Set Sail To Die~*

The family said their goodbyes as Hermione and Lucius climbed out of the carriage. Hermione stared up in awe at the massive ship. It was so much grander than even she could have imagined from just seeing it in photos. Her brain reeled with ideas and plans. It was fortunate that she was a first class passenger, she would be able to get to the lifeboats easily that way. Lucius on the other hand was a man and most men did not survive on the Titanic because Women and Children were the only ones to board the boats.

Hermione drew in a ragged breath and looked at Lucius who walked up beside her.

"Shall we darling?" Her eyes widened slightly and she felt disgusted by the term of endearment leaving his lips. He extended his arm for her and she gave him a puzzled look.

"Put your arm over the top of mine." He whispered. She did as he said and he turned to the butler.

"Take our luggage to stateroom 1A Rodrick." The butler nodded and they walked away towards the first class ramp entrance. Hermione couldn't help but smile slightly, even though it would end as a complete tragedy, it was still cool to get to see the grand ship in person. If the ship had been built differently like the cruise ships they had in her time, Titanic might have survived and made it to New York. Lucius presented the tickets to the crew member collecting them. The man nodded to the both of them and waved them through.

Lucius examined the tickets and led her down a series of corridors. He stopped and opened a white door that looked just like all the rest in the corridor. Hermione walked in and set her purse down on a small table in the center of the room. The room was gorgeous and absolutely lavish. A dark blue velvet settee sat in the corner and mahogany furniture was scattered about the room. The walls were dark paneled wood with gold light fixtures on the walls. A small table sat in the center of the room with two lavish chairs. She walked through a small doorway into a gorgeous bedroom with a fairly small double bed. Definitely not the size of bed she was used to at Hogwarts or even at home. Dark blue silk sheets adorned the bed. A gold metal and cloth dressing screen sat in the corner of the room beside a large mahogany wardrobe. The carpet was cream and the walls had beautifully designed cream and gold wallpaper. The room was absolutely gorgeous and it took Hermione's breath away.

Lucius walked into the bedroom and appraised it.

"It's certainly well furnished." He commented. Hermione nodded and suddenly tensed as she felt him brush beside her. He didn't seem to notice and opened another door that led into a small water closet. Hermione peered around him and her eyes widened.

"Gold faucets? Really?" She said flabbergasted. He glanced at her with a peculiar look.

"We are first class so I guess it's only appropriate." Hermione sighed and sat down in a chair.

"It's nice and all but what scares me is that we only have five days to experience it." Lucius gave her a puzzled look.

"Five days? The information said that it would be about a ten day cruise to New York." This time Hermione gave him a puzzled look.

"Yes, it was supposed to be ten days but we only get five. Please tell me you know the history behind this ship?" He stared at her blankly.

"No, it's said that it is the grandest ship to sail the seas and is rumored to be unsinkable. That is what the papers say anyhow." Hermione blanched.

"You're telling me you have never heard of the Titanic before, never read about it or anything?"

"No Ms. Granger I have not. I don't deal in muggle affairs and this ship is certainly muggle." He spat. Hermione was at a loss of words. How could she tell him?

"Um, Mr. Malfoy, this ship will hit an iceberg and sink in a matter of five days. Thousands of passengers lose their lives. It is a huge historical tragedy, how is it that you don't know of it? Aren't there people from the wizarding community on board?" He stared at her, dumbfounded.

"How can you know that?" He questioned.

"Because I learned about it in history. Muggle history in gradeschool. I attended a muggle school before I turned eleven."

Lucius shook his head and walked out of the bedroom. Hermione stood and followed him into the sitting room. He was sitting in a chair staring at the wall.

"So you are telling me that this ship will sink in five days? We need to alert the captain and tell them to do something different." He said. Hermione shook her head.

"I would've thought that you of all people would know that we can't do that. You can only change little things when dealing with time. If you do too much you can change the entire course of history. We can't do anything to stop it or change it. The only thing we can do is ensure our own survival. If we meddle in history and stop the Titanic from sinking we could go to Azkaban or worse. Time is a very very delicate thing."

"Which is why you shouldn't have the time turner in the first place Ms. Granger!" He yelled rising to his feet.

"Oh my, Mistress, I brought your luggage up for you. Rodrick got delayed Master Malfoy but will be up shortly with yours." Both of them turned towards the maid. Lucius cleared his throat.

"Thank you, uh…"

"Brageeta Sir, I'm the missus maid." She curtsied politely and bustled past them into the bedroom carrying Hermione's luggage.

"Oh, Brageeta, let me help you with those." Hermione said and followed her.

"Not at all missus! You just relax and enjoy yourself. Go explore the ship with your husband. I'll be preparing your room for tonight. Oh, I got the crew to send up some of the best wine in London!" She giggled happily and placed her hand over her mouth. "Oh, pardon me missus." She nodded respectfully and began to unpack Hermione's bags. Hermione blushed slightly realizing what Brageeta meant and sighed. She had been hoping to unpack her own bags to give her something to do so she wouldn't have to be around Mr. Malfoy. She especially did not want to be around him tonight. There wouldn't be a thing happening in this room with him, especially of that sort. She stepped out of the bedroom and saw Lucius talking with Rodrick. She cleared her throat politely. Both men looked at her.

"I'm going to go take a stroll on the ship." She said with a smile. Rodrick smiled.

"Well, Master Malfoy, I won't keep you from your wife. I'll unpack your luggage for you sir." Lucius nodded curtly and turned to Hermione. He sighed and held out his arm.

"Shall we love?" Hermione shot him a glare, she hated the terms of endearment. She took his arm and they left the stateroom and walked down the corridors and up onto the promenade deck. Hermione looked around and noticed that the other women walking outside were all wearing large hats. She grimaced, she probably should have told Brageeta where they were going and she would have gotten her a hat.

"Are you alright?" Lucius asked quietly.

"I'm fine. And why all the concern Mr. Malfoy?" She snapped.

"We are married Hermione love, wouldn't it be more appropriate for you to call me by my first name? So as not to rise suspicion amongst the other passengers of course." Hermione sighed.

"Very well Lucius." She said coldly. They walked along the deck and Hermione looked out at the ocean, it was truly beautiful. The ship horn sounded and cheers arose from the crowds still standing on the docks. The engines whirred to life and the anchors were raised and the giant ship pulled away from the docks.

Hermione bit her lip worriedly and pulled away from Lucius. She looked over the railing of the ship and down into the water. It churned darkly beneath the boat. Lucius stepped beside her.

"Beautiful view isn't it darling." He murmured. Hermione cringed.

"Would you stop that?" She hissed. He looked at her quizzically.

"Stop what exactly Hermione?"

"The bloody terms of endearment. They get on my nerves." He placed a hand on top of hers and looked at her.

"Whether you like it or not darling, we are husband and wife and I will treat you as such so as not to raise suspicion. I find it peculiar enough that I would have married such a young woman. You can't even be of legal age yet if I presume correctly." Hermione smiled sweetly and withdrew her hand from beneath his.

"It must have been an arranged marriage." She said coldly. Lucius nodded.

"We have no way of knowing that unless we question our attendees which would not be a wise decision because then they would become suspicious." Hermione nodded and stared off once again into the ocean. "Hermione, I know you aren't happy with this, I'm not particularly fond of it myself but we must act like a married couple. Do you understand?" He said. Hermione's hand clenched around the railing. Now he was talking to her as though she were a child.

"Of course I understand Malfoy!" She fired back at him. He raised his eyebrows at her with an unamused expression on his face. Hermione flustered.

"Mr. Malfoy…uh… Lucius." She turned away in a huff and walked briskly down the promenade deck and away from him.

Lucius sighed heavily. Calling him strictly by his last name must have been a habit she picked up when around his son. Draco loathed the girl and spoke often of it. He referred to her as Granger in a derogatory fashion. It was rather pathetic of the both of them. He remembered in his years attending Hogwarts he had his fair share of enemies but he merely cursed them and dealt with it so they never bothered him again. He was crafty that way and hardly ever got caught or blamed because of his high status at the school. He never abused girls he met and never had any female enemies. He thought that he had taught his son well enough to know that women should be treated with a decent amount of respect. Draco acted childish around Ms. Granger and pulled meaningless and cruel pranks. It was no wonder that she had such distaste for Draco. That distaste for his son seemed to be rubbing off on him as well. He did admit that he had not been civil with her in previous encounters. She was a mudblood after all. He wondered for a moment if in this society if her parents were muggles. He had noticed that his parents were obviously wizard and witch because of the ring bearing the Slytherin crest that his father wore. They were not his real parents but he had to play his role in this entire charade.

Lucius shook his head and sighed. He should probably go after her, it would look improper for him to not accompany her seeing as he was her new husband. He followed the direction she had walked off and nodded to people he passed. He spotted Hermione speaking with another woman who looked to be quite a bit older. She was heavier set with brown hair covered by a large dark red hat. He walked over to her and lightly grasped her elbow.

"There you are. I had wondered where you had run off to dear." Hermione flashed him a fake and swift smile.

"Lucius I would like to introduce you to Mrs. Margaret Brown." The woman smiled and chuckled.

"Please, just call me Molly." Lucius nodded to her politely.

"It's a pleasure Mrs. Brown. Lucius Malfoy at your acquaintance ma'am." She pursed her lips slightly.

"I see. You own that large shipping corporation out of Asia am I correct."

"Indeed Madame." Lucius said. She nodded.

"I was just telling your lovely wife that you two could join us for dinner tonight in the First class dining hall on B deck. I'm sitting with several other people at Mr. Andrews table. We can meet at the Grand Staircase if you'd like." Hermione smiled.

"That would be wonderful Molly. Thank you so much."

"Oh not a problem at all dear. You two enjoy your day and I'll see you tonight." Hermione smiled and nodded and Molly smiled at both of them and walked away.

Lucius cleared his throat and Hermione looked at him coolly with raised eyebrows. "I apologize if what I said earlier offended you Hermione. I'll try not to use so many terms of endearment on the condition that you try and warm up to me some. If people are going to believe that I am married to you we need to act like a proper rich couple. At least be excited to be married. From what my father said in the carriage we were infatuated with each other and I courted you for quite a while before you said yes to the engagement." Hermione sighed.

"Fine, I'll warm up to you if you want me to but I'm not happy about any of this." She hissed and took his arm and they continued to walk down the promenade deck.

They walked down to the lower decks and Lucius was approached by several people asking him about his business. He was courteous and smart with his replies and the people seemed to buy into it. Hermione received many compliments and many women looked at her with envy plain in their features. She looked at Lucius and studied him quietly. He wasn't an unattractive man; she had to give him that. If she didn't know who he was she might be infatuated with him as well. They continued walking around the ship, noting the location of all the different rooms. They reached D deck and entered the first class dining saloon.

Lucius headed towards the bar and pulled out a bar stool for Hermione. She sat down and Lucius sat beside her. The bartender approached. "What can I get you sir?"

"Scotch on the rocks." Lucius said. The bartender nodded.

"And for you miss?" Hermione smiled kindly.

"Nothing sir, thank you." He nodded and left to prepare Lucius's drink.

"You don't drink?" Lucius inquired. Hermione smiled ruefully.

"Besides butterbeer no." Lucius scoffed.

"Butterbeer isn't alcoholic Hermione." She smiled sweetly at him.

"I know." She quipped politely. The bartender set down a glass of scotch in front of Lucius and he picked it up and swirled the liquid lazily before taking a drink. "Plus technically I'm not of legal age to drink."

"You are in this era. In London you can drink wine and beer at age sixteen. Your eighteen am I correct?"

"No, I'm seventeen." Lucius cringed inwardly. He had been hoping that she was at least eighteen for his morality sake. He couldn't believe he would have courted and married a seventeen year old. Merlin, he probably started courting her when she was sixteen, they might have even been already engaged.

"I see." He said and took another long drink of scotch.

"So I assume there is at least a thirty year age difference between us." She said casually. Lucius winced at her guess and grimaced.

"No, twenty-six." That really didn't make it sound any better. 1912 had loose laws when it came to marriage he presumed.

"Close enough." She muttered, disgruntled. Lucius downed the rest of his glass and the bartender asked if he would like another.

"No thank you sir." He glanced at Hermione who sat glumly beside him and sighed. "On second thought, yes." The bartender poured him another glass and added ice and set the glass in front of him once again.

"How many of those are you going to have?"

"As many as I need." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Well while you're here drinking away your miseries I'm going up to A deck to the reading room. Make sure you're cleaned up and not wasted for dinner." She said angrily. He ignored her and took another drink of scotch. She huffed angrily and left the dining saloon.

Hermione had spent the rest of the day in the reading room, immersing herself in books of that century so as to learn more about the style and custom of the era. It was 85 years before her time and she was very unfamiliar with all of it. She had only ever read about the Titanic in books and now she was actually here experiencing it in person. She sighed and rested her chin in her hands atop the book she was reading. She glanced at the large grandfather clock on the wall and rose from her seat. She began to stack the books she had been poring over for hours when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned to see a kind looking young steward standing behind her.

"I can put those away for you ma'am, you needent bother." She smiled kindly at him.

"Thank you very much sir." He nodded and smiled at her and her heart fluttered slightly. She lightly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and blushed slightly. He was very attractive. She cleared her throat and thanked him again and left the reading room. She sighed as she walked through the corridors towards her stateroom. She was married and didn't have the luxury of hitting on men. She wished that she could, the men in this time were such gentleman unlike most of the men back in her time. Women were actually treated like ladies because they acted like a lady should act and not like the bold independent women of her time. She smirked at the irony of it all. Women wanted independence and they got it but they lost a man's chivalry along the way.

Hermione opened the door to her stateroom and walked into the bedroom. Lucius wasn't back yet and she assumed he was still drinking in the dining saloon. He would be a wreck at dinner. She was disgusted with him and made the decision to ignore him at dinner. Perhaps she would pursue that steward in the reading room after all. Hermione sighed, frustrated. No, she couldn't do that because people knew who she was. Well, they knew who Lucius was and knew her as his wife. If she started flirting with other men rumors were bound to spread. She scanned her dresses and found a beautiful pink evening dress. Hermione had always had a soft fondness for pink. It was a complimenting color on her. She changed out of her day dress and lace up boots and into the pink silk and chiffon gown. She slipped on a pair of medium height heels, customary for an evening dress. She opened up the jewelry box that Brageeta had set out and picked up an exquisite diamond necklace and earrings. She glanced up at the clock and realized it was already five thirty. She was to meet Molly on the grand staircase at five forty-five! She grabbed a small clutch purse and threw a few items into it and rushed out of the room. She arrived at the staircase and glanced around. She didn't see Molly anywhere.

"Mrs. Malfoy, over here." She turned and looked down the flight of stairs. Molly stood at the bottom with several other people.

"Madame, may I?" She looked to see who had spoken to her and recognized the same steward from the reading room. She smiled kindly at him and took his arm.

"We just keep running into each other don't we?" She said. He smiled.

"Well ma'am, it's just per chance, I'm a steward in the dining hall this evening." He said. Hermione nodded and smiled.

"I'll be dining at the table with Mr. Andrews, I do hope to see you serving perhaps." He smiled and nodded.

"You very well might ma'am. There you are." He nodded to her respectfully and walked off.

Hermione walked up beside Molly and touched her arm. Molly turned to her and smiled.

"Hermione, didn't know if you were going to come. Your husband said you left in quite a huff." Hermione blushed, slightly embarrassed.

"Yes, well, men can be quite ignorant at times." She said dismissively.

"I agree with you entirely sister." Hermione smiled. She liked Molly she didn't seem to be quite like the other women she had encountered. She was a little more rough it seemed and much more casual, which Hermione found as quite a relief.

"Speaking of my husband, have you seen him? I left him at the dining saloon drinking scotch." Molly smirked.

"That's a typical rich man for you sweetheart. He's over talking with Mr. Ismay and Mr. Andrews at the moment. Best not disturb him if he's talking business." She said. Hermione nodded and scanned the crowd of people in search of him.

"Ah, Mr. Andrews, I would like to introduce you to my wife, Hermione." Hermione looked up at the sound of her name. Lucius was walking towards her with another gentleman beside him. Mr. Andrews bowed to her and took her hand, kissing it. Hermione blushed slightly at the old fashioned gesture.

"Mrs. Malfoy, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Mr. Andrews said. Hermione smiled and nodded gracefully.

"Charmed Mr. Andrews." She said courteously.

"Well, dinner will be served soon so we probably ought to be seated." Mr. Andrews said. He left Hermione and Lucius standing amongst the other people. She looked at him for the first time since she had left him in the saloon and his appearance shocked her slightly. He wore a well-tailored black tuxedo with a white bowtie and cummerbund. His hair pulled back into a ponytail and tied with a black ribbon that complimented the tux. He certainly looked rich and sophisticated if Hermione did say so herself. He extended his arm and she took it and they followed Molly into the dining hall.

Lucius pulled out her chair for her beside Molly and she sat down. He sat down beside her to the right of Mr. Andrews. He leaned over to her.

"You look lovely tonight Hermione. That dress suits you." She ignored him and turned to talk to Molly. Dinner was served after a light soup as an appetizer. Hermione watched Lucius with his choice of silverware because there were more set beside her plate than she knew what to do with. A waiter appeared beside her and placed a plate in front of her.

"Your dinner Madame." She turned and beamed. It was the same steward from the reading room yet again.

"Might I ask what I'm being served sir?"

"Roast swan with fresh cut greens and caviar Madame."

"Thank you, I didn't happen to catch your name when you assisted me earlier." He smiled kindly.

"Rodney Madame. Enjoy your meal." He left quickly and she noted that another waiter seemed to be chastising him. She frowned. Was it that bad that she had spoken to him? She leaned over to Molly.

"That steward that just served me is being scolded. Did I do something wrong by asking his name?" Molly gave her a look.

"It's not considered very polite to ask the name of the stewards unless you intend to report them. You very well could have gotten him into a lot of trouble."

"Oh dear." Hermione said quietly. She glanced over at Lucius but hadn't seen which fork to pick up. Her hand hovered over the array of forks and she bit her lip.

"The forth one down dear." Lucius whispered. She glanced at him and she felt her face flush with embarrassment. She picked up the fork and began to eat quietly. The swan tasted magnificent as did the rest of the food. She watched another woman at the table spoon caviar onto a small biscuit and she did the same. The black small balls looked strange and she had never tasted caviar before. She wasn't that much of a picky eater and so she took a bite. It tasted absolutely horrid! She managed to swallow with effort and quickly took a drink of wine to wash down the taste. She turned to Lucius.

"What are the little black beads that I just ate? I had heard caviar was delicious. But that was vulgar." She whispered. Lucius smirked.

"Caviar is raw fish eggs Hermione." Her eyes widened slightly. She had just eaten fish eggs, oh god! She swallowed involuntarily and took another drink of wine. It really didn't help so she drank the rest of the glass. This earned her a few peculiar looks from a few other people at the table. She smiled and set her glass down. She addressed Mr. Andrews.

"Mr. Andrews, is it true that there are fifteen bulk heads supporting the ship within its lower interior? How is it that the ship is divided with bulkheads and boiler rooms and operating mechanisms?" Mr. Andrews looked surprised by her question.

"Why yes Mrs. Malfoy. How is it that you know the interior of the ship so well and its terminology? The information regarding Titanic's construction is only in its ship manual." Hermione realized her mistake. A woman's interest should not be in engineering, let alone a woman her age should not know anything about the interior of the ship. She should technically still be in school and definitely would not be taking an engineering class in nineteen twelve. Hermione floundered.

"Well… I… I'm merely interested in ships Mr. Andrews. It…"

"My wife reads quite a lot and I've let her read my shipping manuals from my company. She has a fascination for knowledge." Mr. Andrews nodded with a peculiar look on his face.

"I see."

"Quite a strange interest for a young lady I say." Said Mr. Ismay. Hermione flushed.

"Pardon me for interrupting; I overheard the conversation as I was passing." Hermione looked up startled as an older man placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think it is a wonderful interest that the lady has. I for one would be intrigued to talk to this lovely lady about her knowledge of ships. It isn't every day you come across a woman who knows about engineering." Hermione glanced at the other women at the table, most of which were frowning and looked hardly amused. It was a real slap in the face to the women of that age. Women were supposed to be ladies and ladies did not dabble in a man's work. Hermione smiled at the man.

"That would be lovely Mr…."

"Ah, excuse me for not introducing myself. I am Captain Edward Smith Madame." Hermione gave him her hand and he kissed it kindly.

"It's quite the pleasure sir. This ship is truly magnificent."

"Madame, the pleasure is all mine. You are Mrs. Malfoy am I correct?"

"Yes sir, you are." Hermione said. He nodded.

"Well, might I request you and your husband to come up to the bridge tomorrow and I can give you a tour of all the workings of Titanic. Mr. Andrews, might you be so kind as to accompany us and give the lady your expertise on this ship that you so magnificently designed?" Hermione beamed and Mr. Andrews nodded.

"Of course sir." Mr. Smith turned towards Hermione again.

"Shall we say around two o'clock Madame? If that is all well with you Mr. Malfoy." Lucius nodded.

"Whatever makes my wife happy." Hermione was taken aback by his words. Was he just trying to suck up to her after ignoring her in the dining saloon? She hadn't the slightest idea so she just smiled and nodded.

"That would be wonderful Mr. Smith." She said.

"Grand. Well, I think I have taken up enough of your time. I'll leave you all to finish your meal in peace." He nodded respectfully and walked away. Hermione smiled and continued to eat. The men continued to discuss Lucius's line of work and soon they dismissed themselves to the smoking room.

Lucius stood and touched Hermione's shoulder. He leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"Stay and talk with the women for a while. We can meet by the smoking room later alright?" Hermione nodded and Lucius left with the other men. She really didn't look forward to talking to these women and could feel that she was becoming an outcast already because of her knowledge of ship mechanics. The women began gossiping immediately after the men left. They pried and picked at the lives of other passengers, and floated rumors around that they had heard about. Suddenly Molly leaned over to her.

"Don't think ill of them for all the gossip. They will gossip about anyone they hear a juicy piece of information about. I've been under much scrutiny by many of them." She smiled ruefully. "It's the only way for them to pass the time if they try and out best each other with a new piece of juiciness they've heard." Hermione nodded, growing tiered of all of it. She was not the type of girl to enjoy gossip or add to it. She placed her napkin on the table and smiled at the ladies around the table.

"If you'll excuse me ladies, I think I'm going to retire for the evening." The ladies nodded and continued their gossiping. As she walked away from the table she overheard one lady mention to another.

"Quite the little trophy wife isn't she? I bet she hasn't even flowered yet the poor thing. Master Malfoy will never be satisfied, he could do much better off." Hermione walked away and bit her lip angrily. Just because she was young didn't mean she wasn't plenty capable of satisfying a man. She blushed hard at the thought. Sadly, the closest she had ever gotten was passionate snogging with Ron and one kiss from Viktor Krum. She sighed and sat down on a plush couch near the grand staircase. She was certainly capable of pleasing a man, yes she was young and granted probably inexperienced but she was a woman nonetheless. And a woman could easily entice a man, any man, she wished to. Of course, not that she wanted to entice Lucius Malfoy. Merlin no! He was twenty six years her senior! But what the woman had said made her oddly angry and she wanted to prove them wrong that he couldn't do better than her and that she could best them all. She just wished she didn't want to prove it. She groaned in frustration and rose from the couch and wandered up the stairs and headed to the smoking room because she couldn't think of anything better to do.