Chapter Twenty-Four
Hermione was suddenly very alarmed. "What's wrong?"
Lucius frowned, offering one of his usual languid, almost lazy shrugs, but this one seemed to require a bit more effort than normal. "I'm not sure. I was fine, then my head started to spin a little."
The witch's features pinched in thought before she dropped back her head and groaned. "Of course, we're so stupid!"
"Not likely."
Her eyes narrowed as she set her head straight, clearly not feeling this the time for quips. She pulled one of his arms around her shoulders, the scrolls secured against her opposite side, and started walking them toward the staircase. "What I meant was I've taken your blood twice between last night and now, and you've not eaten a thing since before you brought me here."
He tried to shake her off in a somewhat half-hearted gesture—it was more for show, demonstrating his irritation, she was certain, than an actual attempt to remove her from his person—as they climbed the steps. "I can walk on my own, Miss Granger!"
"Mr. Malfoy, this isn't a request," she answered, vaguely irritated herself with his stubbornness. "Nor is it a suggestion that you're weak, but you are human, and I have clearly depleted you."
His mouth curved in a sneer, but he offered no more arguments. He felt . . . well, he didn't feel so weak he needed assistance walking, yet he did understand the very real possibility that if she let him go and he became dizzy again, he might tumble down the staircase.
God, he hated this situation. As though having this . . . Muggle-born vampire in his home, and using him as food wasn't odd enough, because discovering a secret vampire torture chamber in the bowels of his ancestral home wasn't stressful enough, no. Now he was going to have said vampire minding his dietary habits. Insufferable!
When they reached the old servants' quarters, she started guiding him toward the proper doorway of the room, ignoring the flight of steps that would've led back to the upper levels of the house. "Let's see if this really does let out into the kitchen, shall we?" she said, though it wasn't really a question, because they were already nearly there before she spoke, clearly not waiting for his input.
She turned, pushing against the door with her shoulder until it gave way. Indeed, it let out into the kitchen. Once on the other side, they both turned to look. She had never seen the Malfoy kitchens before, and wondered how he'd never noticed a random door sooner. He was curious for precisely the same reason.
As the door swung fully closed, they realized that when shut, the seams of the door lined perfectly with the tiled pattern of this particular wall. No knob or anything to reveal it, or permit accidental opening. The only way would be via magic, and to even bother, one would have to know the door was there. She supposed that made sense—she'd only found the door on the upper level because she had been deliberately searching for it.
Now that they were on level flooring, no danger of him breaking his neck on ancient stone steps looming, she became acutely aware of Lucius Malfoy's warm body against hers. Clearing her throat, she dropped her hand from his waist and stepped out from beneath his arm.
She moved further away to set the scrolls down upon the nearest counterspace. "Now, you sit and I'll make you something. Tea should be a nice start, yes?"
His brow furrowing, he dragged himself over to a seat at the black-lacquered kitchen table. "Of course, tea." Honestly! Did she take him for being wholly uncivilized? "Not certain I trust a person who can't eat food to prepare some for me, though."
"Mr. Malfoy," she began in admonishment, making a beeline for the pantry, "I'll remind you I was as human as you just yesterday afternoon. I'm sure it'll be fine."
Hermione did not account for the way her stomach would roil and revolt at the sight of what humans considered food.
(I love that so many of you were like 'gasp! It was something in the dust, wasn't it?' 'Did Hermione's new powers do something to him?' 'Oh, no, there's something else in that dungeons, isn't there?' Like, nah, he's just human XD)
