Chapter Five

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

AN: Many thanks go to my betas, Talesofsnape and Shiv5468, who both answered my plea for a beta so I could post to the lm_hgficxchange at Livejournal. Thanks to Tales for the lovely banner. And extra thanks to Clairvoyant for polishing up the final version.

Her fingers threaded through his silky hair as she pulled him down to deepen the kiss. His tongue traced the seam of her lips, and she allowed him entrance. Her tongue dueled with his, touching, tasting, tantalizing. Before withdrawing, her teeth scraped over his bottom lip and she nipped him lightly.

He responded by sucking on her lip just before lifting her up to set her on the counter, putting her at a more convenient height for his ministrations. Pushing her knees wide, he stepped close to her body, his hands running up her thighs, skimming her torso and grazing lightly over her breasts before pulling her tightly to him, renewing the kiss. Lucius conquered, holding her head as he took his fill of her mouth, leaving Hermione breathless. As her head fell back against the cupboard door with a thunk, he nibbled his way down her neck, nipping and licking and sucking. He paused as he reached her collarbone to unbutton the top buttons of her shirt while she squirmed against him.

"Hermione," Harry's voice called as he pushed through the doorway. "Whoa..." Seeing Hermione perched on the counter with Lucius' face buried in her cleavage, he immediately spun around, pushing Draco back out through the doorway.

Neither of them had heard the sound of others arriving via Portkey into her front hallway. "Oooops," said Lucius softly, a smirk on his lips. "Perhaps I forgot to mention they were coming over. Something about escorting you to a business appointment you had scheduled."

Suddenly Hermione snapped to attention. "Shit! I completely forgot. I'm supposed to present the proposals to my clients today. I need to get ready." She hopped down from the counter and started for the door to go upstairs and change. She took two steps, turned back and, grasping Lucius by the front of his shirt, pulled him close for a quick hard kiss. "We will finish this later," she stated bluntly. Before leaving the kitchen, she paused by the door, as if she'd had another thought. Turning back again, she added, "Lucius, I know you say you're okay about my past with Draco, and honestly, I am too. But I think before we get in too deep, you should see how he feels. I have no intention of causing a rift between the two of you; I couldn't live with myself if that happened."

*~~*

Hermione rushed through the doorway and down the hall, headed for the stairs to go up and get dressed for her appointment. Harry said nothing, but looked pointedly at her shirt and waggled his eyebrows. Looking down, she realized her buttons were undone clear down to her bra. Clasping the front of her shirt together, she pushed past the two, calling down that Harry could accompany her and Draco could stay with his father.

After what had happened in Diagon Alley the previous afternoon, it had been decided that neither Lucius nor Hermione would leave the house unaccompanied. So, Harry went with her to her business meetings. She had two proposals to present to potential clients and spent a bit of time with each answering questions. Then she wanted to stop at Grasna's offices so she could talk to Severus. Harry left her there, trusting Snape to make sure she got home safely.

Hermione waited patiently while Severus took an important international Floo call. After finishing the call, he turned his attention to her. "I take it there's something you want to say to me."

"Exactly what did you tell Lucius the other night?" she asked straightforwardly.

"The truth."

"And why did you feel it necessary to inform him of my past liaisons​?" Hermione asked, trying to stay calm and keep her anger in check. She didn't want to say something she might have regretted later.

"You are attracted to him, and it is obvious that he is attracted to you, as well. I knew something was bound to come of that eventually, no matter what I said. I just didn't want you to get hurt in the process, so I thought it best to tell him the truth. I threatened to Obliviate him if he couldn't deal with things. Plus, if he is accepting of your choices... Well, there may yet be hope for me... for us."

"Oh, Severus," Hermione sighed. She had come here planning to rake him over the coals and put him in his place for interfering in her life. Instead, she learned that he'd been protecting her, in his own twisted way, while looking out for his own interests at the same time. Typical Severus. She walked behind his chair, bent down, and wrapped her arms around him, laying her cheek aside his. "You impossible Slytherin. I never stopped loving you, you know?"

"And I you, sweet. But I've never known if that would be enough. I honestly don't think you would be content for the long run in a monogamous relationship. And there are very few who would willingly put up with me..." He turned to look into her eyes with a flash of hope. "But Lucius might."

"Well, don't start picking out the china patterns just yet, darling," she replied with a little chuckle. "I'm not entirely sure how things will turn out between Lucius and me. You were right; I am very attracted to him, and he does seem to return the feeling. But whether it will last or burn bright and die a quick death is yet to be seen."

She kissed his cheek and informed him that since she was going to Portkey directly home from her office, there was no need for him to accompany her.

*~~*

When she got home, Hermione was at first concerned as she found no one in the living room, the study, or the kitchen. Just when she was about to allow herself a bit of panic, she heard someone pounding up the basement stairs, and Draco burst into the kitchen, sweaty and disheveled from dueling.

"Oh, Granger, good. You're back. I just got a call from Harry. I have to leave right away. We have a promising lead on the suspects in the incident yesterday. Let my dad know what's up, will you? We've been dueling all afternoon; he's upstairs taking a shower now."

Hermione stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Draco, is everything all right? Between you and Lucius?" She hesitated before adding, "Between us?"

"Everything's fine, Hermione. We were dueling for practice, for fun, not because we were trying to kill each other." He laid his hand over hers. "Things didn't work out between us and Blaise, but I'm glad we're all still friends. I honestly hope things do work out for you and father. He could use some happy times in his life."

"I don't know if they will or they won't, Draco, but I'd like to have the chance to try."

After Draco left, Hermione went upstairs. The shower was still running. She stepped into her own room and removed her clothes. She kicked her favorite but raggedy old terrycloth robe into the corner and donned her sexy, silky robe instead.

She would have liked to have just slipped into the shower to surprise him, but she figured that probably wasn't a wise plan with a wizard who'd recently had three attempts on his life. She knocked softly and then opened the door a crack to ask, "Lucius, may I join you in there?"

*~~*

Lucius lay in bed, his arm flung behind his head, his other arm holding the warm woman snuggled close to his side. He was completely relaxed. He usually wasn't one for cuddling; he was more likely to fuck a woman and then send her home. But this felt different for some reason that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Having Hermione lying so close, so trusting, he felt protective and tender. Instead of pushing her out of his bed, he wanted to bind her to him and never let her leave. This was totally unlike him. Sex was sex. Where were these odd feelings coming from?

The activities of the night before ran through his mind, bringing a satisfied smile to his face. He hadn't been expecting her to join him in the shower, but her hesitant taps and request to join him had made little Lu jump up faster than a niffler after a goblin's gold.

Hermione had then surprised him by aggressively taking the lead, stepping into the shower, taking the soap to wash him all over, her hands sliding sensuously over his entire body. When she had dropped gracefully to her knees before him, all breath had left his body, and he'd been sure he was going to lose it before she'd even touched him. She'd taken her time with him then, touching him with her hands, stroking up and down over his legs, caressing his calves, tickling behind his knees, sliding up to squeeze his arse before grasping his cock and pumping. She had drawn it out, taking his balls in her hot sweet mouth, first one and then the other, rolling her tongue around them, sucking them gently, then not so gently. She'd taken him to the edge of rapture with her mouth on his cock: kissing, licking, sucking before withdrawing and holding off his orgasm until he was begging her to finish it. Then she had. She'd nearly swallowed him whole and taken him over the edge. He'd shouted her name as he came so hard he'd thought he was going to pass out.

Once he'd been sure that his knees weren't going to collapse, he'd repeated her actions by washing her all over with the bar of soap that smelled like Hermione. Then he'd rinsed her off, dried her carefully and carried her to his bedroom because he hadn't wanted to take her in the bed she'd shared with Severus. He'd wanted the night to be just about them.

He'd laid her on her stomach with pillows placed strategically for her comfort. Then he'd produced some warm, scented massage oil and proceeded to massage every bit of her, from the tips of her toes all the way to her neck. Pushing her wildly curly, sexy hair to the side, he'd dropped kisses to the back of her neck and all the way down her spine, over the taut globes of her arse, down her thighs, and finishing at her feet. Then he'd flipped her over and started all over on the front side, massaging his way from bottom to top. He'd taken so long that by the time he'd worked his way back to her intimate bits, she'd been a quivering mass. She was moaning and pleading at first, and then finally snarling and swearing at him, "Circe's tits! Get the fuck on with it, you sadistic bloody bastard."

It seemed that Miss Hermione Granger could dish out the teasing but didn't take it well in return. And she had quite the dirty mouth when antagonized. He was rather turned on by it. By the time he'd lowered his mouth to taste her sweet quim, she was so close to the edge that it was only a matter of minutes before she came wildly for him. While she was still in the throes of her orgasm, he'd plunged into her tight, hot body and ridden her to another peak. But not satisfied with that, feeling he somehow had to prove his prowess, he held himself back and rode out her second orgasm. Then he'd draped her knees over his forearms, practically folding her in half, positioning her so he could penetrate her so deeply he felt like he was stroking her very core. He'd thrust over and over until they had both ignited in a blaze of ecstasy. Then they'd slept like the dead.

Feeling her gaze on him, he looked down to see deep chocolate brown eyes staring up at him. "Good morning, ma chérie."

"Good morning to you, Lucius," she replied. "You were smiling just now. What were you thinking about?"

"I was thinking of you, my dear, of last night, of how well suited we seem to be for each other, and of how perfect it all was. Don't you agree?"

She blushed as agreed, "Oh, yes, I do."

The remainder of the morning passed rather pleasantly as the two were engaged in discovering just how well suited they actually were.

*~~*

It was several hours later when there came a frantic pounding on the bedroom door. They were in Hermione's room, having availed themselves earlier of her much larger and more comfortable bathtub.

"'Mione... 'Mione?" Ron called worriedly. "Oh, bugger it," he muttered before turning the doorknob to find the door unlocked and pushing it wide with his wand drawn and ready. "There's been a break in the case, but I can't find Lucius anywhere in the house. His bed's been slept in, but he's nowhere arou... Whoa..." His eyes bugged out at the sight of an intimately entwined Lucius and Hermione, obviously naked but for the thin sheet that Hermione clutched to her chest. "Errr... Ahhh... Ummm... Sorry. Ahh... Sorry, sorry, sorry. Hermione, please don't hex me. I'm sorry."

Lucius smirked and found it a bit amusing that while Weasley was not at all concerned about incurring the wrath of Lucius Malfoy, he seemed terrified of Hermione's reaction. "Close your mouth and the door on your way out, Weasley. Go back downstairs; we'll be there in a few moments," ordered Lucius.

"I don't care if they are the Aurors in charge of your case. That's twice in two days they've shown up unannounced," grumbled Hermione. "It may have been a big mistake to give them Portkeys to pop in here whenever they please."

"Well, yes. It does seem that men have a strange habit of bursting into your bedroom without warning. Perhaps I should be worried, my dear," he teased, but ducked quickly with a laugh as she threw a pillow at him.

By the time the two had dressed and gone downstairs, Harry and Draco had arrived. Draco had made a pot of coffee and handed her a mug fixed just as she liked it with cream and no sugar. She took it gratefully with a quick kiss on his cheek and a mumbled, "Oh, sweet Nimue! You're my hero."

Ron had made tea for the rest, but Lucius poured himself coffee and put bread in the toaster.

Harry explained what they had learned. "We've captured one of the blokes involved in the ambush in Diagon Alley. It appears whoever hired him paid him a large sum of money, enough that he was willing to submit to an Unbreakable Vow not to reveal any information that might lead back to her. We've had to be very careful in our questioning in order that the vow not kill him. Veritaserum is definitely out."

"I really don't care if the bastard dies. Hell, I would gladly kill him myself for what he did to Hermione!" growled Lucius.

"Father, be reasonable. Calm down," soothed Draco. "We need him alive, or else we won't have any way of finding out who hired him."

"You said she required an Unbreakable Vow," questioned Hermione. "So, you're sure that it's a woman?"

"Yes, that's fairly certain. From things we asked and the way he phrased his answers, that seems the most likely scenario," explained Ron.

"So, Lucius," said Hermione. Turning to him, she asked teasingly, "Who in your past would be angry enough with you to want you dead? A jilted lover perhaps?"

He answered with a sly smile as he reached for the toast to butter it. "Why, I am sure I have no idea. Honestly, there has never been anyone in my love life since my divorce that I have really cared to be with for more than a night or two."

Hermione's smile faded and her face paled. She leapt to her feet and without a word made a hasty exit.

There was dead silence in the room and three sets of eyes turned to glare at Lucius in angry accusation.

Looking bewildered for an instant before realizing that Hermione had completely misinterpreted his meaning, he jumped to his feet, swearing, "Oh, fuck it all! That's not what I meant." He hurried out to find Hermione. "Hold that thought, gentlemen. We shall be back shortly, as soon as we sort this out."

Lucius looked into the living room and, not finding her there, rushed down the hall to her study. She was there, arms wrapped around herself, staring blankly out of the window. "Hermione..."

"It's perfectly all right, Lucius. I understand completely. We made no promises to each other."

"Hermione..."

"It was just a sexual attraction, nothing more."

"Hermione..."

"I don't expect anything from you."

"Hermione! Will you stop and listen to me for a minute, you stubborn little witch?" he said, grasping her upper arms and pulling her back against him. "I was speaking of past dalliances. I meant until recently there has been no one I cared to remain with, but that was before you." He wrapped his arms around her.

"You needn't say things you don't mean, Lucius. It was just one night. There need not be anything else, if you so wish it. We are both adults. No promises were made..."

"Stop. Talking. Right. Now." He spun her in his arms and sealed his lips to hers, kissing her deeply. Lucius the conqueror was back. Finally drawing back to look into her eyes, he said, "You are the exception, ma chérie. If I had my wish, I would keep you with me always."

"You don't have to say that, Lucius."

"I must say it because you need to understand. It is the truth. This is how I feel," Lucius said, nuzzling at her neck, his hands roaming up and down her back.

She seemed to accept him at his word, melting into his embrace, holding him tightly to her. "I'm sorry I reacted so badly. I totally misunderstood, but let's not rush into anything."

"All right. But I meant what I said. You won't get rid of me very easily."

*~~*

They returned to the kitchen to finish the debriefing.

"We got the idea that the whole plot might hinge on a marriage contract. Some kind of plan to get to the Malfoy fortune somehow," explained Harry, trying to get the conversation back on track.

Lucius considered this for a moment and then replied, "The only marriage contract I can think of that might be applicable is Draco's to Pansy Parkinson. But that seems far-fetched."

Hermione gasped. "Draco's engaged to Pansy?"

"Was, Granger, was, past tense. The contract was canceled after the war." Turning to Lucius, he added, "It was canceled. Right, father?"

"Yes, son. It was, but not without hard feelings on the part of Nastie Parkinson."

Harry and Ron both spat out their tea and Hermione snorted. "Nasty?"

"N-a-s-t-i-e, short for Nasturtium," explained Lucius.

Hermione giggled. "What is with all the unusual names in the Wizarding world? Strange flowers and stars and constellations. Draco?" she drawled Draco's name for emphasis, giving him a jab in the ribs.

"Oh, right," defended Draco with a grin, "because Hermione is so very common. Pot,

kettle, black."

Oh... Yes, well... uhh..." Hermione was at a loss for a response. "Point taken," she finally replied softly.

Harry nudged her with his elbow and muttered, "Hey, my mum was named for a flower and her sister, too."

"Sorry," mouthed Hermione, rolling her eyes.

"Well, to continue," said Lucius in an irritated tone, "after the war, Pansy's father was sent to Azkaban. He sickened and died there. Mrs. Parkinson came to me. They were short on funds and she was desperate. She wanted to try to validate the contract we'd agreed upon when our children were little more than babies. I argued that times had changed, and the old arranged marriages were a thing of the past. She was quite adamant that we should honor the agreement, but in the end she was willing to accept a cash settlement in return for tearing up the contract."

"Whatever you paid her, no matter how generous, it wouldn't come anywhere close to what marrying into the Malfoy fortunes would have brought though," pondered Ron.

"No, but in all honesty, I cannot picture Nastie involved in a murder plot. She just is not the type. She's a very mild-mannered woman," argued Lucius.

"Still, money does strange things to people, Lucius," said Harry. "Perhaps she's spent years stewing about it and now is out for revenge."

"I think we need to locate and question Mrs. Parkinson, maybe Pansy, too, while we're at it," concluded Ron.

Hermione had been thinking. "You said you couldn't use Veritaserum on your suspect without triggering the Unbreakable Vow, but what about Legilimency?"

"We thought of that, but with him conscious he fought revealing anything that would go against the vow," said Draco. "That's actually how we got what we did, but our Legilimens didn't dare go any deeper for fear of pushing him into insanity or death."

"What if you had someone strong enough to use Legilimency on him while he was unconscious? He wouldn't be revealing the information willingly. Would it still trigger the vow?" asked Hermione.

"Good question," replied Ron. "I'm not sure, but we don't have anyone with that kind of power."

"I do," stated Hermione.

"Severus," said Draco and Lucius simultaneously.

"Let's check out Parkinson first," interrupted Harry. "At this point, she seems like our most likely suspect. If we hit a dead end there, then we'll consider asking Snape for help."

tbc