Old Hermione had been quiet for some time, it's difficult to do much when you have old memories in a very young body. Hermione Potter had had some very strange, very vivid dreams ever since her first year at Hogwarts. She knew way more about sex than your average fourteen year-old ought to know. She remembered her first kiss from an international quidditch player named Viktor Krum. She remembered a different boy, a boyfriend named Ron. She remembered having sex. It made for a lot of disturbing nights, and vivid dreams.
The summer before fourth year got really weird when she was laying in the grass making daisy chains. She realized that James and Sirius couldn't see her, and she hummed under her breath while the stems wound themselves into a chain. Her mother was calling her to the house. Hermione sighed and ignored her for a few minutes. The last thing she wanted to do was go to Malfoy Manor for tea. She'd rather do anything else. Even clean out James' school trunk without magic.
"Hermione! You get in here right now, young lady!" Her mother's voice was getting strident. Hermione sighed heavily. She popped up and waved at her mum.
"Coming mother!" She called. She picked up her skirts and ran.
"Hermione Canopia Potter! Look at your dress!" Her mother waved her wand and cleaned it.
"Sorry, mother," Hermione said with genuine regret.
"No matter dear, no matter. Going to Malfoy Manor always makes me a bit edgy. I don't really care for Abraxas Malfoy, he's not a very nice man," Dorea Potter said quietly. Hermione's eyes widened. Her mother never said anything impolite about anyone. She must really despise this Abraxas Malfoy.
Malfoy Manor was prettier in this time period, Hermione decided. It had beautiful, well-kept grounds and the house was light and airy. Old Hermione completely skipped out on her, chittering in fear. Hermione Potter was a little uneasy, but not too upset. Her mother was an amazing witch, and she would protect Hermione with her life. That and Hermione was a pureblood so why would she fear the Malfoy family? To be honest, her family was a little older, and a little more distinguished than the Malfoys. After all, her line went back to the Peverells. Even if the invisibility cloak would go to James because he was a stupid boy.
Hermione had been sent to walk the grounds while her mother spoke with Mrs. Malfoy. She rounded a corner and came upon a reflecting pool. There, swimming in its clear water was Lucius Malfoy. Hermione felt her throat go completely dry. He was well-muscled, lean, but he had fairly broad shoulders. He saw her and stopped at the edge of the pool, leaning on his forearms, which only served to heighten the view of his perfectly sculpted chest. Hermione heard a sort of roaring sound in her ears. He smirked at her and tossed his wet hair back.
"See something you like, Miss Potter?" He purred at her. She blushed furiously.
"No, I was just surprised. Your mother told me to talk a tour of the gardens. I wasn't expecting to see you at all, let alone…" Hermione waved a hand at him when she couldn't speak anymore. He grinned at her.
"You're going to be a fourth year this year, aren't you?" He drawled at her a teasing smile on his lips.
"Yes," she said simply. Her wide eyes still staring at the firm muscles of his biceps.
"Hey," His voice had gotten closer, and she realized his chest was in her face. He tilted her chin up with a finger. "My eyes are up here, Miss Potter."
"Sorry," she murmured as she stared into those silvery grey eyes. There was humor in them, but something else as well. She thought maybe Old Hermione would know what that look was, but she wasn't sure. He smirked at her again.
"I'll see you in school," he breathed in her ear and then he left her alone staring at the pool and blushing furiously.
HP/HG/HP
"Lily, what do you think of Lucius Malfoy," Hermione asked as casually as possible. Both girls were sitting on Lily's bed catching up on gossip. Lily sucked thoughtfully on a sugar quill.
"Well, he's nice to Severus," Lily said after a moment. "which is more than I can say for some gormless toe-rags I know. They're sort of friends, I think. He's pretty smart, isn't he? And he's a prefect."
"No, Lils, I mean…what do you think of him?" Hermione whispered and then blushed furiously. Lily shrieked so loudly that the students in the commons room looked toward the girl's dormitory in surprise.
"Merlin's Beard! Do you like him? He's Slytherin, your brother is going have a litter of hippogriffs!" Lily whispered furiously. A group of girls poked their heads into the dorm.
"Everything okay, girls?" The Gryffindor Prefect Iphigenia Bagshot asked curiously. Both girls blushed furiously and nodded.
"Sorry, Iphigenia," Lily said. The prefect looked curiously at both girls, nodded and then went back to the commons room, the other girls trailing after her.
"So?" Hermione asked once they were alone again. Lily cocked her head to one side and thought for a moment.
"Well, he is really handsome, I suppose. His hair is gorgeous, that's for sure. I don't know. I wonder what he looks like under his robes. No, don't look at me like that! I mean, is he really fit and trim, or is he sort of soft and languid. He's an aristo, right? He looks like he'd be sort of soft and languid to me." Lily was a thorough girl, and she had given Hermione's question serious consideration, rather than blowing her off because Lucius Malfoy happened to be Slytherin.
"What if," Hermione thought carefully for a moment and then looked at Lily, "what if I told you I knew a spell that would show us what he looks like?"
"Erm…what do you mean Hermione?" Lily asked with wide eyes. Hermione just sat there, staring at her friend. Lily swallowed and nodded once.
"At dinner then," Hermione said firmly.
James and Sirius were sitting with Remus and Peter eating dinner. James made sure that he was sitting sort of across from Lily Evans so he could watch her without looking like a completely psycho-stalker. He noticed something suspicious. His sister and Lily were sitting together and they were giggling like mad, and whispering behind their hands. Normally, Hermione and Lily sat there looking like 30 year-old matrons who couldn't figure out how they'd been trapped in a loony bin. They were not the sorts of girls that giggled. Lily leaned close to Hermione and whispered in her ear. James sighed. He wished Lily would lean close to him and breathe on his ear.
"Now?" Lily whispered in Hermione's ear.
Lucius had just stood up to leave the Great Hall, and he had paused briefly to speak to a fellow Slytherin. Hermione smiled at Lily. Revelio Lucius. She had decided to do the spell nonverbally because she didn't want anyone to know that it was her. Suddenly, Lucius Malfoy was standing in the middle of the Great Hall clad in nothing but green and silver boxers. His perfectly sculpted chest gave way to well-defined abdominal muscles. His arms were well-developed, and even his calves looked nice. He stared down at himself in shock for a moment and then looked up at the teacher's table. Professor McGonagall was blushing and she flicked her wand so that he had robes on again.
The girls' heads were tilted to one another again and there was a lot of giggling and sneaking glances at the Slytherin table. James watched all this with some concern. Lily didn't like Malfoy, did she? That would be awful. That would be worse than awful. He strained to listen and he didn't like anything that he overheard.
:giggle: "Absolutely luscious!" :giggle: "I can see what you meant…"
James watched the two girls get up from the table, still talking and leave the Great Hall. He frowned after them, and then turned to Sirius who was frowning after them, too.
HP/HG/HP
The tree by the lake had been claimed by Lily and Hermione for a sunny study session. It was fall, and days like this wouldn't last for much longer at Hogwarts. Hermione wasn't exactly studying because she already knew all of the spells and lessons. Instead, she was reading Dark Arts: A Scholar's Compendium. Lily hadn't noticed because Hermione was smart enough to change the cover to something innocuous. Regulus threw himself down next to Hermione, and Severus lowered himself down next to Lily. Regulus glanced at Hermione's book and recognized it from his family's library. He frowned and looked up at her.
"Uh, Hermione?" Regulus tried to communicate with his eyes. Hermione bit her lip, and looked at Regulus debating with herself.
"Research," she said shortly. Regulus frowned again, but nodded.
The friends sat under the tree studying quietly. Hermione's curls were bowed over her book. Regulus sat next to her and murmured in her ear occasionally. She would nod every time he spoke to her, and make a tiny notation. Lucius Malfoy was strolling by himself along the shore of the lake and stopped when he reached the tree. He stood there for a moment, watching Hermione read and nibble on her lower lip.
"Miss Potter?" He purred at her. She looked up at him in surprise, a light flush on her cheeks.
"Mr. Malfoy, what brings you to our tree today?" Hermione asked him with a sparkle in her hazel eyes. Lucius smirked at her.
"This is your tree?" He drawled.
"Yes, we usually come here to study on sunny days," Hermione replied. Lucius nodded.
"So, would you like to come with me to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" He asked her politely. The light flush turned slightly darker, and Hermione swallowed nervously. Old Hermione was screeching like a banshee in her head, but Hermione Potter was thinking about the hard muscle under his robes.
"I'd love to," she heard herself say with a shy smile. Lucius bowed courteously and then left her with her friends.
"What the hell was that?" Lily demanded as soon as Lucius was far enough away. Hermione blushed.
"He's courting her," Severus explained shortly. Lily looked confused.
"Um…It's 1974, not 1874," she said as though this fact should be obvious to everyone. Regulus shook his head at her. Hermione cocked her head at Lily.
"The old wizarding families do things a certain way," Hermione said carefully. "I belong to those families and so does Lucius Malfoy."
"So…it's a pureblood thing, and I just wouldn't understand?" Lily asked angrily, heat rising in her cheeks. Hermione and Severus both protested and shook their heads. Regulus just looked out at the lake, his body language subtly indicating that he believed Lily's statement to be correct.
"No, Lily. It's more like, we have really weird customs that you will either accept or you won't." Hermione said finally with a glance at Regulus.
"Well, what about your brother, then?" Lily demanded. "He doesn't act like Malfoy at all."
"My brother is shameless," Hermione said with a secret smile for her twin. "However, he's never done anything, but treat your reputation with the utmost respect. He's publicly announced, more than once, that he wants to marry you someday. In our world, that promise allows him a large margin of liberty."
"Wait, we're not engaged then are we?" Lily asked in horror with a panicked expression. Regulus rolled his eyes.
"No," he said shortly. "It just means that he has declared that his intentions toward your person are honorable."
"Oh." Lily said thoughtfully. Severus frowned at her.
"Lily? Can we walk for a minute? I want to ask you something," Severus muttered nervously. Lily got up and grabbed her books and walked with Severus back towards the castle.
"So, why are you studying the Dark Arts?" Regulus asked idly as he transfigured leaves. Hermione looked at him and nibbled her lower lip.
"I plan to fight against him," Hermione said slowly, cautiously. Regulus' eyes sought hers and he stared at her with Sirius' eyes. Hermione shifted uncomfortably.
"Why would you tell me that," Regulus asked with a dark frown. Hermione reached out and touched his cheek with just the tips of her fingers.
"You have made one choice already, Regulus. There will be others to make," she whispered her hazel eyes wide seeing things that made her shudder. "Just remember, there is always a choice. Always."
"You're scaring me, Hermione," Regulus said nervously.
"You will see things that will shake you to the core, that will make you question everything. You will make the difficult choice, the brave choice, and in the end you must make it alone," Hermione continued to whisper in that strange voice. She turned and looked at him, tears slipping down her cheeks. Her eyes were completely black, no pupil, iris, or white visible. "When you are there Regulus, please know that I am with you. I am holding your hand and I am cheering you on. I know what you will do, and I will be so proud of you."
"What are you talking about?" he whispered, his grey eyes wide and frightened. Hermione's eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted.
Regulus hurried to her side and patted her cheeks until she woke up. She was disoriented and confused, but her words stayed with Regulus, and made him think.
HP/HG/HP
The day of their Hogsmeade trip dawned bright and sunny. The students were allowed to dress in their everyday clothes. Lily threw on jeans and a sweater and ran downstairs. Hermione rose and went to stand in front of her closet. She was going to Hogsmeade with Lucius Malfoy. Old Hermione snorted in disgust.
He is a Death Eater!
No, he isn't. Not yet, anway.
What about Sirius? I always thought he was kind of sexy.
Ew! Sirius? That's Jamie's best friend! He might as well be a brother.
I…loved…him. You know, my patronus changed after he died. I bet it's still the same. How are going to explain that, I wonder?
We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. No one expects a 4th year to produce a fully corporeal patronus.
Harry could.
Oh, shut up.
In the end, Hermione selected one of the beautiful silk gowns that her mother had sent just in case. Just in case of what, she wasn't quite sure, but they would come in handy now. It was pale blue with a row of buttons that marched down her back. The gown was modest and slightly old-fashioned by muggle standards, but it flattered Hermione's figure and helped her look more feminine. She waved her wind silently because she was alone and her buttons fastened themselves. Another wave pulled her unruly curls back and placed heavy silver combs in her hair to make them cascade in a wild tangle of black tresses down her back. She glanced at herself in the mirror. Not bad at all.
When she descended the stairs and arrived in the common room, all the older students were gone. Her brother and his friends had left long ago. Hermione swallowed nervously at that. James reaction to her with Lucius Malfoy in Hogsmeade would not be pleasant. She made her way carefully to the Great Hall where Lucius was leaning against the wall, waiting for her. When he spotted her, something flickered in those grey eyes of his. He stood up and moved forward. Hermione hid a smile at his reaction.
"You look beautiful," he said sincerely, those silver eyes on her face. Hermione flushed prettily and smiled at him.
"You look pretty handsome yourself," she said shyly. He took her hand and tucked it through his arm and they began the walk to Hogsmeade.
"What do you see in me?" Hermione asked him after Hogwarts was gone from their view. Lucius looked away for a moment and then looked back at her.
"You're the smartest witch of your age, they say that, you know," Lucius said quietly. "You're beautiful as well, but it's something more. There's a spark inside you that I find myself drawn to."
"Why, Mr. Malfoy, you are quite the poet," Hermione murmured. Lucius gave her a wry smile.
"Won't you call me Lucius?" He asked her curiously. She pinkened a little. Calling a boy by his given name was something only close friends, or maybe a boyfriend or girlfriend might do.
"What exactly do you want from me, Mr. Malfoy," Hermione stopped in the middle of the road, her hands on her hips. Lucius looked at her for a minute, those silvery grey eyes narrowed.
"I'm not sure," he said finally. "I like you. I feel drawn to you. I think…I think I'd like to court you."
You have got to be kidding me. If Harry and Ron could see this, they would both just die.
Shut. Up! This is my life, not yours. He isn't evil, he's just a kid, just like me.
Ha!
"I think I would like that, Lucius," Hermione said softly, watching the Slytherin from under her lashes. He smiled at her, a genuine smile, and it changed his face completely. Hermione blinked up at him.
Oh, shit.
Whispers and stares followed Hermione and Lucius as they wandered through Hogsmeade. He took her to Honeyduke's and bought her a bag of candy. They spent some time in a used book store, perusing titles. Hermione was pleased to note that Lucius was just as studious as she was. They got into a spirited argument about the merits of a certain volume, and they left the store laughing, her arm hooked companionably through his elbow.
James was far too busy to notice the burgeoning romance between his sister and Lucius Malfoy. Instead, he was staring in horror as Lily wandered through Hogsmeade holding hands with Severus Snape. Jealousy flared in him like a vicious monster, and he didn't even want to stomp on it. He wanted to let it run free and drink Snape's blood. Sirius had grabbed one arm, and Remus had the other arm.
"James," Sirius growled warningly.
"Look at them," James hissed seeing red.
"We need to go back," Remus said calmly. "If you hurt him, she'll never forgive you. Come on, James."
The boys turned and left Hogsmeade early, never having seen Hermione's beautiful face turned up toward Lucius with a soft smile playing around her lips.
HP/HG/HP
The Marauders were not stupid boys, they just didn't pay attention sometimes. It took them awhile to realize that Hermione was hardly ever in Gryffindor Tower. The fact that James was obsessing over Lily's quasi-relationship with Severus Snape probably didn't help. On top of that, they had already begun the long, tedious process to become animagi. They were making slow, careful progress, but they still had a long way to go.
"We need to finish the map," James decided. "That way I'll know where the slimy git is every second of every day."
"You mean you'll know where Lily is," Sirius drawled lazily as he leafed through Quidditch Quarterly.
"It might be a good idea," Remus said thoughtfully. "If it showed where everyone was, we could pull off some amazing pranks."
"That's brilliant," Peter breathed.
The creation of the map took on a life of its own. Remus was the mastermind behind it, and he divided the work into easier sections that played to each boys' strength. They had already done their visionquests, and knew what their animagus forms would be. They'd picked out nicknames for one another, but promised to only used them once they'd become animagi. They used these nicknames when they named the map. The boys spent weeks on it, and when it was completed they were amazed at themselves.
"Wow," Remus said softly as they stared at the map spread out in front of them on James' bed.
"Where is the prat," James was muttering as he scanned the map.
Sirius rolled his eyes. He loved James like a brother, but this Lily thing was definitely becoming a problem. Why couldn't he just date one of the girls that threw themselves at James and Sirius? Plenty of girls out there, and as far as he could tell, they were all pretty similar. They were pretty and soft and smelled nice. He grinned wolfishly to himself, thinking about his latest girlfriend. A Hufflepuff who was only too eager to show him how she felt about him.
"Oi!" James' voice was irritated. "What the hell is Malfoy doing next to my sister?"
The boys all crowded around the map. Sure enough, Lucius Malfoy was standing still, next to Hermione Potter. They were in the library. Sirius looked closely at the map and frowned. That particular area of the library was dark and tucked back. He'd spent many happy hours there…oh, shit. He cleared his throat uncomfortably as the image of Hermione in his arms suddenly popped into his head. Bad thoughts. Oh…bad, bad thoughts.
"Uh, James," Sirius said with a frown at the map. "Just try not to lose your temper. Maybe he's…uh…helping her study or something."
"Malfoy? Is helping my sister study? Are you yanking my chain?" James snapped sarcastically. Peter looked closer at the map.
"Isn't that the make out corner in the library?" He asked innocently. Sirius closed his eyes.
"The WHAT!" James was out the dorm and down the stairs with the other boys chasing after him.
They managed to tackle James in the corridor outside the library. The boys snuck in and headed toward the back area. Sitting at a table was Hermione looking down at a book. Lucius sat next to her. James relaxed slightly. Okay, maybe studying wasn't so crazy. Then the slimy prat put his arm around Hermione's shoulder and leaned down toward her to whisper something in her ear. She smiled up at him, and it was NOT a studying sort of smile. A red haze began to cloud James' vision and he was having trouble breathing properly. He managed to walk toward the table without doing a flying leap and ripping out the bastard's throat, but it was very, very difficult.
"Hermione?" James' voice was dangerously quiet. She glanced up at her brother in surprise and blushed. That was all the answer he needed. His hands flexed as he struggled for control.
"Jamie," she whispered.
"What are you doing?" he asked calmly.
"Studying with Lucius," she whispered, her hazel eyes wide.
"Lucius? LUCIUS!" James shrieked. Madame Pince hurried over and glared at James.
"Out," she said shortly, pointing to the door.
"Fine, Hermione, come on," James said flatly. She looked up at Malfoy.
"She's fine where she's at, Jamie," Lucius drawled. James had a hold of the front of his robes.
"You do not get to call me that," he snarled in Lucius' face.
HP/HG/HP
"I can't believe you punched a prefect," Remus said shaking his head.
"I can't believe I have detention for the next two months," groused James.