Disclaimer: I can't tell you how much I'd love to own Lucius! But he's all J K Rowling's...as well as the rest.
A/N: For those following Matchmaking the Past, I'm really sorry for not updating, but instead posting another new story. I just couldn't help myself. Everytime I listen to Aquarius by Within Temptation, I get another new idea for a Lucius/Hermione fic. So for months I've been resisting the urge until I finish Matchmaking, but could no longer do it when this baby came roaming through my imagination. Here it is for your perusal. I've not completely checked it over for missing words and grammatical errors and stuff, I'm just eager to see how this is received before I fine comb it. Hope you all enjoy!
Prologue
A warm and sunny June day kept the patrons of Diagon Alley in happy spirits, with just a hint of breeze to stop them getting too hot and flustered. The shops and cafes all had a steady pace of customers; some of them taking a lunch break, some of them beginning to stock up for when the children were home from Hogwarts.
It had been two years since Lord Voldemort had been defeated, and it was only now that life was beginning to settle down for Harry Potter. He could now walk down Diagon Alley with fellow Wizards and Witches content with a wave from him, rather than a dozen photos in every position imaginable to mankind as well as some very friendly kisses for the girls. Ginny Weasley was not amused about the latter.
On this carefree day, Harry was meeting up with his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, for lunch. With all three of them busy in different departments of the Ministry of Magic, they took every lunch hour together.
"Where've you been?" Hermione demanded indignantly while tapping her watch.
"I had a training session today," Harry told her as way of explanation.
"Not good enough," Hermione mocked him with a smile.
"Guess what, mate?" Ron jumped in straight away with a smirk.
"You've finally found somewhere to live," Harry guessed.
"Not yet," Hermione told him. "But we have finally set a date!"
"Who won in the end?" Harry asked. For months Hermione and Ron had been trying to agree on a date for their wedding.
"I did!" they said in unison eyeing up the other at their audacity to say it was them.
"When is it then?" Harry quickly moved on before another argument broke out about the date.
"Next June," Ron answered.
"We should have found somewhere to live by then and finished our training," Hermione continued.
"Sounds like this is it- definitely going to happen?" Harry took a sip of his drink.
"Yes, we've told my mum, so there's no going back on it now," Ron teased a little. It was met with a small slap on the back of his head.
They spent the next forty-five minutes putting the world to rights...starting with the departments they worked in. Harry thought that more time should be spent on learning defensive spells. Ron thought that there should be less paperwork. Hermione thought there should be more books on the shelves.
It was as they gathered their belongings and got up to leave that screams from outside shattered the hum of chatter in the cafe. Everyone paused and glanced to each other for answers that they couldn't give. Without a second thought, Harry, Ron and Hermione raced outside, the rest of the patrons following them.
As they got outside, people were frantically racing past them; some were throwing spells over their shoulders. Distant 'cracks' and 'pops' could be heard as a few of them Disapparated away.
"Look," Hermione pointed to a spot near Gringotts.
Four figures were moving towards them firing spells in every direction. Some missed...some hit with sickening accuracy. Rogue Death Eaters was the first thought from the trio moving to these fierce figures, rather than running away, but something was different about what they were wearing; the noticeable one was that the robes were a dark blood red.
Aurors began to appear, surrounding the attackers. This didn't seem to faze the attackers as they redirected their attacks on to them instead.
"It was only a matter of time," Hermione stated calmly to the other two while taking out her wand.
The three of them spilt up and joined the Aurors. There was no denying that whoever these people were, they were fiercely powerful. Aurors were trying in vain to split them up and corner them on their own, but it seemed they knew that if they were allowed to split up that they would be weaker.
Hermione lost sight of Harry and Ron as she raced around trying to spot any weaknesses in the small group while avoiding any stray spells. Some people had stayed behind rather than run away to help fight; it wasn't making a difference. To Hermione's surprise, she actually saw Lucius and Draco Malfoy fighting against these figures. She would have actually put money on two of the cloaked attackers being Malfoys.
When it looked like the attackers were losing some energy, Hermione took this moment to throw some of the more powerful hexes she'd been working on at them. One of the middle ones dropped instantly and shook uncontrollably. The remaining three instantly moved around their companion to protect him.
Before anyone could really grasp at what was happening, the attackers seemed to draw some kind of energy from the fallen one. She couldn't understand why, but Hermione knew that everyone needed to be on the ground. Now!
"Get down!" Hermione began to scream as she raced through the crowds.
The attackers threw out some more curses at people. Hermione spotted a flash of ginger hair ahead of her. At breakneck speed, Hermione pushed her way to him while desperately forcing people to get on the floor. Some took in her advice while others were too engrossed in throwing their own curses.
"Granger!" she heard her name being called behind her. Trying to keep her eye on Ron, Hermione half turned to see who was calling her. It was Draco with his father falling behind him. "You know something," he stated to her once he reached her side.
Hermione didn't have time for them; she needed to get to Harry and Ron. She turned to ignore him, but Lucius grabbed her arm. "Don't be a fool! Let us help you!" the older Malfoy snarled.
Hermione pulled them both down to the ground. They reluctantly let her. "Look what they're doing," she instructed as she glanced between people to see the attackers.
"What?" Draco asked.
"Just look!" Hermione snapped. "They're drawing energy from him; magic." Lucius seemed to understand first. Hermione nodded her confirmation to him. "Just stay down. Or at least try to Disapparate." At this, Hermione got up and began her search for Ron and Harry again while begging for more time. She probably had seconds now.
From the corner of her eye, Hermione saw the attackers now turn their backs on their fallen one. At the same time she saw Ron; he was too near to them and too far from her. She'd have to stun him. Hermione raised her wand, the attackers raised theirs. Hermione was suddenly pushed down to the ground with a weight covering her body. No, she hadn't stunned Ron, he wasn't safe. Where was Harry?
She tried to fight off the person keeping her down, but he was too strong for her. Hermione heard it before she felt it. She turned her head into the person covering her. The force and power of the magic pushed them along the ground. She clung onto the stranger, gritting her teeth as the pain seared through her.
It felt like hours before it stopped, but it was just mere seconds. Windows shattered around them while bricks fell. Piercing screams went through the air. Finally they stopped moving. The sound of things falling and crashing to the ground slowly came to a stop. Hermione loosened her grip on her protector as she began to blink her eyes open, dusting falling into them.
Wiping away the dust, Hermione saw Lucius' face inches away from her; unconscious. This was her protector?! Seeing the blood coming from his temple, Hermione rolled him over gently and searched for a wand, hers now missing. Quickly she grabbed the nearest one and healed his wound before standing, ignoring her own pain, and frantically began her search for Ron.
The attackers were gone, but they most certainly were not forgotten. She'd heard of the magic they'd used, was researching it, but never in her wildest dreams thought anyone was powerful enough to display a hint of it. Hermione ran to the spot where they'd been; Ron hadn't been far from there. Around her people started to get up, many didn't. She prayed with all her might Ron and Harry got up.
Hermione gently moved people around the area finding some were still alive, but always with the thought of finding Harry and Ron in her mind. She wasn't sure how long she'd been looking, ten seconds, ten minutes or ten hours, when she found Harry. Knowing before even getting to him that he was dead, Hermione still tried hysterically to wake him up.
In her desperation, Hermione held listened to his chest, giving anything to hear a heartbeat. She was going to be sick. A metre or two to the left of Harry lay Ron, his lifeless eyes staring back at her. Something broke inside Hermione at that moment.
Gently Hermione began to stand up and as soon as she did, she felt the darkness engulf her. She welcomed it with open arms, yet not feeling the arms that caught her as she did.
"What do we do with her?" Draco asked his father in contempt. "I'm not stepping foot in whatever Muggle village she lives." Draco didn't hate the young woman in his father's arms anymore, but he certainly wasn't friends with her.
"Draco, she warned us what would happen. She saved us. We have no choice but to help her," Lucius informed his son.
"You have already returned the favour by saving her," Draco snapped.
"As much as I would like for it to end there, it won't. She healed my wound," Lucius lifted an eyebrow to indicate the deep scar at his temple. "It was more than just a scratch."
"That could have been done by anyone!" Draco pointed out to him.
"Draco! I'm not going to stand here and argue. She isn't getting any lighter!" And on that note, Lucius began to step through the mass of people lay on the floor, leaving his son to follow in his wake.
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Hermione regained consciousness slowly, the stinging pain on her uncovered arms not allowing her to do otherwise. Peering through her dry eyes Hermione lifted her arms to look; they were an angry shade of red from the grazes covering them. Contact with anything increased the pain tenfold.
All at once the memories flooded back to Hermione's now fully awake mind. Her heart shattered instantly. Feeling winded by it, Hermione was trying to take deep breaths as she half sobbed. "No!" she croaked, the tears forming. Hermione sat up and blindly took in the state of her blouse and trousers. Tears in the trousers showed more raw grazes on her legs.
Clutching at her blouse, her breathing ragged and painful, Hermione begged for the pain deep in her heart to stop. "Please...please...please..." was all she kept saying. Suddenly she scrambled to get off the bed; she couldn't breathe, she couldn't see. She just had to get to Harry and Ron. They were all alone.
Glancing round Hermione took in her surroundings. Where was she? Her eyes landed on the door as it opened. Lucius Malfoy was still in the same state as herself with the blood on his face now dry. She couldn't have been here that long as surely he would have changed by now. Without saying a word, Hermione tried to move pass him while searching her pockets for her wand; it was gone in the blast.
"Where are you going?" Lucius asked moving into her path. Hermione was starting to lose her breath from the sobs and pain seeping through her heart and soul.
"I have to go-...I have to find them- they...I have...I-" Hermione was still clawing at her blouse like it was a lifeline to surviving this. "They're alone- they can't be gone!" She pushed Lucius out of the way and started to walk down the hallway; she stopped after a few paces and turned back to him. "You have to take me back...I- I don't have a wand...please," Hermione begged. With a small nod of his head, Lucius took his wand out from the inside pocket of his cloak and moved to her.
As soon as they were back in Diagon Alley Hermione shrugged Lucius off. It had been less than an hour ago when he'd taken Hermione to the Manor and already there were medical staff moving from person to person while the able shifted the bodies to a clear area for relatives to identify them.
"Mr Malfoy," a timid voice spoke to him. It was Daisy, one of the receptionists in the Ministry. "I'm so sorry!" she cried at him.
"What for?" he snapped in disdain at her.
"Weren't you with her?" Daisy asked quietly.
"Who?" he demanded losing patience with her.
Daisy bit her lip nervously, "You best come with me."
Lucius silently followed Daisy to where they were putting the bodies. He spotted Hermione a few yards away hugging Ginny Weasley.
"Mr Malfoy," Daisy spoke up to gain his attention. He looked to where she was pointing. His world collapsed instantly at the sight before him. There lay his beautiful wife covered in blood and dust yet looking like she was just sleeping.
Lucius' knees gave way causing him to land hard on them. A memory that now seemed so long ago, but was just this morning, floated to the front of his mind. She was there to meet Draco and him for lunch. That's why he'd been there to help fight the attackers. How could he have forgotten when Lucius had searched for her at home?
A guttural roar escaped from deep within Lucius. Daisy moved to comfort him as he sobbed by his wife's body, but he roughly pushed her away. All she could do was watch him helplessly, not wanting to leave him alone in this state.
Hearing the cry, Hermione and Ginny looked over. "No one's escaped from this," Ginny sniffed.
"Wait here," Hermione croaked before moving to the weeping man. "L- Lucius," she spoke to him. Lucius ignored her. She knelt down in front of his slumped form. Daisy took this as her cue to be able to leave him now. "Lucius!" Hermione said more firmly now.
"Leave me be!" he growled in response. Taking a deep breath Hermione gently took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "She was carrying a girl," Lucius said helplessly. Hermione glanced at the slim figure, a now obvious bump appearing through the thin material of the summer dress. She brought her eyes back to him, gone was the coldness in his grey eyes, just pain. "Our daughter."
Hermione softly pushed Lucius' stray hair back gently, yet more pain piercing her heart. "I promise you, we will have revenge," she told him her voice full of hate and venom. A steely resolve flashed across Lucius face before he pulled Hermione into a fierce embrace, not caring that they were mutual enemies.