Chapter 31: Providere Pro Deceptio Malificus - Prepararing for an Evil Deception

            "My Lord"

            "What is it, Lucius?" asked the Dark Lord as one of his most faithful Death Eaters knelt before him.

            "I have news of interest to you…I have done as you asked and found out the identity of Draco's lover."

            "Excellent Lucius. But why should this concern me? I have told you to get rid of the woman. I hope you do not come to waste my time. Time is precious to me these days. In case you haven't notice, my defenses are preparing themselves for a large assault from the Aurors…it is expected soon."

            "My Lord, of course I have considered your words….but my wife had a good point to make. She is, of course, completely behind me in this matter."

            Voldemort snorted cruelly. "Don't deceive yourself, Lucius…you control Narcissa Van Doren with the Imperius Curse. That woman has never truly been behind you…I let her live only because you and her sister Bellatrix implored me to spare her life years ago. The Lestranges were some of my most faithful servants… it was the least I could do to spare the life of a worthless woman."

            "She is worthless to me as a wife, my Lord…but she has proved useful in spying on Draco."

            "That may be so. What does she say now?"

            "She says that if we kill the woman while Draco is in love with her, he will turn from us. He will hide himself or harm himself and our plans will never come to fruition."

            Voldemort appeared to be thinking. The masked figure tapped his scaly fingers impatiently on the arms of the great oak chair he sat in.

            "Fair enough, Lucius." Voldemort hissed. "You did well in figuring that much out."

            "And my Lord… there is more…"

            "More?"

            "It appears that my son Draco…has had a bastard child with this woman. A boy. He is eight months old this month."

            Voldemort was silent for a second before he burst into high shrill laughter. "Draco Malfoy…a father? The poncy little mummy's boy a daddy? Will miracles never cease? I wouldn't have thought he had enough seed in him to sow a flowerbed much less a woman!"

            Lucius remembered how Draco had looked when he saw him at the last Death Eater's meeting. The boy was tall, and strong- he had taken the Dark Mark well. In Draco's gray eyes, Lucius recognized the steely resolve that were in his own, and Draco's jaw was grown firm. Lucius had had the uncomfortable feeling then, as he did now when Voldemort laughed, that Draco was no longer a boy, but a man.

            "And what is your son's lover's name?" asked Voldemort.

            Lucius winced as he said it. "Hermione Granger."

            "Granger? The Potter boy's whore? A mudblood?" Voldemort laughed again. "What wonderful taste your son has, Lucius. Well Lucius, how are you going to get yourself out of this one?"

            "I have already considered it. My plan is to turn Draco from this woman….make him despise her…despise the very idea of love…make him see that the only worthwhile cause is to meet one's destiny and help in our glorious cause."

            "Good….good. Clever, but how are you planning to do this?"

            "I will arrange a little deception for Draco that will make him lose his faith in Miss Granger. Make him lose his faith in love."

            "It must be suitably unpleasant" said Voldemort eagerly. The idea of treachery always excited him. "It will not be easy to turn your son's mind…I have searched into it. He has a strong mind."

            Lucius nodded. "I am aware of that. I will ensure it is a suitably unpleasant deception, my Lord. As for the child, I will kill it. It is a living humiliation to my family name. A half-blood stain."

            Voldemort looked thoughtful.

            "You are wrong Lucius. The child, though a product of a mudblood mother….is himself a pureblood- having two magical parents. Draco's blood runs in its veins…" Voldemort was silent for a long time.

            "My lord?" Lucius interrupted after a long while.

            Voldemort rose from the chair and began pacing the room.

He seemed to have forgotten about Lucius. Lucius felt foolish…should he call out again and risk interrupting the Dark Lord? Should he continue standing there? At that moment, Voldemort looked up.

            "Do not kill the child, Lucius. I want it. I want it very much. I have an idea."

            "What for my Lord? What could you want with the bastard?"

            Voldemort closed the book and walked towards Lucius. Lucius felt like shrinking away.

            "Do not ask questions, Lucius. I do the asking around here."

Lucius wet his lips. "I'm sorry, My Lord. I was out of place."

Voldemort lifted his wand and aimed it at Lucius.

"I beg you…my lord…I have been faithful…."

Voldemort released his breath in a gentle hiss and lowered his wand. "Yes, you have been faithful, Lucius. I will not punish you this time. But never question me again."

"Never again, my lord" said Lucius, dropping to his knees and kissing the hem of Voldemort's crimson robes. Voldemort pulled his robes away impatiently.

"I want that child. I want it as soon as possible, Lucius."

"I will bring you the child, My Lord. And I will bring you Draco. Both will be in your service, as Malfoys have been."

"Good. And when you return, do not say a word to Snape, I am beginning to suspect that his loyalties may lie in questionable directions. He looked unnecessarily agitated when I gave Draco the Dark Mark."

"I will not say a word."

"I will summon Snape to me soon. I need his help to confirm my suspicions….if I find he has been lying to me, he will wish he had never been born."

"Very good, my Lord."

"Go now, I want that bastard child as soon as possible."

***********************************

Pansy Parkinson trudged up the driveway of a large restored tudor house. The first step was to find out where the Granger's lived before attempting to collect a hair from Hermione. It had taken her nearly two weeks to receive Hermione's diary- international owls were slow. It had taken her another week to track down the location in muggle England as she was not very familiar with the transport systems, fortunately, it had not been too difficult as she had learnt a lot about muggle ways while at the Locarno Finishing Schule in Switzerland.

She was very nervous but had put a simple Deceptio spell on herself. It never lasted long but was enough for her purposes today. In her hands, she carried a muggle envelope with the "The Grangers" printed on it.

            Taking a deep breath, she pressed the bell.

            After a time, she heard someone opening the door. A young lady looked out.

            "May I help you?"

            "Do the Grangers live here? I have been asked to deliver a registered item to them."

            The young lady shook her head. "We are the Collinses. I'm sorry but you have the wrong house."

            Impossible. Thought Pansy. This address had been the one Hogwarts used to send notices and OWL results to Hermione during the fifth year.

            "Excuse me!" Pansy said before the lady closed the door.

            "Yes?"

            "I'm sorry, but perhaps they've moved from here? I'm sure they used to stay here."

            The young lady looked impatient. "All right Benny, hang on!" she shouted inside the house. "That's my nephew making a racket as usual. Anyway, yes, we moved here last year, I don't know the family that lived here before…we bought the house through an agent. So the former owners may be the ones you're looking for."

            Pansy thought fast. The lady looked like she was going to close the door.

            "Sorry, but who was the agent who sold you the house? I could find out where the Granger's went."

            The lady narrowed her eyes. "Jerry Sherman of Sherman Realty. What's this registered mail all about anyway? Don't you know them? Are you from the Post?"

            Pansy swallowed.

            "Thank you so much. I won't bother you again. Good morning."

            "Good morning."

            Mrs Collins watched as the girl walked down her driveway. There was something strange about it. Oh well, she shrugged.

            Pansy repeated "Jerry Sherman of Sherman Realty" to herself and went to look for a phone book. The girl felt excited and thrilled to be tracking Hermione down. Don't think you can hide from me…she thought.

Inside a phone box, she found the number and address for Sherman Realty. Oh bother, it was quite far away. Pansy checked her wallet- she hoped she had changed enough muggle cash. She had just enough to take a cab there. She would have to think of another excuse for looking for the Grangers. Hmm. This was proving quite difficult.

            She thought of Hermione dancing in Draco's arms during the Yule Ball. Running her fingers through his silver-blonde hair as he bent to kiss her. She shuddered. Come on, Pansy, she thought…use your brains…

Eventually, Pansy managed to think of an idea. She would be an old friend looking for Hermione. Where did people make friends? School. Surely Jerry Sherman of Sherman Realty wouldn't be suspicious about that.

******************************************

It was her break hour and Hermione had gone to the nurses' lounge with a cup of coffee. She played with the silver ring around her finger. Work in the ward had been pretty hectic lately and she was glad to get a rest for an hour. She sat in the nurses' lounge with a magazine on her lap. In hora summe inopis nostrae…she wondered how the ring worked. She had asked Draco before but he didn't know either…his mother wouldn't tell him. He suspected that she didn't exactly know either.

Hermione was particularly happy because she had heard from Neville. He and Sirius were coming back this month from Romania. This meant that she would get news of Noel again, and maybe Draco, if Neville could be persuaded to tell her. She knew Draco must be finishing up at Hogwarts now and preparing to return to Malfoy Manor.

She never liked to think much about that so she flipped open a magazine in front of her.

"Is there a Miss Granger here?" Tony Lawton's (an intern's) head popped into the lounge and several nurses looked up.

Hermione stood up. More work.

"Here," She said.

"There's somebody to see you, Miss Granger. They're in the visitor's lounge- I'll bring you over."

"All right. Thank you."

Hermione followed Tony out of the lounge. She wasn't really thinking about anything much, she was just mildly curious whom her visitor might be.

Tony Lawton let Hermione toward a young lady wearing a cardigan and a flowered dress in the visitor's lounge.

"Miss? Here is Miss Granger."

There was a moment as the young lady stood up and threw her arms around Hermione, sobbing with joy.

"I've missed you!"

Hermione did not recognize the lady, and gently tried to push her back.

"Ow!"

"Oh, so sorry about that!"

The girl pulled back from Hermione and Hermione saw that one of her hairs was snagged in the girl's jeweled ring.

"Do I know you, miss?" asked Hermione politely.

"Know me? Know me? I should think so! We were at Saint Cuthbert's Primary together! I'm Angela!"

"Angela?"

"Yes silly- Angela Robinson, your best friend!"

"Oh! Oh dear. No, I'm sorry- you must have the wrong person."

The young lady looked troubled. "Wrong person? But I called the school and they said you worked in a hospital in Surrey."

"Surrey's a big place." said Hermione, patting the lady's shoulder.

"You're not Heather Granger?"

"Oh no! My name's Hermione, though I can see how you made the mistake. You probably looked for me as H. Granger. Granger is such a common name."

The young lady smiled and shook her hand.

"Well, I'm sorry for troubling you Miss Granger. I think my friend must be at the private hospital near Guildford. I'll try that."

"Good luck. I'm sure you'll find Heather soon. Why don't I walk you to the door?"

"Oh no thank you" said the lady hurriedly. She grabbed her bag and walked quickly to the door. "It's been nice seeing you. Thanks for your help"

Hermione nodded at her retreating back. She hoped that Miss Robinson would find her friend.

Outside the community hospital, Pansy carefully extracted Hermione's hair from her ring and put it in an envelope. She was so excited that her hands trembled. As quickly as possible, she walked towards a deserted alleyway so that she could apparate back to Malfoy Manor. She knew that Lucius would be pleased with her. What could he have in mind?

            Pansy returned to Malfoy Manor and hurried to find Lucius.

            "Well done" said Lucius taking it from her. "Now, that wasn't so hard was it?"

            Pansy nodded and grinned as she watched Lucius put away the precious long strand of auburn hair.

            "And how is the mother of my bastard grandchild ?"

            The first word that popped into Pansy's mind was "beautiful". When she had seen Hermione walking towards her in the nurses' lounge wearing her white uniform and with her auburn hair pulled back to show her large honey-coloured eyes and high cheekbones to advantage, she was forced to admit to herself that whatever else Hermione Granger was, she was undeniably lovely.

            "All right. Bit thin and dull" she answered Lucius.

            Lucius tried to imagine her thin and dull but had trouble doing so. He had very vivid memories of Hermione Granger from the Graduation Ball last year. On more than one occasion, he had recalled her womanly curves, lustrous auburn hair and full pink lips…with unpleasantly lustful interest. He had not been entirely surprised that Draco would have slept with that temptress - such urges were natural… but the urge to father children and take the responsibility for them with her was what upset Lucius. That kind of responsibility showed Draco had a strong and independent mind…something that Lucius did not want to encourage.

            "You have also obtained the address of the mudblood?" said Lucius, eventually.

            "Yes," said Pansy, handing him a slip of paper. Lucius scanned it quickly and put it in his pocket. The Tenbrarum charm from Hermione before being able to see her…a small matter that could be researched quickly. His plans were well on their way.

After his interview with the Dark Lord, Lucius had an additional task: to find the child.

The only person who knew where the child was- was the secret keeper.

And the only persons who knew who the secret keeper was were Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall and Hermione Granger.

            Lucius knew that he would have to get hold of Miss Granger and force it out of her whatever it took. It would not be easy…the famous mother's love was a powerful charm and she might die before revealing where the child was. Hopefully, he would have an advantage when that time came…the co-operation of his son. Draco could be crucial.

            "Parkinson" Lucius addressed the girl who was standing quietly at his side.

            "I'm going to need more of your help."

            Pansy moved eagerly forward. "Anything, Mr Malfoy."

            Lucius smiled. "…When the polyjuice potion is completed in a few days, you must take on the form of that mudblood girl."

            Pansy nodded. She expected as much.

            "Do I get to meet with Draco then?" she asked eagerly.

            Lucius snorted. "Yes my dear. But it won't be what you think so don't get all hot and bothered."

            The girl looked disappointed.

            "In a few days, Draco will return from Hogwarts where he has been teaching. His mother has already written a loving letter to him telling him he is wanted at home. He is needed to assist me in my work and help run the Malfoy estate. Unfortunately, I believe he may also be spying for Dumbledore since aligning himself with that mudblood and her cronies. I cannot afford to have Draco spying on us any longer. Therefore, it will be necessary to change his loyalties."

            "How will I help?"

            "Draco is madly in love with that mudblood bitch. I believe it is his strongest link to Dumbledore and his little bunch of Aurors. We must sever this link completely. You, Miss Parkinson, must sever it completely. I have always known that Draco has a dark streak. All Malfoys do. The problem is how to tap it. Draco knows it too and does not entirely trust himself. It is a wonder he has suppressed it for so long.  If we do this properly, Draco will re-align his priorities and tell me everything I need to know. He will turn from Dumbledore. He will turn from his mudblood girlfriend. He will even turn…. from his own son."

            Pansy stared transfixed at Lucius' cold gray eyes as he spoke relentlessly to her. She somehow felt that Lucius was speaking from experience. There was an increasing edge of frenzy to his voice- a mix of passion and madness.

            "What must I do when I drink the polyjuice?" she asked, still looking into Lucius' gray eyes.

            Lucius reached out and traced the outline of her face with his finger.

            "You must break his heart."