Hidden Meanings

Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine but Jo's, lucky woman!

Gaps of Misery: Yes, are you sure about the Plot Bunnies? I loved writing that scene where he was worried about what to wear for his wedding.

mary: Thank you, yes, well that is answered now.

Inspire: Are you sure about that? I double checked on the Word document, and on here, and both said Julius... glad you like the story. I did however notice an indescrepancy... at the Prologue I had Ron being alive, I've corrected that particular mistake.

JW: It'll be a while, I am trying to finish all my other started projects, and this one is turning out to be longer than I thought it would be.

BuckyKattGirl: Thank you, and yes I suppose it might be, but I imagine that he does cry now and then, I refuse to believe Lucius is a complete monster.

Citten: Here it is.

Dee Dee: Here is the answer to how Lupin deals with it... see if you can spot the Plot Bunny.

An Old Wound Returns

Lucius and Hermione sat on the sofa just looking at each other. Harry looked at them and studied their faces properly; the love that was shining in each others eyes made Harry uncomfortable and he wanted to get out of the room, but was scared in case they started doing something more with their hands other than hold them.

He looked at the door, waiting, and praying someone else would walk into the room. He shifted in his seat and tried to look at anywhere else in the room other than the couple sitting in front of him. He did not want to open his mouth in case he said something that would get either of their hackles up. He drummed his fingers on the arm of the sofa, and then he uncrossed his legs. He got up and began pacing around the room.

“So, go on then, when did you actually realise you liked Hermione, Malfoy?” Harry asked. The silence was beginning to give him a headache.

“It started from the moment I met her,” Harry’s eyes hardened. Lucius ignored the indignation. “Don’t be like that, Potter, even I was disgusted with myself. But then I saw her at the Quidditch World Cup; sitting with you and I wanted to scare her, but she matched me look for look. I was impressed. I knew in that moment that if I didn’t kill her, she’d grow up to be a temptation to me. When I saw that she followed you into the trap HE set up I was angry, for I knew then that I had to kill her. And was going to, but was stopped, the fracas confused me; and she ran off in another; completely different direction. Then in Azkaban for the last few months my thoughts wondered over to her, and just when I thought I lost everything, she came to visit me, and she restored all what I lost. I realise now that if I had succeeded, I probably would have committed suicide. Hermione saved me, Potter.”

Hermione had snuggled further into her husbands embrace. She looked at Lucius; and she leant up to kiss him on the cheek.

“He saved me too, Harry. I was miserable here, moping over Ron. I kind of sensed that Lucius was my ticket for revenge, and if I got some fun out of it, too, so what! But I didn’t count on actually being attracted to him myself. I guess deep down inside, Harry, I was meant to be with a Slytherin. The Sorting Hat has been going on for years about getting on together, and to bury our hatred and to unite. Perhaps this is our chance. Perhaps this is meant to happen.” Harry was chewing the inside of his cheek. He blinked a little and decided to just sit down. Then Hermione said something that made him topple out of his seat and land on the floor with a sharp thud. “I guess deep down inside I always fancied Lucius.”

“WHAT?” both Harry and Lucius said together.

Hermione giggled and plaited his hair around her fingers. She smiled, which showed off her dimples remarkably, Lucius loved those dimples. He kissed them a lot when she smiled, and he couldn’t resist now. That just made her sigh.

“It’s true, Harry. Do you think I would have let him escape if I didn’t have any feelings in me for him?”

Lucius looked at his beautiful, brave wife, and he kicked himself. Why did he listen to his bloody parents? He should have married Molly, and had been happy but poor ALL his life. Draco would still have been born though, Narcissa would have made sure of that.

“I just don’t understand about the Draco thing?” Harry asked.

“It’s perfectly simple, Potter, my er – wife, had sex with your godfather, and Draco was the end result.”

“Why didn’t Sirius say anything?” Harry asked with a regretful sigh.

“Maybe because he didn’t know, Harry,” Hermione said. “I am sure if he had of known then he would have been different.”

“Oh well, the jokes on Snape, he wanted revenge on Sirius, and he’s been showing favouritism to his son!”

“Actually,” Lucius drawled, “Severus knew the truth before I did.”

“Meaning?” Harry asked.

“Meaning, Potter, that he doesn’t find the fact that Draco is Blacks son all that repulsive.”

Harry looked at Lucius and bit the inside of his cheek and scowled on the floor. He was hoping to have heard that Snape howled with rage at the news.

“Severus is our friend, Harry, and I won’t hear a bad word said against him.”

“Yes, Hermione,” Harry mumbled.

Harry got up and made a minute study on a spot on the mantelpiece. He looked at the spot very studiously. Hermione wished Harry would just accept the situation with grace.

~*~*~

Remus was stroking Hermione’s face on the photograph. He just couldn’t get enough; looking at her smile, and how often he remembered that smile. He couldn’t get enough of her. He was addicted to her, and he felt something happen in his trousers. He looked down. GREAT! He did not want that to happen, but her soft voice in his ears was all what he needed to hear.

“It hasn’t changed much,” a female voice said from behind him, he got up and brought his wand out. He stood face to face with Narcissa Malfoy.

“What are you doing here?” he growled.

“I came back home, that is all, oh put that thing down, Remus.”

He had dropped the photograph of Hermione on the floor, and she picked it up.

“Don’t you dare touch that!” Remus snarled, as he snatched it out of her hand. “Where have you been?”

“I was trying to stay with my sister, but she threw me out after I couldn’t hold myself for much longer, I confessed everything to her, Remus. She wasn’t happy. In fact she called me a blood traitor. Tell me, how much purer can you get!”

Remus was confused by this sudden intrusion. She looked so fragile, and weak. He knew a little of his friends secret liaisons with his cousin. Sirius didn’t tell anyone else.

“Look, I knew about you and Sirius,” Remus said. Narcissa just burst into tears. Remus didn’t like Narcissa very much but he was a gentleman. He didn’t like seeing a woman cry, it sounded like Bellatrix hadn’t treated her very nice.

Remus looked at her, and he opened his arms out. He drew her into his embrace and soothed her silky blonde hair. She clung onto his lapels, and let her tears fall.

“I didn’t love Lucius, Remus, I hated him! Hated him with a passion akin to love! I hated every breath in his body! I hated the way he used to torture Muggles, and then I hated it when he started obsessing about Miss Granger! The girl might be a muggleborn, but even she didn’t deserve my leach of a husband to drool over the very mention of her name! I hate HIM! I HATE HIM!”

Remus held her close to his body. She let go and then she stepped away and she took the photo out of his hand, again and looked at the photograph.

“That’s the girl you mentioned,” Remus said. “Or young woman now, that was taken six months ago.”

“She’s pretty,” Narcissa said. “I can see you like her very much. You are more like the man for her.”

Remus smiled nicely, as some of his brown hair flopped over his brow. He grinned impishly. She handed him the photograph back.

“Yes well, I thought so too, but she’s married.”

Narcissa looked into Remus brown eyes and wiped the fringe away, so that she could delve deeper.

“I truly have grieved for my niece’s and sisters deaths,” Narcissa said. “I did love Andromeda.”

“Look, Narcissa, you had better sit down,” Remus said in a kind voice. She sat down and looked up at the Werewolf. She wanted to see him. She was glad she had run into him before the Potter boy.

“Why?”

“Well, judging by what you’ve been saying you obviously don’t know what has been going on the past two months.”

“I have blocked the world out for the past couple of months I must admit,” she replied.

“I wish I was the one that didn’t have to say this, and with not much preparation. But you remember my telling you that Hermione is married.”

Narcissa nodded. “Someone as pretty as her, I am not surprised someone snapped her up.”

“That someone is – well – Narcissa, Hermione is married to – er, Lucius.”

Narcissa’s blue eyes turned cold and ice like, the centre turned to an icy sparkle.

“How did that pig manage to get her from Azkaban?” she asked.

“She went with Arthur the day after your divorce, and she arranged his escape. He offered his services to the Order if she started showing signs of having his baby within six months. They have been married for two months, and she is pregnant.”

Narcissa flew off the chair and stormed up to the nearest window and stared out at the landscape.

“Is the girl bloody naïve?” Narcissa fumed. “What could possibly have put the idea in her head to do such a thing?”

“Ron, her fiancé was killed by Lord Voldemort. She wanted to exact revenge, I guess she thought that the only way she could was try to seduce Lucius to the Light, and offer him a chance to get the one thing someone like him needs…”

“An heir,” Narcissa sighed. “I used to put contraceptive charms on me everyday to make sure I didn’t have any of his children. Now it seems one of the sweetest girls has decided she can change my monster of a husband.”

“I hate him almost as much as you, Narcissa. I am surprised, though, that you’re not the slightest bit indignant about the fact that you’re ex husband married so soon after his divorce.”

“Our marriage was a farce,” Narcissa said. “I am pleased to have been rid of him. It’s that girl I feel sorry for. Why the bloody hell should she go for that flobberworm when she could have had you?”

“She didn’t love me, in that way. I wished she would though, I love her very much.”

Narcissa walked up to Remus and stroked his cheek. “I was led to believe she was the brightest witch of her age, she can’t be that bright to have not given you a chance.”

Remus sniffed the air around her. Her scent was feminine, and flowery. He looked down into her blue eyes. Her lips were slightly parted, and Remus had not had a woman for a while. He leant down further, at the sound of the door being opened, they sprung apart, their guilty manner would be immediately apparent to the intruders.

“Lucius, stop it okay!” It was Hermione. Narcissa arched an eyebrow up. She’d have a stern talk with the young woman. Her eyes hardened when she heard Lucius voice.

“Oh come on, you like being tickled.”

“Get off, Lucius, haven’t you had enough sex the past two months?”

“Before you saved me, I had not had two years of sex, well, four. My ex wife used to lock me out of the room.”

Narcissa walked up to the door, and pressed her body against the wall, so that when the door opened no one would notice her. Hermione opened the door, and looked up. She was eye to eye with Remus. Lucius came after, and he locked gaze with the Werewolf. He wrapped his arms possessively around her waist.

“Look, Malfoy, I am enough of a gentleman to know when I’ve lost. God knows I’ve done it often enough in life. You also helped me lose my chance to EVER get a job, and now you’ve made me lose my second chance of happiness.” Hermione lowered her eyes. She felt uncomfortable. “What I want to know is, why?”

“We’ve already been through this, Lupin, I love her, and that’s final.”

“Look, Remus, I didn’t mean for this to happen. It just did. I felt sorry for him when I found out that in one fell swoop he lost his wife, and child.”

“And what about me, Hermione? I lost someone I loved, too. I’ve been losing people I loved all my life! Why him?”

“Remus, you’re a wonderful friend, but I can’t ever get the fact that you were a professor out of my head. You were almost like an Uncle to me. It would have been sort of incestual and weird for me to be with you.”

“But -!”

“Remus,” Hermione sighed. “I’m happy, all right. We’ve been through this before, remember! There are other women out there.”

Lucius let her go. He was no longer concerned, the Werewolf was to noble to touch another mans wife. And Lupin also knew that Hermione would protect those she loved, and she loved him. He smirked with this thought.

“She’s right, you know. There are plenty of women out there.”

Hermione looked at Lucius and shook her head. When would he learn to keep his mouth shut? She knew how to deal with her friends. Suddenly they heard a sarcastic clapping.

“Bravo, Lucius, jolly well done!”

Lucius swung around, and faced his ex wife. Hermione opened her jaw in astonishment. She looked Narcissa up and down, and suddenly felt ugly. Narcissa was beautiful. She had met her briefly before, but her attention was on Lucius at the time.

“Narcissa,” Lucius said coldly. “And just what brings you here? Have you come to mourn over the death of your lover?”

“I have actually been spending the last two months with my sister, but she threw me out as soon as I told her the truth.”

“You expected Bellatrix to be happy for you?” Lucius sneered.

“Has he been nice to you, dear?” Narcissa asked, her voice dripping with syrupy irony. “I bet he has! Lucy has always held a candle for you, you know. So did Draco, in his own way. I’d have loved to have told my son the truth, and then maybe he would have followed his heart. Draco would have treated you with respect.”

“Lucius does,” Hermione whispered.

“Does he indeed?” Narcissa asked, her eye cocked meaningfully in Lucius direction. “Well, that’s different to the Lucius I knew. The Lucius I knew used to like to give his women pain. Yes, dear, WOMEN. Do you think he’s going to remain loyal to you, darling child? Once your belly’s swollen with child you won’t see hide or hair of him.”

“I have every intention to remain loyal to her, Narcissa. And for your information I happen to find a pregnant woman more beautiful than when she isn’t. I am looking forward to seeing this happen with Hermione. She’s pretty now, but she’ll be beautiful with child.”

“And how many nights has he swaggered in drunk, dear?”

“None, so far.”

“Hmm,” Narcissa said, as she began stalking up to the pair. She looked at Lucius directly in the eye. She then turned her attention towards Hermione. She walked close up to her and tilted her chin up and gave her a close inspection. “So pretty, and so young. Perhaps he might stay loyal to you, after all, by the time you start showing signs of age, and he’ll be too old himself.”

“Let go off her, Narcissa,” Lucius snarled.

“Oh aren’t we the jealous one, what are you afraid the little girl will do? I have enough dirty secrets to dish up on you. She probably hasn’t seen what you are truly capable of.”

“Look!” Hermione exclaimed. Narcissa blinked, she turned to face her. “If you want to slag him off, fine, but do so without my hearing it. I already know that you’re marriage was less than perfect. But you divorced him, not the other way round. YOU left him prison, not the other way round. YOU told him that his son wasn’t his. How would YOU have felt if he did all that to you?”

Narcissa smiled like a cat that had the cream. She walked around Hermione keeping her eyes on the younger woman.

“Loyal isn’t she,” she said in a sweet voice. “No wonder you’re attracted to her. He’s got you right where he wants you, dear. He has got you wrapped around his dirty little finger.”

“Leave her alone,” Lucius said. “You may not believe this, Narcissa, but I truly love Hermione. She’s not the sort I want to betray.”

“But I was,” Narcissa said dully.

“Well, you weren’t exactly loyal to me either,” Lucius snarled. “And how is Blacks bastard?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen him for a while. AND he is not a bastard!” Narcissa looked down at Hermione’s belly. She laid her hand on the womb. Her eyes lit up. “I truly pity this child of yours, dear. You have no idea what kind of a terror he is to children.”

“Hermione and I are happy to have this child, and Severus will help us.”

“Oh, so Severus is still your loyal little lapdog is he?”

“Not entirely, he has tried to be with Hermione,” Lucius said.

“Oh good,” Narcissa said. “I wonder when it will be before she can no longer resist him.”

“Ms Black,” Hermione said. “I love Lucius, and it is my every intention to remain loyal to him.”

“Really, I know Severus, once he starts hankering after a girl he never stops.”

“All right Narcissa, you have had your say,” Lucius said coldly. “Come on, Hermione, it’s time to go.”

“You haven’t given us any information!” Remus exclaimed.

“About the only information that anybody has asked of me, is ‘How can she love me?’ and all I have done today is try to justify myself. I am not going to stay here a moment longer. Come, Hermione.”

“Yes, dear, go. Lucius gets tetchy when you don’t start following him like a loyal puppy,” Narcissa said in that irritating sweet tone of hers.

“Narcissa,” Lucius growled, “if you don’t stop I won’t be held responsible for my actions.”

“OH STOP IT YOU TWO! YOU’RE BOTH ACTING LIKE CHILDREN!” Hermione yelled. They both turned to look at her. “It’s obvious you two don’t get on. It’s obvious that you both have grievances and it’s clear that you hate each other. But please, you divorced him Narcissa, and you probably hurt her Lucius. NOW, Lucius take me home. You’re right, you haven’t done much but try and justify yourself.”

Lucius saw that she was tired again. He walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“If, Narcissa you cause her pain, I will hurt you again,” he whispered as he walked past his ex-wife.

He steadied his wife and set her in the fireplace. He took the floo offered to him by the Werewolf and then floo’d back to the Mansion.

“I’m sorry, Lucius, you were right. They are never going to accept you,” Hermione said, as she flopped wearily onto her seat in front of the fire.

“Oh don’t give up too easily. They are all expecting us to crumble. But we won’t, we’ll show them. We’ll show the whole damn world if we have to… I love a muggleborn, and I am proud of it. And I will show that Order, that I, Lucius Malfoy, is as good as his word!”

Hermione looked up at Lucius and smiled proudly at him. There was a new fire; a shining determination showing in his eyes.

“And what about Narcissa?” Hermione asked.

“She can do what she bloody well likes,” Lucius said. “She’s no longer my concern. You are, however, and I will treat you as I have been treating you. If they are expecting you to show bruises, then they will be sorely disappointed.”

Hermione gulped. She had seen Lucius determined before, but this was almost turning into an Oath. That thought worried her. She was too tired though to care. She slipped off to sleep on her chair.

A/N I hope you enjoyed that one, I LOVED writing that!