Baton Rouge

- 33 -

Once again, she was on her way down to the entrance hall of the Baton Rouge. It felt like she had only slept for a few minutes, but it was already afternoon again and Hermione was just a few hours away from her next shift. From her next client.

She stifled a sigh and walked the last few steps a little faster. If she didn't dally, she might at least have a little time to gather herself and prepare for the approaching evening.

Gradually, she found it harder to control her thoughts and feelings. The desire for a supposedly redeeming pill had become stronger and stronger in the last few days, but so far she had successfully resisted. Not least because Hermione knew that Malfoy would get incredibly angry when he came back to her and found out that she hadn't remained steadfast.

If he came back.

Hermione swallowed. She still hadn't heard from him and her worries had grown to an almost unbearable level. She shouldn't worry about him, she knew that. Draco Malfoy was a grown man, after all, and his decisions weren't really her problem. But an uneasy feeling kept choking her throat when she thought that something might have happened to him.

She finally entered the entrance hall and looked around searchingly. Melody, whose Patronus had woken her a few minutes earlier, was standing in the reception area and raised her hand when she spotted her.

"There you are." Melody eyed her briefly and finally nodded in satisfaction, as if Hermione had convinced her with her choice of clothes.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked.

An ominous feeling came over her when she noticed Melody's facial expression. The young witch wrung her hands and looked like she wasn't going to bring her good news.

Goosebumps covered Hermione's arms. What the hell had happened? It could hardly have anything to do with Malfoy, Hermione knew that, and she berated herself for automatically letting her mind wander to him.

"We received a message from a client. Apparently he's been keeping an eye on you for the past few weeks. Now he offered a lot of money."

Melody avoided her gaze while Hermione tensed.

Hopefully that was a bad joke. Could it really be possible that a brothel had sold her for the second time in less than a month? And another thought shot through her head, but at first she suppressed it.

"What does that mean?" she asked through trembling lips, holding her breath.

Melody glanced at the wizard standing behind the reception desk, who was also looking at Hermione with a hint of guilt in his eyes. He shrugged imperceptibly. Hermione knew immediately what that meant - he had no idea what to say either. Apparently this was the first time something like this happened at the Baton Rouge, and if the situation hadn't been so absurd Hermione would have laughed out loud.

"That means the Baton Rouge sold you, Hermione," Melody confirmed her worst suspicion, swallowing and giving her a sympathetic look. "But I'm sure this is a great opportunity for you. You will no longer have to give yourself to strangers and get your own room in what is likely to be a stunning new home."

The words were meant to give her courage, but all Hermione felt now was pure anger. She was tired of being pushed around like that. Right now she didn't even feel like a human anymore. And she realized that in the eyes of those responsible, she probably wasn't either. She was merely an object. An item that you could do whatever you wanted with - at least as long as you had enough money to pay for it.

But what simmered inside her the most now was the realization that Malfoy would no longer be able to track her down. Even if he really intended to return to her, which Hermione wasn't entirely sure of, any chance of that would be gone once she left the brothel. How was he supposed to find out who had taken her?