Hermione And Lucius Move To Take Control

I apologize for the short length of this chapter, but due to my not paying attention, I lost a huge chunk of it. I managed to remember the finer points of it and here it is.

All canon characters belong to JKR.

Thanks as always to June for her help and suggestions.

Chapter 12 – Hermione And Lucius Move To Take Control

Hermione and Ginny had spent the better part of Sunday morning decorating the baby's room. Ginny was hoping their child would be a boy, but she knew that Lucius wanted a little girl. He already had a son and he often said in tender moments that he wanted a daughter to spoil. As Ginny now napped, Hermione took advantage of the Malfoys' large library. She'd done a lot of thinking and knew that if she and Severus were ever going to be happy and be able to move on with their lives, Voldemort had to vacate Severus' body.

She settled herself at a table next to the large picture window. She'd decided to focus on four large books – two looked to be from sometime in the mid-seventeenth century, one looked to be dated even earlier. These books' bindings were clearly handmade. The fourth book was written in the twentieth century. Most modern books didn't have the older more dangerous spells, but the author's name caught her eye. Fabian Delcalvo was renowned for his knowledge of the Dark Arts. She thought perhaps there was something that might at least give her a clue as to where to begin looking.

After three hours of searching, all Hermione managed to figure out was that Severus wasn't a Horcrux. If he had been unfortunate enough to have had that fate befall on him, for certain he was lost.

In her research this morning, she'd found only two curses that were similar to the one Severus had been hexed with, but both were meant to be only temporary – the person inhabiting the host body was only doing so because of damage suffered to his own body. So far, she'd located only one recorded instance of that happening. During 312 AD the soul of a Roman general in the army of Constantine the Great was temporarily placed in the body of his youngest son, while his own body recuperated from a particularly fierce battle. After several days his soul was transferred back to his now healed body, and he once again was able to continue his emperor's campaign against Maxentius at the battle of Milvian Bridge. That win resulted in Constantine being proclaimed ruler of the entire Western Roman Empire.

Frustrated, Hermione pushed herself from the table and began to pace. More and more it looked as though the only way to get Voldemort out of Severus' body was to either ask him nicely or...or remove Severus' soul. But she liked Severus' body, in fact she loved it. She closed her eyes, the memory of the rape just a few days before still embedded in her mind.

"No, Hermione," she whispered to herself. "That wasn't him. That wasn't Severus."

She leaned her forehead against the stone slab that was part of the large fireplace, as she thought back to those first days after Severus awoke from his ten-year coma. Hermione recalled the day they first made love, and saw in her mind Severus' obsidian colored eyes as he told her he wanted to know what it was like to be loved. She showed him that night, and as the days passed and they both became closer, she knew that what she felt for him was deeper than anything she'd ever known.

Though she still held the image of their last loving encounter, it was of little comfort now. She also couldn't push back the pain she felt when Voldemort beat her and cursed her for even existing.

Lucius had told her that he would be visiting with Severus this morning. He also told her that should Severus even approach the property at any moment, to immediately alert the Order, as it wouldn't truly be Severus.

Hermione now turned back to the books she'd abandoned a few moments before. The war was over; it had been over for almost a decade. For all the years Severus had suffered at the hands of the Dark Lord, his only reward was the solid gold Order of Merlin, First Class hanging in his office. Even though he hadn't participated in the final battle, his work for the Order was recognized.

How she wanted to look into his eyes and tell him she wanted to spend her life with him. She wondered now if that would ever happen. Severus should have been living his life happily, finally free of Voldemort, but instead the very man they all thought they'd rid the world of, was now inhabiting the body of the man she knew she loved.

She looked at the books on the table once again, and thought this time, Voldemort wouldn't take Severus away, not from her or his friends.

"You can't have him, you bastard, not this time," she said, then opened the books and continued her search for a solution.

~*~*~

At the Three Broomsticks, Lucius and Voldemort, who had taken over Severus' body earlier, had been sitting at the Three Broomsticks for three hours. In the time they were there, they had gone through two bottles of firewhiskey, one small yet potent bottle of tequila, and a large pitcher of Bloody Mary's. While Voldemort did his best to keep up with Lucius, he hadn't noticed that the blond man had been covertly snacking during the entire time they'd been drinking. Even though Lucius could hold his liquor very well, eating helped to keep him from getting too loopy, as Ginny would say. Voldemort did not know this trick, having never been much of a drinker when he'd had his own body.

"So, what do you really want to do, now that you're back? I'm sure you have some sort of a plan." asked Lucius, hoping that the temptation to brag would be too much for the inebriated Voldemort to keep to himself. Lucius saw a gleam in Severus' eyes. He knew Voldemort would now spill, at least he hoped it would be information and not the contents of his stomach.

"Plans...yes, I have so many plans." Voldemort-as-Severus took another drink of the red concoction. "This time, I'm going to do things right. You, Lucius," he said as he pointed towards Lucius, "you have always been faithful. You never questioned anything asked of you; instead, you acted and did what needed to be done." Here he swayed a bit as he leaned forward slightly.

"Look at how strong I am now." Voldemort patted his chest. "I will be rid of him soon, and then I will start anew. And this time I will have you by my side again. You and your lovely wife."

Lucius' smile faded. Voldemort downed his drink quickly, not noticing the black expression on the face of the other wizard. When Narcissa was found murdered in their home he was convinced it had been the Dark Lord's doing. And now Lucius could see that Voldemort wanted Ginny. Lucius loved his wife more than life itself, and the fact that she was now pregnant with his child deepened his love for her. He held himself in check. At the risk of harming Severus, he couldn't do anything to Voldemort at this moment.

"You'll be rid of who soon?" asked Lucius.

Voldemort-as-Severus looked around the Three Broomsticks. It was getting harder and harder for him to focus. He felt Severus trying to come through, yet was able to keep him down. He looked at Lucius. He'd always found him to be a handsome man. Knowing now that Severus was a traitor to him, he wished it had been Lucius' body he'd taken. But if he had, then who would be left to serve him now?

"What did you say, Lucius? I'm feeling rather odd right now, not in complete control."

The blond wizard smirked inwardly. 'Good,' he thought.

"Lucius, I see what has happened to this world, and I don't like it."

"Times change, and the world must change with the times. Surely you can't think it's that bad. It could be worse," said Lucius.

Voldemort nodded.

"I can't see how. If I had my way, I would finish off all of them. Squibs, Half-Bloods, Mudbloods..."

"And what of Hermione? I know she is regrettably tainted by her blood, but she has proven to be a very intelligent witch." Lucius was outwardly calm but seething inside. He no longer believed the things he used to. When he began to court Ginny, there were many occasions when Hermione would accompany them to dinner or a Muggle movie. As he got to know her he realized how truly wrong he'd always been. Hermione was a bright and caring woman. Her powers equaled if not surpassed some of the purest of the pureblooded people he knew. Lucius often looked back on his life and realized how wrong he had been. He hated coming down to the level he was at now, as he was tiring of this charade that he hadn't played in ten years. He needed to get Voldemort talking, and this was the only way.

"Bah, she will never be good enough." Voldemort laughed. "Well, no, she was good for something."

Lucius stood quickly, and walked to the bar. He had to get away from the table. He felt the urge to grab the other wizard by the neck and choke Voldemort out of him if need be. Lucius ordered two lagers and willed himself to calm down. He threw down a few knuts on the bar and walked back to the table. He placed the lager in front of Voldemort who was looking at him oddly.

"Why did you get up so quickly?" asked Voldemort-as-Severus. He could barely focus. His eyes narrowed as he tried to turn the two blond wizards in his sight into one.

Deciding to confront Voldemort once and for all, Lucius leaned forward. "Enough of this," said Lucius. He pulled back the sleeve, the Dark Mark now as vibrant as it had been ten years before, and looked into the black eyes of his friend, only his friend was nowhere near the surface. "What's really going on here...my Lord?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sorry for the cliffy, but I should have more this week. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, thanks for reading.