Lucius Malfoy wasn't happy with his current situation, but he couldn't complain. In all the turmoil of the past war, he managed to commune his prison sentence in Azbakan with house arrest. The boy-who-lived, Harry Potter, had a great deal of credit in freeing his family. Fortunately, the arrest was over and Lucius himself hoped that he would never have to meet anyone from the Order of the Phoenix again. He was helped by the fact that although he was still the head of the Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy, he was represented outside the Manor by his son, Draco. He was really proud of him. However, his innate reticence in expressing words of appreciation prevented him from saying so to the person most concerned about it.
For the middle-aged platinum blond, it was going to be an evening like any other in the past six months. He ate supper, said goodbye to his wife and, in order not to disturb her in her night's rest, went with the book to his study. Despite being prejudiced against Muggle-borns for as long as he could remember, it didn't escape his notice that Muggles had a highly developed culture. He himself was a lover of Muggle literature. And it was with the opening of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen that the evening that changed his life forever began.
Crack.
Lucius stared at the floor between his office door and the desk he was sitting at with an expression of deep surprise. He saw a battered woman. She was petite and her wavy brown hair was clearly matted with blood. As he looked at her, he saw that her body also bore signs of significant loss of blood.
"Dammit, how did she Apparate here? That's not possible unless you're Malfoy." - complaining about the situation, he began to act instinctively, healing her as much as he could - "Are you awake? I think you were hit by one of my friend's curses. You're lucky I know what to do in a situation like this, and we didn't have to wait for him to come to help."
"Help me..." - Her voice was strangely familiar to him - "Help me but don't tell anyone I'm here... Please." - guided by a hunch, he brushed her hair from her face and froze. - "Miss Granger? What happened? How did you apparate here? The wards are specially reinforced."
Instead of answering, he saw the girl lose consciousness. Despite the momentary shock, he still tried to help her. He wouldn't know how to explain the current situation, so he snuck out to his lab so no one would know he needed blood replenishment potions. When he returned, the girl was even paler and still unconscious. Lucius knelt beside her, gently lifted her head and, after opening her mouth, slowly poured more vials into them. After a few hours she started to wake up.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy," her voice was really weak. "I had no one else to turn to."
The man snorted in disbelief. - "Really?"
"Yes. And do you know why? You are a person who really has an interest in helping me."
"I don't understand. Could you tell me how you got past the wards first? You must have Malfoy's blood or be Malfoy's wife to avoid them."
There was an unbearable silence between them for a moment. Her honey-brown eyes glistened with tears. Lucius handed her a painkiller potion.
"Or have Malfoy's blood in you." - she sighed. - "I'm pregnant. Draco doesn't know. No one but you can know. I was with friends when we were attacked. I don't know what I got, but there's a lot of blood at the scene. I hope they consider me at least missing. Although… The option of recognizing as dead person is also tempting. I want to disappear. And I thought, since it's going to be a half-blood grandson, you'd help us hide so no one finds out." - She said it all in one breath. He felt that she was afraid of his reaction.
"Pregnant? Now it makes sense. How are you? And why do you want to disappear?" - He was angry, but the thought that the girl didn't want to force her way into his son's life calmed him down a bit.
"Better. These were superficial wounds. I was exhausted by Apparition from France."
Lucius's stomach leaped into his throat. He was also impressed. She made it despite her condition. However, she was wrong about one thing. These were not superficial wounds.
"Can you sit down?" - When he saw her nod slowly, he lifted her up, propping her arm up. Once she sat down, he decided to ask what happened that she decided to seek help from him. - "You could have disappeared without my help. What brought you here? And what made you want to disappear."
"You are an intelligent wizard. I thought you'd understand. First of all, a Golden Girl's pregnancy with an ex-Death Eater would be a scandal. I don't want to be accused of betraying the Order during the war. Draco, on the other hand, could be targeted by blood purists. Second, you have skills that helped me avoid bleeding out. Third, how the hell am I supposed to lock the Black Tapestry and the Malfoy Birth Book myself? When I give birth, the truth will come out. It will appear not only that I have a child, but also that I am alive. After all, the dead don't give birth."
Lucius considered it. He agreed with her reasoning. At the moment, he didn't even care that she hadn't revealed the reason for her intended escape. Still, he wanted to know.
"You're right. You know I wasn't expecting you here. I didn't expect you to be pregnant or spend several hours giving you blood-replenishing potions. It's almost 4 in the morning. I'm tired and I'm not thinking." - He tried to smile to calm her down.
"Will you help me?" She looked at him hopefully.
"I will help, but I'm not altruistic. You won't be able to go back to England. And you'll have to tell me why you want to disappear." - This time he smiled so that he looked like an adult version of Draco up to something.
"Okay. So where are we going?"
"On property that belongs to me but doesn't belong to the family estate. This is my sanctuary. Even my wife doesn't know about it."
Crack.
With that sound, Lucius Malfoy Apparated to his asylum. Unaware that this was the beginning of an unexpected friendship between one of the Death Eaters and the Ministry's flagship Mudblood.
But who would care about that?
xxx
Despite being prejudiced against Muggle-borns for as long as he could remember, it didn't escape his notice that Muggles had a highly developed culture. He himself was a lover of Muggle literature. And it was with the opening of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen that the evening that changed his life forever began.