Chapter 5

Severus appeared in the front hall of their home. The first thing he noted was the silence. He quietly walked into the sitting room to find Hermione asleep on the sofa and Alex on the floor playing with his toys. "Alex," he said in a low voice, so as not to awaken his wife.

Alex turned, his smile lighting up his face at the sight of his father. "Da!" he yelled.

"Shhhh," said Severus. "Not so loud, we don't want to wake Mum up, do we?"

Alex shook his head.

He walked over to the child and kneeled down next to him. "Let's surprise Mum and make dinner for her," he said as he lifted the child into his arms and carried him to the kitchen.

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It was in that stage between wakefulness and sleep when she noticed an enticing aroma, her stomach rumbled, urging her to wake up and go find where that wonderful smell was coming from. Her muscles, however, were protesting; she hadn't meant to fall asleep on the sofa. Now, her back was going to make her pay for it. She opened her eyes and noticed the sun was low in the sky. Merlin, how long did I sleep? she thought as she eased herself up and rubbed her eyes. Oh, my, where's Alex? Her mind had registered the child was no longer in the room with her. "Alex," she called out, "where are you?"

"We're in the kitchen."

"Syl," she said, rising up and walking to the kitchen. "What in the world are you doing?"

She entered the flat's galley kitchen to find Alex putting a mixture of lettuce into a bowl and Severus levitating a pot of hot noodles to the sink, the pot tipping over and emptying its contents into a strainer. A pot on the stove was being stirred, and a fresh loaf of what smelled like garlic bread was in the process of being cut into thick slices.

"Mmm, smells delicious!" she said as she approached Severus and put her arms around him. "You should have woken me up when you came home."

He returned her embrace and kissed her forehead. "You were sleeping so peacefully that I didn't want to disturb you. I thought it would be a nice surprise for Alex and me to make dinner for you."

"It is a nice surprise, thank you," she said, kissing his cheek and turning to her son. "And this salad looks so good! Did you do this all by yourself?"

"Yup! Da said I big boy now and I can cook salid!"

"I can't wait to try it! Thank you," she said as she kissed her son's cheek. "Anything I can do?"

"No. Why don't you go freshen up; dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

"We wizeds fix the food! Right, Da?"

Later, while the dishes washed and the leftovers headed for the icebox, one little wizard was given his nightly bath and put to bed, leaving his parents some time to themselves.

Severus poured them each a glass of wine. He handed one to Hermione, who was sitting at one end of the sofa, her legs tucked up under her. He settled next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder. "How are you feeling?" he asked, trying to gently work up to the subject of Lucius Malfoy.

"Better, now that you're here." Her head leaned down to rest on his shoulder. "I thought you said she took an oath not to tell him."

He took a long sip of his wine before answering. "Straight to it then... very well. She did make a wizard's oath, and she did not break it."

"Then how did he know about..."

"I believe the former Mrs Malfoy arranged for him to accidentally on purpose be where it was most convenient for him to discover the facts for himself.

"You have a set routine, my dear, from which you rarely deviate. It wouldn't take much time for someone to learn when or where you'll be on any given day."

Hermione had never thought her penchant for schedules and routine would one day be used against her. "What else happened?"

He pulled her closer to him as he spoke. "I gave my secretary the rest of the day off, summarily dismissed Narcissa and locked myself and Lucius in my office."

She was curious, but still afraid to hear what transpired. Time to shore up that Gryffindor courage, girl. "What did he say?"

"First he wanted to know what the bloody hell I was doing alive when all these years he believed me dead. I gave him the short version. I really didn't want to get into what occurred when you, Potter and Weasley showed yourselves. As for the rest..." He paused to gather his thoughts. "He is, or was at the time, still in a bit of shock. First seeing Alex and then finding out that I was very much alive seemed to throw him off-kilter. And believe me, it takes a lot to shake up Lucius Malfoy."

"What did he have to say about Alex?"

Placing his fingers under her chin, he lifted her head so they were face to face. "He'd like a place in his son's life, but I think before any decision about that is made, the three of us need to meet. I believe that both of you need to come to terms with the events of that night and bring some closure. Perhaps then you both can leave it in the past."

She didn't want to cry anymore, but she felt the tears start to well up. "I know what I'm about to say may sound immature, but I wish things could go back to the way they were two months ago... before she saw us and stuck her nose in where it didn't belong."

He maneuvered her onto his lap, holding her close. "I know, love, but we don't have a Time-Turner. Do you ever regret my finding you in that pub?"

She maneuvered herself so she could straddle his legs to face him. "Never! Next to Alex, you are the best thing that ever happened to me."

His hand caressed her cheek as he closed the distance between them, and he kissed her. Their passion quickly flared, and soon articles of clothing were finding their way to the floor. "Bedroom... now," said Severus as he held on to her and stood up. He had no need to see where he was going as he kissed and suckled her neck. Fuck Lucius, he can wait until morning for an owl, he thought, using his foot to shut the door.

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Lucius awoke to the sun shining through the Irish lace curtains that hung from the bedroom window. He hadn't expected to sleep in the master bedroom with Narcissa, but he was quite miffed about being given a guest room. One would think that after twenty-five years together, I'd be considered more than a guest! He wasn't feeling up to par this day, not after the restless night he had just spent. The old nightmares had begun to creep back, and he had awoken several times during the night in a cold sweat.

He sat up, wiping the sleep from his eyes. "Elf," he called out. No elf had heeded his call. "Damnable creatures," he grumbled. "Just because I'm no longer their master... what the bloody hell was that elf's name again," he said to the air around him. "Boppy... Hobby... Floppy... Merlin, why do we give those creatures such idiotic names!"

"We's wonder sometime too, sir," said a small voice.

Lucius looked to his left and saw the little elf standing next to his bed, wearing the usual white tea towel embroidered with the Malfoy crest.

"What is your name?"

"I is called Hoppy, sir. You's need something?" the elf said, as it bowed to Lucius.

"Yes, tea... I do hope you remember how I take it, and have there been any owls for me?"

"Hoppy remember, used-to-be-master, and no, sir, no owls yet today." The elf snapped his fingers, and Lucius' tea appeared floating on a sliver tray next to the elf. Hoppy took hold of the tray and carefully placed it on the bed. "Does former master wish anything else?"

"Not right now. If an owl comes addressed to me, bring it up directly."

"Yes, sir," said the little elf and, with a bow, was gone.

After his tea and a shower, Lucius was feeling a bit more human as he made his way downstairs for breakfast. He found Cissy as he had yesterday: in her private dining room still in her silk dressing robe, tea and toast set on the table before her. "Good morning," he said as he took the seat opposite her. "Sleep well?"

Narcissa observed her former mate as he sat looking as regal as always. Only the bloodshot eyes gave away the fact that he didn't have a restful night. "Yes, I slept relatively well. You, on the other hand, look as if you didn't sleep a wink."

"Thank you so much for stating the obvious," he said, pouring his tea as his usual breakfast appeared on the table before him. "All of 'this' has brought back... memories I'd thought were long gone."

She reached over and touched his hand that rested next to his teacup. "I'm sorry; perhaps I made the wrong decision to bring you here to discover..."

Lucius placed his other hand on top of hers, patting it lightly. "No, you were right to do as you did, and I understand now why you had gone about it the way you did."

"I think part of it is due to my nervousness in meeting her face to face after all these years. How does one apologize for raping someone... for taking away something that can only be given once... for unknowingly impregnating someone and then not being there to help her through it all?"

"You didn't have a choice, Lucius. She knows that."

"I know, Cissy, I know, but it doesn't make it any easier to live with." He extracted his hand from hers and rose from the table. "I'm going to take a walk in the garden."

Narcissa watched as he left the room, his head down, shoulders slumped, and she silently cursed the soul of Tom Riddle.

Lucius walked the grounds of the villa, wishing he were back in Wiltshire; he found the gardens there much more peaceful... and where he wouldn't have to face the woman he violated years ago. You're a damn coward, he said to himself. You can face a Dark Lord, Azkaban, survive two wars, make million Galleon deals without breaking a sweat, and yet the thought of facing a little woman is enough make you want to run and hide.

Narcissa was watching from the window, wishing there was something she could do or say to help him. There was only one thing that she could do though: be there for him after what was sure to be an emotionally draining encounter for both parties. She was about to go upstairs to prepare for the day when she caught sight of an owl in the distance. She held her breath as she watched it fly straight to Lucius. It circled him once before landing on the back of a bench. She observed as he took the roll of parchment from its leg and the owl bob its head before taking off.

He hadn't noticed the owl before it flew around him and alit on the nearby bench. "I take it you have something for me," he said. The owl held out its leg, a small roll of parchment attached to it. Untying the string that held it to the owl's leg, he took hold of the letter he'd been waiting for and dreading over. The owl bobbed its head as if thanking him and flew off. He wasn't sure how long he stood there just looking at the piece of parchment in his hand before he finally broke the seal that held it together. "Enough of this, Lucius. It's time to sort out and settle the past and move on to the future," he said as he unrolled the letter and read it.

Lucius,

SS