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The Downfall of Greed	By : tcarlson Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 40804 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor do I make money off this fanfiction.

Chapter List
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My left forearm burned. It was a most inconvenient time, but one does not question the Dark Lord’s summons. I quickly ended the meeting I was leading and headed out to the main hall of the Ministry of Magic. It was the middle of the day. What possibly could the Dark Lord want?

Once outside, I turned into an ally off to the side and pulled my Death Eater mask out of my robes. I am always prepared for a summons. One doesn’t climb to the top of Lord Voldemort’s ranks without rushing to him when called, and the delay of Apparating home to get the mask adds too much time. Cautiously, I made sure no one was paying me any attention, slipped on my mask, and Apparated.

I landed in the foyer of a rather nice manor. A manor that I had purchased for the Dark Lord’s use. I couldn’t allow meetings at my own manor anymore. Potter had some of the Ministry staff suspicious of my participation in Death Eater activities. I couldn’t have Aurors make a surprise visit when I am possibly hosting a Death Eater meeting. I have a reputation to uphold. A reputation as an upstanding, law-abiding citizen. For some reason I didn’t think any amount of money could get me out of getting caught red-handed by Aurors with a bunch of Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort in my living room. It would be hard to explain.

High-pitched laughter came from down the hall in the library. Bellatrix. If Bellatrix was happy, it meant someone else was definitely not. I’ve only seen her even crack a smile when she was torturing a helpless soul physically or mentally. By the scream that followed, it seemed like physical torture was on the menu tonight.

I hesitated at the library door, taking in the scene. The Dark Lord was facing me in a high-back leather chair, enjoying the sight in front of him. Bellatrix’s back was to me, arm raised to throw the next curse at the bloodied hunk of flesh screaming at her feet. I could barely make out a female figure, but that was about it. Bellatrix had done a good job.

The Dark Lord met my eyes and stopped Bellatrix with a wave of his hand. The girl whimpered at Bellatrix’s feet, breathing heavily. I stepped into the room, pulling off my mask as it seemed to be an intimate party and not a full meeting. Bellatrix whirled around, sensing movement behind her. She always had been a little paranoid since Azkaban.

“Who’s that?” a voice behind me asked. I snapped my head around. It was just Severus. My, my I was getting as jumpy as Bellatrix, but Severus could glide across any floor as silent as a snake. No surprise I didn’t hear him come up behind me.

“Lucius! Severus! Come meet my new toy,” Bellatrix crooned.

“I said you could play with her, Bella, not keep her,” Voldemort hissed. Bellatrix pouted. Severus stepped around me to kneel by the simpering pile of rags and blood.

“Are those Hogwart’s robes?” he asked.

“Yes! Yes! Guess who!” She didn’t give us time to guess. She was too excited. “It’s the Mudblood Hermione Granger!”

“However did you find her?” I asked. My interest was piqued. We hadn’t been able to get close to any of the “golden trio” for months. They had been traveling about, apparently completing a task for the late Dumbledore. We had tracked their position once or twice, but Potter, Weasley, and Granger had disappeared by the time we arrived.

“Pure dumb luck!” Bellatrix cackled. “They ended up camping in some woods near my house. Their silly little spells were no match for the detection spells Rodolphus had up for our protection. Our alarms went off and I went to investigate. This one distracted me while the other two ran off. She may be book smart, but she is no match for me at dueling! I defeated her easily and brought her straight here so my Lord may rejoice in this development.”

“Yes, now instead of having Potter we have his worthless Mudblood friend,” Voldemort said in a deadly whisper. “How fortuitous.”

“My Lord!” Bellatrix fell to her knees at his feet. “I know I have failed you horribly, but as I told you we can still use this to our advantage. Please forgive me!”

“Of coarse we’re going to use her! I just need to figure out how!” Voldemort stood up and stalked around the room, the anger of missing out on capturing Potter overshadowing the joy of having the Mudblood at his disposal. He stalked up to the mess of Hermione Granger on the floor, staring down at her. “How are we going to use you to lure in Potter?” he muttered under his breath.

“Break her, my Lord. Show her off as a mindless slave. No one would doubt your power then!” Bellatrix was obviously trying to get back into his good graces. I looked at Severus and he rolled his eyes. The Dark Lord would have thought of that. He wanted something more.

“Yes, yes,” Voldemort answered absent-mindedly, waving at Bellatrix as if she were a bothersome fly. He turned to Severus and I. “But is it enough? We can’t mess this up. We have one chance at this. You know the Order is going to keep Potter from rescuing her at any cost. It’s too dangerous for even the Order to try. Her situation has to be desperate enough that he has no choice but to save her.”

We all stood around and stared down at the broken body of Hermione Granger. She had become unconscious sometime during the conversation. We had her in our clutches. It was a wonderful opportunity that had to be taken advantage of. But how? My twisted brain churned through a whole array of choices.

“What if,” I started slowly, “we broke her just enough that she obeyed us, but retained her mind. She wouldn’t be a mindless drone. She would still be Hermione Granger, someone Potter would find worth rescuing.”

The Dark Lord thought about this. He trailed his fingers along his chin, deep in thought. “Severus, fix her up as best you can. Take her to the kitchen. I have much to discuss with Lucius. Bella, go home,” he ordered.

Bellatrix looked crestfallen to be ordered away, but she obeyed without protest. She was in enough trouble without demanding to stay. Severus levitated the girl’s body out of the door behind Bellatrix’s miserable departure.

“I have brought the potions you requested, my Lord. There will not be a scar on her. Today will seem like just a bad dream,” Severus said over his shoulder as he walked Hermione Granger down the hall.

“See that it is so,” Voldemort answered. He sat back down in his leather chair, motioning me to take the adjacent stool. His face was pensive, thinking of his options for our little prisoner. “Could you do it?” he asked after awhile. “Could you break her without ruining her mind?”

“I believe I can.”

“I had summoned you with the intention of having her broken anyway. It would be interesting to see what happens with her mind intact. I summoned Severus to give you a blank slate to start with. I know you like working from scratch and that Bella can get a little overzealous.”

I nodded my agreement and thanks at the last sentence. “What would you do with her if I were successful?” I asked.

Voldemort lapsed into another bout of deep thinking. “There are several avenues I can pursue. I could have her join our ranks. I could have her willingly be my concubine. I could parade her as my pawn without fear of her trying to escape. She could be useful. With her mind intact, we get her intellect with the bonus of complete obedience. She would still have her personality, which makes it more likely for Potter to try and rescue her. It would also make it more interesting for me. I hear she can be feisty.”

I was taken aback. “My Lord, you would have such plans for a mere Mudblood? Doesn’t it go against everything we stand for?”

“Sacrifices we must make to finally get to Potter. I will do anything to finally end him.”

Severus came to the doorway. He must have cast a cleansing spell on himself because he should have been covered in her blood after the extensive damage Bellatrix caused. He looked a little tired but no worse for wear. “Her clothes may be a mess, but I assure you that her body and mind are sound. I’ll be surprised if she remembers anything about today,” he informed us.

“Good. Lucius, take her with you. Do whatever it takes. I want her ready as soon as possible.”

“Yes, my Lord. You won’t be disappointed,” I answered.

“I have complete faith in you. You know your stuff. Bi-weekly updates shall suffice.” And just like that I was dismissed.

Severus followed me back into the hall. We walked toward the kitchen together. I don’t envy you,” he informed me. “I taught the wretch for six years. Most insufferable chit I ever met. You have your work cut out for you.”

“Yes. I don’t look forward to it.” We entered the kitchen. A still-unconscious Hermione Granger was lying on the floor. Except for her clothes that were crimson with her blood, she looked completely healed. I strode over, knelt down, and grabbed her arm, getting ready to Apparate back to my manor.

“Good luck, old friend,” Severus said.

“Thank you. I have a feeling I’ll need it.”

I Apparated away silently, holding on to my new project.
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The Downfall of Greed