A/N: Ok everyone, here is chapter 4. Finally! Sorry about the delay, but I
had to re-write almost the entire thing.
Before the story continues I have a request. I am in the need of a new beta
reader for the upcoming chapters! The one who is now beta reading "It's
only your shadow" is going away so I need all the help I can get since I am
now about halfway through chapter 5
Now on to the story ;)
Chapter 4
Hermione was rarely late for class, but this morning was one of those times she somehow had managed to be exceptionally slow and had to run to potions class.
When she finally arrived at the dungeons, she stopped in front of the classroom door to catch her breath. Hoping that she might not be that late, she carefully opened the door and moved silently along the wall of the classroom. Unfortunately, the plan, of slipping past Snape unnoticed, did not work.
"So you have decided to join us this morning after all Miss Granger. Seven points from Gryffindor for being late," Snape drawled, his voice dripping of cold sarcasm as he towered in front of her.
"Damn," she cursed under her breath, before looking up at Snape. "Yes Professor, I did, and I do apologize for being late for class. I.."
"Please spare me your story, Miss Granger, and sit, or you shall lose more house points than you already have," Severus snarled, leaving the girl mentally stabbing daggers into his back. He had no desire whatsoever to know what thoughts or doings that had delayed her.
Muttering curses at her professor, Hermione moved to the back of the classroom. Suddenly she saw something moving in the corner and Lucius stepped out of the shadows with a pleased look on his face. Her breath caught in her. Meeting Lucius eyes, Hermione saw the typical 'Lucius smirk' play in the corners of his mouth. Her cheeks felt like they were about to catch fire. The man certainly had a thing for lurking in the shadows.
At this moment, Professor Snape cleared his throat and spoke with a dry tone. "If Miss Granger could take her seat, perhaps we could begin the class?"
Tearing her eyes away from Lucius, she quickly sat down and turned her attention to Professor Snape. Doing her best to listen and take notes, but this was of course doomed to fail.
After less the five minutes her mind had wandered of to far more interesting things and she didn't catch a word what her professor said.
Harry sat down by Hermione's side, as he had been told by Snape, and asked her about the upcoming assignment but she didn't answer him. When he didn't receive a reaction after asking her three times he poked her sharply on her arm.
With a yelp Hermione woke up from her daydream about a certain blond
wizard.
"What?" she asked, glaring at Harry.
"The assignment. Remember? The one that we are supposed to do to get top grade," Harry said, barely able to hide an amused grin as he watched his friend's reaction.
"What? Snape never said anything about that! Which one is it, what if..." Hermione rambled frantically.
Evidently amused at her hysteric reaction, Harry laughed as he patted her on the back.
"Calm down 'Mione, I was merely joking. No reason to explode," he said, grinning at her.
First, she only stared at him but then her expression changed and she gave him her infamous Hermione glare's that could freeze hell if she'd like it to.
"Not amusing, not amusing at all," she muttered and turned to look at the black board where Snape had written the instructions of the potion they were going to brew.
For her, it was a simple truth potion and soon she had begun to work on it.
"Hey 'Mione, would you mind telling me what we're doing?" Harry asked after a while.
"Read the instructions Harry. I do believe you have the ability to read," she said sharply, without looking up.
"A bit cranky today, are we?" Harry chuckled as he read the instructions.
Hermione managed to keep herself from biting back at Harry, but was barely able to. The truth was that she was did feel cranky and confused and lots of other things she couldn't name. The thoughts of what had happened last night didn't leave her alone, and not all of them were pleasant. What had made her do that? Sleep with a man that soon. 'How could I be so stupid? One could think that I should show some intelligence in that kind of a situation. But oh no, I did not even object, I acted like I'm some kind of cheap slut. God knows what he must think of me.' she thought sadly.
"I would never consider you cheap Hermione, never. You are worth so much more."
Hermione jumped at the silky soothing voice, which seemed to come out of nowhere.
"No reason to be afraid my pet, no reason to be afraid." The voice was heard again, deep and soothing and this time followed by a low chuckle. She now recognized the voice. The deep, silky tone of Lucius Malfoy's voice sent a tingling feeling through her body and she carefully turned to look at him.
His face was partly hidden in the shadows were he sat in the back, but she could see his eyes glistening as he looked her.
"You see my pet. It's just me."
"I figured that. But how do you do it?" she thought, hoping that he would hear her.
"It's actually quite simple, and very useful. You had some interesting ideas there a while ago I must say," he purred and she could almost hear the lopsided grin twisting in the corners of his mouth.
As he spoke the last words, her cheeks reddened, those thoughts were private, very private.
"Uh, exactly for how long have you been reading my mind if I might ask?"
"Long enough to know that you maybe would like to try."
She stopped him before he said something that probably would make her fall of her chair.
"Don't go there Lucius, I'm in class," she thought, trying to make the statement sound stern, but she received nothing but an amused look from him as she turned around.
"We'll discuss that later then. Now go back to your potion and you shall hear from me later." And with that his presence in her was gone. For some reason she felt empty, like a piece of her had been removed when he left.
"No, no. I do not feel that way about him; I am not in love with him." she muttered as she begun to chop ingredients.
"You don't feel what 'Mione?" Harry asked and stopped stirring the half finished potion.
"Never mind Harry. Here, put these into the potion and stir three times clockwise," she said, pushing her worries away and handing him the final ingredients.
Just as Harry was finished doing so, a loud explosion was heard and a thick blue fluid poured all over the dungeon floor.
"Everybody out of the way! Mr. Longbottom what did you do this time?" Snape roared furiously, as he and his students quickly advanced on top of the desks.
Poor Neville stood completely petrified and would have been drenched in the potion if Ron hadn't gotten hold of his robe and pulled him on to a desk.
In the same time Hermione was going to get up on her desk, a gurgling sound was heard and the desk tipped over as the blue fluid created a wave and she lost her balance. Before she could react she felt someone pull her backwards into a warm embrace. She was now standing with her back pressed against Lucius' chest, on top of a disregarded desk, in the corner of the classroom.
"Ah Miss Granger, what a pleasure," he whispered seductively in her ear and discreetly let his hands travel along the curves of her waist and hips, making her squirm in his arms.
Hermione quickly captured his hands in hers before they had reached some, for the moment, inappropriate places. As their hands joined Hermione felt the same warm electric spark shot through her body she had felt the very first time he had touched her.
"Lucius, please, don't do that," she whimpered weakly and tried to clear her blurry, spinning thoughts, as he softly nuzzled the hair just above her ear.
"Afraid we might get caught? Though I highly doubt that since everyone is busy not getting killed by your friend's potion," Lucius whispered, referring to the chaos in the classroom. Almost every inch of the floor was now covered in a sticky blue mess and students were careful not to even look at it, or their potions master, either, for that matter. The man in question was now even more furious then any of them had ever seen him and his dark eyes flashed dangerously as he turned towards Neville.
"Mr. Longbottom, you have gone too far! I told all of you how dangerous any potion can be if you brew it carelessly, and yet you did! I don't ever want to see you in my classroom again, ever! Get out!" Neville was practically shaking with fear at the professors' rage.
"But sir I can't..." he stuttered, referring to the fact that he was not able to get out without touching the floor.
"Enough! You shall loose 50 house points , earn a month worth of detention with Filch and write an essay about the risks of brewing potions. Now leave my classroom!" Snape growled dangerously, casting evil looks at his students.
"But professor, I..."
"I said GET OUT!"
Hermione wriggled free from Lucius' embrace and raised her voice so Snape could hear her.
"Sir, first of all, none of us can get out as long as the potion is here and second, you can not just kick out a student from the classroom and tell him to not come back ever again," she said calmly gesturing towards the floor, then folding her arms over her chest.
"Not a very wise move Miss Granger," Lucius muttered as he knew to well just how furious Severus Snape actually could get. It was not that he was afraid of Severus, just afraid of missing his lunch, since he already had missed breakfast. Before Snape had the chance to spat an answer and a punishment at Hermione, Lucius calmly cut in.
"As much as I hate to disturb you from torturing your students, I would appreciate if we all got out of here. I have far more important things to do than spend the day in a damp dungeon with the annoying brats some of you actually call students," he sneered coldly, with an ever so superior 'Malfoy as he looked around the room with a look of complete disgust in his face.
With eyes still flashing with anger, Snape took a deep breath to calm himself and then waved his wand and the mess on the floor disappeared.
"See, that was not so hard. Was it?" Lucius drawled and then, gracefully, left the bench and strode out of the classroom.
Severus was clearly cursing at him as he left the dungeon, but Lucius felt far too pleased to care.
Hermione was stunned that she didn't get punished for her earlier comments so she did not complain when Snape told them to leave. She left very fast.
Hurrying up the stairs she felt her stomach growl in protest. She realized that she hadn't eaten since dinner yesterday.
"Night activities do make one hungry, don't they?" she heard Lucius say, in a familiar deep voice, from the shadows.
"Don't you ever get tired of lurking in the shadows?" she sighed, turning to face him where he was leaning against the wall, still a satisfied smirk playing in the corners of his mouth.
"No, they are useful. No one ever seeks to know what hides in the shadow behind them. It is frightening to know that someone might know every step you take, every move you make. That someone might be watching you." At first his tone was confident and slightly amused, but the last words were spoken in a soft whisper. She had never heard him like this before. Gone was the sarcasm and coldness. Now there was something else. Something neither of them could name.
Before she could give him an answer he had covered her lips with his and pulled her to him in a soaring kiss, making every sensible thought leave her. Time was stopping at his very touch. Stars and trickles of joy were filling her entire being and nothing else made more sense than that very moment. Wrapping her arms around his neck she clung to him as her life depended on it. It was different this time he kissed her. There was something more than the physical passion she had felt the night before; something new and something so wonderful, but in the same time frightening. Her heart raced wildly in her chest as she felt his tongue trace her lips, begging for entrance and she was not late in opening her mouth slightly, allowing him in.
Lucius mind was screaming to make him stop, to draw away and make her beg for it, but he couldn't. He just couldn't make himself draw away from her soft lips. Only as he felt something warm and damp against his cheek he broke away. Carefully taking her small face in his hands he saw that her eyes glistened with fresh tears.
"What is the matter little one? Why do you cry?" Lucius asked, holding her face between his hands.
"I don't know. It's just that I, I ..." she could not make herself say it. Tell him that she might was falling in love with him. One just did not tell a man like Lucius that you might love him after being his... whatever she was to him, only for a little more than two days.
"Tell me Hermione, tell me why you are crying," he pleaded softly, amazed by the fact the he actually cared why she was crying. Normally he was not a man to care for any other person than himself, but this was different. That one single tear on her face had melted something inside his cold, unloving heart.
"I am sorry Lucius, I can't tell you. Not now or not ever for that matter," Hermione whispered and then soundlessly buried her face in his cloak. Sobs shook her small frame as she wondered in a corner of her mind why she reacted this way. She hardly ever cried anymore but this was far out of her control.
Holding the young woman tight to him he kissed the top of her head. Why did he bother to comfort her? This was not what he was here for. He was not going to make the girl fall in love with him, only bring her with him. It was his orders, his duty. But the more he thought about it, the clearer it became to him that he couldn't do it. He could not take her with him; she deserved so much more. No matter what could happen to him if he refused to follow orders. The question was now where his loyalties lay, with something that had been there for his whole life or with something that had just now touched his heart like nothing ever before.
Softly rocking the young woman back and forth in his arms, Lucius felt her slowly begun to relax against him, the sobs fading away. Kissing the top of her head once again, he pulled away a bit and bent down to look at her.
Hermione felt Lucius' burning gaze, but was afraid to look up at him. She could not really tell what had made her burst in to tears so suddenly, but everything had ,and still did, seem so hopeless. A relationship between them, though he would probably never consider her as a partner, would fail miserably. For when people found out at least one of them was going to pay with life.
"I am really sorry Lucius. I don't know what happened to me, I've never been one to cry," she said, trying to convince both him and herself that there was nothing to be worried about.
Looking at him she saw the question in his eyes.
"Really, I am fine. It's nothing to worry about. Just a hormonal outburst," Hermione said with the best fake smile she could muster.
He looked at her for a while then shook his head, the blond hair shifting slightly.
"My dear Hermione, you are a horrible liar. But you are going to tell me later how you really are, for I must go now. But before I leave I would like to apologize to you." She tried to speak but he put a finger over her lips to silence her. "I should never have used you the way I did last night. Such actions are under my dignity." It was scary what a talented liar he had become over the years, but not that strange come to think of where his loyalties had been. But this time he just might mean what he said.
Hermione snorted at his last statement. Such actions were not under his dignity, she new that far to well. She had heard of what the Death Eaters did to torture women.
"Are they really beneath you? I have heard other things," she said, looking down at her feet.
"Yes, in this case what I say is true, believe me." He spoke softly and lightly touched her arm. Looking up at him with doubt in her eyes Hermione wondered why she even bothered to be here. Even if they got to spend time together, she was surely just a way to make time pass for him as he was at Hogwarts.
"I...I have to go now," she stuttered, feeling fresh tears filling her eyes. Without another word she turned around and ran away from him. She ran as fast as she could, away from the sound of his voice as he called after her.
As she ran through the corridors of Hogwarts, tears where falling freely down her cheeks, making her surroundings blur. When her legs went numb from the running, she fell to the floor, her whole body shaking, all her despair coming out in desperate sobs. Why did she act this way? There was no reason to break down, nothing had really happened. But in the moment Lucius had 'entered her mind' in the dungeons, something came over her, something she had never felt before.
She lay there on the cold stone floor unable to move for what seemed like ages. Looking up slowly she saw an ebony door and on it was the crest, the crest with an M encircled with white roses, but instead of the raven it had now a serpent and a lion in the corner. Slowly she got up to take a closer look. Without knowing it she had been running to the tower where Lucius' rose had taken her. Touching the lion and the serpent she expected the door to open, but it remained still and silent. She looked for a handle, but there was none, so she pushed the door but nothing happened.
Sinking down to the floor she stared into open space, silently wondering what was happening to her. In a couple of hours she had become an emotional mess and shed more tears than she had done in years. Sighing, she shook her head, got up from the floor, and slowly started walking back to where the Great Hall was located. She was not hungry anymore but she knew she had to eat something.
Dragging herself through the Great Hall, she knew she must look horrible with puffy red eyes and tangled hair. In a half-hearted gesture ,she tried to straighten out her hair and robes. She then took a deep breath and sat down in an empty seat beside Harry.
"Where have you been Hermione? You missed..." he stopped halfway through his sentence when he saw how miserable and pale his friend looked. "What is the matter Hermione? Are you ill or something?" he questioned, trying to look her in the eyes.
"I...I don't know," she sighed. "But can you tell Professor Sprout and Professor Binns that I don't feel well and therefore can not come to class?"
Harry was stunned. Was Hermione Granger actually asking him to lie to the teachers to get her out of class? But if that's what she wanted, he would, of course, do it.
"Of course I'll do that Hermione. But how are you really? You look very pale," Harry said, getting more and more worried about his friends who he had seen as her usual self in potions class. What made her change her mood so quickly?
"Thank you Harry," she said with a weak smile and then left, taking a sandwich and an apple with her.
Watching his friend Harry turned to Ron questioningly. "What do you think is wrong with her?" he asked.
"I have no idea, I have never really understood her mood swings," Ron said through mouthful potatoes.
"You and me both," Harry said shaking his head.
When Harry, four hours later, knocked on Hermione's door, to ask her if she was coming to dinner, he received no answer; so he tried the door. It was open and he quietly stepped inside, his eyes searching on Hermione and his eyes fell on her where she sat by the window, staring at the grey sky outside, heavy with snow clouds. Beside her the food lay untouched.
"Hermione," he said carefully Hermione jumped at Harry's voice. She had been sitting and staring out the window for hours.
"Sorry to startle you. Are you coming to dinner?" he asked, walking up to her.
"I don't know. I'm not that hungry," she said, again looking out the window.
"That's nonsense 'Mione and you know it. You haven't touched any food since breakfast and you have to eat," Harry stated in a slightly stern, almost fatherly, voice.
With a small smile, she nodded she stood and followed Harry to the door, straightening out her robes and hair on the way. When they arrived to the Great Hall, the dinner had already begun and the students were eagerly talking about the upcoming Hogsmeade visit as Hermione and Harry sat down with Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Ginny.
"Hi guys" Hermione said, reaching for the bowl of rice. She gasped in surprise when a huge bouquet of at least fifty white roses suddenly appeared in front of her. Smelling the flowers, she smelled a familiar scent she knew from somewhere else. 'Lucius' her mind registered and ,holding her breath, she carefully removed the attached parchment. When she unfolded it, something fell down in her lap. In the folds of her robes a necklace lay. It was a small glass ball hanging on a thin gold chain. Inside it was a tiny white rose giving a faint glow as she touched the ball to pick it up. Amazed she recognized it as the rose Lucius Malfoy had left for her. With quivering hands, she unrolled the parchment.
"Is it too late to touch you dear? We this moment knew Love marine, Love terrene, Love celestial too
"Is it too late? Will you leave me not knowing? Will you leave me and not let me lay eyes on you again? Will you do that Hermione? Or will you let me see you, touch and feel you again?
Let me know Hermione, and again put your trust in the rose. LM
Hermione simply stared at the letter. His florid handwriting, forming her favorite poem by Emily Dickinson made her quiver slightly. How did he know? And more importantly, why did he do this? He could not love her, he just couldn't. Not after that short amount of time.
'Yeah right, and you're really the one to say that. You gave him your heart long before you knew it,' a voice in her head snorted sarcastically. Shaking her head, she read the note again and was more confused than she had ever been before.
How did this happen? How did she get in this mess? Looking down on the necklace she felt numerous different emotions come over her and she had suddenly lost her appetite.
Feeling her friend's eyes on her, she looked up. "What?" she asked with a tone of slight annoyance.
"We were just wondering who gave you those flowers and the gift along with them. It seems like there is something you haven't told us Mione." Ron winked with a grin.
"It's none of your business who is sending me flowers or anything else for that matter!" she snapped angrily and quickly stood up, collecting the flowers and clutching the necklace and the parchment in her hand. Running through the Great Hall, she ignored Ron's pleadings to stop her. She did not see Draco as he blocked her way. So naturally, she ran straight into him with a loud 'thud'. Nether of them fell, but as they collided Hermione lost grip of the parchment and the necklace. Frightened, she watched Draco pick them up.
"So Granger has a new admirer," he drawled, starting to unfold the parchment. "I would very much like to see who." With an evil smirk, he opened his mouth to read it, but before he could catch a look of anything but the first lines he felt something cold on his shoulder and looked up. Behind him his father was standing with the snake headed cane on his sons shoulder.
"Now Draco, it's not very polite to read Miss Grangers mail unless she gives you permission to, is it not?" he said in calm yet cool voice that anyone knew was not to disobey.
"But father...," Draco started, planning to tell his father that she was just a mudblood.
"Be quiet Draco and give Miss Granger back what you took from her," Lucius said sternly, pressing the head of the snake harshly into his son's shoulder. With a small wince Draco let go of Hermione's things and then hurried away.
Fearing the necklace had broken as it fell to the floor she quickly
kneeled down and so did Lucius. Suddenly they were very close and Hermione felt her breath hitching in her throat.
Carefully Lucius picked up the necklace and put it around Hermione's neck.
"Don't worry, it's unbreakable, it's eternal," he whispered, helping her up. Clutching the roses and the parchment she looked at him. His face was now without any expression or emotion whatsoever.
"I must leave now" he said in a low voice, then turned around, walking down the corridor with his black robes billowing behind him.
Hermione lowered her head, sighing unhappily and began walking to the Gryffindor tower. How could a day take such a quick and strange turn?
A/N: Ok, hope you liked it. I know the tone of the story has changed a bit and that Lucius may be a bit out of character, but it is necessary for the progress of the story. Please review =) LadyEvergreen
Chapter 4
Hermione was rarely late for class, but this morning was one of those times she somehow had managed to be exceptionally slow and had to run to potions class.
When she finally arrived at the dungeons, she stopped in front of the classroom door to catch her breath. Hoping that she might not be that late, she carefully opened the door and moved silently along the wall of the classroom. Unfortunately, the plan, of slipping past Snape unnoticed, did not work.
"So you have decided to join us this morning after all Miss Granger. Seven points from Gryffindor for being late," Snape drawled, his voice dripping of cold sarcasm as he towered in front of her.
"Damn," she cursed under her breath, before looking up at Snape. "Yes Professor, I did, and I do apologize for being late for class. I.."
"Please spare me your story, Miss Granger, and sit, or you shall lose more house points than you already have," Severus snarled, leaving the girl mentally stabbing daggers into his back. He had no desire whatsoever to know what thoughts or doings that had delayed her.
Muttering curses at her professor, Hermione moved to the back of the classroom. Suddenly she saw something moving in the corner and Lucius stepped out of the shadows with a pleased look on his face. Her breath caught in her. Meeting Lucius eyes, Hermione saw the typical 'Lucius smirk' play in the corners of his mouth. Her cheeks felt like they were about to catch fire. The man certainly had a thing for lurking in the shadows.
At this moment, Professor Snape cleared his throat and spoke with a dry tone. "If Miss Granger could take her seat, perhaps we could begin the class?"
Tearing her eyes away from Lucius, she quickly sat down and turned her attention to Professor Snape. Doing her best to listen and take notes, but this was of course doomed to fail.
After less the five minutes her mind had wandered of to far more interesting things and she didn't catch a word what her professor said.
Harry sat down by Hermione's side, as he had been told by Snape, and asked her about the upcoming assignment but she didn't answer him. When he didn't receive a reaction after asking her three times he poked her sharply on her arm.
With a yelp Hermione woke up from her daydream about a certain blond
wizard.
"What?" she asked, glaring at Harry.
"The assignment. Remember? The one that we are supposed to do to get top grade," Harry said, barely able to hide an amused grin as he watched his friend's reaction.
"What? Snape never said anything about that! Which one is it, what if..." Hermione rambled frantically.
Evidently amused at her hysteric reaction, Harry laughed as he patted her on the back.
"Calm down 'Mione, I was merely joking. No reason to explode," he said, grinning at her.
First, she only stared at him but then her expression changed and she gave him her infamous Hermione glare's that could freeze hell if she'd like it to.
"Not amusing, not amusing at all," she muttered and turned to look at the black board where Snape had written the instructions of the potion they were going to brew.
For her, it was a simple truth potion and soon she had begun to work on it.
"Hey 'Mione, would you mind telling me what we're doing?" Harry asked after a while.
"Read the instructions Harry. I do believe you have the ability to read," she said sharply, without looking up.
"A bit cranky today, are we?" Harry chuckled as he read the instructions.
Hermione managed to keep herself from biting back at Harry, but was barely able to. The truth was that she was did feel cranky and confused and lots of other things she couldn't name. The thoughts of what had happened last night didn't leave her alone, and not all of them were pleasant. What had made her do that? Sleep with a man that soon. 'How could I be so stupid? One could think that I should show some intelligence in that kind of a situation. But oh no, I did not even object, I acted like I'm some kind of cheap slut. God knows what he must think of me.' she thought sadly.
"I would never consider you cheap Hermione, never. You are worth so much more."
Hermione jumped at the silky soothing voice, which seemed to come out of nowhere.
"No reason to be afraid my pet, no reason to be afraid." The voice was heard again, deep and soothing and this time followed by a low chuckle. She now recognized the voice. The deep, silky tone of Lucius Malfoy's voice sent a tingling feeling through her body and she carefully turned to look at him.
His face was partly hidden in the shadows were he sat in the back, but she could see his eyes glistening as he looked her.
"You see my pet. It's just me."
"I figured that. But how do you do it?" she thought, hoping that he would hear her.
"It's actually quite simple, and very useful. You had some interesting ideas there a while ago I must say," he purred and she could almost hear the lopsided grin twisting in the corners of his mouth.
As he spoke the last words, her cheeks reddened, those thoughts were private, very private.
"Uh, exactly for how long have you been reading my mind if I might ask?"
"Long enough to know that you maybe would like to try."
She stopped him before he said something that probably would make her fall of her chair.
"Don't go there Lucius, I'm in class," she thought, trying to make the statement sound stern, but she received nothing but an amused look from him as she turned around.
"We'll discuss that later then. Now go back to your potion and you shall hear from me later." And with that his presence in her was gone. For some reason she felt empty, like a piece of her had been removed when he left.
"No, no. I do not feel that way about him; I am not in love with him." she muttered as she begun to chop ingredients.
"You don't feel what 'Mione?" Harry asked and stopped stirring the half finished potion.
"Never mind Harry. Here, put these into the potion and stir three times clockwise," she said, pushing her worries away and handing him the final ingredients.
Just as Harry was finished doing so, a loud explosion was heard and a thick blue fluid poured all over the dungeon floor.
"Everybody out of the way! Mr. Longbottom what did you do this time?" Snape roared furiously, as he and his students quickly advanced on top of the desks.
Poor Neville stood completely petrified and would have been drenched in the potion if Ron hadn't gotten hold of his robe and pulled him on to a desk.
In the same time Hermione was going to get up on her desk, a gurgling sound was heard and the desk tipped over as the blue fluid created a wave and she lost her balance. Before she could react she felt someone pull her backwards into a warm embrace. She was now standing with her back pressed against Lucius' chest, on top of a disregarded desk, in the corner of the classroom.
"Ah Miss Granger, what a pleasure," he whispered seductively in her ear and discreetly let his hands travel along the curves of her waist and hips, making her squirm in his arms.
Hermione quickly captured his hands in hers before they had reached some, for the moment, inappropriate places. As their hands joined Hermione felt the same warm electric spark shot through her body she had felt the very first time he had touched her.
"Lucius, please, don't do that," she whimpered weakly and tried to clear her blurry, spinning thoughts, as he softly nuzzled the hair just above her ear.
"Afraid we might get caught? Though I highly doubt that since everyone is busy not getting killed by your friend's potion," Lucius whispered, referring to the chaos in the classroom. Almost every inch of the floor was now covered in a sticky blue mess and students were careful not to even look at it, or their potions master, either, for that matter. The man in question was now even more furious then any of them had ever seen him and his dark eyes flashed dangerously as he turned towards Neville.
"Mr. Longbottom, you have gone too far! I told all of you how dangerous any potion can be if you brew it carelessly, and yet you did! I don't ever want to see you in my classroom again, ever! Get out!" Neville was practically shaking with fear at the professors' rage.
"But sir I can't..." he stuttered, referring to the fact that he was not able to get out without touching the floor.
"Enough! You shall loose 50 house points , earn a month worth of detention with Filch and write an essay about the risks of brewing potions. Now leave my classroom!" Snape growled dangerously, casting evil looks at his students.
"But professor, I..."
"I said GET OUT!"
Hermione wriggled free from Lucius' embrace and raised her voice so Snape could hear her.
"Sir, first of all, none of us can get out as long as the potion is here and second, you can not just kick out a student from the classroom and tell him to not come back ever again," she said calmly gesturing towards the floor, then folding her arms over her chest.
"Not a very wise move Miss Granger," Lucius muttered as he knew to well just how furious Severus Snape actually could get. It was not that he was afraid of Severus, just afraid of missing his lunch, since he already had missed breakfast. Before Snape had the chance to spat an answer and a punishment at Hermione, Lucius calmly cut in.
"As much as I hate to disturb you from torturing your students, I would appreciate if we all got out of here. I have far more important things to do than spend the day in a damp dungeon with the annoying brats some of you actually call students," he sneered coldly, with an ever so superior 'Malfoy as he looked around the room with a look of complete disgust in his face.
With eyes still flashing with anger, Snape took a deep breath to calm himself and then waved his wand and the mess on the floor disappeared.
"See, that was not so hard. Was it?" Lucius drawled and then, gracefully, left the bench and strode out of the classroom.
Severus was clearly cursing at him as he left the dungeon, but Lucius felt far too pleased to care.
Hermione was stunned that she didn't get punished for her earlier comments so she did not complain when Snape told them to leave. She left very fast.
Hurrying up the stairs she felt her stomach growl in protest. She realized that she hadn't eaten since dinner yesterday.
"Night activities do make one hungry, don't they?" she heard Lucius say, in a familiar deep voice, from the shadows.
"Don't you ever get tired of lurking in the shadows?" she sighed, turning to face him where he was leaning against the wall, still a satisfied smirk playing in the corners of his mouth.
"No, they are useful. No one ever seeks to know what hides in the shadow behind them. It is frightening to know that someone might know every step you take, every move you make. That someone might be watching you." At first his tone was confident and slightly amused, but the last words were spoken in a soft whisper. She had never heard him like this before. Gone was the sarcasm and coldness. Now there was something else. Something neither of them could name.
Before she could give him an answer he had covered her lips with his and pulled her to him in a soaring kiss, making every sensible thought leave her. Time was stopping at his very touch. Stars and trickles of joy were filling her entire being and nothing else made more sense than that very moment. Wrapping her arms around his neck she clung to him as her life depended on it. It was different this time he kissed her. There was something more than the physical passion she had felt the night before; something new and something so wonderful, but in the same time frightening. Her heart raced wildly in her chest as she felt his tongue trace her lips, begging for entrance and she was not late in opening her mouth slightly, allowing him in.
Lucius mind was screaming to make him stop, to draw away and make her beg for it, but he couldn't. He just couldn't make himself draw away from her soft lips. Only as he felt something warm and damp against his cheek he broke away. Carefully taking her small face in his hands he saw that her eyes glistened with fresh tears.
"What is the matter little one? Why do you cry?" Lucius asked, holding her face between his hands.
"I don't know. It's just that I, I ..." she could not make herself say it. Tell him that she might was falling in love with him. One just did not tell a man like Lucius that you might love him after being his... whatever she was to him, only for a little more than two days.
"Tell me Hermione, tell me why you are crying," he pleaded softly, amazed by the fact the he actually cared why she was crying. Normally he was not a man to care for any other person than himself, but this was different. That one single tear on her face had melted something inside his cold, unloving heart.
"I am sorry Lucius, I can't tell you. Not now or not ever for that matter," Hermione whispered and then soundlessly buried her face in his cloak. Sobs shook her small frame as she wondered in a corner of her mind why she reacted this way. She hardly ever cried anymore but this was far out of her control.
Holding the young woman tight to him he kissed the top of her head. Why did he bother to comfort her? This was not what he was here for. He was not going to make the girl fall in love with him, only bring her with him. It was his orders, his duty. But the more he thought about it, the clearer it became to him that he couldn't do it. He could not take her with him; she deserved so much more. No matter what could happen to him if he refused to follow orders. The question was now where his loyalties lay, with something that had been there for his whole life or with something that had just now touched his heart like nothing ever before.
Softly rocking the young woman back and forth in his arms, Lucius felt her slowly begun to relax against him, the sobs fading away. Kissing the top of her head once again, he pulled away a bit and bent down to look at her.
Hermione felt Lucius' burning gaze, but was afraid to look up at him. She could not really tell what had made her burst in to tears so suddenly, but everything had ,and still did, seem so hopeless. A relationship between them, though he would probably never consider her as a partner, would fail miserably. For when people found out at least one of them was going to pay with life.
"I am really sorry Lucius. I don't know what happened to me, I've never been one to cry," she said, trying to convince both him and herself that there was nothing to be worried about.
Looking at him she saw the question in his eyes.
"Really, I am fine. It's nothing to worry about. Just a hormonal outburst," Hermione said with the best fake smile she could muster.
He looked at her for a while then shook his head, the blond hair shifting slightly.
"My dear Hermione, you are a horrible liar. But you are going to tell me later how you really are, for I must go now. But before I leave I would like to apologize to you." She tried to speak but he put a finger over her lips to silence her. "I should never have used you the way I did last night. Such actions are under my dignity." It was scary what a talented liar he had become over the years, but not that strange come to think of where his loyalties had been. But this time he just might mean what he said.
Hermione snorted at his last statement. Such actions were not under his dignity, she new that far to well. She had heard of what the Death Eaters did to torture women.
"Are they really beneath you? I have heard other things," she said, looking down at her feet.
"Yes, in this case what I say is true, believe me." He spoke softly and lightly touched her arm. Looking up at him with doubt in her eyes Hermione wondered why she even bothered to be here. Even if they got to spend time together, she was surely just a way to make time pass for him as he was at Hogwarts.
"I...I have to go now," she stuttered, feeling fresh tears filling her eyes. Without another word she turned around and ran away from him. She ran as fast as she could, away from the sound of his voice as he called after her.
As she ran through the corridors of Hogwarts, tears where falling freely down her cheeks, making her surroundings blur. When her legs went numb from the running, she fell to the floor, her whole body shaking, all her despair coming out in desperate sobs. Why did she act this way? There was no reason to break down, nothing had really happened. But in the moment Lucius had 'entered her mind' in the dungeons, something came over her, something she had never felt before.
She lay there on the cold stone floor unable to move for what seemed like ages. Looking up slowly she saw an ebony door and on it was the crest, the crest with an M encircled with white roses, but instead of the raven it had now a serpent and a lion in the corner. Slowly she got up to take a closer look. Without knowing it she had been running to the tower where Lucius' rose had taken her. Touching the lion and the serpent she expected the door to open, but it remained still and silent. She looked for a handle, but there was none, so she pushed the door but nothing happened.
Sinking down to the floor she stared into open space, silently wondering what was happening to her. In a couple of hours she had become an emotional mess and shed more tears than she had done in years. Sighing, she shook her head, got up from the floor, and slowly started walking back to where the Great Hall was located. She was not hungry anymore but she knew she had to eat something.
Dragging herself through the Great Hall, she knew she must look horrible with puffy red eyes and tangled hair. In a half-hearted gesture ,she tried to straighten out her hair and robes. She then took a deep breath and sat down in an empty seat beside Harry.
"Where have you been Hermione? You missed..." he stopped halfway through his sentence when he saw how miserable and pale his friend looked. "What is the matter Hermione? Are you ill or something?" he questioned, trying to look her in the eyes.
"I...I don't know," she sighed. "But can you tell Professor Sprout and Professor Binns that I don't feel well and therefore can not come to class?"
Harry was stunned. Was Hermione Granger actually asking him to lie to the teachers to get her out of class? But if that's what she wanted, he would, of course, do it.
"Of course I'll do that Hermione. But how are you really? You look very pale," Harry said, getting more and more worried about his friends who he had seen as her usual self in potions class. What made her change her mood so quickly?
"Thank you Harry," she said with a weak smile and then left, taking a sandwich and an apple with her.
Watching his friend Harry turned to Ron questioningly. "What do you think is wrong with her?" he asked.
"I have no idea, I have never really understood her mood swings," Ron said through mouthful potatoes.
"You and me both," Harry said shaking his head.
When Harry, four hours later, knocked on Hermione's door, to ask her if she was coming to dinner, he received no answer; so he tried the door. It was open and he quietly stepped inside, his eyes searching on Hermione and his eyes fell on her where she sat by the window, staring at the grey sky outside, heavy with snow clouds. Beside her the food lay untouched.
"Hermione," he said carefully Hermione jumped at Harry's voice. She had been sitting and staring out the window for hours.
"Sorry to startle you. Are you coming to dinner?" he asked, walking up to her.
"I don't know. I'm not that hungry," she said, again looking out the window.
"That's nonsense 'Mione and you know it. You haven't touched any food since breakfast and you have to eat," Harry stated in a slightly stern, almost fatherly, voice.
With a small smile, she nodded she stood and followed Harry to the door, straightening out her robes and hair on the way. When they arrived to the Great Hall, the dinner had already begun and the students were eagerly talking about the upcoming Hogsmeade visit as Hermione and Harry sat down with Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Ginny.
"Hi guys" Hermione said, reaching for the bowl of rice. She gasped in surprise when a huge bouquet of at least fifty white roses suddenly appeared in front of her. Smelling the flowers, she smelled a familiar scent she knew from somewhere else. 'Lucius' her mind registered and ,holding her breath, she carefully removed the attached parchment. When she unfolded it, something fell down in her lap. In the folds of her robes a necklace lay. It was a small glass ball hanging on a thin gold chain. Inside it was a tiny white rose giving a faint glow as she touched the ball to pick it up. Amazed she recognized it as the rose Lucius Malfoy had left for her. With quivering hands, she unrolled the parchment.
"Is it too late to touch you dear? We this moment knew Love marine, Love terrene, Love celestial too
"Is it too late? Will you leave me not knowing? Will you leave me and not let me lay eyes on you again? Will you do that Hermione? Or will you let me see you, touch and feel you again?
Let me know Hermione, and again put your trust in the rose. LM
Hermione simply stared at the letter. His florid handwriting, forming her favorite poem by Emily Dickinson made her quiver slightly. How did he know? And more importantly, why did he do this? He could not love her, he just couldn't. Not after that short amount of time.
'Yeah right, and you're really the one to say that. You gave him your heart long before you knew it,' a voice in her head snorted sarcastically. Shaking her head, she read the note again and was more confused than she had ever been before.
How did this happen? How did she get in this mess? Looking down on the necklace she felt numerous different emotions come over her and she had suddenly lost her appetite.
Feeling her friend's eyes on her, she looked up. "What?" she asked with a tone of slight annoyance.
"We were just wondering who gave you those flowers and the gift along with them. It seems like there is something you haven't told us Mione." Ron winked with a grin.
"It's none of your business who is sending me flowers or anything else for that matter!" she snapped angrily and quickly stood up, collecting the flowers and clutching the necklace and the parchment in her hand. Running through the Great Hall, she ignored Ron's pleadings to stop her. She did not see Draco as he blocked her way. So naturally, she ran straight into him with a loud 'thud'. Nether of them fell, but as they collided Hermione lost grip of the parchment and the necklace. Frightened, she watched Draco pick them up.
"So Granger has a new admirer," he drawled, starting to unfold the parchment. "I would very much like to see who." With an evil smirk, he opened his mouth to read it, but before he could catch a look of anything but the first lines he felt something cold on his shoulder and looked up. Behind him his father was standing with the snake headed cane on his sons shoulder.
"Now Draco, it's not very polite to read Miss Grangers mail unless she gives you permission to, is it not?" he said in calm yet cool voice that anyone knew was not to disobey.
"But father...," Draco started, planning to tell his father that she was just a mudblood.
"Be quiet Draco and give Miss Granger back what you took from her," Lucius said sternly, pressing the head of the snake harshly into his son's shoulder. With a small wince Draco let go of Hermione's things and then hurried away.
Fearing the necklace had broken as it fell to the floor she quickly
kneeled down and so did Lucius. Suddenly they were very close and Hermione felt her breath hitching in her throat.
Carefully Lucius picked up the necklace and put it around Hermione's neck.
"Don't worry, it's unbreakable, it's eternal," he whispered, helping her up. Clutching the roses and the parchment she looked at him. His face was now without any expression or emotion whatsoever.
"I must leave now" he said in a low voice, then turned around, walking down the corridor with his black robes billowing behind him.
Hermione lowered her head, sighing unhappily and began walking to the Gryffindor tower. How could a day take such a quick and strange turn?
A/N: Ok, hope you liked it. I know the tone of the story has changed a bit and that Lucius may be a bit out of character, but it is necessary for the progress of the story. Please review =) LadyEvergreen