The afternoon sunlight painted the room they had set up for Hermione gold. It was a generic room, void of the toys and decorations that personalized Draco's bedroom. Lucius looked around the bare walls and determined to fix that. The only furnishing aside from the crib was a high wooden chair that Narcissa had set Hermione on so that she could dress her.

He stood in the doorway with a very sleepy Draco. His son had been curious about the new addition to their family, but the two babies had thus far done little more than stare at each other.

Narcissa finished tying a grass green ribbon in Hermione's short hair. Her face was expressionless as she finished tying the sash of Hermione's matching dress. "I think that's fine," she said without looking at him. "As long as she doesn't cry the Dark Lord will find no fault with her."

"Do you think she'll cry?"

Narcissa shot him an irritated look, "She's a baby, Lucius, it's what they do."

Lucius sincerely hoped that the girl would have more sense than to cry in front of the Dark Lord. He stepped into the room, "And how do I look, would the Dark Lord find fault with me?"

"Don't joke about that," admonished Narcissa, "The entire plan rests on this meeting. We can only hope that the Dark Lord takes one look at the child, gets bored, and sends you both home immediately." She reached for Draco, and held him close, pressing a kiss to his head. "I can't wait for this day to be over."

"It will be over soon," Lucius grinned, hoping that she had forgiven him for the naming incident at the orphanage.

He moved over to the chair, "Alright, sweetheart, it's time to go," he scooped her into his arms, keeping his voice light and cheerful. "Does she need a cloak?"

"If you wear your black one it will be large enough to shield her. Besides, I thought you were going to use the Floo?"

"I've never used the Floo with a baby, I didn't know if I needed to take extra precautions. We wouldn't want little Hermione to get hurt."

"Wear the black cloak and hold it over her face so that she doesn't accidentally inhale any soot. She'll be fine."

She followed him into his study, and helped him fix the cloak over Hermione. "If there's any trouble, come back immediately. I can have the Floo disconnected in seconds."

"I love it when you worry about me," he teased, pecking her on the lips. "I'll be home shortly, have a good evening. Goodnight Draco," he smoothed his hand over his son's head, then grabbed a fistful of Floo Powder from the special bowl they kept over the mantle. Then He stepped into the emerald flames.

"The Badger's kitchen!"

A few seconds later he stepped into the bustling kitchen. It was a low-ceilinged room that gave the impression of being very deep underground. Several copper gas lamps illuminated the large wooden table that sat in the middle of the room, but most of the light came from a hearth that was so big he could roast a giant in it. A dozen house-elves paused momentarily to gawk at him, before turning back to their tasks.

"Mr. Malfoy!" A heavily muscled woman glided across the kitchen with a tray of fresh-baked rolls. "Everyone's upstairs- who's this?"

Lucius had just pulled the cloak away from Hermione, who was looking around with wonder.

"This is my daughter, Hermione." Lucius said, gently pushing her bow back in place.

The woman set the rolls on the table and pulled a large red handkerchief from her pocket, "I didn't know you have a daughter," she said, mopping her brow.

Irritation flared in his throat. He did not care to explain his situation to the woman, in his opinion it was none of her business. Luckily, he was saved from having to answer by Hermione.

"Puppy!" She pointed eagerly at the nearest house-elf, her face glowing with excitement. "Puppy!"

The woman broke into a harsh giggle that made Hermione shrink against him. "That's not a puppy, love, that's a house-elf. Has she never seen one before? I always thought Malfoy Manor was full of 'em."

He forced his face to stay neutral. "Our elves like to stay out of sight. Well, forgive me but I had better go upstairs."

"Puppy?" Hermione said as Lucius took her through the back door and up the staircase.

"You can see another one when we get home," Lucius promised, "He's much better than those ones. You can see him whenever you want." He shifted the cloak so that it covered all but her face.

The sun was just starting to dip below the skyline of Diagon Alley, and he took a moment at the top of the stairs to take a few deep breaths. "We'll get through this," he murmured, more for his own benefit that for Hermione's, "And if you don't cry I will buy you as many toys as you want. Your room will be so crowded we'll have to use ten expansion charms."

She let out a little sigh, and rested her head against his chest. The wind ruffled the top of her hair, and it was his concern that she might be too cold that finally drove him towards the door.

"Lucius! Come in, come in!"

Of all the days that Voldemort decided to play the gracious benefactor, Lucius was glad that he had chosen that day. The room was full of the usual faces. He caught a glimpse of Bellatrix scowling at him from a table laden with maps and charts. Ignoring her, he focused in on the man sitting next to the fireplace.

"Is this the girl? Move, Avery, let Lucius sit."

Avery gave Lucius a small frown as he vacated the chair directly next to the Dark Lord. Lucius sat quickly, shedding his cloak as he did so.

"Yes, my Lord, this is Hermione. Hermione, this is the Dark Lord."

"Let me see her."

Lucius almost fell out of his chair when Voldemort held out his arms expectantly.

Please don't cry, please don't cry, Lucius thought, carefully passing Hermione to Voldemort, and helping her sit on his lap. He had known grown men who had cried merely by glimpsing the red eyes that gazed unblinkingly down at the baby. He held his breath as Hermione stared gravely back.

Then, miraculously, Hermione smiled.

"Pretty," she said, reaching for the silver buttons on Voldemort's robes.

Lucius leaned forward, "Hermione, no! My Lord, I apologize-"

"Leave her, Lucius, it's quite alright. She'll do no harm."

It took all of his willpower to keep his mouth from falling open.

Voldemort appeared to not notice, "We were discussing the recent attack on-"

Lucius barely registered anything that was discussed that night. Throughout everything his eyes were pinned on the baby. She stayed in high spirits, pulling on the buttons, giggling as Voldemort spread a map in front of him and pointed locations out to her. Finally she fell into a peaceful slumber, and he allowed her to sleep in his lap while he finished discussing his plans with the members of his inner circle.

Slowly, the fire died down, and people began returning home to their families, until at last only he, Bellatrix, and the Dark Lord remained.

"You may take her now Lucius," Voldemort said, giving the girl a pat on the head as if she were a dog. "Bring her the next time you come, I think she gives me a more domestic look. We are doing this for the children, after all. So that they can have a brighter future."

Lucius looked into the evil grin as he lifted Hermione into his arms, and had to suppress a shudder. "Of course, my Lord. I'm sure Hermione would be delighted to see you again. She seems to have taken to you."

"I'm sure that she will be an excellent addition to our forces when she comes of age," Voldemort turned to look at Bellatrix, who was glaring darkly at her charts. "And who better to train the girl than her aunt? Bellatrix, have you had the pleasure of meeting your new niece?"

"We've only brought Hermione home today," Lucius rushed to explain, "You are the first person, other than myself and Narcissa, to meet her."

"Well who am I to stand in the way of this family reunion? Bellatrix, come meet Hermione."

Moving as if every step hurt, Bellatrix stalked over. "Hello," she growled.

Voldemort laughed, an ugly sound, and smoothed his robes, "One day, Hermione, Bellatrix is going to turn you into the best Death Eater I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Isn't that right, Bella?"

"Yes, my Lord," she ground, her eyes burning into Lucius. "I look forward to it."

"I should take her home," Lucius said, pulling his cloak on and securing it around the sleeping baby.

Voldemort nodded, "Do that. I look forward to seeing you both again soon. "You're excused as well, Bellatrix."

Lucius cursed his bad luck as his sister-in-law followed him to the door.

"It's a shame I wasn't invited to the party," she drawled once they had stepped through the door and closed it behind them. The night was dark, and the only light came from the yellow street lamps below.

His brow wrinkled, "What party?"

"The party Narcissa threw to welcome Hermione into the family. The one she threw for Draco must've had a thousand guests. I'm sure that this one was equally as large."

"You know that you would have been invited had there been a party."

"Aha!" She jabbed a finger towards him, "Cissy loves parties! Tell me, Lucius, why wouldn't she throw one for this very happy occasion?"

"Because we don't want to overwhelm Hermione while she settles in. Her second birthday will be in September, I am sure that there will be a party then."

"This is going too far, the Dark Lord has taken an interest in the girl!"

He allowed a slow smile to spread across his face, "Jealous, Bellatrix?"

Her wand arm gave a weird spasm, but she did not attempt to curse him. "When the Dark Lord discovers whatever plot you've dragged my sister into, I will not save you from the aftermath."

"There is no plot, Bellatrix. You're just upset that the Dark Lord approves of something I've done."

The lamp cast most of her face in shadow, and made her furrowed brow look a lot more severe than it must have been. "I'm going to figure out what you're up to," she hissed, "I only hope that it's not too late to save my sister when I do."

He opened his mouth to retort, but before he could she spun on her heel and vanished into thin air.

He sighed, and repositioned the girl sleeping against his shoulder. "Come, Hermione. Let's go home before crazy aunt Bellatrix comes back."

A/N: Please leave a review and let me know what you think! All constructive criticism is welcomed.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed!