o.o.O.o.o
Harry was lying on his bed in the secondary safe-house, a little place called Shell Cottage. It was mid-afternoon, but he just couldn't convince himself to get up out of bed. Dumbledore, Sirius, Ron, and Hermione were all dead. Tonks and Moody too. All dead because of him. He felt the familiar sting of tears in his eyes and angrily wiped them away, sitting up. Now Remus was off on some dangerous mission, and he could lose him too.
He had no idea what to do next, or where to even find this mysterious RAB who had taken the locket. Even if he could find out who they were, he had no idea how to go about finding the other pieces. It was impossible, like a mountain looming over him that he had no way to climb. He looked over to the door as it opened, and then relief hit him hard. Remus stepped in, looking just as fine as he had yesterday.
"Remus!" Harry rushed over and hugged the older man tightly.
"I'm back and everything's ok," he said and returned the hug, stroking Harry's messy black hair.
"What were you doing?" Harry asked, moving back.
"Come sit down and I'll tell you everything," Remus said and sat down with Harry. "I have some good news, actually…quite a bit of good news. Hermione's alive and from what I can tell, fairly safe."
"Alive? Where is she? Are we going to get her? How did she get away?" Harry's eyes widened as the questions poured out of him like a flood.
"Easy, cub. She's being held prisoner by You-Know-Who. She's not anywhere that we can get to just yet, but she's managed to talk one of the Death Eaters into switching sides. I met with him last night and he was carrying information from Hermione. He brought a pensieve and several vials of memories for me to go through. I'm convinced that we can trust him, and that he will do his best to keep Hermione safe until she can be rescued," Remus said.
"Who is it?" Harry frowned.
"Lucius Malfoy…" Remus held a hand up to forestall the immediate objections. "Do you trust me Harry?"
"You know I do…but Malfoy?" Harry looked almost ill. "Why would he help Hermione, let alone us?"
"She managed to convince him that helping us was the better bet. You-Know-Who's been growing more erratic, and I think Lucius is worried about the safety of his family. And we both know Hermione can be very persuasive, when she wants to be," Remus said.
"If he's able to get messages from her, why can't he help her escape?" Harry said. It couldn't be that hard for a wizard like that to get one prisoner out of a cell.
"You-Know-Who set specialized wards that keep her where she is. Getting her out right now is just impossible, but at least she's safe and is doing the best she can to help us from where she is. The important thing is that she's alive." Remus reached over and squeezed his hand. "I'll be meeting with Malfoy soon, and he's promised to bring a letter for you from Hermione. I'm sure she can explain everything better."
Harry nodded, feeling a little lighter for the first time in weeks.
"Ok, want to come with me while I tell Kingsley and the Weasleys?" Remus asked him.
"Yeah, I better…you know how they get about the Malfoys," Harry said and took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Do you think this will help us win? Really?"
"It can't hurt," he said and stood. "Come on, let's see if we can't get them all on board."
o.o.O.o.o
Lucius let himself into Hermione's rooms, mentally exhausted from his meeting with Lupin. Despite her letter and the precautions they'd taken, there had been a real risk of the Order just killing him on sight. He'd left orders for Petal in the event that he was killed, to get Hermione away from this place and hide her from the Dark Lord. At any cost. He hadn't been able to stomach the idea of her falling into the hands of any of the others, especially Greyback.
Her rooms were unnaturally silent and a sense of uneasiness gripped him as he moved quicker across the room and opened the bedroom door. His heart stopped, seeing her lying on the ground by the window. He fell to his knees beside her still form, feeling for a pulse. It was there, but much weaker than it should have been. She'd been fine when he left just hours ago.
"PETAL!" he called, as he picked her up and laid her down on the bed, up off the floor.
"Master?" The little elf blinked in and then saw Hermione, eyes widening with alarm.
"Bring Severus Snape here, at once. Tell him to bring his healers kit. Do not take no for an answer," Lucius snapped at the little creature, searching frantically for some hidden wound or injury. There was nothing, and he felt more panicked as the minutes ticked by.
There was a loud crack as Severus appeared with Petal, and the other man took one look at the bed before rushing over and setting his kit on the bedside table.
"What happened?" Snape asked, drawing his wand and casting a simple diagnostic.
"I don't know, I found her lying on the floor. Her pulse is weak and I can't find any injuries." Lucius ran a hand through his hair.
Severus' spell produced a shimmering cloud just over her body, different colours swirling in strange patterns through the air. His dark eyes were tracking one thing in particular, a strange clash of colours swirling wildly. A rich royal blue and shimmering gold where shoving at each other.
"You told me you weren't going to use a fertility potion." Snape swore, and opened his kit, reaching for a vial of black liquid.
"I haven't given her anything." Lucius frowned.
"Well someone did, and it's interacting badly with a long acting contraceptive potion. Whoever gave her the fertility draught didn't know she's has an allergy to fire nettles." He used a complex wand movement to diffuse the potion into her blood stream. "I only know about the allergy because she had a bad reaction in class once. It's uncommon, but something I made certain she was aware of because it's a common ingredient in potions that are marketed to witches."
"So she wouldn't have taken it herself either." Lucius closed his eyes, a bad feeling twisting in his gut. "Is there any way to tell how long she's been dosed with the fertility drug?"
"This much damage, at least a month, possible slightly longer," Severus said, grabbed three more potions in succession and also diffusing them into her.
"So before the Dark Lord even ordered us together." Lucius' jaw tightened. He'd been planning this since the minute he'd gotten his hands on her. Planning to use her to humiliate him and destroy his family even more. "Bastard was dosing her for weeks before he gave her to me."
"He obviously didn't realize she'd taken a contraceptive potion, or he'd have purged her system first. This reaction could have killed her if you didn't find her in time," Severus said quietly and watched as the potions interacted her with system. The purgative he'd given her cleansing both potions from her bloodstream, giving him a cleaner read of her condition.
"Is she going to be alright?" Lucius asked, trying not to look too worried. He couldn't let Severus know that the witch was actually important to him. He wanted to trust him, to believe that Hermione was right about the man, but he just couldn't be completely sure.
Severus was quiet for a long time, just watching the diagnostic. There was an expression on his face that was hard to decipher.
"Severus…is she going to recover?" he asked and reached out to grab his arm.
"Yes, they'll both be fine," Severus said quietly, not entirely meeting Lucius' eyes.
"Both?" Lucius dropped his hand away. "If you're trying to be amusing, I assure you it's not funny."
"The fertility potion and the contraceptive in essence neutralized each other. Her collapse was because of the long term allergic reaction and the by-products of the neutralization reaction in her body." Severus shook his head. "She's pregnant, only a week or so along, but she is."
"That's not possible…" Lucius shook his head.
"Cast the charm yourself, but it's not going to change the result. Unlikely, yes…but you were in essence having unprotected sex. I don't think I need to explain how that can end." Severus gave him a slightly scathing look. With a lazy flick of his wand, he dispelled the diagnostic result and put his wand away.
Lucius could help himself, he lifted his wand and cast a simple pregnancy charm. A small orb of white smoke appeared over her stomach, and in disbelief he watched as it began to pulse with strong golden light. He sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling suddenly very lightheaded.
"You're certain they're both fine?" He finally managed to ask.
"I'm not a healer, but from what I can tell everything seems normal. She should wake up soon." Severus' tone softened. "What will you do?" he asked.
"I'll have to tell her, and then I need to tell Narcissa." He felt legitimately ill. Despite his assurances to Remus, he had never actually anticipated this. He'd expected to have her in his bed for a few more months while they worked together to destroy the Dark Lord, and then she'd go back to her friends and they'd likely never discuss this again. He reached out and laid a hand over her stomach, hating the tiny flutter of hope he felt. It shouldn't have been possible, not so quickly. "You're certain that this isn't because of the fertility potion?"
"Yes. Because of her allergy, it was functioning more like a mild poison than a fertility potion. Even on its own, it would have been ineffective. She just likely wouldn't have gotten so unwell." Severus said. "Lucius, she would have needed regular doses in food or drink. You'll need to find out how it was given." He finished packing up his kit.
Lucius nodded, aware that the Dark Lord had clearly managed to turn some of his House Elves.
"Petal." He called, and when the little Elf appeared it was clear that she was distressed. "Who told you to put a potion in Miss Granger's food?" his tone was cold.
"Master's master gave me the bottle, he said it would help the young miss." Petal wrung her hands. "Petal never meants to hurts her, Petal is a bad elf."
"Do not ever add anything to anyone's food or drink unless I specifically order you. Should the Dark Lord ask you to do so again, agree and then bring me the potion immediately. If you fail to do so, I will give you clothes, do you understand me?" Lucius said, watching the instant panic hit the little elf. She nodded rapidly.
"Yes Master, Petal understands." She waited for his gruff dismissal and then disappeared.
Lucius kept his wand out against his thigh as he watched Severus. His friend had studiously ignored his reprimand of the little Elf, and he appreciated that. Petal had belonged to his mother, and he hated being harsh with her. Even when it was warranted.
"Dumbledore ordered you to kill him, didn't he?" Lucius asked, taking an uncharacteristic risk. He watched the other wizard with keen eyes, ready to strike if he had to. Severus went completely still, hand twitching slightly as though wanting to reach for his wand but aware that Lucius had the drop on him.
"That is a ridiculous assumption," he said, not moving a muscle.
"On the face of it, yes…unless he was dying anyway and wanted to cement the position of his spy," Lucius said. "I never really believed that you were still on our side, not after Lily. The Dark Lord lost you forever the night he killed her, didn't he?"
"Don't ask a question I can't answer, Lucius. Or I'll ask one of you," Severus said, black eyes almost begging him to leave it alone. "Keep her quiet for the next day or so, and make sure your elves don't poison her again." He nodded curtly and spun on his heel, apparating away.
Lucius ran a hand through his hair and tried to sort through a flood of emotion storming away inside of him. Hermione was everything he'd been taught to sneer at and dismiss as a young man. His years at Hogwarts hadn't changed his opinions, nor had the years since. Over the years, muggle-borns as a whole had impressed him only with their willful ignorance of the magical world and their arrogant assumption that this world should change to suit them. Every concession and favour granted to them had smacked of appeasement, and he'd detested it.
Hermione was different and it forced him to accept that perhaps not all witches and wizards like her were out to ruin their world. That just perhaps, he'd been wrong. She had loved her parents, shown loyalty and courage in the face of near certain death, and found a way to work with an enemy to achieve a common goal. She wasn't so very different from other purebloods he'd known. He could only imagine what she could have accomplished in a world without the war, without the weight of him hanging around her neck. As it was, they were bound together now and their fates linked by the tiny flicker of life inside her. So early on it would be easy to extinguish it, but every fiber of his being rebelled at the mere thought. There was nothing more precious in their world than the life of a child.
He would protect them both, however he had to, even if it meant taking her back to the Order. Her eyelids started to flutter and he summoned a small smile.
"Welcome back," he said.
"What happened? My head is pounding," she asked, lifting a hand to touch her temple.
"You collapsed, I had to call Severus," he said and gently helped her sit up in the bed. "It seems the Dark Lord was trying to nudge things along. He'd been dosing you with a standard fertility potion for some time. One of the ingredients was fire nettles."
Hermione paled a little, rather impressive considering she was already looking quite peaky.
"But I was on…"
"A contraceptive potion, I assumed as much and Severus confirmed that in his scans." Lucius nodded and took a breath. "He said that the two potions in effect cancelled each other out, and the interaction combined with the fire nettles is what caused your collapse."
"I've been having smaller blackouts, I thought it was just spacing out because I was stuck in here. I didn't realize it was anything serious, or I would have said something," she said quietly.
"He also discovered something else." Lucius had no idea how she was going to take this. "On his scan, it showed that you were pregnant."
Hermione's eyes widened and she shook her head. "That can't be right." She sat up a bit more. She was feeling pretty out of it, but his words were forcing her back to clarity, fast. "You said that it would be next to impossible for you to…that there was no way our magic could be compatible."
"It seems I was wrong," Lucius said and grimaced a little. "I checked myself and you are pregnant. Just a little over a week, according to Severus."
Hermione closed her eyes, and Lucius watched as she gripped the blanket in a white-knuckle grip for a long minute before releasing it. She took a few deep breaths and opened her eyes, looking at him.
"What do we do from here?" she asked, voice steady and calm.
"In a few days, once you're feeling better, I will inform the Dark Lord that we were successful and ask that he allow me to move you to a less stressful environment and hopefully have the monitoring spell removed," Lucius said. "Where I take you is up to you though." His respect for her grew by rapid leaps as he watched her leash her emotions to deal with the situation in front of her. It was truly impressive for someone this young and relatively inexperienced to own such exquisite control.
"What do you mean?" she frowned.
"I could return you to the Order…if you gave me your word to keep out of sight and safe." It nearly gutted him to say the words, but it was an option. "Or I can take you somewhere safe where we can plot the Dark Lord's destruction together. I could then start helping you claim revenge against the men who murdered your parents." He knew which option he'd choose, if he were in her shoes.
Hermione drew her knees up, wrapping her arms around her legs, and resting her chin on her knee. Her gaze drifted over to the window, looking out at the dark sky.
"I want to kill them myself." Her voice was just barely above a whisper, but there was a dark steely conviction in her words. "I want to watch them die, like they made me watch my parents." Her eyes shifted back to look at him.
"It is your revenge, but I promise I will help you claim it," Lucius said with a nod.
"Then I'll stay with you," she said, letting out a shaky breath. "Can you stay tonight?" she asked, her stony mask melting away to reveal the vulnerable young witch underneath.
Lucius shifted to sit beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Of course." He pressed a kiss to her curls, and just offered her the comfort she needed. They could discuss his meeting with Lupin later, right now she was infinitely more important.
o.o.O.o.o
Hermione woke at some point in the deepest part of the night and carefully slipped out of bed. Lucius was still sleeping, worry creasing the space between his eyebrows, and she knew that worry was because of her. She padded on silent feet to the bathroom and the light flickered to life with the wave of her hand. More and more now, the face staring back at her was becoming a stranger. Even three months ago, she'd never have believed the situation she was currently in. None of this had been part of her plan. Not even close.
As strange as things were, she didn't question the decision she'd made. There hadn't been any question about what option she was going to take in all honesty. Going back to the Order was the safest option, the sensible choice. In the moment, she'd been shocked that he'd been willing to entertain it. It was also one thing that she just couldn't do.
There was a dark, bottomless pit inside of her and from its depths a primal voice was screaming for vengeance. She'd flirted with darkness before, with her curse on Marietta and the plan to obliviate her parents…but the time for innocent explorations was gone. She needed to avenge her family, more than anything else. She wanted every single one of them to pay in blood for what they'd done. She wanted her face to be the last thing they ever saw in this life. Blood for blood. Pain for pain. Death for death.
Lucius understood that, in a way that none of the Order possibly could. They would look at her and see the girl she'd been. Not the witch that Voldemort had made her into. She wanted to be there as Lucius tore down Voldemort's organization, piece by bloody piece. Maybe, when it was finally over the screaming in her head would stop, and her ghosts could rest.
She looked down at her stomach, trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was pregnant. She was only seventeen, well…eighteen if she factored in her rather excessive time-turner use back in third year. Her examination in June, by the Unspeakable from the Ministry, had revealed a full nine months added to her age, far more than there should have been. Her time-turner permit had been revoked, with a lifetime ban from being allowed access to them again. She shook her head, trying to force her attention back to the matter at hand.
Sweet Circe, how was she going to do this? A baby. She wasn't even done school, yet. Tears stung at her eyes, and a wash of anger hit her with force. Damn Voldemort to the darkest pits of hell. She hoped that wherever they sent him, he'd spend eternity being tortured for the things he'd done. She put a hand over her mouth to try and smother the sobs threatening to break free. The door opened and she felt strong arms wrap around her from behind. He pressed a kiss to her neck and then turned her, holding her against his chest.
"Shhhh, I've got you," he said quietly. His one hand stroked gently along her back.
Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face into his chest, letting go of the tears she'd been holding onto. After a few minutes, he picked her up and carried her out to sit on the couch. He cradled her in his arms and let her head rest on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry…" she whispered.
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Lucius said. "You didn't ask for any of this and given everything that's happened…you've more than earned a break down."
"You didn't ask for this either." She shifted a little so she could see his face.
"I took the Dark Mark, Hermione. I can't claim ignorance of what he was either. I knew all too well." He sighed. "I may not have asked for this, but I put myself under his power."
Hermione nodded and just laid her head back down against his shoulder.
"What will happen, after we kill him for good?" she asked, a bit afraid of the answer. He was married for Merlin's sake! He had a family and a life that a teenage mistress and illegitimate child would hardly fit into it. Just the thought of it made her feel sick. "Never mind…I don't think I'm ready to know."
"No matter what happens, I will take care of you, Hermione." He gently nudged her to sit up so he could meet her eyes. "I'm far from perfect, but I look after what's mine."
"I don't belong to you, or anyone else for that matter." Hermione's eyebrows rose with a certain amount of indignation.
"I didn't mean it like that, but you are my responsibility now. And not one I resent having," he cut her off. "We didn't choose this, but I don't regret what we've shared together. Do you?"
Hermione felt her head shake. She should regret it, but as his thumb stroked the outside of her knee she couldn't lie to him. He was the only good thing to happen since her parents had been murdered. Without him, she was fairly sure that she'd have lost her mind completely.
"No, I don't regret it," she said and leaned in to brush her lips against his, unsure if he'd return it now that their 'assignment' had been accomplished. When he pulled her closer and returned the kiss, some of the tension gripping her eased. When their lips parted, she rested her forehead against his. "What about Narcissa?" She bit her lip.
"I need to tell her and Draco, before we tell the Dark Lord." He sighed and shook his head a little. "I owe them both that."
"I'm sorry he's making you hurt them," Hermione said softly.
"Such a sweet witch." He kissed her temple. "It's still very early, we should try and get a little more sleep."
Hermione nodded and rested her hand on his chest. "Thank you, for being here."
"I will try to be here when you need me," Lucius said and scooped her up to carry her back to bed for a few more hours of sleep.