Prologue – Paradise Lost

Disclaimer: The characters in this story do not belong to me: they are the property of JK Rowling. I own the plot.

A/N: Yes – the long-awaited sequel to Fire and Ice is here! Actually, It's only been a few weeks, so it's really the short-awaited sequel… if that makes sense!  Thank you to all the reviewers of the last chapter!

If anyone hasn't read Fire and Ice, click on my username and go read it now. Quicker than that! We're waiting for you here…. Done? Good.

If the prologue leaves you with a few questions, don't worry – later chapters will have the answers! When I got the idea, this part demanded to be written first, so sorry if it gets confusing! There will be a bit of jumping in time, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure it out. Go forth, read… and enjoy, hopefully.

            ~*~

The room was huge, impressive but empty. Patterned walls stretched imposingly from the lush carpet to the stark white ceiling. A fire in one corner burnt in a subdued manner, doing little to warm the vast expanse of nothingness. There was a sofa against one wall that had never been sat on, a desk in a corner that was covered with paper. Dark mahogany bookshelves towered overhead, and a grim grandfather clock ticked life away with meticulous accuracy.

            The surroundings were strange ones for the dramatic scene taking place in the centre of the room. Lucius paced the floor aristocratically, a thoughtful eyebrow raised. A glass in his hand was filled with red wine. Draco and Hermione stood close together near the window, still dripping with rainwater. Hermione looked out of place in the grand surroundings, but Draco could wear any environment like a cloak.

            'You still defy me, son?' asked Lucius, taking an elegant sip of the crimson wine. Draco watched his father warily with a false expression of unconcern. Hermione, standing slightly behind him, gulped nervously and reached surreptitiously for a comforting hand. Draco took her hand and held it reassuringly.

            'I am no longer your son.' He said in reply. Behind him, he could hear Hermione's breathing, quick and short with fear. Why had she come? He should have done this alone, where he had nothing to lose but himself. But she had to follow him…

            Lucius frowned. 'I told you so many times, Draco, but you did not listen. Caring makes you weak. Love makes you weak.' He raised his wand, and watched Draco step sideways to conceal Hermione. 'So concerned with protecting your Mudblood lover. If you had not been turned away from our cause, you could have had anything you desired. You could have followed the Dark Lord, gained power and respect.'

            'I could have been evil.'

            Lucius smiled sardonically. 'Evil? Evil does not exist outside of fairytales. There is no good and evil. There are those who fear, and those who cause others to fear. Those who live quiet little lives and never achieve anything, and those with ambition. And what greater ambition than to be among the ranks of the Death Eaters?'

            Draco waited, tensed and ready for whatever his father would throw at them. Hermione shivered, whether from cold, fear or revulsion Draco never knew. Lucius drew Hermione's wand out from a pocket and examined it.

            'Would it not be easier if you had never loved each other?' he mused. 'But of course, changing the past is very difficult. Who knows where we would end up?'

            Was this his plan? To change time so they were never friends, never fell in love? It was something he could do – a few minutes work with a time turner, a few strings pulled… Yet Lucius enjoyed making people suffer. His plan would be more painful than that.

            Draco cursed himself. Why had he decided to come? The letter his father had sent had threatened to hurt Hermione if he failed to meet him. He softly tightened his grasp on her hand. Lucius wouldn't hurt Hermione. He wouldn't let his father hurt her.

            'But of course, I could change things now.' Lucius said, raising his wand with glittering eyes. 'For where does the past exist but in the memory? Obliviate!'

            The curse flew straight to Hermione, where she staggered as though hit forcibly, and sank to the floor unconscious. Fear gripped Draco. Memory Charms rarely caused unconsciousness, but it was an occasional side effect… when the memory erased was very large.

            'What did you make her forget?' he asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

            'I believe you have already guessed the answer to that.'

            'Loving me.' Draco stated, knowing that it was true. 'You made her forget that I loved her, and that she loved me.'

            ~*~

            A/N: Yes, I know you hate me for doing that. Yes, I know you're going to hunt me down and arrest me for crimes against romance. Yes, I know you would like nothing better than to lock me in a cell until I've got them back together, and then murder me using a very sharp pencil, a piglet, and Lucius' retinue of Dark Spells.

            There will be fluff in later chapters – memories of the intervening times, and of course they'll get back together. There'll also be an interesting background romance. I'm going to update weekly.

            Review and tell me how mad you are with me!