Chapter Eleven

'I'm here. I'm safe. I'm unharmed. Now please explain what is going on?' Hermione said, taking a seat at the dining table.

Lucius looked to Draco, still holding a sleeping Vivienne, who hadn't even woken up from the Floo travel. 'Aldon,' Lucius said quietly. The house-elf appeared instantly. 'Please take the child to the room Ms Weasley will be in.' Aldon bowed the lowest Hermione had ever seen him bow, like he knew the importance of taking care of a baby.

'The child is called Vivienne, you know?' Ginny snapped, leaning down to kiss her forehead before Draco gently handed her to Aldon. They were gone in a crack.

Lucius, ignoring Ginny's remark, pointed his wand at the table and conjured up a large pot of tea with four dainty tea cups, coloured forest green with a gold rim and handle, and a jug of milk and sugar pot to match. Ginny took a seat next to Hermione, Draco on her other side, and Lucius sat at the head of the table, near Hermione.

Hermione watched him pour tea into the four cups, eyes firmly down. She turned to looked at Ginny, who shrugged in confusion, and then Draco; he kept his eyes down too.

'Actually, I think I'd like to know what it is you're avoiding telling me,' Hermione demanded, her voice not loud, but the sudden break in silence was jarring to them.

'And maybe why I'm now here with the child,' Ginny said sharply. That caused Lucius to look up and give Ginny a sour look.

Putting the teapot down, and pushing a cup to each person, he then pulled out a piece of folded parchment from his inside jacket pocket, handing it to Hermione. Draco and Ginny took it in turns to add milk to their tea before moving the milk jug back towards Lucius while Hermione unfolded the parchment and read it in confusion.

'What is this?' she asked, looking at the list of names scrawled on it. There was her name at the top. Some of the others she recognised from her Hogwarts days, some she didn't. It was a long list and nearly a quarter of the names were crossed out.

'Do you see what connects you all?' Lucius asked.

'Yes- we're all Muggleborn- but get to the point, Lucius. I'm not after a lesson,' she said, a sickening sensation building in her throat.

'The crossed out names are dead,' he said quietly, 'their families too.' Hermione scanned the names again, a flush of heat flooded her at the realisation. 'All those attacks on Muggles the last few months- it was on their families.'

Hermione swallowed against the dryness of her throat, letting Ginny take the parchment off her. 'My parents-'

'Are still safe,' he cut in quickly with a grim expression, 'but there have been sightings in the area they've been sent to.'

'Sightings?' Hermione said, reaching for the milk, looking for something to occupy her hands as she took this news in.

'The Fidelius Charm is in use, but to be safe, Kingsley has had Aurors patrol the area.'

'And the others on the list?' Hermione asked, putting three sugars into her tea, more than she would usually take.

'Have all had various arrangements made for them and their families.' Lucius reached over to put a hand on Hermione's, to make her look at him. 'What I'm not telling you is that you cannot leave the Manor, Hermione. At least for a little while. You're in danger if you do.'

The free hand that was still stirring her tea let go of the spoon causing it to clatter loudly against the cup.

'It goes for you as well, Ms Weasley,' Lucius said, not letting Hermione shrug his hand off. 'Word has already been sent to your parents of where you'll be. We have better protections here for the…for Vivienne,' he corrected himself quickly.

'I'm sure Mum's thrilled about that,' Ginny sighed heavily, 'so much for me going back to practice.'

'I'm so sorry, Gin. I didn't mean for you to get stuck in the middle of this,' Hermione said, giving her a pained look.

'You sound like Harry,' she said, giving her a small smile.

She returned the smile, remembering how she'd once accused Harry of needing to be a hero. The memory seemed to ignite something with her. She shoved the chair back, pulling her hand away from Lucius' firm grip as she did. 'I'll make this right,' she said, leaving the room with a dogged determination.

They watched her leave before Ginny and Draco looked to Lucius.

'She took it well,' Draco said wryly. That seemed to set something off in Lucius as he soon followed Hermione, the same determined look on his features.

'How safe are we here, really?' Ginny asked Draco, ignoring Lucius' retreating back. She was living on four hours of sleep a night at the moment, she didn't have that kind of energy to spare if Hermione and Lucius had another drama building.

'Kingsley's told father that he's put extra wards on the place, but the Manor's not failed us before. They might know Granger is here, but they'd have to find it first.'

'And my flat?' Ginny asked, a note of anger in her voice at the thought they might blow up Vivienne's birthplace just because they could. 'I already have memories there that can't be replaced.'

Draco seemed to flinch at that comment but said nothing.

XXXXXX

Having followed Hermione up to the library, Lucius paused at the door, staring at Hermione's back as she stood leant over the table, peering closely at a book.

'You said I wasn't a prisoner,' Hermione said, not moving from her position, yet obviously aware he was behind her.

Lucius sighed, still not stepping into the room. 'Is that really how you see it here now?'

Hermione stood up, glancing back at him for a second with an apologetic look. 'I didn't mean that. I'm…' She floundered for words before sinking down into the nearby chair, letting her head flop over the back of it, staring at the dark ceiling painted with silver stars that were enchanted to move with their counterpart's placement in the sky.

Lucius took slow steps towards her, his hands clasped behind his back, itching to pull her to him. 'What is it?'

Hermione sat up quickly, even though he hadn't been quiet in his approach, his sudden closeness had made her jump. 'I feel like I'm letting everyone down.' She gave him a look that felt like she knew every one of his secrets. He ground his teeth together at the thought. 'I'm sorry it's me here and not Narcissa and your daughter.'

He felt a muscle twitch in his cheek as he ground his teeth even more, ignoring the dull pain that throbbed through him whenever he thought about Narcissa or the daughter they'd both so desperately wanted. His movements methodical, giving him to time to tamp down those emotions, Lucius pulled a chair round to face Hermione, sitting in it and leaning his elbows on his knees.

'I made a mistake,' he started, clasping his hands together tightly, staring at them. 'When we were both desperately hurting, you made a promise you should not have made…and I meant to extract the results of that promise when I shouldn't have. For that, I am sorry, Hermione.'

He finally met her gaze and she looked confused, a little stunned. 'I also release you from the life debt. I will not be collecting it now or at any time in the future.'

'I don't understand,' she said quietly, leaning forward slightly.

Lucius reached over, taking her hand in both of his. 'After they've been caught, dealt with…whatever may happen when this is all over, I want you to be here, with me, because you choose to be.'

'I never meant to imply you were keeping me a prisoner-'

'No, but you once were…I forget that sometimes.'

There was a heavy silence as Lucius' words settled on them. He felt Hermione's hand twitch in his as a haunted look crossed her features for a fraction of a second. It was one of his favourite things about her now, how easily she showed her thoughts, her emotions…her heart. A quality he used to think weak but she'd made him see how wrong he'd been in a few short months.

'Some days I think the need for revenge will consume me,' she said in a voice that was barely above a whisper, like she was scared to admit it.

Lucius nodded, understanding, having once felt like that too.

'I won't let it,' he said. He stood up, keeping hold of her hand so he could pull her to her feet too. She came willingly, staring up at him.

'What if the pain doesn't stop until I've had revenge?'

And sometimes he forgot how untainted Hermione could be from dark thoughts and actions. He pulled her to him, pulling her arms around his waist before wrapping his around her shoulders, holding her tightly, leaning his head lightly on hers.

'I'm sorry to tell you but that will always be there whether you get your revenge or not. Some days it will be bearable, maybe unnoticeable. Other days it will punch you so hard you are not even sure how you can breathe anymore. It's part of living.' Pulling back to see her face, he held her shoulders. 'I think you need to remember the Hermione Granger who would want justice, not revenge.'

She started to argue, he cut her off with a kiss, and swiftly pulled away before she got too distracted. 'We may have been on different sides once upon a time, but I know the person you were, and still are. Don't let anything about me taint that. Ever.'

Hermione pulled at his collar to kiss him in return.

XXXXXX

Ginny stood in the middle of the room she'd been placed in, turning slowly. She was fairly sure her entire flat would fit in this one room. It was decorated in the palest of greens; the large rug under the bed, the bedding, the walls- all of it. The floorboards were black, a stark contrast to the decor. The wallpaper had silver swirls that you could only see as the light hit it a certain way. The wardrobe, the bed, and two sets of chest of drawers were black too. There were two bay windows that took up one wall from ceiling to floor, and in front of one of them was a black cot holding a sleeping Vivienne, her blanket the same pale green.

'Is it okay?' Draco asked, still stood by the open door. 'It's one of the lighter rooms.'

'I'm not sure I'll be able to leave,' Ginny joked, walking over to a window. The view was of their sprawling gardens at the front. She'd never really paid attention to them before, with large shrubs hiding them from her view whenever she walked to the front door. It was neatly manicured with a small area of flowers forming neat pathways around the grass.

'You'll always be welcome to stay,' Draco said quietly. She didn't need to look at him to hear how uncomfortable he was when being that nice. He stepped into the room, pointed to a door by the wardrobe. 'You have your own bathroom, and if you're missing anything, we can get it for you.'

Ginny turned to look at him. He was walking towards Vivienne, a soft look on his expression as he bent over the top. 'You still haven't given me her name yet.'

'I wanted it to be right for her,' he said, a finger lightly brushing the already long dark hair off her forehead. 'Would you mind if I used a constellation?' He stood up straight. 'It's something from my mother's side of the family.'

Ginny gave him a small smile. 'I think that would be perfect. Sirius would've been her family too.'

Glancing at Vivienne one more time, he turned back to Ginny with a pained look. 'I wish I could apologise to Potter for the things I said about his parents. No child should grow up without them.'

'That's not a forgiveness for me to give,' she said honestly, 'but you're doing okay with everything you've done for us two.'

He gave her a small smile that did so much to brighten his expression. It gave him a warmth she didn't see often from him. 'At least you'll see how ridiculous those two are. Especially if Granger sits down to eat.'

'The reading?' Ginny asked knowingly. Draco nodded with a wry grin.

XXXXXX

It didn't take Ginny long to see what Draco had meant. In fact, the very next morning presented another skirmish when Hermione tried to refuse the porridge Lucius was putting before her. Ginny was sat by Draco at the end of the table closest to the fire, Vivienne on Draco's lap while Ginny quickly ate her cereal before Vivienne demanded her attention again, a luxury she didn't get living alone. Lucius was sat in the middle of the table, close to the door leading to the kitchen, reading the paper and sipping on coffee.

Draco, giving Vivienne a bottle, tapped Ginny's foot with his own under the table. When she looked to him, he smirked with a pointed look to the entrance of the room. Hermione was walking in with a book tucked under her arm, another open with her nose buried in it. Lucius stood up quickly, pushing her into a seat by his. Ginny caught the roll of her eyes while Lucius was stood behind her, pushing Hermione's chair in for her.

'Keep watching,' Draco murmured when Ginny went to eat more cereal.

'Do we have to do this every time I sit down at this table?' Hermione asked loudly.

Lucius, in one swift, graceful movement, had taken both books off her and put them on the other side of him. 'If you persist with this behaviour, then yes,' Lucius said calmly.

Ginny snorted, her head nearly dipping into the spoon of cereal she was still holding up.

Lucius shoved the bowl of porridge before Hermione. 'Honey?' he snapped.

'I'm not hungry,' she snapped back, 'I only came down for a coffee.'

Ginny was sure a hex would've happened if Hermione's wand had been in her hand at that point.

'Neither of them bring their wands in here now,' Draco said, almost as if he'd read her thoughts.

'So they're still volatile? Even after…' She raised an eyebrow, ignoring Draco's grimace.

'We can hear you, you know?' Hermione said.

Ginny looked up to see a united front being held by them as Lucius and Hermione gave her a hard stare. 'Sorry,' she muttered, averting her gaze to her cereal, not wanting to become the focus of their fury.

'Eat your food,' Lucius snapped as a bowl was heard being scraped along the table.

Hermione got up, now the chair scraping along the floor. 'I don't need a coffee this badly.'

'You've forgot your books,' Draco called gleefully.

'There are others!' Hermione shouted from the foyer, her voice echoing slightly.

'Can I just say something,' Ginny said quickly when she saw Lucius about to follow her. He sank back in his seat, waiting. 'If it wasn't this, it would be something else. She's always been like this.'

'And the eating? It's not healthy.'

'Actually, that's the healthiest I've seen her since-' Ginny cut off quickly when she realised when. It brought a morbid silence to the table that not even Vivienne broke it. 'Well, she'll eat when she's had a proper breakthrough, or when she's actually hungry. She's not a masochist. She just…forgets sometimes.'

This didn't seem to placate Lucius based on the hard stare he gave Ginny. Then sighing heavily, he poured a coffee into another cup, putting a drop of cream into it and leaving the spoon in it before picking it up with the books Hermione had left behind, and went after her.

XXXXXX

A week later and they were entering May with a bored Ginny that was starting to pace around a lot of rooms, sometimes with Vivienne in her arms, sometimes with some item or other she'd found in one of the rooms, asking Lucius a lot of questions about it.

'Did you know they have an attic?' Ginny asked Hermione, clearly having been busy in it judging by the dust she was covered in. 'You're missing a trick by not putting a skylight in.' That was directed at Lucius, sitting in his chair by the window, before she left.

Hermione looked at the empty doorway before turning to Lucius. 'What exactly are you storing in the attic?'

'Many Malfoys have lived here, what do you think?' Lucius said quietly, shoving his nose back into the paper.

By the ninth day of Ginny now staying in the Manor, Lucius was sorry he'd never fully appreciated how undemanding Hermione had been of him.

'Still got the Hand of Glory, I see,' Ginny commented as she joined them in the library after breakfast, rocking Vivienne gently as she did.

'That was my father's room.' Lucius snapped his book shut, staring at Ginny with a contemptuous look. She held his stare with a grin. 'Draco!' He stood up, stalking over to Ginny. Draco came away from the bookshelves quickly, Hermione stopped making notes to look up at Lucius' sharp tone. This time Ginny was ready for him when he took Vivienne, giving him the dummy she still held in her hand. He snatched it off her. 'Take Ms Weasley into the grounds to practice her skills. Or hang her from a broom. Whichever makes her easier to be around.'

'You know, there are easier ways of asking for a cuddle of the child,' she said with a smirk, letting Draco pull her out of the room quickly before she ended up in a duel with his father.

Hermione watched Lucius return to his chair, shifting Vivienne to his lap, her back leaning into him, and gently placed the dummy in her mouth. 'Yes, Hermione, I did spend some time raising Draco,' he said, feeling her eyes on him, before proceeding to read his book on star alignments and how they affect the wizard born under them to her in the softest voice Hermione had ever heard him use.

'Are you okay with Vivienne being here?' Hermione asked after listening to him read for a while, her note-taking forgotten for the moment.

He paused, peering down at the baby, who had drifted off. 'She really does look a lot like Potter,' he commented, slowly putting his book down before shifting Vivienne to lie against his chest on her front. 'I never got the chance to hold my daughter, it may have been different if I'd met her first.'

She'd just started taking more notes when he asked a question in return.

'Would you have had children?'

She let the quill drop down, a spot of ink landing on the back of her hand as she did. 'I don't know. I always thought about what I wanted to do when I left Hogwarts, and not much of anything else.' She sat back. 'I think Ron wanted a family as large as the one he grew up in.' She laughed at the look of disgust on his face.

She picked up her quill again and Lucius said something that made her heart ache in an unfamiliar way.

'You're young. You still have time to decide that.'

When she looked up, he had his book open, balanced on one thigh, and was reading it. Hermione dropped her head quickly, struggling to focus on the words she'd written as she realised that Lucius had effectively made it clear he didn't see them lasting that long. It hurt her in a very unexpected way.

XXXXXX

There was crying in her dream. She was trying to get to them, to comfort them. The crying slowly brought Hermione to consciousness. And the crying continued. Sitting up in a daze, the room still dark, she felt Lucius asleep next to her. A pleasant surprise as she'd come to bed early with a headache and had assumed he would go to his own room- she'd not actually stayed in his room yet. She watched him for a moment, on his side facing her, his hand resting on her lap. He looked softer, kinder when he was asleep.

The crying went up another notch pulling Hermione's attention. Vivienne.

Getting up quickly, pulling a cardigan off a chair, and went to Ginny's room. When she opened the door the crying hit her like a force. She moved a little faster down the hall, noticing Draco's door starting to open as she reached Ginny's room. She didn't bother knocking and found Ginny pacing the room with Vivienne held close to her chest, a look of despair on her features.

'I don't know what to do, she's never cried like this before,' Ginny said, tears forming in her eyes. 'Oh, I'm sorry.' Her eyes had landed on Draco entering the room now.

Moving past Hermione, Draco moved to Ginny and gently took Vivienne. 'Let me try.'

'I tried feeding her, changing her, I- I- I-' she started to stutter, watching Draco now walk around the room with Vivienne. Hermione went to pull Ginny into a hug. 'I didn't mean to wake up everyone.'

'Well, not everyone,' Hermione muttered. That got a small laugh out of her.

'And you would know,' she said quietly, not that it made a difference keeping her voice low.

Draco wasn't having much luck, if anything she was louder. Hermione tried with not much change either. Then Lucius arrived, not a strand of hair out of place, a black dressing gown neatly tied at the waist, with almost a bored look on his face. With his eyes firmly on the screaming baby in Hermione's arms, Lucius held his hands out. She didn't need asking twice as Hermione willingly gave Vivienne over to him.

'Is this a joke?' Ginny asked into the deafening quiet of the room.

Vivienne had continued to scream at first, stuttered over her sobs for a moment, her little head wobbling as she took Lucius in, and then stopped crying, a fisted hand shoved into her mouth.

'Get some sleep, Ms Weasley. She needs a rested mother,' Lucius said gently, 'Vivienne is going to take me for a walk.'

Three pairs of eyes watched him leave with the baby.

'No, is this a joke?' Ginny asked again. 'Why does my baby prefer him?'

Hermione turned to her startled, but Draco was already there, hugging her tightly.

'It's nothing you've done, Ginny,' he reassured her. 'That's just how babies are sometimes.'

She let out a sudden laugh before sniffing loudly as she pulled away from him. 'How would you know?'

Hermione smirked. 'He's been doing some reading, haven't you, Draco?'

'Shut it, Granger,' he grumbled, not meeting her eyes.

The next morning Hermione found Lucius asleep on a couch in the dining room, Vivienne asleep on his chest, and her heart broke a little for him and the losses he never seemed to talk about.

XXXXXX

The further they got into May, Hermione had the distinct impression she was being kept in the dark about any new information the Ministry had on the attackers, the research they may have been working on, and what exactly was happening with the threat on her safety- and Ginny, by proxy. There were very few letters off Kingsley, and when they did arrive, it always said the same thing- Nothing new to report. Stay put.

When she received her fourth one in the month she hadn't left the Manor, she stood in her room, balling it up as tightly as she could before using her wand to set fire to it, letting it hover in mid-air until it'd burnt itself out. It didn't even remotely make her feel better. But even if she could get out of the Manor, what would she achieve? And was Lucius right- should she focus on justice, not revenge?

In a bad mood already, Hermione stomped to the library rather than go down to breakfast, to find it still empty. She stood by the door, looking at the piles of books she'd left on the table the day before, then at the looming shelves. She had to have been through nearly all of them by now, and still it wasn't enough.

'Why don't you leave it alone for today?' Lucius asked from behind her. She turned sharply to look at him, having not heard him walk up to her. He gently took her hand, his thumb rubbing over her knuckles before pulling her with him. 'Come have breakfast. There's something I'll show you after.'

Sighing heavily, she went with him, glancing back at the room as he pulled her away, not letting go of his hand until they neared the entrance to the dining room.

Ginny was already sat with Vivienne on her lap, holding her bottle up in one hand while she ate her toast with the other. Silently, Hermione took the baby, sitting down next to Ginny to continue feeding her so that she could eat her breakfast.

'Thanks,' she said gratefully. 'I forgot how much Mum helped when I thought she was going to drive me mad with all the visits.'

Hermione gave her a small smile, her heart hurting for Ginny not having Mrs Weasley around, half-watching Lucius prepare a coffee for her. 'Where's Draco?' He was usually with Ginny in the mornings.

'He stayed at Blaise Zabini's last night. He's updating his birthday calendar,' she said with a wry smile.

Hermione snorted. 'Please tell me he's not being completely obvious?' she begged of Lucius. They didn't talk much, Draco and Hermione, but since his rant to her last Christmas, she'd noticed he certainly seemed hellbent as her on finding these people and bringing them to task. Even if they might end up being some old friends.

'I'd like to think he was raised better than that,' Lucius muttered. As he sat down next to Hermione, in one fluid movement, he took Vivienne off her without disturbing her feed.

Hermione was idly looking at the fireplace as she sipped coffee, staring at the Malfoy motto craved into the stone mantel; Sanctimonia Vincet Semper. Something pulled at her- something to do with Latin words. She started trailing a hand on the table, like she was writing something.

'Hermione?' Ginny called her name in bemusement. Hermione blinked, looking to Ginny, who was pointedly looking at her hand. 'Remembered something have you?'

'I think I have,' she said dazedly, putting the coffee cup down on it's saucer, the rattle making Vivienne jump. She gave the baby an apologetic kiss on the forehead before she stood, racing out of the room.

'Not so easy to race around after her with a baby, is it?' Ginny sniggered at the frustrated look on Lucius' face as his gaze followed her. 'It's fine. I've finished eating anyway.' Lucius stood up, placing a kiss of his own on the top of Vivienne's head before handing her back to Ginny. She waited until he'd left the room before saying, 'Looks like someone's a little bit besotted with you.' There was a hint of a smile as Vivienne kept drinking her bottle.

XXXXXX

'Hermione!' Lucius called after her as he saw her disappear into the library.

'Where's that book you were reading to Vivienne last week?' she asked him as soon as he walked into the room. She was going through the parchments of notes that she'd left on the table, some of them falling to the floor in her hasty movements.

Sighing quietly to himself, Lucius went over to his chair, picking the book up from the windowsill it sat by. He glanced at the title; Star Alignments and Their Powers. Taking it back to the table in the centre, Hermione looked up, moving to take it off him. He quickly pulled it back out of her reach, putting it behind his back.

She smiled sweetly at him, moving towards him. He didn't react to either, merely holding her gaze with a firm look.

'Is this about breakfast again?' she asked. He heard the dangerous tone in her voice.

'Not at all,' he said. She'd come to a standstill before him, leaving barely an inch between them, her light floral perfume surrounding him. It was such a soft smell, that he could never smell it unless she was this close to him, and when he did smell it, he just wanted to hold her- touch her. Have nothing else matter in that moment. He resisted, giving her a smirk. 'Don't bother.'

Hermione persisted, starting to reach around his back, her other hand settling on his waist as she did, not breaking eye contact with him. 'Oh!' She'd felt his hands clasped together, the book gone. 'That's just sneaky.'

She stepped back, giving him a nonchalant shrug. 'That's fine. I don't necessarily need that book. There are others.'

She pulled her hands back, already turning away when Lucius grabbed her hand, pulling her back to him. 'I don't think so, witch,' he growled. She laughed, a sound he would never tire extracting from her as she didn't give it freely to him. Lucius wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping a tight hold, leaning his head to her ear. 'I told you I had something to show you.' She leant back to look at him questioningly.

Taking her hand, Lucius lead her back out of the room, walking down the corridor to the door at the very end, past the staircase, opening it to reveal a staircase.

'Am I going to be the wife in the attic?' Hermione said as she followed him up.

Lucius turned back for a moment as he took the steps with a raised eyebrow. 'I hope you do not intend on burning the place down,' he said sardonically. That brought another laugh from her, bringing a small smile to his own lips, which he hid when he turned to face the stairs again.

'Why am I not surprised you've read Jane Eyre,' Hermione said, the laughter still in her voice.

'Not my favourite classic,' he said without thinking, 'so do not assume I'll be taking up the mantle of Mr Rochester, thank you very much.' He stopped at the top of the stairs, waiting for her to reach him. She still had a smile lighting up her face, the most free he'd seen in her since that fateful day that had connected them. The feelings for her that shot through his chest at that moment were so visceral he had to turn back to face the attic for fear he wasn't hiding what he was truly feeling from his features.

Moving past him, a hint of her perfume reaching him once more, he watched her back as she looked at the attic, filled with furniture and antiques from centuries of Malfoys. 'What is your favourite classic then?'

The question pulled him back to his senses. 'I don't have just one. Dickens is too excellent an author to choose one.'

Hermione nodded, giving him a smile that looked like she was trying to suppress a comment, her brown eyes filled with warmth and laughter. Lucius felt himself swallow involuntary, holding his hand out to her. She took it willingly, and he turned slightly to reveal the staircase directly to the right of the stairs they'd come up. Leading the way once more, he took her to the roof of Malfoy Manor.

When he opened the door at the top of the wooden stairs, he stood to the side to let her go first. She gave him another quizzical look as she moved by him, and then he heard the small gasp once she was outside, the day clear and bright. He followed her out, standing directly behind Hermione as she took in what he had done with flat roof of the Manor.

Ginny Weasley had been on to something when she'd mentioned the skylight. But it wasn't a skylight Lucius had installed into the attic. He'd made a garden on the roof instead.

Thin black railings surrounded the large space. Soft, vibrant green grass covered the roof with large, rectangular planters lining the edges, in front of the railings, with varying shrubs and plants showing off their vibrants flowers. Pinks, purples, and yellows called for their attention, as well as their scents. Asters, azaleas, bougainvilleas, camellias, lilacs, and magnolias, all waving lazily in the light spring wind. Wooden slouch chairs were placed in pairs around the roof, and in the centre was a small wooden table with a pot of coffee and two cups on it.

'Has this always been here?' Hermione asked, moving towards a lilac shrub, her hand reaching out to gently hold the flowers.

'No,' Lucius admitted, almost lying, not able to hide a tightness in his voice. She turned to him, frowning. 'It's for you.'

'What?' She turned quickly, taking in the garden again. 'Why?' When he found he couldn't answer her as the words wouldn't form, she walked back to him, looking at him earnestly.

Looking up, over her head, Lucius stared at the space he had spent the last week creating. 'So that you will never feel like a prisoner in this house again. This space will always be yours, whether you stay or not.' It took a minute before he found the courage to look at Hermione again, knowing he wasn't quite hiding his feelings from her, a fear building up that it would chase her away, to lose one more thing in his life.

She stepped towards him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. 'I love it,' she said quietly, as he hugged her in return. If he was holding her too tightly, she didn't say anything as she continued to hold him just as tightly.