A/N: Ok, just as a warning, this story will not have a happy ending, ok? And I do not own HP.

Chapter One

Hermione stood in the center of the small shed. She was sweating profusely despite it being the middle of February, but Master Malfoy just made her that nervous. Hermione was no fool, she knew the law. All that remained was for her to be told the date on which it would be enforced. Her parents had been allowed to accompany her, but she'd refused. This was something she wanted to handle on her own.

The door opened, but she continued to look straight ahead as slaves were trained to do. Lucius Malfoy entered her field of vision from the right and seated himself directly in front of her, right leg crossed over his left with both hands folded over the silver snake head of his cane.

For the first fifteen minutes, he said nothing; he simply stared at her with an unreadable expression. Hermione knew she shouldn't have, but she began to fidget under Lucius' gaze. He spoke just as she thought she would burst from the anticipation.

"I'm sure you know the law." Hermione bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement that she did indeed know the law. "By order of the governor, I am supposed to have you turned in to be publicly made an example of."

Hermione lowered her head even further. "I understand, Master. It's your duty to obey the law. When will I be sent to the capital?"

Lucius allowed a smile to pass over his face for the briefest moment before his expression returned to that of complete stoicism. "Turned in? Why, my dear Hermione, I wasn't thinking of sending you to the governor for a second."

Hermione's eyes widened in shock. "You weren't? But I thought-"

"You thought wrong," he snapped. Then he smiled. "From this moment on, you're being reassigned. You are officially a house slave. You will reside in my house from now on. Of course, this will mean having to say goodbye to your parents. But if you prove to be well-behaved, I shall allow you to visit them as I see fit. Your main duty will be to clean, for which I shall allow you to use magic on one condition. Under no circumstances are you to use magic in front of others, understand? This includes slaves, members of my family, and guests. Of course you shall have to be taught basic cleaning spells first. And on my next trip to town, a wand shall be purchased for you."

Hermione could do little more than nod in incredulity. Lucius Malfoy was known even among other slave owners for being ruthless and unnecessarily cruel to his slaves, and yet he was sparing her life? He was even allowing her to use her magic? He could have been reading her mind at that exact moment, but Hermione dared to suspect Lucius of ulterior motives. After all, he had no reason to want to keep her alive.

"Thank you, Master," she replied cautiously. Lucius nodded in response and summoned for another slave, a girl a bit older than Hermione. He instructed for her to show Hermione to the master's house, where she would now be living.

Lucius Malfoy's house was an elaborately built, cypress-paneled white mansion. Its three stories, the only home in the entire state to be built as such, served to showcase his enormous wealth. Five miles from the entrance gate, it stood at the forefront of the property almost as if to guard the plantation from intruders.

Hermione's escort brought her to a side door located on the Manor's east wing, where she paused and gawked at the building in awe. With the exception of house slaves, no Muggle had ever set foot into Lucius Malfoy's home and even those select few slept elsewhere. Only then did the gravity of her situation truly hit Hermione. She was a Muggle with newly-discovered magical abilities, living in a mansion full of notoriously bigoted Purebloods. Upon that realization, she began to quiver slightly.

"Miss?" the slave girl gazed at Hermione with a concerned expression. "Please, follow me." The two girls entered the house into what appeared to be the kitchens. Three or four slaves were busy preparing dinner, while an elegant woman dressed in periwinkle robes kept watch over them. At the sound of the door opening, her head snapped around to the source of the intrusion.

Narcissa crossed over to Hermione and the other slave girl. "Go back to your previous duties," she told the girl. Once she was gone, Narcissa turned to Hermione. "Follow me."

Narcissa led Hermione out of the kitchens and up a cramped, wooden staircase that looked more like someone had magically joined together a closet on each floor. "This is the servants' staircase," Narcissa explained. "You will use this, and only this staircase to travel about the house. When you perform your duties, you are to remain out of sight at all times, is that understood?"

Hermione nodded, although Narcissa couldn't see it. "Yes, Mistress Malfoy."

Narcissa continued. "Good. Other than my son, Draco, who resides in the east wing, the third floor of the house remains largely unoccupied at the moment. Your room shall be up there."

They exited the staircase on the third floor. Narcissa took out her wand and waved it over herself, muttering a quick spell to clear her robes of nonexistent dust. She glided down the hallway and beckoned for Hermione to follow. They walked across the entire house into the west wing. Hermione noted that the east, central, and west wings were distinguished from one another where the floor angled slightly and there were ornate arches that spiraled outwards from the corners where the wall met the ceiling.

Narcissa led Hermione to the last door on the right, which opened to reveal a moderately-sized guest room. In the center of the far wall there was one window covered by a thin white curtain. The bed looked comfortable and large enough to fit two people. A steamer trunk rested at its foot. Hermione had never seen a brass-frame bed before, and couldn't believe the Malfoys were going to such lengths to make her stay with them a pleasant one. She reached out to run her hand over it. The smooth metal was cool beneath her fingertips.

Hermione's admiration was cut short by the sound of Narcissa Malfoy clearing her throat. "I take it that you find your room acceptable," she said. "Remain here for the next few days until Lucius can take you into town. You are not to leave this house, even after you receive your wand. Your parents have been told that you've been sold. It is too dangerous to keep you around those who already know you. I will be supervising your training, teaching you basic cleaning spells and such. Good night, Hermione."

Narcissa Malfoy left the room, her robes swirling behind her in a sea of blue. Hermione stared after her for a minute, then resumed her investigation of the bed.

A/N: Sorry this one was so short, I just wanted to use this as a setup of the story. But I promise the ones that follow will be much longer!