Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Hidden in Plain Sight	By : Katay Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 17098 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
Chapter 3:

August 5, 1999

Hermione
had just come from her usual afternoon tea with Andromeda Tonks
and her grandson Teddy Lupin, and was presently headed
back to her flat in central London.

Her
first week had been a long one and all she really wanted to do was curl up and
watch a movie with Ron. Speaking of Ron, she hoped he had picked up dinner
because she sure as hell wasn�t in the mood to cook anything. She did
acknowledge that it was an unfair feeling, but it was over powered by the
feeling that her boyfriend should be there for her; especially since he was
living in her flat that her parents had given her. Not that she would ever hold that over him.

She
arrived at the apartment, wearily opening the door and stumbling into the
hallway. She tossed her things onto the couch and went to flick the lights on.
She flicked the switch and blinked twice: once to clear her eyes of the sudden
light; the second to get over the shock of seeing Ron in a suit at the
breakfast table. �Ron?�

�Hi
love. I thought we might do something special tonight?� He looked confidant in
his wizarding dress robes and suit, but nervous at the same time.

She
sighed inwardly and cringed at her damned pride, �Oh? What did you have in mind
� you look quite handsome.� She walked over and gave him a chaste kiss.

He
grinned and pulled her into his lap, �I thought we might go out to a nice
restaurant, get our minds off the insanity of the week. I know you�ve exhausted
yourself working. So go put on one of your dress robes and we�ll be off.� He
ran his hands up her arms and massaged the back of her neck for a moment,
enjoying her little mews of pleasure, before setting her on the ground and
pushing her towards their bedroom.

She
stumbled off, practically falling asleep as she walked and picked out clothing.
She did not want to go out to eat. She wanted to sleep. But her boyfriend
wanted to go out to eat. And Hermione wanted to keep her boyfriend happy, so
she would go out to eat with him. She knew that letting her go work was a hard
compromise for him and she wanted to thank him for it. They had been together since
the Last Battle in �98 and had moved in together about four months ago.

She
loved that he had finally matured and wasn�t so boyish around her anymore. She
wished he could converse on things other than Aurors
and WWW, but knew that in time more topics would come. Throwing on her dress
robes haphazardly, she hoped she had gotten the color co-ordination correct.
She strode out the door and ran smack into Ron, who had apparently been
watching her dress.

He
caught her before she fell and pulled her close, capturing her lips in a rather
passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck for leverage and felt his
arms enclose her waist. He mumbled against her lips, �See how amazing we are
together.� She let the oddity of the statement slip through her filters, filing
it away to analyze the next day.

He
apparated them both to just outside the trendy restaurant �The Cauldron�s
Ladle� and pulled her inside behind him. She yawned and worked incredibly hard
to wake herself up. She pinched her arm within her robes and felt a jolt of
awareness.

As
they stood waiting for a table to be readied, she glanced around the restaurant
and espied the one and only Lucius Malfoy sitting with what looked to be his
son and the Parkinsons. She marveled at his apparent
nonchalance at not having Narcissa there and wondered
how difficult it had been to appear so blas� about the whole ordeal. Then she
marveled at herself for even thinking about Lucius Malfoy and turned back to
Ron in disgust with herself.

The
maitre�d led them to a table in a darkened corner and
Hermione wondered if it was for their privacy or the other customers�. She
didn�t really care. She knew it took a lot for Ron to hold his head high and
take her out to nice dinners � even if he could easily afford them with the
wages he made at WWW.

She
begged the waiter for a cup of coffee, while Ron ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio. She glanced at him in surprise, �Are you going to
drink that by yourself?�

He
grinned, �Of course not Herms, you�ll be helping me!� She mock-scowled at the
nickname he wouldn�t give up. He sobered a little and asked about how her day
had been.

She
went on to tell him about what projects she was working on and how outdated the
laws were that she was working with. She rambled on as the salad course was
served, but slowed a little after the entr�es were set down and she noticed his
eyes had somewhat glazed over. She narrowed her own a little and said
nonchalantly, �And I�ll be traveling to Paris
with Lucius next week � I hope you don�t mind dear?�

He
merely nodded his head a little and said dreamily, �Whatever you say, love.�
She smirked and kicked the table slightly, resulting in his elbow sliding off
the table and him jerking to attention. �Hmm � oh, sorry, it�s just working at
the shop with George has put me on this whole new planning level.�

Hermione
nodded, �Like how?�

His
face lit up slightly, �Well I�ve really gotten into planning out expansion and
other special lines for us to have. It�s been great being able to organize
everything and figure out what will appeal to people most. It�s just basic
strategy.� He shrugged modestly and she grinned at him. �But it�s also got me
thinking, you know? Like why couldn�t we change some of the Ministry around
too? Especially the Aurors.
We�ve seen first hand how complicated all the departments are and how they need
to be improved. All they really need to do is have someone to implement them.�

She
beamed at him, �Ron that�s fabulous! I�m so glad that you�re enjoying
everything and that it�s got you thinking about all of this. I think you�re
absolutely correct � the Ministry really does need someone excellent with
strategy to come in and help plan it all out. I think you would do a wonderful
job.� She entwined their fingers together on top of the table and leant over to
give him a small kiss. A small kiss that he deepened and she pulled back from
blushing.

�I�m
glad you think so Herm; because I was thinking too that if we wanted to really
move into this next phase. I would really need your support behind me.� He
looked at her seriously.

She
said quietly, �I�ll always support you Ron, you know that.�

He
nodded and took both of her hands into his, �I know you will, but I meant even more
so � like from home.� He watched her face closely and saw her eyes contract a
little; he hurried on, �I know you can do anything you want � you know it too!
You don�t need to prove yourself. But I can�t do this on my own! I would need
you to back me up.�

She
said tightly, �So, you mean like be home for you with your dinner ready every
night and a cool cloth for your headaches?�

He
nodded happily, �Exactly! See you understand.� He leaned in to catch her lips
in a kiss once more, happy that she had taken it all so well. He knew he could
do without the book.

However,
his lips met nothing but a hissing of air as she said in a whisper, �I will not
discuss this further in here. I think we need to go outside for a moment and
finish talking.�

He
glanced at her warily and summoned the check quickly. �Just
owl me the receipt if you please. The lady and I need to get home
quickly,� he winked to save face and hurriedly followed his huffing girlfriend
out the door. Both missed the ice grey eyes that followed their movements
outside.

Ron
rushed out the door and side-stepped quickly to avoid running straight into
Hermione. �Herm ��

She
growled, �Don�t you dare Ronald. I can�t believe you! I thought you were ok
with me working. I thought you understood that I do need to prove myself � to myself and every other person in our
world! I want to make a difference
other than just helping with Voldemort. I thought you understood that! Where is
the guy that wanted me to work and wasn�t going to pressure me to start a
family?! For fuck�s sake Ron, I turn twenty in a month and you want me to stop
before I�ve begun?!� Her chest was heaving and she had tears in her eyes.

He
gaped at her, �I was okay with you
working � I just figured you�d get over it! Don�t you love me? Aren�t you supposed to want to take care of me?
What if I want to start a family?! It isn�t all about you Hermione, my feelings
should come into this too. We fought the war so we could start new lives � well
I want to start now! With you!� He was fuming and his
ears had turned a bright red.

She
gaped at him, �Don�t I love you?! Love
doesn�t equate slavery, Ron. And I�m trying to take your feelings in, I am! But
I�m just not ready to do all of that yet! We have years Ron, years! Why can�t we be together and
enjoy what we�ve got now?! Why rush things? Why don�t you understand that?� She
had tears running down her cheeks as she looked at him pleadingly.

He
looked down at her and shook his head, �I can�t talk to you when you�re like
this.� He stepped back shaking his head, �Talk to me when you�ve calmed down
and look at it objectively; you�ll see I�m right. But right now, I can�t deal
with you.� He turned and apparated away.

She
stared at the space where he had apparated away, the tears chasing each other
down her cheeks. Her stomach felt like it was caving in and her knees buckled.
She collapsed to the curb and tried to even out her breath, heading off the
hyperventilation.

She
groaned and stood, realizing how visible she was to the patrons exiting the
restaurant. Indeed, just as she had stood up once more, the bell dinged and she
saw Lucius holding the door for those behind him. She glanced at his face in
shock and turned quickly, hoping to shield her own wretched visage.

She
apparated away, praying he hadn�t seen anything. She didn�t know why, but she
couldn�t stand him seeing her at her weakest. She had always been brave and
proud, even when being tortured during the war. She would not give him the
pleasure of seeing her broken.

She
missed his look of shock as he watched her disappear.

She
arrived outside an odd looking home and hurried to the door. The home was a
near replica of Mr. Lovegood�s former home, but
Hermione noticed that a few things had been heavily feminized. She grinned
through her tears at the irony of Luna Lovegood being
the one she would run to, but she really had no one else she trusted as much.
Luna had been there for her during the war and now with Ginny and Harry so
wrapped up in each other, she couldn�t hurt them both by crying to them. And
she didn�t want to go back to the flat because she didn�t want to run into Ron.

She
rapped on the door four times and prayed Luna was home. Luna opened it quickly,
her dreamy eyes roving over Hermione�s face. �Hermione, come in. Have you run
into a nargle, dear? You are ever so weepy.�

Hermione
let out a strangled laugh and managed, �Oh it�s just me being silly. Ron and I
had a fight.�

Luna
nodded sagely, �Well then you�ll just have to stay for the night and have a
good talk over my pumpkin tea.� She added dreamily, �No one ever really comes
and talks to me up here on the hill, especially now that school is finished.
Not that I mind. It doesn�t scare the Shrivelsnarcks
as much.�

Hermione
shook her head slightly and headed into the worn kitchen, knowing that she had
come to the right person to help her look objectively � if oddly- at the
problem.

She
awoke the next morning with her head pounding, still seated at the table in
Luna�s kitchen. She groaned slightly. Apparently there had been a bit more to
Luna�s pumpkin tea then she had let on. Hermione looked at her watch and
snarled slightly. She needed to get home.

Luna
was still snoring on the table, so Hermione scratched off a quick note to her
and hurried away. She didn�t pause to check her appearance, so she didn�t
notice her rumpled clothing, messy hair or smudged make-up. She apparated
quickly to her flat and unlocked the door quietly. She stepped into the
entrance hall and practically ran into a rather mussed up Lavender Brown.

She
raised her eyebrows at the other girl who merely looked at her with sympathetic
eyes. They didn�t say a word to each other and Hermione merely nodded and
stepped aside to let Lavender leave.

She
took a deep breath to contain the feelings that threatened to overcome her and
slowly stepped into the flat�s main area. She walked towards the bedroom where
she could hear Ron�s snoring. Leaning on the doorway, watching his chest rise
and fall under the tangled sheets, she wondered how the two of them had ever
gotten to where they were. She coughed loudly to wake him up.

He
gave a start and looked blearily up at her. �Hermione?�
He glanced around quickly and then gazed back at her.

She
sighed wearily, �Yes, Ron. I just got back. I think we need to talk?� He nodded
and eyed her clothes with a frown.

�Where
were you?�

She
turned away, �I think you need to get dressed and we�ll talk on the couch.�

She
settled into the couch, holding a pillow to her chest for comfort. He padded in
a moment later and sat on the far end. �Sooo ��

She
raised an eyebrow at him, �Lavender? Don�t you owe her more than that?�

He
sat up straighter, �Oh and like you didn�t go to some guy � you�re all mussed
up Hermione, I would recognize it as well as anyone.�

She
nodded, �Perhaps. But I think that last night needs to be placed behind both of
us. Do you or do you not want to make this work?� She looked at him straight in
the eye. She wasn�t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing she had
sobbed her heart out at Luna�s.

He
gaped at her, surprised at her lack of reaction, �Of course I do! I swear this
was a one time thing. I want to make this work Herm.�

She
rolled her eyes, �Then for one month I want us to try living together with me
working and you working.� She held up a hand at his opening mouth, �Hup, I know that�s not what you want, but you�re going to
deal with it. I need to know what working feels like, let me do this � for us.
At the end of the month, I�ll reconsider. That�s all I can give you Ron.�

He
nodded, slightly abashed, �Alright. Look, I�m sorry � I just was so angry at
you.�

She
nodded and shrugged, �It happened and I can�t do anything about it; but if
you�re serious about us, then it won�t happen again. And I�m not going to give
you much incentive; I�m not going to sleep with you Ron for the month. I want
us to reconnect and not let the physical distract us.�

He
looked at her agape, �But Hermione � we�ll be in the same flat!�

She
ducked her head, �Yes and we�ll make do. We both need this Ron.�

He
nodded defeatedly. He knew she would understand. He
only had to wait a month. Surely it couldn�t be that hard.
- 2
- 3
- 4
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Hidden in Plain Sight