Chapter 16

Lucius looked around the small home carefully and tried to disguise any distaste he was feeling. But he was apparently doing a poor job of it because his wife elbowed him painfully in the ribs. He had finally been convinced (cajoled, bribed, blackmailed) into attending dinner at the Granger residence.

As much as he admired- loved- Hermione he was still not comfortable in the muggle world or even, most of the time, with her muggle parents. They'd come to the Manor many times, tagging along with Hermione using the permanent portkey they'd given her. He'd long ago disabled the floo connection between the two homes and had done what he had to do to assure nobody could ever prove it had existed in the first place, it was far too dangerous for anybody to know.

And he'd even gotten over his discomfort with having muggles in his home. But being in a world that was just so thoroughly mundane was another story. It actually made him cringe that Hermione had grown up here. It wasn't dirty or derelict, the way he'd been taught as a child that all muggle dwellings were. But it was still so far beneath such a magically gifted child that it was hard for him to comprehend- and this was a household with a house elf! Salazar save him from imagining what their girl had to endure before Narcissa had taken her on.

He knew that Narcissa had grown quite close Helen Granger, so he tried to concentrate on how much his presence here meant to his wife instead of on how out of place he felt. And he wasn't foolish enough to believe he could avoid this forever. Hermione was fully entrenched in their lives, he couldn't wholly avoid her parents' world. And if he was being very, very honest, he didn't want to lose her respect by attempting to do so.

Not to mention that Narcissa regularly came into the muggle world to spend time with Helen. And he couldn't complain about the shopping she'd done there, both because it made her so happy, and because muggles apparently had very different ideas about modesty than wizards, and he was fortunate enough to enjoy the benefits of that in the privacy of their bedroom. Though, if she decided to start wearing those denim trousers he might have to object.

Draco too enjoyed the time he'd spent with the Grangers over the summer, though he was more circumspect with his enthusiasm. But he'd been particularly chuffed by something he'd called a 'television' that Lucius was actually interested to see as well. On top of that, Richard was teaching him a sport called 'football,' and he'd arrived home several times pink-cheeked and sweaty and looking just as happy as he did after an afternoon of Quidditch. The last thing Lucius wanted was to be left behind by his own family by remaining ignorant of these new parts of their lives.

However, Richard Granger seemed almost as uncomfortable with the situation as Lucius himself was. He was obviously ill at ease from the moment they arrived. And almost as soon as they sat down to dinner he pounced.

"Are there actually monsters who are capable of sucking a person's soul out of their body guarding the school our children attend?" he demanded suddenly.

He heard a sharp inhale and looked up to see Helen glaring at her husband. He knew that look well, the man would definitely be sleeping alone tonight. But apparently Richard had decided this was a battle worth waging because he just stared right back at Helen, refusing back down.

"That is unfortunately true," Narcissa conceded, shifting in her seat so that her knee rested against his under the table in a patently obvious attempt to keep him calm, and acting like she didn't even notice what was happening between the other couple.

"And your government supports this plan?" Richard insisted, "What is wrong with you people? Does your magic make you crazy or something? Because, if so, maybe it would be better if Hermione forgot about it," he laid his utensils on his plate with emphasis, obviously anticipating a fight. He didn't seem to care about the way his wife was attempting to eviscerate him with her eyes.

Lucius bristled in indignation, even though he had to admit he'd had quite a similar reaction when he'd first learned of the situation, he didn't like to be lectured by anybody, much less a muggle. But then he noticed the look on the man's face. Normally, he did not greatly resemble his daughter, she looked much more like her mother, but there was something about his expression in that moment that was just so Hermione. Something that helped him to empathize with him and the fact that he was lashing out. They shared the same fear for their children. Lucius couldn't blame him for that.

"The Ministry thinks that using dementors to guard Hogwarts is the best plan, but we do not agree," Narcissa interjected.

"But why? How could they possibly think that's a sound plan?" Richard prompted.

He could tell that Narcissa was contemplating a response and he placed a gentle hand on her thigh to stop her. There was no way Richard was going to be happy with the answer, and there was a good chance he would blame the messenger. Lucius thought that if anybody was going to alienate themselves from these people it should be him, "I believe they are more afraid of Black than they are of the dangers the dementors present, they simply won't be swayed on the issue, believe me I tried. I pulled every string I could think of both before term started and after the incident on the train."

Richard let out a cynical little laugh, "You mean the incident where my daughter nearly lost her soul to one of these monsters? Tell me, was it a coincidence that it entered the compartment where there was a child of non-magical parents? I know your society tends to be less than impressed by Hermione's heritage," he said, voice scathing.

The room went silent. Richard's face was red with anger but he did not look away and was obviously daring them to contradict him when they all knew he was right. It was the elephant in the room they'd all managed to avoid acknowledging until now. Helen's eyes were closed in mortification and he could practically feel the shame radiating off of Narcissa who was grasping his leg like her life depended on it. She would never forgive him if he lashed out in return and damaged, possibly irreparably, their relationship with these people. He'd humbled himself for the daughter, now he would have to find it within himself to do it for the parents.

Lucius cleared his throat, "I will not attempt to defend the position of many in our society when it comes to muggleborns, you are right, a prejudice exists," so, he was understating things, it was the best he could honestly do, because he still thought that in most cases muggleborns should be regarded with suspicion, "But what happened on the train was a coincidence," he continued insistently, "it is not in a dementor's nature to care about such things."

There was a long uncomfortable silence and eventually, as if by mutual unspoken agreement both women began eating again. It did little to alleviate the tension.

"That still sounds nuts," Richard eventually said, apparently Hermione's fire and determination were inherited traits, "It's my understanding that man Black is insane, but he is still a man, isn't he? I could see how he would present more danger to us muggles, but he's just like everyone else with magic, correct?How can he possibly be more dangerous than a creature that can steal your soul!?"

There was a look on Helen's face that indicated that while she did not at all agree with the way he was handling this, and he would surely be hearing about it later, that she also very much wanted to hear the answer to this question.

"I believe this is a case of preferring the devil you know versus the devil you don't," Lucius answered, he'd given it a lot of thought as he tried to wrap his mind around this very idea, "the Ministry believes they have command of the dementors, whereas they believe Black is a deranged murderer whom they cannot locate, much less control or predict how he will act."

"But, just so I have my story straight, he's not actually a deranged murderer?" Richard challenged.

"No, he is, he's just not guilty of all of the crimes he's been accused of. We're not sure what he's up to, actually, but he could very well be dangerous. Even if he wasn't crazy when he went in, twelve years in Azkaban could drive anybody over the edge," he glanced at Narcissa, worried that she was thinking of Bellatrix, a sore subject with her, to say the least.

"He still seems less worrisome than a species that can literally suck your soul out of your mouth."

"I won't disagree with you there, but you have to understand, very few wizards have ever come in contact with a dementor, their knowledge is purely academic and they don't truly understand the effect they can have on a person. They rest assured in the idea that they are controlled by the Ministry and that their terrible nature keeps our worst criminals in check."

"I just wonder if Hermione wouldn't be better off away from this all, even without her memories."

"If you're thinking of pulling Hermione from Hogwarts please at least warn us," Narcissa said in a rush, panic in her voice, "It wouldn't be our first choice, but we can hide her in ways that you can't. We can find a way to preserve her memories, let us help," she begged.

Lucius found himself, once again viciously suppressing his anger- his wife did not beg- so he bit his tongue, but only because he knew that he would probably make this worse for her if he said anything.

"We're not taking her out of Hogwarts," Helen said firmly, her nostrils flaring in indignation.

"Why not?" her husband asked, but it was clear to Lucius that this was not the first, or probably even the second time they'd had this argument.

"Well, for one thing she is a witch, would you steal that from her? Would you not only keep her from her birthright, but doom her to a lifetime of magical accidents? Never fitting in, never understanding what was happening to her? Or, if we take the Malfoys up on their offer, relegate her to a life of running and hiding? And then what about Draco, would you really part them?"

"What about Draco? They are only thirteen, there will be other boys!" Richard hissed, the couple had turned in their chairs to face each other and Lucius was fairly certain they had forgotten that they were not alone.

Lucius could understand their predicament. Especially given that he'd had a nearly identical conversation with Narcissa only a week before. But he was suddenly more frightened than ever for Draco's future. He hadn't considered that the Grangers had any real power, being muggles, but he now saw that wasn't true.

They could take Hermione away. And if they did, he knew that Draco would never fully recover. He could alter their memories, or remove them from the picture completely, but that would come at the expense of the love and respect of his family, and the girl he had begun to consider a daughter. Narcissa had never been more right when she said that they were walking a tightrope, not just between light and dark, but between two different worlds.

"What boys?" asked Helen waspishly.

"I don't know Helen - Any. Other. Boys." he responded, jaw clenched.

She snorted, "And that's what you want for her?"

"A chance at a normal life?" he snapped, "A life where she can go to school without literally risking her soul and can get an education we are actually allowed to talk about with our friends?"

Helen let out a long sardonic laugh and Lucius felt his eyes go wide in surprise, Narcissa's hand snuck into his own and squeezed.

"Ah, so that's what this is about. You want to be able to brag at your stupid golf club."

Lucius made a mental note to ask Narcissa if she knew what that was.

"I want her to have a normal childhood."

"Setting aside the fact that she really isn't a child anymore and that you're prepared to ignore that she's a witch, what about her relationship with Draco, you don't think she'd miss him? Even if she didn't remember, Narcissa is right, they have a powerful connection, we've all seen it, I'm certain she would feel his absence. She's never had a friend like him, or really any friends at all before Hogwarts. Don't you remember how hard that was to watch? Face it, she never really fit in our world and I can't imagine it would be any better now, especially given that she's been away for two years. I think her happiness is worth the risk."

"I think she deserves to have many boyfriends before she settles down," he retorted.

"So what you're saying is that you want her to have her heart broken many times before she finds someone who will treat her with love and respect like Draco already does?" she asked with heavy sarcasm.

That seemed to bring him up short.

"Admit it," she prompted, "that's what this is really about, you're angry that you didn't have more time as the most important man in her life. But you're looking at this the wrong way, Hermione is so lucky," she turned to them and sent them a strangely conspiratorial smile, "he's been planning the 'hurt my daughter and I'll kill you' speech since the day we found out we were having a girl, and now he realizes he's probably never going to have the opportunity to use it. We couldn't have anticipated her magic, or your Draco. I know that I, for one, am immensely grateful for him," she turned back to her husband, "don't take that from her, Richard."

There was a long pause before he finally gave a resigned nod, "but I reserve the right to revisit this topic in the future."

Helen chuckled, "of course, Honey," she patted his hand condescendingly.

That was when Lucius understood why his wife had found such a friend in the woman. Like her daughter she was uncommonly kind and compassionate and strong, even for a muggle she was admirable. It was comforting and irritating, he didn't appreciate that he was in danger of liking the woman.

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She had a free period. She knew Draco had assignments to work on and Harry clearly wanted to be alone with his thoughts after last night's activities, so she wandered around the lake hoping to run into Shadow. He had the uncanny ability of showing up when she or Draco wanted to find him. In anticipation, she'd brought him a stack of bacon sandwiches and a thermos of pumpkin juice that she knew he- oddly- liked and that she'd hidden away in her bag during breakfast.

After their late night and subsequent sleepover in the Great Hall nobody paid any attention to her hoarding food. She knew now that the elves would have no problem helping feed the poor stray, but for some reason she relished bringing him something she'd scraped together herself. Probably because she had so much to unload on the poor mutt. There was nobody else.

She found him sitting beneath a willow on the other side of the lake, he appeared to have been waiting for her.

"Hello boy," she greeted, flopping down next to him and setting her knapsack aside.

He stretched out next to her and rested his chin in her leg. She pulled out his snack for him, but he didn't seem immediately interested in it and so she just started to run her hands through his shaggy fur. For an animal who, as far as she knew, lived outside all of the time he kept himself surprisingly clean.

Draco told her he'd found him bathing in the Black Lake on more than one occasion. But it was November now, surely it would soon be too cold for him to do that. In fact, it seemed like it would be too cold for him to live outside at all. Whatever his breed- or combination of breeds- which they had never been able to determine, he wasn't native to Scotland, she couldn't imagine he could survive a whole winter here.

"I hope you'll go home with Draco over Christmas," she told him, her best friend had grown very attached to the dog and had determined weeks ago that he would bring him to the Manor over the holidays if he was willing to come, "You'd have the run of the estate, and its much warmer in Wiltshire than it is here. I'd miss you, but I'd worry about you less. Plus, we can hang out over the summer, and the Malfoy elves will take good care of you."

He let out a low whine.

"I don't know if that's a 'yes' or a 'no.' Draco says that you're a magical creature and you can understand us, and I trust his judgement with these things, he's really good with animals. So, at least promise me you'll think about it, okay?"

He nuzzled her hand and made a woofing noise which sounded suspiciously like agreement.

She giggled, "I'd bring you home with me, but we don't have nearly as much space and Mum and Dad work all day, I don't know that they'd agree to a dog. Lucius and Narcissa won't bat an eye, there are already so many animals on the estate, and I know they've had dogs in the past. You can help the elves keep gnomes out of the crops, that sounds like fun, doesn't it?"

He licked her hand and then begun snuffling around the napkins his sandwiches were wrapped in. She watched him carefully pull them out and eat one with gusto, and then he looked at her and licked his chops appreciatively. She chuckled, he really was very expressive; it was nice, it made her feel like she was having a real conversation. He nudged his nose at the thermos on the ground in front of them so she picked it up and screwed off the top, offering it to him. He lapped up the juice eagerly and then returned to the sandwiches.

"I'm worried about Harry," she sighed.

That got his attention. He quickly gobbled the rest of his snack and looked at her, as if encouraging her to continue.

"I don't know if you noticed anything unusual happening up in the castle last night, but after the Halloween Feast we went back to Gryffindor Tower and we found out that the Fat Lady had been attacked. It was Sirius Black, he slashed her portrait with a knife trying to get in. We all slept in the Great Hall while the teachers searched the castle for him. They didn't have any luck."

She absentmindedly played with his ear and a thought occurred to her, "hey, you haven't seen anybody suspicious have you, trying to sneak in or out of the castle?" he cocked his head and she smiled, "Let me know if you do, okay?" he placed his head back on her leg and she scratched him affectionately, "I know you would, you're a good boy." She gave him a firm pat for emphasis and continued her lament, "He's been brooding all year, not that I blame him, but I wish he would accept some comfort. And then last night happened and it makes it worse that it was Halloween," she huffed out a laugh, "honestly, I'm starting to hate Halloween too. Remember I told you about the troll? Well, that happened on Halloween, so it's not turning out to be the best day for me either."

She sighed again and started braiding his fur.

"I hate keeping secrets from Harry. I mean first there's Draco and now this. But what would I tell him? 'Listen Harry, the reason everybody thinks Sirius Black is after you is because he was your Dad's best friend and they think he betrayed your family's location to Voldemort and now he's coming to finish you off. But it turns out it was your parents' other best friend who betrayed them, so at least there's that. And I don't know what Sirius is up to, or whether you should worry about him or not. Oh, and I got this information from Narcissa Malfoy,'" she snorted, "not exactly good news all things considered. And he'd probably never speak to me again, anyway. He hates Draco so much, I can hardly even blame him, they really are terrible to each other. But there's nothing I can do about that either. I really think Draco's my future, and it would be so dangerous for anybody to find out what he means to me, so I guess I'll just continue keeping my mouth shut."

She scratched his head, petting him was very relaxing.

"And I can't go to Draco for advice about how to help Harry, or even just to vent because he gets so jealous of him. And if I went to any other Gryffindor I'm afraid it would get back to Harry, they aren't the best at secrets," she sighed.

He headbutted her hand insistently, and then nuzzled her palm.

She chuckled, "that's right, I have you."

He huffed in agreement, and she smiled, then they sat there staring at the lake for as long as she could, he providing quiet comfort.

"Thank you for understanding," she hugged his neck before she got up to leave, "like I said I can't talk to anybody else, and you're the best. I'll see you later," she pecked the top of his head and pushed herself up off of the ground, she would need the full fifteen minutes she had left of her break to make it to class, but just as she picked up her bag Shadow whined and she turned back to look at him, he walked forward and ran into her, almost knocking her over. He nuzzled his head against her abdomen and leaned into her affectionately, it was exactly what she needed.

She decided then and there that if she had to find a way to capture him and force him back to the Manor where he would be safe and well cared for that she would do exactly that.

Author's Note: I'm so sorry it's been so long between updates, I don't plan to make a habit of it, things just piled up and I got behind. Which means I'm also behind on review replies, I apologize for that as well, but please know that I read and cherish each one!

If you don't have me on author alert or follow me on Tumblr you may not know that I posted the first of what is going to be a series of one-shots revolving around this story. The collection is called 'Beyond An Unexpected Malfoy,' and I would love for y'all to check it out if you're not already sick of me! Okay, that's it, thanks for reading!