Hermione followed the elder Malfoy.
His movements were brisk and at times she had to jog to keep pace. She noticed several gaps between the arrays of family portraits that lined the walls. She figured Lucius removed them as not to offend his ancestors' delicate blood sensibilities.
He stopped abruptly, and Hermione almost crashed into his dark green, velvet clad back. He turned and gestured toward the door in front of them.
"I had the house elves prepare the East wing for you and your daughter's arrival. I trust it is to your satisfaction," he said giving a slight bow of his head.
Lucius slowly opened the door to reveal what looked like a penthouse apartment. Hermione stepped inside and took in the opulence before her. She noted Lucius' stiff posture and his hard expression. She felt a strange urge to apologize.
She began tentatively, "sir?"
He looked at her; he seemed annoyed but she continued.
"This is too grand. Do you have something smaller? I mean it's just Michela and myself, and the baby won't need much room." He noted she seemed nervous, anxious. Those were traits he found unflattering in a woman and foreign to the one standing before him.
"Nonsense, there's no such thing as too grand. A young woman of your…status," he lingered on the word, "must be kept in the finest accommodations. You are the wife of our lord; the same courtesies will always be extended to you and your daughter, of course."
She sighed and rolled her eyes. 'Of course,' she thought to herself.
He bowed and began to walk away when his name being called stopped him just as he reached the door.
"Mr. Malfoy, I understand you don't want someone like me and my child sullying your ancestral home. I apologize for any inconvenience. I know this is not what you wanted and it must be uncomfortable for you."
He sighed and spoke without turning to face her.
"Lucius, please," he sighed. Her calling him by his surname made him seem so old. Strangely, he did not want to seem old, especially not to this woman.
"There is no need to apologize Ms. Granger," he paused waiting for her to correct the use of her maiden name, but continued when she remained silent. "You, like myself, are a prisoner of circumstance although our cages are quite different but our warden is one in the same."
She stared at his back. The use of her maiden name and his statement surprised her. He turned facing her.
"What? No wise words or phrases of encouragement for me Ms. Granger? According to Draco, you always had some noble Gryffindor wisdom to impart on your classmates."
He noted the way her eyes dulled as a shadow passed over her face at the mention of her once carefree younger years.
"Ms. Granger doesn't exist. I don't know who that girl is anymore." She turned walking to the large bay window. She became lost in her thoughts and was unaware that Lucius had come to stand a few feet behind her.
"She's still there Ms. Granger albeit the lioness is only sleeping momentarily."
"I am afraid you are wrong. I am a coward; I was too afraid to die along with Harry and Ron. I chose the easy way out."
He could hear the tears in her voice.
Lucius closed in the distance between them his breath now hot on her neck.
"You chose to live and fight another day in your own way. Your friends died a hero's death but how quickly do we forget about heroes, Ms. Granger? Speaking of your two friends, how often do you think about them whilst lying in their killer's arms?"
She whipped around tears hot and sticking her cheeks.
"You son of a bitch. You know nothing." She hissed through clenched teeth.
He ignored the insult and continued, "since you decided to stroll down memory lane, what about Ms. Lovegood? When is the last time you inquired after her well-being? You know she spoke about you often."
She looked down at the floor shame began to squeeze her and she wrapped her arms around her torso in an attempt to comfort herself.
"Ah, I see. Maybe the late Ms. Lovegood was not a priority in your life such as Mrs. Snape. I never thought you one to play favorites." He shook his head disapprovingly.
Hermione looked up at him; she was on the verge of a breakdown.
"Luna?"
"Well, you see Ms. Granger, your dearly departed friend decided to take a sharped hairpin to her wrists one late night. My guest room was ruined as you can imagine it was quite the mess to clean up."
She lunged at him but he caught her easily and pinned her to the wall. She tore at him like a wild animal but he only tightened his hold on her.
"Face it Ms. Granger you are no victim. I hate that you are walking around touting yourself as such. You chose to adapt and survive. Only the strong survive," he delivered his words deliberately and without emotion. She gave up and by the time he released her, his words had sunk in and she had stopped moving altogether.
His words had stung because they were true. She could have rebelled that night instead she lay in the Dark Lord's arms; she had chosen safety, security and elevation. She needed Lucius to leave she needed a moment to ground herself.
"I shall leave you now Ms. Granger to stand in the glaring sun of your truth. I will go retrieve your things and daughter from the castle as well as give the Dark Lord an update on your progress." He turned on his heels and with the click of the door he was gone.
He briskly walked the hall and took the stairs two at a time until he reached his first floor study. He didn't know why he gave him such pleasure to bait the young woman. But Lucius knew he was lying to himself, it irritated him the way she had carried on as an unwillingly participate for so long, the helpless victim.
He snatched the decanter off the side table and poured himself a healthy glass of whiskey. He closed his eyes as the warmth of the liquid spread throughout his body. The way Hermione had lunged at him so wild and abandoned caused a heat to flare within him that could not be explained away by the whiskey. His cocked twitch as it sprang to life pressing uncomfortably against his trousers.
He sighed and headed toward his bedroom to take a shower he didn't need to see the Dark Lord with a hard on.
Voldemort laughed stroking the long blond hair of Narcissa Malfoy. His follower's wife proved to be a calmer bedmate than her sister and a more experienced lover than his wife.
Narcissa continued to listen to the story giving girlish laughter when the time called for it as well as asking the appropriate questions. Nothing too invasive but deep enough to show she was interested.
The story was rather boring and she had to suppress the urge to sigh. She didn't envy the mudblood nor was she in the slightest jealous. Her being in the Dark Lord's bed, no doubt the same one he bedded the mudblood in every night, was Narcissa's backup plan when things went awry for her husband.
If the many nights he came home shaking from the after effects of the cruciartius curse was any indication of his standing, then Narcissa could tell it was on a downward trajectory. Being the Dark Lord's mistress was her contingency plan.
The Dark Lord grew stiff beside her and Narcissa sat up wondering whether she had said something to offend him.
He sat up as well.
"Should I leave?" she asked quietly clutching the sheet to her bare chest.
"No, wait here," he stroked her arm with his slender index finger, "it appears I am being called and by your husband."
Narcissa froze.
"You have nothing to fear, Narcissa." She relaxed slightly.
"What if he finds out? I should probably head home, Hermione will return soon I suppose." She said quietly.
He chuckled, "don't concern yourself with either of them. It doesn't matter whether Lucius knows or not, just know no harm shall come to you and as for Hermione I have made arrangements for her. She as well as Michela will be under your husband's and sister's care until I determine otherwise."
He rose and put on the dark red silk bathrobe lying at the foot of the bed.
He walked around to her side of the bed. Taking her chin gently in his hand, he placed a chaste kiss on her lips, "so, no interruptions." He smiled baring his teeth. He stood once again.
"You will stay and we will have dinner."
"Yes, my lord," she smiled seductively. He smirked before turning and leaving Narcissa alone in the large bed.
She laughed before falling back into the silk sheets.
Ginny paced back and forth in the alley, the hood of the weathered cloak pulled halfway down her face. She couldn't risk being recognized. Her husband's loyalties remained in her opinion unclear but what wasn't up for debate was that he was out for his well-being. Severus was, in Ginny's opinion, a chameleon a true slytherin at heart. She was just unsure of how far he would go for her in the event that she got caught.
She clutched her wand, Fleur was late, the Frenchwoman was never late. She began to worry that the tall slender witch had thought better and decided to stay hidden. She was after all on the Dark Lord's wanted listed as a prominent member of the Resistance.
Ginny heard rapid footsteps and whipped around as a stunner hit her square in the chest.
Ginny sat in the living room of the small lake front castle she shared with her husband and children. Although she was seething, she was too nervous to say anything. In fact, ever since they had left the Ministry Severus had refused to speak to her.
Severus continued to pace every so often he would stop and look at her before he continued. He was angry.
Ginny couldn't bear the silence any longer.
"Please, say something to me," she pleaded her hands folded in her lap.
He stopped and spun around to look at her.
"What is there to say, Ginevra? That you were foolish, stupid to take such a risk!"
He came closer looking down at her; his lips turned slightly upward in disgust. He quirked his eyebrow upward, "answer me," he hissed.
She sighed trying to keep her anger at bay. Her lashing out at Severus would only make the situation worse. She took a deep breath calm herself.
"I was out buying things for the children and all of a sudden I'm attacked by one of those snatcher people and you are angry with me!" she tried to sound affronted, like a great injustice had been committed against her. From the look on Severus' face she knew her act had failed.
This seemed to anger him further as he grabbed a picture off the mantle of the fireplace and threw it against the wall.
She jumped; she had never seen the raven haired man so angry.
"I will not tolerate your lies. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you were waiting for someone from the ill-conceived Resistance to arrive and for your sake you are lucky that the snatcher that brought you in was an idiot. Had it been Fenrir or one of the beasts from his group you would be dead."
Ginny froze and her eyes bucked in horror.
He smirked, "you know Ginevra, if you are going to play spy you should get better at hiding your emotions and closing your mind."
She stood, "I won't listen to this, you know nothing." She moved to walk around him.
He grabbed her and pulled her flush against his body; she struggled to get away.
"You are still a foolish, impulsive, stupid child that is under this illusion that the Resistance is going to avenge your beloved Potter."
She stopped struggling at the mention of Harry.
Obsidian orbs met sea green ones. Tears threaten to spill over and she clenched her jar willing her body not to betray her emotions.
He looked at her disgusted, "after all this time?" It was a question that needed no response.
The silence grew heavy and the air stale. Severus finally spoke.
"I will not allow your ill-prepared plans and attempts at double agent threaten my children," he abruptly released her and she stumbled, "what you did was foolish. If this gets back to the Dark Lord and if there are suspicions, any doubts about my alliance the Dark Lord will have all of our heads. I will not, hear me Ginevra when I say this, I will not risk the lives of our children because you wish to atone the love of a dead boy!"
"You will stop this nonsense, you will give up this death wish or else I will turn you in to the Dark Lord myself. "
She couldn't help but let his words hurt her; they cut deep. "You are a cold-hearted bastard! You would turn in the mother of your children?" She didn't try to mask the hurt in her voice.
His shoulders dropped, "if it means protecting them then yes," he sighed before sitting down in the chair by the window.
"Why does everything I love keep getting taken away from me?" he asked more to himself than her.
She approached him slowly, and kneeled beside him.
"Severus, please forgive me," she placed her hand on his thigh, "you're right it was stupid of me. I haven't been thinking."
He sighed and continued to stare out the window.
"I didn't think of the danger I was putting you and the kids in. I have just been reacting."
He looked down at her, "you know this has to stop. It is becoming too dangerous now. He has spies that have possibly infiltrated the Resistance."
"So, you will help us?" she sounded hopeful. A part of him wanted to say yes, to please her, to give her a reason to believe in him.
"No…" she opened her mouth to protest, "but I won't do anything to hinder your efforts. But I cannot stress enough that you be careful."
He saw the light ignite in her eyes.
"Teach me then, how to…spy."
He chuckled, it sounded foreign coming from the usually stern man.
"It's not something you teach. To become an effective spy one needs to be in control of their emotions and be able to hide them well."
"Is that how you survived?"
He looked to the side of her, "yes, among other things."