Hello most beautiful readers,
so we continue with the main story. Have you read the Special I posted last week? There you can revisit chapter 57 and 58 from Lucius' POV. For now, enjoy this week's chapter and I will see you next week.
Aivy
Chapter beta: our new team member Dani!
Chapter translator: Aivy and Sophie
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Draco and I materialised below the big, old tree in the cold, fresh December air. I was freezing in my flimsy evening dress and hurried us along.
"Come on!" I pulled him firmly towards the cottage, signalled him to lay a hand on the door and uttered a short incantation that included him into the house wards.
"Pretty," he declared after a glance around as he was now actually able to see everything and I beckoned him in briskly.
"When are you going to perform the Fidelius? After what just happened I am all for 'as soon as possible'!" He sounded grave and businesslike though fiddling with the silver clasp of his dark blue velvet cloak.
"Actually I had wanted to wait until the twins arrival on the 25th," I replied, irritated.
"No, it's too late, we'll do it tomorrow morning!" he decreed harshly before he strolled into the living room in a self-important manner to lit a fire non-verbally with only a flick of his hand.
It seemed like he felt already at home here, the fire crackled in the fireplace and the room started to warm up.
In the meantime he breathed a sigh of relief after he had taken off his thick velvet cloak and dropped it over a chair without a care. Just then I saw that it had a silver silk lining... It must be quiet heavy I figured.
"What is happening right now, Draco?" I asked unsurely and looked at him, my gaze intensified, while standing in the middle of the room like I had been lost.
"Much, sadly!" he said with a timbre in his voice that I couldn't pinpoint. Very helpful, Mr Malfoy, I thought cynically and snorted disgruntledly.
"Do I have much to worry about?" I asked thoughtfully and remembered the incredible feeling when Lucius' teeth had, as if in slow motion, dug unyieldingly into my skin and I shuddered slightly in horror.
"For fuck's sake, yes! Do you think he is a Death Eater for nothing?" Draco's answer resounding from his place at the fireplace was filled with fury. "He bit you..." he then whispered in so low a voice that I had difficulty to understand him at all, and he shook his head as if he couldn't believe it.
"When will you leave again?" I tried to sidetrack. As I had said, the past was in the past. Now we could only take potluck. It was my pragmatism speaking.
"Not at all. We had planned to meet tomorrow morning anyway. Now, I'm already here!" he stated succinctly and ruffled his blonde hair restlessly.
"Yes, but won't your father be suspicious that you ... went missing after the ball? After you had... um, interrupted us? ... Thanks for that!" I got more and more quiet, while wrapping my arms around myself as I was very cold all of a sudden. From shock or because of the sheer fabric of my dress? Whatever the reason might be, I felt very insecure from one moment to the next, though I called myself to order and asked:
"And what about your things?"
"No, I will write him a letter shortly saying that I had to pursue an urgent need... and that I will go on straight to Blaise, with whom I will spend, as agreed, Christmas and the rest of the holidays. Do you have ink and parchment at hand?" he inquired businesslike and as he looked at me with such scrutiny his expression turned worried.
"I will arrange with Father that my things will be sent to Blaise, I will collect them tomorrow!" he decided determinedly.
"Yes, sure, here's everything. I like the idea with Zabini!" I encouraged him while handing him over the requested items. He wrote a short massage, opened one of the little windows with glazing bars and called his owl with a spell, which amazingly worked even over a greater distance.
"He'll arrive soon, then this will be done as well."
While he wrote the letter I took off my high heels and poured each of us a glass of whiskey. The Muggle version, Lagavulin, a 16 years old 'classic Malt', which I bought especially for us. I wanted to offer Draco the non-magical alternative so he could broaden his mind. And I definitely needed a drink after my successful break-in and especially after Lucius Malfoy's attack.
"I'll have to inform Viktor as well, after I left without notice" I reasoned, handing Draco his drink.
"No, you don't!" He claimed very firmly and his features gave an impression of rejection before he immediately took a big gulp. I was dismayed about his rude reaction when he looked at me with surprise.
"What is this?" He examined at the amber-coloured substance carefully even going so far as taking a sniff.
I chuckled slightly. It was amazing how, just by wrinkling his aristocratic nose, Draco still had the ability to make me laugh besides all the circumstances. "This is a Muggle Whiskey, 'Lagavulin', sixteen years old. What do you think? " I asked coquettishly and took a seat on the couch giving him a questioning look.
He now took a smaller, much more cautious sip and swallowed thoughtfully.
"Well it is surprisingly good, I wouldn't have thought the Muggles capable of that. It is not as spicy as our fire whiskey, something different though," he gave his merciful judgement. "One can drink it". Well, I knew I wouldn't get anything further from him, but considering how appreciatively he took the next sip, I was pretty sure he liked it better than he wanted to show me.
"You should know, the Muggles have a huge variety available. There are lots of different versions from Ireland, Scotland, America, and and and.." I gave him a detailed explanation, I really welcomed the distraction.
"Oh, really? Muggles are a strange folk - " he replied with surprise when he got interrupted by the arrival of his owl.
"Ah there you are, Ianus. Please bring Father this one, but only when he arrives at the Manor!" he commanded as bossy as usual while tying the letter around the leg of the beautiful brown-white animal and sent it on its journey.
"Wow, Draco, was that a Bay Owl? They are extremely rare, but I guess they really do fit a Malfoy very well though, what with always wearing masks, or is it just a coincidence?" I exclaimed really ecstatic, since you didn't see those owls very often, and I knew for sure he had another much more unremarkable one in school.
"Yes, Ianus is a Bay Owl. It was a present from Severus, I don't know whether he wanted to imply something or not, but I wouldn't put anything past him. I really like Ianus. He is something very unique and extremely smart," he gushed readily. He displayed his feelings for the owl openly on his face and now, after I had learned whose gift Ianus had been, I was sure that it was a mean-spirited allusion to the Malfoy habit to hide all emotions behind masks. Snape was the right one to speak.
I was reclining against the pillows with my drink in hand, relaxed, my pretty dress billowing around me, and I put the potential danger Mr malfoy posed for me on the back-burner, as I wouldn't be able to change anything about it. That was something I was indifferent about. I would face the problem when I encountered it, I decided resignedly.
"So, that is done." Draco came over to the couch with a swing in his step and sat down beside my, raising his glass to me with a wink.
"That has been an eventful evening!" Draco summarised with little enthusiasm and raised his arm invitingly and I didn't hesitate and cuddled up to him. His pleasant scent calmed me.
"We are going to work it out, whatever happens. As long as we stick together, we'll get off lightly, more or less, and there is Severus, too," Draco explained, reassuring me. I had to laugh out loud, my body shaking with amusement. It seemed as if Draco was drawing up a game plan, reassuring himself as much as me.
He looked bewildered at my burst of amusement.
"Sorry, D... Draco, but you are talking with so much pathos. You don't have to comfort me. I know we shouldn't make a drama out of it, it would only make it worse! As is all too often the case, it isn't nice, but unchangeable, and I don't plan to make a point of it, seriously. The only thing that bothers me really and truly: What did I do wrong that he took so much notice of me?" I declared honestly, openly and now looked fervently at the bottom of my glass as if it contained the answer to my question. Right now it reminded me of a crystal ball used in Divination. I had never seen more than a wafting, meaningless smoke in there as well.
I felt Draco pulling me into his embrace, holding me tight and mumbling into the ruined remains of my hairdo: "You really don't know, do you, Granger? You are always so smart, taking everything into consideration and planning everything in advance, though so blind as soon as something concerns yourself. And no, I will not list your attributes here, but as I already said once, you are someone special and people that are neither totally blind nor dumb will see that at first glance. And we don't have to talk about your looks... One can feel and see the power, the might and level of your magic! Look at those other idiots calling themselves Mudbloods. Creevey, the badger in a lion's pelt, for example. Most of them barely able to hold their wands," he insisted. With his other hand he raised his glass and took another greedy gulp of Whiskey.
"Mh-hm, I think I could come to like it!"
Wow, was Draco right? Was I really this different from other Muggleborns? Yes, I might be. I knew practically no other that mastered so many spells on their first try. However, having Draco share his views of myself was something like an epiphany, and so I mulled over his words.
Even the pure-blooded kids didn't manage that most of the time, just look at Ron or Neville, and that had nothing to do with exercising! And might it be true that this was one of the reasons snobistic and vain people, like most of the snakes were at their core, took so much interest in me? And were able to overlook my low-born status? Because they recognized the level of magic I was capable of, which was apparently quite powerful? I would have to contemplate that later.
We sat in front of the fireplace a while longer and simply talked. At the same time, Draco stroked my hair gently, loosening it in the process, until it fell down my back unrestrained. And we drank one or two more glasses of Whiskey, before I stood up, as I wanted to get rid of my dress.
"I'll go and change. Come, I'll show you what little is left of the house you haven't seen yet," I offered amicably, took his hand and started a tour of the house.
At last, I entered my bedroom. For the first time, I felt something akin to trepidation. How would the evening conclude? I hadn't wasted a thought on it up until now.
The room was small, but comfy. Lots of wood and the flowery print of the curtains contributed to a Laura Ashley chic. A large bed, a vanity, and a floor-to-ceiling mirror were all it offered.
"Granger, don't look like... You don't think you will escape me tonight?" he breathed into my ear in his most velvety voice. With a mischievous smile on his lips he stepped forth, dominating the small room with his self-confident manner in a way that it left me speechless. I mean, I must never forget that he was his father's son, for better and for worse.
For I couldn't even blink before I was pulled against his chest. He held me tightly and lowered his head to lock our lips passionately and kiss me demandingly. Not as tenderly and sensually as usual, but still gently, with a badly suppressed impatience underneath. I welcomed his tongue, wrapping my arms around his neck, and moaned blissfully into his mouth.
The kiss was hot and it didn't take long until his hands started roving over my body somewhat erratically. Fervently, his caresses moved down my sides. I didn't hold myself back either. He had already lost his jacket and bow tie, so I unbuttoned the silver buttons of his shirt, which I did quickly with skilled fingers. We didn't break our liplock at any time. He pulled my bottom lip between his teeths which made me squeal to his throaty laughter.
Then, he broke away from me and unzipped the back of my dress with a smooth and practiced motion, then brushing the straps from my shoulders with a single, long, white digit in a lascivious gesture. My dress slipped to the floor, billowing around my feet.
The chiffon spread out around me like the petals of a flower and I stood in front of him clad only in a green silk thong adorned with light coloured lace. Hey, after all I did know what snakes fancied and I had dressed accordingly.
He had stepped back a bit and examined me in the bright moonlight illuminating the room and I was eying him as well, noticing his eyes lighting up with desire, sparkling auspiciously.
He did cut a striking figure himself and, considering the way he now approached me determinedly and once again kissed me hungrily, it would be the perfect time to do it after all the time we had taken.
Eagerly, he pushed me back towards the bed. Already, I could feel the the edge and sank, thanks to his relentlessness, onto the bed. He was still standing, his gaze sliding up and down over my body, grinning lewdly, making me swallow heavily. Lucius had had a similar expression.
I had averted my eyes, but looked up again when I felt the mattress dip under his weight. He knelt at my side, still contemplating me as if I was, I didn't know - beautiful? Something truly precious? Right, keep on dreaming, I tried to reprimand myself, when he whispered hoarsely:
"You are gorgeous, Hermione, flawless!" I knew it couldn't be true, at least since Bole's knife left a large scar, but the look in his eyes didn't belie his words. He meant what he said, he considered me 'flawless', which made me smile at him brightly. I raised my hands and grabbed his shirt, ripping it open impatiently. I didn't care, the Malfoys had enough money, he could buy a new one. The last silver buttons that flew off hit the floor with a loud 'pling'.
"So wild, Mudblood?" He laughed, amused, and took off his white shirt completely.
Wow! For the first time I saw him shirtless. His upper body was a pane of smooth skin, shining like alabaster in the pale light. He had well defined muscles, quite fit. Okay, he had a body to die for. Unconsciously, I licked my kiss-bruised lips, which prompted him to action, and I felt his weight settling on me at the same time he reclaimed my lips.
Goddess, he could kiss. He blew my mind with the level of devotion he displayed for pleasing me. Caressing and kneading my breasts with passion. After a long time he broke away and looked down at me, his blond hair framing his handsome face, just before he slipped down the bed and worshipped my peaks with the same dedication, pleasuring them with tongue and teeth. I could do nothing else but enjoy his ministrations. He nibbled and bit lightly into my nipples until they stood erect. I writhed under him, thoroughly aroused, and was moaning quietly, from time to time letting out a whimper.
I had buried my hands in his soft hair, letting it slip through my fingers. Inside me I could feel the smouldering of embers that caught fire when his hand moved to my stomach, stopping shortly at my belly button to tease me some more, letting my muscles clench in anticipation.
He delayed the moment when he would touch me at my most private of parts, first giving attention to the inside of my thighs with featherlight caresses before spreading them playfully. I yielded to his gentle demand and opened up for him willingly. He snapped his fingers casually and promptly I did no longer wear any objectionable fabric. How convenient that we had magic.
I could barely wait as I felt so hot, the lambent flames inside me screaming for a quick release. However, Draco's expression told me that he wasn't inclined to grant it.
The way he smirked mischievously I couldn't expect any mercy from him and hence he dragged out the moment torturously until he finally deigned to touch my folds gingerly, the velvety flesh already wet with my arousal.
In that moment I groaned blissfully, arching my back and sticking out my chest, when he entered a finger inside me simultaneously.
„ARRRRGH...Draco!" I exclaimed desperately, as he continued to increase the tension. I'd never been so passive as I was acting towards Draco.
„I like it when you're touching yourself," he whispered to one of my breasts and bit playful into my hard nipple, what made me toss my head around in my pillow.
He moved his single finger in an unbearably slow rhythm, driving me into proverbial madness, as he was simply laying beside me, watching me biting my lip in frustration, meanwhile attending to my breasts with my own hands.
I tried to increase the pace with which his finger thrust inside me by lifting my hips and moving them in sync. My inner fire burned hotter and hotter from minute to minute as I was chasing my own release.
He regarded me with a languorous smile, which was pretty mean. I silently hoped that he would burst, as he was still wearing his tightly fitting black suit trousers while I laid bare before him.
"Draco... please... !" I begged him, my voice faltering.
"Do you want to cum for me, my Mudblood? I thoroughly enjoy having you this helpless at the mercy of my fingers. You are seldom so powerless," he breathed seductively into my ear, liking it provocatively afterwards, raising goosebumps that would spread over my whole body.
"Why, no. I think I would rather see you suffer a while longer!" he decided after a moment of thought after noticing my reaction to his words.
He laughed, deep and dark, at the sight of me completely and utterly at his mercy. And at long last he started to use his thumb to knead my pleasure centre relentlessly, Goddess be thanked.
This man was impossible, I thought despondently. By now my fluids were leaking freely, meanwhile he hadn't even been truly touched by me and was still wearing his bloody suit trousers, which I could feel rubbing against my leg. At least he was in a similar position, as hard and demanding as his boner pressed against my leg. Serves him right, I thought nastily and cried out again when he found an especially sensitive spot inside me, by now using two of his fingers.
He raised to his knees, leaving his fingers inside me though, by no means stopping his slow, thrusting motion. With another snap his trousers vanished magically from his body. I supported myself on my arms and beheld Draco in his birthday suit in the soft light of the moon.
His cock stood proudly erect and I wanted to reach for it when I felt him demanding my attention by driving his finger faster and harder into me.
"Hermione, spread your legs wide, for me!" he murmured. I was mesmerized by the look in his eyes, I could not and didn't want to deny his wish and fell back into the pillows. I spread my legs wide, opening myself up to him good and proper.
"More...," he urged me on, his voice husky, and I could feel his fingers sliding out of me only to be pushed inside of me again forcefully, until he didn't. He had left me for good and I growled in protest, but then he did what I had yearned for this whole time and slithered on top of me, positioning himself in front of my entrance, where he was awaited eagerly.
When he squeezed into me with vehemence, impaling me with a single thrust, I moaned wantonly and raised my chest towards him, seeking contact. He lingered inside me, obviously relishing the feeling of my tight passage and the grip of my twitching muscles. It was all so overwhelming for me and I was still trembling. Finally... finally I got to feel Draco.
He once again took possession of my mouth, kissing me with a fervour that left me completely blissful and I obliged with everything I could offer.
He started to move slowly and in no time he had me on the edge to madness again with his sensual movements, this slow gliding motions when he retreated, only to hammer into me with a fierceness that took my breath away, driving his hard, thick cock inside me right up to my cervix. A wildland fire was raging inside me. He let me drown in a flood of sensory impressions and I had to shout out in ecstasy.
"Arrrgh..." He elicited a lot of incoherent sounds from me.
Meanwhile, I was simply panting, and he solely in charge of our union. Not ever had I let another man do this, but him I trusted absolutely. With everybody else I had been more active and had taken the lead, very unlike my behaviour right now.
However, Draco completely dominated what took place in my bed this evening. When my mind cleared for a second I could see that his face was screwed up in concentration and his eyes were aglow with unleashed passion that was bleeding into his firm, rigorous movements and it spurred me on.
I could feel him so deep, filling me up, so hard and thick inside me, I was so aroused that I was seeing stars behind my closed eyelids.
Now his self-restrained was slipping as well, he was groaning and panting just as much, when before he had been denying himself, until he suddenly sped down.
"Do you trust me, Hermione?" His lust addled voice sounded very serious. Abruptly, I opened my eyes widen to look at him with surprise, when I slowly got what he had just said. I nodded briefly as I realised what he meant.
"Yes, Draco, yes" I answered. What followed was... unexpected, indescribable, astonishing.
Due to my affirmation he started moving again with a much faster, more animalistic rhythm, taking my breath away, as I totally lost myself in desire ...
But then he got back on his knees and pulled himself out of me, leaving a disturbing emptiness inside of me. My eyes widened. WHAT? Why..?
"What..?" I exclaimed, flummoxed, and lifted my head to see him sitting between my wide open legs with his wand in his hand, while looking down to me with an expression in gaze that I couldn't interpret. Suddenly he aimed at his hand to cut it open with a non-verbal cutting-spell. Without transition, he laid his hand on my belly and wetted it with his blood.
I stared speechlessly at the resulting smear, my white belly stained with his red blood, and followed everything that happened with my mouth wide open, totally surprised and paralyzed, as I had no clue what Draco was about to do.
Then, without any hesitation, he pointed the tip of his wand at my left side, a little below my navel. I was still frozen, completely blindsided about what was going on. My wild curls were hanging into my sweaty face as I continued to gasp for some air. I was still in no condition to realise nor understand what was happening.
"Ahhrg, Draco, what...?" I called, when I was interrupted by an insidious pain spreading through my body and I bit down on my lip to stop myself from screaming. I tried to get away from him, but with firm pressure to my chest, he pushed me roughly back into the mattress. Due to the pain which got worse and worse every second, a burning agony, blazing like fire and rushing through my veins like lava, I was unable to think clearly. I didn't know what Draco was doing and tried to pull at his wrist, to move it away from my chest. But instead of staggering even a little bit he trapped me only tighter.
"Shhhshh, it's alright, it'll be over soon...shhh," he said soothingly, when a few tears ran down my cheeks and some blood pooled in the corner of my mouth after I had bitten through my lip.
Then, finally, after an amount of time that appeared endless to me, I felt how the pointed piece of wood that had been digging into my flesh was lifted away and his fingers ran gently over a patch of skin that felt painfully burned and made me hiss.
When the stinging abated slowly and gave way to a steady throbbing I regained my capability to think. I just wanted to snap at him and demand an answer to what this was all about, however, I never got there 'cause he pulled me back into position, penetrating me slowly inch by inch which made me hiss in outrage. I was still somewhat flummoxed about his actions.
"Draco!" I snarled furiously and could taste the metallic tang of my own blood. I tried to escape him, pushing against his chest, but he held me down, taking me downright captive with his body.
"Shhh," he tried to appease me, kissing away my tears and licking the blood from my mouth, and when my arousal returned his movements got faster and more forceful.
To my shame I had to admit that I was still horny and aroused, despite the pain. Or maybe because of? Who knew? The fact that I couldn't be measured to normal standards was nothing new, I realised with a start. Whatever he had done to me, I was still mad with desire and again submitted to him until my lower body clenched and we both cried out our release with a loud, ecstatic scream. I was contracting around him and he was spilling himself inside me in several hot bursts.
He trapped me fully under his body. I could still feel the waves of my orgasm coursing through me and tried with difficulty to give my mind the upper hand over my body, recalling the last minutes.
Draco had... he had... done something. I would kill him!
I tried to push him off me, which wasn't easy as he was much heavier and larger than I. He had buried his hands in my free-flowing hair and whispered hoarsely:
"It had to be done... Understand..." I understood very little right now. I had to see what he had done.
"Draco! Let me up!" I commanded now very bluntly and relinquished my attempt to shove him off me.
He did immediately as demanded and rolled off of me to the side. At first, I took a deep breath as soon as I could breathe freely again.
I tried to ignore him for now and struggled to my feet. Nude as I was I stepped in front of the large mirror and took a look at what Draco had done to me.
What I saw let my eyes nearly pop out of my head. Shock would be an understatement. I was aghast, disconcerted, scandalised, all at the same time. My knees were trembling when my hand carefully run over the outlines of the blood-smeared mark, the fire-red lines slowly fading to black, while I was watching my reflection, lost for words.
Draco had tattooed me with the same bloody sodding crest he had worn on his bloody coat. He had branded me with the large, ornate "M", including the dragons and their family motto. I was on the brink of a hysterical fit, or maybe I would fall into a rage. A dangerous amount of fury was festering inside me. He had blemished my skin, my stomach with an "M", had marked me for eternity.
Suddenly, I felt a naked body pressing against mine from behind me. He rested his chin on my shoulder and gazed at my reflection with his storm grey eyes. Mine were almost black with rage. In the mirror, I could see his left hand moving to the mark and how he traced it almost affectionately.
"It had to be done, so I won't say that I am sorry..." he whispered softly in my ear. I swallowed hard, but I wanted to know:
"Why? Why did you do it?" I whispered falteringly. We were standing there looking at our naked bodies illuminated by the light of the moon.
"You read the books, you know why. It was the only way out to keep you save, so I did it!" he told me solemnly, emphasizing the importance of his statement, meanwhile covering the stigma with his whole hand.
I roughly wrested myself free from his hold and put on the dressing gown that had laid over the back of the chair.
"Well, and you think you don't have to ask me when you make such far-reaching decisions and make me...me.." I almost choked on my anger and ran my hands through my straggly hair in a gesture that showed my desperation.
He looked at me with an almost sad expression on his face and sat as naked as he was back down onto the bed. Unbelievable, this self-confidence! He appeared to be waiting for me to calm down. Therefore you may wait forever, Mr. Malfoy, I thought bitingly.
"Even if you're now wallowing in righteous anger against me, when you give it more thought, you'll figure that I did the right thing!" he explained, assure of himself. Oh, this arrogance!
"Well, thank you, scumbag, for branding me with a stigma. You disfigured me! Thank you so much. And I forget to mention, it is sooo easy to remove it!" I yelled now in outrage, loud enough that our eardrums were ringing. Draco looked at me coldly.
"Be thankful that it isn't removable. It gives you protection. No man will dare to get close to you as soon as he sees the mark. It grants you full protection against strangers, as nobody would want to take on our family. You are now a member of the family. Be glad, it will help you, to a certain extent even against Lucius. That's all mentioned in the book. So why are you throwing such a fit, Hermione?" he explained, his question sounding rather indignant and I stomped up and down in the small room, still furious.
"Draco, I hope I don't have to explain everything to you, but... How the hell will it protect me against your FATHER...? He is the head of the family!" I hissed, my voice dangerously low. "And I am not a possession of your family!"
He rolled his eyes, laying back into the pillows and folding his arms behind his head and crossing his ankles. He looked very relaxed, very confident and not the least intimidated by my fit of rage.
"Hermione, yes, he is the patriarch. However, the things I do have importance as well, I am the heir. Only he and I can admit someone through the ritual. And it will protect you from Lucius insofar that he won't be able to kill you or hurt you badly if he gets hold of you, whatever he might want to do to you. He couldn't do it, because of this..." He pointed boastfully at me and had an incredibly satisfied expression on his face. I sighed in exasperation. Why was everything so complicated?
"Additionally, the mark has another significant implications. You are a member, like a daughter, sister, niece, cousin, though not related by blood, but... Well, choose yourself, but no possession!" I listened to his list of relations and closed my eyes, distressed when I became aware of the dramatic consequences of his action.
"Very well, then, but why did you act so hastily? It changes everything, so much. You did actually make me a member of one of the most ancient, pure and rich families of our society! Me, a Mudblood! That can't end well," I whispered almost fearfully. Still shocked, I looked at him, then another, even more terrible thought flashed through my mind.
"What about the Dark Lord? If he ever learns about this, you are done for!" I breathed and, as if in a trance, reached for the mark on my stomach that was now covered by the fabric of my dressing gown, feeling queasy.
Yet, he appeared still relaxed, reclining against the pillows and watching me with pity in his eyes. I didn't like this kind of look and pressed my injured lips into a fine line, which reminded me that I should probably heal the bite marks.
"Hermione, Father isn't the Right Hand for nothing. And, as I already told you, the exception proves the rule. Believe me, the Lord is the least of our problems. I always approach difficulties in the order of their urgency and to thwart Father was the most urgent," he explained calmly in a terribly patronizing tone of voice.
"Oh, don't lead me up the garden path. I know you! What else is behind all this? Just must have toyed with the idea since you gave me the books. Otherwise you wouldn't have set such a high value on the bloody etiquette," I spat at him contemptuously. I was neither stupid nor did I like it when he pretended that I couldn't look right through him.
"Astounding as always... Hermione, you are frighteningly perceptive! Yes, I admit, I have toyed with the idea for quite a while. I wasn't about to let you go. At first I had different plans... But then you got more and more interesting for me. Now you belong to me and my family! I am a Malfoy, whatever I own I'll never let go. You are too important for me!" He summed up his thoughts for me and I was just short of laughing about his impudent manner. He was right, one had to be a Malfoy to show such boundless ignorance, but also arrogance under any circumstances.
"And now come here, I want to hold you. I told you everything would be alright. Please, I need you. Also, I'm deadly serious about Father... The way he acted, I truly don't want to know what his sick mind might have dreamed up for you... Come, darling...," he purred and held out his hand to me, his request clear.
I got up, letting the dressing gown fall down to the floor, and slipped below the duvet. I was very tired and knew that what had happened today went beyond my comprehension. However, I would deal with it tomorrow.
"Just that you know, this is not the end. I am still angry with you, and I won't ever be your property!" I declared haughtily. He didn't answer, but pulled me closer into his arms, embracing me completely, which I accepted reluctantly.
I was so angry with him, I knew he wouldn't be forgiven any time soon. But I was also consequent. I swallowed hard. As soon as I knew I would be absolutely unable to change the circumstances, I had to accept them as they were. Once pragmatic, always pragmatic.
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