Rating:
R
House:
Astronomy Tower
Ships:
Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger
Characters:
Hermione Granger
Genres:
Angst
Era:
Harry and Classmates Post-Hogwarts
Spoilers:
Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Order of the Phoenix Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Stats:
Published: 04/29/2005
Updated: 11/11/2005
Words: 46,788
Chapters: 23
Hits: 87,447

The Sweetest Sin

Annie

Story Summary:
In the years following Voldemort's victory in the second war, Muggle-borns must become slaves and servants to purebloods in order to survive. Over time, Hermione Granger has learned to suppress her pride and independence in households where she is considered lower than dirt. She thought she would be prepared for this new family, just like she was for all the previous ones. What she didn't know was that this new family was none other than Draco Malfoy's. Will she manage to hold up when she finds herself struggling to withhold her sharp tongue, returning hatred, and... something else?

Chapter 12

Chapter Summary:
Without time to recover, Hermione is forced to face down another nightmare from her past - a visit the place she despised more than life itself.
Posted:
06/29/2005
Hits:
3,375


Chapter 12: Mudblood Town

The sun was shining brightly and Hermione had no choice but to force open her swollen eyelids. She blinked twice to clear her vision, then looked around, confused at first as to her location. Her surroundings were unfamiliar.

Where are my clothes? she thought, completely disoriented. And why does my entire body ache?

Hermione screwed her eyes up, trying to remember. Slowly, bits and pieces of the previous night's events came back to her. With each returning shard of her memory, the heavy weight in Hermione's heart seemed to increase.

"Oh no," she groaned when she had finally pieced together everything, "oh no, no, no..."

However, the harder she tried to push away the memories, the more determined they seemed to be to return. Unable to hide from them anymore, Hermione buried her face into a nearby pillow and screamed in frustration.

This can't be happening to me...not again. Not him.

And yet the throbbing pain between her legs, in her head, everywhere...it was all too real. The despair she felt was too severe for everything to have just been a very bad dream. At the same time, though, Hermione still couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it, and it just wasn't believable. Had Draco Malfoy really raped her?

Hermione shuddered as the words formed in her mind. How could he do this to me? she thought numbly.

Deep inside, she felt betrayed, but she knew it was her own fault. How could she have been so stupid as to even think for one second that he might care for her? It didn't matter that they'd known each other four years ago; to him, she was just another Mudblood. He treated her no differently than he would treat any other slave of his, and yet she thought she'd been of more importance to him.

Hermione inhaled shakily, and Draco's scent filled her nostrils. It was sharp, like spearmint, but at the same time, comforting and soothing like the smell of the Burrow after Mrs Weasley had just finished cooking up a storm. Tears trickled out from underneath Hermione's eyelids and were immediately soaked up by the soft cotton cover of the pillow. She breathed in again, and this time his scent was accompanied by an image of him flashing briefly in her mind. He was smiling warmly at someone; this confused Hermione, for she had never seen him smile in such a way.

The pillow was beginning to become damp with her tears, so Hermione turned around to lie on her back. She stared up at the blank, white ceiling above her, thoughts tumbling around in her mind, tears still rolling down her cheeks. Every once in a while, Draco's face would make its appearance again and her heart would give a painful lurch.

At last, Hermione sat up. Her stiff limbs burned in protested against her sudden movement, and it was all Hermione could do to not cry out. As a wave of self-pity swept over her, Hermione curled up into a ball, whimpering in pain. She couldn't take it anymore. Everything was so hopeless, so meaningless to her. There was no bright light on the horizon, no flickering candle in the corner.

There's no reason for me to live anymore, she thought miserably, still tightly hugging herself. I wish Harry and Ron were here. They would know what to do. They would help me get through this.

Just as Hermione was about to burst into a fresh round of sobs, she heard footsteps approaching. Instinctively, she tensed up. Please, please don't be him.

The door swung open and Draco walked in. He looked at her blankly. "Get out," he ordered.

Hermione made no move to leave. She had no desire to even look at him, much less walk right past him.

She heard him moving again and for one horrible moment she thought he was going to walk over and slap her, but after a few seconds, the blow she was prepared for didn't come. For once, Draco didn't seem angry about her disobedience.

"Thomas and Kathryn need tending to," came his voice from the other end of the room. "And you'll find a new pair of robes on your bed downstairs. Change into them; we're going to Mudblood Town today."

Hermione froze. Draco's last two words seemed to hover in the air for several seconds before finally fading away. She didn't want to question his motive for taking her along with him, but at the same time, she was not ready to willingly accept the news. Therefore, she settled for clutching the bed sheet underneath her in a death grip.

"Did you hear me or not?" asked Draco sharply.

Hermione swallowed and gave the tiniest of nods. She made to get out of the bed, then realised that she had no idea where her clothes were. Blushing furiously, she shrunk back under the covers.

As if he could read her mind, Draco sighed and said, "They're on the dresser next to you."

"Could you at least leave?" asked Hermione, but the words came out nearly indiscernible. She cleared her throat and opened her mouth to try again, but before she could make a sound, she was interrupted by Draco.

"Why should I? It's nothing I haven't seen before," he replied, a smirk evident in his tone.

Hermione screwed up her eyes tightly, more determined than ever to not look at Draco for fear that he would see the tears trickling out of her eyes. Her cheeks were burning with humiliation and hatred, and there was nothing she wanted more at that moment than to just disappear. But I'll never let him know that, she thought furiously to herself.

"Well, well, well...this is something new; the know-it-all doesn't have anything to say for once. I never thought I would see the day."

"What are you trying to gain by provoking me?" asked Hermione softly, her voice quivering violently. "Isn't everything you've done so far bad enough? You've just about broken me in; isn't that everything you wanted?"

"No," he said quietly, "you will never be able to give me everything I want."

"Then why did you whisper her name to me last night, as if you were imagining her in my place?"

The silence that followed was deafening. Even the birds outside that had been singing merrily just moments ago quieted down; it was as if the whole world simply stopped. Hermione knew she had hit an extremely sensitive nerve, and she now regretted her last few words. Just as she was about to apologise, she heard a rustling and looked up to find that Draco had left the room.

For several seconds, Hermione struggled to push away the guilt that was edging in. What she said had been low; lower than anything Draco had ever said to her. And yet Draco's only response had been to leave the room, while in other cases, he'd slapped her or blown up. What had changed?

Shaking her head, Hermione rubbed her eyes wearily. She felt much older than twenty right now. It was if every burden ever borne by a grown witch had suddenly been dumped on her shoulders, and the remaining strength within her that prevented her from collapsing under the weight was ebbing away. Soon, Hermione would collapse under all the stress and at the present moment, she wasn't sure if she would survive it when the day arrived.

Although it was the last thing Hermione wanted to do, she forced herself out of the bed, seized her clothes from the dresser, and slipped them on. All of this she did slowly, carefully, as if she were trying to prolong the time before she had to go to Mudblood Town - in other words, revisit the hell she called home.

Finally, Hermione knew she could no longer stay up in the bedroom. Wrapping her robe tightly around herself, she stumbled out the room, cringing as the scratches on the insides of her thighs rubbed against each other painfully. Cautiously, Hermione descended the stairs while holding her breath and praying none of the Malfoy family would make an appearance. Thankfully, she soon reached her bedroom without running into any of them.

Draco had spoken the truth; when Hermione arrived at the foot of the staircase leading into her bedroom, there was indeed a large parcel sitting on her bed, awaiting her arrival. Sighing, Hermione trudged over to the bed and gingerly sat down. She placed the package on her thighs and slowly untied the knotted string that held the top of the box down. When the string had been removed, the cardboard flaps fell away to reveal a hastily folded robe of pale green silk.

Hermione bit her lip when she saw Draco's gift. There was no doubt that it had been expensive; perhaps even more expensive than anything from Pansy's wardrobe. But why would he buy her this? He'd already given her the beautiful robe she wore now; that was more than enough and he knew it. Could it be that after being showered with costly clothing, she would expected to repay Draco in some way or another? The moment this thought formed, Hermione couldn't help but repress a shudder as possible "repayments" came to mind.

Reaching into the box, Hermione lifted out the robe and shook it out to examine its full length. Her eyes widened as she took in the elegant simplicity of the small ivy vines stitched along the hem and neckline. The robe was so stunning that just one glance nearly took Hermione's breath away.

Her bottom lip suddenly began to tremble, and she felt tears begin forming against her will again. Cursing herself under her breath for being overemotional, Hermione let the tears silently fall from her eyes. They landed on the robe, quickly staining the silken material.

She didn't even know what it was that was making her cry. Her heart felt as though it were torn into two: one half hated, despised, Draco for what he had done to her; the other half almost respected and appreciated him for what he had done for her. The pain that resulted from being split into two sides so completely different was mind-numbing.

With the robe slung across her arm, Hermione stood up and walked over to stand before the mirror. She then proceeded to hold the robe up against her body and gaze at herself in the mirror with something like wonder. A sad smile spread across her face. Her reflection, which was sporting the exact same smile, looked so beautiful yet at the same time so forlorn. Her messy, tangled hair contrasted sharply with the exquisiteness of the robe, giving her the image of a cross between the two sides of Cinderella, a character from a Muggle fairy tale.

Sighing, Hermione let the robe fall to the ground. Immediately, she transformed back into the same filthy, pitiful servant she had been minutes ago. I guess without magic, I will never become a princess.

---------

Later that afternoon found Hermione trailing after Draco down the streets of Mudblood Town. After changing into the robes Draco had provided, Hermione had grudgingly headed upstairs to join Draco. The two of them had then silently travelled to Mudblood Town by means of floo powder, due to Hermione's inability to apparate.

As Hermione struggled to keep up with Draco's brisk pace, she found her eyes drifting around, taking in the wretchedness of her surroundings. Dirty, starved half-bloods, Muggles, and Muggle-borns were everywhere; some hid in shadowy alleyways, a few could be seen limping across streets blindly, and others simply sat on the sidewalk, extending their emaciated hands out desperately to Draco and Hermione. Draco paid no attention to them, seeming determined to get to his destination as quickly as he could. Hermione, on the hand, was disturbed almost to the point of tears. The part of her forearm that had her serial number branded onto it twinged painfully as she looked up at the all-too-familiar run-down shacks around her. Just breathing in the heavy stench of rotten food and sweat that hung in the air was a nauseating reminder of the days she'd spent without an employer - days she'd rather not remember.

At last, Draco stopped in front of a tall, grey building that towered above the other tiny huts. He glanced briefly at the words "Mudblood Employment Agency" written in peeling red paint on the large steel door before him, then reached out to grab the doorknob.

"Stay here," he barked to Hermione before turning the knob and entering the dark building. The door slammed behind him, and Hermione found herself alone on the streets of Mudblood Town.

As Hermione silently debated whether or not she should stand in front of the door and wait for Draco, she heard a voice from behind her call her name. Startled, Hermione turned around, her eyes scanning the streets for anyone she might recognise. The voice called her name again, and Hermione suddenly caught sight of someone very familiar to her, standing a few metres away.

"Jeanne!" shrieked Hermione, hurrying away from the door to embrace her friend. However, Jeanne took a quick step backwards before Hermione got the chance to throw her arms around her friend.

"Careful!" exclaimed Jeanne, holding up one hand. She laughed and pointed down to the small bundle she carried in one arm.

Hermione gasped when she realised what - or rather, who - it was Jeanne was carrying. "You have a baby!"

Jeanne nodded. She had lost a significant amount of weight since Hermione had last seen her, and her skin had a faint yellow tinge to it, indicating of some kind of illness. Nevertheless, a wide smile still lit up Jeanne's face.

"When?" was all Hermione managed to say as she gaped at the tiny child Jeanne carried. He looked hardly older than two months, and it was astonishing to know that such a helpless little thing could be living under such poor conditions.

Jeanne's expression quickly sobered up. "He's almost two months old," she explained, confirming Hermione's suspicions. "He...he belongs to my last owner."

Hermione's hands flew to her mouth in shock. "How could you do something like this?" she half-shrieked, completely stunned by Jeanne's confession.

"You think I wanted to?" hissed Jeanne, looking around furtively as if she were afraid that the father of her baby was going to appear any second. "I didn't have any choice. Now keep your voice down, Hermione. I don't want to attract any attention, plus you might wake James up."

"You named him?" asked Hermione, utterly appalled.

An offended expression spread across Jeanne's face. "Of course I named him," she said softly. "He's my child too, Hermione. Just because I didn't want him doesn't mean I don't love him."

"But...what about the circumstances under which he was conceived? How can you love the result of something so..." Hermione paused, struggling to find a good word.

Jeanne shook her head. "It doesn't matter," she said firmly, almost defensively. "Let's just...just stop talking about James. Let's talk about you. You look beautiful, darling. I'm glad your owner is treating you so well."

Hermione shook her head violently. "Jeanne, please don't try to change the topic. I'm worried for you!"

"I know you are," replied Jeanne exasperatedly. "I'm worried for myself. But I'll be fine, okay? It's just that with a baby, I can't get any Pureblood to buy me."

"Oh don't talk about yourself in such ways," said Hermione apprehensively. "You're not an item. Oh Jeanne, I wish you could come live with me."

Jeanne rubbed her eyes wearily with her free hand. "No, I think I'm better off like this. I don't think I'd be able to survive living with a Pureblood in my state."

"He's...he's not that..." For a second, Hermione faltered. At last, she finished in a whisper, "...bad."

Having been friends with Hermione for years, Jeanne immediately noticed Hermione's hidden distress. "What happened?"

"Nothing," replied Hermione quickly, averting her eyes. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to block out memories from the previous night, then opened them again to look at Jeanne. "Nothing," she repeated firmly.

Jeanne sighed. "I know what happened, Hermione. I'm sorry he raped you."

Hermione recoiled sharply, surprised by the bluntness of Jeanne's words. She opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment, she saw the door to the MEA building open and Draco step out. He stopped, looked around, then finally spotted Hermione standing off to the side.

"We're leaving," he said, striding over to where Hermione stood with Jeanne. "Right now," he added pointedly when she didn't move.

Hermione hesitated, torn between staying with Jeanne and leaving with Draco. Her heart was telling her to take the first option, while common sense suggested the latter. At last, Jeanne made the decision - she gave Hermione a little nudge in the direction of Draco.

"I'll be fine," whispered Jeanne reassuringly as Hermione began to walk away. "I promise I'll see you sometime soon, Hermione."

Hermione felt tears come to her eyes as she looked over her shoulder at the slowly disappearing form of her friend. She brought her fingertips to her lips briefly. "Good-bye Jeanne," she whispered quietly before turning around and hurrying to catch up with Draco.


Author notes: /Edit/ I've resubmitted this chapter and I fixed the 3 or 4 mistakes...thanks to Emmera Malfoy for pointing out the summary mistake :) I have a few more things to add to this author's note too: Jeanne is one of Hermione's old friends. Hermione mentions her in the first chapter. And to another one of my readers who asked why this chapter was uploaded onto MNFF before FA, it's because even though I submitted the chapter here earlier, the mods over there were quicker to add it.

And no, before anyone asks, there is no mystery behind Draco's need to visit Mudblood Town. The reason for his going to see the MEA is unimportant :P

Anyway, yay, long chapter. I was originally going to split this up into two chapters, but I decided against it just because. This chapter also took me FOREVER to write because I just wasn't able to decide how to portray Hermione's emotions the morning after. So I kind of rushed through the whole encounter with Jeanne because the chapter had been sitting unfinished for over 2 weeks, and I wanted to be done with it. But, well, that's enough of my explanations. You'll have to excuse my ramblings in the post-ANs; they will show up in a lot of future chapters :)

Finally, I only have one more pre-written chapter left. Unfortunately, after that chapter, I'm not sure if I'll be as quick with updates anymore. Ironically enough, I have even less time to write now that it's summer - I have 4 hours of US history every morning, 4-6 hours of homework every night, and I just got a position as a moderator on Mugglenet Chat so that's going to take up some of my time as well. Not to mention the fact that I'm running out of inspiration to write. However, I definitely won't be deserting this story...hopefully I will find some time to just sit down and think about what to do with this story in the near future. (Wow, I say too much junk about my life in these post-fic author notes)

Oh, and I'm sorry but I can't answer all the questions from the last chapter. I realised that a lot of people were questioning the possibility of Hermione and Draco getting together after the incident though, so I'll tell you now that they WILL get together. Although for some, it may not be so convincing.