Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lucius slept fitfully for an hour. Realizing that he was not going to get any more sleep, he sat up. Noticing that Hermione was curled up in a tight ball, he took off his outer robe and laid it over her. Perhaps one of them could get some true rest.

All the Dark magic he had learned over the years was running through his mind as he tried to find some snippet of knowledge that would help them. For a moment he wished he had studied them further, but only for a moment. He knew that had he delved too deeply into the Dark Arts, he would have lost himself. As he thought, he found himself staring at Hermione, his mind wandering.

Despite their many differences, their forced confinement had not been terribly unpleasant. They had worked beyond the animosity of the past. She truly was a gifted witch, more so than any other he had met. She took the snippets of information he gave her about Dark Magic and postulated theory after theory.

He also realized that she had blossomed into a beautiful young witch. Not the overdone type of beauty you tended to see from the pureblood witches – especially those seeking his favor – but a fresh, natural beauty.

A stray strand of hair was hanging in her face, and he gently reached over to brush it out of the way. He let his hand linger a moment longer than necessary and pulled it away quickly when she stirred.

She opened her eyes and saw that he was awake. She also noticed the robe covering her. "How long has it been?" she asked groggily.

"Not quite two hours," he replied simply.

"Did you get any sleep?" she asked, a small measure of concern in her voice. After she sat up, she handed him back his robe.

Lucius made sure his hand brushed hers as he retrieved his robe. He shook his head. "Not really. My mind is too busy to sleep. And before you ask, I have not had any revelations, unfortunately."

There were a few seconds of awkward silence as they stared at each other. "That's alright. I'm sure we'll come up with something. I don't know about you, but I don't intend to be here when the house is destroyed."

After a few seconds of silence, she started asking him questions as she paced. He did his best to answer her, but she was delving into parts of his education in the Dark Arts that was lacking.

"And you call yourself a Dark wizard?" she asked playfully.

He smiled sadly, knowing that she was trying to add some levity to an otherwise dark mood, but it reminded him of a part of his life that he had had very little control over – one he wished to put behind him. "Not by choice, but by expectation," he replied softly, surprised by his sudden openness.

The playfulness left her expression immediately. Quietly she said, "I'm sorry."

Trying to lighten the mood back up, he replied, "I can understand why you would say that given my history."

"So you didn't want to become a Death Eater?" she asked curiously.

"When you are born to a prominent pureblood family, there are certain expectations. As I'm sure you are aware, promoting pureblood dominance was one of those expectations. My father supported... Voldemort, and I was expected to do the same. Even though I did not support the use of violence and other methods used, I had no choice but to comply."

"Even without the use of the Imperius Curse," she said softly. She and the others had always assumed that he had lied about that, but there was no anger now that she knew the truth.

"Even without its use," he confirmed. "Given my circumstances, it was not that difficult to convince the Ministry that was why I had cooperated. But you can understand my predicament – my entire social circle was in league with him. In the beginning it was rhetoric that drove people like my father to support him. Over time the rhetoric became more vitriolic, but people were already under his spell, so to speak. I was young, dependent on my father, doing what a dutiful heir would do and obeying his father. Had I spoken out, had I dissented, I would have lost not only my inheritance, but quite likely my life. It was that will to survive which compelled me to obey and become a Death Eater. And once you enter his service, there is no leaving. Even poor Severus ended up paying the ultimate price, though I do have to commend him for his success. He was a braver man than I." Lucius found himself missing his friend, the one person he had always been free to be his true self around. Both of them had become reluctant Death Eaters, though their circumstances had been different.

Lost in grief for his friend, he was startled when Hermione placed her hand on his arm, pulling him back to the present. "I didn't realize," she started, her voice tinged with pity.

He fought the urge to lash out at her. He wasn't confiding in her because he wanted her pity, he wanted her to understand that he was not the man she thought he was. "Of course not. My public image is carefully crafted. You can't tell me that you don't project a different vision of yourself to others than you do to your close friends. We all do it to different degrees – it's a form of self-preservation." He had done his best to keep the anger out of his voice.

"Now that we've dwelled on the past for a while, I think we should return our efforts to solving the mystery at hand. After all, time is running out," he said after a protracted silence.

---

They spent the next several hours trying anything and everything, making up new spells. Hermione found herself wishing that she had thought to bring books with her. They had searched the house, but there were no magical books. In fact, they had not found anything magical at all, and she was beginning to doubt whether the Dark artifact he had come in search of even existed.

"You don't think the artifact was a lure for a trap, do you? You know, something to catch a less than loyal Death Eater who thought that perhaps it could be used to overthrow Voldemort?" she asked as they sat in the kitchen partaking of their meager rations.

"I had considered that, but I do believe it exists. He was quite fond of Dark artifacts. When he took up residence in my home that was the first thing I was questioned about. When he learned that I had disposed of many of the ones that had been in my family's possession, he was quite put out, but I had no interest in running afoul of the Ministry when the crackdowns started. Of course, he was already quite put out with me, so it was not something that made much difference. In fact, I believe my knowledge of the artifacts is the only reason he didn't leave me to rot in Azkaban. Leaving me there would have served just as powerful a message as emasculating me in my home."

She didn't reply, but became lost in thought. "What if the artifact is the key to getting out of here?" she finally said.

"It's possible. There are many spells that are linked to physical objects as I'm sure you are aware."

"I think it's time we concentrated on finding it." She tried to stifle a yawn. The couple of hours she had slept were starting to wear off.

Her stifled yawn drew a full yawn from Lucius. "I believe that's a good idea, but perhaps we should try to get some rest again. I don't know about you, but I'm finding it harder to concentrate." He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

As much as she wanted to keep looking, she knew that he was right. They had both been stumbling for spells for the last hour or so. "I hate to admit it, but you're right."

"You hate to admit that I'm right? That's shocking," he said playfully as they moved to the parlor to rest.

She slapped him playfully. "Not that, the getting rest part, but I know that a tired mind makes mistakes."

He smiled at her a few seconds before she had to turn away. Lucius was right; he was not the man she thought him to be. She found that she actually liked the real Lucius Malfoy, something she never would have thought she would say. Pity him, yes, but like him?

---

This time neither of them had any difficulty falling asleep. Hermione half woke and tried to roll over to find a comfortable position, but found she couldn't since something was on top of her. It took her a moment to realize it was Lucius. He was pressed against her back with his arm over her. Surprisingly, it didn't bother her. She drew comfort and warmth from his presence, especially since it had seemed like the manor was getting colder.

A part of her wanted to go back to sleep, but she knew that they had to renew their search for an escape since they had less than a day before the Ministry would destroy the manor. Reluctantly she softly said, "Lucius."

His reaction was to moan softly and hold her more tightly.

"We need to get up," she prodded gently.

"A few more minutes," he protested.

"Time is running out for us to find a way out of the manor."

"Way out?" he asked groggily.

She felt him tense up as he started to wake up and realize where he was and who he was with. Hastily he removed his arm. "My apologies. I must have rolled next to you in my sleep..." his voice trailed off.

Sitting and stretching she replied. "Don't worry about it. I think it helped both of us get some restful sleep since it seems to be getting colder in here."

Lucius was also sitting and looked out the window. "Most likely because it's getting colder outside," he observed, noticing the snow falling. "I supposed we should begin our search. I think we can cover the house more quickly if we split up," he offered.

She wasn't opposed to the idea because she did not trust him. "That's true, but we each have different talents, and it might be better for us to search together to ensure we don't overlook something."

After a few moments careful consideration, he replied. "That is an excellent point, and one I had not considered. I suggest we start down in the kitchen and work our way up."

---

It took them nearly six hours to finish searching the manor. Hermione was frustrated that they had found nothing. There was no sign of magical concealment. "It was just a trap!" she yelled out in exasperation.

Lucius paced as he thought. "Despite evidence to the contrary, I do not believe so. There has to be something that we have missed. Some sign..." He unconsciously rubbed his forearm.

"That's it! I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier," Hermione said victoriously.

"What's it?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Your Dark Mark. It may have faded, but it will always be there." She took hold of his arm and pushed his sleeve up. As she had expected, there was nothing there. "Have you felt anything on your arm since we've been looking around?"

"Perhaps," he admitted reluctantly. When she gave him an inquisitive look, he continued, "There are many times when I think I feel the burn, but it is nothing more than residual memory. I have come to ignore it."

"Well, let's go back through the house and have you not ignore it this time. It might be a signal for us as to where the artifact is concealed." She was feeling much more optimistic about their chances of escape now.

They worked their way down from the attic. The floor with the bedrooms yielded nothing, but Hermione wasn't nervous, yet. She had not really expected there to be anything in those rooms. She wasn't exactly sure why, but they did not strike her as the places where Voldemort would have concealed something.

On the main floor of the house she became more anxious. These rooms seemed like the type of places where he would have hidden something valuable. She kept looking to Lucius as they went from room to room, waiting for him to say he felt the Mark.

As they walked through the library, he suddenly froze and gripped his arm. She rushed to his side and could see the faint outline of the skull and serpent. Her heart started pounding in anticipation.

They searched that area of the library and suddenly a broad smile crept across Lucius' face. "It's here. I can feel it now. It's very faint, but there is something concealed here." He held his wand at a spot on a seemingly empty shelf for several minutes.

Hermione did not say anything, not wanting to disturb his concentration.

Finally he quietly chanted a spell, so quietly that she could not hear what he said. After he spoke, a small, dark stone with an intricate design carved on it slowly materialized on the shelf. "Is that it?" she asked when it was fully visible.

"It is," he replied simply.

They both stared at it in silence for a few seconds before she impulsively threw her arms around him and gave him a kiss. "You did it!" she said triumphantly.

He welcomed her affection, wrapping his arms around her and corrected, "We did it. Without your help, I never would have thought to use my Dark Mark to find it."

Finally she realized what she was doing and reluctantly released him. She had never expected to like the feeling of being held by Lucius Malfoy. "So now what do we do?" she asked as she tried to ignore her outburst of affection. Though she had to admit she was surprised that he had seemed to like it as well.

He rubbed his chin as he stared at the stone. "It should be safe to pick up, but I ask that you let me be the one to do so. I would not like for you to be injured inadvertently." Cautiously he reached his hand out and picked it up. Nothing seemed to happen.

"Do you think we should try the door?" she asked as she stood shoulder to shoulder with him staring at the stone.

"That is the obvious course of action. Hopefully merely possessing the artifact will be enough to end the spell on the doors," he replied optimistically.

The two of them walked down the hall to the main entrance, but found the way still barred. Hermione hurried to the kitchen, Lucius following behind her. She found the kitchen door magically locked as well.

"Damn it!" She kicked the door in frustration and immediately regretted it as her foot throbbed. "Now what do we do?"

"I...don't know," he admitted. "I have tried everything that I can think of. I thought this would be the answer," he said of the stone in his hand.

"And you're sure that's really the artifact?" she asked, hoping that it was some sort of decoy.

"Positive. I hold it and I can feel the power resonating through it." He held it in the palm of his hand as he examined it.

She reached out as though to touch it, but pulled back before she made contact because she could feel the menace emanating from it. "How can you hold it?"

He shrugged. "Like it or not, things like this have always been a part of my life. You grow accustomed to how they feel." After an awkward silence, he said, "I think we should go to the parlor and see if we can light a fire in the fireplace and consider our options. We can at least be warm."

Hermione found that she couldn't argue with his reasoning. And perhaps a fire... "Lucius, do you think that maybe a fire would be seen, or at least the smoke?"

"I have no idea. Your Patronus could not escape, but it's magical. Something as common as smoke from a fire might not be blocked."

Lucius put the stone in his pocket and they went upstairs to the dining room to break apart the furniture. He took an armful to the parlor while Hermione started a fire in the dining room fireplace. She then joined Lucius in the parlor. "So now we just wait?" she said as she joined him on the cushions on the floor.

"Unless you have any other ideas, yes."

She checked her watch and saw that it was less than an hour before the manor was scheduled to be destroyed. She let out an involuntary shiver and then leaned against Lucius for comfort. Right now she wanted to feel another person, that she was not alone.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.