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The Last Gift	By : AndreaLorraine Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 9747 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- 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
- 5
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Absolute silence met Slughorn�s wheezing
exclamation.� Then there was the sound of
a cup being slammed against a table as Hermione stood up.

�Why would they let a known criminal in?� He should have been stopped and detained!�

�They tried,� Slughorn sighed.� �He has a hostage.�

�Who?� Harry
demanded.

Slughorn sighed
again.� �Pansy
Parkinson.�

Harry�s jaw clenched.� It
was obvious that he was trying not to say something.� However, Hermione had no such filter when her
parents were in danger.

�She�s probably working with him!�
She�s no hostage,� Hermione scoffed.

�Listen here, Granger.�
Pansy can be a first class bitch, but she is not in league with You Know
Who,� Blaise Zabini spoke
up.� �Her family has always tried to stay
out of it.�

�Like yours?� Hermione shot back.

Zabini�s eyes
narrowed.� �You shouldn�t make judgments
about things you don�t understand.�

�Oh, I�m sorry, I forgot how right and
wrong are so terribly complicated for purebloods!�

�Hermione!� Remus said sharply.�
�This is not the time or the place.�

�What is, then?� After my
parents are dead?� she nearly shouted.

�There is no guarantee that Lestrange
knows anything,� Lucius said, his voice full of some
calming, rational force.� �This could be
a ruse.� Something to scare you, try to
draw you out. �Just because he�s in Australia doesn�t mean he has any
idea where your parents are.�

�If he doesn�t know where they are then he�s there to find them,�
she replied stubbornly.

�That may be, but we can�t risk acting impulsively.�� Lucius rose from
his seat and crossed the room to where Hermione was standing, her skin pale
with fear and her chest heaving.� �They
want you to respond like this.� They�re
counting on it.�

�Classic Gryffindor recklessness,� Charles Greengrass
agreed.� Several eyes turned pointed glares
on him.� He just shrugged
unapologetically.� �It�s a well known
fact in the business world.� Prosperous
is the day that you have a shop full of Gryffindors,
because most of them will buy if you know how to sell.�

�It�s true.�� Lucius�s eyes flickered to Harry.� �Isn�t it, Mr. Potter?�

Harry scowled at him.� He
knew exactly what Lucius meant.� Voldemort had made
the same gamble with Harry fifth year.�
He had shown him Sirius in danger, a complete fabrication, knowing full
well that it would cause Harry to abandon all reason and play right into his
hands.� That was exactly what Harry had
done.� The irony never ceased to hurt;
Sirius had never been in danger, until Harry thoughtlessly tried to save him.

Grudgingly, Harry turned to Hermione.� �They�re right, Hermione.� It�s�just like with Sirius.� They�re trying to spook you.� They probably have some plan.� They might even be waiting for you to lead
them to your parents�that way, you do the work for
them.� Maybe the best thing you can do is
ignore this.� Let Lestrange
try to find the needle in the haystack.�

�I can�t just do nothing!� she cried,
appalled that they would even suggest it.

�Not nothing,� Harry amended.�
�But we need the time to make a plan.�

�You can bet Rodolphus has one,� Lucius nodded.

�Aye,� Solas Flint said.� �He may be utterly insane, but Lestrange is smart.�

�Wonderful,� Hermione said, sinking back down to the bench.� All the anger and urgency seemed to have
drained out of her.� �Just wonderful��

It had taken them a long time to calm her.� Truthfully, though, no one felt calm.�
For his part, Lucius had been picking things
apart, analyzing, theorizing, trying to figure out the motivation of the Dark
Lord�s behavior.� He was worried that the
Inferi attack had served as some kind of smokescreen�a
distraction, so they would not notice him doing something else.� However, there was no evidence of that.

On the other side of the coin, this
could be the diversion.� Voldemort could be hoping to distract them with Rodolphus in order to do something else while they least
expected it.� Lucius
hated not knowing.

The Dark Lord never did anything without a reason or a plan.� It could be as simple as him sending Lestrange to avenge his wife, or it could be far more
complex.� After an hour of thinking, that was the only conclusion Lucius
could draw � that this was one or the other and the only way to find out would
be to let things unfold as they would.�
That was rarely, if ever, a satisfactory solution for a Slytherin.

He sat up and stretched, running his hands through his hair in
frustration.� A strand of the pale silk
stuck between his fingers and he stared at its silvery glint in the
candlelight.� He was surprised he was not
going grey from all this.� Then again,
his hair was so light that it would be hard to tell the difference.

That was when realization struck him.� Hair��
Bloody fucking hell!� He stood up
so fast that his chair tipped over.�
Before Madame Pince could even yell at him, he
was out the door, a blond streak in the corridors.

�Where is Hermione?� Lucius demanded of
the first person he saw.� That person
happened to be Ron, who he caught up with just outside the Transfiguration
classroom.

�Uh,� the redhead said, startled by Lucius�s
sudden appearance and his barked question.�
�Um, I think she�s taking a nap.�

�Then wake her up.� Now.�

Ron shook his head helplessly, raising his hands.� �She�s in the dormitory.� I can�t get in there.�

�Merlin�s codpiece, you�d think
in these times such pointless rules would be repealed!� Lucius
snapped in irritation.

�You�ll have to ask one of the girls, I guess,� Ron shrugged.� He agreed with Lucius,
but didn�t understand the man�s urgency.�
�Is everything all right?�

�No,� Lucius responded curtly.� �I think we were wrong.� I think Rodolphus Lestrange knows where her parents are.�

The color drained from Ron�s face.�
�Shit.� How?�

Lucius didn�t
answer.� Instead, he snapped his
fingers.� Once, twice, then three
times�after the third, he looked positively murderous.� �What does one have to do to get a House Elf
around this bloody school?�

At that moment, an elf popped into existence next to him.

�You only need to ask!� the little female trilled.� �Mimi is at your service.�

Ron watched Malfoy, sure that he was
going to unleash his anger upon the elf.�
However, he only closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath.

�Mimi, I want you to go to the Gryffindor girls� dormitory right now and retrieve Hermione
Granger.� Tell her to meet us down by the
Transfiguration classroom.� It�s
urgent.� If you have to get her out of
bed, do it.� I don�t care if she�s in the
loo, taking a bath, whatever�you get her down here in
the next five minutes.�

�Right away!� Mimi
squeaked, and then blinked away.

It was abundantly clear upon Hermione�s arrival that the elf had,
in fact, propelled her out of the bath.�
She was in a robe and her hair was sopping wet; she left a trail of
water droplets in the hall.

�What is it?� she sighed.�
She appeared tired, cross, and puffy-eyed.

Lucius reached
over into her sodden mass of curls.� A
moment later, he flicked his wrist and Hermione yelped.

�Ow!�
What did you do that for?�

�I needed this,� he murmured, holding up the strand of hair he�d
plucked.

�You got me out of the bath for a piece of my hair?� she nearly
yelled.� Her temper had been short all
day.

�Easy, �Mione,� Ron said, eyes
flickering between the blond wizard and his friend.

�I�ll give you easy,� she muttered, glaring.� She looked as though she wanted to castrate
both of them.� Ron had never seen her in
this foul of a mood, even when they fought over silly things like they were
wont to do.� He glanced at Lucius.� The man was
brushing dust from the breastplate of the nearest suit of armor.

�Give me a Lumos,� Lucius
ordered.� The younger man did as he
asked, pointing the light at the dull metal.�
�Thank you,� the blond murmured.�
Ron stared at him; even after the last few weeks, fighting beside him,
seeing his father bury the hatchet with him (if not become friends), Ron still
felt strange around Malfoy.

Lucius held
the strand of hair against the metal and cast a spell.

�Prosapia locus.�

The kinked strand of hair flattened out and spun in a circle.� That circle shimmered and formed into a
picture, projected upon the armor�s breastplate.

�Is that a map?� Ron asked.

�Yes,� Lucius said, looking at it intently.� �It�s a genetic locator spell.� The Dark Lord was experimenting with it in
order to figure out the mechanism behind the Muggleborn
phenomenon.� It didn�t give him what he
wanted.� However�� the map blurred and
then refocused, bringing an unmistakable image of the Australian continent into
view.� �It works just fine to locate
blood relatives.�

Hermione�s eyes widened as the map of Australia began to narrow down even
further.� First, it focused on the
eastern part of the country, then the south eastern, then�

�Sydney,�
she whispered.� �Will it�will it go
further?� To their
home?�

�No.� You need more DNA for
that.� Hair will only locate people to
the nearest city.�

�They�re in Sydney,�
she repeated, relief crossing her face.�
�What would you need to pinpoint an exact location?�

�Blood.�

Of course.� Hermione pulled out her wand and pressed the
tip to her finger.� When she removed it,
blood welled there.� She held her hand
out to Lucius.�
It was shaking.

Once again Ron found himself watching with rapt attention.� Harry was right.� There was something odd between Lucius and Hermione, some kind of�tension.� It wasn�t the kind that had existed before,
fueled by mutual hatred.� It was
something else.

Lucius took
her hand without hesitation and pulled her gently towards the suit of
armor.� He pressed her finger with its
bead of blood against the center of the map.�
At the contact, it rippled like water and then slowly reformed.

The suit of armor now displayed a series of numbers and
letters.� �33-51-36S/151-12-40E� was
emblazoned in red across the metal.

�What does that mean?� Ron asked.

�They�re coordinates,� Hermione breathed.� �We need a map.�

Hermione struggled to breathe.�
There was her answer.� A small red
�x� on the map indicated where her parents lived.� Ron and Lucius were
looking anxiously over her shoulders.

�From Surrey to Surry Hills,� she
whispered.� �I can�t believe�� Relief flooded over her face and she slumped
in the chair.�

�Don�t relax yet,� Lucius said
softly.� �If I knew how to do this, Rodolphus does, too.�
They held you captive for days.�
They will have your hair if they thought ahead and didn�t clean your
cell.�

Tension straightened her spine once more.� �You said the hair was only enough to trace
them to Sydney.�

�Yes.� In that respect, you�re
lucky they chose to settle in a big city.�
It will take him a long time to locate them.� He�ll probably search by dentists��

She stood up, nearly crushing their feet with the sudden push of
the chair.� Lucius
sidestepped neatly and Ron hopped away.� She
whirled on Lucius.

�Is there any way to tell where Lestrange
is?�

Lucius shook
his head.

�Not even through the Dark Mark?� Ron asked, surprised.

�No Slytherin would be foolish enough to
take the Mark if it tracked their whereabouts all the time.��

�But��

�There is no way to do it short of physically placing a tracking
spell on him,� Lucius said with an air of finality.

Hermione paced between the two men.� Her heart was racing, her mind tripping over
its overflowing thoughts.� For once in
her life, she couldn�t think clearly.�
The sensation was extremely disconcerting.

�So my parents are in Sydney.� In all likelihood, so is Lestrange.� What are the odds��

�This isn�t about probability.��
Lucius took hold of her elbow, halting
her.� �Magic doesn�t follow the rules of
mathematics.��

She looked up at him.� As
her body noted the feel of his hand, a powerful jolt seemed to vaporize
everything else in her mind.� All of a
sudden, just like that, it was clear�but only for a few seconds.� Then the awareness of him flooded in.

Her breath hitched in sharply.�
He let go a little too hastily and then winced.� Ron watched the entire exchange with
confusion that he could barely mask.� He
knew he wasn�t the most observant of wizards, but he saw and felt the charge in the air.

�The�the answer is that we have to go retrieve your parents,� Lucius recovered.

�What?� Ron spoke up.� �You
said yourself they could be waiting for her!�
You can�t just charge in there-�

�Do you think I�m that stupid?� Hermione demanded.

�I�of course not,� he stammered, shocked at her tone.

�We need to plan,� Lucius said.� �Quickly.�

All the planning in the world couldn�t give them much.� In the end, it was a rescue operation and
they didn�t have much choice but to swoop in and portkey
her parents to safety.� Hermione felt
somewhat better that the people accompanying her were all very adept.� Lucius, Tonks, Remus, and Kingsley were
her team � and they did actually look like a very mismatched hero squadron when
they stood together waiting for her.

�It�ll be all right, Hermione,� Tonks
smiled, squeezing her shoulder.� The rest
of them nodded in agreement.� Her eyes
stayed on Lucius.�
He was somber and distracted, the furrow between his brows pronounced
and his eyes roving restlessly about.�
She trusted Remus, Tonks,
and Kingsley, but she knew her best gauge of what to expect was Lucius � and Lucius was nervous.

�Are we ready?� Kingsley asked.�
�Everyone has their portkeys?�� They all checked and double-checked that they
had the proper equipment.� With each
person�s confirmation, they were ready to go.�
Hermione took out her portkey (one of Madame
Hooch�s old stopwatches) and pressed the button.� As she felt the hard hook behind her navel,
she looked up and caught Lucius�s eyes.� Then she was being sucked away and everything
familiar was gone.

They had elected to accost her parents at their dental practice
rather than at home.� If Lestrange was searching by dentists, he would come here
first.� Even if he wasn�t it was one of
the only things they could do to try to stay one step ahead.� If the Death Eaters were going to set a trap
they would probably do it at the house in the hopes that Hermione would show up
there.

The building was a small one-floor house that was painted a warm
bisque color.� The windows had sun
catchers hanging in them and she could see yellow curtains behind the
glass.� She had Obliviated
her mother, but nothing about her decorating taste had changed.� Hermione swallowed and fought tears that were
mostly borne of stress.

She focused on Kingsley and Tonks
instead.� They were the Aurors in the group and watching them coordinate the
operation really reminded her of how serious their job was.� Tonks was forever
joking around when she wasn�t on duty and sometimes even when she was, but when
she got serious, she was just as intimidating as Kingsley.� It didn�t matter that she had pink hair or
that her partner was twice the size of her.�
Hermione would not want to be on the receiving end of any of her hexes
right now.

Remus and Lucius rounded the other side of the building, both with
wands drawn.� Lucius
paused briefly to look in the window of the examination room.� In any other circumstances Hermione would
have laughed at the look on his face.�
She was certain he was looking at the tray of instruments and thinking
about how barbaric Muggle dentistry was.�

Remus
approached them.� In a low voice, he
said, �It�s all clear.�

�Okay.� Let�s review the
plan.� We don�t have enough time to
reverse the memory charms so we�re going to have to take them without it.� Did we agree that stunning spells are the
best route?� Kingsley asked.

�I wish there was some other way,� Hermione fretted.� �They�re going to be so scared.�

�They�ll fight us otherwise,� Remus
said.� �They won�t understand.�

�I know,� she sighed.� �All right.� Stunners,
but let�s please be as gentle as possible.�

�Of course.�

�All right.� Hermione, you�re with Tonks.� You two get Hermione�s mum.� Remus and I will
get her father.� Lucius
will be the lookout.� What�s the signal
if we have trouble?�

�My Patronus,� the blond wizard
answered.

�What�s the form, just so we�re sure?� Tonks
asked.� �We need to have these details
down.�

Lucius looked
away, but answered in a strong voice.�
�It used to be a peacock, but the last time I tried it was a dragon.�

Nymphadora stared
at his profile, understanding the underlying pain in his words.� Her Patronus had
changed during a time of great heartache, too.

�A dragon, then,� she nodded.�
�I think we�re ready.�

Lucius stood
in front of the building trying to unclench his muscles.� Every part of him was screaming that this was
too easy.� It didn�t feel right.� Rodolphus was not
to be underestimated�

It was at just that moment that he felt a sharp twinge in his left
arm.� That was the only thing the Dark
Mark was good for anymore.� Part of its
magic was that it alerted one to the presence of his comrades.�

One of them was here.

�Expecto Patronum!�

Nothing.

�Damn it, Expecto Patronum!�
he cried, slashing the air with his wand.�
Once again there was nothing, only a feeble burst of silvery mist from
the end of his wand.� The loathsome
throbbing in his arm was rendering him incapable of finding a memory happy
enough to produce a corporeal Patronus.� Everything in his head was tinged with
misery.

Lucius did the
only thing he could.� He turned and ran
for the door, hoping to anything or anyone that cared that his mental state had
not just sentenced someone to death.

�

Hermione and Tonks were already gone,
Mrs. Granger in tow.� As Lucius burst in, Kingsley blinked out of existence with Mr.
Granger.� That left Remus
� and if Lucius hadn�t fired a spell at just that
moment, the werewolf would have been dead.

�Avada Kedavra!�� His voice came out of him with a viciousness
that he didn�t recognize as his own.� Remus�s eyes went wide; even though he knew Lucius was on his side, he couldn�t stop the knee-jerk
reaction that thought the spell was meant for him.� It arced well to his left.

Unfortunately, Rabastan Lestrange was able to sidestep it.� The green jet of light sizzled into the wall,
making a great black scorch mark upon the nondescript wallpaper.� However, in avoiding it, he had to move
closer to Remus and the werewolf snapped into
action.� He dropped low and swept the
legs out from under the Death Eater.� Rabastan hit the ground hard and in a second Lupin had his wand at his throat.

Lucius had
only a millisecond to be relieved.� This
was the wrong Lestrange.� Where was Rodolphus?

�Stand down, beast,� an arrogant voice issued from behind Lucius.� He whirled,
wand raised, but the curse died on his lips as he caught sight of Rodolphus.

It wasn�t just Rodolphus.� He had a hostage, but not the one they�d been
told to expect.� Instead of Pansy
Parkinson, Rodolphus had both knife and wand on her
father, Miles.� He looked terrible; his
face was a map of bruises and it seemed that if Lestrange
was not holding him up he might have fallen in a heap upon the floor.

�Release my brother or Mr. Parkinson here dies.�

With a quick glance at Lucius, Remus carefully backed off.�
He kept his wand on the Death Eater.�
Rabastan got to his feet and reached for his
wand.� Then they were back on a level
playing field, save that Rodolphus held an innocent
man�s life in his hands.

�Where�s Pansy?� Lucius asked coldly.

�The young Miss Parkinson is keeping audience with the Dark
Lord.�� Rodolphus
smiled sadistically.� �He very much likes
the way her skin bruises.� So many lovely colors.�

At that, Miles gave a struggle, an agonized look on his face.

�You�re sick,� Remus growled.

�A fine bit of hypocrisy,
werewolf.� Isn�t it you who has a
taste for human flesh?�

�I never have, but after today I might be tempted to sample yours
when the next moon comes around,� he responded darkly.

Rodolphus
chuckled, unaffected by the hatred being directed at him by both of his adversaries.

�What is it that you want, Rodolphus?� Lucius demanded.� �We
aren�t going to give ourselves up.�

Remus spared
a brief glance for his only ally.� He
said that with such certainty.� Did he
really not care for the man that had been his friend?� No, he didn�t think that was it.� He could see the strain on Lucius�s face.� The
plain and simple fact was that there was no good solution.� Miles Parkinson�s face said he knew that � he
didn�t expect to be saved.

�Perhaps not for him, but�� Lestrange
paused thoughtfully.� �Why don�t you tell
him, Miles?� Why don�t you tell him about
your dear little whore of a daughter?�

�She is not a whore!� the beaten wizard raged.

�She is now,� Rabastan leered.� Remus itched to hex
him in ways that were far from legal.

�Tell him, Miles,� Rodolphus pressed,
trailing his wand up and down the man�s bloodstained cheek.� �Or I�ll just kill you right here.�

The threat spurred the Parkinson patriarch into action.� He looked to be fighting tears.� �She�s pregnant, Lucius.� It�s Draco�s
child.� She�s pregnant with your
grandchild.�

Hermione was so busy tending to her unconscious parents that she
didn�t notice that their homecoming party was short two people.� Tonks, however,
noticed very quickly that her husband was late in returning, and so was Lucius.

�Kingsley.�

The tall man turned.� �Hm?�

�I think we should go back.�
Remus and Lucius
haven�t returned.�

Kingsley�s face hardened.� �Son of a bitch.�

All the air went out of him.�
He had never before been filled with a feeling of such dread.� This was what he had meant.� This was what the Dark Lord had meant when he
said there were still ways he could hurt him.�
He was going to dangle this baby, his
grandchild, in front of him like a worm on a hook.

�Please, Lucius.� Please don�t let my daughter die!� Parkinson
begged.� �The Dark Lord said if you give
yourself up he�ll release her.� Please,
even if it�s only for the baby, don�t let him hurt her anymore��

At that moment, the bang of the door slamming against the wall
announced the presence of Tonks and Kingsley.� In a second the Auror
had his wand against the back of Rodolphus Lestrange�s neck.� Tonks moved stealthily to her husband�s side, training her
wand on Rabastan.�
They now outnumbered their enemies, but Rodolphus
still had the upper hand, because as quickly as Kingsley could kill him, he
could kill Parkinson.

�What�ll it be, Lucius?� Rodolphus asked, completely unfazed.

Lucius tried
to calm the screaming inside of him.�
Nothing he tried would work.� He
could not leave Pansy and his grandchild to die slowly at the hands of the Dark
Lord.� He knew Voldemort
was likely lying about releasing her, but he still couldn�t walk away.� If he knew where she was, there was the slim
possibility that he could somehow save her.�
That would never happen if he didn�t go with Lestrange
brothers right now.

�There will be terms,� he forced out shakily.� �You will release Mr. Parkinson and he will
leave with the rest of my comrades, all of them unharmed.�

�Fair enough,� Rodolphus smirked.

�What is going on here?� Kingsley demanded.

�There�s something I have to do.��
Lucius crouched down slowly and placed his
wand on the floor.� �Release him.�

Rodolphus lifted
the knife first.� With a raise of his
shoulder, he moved his arm to place the blade against Shacklebolt�s
throat.� If the Auror
moved it could be the end of him.�
Kingsley stayed very still; Lestrange had his
guarantee that he wouldn�t be fired on after releasing his hostage.

He lifted the wand and Parkinson fell to the floor with a sound of
pain.� As he did so, Rabastan
stepped forward and took hold of Lucius�s hair.� He placed his wand against the blond wizard�s
temple.

�Lucius�� Tonks
said, clearly disturbed by the turn of events.�
She lifted her wand, aiming it right between Rabastan�s
eyes.� Remus
gently touched her arm.� When she turned
to look at him, he shook his head.

�You have your bargain.� Good day, you filth,� Rodolphus spat.� With that, he, his brother, and their new
prisoner blinked out of sight.��

�What the hell just happened?� Kingsley demanded.� He pressed his hand to his neck; Lestrange had nicked him with the knife as he Apparated away.� It
stung and it was bleeding, but it wasn�t deep enough to cause any worry.

�Parkinson needs medical attention,� Remus
replied, �and so do you.� I saw him cut
you.� I�ll fill you in after that.�

Kingsley growled.� �No, I
want to know now.� I don�t leave people behind.�

�It was his choice,� Remus said
firmly.� �Can we respect it by getting
the hell out of here?�

Grudgingly, Shacklebolt agreed, and the
foursome went back to Hogwarts.

�You were never even after her parents,� Lucius
said softly.� �It was all a set up for
this.�

Rabastan had
gone elsewhere.� Rodolphus
was his only company.� He sat in a chair
across from where Lucius knelt, his wand trained
carefully at the as yet unbound wizard.� Rodolphus laughed languidly, his cold mirth echoing in the
room.

�Oh, no, Lucius, we were after her
parents�and we got them.�

Lucius�s chin
shot up.� �What?� That�s impossible.� We portkeyed
them out.�

�I�m afraid not.� I buried
them myself last night.�� He showed Lucius the back of his hands; dirt was encrusted beneath
his nails.� �See?

Panic ballooned in his chest.�
�Then�who did they take?�

Rodolphus
grinned.� �The Carrows.� Polyjuice is a wonderful thing.�

Lucius�s eyes
widened.� His companions had brought back
two psychotic Death Eaters and they didn�t even know it.� Hermione would be alone with them�

He let out a cry of rage and lunged.� Rodolphus was ready
for him.� With an equivalent shout of
hatred, he shot to his feet, grabbed the chair, and swung it at his former
comrade.� The leg caught Lucius right across temple with a solid, sickening
thwack.� Lights exploded behind his eyes
and after a spike of intense pain, everything went dark.�
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The Last Gift