DISCLAIMER: HP belongs to JKR. The storyline and all new characters, new character development, and new developments are my intellectual property.

In the last chapter Lucius had received a scroll. It contained troublesome information.

The Unthinkable

Lucius couldn't believe what he just read, a terrible suspicion came over him."Excuse me Miss Granger, I will be back."

He called Mipzy, his trusted house elf, "Mipzy have Adrian come immediately."

He was there in less than ten minutes.

"Adrian, son, I need you to go to the Center, see this healer, but before you go ask Mr. William Weasley to meet you there. I will contact him to give him instructions. Let me know what you learn right away."

Adrian raised his eyebrows questioning but Lucius ignored him

"You must go there today. Ah, please check with the accountants to see where Miss Black is getting her Galleons these days, be discreet, you know that many believe that she is dead."

When Adrian left he collapsed on his chair, his head was spinning, he tried to wrap his mind around what he had learned. He engaged the narrator who seemed more real all the time.

He is not yours, whose? He must had glamour all this time, since before birth.

Lucius waited for more.

You do remember the Blacks and their tricks. The sisters had a reputation, correction, Bella and Cissy did. I would bet on Mc Mair, her half time beau.

Lucius couldn't disagree.

No wonder that she wanted to be in the dark those first times, she bamboozled you. Not a virgin, and she still had a lover. Plus she made sure to poison Draco. You were in love with Adriana and the Dark Lord forced Narcissa on you.

Adriana, oh no. Yes, that wasn't all, he had remembered that Adrian had been premature, No, no, Adriana why didn't you tell me, why? That was why you suddenly turned friends with the Blacks=, to help you, please don't let it be so; I cannot bear it. It was all Voldemort's doing, he wanted Bella, and Narcissa wanted my money; well until she found a young lover. This isn't Draco's fault, I need to remember that.

Lucius sat in front of the fire. His eyes were distant and cold. He wanted to resume the studies and numb his mind a bit.

He stood up and went to the guest room where Miss Granger was, but she was out. Adrian came at lunch, for a while, and sat with him, Lucius didn't share any further.

Adrian kissed Hermione's head before he left. He was engaged to a nice witch, but it didn't stop the pain, Hermione had been his great love, and Draco his best friend. Marcus had been right after all, he had seen the sickness in Draco's eyes. Perhaps there was a chance, maybe.

"Sir, Weasley is meeting me there at 16:00."

Lucius just nodded absently.

The dogs sat by the feet of the bed where the witch rested, and L'roy perched on the headrest. All were taken with her. Her Kneazle hadn't want to come, and the mother had taken the old feline with her. Lucius sat on a divan and tried to read a book.

It was a little after 14:00 when she awoke. She seemed lost, until she started crying again.

He sat by her side, "We are leaving in a few hours, I need to wait to hear from Adrian."

Muctis had told him that the witch needed to heal if she were ever to have children. He suspected that Draco had used aids to cause such devastating damage, but he didn't expand upon it. Muctis did tell him how she had been handled, rather rough, and Lucius had to restrain himself not to seek his son, to bodily harm him. Draco, his son, because he was that.

Her sobs were upsetting him, he had only seen Narcissa cry once over Bellatrix, and the witch's tears went to his heart.

"Don't cry, I wish to have seen this before. I should have looked for the signs. It is an illness, Cygnus gambled his fortune and lost the rest paying his mistresses."

His voice soothed her.

"It was bad, he had many mistresses, it cost him all he had, even his wife. Bella was the same, Druella was afraid that Cygnus had ill used Bella, their beautiful child. Poor Rodolphus, she went around, you know. I have questions of my own."

He stopped thinking of a terrible possibility. Don't hide from the truth, maybe it was Cygnus, the bastard, all is possible. No wonder Draco is so broken. Bile ran up to his throat, it would make sense.

I told you that darkness is all around him, do something before he causes more damage. Lucius knew that the narrator might be right, but he couldn't think.

"Draco might be my son, but you work for me, and I consider you my equal in intelligence, an invaluable colleague, and my friend. Let's get you away from here."

His face was hard, yet, she trusted him.

Hermione, sat in the bed, put her arms around his neck and broke out in more sobs that wracked her body. "He and Blaise, and Pansy. And I heard what he said, what he told Adrian, and why, I did all he wanted me to do, why? I don't even recognize myself, what happened to me?"

He had no answers. Why had Narcissa left? Why after she was injured her lover's enemies, did she pretend to be dead and had their marriage annulled?

Her logic of having to hide was bogus. Why hurt Draco by making him believe that she was dead? Why would Draco fuck Pansy when he had the witch?

Now, Blaise didn't surprise him. Blaise was like his mother; both liked and shagged all avalable. Besides, he had a penchant for Draco since they were teens, and for anything that breathed.

For Merlin's sake, last Yuletide Blaise had kissed Andy, and then had tried to french kiss him, and Lucius had to laugh since Blaise's mother had attacked him earlier.

"I don't know, let's get you well."

She held on tighter, his hands rubbed her back and shoulders in small soothing motions, but he couldn't escape her proximity.

This was wrong. It had been years since he had held anyone in his arms, since Cissy left him, over four years, and of all witches, it had to be her. His body screamed for her, this was wrong.

His resemblance to Draco was confusing her. She pulled back, her crying had stopped. "I must look awful, my eyes hurt. I am sorry for the melt down, it is inappropriate around my boss," she sniffled.

He used his handkerchief to gently dry her tears, and as if she were a child, the fastidious wizard, had her blow her nose into the linen.

In an impulse, she lifted her lips to kiss his cheek, but he moved his head at that precise instant, and their lips touched.

Lucius froze at the feel of her soft lips upon his. A current of emotions ran hot through him.

Blindly, Hermione pressed her open lips to his, and it was more than he could stand, his lips opened and pressed against hers accompanied by a loud groan.

But when her tongue slipped inside his lips, it made him realize what he was doing, right when lust stabbed his groin. He pulled away from her, and she nearly fell out the bed.

Nooooo, are you daft?

Hermione stared at him for a moment. "Excuse me, Mr. Malfoy," she blushed, rolled on the side, and bent her legs. Quiet tears trailed down. Not knowing what to do, he left the room and sent Axel for Muctis.

"Please give her another potion, and let's leave as soon as Adrian returns." He felt like an idiot.

Adrian-

He needed to see her again, but first, he went to see Harry Potter, although they weren't friends. He needed to ask Potter for a favor

Lucius was leaving earlier, and he were to follow after seeing the healer who would send Lucius a written report, he wondered what that was all about?

Harry was at his office waiting to go in a mission when Adrian arrived.

"Potter, I need to talk to you, I think you need to hear me."

"Leave my office right now, fuck you Pucey," Harry answered, his lips pressed in a hard line.

Adrian didn't wait, "Draco is ill, mentally, he lied about Hermione, she never had an abortion. It was a terrible lie invented by Draco; he later convinced me that she was cheating on me."

There he had Harry's attention. "She is not doing well; I think she could use a good friend. You need to know, Draco has really mistreated her, I've never seen her so down. I overhead the healer," he blurted out in rapid succession.

"Close the door and take a seat." Harry sounded tired.

Harry was saddened to learn about her. Maybe they should had never had sex. His love for her went beyond that.

Ron and he often talked about her, more than the sex they missed her friendship, and to learn that Draco had turned her into a sex toy, into an accessory for a wealthy heir, made his gut hurt.

"How can I see her?"

Adrian smiled, "I can arrange that." His heart felt lighter already.

His happiness didn't last, at the door he met Ron with Pansy draped along his side. She cut him when Harry's eyes smiled at her, but when he noticed Adrian's reaction she froze, and to Adrian's surprise, Harry understood.

"Ron, we must talk ALONE," Harry looked at Ron and turned his body to avoid them, without greeting Pansy.

"Adrian, I will go with you, we need to talk more to make plans." Harry picked up his outer robe and fixed to leave.

"Harry what is wrong? Don't believe a word of what Adrian has told you." Pansy held on to Harry's arm.

Adrian looked at her coldly, "Lord Pucey, not Adrian, you lost that privilege. Perhaps you should tell Ron how you got fired this morning," he smirked and turned around.

A tragedy was averted when Pansy whipped out her wand to cast a slicing spell, but Harry quickly disarmed her.

Ron hadn't said a word, he had been speechless during the two minutes exchange.

"Pansy, you better leave." Ron opened the door and wouldn't look at her.

"You better watch your step, Lord Pucey. This isn't over."

Ron was right behind them, "Wait."

On his way out, Harry told the Auror outside his office, "Take her," he pointed at Pansy, "Here is her wand, have it examined, she just tried to kill Lord Pucey."

They could hear her cursing and threatening, so they walked faster.

Away-

Later, when they were ready, he wrapped her in a soft blanket and carried the sleeping witch inside his carriage flown by Thesthral and driven by Drexel, a mountain Gargoyle; the dogs settled around the sleeping form, and L'roy perched on the seat to watch over her.

They sat across her, all agreeing that she was unwell.

Hermione had stayed in bed for three days once they arrived. She was in bad shape, an infection raged thru her body, too many tears and inner injuries. She was in out consciousness most of the time.

Bill found her to be under some sort of compulsion, the only explanation to have tolerated such abhorrent treatment.

Draco wasn't talking, he wasn't cooperating, so Lucius had sent him far away, he wasn't taking any chances.

Nobody had been able to locate Narcissa, the money was being sent to a foreign wizarding bank, and from there forwarded to an address in a Muggle city.

The address turned out to be a post box. The next payment wasn't due for weeks, nothing to be done. She was hiding, or maybe not even alive.

Lucius waited with the others. The news of the last days had taken a toll. A seed was growing inside of him, or it had already grown, and he was just being aware, he wasn't sure.

The younger wizards sat around with a somber face, Bill Weasley was still looking thru the scrolls brought from the Black Library. He had been offered a job to help with the studies after he completed his current project.

He had accepted, the pay was many times over than at the bank.

All they could was wait, albeit Lucius had a nagging feeling that he had overlooked something. He was angry and felt cheated, and he now suspected that his feelings for the witch were really much more than he was willing to accept.

He remembered the day they arrived,

a/N What is going on? It might be more complicated than at first glance.