Line Between Nightmare and Dream

Hermione met Lucius for lunch between classes during the week. She had been to all the best restaurants in London and even a few in Paris. She was enjoying spending time with him but she was still avoiding telling Harry and Ron that she was seeing Lucius.

Hermione knew she had to tell them separately so they wouldn’t gang up on her, and she couldn’t do it any place public in case they freaked out. Then again having people around might keep them from freaking out. She had to figure something out fast because people had started talking in certain circles and it was only a matter of time before her friends found out.

She asked Lucius if she could use his private theater to break the news to tell Harry in. She scheduled a showing at a time she knew Ron wouldn’t be able to go and prepared herself for the rampage.


At the Theater
~~~~~~~~~~
“I can’t believe you got permission to view this movie early. Where did you find this place?” Harry said as he picked a seat

“Lucius brought me here” Hermione braced herself

“WHAT! I thought he kept you cooped up in his room the whole time” Harry exclaimed thinking Hermione was talking about the time Lucius held her captive.

“No he brought me here a few nights ago” Hermione corrected

“Why?” Harry was confused

“Well, we are…sort of……….dating” Hermione saw Harry’s face fall

“Hermione what are you thinking!?” Harry jumped out of his chair

“I’m thinking that I like him and want to get to know him” Hermione said

“You know him! We all know him! How is this going to look to the world if one of the trio starts buddying up with a DEATH EATER! They’ll think we’ve all gone soft” Harry yelled

“Soft on a man who is rebuilding Hogwarts and doing everything he can to prove his alliances?” Hermione pointed out

“Exactly! He’s trying too hard” Harry began

“And if he was doing any less you would say he isn’t trying hard enough” Hermione interrupted

“and you know why? Because he’s a DEATH EATER!!” Harry yelled

“The ministry says he’s safe. Are you going to say the minister was WRONG to let him go?” Hermione yelled back

“And if the ministry said to jump off a bridge….” Harry said

“Oh good Harry lets be 12 about this” Hermione interrupted

“Your acting like your 12 with some silly little crush” Harry yelled

“Is that such a bad thing?” Hermione asked

“When your crush is evil yes!” Harry pointed out

“Harry I’m doing this and I thought I would be a good friend and tell you before the tabloids did” Hermione said and stomped out of the theater

“Yeah I can’t wait to see what the tabloids say!” Harry yelled after her. He shuttered to think what they would actually say.


Near Bougrich Hall
~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione was steamed. She knew Harry would be mad but she had gone out of her way to put him in a good mood before telling him and he didn’t even appreciate that. She thought the hell with it she was already in a bad mood she might as well break the news to Ron too.

She walked to the building Ron was taking his test in and waited for him to be done. She was glad Ron was a slow test taker; it gave her a chance to cool down before he came out of the building.

“Hermione! I thought you took Harry to that preview” Ron said when he saw Hermione sitting on the steps

“Things came up. Can we go get something to drink?” Hermione asked

“YES! That test kicked my ass” Ron needed a drink

They walked to a nearby bar and found a table in a corner. The place was relatively empty but Hermione was happy for the few people there. She hoped it would keep Ron from freaking out.

“Ron the real reason I took Harry to the theater was to tell him I have been dating Lucius” Hermione didn’t see any point in beating around the bush

“I know” Ron said in a bummed voice

“How do you know?” Hermione asked

“I picked up The Quibbler before class today and you two were on the front of the entertainment page” Ron pulled the paper out of his bag and showed Hermione a picture of Lucius looking into her eyes.

“Oh I didn’t even realize they’d taken our picture” Hermione’s insides knotted as she took in how Lucius was looking at her in the picture. He was such a gorgeous man; it didn’t seem plausible he would be looking at her like that.

“Well I would say you were pretty…… distracted” Ron said

“You’re not mad?” Hermione asked “You’re not going to tell me I’m an idiot?”

“No….I’m just….disappointed” Ron said looking into his glass

“Oh” Hermione felt like crap. She expected yelling but disappointed? That was rough

“Not with you!!” Ron corrected realizing his mistake “With me. I have been hoping we could get past our issues and be together again”

“Ron I’m SO sorry” Hermione replied. She wanted to hug him or hold his hand but she knew it would only make things worse.

“It’s not your fault; I should have been more open with you about it. I guess I was just holding onto the past” Ron said “Do you love him?”

Hermione choked oh her drink. It wasn’t a question she thought she would have to answer anytime soon “Well not right now” she managed

“But you could?” Ron pushed

“I suppose it’s a possibility” Hermione really wanted this line of questioning to end “Ron you know you will always be my first love, and I will always compare him to you”

Ron snorted “How could I ever compare to Lucius Malfoy?”

“Ron you were the best” Hermione reassured him

“Not compared to what I hear about Lucius” Ron said then mumbled ‘nine inches’ under his breath

“Ron I’m not talking about sex. We were friends, partners in crime, in love” Hermione reaches out and grabs Ron’s hand

“We had some good times didn’t we?” Ron smiled

“And we still will just not as a couple” Hermione reminds him

“Maybe you can find me some hot, rich heiress to marry” Ron joked

“I’ll keep my eyes pealed” Hermione laughed

They spent the rest of the afternoon reminiscing and catching up. Hermione was relieved Ron took the news so well. Even though she was sad Ron hadn’t gotten over their past relationship.


At the Apartment
~~~~~~~~~~
“You knew!!” Harry threw his hands up in the air

“Yeah I took her shopping for that dress” Ginny said as she threw a copy of The Quibbler on the table

“Ginny how can you condone this?” Harry asked

“What’s so wrong with it? They’re having a good time” Ginny said

Harry gagged at the thought of how much fun

“Harry think of all the crazy shit you made her go along with. She’s put up with far weirder and more dangerous things over the years” Ginny pointed out

“But you can’t think she means this to be serious….. do you?” Harry asked

“Who cares we should be supportive either way” Ginny said walking over to Harry and looking him square in the eyes “Tell you what if he breaks her heart you can throw him in Azkaban”

“Oh I will” Harry said and kissed Ginny

Harry heard Hermione laughing as she came in the door. He figured he owed her an apology so he walked out to the front room to meet her.

When Hermione saw Harry come around the corner her stomach dropped through the floor. She had pushed her encounter with Harry out of her mind. She told Ron about Harry’s reaction and he had promised to talk to Harry for her, but she had hoped she could avoid Harry till he did so.

Ron saw Harry too and wanted to avoid the confrontation.

“Harry awesome! Tell me all about the movie man!” Ron tried to back Harry out of the room

“No I need to talk to Hermione” Harry said

“Harry I think we should talk first” Ron suggested

“No” Harry was getting annoyed

“Go easy on her man, she…” Ron tried to get a word in

“Ron please just go” Harry ordered. Hermione nodded that it was ok but Ron made sure he bummed Harry’s shoulder extra hard as he walked out of the room

“Hermione I was out of line earlier, I’m sorry” Harry began

Hermione’s mouth fell open; she was bracing herself for the onslaught. “What changed your mind?”

“Well I’m not sure it’s changed completely but I won’t stand in your way” Harry said

“I wasn’t asking your permission earlier” Hermione reminded him

“Yeah I figured you’d date the death eater whether I liked it or not” Harry said

“Ok we have to fix that. You can’t call him a death eater” Hermione said sharply

“Sorry” Harry had a feeling sorry was a word he was going to be saying to Hermione a lot. “But if he so much as chips a piece of your heart he’ll find himself in Azkaban faster than you can say Quidditch”


Aunt Caroleyn’s Deli
~~~~~~~~~~
The next day Hermione met Lucius for lunch again. She had forced him to take her to one of her favorite restaurants. It was a little muggle owned deli just off of campus.

“So do you like it?” Hermione asked

“Other than the fact that I had to get muggle money to buy it…Yes It’s delicious” Lucius smiled. He had protested as hard as he could but today seemed like a good time to give in because he had a favor to ask.

“Hermione, Draco is going to come by the Manor for supper tonight and I thought you could join us. We need to tell him about us” Lucius waited for the attack

“If he doesn’t already know” Hermione pointed out

“What do you mean?” Lucius asked

“We were the front page of The Quibbler yesterday” Hermione admitted

“Really!!!” Lucius seemed pleased with himself “Well Draco doesn’t read that trash anyway”

Hermione laughed. Lucius was doing a good job of making up for lost time with his son, but there was still so much he had to learn about Draco.

“That sounds fine. What time should I come by?” Hermione said and took another a bite of her sandwich

“Whoa! No yelling or tantrums?” Lucius was shocked. She had been making up excuses for a week now and Lucius was beginning to wonder if she wanted to keep their relationship a secret.

“I told Ron and Harry yesterday” Hermione said

“Ron too! Well then I guess Draco would be the next step” Lucius reached out and held Hermione’s hand “How did it go with Harry and Ron?”

“Harry freaked out and threw a huge fit. But he apologized after Ginny knocked him over the head. I still don’t think he likes the circumstances but he’s willing to sit back. Oh and I think he threatened to throw you in Azkaban if you broke my heart.” Hermione added with a grin

“I’ll keep that in mind” Lucius shivered at the word Azkaban

“Ron was a little more accepting but…..he admitted to still having feelings for me” Hermione tried to gauge Lucius’ reaction but he seemed as cool as ever

“Well let’s hope Draco has a reaction somewhere between the two” Lucius kissed Hermione softly. Hermione was getting use to the gasps that came whenever Lucius kissed her in public so she held the kiss a little longer.


Malfoy Manor
~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione showed up at the Malfoy Manor 15 minutes before dinner, and Draco was already there.

“Mione you look amazing” Draco said kissing her on the cheek

“Thanks Draco.” Hermione blushed when Lucius glared at his son for kissing her

“Hermione” Lucius greeted her from the other room and they sat down for dinner

Lucius of course sat at the head of the table, Hermione and Draco sat on opposite sides facing each other. The food appeared in front of them and Hermione immediately took a huge swig of the wine.

“So when are you two going to tell me you’re shagging?” Draco asked

Hermione almost choked on her wine and looked at Lucius for a response.

“How did you figure that out?” Lucius asked

“You two were in The Quibbler” Draco said as he picked at his food

“Why were you reading The Quibbler” Lucius said. Hermione was shocked at how fatherly he sounded

“It’s entertaining” Draco wined back at his father

“Yes we are dating Draco” Hermione interrupted the banter before it got too far

Draco looked from Hermione to his Father. He wanted to be supportive but he had his reservations about the pairing.

“Well I just hope you can get over me Hermione” Draco teased

“I’ll do my best” Hermione laughed back. But Lucius didn’t think it was funny. He knew his son and Hermione were friends but it made him jealous to hear them talk like this.

They had a nice dinner and dessert. The conversation was casual with Draco talking most of the time about his new business prospects in London. Hermione was happy to see the two men getting along. She really enjoyed both their company and thought about how amazing it would be to have dinners like this more often.

Dinner at 7 drinks and conversation till late in the night then off to bed with………

Then terror hit her. She realized she had slept with both the Malfoys. Her escapade with Draco was so out of the ordinary she had completely forgotten. Besides the only reason she did anything with Draco was because of her dreams about Lucius.

“Hermione you ok?” Draco asked. Her face had gone very white.

“Yeah just a headache” Hermione lied….sort of “I’ll be right back”

She walked into the other room pretending to look for an aspirin potion, but quickly wrote on a piece of paper ‘DO NOT TELL YOUR FATHER WE HAD SEX please”. She folded it up and charmed it into Draco’s hand as she walked back into the dinning room.

Draco opened it up and had to hide a laugh behind his napkin “Do you think I’m an Idiot?” He asked the air

Hermione tried to mimic the look on Lucius’ face then gave Draco a glaring look

“Draco?” Lucius asked

“Never mind I thought Hermione said something” Draco said with a wink

“Lucius I should get back home before it’s too late I have a test in the morning” Hermione wasn’t sure she could stand being in the same room with the two of them till she calmed down.

“Of course. Draco why don’t you wait for me in the study” Lucius suggested as he lead Hermione to the front door

“Well that went well” Lucius said

“Yes very” Hermione’s voice still wasn’t steady

“You sure you’re ok?” Lucius asked again

“No…yeah…yes I’m fine just worried about the test” Hermione managed

“If you don’t pass I can always donate money to the University in exchange for your diploma” Lucius said

Hermione would have laughed but she got a strange feeling he wasn’t fully joking. She pushed herself up onto her toes and kissed Lucius goodnight. But when she turned to walk through the door she pulled her back inside.

“That’s not enough” Lucius grinned and locked her in his arms, and kissed her again.

“Your trying to force me to stay” Hermione said

“Not forcing, just giving you some incentive” Lucius chuckled

“I will stay tomorrow night” Hermione promised and wriggled her way out of his arms.

Lucius walked back inside to his study and Draco handed him a Manhattan on the rocks.

“Thank you son” Lucius felt proud that he and his son were getting to know each other so well. He smiled as he tasted his favorite after dinner drink

Draco was concerned about his father dating Hermione but he wasn’t quite sure how to voice his concerns.

“Something on your mind” Lucius said and took his usually seat

“I’m worried about Hermione” Draco began “I’m not quite convinced you’re the best thing for her” Two years ago talking to his father like this would have scared him to death, but they had come a long way since then.

“I’m not either” Lucius admitted

“I know you’ve changed your thinking, but I wish you would date other women before you jump into something with Hermione. She’s so sweet and innocent compared to the women you usually go for”

“Don’t be so certain Hermione is all sweet. I like my women like I like my drinks; sweet with a good helping of bitters” Lucius lifted his glass to make his point

“You’re sex deprived and I don’t want Hermione to be your outlet” Draco tried to get the severity across to his dad

“Draco I tried to date other women, Hell! I had Samantha Jonshire over for dinner just last week” Lucius told his son

“And how long till you asked Hermione out?” Draco asked

“She came to talk to me about some dreams she had been having and I had been thinking about her too. We thought we could spend some time together” Lucius explained

Draco was happy Hermione had at least told his father about the dreams, but he still wasn’t sure

“It’s just that I have seen you do this before with your mistresses. You become sex deprived, play around for a little bit, get bored, and leave. You can’t do that with Hermione” Draco said

“Well she’s not my mistress” Lucius replied

“Please just be aware of yourself, we don’t need a member of the ‘almighty’ trio pissed at us again” Draco pleaded

“I think Harry is filling that role right now” Lucius joked and took a sip of his drink

“Oh I bet he’s thrilled” Draco laughed

They finished their drinks in good nature and parted. Draco was going to keep a close eye on this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little plot line for Tuesday, But don’t think we’ve heard the last of the protesting

Heidi191976~ You’re EXCELLENT!!! <3

Snapes_Goddess~ Good luck with your Masters! I’m schooled out right now and I still have till May. I think the Peacecorp is the next step for me, who knows maybe I’ll find my Lucius when I’m out in the world ;)

Jessie ~ Glad you liked it! You don’t need a private screening just go see a terrible movie the last week it plays. LOL