Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Lucius fell to the ground as soon as he arrived at his destination. He lay there for several seconds, ensuring that he had not splinched himself. Once he was sure that he had been successful, he rolled over to check Hermione. She was likewise whole, though still unconscious. Knowing they were not far from the Druid temple, he brushed her cheek and whispered, "Hermione, can you hear me? Darling, please, wake up." She moaned softly, and he took this as a good sign. "We have to leave. I need you to come back to me."

"Lucius?" she asked groggily.

He smiled at her, pleased to be looking into her warm brown eyes. "I would never leave you. How do you feel?"

She tried to sit, and only managed it with his assistance. "Weak. What happened?"

"I am not entirely sure. I have a theory, but I would prefer to wait before I share it with you. I'm sure Potter and Weasley will be quite interested. Do you think you can Apparate?"

"I don't think so."

Knowing it was not wise to remain in the open, he made his decision. He knew that he could not Apparate them both to Hogwarts, but they were close enough to Wiltshire that he felt confident he could get to his manor. He helped her to her feet and protectively wrapped his arms around her. "Hold on."

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

Hermione looked around as she recognized the grand foyer of Malfoy's manor. "How?"

"Later, darling. Gupper!" he called as he led her to the receiving room. When the elf arrived, he ordered, "Have tea and sandwiches sent up immediately. You will then go to the Hogwarts main gate and wait for Mr. Weasley. Tell him that I have Miss Granger here, and that he and Mr. Potter are welcome to join us." He could not believe he was saying that, but he knew they would come whether they were welcome or not.

Once he examined her in the light of the receiving room, he saw that she was terribly pale. When the tea arrived, he turned to the house-elf. "Find some Invigorating Draught."

"Master, we is not having any," the elf replied nervously.

"Then go find some," he growled.

"You shouldn't yell at them," she whispered.

"It's for you. You don't look well." He handed her a cup of tea.

"You don't look so good, either," she replied. "What happened?"

"Blood Magic happened. I have not yet had time to dwell on it."

"That girl. That was..." she found she couldn't finish the sentence.

He brushed the tears from her cheeks. Now that his adrenalin was dissipating, he found that his strength went with it. "She is."

"He – he..." She found that she couldn't control the tears.

He set the teacup on the table and wrapped his arms around her. "As I feared, she has become a weapon. When we return to Hogwarts, I will search for a solution in the pages you translated. Perhaps those pages will compliment what I have learned in the rest of the book." He could feel her crying into his shoulder and found that he was having a hard time controlling his emotions. This was not at all what he had anticipated happening when he had decided that she would be his wife.

Weasley and Potter came running into the room. "What are you doing here?" demanded Potter.

"She was too weak to Apparate. I knew that had I tried to take us both to Hogwarts, we would end up splinched. Why so concerned? I sent my house-elf to tell you exactly what had happened." He was frustrated with the level of distrust the two youths continued to show him after he had proven repeatedly that he was trustworthy.

"What did you do to her?" demanded Ron.

"Nothing." He found he did not have the strength to argue. "When you attacked that child, you were attacking our child. The Dark Lord has invoked some sort of Blood Magic. Did you not find it odd that when you hit the child with a Stunner, it had no effect?"

"A little, but she could have blocked it," replied Harry.

Hermione was listening intently.

"She was not blocking the spells. The energy of those spells was dissipated to the two of us. That is why we were both knocked down when you hit the child with a Stunner."

"But that would mean..."

"Very good, Mr. Weasley. While that child is our daughter, I fear that she is not herself anymore. The magic that birthed her likely destroyed her soul. She is a tool of the Dark Lord, and he did everything in his power to safeguard her. Any spell that you attack her with, will harm the two of us. I suspect that if you tried to kill her with magic, the two of us would die. You must inform that Order not to hurt the child."

"Fine. Can you break the connection?" Harry asked.

"I have no idea. Perhaps in the book back at Hogwarts. I have no familiarity with this magic."

Harry looked to Hermione.

She shook her head. "I haven't seen anything on this sort of magic. This isn't the type of thing I normally read about."

"We need to get you back to Hogwarts," Harry said.

"We need time to recover, first. She is in no condition to travel."

Hermione tried to stand. "I can make..." She fell back to the sofa before she could finish her sentence.

"We will return in the morning. You may stay the night." He wanted to carry her up to bed, but he could not trust his strength.

The house-elf returned. "Master, Ippy has found the potion you was asking for." Timidly, the elf held out a bottle.

"What potion is that?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Invigorating Draught. I will take some first to reassure you that it is not poison." He poured some into an empty teacup. Reassured the elf had procured the correct potion, he poured some for Hermione. "Drink this." As he watched her, he could feel his strength returning. Once she finished drinking her dose, he said, "Come. Let me take you upstairs so you can rest."

"I'll take her," Ron said.

Harry raised his wand at Lucius. "Since you're feeling better, I'll lock you in your room."

"Really, Mr. Potter. I have been unsupervised for weeks. If I was going to cause havoc or report back to the Death Eaters, I would have done so. There is no need to be so terse."

"How do I know you haven't tried? You just don't know how to get through the wards at Hogwarts."

He sighed. "As you wish." As they walked upstairs, he said, "You do realize that we are betrothed, don't you? When this is all over we are to be married. I would think that if she trusts me, you would likewise adopt that trust."

Harry spun Malfoy to face him. "Take that back. You aren't marrying Hermione."

"I believe that is her decision. I have provided you with invaluable information, I saved her life, and I have been named a Hogwarts protector. What more do I need to do to earn your trust?"

"Die," Harry replied maliciously.

"How cliché. I assure you, I do not have the Gryffindor trait of noble self sacrifice." He continued on to his room, leaving Potter to follow in his wake.

"Yet you expect us to trust you."

"I will do everything in my power to keep you alive to fulfill the prophecy. My knowledge and my library are at the disposal of the Order. Destroy the Dark Lord. Follow your destiny."

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

Harry burst into Hermione's room. "Tell me you aren't marrying Malfoy!"

"You're what?" asked Ron.

"Harry..." she said gently.

"What sort of potion has he given you?"

"I've already told you that he hasn't given me any potion. I love him for who he is."

"How can you love him? Look how much trouble he's caused for you," argued Harry.

"I'm not going to get into this with the two of you. You are both too pig-headed to see that people can change. It's my life and I'll do what I want."

"But, Hermione, this is Malfoy we're talking about. What could you possibly see in someone like him?" asked Ron.

"Believe it or not, but he's actually a very nice man. He's never treated me harshly, is supportive of my ambitions and is quite romantic."

Ron and Harry looked like they were going to be ill. Harry asked, "Have you considered that he might want something from you?"

"You saw him when I was in the hospital." She had heard from Ginny and Molly how concerned Lucius had been about her. "We love each other and we will get married. Now, if the two of you will leave, I'd like to get some rest. Oh, one of you needs to get to the word out to the others about our child."

Harry and Ron glanced at each other for several seconds before Ron said, "I'll go."

She rolled over, hoping that with her back to the two of them, they would take the hint and leave.

***********

Lucius paced his room. Events of the evening were keeping him awake. First of all, he was still concerned about Hermione. The attack on their daughter had affected her worse than him. The second was his daughter. The Dark Lord had invoked some sort of Blood Magic. He was almost sure they would need her blood to counteract the spell. The third seemed inconsequential, but he was tired of the lack of trust he was shown by Potter and Weasley. He feared that they would be successful in converting Hermione back to their side.

Lying on the bed, he tried to will himself to sleep, but sleep eluded him. No matter how hard he tried, he could not calm his mind.

Just as he was drifting to sleep, he heard his doorknob turning. Not knowing whom it was, he rolled from bed and held his wand at the ready.

"Lucius?" Hermione asked quietly as she slowly opened the door.

Lighting the lamps, he rose from his crouch and crossed the room to greet her. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he led her to the sofa. Once she was seated, he poured a couple of drinks and handed her one.

"Much better, thank you." She accepted the glass and took a sip, making a face at the bitterness of the liquid. She tried to hand the glass back.

He gently pushed it back to her. "Drink it. You will feel better."

She took a few more small sips before asking, "Our daughter – how did he do that to her? If it's Blood Magic, wouldn't he have needed blood from both us?"

"He would. Yours would have been easy to obtain."

"But what about yours?" she interrupted.

"The Dark Lord likes to ensure the loyalty of his followers. After he returned, he took blood from each of us. As soon as he learned I was the father, I'm sure he used my blood. It would give him an opportunity to not only rid himself of one of Mr. Potter's closest confidants, but the traitor as well."

"Do you think you can find a solution?"

He could hear the nervousness and fear in her voice. "I am assuming that Severus gave us that book because it has the needed information. I hope that the way to break the bond is in there."

"And then we'll have our child back?" she asked hopefully.

He pulled her into a tight embrace. "Her soul is corrupted, if it even exists anymore."

"So there's no hope for her?"

He could feel her tears soaking the shoulder of his pajamas. "I do not know, but I am not optimistic."

She started sobbing. "I don't want to be alone tonight."

Leading her to the bed, he wrapped his arms protectively about her and pulled her close, finding comfort in her presence. He wished he could tell her that everything would be all right, but it would be a lie. All he could do was be there for her.

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

After returning to Hogwarts, Lucius immediately began reading through the translated pages, hoping for a solution. Potter and Weasley had been quite upset to find Hermione in his room that morning, but she had told them to 'stuff a sock in it' and ignored them. He was incredibly proud of her for that and hoped that she would try to win them over to his side.

It took him the entire morning to read through the translations. Some of it didn't seem to make sense, and he made note of several areas to bring up with Hermione. He knew she did not want to deal with this book any further, but it was necessary.

The one thing he had learned was that the book was not at all written in a coherent fashion. There were some ruin passages that belonged with other parts of the book, and even those parts written in English did not flow smoothly. He knew that many Dark Magic books were purposefully cryptic, but this one was definitely more so than any he had encountered previously.

He called Dobby and sent a message with the elf that he needed to see Hermione at her earliest convenience.

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

Hermione burst into Lucius' room mid-afternoon. "Have you found an answer?"

He could see the look of anguish on her face. "Unfortunately, no. I have spent the morning going through the book, and it was not written chronologically. That's why little of it makes sense. I have started searching for clues to link passages together, but I had a few questions on your translation." Holding the book, he walked toward her.

She backed away. "I can't. I can't look at that book again."

"Darling, I know how difficult it must be for you, but it is necessary," he said gently. Setting the book on the table, he wrapped her protectively in his arms. "I cannot do this without you. Our lives depend on it."

She sniffed. "I know. It's just so horrible. I can't stand to look at it. It makes me feel dirty."

"You don't have to look through all of it. I have marked the passages in question. Once you have finished, I can work on my own."

After a few seconds, she pulled away and moved to the sofa. "Okay. What do you need help with?"

He opened the book. "This is the first passage. Let me get my notes."

As she worked on retranslating the passages in question, he moved to the desk to work on organizing his notes, hoping the distance would make it possible for them to work. He still did not understand how the magic that bound them to their child also resulted in the nearly uncontrollable passions they felt when near each other.

The two of them worked until dinner. They only knew it was dinner when Dobby brought it to them.

Lucius reached over and closed the book. "That will be good enough. I believe I can sort through the rest of it."

"Are you sure? I mean, I can stay and help."

"That's quite all right. I know how much this book disturbs you. You have cleared up the questions I had. I will devote my time to organizing the passages. I will notify you as soon as I have an answer. Now, we should eat before it gets cold."

After dinner, he sent Hermione away so he could work on the book. With her in the room, he had found it difficult to concentrate.

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

Hermione had not had time to see Lucius in the days following their return. She had been helping Harry try to determine where Voldemort was hiding. He was determined to do away with his nemesis as soon as possible. Unfortunately, they had been unable to learn anything. No one in the Order had learned anything from any of the captured Death Eaters. She had suggested they ask Lucius, but her recommendation had been turned down. Harry was determined not to accept anything else from the man.

When she finally found time to see if Lucius had learned anything, she found parchment strewn everywhere in his room. There were now several long thin tables along the walls, and on those tables were scraps of paper. "What's going on?"

"Ah, Hermione. Good to see you. I've been going through the book, copying out passages and trying to arrange them in a manner that will aid us."

She noticed that his clothes were disheveled and his hair looked unkempt. "Have you been getting any sleep?"

"Not much. This has been all consuming. These two tables contain the most relevant information. There are still a few passages missing, but it's nearly complete."

"And what have you learned?"

"We must capture her. Once we have her captured, we will have to perform Blood Magic on her. Something similar to what the Dark Lord used to bind her to us." He moved to the end of the table. "Once that binding his broken, I have found the spell to vanquish her."

"Are you sure there is no other choice? She's a child. I can't just kill a child."

"Hermione, she was taken from us. As soon as the Dark Lord cast that spell on you when you were his prisoner, she was lost to us. Her soul is gone, replaced with something Dark and corrupt. That cannot be undone."

She turned away from him. "Then you'll just have to take care of that."

Placing his hands on her shoulders to quell her fear, he said, "I can't do it alone. We both have to perform this magic."

"And if I don't?"

He sighed. "Would you condemn her to an existence similar to that of an Inferi?"

She shuddered. "You aren't serious, are you?"

"Very much so. She is gone. You must stop thinking of her as our daughter. She is a servant of the Dark Lord. Though, unlike the others, she cannot be permitted to survive. There is no chance of rehabilitation."

Ron burst into the room. "They've found her. She seems to be leading an attack in Liverpool. We need to go."

"Everyone knows not to hurt her, right?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, I told them. Have you figured out how to capture her?"

"We have a plan, sort of," she replied. She was used to always having the answer, but this time, she did not.

"That's great. Let's go."

Hermione clutched Lucius' hand briefly before releasing it and following Ron.

***********

A/N: I know, I'm evil. It's really not me, it's the muses and the plot bunnies taking over. I had no visions of being this dark when I started writing this one.

As always, thanks to Mimy for beta reading and Giton and nota for continuing to be my sounding boards for ideas. The three of them have helped me make this story what it is.