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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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Potter and I were the first ones up the next morning. Both of us looked terrible due to lack of sleep. We sat at the table, sharing a pot of tea and thinking about the vision.

“I’m surprised that you didn’t run off to help her after watching the vision,” Potter said quietly.

“I’m no good to her if I am actually dead.”

“True.”

“Why didn’t you rush off to save her?” I asked.

“Like I said last night, we need to keep to the plan. Just another day or two and she’ll be back with us. Besides, you heard her tell me not to.”

Severus entered the living area and went straight to the simmering potion as he’d done every morning. He stirred it and then poured a small amount into a vial. “Are you ready to try this, Potter?” he asked as he held the vial up in front of him.

“As long as you don’t think there’s too much of a chance of me dying, then yeah. Let’s get it over with.” Potter grabbed the vial and looked at it apprehensively.

Severus sat down at the table with us. “First, I want you to just put a drop on your skin somewhere.” Potter carefully poured a small drop onto the back of his hand. “Any burning, itching, or other discomfort?”

“No.”

“That’s a good sign. Drink the rest.”

“A good sign? Were you expecting it to melt my hand or something? And now you want me to drink it? Really?” Potter shouted in a high, squeaky voice.

Draco’s door burst open and slammed against the wall. He ran across the room and dropped into the remaining chair, staring intently at Potter and the vial. “I can’t believe you were going to do this without me,” he muttered. “Well, come on, Potter. Drink it! I want to go back to bed!”

Potter stuck his tongue out at Draco and swallowed the rest of the potion. He made a face at the taste. We all looked at him expectantly. “What?” he asked. “Were you actually hoping that it would kill me?”

“This is a really good sign,” Severus said, plucking the empty vial from Potter’s hands. “I can have the rest of the potion done by tonight. You can drink it in the morning and be at Gringotts by the time it opens.” He moved back over to the cauldron and started working on the rest of the recipe. Potter joined him.

Draco went back into his room looking disappointed. I sat at the table with one thought on my mind: I was so close to getting Hermione back.
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We woke up early the next morning so Potter would be set to go in time to get to Gringotts by the time it opened. With a slight look of panic, Potter took the finished potion and Narcissa’s old robes and went into his bedroom.

A couple of minutes went by and I was starting to get nervous that something went horribly wrong. Finally, my wife’s voice came through the closed door. “Well, I look utterly foolish.”

“Get out here, Potter. I can only expect you’ll have an hour before it wears off. You’re wasting time!” Severus barked.

The door opened slowly and Narcissa stepped out. Potter looked and sounded exactly like her. Except for the awkward way he moved about in her body, I wouldn’t have known the difference.

“Mummy!” Draco yelled teasingly.

“Ugh. Stop it Malfoy,” my wife answered. Potter picked up the bag containing the key to my vault and stumbled over toward the door.

“Malfoys don’t slouch, Potter,” I informed him. Narcissa’s face frowned, but her body straightened up. I shuddered. “That’s eerie. You pull off her annoyed look so well.”

Narcissa’s laugh filled the room. “You think this is weird for you,” Potter said, “think about how weird this is for me! I’m a bloody woman for Merlin’s sake!” Potter opened the door and looked back at the three of us one more time. “Wish me luck! Hopefully, the next time I see you, Voldemort will be dead and I’ll be bringing you back to Grimmauld Place where Hermione will be safe and sound.”

“Bye, Mummy!”

“I hate you, Draco.” The door shut behind Potter. I heard his soft pop of Apparition and then the yard was empty and silent.

The three of us looked at each other. Severus looked mighty pleased with himself. “I am a genius,” he bragged, “and if Potter doesn’t fuck this up, then I am going to make millions off this potion.”

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Waiting for news was hard. I didn’t expect Potter and the Order to raid the manor that night. I knew it would be a better idea to wait to the following day, but it was so hard sitting in our little safe house and having no idea what was going on. Did Potter even succeed at Gringotts? Were the papers still there? Did the Order’s plan for raiding the manor go awry? We had no idea and no way of finding out.

The three of us waited for two days in tense silence. Draco immersed himself in his studies. Severus went about writing up the paper on his new potion so he could submit it to the Potions Department at the Ministry when he was officially cleared of all crimes. I was left alone to stare into the fire since I was likely to snap at anyone who disturbed my silent thinking.

After the second day, a subdued Kingsley showed up at our door. His appearance was both a blessing and a curse for he brought us good and bad news.

The good news? Potter was successful. Voldemort was dead. We were free of our master. And Hermione was safe. She was resting at Grimmauld Place surrounded by her friends. She was doing well considering what she had been through.

The bad news? The body count. So many of the Order members perished during the raid on Voldemort’s manor. Many Death Eaters did, too. My wife was among them. That hit Draco hard. He retreated to his room so we wouldn’t hear him cry. I did grieve over Narcissa’s death, but, honestly, even though she was my wife and the mother of my child, I couldn’t bring myself to care as much as I should have.

The worst news? Several Death Eaters managed to escape the scene. This included my sister-in-law, Bellatrix. The Order didn’t feel it was safe for Severus, Draco, and I to leave the safe house yet. We were to stay there until the most dangerous of Death Eaters were rounded up. I couldn’t leave to be with Hermione and the Order didn’t want her coming to the safe house to see me. We were to be separated still for an indeterminable amount of time.

Kingsley handed me a letter from Hermione, apologized for the fact that we had to continue to hide, and left. He would return when it was safe for us to return to the real world. Would it be days? Weeks? Months? A year? How long did I have to live with only a short letter from Hermione to sustain me?

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Lucius-

They won’t let me come to you. They won’t even tell me where you are. I hear you are safe and in good health which is such a relief to hear since he told me… I can’t even write it down. It nearly destroyed me to think that I would never see you again. I held on only to make sure Harry was successful, but I wanted to give up every day.

Kingsley is leaving now to tell you that Harry was successful. I only have time to tell you to stay strong, be safe, and not to give up hope that the day will come when it will be safe for you to leave the safe house. Know that I will be here when you are freed.

Harry told me that you said you loved me. I knew you were capable of love.

Read this every day. Gain strength from the fact that I love you, too. We willbe together.

Kingsley is getting impatient with me. I have so much more that I could write but if I want you to get anything from me, this will have to suffice.

I love you. I will wait. No matter how long it takes.

Yours,

Hermione

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AN: As you’ve probably figured out, I’m not big on author’s notes. But we are coming to the end of our tale and I’d like to thank every one of you who has read, commented, added it to your alerts, etc. This is my first fanfic and the praise, constructive criticism, and kind words you’ve reviewed with makes it all worth it. I extend an extra special thanks to those who reviewed multiple times (sometimes with every chapter!) – you know who you are.

So one more chapter and it will all be over. But don’t fret! I will continue with my fanfic “Thinking” that I started like 2 months ago but put on the back burner to finish this fic. I also have a couple of one-shots in the works. Look for my author name and stay awesome, my friends.
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The Downfall of Greed