Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You can’t do this.”

The air around me became thin and stabbed at my lungs like dozens of knives.

“We can, and we just have, Miss Granger.”

Spots of white flash through my mind as I tried to steady my breathing.

“I have given this Ministry years of my life,” I argued. “I lost my family to a bloody war you couldn’t be bothered to prevent!”

“See here, Miss Granger,” one of the pompous windbags gasped. “Let’s not go out on bad terms.”

“I think we’re a bit past that,” I nearly laughed. “Sorry. Was it the fact that I called you out on corrupt practices? Or was it the article on bigotry still alive and well within the Wizengamot?”

That earned a roll of disapproval from the sitting audience. But fuck them. Fuck every last one of these spineless, disgusting—

“Miss Granger,” the chief Wizengamot Wizard called, banging his gavel.

I couldn’t even be bothered to learn this one’s name. He’d replaced Oliver six months ago which is when my life really started to go to shit.

I needed to get out of here before I said something that got my wand revoked.

“Your office has been cleared and transferred to your residence on file. Good day, Miss Granger.”

My office had been cleared?

Residence on file?

Dread overtook me. Ron’s. All my things were going back there.

I shook my head and headed toward the doors. My research. All that work. All those years. Gone. It was bloody unbelievable.

I could barely swallow as I moved through the lower levels of the Ministry.

Over.

My whole bloody life was just…done.

I felt a sweeping wave of sickness threaten to knock me over again.

They were so blind by their backwards and stunted ways. They couldn’t see that I was working toward helping thousands, if not millions of witches and wizards.

And now it was all…

Poof.

Six months. Six months was all it had taken for everything in my life to be completely upended.

Ron’s affair.

My lost grants and donors.

Losing my job.

Losing my home.

Losing my bloody dignity before the entire bloody country to bloody watch.

Pathetic.

I had a pathetic amount of money in Gringotts. It wouldn’t last the month. I’d poured every last cent of my life into this latest research project. And when my donations started dropping out, I didn’t even think twice before I was clearing out my own vault to fund the project.

I’d been so bloody foolish. Allowing Ron to keep the flat when I found out about him and Millie.

Millicent Bulstrode.

Of all the bloody witches.

There’s no way I’d be able to afford my new flat now. I’d been secretly sleeping in my office for months.

Now what? I was completely cut off from the Ministry—that much was obvious. And I didn’t have a chance at St. Mungo’s either.

Did I move?

Another country?

Surely the Americas or France or Germany or someone would take me. I was a valuable asset. I could change the way magical families functioned. I could—

I closed my eyes.

I couldn’t prove a damn thing without the research.

I couldn’t even prove my own theory.

My body was on fire.

Hot, pressurized, painful, debilitating fear enveloped me.

I broke out into a run. I didn’t even bother with the lifts, making my way straight to the stairwell. I needed to get out of here. I needed to get as far away from the Ministry of Magic as I could go.

No job.

No money.

No home.

No reputation.

No hope.

I’d been fired.

It would be all over the post tomorrow.

I would be the laughing stock of the wizarding community. And why? Because they were fearful of the knowledge I had. Fearful of the lives I could change.

Tears stung my eyes as I raced toward the ground level. I pushed out the doors and sprinted past the familiar statue of Harry defeating Voldemort in the center of the Ministry. A fat lot of good that did. We were still the same, hateful bunch of wizards we’d always been. Voldemort might as well have won the war with the direction things were moving.

I pushed myself toward the rows of Floo and threw myself into one. Where would I go?

I shouted Harry’s address through my tears. Surely he’d accept me. He’d understand that the blowup we’d had over Ron’s affair was just emotions getting in the way. He wouldn’t kick me out.

But when I felt myself jerk roughly, I knew I’d not enunciated clearly.

My body trembled as the Floo tried to discern where to send me. I shouted Harry’s address twice more, but it was too late.

I hit the hard tile floor with a violent roll, and let the darkness take over.

***

“You don’t suppose she’s dead, do you?”

“No, of course not.”

“But how do you know?”

“I’m a healer.”

“Hmm.”

“What does hmm mean? I would think I could find a bloody pulse even if I wasn’t a healer.”

“I didn’t mean anything by hmm, I was merely acknowledging your chosen profession.”

“A profession you don’t approve of?”

“Oh, please. You want everyone to be as dead-set against you as your parents are. Go look for that divisiveness somewhere else. You won’t find it here. I don’t bloody care what you do. I run a damned brothel, for fucks sake. You think I’m going to judge you?”

My head pounded as two distorted voices argued around me. I tried to open my eyes, but they were so heavy. A weak moan escaped my lips, and there was instantly a cold compress over my forehead.

“Shh,” one voice whispered. “You’re all right.”

My eyes fluttered open, and I was grateful that the lights weren’t on overhead. A blonde head was right in my line of vision. She had beautiful blue eyes and feathering lashes that brushed against her cheeks when she blinked.

Astoria Greengrass.

What?

I blinked several more times.

She wasn’t in healer robes, and I was not at St. Mungo’s.

“Where am I?”

Astoria brushed some of my errant hairs away from my face.

“You’re safe,” she reassured me.

“You’re in my flat,” another voice said.

My breathing slowed.

I knew that voice.

But I prayed I was wrong.

The second head came into view and my stomach sank like a stone.

“Hiya, Grangey.”

“Pansy.”

Her sleek black hair had grown out since school. She had it slicked back into a very regal looking ponytail, where not a single hair was out of place. Her winged eyeliner and brilliant red lipstick looked flawless against her creamy skin. She’d always been beautiful, and age was just intensifying her ethereal looks.

“Hermione,” Astoria’s face came back into view. “Can you tell us what happened?”

Astoria and Pansy were like perfect opposites. Astoria’s skin had a natural bronzed glow to it. Her platinum hair and light eyes made her look like she was Malibu Barbie. I half expected her to be wearing a bikini.

“Where am I?” I asked again.

“My flat,” Pansy said. “Though I’d love to know how you got past the wards.”

Wards?

I tried to sit up but immediately regretted it as my entire world spun on axis. Astoria gripped my shoulders and helped lower me to the bed once more.

“You splinched yourself,” Astoria explained. “Your spine and all the way up to the base of your skull were completely torn apart.”

I grimaced. That would explain the excruciating headache I felt in the back of my skull.

“Was someone attacking you?”

I could have sworn that was concern in Pansy’s voice.

I closed my eyes and shook my head.

How sickly pathetic did I look to them? They were Millie’s friends. They knew exactly how stupid and pathetic I was.

“I was just trying to Floo…”

I stopped myself. Floo where? Home? I wanted to laugh. I didn’t have a home. I didn’t have anywhere I could go. I’d been trying to get to Harry’s, but it was obvious that was a mistake.

“And you wound up here?” Pansy asked.

“Is there someone we can call?” Astoria asked. “Harry? Ron?”

I swallowed down the bile that worked its way up and shook my head.

“Can we help get you to your flat?”

I couldn’t stop them even if I wanted to. The tears that poured down my cheeks were fast and warm as they blanketed my cheeks. The silent tears turned into great wracking sobs next. Pansy’s face contorted in alarm and Astoria launched herself next to me, grabbing both of my hands.

“You’re okay,” she said. “You’re safe here. It’s okay. You can stay as long as you need, Hermione.”

“No,” I shook my head. “It’s fine. I…”

“Grangey, really,” Pansy rolled her eyes. “I’ve little to no tolerance for theatrics. You can stay. Just stop your blubbering.”

“She doesn’t mean that,” Astoria wiped her thumbs over my cheeks as she spoke softly to me. “She’s actually quite tender and emotional herself. A real empath.”

I wanted to laugh.

The absurdity of Pansy Parkinson being an empath was not lost on me.

“Whatever. I’ll put a kettle on.”

Pansy disappeared into the next room, and Astoria continued fretting over me from her place beside the couch.

“I’m a healer at St. Mungo’s,” Astoria said. “I’ve seen to all your wounds here, but I understand if you’d rather go there and be seen by another team of experts.”

I shook my head.

“Then we’ll stay here.”

Her smile was as charming and light as the rest of her. She’d been younger than us in school. We’d been closer in age to her sister, Daphne. But I heard she died in the war.

Pansy returned with a tray of tea and something that looked very similar to a bottle of whisky.

“I figured it was either a tea conversation or a whisky conversation,” Pansy shrugged. “Thought I’d be prepared for both.”

Astoria gave me a small smile as she patted my hand.

“Whisky it is,” Pansy said as she took in my silence.

She poured herself a teacup filled with whisky and sat back in the chair across from the small sofa I was stretched out on.

“Let’s hear it, Grangey. And don’t skip the good parts.”

Chapter Text

“You’re coming to work tonight,” Pansy leveled me with a glare. “You can’t just die on my couch.”

I was quite content to be Pansy’s newest couch accessory for the rest of my miserable life. I’d slept here the last five nights and didn’t think it would change anytime soon. Astoria tried to give me her room, but I refused. I was perfectly fine with the couch.

I can admit that this had been a nice change of scenery, though. And I surprisingly enjoyed Pansy and Astoria’s presence. It was different than school. Pansy was still cooler, but not unkind. And Astoria? Well, she was lovely. She reminded me of Luna, in a less chaotic and day-dreaming way. There was an air of purity around her. She was just…good. Light.

I ended up telling them everything. The research. The firing. The affair. It was cathartic to release all of my failures finally. Neither of them judged me. Neither of them said anything. I thought for sure revealing the nature of my research to two Pureblooded Slytherins would have been a stupid mistake, but they didn’t balk.

“It’ll be good for you,” Astoria encouraged. “You’ve given yourself a few days to grieve, but now it’s time to get that research back out and start living again.”

Fuck. My research had been delivered to my old flat. I’d sent Ron an owl saying I’d be around to grab it this weekend, but the thought of going over there, seeing Millie in my old space made me queasy. I didn’t know if I could face them. Especially alone.

“Come on, Grangey,” Pansy said with an eyeroll. “Time to get showered and dressed.”

Astoria had a date tonight with a Muggle she’d met on her lunch break a few days ago. She gave me an encouraging nod, and I relented. I needed to get out of this flat. I needed to get off this couch.

Astoria made it her mission to get me as ready as she was getting. I got the full glam treatment. Makeup, hair, dress, shoes, all of it was taken care of while I sat there and tried not to despair about the impending social act. I was still trying to wrap my head around how to continue my research with no funding, space, or resources.

When I looked at myself in the mirror, I scarcely recognized the reflection. Perhaps the most jarring was the bright red lipstick I wore. It matched Pansy’s perfectly.

“Where is it that you work?” I asked Pansy as we entered the lifts.

I was in a black mini dress with a smoky eye, and my curly hair was twisted elegantly on the top of my head.

“A club.”

I forced myself not to groan.

I did not club.

I did not dance.

I rarely drank.

I was the antithesis of club mentality.

“Which club?” I asked.

Suddenly the lift stopped at the second floor. She motioned with her head, and I realized she lived right above it the whole time.

“Lore.”

I stumbled as we walked through. Lore was one of the hottest clubs in London. It was so exclusive, there was a rumor that the bloody Minister of Magic was turned away. I reached for Pansy’s arm and tugged her back toward the lift doors.

“I can’t be here,” I whispered. “This requires an exclusive membership.”

“You’re fine, Grangey, no one will question it.”

“Pansy, please!”

She flicked her wrist and the area where the lifts were suddenly closed off and vanished. I couldn’t get back on the lifts even if I wanted to. I gaped at her.

“Have a drink, grab a seat at the bar, I have work to do,” she called over her shoulder and disappeared through the doorway.

I now stood in an empty hallway with only one door.

Lore.

I shook my head. How in the bloody hell was I supposed to function at a place like this? Maybe if she saw me having one drink and looking perfectly miserable at the bar, she’d let me go home. All my sad energy would be bad for business after all.

I steeled myself and pushed through the door. The electronic buzz of music hummed through my body. I felt the jolt of energy pass through me as I entered the club space. It was still fairly early at night, so not too many people were there. A huge bar was in the center of the room, with various stages around the wings. Some had people dancing, others had acrobatic women contorting their bodies into unimaginable shapes. There was a strong presence of bodyguards, too. Two were placed at every stage, and there were others circling the bar or walls.

I was grateful for Astoria’s makeover and Pansy’s dress, though. I blended in almost seamlessly. I made my way toward the bar and sat on the corner spot. There was a group of gentlemen down the row chatting lightly with one of the women tending the bar. There were a few groups of women on the other side of the bar, but they were trying shamelessly to pull the security guard from his attention and get his number.

“What’ll it be?”

I looked up to see a friendly-faced red-headed girl. Her hair was slicked back into a long ponytail, and she had bright red lipstick.

“Gin and tonic?” I asked.

She nodded.

I watched as she made the drink herself, opting not to employ the use of magic, which I thought was a nice touch. I’m sure it made the experience feel more personal. However, I can’t imagine it’s efficient when this place is busy at its peak.

“First time?” she asked, sliding me the drink.

“That obvious?” I grimaced.

She shrugged. “It can be a lot to take in. But you did the right thing wearing red.”

She motions to my lips.

My brows furrowed.

She sighed and slipped me a card from her back pocket. It was no larger than a business card, with lip prints and the words FRIENDLY REMINDER at the top. Next to each multi-colored lip print was a directive.

Red lips, look don’t touch.

Black lips, look and touch.

Pink lips, open to exploration.

Purple lips, open for negotiations.

I studied the chart and looked back up at the girl.

“Clara,” she said, holding out her hand.

I took it and we shook.

“Her—”

“I know,” she interrupted and gave an apologetic shrug. “Obviously.”

“Right,” I nodded and looked back down at the card. “So what do these things mean?”

I have to admit I am beyond grateful Astoria chose red. It would have been a cruel joke to place black lipstick on me.

“It’s a nice way to let the different patrons know what they can expect from you. And the guards. That way there’s no confusion.”

I looked around and noticed that some of the employed workers did have various shades as well.

“Do you get a choice of what you wear?”

I thought back to Pansy. I can’t imagine that anyone could tell her that she’d be wearing black lipstick for her shift tonight and that she would do it. Also, why was she working here in the first place? Didn’t her family come from extreme wealth like Astoria’s?

“Always,” she said. “I like red because I make better money in tips. They’ll try anything to get me to change my shade. It’s like a game to most.”

Makes sense, and it’s lucrative for her. Smart.

“What are negotiations?”

Clara’s grin turned flirtatious as another customer came up to the bar. She held up her finger to me, indicating she’d return. I took a small sip of my drink while I waited and continued watching the rest of the patrons. Now that my gaze turned back to the other bartender and the group of men, I could see that they were trying and begging her to swap lipstick colors. She kept feeding them shots of liquor. Clever business indeed.

“Sorry about that,” Clara said, back in front of me once again. “Anyway. Anyone who’s a member can opt to join in negotiations.”

“Entailing…”

She gives me a wink.

I sit upright. I can feel the blush bloom across my cheeks.

“It’s completely consensual,” she continued. “You both agree to the terms, and it’s magically binding. So there’s no way you can breach them.”

“Is it just a sex exchange?”

I couldn’t imagine needing a formal agreement to negotiate sex with someone. It seemed so…strange.

Clara’s eyes flashed in excitement, but we were interrupted by a group of giggling witches here for a hen party.

Once they cleared out, Clara was back.

“Money, of course.”

My brows furrowed. Money?

She motioned me to lean closer over the bar.

“See that girl in the cage, dancing behind me?”

I leaned slightly, looking at a beautiful woman with hair the color of Astoria’s. She danced like a goddess up there, rhythm finding her so easily it looked second nature to her.

“That’s Kitty,” she said. “Last month she entered into a negotiation with a man for a million galleons.”

I sputtered, nearly knocking over my drink.

“What?”

Clara nodded.

“And all she had to do was have sex with the bloke one time.”

I looked around Clara and stared at Kitty some more.

“So why is she still working here?” I asked.

With a million galleons she could have easily said goodbye to life at the club.

“She loves to dance,” Clara smiled.

Kitty was wearing red lipstick tonight.

“How horrible was the man she had to sleep with?”

Clara’s eyes gleamed.

“It was Rupert Heinsfeld.”

My mouth dropped open. He was the new hottest quidditch player for Wales.

“Pansy’s really selective with the clientele she brings in,” Clara grinned.

But I froze.

“Pansy?”

“Well it’s her club, isn’t it?”

Chapter Text

“How do you get a contract?” I asked Clara on my third G&T of the night.

“Any member can submit a request. You’d put your initial offering on it and wait for responses. Then, you negotiate price, stipulations, and boundaries.”

“How do I become a member?”

She looked at me strangely.

“You are a member.”

I shook my head. “That’s impossible. I never signed up.”

“Pansy brought you here. You’re a member.”

My mind was still reeling that Pansy was the owner of Lore. Why was she living in that tiny flat upstairs with Astoria? Based on the looks of this place, she was likely swimming in galleons.

“You’ll have to talk to her, though,” Clara said. “She’s the one that approves all requests.”

I watched as Clara nodded at someone behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Pansy whispering with two security guards. I poured the rest of my drink into my mouth and went after Pansy before I lost my nerve.

“I need a contract.”

There was no disguising the absolute shock on Pansy’s face. She gripped me by my elbow and steered me toward a back door. There were two guards out front, and they merely nodded as she pushed through the heavy oak doors.

“Granger, I didn’t think you’d be such a bloody nuisance your first night in.”

“I’m not being a nuisance at all.”

I didn’t mean for the words to come out as indignantly as they did. But I wasn’t causing trouble. I was just… well… I was desperate enough to have sex for money.

“You think you honestly can commit to something like one of my contracts despite never stepping inside a club like this in your life?”

I stared at her, unblinking. I was serious. Serious about getting money. Serious about not sleeping on her couch any more. Serious about finishing my research. This was my ticket to stability.

She rolled her eyes and handed me something off her desk. The leather binder looked antique, but the rich leather was buttery soft to the touch. The quill tucked inside it was a beautiful peacock feather. Pansy leaned against the edge of her desk and studied me.

“You’re sure you can do this?” she asked.

“I’m not a virgin.”

That one was indignant.

She gave me a long look that started at my head and rolled over my entire body.

“You might as well be.”

I ignored her and focused on the page in front of me.

“You’d list your sexual fantasies there,” she said, pointing to the left side of the page. “Anything you can dream up or think of. And then you’ll receive a bid. Circle the bid you want. The two of you will negotiate terms, and if you both can agree, you’ll sign the bottom.”

She gave me a hard stare.

“This is legally binding with strong magic. You can’t just golden-girl your way out of this if you get cold feet. So be damned sure that you’re ready to agree to everything you write on there.”

This didn’t seem that bad. I just wouldn’t suggest something I wasn’t willing to do. Hell, I wouldn’t even have to write sex if I didn’t want to.

A soft knock pulled Pansy from the room, and I was left in her plush chair with my notebook.

I thought about my sexual past. I thought about Ron. Our sex life had been terribly predictable and uneventful. Missionary position, no foreplay, and an occasional blow job for Ronald when he wore me down enough. He’d never gotten me to climax. That was something I took care of myself.

Viktor Krum had been my first. He was passionate. Our entire year together had been such a whirlwind, but there hadn’t been any real depth there. It was purely physical. He’d happened to make me a climax a few times, though I didn’t wonder if that was because it was my first experience with anyone touching me like that. His size helped. He was larger than Ron, though I’d go to the grave with that information.

I remember Ginny telling me that Harry was so adventurous in bed. He was constantly wanting to try new things and positions. It made me green with envy that his own best friend wasn’t willing to take those same risks. But what Ron and I had was never about physicality. It wasn’t really emotional either. It’s just… well after you live through an experience like we did, it bonds you. And he’d lost so much in the war. We both did. It made sense not to want to lose something else.

But that was over six years ago. Six years of avoiding the conversation of marriage and children. Six years of dodging Molly’s incessant meddling. Six years of hell. Perhaps it was good that he cheated on me and ended things.

As I looked at the blank page I saw a world of opportunity. I could request anything I wanted here. I could create a perfect fantasy and be paid for it. It seemed too good to be true. If I truly put my desires on this page, would anyone really answer?

I twirled the quill in my fingers.

There was only one way to find out.

I swallowed and pressed the pen to the page.

I want a man who wants to devour me. An insatiable appetite for just me. For once, I want someone who cares about my pleasure.

I watched the edges of the page illuminate. Bids began rolling in, scrolling across the top of the page. 100 Galleons, 200 Galleons. I held my breath and kept writing.

I want to feel safe with this man. I want him to worship my body, ringing every last ounce of pleasure from me. I don’t want to have to fake orgasms.

The flash of thousands of Galleons now streamed across the top.

This was absurd. I hadn’t spoken once about what I would do to them.

I became braver. I’m not sure if it was the G&Ts or the numbers, but my body heated with need.

I want my pussy licked until I scream your name. I want to be tied down while you whisper filthy things to me. I want to come so much I forget my own bloody name.

Tens of thousands of Galleons now flashed over the page.

Keep going, a little voice urged deep within me.

So I did.

I want the sex to dominate me so wholly, that I’d think of nothing else all day.

And then all the other numbers vanished. The page shimmered briefly. At the top, in elegant script, read 5 Million Galleons.

I choked.

I blinked.

I circled the number.

My heart hummed wildly against my chest. 5 million. I choked out a laugh of disbelief. Of all the ridiculous shit. Someone wanted this? Me?

The page magically flipped, revealing lines of parchment. I watched as the page shimmered again, and the same elegant script appeared.

Limits?

I chewed my bottom lip.

Limits. Limits. Limits. What would I say? Could I risk ruining this deal? My elementary knowledge of BDSM and sex was crippling here.

No adultery.

It was a reflex for what I’ve been through with Ron. I couldn’t stomach someone cheating on their wife with me.

The limit was accepted and flashed green.

No fisting.

Another green flash.

No ball gags.

Green flash.

Could I gag you with other things?

His response stunned me. Other things? Like him?

Could I decide that on a case-by-case basis?

I waited for his response, and the words turned green and vanished. I blew out a breath. I was running out of other things to write.

No serious injuries or harm. I don’t want knife play or anything like that.

Once again, the words I wrote flashed green.

Do you have some? I panicked and asked him.

I was doing this wrong. I knew it. Pansy was going to come back in here and deny the whole bloody thing.

Live with me for the duration of the contract.

I let out a low whistle.

It’s not like I could be hosting him over at Pansy’s for a romp on the couch. And how did the payment work? Am I given a partial payment at the beginning and the rest at the end? Or none until the end?

Bugger.

I’ll need space to do my work and research.

I’ll see that you have your own office in my home. I travel a great deal, so I won’t be around much.

I accepted it.

My palms sweated as his words glowed green and disappeared.

What the hell was I doing? This was bloody mad.

You would adhere to all security measures when living in my home. I value my privacy.

I shrugged. Wards, guards, it all seemed fairly typical if a man had 5 million galleons he could throw away for a quick fuck.

I circled it.

I don’t want to be denied. When I want you, I want you willing.

The hair on the back of my neck rose.

How long will this be? I countered.

Typical contracts last six months to a year. However, extensions can happen if either party is satisfied with the arrangement.

I considered it.

Six months to a year. And he would be traveling for a good majority?

A year, then?

I considered his offer.

A year.

No denial.

I closed my eyes and accepted the offer.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What was I doing? Was I this desperate for money? It was just a year. Just one year. And I could finish my research, have sex with some stranger, and then go about my life. If I released this research, all would be well. I could have a future after this. I would be helping so many…

I will require your presence during social obligations.

I grimaced at this.

Social obligations?

I thought you preferred privacy.

Might as well show him now that I tend to be a bit mouthy.

I do. Obligation implies it’s unavoidable.

Seems a bit stuck up, if you ask me. But did I care? I stood up and paced Pansy’s office. I attract a certain amount of attention after the war. Would this man want that? I scrawled a quick note back to him.

You may change your mind once you discover who I am.

Doubtful.

I groaned as I circled his request. Another acceptance. I went back to pacing.

I don’t share.

I stared at the words on the page.

Monogamy is expected at all times by both parties.

I was shocked by the suggestion. I didn’t intend on submitting more than one contract at a time, especially since this one should take care of me for the duration of my research. I was surprised that he was saying he would be monogamous as well. I assume someone this wealthy would have plenty of women at his disposal.

I circled the request.

And before I could lose my nerve, I wrote my question across the paper.

Can I trust you?

Doing this… agreeing to it? It was wild. Unfathomable.

Implicitly, he wrote back.

I imagined how calm and collected he probably was. He likely did this sort of thing all the time. I suppose this way his dalliances were predictable. No one to steal his money in a messy divorce. He never gets bored. It’s transactional. A business deal. That’s how I needed to think of it too. This was all business.

You’ll be mine. Fully mine.

I’m speechless over his last message.

Possessive bloke. But fine, yes. If that’s the kind of reassurance he needed, so be it. I had work to do. And this was just business.

I circled the phrase. Accepting my fate.

Chapter Text

I barely slept that night. I laid awake on the couch for hours cycling through the various stages of regret and self-loathing.

I’d just sold myself for money.

The money would go to bettering society.

I’d sold my body. For sex. With a stranger.

The research was more important than myself or my bloody pride.

Perhaps once we were face-to-face we could converse about some of our agreement’s more…gray areas. That would reassure me.

I had to have sex with someone.

Someone I wasn’t dating.

Someone I probably didn’t even know.

What if I was terrible at it? What if they wanted their money back after how miserable I was at sex?

I couldn’t afford to fuck it up.

No, the pun was definitely not intended.

The details of the contract specified that our arrangement started this morning. I looked at the clock above the small shelf. It was already six in the morning. I still needed to go to Ron’s and get my things. But perhaps I’d wait until after I saw the house I was staying at? That way, I could just Floo straight from Ron’s to this one with the boxes. That might be easier.

Astoria crept out of her room and jolted when she saw me awake and upright.

“Merlin! Why are you up? You both got back so late last night.”

She took in my grim expression.

“That good, huh?”

I was so bloody nervous and terrified I didn’t know what to think.

“I’ll put the kettle on.”

How Astoria woke up this gorgeous was a real mystery. After my gin and tonic exploration last night, coupled with raging anxiety and no sleep, I was sure I looked positively feral.

“How was your date?” I asked, trying to sound lighter than I felt.

She groaned. “We’ll need whisky for that conversation.”

I smiled and so did she.

“He’s just not what I wanted.”

I nodded in understanding. She was beautiful, kind, and smart. How were eligible men everywhere not beating down the door to get with her?

“Can I be honest?”

“Of course.”

Astoria brought over a tray with tea and scones. She curled up under the blankets beside me while we fixed our cups in a comfortable silence.

“I’m in love with someone.”

My eyes widened.

“But…it’s complicated.”

“Why?”

She swallowed and picked at her scone, refusing to look at me.

“I’m a few years behind you lot,” she said. “But I felt like I was raised around most of the people in your year because of…”

Daphne. Right.

I nodded, encouraging her so she wouldn’t have to say her name if she didn’t want to.

“Well,” she continued. “I know he’d had a close relationship with her. But I… I’m mad over him. I have been since I was young. And even now, seeing him, being around him, it’s impossible. He’s so sharp, protective, and handsome. And I…” she swallowed back emotion. “I can’t have him, can I?”

My heart splintered apart for her.

“Did he love her?”

A single tear fell down her cheek.

“I’m just the kid sister, you know? Everyone,” she gestures to Pansy’s room. “They all protect me even more now because they feel like they couldn’t D—”

I reached for her hand and gripped it hard.

“He killed my father,” she whispered. “When he found out that his plan was to sell off Daph to breed her to other pure bloods. He killed him.”

“Was she…”

I couldn’t remember the specifics of her sister’s death from the war. I’d always assumed it’d happened during the Battle of Hogwarts. That’s where most casualties were. But if Daphne wasn’t in school that year…

Astoria nodded.

“I remember watching him kill my father with his bare hands. No magical trace that way. It was right in front of me. And as morbid as it sounds, I knew in that moment that I would never be able to love anyone else as much as I do him. He saved me from the same fate Daph was going to face.”

I couldn’t breathe as I took in Astoria’s words. I couldn’t fathom my father doing something like that to me. A wave of pity washed over me. Pure blooded families always came across as so luxurious, almost divine in some aspects. But hearing stories like this? They had been willingly selling their children to others. It felt sick.

“Have you told him how you feel?”

She gave her cup of tea a sad smile as she shook her head.

“It’s too complicated.”

I squeezed her hand.

“It would be a gift to be loved by you, Astoria. Truly.”

She squeezed my hand back and used it to wipe the stray tear from her chin.

“Enough melancholia,” she breezed. “Tell me about your first night at Lore.”

I took a long breath.

“I’m moving out today,” I said.

She jolted toward me.

“What?”

Then realization hit her.

“You didn’t.”

Fucking hell, I wished she wouldn’t look at me like that. Especially after her bloody story of selling pure bloods for babies. I felt wretched about myself.

Before I could speak, Astoria was already going.

“You could have stayed as long as you needed. We would have let you do your research here. And I told you I’d be willing to offer up the bedroom. I don’t mind, really.”

“It’s done, Astoria,” Pansy said from behind me.

She reached around and pulled a scone off my plate and plucked it into her mouth while she crashed into the overstuffed armchair to our left.

“Why?” Astoria asked Pansy. “Why would you approve it?”

“I didn’t have much of a say, did I, Granger?”

A sheepish shade of red settled over my cheeks at the reprimand. Pansy’s eyes didn’t leave Astoria’s.

“It’s not the same thing, Astoria. You know it.”

She huffed to herself and looked away.

“Tell her about the funds, Grangey.”

Astoria didn’t look up.

“Five million.”

Astoria blinked, but offered no other reaction.

“I can finish my research, help people, get out on my own after this,” I said softly.

Astoria didn’t answer me, though. She just set her cup down and stood up.

“I’ve taken another shift, I need to go,” she said briskly. “I hope you’ll enjoy your time, Hermione.”

I went to stand up and go after her, but Pansy held my knee. I looked over and she shook her head, both of us flinching when Astoria’s door slammed shut.

“Give her time,” Pansy said. “She’ll come around.”

I studied Pansy, her face a mask of unreadable emotions.

“Why do you do it?” I asked her. “When you know it hurts her. Her history with contracts. Why would you allow them at your club?”

“The difference between my contracts and the ones her shitty father used is that the women hold all the power here. Every cent goes to them. They maintain power, money, and autonomy throughout the process. The only thing I navigate is who is allowed to participate. And rest assured, each wizard brought in endures a rigorous background check. I would never allow women to be hurt in any way. Being in charge is the way I make sure they don’t get hurt.”

I want to believe Pansy’s situation is different. It feels different. Even last night, I didn’t feel afraid or worried for myself. My own fears seem so pathetic and selfish now. Being worried about losing money and being bad at sex seemed foolish after all that.

I looked back at Pansy and watched her stare into the distance. Her own memories battled her for control, and I watched her cool mask of control slip ever so slightly. I wondered if her story had been like Astoria and Daphne’s. She came from one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. It wasn’t too far off to believe her parents would have done something similar. I think her father’s in Azkaban, but I can’t remember anything about her mother.

A fluttering noise broke us both out of our thoughts. A wide envelope settled on my lap.

“The terms of your arrangement,” Pansy said.

My hands trembled.

“You know who it is.”

I looked up at her. It wasn’t a question I was asking, just maybe a glimmer of reassurance. Hope. That I wasn’t going to be completely ruined by this experience. But her face gave away nothing.

“I do,” she said.

Her features were expressionless.

“Am I a fool?” I asked her.

Time passes between us.

Perhaps that was answer enough.

“No,” she finally said. “Reckless. Impulsive. But you are a Gryffindor.”

Both of us smiled at that.

 “I don’t let men enter into contracts if I don’t trust them.”

Her words were sobering. She trusted him.

“The question is, will you trust him?”

I’d asked him that very question last night, and he’d answered that I could do so implicitly. I just hoped I wouldn’t be the fool when this was over.

I opened the envelope and slipped the stack of papers out. But with them, another object dropped onto my blanketed legs. I reached down and picked up a gold ring. The center stone was a breathtaking kite with swirling shades of green so dark they almost looked black. I’d never seen anything like it before. I turned it in my hand, studying the heavy metal.

“For the wards,” Pansy explained.

I nodded. It made sense. I slipped it onto the pointer finger of my right hand and admired the craftsmanship. It was stunning.

I briefly thumbed through the papers before tucking them back into the envelope. I was too nervous to read through them again. Pansy’s wand tapping my knee brought me back to the present.

I looked down and noticed I was fully dressed and ready. I had on jeans, a light sweater that matched my new ring, and my hair had miraculously been tamed.

“You know you don’t have to be a stranger once you go,” she shrugged. “Astoria’s grown rather fond of you.”

I smiled.

“Just Astoria?”

“Clara too, I suppose.”

“Right,” I nodded. “Sure.”

Pansy rolled her eyes and stood up.

“I mean it, Granger. You say the word, and I’ll smack the shit out of that prat. You understand?”

“I don’t think that was one of the consensual touches outlined,” I waved my envelope at her, and she actually bloody laughed.

I could have fallen over from shock.

I stared at the address on the back of the envelope and took a deep breath before casting one more look toward Astoria’s room. I knew she was already gone; I’d heard her apparate out of her room earlier.

I walked toward Pansy’s Floo and turned to face her one last time.

“Thank you,” I said, motioning to the couch. “I don’t know what I would have done without this week.”

“Anytime,” she nodded.

I stepped inside the fireplace. My breathing had stopped entirely as I contemplated the weight of this situation. Everything was going to be different when I walked through this Floo. My entire life would change right before my eyes.

“Granger,” she called.

I turned to see her smiling in the wicked way I remember from my days at school.

“Give him hell.”

Chapter Text

5

I didn’t release my breath as I stepped through the Floo.

I don’t know what I was expecting. Would he be right there in front of me, waiting to scrutinize and judge me? Would he want to initiate physical contact right then? I nervously shifted on my feet as I looked around.

The place was immaculate, as I expected. There was so much natural light pouring in through the large windows. The ring warmed on my finger, a sign that I’d been welcomed into the wards. I considered announcing myself, but my voice seemed frozen.

I stepped into the pristine home.

The Floo was near the dining room. A large dining table filled the space. There was a small vase with white flowers in the center of the table, but that was the only thing on it. I walked through the dining room into an equally well-lit kitchen. Natural light poured into the space. The granite countertops were a beautiful shade of white, and it matched the white cabinetry as well. There were several potted plants near the large window over the sink. There was a large island with several stools beneath it. A note was folded on top of the counter.

I looked around again and placed my folder of the contract on the counter. The note wasn’t sealed, just propped up like a small tent. I flipped it open and saw the familiar script.

I’ll be late getting home today. Explore. Get settled. There’s plenty of food in the fridge for you.

I’ll see you soon.

I released the breath I had been holding. A wave of relief washed over me. I wouldn’t have to face him yet. I explored more of the kitchen and made my way into the large living area. Once again, the décor was subtle. There were no nods to any sort of personal mementos anywhere. I couldn’t get a grasp on who this person was at all. I ventured to the rooms upstairs. The bi-level home was quaint, and judging by the other homes in the neighborhood, it was a wealthier area and quiet. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were Muggles living around here, unaware of the magical presence of some of their neighbors.

Upstairs there were just three rooms. The first was what would become my office. There was a large desk, work table, chairs, and empty bookshelves along one wall. It was very large, and would be easy to work in. I also appreciated the view of the small yard below.

The next room might have been my favorite. My breath halted as I entered the study. It looked like it was in the middle of a dense forest. There were thick vines and greenery that completely hid the top of the shelves and ceiling. The rich greens paired wonderfully with the deep mahogany of the shelves. Sporadic flowers poured over the shelves giving the room an intoxicating scent. Parchment, flowers, greenery. It was divine. There were overstuffed chairs, a tea cart, and dozens of shelves. I scanned the rows, noting many of the texts were first editions. How was I supposed to spend time in an office when I wanted to spend hours here?

When I returned to the hallway, I left the French doors to the space open. The last door was the bedroom. I opened it to reveal a massive bed in the center of the room. That’s when it hit me.

One bed.

One room.

Living with this man meant I would be sleeping with him each night he was here. My nerves returned. The bed was beautiful. The crisp white linens just enhanced the natural light pouring in from the large bay window. Two wing-backed chairs sat in the alcove, where a door behind one of them led to a small balcony.

There was another door that led to a bathroom to the right of the chairs. Again, no personal trinkets or otherwise that would indicate who lived here. Even the books on the nightstand were fairly basic—contemporary mystery novels by a current witch. I slipped into the bathroom and noted the same bright granite on the countertop. The dual sinks were framed with lovely golden mirrors. There was a splash of color in the spacious shower with golden and green tile work. A large tub sat beside the shower that looked big enough for a whole group to soak in. Through the bathroom, there was a walk-in closet.

I took note of all the clothes hanging and noticed that while half of the closet had been reserved for male clothing, the other half had been entirely reserved for female clothing. My fingers traced over the delicate silks and satins. They all still had the tags on. Everything was my size. My shoe size, my dress size, even my trouser size with the appropriate width and lengths. I shook my head at all of it. A row of elaborate fascinators and hats was encased along the top of the wardrobe.

Social occasions.

My stomach turned with dread.

That would explain all the dresses, too.

I turned to his side of the closet next. The scent was the first thing I noticed. It was woodsy, with a hint of crisp sweetness. My senses were wild from the familiarity of it, but I couldn’t place it. It was right there, within reach, but so far. I snooped through every drawer. The clothing was as indistinguishable as the rest of the home had been. The only difference was that most of the colors on his side were dark blues, greys, and blacks. My side of the closet was a veritable rainbow in comparison. He had everything from casual linen suits to a tuxedo and dress robes. There were a few sparse pairs of denim and workout clothing too—a Quidditch jersey from his favorite league, the Ballycastle Bats. I could gauge his size, but that was about it. I noticed a few designer watches, rings, and cufflinks. But no personally monogrammed materials or even a clandestine love note, tucked away in the back of his sock drawer.

I went to the bathroom cabinets next. I found the cologne he used from a French boutique. When I opened the lid, it smelled exactly like the closet. And that familiar tingle of memories was fuzzy and out of reach. I found a toothbrush, toothpaste, healing potions, and sleeping draughts. There was an expensive set of straight edge razors that looked more like nefarious weapons than grooming materials.

I turned to the other sink’s cabinetry and found everything I would need: hairbrush, hair ties, products, even a bloody toothbrush. I wouldn’t let myself linger on how he knew that was my toothpaste of choice. It had to be a lucky guess.

But my fingers froze when I saw the bottle of perfume.

My perfume.

The one my mother purchased for me every birthday.

One I hadn’t been gifted in six years since I lost her.

My fingers shook as I reached for the bottle.

How?

How had he known?

I uncapped the bottle and tears streamed down my face as I was enveloped in the familiar scent.

Mum.

I choked down a sob as I sank to the floor.

It never got easier. The pain, the longing, the regret. It was all still there, right in the forefront of my mind. The memory spell had been permanent. They were blissfully happy and unaware of my presence. I lived with the consequences every day. And in situations like this, it was a sharp reminder of how badly I’d ruined things. A simple scent could bring me to my knees with a ferocious wave of guilt.

I don’t know how long I sat on the floor, clutching the small vial to my chest. But whoever this person was, they knew things about me that I doubted even those close to me would know. I knew Ron and Harry hadn’t been aware of it. Or Ginny.

So who else would?

Or was the house imbued with the type of magic that would know me? All the sizes were correct down to the tailoring of the hem lines for each skirt. Favorite toothpaste? It was nonsensical to believe anyone would know these minute details about me. It had to be the magic of the house.

“Thank you,” I said to the house.

I dried my eyes, added a few spritzes of perfume to my wrist and neck, and then went in search of something to eat. The house had likely stocked my favorite foods as well.

I was pleased to find the house had indeed stocked all of my favorites, even down to the type of loose leaf tea I like in the mornings and the evenings. I distracted myself with the study for the remainder of the day. I was lost in the enchanting forest-scape. There were three books that I was incredibly interested in reading on magical origins. I even found a notepad nearby and was taking detailed notes to add to my research.

After heating up some ready-made meals for supper that I gratefully didn’t have to cook, I wandered back to the bedroom. I pulled one of the books from the bed's left side and read to calm my nerves. He said he would be home late. But what did that mean?

Apparently the suspense of the novel wasn’t enough to keep me engaged, because before long, I was drifting into unconsciousness.

***

I jolted awake, brushing the curls from my eyes only to realize that dawn was already here. Panicked, I looked to the spot next to me and sighed in relief.

Empty.

But it did look slept in…

I reached my hand over and felt the still-warm space of the imprint. 

Buggering fuck hell shit.

I scrambled to a seated position and realized I was dressed in a silk nightie the color of a stormy night. The deep blue looked almost black, it was so dark.

I didn’t change into pajamas. I’d fallen asleep in my denim and sweater on the bed. And I doubted the house had that much magic.

I took inventory of my physical self. Had I had sex? Had someone…touched me?

There was nothing that I could see or feel that would indicate as much.

I could feel the rising hyperventilation taking over my body.

“Woah, Granger, sorry about that.”

My bedroom door swung open, and I reflexively pulled the blankets up over my barely-covered chest.

My mouth dropped open.

My brain scrambled to catch up with the scene before me.

Theodore Nott was standing in the doorway to the bedroom.

“Theodore?”

I was full of shock and surprise. He had been the wealthy benefactor? How? Why?

“Theo’s fine,” he gave an easy shrug.

His black hair was curled tightly around his forehead, and he shook it from his eyes with an easy smile.

“Suppose I can’t be calling you Granger, though,” he said, looking over me.

“Hermione is fine,” I stammered, still overcome with shock.

We were silent for a moment while a beat of awkwardness passed between us.

“I just finished adding some things to the office,” he said. “I tried to model it after what St. Mungo’s research areas look like for our team. I know your last project was medical research, so I guessed at what you’d need. But just let me know what else you’re missing. I’ll get them to you.”

“Um, yeah, thank you,” I said. “That’s great.”

He rocked on his feet and looked at his watch.

“Well, I’ve got work in ten.”

My features did little to hide their surprise.

“Oh, so soon?”

“Erm, yeah. Fraid so.”

Both of us were nodding uncomfortably.

“I just thought…” I stopped.

Why was I being so ridiculous about all this? Shouldn’t I be grateful he wasn’t going to be around much?

“Well. I just thought maybe we’d have time to catch up? Chat a bit?”

The notion of speaking with me seemed like a complete and total shock to his system. Did he not want to talk? Was I reading this situation entirely wrong? I was so bloody confused.

“Oh, yeah,” he said. “Well. I could come round this weekend? I’m not working.”

My brows furrowed. This weekend? What on earth?

“So you won’t be back tonight? To sleep here?”

He physically recoiled at that question.

“I’m afraid there won’t be room in our bed for a third, darling. Per your request.”

Every ounce of warmth drained from my body at the sound of that voice.

I slowly turned from the door toward the bathroom door. It was open, and steam was escaping now.

Merlin’s fat arse.

Standing with only a towel wrapped around his waist was Draco Malfoy.

Chapter Text

I must be dreaming. That could be the only logical explanation for this absolute nightmare before me. I couldn’t be staring at Draco Malfoy’s wet, half-naked body. I couldn’t be in a contract with him.

This wasn’t real.

It couldn’t be.

“I’m gonna go,” Theo said. “S’pose I’ll see you this weekend?”

“Office updated?”

Theo nodded and so did Malfoy. Theo offered one last lopsided grin and thumbs up before backing out of the room and shutting the door. When I turned back to Malfoy, he was gone.

“Is this some kind of laugh?”

“Who’s laughing?” he called back from inside the bathroom.

The door was still open, so I could hear him well enough.

“You and Pansy, obviously,” I said, clambering out of the bed. “You’ve set this all up and have had a great laugh over poor daft Granger.”

He emerged from the closet with his brow arched. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. And his low-slung sweats made me immediately look anywhere else. Gods. Had his body always been so chiseled? He must do a million daily sit-ups to have abdominals like that.

“No one’s laughing,” he said as he walked out the bedroom door. “The contract is real.”

I blanched.

It can’t be. No. This was not…

I followed after him down the stairs.

“But that would mean this whole thing is a ridiculous misunderstanding,” I said.

“What part did you misunderstand exactly?” he asked. “The part where I agreed to lick your cunt until you couldn’t form cohesive thought patterns, or the part that you belong to me?”

I sputter at his coarse vulgarity.

He looks unbothered with his head cocked to the side like that. His feigned innocence. His wry smirk.

“Malfoy,” I breathed.

“Hungry?”

I’d followed him into the kitchen and he was leaning his hip against the countertop. His biceps were bulging as they crossed in front of him. His pectoral muscles strained as well. He was so fit… I couldn’t look away. But I also couldn’t formulate a coherent thought to save my life.

“I didn’t eat dinner last night. And I’d like a bit of sustenance before I maul your pussy like a ravenous animal.”

I nearly fell over.

“Draco!”

He threw his head back and laughed.

“Oh, I am going to absolutely love this.”

“It’s not funny. We need to go to Pansy and get this sorted out.”

“Breakfast?”

I glared at him.

“Stop changing the subject.”

I shifted as he slowly dragged his gaze over me. I realized now how entirely revealing my sleepwear was. Sleepwear that he changed me into. Bloody hell. I closed my eyes against the rising flush I felt in my chest and face.

I took a few deep breaths and tried to ground myself. I couldn’t do this. Not with him. Not like this. I’d find another way to do my research.

When I opened my eyes, Draco was watching me. His light gray eyes were drawn below his furrowed brows. He was studying me, but there was a hunger there. He shamelessly looked over my body again. It was impossible not to flush under the intensity of his gaze.

“Sit.”

I swallowed. He motioned to the chair beside me at the island.

I didn’t move.

He raised his brow in challenge. But I couldn’t stop myself. My mouth opened, and all of my thoughts and fears just poured out.

“Malfoy, we need to solve this. It’s ridiculous to think that the two of us could cohabitate for a day, much less a year. We need to talk to Pansy. I mean look at you! You would never. I mean… it’s us. It’s me. Fucking hell, this isn’t what you signed on for. The—”

His finger pressed against my lips.

“I want an omelet.”

I balked and shooed his finger away from my lips.

“I can’t make you a bloody omelet. I don’t know how. See what’s in the fridge, eat a yogurt or something.”

“Sit.”

I started to argue again, but I glared at him when he moved toward me.

“Don’t patronize me.”

“You’re working yourself into an absolute fit. Do you like omelets?”

I was going to hit him with a bloody frying pan. I rolled my eyes.

I opened my mouth, but his finger was there again.

“You are going to sit,” he scooted me back so my legs hit the back of the chair. “And you are going to take several breaths. And if you do as I say, I will answer your bloody questions while I cook you breakfast. Yes?”

He held his finger over my lips, so it’s not as if I could answer even if I wanted. I crossed my arms over my chest, though. He had a clear view straight down my top from this angle.

“Spoil sport.”

He turned around and began gathering ingredients. The muscles along his back constricted and moved in a rhythmic dance. It was magical to watch.

I finally snapped out of my lust-induced fog.

“How are you not more alarmed by this?”

“You obviously didn’t read the contract,” he said over his shoulder. “Very unlike you, I might add. Skipping homework? Naughty.”

He had the audacity to tsk me.

“The contracts are anonymous!”

He said nothing. There was no quip, no retort.

He. Bloody. Knew.

“Pansy said they were anonymous.”

“I doubt that very much. Pansy Parkinson is many things. A liar she is not.”

I fervently searched my memories. She had to have…

I shook my head.

She didn’t.

She never said that. And neither did Clara.

I closed my eyes and groaned. How could I have been so bloody headstrong and reckless?

“Are you trying to wound my ego?”

I rested my head on the cool granite of the counter.

“We have to call this off. You’ve had your fun. Be done.”

He ignored me. “Coffee or tea?”

“Coffee,” I mumbled.

“French press or espresso?”

“French.”

He kept preparing breakfast as if nothing was wrong while I doomed over the impending consequences. This wasn’t real. This had to be a nightmare. A dark, strange, odd nightmare. In no reality did Draco Malfoy make me breakfast and sign up for a sex arrangement with me.

“Why aren’t you freaking out?” I finally said.

I sat up, waiting for his answer. He didn’t give one, so I prodded.

“You can’t want this. Want me. We’re…well, you and I…we’re… you just can’t.”

He sighed dramatically and shook his head.

What was that for? Was he always this bloody impossible? I glared at the back of his head.

“Granger,” he turned around and abruptly stopped. “Guess I can’t be saying that anymore. Anyway. It’s like you don’t even know me.”

My eyes widened in disbelief.

He pushed a plate toward me featuring the most immaculately prepared omelet delicately perched in the center. Chives were even snipped along the top.

“Tell me what you know about me. The general statements. Things everyone knows.”

He slid a fork toward me.

I eyed him suspiciously but took the fork because it looked and smelled delicious.

“You’re posh.”

He waved me on.

“Intelligent. Stubborn.”

I let my eyes track down his naked torso.

“Vain.”

He snorted.

“You’re missing the most important one.”

Unfortunately, my underutilized carnal nature had taken over my brain, and the only words remaining were entirely based on physically objectifying comments about his gorgeous body and handsome face. None of which I was willing to share with him.

“Spoiled,” he said.

I nodded. Of course.

He took his omelet and began cutting it, motioning for me to do the same. I did and marveled at the buttery light texture he’d managed.

“And what do spoiled boys always want?”

I took a bite, and it felt like clouds were on my tongue. It was rich, salty, fatty, and decadent.

“What they can’t have,” I said instead of moaning my enjoyment.

His eyes seemed to darken.

“Exactly.”

A shiver ran down my back as I shrank away from his intense look.

“So that’s it? You wanted to pay to fuck me so you could say you finally fucked something you couldn’t have?”

I took the courage to meet his eyes again. He popped a bite into his mouth. His lips wrapping around the tongs of the fork did funny things to my core.

“Is that what you believe I did?”

No, my gut reaction said. But I remained quiet. I didn’t know. All of this was too confusing. My courage was gone as quickly as it’d come.

“I don’t view you as a conquest.”

He motioned for me to eat, but my stomach was in knots again.

“Define the term indemnity.”

He pushed the French press toward me. There was a cube of sugar and cream already waiting for me at the bottom of my cup with a small spoon on the saucer.

Just like I liked it.

I swallowed as I stirred coffee into my tea cup.

“It’s monetary compensation.”

He finished the last of his omelet and took the coffee carafe.

“I prefer a sum exacted by a victor in war as one condition of peace.”

A heavy weight pulled at me as he made his cup of black coffee.

“Malfoy, we were just kids. You don’t need to buy my forg—”

His movements were lightning fast. His lithe and strong fingers were around my forearm in a second, twisting it slightly to reveal the scarred etchings his aunt had made with a cursed blade.

He studied the marks as if the memory was playing right before him.

His fingers were feather light as he traced over the letters.

Neither of us spoke as he dragged his touch lingered on my forearm. The two of us had never shared a touch like this. It was so gentle. He was a nemesis for the better part of my life. But like this it was hard to picture him in that villainous role of our youth. When we finally separated, I felt breathless.

He picked up his fork and took a piece off my omelet. He held it in front of my mouth and quirked a brow at me. I have no idea what possessed me to open my mouth for him, but I did. Maybe it was because watching him put his lips over the tines made me want to do the same. Maybe I was momentarily hypnotized by a disjointed act of kindness coming out of Draco Malfoy. Or maybe this nightmare was just a circus of happenings, and I was just along for the ride.

Whatever the case, he fed me the rest of my omelet exactly like that—with his fork and in total silence. Once finished, he stood straighter and tapped the fork against the ring on my finger.

“Close, but not quite.”

I scrutinized him over my coffee as I took a drink of the sweet and milky liquid. It was as delicious as the breakfast had been.

“Meaning?” I asked.

He sighed and slid the contract in front of me. He then reached for my hand and tugged the ringer off my finger. He slid it over two fingers and placed it on my ring finger.

The ring finger of my left hand.

“You should have done your homework, wife.”

Chapter Text

My coffee cup crashed onto the counter, splintering into millions of tiny shards as it hit the granite.

“You’re…you’re joking…” I stammered.

I’d spilled the remainder of my coffee all over my unopened contract, which was now soaked. Malfoy didn’t even bother taking out his wand, he vanished the mess with a simple wave. I would have marveled at the skill it took to obtain such strong wandless magic, but I was busy having a mental breakdown.

“Why would I ever joke about something this serious?”

Hysteria bubbled up inside me. I laughed and tore open the envelope.

“You couldn’t… there’s no way. I never circled anything about marriage.”

I tore through the pages. Another large, stapled packet was behind the original contract. It was labeled Security Measures.

“This is bigger than our actual contract.”

He sighed as he stepped around the island. I couldn’t take my eyes off the packet, though. I tore through the pages, eyes eagerly scanning the information as quickly as I could.

“You tricked me,” I said. “You hid these security measures in our contract and trapped me!”

My eyes flare with rage.

“Draco! This is a magical marriage! That means—”

He swung my chair around, and I was knocked off balance, but his hand steadied me. Then, his lips descended.

I couldn’t react even if I wanted to. I was paralyzed within the rapture of his touch. His kiss was…

“You see, Granger,” he whispered against my lips. “I have what some would call a voracious appetite. Our needs align.”

With a flick of his wrist, the countertop was cleared of our dishes, and he hauled me into his arms. He sat me on the counter’s edge, never breaking our connection. Realistically, I knew I should stop kissing him. It was wildly inappropriate. This was Draco-sodding-Malfoy. Kissing him felt like a betrayal to everything I stood for. His wealth, purity standards, attitude, alliances. Our history! It was all contradictory to me. But at this moment, with this connection, I couldn’t find any reason. I was lost to him. And it was terrifying.

But mostly, it was thrilling.

My arms were suddenly thrust above my head and my body was slowly lowered to the icy countertop. I shivered as my bare back and legs made contact. The kiss breaking finally allowed oxygen to get to my brain, and I struggled against the restraints.

“Malfoy,” I gritted as he loomed over me.

A predatory gleam settled over his features. He looked animalistic.

A spike of fear ratcheted through me. He placed both of his strong hands on my thighs, holding them in place as his eyes devoured me with a burning intensity.

No one had ever looked at me like this.

His hands felt like fire above the silk gown I wore. And suddenly, the icy cold against the back of my body felt just as hot as the place his hands gripped me.

“Draco,” I stammered. “Draco wait. We need to talk about this. This contract is madness and we—”

His hands squeezed my thighs, and I fought against the whimper that built in my throat.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

That sultry confidence that three G&Ts gave me was long gone. Now I was a shivering mess.

“Draco,” my voice cracked as his fingers gently brushed away the silk.

He pushed the nightgown up my legs, revealing the matching lace panties beneath. Fucking gods. He could see everything in this light.

“The contract—”

I’m not sure what point I was trying to make, but it died on my tongue when his lips brushed my thigh.

“I’m going to help you study the contract,” he said, brushing whispered kisses against my thigh. “But I’m more of an experiential learner.”

My legs and arms shook as I fought to regain control of my body. Or maybe it was in anticipation of his mouth being so close to…

His fingers slipped around the band of my panties.

I pinched my eyes shut.

“Draco please,” I begged, unsure what I was begging for.

He slid my panties down my legs with excruciating slowness. I was a bloody fool for agreeing to this. The contract would absolutely ruin me!

“We can’t—”

His lips were gone, and so were his hands. He stood between my legs, my panties in his fist as he took a long inhale with them pressed to his face.

I gaped.

This man was positively unhinged.

He held the panties toward me with a quirk of his brow, then picked up the contract from beside my thigh. He flipped a few pages.

“The agreement was on a case-by-case basis,” he said, waving the panties my direction.

I stammered.

“You want to…”

“Gag you with these, yes. I need quiet while I help you study.”

I coughed in surprise.

“Open your mouth, wife.”

I’m certain I opened my mouth from the sheer surprise of his request, not because I was interested in him stuffing my panties in my mouth. But he did with a wicked grin of satisfaction. And my mind warred with mortification and thrilling anticipation. Perhaps more thrilling than the impending pleasure, was the sense that this pleased Draco.

His mischievous grin sent an electric current through my body. My lower half was completely bare to him, and now he turned his gaze toward my most vulnerable part. He dragged his tongue over his lower lip, and I whined against the lace fabric in my mouth. The contract was still in his hand, and he let his gaze flick toward the papers as he lowered his head toward my center.

“I want my pussy licked until I scream your name. I want to be tied down while you whisper filthy things to me. I want to come so much I forget my own bloody name.”

I closed my eyes, trembling at the low timber of his voice. Fucking hell. What had I done? Why had I said that? It was just a vulnerable moment.

“Are you listening? Are you remembering these words?”

His voice sounded closer now. When I opened my eyes, he was right outside the shell of my ear.

“My mouth is about to be busy,” his husky whisper sent hot pulses between my thighs. “Let me in here.”

His lips pressed against my temple.

I was so frustrated by the restraints on my arms.

I wanted to touch him.

I wanted to move.

“Tell me you’ll give me access to your mind, wife.”

Fine, fuck! Anything to make him touch me. This hovering was torture. I nodded and things snapped into place instantly. Before, my mind had been a solitary experience. But now I could sense something else there. It was like a feeling of someone watching me.

“So pretty.”

I was looking right at him, but his mouth didn’t move. He’d spoken to me in my mind. His thumb pulled at my lower lip, my mouth slightly split because of the fabric.

“Are you ready to study?” he asked in my mind.

His voice was softer here. It was not a whisper, but the proximity made it feel like he was right next to my ear the whole time, even though he was pulling away from me physically.

He straightened and studied the contract in mock concentration.

“Let’s see,” he mused internally. “Wants to be tied down.”

He looked down at my trapped hands.

“Got it. Wants her pussy to be licked until she screams my name.”

His eyes flashed to mine, a roguish smile on his lips.

“What name will that be?”

He began lowering himself.

“Malfoy?”

His mouth hovered next to my knee.

“Suppose that’s your name now too. It wouldn’t make much sense for you to scream that.”

His lips brushed against my inner thigh.

“I’m partial to Draco.”

Another kiss to the other thigh.

“But what I really think I’d love to hear…”

His teeth bit gently into my inner thigh. I jolted reflexively, but my bound hands held me there.

“Is husband.”

I huffed a breath through my nose. There was no fucking way I was going to ever call him that word. He could take a fat leap right off the roof of this home.

“So touchy,” he tutted.

I groaned and closed my eyes. He could bloody hear my thoughts as well as I could his.

“That’s right, wife.”

He trailed a path up my thigh with his tongue. The searing heat made me want to explode.

“Now, I have work to do.”

He glanced at the contract again and pretended to read. We both know good and well that he’d clearly memorized the whole bloody document.

This insufferable—

“What was that?”

I grumbled my displeasure. I didn’t like having him in here, poking around my thoughts.

“I’m about to be poking a lot more than your thoughts.”

I blanched, and he laughed. And before I could call him any other name, he propelled himself into me. His mouth latched around my core, and my hips bucked wildly against him.

“Now, let’s see what else we have to study.”

He made a show of straightening the contract with one hand, but his eyes weren’t on the paper. They were on mine. The lower half of his face was covered by me, though. And I was enraptured with his talent. Over and over, he licked, teased, tasted, and sucked me. My legs were twitching even two minutes in. I was never going to last.

“It says here you want me to whisper filthy things to you, too? My, my, wife.”

If I were in my right mind, I might be embarrassed at the idea of Draco Malfoy dirty talking to me. But at the present, I couldn’t focus on anything besides the building sensation between my legs. My eyelashes fluttered as he gently teased my clitoris.

“Would you like to know how much I’ve thought of doing this?”

My eyes flashed open and met his.

Liar.

“I don’t lie.”

I scoff.

“Not to you.”

You tricked me into a bloody marriage contract. That’s a lie.

“No, I told you what rules you’d be adhering to—the safety measures. You chose not to request them and read them over beforehand. Negligence on your part. Full disclosure from me.”

Of all the ridiculous shit. You—

My back arched up as far as I could when his teeth sank into my inner thigh. Fuck that felt so fucking good. Damn him.

“So now I get to fuck my pretty little wife all the ways she wants. All the ways I’ve imagined doing.”

His mouth fused to my core again, licking and teasing my entrance.

“You’d better get used to my hands on you. My mouth on you. Because that’s all you’re going to know. You’re mine. Any time I want you. Any time I need you. If I want to eat your cunt for breakfast, I fucking will.”

His pressure increased, and my mind spun.

“And why is that?”

I couldn’t answer him. I couldn’t think. My orgasm was so close.

“Because you…”

Right there. Just like that. So close.

“You are…”

I groaned. I was so close.

Yes!

And just like that, he stopped.

Fuck! No!

I wriggled my hips toward him, but he was watching me.

“Say it.”

I flailed for understanding.

What? Say what?

“Who do you belong to?”

He gave a quick pass with his tongue, and I pleaded for more.

“Say it.”

Buggering damn fuck hell shit.

Draco tsked me.

“Say it, and I’ll add my fingers.”

I groaned. That’s exactly what I wanted. I needed his tongue and his fingers together. He was unraveling me quicker than a ball of yarn. I was helpless.

“Say it.”

This time it came out as more of a growl. His free hand dug into the top of my thigh, but then released and started crawling up my body. His face hovered above my center while his hand found my breast.

Oh hell.

He pinched my nipple between his deft fingertips, and I cried against the fabric in my mouth. I was so fucking desperate and worked up. I was trembling. All I wanted was him to end this. Only him. His body. His hands. His mouth. He was utterly unreceptive to my pleading cries.

“Tell me what I want to hear, wife,” his whisper was low and coarse again.

I could almost feel his breath against my neck as I shivered.

He pulled at my sensitive skin again.

I just needed…

A bit…

His mouth took another swipe at me.

More. More. More. I needed more.

Another lick.

He fisted my breast and squeezed tightly, groaning in approval as he touched me.

He bit into my other thigh and took a dragging suck against the tender flesh.

Fuck, fuck!

“Say it.”

I’m yours!

And he claimed me. With fervent force, he latched himself to me. Had it not been for the gag, I would have been screaming. The relief I felt over the contact and rhythm returning made me dizzy with desire.

He was so skilled, so talented. It’s like he knew every spot to touch and how much pressure to apply. He dissected me like a novel, reading every page of me, pulling every ounce of information he could from my willing body. And he took and took. And I gave and gave. His hand tweaked my breast one last time, and I orgasmed with a vigor that left me sobbing and breathless.

“So pretty,” he told me. “So pretty.”

His hand trailed back down my body as his body drew away. I still felt like I was a thousand degrees, so I didn’t mind the distance. But the smug look on his face made me grateful my hands were still bound. I would have smacked him. He was also still clutching that bloody contract in his left hand.

His head swung toward the door moments before the doorbell sounded. My eyes were wild with fear. I was trussed up on this counter like a lamb to slaughter.

Do not answer that door, I snapped at him.

“I guess you’ll have to figure out a way to get free, I hear wandless magic is a wonderful tool.”

Draco! Draco, don’t! I can’t!

But he shrugged and walked toward the door, dragging his thumb over his lip, and popping my slick sheen in his mouth as he walked.

Chapter Text

He was really bloody leaving me here. Completely immobile. Completely naked except for the scrap of a nightgown was barely covering me.

I cursed him with every foul phrase I could imagine. Over and over as I struggled against the restraints.

“Mrs. Pom! Lovely to see you again.”

My heart thundered as I wriggled. He’d actually answered the door. I was going to fucking kill him.

You can’t kill me, it’s in the security measures.

I roared against his presence in my mind. This was the most foolish thing I’d ever done. It was insane. Maddening. I should never have let my guard down like that. I should have demanded he speak with me about the contract.

“I’ve brought some baked sweets for you both,” the elderly woman said at the door. “I wanted you to feel welcomed to the neighborhood.”

“How considerate of you. My wife’s tied up in the kitchen now, why don’t we bring these into her?”

Maddening panic overtook me. I had to get the fuck out of this and fast. I couldn’t stay bound like this.

Better think quick, wife.

“Darling, Mrs. Pom has come around,” Draco called.

I forced the lace panties from my mouth. 

“Accio wand,” I whispered.

I spread my fingers apart as far as I could and waited. But nothing came. I said it again twice more in a whisper, but still no wand.

I cursed as I yanked and pulled at my arms still trapped above my head.

“I’d love to come in and have a cup, but I’ve got to make it to Lottie’s house for bridge. I’m already behind schedule.”

I loosed a shaky breath.

“Next time,” Draco told her.

“Yes, dear. Say hello to your lovely wife. I’ll see you around.”

There weren’t words that would describe the immeasurable relief I felt. I was safe.

I glared at Draco as he entered the kitchen with a large basket dangling from his fingers.

“How dare you!” I snapped. “You wretched, horrible man!”

He just continued to grin as he leaned casually against the countertop opposite of my prone body.

“Got lucky this time,” he said. “You need to practice your wandless magic.”

“My wandless magic is the furthest thing from my mind at the moment.”

“Well, you’ll have plenty of time to think about it over the next several hours, then.”

I stilled.

“What.”

He started to walk toward the stairs but stopped.

“I’ve got meetings all afternoon.”

He turned on his heel and pivoted back toward me.

“Almost forgot,” he snapped his fingers.

He reached his arm above my head and pulled back.

Dangling in his fingers were my lace panties that had just been in my mouth. He winked at me and pocketed them before jogging upstairs.

I could have put Pompeii to shame with the amount of raging heat that was pouring from every pore on my body. I couldn’t even yell after him because I was so bloody furious. But not just at him. I expected this from that egotistical prat. The real fury was at myself. I’d let a weak moment of self-indulgence completely cloud my judgement. I was a damned fool.

Icy rage settled over me.

I had made the rudimentary mistake of underestimating an adversary. Now I was paying for it. But it was a mistake I would never make again.

“Well, darling,” Malfoy practically skipped into the kitchen, fully showered and dressed in a smart blue suit.

He dangled my panties at me before stuffing them into his suit pocket.

“A little reminder to get me through those tedious meetings.”

I didn’t give into his goading. I was stronger than this. Than him.

“Need anything before I go?”

I said nothing.

Stubbornness won’t get you very far.

He spoke once again in my mind and ran his thumb over the arch of my left foot.

Ask me.

I refused.

I closed my eyes and worked on schooling my features against the earth-shattering spitefulness I felt toward him.

He squeezed my foot. I opened my eyes and narrowed them on him.

“Ask me, wife.”

I kept my face blank.

“Have a wonderful day, husband.”

The ghost of a smile played on his lips before he tilted his head toward me and walked to the Floo.

“I’ll see you for dinner.”

And then he was gone.

Fifteen minutes elapsed before I finally trusted myself to release my bottled emotions. I screamed and cursed at him so loudly that the next three continents probably heard. It probably stalled the neighbor’s game of bridge. It probably halted Parliament.

I fucking hated Draco Malfoy. And he’s going to wish we were still third years. Because breaking his nose is going to look like a walk in the park compared to what I do to that arse.

As soon as I found a way to unbind myself.

After two hours of unsuccessfully shouting for my wand, I gave up that option. My wand wasn’t coming. Nor was any other random wand I pitifully shouted for.

When I was this keyed up I couldn’t focus. Wandless magic wasn’t something I practiced. I mastered the basic skill of pointing my wand and casting spells without saying them, but that’s as far as I’d taken things. I always had a wand, or someone else’s present. Not to mention, the Ministry was very opposed to completely wandless magic. It wasn’t something many individuals were able to do, even with great power. Our wands are meant to amplify the magic we naturally possessed. Doing magic without a wand seemed counterintuitive because it wouldn’t be as strong.

I shifted again uncomfortably. My arms had never been immobilized like this before. The last time I felt this out of control was…

I swallowed down the spike of fear I had at remembering Bellatrix Lestrange crouching over me.

No.

I wasn’t giving two members of the same family that much power today. I had to draw a line somewhere. So I focused on things I could control.

My legs.

But those were a dead end.

I had managed to move them enough that my silk nightie finally covered my bare core. I thought back to Draco taking my panties and was angry all over again.

Bastard.

Actually, I wish he was a bastard. Wouldn’t that be a lovely little treat to all the blood purity folks. Too bad he was a carbon copy of Lucius Malfoy. It seemed he inherited his maliciousness, too.

After an hour of feeling sorry for myself, I nearly considered calling for Draco. I was almost sure he would still be listening for me to fly the white flag of surrender. And as my arms became numb, I really considered it. I’d been stuck on this counter for four hours at this point. I was bloody desperate.

I’d call for him, and he would prance through the Floo as the bloody savior of the free world. And then I’d have to kill him. Contract be damned.

Oh fuck me.

The Floo.

I turned my head to see my answer mocking me.

“Floo Pansy,” I called.

The fireplace illuminated with blue. The call had connected.

“Pansy!” I yelled. “Pansy, please! Help me! Pansy! Pansy, are you there?”

I waited, praying that she was home.

“Hermione?”

A manic laugh tore from my throat.

“Yes! Yes, please! Come help me!”

I craned my neck toward the fireplace, but I wasn’t met with Pansy’s shrewd gaze. Instead, it was Astoria.

“Astoria! Hello, come in, please help!”

Astoria was in her healer robes as she walked through the Floo. Her eyes were wide as she looked at me and then our surroundings.

“Sticking charm, I think,” I said. “Would you mind?”

She raised her brow but pointed her wand at me.

I cried triumphantly as my arms finally moved. Bloody hell, I was stiff. I rolled my neck a few times after I hopped off the counter and righted my nightie.

“Hermione, what on earth…”

“Long story,” I said.

“Where are we?”

I gave her a curious look.

“Draco’s...”

She shook her head.

“This isn’t Draco’s flat. He’s lived in the same studio flat since after the war. This is…”

She looked around.

“A very quaint home.”

She sounded surprised as she craned her neck toward the front window.

“Are those Muggles?”

I wasn’t focused on that, I wanted to know more about his second residence.

“Does he still have his flat?”

“I have no idea,” she said.

Her eyes roamed over me as she scrutinized me. I suddenly felt just as naked as I had been earlier.

“Did he…” she swallowed and blinked several times. “Did he hurt you?”

Her voice was quiet and distant.

“No,” I said shaking my head. “He was just… I don’t know. Being an ass. It’s fine. Physically I’m fine.”

She looked toward the stairs.

“Is he here?”

I shook my head.

She glanced at her watch.

“I have a shift starting soon,” she said. “I should probably go.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Astoria. Truly.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Just know that you can talk to me. I know I…” she chewed her lip. “I don’t agree with the contracts. But I’m here.”

In an uncharacteristically forward move, I hugged her. And it felt nice. She hugged me back before walking back into the Floo.

I turned back toward the stairs. I had the house to myself again. And my first move was finding my bloody wand. I had a sneaking suspicion Malfoy took it with him, though. And if that were the case, I’d find another way to punish him for his little act downstairs. Because I was not going to sit idly by while he took control of my whole life.

No.

I grabbed the contract off the counter and stomped up the stairs.

Draco Malfoy had picked with the wrong bitch.

Chapter Text

Article IV: Personal Safety

Section VI, Marriage:

Hermione Malfoy, neé Granger, acknowledges that a legally binding marriage has been filed (following the completion of this contract) at the Ministry of Magic, as well as proper Muggle facilities. The pair will follow Muggle Marriage laws and abide by the validity code set forth by the third council of the Wizengamot. This includes, but is not limited to, cohabitation, a three-year trial period (minimum), shared finances, regular intimacy, and shared magical enhancements. The full details of Magical partnerships can be found in the Ministry of Magic’s handbook.

I read the section three dozen times.

I was married.

And I would stay married for another three years. I didn’t even want to contemplate the absolute nightmare it would be to file for a legal divorce in the Ministry of Magic. It would be even worse with Malfoy being from one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families. They didn’t divorce.

They also didn’t marry Mudbloods.

I shook my head. It would be in the papers soon. Once a month, they released the new marriages. So not only would the wizarding community see that I was sacked from the Ministry, but they’d also get to read about how I had a complete fall from grace by marrying my sworn enemy. Fun.

I’d never admit it to him, but this contract was bloody fabulous. Iron-clad. It was obnoxious. How had he thought of every possible loophole? It didn’t make sense!

I considered pleading insanity before Wizengamot.

There was already a line that stated I am fully within my sound mind and signing with knowledge and consent.

Even living separately was out of the question because of the cohabitation. I glared at the ring on my left finger. There would be a way out of this marriage. And I didn’t care how long I looked, I would find it. I’d need the Marriage Code from the Third Wizengamot to read over that legislation. Surely, there would be a loophole in there. I’d use the Ministry’s own policy against them.

I kept reading.

Section VII, Requirements of Aristocratic Magical Status:

Hermione Malfoy, neé Granger acknowledges and agrees to the following terms of entering into a marriage with a known Aristocratic family (the Malfoys). Due to the importance of belonging to one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families, a level of decorum and confidentiality must be honored. All activities engaged in by the couple will be to promote the social, political, and societal status of the two. The efforts toward the conception of children will happen within the first five years of marriage and exceed no more than three children. Per the guidelines outlined by the Privy Council of the Order of Salazar, married couples will not seek an annulment, divorce, or separation of any kind. The marriage contract will be as binding as an unbreakable vow.

I couldn’t breathe after that section.

Children.

No divorce.

Stuck.

My head swam with dizzying thoughts.

Why? Why had he done this to us? He knew how serious it was. He knew the permanence…

I read through the rest of Malfoy’s ridiculous demands. Limited Floo usage, always leaving my signet ring on, no apparating after dark, and all guests had to be discussed with my husband before being invited over. I suppose I already broke that rule by Astoria coming through the Floo.

Most of the safety measures outlined the extensive security measures taken in and around the house and for travel purposes. He specified what charms should always be in place over the home, which charms were needed only when one of us was there, and which charms were necessary for the perimeter of our home. There were also several put in place inside. Was this paranoia? Was this in response to a threat? He didn’t even want me going anywhere alone. Of all the ridiculous shit.

I was a grown woman.

I fought in a bloody war.

I could run to the market without fear that I’d be attacked.

If I found my wand, that is. I sighed, pushing the contract to the side of the desk. I needed to find it.

I began searching the obvious places first, thinking that if he hid it in an obvious place, it might be so obvious I wouldn’t even bother checking there. I was wrong. So, I tried the less obvious places. I ransacked our entire closet, opting to leave all of his discarded clothing items on the floor. I cursed to myself the entire time I searched for my wand. No matter how many times I called for it, it wouldn’t come. Which just made me think that Malfoy had taken it with him.

Insufferable prick.

Fine.

I didn’t need a bloody wand. I was Hermione Granger. The brightest witch of our age. I could figure out wandless magic on my own. Then, when he walked through the door, I’d hex the bollocks off him.

I pushed through the disheveled closet with a huff and made my way back to my office. There, stacked neatly on the desk, were three books that hadn’t been there before. All three were on wandless magic.

“Oh, very clever,” I called out to either the house or Malfoy.

I cursed several more times under my breath before I settled in my chair and began reading through them.

It was completely dark outside by the time I looked up from one of the books. I was exhausted and hungry. I didn’t bother to prepare anything for dinner. Malfoy might be my husband on paper, but that didn’t mean I was going to morph into Molly Weasley. I ate an apple, some raspberries, and some crackers. I glanced at the time as I leaned against the countertop I was strapped to just hours before.

Where was he?

He said he’d had meetings. What sort? With whom?

Not that I was privy to any of that information. He seemed perfectly content to leave out the details of his proclivities from the safety plan. What exactly did an aristocrat do? Rub elbows with other wealthy wizards? Play cards? Was he still managing the Malfoy estate? That duty would most likely fall to him; I doubted that the old boys’ club would have let Narcissa take over now that Lucius was in prison.

I picked through the fridge, wondering what else I could pick at. I wasn’t necessarily hungry anymore. I was just distracting myself. With a sigh, I closed the door and nearly jumped out of my skin.

“Fuck sake!”

Draco was standing feet from me. The early mischievous nature was long gone. This was the boy from the war. The gaunt, ghostly-looking boy from my memories. A suffocating wave of dread so powerful moved through me and caused me to stumble backward. I took a deep inhale to ground myself, but it was nearly impossible.

Draco blinked several times and shook his head.

The feeling vanished as quickly as it came on. And rather than speak, he just turned toward the stairs.

He’d had the audacity to enter us into a permanent marriage. I deserved answers. I don’t care what kind of shit day he’d had. I’d had one, too!

I stomped up the stairs after him. I had just as much autonomy in this bloody marriage. He wasn’t in our room, but the bathroom light was on. If I wanted answers, I would get them. I would…

All sense left my body when I entered the bathroom. Draco Malfoy was gloriously naked. His head was tipped back as rivulets of water poured over his head and face and down his insanely chiseled body. And the rest of him…

I blinked several times, taking in the full appearance. He was naked. Very naked. His hips curved in line with the symmetry of his abs. And his cock was something to marvel at. It wasn’t erect, but it hung down an impressive length, surrounded by two heavy—

The glass door of the shower swung open. I jumped and forced my eyes up. He was staring at me, the same saddened look I saw earlier. He held out his hand, offering it to me, beckoning me into the steam.  

I remembered myself and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Malfoy,” I snapped. “I am not showering with you. I’m furious with you! I want my bloody wand. And I want to know how to get out of this ridiculous marriage!”

But his face and body didn’t change. His hand continued to hover in the air between us, extended, palm up, the ring on his left ring finger glinting in the soft light.

He looked so ruined. And I was taken back to sixth year. I saw him staring off into space during class with the same troubled look he wore now. I hated seeing it then, and I hate it now. I wanted the combative arse to compete with me. I wanted him to challenge me. This was…

I shook my head.

He didn’t break eye contact.

His hand didn’t move.

And then he shattered the space around us with one word.

“Please.”

I was frozen by his words. Draco Malfoy didn’t say please. He didn’t have to. He got whatever he wanted when he wanted. So why now was he using a phrase like this? And with me? He was just the boy from Hogwarts once again. Lost. Overwhelmed. Afraid.

My rational thoughts were gone. I was suddenly walking toward him, hand outstretched, as he wordlessly vanished my clothing. My hand fell into his palm, and he wrapped it around mine, pulling me closer. The heat from the spray of water shocked me at first, but I didn’t feel it when his lips covered mine. He pushed me up against the shower wall, and I was obliterated by his kiss. There was a hungry desperation to be close to me, like no matter how much of his body touched and covered mine, it still wasn’t close enough.

His hands moved to my face as he gingerly cupped my cheeks and moved me in time with his rhythmic tongue. The world didn’t make sense here. I should be berating him, hexing him, cursing him, but it was like the second our bodies met, I was completely mindless. He enveloped every functional thought I had in a wave of lust and vanished them from my mind.

And this kiss was…

Earlier had been teasing torture. He nipped and bit all over my body. It was light-hearted. Hot. Wild.

This?

This was so much different.

Draco moved for complete dominance and consumption. He wanted to claim me. The dark mood had him desperately crawling for a way out. I could feel his hardened cock against me now. Draco pulled away, and both of us were breathless and dazed. His eyes had shifted now. The haunting sadness from earlier was now replaced with a dark lust.

He pulled away just enough to slowly sink to his knees.

Draco Malfoy on his knees.

For me.

His huge hand reached for my thigh and pulled my leg over my shoulder while his other hand steadied my hip for balance. I was bared for him once again today.

His eyes met mine as he leaned forward and took a long inhale from the center of my body. It was madness to think this was what he wanted to be doing right now. Especially when we had so much to discuss. But once again, I was lost under his pull. My head hit the tile as I leaned back and moaned with the first swipe of his tongue. And he was as passionate and relentless with me down there as he had been with my mouth only seconds ago.

I had been sexually repressed and deprived for so long that I was almost sure I could come just from the sight of him like this. But he unraveled me like I was a ball of yarn. I was lost to his touch, and when I came, it was so powerful that white spots flared through my vision.

“Draco!” I cried out as my legs trembled beneath the powerful hands that held me.

He pressed kisses along my shaking inner thighs as he sat back on his heels.

Bloody hell. He was unstoppable with that mouth and those hands. I tried to catch my breath as he stood up and scooped me into his arms. As we walked out of the shower, he cast a drying spell on us both and carried us straight to the bedroom. He didn’t bother to get either of us clothes as he tucked us into bed. I shivered against the coolness of the sheets, and he pulled me over his chest, keeping his arms tightly wrapped around me.

I fought off a wave of exhaustion as I yawned.

“I deserve answers,” I whispered, only allowing my eyes to close for a moment.

“Yes.”

His lips brushed my forehead.

He smelled so good, and he was so warm.

“You need to talk to me,” I whispered through another yawn.

“Sleep well, wife.”

Chapter Text

The sun had already risen by the time I woke the next morning. The bed was empty, and I didn’t know if I was relieved or not. I rolled away from his empty space and saw a robe waiting for me on the foot of the bed. It was the same silky material as the other one, but this one was an off-white color with an HM monogrammed on the breast.

I rolled my eyes.

Hermione Malfoy. What a ridiculous name. I at least deserved the courtesy of hyphenating it.

When I got downstairs, Draco was already cooking breakfast. The entire descent, I gave myself a stern talking-to. I was not going to fall prey to his lustful advances this time. I was going to be an adult. And I would even attempt to keep my foul mouth in check.

Okay, probably not the last bit.

But I wasn’t going to let his traitorous mouth distract me.

I took a seat at the counter and admired the contour of his muscles as he worked at the stove. He was shirtless with low-hanging gray tartan pants. The off-white of his pattern matched my robe perfectly.

“Morning, wife,” he said without turning.

I looked down to see a cup of coffee the exact way I liked it.

I glared at it.

Show off.

He wields his wandless magic naturally. And yesterday, I’d barely been able to turn a page in the bloody book without the presence of my wand.

Draco turned with a plate of sausages, eggs, and scones in his hand. His expression was back to the way it had been yesterday morning. Mischievous, light, and flirtatious. I felt myself almost sag in relief.

“Cross with me already?”

I realized my glare had lingered, so I popped my eyebrow in response. I held up my hand.

“One,” I held up a finger. “You took my wand. Two. You won’t tell me why you’ve married me. Three. You married me. Four. That contract is absolute bollocks, and you know it.”

So much for watching my mouth.

He slid the plate of breakfast toward me and held up his own hand.

“One, yes. Two, no. Three, yes. Four, no.”

I sputtered at his obnoxious response. He pushed his plate of food to the seat next to me and walked around the counter toward his side. When he sat down, he didn’t turn to his food. He pinched my chin between his forefingers and tilted my head up to meet his. His soft and warm lips pressed against mine in a dizzying spell. It wasn’t like last night. This was like a stamp of ownership. And the motion seemed as natural as breathing to him. But I kept my wits about me and pulled away. I was not going to get sucked into that trap again.

“I deserve to know what’s going on with my life.”

He tucked into his breakfast. It smelled amazing.

“I agree,” he said, mouth full. “Eat.”

I rolled my eyes at his dog-like command.

“I’ll eat when you actually answer me.”

Immediately, I was thrust against the back of the chair, and my hands were bound to my side. The chair swiveled toward him, and I was once again powerless.

He studied me with that roguish grin.

“Draco,” I warned as his hand trailed up my thigh.

“Eat or be eaten, wife.”

 My cheeks and eyes flared with embarrassment. He seemed to expand with pleasure at my frustration. He turned his body and trapped my legs between his. He leaned forward and dragged his thumb over my lips. I pulled my head away, but he gripped my face with his other hand.

“What will it be?”

I glared.

“I want answers.”

He reached over with one hand and stabbed a sausage on his fork. He held it outside my lips and quirked his brow at me. I couldn’t risk getting distracted again. I needed to eat. I knew he was serious about his threat to devour me rather than his breakfast.

I parted my lips.

And I instantly regretted it. I wanted to wipe the satisfied grin right off his smug face. Bastard.

I chewed the sausage.

“Why did you marry me? Why was that part of our contract?”

His free hand rested on my thigh, spinning small circles with his thumb, while his other hand brought another bite toward me. I gave him a look, urging him to answer, and he finally sighed.

“You should know by now how much I like to have control. This was the way for me to control things.”

He put the next bite into my mouth, but I spoke anyway.

“Draco, this is permanent from what I can see of the Sacred Twenty-Eight laws,” I swallowed.

His brows furrowed like he was actually confused about why I was so upset.

“And you’ll be completely taken care of,” he said. “I will satisfy you, give you every amenity and luxury imaginable, and empower you to pursue more of your research. You don’t need to worry about infidelities with me either.”

He fed me more when I opened my mouth to speak. Didn’t he even consider falling in love with someone? All of these perks were great, sure. But I wanted love.

I thought back to my time with Ron. I thought I loved him. But he cheated on me; he didn’t understand me or my work. He was never an equal partner. But Draco… he’d be so different. And if love was missing from the equation, didn’t the balance of him excelling in all these other areas make up for it? I could never love Draco Malfoy. I didn’t trust him.

On the other hand, I loved Ron, but he ruined my trust. Could there be trust without love? Or love without trust?

Maybe this was the best kind of arrangement for a witch like me. I could work hundreds of hours a week. He would cook for me, fuck me, and let me be. Lusting after him was one thing, but it wouldn’t end up distracting me from my research. So, that’s what I needed to focus on—my work.

“I want my wand,” I said.

“I know,” he fed me another bite. “But it’s gone.”

I choked on the food.

“Gone?”

“A measure of protection.”

I struggled against the magical bindings holding me. This protection nonsense again!

“You fucking prick,” I snarled. “How dare you!”

“I’ve equipped you with everything you’ll need to have even more unrestricted access to your magic. You just need to be stubborn enough to learn it.”

I seethed from my spot between his legs. His insistence to learn wandless bloody magic was infuriating. But what other choice did I have? My wand was just…gone? After all this time? I felt sick. My comfort blanket had been completely stripped from me. And now I had to navigate life without this huge piece of me? I shook my head. He didn’t even care.

His expression was void of any emotion as he held another bite toward my lips.

“What was wrong with you last night?” I pushed.

“Long day,” he answered.

“That’s not a real answer.”

“It’s the one you’re getting.”

I growled with frustration, and he just smiled.

“I could make this arrangement miserable for you. I could become absolutely unbearable. I’ll cheat on you, destroy your things, steal from you, mistreat you in every way. You couldn’t possibly stay with me through all that. You’ll initiate the divorce. You can’t live with a monster. Even your patience will run thin.”

Draco laughed, the rich sound filling the space, making the hair on the back of my neck and arms stand at attention. He brushed his thumb over my cheek.

“I think you forget that I lived with Lucius Malfoy for eighteen years. You don’t scare me, wife.”

I glared at him.

“Plus, I didn’t have the means to fight back against my father.”

I tried to lean back, out of the range of his thumb on my lips. But I couldn’t move. His eyes shifted, darkening almost as he looked up at mine. I was suddenly thrown from the chair and pressed up against the wall leading to the dining room. My arms and legs were stuck against the wall, and even my head was held firmly in place.

Draco slowly eased himself off the chair and approached me. His bare feet barely made a sound as he approached me, hands tucked in his pockets, his face full of dark contemplation.

“You’re completely powerless until you master your wandless magic,” he said. “And even then, I’ve got years of experience on you.”

He pulled open the tie of my robe.

I tried to open my mouth to speak, but I couldn’t.

Fury and fear roared for control of my mind. And I felt him there, inside my head. I thrashed around mentally, trying to push him out or force him away, but I was as useless there as I was in person.

He brushed the back of his hand against my breast.

“I think brats like you can be taught to see reason.”

His lips didn’t move, but I felt him speak the words as if he were right outside my ear. I bristled at his insult. I was not a bloody brat.

“Perhaps this is what you want?” he leaned closer, letting his other hand grip my hip. “Maybe you want to be punished. Taken like this. Tied down. Forced to just receive whatever I dole out.”

My body trembled, but I couldn’t ignore the unmistakable feeling of lust burning just under the surface of my skin. I was betrayed by my own bloody body and hormones.

“Do you like knowing that you drive me mad?”

Yes.

Yes, I very much did. Because that’s exactly how he made me feel. And I wanted to dish it right back to him. But I hated being this out of control of myself. I wanted to move, speak, and do anything that would give me a fighting chance. But I couldn’t. And I hated that Draco was right. I needed my wandless magic.

Draco pressed closer to me, and I could feel the hot and hard length of him pressing against me. My mouth dried almost instantly. I wanted to press my legs together, but I couldn’t move from my spread position on the wall. His dark gaze turned to a wicked smile.

“Does my wife need me?” he asked, dragging the hand on my hip over toward my center.

A silent whimper escaped my lips as my eyes fluttered closed.

“Do you ache for my touch?”

I gritted my teeth.

Fuck him. Fuck his stupid fucking ego. He was just a smug bastard who got off on having power over the powerless. He was insufferable.

His fingers dipped lower.

My core tightened.

My body’s betrayal was infuriating. It was like he’d memorized a map of my body and knew exactly which touch would unravel me.

His nose dragged along the column of my neck.

“Want to know a secret?”

His breath was warm against my neck, and the tickle of his lips felt so good.

“I ache just as badly for you.”

His large hand left my face and slid down his chest until it reached his throbbing length. Lust flowed through me as he gripped himself beneath his pajama bottoms. He groaned from the contact and let his head drop back.

Bloody hell. Did he have to be so damned attractive? I’d probably come at the sight of him making himself come. He was so toned and powerful, nothing like the lanky teen he’d once been. He was a man now. And everything about him screamed dark, sexy, masculine power.

“You’re going to do what you’re told today,” he said.

His voice was lower than it had been. I blinked several times, focusing on what he was saying instead of watching him pump his hand against himself.

“You’re going to get that perfect arse upstairs, and you’re going to practice your wandless magic.”

I would nod if I could. Anything not to be stuck against this wall all day.

“And when I get home, you’re going to show me your progress.”

Yes, fine.

I wanted his waistband to slip lower. I wanted to see all of him, not just his fist disappearing behind the gray tartan he wore.

“And if I see progress,” he said. “You’ll have so many orgasms, you won’t be able to form coherent thoughts.”

My eyes fluttered again.

“Is that what you want?”

Yes. Fucking hell, yes.

“You need me to touch you?”

Yes!

I was dizzy under his spell. I wanted to see more. I wanted to feel him. To touch him.

“Then get to work.”

And suddenly, with the snap of his finger, I was upstairs, fully dressed, tucked into the desk in my office. I could freely move again, and I slumped my head down against the stupid wandless books in front of me.

I was so bloody wound up that I could barely breathe. That horrible arse! How was I supposed to focus when my mind was a puddle of lust and fog for that pretentious, smug, awful—

“I’ll see you tonight, wife,” I heard him say in my mind.

I groaned and shoved at him with little avail. The echoing sounds of his laughter stuck with me for hours.

Chapter Text

I fell into the strangest routine of my life. Stranger than hunting basilisks. Stranger than secretly meeting with a famous Quidditch star. Stranger than knitting clothing for house elves. Stranger than forming a secret organization to fight evil. Stranger than combing the country for Horcruxes.

I was studying with Draco Malfoy.

Worse?

I was bloody enjoying it.

It was the most infuriating feeling in the world to suddenly enjoy the presence of the man you claimed as your arch-nemesis years ago. I felt so out of control of my own body and mind. There was no arguing that Draco Malfoy was brilliant. He’d always been my closest rival in school. Before, the two of us had been competing for the top scores and accolades. Now? Now, we were working together to make my wandless magic stronger. And he wanted me to succeed.

I spent my days studying the books he supplied. I’d make notes, practice the exercises, and exhaust myself. By the time Draco returned home, he’d watch my progress, offer his suggestions and expertise, feed me, and then take me to bed.

I was bloody perplexed by all of it. But what choice did I have?

I was enjoying the physical aspect of our arrangement too much to stop that. He was a sex god. Every night, he tore me apart and rebuilt me in mind-altering ways. I had never experienced pleasure like this before. My sex drive before had been laughable. Ron was always complaining that I would make excuses not to. But now? Once a day was hardly enough some days. I was insatiable.

But there was something nagging at the back of my mind about the pleasure being one-sided. He never let me touch him. It’d been weeks, and each time he touched me was only for me. If I attempted to touch him or pleasure him, he’d hold me down and say something along the lines of “behave wife.”

I knew we’d have to consummate the marriage soon. We couldn’t avoid this forever. We entered a magical marriage, and there were stipulations and requirements within that, especially from his aristocratic side. So why was he prolonging the inevitable?

I sat at my desk, feeling particularly self-conscious about the dynamics of it all. It wasn’t hard to believe that he was entering this agreement for self-serving reasons. He was Draco Malfoy, after all. But I felt a tinge of guilt for reaping its benefits. What was he even getting out of it? He was cooking, tutoring, pleasuring, and working. And hadn’t he been the one to say that he had a high sexual appetite? Was that just one-sided? He wanted to dole out pleasure but was fine not receiving any. It didn’t add up.

Perhaps that’s why we hadn’t consummated the marriage yet? Could he be holding out to use that as an annulment opportunity? I’d need to look closer at the marriage laws. If that was a way out, then I was fine with it. In fact, I would support his choice wholeheartedly.

I was bloody lost with my fake husband.

And talking to him? I wanted to laugh and growl at the same time. It was the most frustrating thing I’ve tried to do. He was so stubborn. And he just talked around the issues I brought up. Not that I’d brought up fucking him. But all the other mysteries were avoided one right after the other.

I closed the wandless magic book and rubbed my temples.

I’d come so far in two weeks of practice but was exhausted. I needed to direct my focus somewhere else.

I thought back to my research. I’d been avoiding getting my materials from Ron’s flat. It’d been almost a month since the Ministry fired me. My mourning period was over; I’d avoided it long enough. I needed to finish my research and stick it to those pricks on the Wizengamot.

I’d been practicing apparating from room to room in the house for the last few days, so I felt confident enough to get myself to my old flat. I checked the time. Ron should be home. He usually left early on Fridays. Granted, now I knew that it was to meet up with Millie behind my back. But I’m sure he stuck to his similar routines.

Draco was set to be out of town all weekend. He’d been gone since Tuesday evening but didn’t fail to prep plenty of meals for me before he left. He also frequently popped into my head to offer me salacious phrases of encouragement for my wandless progress. I was supposed to have a girl’s night with Pansy and Astoria tomorrow to pass the time.

I wouldn’t admit I would miss Draco Malfoy.

That would be ridiculous.

I hated Draco Malfoy.

And our fake marriage.

He stole my wand.

He was hiding things from me. In addition to that, I was instructed not to leave our home without taking Theo, Pansy, or Astoria with me. I snorted angrily at the concept. I was a grown adult with full autonomy and freedom to go and do as I saw fit. Draco Malfoy didn’t own me.

I was getting my research back.

I wore a simple pair of denim trousers and a jumper. The rain made it a little chilly today. I looked out at the dreary weather and focused on the front door of my old flat. If I could put myself right under the doorway, I wouldn’t get wet.

I closed my eyes.

My body ripped forward with surprising force. I didn’t catch myself and landed hard on my hands and knees in a puddle outside of Ron’s flat.

I cursed several times before stumbling to my feet and jogging toward the door. So much for not getting wet. I pushed my wet curls off my face and jammed my finger into the buzzer several times.

I swallowed back another dozen curses when Millie opened the door. She was wearing the smallest dress imaginable, with her tits pushed up to her nose. She could bloody rest her chin on them they were so high up.

“Hermione,” she said, looking genuinely shocked to see me.

I didn’t even pretend to plaster a fake smile on my face.

“I’m just here for my box of belongings—”

“Mills, who is—”  

Ron’s voice immediately cut off when he saw me standing at his front door, sopping wet. The nostalgia of our former home didn’t exist for me. I was hardly there, and the time I was there, the two of us were usually at odds about one benign problem or another. I didn’t feel any love loss between Ronald and me. Despite the enormity of our trauma bonding over the war, nothing had managed to jump-start his emotional maturity. He was as juvenile and immature now as he had been in our first year at Hogwarts.

Maybe that was why I missed Draco’s presence these last few days. He had been the one adult in the last several years I could hold an intellectual conversation with. Granted, most of our talks ended in a battle of wills over me grasping for information and him denying me. But I didn’t feel the need to dumb down any of the subject matter I was speaking about. I didn’t have to worry about him not paying attention to what I was saying. I actually felt…heard.

“Mione.”

Ron’s voice brought me back to the present.

“Hello, Ronald.”

I watched as Millie took a step back. She kept one hand on his shoulder, though. I refused to roll my eyes. But I really wanted to.

Ron wore a strange expression. He was glaring at me. Though, I’ve no bloody idea what for.

“I’ve just come for my box of Ministry belongings. Then I’ll be on my way.”

A crack of thunder made me jump.

“You’ve got a lot of bloody nerve showing up here without a word.”

I reared back as if I’d been slapped.

“Excuse me?”

“There are rumors about you all over the Ministry. I’ve been owling you and trying to Floo you for weeks. Harry, too.”

I bit back my nasty retort. There was no need to pretend that he suddenly cared about what was happening to me. He had his life. I had mine. Though mine was decidedly more complicated as of late.

Ron was shouting now about something I’d missed as he gestured to me.

“What?”

“You didn’t,” he said, reaching for my wrist and pulling it up roughly between us. “Tell me this is a sick coincidence.”

My face paled.

Fuck.

He was holding my left hand between us, glaring at my ring. His hand tightened around my wrist, and I winced.

“I just need my belongings, Ronald. You—”

“He’s a bloody death eater, Hermione! What is it? Is he holding you against your will? Is he forcing you?”

I tried to pull my wrist away, but he wouldn’t let go. Panic flared in my chest as he held his wand up to my face. Millie gasped behind him as he pulled me closer.

“You’re under the Imperious curse, aren’t you?”

Another clap of thunder shook the space around us so much it nearly knocked me off balance. But Ron spun me toward him and pinned me against his chest, his wand pointed at my throat.

“Millie, call Harry,” Ron said, gripping me tighter.

“Ron, let go,” I said, shoving against him.

He still had a painful hold on my wrist, and I dug my nails into his hand to get free. He was trying to drag me into the flat, but I grabbed hold of the railing. I was not going in there. Not while he was this escalated.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I snapped. “I just—”

The unmistakable pop of apparation sounded behind us.

“Fucking hell,” I gritted and stomped on Ron’s foot.

He still wouldn’t let go, though.

I felt ridiculous for forgetting about the announcement in the Prophet. Yesterday was the last day of the month, and the Prophet would have reported the marriages for the month. Of course, Draco hadn’t wanted me wandering off alone. With news like this, I was set to receive a ton of backlash.

It irritated me even more that he was bloody right.

“Take it off,” Ron snapped at me, shaking my wrist with my ring. “It’s controlling you. It’s dark magic.”

“Hermione!”

I recognized Harry’s voice despite not being able to see him around Ron’s tall figure.

“He’s got her under some kind of forced magic,” Ron said. “We need to get the ring off.”

“Harry, please,” I begged. “He’s being a fucking twat!”

I bucked against Ron, but he was too strong with all his hours in the gym for Auror training. I couldn’t put any space between us. Harry was now in front of me, looking at the ring on my left hand. He cursed as he drew his wand and pointed it at me.

He didn’t believe me either. Hot dread spread over my body. How was I supposed to convince them that all of this wasn’t some horrific trap? They thought I was under the Imperious curse.

“We’ve got to get it off,” Ron said.

My panic kept rising. I might not have agreed to this marriage, but something inside of me snapped. Taking off this ring… well… it wasn’t an option. But I didn’t know how I would fight them both off. With my mind so distracted, my wandless magic felt extinguished.

“You’re not listening,” I yelled. “Stop!”

I tried to pull my wrist free while Ron twisted my arm and heard the unmistakable and sickening pop. I cried out, making Ron and Harry both hesitate. I was nauseous from the pain and swayed on my feet. I blinked away little white and black spots in my vision as I tried to ground myself. It was definitely broken. Tears raced down my face, and I cradled my limp arm against me. I was going to be sick. The pain was so severe that it was all I could focus on.

When the next boom of thunder came, I fell to my knees. I was relieved Ron’s hands were finally off me, but I could hear someone shouting. When I looked up, Ron was on his feet again, coming for my left hand. I tried to scoot down the stone steps into the rain. I needed to apparate out of here, but I was in so much pain I didn’t know if I could.

Ron and Harry both grabbed me and pulled me back up the steps. Ron grabbed me under the arms, and Harry grabbed for my legs.

A crack of thunder loud enough to make my ears ring stunned all of us.

“You take one more step, and I’ll kill you both.”

That last sound hadn’t been thunder.

It was Draco.

I let out a sob of relief as I struggled in their hold. Harry instantly dropped my feet but turned protectively in front of me and drew his wand.

“Threatening Aurors is a criminal offense, Malfoy,” Ron said. “You fucking monster.”

Draco’s face was a mask of fury from what I could see around Harry. He was poised at the bottom of the steps. He was wearing a long black coat over a pristine gray suit. His light eyes almost seemed to glow with rage.

“I will threaten anyone who hurts my wife.”

I felt Ron recoil and watched Harry react the same way. Ron reached for my injured arm and tugged me up by my hand. I choked with pain as tears continued to roll down my face.

“This is dark magic! I know you’re forcing—”

But a wand quickly extended from Draco’s hand, and before any of us could react, Millie was tumbling out of the house onto the pavement at Draco’s feet. It was pouring even harder now, and while he remained shielded, the rain doused Millie. She was on her knees, hands bound behind her back, nearly spilling out of her too-small dress, while Draco pointed his wand at the center of her head.

“I’d be happy to show you dark magic, Weasley.”

Millie sobbed from her position on the ground, and Ron shouted obscenities from where he held me on the steps.

“Please—” but her words were immediately cut off by a flick of his wrist.

She opened and closed her mouth, but all we could see were the silent sobs of her trying to speak.

“My wife,” Draco said.

His voice had gone so quiet it was terrifying. Ron’s face turned as red as his hair as I watched him fight for control of the situation.

“You touch Millie, and I’ll have you locked away in Azkaban for the rest of your miserable fucking life.”

And Draco, true to form, wasn’t one to be deterred by a challenge. He reached his wand a millimeter further and poked the tip of it straight into Millie’s forehead.

He quirked his brow at Ron in challenge.

“Expel—” Harry’s shout was immediately cut off.

Draco sent Harry’s wand soaring into his hand. Ron’s wand turned from me to Draco, but Draco retrieved that one as well.

Harry’s body was thrust against one of the stone walls, while Ron’s was pushed against the door. Slowly, I began to float toward Draco. I was under the same protection from the elements that he was. He opened his free arm and tucked me against his side.

Ron and Harry shouted, but Draco quickly silenced them as he had Millie.

Draco’s eyes were on me as he gingerly wiped my tears with his thumb.

“Why?”

His whisper sounded so haunting. Would he be as furious with me as he was with them? He’d clearly sensed my departure from the home. He was supposed to be at work for another few days. How else would he have known where to find me?

“My research and office supplies were sent to this address.”

His eyes searched mine like he was looking for understanding.

“I would have retrieved them.”

“You were gone, and I just wanted to work.”

He stared at me for a long moment before he turned to the flat. He moved us forward so that we were both up the steps and standing beside Ron and Harry. He looked down at me.

“I can’t go inside without disabling the wards.”

I looked up at him only to realize he’d said that to my mind. I knew the wards wouldn’t be up for me, so I nodded and stepped forward. The wards accepted me instantly, and it was so strange to see how different the place was. Millie’s influence was rampant throughout the space. She had a particular obsession with decorative phrases. Even the bloody light switches were labeled with Lumos and Nox. I turned and saw a sign on the dining room wall that said, “Live, Laugh, Leviosa”. I shook my head.

I looked around the main area for my Ministry boxes. I was still light-headed from the pain in my wrist, and I tried three times to summon the boxes and failed. I couldn’t summon my wandless magic while injured.

“Pocket.”

I felt Draco’s tight voice in my head as I reached my uninjured hand back. My fingers wrapped around a wand. I yanked it forward, expecting to see my familiar vine wood. But it wasn’t. It was a nondescript wand with no embellishments or details.

I summoned the boxes instantly, feeling relief when the two boxes landed in front of me. I cast a shrinking charm on them and placed them in my pocket. I put the wand back in my pocket and walked out of the flat to find Draco waiting where I left him. His face was still an inscrutable mask of fury. And I knew that was directed at me as much as it was the others. I’d deliberately went against his wishes and safety procedures. I apparated without telling him where I was going. I left without taking someone with me. And I was injured because of my own petulant impulsivity.

Frustration mingled with my guilt, though. It wasn’t totally my fault. If he had just bloody talked to me, maybe I wouldn’t have acted out. Maybe I wouldn’t have wanted to push the boundaries if I knew why the boundaries existed in the first place. I turned to glare at Ron and Harry. Ron looked seconds away from a coronary. Harry didn’t look far off from the same fate. I glanced back in Millie’s direction. She was still in the rain, getting absolutely soaked.

Draco stepped forward and loomed over Ronald’s frozen body.

“You ever touch my wife again, and I’ll slit your fucking throat. Understand?”

Ron’s vehemence flashed in his eyes despite him remaining immobile and silent. Draco turned to Harry next.

Rather than offer him the same threat, he merely turned his nose down at him and gave him his signature Malfoy sneer. He pointed his wand at Millie and released her from her silence and paralysis. She collapsed into the puddle before her and choked out a hysterical sob.

Draco didn’t speak as he wrapped his arms around me. He pressed his lips to my forehead, and we vanished from the porch with the next crack of thunder.

Chapter Text

Draco didn’t speak as we appeared back in our living room. The wands were gone, and I was fixed to his side, shivering from the cold and trembling from pain. Our Floo cracked within seconds, Theo and Astoria rushing through.

“Bloody hell,” Theo snapped, looking as frantic as Astoria.

She turned to Draco, a harsh glare settling over her normally soft features. A second later, Pansy came through the Floo. Her eyes narrowed on me, then Draco.

“Weasley,” Draco bit out.

He began pacing the length of the room while Theo and Astoria joined my side. Their wands hovered over my swollen and broken hand I kept close to my chest.

They kept their heads close together, whispering about ligaments, fractures, and more. I was becoming increasingly dizzy from the pain. The fourth and final crack of the Floo almost knocked me prone. Draco was right behind me and helped me ease onto one of the chairs as Blaise Zabini stepped through.

I recognized his robes.

He was an Auror.

Everything had gone to shit so quickly, I hadn’t even had time to process what the fuck had just happened.

But Ron had…

I swallowed.

He hurt me.

And as many excuses and justifications I tried to create in my head, none of them really mattered. He didn’t listen to me. He didn’t trust me. Draco, Pansy, and Blaise all circled together by the kitchen to talk in hushed whispers while Astoria and Theo tended to me.

“Easy, Hermione,” Astoria coaxed as she slowly drew my arm away from my chest.

I whimpered. My knuckles on three fingers were so swollen that they hardly looked like fingers anymore. Not to mention the bruising that was already starting. And, of course, the sickening feeling I had that there was definitely something broken.

Fucking Ron.

Harry too.

Neither of them had used a bloody brain cell earlier.

Theo offered me a pain potion before he and Astoria started setting my wrist and fingers. I eagerly drank it and let the warmth of the numbing properties wash over me. It made me slightly less frozen from the icy rain that had drenched me earlier.

I looked back at Draco. His back was to me. I could feel the anger radiating off him in waves. I openly defied his rules. I wondered what that would mean for me as far as our contract was concerned. Would there be ramifications?

He wasn’t even supposed to be here. He wasn’t supposed to be home until Sunday night, maybe Monday. But as angry as he was, I couldn’t help but feel the triumphant glee from my successful apparation. I’d done it. With wandless magic. Granted, I had no way to defend myself later and would have had no way to get myself home had he not shown up when he did. But I could take the small victory for what it was. I did complex magic without a wand. And that was a win for me. I also had my research safely tucked into my pocket.

I gasped at the bones shifting in my hand. The potion didn’t mask all of the pain.

“How did this happen?” Astoria whispered, her eyes drifting back to Draco every few minutes.

I swallowed and saw Theo’s curious eyes watching me, too.

“Ron thought I was under the Imperious curse,” I said. “He thought the ring was controlling me. He read about us in the paper.”

I hissed and recoiled at a rather painful move of the mending process, but Theo held my elbow in place.

“Sorry,” he said. “Almost done.”

I watched Blaise leave back through the Floo, and Draco and Pansy argued quietly, stepping further into the kitchen to avoid our eavesdropping.

Theo craned his neck to watch their interaction while Astoria took over the last moment of healing. I could already feel my strength returning in my hand and wrist. The swelling was going down, and the bruises were too.

“Be right back,” Theo said, patting Astoria’s shoulder.

Astoria had me work on bending my fingers and twisting my wrist to test if the full range of motion had returned. I was still a little stiff and sore but significantly better than I had been. Astoria’s eyes weren’t on my wrist, though. They were focused on the group in the kitchen arguing. A particularly sharp tone of Draco’s rang out above the others.

“He shouldn’t be involving himself in Auror business,” Astoria whispered. “He’ll get himself in trouble. That’s why we have Blaise.”

It made sense for a former Death Eater to have a connection within the Ministry that he could trust. Blaise was a powerful Auror who had risen through the ranks over the last few years. He was strong, smart, and responsible for tracking down most of the rogue werewolves after the war. I can remember even Ron sparing him a compliment or two over the years.

Draco’s curt tone drew our attention back to him.

“You should do some physio on your wrist,” Theo said, once again at my side. “I’ll have Tori come over this week and show you. Right?”

Astoria’s head perked up. She was listening to something that Draco was saying.

“Sorry?”

“You’ll come over tomorrow and work through some physio with Hermione?”

Astoria smiled. “Of course.”

My wrist may have healed, but I was still frozen from the rain. My hair was partially dried, and my denim had soaked up most of the rain from when I fell to my knees, making them stiff and heavy. My jumper was damp; honestly, I wanted to sink into the bedsheets and pretend none of this had ever happened.

Draco’s hand fell on my shoulder, pulling me from my own thoughts.

“Shower,” he said.

I nodded, and before I could move, he pulled me into his arms and started climbing the stairs. Astoria turned to Theo, and the two of them started speaking quietly.

“I’ll be around tomorrow,” Pansy told me as we ascended the stairs, and I offered her a feeble nod.

Draco entered the bathroom and placed me on the rug. He flicked his wrist, and my clothes vanished. The shower started behind me, and I felt the warmth of the steam fill the air around us.

He reached behind me and pulled open the glass doors before slowly backing me into the tiled shower.

“My boxes,” I started, not knowing where he vanished my trousers.

He opened his hand and revealed the two shrunken boxes.

I chewed my bottom lip.

“I thought I could trust them,” I offered.

“And now you know.”

And now I knew.

“Shower,” he said, his tone softer. “Relax. Sleep. It’s been a long evening.”

He wasn’t wrong. I stepped into the shower, and he waited until I was all the way in with the door closed before he turned and walked out with my boxes.

I let the hot water warm my body.

The disappointment from earlier hung on me like cobwebs. How could Harry and Ron not have listened? I imagine it could have been moderately jarring not to hear from me for several weeks after learning that I was fired. I should have reached out to them. But the other part of me was so frustrated with the pair of them. They’d known about my research. They knew how controversial it was, and both had told me on more than one occasion to drop it. I didn’t want to face them, knowing it would be met with an “I told you so” mentality. I didn’t need that. Nor did I want it. I wanted their support. Their encouragement. Their empathy.

I should have known better.

Harry’s once rebellious and questioning personality had now subdued into a permissive subservience. He was quoted multiple times that he simply strived for a life of peace after the trauma of our adolescent years. And I didn’t blame him. The weight that Harry carried was so different than our own. He went through something none of us would ever understand.

But I think it was important to continue pursuing the work that still needed to be done. We couldn’t just stop seeking equality and goodness just because we defeated one evil. Many evils still existed. And if those of us who wanted to do good were simply too tired to go on, then who would rise above? Who would fight the good fight?

I still had fight in me.

And I had a cause I believed in enough to pursue. Ministry be damned. Friends be damned. I would do this on my own because it needed to be done. I just didn’t think the allies I would find at this stage of my life would be former enemies. Slytherins even. Pureblooded Slytherins.

It was as if the universe was having a cosmic laugh at me.

I was too exhausted after my shower to go back downstairs, so I just curled into bed. I’d take my verbal lashings and reprimands from Draco in stride. I’m sure he was writing an entirely new safety contract that would have me banished to a small cottage on a separate planet after today’s events.

But my lips curled into a faint smile.

I’d managed wandless magic today. I apparated a decent distance on my own.

It all fell to hell in quick succession after that, but I still accomplished a major feat in my wandless magic today. And it was a nice little secret I could keep all tucked into myself. Well, and Draco. But Harry and Ron had no idea. And that gave me a strange thrill.

Despite my body being completely exhausted and sore, my mind wouldn’t quiet enough for sleep to claim me. I watched Draco come into the room two hours later and quietly tiptoe to the bathroom. I heard the shower, heard him brush his teeth, and heard him get ready for bed. When he finally emerged, he barely ruffled the bed with how graceful he was. It was impressive to watch. He’d make a skilled Auror.

He was on his back, and I rolled over to face him.

I could feel his eyes on mine even in the darkness of the room, but neither of us spoke for several beats. Finally, I caved.

“I’m not sorry, you know.”

Something like a laugh-and-scoff hybrid came from the back of his throat.

“I didn’t think you would be.”

Good. Yes. At least he understands. Ronald would have held one hell of a silent treatment against me for a move like today’s.

“That’s because Weasley is a fucking child.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Must you read my every thought?”

“Yes.”

“Well, perhaps that will be the next bit of wandless magic I master. Turnabout’s fair play, after all.”

He made an amused sound, then he moved his arm under my pillow, coaxing me closer. I relented, knowing that I’d eventually wake up wrapped around his warm body in the morning. It’s how I woke up nearly every morning lately—tangled in Draco.

I rested my cheek against his bare chest and listened to the steady pulse of his heart.

“I can’t just be a quiet little wife who sits in a house all day and waits for her husband to come home,” I admitted quietly. “I can’t be your prisoner, Malfoy.”

“Good,” he said. “I didn’t marry someone like that. Nor would I have wanted to.”

My brows furrowed, and I turned to look up at him.

“But the contract…”

“Every time you defy me, it just means I need to be more clever, wife. It’s just another challenge. And we both know how competitive I am.”

I fought against my smile. “I hold the winning record.”

“For now,” he said and kissed the top of my head.

Chapter Text

I spent most of the day in my new office. I was mortified over some of the contents that had been in my two boxes from work. Using my office as a home for several months hadn’t been glamorous. Nor had the dirty knickers I uncovered. I was grateful no one had combed through my office’s contents. The simple packing spell would have saved my dignity, at least partially.

Draco was already gone this morning when I woke up. I knew he hadn’t planned on being home until at least Monday night or Tuesday, but my interruption at Ron’s had jarred plans a bit.

I was leafing through some of my files when the ring on my left hand started to heat up. I looked down, wondering if I was imagining the sensation. But I wasn’t. Someone was triggering the wards.

I jumped up, unsure of what to do. Then my doorbell started ringing.

Bloody hell.

That couldn’t be Harry or Ron…right? Could they have found me so easily? I suppose there have to be records of properties Draco owns… but this…

The doorbell rang again.

Shit. Shit. Buggering shit. Bugger shit.

I jogged down the stairs, keeping an eye on the large bay window out front. I couldn’t see anyone, but I could hear the sound of a small yapping dog.

The doorbell rang again.

My fingers itched with wandless magic. The ring warmed my left finger, and I bounced on my feet, wondering what to do. I quietly approached the door and peeked through. I expected to see red and black hair, but I was caught off guard by the bright white.

“Mrs. Pom?”

I opened the door to see a squat elderly woman beaming up at me.

“Hullo, dear,” she said, adjusting the leash in her hand.

I looked down and saw the cause of all the yapping.

“Cerberus and I were on a walk and wanted to deliver your post,” she said.

I held in my snort about the dog’s name. She had several letters in her hand and I took them.

“Though I can’t see how they were possibly delivered,” she commented. “No postage. No return address. That’s what’s wrong with the world today, dear. No one writes letters anymore. Why, back in my day…”

I completely disengaged from her story as I sorted through the envelopes. Two of them had the Ministry of Magic seal on the back. Dread crawled up my neck. Ron and Harry couldn’t have been daft enough to involve the Ministry, could they?

“Yes, yes, Cerberus, I know,” she called over the incessant barking. “He hates all the birds. Have you noticed? We’re a regular aviary lately.”

I hadn’t noticed until she said something. Then, I became increasingly aware of just how many owls were perched along the homes and fences of our cul-de-sac. At least a dozen.

Mrs. Pom was carrying on over her late husband Harold when one of the owls broke from the waiting group and decided to dive bomb the front step. I shifted on my feet, unsure of what to do. I wasn’t about to invite Mrs. Pom inside. She’d likely stay all day. But I also didn’t want one of the owls to hit her. She leaned down to scratch Cerberus behind the ears, and I took my opportunity to act. I stretched out my hand and summoned the letter into my waiting palm. The owl screeched as it seemed to hit some unseen barrier, but it released the letter and flitted away with an indignant squawk.

I crumpled the letter in my hand just as Mrs. Pom stood. Had Draco really secured the home from the post? How had the wards been able to keep out owls? It was bloody strong magic.

“These ruddy birds are such a menace,” she said, her hand waving behind her.

“Agreed,” I stuttered. “Such a menace.”

Something else caught my eye behind her, though. And it wasn’t another owl. A man dressed in all black was walking down the cul-de-sac toward me. It was a decently warm spring day, no rain, but he was in a black trench coat that completely covered him.

Alarms sounded in my head because, despite the strangeness of the owls, this man stood out as a giant red flag in our normally quiet neighborhood.

“I really have to go,” I cut off something Mrs. Pom was saying. “I’m so sorry. I am meeting a friend and need to get ready.”

It wasn’t actually a lie. I was meeting Pansy. I just hadn’t planned on leaving this early.

“Of course, of course,” she said, waving her hand. “I’ll have you round for supper soon. A nice roast. Draco said you don’t cook much, dear.”

My jaw tightened at her little snub. How often was my bloody husband speaking to this woman?

The man on the street was now jogging toward me. Fucking shit.

“Have a lovely day,” I called as I slammed the door between us.

My heart pulsed wildly as I threw myself against the door. I stole a glimpse through the small window to my side but didn’t see the man. I tossed the letters on the small table in the entryway. Confused, I stepped into the living room, ready to look through the large bay window, but he was gone. I couldn’t have imagined that. He was there, sprinting toward my home one minute and then gone the next.

I touched the ring on my left hand. No one was triggering the wards. No one was moving in the neighborhood except for Mrs. Pom, ambling back to her perfectly manicured garden with her bloody dog that leaped and yapped at every owl.

I recounted every detail I could about the man as I stared out my window. He was tall and lean. His large coat made him look bulkier than he was. He had thinning black hair at the top of his head, and his skin had an olive tone to it. He had the shadow of a beard like he hadn’t shaved in a few days and a hooked nose. If I saw him again, I could recognize him. I kept the image of him as my center of focus. I hadn’t made it up. I’d seen him. He was there.

I don’t know how long I stared at the street. But I kept waiting for some glimmer of him to pop back into focus. He had to come back.

I glanced at the clock. I needed to shower and get ready to go to Lore. I was meeting Pansy there for drinks with Astoria. After the way I saw everyone dressed last time, I was going to play smart and blend in again.

I picked one of the black dresses hanging in the closet. I paired it with a simple red lip and wore my hair curly. There was no use pretending that I could do much with it. It had a mind of its own.

I headed downstairs and lingered in front of the large window. It was dark now, but I waited for shadows to pass in front of the street lamps or porch lights. I know I saw someone running toward the house today. I hadn’t imagined it. And he’d be back. I was betting on it.

More owls had congregated along the houses and fence lines. There were several swooping down and hunting now that the sun had set. I watched one owl swoop down toward a squirrel, but it suddenly shimmered out of view. So did the squirrel. Then, seconds later, it was back again, flying up toward the direction of the moon’s pearly glow. My gaze narrowed. The surroundings had stayed nearly the same except for the space to the left of my home. It wasn’t a wide space.

I almost laughed.

The invisibility cloak.

Of course.

I rolled my eyes at Harry and Ron’s ridiculous attempt to watch me. I left the window and walked toward the Floo. I passed the small table by the entry and saw the letters crumpled. I blew out a breath and stopped in front of the table. I reached for the top letter, recognizing Ron’s scribbled Mione at the top.

Ron’s note was comically short, just two words.

Come home.

The owls had clearly not been careful with it; it was covered in what looked like dirt or soot. I brushed the dirt away, praying it wasn’t owl shit. I rolled my eyes. Leave it to Ron to be so fucking careless. That’s how he’d always been.

I bristled over his short message. That flat hadn’t been my home in ages. That was Millie’s home now. And she could bloody well have it.

Harry at least had the wit to form complex sentences.

Hermione, please. We’d just like to talk. I’m sorry for the reaction yesterday; everything got out of hand. Please. Let’s meet somewhere neutral. I just want to know how this happened.

I found his letter decidedly cleaner and more agreeable and almost considered responding.

I eyed the last two letters. Ministry letters.

I puffed out a breath in irritation. I knew what these would be. And the fact that my supposed friends had turned me in was nearly unbearable.

Dear Mrs. Malfoy (formerly Ms. Granger),

It is our sincerest hope that you would report to the Ministry first thing Monday, March 12, for questioning. We have been given several reports on the misuse of illegal spell-casting and require your presence for confirmation. Failure to comply with this edict will result in Aurors conducting the analysis through a warrant of your property.

Kindest regards,

Thaleena Tomlinson

The Office for the Removal of Curses, Jinxes, and Hexes

I glared at the message, taking a deep breath through my nose as I crumpled the paper in front of my face. They thought I was under the Imperious. I looked at the other Ministry letter and saw that this one was for Draco. They’d requested him and his wand for the same analysis. I tapped my fingers against my lips. What was I going to do?

I no longer had my wand.

And now I’d have to explain that to the Ministry. But how? I couldn’t tell them that I’d been forced to master wandless magic. That would be a bloody disaster. But I also couldn’t tell them Draco destroyed my wand. That would lead to a whole list of questions that I wasn’t interested in revealing. Especially the part about me being desperate and horny enough to engage in a contract that bound me to marriage with my former childhood nemesis.

I rolled my eyes and threw the mail back on the table. If Draco wasn’t back by Monday, what would that mean for us? He also needed to let the bloody owls through the wards. They were causing too much attention just being out in this neighborhood. Who knew what other post they had for us that hadn’t been delivered to Mrs. Pom.

I needed a bloody drink.

Pansy wasn’t expecting me for another hour, but I figured I could go sit at the bar again and talk with Clara. I liked her, and I needed to get my mind off the owls, letters, marriage, and anything else springing up around me.

The club pulsed with life as I walked through the Floo. There were more people here now than on my first visit, and the bodies moved against one another in rhythmic heat. Something about tonight felt different.

Lust permeated every space as I blinked rapidly at the scene before me. I nearly felt overdressed as I looked at the bodies around me. Most of the men were shirtless. And the women were in scraps of fabric that barely covered their most private parts. I swayed on my feet and swallowed as I looked over the crowd. Despite wearing a substantially small black dress, I felt the stifling heat of my clothing. Even the threads of the soft fabric felt agitated against my skin. Or maybe it was my skin that felt different—like it was too tight for my body.

I blinked several times. I wanted to dance. I wanted that pounding bass to propel my movements in the crowd. I felt my heart flutter against my chest as I blinked at those around me.

One dance.

One song.

I could do that.

Then I could go find Pansy.

I could let go just enough to feel the vibrations of this club reverberate through me. It’d be like a shock to the system. I’d feel… alive. I’d feel real. And that’s what I wanted. After the frustration of yesterday, after the fear of today.

I felt my shoulders relax as I made my way deeper into the club. The louder the music got, the more my mind seemed to relax. I could dance. There was no harm in dancing. And the beat was almost intoxicating, dragging me closer like a moth to a flame. I just wanted to feel what they were feeling. Feel it all.

I moved toward a group of witches that were all dancing close together. That was safe. That was okay. I was nearly at the center of it all now. A witch took my hand and spun me, and it was my undoing. My body swayed to the intense rhythm, and I was drunk with abandon. My body felt so good, so free. I couldn’t stop. I closed my eyes, tipped my head back, and relished in the feeling of my body’s expression.

Why hadn’t I done this ages ago?

I don’t remember last time feeling like this. The music had called to me tonight like a siren’s song. I was powerless against it.

I imagined what it would have been like to feel Draco here. Would he be dancing with me? My cheeks flushed with the heated direction my thoughts were taking. He’d be here, right behind me. His hands would wrap around my hips. He’d pull me close. I could lean my head back, and it would rest against him as his body moved in time with mine. I’d feel his hardness. His length would be discernable against my bare thigh where my dress had ridden up. And I’d get to experience all of him.

That’s what I wanted.

I wanted Draco to fuck me.

I wanted to finally feel him. I wanted to be stretched by him.

My entire body was on fire now. My pulse was dancing as wildly as the rest of me. I kept my eyes closed, relishing the feeling of an imaginary Draco against me. If only it was real. I needed him. I needed him so desperately I could barely control myself.

Could I Floo to him? Apparate to him? I could reschedule with Pansy. But I wilted. I didn’t want to leave the music. I wanted to keep feeling all of this energy around me, but I just needed Draco with me.

His strong hands would travel up over my hips and to my breasts. He’d knead them like he likes to do, and I’d be rendered completely powerless by his deft fingers. Yes, that’s what I wanted. I could almost feel him now.

There were several pops and shouts. But I didn’t want to break this feeling I had. I wanted to cling to Draco. He wanted me, too. His nose dragged over the sensitive spot on my neck just beneath my ear. I could feel his lips nipping at my flesh. I moaned against his mouth.

Yes, this is what I wanted. More of him. More of his touch. Please!

A nagging voice in the back of my mind tried to propel me to the present, but I ignored it. I wanted to dance and forget. That’s all.

Wife.

Godric, yes! That was him. He was here.

Lips continued to bite and tease their way down my neck.

Please, please don’t stop.

Wife!

Yes, please, Draco. Please.

Hermione!

Chapter Text

Rough hands pulled me away from the warm body, and my eyes flashed open.

“Hey!” the voice called as he was roughly thrown out of the way.

I fought against the person holding me.

“Let go!”

I needed Draco. I needed him back. I needed to feel him again.

“Draco!” I yelled at the figure who had just been thrown.

Rough hands pulled me forward through the crowd.

No, no, I couldn’t let this happen. I felt the pulse of magic under my fingers, itching to get out. Yes! Magic!

I pushed my palms against the back of the man dragging me through the crowd. My magic ignited with a crack, and both of us were thrown in opposite directions. My lungs and ribs ached from my place on the floor. The sound was interrupted by the explosion between us, too, and a whistle was the only thing ringing in my head while I tried to fight my way to standing.

I needed Draco.

I swayed on my hands and knees, trying to find enough energy to stand. I just needed to find him. Feel him.

Two hands roughly grabbed me and pulled me to standing. He was shouting something at me. His nose was bleeding. I blinked several times, feeling like I was still underwater as my hearing hadn’t returned.

The magic within me cracked again, and both of us were thrown. I needed Draco. I needed to find him.

I crawled along the floor, coughing as I tried to call out for him. Hands were on me again, pulling me to a standing position.

His skin was a beautiful shade of ebony.

I blinked again.

I knew him.

I swayed, and he steadied me as he spoke harshly right in front of me.

Blaise.

He gripped my hands in front of me, and suddenly, they were bound. Panicked, I tried to separate them, but they wouldn’t budge. I felt the crack of my magic stop just beneath the surface. He’d stopped my magic.

No, no. I needed to get back to Draco.

I tried to open my mouth to speak, but he had thrust me up and over his shoulder as he made his way through the crowd of people. I kicked my legs and pounded my fists against his back, but he was completely unfazed as we moved through the club. He was like a damned wall.

Draco.

Draco.

I just needed Draco.

Blaise turned and pushed us through a door.

Pansy’s office! I recognized it!

He tossed me onto the couch, and in a rush, all my hearing came back.

“—the bloody hell were you thinking?”

I only caught the tail end of Blaise’s lecture as he paced the small space.

The door slammed to my side, and Pansy entered, looking as lethally angry as Blaise had.

“What the fuck was that?” she shouted.

I tried to stand up, but Blaise pushed my shoulder back down.

“Sit.”

I need Draco.

“Is she bound?” Pansy asked.

“Please let me go,” I held my hands up to her. “Please. I just need to get back to Draco. He’s—”

Pansy’s head snapped back as if slapped. She looked at Blaise, who returned her horrified look with one of his own.

“That wasn’t Draco out there,” Blaise said.

“Yes, it was,” I shook my head. “It was. I know him. I felt him. I heard him.”

Pansy was in front of me, hands on my cheeks, prying my eyes open.

“What did you drink? Who gave it to you?”

Her voice was rattled with anxiety.

“Hermione, answer me!”

I flinched. She never called me Hermione. What was going on?

“I just need to go back to him—” I tried to stand again, but I couldn’t use my hands to propel me up.

“Hermione, what did you drink? Were you at the bar with Clara first?”

She tried to pry open my mouth, but I shook her off. I didn’t want her hands in my mouth. I wanted Draco in my mouth. All of him. I needed to get back to him. I needed to have sex with him.

“We need to get the guy she was dancing with,” Pansy said to Blaise. “I need to search him. See what he gave her.”

“Draco,” I urged her.

She was standing and talking to a large man by the door, one I didn’t notice at first.

“Please get him,” she said.

“Yes, get him!” I begged.

Pansy ignored me and walked to her desk. Each time I tried to get up to follow the big man back to the dancing, Blaise pushed my shoulder back down.

“Please,” I begged him. “You have to let me go!”

“Was it a love potion?” he asked, running his wand over my head.

“Why would it be targeted toward Draco?”

Blaise shrugged.

“Bastard has a sick sense of humor?”

“You know he wouldn’t have,” she shook her head. “Plus, he didn’t need one.”

“I’m calling Nott.”

Pansy was staring at the many screens that had popped up behind her desk. She held a small remote in her hand and watched them.

The door was thrown open with such force that it shook the whole room.

He found him.

Draco.

I cried out as I rushed from the couch. I threw myself at him, bringing my bound hands over his head and sealing my lips over his.

Yes. Perfect, blissful, magical.

Draco’s hands caught my waist, but I didn’t stop. My bound hands grabbed his hair and tugged, deepening the kiss as waves of lust overwhelmed me.

Fuck, yes. Yes, this was it.

“Please,” I murmured against his lips.

“What—” Draco tried to pull back, but I held on. “The fuck?”

Draco’s hands thrust into my hair and pulled me back. The tingling in my scalp sent shockwaves between my legs. Fuck, I wanted him.

I groaned and let him pull me back.

“What in the fucking hells is going on with her?”

I tried to wrap my legs around him.

“So you didn’t give her a love potion?” Blaise asked.

“Is that really a fucking question?”

Draco was mad. I could help. I could make him less mad. I tried to grind my hips against him.

“Someone gave her something,” Pansy said from her place in front of the screens.

“Hey,” Draco’s voice was softer as it took my face in his hands. “Hey. Look at me.”

I blinked rapidly. I couldn’t focus on anything but how much I wanted to fuck him. Would we do it here? In front of all these people?

“Who did this to you?”

“You,” I whimpered, needing my hips to touch his.

“No, I’ve been in Thailand.”

“Take me with you,” I moved forward to try and kiss him again, but he held me back.

I tried to wrap my legs around him again and nearly fell as I wobbled on my heels.

“Fucks sake,” he bit out and picked me up.

He carried me to the couch and set us both down. He pulled my hands off his neck, and I whimpered at the loss.

“I wouldn’t—” Blaise said.

“Please,” I started, but then gasped as he released my hands.

I pushed them against his face and pulled his lips over mine, hungrily searching for the contact I needed.

“Fuck!” Draco snapped as I bit his lip and used my own magic to push away his hands as they tried to pull me away.

“Told you.”

“Wife,” he told me sternly. “Talk to me. Tell me what the fuck is going on?”

“I need you,” I said, rolling my hips on his lap. “I need you to fuck me. Please, Draco. Please. I feel it everywhere. It’s making me mad.”

“She didn’t stop and talk to anyone,” Pansy said. “She walked into the club and immediately started dancing.”

I gasped. “Yes! Draco, come back and dance with me. Please. It feels so good.”

I kissed along his jaw and over his neck, loosening his necktie so I could kiss even more area.

“Can’t you see what she took?” Pansy asked.

“I’ve been trying, but her mind is a fucking mess.”

Maybe if I got naked, Draco would fuck me. I struggled with the straps on my dress.

“Ahh ah, no, you don’t,” Draco said, thrusting my hands behind my back. “Stop trying to take your clothes off.”

“But we have to,” I urged, rocking my hips against him. “We only have until Monday. You have to.”

My hands remained bound as his hands gripped my face again.

“What are you talking about?”

“I like it when you’re rough.”

“Gods damn it, Hermione. Focus.”

“You never call me Hermione.”

“I do when I’m angry.”

“Don’t be angry. Be horny. Fuck me. Consummate our marriage.”

 “Wait,” Blaise interrupted.

“You haven’t?” Pansy’s voice trailed off.

I looked into Draco’s eyes, pleading with him.

“Why do we only have until Monday?” Draco asked.

I groaned. I didn’t want to think about the letters. I wanted to get into bed with him.

“Letters?” he asked. “What letters?”

“I would never read your mail,” I said indignantly. “Now kiss me.”

“Our neighbor came by today,” Draco said as I leaned forward and kissed his jaw again.

He smelled so good. Tasted so good. Looked so good.

“She triggered the wards, but I didn’t sense anyone else there. Hermione, what was Mrs. Pom doing?”

I laughed.

“Her dog’s name is Cerberus,” and I laughed again. “Of all the ridiculous things.”

I couldn’t stop laughing. Wait.

“You told her I couldn’t cook!”

“You can’t.”

I glared at him. But then, a wicked idea came to mind.

“I’ll forgive you if you give me make-up sex.”

Blaise and Pansy groaned behind us.

“Please, Draco.”

“Just do it already. Maybe it’ll shut her up?”

“Yes, listen to Blaise,” I begged. “Fuck me, Draco.”

“Well, this is cozy.”

Theo and Astoria were here now! Good. Maybe they could help convince Draco to sleep with me.

“Tell Draco how nice it would feel,” I told them. “Tell him I’ll be good. I’ll even let him co—”

Draco’s rough hand wrapped around my mouth.

“Behave,” he warned me.

He was in my head, though. He knew what I was going to say. My eyes widened. I could speak to him there!

Draco, I want you to fuck me. I want to feel your long, hard cock split me open. I want you to come inside of me. Claim me.

He narrowed his eyes at me with a dark look.

It was working.

He was listening. And he liked it.

I pictured all the ways he could fuck me. Hard. From behind. Me on top. Him on top with my legs wrapped around his neck. We could have so much fun.

He moved his hand off my mouth and scrubbed at his face.

“Is she drunk?” Astoria asked.

“She hasn’t had anything to eat or drink here,” Pansy said.

Theo and Astoria walked closer. Their faces were drawn and serious.

But I was serious too.

“Serious about Draco coming inside me.”

Astoria snapped back, eyes wide, while Theo hid a laugh.

Draco cursed, and suddenly, my mouth was sealed.

I pouted at him but kept sending him my most explicit thoughts. He moved me to the cushion beside him and stood up. I tried to stand with him, but Blaise was still on the side of the couch, and he held my shoulder down.

“What happened to you?” Astoria asked him, noticing his bleeding head and nose.

Blaise gave me a pointed look.

“Hermione, are you drunk? Did you drink at home before coming?” Theo asked.

I shook my head.

I stared at Draco.

We only have until Monday. You have to do it before then. We have to have sex right now.

He shook his head as he paced behind Theo and Astoria.

“Did she find something at the house?” Astoria turned to Draco. “Something you would have used to make this transition easier?”

“Easy, Tori,” Theo cautioned.

“I didn’t ever plan on drugging her,” Draco snapped.

“He hasn’t even slept with her yet,” Blaise said, causing Theo and Astoria to startle.

Yes! It is startling. Startling because I want it so badly!

“Why Monday?” Draco asked me again.

I groaned and closed my eyes. I didn’t want to think of Monday. I didn’t want to kill this wonderful buzz I felt. If the Ministry found out we weren’t really married… I shook the thoughts away. They wouldn’t. I’d get Draco to fuck me, and it would be fine.

It’d be better than fine.

I know he’d be just as fantastic at this as he had been with his mouth. Mmm, his mouth. His tongue.

I groaned.

“She said the Ministry will find out,” Draco said. “What the fuck is she talking about?”

Blaise shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything about the two of you. But today was my day off. So any plans made today wouldn’t have hit me yet.”

“Weasley and Potter?” Theo asked.

He leaned forward, pulled one of my eyes open very wide, and shined his wand in them.

“Pupils are dilated,” he said.

Astoria’s wand was near my neck, and it looked like she was pulling a long thread out from me.

“Elevated levels of oxytocin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.”

“Is she drugged?” Pansy asked.

“Blood pressure doesn’t seem like it,” Astoria said. “Usually, with things like Pixie Dust or Fae Fire, we see drastic changes in blood pressure. She doesn’t have that. Her heart rate is normal, too. She’s just…”

“Horny.”

I closed my eyes and groaned. Yes. Yes, I was. Draco, please!

“Small prick,” Theo warned, and I flinched as he took some blood from my arm. “Hermione, how long have you been experiencing these feelings?”

“Draco doesn’t have a small prick at all,” I said as the muffling charm was lifted.

“Yes, well, thank you,” Theo said. “How long?”

“So long he probably won’t fit it all.”

Blaise choked back a laugh.

“How long have you been feeling like this, Hermione?” Astoria asked. “When did it start?”

When did what start? I’ve always had these feelings. Since the first night I spent with Draco, I’ve been wondering what fucking him would be like. But he only pleasures me. Is there something wrong with me?

“No,” Draco snapped at me.

“Then why?” I asked him.

You and I will discuss this later. And not in front of them.

I pouted.

“Answer Astoria,” he said.

“Forever.”

Blaise snickered again.

“I would have felt if someone got past the wards,” Draco said.

“The old woman did,” Blaise said.

“Mrs. Pom is a Muggle and bloody harmless.”

I snorted again at Cerberus.

“No one else was there,” Draco said.

Except for Harry and Ron.

“What.”

Draco’s voice lowered into that menacing tone. I hope he uses it when he fucks me.

“She said Potter and Weasley were there.”

Draco was suddenly in front of me.

“Did you let them in?” He took my face in his hands again. “Did you let Potter and Weasley in the house?”

“No! They were in the invisibility cloak. I saw an owl disappear.”

I watched Draco’s eyes cloud over as he searched my memories. I needed to tell him I didn’t let in the trench coat guy either. But we could talk about all that once he—

“Fuck! Stay here with her, and do not let her out of your sight. Blaise, with me,” Draco snapped and rushed toward the door.

“Let’s try two parts of a pepper-up potion with one part dittany,” Theo told Astoria. “It might level her out a bit.”

“We could always do a Dreamless, too,” she suggested. “She could sleep off whatever side effects she’s dealing with.”

“Let’s keep her awake for now. Draco might have more questions.”

I pouted as I sat on the couch. I didn’t want to make Draco leave. I wanted him with me. Fucking me.

I begrudgingly took Theo’s tonic and brooded from my spot on the couch. I needed Draco back. I focused on sending him as many explicit thoughts as I could. When he saw how much I needed him, he’d come running back to me. He’d see how good we could be together. He’d come back. I knew he would. He wanted me, too.

The longer I tried to focus, the fuzzier things were becoming. I remembered how good I felt dancing. That had been the best. But now, that exciting feeling seemed so far away.

Astoria, Theo, and Pansy were all whispering together near her desk. They didn’t understand how desperate I was. They didn’t understand how much this hurt. I felt so rejected, so discarded. Didn’t Draco want me? He’d seen me naked plenty. Was he not attracted to me? Was he only doing the limited physical contact with me because of the contract?

Tears tracked down my cheeks.

I was so pathetic.

So alone.

Nothing was working.

My research was shit.

I didn’t have a job.

I was completely reliant on Draco for everything.

I hiccupped a sob.

What was I doing with my life?

“Hey, what’s all this?” Theo was kneeling by the couch, wiping my tears away.

“He doesn’t want me,” I cried.

“Shh,” Theo said. “Of course he does. Can’t you see? You’re brilliant!”

I shook my head. “He wants someone nicer. With better tits. Like Astoria’s tits. She’s got such great tits.”

Theo smiled. “Your tits are great, too.”

Someone cleared their throat from the doorway.

When I turned, I saw Draco glowering at us.

“Hi,” I squeaked.

“Well?” Pansy asked.

Draco walked forward and pulled me into his arms, releasing the magical hold on my wrists. I gratefully threw my arms around his neck and buried my face into him, enveloping his intoxicating scent.

“Suppression Soot,” he said. “From Weasley’s Joke Shop. It’s supposed to suppress the effects of dark magic.”

“Without the presence of dark magic, it just boosts your levels of oxytocin and dopamine. Works to release your inhibitions. Make you bold,” Theo said.

Pansy snorted. “Guess she really does want to fuck you.”

“We can’t know that,” Astoria said. “And you shouldn’t take advantage of her in—”

“Tori.”

She stopped as Theo grabbed her wrist.

“This is Draco. You know him.”

“What about the trench coat guy?” Pansy asked.

Draco shook his head. “I’ll have to wait until the soot wears off and she can form coherent thoughts. For now, Blaise is going to take Weasley’s soot-filled letter to the Ministry and get a restraining order.”

“The soot should wear off in about an hour. We probably expedited it with our tonic, which is why she’s crying now. Her levels are crashing. She’s coming down from the high.”

“We can give her a sleeping draught,” Astoria said.

“I’ve got some at home.”

“And Thailand?” Pansy asked.

Draco sighed. “I’ll get back when I can.”

I took another deep breath as Draco held me. It felt so good to be so close to him again.

“Sorry again about tonight,” Draco said.

“The girls are okay,” she said. “I think it just surprised them.”

“Did you find out what’s happening Monday?” Theo asked.

“We got summons,” Draco said. “They think she’s under the Imperious.”

The room got quiet.

“I told you—”

“I’ve got it under control,” Draco interrupted.

And then we were gone.

Chapter Text

When I finally cracked my eyes open, the sun was pouring through the bedroom window. I groaned and rolled toward the clock. It was nearly noon. I sat up and noticed Draco’s side of the bed was vacant and cold. I blew out a breath.

Last night had been a fucking disaster.

I groaned and covered my face.

Summoning Soot. Of all the idiotic…

At least I wasn’t still falling over myself to get to Draco’s cock. Fucking hell. I’d been a mess. And everyone got to witness it. And some stranger had snogged my neck? I shook my head. I was going to bloody maim Ronald Weasley for that.

I brushed my teeth and headed downstairs. I needed coffee and something enormously greasy to eat. Too bad Draco didn’t leave me any junk food when he left. Did that man never indulge?

I was just padding through to the kitchen when I stopped. Papers rustled to my right.

When I turned, Draco was seated at the dining room table.

Fuck shit.

I thought he’d be gone and leave me to my sobering misery in peace.

“Good morning, wife.”

I swallowed.

He was only wearing pajamas and no shirt.

“Hi.”

He inclined his head, motioning me toward him. He was seated at the head of the table, and his amused smirk made me nervous. I stood beside him, but he moved back away from the table and stood me between his legs. His hands drummed lightly on the armrests of the wooden chair.

“Have a nice evening with the ladies?”

I glared at him, which only elicited a large grin in return.

He rested his chin in his hand and nodded to the space behind me.

I backed up against the table and looked over my shoulder to see The Prophet.

“Other side.”

I looked over my right shoulder and saw a small bundle of paperwork. My eyes snapped back to his.

Our contract.

“Pick it up.”

Roughly two dozen curse words threatened to escape my lips as I reached my hand back.

“Read the highlighted sections.”

I swallowed, avoiding eye contact with him while I looked down at the page and cringed.

“I want a man who wants to devour me. An insatiable appetite for just me. For once, I want someone who cares about my pleasure.”

I stopped.

“Keep reading.”

“I want to feel safe with this man. I want him to worship my body, ringing every last ounce of pleasure from me. I don’t want to have to fake orgasms.”

“Uh huh, what else?”

Smug bastard.  

“I want my pussy licked until I scream your name. I want to be tied down while you whisper filthy things to me. I want to come so much I forget my own bloody name.”

“And the grand finale, please, wife?” 

“I want the sex to dominate me so wholly that I’d think of nothing else all day.”

“And here I thought I was being generous,” he mused. “I wanted to give you ample time to focus on your research. But if my wife’s needs are being ignored, then…”

He trailed off, taking the contract from my hand and tossing it behind me.

“Look at me, Hermione.”

My stomach flipped at hearing my name, and his icy irises met mine. I remembered his words from the night before. He stood to his full height and grabbed my wrist. He placed my hand over his cock. He was like steel—hard, long, and thick in my hand.

“Does this feel like I’m not attracted to you?”

Apparently, he’d remembered my insecurities from the previous night as well.

I shook my head.

“Does this feel like I don’t want to fuck you?”

He squeezed his hand over mine, my eyes flaring at the rough movement.

“I have thought about nothing else since the start of our contract. But I wanted to honor your requests first before my baser, selfish instincts took over. Because when I start fucking you, I’ll possess every piece of you. And I don’t know if you’re ready for that intensity yet.”

Well, bloody hell.

He stepped closer, keeping my hand firmly wrapped around his hard cock. I had to crane my neck to keep my eyes on his.

“But I need to hear you say it, wife. Fully sober. In total control of your mind and body.”

My mouth was dry.

“I need to know that you want to fuck me as much as I want to fuck you.”

“Yes,” I whispered, not needing another second to consider it. “I want you.”

I knew who I wanted and what I wanted from him. He let his eyes roam over my face and brushed a thumb over my lips.

“You let another man touch you last night, Hermione.”

Damn. The first name again.

“I…” I swallowed hard. “I didn’t know.”

“I know. I believe you.”

I tried to school my relief.

“But I think I deserve a little enjoyment in return.”

My mind spun with possibilities. A blow job? Fine. I would happily sink to my knees for this man. It would be a bloody pleasure to do so. I started to kneel, but Draco’s free hand caught my chin.

“No,” he said.

I tried not to shift nervously on my feet. He said he wouldn’t hurt me and that I can trust him. So, what the hell was he talking about? Was he going to fuck me? Fine. Do it. Possess me. I don’t fucking care as long as I finally get to feel him. But this waiting was completely maddening.

“I’m a man who relishes in revenge.”

I would have recoiled if he hadn’t been holding my chin. Did he want another woman? I opened my mouth to call him every foul-mouthed word in existence, but he placed his thumb over my lips.

“Listen.”

I glowered at him.

“On your first afternoon off in three months, you went to surprise your boyfriend of six years with lunch in his office.”

My stomach plummeted.

He wasn’t… he couldn’t know this. How?

“When you opened the door, you saw him and Millie on his desk.”

Sickening dread washed over me.

Draco leaned down and pressed his lips against my neck. What the hell was he doing? My hand was still cupped around his arousal, and he seemed even harder now.

“Tell me who Weasley hates more than anyone.”

His kisses trailed up the column of my neck and over my collarbone as he slid one of the thin straps down my arm.

“You,” I whispered around his thumb.

“Me.”

He kissed his way across my chest and pulled the second strap down with his perfectly white teeth.

My silky gown fell down over my breasts and gathered around my hips, held in place by my hand that was still firmly gripping him. Draco took several seconds to lick and tease my nipples, and I groaned under the pleasure of his tongue.

“I’m going to fuck you now, wife,” he told me between nips and bites. “And you’re going to tell me where.”

I closed my eyes and let my head drop back. Fuck this felt so good.

“We can go back upstairs, and I can fuck you in our bed until you’re too hoarse to say enough.”

My thighs trembled.

“Or, I can fuck you right here on this table.”

He squeezed his hand over mine even harder and groaned into my neck.

“But I’ll be honest. If you choose the table, then your ex will have a front-row seat to the filthy, depraved things I am going to do to this pussy.”

My eyes opened just as he was sinking his long pointer finger into my mouth. Instinctively, my cheeks hollowed, and I sucked his digit. He pulled back, and I released with a pop.

“He kept the invisibility cloak,” he said. “He’s right out there. Watching us now.”

The dining room was right in front of the large bay window. The whole bloody neighborhood could see us if they walked by.

Draco leaned forward and bit my earlobe, sending wild pulses straight through me.

Fucking fuck damn.

“And I’m listening to his thoughts,” he whispered in my ear with a dark laugh. “He hates me so fucking much.”

I nodded, understanding the true depths of his hatred for Draco.

“He hates watching my hands run over you,” he said, running his hands down my back and squeezing my ass. “He hates that I’m kissing you.”

He made a point by licking me from my shoulder to my chin. My entire body was humming in anticipation.

“So punish him,” he teased as he kissed my neck and ear. “You never cheated. You never even came for him. Show him how beautiful you look when you come. Show him what an inadequate git he was for years.”

Holy buggering fuck.

Was I really considering this? Was I going to let Draco fuck me in front of the window while I knew Ron was actually watching? Why was I so bloody turned on? Did I want someone to watch me? What kind of disturbed kink did I stumble on?

“I am going to find all your kinks,” Draco practically purred against me.

Damn him.

If I were wearing panties, they would have been destroyed.

“Turnabout is fair play, isn’t that what they say?”

Yes, they bloody well did. But I’d rarely been the one on this side of things. I danced back and forth between my choices. Draco could have easily fucked me right here and never told me, and I would have been none the wiser. That did elicit some trust from me. But it was my choice. Completely transparent.

“I can’t promise you that he won’t hear you screaming my name from upstairs, though,” he added with a wicked grin.

Arrogant prat.

But he was probably right. The man was practically a sex-god.

And before I could change my mind, I released my hold on his cock. He pulled away from kissing my shoulder and looked at me. I let the silk nightgown drop to the floor.

“I doubt very much that you will get more pleasure from this than I will.”

Draco threw back his head and laughed. I reveled in the sound. 

Call it juvenile or petty or whatever else. But I wanted to do this. I wanted to be the one in control. And Draco had given me that control.

Throughout our entire relationship, Ron had always been such a damn prude. He wouldn’t even hold hands with me out in public. I was starved for intimacy by that man, and he never delivered. So to walk in and find him so lost in the throes of passion that he was fucking his secretary on his desk? It was so incomprehensible to me. I deserved that maddening lust. I deserved someone who couldn’t keep their hands off me. I deserved to orgasm.

This was my home. And if I wanted to get absolutely obliterated sexually on my dining table, then I bloody well would.

“Do your worst.”

And then I lowered my voice and brought his head down toward my lips.

“Husband.”

I knew the word would be Draco’s undoing.

He launched into action, grabbing my face and completely devouring my mouth with his. It was messy, wild, and chaotic. My fingers tangled through his hair, and his hands roughly pulled my hips against him. His cock was like marble between us.

“Thank you,” he said between kisses. “You bloody brilliant witch, thank you.”

His hands moved to my breasts, where he roughly palmed them. I moaned at the same time he released some kind of garbled growl.

“Let me,” I said, pulling away with panting breaths.

He looked confused until I started sinking to my knees. I resented doing this for Ron, who was never willing to reciprocate. But things were different with Draco. I had thought about this several times since we started living together. And the only thing I could imagine doing now was finally getting my mouth and hands around him.

I pulled Draco’s pajamas with me, and he stepped out of them, his naked length finally springing free.

Holy fucking hell.

He was huge.

The biggest I’d seen and been with. No wonder he was such an arrogant shit all the time. With a cock like that swinging between your legs, you were bound to feel invincible.

I licked my lips.

Draco smiled at something unsaid, and I knew he was probably listening to Ron’s thoughts.

“He’s put out that the rumors from the locker room were true.”

“You had a reputation, then?”

He feigned a dejected look.

“You never heard?”

I grinned as I wrapped my hand around him.

Oh, I’d heard every rumor about Draco Malfoy in school. And his enormous cock was one that was widely whispered about among the girls my year.

I licked him from base to tip. Draco shivered above me with a tight groan. One fist wrapped around the back of the chair for balance while the other gently caressed my face.

I relaxed my throat and took him.

He cursed almost as much as I did as I took his length into my mouth. He gasped as I continued. I didn’t have much of a gag reflex.

Draco continued to curse above me as I worked my hand in tandem with my hollowed-out cheeks. I sucked and ran my hand along his cock while he stared down at me. He watched me with rapt attention, looking as terrifyingly beautiful as I’d ever seen him. I twisted my tongue around the head of his cock, and I heard the wood groan from his tight grip.

I was just starting to get a nice rhythm going when I was being pulled up off the floor. Draco’s lips met mine with a bruising intensity.

“Fucking gods, woman,” he groaned. “You could suck my very soul out.”

I smiled as he lifted me onto the table, spreading my legs. He lowered his head toward my center, but I caught his chin.

“Fuck me, Draco.”

“One taste.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, but he was sparkling with mischief and pleasure.

I cried out as his tongue connected with my clitoris. His fingers joined his mouth, and when he finally sat up, his chin was wet with my arousal.

“I had to make sure you were ready for me,” he said.

He reached between my legs again, pulled more of my moisture onto his hand, and began pumping it over his erection. Bloody hell, that was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. Each of his muscles flexed with each drag his fist made.

Fuck, was I ready for this?

“You’re going to be a good girl, and let me put my whole cock in this pretty little pussy,” he said, getting closer.

The anticipation was killing me.

“Tell me you’ll take it all.”

“Yes, yes,” I said, feeling the head of him just outside my entrance. “I’ll take all of you. I swear.”

“Good girl,” he said, and then he moved.

I moaned as he began to invade my tight space, stretching me to a point I hadn’t been yet. His hands found my breasts, and his tongue found mine as he distracted me from the burning stretch.

I’d never experienced a fullness like this, but it was intoxicating. There was no escape from the feel of him. He was everywhere.

“Yes,” I begged. “Don’t stop.”

Draco finally filled me, taking himself as deep as he could. I let loose a shuttering laugh, and he kissed my jaw.

“Look how well you take me.”

He looked down at where our bodies were joined, and I did, too. His body was perfectly chiseled like he was crafted from stone. My own softness and curves were so different.

“You’re perfect,” he said. “Do you feel how hard you make me? How much I want you?”

I closed my eyes and laid my head back against the table. It was perfect. His cock was bloody perfect.

And then Draco began to really move. He thrust himself into me with unrelenting strokes, and I took each one, begging for more. He moved his hips, striking me in a way that had my toes curling and my eyes watering.

Draco smiled as he looked down at me and licked one of the tears away.

“Do you like when your husband fucks you like this?”

I whimpered, nodding my head as emphatically as I could, finding myself completely speechless.

“I’ll claim every fucking part of this body,” he growled out. “You are mine. And I’m going to fuck you so well that you’ll belong to me forever.”

I didn’t even register what he was saying, but I cried out and begged for more because that’s what I needed. I was so fucking close already. He was so deep and tight and hard. I wouldn’t be able to last much longer.

“You like knowing he’s watching you fall apart on my cock. And he can’t do a fucking thing to stop me. Because you. Are. All. Mine.”

With each pulse of his hips, I came closer to the edge. I was going to come.

With expert deftness, Draco’s thumb reached between us and spun circles around my clit. I cried out with pleasure as my senses exploded around me.

“That’s it,” he said, continuing his unrelenting thrusts and spins. “Come for me. Come for your husband.”

“Fuck! Fuck, Draco!”

I shattered around him, splintering in a billion directions as my orgasm shook the very foundation of this home. Draco’s mouth found mine, and our tongues danced together as he wrung every last ounce of pleasure from me.

“Good girl,” he whispered roughly. “Such a good girl.”

My legs trembled as he moved again.

“What a nice wife,” he said. “Hard to believe she’s such a menace when left unattended.”

I snorted a laugh and rolled my eyes.

“I suppose I’ll have to keep a closer eye on her.”

He punctuated the point by driving himself in even deeper.

“Keep her with me,” he continued. “So I can fuck her any time I please.”

I groaned, still sensitive and recovering from my crushing orgasm.

“Would my wife like that? Do you want to be my little fuck toy?”

Gods yes. I wanted to be anything he said in this bloody moment.

He pulled me up with him, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. The connection was even deeper now as our hot and sticky bodies thrust together.

“You want to come all over your husband’s cock.”

“Yes,” I panted as his pace increased.

“You don’t care who sees.”

Maybe I should feel embarrassed. But I didn’t. I was too lost in the pleasure of it all.

“You just want to come and be filled.”

The sounds of our bodies coming together filled the quiet living room. The creaking of the wood table was an echoing heartbeat to our hedonism. I knew it’d be life-changing. I just didn’t know how much.

“I’m going to fill you over and over,” he said, one hand tangled in my hair, the other tweaking my nipple. “I want you dripping my come when you walk into that Ministry tomorrow. There won’t be any question who you belong to.”

Salazar’s fat tit. This should not be as sexy as it is. But damn him, I’m completely enraptured. The sex, the spice, the possessive shit he was saying. All of it was ruining me.

“Tell me who you belong to.”

His thrusts were maddening. I was seeing stars in my bloody vision like a damned cartoon.

“You, Draco,” I breathed. “Yours. All yours.”

And in one spinning move, Draco lifted me from the table and pushed us against the wall. I cried out as his hips pistoned back into me, and he came. His mouth locked over mine in a possessive move, swallowing the last of my pleasure as I sobbed for him. My legs shook around him as he pounded through his climax.

His kissing turned sweet and delicate as he brushed the hair away from my face. He soothed me, kissing the tears leaking from my eyes, praising me each second.

“You did so well,” he whispered. “You were perfect.”

It had been the most intense sexual encounter of my life. And the truth was, I’d forgotten all about Ron until just now. I’d never been able to connect like that during sex. I knew Draco was reading me throughout the experience. I’d become accustomed to having him in my head all the time. But I hadn’t expected it to be so erotic. Every touch and move I needed, he met with equal ferocity.

I smiled back at him, feeling dizzy from all of it.

“Thank you,” I said, kissing him on the nose.

A broad smile spread over his face.

“You know, I don’t think anyone’s ever kissed me on the nose before.”

“Just your wife, then,” I said.

He kissed mine in return.

“Just my wife.”

He pulled away, and both of us groaned. He eased me to the ground and made sure I was steady before he stepped away. He took several moments to appraise my naked body, stopping for several beats on the dripping that was coming from my thighs.

“What?” I shifted as his look turned voracious.

“I very much like the look of this, Mrs. Malfoy.”

I scoffed at the name, but his unrestrained look of pure lust didn’t falter.

“Hermione Jean Malfoy.”

“I thought you only called me Hermione when you were cross with me?”

“I am the opposite of cross with you right now.”

He reached forward, pulling my silk nightgown over me, and took my hand.

“Come on,” he said, pulling me toward the kitchen. “Let’s feed you so I can fuck you again.”

He didn’t bother to put on clothes. He filled a tray of food and a kettle for tea and pulled me toward the stairs. I half expected him to feed and fuck me right in front of the window again.

“No,” he said as we walked upstairs. “This time will be just for us.”

And I had to ignore the way my heart skipped.

Chapter Text

I stared at the clothing hanging before me, willing the perfect outfit to jump out and thrust itself upon me.

I think the only reason I got even a moment of sleep last night was because of Draco’s voracious sexual appetite. He finally exhausted me into unconsciousness after too many orgasms. Even now, wrapped in a towel after my shower, my legs ached from the exercise of the day before.

Draco was…

I shook my head.

How could I even conceptualize what he was like as a lover? Was perfect too bloody cliché? It’s how I felt. That maddening arse. I hated to give him credit like that. Salazar knows his ego didn’t bloody need a boost. But he was.

Part of me had been disappointed to wake up alone this morning. But the other part of me was relieved because my poor clitoris needed a reprieve. And I needed to focus on today. We needed to talk. We needed to get on the same page. And I was frustrated enough at myself for getting so distracted yesterday. We only had a limited number of minutes left together before we had to report to the Ministry.

“You’re not dressed yet?”

I jumped at his sudden presence.

“Fucking hell,” I mumbled, gripping the towel tighter.

“Tense?”

He offered me an easy smile as if we weren’t being interrogated by the bloody government today. I offered a glare in return.

“I don’t know what to wear.”

I wanted to seem smart yet sophisticated, like a woman with a new sexy husband, but not like one who was paid to do the job, even though I was.

I looked at him, and of course, he was dressed immaculately, already in fitted black trousers and ankle boots. His crisp white shirt fit him flawlessly, and his tailored blazer made him look even broader than he was shirtless. He’d left the first two buttons undone, and I found myself slipping back into my lusty haze. He was so damned good-looking.

“Here,” he said, stepping around me.

He reached up and pulled down a red dress. It was longer, going to about my calves, and had thick straps holding up a sweetheart neckline. It was beautiful.

“Isn’t it a bit…dressy?”

I didn’t know how formal to look. He looked like he was on the cover of Witch Weekly, ready to make everyone with a clitoris in forty kilometers wet. And for Draco Malfoy, that was perfectly acceptable everyday attire. If I wore this dress, I feel like it would say I was trying too hard. I’d look like a desperate, little, ridiculous twit.

Draco had turned toward one of the drawers and was rummaging through my knickers.

Today was going to be a bloody nightmare.

“Here.”

He turned around and held up a black and red lacy lingerie set that made my cheeks bloom a similar shade of crimson. I laughed with embarrassment.

He didn’t give me an opportunity to argue, though. He reached forward and tugged my towel off.

“Draco,” I tried, but he was already bent over, tugging one of my legs through the opening of the thong.

Next, he fastened the bra over me and stepped back to admire his work. He took in the contrast of the red and black against my skin and appraised it with a satisfied grin.

“This I like.”

He turned me toward the large mirror. I had to admit the set was flattering. And I was surprised to find it as comfortable as it was. But this all felt silly. I wasn’t trying to seduce anyone at the Ministry. I was trying to convince them that I wasn’t a giant fraud.

“Wait,” Draco said, bending in front of me. Slowly, he began sliding stockings up my legs.

The torture of feeling his hands on my sensitive legs was nearly enough to make me forgo the entire appointment. The thought of being back in bed…with those hands… I closed my eyes as he pressed a kiss to my inner thigh. I swallowed down my whimper, though. Barely.

Draco lifted my foot once again, and I opened my eyes to the sound of zipping. When I looked down again, I saw that I was wearing tall, black leather boots.   

He slowly stood, dragging his nose over my sensitive core and stomach before stopping just over my lips.

“When a woman feels sexy,” he whispered against my lips. “She is powerful. And when a woman is powerful, she’s confident. And Malfoys are always confident.”

He kissed my lips lightly before walking behind me. He stood to his full height, and even in the boots, I was still a head shorter than him, at least.

I looked down at my reflection, scrutinizing it. But his hand tipped my chin up.

“You are a Malfoy, now,” he said. “And I want all that furious intensity that should have put you in Slytherin to come out.”

He kissed my shoulder and let his hand trace lightly down my ribs.

“I’ve got you.”

Three little words, and I felt my spine straighten.

Dependability went a long way. I’d never had that before. Ron and Harry both were so fickle and flighty. Harry was always dealing with his own things, and Ron was too immature to carry much responsibility. So that left me. Constant, dependable Hermione. I managed to get us out of more scrapes and situations than my younger mind could even comprehend.

But now someone else was offering, and I didn’t know how I felt about it.

Draco stepped back and ran his hand over my exposed cheeks through the thong panties.

“I’m going to picture you in this all day.”

I took the red dress and pulled it over myself. The soft fabric fit my body like a second skin. But Draco was right. I did feel sexy in this dress. And knowing the lingerie beneath it was like a little secret that the two of us shared together. I left my hair pinned up and turned to face him.

“We haven’t even talked about today,” I said, the weight of the reality settling in.

“What’s there to talk about?”

“Draco,” I blanched. “We need a plan. They’re going to ask for my wand. Our marriage. All of it.”

He leaned forward and kissed me.

“You’re a clever witch,” he said. “You’ll be just fine.”

And then he was gone, walking out into the bathroom without so much as a second glance.

“Draco!”

But all I got was a small tube being tossed my way.

Red lipstick, to be exact.

“Gryffindors wear red, remember?”

I scowled after him as he disappeared into the hallway. I grabbed a small purse and a black coat. It was a rainy morning, so the boots had been a decent idea on his part. Against my better judgment, I applied the red lipstick, but only because it matched.

Draco was in a black coat by the time I made it downstairs, and he had a large umbrella next to him.

I quirked my eyebrow.

“Are we not using the Floo?”

He gave me an exasperated look.

“Page seventeen. No Floo for Ministry transport. Ever. Did you honestly still not read the full contract?”

I rolled my eyes.

“I was a little bloody distracted by the marriage arrangement, sorry.”

“Negligence is punishable by the acts outlined on page fifty-seven. Or let me guess… did you not read that section either?”

I most certainly did not read about punishable acts…

Draco made a tsking sound under his breath as he took my arm.

“Well, it shouldn’t be challenging for you to lie about a contract that you never read.”

I grumbled under my breath about what an insufferable pain he was. I’d read the bloody contract when I bloody wanted. It was filled with absolute rubbish anyway. It probably told me what knickers to wear, too.

“Only on Mondays.”

“Really,” I huffed, trying to force him out of my head.

With my arm firmly in his, he apparated us near the Ministry. Apparently, he also insisted on using the front door. The umbrella popped above us as we walked. There was something enigmatic about being on his arm as we walked down the street. I couldn’t help but feel a bit lighter, as if I were in the sacred confidence bubble that constantly followed him.

“We’re also bound by one of the dreaded social obligations today,” he noted.

“What do you—” I was cut off by the sound of over a dozen cameras snapping all at once.

Suddenly, my name was being shouted all around us. Draco wrapped a protective arm around my hip and pulled me closer, offering me a swift kiss on my head as we continued walking.

“Hermione!”

“Hermione Granger!”

“Is that a ring on your finger?”

“Is it true? Are you married to Draco Malfoy?”

“Hermione, what about the blood status?”

“Draco, did your mother have an opinion on the marriage?”

“What does Ron Weasley think?”

That last question made the corner of Draco’s mouth quirk in satisfaction as we continued walking toward the Ministry’s entrance.

Social obligation. Of all the ridiculous lies to tell. This! I kept my face drawn and focused, ignoring all of the reporters as Draco maintained a fervent pace. Had he clued them in? Why?

Perhaps shaping the narrative in our favor through the media would be the best outlet. Winning over the public was never my strong suit, though. I vaguely pictured a glass jar and a beetle…

“Look at her ring!”

“It must be real!”

“You certainly look posh, Miss Granger.”

We reached the door of the Ministry, and Draco held it open for me.

I turned at the last minute to the man who’d just told me I looked posh.

“Hermione Malfoy,” I corrected.

Jaws around me dropped, and flashes popped in rapid succession. Draco ushered me through the door and vanished the umbrella as we stepped inside. He leaned forward and kissed me.

“One.”

My brows furrowed.

“One what?”

I was feeling rather pleased with myself. I thought he’d like my snappy response.

“I reward good behavior with orgasms. That’s one.”

My eyes widened.

“Keep up the good work, Mrs. Malfoy.”

I would have been a very different girl in school had I been working toward orgasms.

Draco’s laugh boomed through the Ministry as we entered one of the lifts. I squeezed his hand but had to fight back my own smile.

“I would have been a very different boy in school had I known that was an option,” he whispered against my cheek.

I elbowed him playfully. There were several others in the lift with us. And judging by all the sideways glances we were getting, I knew it was the top story that we were here today.

This ring doesn’t leave your finger today or ever.

He brought my left hand up to his lips and kissed the top of it. The lift stopped, and he kept hold of my hand as he led us out.

I wasn’t exactly sure how to avoid it if the Minister told me to remove it.

You’re a clever witch. You’ll figure it out.

I was getting bloody sick of hearing that.

Outside the lift was a growing crowd of Aurors. Blaise offered a quick wink, but the others didn’t look as welcoming. Draco kept a firm grip on my hand as we walked to the doors of the investigation room.

Draco moved to open the door, but two Aurors I didn’t recognize stepped in front of him.

“Just Miss Granger,” one said. “You’ll go in after.”

Fucking shit. I was going to have to go in there alone? Draco didn’t seem surprised by this, which is exactly why we should have spent yesterday preparing and not—

 “Malfoy,” Draco said to the Auror. “She’s a Malfoy now.”

I watched the magnitude of his words ripple through the listening Aurors. They all knew the weight a statement like that carried. For generations, it had meant unlimited protection, resources, and power.

You’re brilliant, he told me as he pressed his lips to mine. I’ve got you.

I gave his hand one last squeeze as the door was opened.

It was a fairly large room with a few tables scattered. It looked like it might have been a debriefing room at some point, with the scattered posters on the wall and clippings. Several Aurors sat at two long tables facing the rest of the room, while chairs were scattered throughout the rest of the space. There was one table and chairs in the direct center of the room, and I took that to be my seat.

On it was a pitcher of water and a small glass.

“Miss Granger,” Head Auror Simpson smiled. “Lovely to see you.”

I’d always had a fondness for Head Auror Simpson. He seemed kind. I knew he had a large family and was close to retirement. He always struck me as someone who was fair through different experiences. Seated beside Simpson were, I assumed, Briard, Levenseu, and Dilland. Ron had mentioned those in other leadership positions, but I didn’t have many details on them. I took note of several Aurors seated behind the senior leadership. Harry was there, looking as nervous as a fidgeting kitten. Ron was there, glowering at me from his seat near the window. I also saw Dean Thomas, who offered a friendly wave.

“Gentlemen,” Head Auror Simpson nodded toward the two Aurors who followed me in. “Her wand, please?”

One of the Aurors instinctively reached for my small handbag and pulled it off my wrist before I could react. I swallowed the knot in my throat as he rummaged through it.

“Please have a seat, Miss Granger.”

“It’s actually Hermione Malfoy now,” I said as I took a seat.

Two.

I ignored Draco as Simpson nodded eagerly.

“Oh, right, right. Well, good for you!”

The other three beside him didn’t nod or move to show the same eagerness.

I didn’t bother looking toward Harry or Ron. I didn’t want to know their reactions. Harry at least had the decency to look apologetic when I walked in. Ron’s face was beet-red with unshed anger.

Or jealousy.

I coughed to hide my laugh.

“Water, Miss Granger?” one of the men in leadership asked.

He was a mousy man with thinning hair and large, beady eyes.

“No.”

I knew from Ron’s stories that they often left Veritaserum in their water pitchers for an unexpected advantage in questionings. It was hideously illegal.

The Auror who took my purse had managed to find my wand inside, and I worked to school my features from my own surprise.

“Right, let’s just get this done and get you on your way,” Simpson stated, taking the wand.

He drew his and cast a quick spell over it, revealing the last two months of spell work. To my surprise, there were several spells that were revealed. Cleaning, cooking, basic charms, and transportation spells, too.

Clever wizard.

Nothing was out of the ordinary. Nothing was illegal, just as I suspected.

“Lovely,” Simpson said, clapping his hands and nodding to the Auror to put the wand back in the purse.

I watched as two of the senior leadership Aurors discussed something privately behind their hands. The second nodded toward my hand.

The ring.

Instinctively, I reached for the Veritaserum. Their eyes instantly lit up, giving away their tell.

I could navigate this better than I could talk my way out of taking off this ring.

“Miss G—Mrs. Malfoy,” the man seated right next to Simpson corrected. “Have you ever been under the Imperious Curse?”

“No.”

He bristled.

“Have you ever been coerced into something you didn’t want to do?”

My eyes narrowed.

“Are you really asking me that?”

He flinched at my snappy tone.

“Of course, now answer the question.”

“Short answer, yes.”

He laughed indignantly. “And the long answer?”

“The long answer would be that many of the underage witches and wizards who went with me through school were coerced into participating in a war that they had no business being involved in. More specifically, I was made to believe that it was the sole responsibility of my friend group to leave my education early and travel the country alone to find and destroy Horcruxes. All because the adult Aurors couldn’t be trusted to manage a task of that magnitude or importance.”

Three.

I looked pointedly at Harry. He was led like a bloody lamb to slaughter for ignorant and weak men like these. He offered me a sad smile. He’d always been more forgiving. He wanted peace, and I understood that. Though I would never understand why he came to work for the bloody Ministry after all this. Especially as an Auror.

“Are you under the effects of any dark magic?” another asked, completely ignoring my earlier statement.

“No.”

“Mrs. Malfoy,” Simpson said, holding his hands up, sensing my irritation. “I think what my colleagues are trying to say is that we’re merely worried about you.”   

I didn’t respond.

“Some of the Aurors have mentioned the startling nature of your recent nuptials.”

I continued to stare at the table of Aurors. I knew that “some” of the Aurors were actually just one. Ronald B. Weasley.

Simpson shifted and cleared his throat.

“Did Mr. Malfoy force this on you?”

I considered the question.

“I can assure you that the relationship I have with my husband is entirely consensual.”

I ignored Draco’s low chuckle in my head. I caught Ron shifting uneasily near the window. Good. Let him be uncomfortable and bristle over what he intruded on.

“There’s the belief that you are under the Imperious Curse.”

I waited, seeing if one of them was bold enough to ask me. And what would they say when I answered that I wasn’t? Would they think the potion was faulty? Would they actually believe me?

“We’ve checked Mrs. Malfoy’s wand,” another Auror said. “Why not bring in her husband’s?”

He sneered the last word as if it were a curse.

“Let’s do it so we can be done,” Simpson sighed.

A second chair appeared next to me. The doors snapped open, and Draco entered before anyone could escort him forward. He offered his wand to the table of senior leadership with a bored look before turning back to me. He took the seat beside me and took an exaggerated drink from the water between us.

Apparently, we were both playing the game now.

More of the Aurors from the hallway had entered the room after Draco. Everyone was eagerly waiting for the results of Draco’s spells. I nearly rolled my eyes at how daft they all were. Did they honestly think that he’d roll into the Ministry of Magic brandishing a wand filled with nefarious spells and curses and just hand it over to them? There wouldn’t be a scrap of incriminating evidence on that wand.

The room hushed as the spells were displayed. If my wand held benign and boring spells, then Draco’s looked like a first-year student’s wand. The timidity and restraint shown on his spell-casting display were comical. I knew for a fact that his magic far exceeded that of the registered wand.

Many of the Aurors looked exceedingly put out that there wasn’t a flashing admission that he’d done an Imperious Curse.

“Mr. Malfoy, welcome. Some congratulations are in order, then.”

“Thank you, Head Auror.”

“You and Mrs. Malfoy have been married a short time, then?”

“About a month.”

“And before that?” another Auror asked.

Draco looked over at me with mock concentration.

“Third year?”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it, but I literally laughed. How in the hell had he managed a lie like that?

“That’s a lie,” Ron barked angrily.

“She was easily in love with me during our third year,” Draco defended. “She took double the classes with a time turner so she could spend more time with me, and she broke my nose when I hurt her feelings. If that’s not love…”

I smiled, I couldn’t help it. He actually bloody believed that?

“And fourth year, you made me bloody mad with jealousy, dating my favorite Quidditch player.”

I really studied him then, surprised by his admission. I knew from my own reactions that we’d truly consumed Veritaserum. I felt the compulsion for truth. So these things he was saying… they were…

“In our fifth year, I rarely saw you. You were always sneaking off. I was jealous of that, too. And sixth year.” Draco’s smile was wistful. “Sixth year, I caught your scent in the Amortentia.”

I stopped breathing.

“Leather-bound books. Bergamot, like the tea you like. And spearmint.”

The two of us stared at one another, and the room of Aurors seemed to disappear. I don’t know what I was expecting from today, but this was not it.

“Yes, and in the seventh year, he tortured her and nearly killed her on the tile of his front room,” Ron’s voice called out over the silence. 

“Draco Malfoy never harmed anyone during the Second Wizarding War. He was cleared of all charges, and your best friend, Harry Potter, went on to testify on his behalf,” I snapped back.

Indemnity was what Draco had promised the last time we brought up Bellatrix. Reparations in war. But the lines between us have blurred. Was he still acting out of obligation?

Draco took another drink from the water in front of us. With each gulp, I swore Ron was practically vibrating with contempt.

“Mr. Malfoy, did you use the Imperious Curse on your wife?”

“I’ve never used the Imperious Curse on anyone,” he shrugged. “Nor any other unforgivable curse, in case you’re wondering.”

The room filled with hushed whispers.

“If we’re done here,” I said, indicating that there’s no reason for either of us to stay.

“She would have never agreed to marry him,” Ron spoke up. “He’s blackmailing her or something.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I am not, nor have I ever been, blackmailed by Draco Malfoy,” I turned my attention to the senior leadership table. “Perhaps this is a simple case of one of your Aurors overstepping their position because of childhood jealousy and immaturity.”

Five.

He’d skipped four entirely.

That’s because that one is worth two.

I maintained my stare with the leadership team while others murmured around the room. I didn’t bother looking at Ron because there was no point. He was being ridiculous.

“I understand that this must be a difficult pill for him to swallow. But I am happy. I am healthy. And I am well cared for in my marriage—spoiled, even. And if that happiness upsets him to the point of distracting valuable time, money, and resources away from the Auror team as a whole, then maybe this individual needs to be directed to a project that will consume more of their idle time.”

Ten.

I stood up and looked at Draco.

“Husband?”

He beamed as he got to his feet.

“Gentlemen,” he nodded to the group, though I swear he winked, too.

“You can’t just let them leave,” Ron sputtered. “This is bollocks. We can all see—”

“It was my understanding,” I interrupted. “That we were asked to visit the Ministry to perform a magical inquiry on our wands, which is the right of the government at any time. However, without charges being brought against us, you may not hold us for any duration once the wand check has been completed and cleared. We are afforded the same rights of due process as any other witch and wizard. You would be in clear violation if we were held here beyond the measure of our check. And if that’s the case, I am requesting legal counsel immediately.”

“Of course, you’re free to go, Mrs. Malfoy,” Simpson said, shooting Ron a look. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

We moved from behind the table, and Draco took the lead. He moved toward two of the Aurors, though, and opened his hand. They sheepishly dropped my purse and his wand into them. Draco pocketed his wand and held my bag for me as he gripped my hand.

I was going to kill Ronald Weasley for this. Of all the embarrassing, ridiculous shit. He was such a fool. Wasn’t he aware of how idiotic he’d just looked in front of his peers? His employers? I rolled my eyes as waves of frustration rolled off me. He was so bloody pig-headed sometimes. And over nothing! It was his unreasonable hatred for a childhood nemesis that dragged us here. But I knew he wouldn’t believe me. He could administer the Veritaserum himself and still doubt what was coming out of my mouth.

And he was the biggest hypocrite of all! He was dating a bloody Slytherin!

“Hey,” Draco turned me toward him once we were in the hallway.

He took my chin between his fingers and lifted it.

“You were brilliant. It’s over. Simpson isn’t going to pursue this.”

I huffed out an irritated breath. Draco pressed his lips against mine, and some of the anger began to leave as warmth settled over me. He was well-versed in kissing. And the promise of ten orgasms had me giddy with anticipation.

“Lunch first, temptress.”

He placed his hand back over mine and walked us toward the lifts.

“Hermione, wait!”

Draco and I both looked back to see Harry jogging toward us. I was skeptical of his motivation for approaching me, but I was grateful not to see Ron lingering behind him.

I didn’t respond, I just quirked my brow.

“Can I just talk for a moment?”

I opened my mouth, but Draco leaned forward and kissed my cheek.

“I’ll be right over here.”

Surprise washed over me as I watched him give Harry and me space to talk. He approached a group of former Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Aurors. He shook hands with them and started talking as if they were old friends. Curious.

“I’m sorry,” Harry blurted. “I’m sorry about the other day and your wrist, and all of it. I just reacted, and Ron’s so—”

I rolled my eyes.

“I know,” he grimaced. “But he’s just got it in his head that you’re… well…trapped. And I mean, you have to admit. This is a bit startling…”

“I know,” I said. “But you wouldn’t even hear me out.”

Harry blushed. “I’m sorry, Hermione.”

Harry had always been the rational one. He could be made to see reason and talked out of his initial prejudices. He was also compassionate, which was one of the things I loved most about him.

I reached over and hugged him.

“I’m okay, Harry,” I said. “I don’t need you to worry about me.”

He hugged me back.

“No wedding? No big, billion-galleon bash?”

I scoffed. “Yes, because I just love attention like that.”

Harry laughed.

“Give him time,” he nodded behind him. “He’ll come around. It’s just hard. It’s…Malfoy.”

“And he’s with a snake of his own. Let silly childhood rivalries die.”

Harry nodded. “I know. He’s just…” He shook his head.

But I knew. Harry had been unceasingly loyal to Ron despite his many petulant tantrums and shortcomings.

“My owls keep getting sent back,” Harry said. “I’d like to still be able to talk to you.”

“I’ll fix the wards.”

“Thank you.”

Draco’s hand covered my back as he rejoined us. He and Harry gave one another a stiff nod.

“You’re always welcome on Tuesdays, Potter.”

Harry nodded. “I’ve been speaking with Alicia, she said it’s been good for her.”

Draco grinned. “She’s bloody terrifying.”

“Tell me,” Harry rolled his eyes.

“Ready?” he looked down at me, and I nodded.

“Good to see you, Harry.”

“You too, Mione.”

We turned and walked toward the lifts until Draco suddenly stopped.

“Oh, and Potter?”

Harry turned.

“Weasley’s been looking through our windows and watching us. It’s better if you intervene than if I do. I doubt I’ll be as understanding or gentle.”

Harry’s face paled. He looked at me, but my face confirmed it.

“Right,” Harry said.

“Cheers,” Draco nodded and led us both into the lift.

Chapter Text

Several others stood in the lift with us. Draco kept one hand on my hip, gently rubbing circles with his thumb.

Spread your legs.

We were standing toward the back left corner of the lift with no one behind us. He shifted me so I was standing completely in front of him. His lips pressed against my cheek, and I felt his chiseled body behind me.

I hesitated still.

He pulsed my hip with two quick squeezes, and I relented. I stepped apart and nearly forgot how to breathe. Was he really going to do this here? Now? In front of all these people?

I thought you liked to be watched, wife.

I blushed.

And then I felt it. The quick rip of my thong panties. The fabric slid down my leg and into Draco’s waiting hand. I tried to mask my reaction, but I was stunned. He really was doing this.

The lift stopped, and he pocketed my panties as we made our way into the lobby. Several individuals whispered and watched the two of us walk toward the street entrance. The onlookers were as mystified as the paparazzi had been earlier. Reading it in the Prophet and confirming it with their own two eyes had been startling for most of the population here, it seemed.

The rain had stopped, but the paps were still lingering by the door. Draco kept a firm hold around my waist as he led us through the doors.

“Mrs. Malfoy! Is everything okay?”

“What did the Ministry want with you two?”

“Is it true the Ministry denied your marriage contract?”

I tried not to roll my eyes at all the ridiculous shit they were spouting off about. There was no reason to engage with any of them. I knew that after years with Rita.

“Mr. Malfoy, is it true that your mother has disowned you over the marriage?”

“Any word from Lucius on this?”

Draco and I walked, hand in hand, ignoring the shouts of trailing paparazzi. With his unrelenting pace, he had put decent space between us and them.

“That went well,” he mused.

I gave him a look.

“Did you not think so?”

“I think it was fine,” I said. “I don’t mind the Head Auror.”

According to Blaise, he hasn’t got much time left in the seat.

Draco steered me around a large puddle as I contemplated his words. It was obvious that he differed from the rest of his leadership team as far as personality and opinions. Had someone else been in charge, that would have been a much different meeting.

“Would you really have accepted orgasms as an incentive during school?”

I laughed at his pivot in conversation. I immediately went to say no, but I couldn’t.

Fucking Veritaserum!

I choked back my rage.

“Obviously not when I was younger,” I snipped.

“But when you were older?”

The cheeky grin he gave made me want to punch him and kiss him. I considered my words carefully.

“I would have wanted to be selective about the distributor.”

“So…Hagrid?”

I burst out laughing.

“He’s a bloody half-giant,” Draco said. “Imagine the size of it…”

I covered my face and screeched.

“No! No. Do not finish that sentence.”

Draco snickered.

“Fine, Dumbledore?”

I gagged.

“Ladies, then? McGonagall?”

I elbowed him. “No!”

“Well, you have to pick one.”

I searched my mind. I couldn’t honestly imagine anyone doing that.

“Bet Snape would have given you top scores.”

I groaned.

“What about you?” I challenged. “Will it be Grubby-Plank or Trelawny?”

Draco considered. “I suppose Grubby-Plank. Sturdy woman. Trelawny would have gotten too distracted halfway through.”

I threw my head back and laughed at the sheer absurdity of this conversation.

“And here I thought you might have been the reason they called her Moaning Myrtle.”

Draco guffawed with laughter. I’d never heard a more vibrant sound. The full force of his soul was behind that laugh, and it wrapped me in a warm cocoon. I don’t think I’ve seen him laugh like that since school.

“My cheeky wife.”

He hugged me closer.

“So, Moody or Lockhart?”

I groaned.

“You have to answer.”

“Lockhart is too vain and selfish.”

Draco cackled at the answer. “I bet Moody’s eye would find just the right spot.”

I covered my face. “Oh, stop! This is vile!”

“Fine, fine. Students then.”

He looped my arm through his and pulled me closer.

“Who held your gaze during school, wife?”

His voice was a quiet whisper against my neck as we walked. I was already flushed and red from laughing with him, but this proximity had me breathless for other reasons.

“Was it Potter?”

“No.” I cringed.

He made an amused sound in the back of his throat.

“Weasley, then?”

I thought back to our time at school. I didn’t naturally long for Ron. We had formed a friendship, and I suppose I considered him less of a brother than I did Harry. But I wasn’t overly attracted to him. I just felt possessive of him. I was worried he’d ruin our little group if he found someone serious. And I was desperate to hang onto our group.

But would I have wanted him delivering orgasms for me? It almost made me laugh. No. No, I wouldn’t have wanted that.

“No.”

Draco flinched in surprise.

“Well, well.”

It nearly sounded like a purr. He continued listing every Gryffindor student my age. I said no to all of them. Then he did the surrounding grades of the same house. All of those were no.

I knew there would have been only two in the entirety of my education that I would have let touch me in any kind of sexual way. Viktor, because he did, and I enjoyed it while it lasted. We just had nothing to talk about. However, if his only role was to provide me with release, then fine. I would have signed on for that. He was a brilliant specimen to watch.

But there was one student.

One boy.

That in my wildest, darkest fantasies, I would sometimes let myself imagine…

He was forbidden.

Alluring.

Strong.

Dark.

I looked up at Draco and imagined his sullen, snobbish look from our school days. His pristine robes always fit him like a glove. He was fit, athletic, and intelligent. And he drove me bloody insane with his fucking attitude and arrogance. I was by no means in love with Draco Malfoy. I didn’t trail after him like some heart-sick, simpering girl. But I wasn’t blind. I could admit that his face was wildly handsome. Mostly, the idea that he was so untouchable appealed to me. I was the Mudblood, he was the Pureblooded Prince. We were so far apart that our galaxies should never have crossed.

Try as I might to deny it, I knew that I couldn’t under the Veritaserum’s hold.

“You,” I whisper.

He stopped walking and turned toward me. His eyes were narrowed with a hungry curiosity.

“Anyone else?”

There was a menacing undertone to his question that sent shivers up my spine.

I shrugged. “Yes.”

I could feel the anger rolling off him.

“Someone who perhaps gave you orgasms?” he asked, his voice strained under each word.

I nodded.

“Krum?” His nostrils flared.

“Yes.”

He rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“That git is still making me jealous, then.”

The idea of Draco being jealous of Viktor was so strange to me. Why would he admit it? And what did he have to be jealous about?

“Who else?”

“No one.”

He stalked toward me, which sent me scrambling back out of his predatory path. But I hit the rough stone of the corner building we were near.

“And how often did you think of me?”

My blood pulsed as a fresh wave of humiliation hit me. Oh, I bloody hated this damned Veritaserum. Fucking leeches, all of those Aurors. I needed to pivot the conversation away from something this bloody embarrassing.

Each time I thought about opening my mouth to say something, I was held back by the force of the potion. I couldn’t think of a loophole or way around it. The only thing screaming in my mind was the truth. And I was far too proud to admit that.

Draco braced his arms on either side of my head and leaned his mouth down. He was so close I could feel his breath against my lips. I closed my eyes. I needed to get a grasp on reality. I was in broad daylight in the middle of London with Draco Malfoy threatening to devour me.

But I fucking needed it.

Damn him, I wanted him so badly. Why did he have to be so adept at sex? It was consuming my life lately.

“Make it eleven, wife,” he whispered. “Answer my question.”

I opened my eyes. Bloody fucking hell.

He could very well listen to my thoughts and get the bloody answer he was so keen on.

“But I want to hear you say it out loud.”

My cheeks glowed with mortification.

“Eleven is waiting,” he cooed. “Be a good girl.”

Then, the bloody man had the audacity to lean forward and bite my bottom lip. I felt that throb of longing straight between my legs.

“Tell me your dark secrets, wife.”

Fucking kill me. Bury me under a stone that said I simply expired from mortification thanks to the bloody Aurors.

“Consistently from our third year and on.”

His groan was low and feral.

“Eleven.”

I wanted to simultaneously bury my head and hug myself. It was so bloody confusing being around him.

“On nice days, you’d study or read on the lawn during Quidditch practices,” he said, pulling back just enough to look at me. “Who were you watching?”

I tried to step away, but he was an immobile force.

“Is your ego really so fragile?” I asked.

His canines flashed.

I huffed out a breath in annoyance.

“Fine. Yes. If you must know, it was you. I was bloody watching you on that ridiculous little broom.”

He smiled even more.

And then he abruptly pulled away and tugged my hand as we continued down the road.

“I’m starving.”

“Wait,” I tried to find my footing again after such a heavy interaction. “What was that? Why didn’t I get twelve? I answered your question!”

“I need to give you sustenance for what I have planned for this afternoon, wife,” he winked. “Lunch first.”

My heart raced at the promise of our afternoon plans.

“Wait, is it eleven or twelve?” I asked as we neared a small café.

“Eleven.”

“So that was just a free one?”

He stopped and considered me for a moment.

“No,” he said. “I knew you were watching me. Why else do you think I raced around without a shirt?”

I grinned, shaking my head. I’d always assumed it was the attention of all the females that would crowd around for a glimpse of him. He certainly didn’t shy away from attention.

He opened the door to the small restaurant and led me inside.

He kept his hand on the small of my back as we were led to a table and pulled the chair out for me. I needed this break with a meal. I needed to get my mind off the effects of the Veritaserum and onto something else. Anything else. So I buried myself into the menu and let the choices fill the spaces of my mind instead of my infuriating husband.

“I think we should do a bit more studying, wife.”

I looked up from my menu at him with a suspicious glare. He feigned innocence. My mind immediately tracked back to the first time he told me he was going to help me study the contract. I was held down and eaten out. My eyes widened.

No, he wouldn’t. We were in public. And I was doing well with my wandless magic.

He wouldn’t try it here…would he?

“Occlumency,” he clarified.

I exhaled, though his mischievous smile told me he’d loved where my thoughts immediately went.

“You try to work on your Occlumency while I ask you questions,” he shut his menu. “If you block your thoughts from me, I’ll answer one of yours.”

My eyes widened.

Draco knew everything that was in my head anyway. I doubted I had any other embarrassing things that he didn’t know about. But he was a mountain of secrets, and he was offering me the chance to learn some.

“Deal,” I agreed.

I’d be foolish to deny an opportunity like this, especially on Veritaserum.

I’d read about Occlumency and tried practicing it in school when Harry was learning. But this was different. Draco was a skilled Legilimens.

“Start now,” he said. “Build your defenses.”

I closed my eyes and took a breath. I pictured a great door and a complicated and intricate locking system. This should keep that nosy bastard out of my head.

“How often did you touch yourself and think of me while you were with Weasley?”

Draco took a bloody stick of dynamite to the door. I was so thrown off by the question that I dropped my menu.

A satisfied look overtook his features as he leaned back.

I felt the compulsion to tell the truth brimming from my lips. Damn him. This bloody game was such a bloody waste of time.

“Shut the door, wife.”

I stared at the menu, ignoring the way my heart was racing. I could feel him right there in my mind. He wasn’t pushing through and reading me, yet. He was waiting.

“That’s because I’m a gentleman.”

I ignored him.

I worked on closing the large wooden door and watched the locks click into place. The gears whirred, and metal clanged as the joints fit together. I put an excessive amount of effort into fortifying the door. It was protective and secure, one I’d easily stand behind and be safe.

Somewhere outside my head, I heard the faint muttering of Draco ordering for us. But I kept my focus on the door. I needed to secure my mind.

When I finally took a step back from the task of bracing my mind’s entrance, I could feel Draco. I whirled to find him in my consciousness, standing directly beside me, staring at the large door.

My eyes fly up to meet his back in the present.

“What the hell was that?” I ask.

“You built a door strong enough to keep people out,” he said softly. “So, I used the window.”

I furrowed my brows. I hadn’t made a window. This wasn’t a physical place. This was… well, it was nothing. It wasn’t real.

“To be skilled at Occlumency means accepting that people will get into your mind. But it’s once they’re inside that you have the control. I got through the door. You had nothing else planned. It was wide open from that point. You blocked one entry point. I made another.”

The waiter brought two glasses of wine for us. He smiled down at me, no doubt happy to see me out of my strange attitude from just a few moments ago.

“But I thought it was about pushing someone out, forcing them to leave.”

He sipped his white wine.

“Only someone inferior at Occlumency would use that method. Leaving the secrets you have inside your head vulnerable would be reckless. You always cover your tracks.”

“This is going to be impossible.”

He smiled and reached for my hand. I placed it in his, and he gave me a few pulsing squeezes.

“Tell me my answer out loud,” he says. “I want to bask in the glory of your truth.”

I ripped my hand away and glared at him.

He had the gall to settle back into his chair and look excited.

Oh, this answer was abysmal. My relationship with Ron had been so banal and uneventful that my mind was frequently going to the most heinous and dark places for a sense of adventure and relief. The times I sought out my completion were filled with dizzying fantasies of rough and consuming sexual acts. Depraved, dark things that Ron would have never done. Nor would I have wanted to do those with him.

I looked up at the only bloody man who seemed to star in my fantasies. The one that had held a thrilling grip on me since I was a teen.

It wasn’t Krum. He could never be edgy enough. It was Malfoy’s degrading, self-righteous, arrogant attitude that pulled me in. And I have no bloody idea why! He was such a fucking prick. But I couldn’t deny the pull he had on me. He owned the sexually explicit desires of my mind.

“Every time.”

Draco clapped his hands together and drew the attention of far too many people as he preened under the compliment.

“And how many times would you say that was?”

I gritted.

“Several times a month.”

His grin was so large that it nearly made me smile, had I not been so bloody irate over his questions.

“Continue with your Occlumency,” he waved me on with a salacious grin.

I offered him a deadpan stare before looking down and focusing once more.

Perhaps what my mind needed was something distracting. I needed to steer Draco away from the thoughts he was going to bring forward and safely tuck them in another spot, like the Muggle magicians. They would distract the audience in one direction while making something appear “magical.” When really, it’s all just smoke and mirrors. I needed my mind to be that same way.

I couldn’t imagine an overly cluttered or messy space to hide my thoughts in. I think it would cause me more stress than the one invading my thoughts. But I could make it something familiar.

I thought of my door, modeled after the large door at the front of Hogwarts. My mind spun with possibilities. Hogwarts was enormous. There would be millions of places to distract those who entered my mind. I could utilize the swinging staircases and portraits. I could even incorporate the grounds. Plenty of things could be hidden in plain sight as well. And if my eidetic memory ever had a purpose, it was for something like this. I could remember every tapestry, every painting, every crack.

I smiled to myself.

I could do this.

And the hope would be that anyone who tried to enter my mind would be so perplexed by the familiarity of it that it would distract them anyway.

Draco remained quiet as I focused. It wasn’t until my food was placed in front of me that I blinked out of my daze.

“Ready?” he asked.

I looked in front of me and saw that he’d ordered my lunch for me. He’d gone with pasta for me and fish for himself. I smiled at the dish; it looked and smelled delicious.

“Ready.”

He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “What was one of those dark fantasies you had about me?”

I swallowed, but instantly put my mind to work. Hogwarts in my mind was bustling and teeming with life. Peeves was swinging from one of the large light fixtures in the entrance. Students were rushing to class. Professors were chatting in one of the corridors. The Headless Hunt was sprinting by with cajoling shouts. I was setting the scene to be completely consuming for anyone who walked in.

I knew the fantasy I was thinking of. Draco would force me into the potions room once everyone was gone, and he’d hold me down and fuck me against one of the tables. He’d whisper filthy things into my ear while he ravaged me.

So, I took that thought, as honest as it was, and I placed it in the head of the first rider of the Headless Hunt. I don’t think Draco would think to follow them immediately. Not when he would be dodging Snargaluff pods from Peeves.

I was ready for him.

I felt him enter through the main doors. I stood to the side and let him in. I smiled at him as he took in the chaos. He laughed as he looked around. I kept my focus on the distracting displays. Noise from the Great Hall filtered in, and there were owls sporadically flying overhead.

I felt the gentle wave of my magic under my skin. This felt good. Powerful. I opened my eyes and looked at Draco. His eyes weren’t even out of focus. He grinned down at his food as he ate. I could still feel him in my mind, searching for answers, but he wasn’t going to find it.

I beamed.

“What’s on Tuesdays?” I asked.

Draco almost looked like he wanted to resist the question, but we’d had an agreement.

“I host Quidditch matches at the Manor.”

“And you invited Harry?”

He shrugged. “I’d like a little competition now and again.”

I smirked. “Alicia Spinnet goes?”

“It was her idea,” he said. “We worked a job together a few years back. She mentioned that she missed it. I did too. And the idea grew from there.”

“A job? What job?”

“That’s another question. You haven’t earned that.”

I cursed to myself as I ate my lunch. I didn’t know how many I’d be able to juggle in my mind, but I was going to try to drag as much knowledge out of Draco as possible.

“Would you rather fuck Theo or Blaise?”

His question jarred me. I didn’t want to fuck either of them. But I considered my answer. They were both drastically different from one another. Both were tall, handsome, and intelligent. So that wasn’t a deciding factor. I needed to focus on sex. Which one would I want to have sex with? Blaise? He was a strong Auror. He’d probably be more agreeable to rougher sex than his friend, the Healer.

I went to stow my answer away, but Draco was already here. I scrambled, not realizing he wasn’t going to give me a moment for consideration this time. I frantically stuffed the thought into a passing rucksack of a student. But I was too slow.

Draco’s grin widened.

“Gotcha.”

I cursed as I stabbed more of my pasta with my fork.

“You didn’t give me time to set myself,” I complained.

“No, I didn’t,” he grinned. “And neither will a stranger.”

I wouldn’t admit he made a good point.

“I am still a beginner.”

“And doing very well for yourself, too.”

It was hard not to swell with pride under Draco’s compliment.

“Also, you lied.”

I reared back at his accusation. “I can’t lie under this.”

“You wouldn’t rather fuck Blaise.”

I wave him off. “You have no idea—”

“I do.”

Draco finished his lunch and leaned forward.

“You, my little wife, have particular tastes. Blaise wouldn’t know the first thing about satisfying you. On the other hand, Theo is a Dom. He’d spank you, choke you, and do all the rest of the dark fantasies you’re just starting to reveal you want to me.”

My eyes widened.

“Theo fucks. Blaise wants to make love.”

I sat back, fully embracing the knowledge he’d offered up about his friends. I found it so surprising that I’d had their personalities backward. I’d need to watch for little hints next time I’m around them.

 Draco paid for lunch and led me back outside to resume our walk.

“I’ve got a rigorous afternoon planned,” he said, nodding to the building we were approaching.

I turned to see the massive library.

I looked back at Draco with a skeptical expression. I was not going to have sex with him in public…

“You’re not using your Occlumency,” he cautioned me as he stepped closer.

I swallowed as his eyes darkened with amusement.

“And I think you’re forgetting,” he whispered as he leaned forward and pressed several kisses along my neck. “I owe you eleven. And I’ll fuck you wherever I please.”

I didn’t even have a moment to argue with him as he pulled me into the entrance of the library. I’d just eaten a full lunch. This was a recklessly impulsive and idiotic idea. Didn’t he worry about getting caught?

He led us downstairs, where the Wizarding entrance to the library was.

“Draco, wait,” I hissed.

He ignored me, waving to a severe-looking male librarian as we entered. Draco pressed on, leading me through several shelves.

I stumbled to a stop when he abruptly rounded on me and pushed me against a shelf of books.

His lips met mine in a fiery blaze of passion. I could barely breathe as he tangled our tongues together. His torso pressed harder against mine, and I felt the heat and strength of his erection against me. A low whimper escaped my lips, and he smiled against me.

He traced my swollen lips with his fingers as our mouths separated.

“Here,” he said, motioning toward a door to our left.

I admit, I didn’t come here often. The library resources at the Ministry were great enough for most of my research. And the things I didn’t find there, I usually just purchased with money from the department. Draco was leading me toward a restricted section, though, which was only open to a select few of the public. I hesitated, lacking the obvious qualifications needed. For one, I was jobless.

“Mr. Malfoy,” the young woman at the desk in front of the door nodded.

“Scarlet,” he nodded back. “My wife, Hermione. She’ll be doing research here for the foreseeable future.”

She offered me a soft smile. “Of course. Let me know if there’s anything you need, Mrs. Malfoy.”

I gaped at Draco as we entered the space.

“I make sizeable donations for a reason,” he said before I could even ask. “And you are here to work.”

He leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to my head.

“Pansy made me feel guilty for taking up the majority of your free time lately. Your research is your passion. I don’t want to detract from that.”

I was too stunned to speak.

“Today is yours,” he motioned to the rest of the space beyond us, filled with ancient tomes and forbidden texts. “And tonight, I’ll fuck your brains out.”

Chapter Text

In any other circumstance, I would have been furious at the denial of eleven orgasms. However, this exchange?

For the first few moments, I simply absorbed the grandeur of the space. These tomes were remarkable. I couldn’t even process how so many existed in a place as popular and frequented as this. Didn’t they worry about people stealing them?

I walked through the rows, careful not to touch anything out of fear that somehow the oils from my fingers would irreparably damage the books. But my fingers and mind itched to dive into the knowledge.

My heart clenched. He’d left me here to explore more of my research. And he’d given me the space to do it alone, knowing that I’d never be able to focus with him and his promise looming over me.

Ron never understood my research. He thought I’d just made reading a hobby and that I could simply walk away from it whenever he called. But it was so much more than that. It was consuming. I lost myself completely in that quest for knowledge. I wanted to help others. What was the point of my intelligence if it wasn’t going to better the world? It was a legacy that my parents believed in.

So I lost myself in the afternoon.

Thousands of books were here, and for more than half of them, I’ve never even seen a recording of them existing. But I would explore them all in time. This experience alone made the marriage contract worthwhile. If I had to spend the rest of my life married to Draco Malfoy, at least I knew I would get access to this room, too.

“Enjoy your afternoon?”

I saw Draco leaning against a bookshelf, looking like a cover model. His soft smile, crossed arms, and impeccable dress nearly took my breath away. And he was here for me. It still felt strange to say that.

“There are texts here that have no record of ever existing,” I say, motioning to the stack next to me. “I’ve spent the last six hours just categorizing potential options from my known resources. I could spend years in here.”

He pushed off against the wall and leaned over the small desk I was working at to kiss me. I smiled as his scent overwhelmed the musty pages I’d been hunched over for hours. It was a welcome change, and I pulled him closer.

“Thank you,” I mumbled against his lips.

“Thank me at home.”

Excitement bubbled through me. He brushed his thumb over my cheek as he pulled away.

“So giddy over a pile of old papers.”

I offered him a mocking glare, to which he winked in return.

“What did you do today?” I asked him, gathering my books to return to their spot.

“Went to Thailand.”

I whipped around. “What?”

“I had business to finish.”

He picked up the rest of the books on the table and followed me.

“What kind of business?” I asked.

“Humanitarian.”

I rolled my eyes as I returned several more. “I see the Veritaserum has worn off.”

“Finally,” he grumbled. “Had a hell of a time talking down price with those bastards on a truth serum.”

I laughed incredulously.

“Not to worry,” he said. “I’m an exceedingly convincing negotiator.”

He offered me a knowing smile, and I gave him a suspicious look.

“Why were you negotiating if it was humanitarian?”

“I negotiate everything, wife.”

“I’m aware,” I deadpan.

He followed me down another aisle, carrying the last of my books for me while I put them back in their spots.

“I have it on good authority that you’re rather fond of my negotiations.”

Another sardonic laugh breaks forth from my lips. “Is that right?”

I reached back to grab the last book when he wrapped his hand around my wrist and tugged me against him.

“You certainly enjoyed negotiating your way to eleven.”

My mouth dried.

“And I’ll give you one right here just to prove a point.”

My pulse hammered.

“Do you want that?”

Fuck me. Did I? I looked around. Only one other man had been here today and left hours ago. Scarlet checked on me about an hour ago, so she shouldn’t be popping in again for a while.

Draco let go of my wrist and reached inside his suit coat pocket. Slowly, he began dragging out a familiar scrap of fabric. 

My panties.

“Open your mouth.”

Holy fuck.

Shit.

My heart pounded as he took another step toward me.

Without speaking, he roughly gripped my jaw with one hand. Electricity danced up my spine, and I dropped my jaw for him.

He shoved the panties inside my mouth and tilted my face up even more.

“Not a word,” he whispered. “Nod if you understand.”

I nodded.

And then my whole body was moving involuntarily. The book I was holding dropped to the ground, and I was thrust, chest-first, against the table near the end of the row. Draco kicked apart my booted feet and stood between my legs. One of his powerful hands held me down by the back of my neck. A spike of fear and adrenaline rushed through me.

I wondered where the other hand was when I heard the unmistakable sound of his belt.

Mother of fucking Merlin.

My body shook as I tried and failed to process whatever the fuck we were about to do right in the middle of a very public library.

Fucking shit.

Draco wrapped his belt around my wrists, pinning my hands to my lower back. I had to be silent, but I was losing my fucking mind over this. Was he serious? The biting sting of having my hands restrained refocused me.

“I’m going to fuck you hard,” he growled into my ear. “But only because you wanted it this way.”

My core turned to molten lava at his strangled words. He finished the statement with a hard smack onto my bare ass as he pushed my dress up over my hips.

I didn’t remember saying anything but was silenced when he moved. He thrust his huge cock inside of me without so much as a warning, and I groaned at the force.

The hand that was on my wrists moved to my neck. He squeezed once and whispered a harsh shush before loosening the hold. His hand moved from my neck to the base of my skull, where he threaded his long fingers through my hair and tugged hard while he pushed his cock deeper.

Fuck, I wanted to moan. I wanted to cry and laugh and die a little too, because it was all so fucking overwhelming.

He was unrelenting as he fucked me. It was almost animalistic, and I fucking loved it. Gods, he was taking me like he fucking owned me.

Took me all fucking afternoon, he grunted in my mind.

His biting tone held a hint of amusement, but I had no idea what he was talking about.

I found your secret with the Headless Hunt.

I choked out a cough at his confession, and he smacked my ass hard in response.

Hell, someone was bound to hear that!

He was fucking me exactly how I wanted from my dungeon fantasy. My mind spun. He searched my mind all day. Even through his negotiations? From that kind of distance? It was amazing.

And now, here I was, getting fucked in a library while tied up.

Someone could walk in at any second.

We weren’t that hidden.

And fuck, it made me so wet.

What was wrong with me?

I shouldn’t want this. I shouldn’t like this. He is going to get us both into trouble. I’m already losing it. I got fired and married in the span of a blink. I’m sure the public thinks I’m fucking certifiable. And if I were caught doing this kind of act? Holy shit. What a fucking mess!

And yet…

Draco shifted his hips, and with the flex, I practically sobbed. It was so deep and so bloody sexy.

He tugged at my hair again, my eyes watering from the sensation.

Look how wet my little wife gets when I fuck her in the library.

So wet. So fucking wet.

She loves being a little cock tease. Had me thinking about fucking her all afternoon. And now she gets all those orgasms, just for her.

I can’t moan. I can’t moan.

Are you greedy, wife? Greedy for my come?

I could barely nod because of the way he was holding my head.

He slammed back into me, and I swear I saw stars.

I was going to come like this. And how was I going to keep that quiet?

I told you that I could fuck you any time. Any place. Do you believe that now?

I wanted to sob in frustration. My body was shuddering from the impending release of my orgasm. It was so close.

His hand smacked my ass again, and my thighs are forced into the wood of the desk. The pain stung, but it was a welcome feeling. My entire body was on fire.

You belong to me now, wife.

Another forceful thrust.

Mine to fuck.

My nipples strained against the light fabric rubbing along the glossy wood.

Mine to take.

Tears poured down my face.

Mine to possess.

Sweat beaded over my neck and chest.

I was so close—so bloody close. I just needed…

And you’ll always be mine, Hermione.

Fuck.

Another hard thrust straight into my G-spot had me unraveling in a violent shudder against the desk. I couldn’t help but moan against the lace panties in my mouth.

That’s right, baby, let go. Let me have it.

I came in panting breaths and muffled sobs. This man was ruining me.

He followed me almost immediately after. He picked up his pace and thrust into me with a brutish force and subdued roar. How had no one come in when they heard that? How did they ignore the pounding of flesh on flesh against a desk?

“Such a good girl,” he said, releasing my wrists from the belt.

He massaged my hands before pulling out of me. He pulled me up, adjusted my dress, and spun me toward him.

“Open,” he said, holding his hand under my chin.

He tugged my panties back out and placed them in his pocket. I was still unsteady on my feet after that delirious episode of lust.

“Draco,” I whispered.

I could feel his release sliding down my leg.

He winked.

“Ready to go home?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, though. He just pulled my face against his and gave me a dizzying and long kiss. I was even more breathless by the end of that.

“One down,” he said. “Ten to go.”

I don’t even know how we got home. I’m sure I looked freshly fucked as he led us out of the library. I’m sure I looked guilty as hell, too. But I didn’t fucking care. I had just had an explosive orgasm, and I was promised ten more.

Eleven orgasms.

My knees were wobbling after one. How would I survive that many more? Would my heart just give out? Would my body shut down? Would my brain have some kind of lust-induced aneurysm?

As soon as we were inside the living room, my clothing vanished. Draco’s body collided with mine in a passionate embrace. Our limbs tangled together in a furious clash of desperation.

“Need something, wife?” he asked, pulling away from me.

“Please,” I panted.

My lips tingled from the lost contact. Draco shook his head as he took in my naked form. He was still fully dressed, so I nodded and let my wandless magic rip the clothing from his body. His wolfish grin made the hair rise along my arms and back.

He swooped forward, picking me up off my feet, and threw me over his shoulder. He stalked toward the stairs and gave my ass a resounding smack. I hissed at the sting but reveled at the way he smoothed his hand over my skin after he’d slapped it.

“Wife.”

Draco’s voice had a dark edge, like he was fighting for composure too. We were both too keyed up. Today’s events carried more stress than we were willing to admit. I was tempting fate by continuing my research in secret. And when the Ministry found out, I’d be dealing with a veritable shit-storm. But I couldn’t stop. And the Ministry didn’t trust Draco. We had a target on our backs. So in this circumstance, I was grateful to have Draco’s distraction. I didn’t want to think about my research, what could go wrong, Ron, or anything else.

I wanted to be lost in Draco. And I was starting to believe I might be a way for Draco to get lost from our current reality, too.

And that’s exactly what he offered me. He could shut my mind off in a way I hadn’t even been able to before.

Draco’s palm connected with my ass once again, and immediately after his rough hand palmed my cheek.

I groaned and writhed under his hold. We entered the bedroom, and he unceremoniously tossed me onto the bed.

“You’ll find I’m a man of my word,” he said as he loomed over me. “I hope you’re ready.”

I propped myself up on my elbows and tugged my bottom lip between my teeth. Draco rubbed his hand over his jaw as he stared down at me with a ravenous hunger. I let my eyes roam over him. His broad chest, chiseled muscles, and toned thighs made my mouth water. And his cock.

Why did his cock have to be so bloody perfect?

Draco plastered that familiar arrogant look across his face that I hated and cherished.

“See something you like, wife?”

I didn’t respond. I just let my eyes cover the expanse of his body. I took my time, studying the hard planes of his hips and the way that the muscles made a deep V—like being beckoned to his rising cock.

With a nod of his head, a strange set of cuffs appeared next to me on the bed. They looked too large to be used for my hands.

“Red is your safe word,” he said, all humor and amusement now gone from his face. “Yellow means you’re getting close to your limit.”

I nodded in response, my tongue and throat feeling dry.

“You will call me husband tonight. That’s it.”

“Yes, husband.”

He closed his eyes briefly and inhaled through his nose.

When he opened his eyes, he looked at me, his brows furrowed in that contemplative way I’ve seen him before.

“Do you trust me?”

That question held so much weight. Trusting Draco was bigger than just this sexual experience. There were strings attached to it. I knew he meant all around, and I just didn’t know yet. I wanted to, but too much fear was connected to letting myself fully trust someone again. Ron had disrupted the patterns of trust I usually felt with a partner. And I didn’t know if I was capable of complete trust yet.

Maybe that’s because I didn’t fully trust myself.

But, with the Veritaserum out of my system, I could answer the question however I wanted, without the pull of magic forcing my hand. The truth was, I wanted to trust Draco. And I did trust him to pleasure me tonight. I trusted that he would listen if I used my safe words and that he would make it his mission to bring me eleven orgasms’ worth of pleasure.

So, with the relationship, contract, career, secrets, and general life happenings aside, I would trust him.

I’d trust him with my body tonight.

“Yes, husband.”

“Stand up.”

I pushed myself off the bed and stood before him. I couldn’t do anything to mask the shaky breaths leaving my parted lips. I was nervous. But not out of fear, but more so from excitement.

He took my face between his large hands and tilted it toward him. The only light in the room came from the open curtains, and the moonlight made Draco’s features glow. His sharp, steel eyes pierced me as he took in my features. I swore for a moment he was counting my freckles the way he was intently staring.

“You’re so beautiful.”

I felt silly under his compliment. Women like Pansy and Astoria were striking in terms of beauty. They had bold, chiseled features that made people stop on the street and look at them. I was softer, not an exotic or rare beauty. I considered myself pretty enough, but hearing someone of Draco’s status and caliber voice an opinion like that on me felt strange.

His tongue peeked out and tracked over his bottom lip. I followed it with my eyes, longing to trace it with my tongue. His taste always ignited my senses.

“Who do you belong to, wife?”

Draco’s possessive nature never took a day off. I’d blame it on him being an only child, but I was cut from that same cloth and didn’t have those inclinations.

“You, husband,” I acquiesce.

He nodded gravely.

“Mine.”

And then his lips descended.

I was transported into an ethereal realm when his lips touched mine. My eyes closed, and I moved against the sensual rhythm of his domineering mouth. Like his words, his tongue fought to claim all of me, too. He tasted and demanded my submission, and I offered it up willingly. I lost track of time and space when he kissed me like this. I was his— just like he wanted.

My hands rested against the contour of his abs. I let my fingers explore the planes of his hardness, and as I started to wrap them around his back, he pulled apart. Both of us were breathlessly heaving when he started backing me up toward the bed again.

I moved to sit on the bed, but he gripped me around the waist and turned me. My ass dug in against his erection, and I leaned my head back, relishing in the feel of him. His hands pressed over my stomach, forcing my ass back even more, and he buried his nose into the crook of my neck.

His magic moved my hair off my neck into a secure updo on the top of my head.

The hair on my skin rose as he carved a path with his tongue and teeth.

When he bit down hard on my neck, I cried out with a moan.

He covered the tender mark with kisses and feather-light touches and lowered me to the bed.

I turned my head sideways and watched him over my shoulder. My lower half hung off the bed, and he stood over me, tracing his hands over my spine. His mouth followed the same path his hands had, and I arched as his tongue and lips spun around my skin.

He reached for the cuffs he’d dropped on the bed.

“Safe words.”

“Red stop,” I breathed. “Yellow close.”

He slid something around my thigh, and I understood now why the cuff looked so big. I tried to remind myself to breathe and stay present. The tingling fear and eagerness had my adrenaline spiking as Draco moved the cuffs into place around both my thighs. They were comfortable, not too tight. And then he reached his hand up to my shoulder. He traced a path down my arm until his fist wrapped around my wrist. He pulled my arm back toward my thigh and secured it in another small cuff linked to the one already around my leg. My wrists were bound to my legs.

Oh I was a fucking dead woman.

This man was a sex god, and he was going to absolutely obliterate me tonight.

“Breathe,” he said, tracing his hand over the swell of my ass. “Trust me.”

Trust him. Right. I blinked several times and took slower breaths.

I wanted to press my legs together as I felt the wetness between them, but that was impossible with Draco standing there. He spread me further with his hands. He lowered himself and placed a sharp bite on one of my ass cheeks. I jumped, but my hands didn’t move.

I would never see ten more orgasms. I would die before then.

He used his magic to lift my hips and place a pillow beneath me. Now my ass was on full display for him as my knees were bent on the bed. He settled me closer toward the center, and I felt the bed dip beneath me where he kneeled behind me with one knee. I could feel his breath against the back of my thighs. His hands gripped my hips.

Gods, this anticipation was fucking cruel. I just wanted him to—

I gasped as his tongue darted inside me.

Oh fuck.

Again, his tongue ravaged my exposed center. His nose pressed into me, and he growled as he devoured me. He was a starving man, and I was an oasis.

I reeled under the feel of him. He was powerful, magnificent, and relentless. His bruising grip on my hips didn’t fade as he took and took from me. At one point, he turned his head to the side and bit my inner thigh, making me cry out as sparks of pleasure danced through me.

“Such a pretty pussy,” he said between licks. “And it’s all mine.”

Gods, I loved this. Loved every fucking second of this man buried between my thighs.

We taste so good together.

My cheeks bloomed at his words. Of course, he could still taste part of himself from the library.

I was shaking now as my pleasure continued to push forward. His fingers haven’t even penetrated me yet, and I was so close.

I could die between your legs, wife.

I hissed as he bit me again.

My favorite taste.

His tempo increased.

All mine.

And then he sucked.

Forever.

I cried out as my orgasm tore through me. It was short-lived as Draco pulled away before I could ride it out completely.

I whimpered at the abrupt ending.

“That’s two.”

I longed to have his touch back. His absence was torture.

“You’re a masterpiece,” he said. “Trussed up. Flushed. Writhing. Wanting. Wet. Just for me.”

He placed a chaste kiss in the center of my spine.

A pleading sound escaped my lips.

He slowly dragged his fingers up my thighs until he reached the cuff. Then he traced under them until his hand neared my wet center.

Yes. Fucking, please. Touch me again.

I was frantic for more.

Two fingers slid into me, and were gone before I could even enjoy the feeling. I groaned in frustration.

The same fingers passed over my clitoris next, but were gone a second later.

Gods damn him.

He repeated this motion several more times, never lingering in one place too long. And I was furious with need. I pushed my ass back, trying each time to prolong the contact. But it never worked. He’d pull away and leave me breathless and desperate for more.

“Beg for it.”

His hoarse whisper right outside my ear shocked me. My eyes flew open as he leaned over me. His lips pressed down against my jaw.

Fuck, I wanted it. But the stubborn part of me didn’t want to resort to begging.

He traced along my pussy with the lightest pressure imaginable. I gritted my teeth and tried to force the pressure from my end, but it was useless.

He moved his face back between my legs, and I felt the heady breaths skate over my skin. But he still made no contact.

This horrible bastard!

 “Beg.”

What would my stubbornness get me? Absolutely fucking nothing. It was a matter of pride. That’s all.

I forced down another whimper.

He removed himself from the bed completely. I looked behind me and saw him standing there, leering down at me with that arrogant smirk.

How could I simultaneously hate and lust after a man so much?

I gave a futile tug to the bindings.

Draco crossed his arms.

I pinched my eyes shut, warring with my obstinate nature.

I could feel my slick heat dripping out of me as it mixed with his release. I was so ready for him. And that last orgasm hadn’t been nearly long enough or satiating enough.

One little phrase and he’d be back.

One little phrase would have me basking in the glory of another orgasm.

“Please,” I whispered.

“Come again?”

My jaw ticked as I pictured him pretending he couldn’t bloody hear me—the buggering prick.

His hand flashed against my ass, and I bucked in surprise.

“Language.”

The only reason he didn’t see my eye roll was because I kept them pinched shut.

“Please, touch me,” I said again, louder this time.

One bloody finger traced over the sting where his hand had just been.

I swallowed back my pride.

“Touch me. Fuck me. Please me.”

I gritted out each word as if it were impossible to admit.

His fingers sank into my core, and I sighed in relief.

Yes, more of this.

But they stilled.

“Don’t stop,” I panted.

They continued.

But not with the same fervor as earlier.

Impossible. The man was bloody impossible. What did he want?

“Beg.”

That damned word again.

Fuck it.

“I need you,” I said. “I need you to stretch me. Fuck me. I want your fingers, your face, your cock. Everything. Please!”

A satisfied growl sounded behind me, and he increased his pressure and speed.

Yes! Progress.

But he was still being too easy. Too light.

“Harder,” I said. “Fuck me harder. I want to feel you.”

His free hand pushed my legs even further apart as he returned behind me. The soft skin of his hardness brushed my ass.

His fingers continued their work, but I wasn’t satisfied. Two fingers weren’t going to do it. I needed all of him.

“Please,” I panted. “Please, Draco.”

His hand stopped and the other swatted my ass cheek. I drew in a sharp breath. Fuck.

“Husband,” I begged. “Husband. Fuck me. Please. Fuck me hard and don’t stop. I need you. I need my husband.”

And the magical door opened to Draco’s depraved sexual appetite. I didn’t even have time to brace myself as his cock barreled into me. My face pushed into the bed at the force of his entrance. But it was precisely that hot, stretching pain that I wanted.

But I opened my eyes because this stretch felt different. This wasn’t his warmth… this was…

The vibrations started, and my body nearly shot off the bed. He held the vibrator with one hand, and reached around and teased my nipples with his other hand. Curses flew from my lips as an entirely new sensation took root in me. It was overstimulating right out of the gate. I was so full, and my body was humming from the intensity of the speed.

His hand left my breasts and wrapped around my chest as he pulled me to my knees. He pulled my head and rested it against his chest while he stood behind me, thrusting the wand deeper into me.

My arms tugged at the restraints, but I was immobile against his hold. He let his free hand wrap around my throat, and I felt the dark whispered breath against my ear.

“You are mine,” he rumbled. “Your pleasure. Your pussy. Your orgasms all belong to me.”

He increased the pressure around my throat, making my pussy contract even harder against the foreign object ravaging me.

“No one else will ever know this perfect body. Isn’t that right, wife?”

“No one else,” I whispered, desperate to keep him going.

My orgasm was nearing.

“No one fucks you like I do. No one pleasures you like I do.”

I couldn’t speak anymore. My mouth was open as a choked sob tried to come through. My entire core was tightening in anticipation of this one.

He ramped up the speed of the vibrator once more, but his tightening grip cut off my hoarse yell.

“Come!”

And I did. Fucking hell. I came in the most turbulent orgasm I think I’ve ever had. The restricted blood flow, the vibration, the dominance, his words. It ruined me.

He let me ride out this orgasm, but the toy didn’t linger a second longer. He pulled it out of me and covered my mouth with his once again. Tears streaked down my cheeks as I came down from the intensity of that orgasm.

You taste us both? He asked.

And I did. The forbidden and erotic taste of both of our releases swirled together on his tongue as it slid against mine.

He was ruining me.

One more like that, and I’d die.

Draco pulled back and kissed my cheeks and nose lightly.

“You did so well,” he praised. “Such a good girl. So responsive. So good at begging for what she wants.”

His compliments made my chest blossom with heat.

“Such a good little wife,” he whispered. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” I exhaled. “Please, husband. I need more.”

Chapter Text

“Look at me,” Draco said.

My eyes snap open and meet his. They’re like the moonlight on a dark lake. I can see the intensity and mystery that lies beyond what you first see. And I want to know more. A man like this has so many secrets. I know I am just one of many.

His hand thrusted the vibrator inside of me, and I had to fight not to let my eyes flutter closed. I felt the vibrations everywhere as my body hummed beneath him. I was trembling now. The sweeping waves of my orgasms had exhausted me. My body was a live wire with currents sweeping over every expanse of my bare skin.

I cried out as his lips connected with my sensitive nipples. I could come from that action alone.

“Please,” I sobbed.

My abs constricted as the impending orgasms rose. I couldn’t possibly do this again. How?

“Last one’s mine, wife,” he growled against my skin.

He withdrew the vibrator and replaced it with his mouth. I bucked against him, but his hands held my thighs apart while he ravished me with his expert tongue. He sucked my clit between his teeth, and I shattered for the final time.

Tears poured from my eyes. I was so bloody exhausted. But that had to be one of the most fantastic experiences of my life. He wasn’t joking. He’d made me orgasm eleven times. It’d taken hours, and he’d given us both a pepper-up potion in the midst of it.

His hands were suddenly under me, and he was lifting me against him. His lips kissed the tears away from my cheeks.

He drew a warm bath and sank us both beneath the steaming water. My stiff joints relished in the feeling. Judging by the smell, he’d placed some Dittany in the water as well.

Draco kept his arms around me as he cradled me in the tub.

“You did so well,” he kissed my cheeks. “So good.”

“I’m so tired.”

“Rest,” he said between kisses. “I’ll take care of you.”

***

“Stop fidgeting,” Astoria said, smacking my hand away as it tugged at my dress.

She was in her St. Mungo’s uniform, and I was more than disappointed she wouldn’t be there with me today.

“You’re going to be fine. Just scowl and brood,” she said. “It’s how everyone else acts.”

I tried to smile at her attempt at a joke, but I didn’t get far.

“Theo got off today,” I pouted. “I don’t see why you couldn’t.”

She avoided my gaze. “It’s hard for me to stomach that side of them.”

Guilt tugged at me, and I dropped my hands.

“I’m s—”

“Don’t,” she smiled. “I know.”

Nothing was going to prepare me for a fundraiser among purebloods. Given Astoria's history, I couldn’t imagine how difficult being around this group would be.

“Just remember what we talked about,” she said, blinking away the haunting memories lurking below the surface. “It’s easier not to speak to anyone. Let Draco do all the talking. If someone asks you a question directly, let Draco answer it.”

The sheer willpower an act like that would take from someone like me would be a feat.

“A lot is working behind the scenes with them,” Astoria cautioned. “They won’t be the individuals you’ve come to know. They’ll be darker. Harsher. Try to remember their humanity is there, but don’t expect to see it.”

I swallowed.

Draco had said something similar to me this morning. I spun the ring that sat on my left finger. Draco had told me how imperative it would be today to keep my Occlumency up. He’d had me practicing for days, and now he couldn’t even infiltrate my mind without concerted effort.

“I can’t be watching your mind tonight,” he told me. “I’ll be in too many others. But if you need me, I’ll be there.”

“Why bring me?” I asked him. “This seems like I’ll be more of a distraction than anything.”

“I don’t have a choice.”

His words struck me.

I knew Draco had secrets. Our contractual and fabricated relationship meant I wasn’t privy to that information. I understood that. But it made me feel awkward during times like this. He didn’t want me to be there tonight. So, who was forcing his hand?

What version of Draco would I see tonight?

Astoria finished pinning the last curl into place and stood back, admiring her handiwork.

Her shoulders sagged when she saw my frown in the mirror. She spun me around to face her.

“They’re that different?” I asked.

She nodded.

“But it’s a game. A rouse. Try to tell yourself that.”

“But why?”

“For reasons way bigger than you or me.”

A quick knock broke the silence hanging between us.

“Ready?”

Draco was a very well-dressed man. He always had been. But there was something about being intimate with him that made his physical appearance even more enrapturing. He was tall, muscular, and could wear a bloody suit better than anyone I knew. He could have the world at his feet by his looks alone. Tonight was no different.

I rose from the vanity and caught Astoria’s expression in the mirror. She wasn’t watching me, but Draco. She looked seconds away from saying something, but I turned just in time to see Draco’s head shake subtly.

“And I thought you were breathtaking in red,” Draco said, taking in my appearance.

Draco was wearing all black tonight, and I mirrored his same aesthetic. Astoria had helped me do a dramatic smoky eye, and I wore a bright red lip that gave me that hint of confidence I needed. The front of my dress had a simple sweetheart neckline. Two thin straps held up the silk. But the back is where the dress plunged dangerously low. Astoria paired the dress with a unique backward necklace that hung well down my spine. The cool metal sent chills down my spine as it bumped against my exposed skin. A delicate diamond matching the same shape as my wedding ring dangled right at the end of the chain.

“You look breathtaking yourself,” I told Draco as his eyes traced slowly over my body.

I turned back to Astoria as Draco reached for me.

“Thank you for tonight,” I said.

Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Be someone else tonight.”

The foreboding message struck its mark.

Draco led me down the stairs.

“We’re Flooing to Pansy’s place first, then the event.”

I didn’t pretend to understand his manic Floo anxieties, but I let them slide as my mind wandered back upstairs. I heard the pop of her apparition and knew she was gone.

“She never goes?”

Draco’s eyes moved to mine as he helped me into my coat.

“She doesn’t have much leverage anymore. Her father’s dead, her mother spent all her money, and when Daphne killed herself, all status went with her.”

I nearly toppled over.

“Killed herself?”

Draco seemed just as surprised as I was.

“Did you not know?”

“I knew she died, but I had no idea!”

A distant look took over his face as he recalled a memory. A smile played at the corner of his lips.

“She was always so bloody stubborn.”

I reached for his hand. “I’m sorry.”

“She was noble. Always doing what she thought was right. She should have been a bloody Gryffindor.”

And then his features fell.

“We’d been betrothed since birth,” he said, and the oxygen left the room. “Neither of us was in love. But she knew I would follow through. For both our sakes.”

His voice was barely louder than a whisper.

“She said we deserved a choice.”

I felt tears brimming on the lids of my lashes and furiously blinked them away. Outspoken, effervescent Daphne was always someone professors loved and her classmates adored.

“She confronted her parents. Told them she wouldn’t marry me. So, her father made another choice.”

I swallowed.

He was going to sell her. Breed her.

“It’s not uncommon among the families you’ll see tonight. I suppose that’s what Astoria warned you about.”

I nodded.

“They’ll say and whisper horrible things about you tonight.”

He stepped forward and let his finger gently trace over my cheek.

“I need you to play the game with me, wife. We’ll come out on top.”

I nodded, letting him swiftly press his lips to mine.

“Do you know the role you’re playing?” he asked.

“Silent. Submissive.”

He held back a laugh. “I’m going to love to see you try.”

We stood in the Floo, and he wrapped his arm around my waist.

“Perhaps I can reward you with good behavior.”

My body ignited at the feeling of his breath along my ear. I thought back to last week and the insane passion we’d exhausted from one another.

“You can be such a good girl when you want to be.”

My lashes fluttered, and I pressed my thighs together. Damn this man.

“I think I can make a submissive out of you yet.”

I elbowed him in the ribs as he laughed.

I held on to the sound for as long as I could. I knew I wouldn’t hear it again tonight.

Chapter Text

Draco turned to me once we were in Pansy’s silent flat. He cupped my face in his hands. 

“Trust me,” he whispered, his eyes clouded with darkness.

I was practically shaking with nervous energy. I didn’t trust anyone. His asking me to do this impossible task added even more apprehension to the evening. I barely trusted myself anymore. And now he had the gall to stand here tonight, thousands of secrets between us, and ask me to trust him? The man who tricked me into a contracted marriage? The man who took my wand. The man who invaded my mind.

I was fairly adept at convincing myself it was all for the greater good most days. I learned wandless magic, a feat that had felt nearly impossible at one point in my life. I’d learned Occlumency. I was able to use an exclusive library to do my research. He worshipped my body. But I still didn’t know him.

“You’re asking a lot,” I whispered.

I wanted to trust him. Hell, I wanted to trust anyone again after what happened with Ron. But I didn’t know if I could. As Draco brushed my cheek with his thumb, flashes of him sprang forth. The night my wrist was broken. The night he looked so lost in the shower. The night I was drugged.

Indemnity, he’d told me while tracing the Mudblood scar on my arm. A sum exacted by a victor in war as one condition of peace.

I had to believe his ultimate goal was peace.

I could see Draco warring with himself on whether he was going to speak or not. Finally, he exhaled and dropped his forehead to mine.

“You hold all the power, Hermione. All of it. For all of us.”

I flinched at his words.

“I’m trusting you tonight as much as I’m asking you to trust me,” he continued.

He sighed as he looked past me to the clock on the wall.

“We need to go.”

He quickly kissed my forehead before calling out the name of the next stop. As we arrived, all sense of warmth and reassurance vanished. I recognized the cool mask of indifference that Draco plastered to his face. With just one condescending glance, he could disarm you into absolute terror. The Draco that had laughed with me, held me, and given me numerous orgasms was long gone the moment we stepped through that Floo.

Being Muggle-raised meant I had a very different perception of how a fundraiser should be. Draco ushered us inside a club that seemed similar to Pansy’s. But the atmosphere of this one was very different.

Draco removed my coat and gave it to the attendant by the door. She didn’t meet his eyes as she kept hers trained on the floor. I gritted my teeth. There was no way I was going to be able to keep my bloody eyes downcast and be a silent, submissive wife the entire night. I’d go fucking mad. Especially knowing the caliber of families I’d be seeing tonight.

The nagging bit of anxiety tugged at me as Draco entered the dark club. He’d said he hadn’t had a choice in bringing me tonight. So whose choice was it?

Draco kept his hand on my exposed lower back as we walked through the lounge’s opening. There were low chairs, tables, and softer music than what was playing in the main entrance. I was careful not to let my eyes linger on one person too long.

I had the distinct impression that the moment we walked in, I became the topic of conversation. The tones quieted, and whispers increased. I wondered how many minds Draco was already picking apart. Did anyone here know that he had the ability? Most of my research on Legilimency led to a genetic predisposition. He and Snape were the only two I knew of. So was it a Malfoy trait or a Black trait? The thought of Lucius Malfoy rummaging through my mind left me feeling sick.

We approached several seats, and two men immediately jumped out of their chairs as Draco loomed behind them.

“Malfoy, good to see you,” one said as he backed up.

Draco didn’t acknowledge him. His stare was pinned to the man across from him. A dark-haired woman with a crude-looking collar knelt at his side with her eyes on the floor. Bile churned in my gut.

My eyes left the woman on the floor and made contact with the man in the seat.

Marcus Flint.

His stare was nearly as cold as Draco’s.

Then he surprised me by standing with a loud clap and booming laugh.

“He really fucking did it, then,” Flint laughed.

The two of them clasped hands, but Draco’s left hand remained on my back.

“Sit, sit,” Flint gestured.

Draco took the chair that one of the other men had abandoned, and before I could step toward the other one, he tugged me onto his lap.

Flint’s leer nearly made me shudder, so I directed my attention anywhere but him.

“Well, well, well, Mrs. Malfoy.”

I didn’t look back at him. Draco’s hand was now resting on the inside of my dress over my hip. The warm contact of his skin did little to ground me in the moment, though. I wanted to hex Flint as badly now as I’d wanted to in school.

Someone passed by with a tray and handed Draco a tumbler of amber liquid. He pulsed my hip with his left hand. When I looked over, he was holding the glass toward me. I reached out, cupped the bottom of the glass, and as quickly as blinking, I watched the liquid vanish and reappear. Our hands covered the magic from other onlookers, but I swear Draco had switched the liquids. I lowered the glass against my thigh.

“Another one,” Flint waved at a passing attendee.

“She’s not drinking,” Draco said.

Flint laughed. “I forget you like when they fight back.”

Draco responded with a cruel grin. I looked away, fighting hard to swallow. My eyes caught on someone in a clean gray suit and familiar curly hair.

Theo.

He was scowling at the man he spoke with, whose back was to me. Theo jabbed two fingers into his chest as he leaned closer. I’d never seen so much as a scowl out of him before. But now his face was completely contorted with rage.

Draco’s squeeze of my hip brought me back to their conversation. He was looking at me, and his eyes flicked down to the drink in my hand.

I repressed every urge to roll my eyes and brought the glass to his lips. He didn’t so much as blink as the amber liquid passed into his waiting mouth.

Gods above, how was this so sexy?

His fingers trailed above my hip, and my entire body flooded with heat. As I pulled the glass away, I let my bright red thumbnail sweep over his lower lip to catch any lingering moisture. I took my thumb between my lips next, smirking to discover it was just colored water.

Draco’s eyes clouded, and I recognized the look of unhinged lust. I fought against the smug feeling of power that I let settle.

A booming laugh dragged my attention to the other side of the room. That one I recognized and immediately found Blaise. He clapped Goyle on the back and shook him a little as the others around him laughed as well.

“Zabini puts his own mother to shame with the way he can down drinks,” Flint sneered.

I ignore Flint and let my gaze linger on the new individuals entering. Boot, Pucey, and Belby all entered together, and I struggled to school my features. I expected former Slytherins to dominate the attendance. I hadn’t expected others. Were they purebloods too?

I didn’t pretend to give a shit about blood status of those I went to school with. If they weren’t Slytherin, I didn’t know or care. Scientifically and magically, it was impossible to discriminate abilities based on blood status alone. A great witch or wizard could come from two Muggle parents. I was evidence of that.

“I have to know,” Flint leaned forward on his knees. “Was it the golden cunt? Or just a pet to collect?”

He brushed his hand over the sleek ponytail of the woman kneeling beside him.

This night was going to be absolutely impossible. Fucking Flint was a nightmare. And we were just getting started.

Draco’s hand ran up the length of my back and gripped the back of my neck. My traitorous body practically bloomed under his touch.

“You know Malfoy hates being told no,” Crabbe said as he joined the group by slumping down in the open chair to my left. “Someone telling him he can’t have something just means he wants it that much more.”

Vincent Crabbe was as vile now as he was in school. His dirty hair was tousled on the top of his head like he’d just rolled out of bed. His fingernails were dirty, and he wore a suit coat that probably fit him in his fifth year, but his growing beer gut was preventing him from buttoning it successfully.

He caught me looking at him, and he winked as he leaned forward. His hand reached for the space on my thigh where the slit parted. Draco's right hand darted forward before I could wrench my leg back. Crabbe cursed, and his fingers flexed, but he didn’t move. His palm was splayed across my thigh, but atop it, Draco had plunged a knife straight through his hand. The only reason I knew it went all the way through was because I could feel the tip of the blade barely poking my skin.

Crabbe and I both held our breath as blood began to seep from the wound. I could see now that the small dagger was a serpent with glittering rubies as eye pieces. Draco’s left hand continued to casually rest on the back of my neck.

Crabbe gritted his teeth, and Draco drove his point home by twisting the dagger half a turn. I felt the small scratch against my thigh and waited for it to pierce my skin, but Draco maintained perfect pressure.

Draco didn’t look at the blade as he casually turned my head back toward him and away from Crabbe’s bleeding hand.

“What’s your name?” he asked me.

I hesitated, racking my brain for some kind of reason he’d ask this useless question while he was stabbing a man.  

“Mrs. Malfoy,” I said, trying to mask the questioning tone of my voice.

His thumb was rubbing up and down right below my ear.

“Good girl,” he said. “And who does Mrs. Malfoy belong to?”

Gods, he could be so bloody terrifying when he wanted to be. His entire demeanor was like it was taken from Voldemort’s handbook. The psychopath had a knife in the hand of a man, and he was carrying on a conversation as if Crabbe wasn’t sniveling beside us.

“You,” I whispered.

“And who gets to touch my belongings, wife?”

The entire lounge area had grown quiet as attention drew to us. Crabbe’s hand continued to spasm on my thigh.

“No one.”

“Good girl,” he rubbed my neck and looked back down at his drink.

I couldn’t keep the slight tremor out of my hand as I lifted the glass toward him. He watched me with the same dark expression.

He swallowed back some of his altered liquid. I didn’t dare look anywhere but his eyes.

“The ignorant take longer to learn lessons,” he said. “But you learned so quickly, didn’t you, wife?”

I nodded.

Draco shifted in the chair, turning our bodies to face Flint more directly. Crabbe’s hand was still impaled, and I heard him crash out of his chair to keep the knife from ripping through more of his flesh as my thigh moved further to the right.

“How was Amsterdam?” Draco asked Flint with a casual lightness that was far more terrifying than his stabbing a knife through our former classmate.

Crabbe was now in a similar kneeling position to the woman beside Flint. The only difference was his obvious shaking, bleeding, and whimpering. I tried to ignore the feeling of his blood trickling down the length of my leg. He couldn’t have pinned his bloody hand to the chair? It had to be me?

Draco and Flint carried on an absurdly normal conversation about Amsterdam while I forced my gaze to remain on Draco’s profile. The slick heat of sweat and blood threatened to make my stomach roll, but I swallowed it down and kept my focus on Draco. But I felt each time Crabbe flexed, moved, or even breathed as his blood ran like a stream down my leg.

“Malfoy, enough,” Crabbe said as he tried to move again, only for Draco to twist the blade in a new direction. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t—”

“Do you hear something, wife?”

Draco had pivoted from his conversation with Flint and was staring at me.

I shook my head. “No, sir.”

“Anything seem out of place or worth interrupting my conversation over?”

“No, sir.”

His hand remained clasped to the back of my neck as he leaned forward.

“Good girl,” he whispered against my neck, letting his lips brush the skin just slightly.

I tried not to let my traitorous body react, but damn that voice. Those lips. I wanted him. And I hated that I was thinking about it in these circumstances.

“I don’t fucking believe it,” Flint laughed. “I didn’t think Granger had a submissive bone in her body.”

I felt Draco bristle at the use of my former name.

“Submission is trained, Flint. You just have to be smart enough to master it.”

I felt someone nudge Crabbe the rest of the way away from his chair and sit down as he writhed against my thigh with winced curses.

“Malfoy, good to see you back,” a voice said to my left.

“Goldstein,” Malfoy said.

I found it much easier to keep my eyes down in my current situation. We hadn’t even been here an hour yet. How was I supposed to survive the rest of the night like this?

“Congrats on the nuptials,” Goldstein said. “Though I’m disappointed I didn’t think of it first.”

Draco squeezed, and I lifted the glass to his lips.

“Think of what?” Flint asked.

“Granger was the obvious choice,” he said flippantly. “Power over blood, yeah?”

“Power over blood,” all the voices near us chanted.

My entire body went cold.

This wasn’t just a pureblood meeting?  

“And someone took the queen.”

Goldstein’s words were like nails down my back.

That’s what this was? A power move?

“It’s time, my lords,” a female voice said.

I felt myself sigh in relief as others around us started to rise. Finally, Draco would release Crabbe.

Draco moved my neck up to face him.

“Take it,” he said.

Holy fuck. Was he seriously talking about the dagger? I didn’t move, so he squeezed my neck.

Fuck him. Fuck him so much for this.

My fingers wrapped around his, and he expertly reversed our positions.

“This doesn’t move,” he said. “And when I return, I will find you just like this. Yes?”

Gods damn this man.

“Yes, sir.”

How long would he be gone? I was just supposed to sit here, pinning this stupid oaf to my leg? Fucking hell, I was going to kill Draco Malfoy for this. Buggering prick.

“I’ve killed for much less,” Draco said, deftly standing and shifting me to the chair. “Isn’t that right, Vincent?”

Crabbe flinched at the first use of his name, which caused the blade to twist in a new direction. He whined in response.

Draco withdrew his hand and traced my lips with the other hand that had just slid off my neck. He tugged my bottom lip and gave me a look that told anyone watching that he wanted to devour me. My knuckles whitened as I tightened my grip on the dagger.

What the fuck was I doing here?

“Be a good girl.”

Fuck off, I added mentally, wishing I’d dropped my Occlumency.

“Yes, sir.”

“Look at that pretty blush,” Flint said over Draco’s shoulder.

Draco didn’t respond; he just slowly dragged his thumb off my bottom lip.

The men slowly walked away from the circle of chairs, minus Crabbe, who was now leaning his head against the arm of the chair. I looked at my leg for the first time in several minutes and saw the sheer volume of blood that Crabbe was losing. His wound pulsed out more blood with each heartbeat.

I watched the men disappear into another open door. Nott briefly made eye contact with me before walking in and looked as though he’d never seen me before. There was no connection. No recognition at all.

It was chilling.

“Merlin, it’s true!”

My neck swung in the opposite direction to see three women approaching the empty chairs around me. One nearly stumbled over Flint’s companion, still kneeling by his chair.

“Ugh, Flint,” she called. “Call your pet away!”

Flint’s laughter grated on what was left of my nerves.

“Come along, pet,” he called, and I watched the woman slowly crawl on her hands and knees away from the group.

I fucking hated Marcus Flint.

“If she wasn’t such a cunt in school I might feel bad for her,” one of the women said.

The newcomer looked so familiar. Had she colored her hair? It seemed an unnatural shade of blonde.

“Poor pet Pansy.”

Chapter Text

My head snapped up, and my arm flinched slightly, dragging the blade in an upward motion on Crabbe’s hand. He cried and muffled the noise by clamping over his mouth with his free hand.

“That was Pansy Parkinson?” I asked the woman. 

The woman who took Flint’s seat smiled back at me.

“We have a lot of catching up to do, Mrs. Malfoy.”

The other girls added to her soft giggle.

Penelope Clearwater. That’s who she was. Gods, it’d been years since I’d seen her. She was a few years older, but with the amount of magical work she’s had done on her skin, she looked fresh out of Hogwarts.

But my mind raced back to Pansy.

Pansy owned Lore. She was one of the most intimidating witches I knew. And she was on her knees? As a pet? For Marcus Flint?

“Don’t look so surprised, Granger,” one of the women said.

I looked up as Penelope was elbowing her. I blinked again. Was that Susan Bones?

“She’s Malfoy now,” Penelope said.

Susan rolled her eyes. Were they all on some kind of magical and medical cosmetic craze? I recognized the third woman, too. Cho’s friend from our fifth year. Marietta.

“The tides have turned since the war,” Marietta said.

The women sat and gossiped as though a man were not impaled on my leg right now with the dagger I was holding.

“Which is why Parkinson is crawling around like a dog,” Penelope laughed. “Poor thing will do anything to convince a man to marry her.”

“Why?” I asked.

From what I understood, Pansy didn’t have any interest in marrying anyone right now. Nor did she need anyone. Her club was wildly successful.

“She was rubbish in school,” Marietta said. “Don’t you remember?”

No, because I spent most of my time avoiding her.

“It’s the perfect karma,” Susan said. “The same thing happened to Millicent.”

The three of them shivered.

“Which is?” I pressed.

“She was desperate for a man,” Marietta lowered her voice. “Ernie said that she once serviced three men at once in front of the whole group.”

Pansy wasn’t doing that.

There was no way.

Even in her club, the women had all the power.

“Millie was one of Flint’s favorite toys for a while,” Penelope said. “And we all know how much time those women spend on their knees. But he loved to watch her get other men off, too.”

“And what was it all for?” Marietta asked.

“Not a ring,” they all said.

I looked at each of their hands and saw giant diamonds hanging off their ring fingers.

“Money pairs nicely with power,” Susan said. “And now we’re showing them how much more valuable a powerful bloodline can be than a pure one.”

I thought back to what I knew about their families. I suppose Susan’s mother worked for the Ministry in an authoritative capacity. I didn’t remember anything about the other two, though. Were they that exceptional in school? I remember Nott doing well. And of course, Draco. He was the only one from our year that I competed with. Penelope did date Percy for a considerable time, and he was the brightest Weasley.

“Of course, we knew Draco would go after someone like you,” Marietta laughed. “He never can be outdone, can he?”

“I hear his cock is huge, is it?” Penelope asked.

I flinched, and the knife twitched in my palm. I nearly apologized to Crabbe but held my tongue.

“That’s a yes,” Marietta said. “Look how badly she’s blushing.”

“I’m so jealous,” Susan whined, and the other two gave her a pitying look.

I didn’t want to know. I wanted to get the fuck out of here and never speak to these fucking trolls again. What the gods’ damned universe had Draco been thinking bringing me here?

“She married Felix Rosier.”

Gods, that name was familiar.

The girls all held out their pinky fingers and giggled.

“At least he lets me play,” Susan grinned. “As long as he gets to watch.”

I knew I failed to school my features.

“You’re coming over tonight, right?” Marietta asked.

Susan nodded eagerly.

“What about you?” Penelope asked me. “Does Draco ever share you?”

I stared at her with my mouth slightly agape because I could not believe she was asking me that question with Crabbe in the position he was in.

“No,” I answered, swallowing down at least two dozen obscenities.

Susan pouted.

I couldn’t believe this mad woman actually thought I would let my husband near her. Granted, it was all very fabricated and a giant lie, but I still wouldn’t let Draco near her. I’d stab his hand the way he had Crabbe’s.

I needed to get out of this place.

“Hermione Granger.”

An icy breeze filled the space as all of us turned toward the voice to our left. Breath left my lungs in a sharp exhalation.

Lucius Malfoy.

What was once a refined and stylish man now stood before us as a ghost. Haunting shadows seemed to envelope the very aura around him. He was still immaculately dressed with his signature cane in hand, but now his features were more sunken, and his clothing hung around his thinner figure. His signature sneer didn’t falter, though. And he cast his gaze at me with pure, unadulterated disdain.

I was as furious with Draco as I was terrified of Lucius. I deserved a heads-up for this kind of interaction. I shouldn’t have been blindsided by this. Hell, I didn’t even know he was out of Azkaban!

The witches around me all seemed to get the memo, and they scattered like beetles. Even Crabbe seemed to try to sink further into the carpet as Lucius stood across from us.

“Interesting accessory.”

He motioned to Crabbe with the end of his cane.

I could leave. I could walk out of here this very moment and not give a second of consideration to the sordid shit storm I’d been tossed into tonight. I could fuck off complete. Fuck the contract. Fuck the money. Fuck all of it. I could bloody run! I could fuck right off to Antarctica and waddle around with the rest of the bloody penguins for the rest of my miserable frozen life. Because anything, literally anything, would be better than enduring this.

Lucius’ eyes narrowed on my left hand. It held the dagger and my wedding ring.

Fuck me.

He slowly sank into the chair across from me. His movements seemed more rigid than they had been. I didn’t know if it was age or pain that affected him now. When had he been released from Azkaban? His skin still had a grayish pallor that was hard to ignore.

“So my son has found himself a wife.”

I said nothing.

Draco had warned me he wouldn’t be in tune with my thoughts tonight because of everything happening around us. But I wanted to scream at him now through our connection.

“A Mudblood, no less.”

I didn’t even flinch at the word any longer. What a stupid notion that blood could somehow be pure or impure based on marital status. But that didn’t deter Lucius.

“A Mudblood that just years ago was writhing on my stone floors under a Cruciatus curse while being carved with a poisoned blade while her future husband watched in sick fascination.”

I knew the truth of that day.

I knew how Draco felt.

I didn’t need to go back to those memories. I didn’t need to hear…

But it was too late. The sound of that memory tore into my consciousness with unrelenting force. Bellatrix’s laugh haunted me for years.

“Ironically, I suppose I owe some gratitude toward my son for this.” He gestured to me. “Without your marriage, my solicitor wouldn’t have likely been able to get me off the sentence early for good behavior. The idea of being so far from my son as he gets married and has children could turn any councilor soft.”

I felt my stomach drop at the notion of Lucius Malfoy being anywhere near a child, much less one of mine. And that right there solidified the fact that I would be finding a way out of this marriage agreement. This was too fucking messy. All of it. And I hadn’t signed up for tormenting people or being tormented by dark figures of my past.

“Even if they will be muddied bastards.”

“You deserved to die in prison,” I snapped. “You’re a failure and a coward.”

Luicius’ eyes flared with a challenge. “A true lady would know when to hold her tongue. A lesson your husband should teach you.”

I wanted to defend Draco. I wanted to tell him that his son would never hurt me the way I was sure he had hurt others over the years. But as I opened my mouth, I stopped. I couldn’t let Lucius goad me.

“Perhaps you should worry about your own wife and leave mine to me.”

Gods, every last sliver of resolve crumpled as Draco’s hand pressed against the back of my neck. He pulled lightly, and I awkwardly stood with Crabbe just enough to let him sit once again. Draco took back control of the knife, and I gripped my shaking hands in my lap. His thumb ran smooth circles over the back of my neck. His torso was warm against my exposed back, and I relished in the proximity.

“Was there something you needed?”

Gods, Draco had mastered the condescending tone that could cut you to the quick. He was such a bloody prick. I could see now that the crowd had released from the room they had gone into earlier. Flint was leading around a crawling Pansy and walking back toward us.

“A freed man can’t enjoy a simple whisky?”

Draco didn’t deign to offer a response.

“Perhaps tomorrow night would be a better time?” Lucius looked around, relishing that he’d clearly caught Draco by surprise with his presence here.

He rose from the chair, mustering more strength this time than he had earlier.

“Bring your wife.” And he turned toward the doors. But before he got too far, he turned back around. “That is, if she can get through the wards.”

And with that, he offered a chilling laugh that crawled over me like spiders.

I could tell by Draco’s hold on my neck and the knife that this was not something he’d expected to happen tonight.

Flint unceremoniously sloughed down into the chair Lucius had been in. Pansy crawled beside him, and he absently petted the top of her head.

“Old Lucius is out early, then?” he asked Draco.

But Draco didn’t speak. His features were as dark as I’d ever seen them as he stared at the knife embedded in Crabbe’s hand. And as quickly as blinking, he’d removed the knife and with one gruesome swipe, he completely severed the hand from Crabbe’s wrist. Blood poured over the side of my leg as Crabbe flopped back and flailed in pain. I jerked away, causing the mutilated stump to fall off my thigh and onto the floor.

I swallowed down every baser urge I had to scream. I wanted to scream in anger, in fear, in frustration, in confusion—all of it. But mostly I wanted to scream because I was so fucking overwhelmed with it all.

“I’m ready to go up,” Draco said to Flint without a second look at Crabbe.

Flint clapped his hands and shot to his feet. “Finally!”

Chapter Text

I didn’t have much choice but to follow Draco to the lift near the door he’d just exited. Flint was practically buzzing behind us with untamed energy. The blood sticking to the side of my leg was now cooling and drying. When I finally made it into a shower, I was going to scrub the first three layers of skin and flesh off my body.

Fuck Draco.

Fuck this weird cult society shit he was involved in.

And fuck our stupid fake contract.

Bloody useless waste of my time. I should be at home, curled up with a nice book or poring over my research some more. I shouldn’t be half-naked, submissive, and in a bloody club, wondering if Draco’s newly released father is planning on killing me later.

Once inside the lift, I noticed some others had followed us as well, including Pansy. I wanted to bloody shout at her too and tell her to get the fuck up. But I bit down on my tongue and kept my eyes on my own feet. My left foot was considerably worse-looking based on the blood spatters. No wonder Astoria didn’t come to these. Fuck, I wish I had fought harder to stay home.

The entire atmosphere shifted once the lift opened. Instead of the heady bass we experienced downstairs, we were faced with dizzying overstimulation here. There were women everywhere, and nearly all of them were basically naked. Men were seated in various alcoves, chairs, or loungers while the women openly serviced them.

“Gentlemen,” Flint said. “Welcome to Nirvana.”

I was going to castrate Flint.

These women were far different than those at Pansy’s. These women were skinnier, with haunted looks in their sunken eyes. Barely any life even registered in their expressions. Flint led us to a staged area where several chairs sat just before it. Draco pulled me onto his knee once again.

A whisky was delivered to Draco, but it sat on the small table next to his chair, completely untouched. When I turned to face him, I could see the untamed rage billowing in his dark stare. He was barely keeping a lid on his fury, and I wondered what the fuck we were still doing here, then. He needed to see Flint’s naked girls? For what fucking reason? He brought his mouth to my shoulder and rested it there while he glared out at the scene before us.

“Brilliant, right?” Flint clapped over the music at Draco and the others who’d joined us.

Most of them I didn’t recognize. But one figure drew me in.

Theo.

Two women were balanced on the arms of his chair and were sloppily making out with one another over him. His hands were on their necks, urging them together. He actually looked like he belonged here, which did funny things to my stomach. This version of him completely replaced the kind healer I thought I knew. His dark brows were drawn, and he looked just like the rest of them.

I hated this place.

I hated Marcus Flint.

And I hated all of them.

“Where do you find so many witches?” one of the men on Draco’s other side asked as a woman pressed her breasts into his face.

“That’s the best part!” Flint laughed as two women approached him. “They’re Squibs!”

The breath left my lungs instantaneously. I worked to keep my features neutral as I stared at the dancing crowd before me.

“There are also girls from Muggle families who had magical siblings. They know about our world but have no power within it.”

I had to force myself to breathe.

Marcus Flint was an abomination—a sick bastard who preyed on innocent women. I wanted him to suffer. I wanted a Dementor to suck the soul from his weakened body. I wanted him to writhe in pain as Crabbe had done.

Five people in this world knew the true purpose of my research. Five. Everyone else had been fed the pretty lie that I’d created to hide the true purpose of it. But this right here? This was exactly why I’d done that. And it was exactly why I felt so damned foolish for getting so caught up and distracted in Draco Malfoy’s twisted world. I had a responsibility to see my research through. Others were depending on me. And I was dizzy with false securities from a good fuck. It was pathetic. Weak.

I’d learned that the majority of human trafficking within our country mainly dealt with Squibs. After all, men in power loved to remain in power. With a Squib as an escort, they didn’t need to worry about masking their magic. They could use it on them without fear of breaching the law on revealing magic to Muggles. It was the perfect workaround.

It hadn’t been until my own fascination with my bloodline that I discovered I might have an answer to non-magical individuals born to magical ones.

Genetics.

One of my parents carried the genetic makeup of magic. Ages ago, it would have been a dominant feature among my ancestors, and most likely diluted over time with the various Muggle matches that were made. However, in me, that genetic marker was somehow activated.

My working theory is that because sibling offspring of magical couples have the same twenty-three pairs of chromosomes, I should be able to essentially find the one that has the off-switch on their magic and turn it on. If mine was after years of dormancy, I should be able to do the same for those who have a far less diluted version.

Of course, this would mean miles of trouble for several individuals. Namely, people like Marcus Flint who use their magical ability as a way to assert dominance over another individual or group. If I could truly figure out how to flip that genetic flip, I’d even the playing field. And it was too risky for others to know.

The Minister of Magic, the head Auror, the head of the Magical Department of Research and Medicine, Harry, and Ron were the only ones who really knew what research I was doing. As far as everyone else was concerned, I was researching the effects of enhancing magical abilities through potions long-term. A man in Switzerland claimed that he had created a potion that increased his abilities tenfold and was trying to market it to lesser wizards and witches. It was all very gimmicky. It was all over the news, though, so it was easy enough to feign interest and direct attention that way. I claimed it could be used for healing purposes as a way to secure funding.

Draco may have used Legilimency on me several times. But each time, I was careful to keep my research masked. It was easy to focus on the fake aspect of my research because much of the preliminary research was the same. I focused on the true aspects of that. If my mind wandered back to Squibs, it would be natural. I wondered if a portion of the magical enhancement could affect them, and it was a natural curiosity. But being here and seeing this changed everything for me.

I had to save these women.

I watched those interact around me. Flint prattled on about how he buys and sells these Squibs and magically-informed Muggles from all over the surrounding countries. Most Squibs and non-magical siblings battle with addiction and mental health issues over being deemed a “lesser” version of their magical families. It’s not hard to see why they fall prey to men like Marcus Flint.

The women continued to dance around us. Occasionally, I would peek over at Theo and see the women still clawing at one another on his lap. The women before me were getting bolder the longer we sat. Their hands were now brushing Draco’s shoulder or arm as they danced by us. And despite my growing hatred for the man, I was ready to fucking implode if one more fucking woman thought it was okay to touch him while I clearly sat on his bloody lap.

Flint continued to boast about his sales while I tried to drown out the sound of his voice—insufferable prick.

At one point, he snapped, and several women launched into motion. Each woman stood before one of the men in chairs and kneeled in front of them. I watched in horror and fascination as they moved in perfect synchrony, their hands sliding up the thigh of the man in front of them. To my extreme displeasure, a woman kneeling in front of Draco began running her hand up Draco’s right leg.

My eyes widened and nostrils flared in a possessive fit. If Marcus Flint honestly thought that he could facilitate a group blow job while Draco’s wife perched right on his bloody lap, then he clearly didn’t know me at all. I may be furious at Draco for involving me in this shit storm, but I wasn’t about to sit here and be forced into watching another woman touch him.    

My submission ended here.

I reached forward and wrapped my hand around her slender wrist just as she was about to direct herself to the fly of Draco’s trousers. The kneeling woman shot me a disgruntled glare at impeding her progress, and I sent an equally icy one back to her and shook my head. She then had the gall to reach with her other hand. The bollocks on this woman!

I wrenched her wrist back at an awkward angle, making her other hand pause as she winced in pain.

“That’s not yours.”

The woman pulled against my hold, but I was firm. That’s when she noticed the blood covering my leg and foot. Her eyes widened in horror, and I flashed her a smile depicting how mildly unhinged I felt. She fell back and propelled herself away from the two of us. My only acknowledgement that Draco was alive within his catatonic state of brooding was that his left hand slowly traced circles around my open-back dress.

When I looked up, I saw another one of the women dancing closer to us, ready to kneel once again. Fucking Merlin’s arse. What kind of sick power did Flint have over them? So bloody aggressive.

As she approached, I didn’t think; I just acted. I couldn’t sit here and watch woman after woman try to suck Draco’s cock. I stood up and watched the woman hesitate. Rather than engage with her, I turned around and faced Draco. His eyebrows were slightly elevated, but he maintained a neutral expression as he watched me.

I turned to my side and leveled Marcus Flint with a lethal glare. If I could kill him with my eyes, I would have. I thought every cold and dark thought I could about how I’d love to torture that man to death as I slowly sank to my knees in front of Draco. I didn’t take my eyes off Flint as my arms slid up Draco’s thighs and reached his belt. I was making a very loud point. I couldn’t control what Draco did when I wasn’t around. But I damn well didn’t have to stomach it when I was right here.

A strong hand gripped the front of my throat, and my eyes snapped back to Draco. He was leaning forward now, and his face was so close to mine I could feel his breath on my lips.

“Good girl.”

He pressed a quick kiss to my lips and stood with me still in his grip.

“Until next time, gentlemen,” he said with a nod.

My smug smile spread over my face. We were finally fucking leaving. I could almost groan with satisfaction. Finally! Flint looked furious, which just added to my euphoria.

“You haven’t even seen the best part,” he floundered. “Send your wife on her way so we can play.”

There was a woman eagerly bobbing up and down on Flint’s cock while he tried to persuade Draco to stay. He removed his hand from her hair and reached out to stop Draco, but he avoided the contact.

“You forget, Flint,” Draco said with his signature Malfoy sneer in place. “That, unlike you, I have heirs to make. And I wouldn’t waste a drop on something as useless as my wife’s throat. Isn’t that right, wife?”

His hand was still around my neck, and he pivoted my head toward him.

I managed my best sneer at Flint, and we turned away and walked toward the lifts. Draco clutched my hand as we walked, pulsing it a few times. We were finally alone, but he didn’t lower the façade. He kept his hand pinned around my waist while he rubbed circles with his thumb. When the lift opened, he took my hand and walked me back through the sitting area we had been in earlier. My eyes scanned the chair we’d been in for any sign of Crabbe’s bloody struggle, but it had been magicked away—unlike the one on my leg.

I didn’t realize I was shaking until Draco magically warmed me with his wandless magic. But it wasn’t cold that made me shudder. It was my descent after an adrenaline high. I was finally crashing, and I worried I wouldn’t make it home before I fully broke.

With our coats secured around us, we left the building, and Draco wrapped me in a tight embrace.

“You did so well,” he whispered against my forehead. “I’ve got you.”

And that’s when my crumbling resolve started to take over. Silent tears slipped past my lids and tracked down my cheeks. I don’t even know why I was bloody crying. I wasn’t sad. I was angry.

“Shh,” he said, kissing my forehead. “You’re okay. You did so well.”

He apparated us to a location I wasn’t familiar with. It was a flat with expansive space and luxury. He didn’t speak as he walked us to the Floo. We stepped inside and were home once again. My tears continued to fall in relief that I was finally out of there. Fuck, I’d been so bloody tense and on edge.

“Wait,” Draco said, holding his hand out for mine.

I turned and saw him still standing in the Floo.

I recoiled. “Are you going back?”

He pulled his signet ring off his finger and handed it to me. I took the warmed metal in my hand and gaped at him.

He couldn’t seriously be leaving me here after all that to go right back?

“I have to find my mother,” he said. “You’re safe here. But I have to make sure she made it to one of the safe houses.”

Safe houses? Multiple?

I didn’t breathe as he leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine.

“Thank you for tonight.”

And when he pulled away, his face was familiar once again. I recognized the same ghostly look from our sixth year at Hogwarts. I saw it just weeks ago, the night he came home wordlessly.

Draco popped away in the Floo, and I headed upstairs. As I started the shower and stared back at myself in the mirror, I saw the same look in my own reflection. I slipped his signet over my thumb and squeezed my fist against my chest.

What the fuck was going on?

Chapter Text

Draco didn’t come home that night.

He wasn’t there at breakfast or lunch either.

As I holed myself up in my office, I tried not to let the nagging feeling of worry bite at me. He was probably fine. He had said safe houses. I am sure there were multiple places to check, and I’m sure there were added precautions if he was trying to avoid his father.

I attempted to focus on my research, but my eyes kept drifting back to our contract and the safety measures.

It would be a waste of my valuable research time to sit here and thumb through the document. Yet…

Three hours later, I was sweating and out of breath. I’d performed every magical ward on my research space alone. The office was now damn near impenetrable, and I was bloody exhausted. But something about Lucius’s resurgence had me on edge. The magic in the rings meant the Malfoys were connected through blood magic.

I spun the oversized signet around my thumb.

He was supposed to meet him tonight.

Was he going straight there?

Would he come back and bring me?

Would he come back for the ring?

Could I get past the wards?

And what the fuck was last night about?

My focus was decidedly lacking as the weight of everything around me pressed down. As the sun went down, I came to terms with the fact that Draco had gone to Malfoy Manor without me. And I didn’t know why the strange, apprehensive feeling of dread gripped me over that. He was stronger than I was. He could handle things himself. I am sure that even though Lucius had returned from prison, his magic would be heavily monitored and restricted. That is, unless he was also adept at wandless magic.

And dread sank like a stone inside me.

Perhaps depleting myself with wandless magic over unnecessary wards was a mistake. Should I have conserved my energy in case Lucius showed up? Draco had said I was safe here, but there were so many things he wasn’t telling me.

I sat at the kitchen counter as a cup of tea went cold between my hands.

Ten, then eleven.

It was nearly midnight.

What in the nine-fucking-hells was I doing?

Sitting here? Waiting for Draco? For answers I knew damn well that he wouldn’t give me?

No.

Bugger that. And bugger him.

I pushed against the counter. As I made my way past the darkened bay window, I looked out. I snorted to myself. Ron wasn’t even attempting to hide himself at the end of the street in the Muggle car.

Good.

Bastard.

I hoped he sat out there all night. Give Millie a taste of how it feels when her boyfriend doesn’t come home to her at night because he’s out with another woman. I stomped up the stairs and threw on a short black dress and bright red lipstick. I didn’t even bother trying to fix my hair; I just threw it up in a giant knot at the top of my head. I didn’t reach for high heels either; I grabbed a pair of sneakers from the shelf.

I was not some docile, soft, submissive wife who sat at home waiting for information. I was a Hermione Fucking Granger. And if I wanted answers, I sought them out myself. As I walked past the window again, I lagged. I flexed my wandless magic and felt the strength of it once again. I took the air out of both rear tires. Then, I dismantled his fuel pump.

I smirked to myself.

The icing on the cake would be if I could make it rain.

At the Floo, I looked down at my ring and Draco’s. What to do?

If Lucius had access to the Malfoy signets and tracking, then he’d be able to track me if I left this house and all these complex wards. If I took off the rings, then Lucius couldn’t find me. But neither could Draco.

But Draco would have to come home to find his ring before coming to find me. However, all of this is a moot point if Lucius can’t track my signet.

Frustrated, I thrust out my hand and caught the security measures as they appeared from upstairs. I thumbed through the large manual until I found the section I was after.

Article IV: Personal Safety

Section VII, Signets:

Hermione Malfoy, neé Granger, acknowledges that in order to fulfill the marriage requirements outlined previously, she must maintain possession of the Malfoy Signet ring presented to her. This ring imbues the wearer with various magical enhancements and protection measures. As outlined in the marriage contract, Draco L. Malfoy will be responsible for all upkeep and management of the pair of signets and the signets of any (all) future offspring. It is expected that both parties will maintain full use and functionality of their rings AT ALL TIMES. They should not be removed for bathing, sleeping, swimming, working, or any other recreational activity.

1. Location Sharing
   • Location services will be accessible to the couple indefinitely, as well as their offspring. Services will not be granted to spouses of offspring unless specifically agreed upon by the parties.
2. Authorized portkey or apparation zone
   • In the event of an emergency, magical adjustments have been made to disarm and disable the use of Anti-Apparition or Anti-Disapparition Zones for the wearers.
3. Suppression of identifying magical traces
   • All identifying magical tracers are disabled by the wearers, up to and including Unforgivable Curses. **Note: This provision does NOT extend to wands.
4. Amplified and Prolonged Magical Stamina
   • The stones and metals of each signet possess ancient bloodline magic that enhances magical spells, potion-making, wielding, and stamina.

I sent the contract back upstairs. Buggering Pureblooded magic. I rolled my eyes and slipped Draco’s ring off my thumb and left it on the mantle. I looked down at my own ring and closed my eyes. If I fucked this up, and Lucius was given access to our location line, then I just prayed that Pansy had tight security. Though I probably had enough rage and frustration built up to rip his bloody head off myself.

I left my ring on as I stepped into the Floo.

The club was relatively busy tonight. And gratefully, I didn’t feel a delirious urge to dance and grind on a stranger. I cursed Ron under my breath at the memory, though. Clara was working at the bar, and she waved when she saw me.

“Cute shoes,” she said, peeking over the bar.

“Thanks, I went for comfort.” I looked around. “Pansy in tonight?”

“Yeah, want me to grab her?”

I shrugged and sat down. “I’m sure she’ll see me and come around.”

“Gin and tonic?”

I shook my head. “How about a soda water with lime?”

She smiled and busied herself with my drink as a large group of men came over. They were piss drunk already and nearly stumbling over themselves to order more shots. Clara flashed me an apologetic look as she slid my water to me and focused on the band of idiots to my right.

“Think you gentlemen have had enough?” she breezed, leaning forward.

“It’ll be enough when I say it is, bitch,” the shorter man near the front reached forward and gripped her arm.

Thoughts of my own broken wrist came racing back. No. Fuck him. And fuck his friends for letting him talk to her like that. I didn’t hesitate as I knocked the chair next to him into his groin. But I didn’t stop there. I sent three more chairs hurtling toward them. The others jostled into one another and knocked over several other drinks to their left. Bouncers heard the cacophony of broken glass and shouts and came rushing over, pulling the men off the floor and bar and toward the door.  

I watched the men get hauled away and felt a warmth in my chest.

I would have liked to do that and more at Flint’s.

I used my magic to right the chairs that had been knocked over and offered Clara an eye roll at the ridiculous behavior of the group.

“Careful,” she said under her breath as she slowly began cleaning up the broken glasses and mess on the bar top. “You can’t have your wand out here.”

My eyes widened. “Really?”

She nodded, looking around, making sure no one else saw me.

“Only Pansy and the bouncers, but even they rarely use them.”

I’ve never heard of that at a club. And as far as I knew, there weren’t any Muggles here.

“Why?”

“It protects us,” she said, like the answer was obvious.

I furrowed my brows. “Can you not use your magic either?”

She snorted and kept cleaning. I must have missed the joke. But after several beats of silence, I finally snapped. “What?”

Her face was full of confusion. “None of us has magic. We’re all Squibs.”

I blinked several times.

The pulsing beat of the music seemed to fade as a crash of thunder rolled through my very being.

Squibs.

They were all Squibs.

“What the fuck was that about?” Pansy approached the bar looking positively lethal.

“Handsy drunks,” Clara shrugged. “Tom and Carlo took care of them.”

Clara caught the eye of two new customers who were on the other side of the bar and excused herself. Pansy rounded on me.

“You okay?”

I laughed. Really bloody laughed. Because of all the ridiculous shit to ask me, she asked that?

“Is that supposed to be your version of a joke?”

She gave me a bored look, but I crossed my arms. I was furious with all of them, doubly now that I’d spoken with Clara. A club full of fucking Squibs? I could scream.

"Do you really think I would be okay after something like last night?"

She seemed to be weighing her options before she finally spoke again.

“Right, we’re not doing this out here,” she sighed and steered me toward her office.

She pushed me past the two guards near her door and slammed the oak behind us.

“Are we both drinking or just me?” she asked.

I leveled her with a glare.

She rolled her eyes and filled a crystal tumbler with whisky for herself and took it all in one quick gulp before pouring herself a second.

Astoria entered the small office next, dressed in her scrubs and looking utterly spent. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her normally perfectly curled hair was barely hanging on as her ponytail drooped.

“Are they back?” Her eyes were wide and hopeful.

“They?”

“Nott went with him,” Pansy said to me. “And no, they aren’t.”

“Are they alive?” I asked.

Pansy offered me another bored glare. “You’d know if they weren’t.”

I bloody doubted that, but I turned from her and paced.

“They weren’t supposed to be gone this long,” Astoria worried. “It was supposed to be a quick fix. No trouble.”

The more I thought about last night, the angrier I got. All of them knew something. I was the outsider. I was the only one left in the bloody dark.

“And Lucius was supposed to be in prison another year,” Pansy’s sarcastic tone was just as biting.

I spun back around and glared at them. “What the fuck was that last night?”

Astoria looked sick, and Pansy just scowled at the glass in her hand.

“Go to bed, Astoria,” she said. “You’re practically dead on your feet from the double shift.”

Astoria looked from Pansy to me several times, but the paleness of her skin told me which option she’d decided on. She couldn’t stomach hearing the details from last night any more than I could.

“I’ll wake you the moment I hear.”

And that sealed her decision.

“I’m sorry,” was all she whispered as she left.

Pansy refused to speak as we stood in the silence of Astoria's exit.

“Start talking.”

Pansy snorted and swallowed another pour.

“That’s supposed to be fun? Good entertainment for you all?”

“You and I are not doing this,” she said, turning away from me.

“I’m just supposed to what? Ignore it all? Pretend it didn’t happen?”

Her deafening silence needled my impatience.

“You honestly fuck someone as vile as Marcus Flint?”

Pansy’s decanter of liquor flew across the room and exploded on a shelf.

“Don’t you dare presume that after two hours of sitting on your ass that you have any fucking idea of what is going on around you.”

A sardonic laugh ripped through me as I stepped toward her. I had more built-up rage than she could even imagine after what a shit storm the last several weeks had been. I just needed someone to spar with, and she finally raised her sword.

“Right, because I’m just supposed to sit in that bloody house and play the role of a submissive, silent wife.”

“You’re doing a shit job at those roles, aren’t you?”

I glared at her, feeling my fury rise with each barb. “It’d be a lot easier to be the silent and trusting type if I knew what the hell was going on.”

“You don’t need to know!”

Fucking bitch. Shit, she was as infuriating as Draco, I swear to the damned gods!

“Know what, Pansy?” I snapped. “That he’s buying Squibs from Thailand for you? That you’re employing them as a way to…what? Run Flint out of business? Are you sucking his cock to build your own business model? Is that really how you want to get to the top?”

Her face exploded with crimson rage. My mark had hit.

“It’s sure as fuck not your business, so you don’t need to bloody worry about it!”

I reeled. “Not my business? I’m fucking married to him! I deserve to know if he’s a bloody human trafficker!”

“He didn’t marry you to serve as some self-righteous bitch with a hero complex! He’s only paying to fuck you!”

Even the air seemed to still around us as the weight of her words settled. There was the bloody truth of it. My body swayed as if I’d just been dealt the lethal blow. I felt bile rise in the back of my throat, but I forced it back down. I couldn’t react. Not here. Not like this. I masked my features in the way Draco did while he was Occluding. Indifference. I desperately needed that haughty look of cool indifference.

“Pansy.”

I hadn’t heard the door open, but I saw Blaise standing by the door.

“Not now, B.” Her voice was a whisper.

“No—” I interrupted. “I was just leaving.”

I gathered what small shreds of my dignity I had left and tried to walk past Blaise with my head up. But he reached out for my wrist.

“Hermione…”

His tone was laced with pity, and that hurt me worse than any of the insults Pansy threw. Instead of releasing all the bitterness I felt, I swallowed back more of that rage and shook my head. The last thing I needed was their fucking pity.

“Don’t. I know my place.”

Chapter Text

Pansy’s words had served as a harsh kick to the gut, taking my breath and boldness. I was embarrassed. It was obvious to everyone what my status among this group was. So why was I having such a hard time coming to terms with it?

When I appeared through the Floo, I immediately jolted. A figure sat in complete darkness at the counter, spinning a ring on the marble. The delicate pinging of the ring dropping every few seconds was the only sound.

I couldn’t do this right now. I was too fucking tired after what Pansy and I had just gone through.

His icy gaze looked up and held me, and the two of us let the silence stand. Bitterness made me snort. I didn’t know why I expected a different outcome from him.

He stood but didn’t grab the ring. We listened as it made its final circles. He was closer to me now, and I hated the way I almost leaned into his touch, the way I yearned for it. It’s almost too dark to see his features all the way, but I can tell that the expression is similar to one I faced at Flint’s. He’s distracted. Far away.

His fingers ghosted down my arm.

“Is your mother alive?”

His eyebrows disappeared into his hairline, and his mouth even twitched. It’s rare to catch Draco Malfoy off guard about anything, and I nearly relished the small victory.

There’s no tenderness in my voice, though.

“She’s safe.”

I nodded. But my mind was cycling through the batch of insults and accusations I wanted to throw at him. I wanted to scream at him and accuse him of all the terrible shit I was thinking of. I wanted to berate him about Flint’s and Squibs. I wanted to shake him for entering into this bloody agreement with me in the first place.

But Pansy’s voice stopped me.

She was right.

He was here to fuck me. And that’s when the realization settled over me that I was no different than her. I may not have been crawling on the floor after Flint. But I damn near did the same bloody thing from my spot on Draco’s lap. I was a power move for him to flex over his new friends. I was nothing more than a pawn. And I would guarantee that she was as much of a pawn in Draco’s sadistic game as I was. Thinking I had any other purpose or meaning besides sex to Draco was as pitiful as it sounded.

But it wasn’t just sex.

It was indemnity.

I didn’t take my eyes off the ring on the counter. “Should I stop wearing mine, too?”

Draco held up his hand, and a new obsidian band appeared over his left ring finger. This wasn’t the same as his signet. It looked more like a traditional wedding band.

“I made a new one.”

“Can’t he still find you through that one?”

“You’re safe here. I promised.”

I let go of the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Threats of Lucius popping up unannounced left me worried. But Draco was a mask of cool control, as always.

And that was the point. He wasn’t acting out of character. He wasn’t transforming into someone I didn’t know. This was the Draco Malfoy of my youth. The secrets, the intrigues, the plotting. He told me himself weeks ago what he was trying to do. He was making his reparations after the war. He knew that I wanted orgasms and money. Pansy had probably told him as much while I was wasting away on her sofa.

So, that’s what I was here for—sex and money. And now I was upset about it? I wanted to shake myself.

Had it really been so bad? Had my bountiful orgasms been so disruptive to my life? Was free rein to do my research such a burden? Were the safety precautions so unreasonable? I shook my head. They weren’t. He was just protecting me from his enemies. He didn’t owe me anything. And if you asked him, he’d say he simply owed me orgasms and money.

I should accept them and drop it.

I should stop trying to create something between us that obviously wasn’t there. He can’t pay reparations to me if I’m dead. Of course, he’d do anything to protect me. His guilt would probably eat him alive. I got it. His purpose was clearer by the minute.

Feelings didn’t have a place here.

“You don’t want me to know what’s going on.”

It wasn’t a question because I already knew the answer.

“Keeping you in the dark keeps you safe.” He motions to the bay window behind us. “Your ex seems keen on keeping tabs on you. One stray vial of Veritaserum could ruin everything.”

His answer was the most candid and honest he’d ever been with me. He was right. The less I knew, the better. And despite my better instincts, I didn’t push the issue.

Draco’s friend group didn’t owe me their secrets. And if he’d taken care of Lucius…

“Is he…”

I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. Should I be asking this? Should I want to know the answer?

Draco quirked his brow.

“Dead?”

I nodded, and he shook his head.

“I can’t kill the heir. It’s old magic. Pureblood shit.”

My brows furrowed. “Any Pureblooded heir?”

His features darkened. “No. Just the Malfoy one. I have plenty of experience with other heirs.”

Neither of us breathed as the realization of his words hit him. Instead of the rising fury that I’d felt with Pansy, now all I wanted to do was cry. The fight left me, and I could feel the flight itching to break away.

“Hermi—”

I stepped away, shaking my head. “Don’t.”

I pushed myself toward the stairs. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. The only thing that I could focus on was Astoria’s wilted expression.

Holy shit.

Astoria.

“Hermione, stop,” Draco followed.

I slammed the door to the bedroom closed and knew my weak attempt at a ward wouldn’t hold him back for long.

My own hurt feelings were one thing. But the fact that I was destroying probably the kindest witch I’d ever known? A witch who had only shown me selfless kindness. A witch who was the embodiment of pious generosity.

With a delicate ease, Draco pushed his way into the room, not even having the sense to look irritated or put off.

I was shaking now. My voice teetering on the edge of my emotions.

“I want a divorce,” I said. “I want you to find a way out of this magical contract, and I want you to release me.”

His face was unreadable. Not angry, not sad, he was just devoid of any emotion. He was occluding so strongly that I couldn’t see any expression in his eyes.

But all I saw was Astoria: her goodness, her light, her loveliness. It made me sick. I’d done this to her. I’d married Draco, and I’d practically been throwing it in her face for months because I was too fucking daft to see what was right in front of me.

“It can’t be done.”

“Find a way!”

“I won’t!”

His snap released the hold on my emotions. Tears pooled on my lashes.

I was desperate. The idea of subjecting Astoria to any more unhappiness tore at my crumbling resolve. I couldn’t be the cause of more pain for her.

Draco didn’t give me space, though. He pushed forward, gripping my cheeks in his hands and forcing my eyes to meet his.

“I don’t regret it,” he said, deathly quiet. “I don’t regret watching the life leave their eyes while my hands wrapped around their necks. I don’t regret saving people I love from lifetimes of horror. I don’t regret ridding this world of the sickest fucking people I know. I will do it again. And if you think I’m a monster for that, fine. But hear this, wife. You. Are. Mine. Forever.” He pushed his lips against mine in a claiming dominance. “And that means I’ll kill to protect you, too.”

He pushed himself away from me as tears poured down my face and went to the bathroom. He didn’t bother to shut the door, but I heard the shower turn on as I stood there, absorbing the truth.

He wasn’t the monster.

I was.

I was the outsider who came in and completely upended everything. I was no better than Ron and Millie. I served as a horrific reminder to Astoria that I was only here for sex and money, and I achieved the one thing she wanted most in this life. Happiness, marriage, and a life with Draco Malfoy. Destroyed because of me.

I stumbled to my side of the bed and sank onto the sheets.

Forever.

Tears continued to pour down my cheeks. Astoria already had so much trauma with contracts, and this one would have been the final nail in her coffin. How could she even stomach my presence? How could she tolerate me at all?

Eventually, Draco came to bed and pulled me against him. He magicked away my dress and shoes in exchange for one of his Quidditch jumpers. My makeup that had transferred to the pillow disappeared as he turned me toward him. My head rested on his bare chest. My tears had run dry, but the reproachful feelings remained.

I barged into their lives, acting as if I had a right to be there and a right to their deepest secrets. And for what? Some delusional thoughts that my orgasms were more important than someone’s happiness? My need for money outweighed decency and respect for others?

Fucking hell. The depths of my self-loathing were bottomless.

I had to make it right. I had to find a way out of this. I had to give Astoria a chance to be happy. And Draco, too. No one needed to be forced into a marriage because of politics or plotting. He’d obviously done this to further his own agenda. But I didn’t have to let it be permanent.

And whatever was happening with the Squibs?

I’d fix that too.

I’d find a way to free us all.

Chapter Text

I’d been staring at the ceiling of my office for roughly three days. I was stuck. I’d made so much progress last week, and then I woke up three days ago to my brain short-circuiting. I knew I needed help. I needed a fresh perspective or a new lens. But who was supposed to fill that gap for me? I slept in this room. I ate in this room. The only thing I ever left for was a shower. I didn’t want to sleep next to Draco. My self-restraint only went so far. And receiving mind-numbing orgasms for two months meant that almost anything could sway me toward an encounter with him. I needed to be strong. And the only way to do it was to avoid him.

I was still feeling rotten about the Pansy and Astoria drama as well. I kept reminding myself that Astoria couldn’t hate me too much. It’s not as if I knew it was Draco behind the contract or that I even sought him out. And truly, she should communicate her feelings! It’s ridiculous to pine after someone for this long and not tell them. She needed validation or closure, one way or another.

The thought of validation made my stomach sink a little. I could lie to myself all I wanted and say I felt nothing for Draco Sodding Malfoy. But I did. His infuriating personality pulled me in. At the end of the day, I didn’t want Draco to want someone else. I wanted him to want me. I wanted to be on the inside. I wanted to be trusted. I wanted to belong. And all last week had done was remind me that I was very much still on the outside.

The issue of the Squibs continued to kick around my subconscious, too. There had to be a connection, but I was really struggling to accept the idea that Draco could be a human trafficker. He was a lot of things…but that? It didn’t fit. Clara seemed happy. All the girls at Pansy’s did. They even had control over all their own money. There could always be a chance that I’d misread the Thailand situation. He gave me a vague answer about humanitarian negotiations. I thought he was being facetious because the Veritaserum had worn off. Could he have been telling the truth?

Bloody wizard. Bloody Squibs. Buggering hell to all of it. I was so fucking exhausted.

A rough knock sounded at my door, but I ignored it. It was likely Draco forcing me into another meal with him. They’d been sparse and tense the few times he made me.

The knock came again.

At least my new wards held up well.

“Go away, I’m working.”

The door popped open with an insulting ease. Draco leaned against the doorframe, scrutinizing my prone form with an arched brow.

“Hard at work, indeed.”

I sat up on my elbows, glaring at him. “How did you get past my wards?”

Those had taken me a whole day to set.

“They were identical to mine.”

I grumbled to myself. How ridiculously foolish of me to copy his wards exactly.

“Get up,” he said. “We’re leaving.”

“Leaving? Where? Why?” I followed after him into the bedroom.

He was wearing trainers and a black pair of shorts that showed off a healthy amount of his thigh muscles. I blinked away.

“Hello?” I pushed.

We clearly weren’t going to Flint’s like this…right?

He tossed me a shirt that was on the bed, and I was enveloped in his scent. Gods, did he have to smell so bloody nice all the time?

I was wearing a pair of denim cut-offs and a t-shirt. I looked down at the shirt he’d tossed me. It was his Quidditch kit. His name had been embroidered on the back with a large seven on it.

He wasn’t wearing a kit, though. His shirt was plain gray.

“Shouldn’t you be the one wearing this?”

He walked toward me, and I worked to swallow. My mouth was suddenly dry as he loomed over me. The look in his eye was one I recognized well. It’d been nearly two weeks since we’d done any kind of sexual act together. I knew I was avoiding him over my guilt with Astoria, feigning a distraction with my research. But I couldn’t avoid him (or my traitorous lust-addled brain) forever.

“I think I’ll appreciate taking it off you a bit more.”

Fucking hell. Did his voice have to do that low bit of rumbling?

“I want answers.”

“And I want to protect you.”

I exhaled. “Then we’re at an impasse.”

He cupped my face and let his fingers sweep across my cheek in soft strokes. “Your safety isn’t negotiable.”

I crossed my arms. “Neither is yours.”

He smirked as he narrowed his eyes at me.

“Well, I just think it’s a bit unfair that you undervalue your own safety and well-being. You don’t even consider how I’d be affected if you were harmed or arrested. Shouldn’t I know things so that I can protect you? I’m not helpless, you know.”

“I don’t think you are helpless.”

I gave him an irritated huff. “Just a liability then?”

The silence stretched between us.

“A deal, then?”

“If Potter finds the Snitch first today, you can ask three questions and receive three complete and honest answers.”

I waited.

“But if I find it, I’ll continue protecting you, and you’ll owe me a whole night.”

My eyes lit up. He was playing Harry?

I stuck out my hand.

“Deal.”

“I don’t know how to feel that you’re so confident betting against your husband.”

I pulled on the bloody kit with a rueful grin.

“Harry could have gone pro. He was approached multiple times. The only reason he didn’t was because he was done with the fame.”

But Draco’s smug arrogance remained unflappable. He let his dark gaze linger over me as he slowly looked me up and down. He looked like he wanted to devour me. He leaned forward, and I felt his lips brush against my ear.

“I look forward to basking in glory later,” he said. “Likely between your legs.”

I darted away from him down the hall so he wouldn’t have another opportunity to pull me in. I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t let him think I was permissive of any of it. Not the Squibs, the lies, any of it. Plus, giving in to sex would just be another reminder of my sole purpose here. He thought I only wanted orgasms and money.

But I didn’t want those.

Not anymore.

We apparated to a Quidditch pitch that I was very familiar with.

“Hermione!”

I turned to see Harry walking toward us. Draco was still holding my hand and barely released it when I wrapped my arms around Harry.

“I didn’t know you all played at your house.”

Harry bought a lovely home in the country. He’d built a massive pitch that Ginny used frequently, but I knew it was just as much for him as it was for her.

“We had to change it since I have a new rodent problem at the manor,” Draco said.

Lucius. Right.

“Is Ginny here?” I looked around Harry toward his massive house at the top of the hill.

He gave me a tight smile.

“Gin and I… well. S’alright. It’s probably better this way.”

My eyes widened. “You broke up?”

He shrugged. “Few weeks ago.”

I was speechless. I knew they weren’t in a rush for marriage, but I had no idea…

“Really, Hermione. It’s fine. Better for both of us.”

I’d always had a soft spot for Harry. His life had been shit, and I felt like he was constantly being pulled in a dozen directions that he had no control over. I hope for once this was a decision that was his and his alone.

“Try to take it easy on Baker today,” Harry said to Malfoy. “He’s terrified to play you first.”

I looked between the two of them.

“What?”

“Bronson Baker is a new Auror, just graduated from Hogwarts. This is his first time playing with us.”

“Wait,” I panicked. “He’s playing Seeker?”

“He’s got a lot of raw talent,” Harry said.

I turned to Draco and seethed. “You knew!”

He held his hands up. “I didn’t. Potter said we might have a new Seeker.”

“What’s the problem?”

“Draco and I have a bet, and I said you’d catch the snitch first.”

Harry made a face. “Sorry, Hermione. Baker showed up today, which means I’m going to give him a fair shot.”

I glared at both of them and stalked away from the pitch toward the stands on the east side. It was so bloody warm out today. I pulled my sunglasses over my eyes and sank against the seat. I’d have to find another way to get information out of Draco because this was clearly not going to work.

I saw several people enter the pitch, a few of them I knew from school. The others had to be Ministry employees. Alicia Spinnet was there, Angelina Johnson, and even George Weasley. I wondered who his accomplice would be since losing Fred, but I was pleasantly shocked to see Lee Jordan approach him with a Beater’s bat.

“I’m sorry about the other night.”

I looked down to see Blaise sitting in front of me, lacing up his trainers. His long, muscular legs flexed under a pair of shorts similar to Draco’s.

“You’ve got nothing to apologize for,” I said.

He turned toward me, now sitting backward in the stands. He looked up at me, and sincerity washed over his features.

“I want to loop you in,” he said. “I’ve been talking to the others. Astoria does too.”

He didn’t have to say the others didn’t want it. I knew. However, I didn’t want to discuss the heaviness of our current situation.

“Then you’d better make sure Baker gets the Snitch first, today,” I said. “I made a deal with Draco that he’d tell me three truths if he lost.”

Blaise smirked. “Are you asking me to intervene and sabotage my own team?”

I looked at him over my sunglasses. His booming laugh felt comforting.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

It gave me the flicker of hope that I may have an ally in all this yet. Before he could turn to leave, I reached out and placed my hand on his arm.

“Will she hate me forever?”

I couldn’t help myself. I regretted fighting with Pansy. I liked her. And I hadn’t meant the rotten things I said. I just didn’t know how to apologize when I was still so frustrated over the root of it all.

He covered my hand with his much larger one. “She doesn’t hate you now. She wants to protect you as much as the rest of us.”

I squeezed him back.

“You should know that she didn’t mean what she said.” He motioned over his shoulder. “It’s more than that.”

I offered him a tight smile. It was. Too bad it was mostly guilt and absolution.

“Not good luck,” I said.

He smiled. “Thank you. I’ll do my worst.”

Sweet Blaise. Who knew that the monster of man was so tender and kind? He seemed like such an intense and giant Auror. But he was so empathetic under it all.

The match was finally about to start. Everyone took up their brooms. I zeroed in on the new Seeker for Harry’s team. He looked very young, but he was fit and handsome enough. Hopefully, his spry youthfulness could give him an advantage over the others.

It was actually nice to see so many former students all playing together. There wasn’t a clear divide of houses either. There were two former Slytherins on Harry’s team, and I was shocked to see that George and Lee were actually on Malfoy’s team. That worried me more than anything, because the two of them were ferocious on the pitch. Baker was jittery on his broom as he darted around the pitch. Draco took a silent stalking pose. He lingered in the same place for a while, watching the pitch and all directions. But I didn’t miss the way his eyes came to me a number of times.

I tried to brush it off. I didn’t need to focus on him. I didn’t need his attention. I needed to help Baker find that bloody Snitch.

Buggering hell, it was hot though. I took off Draco’s kit and tied it around my waist, leaving me in a white tank top. Harry scored, and I stood and clapped.

A rush of wind blew past me, and something hit me in the face. I pulled the familiar scent away, balling up Draco’s discarded shirt as he raced past me. Oh, that smug bastard. He now preened atop his broom completely shirtless with a haughty smolder that would have melted me right to these stands. How dare he be so attractive?

I attempted to look everywhere but at him, but it was bloody impossible. He was absolutely ripped with muscles. Bloody unfair. Especially since I had decided to remain chaste forever.

Or at least until my guilt subsided.

Or until my crumbling mental resolve gave way.

“Oh, come on,” I shouted at a rather unfair call made against Harry’s team.

Draco’s team scored a minute later. I groaned and threw up my hands. Blaise tossed the quaffle to Alicia, and she darted past several players toward the goal. But Blaise didn’t follow her up. Instead, I watched as he kicked out his foot and nearly lost his balance off his broom. Draco was darting by, seconds later, shouting at him. But Blaise winked at me.

I smiled. He’d kicked the snitch away.

Draco sent me a scathing look and shook his head. Perhaps I still had a chance.

A few minutes go by, and the score is seventy to seventy. Blaise attempted to knock Draco off his broom every time they came into contact. It was so comically obvious that Lee Jordan told Blaise that if he did it again, he’d turn the bludger on him instead. Blaise sent me an apologetic look after that, and I understood that was his final time intervening.

Baker suddenly took flight, darting low near the goal post on the opposite end of the field. Draco was further away, but he was so bloody fast on that damned broom. He took off like a streak of lightning. Baker was fast, but there was an edge of caution to his movements. Draco didn’t have that. He moved without fear or hesitation.

“Come on, Baker!” I shouted. “Faster!”

I was on my feet, panicked over the race. Draco was gaining on him.

I didn’t even see the bloody snitch, but apparently the two of them did. Baker stretched out his hand. Draco followed suit.

“Come on!”

Fuck! Draco was close enough to reach out and touch the end of Baker’s broom. The two of them were going to crash if they didn’t pull their brooms up, though. They were getting dangerously close to the ground. I put my hands on my head and paced.

“Pull up!” I shouted. “You’re going to—”

My voice cut off with my sharp intake. Both men and their brooms came tumbling to the ground in a frenzy of limbs and brooms. Even those on the pitch above them had stopped to watch the great crash. Shit.

Draco was lying face up on the grass, covered in a green rash all along his side and torso. Baker looked about the same from his position on his hands and knees. I jogged down the stands and onto the pitch toward them.

“Draco?”

When I approached, I could see his eyes pinched shut against the glaring sun.

He groaned.

“Is anything broken?”

“Everything.”

I snorted.

Baker managed to get to his feet and approached us. He held out his hand to Draco to help him up.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “Tried to turn at the last minute.”

Draco clasped hands with him. As Baker was pulling him up, he froze, and so did I. Flittering right next to Draco’s head was the snitch. Baker immediately dropped him and reached for it. Draco fell back into the grass without even realizing what had happened, and Baker held up the snitch.

I gleefully launched myself at the man and hugged him tightly.

“Well done! Yes!”

A whistle sounded somewhere behind me. The game had ended, and Draco had officially lost the bet.

“Well done, mate!” Blaise clapped Baker on the back and moved to help Draco up.

“Nice grab,” Harry said, hovering near us on his broom.

“Holy shit, you’re Hermione Granger.”

I pulled back to shake his hand, and I realized how young he truly was. Draco’s arm wrapped around my waist and tugged me against him. He was hot, sweaty, and smelled heavily of grass.

“Hermione Malfoy, actually,” Draco said.

I rolled my eyes.

“Plotting against me, wife?” he asked as he pressed his lips against my head.

“I would never,” I said.

He glared at me and then at Blaise. He pulled my face toward him and kissed me hard on the mouth. His musky scent enveloped me, and my hands went naturally to his abdomen. I could feel the hardened planes of his muscles flexing beneath my fingers.

Two players from the opposing team clapped Draco’s hand and back and launched into a discussion about some rare artifact from Laos. Blaise nudged me, and I turned to smile at him.

“Thanks for your help today.”

We watched Draco speak with the two players for a beat.

“You know he’ll try to find a way around it,” Blaise said.

I nodded. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from him.”

“You’ll just have to be more clever.”

I agreed. And I would be—this time.

“Just know, you have my full support on the matter.”

“Thank you, Blaise.”

Harry was waving me over, but Blaise held my elbow for another moment.

“Don’t give up on him, Hermione. He’s a good man. Truly.”

“I know,” I said softly.

Because deep down, I had to believe he was a good man. I had to believe that there was something more to what was happening around me. I had to believe that he wasn’t the monster his father was. I had to believe in the goodness I saw in him. Sure, there was raw and intense violence. But there had to be good, too.

Chapter Text

Draco had fucked off to some country to make secret deals with shifty individuals that I was not privy to. Normally, that information would send me into an absolute spiral. However, now that I had a modicum of power, I felt at ease. I could simply ask about his whereabouts and business there as one of my three questions. But I needed to save them. I needed to really focus on which three questions were going to be the most valuable and informative.

I had a list of ten questions so far.

1. Is there any way to legally end our marriage that doesn’t involve death or dismemberment? (Specifically for myself. I’d happily behead him, of course.)
2. What was the real reason you chose to marry me? (Because it couldn’t possibly be something as stupid as indemnity. And he wasn’t allowed to say ‘to protect me.’ Because that was a bollocks answer, too.)
3. How involved are you with Pansy’s Squibs? (Has he done contracts with them too?)
4. What role are you playing in this new secret organization of power-purist-cult-people? (I swear to Godric’s right arse cheek, Malfoy. Aren’t you bloody sick of them yet?)
5. What is the plan for getting rid of Lucius? (I am heartily unopposed to any death or dismemberment here.)
6. Do you ever plan on telling me everything? (Because I swear if the answer here is no, I cannot promise death and dismemberment won’t be back on the table.)
7. Have you been satisfied with our sex life so far? (I immediately scratched this out because my ridiculous insecurities have no business being here. This question is a simple result of seeing him shirtless during Quidditch.)
8. Is this agreement truly just sex and money and a way for you to absolve your guilt? (For fucking hell’s sake. My intellect was a lie. My brain was little more than porridge.)
9. Are you aware that Astoria is in love with you, and I’m ruining her life? (How could he not. Bloody hell, I’ve only been here a few months. She’s been at this for years.)
10. Have you just sucked me into this whole agreement because you’re trying to stop the real research I’m doing?

I breathed out as I finished writing the last one. Fuck. I didn’t want the answer to that one. It was the one I was most afraid to hear the answer to. I could be bad at sex. I could hear that you were only here to absolve your guilt. But if he were to tell me that he’s just been trying to work against my research this whole time?

I stared at the ceiling from my comfortable place on the floor. I couldn’t have misjudged things so much. Could I?

I want to naturally fight against those dark thoughts. He’s taught me so much. If he were truly working against me, why would he teach me stronger wandless magic? Why would he teach me Occlumency? Why would he want to keep me alive? If I were dead, my research would have died too. Problem solved.

He didn’t believe in the weird cult.

He hated Flint.

He wasn’t in love with Astoria.

These were all little affirmations I tried to remind myself of on a daily basis.

And why did I need to give myself ridiculous affirmations that Draco wasn’t a psychopath or in love with someone else? Oh, because I’ve done the maddest thing of all and fallen for my husband. Absolutely smitten. And why was that horrifying? Because I only knew a fraction of the truth surrounding our lives together. But here I am, clinging to the small flirtatious moments and mind-blowing sex as if it’s my only lifeline.

He’d told me that he remembered smelling my scent in the Amortentia.

I remembered his, too.

The forbidden nature of a relationship with Draco Malfoy had always been alluring. He was something I could look at but not touch. And now that I’d had a taste, I didn’t know if I could give that all up. But I knew I could if he was just using me. If I were a pawn in his game, it’d be easy to walk away from him forever. My feelings could remain one-sided and pathetic, and only I would know. My embarrassment could be salvaged.

My stomach growled, and I gave in, tucking my list of ten ridiculous questions under my notebook. I jogged down the stairs and looked out of the bay window. Ron had been absent the last few days, and I wondered if he’d finally grown bored of stalking me or if Harry had intervened. Harry and I had plans to have lunch next week. He promised to divulge all the Ginny drama then, and I was looking forward to it. It was nice to see and interact with Harry outside of Ron. It reassured me that maybe I could still maintain our friendship despite the hell with Ron.

I grabbed a bottle of red wine that would pair nicely with the leftover pasta Draco had made. I refused to admit how much I loved his cooking, but I knew I was spoiled. He was bloody brilliant. I was nearly to the countertop with the bottle of wine when I heard a creak.

And it wasn’t from my foot.

The kitchen exploded into chaos.

I turned just in time to see a man swing a huge hunting knife in my direction. I barely had enough time to flinch as he drove the blade straight into the exposed area above my heart. Searing heat nearly blinded me as I screamed. It was embedded to the hilt. I swung the wine in my right hand like a bat, connecting with the fleshy part of the intruder’s cheek.

We both fell to the ground with a grunt. The wine bottle clattered to the ground out of reach. I cursed as I brought my hand to the knife that was still in my shoulder. It had a massive handle that protruded from the wound. I cried out as I attempted to swallow down the extreme pain.

I scooted away from the man who was doubled over in front of me. I could see blood pouring from his cheek that I’d split open.

Who the fuck was this? And how did he get past Draco’s wards?

I was almost certain it was the man I’d seen weeks ago running toward the house, but I couldn’t say for sure. I was too delirious with the agony of my injury. But I had to get away from him. I had to run. I slipped trying to get to my feet. I tried to cast a stunning spell behind me as I stumbled toward the living room. My magic was weak. I was bleeding profusely now as I staggered away from him.

“Fucking bitch!”

My pulse rocketed. He was going to kill me.

I still hadn’t made it fully upright when I got to the stairs. I attempted to crawl up them as quickly as I could. I knew if I could get to my office, then I’d buy myself time behind my wards. But how had he managed to get into the house? I hadn’t even heard him. My ring didn’t notify me.

A hand wrapped around my ankle, and my body fell forward as he yanked me back. My head crashed against the steps, and the knife dug into my flesh as it hit the steps. I choked out another scream as he pulled me down several steps and flipped me over. His fists thundered over the top of me, and two connected with my cheek. I slumped down another few steps. He loomed over me, bloodied and screaming as if I had broken into his home and tried to kill him. Fucking lunatic.

I kicked out my leg and caught him in his kneecap. There was a sickening crack, and he screamed as he fell back against the banister.

“Fuck you!” I screamed through my tears.

I sent a pulse of magic out and tried to bind him as I turned to pull myself up the stairs again. I needed Draco. I needed help. I slid the ring off and on several times as I tried climbing as a way to signal him to get home.

Where the fuck was Draco?

And why wasn’t this bastard behind me using his magic?

I was almost at the top of the step when the asshole grabbed a fist full of my hair.

“No, no!” I fought against him as a broken sob escaped me.

He dragged us back down the stairs, clutching me to his chest. He was limping heavily and had one hand locked around my throat. I was so exhausted, I didn’t know how I could keep fighting him.

“Floo Pansy,” I screamed as he dragged me into the living room. “Floo Pansy!”

But his hand tightened around my throat, and my oxygen vanished. His other hand reached over me and yanked the giant knife from my chest. I tried to scream as blood pulsed from the hole. I pushed away his hand with my remaining magic. His hand shook as it hovered over me, ready to plunge that dagger back into my chest. This time, he wouldn’t miss my heart.

My vision began to go in and out of focus as he continued to squeeze my throat. I sobbed silently. I dug my right hand into his knuckles around my neck, but my left arm had gone completely numb and hung limply by my side.

This was bad. Very bad.

My knees shook, and I lost the ability to remain standing. I dropped to my knees, and he finally released me and kicked me onto my stomach. I coughed and wheezed from the floor as tears mixed with blood on the pristine carpet.

“You’re dead, cunt.”

I begged the universe for help. Anyone. Anything.

His hard boot kicked my rib and I rolled to my back. My breathing was wet, and my body shook. I was so cold, and each blink lasted longer than the previous. I was terrified the next time would be the moment my eyes didn’t open again.

But I forced them and squinted against the sun coming in through the window. The knife was poised over his head. He looked down at me with such hatred and disdain. This was it.

I refused to close my eyes, though. I was going to make this piece of shit watch me die. And I would haunt every last moment of his pathetically short-lived life. Because I knew Draco would come for him. And he would kill him as painfully as possible for this.

Suddenly, his eyes flared, and his body seized in pain. He opened his mouth in a silent scream, and the knife clattered to the floor. As he sank to his knees, I saw the person looming behind him. No wand. No words. Just unadulterated wrath.

“No one harms my family.”

Thick, black tendrils wrapped around him out of nowhere. They covered his arms, legs, and mouth, leaving him completely immobile and bound in the corner of the living room.

I wanted to speak, to thank her.

Her long, elegant fingers reached out and swept my curls from my eyes as she cupped my cheek.

“I’ve got you, darling.”

I couldn’t stop crying. The pain, the relief, the fear. It was too much.

Narcissa knelt next to me, and a wave of healing covered me.

It was the comforting warmth of a mother.

Chapter Text

“It’s cardiac tamponade, Tori,” Theo’s voice snapped. “Elevate her legs.”

I was so cold that I continued to shake as the blurred figures of Theo and Astoria leaned over me. Narcissa continued to send warming charms over my body, but my shivering continued. A loud crash sounded from the corner of the room where the intruder was bound. He’d knocked over one of the lamps while trying to kick his feet. There was another pop from the Floo, and Blaise burst into the area, swearing and firing off curses.

My lashes fluttered closed. I was so tired.

“Dammit, Hermione.” A sharp tapping on my cheek stirred me back to consciousness. “You don’t get to sleep. Eyes open.”

Theo’s voice was dark and commanding.

“Tori,” he said, and she seemed to read his mind because she was fishing a potion out of the small case she had with her.

Both of them had clearly been at work based on their clothing. Blaise, too. He was now struggling with the intruder in the corner and hefting him over his shoulder.

“Cellar’s open,” Theo called to Blaise as he walked by. “Narcissa, go with him and keep him alive.”

I reached out for her hand.

I tried to speak but couldn’t. She gingerly kissed my knuckles.

“Be strong, sweet girl.”

Theo pushed against my gaping wound, and I screamed. The pain was unbearable. Astoria was now on my right side, listening to my chest with a stethoscope.

“Definite pneumothorax,” Astoria said, sitting up and waving her wand over my chest.

Theo nodded. “Right one sounds good?”

She nodded as a deafening crash filled the space. It felt like the entire house shuddered under the force of the thunderous boom.

It was him.

Draco.

“Hermione.”

His voice broke as he dropped to his knees near my head. His blonde hair came into view as he pressed his lips against my forehead.

Pansy joined Astoria’s other side. She was wearing a smart set of trousers and a silk blouse. She looked like a formidable businesswoman.

“Where is he?” Draco’s voice was terrifying and low.

“Blaise took him to Theo’s,” Astoria said, pulling out a terrifying needle.

Draco looked up at Pansy. “Go. But keep him alive.”

She delicately touched my foot before she was out of eyesight. The Floo popped in her absence.

“This will hurt,” Astoria warned me, but nothing could have prepared me for the true intensity of the pain.

I pulled against it, but Theo held me still. Tears tracked down my cheeks.

“Can’t you knock her out?” Draco growled.

I shook my head, pleading with Theo. I didn’t want to be unconscious. I was too afraid I wouldn’t wake up again.

“We can’t risk too many pain tonics without knowing the extent of her injuries. I need her awake.”

“Let me in,” Draco brushed a thumb across my cheek. “Let me help you handle the pain.”

There was no way I was even pretending I could occlude right now, but I nodded.

“What the fuck happened to you two?” Theo snapped at Draco.

Draco swore. “Someone fucked with my bloodline magic,” he said. “Disabled it, maybe? Pansy and I couldn’t apparate with my ring. I wasn’t even notified when the wards were triggered. We had to come through the Floo.”

“What?” Theo’s head snapped up while Astoria gasped.

“How is that possible?” she asked, draining liquid from my collapsed lung.

“It shouldn’t have been. We reinforced them last week,” Theo said. “Tori, we’ve gotta move fast. I think she’s got a hemothorax.”

His hand hovered above my chest.

“What is that?” Draco asked as I tried to breathe through the pain in my chest.

“Blood is pooling up in the space between her lung and chest wall. I think he nicked the artery.”

“That’s why there’s so much blood,” Draco whispered.

Between the pain of what Astoria was doing and the gaping hole in my chest, Theo was rummaging around in, I was fading quickly.

“Keep her awake,” Theo barked.

His fingers tightened like he was trying to mend the wound, but the pain was still too much.

I felt Draco enter my mind. It felt like he was suddenly there, arms around me, supporting me.

But I was so heavy.

“She’s going into shock,” Theo said as my body began to shake.

I felt like I was drifting under the water. It was so cold and heavy, and it was drawing me down.

“Ask me,” Draco’s urgent voice gripped my focus. “Ask me anything, and I’ll tell you. Stay with me. Stay here with me, Hermione. Please.”

I smiled as I thought of my list. I could get all my questions answered.

“Yes, everything. I’ll tell you everything.”

The feeling warmed me slightly. He would trust me finally.

“I’ve always trusted you,” he whispered, kissing my forehead. “I just wanted to protect you.”

If I had the energy to scoff, I would have.

“Please,” he begged.

Draco never begged.

Well, with me, he has a few times. It made me feel nice, like I mattered. He kissed me again.

“Don’t you dare leave me. Or I’ll drag you back from the afterlife myself.”

“Tori, now!” I heard Theo roar.

I don’t know who was screaming, or where the loud whistle was coming from, but my entire body spasmed with energy. I had gone from freezing to suddenly burning up. I was on fire.

“Almost there,” Astoria’s calm and steady voice broke through the chaos around me.

“You’re safe, Hermione,” Draco said. “Stay with me. Stay with me.”

I gasped as though it was the first time I’d breathed air in hours. I took deep, heaving gulps of it.

“Easy,” Draco’s hand smoothed over my cheek.

I felt him heal the swollen bruise where the intruder had punched me. Astoria and Theo worked in tandem to flood me with healing magic. I felt my body stitching itself back together.

“I’m almost out of Dittany,” Astoria said with a vial poised above my chest.

“I’ve got more,” Draco said, summoning some.

“We’ll finish here. Go reset the wards. She needs rest, and I’d rather not deal with getting her into Nott Manor tonight.”

Draco hesitated, but finally relented. He brushed another kiss across my head, and I wished he would quit doing that in front of Astoria. She didn’t need the reminder. Draco studied me for several beats without speaking until Theo finally broke the spell.

“Head scans look okay. We’ve stopped the bleeding and repaired the arterial damage. She needs rest.”

The two of them shared some unspoken words with their eyes.

“Tori, take her up, will you?” Theo asked.

“Don’t leave,” I croaked to Draco before Astoria could lift me with her magic.

I felt pathetic, but the thought of being alone right now terrified me.

“I won’t,” he said. “I’ll be right behind you.”

I pleaded with him in my mind to keep that promise.

Astoria lifted me after receiving a nod from Theo. She hovered me up the stairs and into the bed. She helped me swallow two potions, and before she could pull away, I grabbed her wrist.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

Her brows furrowed, and she placed her hand over mine.

“There’s none needed. Rest. Draco promised you answers. We’ll meet once you’re awake.”

Gods, the answers. My pulse quickened, and if I wasn’t fighting to keep my eyelids open, I’d be charging down those stairs. But I was losing the fight.

I took a long blink, and when I opened my eyes, I caught Astoria leaving, passing Draco in the doorway. She hesitated, but he wrapped her in a strong embrace. She sighed against him, and my chest tightened.

She was wrong. I had so much to apologize for.

Astoria said something to him, but I couldn’t hear her. They stopped hugging, and Draco was looking at her with a serious expression. She was still whispering when she tried to brush past him into the hall, but he reached out and gripped her elbow.

“Thank you,” he said to her.

“Watch her tonight. Call us if something changes.”

And then she was gone.

Draco magicked away my clothes, trading them for one of his Quidditch kits. I sighed against the smell and felt myself relax even more when he climbed into bed next to me. I rolled over, wincing at the stiffness in my body, but relished in the feeling of his warmth against me.

“I’ll stay right here,” he said, kissing the top of my head.

I was completely selfish for wanting this, for not focusing on Astoria, or the Squibs, or any of the other horrific shit happening around me. It was Draco Malfoy who captivated and enthralled me. Draco Malfoy, who made my heart race and desire burn. And I wanted all of him. Forever.

He traced small circles over my arms and back while I curled against him. My body was languid and painless from whatever Astoria had given me. And I let the strength of that numbing potion wash over me, and I drifted to sleep with him keeping watch over my mind and body.

Chapter Text

The six of us sat together in the living room, weighed down by an uncomfortable heaviness. I’d been promised unlimited answers in the chaos last night, but things felt different in the light of a new day. Draco crossed his long legs and stared at me with his mouth resting against his hand.

Theo and Astoria made a big fuss of checking me over earlier, but I woke up with barely a scratch remaining. I was sore and stiff, and they said I would be for a few days. But it was a miracle I was doing so well for having a knife lodged in my chest just days ago.

“Well?” I finally broke the silence of all of us, just staring at the floor in front of us. “Who was he?”

The group’s eyes tracked to Pansy, and I followed in confusion. She knew him?

She kept her eyes on me, though they were softer than I anticipated.

“Robert Timmins.”

If that name was supposed to hold any significance to me, I was lost. My eyes were wide as I shifted my gaze to the rest of those sitting around me. Draco continued to stare at the ground. But Blaise met my eyes.

“Marcus Flint’s stepbrother.”

I puffed out a breath of air, filled with even more confusion. “Wait, what? Why?”

The group remained silent, but this time, their eyes shifted to Draco. I looked over at Draco and then glared at the rest of them.

“He said he’d tell me everything,” I defended, looking to Astoria and Theo. “You heard him. He promised.”

Astoria’s features softened as she offered me a sympathetic gaze. Theo’s remained hard.

“You’re protected right now,” Theo said. “Nothing could implicate or harm you. You could still walk away. The rest of us are in too deep.”

I glared at Theo. “I want to be in. I can help.”

Astoria was staring at Draco. And I turned my glare toward him next.

“You said.”

I pleaded with him with my eyes. But I could barely read the look he was giving me.

“So what do I need to do to prove that I can be trusted?” I snapped. “I figured taking a knife to the heart would have been a bloody good start, but apparently not. So what is it? You want me to stop trying to find a way out of the marriage? Fine. I will. There. But I drank Veritaserum in front of the fucking Ministry of Magic’s Auror team, and I didn’t implicate anyone there. So I think I’ve got a pretty decent bloody handle on this shit.”

I didn’t know if Pansy’s smirk was a conspiratorial one or a condescending one, but I was hoping for the first.

“This has nothing to do with trust.”

Draco finally spoke, and my head whipped back in his direction.

“We’re trying to protect you.”

“I am so fucking sick of hearing that I could hex you.”

“Well, get used to it,” he snapped back. “It’s the bloody truth.”

“You protect Pansy,” I said. “And Blaise, and Theo, and Astoria. Do you lie and hide things from them?”

Astoria was the one to offer a hollow laugh. “All of us do.”

Astoria’s expression was ruefully bitter, and my heart pulled for her, and my anger dulled slightly.

“I’m sorry.” My voice was barely louder than a whisper.

It was Pansy’s turn to scoff. “Maybe you do, but I don’t have a problem with brutal honesty.”

Everyone rolled their eyes at her comment.

“You’re the worst one of all,” Astoria bit back.

My eyes widened. I’d never seen Astoria so combative.

“Me?” Pansy leaned forward with a wicked look I remembered from my youth. “Astoria, don’t be bloody ridiculous.”

“I agree with her.”

My head snapped toward Blaise, who sat across the room from Pansy. He had a smug look on his face that made Pansy’s face redden with fury.

“Don’t.”

Her voice was barely louder than a whisper as she glowered at Blaise. But he just smiled in response.

“I am so bloody sick of all of this,” Astoria said and rounded on Draco. “If you care for her, then the best thing you could do is to stop lying to her. We need her help. Just ask her!”

“Tori,” Theo’s voice warned.

“No! This is madness! She’s not going to break your heart, you giant ice sculpture.”

My brows shot up as Astoria shot up from her spot and paced behind the chair.

“It’s just so bloody stupid! If two people love each other, then they should be together. Be happy!” She rounded on Draco and me, pointing at us with barely-composed emotions. “You love each other so just stop fucking pretending otherwise! It’s bollocks!”

Fucking hell, my stomach bottomed out, and I could barely breathe at her rant. I was horrified. I thought she had no idea of my feelings. I thought I’d remained so poised and in control around her…

“I’m so sorry,” was the only thing I could think to say to her.

“Why do you keep bloody apologizing?” She fumed.

I flinched, but I wasn’t about to publicly out her. Fuck’s sake!

“Little tip, Grangey?” My head swung toward Pansy. “Draco didn’t kill Astoria’s father.”

My mouth fell open as I looked from her to Draco. But he was looking at Astoria. I followed his gaze and saw her firing daggers in Pansy’s direction.

“You didn’t?”

Draco took his glare off Astoria, and it softened when he met my eyes. “No. I was betrothed to Daphne. The bloodline magic would never have let me do it.”

“I killed him.”

Theo met my gaze without a stitch of remorse.

Salazar’s sagging bollocks.

I looked at Astoria, and suddenly it all made sense. Becoming a healer. Working with Theo every day. Taking extra shifts. The nickname. The closeness between them.

Holy gods.

“Oh, enough,” Pansy waved off Astoria’s glare. “So you can profess their love to the group, but don’t have the stomach to do it yourself?”

I tightened at the force of Pansy’s threat.

“Everyone knows—” Astoria started.

“Yes, Astoria,” Pansy interrupted. “We all bloody know! He’s just being a bloody martyr about it all!”

All of our eyes shifted to Theo.

He maintained a composed and cool look that reminded me of Draco’s. Was it in some kind of Slytherin handbook? Where had they learned that?

“My tastes—”

Pansy waved him off, too. “She’s a bloody sub, Theo. She goes to the club all the time and talks to the girls about it. She’s learned from them. Grow up and fuck her already.”

Astoria’s gasp made the room quiet. A muscle in Theo’s jaw ticked as we watched Astoria storm from the room.

Finally, Theo spoke in a calm, direct tone.    

“I’ll grow up and fuck her when you grow up and admit that you love Blaise.”

“Fuck you,” she said.

“Apparently, Tori can do that,” he said. “We know you’ve been fucking Blaise for years. But it’s about damn time you accept the truth for what it is. None of us are like those cunts who raised you. We’re not going to sell you out, betray you, or hurt you. And there isn’t another man on this gods-damned planet who could love you more perfectly than him. So swallow your own stubborn shit, and fucking accept it. Being a frigid bitch about it isn’t benefiting anyone.”

With that, he stood and went off in the direction of Astoria. I knew my jaw was hanging open, but I spun to see Blaise leaning over, elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped, smiling at Pansy. He even shot her a wink.

“Love you,” he said as if he’d said it a thousand times before.

Tears welled in her eyes. She looked furious that her body would have the audacity to cry at a time like this.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said softer this time.

I suddenly felt rude for intruding on this heinously private moment. Blaise was so steady, so confident. And Pansy was the most vulnerable she’d ever looked to me.

But Pansy couldn’t stomach the tension. She pushed herself out of the chair and stalked off, Blaise hot on her heels, shooting us a casual head nod and smile before disappearing from the room altogether.

I don’t know how long Draco and I sat in silence as I absorbed the shock of the blowup that had just happened. I had no idea the weight all of them were holding. I had no idea that Pansy and Blaise were an item. I mean… I’d always just thought that the comfort and familiarity they had with one another was a natural result of friendship. But there was more there. And I’d missed it completely.

“I suppose it’s our turn?”

I turned to see Draco taking a folded piece of paper from his pocket.

My eyes widened.

My list.

Oh, fucking shit.

“Number one, is there any way to legally end our marriage that doesn’t involve death or dismemberment?”

I held my breath.

“Yes. There are two ways. But you should know that if you truly want to know what’s happening around us and be privy to all the insight of our group, then I’d never be able to allow a divorce to happen. You should also know that I’d fight you every step of the way because I don’t want a divorce to happen.”

There were loopholes. A way out. But it would cost me my knowledge.

I didn’t hesitate with my answer.

“Tell me everything.”

He took a controlled breath before looking back down at the list.

“What was the real reason you chose to marry me?” He looked up. “To protect—”

“No.”

“That’s the real reason.”

“No.”

He leaned forward, scrutinizing me with a look that made me want to shake him.

“Everything,” I said. “All of it.”

He sighed and leaned back.

“Millie was sleeping with Weasley and Flint at the same time. Weasley told her about the true nature of your research months ago. She went right to Flint, thinking it would get her a marriage proposal. She told him everything you were doing.”

My blood ran cold.

“I was at one of the meetings, and I read his thoughts. He was going to kill you. And I couldn’t let that happen. Which, I suppose, leads us to the next question.”

He looked down at the paper.

“How involved are you with Pansy’s Squibs?”

He looked up at me.

“Very. Pansy and I have been working for years to bring women out of the prostitution rings they’re forced into and give them some autonomy and power. Hearing about your fix? It could change the lives of Squibs around the world. We want that cure.”

Fuck, I knew he wasn’t selling them. I just hadn’t realized he knew the true aspects of my research. Vulnerability tugged at me.

“Four, what role are you playing in this new secret organization of power-purist-cult-people? Alicia Spinnet and I work together.”

My brows furrowed.

“She started an organization that works with other countries, promoting democracy and diplomatic efforts to prevent future authoritarian groups from rising, with the aim of preventing such groups from attempting to wipe out half the population. Again. Neither of us wants another Voldemort. I’m a silent partner. To Flint and those like him, I trade Squibs for money. But I rescue them and work to prevent more madmen from rising to power. We help other Ministries see the signs and what to look for. We’ve prevented two other major uprisings. One in the United States, and one in Brazil.”

“So you’re not really a partner in the power over blood—”

“No. But my favorite way to watch something implode is from the inside.”

“And Flint’s brother?”

“Will die slowly,” he said. “And so will Marcus. His distrust is growing. He thinks I’m going to use your research to find a way to take power away from the powerful, too. He’s worried I’ll become the new face of his blood over power group. He sent him after you. He understood bloodline magic because of his own and found a way to disable the apparition around our home. His brother was going to be a curse breaker, but he was caught doing dark magic and put on probation. He was going to kill you with a knife so that it wouldn’t leave a magical trace.”

“Your mother got to me, though.”

“The rings are connected for the three of us. She was able to use the Floo when she couldn’t apparate. She called Theo, and he called Blaise. Pansy and I were in Kuwait, but it took so long to get here because I have so many bloody wards set up around the Floo.”

“But how could he influence your bloodline magic?” I asked.

As soon as the question left me, I knew.

“Lucius,” we both said.

“My father is all too willing to help erase you from our pureblooded tree. But, with the bloodline magic in place, he can’t kill you because you could be pregnant with the next heir, which leads to the next question. What is the plan for getting rid of Lucius?”

His eyes darkened as if a storm were raging inside of him.

“He will die as slowly and painfully as the others.”

I swallowed. I knew he couldn’t be the one to do it because of the magic in place. But Theo or Blaise would be the ones. And realizing now that Theo had been the one to kill Astoria’s father with his bare hands made me realize how dark and truly capable he would be.

“Six. Do you ever plan on telling me everything?”

He gave me an arched brow in response. “Satisfied so far?”

I narrowed my eyes at him, but then paled, realizing where the direction of the next few questions was going.

“Speaking of satisfaction…”

I reached for the paper, but he held it back.

“Have you been satisfied with our sex life so far?”

I wanted to die. Shame and embarrassment crept up my cheeks and settled over me. I was fucking ridiculous.

“Fucking you has been the single most gratifying experience in my lifetime so far. Nothing compares. It is one of the contributing factors to my inability to let you divorce me. Now that I’ve had it, I can’t live without it. And we’ve barely scratched the bloody surface of all the things I want to do to your body.”

Holy buggering shit.

Had he really said all that?

Is this some kind of potion-induced dream? Am I hallucinating?

“We’ve not had sex in weeks, and I’m nearly out of my mind with desire. I think about fucking you constantly. It’s made me insane.”

Gods, I felt the same way.

“So, is this agreement truly just sex and money and a way for you to absolve your guilt?” He looked up to glare at me. “No. It’s not. I thought that’s how I could frame it in my mind when we started. But it’s not. I’ve developed an unhealthy obsession with you. I have always wanted to fuck you. Prim, proper, arrogant, infuriating Hermione Granger. But claiming you? Making you mine? Turning all of that power and fire into our wants and needs? It’s mind-blowing. And I’ll never be able to let you go. You’ve become so much more.”

He stared at me for a long moment like he was reliving a memory.

“It terrifies me.”

His small confession there may have surprised me more than anything. I didn’t think anything scared Draco Malfoy.

He turned back to the paper and rolled his eyes. “Are you aware that Astoria is in love with you, and I’m ruining her life?”

He gave me a deadpan look.

“Why didn’t you just bloody ask me if I killed Astoria’s father?”

“I—” My mouth clamped shut. I didn’t know. But at the time, it all seemed very clear that he was the one she was mad about.

“Astoria is convinced I’m going to get Theo killed because of my involvement in these organizations and coups. She resents me for it.”

“Because she loves him,” I whispered more out of disbelief than anything.

“Because she loves him.”

I looked up. “How long have you known?”

He shrugged. “Forever?”

“How?”

He tapped his head.

“You read your friends’ thoughts?”

He smiled. “If they didn’t want me to see, they should practice their Occlumency more. Blaise is the best. But he doesn’t care, so he lets me see them all anyway. He’s an open book, as you saw earlier.”

I reeled over the information I’d been given. Blaise and Pansy? Astoria and Theo? I shook my head.

“So, our final question. Have you just sucked me into this whole agreement because you’re trying to stop the real research I’m doing?”

I shook my head, knowing the answer.

“No. I’m trying to make you finish it. I want the Squibs to be free to practice magic, just as their magical family members have always been able to. However, because you trusted the wrong people, others have discovered your secrets. You have seven individuals right now who are actively seeking to kill you. And those are only the seven I know about in our immediate area.”

I deflated.

“The protection measures.”

Draco scoffed. “Taking you back into the Ministry alone was like dangling you in front of hungry sharks. I’m out of my mind trying to protect you, stop Flint, save Squibs, and now keep my father off my shit.”

“Then let me help you,” I said.

He shot me a look. “You didn’t speak to me for days after the last time we went to Flint’s.”

“Because you weren’t being completely honest with me! It’s different now. I can—”

“I can’t take you back there knowing what he and his brother and my father all planned.”

“You can,” I said. “Flint doesn’t know you have his brother, does he?”

Draco studied me for a moment before shaking his head.

“Then we play it like nothing ever happened. Cast an untraceable charm on his brother, and we act like nothing happened.”

Draco narrowed his eyes, but it looked like he was considering it.

“Technically, none of us even knew he had a stepbrother. The only reason we know was because Pansy recognized him from an old photo in Flint’s office.”

I moved closer to Draco, our knees almost touching. “Let me help. You don’t have to do this alone.”

He studied my face for several moments before he launched to his feet. He pulled me up into his arms, and our lips crashed together in a mix of fury and lust. It’d been so long, and there had been so much unnecessary shit between us. But I needed this. We needed this. We passed the bay window and he ascended the stairs, never breaking contact. He dominated my mouth and tongue, and I was lost in the flurry of passion.

He dropped me on the bed and hovered over my body, both of us breathing rapidly.

“I’m never letting you go,” he growled as he kissed along my neck.

“Good,” I panted. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”

Chapter Text

Draco’s hand gripped the back of my neck as he thrust into me. He held me there, letting me absorb the full impact of his extreme size. Our eyes bored into each other’s, and it was a wholly different experience this time. I sat on top of him, and my hips didn’t move until he started it. We were breathing hard, nearly spent after what felt like an hour of foreplay. I’d already come twice thanks to his tongue and expert hands.

“Move, darling,” he said.

His tone was demanding and soft. It was no longer the frenzied rush to completion we’d initially engaged in. We were savoring one another, mapping and memorizing.

I circled my hips and drove him deeper. He groaned and fell back against the bed. His hands gripped my hips as I continued to ride him.

“Just like that, Hermione.”

He had a way of making me feel like the most powerful creature in the room. My confidence flared to life with him, and I could step outside of my mind for a brief time and experience even a fraction of what he must feel like all the time. Draco’s always so calculated and in control. He never acts out of insecurity or timidity. He’s powerful all the time, and he made me feel powerful too.

He hissed with pleasure as I ground my hips deeper against him, and I nearly saw white spots in my vision. I was so full, so stretched.

“You’re bloody killing me,” he panted.

And it felt good to be his undoing. It gave him a taste of what my chaotic mind constantly went through around him. But I felt lighter now than I had in months—maybe even years. He’d told me everything. And even the things not mentioned in my list had been answered. And I’d venture to say that if I asked more things, he’d answer those too. We’d had a breakthrough. And I felt so free.

I thrust my hips forward, and it was my turn to hiss in pleasure. Fuck, he was so deep from this angle, and that thrust put just the right amount of pressure everywhere. I repeated the move, over and over. His fingers dug into my hips as he cursed and panted below me.

“I’m not going to fucking last,” he ground out.

“Me neither,” I breathed. “You feel so good.”

“That’s it, wife,” his dark tone sent shivers down my spine. “Fuck your husband. Ride his cock and make yourself come.”

His hands left my hips and tugged at my nipples. My head fell back, and I stared at the ceiling as I dug my hips in.

I was so close to coming again. How did he do this? How could he unwind me so completely?

I whimpered as a tremor started to build in my core. I was so close. I pulsed my hips, driving them hard and faster into him. When I looked back at Draco, his eyes were open, and those steel rings were focused on me with a hunger that made me want to whimper.

“Take it, wife,” he growled. “It’s yours. I’m all yours.”

Fucking damn him.

I exploded in pleasure, not even trying to dull my hoarse cry.

“Fuck yes,” he joined me, hands back on my hips as his met my pace with a fury of his own.

 I think Draco’s hands on my hips were the only way I managed to remain upright. He practically roared my name as he continued to come. As he sat up, he wrapped me in his strong embrace, and I collapsed against his chest.

“Such a good girl,” he whispered, kissing my cheeks. “So bloody sexy.”

I snorted into his shoulder, but he squeezed me tighter. “Don’t make me spank you.”

“I’m sure Astoria’s getting plenty of that right now.”

I clapped my hand over my mouth the instant I said it.

Draco’s head rolled back, and a booming round of laughter broke free. I loved his laugh. I nestled in closer against him, and he picked us up and carried us to the bath. And as I rested against his chest in the warm water, I couldn’t imagine doing anything different with the rest of my life.

BONUS 1

Astoria

I was so mad. And I was never mad. I always had perfect composure and control. I’d been raised that way. I was always polite and demure. But tonight? Oh, tonight felt good. I was furious with everyone for talking about Theo and me as if we weren’t sitting right there, but it felt good to get everything else out in the open. I rolled my eyes as I thought about Hermione. Me? Love Draco? I rolled my eyes again. Of all the ridiculous notions. He was a barely tolerable brother at most.

“How many, Tori?”

I yelped as I whirled toward my door. I hadn’t even heard the Floo pop. But there was Theodore Nott, standing like an absolute god in my doorway, looking as if he wanted to scorch the entire earth.

My chest ached.

He was so beautiful—his jet-black curls and soft, blue eyes. It felt overwhelming to carry around this much love for someone and have no rest. I’d love nothing more than to settle into this love. Unpack it, view how it looks on me, and around my home. I’d like to explore the different facets of it each day and discover new ways it will display itself as we grow together. I want it with him. I want to view him in a thousand different ways, each one as exciting and new as the last.

But most of all, I want him to love me back.

A wish that I never think of. When I did think of it, I reminded myself how badly the rejection would hurt. How devastating it will feel when he rips my entire sense of hope out from under me.

Again.

“How many, Astoria?”

My eyes snapped to his. He never called me Astoria. But then I saw it. Behind the familiar blue halos surrounding his pupils, his brows were narrowed, and his jaw was fraught with tension.

He was angry.

At me?

I blinked. “How many what?”

He stepped into my room, and I held my breath. He’d never been in here before.

“How many men have you subbed for?”

I paled. Damn Pansy and her mouth.

“N…none.”

He narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing me.

“Just four.”

His nostrils flared, and he scrubbed his hand over his face.

“But they were all women! From the club!”

He paused as if he didn’t know whether or not he should believe me. And I was so nervous, I just kept rambling even though my brain was screaming at me to shut my fat mouth.

“I just wanted to learn. I wanted to know what I liked and what I didn’t. And I couldn’t do it with the men I tried dating. It felt too…real. Scary. But the women at the club—”

He was right in front of me now, so I stopped talking. I could feel his breath against my lips, and I wanted to bottle it up.

“Men you dated?”

My anger pushed its way back to the front, and I scowled at him.

“Yes! Men I dated. Men I went on dates with.”

He was going to crack one of his perfectly white teeth if he kept clenching like that.

“I don’t want another man to touch you.”

I rolled my eyes.

That was either a huge mistake or the most brilliant plan I’d ever had. Suddenly, I was thrust against my bedroom wall. His thick hand was wrapped around my neck, and his body was pressed against mine. I could cry from the sheer delightfulness of the pressure and scent.

“I think your attitude has gotten you into enough trouble tonight. Wouldn’t you say?”

“My attitude!”

“Talking back. Airing everyone’s secrets. Rolling your eyes. Dating other men. Keep it up, Tori.”

I gave him an indignant shove, which did absolutely nothing.

“You don’t want me,” I gritted as I tried to push him away more times. “Why do you care?”

“Who said I don’t want you?”

I gave him a bewildered look. If he wanted me, he’d have me.

His gaze lowered to my lips, and I felt my stomach drop. He brought his free hand up to my lips and traced them. I stood, motionless and barely breathing. Then, he parted my lips, and without a second of hesitation, he thrust his large thumb between them.

I opened for him and closed around his finger. His taste permeated every inch of him. And I closed my eyes and sucked him deeply. I let my teeth scrape against the pad of his thumb, and I swirled my tongue against him. When I opened my eyes, I could see the blue flames burning in his eyes.

“I don’t think of anything else except your sweet cunt, Tori.”

I wanted to whimper.

“I want to tear you apart and put you back together. I want to devour you, claim you, and completely possess you.”

His lips were right outside my ear now as he continued pressing his thumb into me.

“I want to fuck every hole you have.”

Then I did whimper.

“But I can’t break you, Tori.”

He pulled his finger away, and his grip loosened around my neck. His head hung in a defeated droop.

“I’d hate myself.”

His voice was a hollow whisper as he stepped away, and I felt like he pulled half of my soul with him. More rejection. More pain. I was so frustrated with him that I could scream.

“Don’t do that,” I said, pushing into his chest. “Don’t assume you know anything about what I can and can’t handle.”

“I know myself!”

“I know you, too! And you would never do anything to hurt me. You’d never do anything I didn’t like. You’ve always been the one to push me, challenge me, and encourage me. So why can’t you do that with this?”

He refused to meet my eyes.

“Is it Daphne? Did you love her?”

He recoiled. “No!”

“Then why? Why can’t you give in? I want this!”

“Because I killed your father!”

I blinked several times, not understanding. I know he killed him. Did he think I was upset about it? He thrust his hands through his curly hair and stalked toward the chair at my desk. He sat down, head in his hands, and shook it.

“I don’t know how you could stomach the sight of me most days. You know the kind of monster I am.”

My chest seized. How could he ever think that I would feel that way?

I knelt between his legs and placed my hands over his, prying them off his face.

“You saved my life,” I whispered. “So I’ve looked at you the same way I did that night and every day since. With love. With gratitude.”

He studied my face. “I can’t hurt you, Tori.”

“You are hurting me. Every day. You push me away. You deny me. You reject me. It hurts, Theo.”

He seemed to visibly wince at that. He cupped my face in his hands and rubbed circles with his thumbs.

But I pushed his hands away and leaned back. I was emboldened. I’d said it all earlier, so I supposed I should round things out and finish them with him. Tonight, I needed closure one way or another.

“If you can’t be this for me, then I’ll have to find another.”

“Find another what?” His voice was back to that carefully constructed composure.

“Another dom. And it won’t be one of Pansy’s women.”

He was on his feet in a second.

“You don’t want a dom,” he snapped. “Why are you saying that?”

“I do,” I said. “And if it can’t be you, then I’ll use one of Pansy’s contracts. She says she has a few she’d trust to—”

“You’ll enter one of those contracts over my dead fucking corpse, Astoria.”

I got to my feet. “I will enter into a contract if it means getting what I need.”

“And what if that asshole tricks you into a marriage contract like fucking Draco did Hermione?”

I shrugged. Mostly because I knew it would never happen, and mostly because I didn’t care if it did.

“Then at least I’d be with someone who actually wants me.”

And I watched as Theodore Nott completely snapped. His wandless magic thrust me against the wall, my feet dangling as he brought me up to eye level. His eyes could have been shooting fire with as vengeful as he looked.

I loved it.

I loved him.

His lips connected with mine, and I nearly cried with relief and euphoria. My arms were stuck to the wall as he claimed me.

“You’re out of your gods damned mind,” he growled against me.

And maybe I was. But it felt so good to finally feel him against me. To taste him. To smell him.

“No contract,” he said between soul-changing licks and tastes. “Say it. Tell me.”

“Are you mine?”

He swore.

“You’re not going to be in a contract with some other man.”

“Fine. But only if you’re my dom.”

He pulled away and paced my bedroom, cursing and dragging his hands over his face the entire time. I was still stuck against the wall, panting and pining over the loss of his taste.

“You’re such a fucking brat, do you know that?”

“So do something about it.”

I surprised us both with that line.

“I know you need this,” I said. “But I need it too. And I don’t like being denied.”

He kept his back to me, so I kept going. This was my one chance.

“I want someone to fuck me. I like giving up that control. I don’t have to think. I don’t have to worry. I can trust that someone is going to bring me to an orgasm. And I want that. I want someone else to have the control.”

He turned and glared at me. I lifted my chin. I was settled with this choice. If I couldn’t have him, I had to find a way to move on. The only thing I could imagine working would be a contract. It would force me to interact with someone. And Pansy was protective enough to oversee the whole thing.

“No contracts.”

“I’m not changing my mind.”

“Tori…”

“You either want me, or you don’t.”

Curses tore through him as he launched himself at me. Our lips connected once again, and I reveled in the feeling. He pulled away too soon, and in a blink, my clothes vanished. I could have wept from the anticipation, excitement, and trepidation I felt. Finally. Finally!

His lips brushed against my ear and neck as he leaned close.

“Are you sure you’re ready to be my sub, Tori?”

“Yes, sir.”

His finger traced over my collarbone and circled my nipple.

“I always thought you were such a good girl.”

I whimpered as his fingers tugged at my sensitive skin.

“Are you my little brat, Tori?”

“Yes, sir.”

He gave both nipples a tight tug, and if my head could have rolled back, it would have. It felt so good to have his hands on me. But then he released me. I stumbled away from the wall, and he braced me. Once he was sure I wasn’t going to fall, he stepped back and his clothes vanished. My eyes went straight to his erect, heavy cock, bobbing between his legs. My mouth nearly watered at the sight. He was going to rip me in half with that.

“Show me what a good brat you are.”

I didn’t need another second. I was on my knees, hair back, and mouth over his length in a second. His grumbling roar felt like a symphony in my ears. He liked it. I was doing well. He fisted my hair, and I wrapped both hands around him to help my mouth cover the expanse.

I took him as deep as I could, my eyes watering and my throat screaming in protest. But I wasn’t going to stop. I finally had him, and I was going to show him how good we could be. How perfect all of this could be.

“That’s it, Tori,” he said, watching me the entire time. “Such a good little brat. Make it rough. Make it messy.”

He pulled back my ponytail, forcing my head back to meet his.

“Open.”

I opened my mouth, and he spat directly into it.

“Spit on it,” he said, forcing my head back to his cock.

I obliged, feeling the tendrils of sexual power race over my skin. His forearms tightened, and he flexed. I could see his control wavering, and I loved it. I was the one undoing him. I was the one bringing him pleasure.

I let my teeth delicately scrape the top of him, and he physically shuddered above me.

“Fuck, Tori, yes,” he gritted.

I had set a rhythm and a pace, and kept my eyes on his. He couldn’t look away, and neither could I. But after a few minutes, he pulled my head away and gasped.

“I’m not coming down your throat the first time, you greedy brat. I’m filling your cunt.”

He picked me up and carried me to my desk, where he shoved everything in our way onto the floor. My back hit the cool wood, and I hissed. He didn’t miss a beat, though. He stepped between my legs and pulled my knees apart, admiring the view.

“Is your pretty cunt went from sucking me, Tori?”

“Yes, Theo,” I panted.

Gods, how many times had I imagined him doing just this? How many times had I prayed for it to happen? And here I was. So close.

“But this isn’t your pretty cunt anymore, is it?”

I furrowed my brow. He was taking his time to really appraise me, though. His eyes scanned me from my head to my toes. His hands traced around my breasts, my stomach, my inner thighs, and hovered just outside my entrance.

“This is my pretty cunt.” His fingers traced around me, leaving a featherlight touch in his wake. “All mine.”

He leaned down and dragged his nose from my belly button to my clit, leaving tiny nips and bites along the way. My entire body shook in anticipation. My nipples ached for contact as much as my clit did.

“Brats beg, Tori.”

“Please,” I whispered. “Please, Theo. Taste me. Touch me. Fuck me.”

I reached for his forearms, but they were immediately bound and placed above my head.

“Please fill me.” I looked down at his painfully hard and swollen cock. It needed relief just as much as I did.

He moved two fingers inside of me and motioned them forward in a beckoning motion. My entire body was a live wire of energy. Finally feeling him was euphoric.

“My little brat is so wet for me,” he growled as he leaned over to my neck.

He bit down hard as he continued moving his fingers, and I groaned with pleasure.

“She just wants to get fucked so bad,” he said, moving to bite my nipples next. I choked out another strangled sound of pleasure.

He stood upright and spread my legs even further apart as he looked down at my glistening core.

“I’ve been waiting for this, baby.”

And without a second to react or brace myself, his fingers slid up to my clit, and his cock rammed into me. I don’t know whose shout of pleasure was louder, mine or his. But we cried together as he set an unrelenting pace. He thrust my legs up and over his shoulders, driving himself even deeper, as he fucked me with hard and dominating strokes. I could scarcely breathe. This all felt so wonderful. And his two fingers were spinning circles around my clit that had my entire body twitching.

“Open your eyes,” he snapped as soon as they fluttered closed.

His bright blue eyes devoured me. Strong. Powerful. He was everything I’d ever wanted. All I needed.

“I get to watch you fall apart. Come for me, Tori.”

And I did. I came so hard that I felt an unfamiliar gush of moisture. Theo must have felt it too, because his eyes were wild with desire.

“Good girl, baby,” he picked up his speed and force as he drove into me. “Such a good fucking girl.”

He punctuated each point with a flex of his hips that had me almost dizzy from pleasure and the stinging pain of being stretched so well.

He moved my legs back down his body and let my knees fall open.

“Fuck!” he roared as he looked over our connected bodies.

And then he came with such force that it nearly brought him to him completely on top of me. His eyes never left mine, and I felt it. The connection of our souls stitching into place. The desperate longing. The way both of us wanted to sigh at finally being together. I knew right here, this thing between us? It would be forever.

His lips crashed over mine, reaffirming all the love and passion I felt for him. Gods, it felt so good.

“I’ve been waiting so long for that, baby.”

“Me too,” I whispered.

He slowly stood back up and looked at our panting, sweaty bodies.

“You want a taste?”

Had I not been bound, I would have sat up on my elbows. He was staring at my pussy where his cock was still embedded and twitching. My chest heated at the question, and I nodded.

He pulled out of me, and I whimpered at the loss. But he took his thumbs and spread me, seeing the evidence of our lust spill out of me. And rather than take his fingers and drag them through me, he leaned down and swiped his tongue through it.

I cried out when his tongue flicked over my sensitive clit. When he sat back up, his lips and chin were covered in glistening heat, and he leaned over me. I opened my mouth expectantly, and he descended. His tongue and lips crashed against me as I tasted his arousal and mine. It was the hottest bloody thing I’d ever experienced.

He reached around and pulled me up by my neck. My hands were released, and I threw them around his neck as he kissed me passionately once more.

“We’re not done, baby,” he said against my mouth.

And in a swift movement, he turned me over, forced my chest down against the rough wood of the desk, and kicked my legs apart. His already-hard erection forced its way into me, and I moaned at the return of the fullness from a different angle.

He pulled my arms behind my back, bound them, and spanked me hard three times while he fucked me. He dragged his thumb over my cheek and rubbed it in a small circle and placed a kiss in the center of my spine.

“You’ve got a long list of lessons to learn tonight, brat,” he said, spanking me again. “And we’re just getting started.

BONUS 2

Pansy

            I glared at the fire and let the tumbler of whisky roll around in my hands. I fucking hated everyone today. Smug Theo. Fuck him. Infuriating Astoria. Fuck her. And those bloody fools in love. Fuck Draco and Hermione. They made it look so fucking easy to be vulnerable and sensitive, and it made me livid with jealousy.

            Why did my own mind always assume the worst? Why did I always think people would hurt me and leave me? Why couldn’t I be more like Astoria? I swiped at an errant tear that traced down my cheek, making me all the angrier.

I didn’t bloody cry.

I’d learned early in life that tears get you hurt and punished more.

“You don’t even try to challenge me anymore,” Blaise sighed as he walked through the door of my office. “Have we lost the passion already?”

I wasn’t in the mood for his stupid, bloody teasing tonight.

“Fuck off, B.”

“Oh, kitten’s claws are out tonight.”

I leveled him with a seething glare. But it didn’t stop him. It never did. He walked right up to me, picked me up, and set me across his lap as if I weighed nothing. He leaned his cheek against me and opened his mouth. I ignored him and drained the rest of the liquid into my mouth. Fuck, it burned, but it felt good.

He grabbed both of my cheeks and brought me nose-to-nose with him. I tried to pull away, but we both know he’d get what he wanted. And he did. His lips covered mine in a soft, rhythmic way that made me melt with familiarity. This fucking bastard.

He slid his tongue inside my waiting mouth and tasted the whisky he wanted that way.

“You always know how I like my whisky,” he whispered against my lips.

I rolled my eyes and pulled away.

“Go away. I’m not in the mood.”

But he didn’t. He just wrapped both of his strong arms around my torso and pulled me against his chest. The big fucking brute was so damn sentimental and soft. It infuriated me, too. Things were just so easy for him. He was happy, optimistic, and positive. The world was a nice fucking place from his perspective. I hated it. I hated how easy he made it all look. I hated how opposite he was to me.

Another set of angry tears tracked down my cheek without my consent.

I jerked my head out of his line of sight.

He deserved fucking better. He deserved so much fucking better than my messed-up shit. He needed someone kind, like Astoria. Someone who wouldn’t bust his bollocks at every bloody turn.

I felt more tears coming, and I struggled to get out of his hold. I felt too hot, too overwhelmed.

“One’s enough,” his low tone came from behind me.

And damn him, if that didn’t make me want to have two or three more whiskys simply on principle.

I struggled more, but he reached up and grabbed my face with his huge hands. His brows furrowed as he swiped away some of my tears.

“What’s this?”

He held my face as I tried to wrench away from his hold.

“Talk to me.”

His soft tone tore daggers into my chest. Fuck this. No.

I pushed us apart with my wandless magic and watched as it shot him in the chair away from me. I crossed my arms and seethed.

“We’re done, Blaise. It’s over.”

And the big bastard had the audacity to laugh at me. I sent a stinging jinx at him that he waved away with another laugh. And then three more. I sent pulse after pulse of hexes and power at him, and he dismissed each one while he stalked toward me.

“We’re in this for the long haul, babes,” he said. “So you better wrap your pretty little head around the idea.”

“No, we aren’t,” I pushed.

He smiled and rolled his eyes. He was so easy-going. So casual.

I just wanted him to be happy.

And that thought sent more tears tracking down my cheeks.

“Fuck!” I growled, tearing at my face. What the fuck was wrong with me tonight?

“Babes,” he sighed.

He pulled me against his chest, and I pushed another stinging hex into his ribs. He grunted but didn’t let go.

“That’s it, let it out,” he whispered.

And it was like he had some kind of sick fucking control over my emotions, because I absolutely lost the plot on my composure.

I cried. Deep, sobbing, hiccupping cries.

I can’t remember the last time I cried.

I wasn’t good for Blaise. I couldn’t allow him to throw everything away. Not on someone like me. I’d hurt him. Disappoint him. Taint that golden sunlight that seemed to radiate from every pore of his being.

I couldn’t be the reason Blaise lost his spark.

I had to let him go. I couldn’t keep sleeping with him, staying with him, talking to him. I had to have a clean break. I had to give him a chance to find love.

“Look at me,” he said.

But I couldn’t. I kept my face buried in his shirt. I was embarrassed. No one ever saw me as undone as Blaise did. The only person who might know me better would be Draco, but that was only because the smug arsehole looks into my mind any bloody chance he gets. Fucker.

But Blaise knew me without Legilimency. He understood me on a level that was entirely different, but wholly complete.

Fuck, what was I going to do without him?

He pulled me off his chest and pivoted my head toward his. He kissed my cheeks and swept the stray tears away.

“You can’t be with me, Blaise!” I stumbled back and wiped at my eyes.

He snorted and rolled his eyes.

“I’m serious!”

A sexy smirk pulled at his lips. I wanted to punch him in his bloody, perfect teeth.

“You done yet?”

“With you! Yes! That’s it. Over.”

“Give me one good reason.”

“Because I said so! I’m done with this stupid fuck-buddy scenario with you. We’re over. Enough. Go fuck someone else.”

“You don’t want me to fuck someone else.”

“Yes, I do!”

“Such a liar,” he smiled as he pushed some of my hair behind my ear. He leaned down and traced his lips over my neck and down my collarbone. “But I love you.”

“Stop saying that.”

“I will when I stop feeling it.”

“I’m not good for you, B,” I whispered as he continued kissing me along the throat and jaw. “I’ll just hurt you.”

“I got thick skin. You can’t hurt me. Besides, I know you don’t mean it.”

“I do mean it.”

“Uh-huh,” he nodded.

His fingers toyed with the button on my trousers.

“I hate you.”

“Sure, sure.”

He pushed the trousers right over my ass, pooling them on the floor. He lifted me up, and my legs instinctively wrapped around him.

“I mean it, B,” I said. “Get out. And don’t come back.”

“Come on my face, and I’ll take you home and fuck you nice and slow the way you like, babes.”

My stomach tightened.

Why did he have to be so damned perfect? This was going to be impossible.

He ripped my panties off as he lay me on the desk. We were so familiar with one another after all these years, it felt like breathing. He touched me where and how I liked, and I fell apart the way I always did for him. He lapped me up like I was the only water for a million kilometers. And I let him. He’d taken off my top and left me in a small, lacey black bra. I loved the way his eyes roamed my body. He liked it just as much now as he had all those years ago.

How could I ever think that I deserved a man like this?

Fucking traitorous tears continued to track down my cheeks.

Blaise sat up, aware of my tears, and stood between my open legs.

“Just say it, Pansy,” he said softly. “You’ll feel better once you do.”

I glared at him.

“Say it.”

I bit my tongue.

Blaise took his cock out and slid himself into me with an excruciating slowness. Gods, I was so full. It was so tight. He was perfect. Everything about him was so perfect.

“I love you,” he said, thrusting each word. “Fuck, I love you.”

I cried more as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“I’m always going to love you. And nothing will make me stop.”

My soul broke.

“I’ll love you through anger, and happiness, and sadness, and fear. You can’t push me away.”

Damn him.

“You’re mine forever.”

And he magicked the familiar black diamond ring on my left finger again. He’d been doing this for years. He wanted me. All of me. And I couldn’t understand why.

“I love you, babes. Now say it so we can both come.”

I did. I did love him so much that it felt like I could hardly breathe most days. But admitting it would mean that I had so much more to lose.

“I’m staying. I love you. Tell me.”

“I love you,” I choked out a strangled sob. “I love you, you stupid arse.”

It was the first time I’d ever said it. And Blaise roared as he buried himself into me.

“Again,” he panted.

“I love you,” I said through my tears. “And I’m going to ruin everything!”

“I’ll fix it,” he said as he thrust again.

“You can’t,” I whimpered.

I was so close, and he somehow knew. Or he was too, because he reached between us and circled my clit with his fingers just the way I liked.

“I always do,” he said. “Now tell me you fucking love me while you come on my cock.”

And I shattered. Damn him!

“I love you,” I cried. “I love you so much.”

He came with me over the edge and rested his forehead against mine. I kissed his forehead and cheeks as we came down from our high.

“Stubborn ass woman,” he shook his head. “About time. It’s been centuries.”

I tried to glare at him, but I was too spent.

“Come on, babes,” he said, pulling out of me and lifting me to his chest. “Let me take care of you.”

And I did. Because when it came to Blaise Zabini, I was utterly powerless.

Chapter Text

Casual discussion of torture over breakfast should have alarmed me. It should have me running for my bloody life away from this man. But here I sat, listening to Draco casually go over his plan for the day as if he were talking about fetching his dry-cleaning.

“He hasn’t been forthcoming with a lot of the information we need,” he said, sliding me a piece of toast. “But my mother said his mind is easily accessible. For being a curse-breaker in training, you’d think he’d have been better at Occlumency.”

I took the toast, and he kissed me on the cheek.

“I’ll be back by three sharp,” he said. “It’ll give us plenty of time to get ready for tonight.”

Right. Tonight. Back to Flint’s.

“I could go with you,” I offered. “I could help.”

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Theo will be here soon to go over some of the research with you.”

The research. I nodded. I did need help. Theo was a logical choice to help with his healing experience.

But I wanted it to be Draco with me in the office. I liked bouncing ideas off him and working together. It felt…right. Natural.

“Will you kill him?” I asked as Draco swept one more kiss over me.

“Not today.”

I furrowed my brow. Remembering another detail of his confessions from last night.

“Who are the seven?”

He raised a brow at me.

“The seven who want me dead. You said there were seven of them.”

“Flint, Flint’s brother, my father, Briard and Levenseu from the Ministry, Crabbe,” he paused, counting on his fingers. “Oh, and Millie.”

I blanched. “Millie? What on earth for?”

Draco had the audacity to snicker. “Apparently, she’s on the receiving end of a targeted attack by Molly Weasley.”

“Wait, what?”

“She hates Millie. Blames her for running you off. Everything the woman does is wrong in Molly’s eyes, and she finds every opportunity to remind the pair of them just how fabulous and flawless Hermione Granger was.”

My jaw felt as though it would unhinge. I was the furthest thing from what Mrs. Weasley thought of as a homemaker. In fact, on several occasions, I received that woman’s ire simply because Ronald’s shirt looked too wrinkled or that he wasn’t getting enough veg in his diet, as if I gave a damn about his veg intake or shirts. So the thought of her defending me to a witch who was arguably more content and happy to be a stay-at-home witch was laughable.

Draco’s smile turned positively smug.

“She has also said various compliments about me, apparently. Stating that I was a fine gentleman and sharp dresser.”

Draco leaned forward and tipped my mouth closed with his finger. The Floo cracked, and Theo stepped through.

He and Draco exchanged brief words, and then Draco was by my side once again, wrapping me in a tight embrace. His mouth crushed mine in a possessive and domineering way that I found oddly endearing.

“Goodbye, wife,” he mumbled against my lips.

“Have a nice day, husband.”

It was a strangely normal exchange considering what he was about to spend his day doing. He smirked and exited through the Floo. I turned to Theo and rocked on my feet.

“So…” I said, feeling terribly uncomfortable, but desperately wanting to ask after Astoria.

Silence sat between us.

“Out with it,” he rolled his eyes.

“So Astoria loves you and doesn’t hate me after all?”

He pursed his lips. “Astoria has always had a deep fondness for you that continues.”

I wanted to roll my eyes in frustration. He was avoiding one important element of the question.

“Good. Okay. And you’re both…”

He raised his brows expectantly at me, as if daring me to say the words out loud. But I was a coward. And I found Theodore Nott oddly intimidating.

“Happy?” I offered.

“Happy. Yes.” He nodded. “And you and Draco are…”

“Happy. Yes.”

The silence hung between us. Billions of things unsaid. It was killing me.

“And Pansy and Blaise?” I asked.

He shrugged.

I knew I should have asked Draco this morning.

“Do you reckon she still hates me over the whole—”

“Granger, if there’s one thing we’ve learned in all this, isn’t it that we should confront individuals directly if there’s an issue?”

I swallowed. “Right. Of course.”

We stood in silence again.

“It’s Malfoy, though.”

“Hmm?”

“My name.”

He barked out a laugh that startled me.

“Bloody hell,” he said, shaking his head. “Get upstairs and show me this research.”

The laugh seemed to break whatever barrier there was between us, because once we got upstairs, the research consumed us. He was brilliant—a trait I scarcely gave him enough credit for back in school. Potions were his specialty, but it helped to work with someone with extensive knowledge of the human body. When I pitched him the idea of a vaccine-like solution, he listened intently. Wizarding families did not need vaccines and the like. Magic could fix most health concerns that Muggles worried about. But as I described to him the basic function of a vaccine, we toyed with the idea of magically imbuing one to test the results.

There were even certain counter-curses and cures that were experimenting with the idea of Muggle-based injectables. He used his knowledge on the preliminary research of those to enhance mine for Squibbs.

I hardly realized that time had flown by at such a rapid pace until I turned and noticed Pansy leaning against the door. I glanced at my watch and wondered where Draco was.

“He sent me to help you get ready.”

I watched her warily for a moment before nodding. I finished the formula I was working out on paper and had Theo check it.

“That looks right to me,” he said. “We can test it tomorrow and see how things go. It will probably take seventy-two hours for the potency of the potion to be right.”

“Thank you for today,” I said, and I meant it. I hadn’t realized how much I needed another medical mind to help me sort through some of this. We worked well together.

“Any time, Mrs. Malfoy,” he added pointedly at the end.

I smirked, and he rolled his eyes.

He kissed Pansy on the cheek before heading downstairs, leaving the two of us alone for the first time since our fight in her club.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m glad you’re not dead.”

Both of us spoke at the same time. Then both of us fumbled and stood in a silence even more uncomfortable than the one I shared earlier with Theo.

Oh, fuck it.

“I didn’t mean what I said at the club. I was angry and juvenile.”

She inclined her head. “I was looking for a way to hurt you. I’m sure you’re aware now that it was a lie.”

Draco had reassured me of a lot of things after the argument, but it did feel nicer to hear it from her.

She walked into the office and looked around. She poked through a few pages of the journals Theo and I had been working through, but she didn’t speak. She was clearly already dressed for this evening. She was wearing a short leather skirt, a corset top, and fishnets. She would have stopped anyone in their tracks. She was stunning. Her hair had been lengthened and placed in a slick-backed ponytail high on her head. Her dominating red lips drew your attention to her most deadly feature—her perfect face.

“You know,” she said, finally turning around and lounging against the desk. “I swore to hate you our first year. The first moment I met you.”

I flinched. It wasn’t hard to tell she’d been immensely successful, as evidenced by her performance throughout school.

“Do you remember it?”

To be honest, I didn’t. I shook my head.

“You were roaming from train car to train car, introducing yourself to bloody everyone.”

She pulled her long hair over her shoulder, and her long red fingernails glittered against the black sheen.

“You opened the door, and before you could even say your name, you were correcting me.”

Sounded like me.

“I was explaining some stupid piece of nonsense I’d tried to memorize over the summer about constellations to impress Draco. And you came right in and refuted the whole thing and told the actual story of Hesperides.”

Yup, that definitely sounded like me.

“Draco asked what your name was. And I didn’t stop hearing about you after that.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Honestly, it was constant. Granger this. Granger that. Blah blah blah. Gods, it was incessant! I learned early on that nothing was ever going to materialize between the two of us. But I couldn’t help but think of how glorious it would feel to be able to hold something over your head for once.”

I shifted in my space by the small sofa.

“But then you came crashing into my bloody flat, sold me your sob story, and you know what?”

We met eyes.

“I actually fucking like you. And it infuriates me. Because I rarely make new friends. Especially ones I want to spend time with. Trust isn’t something that I hand out. But I bloody like you, you shit. And hurting you that night at the club felt abysmal. And seeing you broken and dying on the floor of your living room the other night…”

She cleared her throat.

“I’m very possessive of my things. And despite my near-decade of vowing to loathe you, you are now one of those things I feel very protective and possessive over.”

I couldn’t hide my smile any longer, and she rolled her eyes when she saw it.

“So, if you go and get yourself killed or implicated because you can’t keep your bossy nose out of anyone’s business, I’ll resurrect you so that I can kill you myself.”

I laughed and threw my arms around her. She stiffened at first, and then slowly patted my shoulder.

“Gods, must we touch so much?”

I pulled away and gave her a salacious look. “So, you and Blaise?”

She groaned and left the office. I went after her, questioning her the whole way.

“When did you know you loved him? Were you together during school?”

“Forever. And yes. Now shut up and sit down. We don’t have time for your exhausting brain.”

She pushed me into a small vanity seat in the bathroom. She patted my wild curls and rubbed her eyes with an exhausted exhale.

“It will take a bloody miracle to tame this.”

“Funny,” I said, meeting her eyes in the mirror. “I could have sworn Blaise said the same thing about you.”

Her glower garnered a large laugh from me, which she responded to by turning my hair green. My reaction gave way to her smile, and she changed it several more colors before it returned to normal.

I watched her in the mirror and marveled at how different my life was.

Pansy Parkinson was my friend. A friend whom I found myself considerably fortunate to have.

Chapter Text

Pansy opted for a darker theme tonight when styling me. She picked a black dress with a corset top that pushed my breasts up to my chin. The slit along the right leg went all the way to the top of my thigh. It was a daring ensemble and made even more daring by the strappy heels. She picked a dark purple lip to pair with it all, a color that would have looked stunning on her with her bright eyes and sleek, black hair.

“What are you wearing?” I asked her, taking in the unrecognizable version of myself in the mirror.

She wasn’t dressed or ready at all. She was in leggings and a cropped top. Her hair was in a loose bun at the top of her head, but she did have her signature dark eye makeup in place.

“Same thing I always wear,” she said.

I was distracted by the new figure in the mirror. Draco filled the doorway, a dark scowl painted on his handsome features. He didn’t speak as his eyes roamed over the length of my body. Pansy grips my wrist, and I feel a magic cover me from head to toe.

“There, now he won’t ruin my masterpiece.” She patted Draco’s arm as she scooted by him. “You know where to find me.”

And then she was gone.

I swallowed and took in Draco’s appearance. He was ready for tonight, based on his black outfit. But I wondered how his day was. Judging by the look on his face, it doesn’t look like it went well.

Before I can ask him, he’s on me. He’s in my space, gripping my neck with one hand, and shoving my skirt open with the other.

“Dra—” but his lips devour mine.

He’s hungry, desperate, and feral. His fingers twisted through my curled hair and pulled my mouth closer. Then, I felt the nudge of his cock as he pushed my knickers to the side. I barely had a second to inhale before his tongue and cock were pushing back into me and overwhelming me completely.

He hitched my leg around his waist and used a brutalizing force as he claimed me against the bathroom countertop. I’m completely caught off guard, but not disappointed at all. He’s so sexy and powerful.

And he’s mine.

I let my head drop back as nips the sensitive skin along my neck. I groaned as his hand left my neck and squeezed my breast.

Mine. Mine.

And that’s when I realize, as I’m thinking it, he was saying it out loud. Each thrust was punctuated by the fierce and dominating phrase.

“You’re…mine…”

I hissed as he drove deeper into me.

I could feel the pressure building in my core. I was so close. And three more thrusts from him put me over the edge. I cry out as my body flutters with ecstasy. Every surface of my exposed flesh is sensitive and heated.

Draco pushed twice more and practically growled as his release forced its way through. His face is buried in my neck, and both of us are trembling as we come down from the rush.

He lifts his head from my shoulder, and I swipe my thumb over his swollen bottom lip. But when I look at his eyes, he’s Occluding.

“Don’t,” I said, pushing the hair back off his forehead. “Be with me.”

He blinked as if he was not even aware he had done anything. Then, I saw his eyes clear. The silver rings around his pupils were familiar and present once more. He lowered my leg, and I winced as he stepped away from me, missing the contact of his warmth already.

“You’re safe,” he said, leaning down to press a kiss against my head.

I watched him, understanding there was meaning behind the haunted look in his eyes now. I reached for his hand and pressed a kiss against his open palm.

“I’m safe.”

He righted his own clothing and hair, and I turned to look in the mirror, expecting a disheveled version of Pansy’s work to stare back at me. But my appearance hadn’t changed. My hair was still in soft curls down my back, and all my makeup remained intact.

“You look beautiful,” Draco said.

I studied him. Exhaustion was evident on his face.

“You’ll talk to me later? You won’t shut me out?”

“I have a Pensive for you of everything that happened.”

I smiled. There was progress between us. I shifted on my heels and was aware of the moisture trapped between my thighs and now dripping down my leg. I pulled my dress off my leg and went to vanish it, but Draco grabbed my wrist.

The hunger from earlier returned to his eyes.

“Leave it.”

My eyes widened at the possessive demand. He bent over and dragged two fingers up my thigh to catch his release. Then he turned toward me.

Fucking hell, the electricity between us was exhilarating.

“Open.”

His dominant command sent shivers up my spine. My lips parted.

He slowly fed his two fingers into my mouth, his heated gaze devoured me as I drew in his digits and swirled my tongue around them. A sound similar to a growl rumbled through his chest, and he pushed against me. His already-hardening length prodded me.

“Good girl.”

I swallowed back a whimper as my legs pushed together. I released his fingers and reveled at the heady tension between us.

Did bodily harm, torture, and potential dismemberment always make him so aroused? If so, he needed an appointment with a mind healer.

But I couldn’t deny the response my body was having to him either. Perhaps it would be worth our time to just skip Flint’s entirely and shag each other senseless here? As he turned to leave, I knew my hopes of staying in were futile.

Buggering Flint was such a righteous pain in the arse. Shit-headed twat.

I attempted not to stomp down the stairs after Draco.

“How was today with Nott?”

I beamed at the memory. “It was fantastic, really. We made headway. I’m excited to show you.”

“Tomorrow? We can recap everything. Dive into more research.”

Fucking hell. The man wanted to spend the day diving into research, and my knickers were wet again over the thought.

I was absolutely gone for this man.

Humiliatingly so.

“I’d love that.”

He brushed a kiss against my lips, and we stepped into the Floo. His fingers interlocked with mine as we stood together. We arrived at Pansy’s first. She was busy at the stove in her kitchen, and Draco didn’t let us linger there long before he apparated us somewhere down the block from Flint’s actual location.

“Trust me,” he said, turning to me before we walked toward the door.

“I trust you.”

I braced myself for the onslaught of chaos that awaited us. Former classmates, cult-like behaviors, Squibs, Lucius, Marcus—everything inside of here was going to be used as a weapon to tear down my competence. So I couldn’t let them. I had to be strong, witty, and three steps ahead of them.

The lounge was crowded with people, and the scent of cigar smoke permeated the space. I walked beside Draco, and he discreetly magicked a glass of whisky into his hand to prevent others from offering him one. I was sure there was nothing more than colored water in the glass again, and paid attention to those drinking what the servers brought around.

A boisterous laugh drew my attention to the bar where Blaise was perched, clapping his hands on the backs of others. Several men laughed with him, while some others sent glares his way from across the room.

Flint was seated already, Pansy kneeling by his side. She certainly moved quickly.

Dread sank in my stomach, though, as Draco led me toward them.

Flint’s reactions weren’t practiced or schooled like Draco’s were. He was clearly in shock to see us. A moment ago, he’d been sitting as if on a throne, joking, chatting, and lounging with an unreasonable amount of cool and practiced confidence. Seeing Draco and me immediately made him sit up and slosh his drink over the rim of the glass.

Draco sat on the vacated chair to his left and pulled me into his lap.

“Sorry, we’re late,” Draco said. “Heir business.”

I watched as Flint’s hand tremored.

A young woman tried to offer Draco one of the goblets of whisky from her tray, but he held his hand up to show her he already had one. Draco had pulled me sideways across his lap, and I was mindful to keep my legs crossed, even though that meant my entire leg was on display because of how high the slit went.

“I’m getting close with Potter,” Draco said casually. “He trusts me. Especially after the marriage.”

Talk of business seemed to shift Flint’s thinking enough to mask his displeasure with us being alive. Was he curious where his brother had gone?

“My sources claim otherwise,” Flint gave him a rueful look while petting Pansy’s hair.

I wanted to break his fingers.

No one should be allowed to touch her like that—least of all him.

Draco scoffed. “Consider the source, then.”

Millie. It had to be. Was she still playing doubles?

“I got him to break up with Weasley, didn’t I?” Draco went on. “Ask your spy where her little toy disappears every night.”

Flint’s eyes narrowed.

“She can’t even keep Weasley warming her bed. I doubt she has any pertinent information for you on Potter.”

“So, who is he fucking?”

“No one. But he certainly has a penchant for voyeurism.”

Flint’s eyes snapped to mine, and I immediately looked down. But Draco cupped my chin and tilted my face up to meet his.

“But we found a better place to practice making heirs, didn’t we, wife?”

I smiled at his lie and nodded eagerly.

“And you like your new home very much, don’t you?”

I nodded again, and this time, he brushed his lips against mine.

“I love fucking with the ginger twat, though. I’ve set several enchantments that make it look like we’re still there. And occasionally, I have the enchantments perform outlandish sexual acts while he looks in from afar. Poor pathetic bastard. He loves it.”

Flint’s laugh was hollow and forced.

“So when should I expect to see our new recruit?”

Draco shrugged. “It’ll take some work. But not too long.”

A crash behind us drew all our attention away just in time to see Blaise stumbling back to his feet. Two men grabbed him around the torso and helped him up. Blaise shouted something unintelligible with a heavy slur courtesy of the empty alcohol glasses around him.

“For fuck’s sake,” Flint hissed and stood from his seat.

Pansy stayed where she was, head down, silently kneeling. It was so hard to see her like this and not want to shout at her to snap out of it. I looked back over Draco’s shoulder in time to see Flint speaking harshly to a nearly-unconscious Blaise as he hung from the shoulders of the two men I didn’t recognize. Finally, Flint waved them away, and I watched as Blaise was practically dragged through a locked door behind the bar.

When Flint comes back to his seat, he’s even more agitated than earlier. He’s tapping his foot and drains the last of his amber liquid from the glass in one gulp.

“You think she’s playing me?”

Draco pretended to be listening to a couple to his left while he spun one of my curls around his finger.

“Hmm?”

“You don’t think Millicent is serious about her role in this?”

Draco laughed. “No one is questioning her loyalty to you. You’re the reason it’s all getting fucked up. With you warming her bed most nights, she doesn’t have the stomach to tolerate Weasley after. It’s why he’s so desperate to look at someone else’s cunt.”

I watched as Draco’s words struck Flint like a missile.

He grabbed another whisky off a passing tray and angrily downed it in one swallow. Draco, however, was far more relaxed this time than our previous time here. He pressed his lips to my exposed shoulder and brushed my hair off my neck so that he could leave a trail of searing kisses up toward my jawline.

It was bloody impossible to focus on what was going on around me with his teeth nipping lightly at my skin, and I shifted on his lap while swallowing down a groan of pleasure. I should not be aroused right now. I had to pay attention.

Draco’s lips reached my ear, and his teeth latched onto the lobe. I felt the pulse of heat between my legs as he bit down. Damn him!

My eyes fluttered as I tried to keep them open. But I was lost under Draco’s spell. The movement in front of me made me focus, though. I watched as Flint stood. Displeasure morphed his features into an even angrier version of himself as he yanked Pansy up by her hair and dragged her off.

I tensed, but I felt Draco smile against my neck.

“Tell me, wife. Can you still feel me dripping from your cunt?”

Fucking shit. I felt my cheeks flare with color as he distracted me. He bit down against the soft flesh of my neck, and I couldn’t mask my whimper.

“Is that a yes?”

I nodded my head.

I did feel him—that arse. And I wanted nothing more than to vanish the wetness away, but I found something strangely thrilling. No one else would have any idea. It was just for the two of us. A dark, erotic secret kept between us. His claim on me.

“I like the thought that even when I can’t physically be inside you, part of me still is.”

I groaned. That definitely shouldn’t be so attractive. But it was. And I wanted to feel him everywhere. His huge cock. His lips. His hands. His teeth.

“Ahh, classic Granger. Needy and desperate. I bet I still have claw marks from the minx.”

The familiar voice that interrupted my elicit thoughts made dread prickle up my back and over my shoulders. Whatever distraction Draco tried to make was washed from me as if I’d been drenched with a bucket of ice water.

Chapter Text

“Fuck off, McLaggen.”

I turned just in time to see Cormac take Flint’s seat. His gaze roamed over my entire body with a hunger that made me want to castrate him. Draco continued kissing my neck, ignoring him.

Cormac and I were never connected. He pursued me relentlessly in my sixth year, and I hated every second of it. He was as intolerable then as he seemed to be now. And any claw marks he was referring to would only have been made in haste to escape him.

“I have a proposal.”

“You’re not touching my wife, you deranged fuck.” Draco didn’t stop touching and kissing me.

I, however, tensed at the mention of it.

A woman came by and offered Cormac a tumbler of amber liquid, but he waved her off.

“I want in on whatever play you’re making in Munich.”

At this, Draco actually laughed and pulled away from me, and I felt myself sag with relief over his admission to business over pleasure.

“Run along and play with your silly wife, McLaggen. This area is for the grown-ups.”

Cormac bristled as the other men seated around us snickered.

“I’ve just as much to offer the organization as you,” he said. “And I want in on those bigger plays. I’ve got connections—”

“You fucked the foreign secretary’s daughter,” another man laughed. “That’s hardly a connection.”

Cormac’s sneer was as vile and menacing as Flint’s. “Cressida is still an active participant, and all too willing to make her favorite married couple happy.”

I swallowed down the urge to vomit at the thought of Cormac married, much less married and sharing.

“Good for her,” Draco said, his bored tone matched his expression. “Munich isn’t my play. I don’t know why you thought coming to me would get you anywhere.”

Cormac leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. He was close enough to my feet now that he could easily reach out and stroke one. And it looked like the idea was passing through his head as he studied my crossed ankles and licked his lips.

“Power is shifting, Malfoy,” he said in a low voice. “We’re not fools. Flint still hasn’t chosen a wife because he knows those left aren’t nearly as powerful as the ones already taken.”

His eyes flashed at me.

“My connection in Munich tells me another way to gain an expansion of powers.”

Draco takes a sip and lets his thumb gently brush over my nipple. My spine straightens with need, and I clench my jaw to keep from gasping at how sensitive I feel.

“I’m listening.”

“The German Ministry allows polygamy.”

Draco stilled. “It’s illegal in the UK.”

“For now.”

Cormac’s glint was devious.

“Look around you. Look at all the Ministry personnel. You don’t think we could sway the votes? You don’t think we could influence them to change legislation for something as intoxicating and limited as power? Magic is power, Malfoy. And all these fine folks want the same thing—more.”

I swallowed as I considered his words.

What did he mean by it all? I knew that there were magical enhancements through pureblooded marriage contracts. I’d read as much. But regular magical marriages had perks, too? And he was trying to reap those benefits for each wife he took?

Draco’s thumb brushed my nipple again, as Cormac hungrily watched. I scooted back even further onto Draco’s lap and felt the substantial bulge of his erection beneath me.

“I’ll have some discussion,” Draco said, surprising me even more than his wandering hand.

Would he really consider working with someone as slimy and predatory as Cormac McLaggen? I nearly rolled my eyes at the thought, because of course he would. He was already working with Flint. Cormac was a breeze in comparison.

“I’d be curious to know how the wives would fare in your suggested world,” Draco said. “You’d have multiple marriages. You’d receive the power. Not them.”

“I’d share the benefits.” His smug look made me want to punch him.

“I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a wife who would agree to you becoming more powerful while she remained stagnant. After all, that’s what we’re all here for, isn’t it?”

“Your wife seems perfectly content to be submissive and silent.”

Draco gripped my neck and tilted my face up to his. “Well, wife? Is that true?”

Draco’s smile was filled with challenge. We both knew I was anything but silent and submissive. I narrowed my eyes and dropped my hand to his hardened length between us. I cupped it and squeezed while I reached forward and tugged his bottom lip between my teeth. Draco’s groan wasn’t practiced or masked. That was genuine, and I preened under the strength of his reaction. His hooded eyes were unfocused with Occulmency here, but I saw the briefest break in them as he looked at me with a dark expression.

A promise.

Draco dug his hand into the hair at the nape of my neck and pulled. Delicious prickles of pain danced over my skin. I groaned as my head tipped back, and I gave him full access to my throat. He leaned forward, his mouth just outside my ear.

“Mrs. Malfoy,” he tutted. “Hungry, are we?”

Yes. Yes, I was. And it was all his bloody fault.

My eyes fluttered back open, and I met his gaze.

“Mine.”

His voice was no louder than a whisper. His eyes were cleared for me. And I nodded. I was his, and his only. No one was going to change that for us.

“Only yours.”

Several gasps and screams tore me away from Draco to the chaos happening near the other chairs across the lounge. This time, it was Theo. His body wasn’t nearly as broad and filled out as Blaise’s, but he lifted one of the other wizards and slammed him down against the small table near the chair as if he weighed nothing. The end table shattered under his weight, and the sound of crunching glass and more hysterical shouts filled the air. Theo took out his wand and jabbed it into the neck of the man on the floor, gasping for breath. Theo was snarling something at him, but I couldn’t hear it from here. Four others near him launched into a wrestling match of their own, knocking over chairs and tables as they tumbled to the ground.

“What the fuck!”

Marcus Flint stormed out of the door he’d disappeared behind earlier. The heavy oak closed behind him, and I took in his appearance. His shirt was untucked, and his hair was disheveled. My stomach clenched. He’d been in there with Pansy.

I closed my eyes. Nausea worked through me at the thought of her trapped in there with Flint. And for what? Was any of this worth the cost? I thought of poor Blaise and what he must be going through. Is this why he was always drunk here? He couldn’t stand the sight of Pansy yielding to a man like that?

It was no wonder Astoria didn’t come to these.

I shifted in Draco’s lap to get a better view of what was happening with Theo. Shouldn’t Draco be over there helping? Flint was cursing and pushing at all the men in the area. He looked livid. But Theo matched his same intensity. He was now shouting and getting other men to agree with him.

More crashing meant another fight had started near the lifts. What was going on tonight?

“Darling, let’s go. There’s too much fighting.”

I turned toward the new voice and saw Marietta Edgecombe leaning over Cormac. She was with the group of women who all spoke to me last time. Susan Bones and Penelope Clearwater weren’t around, though.

That’s when I looked at her left hand, draped over Cormac’s chest. He ignored her and pulled her into his lap.

She had married Cormac. And her conversation about sharing her bed with Susan suddenly made so much more sense. Of course, Cormac would be more than willing to add more women to his bed. He was suggesting polygamy to justify it.

Several spells were fired off near the door to the second lounge, where the members smoke cigars. Still, Draco remained stoically focused on kissing and touching me.

Cormac and Marietta leaned in together and exchanged several heated kisses and touches. Draco seemed unaffected by their presence. He was far more relaxed tonight than he had been previously. In fact, he almost looked as if he were enjoying himself.

Someone threw a bottle near the bar.

Things continued to escalate around us. What the hell was going on? And why were we just sitting here as if nothing was happening?

Draco dragged his nose along my shoulder, causing my skin to pebble in its wake.

“Who would have thought Granger could be so tame?”

I ignored Cormac.

“It’s not so out of character,” Draco mused as he twisted a curl around his finger. “Top of her class. A real swot.”

I fought hard not to roll my eyes and growl at the arse beneath me.

“But all that meant for me was that she liked being a good girl.”

I froze. He’s got to be fucking kidding me. I pinched my legs together and refused to look at Cormac and Marietta.

“And she can be such a good girl.”

There was a delighted challenge in Draco’s eyes. I stared, hardly believing the version of him that I was accompanying tonight. He was almost…playful? I was so bloody confused and horny and frustrated. And the way he drawled out good girl? I was finished. Panting, desperate, and feral for this man.

“Please,” I whispered, reveling in the feeling of his erection beneath me and his hands on me.

The chaos around me felt almost the same as the chaos within me. I was rattled by his forward attitude. I needed more. I needed to be alone with him.

An explosion behind the bar sobered me. Marietta screamed in Cormac’s lap, and the two of them tipped over in the chair from her jolting response. Draco hauled me to my feet and took my hand in his as we forced our way through the fighting, panic, and craziness. Smoke started to fill the room, and I could see a fire had started now, back by the bar. It was huge and seemed to twist and move as if it were alive.

Fiendfyre.

Draco pulled on my hand, keeping me close, as he shoved others out of his way.

Many were screaming and scrambling toward the exits now. I thought about Pansy and Blaise, locked in two back rooms alone. I thought of the girls upstairs. How would they escape in time?

“Draco, the girls,” I urged, trying to tug him back.

But he couldn’t hear me over the chaos. Instead, he reached back and picked me up, thinking I was falling behind out of slowness, and not my desperate urge to get him to stop.

“What about the others?” I shouted to him now that he held me against him.

But he just shook his head in response. Was I supposed to believe that they would find their own way out around the Fiendfyre?

It was too much. We ran into the street with the mix of others, and I could hear sirens and several shouts of magic as they fought against the flames now engulfing the place.

As I looked back over my shoulder, I saw Marcus Flint, watching in horror as his entire building was decimated before him. My chest was sick with anxiety over the thought of Blaise, Pansy, or Theo inside. Or the girls. I closed my eyes, and a shuddering breath tore through me.

Draco turned and looked back at the wreckage before us. The Fiendfyre had fully taken over now, crashing in and out of windows and walls. Several wizards fought in vain to contain it.

“What a remarkably enjoyable way to end the day.”

And we disapparated into the night with a pop.

Chapter Text

We stumbled into Pansy’s apartment, and I whirled on Draco, pounding my fists into his chest.

“What the fuck!”

I shoved him, but the force of it nearly made me fall over in my heels. He easily reached out and steadied me, which only made me more irritated.

“There are dozens of girls, Draco! Squibs! Pansy! Blaise! We didn’t even see if Theo made it out! Take us back!”

Draco didn’t move, so I tried to force myself around him back to the Floo. But he responded by pushing me against the wall of Astoria and Pansy’s flat. His lips covered mine with a devouring passion. I was so furious at him! Why was he so keen on fucking me?

His tongue pushed against mine with domineering swipes that usually would have left my legs trembling. But I couldn’t do this. Not when our friends…

I pushed again, but he trapped my hands over my head. I bit his bottom lip hard to emphasize my displeasure. But all he did was laugh as he pulled away.

He gripped my chin with his free hand. His eyes were completely free of all Occlumency now. This was him. Fully focused. Fully aroused, based on the iron rod prodding my stomach.

“What did I tell you before tonight started, wife?”

I glared at him. I didn’t bloody remember! He fucked me senseless in the loo, and then I was supposed to remember what he said? My cheeks blushed. He’d told me to keep his come inside me. He told me to open my mouth and…

His low chuckle gave away the tingling sensation I felt in my mind. I’d dropped my defenses, and he was reading my thoughts now.

“I did say that,” he said to my mind. His mouth was busy biting kisses down the column of my throat. “But I also said trust me.”

Our eyes met.

“Trust me,” he said out loud.

Both of us were breathing heavy as our chests pressed together, noses nearly touching.

“They’re not dead?”

“No. Now, can I fuck you before we go find them?”

I rolled my eyes. “No. You can wait. Where are they?”

The youthful Draco of our school days came forward as he glowered in displeasure—spoiled child. I shook my head and attempted to adjust my dress. My nipples were nearly spilling out of my top.

“If torture and dismemberment make you this horny, I think you should consider seeing a psychologist.”

“A what?”

“A healer.”

He snickered as he leaned forward and took a long draw of my hair and neck. I gestured for him to take the first step, and he sighed before taking my hand and leading me to Pansy’s front door. He pushed out into the hallway, and I followed the familiar path to Lore’s secret entrance.

I wasn’t filled with the pounding drums or techno lights tonight. In fact, the overhead lights were on, and all of the girls were spread out around the stage. Most were dressed in casual wear, no makeup or costumes. Some were in costumes, but they looked…

I gasped.

These were Flint’s girls—the haunted-looking ones.

I could see now that Pansy’s girls were the casually-dressed ones, and they went around offering food and water to the others as they sat around the stage. Draco didn’t lead me to the stage, though. He walked right to Pansy’s office.

As we entered, Blaise and Theo were sitting on the sofa, and Pansy was leaning over a Pensive, dropping strands of memories into the bowl with her long fingernails instead of a wand. As she stood up, the final memory slinked through the water, and I gasped as I took in her appearance. Her mascara was running down her cheeks, her lips were swollen, and dark bruising was forming on her neck.

I felt sick. The atrocities she was subjected to didn’t seem worth it. Flint was horrific and vile. I couldn’t help but look to Blaise, who seemed unnaturally calm. He was leaning over, hands clasped in front of himself, while he stared at the floor. Theo was drinking clear liquid from a tumbler.

Pansy swallowed down a few curses and stretched her head to both shoulders. She cracked her knuckles a few times and shook her head. Her sleek ponytail waved behind her.

I was practically jumping out of my skin to get her healed. Why weren’t the others as alarmed?

The door opened, and Draco steered me toward the desk. When I turned, I saw Astoria first, talking in quick, hushed tones with…

Pansy?

I blinked furiously.

Then I looked back at the Pensieve.

Then at the door.

“What the fuck?”

The Pansy by the door was dressed like I’d seen her earlier. Her hair was in a bun, and she was in leggings and a loose shirt.

I swung back to the Pensieve Pansy.

She was bent over now, unzipping the large thigh-high leather boots with a thick heel. As she kicked them off, she flipped her hair back, and her appearance began to shift before me. Mascara ran down her rounder cheeks rather than Pansy’s angular ones. Her curly brown hair wasn’t as long or dark as Pansy’s, and her eyes were a vibrant blue. Her lips were still swollen, but they were fuller and lighter than Pansy’s natural shape and shade. Her nose was rounder, too. She wasn’t Pansy, but she began to take the shape of someone just as familiar.

“Alicia,” I breathed.

“Hi, Hermione,” she said. “Good to see you again.”

I shook my head, not understanding at all. Alicia Spinnet stood across from us, and everyone seemed absolutely unfazed by it. Had she been impersonating Pansy all this time?

“It’s like you don’t even listen when I speak,” Draco said.

I turned and glared at him.

“I think I would have remembered you telling me that Pansy had a body double.”

And saying the words out loud made me regret my argument with the real Pansy even more. She was right. I had no bloody idea what was going on.

“Professor McGonagall suggested I train under Tonks,” Alicia said. “I’d always had an affinity for transfiguration. I learned as much as I could in the two years before she died. Practically no one knows about it.”

My chest tightened at the memory of Tonks’ and Lupin’s dead bodies lying beside one another. Draco’s hand reached forward and tugged me against his chest, enveloping me in a tight hug. He rested his chin on my shoulder and kissed my hair.

“I thought I was good at hiding it, too. Until this asshole.”

She gave Draco a mocking glare.

“I caught her impersonating someone at one of our little gatherings in Brazil. Imagine my surprise when I’m raking through minds and find one familiar, disguised in the body of a fat, balding man.”

Alicia grinned ruefully.

“You’re incredibly talented,” I said.

She smiled. “Thanks. The noses are the hardest for me. But I’m getting better. It’s easier when I’m familiar with the face.”

“After a year, I’m sure you’re more than familiar with my features than Blaise is,” Pansy said, winking toward him.

“The three carats on your finger make it easy to spot the difference,” he said.

Astoria and I gasped and turned at the same time.

“Oh now you’ve done it,” she growled as Astoria forced Pansy’s left hand into the air.

Sure enough, a huge emerald-shaped, black diamond sat on her ring finger, glinting in the light.

“It’s stunning,” Astoria gushed. “I’m so thrilled for you!”

Pansy rolled her eyes and pushed away from us to go to Alicia. “Get everything you needed?”

“Just about,” she grinned.

Pansy and Alicia took a minute by the Pensieve to discuss things while my mind sorted through the information. Tonight had been a distraction. Blaise’s fake drunken behavior, Theo’s brawling, and Draco’s goading of Flint. Everything seamlessly moved like pawns on a chessboard until they were all in place.

“I told you I worked with Alicia,” Draco said.

I’d forgotten.

“I don’t understand, though,” I said, turning toward him. “How are you going to make sure Flint doesn’t suspect all of you?”

“We weren’t the only ones brawling tonight,” Theo said.

“I interfered with Flint’s latest shipment of his prized whisky,” Draco said. “The whole thing was laced with an aggressive, testosterone-induced fighting potion. Everyone who drank it felt on edge tonight.”

“But you didn’t…”

“He’s suspected I swapped glasses for months. I don’t trust a thing anyone does. It would have looked strange if I had fought tonight. It seemed like an easy secret to sacrifice.”

“Cormac didn’t drink either,” I said, remembering that despite his vile behavior, it was natural and not as combative as some of the others around us.

“But Flint did,” Blaise smirked. “So he could recognize the effects himself.”

“We’ve also been careful not to associate with one another publicly,” Draco said. “Everyone thinks Nott got too involved in medicine, and Zabini got too good for all of us by joining the force.”

“It helped that we left a little evidence behind,” Zabini laughed.

His eyes glittered with mischief, and I felt Draco smile next to me as he hugged me closer.

“Strangest thing,” Draco said. “Millicent got called in for a wand check with the Aurors yesterday.”

“And tonight, Millie’s pretty little wand, decorated with little charms at the end, set off FiendFyre in her ex-boyfriend’s club. Can you imagine?”

“That news will be even more devastating when Flint finds evidence of his little toy’s affair.”

I furrowed my brow. “Marcus already knows she’s with Ron.”

“Right. But he doesn’t know that his own brother has betrayed him and is working behind his back to be with Millicent.”

“After all,” Theo said. “That’s why he’s gone missing. He’s waiting for her in their secret meetup location.”

“Was she really working with his brother? Is that what you found out today?”

“Not at all,” Draco grinned. “But someone has to take the fall. And it’ll be two people that want you dead.”

“But the best part?” Pansy had turned around now. “Millicent is impervious to Veritaserum. And Flint knows it. So there’s nothing she can do to refute things.”

My jaw just hung open. He'll never believe a word out of her mouth. There were so many loopholes. So many twists and turns. How had they possibly thought of all this?

“Terrifying, isn’t it?” Alicia smirked at me. “Damn. I wish I had been a Slytherin.”

Chapter Text

I was exhausted after spending five more hours at Lore. All of us joined the other workers to help settle Flint’s former employees. Many of them had been drugged and forced into their positions, and this was the first time they actually were sober and had some clarity.

It made me hate Marcus Flint even more than I already did. And suddenly, destroying his livelihood, stealing his girls, and ruining his relationships wasn’t enough of a punishment. I wanted him to suffer as these women have suffered.

As we fed, healed, and spoke with the other Squibs, my eyes kept going back to Draco. The soft way he spoke to them, the careful way he asked before he touched them, the disarming smile. I loved every moment I witnessed him like this. Tender, careful, considerate.

And as much as I was thinking about him, he seemed to be thinking about me. Every time we would pass one another, he’d brush his fingers along my arm or kiss my head. He would hold eye contact with me until I’d blush and look away.

But the more I watched him, the more convinced I became.

I was falling in love with Draco Malfoy.

“My turn,” Draco whispered in my ear as he pulled me against his chest.

We’d been at it for hours, and finally, the women were finding beds to sleep in.

“You’re so spoiled.”

“Don’t forget demanding.”

“I’ll come back later,” I said over my shoulder to Pansy and Astoria.

But as I said it, I saw the two of them swept up in Theo’s and Blaise’s strong embrace. It seems I wasn’t the only one being forced home. I turned back to Draco.

“You said you’d tell me about the meeting with Marcus’ brother.”

“Later.”

Draco’s mouth slanted over mine, and our tongues and lips crashed together in a chaotic tumble of repressed desire. What the hell was going on with him? It was like he was a teenager again. He couldn’t keep his hands off me.

I thought it was just a ruse at Flint’s.

But as Draco swept me into his arms, his lips still connected to mine, I could feel he was just as desperate for me now as he had been hours ago.

“Do you still feel my come dripping out of you?”

“Draco,” I hissed.

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment as I covered his mouth with one of my hands. I glanced around us, but no one seemed to be paying attention to the two of us.  

He nipped at my hand and squeezed my ass. He buried his face between my breasts as we walked. His teeth, tongue, and lips were ravenous to get at any piece of my exposed skin. And I was nearly powerless against it all. I was once again ready to take him.

We somehow managed to get through the Floo in one piece and back into our home. My hands tangled into his hair and angled his lips over mine. He took me like a man starved. It was brash, messy, and forceful. I loved it.

As desperate as Draco was to get back inside me, I was just as lost and wanton for him. I was delirious with need.

I felt like it was the honesty of our relationship pushing me closer to him. For the first time, I was finally feeling like an equal contributor. I was being told information. I was included. I was considered. And it made me feel an even closer connection to him. Draco Malfoy was trusting me. And I wasn’t going to take that lightly.

Draco placed me back on the ground in the living room and slowly stepped away, never taking his eyes off me.

“Get on the couch,” he said.

I glanced nervously toward the window.

“Is he…”

“Would it matter if he was?”

No. No, it wouldn’t. I would still want him to fuck me.

I took in a shaky breath as I walked backward toward the couch. Draco began shrugging off his jacket and shoes. I felt the furniture hit the back of my legs, and I stopped, waiting for further instructions.

“The last time I saw you on this floor, you were bleeding and bruised. Tonight, we replace those memories.”

I nodded, wanting the same thing.

“Take your dress off.”

I ended up using magic to rip the bodice away from my torso; the knots were too secure.

I stood in my knickers and heels before Draco, feeling like a goddess as he took me in. The wicked gleam in his eyes was a promise I needed fulfilled.

“Knickers.”

He was unbuttoning his shirt, and I marveled at the sturdy planes of muscle along his chest and stomach. He looked like he could have been carved from stone.

Perfect. Strong.

I kicked off my knickers.

“Sit back. Spread your legs open for me.”

I swallowed, feeling incredibly vulnerable and sexy in the same breath.

“Further.”

My knees fell open, revealing my glistening sex still wet with his release from hours earlier.

“Good girl.”

Fucking hell. My core tightened.

And then, Draco Malfoy sank to his hands and knees. My eyes widened. Surely he couldn’t be…

My brain short-circuited watching Draco Malfoy crawl to me.

This massively powerful, sexy, domineering man was on his hands and knees crawling for me. It was the most erotic thing I’d ever seen.

He reached the couch and ran his nose up my thigh. My already-sensitive skin prickled under his touch, and I shuddered while waiting.

He pushed both hands up the length of my thighs while he kneeled before me. When his hands reached the apex of my thighs, he stared down at me with a desire that I felt pounding in my own chest. I was so adored. So treasured. So wanted.

Two of his fingers pushed inside of me, making me arch back and groan.

“I told you where this belongs, wife,” he said, forcing his release back inside of me.

Fuck. Of all the filthy, depraved shit. He was unhinged tonight.

He lowered his head, and with two fingers inside me, he swept them up as if to call someone forward. Then his tongue pressed against my clit. I nearly shot off the couch, but his other arm held me down. I twitched under his ministrations, writhing to the stimulating thrum of his humming and beckoning. I was falling apart already, nearly reaching an orgasm after just a few moments.

Then he sucked.

My back arched, and I cried out as my clit was completely enveloped in my husband’s mouth. It was unfathomable how good this felt.

My needy wife needs her clit sucked?

I whimpered as he entered my head. It felt like he was whispering right against my ear, and I could almost imagine the feel of his chin against my neck. I could smell his intoxicating cologne.

My legs were trembling now as I fought to keep them open.

I was so close to coming.

Such a good little wife. Come for me. Let me fill you with more.

With another suck, I was lost, careening down a spiraling orgasm while my body twitched and ached for more. I begged for more oxygen as I came down from the high. And Draco sat back on his feet, admiring me, and a sheen of us around his lips.

Absolutely unholy, this man.

Wicked.

Heinous.

And then he was kissing me. I tasted the two of us, and it fogged my mind under a spell of lust that not even the strongest wizard could break from. And still I wanted more.

“Stretch me,” I panted against his lips. “Fuck me. Please.”

“Such a good girl,” he said. “I love my needy little wife’s pleas.”

He was bloody killing me. Tonight would be death by orgasm. I would be skewered by his cock and die perfectly content.

Draco pushed me down flat on the couch, and his body towered over me. His pants were gone, and I saw his massive erection looming between us. I reached for it, but he pulled my hands above my head.

With his free hand, he rubbed the head of his cock over me at least a dozen times. Over and over, he teased my entrance, but never fully pressed in.

“Draco!”

He smiled, loving the sweet torture he was ringing out of me. I tried spreading my legs further apart, willing him to finally give up the game and come inside me. But he was enjoying the torment too much.

“I need you,” I begged.

“What do you need, wife?”

“You! Your cock. Your come. All of you!”

He sat up more, pulling away, and I groaned in frustration. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe. I was so worked up. So desperate.

But then, without a second to react, he barreled into me. I cried out and wrapped my arms around his neck like I could somehow keep him there. The filthy sounds of our bodies slapping against each other were like a symphony to my ears. Over and over, he forced his way deeper. It was nirvana. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t think, could barely inhale as he rocked into me, reaching further with each drive of his hips.

One hand tweaked my nipples, while the other sank between our legs and found my sensitive clit. I cried out as my body was wrung out and completely overstimulated. I couldn’t focus on one sensation, much less the dozens I was feeling. He was tireless in his pursuit of another orgasm. Madness had overtaken him. When his teeth sank down around my other nipple, I was lost. His hips flexed against mine for another deep thrust, and I was orgasming once again.

Tears streaked down my face as my body spun and spun from endless cycles of pleasure. Draco joined me, and our chests heaved together from exhaustion and elation. The matching pulse of our heartbeats drove the point home even stronger.

He was my home.

He was my joy.

He was my love.

Chapter Text

Over breakfast the next morning, Draco slid a glass vial toward me.

“What’s this?”

He’d been quiet this morning. Even waking me up, he opted for quiet morning sex where he held me against him, whispering softly in my ear the whole time. It was the complete opposite of last night. But I loved both of them. The hard, fast, intense Draco that rips orgasms from me as if he’s tearing through my very soul. And the gentle, compassionate, tender version of him, who treats me as reverently as possible.

If possible, Draco looked nervous now. He wiped his hands on his trousers and fidgeted with his hair several times before finishing the last of his espresso in a quick gulp.

“A Pensieve of my time with Flint’s brother.”

We stared at the vial for a few moments—the quiet settling between us.

“And you’re worried about what I’ll see?”

He held my gaze, inclining his head ever so slightly. “You’ll experience the way I tear into his mind. I’ve heard it can be rather jarring at first.”

I studied the vial. Would this change how I saw him? Would his torture techniques prove to be too much for me?

I reached across the counter for his hand. “Thank you.”

“You can use the study upstairs. There’s a Pensieve there.” He brought my fingers to his lips. “I have to check in with Pansy and then have a meeting scheduled with Angelina and a few others.”

“Go,” I said. “I’ll be fine. Theo said he’d come around later today to help me work out a few more issues.”

“When I get back, I’ll help.”

I smiled. “I’d like that.”

His smile didn’t reach his eyes. He stood at the entrance to the Floo and hesitated before turning back toward me.

“If—” he swallowed, schooling his features into the mask of Occlumency I hated. “If it’s too much, I’ll let you go. I won’t chain you to a monster. Not if you truly fear me.”

He didn’t give me a chance to respond before he disappeared to Pansy’s. I stared at the vial. He thought I would leave. I understood now what our earlier interaction had been more than ever. He was saying goodbye. He was making love to me one last time before he lost me.

Didn’t he realize that I was in too deep? Leaving couldn’t even be on the table anymore. I was in love with him. And this gesture had just solidified it. He was finally giving me unfiltered access to his world and the schemes within it. He was being transparent. Honest. This was what I’d been asking for since the start of this. I wasn’t going to run now that I had it.

I left the vial on the counter.

I would watch it later with him. And I’d show him that I wasn’t leaving. I would hold his hand and reassure him that I was here with him, through torture or not. He didn’t need to hide who he was.

I jogged up the stairs, showered, and got ready for the day. I eventually made my way into the office and went over some of the notes that Theo and I had made earlier. I think we were almost ready to try it. I wondered if Clara would be willing to try it. Or any of the other girls. But I’d also hate to get their hopes up only for it not to work.

The trouble would be getting the corrupt Ministry behind the mass inoculation. If it were something we only offered secretly or privately, we risk missing hundreds or thousands of Squibs. The Ministry could also come after us. But if we got the support of even a few at the Ministry, perhaps they could push legislation through for it. Would it be something we present to other countries first? We could show that it works, allow others to feel the success of it, and then warm our Ministry to the idea.

My fingers drummed along the desk. I remembered a book about legislation and Ministry protocol in Draco’s study. I stood and moved in there. The more informed I could be, the better. I just wanted to help people. Surely the Ministry could see that.

I stepped through the doors and froze.

Lucius Malfoy sat across the room from me. One ankle casually crossed over the other. I was seeing things. Clearly. There was no way that this could be real. This home was so heavily warded and protected. I couldn’t possibly be standing across from the very man Draco was seeking to keep out.

Lucius held up a book. The cover was tattered and old, and I didn’t recognize it.

“Loopholes, darling girl.” He stood and placed the book back on the shelf.

“How are you here?” I tried to control the shaking in my voice as I sent warning pulses through the bond in the ring I wore.

“Its companion copy is in the Malfoy library.”

I swallowed back my dread. It served as a portal. My heart hammered against my ribcage. I turned to run, but Lucius was faster. He gripped me around the neck and pushed me against the door. Both of us winced together, and Lucius doubled over in pain as he took several steps away from me.

Of course! The magic of the bloodlines prevented him from actually hurting me. I could be carrying the heir.

“We are going to keep things cordial, Mrs. Malfoy.” He sneered at the name. “You and I are going to walk out of here through the front door, and never look back.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“You will if you want to keep Narcissa alive.”

He held my gaze, daring me to doubt him. But his wicked gleam just intensified as he slowly opened the palm of his free hand. The emerald gemstone mocked me. How was it possible? I hadn’t felt it! And neither had Draco…

Unless Draco was already out looking for her.

But Draco would feel me. He’d feel my panic and my anxiety. He’d come home! I just needed to prolong things. I—

The world stilled around me.

No.

No, he wouldn’t.

He’d think it was just my response to watching the Pensieve. He’d think I was afraid of him.

Bile forced its way up, and my knees trembled as the severity of this situation washed over me.

“Your wand?”

My breathing was erratic. “Draco took it.”

It wasn’t a lie, but he scoffed anyway. I held up my empty hands. I didn’t have any pockets in my leggings. And I lifted the edge of my sweater to show that it wasn’t tucked into my waistband. He didn’t know I had wandless magic.

I pushed against him. My palms flared with magic, but the minute I tried to burn him, I was thrown backward.

My own magic recoiled against me.

I couldn’t kill the patriarch of the Malfoy line.

Lucius’s cold laugh rattled me. He taunted me with a cruelty that turned my bones to ice. His sardonic tone just showed me how powerless I was in this situation. I couldn’t kill him. I couldn’t even hurt him.

He leaned over me, and his hand locked around my wrist, and I felt the coolness trickle over me like water. A thin, silver band remained secure. It was as if my entire body experienced a magical shut off. I didn’t feel any of it anymore. Not even a spark.

“A nice little magical blocker in case you’re more adept with wandless magic than you should be.”

Anxiety clawed at me in a brash, panicked wail. He’d shut off my magic. I pulled at the bracelet, desperate to release myself from this heinous suppression, but it wouldn’t budge.

I closed my eyes. I had to focus. I had to think.

I’d left the Pensieve on the kitchen counter. When Draco came home, he’d realize I hadn’t used it. The Pensieve hadn’t even been taken out in the study. He’d put these things together. He’d see. He’d understand. He’d come for me.

He had to come for me.

He’d know his mother went missing, and he would connect the two of us. He was brilliant. He’d figure this out.

I looked down at the ring on my left hand. If he could feel my fear and anxiety, then perhaps he’d feel other things too. I sent him as much love and adoration through the connection as I could. I flooded the link with it. I didn’t want there to be any question of how I felt about him. I was desperate for him to know how absolutely and hopelessly in love with him I was.

Lucius stepped around me into the hallway and held his arm out. “Shall we?”

I stood with a new confidence.

Draco loved me, too. I knew he did. He would come for me. He would know that I wouldn’t leave.

I followed Lucius down the stairs, imagining all the ways I could kill him. I pictured his broken form splayed out beneath me. I pictured his twisted neck and his bluish corpse. I pictured the perfect, long blonde hair in a crumpled mess.

We reached the front door, but he nodded to my hand instead.

He wanted me to leave the ring.

My fingers shook as they tugged on the delicate metal of the band. Draco would feel this. So I flooded the line with love again. He had to know that I wouldn’t do this if there was another way. He had to understand that none of this was about him. If I could save his mother, then I would. I’d do anything for Draco.

I placed the wedding ring on the small table near the front door. He led me outside, and I looked around for Mrs. Pom. That woman was always sticking her nose into our business, yet when I needed her outside, she was nowhere to be found. I glanced around for a sign from any of the other neighbors. Surely someone would hear me. Someone would see something was out of sorts with a strangely-dressed man and a barefoot woman walking down the road.

But there was no one.

I sent one more desperate glance over my shoulder as I watched my home shrink into the background. As we rounded the corner out of the small cul-de-sac, Lucius gripped my upper arm and Apparated us away.

Chapter Text

Draco

I knew the moment she removed the ring.

I felt the soul-crushing disappointment as the wards were temporarily lifted to allow her to leave right through the front door.

None of this should have surprised me. Nearly every interaction over the last few months had been centered around getting out of the marriage contract.

I sat in Pansy’s office, numb to the things around me. She was talking about something with Alicia, but I couldn’t hear a word. Why had I been foolish enough to tell her I’d let her go?

“Draco?”

Sweat beaded at the nape of my neck as I desperately gasped for more air. I needed to get out of this office. I needed oxygen. I needed space. I needed to ram my fucking fist through a wall, but this wasn’t the place to do it. The women around here didn’t need any more displays of violence, not after what they’d already lived through.

I needed to go after her. I needed to beg her to stay.

I pushed through the office, but I apparated to the roof.

She was really gone. She’d left. And I’d been stupid enough to let her.

I braced my hands on my head as I paced in small circles. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t let her go. Fuck what I’d said. I didn’t mean it. She was mine. She belonged with me, and I belonged with her. We were a hell of a team and I…

I swallowed the nausea back as my world disintegrated.

I’d been a fool to think she would want this. How could I expect her to forgive me? She’d never be able to move past this. Not when I was the monster of her nightmares. Not after she watched me psychologically destroy another man. How could I ever expect that she could accept that?

And I’d handed it to her.

I laughed at the sheer stupidity of it all. I gave her the one thing that would ensure she’d hate me. The thing that would guarantee our end.

I didn’t let people in. The only person who fully understood this was Pansy. We were two halves of the same coin. Our mistrusting, deceptive personalities were a survival technique—a desperate attempt to regulate a life that had been chaotic and tumultuous since birth. But she had Blaise. Blaise, who always came back. Blaise, who never took anything she did personally. Blaise, who was never deterred. Blaise, who was going to stand by her side forever.

A forever I’d never have.

A forever I didn’t deserve.

I tricked her into marrying me to prevent her from leaving. But that didn’t keep people in your lives. Not when they learned the truth. Not when they knew the monster you really were.

She’d never been anything but honest with me. She wanted sex and money. That was it. She never asked for a husband or a relationship. All of it had just been…

I shook my head, smoothing my hands over my hair and face. It was a lesson learned. She could go on with her life, and I’d go on with mine. Granger wasn’t ignorant enough to spread lies or gossip about what was really happening with me. I at least trusted that much.

So, I’d move forward. She probably didn’t trust me enough to keep my word. But I would. I’d let her go.

I couldn’t hold onto something that wasn’t real. No matter how much I wanted it to be.

I apparated back downstairs with my Occlumency mask clearly in place. Emotions were a liability. They only showed weaknesses.

“Drake?”

I ignored Pansy’s tentative tone and turned my attention to Alicia. “Let’s move forward with the Minister. I’ll let you take those, and I’ll head to France.”

The two witches exchanged uncertain looks.

I tried to read the file in front of me, but the words didn’t form coherent sentences, and I struggled to maintain a hold on my Occlumency. It felt like a hole was being seared into my chest. Each breath was a struggle. Each passing moment was a reminder that I was failing to maintain a firm grasp on my emotions.

“Hey.” The door to Pansy’s office opened, and Theo came through. “Granger here? We’re supposed to work on some stuff.”

“No…”

Pansy’s response seemed to echo through my head. My thundering heartbeat was the only thing I could hear.

She was gone.

Gone.

Gone.

“Tell me you didn’t do something stupid,” Pansy said. “Draco…”

I pushed toward the door. “I’ll be in France. See you in a few days.”

I should have known Pansy would come after me. Her hand wrapped around my elbow and pulled me back. “Don’t do this.”

“I didn’t do anything.” The bite to my words even made her flinch.

“Fix it.”

“How? Cage her? Trap her? Hold her against her will for the rest of her life until she eventually develops such a sick sense of Stockholm syndrome she doesn’t even recognize herself anymore?”

“She loves you.”

My laugh was sharp and cutting. Theo loomed behind us, leaning against the wall. His features were unreadable as he watched.

“Go after her.”

I didn’t expect to hear Theo’s voice, but it didn’t matter. I turned and left. I was done forcing Hermione into my world. Doing that to her made me no better than my own father. And I saw how deeply it affected my mother, even all these years later. I wouldn’t put Hermione through the same thing. I couldn’t live with myself.

“There’s nothing to go after.”

***

I hadn’t left my house in a week. I turned off the Floo entrance. I tripled the wards around the house. I spun the ring around my finger, unable to send it back to the vaults. Instead, I let it haunt me. Mock me.

I put it back on the bedside table and rolled over, grabbing her pillow as I did. It barely smelled like her anymore. I buried my face in it and desperately pulled at any lingering hint of her. But there was nothing left.

I shoved off the covers and stormed into the closet. A few jumpers loosely hung onto the scent of her, but even that was faint. I shoved against the vast wardrobe. I’d originally thought stocking it with new things would be a brilliant idea. But most of them still had the tags on. She’d never put them on. She never had a chance to.

No wonder she’d left them all here. They didn’t mean anything to her. It was just a ridiculous idea that I could buy her affection. I ripped the new clothes to the floor. Hermione Granger couldn’t be bought. She couldn’t be impressed with monetary or trivial things like clothes or jewels. She was an intellect. She valued knowledge and research. She valued personal connections. And all I ever did was shut her out and push her away. I held her at arm’s length because the idea of anyone truly getting close to me made me sick.

And I was right, wasn’t I?

Even just a glimpse of the true things I was capable of had sent her sprinting away.

I stumbled out of the closet and stumbled into the bathroom. I reached for the robe on the back of the door and forced it against my nose.

Faded.

Bitter rage boiled beneath my surface. I shouted as I tore that to the floor too. She was fading. Like she was never here. Like I never had her. Held her. Loved her.

I choked on my building fear as I tore through the cabinets.

I had to find a piece of her. A taste of her. A memory of her. Something to hold onto.

Then I saw it.

The perfume she wore.

I grabbed the slender bottle and sank to the tiled floor.

I held my open palm toward the door, and her pillow flew into my grasp. I sprayed the pillow and sighed as I held it against my chest. And in a moment of pathetic weakness, I let the tears track down my cheeks.

Alone.

Unlovable.

Horrific reminders of the monster I was danced through my mind. I didn’t deserve her. I would just corrupt her. Ruin her.

The gaping hole in my chest remained there. No amount of self-loathing, bitterness, or animosity could fill it.

Eventually, cool fingers brushed my hair off my face. I blinked several times as my mother came into focus.

“Draco.”

The pity in her tone soured my stomach. I shoved against the tile as I sat up. I was still in the bathroom and had fallen asleep, desperately clinging to the scent of a ghost.

“Leave it, Mother.”

“We’re worried about you, dear.”

“I’m fine.” The lie was laughable. She’d just found me on the floor of the loo, desperately clinging to Granger’s pillow like some sad twat.

“You love her. Don’t let her go.”

My molars ached from how tightly I was clenching my jaw. That was the precise reason I needed to let her go.

“This is what she wanted.” The admission felt like tearing a second hole through my chest.

“You know that for a fact?”

I couldn’t do this. Not here, not now, and not with my mother. I stood up and pushed my way to the bedroom. The memory hit me before I could brace myself.

I’m never letting you go, I said as I kissed her neck.

Good, because I’m not going anywhere.

I blinked myself back to the present.

I stared at the empty and disheveled bed.  

“Come on, darling. I’ve brought you some soup. And I’m not leaving until I see you eat.”

Chapter Text

Draco

“You miserable cunt.”

The stinging jinx hit me before I could even brace myself. A second one quickly followed.

“Tori.”

As I recovered from the shock of the hexes, I realized my kitchen was full. Astoria glowered at me from her place at the kitchen island. Theo sent me an apologetic shrug on her behalf. Blaise and Pansy were seated on the other side of the island.

In the center of them sat the untouched vial of Pensieve that upended my whole world. I pictured myself crushing it. Exploding it. Killing Flint’s brother. All of the violent images flashed through my mind like a slideshow.

It stole everything from me.

But that wasn’t true either. I ruined it all. My choices. My violence.

“She’s not far off, you know?” Pansy said.

My mother took a seat on the stool beside Astoria and patted her hand.

“I’m in no mood for company, as you can see.” I gestured to my unwashed hair and state of undress. My sweats hung low on my hips. I can’t remember the last thing I consumed, and the only thing I felt was the hollow ache of exhaustion.

“I could give a rat’s arse what you’re in the mood for.” Astoria stood. “Of all the wretched shit. Pushing us out? Keeping us away? As if her disappearance isn’t hard on all her friends? We should be helping you look.”

She had no idea.

Pansy pulled the stool out next to her and motioned with her head for me to sit. She also dragged a steaming bowl of soup closer. “Eat while Astoria lectures you.”

“I’ve half a mind to do more than lecture,” she said. “We’ve lost an entire week because of you!”

I didn’t even bother to look over. I just sat and dunked my spoon into the bowl.

“I need the details of what happened that morning.”

I watched Theo place his hand on Astoria’s back to get her to sit. I kept my head down and spooned more soup into my mouth.

“Any details. No matter how small. We’ll find her.”

Pansy started suggesting places she could be. Blaise and my mother added to the conversation, and suddenly, I felt as though I was drowning in waves of grief. They didn’t understand.

“Enough!” I snapped. “She left, and she’s not coming back. Let it be.”

Astoria’s look was lethal, though.

“All that academic brilliance is a joke if you actually believe that,” she said.

“I told her she could leave, and she did.”

“Why would you tell her that?”

Bloody hell, she was a tremendous pain in the arse today. But I couldn’t answer. All I could do was stare at the very thing taunting me through my meal.

Pansy picked up the vial and held it. “What is this?”

“She wanted to know what happened with Flint’s stepbrother.”

The five of them exchanged looks.

“And you think after watching this, she left?” Astoria said.

I didn’t dignify it with an answer.

“She wouldn’t have left over that.”

My head snapped up, surprised to hear Theo add his opinion on the matter.

“And what would you know?”

He gave me a hard stare in return. “The one thing she wanted was the truth from us. She wouldn’t leave once you finally started opening up.”

Astoria made a face. “Thick-headed numpty.”

“She’s been trying to get out of the marriage contract for months. I gave her an out.”

“No, she hasn’t,” Pansy said.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“I told her at the very beginning that if she truly needed out, I would help her. She never came to me.”

I pushed into her mind and watched as she replayed the memory for me to see. She was telling the truth. The weight of that memory settled over me, suffocating me further.

“She must have forg—”

“Hermione Granger doesn’t forget anything,” Blaise said.

The itching threads of doubt slowly started to creep their way into my mind. But with doubt came something far worse.

Hope.

“I felt her fear. She thought I was an animal as she watched it.”

“Were you there when she watched it?” Theo asked.

I was silent once more.

“You bloody fool,” Astoria growled. “How do you know it wasn’t something else triggering her fear?”

“No one could get through my wards.”

“They have before.”

I glared at Theo.

“Your mother got through them today,” Blaise said.

“She wouldn’t have left without saying anything,” Astoria said. “She trusted me. She trusted Pansy. If you can’t accept the fact that she loves you, then at least cling to that.”

Theo pushed away from the table. “I want to see her office.”

I hadn’t been in there. It’d been too painful to think of all the times I would walk by and see her working. I’ve had the door closed since. Astoria shot to her feet and went after him. So did the others. Finally relenting, I pushed away from the island and took the stairs two at a time, if only to ensure that they didn’t move or touch anything.

They all stood in the hall, waiting for Blaise, who was in the doorway, waving his hands. A dark outline appeared at the desk, and I knew it was her magical signature that was leaving a trace. Then, it walked toward the door and disappeared.

“No one was in here with her.”

I swallowed. I couldn’t allow myself to fall into this same trap that all of them had. Granger left all on her own. She saw an out, and she took it.

They filled the small room while I loomed in the doorway. Theo lifted a notebook from her desk, and I fought back the urge to snap at him not to touch her things.

“She stopped writing mid-sentence.”

Astoria leaned over his shoulder. “Widespread inoculation would have to be addressed first by…”

“She could have been distracted by anything. Her mind was constantly cycling through dozens of thoughts and processes simultaneously. I would know.”

Astoria glared at me.

“Let’s say you’re right,” Pansy said. “And Granger isn’t helplessly in love with you. Then what is her passion? Her greatest love?”

“Her research,” Theo said.

“She wouldn’t have left it,” Blaise said. “She risked going back to Weasley’s to get it.”

“She also wouldn’t leave things unfinished,” Astoria said. “She was just getting involved at Lore, and we’re so close to a cure. She wouldn’t have left things like this.”

I hated that the way they were talking raised more and more doubts in my mind. Had I missed something?

“She walked out the front door,” I said. “I felt her walk past the wards.”

“Someone outside could have gotten her to come out,” Blaise said. “Her work could have been interrupted. She went down to see who it was, and that’s when she was grabbed.”

“I would have felt another presence against the wards.”

“Maybe.”

I glared at Theo’s skepticism. “I reinforced them.”

“Did you feel us downstairs?”

I swallowed. I hadn’t. I’d been asleep when my mother got through. And I was distracted…

“So there’s a chance someone else could have been here. But their presence wouldn’t have alarmed you because it could have been familiar.”

I felt my mouth dry at the implication Theo made. I had become accustomed to or used to Weasley’s lingering presence.

“Leave it to the bloody Gryffindor side of her to be a heroic twat,” Pansy said. “I’m sure she thought she was doing something brave and honorable.”

“Especially if she thought one of us was in danger,” Astoria said.

But I was already moving to the Floo. I’d fucking kill Weasley. I’d been looking for an excuse for years, and now it was here. And if she was with Millie…who wanted to kill her… I could barely fucking breathe as I raced down the stairs.

“Draco, wait!”

I ignored them. I was nearly to the Floo when strong branch-like tentacles wrapped around me and pulled me to the ground.

“Blaise!” I thrashed on the floor. I tried to set fire to them, but their hold just got stronger. I roared as he came into view.

“We think before we kill,” he said. “I’m not cleaning up the death of an Auror that you famously hate.”

“He has her!”

“Weasley’s on shift today,” Blaise said to Pansy. “Go pay a visit to Millie.”

“I’ll go!” Astoria offered, but Blaise shook his head. “You get Potter and bring him here.”

Astoria vanished with Pansy through the Floo. “You hold him here,” Blaise said to Theo. “I’m going to go get Weasley. And Narcissa can make some neighborhood rounds to see what others might have seen.”

My mother offered me a sympathetic glance before turning toward the front door. Theo settled in one of the barstools as Blaise vanished through the Floo. He began eating once again as if the entire world hadn’t been turned around.

I struggled in vain against the massive tentacles that held me. But at closer inspection, they were mechanical-looking, like a flexible cage of Devil’s Snare.

“I helped him build that spell two summers ago,” Theo grinned. “Gotta say, it’s a lot more fun to see it on you than me.”

“Get me the fuck out of these, now.” I stretched and pulled, but their hold just got more suffocating.

“Take this for what it is, a lesson in empathy. Now you know how Granger felt being constantly left out of things. Frustrating, isn’t it?”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding.”

“Lunch?” Theo offered a piece of bread he was eating.

I closed my eyes and focused on not killing my best friend. The longer I was stuck here, the more I could feel my magic fading. There had to be some suppression element in the metal used. Clever bastards.

“Nott, you—” He silenced me with a quick wave of his hand.

He leveled me with one of his infamous glowers. “Don’t shut me out again. I’m your best friend.”

It wasn’t personal. They had to understand that. I was just so…lost. And the idea that the entire thing had been fabricated by my own mind was unbelievable. But the self-loathing didn’t vanish. In fact, I just felt more of it. If Hermione was really taken, then I’d wasted an entire week. She could be…

I swallowed deeply.

No. I couldn’t think like that.

I would know if she was dead.

I’d feel the magic connection break between us. We were still legally married. I still had some kind of connection to her. I just needed to use that to find her.

As sickening as it felt, I clung to the sliver of hope my friends offered me like a lifeline.

Chapter Text

Draco

The worst part of hope was the immediate crash of disappointment that always followed.

Hermione was gone. And I was no closer to a lead than I had been four days ago when I first started to believe in the idea that she had been taken from me.

We were exhausting ourselves checking every loose end. Weasley had been on a four-day work trip in France during Hermione’s disappearance. Blaise read the reports himself, proving that the bloody fool wasn’t even in the same country during her abduction. Knowing that I wouldn’t have an excuse to kill him yet deflated me more than it should have.

Mrs. Pom was the next check-in. She had been away visiting her grandchildren in Wales. She’d only just returned yesterday, and my mother said her mind was a completely open book. There were no secrets there. She was a simple, Muggle woman. That was all.

Flint was the obvious choice after we’d decimated his entire livelihood. But he had been at the Ministry on Thursday for an insurance hearing to make sure he hadn’t set the fire to his building himself. After hours of interrogation, it was clear he wasn’t on to us. Potter conducted the interview himself. Flint had no clue we were behind his missing stepbrother or the fire.

Millie was another loose end. She had apparently been hiding out at her parents’ to get away from Weasley, Potter’s words, not mine. There was trouble in both of Millicent’s paradises, apparently. But no one could actually track her down to ask her. Her parents just kept saying that she was upset over Weasley’s recent betrayal. Hideously ironic, considering she’d been fucking several other men while with Weasley. I still needed to figure out what Weasley’s betrayal was.

Then there was the other option.

My father.

Blaise has called him in for a wand check every single day for the last four days. Each day, my father went into the Ministry and allowed them to check his wand. Each day I snuck into the Manor and searched every inch of it for a sign of her, the scent of her, anything.

“I know where your head’s going,” Pansy said. “Shut it.”

I sat in Hermione’s office while Pansy read through her notes on Squibs with Astoria. Theo was disposing of Flint’s stepbrother today. I’d lost my temper last night and cut his head off when he didn’t give me any clue about what was planned for Hermione. It wasn’t that much of a loss at this point anyway. I’d completely shattered his mind days ago. He was little more than a babbling fool of drool and piss by the end.

“I mean it, Draco. We’ll find her.”

Unless she didn’t want to be found…

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the sofa.

Fuck, I could barely silence the maddening voices in my head lately. It’s why I snapped last night. Granger had always been too good for me. Always. And by some fantastic miracle, I’d managed to ensnare her only to lose her so quickly after. It felt impossible, like it’d all been some sick dream.

I just wanted to make it up to her.

I broke into Crabbe’s Manor two days ago with Pansy. We’d searched the place high and low, but there was no trace of her. Not that either of us could stand to be in the Manor long. The sickening smell of decay and trash was rampant in the unkempt stone walls. He lived in absolute squalor.

Had she ever really been mine?

Had it all been just a fever dream?

I wasn’t sleeping. I wasn’t eating. I was on the brink of insanity while my mind catastrophized every grotesque scenario she was enduring out there.

My wife.

Astoria slammed down several notebooks before turning toward me, beaming. “CRISPR Cas-9.”

Pansy and I exchanged a look.

“It’s what she was doing for the Squibs. Genetic modification.”

She held up something that looked like a Muggle medical book.

“You use a guide RNA to link up with a Cas-9 enzyme, which creates a break in the DNA structure. Once that break occurs, Granger wants to use magic to intervene in that cellular repair.”

Pansy and I continued to stare. None of the medical jargon made any sense to either of us. “She is going to trigger the Squib DNA with magic to power on their recessive magical abilities. They were born to magical parents. They can do magic. It just needs to be unlocked.”

“She’s brilliant,” Pansy said, shaking her head.

The constant throbbing ache in the center of my chest was as familiar as breathing after this much time apart.

My mother’s presence triggered the wards, and I watched her walk through the door a few moments later. She said her hellos and kissed my head before placing her purse on the table in the center of the room.

“If there is a solution to my missing daughter-in-law, it will be in one of these.”

One by one, my mother began removing ancient books and tomes from her bag. One of them was even a rolled scroll. The books were as ancient as the scroll. The spines were faded, and there was no writing on the covers. The corners were worn as well and faded from years of use and light exposure.

My stomach dropped. “Tell me you didn’t sneak into the Manor for these.”

My mother shook her head. “No. I spoke with Mr. Potter to retrieve them.”

Realization washed over me—the noble and most ancient house of Black.

“Where do you think the term black magic came from?” She gave a wry grin. “We don’t cower. We don’t hide.” Her look penetrated my very soul. “We fight for what we want and claim it.”

She held her hand over a large book that was deep mahogany. As she moved it between us, I helped her open the cover. As we did, the book nicked both of us. A tiny paper cut formed along my finger, and twin spots of blood dripped onto the blank page. My mother and I watched as the red spots vanished instantly, and the once-blank pages began to fill with text.

As she flipped through the ancient volume, the pages seemed as brittle as a leaf. I saw diagrams, recipes, and long lines of text. It was incredible.

“It’s all blank,” Astoria said.

She and Pansy stared at the materials around us, flipping through different volumes.

“Bloodline magic,” my mother said.

“I can see them,” I confirmed.

I almost smirked at the way I knew this would have put Hermione out. She loved ancient books more than anything, and knowing that these held magical secrets she wasn’t privy to? It would have driven her mad. She would have kept me up all night reading the text aloud to her while she digested every word. And I would have. Happily.

I had to believe that wherever she was, she was using that clever mind to try and find her way back to me as desperately as I was trying to get back to her.  

“We could go looking for Millie again,” Astoria suggested. “She can’t hide forever.”

“That’s fine, let’s stop by Lore first, though.”

Astoria held up Hermione’s notes on her genetic modifications. “Can I take this back to Theo? Keep working on things for them?”

I wanted to tell her no. I wanted to keep all of her things safely confined right in this house so that nothing would be out of place for her when I brought her back to me. My mother’s grip on my forearm was enough to break the spell, though.

“She’d want her research to continue,” Pansy said.

I knew she would. But the protective surge didn’t wane. What if Astoria and Theo figured it out? What if we took away her reason to return?

“I’ll be so careful with it.”

I felt myself nod but warred against the movement. Astoria and Pansy left before I could change my mind, and I grasped the table ledge to physically keep from going after them.

I deflated. “It’s like I’m back at the Manor. I can see her on the floor, hear her screams all over again.”

I knew the memory haunted my mother as much as it did me. We’d been so powerless then. Trapped. And now I felt the same way.

“Realizing she was taken…that she’s being tortured a second time…because of me.”

I barely worked down a swallow as bile rose up the back of my throat—putrid, self-loathing coated my insides.

“I’ve failed her again.”

I thought of the scar along her forearm, and tears pooled in my eyes. What atrocities would be done to her this time? What permanent damage would she bear now?

“I have learned a lot about my daughter-in-law over the last few months. And if there’s one thing I can say with absolute certainty, it is that she is an absolute force to be reckoned with. She is a formidable woman with tenacity, grit, and sheer stubborn will. She’s the strongest witch I’ve ever known. No one can break her.”

My mother wrapped me in a fierce hug, and when she pulled away, she cupped my cheeks in her hands.

“You are Draco Malfoy—the most powerful and remarkable wizard I know.” She shook me. “Your wife was stolen.” She shook me again. “Scorch the Earth and bring her home.”

I closed my eyes, letting the weight of her words sink in. She was right.

“Spare none,” I repeated out of habit.

“Protect your own,” she finished.

She patted my face and returned to the books. I dove into them with her, marveling at the dark and twisted magic that my family possessed for centuries. It was a bloody good thing I didn’t have access to this during my Hogwarts years, or I might have accidentally tried killing the Chosen One, too.

After hours of reading spells and enchantments of varying degrees of power, my eyes were strained and exhausted. I had probably three thousand new ways to torture, dismember, or maim any of my enemies. I could interrogate them with a ferocity and darkness that had been outlawed for centuries. But tracking down someone who was taken? Simple locations spells hadn’t been working for this. She was hidden somewhere. Masked.

I turned to the next page and sighed in frustration. At the top of the page, the title read Marriage Covenants. I was tempted to skip over the whole section. At first, it felt just like a reiteration of all the customs and rules of being in a Pure-blooded marriage arrangement. The laws, decorum, and expectations were pages long. But my eyes were drawn to one section in particular—soul binding.

I devoured the section three times.

This was where the Sacred Twenty-Eight families got the idea for the signet rings. The ancient bloodline magic that imbued them was powerful. It was because of its potency that the Pureblooded families wanted to keep it to themselves. Centuries before being converted into a ring or piece of jewelry, our ancestors used soul binding as a way to amplify the magic between married couples.

If I did this, I wouldn’t need the ring.

I’d be connected to her soul.

My mother met my gaze. “Tell me what I need to do.”

Chapter Text

I screamed until my throat was hoarse.

Over and over, I pounded on the mirrored separation between us. The two-way glass allowed me to see everything through the portal within the Floo entrance that Lucius shoved me into. For anyone in the living room, they would just see the fireplace. But I was there, behind the translucent bricks, in a tiny stone space with only a mattress on the floor, a small toilet in the corner, and a table that held food and water.

I watched Draco pass by again. I threw everything at the rippling surface of the enchantment. It was the fourth time this week. Each day, he made his rounds, searching for me. And each day, I had to watch from the confines of my silent cage.

Being stuck in this space was… triggering.

Draco paced over the spot on the tile where my blood once stained the white marble. Were my screams doomed to echo among the walls of this mansion forever? I rarely gave my scar a second thought on most days. But being here and facing that same spot day after day? It was like being haunted by that same ghost. I heard Bellatrix’s cackling laughter echo off the stone. I felt her weight over me. I felt the sharp bite of the poisoned steel.

Lucius was a tactful opponent. He was using psychological warfare over physical because of the limitations the marriage laws had us under. It was effective. He hadn’t spoken a single word to me since placing me here. When he was home, he walked by as if he had forgotten I was even here. He didn’t glance at me. He didn’t sneer at me. He completely, entirely, and wholly ignored me.

And it was fucking torture.

I had no answers. No rationale for this psychotic behavior.

All I knew was that I was trapped in a distorted reality of this mansion alone. Was Narcissa in another one of these somewhere else within the manor? Was she somewhere just out of reach for me, screaming and begging for someone to notice her?

Draco walked by again, and I jumped to my feet. I pounded against the iridescent blockade.

“DRACO!”

But he didn’t hear me. Didn’t see me. Didn’t feel me. He walked straight toward me until we were only a breath apart. He stood there with his back to me. I choked out a sob as I let my forehead rest against the glass.

“Where are you?”

Silent tears tracked down my cheeks. “I’m right here.”

Draco vanished a moment later, and I was alone again. The only thing left with me was the shuddering breaths as I tried to fight back the desolation I felt. I sank against the cool stone floor, drawing my knees up to my chest.

Time drained my energy as much as it did my hope. The sun was nearly setting now, and taking with it the light in my small cave. Lucius got home hours ago, but his existence didn’t register anything significant. I was invisible and alone, just like he wanted.

Most days, I didn’t have the energy or interest in doing anything. I even found eating to be a sickening chore. I had bread, fruit, dried meat, and water. It was a constantly-refilling table. But the food sank like a stone inside of me. For the first time in my life, I was truly afraid. I was dependent on others. Being trapped in this room had offered me the stark realization that my impulsivity and lack of self-preservation had gone too far this time. This was reckless.  Thinking I could help Narcissa on my own, not involving my friends, the man I loved… it might have cost me everything.

I deflated.

When Draco came to the Manor, he never called out my name. There was a chance he could be looking for his mother. There was a chance he could believe the lie that I’d left him. And that’s where my hope faded.

My mother used to tell me we couldn’t live our lives staring at the rear-view mirror. But it was so hard not to look at how impeccably clear everything was behind me now that I was here. In a different light, I could see how I should have apparated away. I could have gone to Lore, or Pansy’s flat, or Harry’s. I could have run to the Floo. I could have fought harder, even if it hurt me in the process. Because doing this? Being trapped here? I was powerless. And I had no one to blame but myself.

My only hope of rescue was removing the bracelet.

But I had nothing—no utensils, no metal, nothing sharp. I toyed around with breaking my own hand in order to get it off, but I would need to completely shatter the bones in my hand to force them through the metal. I didn’t know that I could inflict that much physical pain on myself without passing out or giving up.

The sun was completely beneath the horizon now, and my space was enveloped in darkness. Being alone with my thoughts and trapped in this black abyss made the days feel even longer. A mad desperation was creeping over me, and its hold was powerful.

As a panic settled over my chest, I had to stand up. I had to do something. I couldn’t just lie in bed again, despairing over this abysmal situation. I had to get the bracelet off. I started by feeling around the walls, looking for any unevenness among the stones. I needed a rough corner. After what felt like hours of blindly clawing at my surroundings, I finally found a coarser stone. Metals could be worn down. I just had to work in the same spot.

I sat on the floor in the corner of my room and worked to saw the strong band of metal wrapped around my wrist. The first dozen times were the most painful as I tried to find a good angle to hold my arm. I missed the bracelet a few times and felt the sharp stone cut my flesh, but I kept going until I got a rhythm. I stopped a few times to feel where the rock had scratched the bracelet, but I wouldn’t know the true effects of it until the sun rose again. I sat there most of the night. My wrist ached, and I was definitely going to have cuts and bruising around it from being so rough. But it was something. And after feeling so bloody useless over the last two weeks, this did a little to increase my mental stability.

I eventually crawled back to my bed, grateful that the physical labor had at least exhausted me enough to sleep. There was no pillow. No blanket. Not even sheets. But I managed to close my eyes and drift away.

My body jerked awake at some point the next morning, very aware that someone was watching me. I was so disoriented by the artificial light coming into the room that it took me several seconds to realize that it was Lucius standing near the iridescent wall. He had his glowing wand in one hand and a paper bag in his other.

I shielded my eyes with my uninjured wrist and tried to formulate a plan. If I attacked him, I’d hurt myself. But maybe I could wrestle his wand away from him. This was the first time he’d set foot in here. I needed to take advantage of his presence.

I moved to stand, but he stepped to the side. On the other side of the wall, I watched Vincent Crabbe walk into the Floo. My heart thundered in my chest. What was I going to do? Lucius couldn’t hurt me, but he could. And he would.

I stepped off the mattress and pressed myself against the cold stone wall. Lucius didn’t say a word as he tossed me the bag. It fell over on the mattress.

He motioned for me to grab it, and my fingers shook as they reached for it. I didn’t think I could physically overpower Lucius. But that shouldn’t keep me from trying, right? Perhaps whatever was in here was something I could throw at him to catch him off guard. I should have kept some of the food by my bed at night in case he did something like this. I should have been better prepared.

I grabbed the bag and stood upright, keeping my back pinned against the wall. I tried to take a step toward the table of food and water, but Lucius held his wand straighter and took a step forward, causing me to cower back against the wall.

“One word from me, and Vincent will be in this room in a second.”

My eyes darted past Lucius to where he was lingering just outside the room. I tried to work down a swallow, but it was nearly impossible. My teeth were clenched so hard that it was making my entire jaw throb.

Lucius motioned once more for me to open the bag.

I unrolled the opening of the pharmacy bag and found two boxes inside. Lucius raised his arm, and the light from his wand illuminated the packaging. Tears pricked my eyes as I stared down at the first box I removed from the bag.

A pregnancy test.

“When was the last time?”

I refused to let the tears fall. I refused to show him how much this bothered me.

I couldn’t let myself think about the soft, tender way that Draco had made love to me that morning. It was too painful, too distant now.

“The day you took me.”

Lucius nodded. I couldn’t get a read on his emotions at all. His signature stoic sneer wasn’t plastered over his face. He didn’t look angry or disgusted, he just looked…normal. I think that was what was most jarring. He seemed utterly unaffected by this conversation.

“You’ll take both.” He motioned toward the bag again, and I looked down, confused. Two pregnancy tests? Why? To make sure that one wasn’t faulty? However, after reviewing the box, I noticed that it was a set of three tests. Was I supposed to take all six?

I pulled out the second box.

I froze.

The words didn’t make sense. My mind struggled repeatedly to put logic and meaning behind them…

Ovulation test.

“One way or another, Mrs. Malfoy, I’ll have my heir.”

I dropped the boxes. “You sick, sadistic fuck.”

“I can’t hurt you,” he said, stepping forward. “But I can have you.”

I wanted to be sick—to be violently ill. The walls closed in, and the space around me seemed to spin. I shook my head. I couldn’t have heard that… he didn’t mean… he was…

“Mr. Flint’s recent endeavors have shed light on the science of power over purity. I have a pure heir who is rendered completely incompetent and useless to me. However, I now have the opportunity to have another. I can raise one as my own or create a new life. Consider me a convert.”

My entire body ignited with nauseating heat. He would… if I wasn’t pregnant with Draco’s child…then Lucius would…

“Tests are most effective early in the morning,” he said, and motioned for the toilet. “Go on.”

I didn’t see this coming. I didn’t… I couldn’t… I shook my head. I shook my head over and over as I gasped for breath. He was talking about forced pregnancy. He was talking about his son’s wife. He was…

I had to get out of here. I had to escape.

I rushed Lucius, wildly grasping for the glowing wand in his hand. But he forced me back with a quick backhand, and both of us ricocheted to opposite walls, where we smacked our heads. The food table was a broken heap beneath me, but I stood again, dizzy from the hit. Lucius was already moving toward the mirrored side of my cell, and beside him, Crabbe stepped into the room.

I backpedaled as quickly as I could, but Crabbe’s wicked grin turned my bones to brittle ice. Lucius couldn’t hurt me, but Crabbe could.

“Not the stomach.”

I threw everything I could touch at Crabbe as he stalked toward me. The bread, the fruit, all of it. But he deflected each one with a laugh until he was right in front of me. His good hand reached around my throat as he lifted me off the ground and into the air. I clawed against his hand and reached toward his face, but then he raised the hand Draco took from him all those weeks ago. In its place was a crude-looking, clawed device with sharp iron prongs that formed a skeletal hand.

He dug the metal into my cheek, and I screamed as blood welled to the surface.

“Ready to take the tests, Mrs. Malfoy?”

I struggled against the bruising hold.

“It’s take the tests, or I’ll let Vincent play eye-for-an-eye with you.”

His clawed hand reached for the wrist without the bracelet. I thrashed even harder in his grip, desperate to keep my hand. I couldn’t bloody answer Lucius even if I wanted to from this position. But I glared at him and looked at the floor where the discarded tests sat, and then back to the toilet in the corner.

My vision was starting to fade in and out of focus as my oxygen was denied. My entire body felt heavy, and my eyelids began to flutter.

“Enough,” he finally said.

I crashed to the ground, my knees cracking against the hard floor. I coughed and wheezed as my lungs dragged in more oxygen.

“Her trousers.”

I kicked and slid away from Crabbe, frantic for him to stay as far away from me as possible. He laughed while he followed me as I crawled to the toilet. Lucius produced a small plastic cup and tossed it to me. I fumbled to catch it while still avoiding Crabbe. I backed away and tried to lower my leggings without his intervention.

I balanced the cup between my legs and refused to look at either of them as I gathered my thoughts. I couldn’t be pregnant. At least, I shouldn’t be. I took a potion nine months ago that was supposed to guarantee me a year without pregnancy. Of course, every potion could be faulty after a while. Even magic wasn’t guaranteed. And with Draco’s apparent cum kink the last several times we were together, it wasn’t as though he was considering safety measures either.

This could also work in my favor. I could have that potion in my system for the next three or four months? That would mean that I could avoid having Lucius’ child until then.

I nearly choked on the acidity of my reflux. It would also mean months of trying to conceive one. Multiple attempts each month.

I wanted to crawl into a ball and sob.

I could survive a lot of things. I could be laid on that bloody marbled floor and let Bellatrix carve me like a Sunday roast. I could be tortured. Beaten. Disfigured.

But this? This I couldn’t stomach. Even if by some miracle I did escape, how could I ever recover from that?

It would break me.

Lucius held out his hand for the cup, and I had only a split second to react. If I kept the truth from them, I stood a chance at surviving a little bit longer.

At the last second, I flicked my wrist and sent the contents of the small plastic cup splashing all over the front of Lucius’s suit.

I smiled as Crabbe’s good hand connected with the side of my head, and darkness took over.

Chapter Text

Draco

“Found it,” Theo said as he dropped an equally ancient-looking book on the kitchen table.

“It’s in there?”

He nodded at me, and Astoria flicked open the book to roughly the halfway mark. She recited the ceremony that was identical to the one listed in the Black volume.

“We don’t know if this will work, though.”

My mother had the same hesitancy. None of us had ever seen a spell like this before, nor cast one. The potential for something to go wrong made all of us uneasy. But the fact that the Greengrass family had a similar text was a little reassuring. I didn’t even want to know how Theo and Astoria had managed to sneak it out of her ancestral home.

“So, we’ll try it with us first,” Pansy said.

My head reared as if she’d slapped me. “I can’t let you two do this. If something goes wrong—”

“Make sure it doesn’t.” Blaise’s shrug was simple. I glanced at Theo, silently begging him to step in and help. But he just nodded.

“The spell is stronger with others casting with you,” my mother said. “Bloodline magic recognizing other examples of it will only increase the potency.”

“We’ll both do it,” Theo said. “Tori and I can go first. It should be easiest for us.”

“It could also kill them,” I said, though I found it surprisingly strange that I had to argue this point at all. I couldn’t let them risk their lives for me in this way. Not when we weren’t sure…

No one was listening to me, though. Astoria walked forward and gripped Theo’s hands. “I’ll do it.”

I tried to argue again, but Pansy held up her hand.

“You need us to do this,” she said. “Blaise doesn’t come from one of the twenty-eight families. We have to see if it’s compatible with you and Granger. Do it, Narcissa.”

“We should see if you can do it over a distance, too,” Theo said.

My mother held my gaze, waiting for me to accept the inevitable. I couldn’t afford to wait much longer. It’d been two weeks. The longer Hermione was gone, the more desperate I was getting. Could I really allow my friends to do this for me?

I opened the spell in my mother’s ancestral book and blew out a breath.

My mother led us in the Latin chants of the spell as we formed a circle around Astoria and Theo. Together, the two of them waited for my mother’s signal and then dragged twin blades across their palms—a symbol of bloodletting for blood binding. Volunteering spilt blood indicated the willingness to join your partner in the soul binding.

We watched as Theo and Astoria’s left arms began to glow. Ancient runes decorated their skin, shimmering with a bluish green tint. Each one left a small brand of the lettering before it sank beneath their skin. They both closed their eyes, the process obviously painful. But once the last of the runes disappeared under their flesh, their eyes opened again. Astoria exhaled, but the two held hands as we waited for my mother to keep going.

“Tenetur in aeternum.”

We repeated it and waited.

A roll of thunder shook the foundation of the house, and I watched in horror as Astoria and Theo both collapsed before us.

“Don’t break the circle,” my mother said.

She continued reading on the page as I watched my friends lie motionless on the kitchen floor. I could feel my magic itching to escape, like it was dancing right below my skin. I needed them to be okay. I needed them to survive. I needed this to work, so I let my magic pour into them.

That’s when the rest of us felt it. It was like taking a shotgun blow to the chest. Our bodies rocked against the force of magic around us. Pansy screamed. Blaise was shouting something at her, but I couldn’t focus. The pressure in my ears was so excruciating that I didn’t know if I wanted to scream or vomit. My knuckles tightened around my mother and Pansy’s hands. I refused to let go, knowing if we did, I’d lose even more than I already had.

And then, as quickly as the thundering pressure came, it was gone.

With gasping breaths, Theo sat up, and then Astoria followed quickly after. They were alive. My mother was the first to break the circle, satisfied with the results enough to step away and collect herself. The spell had rattled us all. Blaise had wrapped Pansy in a tight embrace, and Theo pulled Astoria into his lap.

“Well?” I urged, looking down at them.

Theo and Astoria studied one another as dozens of silent exchanges seemed to be passed between the two. After a beat, Astoria smiled and rested her head against his shoulder.

“It’s so different,” she said.

“In what way?”

“I can feel his magic. I’ve always been able to sense my own. But now it feels like twin lines are running through my body. I feel stronger.”

“We can hear one another,” Theo said. “I know her thoughts. Her feelings.”

“Can we test the physical connection?”

Theo looked like he wanted to argue, but Astoria must have said something to him to make him stop. He reluctantly held out his right arm.

I held out a small flame from my fingers and pressed it into his flesh. Pansy leaned forward and studied the mark on Theo as he flinched against the burn, and finally, after a few more seconds of being held to the fire, Astoria yipped and flinched.

“No more.”

I pulled away instantly and studied Astoria’s skin. The mark didn’t show on her like it did on Theo.

“I felt it. His pain. It was indirect, but it intensified the longer he was exposed to it.”

“It’s still new,” he said. “I’m sure we have even more to learn.”

“We should see how far the connection can go,” Blaise suggested. “We know it’s strong when you’re in the same room, but Granger could be cities or countries away.”

“I could take Pansy to one of my safe houses,” my mother said.

All of them were in different countries. It’d be an easy way to test the intensity of the bond. We’d set up illegal portkeys for all of them. It would be easy to get there if something went wrong.

Pansy and Blaise stood across from one another, and Blaise pressed a kiss to her forehead. “My soul has been yours for years,” he said. “This is just a formality.”

She smiled and rested her head against the center of his chest. “I love you.”

Blaise released her, and Pansy took my mother’s hand. And then they were gone.

“How painful was the transition?” Blaise asked.

“It hurt,” Theo said, rubbing his chest. “Felt like I got electrocuted.”

I studied his arm but saw that the runes were all gone. All of the symbols were likely abilities that would manifest within their shared magic now. Gods, Granger would bloody love this. She’d always devoured any bit of information from our Ancient Runes classes.

“But now?” Blaise asked.

Astoria’s grin was honest. “I feel invincible.”

“Test it,” I said.

Theo thought for a minute before he closed his eyes. Then, suddenly, he disappeared, and in his place was a black cat with glowing yellow eyes.

“Bloody hell,” Blaise marveled.

Theo had never had the ability to transform into an animal. In fact, Transformation had always been his weakest subject in school. But he turned into that cat without a second of hesitation or issue.

“That’s phenomenal,” Astoria said, leaning down to scratch Theo behind the ears. He purred and traced his way around her legs. And then he stretched and transformed back into his human form once more.

“Try a different animal,” I said.

And he did. He turned into a camel, a dog, a bird, and then a small insect. The fluidity and power of his magic were unparalleled. We’d been intentional after the war to learn as much wandless magic as we could, especially after we’d learned about the Ministry’s constraints on magic and corruption. But opening ourselves to magic like this could be dangerous and addictive.

“How do you feel?” I asked.

“A little winded now. Like I’ve been running a race. But I could still probably do more.”

“Guess it’s our turn next,” Blaise said as my mother returned.

“This is a ridiculous fucking idea—”

“It’s not,” Astoria interrupted me. “You have to know that it works when you’re not together. And how it affects those of us not from pureblooded families. There’s only one way to see. They’ll be fine.”

“We have a stronger couple casting it now, with two of us having the soul bond,” Theo said.

“Think of how much stronger it’ll be for you when all four of us have it,” Blaise said.

“I can’t ask any of you to do this for me. The risks are…”

“We know the risks.” Theo wrapped his arms around Astoria and brought her to his chest. “It’ll work.”

Astoria grinned up at him. “It has to.”

“Plus, I’m not going to pass on a chance to be locked into Pansy’s side for life.”

I grinned at my friend and we clasped hands. “Thank you.” He winked at me in return.

Blaise stood alone in our circle this time, and I tried not to focus on the anxiety I felt over Pansy being alone somewhere, about to go through this. I gripped Astoria’s hand and my mother’s as we closed the circle of four.

“I trust you,” he nodded at me before slicing his palm open. “Let’s do this.”

Once again, my mother led us in the Latin chanting. The first time, things felt a little uneasy. Our nerves over the newness of the spell definitely affected it. But this time it felt like there was strength behind the chanting. And as I looked next to me, I could see Astoria and Theo both glowing from their channeled runes. Wind whipped around Astoria as she called forward the bloodline magic of the spell, and Theo’s clothing fluttered in the same powerful breeze.

I pushed my power into the spell and repeated the words as the glowing runes began to appear on Blaise now. He winced against them, and finally, after the last one disappeared beneath his skin, he sank to his knees.

The crack of thunder hit again, and it shook all of us, but this time it felt a little less painful. Blaise toppled over onto his hands and knees before passing out, face down in the circle. We maintained our hold as the last of the magical wave hit us and rolled through. And when my mother finished the chanting and pulled away, we all rushed to help Blaise up while my mother disappeared to Pansy’s side.

Blaise slowly blinked his eyes open. First, they were wild with panic as he felt around his chest and took great, heaving breaths. But then he paused, and a slow smile spread over his face. “I can hear her,” he laughed. “She’s in Budapest.”

All of us marveled. “You can still hear her from that far?”

“Clear as ever.”

I sank to the floor, amazed at the magic we’d uncovered tonight. I could find Hermione. I could bring her home. And I could make sure she was never taken from me again.

“Look at this,” Blaise said, and suddenly, Pansy’s sleek black panther Patronus was prowling around the space in front of us.

“You’re casting her Patronus?”

“No,” he shook his head. “She is from that distance.”

The panther turned then, as if being called somewhere else, and vanished through the wall.

Renewed optimism stirred within me as Astoria burst forward and wrapped her arms around me from my dazed position on the floor. “We can save her.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “We can bring her home.”

Chapter Text

It’d been two days since Lucius spoke to me. Two days since I last saw Draco. Two days for my panic to become nearly suffocating. Each day, I knelt in the corner of my cell and filed at my bracelet with little to no effect. The metal was scratched, but that was it. I didn’t have any of it chipped away, damaged, or fragile enough to break the hold.

I was terrified.

Every sound, every shadow, every movement set my entire body on edge. I knew Lucius and Crabbe would come back. And when they did, I was going to suffer even worse. My imagination was a sicker torturer than Lucius ever thought of being.

Draco had obviously given up the search at the Manor after not finding anything.

Perhaps he’d given up on me, too.

The thought felt like a red-hot poker to the lungs. Perhaps that was the heat spreading over me and consuming me.

No—wait.

That was actual pain I was feeling.

I gasped and looked down. I’d reopened the cut around my wrist, but that wasn’t what alarmed me. Bright bluish-green runes hovered above my left arm. Once they touched my flesh, I cried out, as each one felt like a searing brand. I swiped at my arm, completely lost as to what was happening and where these were coming from.

Over and over, despite my panic and frantic flailing, the marks branded my skin and disappeared into my flesh. I’d never seen magic like this, and had no idea why it was happening or where it was coming from. The pressure in my head felt as if it was ballooning more and more each passing moment, until finally, everything was dark, and I collapsed in a heap on my bed.

My shoulders ached.

My entire body felt heavy and drugged as I swayed from my upright position. As soon as I tried to stretch my arms out to catch myself, I was caught instead. I pulled away, terrified at not being on my bed like I last remembered. As my eyes blinked open, I realized my bed was across from me, and I was balancing over the toilet, completely naked, with my hands bound behind my back.

My body flared to life as I tried to stand and run, but strong arms held me down.

Well, one strong arm. The other hand was cool and skeletal.

My mouth had been taped shut, but my whimper reverberated through my chest. Crabbe was back. And so was Lucius.

“A little more compliance would be best this time around.”

Crabbe’s metal hand wrapped around my throat and forced me back against the toilet seat. From the dim light outside the cell, it couldn’t have been any later than five in the morning. What the fuck had happened to me yesterday? The strange symbols, the pain, the passing out? What kind of bloody magic had that been?

My eyes darted to my left arm. Being fully naked, I thought I would see remnants of the marks or at least the burned scars. But there was nothing. A sharp slap knocked my face forward.

“Go.”

He squeezed tighter around my neck, and I desperately tried to pull more air through my nose, but it wasn’t working. All I did was create a deeper panic over the situation.

If I peed, he’d let go.

If I were pregnant, they’d leave me alone.

If I were not pregnant…

Tears stung my eyes.

I couldn’t believe I was sitting here hoping I was bloody pregnant. I couldn’t be. What kind of sick, fucked up world would I be forcing this poor child into? Lucius would never let me be involved. He’d ruin the poor child’s entire life, just like he tried to Draco’s. But at least Draco had Narcissa. This little baby would never know me. Never know their father. Fuck. Fuck. This couldn’t happen. I couldn’t wish for a pregnancy. I’d rather endure the pain and suffering myself.

“You know,” Lucius mused from his spot against the wall. “I can still produce an heir with you and let Crabbe have his way, too.” 

I stilled at his words.

“Your mouth and your arse would do just fine,” Crabbe sneered into my ear. I struggled against his hold, but Crabbe just laughed. “I can’t wait to play with you.”

Tears slipped down my cheeks and into the creases of the tape as I lost the battle. The trickling stream of my betrayal echoed in the stone walls as Lucius sneered from across the room. They’d positioned a cup in the bowl of the toilet, and as soon as I was finished, Crabbe lifted me by my throat and threw me down on the mattress. My shoulders ached from the force of the drop.

Lucius balanced the cup on the table. He opened the packages as Crabbe leered over the top of my naked body. The time we waited for the test results seemed to last a century. My body trembled not from cold, but fear.

Neither option was a good one.

But I prayed that I would be the one subjected to the pain. Not an innocent child.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Mrs. Malfoy,” Lucius said.

He motioned for Crabbe to leave first, but he lingered for a moment, allowing his eyes to settle over my body—the crude bastard.

I glared at them as they both exited the small space, not bothering to free me or give me back my clothes.

Answer me!

The voice boomed inside my head, causing me to flinch as if someone was yelling right inside my ear. I whirled around the space of my cell, looking for the source of the angered voice, but couldn’t find anything.

Hermione, please.

I stopped breathing. That was Draco. His voice was in my head.

I’m here! Can you hear me?

I was met with silence and deflated. Damn this cursed bracelet!

I rolled over on the bed and used my face and knees to help me stand up. I stood and walked over to the table where my urine test had been left out. As I looked at both tests, I could see they were both negative. I sighed in relief, but anxiety came barreling in.

Lucius said he’d see me tomorrow. He was waiting for the ovulation test to say I was fertile. Would I become fertile while on this anti-pregnancy potion? Could I possibly hope that I’d be spared for weeks at least?

I pushed my tongue against my mouth, hoping to separate the tape that was held there while I considered options for my wrists. It was just a zip tie that held me, so there was a chance I could find some way to snap it off. I looked back at the toilet. The sturdiest thing in this cell was that.

Perhaps if I could get my arms around the back of the toilet, I could pull against the porcelain and break the ties. It would likely cut my wrists, though. I couldn’t worry about that, though. I sat on the toilet seat again and tried to wrap my arms around the back of the tank. I took in a deep inhalation through my nose and wrenched my shoulders forward, hoping that the ties would snap.

They didn’t.

And my shoulders screamed in pain as they were jolted. But I tried again four more times with no avail before I collapsed onto the floor.

I choked out a sob.

I’d heard Draco’s voice.

But I was completely trapped and at the mercy of Lucius’s non-existent benevolence.

I crawled forward on my knees and fell back onto the mattress on the floor. I was naked, bound, gagged, and completely trapped. Draco had found a way to connect to me, but I couldn’t respond.

I just hoped that when Draco finally found me, he’d find a way to still want me. I couldn’t fight off two grown men without magic. And I was out of ideas. If they left me zip-tied, I would be essentially powerless against their advances.

Huge, pathetic tears poured from my eyes as I let the overwhelming defeat surround me. What could I possibly do? They’d come back. They’d fuck me, beat me, abuse me. And what power or say did I have in it?

I let the mattress soak up the tears that continued to pour down my cheeks.

Perhaps it would be better if Draco never found me. I can’t imagine there’d be much of me left to find by the time the two of them were done with me.

I’ll find you, wife.

I let his promise hold me.

The same routine happened the next four mornings. I was hoisted up, groped by Crabbe, and sat on the toilet seat. The only difference the last three mornings had been on Lucius’ way out, he cut my bindings. I wasn’t offered clothing, though. And without blankets, I was in a near-constant state of cold.            My body shivered and shook all the time now.

Thankfully, each morning offered the same results on both tests, a resounding no.

I didn’t know how long I could keep up this good fortune, if that’s what I could call it.

Draco spoke to me every day. And every day it got harder to endure. I didn’t know if it was my mind finally breaking and drifting into madness, or if it was really him. Perhaps I just wanted to believe it was him so badly that I was creating rescue scenarios in my head, where he was promising to come for me.

I woke at dawn now, used to my new routine with Lucius. Today I walked over to the toilet myself, hoping to avoid being groped by Crabbe for the dozenth time. I wanted to skin him alive with that sick claw of his.

I love you, Hermione. I’m going to find you. Hang on.

I choked out the sob as my hands were bound behind me, and my mouth was taped. I wanted it to be real so badly. I wanted him to love me. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him.

Today, when Crabbe handed Lucius the cup, he leaned over while Lucius worked and licked the tears off my cheek. I jerked away from him, but it was no use. He held me with that sharp set of fingers, and they dug into my flesh as I tried to move.

Lucius’s quick turn today made me jump. As he turned and his face came into view, my stomach bottomed out. The maniacal smile plastered across his face was enough to make my heart stop.

One of the tests was positive today.

His booming laughter jolted me back, and he clapped his hands.

“Well, well, well, Mrs. Malfoy.”

My blood turned to ice.

Draco, please. Please be real! Please come find me! Please hurry!

My desperate pleas were unanswered, though.

“Let’s get you cleaned up and ready, shall we?”

I knew I would have a short window to fight back, but I had to do something. I waited until Crabbe was behind me, lifting me under the arms. Lucius was right in front of me, and once he was in the perfect position, I leaned back into Crabbe’s hold and kicked forward as hard as I could in the direction of Lucius’s cock.

I’d hit true with both heels, and he doubled over, instantly vomiting through his pain. I reared back and let my skull connect with Crabbe’s empty head. He swore and fell back toward the wall, but he tripped over the toilet seat. The crash of our bodies made my stretched shoulders scream, but I rolled out of his hold and moved back to Lucius.

I reared back and kicked him as hard as I could in the cheek, feeling the satisfying crunch of his bones beneath my foot. Before I could swing again, Lucius swung his wand toward me, and I flew back into the corner with a powerful hit, but so did he. I knew my head was bleeding, but I’d made the two of them bleed too. And it felt good.

I tried to stumble upright, hoping that maybe with the two of them in here, I could get through the mirrored wall. I pushed my shoulder into the rippling glass, but nothing happened. I desperately tried pushing through again and again. But as I turned, I saw Crabbe ambling forward. The great oaf reached for Lucius’s discarded wand and pointed it directly at me.

“No!” Lucius shouted, but it was too late.

“Crucio!”

My entire body locked up, twitching and spasming as tremors rocked through me. It felt like a dozen knives were carving into me at once. My mind felt as if it had been flayed in half. And a screech, similar to the one Bellatrix used, reverberated in my head as if she were right inside me.

Hermione!

I could do nothing but seize.

“You fool!” The curse stopped when Lucius hit Crabbe, and I fell to the floor, smacking my face hard without my hands to catch my fall. “My wand is monitored by the Ministry! They’ll get a notification of the curse!”

My body tremored from the aftershocks of the curse on the cold floor.

“Give me your wand,” he said.

“I couldn’t find it!”

Lucius cursed to himself as he illuminated the room. When they found the wand, Lucius took it for himself.

“Take mine and hide,” he said. “The Ministry will come looking for you. Stay in your Manor’s silent meeting room until I come for you. Understand?”

Crabbe mumbled something I couldn’t hear, but Lucius was tugging me off the floor, dragging me to the mattress. I tried in vain to fight as he undid the ties on my wrists, but I was completely depleted after the curse. Lucius extracted chains from the wall and began chaining my arms and legs until I was in a star position.

“I could have made this pleasant for you,” he said. “Now I’ll torture you before I fuck you and fill you.”

Crabbe grinned at me over Lucius’s shoulder, blood dripping down his face from his broken nose, into his teeth.

“See you tonight, pretty.”

Chapter Text

Draco

I knew the spell worked. I believed it with every fiber of my being. My soul was connected. I felt it. But there was some kind of block or suppressant. She was cut off from her magic. She had to be. It felt like a dam, and as soon as I moved the blockade, my body would fill with her magic.

I love you. I told her this morning. I’m coming for you. Hold on.

Because I was. I didn’t know how or where. But I would come for her even if that meant destroying everything in my path.

It was just after six. I hadn’t been sleeping at all, so I wandered downstairs to make coffee. Today I was heading back to Flint’s with Pansy. If his brother was behind the first break-in, then he must have known something more. I was also done playing docile interrogator. I was going to start snapping necks and wrecking minds. I was done playing by the rules out of a need for discretion. I’d clean up the mess once I found her.  

I froze in my kitchen as my wards out front were triggered.

Potter?

I left my espresso on the counter and went to the front door, shocked to find not just Potter in the doorway, but Weasley. Potter looked furious. Weasley looked… ill?

“Morning, Malfoy,” Potter said. “I’ve got an update.”

My body stilled. We’d told Potter about Hermione’s disappearance so that Blaise could get more clearance at work. I trusted him. That trust was limited, but it existed for now. As far as I knew, Weasley didn’t know a thing about Hermione’s disappearance. Potter thrust a mobile in my direction, and I took it.

“Someone’s been tinkering with Muggle toys again.”

I looked down at the mobile and saw Hermione and me. She was naked, splayed out on the couch, while I feasted between her legs like a starving man.

“That’s why I hadn’t sensed you breaking the wards.”

Weasley didn’t look up.

I ripped through his mind, no longer caring to disguise the Legilimency. Weasley collapsed in my entryway, and Potter shut the door to keep the neighbors from prying.

“Who did she leave with?” I roared.

Weasley screamed as I scoured his memories. I knew I should have tortured him weeks ago. I knew I should have taken things beyond the legal parameters and handled it myself.

There.

The next morning. I watched the front door open.

I bit back every unnatural curse I knew.

Lucius Malfoy stepped out of my gods damned fucking house with my wife. She looked bloody terrified.

I roared, infuriated that I’d been in the Manor half a dozen times and never so much as sensed her. I let Weasley’s mind drop, but I doubled over as a wave of excruciating pain tore through me.

“Malfoy?” Potter caught me around the shoulders as I twitched in his arms.

“Hermione!” I bellowed through the pain.

Pain that I knew.

Pain I’d felt before.

Crucio pain.

Potter lowered me to the floor as I continued spasming.

I needed to get the others. I needed to get help. I thundered against the pain, and then it was over. The tingling effects and tremors skated over my skin. But I was alive, and so was she. I closed my eyes, grateful for Lucius’s monumental fuck up.

“Fucking hell, Malfoy, what in the gods name was that?”

“Cruci—crucio,” I stammered. “Lucius has Hermione.”

“Draco—” Blaise popped in through the Floo, but he stopped short when he saw the three of us in the entryway. “What the fuck?”

“Long story,” Potter said. “Hermione just got hit with a Crucio. Lucius has her?”

“Lucius’s wand just registered an unforgivable; they’re bringing him in now.”

“Take Ron home,” Potter said. “I’ll intercept interrogations.”

Blaise looked at Weasley’s muttering, dazed form, slumped in the corner.

“Guess I should have let you torture him earlier,” Blaise said. I glared at him and ran my hands over my face. “The others will be here in a few minutes. Wait for them before you charge into that place and burn it to the ground.”

Potter tossed me a Pepper Up Potion while Blaise slung Weasley over his shoulders. I drank it down while recovering from the effects of the curse.

I heard the Floo pop and Pansy, Astoria, and Theo’s voices filled the space.

“I’ll meet you back at the Ministry,” Blaise said to Potter, and vanished with Weasley on his back.

“I’ll keep the Ministry busy with Lucius. Get in that Manor and get her out.”

Potter vanished next, leaving the four of us. The potion helped, and I stood, ready to tear down the entire fucking home with my bare hands.

“Lucius has her. He used a Crucio on her just minutes ago. I felt it.”

“Thank gods, the spell worked,” Pansy said. “Think she’s at the Manor?”

“We’ll go with you,” Theo said.

I closed my eyes, not bothering to get dressed or put on shoes. I moved to Apparate to the mansion… but nothing happened. I opened my eyes, and the other four remained rooted in their spots as well. I pushed toward the Floo, throwing open the wards and shouting ‘Malfoy Manor’ once inside.

Nothing.

He’d set up more bloody wards than I could even count. Fucking prick!

Pansy, Astoria, and Theo all tried and failed. Astoria even went back to try to Floo in from another home, but they all blocked her.

I thought back to the memories from Weasley’s videos. They never showed Lucius entering the house from the front. And I know it didn’t register on the Floo.

“He found another way into the house. Just like he did with Flint’s stepbrother.”

Theo launched into spells for locating portals or secret entrances. He covered my house in his investigative magic, despite the fact that we have already done it at least a dozen times over the last several weeks..

“Blaise just got to the Ministry,” Pansy said, picking up their connection.

I love you, Hermione. I know where you are. I’m coming for you.

“I can’t sit around here and wait. I’ll bloody walk up to the house on foot and rip down the wards.”

“I’ll come with you,” Theo said. “Astoria and Pansy can keep looking for a way in here.”

We apparated as close as we could get to the Manor and took off the rest of the way on foot. I was practically shaking, trying to contain my rage.

“Just got an update from Pansy,” Theo said. “Lucius’s face is bruised to hell, and he doesn’t have his wand. He has Crabbe’s. He’s saying he was mugged.”

I stopped. “Do we think she’s at Crabbe’s?”

“No, the girls are going. We break into the Manor.”

The Manor’s gravel driveway was where the wards started. Iron bars surrounded the entire property, and the diamond windows reflected only darkness as the rising sun hit them.

“They’re giving Lucius Veritaserum.”

He’d find a way to talk around it. He’d taught me to do the same at a young age.

“Naricssa just showed up.”

I swung in Theo’s direction. He listened as Astoria relayed the information from Pansy and Blaise. “A spouse can sit in on the questioning of any supposed criminal activity.”

“If they find out she is an unregistered Legillimens…”

“Blaise and Potter are there. She’ll be okay.”

My anger boiled over. I forced my arms out in front of me and bellowed for the entire bloody countryside to hear, as I threw every ounce of my strength at the wards before me. Theo joined in, matching my ferocity.

“Even if we can create a hole for you to get through, it would be something,” Theo yelled.

“The wards inside would sever me if I tried,” I yelled back. “I can’t risk it now that Hermione and I are soul-bound.”

We pulled away for a minute and took a breath. I racked my brain. There had to be an answer. A way in. He was moving seamlessly through these houses. How?

“Nothing at Crabbe’s,” Theo said. “Astoria said the place looks abandoned.”

“He’s got to be in here, then.”

We forced more magic at the wards. Even if the Ministry ordered a home seizure, there was no way their magic could get past these wards either. This was bloodline magic, I could feel it. And I had no doubt that my father had channeled the deceased Malfoy remains on this land to reinforce the wards with some necrotic spells.

I connected to Theo’s mind to make it easier to get the information from Blaise and the girls. Seeing things from inside Theo’s head made it clear that I was not fully connected to Hermione. He could basically see things through Astoria’s eyes when they were channeling one another. His eyes scanned around the disheveled home of our former classmate. It was disgusting. Food, boxes, and filth were everywhere.

Pansy called out for Crabbe, calling him any number of hideous names in order to get him to come out of hiding.

“The Ministry’s coming for you, you great fool,” she called. “They know you have Hermione. Lucius betrayed you. We know everything now.”

She continued to goad him while Theo and I attempted to dismantle the impenetrable wards.

“Fine, but Draco’s on his way here next. I hope you’re hiding well enough for him not to find you.”

And Pansy disappeared.

The wards rippled as we made a little progress.

“Again!” I shouted.

Pansy appeared at our side and joined us as we threw all of our magic at the wards.

“Narcissa learned your father’s going to impregnate Hermione himself and make a new heir. He can essentially write you and Narcissa off at that point. He sees her as a Malfoy now, so the heir would be legitimate.”

I saw a blinding white light as I completely erupted in rage.

“That’s it! It’s breaking!”

My arms shook as my fury tore through me. I’d never felt wrath like this. It was consuming. The thought of my own father doing something this deplorable just increased my ire. He took my wife. He violated the one person in this world that I loved more than anything.

I was going to eviscerate him.

The last of the wards around the property crumbled as I shouted. My father thought he could erase me? He thought that he could come out of prison and regain the power he had over my mother and me for years?

He picked the wrong fucking enemy.

I’m coming, wife.

Chapter Text

I’m coming, wife.

My entire body shook as Draco’s words caressed me. He knew where I was. He was coming for me. Tears poured down my cheeks as I struggled in vain against the chains that now held me. I heard the ripple of magic, but as I turned to the translucent wall, sheer panic overtook me.

It wasn’t Draco standing at the entrance to my cell.

It was Crabbe.

The look on his face was pure malice. He knew he was on borrowed time.

I thrashed against the bindings, but the tape muffled my screams. Crabbe threw his head back and laughed. Dread ran like sweat down my back. He was going to kill me. And he was going to enjoy breaking me.

He leaned forward, and I could smell the sourness of his putrid breath. I swallowed down my gag as he whispered against my cheek, “I want to enjoy the sound of your screams.”

It took all of my self-control to swallow down the wild scream I felt building because I knew that’s what he wanted. The feeling of his lips against my cheek made my body crawl with disgust. Just as Crabbe reached his good hand toward my chest, his body was thrown to the side, crashing into the small table of food and water in the corner. From there, she swept her arm out and tossed him from the cell, where his body rolled into the formal sitting room outside the Floo.

“Astoria!” I cried as she came into focus.

She wrapped her arms around my neck in a tight hug. “Let’s get you out of here.”

Her body twitched against me, and she looked up, confused. She gripped my arm with both hands, trying to Apparate away.

“It’s the bracelet,” I said. “I can’t leave this room with it still on.”

“Fucking hell,” she said, and started work on releasing me from the cuffs on my feet. She had just released my second ankle when I caught movement in my periphery.

“Astoria!” I screamed, but it was too late.

Crabbe was holding Lucius’s serpentine wand out in front of him. The curse sent Astoria off the side of the bed with a grunt. He was huge, nearly three or four times her size, and he fell on her with all of his weight. Her magic pushed against him again, but he gripped her hair and forced the back of her head against the floor so hard that her body just rolled off to the side.

Crabbe stood with a wild triumph in his eyes.

The others had to be close. I screamed and kicked against Crabbe as he reached for my legs.

“That’s it, pretty,” he laughed. “Louder! Let me hear how much you want it!”

He climbed up the mattress and sat on my legs, holding them still, while I bucked and screamed. When he reached for his zipper, I began to hyperventilate. This was it. It was happening.

“Fucking cunt!”

A wicked hunger covered his features as he tugged his cock out of his trousers. I twisted my hips and forced my thighs together. I was pulling so hard on the metal restraints that I felt the sharp steel cut into my wrists. My heart thundered in my chest as I cursed and screamed. He adjusted himself with untapped joy, and his clawed hand reached for my throat.

A darkness like I’d never experienced before cloaked me. I was never going to forget this moment. And the even more horrifying thought was that I was fertile. The spell had worn off. Whatever Crabbe did to me would be permanent. My deafening screams and pleas just seemed to fuel him more, though.

“What have I said about touching what’s mine, Vincent?”

Our heads each swung in the direction of the new voice.

It couldn’t be…

“Draco,” I sobbed.

His eyes practically glowed in the darkness of my cell. But he was here. And he looked terrifying. His chest heaved and was covered in a sheen of sweat. Theo entered just behind him, looking equally as terrifying. Crabbe’s mechanical hand tightened around my throat, and my oxygen was immediately cut off.

“I’m only giving what she begged for.”

His grip tightened. I desperately needed air.

Theo made the first move, and as Crabbe’s eyes followed him, Draco moved in. Theo dove for Astoria, and Draco lifted two fingers in the air. Crabbe shouted, but I was immediately released from his domineering hold, and I choked and sputtered for more air.

Crabbe hovered before Draco before he crashed to his knees.

“I’ve told you before.” Draco had full control over Crabbe’s entire body. He took Crabbe’s robotic hand and lowered it. “Keep your hands off my wife.” Crabbe bellowed as the skeletal appendage wrapped around his own cock and squeezed. His wails reverberated off the walls of the small space. Despite Crabbe’s desperate cries, he didn’t stop squeezing himself.

Draco stepped around him and waved his arm. Immediately, the chains around my arms vanished, and he lifted me into his arms. Great hiccupping sobs broke free, and I was powerless to stop them. Suffocating relief and elation washed over me, and all I could do was cling to Draco’s neck.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered, rubbing my back. “Let’s get you home.”

I was still naked, so he conjured a blanket and wrapped it around me. Being this close, I could feel the displeasure rolling off him in waves. I was too thin, too cold, too sickly. Beyond that, I felt that his self-deprecating feelings were overwhelming him. He was blaming himself.

“I… can’t…” I held out my wrist to him, where the slender bracelet still restricted me to this room.

Draco studied the bracelet while Crabbe continued to screech from his position on the stone floor.

“Time to go,” Pansy stepped into the room. “Ministry is on its way to look for Lucius’s wand.” She looked down at Crabbe and gave him a mocking smile. “How did I know it would be so tiny and hideous?”

“Get her out of here,” Theo said to Pansy as he delicately placed Astoria in her arms. “I’ll get him.”

“Did you bring the book?” Draco asked.

Pansy nodded and brushed my arm tenderly as she passed. He grabbed Theo before he could get to Crabbe, though.

“The bracelet is linked to bloodline magic,” he said. “Slice my finger so I can release her.”

Theo didn’t hesitate. Blood began to pool on Draco’s thumb, and he spread it around the length of the bracelet. Theo hoisted Crabbe over his shoulder and exited the cell. Pansy followed suit, carrying Astoria through next. I heard the pop of their Apparations, but we remained in the cell.

I watched the bracelet and waited. The blood had disappeared into the metal, and with a clink, it dropped to the floor.

I felt like I was hit by a bus as soon as it was off. Waves of power overwhelmed me and pulled me into the undertow. I cried out as my body was flooded with magic. I could feel every hair standing on end. Between the Crucio, the stress, and this, it was too much.

“Almost out,” Draco whispered. “Hang on. Stay with me.”

He didn’t Apparate with me, though. He walked right out the back door into the winding maze of hedges. He wrapped the blanket around me tighter and held me close to his chest. I was still shaking from the downpour of magic coursing through me.

“I love you so much,” he said. “I should have told you months ago, but I was being a foolish coward.”

I wanted to tell him that I loved him, too. And hearing that he loved me? It was like I was covered in sunlight. My heart clenched and ached at his confession. He loved me.  

We walked through the last hedge, and he turned us back toward the Manor.

As the waves of power began to settle within my body, I started to understand what they really were. It was a connection to Draco. I was feeling his overwhelming magic and emotions. I felt his love, his fear, his shame. I felt everything. And right now, I felt his unbridled rage. His magic twisted around inside mine, threading itself with my own. I couldn’t tell where his started, and mine began. But it was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.

Draco closed his eyes and breathed out a billowing puff of black smoke. When he opened his eyes, they were completely encased in rings of fire. Heat rose up between us; his entire body felt like it was on fire. I flinched and watched in awe as a great serpent rose around us. Fiendfyre. Only Draco seemed to be controlling this one mentally.

I watched the great serpent rear back its head and race through the gardens toward Draco’s childhood home. Every window shattered as soon as the serpent entered the property. Immediately, plumes of smoke rose into the air.

Draco moved us to the hill just beyond the property as the Fiendfyre began to spread to the surrounding gardens. We stood, watching the entire home be engulfed in flames. The walls began to fall as fire surged through the roof. It didn’t feel like Draco was the only one who had cast the FiendFyre. I felt the power of it moving through me as well. Though I was glad to see the place of nightmares crumble, I couldn’t give myself too much time to think about the library and all the ancient and rare texts that were being incinerated within.

At the root of this home was evil. There had likely been centuries of vile and heinous activities inside. But they ended with Draco. The weight of the last few weeks, today, and everything else began to settle over me. My tears had dried, but I was exhausted.

“Never again, Hermione,” he kissed my forehead. “Nothing here will ever hurt you again.”