My continued thanks etc for reviews, follows and favs. As ever apologies for any faux pas.

I suppose we are moving into the what you might call the next part of the story, so I hope you enjoy it...

Hermione needed some fresh air. With the exception of Narcissa's sitting room, the young witch had gone from one dimly lit room within the manor, to another. The darkness of night had ensconced her in Lucius' bedroom, there was the angry oppression in his study and then the partially lit warmth of the kitchen, they all seemed to be rapidly closing in on her now.

Draco had all but fled the kitchen as soon as the sandwiches had been consumed, leaving her alone once more with his father, and Lucius had then excused himself momentarily shortly after that. Hermione noticed what looked like and outside door, at the far end of the kitchen. It hadn't been one of the doors she had looked behind, whilst searching for things earlier, certain it wasn't a larder or storage room. Tentatively, she opened it, delighted to find it lead onto the grounds, at what she assumed was the rear of Malfoy manor, relieved, she stepped outside to enjoy the pleasantly surprising warmth of the early spring sunshine. Hermione however found herself in a very different part of the manor, a small cobbled courtyard extended from the back door, it put her in mind of Victorian novel. Dark stone walls on all sides, at least five maybe six feet in height, on opposing sides, the walls had two wrought iron gates set in their midst, both bore the Malfoy crest in their centre, intricately weaved into the ironmongery. Beyond the stone and iron, Hermione could see the tall trees of the gardens, exchanging their winter bareness for the dark green foliage of the oncoming spring months, they rustled and bowed slightly in the gentle breeze. Hermione raised her face to its gentle caress, savouring its refreshing touch and surprising warmth.

She looked from one gate to the other, wondering if either would lead her into the gardens where she had walked with Draco a few days ago. Her bearings were a little of in relation to the house and the gardens, the manor full of so many twists and turns, but in her mind she thought the gate to her left might take her in the correct direction. Outside there were three shallow stone steps, which lead onto another walled area, the walls here were much lower, the stone much lighter in colour, in the centre, Hermione could see a tall, rather ornate bird table, and on the far side, nestling amongst some rich green shrubs was a small wooden seat which she made her way to. As she sat down Hermione noticed in the opposite corner was a narrow grassed pathway, its entrance surrounded by a trellis covered in some creeping vine, tiny buds of flower poking their heads timidly out amongst the leaves and into the sunshine. Hermione was wondering if perhaps this lead to the gardens off Narcissa's sitting room, when amongst the tranquil quiet she heard footsteps. Well perhaps not exactly footsteps, but she heard something moving, approaching her. She knew from her days at school with Draco, that Malfoy manor had some albino peacocks wandering about the place, she hadn't seen any yet, but the sound she heard now, sounded a lot heavier than any exotic peafowl. The long slender head of a large dog appeared in the trellised archway, it was almost the size of a baby hippogriff, a small frisson of apprehension coursed through Hermione. She loved dogs; if they had been on the list of approved animals at her first year of Hogwarts, Cruickshank's would most certainly have been a dog, something like him though, large and fluffy. But she was acutely aware that she was a stranger in this house and the dog might not take kindly to her unexpected presence in his home. Hermione's hand moved slowly, coming to rest on her wand, just in case she might need it. The large hound moved, jostled by something at its rear.

"Merlin's teeth!" Hermione muttered to herself, there were two of them.

They vied to fill the leafy entranceway, to get a better look at the interloper who was sitting in what was clearly their part of the grounds. Shoulder to shoulder they moved fully into the courtyard, their golden brown eyes fixed on Hermione. They were beautiful creatures, with long legs, moving with the lumbering elegance of two, not exactly in the first flush of youth. Their pace increased, their tails swishing in unison as they reached the bird table. Irish wolfhounds thought Hermione as they moved ever closer, looking at their beautiful wavy coats, the greyish brown fur highlighted by the bright sun. Releasing her wand, Hermione moved her hands to her sides, opening the palms flat towards the two hounds, they were now just a foot or so away. Two warm wet muzzles, nuzzled her outstretched fingers, carefully she moved her hands, her fingers rubbing behind their well-groomed and appreciative ears. Amazingly the two dogs settled quickly at her feet, their size allowing their beautiful silky heads to rest against her legs as she continued her gentle ministrations.

"I see you have won Kauno and Isa over."

The dogs raised their heads slightly to the sound of undoubtedly what was their master's voice, their long tails wagging affectionately, but they made no attempt to move. Hermione did the same, moving her head towards the direction of Lucius' distinctive voice, but not moving at all.

"They are so beautiful." Her slim fingers continued to methodically rub behind the soft ears, occasionally stroking their equally receptive heads.

Lucius joined her on the small seat, his powerful thigh resting against her own in the confined space. Hermione's body became instantly aware of him in a way that she had never experienced before. His own large hand stroked the slim head of one of the hounds, revealing a gentleness that she had not seen before in the dark wizard. At his obviously familiar touch, its trusting golden brown eyes looked adoringly up at him. Hermione found her own gaze drawn to him in a frighteningly similar way.

"And so faithful." He said almost wistfully, as if to reinforce his words, the dog whom he had been lightly petting rested its head on Lucius' leg.

Trying to keep her tone light, Hermione spoke: "I didn't realise that you had dogs, I haven't seen them before."

Lucius smiled indulgently at the animal as his hand continued to rhythmically brush across its head.

"Narcissa didn't like dogs. They were confined to the grounds." He explained, a little resentment seeping into his low tones.

"They have kennels but if they did come inside, they were only allowed in my study. The have the run of the outside, except the rose garden and they to be perfectly honest they do love being outdoors."

Hermione watched Lucius' hand slowly, unconsciously drifting across the head of the dog, it eyes closing with each gentle movement, still smiling to herself and the unaccustomed tenderness he showed.

"I suppose Wolfhounds are bred for hunting, they are outdoor dogs after all, but I could never have kept them outside."

Lucius blue grey eyes came up to meet hers. "You know your dogs," He said, the resentment in his voice gone and replaced by surprise.

"Only a little" Hermione admitted quickly. "I do love dogs though. I was just thinking when they appeared, how I wished dogs had been on the list of other equipment at Hogwarts. Cats are so selfish and independent."

"I grew up with dogs, I think as a child I spent more time with the dogs than I did with my family, until I went to school that was." Lucius smiled, a genuine smile that lit his eyes.

Since he had sat next to her, he hadn't once stopped stroking the dog, she wasn't sure which one it was, Kauno or Isa. It was the first time Lucius had mentioned his childhood, oddly it wasn't difficult to imagine the young Lucius whiling away his time about the manor with the hounds, walking, sitting in the extensive grounds with them, perhaps hiding from his parents. His large hand continually petted the blissfully happy hound, it reminded her of something she had learnt in an early psychology class. She worded her recollection to Lucius with care.

"People say you can tell a lot about a person by how they treat an animal."

Lucius was quite enthralled by her statement, she not only brought him new life experiences but also knew knowledge, something Lucius always enjoyed. "How so?"

As she became more involved with her conversation, Hermione had momentarily stopped rubbing the dog's ear, a large greyish snout moved impatiently against her leg, its golden brown eyes looking at her pleadingly.

"Oh I am sorry, sweetie, did I stop?" She addressed the indignant furry face, her hand once more returning to the soft curly ears of the happy dog, her attention returning to Lucius who was viewing her with obvious amusement, which she ignored, addressing his question.

"There is a theory that, if you mistreat them from an early age, it can predict the kind of person you may turn out to be, that along with setting fire to things." Lucius' blue grey gaze remained fixedly upon her at the revelation.

"I imagine there are a few people we both know who tortured many a toad as children, pulled the feathers out of owls and revelled in an incendio or two."

"I don't doubt that for one minute." Despite the dark associations, Lucius could not restrain a small smile.

The ease of their conversation despite the shadowy connotations, took Hermione's mind down another inquisitive track.

"If Mrs Malfoy didn't like dogs…" She stopped herself quickly, realising she was crossing that line again, reminding herself sharply that poking around in Lucius' mind to help him was one thing, poking her nose into his private life was off limits, and she silently chided herself.

"It's alright Hermione, you do not have to tread on dragon's eggshells, I do not mind answering any of your questions."

"I didn't mean to pry; I was just curious as to how you managed to come by these two beautiful creatures if Mrs Malfoy didn't like dogs."

The smile dropped from his eyes, the one that remained on his lips became rueful.

"It was a compromise, as I realise much of my marriage was. Kauno and Isa here are direct descendants of a dog owned by my father, it made them permissible."

His voice became scornful and strained, and Hermione noticed his petting of the dog become more forceful.

"When I returned from Azkaban, to be honest I was surprised that they were still here, between Narcissa's distaste for them and the Dark Lord taking over my home I doubted they would have survived."

Hermione looked at the two gentle animals in abject horror, the notion that anyone could willingly harm such beautiful creatures both enraged her and hurt her. Of course nothing surprised her about Voldemort, but she expected more from Lucius' wife.

"Merlin help anyone who would lay a finger on a dog of mine." She couldn't help her outburst.

"I abhor cruelty of any kind, but especially to a defenceless animal." Hermione paused watching Lucius intently.

"I am just inordinately grateful that they were still here when I got home, home if you could call it that by then. I was just grateful, that no harm had come to them." His eyes were firmly fixed on the head of the dog before him, his hand had stilled, and the soft bewhiskered muzzle rested in his palm, his thumb gently brushing its long snout.

"If I'd lost them too, I don't think …..." His voice trailed off

Hermione was stunned by his words, and where his admission was about to lead, she would never have imagined Lucius Malfoy to have such a soft heart when it came to, well when it came to just about anything, let alone dogs.

"But you didn't." She replied quietly, her free hand coming to rest reassuring on his leg, just as it had done before.

She looked at Kauno and Isa and then back at their master: "They were here, faithfully waiting for you."

There was bitterness in his face and in the derisive laugh that escaped his lips: "They were the only thing that was, unconditional love, that's what you get from dogs. No matter how badly you fail, no matter how much you let them down, they will love you unconditionally. I had gone away, I had left them, but the day I returned…." His voice became choked with emotion.

Hermione felt her own fingers tighten against the abrasive material of his trousers, urging him to continue.

He found his voice again, albeit with those same hushed and bitter tones: "The day I returned, they still looked at me with love, greeted me with affection as if I had been gone no more than a day. My wife looked at me with cold contempt, my son looked at me with bitter disappointment and the man whom I had poorly placed my allegiance to, publically humiliated me and treated me like the utter failure I was."

Lucius heard the sound of his own voice in the silent, sun drenched courtyard. The tones unmistakably his own, but the words themselves so alien to him. They had been swirling around in his head over and over, for days, weeks, months, maybe even longer, never allowing him any peace, never had he expected to utter them out loud. He glanced at the young woman seated quietly and unbelievably so completely at ease by his side. It was an oddly intimate scene, perhaps more so than even the sexual contact they had shared. Their bodies connected by only the briefest of touches of a leg and her slender hand, but as they both gently stroked Kauno and Isa, he somehow felt they were connected on a much deeper level and in so many ways.

Lucius had shared part of his body before, although even then, never had it been quite so completely or so uninhibitedly, but he had never shared so much of his mind in any way, and never in his entire life had he shared, or expected to share part of his soul.