Only Time

Lovely Reviewers:

Ashley - I'm so sorry about your Grandma! If I am a review whore, it's not my fault. Well, anyway...I hope you like this and you are doing alright.

trippingEYES - They do indeed. They need to gie each other hugs and have an ice cream cone. Then it will be better.

happybunny - You are indeed.
No, Lucius is very in love with Hermione. And the spell only intensifies the feelings.
His face may get better. A scar can be quite attractive, depending on how it was acquired.
Yes, a hippocampus. They are quite lovely.
Indeed. Symmetry.
It's okay; fangirls are cool. *waves a tiny green flag with a silver snake on it*

Lyra Aphrodite Moon - Who knows?

Citten - Well, my dear, hold onto your ass, it's happenin' today too! (Updates for both stories that is.) I'm having great amounts of fun updating as well!

Heidi191976 - Go ahead and scroll down!

Linneh - Hope the sentiments can be expressed at the end of this chapter.

Apple - Indeed. Don't forget his decision though.

sinbad - Oh, Nelly healed her tiny scratch, darling. I suppose that wasn't too clear.

Lauriurix - I'm glad to have surprised you. Well, I hope that you have admirably managed to survive to today to read Chapter XIV.

yuri - Well, it was bound to happen. Hermione waking up. I know. No fear. No fear for Lucius.

VampireSeductress - I shall certainly do so. As is my custom.

blufalcon - Happy rushes are a good thing. I'm glad that you get them for this story. Well, the doctors are trying to minimize what I am telling them. It is quite irritating.

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I'm back to the doctor on Monday. I hope that you will enjoy the reading of this chapter. I've enjoyed the writing of it.

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Nelly walked up the steps to master bedroom. Hermione followed reaching out to touch Lucius’ wrist to feel his pulse every few steps, always hoping to see his grey eyes open just a sliver. Just enough to show that he was alive. It was good that he was unconscious. He wasn’t feeling the pain this way.

Nelly lowered Lucius into the bed.

“I’ll gets potions for Mistress,” Nelly said, lowering her master onto the bed.

Hermione nodded and choked back a sob as she heard a groan from the man. She restrained from throwing herself upon his chest and begging him to wake up. It would do no good. It would be silly to waste her time crying. Lucius needed her to care for him not to weep on his battered body.

She spotted the porcelain wash basin and grabbed it walking quickly into the bathroom to fill the basin with steaming water from the tap. She ripped open the cabinets and spotted a fluffy green wash cloth. She lifted it and dropped it into the basin. She looked through the other cabinets and pinched her lips when she found no bandages. She’d have to ask Nelly for them.

Hermione grabbed the warm basin and quickly returned to Lucius’ side. She placed the basin on the bed and crawled onto the bed and sat on her knees. Slowly, she began to peel off the rich clothing that was now ruined. She slid the blood soaked clothes off and tossed them in a pile. She paused when her hands were on his belt.

Did she need to take his pants off? There was no blood on them. It didn’t seem like there was an injury to anything down there.

Hermione chewed her lip before quickly undoing the button and zipper to slide his pants down carefully leaving the silk boxers in place. She had to bite back more tears when she saw the dislocated knee.

POP!

“Here is some potions for Master,” Nelly said, setting the potions on the bedside table.

“Do you know where there are any bandages to bind Lucius' wounds?” Hermione asked, kissing his forehead.

It was all her fault that he was hurt. When he was wearing only boxers, Hermione reached into the basin and lifted the rag. She swiped the rag in smooth, soft little circles to wipe up the excess blood.

Lucius turned his head to the side and grimaced without opening his eyes. It hurt, the rag wiping the blood off.

He opened his eyes a sliver and quickly closed his left eye. It pained him less with those muscles relaxed. Out his right eye, he could see Hermione staring at his chest with tears in her eyes. He could feel a soft rag moving over his chest drawn by her hands. Then the rag moved to his face.

“It’s all my fault you are this way. I should have thought to grab my wand; I'm a witch. If I had, you wouldn’t have had to put yourself between that werewolf and me. You shouldn’t have done that. I don’t know why you did. Not really anyway. I hate seeing you hurt.”

Lucius’ face pinched at the pain as Hermione drew the soft cloth over his cheek cleaning out the two deep gashes. He wished he had the strength to talk to her. He could tell her that she was worth damages ten times worse than what he’d received. Given the chance to do it over, he would have never asked her to leave with the moon full as it was.

POP!

Hermione looked him over and kissed his brow on the right side as she took the basin to the bathroom to wash it out. She rinsed it out and refilled it with more steaming hot water. She peered into the large shower and spotted it. A bottle of fancy shampoo. She grabbed the large fluffy bath towel as well.

Hermione grabbed the basin and took everything back to the bedroom. She placed them on the bed and crawled up close to Lucius. She grabbed the potion.

“You have to get better.”

Lucius groaned and opened his mouth and his right eye a little more.

“Hermione,” Lucius rasped. “Hermione, are you okay?”

“Lucius,” Hermione said, tensing. She couldn’t throw herself on him. He wasn’t strong enough for that. “You’re going to be fine.”

“The werewolf didn’t get you, did it?”

“No, but you’re torn up badly,” Hermione said, threading her fingers through his hair on the left side of his head that was relatively free of blood. “A healer is going to be here soon. Your knee was dislocated, and the healer can put that to rights. But I am taking care of the scratches.”

She reached over and took up the salve. She opened the jar and dipped her fingers into it. Carefully, slowly she began to smooth it over the scrapes on his chest.

“At least you’re safe,” Lucius said, reaching a hand toward her. His face hurt like hell. His left cheek felt as if a Norwegian ridgeback had taken a bite out of it.

She didn’t leave him lying there hurt. But it wasn’t her nature to leave anything hurt. She was tending to his wounds personally. She didn’t just wait for the healer. He ran his hand over her arm.

“That stings,” Lucius said, shifting under her soothing fingers.

“I’m sorry, Lucius,” Hermione said, stroking his face. “I’m going to leave your face for the healer to look at. I’m worried that your cheek is shattered.”

“I’ll be okay.”

“I know you will,” Hermione said, lifting a strand of the blonde hair from his bloody cheek. “Can you sit up?”

Lucius pressed his hands to the mattress and forced himself to a sitting position.

“I’m going to wrap you up,” Hermione said, picking up the large bandage. She sniffed as she began to tightly bind Lucius’ chest. Hermione’s hands trembled after she finished. She used Lucius’ wand to cause the bandage to hold in place.

As soon as she finished the binding, she wrapped her arms around his chest and squeezed him a little.

“Thank you so much, Lucius. I didn’t deserve it.”

“Yes, you did,” Lucius said. “You are worth it. You always are. You always will be. You shouldn’t have taken Bellatrix’ spell that was aimed at me.”

“You need to rest,” Hermione said. “Slide down. I need to wash your hair.”

“You don’t—”

“You be quiet. You need to rest,” Hermione said, tossing the blood soaked pillow from the bed. “I will wash your hair. You don’t want the blood to dry in it.”

Lucius groaned. She was bossy as ever.

Hermione shifted and took the basin in her lap before pulling Lucius down so his neck rested on the edge of the bowl. She untied the ribbon and threw it into the pile of dirty clothes which were winked away the moment following. She lifted the fine blonde hair and placed it in the bowl. She combed her fingers through it watching the blood diffuse in it before picking up the shampoo. She lathered his hair running her hands over his scalp. She pouted a little. Why couldn’t she have such perfect, sweet, fine locks of hair?

She picked up Lucius’ wand and waved it over the bowl to empty it. Then she whispered a spell, and warm water gushed from the tip of the wand, and she rinsed his hair. She banished the bowl and began to gently pat dry the silvery-blonde hair.

“Granger!”

“Up here, Malfoy!”

The door banged open, and two wizards came into the room.

“Mr. Malfoy, are you awake?” the healer asked.

Lucius groaned, “Yes, I’m awake.”

“How did you get the scrapes?”

“I got in a fight with a werewolf,” he said.

“No bites?”

“No, I was not bitten.”

“You were lucky. Where is the werewolf?”

“Chained up.”

"I'll send the aurors to pick it up."

The healer was quiet then. He waved his wand at the dislocated knee.

Lucius felt only a burning as his knee moved back into place. He relaxed as the wand ran in lines over the scratches on his cheek.

“They won’t bleed anymore, but you need to take this potion over the next week to prevent infection and promote healing.”

“Whom was the potion brewed by?” Lucius asked.

“Me,” the healer said, and his jaw dropped a little in confusion.

“Well, I only take potions brewed by one potions master; I have a supply of this potion already. I will use that.”

The healer frowned, but when his eyes spotted Hermione stroking Lucius’ hair before pulling it back and tying it, they widened.

“Miss Gr—”

“Oh, and by the way,” Lucius said, raising his wand. “Obliviate.”

A dazed look crossed the healer’s face, and he turned and wandered out of the room.

“Was that necessary?” Hermione asked as Draco left to walk the man out. She lowered Lucius to the bed, and she slid from under the sheets as she pulled the covers up around him.

“Yes, he would have gone blabbing to everyone about your existence. You will have to face the hoards soon enough. You don’t need to be bombarded by them the moment you leave the grounds. As long as you are here, you are protected by dozens of charms. They know where you are, but thanks to brilliant fidelius and unplottable charms, they can’t find us.”

Lucius turned away from her.

“What happened, Lucius?” Hermione asked, tucking her knees up to her chest and hugging them as she looked at him.

Lucius began to speak slowly, starting with him chasing Bellatrix around the battle field. Then he told how he’d found his wife dead and watched Molly Weasley take Bellatrix out. He told her about carrying her into the great hall and the solution he and Severus had discovered in his library. He told her about the boys’ attempts to wake her, and how they’d tried to force Draco. He told her how he’d not tried until just a few hours ago.

“You let me sleep for weeks?”

“Yes. It was wrong. I’m sorry. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, yet I have the audacity to ask for it.”

“There is nothing to forgive,” Hermione said, chewing her lip and rocking backward as her fingers combed his hair idly.

“Yes, there is.”

“Lucius Malfoy, we had this discussion when you were seventeen. I grant you it has been two and a half decades since then for you, so I suppose I shall remind you. I’m a woman. That is all the more that needs ascertaining to know that I am always correct.”

Lucius couldn’t help the smile on his face. That was one of his favorite memories. They’d been having an argument about the brewing of Polyjuice potion, which he’d accidentally botched when he brewed it in his sixth year. Hermione claimed to have brewed it correctly in her second year. He hadn’t believed her.

“Now, that I think of the circumstances behind that argument. You were incorrect in a way. Not, of course, in the technique you mentioned for the stewing of the lacewing flies, but in saying you correctly brewed it at thirteen.”

“I did brew it correctly,” Hermione said, and her jaw dropped.

“Except for the last ingredient, quite a crucial little detail to omit from your story. Turning yourself into a cat-girl.”

“How did you find out about that?”

Lucius shrugged.

“I would like to ask you a favor, Hermione.”

“What?”

“Please don’t tell anyone that I am the one who was able to awaken you.”

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I hope y'all enjoyed it. If you enjoy Lights of Questionable Faith, hang around. I'm updating that next! Of course, please leave reviews. They are inspiring to me. They give me such joy.

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