Work Text:
When the alarm bell rang the next morning at double the normal decibel, Hermione really regretted pissing Draco off and not taking him at his word. Though she knew it was her own stupid fault, since by now she should know he carried through with his threats. The noise caused an immediate migraine and she realised that it would make the rest of the day that much harder. If she wasn't so sure she would punished for it, she'd go back to sleep.
Alas, both Draco and Blaise had proved time and time again that what they said goes, and if she was late with their breakfast she knew exactly what was coming. She gathered up all her inner strength and got dressed, walking faster than usual to the kitchens. She focused on the task ahead of her, for that seemed to relieve at least some of the pain she was feeling, and not just from her head.
Making their breakfasts wasn't that hard anymore. It had taken a while when she'd first been introduced to the task, but they had the same every day; she was just going through the motions now. Hermione supposed neither of them would ask for anything new since her cooking truly was awful without a wand.
What was hard, however, was walking into the dining room with her head held high. The 'clothes' she wore exposed nearly every part of her and showed off the marks of her recent whippings 'perfectly', according to Draco and Blaise. She managed it, though. She usually did. Only on the days she was really down could they take her pride away from her.
"Morning, Mudblood," Draco said. His voice contained an air of arrogance and superiority, as it usually did. She set Draco's plate down in front of him and then gave Blaise his. With a humiliating curtsy, she went to exit the dining room, until Blaise's cold voice stopped her in her tracks.
"It's impolite to ignore your Master, bitch."
Hermione turned on her heel. "I'm sorry, Sir. Good morning." She stood there awkwardly, not knowing whether to look directly at Draco or Blaise, but knowing she wanted to face at least one of them down. The many years she'd spent at the hands of people who hated her had not rid her of her fiery and confident nature. While she might appear obedient and agreeable sometimes, she was merely biding her time until the resistance movement she was sure was out there would come to the rescue.
Though with her being held here every few weeks, she worried she might miss her chance of escape. If there was a resistance movement, it was highly likely they would attack the pounds (where Mudbloods and Blood Traitors were kept) first; gathering members, bringing them back up to health and growing slowly, so they could attack the homes of established Death Eaters. It would be just her luck that her pound would be targeted while she was holed up here.
"That's better," Blaise cooed, gesturing her forward. Reluctantly Hermione went towards him. Often in these moments, she debated who was worse out of the two of them, and Blaise often came up the winner of that little contest. Whereas Draco had a cool, calm exterior and carried himself with the importance he'd grown up with, Blaise was quite the opposite. Blaise had a tendency to lose his temper, something Draco rarely did. Blaise was also extremely unpredictable and could be in any mood at any time; you never had a clue what he was going to do. However, Draco's composed nature meant that his punishments and requirements were more thought out and he knew just how to get to her. "Kneel."
Anxious about exactly where this was going, Hermione was quick to obey him. She often tried her chances with Draco but seldom with Blaise. His unpredictability was too much of a risk, and after what he'd done to Ginny, she wasn't going to take any chances. She tried to glance at his dark, brown eyes, but before she could even get there, Blaise slapped her hard across the face. Her head flung to the right with a heavy force and she brought her hand up to rub her cheek. Tears stung at her eyes but she bit them back. She hated them to see her cry.
"Not off to a good start today, are we? I would have thought Draco's little alarm bell would have done the trick, but it seems you react to more conventional methods of punishment. Another foot wrong and I'll have you out in the courtyard for a full whipping; nothing like the ones you've received so far. Believe me; I've treated you kindly up to now. Just ask your little friend."
The mention of Ginny stung. Hermione only knew half of what Blaise had done to her, and yet she still hadn't given in as Hermione had. It made Hermione feel ashamed, as though she had betrayed her friend. She knew Ginny would think she was ridiculous for even entertaining the thought, but she couldn't help it. She stayed silent and stared at the floor, focusing on Blaise's polished boots, managing to force out a quiet, "Thank you, Sir." He seemed to believe she was being sincere.
Since she had never been told to stand, Hermione knelt at Blaise's feet throughout breakfast. The men discussed life as it was now; the politics of the new world, the latest news from the pounds and any witches they'd been out with recently. For all the eavesdropping Hermione ever did, including at the pound, she never once heard anything about a resistance movement. Either they were all really good at hiding it from her (though that was unlikely, since they'd said a great many things in her presence that she would have assumed they'd like to keep private) or there was nobody fighting back. The latter point was something she wasn't willing to accept, and so assumed they must be biding their time before they attacked.
"Right." Blaise stood, not caring or even seeming to notice when he stood on her hand. "I've got a special something planned for you today, Mudblood. Follow me."
Hermione glanced at Draco, but he'd picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet. She would get no hints from him. Quietly she stood and followed Blaise, making sure to be at least three but no more than four paces behind him. He was very strict when it came to protocol. When she realised she was being led towards the cellar, where she knew he kept Ginny, her stomach flipped. It had been at least a year since she had seen her friend and she had a feeling that this would not be a happy reunion.
They descended the stairs down to the cellar, Blaise spelling the door shut behind her. There was no way out now. Once they got to the bottom, Hermione did a quick scan of the room and found Ginny in the far corner, curled up and sleeping. Around her neck was a thick, steel collar, attached to a long, steel chain that led to an O-ring mounted to the wall. Hermione was surprised that Ginny hadn't woken up at their entrance, for she'd always been a light sleeper. It had led to several arguments when Hermione stayed at The Burrow and visited the toilet in the night.
"Oi," Blaise shouted, and Ginny jumped awake. She narrowed her eyes at Blaise and then turned to roll over, but then she did a double take and realised Hermione was in the room.
"Hermione?" Ginny called, still a little uncertain. "Is that really you?"
Hermione glanced at Blaise, but since he was completely focused on Ginny, she thought it safe to answer. "Yes. It's me."
"I thought... You, you bastard! You said she was dead! You made me grieve for her!" Ginny's voice was shrill and she was clearly in distress. Hermione felt for her friend, wishing there was something she could do to comfort her or to take away her pain. Then, in a complete act of bravery on her part (for Blaise had not told her to move), she ran forward and embraced Ginny in a hug. Ginny was cold and dirty. Her hair was matted and the small dress she wore was filthy.
Just as Hermione had managed to wrap her arms around Ginny, she screamed as Blaise grabbed her hair and pulled her back by it, hearing Ginny mirror her with a yell. The pain was immense and she stumbled backwards, then fell to the floor when he let go. She yelped as she hit the floor, her back smacking down hard on the concrete. When she looked up, Blaise was stood over her, sneering at her.
"Did I say you could go to her, Mudblood?"
Hermione shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. She blinked quickly to try to hide them, but this only seemed to make them more obvious. He smirked and then went over to Ginny. She couldn't properly see the two of them with the tears in her eyes so she tried wiping them on her arm, though it didn't do much good. She could make out Blaise taking the chain off Ginny's collar, and then her attempt to move, but she was halted by his boot in her stomach.
"Not yet, you eager little bitch," said Blaise. "You'll touch each other on my command, and not a moment before. Now," he gestured Hermione over and she crawled the few feet towards him. She got a strange look from Ginny, but her back hurt too much to stand up. "You two are going to have some girly time today. I'm sure you've missed each other terribly," he said as he grinned at Ginny, "and now you're going to get the chance to show how much you love each other."
The creepy way in which he said that unnerved Hermione, and she exchanged nervous glances with Ginny. The tears had gone now, so she could see more clearly, allowing her to glimpse the evil glint in Blaise's eye.
"Face each other," Blaise commanded. They both did so, albeit hesitantly, and found comfort in the other's eyes. "Crawl forwards... and kiss."
Hermione was on all fours, having started to crawl forward, when she heard this part. It immediately stopped her in her tracks and Ginny the same. She looked from Blaise to Ginny and back again as her mind screamed nonononono. Ginny was one of her best friends, like family almost. The closest to a sister she'd ever had. To kiss her would be wrong.
But Blaise was determined. "Kiss." There was no room for disobedience in his tone, but that didn't seem to bother Ginny. Hermione watched in horror as Ginny lunged for his leg, clawing at it in anger and frustration, yelling incoherently as she did so. Blaise did nothing but laugh; she clearly wasn't hurting him. "See what an animal she is, Mudblood? See why she can't be kept upstairs with you?"
"Fuck you!" Ginny screeched at the top of her voice, so high that it hurt Hermione's ears. "I'm not doing that! I won't do that!"
Blaise chuckled. "We'll see about that, pet." He took his wand out of his pocket and aimed it at her, and Ginny must have known what he was about to do because she started protesting. "Imperio."
Hermione watched as Ginny's eyes glazed over and she sat comfortably back on her heels. She looked up at Blaise with a smile on her face, waiting for him to make a move.
"See?" Blaise said to Hermione. "She always refuses at first." He squatted down in front of Ginny and licked his lips as he said, "Kiss your friend Hermione." His voice was so sinister it sent shivers down Hermione's back, and she didn't know what to do as Ginny crawled towards her, intent on kissing her. She didn't move, whether frozen in shock or worried about the consequences she wasn't sure, but she allowed Ginny to explore her mouth, opening it up with her tongue. It felt quite nice, but then Hermione came to her senses and backed up, sitting on her knees. If Hermione thought that would end it, she was sorely mistaken, for Ginny just crawled forward and kissed her again.
"No!" Hermione yelled, backing up as far as she possibly could, until she hit the back wall. "No!"
"She won't stop until you kiss her back, Mudblood," Blaise said, far too cheerfully. He was right, for wherever Hermione tried to go to escape, Ginny followed. That creepy, contented look sparkled in her eyes, and when there was nowhere else for Hermione to go, she let Ginny kiss her again, and this time she returned the kiss. Ginny was soft and warm, eager to please, but Hermione was still extremely relieved when Ginny pulled away; happy that she'd succeeded in her task. "Good girl," Blaise cooed, gesturing for Ginny to go to his side. She obeyed and he began to stroke her hair.
It made Hermione feel sick, though she felt a bit hypocritical as she behaved similarly with them. That was different, though, for at least she did it willingly. Well, if you count 'willingly' to mean 'doing it to survive'. Ginny would never consent to this; she'd clearly proved time and time again that she, unlike Hermione, could not be tamed and trained.
"I love her when she's like this. It's such a shame it has to be done by spell work." Blaise locked his fingers in Ginny's hair and circled her. If it hurt at all, she didn't show it. "Tell me, Mudblood." He stopped and stared at her. "How did it feel to kiss your little friend?"
Hermione wasn't sure how to answer that. She wracked her brain, looking for an answer, until she finally blurted out, "Weird."
"Weird?" Blaise arched an eyebrow. "Why?"
"She's my friend!" Hermione desperately cried. He seemed amused and she hated that she had to take part in his sick little games.
He considered this for a moment and then shrugged. "You'll do it for my pleasure anyway; won't you, Mudblood?"
Hermione gulped; it wasn't over? As much as she didn't want to do anything of that nature with one of her best friends, she also knew that she didn't want to have to be forced into it, and feel contented by doing those things. She'd rather 'willingly' do them, as horrific as they were. So she nodded, and then felt nauseous at his sly smile.
"That's what I like to hear." There was no 'good girl' for her. She understood why she'd always felt closer to Draco now, since he'd never mentioned Ginny. She'd never even seen him come down to the cellar. "So take your dress off, lie on your back on the floor and let Ginny do as she's told. No more running away."
Removing her clothes usually wasn't a problem, for everyone and their dad had seen her naked, but in front of Ginny, it was a different matter. Even though Ginny was under the effect of the Imperius, she was still herself, and would still remember everything. She bit her lip as she gathered the courage to lift her dress over her head, placing it delicately on the floor. When she lay down she used it as a pillow, thankful that Blaise didn't seem to care.
"Go play with your friend, Ginny," Blaise said darkly, shoving her in Hermione's general direction. "Make her feel good between her legs."
Hermione turned her head to the side as Ginny practically bounded over to her and spread her legs. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and tried to think of anything but what was happening, but as soon as Ginny placed her warm, wet tongue in Hermione's folds, the attempt was futile. All that went through her mind was the pleasure she was feeling, even though she was sure she shouldn't be. This was one of her best friends, for God's sake! This was wrong on so many levels and yet Ginny was so eager, even bringing her hands up to caress Hermione's breasts.
One hand toyed with a nipple, the other lightly brushed her clit, and Ginny's tongue began swirling around inside her. It felt so good, better than any sexual experience she'd had before and it seemed as though Ginny really cared whether she was feeling any pleasure from this. It had been a long time since anyone she'd been intimate with had given a damn about her, and though Hermione knew it was really just the spell talking, she couldn't help but be drawn in by it. It added to the sensations she was feeling and as the wetness between her legs grew and Ginny applied more pressure, Hermione felt an orgasm building.
But this was exactly what Blaise wanted! He wanted to humiliate her, to see her come at the hands of one of her friends, a friend who was not even consenting to this, not really. Yet that didn't seem to diminish the heat between her legs at all. Her breathing became more laboured and her fingers curled into a fist, and the closer she got to orgasm the more she wanted to scream in frustration, and yet out of fear it may stop, she didn't. She spread her legs even wider and allowed Ginny better access, and as soon as Ginny took her right hand off Hermione's breast and dipped it in her sex, she climaxed. A loud scream of pleasure came out of her as she erupted and convulsed, having the best orgasm of her life.
Ginny was relentless, never stopping, even when it became too sensitive. Hermione put a hand on her head and tried to push her away, but it was clear that she wasn't going anywhere until Blaise said so. Hermione even tried forming words, but she was so exhausted from her climax that she couldn't.
Instead of continuing to try, she allowed her exhaustion to overtake her and fell into a deep sleep. Perhaps when she awoke everything will have been nothing more than a nasty dream.
*
"Interesting day yesterday, was it?" He drawled, and she blushed crimson. She pulled her threadbare blanket up and covered herself, since she was still naked. She bristled that Blaise hadn't bothered to dress her. "Blaise said you passed out. He's given you about three sleeping draughts, saying you need your sleep. I'm not happy and I won't have it any longer. It's affecting my plans."
Hermione frowned. Plans? What was everyone's obsession with plans at the moment?
"It's just you and me now, Mudblood. You and me." Draco's voice was cold and held some sort of sick amusement, and she hated to think about what he might have in store for her today. "Get up and follow me. Don't bother getting dressed."
Hermione followed him out of the dining room and into the corridor, assuming he was taking her to the training room like he did most days. When they finally reached it, she got ready to stop, but Draco kept going. Confused, she ran after him until she caught up and followed him up a flight of stairs. This was the second floor of the manor, where the bedrooms were. She'd never been up here before, never been allowed. The first time she'd been loaned out to them, Draco had told her that if she even made a move to go upstairs he'd make sure she suffered.
"Come on," Draco snapped, and Hermione realised that she'd stopped just before she hit the top step. Her subconscious must have overtaken while she was thinking. "I'm not going to punish you for following my orders, Mudblood."
I wouldn't put it past you, Hermione thought. Still, she took the final step and looked in awe at the magnificent hallway she was standing in. It was a completely different layout from downstairs. There was a large, open square floor with the doors she could see presumably being the bedrooms. In the middle was a square balcony with beautiful mahogany wood, and she wondered for a second why she'd never looked up and found it. Then she realised they were in the East Wing, another place that was forbidden to her.
Before Draco could tell her to hurry up, Hermione walked along the lovely sky blue carpet and admired the wallpaper as he led her to the door directly opposite the staircase they'd entered in.
Draco opened the door now in front of them. "In," he said quietly, in a tone she hadn't heard him use before. She couldn't work out what it meant and it instantly put her on edge as she entered. "This was my mother's bedroom."
Hermione vaguely remembered hearing something through the grapevine about Malfoy Manor being passed to Draco when he turned twenty-one, and the elder Malfoys moving to a smaller place of their own. Why Blaise was living with him she hadn't a clue, and he seemed to be a permanent fixture. The bedroom itself was beyond beautiful; the wallpaper was a pale lemon colour with flowers bordering the top and bottom of it, while the carpet was a darker yellow, almost gold, in contrast. The bed was large and looked so comfortable that Hermione felt instantly jealous; she hadn't slept in a proper bed in years. Over in the corner by the huge bay window was a vanity desk, and there were two doors off to her right. One she assumed was a bathroom, but she didn't know what the other could be.
"I see you approve."
"Why have you brought me here?" Hermione chanced this question, hoping to gauge what type of mood he was in by his reaction.
"Ever the curious one, aren't you, Hermione?" He laughed at her confused and uncertain face. Never before had he addressed her by her first name. "This could all be yours, you know."
Hermione frowned. "What are you talking about?" None of this could ever be hers; it was his. Was he just trying to make her long for something she couldn't have? Trying to trick her into believing she could get out of this hellhole of a life she had? He was even crueller than she'd feared if that was the case.
Instead of answering her, Draco walked over to the vanity desk and gestured her over. Needing to fulfil her curiosity, Hermione obeyed. On the desk she could see several pieces of jewellery carefully placed upon it, and one jade green necklace hung over a small neck mannequin. It was the most stunning thing she'd ever seen and without noticing, she leaned in to look at the little stones that made up the big one. They shined in the light and it brought pain to her as she realised she'd never have the chance to own something so beautiful.
"Do you want to try it on?"
Hermione laughed. If she didn't laugh, she'd cry. His cruel taunting was getting worse and she didn't know how to handle this kind of treatment.
"Here." Draco carefully picked up the necklace and unclasped it. "Turn around." His voice was so commanding and rich that she did so, though she knew a part of it was down to the simple fact that this would probably be her only chance to get to wear something this expensive. She lifted up her hair so he had easy access to her neck and shivered a little when his fingers brushed against her skin. The cool metal of the necklace felt strange against her skin, for it had been many years since she'd worn any sort of jewellery. "There. Take a look in the mirror."
Hermione sat on the stool at the vanity desk so she was in a good position to see how the necklace looked on her. She half-expected Draco to hit her and chastise her for daring to touch his furniture, but he stayed still, watching her. If she weren't so taken in by the image of beauty the necklace projected, in spite of her dirty hair, filthy body and battered skin, she probably would have been creeped out by his gaze. "It looks lovely," she whispered, forgetting where she was and to whom she was talking.
"Yes, it does," mused Draco. "It could be yours. Like I say, it could all be yours."
"Why do you keep saying that?" Hermione said, frowning. She'd been brought out of her reverie and she didn't like it.
Draco leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Because it's true. If you're willing—"
"Willing to do what?" Hermione snapped, standing up. He was forced to do the same and they were uneven once again. "You can't seriously expect me to believe you would give all this to a Mudblood."
"—willing to be my trophy." He seemed irritated that she'd interrupted him. "You would be the perfect trophy wife, Hermione, given your past and who you once were. My social status would rocket. Everyone would know that I had tamed you and made you obedient, for the old Hermione Granger would never dare do such a thing."
"No, she wouldn't," Hermione agreed, "and neither will I." If Ginny could manage to keep that much self-respect then surely she could too, she thought, though thinking about her friend now felt awkward. She wondered how Ginny was feeling today and how things would be between them if they ever got out of here. "Wait, why not Ginny?"
Draco frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I'm only a Muggleborn. Ginny's a pure-blood. Surely she'd be a better candidate to be your trophy wife." Hermione wasn't sure why she was saying this, because if Draco hadn't considered Ginny instead, he might now. But surely he must have thought about this and chosen her.
"Ahh." Draco laughed. "There's just something about you, Granger. You were my first choice. We may have bought Ginny first, but that was Blaise's decision. I was still holding out for you at that point. What better than one of the once-Golden Trio?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes as her cheeks blushed red. The embarrassment too much for her, she scrambled to take the necklace off carefully, placing it back on the mannequin when she'd succeeded. She made a turn to exit the room but Draco grabbed her by the wrist.
"Look, things are different now," he hissed. "Things have changed. You can't do anything for Weasley now and you have to do what you can to survive. Are you really going to settle for living at the pound and being passed from one Death Eater to another, being beaten and bruised and used for unimaginable things?"
"Better that than being humiliatingly paraded in front of the entire wizarding world." Hermione yanked her wrist out of Draco's grasp and quickly ran for the door. She didn't know what had just happened or why, but a part of her felt she may have spoken too quickly.
*
Hermione was dusting down the curtains in the parlour when Blaise found her, usual smirk in place. She curtsied and attempted to carry on with her dusting, but he cleared his throat and then exited the room. It was clear that he wanted her to follow him, and although she had a horribly vague idea about what was to come, she did. If she didn't, he'd make things far worse for her and she didn't see any sense in that.
"I haven't got all day, Mudblood," Blaise said testily as he led her down into the cellar again. The cool air of the room hit her as she drew closer, running slightly so as not to anger him any further. "Wake up, sleepy head."
Though the words were spoken in a cruel, harsh tone, the actual language Blaise used when referring to Ginny was rather tender. Hermione wondered if he'd grown her attached to her friend, though she knew full well that it would be unrequited. She was proven correct when she entered the cellar and saw Ginny glaring at Blaise, then when she saw Hermione she turned away, blushing.
"Aww, I've not things awkward between you, have I?" Blaise laughed and spelled the door shut. "Never mind. It's not like either of you are getting out of here." He spelled the door shut, locked it, put away his wand and then clapped his hands together.
Feeling uncomfortable and wanting to make herself as small as possible, Hermione sat down on the bottom step. Blaise ignored her and walked over to Ginny, squatting down next to her.
"Piss off," Ginny muttered. There was no huge bravado as there had been the other day, though Hermione supposed that was because of the embarrassment they were both feeling.
"I've got something rather different planned for today," he said, looking from Ginny to Hermione with the world's largest grin on his face. He took the chain attached to Ginny's collar off and then got out his wand. Hermione assumed he'd be putting her under the Imperius again, but instead, he said, "Incarcerous," and ropes came out of the ground and bound Ginny to the floor, spread-eagled. The only mercy for both the girls was that Ginny still had her off-white dress on, but that was short-lived as Blaise's next move was to spell it off.
"Zabini, you ultimate prat!" Ginny was absolutely fuming and if looks could kill, Blaise would definitely be dead. "Untie me or—"
Blaise smirked at Hermione as he put his wand away again. "Such a shame she needs to be silenced." He gestured towards her with his index finger and she walked to meet him. "Kneel between her legs. Guess what, Mudblood? You're going to get a chance to thank your blood-traitor friend here for the mind-blowing orgasm she gave you the other day. Aren't I kind?"
There were so many nasty names going through her mind right now that she could attribute to Blaise, but she knew a single one of them would get her slapped. She wouldn't get away with it, as Ginny seemed to. It was almost as though Blaise liked that reaction from Ginny, though he certainly didn't from Hermione. She knelt between Ginny's legs, staring intently at the ground so as not to embarrass either of them. When this was happening the other day, at least Ginny was under the Imperius. Now they were both very conscious and very aware of exactly what was going on.
"Aren't you going to say thank you?"
Hermione shook her head, hoping he wouldn't want a verbal response. He didn't. Her reaction was apparently amusing.
"Very well." Blaise conjured a small stool and sat down next to them, at a prime viewing spot. "I think you should start with her breasts, don't you? Warm her up." He chuckled to himself, then, and said in a low voice that only Hermione could hear, "Though it's not like she needs it. I put an aphrodisiac potion in her drink this morning. She's horny as hell right now, but she won't show it."
So this was going to be even more difficult than first thought if Ginny was going to resist every ounce of pleasure Hermione gave her. If she were under a spell she'd probably come without even thinking, but Hermione was basically being told to force an orgasm out of her. Tentatively, she reached out her right hand and began to caress Ginny's breast, just as Ginny had done to hers the other day. She'd never been sexually active with another woman before, never even thought about it until Blaise had made Ginny touch her like that. Ever since she'd had some very confusing dreams.
"Come on, you can do better than that," Blaise said, egging her on.
Hermione began circling Ginny's right nipple with her fingertips, increasing the pressure with each circle. She circled it seven times, gave it a little pinch and then moved onto Ginny's other nipple to repeat the same. Not wanting any more instruction from Blaise because this really was embarrassing enough, Hermione lightly wet her finger on her tongue and trailed it down Ginny's body ever so slowly.
"I think she likes that."
Talk about stating the obvious, Hermione thought. As her finger reached Ginny's pubic hair, it was time to bite the bullet, so to speak. She bent her head down and stuck out her tongue, trying to emulate what Ginny had done to her. Hermione brushed it across Ginny's clit and then felt her start to move about, trying to get away. Blaise tried to calm her, mumbling something about her enjoying it really, but it didn't help. Determined to get this over with, Hermione continued and began to lap at Ginny's sex, which she found was already wet.
Hermione attributed that to the potion Blaise had given Ginny. If Ginny didn't know about this potion, she'd probably be going out of her mind, wondering why on earth she was aroused. Still, what was done was done and Hermione now had to relieve Ginny of that tension. She tried as hard as she could, using all the tricks Ginny had used the other day, but the only indication that said Ginny was enjoying it was the increasing wetness between her legs. Ginny was so wet that Hermione's face and even her hair were covered in Ginny's juices. She didn't understand why Ginny hadn't come yet; she must have the willpower of a saint to still be holding back.
It was clear that Blaise was getting increasingly agitated with the situation too. Hermione must have been licking Ginny out for at least forty-five minutes now. Her tongue was beginning to cramp and her neck was growing stiff, and she was so very tempted to beg Ginny just to let go. But no, she still had her pride, if nothing else.
Blaise got off his stool and knelt close to Ginny's face. "Look," he said in the tone he used more often with Hermione, "you are going to climax from your best friend whether you like it or not. We can be here all day if you like, but all you're doing is prolonging your humiliation."
In the hopes of spurring Ginny on after Blaise's words, Hermione brought a hand up to Ginny's right breast and began circling the nipple like she did before. She didn't touch it, just circled it, hoping to drive her friend mad. With her remaining hand, she reluctantly placed a finger in Ginny's sex. She'd really hoped to be able to avoid this, but with Ginny holding out as much as possible, Hermione really had to pull out all the stops. The pain she was feeling was increasing with each passing minute.
When Hermione added another finger and intermittently pinched Ginny's nipple, she began squirming underneath Hermione's touch. Relieved she was getting somewhere at last, she added another two fingers, which slipped in surprisingly easily, and sucked on Ginny's clit.
Ginny's squirming increased tenfold and she attempted to close her legs, and as Hermione felt Ginny's muscles tense, she pinched her nipple and bit her clit, sending Ginny over the edge. Ginny thrashed around a lot more than Hermione had; her body was clearly enjoying her climax even if her mind was not.
"Good girl," Blaise said soothingly. When Hermione looked up, pulling her fingers out of Ginny and absent-mindedly wiping them on Ginny's leg, she saw that Ginny had passed out and Blaise was stroking her hair. It looked like a tender moment between lovers, but Hermione knew that was far from the truth—for Ginny at least. "Leave. Now." Blaise's tone had shifted, but he clearly wanted rid of her as he unlocked the door.
Hermione wasted no time in complying with his wishes, for in this rare moment they were the same. She wanted absolutely nothing more to do with that scene, hoping to be able to block it and the previous one from her memory. She'd have to if she and Ginny were ever to have a friendship again after this.
Draco was a clever bastard. He knew very well that she would realise that if she didn't take him up on his offer then there would probably be plenty more where those memories came from.
*
"I'll take her then." Draco strode into the room as she was getting up and it was clear from his face that he had an ulterior motive. Since he'd mentioned the proposition earlier in the week things had been awkward between them, as Blaise had been with them most of the time. She'd gathered this was supposed to be a private deal; that Draco would be betraying his friend simply by making the offer.
"Fine, fine," Blaise said casually, exiting the hallway.
"Get your coat on. Now." Draco's tone was fierce and gave no room for movement. She quickly wrapped her threadbare coat around herself as Draco pulled on his long, warm travelling cloak. It looked so cosy and inviting that just looking at it made her shiver. He opened the front door. "Out."
Whether or not Draco's tone and angry demeanour were for Blaise's benefit or just because he was pissed off with her for not accepting his offer, Hermione didn't know. But this 'new' unpredictability, a trait Blaise usually had, was putting her right on edge.
"Arm."
Hermione held out her right arm so he could grasp it for Side-Along Apparition. His grip was particularly firm and a little painful, so she was rather grateful when they landed just outside the entrance to the pound. It was short-lived, however. As much as she was tormented at the hands of Draco and Blaise when she was bought by them, the conditions at the pound were far worse than fit for a human. Not that she was one of those, though. According to the pure-bloods, anyway.
Draco immediately let go of his grasp on her as soon as they arrived, wiping imaginary dirt from his left arm and then waving to the guards at the entrance. They knew them both well and opened the gates for Hermione to walk through. "Think about my offer, Mudblood."
Even if Hermione had wanted to reply, she couldn't. He uttered his few words and then vanished. How she wished she could do the same, but the long walk to the buildings awaited her. She hated this most, not knowing if anything had changed or if she would be breaking a rule by simply going the same way she always did. She swore the reason they had the long road between the gates and the buildings was simply to increase the torment of any Muggleborns or blood-traitors being dropped off. It wasn't like they used it for cars.
To either side of her were vast, green fields, where the young children of the pure-bloods who worked there played in the summer. Any Muggleborn or blood-traitor who dared even go near them would face a severe punishment, for they were worried about 'contamination' and violence. The first one was utterly ridiculous, and the second one nearly as such. It was only the pure-bloods who would harm a child. No resident of the pound would dream of it, since they were well aware that despite how nasty the pure-blood children could be, it was only because they'd been brought up like that by their parents.
The main building in the dead centre of the path held the offices for the staff and Death Eaters who worked there. Residents were only ever allowed to enter if ordered to, and that was usually for punishment. The large buildings to her left were the dormitories; females and males were kept strictly apart and forbidden to have any intimate contact. On her right were the kitchens, the laundry room, the dining room and a building strictly for pure-blood guests, Ministry officials and staff. Two residents had been handpicked to clean this building and had been sworn to secrecy about them, and while other residents had been taken there on occasion (rumoured to be for entertainment purposes), none of them had ever dared tell exactly what was in that building and what had happened to them.
Of course, this only increased everyone's fear of the building.
Hermione greatly wished she didn't buy into any of the rumours that went round or the silly fear most of them had, but deep down, she did. She knew the horrible things that happened to people outside of it so her imagination was running wild about what they would do when they had one of them alone in private.
"Granger. You're late." Theodore Nott stalked towards her as she'd started turning off to her right. The guards on the gate must have let him know she was here. "You were due in the laundry room ten minutes ago."
"Sorry, Sir." It clearly wasn't at all sincere, but she had no reason to be sorry. Her arrival was completely up to Draco and Blaise, and it was their fault she was late. However, attempting to appear apologetic never hurt anyone. "It won't happen again."
"It better not. Oh, and you're on breakfast duty tomorrow morning." With a satisfactory smirk, Theo walked off towards the central building, leaving her feeling angry and frustrated. She didn't see why she should be punished for the lousy timekeeping skills of a pure-blood. But then, this was what the world was all about now: blaming and punishing Muggleborns and blood-traitors. She really shouldn't be surprised.
Before she entered the laundry room, she quickly ran into the kitchens to check the schedules to make sure there was nothing she was missing. As she guessed, she hadn't originally been on breakfast duty, but right before her eyes one of the names was swapped to hers. Today she was on laundry until six, then they were scheduled to eat, and from seven until midnight she was on bedroom duty.
Hermione frowned. Never before had she been allotted bedroom duty. That was usually reserved for Class C Residents; those who could be trusted to go into the pure-blood's private quarters. Since she'd been Harry Potter's best friend, she was their number one Class A Resident, and considered the most dangerous and untrustworthy Muggleborn they had. Assuming there must be some mistake, she decided she'd speak to Theo when she got a moment during dinner.
For now, the laundry room awaited. As did an angry Pansy Parkinson, no doubt.
*
Hermione didn't much like the sound of that and wasn't looking forward to when Pansy was going to carry out her threat.
Right now, though, her main concern was finding Theo and correcting the mistake on the schedule. While missing dinner wasn't exactly what she had in mind, she knew they would somehow find a way to blame her if she didn't try to fix the problem. Thankfully, she found Theo having a fag outside main building. He rolled his eyes when he saw her coming, probably assuming she was going to try and reason with him about her punishment.
"I'm not taking you off breakfast duty, Mudblood," Theo said casually, flicking the ash off the end of his fag.
"No, it's not that," she said quietly. He seemed surprised both at this revelation and at her tone of voice. "I think there's a mistake on the schedule."
"Oh?" He took a drag and blew the smoke into her face.
She tried to waft the smoke away without pissing him off. He seemed greatly bemused by her efforts. "I'm down for bedroom duty, but you know I'm Class A."
He arched an eyebrow. "And?"
"Well, I thought only Class C's were allowed on bedroom duty."
"Usually they are," Theo started, dropping his fag to the ground and stubbing it out with his exceptionally polished boot. "However, you have been personally requested. Don't start planning though, Mudblood. You'll be suitably restrained."
"Who has requested me?"
"That you'll have to wait and see."
*
Having never had bedroom duty before, she didn't exactly know what it meant. She assumed it was something along the lines of sex, only more private than the public taking of residents that was periodically done. She'd been subjected to that a couple of times but had quickly learnt the signs of a pure-blood's intent and made a run for it every time she saw them coming. Others weren't so lucky. Being private could either be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on what the person wanted her for. She assumed that, like Draco and Blaise, they'd had to pay a lot of money for this opportunity.
Perhaps it would be a one off. Maybe she'd never been requested before because this person had had to 'save up' for her, whereas Draco and Blaise had all the money in the world at their disposal and so were able to request her for weeks at a time with only a moment's notice. The guards didn't like that, as it messed up their schedules, but she was sure they were provided with a little incentive to keep them calm about it.
"Nearly time!"
Hermione turned at the sound of the voice as she entered the women's dormitories. She didn't know the name of the woman who'd spoken to her, only that she was constantly called upon for bedroom duty and genuinely seemed to like it. Hermione gave her a polite smile and then carried about her business, making sure to freshen up. Whatever was going to happen tonight, she didn't want to be accused of not taking care of her herself.
Eventually, with a deep breath, Hermione set off towards the Theo's office. She didn't like being a willing participant in the restraining, but there wasn't much she could do. She didn't exactly have a choice and if she was going to escape when the time came for it then she needed to be fit and healthy. Being battered and bruised certainly wouldn't help.
With a quiet knock on his door, Hermione alerted herself to his presence. He opened it and greeted her with a roll of his eyes, as he usually did. She didn't know exactly why he always greeted her this way since she'd never done anything intentionally to piss him off, but he seemed to find even the mere thought of her irritating.
"Hands." Theo's order was simple, and Hermione knew exactly what he wanted from her early training days, when she'd had to be restrained a lot. She turned around and clasped her hands together at the small of her back. He bound them tightly with rope, though not by hand. She'd never known him to do anything by hand unless he absolutely had to. He considered it 'far too Muggle', and those were his own words. He even insisted that smoking was an old pure-blood tradition. "I think that should do," he said, grabbing her elbow and leading her out of his office. "Don't forget that we have wands, Mudblood."
Like it's possible to forget that, Hermione thought. She was led out into the early evening air and with autumn just beginning, it was growing colder by the night. Her meagre work clothes provided by the pound would do nothing for her this winter, as she'd bitterly found out last year. When Theo started leading her towards the building reserved for pure-blood guests, Hermione frowned and stared at him.
"Not a word, Mudblood. Do you hear me? You speak one word of what you find inside this building and you'll be dead before your next meal."
"All right," Hermione stressed. Even if she'd wanted to talk, there was nobody she could really talk to. She didn't get on with any of the other girls in the pound. They all thought she was a nuisance and always getting them into trouble, and worried that if they associated themselves with her, they'd be punished too.
The journey to the building wasn't long, but she could feel her heart beating harder as she got nearer and nearer. She didn't know why she was so afraid of the place, especially when she didn't believe any of the rumours about it. Still, it was new to her, and the last few years had taught her that anything new just meant something bad.
Theo shoved her through the main door and down a corridor to their left. They passed several rooms, which were spaced apart nicely, though she could hear mysterious sounds coming from them. When they finally stopped, it was outside room number eleven. Theo knocked and as soon as the door opened, he pushed her through. She fell onto the person who had greeted them, ashamed that they had to catch her to stop her falling.
"Well, well. If it isn't the Mudblood."
Hermione frowned as she steadied herself, standing free once more. She looked up into those too-familiar grey eyes and scowled at him. "What do you want? I thought one of the staff had requested me."
Draco slapped her hard across the face. "You don't talk to me like that, Mudblood. You know that. We trained you well."
Obviously, not well enough, Hermione thought, though she didn't dare say it aloud. She longed to cling to her stinging cheek, but with her hands tied behind her back she was unable to do so.
"I'm here to ask if you've thought anymore about my offer," said Draco, shutting the door. He turned back into the room and sat down on the bed. "I'm sure several hours in this place has made your mind up for you."
Hermione really did hate him sometimes. He was right, what he was offering was a much better prospect than what she had now, but it would take giving up her pride to get it. She had to work out whether or not it would be worth it, and in the back of her mind, she knew it probably would be. With Theo and Pansy gunning for her, she wouldn't last much longer, not to mention she really didn't want any more repeats of her 'sessions' with Ginny.
"What about Blaise?" Hermione said at last. "What does he think of this offer?"
"I'm quite sure you're aware that he doesn't know anything about it, and it's going to stay that way," Draco said darkly. Hermione didn't miss the silent threat in there.
"Don't you think he'll notice? When I'm not being 'trained' anymore?" She hated to say those words, to admit that's what these people did to her.
"By then it'll be too late." Draco's smirk was wider than she'd ever seen it. "He won't be able to change anything. Once I've bought you, it's legally binding and there's no way out of it. He'll either to have accept it or piss off, though with Ginny staying in the manor, I expect he won't be going anywhere. Unfortunately."
"Oh." Hermione had thought they were best friends, but it appeared that Blaise had overstayed his welcome.
"You're taking me up on my offer, then?" Draco clasped his hands together tightly in front of his face, as though this were a million pound decision. It wasn't, and she didn't really understand why he wanted her, but maybe she could get more out of this than he would. If so, then it would be worth it. She'd have screwed him rather than him screwing her. "You'll need to be retrained. As a trophy wife, this time, and not by me. Consider your slave training over."
Hermione frowned. "By who?"
"Another trophy wife. Nobody you'd know. Not yet, anyway. But they'll all know you, won't they?" Draco smiled and she felt positively queasy. She hadn't even agreed to it yet and he was already acting as though she had. She felt like turning him down, but she knew that would just be cutting her nose off to spite her face, and she wasn't going to let Draco Malfoy make her do that to herself.
"Fine," Hermione spat out, "fine. I accept."
Draco beamed. "Excellent. Give me a few days to sort the paperwork out, then I'll come and collect you." He began to walk towards the door but stopped just before he touched the handle. "Oh, and just so Blaise isn't too disappointed, when I first take you home, act as you normally do until I give the say so. Okay?"
Not quite understanding what he was going on about, Hermione just nodded as he left. She wasn't sure how Draco was going to soften the blow of Blaise not having any power over her anymore. He might still have Ginny, but Hermione knew he would not be best pleased at having to treat her as a human being.
Regardless. It wasn't her problem. She just had to hope Draco came to get her before Parkinson carried through with her threat.
*
"I always carry through with my threats, Theo!" Pansy screamed, banging her fist down on something hard and then yelping at the pain. "That bitch does need to be made an example of and I won't let anyone, let alone Draco fucking Malfoy, tell me I can't do that."
"Look, Parkinson." Theo had raised his voice now; he was clearly reaching the end of his tether with her. He must have a bloody long one. Either that or far too much experience with dealing with the likes of her. "Granger doesn't belong to us anymore. She's Draco's property and you have no right to touch her. If you wanted to make an example of her you should have done it before the money was transferred."
"I didn't know he had gone and bought her!"
"What does it matter? Nobody wants the Mudblood bitch here. She's nothing but trouble and a drain on resources. And she gets the other women riled. No, this is the best that thing could have happened."
Pansy laughed coldly. "No. The best thing that could have happened would be her death."
"What's all the commotion, Mudblood?"
Hermione's neck snapped towards the main door, where Draco had entered. He had a bemused look upon his face as he walked towards her. "I think they're arguing about me."
"So it would seem. Won't be a moment," said Draco. He didn't even bother to knock on Theo's door; he just barged right in there and slammed it shut behind him. "What the fuck is going on here? I can hear you down the other end of the pound."
"You! You and that Mudblood bitch is what's going on here, Draco. I told her I was going to make an example of her, so I was biding my time and looking for the perfect punishment, and then you go and buy her? I don't think so."
Hermione could hear Pansy cross the room and then the door swung open. Both Draco and Theo were yelling at her to come back, but Pansy was absolutely furious and with one quick swoop, she punched Hermione square in the face. The pain was immense. She'd taken a lot of beatings over the last few years, but never before had she had anyone punch her face. Her nose was bleeding profusely and felt as though it was broken, and her eyes were squeezed shut in case of another blow.
After several seconds, more shouting and no other movements to harm her, Hermione chanced opening her eyes, and was glad she did so. Pansy was being restrained by Theo as Draco fumbled in his robe pockets for his wand. It only took one spell to keep Pansy immobilised in place, and then Draco was at Hermione's side in a second. He stopped the bleeding, cleaned up all the blood and then fixed her nose. The pain was still there, but he said he had potions back at the manor for that.
"Thanks," Hermione muttered, not really that sure she wanted to appear grateful, even though she was.
"If you were still a slave, I wouldn't have given a toss," Draco said casually. Hermione knew this was true. He'd never healed her wounds whenever he'd beaten her, stopped the bleeding whenever he'd caused it or ever taken the pain away from the times they'd assaulted her before. "Now you're going to be my trophy wife, I have an incentive to look after you. Isn't that better? See, I told you it would be."
Not wanting to agree with him, Hermione kept schtum. He helped her to her feet, nodded to Theo and then took her away from the pound. As soon as they were away from the guards and able to Apparate, Hermione stuck out her arm for him to take. Just as he was about to loop his arm around hers, they heard a loud screech from the main building. Theo must have ended the spell, for Pansy was running towards them as fast as she could and yelling all the while.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Shall we?" With her nod, he Disapparated them to the manor. "Remember," he hissed as soon as they were safely back. "Act as though you're still a slave, a pet, until I give the say so. Understand?"
"Yes," Hermione stressed. She hated being told something more than once. He only told her a few days ago; she wasn't likely to forget in that short period of time.
Blaise opened the front door with a wide smile on his face, but something told Hermione it was fake. "Oh good, you're back." He grabbed her roughly round the neck and kissed her sloppily, throwing her towards the floor as soon as he had finished.
Yes, it was quite safe to say that Blaise had absolutely no idea what Draco had just done. She hoped Pansy didn't know this.
"You know, for a bookworm, you're really quite the looker." His backhanded compliment certainly wasn't appreciated, but she couldn't exactly tell him that. Maybe she would get chance after Draco screwed him over. As Draco took off his travelling cloak, Blaise grabbed her by the hair and walked off, forcing her to crawl on her hands and knees to try and keep up with him. She knew exactly where they going: the cellar. "Get down there." Blaise opened the door and pushed her in, and she only managed to catch and steady herself on the stairs before she was pushed down them.
Draco had said he was going to make sure Blaise wasn't too disappointed, so maybe he was giving him one last go before he told the man. But then, Draco followed Blaise down the stairs, and Hermione was just left utterly confused. In the corner she could see Ginny staring at them intently, and just as she really hoped they would not be forced to interact with each other again, Blaise ordered them to kiss. Since it would be the last time, Hermione timidly walked over to Ginny, bent down and kissed her on the lips. It was a proper kiss, a kiss that she'd give someone she loved, but she knew she'd only kissed like that because they would have complained otherwise.
"All fours, Mudblood," Draco commanded in the voice he only used for these situations. She immediately jumped to obey, as she had been trained to do when he used that voice, though it wasn't exactly easy with her friend being there. Still, perhaps Ginny would just be a spectator in the rest of the evening. One could hope. "Good girl."
"You compliment the bitch too much," said Blaise, and Hermione glared at the floor. She couldn't glare at him directly, so the floor really would have to do. He was being a hypocrite, because he was exactly the same with Ginny. "Oh, you don't like that?" Blaise walked round her and smacked her on the bottom. "Get that damn dress off. Now."
Blaise really was pissed off. Maybe Pansy had already used the Floo network to tell him. Knowing just how unpredictable and cruel he could be, Hermione did as he said. He'd already seen her naked many times before and she was sure this was to be the last time.
"I've been waiting to have you since last week," Blaise growled. "I've got so many things planned for you and Ginny and I just can't wait to get started."
The more Blaise talked, the more Hermione was sure she had made the right decision. At least being Draco's trophy wife she wouldn't be forced to do unspeakable things with one of her best friends. She'd also have an advantaged position in the world, and could therefore try to do something about the state that it was in. She thought about how she could help Ginny and the rest of the good she could do as she heard Blaise rid himself of his robes and saw Draco doing the same out of the corner of her eye.
Were they both going to take her? They hadn't done that since the early days of her training, both complaining they didn't like 'sloppy seconds'.
"Spread those legs of yours; yes, that's right." Blaise positioned himself behind her, at her entrance. He wasn't going to give her lube; he never did. She would just have to take the pain. Unfortunately, she wasn't exactly unused to it. As he forced himself inside her and she let out an almighty scream, Draco shoved his cock in her mouth and silenced her. He slapped her softly across the cheek to get her moving, and it wasn't long before the three of them found a rhythm that worked. Or worked for Draco and Blaise, that was.
This didn't work for Hermione at all. The pain in her privates was nearly excruciating and Draco was close to choking her with how deep he was forcing himself to go. She wasn't sucking him off, he was fucking her face as hard and fast as he could, probably taking advantage since it was his last time at this. And then Hermione realised that this wasn't really for Blaise at all, it was for Draco, and the bonus was that it would probably soften Blaise up for the blow that was coming.
"Wider, Mudblood, wider," Blaise panted, trying to separate her legs. They wouldn't go any further apart without it hurting, though, but she attempted a meagre effort.
"Yes," agreed Draco. "Wider." He grabbed hold of her hair as she tried to get control over her mouth to open it to appease him, but with him being so forceful it just wasn't possible. She couldn't move it at all, not even to bite him if she wanted (and that seemed very appealing right now. If she weren't so logical and rational she probably would have done it. She'd certainly tried to in the early days).
Blaise grabbed hold of her hips and began to pound into her harder. He was bruising her skin and she felt as though she was being torn apart, but he was relentless with his fucking. He slid a finger across her lips and then laughed callously. "She's wet. The bitch is wet."
It's my body's natural response, you idiot, Hermione thought. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance, but that only made Draco laugh.
"She likes it. I told you. All Mudbloods are dirty whores."
Hermione hated them talking that way about her, but she was powerless to stop it. She knew she could hold on a little longer, just a few more minutes until Draco dropped the bombshell and she didn't have to play pet anymore. Both men were breathing heavily now and she could tell they were close to coming, so she just stayed put and allowed them to abuse her as they were doing.
"I'm going to come," Blaise announced. He pinched her skin tightly as he forced her back onto him and exploded inside her. It was a familiar feeling, one she knew all too well. Just as Blaise pulled out of her and his come seeped down her thighs, Draco pulled tightly on her hair and forced his cock as far down her throat as he could get, spilling his seed and forcing her to swallow. When he eventually let go she spat out the remains of it and collapsed on the floor between them. "Lick that up," Blaise demanded. "I won't have a Mudblood soiling my floor."
Nobody spoke as the two men began to dress. Blaise was looking at her expectantly, but there was no way she was going to degrade herself to that level. He could go fuck himself.
"Now!" Blaise commanded, reaching to grab her hair, but before he could, Draco grabbed his arm and pulled him away. "Huh?"
"I don't think so," Draco said calmly. "And it's my floor. Not yours. Granger, get up and go upstairs, the room I took you to last time. It's been cleared out and redecorated, and the wardrobe has clothes in your size befitting of your new status."
"New status?" Blaise was completely baffled. It was rather amusing, actually. So much so she wished she could stay and watch what was about to happen, but Hermione knew Draco probably wanted her out the way to save her getting hurt. As she took to the stairs, she gave Ginny one last look, hoping to try to instill some sort of hope into her with it. "And she can't go upstairs. She's not allowed upstairs."
"Look, Blaise. There's something I've got to tell you."
Those were the last calmly spoken words she heard, for the rest were out of earshot. The next voice she could hear was Blaise's, and he, like Pansy, was shouting the odds. Yes, upstairs seemed like a much safer place to be, for Blaise could be unruly, cruel and unpredictable at the best of times, but when pissed off he was a monster. She worried about Ginny, hoping that instead of taking it out on her, he would find comfort in her. It really was the best Hermione could hope for right now.
She entered Narcissa's old bedroom and found it was now red and gold, which surprised her, as she didn't think Draco would bother to show any of her Gryffindor side. She assumed he'd be offended by it. She saw the necklace he'd put on her in the same place on the vanity desk, and in a long, rectangular glass box on the bedside table was her wand. Forgetting the necklace, she ran towards it, and picked up the box. Where did he get this? She hadn't seen her wand in years, ever since the Death Eaters had taken it from her upon arrival at the pound. She'd thought it lost forever. There didn't seem to be an opening or closing clasp so she dropped it to the floor, hoping it would smash and she could finally have it back, but Draco had already thought of this.
The box was unbreakable. She tried everything, from throwing it across the room to hitting it repeatedly against the bedside table, but nothing worked. It was unopenable. To her, anyway.
"That was supposed to be a gift."
Hermione looked up and saw Draco leaning against the doorframe, his hands casually in his robe pockets. "My wand. This is my wand. Where did you get it?"
"That's irrelevant," remarked Draco. "But no matter what you do to the box, you won't be able to get your wand out. I thought I was being nice by giving it back to you. I thought you'd know you still wouldn't be allowed it because of your history."
"Oh." Hermione hadn't thought about that. "What happened to Blaise?"
Draco smirked. "Let's just say he's glad he was more focused on Weasley. Now, I know you've just arrived but I want your training to start right away. I want to be able to show you off at the Autumn Ball the Ministry is having next week. Come on."
For the first time in Hermione's life, the word 'training' didn't scare her. Her curious nature came out and she couldn't help but be thankful that she'd actually get something out of what she was going to be taught. Over time, Draco would come to trust her more, and one day he would let her know exactly how to open that box. Maybe if she got him drunk enough one night he'd even open it for her.
Draco Malfoy's offer was the most foolish thing he'd ever done, and the best thing to come Hermione's way in years.