Well, things went well in that last chapter. Too well, I think…

Thank you to zeeksmom for giving me the inspiration for this interesting little turn…Tell me what you think, dear reader, and offer your predictions. As always, I love reading your thoughts!

Chapter 29

"Get up."

Hermione woke with a start. Her room was still dark, but she could have sworn she had just heard…

"Get up, now."

The blankets were yanked off Hermione's bed with a simple flick of a wand, exposing her to the cold of the room with only a thin, white nightgown to protect her.

"Bloody hell, Lucius!" Hermione cried, bolting up in bed and instinctively clutching her arms across her chest and reaching for a bedsheet.

Lucius, for once, did not seem at all concerned about her appearance. His gaze was fixed out the large window in the back of the room. He was scanning the yard, searching for something…

Hermione's bedroom was pitch black, but Lucius's sharp features were illuminated by the lit tip of his wand.

Hermione felt so violated to have Lucius just appear in her room like this with no warning. It was technically his room of course since it was in his house, but she had been given her privacy up until this moment. Well, except for that one night…

Hermione brushed that vision away. Now was not the time to remember their drunken rendezvous…But still, it made Hermione wonder what Lucius had come for. What he wanted.

Was she excited or nervous to find out? Maybe it was both…

Lucius hadn't even glanced at her since her outburst, so Hermione began to stand up. "Lucius, what in-"

"Dolohov is free," Lucius muttered, and Hermione's voice fell away from her. "Now, come with me."

Lucius quickly made his way toward the door, but Hermione was still frozen in place. Finally finding words, she managed to ask, "But how?"

"Some of the residual Death Eaters organized a breakout. Now is not the time to explain."

The color drained from Hermione's face. "And you think he'll come here? To finish the job?"

Hermione couldn't see Lucius's face anymore since his wand was resting at his side, and she was frustrated that she could not read his expression in the silence that followed. Finally, he said, "I think that there is a Muggle-born witch living under a well-known pureblood's roof, and that pureblood has been forbidden from using much of any kind of magic that may protect her."

Hermione's stomach sank. He was right. If Dolohov did come to attack her again, Lucius could not intervene without going back to Azkaban…

Hermione snatched her wand off the bedside table and gripped it firmly in her hand.

"I won't let you fight him for me. Not again."

She couldn't see as much as feel Lucius roll his eyes in the darkness. "Well, you attempting to win a fight you did not start with a crazed dark wizard is out of the question."

There was silence, neither party making a move until Lucius sighed. "If it makes you feel better, bring the wand with you, but let's move."

Hermione, realizing this was not the time to argue, obliged and quickly padded over to him in her bare feet. She followed him out the door and down the hall.

"Where are we going?"

"A safer place with a more defensible position."

The pair quietly made their way up the stairs, the steps illuminated by their wands. In the light of Hermione's lumos charm, she noticed that Lucius was dressed in bedclothes, a sight she had never witnessed before. They were plain grey and black pinstripe and hung loosely on his frame. Had the moment not been so tense, Hermione would have laughed at seeing the great Lucius Malfoy in such a state.

The pair passed a few doors before finally stopping at a heavy, wooden one with intricate carvings. Hermione was nervous, but curiosity pressed her forward as Lucius opened the door and gestured for her to enter.

The first thing Hermione saw was a roaring fireplace to her left with elegant leather armchairs positioned on either side. The heat radiated pleasantly against her cold skin. Then, a different kind of heat spread across her as she saw the beautiful four posted bed with silvery, silken sheets at the center of the room. Portraits of blonde-haired aristocrats hung on the walls, an intricate wooden armoire stood guard in the corner of the room, and a marble bathroom was just visible through a door to their right.

"This is…your room…" Hermione said hesitantly.

Lucius closed the door behind her and passed his wand over the handle a few times, casting some protective enchantments. "I know it's not ideal, but this is the most defensible location in the house. There are already some enchantments over this room and a few…objects of questionable origin residing here so just…don't touch anything."

Hermione looked back at him incredulously. The light from the fire flickered across his features, and while Hermione saw him clearly taking some enjoyment in her discomfort, the concern was still very solidly set in the thin lines on his face.

"I figured it would be best if you slept here for the night where I could keep an eye on you."

Keep an eye on me. Wouldn't he like to…

Lucius walked closer to the fire and warmed his hands momentarily, almost as if he was looking for a distraction from Hermione's pathetically overwhelmed features. Then, he wordlessly grabbed a chair from the writing desk in the corner and pulled it up to the window where he sat, wand in hand.

He gestured toward the bed. "Go back to sleep."

Go back to sleep. Like it was that easy. A mad wizard might be on his way from wizarding prison to kill them both, but go ahead and just sleep in a strange bed with even stranger implications…

Hermione wanted to say something along these lines, but instead she just cautiously walked farther into the room, taking all of it in.

Lucius gestured to the bed again. "You need your rest."

At her hesitation, Lucius let out a low chuckle. "You needn't worry yourself tonight, Miss Granger. I will not be joining you."

"That wasn't…" She trailed off. That was a lie, and they both knew it.

Wanting to escape Lucius's cold gaze and the coldness of the room, Hermione finally sat down on the edge of the bed. The soft, downy mattress formed around her, and she ran her hands over the expensive threads of the sheets.

Laying down and wriggling under the covers, Hermione was suddenly overwhelmed by the welcome warmth of the fire, her soft surroundings, and that wonderful smell of…

Lucius.

Hermione resisted the urge to bolt up from the bed to stop herself from being overwhelmed by it. The pillows, the sheets, the comforter…everything smelled like Lucius. Like cologne and potions and spice…

"You should thank Mr. Potter the next time you see him."

Hermione jerked out of her fantasy abruptly. She couldn't see Lucius now, since he was sitting at the window past the head of the bed, but she felt his presence nonetheless.

"Harry?" Hermione questioned, coming back to reality.

"He sent me an owl the moment he had heard about Dolohov."

"He sent it to you…as a warning…"

She heard Lucius snicker. "Whatever you said to him while I was incarcerated must have resonate within him somehow."

"It's easier for you to hold on to your hatred than to admit that he's changed!"

Hermione remembered that moment well. She wondered how Harry felt about Lucius now, how he would feel when he found out about what had really been going on between the two of them…

"Are…are you sure you don't want to sleep in your own bed?" Hermione asked. She felt Lucius's eyebrow raising in amusement the moment the question left her lips, so she quickly added, "I mean, I can just as easily sleep on the floor-"

"You know, Hermione, couples have been known to share a bed during the course of their relationship more often than once in a drunken night." Hermione's blood burned at this statement, and she was happy that Lucius could not see her flushed face. "Nevertheless, I feel more comfortable here at the window keeping watch. I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. You, on the other hand, should get some rest."

Knowing that she was never going to win this battle, Hermione relented. She deposited her wand on the table next to the bed and rolled over to face the empty space next to her. She sighed and took a deep breath. Every time she thought her situation couldn't get any stranger…

A few breaths later, the softness of the bed, the warmth of the fire, and her own exhaustion lulled Hermione off to sleep.