Housekeeping first, thank you as always for continued follows, favourites and lovely reviews for my story. I like that you are still spotting the Bond bits which always pleases me. As always I apologise in advance for any errors grammatical or otherwise and I hope that they don't spoil your enjoyment too much if you do find any.

If Lucius Malfoy's intentions in the pool had come as no great surprise to Hermione, his intentions in the kitchen certainly did.

"You cook!?" She said, unable to hide the incredulity from either her voice or her face.

Lucius' grey blue eyes narrowed, and his nostrils flared.

"First you call me old and now you doubt my capabilities in the kitchen."

She'd thought he forgotten about her tongue in cheek dig at him earlier in the day and would normally have been happy to goad him a little more. Right now however, she was far more interested in the fact that Lucius Malfoy, dark wizard, and one time Death Eater was, without the aid of any magic, adeptly moving things around in a shallow skillet on the top of an Aga in a remarkably well equipped kitchen.

"No I was merely alluding to the fact that you were older now." She offered distractedly trying to look around her and peer into the pan to determine what the mouth-watering smell was, all at once.

"And as for your capabilities in the kitchen from that delicious smell I doubt nothing."

Hermione sniffed the air a little more savouring the aroma drifting into it, realising once again that her last meal had been some time ago.

"I have to confess though; I think I am more surprised by this revelation than the fact that you and I are on the same side."

The dark wizard could quite easily pass for a flamboyant chef, dressed as was de rigueur from head to toe in black. His long trademark blonde hair secured at his neck in a now familiar ponytail, a stark contrast against his dark clothing. He looked quite at home, very relaxed and dare she say proficient as he continued with his task.

Hermione moved a little closer to Lucius and the pan, licking her lips; at the quite unbelievable site of him cooking or the contents of the pan she wasn't entirely sure which was more appetising. She'd gotten quite used to being overwhelmed by the scent of him, but this was a little different.

He gave her a wry smile, using a wooden spatula to stir mushrooms which were gently browning in the pan.

"There is of course a proper Chef at Firefly, Raymond Gagnaire." He said by way of an explanation.

"He is a wizard but trained at a Muggle cookery school in Paris. He is one of the finest chefs in both worlds."

Lucius sustained his methodical stirring of the chopped chestnut mushrooms, his gaze drifting between his task and the clearly intrigued Hermione. Obviously, the information provided so far was not going to satisfy the young witch's, as always insatiable curiosity. He continued easily with his elucidation and his cooking.

"Raymond didn't want to turn his back entirely on his wizarding heritage, so willingly came to work at Firefly when I offered him the job, combining the best of both worlds you might say. He noticed Hermione's eyes flitter between his face and his hands, still wide with interest. This was going to be a longer story than he had anticipated.

"As I've told you before my dear, I like to be involved in all aspects of my own business."

He shook the heavy looking pan with a professional flair, ensuring its contents were done to his satisfaction.

"The kitchen, the food preparation and watching the cooking itself were no exception and I found I rather enjoyed it. Observing Raymond work so skilfully especially without the aid of magic was quite fascinating and very relaxing."

Hermione watched with her own fascination as Lucius extinguished the heat from under the pan he had been diligently stirring. He opened the oven and this time with the aid of magic removed a stone dish, lifting the lid he added the part cooked fungi to the mixture, along with some precooked pasta which had been draining in a colander. Casting the lid to one side he put the dish back in the oven, glancing at the large clock on the wall he made a note of the time, before returning to his conversation with her.

"Raymond taught me a few simple dishes, and then a few more complicated ones. Of course I am no chef, but I can rustle up a few things, a pasta bake, a pie and even a chocolate fondant."

Yes Hermione could safely say she was definitely more stunned by this revelation than she had been by the fact that Lucius Malfoy was also working for Ralph Messervy. The former Death Eater,im a deceitful underhanded spy, getting involved in the murky worlds of other dark wizards, oh yes she could see that. The Dark Wizard covered in flour, rolling pastry, melting chocolate, and dishing up a cordon bleu meal, no, her brain was having a little trouble with that one.

"The kitchen itself is a little over stacked for my own culinary skills, but I've have the odd dinner party here and Raymond comes to cook, I wouldn't want him left lacking in anything."

Hermione's eyes drifted once more around the enormous room, it certainly wanted for nothing, a clever mixture of old and new with many Muggle gadgets. Any chef, Muggle or wizard would have thought they'd gone to cookery heaven.

"Red or white?"

He asked almost absently, clearly ignoring her silent disbelief as those wide brown eyes came back to him, and then followed him across the room to an equally well-stocked wine rack.

This was definitely a level up when it came to mind blowing, Hermione was none the less impressed and not just with the well equipped kitchen.

"Don't sell yourself short Lucius. I think definitely as the chef you should decide."

The dark wizard, and now clearly rather accomplished cook gave her another of those wry smiles and took a bottle of red wine from the rack. Inspecting the label he seemed satisfied with his choice.

"A Mouton Rothschild I think."

Lucius gave a satisfied nod. His gaze moving from the elegant print on the side of the bottle to Hermione, remembering what she had told him, that she knew nothing about wine other than whether she like it or not.

"Trust me my dear you will love this. We will just give it a little time to breath."

Hermione said nothing, she was just enjoying what she could only describe as the spectacle of theatre being played out before her.

With a brief incantation he removed the cork, a crisp pop sounded, and he placed the open bottle on the table.

"Accio glasses."

Two bulbous wine goblets winged their way across the kitchen and into Lucius' outstretched hands.

"Where would you like to eat?" He asked, the normality of his question bringing the curtain down on the first act.

This time it was Hermione brandishing the wry smile as she eagerly anticipated the second.

"Well technically I am only really familiar with three rooms in your house Lucius."

She pulled out one of the armed high back Windsor chairs from the large wooden table which dominated the kitchen.

"So I think here is a good a place as any, if you have no objections of course."

Hermione sat down, making herself comfortable, one of the glasses was now placed before her, Lucius obviously having no objections to her choice.

"That is very remiss of me, I will give you the guided tour tomorrow. You are going to be somewhat of a prisoner here for the ….."

Lucius stopped abruptly; it wouldn't go away. Once upon a time the young witch had been precisely that, a prisoner in his home, a very badly treated one and he, not for the first time he chastised himself for his insensitivity.

Hermione's fingers toyed with the base of the tall glass he had placed before her, that still pristine scarlet polish glinting in the half light. There was that spectre from the past yet again. This man had done so many heinous things in his past, yet she found it strange that this one plagued him so obviously, perhaps it was simply because she was here. She'd tried the direct approach with him, now she would just keep brushing it aside until he did too. It really was the past.

"I am a prisoner Lucius, but this time a very willing one and very much for my own safety."

She used the subtle inference on the word safety again, it was still open for interpretation.

"I shall look forward to the guided tour tomorrow but right now, I am very much looking forward to tasting that wine which must be breathing on its own by now and that delicious smelling meal."

With on outstretched finger she gently shoved the glass back in Lucius direction, the wine might not have breathed enough for him, but she was certainly ready for a glass.

Lucius wasn't used to cooking to impress. Oddly, he had found it fascinating and relaxing and he did enjoy it, but so far he'd really only done it for his own ends. He didn't think the pie he'd made himself for a Sunday lunch, or a quick pasta of some sort he thrown together of an evening were anything special, they just tasted good and fitted the purpose. Having someone else devour his efforts with such gusto and obvious enjoyment made him understand the real pleasure Raymond Gagnaire derived from his profession.

"Merlin's teeth Lucius that was absolutely delicious, SO good." Hermione couldn't help mopping up the remainder of the sauce from her plate with the last chunk of warm bread that he added to the table.

Lucius topped up her glass, accepting her praise almost bashfully with a nod of his head and a smile.

"You were just hungry." He countered still a little awkward with her compliments.

Hermione coughed as she sipped her wine, raising her hand to stop him.

"I was starving; however I might have said this before Mister Malfoy, but do not self yourself short, that really was delicious. My brain is telling me I cannot and shouldn't eat another thing but in the back of my head I keep hearing the words chocolate and fondant."

Lucius couldn't withhold his laughter.

"I take it I don't need to ask if you would like dessert then?"

Hermione leaned back in her chair, she really shouldn't even be thinking about dessert, let alone the rich dark chocolate confection but she couldn't help it. She took another sip of her wine, watching as Lucius cleared the table with a wave of his hand and returned to stove. That image she'd had of him not quite covered in flour and melting chocolate materialising before her very eyes. This time the smell of hot bitter chocolate drifted into the air and she found her mouth-watering all over again.

The cold vanilla ice cream which Lucius had put on the side of the plate had melted into the rich saucy centre of the fondant, like the pasta bake it was delicious and Hermione didn't want to waste any, this time scraping her long spoon across the plate, not warm bread. She was now absolutely full and doubted her ability to even move from the chair.

"I think I will have to do a hundred lengths of your swimming pool in the morning to work all those calories off, but that Lucius was amazing, totally unexpected but amazing."

Lucius took a mouthful of his own wine, relaxing back into the chair.

"I shall sit on a lounger and count every single one." He said, his eyes narrowing.

"Although I sincerely doubt you need to, from my recollections you have a perfect figure."

This time it was Hermione feeling a little awkward at his compliment, but she countered quickly.

"I believe you would too." Hermione wrinkled her nose at the man seated opposite her.

"And your observation is appreciated although I don't think you have to recall too far back." She gave him a good natured reproachful look.

"However Lucius if you keep making meals like that one, I will end up leaving here looking like Professor Sprout."

This time it was Lucius' features which creased in horror.

"In that case you'd better make it 150 lengths."

"So Mister Malfoy" Hermione dismissed her amusement, replacing it with a very professional tone.

"I now know how you became a chef."

She noticed a brow quirk at her purposeful use of words and deliberate pause. He was clearly waiting for the but…

"But you never got around to telling me how you came to be working for the Ministry, Ralph Messervy to be more precise."

Lucius cleared the plates and cutlery from the table with a wave of his hand, sending them flying to the large Butler sink. Obviously doing things without the aid of magic did not extend as far as the washing up. A picture of the Dark Wizard in a pair of bright yellow Marigolds danced across her imagination, she banished it away quickly.

"You are quite right my dear" He slowly refilled their wine glasses with a sly smile. "I didn't."

The dark wizard sensed that Hermione was expecting a tale to rival a good spy novel, unfortunately he felt she was going to be a little disappointed the reality nowhere near as exciting or intriguing.

"Hmm well unremarkably I lost a game of golf.".

Lucius watched as Hermione settled herself comfortably back in the hard chair, taking her wine with her. What might be an unremarkable story to him, was clearly very interesting to her. She was just as intrigued with this tale as she was with his learning to cook and he would have to elaborate in a similar fashion. He too settled himself back in the wooden chair.

"Well as I said before, I find a round of golf can often be very advantageous when it comes to business, and without sounding conceited I am rather good at it, my handicap isn't too shabby."

Hermione hid her amusement once more, this time behind the rim of her glass, Lucius Malfoy sounding so Muggle talking about golf handicaps was on a par, no pun intended with him making chocolate desserts.

Lucius swirled his wine gently around in his glass like it was a fine brandy, took a sip and continued.

"The Ministry have used Firefly many times for various events, Wizarding conferences and so forth. Sometimes there is time on the agenda for sport or leisure activities, other times they are included in the schedule."

This supposedly unremarkable story had Hermione captivated and she listened intently as Lucius even tone drifted across the table.

"RM was due to play golf, but his partner was called away. I am always around on these days; I trust my staff implicitly but it's good business practice to put in an appearance. RM asked if I played and if I would like to play the round with him. When I agreed he said perhaps we could make it more interesting and play for a galleon a hole."

Lucius regarded Hermione, she remained silent and utterly riveted, this was not going to be a story he could cut short by any means.

"I enjoy a little wager as much as the next man, so I agreed. I was also keen to bolster my relations with the Ministry. We had just played the sixteenth hole, we had two holes left to play and the game was all square. RM asked if I would like to up the stakes."

Lucius added a little more wine to both of their glasses, Hermione thanked him with a smile and slight tilt of her head, remaining silent.

"I asked what he had in mind, something told me it wasn't upping it to two galleons a hole. I remember suddenly getting the feeling that our playing together was not a coincidence and asked him what his real game was, wondering if it was really just about the golf. He gave me that knowing half smile of his and nodded his head."

Hermione also smiled and nodded her head knowing exactly the look to which Lucius was referring.

"RM said if I lost I had to come and work for him at the Ministry of Magic. Up until that that point I had worked extremely hard at cleaning up my reputation, restoring my family's name. I had made some friends at the Ministry and some inroads at getting back in their good books, but I had never envisaged such an offer. Everyone in the wizarding world knows he is the head of the Unspeakables Section even if no one knows who works for him. I was stunned not only because he was asking but because I wasn't sure how he considered this to be a forfeit. His explanation was that I could find myself working with but against many old friends, even putting them behind bars."

"What did RM get if you won?" Hermione suddenly asked breaking her companionable silence.

Lucius laughed; this really was one very astute young woman.

"RM asked the self-same question before I gave him my answer."

Hermione quirked her head, she sensed what was coming it was why she had posed the original question.

"I told RM if I won I wanted to come and work for him at the Ministry, that way it would keep the outcome of the game honest."

Hermione chuckled, certain that Lucius response would have endeared him even more to their sporting boss. Her laughter ceased as she noticed an odd look of consternation fall across Lucius' handsome face, his brow creasing as he glanced towards one of the large windows behind her. Her heart leapt in her chest, had Julius Nihil discovered the truth? Her fingers tightened around the thin stem of her wine glass. She didn't dare look round fearing he had sent one of his minions to spy on them, good sense not prevailing at the fact Malfoy Manor would be heavily warded.

Her companion however did not show any signs of alarm just that very strange look which had settled on his face, his eyes steeped more in surprise than anything else.

"Tell me my dear is skiing something amongst your considerable talents?"

The question slowly permeated her brain, skiing? Yes Lucius had said skiing. She turned slowly in her chair to follow his line of vision. It was April why on earth would he be asking her if she could ski? Hermione's brown eyes fell on the large windows which overlooked the back gardens of the Manor. Huge flakes of fluffy white snow drifted by the windows, some hitting the glass and leaving icy droplets, others, many many many others followed quickly turning the grounds into a winter wonderland. The heavy fall covering the spring flowers which up until a few hours ago had been enjoying a chilly but sunny spring day.

"Oh my word snow in April." Her brown eyes widened at the picturesque site manifesting itself outside.

She gave Lucius a big bright smile, her eyes twinkling.

"It looks as if I am going to be skiing off those calories now."

Of course Hermione Granger skied, how silly of Lucius to even have asked.