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The Affair	By : soldiersgirl0709 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 34511 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to HP or the HP Universe, no money is made from the publication of this fic. Only friends and smiles. =)

Chapter List
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Chapter Five: Unlikely Friendships

The making of friends who are real friends, is the best token we have of a man's success in life. � Edward Everett hale

Another week passed by and Hermione was finally ready to begin cataloguing the books on the shelves. She probably would have been further along if she hadn�t begun having lunch with Lucius on a daily basis. What should have taken an hour to have a meal and give a progress report took them two and sometimes three hours.

It was incredible how much they had to talk about. Books, music, art and magic. So much in common that it was amazing to think that they had once been enemies. She felt guilty that he was paying her to do a job yet she spent so much of her time just talking with him. It wasn�t just at lunch either; he would often take a break from his work and wander into the library where once more she would be drawn into conversations with him.

She understood his need for companionship, she felt it too. The need to be heard, the need to have someone care that you are speaking and acknowledge your presence. It was nice to have someone to talk to, someone who didn�t act as though she would break at any moment. Lucius didn�t hedge topics because they might hit a little close to heart, he put them out there and nothing was off limits.

There was a feeling of freedom that came from spending time with him. She didn�t have that with anyone else. Friends and family all looked at her with pity shining in their eyes. She couldn�t bear it. When she was around them she wanted to scream and shake them all, force them to say the words that were always there. Your child is gone and we don�t know what to do.

But no one ever acknowledged the giant, weeping elephant in the room. The ignored it as though it never happened, like it was going to just go away. It was never going to go away, she had accepted that. She would grieve for Oliver for the rest of her life. Maybe one day the pain would lessen, but it was never going to go away. It would always be there.

She sorted through yet another shelf of books and let her mind wander. She did not hear Lucius enter and she jumped when he touched her shoulder.

�Oh dear gods!� She gasped, turning to face him. �Lucius, you scared me!�

�I�m sorry, I called your name but you were lost in your thoughts.� He said. �How goes the project?�

�It�s coming along nicely. I think that by the end of the month we can probably have the contractor in to discuss the builds.� She said. �Did you come to get me for lunch?�

�I did, I thought perhaps you might enjoy eating in the gazebo by the lake.� He said. �It will soon be too cold to enjoy outdoor dining.�

�That sounds nice.� She said as she fell into step beside him as he led her down a hall and out a set of glass doors that opened onto a wide, sweeping veranda. They walked across the lawn, the fall air was crisp but comfortable as they stepped into the enclosed gazebo and sat down for lunch. �I didn�t even know that there was a lake on your property.�

�Ah, this property extends for many kilometers. I own the wooded area for as far as the eye can see. There is a hunting lodge deep in the East Woods, though I rarely use it.� He said. �The elves maintain it of course but it pretty much remains empty. Hunting lost its appeal for me after the war.�

She suddenly got the image of Lucius in cream colored jodhpurs, tall black boots and a red hunting jacket atop a horse. The image was rather fetching she thought. She wondered if he kept hounds.

�I can imagine. I heard rumors of special hunting expeditions that took place on your property.� She said.

�Those were�.in a word, disgusting and I am ashamed to have been a party to them. But as they say, hindsight is twenty/twenty.� He said between bites. �Can we speak of something more pleasant?�

�Do you have hounds?� She asked suddenly. He looked up, shocked by her question.

�Well�yes, actually, why?� He chuckled.

�I don�t know, you mentioned a hunting lodge and I got an image of you in my head wearing the red jacket and jodhpurs. So I wondered if you had hounds.� She laughed.

�I also have the jacket and jodhpurs, as well as the hounds.� He said.

�Can I see them?�

�The clothing?�

�No, the hounds.� She laughed. He gave her a curious look and smiled.

�Finish your lunch and I will take you to the kennels.� He said softly. He had never had anyone show an interest in his dogs before. Narcissa found them dirty and disgusting and refused to let them into the house. She would also refuse to go near him if he had been with them, insisting that she could smell them on him.

There was no way that was true, his dogs were pampered and bathed regularly, he made sure of it. Narcissa had never shown an interest in any of his hobbies. In fact, when he thought about it he wasn�t sure she even knew that he had hobbies outside of making money.

That was probably one of the reasons he enjoyed his afternoons with Hermione so much. She was interested and she asked questions and actually listened when he replied. She probably knew more about him in a few weeks time than the woman he had been married to for thirty years.

She also listened when he talked; she didn�t just hear him speaking and make the appropriate �yes� and �oh?� responses. She actually listened and questioned him, lured him in to discussions and debates. She made him feel alive again, and valuable as something other than a provider.

After lunch he led her down a stone footpath to a clearing just inside the wood line. She could see the stables with three stunning horses in a paddock, two thestrals and what appeared to be a set of Pegasus tethered to a pole. A carriage house was near by and under the carport she could see a shiny black carriage. There was a small owlery with several eagle owls perched on a ledge watching them. Then there was what appeared to be a small cottage with a large fenced area behind it.

�That is the kennel.� He said, directing her to the cottage.

�Your dogs have their own house?� She asked incredulously as he pushed open the door and led her inside.

�They have to live somewhere, Narcissa won�t let them in the main house and they are far too valuable to leave out of doors.� He said.

Hermione looked around in amazement at the splendor in which the Malfoy pets lived. Elaborate beds were lined up along the walls with plush mattresses and pillows embroidered with their names, all of them after British Monarchs. Lucius whistled and she looked up to see several dogs darting through the open back door.

Irish Wolfhounds, Beagles and King Charles Spaniels yelped and wagged their tails happily as their master patted each head lovingly. She couldn�t help but smile as she watched him surrounded by dogs and grinning as he bestowed his affection on them.

�They are wonderful!� She exclaimed as she fell to her knees and began to pet and scratch the friendly animals. They loved her, they were jumping all over her, licking her face and nuzzling her hair but she didn�t shove them away or try to hit them, she accepted their affection with a squeal of laughter and kissed their furry muzzles. �How can anyone not love this?� She laughed.

�I wish I knew.� He said, delighting in her joy.

�Thank you for sharing this with me.� She said, pushing herself to her feet as his dogs circled and yelped happily around them.

�What are friends for?� He said quietly, returning her smile. He realized that they had become friends in the short time that she had worked for him. Real friends were something he had never known. He had once heard it said that you can measure a man by his real friends. If that were true then he was nothing before she came along. Their unlikely friendship made him feel worthy of happiness.

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

A/N: Hello everyone! So here you go, first 5 as usual with many more to come on a regular schedule, I promise =) Hope you stick with me on this, though I know the subject matter may make it difficult.

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The Affair