A/N: Hi all. Thank you for all the reviews, I loved reading them all. Still working on packing up current place and getting new place ready so it's been crazy. Here we see her having her PTSD episode and what happens with her now at the Manor. I am not a trained therapist of any kind, so anything mentioned in this story to help someone with PTSD is just…a wild guess, truthfully.
Special Thanks: To my beta, TabiPrewett, for double checking that this actually reads as good as I hoped it did. You are amazing and I adore you.
Disclaimer, because it's been a few chapters: I do not own anything pertaining to the HP universe. I write for fun, for free, and because I like changing things to fit how I want them. Lol
Chapter 11
Lucius was sitting in the library, enjoying a glass of Ogden's and reading one of his favorite Charles Dickens books, David Copperfield. It was muggle literature, something not many would believe he'd read, but he did. He enjoyed many classics that were written by muggles. Especially this one. What a difference it made to read the first edition with the unabridged story, compared to the watered-down version he'd gotten his hands on during his childhood. A book he'd kept hidden from his father for fear of Abraxas Malfoy's wrath at finding anything muggle in his home. However, Lucius had been immediately hooked by the rich flow of words, the beautiful allusions, and the dry humor the story held. It was what started his love of classic muggle literature.
He was just turning the page when he felt his wards shift. Someone had activated the floo. Since Draco was the only one there in his home, it must be him. Otherwise, he'd feel a different shift in the wards. Announcing the arrival of a guest. Though not many could simply arrive by floo without him or Draco activating it first. However, he didn't feel the arrival of someone else, so either Draco was leaving, or he was simply speaking to someone by floo. Since Draco preferred a bit of privacy with his floo calls, chances were the young man was using Lucius' office to make this call as well. Not that Lucius minded in the least, since he too had been a young man once, and had wished for more privacy that he'd been granted by his own father, Abraxas.
Draco hadn't said he was going out, something the young man would mention simply out of courtesy, so he must be speaking with someone. Probably Stephanie. Lucius thought with a smirk. His son was rather besotted with the witch. Constantly going to see her or simply owling her back and forth on a regular basis. Buying her small gifts and tokens. Lucius wouldn't be surprised if Draco asked the witch to be his bride sometime within the year. Something he was very pleased about. He wanted his son to be happy. This witch seemed to make him happy, so who was Lucius to complain.
Lucius was just starting to go back to his book when he felt his wards shift. Obviously, Draco had invited a guest over. Probably Stephanie. He thought again, a smirk still on his lips.
Reaching for his glass, Lucius was about to take a drink when he heard a scream. His head jerking up at the sound in surprise, but it was the second scream, this one longer and full of terror that had the glass falling from his hands as he jumped to his feet, not even noticing the sound of the glass shattering on the hardwood floor. What he heard was the kind of scream Lucius hadn't heard since before the final battle at Hogwarts. One full of pain and agony.
Running towards the sound, wand out, Lucius realized it was coming from his office. The same place he'd just assumed Draco was making his floo call from. Meaning that, whomever just came through his floo, was now the one screaming. The pale aristocrat burst through the door to find his son on his knees, holding a sobbing witch who at least was no longer screaming.
"Draco, what the devil is going on?" Lucius demanded, still holding his wand as he quickly scanned the room for threats. Not finding any, he looked once more to his son, whose head was blocking his view of the witch still sobbing in his son's arms.
Draco turned his head to look helplessly at his father. When Lucius saw it was Hermione that Draco was holding, the older man's eyes widened, and his chest clenched as he inhaled sharply.
Lucius rushed to kneel at his son's side, tucking his wand away again. "How did she get here? Why is she here?" He barked at his son as he took hold of Hermione who had tears streaming down her cheeks, while she muttered things in a choked voice that he couldn't understand. Lucius felt the stiff set to her body, but he didn't know if it was due to what she was seeing, or if she were in actual pain. He prayed it was the first one.
Draco, at a loss, moved so his father could get a better hold of the witch freaking out. "She came thought the floo. She asked if I'd help her with something and I told her to come through and...she just started screaming and crying."
Lucius looked at his son in confusion. "She knew you were here, in my office, and came willingly?" That didn't sound right.
Draco shook his head, glad Hermione had stopped screaming, because on top of his panic, he now had a headache as well. "I...I don't think she realized where I was. Why is she flipping out?"
Lucius held the witch as she sobbed while still locked in her memories. "You, daft boy, she was tortured here. Your aunt had her screaming on this very rug as she cursed Hermione repeatedly. Why would you bring her in here?"
Draco held up his hands as he shook his head. "I...I...I didn't think about it." The young man would never have purposely brought Hermione here if he'd known it would send her into a fit. He had simply invited her here to his room, because its where he just happen to be at the time. It never once crossed the young man's mind to wonder if he should have mentioned or warned her where in his home he was calling from.
Lucius cursed as he focused again on the witch in his arms still sobbing uncontrollably and speaking things he still couldn't understand. Not allowing him to bend or move her body at all. "Hermione. Hermione, you're safe. No one is going to hurt you. Can you hear me?" Lucius' hands stroking her back as he held her tightly to him. Wanting to help her, but not knowing how really.
Hermione was still seeing it all. Still feeling the pain, but she was feeling something else. Someone was rubbing her back. That's not right. That didn't happen. Her mind screamed at her.
"Hermione, you're safe. Focus. Bella's gone, and she can't hurt you anymore." Lucius said again, stroking her hair now as he spoke soothingly to her.
Draco ran his hands through his hair in frustration and panic. "I didn't know what to do to make her stop. The slap at least got her to stop screaming."
Lucius stopped speaking and slowly turned his head to look at his son. His eyes full of rage. "You slapped her?" She's already reliving one kind of pain and you added in another?
Draco swallowed at seeing his father's anger. Nodding slowly. "I...I didn't know what else to do. She's hysterical." Is that what you're supposed to do to hysterical people? Slap them to bring them around to some sense of reason again?
Lucius felt a rage he hadn't felt in years fill him. His eyes darkening in color until they looked like molten steel. "Get out. Get out of this room. Now." He ground out before speaking again soothingly to Hermione. Still trying to ease the stiff set to her body, make her relax more against him, but she wasn't letting him shift her one bit.
Draco slowly backed away. He hadn't seen his father look this angry in years and never at him. With a final look at the witch still crying, the pale haired boy closed the door. Guilt filling him instantly. Not knowing what else to do, Draco slid down the wall opposite his father's office and waited.
Lucius tried again. "Hermione, you're safe. No one can hurt you here. I won't let anyone ever hurt you again." His hands wiping at her tears, even as more came raining down.
Hermione was hearing words, but they didn't make sense with what she was seeing in her mind. How am I safe? Bella's here. She's going to keep hurting me. She is enjoying my pain. Asking me questions about the stupid sword.
"Hermione, you're safe. It's all in your head, it happened long ago, it's not happening now. Focus, Hermione. You're safe." Lucius kept saying it again and again, hoping it broke through her locked down mind.
Safe? How am I safe? Make it stop. Make the pain stop. For the love of god, make it stop. Her mind screamed.
"Make it stop." Hermione sobbed out softly, her teeth clenched tightly in silent agony that her brain was making her feel again.
Lucius paused at her words. Make it stop? How? He had an idea and prayed it worked. If she worked through the memory, maybe it would let her out the nightmare that she was seeing over and over. "Hermione listen to me. I'm going to make it stop, but you have to listen to me."
"Please, it hurts. Bella...it hurts." Hermione said softly as more tears leaked out, her body stiff against the phantom pains shooting through her.
Swallowing, Lucius spoke again. "I know it does. Don't look at Bella. Look at me. I'll make it stop."
Hermione looked at Lucius in her memory, saw him standing there witnessing her pain and not seeming to care. "But...you're laughing." She cried out as more phantom pains ripped through her body and made her curl tighter into herself.
Lucius' closed his eyes at her words, guilt eating at him. Breathing deeply, he opened his eyes and shifted his body to keep holding her with her growing tenser. "I know. It was not because I wanted to. I wanted to stop it. I stopped it the only way I knew how. Focus, Hermione. Your friends get loose. I felt them escape the dungeon. I knew they were coming to save you since I couldn't."
Hermione focused on Lucius in her memory and noticed how his body shifted slightly in her mind. Saw his head turn just a fraction towards the door Harry would enter from. A lock of his limp and unkempt hair slipped over his face, almost hiding his eyes shifting to the door Harry would come from, and back again before the hair was pushed away from his face. He knew. She thought. Wait, this isn't right. This didn't happen...did it?
Hermione saw in her mind, saw the moment he spotted them. Lucius looked back at Hermione for only an instant, an instant where his eyes showed his remorse, before raising his wand to fire at her friends, missing them. Hermione saw him glance at Narcissa and Bellatrix who was no longer torturing her as she lay on the floor. Saw his hesitation, before he jerked his wand and fired at the other Death Eaters in the room mere seconds before Harry fired at him.
Hermione was lying on her side gasping for air in the memory when it happened, but she saw him fire towards the other people who had laughed and hurt her, and she saw him stop his automatic response to fire at Harry. He let Harry hit him with the stunning spell. Hermione paused as she saw it in her mind.
Lucius saw her tears were slowing, as the stiffness started to leave her body, and closed his eyes in relief. "That's it, Hermione. They came and saved you."
Hermione watched as Bella pulled her up and held a knife at her throat. Her breathing sped up as fresh fear filled her. She's going to kill me. She's going to slice my throat. New sobs tearing from her at hearing Bella saying she was going to give her to Greyback when he woke up. Hermione's hands now clutching at Lucius in fear of all of the depraved things she knew Greyback would do to her.
Lucius didn't know why she was crying again, but her body wasn't stiff any longer. He hadn't seen what happened after he was stunned and knocked unconscious. Bella had been too busy being angry to fill him on what he missed. Then, Draco had been terrified when he'd seen the wounds Lucius had after both rounds of torture. The boy had been shaking like a leaf while trying to heal him, so keeping Draco calm as the boy cast the healing spells had been Lucius' main priority. Which meant, he never found out what happened after he lost consciousness.
"Hermione, she can't hurt you. It's just a memory. You're safe." Trying to keep his voice calm and holding her tighter. Letting himself fully sit, Lucius pulled her into his lap to hold her closer to him. Not caring about his expensive slacks being wrinkled, he only cared that she needed him. She needed someone to pull her from her terrifying memories.
Hermione continued to hear the words that Lucius was saying to her, even though his words did not fit the scene in her mind. Hermione closed her eyes, trying to focus on anything, but the memories playing in her head. She took this opportunity to take a deep breath and she realized she could smell Lucius. She smelled his cologne, a smell she didn't smell that night because he never got close enough.
Hermione had smelled the odd perfumes from both Bellatrix and Narcissa, both had been heavy handed when they applied it that day. She'd smelled Greyback, all dirt and sweat, mixed with a hint of muskiness that came from lack of bathing. She had smelled overly sweet flowers mixing with all the other scents in the room, but she'd never smelled Lucius' cologne until he'd held her as she cried in Severus' home.
Hermione took another deep breath as she leaned closer against him, as he held her. "Lucius." She whispered this time, resting her head on his shoulder.
Lucius' grip tightened, his fingers digging into her skin slightly. "I'm here, Hermione. I've got you. You're safe. Bella can't hurt you, she's dead now. Even if she wasn't, I wouldn't let her. You're stronger than her, Hermione. She could never hurt you now if she were here."
Hermione swallowed. This isn't happening. Bellatrix is gone forever. This can't be happening if I can hear Lucius, if I can smell him. This isn't happening. She can't hurt me. She's gone. I'm stronger than she ever was.
Lucius felt her start to shake in his arms and didn't know if that was an improvement or if she was sinking further into her memories. "I've got you, Hermione. I won't let anyone ever hurt you again. I swear I won't."
Hermione swallowed, lifting her head again. "I'm stronger." She muttered softly, fighting what she knew had to be in mind only now. Forcing that strength to fill her as she met his gaze, though she still didn't see him yet. She still only saw her memories.
Lucius stroked her cheek. "Yes, yes, you are. You're so much stronger than her." Wanting to see the haze clear, wanting to see her eyes focus and recognize him.
Hermione gave a shake of her head, before she tried to blink it away. "She can't hurt me." She said, her voice just a hair louder.
"No, she can't. She can never hurt you again." He said, watching as the haze was starting to clear from her eyes.
"Never again." She whispered, her fingers digging into his collar. "Never again."
"No, never again, Hermione. I've got you and you're safe here." He said, seeing the last of the haze leaving her beautiful honey-colored eyes.
Hermione finally broke free from the memory and sagged against the man holding her in relief. She felt drained. Physically and emotionally drained after all of that.
Lucius sighed in relief when he felt her body fully relax. It was over. He just hoped she didn't start up again after realizing she was sitting in his lap on the same rug that she had lain on years ago.
Hermione felt new tears running down her cheeks, but these felt like were different. These were cleansing tears after living through all of that in her mind. Tears of relief at being safe, tears of relief that it was over, that it could never happen to her again.
Lucius didn't know why she was crying again, but he held her as she wrapped her arms around his neck and turned her body fully into him, burying her face against his shoulder and neck. His hand stroking her back and hair, telling her it would be alright now. Not knowing what else to say or do at this point.
Hermione sniffed. "It was awful. I saw it all again. I...I couldn't make it stop playing in my head."
Lucius closed his eyes as more guilt swamped him. "I know, I'm so sorry, Hermione."
Hermione pulled back and looked at him, tears clinging to her lashes. "It's not your fault." Her voice hitched.
Lucius reached up and wiped away her tears. "But it is, my dear. It is my fault." Using his wandless magic to vanish all traces of her tears with the soft touch of his fingers.
Hermione shook her head lightly. "No, you knew. You knew Harry and Ron were coming to save me. You looked towards the door they would enter before they even got there. You knew and didn't stop it. You could have, but you didn't."
Lucius sighed, his voice soft. "I...I should never have let Bella pull you from your friends. I shouldn't have let them go to the dungeon, while you stayed up here."
Hermione frowned as she studied him. "But...you couldn't have done anything. She would have just tortured you. Seen you as weak and maybe even killed you."
Lucius stroked her cheek again, his voice still quiet. "I was weak. Weak by not doing what I should have…what was right. I should have..."
She cut him off. "But you weren't weak. You were strong for your family. You let Harry and Ron come and didn't stop them. You sent spells to help in the confusion. You let Harry stun you. You...you dropped the wards around your home, so we could get away."
Lucius looked away, unable to look at her while she looked at him with gratitude and understanding in her eyes. "I didn't..."
Hermione pulled his chin around to look at her. "You did. I know you did. No one can apparate in or out of here without your permission. Draco isn't master of this house and couldn't drop the wards. Narcissa isn't master either. Only you can drop them. You felt the wards shift with them getting free, I saw it. I didn't realize I saw it that night, but I did. You knew about your apparation wards and let us escape. You didn't follow us like you could have. You let us escape." She said, still looking into his eyes.
Lucius clenched his jaw. "It wasn't enough."
Hermione's lips firmed into a straight line. "It was more than anyone else did in that room. It was more than you had to do. It could have cost you your life, your family's lives. It was more than you are willing to admit."
Lucius eyes narrowed, and his jaw clenched repeatedly.
"Thank you, for what you did, back then and tonight." She said softly.
It was too little too late, he thought, both then and now. She could not forgive him this easily. Lucius wouldn't let her forgive him this easily either. He had to atone for his mistakes and do… something, anything to earn her forgiveness. He didn't feel he'd earned anything even remotely close to forgiveness.
Hermione leaned in to kiss his cheek, only, he went to turn his head away, unable to look into her eyes any longer. With both of them turning, her kiss missed his cheek and landed instead on his mouth. It was just a soft brushing of lips, but one she felt all the way down to her toes. She jerked back to look in his eyes.
Lucius eyes were the color of pure molten silver, as his jaw clenched again. His hands made a fist, as he stared into her wide honey eyes. He wanted her. Had wanted her since he had seen her the night of the party and with that kiss, any shred of control he had was shattered.
A growl escaped him seconds before he captured her lips again. His hand instantly on her neck to tilt her head slightly as he ran his tongue along the seam of her lips. Demanding entry so he could kiss her fully.
It happened so fast that, as his tongue slid over her lips, Hermione gasped in surprise, which allowed him entry. His tongue pressed its way inside, warring with hers as his other hand found her waist. Sliding up her spine and making her shiver as she moaned softly against him.
Hermione had never been kissed this way before. Never this forcefully and never with such skill. Ron had been her only lover and his kisses had never stirred her like this. She shifted her arms more fully around Lucius' neck, pulling him closer as her tongue glided with his. He tastes so good. As good as he smells. His scent filled her nostrils, as he continued to ravish her lips, and was making her head fuzzy.
Damned if the little minx wasn't driving him crazy too. Never had anyone been able to arouse Lucius this much with only a kiss. Not even when he'd been eighteen and full of raging hormones.
Hermione lips moved with his as her hands slid up to dive into his hair. Her body shifting in his lap to straddle him, but her black skirt was fitted, and wouldn't allow her legs to shift properly.
Realizing her problem, both of his hand dropped to her waist, sliding down her hips to grasp the hem of her skirt. Lucius slid the material up just enough for her to properly straddle him. Neither really paying attention to just how high the skirt was now that she was straddling him.
Lucius' hands slid back up her hips, to rest on her rib cage, his thumbs rubbing circles into her flesh covered by her satiny white blouse. His lips broke the kiss and moved down to kiss her cheek, before finding her neck
Hermione tilted her head to give him more access as a soft moan slipped out at what he was doing to her. Her fingers sifted thought his platinum locks, amazed at how soft and silky they felt.
Lucius was slowly sliding his hands up her body, wanting to wrap his hands around the two globes of flesh that he could see peeking out from the few buttons undone on her shirt. His teeth nipped at her neck, above her necklace, and made her gasp as her hands tightened in his hair.
He was almost there, almost about to touch her nicely rounded breasts, when there was a knock at his office door. The sound startling the couple.
Hermione pulled back, her head clearing instantly with the interruption. She realized she was sitting on Lucius Malfoy's lap and had been snogging him rather passionately just a moment ago.
Hermione quickly moved off of him, standing and pushing her skirt down to re-cover the part of her knickers that had been showing. Lucius stood as well, waving his hand and magically fixing the wrinkles to her clothes from his hands. Also fixing his hair from her fingers running through it, so that he looked as impeccable as ever.
With final glance at Hermione, Lucius saw her cheeks flaming, but otherwise she looked...well she didn't like she had just been thoroughly kissed, especially by him. He called for the person to enter once he saw that she was ready, or at least, as ready as she was likely to get.
Hermione arms were wrapped around her stomach as she bit her lip. God, I was just snogging Draco's father. Please...don't let Draco have heard me moan. I'll never live it down. She thought as she watched Draco cautiously enter the room.
Draco took in Hermione red face and his father's annoyed look. The young man cleared his throat, thinking Hermione was simply embarrassed by freaking out earlier and that his father was still angry that Draco had slapped her during her screaming fit. "I...I came to see if she was alright now. I didn't hear her crying anymore and...I wanted to make sure she was okay." His eyes on his father.
Lucius did his best not to lick his lips just to taste Hermione again. Swallowing down the desire to kick his son out of his office and pull the witch back into his arms, he spoke. "Yes, she is better. A bit...embarrassed by what happened, but much better now."
Hermione's eyes jerked to Lucius at his statement, her cheeks burning even redder now.
Draco saw that Hermione was indeed embarrassed, and he tried to help. "You shouldn't be embarrassed, Hermione. These things happen sometimes." Not quite sure what to say to her.
Hermione couldn't help the nervous laugh that escaped her. The sound causing Lucius' lips to twitch.
Draco moved closer to the witch. "It's good that it happened. Father and I won't judge you, if you're worried about that, and who knows maybe it helped you in a way. Therapeutic even."
Hermione closed her eyes against her still burning cheeks, and Lucius' smirk slipped out. "I couldn't have said it better myself, son. Well done."
Hermione's eyes met Lucius' and he raised an eyebrow at her, giving her a small smile. She swallowed nervously. "Er...thanks, I guess." Her eyes still on the elder Malfoy she spoke again. "Let's just hope it doesn't happen again."
Lucius frowned at hearing that, and Draco smiled. "Hear, hear. You have one hell of a set of lungs, Hermione. I think I'm still partially deaf from your screams."
Lucius' lips curved even more. "There are worse things than hearing a woman scream, Draco."
Hermione choked at Lucius' statement, considering she had been sitting on his lap and she knew she had felt something hardening underneath her. Something she would not be thinking about.
Draco shrugged, not thinking anything amiss by his father's words, nor did he see how his father was looking at the witch that was still blushing. "True. Let's hope the next time I hear them I handle it better."
Lucius coughed to cover his laugh as Hermione's eyes closed again while fighting another blush at the images his words invoked, but Draco went on, his eyes still on the blushing witch. "I'm sorry I slapped you, Hermione."
That statement had Hermione's eyes popping open. "You slapped me?"
Lucius' smile faded. "Yes, he did." He fully intended to deal with it too. Later. Draco knew better than to strike a woman. No matter the reason.
Eyes narrowed, Hermione advanced on Draco. "You slapped me in middle of a post-traumatic stress episode? Are you mad?"
Draco took a step back. "A post what…what?" He'd never heard of such a thing.
Hermione stalked closer to the bastard that had pissed her off not once, but twice today. "A post-traumatic stress episode. I've been to therapy, I know the proper terms. I also know you don't injure the person who's trapped in the middle of one. It can make it worse, you little prat."
Draco held up his hands in a sign of surrender. "How was I to know? I've never even heard of a...a...whatever you called it."
Lucius debated if he should interfere, but he decided his son could deal with learning a lesson or two. This beautiful witch might just give him a good one too. The elder Malfoy knew what she'd done to Draco in her third year, punching his son. He'd been angry until he'd seen his son's memory of it. Then, he thought his son had gotten what he deserved after taunting her beyond what he should have.
Lucius had never admitted it to his wife at the time, who was furious at anyone laying their hands on her son, but Lucius had been a little proud of the young witch for fighting back. Especially, when Draco had already been much bigger than she was. Seeing the memory that summer after the incident, Lucius found he was disappointed in his son. Specifically, when he saw his son whimpering in fear of the tiny brunette.
Though, now, Lucius could understand the boy's fear of the fiery Gryffindor when she was angry. Hermione was something truly magnificent to behold when her ire was up.
Hermione stopped right in front of Draco. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go ahead and give you that black eye I mentioned earlier."
Lucius smirked. "Well, a black eye is easily healed."
Draco looked at his father in shock. "Father!"
Lucius shrugged. "I'm just saying, it's easily healed. Not much damage done. You slapped a woman, a woman who, if memory serves, has dealt with you before. You should have learned your lesson years ago not to tangle with her."
Draco couldn't believe his father was siding with the angry witch. The young man saw Hermione's eyes narrow even more, saw her hand flexing and knew he was in for it unless he came up with something to get him out of trouble. "You asked for my help and you got it. I'll take care of the dress, the shoes, the hair, the makeup, everything. You'll look…perfect."
Hermione paused, her head tilting. "I won't look like a tart or an idiot?"
Draco shook his head. "You'll look...gorgeous." Unable to think of a better description with her looking at him that way.
Hermione stared long and hard at him. "No stupid jokes?"
Draco slowly dropped his hands. "Not a single one."
Then, she smiled. "Alright, then."
Lucius was confused by her easy conciliation when she'd looked ready to tear his son limb from limb only moment's ago. He still thought Draco deserved some kind of punishment for hitting her. "We'll still discuss this later, Draco." Shoes and dresses didn't make up for he'd done. Even if the witch was appeased, though for the life of him he hadn't a clue why she was. She didn't usually care about baubles and clothes.
Draco looked over at Lucius and swallowed. "Yes, father." He knew he was in for it later. His father had strict rules where women were concerned.
Lucius Malfoy didn't believe in physically harming women. Not with his hand, nor his wand. It was something he'd always carried with him, even in his Death Eater days. If a witch or muggle woman was harmed by a Death Eater, it wasn't because of Lucius. It's part of why his guilt over Hermione ran as deep as it did. Her torture in his home violated two of his beliefs. One about women, and the other about children.
Hermione nodded, not having any idea that anything was amiss between father and son. "Well...I should go. I have to work tomorrow." She also needed get home and think about what all had happened tonight. How could I have kissed Draco's father?
Draco scoffed. "You're not going to work."
Hermione glared at the young man. "Why the hell not?"
Draco rolled his eyes. "If I have to find you a dress and all the fixing, and find someone to deal with your hair, you can't go to work. I only have one day to do this, which means you're staying home and so am I."
Hermione frowned. "But...I've never skived off work. I never skived off anything."
Lucius smirked, but held his tongue. Draco on the other hand grinned. "Well, Granger, looks like this will be your first. If you want to go to some stupid party, with your stupid date, then you're skiving off work."
Hermione grimaced, missing the slight growth of Lucius' smirk. "Fine, and it's not a date. I'm merely helping a friend." She sighed. "A friend who is going to owe me big time for this."
Lucius clapped his hands. "Excellent. It's settled. You'll stay here."
Hermione's gaze jerked to his. "What? No, I'm not."
Lucius sighed. Must she argue over everything? "Yes, my dear, you are. If Draco is to do everything he said, then you'll need to start early. Might as well stay here, it'll be easier that way."
Draco smirked. "Father's right, and we've plenty of rooms here. Besides, you already said Ginny was gone, and I'm assuming that Potter will be too. That means, the only ones there at your home is your prick of an ex and his whore of a new girlfriend. Sound like company you want to keep for the evening?"
Hermione frowned. They were right, but sleep at Malfoy Manor? Could she do that? "Well..." Still unsure, but she knew she didn't want to watch Ron and Lavender going at it either.
Lucius smiled. "As I said, it's settled. Toddle."
The wrinkled elf popped into the room. "Yes, sir?"
Lucius looked to the elf. "Please, prepare the yellow room for Miss Granger. She will be our guest for the night."
The elf nodded and popped out again.
What on earth did I just get myself into? Hermione wondered, looking between Draco who was smiling at her, and Lucius who was looking at her like she just became dessert.
A/N: My apologies to anyone that suffers from PTSD and feels I didn't give this a proper description. I could only go by what I'd been told a flashback was like. I know it's different for everyone, so this is Hermione's version based on her traumas. It may seem like she got over it quickly, but please bear in mind that this is after years of therapy and she'd yet to face Malfoy Manor since then. More coming soon, take care.