Her heart was beating furiously and her breath was ragged. Somewhere in the labyrinth of the corridors between the huge storage racks she had lost Harry and the others, noticing now that she had no idea where the exit was. Panicked she looked around herself, but wherever she looked, there were only endless storage racks full of prophecies. It had been a ridiculously stupid idea to come to the ministry in the first place, she had felt it from the beginning. The surprise Death Eater attack proved her right.

Running while simultaneously looking in all directions, Hermione didn't notice the tall figure in front of her. She bumped right into him and fell to her knees.

"Granger!"

Shocked, she gazed at the tall man in black robes. The same blonde hair, the same deep voice like in the bath just a few weeks ago. Only back then he hadn't pointed his wand at her threateningly.

"Liar!" Hermione screamed and threw herself at him. The moment she had recognized him as he had approached Harry in his typical arrogant way to steal the prophecy, her stomach had turned ice cold. Only then had she realized that she had slept with a Death Eater, with one of the closest allies of Lord Voldemort.

"How could you? How could you?" Hermione sobbed hysterically, punching him over and over again.

"I never lied, Hermione!" Lucius whispered: "You knew who I were. You knew where my loyalties lie."

"No! I didn't! During that time … in the bath … you were different!"

"You shouldn't be here, Granger!" Malfoy told her hurriedly: "You need to get out of here."

With that he pushed her away and pointed to a corridor to her right: "Run and don't look back. Escape now, otherwise I can't guarantee your safety!"

Distraught, Hermione looked after him, but then thoughts of her friends pulled her out of the daze and let her follow his instructions.

She was actually a bit surprised when she finally met Ron, who noticed her tear struck face but didn't ask any questions. They had to find Harry, Luna, and Neville and then escape this labyrinth full of Death Eaters as quickly as possible. She would think later about why Lucius Malfoy had actually helped her.

oOoOoOo

"Ron, please wait!"

Surprised, he turned back to her: "What's the matter, Hermione? You just said we'll be late if we don't hurry. Ginny's been waiting for ages at the bridal salon, I bet!"

"Yes, I know, I know, but I think I just saw someone … I just want to say Hi real quick."

With that Hermione left her fiancé's side, who still seemed rather confused. With long steps she approached a tall man with long, blonde hair.

"Mr Malfoy!"

The man stilled and turned around: "Miss Granger!"

Unsure of what to actually say, Hermione stepped in front of the Ex-Death Eater. He watched her with open curiosity, but when words failed her, he simply smiled: "I congratulate you to your engagement witch Ronald Weasley."

Wrinkling her nose, Hermione stared into his eyes: "We both know you don't mean that, so don't even try."

"Right," Lucius hissed and before Hermione realized what he was doing, he had grabbed her and dragged her into a small alley away from any curious people. Like many years ago, Hermione found herself pressed against a wall by Lucius Malfoy, who quietly told her: "I cannot actually compliment you for marrying a fool. I bet he doesn't even know how to satisfy his woman."

Hermione turned pink, but she hadn't lost her Gryffindor courage: "Well, a certain someone didn't achieve that goal, either."

"I can make up for that right here, right now."

She almost lost herself in the blue eyes of the older man, but found just enough self-esteem to chastise herself mentally. Something else needed to be said: "I … I wanted to say sorry. What I said to you during the battle at the ministry. I … you and your family were very brave in not telling Voldemort that Harry actually was still alive … and … I now know that you value family above everything."

Confused, she stopped her mindless rambling. Again and again she had thought about what she wanted to say if she ever got the chance to talk to Lucius Malfoy again. How she wanted to thank him for what his wife did. How it had touched her to see him care for his son during the battel of Hogwarts. How she had suffered knowing that he was loyal to Voldemort and how glad she had been when that loyalty had crumbled for whatever reason. But now, standing in front of him, captured once more by his big arms, images of their time in the bath during her fifth year flashing before her inner eye, her brain was empty.

"You don't have to apologize for anything, Hermione," Lucius interrupted her thoughts, his voice sounding surprisingly soft: "Your anger back then was understandable, even if I never actually lied to you. I can't deny who I am and what I did. Nor can I deny that I followed the Dark Lord of my own volition. I belong to a very old wizard family und I'll never in my life be able to think that Purebloods are different from … from those that mixed with Muggles. You may be an exception, Hermione, you're better than any of us … but at the end of the day, you're just that: an exception that proves the norm."

Hermione's gaze fell upon her feet. She knew he was right. It would be naïve to think a grown man would be able to forget and change what he had believed his whole life to be true. At the same time, though, she was glad that he was honest at least to her. The rest of the world believed him to be a reformed Death Eater who no longer believed Purebloods to be better, but to her, he had been honest.

"I love my son and I have the deepest respect for my wife. The war showed me how very much I care for both of them. Perhaps it's good that the Dark Lord is no more, even though I wouldn't have mourned for Potter or all the other mudbl- muggleborn witches and wizards. But just the fact that you are alive now is enough for me to accept this victory over You-know-who."

She nodded. His words hurt, but her brain told her that it would be unrealistic to expect anything else from him. With a sad sigh, she gazed directly into his eyes. For a moment both seemed unsure, but then their lips met in a passionate kiss that tasted of goodbye for both of them.

When Hermione returned to the busy street, Lucius called after her: "I really hope you'll be happy with your fiancé, even though I don't think it's possible."