Disclaimer: Only the plot is mine. There. Got the legal part out of the way.
Author's Notes: Here's another one. Yay! This one is dedicated to all those people who reviewed my first two fics. This is also dedicated especially to Errenya Malfoy, a fellow Jason Isaacs-phile, who stuck by my fics and asked for more. This one's for you, girl!!!
Summary: Nothing graphic, nothing heavy, just fluff. Pure, unadulterated fluff. Hermione is an adult now, and she's sitting at a table in the Three Broomsticks, musing about life, when SOMEONE comes in. Yeah. Let's see if I can still put a little magic into this.
Almost
A Lucius/Hermione fic
BY Catz Kenobi
Hermione Granger gazed into her drink. She was bored. Oh was she bored. Harry and Ron had gone on another Auror-less adventure, and had conveniently forgotten to tell her all about it. Draco was off somewhere, having fun, no doubt. Some husband the slimy little ferret turned out to be. Hermione snorted into her drink. Once a Malfoy, always a Malfoy.
It was then that the door to the Three Broomsticks opened, and an all too familiar figure with sweeping platinum hair walked in, looking as arrogant and superior as ever. Hermione looked away. Draco had never really liked his father. Overbearing, he said, was an understatement. Hermione told him she agreed, but it wasn't always the truth. True, there were times she would wish he would just drop dead one day and leave her family the hell alone, but otherwise, the man was…all right. He was kind when there was need to be, lenient when the occasion called for it, and-she had to face it-she understood where Draco got his good looks from. Besides, Draco had never seen his father scared. A small smile crept up her face at the thought. She was the only person who had seen him scared and actually lived to remember it.
She now watched as her father-in-law sat himself down regally, looking every bit the part of Machiavellian ruler among the scum of the earth. Typical Lucius. As Madam Rosmerta gave him his drink however, the façade slipped, and she saw a small smile of gratitude form on his lips. She realized then that something was off about him today. His arrogant composure held, but the tired look in his eyes betrayed him. Hermione looked away, feeling once again that all too familiar shiver run through her system. It wasn't exactly unwanted, she knew that. It was just that it felt wrong. As she breathed, she could feel her heart knocking against her chest. She felt like a little girl, just like she always did when this happened to her. It never failed. Everytime she would think of Lucius Malfoy, her insides would start to turn and she would feel all fluttery inside. She thought she'd gotten rid of that incessant crush she'd had on him. Apparently not. She looked over at him once again, only to see that same sad expression in his eyes. Hermione had a sudden thought of going over to him to do whatever she could to make him feel better but found it quickly disappearing as she realized she was blushing. She smiled, remembering one certain time in her life that had too much to do with Lucius. Draco had always told her that she had just spent too much time trying to turn Lucius in as a Death Eater, but whatever the reason, Hermione found herself attracted to Lucius. Though nothing primal, it was beyond father-in-law/daughter-in-law kind of affection she felt for him. Underneath all that supposedly unbreakable superiority, she had found a tired, bored soul who wanted nothing more to do with his past. Behind that tough wall of arrogance, she had found he was human. And that was what had probably enkindled him to her in the first place. Then it grew. It grew to a point where she knew she had to stop before she did anything drastic. And so she tried to forget what she'd learned about him. She tried to focus more on the other Malfoy, but how could she when her husband was barely around long enough for her to shower him with her affection? She turned to her 2 best friends, but they had too much on their minds to bother with her. Girls, for example. So she decided to cover it up, bury those feelings, hoping they won't come out again. But they did-they do-and she found she was perfectly fine with that.
He stood to leave. So did she. Her movement must have caught his eye, for he turned and looked at her as if seeing her for the first time in his life. Not a word was spoken between them. Lucius took up his cane, greeted her with a simple bow of his head and small smile, then made to leave. Hermione gathered her things and did the same. At the door, he let her through first. He still thought she was scum, but courtesy always came first for him. Hermione smiled with appreciation and walked away. The fading sound of Lucius' footsteps told her he was going the other way. Hermione's cheeks reddened again, but only for a while. When she thought about it, she didn't need to feel bothered about this feeling. It wasn't exactly LOVE. Just…almost. And that suited her fine.
~END~
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