Only Time

Lovely Reviewers:

I'll talk to y'all next chapter. I am tired, but I updated the other story and had a chapter of this one ready, so I am being good again.

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Hermione stared at Lucius as he lay on the bed with his face turned away from her. She couldn’t see the damaged side of his face, the part hurt because of her.

“Why?” she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Hermione, I am asking you, as my friend, to do this for me.”

He couldn’t take the embarrassment. If people knew that he woke her up and that she didn’t stay with him, it would be humiliating. He couldn’t bear the thought.

“Of course,” Hermione replied.

Was he ashamed of her? Is that why he didn’t want people to know that his kiss was the one that woke her up from that terrible spell?

She took his hand in hers then and squeezed it.

“You’ll have to face the mobs tomorrow,” Lucius said, turning so his back was to her but not removing his hand from between hers. “You ought to contact Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley. They’ve been worried about you.”

“They are two of my closest friends,” Hermione replied.

“I know,” Lucius said, letting Hermione squeeze his hand.

“What’s wrong?” Hermione asked, reaching a hand for his cheek.

Lucius jerked away and turned onto his stomach. He shook his head.

Hermione crawled under the covers and draped her arm around his waist.

“What are you doing, Hermione?” Lucius asked, choking back a sob as he closed a hand over hers where it rested next to his stomach curled in a tiny ball.

“The same thing I did the last time you were hurt, and I was near,” she answered. “I’m staying with you.”

“This is not appropriate.”

“You had no qualms about it twenty-five years ago. There is no difference now. What is twenty-five years to a witch or wizard with a lifespan of two-hundred years or more?”

Hermione draped her torso over Lucius’ back placing her cheek between his shoulder blades.

She was staying. Lucius groaned when Hermione pulled her hand free of his and began to rub his back slowly to sooth all the knots from his muscles. Sleep claimed him quickly under her hands, and Hermione was not long in following him.

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Hermione sighed as she awoke the next morning. The steady thumping of a heart next to her ear jerked her from sleep.

Sunlight streamed in and hit her face as she sat up and stretched.

“You’re awake?”

“Yes,” Hermione responded as Lucius rolled over and looked up at Hermione as she arched her back.

She should be thrown on the bed and ravished, the little temptress. How could any man not want to have his way with her? He sat up.

Hermione quickly pulled him close. She pressed her lips to his cheek over each of the scratches.

“Thank you for saving my life, Lucius.”

Lucius reached his arms for her waist, and he sighed when his undamaged cheek was pulled to rest on her chest. Hermione threaded her fingers through his hair.

Lucius stared at Hermione’s lips. He slid a hand into her hair. He drew her up against him. His lips quirked up in a smirk.

“I need to contact Harry and Ron. They will want to know that I am awake. They will probably be annoyed that I waited till the morning.”

Lucius dropped his hand; he knew this would happen.

“You may use the floo.”

“Thank you, Lucius,” Hermione said, hugging him and trying to kiss his cheek.

Lucius turned his mouth to meet hers. She sighed against his lips and crawled into his lap. Groaning, Lucius flipped so she was under him. He pulled back from her lips and began to kiss her neck. Hermione squeezed him more tightly as he slid his hands under her skirt. She jumped a little as the warm hands cupped her bottom and pulled her closer to the wizard she was beneath. Gasping, she began to press her lips to his neck.

POP!

“Master Lucius, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley are here asking to come and see the Miss. This behaviors is not proper. Yous been bad, Master.”

Hermione gently pushed Lucius off her.

Lucius bit his lip. If Nelly would have just waited half an hour, he could have shown Hermione how much she still meant to him. She would come back if they were together like that. He wasn’t a seventeen year old boy anymore.

Hermione looked back at him.

“Wait, wait Hermione,” Lucius called as she stood up.

She looked at him. He rolled over and got out of bed. He walked quickly to the chest of drawers and opened the top right one. He lifted out a long red velvet ribbon with a silver heart shaped locket and fasteners attached to it.

“Here, I made this for you a long time ago…” he said, holding it in his hand. He walked to her. “May I?”

Hermione lifted her hair and nodded.

Lucius stepped close enough that their bodies were brushing as he fastened the necklace.

“It is perfect for you,” Lucius whispered.

Hermione reached a hand up and touched it.

“What’s inside the locket?”

“Open it when you have a moment alone,” Lucius responded, draping his arms over her shoulders. “It’s just for us.”

“Of course,” Hermione said, putting her hands on his arms.

“You should go; your friends are waiting.”

Hermione slipped from his arms and dropped her hands from them. She blinked rapidly as she walked to the door. She put her hand on the handle and looked back at him.

“The masses want to see the heroine of the group,” Lucius said, motioning to the door.

Hermione stared at him before she pushed open the door and walked down the hallway. She reached a hand up and touched the locket over her throat.

She looked back at the now closed door of the master bedroom.

They were still friends. But what was wrong with him? What was so special about the kiss she’d received from Lucius, and why was it only his kiss that had drawn her from her slumber? Well, after meeting with the press, Hogwarts Library would be the place to go for those answers.

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Well, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. I know it was kind of short. But I hope that it was good.

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