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The Xeoforce Equation	By : Esequell Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 5632 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I'm not making any money from this.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
Hiya folks :) I'm delighted to say I'm back with another chapter. I'm sorry it's been so long but I needed a break. I burned out completely writing this and decided it was best to let it sit rather than force it.
A huge thank-you to all my reviewers and readers for your encouragement! This fic has been a challenge and at times. Novel-length fiction usually is. Not much left of the story now. Enjoy! :)

Chapter 10 – Hunter
Hermione smiled apologetically as she put his belated Christmas present on his knee. 'The best present is having you alive and well. Everything's been so busy that I just forgot all about Christmas. I'm sorry it's late.'
Lucius tore off the wrappings carefully. He smiled.
'Do you like it?' she asked nervously. 'I know you like autobiography...You haven't read it already, have you?'
'I haven't read it,' he smiled. 'I'll enjoy doing so. Thank you, my dear. Truly.'
He leaned in wordlessly and kissed her. 'I have one for you too,' he nodded softly. 'Give me just a moment, I'll fetch it.'

oOo
The morning correspondence lay in a pool of sunlight on a reflective silver tray. Lucius ran his blunt fingertips over the Ministry seal. He plucked it up along with the letter opener.
'Lucius? Are you alright?' Hermione asked worriedly. He wanted to speak but his mouth felt as dry as a dusty old feather.
'Yes,' he managed, afraid that she might take his silence as a signal of another heart attack. 'The Minister has seen fit to release me from my...probation. I'm...I'm free.'
Even to his own ears he sounded reedy. She plucked the letter out of his fingers and bit her thumbnail as she scanned it.
Just like that, he thought. A piece of paper and I'm a free man!
His comfortable routine collapsed, leaving him feeling ungrounded and uncertain. It would be very unbecoming for a Malfoy to shift about anxiously in his chair so he resisted as he wondered; would Hermione stay with him now that she had no financial incentive? Then she threw her arms around his neck, almost toppling them both. 'Oh my God!' she squeezed him warmly. 'I knew it! I knew my report would work!'
'Report?' he enquired.
'I probably should have told you, I'm sorry. I didn't want to get your hopes up prematurely,' she smiled broadly.
His heart went very warm. She cared about his feelings enough to keep secrets?
'I assume that means you're happy about this,' he teased, to hide how vulnerable she was making him feel. She giggled into his hair and gave him another kiss. He sagged into her hold. He felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from him, leaving behind a frail and insecure version of himself.
'It's OK,' she whispered keenly. 'You've gone pale, Lucius. It's OK.'
Her hand was so warm. He found such comfort in the solidity of her body, the familiar tempo of her breathing, her scent.
'I'll be fine, my dear,' he said quickly. 'Freedom is...a novelty, to say the least. I believe this is the first time in my life I've known any.'
'It must feel so strange,' she said sympathetically. 'After all those years working for...him.'
He gave a slight nod. Her skin looked so soft in the morning light. He ran gentle fingertips down the V-neck of skin at her throat.
'I...suppose...this means I don't technically have a job anymore,' she added.
'Oh, I'm certain the Lackwit will try to retain your services in one capacity or another?'
'Probably,' she smiled softly. 'I honestly don't think I want to work for the Ministry. Just look at all this trouble with the Xeoforce victims! It takes an age and a day just to get simple things done. I want go back to my research. I owe the victims that much.'
Lucius thumbed the letter in contemplation. 'I can't help but feel this is all too good to be true.'
'What do you mean?'
He gave a wry smile. 'They'll find a way to punish me for old crimes. They always do.'
She frowned softly. 'Not if I have anything to do with it. Being a War Hero does carry some clout, you know.'
'I assume...that means you'll be staying past the...ah...limits of your contract?'
She frowned at him. 'Lucius...are you asking if I'm going to...leave?'
His skin prickled cold. His heart protested his open vulnerability. His voice refused to work. He managed the smallest nod.
'I won't,' she said emphatically. 'Not unless you want me to?'
Cold gave way to the warmth that coursed through his veins and gave back life and hope. He couldn't breathe. He managed another tiny nod to show he understood before she leaned in and gave him a soft, closed-lipped kiss on the mouth.
'I want you...to stay,' he sounded rough.
She kissed him, stealing his pride away with the first parting of her hot, willing lips. He trembled. Part of him didn't want to show her how deeply the mornings events had affected him, or how close he'd been pushed to the precipice of his greatest fear; losing her. Another part was older and wiser that he'd been during the Dark Lord's reign. It felt pride was a poor prize and it didn't care if humiliation was the price of her company.

oOo
Hermione sat on the polished deck of a little restaurant boat which floated just off the Cornish coast. Enchanted fairy lights hovered over the sea. She could smell the discharge of magic that bled off the self-sustaining braziers dotted around the deck. She slid her foot out of her shoe and back in. Out, and in, as she popped a forkful of Lobster Thermidor into her mouth. Lucius looked regal in his silver-blue robes and dark grey jacket. She couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated and secretly she began to wonder what he saw in her, plain as she was. He piled a bite of Milanese onto his fork and offered it to her. His hot, hungry gaze followed her lips as she tasted it.
Fireflies zoomed a slow-motion air-show, alighting on the red carnation between them. One landed in his hair.
It was only a day since his letter had arrived and there was already a new lightness to Lucius. He seemed sexier and more dangerous than ever. The hungry way he looked at her made her skin come alive and her insides ache sweetly. She blushed at his secret smile. His robes made a soft sound as he stood.
'Dance with me?' he bent low to whisper intimately. His warm, blunt fingertips lit a trail of fire under her ear.
She could feel his body-heat. His breath stirred the baby-fine new hairs at her temple. More than ever she wanted to press her naked skin to his and listen to his heart. Was it beating for her, as hers beat for him? Her skin prickled at his proximity.
The light scrape of knives and forks became part of the background symphony as he lead her around the dance-floor. His eyes glowed. His burning touch was under her skin, teasing her nerve endings with his electric presence.
'You're blushing, my dear,' he arched a brow at her teasingly.
'Don't,' she gripped his shoulders. The muscles there filled her hands and made her weak at the knees. 'You'll make it worse.'
'What a shame that would be,' he drawled.
He laid a hot palm at the base of her back and pulled her tight to his belly. She felt his erection. He ground his hips lightly against hers once and pulled away, leaving her soft and pliant. Then he pulled her close and breathed against her flushed cheek; 'Delicious sight, Hermione.'
'So are you,' she said playfully. He spun her round with a wide, natural smile that stole her breath. He's so handsome when he smiles like that, she thought dizzily.
He rubbed tingling circles onto the back of her hand with his thumb as they wandered the beach. The night was clear. Starlight shimmerred at the crests of the breaking waves and sand slipped between her toes. She felt the tiny sound of its compaction through her heels. The sea rushed up the small incline in a great effort but fell short of her toes. Lucius wrapped strong arms tight around her body and she felt safer than ever before in her life. She reached up to tuck his loose hair behind his ear and admire his moonlit, silver-blue eyes. He bent his head and kissed her softly on the lips. She could feel his smile. It faded when she opened her mouth for him.
He tasted like their dessert, chocolate mousse, and like relief from the hunger she'd been suffering in the absence of his mouth. His gentle tongue offered warmth and the feeling of connection. She'd never felt desire like this. It was a piercing urgency, a potent ache only slaked by proximity. She was hungry for his smell, his taste, his touch, as though he'd become a part of her flesh that she couldn't survive without. She became aware of every inch of her own skin in one pre-orgasmic moment. Every stroke of his tongue built on the tingling sensation of the last. The ache pooled between her legs. Suddenly she didn't want to be a virgin anymore, not if it meant being separate from him.
He tugged something out of his pocket and caught her hand. It was a blue velvet box.
'Lucius?' She sounded so small, so unsure. 'W-What are you doing?'
He arched a brow. 'I imagine...if you open it...it'll become obvious?'
She flipped the lid with trembling hands and forced in a steadying breath. It was a sapphire flanked by diamonds.
'Marry me,' he answered her unspoken question. He gave her a little Malfoy smirk that was half apology. She fish-mouthed. The silence stretched. Slowly, he sank to one knee. 'Kitten? My heart might not stand up to this suspense, you know. Marry me?'
Hermione's head went fuzzy. 'Do you mean it?'
He sighed exasperatedly, 'Of course I mean it, woman! I wouldn't tease about something like this.'
Why had it never occurred to her that he might ask? Why had she never imagined this scenario or wondered how she'd react? She felt completely unprepared.
'Yes,' she said. 'Yes. Obviously, yes! I just...really didn't expect you to propose to me!'
'Yes?' his eyes lit up, his smile grew.
'Yes!' she nodded. 'I will!' He caught the overflowing liquid pearls with the tips of his thumbs and wiped them away.
'Put it on, won't you?' he prompted, teasingly, when she wiped away her tears and started laughing. 'It's not doing any good sitting in its box.'
He freed the ring and slid it onto her finger, then he kissed the back of her hand and smiled proudly. 'You're speechless. If I'd known I just needed to marry you to keep you quiet, I'd have asked a long time ago.'
She slapped his chest. 'I'm in shock!' she protested weakly as he chuckled and snatched her into his arms. He smirked.
'Now, now,' he arched a brow. 'Play nicely, my dear.'
He kissed her lingeringly. He cupped her skull protectively and breathed in and out, slowly, steadily, through a curtain of her hair.

oOo
Hermione's gown whispered against the silk sheets. Lucius dropped to one knee before her, cradling her calves one by one to pull off her shoes. He rubbed patterns into her delicate ankles. She squirmed impatiently and pleaded in breathy whispers as he kissed his way up her thigh. He pushed her gown ahead of his mouth, luxuriating in every inch of bare skin revealed. Her chocolate eyes went dark as he worked her gown up under her bottom and buried his nose between her legs.
She smells so good, he thought. The scent went straight to his aching cock.
'Oh, Lucius!' she cried, when he made a soft, appreciative sound against her clit. 'Oh God.'
He flicked his tongue against the wet spot on her lace panties. She shuddered powerfully and parted her legs. He drew her panties off and pocketed them.
He fingered through her damp curls and licked her once to test her reaction. She moaned and grabbed the sheets. His cock ached, tingling and twitching in his shorts, desperate to be involved. Her sex glistened, wet, pink and perfect as a fresh rosebud after the rain. Her perfectly proportioned arse and smooth thighs framed a beautiful, completely closed entrance. He gazed, entranced by the way her flower twitched as she rocked her hips in supplication.
She was drenched in her own lubrication. He licked a pattern around her clit and delighted in her little noises of pleasure. He learned the texture of her delicate skin and the taste of her secret lips as he teased her pebbled nipples. Her thighs trembled and she flushed the most divine shade of pink from her face to her breasts. His cock twitched, his balls heavy and achy. He wanted to bury himself in her. Then she came with a choked cry and a great shudder.
He gathered her up and ignored his erection for now. She kissed him softly, seemingly unconcerned about the taste of her own body. He couldn't help but imagine her little tongue around the head of his cock.
It took a few, agonising, tempting minutes for her to search out his erection. He chewed his lip. He wanted her fingers wrapped around him more than anything but he kept as still as he could, anxious that he might frighten her.
All his birthdays came at once and she slipped her little hand into his fly.
Instead of gazing at his erection in innocence, she wrapped her hand around it. He hissed her name and thrust into her hand. Oh God, she's done this before, he thought. His cock leaked a bead of precum which was promptly gathered by the tip of her thumb and spread around the head.
She began to stroke him, gently at first until he gave a breathy moan into her hair.
'Show me what you like,' she whispered hotly. He shuddered from his scalp to his toes. He wrapped his hand around hers instantly and tightened her grip, harder and faster.
His gasp sounded like a prayer; 'Hermione! Fuck..!' he cursed.
He panted, eyes closed, the need to release so urgent. Profound love welled up, overwhelming after years with so little hope of lasting happiness. She didn't let up the rhythm he'd given her until he flushed and grabbed her urgently.
He could only imagine what he looked like – his heavy eyes half closed in pleasure, groaning and thrusting eagerly like a horny teenager. He felt like one. He hissed as he hit his sweet crescendo and came with a breathy groan. He lay panting until she kissed his half-closed lips.
He drew the bed-covers up and gathered his self-satisfied little prize close.

oOo
Dawn broke Lucius free of a deeply restful sleep. Hermione was still tucked against his body, a hot, perfect fit. He could still taste her. He filled his hand with her waist, revelling in the soft youth of her skin, the press of her perfect, pert breasts. She was nothing like his ex-wife and everything like his fantasies.
'Good morning, beautiful,' he murmured, as she opened sleepy eyes and smiled at him.
'Morning,' she wrapped her arms around his neck. He filled with warmth at the feeling of intimacy.
'Breakfast?' he suggested with a playful, arched brow. His cock was so hard it hurt but he was determined not to take her yet, not even if she'd allow it.
'That sounds absolutely amazing,' she enthused as she stretched languidly, inadvertently pressing her firm, round breasts into his chest.
'I'd say "let's have it in bed," my dear, but I think if I stay here like this, I'll have more than food this morning,' he pulled the sheets back and kissed her bare shoulder amorously. 'Up, Kitten. Merlin, you're beautiful.'
She giggled as she padded into his bathroom and he resisted the urge to rub his cock by the skin of his teeth.
Trick obligingly brought their correspondence to the Morning Room and left with a small, knowing smile on his lips. Hermione read a letter that was headed on Ministry paper. Her face fell.
'Delamere's trace has been picked up in Dover. Harry's sending extra security,' she sounded worried. 'I suppose it'd be completely silly of me to hope he'll just leave us alone?'
Lucius' thin lips lifted slightly. 'I think that might be taking your tendency to naivete a little far, my dear.'
'It gets worse,' she sighed. 'Mercy Brockelfort's dead. A heart attack.'
'Ah. Well, that won't please Francis.'
'It could make him even more desperate,' she said.
Lucius buttered a croissant idly, his Daily Prophet folded.
'I need to finish the antidote,' she said. 'We really haven't got a lot of time.'

oOo
Thin evening drizzle wasn't enough to dampen the pyre. In fifteen minutes it reduced Misty to ash. The elves filed away in silence with their hands folded and eyes downcast in respect. Lucius stared into the embers with his lips pressed into an inscrutable line. Hermione's fingers were cold. Her breath began to fog.
'I treated her abominably,' he said.
Her eyes stung from the smoke and the tears. 'Whatever you did to her...she wouldn't hold it against you. She wasn't like that.'
He pulled her against his chest. She felt something cool and wet in her hair. He was crying. His breath hitched sharply a few times.
'Living under him...it was...there was no kindness. Kindness was a luxury none of us could afford. There was never a year of my life when I was free of him.'
She understood. This wasn't all about Misty.
'I know,' she tried to console him, rubbing the back of his neck comfortingly until the tears stopped and his icy-eyes went cool.
'You don't,' he sounded bitter and certain but not angry. 'You were safe. A mere child. He was in my home. He had my son. I had no choice. I learned never to care. I'm certain, looking back, it's why my wife left me. I couldn't keep them safe.'
'Lucius, no-one was safe from him. Not even Albus Dumbledore and he was the most powerful wizard alive!'
Lucius buried a gloved hand in her hair and exhaled softly. He pressed his nose to hers. Hermione closed her eyes.
'Shall we have a drink, my dear?' he murmured.
She nodded. 'Yes. Absolutely.'

oOo
Lucius reclined on the Study sofa with a glass of wine in his hand. With the other he traced the cling-film patterns of Hermione's now faded scars. The sun was long gone. The fire crackled peacefully behind them and Adder had come to lay his fuzzy grey head on Hermione's tummy. He blinked his crimson eyes occasionally. What was left of the evening after Misty's funeral, she'd used up in the library working on the Mactoduplex antidote. She was exhausted.
'What if he won't let us draw him out?' she yawned.
'He doesn't have that self control, my dear. He'll come when he smells our vulnerability.'
Adder began to pant in the heat of the hearth.

oOo
She strode onto the Summerhouse patio, where Lucius sat with a blanket on his knees. The Wiltshire air smelled fresh and clean. Tiny green shoots, bluebells and snowdrops, suggested the slow arrival of spring. She placed a stoppered phial of clear potion on the wooden patio table between them and caught sight of herself in the glass. The wind had left patches of pink on her cheeks and her frazzled hair was scraped into a bun. She was squinting in the sun from too long indoors. She looked absolutely awful.
'It wasn't easy,' she said, as he put down his book to gaze at it. 'It'll take a whole week to brew more. I just hope it works.'
'Your cleverness is quite wasted here, my dear.'
'Not if it saves our lives,' she said. 'Harry will be here soon to finalise the security plans. You might want to put on something more suitable. H-he's bringing Crookshanks,' she gave him a guilty smile. 'My cat? I hope you don't mind. He's getting old and he needs me-'
'Mind?' Lucius arched a brow. 'Nonsense. Of course I don't mind.'
She smiled. She'd worried he might think her presumptuous, but apparently that concern was groundless. She slid into his lap and toyed with his hair. His gaze took on a tinge of warmth that she never saw in his eyes unless they were alone. He rubbed her engagement ring between thumb and forefinger.
'When this is over, I intend to plan a summer wedding and marry you quickly, for fear that a younger, more handsome wizard will come along and steal your heart,' he smiled. 'You'll look beautiful among the roses.'
'You really don't have anything to worry about,' she smiled. A flutter of mischievous intent must have crossed her eyes because his smile faltered for a the briefest instant. 'But it wouldn't hurt to err on the side of caution,' she teased.
'Playing with an old man's heart is most unfair,' he drawled.
She laughed. 'Sorry,' she climbed off his lap. He slipped his hand into hers for the walk back to the manor. She smiled at the sky.
'What?' he smirked, when he saw it. She flushed pink.
'Nothing,' she smiled. Even though there was a headache pulling at her temples and she felt almost painfully anxious about the party, she couldn't help but be buoyant whenever he showed his affection.

oOo
Night gathered and the elves went around with tapers, lighting the tiny floating candles until the gardens were a glowing map of pathways. Hermione edged towards the decadent bay window on the second floor drawing room. Lucius' nearly-black robes gave a rustle as he took her by the upper arms and turned her to look at him. His thumbs rubbed a comforting rhythm. The guests were arriving, the repeated crack of apparition set her nerves on edge.
'You look wonderful,' she smiled. She laid her head on his shoulder. 'You smell even better.'
'Are you OK, my dear?'
Hermione bit her lip to keep from crying. She shook her head. 'I don't want to do this. I never thought I'd be able to call myself a coward. I managed to brave for the battle. Brave even when I Obliviated my parents. All I want to do is run before somebody kills you a second time!'
Lucius cupped her perfect up-do in one hand and met her eyes. 'It'll be OK,' he promised.
'Mione?' Harry interrupted. A gorgeous, dark-haired woman stood backlit in the light from the hall, her hair drawn up into a chignon.
'Harry?' Hermione gaped. 'Is that you?'
'You're not going to tell anyone I work with, right?' he didn't even sound like himself. He must have used a voice-charm, she thought.
'Of course not. Why on Earth did you pick a woman?'
'We were a bit short on volunteers,' he admitted, without looking at Lucius.
'Hermione is always true to her word,' Lucius put his arm around her waist. 'I, on the other hand, make no promises, Potter.'
'Very funny, Malfoy,' Harry turned to her. 'I'll stick close. Madeleine is upstairs on surveillance, Hex is on call. We'll get him, 'Mione. Don't worry, OK?'
She managed a nod.
'Harry-' she said quickly as he slipped through the open door. He stopped. 'Please, be careful.'
Lucius waited until he was out of earshot. 'I must say, if keeping Potter on our side wasn't so important, I'd be certain to send a few of my less...savoury...friends his way tonight.'
'I think you should be looking to keep him sweet, not torment him,' she played nervously with her fingernails.
'You're anxious.'
'I'm so scared it'll happen again. I just want to run.'
'What kind of life would we have?' Lucius murmured to her hairline. 'This is my house. Our house. Our life. My son. Your friends. I spent years of my life dancing to the tune of a madman, my dear. I won't do it again.'
He drew his wand with an elegant twist of his hand. With a tilt of his chin he invited her to do the same. She laid hers gently against it. Thin lines of natural magic emerged from both wands and flowed together, twining and dancing like fibres in a soft, warm breeze. Hermione felt the crossed lines merge. The sensation of having her magic touched sent warmth into her heart and soul. It felt so right. I need him, she thought. He's as good as part of me. We were meant for each other.
'Together,' he arched a brow. 'We win or we lose.'
Hermione sucked in a soothing breath to calm herself and she stood up on tip-toes to kiss him. It was electric. Fuelled by their magical joining, her core flooded with heat and suddenly she was hungrier than she'd ever been before to feel him completely. He panted, his eyes gone dark. Wordlessly they drew carefully apart. She was sure he'd felt it too, by the way he touched her throat reverently now.
'Together,' she agreed softly, bolstered by his courage.

oOo
Hermione hung in places where she could keep her back to the wall without arousing suspicion. Harry passed in and out of the crowd, disappearing all too often in a sea of unfamiliar faces. Rosaline slunk towards them. She wore deep crimson gown trimmed in black. There was an evil glint to her eye, a fresh darkness that Hermione didn't want to cross. She grasped Hermione's hand too tightly and lifted it to admire the sapphire. Trust her beady eye to spy that, Hermione thought.
'Well, well,' her smile looked like a thin veneer riding on disgust and Hermione felt sure everyone could see the truth of her opinion. 'What a...curious...choice, Lucius.'
'Hmm?' his smile was gone. His eyes were cold. 'Choice? What choice is that?'
'Why Miss Granger, of course,' she smiled like a tiger eyeing a rat. 'I'm sure we all feel lineage is still so important, even in these changing times. Should we expect the pitter-patter of feet, do you think? You always wanted a large family...I can't imagine a better reason to marry again.'
'How lovely,' Hermione cut across him, 'To be compared to a brood mare.'
'Why call a fork a spade, my dear?' Rosaline sneered.
'Don't you 'my dear' me!' Hermione wrenched her hand back.
Rosaline's face twisted. She spat; 'You have no idea what you're getting into with him. It was three months after he was married to Narcissa that he came crawling into my bed.'
'Rosaline,' Lucius snapped, so suddenly that Hermione snapped her mouth shut on the cusp of a sharper riposte. He leaned in to speak into Rosaline's ear. 'Get out. Quickly, now.'
Rosaline's hand twitched for her wand but at the last instant, she redirected to her purse and snatching it up, she turned on her heel and strode away.
'Are you alright?' Lucius caught her hand.
'I'm fine-' she protested his worry.
'This way,' he tugged her towards the dimly lit patio and into a shadow. His eyes danced with fear. 'That poisonous snake,' he hissed. 'If you want to hear that sticky tale, my dear, let me tell it. Not that cow. I should have hexed her.'
'Is it true?'
His lips thinned. 'My marriage was one of convenience,' he admitted. 'Merlin, I did not crawl into her bed.'
'She's just trying to make trouble,' Hermione sighed.
'I only want you,' he snatched her into his arms.
'I know,' she smiled. 'And I only want you. Let's talk about what we'll do to each other for cheating later, shall we?'
His worry faded into a smirk. 'You already have a plan for me, do you?'
'Every woman has a plan,' she shook her head lightly.
As the clock struck eleven and without further incidents, her nerves grew more and more frayed. As the minutes slipped by, she convinced herself that an attack must be coming, sooner not later. As the party reached it's pinnacle, culminating in a speech and a drunken wizarding game in the drawing room, Hermione searched the crowd for Harry. He was deep in conversation with a Ministry executive. She chewed her lip until it hurt. She couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, or the sense that Delamere had ignored their silent challenge to a fight and failed to show. Had Rosaline secretly stuck around to exact revenge for Mercy? Was that the reason her skin crawled now?
'God, I'm becoming paranoid,' Hermione whispered to herself.
A migraine began to pull at the flesh behind her eyes. As she wondered where she'd left her beaded bag with her medication in, a glass shattered. She snatched her wand from its hiding place in her sleeve, her skin gone cold, heart thumping so hard she could hear it in her skull. She pushed through the crowd, terrified that she'd find Lucius on the floor. The guests parted and revealed a giggling woman covered in champagne. Hermione forced herself to let go of the smooth handle and calm down. She felt like she was walking a knife edge, close to insanity, constantly replaying the night Lucius had fallen, his fingertips inches from his wand. I can't lose him, she thought. I can't.
She watched the carriages disappear one by one. Harry's skin began to bubble. He excused himself to change out of his feminine garb.
'Nothing,' said Hex, from behind them, as Trick shut the double front doors and locked them. 'No trace, magical or otherwise.'
'Nothing?' Hermione parroted. 'How? I mean...I don't believe it! We just handed him the perfect chance to get at both of us and he does nothing!?'
Lucius handed her a glass of Fire-whiskey and leaned on the mantelpiece, as he was wont to do when deep in thought.
'Maybe he figured out it was a trap,' Harry suggested, cradling his own glass, half folded over on the deep sofa. He'd missed a spot of eye-shadow above his left lid. 'He is smart, Hermione.'
She sighed. 'What do we do now?'
'We wait,' Harry shrugged.
Hermione wasn't sure how much more waiting she could take. She knew Whiskey and potions were a bad mix. She sipped it anyway.

oOo
Hermione was waking up too slowly. She new that was someone in the room with them. She could hear his ragged breaths but her body wouldn't respond fast enough. She was cold with fear, envisioning a sudden killing curse. She felt like she was moving through treacle, clawing at the night-stand for a wand she couldn't find. Click. A shadow moved. She found her wand and reached for Lucius. Her hand passed straight through him and she understood; he was gone already. Grief lanced through her heart, taking what hope and light she had left.
'He's dead,' she twisted to the familiar, hissing voice.
Lord Voldemort crouched beside the bed, his red eyes glowing in the dark. His snake-nostrils flared as he smiled widely. He pressed the tip of his wand to her temple and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move to block the spell.
'Avada-' he hissed.
She woke. The bedroom was dark, just a sliver of moonlight coming through a thin V in the drapes. Lucius breathed evenly beside her. She felt as cold as the ghost in the room. She'd fallen asleep on top of the covers.
Click.
She bit down on a sob.
Click.
She knew every sound the Manor made at night. Pops and clangs, noises in the plumbing and the attic. This was different. He was here. She knew it. She could hardly breathe. She reached for Lucius. The feathered edges of shredded guilt hung over her heart like a ruined mourning veil. Please God, she prayed silently.
Creak.
She scanned the room until she found the unfamiliar shape. She couldn't move as it stirred. Just the tiniest movement and a wand slid from its sleeve.
'Crucio!' Lucius' wand-tip flared red as he surged upright, his wand locked with Delamere's like the time Harry had battled Voldemort. Molten magic cascading from the mid-point. Lucius began to buckle, his face contorted.
Hermione came to life with a great gasp. She fell out of bed. Her pyjama top was wet with cold sweat. She scrambled for her beaded bag as the magic arched and struck the walls and floor. Her hands shook with adrenaline. Lucius hit his knees still tangled in the coverlet. The stream of Delamere's magic inched closer to him.
'Accio cure!' she yelled. The little clear phial flew into her hand. She uncorked it and turned her wand on Delamere. 'Crucio!' It hit him right between the shoulder blades where he couldn't block.
Her skin went cold and electric with the knowledge of what she was doing. Delamere danced, his nerves overloaded. She felt the strength fall out of her as he began to absorb their magic. Any moment now he'd throw it back. Hermione surged under the stream of Lucius' spell and grabbed Delamere by the hair. She dug her wand into the back of his neck, all her concentration on holding the cruciatus for as long as she could and with his mouth open to scream, she emptied the whole phial down his throat. He flailed with his free hand, grabbing for her hair and suddenly - his concentration broke. Lucius' spell hit his chest. Delamere screamed.
'Fetch Potter!' Lucius yelled.
She fled, running barefoot to the study. She heard the vile cracking noises made by a spine contorting unnaturally as she grabbed the Floo powder and stuck her head in the fire. She caught sight of Harry on the other side.
'Harry, he's here-!' someone dragged her back by the waist and slapped her so hard she hit the floor with a crack. When she came round she felt floaty and nauseated. The bulky dark-haired man ripped her pyjamas. She flailed for her wand and found nothing but air and floorboards. 'Get off me!' she screamed, as he ripped the waistband and tugged them over her hips. She squirmed on the freezing floor.
'Lucius!' the shadow to thrust its hand between her legs. 'No!' she squirmed, trying to force her legs together. He forced them apart. 'Lucius!' His thick, roughened fingers touched the sensitive, private skin between her legs and poised to thrust inside.
Something went thump next door, something weighty like a body. Lucius fell on them with a heavy candlestick in one hand. He smacked the rapist so hard Hermione heard his skull break. He collapsed.
Lucius dragged her away with one arm around her waist. His nose was broken and he was twitching like he'd been crucio'd himself. He rocked her torso, his wand hand buried in her hair. Tears hit her forehead and blended with her own. She tasted blood and wasn't sure whose it was. His teeth where white even in the dark. 'He took you-' he hissed. 'I should have protected you-'
'No,' she gasped. 'He wasn't quick enough.'
Lucius was panting. His hold on her was almost painful. Trick apparated into the room.
'Master did not call!' he squeaked mournfully. 'Trick did not know. Trick is sorry, Master! Miss is hurt...'
'I'm fine,' she clutched Lucius' thick, warm forearm. 'Just a bit...dizzy.' She felt floaty and strange. She closed her eyes just to give them a rest.

oOo
'Surely there's a self defence clause somewhere?' Lucius' exasperated voice floated through the open double doors and shook Hermione from a shallow state of unconsciousness. She sat up slowly to antiseptic hospital smell, overlaid with the scent of fresh coffee. The scent turned her stomach.
'Nobody is suggesting culpability at this stage. We merely need the truth-' said Lackwit. His voice faded as a door clicked shut between them. Hermione wobbled out of bed and followed their voices. Lucius was perched on the edge of a hospital bed. His broken nose was healed but there was blood in his hair. A pinched-faced medi-witch waited impatiently to tend to him.
'Hermione,' he caught hold of her and shedding his cloak, wrapped her in his warm, reassuring scent. 'Are you alright?'
She gave a shallow nod. 'Terrible headache,' she held onto him. 'Look at you. You need stitches!'
'As I've already told him, Miss Granger!' said the medi-witch.
'In a moment,' Lackwit nodded. The witch sighed. 'Francis Delamere is dead.'
'How?' Hermione asked, even though she felt she already knew the answer.
'Ask your fiancé.'
'Is he under arrest?' she gestured to Lucius.
'Perhaps,' Lackwit said.
'Well, the least you can do is let him receive medical attention! He's in no fit state to defend himself like this!'
Lackwit sighed and eventually, nodded resignedly. He turned on his heel and left them. The medi-witch swooped in with a small smile to Hermione.
'I just yelled at the Minister,' Hermione's voice sounded small.
'And a lovely job you made of it, too,' Lucius smirked, as the witch set to work with needle and thread.

oOo
'This is ridiculous,' Lucius hissed. 'The madman was in my house! He almost raped my wife,' he tugged Hermione close. 'You are in principle if not yet by name, Kitten.'
They were in the empty waiting room, patched up. Lackwit looked tired.
'I refuse to sit by like a useless lump while a man invades my home a second time and threatens my family! Even for you, Minister.'
'All I'm saying, is that this sort of thing is tricky to keep quiet,' Lackwit said quickly. 'I happen to know certain Wizengamot members would be only to happy to see you locked up for life!'
Lucius' lips thinned. 'I'm sure I paid my due by time in Azkaban!' he snapped. 'Or shall we conveniently forget that, along with the time spent investigating war crimes for the Ministry!?'
Lackwit held up a hand. 'Both of you, keep quiet about this. You're to tell nobody. I can't make promises, Lucius. A simple priori incantatem on either of your wands would be enough. And be prepared to eat humble pie for the Wizengamot. You'll need to. Both of you.'
'For almost being burned alive, murdered and then nearly raped?' Hermione cried.
'It's not about that,' Lackwit said plainly. 'It's about public opinion and what we can, and can't get away with.'
The door banged behind him. Hermione raked her hair back. 'This is absolutely ridiculous. Aren't we allowed to defend ourselves?'
'Apparently not,' Lucius toyed with the head of his cane.
'It's not fair! If it had been me who cast the curse, nobody would bat an eye. They think you did it for revenge. Or out of arrogance.'
His lips tilted up, 'I told you.'
'What're you talking about, Lucius?'
'They always find a way to punish me. You picked a rather poor substitute for a husband, didn't you. A mantle like mine can't be washed away so easily.'
'Stop that,' she sighed. 'He's not sending you back to Azkaban. He's just not.'

oOo
Hermione woke so often every night that Lucius grew exhausted. He Floo'd for Dr Grey. Even when Harry came by with Hex to explain the evidence gathered in detail and give them chance to add or subtract for their hearing, she wouldn't rest easy until he persuaded her to drink two hospital-strength potions and sent her to bed.
'Simple anxiety,' Grey reported. 'Brought on by the danger you've both been in, I expect. A holiday might distract her and ease the symptoms.'
Lucius ordered Trick to pack a bag and without telling Hermione what he intended, he took her hand and disapparated.
The Spanish heat flooded his chest on the first breath. Dry sandy soil ran down a long bank to a village on the coast. The villa was old, barely occupied these days, since it had always been Narcissa's favourite, not his. He hauled the sheets off the furniture and cast a few cursory cleaning charms.
'Where are we?' she cleaned the window with a flick of her wand.
'Missing,' he smirked as he threw the bundle of sheets on the floor and caught her waist. 'Alone. At last.'
He spun her around until she laughed. 'You never told me you had a villa!' she smiled.
'I have a villa,' he smirked as he stroked her hair back warmly. 'More than one, actually. Do you like it? I thought a weekend away was in order. I swear I can't sleep a wink at the Manor since Delamere's thrice-damned midnight stunt.'
He gave her a squeeze as though he hoped to inject some life into her. She squirmed around and put her arms around his neck, her head on his chest.
'Monday isn't going to go away just because we've come half way around the world, you know.'
'But neither is it going to come any faster,' he pointed out. 'And if I'm to spend the next ten years in a dark, dank cell, I'd sooner do it with some decent memories.'
'A bit of extra research time might help us though. It might turn something up-'
He kissed her, hoping a distraction would take her mind off the heart of the problem. She pressed her body to his and he felt her shudder involuntarily when he caressed her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue.
'I don't want to spend my last three days as a free man holed up in the library with you. Please,' he murmured against her lips. 'Indulge me.'

oOo
A flight of wooden steps lead down the short cliff to a private stretch of beach where Lucius kicked off his sandals and smirked at Hermione lasciviously as he dropped his robe. He was wearing a pair of skin-tight swimming trunks. He scanned her robe with his hungry eyes. She burst out laughing and with a naughty grin of her own, slowly untied her robe and dropped it.
'A one-piece, my dear?' he caught her waist in his hands and sucked in a breath. Her skin was so hot. He could almost get his hands around her lithe little waist. 'How sweet,' he teased.
She slapped his arm. 'Look, I don't go swimming very often, alright? This is old.'
Her curls cascaded around slim shoulders and tickled the very tops of her breasts, where the costume lent her some nylon support. It was exceedingly Muggle. His own garb was a little less restrictive. He'd simply spelled his shorts on. He intended to cast finite incantatem as soon as he was waist deep in the sea.
The sun felt hot on his bare shoulders and began to overheat his scalp as he pulled her backwards into the water, laughing when she realised how warm it was. He buried a hand in her hair and cupped her skull.
'You're so beautiful, my dear,' he arched a brow. 'Are you really mine?'
'Yes,' she laughed softly. 'All yours.'
He smirked. 'Finite Incantatem,' he laughed as she blushed.
'I love it when you do that,' he kissed each red cheek in turn and nibbled her neck playfully until she laughed and finally consented to let him peel her costume off under the water. He tossed it towards the shore but it fell short and tumbled in the breaking waves. She forgot about it as he filled his hand with her breast and teased her nipple until it peaked. He ran hungry lips down her collarbones and feasted on her breasts as they floated, wrapped around each other.
'Please, Lucius-' she breathed in his ear. He dropped a hand between them and played with her sex, sliding skilled fingers up and down her soaking slit until she bucked her hips and moaned his name, orgasm coming much faster than she'd expected. 'Oh God!' she choked, when he touched the firm little nub of flesh and began to circle it. 'Ah!' she cried, when he took her mouth, his hot tongue hungry and thick, wet and delicious. He used one hand to hold her neck, the other to finger her clit until her legs began to shake and she cried out and came undone in his arms.

oOo
Lucius hit the bed on his back, chuckling as his little hell-cat crawled on top of him and parted the robes they'd use to come up from the beach. She licked the tip of his straining erection and then delicately, took him all the way into her mouth. He bucked into her mouth. She sucked and licked, running her tongue around the head. He grasped at her hair, filled with a sudden, potent need for her. I need you, he thought. So, so desperately.
She used her teeth lightly on the spongy head. His eyes rolled back as the sensation built into burning urgency. He moaned when she cupped his balls, massaging them.
Her breasts dangled over his thighs, her nipples brushing the light, fine blonde hairs on his legs. Naked, her hair a mad tangle of damp curls, her legs on either side of his, she looked wild and beautiful. The vision went right to his aching, purple cock. He thrust gently into her mouth, desperate for the relief he'd needed for days then suddenly, as her teeth accidentally grazed the underside, he stiffened. Whiteness exploded behind his eyes, rushing out to the tips of his fingers and toes and into her mouth. She swallowed every drop, her tongue working lazily until he sagged, his eyes closed, her soft hair fanned out on his thighs. He stroked it, basking in the feeling of connection.

oOo
Monday morning came too quickly but Hermione felt well-rested. The sun was only just up and the morning air was cold on the back of her throat as she and Lucius appeared together outside the Ministry with a crack that turned her already sensitive stomach. On an impulse she stood on tip-toes and kissed him on the lips. He gripped her possessively.
'I love you,' she whispered urgently. 'In case we don't leave together afterwards. I love you.'
Lucius bent to kiss her, every ounce of his feelings behind the press of his body and his invading tongue.
'And I, you,' he confessed. He kissed her again, hot and lingering. 'No matter where I am. I always will.'
Hot inside, her heart constricted in fear, Hermione took his hand as they stepped inside. If this was the last time she'd get to touch him, she wanted to savour every second.

TBC
- 9
- 10
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The Xeoforce Equation