Malfoy Problem Solving

Hermione was shaking by the time they reached Lucius' study. For one, it was in the wing of the house that brought back memories of writhing on the floor underneath Bellatrix Lestrange. Secondly, her relationship with Lucius Malfoy was not a pleasant one. In the few times she'd been in contact with him, his piercing grey eyes and acidic tongue were always trained on her. He hated her. He'd made no secret of it.

"I can go in myself," Malfoy offered, stopping where they were standing, about twenty feet from the door.

"No, I'm okay," she lied, taking in a deep breath. Looking up at Malfoy, he didn't look so good either.

She felt him step close to her, and slip his hand into hers. "Granger, he's dead. He can't do anything but yell at us."

"I know," Hermione said, sighing to let out all the tension in her body. She took comfort in the feel of his warm hand in hers and let it relax her. "Besides, he's not my father," she finally said, looking up at him with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Draco assured her. "The worst of his punishments will be quite impossible from his place inside a picture frame," he smiled at that thought.

"Has he...I mean, did Lucius really hurt you?" she asked, her warm eyes looking over Malfoy as he tried to pull away, ashamed of the little boy who'd cowered in his father's presence. She held tight, though, keeping his hand in hers.

"Let's just say, whatever you've read in the journals was commonplace in my childhood home as well," he said, not making eye contact with her. It was not something he wanted to relive or talk about. He didn't want Granger's pity, and he didn't want to relive the horrors of being his father's son. It seemed, however, that he had no choice. She was stubborn, and his father was the only key to his problem.

Well, better get this over with, he thought tugging on Granger's hand. She looked so stricken by his confession that he almost felt sorry for how he revealed it. "Come on," he said, his voice softening. "He's dead."

He breathed a sigh of relief when she seemed to come around, her eyes looking into his intensely. Instead of heading to the door, though, she leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. It was so short, he barely believed it happened, but the tingling he felt on his lips was still present. The shock of her actions was enough to give him confidence, and he squeezed her hand before heading toward the study door.

Hermione didn't know what possessed her to kiss him, but in the moment, it felt completely right. She didn't want to pity him, but how could she not. He was just a boy when his father started the strict punishments and indoctrination. The fact that he joined the Order at all was a miracle. She couldn't believe how insensitive she'd been when he crossed over. She never gave him a chance. Knowing what she knew now, maybe they could have been real friends.

Instead, this was what they had. This...strange transformation and a kismet of events that brought them together. If she did anything with her life, it would be showing Draco friendship and kindness. The kiss was instinctual, but it felt right, and she couldn't bring herself to regret it. At least not at the moment.

With one last deep breath, she followed Draco into the dragon's den, and let the door to the study click shut behind her. You are Hermione Granger. You faced Voldemort. You can handle Lucius Malfoy's fucking face in a picture.

"Well, I wondered how long it would take you to come to me," Lucius said from his place above the fireplace, across from his desk. Hermione found it somewhat comical that he had his portrait set so he could look at himself anytime he wanted as he worked. Vain git.

"Forgive me if I didn't really want to see your face ever again," Draco replied flippantly. "I'd planned to never come into this room until this Malfoy curse ruined my life."

"It's not a curse, Draco," Lucius said in a tense voice. "It was meant to protect the family."

"Oh, this should be good. How, pray tell, is turning into a snake at a moment's notice, any protection?" Draco asked, rolling his eyes like a rebellious teenager.

Hermione stood back and let the father and son interact.

"You are human now, which means you must be onto something," Lucius said, his glance turning to Hermione, a sneer on his lips.

"I don't have a bleeding clue why I'm turning human," Draco said, growing frustrated. Why did everyone talk in riddles? Couldn't people just be straight with him for once? "It's not as if the Forefathers were forthcoming. Then again, I am only a traitor, right dad?"

"If you are going to act like a child, I'm going to treat you like one," Lucius said, his tone cold and his eyes colder.

"Excuse me," Hermione finally said from her place against the desk, "but I think Draco has every reason to be upset. You never prepared him for this. He had no idea this was going to happen, and he doesn't know how to fix it."

If looks could kill, Granger would have been a grease spot on the floor. Lucius' sneer was vicious as he turned back to his son. "I'll say nothing in front of the Mudblood. She has no right in my house."

"It's my house, father," Draco said. "And call her a Mudblood again, and I'll get out the paint thinner." Lucius' eyes went wide and Draco took extreme satisfaction in pushing his father off kilter.

"I'll go," Granger said. "I'll be right outside if you need me."

"You don't have to," Draco assured her. No way was he giving into his father's stupid prejudices. He could go fly a kite.

"No, it's okay. If he wants to talk to you alone, I have no problem with it," Granger assured a small smile on her lips. It was that small smile that warmed him enough to nod his head and let her go as he dealt with the demon of his father all on his own. She was right anyway. He knew enough to know that if his father wanted to be a stubborn prick, he could be.

"Okay," he finally said, kissing her cheek as she walked out the door. It was partially to piss his father off and partially because he wanted to draw any strength he could from her before he went to battle.

"I have half a mind to keep my mouth shut until you get her out of here," Lucius sneered.

"Haven't you learned anything from your time in Azkaban? Blood status means nothing. All that your zealotry got you was locked up, leaving a wife and son who hated you," Draco pointed out as he leaned against the desk, arms crossed over his chest.

"She's not going to get into this family. I don't care what you think you see in that girl. You'll have to find someone else," Lucius said, his tone almost panicked.

"What are you talking about? Look, just start at the beginning. What does Granger have to do with all of this?" Draco asked, his frustration reaching a fever pitch. That was twice that his family warned him off of marrying Granger. He wanted her, might even admit to wanting to date her, but he was far from wanting to marry anyone.

Lucius said nothing.

"You wrote to me, on your deathbed. I have to believe, that no matter how bad a father you've been, you chose to warn me for a reason. Now, why are you clamming up just because Granger's here?" He took a deep breath, trying to get his emotions under control. If he knew one thing about dealing with his father, getting hysterical didn't work.

"She was there when I changed. She's helped me," he explained. "Can't you put your prejudices aside so that I can figure this thing out and move on with my life?"

"It's not that simple, Draco," Lucius finally said, beginning to give in. "Do you have feelings for that girl?"

Draco scoffed. The old coot couldn't even use her name. He ignored the irony that he refused to use her given name too. "What difference does it make?" he said defiantly.

"It makes all the difference if it's too late," Lucius answered seriously.

"What are you talking about?" Draco shouted, reaching the end of his tether.

"You can't possibly be this dim, Draco," Lucius scoffed. "When are you changing back into yourself? When she's around?" Well, yes? He had considered that, but she was always around.

"Yes, but..." he started, but his father cut him off again.

"And, let me guess, you've seen her in a new light. You even find her...attractive," he sneered the last part like the thought was so vile he could barely get it out of his mouth.

Ummmmm..."So, what's it to you?" Draco asked with a shrug. He didn't have to answer to his father anymore. He was a grown man, and he could fuck whoever he wanted.

"This isn't how it was supposed to happen," Lucius said, warily. "Your mother and I pushed you toward all the best Pureblood witches from such a young age." Draco knew that well enough. He shuddered at the memory of forced dates with the likes of Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, and even her younger sister Astoria.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Draco asked, trying to be patient with his annoying father.

"The damn curse, Draco!" Lucius finally shouted.

"I thought it wasn't a curse," Draco countered.

"Insolent little...the whole point of the Animorphi spell was to ensure the Malfoy line continued on," Lucius finally said.

Now we are getting somewhere, Draco thought. Took him long enough.

Hermione paced the floor outside Lucius' study, lost in her thoughts. She hoped Malfoy found out whatever was going on. She needed to get out of that house. What was a bizarre attraction was now turning into something more. She could feel it. The way he touched her, and kissed her like it was so natural. It made her feel things she'd never felt. Not even with Ron. Especially not with Ron.

Even if he liked her, and it seemed that he did, he was not what she needed. She wanted something that meant something. She wanted to make love to someone, not fuck them. Well, maybe she wanted to fuck someone, but it could only be if he wanted to make love to her as well. Draco was not on the market for that.

Therefore, it was best she got some distance as soon as possible. She'd made a commitment to help him, and she would, but dinner at Harry's would definitely be a welcome distraction from the aching need she felt for the man in the study. How had it gotten so out of control so quickly? She was on track to make a fool of herself and get her heart broken in the process. Until they could find out how to fix this problem, she'd just have to try and reign in her emotions.

Draco got comfortable on the edge of the desk and prepared himself for his father's explanation. "What do you mean, 'to ensure the Malfoy line continued on'?"

"This hasn't always been an issue for Malfoy men," Lucius began; it was probably how he'd always intended to tell his son the truth, at home, on his deathbed. "About three hundred years ago, our forefather, Cepheus Malfoy, committed a crime against the family."

"What kind of crime?" Draco asked. He remembered seeing Cepheus' journal among the bunch, but as he wasn't a key player in his family history (as far as Draco knew), he skipped it.

Lucius curled his lip in disgust. "He was a disgusting pervert," he said. Draco needed a bit more explanation than that. "Instead of meeting nice Pureblood witches, he was caught in the Slytherin dorms with another boy. And they were not studying."

Oh. Well, okay then.

"So, he was gay. What's the big deal?" Draco asked, but he should have known better. Lucius Malfoy was not a new age man. If Muggle borns were bad, gays were worse in his eyes. There was no changing the man's willful ignorance. Besides, he was dead. Who cared what he thought anymore? Still, it was hard to believe that there had only been one gay man to come through the ranks of the Malfoy family.

"He wanted to run off with that boy," Lucius said like it was obvious what the problem was. "He was the only son of the Malfoy Head of House, and about to run off to be with some fairy. Well, his father wouldn't stand for it. He enlisted the help of the leading Potions Master in England and created a special spell, only to be broken by love."

"Wait, back up," Draco said, trying to process what he was being told. "Cepheus Malfoy was gay, and his father turned him into a snake until he fell in love with a woman."

"Essentially, yes. However, he configured the spell so that all future Malfoy men would suffer the same condition at such a time that they take over the Malfoy name. It would ensure that the line always continues. This has not been an issue since the spell's inception because, as you know, Malfoys marry young," Lucius explained.

"I wouldn't call what you and mother had, love," Draco scoffed.

"You know nothing about it!" Lucius snapped. "I loved her. In my own way, I loved her, just as my father loved my mother. When I changed, I already knew it would happen, and Narcissa and I performed the ritual to change back permanently."

"But this doesn't make sense," Draco said, working through everything he was told. "Regardless of the spell, Cepheus was still gay. How did he end up falling in love with a woman?"

"Draco, something you will never understand, it seems, is the complexities of human emotions." Lucius said, sighing in resignation.

Well, if that's true it was no help from you, Draco muttered to himself.

"Cepheus fought it at first. Nevertheless, there was a friend. She'd been a good friend to him for a very long time and she loved him. Her commitment to him endeared her to him. I don't know the extent to which he loved her, but her sacrifice worked and he was human again."

"What's the ritual? What sacrifice are you talking about?" he asked.

"It's a potion. The one you love must give her blood and commit herself to you, promising to bear your children to continue the Malfoy line," Lucius said looking seriously at Draco through the portrait on the wall.

Well, shit.

The absolute last thing Draco had in mind was marriage and children. That's what this curse basically amounted to. He'd have to fall in love and find a woman willing to commit herself to him for life. He wouldn't have children with anyone less committed. How the hell could he do that when he didn't even think he could love himself, let alone someone else?

He wasn't ready for this. Damn his father for being stupid enough to get locked up in prison and dead by the age of 45. The only woman whose company he could even stand was Granger's. Oh buggering fuck.

"That's why the whole Malfoy line is up in arms about Hermione being here," Draco surmised.

"Well, you can understand the implication," Lucius said. "I wouldn't get too attached. I'm not sure her pathetic blood would even break the curse."

Draco found himself nose to nose with this father's portrait in a second. "She's one-hundred times the human being you ever were, father. Shut up about her blood."

"Oh, she has gotten under the Malfoy skin," Lucius sneered. "Tell me, Draco, is fucking a Mudblood really worth the humiliation?"

"Shut up, Father!" Draco demanded, his blood boiling. "Shut your mouth about her, or I'll make that paint thinner a promise. You are lucky you aren't in the attic with the rest of you pathetic lot!"

"Find someone else, Draco." Lucius said, ignoring the threats.

"What makes you think I even have feelings for her anyway? She's just helping me out," Draco said, turning to leave the room. He got what he needed for the moment.

"You are a terrible liar, Draco. Always have been." With those parting words, Draco walked out the door, slamming it behind him. The trouble was, his father was absolutely right. He did have feelings for Hermione. Moreover, he couldn't picture falling for anyone else.

It wasn't long after Draco returned from the study that he was a snake again. Before he transformed, he hadn't revealed the results of the discussion with his father, but Hermione was sure he'd had a revelation. When she asked him what his father said, he just gave her a wary smile and told her he'd tell her everything, but he needed time to think. She gave it to him.

He did tell her that she didn't have to bother with the journals anymore. She was grateful for that. She'd learned more about the Malfoy family than she'd ever cared to know. She just took the rest of the afternoon to eat, take a long luxurious bath in the tub she'd miss when she left, and get ready for dinner at the Potters'.

She pulled on the summery dress she'd packed and slipped on the wedge sandals that went with it and gave herself a once over in the mirror. Pleased with the results of her extra pampering, she walked down the hall to Draco's room.

Knocking lightly, she poked her head in and saw Draco reading the book she'd set up for him before she left for her own room. "I'm off to Harry's," she said.

He looked up at her and made a nodding motion with his head. "Do you need anything?" she asked. He turned his head to her left to indicate 'no'.

"Are you sure you want me to come back tonight? I can go back to my own apartment if you'd rather..." His head jerked harshly to the left.

"Okay, then I'll come find you when I return?" she asked, wondering if he wanted her to. She had a feeling she was going to miss him when she was gone.

He nodded slightly, looking her up and down before she left his room. All he could think was how beautiful she looked. He wished he were escorting her to dinner, even if it meant he'd have to put up with Potter and his wife for the whole evening.