Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Lucius chuckled softly. "You may not have heard me correctly, but I have nothing. I am under house arrest, only here because I was needed for the research mission."

Severus leaned forward. "Oh, but you do have something I want. You have access to the Order."

"True, but you will have no way to communicate with me. As you can imagine, they keep me at their headquarters, and I will be leaving this afternoon, so this is the last you will see of me."

"There's no chance of you returning?"

Lucius laughed. "Very doubtful. You see, for the most part, they don't have a lot of trust in me. What is it you want?"

"I have information that I have to get to the Order."

Lucius did a good job hiding his surprise. "Ah, feeding them false information. Of course, you do realize they have vilified you and would not trust any of the information you deliver."

"Let's not play games anymore. I know that you have abandoned the Dark Lord."

"We thought the same thing about you, you know," Lucius replied calmly, not wanting to give away too much information.

"We are more alike than you think. Even though he is dead, I remain loyal to Dumbledore."

"Interesting that you claim to remain loyal to a man you killed." Lucius wondered where this was going. He had no idea whether or not Severus was telling the truth. He knew that Severus was a survivor and may just be doing the same thing he was doing, playing both sides to remain alive.

Severus grimaced. "We have your wife to thank for that." He considered his words carefully. He knew the real reason Narcissa had wasted away and wasn't sure Lucius was ready to hear the truth. "After your imprisonment, to say the Dark Lord was upset would be a vast understatement. He had ordered you not to go on the mission to retrieve the prophecy. You were far too valuable to risk needlessly. Instead, you thought you would gain the glory of delivering the prophecy, and you ended up captured. Since he couldn't reach you, he took out his anger on Draco. Not even a week had passed before he called Draco to him and forced the boy to take the Mark. He then gave Draco an impossible task. The Dark Lord's plan was not just to kill Draco, but to disgrace him, and the Malfoy name, in the process.

"Narcissa was naturally distraught when Draco told her what he had been tasked to do. She came begging to me to watch out for him. I was a fool and allowed her to extract an Unbreakable Vow from me. I paid for my error. She made me vow to carry out the task if Draco was going to fail.

"Had I anticipated that, I would not have agreed to the Vow. I knew that nothing would save Draco, unless by some stroke of luck he was able to carry out his task. Sadly, he did not trust me and would not confide in me. I believe the Dark Lord gave him instructions to carry out the task himself, and he was afraid to go against his orders, no matter the consequences. It is possible I could have protected him.

"Because of that foolish Vow, I was forced to kill Dumbledore. Of course, the old man knew it was coming. I had informed him of the Vow, not that it mattered much. He was already gravely wounded from destroying one of the Dark Lord's Horcruxes and would not have lasted much longer. The fact that Draco was not the one to kill Dumbledore, and that the Dark Lord lost his spy at Hogwarts, angered our master greatly. You know what happens when he gets angry." Severus paused and tried to gauge Lucius' reaction to the news. Amazingly, Lucius had a neutral expression on his face.

Severus continued, "Fortunately, killing Dumbledore has removed all doubt from everyone's minds as to where my loyalties lay. I have been using my time to uncover the location of the remaining Horcruxes. I have most located and one in my possession. I have been placing clues in the hope that someone from the Order will find them. When the time is right, they will all be destroyed and the Dark Lord will once again be mortal. I need you to deliver word to them when the time is right. You said they don't all trust you, but you at least have Granger, and some of the others, on your side or you wouldn't be here."

Lucius was in shock over what he had heard. "Narcissa made an Unbreakable Vow?"

Severus was not surprised his friend had focused on this one fact. "Yes. The guilt she felt after Draco was executed..."

Lucius closed his eyes to ward off the tears. It had not been grief, but guilt, that had killed his wife. But it had really been his fault. If he had done as the Dark Lord had asked and remained behind, Draco might still be alive.

Severus could see that he was losing Lucius. "Lucius, do not blame yourself. You have seen what type of monster the Dark Lord is. Do you really want to live in a world that he rules?"

Lucius opened his eyes, but focused on nothing. "No."

"Then when the time comes, let them know what I have done." Severus glanced out the window and saw that the sun had risen. "I must go." He handed Lucius a necklace with a simple medallion. "This has a Protean Charm and will let you know when and where."

Lucius barely noticed Severus leaving. What he had learnt about Draco's death weighed heavily on his mind. He knew that he couldn't let it bother him. Not now. He could dwell on it later, but if he let it control him, it would affect his plan to have Hermione. He fastened the necklace and tucked it beneath his shirt.

****************

It was a very quiet morning. Ron didn't really say anything, as he was feeling the effects of the sleeping potion. Hermione was afraid to make eye contact with Lucius for fear she would give something away. After the morning's revelations, Lucius didn't feel much like talking.

Hermione insisted on a few more hours of research before they left. Lucius didn't mind. He knew this might be the last time he was at his home.

While in the library, Hermione would sneak glances at Lucius. She became very concerned that he did not seem to be returning her attention. In fact, he didn't seem to be doing anything other than staring at the book in his hands. She noticed that he wasn't turning the pages. She began to suspect he was having second thoughts about their night together. If only she could get rid of Ron, she could find out what was bothering Lucius.

Now that she was worried she had done something wrong to upset him, she found it harder to concentrate.

Ron saw that she was looking distracted. "Hermione? Is something bothering you?"

"What? Oh, no. Just thinking. I've learned a lot of information the last few days, and I'm trying to figure out how the latest bit of information fits in with that." She noticed that Lucius was finally looking at her. Obviously, the sound of her voice had broken him free of the trance. He smiled weakly at her, and she had no doubt that something was bothering him.

Ron seemed to believe what she had told him and returned his attention to his book.

When Ron excused himself from the room, Hermione immediately turned her attention to Lucius. "What's wrong?"

He tried to force a cheerful smile on his face. After all, he should be happy, his goal was within sight. "Nothing that you need to concern yourself with. I'm just lamenting the fact that we will be leaving today, and there is a chance this may be the last time I see my home." He thought this sounded like a plausible lie.

She was relieved that it was nothing she had done. "Oh, well. I'm sure that you will have enough support that you will be pardoned. After all you've done for us, there's no way they can send you back to Azkaban."

"I really do appreciate your optimism, and I hope that you will not be offended if I don't share it?"

"No, not at all. But I hope you won't mind if I do remain optimistic."

"Not at all." He found that he had finally found a sincere smile. Her youthful innocence could be quite contagious.

Shortly after dinner, Ron insisted it was time to leave. He also insisted in following Lucius.

"What's in the bag?" he asked.

Lucius did his best to remain calm. "I thought that I would bring some clothes. Much of what I have been given is wearing out."

Ron carefully searched the bag. He seemed disappointed that he couldn't find anything. He couldn't think of a valid reason to deny Malfoy clothes. "All right. Let's go."

****************

Mrs. Weasley was the one to answer the door. "Hermione, Ron, so glad to see you made it before the storm rolls in. We're supposed to have some horrible weather tonight. Have you eaten? I can whip something up if you're hungry."

"I'm starved. That would be great, Mum," replied Ron.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione watched Malfoy carry his bag upstairs. "No, I'm fine. We ate before we left. I have some good information I look forward to sharing with everyone tomorrow, but for now, I think I'd like to get some rest."

Molly tried not to sound disappointed that Hermione was refusing food. "Of course, dear. The others are in the drawing room."

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley." She wasn't sure she wanted to be bombarded with questions right now, but knowing it would be rude to go to bed without saying anything to them, she decided to stop by the drawing room and let them know she was back.

When she stood in the door, Ginny saw her first. "Welcome back, Hermione."

Harry and Remus looked up from their game of chess. She was actually surprised to see Harry since he was away so often searching for Horcruxes.

"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed. "We were worried about you. It must have been horrible being stuck with Malfoy."

"It wasn't that bad. He was a perfect gentleman. If you don't believe me, ask Ron."

Harry snorted. "Oh really? I find that hard to believe." As soon as he had found out Hermione was alone with Malfoy, he had insisted that Ron go to ensure her safety. Of course, he and Ron had argued about why she had been allowed to go alone in the first place.

"Believe what you will. I'm going to bed as I've had a lot of long days going through the books. I'll let everyone know what I found tomorrow. I've got some stuff that I think you'll find very useful, Harry. I even brought back a couple of books." As she headed across the hall, she could hear Ginny excuse herself for bed as well. She had expected this.

Ginny bounded into their shared bedroom. "I can't believe you spent five whole days with him."

"I didn't really notice it. I was buried in books most of the time." 'Other than those wonderfully intimate meals.' Hush, she said in an attempt to silence the voice. She had hoped that it would leave her alone now that she had done what it wanted.

"He didn't do anything to you, did he? I mean, I know how he feels about those that aren't purebloods or who are blood traitors."

"I told you, he was the perfect gentleman. He helped me choose which books would be useful, but otherwise left me to my research." She really didn't want to talk about it. That wasn't quite true, she really did want to talk about it, but she knew it wasn't possible. Ginny wouldn't understand, at least not right now.

"He was pleasant?" Ginny could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"Reasonably so. We had a few pleasant chats over meals. Would you believe he didn't say anything disparaging? I think being in prison did something to him, changed him." She decided this was as good an opportunity as any to try to improve his reputation.

"Lucius Malfoy change? Not bloody likely. This is the same man that gave me that diary," Ginny replied sarcastically.

"I don't think he is, Ginny. I know that no one here has really talked to him, but perhaps you should try. He might surprise you."

She looked at Hermione in disbelief. "If he talked to me, that would be enough to surprise me."

By now Hermione was dressed for bed and crawling under the covers. "All I'm saying is we should give him the benefit of the doubt that he is sincere. I'll talk about it in the morning." She yawned, hoping Ginny would leave her alone.

Ginny jumped on the end of Hermione's bed. "Oh, no you don't. I want you to tell me about the manor. Is it really as beautiful as they say?"

"Honestly, Ginny. I really didn't see much of it, just the library, dining room and my bedroom. Well, his bedroom too..."

"What were you doing in his bedroom?" Ginny asked suspiciously.

"Well, I had to check it to make sure he didn't have anything dangerous, didn't I? I couldn't have him getting loose at night, could I?" In reality, the first night was the only night she had magically locked his door, but he hadn't tried to leave on any of the other nights.

"Oh, right. Well, from what you did see?"

Hermione could tell that Ginny wasn't going to leave her be. "It's very extravagant, kind of like a fancy hotel. And it's very old, but it's been well maintained. That's really all I can tell you about it. I spent most of my time in the library, and all the walls there were covered in books, so there wasn't much to look at."

Ginny seemed disappointed. "Right, well, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Ginny." She tried to go to sleep, but lay awake for quite some time wondering when she could be alone with Lucius again. She still had the feeling that something other than leaving his house was bothering him, but they had not had long to talk.

As she finally drifted off to sleep, memories of the previous night kept invading her mind. This was much better than one of Fred and George's fantasies. She moaned softly as she imagined him touching her.

*****************

Given the fact there were Death Eater attacks and other signs of a large impending battle, Christmas was surprisingly normal. Hermione woke to the standard pile of presents at the foot of her bed. Ginny had knitted her a scarf, and Mrs. Weasley had given her standard jumper, this one in a warm brown. Harry gave her a new quill. Not surprisingly, Ron had given her a very unimaginative gift of a box of chocolate. She was slightly disappointed that she hadn't received a gift from Lucius, but then rationalized that there was no way for him to have purchased anything nor was there a way for him to deliver one if he had.

The rest of the day passed like many other Christmases. After breakfast, they met in the drawing room and talked about their gifts. For one day, everyone was trying to be normal.

As the day wore on, she pulled out her notes to discuss her findings with the Order. She ended up making several copies of her notes for the others to study. They had praised her for the information she had found. She had been sure to give Lucius credit for the assistance he had provided. She saw that the older members of the Order seemed more accepting that Lucius had provided his assistance freely. Her schoolmates were still very skeptical.

Hermione noticed that Lucius didn't join them until it was nearly time for dinner. He only briefly met her eyes as he entered the room.

As usual, Mrs. Weasley had outdone herself on Christmas dinner. No one left the table hungry. After dinner, she hurried them upstairs so that she could listen to her Christmas broadcast. Ron and Harry settled in to a game of chess. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat together on the couch. Fred and George found a quiet spot in the corner and began whispering. Bill and Fleur were sitting as far from the Wireless as they could get. Hermione suspected Fleur would rather not be there, but knew how important family was to Bill. Charlie had stopped by for dinner, but had left early to go back to work. The dragonkeepers had only been able to get a few hours apiece off.

"Hey, Hermione, take a look at this," Ginny said as she shoved the latest issue of Witch Weekly at Hermione.

Hermione forced herself to pay attention and forget Lucius, the man she would rather be spending the evening with.

*******************

Lucius stood outside the drawing room, hiding in the shadows, watching the others enjoy themselves. He thought he had gotten used to being alone after his year of confinement to Azkaban, but after having Hermione as a constant companion for more than a week, he found that was not true.

As he watched them, he compared the setting to how his family had celebrated the holidays. While this celebration was more subdued, he found it more meaningful, more personal. There were so many things that he was determined do differently this time. He found he was succumbing to grief and forced himself to turn away. This was not why he had come downstairs; there was something important he had to do.

*******************

It was close to midnight before they all went to bed. Everyone had been surprised that it had been a quiet evening. There had been the general sentiment that the Death Eaters would use Christmas to start a rash of attacks.

Ron had tried to talk to Hermione, but rather than it being anything pleasant, he had just tried to get her tell him that Malfoy had done something wrong. She actually left in a huff at his childish behavior. Even after spending three days at the manor, he insisted that Malfoy had to be up to something devious.

As she slipped into bed, her hand brushed against something. Reaching further under her pillow, she could tell that it was some sort of package. Not wanting Ginny to know about the package, she waited until Ginny was asleep before sneaking into the lavatory. The words 'Happy Christmas' were written on the card. Flipping the card over, she saw those were the only words, but she recognized Lucius' handwriting.

Quietly, she untied the ribbon and opened the box. Wrapped in tissue paper was a small book that looked very old, though well preserved. Carefully, she opened the book and examined the pages. The pages were filled with ancient runes. Some of it was magic, but most of it looked to be some sort of history. This gift was far too extravagant for her to accept.

Knowing that Lucius liked to read in the drawing room, she pulled on her dressing gown and slipped out of her room, the book still clutched in her hand, hoping that he would be there. She could tell the fire was still burning in the fireplace and at least one of the lamps was lit. Lucius was indeed sitting in the chair reading. "Did you leave a gift under my pillow?" she asked.

He looked up from his book. "Ah, Hermione. I had not expected to see you this evening. I thought everyone had gone to bed. Though, I am not one to complain. As for the gift, it seemed the best way to deliver it. I had hoped to give it to you in person, before we left, but Mr. Weasley's arrival changed that."

She tried to hand the book back. "I can't accept this. It's far too much. This book must be hundreds of years old."

He put his hand over hers, forcing her to hold the book. "It is and it has done nothing but decorate shelves for most of its life. I would much prefer it to be in the hands of someone who might actually read it. Besides, if the Ministry decides to confiscate my property, who knows where it will end up? I feel better knowing that at least one of my books will be appreciated properly."

She could feel the heat rising on her cheeks where he touched her. "Well, thank you." She tried not to act embarrassed, but this was the most thoughtful gift anyone had given her. "I feel bad that I don't have anything to give you in return."

"Gifts are not given with expectation of receiving one in return. Your happiness is enough for me." He was pleased that she liked the gift.

She pulled out her wand and locked the door. Once the room was secure, she gave him a passionate kiss. "Thank you again for such a wonderful gift."

"You're quite welcome. While I'm almost positive everyone is asleep, I don't think you should stay long."

"I want to be with you again," she replied as she nuzzled against him.

"I know, my dear. So do I. But if we were caught, I would find myself back in Azkaban rather quickly. And you don't want that, do you?"

"No," she replied sheepishly. She had only been thinking of her desires, not the effect it might have on his freedom. She gave him one last kiss and then unlocked the door.

He watched her leave and was pleased with her response to the gift. He was presenting her exactly what she thought she wanted in a man. Now, all he had to do was figure out a way to be with her before she returned to Hogwarts.

**************

Hermione was still giddy about the book. She had perused it briefly upon returning to her room, but didn't want to answer any questions about where she got it. Since it was not about Dark Magic, there would have been no justification for her bringing it from the manor.

When she went down to the kitchen for breakfast, she tried not to blush when she saw Lucius. He had his hair pulled back, but a few stray locks had worked their way loose, and she found this incredibly attractive. He casually brushed up against her as she was putting the eggs on her plate, causing her to drop the spoon.

She found the only seats available at the table faced the stove. After taking her seat, she forced herself to look down at her plate. She wasn't sure she could handle seeing him. She was sneaking a glance at him cleaning the dishes and accidentally knocked her glass over.

Ron jumped up before the juice spilled into his lap. "Watch out, Hermione!"

She pulled out her wand and cleaned up the mess. "Sorry."

"Honestly, you're worse than Tonks this morning," he rebuked.

"I said I'm sorry." She quickly finished her breakfast and was in a hurry to leave, when she tripped over a chair leg and fell against Lucius.

"Be careful, Miss Granger. You don't want to hurt yourself," he replied smoothly and released her once he was sure she was steady on her feet. He took her plate and glass from her hands. "Allow me."

She nearly ran out of the room, not wanting the others to see how badly she was blushing.

"What did you do to her?" Ron asked tersely, sure that he had done something to cause her to rush out of the room.

"Nothing, Mr. Weasley. I have no explanation for her reaction." Actually, I do have an explanation, but not one that I will give you.

Ron watched Malfoy suspiciously while he ate the rest of his breakfast and tried to determine why Hermione was acting so odd.

Finally, Harry nudged him. "Come one, let's go."

A part of Lucius liked the fact that the two of them didn't trust him, but he knew he had to find a way to earn their trust. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure how to do that. If he acted too nice, they would think he was up to something. If he was not nice enough, they would think he was insincere. He sighed. Thankfully, Hermione was on his side.

******************

Hermione found that she kept having problems with her dexterity when Lucius was around. She couldn't help but feel nervous around him, fearful that her friends would discover how she really felt about him.

Ginny noticed that Hermione was acting odd and decided to pull her off to the side. "Hermione, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Ginny."

"Then what's with the attack of the clumsies? Ron's right, you are worse than Tonks." She saw the look on Hermione's face. "Oh, it's Ron, isn't it?"

"Ginny!" She couldn't believe that Ginny would talk about her brother like that.

"Don't worry about it. The first time is a little awkward, but it gets better."

"He's your brother," Hermione replied in a harsh whisper.

"So? That doesn't matter to me. You two are good for each other."

Hermione doubted that. She knew that she could be a good influence on Ron, but the more time they had spent together, the more she had realized they would be nothing more than friends. "Oh, I don't know."

Ginny placed a reassuring hand on Hermione. "Don't judge by your first time. Really, it does get better. I know it was pretty awkward for me and Dean the first time."

Hermione was shocked. "You and Dean?"

"Yeah, I thought you knew? Anyway, it really does get better. You just need to give it time."

Hermione's mind was processing this new turn of events. It could be used to her advantage. "You won't tell him about this, will you?"

"Of course not. I think the last thing Ron wants is his little sister talking to him about sex. I don't think he's even brought it up with Fred and George, not that I can blame him considering how poorly they keep secrets."

"Thanks, Ginny. We'll see how it goes. You know how he can be."

Ginny laughed. "Yeah, I sure do. I think it's just grand that you two are getting back together." She gave Hermione a hug before leaving.

Hermione almost laughed out loud at this turn of events. Ginny had come up with the perfect assumption, one that made her more at ease. Ginny was probably the only one perceptive enough to notice anything different.

A/N: Yes, the plot thickens. I'm really trying to post updates every couple of days, but I'm trying to work on new chapters of various fics in between, so sometimes updates come a little slower than I would like.

I know, the anti-Ron fan club is rooting for me to do something awful to him. I can't say anything about that. :)