Not All that Glitters is Gold

A/N: Sorry for the slow update. The muse decided to die over my trip to Washington, D.C. and I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do with this story as all my notes were deleted when I was cleaning out my documents and essays =(

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Lucius' idiot son was adamant that the Granger girl was head over heels in love with him. He must have gotten his stupidity from his mother's side. Only he knew better. The girl was intelligent and crafty. Surely she knew exactly what buttons to push when it came to his son, but did she push Lucius' buttons without him knowing it? He discovered that answer at this moment. The moment where he was dueling his son, his only child and heir, for the life of a mudblood bed slave. Ridiculous as it might have been on the outside, inside was far from ridiculous.

He wanted her, needed her. The times he spend with the girl were the most satisfied moments of his life with Draco's mother. Despite her young age, she was his equal in almost every way. Of course, with the exception of her tainted blood. Perhaps he would be able to change things, when it came to her. After all, he was loyal to the Dark Lord and had helped take down Hogwarts as if it were nothing but a cardboard cut out.

Right now, however, he couldn't think about the future. He had to think about the present. What he was doing right now. The girl stood, rooted, in her spot with wide eyes. She looked completely shocked and terrified all rolled into one neat little package. Maybe her plans of turning him against his son had gone astray but what did he know at this point. He was an old fool in love with a worthless creature.

Draco's words coursed through his veins, causing Lucius to growl at him. "You are a spoiled nothing, Draco. Think about your actions!"

He moved to cast a shielding spell around him as Draco threw a dangerous spell at him.

"I am thinking about my actions, father." Draco seethed, "I'm thinking for myself for the first time in years."

Lucius narrowed his eyes and threw his wand in an unpredictable direction, firing a curse straight at Hermione. Having finally returned to reality, the girl tried to move but was hit dead on by the curse. Her bones could be heard being broken into pieces as her screams filled the silent air. Draco's eyes widened and he shot across the room, throwing a protective spell over them.

He had to admit that his son was rather spry as he caught Hermione in his arms. Lucius tilted his head back as he lowered his own wand and watched curdled blood draw from the corners of her mouth. Draco's wand lay forgotten beside them as he parted her hair, begging her to remain alive.

Of course she would. His spell was only minor in that it broke the non-important bones. A little bit of blood was nothing compared to a lifetime of torture. Lucius bent down and picked up Draco's wand, pointing his own at his son. Draco managed to look up from Hermione, tears filling his eyes.

"You fucking bastard!" He shouted, nearly throwing himself at Lucius. His fists balled up into angry wrecking balls. Lucius grabbed onto Draco's throat and threw him across the room, growling under his breath.

"Look! Look at what you have become! A snivelling child crying over a broken toy," Lucius breathed into Draco's ear.

"If she dies, father, I'll...I'll."

His threats were useless of course. Lucius would survive. He was that type of person. Draco, on the other hand, was still weak. He relied on his emotions and bottled them up. It was easy for the girl to get under his skin, make him oblivious to his actions. Lucius himself knew that even he was starting to doubt his own reactions after they happened, but unlike Draco he attempted to fight them.

"She won't die," Lucius spoke calmly, letting Draco go. "She's just in immense pain."

He watched Draco streak across the room to Hermione, who lay half unconscious. Her eyes were glazed over with pain and tears ran down her soft skin. Draco tried to lift her but she would choke out gasps of "No." Draco was beginning to panic. Lucius saw this in his frantic movements, trying to find the best way to handle the situation. To handle the girl.

Rolling his eyes, Lucius grabbed Draco by the scruff of his neck and pulled him back. "Floo Snape. Tell him to meet us in my quarters."

Draco narrowed his eyes at Lucius as he bent down and gingerly picked Hermione up. She rolled limply against his form, her head resting on his chest lightly.

"No, she's staying here." Draco demanded, moving to block the entry way.

Lucius raised his eyebrow and looked down at Hermione, "If you want her to be healed, then I suggest you listen to your father...for once. Now floo Snape."

Draco took one last glance at Hermione and disappeared down the stairs. Lucius brought his icy blue eyes down to Hermione, who was staring up at him. After making it to his quarters, he smirked and leaned down, kissing her forehead. "I warned you about getting on my bad side. You may fool my son, but you do not fool me."

She brought her hand up, struggling of course, and tugged on his collar. Lucius leaned down as she parted her lips as if she were going to speak. Instead, Lucius was greeted with a wad of bloody spit colliding with his eye. He hesitated for a moment before dropping her onto the bed without care. Hermione cried out in pain as her body settled against the soft mattress.

"My, my. Aren't we feisty. I'm assuming things didn't pan out correctly for you, did it?" He asked, wiping his face with a handkerchief before folding it close and tucking it into his pocket.

She didn't look at him, but rolled her head painstakingly slow to the side. He was right and he knew it, but Hermione was also right in one way. He was battling it out with his son for her. Little did she knew, he was going to win.Lucius Malfoy never lost.