Lucius\' Bookshelves

Chapter 11

Lucius sat down at the desk, barely glancing at the texts that were still lying open. Where had she gotten this idea that he was concerned with her bloodlines? It wasn’t like he was going to have children with her; he’d already had one child and that had been plenty. No. He actually enjoyed her company. And he enjoyed her body – and he had a feeling that he would be able to enjoy it even more over time. How could she have just walked out on him like that? When he had finally come to the realization that he wanted her here. Permanently.

Damn it. He was going to have to talk to her.

His glance fell idly on the desk. More Dark Arts texts. Actually some of the more useful ones, too. His great-grand father had had a particular interest in spell-casting, and had greatly increased the library’s holdings in that area. His eye caught a piece of paper tucked under one of the books. Curious, he unfolded it.


Ms. Granger,

While we can appreciate your interest in taking full stock of the Dark Arts texts housed in Malfoy Manor, it is important for us to show the public that work is being done in this area. We are having a public display of Dark Arts items next week, and we expect to have received additional items from you at that time.

E. Munch
Ministry of Magic

So that was why she was so focused on those books this morning. He was amazed. He couldn’t think of anyone in the family other than the original collectors who were so interested in seeing them preserved. Yes, it would be a loss if they were destroyed, but her desire to keep them safe was surprisingly strong. Especially for a Ministry of Magic employee.

And whad shd she asked him about? It was obviously somehow related to the books that she was so interested in. The effingorum spell? He flipped through the open book, and found the reference quickly. A Dark Aspelspell? Hermione? He smiled. Maybe the girl would be ready for the dungeons in the near future. He smiled wickedly, anticipating the fun they’d have.

Except that she’s written you off as a mistake that she’s not willing to repeat.

His mind flashed back to Hermione’s words. ‘Lowered his standards?’ Maybe once he would have considered it that, but that was a long time ago. A very long time ago - before he’d even left school. He had taken his father’s constant exhortations on the importance of blood to mean that all muggleborns were beneath him. And in the hierarchy of his world, they were. It was only later – much later, actually – that he learned that his father’s words meant only that it was necessary to breed a pureblooded heir.

Although it was a low blow on her part to suggest that she had lowered her standards. Simply because she was free to do as she pleased, and he was confined to the Manor didn’t mean that he was ‘lower’ – no. She was just trying to insult him.

He smirked. At least she knew him well enough to be able to actually insult him. And that showed some of the exciting spirit that he liked so well.

No. He had to go find her. He had to talk to her.

He checked her rooms first, but she wasn’t there. Nor was she in the pool, the dining room, the drawing room, or any of the other places he had expected to find her. Finally, he walked out to the greenhouse, thinking that she might have retreated to someplace that he hoped held happy memories for her.

A walk through the building showed that she wasn’t there, either. Damn her. Had she just apparated directly to the Ministry? He found that hard to believe. She had a clear distrust of the Ministry.

Of course, she didn’t seem to have a strong trust in him, either.

He walked out of the greenhouse and paused, pondering. It was then that he heard the distinct sound of smashing crockery coming from the far side of the building. A half-smile on his face, he rounded the corner. There was Hermione, wand in hand, casting blasting spells at three unfortunate vases positioned on an old tree stump. When the vases were shattered, she’d mutter a quick \'reparo\', and the three vases were back on the stump, to be smashed again.

Lucius couldn’t help but smile at the sight. There was something decidedly erotic about an angry woman unleashing her fury on hapless objects. Particularly this woman.

Although, he decided, he wasn’t entirely sure that he wanted to draw her attention to him while she still had her wand in her hand. He drew his own.

“Expelliarmus.”
mionmione wheeled around as her wand shot out of her hand. “What the hell are you doing?” She tried to grab for her wand, but Lucius’ voice halted her.

“Stop. And listen to me. I want to have a chat with you—“

“I have nothing to say to you.”

Damn her. “You will listen to what I have to say, if I have to put a full body bind on you to do it. If you wish to comment when I am done, you are more than welcome to. But, I. Will. Have. My. Say.” His voice was an exercise in controlled anger.

The stormy grey eyes left no opportunity for discussion. Wisely, Hermione nodded, keeping her mouth shut.

“First, I would prefer if you would continue referring to me as Lucius. ‘Mr. Malfoy’ makes me think that you are talking to my fa. . Secondly. Your notion that I do not want you around me could not be more incorrect. As is your notion that I somehow think less of you because of your heritage.”

Hermione started to open her mouth, but Lucius raised his hand in protest. He wanted to say everything, and this was most definitely the time to do it. “Not a word until I am done. True, I would not ask you to bear my children.” His lips curved briefly into a smile. “But that is not a fate I would wish on anyone. Nor can I offer you my name at this point.” Again the corners of his mouth twitched. “But it is not a name most people would desire anyway. Instead, I offer you everything else. Everything else, Hermione.”

Hermione gasped. He wasn’t serious, was he? Oh gods. He appeared to be very serious.

“My interests in you do not seem to be your most pressing concern, however, and we can address that another time. You seem to be more involved in finding a solution to the situation put forth to you by the Ministry today. I do know a few things about the use of the effingorum spell. I have not employed it much in my own work, but I think that it could be suited to your purposes.”

“There are two slight flaws with the spell, however. The first, of course, is that it is a Dark spell, and I am not sure that is an area into which you would like to delve.” Lucius smiled broadly now. “However, I have had some experience using Dark Arts,” Hermione stifled a snicker, “And would be happy to assist you in your endeavor. The other flaw with the spell, however, is that the duplicate object, while an exact copy in every way, is readily detectable by any number of Dark detectors.”

“But –“ Hermione stopped. Lucius hadn’t said he was finished yet, and while his eyes did not blaze with the furor that they had earlier, she wasn’t entirely certain that he had completely calmed down.

Lucius smiled. At least the girl had some sense of when to keep her mouth shut. “The only solution, of course, is to give the Ministry the originals.” He paused, and his face became questioning. “I have been meaning to ask, Hermione, why your strong desire to keep Dark Arts items safe? Particularly in light of recent events.”

“It’s exactly because of recent events that I think the materials need to be preserved. Certainly, having keepkeep them is not necessarily the ideal answer,” Lucius assumed a hurt look, and Hermione tried not to laugh, “But destroying them is a terrible idea. First, the whole idea of burning any sort of book is absolutely distasteful. But to destroy Dark Arts books because of the things they contain is absolutely foolhardy. I mean, how can anyone learn to counter the Dark Arts if they can’t study what they’re trying to stop? In a perfect world, the Ministry would keep the texts available to scholars. But since the Ministry isn’t willing to be responsible, the only solution is to keep them here.”

She paused as a thought occurred to her. “Will the duplicates be exactly the same as the originals?”

Lucius nodded. “100%. There will be no detectable differences. Other than that they are copies, of course – and that they have been created using Dark Magic. I imagine that you would prefer to keep the originals, but there is no other way that I am aware of that will keep both you and the Ministry happy.”

****

“Would you like me to cast the spells, or would you like to learn how to do it yourself?” Lucius looked at her expectantly.

Oh gods. Granger. Suck it up, and let Lucius do it. A few more stains on his soul won’t make a difference now. She shook her head. She couldn’t let him do it – it was her decision to keep copies of these texts, and the dark marks should be part of her spirit. “I’ll do it. If you’d teach me, please.”

Lucius’ eyes widened iceptceptibly. Gods. Did she have any idea how imminently desirable she was? “Very well,” a smile creeping onto his face.

****

It was only as Hermione was getting ready for bed that realized that she hadn’t had a chance to talk to Lucius about the other things that he had said to her earlier in the day, particularly with regard to what he said about his feelings for her. Lucius had been extremely helpful in duplicating the texts. And, somewhat to Hermione’s surprise the heavens didn’t open up and condemn her when she cast the spell repeatedly. By the time she had gotten enough books duplicated to send to the Ministry, it was late in the day. She had had a quick swim to clear her head, before dinner. Dinner itself was still formal, but the conversation focused on the texts, the Dark Arts in general, and somewhat surprisingly, Lucius’ interests in Muggle literature. The had had brandy in the library as usual, by Lucius kept the conversation t foc focused on the best years for brandy, and the crystal patterns he preferred.

In fact, the only reference that Lucius made at all to his words earlier in the day was a brief, “All I ask is that you think about what I said,” as she was leaving the library for her rooms.

She down on the edge of the bed. Despite the exhaustion from casting spells all afternoon, Hermione had a feeling that a Sleeping Draught was going to be in order. Lucius’ words had been running through her head all day, and she doubted that they would stop until she had reached a conclusion about what she was going to do.

She had been surprised by Lucioffeoffer of ‘everything but his name’. And completely uncertain as to how to react. True, he was intelligent, he was interesting, he definitely appealed to her, and he was decidedly exciting. But he was still Lucius Malfoy. And he had a lot of unpleasant history in his past. And that would be hard to live with. Not to mention, the reactions from other people would be unpleasant. Of course, that wasn’t much of an issue – she had never really worried about what other people thought. It was more a question of whether she could live with his past. That would be the hurdle to overcome. Still, she definitely enjoyed his company more than anyone she had been with in a very long time. And that was very important, she decided.

She sighed and swallowed the liquid from the vial. She’d have to think about this more tomorrow.

~~~~
A/N: Again, Lucius is out of character. But he sort of needs to be that way for the rest of the plot. However, there WILL be a dungeon scene. And while it will be all fun and games, it will be the Lucius that we expect in a dungeon. I\'m just doing a little, er, research at the moment for it! Again, thanks for the wonderful reviews - I am glad that you are enjoying it as much as I am.