Feeling an ex Death Eater poke around her brain was never on her bucket list, but Hermione was out of options. Out of time. Yes, she gave them a temporary solution, but without knowing the whole story, she was stuck putting out fires.

This was uncharted territory for her. There were no books about Occlumency in the library, and the little she knew came from Harry's encounters with Voldemort. But unlike he described, Lucius's entrance wasn't painful, but uncomfortable, like a pebble in your shoe or the sound of a dripping tap. So, with gritted teeth, she let the wizard skirt the boundaries of her mind, not pushing inside, but not trying to leave either. They were standing in an endless expanse of space, with her notes and to-do lists floating around them in a literary storm.

"I shall let you set the scene, Miss. I would like to avoid any accusations of dabbling with the greatest mind of our time," he said, picking up a note from the whirlwind. It was the one Luna gave her about Wrackspurts. She could tell immediately by the detailed drawing on its back, and the sardonic smile that twisted the wizard's mouth as soon as he read it.

She marched up to him, picking the note from his hand. "How would you like us to proceed?" she asked, throwing the paper back with the others.

He arched an eyebrow. "I am but an observer. How should I know?"

She sighed in annoyance.

"You should know because you've been doing this for decades," she said.

"Yet despite my experience, I have never encountered a mind such as yours before." He gestured at a flock of books flying through the sky, flipping their covers like wings. "One so full, yet so empty."

She would've taken offence in that if not for the curious look on his face. There was clearly some hidden meaning in his words, but Hermione was too tired to even try to understand it. So instead, she focused on that day with Professor Hyde, as Harry told her. First, she could only hear the woman's voice, but soon the emptiness took the form of the office, the books and papers turning into the three witches.

"... the Malfoy heir could not get a single acceptable on any of his papers this year…" Hyde's words flowed around them, and Lucius stepped closer, probably committing her face to memory. "... he will be getting very familiar with his father's old cell in Azkaban next summer… your talents are wasted on these deviants... have to let them rot."

Each sentence cut a new wrinkle between Lucius's brows.

"This happened last Friday," Hermione added. "In the Headmistress's office. She was careful not to be heard by Minerva, though. I think she saw me as her ally."

"I see." Lucius contemplated her words."Tell me, does the dear professor still share these delightful thoughts with you?"

She shook her head. "Considering the next thing I did was to drag your son out of the Great Hall and into Muggle London, I think she realized her mistake by now."

Lucius looked disappointed but said nothing else, and it was driving Hermione mad. Waiting for her O.W.L. results was less stressful than this. Does he finally believe her now? It can't be just a coincidence that a ministry appointed teacher wants to fail Draco and a ministry raid mishap nearly locked his dad up for good?

"No." Lucius intercepted the thoughts she apparently said out loud. "Let this be your first lesson about the old families. There is no such thing as a coincidence. Not with Arithmancy and Divination at our disposal."

"Arithmancy?" she faltered.

It was one of her favourite fields of study, right after Transfiguration. It was so well-defined, and measurable, like nothing else in the wizarding world. With the right formulae, money and time, she could even predict the future, and to a scary degree. But who would waste so many resources just to lock two wizards up? That was insane.

"It's not so unbelievable as you may think. However, you are asking the wrong question. We need to seek the beneficiary of this act, not the culprit," Lucius corrected her spoken thoughts once again. With each passing minute she felt weariness creep up on her, and this verbosity was no doubt a side-effect.

"Who would benefit from locking you up?" she asked, but he just smirked.

"Who would not? Two more Death Eaters brought to justice. I'm certain we would even make the front page of the Prophet."

Hermione's heart sunk as she imagined Draco behind bars, printed in detail for all to see. Her resolve redoubled, and she straightened her back. "I will not allow that."

He simply raised his eyebrow.

"Look, I know we had our differences, but I am trying to bloody help you, and Merlin knows I will," she said in the same tone McGonagall liked to use for rowdy sixth years.

He gave her a dry laugh. "Oh, and pray tell, why? Why are you trying to help me? Why do you even care? I'm certain my wife's support is more than enough to reach your ambitions. I think the two of you get along quite well."

The ungrateful, untrusting snake part of Lucius reared its head again. As for her, the lioness part wanted to punch him while screaming 'I am not your enemy' in his face, and her newly found mother hen part kept shaking a newspaper titled 'Devious Draco Detained' with increasing urgency.

Neither were particularly helpful.

Before she could cook up an appropriate answer, however, the scenery changed: walls shifting to cobblestone, windows turning dark, the room illuminated only by a single floating flame. It took a good moment for her to assess the scenery. When she recognized the quidditch memorabilia, she froze up.

This cannot be happening.

"Stop it! We're not supposed to be here!" she shouted at Lucius, hiding somewhere in the dark.

"I am afraid I cannot. You are the one in control." The man's nonchalance only stoked the Fiendfyre in her cheeks.

She felt like a victim in a horror movie as she slowly turned to watch Draco tuck her into a tight cocoon. Sweet Morgana, his hands were everywhere as the cover kept slipping, and she felt mortified.

"How do I… stop it?"

Lucius sauntered towards the flame - and the couch - studying their faces for a bit before turning to her. "Why? I highly doubt you want him to stop," he said.

She was about to tackle the man to at least keep him from watching, but at the last moment, she saw his eyes twinkle mischievously. She looked again. Yes, it was mischief. Not anger, or disgust, or hatred. It was like-

"You knew?!"

He scoffed. "The boy was pining for you ever since that little incident a couple of years ago. And even if I wasn't aware of that, he isn't exactly subtle about his… affections."

She could only stare in shock for a moment before questions filled her mind about the whole damn evening. Lucius knew. That meant Narcissa knew. That meant-

It was at this point that the Legilimens could not handle it any longer, and they both fell through the shattered floor of her memory, with only a single, confused scream to accompany them.

She just sat there for a bit, shaking. Draco's worried words never making it to her mind. She closed her eyes, letting her head and body fall backwards onto her wizard, then pulling his arms around her, revelling in their warmth. This day… it was just too much.

"Please share with us what you saw, darling." Judging by her voice, Narcissa was getting impatient. Thankfully, the question wasn't aimed at her. Not like she had the strength to answer, anyway.

"It is exactly as Hermione said. Professor Hyde declared quite succinctly her wish to see our son fail this class and suffer the consequences." Lucius was out of breath too but stayed much more collected than her.

"Lu…"

"Do not worry, dear. I will solve this promptly."

This statement made Hermione open her eyes, and focus on the old wizard.

"No," she croaked, earning herself a cocked brow. "We will solve this."

At any other time, she would've described this as a momentous event, but now she just watched silently as the wizard measured her up one last time, then slowly nodded.

"As you wish, Hermione."

A/N: Fun(?) fact: This was supposed to be the end of Chapter 20 based on my notes! So the 60 chapter goal is probably a bit miscalculated too... Anyway, I will follow the story beats, and we'll see where we end up.

I now prefer this more detailed writing style, and if time allows, I want to go back and rewrite some of the earlier chapters to match it.

Love,

LydieBerry