Chapter 4

Chapter 4

She watched the eagle owl fly away from her window. Lucius was home, and she knew she would have to face her fears. It was just a building. The building had not hurt her. It had been that lunatic Bellatrix, who was dead.

Holding onto those thoughts, she Disapparated. Surprisingly she found Lucius waiting for her at the gate. "Thank you for coming," he said warmly. "Are you ready?"

She nodded. "I think so." Muttering quietly to herself, she said, "It's a building. It's a building."

"What's that, my dear?" asked Lucius.

"Nothing. Just talking to myself." She half expected him to criticize her for that, but he remained silent, instead offering her his arm.

Entering the house, Hermione noticed it looked nothing like it had that night, much to her relief. And Lucius led her deep into the manor, away from the rooms she had been in last time.

They worked late into the night, taking meals in the office and Hermione decided not to make an issue of the house-elves. She heard the clock on the mantle strike one. "Goodness! Is it that late?"

"I'm afraid so, but I believe it has been worth it. I think we have a good product line," he said as he stretched out in his chair.

"I do, too. It seems that my time in Australia was useful after all." While she had been there, she had indulged in the study of some of the Australian flora, and this evening she had realized that some of it would be useful in beauty products. "It'll be expensive starting it up, though."

"Not much more than any other business. I have a Potions lab here where you can start work. There is more than enough room on the estate to set up greenhouses. We will have to import materials until we can grow them ourselves, which will incur a significant expense by using the international Floo, but nothing too outrageous. Since you have contacts in Australia, it would be fitting for you to set up our supply chain there. I will take care of the permits. But we can work out the details tomorrow after we've gotten some rest. Let me show you to your room."

"My room?" she asked, completely surprised by the idea of staying in the manor.

"It is late enough and you are tired enough that I don't want to risk you Apparating home. Splinching is a rather unpleasant experience. And there is no shortage of room here."

"I suppose you have a good point." Once again, he offered her his arm and smiled warmly at her. The change in him was remarkable. In the two weeks they had been working together, he had been the perfect gentleman and had shown her the utmost respect. It was as though he was a completely different man – one whom she felt attracted to rather than repulsed by. But that was silly. He was far too old for her. He would never be attracted to her. He was handsome, still wealthy, from a respectable family and could probably have any witch he wanted. She was plain, young enough to be his daughter and a nobody. It was time to push those thoughts out of her mind as a juvenile fantasy.

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The next morning Lucius left early to go to the Ministry to secure the needed permits to import both plant material and seed stock. He would then go to a builder to have the greenhouses designed. While he was gone, Hermione tried to brainstorm names for the company. Lucius had insisted it would be best to use her name since it had recognition in the wizarding world. It felt a little dishonest, but she knew that he was right.

She paced and muttered to herself, "Granger's Grooming. Sounds more like it's for pets than people. Hermione's Hair Care. Too specific. Granger's Great Looks. Not specific enough – it could be a salon with that name." She screamed and cursed her name. If she could have used his name, she could have come up with several decent name candidates. "Think, Hermione. You're bright, the brightest witch of your age. How hard can naming a business be? Obviously a lot harder than you think."

She started wandering around the house, seeing if anything in it could give her some inspiration. A house-elf popping from nowhere in front of her made her jump out of her skin. "Mr. Malfoy is waiting for you in the office," it squeaked before vanishing.

When she entered the room, he beamed at her. "We have our permits, work will begin on the greenhouses by the end of the week and I have secured some financing," he beamed.

"That's wonderful news." She gave him a warm embrace, aware of the muscles beneath his clothes and recalling what Ginny had said about his chest. Forcing that thought away, she added, "Now all we need is a name."

He released her. "You haven't come up with anything?" he asked gently.

A part of her missed his touch, but she noticed that he had not rejected her affection. "Nothing that's any good for our business. If we were going to be dog groomers, I have the perfect name," she replied sarcastically. Once again she started pacing.

Lucius gently stopped her as she walked by him. "Have I not taught you that relaxing is the best way to think?" He slipped behind her and massaged her shoulders again. "Just think of words that begin with 'h' and 'g'."

His skillful hands quickly relieved the tension headache she had felt forming, and she let her mind drift, searching for words. As she was thinking, she had an epiphany and pulled away from him, turning to face him. "Do you have a dictionary?" She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of that before. Books had always been her closest friends.

He turned to the bookshelves. "Here." He handed her a tattered tome.

She eagerly turned to the 'h' section and began skimming. "I've got it!" she announced triumphantly. "I don't know why I didn't think of it before. Hermione's Herbals."

He arched an eyebrow. "That has potential, but herbal what? We need to be clear what we are marketing and people may believe we are selling herbs."

Her elation waned. "Oh, right."

After a few moments, he offered, "How about, Hermione's Herbal Beauty? It is specific, yet still has some of the alliteration."

She smiled broadly. "I think that'll work. Though... it's really odd thinking that a shop is going to have my name on it."

He handed her a glass of wine that she hadn't noticed him pouring. "To Hermione's Herbal Beauty," he offered in salute.

She clinked her glass with his. "Hermione's Herbal Beauty." It was really happening. She was getting on with her life. Looking over at Lucius, she said, "Thank you."

He looked confused. "You're welcome, but for what?"

"For giving me the kick in the arse to get on with my life."

"And thank you for putting aside your prejudices and agreeing to work with me."

She felt a little embarrassed by his praise. "You're welcome."

They sat in awkward silence for a few moments. "Now, I believe a celebratory dinner is in order for tonight. Tomorrow you can determine which supplies you need. When you're in Australia, I'll begin getting the shop set up and the marketing."

"Dinner here?" she asked, not entirely sure if that was what he had meant.

"I thought perhaps a nice dinner out, give the house-elves a night off."

"Oh. Er, well..." she said nervously.

He arched an eyebrow and couldn't keep the pain completely out of his voice. "Are you ashamed to be seen with me?"

Placing her hand on his knee, she reassured. "No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just that I don't really have anything to wear to a nice dinner out." She was ashamed to admit that her wardrobe was still very basic. She knew that would have to change, but she had felt guilty about buying clothes with her parents' money.

The smile returned to his face. "You need not worry about that. Narcissa left behind many of her clothes, and I'm sure you could find something suitable. Come." He led her upstairs to what she presumed was the master suite and an enormous closet that was more than half-full with magnificent clothing. "Feel free to help yourself. If anything needs tailoring, Tiggy is an excellent seamstress."

"Oh, but I can't. These clothes are far too nice," she protested.

He placed a finger on her lips to silence her protests. "The first rule of being successful is to look as though you already are. I am afraid that you will have to cease wearing your current wardrobe when doing business. Besides, it is not as though I will be putting them to use."

She found his playful smile infectious and picked up a particularly daring evening gown. "I don't know. I think this blue really brings out your eyes," she said playfully as she held the dress up to him.

He laughed softly and pulled her into his arms. "I think it would look much better on you, but that is perhaps a bit extravagant for tonight. I'll have the clothes moved to your room so that you may go through them at your leisure."

Her room. "Oh. My parents! They must be wondering where I am." She couldn't believe that she had forgotten about them.

"Ah, yes, of course. Will you be staying with them?" He sounded as though he had forgotten about them as well.

She could honestly say that she hadn't thought about it. A part of her drew comfort from her childhood room, but she knew that now that she was moving on with her life, she needed to move out of her parents' house. "I suppose I'll look for a place once we start generating some income."

"Since you will be working here, you are welcome to stay here as long as you like," he offered.

"But what will people think?" she asked.

"Why would people need to know where you are living?"

She had to concede that he had a good point. Both on people not needing to know – she had to admit that her reaction came from having spent close a year in the Muggle world and being exposed to their obsession with celebrity gossip – and that it would make sense for her to live where she was working. "Let me think about it."

"Of course. I'll arrange for dinner at seven, so that should give you plenty of time to visit with your parents." He gave her a small bow before leaving.

Hermione was overwhelmed with emotion. Deciding that she might as well choose a dress first, she started going through the clothes, and she had to admire how beautiful they were. Narcissa definitely had impeccable taste, and Hermione reminded herself these were the cast-offs.

Finally she decided on a lovely emerald green dress, subconsciously selecting it because she thought the green would appeal to Lucius. After trying it on, she knew that it was the one. It made her eyes sparkle and amazingly it fit like a glove. It then occurred to her that she didn't have any shoes. "Tiggy!" she called out.

The elf popped into the closest. "How may Tiggy help, miss?"

"Did Miss Narcissa leave behind any shoes?"

The elf smiled brightly. "Oh, yes, miss! Miss Narcissa left behind many things. Tiggy knows the perfect shoes for that dress." The elf scurried away and returned with a magnificent pair of purple shoes.

Hermione tried to put them on, but found them a little too small.

"No problem, miss. Tiggy will fix it." The elf snapped her fingers and Hermione felt the shoes expand to fit her feet. "Now, miss, there is more."

Hermione watched as the elf began digging through other boxes, emerging covered in jewelry. As the elf worked various pieces of jewelry into her hair and draped various necklaces around her neck, she couldn't help feeling a little bit like a princess.

"There you go, miss. Perfect for a night out," the elf said proudly.

Hermione looked in the mirror and hardly recognized herself. The elf had expertly tamed her hair, bringing out curls Hermione hadn't realized were there. "Thank you," she said breathlessly. She had intended on changing back into her clothes to visit her parents, but she couldn't bring herself to touch anything.

"Tiggy is here to serve," the elf said obsequiously before vanishing.

Checking the clock in the bedroom, Hermione saw that it was late enough that her parents should be home but not too late that she wouldn't have any time with them.

With a quiet pop she Apparated into her bedroom. She could hear her mother call out, "Hermione, is that you?" Her parents had gotten used to her coming and going by Apparition.

"Yeah, Mum. It's me." She left her bedroom and went downstairs.

"Goodness, Hermione. Don't you look lovely," her mother said breathlessly.

"Special occasion?" her father asked, looking up from his newspaper.

She suddenly felt self-conscious. "I guess you could say that. I'm going into business, and my partner and I are going out to dinner to celebrate."

"That's wonderful," her mother said as she pulled Hermione into a congratulatory embrace. "What sort of business?"

"I'm going to take what I learned in Australia to make lotions, salves and such."

"That sounds wonderful," her father said. He eyed her clothes appraisingly. "A little fancy for a celebratory dinner, isn't it?"

"Well, we are going to a rather nice restaurant," she replied evasively.

"Have you found someone?" her mother asked hopefully.

"Maybe. He's a nice man." She realized it sounded almost absurd for her to be saying this about Lucius, a man her father saw insult them and get into a fight with Arthur Weasley. "But right now we are just business partners."

"Do you want it to be something more?" her mother prodded.

"I don't know, Mum. We'll see." And that was the truth. She didn't know. She still wasn't entirely sure this was the real Lucius Malfoy, but if it wasn't, he was carrying out one very convincing act.

She spent the next hour with her parents telling them more about her business and promising to take them to Diagon Alley once the shop was open. They seemed very proud of her.

When Hermione returned to the manor, she found Lucius waiting in the salon for her. "You look... stunning," he said and looked as though he was really seeing her for the first time.

She couldn't help blushing. "Thank you. Tiggy helped a lot."

"Shall we?" he asked as he offered her his arm, clearly intending to Side-Along Apparate her to their destination.

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The dinner was exquisite, one of the best Hermione had ever had. And during dinner she had noticed that Lucius couldn't keep his eyes off her, not that she really minded the attention. He looked quite striking himself in his crisply tailored clothes, nothing like the more casual clothing he had worn while in service to Harry. This look suited him much better.

When dinner was over, he offered her his hand. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"A surprise," he replied, a twinkle in his eyes. "It's nothing dangerous or unseemly."

Deciding to trust him, she took hold of his hand, and he led her back into Muggle London and down a rather non-descript street. She was about to ask him where they were going when they stopped before a formidable door. He discreetly tapped it with his wand, and she could hear the door unlock.

Inside she found a rather decadent club. "I thought perhaps you might enjoy a little dancing," he offered.

She realized he was alluding to more formal dancing and less what young people tended to do. "Oh, yes, but, er, I'm not very good." She had managed her way through the first dance during the Yule Ball, but she was afraid a simple waltz was all she could manage.

"Not to worry. I shall teach you," he offered gallantly.

As he led her into the club, many people greeted Lucius, some more warmly than others, and most of them seemed to be whispering behind their backs.

During their first dance, she pulled close to him and quietly said in a concerned voice, "They're whispering."

"Let them whisper. They always whisper about something," he replied with an air of confidence that indicated he didn't care what others were saying about him.

They danced long into the night, Hermione becoming more confident as the evening progressed. Once they were out in the quiet of the night, she said, "Thank you very much for a wonderful evening."

"It is I who should be thanking you. It has been a long time since I have felt so alive." He patted her hand as it rested on his arm.

She laughed softly. "It seems we have both done the other a favor."

"Indeed." He glanced at her, a smile beaming on his face.

They walked in silence for a few moments. She broke the silence. "It's been a lovely evening, but I really should be getting home."

"Of course," he replied, trying to hide the disappointment. "Allow me to see you home."

She wasn't sure how to turn him down gently since she Apparated straight to her room and didn't need her parents thinking she would make a habit of bringing men home. Besides she also didn't want to ruin the mood of the evening. A part of her knew how easy it would be to return to his manor, but she was afraid of what might happen if she did. "My folks live in a Muggle neighborhood, and there really isn't a good place to Apparate."

He smiled at her, but the smile no longer reached his eyes. "Then I wish you pleasant dreams." He brought her hand to his lips for a kiss.

She placed her free hand on his cheek. "We should do this again... Soon," she said softly.

He straightened up and took a half-step closer to her, the passion back in his eyes. "I agree."

She looked up into his grey eyes, no longer seeing the cold malice that had been present for so long. Tipping her head back, she half closed her eyes, hoping he would kiss her goodnight. He gently brushed his lips against hers, and she placed her hand on his back, letting him know she approved.

When he once again pressed his lips against her, he held and deepened the kiss, gently slipping his tongue between her lips, his fingers lacing into her hair. She eagerly returned the kiss

After they broke the kiss, Hermione found herself breathless. The kiss had been amazing, much better than she had imagined it would be. Quickly she tried to gather her wits about herself. "Er, goodnight, Lucius."

"Goodnight, my dear Hermione. See you in the morning." He brushed her cheek before letting her go.

"Yes, the morning." She walked down the street a short way before Disapparating, wanting to ensure that she didn't Splinch herself.

When she returned home, she danced around her room as she took off the jewelry and wrapped it safely in a scarf for return to Lucius. She was a little sad when it came time to take the dress off as it had made her feel more beautiful than she ever had.

She drifted off to sleep with sweet dreams about how much brighter her future was looking. For the first time since her return, she didn't regret the time she had spent in Australia. It had freed her from Ron and given her the idea for the business she was starting with Lucius. And after that kiss, she knew that she wouldn't mind him becoming more than a business partner.

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A/N: Thank you beta! You are wonderful.