Six

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. I only borrow them to let them shag get closer with each other.

Lucius's wish was finally granted on the day before he was due to return to Phoenix. He was more than ready to be with Hermione again, even though he'd enjoyed himself tremendously with his friend. He'd gone to Buenos Aires with Severus, grudgingly admiring how the Potions master had dealt with the Muggle bank manager and Muggles in general. They'd visited Patagonia occasionally to explore the wild, ragged southern-most tip of Chile, and they'd even visited Phoenix once, although not Taliesin West.

They had made love often, and Lucius had even more often shared little antics of his recent life with Hermione. He could not deny missing her.

The two men were enjoying a hearty breakfast when the room was suddenly bathed in a soft, turquoise light. "Ah. We have a visitor," Severus said and stood up to open the door. He returned with the tallest woman...no, lady...Lucius had ever seen. Her height must have been a good six feet, Lucius had no doubt, and she moved very gracefully. Her very long, thick, blonde hair...with such a perfect shine that Lucius made a mental note to ask her what she did to it...was tied loosely at the back, and her entire outfit...more like robes than anything resembling Muggle clothing...was a resplendent display of the entire blue spectrum. From the lightest aqua, through more shades of turquoise than Lucius knew existed, to indigo and the darkest navy, no hue was left out.

Her age was impossible to guess. At first sight, she looked no older than thirty. Her intense eyes, however, belied that impression. Lucius could happily fall into those eyes and absorb an aeon of wisdom. Not thirty, then.

"Lola, my friend Lucius." Severus turned to Lucius. "Lucius, Lola is a resident of Agharta proper. She and I developed many of the G.A.Y. potions together."

Lucius bowed. "Enchanted."

Hermione cursed the lawmakers throughout her tedious travels back to Phoenix. Portkeying would have left her queasy for a few minutes, and then she would have forgotten about the journey. Compared to it, Apparating in stages was ridiculous. The moment she reached the Irish West Coast, she was hit by rain so hard that she was soaked to the skin before she could gather sufficient concentration to Apparate again. She couldn't be sure about the weather in Iceland, her next stop, but hadn't quite expected to appear right next to an active geyser, and her mood was not improved by hot drops of something...water...hitting her chilled skin. She took a few, fast steps away from the source of the heat and didn't waste time to Apparate to the platform of the Statue of Liberty...where she was promptly hit by another downpour. At least tourists seeing her appear from nowhere was not an issue. Oh, stop whining about getting soaked! It's not as if you won't be wishing for rain for the next four or five months! she admonished herself and Apparated straight to just outside Albuquerque and, after taking a few deep breaths, from there to the front of Taliesin West where the sky offered a splendid display of colours in all hues of the rainbow spectrum announcing the end of the day and welcoming her.

By the time she'd gathered herself and reached the front door, her clothes were dry again. For the first time since she'd arrived in Phoenix some ten months ago, Hermione was grateful for the dry heat. Before she could make up her mind whether to knock or simply unward the door herself by saying the name of Lucius's grandson, it opened to reveal Lucius. Her heart jumped, and for a moment she felt the terrible uncertainty that so often caught new lovers after their first time apart. He's going to tell me he'll go to live with Snape...

"Splendid to see you! I was afraid you might have changed your mind about coming back!" Lucius opened his arms to her.

Hermione flew right into them and held on to him for dear life. "I'm so glad to see you," she mumbled into his shoulder, making him chuckle.

Lucius gently turned her head and guided her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Say that again."

Hermione laughed, emotional stress she hadn't known about falling off her and relief washing over her. "I'm so glad to see you." She raised her head, her lips seeking his, and he lowered his head, meeting her mouth. When they finally ended the kiss, both were panting slightly.

"Welcome home, love," Lucius said softly and steered her towards the living room where an open bottle of wine and two glasses awaited them.

Hermione let herself fall into the deep, soft sofa, a sigh escaping her. "Merlin, it feels good to sit down!"

Lucius sat down next to her, and after pouring some wine in each glass, he looked at her closer. "My, you do look a bit dishevelled. Since when is travelling so hard?"

Hermione laughed. "Apparently, since this morning." She told him of the new law, of her conversation with Harry, and finished, saying, "As much as I appreciate Apparating over short distances, it's a right bother over several thousand miles."

Lucius grinned. "Trust me, you'll get used to it after a while. Want a bath?"

Hermione did not need to think. "Yes, that sounds heavenly!"

He led the way to the Jacuzzi, which was already bubbling, ready to offer pleasure and relaxation, making Hermione shudder lightly with anticipation.

"Allow me," Lucius purred and proceeded to unbutton the back of her robes. Then he unfastened her bra, let it fall carelessly to the floor, and pulled her knickers down. "Go ahead, love. I'll be in shortly."

Feeling giddy from the sensation of his hands, she obeyed wordlessly and entered the pool. She sat down on the built-in bench, up to her shoulders in the bubbling water, and watched Lucius discarding his clothes and stepping into the water towards her. Her arms opened out of their own accord, and she was grateful that he walked keenly into them before sitting down right next to her, his right arm snaking around her shoulders. She leaned her head against him and said quietly, "I'm relieved that you're back here. When I arrived, I was scared that you might have decided to stay with Snape, or leave me for some reason, or... whatever."

"Would it make you feel better," he said slowly, "if I told you that I've had similar fears?" He pulled her closer and gently cupped her breast with his left hand. "Ah, I missed that, too."

Her sigh turned his attention to her half-lidded eyes, and he smirked. "Still like it, then?" He drew his right arm around her shoulders and cupped her other breast as he moved in front of her. His thumbs were now skirting around the edge of her nipples until they peaked, and then he pulled slightly, first one, then the other, making her gasp.

"Oh, how I've missed that," Hermione moaned as her hands grabbed his hair to fondle and enjoy. Letting it run gently through her hands was like fingering the most exquisite silk.

He lowered his head underwater to take her nipple into his mouth. His tongue circled and prodded before he sucked the tip of her nipple deeper into his mouth. Like a starving man relishing every bite put before him, Hermione relished every contact of her body with his hands and tongue causing stabs of pleasure deep inside her.

His head appeared above water, leaving her momentarily bereft at the loss of his mouth on her breasts, but then his mouth sought and found hers. Tongues explored each other while Lucius's hands inched their way down her body until they reached the delicate skin between her thighs. He stroked and brushed against her curls, and she arched against his hands.

"I want to feel you inside me." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Lucius obliged keenly and guided his erection at her entrance. Then he thrust in, filling her completely. He stopped momentarily, eliciting a whimper out of her. "Like so, my love?"

"Oh, yes," she moaned. "Faster!" She met his thrusts, and it took no time for the couple to find the perfect rhythm.

Never interrupting, his one arm held her to him while the thumb of his other hand found the right spot, and he circled it, at first slowly and gently, then with increasing urge until he felt her body stiffen and her muscles contracting around him. Watching her expression of passion turn to utter bliss was his own undoing, and he spilled himself inside her.

Hermione let out a sigh of satisfaction as her breathing slowly returned to normal. "I don't know how I made do without that for the past two weeks..."

Lucius smirked as he sat down next to her. "I missed you, too, you know."

"So, did you have a good time with Snape?" Hermione asked lazily. Now that she was once more confident he wouldn't run off to live with Snape, her curiosity about his stay with him won out.

"Oh, yes. Severus always makes sure we enjoy ourselves," Lucius replied. "We also hatched an idea how to defeat the control freaks." He took her hand and moved it above the water, inspecting it closely. "But I'd say if we stay much longer in here, we'll end up very wrinkled. Let's go to the living room, and I'll tell you all about it over that bottle of red. How does that sound?"

Hermione nodded and sighed. "I suppose you're right." She could have happily stayed in the whirlpool with Lucius forever.

Once they'd settled down on the sofa in the living room, both only wearing bathrobes, each sipping from their glass, Lucius started telling Hermione about his trip to beneath Antarctica.

"He lives below the South Pole?" Hermione asked incredulously. "How did he manage that? Dig a hole?"

Lucius laughed. "He lives there all right. But no, he didn't have to dig a hole or build his own home. It is not commonly known that inside our planet, there is an entire continent that's inhabited just like the surface. Only the people who live there are peaceful and creative. They never fight in order to gain control or power; that concept is completely foreign to them."

"Oh? Interesting! Do you think the Wilsons could learn from them?" Hermione asked, snickering.

"Absolutely. They will, whether they want to or not," Lucius said and chuckled, then sobered quickly. "I don't actually know exactly how or when Severus made his first contact with the people down below. But he had his current home already set up by the time Nagini bit him, for that was where I brought him.

"Anyhow, I've visited him often over the years, but this was the first time I met the people there. It was quite fascinating."

"I bet..." Hermione suddenly felt as if she was utterly out of his league. People down below? There is life beneath the earth? It was too foreign a concept for her to grasp quickly. She swallowed hard and looked at Lucius, silently urging him to continue his unlikely tale.

"Lola, a dweller of Agharta, a city far below the South Pole, came to Severus's home yesterday morning." He stopped for a moment and then said, "Blimey. I can't believe it was only yesterday. Feels like a dream already..." He stretched, took a sip of his wine, and continued. "Anyway, so, yes, she came to pick us up. Her partner, Karl, who is a kind of governor in Agharta...they're elected by their people according to their wisdom, and there is absolutely no corruption, would you believe...is very concerned about what's going on here on the surface of the earth. Not only him, mind, all the other governors, too."

"Sounds like Utopia to me, love," Hermione said and took a sip of her wine.

"No, Utopia is further in. I think, about a thousand miles or so," Lucius replied.

Hermione's eyes widened. "There is a Utopia?"

Lucius laughed. "Yes, it's the name of another city, much closer to the inner sun, and the people of Utopia are generally revered for their incredible wisdom. I can imagine how you feel, though, love. Whenever Severus mentioned the people from the inside, I doubted his sanity, to be perfectly honest. I mean, I know he isn't insane, but it all sounds so unbelievable to an outsider like me. But I know different now..."

Hermione nodded slowly. "Yes, it sounds like a nicely spun fairy tale. But I do believe you!" she added hurriedly.

Lucius smiled sardonically. "I don't blame you if you don't believe a word I say, my sweets. You'll find out for yourself, I assure you." He took another sip from his glass, finishing it, and Accioed the bottle to refill their glasses. "Lola took us from Severus's place further down the corridor...well, it's more like a cave...and suddenly, this cave-like passage opened into a forest clearing. It looked just like an ordinary forest, and I was almost certain she'd led us to somewhere on the surface. Although the light was a bit dimmer, I figured that might have been the forest. But then, there was this... vehicle on the edge of the clearing." He took a deep breath. "I honestly don't expect you to believe me, love, but it kind of looked like a gondola. She opened it with some motion of her hand, no wand or anything, and it was way larger inside than from the outside."

Hermione nodded and shuddered slightly, as she could not help but remember the months she'd spent with Harry and Ron before Voldemort's defeat. It was not a happy memory. "Yeah, we used to have a tent that was about five times the size of what it looked from outside... But go on!"

"We stepped inside, sat down, and the thing started to move. No engine sound, it just moved, seemingly out of its own accord. A few minutes later we landed in this... it looked like a town made entirely out of quartz crystal, surrounded by most luscious displays of nature. There were people around, all of them friendly, and old played with young or talked with each other, and it was a very peaceful atmosphere.

"Lola showed us around. They have gardens where they grow food without anything that might damage the environment, and their fruits and vegetables are much bigger than ours and more tasty." Lucius stretched again and suppressed a yawn. "You tired, too?"

"Yes, I am, but I really want to know how they will help us defeat the control freaks," Hermione said and yawned.

"All right, I'll tell you that, and then the rest of it will have to wait until the morning," Lucius agreed and added, "You're not going back to work yet, are you?"

"No, I have another couple of days holiday. And yes, as long as you tell me that, the rest can wait till the morning," she said as Lucius pulled her up and steered her towards the bedroom.

When they were both settled in bed, Lucius smirked. "The answer is magick."

"Magic?" She sounded dumb to her own ears.

Lucius looked smug. "Magick. With a 'k' at the end."

"What's the difference?" Hermione frowned.

"You know some Muggles do magick, right?"

"Yes, I've heard about that."

"What do you know of sex magick, love?" he asked.

A/N: For details of the prompt, please see chapter 1.

Grateful thanks go to southernwitch69 for cleaning up my chapters. For correct writing, thank her. For mistakes, blame me.