"I really appreciate the gesture, Miss Granger," Lucius said, bowing slightly, before sitting down. Hermione nodded, turning to him.
"You have the Ministry to thank, Mister Malfoy. They were the ones who decided to give you a second chance," she informed him, sitting on the sofa across him.
"They did," Lucius agreed, "after you spoke so favourably for me."
Hermione looked at him, frowning. He was not supposed to know that information.
He smiled under her scrutiny. "I have my sources," he told her, answering the unasked question.
"So, Miss Granger, why did you do it? Why would you let a criminal, one who has spent years in Azkaban, take refuge in your home?" he asked, leaning back slightly. When she did not reply for a few moments, he added, "And I believe this is not the first time you have done this either...After the war, you advocated for many of the Slytherins who were suspected of aiding the Dark Lord to set free, if with some initial supervision for their actions." He paused again, but she did not speak.
So he continued. "And you offered to supervise quite a few of them, did you not? They even stayed here, with you. Now why would you, a hero, the brightest witch of her age, do that?"
Hemione took a deep breath when he had finished. "Mister Malfoy," she began, but was cut off.
"Lucius," he corrected. "If we are to live together, you might well do away with such formalities." She sighed.
"Lucius, my actions are not answerable to you. I am doing you a favour, and it would be wise of you to not look a gift horse in the mouth." Her voice was firm and final.
"Very, well, Miss Granger," he replied. She nodded and looked away as an uncomfortable silence descended upon the room. Seemingly absorbed by one of the paintings on her mantelpiece, she pretended to pay no attention to him, until he spoke again.
"So where is your library?" he asked. She turned and raised an eyebrow at the abrupt change of topic. "Come now, Miss Granger, a house like this, belonging to you, must obviously have one of those. It is not a difficult deduction to make," he explained.
She stared at him exasperatedly for a few moments before getting up and gesturing for him to follow her.
"Well, well, you have impressed me, Miss Granger. This is quite a collection," he said, when they reached the aforementioned library. "It might well outdo the number of books in my own - former - collection. But of course, numbers mean little, in this case."
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused, even as he looked around, walking along the shelves.
"There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best part," he proclaimed, and then turned to face her. " Surely you agree?"
"Perhaps," she responded noncommittally.
He picked up a book from the nearest shelf. An old hardcover.
"Ah. Great Expectations. A classic. Quite a read, I think."
She frowned, surprised that he had read the Muggle book.
"Yes, Miss Granger, I have read it," he replied to her expression. "A good book is a good book, even if it was written by Muggles." He turned over the copy of the novel in his hand, blowing away the dust motes gently. "Perhaps it is time to revisit this particular one." He walked over to a nearby chair and sat down, crossing his leg over the other and opening the book.
A few seconds later, he looked up, hearing a slight noise. Hermione had drawn up the chair opposite him and joined him in reading, with a book of her own.
He smiled. This might be an interesting stay after all.
Notes: For Jenny (via the Singing a Song Along Challenge on The Golden Snitch! Prompt: Lucius/Hermione)
Also for the Star Wars Event. Prompt: Write about a character who lets people take refuge in her home.
And for the British Literature event. Prompts: refuge, criminal, giving someone a second chance, There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best part,
And for the Through the Universe Challenge. Prompt: dust motes