chapter 11

Hermione had expected Lucius to come running to her with a new potion as soon as possible. But he was nowhere to be seen. For two days she had been left completely alone. And that was nerves wracking. She hated it when he left her alone like this. Especially when there was such an important decision hanging in the air.

What was taking so long anyway?

She hated it. Hated the feeling of not knowing.

And that was why she could not be more glad when one morning the elf informed her she was to clean the study room. She did not question why or if it was Lucius' idea. All that mattered was that she was finally allowed to leave her bedroom.

The elf accompanied her to the study room and then it simply opened the doors for her and when Hermione walked in, the small creature disappeared.

"Close the doors."

Hermione flinched at the voice, not expecting anyone. But he was there, sitting behind a desk and going through some papers. Hermione obeyed, closing the doors and then turning to look at him. It was strange. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him, so many things she needed to make clear, but he was ignoring her.

Silence followed and Hermione took a few moments to look at the study room. She had been here once before. Perhaps even twice. But she clearly remembered the first time. It was a few days after she was brought to the Malfoy Manor. Lucius had a party with all his friends and she was the entertainment.

She shuddered at the mere memory of that. Even though it happened many months ago, she could still feel panic in her throat, the adrenaline in her veins as they threw her to the ground. She struggled like a wild animal but there was no doubt she would have been defeated if Lucius hadn't interfered.

She was blind at the time. She did not see the exquisite green rug on the floor or the large desk and an enormous bookshelf behind it. More books. Hermione could not help but wonder exactly how many books were there in the Malfoy Manor.

There was also a black leather armchair near the large window. The view was marvelous. It was still snowing and it seemed magical. Especially with the heat coming from the fireplace. For a moment Hermione allowed herself to daydream about sitting in front of that raging fire, enjoying the view or reading a book.

"Are you going to stand there all day?" Lucius commented, looking up from his papers.

Hermione was brought back into reality and quickly shook her head, "What do you want me to do?"

There was a slight smirk on his face, but it quickly disappeared and Hermione could not help but wonder if she had imagined it.

He pointed towards a small bucket of water and a cloth rag on the floor near the window.

The floors again? Couldn't he find something else?

With an annoyed sigh she walked over to it and kneeled, keeping her back to Lucius. She lowered the cloth into the water and then nervously started rubbing the floor. It was strange, she had expected him to leave her alone. She did not want to clean in front of him. Not wanting to turn around and look at him, she kept her head down, but she could feel something on her back. That weird tingling feeling as if he was watching her.

Was he?

Why would he?

ooo

It was uncomfortable being in the same room with him, but not talking to him. They were both minding their own business, but there was still tension in the air.

With each passing minute she was closer to the desk where he was sitting. Would he move or was she expected to clean around him? That fact annoyed her a bit. She had nothing against cleaning, she did not think it was degrading, but the way he was forcing her to do it... It was like he was trying to show her where her place was. On the ground, while he was standing above her, looking down at her. It would only give him greater pleasure if she showed it bothered her. That was why she kept on an emotionless face.

Her back was hurting and her legs were slightly cramping, so she stood up to stretch them.

"What are you doing?" a voice came from behind her.

"Just stretching," she answered, not turning around to him.

"I do not remember giving you permission to take a break."

This angered her and she looked at him, her face blushed.

"I don't need your permission for this," she shot back.

He simply raised an eyebrow, "Fiery temper."

Silence.

"It's been a long time since you've been so insolent, Mudblood," he continued, "Perhaps I should do something about it?"

Perhaps you really should, said Hermione in her mind, but the words never left her mouth. Instead she stared at him until she simply turned around, ignoring him. She did a few neck flexing exercises and suddenly she felt arms around her waist. She froze completely, surprise and confusion on her face.

She did not even hear him walk over to her.

She could feel his breath on her neck, his body pressed against hers, but she did not move. She wanted to show him it had no effect on her whatsoever. But it was hard to ignore him, the warmth of his body, the smell of him.

"Have you gained some weight?" he suddenly asked, his voice low.

"N-No," her answer perhaps came too quickly.

What was he implying? She did not notice that her body changed. It was still too soon, right?

"I like it," he purred, "At least now I can grab on to something."

"Y-You won't be grabbing on to anything," Hermione replied, keeping her voice even, "At least not with me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't you push me away?"

Gathering her courage, she did just what he had suggested. She pushed him away from her, turning around to look at him. He had allowed her to push him away, obviously. She was positive she would not be able to move away from him if he decided so.

He stood there, slightly smirking at her, but he said nothing.

After a long moment of silence, she quietly asked, "What are we doing, Lucius?"

"What do you mean?" he acted innocently.

"You know what I mean."

He was about to answer, but a knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

"Enter," Lucius said, moving away from Hermione, walking over to his desk.

To Hermione's surprise it was Snape who entered.

"Good morning," he greeted, barely throwing a glance at Hermione.

"Severus, finally," Lucius replied, looking through some papers, "I need to show you something."

Hermione observed them and then suddenly something was thrown at her direction. She narrowed her eyes in surprise and noticed a small piece of paper on the floor, next to her.

It was probably from Snape.

She looked at Lucius, noticing he was not watching her. Nervously she kneeled down, pretending to grab a cloth, but she quickly took the small piece of paper, hiding it in her hand.

"Mudblood."

She flinched and looked up at Lucius, her heart beating like crazy.

"I think you should go to your room. You can finish your work tomorrow," he said, dismissing her with a wave if his hand.

Hermione simply glared at him, not knowing what to say. She half expected Snape to offer her the potion she was waiting for. But he obviously did not have it.

And Lucius...He did not wish to discuss important things, things that needed to be discussed and she could not make him do something he did not want to do. Truth be told, she too did not want to discuss it. If it were up to her, she would pretend everything is alright. She would ignore the situation she had found herself in.

"Pippy," he called and the elf immediately appeared.

Without taking his eyes off Hermione, he instructed the elf, "Take her back to her room."

ooo

Once she was safe in her room, Hermione waited a few minutes before she unfolded the paper.

Four days from now.

You need to force Lucius to stay in the Manor for the day.

Do anything.

That evening she spent a great deal of the time simply observing herself in the mirror, Lucius' little comment replaying in her head. She was trying to find evidence that she had indeed gained weight. She found none. Was she unable to see it? Or was he simply torturing her? He knew she did not want the...child and used that remark about her gaining weight to torture her further.

Hermione had trouble sleeping that night.

ooo

The next morning after breakfast that annoying reminder of her condition decided to return. The morning sickness. She was doubled over in the bathroom, clutching her stomach and trying to will the sickness away. Just as she thought she was feeling better, the sickness returned and she emptied her stomach in the toilet.

She heard a small pop and suddenly the elf appeared on the doorway, "Miss."

Hermione looked at him, waiting for it to speak.

"Master says you has to be in his study in five minutes."

She let out a tired sigh, then shook her head, "I can't."

"But Master says-"

"I'll need more than five minutes," Hermione said, closing her eyes, "Tell him I'll be downstairs in half an hour."

"But-"

"Please, Pippy, just tell him that."

"The Master will punish Miss if she disobeys."

Hermione laughed slightly at that, "Don't worry about me."

She heard the small elf disappear and she rested her head on her knees, trying to relax.

ooo

Hermione had not expected him to come looking for her. She knew disobeying his order would annoy him, but she never expected it to annoy him so much. He obviously did not tolerate disobedience. And she knew that.

"Mudblood?"

She heard him call her from the bedroom. Not even a moment later he was in the bathroom, standing at the doorway, looking down at her oddly, not saying anything.

Hermione forced herself to look at him, though she hated being so weak and she hated that he was the one to see her in such a state. She could see he lost his composure for a slight second, before turning back to his calm and collected exterior.

"I requested your presence in the study room," he said coldly.

Hermione could not believe him. Was he blind? Could he not see the state she was in?

"I said I'll be downstairs in half an hour."

"I said five minutes."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I am not feeling so good at the moment."

His jaw twitched, then he asked, "And what seems to be the problem?"

Was he serious?

"I'm feeling sick and I just threw up everything I've eaten for breakfast, my back hurts like crazy and I can't get up without everything spinning around me!" the anger in her voice was more than evident.

He simply stood there, observing her with a calm expression on his face. When she realized he was not going to comment her little outburst, she placed her head on her knees again, taking deep calming breaths.

"Come," he suddenly said, walking over to her.

Hermione looked up at him in surprise, not actually sure of what to do.

He took her arm and helped her to her feet. Hermione forced herself to ignore that act of kindness from him.

He led her to the bedroom and Hermione sat onto the bed, keeping her eyes on the floor. It felt strange when his hand left her arm, it felt as if something was missing.

"Narcissa used to have them too," he quietly commented.

Hermione's head shot up in surprise and disbelief. Had he really mentioned his wife in front of her?

"W-What?" was all she could say.

"Morning sickness," he explained, "There were times when it would get really bad."

Hermione did not know how to respond to that. Was she even allowed to respond? She was not supposed to talk about his wife. He himself had told her that.

Then she realized one small thing.

He knew how bad his wife's morning sickness was. That meant he was around. She could not imagine him being a loving and caring husband, dealing with his wife's pregnancy. But perhaps he was different back then? He was younger, perhaps not as evil as he was now.

Snapping back into reality, she looked up at him, "Give me ten minutes and I'll come downstairs."

He was silent, simply observing her, his face void of emotions.

Hermione could not stand his penetrating gaze anymore and she snapped, "What is it?"

Why was he looking at her like that? What was he thinking? Was he perhaps concerned for her? No, that was not possible. But for whatever reason he was looking at her that way, Hermione did not like it. It made her feel so small and vulnerable. And that was the last thing she wanted to be in front of Lucius Malfoy.

So she put on a strong face and looked at him, "Forget about those ten minutes. I'll come downstairs right now. Do you want me to finish the work in the study room?"

He answered only after a few long moments, shaking his head, "I don't think you will be doing anything today."

"What do you mean?"

"I think the best would be if you remained in the room for the day."

Her mouth opened in surprise, "What? Why?"

"Suffice it to say I would not enjoy the sight of you vomiting in my study room. Besides, I just got a new carpet," he sneered, "You will remain here."

"But I'm alright!"

"You are not."

Hermione could not believe him. She was not buying his story about not enjoying seeing her vomit in his study room. There was more behind his words. But what was it? What did he want?

"Why?" she finally forced out.

"I already told you-"

"I don't believe you," she cut him off, then sighed, asking the question that had been bothering her for quite a while, "What are we going to do? Where is that potion?"

Lucius tensed a bit at that question, she could see it.

"Severus is having trouble getting one ingredient. It might take a few days."

"Is that the truth?" she asked quietly.

"Believe me," he started, "I do not want to deal with this problem any longer than I have to."

Hermione wanted to remind him that he was the one to destroy the potion in the first place, but that would be pointless. He would never admit what he was really feeling or thinking, so it would only be a loss of time.

She sighed, then nodded, "Fine."

"Good," he said, then added, "You will continue your work tomorrow."

After that he left the room, locking the doors.

ooo

The rest of the day went unbelievably slowly. She spent most of it simply observing the outside world through a window. Everything was covered in snow and Hermione could feel a small pinch of sadness at not being able to go outside and enjoy. She loved winter and snow.

But then she decided to stop torturing herself and closed the curtains. There was nothing she could do, so she took Lucius' advice and decided to rest. She had a feeling tomorrow would be a very difficult day.

ooo

After breakfast the house elf led Hermione downstairs into the study room. She was feeling well and she could not be more glad for that, even though it meant cleaning the whole day long.

Just as the previous day, the elf disappeared as soon as she entered the study room. He was there, sitting at his desk. This time he did look up at her, but only to point at the bucket of water waiting for her in the corner.

No words. Nothing.

Hermione sighed and went to work. It really bothered her that he was in the same room. Couldn't he leave her alone?

After a few moments of scrubbing the floor, she got that strange feeling. That tingling sensation at the back of her neck, as if someone was watching her.

Was he?

Without thinking, Hermione turned around and their eyes met for a second before he looked down into his papers again.

He was looking at her!

Why?

Trying to ignore that, she returned to her work, thinking about a Polyjuice potion and it's ingredients to try and keep her mind off Lucius.

Lacewing flies

1 ounce of crude Antimony

16 scruples of fluxweedthat

As she went on, trying to remember the rest of the ingredients, she suddenly heard his voice.

"My my, what a sight."

Immediately tensing, she pulled the robe down, covering her thighs a bit more. She hadn't realized it went that up while she was scrubbing.

"Why so quiet, Mudblood?" he asked innocently.

Hermione remained silent, not knowing what to say. Perhaps if she ignored him, he would stop bothering her. Why was he talking to her anyway?

Not only a moment later she heard him moving and before she could react, he was behind her, pulling her up from the floor. She tried to turn around to face him, but he would have none of that and simply pressed her harder against his chest.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, forcing her voice to sound calm, even though her heart was jumping like crazy.

And it was not because of the fear. There was something else. Of course, there was slight fear, this was Lucius Malfoy and she could never know what he would do next. But the real reason why her heart was threatening to jump out of her ribcage was hiding behind something else.

Perhaps excitement? Need? Something primal and dark. She could not describe it with one word.

"You talk too much," Lucius said, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"Stop this," she demanded, but it came out as a whisper.

He did not move away, simply taking a deep breath.

"What would you like me to do?" he purred in her ear, his voice thrilling the her as he gave her a gentle thrust to urge her to respond.

Hermione froze, not believing what was actually happening. It would surprise her if he could not hear her heartbeat.

"I-I told you," she answered, her voice breaking.

"I do not believe you," he said calmly, "A few months ago you would scream, hit and kick, anything, just to get away from me."

Hermione remained silent, feeling the warmth of his body, even through his clothes. It felt right to be there, pressed against him.

He continued, "And now...you melt at my touch."

His hand slowly and lazily made their way up, caressing her.

Hermione closed her eyes and rested her head back against the his shoulder. The logical part inside of her was shouting that she was insane, that she should push him away, but for some reason she did neither of those things. She was sick and tired of battling with herself. Also, she wanted to know what was between her and Lucius. And the only way to find out was to surrender to him. Was that so wrong?

Hermione's breath caught in her throat when his hand pushed the robe down her shoulders. It caught around her waist, but left her upper body exposed. She was only in her bra and could feel the coldness of the room on her bare skin. This got her attention and tried to cover herself, snapping free from her fantasy.

"Don't," she heard him purr into her ear again.

There was something about his voice, his hands, his body pressed against her, that relaxed her.

"It has been so long, Mudblood," he whispered, bringing his lips to her neck, to that spot where she had been bitten. He covered that small scar with light kisses and it felt as if he was taking back what was taken away from him.

"Lucius," she stammered softly, swallowing the small lump of nervousness that rose in her throat.

Before she even realized what was happening, he turned her around and pressed his lips to hers. She almost lost herself in his passion, trying to respond and keep up with his experienced kisses.

After a long moment he broke the kiss, "Are you enjoying this?" he asked smoothly, his hand on her side moving inward until his fingers brushed the underside of her breasts through her bra.

Her heart pounded beneath his hand and her breathing quickened slightly when his hand slid to her back. With one flick of his fingers, he undid her bra and that piece of clothing was soon on the floor, forgotten. She blushed a bit, feeling uncomfortable with being exposed like this while he was completely clothed. It felt as if that gave him more power over her.

Every thought was forgotten as soon as his hands slid round to cup both of her breasts, running his thumbs across her nipples, drawing inarticulate sounds of surprise and pleasure from her. Then one hand left her breast, to be replaced by his mouth, gently sucking.

Hermione's legs were shaking and she knew her knees would soon betray her. A moment later, Lucius kissed her again, wrapping his arms around her waist, holding her.

"Mudblood," his voice sounded thick and he was having trouble breathing. But his face betrayed no expression, only undisguised want.

If only he would call her by her real name. Hermione. It would make everything better. She would be able to pretend everything is normal. But with calling her Mudblood, he only reminded her of their situation.

Before she had a chance to say anything, he kissed her again, more fiercely this time.

And then their whole fantasy came crashing down as the doors opened.

"Lucius, dear, the elf said -"

Hermione let out a short scream, then covered herself with her hands, pressing herself into Lucius, trying to hide from that person, who ever it was. She was trembling, her face red. She was so embaressed all she wanted to do was hide.

Lucius wrapped one arm around her, shielding her naked form from that person at the doors.

"What is the meaning of this, Lucius?"

Hermione tensed as she recognized the voice. It was that woman. Patricia.

Of all the people, it had to be her.

"Have you forgotten how to knock?" Lucius snarled at her.

Hermione quickly pulled the robe back up, covering herself. She still could not see that woman with Lucius standing in front of her, his body hiding her.

"Lucius," Patricia started, hurt and anger evident in her voice, "What were you doing? And with her?"

Hermione did not want to stay to hear the answer. She was too ashamed and shaken up. Without saying anything, she ran past both of them out of the study room, up the stairs, not stopping until she was safe inside her room.

Only then did she allow herself to crash to the floor, burying her face in her hands, trying to hide from the world. She could not believe what just happened. It seemed surreal.

She was so embarrassed. What had gotten into her? Why did she allow Lucius to do that do her? Why did she like it?

No more pretending.

She needed to admit that she liked him touching her. What was that? It wasn't love.

Perhaps she was sick and twisted, liking his dominance over her. No matter how much he hurt her, she still craved his touch, his voice, his smell. She was aware of all the horrible things he had done in the past, not just to her, but to people she loved. And still, she did not feel disgusted by his touch.

She would have let him do anything to her, she would have allowed him to make her his in the study room, on the table, on the floor, against the wall, it did not matter. At that moment she was unable to think. Her mind had shut down completely.

Thank god we were interrupted.

Then she remembered who had interrupted them. Patricia.

Behind all the humiliation and embarrassemnt, she had to admit she did feel a bit of satisfaction. That woman hated her, thought of her as an obstacle, tried to get her in trouble and turn Lucius against her. And now she saw them together. A small, vengeful part of Hermione hoped the sight of her and Lucius together angered that Patricia. She hoped it made her feel worthless and betrayed, just as Hermione had felt when she saw Lucius and her together in the bedroom that night a few days ago.

Not wanting to think about it anymore, Hermione took a quick bath, but it did not help. She could still feel Lucius on her skin. No matter how hard she tried she could not prevent her mind from thinking about what was happening in the study room at that moment. Were they perhaps fighting? Or did Patricia decide to ignore what she saw? Perhaps they were...reconciling?

No. I need to stop thinking about it.

She turned off the lights and within moments she was safe in her bed, completely covered. She wished she could stay under the covers for the rest of her life.

ooo

She heard the doors opening.

No no no.

Forcing her eyes shut, Hermione tried to ignore the sound of someone walking towards the bed. She knew it was him. And she did not want to talk. She did not even want to see him. How could she show her face and look him in the eye after what happened? She was not a whore.

But you act like one, a small voice in her head said.

Hermione tensed, but remained still.

Perhaps he would leave if he thought she was asleep.

Silence.

Trying hard to keep her heartbeat even, Hermione noticed he was not moving anymore. He was most likely standing there, next to the bed, observing her. She could almost feel his presence.

"I know you are not asleep, girl," his voice cut through the silence.

Hermione did not respond to that, keeping her eyes closed.

"I know you," he continued, "And I know you would not be able to sleep after what had happened."

Just ignore him. He will go away.

"Enough with the games," he said, annoyed, and pulled the covers off of her.

Hermione flinched and finally opened her eyes, but did not move from her position. Neither did she look up at him.

He sighed, "What are you playing at now?"

Silence.

"Mudblood, I am talking to you," he said in a low voice.

Finally, Hermione spoke, "It's late."

"Yes, it's past midnight," he agreed, "But that is of no importance."

Hermione let out a tired sigh, "What are you doing here? I'm tired and I...don't want to talk."

"Oh," he said innocently, "Well, I did not mean to bother you. I just assumed you would like this back."

She looked up at him and noticed he was holding her bra in his right hand.

He smirked, "You have forgotten it in the study room."

Hermione blushed and looked down, "Can I have it back?"

"Hmm," was his only response.

Her head snapped up to meet his eyes. There was such a smirk on his face and Hermione could not stand it. He knew well enough she was still embarrassed about such things and he enjoyed torturing her with it.

Without thinking, Hermione stood up and snapped the bra from him, throwing it on the bed behind her. He simply raised his eyebrow, amused by her behavior.

"All you had to say is 'please'," he spoke, "There is no need for such impolite behavior."

Hermione shook her head in disbelief. He was tutoring her about impoliteness?

"You can leave now," she said quietly.

Lucius took a step towards her, his eyes narrowing, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is still my house."

Hermione met his eyes and waited.

"Which means, every room in this house is mine. And you are...less than a guest here," Lucius explained, his voice cold, "I have every right to be here. And I have every right to do with you as I see fit."

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"I said no," she repeated, stronger this time, "You may believe that, but I will not let you control me."

He smirked, "Need I remind you of that little incident in the study room?"

Silence.

Then she looked at him, "Did it ever cross your mind that it happened because I wanted it to happen?"

That caught Lucius' attention and he waited for her to continue.

"You did not force me or control me," she explained, keeping her voice confident, "Perhaps I wanted it. Perhaps I wanted to kiss you, to touch you, to feel you."

A slight shadow of surprise showed on his face, but he quickly hid it, "You do not believe that."

"Think about it. Why did I not struggle?"

After a moment he nodded and sneered, "You do realize what that makes you?"

Hermione tensed, but did not say a word. She knew exactly what that made her.

He looked straight into her eyes, but then simply turned and walked away. Hermione was left with that horrible feeling in her chest, feeling of nothingness, of betrayal and disgust.

He left the room and Hermione returned to her bed, knowing she would get little sleep tonight. That one word kept replaying in her mind.

Whore.

ooo

The next morning Hermione felt a bit better. Even though the memories were still strong, she decided to stop accusing herself. The situation she was in was hard. It was a miracle she hadn't gone completely insane. There was no telling how Luna or Ginny or Lavender would have behaved if they found herself in her shoes.

Snape once told her that she was very brave. She survived. And that was the most important.

After breakfast the elf accompanied her to the study room and left her there. But this time there was no one in the room, which surprised her.

Thinking Lucius had to come soon, she hugged herself with her arms and waited. The only sound in the room was the sound of her breathing. She looked around, observing the room. There were papers on the table, books on the shelves. Perhaps she should take a look. Just as she moved, she realized something. It felt like a trap. Why leave her alone in a room like this? He was not stupid. He knew she was curious and she would snoop around.

It had to be a trap.

Just as that thought formed in her mind, the doors opened and Hermione could not be more surprised at who she saw enter. She had expected Lucius.

The shock made her speechless for a few moments.

"Good morning," Patricia said and offered her a smile that did not quite reach her eyes.

Hermione simply blinked, not knowing what she was supposed to do.

"Are you alright?" the woman asked.

This is unbelieveable, Hermione thought. She was tired of meeting that woman every day.

"Do you live here?" she finally asked.

Patricia let out a short laugh, "Oh, no, unfortunately. Not yet."

Hermione did not miss the hidden meaning in her words. That woman obviously meant serious business with Lucius. She was not simply his lover.

"Where is Lucius?" Hermione asked, tensing up.

"He should be here soon," the woman answered.

Silence.

Hermione looked around nervously, but she could feel that cold stare. There was a strange energy coming from that woman, all Hermione wanted was to get away from her.

It was all strange. Why was she pretending as if the event from yesterday did not happen? It would make Hermione feel better if she simply confronted her about it. The fact that she was not talking about it and was actually being polite to her, sent shivers down her back.

Then suddenly Patricia sighed and pulled her wand out.

Hermione took a step back, "What are you -?"

ooo

She woke up, shivering.

So cold.

Freezing.

Her eyes flew open and had to close them again at the painfully white sight in front of her. Everything was white.

And it was so cold.

And...why was she wet? Her robe was completely wet.

Hermione looked around, confused, then immediately pulled herself up, her body shaking uncontrollably.

I must be dreaming.

She was outside.

"What -?"

Looking around, she realized she was in front of the Manor, in the garden.

How?

Her mind was having trouble processing questions. It was freezing. And her robe was completely wet from lying in the snow. Who would do this to her? And how?

It hurt so much. She felt tired, her muscles were exhausted from shaking violently. She could not breath properly, all she was able to do was take short breaths. Hugging herself, she ran to the Manor, letting out moans of pain. She could not feel her toes anymore and that fact frightened her. As she ran bare foot through the snow, the feeling of numbness spread up her legs, making it impossible to run fast. After a few moments, she was barely dragging herself towards the Manor, her teeth chattering uncontrollably. She had to be careful not to bite off her tongue.

When she finally reached the large front door, she tried to open it, but it would not even move.

Panicking, she started screaming, calling for someone, hitting the doors.

Nothing.

It was so cold.

Her whole body hurt and now it seemed as if her fingers were on fire, even though they were as cold as ice. Hermione brought her hands to her mouth, breathing into them, hoping to warm them, but it did not help. Even her breath was cold.

Soon she could not stand anymore.

Sliding down, she hugged herself with her arms and tired to keep her breathing calm.

Horrible image formed inside her mind.

Her frozen body found the next day.

Who would find her?

Lucius?

Then she remembered.

It was her. Patricia. That was the last thing she remembered before she woke up in the snow.

No no no.

I can't die like this. Not like this. Not because of her.

Gathering all her strength, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Her throat was hurting, but she did not care.

"PLEASE! OPEN THE DOORS!"

She coughed a few times, almost choking on her fear.

Just as she was about to scream again, the front door moved, then opened inward. Hermione looked at who it was.

The small elf stood there, confused.

"Miss?"

"T-T-Thank you, thank y-you," Hermione managed to say, forcing herself to stand up.

She took a deep breath and somehow limped her way in the house. She did not feel her feet, nor her fingers anymore. All she wanted to do was collapse, but she could not do that. She needed to do something first.

"Miss?" the elf followed her, but Hermione did not answer him.

She somehow reached the study room and pushed the doors open. They were both there as Hermione had hoped.

There were no words to describe the shock on Lucius' face, but Hermione could not deal with him at that moment. Her eyes moved onto Patricia, who was looking at her coldly and her lower lip was twitching in anger.

"What the hell happened, Mudblood?" Lucius asked, the shock evident in his voice.

No matter how cold Hermione was, she could feel something hot inside of her, anger, rage, it grew with each passing second and just as it was about to explode, she stormed over to Patricia and slapped her hard across the face.

Smack.

Hermione must have hit her hard, because Patricia lost her balance and ended up on the floor. For a second it seemed as if the time stopped. Neither of them moved.

Hermione could feel herself shaking with cold, with pain, with fury.

Then Lucius was beside her, grabbing her arm painfully, "What in the name of Merlin are you doing?"

Patricia remained on the floor, glaring at Hermione. There was a red hand print on her left cheek. Hermione must have really hit her hard, but she could not feel it, her hands were completely numb.

"S-She th-hrew m-me out," Hermione managed to say, still shivering violently.

Lucius narrowed his eyes in disbelief, "What?"

"I-I woke u-up o-outside, i-i-in the s-snow."

He needed to believe her. Her heart would shatter into a million pieces of he decided to believe Patricia instead. She could not stand it.

"Lucius, you cannot possibly believe any word she says," Patricia said and slowly got up from the floor, wearing an offended face.

"D-D-Do you t-think I-I did this m-m-my...myself?" Hermione asked, looking up at Lucius who was silent.

She felt foolish, barely able to speak, but her teeth were chattering and her body was literally betraying her. But that was not important. All that mattered was that she was safe.

Lucius' eyes traveled down her body, inspecting her and there was such a shock on his face. Hermione could imagine what she looked like.

"Lucius-" Patricia started, but Lucius cut her off, "Leave. We will talk later."

"But-"

"I said leave!" he snapped at her and even Hermione flinched at his tone.

The woman left without a word.

Hermione's knees buckled, but Lucius caught her before she could fall down.

He was so warm.

Without thinking if it was appropriate or not, she pressed herself against him, shivering.

"You are freezing," he commented, "Come."

They slowly made it to her bedroom, Hermione holding on to his body as if her life depended on him.

He seated her on the bed, then called the elf, ordering hot tea.

He then touched her shoulder, trying to take her robe off. Hermione flinched away from him, shaking her head and looking up at him.

Lucius let out an annoyed sigh, "You need to get out of that robe."

"I-I'll d-d-do it m-myself."

He was annoyed by that, she could see, but he nodded. With a flick of his wand, new clothes appeared on the bed next to her. He took a step back, crossing his arms over his chest and waited.

He was not planning on leaving or giving her privacy.

Hermione did not have the strength to argue with him. He had seen her without clothes before. And now was not the time to act childish.

It took her a few minutes to change, but when she was finally in clean and dry clothes, she collapsed onto the bed, pulling the covers over her. Lucius approached her, flicking his wand over her. At first she wondered what spell he used, then she started to feel warmth all around her.

A warming spell.

She could not be more grateful for that.

Closing her eyes, she could feel the blood returning to her toes and her fingers.

It's alright. I'm safe now.

She almost drifted off to sleep, when she heard his voice.

"You need to drink some tea."

She opened her eyes and then shook her head. All she wanted to do was sleep.

"I will have none of that," he said firmly.

With a groan she pulled herself into a sitting position, then carefully reached for the cup of tea on the nightstand. Her hands were still shaking and she almost spilled the hot liquid all over herself. Suddenly Lucius' hand was over her fingers, preventing her from dropping the tea, stopping her shivers.

Hermione took a sip of tea, enjoying the feeling of warmth in her mouth, then down her throat. She could not believe how close to death she was. What if she had not woken up when she did? She would have probably froze in the snow.

Lucius cleared his throat, making Hermione look at him.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

It sounded unnatural, hearing him ask that question.

She shook her head, "I-I don't think so."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

His eyes slowly dropped down, from her eyes to her stomach.

Hermione immediately tensed, fighting the urge to cover herself with a blanket. For some unknown reason, she did not move. Not even when his hand slowly reached towards her. She looked at it as if it were a snake, but the moment his hand touched her belly, the whole world went away.

His eyes were like glittering diamonds in the dark. There was an unreadable expression on his face. She could not determine what he was thinking. Why was he touching her?

It felt right.

Her instinct was to cover his hand with hers, but stopped herself before she actually did that. She doubted he would appreciate it.

And then he snapped out of it, moving his hand away as if he was burnt. He cleared his throat again, looking anywhere but at her face. Now there was emotion on his face. Regret. Disgust.

"You should go to sleep," he said.

"But we have to talk."

"Tomorrow."

His answer left no room for arguments and Hermione forced herself to lay back had expected him to leave, but he did not move.

After a moment, she quietly asked, "What do I mean to you?"

She did not expect him to answer. But she felt as if they have never been as close as they were at that moment and she had to ask.

"I do not know," he answered, not looking at her.

It was something. At least he did not answer with the standard 'you are a Mudblood, my slave' answer.

Closing her eyes, she realized she liked the feeling of having him close to her. She could feel him sitting on the edge of the bed, she could feel his presence, hear him breathing. And it actually relaxed her. Within minutes she was asleep.

A/N: Another chapter! :) I really wanted Hermione to snap at Patricia. ;) Hope you enjoyed. And for those of you who are worried that Lucius will become OOC, do not worry. I would never allow that, even though he does have his tender moments. Sadly, they never last. Tell me what you thought of this chapter. :)