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The Xeoforce Equation	By : Esequell Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 5632 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I'm not making any money from this.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
A/N - Hi everyone! A huge Thank You to all my reviewers as well as all those who rated! That support has really kept me going. Anyone who writes novel-length fanfics will know these stories aren't easy by any means and knowing people want to read more keeps motivation up, so thank you!
Apologies for the wait. This chapter has given me some grief and unfortunately, I've been suffering terrible back and chest pain, so sitting up at the computer has been mighty uncomfortable! I also had to do quite a lot of editing, so...I hope it reads well!

8. Flatliner
The Grandfather clock that stood on the landing not far from her bedroom door chimed One AM. Hermione dreamed she was falling off the kerb again and jolted awake with a big gasp. Distantly familiar runes swam around the inside of her head like confused fish. She tried to will them into coherence but stubbornly, the key to their meaning waited in the wings of her mind for an unknown cue. Suddenly, she had an irrepressible urge to hold a quill, to see the Equation. She had that tetchy, restless feeling she always got when she was hovering on the brink of a discovery.
She left her warm bed and put her dressing gown on over her matching teddy-bear PJ's. She crossed the dark Manor by wand-light. Misty always left a few of the oil lamps burning low on the stairs but the corridors were black. The library hearth was dead and the drapes were drawn against the chilly night. Her breath fogged as she sat down in her usual chair and stared at the softly shimmering lines of her unbalanced Equation. Her fingers were so cold that she could hardly feel the wooden handle of her wand as she flicked it at the fireplace with a silent Incendio.
Hermione traced and retraced the familiar paths of her own logic.
A flashbulb went off in her head. On a whim, she swapped two runes and introduced a previously unexplored variable. Anxious to prove her theory, she touched the tip of her wand to the parchment and whispered the incantation to recalculate.
Seconds dragged by. The Equation shimmered red and then turned green. It settled.
'YES!' she yelled. 'Oh my God! How could I be so stupid!'
She stared at the page in numb realisation. It's done. I solved it!
An unexpected breeze tried to pick up the pages of Anonymous' riddlesome work which lay open on the desk. The squeaky floorboard just outside the door betrayed the presence of someone with more mass than an elf. Lucius greeted her with a raised wand. He looked tired. His usually perfect hair was tousled from sleep. He snapped his wand back into his cane with a huff of exasperation when he realised it was only his house-guest.
'What on Earth are you doing! Merlin's balls. I thought you were an intruder!'
'I'm sorry,' she said honestly. 'Something really...weird...just happened to me! You have to see this!'
'Kitten, it's the middle of the night,' he protested.
She pushed her Equation into his hands. He was very good at Arithmancy. It was part of his gift for finances. He noted the subtle, slimline nuances of her calculation and felt a sudden surge of powerful respect. It was a work of art.
'Well, well, my dear,' he conceded finally. 'This is...impressive indeed.'
Hermione glowed in her academic achievement. Lucius found her particularly, strikingly beautiful in this state. Her cheeks were a bit pink, her lips suddenly plump. She was smart, beautiful and humble. Perversely, those qualities had once drawn him to Narcissa, though this pretty Muggleborn package presented them rather differently. Lucius wrenched his gaze back to the paper.
'I was looking at it all wrong,' she nearly bounced. 'Xeoforce doesn't destroy the DNA pairs for magic like we thought! It only forces them into dormancy! It's so obvious! This potion,' she gestured to her most recently translated page of A M Anonymous' work. 'Is a simple countercurse. Except it's absolutely ancient. Whoever wrote this had at least a basic grasp of genetics. Quite remarkable considering it was written if 1495!'
Lucius looked at her questioningly.
'Footnotes,' she explained. 'He must have been a time traveller. Some of his own runes have double meanings. This one,' she pointed to her translation. 'Means secret smile.'
She smiled.
'I think he was Da Vinci. Of course, this is only the start. Genetic Squibbery is a completely different matter, but if I can get the project up and running again...who knows!?'
'I admit,' his lips lifted lightly. 'I'm...amazed by your intellect. Might I suggest an insurance policy? I have a vault. Store this there until the Ministry opens up again after Christmas. We wouldn't want to go taking chances, would we?'
Hermione nodded.
'That'd be great. Thank you, Lucius. I mean...without you, I wouldn't have found this. The book was a necessary piece of the puzzle.'
'Think nothing of it,' he said. He sounded genuine.
Her heart went a bit warm.

oOo
Lucius unwound the complex enchantments that protected his vault. He drew open the heavy iron door with his wand. Hermione's mouth went dry. The contents - mostly gold bullion - must have been worth three million. She placed her originals down in a neat pile, taking only a few wand-copies of pertinent pieces of information to help her continue her research into Genetic Squibbery.
Who keeps that much money just sitting around at home?
She was lost for anything to say as he closed the vault. It felt as though a big chasm had opened between them. He could clearly afford anything and anyone he wanted. A small, insecure part of her wondered what she could possibly offer. How she could possibly compare to a rich Pureblood?
The wards rocked suddenly, saving her from needing to dance around her discomfort. A horrible chill raced over her like a premonition of imminent danger. She could feel the low, bassy thrum of an attempted break-in through the floor.
'Ah,' he murmured, his lips tilting up. 'I was hoping your pursuers would have the sense not to come here.'
'It can't be them,' Hermione said quickly. 'Please tell me they can't actually get in!'
Lucius brushed a warm hand over her elbow. He meant to reassure her. It took the edge off Hermione's private worries.
They crept to the top of the stairs together, wands drawn. The foyer Floo connection spat and sparked red, suggesting that someone was trying to use a complex hacking jinx.
Fairwater stumbled through the Floo with an uncomfortably loud crack. He bent double, panting and sick from the rocky ride. Skye came behind him. A third man thumped into Skye's back.
'Fucking ostentatious,' he said derisively, at the Manor.
'Just fire and run, Holloway,' coughed Fairwater. 'We're not here to sight-see.'
'Petrificus Totalus!' Hermione yelled. Skye hit the stone on his back.
Lucius fired a silent hex at Fairwater. He dodged. The curse he sent back hit Lucius' shield and wrenched his wand hand back. Hermione lunged forward to shield Lucius as Fairwater rattled off another spell. The curse hit her shield and sent a sizzle of terrible pain up her arm.
Lucius grabbed Hermione by the waist and disapparated.
'Shit!' Hermione hid behind the statue of Pan on the first floor landing.
Lucius rubbed his wand hand uncomfortably.
'We need some help,' she said quickly. 'I've never felt anyone so strong before. They're obviously using Mactoduplex.'
Lucius' loose hair tickled the pattern on his nearly black bed robe as he turned his head to listen.
Fairwater gestured with his wand to the staircase. 'They're in here somewhere.'
Lucius murmured an incantation. Every door in the Manor slammed shut. The men spun on the spot to raise their wands at the doors and found nothing to strike. Lucius smirked. Misty dissolved out of the shadows.
'Ah, Misty,' Lucius arched a brow. 'We have intruders. Welcome them.'
'Yes, Master,' Misty nodded. A devious smile spread over her face. She dissolved silently.
'Don't open any doors, my dear. Almost every room is boobytrapped now.'
'Well...I'm glad to see you're prepared for every eventuality.'
'Naturally,' he drew himself up. 'The Manor...and her secrets...have been the property of the Malfoy family for five hundred years. I will not allow three addicts to change that.'
Hermione smiled. A bit of confidence bled back to her. She peered over the bannister to find the source of the thumping footsteps.
Misty's bony fingers danced an intricate pattern as she puppeted the stone angel that normally sat innocuously atop the ballroom fireplace. His hot-coal eyes narrowed in fury. Skye whirled and screamed. He danced backwards to avoid the giant, clawed hand that threatened evisceration with a single swipe.
'What the fuck!' he yelled in horror.
'What's that!' Hermione asked.
'My guardian angel,' Lucius smirked, wryly. A laugh bubbled up her throat.
The angel lashed out with the folded joint of a stone wing. Fairwater smacked into the wall and hung there until Holloway sliced off a stone arm with a vicious swipe. It smashed to dust a debris on the carpet. The puppet shrieked and lunged with his one hand outstretched. His marble mouth was full of needle-teeth. Holloway slashed and sliced. Stone feathers thumped and broke. Finally, the angel toppled into a cloud of marble dust.
'Damn it all!' hissed Lucius, irately. 'That spell was expensive!'
Hermione gave a little shriek as Pan came to life under Bobbly's capable fingers. He clopped down the long staircase and raised his lyre for a wallop. Skye sliced him apart.
Hermione cast a wordless Stupefy at his back. He toppled. Fairwater freed him with a lazy flick of his wand.
'Up there!' Fairwater pointed.
'What do you think you're doing!' Lucius looked as though he'd sucked a whole lemon.
'Defending myself!' she yelled. 'Are you going to help me or just stand there staring!'
'Really Hermione, that's what I have elves for!'
Hermione rounded on him like an angry cat.
'I will not sit here like a princess and wait to be murdered and I will not-' she stamped her foot. 'Let Misty and Bobbly fight all alone! Why don't you get your wand our of your arse? Assuming, that is, that you're not using it as a backbone!'
His eyes grew cold. He drew himself up imperiously.
'We'll discuss your tone and your blatant disregard for your health and mine later.'
Hermione leg-locked Holloway. He hopped like the winner of the School sack-race before he managed to dissolve the jinx. His riposte shattered the windowpane behind her head. Lucius made a soft noise of horror and countered with a nasty curse. Holloway flicked it wide.
Hermione cast her custom stinger at Skye. He went down with a yowl. Stone exploded at her ear, coating her hair in delicate white shimmer.
Misty cackled happily as she controlled a suit of armour. It stabbed and punched, driving Holloway towards the boobytrapped Office.
'Lucius, I really think you need to let your elves get angry a bit more often.'
The suit made an almighty clatter as it fell off the landing and hit the ground floor. A volley of hexes blasted the stone bannisters apart. There was a resounding crack as a statue of Venus toppled.
'Holloway!' Skye shrieked, as a stone doe bit down on his ankle and dragged him toward the edge of the floor. He clung to the broken stone until Holloway blasted the doe apart.
Stone dust rained down from a broken pillar that toppled onto the crimson carpet with a bone-shaking thud.
'Block for me!' Hermione yelled.
She leaned around Lucius' shield to fire a curse.
'Change!' she yelled breathlessly, and cast her own shield as he fired.
Lucius flicked his hair off his face. Of course, he thought. Gryffindor's make good team players.
'Just kill them!' Fairwater yelled.
Misty puppeted a stuffed lioness who opened her mouth in silent threat. Holloway held her back with a barrage of cutting curses.
A rope of Fiendfyre spurted from Holloway's wand. It bit into the drapes and caught on the carpets. Black smoke billowed.
'My house!' Lucius whispered in blind horror. Then his face twisted in fury. 'My house!'
He struck at Holloway with a complex dark curse. A wall of Fiendfyre drove him back before he could Avada the man.
Hermione hit the ceiling with a broad sprinkler charm she'd looked up after the destruction of Grimmauld Place.
'Crucio!'
The Unforgivable stirred Lucius' hair as it whipped by. Lucius locked up in silent, temporary terror. Then he raised his wand. Hermione felt his rage and sensed he was about to cast worse in return. She grabbed his forearm.
'Don't! Don't you dare. They'll send you straight back to Azkaban!'
His lip curled in fury but life and feeling returned to his eyes. His huff disturbed his hair as he resorted to less dangerous spells.
The Fiendfyre swarmed into a million tiny, hissing bugs that ate the paintings and destroyed the drapes. They rose in a column of searing heat and consumed the delicate murals painted on the plaster ceiling. They merged into a loping bear that reduced the stairs carpet to ash and cracked the stone as it tried to reach them.
'Countercurse!' Hermione yelled desperately. 'What's the countercurse for Fiendfyre!'
'I've never head reason to know,' Lucius admitted tightly as the bear morphed into a phoenix. It opened its white-hot beak and surged.
A sphere of shimmering protection expanded from the tip of Lucius' wand. A hot wind picked up their hair as the phoenix vortexed around them. It tried to stab its flaming beak through their protection.
Beads of sweat appeared on Lucius' brow. Hermione wasn't sure if it was the effort of powerful, sustained magic or just the awful heat inside the fireball.
Misty stood on the first floor landing. She'd been born at the Manor. She'd seen the rise and fall of three generations of Malfoys. Fire creatures raced around the cavernous space. Salamanders tried to breach the warded rooms. For the first time in many years Misty was angry.
Hermione aimed her wand up and joined her shield to his. A tingle of magic lanced up her arm. Their magical connection felt like a perfect, tender golden thread joining her heart to his.
Their wrists bumped. Blisters rose on their hands. Their charm shrank as the phoenix bit down.
Hermione put her face in the crook of his neck, just under his jaw and breathed in his scent. Lucius urged her face into the right position and kissed her. She made a soft, delicious noise of perfect need and buried her warm fingers in his hair. He could feel her glowing core of life-force and her warm, thumping heart as though they shared the same body. He thrust his tongue gently into her mouth and clasped her around the waist so that their bodies were flush.
Her heart opened. Lucius saw the brightness of her tentative love, growing inside her like a foetus. His eyes popped open in shock. Hers were closed, her lashes soft and warm. He grew hard as she stroked his scalp.
The roar died. The Fiends convulsed and extinguished. Black smoke convected, stinging their eyes. Misty's legs trembled. She swayed on the bottom step.
'Misty!' The staircase groaned under her weight.
Hermione ran down the spiral stairs and spilled onto the first floor landing. She grabbed Misty in both arms.
'Miss-' Misty's breath was shallow. 'Master!'
'Oh my God, Misty. What did you do!' Hermione hugged her close, trying to share some vital body-heat.
'Misty put men...in the cellar,' the elf said softly.
Lucius took Misty's trembling hand.
'We have to get her to a hospital,' Hermione made to stand.
Footsteps echoed up the stairs. Harry raced towards them. He was covered in soot and backed by six Aurors and a healer.
'Harry!' Hermione choked. 'God, she's going cold!'
Hermione's eyes filled with tears. Misty's work-weathered hand trembled in the cage of Lucius' fingers.
'Misty is proud to serve...the noble house of-' she stilled.
'No-' Hermione choked. Tears blurred her vision. By the time she cleared them, Misty gazed up, unseeing. 'No. This is all my fault. It's me they want!'
'She did what any elf would to protect her family,' Lucius leaned in to whisper; 'We'll discuss this later, Kitten. It isn't your fault.'

oOo
Bobbly lead them down to the wine cellar. Misty has stashed the three wands in a candle sconce not far from the steps. Bobbly held them tightly in her fist. Her big eyes were full of tears. She tried to avoid looking at Misty's body, cradled in Lucius' arms.
Hermione was freezing. It was usually fairly warm underground but shock had settled into her bones. Her temple pounded with an oncoming headache.
Madeleine dragged Skye up by the scruff of his neck and pointed her wand at his brain-stem.
'You need to watch them,' Hermione put in. 'The Mactoduplex makes them really strong.'
'Fairwater,' Harry spat. 'I want to say I'm surprised. But I'm not. Not with you.'
'Survival of the fittest, Potter,' Fairwater spat a mouthful of blood at Harry's feet.
'Right,' Harry nodded coldly. 'Well, you'd better keep on surviving. So you can enjoy Azkaban.'
Bobbly snapped her fingers with a crack that sounded furious. The knife Fairwater was hiding between his thumbs magnetised to her hand. She folded her skinny arms. Her ears lay flat back like an angry horse.
'Damned critter-' hissed Fairwater venomously.
Bobbly made a furious little noise. She stalked up the steps, her little bare feet slapping on the stone, the wands clutched close.
'The plot thickens, Mr Potter,' Lucius said smugly. 'Two Ministry employees in one day? I can only imagine how upsetting this will be for the Minister.'
'That's not my department,' Harry said flatly.
Hermione's eyes were grainy and puffy.
'I'll be back soon,' Harry gestured to Misty. 'I'm sorry.'

oOo
Bobbly brewed a pot of tea. The whistle of the kettle broke the silence. Every so often, Bobbly wiped her eyes on the ragged hem of her dirty pillowcase. She trembled tea all over the worktop. Hermione took pity on her and poured it herself.
'Sit down, Bobbly. Please. For me?' she asked.
Despite the impropriety inherent in sitting down with her betters, Bobbly obediently perched on the edge of a chair. She hung her head and sniffled.
'Misty is...Bobbly's sister.'
'I'm so sorry, Bobbly. I don't know what happened.'
Lucius was silent. He stared at the white little hand nearest to his index finger, lost in his private thoughts.
'Bobbly know,' the elf wiped her nose on the back of her hand. 'Misty drain her magic.'
Hermione chewed her lip and closed her eyes. She couldn't shake the feeling she'd caused this, albeit indirectly.

oOo
Harry returned with a team of Aurors. They shored up the wards and layered government-level protection over the Manor. They disconnected the Floo and stationed hidden bodyguards around the grounds and house.
Madeleine leaned on the kitchen counter, her backside against the stove. Hermione broke the silence.
'I thought the Manor wards were the strongest of any safe house. What on Earth are we going to do now?'
Lucius was unresponsive. He gazed at his elf numbly. Hermione wanted to touch Misty's fast cooling arm just to say goodbye but she was too squeamish. A row of bulbous elf eyes watched from the walls.
'Would someone fetch a sheet or something?' Hermione sighed finally. 'It's awful...looking at her...like this.'
They draped the bed-sheet over Misty. It helped a bit.
'We need to bury her.'
'Bobbly will take care of it,' Bobbly crossed her skinny arms and sniffed. 'Misty was Bobbly's only family. It's Bobbly's responsibility.'
'Bobbly,' Lucius finally spoke up. 'Spare no expense.'
There was a sinking, hollow, empty feeling in Hermione's chest. It made her want to cry again, even though crying couldn't banish the very real physical sensation of sudden loss. She found a bit of comfort in her tea. The warmth was very grounding. She focused her attention on the light, purple veins in her hands, the tiny white hairs that decorated her wrists. Anything to buy a moments peace from the tug of impossible pain.
'The Brockelfort party is tomorrow,' Hermione said. 'I'm the one they want, Harry. I-I won't have anyone else die for me. Please. Let's just get it over and done with? I can't live in constant fear like this.'
'No,' Harry said quickly. 'You're not using yourself as bait.'
'I must say,' Lucius drawled, 'It's not doing much for my nerves either.'
'This isn't about you, Malfoy,' Harry said.
'He is involved, Harry,' Hermione defended Lucius quickly. 'This is hardly fair on him.'
'Quite,' Lucius eyed Harry coldly.
'It might be our best chance to find Delamere,' she added.
'I don't like this,' Harry said.
'I know. It's the best plan we've got so far. Unless anyone else has a better idea?'

oOo
Hermione wand-dried her hair and applied a few charms to bring down her puffy eyes and cover her pallor. She enlisted Madeleine's help to get into her dress. She didn't want to call on Bobbly. The Auror had an unlikely gift with her corset. Hermione didn't ask where she'd learned it.
'You don't have to do this,' Madeleine pointed out.
'I know,' Hermione agreed. 'I'm going anyway. I can't stand being trapped in this house.'
Madeleine smirked. Hermione could see it in the full-length reflection.
'Living with Malfoy can't be easy,' the Auror said.
'It's usually not,' Hermione admitted. 'I just feel...trapped. I can't go anywhere alone.'
Madeleine looked a little embarrassed.
'Hex and I will be at the estate borders with long-range sensor charms. If you need us, just give the signal.'
Hermione nodded.
'Are you scared, Miss Granger?'
'Yes,' Hermione breathed, honestly.
'Good,' Madeleine offered her a smile. 'Fear will keep you sharp. You're ready.'

oOo
The Brockelfort Gothic Manor had a church-like quality to its dot and dash formation of window and wall. Intricate stone gargoyles leered from odd angles. A long set of white marble steps lead up the grandest set of oak doors Hermione had ever seen.
Rosaline mingled among her guests. Her figure-hugging black dress dragged the floor like the tail of a hellish peacock. Hermione guessed she was using a spell to secure her breasts. Her gown was cut so low there was no possibility of a bra. Hermione saw no hint of Brockelfort.
The Christmas mansion was a cornucopia of smells and sights designed to tantalise the senses and incite desire. It was a sinful carnival of the most decadent sort. Alcohol flowed freely. They passed a couple kissing around a grape.
'You look flushed,' Lucius bent to speak to her. 'It's very becoming.'
Hermione dipped her head. Lucius caught her chin with his smooth, warm index finger. He rubbed her bottom lip gently with his thumb. The gesture made her warm and wet. His steel eyes were foggy and warm. He bent his head slowly and brushed a brief, tender kiss over the spot his thumb had sensitized. Hermione's breath came out a bit shaky. When he looked at her like that, she felt like she was the centre of his universe. It lit a fire of potent need inside her. She'd never felt so wanted.
'Noone will touch you,' he promised.
He seized her hand and placed it gently over the handle of his wand, which was just under the edge of his robe, through his belt loop. Though he didn't say it, Hermione felt his meaning. He'd protect her, not because she needed it. Because he wanted to. She shivered with the intimacy of touching his wand. His simple act of trust said more about his feelings for her than any kiss so far.
They wandered between the sitting guests. There were cushions spread around and the bay window seats were already densely populated.
Despite the prevalence of Christmas related decorations and the snow charmed to evaporate just above their heads, the party had more in common with an orgy. It degenerated quickly.
Brockelfort reclined in a corner with an older lady whose white hair hung in luscious curls to her shoulders. Lucius drew her behind pillar to whisper to her.
'Well, well. If it isn't our old friend. An excellent place to find a man with his guard down.'
'Amongst other things,' Hermione agreed. 'I really hope he doesn't try to talk to us. I need to nip to the loo. Don't take your eyes off me. I really don't want to be alone in here.'
'Try not to be so crass, my dear,' he lifted an eyebrow in displeasure. 'Women do not nip to the loo. They powder their noses.'
'Well, whatever I'm going to do with myself, I need to do it now,' she pulled away from him.
As she laid her hand on the decorative convenience door, a shadow covered her back.
'What an exquisite gown,' Delamere said. Hermione spun to see an unfamiliar face. His polyjuice disguise fooled her long enough for him to grab her elbow. He disapparated.

oOo
Hermione landed hard on her knees in the entry foyer of the Delamere mansion. She whipped her wand free of her bag and pointed it at Delamere's nose.
'Get your filthy hands off me!'
He backhanded her. She hit the stone with a cry and rolled onto her back, clutching her elbow as he kicked her wand away into a dark corner. Hermione flicked her hand out. Delamere didn't expect wandless magic. Few people ever did. Her wand skittered into her grasp.
'Stupefy!' she yelled.
Delamere knocked her hex wide but the brief blinding light gave Hermione chance to scramble to her feet. She dodged the oncoming man and spun on her heel. The sound of ripping silver satin rent the air. She felt herself falling. She saw the chandelier.
'Reducto!' she yelled.
The chandelier shattered free of its anchor. Hermione scrambled backwards, leaving a half-separated ring of silver satin around her delicate shoes. The chandelier crashed down on top of one of the burly men. The other dived wide of it and before she could get to her feet, he was on her, wrestling her for control of her wand.
Delamere stood and brushed himself off. He raised his wand.
'You've been a lot more trouble than you're worth,' he said. 'Crucio!'

oOo
Hermione curled up on the floor of the warded broom closet into which two rude and burly wizards had thrown her. She trembled from the cruciatus. Her nerves were a jangled mess. When she raked a hand through her ruined up-do, she scattered hairpins over the stone floor. She'd already tried all the wandless magic she knew on the door.
Time passed. She heard the distant noises of conversation and activity. they grew fainter. She began to fear her prison. Had they left her in here to die? Hermione wasn't claustrophobic but she began to sympathise with those who were. She traced the runes of the Elder Futhark on her thigh unsteadily. She focused on the intricate meaning of each while she tried to calm her ragged breathing and pull a solution from her mind.
As her belly began to grumble and her bladder protested, a door banged open. Hermione heard the clack clack clack of a cane on polished marble.
'I'm surprised you came,' said Delamere. 'Is it just loyalty, or something more?'
'I'd think...that finding yourself surrounded by Aurors and your grounds seized...that you might be more interested in finding a solution to your imminent arrest than to fence crooked words with me. Clearly, I was mistaken.'
'Lucius!' Hermione hammered on the door. She yelled so loud her own voice echoed in her ears. She hit the door with the strongest blast of wandless reducto she could. It didn't give. She rested her head on the floor and kicked it with both feet. Tears shivered down her face and dripped off her ear.
A sliver of light crossed her eye. She followed it desperately and found a tiny gap in the planks. Lucius stood alone in the hall.
'Unfortunate, isn't it? Your penchant for the dramatic is overshadowed only by your own stupidity. Abducting a famous Witch in plain view of a hundred witnesses?' Lucius tutted. 'I thought you were brighter than that.'
He was still dressed in his party clothes.
'Pretty words aren't going to help, you know. Most of those witnesses, as you put it, wouldn't have lifted a finger if I'd fucked your little whore on the floor.'
'Let's both be grateful you didn't try,' drawled Lucius darkly.
Hermione kicked again. It hurt enough to bring tears to her eyes. Lucius continued, oblivious to her struggles.
'I'm sure you're very much aware that a whisper in the right ear and the right time can yield the most spectacular and unexpected results. I could offer an alternative to the destruction of your little...empire.'
'You're labouring under the misconception that I want your help,' Delamere scoffed.
'Want, perhaps not. Need? Certainly. Especially compromised as you are.'
'You know your problem, Malfoy? You're too damn used to getting your own way. This time, I'm going to walk away with the prize, your little friend, the potion and the money. And you're going to go back to the wreck of your life, after we've made an arrangement.'
'Well,' Lucius' eyebrows went up. He leaned idly on his cane. 'You certainly seem to have thought this through. Are those your terms? That I simply...retreat? I...believe...you may also have the handicap of a misconception.'
'Which is?'
Delamere raised his wand.
'You think I'm afraid of you,' Lucius' lips tilted into a shrewd smile. 'You're mistaken.'
'Well that makes it easier, I suppose,' Delamere conceded.
A blast of red was thrown aside by the slash of a cane so fast that for a split second, Hermione feared the worst. Lucius was still standing, his hair ruffled, his wand ready. There wasn't a single Auror anywhere in sight. Was he really stupid and brave enough to bluff?
Red followed blue. A volley cracked the pillar behind Lucius. Delamere straightened. He followed his first onslaught with a second with the precise, focused calm of a murderer without a shred of guilt.
Hermione yelled at the clatter of the cane.
'NO!' she screamed. He staggered. His back hit a pillar, his hair like a curtain over his face. She could see blood on his lips.
She kicked the door until the heel snapped off her shoe. She snatched it up and stabbed the broken point into the lock. It was ridiculous to think that any wizard with a shred of self respect would lock the brightest witch of her age into a broom cupboard with a deadbolt.
An electric shock sent her to her knees. Her over-sensitized nerves screamed in pain. She collapsed with her forehead against the wall. Her heart thudded in her throat. She tried to raise a hand to touch her chest but her arm wouldn't respond. She closed her eyes and focused on the burn in her lungs. It took a few seconds of oxygen deprivation before she managed to take a gasp of air.
Then her heartbeat evened out. Her arm tingled.
'Shit!' she hissed, at the ceiling. It was veiled in cobwebs.
A blast of green light lit up the cupboard. There was a thud and the unmistakeable roll of a wand on the stone floor.
Then a flash of pure white followed by another, and another.
'LUCIUS!' she screamed.
She swiped the tears off her face and lined her eye up with the little hole. Lucius lay on the floor, his platinum hair splayed on his velvet cloak. His gloved hand was limp, inches from his wand. The wards on the broom closet disintegrated. She felt the tingle. Magic like that only failed when the caster died.
Hermione lifted the latch. The door swung open. One of her burly gaolers lay at the foot of the stairs. His skull was cracked open.
Delamere didn't expect to see her. It took him so long to realise she was free that she'd almost reached Lucius' wand. Her fingertips touched the smooth handle and he turned, confusion painted on his face. His lip curled, his wand came around. In the split second she had to reach the wand, the curse was already coming.
His wand magnetised to her fingers.
The shield came up accidentally. She didn't remember saying the words. She didn't remember thinking them either. It was just there, a huge convex whiteness. The curse rolled off her and blew a hole in the locked door, sending shards of wood flying.
Infuriated, Delamere neglected to check his right side. He seized suddenly. His eyes rolled back. His wand arm spasmed and he let out a shriek of pain. He staggered and crumpled to his knees. Harry lunged to grab him. Before his hand could connect, Delamere disapparated with a crack, leaving Harry empty handed.
'Fetch a healer, right now!' Hermione pulled Lucius onto his back.
His face was slack and pale. His limp hand seemed to reach for her knee. There wasn't a flicker of movement in his face. Not a twitch of his eyes.
Aurors filled the house. Her throat was closed. She wanted to say his name but it felt like blasphemy when he was so obviously gone.
She was cold. Time slowed to a crawl. Each thump of her heart send tendrils of aching grief down her arms and legs. She bent over a space suddenly so empty that it felt like someone had ripped out an organ and placed it on her plate.
A healer bent over Lucius, his green robes settling. He brushed back platinum hair and checked for a pulse. His hands stilled.
Then suddenly, his fingers tightened and he called to his assistant.

oOo
Hermione felt rough. Her hands trembled uncontrollably; an after-effect of the Cruciatus. She was edgy and tense and her nerves felt fizzy and jangled. The morning sun shone through Lucius' hair, igniting it like burning phosphor. He looked like a sleeping archangel. His face was completely at ease. He was even drooling a little. Hermione swung her legs out of bed. She put her pinky toes on the cold floor and winced. She perched quickly on his bed to get her feet off the floor and wrapped both of her hands around his. He was nice and warm. His pulse jumped gently in his neck.
The door swung open. A thirty-something man in a white coat let himself in.
'Miss Granger. I'm Dr Grey. Mr Malfoy's physician. How are you feeling?'
'A bit rough,' she admitted. 'What happened? I saw him collapse. I thought-' she left it hanging.
'The Flatliner curse,' Grey came to stand beside the bed. 'A crude but effective substitute for the Avada. I'm afraid it's gained popularity since the Dark Lord's demise. We're keeping him under for now. The curse had already echoed twice.'
'What does that mean? Echoed?'
'An echo is a cardiac arrest. Even a minor echo could obstruct blood-flow to his brain.'
'You're saying he might die-' she struggled to keep the tears out of her voice.
Dr Grey sat down. He leaned his elbows on his knees and knitted his fingers together.
'I assume you're his...girlfriend?'
'Something like that,' Hermione breathed.
'He was clinically dead for nearly three minutes. We won't know the extent of any damage until we bring him round.'
'You're saying he might be brain damaged.'
'Yes. I'm sorry, Miss Granger. We'll do our best.'
Hermione squeezed Lucius' hand. He gave no response.
'Talk to him,' Grey shrugged lightly. 'You never know. A familiar voice might give him reason to fight back.'

oOo
'He hasn't woken up, then?' Harry gestured to Lucius, who breathed evenly but gave no sign of awareness.
'No,' she folded her arms. 'He's worrying me, Harry. The longer he stays under, the less the chance he'll wake up at all.'
'Hermione,' he took her by the shoulders. 'What's going on here, exactly? I've never seen you cry for anyone except Ron. Have you even been home?'
'No,' she admitted uncomfortably. 'I don't dare, Harry. What if we wakes up?'
'What if he does?' Harry's gaze was intense.
Hermione tried to swallow her tears.
'Is that part of whatever...relationship...he's got you into?'
'Honestly, Harry, you sound like you're accusing him of coercing me or something. It's nothing like that. I owe him. We've been through a lot together, in case you've forgotten.'
Harry searched her eyes.
'It's not my business,' he concluded. 'Just...are you safe, 'Mione? That's all I want to know. Whatever's going on...I just want to know you're OK.'
'I'm fine,' she spread her hands. 'I promise. The second I'm not, you'll be the first to know. OK?'
'OK,' Harry nodded.
'Harry, did you find Delamere?'
'No,' Harry admitted. 'Not yet.'
'Shit,' she whispered as she sat back down beside Lucius. 'What the hell are we going to do?'
'You need to keep your heads low,' Harry said. 'We're working on him. Hex thinks she's got a lead in Belgium. It looks like you won't be going anywhere for a bit. Don't go anywhere without an escort.'
Hermione nodded mutely. 'OK.'

oOo
Hermione took a thorough bath in the hospital facilities. She didn't like their vanilla scented products but it was better than the sicky, disinfectant smell. It was quite late when a small pop alerted Hermione to company. Bobble padded around the end of Lucius' hospital bed carrying a bunch of plump red grapes wrapped up in newspaper. She handed Hermione an overnight bag with a shy smile.
'Oh you're an absolute star!' Hermione grinned, when she found fresh pyjamas and underwear for them both. Bobbly had packed a few books too and back issues of the Daily Prophet. 'Thank you, Bobbly.'
'Miss is welcome,' Bobbly said. 'We place Misty in stasis. Wait for you both to come home...for ceremony.'
Bobbly peered up at Lucius. He hadn't moved at all. Twice a day nurse came in to change his intravenous medication and turn him one way or the other. Bobbly gave a sad, tired sigh at the sight of her prone master.
'Elves all worry,' she wrung her hands a little. 'Master see us fed. He teach us charms for warming our clothes,' she plucked at her pillowcase and gave Hermione a seldom-seen smile. 'He not so bad, as Masters go. Just a bit prickly.'
Hermione laughed.
'Tell me about it,' she smirked. Bobbly gave a smile and a bow.
'Bobbly come if Miss call,' she said. She disapparated.
The nurse came in to draw their curtains and offer Hermione a cup of sweet tea. She gladly accepted. When the ward was quiet and dark but for the glow of the nurses' office, Hermione ran her fingers gently through his lank, platinum hair and whispered about everything and nothing. He didn't stir but she took comfort in his regular pulse and steady breathing.

oOo
Hermione ate her hospital Christmas dinner off a tray.
'Perhaps we should liquidise some for him,' Ginny suggested. 'On the understanding that I get to stick the needle in,' she added.
'You're a bit scary sometimes,' Hermione smirked at her.
Ginny offered Hermione the other end of her Christmas cracker. Hermione pulled it. Ginny played with the pink hair grip that fell out. The enchanted flower waved softly in an invisible wind.
'I promise you'll get your presents as soon as I get out of here,' Hermione smiled ruefully.
'Don't worry about it, Herms,' Ginny smiled as she casually clipped Lucius' hair back with the grip. She shrugged mischievously when they both stared at her. 'We can do it after Christmas. It'll stretch out the fun!'
Ginny gazed down at the unconscious man.
'Suits him.'
Hermione was the first to crack. She fell into Harry, laughing. Soon the three were giggling and dividing up the Christmas pudding with its tiny, enchanted, singing Santa.

oOo
'I can scarcely imagine a better sight to wake up to,' Lucius murmured. He turned his head to gaze at Hermione, who was sitting cross legged on her bed, biting the tip of her quill as she made notes in her research diary.
Hermione slid off her bed and took his hand.
'Oh my God! Lucius,' she snatched the pink grip out of his hair apologetically and stashed it in her robe pocket. She pressed the buzzer to summon the nurse. 'How are you feeling?'
'Dreadful,' he croaked. 'As though I've been kicked to death and back.'
'You sort of were,' Hermione nodded. 'Delamere hit you with the Flatliner curse. It stopped your heart. Lucius! Don't try to get up. Don't even think about it. You have to keep still. Dr Grey says the echoes are still in your system. Your heart could stop again.'
He gave her a soft, apologetic look.
'I'm afraid...I rather need to move a few muscles, Kitten. Toward the gentleman's room?'
'Oh,' she said, uncomfortably. 'OK. They probably won't let you, you know. It might be a bottle job.'
'How delightful,' he drawled. 'I think not. I'd rather die in the attempt.'
'Don't joke about that,' she said unhappily. 'You really worried me.'
Lucius squeezed her hand reassuringly. His strength failed too quickly. He made a face of discomfort. His cheeks pinkened in embarrassment at his own helplessness.
'It's OK,' Hermione soothed his wounded pride quickly. 'You'll be stronger soon.'

oOo
Lucius' request for a bottle of firewhisky went unheeded. Bobbly popped in once or twice a day to bring books and correspondence. Lucius scritched away at a letter to answer a friend with whom he was playing a game of postal chess.
'You'll work yourself to death,' Hermione pointed out.
'Really, my dear, must you so be dramatic?'
'Someone's back to normal,' her eyebrows went up.
'Someone is about ready to leave this insufferable place.'
'If you even think about it, I swear I'll hex you bald!'
Lucius' lips turned up in a tiny smirk.
'I had no idea you'd taken to the profession of gaoler.'
'It's one of my more unusual hobbies,' she said darkly.
'You're very good,' he nodded coldly. 'Perhaps you should make it a career.'
Hermione rolled her eyes.
'Now who's being dramatic.'
Lucius unfolded the Prophet with a subtle snap of pages and set about entertaining himself with the Quidditch scores.
'Damn it!' he hissed, a minute later. 'How typical.'
'What?'
'I should have reminded Bobbly to place me a bet on the Harpies. Nothing for years and now this?' he gesture to the page.
Hermione laughed lightly. 'You'd have been a few thousand galleons richer? Would that really make such a big difference to your finances?'
'Money is money, my dear,' he sniffed, unhappily. 'The Gods are laughing at me.'

oOo
Lucius locked himself in the private hospital bathroom. He set his cane against the tub-side and ran a deep, very hot bath. He scrubbed every molecule of dirt and grease from his hair and skin. He emerged pink and satisfied. His wet hair dampened the back of his clean shirt.
Hermione was waiting for him. She put her hands on her hips furiously. It reminded him of Molly Weasley.
'What on Earth do you think you're doing!' she demanded shrilly.
'Surely you don't intend to accompany me to the bathroom too?' he arched an elegant brow.
'Get back into bed, right this minute. I mean it, Lucius. You're still sick!'
'Nonsense,' he straightened. 'If I'm forced to lay on that sweaty bunk for one more hour, I'll attempt apparition with our without my little bodyguard.'
He folded his arms. His shirt pulled tight around his biceps and accentuated his smooth, muscular chest.
'You're being ridiculous! What if the curse echoes again? It could happen any time, you know.'
'I feel fine,' he pointed out stubbornly.
'I'm not going to argue with you.'
'Good,' he sniffed.
'You know perfectly well that's not what I mean!' she sighed, exasperated.
He smirked at her frustration. She went pink as he caught her by the waist. She subsided a little but he sensed she'd boil over again if provoked.
'Stop your fretting, Kitten,' he murmured to her temple. 'I want to see my house. If you're so worried, you'd better come with me.'
'You can't-' she sounded nearly tearful.
She spun at the sound of footsteps. Dr Grey stood in the open doorway. Reluctantly, Lucius let his little prize go.
'Grey,' Lucius nodded to the Doctor.
'Ready to leave, are you?' asked the Doctor. He looked amused but not very surprised. 'One condition,' Dr Grey held up a single finger. 'You go home and rest. I'll be paying a house call once a day.'
'That's two conditions,' Lucius said obstructively.
'No, the second is a given,' Grey folded his arms. 'No arguments.'
'Fine,' Lucius smiled coldly. 'Now. My shoes, Kitten. I won't be amused if you force me to parade myself half clad-'
'Oh alright!' Hermione hissed. 'Do you have to be so...stubborn!'
Hermione flicked her wand. His shoes materialised at his bedside. She'd hidden them the day before out of fear he'd try to walk out too soon.
'Good girl,' his fine lips tilted up.
'You're the most patronising man I've ever met,' she threw up her hands. 'Honestly. Would it kill you to give it a couple of days?'
'I'm fine,' he said tightly, in that dangerous tone of voice that suggested his decision was made and his temper was about to flare.
A little while later, he presented himself fully dressed. Hermione thought he still looked a bit pale.
'Come, come, we don't have all day,' he offered his arm.
'I can't believe I'm letting you boss me about,' Hermione sighed and grabbed their bag.
'You'd make a rather poor gaoler, my dear,' he smirked.

TBC!
- 7
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- 9
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The Xeoforce Equation