Lucius\' Bookshelves

Chapter 23

“Lucius. Hermione.” His voice was cold as his eyes flicked between the blonde man and the brown-haired woman. “The Ministry asked me to investigate the situation here, as I have known both of you for some time.”

Lucius smiled. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Severus.”

Severus eyed the man distastefully in response. “I am here in an official capacity. This is not a social call.”

Hermione noticed his look, but held her tongue. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if her former professor was here to actually talk to them, or if he was here to provide the official support for the Ministry’s foregone disapproval of her relationship with Lucius.

“The house elves can take care of your bag,” Lucius gestured to the battered valise that Severus carried. “We can have tea in the library.”

Hermione smirked at Lucius’ ability to completely ignore Severus’ last statement.

“My business is with Hermione, not you, Lucius.”

Hermione watched her lover’s face harden into a blank mask before he nodded his head curtly. “Very well.” His voice warmed as her turned to Hermione, “I’ll be in my study if you need me.” Turning his attention bac his his former associate, he turned cold again. “I’ll expect you for dinner, Severus. We get so few visitors. As I am sure you are well aware.” Lucius turned and walked from the room, Hermione’s glance following him briefly.

“Well, I guess you’d better come to the library so we can ‘do business’. Follow me.” She had the feeling that Snape had already made his judgment, and was just looking to find evidence to support it. The thought didn’t make her feel particularly amicable.

“I have been here, before, you know,” came the dour response.

Hermione smirked. “Of course. How could I forget that you and Lucius were, er, ‘business associates’ at one time.”

“I don’t think ‘business associate’ is the right term, unless your mindset has changed so much that you consider raping and killing to be merely business.”

Hermione smiled. Severus had no subtlety at all. “If you are trying to tell me something about Lucius that you think I don’t know, it isn’t going to work.” She paused at the library door. “We’ve had more than one conversation about his past activities. And yours,” she added pointedly before opening the door.

She invited Severus to take a seat by the fire before she took the chair opposite to him and ordered tea. “Now, please tell me why you are here. And if you could please explain why the Ministry feels the need to ‘investigate’ anything anyway. I am a free and law abiding citizen, and Lucius was cleared of most of the charges against him – other than some bribery and Darks Arts charges.”

“Among other things,” Severus commented snidely. “Still, the Ministry chose to confine Lucius to his Manor – and to restrict his guests – because his loyalty to the Ministry is still questionable. Recanting his loyalty to the Dark Lord kept him out of Azkaban – as did his considerable family fortune – but too many people feel that he is unreliable, and did not want to give him complete freedom. Of course, you knew that already, didn’t you? It was included in the information packet you were given before you started this assignment.” Hermione remembered Severus’ particular brand of smugness from her years in school.

She glared at him. “I am well aware of the information that was provided to me.” She paused, allowing the steel in her voice to come through. “The packet of information also stated that Lucius had been pardoned of suspected war crimes. But apparently the Ministry doesn’t really mean that. Why else would they care if I wanted to stay here with Lucius?” Her voice rose with each word.

Severus sighed. “I’m here because people are worried about you. The Ministry is concerned that you were a bit, uh, naive when you came here, and that Lucius may have, er, taken advantage of that naivety. The Weasleys are worried. Very worried, in fact. Arthur and Molly have always thought of you as their second daughter. When they first saw the note from you, they assumed it was a forgery.”

Hermione clenched her fists. How dare he attempt to bully her by telling her that her friends were unhappy because of her choices? Still, she didn’t interrupt. “They insisted that the note be tested for every enchantment that anyone could think of. They called me in when they couldn’t find any signs of magic.” He paused, reaching for the tea that had arrived. “When they realized that there was no magic at work, they could only assume that you’d betrayed them – and betrayed everything the Order stood for – and everything Bill and George died fighting to protect.” Severus took a sip of his tea before continuing. “Arthur said that if your letter was sincere, you were no more loyal to the Ministry than Lucius was. And he’ll never forgive Lucius.”

Hermione tried to control her breathing. She knew the Weasleys would be upset. Bill and George’s deaths had changed them irrevocably. Still, she couldn’t live her life for her grieving friends. “I’m sorry about Bill, and I’m sorry about George, and I’m sorry for the thousands of other people that were killed or hurt. I’m sorry about the people that I hurt, and all the people that I couldn’t save.” She paused deliberately, collecting her thoughts. “But I can’t live my life dwelling on that. The people who died wouldn’t have wanted the rest of us to put our lives on hold while we nursed our grudges and let our hatreds have free reign.” She wrung her hands in frustration.

Severus started to speak, but Hermione cut him off, her voice bitter. “They were willing to accept your change of heart – they forgave you for being a Death Eater – everyone was fine with that, but they aren’t willing to forgive Lucius. How can we ever move on if we can’t forgive? You’re really not all that different from Lucius, when it comes down to it.”

Severus set his tea cup down gently, his hands shaking. His voice was soft with despair when he spoke. “I have tried to pay for my sins. Perhaps in time I will be forgiven.”

Hermione wiped stray tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way, Severus. No one can fault the work you did for the Order. And they can’t fault you for the things you did before that. If it hadn’t been for your past, you wouldn’t have been able to provide all the information that you did.” She paused to sip her tea, hoping that it would help her dry mouth. “Just like with Lucius – how many more people would have died before Voldemort was killed if Lucius hadn’t providee ine information about his whereabouts when he did?”

Her former instructor’s voice still sounded lost. “Does the removal of one evil wipe out all the evils that were committed by his followers?”

Hermione swallowed again, an uncomfortable heat settling in her body. “Can’t you forgive yourself? Maybe that’s why you can’t forgive Lucius – because you haven’t forgiven yourself.”

“I have atoned for my sins,” came the dry response.

“Of course you have,” Hermione’s voice was filled with earnest sincerity. “But have you forgiven yourself? There is a difference, you know.”

Severus’ eyes narrowed. “This is not about me, although the question begs: you have forgiven Lucius, I presume?”

Hermione spoke slowly. “I have accepted what he did – both good and bad. I don’t hold his past against him, if that’s what you mean. I love him for who he is now – not for who he was.”

“Don’t fool yourself,” the voice was harsh, the black eyes burning with a new fury. “He is still the man he was. I know Lucius, and I know that he will never change. And that’s why I’m worried about you.” His genuine concern touched Hermione.

“I appreciate your concern. I don’t agree with you, though. I do think that Lucius has changed – I’ve had a lot more time to talk to him than probably any one else from the Ministry has. Doesn’t the Ministry even remember that part of sending me out here was to get a sense of his current attitudes? Anyway, I really do believe that he is a different person from the one who enjoyed torturing Muggles.”

Severus snorted derisively. “I doubt it.”

Hermione sighed. “I can see why the Ministry is not interested in giving Lucius his freedom anytime soon, if everyone has an attitude like yours. And that’s part of it, isn’t it? Not only does the Ministry want to keep him locked up from polite society, but they don’t want to see him enjoy anything, either? That’s pretty amazing. They’re more than willing to take his money, but they’re not willing to let him live his life.”

“The Ministry is never going to give Lucius complete freedom. Accept that. There are very few people in the wizarding world who would approve of that. But I’m not here to debate Lucius’ freedom. I’m here because people are worried about you. They are concerned for your safety.” Hermione could tell that he was trying to contain his frustration.

“If the Ministry was so damn worried, why did they send me here in the first place?” Her anger came through clearly.

“There was some concern. But the thought was that you would be in no way attracted to Lucius – you didn’t seem to be very susceptible to his charms. But we obviously underestimated him.” Severus sounded almost contrite.

“Damn. Why does it sound like people all think that I had no say in this? Did it ever occur to anyone that maybe I chose to be with him? That I’ve not been enchanted, cursed, or the victim of memory charms? I am here because I want to be here. And because he wants me to be here.”

Her former professor’s visage softened noticeably. “Is that it, Hermione? Did you feel that no one else wanted you?” He paused briefly, and Hermione was too stunned to say anything. “I should have told you a long time ago – I wanted you – I still do. I just – we were in a war, and I didn’t know if what you felt for me was driven by the intensity of the moments. I couldn’t do anything but watch.”

The uncomfortable heat of minutes ago came rushing back full-strength. It took her a few moments to find her voice while the dark-haired man stared intently at her.

“You- er, you’re kidding me, right?” This was too surrealistic for her to fully comprehend. “You honestly think that I’m with Lucius because you didn’t want me? What? You think I’ve got some sick desire for ex-Death Eaters, and since I couldn’t get you, I’d go after him instead?”

“You can’t deny that you had some interest in me.” The voice was flat.

Hermione spluttered for a moment before finding the words. “I don’t deny it. I had a crush on you. For a long time. And you made it patently clear that you had absolutely no interest in me whatsoever. Not as a colleague, not as my patient, and certainly not as a woman. That does not, however,” she rose from her chair, “mean that I went after Lucius simply because you were not interested in me. In fact,” she could feel her face growing red from her own anger, “my ‘schoolgirl crush’ on you ended long before I ever met Lucius.”

She paused to catch her breath. Things were becoming more ludicrous by the second. “What I felt for you was a passing fancy. I love Lucius. And that has nothing to do with you.” She sat down again, calmly.

The blank expression rapidly became a sneer, and Hermione couldn’t help but wonder if all Death Eaters had been instructed in the Subtle Art of Sneering. “You ‘love’ Lucius enough to forsake all of your friends? Because I can guarantee that no one will want to have anything to do with you when your association with Lucius becomes public knowledge.”

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. “Harry and Draco have accepted it. Yes, they know,” she answered his unasked question. “Draco thinks it’s wonderful, in fact, and since Harry already has one Malfoy in his family, he has gracefully accepted another one. As for everyone else, there’s not much I can do. But I can’t live my life for other people.” She looked at Severus unapologetically.

“The Ministry can’t restrict your movements, but I think you’ll find the reactions of people unpleasant enough that you’ll probably find yourself staying at Malfoy Manor most of the time. Do you really want to lock yourself away in this mausoleum for the rest of your life? This isn’t your heritage. It’s his. And yet if you make your relationship with him known, you’ll find yourself virtually stuck here.”

“I can’t tell other people how to think, now can I? Harry and Draco accept me, and they will be willing to see me in public. I can’t control other people.” Her voice was softer; unfortunately, Severus was right.

“Do you honestly think that Lucius could ever really love a Muggle-born?”

Although the question caught her off guard, Hermione failed at hiding her smile. Clearly Severus was going to try every tactic in the book; he’d already failed with the ‘your friends hate him’ approach, and the ‘But I loved you first’ approach hadn’t fared any better. Obviously he had moved on to the ‘He’ll never love you’ approach. “Stranger things have happened.”

“Draco still doesn’t have an heir, you know.”

Hermione smiled. “I think that is Draco’s concern, not mine.” She placed her tea cup on the small table between them and stood up. “He doesn’t mistreat me, I enjoy being with him, and he doesn’t beat me unless I ask him to. If that’s not enough for you, then you’d better talk with Lucius.” She walked across the library, turning at the door and smiling. “Dinner is formal dress, if you have forgotten.” Closing the door behind her firmly, Hermione walked down the hall.

****

Hermione hadn’t seen Severus or Lucius since she told Lucius that it would be best for him to continue the conversation with Severus.

She hadn’t been able to relax since she’d ended her discussion with Severus. She’d sit down to read something, only to find herself jumping up moments later with something else on her mind. Finally, she decided that a swim would help cure her restlessness.

Swimming laps had been good for her, as she couldn’t really dwell on Severus’ comments concerning the Weasleys. She had known that they would be upset. Molly had been deeply affected by the deaths of her two sons, and she was more likely to see things as black or white. And she couldn’t see Molly viewing her relationship with Lucius as a good thing. It was sad, and frustrating. But, she consoled herself, there really wasn’t much she could do about it. She knew that she’d be cutting herself off from a lot of people with her decision to stay with Lucius., but giving up Lucius was not an option at this point.

Nor could she dwell on his more disturbing statement that he still wanted her. Unfortunately, that one still haunted her when she got out of the pool. Did he really want her, or was he just trying to get her away from Lucius? Either way, the comment was distressing. It certainly didn’t affect her feelings about Lucius; she knew she loved him. It wasn’t the nervous infatuation that she’d felt for Severus.

No, she felt comfortable with Lucius in every sense. It still amazed her the number of times they had spent in, wi, with him reading the Daily Prophet, and her reading a book, silent for hours, yet content in the knowledge that they were with each other. They often swam together now, and it was a similar experience of sharing the same space, even if they weren’t communicating. And, of course, they were – how did Lucius phrase it? ‘Physically compatible.’ She giggled at the phrase. A very aristocratic way of saying that the sex was fantastic.

It was just hard to determine if Severus had been serious in what he had said to her. At one time, she would have been ecstatic to hear those words from him. Now they just made her feel uncomfortable. Luckily, he hadn’t come back to those words. He hadn’t said anything else along those lines, either.

She just didn’t want to imagine Lucius’ reaction if Severus repeated his word to him.

****

Looking at the grandfather clock in the study, Hermione decided to start to get dressed for dinner, assuming that if Severus and Lucius hadn’t come to blows, dinner would still be on time. Actually, knowing Lucius, even if they had come to blows, dinner would be on time anyway.

Smiling at that thought, she walked into her closet, now substantially more filled with clothes that Lucius had purchased for her. She had protested the purchases, assuring him that she liked transforming old dresses into new ones, but he had made it abundantly clear that he liked watching her open packages and try on clothes. She blushed at the memories; they had both been so aroused one time that he had taken her on the bench of her dressing table, the tag from a new blouse leaving marks on her skin.

She looked through the dresses, trying to find something that was form-fitting, and yet not blatantly revealing. She was debating between a rich red satin sheath, and a vibrant blue strapless tulle with a full skirt.

“The blue one, I think,” came the silky voice behind her. She turned around with a grin on her face.

“You seem to be in one piece. How about Severus?” She was curious – and a little nervous. She doubted that the Ministry would be pleased if Lucius had attacked their representative.

“Once I told him to get over you, the rest of the conversation went fin Luc Lucius smirked, and Hermione couldn’t help but wonder whether Lucius was serious or not.

“Do we still have a dinner guest, or did you hex him into oblivion?” She tried to keep the laughter out of her voice.

“It’s tacky to curse one’s guests. Especially when we get so few of them.” Lucius replied, mocking a classically aristocratic tone, before he smirked again. He then turned to his vest, looking for something. “Put on the blue dress, I think I’ve got something that will go well with it.”

Hermione giggle and slipped out of her skirt and blouse, fully aware of Lucius’ lusty stares. Teasing him, she ran her fingers lightly over her bare skin, and was only partially surprised when he pulled her into his arms. His hands, however, seemed to be occupied with something other than her body. She felt him place a heavy necklace around her neck, his fingers fumbling with the clasp before he stepped back to look at her.

“Beautiful, my love. Absolutely beautiful. Too bad Severus’ puritan mores would be offended if you came to dinner wearing just that.” Lucius smiled, and Hermione looked down. A heavy platinum and diamond necklace set off a large blue sapphire surrounded by small diamonds. The sapphire was huge – almost the size of a galleon – and a rich blue.

“Oh wow.” Hermione was speechless. “Thank you – this is absolutely beautiful!” She paused, “You’ve given me so many things – you really don’t have to, you know.”

Lucius smiled. “You’re right. I don’t have to. But I want to. Besides, this stone is very important to me, and I want you to have it.”

Hermione kissed Lucius again. “Thank you, my love.”

****

Hermione and Lucius entered the drawing room together. Severus hadn’t come down yet, so Lucius poured liberal scotches for the two of them, setting them down on a side table. “Now don’t tease our old friend too badly,” Lucius joked. “I’d hate to have to curse him simply because he couldn’t resist you.” He ran his thumb down her jawline, his voice unexpectedly husky. “Merlin knows I can’t.” His fingers dropped to the sapphire around her neck and he caressed the skin around the jewel before he placed a light kiss on her lips.

They were both startled by Severus’ abrupt appearance. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

Lucius looked up and smiled. “Not at all. I was just admiring Hermione’s latest gift.” Lucius appeared to be quite pleased with himself. “What do you think?” Hermione turned to face Severus, and was surprised to see a shocked look on his face.

Severus’ glance snapped back to Lucius. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” The shock in his voice was apparent.

Lucius nodded mutely, glaring at Severus, and finally responding. “I said I was, didn’t I?” Hermione couldn’t help but wonder what was causing such a bizarre reaction from Severus.

“What are you talking about?” Hermione’s words drew her former instor’sor’s eyes back to her momentarily, before he returned to study Lucius.

“I’m surprised you haven’t told her.” Severus turned back to Hermione. “That sapphire has been in the Malfoy family for over 600 years.” Heeredered his voice confidentially. “He must actually have honorable intentions if he’s giving you things like that.” He paused, frowning. “I’m sorry. I think I must have completely misread your level of sincerity, Lucius. I, uh. I, didn’t realize. And Hermione – I’m sorry that I doubted your judgment.” His frown was replaced with a smile as he ran his fingers through his hair. “You clearly have the situation well in hand, Hermione.”

Still surprised at Severus’ words, Hermione was speechless. Lucius nodded at Severus as the blonde wizard moved to rest his hand on Hermione’s shoulder. “I hadn’t actually said anything, because I didn’t want her to feel weighted down by centuries of family constraints.” He faced Hermione. “I’m sorry. I didn’t say anything about the history of the jewelry I’ve give you, because I didn’t want you to feel like I was trying to coerce you. I want you to be with me freely, and not feel like you had to be with me.” He faltered for a moment. “I just wanted to give you something that meant a great deal to me – I didn’t want you to feel obligated to marry me if you didn’t want to.”

Hermione nodded, hugging Lucius tightly.

A guffaw came from Severus. “That’s a pathetic excuse for a proposal, Lucius. Make him do it right, Hermione.” Hermione’s pulse skipped a few beats. Proposal? Not Lucius – how many times had he said that he needed to see an heir born? Surely this was just an elaborate – or very cruel – joke. She looked at Severus uncertainly over Lucius’ shoulder.

Lucius nodded and let go of Hermione. “He’s right.” Lucius fumbled for his wand, quickly conjuring a single red rose. He handed Hermione the rose before taking her other hand in his and getting down on one knee before her. Hermione started to giggle, but stopped as soon as she saw the guileless expression on her lover’s face.

“Hermione, my love,” Lucius started, his voice soft, but quickly growing stronger. “I have loved you for a long time, and could not imagine a life without you. Will you do me the honor of taking my name and becoming my wife?”

Hermione’s heart lurched. She had never imagined that she would ever hear these words from Lucius, and she had willingly accepted that. And yet, here he was. Seriously. Intensely so. Suddenly, she realized that he – and Severus, too – were waiting to hear her answer. “Oh, Lucius.” Her voice broke. She took another breath. “Of course.” He stood quickly and took her into his arms, kissing her furiously. Hermione clung tightly to her lover – soon to be her husband.

After a few moments, Severus cleared his throat. “I believe congrationtions are in order. Champagne?” Crystal flutes of champagne had appeared, and Severus handed one to each of them. Lucius and ioneione first clinked glasses in a silent toast before being joined by Severus. “You’re a lucky man, Lucius,” he added softly. Lucius nodded solemnly in acknowledgement.

****

Severus hugged Hermione and shook hands with Lucius. “Good luck to you both. And I’ll be sure to let the Ministry know that ythiything is fine here, and that they have no reason to worry.” He smiled and picked up his valise before walking out the main entrance of Malfoy Manor. “May the gods be with them. I doubt too many other people will be,” he muttered softly.

~~~~
A/N: Yeah. Wl knl knew it was coming to this. And truthfully, I wanted to balance the Severus-not-Luciuts tts the girl ending in the Wedding with a Lucius-not-Severus gets the girl ending here. A minor form of literary justice, I think! Besides, I wanted to sort of get Severus back for not taking an interest in her when she was a mediwitch! (Again, I think about this stuff too much – I know!) Anyway, there will be an epilogue to this, and then I think we’re done. Of course, that means that I’ll be able to get back to ‘Senior Project’ which is still gnawing away at me. Which means there is more Hermione/Lucius smut coming in the not-too-distant future!

And yes, I sort of cheated by not including the conversation between Lucius and Severus, but I decided that I wanted to try to tell this just from Hermione’s perspective. (I’m trying to get out of the habit of jumping between perspectives, particularly within a chapter.)

Thank you all for the really kind reviews and emails. You are all so nice, and so flattering – again, you’re making me blush! I’m glad that you’ve had fun with this – this sort of convinced me that I really like the Lucius – Hermione pairing, even though I have also decided that it is decidedly harder to write than the Severus-Hermione pairing. But I like the challenge! I definitely plan on writing more!