Disclaimer: I think we all know I own none of this.
A/N: please review. It keeps me going. Also I need you all to vote. This fic is not over, but I have been toying with ideas for another Lucius/Hermione one when I am done. Either a time turner fic—which I have never done or one involving the Mirror of Erised. Or one that involves both. So please review and vote for which one you want to read!
Chapter 9
Reunion
Leaning against the door in unexplained relief, Hermione looked up to find Lucius standing there in his pajama bottoms again.
"I was just coming to ward you door, Miss Granger."
She blinked. Lucius' eyebrow quirked up in question to her silence.
"Th…there was a noise…across the hall…"
She took a tentative step from the door. Lucius walked up and stood right in front of her, so close they were nearly touching. Holding out his wand, he began to ward his own door as he spoke.
"I would have never seen you as the type of girl to be afraid of things that go bump in the night."
Hermione stood there, quite stiff, wondering why he was warding his own door when he was on his way to warding hers. He motioned toward the bed.
"Do get some rest, Miss Granger. You shall never accomplish Occlumency if you do not sleep."
Hermione said nothing. She didn't know if she could. Why was this man an arse one moment and the next he was almost comforting—almost? Apprehensively she wandered to the four-poster bed and crawled under the covers. As she laid her head on the pillow, she suddenly felt wide-awake. She watched Lucius wander around the room placing various objects back in their place. Walking over to the bed, he picked up a book from a bedside table as he settled himself on top of the covers. Slowly, as Lucius read to himself, Hermione's eyelids grew heavy and soon she was fast asleep.
As Lucius read, his eyes kept cutting to the girl curled up under his covers sleeping. He couldn't help the smirk that formed. True, she was only there do to a silly little fear, but what would the great Harry Potter say if he knew his best friend was laying in the bed of Lucius Malfoy? With those thoughts floating in his mind, he closed his book and extinguished all lights.
The night was late and the halls were dark. A shadowy figure stood outside Lucius' bedroom. Wand in hand, the shadowy figure made a precise movement allowing him to see beyond the bedroom door to the room and what lay inside. The occupants were asleep. Lucius lay on his back, the girl had an arm around his waist, head resting near his chest, leg draped over his and settled between his. Lucius had his arm around the girl. With a slight chuckle, the figure spoke to the night.
"Lucius, my old friend, what are you up to?"
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Lucius ate breakfast as he silently observed the Gryffindor girl. She had a schoolbook propped up against a jug of pumpkin juice reading as she ate. He woke up before Hermione and slowly left the bed and the room without waking her. He remembered the first time she woke up sprawled across his chest and the obvious embarrassment she displayed across her face and in her actions then and oddly enough he did not want to put her through that again. Instead, he let her sleep which meant she woke up later and sat at the breakfast table in an open robe. He noticed her color was a bit more natural as if she had gotten some long lost sleep.
"Miss Granger, you did not have your nightmare last night?"
She looked up from her book with her spoon halfway to her mouth. Putting the spoon back in her bowl, she shook her head.
"No, I did not."
Lucius nodded his head.
"If it makes you feel better, Miss Granger, I could place an archway between our rooms and ward both doors at night." She looked at him with her eyes knitted together in confusion. "That way if you find your dreams so frightening or hear anymore bumps in the night I am just through the arch."
Lucius cringed inwardly. Why in Merlin's name did he just offer such a thing? She pondered the question for a moment wondering what he wanted out of this. After all, he was Slytherin and a Malfoy—they did nothing if it did not benefit them somehow. She nodded her head.
"Thank you, Mister Malfoy. It is worth a try. I could use with more sleep like I had last night."
Lucius was still inwardly kicking himself for making the offer.
"Yes, well we could both use undisturbed sleep."
Lucius stood up from the table and left to take care of his 'arch-de-hell.' Hermione went back to her reading, but not for long. She felt as if someone was watching her. She could feel the slight anxiety from the feeling building and quickly left the room to dress for the day.
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It didn't take Hermione long to accomplish and master the Occlumency. Lucius was quite pleased with himself for teaching her. Now Hermione stood in the middle of the great room again as Lucius began teaching her questionable hexes. He noticed her unease as he began.
"Miss Granger, given your history I should hardly think this would bother you."
"My history?"
Lucius looked at her with a smirk.
"Yes, your history. Let's see, there was Miss Rita Skeeter who went curiously silent after all those reports involving you and Mister Potter; Miss Edgecomb is still suffering the ramifications of crossing you and I do believe there was also an incident in the Shrieking Shack with Professor Snape."
He watched her cringe at Professor Snape's name, but it did not hide the guilt as she looked everywhere but at him.
"Now, Miss Granger, these hexes are Romanian…and yes, before you even bring up the Dracula nonsense that is why these hexes are in the gray area of legality. Often legend clouds visions of reality."
Hermione nodded her head. With a flick of his wand, a statue moved in front of them. She watched Lucius point his wand at the statue and make a movement with his wand as if making little circles in the air. She saw a light so deep purple that it was almost black shoot out of his wand. Nothing happened to the statue. Hermione quirked her own eyebrow at Lucius.
"If this spell is done wrong the light will be lavender. This is known as the Downward Spiral hex. When cast correctly the…victim feels as if they are on a downward spiral in a psychological sense. And trust me when I say it can be crippling. The words are aplecat spirit."
Hermione pointed her wand at the statue. She made the same small circles in the air. Without speaking it, the deep purple light shot from her wand. The pride was evident on her face. Lucius sneered down his nose at the girl. Outside appearances showed Lucius Malfoy looking down his nose in utter disgust at this Mudblood girl doing a complicated hex immediately. Inside was a different story. Inside, Lucius fought with himself. He was indeed quite impressed with Hermione's abilities.
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"Master Malfoy?"
Blinky entered Lucius' room looking for him. She held something in her hand. Lucius stepped out of his bathroom.
"Yes Blinky?"
Her big eyes blinked in excitement and pride at a job she felt was well done.
"Blinky did what Master asked." She held out what was in her hands. "The pictures of the Mistress."
Looking from Blinky to the archway, he could see Hermione laying across her bed on her stomach reading. With a slight smile at the house elf, Lucius took the photos.
"Thank you, Blinky. I will let you know if I need you to take more."
The elf disappeared. Lucius stood there looking through the pictures. There was a picture of Hermione crying during their first week. There was a picture of the morning when he had fallen asleep in her bed—her birthday. He was walking out of the picture and the hurt on her face was evident. A twinge pulled at him causing him to look up where he could see her through the archway. Looking back down, he began going through the other pictures. There was Hermione sitting in her pajamas reading at the breakfast table. Then he saw the perfect picture: Hermione standing in her room just before placing the cloak on over her Halloween costume. He took a deep breath remembering that night. He placed that one in his nightstand. That's when he noticed the next picture. It was that same night, she was soaking wet and had just climbed the stairs going to her room. In the corner of the picture, he saw a strange shadow move. Looking closer he noticed the pale face and chuckled silently. He placed the rest of the pictures in his wardrobe.
Hermione looked up from her book. Lucius was standing in the archway.
"Miss Granger, I am about to ward the doors therefore if you need anything from downstairs get it now."
She nodded and hopped off her bed. Lucius followed her out the door deciding to get a book from the drawing room. When Hermione stepped into the dark hallway her blood seemed to freeze in her body as she noticed the door across the hall, the door labeled Severus Snape was open. Suddenly, the dark figure of her ex-Potions Professor stepped out of the room in front of her. In a panicked fear, she stumbled back and into Lucius. Lucius' eyes followed her as she felt her way backward and partially behind him. Her eyes were large and frightened. Lucius lifted his gaze up to Severus.
"Skulking in shadows frightening little girls now?"
Severus looked between the two and snorted.
"No, Lucius. Though I might asked what it is you are doing to little girls these days."
Lucius' eyes narrowed slightly.
"Indeed?"
"Indeed."
Without turning around Lucius spoke to Hermione.
"Go back into the room, Miss Granger; I will gather what you desire."
Hermione looked frantically between the two and slowly backed into the room. Lucius watched Severus watch Hermione back into the room. When the door was closed, he spoke again.
"Leer at Miss Granger any more and I may have to wonder what your intentions are toward your student."
Severus let out a chuckled filled with irony.
"Oh, but Lucius, she is no longer my student."
Lucius' eyes narrowed on his old friend. This sudden wave filled with the desire to protect the girl washed over him. Severus watched Lucius school his expressions so as not to give anything away.
"Relax, Lucius. Unlike you, I am not into little girls."
Hermione paced around the room, wringing her hands. Why was Snape there? Was he there to get her? Was Lucius going to hand her over? Quietly, she eased toward the door and leaned closer to try to hear what the two old friends were discussing.
"Lucius, you know what the Dark Lord's wrath is like and then I ran into Mister Potter…"
She heard Lucius laugh…actually laugh.
"Yes, Severus. All the children are being trained." Hermione could imagine the sarcastic look Snape was most likely giving Lucius. "I must thank you Severus. If not for your warning on Halloween I do not like to think what could have happened to the girl."
Hermione's eyes knitted in confusion. Severus was warning Lucius that night? She heard Severus chuckle.
"And obviously her trust and faith in you in infallible as she ran from you."
Hermione heard enough. She backed up from the door. Fear continued to engulf her…fear and anger. Nothing was as it seemed. Her head ached as she curled herself into a ball on Lucius' bed. She wanted answers from him when he returned.
Lucius walked into his own room with Hermione's schoolbag over his shoulder and his book in hand. He noticed her figured curled up in a protective ball on his bed. Seeing Severus there in their safe house frightened her. He knew that and oddly, he could almost understand it. Quietly setting her bag down, Lucius settled himself down with his book to read until sleep called him.
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The following morning Lucius stepped out of his bathroom fully dressed to find Severus standing there. Hermione was sitting up in bed glaring at the man. The fear in her eyes from the previous night was gone to be replaced by anger. Lucius wondered what Severus said to the girl while he was getting dressed. Severus' eyes followed Lucius across the room as Lucius walked between them.
"Sleeping with little girls now, Lucius. That's a new low…"
Before he could finish, Hermione stood up. A strange growl escaped her throat as she lunged forward as if to physically attack Severus. Lucius saw the look in her eye and her movements. Immediately he reached an arm out so that it wrapped around her middle from the front preventing her forward movement. Instead, her arms and feet flung forward. She was still trying to get to him yelling the whole time.
"I TRUSTED YOU! I STOOD UP FOR YOU! YOU BETRAYED ME! YOU BETRAYED HARRY! YOU BETRAYED PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE!" As she fought to move forward, Lucius could see the tears in her eyes streaming down her cheeks. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! YOU FOUL….YOU LOATHSOME…" Lucius could see what was happening. He could feel her weakening as he held her back from actually reaching Severus. "I HATE YOU!"
Lucius took her suddenly and flung her up to stand on the bed. It made her only slightly taller than Lucius. The shock of the sudden movement quieted the girl.
"Liking them feisty now I see."
Lucius barely registered Severus' comment before Severus left the room. Lucius was still looking at Hermione. Her face was flushed from her anger. Her chest heaved up and down from her quick breath. Her eyes were wide as she watched Severus exit the room. She looked the force to be reckoned with. She moved forward to remove herself off the bed and go after Severus again. Lucius stopped her.
"Look at me, Miss Granger."
She didn't really. Instead, she start to try to go after Severus again.
"I. Said. Look. At. Me. Hermione."
With both hands, he took her face and turned her toward him, keeping her face on him.
"How can you trust him," she whispered.
Lucius couldn't stop what he did. Everything was too much. The look and determination of the girl! The wild desperation to physically harm Severus was amusing, but it brought out a side to this girl he only theorized existed. It was the look of thousands of emotions on her face, animating her movements. It was the look of her standing there in her pajamas ready for anything that came her way—she would take it on and bring it to its knees. This was not a girl that needed protection, but at that moment that is precisely what he wanted to do. His heart pounded in his chest like a hard cold rock being heated into metamorphosis.
After whispering those words, Hermione lifted her eyes back up. Her breath was still coming in quick succession, but it was the look on Lucius' face. It was a look she had never seen…like a thousand thoughts and feelings were flowing through him all at once. It was not the look of the same cold hard man that for years was seen as an enemy. This was something else. Then his own voice brought about questions of the mind and heart.
"How can you trust me."
That was all he said as he brought her face into his. She felt his lips crashing into hers and everything seemed to go numb and yet tingle at the same time. She could hear nothing and sense nothing in any way except Lucius and all the pent up desires he poured into that one single kiss—their very own downward spiral.