"Gently Draco, we must take pity on these unfortunate Mudbloods," Lucius Malfoy had once told his son as they met one Hermione Granger in the bookstore. Well, he hadn't expected his son to take the words so literally and marry one of their kind. Now Lucius had to force himself to gaze upon his daughter-in-law—a Mudblood— smile and make pleasant small talk. Anyone who knew the wizard for longer than a minute could say with certainty: farce and Lucius did not appear in the same room.
After yet another unpleasant conversation between the newest Mrs Celine Malfoy and himself, Lucius found himself officially uninvited to all family events. His wife Cissy refused to petition on his behalf, valuing her relationship with her son and new wife more.
Something had to change. And then, it did when Narcissa left Lucius for another wizard. Lucius felt it coming. He had no intention of opposing his ex-wife's side of things, especially in light of current events, but this was ridiculous. The woman he loved, his Pureblooded wife, had married another...Mudblood! A Mudblood! Why would she even think about marrying something like that? What was she thinking?
Lucius could deal if she chose anyone else from their circle, but why him? Why Edward Snape, a distant relative of his friend Severus' father? He would still be glad for her marital bliss; as a good ex-husband, Lucius wanted to see her happy, right? Right. So why was he finding it almost impossible to smile at Narcissa's chosen?
Narcissa, being the ever-gracious hostess had failed to invite him to her wedding, but 'informed' him of her nuptials some months later through a charming Daily Prophet article featuring her, Draco and their respective Mudblood partners at a meeting with the Minister of Magic, accepting a reward for contributing a large sum to the ever- successful Death Eater Rehabilitation program started by Hermione Granger.
The times were changing, and the world was becoming more liberal and Lucius was too...slow, too old to keep up. The faces of his old family and the despicable Miss Granger haunted him in his slumber.
All Lucius could do was drown his misery in the bottom of a bottle of fine Argentinian red wine on the balcony of the Malfoy Manor where he had secluded himself like a noblesse d'épée , shielded from the Nouveau Monde in his fortress of solitude. When drowning in burgundy did not work, he made his way down his vast lawn and into the forest behind the manor. He walked for what seemed like an eternity until he reached the edge of a cliff overlooking the bay. In the moonlight, he stood on the edge of the cliff and let the wind fan his hair about him and his evergreen, velvet robes wind about his legs. He might die a miserable man, but certainly not an ugly one.
He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the sea waves crashing against the rocks below. He downed his wine while the cold sting of tears froze in his eyes. The tears were quickly forgotten when he heard footsteps coming up behind him. The end was nigh, the reaper was here to take him out of his misery. He turned to face death and found it had the face of Hermione Granger.
She wore a white bridal dress which brought out her pearly skin and her long, dark curls. The soft glow of the full moon illuminated the path to the cliff from the beach below them. Like an angel, descended from the heavens, she floated over the grasses. Hermione approached him quietly and stood next to him on the edge of the cliff. For several minutes neither said a word until Hermione spoke up.
"I did not think that after all this time, you'd do something as cowardly as throw yourself off a ledge."
The wine in his hand grew hot. He threw it into the black abyss far below.
"If only you understood," Lucius whispered. "To be married for thirty-three years and to see Cissy with... that . Why would she do this to me?"
Hermione smiled softly and wrapped an arm around him. She kissed his temple and looked towards the sea as well. They both listened to the waves crash against each other in silence.
Lucius sighed. "I apologize, I did not mean to..."
"You're entitled to be upset. We're all entitled to be upset sometimes," Hermione said. "We've all been hurt by our own expectations, no matter how wrong they were."
Lucius felt a slow rush of tears build up as Hermione's warm arm enveloped him. He felt safe and vastly disappointed in himself for speaking so coldly to her kind in the past. That this Mudblood which could be the only thing in his life now keeping him on the other side of the Veil was not a reality he imagined himself living in.
"I suppose I was harsh to speak to you in such an unbecoming way," he whispered. "Of course, I hardly deserve your kindness."
They both sat there watching the moon and the stars twinkle above them. Drunk and sick from the wind that rocked his body back and forth on the ledge of the cliff, Lucius stepped back and sank to his bottom, dipping his legs off the edge.
"Why did you come tonight?" he murmured.
"I have never seen anything as beautiful as you standing on that ledge."
Lucius blinked and looked down at her, surprised by the compliment.
"You think I would have jumped ?" he asked, startled.
"I think you would have flown, had you any wings." It wasn't just the praise that made Lucius question reality. Hermione's eyes were shining with admiration and affection. "You are a very beautiful man, Lucius Malfoy."
"Thank you," he breathed. His voice cracked a little and his heart started beating faster. He reached out a trembling hand and touched her cheek. Surprisingly, Hermione leaned forward into his touch. After all, he'd done, all he'd said to her and to her kind, that infantile sort of trust, that soft cheek against his palm, felt like a punishment.
"I'm not deserving-"
"-everyone deserves forgiveness," Hermione finished, taking a step closer. Their bodies brushed together.
"This-" he whispered, unable to control his voice. "-is a mad dream. I must be mad."
His body was flooded with cold. She was a ghost. An apparition. She was sent to punish him. He'd heard of the Unforgiven Souls of the Underworld—dressed like seductresses—coming to lead the guilty to their death bed, but Lucius was not ready to leave this world, not yet.
"You are not real," he repeated to himself, searching her warm embrace for anything to prove himself correct. "You're a figment of my dreaming."
Hermione laughed softly and shook her head. She pulled away and looked him straight in the eye.
"Dreams are nothing to fear."
Before he could argue any further or ask why Hermione grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards her. Her lips pressed firmly against his.
Lucius drank her in—stunned—and trying to comprehend what was happening. Was it not Narcissa's lips he swore to his own until his dying hour? And yet, that sacred agreement was broken when she left him for another. Lucius, awkwardly, allowed himself to be consumed by the moment of drunken passion with a witch he'd scorned to despise.
Slowly the kiss deepened and he wrapped his arms around her waist. The moment his tongue slipped into Hermione's mouth, she melted against him, humming into his body. He couldn't breathe, but he didn't need to, as long as he was kissing her. The taste of salt, sweat and blood overwhelmed his senses as their tongues tangled together. No dream? Good dream. His hands roamed her body clad in the silken dress, touching every part of her that his mouth could not reach. He'd allow his Deadly Bride to pull him into the Underworld.
Then, he jerked his head away and took a step back.
He had lost balance and had forgotten how to stand. He was falling. Falling towards the ocean. Consumed by the emptiness below his back, he was going to die and there would be nothing he could do about it. He simply relaxed his body and let the abyss consume him.
It was all so simple, the end. Suspiciously simple.
Lucius awoke in mad heat in his bathtub, the cold water lapping at his chest. He was spared, for now. As he rose and began to wipe his body with a cotton towel, he touched his lips. This was not the last he'd be seeing of Hermione Granger—that he could suspect.
A/N: Originally this was my entry for the Crack Fic Fest 2022, but I did not submit it because I could not find a proper way to end the story. Now, suddenly, I have come up with the ending so I am happy to share the completed fic. I do love Lumione stories-my secret pleasure. This one came about after watching Yana Novikova's Lumione manips on YouTube and listening to This I Love by Guns N' Roses for like 5 hours straight. I recommend (the videos and the song...though maybe not for five hours straight) ;-) Also, I have Vitellia to thank for my obsession with Lucius Malfoy being a showstopper in every one of her stories. Another recommendation (especially the story Glamourous which is one of my all-time favourites and I TOTALLY wished for a Lumione haha!) Anyways enjoy this story. Definitely a passion project. Definitely a guilty pleasure write.
Rated Mature for references to injury and harm, mild profanity.