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Shadows Of The Past	By : soldiersgirl0709 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 64110 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to HP or the HP Universe, all things recognizable are the property of JKR and WB. No money is made from the sharing of this fic, just smiles and friends. =)

Chapter List
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Chapter Nine: The Candyland Conspiracy

The pressure and other�s opinions carry their weight.

�I�m afraid I still don�t quite understand why I have to go back. What if I choose not to?� Lucius said frowning as he stared at the brightly colored game board set out on Hermione�s kitchen table. His piece, a green plastic gingerbread man, was sitting only four squares from the appealing candy cottage. He wondered if Elias knew the tale of Hansel and Gretel and the evil witch who lived in the edible house? Now why, just because he pulled the card from the deck, did he have to go all the way back to the Lollipop Forrest?

�Those is the rules.� Elias shrugged, chewing on the soft pretzel his mother had given him as a snack.

�Those are the rules, but they make no sense to me. Why should I go back when I am winning? I choose not to go back.� Lucius said stubbornly. He heard Hermione sigh from her chair, her fingers drumming on the tabletop.

�You can�t just change the rules, Lucius. You pulled the card so now you have to take your piece back to Lollipop Forrest.� She was getting a headache, her day had already been crap and she really didn�t relish spending the remainder of the evening watching Elias and Lucius argue over a game of Candyland.

�This game makes no sense! Why send a person to the finish line only to shoot them backwards when they are about to cross it?� Lucius folded his arms and continued to frown at the befuddling game.

�It isn�t a conspiracy, the cards are randomly drawn. Elias loves this game and it helps him learn his colors and helps him with Maths.� Hermione stressed the educational value of the game.

�Where did it come from? The rules are ridiculous.� Lucius scoffed.

�It originated in the U.S., Lucius, and the rules aren�t ridiculous, they are simple rules for children. I think that we should put this away for another night, it is getting late and Elias needs to get to bed.� She said, thinking it was one of those situations that was better walked away from.

�Are you a whore�s loser, Loo-she-us?� Elias�s little brow furrowed just like his father�s as he scrambled from his chair. Hermione�s lips twitched slightly before she corrected him.

�Sore loser and no, he just doesn�t understand the muggle rules. Your PJs are on your bed go put them on.� She said softly.

�Tonight is your night for a story, Loo-she-us! I got a new book�The Lorax!� Elias said excitedly before he darted out of the room in a blur of blond curls and bright colors.

�Is it another of those blasted rhyming books?� Lucius asked, staring at the empty doorway their son had just vacated.

�Yes, he is working his way through the Dr. Seuss collection.� She stood and began putting the game away.

�I am going to purchase some proper stories for him. The Brothers Grimm, Knights of the Round Table, Stories of Merlin and other great wizards. Those crazed books he reads make my head ache.� He said, helping her gather the pieces and dump them into the box.

�They are annoying, yes, but they are easy for a small child to read with the short rhyming words. Stories for fun are wonderful too, but education has to be considered as well given that Elias can not attend a muggle primary school, he would announce his heritage in an instant and the first time someone made him upset he would turn them into a toad.� Hermione chuckled at the mental image of Elias standing stubbornly with his arms crossed daring the other children to come near him. No, her son had too much of her temper and was definitely too much of a Malfoy to take that risk.

�We could send him to one of the wizarding preparatory schools.� Lucius suggested, taking the box from her and placing it back on the top shelf of the cupboard.

�No, I�m not ready for him to be away from me.� She could feel her chest constrict at the thought of being without Elias.

�That is fine, Hermione, it was only a suggestion. He isn�t yet five so nothing has to be determined for another year. Come summer you and I can begin interviewing private tutors to educate Elias in preparation for Hogwarts�I assume you wish him to attend Hogwarts?� Lucius queried as he closed the door and faced her.

�Yes, that is my preference�but, Lucius, the expense of a private tutor��

�Is trivial.� He saw her open her mouth in preparation of protesting and he raised his hand quickly to cut her off. �Don�t. Just�don�t. Do not try to shut me out or refuse. Our son�s education is important and I am in a position to ensure that he has the best that my money can buy. I won�t argue on this.�

�Loo-she-us, I�m ready!� Elias called from his bedroom. Hermione simply nodded her head in agreement, he was right, she wouldn�t let her pride keep Elias from having the finest education the Malfoy money could provide.

�I�m going to go read some abominable book to our son. Why don�t you sit down and relax a little?� He lifted his hand, almost as though he were going to touch her before thinking better of it and letting his hand drop back to his side and leaving the room. She watched him go, a little disappointed that he hadn�t gone ahead and touched her. She turned off the kitchen light and settled onto the sofa, propping her feet onto the coffee table and letting her head fall back against the cushions.

The kiss had not been mentioned a single time in the week since it happened. Did he regret it and just wish to forget that it had ever happened? She couldn�t really blame him, no doubt he had kissed more than his fair share of beautiful, skilled women. How was she, young, plain and practically a virgin, going to compete with that? She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind, tried to let her over stressed day go and find some peace. She sat there for an eternity it seemed, working extra hard at thinking of nothing. In fact, she was just about to doze off when she heard Lucius come back. She opened her eyes and saw him standing there staring at the basket of folded laundry in the chair then letting his eyes drift to the sofa.

She patted the cushion beside her and he sat rigidly next to her, keeping a safe distance away lest he be tempted. He sat with his back straight and his hands resting lightly on his knees, his ever present cane leaning against the sofa.

�Elias is asleep?� She asked tiredly.

�He is�Hermione, let me provide you with a house-elf, you are always doing laundry or cleaning this house or running after Elias, you are exhausted.� He wanted to reach out and heal the dark circles beneath her eyes but curled his fingers into his palm instead.

�No, I am a mother, it is an exhausting job but I wouldn�t trade it. And no thank you, Lucius, I don�t want a house-elf, I can do my own laundry and clean my own house, women do it all the time.� She said softly.

�You don�t have to work so hard. I can make it easier for you if you let me.� He knew she wouldn�t accept his offer but oh how he wished that she would.

�You have always been able to make everything easier just by having money, haven�t you?� She asked quietly, without judgment but with an edge of � was it pity he detected? �I�m fine, sure I am tired and the laundry is never done and the house is never clean for long but it is�.satisfying.� She smiled at him then, realizing that he would never quite understand.

�You just seem so down today, more tired than usual. You were off today so I will assume you overworked yourself at home.� He wasn�t great at the idle chitchat, especially when they were using it to dance around issues.

�No, not really, today it was more mental exhaustion than physical that has me down. We spent this afternoon with the Weasleys and Harry to celebrate Ron�s acceptance into the Master Auror academy in Romania.� She said, closing her eyes and sighing as the tension settled at the base of her skull.

�Celebrations are supposed to be fun and restful.� He said. �You don�t look rested and you don�t appear to have had much in the way of fun.�

�Got it in one.� She said. �My relationship with the Weasleys is complicated now. Ron and I�well, we tried, you know? He just couldn�t do it, couldn�t get over that Elias looked so much like you. I don�t hold it against him at all, he tried, he really did, his heart just wasn�t there. Unfortunately for me his mother DOES hold it against me. She never forgave me for betraying Ron.�

�I don�t understand, Elias calls her Nana and she cares for him and obviously loves him.� Lucius said, his brow furrowed as she explained the complications of her relationship with Molly.

�That is the beautiful thing about Molly. She can be harsh and judgmental at times and the woman can hold a grudge like nobody�s business, but when there is a child�a child who needs love and care, she can separate what she might feel for the parents and just give her love unconditionally to that child. She isn�t a bad person, she is just�protective.� Hermione was mucking up her explanation but him being so close to her was affecting her ability to think straight. �You know what, it�s nothing important, really.�

�I don�t believe that. Your friends, they said something to you that is bothering you.� Lucius observed, knowing he was right when her shoulders slumped forward and she sighed. �Tell me.�

�No one approves of my choice to allow you into our lives, to allow you to be a part of Elias�s life. Only Harry and Ginny support me, though they don�t understand. They try to keep it to themselves but little things show through that they don�t realize.� She rolled her shoulders and tried not to look at him.

�What little things?� He pressed, breathing in the sweet, citrus scent of her as inconspicuously as possible.

�Like calling you the �Seed Donor�, sneering when Elias talks about you, asking me what I was thinking allowing you to take Elias and I out all the time. They don�t mean to be that way, I know that, just as I know that they don�t want to hurt me�but it does.� She said quietly.

�It will take time for them to come around I suppose. But they will, they have no other choice in the matter. Like it or not I am Elias�s father and I am not going anywhere.� He leaned back on the sofa, mimicking her position and propping his feet on the coffee table. He folded his hands over his stomach and stared at their feet side by side. His were much larger and shod in shiny dragonhide loafers while her tiny feet were bare with soft pink color on her toenails and a tiny silver ring around one toe.

�I hope you are right. I don�t want them making Elias uncomfortable when we tell him. I don�t want him to ever feel like he has to choose.� Her voice trembled slightly, her stomach fluttering as if it caged a thousand butterflies.

�There are times when I think I will never overcome my past. It is almost like that blasted game earlier, I get close to that which I seek and then suddenly I find myself going backwards and starting over.� He shook his head and tried not to let that feeling of helplessness and defeat overcome him. People�s memories were long and they were loathe to give him a second chance. Perhaps some bridges couldn�t be rebuilt once they were burned.

�Lucius, are you telling me your life is like a game of Candyland?� Hermione asked, laughter edging her voice.

�I suppose so. My life has been one strategy after another that has been thwarted by one random draw of the cards. Though I have to admit, looking back, that I had it coming. I deserved everything I got.� He stared into the fire as the amusement that had lit his face momentarily drifted away.

�Why did you kiss me?� She asked suddenly in a soft, quiet tone that whispered over him like a caress. He swallowed hard and turned his head towards her. Her face was turned towards him, her head still resting on the back of the sofa. Golden firelight danced over her skin and reflected in her eyes. It was obvious by the nervous way she bit her bottom lip that she hadn�t meant to bring it up, but apparently it had weighed on her as heavily as it had on him.

�Because I could not stop myself.� He answered her honestly.

�It was just an impulse then? A way to silence me?� She felt her stomach drop and her throat thicken with emotion.

�It was an impulse, yes. I surely had not planned it but it was by no means meant to be a weapon or a muzzle. I am sorry if I offended you, Hermione, it was not my intention.� He said carefully, watching her reactions. Her eyes widened slightly and then she cast her gaze away from his.

�I wasn�t offended�I was surprised� but not offended.� She said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. �What does that mean?�

�What would you like for it to mean?� He dared not hope that she was giving him an opening to pursue a relationship with her. He still had misgivings about his attraction to her. She was so very young, half his age in fact. Should he become romantically involved with her it would cause an even bigger scandal than the news of Elias�s parentage. It would be ground that required careful treading, one misstep could ruin the foundation they had built and no matter what he would not have Elias hurt. It would be more than just a challenge. Was he up to it?

�I don�t know�I would pose to you the same question.� She felt his touch on her cheek encouraging her to lift her gaze to his.

�I confess an admiration for you, an attraction both physical and mental. I enjoy being here not just for Elias, but for your company as well.� His voice was low and the rough timber of it sent shivers down her spine.

�I-I am attracted to you t-too.� The constant somersaulting of her stomach was making her nauseated. Her hands trembled as her nerves raged out of control. Lucius reached out and took her hand in his, wrapping his long fingers around hers. He stroked his thumb over the top of her hand, wondering if he had ever felt anything as soft as her skin.

�Then we have a beginning.� He said softly.

�A beginning� we are�you and I?� She watched his fingers stroke over her hands and swore she could feel his touch all over her.

�Shhh� don�t talk it to death, Hermione. If we do we will talk ourselves out of it and I think�well, I think that would be a shame. Just let it happen.� He said softly, pulling her hand to his lips and pressing a soft kiss to the center of her palm and then to the throbbing pulse at her wrist.

�We have to be careful in front of Elias.� She actually whimpered as he continued to kiss her hand softly, pressing his lips to each knuckle.

�I don�t want to hurt our son, Hermione, but he will notice the change, you know he will.� He said against her skin.

�You make my head swim.� She said, her eyes smoky and her lids at half mast.

�Good.� He smirked, trailing a little further up her arm with his lips. �I should go before you change your mind on me.� He said with one last kiss to her hand. He stroked her cheek gently with the backs of his fingers touched by the way she pressed into his touch and closed her eyes. �I�ll be back tomorrow and everything will be different.�

�This is a good thing�right?�

�No, you will not talk yourself out of this. Both of us have our issues to overcome in order for this to work but you will not throw in before we have even begun.� He touched her lips gently with his fingertips and then stood. �Goodnight, Hermione.� He said before stepping to the fireplace and activating the floo. He was gone before she could say a word, returning to his home in a swirl of green.

�Did I just imagine that?� She said suddenly to herself. She closed her hand into a fist, trying to trap the lingering sensation of his lips on her skin. Surely she hadn�t just �started� something with Lucius Malfoy.

AN:Hi!!! So I am updating before work�which sucks cuz I don�t have the time to answer reviews�know that I read them, love hearing from you and when I can I try to answer them�but working and raising 3 kids alone leaves me busy as hell�Ill give you a few answers to questions asked by many�.Elias only gets more�.interesting as time goes by�.Draco will become adored by you all I am sure and Lucius is irresistible when hes vulnerable�at least for me�..ok�im off to make some money!!! Enjoy the update!

Christine-You�ll be shocked at how close you are�..=)

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Shadows Of The Past