Hidden Meanings

Disclaimer: Not mine, although Lucius does come to me occassionally.

A/N I know I have a few WIPs in the works, but I felt like a more comedic turn on one of my favourite couples. If you want wall to wall angst, I suggest you go elsewhere... also when I get an idea, I have to write it otherwise I go mad...

Prologue

Every glance he had given her had a hidden meaning. He first met her when he was shopping with his son, for his son’s second year books and robes, and they were in Flourish and Blotts. He had looked at her after she had said something impertinent. He could not stand impertinence at any age. He had also ended up in a fight with Weasley. Of all the degrading and shameful things he could have done, and he resorted to public brawling! He caught a look from the girl, a sort of disapproving frown. As if, even the Mudblood had expected something better from him.

Later that year the Basilisk had taken her, and he had to go to the school to try and get Bumbles out. He looked in at the Hospital Ward just to have a public display of care, even though he had not worried about them a bit. He smirked, he remembered when he saw a first year Gryffindor, and then the smile broadened when he rested his gaze on a second year Hufflepuff. A Ghost, and then a Ravenclaw and there – right at the end – was the girl that had the audacity to stand up to him in the shop. Potters pet Mudblood. He strode over to her and cocked his head to one side. Why did she affect him so? She was just a child.

Then a whole year or so passed before he laid eyes on her again. She was sitting in a rather privileged place for her sort; she was to get the best view of the World Cup Quidditch Match. He remembered he looked at her, and at first she hung her head in shame, and looked at her feet. He sighed, thankful that he hadn’t lost his touch. But then the child had to sit up straight and stare right back at him. She was going to show him that she wasn’t afraid.

He wanted to get her on his own, and kill her, before she got too much older. She was what? Fourteen? And she was already beginning to look slightly more interesting. He had no qualms about age, after all, he was still young looking and he supposed would not be too bad for a mistress.

He had almost succeeded, but she had taken to holding the youngest Weasley’s hand, and therefore his little plan didn’t work. He would get her soon, though, and when the little chit was on her own, what pleasure he would gain from her torture.


He was trying to think of ways where he could get her, and then there was all that fiasco at the Ministry of Magic, whereupon she should have been easy prey. All he had to do was corner her and Imperius her to do whatever he wanted. He did not care whether she was underage, her curves, and breasts belied that. She was near enough a woman. It was only the government that tagged the title minor to her.

He had almost had her, but she ran off in a completely different direction and he had become lost in the fracas, not only did he lose a chance to kill the girl, he had also lost the prophecy that would have destroyed her friend. And, now, he was in prison. He was just beginning to think of his wand as a real friend, when his cell door had opened.

“Malfoy?” The guard asked. “Your wife is here.”

Malfoy nodded curtly at the guard and he got up, he followed the guard. He walked into the visitor room, and there Narcissa stood.

“I have thought about things,” Narcissa said. “Draco is on the run, and I can’t remain married to a jailbird like you have become. Our Dark Master is not happy with us, and I fear that we have lost his pleasure.”

“Besides the fact that neither of us really loved the other,” Lucius sneered. Narcissa looked around.

“I did love you once, Lucius, and I still care about you in some ways, but our marriage bed is ice cold.”

“Where are they?” Lucius sighed. Narcissa produced the marriage contract and Lucius blasted his name from the contract. “Now I suppose you are going to run off with Severus like you always wanted.”

“I don’t love Severus, either,” Narcissa said. “I have always been in love with my renegade cousin, Sirius.”

Lucius narrowed his eyes and then looked at his ex-wife.

“Draco was his wasn’t he?” Lucius asked. Narcissa nodded. Lucius snarled at her. “Bitch!”

Narcissa didn’t even shed a tear, as she walked past Lucius and before she reached the door, Lucius slapped her across the face.

“Sorry,” Lucius said, “I usually don’t hit women, but I see a dog instead.”

Narcissa ran from the room in floods. Lucius was led back to his prison cell, wondering what the future would hold for him.

~*~*~

Hermione was thinking of all the times she had met Lucius Malfoy, and thought of all the looks he had given her. Looks that seemed to degrade her, but she had always met him look for look, and she smirked at the thought that he was now behind bars. She picked up a book and was just about to sit down when Ginny burst into her bedroom at Grimmauld Place.

“Have you heard the latest gossip?” she asked. “Apparently Mr and Mrs Malfoy are divorced and the Daily Prophet has reported allegations that Draco wasn’t even a Malfoy but a pure blood Black!”

“But that would mean?” Hermione asked. Ginny nodded.

“Isn’t it just too weird?” she asked.

“Poor Mr Malfoy,” Hermione murmured.

“What? Since when have you sympathised with a Slytherin?”

“It seems his whole world, his whole life, has been nothing but a sham.”

Ginny nibbled her lower lip and looked closely at the other girl.

“Dad’s got to go to Azkaban tomorrow, he said he wants to take you with him. He thinks it might toughen you up a bit, Hermione.”

Hermione nodded.

~*~*~

“Malfoy!” The guard exclaimed. “My your popular aren’t you. A girl wants to see you. She seems nice, so watch it!”

A girl? Lucius thought, as he dragged himself off the floor, and walked out of the cell door like before. He had lost his long silken locks, and he had grown a beard in here. He looked nothing like the Lucius that went in here.

The guard opened the door to the visitor’s room. There that thing stood, the one that had haunted his dreams since he first met her. The one that he knew would grow up to be a temptation to him, and here she was, standing in the cool visitors room with lacy summery clothes on, that he could almost see through. Oh, he’ll be nice all right. Especially if she asked for him dressed like this.

“H-how are you?” she stammered.

“Why did you ask to see me?” Lucius asked, with genuine curiosity.

“I heard yesterday that you are divorced and that Draco wasn’t your son, so I wondered how you were?”

“Still alive, Miss Granger,” he leered. He sat back, and Hermione gasped at the inhumane conditions that they had him under.

“What do they do to prisoners here?” she asked, her milk chocolate eyes softened in real concern.

“Aren’t Muggle Prisons like this?” Malfoy asked.

“They were over a hundred years ago,” Hermione said. “But they have improved since, they allow for basic hygiene, and -!” Hermione walked up to him, and she took her wand out.

“What are you doing?” Lucius asked, as he eyed her wand warily.

“Cleaning you up a bit! You’re a Malfoy, you can’t be seen looking like that.”

“Seen? Miss Granger, we happen to be in a Prison. No one see’s me, apart from the odd guard or two.”

“Your coming out with me,” Hermione said.

Lucius faltered. After all he had done, and had wanted to do to this girl, she was actually going to help him out, why? What was she after?

“I fail to understand why you are helping me. Does Potter know you are doing this?”

“No one does,” Hermione said. “Mr Weasley is here, and so…!”

Lucius was frustrated, sexually. Two years of not using his manhood had made him switch on at the mere thought of a woman. And here he had one. Before Hermione knew what was happening to her, he had slammed her against the wall. His dirty, sweaty mouth clamped on hers, and Hermione, although repulsed by the other smells that surrounded him was liking it.

She entwined her fingers in his matted blonde hair, almost dread locked for not being combed and washed. His long unkempt beard tickled her mouth as their tongues danced with each other. His hot hands were clamping themselves onto her breasts. No, he thought, definitely not a child anymore.

“I have been wanting to do that for a few years now,” he murmured hungrily.

Hermione felt her knees buckle beneath her. And then he let her go, and she looked into his shining blue eyes.

“Well then lets get started,” she said. “I am only going to do this if you promise to do something for me.”

“That is?” Lucius asked.

“Work with the Order, you must have known the Diary was a Horcrux, and I believe you to know the others. Where has serving The Dark Lord got you?”

“I will only help you if you help me,” Lucius said.

Hermione was busy soothing down her floral print dress to notice the gleam of mischievousness in his blue/grey eyes.

“How can I help you other than give you your freedom?”

“I am a Malfoy as you say, and it seems I am without heir, and wife, you are young, unattached, and as you so rightly pointed out, in need of my help?” Hermione glared up at him. She was prepared to care for him, perhaps get him used to being out of prison life, but this was ridiculous. She could not agree to marry Lucius Malfoy. He saw the look of fear and doubt in her eyes, and he smiled. “Don’t worry, Hermione… it is Hermione isn’t it?” Hermione nodded dumbly. “It will be a marriage of convenience, as long as there is at least news of a son within the next say, six months, then I promise to help you as much as is within my power.”

Hermione gulped down her doubt, and then she backed away slightly from his leering, hungry gaze.

“Six months?” she asked, “six months!”

“That’s plenty of time to get pregnant,” Lucius said, as he narrowed his eyes. Her kiss had quenched his thirst for a little bit. Hermione sighed, and then she looked down on the floor, and then she looked up.

“I suppose that’s fair,” she said. “Something you want for something I want.”

Lucius smirked inwardly. Who would have thought that the insufferable chit would have been his saviour? Even he had not expected this to happen. He looked at the young woman. He walked up to her, and then tilted her chin up.

“As Hermione Malfoy, you are going to have something done to your hair, but other than that you are tolerable.”

“Unless you haven’t noticed, Malfoy, yours isn’t exactly a picnic at the moment,” she retorted.

Lucius folded his arms across his chest, and rolled his tongue around inside his mouth. He gazed at her anew.

“How are you going to explain my absence?”

Hermione brought out a vial of Polyjuice Potion, and slipped in some of Arthur Weasleys hair.

“How do you think?” she asked. “I won’t! Let the Ministry stew in their own juices.”

Lucius was laughing silently. What a treasure she was! Not yet a qualified witch and was already annoyed with the Ministry.

“What of the Order?” he drawled.

“You’ll have to be my dirty little secret,” Hermione said. “Look, do you want to escape or not? The finer points of my plan can be discussed when we get back to your Mansion.”
Lucius chuckled, and then he took down the Polyjuice Potion, and shuddered with the disgusting after taste that lingered in his mouth. Hermione watched him turn into Arthur and she offered her arm to him. He took it. She threaded his arm through a loop in hers.

“Finished have you sir? Ma’am?”

“Yes,” Hermione said. “Now row us across to the mainland, and then we will be on our way.”

“Can’t wait until they bring the hanging back. I want to be the one to strangle Malfoy.”

“Why?” Hermione asked. She held onto the boatman’s hand, as he let her in the boat. Lucius held her other hand. She was startled at the jolt of electricity that was in his touch.

“Because he’s a blonde prat, that’s why!”

Hermione gave Lucius a warning look, and then they both settled in the boat. Once they were ashore, Hermione thanked the boatman, and they walked a little further away, and then Lucius clamped her to his body.

“When we’re back in my Mansion you’ll have to go back to Order HQ. I will tell you how to break my wards.”

Hermione nodded.

“Lucius,” she breathed. “You will stick to your side of the bargain, won’t you?”

“As long as you stick to yours my dear,” Lucius said. They apparated to his Mansion and Hermione gasped at the understated grandeur of the place. “Like it?” Lucius asked.

“It’s beautiful,” she said.

~*~*~

The next day Hermione was eating breakfast at Grimmauld Place and kept her head down low, as Harry was shaking with violent rage next to her…

“Those bloody Azkaban guards!” He exclaimed.

“What’s the matter now,” Ginny asked.

“Malfoy’s escaped,” he said. Hermione kept her head down and shovelled her porridge in her mouth.

“WHAT!” Harry exclaimed.

“How?” Remus asked.

“They don’t know, Hermione you were there did you notice anything?”

Hermione clattered her spoon in the bowl.

“No,” she said. “No, it must have been after I left.”

“You left before me Hermione,” Arthur said. “Why?”

“I couldn’t stand the stench,” she replied. “Oh well, another convicted Death Eater on the loose again. It seems to be our lot in life,” she joked.

She had to tell Lucius to be extremely careful. She felt awful having to lie to her friends, but at the moment it was a necessary evil.

A/N So please, what d'ya think???? I'll try and not let the plot bunnies take over this one.