Falsity
Just A Penniless Writer

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.
Author's Plea: Please accept my apologies for the wait. Between editing, several other stories, breeding plot bunnies, HBP, and unintentional unemployment, I got lost along the way. In case you haven't noticed, this fic will not be HBP compliant. Also, not formally edited.
Enjoy if you can.

Part 5: A Pureblooded Spectacle

The woman was at odds with the little room. Her velvet robes made the canvas of the chair covering look downright nasty, and the lively feather in her hat made the mundane beige of the walls all the more dreary.

"Madam Percival," the Auror began.

"Please," she interrupted all too sweetly. "Call me Petty."

He wanted to cringe. Instead, he held it back and hoped this would all be over soon enough. Why the Minister wanted to continue bringing in witnesses was beyond him.

"Petty," he began again, pleased that his voice retained the bored official quality. "What is your speculation regarding the Malfoy-Granger scandal?"

"O, I could never speculate! That would be entirely… barbaric," she said with false affront. "However, I can tell you what I saw," she continued smoothly with a particularly condescending smile.

"If you would then," the Auror led, hoping this wouldn't consume too much of his time. If he had to work the interrogations for this case, at the very least couldn't he have questioned one of the Malfoys?

Magnifique was much like Malfoy Manor with its luxurious tapestries and decadent furnishings. It had to be the most pureblooded place she had ever laid eyes on. Everyone she saw looked her over with such presumption and arrogance that she wanted to scream with frustration.

"Patience, my pet. They are just curious about you. Let them be. It is all part of our Plan," Lucius whispered into her ear. The tickling sensation and warmth radiating from his arm left her with a dreamy smile that ordinarily wouldn't fit her countenance.

"Of course," she mumbled back.

They were escorted to the rear of the restaurant where a private dining room was already filling with guests.

"Lucius! How wonderful to see you out again!" Mr. Alias Barnum, the host of the small gathering, proclaimed. He seemed a jovial enough man to Hermione, but then, she'd come to expect the unexpected.

"Alias, the pleasure is entirely mine," Lucius responded with a self assured smirk. "Allow me to introduce my dear Miss Helen Wright."

Mr. Barnum turned sparkling eyes to her which brightened as he lifted her hand for a kiss. It was different than Lucius' though, and it bothered her somewhat that she actually preferred the evil blond at her side. Surely that was a sign that her priorities were in dire need of rearranging.

"Well met, Miss Wright," Mr. Barnum said smoothly. "Please, allow me to introduce you to my other guests."

She was whirled around the small room so quickly that she found it difficult to remember all the names of the people she met. Luckily, she was by nature anal retentive, so she managed well enough. Madam Barnum was a blank faced woman who looked half dead. Mr. Follicle was balding and sweaty. Dr. Percival was strict and condemning. Madam Percival was patronizing. Monsieur Blanc seemed quite taken with her.

"Jacque, I must take my dear Helen back," Lucius interrupted much to Hermione's appreciation when Monsieur Blanc started blatantly flirting with her.

"Thank you," she whispered honestly after she had been rescued from the amorous clutches of the Frenchman. Lucius tried to suppress a shiver caused by the unintentional movement of her lips against his ear. It really had been too terribly long since a woman had shown such interest in him. Older pureblooded females were entirely too aloof to ever think of doing such things as getting so close. Merlin bless young witches.

"My pleasure, my pet," he murmured back, adopting his usual confident stance and smirk with an arm securely around her waist. "Shall we have a seat?"

It was perfect timing. A bell rung clearly signaling the start of the meal, and the small group took their seats. Hermione smiled smugly at the thought of Lucius pulling her chair out for her under the assumption that she was a pureblood. She wanted to cackle from the proof of the depth of his delusion. Since she was sure he was suspicious of her identity and past, it was all the more amusing that he hadn't yet made accusations regarding her bloodline. Was it that he simply did not believe a Mudblood could pull off such an illusion? Was his prejudice so thick that he denied the possibility that someone he appreciated could not be pureblooded?

It was an interesting theory.

"Lucius, dear, I hear that your Narcissa is enjoying her time in Tuscany," Madam Percival said with a very Pansy-esque simper. Lucius merely smirked and took Hermione's hand on top of the table, a sure sign to all who watched.

"Yes, Petty, I am well aware of what, or rather who, is occupying my ex-wife in Tuscany. I am only happy that she has found what she wants."

It was a smooth and polite reply, to be sure, but there was something so entirely wrong with the manner in which it was said, the indulgent tone used, and the smirk employed.

"Now, now, Petty, let us not talk of Lucius' past when his future is present," Alias said with a wink in Hermione's direction. "Tell me, my boy, where did you meet this precious woman?"

Hermione blushed under the host's sparkling eyes, and Lucius was once again struck by an odd flash of a meeting at the Quidditch World Cup before the Dark Lord's return to form. Shaking it away, he met the question just as he had mentioned he would in his letters to her during the week.

"It was quite the miracle, I assure you. I am most thankful every day," he said with some amount of honesty. "I was visiting a small outpost in Africa to pick up some very valuable potions supplies. I found a small market selling orchid essences where Helen was purchasing a vial. She commented on the freshness of the mystacidii, and we simply couldn't stop conversing."

It was a perfectly constructed answer: detailed enough to make it seem real but vague enough to leave them wondering. Most importantly, it made little mention of Helen. They were left to speculate who she was and why she had been there; they were far too polite to inquire further.

Lucius and Hermione smiled indulgently at each other, completing the act. It was entirely too natural for both of them.

"Hmm," Alias interrupted their longing looks. "It has been some time since you last joined us, Lucius."

"Yes, too long… I am only too glad to be back. My dear Helen has given my life new meaning. I believe I could touch the stars with her by my side."

Madam Percival smiled with girlish delight at the imagery. Hermione was a bit shocked that the man she had, as a child, deemed Evil Incarnate, was capable of such beautiful words, even if they were a bit tacky. Lucius was satisfied that he could say such a thing without lying. After all, he had great things Plotted for himself and Helen.

The meal arrived then and conversation stalled. It wasn't until all had been served and adjustments made that communication began again. However, now it was lighter and Hermione was able to sink more comfortably into her role. They were nice enough, but still she wondered how quickly they would turn their backs on her should they learn of her true parentage.

"I must say, Lucius," Dr. Percival began in a rather short, flat tone. "You have changed."

It was difficult to tell if the phrase was meant as a compliment or insult, and so Lucius approached the answer with caution.

"Incarceration will do that to a man."

"O, I am most sure of that," Petty simpered. "I believe what my husband meant was that you are more relaxed, Lucius dear. Do we have young Helen to thank for this?"

Lucius grinned honestly. This couldn't be going better. It was almost a waste of his skills that he was able to answer so many questions without lying. Turning his gaze to his partner in crime, he found Helen smiling demurely into her wine glass, attempting to hide the blush gracing her cheeks. Altogether, a perfect response.

"I believe you are correct, Petty. Helen has… broadened my perception. She has made me realize worrying about the inevitable is pointless and wasteful."

The women smiled serenely, but Dr. Percival straightened even further in his seat and sent a demanding look towards the cool aristocrat.

"Surely you haven't changed terribly much. You haven't gained any unsightly sympathies, have you?"

To Hermione's credit, she held her anger back with a tremendous amount of will. After all, this was to be expected from friends of the Malfoy family.

"Really, Ignatius, such silly accusations. When a Malfoy becomes a blood traitor, you will not have to ask."

"Pardon me, Lucius," Mr. Barnum began with a conspiratorial whisper, steering the conversation in a direction he favored more. "Madam Narcissa is much enjoying her time in Tuscany…"

"Yes, Alias, we have all heard," Petty interrupted the host.

"Have you heard of her gentleman caller?" he continued undaunted, with an odd twinkle in his eyes.

"Of course we have. A respectable pureblood."

"Cover. My cousin was visiting a Muggle village near her estate and saw Narcissa in the company of a Muggle gentleman."

"Your cousin must have been mistaken!" Petty cried scandalously. "Narcissa would never!"

"Au contraire, Madam. On no less than a six occasions did he see them together. I believe he even heard of Narcissa visiting the gentleman's villa."

"Impossible! Simply impossible!" Petty stated firmly. "Narcissa always hated Muggles. She would never lower herself to such a filthy level."

"Your opinions, Lucius?" queried Alias with a knowing grin.

Lucius had remained silent during the accusation of his ex-wife's dalliances. After all, it was hardly pertinent to him anymore.

Instead, he had been studying Helen's reactions to the statements. Though she had held up remarkably well to the subject of his former wife, he had seen an unmistakable cringe when Petty had insulted Muggles. While a large part of him was revolting at his association with a Muggle Sympathizer, he knew continuance of his Plot was reliant upon her happiness. There was plenty of time later to convince her of his position, and he would allow this unfavorable belief now as she had been isolated from respectable society for some time. It was only a matter of grooming.

As well, considering his present Ministry issues, it was best to be safe in the presence of company. Even a mildly vehement response could easily render him even more of a pariah in the recovering society.

"I believe…" he began with slow calculation, determining how ambiguous his answer had to be in order to be accepted by all present, "that Narcissa is not my concern. However, I will say that she is not so against Muggles as she is against those of differing social status. If she is involved with a Muggle, he must be quite well off."

That answer seemed to placate everyone, and Lucius settled comfortably into his seat with a pleased smirk, allowing his hand to cover Helen's once more.

The topic changed several times throughout the meal, and Hermione was both amused and appalled at the arrogance of everything. Still, the uselessness of the conversation made staying true to her role incredibly easy. Her mistakes were few, and she was reassured that Lucius simply believed her to be out of practice. Her opinions, when warranted, were not outrageous, as the subject matter simply did not allow for it. She had even managed to weave in a few well crafted comments regarding the irrelevance of robe colour to political standing that left an unsuspecting Petty smiling unsurely.

However, the smile on her face that had become entirely real by the time dessert was served twisted into something Lucius was sure meant disaster for someone at the table, preferably not him. That angry calculating false smile he knew far too well. Even a man as powerful as he once was feared the righteous anger of a woman.

"…Once he was finished ironing his ears, he finally finished preparing the soufflé with the good liquors instead. House-elves are such a bother."

Every male in the room had already taken note of the rising ire of one particular member of their party, probably because long marriages dictated they knew the expression well. However, Petty, who had yet to get a clue, was content that everyone was of the same opinion until Hermione spoke.

"Madam, if the elves are such a bother, why do you not set them free?"

Nobody save Petty dared laugh at the completely preposterous idea.

"But why would I do that?" the woman asked with complete sincerity between girlish giggles.

"Perhaps if you treated them better they would serve you better," Hermione continued undaunted.

"They serve regardless of treatment. I find a little punishment helps them remember their place," Petty replied with a patronizing air.

"Punishment can force them into betrayal."

"House-elves do not betray! It is simply not done."

"And I suppose you would know something of this?"

"Of course. I have never heard once of a house elf going against his master. It simply is not done!"

"Then you are obviously uninformed. I know of a house elf that risked certain death to betray his master and save someone he respected greatly. Another house elf turned on the man he was servant to. The situation ended in the man's death."

"But those are extremes. Such things do not happen in polite society."

"Oh, I suppose so. But then, I also wouldn't doubt they find other ways to punish you for the continued abuse. Tell me, how has your tea been lately?"

There was a stunned pause at the table. Every set of eyes was wide and locked on the coldly furious Hermione. Lucius had honestly never expected his escort to be so fiery, but then it was a bit entertaining to see how easily she could own the room. The young woman would make a great politician if he could only rid her of her silly ideals.

However, something in her little tirade was nagging him. Her examples were oddly familiar. Surely the girl couldn't have been referring to that mongrel Dobby. After all, the only people who knew about Dobby were select members of Dumbledore's group, Potter, and his idiot friends.

A memory tickled him with irritating precision, but he pushed it away. Draco's stories about the Mudblood friend of Potter and her elf fetish had no bearing on the present and were terribly disturbing.

Still, the girl needed to learn how to state her opinion and leave people wondering if she was being serious or not. The only thing that saved her reputation, and her use in his Plot, was the generosity of Alias, who decided the situation was entirely too funny. The host's honest laughter was followed by the unsure titters of his guests as Helen merely met Lucius' eyes and smirked.

He didn't know if he'd ever been so entertained. This was possibly better than Muggle baiting.

"Your Father recognized the second sign of the required three because you told him Miss Granger was interested in House Elves sexually?" the Auror questioned with blatant disgust.

"I may have exaggerated a bit."

"I see."

The Auror and the young Malfoy exchanged speculative looks.

"Tell me you didn't say such ridiculous things when you were a teenager," Draco finally challenged.

The Auror merely cleared his throat and looked at his shoes.