Six

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I make no money here.

AN: This story was written for the 2010 ss/hg_exchange as a gift for lady_karelia. Many thanks to my wonderful betas, dreamy_dragon73 and Clairvoyant.

Hermione looked shocked, eyes wide, mouth hanging open, all color drained from her face. Lucius thought for a moment she might faint.

"SEX MAGIC!" she screeched. "This is about sex magic!" She looked appalled.

"Well, you needn't act so revolted. It isn't as though Severus and I are thoroughly disgusting. I know we are both much older than you, but we are both still in quite good shape and..."

"Oh, Harpyshit! It isn't that it's you two in particular; that part could have been worse, much worse, I suppose. I could have ended up paired with Slughorn, or someone like Dumbledore... Ewwww! It's not just that it's you and Snape, although I will admit this is not what I was expecting at all. It's just the whole bloody idea of it. Sex magic indeed!"

"Hermione, Tantric magic is very, very powerful," Lucius explained, trying to take the focus off the sex and emphasize the magic. "The rituals date back to ancient times and can generate tremendous magical energy. It makes sense that something like this could be just the thing to dispel the imbalance of negative energy in our world. And performing the ritual through a triadic relationship would increase it's power tenfold, I believe."

Hermione shook her head, and said,"This can't be true. I can't even begin to imagine it." She looked up at him and realization dawned in her eyes. "You've been researching this, then?" At his nod, she continued, "But you can't want this anymore than I do. I know how much you loved Narcissa. Harry said so, and I overheard you talking to Mrs. Black's portrait at Grimmauld Place. I'm not someone you would ever want to be with. In your eyes, I'm just nothing but a lowly Mudbl..."

Lucius held up his hand in protest. "Stop! Do not say it. If I shouldn't say that word, then neither should you. And besides, I no longer hold to the beliefs I was raised with. I know now how false they are. You are a very powerful witch, and any wizard would be grateful to have a chance to be with you. But you are right; that is one of the things that make this commitment so hard. When I married Cissy we both loved each other very much; that's one reason why this is all so difficult."

At the word commitment, Hermione froze, and all the color drained from her face.

"But it's not like it would be forever," Hermione protested. "Right? It would just be completing the ritual, then we could all go our separate ways, get on with our own lives."

Lucius did not agree with her; in fact he looked most uncomfortable.

"That's right, isn't it?" she insisted. "That's all there is to it? Isn't it?" When Lucius still didn't answer, she became even more frightened. "Tell me the truth, Malfoy, damn you! Or by Salazar's saggy bollocks I swear... Arghhh! I am fucking tired of people keeping information from me. Now tell me!"

He acquiesced reluctantly. "We're looking at a very specific Tantric ritual here. Once this ritual is completed, it becomes, in essence, a bonding ceremony. If we do this thing, the three of us, you, Severus and myself will be magically bound to each other. We will be life partners, and nothing known in the wizarding world can sever that sort of binding. It is unbreakable except by death."

Hermione stared at him in horror. "Unbreakable," she whispered in disbelief. "And Harry knew all of this? And Kingsley, too? And they let me go forward with this without telling me that? This changes everything."

"In all fairness, I don't think that Potter knew anything about the binding; he was aware only of the Tantric ritual, and I believe he may possibly have known about Severus being part of the triad. Kingsley, however, knows everything. You should be aware, however, that when he first came to me he knew that you did not want to be a member of the triad. He hoped that I might be able to find a suitable substitute. Unfortunately, it is what it is. The magic doesn't want anyone else.

"Hermione, it's not as if anyone can force you to do this. I made that very clear to Kingsley when I explained what my research had revealed. Everyone involved must do so of their own free will. You cannot be coerced into taking part. You do understand that, don't you?"

"Yes, Kingsley and Harry both said that to me. But I think we both know that while in theory we could refuse, in actuality, how would we be able to live with ourselves? If we know that we had the capability to help fix the wizarding world, and we let the opportunity pass us by, it's unthinkable. I just wish if they had known the truth of this all along they would have simply told me instead of keeping me in the dark."

"I'm not sure why. I think they were hoping you would figure it out by yourself. That if you had enough time to come to the realization on your own, it would soften the blow somehow, or make it easier for you to accept. Perhaps, they hoped if you got a chance to know me better, as I am now and not as you knew me in your childhood, then it would also be more acceptable. I really am not sure what they thought, Hermione." He sighed.

Hermione leaned her head against the back of the sofa and stared sightlessly at the ceiling. "I can't believe this is happening to me. To us." Her voice was flat and empty; she looked devastated.

Lucius gently took one of her hands, knowing what a shock this all was to the witch. "Hermione, I know it's not anything you had considered, but would it be so very terrible to end up with Severus and me?"

Hermione turned her head to look at Lucius, and, lifting the hand he wasn't holding, she softly touched his cheek briefly before dropping her hand to her lap. "If you had asked me that question two weeks ago, or even one week ago, I would have said, yes, it was too terrible to consider. But now? Now I'd say no, it's not that horrifying a thought. It's just... it's just..." she stopped and a single tear slid down her face.

"It's just what, Hermione?" Lucius asked.

She heaved a sigh. "It's just that I really loved Ron. A lot of people said we were too different...that we would never work out. That didn't matter to us because we were friends first. We knew each other so well that our differences weren't an issue. He was funny and caring and clever. People didn't think that about Ron, that he was clever, but he was. Not book-smart like you or me, not O.W.L. or N.E.W.T. smart, but he could figure things out when it really mattered, and somehow he always knew just the right thing to do in a tight spot. Well, except when it came to spiders; he hated spiders. Sorry... I'm rambling, I'm just so nervous. Anyway, he was strong and brave, and we were good together...really, really good."

The tears were falling faster now; she wasn't sobbing, but the tears just wouldn't stop. "And I always thought that some day in the future, somehow, some day I'd get over his death. And then I'd be able to fall in love again, and I'd be able to find what I had with him with someone else. Oh, not the same, it would never be the same, I know that. But still, I thought I'd be able to find love eventually, to be happy again. And now this whole triad thing... if I accept this, then I have to give up the dream of ever having that again. It seems so unfair."

"I know." Lucius threw caution to the winds and pulled Hermione close to him, wrapping an arm around her in comfort.

"Oh, Lucius. I'm so sorry," she said, laying her head against his shoulder. "You more than anyone must understand how I feel. I know that you loved Narcissa as well, and she was taken from you just as tragically. This can't be any easier for you."

"I don't know why it's us, Hermione. Why we were chosen for this, by magic or fate or whatever the hell is pulling all the strings. Maybe it's because we have known true love before. We've that advantage, to have experienced it already. So, maybe it's not as bad for people like us to have to enter into this triad. Unlike someone who's never known love; that would be even more unfair if you'd never got the chance to love someone at all, and then still have to make a lifetime commitment."

"But I don't understand where that leaves Professor Snape in all of this?"

"Well, that shoots that theory all to hell, doesn't it? I don't know where that leaves Severus as the love of his life was an unrequited love. That hardly seems sporting, does it?" Lucius admitted. As his cheek rested against her hair, he sniffed lightly, taking in the scent of her peaches and cream shampoo.

"It certainly doesn't to me. I'm beginning to believe that magic must be a heartless, fucking bitch," replied Hermione, choking on a little sob.

~

Severus had spent the days familiarizing himself with the area around the cabin. Making sure he was able to Apparate back without getting lost in the Great North Woods. He spent each day searching out likely spots for the sprouts to grow. He had no positively conclusive idea where to find them; it was basically hit or miss. Very little was known about them, or whether they even existed in reality. All he really had to go by were mythical tales and the Potion master's journal that he had discovered in an old book shop in Mexico.

According to the journal, in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century the man had lived for several years among the Anishinaabe in the northern part of Ontario, from what he could tell, in roughly the area that Severus was in right now. Of course things had changed a great deal in the last one-hundred years; some settlements were completely gone, and others had moved. According to Kristoff Kettering, the Potions master, the sprouts would appear only for about a week during the spring thaws when the shoots would burst through the soil and grow from nothing to eight to ten-inches long in a mere matter of days. But if they were not harvested by the fifth day after sprouting, they would shrivel and die, not to be seen for another year. The shriveled-up sprouts were useless for potions.

Kettering had indicated that for the most part low, damp areas were not prime territory. They liked to grow best in sunny spots and also seemed to have an affinity for south-facing slopes in areas near hard wood trees but not pines. And yet, after saying all this, he described finding one of largest groups of sprouts he'd ever seen in a low swampy area on a north-facing slope beneath a spruce tree...conflicting information at best.

According to Art and Little Anne, the spring thaws could vary by weeks each year. There was no way to know from one year to the next when it would come. Sometimes it was as early as late March to early April; in other years it could be as late as mid-May. As it was already mid-March, and snow was still heavy on the ground, it looked like spring would be a several weeks away yet.

Little Anne educated Severus on healing ingredients that could be harvested even in winter. Different barks could be brewed to make a tea for headache and pain relief. There were bushes and trees that bore tiny berries that remained on even in winter if the birds had not harvested them all. The berries could be eaten raw or cooked. Pine needles made a tea high in vitamin C that could prevent scurvy, and the bark could be brewed into a cough remedy. She taught him many other things, and Severus found himself enjoying the time he spent with the tiny Indian woman.

In return for the lessons, Severus reciprocated by teaching Little Anne how to make the bruise balm and burn balm he carried in his box. They were made of fairly common ingredients for the most part, and a little research yielded ready substitutes that could be found locally or purchased by mail order for the few ingredients not on hand.

He spent a great deal of time just talking with the old woman. She shared stories of her youth with him. He ended up telling her things about his childhood, youth, and the years leading up to Voldemort's downfall that he had never shared with any living person. She just seemed to lull him into a sense of security wherein he felt safe revealing these things to her. He wondered sometimes if she was using her Anishinaabe form of Legilimency on him, but he couldn't detect it if she was.

Little Anne was fascinated with the idea of Severus flying and asked him often to describe it to her. Severus offered to take her for a short flight, but she merely giggled and declined, saying she was not a migiziikwe, an eagle woman. She would keep her feet on the ground.

~

After discussing their options, the obvious thing to do was to try to locate Severus Snape. Thus, Hermione had bid a tearful goodbye to James and had taken a more somber leave from Harry, as she was still angry with him for withholding information from her. Then she had set out on the quest with Lucius.

He'd arranged a Portkey to Brazil, the last place he had visited Snape. Then they had to secure a local Portkey to take them to the small magical native village deep in the heart of the Amazon rain forest.

No one there had heard from Severus recently, but the elder of the tribe had given them the location where he'd gone in Mexico. Snape's plan had been to study the Mayans amongst several secret magical communities there.

Lucius and Hermione had spent over two weeks searching for traces of Severus' trail. By their calculations that there were no second choices available; if they couldn't find him, then completing the triad was an impossible task. Hermione seemed to be convinced that might inevitably be the case even if they did find him. She kept insisting to Lucius that Professor Snape had never cared for her, and she didn't see this whole triad business changing that anytime soon.

There were Mayan ruins, which were the gateways to hidden magical communities, scattered throughout southern Mexico and parts of Central America. They were able to pick up his trail in Mexico, follow it to Belize, then into Honduras. The trail went cold there for a couple of days, but then they found a clue that he had moved back to a different site in Mexico, from there to Guatemala, and then back to Mexico again.

Hermione was so frustrated. She swore if they did find Severus Snape, she was going to hex his sorry arse so hard he wouldn't think of moving it anywhere else for months.

"What is wrong with the man?" she asked Lucius after an unproductive day of searching for clues as to where Professor Snape might have gone from here. "Why couldn't he just settle down somewhere and make a stable life for himself? Is this how he's lived for the past six years? Just wandering about from place to place with no rhyme or reason?"

Lucius considered her question. "I think it most likely that after being forced to answer to both Riddle and Dumbledore for so many years and then being tied to Hogwarts, this life probably seems like heaven to Severus. The ability to go wherever he wants, whenever he wants, to be able to just pack up and leave on a whim or at the hint of some rare potions ingredient; it spells freedom in a way he's never had before."

Hermione thought about Lucius' theory. "But don't you suppose it must be lonely for him? I mean, yes, he has the freedom to go wherever he wants, but he's all alone. He has no one to keep him company, to share his finds, or the knowledge that he's gathered."

With a sad half-smile Lucius answered, "He's never really had anyone to share things like that with before. Severus has been essentially alone for nearly all of his life; I suppose he's become rather used to it by now."

~

Hermione later pondered Lucius' statement and found it all very sad. She'd never really considered what Professor Snape's life must have been like before the end of the war other than to assume it must have been horrible. Especially that last year, living amongst former colleagues while having to pretend to be doing Voldemort's bidding and yet trying to protect the students as best he could. He must have felt so alone. It made it seem all the worse to her that he still seemed to be isolating himself now that he actually had got a chance to go out and live.

She moved to the desk in the hotel room to look over her papers. They'd been using Arithmancy in their search, trying help narrow down their choices and decide which direction to go from there. She was soothed by the routine she'd become so accustomed to. With a touch of her wand, the numbers and figures and runes moved together in a magical dance across the page. She could trust the numbers; they didn't lie or withhold information from her. She might not like the answers she got, but at least she knew there was truth in her equations and formulas even if she didn't always understand the results at the time.

"Lucius," she called as she heard him enter the other room. They were renting connecting rooms in a small hotel and for the most part kept the adjoining door open during the day. She had begun to get used to the idea of the triad. While she was not willing to jump into a full-fledged relationship with Lucius at this point, she found the handsome pure-blood quickly growing on her. He was extremely intelligent, witty, amusing, with a dynamic personality and likeable in so many ways she had never imagined possible. He had certainly proven his loyalty by the way he'd taken care of Severus after the war, and she admired that. In truth, when they had embarked on this journey, she had expected to tolerate the man and little more. Instead she found herself drawn to him, against her better judgment.

"Hermione!" He sounded excited. "I've found a lead."

"Really? What is it?" she asked as she hurried to his room, eager to learn what it was.

"Remember that used book shop we saw when we got into town?"

She nodded. They'd been checking book shops in every town because in his last letter to Lucius, Severus had mentioned that he'd purchased a journal belonging to an old Potions master. That was what had sent him off in search of the mythical potion ingredient.

"It was open this afternoon, and I talked to the owner. He remembered Severus and the journal."

Hermione grabbed his hands and pulled him towards her. "Please tell me that the man had read the journal and knows where he's gone off to!"

"No, not quite. But he gave me the address of the young wizard who had brought in the boxes of books from his grandfather's attic. I went and spoke with him, and while he hadn't read the journal himself, he recalled stories that the old man had told him about how he had traveled in search of one of the rarest of plants; he claimed that he had found it in Canada."

Hermione immediately dropped Lucius' hands and looked rather disappointed. "Lucius, have you any idea about the size of Canada? It's huge; he could be anywhere."

"You did not let me finish the tale, my dear," he chided her. "Having recalled this, he remembered some letters that had been left, and he looked them up for me."

"Well, for Merlin's sake, why didn't you say so," she cried, clutching his shoulders and giving him a little shake. "Tell me... tell me, Lucius, you tease," she demanded.

"Ontario, a small settlement called Marten Falls. He stayed amongst the Indians there, a group called the Ojibewe."

"Oh, this is wonderful," she cried, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

Lucius hugged her back and spun around with her in his arms; they were both laughing.

"Stop, Lucius, stop." She laughed. "You're making me dizzy. I'm going to fall over."

He stopped twirling her. His fingers tangled themselves in her hair. He tipped her head back and stared down into her eyes. Then his eyes wandered down over her face to settle on her mouth. The tip of Hermione's tongue traced over her lips, and she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. She looked up at him, her breath caught in her chest, then her eyes dropped to his lips.

Before she could tell herself it was the wrong thing to do, or talk herself out of it, she wrapped her hands around his neck. Threading her fingers through his silky hair, she pulled him down so she could take his lips in a soft kiss. It was slow and gentle at first, exploring, then deepening until she was pushing her body against him. She actually felt the exact moment when her nipples tightened into hard little nubbins, and the tingle made its way from her breasts all the way to her very core.

While he hadn't been expecting the kiss, Lucius knew what to do with a willing woman in his arms; he kissed her back. One hand cradled the back of her head as his other dropped to her gorgeous arse to lightly stroke at first, then he kneaded the firm flesh and pulled her tightly to him. He deepened the kiss, and she responded in kind.

Suddenly she wrenched herself away, her hand covering her mouth in dismay. "Oh, my... Oh, gods, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have done that. I got carried away. But I can't... we can't, Lucius, we just can't."

He took several deep breaths as he attempted to regain control of himself. "I understand, Hermione," he replied in a tight voice. "I don't like it, but I do understand. It's all right. You're just not ready yet. But you do realize, don't you my dear, that completing the Tantric rituals will involve us actually having sex."

She looked at him sharply and realized that he was trying to tease her, to lighten the situation. "Oh, Lucius. I've come around to believing that wouldn't be so very bad, even more so now after what just happened. I rather liked it," she replied with a smile. "But still, there's no guarantee that we're going to find Severus." She had begun...just recently...thinking of him as Severus, rather than Professor Snape. It made it easier somehow to consider him as part of the triad if she thought of him by his first name. "And if we don't, then there will be no triad. At this point I'm not ready to indulge in recreational sex just to break the tension."

"Is that what you think it would be, recreational sex?"

"Maybe, maybe not, I'm just not sure of myself. I'm not sure of anything right now. Please don't be angry with me, Lu," she begged, borrowing Kingsley's nickname for him.

"I'm not angry with you, love. Just a bit frustrated right now, although I certainly can understand your reservations even if I don't entirely agree with them. Let's plan to be on our way tomorrow and see if we can't find ourselves a Potions master."

tbc