Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: I love you all, really I do. Thank you so much for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! I reply to all my reviews so make sure you are logged in. A big thanks to my beta, Modges!

This chapter is shorter than my previous chapters, but I really liked where I ended it so hopefully you won't be too mad. :)

Hermione fought to keep her jaw from dropping completely in shock. When she agreed to see Theo, she wasn't sure what she had been expecting but this definitely wasn't it. She was also fairly certain she had heard a "we" in that sentence. "We" as in both of them? She must be delusional because she could not have possibly heard him correctly.

"What? What did you just say?"

"Um, that we want your permission to start formally courting you?" Theo's voice quivered noticeably as his nerves began to get the better of him.

"Yes, I heard that, but the funny thing is, it sounds like you keep saying 'we'." Hermione shook her head in confusion. "I don't understand. Can you even do that?"

"Triads, while not necessarily common here in England, are certainly not outside of the norm in the wizarding world."

"Alright, so you can do it, but why do you want to?"

Theo took a deep breath and tried his best to explain the situation. He told her about how after they broke up, he had been completely devastated. Blaise, who had always been a good friend, had been there to get him through it. He told of how he had broken down one night and spilled the whole story to an understanding Blaise. One thing had led to another and, soon, they were all over each other. Both young men had known and accepted their bisexuality, so it wasn't that surprising. They had been together ever since that night. They truly loved each other but because of the old rules of pureblood society, they could not marry. While same-sex marriages were generally accepted and legal in the magical world, because they were the sole heirs of their respective houses, this was not an option for them. The solution of a triad was something that had not occurred at first, being as Theo and Blaise had still been trying to keep their romantic relationship hidden from their fathers. As he explained, he noticed her eyebrows drawing together closely, a clear sign she was thinking hard about what he had to say. As he finished, he looked at her expectantly. She didn't seem angry, which he thought was a good sign that she might be amenable to the idea.

"So, you want to marry me because you need a woman to give you both children?"

"Well, that's oversimplifying it. But that would be the end result, yes."

Theo took a step back as her expression went from thoughtful to angry.

"Theodore Nott! Have you gone completely insane?! I don't know what you are thinking but do you seriously believe I would be willing to play the role of the perfect pureblood wife stuck in the middle of a farce of a marriage, destined to be the third wheel in your perfect little love affair? How...how could you be so heartless?!" Hermione's voice broke as she fought to contain a sob.

Theo frowned in confusion until he realized that she had taken his clumsy words in totally the wrong way.

"Hermione, no. It's not like that. You wouldn't be-."

He was cut off as she continued ranting.

"And I know enough about pureblood rules that Lucius would have to agree to this and I'm pretty sure that would never happen!"

Even though she was clearly upset, she did not miss the knowing look that passed between Theo and Blaise. She narrowed her eyes, looking between the both of them. She pointed at Blaise.

"What was that look for, Blaise?"

Blaise threw his hands up in a 'don't kill the messenger' way.

"Lord Malfoy has already agreed to our petition, Hermione."

Hermione went chalk white as the blood slowly drained from her face.

"What? You can't be serious," she whispered.

"I am. Of course, he added some stipulations, but-"

Before he could finish telling her what those stipulations were, she turned on her heels and practically ran to the Floo. Grabbing some Floo powder from the mantle, she threw it in and called out 'Malfoy Manor'. She could vaguely hear Theo yelling for her to stop, to come back and let him explain. She ignored him.

As soon as she was gone, Theo looked at Blaise and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. His other hand joined it and he thoroughly tugged on his hair, letting out a aggravated yell. He felt Blaise removing his hands from his hair. Looking up, he could see that Blaise was concerned at the turn of events.

"That hardly went the way I planned."

"Yeah, I would say we fucked that right up. It was an absolute disaster. But let's not give up hope just yet. Lord Malfoy was quick to agree to our arrangement, perhaps he can help explain what we really had in mind. It seemed to me like Hermione thought we were just asking her to bear our heirs for us, that she wouldn't be a full partner in the marriage. I don't think she believes that you still love her, mate."

"I have to find some way to make this right. I don't want to live my life without either of you."

"We'll figure it out, I promise."

Hermione was in such a rage that Lucius had had the nerve to make such decisions for her that she was barely aware that she had called out her destination as Malfoy Manor. All she was conscious of in that moment was her need to get to Lucius immediately. She stumbled out of the Floo right in front of all three members of her family. They were clearly getting ready to leave as she nearly tumbled out into their arms and they stared at her with surprise written clearly across their faces. She saw Narcissa smile and walk towards her but she shook her head violently and whipped out her wand, promptly training it on a startled Lucius. The surprise on their faces immediately changed to shock.

"Hermione, darling, what's wrong?" Narcissa was both wary and worried at seeing her daughter in such a state.

Hermione stayed quiet, instead advancing on Lucius until her wand was poking him in his chest. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow in question.

"How could you?"

"And just what is it I am being accused of now?"

"I was just at Theo's. He just informed me that you have already signed their petition to formally court me. How… how could you do that to me? How could you just sell me off like some sort of livestock? Do you really think I'm not good for anything other than breeding more pureblood heirs? Would you really condemn me to a lifetime of marriage to not only one man who doesn't love me but two?"

Hermione's voice broke at the end as her eyes filled with tears. She continued shakily, "I'm sorry that I'm not the daughter that you wanted. But I at least thought you had a bit more respect for me than this."

"Hermione, I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding."

"Maybe, Narcissa, but I'd really like to hear that from the person who actually signed that accursed thing."

"I did sign it. Lord Zabini and I had a long talk when he came here with the petition. We both agreed that the three of you could have a very successful marriage. However, when I told him I would agree to sign it, I also added a provision. The contract would become null and void if you either decided against it right away or changed your mind later on."

Hermione dropped her arm and stepped back from Lucius. She made her way to the closest seat and promptly fell into it, dropping her head into both her hands.

Draco looked at her, his face alternating between anger at his friends and concern for his sister. As he went to go over to her, Narcissa stopped him with a hand to his chest.

"Come along, Draco. We have somewhere we need to be."

"What? But-"

"Now, Draco."

Giving one last look to his obviously distressed sister, he followed his mother to the Floo, leaving Hermione with Lucius.

Lucius cautiously approached his daughter, sitting down gently next to her. He heard some muffled speech coming from her, but he could not make it out.

"What was that, Hermione?"

She removed her hands from her face and looked at the man that was her father.

"I said, 'I'm sorry'. I was so shocked by what Theo was telling me and then when Blaise said that you had already agreed to their proposal, I just lost it. I heard Theo calling after me as I left, but I was too angry to stop."

"Hermione, I know we haven't made great strides in our relationship, but I need you to know that I was serious when I said I wanted you to forgive me. I may not be as bright as my daughter, but even I know that agreeing to a marriage contract without your input would not improve our relationship. Also, I'm fairly confident that if I do anything else to further drive a wedge between us, your mother is going to kill me."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing. I know your opinion of me is not going to change overnight. Now, why don't we discuss what that Nott boy said to you. I can cancel everything right now if that is what you wish."

Hermione glanced at Lucius. He looked sincere and truth be told, she was feeling a touch guilty at her reaction. So she told him what Theo had communicated to her. She explained how they wanted her to bear children for both houses so that Blaise and Theo would be able to stay together. The longer she talked, the more she noticed Lucius slightly confused. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What?"

"Are you positive you did not misinterpret what Mr. Nott was trying to say?"

"Of course not. Why?"

"Hermione, that boy is head over heels in love with you. We all know that, it was clearly written all over his face on the night of the party. That's actually the only reason I agreed to this whole thing, because I knew he loved you and you him. I also believe that while you and Mr. Zabini don't have those feelings for each other yet, that it's very possible it could grow. You both seem very compatible."

"You really think he still loves me? Even though he's been with Blaise?"

"Of course I do. As I say, if I didn't believe that, the contract would not have been signed. Didn't that stupid boy tell you?"

Hermione flushed and looked down.

"He did, in fact. I just thought he was saying that to get me to agree so he could stay on with Blaise. It's been so long since we've been together and it was clear to me that he had moved on."

"Forgive me my intrusiveness but you do still love him, do you not?"

Hermione said nothing, just nodded her head in answer, as tears filled her eyes.

"And Mr. Zabini? How do you feel about him?"

"I don't know him as well, but judging from the limited interaction I've had with him, he's lovely."

"Well then, will you at least consider allowing them to court you? As I said before, I really do believe you three would do well together."

"I-I don't know. I would have to forgive Theo for what he did first and I'm just not ready to do that yet. He really crushed me, Lucius. I loved him so much." And with that, she buried her face back into her hands and started to cry.

Lucius, unsure at how to comfort his daughter, gently placed his arm around her shoulder. He was shocked when she moved closer to him and turned her face into his chest. He brought his other arm around her, drawing her into an embrace. He rubbed soothing circles into her back and relished in the fact that he was finally holding his daughter after eighteen very long years. After a few minutes, he noticed that her sobs had subsided but she still had not moved. Looking down, he saw that she had fallen asleep. Moving slowly, as to not wake her up, he gently maneuvered her so she was lying down on the couch. He sat down opposite her, not willing to leave her alone. As he kept an eye on her, he briefly wondered if this could possibly be a turning point in his relationship with his daughter. He certainly hoped so.

A/N2: I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Yay Lucius! Maybe things will start to get better between them. :)