"I am expecting guests tonight," Lucius Malfoy opened the conversation during lunch.
His wife and son looked up with excitement, for it was quite rare for the Lord of Malfoy Mansion to invite guests to his home.
"Severus Snape will visit, and probably several other Death Eaters. We will be discussing further strategy, as the Dark Lord is currently in Russia to gather followers and prepare for the coup d'état," he explained, "so it will not be a big party, just a small gathering. I expect you to leave us our privacy and not disturb it," he added with a stern look.
Outraged, Narcissa gasped. "You don't trust us, do you?"
Lucius considered them with a scornful look and devoted himself again to the morning paper. Draco, too, clearly showed his anger at his father's condescending behaviour. Instead of waiting for him to declare the end of the meal as usual, he got up without permission and went to the door.
"Where do you think you're going, Draco?" his father's voice whizzed across the room.
"To my room. Obviously, my presence is not pleasing you, nor is Mother's. I concluded that it would be better if I left you alone," the son replied calmly and left the room for good. Mrs Malfoy now also got up and left her husband alone at the table.
Only Hermione was now still in the same room and she was very uncomfortable in her own skin. In the past month she had learned that both mother and son saw in her a welcome opportunity to reduce aggression. Several times she found herself beaten and humiliated on the floor of the kitchen and it was always the house elves who found her and helped her.
"Mudblood!" Her master now demanded to see Hermione. Hesitantly, she stepped forward.
"You will be of service to my company tonight. You will serve food and drinks and be available in any other way they wish," he explained, "no matter what the wish is, you will grant it, understand?"
Hermione nodded, but panic spread inside. The fact that Lucius Malfoy had not yet made sexual use of her and Draco had also left it at implications, did not mean that other Death Eaters would be equally reserved. The thought of the things she was about to endure made her sick. She remembered all too well the lascivious glances that most black-cloaked figures had cast over the naked bodies of the women at Voldemort's victory celebration.
There was nothing she could do about it. Her own impotence made Hermione furious. She knew then what disaster was in store, but there was nothing she could do but wait and let it happen.
"You will not embarrass me tonight by throwing up at my guests' feet," Lucius said to her.
She must have choked involuntarily when she thought about the evening - and he must have heard that. But no matter how hard she tried, she did not succeed in building a calm facade. Her face was pale and she trembled. This also did not escape the elderly Malfoy. He sighed.
"Come here."
Shaky and nervous, Hermione stepped closer to him. Lucius pushed his chair back and pulled the young witch onto his lap. A gasp escaped her and panic rendered her immobile. Like his son, he grabbed her throat and pulled her towards him until her back was pressed against his chest. Hermione didn't dare to move, the hand on her neck reminding her too much of her experiences with Draco.
Slowly, the Death Eater's other hand slid down her thigh and pushed her legs apart. Unwillingly she tried to close her thighs again, but instantly the pressure on her throat became tighter. Hermione whimpered. She couldn't breathe anymore, but opening her legs was out of the question as well. Desperately she tried to pull Lucius' hand from her neck, but the man was much too strong for her.
"Stop struggling or I will have to hurt you," the blond Death Eater hissed into her ear and squeezed even harder.
Frightened, Hermione gave up her resistance and opened her legs a little. Immediately, the grip on her neck loosened. She could breathe again and sucked the air in greedily. At the same time, she felt the wizard's fingers slip deeper between her legs. No fabric could protect her, for she was still not allowed to wear any underwear other than a bra.
Without paying attention to the panic of the young witch, Malfoy pushed first one, then two fingers deep into her. Hermione hissed. The pain was already bad, but the shame and her own helplessness were far more terrifying. She clearly felt that Malfoy was not excited to touch her like that - no hardness pressed itself against her from below and his heartbeat had not accelerated either. Her analytical mind told her that it was all about dominance and power and not about lust or desire.
The deeper the two fingers penetrated her the greater the pain became. Hermione turned and tried to flee from the cold hand, but the Death Eater knew no mercy. No sooner did he feel her movement than his fingers closed tighter around her neck again. Horror, shame and pain made her tense and she felt how her inner muscles, which were violently opened by two fingers, tightened. She inflicted pain on herself with this instinctive reaction, but she could not change it. Tears were streaming down her face.
"You're still a virgin, Granger?" he asked her suddenly and pulled his fingers out.
Hermione nodded in shame. Tears were still running down her cheeks, the pain hadn't gone away, but relief at the torture being over, at least for the moment, spread.
"If I'd known that...," Lucius Malfoy murmured.
She looked up at him in surprise - and met an indefinable expression on his face. Something new lay there in his gaze, something that clearly had nothing to do with hate, and yet it frightened her.
For a brief moment, the two stared at each other. Then Malfoy lowered his eyes. It seemed as if he was inwardly debating with himself, but this silent dispute did not last long. "My orders still stand. You will be responsible for food and drink tonight. But under no circumstances you are allowed to let anything more happen, do you understand? I know you Mudbloods like to throw yourselves at any Pureblood you can get, but you're not going to lose your virginity without my permission, do I make myself clear?"
The sudden change of heart only confused Hermione more, but for the moment she was only too happy that her master did not require her to have sex with another Death Eater. Almost gratefully, she nodded and then withdrew with Malfoy's permission.
"Why the sudden kindness, Father?"
The cool words came from the door leading from the dining room to the living room. Draco stepped through and leaned into the doorway. "Do you suddenly pity this worthless Mudblood?"
But his father did not do him the favour of reacting to his provocation. Cool and untouched, he replied, "It is obvious that you are not very familiar with commercial sex, my son. Otherwise you would know that virginity is a high-value commodity for which one can charge an even higher price. The fact that Granger is still innocent surprises me - but it benefits me too. Since I never intended to satisfy myself on her anyway, I can now see to investing her first time profitably. Some other Death Eater will be able to offer me something valuable."
The older man glanced briefly at the younger before adding, "Of course, this also means that sex is forbidden for you, you understand that, don't you, Draco?"
The son pressed his lips together. As if he had the slightest interest in Granger. Another question was more important to him. "Does this mean I'm not allowed to have any more fun with her?"
A short laugh rang out, but immediately Lucius Malfoy became serious again. "No, that is not what I meant. You are free to do whatever you like with her - as long as her virginity remains untouched and she is not deformed. At the moment, her young body and silly face can make enough of an impression to make wizards forget her bloodline. I will not risk it!"
Grinning, Draco nodded. Perhaps his father, who had been acting weirder and weirder the longer the war against Potter had gone on, was still the same old man he used to know. Having watched him toy with Granger made Draco worry for a moment that perhaps his father had grown soft. He was relieved the opposite was the case. Granger should suffer just like Draco himself suffered. The answer was more than satisfactory and so the young wizard left his father alone in the breakfast room for good.
Lucius Malfoy on the other hand devoted himself to his newspaper again and tried to drive the thoughts of an innocent, naked, naive Hermione Granger out of his mind.