Hermione woke up late for breakfast the next morning and rushed into getting ready. She took a quick shower, raked out her hair and dressed quickly, figuring she would straighten her clothes on the way down to breakfast. In her haste, she didn't see Draco's boot on the floor and tripped, knocking her hip into a table.
"That's going to bruise." She muttered. It hurt to walk with the sore muscle so she slowed down knowing she would make it to the Great Hall eventually.
Ten minutes later, Hermione entered the Great Hall and made her way to the Gryffindor table, limping as she walked and gaining stares from everyone.
"What's the problem Granger … Lucius Malfoy to rough with ya." Pansy shrieked, causing all attention to focus on Hermione.
She rolled her eyes and continued to the table, ignoring the sniggers and taunts the entire way. She took her spot between Harry and Ron, both looking at her in question.
"What?" she asked as she pulled eggs to her plate.
Harry scratched his head and tinkered with his glasses before answering, "Uhh, well, You see – Pansy said she and Draco caught you shagging Lucius Malfoy –"
"And you want to know if it's true." She finished for him.
Ron glanced down at his plate but Harry kept his eyes firmly locked to hers. He had know her long enough to know if she was telling the truth or not.
"I need to know." He said firmly.
Hermione sighed, she knew he would see straight through her lie if she tried, "Harry, I –"
"So it's true? You are shagging a man old enough to be your father and a man who hates Muggle borns as well."
She couldn't answer verbally so she settled for nodding.
Ron stood up from the table, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Ron yelled, "He a fucking death eater Hermione."
She tried to pull Ron back down, she knew it was too late and everyone knew what Pansy had said was true but she had to try.
"Ron ... please sit down." She whispered
Ron jerked away from her, "No Hermione, I will not stand by and act like this is okay while waiting for the man to kill you."
She looked to Harry for help but he was ignoring her. She then looked around and noticed every eye in the hall was focused on her, including the Professors.
"Fine" She hissed, "I don't need this."
She pushed her plate away angrily, knocking over a few goblets of juice in the process and left for her rooms. If they were going to be prats and not even allow her a chance to explain, then that was their problem, not hers.
Once the doors closed behind her, Draco got up and went towards Pansy. He lowered his mouth down to her ear and whispered, "I warned you."
Pansy's eyes went wide, she didn't like the way he sounded and she knew he was serious. She watched as Draco went over to the Gryffindor table, Punched Ron as hard as he could, then pulled Harry by the back of his robes, making him fall backwards from the bench and down to the floor.
"You are both idiots" he hissed before walking away, he had a letter to send.
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Lucius sat in his study, going over the divorce papers from Narcissa. She had owled him, letting him know that she planned to marry her lover by the end of the month and wanted the divorce finalized as quickly as possible. He read over the terms of what she expected, all of which he had already agreed to before signing the paper and ending the marriage completely.
He relaxed and sat back, glad he was finally free from the woman he was forced to marry all those years ago. He smiled, knowing Hermione would feel better about their arrangement now that he was technically a free man, he knew she was still uncomfortable with the fact that he was still married, despite what he had told her.
His happy thought, however, were interrupted by the sound of an owl pecking at his window. He sighed and stood to retrieve the message. He noticed the owl instantly and knew if was from Draco, he hoped Draco wasn't writing to complain about Hermione again.
He took the letter, gave the owl a treat and retreated back to his chair where he opened the letter and started to read;
Father,
I am writing to inform you that I am no longer involved with Pansy. Apparently, she was only dating me to get to you and when she informed Hermione to stay away from you, Hermione told her to sod off.
Hermione defended me to Pansy, telling her she was a bitch for using me and I feel I owe her a favor in return, one you can help me with.
Pansy decided it was in the schools best interest to inform everyone about you and Hermione, causing her to be abandoned by her friends and deemed a slut by quite a few of the students. She has not left her room since Breakfast and refuses to speak with anyone.
Just thought you would like to know
Draco MalfoyLucius threw the letter down on the desk with a growl, he really didn't care who knew about their relationship as he planned on continuing with it as long as she agreed. The fact that some little floozy had caused her trouble over him was what angered him.
He quickly sent the divorce papers back to Narcissa before grabbing his robes and flooing to Hogwarts.
"Back so soon?" Dumbledore asked as Lucius stepped out of the fireplace.
"Albus" He greeted coolly, he didn't want to talk to the old buzzard, he had a black haired witch to strangle.
"Sit down Lucius, I wish to speak with you about Ms. Granger."
He rolled his eyes but sat down anyway, he needed to see what Dumbledore was going to say about their… thing, relationship…whatever you wanted to call it.
"I am aware that you and Ms. Granger are involved." He stated with a sigh, "I have spoken to her about the situation, and while I don't agree with it, my hands are tied."
Lucius nodded, he knew there was nothing Dumbledore could do about it.
"Just don't hurt her." The old man finally said quietly, "She is not like you, she is not a Slytherin and I would really hate to see her hurting worse then she is at the moment."
"I don't intend to hurt her, Albus, I happen to be quite fond of the witch considering she practically saved my life and got my son away from a money hungry twit."
Albus nodded, "Go get her and make her go to dinner. She didn't get a chance to eat breakfast and she didn't come down to lunch."
Lucius nodded and stood, he felt better knowing that Dumbledore wasn't going to hex him or ban him from the school.
"Thank you Albus." And with that, he left the office, heading straight for the Slytherin commons.
He arrived in the dungeons a few minutes later, barging right into the common room as if he owned it.
"Where is Parkinson?" he growled.
The slytherins parted like the red sea, leaving the frightened looking witch exposed to his steel gaze. The other Slytherins knew Lucius was not a man to be toyed with, their own fathers wouldn't go against him, prison or not.
"It appears Parkinson" he stated as he walked closer to the witch, " That you have a problem with running your mouth."
Severus stood in the corner, ready to stop Lucius in case he got carried away.
"I – I didn't mean for it to go this far." She muttered softly.
Lucius knew how to keep his temper in check but Parkinson had really pissed him off.
"It doesn't matter what you intended" he hissed as he walked closer. When he finally reached her, he placed his hand on her shoulders and pushed her against the wall with a thud.
"Listen to me, and listen to me good. I do not like when my women are upset. Hermione is mine and you, are nothing I would ever want. I have no desire for a little slag such as yourself and if I find out that you, or anyone else bothers her… well, you will find out why Malfoy's are feared – do you understand?"
Pansy nodded quickly and furiously, she wanted his to know she understood.
He released the girl and turned to the Slytherins that were standing around, watching the scene unfold, "That goes for the lot of you, Hermione Granger is off limits."
Lucius gave the students a final sneer before leaving the commons, he had a witch to see too.
A/N: There will be no update tomorrow as I will be sitting in the waiting room of a hospital, waiting for a surgery to finish. I will try to have an update for you Wednesday, along with an update for a few other stories.
