A/N: Thanks for the wonderful comments! Here's another chapter for you, my dear readers :-P
"Severus! Do come in at once. Teasby, his cloak."
Lucius watched the house elf dutifully accept the garment, and Disapparate. Severus Snape, an old friend and one of the few he trusted implicitly. Perhaps the only one.
Severus glowered at his host. "Good to see you, Lucius. How are things at the Ministry?" He followed Lucius to the solar.
"So-so. Fudge still mistrusts me, though I do believe he'll come round soon enough. Hogwarts?"
Severus sat down heavily, resting an elbow on the fine leather armrest. "You know Albus. Now school's almost back in session, he's making us hand in the year's curriculum with notes and graphs and charts...trying to shove sweets down our throats at every turn...I swear he'll make me go mad, Lucius."
He bit back a smile. "You love him."
"Like a father. Great-grandfather, really," Severus amended dryly. "But I really don't like the man."
"Sort of the opposite of forced marriages," Lucius commented. "For example, Narcissa and I like each other very much. And we both love our son." He grimaced. "But falling in love? Not a thing for wizards in our society."
Severus glared back at him, nodding.
Teasby cracked in, wheeling up a tea cart laden with pitchers of iced tea, hot tea, and little tomato sandwiches. "Can Teasby be getting the masters anything else?" She squeaked.
"Thank you, Teasby. That will be all." Lucius waved a curt dismissal.
Severus leaned in to pluck a sandwich round from the tray, holding it delicately with long thin fingers. "Now. What is it you are so keen on telling me, Lucius?" He caught the other man's expression of shock. "Really now, I am the most gifted Legilimens in the world. And you're broadcasting your excitement like a street vendor. You can never keep a secret from me, old friend." He took a huge bite smugly.
Lucius smiled ruefully. "Too true, Severus Snape. You always were too clever. Very well."
Once he had related the story of his meeting with the girl the night before, Lucius fell silent. He wanted to give Severus time to think. it was, after all, a lot to take in.
The man was impassive for long moments, gaze fixed somewhere on the bookshelves behind Lucius. At length, he spoke carefully. "Sounds like quite an experience. You're certain of her, Lucius?"
"As much as anyone can be. Severus, Dark Magic was roiling off her. I've never felt so much, except perhaps in the late Dark Lord."
Severus turned sharp eyes on him. "Extraordinary, indeed." He sighed heavily. "And she still a child..." He trailed off, looking significantly at the other man. "The Dark Lord will come back. And he will hate her."
"I had hoped it was possible that he's gone for good? No?" Lucius frowned as Severus shook his head. "I know. What do you suppose should be done with her?"
"We wait," Severus said firmly. "We watch. If this girl is as powerful as you say, she'll need guidance. You can give that to her. Train her well, Lucius. And when the time comes, we can decide what to do about the Dark Lord."
"I never want to return to those days."
Severus shared a shiver of disgust. "Nor do I. Few do."
"Enough still pray for his return. We must be careful, Severus. We have to hide her, teach her to hide herself."
He nodded. "We can create a mask identity. I'll begin planning now, and consult you at every turn."
"Gratitude, Severus. I am always thankful for your help."
Severus rolled his eyes, ignoring the comment. "And we should research this, too. It is unlike any case I've read about...you say she's a Muggle born?"
"No," Lucius said quickly. "She's being raised by them, but it's impossible that they're her biological parents."
"Your obstinate dislike for them can cloud your judgment, Lucius." Severus hid an amused look that threatened to quirk his lips. "She could very well be Muggle born."
Lucius wrinkled his nose.
"Oh very well," Severus amended. "It certainly doesn't seem likely. But I don't want you to change your opinion about her if she is."
He sighed. "I don't want to either. She is far too valuable."
"Merlin help the girl if you're right about her."
"The gods protect us when it's time." Lucius answered darkly.
Lucius waited a few days before contacting the girl. It had been a simple matter to locate her, even in a filthy Muggle neighborhood. If truth be told, however, Lucius wasn't as concerned about the matter as he'd led Severus to believe. With that much Dark power, Lucius would follow her to Hell and back, Pureblood or no.
Her home was nice enough, comfortable-looking, with a straight white fence and small pleasant garden. Lucius cast a Disillusionment charm on himself, then walked around the house until he reach the backyard, which had late summer flowers growing and well-trimmed grasses. Perfect for gentle training.
He removed his outer robes, laying them neatly on the grass. He sat down, crossing his legs, and opened his mind. Looking inside himself, he found the silvery strands of Dark Magic within him, welling from his inner core. He called one strand and sent it gently to the girl he knew was playing quietly within her room.
He didn't have long to wait.
One of the windows opened from what he supposed was the attic, and he caught a glimpse of wide eyes peering from beneath a mop of brown hair. Lucius had purposefully retained the charm disguising him from the rest of the world...yet, as predicted, Hermione saw right through it.
Coming, she whispered, though how he heard her speak, he knew not.
Grasping the window ledge lightly for balance, she climbed out of the window. Lucius frowned. What was she doing? Before he could raise a hand against it, the little girl slid cleanly down the roof and dropped a good three stories out of sight.
His careful calm forgotten, Lucius strode over as quickly as he could. But when he rounded the corner, Lucius found Hermione standing smiling, examining a branch of flowers from her mothers garden that she had seemingly just plucked.
Lucius had heard, of course, of child witches and wizards who had, through necessity, conducted magic to avoid danger. That was common enough. Still dangerous, though.
"Hermione! Are you alright? What were you thinking, jumping off the roof?"
She turned, obviously surprised. "What do you mean? Didn't you call me?"
Squashing the annoyance he felt at her clear lack of concern for her own safety, Lucius steadied his voice. "Don't you know better than to fool around like that? Magic doesn't always save you twice. What did you think would happen?"
"I thought I'd land on my feet, like always. I'm sorry, sir...I didn't know it was wrong."
He gaped for a moment. But her confusion seemed sincere enough, and silvery tears threatened to fall. Lucius sighed, over his initial shock. She was acting like that was a normal exit for her...and, for all he knew, it was. He shouldn't rebuke her for doing something she didn't know was dangerous.
"Come here, it's alright. I thought you might have injured yourself. You must be careful, or you'll frighten me."
Her hurt forgotten, the child approached him apologetically and touched his arm. "I'm fine," she assured him. "I know my parents don't like when I do things like that, but...well, you said you understood my...my gift."
"Ah," said Lucius, mind racing. So she did know it was...unusual. But her reminder was useful. He needed to act like her level of control was perfectly normal, or else the girl might be afraid or try to conceal her power. "Yes. Sometimes Magic children do things like that."
That wasn't entirely a lie.
Shyly, she offered the flowers to him. "Fairy flowers,"
Lucius accepted with a formal bow. "Fairy flowers?" She was giving him flowers? No one ever gave flowers to a man, and never so casually. They looked like bleeding hearts to him. But, he thought with a sudden uncharacteristic rush of emotion, he would call them whatever she wished.
Hermione giggled. "I always see little fairies flying about them," she tilted her head. "They might bring you good luck."
She saw fairies? Fairies? Merlin's beard!
Lucius smiled calmly at her. "My thanks, little one."
She nodded. "Thanks for coming to teach me."
He appraised the girl curiously. She looked different in the sunlight, less unnervingly powerful. A sunburn was just beginning to peel on her shoulders; she smelled of coconut and honey. A child once more, probably the age of his own son. A child who had just shyly offered him the first flowers he'd ever received. "Well then." he said, walking back to his spot beneath the shade.
"Well then," Hermione echoed, following. "What are we doing today?"
Lucius shot a mysterious smile at her, waggling his brows.
She laughed delightedly at his silliness. "And you still haven't told me your name, sir." She added pointedly.
He couldn't help but match her smile. "Lucius. Call me Lucius. We'll start with something easy, I promise."
"Try again," said Lucius, baffled.
They were still sitting on his robes, and Lucius had been attempting for the last hour to get Hermione to perform simple spells. So far, she had shown no inclination whatsoever to fulfilling any of his expectations.
She looked at the feather she was supposed to be floating. "I'm doing everything you told me!" Hermione cried, petulance rising. "I swear. I can't make it move with this spell."
"Stop," Lucius commanded. "Still your mind. You have to concentrate only on the feather and what you want to do with it."
"I am concentrating!"
He sighed. This wasn't working. Perhaps the girl didn't have the Gift after all. Had he gotten his hopes up for nothing?
Lucius pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright. We'll try something else. Let's take a break for now."
She looked at him hopefully. "Can we get a snack?"
"Go on," he said, gesturing to the house. "Why don't you bring out something for us to eat. And while you're in, how about you get a game you like to play too?"
He was rewarded with a grin. "Will do!" Perhaps if she relaxed a bit, the Magic would come out.
Lucius watched her disappear into the house. He couldn't have been wrong about her...the power he'd felt was undeniable. But something was stopping her performance. What was it?
She returned a few moments later with a plate of crackers and stacking cups with a jug of lemonade clutched awkwardly in her small hands. "Can you take all this? I want to get the baseball stuff."
Baseball stuff? What was she referring to? Ah...some Muggle pastime, likely. Lucius accepted the food and drink, settling it comfortably in the grass. Then he waited to see what she would do.
He didn't have long. He saw her skipping back to him with a long heavy metallic object in her hands, and a small ball.
What was he doing? Lucius had never before deigned to set foot in a Muggle neighborhood, and now here he was at the whim of a child, about to engage in the most ridiculous-looking game he'd ever seen.
But when he saw Hermione's delighted features peering up at him, Lucius found himself softening. What harm in one game? Besides, perhaps he would have more time to learn about the girl.
"How do you play?"
She pressed the ball into his fingers, then began striding away a short distance. "We don't have enough players for a real game, we'd need teams. But you can throw the ball at me, and I'll try to hit it with this bat." She peered at him intensely. "Begin."
Lucius stared at her incredulously. What if he threw the ball and it hit her in the face? How did she expect to lift that bat, much less swing it? She wasn't even eight years old!
She must have noticed his reluctance, because a stubborn expression crossed her childish features. "Go on. Throw!"
"Aren't you worried about getting hurt? How will you hit the ball-"
"Just do it!" Hermione snapped.
He took a breath. Her eyes had taken on a sudden ferocity that made him realize she wasn't going to let up. Well...perhaps if he was very gentle...
Lucius threw, as softly as he could manage. His aim was true, but the ball fell short a few feet. Hermione quirked her eyebrow at him. "You're going to have to throw a lot harder than that. She reached forward and tossed the ball easily back to him. "Again."
This time, Lucius pitched a reasonably good ball. As if in slow motion, he watched the little girl swing the heavy bat, hitting the ball solidly with a loud thunk.
It sped straight towards his face.
He was so taken aback that he didn't have time to do more than throw a hand up to shield himself-but suddenly, inches before the baseball struck his nose, it froze in midair.
He stared.
Then Hermione was running to him and touching his arm apologetically, all soft hands and wide eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I had no idea the ball would go that fast-are you alright?"
Lucius, to his surprise, found he was very much alright, though in deep shock. The ball still hung in the air.
"It's quite alright, Hermione. You said it was an accident-"
"But it's my fault!" Hermione wailed. "Daddy said I couldn't play, I was too little, but I wanted to so much-"
"You've never played before? How did you-"
She hung her head. "Daddy keeps the equipment here so he can play with my cousins when they come over. I've been watching them, and it looked like fun..."
Lucius remembered that he needed to breathe. "How did you stop the ball, Hermione?"
She looked blank for a moment. "I...I dunno. I just sort of wanted it to."
He nodded, trying to appear calm. "I mean, what spell did you use? How did you react so quickly?"
Once she got over her guilt at nearly injuring him, and seeing that he was indeed fine, Hermione perked up considerably. "No spell-they don't work for me, remember? I just wanted time to stop for the ball...and so it did." She eyed him uncertainly. "Are you mad I didn't try to do what you taught me?"
Lucius counted to ten in his mind. She didn't need to use spells? What was she? He cleared his throat. "Of course not," he said lightly. "Just surprised. Lots of witches need spells...but I did say you were gifted. So...if I told you I wanted you to make the feather fly towards me, what would you do?"
Hermione shrugged. "This." And before he knew it, the feather had zoomed happily from it's position by the crackers into his shaking hand.
Merlin's pants. This was going to be an interesting day.
