The next morning, Hermione met Viktor with plans to go flying again. Professor Dumbledore knew of Hermione's relationship with Viktor and gave them permission to see each other if they wanted considering she was of age and the relationship was not new.

They had decided to start seeing each other again the first day when they went flying during lunch. Hermione wasn't in love with Viktor, she knew that, but he was always good to her and she couldn't help but have a soft spot for the man considering he was the first guy to pay attention to her in a way other than a friend. They had very little in common, but they managed to have a fairly decent relationship none the less.

Lucius had spotted the pair leaving the castle and decided to follow them; he wanted to see first-hand what he and Severus were up against. Something didn't sit right with Lucius concerning Viktor. He felt that the Bulgarian was hiding something or was possibly not on the level, after all, he knew the signs having lived the way he did for so long.

Shortly before the final battle, Lucius had gone to Dumbledore and offered assistance in Voldemort's defeat. The night he was ordered to kill his family was enough to turn him away from his service. Dumbledore offered Lucius the Order's protection, along with Draco and Narcissa and while he and Draco accepted, Narcissa refused saying she would not go against her sister.

Lucius pleaded with her initially, but when she refused time after time, he finally gave up and figured she would let him know if she changed her mind. In the weeks after he accepted Dumbledore protection, Lucius had time to reflect on aspects of his life, remembering every crime and dirty deed he had done over the years and decided to change his ways completely.

When the final battle came, Lucius and Draco fought with the order against Voldemort and the deatheaters and while the Order and Harry were successful, Narcissa was killed by her sister's wand for not reporting Lucius and Draco's true alliance. She was viewed as a traitor and paid dearly. Lucius was upset over the loss of his wife, but slept at night knowing he had tried to help her get out of harm's way.

Dumbledore soon offered Lucius the position of DADA professor, which he accepted immediately with the thoughts of restoring the Malfoy name. Lucius also decided to change his ways when it came to women. In the past, he had treaded them like objects or toys, but he wanted his name to be respected and playing with brain dead, sleazy women would not help in the least.

The first time he noticed Hermione was at headquarters. She was smart and she was passionate when it came to something she believed in or when she was trying to figure something out and he found himself attracted to her in a different way than his other conquests. He watched her, learning as much about her as he possibly could as he intended to, if nothing else, befriend her and over the summer, she and Lucius had done just that.

When Hermione returned for her last year and Lucius as a professor, they decided to remain friends but keep it in the dark as much as possible to avoid gossip and avoid giving people the impression that he was giving her better grades because they actually had a respect towards each other.

Lucius glanced back at the sky, trying his best to figure out what he felt was wrong with Viktor, but he couldn't so he decided to watch him and let Hermione know if he ever discovered what the problem was. He soon decided to go to the dungeons and have a little chat with Severus about the Viktor situation.

Lucius knew Severus would help find out what was going on with Viktor. He knew that Severus, all though he would never admit it, was very fond of Hermione beyond the physical attraction and much like she and Lucius, Severus and Hermione decided to act no different when it came to school as well.

When he reached Severus's quarters, they both sat in the arm chairs in the study and discussed the situation.

"Something's not right, I can feel it." Lucius started

"What are you talking about?" Severus asked

"Krum, there is just something about him that sets me off."

"Could it be because he has the witch we want?" Severus asked with a smirk

"Don't be funny, you know damn good and well that something is sneaky with him and despite our agreement with her to act like teachers and student, I still consider her a friend and refuse to let her get hurt."

Severus sighed, "I agree Lucius, I too consider her a friend and don't want to see her get burned."

"Then it's settled then, we will keep an eye on Viktor and if he steps one toe out of line, we will inform Hermione."

"Yes we will, besides, if this helps us get her for ourselves, then I am willing to be a rat in order to do so."

Lucius suddenly started to laugh, "You know, I bet if we were to approach her and tell her we want her she would probably agree."

"Probably, now that I know she thinks of us more than friends, but then it takes the fun out of the chase."

"Very true." Lucius agreed with a smile, "very true."