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The Downfall of Greed	By : tcarlson Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 40824 -:- 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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A figure walked toward us through the rubble. The stride was calm and confident, and the little hope I had that it was the Order vanished. I knew only one man who walked as if he owned the world… or someday would.

Voldemort stalked through the wreckage and stopped a few feet from us. Calmly, he took out a piece of parchment from his pocket and unfolded it. “I wish to seek safety in the Order,” he mocked as he read my words from the page. “I feel that it is time to leave the Dark Lord’s service and would like to ensure that both Hermione Granger and I are not put in danger by doing so.” He crumpled up the parchment and tossed it to the side. “Care to explain, Lucius? Or should I just kill you now?” His wand that had been held slack at his side now swiveled to point at my chest. My wand flew into his other hand. He didn’t lower his wand. Hermione gasped and pressed herself closer to me.

“Good evening, my Lord,” I greeted him coolly, ever stoic, never to reveal what I was actually feeling inside. “Allow me to explain.”

“No need. I can guess what is going on here.” His eyes moved emotionlessly to the girl behind me. “Besides, your letter to the Order explains it well enough.” He moved into the library, confident that we would follow him.

Without a wand, I couldn’t Apparate both of us even though the wards were down, and running would do no good. I tried to motion to Hermione to go upstairs, but with a stubborn shake of her head, she followed me into the library. The Dark Lord sat in my chair. He waved to the chair across from him. I hesitantly sat down.

Hermione moved to sit by my feet. “No, no, Miss. Granger. You sit by me. He is no longer your master. He lost that honor when he betrayed me.” Trembling, she sat on the floor next to him. His hand immediately went to brush through her hair. A small sob escaped her. “There has been so much betrayal within my ranks recently. First, Severus and Draco. Now my second in command. I’m glad that I started having all my Death Eaters’ correspondence routed to me first.”

I knew when to keep quiet. He didn’t expect me to talk yet. If I listened to him, was compliant and contrite, and gave him whatever he asked for, he might spare us. I still had some foolish hope that I could get both of us out of the situation alive.

He studied the girl who was quietly crying by his feet. “You would give up everything for a Mudblood, Lucius? It’s so unlike you to follow your heart instead of your head. You’re giving up power, money, prestige… I don’t understand it. She wasn’t that good of a fuck.” His hand that had been gently threading through her hair now grabbed a handful and threw her into the space between the chairs. She fell between us with a whimper. “Tell me what it is about her that makes her so special!” he roared.

I flinched at his sudden loud outburst, but continued to just stare stoically back at him. Hermione took the advantage of his lack of attention on her and crawled over to lean against me. Her warmth against my leg gave me a boost of courage that I desperately clung to as our situation seemed to be getting worse and worse.

Voldemort looked at the pair of us, seeming to come to a decision. “One of you must die tonight. And the other must be punished severely until they relearn their place. The question is who shall be allowed to remain alive?” He tapped his wand against his thigh as his eyes bounced back and forth between the two of us. “If I were to kill the Mudblood, I do believe it would snap you out of this little dream-world you’ve found yourself in, Lucius. Without her to distract you, you can go back to serving me faithfully. However… I have many loyal Death Eaters vying for a spot in my inner circle. Losing you may not be such a loss to our cause. And I would still have the Mudblood to use as I had planned.”

“If Lucius dies, I will not rest until I die, too!” Hermione’s eyes widened in surprise, as if she couldn’t believe that she had just yelled that out loud. She sank back to hide behind my knee.

“Is that so? Do you think that you would be given the opportunity to kill yourself? Perhaps Lucius’s death would finally break you of that terrible Gryffindor attitude and you’d learn to obey for once!” He raised his wand, and without thinking, I stood up to shield her body from the path of any spells he may cast. He raised an eyebrow. “And you, Lucius? If I killed Miss. Granger would you not rest until you were dead, as well?”

I was silent. Not because I wasn’t going to answer but because I didn’t know what to answer. Would I feel compelled to take my own life just because she wouldn’t be around anymore? I’d mourn the loss to be sure, but did her death mean mine like my death meant hers? Could I live without her? I thought of all the things I would get back if Hermione was out of the equation: my job, my fortune, my house, my good standing with the Dark Lord and society, perhaps my wife.

“Your silence says it all,” Voldemort commented. “Obviously what you feel for her doesn’t even begin to compare with what she feels for you. Just say the word, Lucius, and she dies. I welcome you back with open arms.” Hermione let out a sob behind me. Her warmth left my back and I could tell she was backing up to get away from me.

No! I still wouldn’t have Draco. Or Severus. Or someone who really loved me. It’s funny that in that moment I figured out that the three most important things in my life were people, not money or power or social standing. I turned around and grabbed Hermione’s wrist before she got too far. “Don’t listen to him,” I murmured into her hair as I pulled her beside me. “Would I have written the letter if I didn’t want to be with you always?”

She melted against me. I kissed her forehead. We faced him together.

“Weak,” Voldemort hissed. “That’s what you are. Weak. You let an insignificant little girl ruin your life. You protect her in your arms when letting her go could save you. What happened to the Lucius Malfoy I marked?” He lurched forward and grabbed Hermione out of my arms. She was thrown against a nearby bookcase. I was pulled forward and made to kneel in the space between the two chairs in front of the fire. I stared into the end of his wand. “Thank you for making this decision so easy for me, Lucius. You have just proved that there is no longer any space for you in my ranks.”

“No!” Hermione shouted.

“Quiet, girl!”

“Please, not him! Kill me instead!” She crawled toward him and grabbed the end of his robes.

He kicked at her and sent her sprawling. “I should have trained you myself from the beginning,” he fumed. “You will obey me and you will satisfy me. You will forget about this traitor and serve only me!”

She tried to get up but fell over, clutching her ribs. “No! No, no, no, no…”

“It’s ok, Hermione,” I said, my voice raspy. “Behave yourself, obey him. Your life won’t be so bad if you just give in. Forget about me. It’s ok. Remember how easy it was once you stopped fighting me?”

“He’s not you!” she cried. “I stopped fighting because I fell in love! With you! I’ll only ever love you. I won’t stop fighting him until I am with you again!” She struggled to sit up and leaned against the wall, glaring at Voldemort. “Mark my words, if he dies, I will find a way to kill myself, and then you will have lost both of us.”

The Dark Lord chuckled darkly. “I look forward to breaking you. Perhaps you’ll fall in love with me, too. Apparently all it takes is pain, torture, and rape and you are head-over-heels for your captor.”

“You don’t know anything about how it happened!”

“Well, we’ll have plenty of time for you to regale me with the tale later. But right now, I’d like to dispose of this sorry excuse for a human so I can get you home and teach you your place. Which from now on, will be under me.”

His attention snapped back to me. He held his wand more firmly, pointing directly into the center of my forehead. I closed my eyes. Hermione gasped and broke into quiet sobs.

I waited for the curse to hit, hoping that it would be a quick Killing Curse without a prelude of torture. It would be easier for both Hermione and me. Although only seconds had passed, time stretched out indefinitely.

In all the times that I had imagined my death, I always thought it would be gloriously defending my Lord or old in my bed with my family around me and the world ruled by Pureblood supremacy. Never did I think that I would be kneeling in my own library at the mercy of the one man that I had promised to give my life in service to.

I slowed my breathing which had elevated to hyperventilation. My heart, previously pounding, became a more normal rate. I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants and completely composed myself. When I was as calm as I could make myself, I reopened my eyes. I spared a quick look at Hermione who stared back with tear-filled eyes. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I know.” And then I faced Voldemort. “Do it,” I rasped. “Kill me.”
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The Downfall of Greed