Family Business

Chapter Twelve

Samantha Hooch sat by Lucius\' bed caressing his hand. He looked so fragile. His face was white but at least he slept peacefully. The doctor said, he was going to make it but Samantha was still worried that he would never hold her or kiss her or console he that she would never be able to tell him how much he meant to her and to cook him his favourite meal.

Life was indeed strange. She would never believe had she been told that one dshe she will be friends, more than friends with Lucius Malfoy, a pureblood and ex-Death Eater. She, of all people, Samantha Hooch, a mudblood. She closed her eyes and lay her cheek on his hand. \'Poor Hermione\' - she thought - they were so blissfully happy.\' She arrived at the hospital to witness the slap Hermione gave him. She followed Hermione outside where the young woman poured her heart to her. Samantha could not believe that her Lucius\' son could think up such lies about Hermione.

She kissed Lucius\' hand and fell asleep.

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She woke up feeling Lucius stir. She lifted her head to see what happened. Her eyes met those of Lucius.

\"Oh, Lucius, you cannot imagine how happy I am to have you back.\" She exclaimed.

\"Sammie, I\'m fine. You can\'t get rid of a Malfoy that easy.\"

She laughed: \"I wasn\'t trying.\"

\"Sammie, I love you.\"

\"I love you too, Lucius. When Hermione told me you a h a heart attack, I was so worried. And then I had to wait until your son was gone.\"

\"I am so sorry. I should have told him a long time ago. You know, about us.\"

\"We both know that it wasn\'t so easy.\"

\"But now I realise that life is too short to wait.\"

\"I wish your son would know it.\" Responded she.

\"What do you mean?\"

\"Hermione and Draco had a fight.\"

\"It\'s just a lovers\' quarrel.\" Lucius dismissed her statement.

\"I think not. Draco seems to think that Hermione is your mistress.\"

\"What?!\"

\"Calm down. He saw things that weren\'t there and he jumped to wrong conclusions.\"

\"I need to talk to him.\"

\"Do you think he will listen. He\'s already tried and sentenced her.\"

\"So what am I to do? Sammie, I hope you know I would never touch Hermione.\"

\"I know Lucius.\"

\"What are we to do then?\"

\"I thought I could write him a letter telling him the truth.\" Said she.

\"Do you think it will change anything?\"

\"No, but at least, he\'ll hear it from a third party.\"

She got up and went to desk in the corner of his room. She took out a piece of paper and began writing.


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Draco opened the letter and started reading. It said:

Mr Malfoy,

My name is Samantha Hooch and I will be straightforward here and say that I don\'t care if I am hurting your feelings with this letter. Personally I wish you would suffer after reading it as much as my niece suffered after the conversation with you in the hospital but I know Hermione would not forgive me that.

\"I don\'t have to read it. I\'ve been treated bad enough. She is to forgive? It\'s some pathetic joke.\" Malfoy placed the letter on the desk and tried to proceed with the rest of his mail but it was in vain. He had to return to the letter. \"Why do I pain myself?\" asked he aloud and restarted reading:

Hermione knows nothing about this letter.

\"Of course, the lovers spend their timeh beh better.\" Said he sarcastically but read on:

However I think that you should know the truth for its own sake if for nothing else.

\"Truth - it\'s the most overused term in the English language.\" He read on:

Let me start from the beginning. Last night at the hospital, you accused Hermione of having an affair with your father basing it on a) her salary and job in Malfoy Wiz. Inc.; b) the phone call; c) the Gucci dress she wore at the concert; d) the keys; e) supposed tete-a-tete in the lift, if I may put it this way. Let me inform you then that Hermione isn\'t and never was your \"father\'s bitch\", if I may quote you.

\"And what else? The facts speak for themselves.\" Commented he.

She received the job at Malfoy Wiz. Inc. because your father, who is my next door neighbour offered it to her when she decided…

\"My father is a next door neighbour to Mrs Hooch? How come?\"

…she decided to study in London and live with me. Due to the fact that your father and myself share the love for gardening and often work together in the garden of Atrium Building, Lucius often visited us. The night you called to invite Hermione to the concert, she was expecting a phone call from your father as she promised to look up some Latin flower names in the library. I keep wondering how a sensible man could be so distrustful towards the person he had… or maybe he hadn\'t any feeling for.

\"How dare she?\" was his reaction.

You seem to think that Gucci dresses are reserved to people who earn more than 20,000 pounds a month. Maybe, you are right. The dress was my birthday present for Hermione as will one day be the house in which I live, now. When Hermione forgot to take the keys and I had to leave I asked your father to give them to her. I don\'t know what you heard or thought but this is how it was. Hermione was devastated after you treated her so harshly and coldly that day. We talked a lot that evening and she said she had to talk to you, to find out what happened, at once. We had no idea where you were, so I called Lucius and he offered he could take Hermione to your penthouse in Malfoy Building… The rest you know. If you wanted to cause Hermione pain or hurt her deeply then you succeeded and although I cannot understand why, she can justify your behaviour towards her. I\'ve known Hermione for a long time and I know she must care a lot to be able to forgive.

Samantha Hooch

Malfoy closed his eyes to stop the tears. It was no use, though. The tears were rolling down his cheeks.