You're Mine (Dramione)

|Thirteen|

"You what?"
Eyes low and body frozen in fear,
Hermione had dared not move as she replied.
"I'm s-sorry Draco, I-I tripped o-over something, and I a-accidentally dropped it and it-it broke."
A growl could be heard, followed by a squeak.
"I give you one, easy job and you go and fuck it up? Are you that stupid?!" Draco yelled at his shaking prey.

The shattered fragments of broken glass, accompanied by a puddle of alcoholic mess, laid on the hardwood floor. To Draco, every drop of alcohol spilled was a waste, so it really infuriated him that an entire bottle had gone to waste.
"But maybe this is for the best, Draco," Hermione said optimistically and nervously. "Y-you won't s-suffer from-"

Her sentence was cut short by Draco's hand swiftly making contact with her cheek, the sound bouncing off the walls of the drawing room. She clutched her face, trying not to cry loud. Depending on the intensity of Draco's bad mood, crying loudly or screaming was a no-no.

"Keep crying and I'll give you a reason to cry!" He hissed, grabbing her by the back of her neck and waving his clenched fist in her face. Hermione was trying her best to hold the tears that just needed to fall.
Slap!
"I thought I told you to shut the fuck up!"
"Please... stop!"
Punch!
"You should have thought about the consequences when you decided to be a stupid bitch!"
Kick!
Click!
"Not the belt... anything but the belt!"
"Shut up!"

"Next time, watch where the fuck you walk!"
"Y-yes. I'm sorry."
Draco pulled her closer. "Now go get me another bottle of whiskey." He whispered in her ear.
Hermione's body hurt from the fifty lashes she got all over her body, and walking made the pain worse.
Upon arrival, Hermione took careful steps to the drawing room as she clutched the bottle of whiskey tightly.

Draco was leaning against the glass table. "Put it on the table."
Hermione placed the bottle on the glass table carefully. "Now come over here." He said. Hermione walked towards him, head down and body shaking.
Hermione stood in front of Draco, avoiding his icy gaze. Draco lifted Hermione's chin, to observe the damage he caused to her face.

Bruised cheek, split lip. Like always, he used his typical response. "I'm so sorry Mione,"
Hermione flashed him a strained and quite pained smile. "It's fine. You don't have to apologise." She breathed.

Draco bit his lip as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Bloody hell, I'm so lucky... how many people do you know have someone as beautiful as you?"
Hermione felt her cheeks heat up.
"No Draco... I'm the lucky one." Hermione muttered as she felt his arm snake around her petite waist. Draco slowly pressed his lips on hers, pulling her forward.
Hermione let him dominate her mouth with his tongue, the familiar pleasure she got from his dominance, coursing through her body.
•~•
As winter slowly approached and snow began descending from the sky, Hermione's homesickness grew larger. This was usually the time the Granger's would put up Christmas decorations and bring out the Christmas tree. After that, they would take a well deserved stroll in the snow. Yes, Hermione could feel it now: the snowflakes landing on her face, the cold breeze, the festive spirit inside her. Thinking about all of this made her miss her parents desperately.

Don't get her wrong; Hermione loved being in Malfoy Manor with Draco, the love of her life, but the thing was... Draco wasn't really the festive kind of person. In fact Draco had a huge disliking for Christmas. He had made that clear the day before when Hermione was nagging him to let her decorate the manor.

"Please Draco, just let me put up some decorations!" Hermione begged.
"My answer is final, Hermione." He replied.
"But Draco, the manor's really dark and dull! There's barely any colour!"
"Hermione," Draco said before taking a sip of his favourite beverage, whiskey. "Voicing your opinions about the manor will not make me change my mind."
Anger flowed through her body.
"Why are you always like this? What's wrong with you! Are you that bitter, that you want to isolate the both of us in a colourless world?" Hermione blurted out before she could stop herself. Draco tensed up, his hands clutching the glass of whiskey tightly. "You don't understand... Christmas just isn't my cup of tea." For a brief moment, Hermione saw sadness flicker in his stormy grey eyes. "Then help me understand." Hermione said in a much softer tone. Draco looked away. "If I told you why I don't enjoy Christmas..." Draco trailed off.
Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco. "If you don't want to tell me because you're scared I'll reject you, just now that'll never happen." A small smile appeared on his lips. They stayed like that, for at least thirty minutes, not saying anything, not doing anything.

"Thinking?" Lola asked Hermione, who replied with a hum.
Lola smiled sadly. "I know how you feel. I also felt glum when Master Malfoy told me about the 'no-Christmas-decorations' rule."
Hermione merely sighed. There was silence between the two females before Hermione broke it. "Hey Lola?"
"Yes?"
"Why did you decide to work here?"
"Well, because I really needed the money. You see, my mother is very sick and I'm a squib so I can't get a job in the magical field of work."
"Oh."
Hermione went back to gazing out the window, a look of longing on her face. "I miss them."
"Who?" Lola asked.
"My parents. My friends. Hell, I even miss my boss."
"Why don't you leave the manor if you don't like it here?" Lola suggested.
"I can't do that to him, Lola. He loves me."
Lola bit her lip.
"He loves me a lot. I can't leave him." Hermione said like she was in a trance.
Lola stared at Hermione worriedly.
'Master Malfoy must really be driving you crazy with love.'