked her.
Tears filled her eyes from gagging, but she wanted more of him. "Use me, Draco."
He leaned down, kissing her lips once more. "How can someone so fucking pretty be so fucking filthy?"
The sensation of gagging on his hard cock made her wet and her toes curled every time he hit the back of her throat. He held her wrists down against the bed as he thrust into her face, and each time she made a choking noise, she felt him twitch in her mouth. He would pause to let her catch her breath, but as soon as her breathing calmed he was back down her throat. It wasn't long until he fully pulled away from her, stepping back.
"Get on your knees, baby," he said, stroking himself with her saliva that covered him. Hermione slipped off the bed and fell in front of him, looking into his eyes. "You're such a good girl."
Her own eyes were full of tears and her face was covered with spit, but she didn't wipe any of it away. Watching him look at her while he touched himself fed into her ego, feeling as if she were the only thing that existed to him in the present. He laid the length of his cock against her face, the intensity of his eyes growing as he hastened his movements.
The cold shock of his cum landing on her cheek nearly made her jerk, but she sat still and looked pretty for him as he moaned, releasing his load over her eyes and lips. For several seconds he stared down at her, observing every detail of her face, as if he was trying to burn it into the back of his own eyelids.
"You are so fucking perfect," he whispered, picking up the shirt he tossed aside and wiped away the mess from her face.
He kissed her again and again, lifting her up and laying her down in the bed properly this time. Hermione groaned, her ribs feeling discomfort from being cursed several times and Draco gripping onto her. He sighed, looking concerned once more.
"Don't look at me like that," she pleaded. "Just lay down with me."
"It was Bellatrix, wasn't it? That fucking cunt. I told her not to come."
Anger began to flood him, and Hermione could see him almost shaking with rage as he walked into his closet. Seconds later, he came out, fully dressed and walked towards the door.
"Draco, where are you going?" Hermione asked, pulling herself from the bed wrapped in the silk sheet.
"I'll be right back," he snapped.
Hermione quickly made her way to him, grabbing his arm. "She's already suspicious of you. Confronting her about this will make things worse."
"Dear Aunt Bella has been suspicious of me since Cornelius was outed. She hurt you, Granger. She's dead to me."
The monster inside of her felt his rage and was screaming at her to feed into it. It wanted him to bring Bellatrix's head on a platter for the horrendous crimes she's committed. It even wanted to follow him there and watch him rip her apart like he's done to the people Hermione had loved. But killing her wouldn't fix anything. It wouldn't end the war, and Hermione thought it wouldn't even satisfy her monster.
"If you leave I won't be here when you return," Hermione stammered. "I'll go back to my room, and I won't stay in here anymore."
"Why are you protecting that wench?" he questioned angrily.
"I'm not protecting her, you idiot! I'm protecting you. If you kill her, it'll ruin everything. She can pay for what she's done when the war is over, Draco. But right now, I need you here with me," she begged, tears tugging at her eyes. "Please, come to bed."
Reluctantly, he followed her, calming with each step they took, settling down next to her. Hermione didn't sleep despite how exhausted she was, fearful that he would leave in the night and take matters into his own hands. She laid her head on his chest, listening to every beat, making sure both of their monsters stayed calm.