Three

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, nor do I make money.

Much later, when the sun was already setting over the desert hills, Lucius said lazily, "Who would have thought, eh? A Malfoy and a Muggle-born."

Hermione suppressed a giggle. "At least you're referring to me as a Muggle-born," she said wryly. "You really have changed."

"I've not called anyone by... that name in over twenty years I'll have you know."

"Oh, really? What stopped you? It must have been a profound experience," Hermione said as she played with his hair. It was gorgeous hair, long, thick, healthy, and it felt pleasantly lush between her fingers.

"That it was. I'll tell you some time," he promised. "But today I've reserved for pleasure, not for reminiscing."

That sounded perfect to her. "I rather like that."

"Good. Now, how about a change of venue? Your bed is nice and comfortable, but my bedroom has an en-suite Jacuzzi. That, combined with the right potions, will ensure you'll not feel sore tomorrow. And of course, we'll engage in other pleasurable activities, too."

They finally got up and dressed, and then Lucius Apparated them to his place.

Hermione's jaw dropped. "You live here? But the place is a Muggle museum! I took the tour on the first Sunday I spent here." She could tell he was pleased with her reaction; Lucius was positively gloating.

"It is a rather well kept secret that Frank Lloyd-Wright was a wizard, even amongst magical folk. Every single home he designed has at least one extension with built-in distraction charms. So, essentially, unless you know about it, you won't see it.

"When I first arrived, I added a few wards for precautionary measures. Your wonderful technology should not get through here."

Another part of Taliesin West suddenly came into view. Hermione could have sworn it hadn't been there before and looked around curiously, but could barely make out more than the silhouette of the building in the darkness.

Lucius steered her towards the extension, and with a flick of his wand, a large, wooden door opened silently. Unlike most American homes, this one opened into a long, fairly wide corridor. Sconces and paintings of landscapes decorated the walls, and the floor was nearly entirely covered with a burgundy and bottle green Persian rug. "Follow through until you reach the kitchen at the end of the corridor," he said behind her. "I'll just reinstate the wards. Won't be a moment."

Hermione slowly walked down the corridor, admiring the art on either side and taking in the regal atmosphere, which was even more evident in this part of the building. The section that housed the museum had impressed her deeply already. Not only had it been designed to blend in with the landscape typical for the Sonoran Desert but it was also built in such a manner that the heat was reflected completely outwards, thus providing a comfortable temperature even on the hottest days.

This part...Lucius's current home...comprised a wizarding architectural delight. Candles came to life when the nearest door opened, fireplaces lit as soon as someone sat down on a sofa or chair in the room. The main goal was obvious: to provide comfort in every respect.

Hermione looked around the kitchen, her eyes wide in wonder. A wine shelf covered one entire wall from floor to ceiling. Another wall housed shelving and books. Opposite it was the largest Welsh dresser Hermione had ever seen, and next to it stood an Aga.

"Like it?" Lucius strode through the door. "If you want a drink, simply say aloud what you'd like. As long as you're near the table, it'll appear on that." He walked over to the wine shelf and gazed at the bottles. "Yes, I knew there was one left," he murmured and took a bottle. "Médoc Grand Cru from 2005, by far the best vintage in some fifty years." He placed the bottle in the centre of the kitchen table and sat down opposite Hermione.

Her eyes bulged as she watched the cork slowly extracting itself from the bottle. Two wine glasses appeared next to it.

"We'll let it breathe for a while. In the meantime, how about trying out that whirlpool?"

The more time Hermione spent with Lucius, the more she appreciated him. He was charming, entertaining, attentive, and he had a sharp mind. And gorgeous hair. His clothing was always impeccable, and so were his manners. Quite the striking opposite of Ron. Hermione had given up early on in their relationship to change Ron; it had never worked anyway, and she'd preferred to preserve her energy for worthwhile projects. Since she'd been with Lucius, she had come to realise what a difference having a well-groomed man by her side made. Wherever she had gone with Ron, they'd received preferential treatment because they both were war heroes and best friends of Harry Potter, still the most revered wizard alive. Wherever she went with Lucius, they received preferential treatment because people could not help but be at his beck and call; his air demanded it.

Two months into their relationship, neither Hermione nor Lucius had discovered any more information on who was behind the drive to introduce the technology that would ultimately give total control over the wizarding world. That this was the ultimate reason became ever more clear as new laws were gradually and subtly introduced into wizarding Britain. A one-paragraph article on page ten of the Daily Prophet informed of the Compulsory Muggle School Act 2020: Wizarding Children born on or after January 1st, 2010 are required to attend Muggle school between ages 5 and 10.

An owl from Harry informed her of another law, the Death Eater Prevention Act: The hoods of cloaks must cover no more than half the forehead.

"That's ridiculous!" Hermione exclaimed. "How can people fall for it?"

"It is," Lucius agreed. "But we will find out who is behind this, and then we'll put a stop to it.

"By the way, I received an owl from Kingsley. He finally agreed to keep tracks on Edwina, and I have no doubt something will come up before long."

Hermione looked at him, her expression less despaired now. "I hope so. It's a bit discouraging that every lead I've been following is fizzling into nothing. It's as if someone knows how to erase their tracks."

Lucius looked up. "You, my dear, are a genius!" He picked her up and swirled her around once, oblivious to the fact that they were in her office and anyone could have walked in.

Hermione laughed. "Why, thanks, love, but how did you come to that conclusion?"

He looked at her smugly. "Who, would you say, knows this technology better than anyone?"

"Whoever invented it of course." Suddenly, she saw Lucius's train of thought, and her face brightened.

"One Wilson is known to be a computer genius. In fact, if I'm not mistaken it's the one whose wife died under suspicious circumstances. Damn, we need someone trustworthy who can hack computers." She frowned.

"Hack? Oh...!" Lucius's face lit up. "I might know just the right person. Although it might take some convincing to get him to come out of hiding. Hm, we shall have to see..."

Hermione was unable to follow him now. "What do you have in mind, Lucius?" she asked curiously.

He took a deep breath. "Time to share some information with you, my lovely. Remember that Sunday we made love the first time?"

Hermione nodded. "Like I'd ever forget."

"I'm glad to hear you won't. You commented that I referred to you as a Muggle-born, and I promised to tell you the reason some time." He looked slightly discomforted, and Hermione placed her hand on his arm. "You don't have to tell me, you know. But if you do, I promise I won't judge you or laugh at you." Now was not the time for their usual banter, however mild.

"I appreciate that, love." He took another deep breath, visibly unsettled. "Do... do you have a problem with bisexuality?"

Hermione shook her head, confused. "Why would I have a problem with that? As long as you don't expect me to find a female lover..."

He chuckled. "Of course not. I'd rather not share you. For now. I know some Muggles condemn it, that's why I asked. It's not uncommon in our world, as you know. Anyhow, when I first joined the Dark Lord and then soon recruited others, I found myself in a relationship with one man for a while. He left to work elsewhere, I got married, and we each went our own ways until Draco started at Hogwarts. I bribed my way into the Board of Governors just to have an excuse to visit Hogwarts more often. I wanted to rekindle the affair, and Cissy had no objections."

Hermione wondered whom he was talking about, but did not want to interrupt him. Dumbledore had been gay, she'd never had any doubt, but he didn't strike her as Lucius's type in the least. Flitwick even less so; to associate Professor Flitwick with any sexuality at all made her shudder. She suddenly hit her forehead with her hand, completely oblivious to Lucius watching her closely.

"Professor Snape," she whispered.

"The one and only," Lucius confirmed, smirking slightly. "So, he was not adverse to start again, and we spent time together. Severus eventually convinced me of the foolishness that is racism about a year before the Dark Lord fell. In the months he was headmaster and the Dark Lord sullied Malfoy Manor with his presence, it was Severus who kept me sane. He found all kinds of excuses to call me to Hogwarts without raising the Dark Lord's suspicion. On one occasion I witnessed Severus dress down Phineas's portrait because he referred to a Muggle-born as Mudblood. I was surprised the frame of the portrait was left intact, considering Severus's fury. I've not used that word since, but don't ask me whether out of respect or the fact that I have feelings for him. I don't know the answer to that."

"Okay..." Hermione was confused. "Are you going to tell me what this has to do with finding a hacker? I mean, Professor Snape has been dead for over twenty years, Lucius!"

For a while, Lucius stared at the wall, his expression changing from one moment to the next from uncertainty to reminiscing to smugness. Then he looked at her, his face blank. Eventually, he started to speak again. "You do know I trust you, don't you?"

Hermione looked at him, frowning. "I assume you do..." She had no idea where this conversation was heading, but on the other hand, it hadn't taken her long to learn to expect the unexpected where Lucius was concerned.

"Nevertheless, I have to ask you for a wand oath that what I'm about to tell you will not ever be shared by you with anyone. It is not a matter of trust, Hermione, but if, Merlin forbid, someone finds out you're trying to get to the source of all this... control freakery, the last thing we'd want them to know is any secrets you harbour." He looked at her expectantly.

She did not have to think twice. What he'd said made perfect sense to her, so she held out her wand, ready to take the oath. She had a feeling she was in for some surprising news.

After she'd sworn on her wand, she leaned back deeper into the sofa and waited for him to speak again.

"What do you remember of the end of the war? Specifically in relation to Severus?" Lucius asked.

"Harry, Ron, and I saw him die. Nagini bit him, Voldemort left the Shrieking Shack, and we took the Invisibility Cloak off. Then Professor Snape gave Harry some memories and died. The next day, Harry and I returned to the Shack to retrieve his body, but someone else had already done that. He was buried at Hogwarts in a tomb built just for him a couple of weeks later."

Hermione frowned. "The service for him had a big turnout, but I don't recall seeing you!"

Lucius smirked slightly. "What a remarkable memory you have. Now, tell me, why would his best friend and lover not attend the burial service, especially since it was days after my entire family had been pardoned by the Minister upon Potter's recommendation?"

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

If you're interested, pictures and some facts about Taliesin West (only the Muggle parts) can be found here.

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