A/N - Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well! Next chapter for you which I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 34

Jumping to Conclusions

Lucius woke with a pounding head and a mouth that felt like he had licked a Kneazle. Repeatedly. Groaning, he realized he was still on the couch in his study and must have passed out there the night before. He gingerly sat up and put his face in his hands. He had not been hungover like this in years.

"Good morning," a voice said and Lucius grimaced before turning his head to see Severus sitting in an armchair.

"What are you doing here?" Lucius grumbled.

"Making sure you were still amongst the living," Severus said. "Although, by rights, I should have let you drown in your own foolishness."

"Unless you have a hangover potion in your pocket, bugger off," Lucius muttered. There was a sigh and then a vial was shoved under his nose. Lucius snatched it with a scowl but could not help the expression of relief a few moments after he drank it.

"May I ask what precipitated this attempt to drown yourself in drink?"

"No," Lucius said, leaning back against the couch and closing his eyes as the potion eased the remaining pain from his head.

"Where is Miss Granger? She did not have supper, nor did she make an appearance at breakfast."

"At Nott Manor, I assume," Lucius said unable to keep the bitterness from his voice. "Watching over the Weasley boy." There was silence and Lucius cracked an eye open to see Severus staring intently at him.

"You assume?" Lucius sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face.

"She left here last night through the Floo," he said. "As she has not returned, then yes, I assume she is still there."

"And you are not concerned that you do not know for certain?"

"Not particularly," Lucius said, although he did feel a moment of panic when he realized he was not positive where Hermione was.

"I do wonder when you will realize that I can always tell when you are lying," Severus said conversationally. Lucius scowled.

"Stay out of my head."

"What happened?" Severus asked. "Two days ago, the two of you were nauseating to watch. Now, you have drunk yourself into oblivion and you profess not to care that you do not know her whereabouts."

"Nothing happened," Lucius snapped. "Nothing that was not inevitable anyway."

"She has told you she has feelings for Weasley?"

"Not in so many words," Lucius said.

"May I remind you that the boy is her best friend. It is only natural that she be concerned."

"They are more than friends, Severus," Lucius said with a sigh. "Regardless, it matters not. It is not as if the two of us would have continued on once all of this was over. I will more than likely be in Azkaban and even if I should somehow escape that fate, anything further between us would never work. You know that as well as I. It was only ever meant to be an escape for the time being."

"And Miss Granger agrees with this assessment?"

"It does not matter if she does or does not," Lucius said. "It is what is best."

"Have you even discussed it with her?"

"I do not need to," Lucius retorted.

"So, you have decided for her," Severus said with a snort. "That should go over well."

"I told you, it does not matter!" Lucius spat. "For fuck's sake, Severus, she basically declared her love for the boy!"

"When was this?" Severus asked.

"The night he was injured. She was sitting with him when we returned from the cabin," Lucius said with a sigh. He was extremely tired all of a sudden.

"Lucius-" Severus began but Lucius shook his head.

"Enough, Severus. There is nothing more to discuss." Severus stared at him for a few moments before he rose from his chair.

"Very well," he said. "However, might I just say that this is one of the more asinine decisions you have made. And that is saying something." With that, Severus turned and swept from the room.

Lucius stared after him with a scowl. The man had no idea what he was talking about.

"Hermione," Ginny said. "Hermione wake up." Hermione's eyes blinked open, looking up at her friend. Ginny had a rather excited look on her face.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, sitting up in the bed with a yawn.

"Ron's awake." Hermione stared in shock for a moment, then jumped up, scrambling out the bed and grabbing her jeans that were lying on the floor. She pulled them on as quickly as she could and then thrust her feet into her shoes. She followed Ginny out the room and down the corridor to Ron's room.

When they stepped inside, Parvati and Mrs. Weasley were standing on one side of Ron's bed as the Healer was examining him. Ginny made her way to her mother's side as Hermione hung back a bit, waiting for the Healer to finish.

"He needs rest," the Healer said to the room at large. "Your visits must be kept to a minimum. But I will give you a few minutes." The Healer nodded to Hermione as he left the room.

"Oh, Ronnie," Mrs. Weasley said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and taking Ron's hand in her own. She brushed his hair back from his face.

"Mum," Ron breathed and Hermione could see the joy and relief on his face. He turned his head slightly. "And Ginny." Ginny moved closer to her mother who put her free arm around Ginny's waist. Both women were crying tears of happiness. Hermione wiped away a few tears of her own.

"Where are we?" Ron asked. Suddenly seeming to remember what he had been doing before he was cursed, he attempted to sit up, suddenly frantic.

"Lie down, Ronnie," Mrs. Weasley admonished. "You're still healing."

"But Mum-" Ron said. He turned his head. "Parvati?"

"I'm all right," Parvati said with a smile.

"What happened?" Ron asked.

"We were attacked," Parvati said. "You were cursed."

"The others?" Ron asked.

"Shh, Ron," Mrs. Weasley said. "We can talk about this later."

"I need to know, Mum." Ron looked in Hermione's direction. "Mione? What happened?" Hermione bit her lip. She didn't want to upset Ron, but she suspected that it would be worse if they kept the truth from him.

"Kingsley's group heard the dueling and were able to get there to help," Hermione said. "But not before you were cursed."

"But they're all okay, right?" Ron asked. The four women glanced at one another.

"Margaret didn't make it," Parvati finally said. Ron's eyes closed with a look of anguish and Mrs. Weasley squeezed his hand.

"Who attacked?" he asked with his eyes still closed.

"Snatchers we're assuming," Hermione said.

"They're all dead," Parvati said bluntly with a look of satisfaction on her face.

"Does the Ministry know?" Ron asked. "They can't track us here, can they?"

"No," Hermione said. "The Ministry hadn't showed up by the time Kingsley, Draco and Theo took care of the bodies. Draco says they've been going out less frequently lately." Ron nodded and Hermione thought it was progress that he didn't even scowl at the mention of Draco's name. Before Ron could ask anything else, the Healer walked back into the room.

"He must rest now."

"I'm fine," Ron said.

"I beg to differ, Mr. Weasley," the Healer said. He handed Ron a vial. "Drink that."

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"Pain potion with a sleeping draught."

"I don't want to sleep."

"That is neither here nor there," the Healer said. "You are still recovering."

"Ronnie, listen to the Healer," Mrs. Weasley admonished. She put a hand behind his head and propped him up while he drank the potion. She handed the vial back to the Healer and then leaned forward and kissed Ron's forehead. "We'll be here when you wake up." Ron smiled up at her, his eyelids already fluttering shut.

"You may stay if you wish, Mrs. Weasley," the Healer said. "The rest of you must leave, however." After Ginny had kissed her brother's cheek, the three younger women left the room.

They made their way downstairs to the sitting room. Hermione looked out the window and realized it must be early afternoon. Her stomach rumbled. She hadn't eaten much of anything since yesterday afternoon. Ginny laughed when she heard and began to drag Hermione and Parvati towards the doors to the gardens.

"Come on," she said. "I'm sure there's still some lunch left." Hermione glanced back at the Floo. A part of her wanted to do nothing more than return to the Manor to try and talk to Lucius. But then she remembered their last words to each other the night before and allowed Ginny to lead her back to the Resistance's camp.

The next few days, Hermione spent nearly all her time with the Resistance. She only returned to Malfoy Manor to retrieve more clothes. She had seen Lucius once when she came through the Floo, however, he had quickly returned to whatever he was working on at his desk. She had attempted to speak to him, but he had been oddly formal and eventually, she had given up. She had gone to her room and packed three days' worth of clothes just so she didn't have to return again. When she got back to his study to use the Floo, he was gone.

Hermione attempted to keep her days as full as possible so she didn't have to think about Lucius. She trained with the Resistance, helped Professor Slughorn make potions and visited with Ron. Ron was continuing to improve and was growing restless with being made to stay in bed. The Healer had assured him that it would likely only be another day before he was released. Ron was itching to get to training, even after he'd found out that Draco and Professor Snape were assisting with it.

"Might be nice to hex the ferret and have an excuse for it," Ron had said.

"Ron," Hermione admonished. "He's not that bad. And he's been really good to Ginny."

"I know," Ron said with a sigh. "Who would have thought I would ever feel indebted to Malfoy?" Hermione smiled.

"Oh, the horror," she replied. Ron laughed a bit then sobered.

"Seriously, though, Hermione, I do owe him. For getting Ginny out of that hellhole." Hermione squeezed his hand. "Daddy dearest too, I suppose." Ron sighed and looked pained as if he didn't actually want to admit it. Hermione was sure that he didn't.

"He always treated your mother well," Hermione said quietly.

"You too," Ron said. Hermione managed to nod.

"Yes, me too."

The conversation with Ron had driven her from the house shortly after and she had immediately found Kingsley and asked him to duel with her. It hadn't taken long before he'd stopped their duel and asked Hermione what was wrong.

"Nothing," she said. "I thought we were practicing."

"That wasn't practice, Hermione, that was venting frustration about something." He glanced down at his singed shirt sleeve. "Not that I don't appreciate that you're finally willing to use more damaging spells."

"I'm sorry," she said with a sigh.

"Don't apologize," he said. "Tell me what's going on." She bit her lip and for a brief moment actually considered telling him everything. But only for a moment.

"It's nothing," she said. "I'm just getting antsy about ending all of this I suppose." He didn't look convinced.

"Is this about Ron?" he finally asked.

"What do you mean?" Hermione said in confusion.

"I know Parvati has gotten quite attached to him," he said. Hermione nearly laughed out loud. God, if only this was just some teenage romance gone awry.

"No," she said. "Ron and I are just friends." Kingsley raised an eyebrow in disbelief and Hermione immediately colored. She had forgotten about the time Kingsley had come upon them in the woods. There hadn't been much question as to what they had just been doing as they had both been in the process of righting their clothes at the time.

"All right, so we were a bit more than friends," Hermione said. "But it's not like that now. And I'm not upset about it." Kingsley studied her for a few more moments before he finally seemed to believe her. She didn't think that had bought her explanation about being antsy, however. But he had let it go.

Now, Hermione sat at a table in the stables as everyone ate and chattered around her. She was drawn into conversation from time to time but mostly just mechanically put food into her mouth.

"Hermione?" Katie said and she looked up to see her friend looking at her in concern.

"Yes?" Hermione replied. Katie stared at her for a moment and the rose from the table, motioning for Hermione to follow her. Hermione sighed, but got up all the same. She had no idea what she was going to use as an excuse this time.

"Please tell me what's going on," Katie said once they had gotten outside and Katie had cast a privacy charm for good measure.

"I'm just tired," Hermione said. "I've been training too much and not sleeping enough."

"I'm sorry, Hermione but that's complete shite." Hermione looked up in surprise. "I've seen you tired. I've seen you so exhausted that you can barely keep your eyes open. This is not that."

"I," Hermione began. "It's, I can't talk about it."

"Why?" Katie asked.

"I just can't," Hermione said. "I'm sorry, Katie."

"Does this have something to do with that whole prophecy that Kingsley and Ron told us about?"

"Yes," Hermione said honestly.

"Hermione, I know we haven't been friends as long as you and Ron or you and Ginny," Katie said, putting a hand on her arm. "But you know you can tell me anything right?" Hermione nodded, feeling her throat tighten and the tell-tale sting in her eyes. She would not cry about him, not again.

"I know," she managed to reply. "But I just, I can't. I'm sorry." Katie stood studying her for a minute.

"Hermione did someone hurt you?" Katie asked. Yes, someone had hurt her, but not in the way that Katie meant.

"No," Hermione said. "I swear to you Katie, it's not anything like that." The other woman visibly relaxed.

"All right. Just remember that I'm always here if you want to talk."

"Thanks, Katie," Hermione said. Katie squeezed her arm again and cancelled the privacy charm. "Are you coming back in?"

"I think I'm going to go check on Ron," Hermione said. Katie nodded and walked back into the stables. Hermione sighed and began to make her way into the house.

Lucius stood glowering at Severus. He was, once again, trying to convince Lucius to go to Nott Manor to help with training.

"I have told you no on multiple occasions," Lucius said. "I do not understand why you continue to badger me."

"You need the practice as much as they do," Severus drawled. Lucius bristled.

"I beg your pardon? I do not need practice."

"When is the last time you cast anything more difficult than an 'Accio'?" Severus asked. Lucius scowled.

"There are a few things I could cast right now," he snapped. Severus smirked.

"I would like to see you try."

"Do not tempt me," Lucius said. "If you think I need to duel, then we can duel here."

"You need to duel others," Severus said. "You and I know each other too well for it to do much good."

"That bad of an instructor, are you?" Lucius drawled. Severus glared.

"You are well aware of what I mean, Lucius." He paused for a moment. "Kingsley has requested your presence specifically."

"Whatever for?" Lucius asked.

"He feels it would be beneficial for some of the Resistance to duel a Death Eater."

"That's what you, Draco and Theo are for."

"Theo is barely a Death Eater and Draco has difficulty using more damaging spells. His guilt keeps him from performing as he should." They both fell silent for a few moments. Then Severus spoke again.

"Miss Granger will not be present." Lucius' eyes narrowed.

"That has nothing to do with this," Lucius said even as he wondered where she would be. He had not seen her for two days.

"I am sure," Severus said. Lucius chose to ignore that comment.

"The fact remains, Severus, that no one is going to trust me not to kill them or something equally ridiculous."

"The Resistance is aware of your involvement, you know."

"Be that as it may, that does not mean they wish me to participate in their training."

"I beg to differ," Severus said. "They are all aware that Kingsley has asked you to help."

"Why are you so insistent upon this?"

"Because you are supposed to take on the Dark Lord, Lucius! Forgive me if I would like you to be successful and not leave Draco an orphan in the process!"

Lucius felt a pang of remorse at Severus' words. He should have been training, he and Hermione both. The two of them were expected to take down the Dark Lord and they needed to practice together in order to do that. And the rest of the Resistance needed to be prepared to deal with the Death Eaters as well. Lucius had been letting his personal issues get in the way of that.

"Fine," he finally said, albeit begrudgingly. "I will accompany you this afternoon."

"Very well," Severus said. "We leave in ten minutes."

When Hermione stepped inside, she saw Luna sitting on the couch in the sitting room. She smiled, not having seen the younger woman much over the past few days. Luna had come down to visit with the Resistance a couple of times, her robes still hiding the evidence of her pregnancy, but she stayed close to the house for the most part. No one had questioned it so far, thankfully.

"Hello, Luna," Hermione said. "How are you feeling today?"

"Very well, thank you," Luna said. She studied Hermione for a few moments.

"Are you well, Hermione?"

"I'm fine, Luna."

"He doesn't realize, you know."

"I'm sorry?" Hermione said.

"Mr. Malfoy," Luna said. "He doesn't realize that he's being obstinate."

"I, I don't know what you mean," Hermione said. She had always known that Luna appeared to just know things, although her friend always denied being any kind of Seer. But Luna had only seen Lucius a time or two and Hermione didn't think that she had ever seen Lucius and Hermione together. Unless she was lurking in the corridor the night that Ron was injured.

"You will," Luna said with a smile and then turned back to the book she had been reading. Hermione stared at the younger woman for a few moments before she mumbled something about seeing Ron. She left the sitting room completely disconcerted.

Lucius was being obstinate, in Hermione's opinion. But she had no idea what to make of what Luna had said. Shaking off the conversation, Hermione neared Ron's room and was happy to see him out of bed and dressed. Mrs. Weasley was fussing over him.

"Mum, I'm fine," Ron said, not sounding even a little bit exasperated. Hermione knew he was so happy to have his mother with him again, he would happily endure any amount of fussing.

"Just remember what the Healer said. You mustn't overdo it."

"I know, Mum," Ron said, leaning forward and kissing her cheek. "I'm just going to go down and talk to everyone. That's all. No dueling or anything, I swear." Mrs. Weasley wrung her hands in front of her.

"If you're sure."

"I am," Ron said. "Why don't you come down with us?"

"No, no, you two go on," she said catching sight of Hermione in the doorway. Ron turned and gave her a wide smile. "I need to clean up a bit."

"You should rest, Mum," Ron said in concern. "I know you've barely slept the last few days." Mrs. Weasley patted his cheek.

"Yes, you're probably right. I'll just do that as well." Ron hugged his mother. Hermione saw the woman grip the back of Ron's jumper tightly in her fists, as if he would disappear if she let go.

"I'll come check on you when I get back, yeah?"

"All right, Ronnie," she said and then left the room, smiling at Hermione as she left.

"Hey," he said once his mother was gone.

"Hey, yourself," she replied with a smile as she walked further into the room. "Feel good to be up and about?"

"Feels great," Ron said with a grin. "I never thought I'd say this after living the way we have for these last months, but I am thoroughly sick of that bed." Hermione laughed.

"Come on," she said, grabbing his hand. "I'll show you where to go." Ron squeezed her hand and let her lead him from the room.

"How long until the Healer lets me start training do you reckon?" Ron asked as they walked out of the stables. They had spent the last couple of hours sitting and talking to everyone as they trickled in and out of training sessions. Training was taking place in the forest a short distance from the stables. There was a natural clearing that had been expanded and warded.

"Hopefully soon," Hermione said. "But you don't want to overtax yourself."

"I'm fine, Hermione," he said a bit exasperated.

"You almost died, Ron," she said, shaking her head and suddenly feeling the need to cry.

"Hey, I know," Ron said, pulling her into his arms. "Don't get upset." She sniffled into his chest and hugged him for a few minutes.

"Sorry," she said as she pulled away, looking at him sheepishly.

"Don't apologize," he said, pulling playfully on one of her curls and smiling at her. They stood in silence for a few moments before Ron rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at her. Hermione recognized his nervous habit and quirked a brow in question.

"I wanted to talk to you about, well," he paused. "About Parvati."

"What about her?" Hermione asked.

"It's just, well, we've, uh, we," Ron trailed off and Hermione took pity on him.

"It's okay, Ron," she said.

"We haven't, I mean, we're not, it's not like that," he said. "Not yet anyway, but I just, I-"

"You fancy her," Hermione said simply.

"It's more than that," Ron said quietly.

"Ron, it's okay," Hermione said again. "You and I, I mean, I think it was more about, about comfort or need or something, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Ron agreed. He looked at her. "I do love you, Hermione."

"I know," Hermione said with a smile. "I love you too, Ron. You're my best friend."

"And let's face it," Hermione continued. "The two of us would have been a disaster." Ron laughed.

"Yeah," he said with a fond smile. "Yeah, we would have." He hugged her again. She looked up at him, glad that at least one of them was happy. Ron had always been the kind of person that needed to be needed. And Parvati needed him. Hermione had never really needed him, not in the way he wanted to be needed.

"Hey," he said, frowning at whatever expression was on her face. "You sure you're all right?"

"Not really," she found herself saying with a laugh, but before he could ask her anything else, Ginny and Parvati walked up. Parvati went to Ron's side and he slipped an arm around her shoulders.

"How was it?" he asked, smiling down at her.

"I wish I had my old wand," Parvati said with a sigh, but then she grinned. "But it felt good." Ron pulled her closer to him, squeezing her shoulder. Ginny glanced at Hermione, but she simply smiled.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you," Ginny said. "But I'm starved."

"I should go check on Mum," Ron said. "Plus, the Healer is going to be back soon and I'm sure he's going to order me back to bed or something." Ron pulled a face and Parvati elbowed him in the ribs. "Want to come with me?"

"All right," Parvati agreed and the two of them began to walk back to the house, Ron's arm still around her shoulders.

"You okay with that?" Ginny asked.

"Yes," Hermione said with a smile. "Ron and I would have never worked." Ginny nodded and then slipped her arm through Hermione's.

"You can come with me then," Ginny said. "I'm starving." Hermione laughed and the two of them walked back towards the stables.

Lucius stepped around the corner of the stables and stopped short. Hermione was standing a few yards away speaking to Weasley. He quickly stepped back into the shadows of the building. Weasley embraced her and then pulled familiarly on one of her curls. Lucius felt the red-hot burn of jealousy in his gut.

They were too far away for him to hear what they were saying, but Weasley was now obviously nervous about something. He rubbed the back of his neck and shuffled his feet, looking as if he was having trouble getting the words out. Hermione watched with a fond look on her face and then said something. Weasley seemed to agree and then Hermione smiled up at him. They laughed and then Weasley took her back into his arms.

Lucius did not need to see anything else. It was obvious what was happening. He turned and went back the way he had come. Another session was beginning soon. Lucius locked his Occlumency shields into place and the anger and jealousy slowed receded to be replaced by calm efficiency. He had a job to do.

Lucius looked up as the Floo activated, expecting to see Draco. Lucius and Severus had returned to the Manor before supper, but Draco had elected to stay and eat with Miss Weasley. It was not Draco, however. Instead, Hermione stepped out.

"Lucius," she said when she realized he was in the room. He tipped his head in acknowledgement but did not say anything. She hesitated in front of the fireplace.

"I came back to get more clothes," she finally said. He ignored the pang of disappointment. Of course, she was not returning to stay.

"Liddy can launder anything you leave in your room," he said. Hermione nodded.

"I, um, I thought I might stay. In my room, I mean. Tonight."

"As you wish," Lucius said.

"It's just that, things are a bit crowded in the tent and I, well, since I have a perfectly good bed here, I thought that I might as well use it."

"It is your room," Lucius said.

"Right," Hermione replied. "I'll just, just go then." He said nothing as she walked past him. When she reached the door, she paused. Lucius waited for her to say something else, but she did not. She opened the door and walked through, closing it quietly behind her.

Lucius stared into the fireplace once she had gone, ignoring the emotions swirling in his gut by throwing up his shields and sipping the brandy he held in his hand.

Hermione closed the door to her bedroom and leaned back against it with a sigh. That had gone spectacularly well. For Merlin's sake, it was like they couldn't even talk to one another anymore. And she had no idea what had happened. She knew what Lucius had said about focusing on the task at hand and she understood that. But there had to have been something else. And Hermione was almost positive it had something to do with Ron.

This was ridiculous. They did have to work together to defeat Voldemort. And they couldn't do that if they weren't talking to each other. Merlin, they had spoken more when they couldn't stand the sight of one another, than they were now.

She was going to shower and then she was going to go back to his study and demand that they figure things out. Because otherwise, all of this work they were doing with the Resistance was going to be for naught. The prophecy said they had to work together and that's exactly what she intended to do.

Freshly showered and dressed in one of the sets of robes he had given her, Hermione made her way back to Lucius' study. She had gone through the gamut of emotions in the shower, from anger, to sadness to determination. He was going to listen to her.

She knocked on the study door and waited. She certainly hoped he wasn't drunk again. He hadn't appeared to be when she arrived and it had been less than an hour since she'd left him. Still, she had no idea how long he had been drinking before she arrived.

She was just about to knock again when the door was yanked open. Lucius stood in the doorway and stared down at her.

"Did you require something?" he asked. Hermione straightened her spine and returned his gaze.

"Yes," she said. "We need to talk."

"About what?" he said, voice clipped.

"I think you know," she returned. He stared at her for a moment.

"There is nothing to discuss," he said.

"Yes, there is," Hermione said shoving past him. She took a few steps into the study and turned, crossing her arms in front of her. "And I'm not leaving until we talk."

"I think you forget how easily I can remove you, whether you wish me to or not." Hermione could not believe this was the same man she had been snuggled up with on her settee less than a week ago. He was so…cold. And then she realized.

"Lucius, drop your shields." He simply stared at her. "I know that's what is making you act this way."

"I am sure I do not know what you mean," he said.

"Yes, you do," she said. She took a few steps towards him and laid a hand on his arm. "Lucius, please." He stared down at her hand and then met her gaze. For a moment, she thought she could see the man she had fallen in love with but then he moved away from her. Her hand dropped back to her side and she sighed.

"Do you want to defeat You-Know-Who?" she asked.

"Of course, I do," he said looking at her like she was completely daft.

"Well, I don't know how you expect to do that when you can't even talk to me," she said throwing up her hands in exasperation.

"We are talking right now, are we not?" he said with that stupid drawl that she hated.

"Why are you being so impossible?" she snapped. "For god's sake, Lucius, there's a prophecy! A prophecy that involves you and I and it is clear that we have to cooperate or this thing isn't going to work!"

"I am well aware of what the prophecy says," he snarled.

"Then I don't understand what's happened! Everything was fine, more than fine. We were, I thought," she trailed off, not wanting to admit her feelings when he so obviously did not feel the same. He didn't have to be in love with her, but they certainly needed to be together on whatever their strategy was.

"We were distracted," he retorted. "And now that the Resistance has arrived, there is work to be done. That should be the focus right now."

"But it's not," she said. "Until now, we hadn't spoken in almost three days! Aren't we supposed to be training together, working with the Resistance on how we're going to do all of this? We haven't even decided on how we're going to find him, let alone defeat him."

"Yes, fine, we need to discuss strategy," he said. "We can meet with the Resistance tomorrow."

"That's not what I meant," she said.

"We have agreed that our…dalliance is over," he said. Hermione nearly flinched at the word dalliance. If she hadn't been sure before, well, he had made it quite clear now how he felt. Or didn't feel, rather.

"No, you decided," she said, unable to help herself. "There was no agreement." He snorted.

"I am sure that Weasley would not appreciate it if we were still involved."

"Ron?" Hermione said in confusion. "Ron doesn't know anything about us."

"What a surprise," Lucius drawled. "Skeletons in your closet, Miss Granger? Not the best way to start a relationship, now is it?" He had taken a few steps towards her and was now leering down at her. She glared up at him, confused as to his reference to starting a relationship. She and Ron had been friends for years, which Lucius was well aware of.

"Will you stop being a complete arse for two minutes?" she demanded. His nostrils flared in anger.

"I think it is time for you to return to your little friends and your beau," he said. Hermione's brow furrowed. "Your presence here is not necessary to our goal. We can work just as easily from Nott Manor." Hermione ignored his last comment to focus on the first.

"Beau?" she said in confusion. "What in Merlin's name are you talking about?"

"I do not know what you think you will gain by continuing to lie to me," Lucius said, his jaw tense with anger.

"I haven't lied to you about anything!" Hermione insisted.

"Do you actually believe the falsehoods that continue to drip from your lips?" he returned, walking closer to her so she was forced to take a step back. "Is that why you can sound so sincere?"

"Lucius," she said firmly, needing to figure out what the hell he was so angry about. "I have no idea what you're talking about. If you would stop being so cryptic and just tell me, maybe I could explain." He laughed mirthlessly.

"Oh, I daresay you could," he replied. "I am sure that you have some excuse ready and prepared."

"What. Are. You. Talking. About?" she said through gritted teeth, her hands fisted at her sides.

"I was there!" he spat. "I saw you when you renewed your little relationship with Weasley!" Hermione stared at him, her mind working frantically to try and figure out what he thought he saw. Yes, he had seen her sitting at Ron's bedside the night he was injured, but Ron hadn't even been conscious. They couldn't have 'renewed' anything.

"I see you do not try to deny it." Hermione's mind was still whirling when it settled on the discussion she had had with Ron this afternoon. How would Lucius have known about that though?

"Were you at Nott Manor today?" she finally asked.

"Shacklebolt requested that I assist with the training," Lucius said, looking down his nose at her.

"And you saw Ron and I," she said as things suddenly made sense. It didn't explain the previous few days, but if Lucius had jumped to conclusions after she had sat with Ron that first night, then what he had seen today had likely cemented things for him in his mind.

"I see you have finally caught on," he said. "So, as I said, it is useless to deny it." He turned and walked back to the table where he had left his brandy. He picked it up and took a large gulp.

At first, Hermione was relieved to finally know what he was upset about. After all, she just had to explain and he would realize that he had been wrong. But the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. He had jumped to conclusions without even speaking to her about it. And not only that, he had been a huge arsehole to her on top of it. For something she hadn't even done. Not to mention that she had worried and been upset for days on top of the emotional upheaval about Ron. Hermione snapped.

"You stupid, stupid man!" she shouted. "I cannot believe that you would just assume all of this without even asking me! Do you know how distressed I have been these last few days? Wracking my brain trying to figure out what I'd done to upset you, why you were acting the way that you were when less than a week ago things were perfectly fine between us?"

Lucius advanced on her and Hermione stood her ground, not afraid of him. She was angry enough she could have probably hexed him wandless. He stood directly in front of her, nostrils flaring, eyes flashing.

"You dare to insult me when I saw you with my own eyes crying over Weasley in his bed; when I heard with my own ears you tell him that you 'needed him'," Lucius sneered. "When you jumped up from holding his hand so quickly as soon as you realized I was there that it was as if you were burned?"

"I told you that was because the Healer didn't even want me in the room! I told him I would just sit in the chair in the corner and when I heard his voice, I didn't want him to see me sitting on the bed. I had no idea you were even there until I turned around!" Lucius seemed to ignore that and continued. His voice dropped in volume but was no less angry.

"And this afternoon, the display that you put on in full view of anyone who happened to venture outside. It was quite clear that you did not care who observed you. The touches, the smiles, the embraces and yet you stand here and try to tell me that I am the stupid one?" They stared at one another for a few seconds. Hermione was fuming.

"Ron and I are not together!" she ranted. "We're friends, nothing else! Everything you saw today was him telling me that he was in love with someone else! And if you had just stopped for one second and asked me about it instead of burying yourself in a bottle and acting like the stupid git you are, you would know that!" He grabbed her arm.

"Do not continue to tell me I am stupid," he growled.

"I'll call you what I like if that's the way you're acting," she retorted. His jaw clenched and he didn't let go of her arm. She stared at him defiantly. "And besides, if you don't want anything to do with me anymore, what do you care?"

"I do not," he said enunciating each word crisply. She stared at him for a moment. His furious expression hadn't changed, but she wondered why he was so upset there might be something going on between her and Ron if their relationship had been a mere dalliance, as he claimed. If they were just having a fling, well then, he wouldn't care that it had ended, would he?

"Liar," she said. He growled and he grabbed her other arm and for a moment Hermione thought he might shake her. Instead, he stepped forward, forcing her to step back until her back hit the wall.

"Do not presume to think that you know anything about how I feel," he hissed through gritted teeth. She nearly rolled her eyes.

"Yes, because Merlin forbid you actually tell me," she snapped. They both stared at one another, breathing hard and the next thing Hermione knew, Lucius was kissing her.

She ripped her mouth away from him and glared at him for a moment. He met her glare and she yanked on the front of his robes and pulled him back towards her. She returned his kiss as forcefully as he was giving it, nipping at his bottom lip when he pulled away. He shoved a hand into her hair and tilted her head to the angle he wanted it, resuming the kiss.

Lucius ground himself against her and Hermione gasped into his mouth. She wound her arms tightly around his neck, trying to get as close as humanly possible to him. This was incredibly stupid, she knew. They had just had a flaming row and Lucius had all but told her their relationship was over but right now, she didn't care. If this was the last time, then she was going to enjoy it.

Lucius put his hands under her backside and picked her up, Hermione wrapping her legs around him as he pushed her back against the wall. Without breaking the kiss, he hiked up her robes and waved his hand. Hermione felt her knickers disappear. He moved his lips her to neck while he fumbled with the front of his own robes, opening them and then his trousers. And then he was surging up into her and she gasped, her head falling back against the wall.

He kissed her lips again and she moved against him until she was crying out. He grunted a few moments later, following her over the edge. And then he collapsed against her, both of them panting as they tried to recover. She tugged on his hair until he looked at her and then she kissed him again, soft and slow.

She made a noise when he slipped from her and he lowered her legs gently to the floor. He looked down at her as her robes fell to cover her once again and Hermione gave him a tentative smile. Lucius drew his wand and cast a cleansing spell on them before turning and righting his own clothes.

Hermione immediately felt self-conscious when he turned away from her. She didn't know what this meant. They had both been angry and sex was definitely not the way to solve their problems despite how enjoyable it might have been. She didn't know if he even wanted to solve anything or it had just been the overriding emotion that had caused him to kiss her.

"Lucius," she said quietly. He turned slightly to look at her. She bit her lip and looked up at him. Before either of them could say anything, the Floo activated. Hermione immediately jumped back and she saw Lucius wave his wand around the room. Her cheeks heated as she realized he'd cast an air-clearing charm.

Draco stepped from the fireplace, freezing when he saw the two of them standing there. He looked from one to the other and Hermione ducked her head. She had no idea what her hair looked like and Merlin, Lucius had been sucking and nipping at her neck. What if she had love bites?

"How was your supper?" Lucius asked and Hermione wondered how he could sound so calm.

"It was fine," Draco said. "Everything all right here?" He glanced at Hermione again.

"Just fine, Draco," Lucius said. Draco didn't look as if he believed him.

"Ginny and Mrs. Weasley are planning on coming back tomorrow," he said. "To sleep, at least, now that Weasley is up and around."

"Very well," Lucius said. Draco looked between the two of them again before he bade them good night and left the study. Lucius sighed once he was gone. He turned back to her.

"I apologize," he said. Hermione wasn't sure what he was apologizing for but she didn't want to ask lest she didn't like the answer.

"Yes, well, at least he didn't come back a few minutes sooner," she said.

"That is not what I was speaking of," Lucius said. Hermione's heart sank but she looked up and met his eye.

"There's no need to apologize for that," she said. "We both wanted it."

"It should not have happened," he said, looking away from her.

"Why?"

"I have told you," he began, but she sighed and shook her head.

"The two are not mutually exclusive, Lucius. We can concentrate on destroying You-Know-Who without giving up what we have." She gave him a sad smile. "In fact, it would make things easier if we didn't. We would still be talking then."

"Distractions are not what we need right now."

"Trust me, Lucius. I've been much more distracted these last few days than I was before that." They were silent for a few minutes.

"It is better if we end things now."

"Why?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms in front of her. Lucius hesitated for a moment. Then he met her gaze.

"My fate after this is over is likely Azkaban," he said. "I have accepted that and it is time you do as well."

"And if it isn't?"

"I think we both know that this is not something that would work in the long-term."

"Are you saying that because you truly believe it or because you're scared to try?" She was skirting around the words she wanted to say.

"You would be shunned," he said.

"Somehow, if we're successful in our task, I doubt anyone will shun me. You either, for that matter."

"You do not know how fickle the public can be," he said. Hermione's heart had started beating faster. Everything he was saying led her to believe that it wasn't that he didn't have feelings for her, but that he was trying to protect her.

"And if I don't care what the public thinks?" He shook his head.

"You do not know what you are saying."

"I do," she said, stepping closer to him. He looked down at her. "I don't care about any of that. I don't care what the public thinks or what my friends think. If they can't support what I want then that's their problem." She rested her hands against his chest. They stared at one another for what felt like an eternity. Hermione gathered her fabled Gryffindor courage and took a breath.

"Lucius, I lo-"

Lucius hissed and grabbed at his left arm. Hermione's eyes widened and she looked up at him in shock. He wore a similar expression and then yanked up his sleeve. For a moment, they stood frozen, staring at the moving Dark Mark on his arm.

He hadn't been called in months. Certainly not since Hermione had been here and for quite some time before that. Hermione's heart jumped into her throat. What if Voldemort had found out about the Resistance? What if he was calling Lucius because he suspected him?

"Oh gods," she whispered, bringing a hand to her mouth. Lucius looked at her and there was a knock on the door. Draco opened it seconds later, Death Eater mask in hand.

"Father, I've been call-" he trailed off as he took in the scene before him. He looked up at Lucius, fear in his eyes. Lucius finally seemed to recover, summoning his Death Eater robes and mask.

"Let us go," Lucius said once he had both things in hand. He looked back to Hermione.

"Please be careful," she said. "I'll wait here." The two men moved out of the study and Hermione followed, stopping in the doorway. She looked up to see Professor Snape hurrying towards them, grimace on his face.

"You as well?" Draco asked. The professor nodded once.

"Shields," he said and Draco and Lucius nodded before they both touched their wands to their Marks and disappeared.