"Well, well, well – Arthur Weasley."
The cold, deep voice that suddenly sounded from behind Ron's father made Hermione shiver. Quickly, she turned to see from where the voice had come, and there stood the tall figure of a wizard who, to her surprise, had long, platinum blonde hair. Even before Arthur Weasley had mumbled a low "Lucius" as response, she knew that that was Draco's father. The same arrogant aura surrounded this man, only strengthened through life experience – which made him all the scarier.
"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear. All those raids … I hope they're paying you overtime?"
Hermione clenched her fists. She knew very well that this man alluded to all the unsuccessful raids in his own mansion, and now that she saw him in real life, she was absolutely certain that he had a lot of forbidden objects hidden in his home. Everything about him screamed dark magic.
Disbelieving, she noticed how he pulled out some books from Ginny's cauldron without asking, and dismissively observing: "Obviously not. Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"
Hermione didn't hear the answer to that. Her ears rang, so strong was the hatred and anger coursing through her veins. How could anyone talk like that about other human beings? Only when his eyes fell on her she returned to reality. The way he examined her was full of contempt, but Hermione also noticed traces of appraisal – did Draco perhaps tell his parents about her and the good grades she got? She would have crossed her arms proudly in front of her chest if she would have been able, but she was carrying the whole collection of Lockhart's books, so that was not a possibility.
"The company you keep, Weasley," Malfoy hissed, "And I thought your family could sink no lower …"
That were the last words Hermione heard the blonde man speak, because he was abruptly cut short when Arthur Weasley throttled him to the ground. A short brawl ensued, only interrupted when Hagrid arrived and pulled both men apart. The look Lucius Malfoy gave her when he finally turned to leave was full of loathing, but she was determined not to get scared. She had better things to do than think about one Malfoy or another. For example get all her books signed by the actual Gilderoy Lockhart.
oOoOoOo
Hermione couldn't believe her eyes. There stood Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle who obviously had overheard their conversation with Hagrid. It had been Malfoy who was responsible for Hagrid's and Buckbeak's precarious situation in the first place. Did he really have to make fun of him now? Without paying attention to her friends, Hermione rushed forward.
With all the strength she could muster, she hit Malfoy around the face: "Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul … you evil …"
"Hermione," she heard Ron's voice next to her and she noticed he wanted to hold her back.
"Get off, Ron!" she screamed angrily and pulled out her wand.
She was not surprised to see the three Slytherins running at that gesture. She trembled, anger and shock running through her body, and her voice was shrill when she told Harry: "Harry, you'd better beat him in the Quidditch final! You just better had because I just can't stand it if Slytherin win!"
Without waiting for a response, Hermione ran away. She needed time for herself, distance to everything. She needed to run this anger out of her body.
A little twinkle on her chest made her hesitate. Instantly, she stopped. The time turner! She should be in class right now, in two classes at the same time, to be precise. If she did not hurry, she would not be able to go back in time and take both classes.
Just when she was about to turn the little hourglass, a blonde figure in the distance caught her eye. At first she thought it was Draco again, but as he slowly approached her, she recognized the long hair. It was his father.
"I applaud you," his voice travelled the distance, while he still strode nearer with elegant steps. "You actually slapped my son in the face. What was his wrong doing?"
Incredulous, Hermione stared at the man. His tone was derisive, but not unfriendly, a sharp contrast to what she had experienced just over a year ago in the bookshop when she had met him for the first time.
"What are you doing here, Mr Malfoy?"
He finally arrived in front of her, one hand on his cane, the other doing some derogatory gesture: "There is some business concerning a crazed hippogriff that attacked my son I need to take care of."
"Buckbeak's not gone wild!" Hermione snapped. "You son provoked him. He didn't listen to the professor's explanations and now has to bear the consequences. As his father you should reprimand him, not threaten an innocent being with death!"
Malfoy's face suddenly became dark: "Ah, Granger. I didn't recognise you at all. But your words give you away immediately."
"Why do you do this? Is it fun to kill innocent creatures?" Hermione wanted to know.
The man remained impassive: "The hippogriff is none of my concern. I just want to show all those blind parents how foolish it is to let a man like that Hagrid be in charge of their children's education."
Hermione was stunned from the pure evil in Malfoy's words. She wanted to say something to him, anything, but she felt it would be futile. Inflamed with rage, she ran away. Only then did she notice that now it really was too late to use the time turner or attend any class at all. She felt like crying.
Welcome everybody to another translation of one of my German fanfictions. This is just a short Lumione smut that happened to infest my brain several years ago. Have fun!
