Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Captive	By : Dazzlious Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 27088 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from J K Rowling's fantastic books or films, I'm just borrowing and playing with them for a little while and get no monetary reward for doing so.

Chapter List
- 1-One
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 11
- 12
- 13
Hermione smiled as she looked at the room beyond the door, the one that had a large green ribbon across the entrance. It had been bloody hard work and had taken almost fifteen months from start to finish, but with Lucius’ and the house-elves’ help at the end, she had finally got the entire library catalogued, numbered and filed in recognisable sections. In the centre of the room stood several large wooden boxes containing the card index that held the name and library number of every book the Malfoy family now owned.
It had been tiring, frustrating at times, and had even caused her physical pain with the sore throats and itchy eyes from spending too long around dusty old parchments, but it had been worth it to see the finished library with its precious books looking so spick and span, not a mote of dust anywhere in the room thanks to her small army of helpers.
There had been a brief moment of crisis when Lucius first joined her in the library as this caused the house-elves to stop work, ready to Apparate back to the safety of the kitchen. It had taken quite a while to explain that he would be working with them, a concept they seemed unable to grasp although Hermione wasn’t surprised knowing the way they had been treated in the past.
However, Lucius had made an excellent job of talking them round and Hermione was sure that he had gained a new understanding of the creatures, one that made him a fairer master than previously, which she hoped would make a difference the next time he offered them wages and holidays.
It had taken the best part of three months just to move the books to their new homes, Hermione directing and cataloguing, Lucius numbering and stacking, and the house-elves retrieving and then rehoming the books in their new locations — all except the final shelf: Hermione had completed that one on her own.
Now, here they were ready to unveil the library to friends and family, and Hermione found she was actually quite nervous. She was certain that Madam Pince would think she had done a good job but wasn’t sure what anyone else would think. Were they going to decide she had wasted her time when she could have been working elsewhere, or would they see it for the huge achievement she considered it?
Lucius, who was immaculately dressed as always, stepped towards the door and stood in front of it, turning to face the small group of people gathered in the hall.
He cleared his throat and began, ‘Last February I invited Hermione to come to Malfoy Manor to sort out my library, her name having been suggested by my son, Draco, who recalled her fondness for the library at Hogwarts.’
Lucius indicated Draco briefly and Madam Pince beamed at his words about her library. The thin, dark-haired girl standing next to Draco smiled at the mention of his name and stroked his arm. He gazed at her adoringly and Hermione found herself smiling.
After a pause, Lucius continued, ‘It was not the bright and cheery room you can just about see through the door. Although light thanks to the large windows, the place was in complete turmoil — books were piled everywhere, all hotchpotch, with no thought as to type or author or subject. Successive generations of Malfoys had been dumping books in here since the fifteenth century and we never bothered to try to keep track of them, except for one vain attempt by Narcissa, who soon had to admit defeat despite an admirable attempt.’
Lucius smiled at his ex-wife who gave a small nod of acknowledgement. Narcissa was standing with her arm through that of a tall but somewhat chunky man with a round, extremely smiley face. He wore glasses and had a receding hairline, and Hermione decided that she was probably going to like Barney very much once she got to talk to him properly. She also now understood why Narcissa had never been in love with Lucius.
‘Do not underestimate the difficulty of the task Hermione had to undertake,’ Lucius said, looking around at his captivated audience. ‘It was bloody hard work for all of us but particularly for her. The house-elves and I did an extreme amount of physical labour over the past three months to put everything in its place but Hermione, wonder that she is, worked tirelessly on this project for well over a year before that without complaining or giving up, although I’m sure she wanted to many times, especially after coming across multiple copies of the various editions of the Standard Book of Spells.’ He smiled at Hermione as the audience laughed. ‘We honestly couldn’t have got anyone better. She’s done a marvellous job.’
Hermione felt herself blush as Lucius led the applause and she looked around at the beaming faces of her friends and family, all of them looking as proud as Lucius. She raised her hand in a brief wave before sinking back, trying to duck out of the limelight, but Lucius grabbed her hand and pulled her to join him.
‘Perhaps you want to say a few words?’ he suggested quietly.
Hermione bit her bottom lip as she tried to decide what to say.
‘Erm, I’d like to thank you all for coming today. I know it’s not the most important thing in the world but it means a lot to me. As Lucius said, it was hard work but it was extremely fulfilling work, too. It’s given me the opportunity to come into contact with rare works that I would never have had access to otherwise and it’s been a real honour to work with such a collection.
‘I would like to thank Draco for suggesting me in the first place, and Narcissa and Lucius for seeing the potential and giving me the chance to prove myself. I also want to thank Lucius for his help with the physical movement of the library. You did a really fantastic job and I know it was extremely demanding. Lastly, I want to thank the house-elves as Lucius and I would still be working for another year without their help.’
She smiled self-consciously as another round of applause broke out.
‘Madam Pince, we would be honoured if you would open our library for us,’ Hermione suggested, indicating the ribbon.
The old librarian looked almost overwhelmed at the request but she came forward and using her wand, cut the ribbon in two as a third bout of applause broke out. Hermione gestured for her to go into the library, following close behind as Lucius stood by the door ushering everyone else inside.
‘It looks amazing in here. You’ve done a wonderful job,’ Draco told Hermione as he and Astoria joined her where she was standing in the middle of the room looking around proudly.
To Astoria, he said, ‘You wouldn’t believe the state this place was in when Hermione first came here. Father was right that none of us had ever bothered to do anything but dump books in here, wherever we could find a place for them. The house-elves didn’t even really bother dusting, other than giving it a cursory once-over every so often, but look at it now — it would be a wonderful place to spend a few relaxing hours.’
Hermione chuckled. ‘It was clear that no one had ever bothered to catalogue or even keep track of it before. It’s astonishing how many duplicates or even more were scattered around the room, particularly of Hogwarts school textbooks. There were almost enough copies of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi alone to supply a whole group of Slytherin first years, so I assume that book’s been on the curriculum for an extremely long time.’ She indicated the boxes. ‘Each book has its own identifying number, and a copy of the details are kept in here in alphabetical order. If you know the rough name of the book you can look it up in here to see where it’s stored, assuming you don’t just want to browse the relevant section and see what other wonders are contained within it.’
She indicated various areas of the library, explaining which sections were to be found where, then left the couple and wandered over to Madam Pince, who was examining the room with delight.
‘Such treasures,’ she said, her voice full of wonder and her eyes glistening with tears.
‘I am very lucky to work here,’ Hermione admitted, unable to keep the joyous smile from her face. ‘We would be pleased to have you come and visit any time you want and, of course, if there’s anything you want to borrow you only have to ask.’
‘Thank you so much, Miss Granger,’ Madam Pince replied, seeming suddenly overwhelmed again.
‘I’ll leave you to keep looking around for a little while longer,’ Hermione told her. ‘We’ll be having tea in the glasshouse shortly and I need to go and sort that out; if you’ll excuse me.’
She smiled at Narcissa and Barney as she passed them, making her way towards Molly and Arthur Weasley who were both clearly impressed with the library.
‘Thank you both for coming. I wasn’t sure whether you would or not,’ she said, trying to break the ice.
Hermione had not spoken to either of them since she had left the Burrow under a cloud and hadn’t been sure they would accept her invitation. She was pleased they had decided to attend, although slightly worried that Molly would still be feeling exactly the same as she had before.
‘You’ve certainly achieved something here, Hermione,’ Arthur said, sounding proud. ‘I’m not surprised you wanted to work here; the size of this place is quite astounding.’
Hermione wasn’t sure whether he meant the library or Malfoy Manor itself.
Molly took hold of her hand, looking slightly abashed. ‘Hermione, I’m sorry about what I said to you back at the Burrow. I was out of order and should never have upset you like that. You’re quite right that it’s your life and you should live it how you want. I can now see what you meant about the library being an ideal job.’ She licked her lips nervously. ‘I was surprised by your revelation and said things I shouldn’t have. Can you forgive me?’
‘There’s nothing to forgive, Mrs Weasley,’ Hermione said with a smile as she squeezed Molly’s hand, realising as she said it that she was being honest.
Despite everything, Molly and Arthur were like family to her, and here, now, surrounded by them and the rest of her friends, enjoying her greatest achievement to date, she knew she didn’t need an apology. They would accept her and Lucius as a couple or they wouldn’t, but she no longer cared what anyone thought.
Lucius was right in that how they acted now and in the future would determine how they were treated, and she had never been more certain of his love than right at that moment. She could feel it, radiating out from him in waves as he talked to the other guests, telling them in more depth of the work she had undertaken.
‘Once everyone’s finished having a look round in here we’ll be heading to the glasshouse for tea. It might be a bit of a squeeze with fourteen of us, but it’s a beautiful place and Narcissa has managed to instil the love of afternoon tea in there in me,’ she told the Weasleys.
Taking her leave, she walked over to join Lucius who was now explaining exuberantly to Harry, Ron and Ginny about the work he had done on rearranging the library, playing up the physicality of the role. He smiled as she joined them.
‘I’m just going to go and see to the tea as I need a few minutes to recover,’ she told him quietly, her hand briefly brushing his arm. ‘Can you bring everyone to the glasshouse in about fifteen minutes? Everything should be ready by then.’
‘Of course,’ he agreed good-naturedly.
‘I’ll see you soon,’ she told her friends, and she hurried away, needing a few minutes to herself both to get over the excitement of the finally open library and to prepare herself for questions about her and Lucius.
Hermione knew her friends were dying to talk to her — and not about the library, either, she suspected. She had seen their eyebrows raise as she discussed tea with Lucius, in her role as lady of the manor, but she wasn’t sure whether Molly had told everyone about her and Lucius or whether she had kept it quiet, hoping Hermione would eventually come to her senses, as she would see it.
In the peace of the glasshouse, she looked around her. It was just about big enough for all of them, although if they all sat down it would be something of a squash. She clicked her fingers and smiled as a house-elf appeared, looking eager to do her bidding. She knew they were no longer afraid of her and her strange ideas regarding their employment, but then she had come to appreciate them differently, too.
‘Ah, Jorry. Can you have the tea ready for half past three?’ she told the elf. ‘Two pots — afternoon blend and Darjeeling, please. I’d also like you to prepare a pot of hot chocolate in case anyone doesn’t want tea — I know Ron isn’t keen. As the weather’s foul out there we’ll go for hot buttered crumpets instead of sandwiches. If you could bring in the first couple of dozen with the tea and then we’ll have another dozen about five minutes later. The usual preserves, of course, but I’d also like Marmite to go with them . . . oh, and honey, too. You can bring that in a separate container as people might want that in their tea instead of sugar.’
The elf nodded to show that it had understood.
‘What cakes and pastries have we got?’
‘Mini rhubarb and apple crumbles and sweet chestnut mousse filo parcels with crème Anglais . . . and hazelnut and maple syrup cheesecake,’ the elf replied, frowning slightly as it tried to remember what had been made. It stared worriedly at Hermione as if she might be unhappy with the choices, then relaxed as she smiled again.
‘That sounds wonderful,’ she told it.
‘Is Mistress all right?’ the house-elf asked anxiously. It felt compelled to talk, almost certain that it wasn’t going to get into trouble with this mistress. ‘You is here on your own, not in the library with your friends and the Master.’
Hermione sat down in one of the chairs. ‘I’m fine, Jorry, thank you. I just need a few minutes on my own before everyone descends for tea.’ Conspiratorially, she added, ‘I’m not sure what Narcissa is going to think about the changes I’ve made. Hopefully, she won’t be too disappointed.’
The house-elf left and Hermione sat back in the chair, resting her head on the cushion, her eyes closed as she calmed her breathing. So far everything was going perfectly. She just hoped her friends were in a reasonable mood because once she had talked to them she then had to tackle her parents.
Hermione knew her mum and dad were pretty jittery about being there; the wizarding world still overwhelmed them even after all these years. Lucius had reworked the repelling charms on Malfoy Manor to ensure they were able to enter the grounds without a problem and had worked hard to make them feel welcome. But although they had been effusive in their praise about the house and its gardens she knew they were feeling uncomfortable.
Fortunately, they already knew her friends and Molly and Arthur very well, which calmed them somewhat, and they seemed to have forgotten — or maybe not realised — that Lucius and Draco had been the ones to cause all the trouble in Flourish and Blotts the year Gilderoy Lockhart joined Hogwarts, which Hermione was extremely pleased about as she had enough to explain without that being brought up.
Hermione remembered how despicable Lucius had been that day, happily causing an argument with Arthur in order to give Ginny a diary that had belonged to Voldemort — an attempt to ruin Arthur’s Muggle Protection Bill. The bloody thing had ended up possessing Ginny, causing her to open Salazar Slytherin’s secret hiding place, the Chamber of Secrets, which had contained a Basilisk. It had nearly killed Hermione and several other students, including Ginny who had almost had her life sucked out of her by one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, and Harry who had entered the Chamber to save her.
At that time Lucius and Draco would have been glad to see her and her friend’s dead and would have felt no guilt about it whatsoever. Hermione knew that if such a thing happened now they would both be absolutely mortified and would do everything in their power to stop it. Surely that was a sign of how much the family had changed, wasn’t it?
As far as Hermione was aware Molly hadn’t mentioned anything to her parents about her and Lucius, and from her, they knew only what she had told them in her relatively regular letters, which admittedly had talked at considerable length about the library and its books and very little else. She now realised she hadn’t even mentioned the house or gardens to them all that much — she really had been obsessed with that library.
It was only a few minutes later when Lucius led the guests into the glasshouse. Hermione couldn’t help smiling as she remembered the first time he had led her there, with Narcissa sitting so elegantly, waiting for their arrival. Now she was the one taking on that role, although with considerably less aplomb than the ex-Mrs Malfoy.
She rose from her seat as the others entered and invited everyone to sit down. It was a bit of a squash but no one seemed to care, particularly when Lucius, having excused himself for a couple of minutes, reappeared with a few bottles of champagne and proposed a toast to the library.
Hermione’s heart sped up slightly as she worried for a moment that he was going to mention something about their wedding when she hadn’t had a chance to discuss it with her parents or friends first. But fortunately, although he was in a buoyant mood, he was content to let the day be ruled by Hermione’s work achievements rather than anything else.
She was pleased when Narcissa was complimentary about her twist on the afternoon tea ritual.
‘The crumpets are an inspired choice on a day like today. I’ve no idea why I never thought of it,’ Narcissa said.
‘Your teas were always so perfect, though,’ Hermione pointed out. ‘Do you still have them in Jersey?’
‘Not quite as much as over here,’ Narcissa admitted. ‘We’ve been busy restoring the house and building a conservatory similar to the glasshouse. I do miss my plants, particularly the orchids. Barney’s been so sweet about arranging it all.’ She smiled at her lover, who gazed dotingly back at her.
More quietly, and with a grin, Narcissa continued, ‘So tell me, Hermione, what happened to the erotica? I didn’t notice that section in your new library.’
Hermione chuckled. ‘It’s up in the minstrel’s gallery. I’ve always enjoyed relaxing up there and it seems Lucius does, too, so it seemed the perfect place for it.’
‘I’m surprised there was enough room,’ Narcissa quipped. She turned to Barney and explained, ‘Lucius’ ancestors were extremely interested in erotic works, both fiction and factual. They also collected a considerable number of interesting illustrations and paintings. They really are most educational . . . wouldn’t you say, Hermione?’
‘I’ve certainly found them to be so,’ Hermione admitted, although she could feel herself blushing as she said it.
Barney gave a bluff laugh. ‘Viewing by special appointment only, eh?’
‘You’re perfectly welcome to go and see them, Barney. Narcissa can show you the way,’ Hermione assured him with a wicked smile.
‘Perhaps later,’ Narcissa replied smoothly before Barney had a chance to answer. ‘We’re here for a couple of days so I’m sure we can fit it in once everyone else has gone.’
‘I’m glad you’re staying,’ Hermione told them sincerely. ‘I’m looking forward to getting to know Barney better, and it’ll be good for us to have a catch-up — with a proper afternoon tea.’
‘I look forward to it,’ Narcissa replied. ‘Now if you’ll excuse me, Hermione, I am going to go and talk to Draco.’
‘Of course.’ Hermione smiled. ‘Astoria is a lovely girl, isn’t she? They’ve been here a few times now and it’s been a pleasure seeing them together. It’s clear they’re both smitten with each other, too. Good choices made all round, I think.’
‘Yes, we like her as well. They came to stay with us over Christmas and we had a delightful time. I’m hopeful that they might announce their engagement shortly.’ Narcissa studied Hermione for a moment, then asked, ‘Talking of engagements, what’s happening with you and Lucius? I haven’t seen anything announced or heard any gossip about a wedding.’
Hermione shrugged. ‘He did ask me once the two of you had agreed on your divorce but I told him I wanted to get the library completed first. He was talking about having children, lots of them, and I had visions of the place never getting finished. So what about you two?’
‘We’re waiting until the restoration work is finished on the house,’ Barney said. ‘We want to hold the wedding there but it’s like a building site at the moment, so not the most picturesque venue. I reckon it’s going to take another two or three months to get the major work out of the way and another good month for redecorating — there will be a huge amount of painting to do. That’ll take us into the summer and the garden will still need replanting, so I think we’re looking at getting married sometime in September, aren’t we, love?’
Narcissa nodded. ‘Yes. I’ve pencilled in the third weekend in September as a possibility, so make sure to keep that weekend free, Hermione. Of course, you’re welcome to come over earlier if you and Lucius want to make a holiday of it. Jersey is quite beautiful at that time of the year, and for a small island, there’s plenty to see and do, especially as you like walking. And of course, there is always Guernsey and the other islands to explore, too. So now the library has been completed, when are you two going to tie the knot?’
‘I don’t know,’ Hermione admitted. ‘Harry’s getting married in July and now you’re getting married in September. I have to admit I wouldn’t mind a quiet wedding, something really low key with just a few people — the people here today and maybe one or two others would fit the bill nicely.’
Narcissa laughed. ‘I don’t think you’ll get away with that with Lucius. You know he always likes the biggest and the best. I’m sure he’ll want something showy and flamboyant.’
‘Yes, that’s what worries me,’ Hermione said quietly.
‘What’s your engagement ring like?’ Narcissa asked interestedly.
At her words, Hermione looked down at the older woman’s hand, spotting the discreet solitaire diamond ring. She suddenly felt a little self-conscious. Lucius hadn’t given her a ring. Immediately she began to wonder whether maybe he hadn’t been as serious as she had thought. Perhaps she had been right and he had only asked her because she was upset.
‘I haven’t got one,’ she admitted quietly.
Narcissa looked surprised. ‘Really? That does surprise me. I know you’re not getting married for a while but I would have thought Lucius would want to show you off.’
‘I think he’s kept it quiet because I asked him to. We’ll probably talk about it over the next few weeks or so. I haven’t even really talked to my friends or my parents about it yet.’
Narcissa glanced at Ron, Harry and Ginny, who were sitting at the table conversing with each other and clearly ignoring Lucius, Draco and Astoria. Hermione’s parents seemed deep in discussion with Madam Pince and Molly and Arthur and were also ignoring the Malfoy contingent. She gave Hermione an understanding look.
‘I imagine those are going to be a few difficult conversations.’
Hermione sighed. ‘Mrs Weasley knows that Lucius and I are together but she wasn’t very impressed at the idea and said some pretty nasty things at the time. I don’t know if she told the others or not. I suspect she was hoping I would change my mind about him. I’m fairly certain that my parents have no idea. I certainly haven’t mentioned anything to them in any of my letters although, to be fair, I’ve just realised that I haven’t mentioned anything much apart from the library. I’ve really had a one-track mind for the last year or so.
‘None of them know about us getting married. I was going to talk to Ron and Harry about it this afternoon, and I should tell my parents too, I suppose. They need to know and it’ll give them all a chance to get used to the idea, although after the argument I had with Mrs Weasley it feels like it might be a real battle to get them to accept us as a couple.’
‘Well, unless your friends are completely dim I’m sure they’ll already have got the hint about you two. You’ve slotted straight into being the mistress of Malfoy Manor,’ Narcissa said with a smile. ‘Your parents may be a different matter, though, especially if they haven’t yet picked up on the dynamic.’
‘Yes, I think Ginny may have picked up on that. There were a few raised eyebrows when I was discussing tea with Lucius earlier.’
The crowd around the table were moving now. Ron grabbed a final piece of cheesecake as Draco and Astoria stood up, leaving Lucius alone.
‘We’ll see you later, Hermione,’ Narcissa said as Barney gestured to her that her son was now free.
‘Yes. I’ll see you for drinks before dinner,’ Hermione replied with a smile, then she moved over to talk to her friends.

Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny were all sitting up in the minstrel’s gallery. She had taken them up there wanting to be away from everyone else, and the weather was too inclement for them to leave the house. They were impressed with the secluded nook overlooking the library but hadn’t yet, to Hermione’s relief, spotted the collection of erotica housed there.
‘So what’s going on with you and Lucius Malfoy, then, Hermione?’ Ron’s tone was more than slightly belligerent as he asked the question.
Hermione looked taken aback at his aggressiveness. Ginny shot him a filthy look.
‘Do you remember how we weren’t going to be confrontational and stroppy, Ron? How we were going to give Hermione a chance to talk to us before we barked accusatory questions at her?’ she said.
Ron just scowled at her and then at Hermione.
Harry tried to break the chilly silence that had suddenly descended. ‘From the way you were acting earlier, bossing Lucius around, it was like you’re the lady of the manor or something.’ The laugh died in his throat as Hermione just stared at him and he glanced at Ginny, looking for help.
‘Who’s that man with Narcissa Malfoy?’ Ginny asked, thinking this might be a less combative way to get the conversation started.
‘He’s her fiancée, Barnabus Selwyn — Barney to his friends. They’re living over in Jersey,’ Hermione said, keeping her face blank.
She had intended to tell her friends about her relationship with Lucius but Ron’s pugnaciousness annoyed her and made her unwilling to open up, knowing that it would only cause more arguments.
‘She’s not living here?’ Ron asked, sounding surprised.
‘Correct. Neither is Draco before you ask,’ Hermione retorted.
‘So you and Lucius are living here alone?’ Ron challenged.
Hermione shrugged. ‘Correct again, unless you count the fifteen-odd house-elves that live here too.’
‘But—’
Ginny put her hand over her brother’s mouth to shut him up, understanding that this wasn’t going well.
‘How about you give Hermione a chance to explain?’ she suggested mildly.
‘How long have you and Lucius been together?’ Harry enquired, sounding far less confrontational and much more interested than Ron.
Hermione steepled her fingers, blowing on them as she debated what to say.
‘We’ve been a couple pretty much since I first moved to Malfoy Manor,’ she admitted.
She saw Ron rear up, Ginny still clamping her hand over his mouth so he couldn’t speak. Harry pulled him back down and shot him a warning look.
‘Although I did come here initially to catalogue the library, I also came to be nearer to Lucius. I know you’re surprised and you’re probably angry that I didn’t tell you before, and I apologise for that, but at the beginning, I wasn’t sure where things were going to go with our relationship so I didn’t want to say anything in case it fizzled out. There was no point in upsetting everyone for something that might be nothing. Once things became more serious between us I wanted to talk to you, but after your mum got so upset when I told her I didn’t really know how to explain it without you all reacting in the same way.’
‘That was why you left the Burrow so suddenly that day you came to lunch,’ Ginny said, remembering.
Hermione nodded. ‘Your mum gave me a huge lecture about how I should be finding myself a husband rather than working at Malfoy Manor. She seemed to think I was locking myself away because I was upset at breaking up with Ron.’
Ginny nodded and rolled her eyes sympathetically, clearly used to these sorts of discussions with her mother.
Ron, who had finally been released by Harry and Ginny, snorted loudly. ‘That’s why no one helps her with the washing up, Hermione. You don’t want to get caught alone with her. She’s a great one for lectures, our mum.’
‘Yes, well, obviously. She really upset me with some of the things she was saying because she wouldn’t listen to anything I was saying. She honestly seems to believe that life begins and ends with getting married and having a family. She couldn’t understand that I just wanted to work on the library, however much I tried to explain it to her. In the end, I got so frustrated that I told her about Lucius — just to shut her up, really, but it only made her worse. She was extraordinarily horrible about him, kept going on about how he was going to hurt me—’
‘Yeah, well I wonder how she got that idea,’ Ron said snidely, cutting across Hermione.
Harry, who had been quiet until now, said, ‘He’s changed, though, hasn’t he? Lucius, I mean. I got that impression at the trial — that he wasn’t the evil Death Eater we had dealt with previously. He seemed softer, more apologetic; as if he really did regret what he had done for Voldemort. And today he’s been friendly and entertaining; amusing, even.’
‘Yeah, well, it’s all an act, isn’t it?’ Ron said darkly.
‘No. It isn’t an act,’ Hermione shot back tersely. She was trying hard not to lose her temper with Ron. ‘I think rescuing me changed him somehow. He definitely wasn’t on Voldemort’s side at the end — none of the Malfoys were. I trusted him to help me escape, and I trusted that he had changed when I came here to work in his library. He and Narcissa had long since ended their relationship — it was only because Barney was still married that they had never divorced.
‘To be honest, it was sort of a lust thing at first, for both of us, I think. But once I’d been here a while we realised it had grown into something else. I know you don’t believe me, Ron — you’re just like your mum — but it’s true. Lucius and I love each other and we have a good relationship. He’s changed so much. All the Malfoys have, but Lucius especially.
‘The day I came to lunch, Barney told Narcissa that he had finally managed to agree on a divorce settlement with his wife. She told Lucius while I was at the Burrow. Your mum told me that Lucius would never do anything but give me pain, but when I got home that evening, visibly upset, he spent ages comforting me and trying to cheer me up.
‘He even tried to explain why your mum was so upset — he was so bloody understanding about it that it really irritated me. But then he told me that no one would believe he had changed unless they saw it for themselves, that telling them wasn’t enough. And that’s true. You’ve seen it today — I know you have, even if you don’t want to admit it.’
Harry and Ginny nodded their agreement. Ron still glowered but realised he was fighting a losing battle. Ginny decided to get in quickly before her brother could say anything more.
‘So what’s happening with you and Lucius if he and Narcissa are getting divorced?’
‘They’re already divorced. She and Barney wanted to get it over and done with before they moved and they wanted to be in Jersey by Christmas, so it’s all completed and sorted out. Lucius asked me to marry him the night I got back from the Burrow, once I’d calmed down enough.’
So you’re marrying him, then?’ Harry asked.
Hermione nodded. ‘I said I would, but not until the library cataloguing was finished.’ She smiled as Ron rolled his eyes at this comment. ‘Lucius told me that everyone would realise how much he loved me when we’d been married for fifty years and had a dozen kids. I thought if he was even partly serious I’d never get the renovation of the library completed if I married him straight away, so I insisted that we wait. That’s why he helped me with it — he wanted to get it finished as soon as possible.’
‘You haven’t got a ring, though,’ Ginny pointed out.
‘No, because I refused to even discuss it any further until the cataloguing was complete, and there was no way I wearing a bloody great ring while I was working with old and delicate books — because you just know that Lucius isn’t going to get me something small and subtle. Now the library is finished I’ll need to talk to him about it and arrange a date. It’s not really that important, though; we’ve been sharing a bedroom for the best part of a year, and now Narcissa’s gone I’m lady of the manor, as Harry said.’
‘You were sleeping together while Narcissa was still living here?’ Ron sounded astonished.
‘Yes. Remember me saying that their relationship was over long before I arrived? We didn’t make a big thing of it but Narcissa knew we were a couple. I think she even approved as it meant Lucius wasn’t going elsewhere and creating loads of rumours.’
‘When do you think you’ll be getting married?’ Harry asked, seeing Ron about to speak again and suspecting from previous questions that it would be something that would only annoy Hermione.
Hermione shrugged. ‘I’ve no idea. You two are getting married in July, so that’s out, really. Narcissa and Barney are aiming for September. To be honest, I don’t really mind, I just want it to be a small, intimate wedding — nothing fussy. Unfortunately, I don’t think Lucius will let me get away with that, although I’m certainly going to push for it.’
‘How about Halloween?’ Ron asked, now apparently resigned to the fact that Hermione was going to marry Lucius, even though he didn’t like the idea much.
Hermione shook her head as she wrinkled her nose. ‘I don’t think so, do you? There’s already an anniversary on that date—’
She glanced at Harry and gave him a weak smile.
‘Yeah, a bit of a rubbish time for it. Sorry, I wasn’t thinking,’ Ron said ruefully.
‘Don’t worry, you’ll all be involved as soon as we’ve decided. I’ll have roles for all of you,’ Hermione promised them. To Ron, she added, ‘I’m going to need you to manage your mum for me. Please make her see that I’m not making a huge mistake.’
Gruffly, Ron said, ‘I’m not convinced myself yet.’
Hermione hugged him. ‘You will be. Now I’ve finished the library I shall have a lot more free time so you can come and stay and get to know Lucius better.’
‘What are you going to do now the library is finished?’ Harry asked curiously.
‘I’m going to apply for a job in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures the next time one comes up. I was going to ask you to let me know when there’s a vacancy.’
Ron stared at her incredulously. ‘Do you need to work, Hermione? Lucius has got pots of money and has this big old house.’
‘It’s nothing to do with the money. I want to help house-elves,’ Hermione told him.
‘You’ve got house-elves here, haven’t you?’ Ginny asked.
Hermione nodded. ‘Yes, and we’re slowly working on them to get them to accept wages and holidays. It’s extremely slow going but I’m confident we’re getting there, especially after Lucius worked with them on the library.’
‘He wasn’t very nice to Dobby,’ Harry reminded her icily.
‘No, he wasn’t but Lucius really regrets how he treated him, Harry. He’s completely changed on that front, too,’ Hermione assured him. ‘Honestly, come with me to the kitchen and meet the elves. You’ll see that they absolutely adore Lucius.’
‘We could get something to eat while we’re there,’ Ron suggested hopefully.
‘Are you hungry?’ Hermione asked.
Ginny shook her head. ‘I’m not — but you know the gannet never stops eating, given the chance.’
‘I expend a lot of energy,’ Ron responded, then grinned as they all stared at him.
‘A lot of gas, more like,’ Ginny retorted with her own wicked grin.
‘Come on, let’s go and find Ron some food and you can meet our house-elves,’ Hermione said, standing up.
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