Disclaimer: Not mine

A/N: Please oh please review and tell me what you think. Okay…for all those who wanted my next fic to be a LM/HG, I am sorry to say I just don't have one in my head, but I do have a Severus one so I will be posting the prologue at the same time I post this. The story is called Dark Angel (for now anyway). Okay….someone complained that my A/N wasn't interesting last time so I will share a story. Last year I went on a fieldtrip with my then fourth grade son's class to the zoo. It was about an hour and a half ride on chartered buses. Not bad. It went all fine and dandy except my son and his two best friends were in a group together, that I was to watch and they kept trying to run in three different directions. I informed them I would make them hold hands if they didn't stop…they stopped. On the bus on the way home, my son is sitting with his friend in the seat in front of me and the teacher had placed E.T. in the video player. I'm reading…the kids are watching the movie. Then out of the friggin blue, my son's friends turns around, looks right at me and asks "what's porn?" All I could do was blink. It took a few moments for my brain to start working again. When it did the laughter came. All I could think was 'this is not my kid, I am not enlightening him' so I ended up telling him that was something he needed to discuss with his own mother. How did this kid go from E.T. to porn I'll never know!

Okay…enough chit chat….read and review.

Chapter 26

Traitor

I would die for you
I would kill for you
I will steal for you
end all time for you
I will wait for you
I'd make room for you
I'd sail ships for you
To be close to you
To be a part of you
'Cause I believe in you
I believe in you
I would die for you

--Garbage

She knows.

It took a moment for that simple fact to sink in. When it did, walls of defense shot up all around Lucius. Let no one in.

"I did not tell you because it is not your business."

Hermione watched in indignation as Lucius walked across the room to his clothes as if nothing had changed.

"Not my business? Am I a prisoner of Voldemort's or not?"

At the wardrobe, Lucius turned around.

"Yes, you are." He nodded his head. "You are also a prisoner of the Order."

Her mouth opened and closed.

"A prisoner of the Order," she shrieked. "Are you daft? I am on their side!"

Lucius rolled his eyes, stepping away from the wardrobe toward the bed.

"Yes, you are. However, my task of kidnapping you presented the Order with just the situation needed to motivate Potter into searching for the remaining horcruxes. Well…that and a very well placed conversation between other Order members and the boy."

Worry creased her forehead.

"He's looking for the horcruxes? He needs me to figure out how to destroy each one…"

Lucius sneered down at her.

"You may use the library here and I will pass on the information without the knowledge that it came from you."

Hermione sat there shaking her head.

"No, this makes no sense. If you were the first spy and you still are a spy then why would you give Ginny Tom Riddle's diary like that?"

With a smirk, he looked down at her.

"It was a means to an end, Miss Granger. As my son explained once, we all have to make sacrifices why should Mr. Weasley be excluded?"

She looked into his face in absolute horror at what he had said. A means to an end? Still she shook her head.

"No, you are not a spy." She held up the journal. "This is a lie. You are vile and hateful to anyone not pureblooded!"

He sat down on the bed in front of her. Leaning toward her, he looked her straight in the eye.

"Just because I am a member of the Order does not mean I prize Mudbloods like that crazy old fool did…it does not mean I do not find Purebloods to be superior to all others. It was a matter of choosing sides and I chose the winning side."

Hermione became very aware of how close he was and how undressed he was. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she shook her head again. He could still see the denial in her eyes. He knew what was going through her head. She was having trouble dealing with the fact that she never saw the smallest sign that he was a spy…not one.

"You would never have known I was a spy if it wasn't for that journal, Miss Granger. Not many knew and most certainly not my family…that is how good I am at what I do—my own child believed me to be a Death Eater through and through."

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Hermione's world was turned upside down. Lucius…a spy for the Order. It was so hard to fathom, yet she knew that Snape was not the only one. There had been others. Now she knew. Still, he held the belief that she was beneath him though. Her best friend in his past hated her no matter what side he was on. Life was just never simple. She tossed and turned.

She found it hard to make sense out of it. What Severus said…what the pictures showed…what she remembered. It did not add up to his continued hate of her. The Lucius she knew then did exist she knew he did. She tossed and turned through most of the night. Her thoughts would not rest. They would not let up. Once again, Hermione turned her back to Lucius trying to find comfort and peace. She suddenly felt Lucius' hand caressing her hip as he wrapped his arm around her. She was suddenly pulled tightly against him. He appeared to be snuggling up to her. Hermione felt her heart begin to pound at a magnificent rate. The sound of his sleepy voice in her ear reverberated through her entire body.

"Stop the incessant movement and go to sleep."

A chill ran through her body causing her to shiver. Behind her, nuzzling into her neck, Lucius smiled before drifting back off to sleep.

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Lucius watched her at the breakfast table. Hermione sat with a book propped up on a pumpkin juice jug, parchment next to her with a quill and inkbottle in reach. She ate slowly as she read occasionally stopping to jot something down on the parchment. Her eyes were always so bright when this would occur…something Lucius noticed when he was seventeen.

Chewing on a bite, she wrote something down on the parchment. As she wrote, her eyes traveled up to Lucius.

"I've noticed it you know."

Putting her quill down, she took a swallow of juice waiting for Lucius to respond. She had no doubt that he would.

"Noticed what may I ask?"

She turned her head to look fully on Lucius. Her eyes raked over his body before coming back to his eyes.

"Vestiges of the Lucius I knew."

Taking a deep sigh, Lucius wiped his mouth with his napkin and placed it in his plate.

"You are referencing a Lucius you only believed to exist. He does not exist."

He went to stand up, but Hermione reached out quickly grabbing his arm. He remained seated and Hermione let go.

"Then what was it when I lost my memory? You were more like the Lucius I knew then."

"Miss Granger, when you lost your memory you regained portions at a time. When you were a guest here, you regained only the past relationship we had…my past. I did nothing more than indulge you until your memory returned fully. That is it."

"Indulge me?"

Lucius looked at her and simply nodded.

"Yes, Miss Granger. Indulge you. That was my second mistake."

"Second," she asked staring at him in disbelief. His face was impassive as he spoke—showing nothing, giving no hint as to what he was truly feeling.

"Yes, my second. My first you see in those pictures you delight in bringing up." He watched for her reaction. She motioned for him to continue. "Against my better judgment, I held obvious feelings for you. That was then…now I know better."

Her mouth opened and closed.

"Against your better judgment?"

"Yes," he smirked. "And we see my instincts were correct in the area considering you were not who you presented yourself to be."

Anger and hurt was overwhelming Hermione as she sat there listening to this man. With her one good hand, she pushed herself back from the table and stood up. She didn't exactly forget about her ankle, she just wanted out of there. She began to walk away, but the moment she put her weight on the foot with the bad ankle she collapsed to the ground. That is when the tears came.

Lucius sat there watching her fall to the ground and begin crying. Her tears were angry as she hit her fist on the floor.

"I can't even storm from a room properly."

The frustration of her position was in her every word. Lucius stood from his chair and walked over to Hermione. Bending down to help her up she put her hand up to stop him.

"No," she hissed at him. "I wouldn't want you to do anything that is against your better judgment."

Standing up straight, he watched her struggled to get back up and then hop out of the room.

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The days passed in an unbearable silence between Lucius and Hermione. She refused to speak to him. She kept to herself, doing schoolwork or researching each horcrux. Words were not exchanged when Harry found one horcrux and Hermione found how to destroy it. She simply handed Lucius the parchment in hopes he was honest about being a spy.

Hermione sat in the library working on an essay for DADA when Lucius stepped in. Standing in the doorway, he just watched her movements as if memorizing everything he could about her in that moment.

"Miss Granger, it is time to remove the bandages."

She looked up from her work wide-eyed and anxious. Nodding her head in acquiescence, she put her quill down. Lucius approached her slowly and turned her chair around so that he could face her. His eyes locked on hers. Slowly, he lowered himself in front of her only tearing his eyes away when he gently took hold of her foot to examine the ankle. She watched him, marveling at how gentle he could be. Closing her eyes, she tried to tell herself it was simply her imagination. He had made that clear. Once the ankle was unwrapped, he sat her foot gently back on the floor.

"Try to stand."

She stood with no problem. Her smile grew as she discovered it caused no pain and that meant no more hopping around. Standing in front of her, Lucius reached out for her hand. Lifting it up, he looked over her wrist before removing those bandages. Free of the bandage, Lucius looked at her wrist. His fingers gentled caressed the underside sending chills through Hermione. When she shuddered Lucius' eyes looked up into hers. They were frozen like that—with her hand in his, his fingers caressing the underside of her wrist, staring at each other when the sound of someone clearing their throat was heard from the doorway. As if snapping to reality, they both looked up to find Severus leaning in the door with a smirk.

"We have a problem Lucius."

Dropping her hand Lucius turned toward Severus and motioned for him to enter.

"And what would that be?"

Severus looked to Hermione and then back to Lucius as if deciding whether to talk about it in front of her or not.

"The Dark Lord wants you to bring Hermione to him…he wants to see her."

Hermione felt a wave of nausea crash over her. See the Dark Lord? She had never seen him. Why now? Her heart started pounding excessively and her breath started to come in quick short intervals. Her mind raced for a solution.

"What? H-Have you spoken with Headmistress McGonagall? What does she say to do?"

Both sets of eyes turned to her, curiously. Severus looked her up and down before cocking his head to the side slightly as if trying to read her.

"Miss Granger, why would I run off to discuss this matter with the Headmistress," Severus asked.

Hermione suddenly felt unsure of herself, as if there were something missing from her knowledge, something she didn't know. Her eyes darted between the two.

"B-Because she is the head of the Order."

Severus' laughter startled Hermione.

"Good heavens, Miss Granger. Professor McGonagall panicked at the mere idea of actually being the headmistress—the idea of running the school. Do you think she could be head of such an organization as the Order of the Phoenix?"

Her eyes darted between the two of them again. Severus continued to chuckle rather amused, but Lucius…Lucius remained silent.

"Then…then who took over Dumbledore's place?"

Her voice quavered as if afraid to ask the question. No, she was not afraid to ask the question; she was afraid of the answer. Severus' laughter stopped. He looked toward Lucius as if shocked that Hermione did not know. Turning back to Hermione, he smirked.

"It is always wise to blind your enemy to the true identity of your leader."

Hermione kept her eyes on him waiting for a real answer. Clearing his throat, he stepped closer.

"Lucius was always Dumbledore's second in command, despite Lucius'…desires to be head of the whole thing. He took Dumbledore's place." Severus turned his head back to Lucius. "Now what do we do?"

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Hermione was frightened, that much Lucius knew. He could feel her body shaking next to his. They stood outside the manor preparing to apparate. Severus went first. Looking down at her, the moon shone down illuminating her. She was pale and sickly looking. It was understandable. She was about to face the devil himself. Wrapping an arm around her waist, Lucius pulled her up against him. He didn't apparate right away. Instead, he looked down at her, brushing a bit of hair out of her face. He said nothing, but Hermione could feel the words he left unsaid. With that in mind, they apparated.

Fear gripped her heart tighter when they apparated straight into an old partially burnt church. Half the roof was gone; the walls that were not burnt were blood red and covered in a thin layer of soot. Lucius turned her around, roughly and she found herself in the center aisle. Death Eater surrounded her in the seats and straight ahead, up at the altar stood Voldemort. His eyes glimmered with a morbid anticipation.

"Welcome, Lucius," he hissed. "Please, bring our friend forward."

Grabbing her by the arm he drug her forward, down the aisle and tossed her up at the altar where she fell at Voldemort's feet. Lucius stepped back and bowed in respect. Something didn't feel right to him and it made him a bit edgy. As he stood back up he saw two Death Eater come from the sides, grab Hermione, magically bound her hands in front of her, and placed her on her knees on the altar table facing the rest of the church.

Lucius tried to ignore the look on her face, but found it difficult. There she was on an altar table like some sacrifice, bound, facing the church with tears streaming down her cheeks…tears that were beyond her control. Her eyes looked down as if ashamed at her emotional display. Voldemort stood behind her, making Lucius nervous…though he would never show it.

"Lucius," Voldemort hissed. "Wormtail has a handy little skill as you know."

"Yes my lord," Lucius responded.

"You really should check for rodents around that manor of yours." The smile on Voldemort's face was not one of pleasure…it was morbid, powerful, anxious. He noticed a Death Eater come forward and stand next to the altar table and two Death Eaters rise up and stand on either side of him, but a step behind. He watched in horror as the Death Eater slowly raised his wand and held it to the side of Hermione's head. Voldemort's smile grew. Severus was thrown to the ground next to the altar. Lucius noticed that Severus was bound. Lucius felt his heart pounding as he felt the wand on the back of his head, waiting to strike. Lucius looked up to Voldemort.

"My lord," he asked.

Voldemort's smile became more menacing and demented.

"Such innocence," he hissed as he caressed his cold dead like hands across Hermione's cheek. "Wormtail returned with such memories for my pensieve. It was almost hard to believe. I asked you to prove your loyalty and kidnap the girl. You proved your loyalty then. Now, before you I have a traitor," Voldemort pointed to Severus. "And your favorite little Mudblood."

Lucius felt his wand hand twitch.

"Now, comes the test Lucius…Severus needs to be punished for his betrayal and you can do that…you can kill him Lucius and save her. It's your choice, Lucius."

Lucius felt the Death Eater's wand jab him in the back of the head as if reminding him of the precarious predicament he was entering.

"Will you kill for her Lucius? Or will you die for her?"