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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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The kitchen at Grimmauld Place was silent as I finished recounting the last several months.

“And, well, you know the rest,” I finished tiredly. I looked up from where I had been staring at the grain of the wood table and into the eyes of the people who sat across from me.

“We need it in your own words, Mr. Malfoy,” said Kingsley Shacklebolt, glancing at the parchment hovering beside him that had been taking my statement. “Standard procedure and all.”

I looked to the other two, Remus Lupin and Minerva McGonagall, who both nodded for me to continue. “If you want to avoid Azkaban and be welcomed into the Order, we need the whole story on file,” McGonagall explained.

“Severus and Draco had to do this, as well?”

“Yes, but their stories weren’t nearly as long as yours has been,” Shacklebolt answered, looking at the large stack of parchment beside him on the table. I had been talking for what seemed like days. They wanted me to start from the time that I had first seen Hermione. They wanted details. They wanted me to leave nothing out.

I suppressed a sigh. “Well, the Order burst through the door, apparently alerted that something must be amiss by the fact that the Malfoy Manor wards were down. They had been aware that Hermione was with me and had placed extra surveillance. They wanted to use the opportunity to try and save her. Voldemort was overwhelmed and taken by surprise. He grabbed Hermione and Apparated. I was taken into custody. Now I’m here with you, reliving it all and wondering why the hell you aren’t trying to get her back.”

“We’ve lost all our inside men,” Lupin muttered. “No thanks to you.”

“You still have to try and find her! I can bring you to his manor and…”

“Mr. Malfoy, we just saved you from certain death at his hand. He’s changed all his wards to exclude you by now. You need to go into hiding with Severus and Draco,” McGonagall snapped.

I rubbed at my forehead, trying to hide my watery eyes. “So you’re just going to leave her with him? With that monster?”

“She survived well enough with a different monster for several months,” Lupin shot back.

“Enough Remus,” McGonagall chided.

“No! He tortured her! He raped her! He abused her! He took advantage of her love! This is Hermione we’re talking about. Sweet, innocent, caring Hermione! She’ll never be the same because of him. He claims to care for her, but I just think he is using her as an excuse to save his own hide.”

“We can verify all this by looking into his mind, Remus,” Shacklebolt reminded him.

“Yeah and I’m sure we’ll see everything exactly as he told it because he is just too damn cautious and cunning to mess this up. He wanted safety. She gave him an out. He says he cares for her but he can’t even say he loves her. He used her and he’s still using her.”

“Don’t assume you know everything about Hermione and me just because you made me give every tiny, sordid detail in my statement,” I growled.

Lupin stood up and shoved his chair in violently. “Welcome to the Order, you bastard,” he ground out as he stalked from the room. A moment later, the front door slammed shut. A horrible howling started from the front hallway.

“Oh dear. That would be Mrs. Black. I’ll go quiet her down,” McGonagall offered as she also left the room.

Kingsley took his time rearranging all the parchments. “Well, I seem to have all the information I need from you, Mr. Malfoy. I will file this and after the Order meeting tomorrow, we will move you to the safe house with Draco and Severus. You will stay here for the night.” He put on his cloak and picked up the stack. “She’s a strong girl. She’ll manage until we can save her.” With that, he also walked out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with horrible mental images of what Hermione was probably suffering through.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day, I was given a one-time-use portkey and arrived at the safe house. The portkey dropped me off in the middle of a small living area. Draco, who had been reading on the couch, jumped up when he saw it was me. Severus came into the room from the kitchen at Draco’s small cry of surprise.

“Father! I never thought… I could only hope that…” He took a few steps toward me but stopped before he got too close. I reached out and brought him in for a quick but fierce hug. I then held him at arms length to study him and make sure he was ok. He gave a shy smile. “You haven’t hugged me since I was five.”

“I’m so relieved that you are ok.” I looked behind Draco where Severus was standing in the doorway. “Thank you for keeping my boy safe.” He gave a curt nod.

A few minutes later, we were all seated around the fire with cups of tea. I had filled them in on what had happened since they went into hiding before lapsing into silence and staring into the fire. Draco and Severus conversed softly over the news, giving me the chance to sit and wallow in my guilt.

After what must have been several hours, Draco led me to what would be my room for the foreseeable future. “It isn’t much,” he admitted as I looked over the rickety twin-sized bed and small desk, “but we’re free of him and can live our own lives. We can take advantage of the free time we get by hiding out. For example, Severus is doing research on a potion that could change the world. He won’t tell me what it is though… And I’m studying for my NEWTS and filling out applications for universities.”

I managed what I hoped looked like a genuine smile. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Father.” He grinned, obviously pleased with the praise. “We’ll help you find something to keep you busy, too.”

My face fell. “I can’t imagine doing anything productive until I know that she is safe.”

Draco lightly touched my arm. “She’ll be ok.”

“We don’t know that. He could destroy her mind. He could change her so drastically that she’ll never be the same and I won’t even recognize her anymore. Every second I am trapped here is another second that Voldemort has to ruin her.” I sat down heavily on the bed. It creaked.

“The Order will get her back to you safely. Until then, she will keep herself strong for you. She loves you.” He sat down next to me. “And although you can’t admit it to yourself yet, you love her. Now get some rest.”

I sat on the bed staring at the wall long after Draco left and quietly shut the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Days dragged by so slowly that I wondered several times if I was stuck in some nightmare where time just stopped. It probably didn’t help that all I did was sit and stare into the fire while Severus scribbled furiously at the table on his research and Draco read through book after book to prepare for his NEWTS.

I snapped out of my trance-like state when a cup of tea was placed in front of me on the coffee table. I blinked up into Severus’s scowling face. “Are you going to get dressed today?” he asked.

“What’s the point? I only ever see you two. I can’t leave the house.”

“It will make you feel better to be dressed and put together.” I ignored him and went back to staring at the flames, sipping the tea. “Are you at least going to shower and shave?”

“I like the scruffy look.”

“You hate the scruffy look.”

“Don’t tell me what I do or do not like.”

“Damn it, Lucius!” Severus yelled, throwing up his hands. “I’ve had enough of this! You aren’t helping her by going down this path of self-pity and despair.”

“I couldn’t help her no matter what I did in this God-forsaken place.”

“How do you think it would make her feel to know that you are slowly neglecting yourself to death over her?”

“Severus…” Draco warned.

“No, Draco. I know that you think he’ll just snap out of this on his own, but he’s not going to.”

“Just give some more time…” Draco pleaded.

“How much time do you think I gave myself after Lily…” Severus started but quickly trailed off, mad at himself for bringing Lily up.

“That’s because Lily was dead, Severus. Hermione is alive. There is still hope. There’s no hope for a dead woman. You grieved and moved on. I get to sit here day after day and imagine the horrors she’s going through at his hand. And there’s nothing I can do to help her!” I stood up and pushed past a shocked Severus to get to my bedroom.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I didn’t leave my room for several days. They didn’t bother me and for that I was grateful. On some level, I knew Severus was right and that I wasn’t helping anyone by staying in my hellish mood. It was just so hard to feel so helpless. I was used to power and control and results.

I slept a lot. I thought a lot. I tried to make sense of the situation I found myself in as best as I could. But mostly, I just laid on the mess of wood and fabric that apparently passed as a bed here and zoned out. It was kind of nice to float around in my mind and not feel.

On the fourth day of my self-imposed solitude, Draco hesitantly knocked on the door. I ignored him until he sighed and opened the door. “Father?” I continued to stare at the ceiling, recounting the cracks for the hundredth time. Still 2,568. “I wouldn’t bother you but you’d better come out. Someone’s here. They want to speak with you.”

“I’m busy.”

“No, you really want to come out.”

“No, I really don’t.”

“It’s Harry Potter.” I sat up, my eyebrows raised. “He says that he’s finished whatever Dumbledore told him to do and just needs some information from you to end it all.”

I craned my neck so I could peer around Draco into the living room. Next to a very sour-looking Severus was a thin, tired, ragged boy. He happened to look up and our eyes locked. His sparkled with energy and determination despite his appearance. “Ok, give me a moment to shower and change. I’ll be right out.”
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The Downfall of Greed