Author's Note: As always, thank you to the amazing Mamacita for her beta work. And thank you to anyone taking the time to read this story. I really appreciate it :) Dx

Cindy was amazed that Andrew had never found out about her and Lucius. Although they weren't exactly flashing it about in the society pages or anything neither had they particularly hidden their relationship. They continued to meet regularly, both at Florean's ice cream parlour and at Mario's bistro, and whilst they were rarely overtly flirtatious, they held hands a lot and embraced and kissed on meeting and leaving.

Of course, Andrew was at home less and less these days and so probably wasn't even aware that Cindy was meeting Lucius. In fact, that had to have been the case otherwise, she was sure he would have stopped her leaving the house. As it was her husband was happy for Cindy to be doing whatever she wanted as long as she didn't expect him to participate in any way, so Cindy and Lucius had even managed to spend many nights together. They had taken to staying in Muggle hotels when they met for a few days as Cindy felt the Leaky Cauldron was far too public for them to risk another encounter. In fact, she still wasn't sure how they had managed not to get caught before.

Lucius continued to buy Cindy beautiful clothes, adding dresses and shoes to the underwear and nightwear and also jewellery; more beautiful pieces to go with the bracelet he'd given her so many years before. At home, Cindy felt like a dowdy frump, but when she was with Lucius she felt like a queen. As much as she hated to admit it she had fallen back in love with him in a big way. Being with him made her feel good in a way that being with Andrew never had, even during their best times together.

Quite often when she and Lucius met their conversation turned to Lissy and Draco. As the year went on it became quite clear that the youngsters were following in their parents' footsteps. Although they were still only twelve years old they were on the verge of a relationship although Cindy suspected that, as had been the case with her and Lucius, things wouldn't get serious for another few years.

Of course, throughout all the conversations, whether they be about themselves or their children, they had steered clear of the minefield that was Lucius' Pure-blood beliefs. Although Cindy was sure these hadn't changed since she had last known him she found that she could now ignore this side of him quite easily.

At first, she had berated herself for so easily ignoring the bad things he had done in the past, and the crap he had obviously taught Draco (Lissy often questioned her on things Draco had told her or done at school), but as the relationship flourished she no longer really noticed and any such questions became just another part of everyday living. It had, therefore, come as something of a shock when she and Lissy were confronted with this prejudice when they went shopping in Diagon Alley just before the start of Lissy's second year at Hogwarts.

They had just entered Flourish and Blotts and Cindy was surprised to see the place so full. It turned out that some wizard by the name of Gilderoy Lockhart was there signing copies of his new book and what seemed like every witch in the country had turned up to see him. Add to this, the families desperately trying to buy their new school books and the little shop was crowded to overflowing.

Lissy dashed off as soon as they entered the shop, having spotted some school friends: a group of children with bright red hair, a girl with bushy brown hair and a bespectacled boy with messy black hair. Soon she was chatting happily to them as Cindy tried in vain to get all the books required on the list.

Cindy sighed. It appeared whoever was teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts that year was a fan of Lockhart's too, as they had put all of his books on the reading list. She picked up a book with the dubious title Gadding With Ghouls and looked at the handsome yet somewhat slimy man smiling in what he obviously thought was a winsome manner on the cover. She flicked through it for a few seconds looking at the contents. Poor Lissy, she was going to hate trawling through all of these.

Giving up on the books for a moment, she headed over to Lissy and was soon being introduced to her friends. The redheads were the Weasley's — Ron, who was in Lissy's year; the older and rather attractive twins, Fred and George; and their younger sister Ginny — and the bushy-haired girl, Hermione Granger, who was Lissy's dormitory mate. Finally, she was introduced to the dark-haired boy who, it turned out, was Harry Potter.

So he's the Boy Who Lived, thought Cindy, noting that the poor boy didn't seem to be any more special than any of his friends. She also met and briefly talked to Mr and Mrs Granger, who were Muggles like her parents, and to Mr and Mrs Weasley before joining an excited Mrs Weasley in the queue to get the books. It appeared getting them signed was part of the deal.

Gilderoy Lockhart had appeared from behind a bookcase and was now at the signing table. He spotted Harry immediately and called him over so they could have their photo taken together. Poor Harry didn't look very keen. Lockhart gave him a set of his books and announced that he was to be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. Cindy snorted. That figured. The only person who could love him and his books that much was himself.

She shuffled forward with the others as the queue began to move slowly. Feeling a headache coming on from being in the cramped shop she wished she and Lissy were in Florean's, the last port of call before they went home, enjoying an ice cream. Hopefully, Lucius and Draco would be joining them there later.

Cindy hadn't realised that Lucius and Draco were also in Flourish and Blotts. She was so busy watching the queue diminish that she had missed the exchanges, first between Draco and Harry and then with the Weasley's. Hearing a noise, she and Molly Weasley both turned to see Arthur fighting with Lucius. Molly launched herself at her husband, shouting at him to stop, while Cindy just looked on in astonishment, wondering what on earth could have happened.

A moment later Hagrid had appeared, parting the two men, and was shepherding the Weasley's and their friends out of the shop, leaving Lucius glaring maliciously at the retreating figures. She quickly searched for Lissy and saw her look of horror and upset as she turned away from Draco and his father. Cindy suddenly knew that whatever had happened had been caused by them.

Taking Lissy's hand, she rejoined the queue, pretending she hadn't seen Lucius in the shop. Soon they were at the table where Lockhart talked at length to Lissy about what a good teacher he was going to be and how lucky she was to be getting him. Strangely, Lissy didn't seem to be all that impressed.

To Cindy he was especially smarmy, flashing that smile of his and winking as if it was going to make her faint or something. At one point he actually suggested they meet up after he had finished the signing so he could get to know her better and she thought he wasn't going to let go of her hand until she agreed. Fortunately, someone reminded him there was a queue, so he reluctantly let her go, but told her to wait for him outside the shop at closing time. Oh, and it would be better if she were alone, he suggested, nodding in the direction of Lissy, then gave Cindy a huge wink.

Shaking her head, Cindy hurried out of the shop taking Lissy with her, not noticing whether Lucius and Draco were still there or not.

'Time for an ice cream I think,' she said to Lissy, who, still looking upset, merely nodded. The two of them quickly made their way to Florean's, who laughed when he saw the look on Cindy's face.

'Just met Gilderoy Lockhart have you?' he asked sympathetically. 'The man's a complete jerk but the women do seem to love him.'

'Not all of them,' Cindy said, agitated. 'He's just propositioned me in front of Lissy. He kept doing this winking and smiling thing. I think he thought it made him look attractive or something.'

'Sounds like you managed to resist the attraction charm he was sending out,' Florean replied, laughing. 'Unless you want me to look after Lissy for you while you go and meet him?'

'Erm, no, thank you, Florean. He's not my type.' She sank gratefully into the chair he held out for her. 'Have you seen Lucius?' she asked him quietly.

Florean shook his head. 'I thought he might come in here this afternoon . . . considering . . . .' He looked towards Lissy, then back at Cindy.

'Something happened in Flourish and Blotts,' Cindy said with a frown. 'I don't yet know what, exactly, but it had something to do with Lucius and Arthur Weasley. Do you know him, Florean?'

'Arthur?' Florean nodded. 'He's a good man. Works for the Ministry of Magic, in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office. Very old Pure-blood wizarding family the Weasley's, but poor as church mice. I can imagine he and Lucius wouldn't get on very well, even though they're distantly related. All the Weasley's are Gryffindors and none of them supported You-Know-Who. Actually, Arthur's a staunch supporter of the Muggle Protection Act.' His voice had dropped at these last two sentences. He motioned for one of his assistants and, having given the order for two sundaes, he dropped into the seat next to Cindy.

Florean studied Lissy, who still seemed upset, for a moment and gently stroked her arm. 'Want to tell Uncle Florean what happened?' he asked.

'Draco was being rude to Harry,' Lissy said. 'He was winding him up about having his photo taken with Lockhart, said he liked being famous. Ginny told him to shut up and he started ribbing Harry about having a girlfriend—' she broke off as her voice caught— 'as if . . . as if that were a bad thing.'

Cindy looked at Lissy, suddenly understanding why the girl was so upset with Draco. She rubbed her daughter's hair gently.

'Then Ron started on Draco and Lucius came over and started looking at the Weasley's old books and being horrid about them being so poor. He was really taunting Ron's dad about it. And Draco just laughed as if it was funny.' Lissy sounded horrified. 'And that's when Ron's dad went for Lucius.' She stopped, then added miserably, 'and he deserved it, too. He was really nasty to the Weasley's, even Ginny.'

Cindy gazed at Florean, with a shocked expression. This forceful reminder of what Lucius could be like was unwelcome but was obviously needed. She had grown too used to him being her loving Lucius and she knew that in reality, he wasn't that.

Florean was trying to comfort the distressed girl, assuring her that Lucius and Draco wouldn't be allowed into the ice cream parlour to see them although personally, he didn't think they would be in anyway. Knowing Lucius, he would have already taken his son home, annoyed at his having caused the confrontation with Arthur.

He had hoped Lucius had changed over the years but it appeared that deep down he was still the same racist bully he had always been. It was going to be hard for Cindy, but he hoped they could work it out. Perhaps this time Lucius really would be able to change, with her help. Of course, now they had Lissy and Draco's relationship to contend with as well. Things would get even more complicated and unless he was helped Draco would go the same way as his father. Florean looked sympathetically at his girls and gave them each a hug before leaving them to their ice cream.

Lissy wasn't looking forward to the train ride back to Hogwarts. She didn't want to see Draco and was becoming really miserable about it. Cindy didn't really want to go to the station either, as she didn't want to see Lucius. He hadn't contacted her since his fight with Arthur Weasley, but then she wasn't sure if he had known she was there or not. She suspected he did know and wasn't sure what to say to her.

Cindy managed once again to get Andrew to come to the station but only because she told him that he only had to load the trunk on the train and then he could leave — she would make her own way back home once the train had gone. She had hoped for a moment that he would offer to stay and say goodbye to Lissy properly and then give her a lift home, but of course he didn't. As it was, he gave his daughter a brief hug, put her trunk on the train then left without even saying goodbye to his wife. Cindy was glad Narcissa Malfoy wasn't around to see that.

She got Lissy on board the train and suggested she seek out her friends, hoping she wouldn't run into Draco until they were at school. Then she could ignore him or not, as she saw fit. Lissy had just settled with her friends when Cindy saw Lucius and Draco striding down the platform. Where was Narcissa? They said goodbye briefly and Draco got on board the train. Cindy noticed with pleasure that unless he chose to go for a walk down the train, Draco was unlikely to bump into Lissy. They were at opposite ends. Draco settled himself with his cronies, seemingly content, and she hoped he would stay there for the whole trip.

Cindy tried to ignore Lucius, heading towards the train to wave a last goodbye to Lissy as the final whistle went then turning away to head for the exit as the train left the station. However, before she had managed to walk half a dozen steps she heard the tap of shoes beside her and knew that Lucius was at her side.

'Not talking to me?' His voice was smooth as silk. 'What have I done to you to cause this?'

'As usual, Lucius, you've done nothing to me. It's what you've done to friends of mine that I have to worry about.' Cindy's voice was colder and more clipped than she had meant it to be.

'Then perhaps you should choose your friends more carefully,' Lucius said sarcastically.

Cindy stopped and glared at him. 'You're right about that, Lucius. I should have remembered from last time.'

She turned and stormed through the wall of the station out onto the busy Muggle platform. Lucius strode through behind her.

'Can't we at least talk about it?' he asked reasonably.

'Is there anything to talk about?' Cindy bit back, trying to keep the tears from escaping that she could feel pricking her eyelids.

Lucius took her arm, firmly but not painfully. 'Let's go somewhere for a drink and a chat,' he said. 'We need to talk about this.' Cindy shook her head but let Lucius lead her from the station. 'Do you want to go to Florean's?' he asked gently. 'Or shall we go somewhere . . . Muggle?'

'Not Florean's. Not at the moment.' She knew she couldn't face Florean's sympathy or well-meaning meddling just then.

'Fine.' Lucius' voice was icy as he took her hand and led her across the road and into a nearby hotel.

He sat her in a chair in the foyer and told her to wait, then headed towards the reception desk before she had a chance to tell him she didn't want him to get a room. A few minutes later he came back.

'I'm not going upstairs with you,' she said coldly.

'I'm not going to argue with you about this down here,' he hissed. 'Now, let's just go upstairs where we can talk like civilised people.' He grabbed her arm and started to pull her from the chair.

'Let go of me,' Cindy said, distressed. 'You're hurting my arm.' Lucius immediately let go of her and she sat back down. He glared angrily. 'Why did you get a room?' she asked. 'We could have gone to a café or something.'

Lucius glared at her again. 'Do you really think this conversation is going to be suitable for a public place? Especially a Muggle public place? At least in a room, we'll have some privacy.' Cindy shook her head. 'Come on,' Lucius said quietly. 'Let's just go and talk it over.'

'Don't think you're going to be able to get me in that room and seduce me,' Cindy said bitterly.

Lucius laughed, a harsh, barking sound. 'The thought never even crossed my mind. I just want to get this sorted so we can get out of here.'

He moved towards the lift, not bothering to wait for Cindy. Knowing that this was going to be the only way to talk to Lucius, she slowly raised herself from the chair and followed. They entered the lift in silence and studiously ignored each other until they reached the sixth floor, where their room was located.

Cindy followed Lucius down the corridor to the room and waited until he opened the door, then entered before him as he held it open for her. She looked around, her feelings mixed. The room was a nice one and in any other circumstances, she would have been happy to have stayed there. Almost immediately there was a knock on the door. Lucius answered it and soon returned to the room with a small trolley containing a wine bucket and glasses and two plates of sandwiches.

Cindy shook her head, sighing, and rubbed her eyes as she sat down on the bed, looking grim.

'Well, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry and I'm sure we could both do with a drink,' Lucius said. 'Help yourself or not, it doesn't matter to me.'

He pulled the wine bottle from the bucket, poured a glass and passed it to Cindy, who accepted it reluctantly. Then he poured himself a glass and returned the bottle to the bucket. He moved as if to sit on the bed but seemed to change his mind, moving the trolley to one side and sitting down in a chair facing Cindy. He took a triangle of sandwich and examined it intently for a second before biting into it.

'So, do you want to start?' he asked, his voice cold like steel.

Cindy almost flinched at his tone but instead, looked back at him. 'Perhaps you could tell me what happened in Flourish and Blotts,' she said. 'Whatever it was it upset Lissy pretty badly.'

Lucius sighed. 'Some stupidity between Draco and Harry Potter got a bit out of hand. I stepped in to sort it out and Arthur took things the wrong way — as usual — and decided to act the oaf.' His voice was dismissive.

'Really?' Cindy took a sip of the wine. Damn, it was really very good. Of course, it would be — Lucius had chosen it. 'I understand you told Arthur he was a disgrace to the name of wizard. It doesn't sound to me as if he took things the wrong way.'

'Of course, you would take their side,' Lucius said snidely.

'Yes, I would,' said Cindy, louder now. 'Because their side is my side, too, Lucius. Hermione's parents are Muggles. And the Weasley's are Gryffindors.'

She saw Lucius roll his eyes and mutter, 'Of course, precious bloody Gryffindors . . . .'

'Yes. And guess what? They're all Pure-blood, as I'm sure you'll know since you're related to them, Lucius.' She watched as he wrinkled his nose in disgust at that comment. 'And yet not one of them had anything to do with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. In fact, they all get on perfectly well with Muggles and Muggle-borns! God, Lucius, why does your bloody Pure-blood crap always have to ruin everything?'

Cindy put the glass on the floor and buried her face in her hands, knuckling her eyes in an effort to stop the tears that were threatening to spill free.

Lucius looked at her, his expression hard, but he didn't know what to say. He rose from the chair and dropped to his knees in front of her, grasping her hands. 'I'm sorry,' he whispered, then leant forward and kissed her on the cheek. 'I'm sorry. I let my temper get the better of me and acted without thinking.'

Cindy looked at him, staring deep into his cold grey eyes and saw . . . was it a trace of remorse? Lucius caught her thought and immediately made himself seem more contrite.

'I really am sorry,' he said again. 'I would apologise to Arthur, but he won't talk to me.' His voice was much smoother now.

'Did you know I was there?' Cindy asked quietly.

Lucius shook his head. 'Not during the fight. I only realised afterwards when I saw you with that fop, Lockhart. You spent enough time talking to him. Getting very friendly from what I could see, all that hand-kissing and stuff.' His voice was bitter.

Cindy laughed incredulously. 'You're jealous of me talking to Gilderoy Lockhart?'

'I'm not jealous,' Lucius said stiffly. 'Of course, I realised you wouldn't fancy him, not like all those other witches in there. Gods, even Narcissa thinks there's something sexy about the man!'

Cindy stared at him in amusement. 'Well, that would explain why she doesn't fancy you, then,' she said, realising her anger at Lucius had already dissipated. Damn it, why couldn't she stay angry at the man? 'The man is a slimeball. Do you know he even propositioned me in front of Lissy and then asked me to get rid of her so we could get to know each other better!' Her nose wrinkled in disgust.

'Lucius, I'm still angry with you because of the way you acted. And Lissy is upset with Draco, too. It was her friends he attacked.' She looked at Lucius, noting once again his contrition. 'You can tell me we need to pick our friends more carefully, but Lissy and I need friends we can rely on. You and Draco will always be the fly in the ointment, and if after all this time you can't change your view of Muggles then I guess we'll never be anything more than enemies.'

She looked miserable as she continued, 'I told you when we first met up that I wouldn't let you break my heart again, but I couldn't stop myself from falling in love with you this time round, Lucius. Please don't break my heart.' Now a tear fell onto her cheek.

Lucius gazed at her tenderly and pulled her into his arms, kissing her hair as he held her close.

'I don't ever want to hurt you, my love,' he whispered. 'Not ever.'

He wiped away her tears and kissed her, so gently at first, then deeper and more passionately as she succumbed to his touch. He pushed her down beneath him on the bed, his body pressed against hers.

Cindy was rather disturbed to hear reports coming from Lissy about happenings at Hogwarts. Firstly, Draco had angered her daughter once more by calling Hermione a Mudblood, something Cindy felt she had to discuss with Lucius. He was unapologetic and Cindy could feel a gap widening between the two of them, the same way it had done all those years previously.

Lissy had written to her again, upset that Draco and his Slytherin friends appeared to be happy that something called the Chamber of Secrets had been opened on the school grounds and Muggle-borns were being attacked. Although Lissy had less need to worry, being Half-blood, she was worried for her friend Hermione. She was also upset that Draco seemed to be directing all his hatred at Hermione, for no better reason than that she was a friend of Harry's. Worse still, a subsequent letter indicated that Hermione had been seriously injured in an attack.

The next time they met for lunch Cindy asked Lucius what the Chamber of Secrets was. He was vague, but she was sure he knew more than he was letting on.

'Apparently, you told your son all about it,' she said acidly as they sat at their usual table in Mario's. 'Lissy wrote to me telling me about all the things your dear son has been saying.'

Lucius sighed. 'I know little more than you do, Cindy. Apparently, the Chamber was opened fifty years ago, and when it was, a Muggle-born girl died. The culprit was found and it was all hushed up. I don't know why. Come on, it was twenty-odd years before we were at school there. Merlin's beard, it was before we were born, even!'

He looked at Cindy. 'Draco gets a bit self-important sometimes. I'm sure you remember I was the same at his age. Really, I know nothing about any of this. No more than you do, anyway.' He took her hand. 'I promise.'

Cindy studied him, once again torn as to whether to believe him or not. It was true she had never heard anything about the Chamber when she was at school, and it had happened before they had even been born. But this thing was attacking Muggle-borns, and Merlin knew where it would end — surely not another death like the previous time. Did Lucius even care?

'I'm sure they're doing all they can at the school,' Lucius said soothingly. 'Before long they'll find the culprit and it will all stop again.'

'So Draco isn't the Heir of Slytherin, then?' The question that had kept crossing Cindy's mind finally popped out.

Lucius looked amazed then laughed abruptly. 'Draco? Gods, no, of course not. Just because we're Slytherins doesn't mean we had anything to do with this.'

Cindy looked relieved. 'I'm sorry, Lucius,' she said. 'But I had to ask.'

He nodded understandingly. 'I know. But really, it's nothing to do with the Malfoy's . . . for once.'

Cindy was reassured by that comment, but only a few weeks later her unease returned when she heard that the Board of Governors, led by Lucius, had removed Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster. Cindy had only vague memories of Dumbledore from when she was at school but her overriding memory was that he was very much a protector of Muggle-borns and she felt his removal from the school didn't herald well for those who were left there, especially with them apparently being no nearer to finding the Heir of Slytherin or the mysterious Chamber. It didn't take much of a leap of logic to work out what Lucius was hoping to achieve by leaving the Muggle-borns helpless in the castle. Horror overtook her once again as she realised that despite his assurances to the contrary, Lucius was definitely involved.

But Draco wasn't. A huge argument between him and Lissy had made that clear, and although he may have privately continued to hope for a Muggle-born death he certainly never acted that way when Lissy was around. She had discussed it with her mother and Cindy told her she would have to make her own choices where Draco was concerned. Cindy had to make a choice about Lucius, too. Once again he had shown himself to be the mean Death Eater he claimed to no longer be and this time she didn't feel she could give him another chance. Despite his promises to the contrary he had broken her heart again and she couldn't let it continue.

She had just decided she needed to talk to him when news came through that the Chamber of Secrets had been found — and only just in time, too. It appeared that young Ginny Weasley had somehow been lured into it to die. Things were confused and Lissy obviously didn't know everything that was going on, but it appeared that Harry and Ron had somehow managed to save Ginny and stop the monster that had been attacking the children. Albus Dumbledore had been reinstated back into the school and Lucius had been sacked from the Board of Governors. Cindy couldn't honestly say she felt unhappy about that decision.

A further owl from Lissy added some even more upsetting news. Ginny had apparently been possessed by You-Know-Who, by way of an old diary, which had belonged to him and had been passed to her in the bookshop by none other than Lucius. Albus Dumbledore had shrewdly guessed that Lucius had done this to discredit Arthur Weasley over the Muggle Protection Act he was working to have passed. For Cindy, this was the final straw.

Cindy arrived at the hotel a little after four in the afternoon. She headed straight up to the room, knowing Lucius would already be there waiting for her. She thought about the last time they had been here, after the argument in Flourish and Blotts. Lucius had held her in his arms and promised her he wouldn't do anything to break her heart. And of course, stupid woman that she was, she had believed him.

Lucius smiled with pleasure as Cindy entered the room. He walked rapidly over to her and pulled her into his strong embrace. It was all Cindy could do not to cry as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her tenderly. As they parted he stared at her in concern, his hands holding her shoulders as if for support.

'What's the matter?' His voice was full of worry.

'I can't do this anymore, Lucius.' Cindy's voice was hardly higher than a whisper as she replied to his question.

'Can't do what?'

Lucius' hands tightened their grip slightly as his eyes bored into hers, reading her mind as she struggled to find the words . . . to say the words properly.

'You lied to me about your involvement with the Chamber of Secrets,' Cindy began, wincing as Lucius' grip tightened further. He already knew where she was heading with this, having just seen it in her mind.

Lucius apologised and relaxed his grip, trying not to pre-empt her, but Cindy was no longer looking at him so he couldn't see into her mind.

'I didn't lie—' he began, but she cut him off.

'Yes, you did, Lucius. You told me the Malfoy's had nothing to do with the Chamber of Secrets.'

'But we didn't,' he asserted. 'The Chamber of Secrets was nothing to do with us.'

Cindy shot him a look of hatred. 'More snaky words from a Slytherin,' she said in disgust. 'You may not have actually opened the Chamber yourself, Lucius, but you gave Ginny the diary that enabled her to do so. You gave it to her in Flourish and Blotts that day you had the fight with her father. Someone with a suspicious mind might think you'd engineered that fight specifically to enable you to give her the diary.'

She walked away from him and looked out of the window, then turned again.

'You promised me you didn't have anything to do with it and that the fight was just you losing your temper. You promised me you wouldn't do anything to hurt me.' She walked closer to him until they were almost touching. 'You promised me you wouldn't break my heart — and yet you did!' She looked at him once more and Lucius could see the tears clouding her beautiful blue eyes. She blinked and a huge teardrop fell onto her cheek, followed by another and another. He reached out his hand to brush them away, but she pushed his hand away.

'You hurt me again, Lucius,' she finished, her voice just above a whisper, with almost a keening quality to it.

Lucius tipped his head back and closed his eyes, not sure what to say. Cindy was right, of course. Everything she had said was right. He had lied to her when she had confronted him before, but he had done it because he didn't want to lose her, sure that eventually, it would blow over and she would forget all about it. His mind was a maelstrom of emotions and he couldn't even begin to bring them into some semblance of order to explain it to her. How he wished she was a Legilimens like him; then he could just show her his mind and she would know how he was feeling, the way he knew how she was feeling.

And it was her feelings that were causing the major problem now. It was clear she still loved him, loved him totally, in the same way he loved her: body and soul, heart and mind. But her anger and hurt made her reject him, made her cast him away again like she had done before. He needed to stop the hurt and bring the love back to the fore, but he couldn't do that without upsetting and hurting her further — he knew it. And if she found out he was a Legilimens . . . well, then any chance they would ever have at happiness would be gone in a moment. She would never trust him again. Not that she trusted him at the moment.

He knew his defence was weak, but he had no other card left to play. He had gambled and lost and now had no choice. Facing his love he opened his eyes and looked sincerely at her, his hands skimming her shoulders.

'I'm sorry.'

Cindy stared at Lucius in surprise. She had expected him to lie again, to tell her what she said wasn't true or to make up some other stupid story to explain why he had done what he had done. She hadn't expected admission with those two little words.

'Sorry isn't enough,' she said sadly.

'I know.' Lucius' voice was humble, no longer the confident man she knew so well. 'I lied because I love you; because I couldn't bear to lose you again. I thought it would all blow over or would sort itself out and then you would never know about my part in it.' He gazed deep into her eyes, this time merely looking at them and not reading her mind. 'I was wrong. All I can do is apologise, even though I know it doesn't make things any better.'

Cindy shook her head, the tears still flowing. 'It doesn't make it better. People nearly died because of you — not just Muggles, either. Ginny is a Pure-blood. Whatever you may think of her or her family . . . .'

Lucius scrubbed at his eyes with his hands. 'I know that. Gods, Cindy, I wish I could say I cared, but I don't. You know what I am. I've tried to be someone else, but I can't be who you want me to be . . . who I want me to be. Whichever way I look at it, all I can see is that Mudbloods are ruining our world and we need to be rid of them.'

'And yet still you want me?' Cindy's voice was full of confusion and despair.

'Yes. And I still have absolutely no idea why. You're like an addiction. When I was at school I would have done anything for you, tried to do things that nearly got me killed . . . all for the love of you. But it wasn't enough. And now, whatever I do will still never be enough. I love you more than anything in the whole wide world, Cindy but I can't change my beliefs for you . . . can't change who I am deep inside.' Lucius' voice was cracking with emotion.

Cindy stared at Lucius, seeing the tears on his cheeks now as his voice faltered. She felt unhappier than she had felt in years; her heart that had seemed dead for so long was breaking and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Lucius pulled her to him and held her tightly as they both cried, each unable to comfort the other.

'I love you, too, Lucius,' she whispered. 'But I can't condone the things you do. I can't stand by and let you hurt people just because you think they are inferior. It's rubbish, and you of all people should know that by now. I love you but I can't keep letting you break my heart over and over. I have to end it now.'

She gasped as he crushed her to him, unwilling to let her go even now. His lips found her throat and he kissed her, causing her to cry out once again in despair.

'Please don't leave me, my love,' he begged as his mouth pressed flaming kisses all over her neck.

Cindy's eyes were closed now as she tried to gather the strength to push Lucius away. 'I have to,' she cried. 'If I don't, this will kill me.'

'Being apart again will kill us,' Lucius countered. 'You need me as much as I need you.' With a sudden movement, his hands grabbed her face and his lips found hers, his tongue plunging into her mouth as his hands caressed her cheeks and neck. Unable to stop herself, Cindy gave in to the kiss and wrapped her arms around her lover, her body shaking with sobs from the tears that were still making their way to the surface.

'I will love you forever!' Lucius swore as his hands travelled over Cindy's body, seeming to need to touch every part of her that he could before she went.

'And I you,' Cindy admitted sadly, her hands doing the same.

They couldn't stop, and before long they were on the bed, clothes discarded, knowing only that they had to be together this one last time.

It was several hours later when they both left, neither speaking to the other. Everything they had to say to each other had been said.