Hey!
I'm back... gesch, I'm fast ;)
In this chappie we'll face Lucius again... coldhearted, sexy, bastard :) And a... terrified Hermione whom seems to have troubels with her language (again) and ther's a dark room... creepy...
One of my reviewers asked me when Hermione will wed Lucius... ah... and the answer is... I don't know heh but never fear... she'll not get away... I think...
Please enjoy and review...
Still Life – meet your fiancé
Take a look in the pool and what do you see
In the dark depths there faces beckoning me
Can't you see them it's plain for all to see
They were there oh I know you don't believe me.
Oh.....I've never felt so strange
but.....I'm not going insane.
How did it come to this? Hermione closed the door behind her. On the staircase she caught a glimpse of Albin's disappearing robe. Probably his Gryffindor courage had betrayed him while facing the bad-tempered potions master. Hermione took a deep breath and began the climb upwards on the staircase, her legs were shaking and her breathing was irregular… this was her nightmare she realised or at least the beginning of a never-ending nightmare.
The stairs seemed to end too quickly. If she was to choose, this staircase would've never ended, she would have kept on climbing until the day of doom. But there she was, at the top of the staircase and in the large hallway which led the way to Dumbledore's office. She walked in trance; each step seemed to bring her closer to the end of her life. The large gargoyle, which was the guardian of the secret staircase, which led the way to her doom, seemed to be evil and judging. Hermione swallowed and spoke:
"Gummy bears."
The gargoyle started shaking and after a few seconds a staircase was in sight. She drew a deep breath and took one step upwards, and then another. She kept on counting them; three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, and twelve. And so on until she reached three hundred and was facing Dumbledore's enormous oak door with black iron mountings, with creepers and beautiful leaves, which almost looked real in the strange, green light that an old-fashioned lamp threw. She just stood there, staring at the door, gaping like a goldfish in a desperate need of air. She couldn't do it; she couldn't open that door…
'Good god, please someone – if you hear me – please tell me that he's not in there, please tell me that this is a terribly mistake!'
"Miss Granger?" Hermione heard Albus' voice through the door, she knew that he wasn't alone in there; she felt cold and couldn't bring herself to answer. She closed her eyes and pretended that this was a bad dream, this wasn't REAL!
"Dear child, my dear child" Hermione opened her eyes slightly and was met with Albus' blue eyes; she shook her head numbly and whispered:
"I don't want to enter that room, headmaster, I don't want t-t-to face him."
She saw sorrow and sadness in the old wizard's eyes; she saw how his shoulders slumped down and how he blinked to hold tears at bay. She did pity him; the poor man who was forced to see so many children in his care face their end as wives and husbands against their will. And he wasn't able to stop it.
"I know… I know you don't my child, and if there was anything I could do to stop this I…"
"I know." Hermione sighed and wrapped her arms around the old wizard. Somehow that made her feel better. Somehow his aura of power and kindness gave her the strength she needed to face what was to come.
"How touching." A lazy voice drawled from somewhere behind Albus' back.
Hermione's eyes narrowed at the sound of that voice. God she hated just the way it flooded through the air and sent shivers down her spine. Albus turned around and faced the blonde wizard that leaned against the wall just one or two meters away.
"Lucius, if you please, take a seat so we may discus this matter in private."
"Indeed, headmaster." Lucius retorted and strode over to a green armchair in front of Albus' writing desk. Hermione didn't fail to notice the satisfied smirk which graced his lips. She drew another deep breath and entered the room. She took a seat as far away from Lucius as she could.
Dumbledore positioned himself behind his desk, with a troubled look upon his wrinkled face. He picked up a scroll, the very scroll that contained the marriage law. Hermione's eyes were pasted on his every move. Somehow, deep down she still hoped that the Hogwarts headmaster would crack a smile and tell Lucius that he'd found a loophole. And that the blonde wizard had to leave Hermione the hell alone.
"I take it you've already set a date for the wedding, Lucius." Dumbledore said with an icy voice.
"Of course." The blond wizard sneered and locked his icy blue stare with Dumbledore's ocean blue. "This is the first meeting out of four I'll have with my fiancé, so that leaves us with four weeks from now until we'll be married."
At that statement Hermione swallowed and closed her eyes, this was truly insane. She only had four weeks left of her freedom?
'Oh no! My N.E.W.T's!' her mind shrieked, just four weeks. 'I'll not be able to graduate! At the time of my exam I'll be trapped in Malfoy manor! That evil creature! Oh fuck I hate him!'
"But then she'll not be able to graduate." Albus stated with a steady voice.
"Is that so?" Lucius said and Hermione saw the evil smile that cracked on his lips. "My, my, my I must have forgotten that little detail… what a pity."
"No worries, Lucius," Albus said in a stern tone, "Our Hermione is Hogwarts top student, and I'll not allow her to leave this school without her finishing her exams. Therefore she'll be able to take her tests before your wedding. That will make it possible for her to look for work later in her life."
Lucius' features tensed slightly and he narrowed his eyes dangerously as he leant forward. His nose almost touched Albus' as he spoke in a harsh tone:
"A Malfoy wife never looks for work, headmaster."
"Not in the past maybe, but this regards Hermione and I know she'll stop at nothing when it regards her future and reputation. You can't keep her at home, Lucius, and if you do so against her will you'll regret it."
There was a battle of wills, the air around the two men sparkled with tension. Lucius' cold eyes fought Albus' ocean blue eyes, which sparkled with some unknown power. Finally Lucius gave up; he slumped back in his chair and whispered:
"We'll see about that, Dumbledore, mark my words, we'll see about that."
"I don't doubt that, Lucius, I really don't."
Suddenly Lucius turned to Hermione, his eyes locked with hers, a smile played on his lips, just as if he had found something very amusing. Hermione swallowed against her dry throat. That smile scared her to no limits and she didn't like the sparkle of pleasure that shot through Lucius' eyes when he turned to Albus once again.
"Now if you'll excuse us, headmaster, I have to speak with my fiancé in private."
The look of utter shock graced Dumbledore's face; the old wizard shook his head. Hermione was dumbfounded; she didn't want to speak with Lucius in private. She didn't want to be anywhere near him let alone in private.
"Surely there's no need for that, Lucius?" Dumbledore said with an almost pleading voice.
"Oh, but there is, headmaster. So if you'll excuse us…" Lucius rose from his chair, his black coat swirled gracefully around him as he did. "Come now, Hermione."
Hermione didn't move an inch; she wouldn't leave this room, no matter what he did to her. She looked anywhere but at him. Her eyes searched for Albus' but the old wizard had lowered his gaze. She felt panic when a leather clad hand gripped her shoulder.
"My little one, are you scared?"
'Scared? Scared?' Her mind shirked. 'Are you scared? Will you let him break you? Will you go down that easily? He'll win if he sees that you fear him… scared… scared?'
"I am not." She snapped and met his eyes. Inside she felt fury, anger! This man had destroyed her life and she acted like a lost puppy.
She got up from her chair and faced him with her full height, and even then he still seemed to tower above her. This man was dangerous, very dangerous, but there and then she felt powerful. She was smart and would become a powerful witch; she wouldn't go down without a fight.
"Ah… Gryffindor courage," He purred, "So typical. Well then my dearest, follow me, we have much to discuss."
She threw a last glance in Dumbledore's direction, and she found a proud smile on his lips. Yep, if she kept this up then there'll be no problems.
I've no doubt that you think I'm off my head
You don't say but it's in your eyes instead
Hours I spend out just gazing into that pool
Something draws me there I don't know what to do.
Oh.....they drain my strength away
Oh.....they're asking me to stay.
Nightmares.....spirits calling me
Nightmares.....they won't leave me be.
'What a pity,' Lucius thought as he slammed the door to Albus Dumbledore's office shut, 'I saw the panic, the sweet fear and then her Gryffindor instincts had to kick in and destroy the fun.'
He followed the outraged young woman through the castle; she had no idea where her feet were taking them. Lucius chuckled as he watched her petite curves. Yes, he'd made a good choice; her waist was slim, maybe a bit too slim; she probably skipped her meals and studied instead. Her legs were well shaped but Lucius could see that she wasn't in to athletics. He let his gaze wander and halted in the area around her wobbling bum.
'Her hips weren't such an outstanding feature, more food and less studying would do her good.' He thought as he let his gaze wander a bit higher: 'Apparently her breasts weren't an outstanding feature either, but they would probably fit just perfectly in my palm.'
He continued to study her; his intense stare graced her neck and then admired the way she held her head. He studied her hair, which of course was a mass of brown curls which she didn't bother to tame in any way.
The girl in front of him must have felt him studying her because she stopped and turned around to face him, her eyes were livid and Lucius chuckled once again. They were beautiful her eyes; brown like chocolate with golden brown touches.
"What do you think you are doing?" She spat and transfixed him with her stare.
Lucius smiled and came closer; he saw how she had to fight the desire to back away. When he was close enough to smell the sweet scent of her perfume, he lent forward and whispered:
"Maybe I'm just thinking about our wedding night."
All my life's blood is slowly draining away
and I feel that I'm weaker every day
Somehow I know I haven't long to go
Joining them at the bottom of the pool.
Now.....I feel they are so near
I.....begin to see them all the time
Nightmares.....Will give me peace of mind.
She saw how he, like in a slow motion movie, leant forward and whispered with a reduced, harsh voice:
"Maybe I'm just thinking about our wedding night."
'Oh my god,' She thought and drew a shaky breath, 'Calm, Hermione, calm. He's trying to scare you, remember that… don't let him scare you!'
"Perverted bastard." She hissed and narrowed her eyes.
He just smiled, Hermione gulped; maybe she'd hit wrong spot. She didn't even have time to react before he'd slammed a door open and pushed himself and her into an old, dark classroom. She was slammed against a wall. She could feel the cold stone against her bare legs, his leather clad hands held her shoulders captive while one of his knees was positioned between her legs, thus holding her perfectly still.
"And here we are again my dearest," He whispered in her ear, "I take it that you like these moments because you persist to constantly irritate me."
'Control, Hermione! He wants control!'
"Shut your fucking mouth, Malfoy, I hate you! I hate you!" She screamed in a high pitched voice.
'Oh my god!' Her mind screamed, 'What in the name of Merlin made me say that… shit he's going to fucking kill me!'
She caught a glimpse of his eyes, they were slightly narrowed and a dangerous smile played on his graceful lips. She swallowed, why didn't he do something? Why didn't he just…
She sucked in her breath as one of his hands loosened its grip around her shoulder and started to travel down her body. His hand made a stop exactly where her skirt ended, his index finger made lazy circles exactly where the skirts lining ended. Slow, deadly slow his hand made its way to her inner thigh and then further upwards…
'Oh no! No, NO, NO! He can't touch me there!' Her mind screamed, and finally her arms seemed to realise that they were free. She tried to push him off, but her attempts where fruitless. He was her superior in everything when it came to body strength.
His hand was dangerously close to its goal. Hermione panicked, where was her wand? Her right hand started to fumble in her robe, Lucius seemed to realise for what she was searching. He chuckled and whispered:
"No need to worry my dearest, I took care of your wand a long time ago, its safe in my pocket."
'Alright, he's got my wand; I can't push him off, what to do? What to do?'
Lucius' hand came closer and closer to its goal. Hermione finally realised the only thing she could do and she did it. She opened her mouth and screamed. Lucius' hand left her thigh and in a flash she found herself silenced with it instead. His face showed anger and Hermione swallowed:
'Bad idea! Bad idea!'
"That wasn't a brilliant move, mudblood." He hissed and leant forward once more, this time their noses were inches apart. She could feel the scent off his breath; mint and citrus.
She didn't answer; she was caught up in the furious winter storm that raged in his icy blue eyes. Her eyes wandered over his pale face and the devilish smirk that was printed on his lips. He saw how she studied him, which brought a wicked smile to his face and a cold laugh to echo against the walls.
"Gryffindor courage, I've always admired it even though it sometimes drives me crazy."
Suddenly his lips came crushing down on hers. In panic she gasped, which allowed Lucius to slip his tongue inside her mouth. She was frozen on the spot; this was her first kiss with tongues involved. She was so shocked by that fact that she'd failed to notice that Lucius had ended the kiss. He threw her wand on the floor and left the room.
Now it's clear and I know what I have to do
I must take you down there to look at them too
Hand in hand then we'll jump right into the pool
can't you see not just me they want you too.
Oh.....we'll drown together
It.....will be forever.
Nightmares.....forever calling me
Nightmares.....Now we rest in peace.
Oh god - I mean, I'm evil leaving you there ;) but hey, you'll just have to wait untill next chappie...
Thanks to my lovely reviewers and my beta!