After morning lectures and seminars, I spent the rest of the day writing this chapter. My two days of non-stop writing essays finally pay off! So I guess...more frequent updates for these days?


Hermione had never been so busy. Starting from seven in the morning, she started preparing for the stage. Lucius was busying answering the phone and trying to make sure everything went in order. Draco was rehearsing with the dancers, and sometimes as Hermione passed by, she could hear him yelling at the children, asking them to do each and every moment with absolute accuracy.

"Sofia, are you not ashamed of yourself?" he said. "Is this your first time on stage? Why are you walking like this? Why are you bending your leg?"

"George, I scolded you, I joked with you. And what do you want me to do now? Hit you with a cane?"

Two minutes later, she passed by and she heard Draco's voice again,

"Now you're finally starting to walk like a human being."

The harsh comment made Hermione felt a bit uneasy. When it was finally lunchtime, she and some members of the production team went to the canteen for a quick lunch.

"Is Malfoy always that harsh on people?" asked Hermione.

"He is just too strict and takes each and every show more serious than anyone else," replied one of the members. "Once a dancer accidentally tore the fabric a bit. He scolded her by saying 'as if you're raised in the wild'."

"Oh I remember that," said another member. "I saw the girl pursed her lips when she heard that."

Hermione licked her lips, Draco did not seem like the type of person who would actually care about the company's business, he was always missing and rarely attended any meetings. She would not be surprised if Narcissa was that picky and harsh on the children, she was present in each and every single meeting, regardless of the topic discussed. She would hear everything about the company, and sometimes her presence was unwelcome.

In the afternoon, the final rehearsal started and Hermione sat at the back, watching the dancers gliding across the stage. Suddenly, Lucius sat beside her, it made her uncomfortable, she slight shifted her body position, hoping to keep as much distance from him as possible. Then she remembered, and said,

"Thank you."

After a long pause, Lucius said,

"For what?"

"Saving my sister's life."

"I just did what I must."

"What did you tell my sister?"

"Is your knowledge towards this important?"

"…No," she replied. "But after you left, my sister was not as happy as before, so I guessed you must have said something."

Lucius made no answer, so Hermione continued,

"Was it about last time at Redmond Town? I promised I would take up the responsibility of repaying the money you gave her."

"Do you really think money is the matter that I am concerned?"

"…No," she answered after careful hesitation. Lucius had more than enough money to spend, since when would he concern about fifty thousand pounds?

Trying to make the atmosphere less awkward, Hermione quickly switched the topic. She asked,

"You seem to like ballet a lot."

"Yes and no. I like ballet not because of ballet."

"I don't seem to follow you."

"You don't have to."

Hermione bit her lips hard, he was making the conversation even more awkward. Was he doing this deliberately? But gazing at his face, she could see a slight hint of sadness in his eyes.

"Why do you like ballet?" asked Lucius.

"Me?" said Hermione, puzzled. Still she replied,

"It's almost every girl's dream to be a ballerina. Ballet is so graceful and elegant. The ballet music is also melodious."

Lucius showed a wry smile, then he asked,

"Which play is your favourite?"

"Swan Lake."

"Thought you'd like The Nutcracker more."

"I like The Nutcracker too but Swan Lake has always been my favourite since childhood. Sometimes I think, if Odette hasn't been cursed, she would not have met the Prince, she would be a normal village girl. And if the Prince is not struck by her beauty and decided to kill her, what would happen then?"

Lucius fell into deep contemplation. Years ago, a person spoke the exact same words. He would still remember her dreamy face and silver smile. Sometimes when he saw the ballerinas, he thought he saw her shadows, twirling and leaping along with the them.

Time passed so quickly that Hermione almost did not realise it was already five o'clock and the rehearsal ended. Just when she was about to leave the seat, Lucius said,

"Follow me."

"What?"

"Do I have to repeat myself?"

Before she could reply, Lucius's firm grip pulled her away and out of the hall, going upstairs.

"But I still haven't—"

"It would be quicker if you are willing to stay in silence and cooperate."

Soon, they were on the forth floor and Lucius pulled her into his office, then he locked the door, shocked her much.

"Mr. Malfoy…"

He pulled the closet door open and took out a black suit, then shoved it into her arms.

"What's this?" asked Hermione, confused.

Lucius raised his brow and said,

"Are you telling me that you have never worn suits before?"

Hermione shook her head, then Lucius said,

"Put it on."

"Now?"

"The suit will make you more professional," explained Lucius. "After all, you are going to talk to the journalists and take pictures."

"Let me go to the—"

"I will just turn around."

Lucius turned around and faced the bookcases opposite to the closet. Hermione bit her lips and slowly started to undress herself. When she took off her coat, she peered backwards, trying to see if he was looking at her. After confirming that he would not look at her, she took off all her clothes except her undergarment. Quickly, she dressed herself and stared at the closet mirror. Strangely it fitted well, as though it was tailor-made for her. Just as she turned around, her face met Lucius's and out of shock, she backed a little.

"I am prepared—"

Lucius made her sit on the chair and took out a brush from the drawer, then he started to brush her hair.

"Have you not attempted to make your hair look tidier?" he asked.

"Well I don't have time to do so—"

"Aren't you tired of using the very same excuse?"

He placed the brush on the table and placed his hands on her shoulder. The moment when his fingertips touched her collarbone, she jolted up and said,

"We better go down to the hall and welcome our guests."

She hurriedly ran out of the room with Lucius followed behind. She was relieved that the guests were engaging themselves in conversations. When Hermione was about to go towards them, Lucius grabbed her wrist, pulled her to him and whispered,

"Be patient and calm, Ms. Granger."

He led her to the guests and began,

"Good evening, Mr. Hopkins, Mr. Walter."

"Mr. Malfoy, how nice to see you," said Hopkins. "And this young beautiful lady is…"

"Hermione Granger, Public Relation Officer."

"If you hadn't told me, Lucius, I would have thought you get yourself a new bride."

"That was twenty seven years ago."

"Speaking of bride…" said Walter as his gaze switched to Hermione's suit. "That looks familiar."

Hermione could not help feel uneasy, if they knew Lucius's wife and recognised this suit, this suit could be…

She was more than relieved when it was time for the performance. Since they are producers, they sat on the balcony, looking down at the stage. Karen and other children came out and began gliding. Just as Lucius had mentioned, Karen glamoured on the stage, glamoured in a way that was not sheer cold beauty, but with playfulness and youth.

"Even though cameras pointed at her, she ignored all of them and indulged herself in ballet," murmured Hermione.

"Which is why I make her dance on our first night," said Lucius. "Lydia was professional but she was too cold, too indifferent to interact with the audience. Whenever people see Karen dancing, they find themselves quickly engaged in the performance without realising. This is hard to achieve, especially when she is only twelve years old."

"I see what you mean," said Hermione, recalling the audition. "Lydia was looking at us throughout the whole audition, she really cares about us."

"It is completely understandable that ballerinas would care about the audience, but they shouldn't. They are in the fairy-tale as long as they are on the stage, their attention should not be split between performance and audience."

"Maybe that's because you never chooses her, so she is just trying to figure out how to make you happy."

"Do I look like the type of person who would judge people based on how happy they can make me?" said Lucius. "Both of her parents are ballet dancers, they even have their own ballet school."

"So why do they still send her to here?"

"Exposure," replied Lucius. "Their ballet school is not large enough to run any grand performances. So they let her dance here simply because they can use us as her stepping stone to fame."

"I…never know—"

"Now you know."

"So is this suit…your wife?"

Lucius showed a small smile.

"Yes, and no."

"Huh? I don't seem to—"

Lucius signalled her to stop talking and Hermione could only keep the question to herself.