Met and Beset

A/N If you don't care for serious spanking, you may not care for this chapter…

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After what felt like a short eternity to her, but really was just a few minutes, Severus burst into Hermione's suite. He stopped in his tracks when he spotted the naked, spread-eagled young woman.

Swearing beneath his breath, Severus approached and loosened her bonds. He gently massaged each extremity.

Hermione tried to sniff back her tears as he sat down on the bed beside her.

"I'm pregnant!" she blurted out and promptly burst back into tears.

Severus pulled her into his arms and stroked her hair, letting her cry herself out. He desperately wanted to say something. He found himself so infuriated with Lucius' actions that he didn't trust himself to speak.

As her tears slowed down, Hermione pulled away from his shoulder. She gently touched the tear-dampened fabric of his shirt. "I'm sorry....I'm usually not such a watering-pot."

"Don't apologize. I'm the one who should be begging your forgiveness for not telling you about possible consequences if we made love..."

"How did you know?"

"It was in the fine print of the betrothal contract. Just a little something from the Ministry to bind couples even more closely."

Hermione looked at him, puzzled. "I didn't see anything like that on mine and I read it very thoroughly."

Severus snorted. "Apparently the Ministry, in its infinite wisdom, didn't give the ladies in question a complete copy."

"How terribly convenient," snarled Hermione. "Since men can't get pregnant they would be less likely to kick up a fuss about that clause. Hmmm, I don't suppose since the ladies do not have a complete contract, the mess wouldn't be rendered null and void? What?"

Severus was staring in the middle distance with a particularly blank look on his face. He abruptly stood. "Change into... well, change into some normal daytime clothes."

Hermione snickered. "You mean this isn't normal day-wear for Chez Malfoy?"

"No." His gaze became abstract again.

"What?" she asked. "There's a way out of this because of the incomplete contract?"

"No, unfortunately not. As it involves matrimony, it falls under a rather archaic 'Master of the House' clause, that would be me in our relationship, and puts me in charge of all the details... Hermione, please be patient for a moment, I'll explain later. However," his eyes took on an icy glint. "However, hmmm. Do me a favor and change into the primmest outfit you have with you."

Hermione looked at him, bemused.

"Please, humour me. And, please wait hear until I return."

"Well since you ask so nicely... Um, will I have time for a quick shower?"

"Yes, a quick one. But make haste, I will be back presently." He turned and strode from the room with the air of a man on a mission.

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A few minutes later, Severus strode into the smaller dining room. He found Lucius at table, apparently finishing the luncheon interrupted after Hermione's abrupt departure.

"Severus," Lucius greeted him without raising his eyes from the Daily Prophet.

"Lucius," growled Severus in response.

Lucius looked up at this, raising his eyebrows in inquiry.

Severus held his gaze with steely precision. "Strip," he ordered.

"I'm not in the mood, dear... I've already... indulged my baser instincts."

"Strip, or I'll do it for you."

"Indeed." Lucius' eyebrows went ever closer to his hairline.

Severus took a threatening step towards the seated man.

Lucius sighed. "Well, since you ask so nicely..." he said, unintentionally echoing Hermione. Severus glared even more fiercely in response.

"Well, I suppose I could indulge you, my friend," said Lucius, standing. "Hmmm," he tapped his chin with one long finger. "Or maybe not." He sat back down and picked up the Prophet to continue his reading.

Infuriated at his friend's insouciant attitude, Severus ripped the paper out of his hands. "Strip," he commanded again.

Lucius glared back at him. "What has gotten into you? I already said that I am not interested in indulging at this time."

Severus looked at Lucius with a glare that would have cowed a lesser man into obeying. "I am not interested in whether or not *you* are interested." He moved in closer, into Lucius' personal space and ripped loose the man's intricately tied cravat.

Lucius looked at him, astonished, anger beginning to flare in his eyes. "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with your charming fiancée?"

"In a word, yes. Lucius, you have overstepped your bounds. You owe me, and I'm going to take it out in your hide."

"Now what on earth have I done to upset you? You know the loose set of rules maintained here. What's yours is mine. I was just trying to make Hermione feel like more of the family," Lucius smiled mockingly.

In the blink of an eye, both wizards had their wands drawn, Lucius echoing Severus' motion a split second after him. He smiled blindingly at the dark haired wizard. "Now this is more like. A little afternoon exercise. You don't mind waiting a moment whilst I remove my frock coat?"

Severus inclined his head slightly, never taking his eyes off Malfoy.

Lucius turned away, still smiling broadly and began shrugging out of the tight-fitting garment. When he had the coat half-off with his wand-arm free, he suddenly whirled on Severus and fired off a silent hex.

Severus, having been watching, warily, threw a quick Protego in front of himself, blocking the hex. He followed up by firing off a Petrificus, which Malfoy only partially blocked.

Lucius stumbled a bit, catching his balance after finding one stiffened leg not fully supporting him. He lost a bit of his smile, "Ah, my dear, I see you are in earnest." Barely finishing the sentence, he fired another non-verbal hex at the Potions Master and cast a Finite on his Petrified leg.

Snape shot up a mirror charm, bouncing the hex back in the direction of Malfoy, who just barely dodged it. They began circling each other warily, Lucius with one arm still in his coat jacket.

"I see it now," he said tauntingly. "You are beginning to feel... affection... for our sweet little mudblood guest. Pity. One shouldn't fall in love with a brood mare when there are so many more interesting lovers around."

Snape didn't even bother to reply to this taunt, merely shot off a lightening-fast volley of hexes and curses that Lucius easily blocked. Lucius retaliated by shooting a slicing hex at the other man that sliced through the shoulder of his white shirt.

The wound was a shallow one, and only tinted the fabric slightly. Severus didn't even flinch as he fired back his own slicing hex, which didn't touch any skin, but took off a few inches of hair on one side of the blond wizard's head.

Lucius glared, becoming enraged. "I'll teach you..." he snarled, dropping his guard for a mere second in his rage.

Severus took advantage of this break and shot back with a successful Petrificus. Lucius toppled over, stiff as a board, his head narrowly missing one of the gilt chairs.

Severus walked over to the man, twirling his wand. "We'll see who will be teaching whom, old friend. Stupefy!" He bent over the stupefied blond wizard and cast a targeted Finite to end the Petrificus. He transfigured three ropes from the cloth napkins at the table.

Tipping Lucius onto his stomach, Snape tied the blond man's forearms on top of each other tighly behind his back, causing Malfoy's chest to bow forward slightly. He tied the second rope loosely around Malfoy's neck and cast a mobilicorpus. Carrying the third rope, he gently tugged on the rope around the neck of his friend's unconscious body and walked out of the dining room, Lucius' body drifting along behind him.

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Hermione looked up at the sharp knock on the door of her suite, drawing her wand as the door came open. She was seated on the brocade-upholstered chaise lounge, enjoying a bit of reading while waiting for Severus to return. Her eyes widened as Severus came into the room, towing the still-unconscious Malfoy behind him.

"Severus?" she asked cautiously.

"Hermione, I do hate to interrupt your reading, however..." he gestured at Malfoy's body "I would like to use that chaise for our friend here."

Hermione stood, nervously brushing down her skirts. She had obviously risen to the occasion, wearing a severe navy blue outfit that covered her from high on her neck to her wrists, to the floor. She had put her unruly hair back in a tight bun a la McGonagall and looked as prim and proper as the Transfiguration Mistress. She stepped aside as Severus levitated the chaise lounge into the center of the spacious room.

Tugging Malfoy's body over and perpendicular to the chaise, Severus released his catch from the mobilicorpus. Malfoy's chest dropped onto the chaise and his knees and lower legs hit the floor. Working quickly, Snape tied the end of the ersatz leash around a leg of the chaise.

"Hermione, have you a hair band?" he asked.

"What sort? I have several varieties with."

"I would like to put Lucius' hair back into a ponytail so he cannot hide behind it."

Hermione handed him a hair tie. Severus made short work of drawing Malfoy's now-uneven hair back and off his face, snugging the band tightly to the wizard's head.

"What on earth happened to his hair? And your shoulder? Severus!" Hermione gasped, appalled.

"Just a small spat amongst good friends," Severus smirked at her. He picked up the third rope where he had dropped it next to the chaise and tied one end around Malfoy's ponytail and the other around the opposite leg of the chaise. This forced Malfoy's head back and his chin was now propped up on the chaise.

"What do you intend to do with him?" asked Hermione, bemused. She was somewhat torn, not liking to see the proud man trussed up so, but wickedly, also enjoying what was sure to be discomposing to him.

"I intend to show him the error of his way. Enervate!" Severus snarled.

Lucius came back to consciousness with a jerk and found that he couldn't move his upper body at all without either having his hair pulled rather painfully or being slightly strangled. "Severus?" he asked, a sliver of fear now apparent in his voice.

"Dear, dear Lucius. Ever the gracious host, it is SO kind of you to volunteer to provide for this afternoon's entertainment," grated Severus, guiding Hermione so they were standing within his line of sight.

Hermione blushed at Lucius' glare, but couldn't hide her own smirk at the wizard's obvious discomfort.

"Severus, what?" gasped Lucius, becoming alarmed at his immobility. He could move his legs, but not without having one or both of the ropes tied to his head and neck tug at him uncomfortably.

"Why, Lucius. I intend to see you brought low. Just as low as you made my lovely wife-to-be feel. Hold very, very still my *dear*. I intend to remove your clothes, with my wand. And while I am very accurate with my wand work, I cannot anticipate your every twitch and breath. Diffindo!"

A thin blast of magic shot out from Snape's wand, cleaving the shirtsleeve on Lucius' right arm, missing his skin by a hair's breadth. Lucius froze.

And gasped, and froze, and gasped some more as Severus slowly, magically, hacked off all his clothing. Most of the slices pasted over Malfoy's skin harmlessly, though a couple, notably a nasty little cut on the right arm and a couple of slices on the legs and ribs did let a little of the blue-blood's blood flow. Malfoy wasn't particularly in pain, just terribly startled by his friend's grim determination and slightly embarrassed to be suddenly naked in front of the primly dressed Miss Granger.

"I'm sure you both are wondering," Severus smiled, "why I haven't sliced you, Lucius, to ribbons. You do have such pretty skin and I'd rather not do anything to it that would leave any more scars than you already have, friend. Now bruises, on the other hand..."

Lucius closed his eyes and shuddered slightly, wondering what was in store for him.

"Ah ah! Leave your eyes open. I don't want you hiding from us in any way, shape, or form," chided Severus. "You may blink, but you may not shut us out. In fact, I would like you to see everything that is happening to you." Severus waved his wand and a half-circle of mirrors went up in front of Lucius' gaze.

"There now. When we are behind you, you can still see us and vice versa."

Lucius swallowed nervously.

Severus drew up two chairs behind and on either side of Lucius. He gestured for Hermione to take one chair and he seated himself in the other.

"Severus, what?"

"What, indeed, dear Lucy." Snape smiled a particularly evil grin full of malice and a few crooked teeth. "What is me smacking your arse until you apologize--Sincerely!--to my affianced wife, Miss Granger. Hermione, you are to watch his face for sincerity and it will be up to you to decide when I should stop."

Hermione smiled at Malfoy's distraught look in the mirror.

"Don't worry, dear, we'll start easy, with just my hand, and then work our way up to more...rigorous... punishments." With that, Severus let fly with his hand and smacked one firm, pale Malfoy buttock.

Lucius started, more from the shock of the contact than from any pain... and found his movement pulling his hair rather painfully. He breathed deeply and schooled his body to be as still as possible.

Severus laid into him, alternating between buttocks.

"Severus?" Hermione stilled his arm before it could descend again.

"Yes, love?"

Hermione bit her lip, and blushed becomingly. "Severus, I'm afraid... Well, for a punishment, Lucius seems to be enjoying this far too much." She pointed at Lucius' body, towards his crotch.

Severus peered down at his immobilized friend. Lucius had a fine start to a lovely hard-on, his penis beginning to point upward towards the chaise lounge.

"My dear, you are correct, he does appear to be enjoying himself. This is meant to be a punishment for his abuse of your person, not some mild, stimulating discipline. What do you suggest?"

Hermione rose and went over to the solid pine vanity and picked up something. She returned to her seat next to Lucius and handed Severus what she had picked up: A wide, round boar-bristle brush.

"Ah, just the thing. Lucy, my dear, you're about to be brought low by one of Miss Granger's hair implements." Suiting action to words, he brought the back of the brush down solidly on one of Lucius' pinkened buttocks.

That smack hurt, and Lucius fought to keep still, to keep from exacerbating the situation. A whimper slipped past his lips and he was mortified to feel his eyes beginning to tear up as Severus continued smacking his bottom.

Snape moved his punishment lower and began waling on the crease where buttock met leg. At this punishment, Lucius let out a small yelp, with each blow, still fighting to remain still to keep from getting his hair yanked. A tear snuck out past his left eye and he blushed furiously with shame as he saw Hermione watching with interest the expressions on his face in the mirror. He was appalled to feel his cock grow even harder.

She smiled ever so gently at Lucius. "Severus. I believe in order to truly punish Lucius, you are going to need to untie his neck and hair. I'd rather he didn't strangle himself or be snatched bald as a result of this evening's activities. Better that you put the ropes to use to bind his hips into place so that his, though it is interesting to watch, his dancing about to avoid the blows cease."

"That, and it will be that much harder for him to stimulate himself against that brocade. Yes, Lucius, I saw what you were trying to do, oh, so subtly." Snape waved his wand and Lucius found one of the ropes had wrapped around his waist and now was snugging his midsection down to the chaise lounge, while the other bound his knees together and steadied them into place as well.

"Hermione, would you like to have at him?" Severus asked politely.

"Well, yes, I would, but I would like to use the hairbrush. I don't want to hurt my hand spanking him."

"Better yet..." Severus unbuckled his belt and pulled it loose from his trousers. He folded it in half and handed the two ends to Hermione, gesturing for her to proceed.

Hermione stood up, braced herself and said, "Lucius, this is for what you did to me and what you took away from Severus."

"What did I take away from Severus," gasped Malfoy, his cheeks almost as red as his buttocks were getting from embarrassment and pain.

"It should have come from Severus, the father of my child, to let me know that I might be pregnant. Instead you choose to announce it to me, and in such a cavalier manner."

"Mugglebornbroodmare," Lucius muttered under his breath.

"I beg your pardon?" gasped both Hermione and Snape.

"That does it. Your arse is mine and I'm painting it black and blue," Hermione snarled and began laying on strokes with the folded leather belt.

Lucius yipped and yelped under her onslaught and eventually began sobbing openly as she continued to rain fierce blows on his helpless buttocks. Hermione showed no mercy.

Malfoy, on the other hand, began to plead for mercy as she raised welts on the proud patriarch's arse. One particularly vicious blow drew blood and sent Lucius into a blubbering, begging tailspin.

Hermione snapped out of her rage when she saw what she had done. She looked at Severus, her eyes wide and horrified. "Oh my gods, Lucius, oh dear," she gasped.

Severus smirked, watching his sobbing friend in the mirror. "Nothing that the salve you brought with you wouldn't cure. Of course, he *is* going to feel the bruising for a few days..."

"I do have some balm for bruises..."

"No. He needs to think about what he's said and done, and what better way to remind him than every time he SITS DOWN?" Severus started with a sibilant whisper and ended with a roar.

Malfoy flinched away from the sound as much as he could. Hermione shook her head and went to get the salve she had applied to Severus' rope burn.

When she returned to her chair, Severus had untied all the ropes binding Lucius, but his friend hadn't moved from the assumed position. Malfoy continued to gently sob and hiccup.

Hermione rested her small hand on the small of Lucius' back. "Lucius. This is going to sting a bit as I apply it, but it should remedy the worst of the welts and swelling."

Malfoy didn't know whether to gasp or sigh in relief as Hermione's gentle hand began applying the salve...