A/N: I so hate when a dream won't leave a person alone…. For the last several nights I have been having dreams of a story line for a Lucius/Hermione pairing so here it is…. I really do hope that it allows me to sleep now without invading my dreams…. LMFAO…. My other HP stories will be updated over the weekend on the ones I haven't updated recently…

Disclaimer: I don't own HP!

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Hermione groaned in frustration as she slumped back on what she considered to be her couch in the Head's common room. She couldn't believe that after everything she had been through at his and his family's hands that she would find him so damn attractive. She didn't understand why she was feeling drawn to him like a moth to a flame. She didn't even noticed when the door slid open to the common room she shared with the Head Boy because she was too busy screaming into a pillow as she let her frustration out.

When she heard a chuckle she lifted the pillow up off of her face and looked towards the sound and glared when she saw Draco. "What do you find so funny Malfoy?"

Draco chuckled and said "You actually Granger. Why in the name of Merlin are you screaming into a pillow? Did Weasley do something again?"

Hermione sighed and shook her head and then stood up only to freeze when she saw the man of her current problems standing a couple feet behind Draco. "No and it's nothing to worry about Malfoy. I'll see you later if I decide to come out of my room later."

Draco's eyes widened as he heard the pain in Hermione's voice even though she was trying to hide it. He took six steps forward and grasped her shoulders to stop her from walking away and looked into her eyes. "What is wrong Granger?"

Hermione shook her head and snarled "Nothing Malfoy now get your fucking hands off of me before I remove them myself."

Draco's jaw dropped open in shock and he slackened his hold on Hermione and watched as she quickly walked to her bedroom and slammed the door. He turned on his heel to look at his Father who was also watching in the direction that she had disappeared. "What in the bloody hell did I do to her to make her talk to me like that?"

Lucius frowned as he looked from in the direction that Hermione had disappeared to his son. "I don't know son but I'm sure she didn't mean to be that rude. Now what did you want to talk to me about?"

Draco sighed and then motioned to the couch and waited on his Father to sit down before he sat down in the arm chair. "I wanted to talk to you about the fact that I want to start courting Luna Lovegood. I know that she would not be your choice for me Father but I have discovered that I have feelings for her and I want her to be mine."

Lucius looked at his son for a few minutes and then nodded. "If that is who you want to be with her Draco then that is fine. You are right she is not who I would choose for you but if you have feelings for her and you think she can make you happy then I am fine with it. I made a lot of mistakes in the past and we are just now getting to where we should have been all along in our relationship. You stood by me when your Mother showed her true colors so I will stand by you."

Draco let out a relieved sigh and gave a slight smile. "Thank you Father. As for Mother she was not there for me like you were. She chose to leave us both after you denounced Voldemort and if I am honest with you and with myself I am glad that she left. We may not have gotten along all the time when I was growing up but at least you did not curse me when I did something that you did not like. Mother always made sure she cursed or hexed me if I did something that she did not like. Hermione is actually the one helping me work through it now because I have not told anyone about what she did to me."

Lucius' eyes widened as he listened to his son talk and then he demanded "Why did you not tell me what she was doing to you? I would have made sure that she knew not to touch you ever again."

Draco shook his head. "She told me if I ever told you or anyone else that she would kill me and I believed her. She may have helped at the end but she still has the old mindset. When she found out that I would be sharing a dormitory with Granger she owled me and told me that I had better tell Dumbledore that I did not want the Head Boy position because she did not want me living with a Mudblood. Those were her words and not mine Father."

Lucius shook his head. "If she owls you again let me know son and I will deal with her. I also want you to be careful when you go into Hogsmede because we both know how your Mother can be."

Draco nodded and then relaxed back in the chair as he looked at his Father. "How are you doing Father?"

Lucius lifted an eyebrow and then drawled "I'm doing fine Draco. I am actually glad that I am no longer with your Mother. I would not have been on the Dark Lord's side as long as I was if it wasn't for her. As it was I had to keep it from her that I was spying for Dumblefore before I finally did denounce him."

Draco nodded but before he could say anything he heard Hermione's bedroom door open and he turned his head to look at her. His eyes widened when he saw that her eyes were red and saw the tear tracks on her face. He quickly stood up and asked "Granger what's wrong?"

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Hermione threw herself on her bed and let the tears fall from her eyes. She had been fighting them all day but they finally won. She buried her head in her pillow and sobbed her heart break out. She didn't understand why she had the feelings that she did for the blonde headed man but she had no doubt that she would just end up heartbroken because there was no way that he would ever feel for her what she found herself feeling for him.

Once she was sure that she was finished crying she stood up from her bed after making the split second decision to go on a walk. She couldn't stay in the same room that had Lucius in it even though technically she wasn't in the same room as him. She didn't even stop to think about looking in a mirror to check her appearance. She took in a deep breath and let it out as she walked over to her bedroom door and opened it.

She didn't look up as she walked out of her room and down the stairs but she came to a slight halt when she heard Draco ask "Granger what's wrong?"

She shook her head and then continued walking through the Common Room and out of it. She couldn't talk to Draco right now especially with his Father standing right there. As she walked towards the Entrance Hall so she could go outside to walk around the lake she let her thoughts drift to where she was trying to keep them from. She was looking at the ground as she walked so she didn't see the figure coming towards her until she ran straight into them. She groaned at the impact and then looked up from where she had fallen to the floor. "Oh I'm sorry Professor Snape."

Severus' lifted an eyebrow as he took in Hermione's appearance and then frowned when he saw that she was pale. He sighed and held a hand out to her and when her hand was in his own he pulled her up. "Watch where you are going Miss Granger. Now that, that is out of the way are you alright?"

Hermione sighed but nodded. "I'm alright Sir. I was just heading outside to walk around for a while. I need some fresh air so I can clear my head."

Severus lifted an eyebrow again and then said silkly "I don't think so Miss Granger. You can follow me though and we can have a talk."

Hermione didn't say anything but followed her Potions Professor. She really didn't mind having a talk with him since they got along now. She knew that if anyone could help her with what she was thinking and feeling it would be him. She walked quietly beside him as they made their way down into the Dungeons and then into his quarters. She gave him a slight smile when he motioned for her to sit on the couch. Once she was sitting down she looked up at him. "Uh Sir could you make sure that nobody could well come bug you while we talk please? I really don't want to take the chance of someone else hearing what we're going to talk about it."

Severus smirked and then with a wave of his hand he put his wards up and blocked off the floo as he said "What you mean Miss Granger is you don't want to take the chance that Lucius will walk in while we talk. Now why have you been crying Hermione?"

Hermione's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock before she blurted "How did you know Severus?"

Severus smirked again and sat down in his favorite chair. "I know you Hermione. Also I have watched you covertly watch him. Now what is the problem?"

Hermione groaned and closed her eyes. "If you know does that mean he knows?"

Severus shook his head. "I don't think he knows. Now talk to me Hermione."

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Draco watched the door swing shut after Hermione's departure with wide eyes. He knew right then that something was wrong because she never ignored him when he asked her a straight question. He turned to look at his Father with concern in his eyes. "Father do you know if anyone has said or done anything to Granger today? She never ignores me when I ask her a straight question like that. Added to the fact that I could tell she had been crying something is seriously wrong."

Lucius shook his head. "I have not heard anything Draco. I am sure that Miss Granger is alright. If you are worried about her I could talk to Severus and see if he knows why she is so upset. I do know that they talk quite often and that Severus has been there for her since her parents disowned her after she gave them their memories back before she came back to school this year. I also do not believe that Potter and Weasley know about this."

Draco nodded. "I would appreciate that Father. I really would like to know what has Granger like this. Hell I'm back to calling her Granger now instead of Hermione and I don't like it if I'm honest."

Lucius nodded and stood up. "I'll talk to Severus tonight then Draco. For now I am going to go make sure that everything is ready for class tomorrow."

Draco nodded and sat back down after watching his Father leave. His thoughts were on Hermione and what could be wrong. He sighed and then pulled one of his school books out and got started on the homework that he had been assigned.

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Hermione opened her eyes and looked Severus in the eyes. "I've noticed these last couple of weeks that any time I see him my heart speeds up. At first I tried to tell myself it was because of disgust or because on some level he still scared me but I know that is not it. I don't know why I'm feeling like I am towards him and I hate it. I hate it because I know that in the end I'm just going to end up heartbroken. Why couldn't I fall for someone else? Why did I have to fall for someone who is only ever going to see me as a Mudblood?"

Severus sighed and said "Hermione you are not a Mudblood so stop saying that you are. You can't help who you love and you can't tell yourself not to love a person. What you need to remember is that Lucius is not the same person that he was the first time or the second or third time you met him. He is different than what he use to be and your heart and your mind knows that. And how do you know that you will end up heartbroken? Are you a Seer now and didn't tell me?"

Hermione glared at Severus and spat "Don't even say that Severus. You know how much I hate Trelawney."

Severus chuckled and said "I do know this which is why I pointed it out. You are not a seer Hermione and you don't know for sure that your heart will get broken. I want you to remember that my door is always open to you if you need to talk no matter what time of day or night it is. I really do believe that everything will work out Hermione and you never know it may just work out in your favor. Now sit here and read and then we'll go to dinner later."

Hermione nodded and summoned the book she had started reading last time she was in Severus' quarters. She gave him a smile as she opened up the book. Soon she got absorbed in it and her mind stopped running so fast that she couldn't keep up.

Severus watched as Hermione read and smiled slightly. He knew that everything would work out and that it would work out in her favor because he was going to do whatever he had to in order to make sure that it did. In the last couple of months him and Hermione had become friends and he already loved her like a daughter even if he never told her. He would make sure that she got what her heart desired one way or another. There was no chance in hell that he was going to let her be hurt again like she had been not only by her parents but by others.


A/N 2: *grins* So I hope that you all liked the first chapter! Click the button and let me know what you think!