Hermione went out and brought an expensive new dress especially for the meal with Draco's family. Honestly, she did think it was a little dangerous, considering both Lucius and Narcissa are very close to the Dark Lord, but it was all going to work out like she had planned. She would finally be left alone finally, free from the horrific torture of unrequited love. She studied herself in the mirror before pulling her dress down a little and grinning mischievously. After spending several hours de-frizzing her hair and layering on the make-up, she deemed herself fit to be seen in public and left her room. Draco stood waiting at the bottom of the stairs, gawking in awe when he saw her appear.

Hermione wore a skin-tight strapless red dress that hugged her waist and then fell beautifully just above her knees. Her hair was held in a knot, while loose strands were curled and lay around her face. Her lips were blood red, sparkling slightly in the low light and her eyes twinkled at Draco's gaze.

"Shall we go?" he asked, offering her his arm.

She took it and they walked over to the fireplace. Draco took some floo powder and threw it down whilst shouting "Malfoy Manor!" They appeared arm in arm out of the fireplace to Lucius and Narcissa's shocked faces.

"Draco! What is the meaning of this?" Lucius demanded, pointing directly at Hermione with his cane before surveying her intently. She looked very desirable for a mudblood.

"Dad-Hermione just…I don't want her to be alone this evening, so I invited her along. Mum?"

Narcissa smiled at her son, secretly filled with pride

"Draco, don't you understand? If the Dark Lord were to find out of this arrangement, we would all be punished severely" Lucius's voice was gaining volume and intensity with each word her spoke, it took several minutes of Narcissa's calm words to restrain him.

After Lucius's little outburst, he settled quite quickly and after a few drinks and casual conversation between the four of them, a house elf carefully crept from the kitchens to whisper to Narcissa that dinner was ready. Hermione was sure that if Lucius had seen the house elf, it would've been thrown or kicked from the room. The evening passes smoothly without event, with Hermione seated next to Draco and opposite Lucius. She often found herself admiring the dining room between courses; it was traditionally decorated and was how she would have imagined. It was such a grand room that perfected reflected the Malfoy family; there were lots of green furnishings and the walls were painted a deep colour that could easily be mistaken for black. A warm fire crackled absently in the background.

When they had finished eating, all four of them retired to the sofas by the fire. Hermione was given a large glass of white wine and after drinking it rather quickly she fell asleep by the fire. Opening her eyes slowly, she could see and feel the warm, orange glow from the fire. As she turned her head, she could make out Lucius's silhouette beside her. Propping herself up against the back of the sofa, she caught his gaze; his eyes were wandering all over her body. She smiled cheekily at him, before putting her plan into action.

"Oh Lucius, has everybody gone to bed?"

"Yes." He answered curtly.

"I'm sorry if I kept you up…" she said, moving up the sofa a little towards him.

He did not reply, still watching her intensely for any signs of further movement.

"Remember when you duelled Severus in the dungeons a while back?"

He raised an eyebrow quizzically before slowly answering "…yes."

"I thought you were the better wizard, you know…" she said softly, before leaning closely to him and whispering in his ear "you could have taken him easily if Dumbledore hadn't of interrupted."

She leaned away again, making sure to give him an eyeful of the low V-neck of her dress. Lucius grinned sexily; she really knew how to push his buttons. Now it was his turn to lean over to her, whispering ever so quietly "thank you, Hermione. You look rather incredible tonight."

She winked at him before murmuring closely into his neck and ear "it's for you."

He eyed her curiously before reaching over and squeezing her leg.

"I'm glad Draco brought you here tonight," he said, reading the signals she was sending loud and clear.

She enclosed his face with one of her hands, softly stroking his cheek before moving even closer yet again. Allowing her other hand to move tantalisingly closely over and up his leg, she brushed her lips across his, smelling his unfamiliar scent. He opened his mouth slightly before completing the kiss and enjoying her taste on his tongue. Hermione kissed him back, but it lacked the passion that she had felt burn her insides like when she was dreaming of Severus. Quickly, she pushed these thoughts away, focussing back onto Lucius.

His long blonde hair fell over the back of the sofa, his cold blue eyes flickered with lust as he looked over her. She began to unbutton his shirt and he unzipped her dress. She undid his trousers before removing them completely. He pulled her dress over her head. The last thing he saw was her gorgeous body over him before he was consumed by ecstasy.

She was lying alone in the grounds of Hogwarts on a fine summers day until he saw her and approached. Sitting beside her, they sat together in complete silence. She craved him like water in a desert, needing him there with all of the time. She made him promise never to leave, saying that her existence was pointless without him there to complete her. He agreed and made her swear to the same thing before they smiled at each other and returned to watching the world pass them by.

Neither could live while the other survived.

She woke abruptly, haunted by the nightmare that had invaded her dreams. Realising she was naked, she clutched Lucius's shirt to her body and hastily put it on. Lucius was still sleeping, thank Merlin, his limbs tangled in many places with her own. Climbing over him, she ran to the fireplace and flooed back to her and Draco's rooms.

',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',','

Draco returned a few hours later, asking why Hermione had disappeared.

"I just had work that I had forgotten about, sorry Draco. Oh, and I forgot to thank your parents for that lovely meal…" she paused, realising she may have already thanked Lucius in a rather unorthodox way. The thought made her sick to her stomach. She walked quickly up to her bedroom, leaving Draco looking slightly puzzled and concerned. What had she done? She had just slept with Draco's Dad! The Death Eater Lucius Malfoy! She felt so unfulfilled, like a part of her was missing…she instantly thought of Severus. Guilt washed over her like an incoming tide, filled with regret and anguish. There was absolutely no excuse for what she had done, no way she could blame drink or Lucius's wandering eye or her own anger and hurt. She had ruined Lucius's life, Narcissa's, Draco's as well as her own if anyone else found out. The devastation that could ripple from her own selfish behaviour was too much to take. Everything had gone exactly as she had planned but the misery and the pain that could be caused was not worth it in the slightest. She hadn't realised, she had been so blinded by hatred after what Severus had said that even causing him pain was not what she wanted at all. She had hurt the one person that she loved most for no reason whatsoever.

I miss him so much, she thought.

In her mind she saw Severus's endless black eyes, she saw him smiling down at her with a look that she had never seen on anybody's faces, for her. Hermione could see her and Severus lying on the grass together, the sky filled with blues, purples and reds as the sun slowly set for the day. Hermione and Severus lay companionably on the Gryffindor House table alone in the middle of the Great Hall watching the enchanted ceiling. Some said that the ceiling changed to reflect the mood of the people sat inside, Severus saw fit to mention, as birds flew overheard chirping merrily. Hermione had never felt so alive.

I miss him so much.

Now I've ruined everything.