25Ch 6 A/N
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter. All characters belong to JK Rowling; their abuse in this plot bunny is entirely my fault.
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When Lucius wandered into the room, Ginny drew her wand. "Sit where I can see you."
"As you wish. Anywhere in particular?"
"Somewhere your hands are visible. There, by the fire."
"Ginny, he's not going to do anything. He doesn't have a wand."
"You mean he just hasn't done anything yet. Or not that you know of." Ginny glared at Lucius. "I remember everything you've done to my family and friends. You're lucky they let you out of Azkaban. I would have given you the kiss."
"I am fortunate then that others were more empathic to my situation then."
"You brought it on yourself."
"I had little choice."
"Don't start. You're a pathetic excuse for a human being." Ginny spat. "I'm glad your name is forever tainted. Nobody will ever want to be a Malfoy; your family name will die as soon as you do. Good riddance." Hermione caught the flash of pain that crossed his face as Ginny casually dismissed his family's deaths. Ginny spun to face Hermione, her wand still pointed generally at Lucius. "Can't you get rid of him?"
"Ginny, please…"
"No Hermione, I won't stay here."
"It's ok, I can go elsewhere." Lucius said.
"Fine. Let me see if Colin can help." Turning to Lucius, she asked "If you could come with me…?" She brought Lucius to where Colin was clearing the dungeons.
"Colin, are you down here?" Hermione called out.
He poked his head into the hallway and replied. "Back here in the last dungeon."
Hermione spun on the stairs. She overbalanced, and started to swing her arms. Lucius stepped towards her, grabbing on to her waist, preventing her from falling down the stairs. Her breath caught, as her eyes flew to his face. His silver orbs locked with hers and the world vanished.
Thump.
Thump.
Her heart restarted as his eyes dropped his gaze. She bit her bottom lip as he slowly straightened, releasing his hold.
"Thank you" she breathed.
His eyebrow quirked upwards as he whispered "My pleasure." His eyes traveled down her form before returning to meet hers. "We can't have you falling before me, can we?"
Colin frowned at the incident.
"How are you? Do you get any time away from the snake?" Ginny asked.
"I'm ok. You know how it is. 'You don't have children or a husband. You don't have anything better to do, do you?'". She rolled her eyes. "Just because I'm an Auror, by THEIR choice, and fresh out of school, they believe we don't need time off."
Ginny said. "I don't envy you having to stay here. I just have to deal with paperwork. I couldn't handle living with a death eater."
"It could be worse."
"How?"
"Mr. Malfoy has been ok. Pleasant even." She smiled at the memory of him catching her. "Much nicer than Draco ever was."
"He's a snake Hermione. The only reason to be nice is to hypnotize you before striking."
Hermione laughed.
"At least you're in your happy place. Having this library to play in must be a dream."
"I know right. I mean I heard all about this library from Madam Pearce when she heard I was coming here. It has books she'd kill to have in her collection."
"Have you found anything more about the thirst curse?"
"No, it's so frustrating. Even with all these extra books, there's only a few references in the books.
Colin approached her as she was getting tea, stating "Hermione, I believe we should talk. Alone."
"Ok." She responded. She followed him into the hall.
"What was happening this morning?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" She was puzzled, thinking over the events of the morning. Was he upset that she asked him to babysit Malfoy during Ginny's visit?
"Mr. Malfoy. He had his arms around you." He said, his voice laced with suspicion. "I was given to understand that you were immune from the 'Malfoy' charm. That you spent years at loggerheads with Draco, and fought every time you met Lucius."
Her expression cleared. "He just caught me from falling down the stairs this morning."
"And that's it?" he didn't want to drop it.
"Yes, Draco and I fought nearly every day." What was he getting at?
His tone worried, he continued "Lucius is not your friend Hermione. He's a prisoner. You can't ever let your guard down around him."
"I know, Mad-eye always said 'constant vigilance'." She grinned up at him.
Colin put his hand on her shoulder. "That's right." He paused, thinking how to phrase his next request. "What I saw this morning, he's trying to manipulate you. I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want to have to replace you." He worked too long as an Auror not to question everything he saw. She was too young, too naïve, too female to be given the job of watching Lucius.
"What has he to gain?" she inquired.
His concern evident in his voice, he informed her "I don't know yet. Watch what he is doing, ok? Don't change your behaviour; just keep me in the loop of what he's doing. Give him enough rope to hang himself." He hoped she really was as clever as everyone said she was. "We'll talk about this again, right."
"Ok." She finished making herself some tea.
Hermione was thinking in the library about her conversation with Colin. She had never been affected by either Malfoy male; any physical attraction was overshadowed by her repugnance of their actions and vitriol. Was she immune from their charm? They had never tried. Draco had a fan club and a reputation of conquests that transcended house boundaries at Hogwarts. How did Lucius compare? He was more complicated than Draco. He was more subtle. He was more fascinating…wait, fascinating? Yes, that was the word.
She glanced to where he was reading the paper. For someone who believed in pureblood supremacy, he didn't act like it now. He didn't talk like it either. If it wasn't for the dark mark, and having faced him in the past, she wouldn't have guessed his previous beliefs. Had they changed?
She studied him. His long silky hair curtained the breadth of his shoulders. His slate grey irises reflected the charcoal smudges under his eyes. His robe hung loosely about his body, attesting to his recent loss of indulgent weight. He licked his finger, before sliding his right hand down the paper, his long fingers slipping between the pages. What would he be like if he turned on the charm?
Lost in thought, she didn't notice Lucius glance up and catch her stare.
He noticed her features had settled into an adult face. Her hair was pulled back into a thick ponytail, with curls escaping to caress her jaw. Her bottom lip was puffed and pouty from her habit of nervous biting. Her nails were trimmed practically short, her hands dainty and smudged with ink.
She had been responsive to him earlier, with an innocence he wasn't used to.
He inwardly grinned, deciding on an experiment. He set down the paper, and took a meandering route to select a few books on potions. He set them on one end of the U-shaped desk. "If the Ministry approves, I would like to re-read these books."
"Of course, let me add them to the parchment." She turned to glance up at him, slipping her finger behind her ear to trap her escaped curls. She reached for the sheet of parchment tracking his reading habits.
With her back turned, he leaned forward and knocked a book she was referencing to the floor. Startled, she jumped back into the desk, drawing her wand.
He held his hands up, apologizing "I'm sorry, I disturbed your book. Allow me." He bent to pick it up, rising into her personal space. "I don't think your wand will be necessary to get the book back, do you?" he said quietly, gesturing to her wand.
She slowly put it away.
He held her eyes hostage. "Am I truly that frightening still?" he asked.
She bit her lip. "Sometimes, yes."
"What can I do to assure you of my good intentions?" he leaned forward, stroking her mutinous curls back behind her ear. His fingers twirled the soft hairs as a vanilla scent hit his nose. His nostrils flared, breathing in the delicate fragrance. His eyes darkened, and his expression softened.
She stiffened, uneasy with his closeness.
"I don't mean to frighten you. That was never my intention." He said as he backed away and gently laid the book back on the desk. He caressed the front cover of the book. "Do you know what page this was on?"
She shook her head mutely.
"What was the topic?" he asked.
Her voice dropped with her eyes. "I was researching 'Infinitus sitis'. That was on plants that cause dehydration." She responded.
He was surprised. "You're researching into my family's curse?"
She hesitated. Her eyes glanced into his. "Yes."
"Why are doing this?" he inquired. While he didn't think she would be celebrating their deaths, he didn't believe anyone else cared. His eyes searched the depths of her gaze.
"Nobody should have to die like they did." She said quietly.
He contemplated what he knew about her. "Were you the one that found which curse was used?" he guessed.
"Yes." She blushed. "It bugged me that they both died. The Ministry promised them protection, and we failed." Hermione said, sorrow evident in her voice. "I don't believe in coincidences."
"Neither do I." Lucius ground out between clenched teeth. He thought for a moment. "Would you allow me to review your choice of reading material? I'm very familiar with the family collection, and can suggest other avenues of investigation."
"Thank you."
A/N Thank you for all the reviews, for following and adding my story to your favorites. I don't like to respond to reviewers within the story body; it throws off the word count. Check your inboxes for answers to questions. I don't want to give the game away to everyone. ;-)