It was unbelievable that she had to become a spy in her own house, but Narcissa Malfoy didn't know any other way to help herself. On silent soles, she followed her husband and the slave through the corridors of the manor. After sending the house elf to her husband with the news that she had already eaten and retired to sleep, it took only a few minutes before Lucius left the library with the Mudblood. As if he had just waited for the opportunity.

As such, it came as little surprise to her that the path of the two led directly to the marital bedchamber. Although this was enough to confirm her suspicions, she could not resist the urge to learn more. Silently, she opened one of the hidden doors that led through the wall into the servants' hallways and crept to the back of the bedroom. She knew that the door leading into the room from the corridor was situated in such a way that a large, heavy wardrobe blocked the view of the door from the bed and the sitting area. Accordingly, she had no trouble opening the door enough to at least hear what was going on inside the room.

The soft rustle of fabric on velvet told her that her husband laid down his cloak on his large arm chair. She could vividly imagine him in his spotless white, loose shirt and tight black pants standing before the young woman, begging for attention. When she had been young, she had not been able to resist the attraction of his style of dress either. She had married an attractive man, she knew that all along, and age seemed rather conducive to his appearance. And while she found him more and more attractive as she grew older, he obviously still seemed to have a thing for young women and disdain old ones like her.

A soft plop drew her attention back to what was happening in the room. Soft clinking of dishes and the spreading scent of seared meat told her that Lucius intended to take his meal in the bedroom - along with the slave girl.

"Go ahead and eat," she heard him say, "I don't think it's harmful if you get something sensible in your stomach once in a while."

She almost cried out in horror. Lucius Malfoy, her own husband, once a feared Death Eater, descendant of a respected family, was sitting at the table with a Mudblood, sharing his food. The sound of cutlery on plates, obviously caused by two different pairs of hands, increased her anger. For minutes, nothing was heard but that soft scraping of metal on porcelain, then the shallow splash of liquid being poured into a glass sounded. More minutes of silence passed before someone spoke up again.

"Thank you for the food, Mr. Malfoy. I ... am sorry if I somehow aroused your ire this lunchtime ... all the more I appreciate your ..."

"Nonsense! I don't like to eat alone, and I see no reason not to share the meal with you if I feel like it."

If he disliked eating alone so much, he could very well just eat with her. Narcissa felt her rage grow with every second she had to witness the scene. If Lucius simply treated her with respect, she would be more than happy to be at his side at all times. Instead, he seemed to prefer the proximity of the Mudblood.

A chair was carefully moved, then she heard the small voice of the slave again. "Thank you all the same. I ... I'll be off then ..."

"Where to?"

Narcissa Malfoy suddenly felt like she was unable to breathe. Her husband was planning to have his way with a slave in their shared bed? She had suspected it, but hadn't wanted to admit it. How many times had he done this with Granger in the last few days she hadn't slept here? Hysterically, she turned away and fled with long strides through the narrow service corridors. She had heard enough.

Hermione held her breath. With just a small, quiet word, Lucius Malfoy had changed the atmosphere in the room. Suddenly the air was thick and there was a tension in the room that made her more than uncomfortable. The intense stare of grey eyes made her sweat. Unable to move, she watched as her master rose and approached her with deliberate steps. A smile played around the corners of his mouth as he leaned down to her and pushed her back against the wall.

"Why the fear, little lioness?" he whispered almost tenderly in her ear as he touched her cheek with his lips as if by accident.

Heat shot through Hermione. With clenched fists and lowered eyes, she stood before the older man, trying to hide her panic. She clearly felt that if her situation had been different, if she had been someone else, she would have melted with desire at this concentrated charge of seduction. But with the situation being as it was, Malfoy's behaviour evoked only fear and dark memories.

Hot fingers rested on the back of her neck and playfully touched the place where the dark red traces of their morning encounter were. A soft purr told Hermione that her owner was indeed enjoying the intimacy. And as the second hand settled covetously on her hip, her breathing quickened as well.

Gently, Lucius Malfoy pulled the slender woman into his arms, took a deep breath, and then, with a nimble turn, lifted her onto his large four-poster bed. Ignoring her surprised gasp, he sat down beside her to enjoy the sight. He couldn't deny that he liked what he saw. Just as he could not lie to himself and claim that the tenderness between Hermione and his son did not make him angry. He owned Hermione Granger. No matter what he might have thought about her in the past, in the last few weeks, and especially in the last few days, she had proven to him that she was a strong, honest person.

Tenderly he stroked her thighs, memorizing how she lay there before him, arms outstretched, hair tangled around her face, cheeks flushed, lips slightly parted, and bosom rising and falling rapidly. She returned his gaze, full of fear, full of rejection.

Quickly he bent to his boots, opened them and took them off. Then he devoted himself completely to his slave again. Elegantly he climbed over her, forced one of his knees between her legs, grabbed her arms and brought them together above her head. Briefly he enjoyed the incredible feeling of power spreading through him, before he turned his attention to the rest of her body.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he ran one hand under the black dress while supporting himself with the other. Inch by inch he pushed up the fabric, exposing first her naked pubic area, then her belly, finally her breasts. He groaned at the sight. The shaping bra did all the work, but when he pushed it up as well, he was able to enjoy the full splendour of his naked young slave for the first time without being disturbed.

"You are truly a beautiful young woman," he purred softly. In response, he received only a helpless whimper and an exasperated shake of the head, but Lucius Malfoy no longer noticed his slave's refusal.

With one swift movement, he removed the dress and bra over the young woman's head. Then, he pushed up her arms over her head and magically bound them before tossing his wand aside. For a moment he paused in his position to admire the naked body beneath him. Then, without warning, he grabbed Hermione and turned her around. Carefully, he crawled to the far end of the bed, straightened slightly, and then grabbed the small, round buttocks with both hands. Another moan escaped him - he loved women's butts, especially small, round ones with soft skin

Breathing heavily, he bent far forward again to run one hand between the mattress and her chest. While his one hand lifted Hermione's hip slightly so that his now hard cock could rub against her buttocks, the other massaged her breast with a hard grip. Panting, he snuggled closer to the body beneath him, searching the back with his lips. Gasping for air, he let his forehead rest on the nape of her neck, but the hand kneading the breast did not leave Hermione. He felt the space in his pants getting tighter.

Reluctantly, he let go of his breasts to open his pants with one hand. Almost unconsciously, he stroked himself a few times with his free hand before he thought better of it and reached for Hermione's hip again. The other hand, on which he had briefly leaned, now reached for the hips to lift the woman's body into the right position. Greedily, he stared at the buttocks that just barely allowed a glimpse of her entrance.

Briefly he considered tasking her like this, but then her turned Hermione around again. He pushed her to the head of the bed and brought her to a half-sitting position leaning against the wooden bars. Forcing her thighs apart, he grabbed the railing next to Hermione's head with one hand and again raised her hips directly in front of his hard cock with the other.

"Mr. Malfoy..." Her desperate sob interrupted him. "Don't...don't do it."

Surprised, the blond man looked up - and directly into the tear-streaked face of his slave. Shocked, he noticed that Hermione's body was ice cold and she was shivering all over. Her breath came in gasps, interrupted again and again by desperate sobs. Briefly he looked at his cock, which was separated by only a few millimetres from Hermione's entrance, but Lucius immediately noticed that the image of the crying woman made his arousal fade. Sighing, he lowered his hands and turned away.

Breathing heavily and still struggling with his arousal, Malfoy lay down on his back next to Hermione. Annoyed with himself, he pulled his pants back up and fastened the buttons. A sideways glance at his slave showed him that she was still completely intimidated. He hesitated for a moment, then rose, reached for his wand on the floor, and loosened the invisible bonds. With another sweep, he extinguished the light in the room. With practiced grips, he removed his shirt and socks before climbing back into bed.

"Come on," he whispered softly, "it's all right. I won't hurt you."

And with those words, he pulled the covers over both of them, wrapped Hermione tightly in his arms, and lay still. For a long time, he listened to her breathing until he was sure she had fallen asleep. Then he too closed his eyes and surrendered to the ignorance of dreams.

oOoOoOo

Rays of sunlight woke Hermione the next morning. With her eyes closed, she lay still, trying to fathom how the sun could possibly shine into the dark room under the stairs. A gentle breeze on her neck caught her attention and suddenly the memories were back. She was lying in Malfoy's bed, in his arms, cuddled up to him in a spooning position. Horrified, she wrenched her eyes open and tried to pull away from the embrace.

Awakened by the sudden movement, Lucius Malfoy also lifted his eyelids languidly and blinked into the sun. Hermione took advantage of the moment of confusion and fully extricated herself from the awkward position. However, she immediately realized that she was not wearing any clothes and slid back deep under the covers. Unsure of what to do, she stared at her master.

Lucius Malfoy looked back sleepily. Silently, he straightened into a sitting position and fished for his socks lying on the floor. With a groan, he swung his legs out of bed, pulled the socks on, and staggered toward the connecting door to the bathroom. Without another word to Hermione, he closed the door behind him, shortly followed by the sound of splashing water in the shower stall.

Only for a moment Hermione looked after her owner, then she jumped up, gathered her clothes, put them on in no time and disappeared from the bedroom.

When Lucius Malfoy returned to his room, freshly showered and finally awake, he found it deserted.