Still a bit slow getting this out but a significant improvement on my last gap!
That evening Draco was away on business and Lucius was fast asleep so Hermione jumped straight into her investigative work.
The room Hermione was in was similar to Lucius' but this one was themed with silver and white, as opposed to the grey of his. It was pristine, simple and spacious, it made Hermione feel clear and focused which was exactly what she needed right now, not even Crookshanks purring loudly by the softly crackling fire could distract her now. The house elves had worked impressively fast, all of her things had been laid out in her room in the short minute it took her to get there from her house. It hadn't taken her long to settle in and set out everything she needed on the large desk which occupied a space under a portrait of a beautiful platinum haired women who shared a striking resemblance to Lucius, perhaps she was his mother…
Hermione's thoughts almost ran away with her then, so drawn to Lucius and his family, what had made him the man he was today, but she knew she had to focus on the investigations now. Once that was over she could think about Lucius as much as she liked.
Her first line of thought was trying to work out who the perpetrator had been intending to hurt, and why they had acted now.
If someone held a grudge against Ezra it was possible that this had been their first opportunity to strike. Ezra had, up until the last few weeks, not had a physical form and very little was known about him. That meant that since his apparent outing into the world, whoever wanted to hurt Ezra finally had the opportunity to do so.
That said, Lucius had been under house arrest for the last five years, Malfoy Manor being almost completely impregnable, and he had been seen out for the first time the day before the attack. If Lucius was the target, his release so soon after his minimum sentence must have come as a shock and didn't give whoever attacked him much time to plan, perhaps explaining the botched attempt.
But that lead to the question, why rush it? If Lucius was now allowed out of the Manor, the opportunities to attack him would have become significantly more numerous than they had been in the past five years.
That's when an interesting idea popped into Hermione's head. What if the attack on Lucius and Ezra was linked, but not in the sense that the assailant knew that they were the same person?
Many people hated Lucius, Hermione had no doubt of that, and his apparently lenient sentence must have infuriated many of them, perhaps to the point of wanting to take the law into their own hands. However, Lucius had been taken back to the Manor immediately after the trial so anyone who may have wanted to do him harm would have had a very tough time doing so considering he didn't leave it over the next five years.
So, who does your anger turn towards when its initial target can't be touched? The people who made him untouchable.
There was the judge who made the ruling, the Minister, the Chief of Security and, even though the attacker may not have known it initially, Ezra.
Not everyone had heard of Ezra, so he may not have been thought of as someone to blame for Lucius' short sentence initially, but those following the trials would have most likely heard of him. Once Ezra was suddenly in the public eye these past few weeks, it's possible that the attacker was triggered into thinking that Ezra could be to blame.
Now, if someone had found out that Ezra hadn't given evidence for Lucius' trial they would no doubt come to similar conclusions as Hermione initially had – that Ezra was paid off by Lucius to keep things quiet and the sentence short, putting himself before justice.
The knowledge may have been infuriating but perhaps they could live with it, besides, they didn't know if that was the truth anyway, just an assumption.
But suddenly you start seeing Ezra frequently, looking haughty, doing an important job for the Minister, for remembering those lost in the war of all things, spending time with a war hero, and then to top it all off Lucius Malfoy gets out of his house arrest in the minimum time possible, and something snaps. Whatever hatred or plan they had been mulling over for that past five years could have boiled over and lead them to decide to attack Erza – the man who turned his back on justice and let Lucius, in their eyes, get away with it all.
It seemed farfetched, but the more Hermione thought about it, the more in made sense.
Why not just attack Lucius though, he's the one they must have hated?
Hermione had several thoughts on this.
If her idea was correct, this attacker was more interested in justice than harming the Malfoy patriarch. Lucius had, since the war at least, stayed within the law. Other than potentially bribing someone, which would be wholly expected of the man, he was not the one who had succumbed to the bribe.
As Severus had pointed out, the attacker seemed unprepared and not fully aware of the curses properties. It's possible they were nervous when casting it, flustered even, and Hermione had to question whether someone with that disposition would really try to attack Lucius Malfoy.
Ex-deatheater, renowned as an excellent fighter, capable of killing and harming without seemingly a second thought, a man whose reputation is terrifying. Attacking him could be a risk, especially if your attempt failed.
Of course she now had the task of finding evidence, and her list of suspects wasn't exactly much smaller now than it was before, so the task still seemed fairly daunting.
Hermione decided that, for now, she should probably try to sleep, she would need her rest to be on her best form tomorrow. She hadn't realised how tired she was as she readied herself for bed, even changing out of her clothes seemed to be a gargantuan effort, the long stressful day no doubt the culprit.
Hermione climbed into the large four poster bed, the sheets shimmering as she pulled them over her, the firm mattress welcoming her like an old friend, and she looked forward to the almost instantaneous sleep that was likely to come.
But sleep didn't come.
Despite her eyes trying so hard to close you'd think they'd just seen Slughorn naked, something would not let her go to sleep, a thought that had been bothering her all day.
Blaise Zabini.
He'd been acting strangely, had spoken to her close to the time of the attack, no doubt knew the dangers of attacking a Malfoy and, these days, held a strong sense of justice now that he worked with the aurors. He looked like a prime suspect but Hermione simply couldn't believe it. Blaise was very close with Draco, no one in his family had been prosecuted, therefore no extra grudge against Ezra, and if anything he was probably happy for Lucius and his release.
No. It can't be Blaise. And Hermione was going to prove it first thing in the morning.
It was not until Hermione awoke suddenly to the sound of Crookshanks hissing and a thudding noise from next door that she remembered the whole reason she was sleeping in the Manor in the first place. She was here to protect Lucius should someone manage to get inside and she'd been so caught up in her detective work that she'd barely thought about it.
It was strange, you'd think she'd be terrified being in the Manor considering what happened to her here, but she felt safe, could barely imagine that someone could break in, that any harm could come to her here.
She didn't have time to reprimand herself for her forgetfulness, instinct taking over. In seconds her wand was in her hand, the room illuminated.
Leaping out of bed Hermione cast protective and concealment charms as she swiftly made her way to the door. Taking a deep breath she opened it, confident the sound or sight wouldn't be noticed by anyone who may be out there thanks to her spells.
The corridor was empty. Could be good, could be bad.
Another thud came from the direction of Lucius' room followed by swearing of some kind. Not good then.
She rushed for his room, having to stop herself once she was there from barging down the door like she wanted to. Again, a deep breath was required before she opened it, in these situations it was important to be in control of one's self, rushing in would just get you killed.
Hermione wasn't sure what she had anticipated she would see on the other side of the door, but what was there was most certainly not what she had expected.
There was Lucius, on the floor, sporting a most disgruntled expression and no assailant in sight.
He looked at her, a flash of embarrassment crossed his face before it was quickly replaced by one she imagined he'd use for business.
"I tried to get out of bed." Lucius stated simply. "It did not go well." He added as a slight smile crept onto the edge of his lips.
Hermione relaxed and let out a laugh, closing the door behind her as she went to help him.
"I see the potion is still in effect then?" She giggled as for the second time that day Lucius' arm was slung around her shoulders.
"Indeed, Raxel awoke me an hour ago to make sure I took my next dose." He sounded irritated about it, but Hermione could tell he appreciated it really, knew it had to be done. "Thankfully it is not half as strong as the stuff I was taking earlier."
It was a struggle to get him off the floor but with a little assistance from her wand Hermione managed to get Lucius sitting back on his bed.
"Was there a reason you wanted to get up?" She asked.
She would have offered to help him but somehow she didn't think Lucius would like that, he didn't seem like a man who would readily admit that he needed help of any kind.
A slight colour seemed to come to his cheeks. "I was coming to apologise for how I behaved earlier today" He admitted. "Although I have no idea why I thought that now was an appropriate time…"
Hermione let out another laugh. "You've got nothing to apologise for. Besides, I wouldn't mind you coming to see me at any time, even if it is three in the morning."
Lucius cocked an eyebrow. "Sounds like you may have taken some of my potion too."
She fought the urge to blush and swatted his arm instead. "You know what I meant you sly bastard."
"I really wish I did." He said almost absentmindedly.
Another laugh escaped Hermione, a single one of confusion and exasperation.
There it was, what they hadn't been able to resolve yet since what had happened to them between the shelves of Flourish and Blotts. What was this between them?
If he was anyone other than Lucius Malfoy she doubted she'd have a second thought about her feelings for him, but at the same time, if he wasn't Lucius, she wouldn't feel this way at all.
It seemed simple when she thought about it like that and, maybe for now, she could let it be simple, let it be what it was.
For once words seemed to fail her, instead all she could do to convey how she felt was to place a soft kiss on his lips, lingering there, finally able to enjoy kissing Lucius without anything getting in the way.
He pressed back into her, letting out a beautiful sigh as he did. They stayed that way for who knows how long, slowly exploring each other's lips. This wasn't the time for a heated, lust filled exploration of the other, this was an acknowledgement and acceptance of how the other felt.
Being this way with Lucius felt so easy to Hermione. She could be herself around him and felt as though she could show him parts of who she was that others wouldn't accept or understand.
Their kisses became slower and a little weaker as they both felt tiredness overcome them, Hermione deciding that perhaps it was time they called it a night.
She made to pull away but Lucius held her close.
"Stay with me tonight." He murmured as he gently pulled her further onto the bed. "I don't want to be away from you just yet."
Hermione was too tired to protest so climbed up next to him and pulled the covers up over her. Soon enough a warm broad chest was pressed against her back and a strong arm wrapped loosely around her waist.
They didn't say anything to each other, didn't need to, just let themselves fall to sleep content with the fact that they were together.
Apologies for still being terrible at ending chapters.