Ten

Disclaimer: Not mine. If you recognise it, it belongs to JKR. If you don't, it likely belongs to me. Wild theories of the earth being hollow do exist. Blame it on Jules Verne if you like. No tango was insulted for this chapter, nor was any paper wasted. The electrons in the computer might be slightly miffed, though.

"I... I'm sorry," she said lamely, angry with her blood for pooling straight to her face, angry with her body for not letting her mind control this entirely uncalled-for desire, angry with her lungs for betraying her with rapid, short, ragged breaths, angry with herself for being wholly unreasonable about this whole situation.

The quick look Lucius exchanged with Snape did not escape her, and she wondered if she'd ever mean as much to him as Snape obviously did. An exchange of deep understanding that needed no words passed between the two men, and Lucius stood up and walked towards her in one swift movement, spreading his arms to invite her in.

Hermione readily accepted and leaned her head against his chest, her breathing slowing down to a more normal level.

"Love, what's wrong?" Lucius asked. "Are you upset because we were pleasuring each other, or are you upset about your own reaction?"

"It's... I've known pretty much from the beginning that I share you. Thankfully, you've never made that a secret," she said quietly. "I think... I didn't expect to find the sight erotic." She sighed. Telling him the honest answer was as important as it was difficult.

He patted her gently on the back. "Who would've thought, eh? And you were so vehement watching us wouldn't turn you on." He sounded satisfied, and Hermione could not suppress a grin, glad he wasn't able to see it.

She slapped his arm. "Always have to be right, don't you?" she grumbled, but with a mirthful voice.

When she heard the bathroom door close, she looked up. "Oh. I hope Snape doesn't mind to be so rudely interrupted."

Lucius laughed. "No, darling, he doesn't mind, I'm sure. But if we don't get ready soon, too, we'll be late for dinner." With that, he released her and headed toward the dresser, chose some clothes, and sat down on the chair to wait for his other partner to vacate the bathroom, watching her with interest. "You do look fantastic in that dress." He nodded approvingly.

"Why, she really does." Snape stood in the door, looking at her with a look she could only consider to be approving.

Lucius looked up at his partner and smirked. "That was quick." He got up and headed towards the bathroom while Snape moved towards the just vacated chair.

"You better hurry, old man. I don't like the idea of making Lola and Karl wait," he called after Lucius. A grunt was his only response.

Hermione finally remembered the idea she'd had in the shower and turned to Snape. "Sir, have you ever thought including some kind of awareness potion to G.A.Y. products?"

He looked at her sharply, and she faltered, feeling as if transported back to Hogwarts during her schoolgirl days and fully expecting to receive a dressing-down ripe with sarcasm.

His answer, with its frankness as well as its lack of sardonic tints, surprised her. "Lola and I have been working on it, and the latest batch includes some new... ingredients. All less than five percent, of course, so we do not have to list them, as some countries just love to analyse them to find fault." He looked at her steadily, and then continued. "It is, in fact, a derivative of Veritaserum, only that it tugs at the subconscious more than the original potion."

"Oh..." Hermione felt lost for words. Then her mind started churning. "What... what do you expect will be the result? The idea only occurred to me in the shower, and I've not had any time to think it over at all. Do you think it'll wake up Muggles as well? And I bet there are some of the powerful Muggles who use G.A.Y. potions, what about them?" She stopped, feeling sheepish. "Sorry, I'm babbling," she added.

Snape chuckled. "Yes, I do believe anyone who uses G.A.Y. will wake up, if only gradually. It'll be interesting to watch the headlines in the near future, I'd say. And yes, of course it'll affect anyone who uses them." Then he turned serious. "Miss Granger, I do not perceive..."

"...Oh, would you please stop calling me that! It makes me feel like a thirteen-year-old in your dungeons classroom!"

He chuckled again. "Hermione, I do not perceive what you said as babbling. Your idea has merit, perfectly so. Only, I arrived there first. In fact, the original idea was to develop a potion that would open up the mind to one's higher self. Unfortunately, I've not arrived at a conclusion. Yet."

She breathed. In. Out. In. Out. In out. Inout, inout. "Okay."

"Are you all ready, then?" Lucius had finally finished in the shower.

"Yes, dear. Just waiting for you."

"Let's go, then!" Turning to Snape, he said, "You know where to go, so Apparate us, will you?"

Holding one hand with Lucius and the other with Snape felt comfortable, Hermione decided.

The remainder of the weekend had flown by too fast, and before she knew it, Hermione found herself facing another day at work.

Parting with Snape was harder than she'd imagined, and that was after a tearful parting with Lola and Karl. "I... Oh gods! I don't know what to say! This has been incredible, meeting you after so many years, and... and I still don't know how to address you!" Hermione was unable to suppress the tears and looked down in embarrassment.

Snape chuckled. He put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. "I'm delighted to see how well you've been doing. I've always had faith in you. Even though my behaviour suggested differently." He paused for a moment. "Hermione." He said her name slowly, as if to taste it. "And since I call you by your first name, how about you try to do the same?" He chuckled again in that deep voice of his that made her almost tremble.

"Severus," she whispered, tasting his name on her tongue while snuggling closer to him.

"That's it," he said. "And don't stay away too long."

"I won't." She turned away from him, took Lucius's hand, and together, they Apparated.

"Home, sweet home," Lucius said as they arrived in front of Taliesin West.

When Hermione arrived at her office, a hawk was waiting for her outside the window. She headed straight for the window, opened it, and let the bird in. Only one wizard utilised hawks to send private correspondence. "I don't have any live feed, but if you fly exactly north from here, you'll find an old house overrun with rodents," she said to the bird as she untied the parchment. The bird seemed unperturbed and took straight off again.

Dear Hermione,

Harry

Hermione felt guilt sear through her; she really had been neglecting her best friend. She'd been in such a hurry to send the letter off to him that including anything personal had never even occurred to her. A sigh escaped her, and she made a mental note to write a long, personal letter to Harry in the next few days. Then she folded the parchment and put it in her bag, planning to show it to Lucius in the evening.

His voice drifting into her office interrupted her train of thought abruptly. What on earth is he doing here? He normally only came to pick her up for lunch or at the end of the day, and not often.

"Would you happen to know why Edwina Wilson, who has not been part of this department in over a year, felt the need to visit this place on a Sunday, Abigail?"

Hermione couldn't hear Abigail's answer, but Lucius's question alone hurried her out of her office into the reception area. The sight of her lover towering over a very wide-eyed receptionist surprised her.

"Lucius, what's happening?"

Lucius rose and turned to face her. "Hello, love. I've learned that Edwina Wilson took it upon herself to sneak into your office yesterday. Now, what does that tell us?" He looked at her evenly.

"I had no idea," Abigail said, her voice trembling, but Hermione was certain it was out of fear and not out of the need to hide something. The receptionist wasn't the brainiest, but Hermione had no reason to believe she might not be loyal to her. "I've not seen Edwina since she left for England."

"Oh, I am surprised," Hermione said, "that it took her this long. I guess we better check my office for bugs." She motioned for Lucius to follow her back to her office, then turned back to Abigail. "Don't worry about it, Abigail. I'll find out what the hell is going on here."

Back in her office, Hermione took a deep breath. "How did you find out?"

"I'll tell you as soon as we are somewhere I know isn't infested with listening devices," Lucius said, his tone serious.

Hermione nodded. "Yes. That's a good idea." She sat down at her desk, sighing. "I don't know what to make of this. I feel... violated." She put her head in her hands.

Lucius put one arm around her shoulder and his hand below her chin to lift it. "Sneaking in here when nobody is around, and she knew that the office would be deserted on a Sunday, is not acceptable, Hermione. Ministry employees have been sacked for lesser violations."

"Yes, but how can we prove she was here?" Hermione asked, looking at him.

Lucius smirked. "I have proof. Although... you might not like how I came about it."

Her mind started churning, but she forced herself to let it go. She wouldn't be able to talk about it right there, not while there was danger of someone in favour of controlling the wizarding world catching the conversation.

He bent down and whispered, "Go about your working day like normal. Just don't have any private conversations. But do what we discussed over the weekend with our friend. I will deal with having your office cleared of any devices she might have installed by tomorrow morning. When you're done here, come to my place. We can talk more freely there." He kissed her and left.

Do what we discussed... Hermione had to think for a moment before the answer hit her. Then she grinned to herself and switched her computer on. As soon as the internet connection came on, she pinged Snape's computer. It worked.

Given the privacy violation, Hermione decided to go to a library to send Snape...no, Severus...the information he'd need to remotely access her computer. It was too early for lunch yet, and she had no intention of drawing attention to her person in any way. What if that Wilson woman arranged to spy on me further? What if she has some of her minions follow my every step? Then she rolled her eyes at herself. You're getting paranoid...

Unable to shake off the feeling of unease, Hermione was staring at her computer screen when an owl whooshed through the open window. She untied the parchment.

Love, don't use your computer for any private correspondence, and don't go out to send it. They're probably watching you. Let me know if I can do anything for you in the meantime. Or come home at your earliest convenience. L.

Hermione took a deep breath. Not paranoid, then. Merely realistic. The realisation made her slightly queasy.

Then, with a sudden clarity from unknown sources, Hermione knew she had to break the one rule she'd held sacred for all her working life: skive off work.

Her mind made up instantly, she shut down her computer, grabbed her bag, and headed out of her office. Hermione stopped briefly at Abigail's desk. "Abigail, I don't feel so well. I'll take the rest of the day off. If you need me, send an owl."

Abigail looked at her with big eyes. "I hope you get better, Miss Hermione," she offered. "You don't look well..."

"I'm sure I'll be fine tomorrow, thanks," Hermione said dismissively and turned to the door. As soon as she reached the street, she cast a cursory glance in all directions to check that the road was empty and Apparated straight to Taliesin West.

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

Grateful thanks go to southernwitch69 for making this more readable. For correct writing, thank her. For mistakes, blame me.