4

A/N: This was written for the first ever LM/HG exchange for Shiv5468. My undying thanks to betas of dreams DreamyDragon and Persevero for some extremely spectacular work under the duress of constant hunger from food porn. Kudos as well to BlueParis for advice on hand-to-hand combat. Prompts will be listed after the last chapter.

Disclaimer: Characters and world are the property of J.K. Rowling. No money made here.

The Snake's Head Fritillary

Chapter 4

Hermione stared at the bed, her eyes glazed over. The afternoon's conversation had overcompensated for her lack of notes from the morning. Her brain had not felt so fuzzy since her N.E.W.T.s.

Her empty gaze drifted over to the bathroom door. Lucius had opted for showering prior to dinner. Not a bad idea. A deluge of water to cleanse away the deluge of information. She rubbed the heels of her hands against her eyes and stood from the desk, taking advantage of Lucius's absence to pace the room.

Following their lunch, she had asked Lucius if there were any Death Eaters who might seek revenge because the Malfoys had recanted their beliefs under Veritaserum during their trial and then escaped further prosecution. Lucius had requested parchment and immediately jotted down an exhaustive list of all major and minor Death Eaters. Once Lucius had crafted the initial list, it had taken them the better part of three hours to pick through it in detail.

She had been neither astounded nor impressed by Lucius's encyclopaedic knowledge. His cunning was legendary, after all, and one could hardly be cunning without having a thorough understanding of one's compatriots and adversaries. She did allow herself the slightest bit of admiration for the speed with which he recalled and volunteered the information, some of which was both personal and painful.

There had been surprises here and there during the interview. An official from the Ministry who'd somehow evaded trial and been promoted several times in recent years. The woman who had disappeared shortly before the Battle of Hogwarts only to resurface two years later teaching at Durmstrang. The sheer number of individuals still unaccounted for.

But, perhaps the biggest shocks had come after they'd hashed through the list of minor individuals and stopped for tea. Whereas they'd skipped over deceased minor Death Eaters unless they had kin likely to pursue revenge on Lucius, they covered all of the major Death Eaters in great detail. Though there had been unexpected humour in his account...the humour one could only find years after such evil was cold in the ground...his commentary had naturally been chilling. She still shivered at Lucius's descriptions of Dolohov and McNair.

But it had been Lucius's accounts of Bellatrix Lestrange and Severus Snape, which had been the most unsettling, though for quite different reasons. She'd never really considered the impact Bellatrix would have had on her in-laws. Oh, sure, the Grangers had a "crazy" uncle that she joked with her parents about...one had to be quite particular about seating arrangements at Christmas...but having Bellatrix around constantly, blaming Lucius and his incarceration for all her recent misfortunes, had threatened to tear the family to shreds. Lucius had shared countless anecdotes of her madness; it was no wonder Narcissa feared for her own mind. Hermione tried not to remember what Lucius had recounted or the flood of her own memories that had come rushing back. She would review the notes if need be. If it weren't absurdly dangerous, she might consider asking the room to deliver some Dreamless Sleep. With luck, the nightmares wouldn't come until they'd made their escape.

The sound of the shower stopped, and she quit her circuit of the room to resume her spot at her desk. She deliberately shifted her thoughts to the afternoon's other surprise. The affection with which Lucius had spoken of Severus Snape warmed her. She regretted not having known the man as a colleague rather than a teacher. Lucius had clearly considered the man one of his few friends. He'd harboured doubts about the man's loyalties but had kept them a well-guarded secret and had been as shocked as the rest of the world when Severus had killed Dumbledore.

Lucius had clearly mourned the loss of his friend deeply, most particularly since it had been Lucius who had passed along Voldemort's summons to the Shrieking Shack,. He'd also never had the opportunity to speak to Snape privately to thank him for interceding on Draco's behalf, albeit against his will. She wondered if Lucius had any friends to fill the gap left by both Snape and Narcissa. It was worrisome that he would be returning to the solitude of the manor when this ordeal ended. She snorted to herself. Their imprisonment had likely been the most social contact Lucius had had in months. And with her. Lucky Lucius.

She was straightening her parchments when Lucius emerged from the bathroom, plaiting his hair.

'I am absolutely famished,' he declared and smiled when the table filled with food once again.

Hermione seated herself at the table, her brow furrowed.

'Is something troubling you, Hermione?' Lucius asked as he uncorked a bottle of wine.

He offered her a glass, but she shook her head, opting instead for spiced pumpkin juice. Her tongue was notoriously loose when plied with wine, and she couldn't take such a risk, given that their abductors...or Lucius, for that matter...could take advantage.

She surveyed the meal in front of her, trying to decide how to phrase her concern. 'It's a bit alarming that you've settled in so quickly. I would have expected you to be a bit more suspicious of our situation.'

Lucius seemed disturbed at considering this. With his forehead creased in worry, he sliced a spear of asparagus and dredged it through the cream sauce. 'Something about this place seems familiar to me. I'm quite certain I've not been here before. I wouldn't go so far as to say that this room is welcoming me, but it certainly seems to have tolerated my demands well.'

Her frown increased. 'It seems unlikely that anyone meaning you harm would treat you so well.' She nibbled at her aubergine parmigiana. 'Although, it's entirely possible they're trying to lull us into a false sense of security. Or perhaps treating you well so you'll be more apt to meet their demands.'

Her sigh of frustration nearly extinguished the candles lighting the table. She glared at them. Fortunately, the other sources of illumination, the candle on her desk and the wall sconces they'd requested, remained lit. Otherwise, she might have thought the room was trying to set the mood. She glanced at their two beds to make sure they'd not been Transfigured into one. 'I just wish I had at least an inkling of an idea who has captured us. Then I could understand their intentions.'

Lucius tipped his glass in her direction. 'I'm sure things will be clearer after you've had some time to think through our discussion today.'

They ate for several moments in silence. Hermione considered that if they were stuck here for long, and if the room continued to deliver food this good, she might need to ask the room for larger trousers.

Lucius interrupted her thoughts, 'Today has gone rather differently than I might have imagined.'

Hermione nearly snorted pumpkin juice at the understatement. She nodded to Lucius. 'I'll admit I had thought the same. I appreciate the ease with which you've shared some rather sensitive information. I'd expected you to be far more reticent.'

'And I'm quite surprised you listened so attentively. Based on my son's description of your personality,' Lucius smirked, 'I'd have expected an endless barrage of questions. You're far more delightful than his accounts intimated. Why, you've listened with fascination, even as I droned on about Narcissa. You've laughed at all my jokes. You should be careful, or you might make a man think you're interested in pursuing an acquaintance outside of captivity.'

Hermione spluttered before she caught the gleam in Lucius's eyes and realised his deliberate tease. She sidestepped his trap. 'And you should realise you're far more charming when you aren't trying to be.'

His meal finished, he placed his cutlery on his plate. 'Yes, but then how would I weed out the twits? Only the vapid ones twitter and flutter their lashes at my exaggerated flirtation.'

She blinked. 'Lucius, you hardly leave your house.'

'Ministry functions, my dear. There's always a gaggle of empty-headed beauties at Ministry functions. Sometimes I wonder if they special order them for the occasion.'

She chuckled as she sopped up the last of the sauce with her bread. She might have found his comment misogynistic, if it weren't true. She and Ginny usually managed a good whingeing or two about the brainless eye-candy that proliferated at Ministry events.

No sooner had she finished her meal than an enormous slice of hazelnut-chocolate torte appeared in front of her, complete with doily and a delicate dusting of powdered sugar. She stared at it, wondering how she would manage to eat even a quarter of the dessert.

Lucius's plate was empty, dessert apparently omitted from his menu. 'This portion is considerably larger than what I would normally eat. You're welcome to take half of it.'

'That is quite generous, and I'd be happy to share with you. Would you care for an after-dinner drink, Hermione? A glass of Sciacchetra would suit quite well with the hazelnut torte.'

Hermione blinked away visions of them feeding one another forkfuls of the divine looking dessert. The alcohol, yes, the alcohol. She should object to the alcohol. 'I hardly think it's appropriate to indulge in our current situation. Our captors could walk through that door at any moment!'

'Oh, come now. I doubt one little after-dinner drink will put us at a disadvantage. Besides, if they were angling to surprise us, they'd have popped in while you were asleep last night.' Lucius continued, 'Despite our amicable interview session earlier, I'm certain you're as tense as I am. Neither one of us will sleep tonight in our present state.' He paused a moment before needling her further. 'I'll take the first watch and allow you to sleep.'

She recognised the signs of a man who would persist until he'd won his way. Years spent in Ron's company had at least taught her that. And Lucius showed all the signs of having heels firmly planted in the ground. Sighing, Hermione agreed, and Lucius ordered the room to deliver a bottle of Sciacchetra. She batted away a flicker of disappointment when Lucius requested an additional plate and bisected the wedge of torte with a knife.

She took a bite of the torte and closed her eyes. Oh, this was good. Very, very good. She tried to recall if she'd ever had a dessert so sumptuous. A happy sigh escaped as she savoured it. The corners of her mouth turned up involuntarily. Forget finding a way out of this prison. With food like this, she never wanted to leave.

She opened her eyes to find Lucius entirely immobile, watching her as if his life depended on finding every freckle and mole. For a moment, she stilled, observing their surroundings and wondering if he'd been paralysed by their captors. Then she saw him blink and comprehension dawned. Lucius Malfoy was staring at her rather blankly. She swallowed the torte. This was... irregular, to say the least.

When her fork dipped to scoop up another bite of torte, Lucius seemed to shake off his daze and began eating. Conversation about the taste, texture, and quality of the dessert and accompanying wine passed between them before they slipped into a comfortable silence.

Full from dinner, plied with wine, and exhausted from the day's events, Hermione yawned as she set down her fork. 'You were right about the wine relaxing me. I think I could drop off to sleep right now!'

Lucius smiled. 'By all means, go ahead. I did promise you I would take the first watch.'

She dabbed her mouth with the napkin, trodded off to the bathroom to brush her teeth, crawled into bed, and immediately fell asleep without noticing that Lucius's gaze followed her every moment she was in his sight.