Epilogue

A/N: Enormous thanks again to my extraordinary betas, DreamyDragon and Persevero. Their help was priceless.

Disclaimer: All characters (and capitalized verbs) belong to J. K. Rowling. I make no profit from this tale.

Hermione awoke, sweating profusely, from a dream in which she'd been hired to transfigure seventeen black, Peruvian jaguars to camouflage them while they were on holiday in the Sahara. 'S'hot,' she mumbled, nudging Severus in what might have been his kidney.

'Effing Cooling Charms,' he muttered, groping for his wand.

Hermione shivered as a blissful wave of Arctic air swirled through the bedroom. She reached down and grabbed the covers she'd kicked off during her slumber and burrowed in between her companions. Sleeping next to one man was like having a furnace in bed. Sleeping between two was rather like holding a barbecue in the fiery centre of a volcano.

She'd nearly drifted back to sleep when she felt Lucius's fingers tracing her hip. 'Stop it. 'm sleeping.'

Lucius responded with a trail of kisses down her neck. Her elbow connected with his navel. 'Go. Away.'

Severus snorted into his pillow. 'You know what he's like when he wakes up in the mood. Why even bother resisting?'

'Because I'm bloody tired, sore, and decidedly not in the mood.' She raised her head, looking over Severus's shoulder. 'The sun's not even fully risen.' She could practically feel Lucius's smirk boring through the back of her head. She grabbed a pillow and shoved it over her head.

She was utterly drained from the previous night's activities. They'd had their first date in public with accompanying media fanfare. By the time they'd left the restaurant, the street outside was swarming with reporters and curious spectators. They'd given a statement and a photo-op that had most women in the crowd swooning. Then they'd returned to the manor for a gold medal routine of sexual gymnastics...floor exercises to be specific. Over. Under. In. Out. Beneath. Between. Behind. Particularly behind. Really, they had exhausted all prepositions, positions, and permutations by the end of the night. She grumbled at the thought of moving any body parts in the next ten days. Mercifully, her wizards let her drift back to sleep.

She next awakened to the sensation of lips on both her nipple and the back of her neck, fingers ghosting across her thighs, and the bodies of her lovers pressed against her. Their legs were tangled, and she could feel the weight of their erections against her. She opened her eyes to find Severus's dark head at her breast. A glance at the clock showed it was after eight, a far more reasonable time than whatever ungodly hour it had been earlier. It helped, too, that she wasn't roasting and had managed at least six hours of sleep. She stroked Severus's hair appreciatively, arching her back to encourage his efforts.

'About bloody time you woke up,' Severus grouched as he lifted his mouth then blew a breath across her skin. He then sucked her nipple forcefully into his mouth, and she moaned at the sharp, abrupt sensation. He fumbled at the bedside table, finally retrieving a phial of potion and tipping it to her lips. Oh, thank Nimue, Severus's special blend of pain relief and muscle relaxant.

Lucius shifted slightly behind her, and she felt his cock slide in between her legs. She rocked against him, thrilling when she heard him gasp.

'Mmmmm, so eager.'

'Yes, well, the two of you must have been hard at work this...ooh,' she broke off as he clutched her hip and slipped inside her.

'Quite. You're lucky you woke up. Any longer and we might have just had to start without you,' Lucius drawled.

She turned her head to glare at him. Once, just once, he had begun intercourse while she was still asleep. Lucius had learned the hard way that Hermione's Auror reflexes and surprise morning sex were a nearly lethal combination. 'One would think you'd have learned better.'

'I rather value having my limbs intact, thank you. I meant that Severus and I would have begun enjoying one another without you.'

She clenched at the thought of waking to such a sight.

Lucius moaned. 'Oh, fuck. You like that idea, do you?'

Whatever she might have said in reply was stifled as Severus scooted up the bed, abandoning her breasts and kissing his way up her neck to her mouth. Both she and Lucius gasped as Severus's cock rubbed against both his partners.

Severus rocked against them, timing his movements with that of his tongue. Oh, he was clever. So very, very clever. Her lovers had become quite adept at orchestrating tandem performances and quickly worked out tempo and choreography so a chorus of moans punctuated each beat. Hers were just starting to crescendo when she abruptly found herself lying in the middle of the bed alone.

'We'll be back in a moment, Hermione,' Lucius mumbled.

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes, determined to relax in preparation for whatever they were planning. She had felt Lucius reach over to caress Severus. They seemed to have worked out a code of sorts, so they could simultaneously execute some manoeuvre or other. She suspected they thought themselves ingenious, but really it infuriated rather than impressed her. First, because she loathed being excluded from any conversation that involved her and secondly, because well, she did not like surprises...even when they involved being suddenly flipped over and shagged into oblivion.

They were still very much working the knots out of their fledgling relationship. The three of them had rather, erm, challenging personalities at times, and it had taken several dinners before they began to relax in one another's company. Hermione and Severus both had struggled to shed the defensive stubbornness they wore like second skins. Lucius and Severus had relinquished the more grating of their Slytherin tendencies when it became apparent that Hermione usually cottoned on and did not take kindly to their little schemes. Hermione and Lucius had learned to quell any inclination to tease Severus. Instead, they took their impishness out on one another; their self-confidence could tolerate the taunts.

In short, the three had learned to trust one another.

Hermione was immensely thankful that she'd kept her copy of Cultural Foundations and Traditions of Wizarding Triad Relationships. Severus and Lucius had been quite resistant to its guidance at the beginning of their relationship. She'd worked in some of the recommended discussion points easily enough, but they'd flat out refused to look at the book's guidance on positioning and physical preparations. They had bristled at the insinuation that their vast...well, in Lucius's case, at least...experience in single-partner coupling wouldn't provide them with adequate experience. Their first time, to say the least, had not been magical. They'd had to stop when Lucius accidentally blackened Severus's eye with his elbow, and Hermione had somehow managed to pull a groin muscle.

Thank Merlin that Lucius had insisted the trio spend an excruciating amount of time outside the bedroom, growing accustomed to one another's temperaments. Had the near-disastrous coupling occurred earlier, she suspected one or more of them would have erupted in anger, ending the fun before it even began.

Instead, they'd agreed on a short recess in festivities while Severus procured phials of Bruise Paste and Muscle Healing Ointment and Lucius had recovered the text. The two men had then alternated between reading the text aloud and applying rather more doses of the Muscle Healing Ointment than might have been necessary. Hermione had been fairly certain that oral stimulation of areas surrounding the pulled muscle had also not been part of the instructions for use, though she'd wisely held her tongue on the matter.

Yes, they certainly still had things to work out. Like this stupid secret hand gesture business. She cast her momentary flash of anger aside. She'd wangle their little language of gestures out of them at some point. After all, it wasn't as if Lucius and Severus didn't show her every courtesy during such occasions, usually leading her to orgasm so many times that she more than lost count; she forgot the meaning of numbers entirely. Still, she did need to bring up the annoyance, sometime when they weren't...Oh my gods! What on earth is Lucius doing with his tongue? Or is that Severus?

She revelled in the sensation, her dimmed arousal returning with a rush. Presumably, she had moaned at his efforts; she felt his answering laugh reverberate across a number of rather excited portions of her anatomy. Yes, definitely Lucius. Wait a moment. Severus was in front of her and Lucius behind her, just as before. They hadn't even switched positions? What was that little bit of abandonment about? She was just about to ask what was going on when she heard the sound of a cork popping out of a phial. There hadn't been one on the table earlier. Quite odd, really. It wasn't like Severus not to be prepared in advance.

Lucius tugged at her hips and rolled her over to face him. His fingers toyed with her breast, teasing the surrounding skin and then plucking the nipple. 'Hermione, you looked delectable spread out across the bed.' His lips captured hers, and their tongues slid across one another. She reached down to stroke him.

She basked in his attentions for several moments before she guided Lucius onto his back, rising above him to conveniently position her breasts near his mouth. Propping himself on his elbows, he sucked a nipple in between his lips. Pleasure coursed through her. She couldn't tolerate waiting any longer and sank down upon him. Severus would undoubtedly catch up. Groaning, Lucius lay back on the bed, his hips moving slowly against hers.

She heard a clinking noise from the direction of the bedside table. She gasped as she felt Severus's fingers pressing against her and then caressing Lucius on an upstroke, reminding her of a conversation they'd had over breakfast earlier in the week. Without looking, she knew what potion sat beside the bed. Severus must have finished that lubricant Lucius had mentioned all those weeks ago, the one with the Snake's Head Fritillary. Both men were exceedingly proud of the concoction, pleased beyond measure that they'd found something to enhance their pleasures that hadn't come from Cultural Foundations and Traditions of Wizarding Triad Relationships.

All three groaned as the product of Severus's labour tingled as it warmed. She admitted to herself that her lovers might have been right to fuss over the blasted lubricant. Oh, yes, this was quite worth the hours of harvesting the disgusting flowers and listening to Lucius and Severus ramble on about fritillary species and sub-species over breakfast.

Lucius moaned against her, interrupting the kisses that he'd been delivering to her shoulder and neck. 'Severus, I don't think I ever thanked you for that particular text.'

Severus continued to move slowly, drawing out each stroke until she could hardly bear it. 'You're welcome, Lucius. I'm rather pleased with the turn of events myself. Who knew Muggle internet delivery would move Lucius Malfoy into such a momentous sequence of events?'

'Severus, Lucius, loves of my life, I never thought I would say this, but could you please shut up about that book?' Hermione ground out, just as Lucius tilted his hips, ensuring that soon the book would be furthest from her mind. Behind her, Severus snorted. She turned to glare at him.

'Oh, come now, Hermione. You must admit it was amusing,' Lucius murmured, reaching up to stroke her breast.

'I would like to come now, thank you. You two scampered off and left me earlier!' Whoops. She'd rather meant to leave that discussion until later. After the sex, preferably.

'I apologise, Hermione. The potion had some rather delicate timing right at the end. I suppose we ought to have explained when we first awakened you. I promise we shall make it up to you,' Severus explained, pausing for a moment and clutching her to him. 'I'm sorry.'

As Severus let go, Lucius pulled her down for a kiss. 'And I as well.'

She smiled against Lucius's kiss. 'Oh, all right then. Perhaps we can recommence with the making it up to me?' she asked, wiggling between them.

Severus let out a hiss of breath and began the rhythm he had abandoned earlier, his movements driving Hermione against Lucius. Lucius continued stroking her breasts, sending her pleasure even higher.

His words punctuated by Severus thrusts, Lucius praised Severus. 'Gods, he's learned a fair bit about topping, hasn't he?'

'Mmm, yes,' Hermione replied. Her arms worn from bearing the weight of Severus's thrusts, she lowered herself against Lucius, sucking his lower lip between hers.

Severus's pace increased again, and Lucius's face disappeared as her eyes fluttered shut. They continued kissing until she cried out as Severus ratcheted the tempo even higher. Moans accompanied each thrust of his hips, and it was not long before Hermione felt both men begin to tense. Oh, thank Nimue! She'd been hoping for a repeat of that one time they'd managed to come together. Finally, she felt the beginnings of her own orgasm and clutched Lucius tightly. Her lips frantically scrabbled at his, and, before long, her senses fell away.

When her thoughts refocused, she was smiling against Lucius's chest, flattened underneath Severus. Grunting, she nudged Severus. Sated, the three rolled off one another and collapsed on the bed, Hermione in the middle once again.

'Thank you again, Severus,' Lucius said wearily, leaning over Hermione to capture Severus's lips between his own. They continued for several moments, a brief flicker of tongue occasionally indicating who had the lead at the moment. Had she not been utterly drained, she'd have tried to talk one of them into seconds of some variety. She loved watching the two men kiss. Even in her foulest moods, seeing them exchange, well, affection of any sort usually sent her desire skyrocketing. Now, her heart warmed at the sight.

Hermione smiled as she watched. Exhausted, the two men finally broke apart and flopped back on the bed, bodies curled against her.

'So, Severus, when did you finish the potion?'

'About nine o'clock this morning. Damned thing had to cool for thirty-six hours, then simmer for five minutes.'

Ah, that explained the intermission. 'That eager to try it, were you? I cannot believe you two ran out in the middle of sex and left me here.'

Severus had the good grace to look embarrassed.

Lucius snorted. 'He claimed concern that the potion might lose its efficacy over time.'

'Oh? And how many trials will you require to test this hypothesis?'

'Dozens.'

'Well, I'm glad Lucius's reading bore fruit. Severus, did I ever tell you who Lucius thought had sent the packages?' Hermione asked groggily, unsure as to why the image of Lucius, pacing frantically in his study had suddenly come to mind.

Lucius made vague noises of protest that were muffled entirely by the pillow.

'I'm almost afraid to ask,' Severus said to her right shoulder.

'Some tribe of Amazons in South America.' She giggled, despite her fatigue.

Severus's chuckle shook the bed.

'Ah, yes. Have a laugh at the Pure-blood's expense,' Lucius said wryly.

'Lucius?' Hermione asked.

'What, Hermione?' he inquired.

'You never did tell me what Severus sent in those other packages.'

Lucius snorted into the pillow before rolling over. 'Severus sent an assortment of items associated with my personal interests and hobbies.'

Hermione poked him in the side. 'Such as?'

'A wine aerator.'

'And?'

'Something called a gardening multi-tool.'

'And? Merlin, Lucius, this is like pulling teeth!'

Severus mumbled, 'And you would know.'

Sighing, Lucius replied, 'He sent me a number of leather implements which I shall proceed to test upon your bottom if you continue with such impertinent questions.'

'Lucius!' she squawked.

The bed rumbled as Severus laughed. 'He's only teasing, Hermione. I'm sure Lucius would much rather you try them out on him.'

Lucius grunted in agreement and began softly snoring moments later. Hermione lay awake for a moment, listening to Lucius's gentle snores and the soft puffs of breath that heralded Severus's departure to the land of dreams. Despite everyone's peculiarities, including scampering off mid-tryst to recover a potion, their arrangement was turning out rather nicely, seemingly approaching something of a long-term arrangement.

Leaning over Severus, she grabbed her wand from the bedside table and cast another round of Cooling Charms before settling back in between her lovers and closing her eyes.

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who has read and reviewed!

Below are the fantastic prompts from Shiv5468 that inspired this story:

2.Someone is making death threats against Lucius. Hermione is sent along by the Ministry to investigate partly because they don't think she'll try too hard, and partly because everyone thinks of her as a bookworm with no practical skills rather forgetting her contribution in the war. Hermione kicks bottom, Lucius is impressed, hot sexxors ensue.

4. Hermione doesn't know pureblood customs. Lucius does. This leads to problems. And sex, of course.