Sixth Year, Part 6, 1996-1997

She'd promised Lucius that she'd do what she could to protect Draco, but it was admittedly not an easy task. Harry was convinced that the younger Malfoy was a Death Eater already, and in his limited free time between classes, quidditch, and meetings with Dumbledore, he had a tendency to stalk Draco's movements using the Marauders' Map. This meant that Hermione could not easily approach Malfoy herself for fear of both Draco's reaction and of the possibility that Harry would see it on the map.

Lucius had not given her permission to speak openly with his son either, so she did not feel she could come right out and offer assistance of some kind. She was also unsure just how she was supposed to protect Draco and from whom. He lived on the opposite end of the castle, and she had no way to enter Slytherin's common room or dorms. She did not play quidditch, so it wasn't as if she'd be on a broom nearby during the games lest anyone attack him with a rogue bludger. They did share some classes, and she made an attempt to sit close enough to him that she could hopefully cast a shield his direction if needed but far enough away that she did not arouse any suspicion.

Did Draco know she'd been assigned his protector and ally? Did he know that she was involved with his father? It seemed very unlikely that Lucius would confide such a thing in his son, as he'd made it clear that even though she and Draco were in the same year at school, he viewed her as an adult and Draco as still a child. Given what she knew of Draco's personality, she was inclined to agree with that assessment. Since her impromptu meeting with Lucius in the alley in Hogsmeade, Draco had seemed angrier than usual. He still picked fights with Gryffindors and was an arrogant arse, but there was something not quite right about him. She could only assume that the weight of the Dark Lord's mysterious task rested heavily on his shoulders.

She knew from the Marauders' Map that Malfoy spent a surprising amount of time in a back corner of the library, so she'd made a few subtle attempts to look in on him there. He was often there alone on the map, but every time she tried to discreetly wander past him, he was with Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, Nott, or Parkinson, and there was nothing unusual about the stacks of books and parchments spread out on their table.

As the winter hols drew near, she'd resigned herself to the idea that she would have to continue to watch Malfoy from afar as discreetly as possible because she honestly wasn't sure what else she could do at this point. She hoped she'd have an opportunity to question Lucius further about the task and Draco's safety whilst away from school. As it turned out, it was another member of the Malfoy family who dominated her next real conversation with Lucius.

~oOo~

Since her meeting with Lucius in the Shrieking Shack at the end of her 5th year, Hermione had deliberately ignored the existence of one Narcissa Malfoy. She knew, of course, that her lover was married. She'd seen his wife in various newspaper clippings over the years and in person at the Quidditch World Cup. She remained convinced that they weren't truly in love, based on his reaction to the Bulgarian team's veela mascots, but she was unsure just what Narcissa meant to him. She supposed it was a subject she really ought to have discussed with him before sleeping with him, but she'd been nervous and was unsure how to bring it up.

All throughout the summer and autumn of 1996, the existence of his wife ate at Hermione's conscience. Her parents were not overly religious, so she didn't necessarily think she was condemned to any sort of hell for what she'd done - she'd just never thought she'd willingly sleep with a married man. Did Narcissa know that her husband had slept with another woman, a muggleborn witch? If she knew, did she care? If Lucius had not been conscripted into the service of a madman, would he be as insistent on discretion and secrecy regarding their involvement? She thought perhaps he still would have been concerned about discretion, although the risks to them both would have been less dire.

She was beyond relieved - and ecstatic - when Lucius finally messaged her in December to arrange a meeting over Yule break. After an enthusiastic and amorous reunion at the lodge in Scotland, she found herself curled up beside him in front of a roaring fire. He seemed relaxed and in a good enough mood that she finally dared to bring up the elephant in the room.

"I...well, I don't mean to pry, but given all of this-" she gestured between them, "I mean, you are married…"

"Yes. I am. Was there a question involved?" His voice was succinct, emotionless.

"Are you terribly unhappy then, with your wife?" she asked in a hushed voice.

He looked very serious for a long moment, and Hermione wondered if he would be angry with her for daring to ask the question.

"No, pet, I am not happy in my marriage. I haven't been in a long time, if ever," he admitted, looking into the flames instead of at her.

She waited, hoping he would say more. When he did not, she decided to use some of that infamous Gryffindor bravery and ask again.

"Will you tell me about it?"

He looked almost surprised at her question, but not angry. He flicked a lock of long pale blond hair out of his face and sighed.

"If I must."

"Yes, you must," she prodded eagerly, happy he was willing to speak openly about this subject.

"Like many traditional pureblood families, my parents expected me to take a wife at a young age. It was not uncommon in my youth for students to finish their education at Hogwarts already betrothed. Marriages did not usually occur until after graduation. There were, undoubtedly, some couples who made love matches, or as in love as you believe you can be at 17 or 18, but most of us, especially in Slytherin, had engagements arranged or heavily influenced by our parents," he said.

"Yours was arranged?" she guessed.

"Yes, but you're getting ahead of my story, pet. Hush now," he said, punctuating his words with a light slap to her bare thigh.

Her eyes widened and a blush spread across her cheeks.

"Before my sixth year, my parents - my father mostly - provided a list of young pureblood witches they deemed acceptable. All were within a few years of me in school, either older or younger. There were a handful of French witches from Beauxbatons, children of my parents' friends and associates, as well. One witch in particular stood out for me. I believe you've met her: Andromeda Black."

Hermione's mouth fell open in shock. Andromeda? Andromeda Tonks, who had famously been blasted from the Black family tree for the sin of marrying a muggleborn? THAT was who stood out to Lucius? She could hardly believe it. She'd met Mrs. Tonks briefly when she'd visited Grimmauld Place to speak to Sirius about something. The witch was frighteningly similar in appearance to her sister Bellatrix Lestrange, but her features were softer, her eyes kinder. She wasn't as strikingly beautiful as Narcissa, but she was rather lovely in her own right.

"You wanted Andromeda? Why?" she couldn't help but ask, even if it meant upsetting Lucius.

"She was...Andy was special," he said. He had a far off look on his face that made Hermione uncomfortable and a tiny bit jealous.

"Andromeda was a year ahead of me at Hogwarts, and she was a remarkable witch. She had none of Bellatrix's sadistic urges or madness, some of which were apparent even in childhood. She was her sister's polar opposite. She was kind and thoughtful, always happy to help the younger students with their essays and revisions. The younger students looked up to her. She was a Slytherin prefect, and she took her schoolwork very seriously."

He paused for a moment. "You have to understand that for a pureblood witch from an ancient and noble family, working outside the home after marriage was far from a given. Most were expected to keep house, raise an heir, and work to further the family's social standing, so as a result many witches underperformed in school because to them it didn't matter once they were betrothed. Andy was not like that. She was a good student. I… I respected her intelligence. I could not have selected a better wife for the House of Malfoy."

"Because of her intelligence?"

"Yes, that, and of course her standing in an ancient and noble house, which was a requirement for my father. Beyond that, she was cunning and ambitious as any good Slytherin must be, but she was also intelligent, warm, and thoughtful. She was a ray of sunlight in the dungeons. I thought that I would have an ally in her, that she would be the type of witch who would work to further our family's businesses and investments and social standing but also be a loving wife and mother. She was the sort of person I thought I would enjoy having as a spouse."

"Did you love her?" Hermione asked meekly. She truly did not want to hear how much Lucius had loved another. Just thinking about it was a stab to her heart, but she needed to know.

"At that age, I do not know if I truly could have claimed to be in love, but I could have grown to love her. I am certain of that," he admitted. "It would not have been hard. Nearly everyone adored Andy."

"Did she know how you felt about her?"

"Not at first. As I said, she was kind to everyone, and we were friends, I suppose. Not as close as I would like, but then, she was a year older than I. I saw her age as a benefit, by the way. It gave her the added maturity she would need to be Lady Malfoy. And if I am being brutally honest, I thought her age and personality would be well suited for me. As you may have noticed, I am a demanding and exacting man, with high standards, and can admit that I am not the easiest person to live with."

Hermione said nothing, for this was indeed all true.

"Before the end of my sixth year, I told my father I wanted Andromeda Black, that I would marry her as soon as I graduated. He was pleased with my choice, and you must understand that very little pleased my father. I made overtures to her before the end of the school term, traditional courting gifts, you see. My affections took her by surprise, but I did not think my efforts unwelcome. She was very gracious."

Hermione was on the edge of her seat, listening with rapt attention.

"My father contacted hers, and they spent months negotiating the bride price and the particulars of the betrothal contract. Bellatrix had just married, you see, and now that his most difficult child was out of his house, he could not try to pawn her off on unsuspecting suitors. It made his remaining two daughters more valuable."

"How so?" Hermione was perplexed by the intricacies of pureblood courtships and arranged marriage.

"Betrothals are often less about the suitability of two people and more about the joining of two families. If the patriarchs of the Houses of Malfoy and Black wanted to join their children, it didn't really matter which children, as long as there was a male and a female of childbearing age," he explained with surprising patience. "Before Bellatrix was betrothed and wed, anyone approaching the Black family about a daughter would be presented with Bellatrix first, even though her mental instability made her the least desirable."

"Oh."

"Oh, indeed. With Bellatrix out of the way, their father had many additional suitors vying for Andromeda and Narcissa. What should have been a straightforward process took months. They finally reached an agreement, and we were all to sign the betrothal paperwork and celebrate the engagement when I was home for Yule break, with the wedding to take place after my graduation. Shortly before I returned home, Andromeda ran away with a mud-muggleborn from her year."

Hermione stared at her lover and realised with a start that he was still somewhat bitter about the defection of the one he'd chosen as a wife. Never once in the time she'd been with Lucius had he ever referred to her as a mudblood, but she noted that he'd nearly used the slur in reference to Ted Tonks.

"You must have been devastated," she whispered.

"I was furious. By the time our families managed to locate her, they had already married and consummated the marriage. There was nothing I could do, short of killing him."

"You… you didn't try to kill him, did you?" She swallowed hard at the thought of this passionate wizard in such a rage over the loss of the witch he'd so adored.

He looked at her in surprise before smirking. "I gave it serious and proper consideration, pet. The only reason I did not is because I knew Andy would never forgive me."

"You loved her enough to let her go," she whispered.

"A tragic defect in my character, I'm sure," he sniffed, looking away again.

"No. No, don't think that way. Your humanity is not a defect, Lucius."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Regardless, with Andromeda unavailable and blasted from the family tree and months of negotiation wasted, our fathers were still in favor of a match, so Cygnus offered Narcissa instead."

"And you agreed?"

He shrugged. "I was admittedly rather despondent and sullen as only a spoiled, heartbroken teenage wizard can be. No one else came close to holding my attention as Andy had. Perhaps I caved to my parents' pressure. Perhaps some part of me - not fully understanding the ramifications of my decision - thought a union with the Black family would cause further pain to Andromeda, a way to punish her for rejecting me. In any case, I did not strenuously object to a betrothal with Narcissa. She was a year behind me at Hogwarts, so I knew I had another year and a half before I'd be expected to marry her."

"Did you care for Narcissa when you married her?" she asked.

He shrugged again. "Despite being in the same house at school, I did not often interact with her. Narcissa was intelligent, but not as open about it as Andy. She was, as I later learned, highly gifted in potions, but she had no interest in tutoring the younger students. There was not - is not - a lot in her nature that is nurturing."

"How did she feel about marrying you?"

He offered a hint of a wistful smile in response. "She informed me during our betrothal that she would do her duty to her family, but that she was aware of my feelings for her blood traitor sister. She was… shall we say, less than thrilled about being my wife."

"That doesn't seem like a great start to a marriage."

"It was not. It was disheartening to go from what I thought would be a close partnership with a warm and compassionate witch who I knew I could love to a marriage with a cold and distant witch who resented the affection I held for her sister. The worst of it, I suppose, was knowing that the witch I adored so loathed the idea of marrying me that she would choose to betray her family, give up her inheritance, and flee to live in a hovel with a muggleborn."

"Maybe she really loved him," Hermione said softly.

He glared at her then, but she refused to back down.

"Maybe in another universe, another life where she never met Ted Tonks, Andromeda would have married you and it would have been a happy marriage," she offered. "Maybe it wasn't about hating you or the idea of being married to you at all. Maybe she loved him and couldn't imagine being without him, even if it cost her her family, her friends, her life as she knew it. People will go to great lengths, do crazy things for love."

He studied her for a moment, as if looking at her for the first time. "I suppose you are right," he finally allowed.

"And you've never been happy with Narcissa?" she asked as she took his hand in hers, holding it gently in her lap.

He looked down at their joined hands before speaking. "We tolerate each other and have little in common beyond our surname and shared child. We produced an heir because it was expected of us, and we were fortunate that our firstborn was a son. She refused to consider having another child with me. I would have welcomed more - I certainly could provide for more - but it was not to be. Despite our general animosity, I do not doubt her love for Draco. He is the one thing we have in common, the one thing that means more to us than anything else in this world. But no, I would not say that we are or have been happy."

He sounded resigned to a lifetime of unhappiness - assuming he survived the war - and it broke her heart.

"Can you...is divorce an option?" she asked hopefully.

He smiled sadly at her. "No pet, it is not. Divorce is a rather muggle concept, at least among the ancient and noble families. I doubt the Malfoy family's binding ceremony can be undone by anything but death. We live our lives together in public but separate behind closed doors. As with my unwilling service to the Dark Lord, I do what I must to survive."

Hermione took all of this in, and her heart twisted painfully for the handsome wizard before her. How tragic that he'd cared so for Andromeda, only to have her leave him for someone she truly loved. How heartbreaking that he'd never been happy in his marriage, that he'd been forced by family and duty to marry someone so cold! She'd thought his story of forced servitude to Voldemort was bad enough, but to know that he'd experienced such misery for so long on top of it was simply too much for her to bear.

She climbed into his lap then, straddling his legs and throwing her arms around him.

"Oh Lucius!" she exclaimed, blinking back empathetic tears as she hugged him tightly. He returned her embrace, although he seemed confused by her emotional outburst.

"What is it, love?" he asked as he stroked her tangle of curls.

"That's so sad! You deserve to have some happiness in your life."

His arms tightened around her then, and he spoke the words that meant more to her than he could possibly know.

"I do, Hermione. I have you."