How had it happened? He’d seen it in her face; seen that she cared about him, even though she’d denied it. He could not have that. All it would bring either of them was pain, and that was something that he was not prepared to deal with – and she wasn’t either, even if she didn’t know it.

She was better off with Potter.

The thought put a sour taste in his mouth, and he turned away from the bed in disgust, feeling weaker than ever. Just the thought of Potter touching her the way he had made his stomach turn. She was his – hadn’t he told her so himself? He’d die before letting Potter touch her!

He slammed his fist against the wall, angry with himself for letting it get this far. When it had been just sex, they’d been perfectly fine. When he’d started talking to her – ah, therein lay his mistake. He knew that she was intelligent, so it’d been his own fault.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

It was all in the past now, and unchangeable. For both of their sakes, he needed to let go of her and let Potter have her; let him take care of her bruised feelings. He couldn’t afford to get in any deeper than he already was.

When he heard another pop, despite his train of thought, he looked up, hope etched across his face. Had she returned, despite his order? He heard someone entering the room and turned angrily, about to scold her thoroughly. His words died on his tongue as Natalia stepped into the room, looking disheveled.

“Draco,” she smiled. She took in his nakedness, which he made no attempt to hide, and then began to remove her shirt. “Has the strumpet gone home, then?”

He glared at her, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “Pardon?”

“The strumpet that you were bathing with earlier,” she said coolly, draping her shirt across a chair. “Has she gone home? Because I believe that within moments, her boyfriend will be showing up at her flat to talk to her.”

“What have you done?”

“Nothing – yet,” she said. He took in the bite marks on her neck and shoulders, and the hickey that showed in the hollow of her throat.

“I see,” he said, his voice as cold as the look he was giving her.

“Now you can’t blame me for going out and getting a bit of my own back,” she said, smiling sweetly as she unzipped her skirt and let it fall to the floor. “Not after seeing what I saw.”

“And what is it that you think you saw?”

“You, looking pretty cozy with Potter’s Mudblood girlfriend,” she said, her eyes flashing. His face, filled with cold fury, contorted.

“You conniving little-“

“Now, Draco – don’t say anything that you might regret later,” she chided, her voice teasing even as her eyes were hard.

“What did you do?”

“I found Mister Potter and talked to him, is all,” she said, shrugging. “He seemed quite despondent over the fact that his new girlfriend went to a movie with him and didn’t act like she appreciated his touches or his kisses.”

Draco froze at this, unsure of what to say. His pulse roared so loudly in his ears that he was certain she could hear it, too. Granger had denied Potter’s touches all day, and then been so abandoned with him?

“Well naturally the man was quite distraught, so I … helped him ease some tension, so to speak.”

“You whored yourself out to him, with the promise of nothing in return?” he asked, smirking. “Natalia, how very unlike you. You’re getting careless.”

She turned angry eyes to him. “You’re the careless one, you heartless bastard!” she spat. “You’re the one sticking part of yourself into a Mudblood, not me! You’re the one who was stupid enough not to put the wards back up on the Manor tonight to prevent the two of you from being caught the way you were!”

“Formalities,” he shrugged, giving her a bored look. “I’m also not the one who could be pregnant with Potter’s baby at this point.”

“What?” she asked, startled.

“You had sex with him, Natalia. You don’t use contraceptive potions – never have, if I remember correctly. It’s possible that you could be pregnant with his baby – and if you are, you know there’s not a chance in hell that I’ll marry you.”

“I- I’ll take one right now,” she said hurriedly. He clucked his tongue at her.

“You know we don’t keep such potions here in the Manor,” he said mockingly. “Besides, now that you’ve seen fit to become his chattel, you can stay that way. I’ve no interest in one of Potter’s playthings.”

Her eyes shone with triumph. “Of course you do, darling. You’re sleeping with his girlfriend.”

“She hasn’t slept with him, Natalia,” he said confidently. “And you have.” Her lower lip trembled.

“How can you be so sure?”

“I know.”

“You wouldn’t be so foolish as to break up with me,” she said, fear laced through her voice. “I know your secret.”

Draco gazed at her dispassionately. “Is that so? And what secret might that be?”

“That you and the Mudblood are lovers, of course!” she yelled, her temper finally besting her ability to remain calm.

“And what makes you think that after your encounter with Potter tonight, he won’t divulge the information to her himself?”

“That may be, but I wasn’t referring just to the two of them.”

“Are you threatening me, Natalia? Because if you are,” he said coldly, “you had better be prepared to back it up.”

“I don’t want much. You could cooperate with me, and then I’ll just pretend the whole thing never happened.”

Draco stared at her. She would pretend it never happened – until the next time she didn’t get her way. He would not live in fear of this woman, and he sure as hell wouldn’t be blackmailed by her!

“Marriage, I believe? So you can get your hands on my money?”

“What else do you have to offer?” she asked nastily, sneering at him. “You’ve obviously already given your heart to the trollop.”

“I’ve not given my heart to anyone,” he said staunchly. “And unlike you, she’s not a trollop.”

This made Natalia squeal with laughter.

“Not a trollop? She falls into bed with you while dating another man, and you expect me to believe that she’s a good girl who’s not interested in the things you can give her?”

“She’s not like that. Not all women are manipulative tramps, Natalia – though you seem to fit the mold rather well.”

Her mouth fell open in surprise, and she launched herself at him, wielding her fingernails like weapons. “You bastard! How dare you toy with me like this!”

Draco gripped her wrists with very little effort and held her at bay. He gave her a cool, appraising look. “Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black. If you’re going to play with fire, pet, you’d best be prepared when it burns you.”

He released her and folded his arms lazily over his chest. “I’m going to go over to her flat right now,” she said, her eyes daring him to stop her. He shrugged.

“What are you waiting for, my permission? By all means, you absolutely have it. She already knows about you.”

“Yes, but what she doesn’t know about is that her boyfriend bedded me tonight while you were over here with her. Better yet, I think I might pay a visit to Harry, now that I know where he lives, and all. He might like to hear how his girlfriend betrayed him with his worst enemy.”

“Still expecting me to stop you?” he laughed cruelly, shaking his head as she paused in front of the door. “I’ll even up the ante, and come with you so I can see Potter’s face when you relay the news to him.”

“I don’t want you there!” she shrieked, her cheeks turning pink.

“Then why are you waiting for me?” He pulled on his clothes and ran a hand through his hair. “Ready, then?”

“I don’t want you to go with me!” she repeated. He ignored her and grasped her elbow.

“You were so anxious to go – and Morgaine knows that I don’t want to disappoint you.”

Hermione tossed and turned restlessly, trying to get to sleep, but it escaped her. Finally, resigned to the fact that it was going to be a sleepless night, she got up and went into the kitchen. She was wearing nothing but the blue knickers Draco had given her and an oversized t-shirt, but since she wasn’t with him anymore, she wasn’t concerned with looking good.

She pulled a soda out of the refrigerator and opened it before taking a long pull. Her parents had never let her have sodas, but she made sure that now that she lived alone, she kept her fridge stocked with them. The more sugar they contained, the better.

She was making her way back into the living room when a knock on her door startled her. She peeked through the eyehole and sighed as she opened the door.

“Harry, what are you doing here so late? Is something wrong?”

“Yes, something is definitely wrong,” he said, pushing past her. Her shoulders slumped.

“Come in,” she muttered under her breath. She went into the living room, where he was sitting on the couch, his face in his hands. “What’s going on?”

“I have to tell you something,” he said miserably.

“Yes?”

“When I left work tonight, I- well, I went to the Hog’s Head to get a drink and relieve some stress,” he admitted sheepishly. She frowned.

“So? You do that all the time.”

“But this time, I met someone there.”

“Oh?” she asked, stiffening. He nodded.

“And I guess I was feeling weak-willed, because I took her back to my flat, and – Jesus, Hermione, you have no idea how hard this is to say to you, especially when you look like that.” Hermione glanced down at herself, seeing nothing but the grey shirt.

“And you slept with her,” she said dully. He nodded, his eyes full of sorrow.

“I’m sorry, I-“

“It’s all right,” she said, shaking her head. “I suppose if you’re coming clean, then I have something to tell you, too.”

He stared at her, his throat suddenly going dry. “What?”

“I was with someone else tonight, too,” she admitted softly, not meeting his eyes.

“You were? But why?”

“I didn’t ask you why,” she replied quietly. “But I thought I should tell you, since you were honest with me.”

He looked down at his hands. “Can you forgive me?”

“If you’ll forgive me.”

“It’s a done deal,” he said, rising to take her in his arms. He had just planted a soft kiss on her temple when the sounds of apparition came from her bedroom. He gave her a puzzled look. “Are you expecting someone?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head, and looking as confused as he was. A moment later, a cold voice sounded.

“Potter? Granger?”

Hermione’s heart skidded to a stop inside of her chest.

“Is that-“ Harry’s eyes widened as he looked at her, and she nodded, her eyes squeezed shut.

“I think so.”

Draco Malfoy strode imperiously into the room, dragging his perfect girlfriend behind him.

“Well, well, look at this cozy little scene,” he drawled, his cold eyes avoiding Hermione.

“You bastard,” Natalia spat at him, wrenching herself free of his grasp. She turned to smirk at Harry’s bemused expression. “I told you he wouldn’t be happy when he found out, lover.”

Hermione turned surprised eyes to Harry. “She’s the one you slept with?” she asked softly. He nodded.

“Look at that, Natalia,” Draco said, laughing mirthlessly. “He’s already come clean to her.”

“But has she come clean with him?” she asked acidly. Harry blinked.

“What are you talking about?”

“He already knows that I’ve slept with someone else,” Hermione said carefully, wondering why Draco had told his girlfriend.

“You told him?” Natalia asked, genuine surprise evident on her face. Her eyes narrowed as Harry nodded. “But have you told him who you slept with?”

“And how would you know?” Harry asked, snorting.

Natalia’s superior smile was one that made Hermione feel sick to her stomach.

“Why, didn’t she tell you? Draco here was the one she slept with.”