Four

Disclaimer: Honestly, who do you think I am? JKR? Um. No.

Hermione finally had at least a vague idea where Lucius was heading. He'd not broached the subject of Snape often, and when she thought about it, she'd noticed that he'd never spoken of Snape in the past or at least not as if he were dead. She had excused it, assuming it was because he'd been very fond of Snape and was simply reminiscing, maybe with a touch of denial even. "Are you going to tell me next that you didn't go because there was no body to bury? Or at least not Snape's?"

Lucius's smirk turned into a wide grin. "Why, my lovely, that is exactly what I was going to tell you."

"Are you saying he is alive?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide.

"He is alive, he is well, and he's as horny as ever for me," Lucius said, sounding positively smug.

Rub it in, why don't you, she thought, but to her own surprise, the stab of jealousy she'd expected never came. She'd probably consider casting Avada Kedavra on any woman who came too close to him, but strangely, she didn't begrudge him Snape as his lover. Hermione was unable to suppress a happy grin spreading across her face. "That is the coolest news I've heard since Voldemort bit the dust," she said, sounding goofy even to her own ears. "It's wonderful that he's alive! I often thought what a shame it was that he'd never had a proper life, you know..."

"Oh, really? I'll tell him you approve. I always thought his students never liked him." Lucius was visibly pleased.

She thought back to her student years and the war. It had never been actual dislike, even less so when she'd realised he'd been playing a dangerous double role. Hermione shook her head. "I can't say I disliked him. Maybe sometimes, when he was being vicious, but not generally. And I admired him tremendously for the role he played as well as for his intellect."

"Oh, he'll love to hear that!" Lucius looked satisfied to the extreme.

Now Hermione's curiosity was acutely piqued. "Where does he live now? Oh, and how did he survive?"

Lucius laughed. "Oh, I love it when you're so inquisitive! Unfortunately, I cannot tell you where he lives. His place is not only Secret-Kept but also further Warded..."

"And you are his Secret-Keeper?"

Lucius let out a small sigh. "Yes, I am, but you'll understand that I will not disclose his location without his consent?"

"Yes, of course," Hermione assured him. "So, can you tell me how he survived?"

"That I can do," Lucius confirmed. "It was I who found him, probably shortly after the three of you had left the Shrieking Shack. Severus had taken precautions; he had assumed, correctly so, that the Dark Lord might go after his wand. And of course he'd expected to be bitten by Nagini. Anyone reasonably close to the Dark Lord expected to be bitten by her at one time or another. Fortunately, Severus had the knowledge and means to develop antivenin, anti-venom, and various potions he might or might not need to survive a bite."

Hermione nodded. Snape's apparent unpreparedness for a snakebite had entered her mind more than once over the years. How such a powerful and intelligent wizard would not be prepared for a snakebite had never made sense to her.

Lucius's voice interrupted her thoughts. "So, naturally, I had an inkling what had happened when the Dark Lord suddenly appeared with Severus's wand in his hand and a very triumphant look on his face. I left his side as soon as I could do so unobtrusively and went to the Shrieking Shack. Severus carried many potions and a Portkey on his person at all times, and I knew of course. So I Portkeyed him away, spent a very scary night during which he hovered closer to death than life, but eventually, the potions I'd forced down his throat started to work, and he recovered sufficiently to send me back to be with Cissy and Draco and to find out whether the Dark Lord had won. Imagine my relief when I learned he'd been defeated." He seemed to be reminiscing, as his face showed an expression of consummate relief.

"I can imagine," Hermione said softly.

Lucius let out a dry laugh. "Can you really, love? I don't know if you can." He sounded wistful. "When I returned, I had no idea whether I'd find Cissy and Draco still alive. For all I knew, the Dark Lord might have killed one of them or both to punish me for disappearing. He was very unpredictable at the best of times and became even worse so after he'd taken over the Ministry. On the other hand, I couldn't have let Severus die... Anyway, that's how he survived, and the rest is history as the saying goes."

"And then Harry spoke in your favour to Kingsley," Hermione prodded. She'd always known why Harry had done so, and it had less to do with Lucius than the entire Malfoy family. Narcissa had saved Harry's life shortly before Voldemort's demise by making him believe Harry had died, but Harry had also observed that both Lucius and Narcissa had put the well-being of their son before bowing to their master. Where there was such obvious love, there had to be a way for redemption, Harry had argued, and Hermione had agreed with him wholeheartedly.

Lucius nodded pensively. "He did that, and I still owe him." He frowned. "Maybe his action then was the reason I sought you out to uncover this whole conspiracy. Potter said to me, 'As long as you'll never try to gain power on the Dark side, your debt is paid.' I suppose my relatively new conscience doesn't allow me to merely stop at seeking power, but be proactive when it comes to preventing someone else from doing so."

"Relatively new conscience, eh?" Hermione was unable to suppress a chuckle.

"Well, yes! I certainly can't claim one during my younger years," Lucius said, and Hermione detected an ever so slightly defensive tone to his voice. "But we live and learn, some faster than others. Anyhow, now you know all the gory details." He moved closer to her and ruffled her hair. "And I can't say I regret approaching you..."

"I'm glad you did," Hermione said. "I feel younger now than I felt ten years ago, and my only regret is that I stayed loyal to Ron for so long, even though the signs of his infidelity had bugged the hell out of me for years."

Lucius raised his eyebrow. "Are you saying Edwina is not his first fling?"

"I doubt she's the first, but I can't be certain. It's just a gut feeling. There were earlier occasions when I thought I'd detected a whiff of a woman's perfume or found a black hair on his robes. But I always let it go. I guess I was... comfortable," she admitted.

Lucius regarded her curiously. "Say, how do you feel about me and Severus?"

"Good question." Hermione sighed. "I feel no jealousy if that's what you're wondering. I guess... I think I wouldn't go as far as wanting to watch you with him, but I'm okay with it. I would hate to share you with another woman, though," she added sternly.

Lucius laughed. "Oh, I can promise you there won't be another woman, love. And I wouldn't expect you to watch Severus and me, unless of course it appeals to a more voyeuristic side I've not yet detected in you."

She shook her head determinedly and huffed indignantly. "I'm pretty sure I don't have such a side, Lucius!"

The only positive points about being back in London, Hermione thought, were the weather and the fact that she was with her children, who had not taken too well the fact that their father was having an affair...had been having an affair for some time. Molly Weasley, who had been fairly insistent that her precious son would never have started an affair had Hermione not driven him to do so because of her own inadequacies, had had her opinion corrected by Harry, and Hermione was grateful. Coping with the extremely strong-willed Weasley matriarch was hard work at the best at times, but being blamed unfairly by her had been unbearable and made her initial departure from London all the easier.

Molly had gone as far as inviting Hermione to stay at the Burrow, but Hermione had declined. She was only staying for two weeks and had no interest in sharing the precious time with her children with anyone else, least of all her ex-mother-in-law.

Lucius had offered her to stay at Malfoy Manor, but Hermione wasn't overly keen on running into Draco or, worse, Pansy. Instead, she decided to stay at a Muggle hotel in Central London with Rose and Hugo, making it a real holiday and engaging in typical tourist activities. They visited museums, galleries, ate their way around the ethnic world on offer, read Muggle books together, and talked.

One evening, they met with Harry for dinner, and to Hermione's surprise, he didn't have much positive to say about his best friend. Harry was careful enough with his words, as the children were listening, but Hermione clearly came away thinking there was a considerable dent in their formerly unwavering friendship. Interesting... She was grateful when Harry mentioned that Ron had extended his visit to the French Ministry of Magic. Just the thought of facing him caused her discomfort. With the vast geographical distance and an attentive and attractive man at her side, she had not wasted many thoughts on her years of marriage, but so close to the scene and Rose and Hugo serving as a constant reminder of her past with Ron, she did not want to think about her failures or her ex-husband's.

The two weeks were over before Hermione knew it. She'd miss Rose and Hugo, she'd miss the rainy weather that was the subject of every small talk, but she was glad to return to Lucius. He'd promised her he would return from his visit to Snape on the same day as she, and they had planned to spend the evening together at Taliesin West.

Luggage reduced and in her and the children's pockets, Hermione Apparated Rose and Hugo to the Burrow where they were enthusiastically greeted by the Weasley patriarch. Arthur was clearly enjoying his holidays, which, in true wizarding fashion, were increasing by a few days every year. Molly was busy preparing tea when the door burst open and Harry rushed in.

"Oh, I'm glad I caught you before you left, Hermione!" he started, out of breath. "The Ministry has just issued a new law this morning, effective immediately, that users of Portkeys have to have passports to exit the country! The Portkey office is a right mess at the moment!"

"What?" Hermione exclaimed. "That's ridiculous! Without warning? I guess I better Apparate then."

Harry sighed as he sat down at the kitchen table and gratefully took the mug with steaming hot tea from Molly. "I know... It's getting worse all the time. And people don't even seem bothered over it." He frowned deeply.

Hermione groaned inwardly. Apparating across the channel wasn't so bad, but a few thousand miles...she'd have to do it in instalments. "Molly, do you have a worldmap? I can't stay here and wait for the Ministry to issue a passport."

"Well, that wouldn't be a problem, Hermione. You work for them, so surely you'd get one instantly," Harry said.

Hermione sat back and thought for a moment, glad that her children were out of hearing range, playing in the living room. Then she shook her head. "No, Harry, I don't think so," she said slowly. "I think it's time to... rebel. Civil disobedience if you will; one has to start for others to follow. All those laws they've been introducing, both the British Ministry and the American Ministry of Magic, they're clearly designed to control individuals. And I simply don't buy it that it's for the good of the wizarding world and to keep big bad Death Eaters at bay. It's ridiculous if you think about it."

"I thought they've been a bit heavy-handed lately," Molly chimed in as she handed Hermione a map of the world. "I've lived through two wars, and seeing as there hasn't been a single Death Eater attack since Voldemort died, these new laws all seem a bit exaggerated. Especially if we consider that we got rid of him without any such protective laws in place." She almost sneered.

"You know... my parents always longed to live in a society that did away with any forms of identification. Yes, they were idealists as far as Muggles were concerned, but the lack of ID requirements was one thing they'd always admired about the wizarding world."

Hermione mentally decided her route back to Phoenix, picking out the far northwest of Ireland as the first stop, then a remote spot in Iceland, the Statue of Liberty in New York City, one of the Seven Preposterous Hills in Oklahoma, and a possible stop in Albuquerque. She could have chosen a more southern route, but it was hurricane season, and she'd rather not be caught in one. The danger of potentially landing on a rattler in Phoenix was acute enough...no need to add a freak weather into the equation.

"If these laws are protective, I'll start breeding recluse spiders," Hermione said blandly. "I'm glad my children are old enough to be at Hogwarts. Imagine those poor younger children; they're forced to attend Muggle schools. I wonder how long it'll take the Hogwarts staff to undo the education those Muggles impose on the poor dears!" She rose from her seat. "I should go. Apparating is going to take a bit longer than a Portkey."

Saying good-bye to the older Weasleys was easy; saying good-bye to Harry slightly less so. But having to leave Rose and Hugo behind once again broke her heart.

"Mum, do you think you can come back so at least you live in the same country?" Hugo asked, his voice hitching, but he managed to suppress the tears that threatened to fill his eyes.

Rose put her arm around her younger brother's shoulders. "Yeah, Mum. I wish you'd live closer."

Hermione hugged them both. "I'm never too far to receive your owls, okay? And how about if I come pick you up to spend the Christmas holidays in Phoenix? It won't be awfully hot then, and most of the snakes will be hibernating!"

She received enthusiastic responses to that, made a mental note to inform Ron of the plan, and finally Apparated.

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

Grateful thanks go to southernwitch69 for making this more readable.