Chapter 10

"You will be my right-hand man in this position, Lucius." Abraxas declared, "it's a great honor so wear it proud, and don't do anything to mess it up."

Lucius stood before his father, back straight and eyes locked, it was the only way Abraxas would allow his children to speak to him, any other way and it was disrespectful.

"What's that you have behind your back Lucius?" His father's eyes shifted to Lucius' fidgeting arms.

"Nothing father, just a book," Lucius responded, still maintaining eye contact. His father offered no words, and simply outstretched his hand for Lucius to place the book. Lucius didn't budge. To this, his father raised an eyebrow.

"If you desire to keep the book hidden, then so be it. All Malfoy men keep secrets." His father placed his hand behind his back and silently walked out of Lucius' room.

Lucius stood still and watched his father leave his room. As his father exited the doorway, a sigh of relief escaped him. He pulled the book from behind his back and examined it. Reading was never an interest to him, much less something he would do with his free time, but this fascinated him. It was surprising how determined Penny was to find the prophecy, one he didn't acknowledge as too important in the first place. Now that he thought of it, why did Penny exactly want this prophecy so much? What right did she think she had to take this prophecy from the Blacks? More and more questions passed through his mind as he started skimming through the pages of the book.

Nearly two hours had passed until Lucius had grown tired of reading and longed for a break.

"Dobby!" He shouted, expecting his house elf to scurry to him. When no response came Lucius called Dobby again. Silence. Lucius rolled his eyes and rolled out of his comfortable position. His boots clicked against the hardwood floor as he walked to open his door.

"Dobby?!" Lucius called out into the empty halls. Again no reply. Agitated, Lucius walked to the dinner room where he found bustling with people. Through all the chaos, he found Dobby and snatched him by the ear.

"Did you not hear my multiple calls? I had to come from my room over here to talk to you!" Lucius scolded the house elf.

"Oh master! Dobby is so sorry!" Dobby began banging his head against the nearest piece of furniture.

"Now, don't scuff the furniture up." Lucius said, pulling Dobby away from the armchair. "What is all this about?" Lucius said, gesturing towards the crowd of people stirring around the dining room.

"Master has ordered a gala for tonight to celebrate his success as Minister of Magic! Dobby must get back to work before the Master finds out!" Dobby ran off without another word into the large crowd of people.

It's never a surprise to not be informed of his father's get togethers or anything that he plans to Lucius, because it happens very often. Lucius is often forced to talk to uninteresting and bland people while his father has important conversations with his mysterious associates. I wonder if Narcissa and Bellatrix will make an appearance tonight, Lucius wondered, after our last interaction I wouldn't think they would want to show up at my father's social event.

All of the sudden, Lucius was pushed to the floor, successfully landing on his hands, but messing up his hair.

"Oh I'm so sorry Mr. Malfoy!" A small plump maid exclaimed while she helped Lucius up. Lucius regained his balance and adjusted his staff.

"Be careful who you bump into," he sneered as he paraded back to his room.

As he returned, he found a suit and cloak folded neatly with a note on his bed.

Wear these to the Gala tonight. It's the best I could find. I do want my right-hand man to look his best when I announce him to the public.

-Abraxas M.

Lucius felt his throat tighten up. Tonight was when his father had decided to officially announce him as the right-hand man to the future Minister of Magic? As much as Lucius would love to be in a position of power, he wouldn't want to be underneath his father. He knew what being his father's right-hand man would consist of: dealing with all the stuff that his father didn't want to.

Lucius clenched his teeth and got dressed in the outfit. He looked in the mirror and fixed his hair and opened up the case to his cufflinks. As he was adding the cufflinks to his sleeves he heard a tap on his door. His head turned in that direction, and he started to walk to his door.

"Mr. Malfoy, there is someone here to see you." A butler told Lucius as he opened the door.

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Who?" Lucius asked, adjusting his cufflinks.

"A Miss Penelope Clearwater."

Lucius' heart jumped as he heard his butler say her name. "She's at the main doors?" Lucius asked as he proceeded down the hallway.

"Yes," the butler responded, "do you know her?"

Lucius ignored the butler and maneuvered through the dining room to the main doors.

"I think I can take it from here," Lucius told the butler as he gestured for him to leave. The butler obeyed Lucius and left Lucius standing at the front doors across from Penny.

"Hello again, Penelope. So nice to see you." Lucius said with a smile, trying his best to hide the excitement in his voice.

"Do you perhaps have a room in your house where we could discuss something privately?" Hermione asked in a hushed whisper.

"I find lots of alone time with girls in my bedroom and I can ensure no interruptions," Lucius said with a sly smirk.

He was amused as Penny rolled her eyes and responded, "Is there nowhere else? An office or lounge perhaps?"

"Not that I can think of," Lucius replied, stroking his chin and looking off to the side. But as soon as he said that an idea came to mind. He looked back to meet Penny in the eyes and remarked, "Come follow me, I know the perfect place." He took Penny's wrist and dragged her down the halls to the empty library.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Hermione was tugged into the library it looked almost exactly the same as she had entered it earlier this week with Draco. The only differences were the absence of her boyfriend, Narcissa, and of a much older Lucius. It seemed so long ago now and reminded her of the reason she needed Lucius' help.

Hermione sat down in an armchair and Lucius sat in another armchair opposite of her.

"So now's the big question, why did you come here Penny? I'm honestly honored you came to see me after the fit you had during our last interaction. You surely seem like the stubborn type." Lucius crossed his legs and waited for Hermione to respond.

"That's rude of you to say. I wouldn't have come back if I knew you would be still on about that," Hermione fussed and crossed her arms, "I need your help Lucius. I found a new lead in the newspaper and I need to borrow an owl."

"That's it? You need to borrow an owl? You seem like you're in a much more difficult situation than you let on," Lucius responded, leaning forward in his seat. Hermione thought about what he said, he was able to provide a place for me to stay my first night here and he could possibly prove very useful in the future.

"Fine, I am going to leave town soon and I need a place to stay for a few nights, at least until the elections," Hermione relented.

"I knew there was a hidden meaning behind that cute request of yours," Lucius smiled and leaned back in his chair. Hermione felt sick anytime Lucius made a flirty comment toward her, knowing him for who he is in the present time.

"Will you stop that?" Hermione criticized.

"Will you stop that?" Lucius mimicked in a high squeaky voice. "I don't see myself doing anything wrong."

"Nevermind," Hermione grumbled, "do you have a place that I could stay for the next two nights?"

"I could let you stay in one of the many spare rooms in the Manor, but so far I've been awfully generous to you," Lucius said, rubbing the end of his staff, "I think that I should get something in return for lending you a room."

"What exactly do you have in mind?" Hermione asked, scared of what bargain he had conjured up.

"If you accompany me to the gala tonight, here in the Malfoy Manor, I will let you stay two nights." Lucius proposed. Hermione opened her mouth to object his proposal, but Lucius cut in before she could say anything. "So is it a deal?" Lucius asked, stretching his hand out for Hermione to shake.

"Yes, I'll do it," Hermione finally responded and reached to shake his hand, "before I shake your hand, we need to set a few ground rules." Hermione retreated her hand and met eye contact with Lucius. "You cannot visit my room unless I invite you, or you knock and I allow you in."

"Is that all?" Lucius asked unamused.

"No. If we are going to make this arrangement work, I need to make some things clear." Hermione stated. She was aware that Lucius had taken a liking to her, and that was the last thing she had wanted to happen. So these rules were to prevent him from further interacting with her than required, which was gonna be difficult living in the same house.

"Tonight for the gala, you will treat me as a colleague, not as your date, and I will be choosing what I wear to the gala."

"Considering that you chose to wear that this morning," Lucius said, referencing Hermione's faded jeans and gray sweater, "I think you might need a bit of help choosing an outfit."

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "Well certainly not from you!" She crossed her arms and held out a finger, "I have one last rule." Lucius rolled his eyes. "I would not like any house elves waiting on me."

Lucius quirked an eyebrow and sat up in his seat, "That's ridiculous! That's their entire life's purpose! And they don't even do a good job at that."

Hermione bit her lip to prevent herself from spitting back something that could get her thrown out. Lucius must've believed she was a pureblood, and that was one of the reasons he was being so generous towards her.

"I only allow my own house elves to wait on me," Hermione expressed, "any other is not worth my time." Hermione hoped that Lucius would buy her lie. She was relieved when he didn't rebuke and question her further.

"That's all the rules," Lucius announced, "let me find you a room."

With that, Lucius left the chair and exited the room. Hermione waited in the Library until he would return.