CHAPTER 13~ Letters
HERMIONE'S POV~
"Professors, it's wonderful to see you again," my father said.
"Don't give me that bullshit, Jake," Snape responded.
I gasped and looked at Draco, whose eyes were wide with shock. Neither of us had ever heard him speak like that before no matter how mad he was.
"Severus, Minerva, you're teachers now?" my mother asked. "I never would have guessed."
"Well, Anne," spat McGonagall. "Maybe if you spent a little more time speaking to your daughter you would have found this out five years ago."
There was silence for a while. I was looking between the six adults. They seemed to be having a glaring contest. At last Dumbledore spoke up, "Hermione, Draco, we should be getting you back to the school. I fear you have been through enough over the past two days."
I nodded slightly as Draco pulled me toward the door. I looked at my parents who were glaring at me as if I had said something wrong. We left the room behind our three professors. As we were walking out the door, I did what I had wanted to do for so long-I gave my parents the finger, and with a slight smirk turned my attention ahead of me. As we retreated, I faintly heard my father mutter, "Stupid bitch."
When we reached a fireplace, Dumbledore held out a pouch of floo powder. Before I took any, I asked, "Professor, do you have our wands?"
"Yes I do. I will return them to you at school."
"Yes sir."
I grabbed a pinch of floo powder and threw it into the flames. I watched as they turned from red to green. I shouted, "Hogwarts!" and I was soon spinning and watching the fireplaces zoom past me. I landed in the fireplace in Dumbledore's office, and brushed the soot off my clothes. Draco followed shortly and the three professors right after him.
As promised, Dumbledore returned our wands to us, but before he dismissed us, he beckoned us to sit down and explain exactly what had happened.
"I asked Draco to meet me in the Astronomy Tower after the game because I wanted to show him something," I began. "When we turned to leave, we found that the door was locked, and Mr. Malfoy was sitting on the couch. He put Draco in the full body bind, and flew us to the Malfoy Manor. When we got there, he took the curse off Draco and made us go up to Draco's room. He left us there over night, and the next morning, I woke up to a fight between Draco and Mr. Malfoy."
From there, Draco explained the fight and how Lucius took me away. He told him about when my parents came in and how they went to my room, and then the professors showed up.
Dumbledore thanked us and dismissed us.
Once we were out in the corridor, Draco snaked his arm around my waist and I leaned my head on his shoulder. "So what was my surprise supposed to be?" he asked.
"I'll give it to you eventually," I said. "When I'm not so tired and weak and hungry." When he heard this, he scooped me up into his arms. "What are you doing?" I meant for it to sound as if I was shocked, but I yawned just then.
"You shouldn't be walking if you're so weak and tired," he explained casually.
"You'll get a hernia if you carry me all the way there," I said defiantly.
"Don't worry, you're not that heavy. You're actually really light."
"Stop trying to make me feel good. I'm not light."
"Think what you want. As long as I know the truth, that's all that matters."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Whatever you say."
"Oh come on. The center of the universe is supposed to know everything," he said with a smirk.
"Why did I fall for the guy with the largest ego?" I sighed.
"Because I'm so damn attractive and you couldn't keep your eyes off me and you thought I was so incredibly smart and loving and not to mention hot."
"I think 'hot' and 'so damn attractive' are basically the same thing," I said.
"Oh don't go and be your know-it-all self again," he joked.
"Know-it-all? Me?" I said incredulously. "You're the one who thinks you're the center of the universe and know everything."
"I was joking! Loosen up! Chill out!" He paused for a moment and the whispered, " I can give you a massage if you want."
"I do want, but I doubt if everyone else would allow you in the Gryffindor Tower."
"We can always go to the dungeons," he suggested.
"PLEASE! You are more likely to be welcomed into the Gryffindor Tower with open arms. They'd Avanda me if I set one foot in your common room."
"They're not all bad," he defended.
"Well, obviously. You're not so bad."
"Nah, I'm perfect."
He was so right. Everything about him was perfect. I'd never admit that to him of course. His head would swell up and he wouldn't be able to fit through the doors. Every time I gave him a compliment his head grew bigger. I loved how he was always so sure of himself. He didn't get embarrassed by a wrong answer; he thought there was no point since it would help him learn.
He carried me all the way back to the Gryffindor Tower, and showed no hint that he was in any kind of pain. As he placed me gently on the floor, I whispered, "You didn't have to do that."
"What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't? Even though the code of chivalry dates back to the Medieval Times, I believe they should still uphold for today's generation."
"If you still believe that, how come you don't treat all women like you treat me?" I asked curiously.
"Because you're the only woman who deserves my attention."
"Is that so?"
"Yup."
I smiled warmly at him and he returned it with gentle eyes. I only saw that expression when he was with me. He rarely took his cover off in front of other people. He bent down and kissed me like he had done so many times before.
When we came apart, I was breathing deeply and trying to catch my breath, and Draco was doing the same.
"Goodnight, Draco."
"Goodnight."
I mumbled our new password and stepped into the common room with a backward glance at Draco. As soon as the portrait closed, I heard, "HERMIONE! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? ARE YOU HURT? WHY ARE YOUR CLOTHES TORN? ARE YOU OKAY? YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT IT?"
A very distressed looking Harry, Ron, and Ginny were dragging me over to a couch.
"Guys I'm fine. I swear."
"Why is your face all bruised?" Ginny asked. "Malfoy didn't hurt you, did he?"
"NO!" I yelled without meaning to. "Draco would never hurt me. He loves me. Nothing that happened is his fault."
"Where have you been?" Harry asked. "We've been worried sick about you. How come you didn't tell us where you were going?"
"I wasn't supposed to go anywhere. I can't tell you what happened right now. I don't wanna think about it. I'll tell you when I feel better, okay? And don't go picking a fight with Draco over it either, it wasn't his fault," I added the last part as a reminder before heading to my dorm.
~
DRACO'S POV~
I walked stealthily down to my common room. I knew Hermione's friends were worried about her. I knew that none of the Slytherins would even realize that I was gone.
As I rounded a corner on the second floor, I came face-to-face with Filch. "What are you doing out of bed?" he spat.
"I'm just finishing my rounds," I answered smoothly. "Why else would I be out of bed?"
"Well hurry up and get back to your common room."
I walked past him and continued my journey back down to the dungeons. I hated Filch. He had given me at least five detentions since I started at Hogwarts. I'd get detentions even if I didn't do anything. I think he had something against me; who didn't?
I walked into the common room, and someone was there. She looked up when she heard my footsteps. "Draco, where have you been? I've been worried sick. Please tell me it wasn't Granger?" Blaise asked.
"It wasn't. It was my father," I said.
"What happened? How'd he get here?"
"Can we talk about it some other time? My head is pounding, and I don't really wanna think about it right now. I need to get some sleep."
"Alright. Can I ask you something, though?"
"Yeah sure."
"Did he hit you again?" When I didn't answer, she said, "Draco? Please tell me. You know it's illegal. Why don't you just tell someone?"
"'Cause he'll kill me. It's that simple. He'll kill me like he killed my mother. I hate him. I hate that bastard, but there's nothing I can do. You know him, Blaise. You know what he's capable of."
"You said he'd kill you, but if there's an anonymous letter." she trailed off.
"No don't," I warned. "I don't want you to get mixed up in this shit too. Hermione's already in trouble, and I don't think I could handle it if he got to you too."
"Fine," she let out an exasperated sigh. "But I still don't think him beating you solves anything."
"It doesn't, but I really need to sleep," I whined in a manner very unlike mine.
"Alright. Goodnight."
"'Night."
I walked slowly up the stairs to my dorm. When I entered, all I heard were the sounds of snores coming from the other beds. I closed the door quietly and crept over to my bed. Without bothering to change, I flopped down on my bed and fell asleep. ~ I was awoken at five am by Goyle. "Draco! Draco get up now!" he yelled.
"Go away," I mumbled sleepily.
"But Draco, it's your father's owl."
"Oh fuck!" I got up and untied the letter from the owl's leg.
Draco, I expect you at the Manor on the thirty-first of October. From there, you will be apparating to the Death Eater Meeting. You will receive your Dark Mark that night. Bring your girlfriend with you, the Dark Lord has plans For her as well. I'm expecting your response by tomorrow Night, Lucius
After reading that, I couldn't get back to sleep. I didn't want to wake Hermione, so I decided that I would talk to her at breakfast. I took a shower and put on my Hogwarts robes. I sat in the common room reading until everyone else started to come down.
I headed to the Great Hall and ate some eggs and toast. I saw Hermione walk in with Potter and the two Weasleys. When I saw that she had eaten some food, I walked over to the Gryffindor table, and whispered to her, "We need to talk."
"Now? There's only like twenty minutes 'till class starts," she answered.
"Please?" I begged. "It's really important."
She looked at me, and I was pleading with my eyes. "About what?" she asked.
"I can't say here. It's-uh-I just can't say anything in front of them." All of the Gryffindors were eyeing me suspiciously.
She must have seen how desperate I was because she followed me out of the Hall. "What's so important," she asked once the door was closed.
"This," I said giving her the letter from my father. I watched her eyes widen in shock.
"When'd you get this?"
"This morning at like five."
"Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked.
"I figured you wanted to sleep. I didn't want to disturb you. I know I get cranky when someone wakes me up."
"This is serious! What are we supposed to do?"
"I'm not going! I want no part of the psychopath!" I yelled.
"So you're gunna tell your father no?! That's a death wish!"
"I know it is, but I'd rather die than commit myself to Voldemort. You don't know what that guy does to his followers. I can't in my right mind let you go before him. That would kill me faster than Lucius would. I can protect us both from Lucius. I can't protect either of us from Voldemort."
"So you'll owl him tonight then?"
"Yes. We have to go to Potions right now though."
We walked slowly down to the Potions room. No one was there yet, so we stood outside the door waiting for everyone else to show up. They came soon after, and we all went into the classroom. I sat next to Draco on the Slytherin side of the room. This earned a lot of glares from the Gryffindors, but the Slytherins had respected Draco since the Quidditch game.
Professor Snape came in and began to write ingredients on the board for the potion we were going to make. Surprisingly, he didn't pick our partners for us, he just told us to work with who we were sitting next to. We were making an advanced healing potion that could cure aches, pains, and cuts without leaving scars.
It took all of the first period to brew the potion. When second period started, Snape said that he was going to test all of our potions.
"Malfoy, Granger," Snape called. "You first."
We brought our potion up to him, and he pricked my thumb, and then Hermione's. He told us to split our potion and drink it. We did, and it was the single most horrible thing I had ever tasted. As soon as I finished it, my finger healed, and the throbbing pain in my head subsided.
"Well Mr. Malfoy, Ms Granger, it appears that your potion worked. You will both receive full marks." It looked like he was a little disappointed. He probably wanted to take points off of Gryffindor. He would probably be taking points off from a few of the groups though. "I'll give five points to each of your houses." This looked even more strained than when he gave us full marks.
We went back and sat down in our seats. He ended up taking points off of both houses, although he took off more from Gryffindor. I noticed that Hermione looked a little pissed, but she didn't say anything about it. After class, we went to the Great Hall for lunch. We went to our separate tables even though I really wanted to sit with her.
After lunch, the day seemed to fly by, and it was soon time for dinner.
~
HERMIONE'S POV~
I sat down with Ron and Harry. "'Mione, how's Malfoy treating you?" asked Ron.
"Same as always," I answered simply.
"Oh so he's being a slimy git?" Harry said. I looked at him and he was smiling. "I was joking, don't hit me!"
I cracked a smile too. "He's only a git when he doesn't like someone," I defended.
"I guess that means he hates me," Ron said, "and Harry."
I rolled my eyes and ate my food. They began talking about Quidditch and the new plays they were going to try out at practice. I actually stayed at dinner the whole time that night, and that usually didn't happen.
Outside the Great Hall, Draco pulled me to him and I bid Harry and Ron goodnight.
"I have to respond to Lucius," he whispered. We walked together up to the owlery. He brought along a piece pf parchment and a quill.
Draco sat down and began to write. His hand moved quickly, and almost as soon as he started, he had finished and handed it to me. It said:
Lucius, We are not going to the meeting. Do not Come anywhere near Hermione or me. Draco
We sent the letter of with Draco's owl and he took me back to the Gryffindor Tower. HE kissed me goodnight and headed back down to the Slytherin dorms. ~ Three days later, it was the day before Halloween. Draco grabbed me and handed me a piece of parchment. All it said was:
Watch your backs. Lucius
HERMIONE'S POV~
"Professors, it's wonderful to see you again," my father said.
"Don't give me that bullshit, Jake," Snape responded.
I gasped and looked at Draco, whose eyes were wide with shock. Neither of us had ever heard him speak like that before no matter how mad he was.
"Severus, Minerva, you're teachers now?" my mother asked. "I never would have guessed."
"Well, Anne," spat McGonagall. "Maybe if you spent a little more time speaking to your daughter you would have found this out five years ago."
There was silence for a while. I was looking between the six adults. They seemed to be having a glaring contest. At last Dumbledore spoke up, "Hermione, Draco, we should be getting you back to the school. I fear you have been through enough over the past two days."
I nodded slightly as Draco pulled me toward the door. I looked at my parents who were glaring at me as if I had said something wrong. We left the room behind our three professors. As we were walking out the door, I did what I had wanted to do for so long-I gave my parents the finger, and with a slight smirk turned my attention ahead of me. As we retreated, I faintly heard my father mutter, "Stupid bitch."
When we reached a fireplace, Dumbledore held out a pouch of floo powder. Before I took any, I asked, "Professor, do you have our wands?"
"Yes I do. I will return them to you at school."
"Yes sir."
I grabbed a pinch of floo powder and threw it into the flames. I watched as they turned from red to green. I shouted, "Hogwarts!" and I was soon spinning and watching the fireplaces zoom past me. I landed in the fireplace in Dumbledore's office, and brushed the soot off my clothes. Draco followed shortly and the three professors right after him.
As promised, Dumbledore returned our wands to us, but before he dismissed us, he beckoned us to sit down and explain exactly what had happened.
"I asked Draco to meet me in the Astronomy Tower after the game because I wanted to show him something," I began. "When we turned to leave, we found that the door was locked, and Mr. Malfoy was sitting on the couch. He put Draco in the full body bind, and flew us to the Malfoy Manor. When we got there, he took the curse off Draco and made us go up to Draco's room. He left us there over night, and the next morning, I woke up to a fight between Draco and Mr. Malfoy."
From there, Draco explained the fight and how Lucius took me away. He told him about when my parents came in and how they went to my room, and then the professors showed up.
Dumbledore thanked us and dismissed us.
Once we were out in the corridor, Draco snaked his arm around my waist and I leaned my head on his shoulder. "So what was my surprise supposed to be?" he asked.
"I'll give it to you eventually," I said. "When I'm not so tired and weak and hungry." When he heard this, he scooped me up into his arms. "What are you doing?" I meant for it to sound as if I was shocked, but I yawned just then.
"You shouldn't be walking if you're so weak and tired," he explained casually.
"You'll get a hernia if you carry me all the way there," I said defiantly.
"Don't worry, you're not that heavy. You're actually really light."
"Stop trying to make me feel good. I'm not light."
"Think what you want. As long as I know the truth, that's all that matters."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Whatever you say."
"Oh come on. The center of the universe is supposed to know everything," he said with a smirk.
"Why did I fall for the guy with the largest ego?" I sighed.
"Because I'm so damn attractive and you couldn't keep your eyes off me and you thought I was so incredibly smart and loving and not to mention hot."
"I think 'hot' and 'so damn attractive' are basically the same thing," I said.
"Oh don't go and be your know-it-all self again," he joked.
"Know-it-all? Me?" I said incredulously. "You're the one who thinks you're the center of the universe and know everything."
"I was joking! Loosen up! Chill out!" He paused for a moment and the whispered, " I can give you a massage if you want."
"I do want, but I doubt if everyone else would allow you in the Gryffindor Tower."
"We can always go to the dungeons," he suggested.
"PLEASE! You are more likely to be welcomed into the Gryffindor Tower with open arms. They'd Avanda me if I set one foot in your common room."
"They're not all bad," he defended.
"Well, obviously. You're not so bad."
"Nah, I'm perfect."
He was so right. Everything about him was perfect. I'd never admit that to him of course. His head would swell up and he wouldn't be able to fit through the doors. Every time I gave him a compliment his head grew bigger. I loved how he was always so sure of himself. He didn't get embarrassed by a wrong answer; he thought there was no point since it would help him learn.
He carried me all the way back to the Gryffindor Tower, and showed no hint that he was in any kind of pain. As he placed me gently on the floor, I whispered, "You didn't have to do that."
"What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't? Even though the code of chivalry dates back to the Medieval Times, I believe they should still uphold for today's generation."
"If you still believe that, how come you don't treat all women like you treat me?" I asked curiously.
"Because you're the only woman who deserves my attention."
"Is that so?"
"Yup."
I smiled warmly at him and he returned it with gentle eyes. I only saw that expression when he was with me. He rarely took his cover off in front of other people. He bent down and kissed me like he had done so many times before.
When we came apart, I was breathing deeply and trying to catch my breath, and Draco was doing the same.
"Goodnight, Draco."
"Goodnight."
I mumbled our new password and stepped into the common room with a backward glance at Draco. As soon as the portrait closed, I heard, "HERMIONE! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? ARE YOU HURT? WHY ARE YOUR CLOTHES TORN? ARE YOU OKAY? YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT IT?"
A very distressed looking Harry, Ron, and Ginny were dragging me over to a couch.
"Guys I'm fine. I swear."
"Why is your face all bruised?" Ginny asked. "Malfoy didn't hurt you, did he?"
"NO!" I yelled without meaning to. "Draco would never hurt me. He loves me. Nothing that happened is his fault."
"Where have you been?" Harry asked. "We've been worried sick about you. How come you didn't tell us where you were going?"
"I wasn't supposed to go anywhere. I can't tell you what happened right now. I don't wanna think about it. I'll tell you when I feel better, okay? And don't go picking a fight with Draco over it either, it wasn't his fault," I added the last part as a reminder before heading to my dorm.
~
DRACO'S POV~
I walked stealthily down to my common room. I knew Hermione's friends were worried about her. I knew that none of the Slytherins would even realize that I was gone.
As I rounded a corner on the second floor, I came face-to-face with Filch. "What are you doing out of bed?" he spat.
"I'm just finishing my rounds," I answered smoothly. "Why else would I be out of bed?"
"Well hurry up and get back to your common room."
I walked past him and continued my journey back down to the dungeons. I hated Filch. He had given me at least five detentions since I started at Hogwarts. I'd get detentions even if I didn't do anything. I think he had something against me; who didn't?
I walked into the common room, and someone was there. She looked up when she heard my footsteps. "Draco, where have you been? I've been worried sick. Please tell me it wasn't Granger?" Blaise asked.
"It wasn't. It was my father," I said.
"What happened? How'd he get here?"
"Can we talk about it some other time? My head is pounding, and I don't really wanna think about it right now. I need to get some sleep."
"Alright. Can I ask you something, though?"
"Yeah sure."
"Did he hit you again?" When I didn't answer, she said, "Draco? Please tell me. You know it's illegal. Why don't you just tell someone?"
"'Cause he'll kill me. It's that simple. He'll kill me like he killed my mother. I hate him. I hate that bastard, but there's nothing I can do. You know him, Blaise. You know what he's capable of."
"You said he'd kill you, but if there's an anonymous letter." she trailed off.
"No don't," I warned. "I don't want you to get mixed up in this shit too. Hermione's already in trouble, and I don't think I could handle it if he got to you too."
"Fine," she let out an exasperated sigh. "But I still don't think him beating you solves anything."
"It doesn't, but I really need to sleep," I whined in a manner very unlike mine.
"Alright. Goodnight."
"'Night."
I walked slowly up the stairs to my dorm. When I entered, all I heard were the sounds of snores coming from the other beds. I closed the door quietly and crept over to my bed. Without bothering to change, I flopped down on my bed and fell asleep. ~ I was awoken at five am by Goyle. "Draco! Draco get up now!" he yelled.
"Go away," I mumbled sleepily.
"But Draco, it's your father's owl."
"Oh fuck!" I got up and untied the letter from the owl's leg.
Draco, I expect you at the Manor on the thirty-first of October. From there, you will be apparating to the Death Eater Meeting. You will receive your Dark Mark that night. Bring your girlfriend with you, the Dark Lord has plans For her as well. I'm expecting your response by tomorrow Night, Lucius
After reading that, I couldn't get back to sleep. I didn't want to wake Hermione, so I decided that I would talk to her at breakfast. I took a shower and put on my Hogwarts robes. I sat in the common room reading until everyone else started to come down.
I headed to the Great Hall and ate some eggs and toast. I saw Hermione walk in with Potter and the two Weasleys. When I saw that she had eaten some food, I walked over to the Gryffindor table, and whispered to her, "We need to talk."
"Now? There's only like twenty minutes 'till class starts," she answered.
"Please?" I begged. "It's really important."
She looked at me, and I was pleading with my eyes. "About what?" she asked.
"I can't say here. It's-uh-I just can't say anything in front of them." All of the Gryffindors were eyeing me suspiciously.
She must have seen how desperate I was because she followed me out of the Hall. "What's so important," she asked once the door was closed.
"This," I said giving her the letter from my father. I watched her eyes widen in shock.
"When'd you get this?"
"This morning at like five."
"Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked.
"I figured you wanted to sleep. I didn't want to disturb you. I know I get cranky when someone wakes me up."
"This is serious! What are we supposed to do?"
"I'm not going! I want no part of the psychopath!" I yelled.
"So you're gunna tell your father no?! That's a death wish!"
"I know it is, but I'd rather die than commit myself to Voldemort. You don't know what that guy does to his followers. I can't in my right mind let you go before him. That would kill me faster than Lucius would. I can protect us both from Lucius. I can't protect either of us from Voldemort."
"So you'll owl him tonight then?"
"Yes. We have to go to Potions right now though."
We walked slowly down to the Potions room. No one was there yet, so we stood outside the door waiting for everyone else to show up. They came soon after, and we all went into the classroom. I sat next to Draco on the Slytherin side of the room. This earned a lot of glares from the Gryffindors, but the Slytherins had respected Draco since the Quidditch game.
Professor Snape came in and began to write ingredients on the board for the potion we were going to make. Surprisingly, he didn't pick our partners for us, he just told us to work with who we were sitting next to. We were making an advanced healing potion that could cure aches, pains, and cuts without leaving scars.
It took all of the first period to brew the potion. When second period started, Snape said that he was going to test all of our potions.
"Malfoy, Granger," Snape called. "You first."
We brought our potion up to him, and he pricked my thumb, and then Hermione's. He told us to split our potion and drink it. We did, and it was the single most horrible thing I had ever tasted. As soon as I finished it, my finger healed, and the throbbing pain in my head subsided.
"Well Mr. Malfoy, Ms Granger, it appears that your potion worked. You will both receive full marks." It looked like he was a little disappointed. He probably wanted to take points off of Gryffindor. He would probably be taking points off from a few of the groups though. "I'll give five points to each of your houses." This looked even more strained than when he gave us full marks.
We went back and sat down in our seats. He ended up taking points off of both houses, although he took off more from Gryffindor. I noticed that Hermione looked a little pissed, but she didn't say anything about it. After class, we went to the Great Hall for lunch. We went to our separate tables even though I really wanted to sit with her.
After lunch, the day seemed to fly by, and it was soon time for dinner.
~
HERMIONE'S POV~
I sat down with Ron and Harry. "'Mione, how's Malfoy treating you?" asked Ron.
"Same as always," I answered simply.
"Oh so he's being a slimy git?" Harry said. I looked at him and he was smiling. "I was joking, don't hit me!"
I cracked a smile too. "He's only a git when he doesn't like someone," I defended.
"I guess that means he hates me," Ron said, "and Harry."
I rolled my eyes and ate my food. They began talking about Quidditch and the new plays they were going to try out at practice. I actually stayed at dinner the whole time that night, and that usually didn't happen.
Outside the Great Hall, Draco pulled me to him and I bid Harry and Ron goodnight.
"I have to respond to Lucius," he whispered. We walked together up to the owlery. He brought along a piece pf parchment and a quill.
Draco sat down and began to write. His hand moved quickly, and almost as soon as he started, he had finished and handed it to me. It said:
Lucius, We are not going to the meeting. Do not Come anywhere near Hermione or me. Draco
We sent the letter of with Draco's owl and he took me back to the Gryffindor Tower. HE kissed me goodnight and headed back down to the Slytherin dorms. ~ Three days later, it was the day before Halloween. Draco grabbed me and handed me a piece of parchment. All it said was:
Watch your backs. Lucius