A/N: Longest chapter yet. :)

"Lord Malfoy."

This was the proper greeting for his status, yet it left Hermione with an uncomfortable feeling in her throat.

She stood in the doorway with Draco, waiting to be invited closer to the table, which was at least twice the size of the Weasleys'. Yet, instead of being packed to the brim with delicious dishes, it carried only four sets of tableware. Three at one end, placed at the head and to the sides - no doubt for the Malfoys - and one other, lonely and abandoned at the far end.

"Miss Granger." Lucius's sharp voice reverberated through the room and down her spine like a cold snake.

Hermione hid her hands in the ruffles of her dress, closing her fists into tight balls until her nails pressed painfully into her palm. She was better than to take this man's antagonism to heart. It's not like she expected rainbows and unicorns when she arrived, and she already had her pleasant surprise with Narcissa - flower trouble notwithstanding. She knew better than to assume it would be that smooth with the ex-Death Eater.

She stood quiet and patient as Draco and his father exchanged formal greetings, then Lucius signalled her to sit with an uninterested flick of his hand.

Hermione knew exactly what she was supposed to do. After all, she poured days and days into learning proper pureblood etiquette.

So, yes, she could've just walked to the far side and sat quietly during the whole dinner. Or… well, she was already having trouble bottling up all the nonsense the Malfoys have thrown at her - she glanced at the clearly uncomfortable Draco at her side - maybe… she could have some fun.

Hermione bore her eyes into Lucius's lifeless grey ones and kept them locked there until she reached the chair on his right - that was supposed to be Draco's - and pulled it out for herself, plopping down gracefully.

She saw that telltale squint and prepared herself for the verbal battle.

"A lack of proper table manners is something I expected from your griffin peers, Miss Granger, not you." He raised his head, looking down his nose at her. "Or are you unfamiliar with the subject?"

Huh, insulting her for being an unruly Gryffindor was new. So new in fact Hermione nearly gave in to his bait and came to the others' defence. Thankfully, she caught her words on the tip of her tongue.

Instead of saying what she really wanted, she smiled at him. "I would not consider myself an expert on the subject, but I know enough to say that shouting across a large table would not only be uncouth, but inefficient."

She tried so hard to sound like she wasn't currently wishing him to dark side of the moon, but the tones still dripped through. She was suddenly in the crossfire of every Malfoys' stare, but it didn't bother her. Not too much at least. This was what she had prepared for since last week. She could handle it.

Also, she always wished she could have a debate with a Death Eater, if for nothing else, but to see if they could be persuaded with facts and reason. But that was in the past. Now she just wanted to beat him at his own game.

"And how would you suggest we solve that problem, Miss Granger?" His tone was still icy and unaffected. Damn. One point to him.

"A shrinking charm would probably do the trick," she said. He smugly raised an eyebrow. Oh no.

"I see you have failed to properly research the rules of my parole. Or do you wish for me to be swarmed by Aurors for the sake of your convenience? Not very kind of you, Miss."

Her face reddened. She hadn't the time to read through it yet, as her study schedule has been extremely dense since the start of the Cultural Exchange Club.

"She's been very busy this year Lucius." Narcissa unknowingly echoed her thoughts. "Remember the study group Patricia had mentioned during her visit?" The witch went to her own seat, while calling for a house-elf to move the dishes closer.

Lucius sneered. "If you mean 'mention' as in 'sob uncontrollably about' then yes, I remember. How… nice of Miss Granger to teach the unaware about Muggle customs. It seems like that is the mode nowadays."

Draco slipped into the chair on her right, and surprised her by grabbing her fist under the table, and massaging it slowly until her fingers relaxed and slipped into his.

"Darling…" Narcissa moved closer, laying her hand on Lucius's. It didn't earn her any sort of physical reaction from the man, but he quieted to an alarming degree.

Hermione knew very well that she shouldn't go around poking snakes, but she couldn't help herself. The shock from the tea room revelations is yet to let her common sense return. "No, please, let him say what he wants. I know my plans are not perfect, and I could always use some constructive criticism." She bit her lip. That was a stupid thing to say.

Lucius probably thought so, too. "Criticism? You are one third of the golden trio, Miss Granger. The witch who saved our saviour. I am certain any criticism towards you would be met with quick punishment by the powers that be," he said.

What powers? Did he mean the Wizengamot? Hermione wasn't important enough for that. Sure, the Prophet liked to drag her every move through the mud, but the heads of wizarding law? They probably couldn't pick her out from a crowd.

She had to be shrewd about this if she wanted him to continue. And Merlin forbid, she wanted to.

"Lets make this a deal then. You listen to my critiques and I listen to yours." That was her current best attempt at being a Slytherin, and judging by Lucius's poker face, it didn't quite work as it was supposed to.

"Why would I be interested in your critiques, Miss Granger? Do you think I do not know all the atrocities I have committed? I have not only lived through them but had been forced to relive them quite frequently during this summer. Or is there something they've missed?"

There was a hint of curiosity in his voice, so Hermione latched onto it. "That sounds an awful lot like you're interested in my proposal after all, Lord Malfoy."

He stared at her for some moments before straightening his back and pulling up his façade, giving Hermione a curt nod. He… agreed? Really?

She had thought about this before. Right after she found out her blood status. How it ruined some people and lifted up others. She read a bit about every pureblood family - at least as much as she could find in the Hogwarts library - and had found that the Malfoy's always ended up on the winning side, but never as a ruling family. No, they let all that responsibility fall to others while they enjoyed their lives as the clever advisers. Their businesses were always lucrative, their plans were always wicked, but successful. So what the hell happened to them?

"One." She took a deep breath. "You… have lost every single one of your Slytherin sensibilities when you joined with that ophiophilist. Not only that, but you have failed to notice the glaring holes in his stupid plan, and you failed to capitulate once it has become apparent that he would lose."

She waited for a couple moments, hoping he would explain himself, and how he has fallen so low. But Lucius remained unmoving and silent. The only thing that changed was Draco's grasp on her hand as he gave it a light squeeze. Encouragement? Or maybe a warning? She'll never know. But it led perfectly to her next point.

"Two, you've been a terrible husband and father, letting so much harm come to your family. I would say the worst, but I have the misfortune of knowing Vernon Dursley, so you get a pass on that one."

Narcissa opened her mouth, no doubt to defend him, but Hermione pushed on. "Three, you single-handedly ruined the standing of the old families within the wizarding community. Or, at least you've been a catalyst for many to side with Voldemort and end up either disgraced, incarcerated, insane, or dead, even as you walk free with no consequences."

This was the point that hit closest to home. After writing countless letters to Gringotts to release her father's last will, they still insisted he had no such thing. When she asked them about knowing her identity, they dodged the subject. When she asked to get into the family vaults, they came up with a plethora of laws and rules to delay her.

She was now the daughter of a dead Death Eater, and as such, something to avoid at all costs. Theo told her things would change once they graduated and got full access, but still-

"Anything else, Miss Granger?"

Deep valleys formed between Lucius's brows. It was the first time this day he showed any sort of emotion other than mockery. He looked remorseful. Hermione's heart panged. There were truly no winners in this war.

"A lot, but lets stick to the key points for now." She sighed with resignation. She could not get a single word from him. "So, Lord Malfoy, as per our agreement, I'm expecting a critique of a similar magnitude," she said, pulling her hand from Draco's and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Lucius was hesitant, like he was tiptoeing on a minefield.

"Please?" she added, but it was Narcissa's gentle touch on his face that broke him free from his stasis.

He nodded again, then cleared his throat. "You lack the most basic understanding of wizarding laws and customs, yet try to usher us about like a flock of fools to the way you have decided to be correct," he started, and Hermione had to think very hard about his words.

Was he right? Yes, she lacked understanding, but she was willing to learn. Was it her fault they were unwilling to teach her before? She had some missteps in the past when she assumed things that led to some unfortunate events - like S.P.E.W. - but mostly, she only tried to usher Harry and Ron, and even that wasn't successful all the time.

She had dismissed the thoughts. The man simply didn't know enough to judge her.

Lucius continued, his eyes now flashing. "You assume to know everything, so when you meet a situation that cannot be neatly explained within your black-and-white world, you simply dismiss it instead of looking into the matter further."

Wait, what was he talking about.

Dread filled Hermione. She knew the wizard was a Legilimens, and she'd been looking into his eyes for the brunt of this meeting. Did he read her thoughts?

"What do you mean?" she asked, panicked, but the man did not answer. He was simply staring at her.

"He means his sentencing." Narcissa's answer came from across the table, and for the first time, Lucius looked at his wife.

"No, I will not stay quiet," she murmured just loud enough for her to hear, in answer to her husband's silent warning. "I believe Hermione has been kept in the dark for too long."

"As if telling her will achieve anything," he grumbled.

Narcissa lifted her chin up. "I think it just might."

Hermione flipped her eyes between the two. It was not Legilimency. But then, what was it? She dared to glance at Draco, and he gave her a mysterious look she couldn't quite place.

Thankfully, Narcissa finally put her out of her misery.

"My husband has been sentenced to read one hundred Muggle books, stories or novels by the end of the year, and to keep a reading journal of his thoughts and ideas. If he cannot, he would spend fifteen years in Azkaban." It was Lucius's turn to calm his wife, pulling her hand close and massaging it like Draco had done to her before.

"And?" Hermione said the first thing that came to her mind. A hundred books in a year was nothing to sneeze at, and this would probably deepen his understanding of Muggles. The reading journal could be used to track his progress. No matter how you looked at it, this was a great idea.

So why were they all acting like the world had just ended and we were all waiting for it to suddenly crash and burn?

"How many Muggle books do you think I own, Miss Granger?" Lucius sounded tired, like he had this discussion before. Maybe more than once.

"I don't-"

"Five. And believe me when I say I looked everywhere."

That still made little sense. He could just buy some. Maybe he didn't want to? It would be a strange thing to suddenly be stingy about.

She suddenly remembered that Draco did no know of Muggle money, let alone Muggle bookstores.

Well, that is just petty. Wanting him to read, but not giving him the means. It was such a wonderful opportunity, too. She would've probably sat down with him, making a list of his favourite wizarding books, and found some Muggle ones like those. Then they could've ventured into other genres, maybe even teaching him about basic sciences and history.

She looked at Draco. The next stop on their Sunday adventures will be a bloody bookstore. But until then…

Hermione summoned her beaded bag, digging around for a bit before pulling out her latest find. She hasn't finished it yet, but it's not like Lucius would eat the thing.

"I'll accompany Draco to buy you some. Until then, I can lend you mine-"

Her words were cut short as she felt the magic around her move and attack the book with fervour. As the pages caught on fire, she could only stare.

"What?" she blurted.

Draco quickly snatched the book from her, throwing it to the ground and extinguishing it with a quick Aguamenti. He then carefully took her hand and cleaned off the soot from her fingers, treating the small burns with ease.

Hermione didn't notice any of this though, as her mind was going full speed. Just who had done this? Surely the Ministry wouldn't allow for such a cruel punishment, would it? This had to be against the law. If not the British, then the International…

"Someone has snuck through our wards during an Auror raid and set up a jinx that does not allow any books to be brought into the manor," Draco explained finally, but the words did not make any sense to her.

Did people really hate the Malfoys this much? Was it a power play? Did it matter?

These people… they were burning books! They had all the magic in the world. They could've come up with a spell to steal the incoming books and store them safely somewhere, but no, they defaulted to destruction. In Hermione's black-and-white world, this made them the bad guys. No questions asked.

"We have informed the ministry about this immediately. They are yet to send a curse breaker." Narcissa added quietly.

They're yet to…? It's November! What were those imbeciles doing?

Hermione was seeing red.

"I see you're starting to realize just how dirty your friends play, Miss Granger." Lucius said, the edge in his voice turning into resignation.

She furrowed her brows. "People who burn books are not my friends, Lord Malfoy."

Hermione took a deep breath, chanting in her mind that violence is not the answer, and that she must think of a better way than storming the Ministry and demanding answers. She was not a child anymore. She actually had experience with curse-breaking and anti-jinxes now.

With a heavy heart, she pulled a novel out of the bag, while preparing with her wand in the other. She threw the book to the ground, and as the magic gathered to smite it, she bore into the core of the spell.

For how awful its effects were, it was a beautifully crafted jinx. The creator was probably a master of charms, maybe even conjuration. Still, Hermione had no doubt that she could break this.

The problem was not the how, but the when. It took her multiple weeks of failed attempts to even start her anti-anti-apparition journey, and she knew how to cast the original spell.

Even in the best case, this would take months. She looked at the old snake, who retreated into that emotionless state. Lucius Malfoy did not have months.

Suddenly, a thought jumped into her mind, making her dig through the bag again. Before pulling out this last-ditch attempt, she guarded them all with the best Protego she could cast, and felt Draco do the same right after.

Still in her bag, she ran her fingers down the leather cover and along the stitching. Well, it was at least worth a try.

She quickly dropped it. The wait for the magic to gather and destroy it was nerve racking.

One.

Two.

She counted, and when she reached sixty without as much of a whisper of a jinx, she couldn't help herself but grin stupidly at her befuddled hosts.

Checkmate arseholes.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter and our first meeting with Lucius! Let me know what you think in the comments! ;)

The next update is probably coming on the weekend.

Love,

LydieBerry