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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
- 6
- 7
- 8
Winter came overnight. I was forced to switch into my fur-lined robe before making my way downstairs. I shivered as I passed from the warmth of the main house to the coldness of the dungeon.

Hermione Granger still hung, as naked as the day she was born, from the manacles that I had made the day before. Her skin had a bluish tinge to it that only exposure to a long bout of cold can give. I could actually see puffs of her breath. Her Mark stood out in dark contrast to her freezing skin.

She was unconscious, but if it weren’t for her visible exhalations, I would have thought she was dead. When I took the pulse at her neck, it was weak. Our dungeon is inhabitable during the winter. Architectural flaw. If the cold hadn’t come on so fast, I would have been prepared to move her somewhere upstairs before there was a chance that she could catch hypothermia.

I undid the manacles and she slumped against me. Putting one arm behind her neck and one under her knees, I carried her quickly up the stairs and into the library where I knew a fire was roaring. I pulled the heavy blanket Narcissa liked using when reading off the back of the sofa and wrapped her in it. She wasn’t looking any less blue.

I pulled a small jar off the mantle, grabbed a small handful of powder, and threw it into the fireplace. “Headmaster’s office, Hogwarts,” I said into the blaze. It was several seconds before Severus’s head appeared in the flames.

He could tell that something was wrong by my face. “Severus, I think I fucked up,” I told him.

“What potions do you need?”

“I don’t know. Anything for frostbite or hypothermia or exposure to cold.”

“I’ll be right there.”

His face disappeared and I turned back to the girl. She hadn’t moved from the position I put her in. Was she too far gone? It would be tough explaining it to Voldemort if she died from the cold.

The fire flared and Severus stepped out into my library. He knelt beside the girl and unwrapped her. Her nakedness didn’t seem to faze him. “I don’t like her color,” he informed me.

“Neither do I,” I answered.

He felt her forehead and took her pulse. Picking a bottle out of his robe, he fed her the contents. “This should help, but we need to get her somewhere warmer. Is there a bath we could use?”

Draco poked his head into the room. “I thought I heard Professor Snape and I…” He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Hermione Granger naked on the floor.

“Get out!” both Severus and I yelled together. The library door shut.

“Let’s use my bath. We’ll get privacy there,” I said.

Severus wrapped her back up and gathered her into his arms. I led him into the hall and up the main staircase. I closed and locked the doors behind us after we entered my master bedroom.

“Turn on the water as hot as it will go,” Severus ordered as we entered the attached bathroom. He laid her into my tub as I twisted the tap. We both sat on the edge of the huge tub, Severus watching her head to prevent her from slipping under the water. Her color looked improved.

“What happened?” Severus asked, watching Hermione Granger’s hair swirl in the water.

I leaned over and turned off the tap. Steam rose from the bath creating condensation on the marble tile walls. I sighed.

“It was really idiotic of me, actually. It got so cold overnight. I didn’t even think about her being down in the dungeon until this morning. It’s such a useless space in the winter. Nothing can live down there.”

Severus nodded in understanding. “But surely a heating charm or fire?”

“Heating charms don’t last long enough. And can you imagine her near a fire?” We sat in silence for awhile. “I was actually going to prepare a room upstairs for her today since I noticed the chill downstairs yesterday.”

“Well, it was an honest mistake. Who knew this freak cold front would move in?”

“You’re too kind, Severus. You know that it was my entire fault. I got careless.” I slumped against the wall, putting my hands to my forehead. “The Dark Lord is going to kill me for this.”

“I won’t mention anything unless explicitly asked by our Lord. But, in the meantime, can I suggest a renovation of your dungeon?” I nodded in thanks. Severus shook his head and laughed quietly. “If anything, I thought you called me because you had gone too far when torturing the insufferable girl, not because you neglected her into unconsciousness.”

I smiled thinly. It was definitely a more likely scenario.

A slight splash turned our attention back to the tub. “She’s waking up,” I noted.

“She’ll need a warm place to rest. Go prepare that room and I’ll sit with her.”

I couldn’t let her out of my sight again. No more stupid mistakes. She would stay close to me, I would finish the job, and then I could be rid of her.

There was a large linen closet just outside my bedroom. With a little enlarging, I made it into a semi-permanent living space for her. I added an old, lumpy mattress on the floor, a simple sink, and a toilet. I added those to make my life easier, not because I was feeling guilty. Or so I told myself.

Pain and misery are wonderful things. That is when they are used for a purpose. The intentional pain I had dealt her was to teach her the rightful place in the world for Mudbloods. It was also to train her for service to the Dark Lord. What she went through overnight had no purpose. No need. Someone call the press because Lucius Malfoy may have the beginnings of a heart.

As a final touch to the room, I added a solid oak door with a good lock. The one and only key would stay in my robe’s pocket. For good measure, I added a silence charm. We would be sharing a wall and I really didn’t want her to be able to disturb me in my bedroom by yelling or banging on the wall. My bedroom was my only sanctuary in this house sometimes.

I made my way back to the bathroom. Severus had the girl out of the tub and standing, although she was leaning heavily against him. I raised my eyebrows when I noticed that he had wrapped one of my luxurious towels around her.

“Thank you for your help, Severus. I know you have a lot of work to attend to. I’ll take over from here.”

“She’ll be very weak for the next couple of days,” Severus told me. “If you want her to survive, just let her rest.” He pushed her body away from himself. I caught her and picked her up to carry her to her new room. With a nod, he disappeared down the hall.

She moaned and weakly pushed against my chest. “Put me down! I don’t want you touching me!” Her voice was low and scratchy.

I ignored her and walked back to the room I prepared. She leaned her head against my chest out of sheer exhaustion and closed her eyes. When I laid her in the bed, her eyes fluttered open and looked at me. “I saw Professor Snape,” she said as if she just remembered.

“Yes, he helped heal you,” I answered absent-mindedly as I pulled the covers over her. Severus had said to keep her warm.

“He’s going to rescue me.” She yawned and closed her eyes.

I snorted in disbelief. “Did he tell you that?” I asked sarcastically. Loyal Severus risking his life and all his gained power for Hermione Granger? Unlikely. She must be delirious from the trauma.

I waited for an answer but she had fallen asleep.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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The Downfall of Greed