Lucius\' Bookshelves

Chapter 16

A/N: Sorry about the wait for an update. Needless to say, I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked while I was out of town. Also, my outline for this is woefully inadequate, which left me sort of rudder-less. Bleah.

A couple of comments. I received a note that was ‘disturbed’ about the number of times I used the phrase ‘gods’ in this text. Mostly, I use it because I am too lazy to think of anything else. But not wanting to disturb too many other people, I’m using a few other phrases of my own making. If you don’t like them, tough. Maybe they are not ‘canon’ but, hell. None of this story is ‘canon.’ If you don’t like it,t clt click the ‘back’ button. It’s that simple. Because, believe it or not, I have a job that does not involve getting paid to write Harry Potter smut; I do this for fun.

That said, I am glad to hear that many of you are still enjoying this. This chapter is a little angsty. But, it sort of has to be. The next chapter is too, but only because there is a chapter limit. I’ll break it into two sections.

Finally, thanks again for all the kind notes and reviews. I really appreciate it.

~~~~

Hermione woke early, and tried to avoid waking Lucius as she tried to gently remove the arm that had been flung across her body during the night. Lucius grunted, and slowly opened one eye, grabbing for her as she tried to ease herself out of bed. An unexpectedly forceful tug brought her against his body. He grinned sleepily as he pushed his erection against her backside.

“Don’t go,” he mumbled.

Hermione pushed back and sat up again, before leaning over to give him a brief kiss. “Sorry, dear. I told Harry I’d meet him in half an hour, and I’ve got to get showered and changed before I see him.”

Lucius rolled onto his back, the sheets tenting out from his groin. He swore softly under his breath, and slowly pushed himself to a seated position. He grinned lewdly. “Later then.” He slowly got out of bed as Hermione stood up and looked for her dressing gown.

Naked, the blonde wizard came around the side of the bed and reached for Hermione before she could slip into the silk robe in her hands. He pulled her to him, his mouth kissing her deeply as his erection pushed against her mound.

Laughing, Hermione pulled away, Lucius gave her a quick kiss, “Time to face the dragons, my dear.” He stepped back and reached for his wand, starting a fire in the fireplace before padding off to the bathroom. Hermione watched the taut muscles carry his frame away, his magnificence enhanced by his lack of clothes.

She sighed. Facing Harry was going to be difficult, but it had to be done. Grabbing a little floo powder, she returned to her own rooms.

****

Lucius stood under the shower, the hot water sluicing off his body. He and Hermione had talked late into the night about their planned conversations this morning. He had a feeling that discussing Hermione with Draco would result in his son voicing other frustrations that had nothing to do with Hermione. This woundound to happen, and he always believed in facing confrontations directly. His son, however, did not ever seem to take the same approach.

Turning off the water, he paused, the air feeling cool against his skin. Damn. He had to make an attempt to get along with Draco. It would make his relations with the Ministry easier, and in turn, that would make things a little easier for Hermione in her dealings with the Ministry.

He reached for a towel and frowned. Draco was not going to take this well. Of course, he could only do so much about that. The boy was going to have to realize that he couldn’t control his father’s life.

****

“Father. She’s a filthy mudblood. What are you thinking? Or is she that good in bed that she’d numbed your senses to anything else?” Draco glanced down at the oriental carpets covering the floor of the study. “I doubt it, though. I don’t see how see can interest you at all. She must have cursed you or something,” he mumbled.

He snapped his eyes back to his father, his voice becoming bitter. “You used to lecture m the the duties of pureblood families, and here you are, shacking up with a bloody mudblood. At least I had the decency to move in with a pureblood, even if he’s not an aristocrat. And how much is she going to cost you? Once she’s seen the family ledgers, she’ll be after you for every penny you’ve got. Have you ever stopped to think about that, or are you just lng yng your cock do all your thinking?”

Lucius snorted. This meaningless sparring with his son was pointless, and would rapidly become annoying. Trying to control the fury, he spoke slowly. “Draco. Let me say this once. And then hopefully you will have the sense to shut your mouth regarding my relationship with Hermione. I could easily give her 500,000 galleons a year without touching any of the family’s money. Money, I might add, that will not be yours unless you produce an heir.”

“You’re one to talk about an heir. You taught me about the ‘purity of the bloodline’,” loathing dripped from his voice. “And yet here you’re with some mudblood slut. She’ll never be accepted into our society.”

‘Our society.’ The words echoed in his head. “Has it not occurred to you, dear boy, that I am no longer a socially-acceptable guest? Surely even you are aware of the restrictions that the Ministry has put on my travel, and the regulations they have concerning any guests that I may wish to invite.”

“Oh, so you’re with her because she’s the only person you could get, huh?”

Lucius sat still, clenching jaw muscles the only sign of his attempt to control his temper. It was really amazing how little tact Draco had managed to pick up in his lifetime. It was also amazing how little Draco knew about Hermione, despite having spent seven years at school with her, having worked against the Dark Lord with her, and having moved in with her best friend. “This discussion about Hermione is closed, Draco. She is my choice of a partner. I would have thought that you, of all people, would have been able to appreciate a,” he paused meaningfully, “unique choice in partners.”

****

Hermione walked with Harry through the formal gardens near the greenhouse. She had decided on this location, because it meant that she wouldn’t have to make direct eye-contact with her friend as they talked.

“What’s going on here, Herm? Is everything okay? You’ve been acting a little strange, and Draco’s father. Well, he seems, well, he seems possessive of you. Like, um, like he thinks you’re with him.” His jaw muscles clenched at the thought.

“Harry,” she started, trying to calm the butterflies. “Um. I need to be honest with you.” She paused, certain that she had his full attention. “There’s a reason he’s acting like he is. I like Lucius.” She paused again as the anger blazed in Harry’s eyes. “I mean, I really like him.”

“Have you slept with him?” The words came out fast and hard.

The heat rushed to Hermione’s face while she felt the prickling of sweat forming on her back. “Yes. Several times, in fact. Last night, even.”

Harry stopped, turning on her. “How the hell could you do that? What the fuck are you thinking?”

Hermione’s eye’s narrowed at her old friend’s vicious words. “Harry. Do I need to remind you that I am an adult. And I can sleep with whomever I choose?”

Harry’s fists were still clenched in rage, a cold thought racing through his brain. “Is it the money, Hermione? I mean, is he giving you money to be with him? Because I could help you out if you needed it. I’ve got some money – from my parents – and I’d be happy to help you get back on your feet.” Harry paused, trying to soften his tone. “You don’t have to stay with him, Herm.”

“Harry James Potter! You, of all people, should be open-minded when it comes to choosing someone to spend your life with! Don’t you remember the reactions from everyone when you and Draco went public? Don’t you remember all the Daily Prophet headlines? The ones that accused you of being a traitor? Of being a Death Eater in training? Of secretly joining the Dark Lord? Don’t you remember how Ron and I were the only ones sticking by the two of you?” She stopped, turning away from her old friend.

“Hermione. But you can’t really, er, I mean, you can’t be, I mean you can’t actually like, uh, Draco’s dad. Can you?” Anger was slowly being replaced with disbelief.

“His name is Lucius, Harry. It won’t suck your soul out to call him Lucius.”

“Hermione. I just don’t get how you can sleep with someone who killed people. Lots of people. Members of the Order. He would have even killed Sirius if he’d gotten the chance. How can you be with someone like that?”

“You killed people, Harry. Draco killed people. I even killed people on occasion. It was a war. I won’t deny that Lucius was on the wrong side. But he turned – he changed sides, and provided information that ultimately led to Voldemort’s death. Draco was on his father’s side for a long time, too, and yet you somehow managed to accept his decision to change sides.”

“Don’t bring Draco into this. And besides, Draco was brainwashed by his father for a long time. He didn’t know any differently.”

Hermione looked at Harry with disgust. “If you really believe that, Harry, then you’ve got bigger issues with Draco than I do with Lucius. At least I accept that Lucius was not a very nice guy. Can’t you accept that Draco had his unpleasant moments, too? And if Draco can change, why can’t Lucius?”

Harry shook his head disgustedly. “Herm, how many years did Lucius support Voldemort? Draco never supported him – and he was just nasty at school because that’s how his father raised him to be. He had an excuse. And at least he fought hard for the Order. He redeemed himself. Lucius, well, he just switched sides at the last possible moment.” Harry paused. Another tactic was clearly in order here. He took a few paces in the garden before returning to Hermione.

“What are you going to do when the Ministry finds out? They’re going to fire you. Then you’ll have no job, and no money.”

Hermione smirked, flashing briefly on the thought that she was picking up facial expressions from Lucius as well. “Well, then I guess I’ll have to stay here, if that happens, won’t I? I mean, where else would I go?”

Harry walked away from her again, before rounding on her suddenly. “Damn it, Hermione. Can’t you see how pigheaded you’re being about this whole thing? Why Lucius? There have got to be a hundred other guys out there that would love to be with you, that aren’t Death Eaters, and former supporters of Voldemort. And haven’t been confined to their house by the Ministry because of ‘questionable activities’ during the war. Why can’t you just date one of them? Why him?”

Oh, because he gives me the best spankings I’ve ever had. And the mere sight of his body sends bolts of heat to my very core. “Harry, you’re not being fair to me. Of all people, I would have expected this sort of reaction from Ron, but not from you. As someone else is lis living with a Malfoy, I’d have thought you could understand what I see in Lucius. But I guess I was mistaken.” She turned away from her old friend and looked across the gardens at the slate grey sky.

Harry watched her. Sure, he could understand the physical attraction that Lucius held for her. Heck, he secretly half-hoped that Draco would look like his father when he got older. But Lucius was one of the most morally repugnant individuals he knew. The number of rapes and killings and tortures that had been attributed to him were astronomical. How Hermione could be interested in someone like that?

“Hermione! Don’t you realize that if you stay with him, everyone will ostracize you? Are you willing to give up all your friends for him?” Harry paused, walking back to stand behind her. “The Weasleys aren’t going to want to have anything to do with you, you know.”

Hermione turned around and looked directly at Harry. “I’m sorry if that is the way it is, Harry. But I can’t live my life worrying about what other people are going to think. If they accept it, great. If not, there isn’t much I can do about it.” She clenched her jaw while her fingers picked nervously at the nap of her skirt. She knew her words sounded harsh but he had to see that she understood the circumstances.

“But what about when he gets tired of you, and send you packing? Then what are you going to do?”

“If that day ever comes, I’ll deal with it then. Because really, Harry, there is nothing that I can do if you choose not to support my decision.”

“It’s not like he’s ever going to marry you, you know. Don’t you want a family? Kids? He’s not going to give you that. Can’t you see that?”

“Harry, if you have to even ask me that, you know me far less well than you think you do. Have you ever – ever – heard me mention a desire to have kids? I can’t stand kids. I am not a kid person. I don’t have a burning desire to have kids. Not having children is not a drawback for me.”

“Never? You don’t ever want to have kids?” Harry couldn’t mask his disbelief. “Even I want to have kids some day.”

Hermione’s lips formed a wry smile. Too bad Lucius couldn’t hear that; maybe he’d figure out some way for the family name to continue, and Harry could raise children. She made a mental note to tell Lucius that, hoping that he was faring well with Draco. “No. I’m really not into kids.”

“But doesn’t it bother you that he won’t marry you?”

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. She had thought about this, and had concluded that it didn’t bother her. Trying to convince Harry of that was a different story. “No, it really doesn’t bother me. I mean, marriage is one of those things that would be nice, but I don’t really mind if I don’t get married. Truthfully, I’d much rather have a happy, non-married relationship than an unhappy marriage.” She paused. This conversation had gone on long enough.

“Look, Harry. Obviously, you’re not going to convince me to give Lucius up. And I’m not going to convince you that Lucius is not the person you envision him to be. So let’s end the discussion before either of us says something that we’ll regret. If you don’t think you can be my friend because of my relationship with Lucius, then so be it. That is your decision, and not one that I have control over. If, however, you are willing to continue to be my friend regardless of my relationship with Lucius, then I welcome it.”

Harry glanced around the garden before looking back at Hermione. “Okay, Herm. One question, and then I’ll drop the subject. Do you love him?”

Hermione swallowed as her mind raced for an answer. “Not yet. I’m still getting to know him. I think over time, I probably will. But it’s really too soon to say at this point. I like being with him. I like his mind, his sense of humor, and yes, his body.” Harry blanched at her frankness. Thinking about Hermione having sex with anyone was not an activity he frequently engaged in. “I’ll see how it goes, and just take things as they come. That’s all really anyone can do, though.”

Harry nodded, a small smile coming to his face. “You’re right, Herm. Like always. And like you told me when you hooked up with Draco: I may not agree with it, but you are my friend, and I won’t hold any stupid choices against you.”

Hermione laughed. “Yeah. I think I did say something like that to you. I’m glad you feel the same way.” She relaxed muscles that she didn’t realize she had been tight, breathing a little easier. If Harry could make an attempt to accept her with Lucius, the rest wouldn’t be too bad.

The old friends started walking through the garden back to the Manor. “Draco will be tough to convince, you know,” Harommeommented. It was almost an afterthought, but Hermione needed to know it.

“I know. I’m not sure how much luck Lucius will have talking with him, either.” Harry nodded. “Look, Harry,” Hermione stopped walking and turned to face her long-time friend. “I know that you’re not entirely thrilled about me and Lucius, but please don’t say anything negative to Draco. I think it will be hard enough as it is – he’s only ever even tolerate bee because of you, you know. I don’t think he’s going to like the idea of me with his father one bit.”

A look of anguish crossed Harry’s face only to be quickly replaced with a wry smile. “We’ve done a hell of a job of picking lovers, haven’t we, Herm?” His face became serious. “But don’t worry, Herm. I’ll do what I can to help. Draco can be pretty stubborn, especially when it comes to his father, but he can be persuaded sometime.” Harry waggled his eyebrows in an exaggerated leer, and Hermione laughed.