Plaything

Title: Plaything
Rating: R/ NC-17
Pairing: HG/LM, HG/SS
Warning: Darkfic, Non-consensual.
Editor: Jan
Summary: The plot of this fic comes from Amanuensis\' \"A Spell to Turn Tigers to Butter\", available here:
restrictedsection (dot) org. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Her story centers on Harry who is
given to both Lucius and Severus as a pet. The story is brilliant and I couldn\'t help but wonder what it would
be like for Hermione under the same circumstances so I\'ve placed her into Lucius\' and Severus\' clutches. Let\'s
see what happens. . .

~*Hermione*~
I\'ve always equated libraries with pleasant memories. I\'ve spent many hours combing endless bookshelves for
any scrap of knowledge I could absorb. I\'ve noticed that all libraries resemble one another. Every one of them
are filled with books which bear that musty scent of acquired knowledge. They have long wooden tables lined
with reading lamps. Sometimes, I thought I\'d never to live to see one again. And yet, here I am - sitting in the
Malfoy Library. In many ways, this is the best night of my life. In many ways, it\'s one of the worst. Right now,
I\'m curled up in a comfortable chair by a crackling fire with a book of poetry in my arms. I\'m wearing a
sumptuous robe and my stomach is full. Severus and Lucius haven\'t starved me but they\'ve never let me eat my
fill. A hungry slave is a compliant slave. I may have some creature comforts but I have no doubt that I\'m on
dangerous ground. It wouldn\'t do to become too complacent.
My would-be murderer, Lucius Malfoy is seated opposite me, supposedly reading a novel but I can see him
really studying me, from under his lashes. I think he feels guilty for trying to strangle me. It\'s all over him - the
supposed gentleness, the bribes of food and clothing, and the option of forgoing his bed tonight. I\'m having
trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that a Death Eater could have a conscience. I thought those nagging
voices of reason were removed from initiates as soon the Dark Mark was emblazoned on their bodies. Yet, his
culpable eyes keep straying to his fingerprints on my neck. He\'s also deliberately slowed the movements he
makes around me so as not to frighten me. Well, he can move as slow as he likes -- I\'m still frightened of him.
Harry once told me what it was like for him when he faced down Lord Voldemort and the specter of his own
death in the graveyard. I thought he\'d confessed everything -- his fear, how he felt when he saw Diggory\'s
body, and how he dealt with the ghostly images of his parents. But he hadn\'t told me what it was really like. He
hadn\'t prepared me for the mind-numbing terror that gripped me, or the panic that raced through my veins. I
can remember struggling, clawing at the hands that clenched onto me and pleading with my eyes. I would have
said or done anything to keep myself alive, but Malfoy only wanted me to die. His face was a mask. There was
nothing in those wintry blue eyes but a determination to squeeze the life out of me.
But why?
I have to know. No, I need to know why he wanted to kill me so badly. Was it because I\'d somehow disgraced
him by \"letting\" his son rape me? Rape. I\'d almost forgotten. I\'d been raped yesterday, too. It hadn\'t even fazed
me - perhaps I\'m growing used to it. After all, it happens every day. Well, not today at least. Lucius is wallowing
in his own guilt right now and hasn\'t touched me. Only a Malfoy could transform an attempted homicide into a
reason to think more about himself. It\'s absurd. I can\'t even believe that I\'m sitting here with him. The man tried
to kill me last night, yet here we are, reading by the fire, as though nothing happened. The hypocrisy would be
laughable if it weren\'t so unnerving. And although he may choose to ignore our roles for the moment, I will
not. I am his slave, not his lover. I won\'t lose sight of that.
And if he\'s willing to \"give\" for the moment than I\'m more than willing to \"take\". Lucius has certainly taken enough from me. I know he wants to take more. I saw the way he looked at me tonight. Lucius still wants to have sex with me. But he won\'t - not until he gets some sign from me that it would be all right. And neither will Severus. . .that\'s when it hit me. Both Lucius and Severus had extreme reactions to my injury. My old Potions Master had patiently healed me and then padlocked me with a protection charm. Lucius had gone out and bought me a bribe. I\'d wager most Death Eaters didn\'t \"spoil\" their toys this way.
Following this thought train made all of their interactions come into a glaring new light. They were jealous of each other and of the time each of them spent with me I kept replaying snippets of forgotten conversation and surreptitious glances over and over in my mind. Lucius\' disgruntled look when he saw Severus brushing my hair this morning. Severus\' grip on the hair brush as I was propelled into Lucius\' keeping for the day. And there had been more signs, all of them somewhat subtle. I just hadn\'t interpreted them correctly.
But what does this mean for me? I\'m a desirable slave. So what? Yet, there was more than lust in their eyes when they looked at me. I\'m not foolish enough to think it is love. Love, as Gryffindor as it sounds, is an unselfish emotion. It is placing someone\'s needs and wants above your own. No, neither of them love me but they want me and they care for me. How much is anyone\'s guess but it is an emotional connection, at least. And with emotion comes weakness and with weakness comes . . .
Power.
For the first time since I\'ve been taken prisoner, I have some. Granted, it isn\'t much, but it feels like a great deal to me. This fragile power is also contingent on their patience and pity. Both of them don\'t have great stores of either so I must be very careful. I was Head Girl and I am a very bright person. Lucius and Severus had unwittingly handed me a very powerful weapon. I just have to decide how to use it. My power comes from emotion and not strength so a direct attack wouldn\'t be wise. But surely, I can manipulate them somehow.
And that made me hit on a very unpleasant idea. Sex is also power. I\'d always despised women who used their wiles to gain prestige. However, slaves don\'t have the luxury of moral integrity. I already know both Lucius and Severus want me. I know they\'re afraid I might prefer one of them over the other. Perhaps, it is time to capitalize on that fear. And I will do whatever is necessary to get out of here.
\"Knut for your thoughts?\"
Blinking, I looked over at Lucius to find him watching me with a curious expression.
There were several ways to answer that question but I decided to take a more coy approach. \"I think you can afford a bit more than that.\" I smiled at him. And I always thought flirting was silly. It could just save my life.
Lucius\' face lit up at that small sign of acceptance. Apparently, he thought that the penalty for attempted murder was dinner and a good book. Yes, he was sure to snap out of this self-imposed pity party very soon. \"Very well, how many galleons are your thoughts worth?\" he asked indulgently.
You don\'t own enough gold to buy my mind, I thought bitterly. Instead, I grinned at him. \"You\'ve been generous enough today, Lucius.\"
\"You\'ll find I can be very generous to you, Hermione - if you let me.\"
I screwed up my courage and told a lie worthy of Salazar Slytherin himself. \"There is something you can do for me, Lucius. Could you hold me?\"
\"Of course.\" Lucius\' eyes were filled with triumph as he opened his arms to me and beckoned me on his lap. I steeled my nerve and walked over to him. I\'d intended to hug him but he seemed to want more contact. I guess that shouldn\'t surprise me. Lucius always wants more from me than I\'m willing to give. I gingerly sat down on the edge of his lap, with my feet touching the floor. But Lucius only wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest, leaving my legs dangling. He settled my head into the crook of his neck. \"I knew you\'d come around,\" he murmured against my cheek.
\"I guess you were right.\" I took in several slow breaths to maintain my composure. One of his arms was snugly around my waist and the other was playing with the tie on my robe. He slid his lips to my jaw line and then down to my throat, kissing the bruises he\'d left behind. And then I felt his body starting to respond to my proximity and passivity. Lucius twisted me in his arms until he could see my face. \"I\'m going to buy you. I\'m going to find a way.\"
I could\'ve cried at that. Not because I have any desire to remain Severus\' sex slave but because he was upsetting my plan. I looked him in the eye. \"How?\"
\"Let me worry about that,\" Lucius said, nipping at my chin. Then, he paused to stare at me with icy gray eyes. \"Why? Do you want to stay with him?\"

I merely smiled at him and then leaned into to press my lips against his. I\'m loathe to participate in my own violation but I have laid the groundwork and I have no wish to anger him further. I must walk a very thin line with him. Lucius groaned into my mouth and I\'m ashamed to admit that I could feel myself readying for him. He was a rapist and a murderer but my body still responded to him.
And then he forgot all about Severus. And I did, too.

Thanks:
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A big round of applause for my newly acquired editor, Jan. She\'s wonderful, she\'s patient, and she\'s fast. She even puts up with my liberal approach to the English language and my abuse of ellipses. . . Thank you! Your help has been invaluable.
Fiery Slut- Hermione\'s tricky, huh? All too soon she\'ll have them eating out of her hand.
Sing - *hugs* We\'re old friend now. LOL. About Snape and Lucius. Yes, each one sees her very differently. To a large extent, I think Severus is in denial as to what he\'s done and who she is. Malfoy isn\'t only aware, he revels in the situation. He\'s a very bad man. ;> And yes, Snape hides from the truth more than Lucius. And, I do expect Severus to assume he\'s in her corner and she trusts him, etc. Boy, is he in for a big surprise. He\'ll figure out some things soon enough, I think. And yes Lucius always offers. I think of him as Lucifer character. He\'s a tempter. . .take some of this but you\'ll be tainted by it, etc. Pretty soon, you wind up with all sorts of vices. And a Lucius vice is a good one, no? And Severus is much more insecure. He wants to pull Hermione in with her own needs. He wants to take away her power. As for the mental connection, I think Lucius is far more honest with her and she realizes it. They are realists. And thank you for the rather lengthy review. I love to pick apart works of fiction, movies, television shows, etc. Its why I love JKR so much. I find your insights and commentary very interesting. And, yes, you have tempted me with the long review. Damn you, Lucius! LOL.
Kendra- Buffy fan? Me too. Thanks! I\'ll keep it coming.
Nell - But Lucius is a bad guy! I don\'t care how many robes I got he gave her, he\'s still of the bad. However, she isn\'t immune to him. LOL. Who could be? I think things we\'ll be changing between them. And Snape is her \"savior\".
SillyLilly- I will! Thanks.
Zee- Thanks! Yes, Snape has his own gravitational pull. I will be putting more of him in it next time. Don\'t you worry! Thanks!
Anna Marie- So glad you are enjoying the fic and that you like Snape. He\'s a doll.
Gina-here\'s more!
MoD- Thanks. I\"m glad it is withstanding its appeal. :)
Corazon- Hey there! Yep, Hermione is a survivor. She\'s gonna be kickin\' ass and takin\' names soon enough. Thanks! *hugs*
LadyJet- LoL. Yep, I want some plot with a side order of smut. Tasteful smut. Although this is non-consensual, who could resist these two? I\'m glad you think they are all in character. It is so difficult because the situation is so AU. Thanks.
Lillyanna- Hey there! Thanks. I\'m a sneaky one.
TheLadyFeylene- Hello, there. Yes, it is a sporting magic. Let\'s get ready to rumble. . .I think Hermione\'s gonna win. And, yes psych. damage is much, much worse. Thanks! And, hi from the roughside group! I\'m also in the Lucius/Draco group! I took challenge number 1 there.
Sexykitten- I really appreciate it! I\'m glad you like my work.
deedee- Aww.. .are you okay? :) I hope you like her plan. Poor sods. They won\'t know what hit them.
Karena- This is carefully thought out and constructed, with some fly by the seat of my pants in it too. I know how it ends though. Bwhhaahaa! :) And the ending is. . .you\'ll have to wait and see.