Hermione woke up an hour before Malfoy was supposed to arrive. She probably should have been more nervous, but she decided he wasn't worth stressing about any more than she had. The only reason for waking when she did was Ginny popping in to wish her luck and see if there was anything else she needed.
They tidied the place up a bit, but that was a courtesy extended to any company. Lucius Malfoy was not in any way special.
Looking in her closet, she pulled out what she felt was a typical "watching movies" outfit: track pants and a plain top. She was rather proud of herself, since normally she would have spent ages determining the best outfit to make an impression.
He would likely show up in his black robes, since he couldn't dress down if it killed him. He would probably find her attire repulsive, and that suited her just fine. She wanted this project to go well, but it would be done through her own hard work and not through attempts to impress someone she didn't care about.
There were some snacks in the fridge for later, and she stopped by the store for juice last night. Did Malfoys even drink juice? Something so simple and good seemed below their standards. Their juice was probably freshly squeezed by the poor little houselves in their kitchen, from only the best oranges money could buy.
She laughed at how silly the entire thought was, and went to sit and wait. He was guaranteed to be right on time.
11:55, it would be any minute now. She put down her book just as she heard the knock. It was very him- powerful and commanding.
Suddenly she was very nervous. It was actually happening. A part of her had hoped he wouldn't show, but now he was here in the flesh. It would be real as soon as she opened the door. Heart racing, she suddenly regretted her choice of clothing. It was easy to challenge someone in theory, but when it became reality she suddenly found her courage faltering.
That never used to happen.
Well, here goes nothing.
"Mr. Malfoy, please come in."
He stood on the threshold, taking in her appearance. She felt childish, but managed to keep her confident guise. Of course, he was dressed impeccably, and not even wearing his wizard robes. It was slightly more formal than required for the activity, but he actually made an effort. He was winning.
"Good morning, Miss Granger. Did I catch you unprepared? I believe this was the time you were expecting me." Great, he brought it up.
He looked around the flat, then back at her appearance. It hadn't taken very long for the smirk to appear.
"Not at all Lucius, I dressed suitably with the occasion in mind." Now she was smirking. He was not sure how to take that; she saw the anger flash in his eyes.
Play the game, Hermione. He flitters between charm and mockery, but you have a charm of your own, and he is the biggest snake of them all.
"Let us get on with it then, girl. We have a job to do here." His face went blank of any emotion, and instantly he was the cold and heartless man she had been accustomed to before this week. Amazing how easily he could turn to stone.
"Of course, please have a seat and we can begin." Inside, she felt her confidence coming back. She had beaten him at his own game, even momentarily. This was going to be a very interesting day after all.
He was fuming as he took a seat on the couch. How dare the little slip of a girl insult him so? Insinuating that he wasn't even worth getting dressed over. If it were 5 years ago she would have paid dearly for that comment.
She walked towards the box sitting on a table and pushed some kind of button. A light flickered and sounds started coming from it. He jumped, and heard her stifle a giggle.
There were people moving on the face of the box. He turned to glare at her.
"Who are they? They can't see us…?" He was not sure if they were like magical paintings, who could see those they interacted with.
"No they can't. It's pre recorded, you see. This film was made in the 70's and it is the same every time someone watches it. Just watch, and you will see." She spoke to him as if he was a child.
He wanted to argue, to fight back, but slowly the people in this strange story distracted him from his anger. It was certainly intriguing.
He could relate to the power struggles, the corruption… the death. He saw inklings of his own family history, and what may have become of them if it were not for Voldemort. They only ever wanted control, money and high standings.
He would never admit it to anyone, but the entire thing was a bit eye opening. Here were muggles with values similar to his own. They wanted what was best for their family, and would kill to protect it. Obviously magic was a much more sophisticated way to go about it all, it was much less messy, but he felt an inkling of respect for the Don.
He watched as Michael slowly took over the operation, and thought about Draco. Would his son ever have risen to the role of head of the family, despite his own desire to not be involved? He had been forced into the war as a child, forced to take on responsibilities well above his years. Would it have been any different if he had been a man? Lucius wanted to think that if he had been nearly killed, Draco would have stepped up and kept them going. But did he honestly want that for his son? After everything, did he not deserve the chance to choose his own path?
Why had Granger chosen this film anyways? Was she trying to send him some kind of message? Obviously she had a motive for everything she did, she was not so different from him despite what she liked to think. There was a thirst for manipulation in her eyes. She was trying to elicit some kind of emotions in him.
He would worry about her purpose behind it all afterwards. Revenge could be served when the story was finished.
He had to admit that it was an excellent matrix for getting wizards used to the muggle world. After a while he found himself less shocked by their appearance, and barely questioning the strange items they were constantly using. He was learning against his will, under the guise of entertainment. Brilliant, really.
He did not care the least bit about educating other wizards about muggle culture, but the girl's silly little scheme might actually be a success. If Lucius Malfoy could have his name associated with something so groundbreakingly positive in the eyes of the Ministry it would do wonders for his reputation. All it would take was a bit more deceit, and they would all be putty in his hands once again.
Hermione felt quite awkward, sitting stiffly on the sofa beside Malfoy. She could not get comfortable in his presence; it was just too weird.
She had prepared herself mentally for the mockery, the sarcastic comments, and all around ridicule of muggle culture, but he hadn't said a word. It unnerved her; he was just sitting there, stiff as a board, staring at the tv.
For a minute she worried he died on her couch, he was so still.
How old is he anyways, 60? He certainly doesn't look old, but all wizards age slowly… No he must only be in his 40's, he was in school a few years about Sirius, Remus and James.
He wasn't dead, she could see his muscles tensing as he focused on the screen. She had been sneaking glances at him for the first 20 minutes, but he still hadn't moved or noticed her looking. She was openly staring now, so it was obvious he was completely oblivious to her.
It was a blessing he was being inadvertently pleasant, she should have been enjoying the silence and watching the movie, but she could not pull her eyes away from his face. Whatever reaction he was having to the story, it was causing him serious tension. His jaw clenched, his eyes would widen, and his grip on the furniture tightened. She wasn't too sure if he was enjoying the movie, staring things down might just be how he expressed delight, but at least it was causing some sort of reaction.
It was the first time Hermione seriously looked at Lucius Malfoy without fear or rage impeding her judgment. When he wasn't paying any attention, he almost seemed like a regular man.
No, that wasn't true. His features were far from normal. They were sculpted by centuries of aristocratic pure blood breeding. His strong jaw, tall face, pale skin, and very muscular stature were an uncommon sight among the regular folk. If he were a sculpture she would have said he was beautiful. Unfortunately, he had a personality that completely contrasted his angelic face. The Malfoys were likely given such good looks to distract from their cruelty. She was reminded of a muggle notion – the devil in disguise.
Coming out of her trance, she noticed the credits rolling just in time to shift her body back towards the television. Had she honestly spent that whole time watching him watch the movie? She really needed more hobbies, she was losing it.
At least Ginny made a good choice for the first film. She would save that information for a day when Miss Weasley needed cheering up. She loved hearing she was right.
The atmosphere shifted as he relaxed and turned to face her. The man she had been observing for over an hour was gone. The face was the same, but a smug sense of superiority took over it. She always thought hate was a bit of a strong word, but she most certainly hated him.
She thought about Ginny's advice to actually try and change him. Could a world where Lucius Malfoy was tolerable even exist? He was silent through an entire movie, so maybe anything could happen.
"Well, what did you think?" it was the moment of truth. She would finally find out exactly what he was thinking that entire time.
"It was tolerable." He answered, turning away and examining his hands as if he was rather disinterested. Her jaw would have dropped if it weren't already clenched in anger. It was such an obvious lie. This just would not do if this project were to succeed. Letting him get away with all the nonsense needed to stop now.
"Only tolerable? Your lack of complaining and insulting seemed to indicate otherwise." He remained silent, only turning to glare in her direction. He just refused to admit he actually enjoyed it, but sometimes saying nothing said the most.
"Right, well do you at least have any questions? That was quite a bit of muggle culture for one sitting."
His mouth twitched, as if he had so many questions threatening to burst forth but he was biting his tongue. If only someone else was here to witness what was probably a first.
"Are you trying to act the berating school teacher Miss Granger? I did not think there would be a test afterwards." Ah yes, there it was. It just took him a minute to thaw out.
"Didn't you? And here I was under the impression you were always prepared. If you seem to already know everything, just pretend you're one of the purebloods who isn't knowledge incarnate and come up with a question." And get out of my house she wanted to add. This was becoming quite exhausting and she would not last through another movie. After they finished discussing he needed to leave.
"If I must, I suppose what struck me as strange were the filthy contraptions they used to kill each other; so noisy and messy. What is the point?"
Of course that was his first question. He didn't care that they killed each other, but the way they did it was too messy for his sophisticated tastes.
"Those are guns. It's probably the easiest and quickest way muggles have found to kill each other. A little piece of metal shoots out of it really fast and if it hits the right place, you die." She knew it was a basic explanation and did no real justice to the technology of guns, but he probably did not care. In his mind, they were a messy substitute for what wizards could do with magic.
"How uncouth. All the mess just to kill one man, and sometimes it doesn't even work? This is why we think the muggles are below us. Their technology is a crude imitation."
Did he just say think? He made it seem like an opinion rather than a fact.
It was a slip of the tongue, but maybe it was one tiny step in the right direction. However, it didn't distract Hermione from her opportunity to argue.
"So you think that just because your way of murder is more sophisticated, it makes it better? As if killing someone in one fashion is any more admirable than another?"
He was truly twisted in his values, right down to the core.
"Well certainly! There is no mess, and there is still a body for the family to bury all in one piece. The life is simply gone."
"They are still dead! It is still killing, Lucius, and perhaps the notion that there is a dignified way to go about it is the most disturbed of all! At least muggles know what they are doing is messy and disgusting, for the most part. You think that because it is tidy and quick it can be glossed over like the morning paper, and that is part of the attitude we are trying so hard to change."
The yelling and banter went on for what seemed like hours. It felt good.
She had been cooped up in her little office so long, not making any strides, not being challenged. Having someone at her own level to really go at felt wonderful. Finally he had enough of her attitude and prepared to storm out.
He grabbed his cloak and said something about meeting again during the week to iron out details, but she wasn't paying much attention. Suddenly the fire was back in her, and it was unfortunately thanks to Lucius Malfoy.
A/N - SOOOOO sorry this took so long. I got buried alive in school work in the last month of my undergrad and have only just dug my way out. Hopefully this at least somewhat lives up to the expectations, and I promise to be back to my regularly scheduled updating.