o.o.O.o.o

The late July rainstorm was still raging when Lucius apparated to Lestrange Manor. The old Gothic manor had always left him feeling a bit ill at ease, but he gave Rodolphus a warm smile nonetheless as he was greeted in the entrance hall.

"Glad you could make it, Avery's in the study," Rodolphus said.

"I was surprised for the invitation. Everyone's been keeping me at arm's length since my…liberation from Azkaban." Lucius fell into step with him, after spelling himself dry. It was hard not to feel slighted when he was regularly ostracized by the others and avoided like the plague.

"Everyone can see the Dark Lord's disfavour hanging over you. It frightens the weaker ones away. You and I were always friends though, even before we married the sisters." Rodolphus chuckled, making reference to their status as brothers-in-law.

"Yes, we were," Lucius said, acknowledging the loose familial tie. Rod was certainly up to something if he was invoking kin status. As a rule, things discussed between family, stayed between family. "Speaking of Bella, how is my slightly deranged sister-in-law?"

"Her stint in Azkaban didn't do her any favours," Rodolphus said simply. "Not in any regard." They entered the study and Lucius accepted a glass of fire whiskey and settled down. He nodded to Avery.

"How are you healing from last night?" Avery asked.

"Well enough, at least the physical injuries." Lucius shrugged. "It's no matter, I brought it upon myself." Sudden changes in behaviour were always to be treated with caution. A few weeks ago, Rodolphus or Avery would not have hesitated a moment to turn their wands on him, so this sudden concern was unsettling.

"You're among friends here, Lucius. You did nothing of the sort," Rodolphus said, hazel eyes narrowing. "A witch and a wizard are not a pair of krups to be bred at someone's amusement."

"Careful, Rod," Lucius said carefully. So that appeared to be their issue, the forced degradation of pureblood families. Both of them were probably wondering how long it would be before they too were ordered to take a muggleborn witch to their bed. Or worse yet a muggle.

"I agree," Avery said. "I've never had an issue with killing mudbloods, but this…it's not right. He's asking you to sully your bloodline, for what? His curiosity?"

"I'm sure he has his reasons." Lucius sipped his drink, ever cautious. "It could be worse, Marcus. Remember that it can always be worse."

"Yes, but not by very much," Rodolphus said. "What news from your spy Avery?"

"He says the Order is reeling. The loss of three important pieces is crippling them. He's not certain how long they'll be able to limp along," Avery said.

"Who did you manage to turn?" Lucius asked.

"Mundungus Fletcher, who else? He's always been willing to do anything for enough galleons." Avery rolled his eyes.

"I should have guessed." Lucius chuckled. It would be a valuable piece of information for the Order, and help shore up their leaky defences. The state they were in right now, they would need every advantage they could possible get.

"Short-sighted of old Dumbledore to include characters like that," Rodolphus said. "He made a lot of poor decisions this time around, or at least that's how it appears."

"It does seem uncharacteristic," Lucius agreed. "Leaving the girl exposed, leaking the plan to Severus, and even his death…it seems all so contrived." He sounded out a few of the ideas he and Hermione had discussed.

"Yes, and I don't like it at all," Rodolphus said. "The man was many things, but not a fool."

"What advantage is there to all that then?" Avery frowned hard.

"I don't know, and that's what bothers me. There's something we're missing and I just hope that it's not something that's going to jump up and bite us all when we're least expecting it," Rodolphus said. "Your little pet might be able to shed some light on that."

"She's hardly my pet, Rod. Witches aren't krups, remember?" Lucius snorted. "The Dark Lord took everything of value from her mind, what surprises could there be?"

"I don't know, but he hasn't shared anything he took from her head. He just altered plans that had been months in the making. We lost good men because he changed things without warning and rushed timelines. She knows something," Rod said firmly.

"She'd hardly be willing to share it with me. Just because she understands that fucking me is prudent, doesn't mean that she trusts me." Lucius scoffed, but inwardly was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

"Then perhaps you should start building some, particularly if you manage to get her pregnant and can spirit her away from the Dark Lord. She could tell you all sorts of things, give you a real advantage." Rod grinned.

"Perhaps." He shrugged, not committing to anything just in case this was an elaborate trap to try and get him to betray himself. He held the other wizard's gaze for a long moment, before the topic was smoothly shifted to something more neutral.

The tension continued through dinner, and lasted until Avery finally took his leave.

"You already know what the Dark Lord took from her head, don't you?" Rod asked once they were completely alone.

"Do you really believe that a few months spent in Azkaban robbed me of my wits, Rodolphus?" Lucius raised an eyebrow. "My few missteps aside, I'm not a stupid man."

"No, you aren't. Everyone always forgets that you were top of our year, it gets lost under the Quidditch Captain and Lord Malfoy prestige." Rod chuckled. "I know you have no reason to trust me, but fourteen years in Azkaban can change a man." His face sobered instantly. "This was never what I dreamed about."

Lucius nodded. It wasn't what any of them had envisioned when they'd sworn their lives to the Dark Lord. They'd been young and foolish, caught up in the idea of restoring the glory of their society.

"You said you had a book that might help me get around the monitoring spell?" he asked.

"That I do." Rod stood. "I'll get it for you. And when you're ready maybe we can discuss the future, and what we'd like it to hold."

"We'll see. All of us should be cautious these days." Lucius stood. "Even old friends."

"Perhaps especially old friends." Rod nodded and seemed to understand.

o.o.O.o.o

Hermione had never liked the sensation of disillusionment charms, it felt like ice slipping down her spine. Lucius was walking confidently ahead of her, through the dark and abandoned halls. She kept pace, having to hurry to keep up. The staircase up to the owlery was steep and winding. He had returned late, and they had agreed that sooner really was better than later to arrange a meeting. She had also warned Remus that Mundungus had turned on them, and that he could absolutely not be trusted to know about the meeting with Lucius.

The entered the owlery and Lucius warded the door behind them, before removing the charm. She shivered a little as the sensation faded.

"I regret that I don't know what happened to your wand, but perhaps you can make use of mine for this," Lucius said looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Will it even work for me?" she asked.

"I don't know, but there's only one way to find out." Lucius offered her the smooth elm wand.

Hermione took it, feeling a strange sensation flow up her arm. It wasn't acceptance, but not rejection either. It was like a zap of static electricity, but it didn't abate. The intense sensation jumped along her nerves and she had to fight to not drop the wand. She flicked it experimentally, trying to produce a non-verbal lumos and it was a little sluggish, but it responded.

"I feel like it's…tolerating me," she said, settling on that word.

"Better than an outright rejection," Lucius said and pointed out which owl to use. It was an old, slightly ragged looking common barn owl. "This is Myrrdin. He was my owl when I was in school, and he will make sure your letter gets where it needs to go."

Hermione nodded and focused, casting the special charm that would allow the owl through the wards at Grimmauld Place. A golden light hovered over the owl for a moment before dissipating. She offered the letter to it.

"Take this to Remus Lupin," she said clearly, and the owl took it and launched itself off the roost and out the nearest window.

"Now, we should return to your rooms and start working on the memories," he said and took his hand back from her unresisting fingers.

Hermione nodded, looking out the owlery window for a moment, before the crawling sensation of the disillusionment charm settled back over her.

o.o.O.o.o

Remus had not been expecting an owl as he sat and tried to drown his sorrows. The old barn owl dumped the letter on the table and proceeded to steal the cold pot roast that had been left half-eaten in front of him. Molly had cooked for him, trying to coax him to eat something. When the Ministry had fallen, the Burrow had been one of the first places hit. The Weasleys were living predominantly at the other safehouse, but Molly tried to come and check on him and Harry every few days. The situation was grim and getting darker by the day.

He picked up the letter and nearly dropped it. The handwriting on the front was achingly familiar, but he didn't dare even think her name. She was dead, but ghosts didn't write letters.

Professor Lupin,
I hope that this letter gets to you. I apologize for how rambling and probably crazy most of this is going to sound. First thing is that I'm not dead, obviously. I've wished that I was a few times, but Voldemort decided to keep me alive. After my parents were murdered, I was taken to him. He ripped into my mind and took everything he could. Anything I knew, except for the location of Headquarters, he knows. I've been a prisoner ever since, but now I have some help so I can at least reach out to you. This letter is enchanted to be read only by you, and I need to ask you to keep certain things between us. I've had to do things to stay alive and protect myself, things that I don't think most of the Order would understand. Tell them that I'm alive and a prisoner, but I ask that you keep the details to yourself. Please.
The first month after I was taken, they kept me in a dark cell. No light. No contact with anyone. Then I was dragged before Voldemort and given a choice, if you can call it that. Greyback had asked for me as a reward; a new member for his pack, if I survived his attentions long enough to change. The other option was to agree to sleep with one of his Death Eaters. He has some theory about half-bloods being superior to purebloods or muggleborns. He wants to test that theory with me by forcing Lucius Malfoy to try and get me pregnant. And I do mean force. Malfoy's no happier about it than I am, but we've come to an understanding on the matter. He's the one who helped me send this letter to you.
There is a lot of tension in the Death Eater ranks, more than we could ever have imagined. Malfoy wants to defect, to help the Order from the inside. I told him where Head Quarters was, and he will be there tomorrow night. He will bring a portable pensieve and some carefully selected memories for you to view. These memories are for your eyes only, Remus. Someone in the Order needs to understand why I trust him, and why he wants to stop Voldemort as badly as we do. Don't let anyone else see them. Harry would lose his head and you need him focused, now more than ever.
Whatever you think of him, know that he hasn't hurt me. He could have. He could have done a lot of things, and Voldemort probably expected him to. He can't set me free, so please don't ask him to. Right now, I don't matter. Winning the war is what matters and the best I can do is hand you a weapon to use against Voldemort. So try not to kill him until you've at least seen the memories.
~Hermione
P.S – Don't trust Mundungus. Avery has turned him and he's been spying on you all.

Remus didn't know what to feel in that moment. He watched as the little owl just threw back the last piece of roast and then promptly took off. Clearly it was not waiting for a response. He scrubbed a hand over his face, stubble rough under his fingers. It was certainly from Hermione, the handwriting and cadence of her words familiar to him. The warning about Mundungus made far too much sense as well, despite Dumbledore's faith in him, he had never trusted the wizard. The man was a coward, but like Peter had been.

After reading the letter, he debated about calling a meeting for the Order but immediately dismissed the idea. There was no sense in getting their hopes up until he knew what was actually happening. He did send Harry to the other safehouse, claiming that he needed to run a mission and didn't want Harry on his own. Molly hadn't even blinked before taking charge of the young wizard.

Losing his two best friends in the span of two month had broken something in him. He didn't dare give Harry any false hope until he was completely certain that this was genuine. In truth he was very worried about Harry, after Hermione's death the two remaining friends had drawn even closer together. Hermione's death had been a rallying call, fueling their desire to end Voldemort with fresh pain and rage. Losing Ron a mere month later had extinguished that flame and without his usual supports…Harry had crumbled. Ginny and the Twins were trying to prop him up, but it was a fight to get him to even eat these days.

He waited in the dark for the Death Eater to arrive, wand in his hand and at the ready. He was very glad that Hermione had only been aware of one of the Order's safehouses, because if this turned out to be a trap they would lose this location until the war was finished. It had been reckless of her to give it to Lucius Malfoy, but he had to believe that it was because she was desperate. The Hermione he knew was smart, and he had to believe that she'd weighed the risks of doing this.

There was a pop as someone apparated into the front Hall. Lucius Malfoy stood there, as arrogant and self-assured as Remus had ever seen him.

"Show me your hands, Malfoy," Remus spoke as he stepped out of the shadows, wand held steady on him.

"Lupin." Lucius inclined his head as he turned, hands spread wide to show that he was not holding his wand.

"Hermione's letter said you'd have a pensieve and memories for me to see," he said.

"I brought them. May I reach into my cloak to take them out?" he asked, a bit of a smirk lifting the corner of his mouth.

"Slowly," Remus said and watched as the man reached into a hidden pocket and withdrew a silver bowl, the large rim layered with runes. He placed it on the table, followed by three vials full of silvery liquid. "The door to your left goes into the sitting room, go in and take a seat."

Lucius nodded and went through the door indicated and sat down in one of the worn armchairs.

"You'll have to forgive my caution." Remus flicked his wand, and magical ropes bound Lucius to the chair.

"I'd expect nothing less," Lucius replied and shrugged a little.

Remus retried the pensieve and the memories before coming back into the sitting room and putting the bowl onto the table. He picked up the bottled labelled #1 and tipped it into the pensieve. He leaned forward and fell into the memory. Instantly, he knew that this wasn't anything manufactured. He was standing in the middle of a muggle home and he felt instantly ill when he realized what he was looking at. Hermione was being held down, Greyback holding her head up and forcing her to watch the dismemberment of her father. It was horrific and bloody. He watched as the teenage witch screamed and sobbed, begging them to stop. The men laughed at her, and then the scene shifted to her being dragged before Voldemort.

He watched a procession of memories, of her waking in a dark cell and the mind numbing progression of days as she was kept in complete darkness and isolation. It was an old technique and without question the perfect one for breaking a witch like Hermione. That kind of mind-numbing vacuum would damage her more than physical torture would. He watched as the door finally opened and she was dragged from the cell by Greyback. He bristled as the creature groped at her lewdly, and if he did nothing else before this war was over, he swore he'd kill the monster.

He watched the scene play out as Voldemort offered her the choice between Malfoy and Greyback, and he couldn't blame her for grasping onto Malfoy. It was the only sane choice of the two. She was weak, wandless, and surrounded. There was no possibility of escape from that room, only two impossible choices. He turned his focus onto Malfoy as the man offered to help her stand as the room emptied. The images then faded to back and he moved out of the pensieve. He looked at Malfoy, and walked over to the chair.

"What is in the other two vials?" Remus asked. This close he could smell the familiar scent of Hermione all over him, but surprisingly not the sharp tang he always associated with sex. They clearly spent time together outside of bed, enough to engrain the scent of each other into their skin…something even a shower wouldn't easily wash away.

"The second vial is more of her memories of our interactions, and the third is a few of my own that you may find illuminating," Lucius said.

Remus nodded and went to put the second vial of memories into the pensieve. As he moved through, he was relieved that there wasn't anything there that would make it hard to meet her eyes again. He had spent a year teaching her, and imagining her a sexual being was…difficult. What he did find illuminating was the casual intimacy shared between them. Watching Lucius caring for her after the news of Ron's death tore at his heart, remembering his own wife and all the little moments he'd never get to have again. He wondered if the other wizard had any idea just how ensnared he was by the young woman. It was clear in his expressions and the way he touched her. It was evident through watching the memories that these were real and that Hermione was acting of her own free will.

Remus came out and then reached for the third vial, tipping it into the bowl and immersing himself. He could instantly tell that it was a different mind than the previous memories. The feel of Lucius Malfoy's memories was darker, more menacing as he stepped into them.

Lucius was standing in the front of a group of Death Eaters as they discussed the Ministry takeover. The talk shifted to how they were going to try and gain control of Potter, and Lucius snorted.

"Perhaps, if we hadn't wasted the element of surprise taking Potter's worthless muggleborn friend, we could have gotten our hands on someone that could have yielded viable intelligence on the matter," he said disdainfully, not realizing Voldemort had entered the room behind him.

The cutting curse struck the unprepared man across the chest, sending him down to the ground as blood began to spill onto the rough stone floor.

"Worthless you say?" Voldemort purred as he stalked over, the other Death Eaters scattering backwards quickly.

"She offers no real tactical advantage," Lucius ground out, dragging himself up to one knee. "We'd have been better served taking Moody or Lupin. Someone with actual information that we could use."

"The girl is the ultimate tactical advantage. I do believe that your time in Azkaban has dulled your intelligence, my slippery friend. She is Potter's reason, his restraint. Without her, he will act rashly and without purpose. Dumbledore knew what he was doing when he forged that connection, he gave Potter the brightest, most talented witch of their year and knew that she would be driving force behind his successes. Without her, that boy would have been dead several times over. You've questioned me for the very last time, Lucius. Perhaps you require a reminder of your proper place in this new world." Voldemort flicked his wand at Lucius again, more blood pooling on the floor.

"I am very aware of my place." Lucius said, bitterness clear in his tone.

"No, I don't believe you are. You've always been a proud creature Lucius, so concerned with your superiority and personal importance. I had hoped that some time in Azkaban would remedy you of that defect, but apparently not. It's time you were reminded that anything you have can be taken away, unless you maintain my goodwill. So, here is my command to you. You will fuck Potter's worthless mudblood, and you will get that girl pregnant. You will dirty your bloodline with her filth because it pleases me to have you do it. Once she is pregnant, I will torment Potter with the knowledge that his dear sweet friend willingly spread her legs for his enemies. I will destroy the boy with it, and you will finally understand that YOU ARE MINE!" He shouted.

"Yes, my Lord." Lucius bowed his head, but Remus could see the abject rage on his face.

"If you defy me on this, I will give your beautiful wife to Greyback and if you continue to resist, you will watch as I kill your son before I finally end you. You will learn obedience, Lucius. Greyback, fetch me the girl and do keep your hands to yourself." Voldemort commanded and the beast left the room.

The scene shifted, and Remus watched as he was punished again for trying to spare Hermione for a night to grieve, and then he watched Lucius' meetings with both Snape and Rodolphus. The information was indeed interesting, and like Hermione he found himself wondering if perhaps they had been wrong about the Potions Master. It was a disturbing thought, and the more he rolled it around in his head…the more it made sense. It hit him like a bludger to the gut. He came out of the pensieve and gathered the memories back into their bottles.

He flicked his wand at Malfoy and released him from the ropes.

"I assume you believe us then?" Lucius asked.

"I know that I shouldn't, but I do." Remus ran a hand through his hair and collapsed into the other chair. "How is she…really?"

"She is…coping." Lucius settled on that word after a moment of thought. "She will break down at some point, but she's fighting hard to hold on. I'm doing what I can to help her."

"Thank you for that. Losing her has been hard on Harry, he will be relieved to know that she's alive. There's no way to help her escape, is there?" Remus had to ask.

"No. I am very sorry, but there's just no way. Perhaps, if I am allowed to move her there might be, but unless she ends up pregnant that won't be allowed to happen. Hopefully we can end this war before that happens," Lucius said.

"And what if she does end up pregnant?" Remus asked. "What will happen to her and the child?" The wizarding world was not a forgiving place, and still clung somewhat stubbornly to rather archaic morals. It was a question that he needed to ask, for her sake.

"If she were to get pregnant, I'd make certain she was taken care of. There are provisions in my marriage contract for such a situation. It would protect her and the child," Lucius said quietly.

"You'd set Narcissa aside?" Remus looked stunned. He had to be misunderstanding him.

"It took dire magic for Narcissa and I to have Draco, and it left Narcissa sterile. I didn't know what she'd done until afterwards. If Hermione was able to conceive without the aid of magic, it would be expected for me to set Narcissa aside and legitimize the child. It's too rare to be ignored. She'd have the stigma of being married to a Death Eater, but at least her child would not be maligned as a bastard." He shrugged. "It's an imperfect solution, but one that might become necessary."

Remus was stunned and just managed to nod. That small admission changed everything Remus thought he understood about the other man. He'd never in a million years imagined that pure-blood supremacist Lucius bloody Malfoy would ever willingly entertain marrying a muggleborn witch. For any reason. He'd expected the man to offer to set Hermione and the child up somewhere with money and property to see that they were taken care of. That was all.

"Don't look so shocked, Lupin. Even I can be human from time to time." Lucius snorted.

"I think it's best that I keep your identity secret from the majority of the Order. I'll tell Harry, Kingsley, and the Weasleys…but the others don't need to know. I'll make sure Mundungus is…handled," Remus said.

"Very well. I'll return in three days, I imagine Hermione will want to send a letter to her friend and I'll keep you informed of what's happening on our side. We'll set regular meetings so that there's no risk of messages getting intercepted," Lucius said and stood.

"That's probably for the best." Remus agreed. "Give Hermione our best and tell her that I understand her choices. None of us would think any less of her, no matter what she'd had to do. I know that she's worried I will."

"I'll tell her." Lucius gathered the pensieve and memories, before leaving with a quick turn of his heel.

Remus just collapsed back into the chair and looked into the fire. Relief at having a source of information and knowing Hermione was alive warred with abject hopelessness for the young woman. No matter who won this war, she would be forever changed from the bright vibrant witch they'd all known. There was no way to live through the things he'd seen without being forever changed. Now he needed to tell Harry.