The Taming of the Shrew - Wizard Style - COMPLETE

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10-2-09 F


There is quite a range of looks that people envision for Snape. We have black leather a la Rickman’s Sheriff of Nottingham, the teaching robes of course, with perhaps a white shirt and cravat, the Matrix’s Neo look with the long, black coat, Mr. Darcy with breeches and riding boots with an open white shirt (I’d add in a riding crop, just for looks of course…), the Phantom of the Opera complete with mask (oh boo – I’d want to see all his face, sob), and in some relaxed levis and a white tee shirt. Or the levis with a dark blue (or green) silk, button down shirt opened at the top two buttons and barefoot. A caveman. Then we have more Regency apparel with a waistcoat for Snape, or him in black leather as head of a motorcycle gang. He was imagined as a grumpy angel or in a toga or as a jungle boy.


A few additional ideas for Lucius included a pirate, and a suit of armor with his pale hair draped on the shiny metal.


One reader wants both or either of the wizards wearing only a collar – I could go for that. And one of you thinks Snape would look best in her bedsheets!

Well - on to the answers to the reviews...


jw – Snape won’t mention the diamonds because he doesn’t know if Lucius gave them to her yet or not, so he wouldn’t be aware that mentioning their purchase would help Lucius. And it really wouldn’t help Lucius at this point since Hermione would then be embarrassed that Snape knew of them. More will be heard about Lucius correcting Hermione at the dinner table.

BeaBibliophile – I agree, the dynamic between Snape and Lucius is perfection to write (sorry, I shan’t write you sitting between them, you had your chance in the Carolinas, heh, heh). There is much more to come for Narcissa all through the story. P.S., you’ll let me know when you put up another chapter of Promises?

Serin Blackmoon – Severus doesn’t let Lucius get away with much. It’s why they’re still friends after all this time. I hope Narcissa and Hermione can be friends, too, although it seems an unlikely friendship as things stand. Does Lucius see her uncertainties under Hermione’s fearlessness against him?

Sirsevchick – Your opinion is always a barometer for me. I’m glad you enjoyed this chapter, especially the humor.

Happybunny – Um, yeah, I do have words like ecdysiast in my vocabulary, but that one is from the fame (or infamy) of Gypsy Rose Lee whose life was made into a Broadway hit, and then a movie with Natalie Wood playing her. She was a very famous ecdysiast.

Lucius isn’t particularly focused on others’ sensitivities, which will come out more here and there. As for the scented candles, I suppose they looked elegant, but they were an acquired smell, which he long indulged because 1) Narcissa never spoke up and 2) as a bachelor he ate alone. His luck ran out with Hermione LOL.

Spikeprop – Welcome! I love new readers who jump right in and review. I’m so pleased you’re enjoying the story!

Snapes_Goddess – Re Snape and Narcissa – she’s probably restful for him after his sad life. He doesn’t have to be on guard about his private life with her. And while she never developed into anyone remotely like Hermione (or Snape would have probably Avadra’d her by now), she has her nonfrivolous moments and she truly loves him. You know that when Snape loves, it will be deeply. Lucius is probably much to blame for Narcissa’s timid personality. Give Snape time. He’s got twenty years of Lucius to undo.

Oooh, you like Sheldon, too? Jim Parsons does a fantastic job with that character. I WANT SHELDON!! That genius needs to get laid in the worst way (coughIvolunteercough). I’ve always liked the high forehead and delicate jawline look anyway (like Luke Perry) so he suits me perfectly. Sheldon is sooo annoying, but so funny and lost I just want to jump him. 8-) Here’s a recent clip of the very charming Jim Parsons on Rachael Ray: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co6RmQ347qE

lemonade8 – Lucius’ forte is money, not feelings, except in a boardroom. He’ll get there, but it might be faster if Hermione would cut him some slack LOL. And now Hermione has Narcissa to moan over. Brains are great, but they don’t show on the outside, more’s the pity for Hermione.

Pittwitch – Lucius would heat up any rainy day. Hermione and Narcissa seem unlikely allies, but you never can tell LOL. And returning to Hogwarts gave me some fun scope for the story.

blue artemis – Lucius was never intimidated by Narcissa; he saw her as a timid mouse so he wouldn’t think Hermione would be intimidated by her either, being so much more clever and less sheltered than Narcissa. Lucius IS self-absorbed more than he should be, but his upbringing taught him that he was very important in his world. I think Hermione may help him learn to think of others a bit more (although she might need a bludger to do it). My money is on her succeeding.

HarryGinny4eva – Yes, the lack of communication is exacerbating their troubles. Too bad Lucius can’t communicate except through his dick right now. Although Hermione is responding some to that form of ‘intercourse’ (ooh, bad pun). Writing Snape and Narcissa is a great deal of fun. And Snape interacting with Lucius is a perfect joy to write.

Rini – I agree, Severus shouldn’t complain about being involved in Lucius’ wedding bell blues, but I guess he feels that Lucius could have been doing a better job as a new husband. Hermione will need to find a way to get past comparing herself to Narcissa – Narcissa will be in Lucius’ life forever as the mother of his son. I do think it is a plus that she belongs to Severus now, though. I like pretty stationery, too, and I’m fascinated by the new feature on Yahoo that allows one to color and even put patterns on one’s emails. Oooh, yes, Lucius in Regency apparel. He would look magnificent. That neckcloth, the fitted jacket and waistcoat, those tight pants…guh.

Aliciana – I have as much fun writing Snape and Lucius as I do Lucius and Hermione. The way they bounce off each other as snarky personalities is endlessly fascinating. Truly Hermione matches Lucius better than Narcissa did. Lucius gets bored without a challenge whereas Snape wants peace in his home. The new pairings make more sense for them all. Hermione may have deliberately deteriorated her table manners, but I’ll bet both Narcissa and Snape know that and are amused. Lucius is quite willing to take the risk that Hermione will be too much spitfire for him; I’m not sure he has grasped her penchant for lost causes, though.

Kippers – Oh, I’m happy the chapter made you laugh! More on the way. Snape in a toga – that has possibilities – I hope he doesn’t have knobby knees, LOL, but maybe we can hope for a strong wind.

Scary Bear Hair – Sometimes I wonder if I spend too much time on the characters’ worries. I do use a lot of words to give the reader a sense of their inner selves. But I also do that for the sex scenes, so maybe it balances out. Hermione needs to come to terms with Narcissa who is going to be in Lucius’ life forever albeit as another man’s wife now. And YES! I totally agree that for Snape Narcissa is a soothing, restful reward after a life of horror. He has allowed himself to open his heart to another woman whom he trusts. She loves him in return and it can’t hurt that such a beautiful woman chose him. More Narcissa in this next chapter.

T Stevenson – I’m beginning to suspect NEITHER Hermione nor Lucius is extremely sensitive to the nuances of others’ behaviors. They will both have to learn as they go along. More of Narcissa this chapter and you’ll get some history for her and Snape. (Have you been hacking my story? Snerk!! You could have written this next chapter.) I’ve always avoided Narcissa, but this time I wanted to see what I could do with her – just not as Lucius’ wife. She’s snooty in the books, but I wanted someone nicer for Snape. Snape wouldn’t take the tongue lashing from Hermione that Lucius does. It may be why Snape can’t understand Lucius’ problems. Which of the seven dwarfs do you liken yourself to – LOL! Better choose one with the lung capacity to ‘blow up’ Lucius’ ego… His reasons for criticizing Hermione at the table are addressed later.

Aleysiasnape – Poor Lucius is suffering from all angles right now. He isn’t the most sensitive man when it comes to relationships. More of Narcissa this chapter.


Onward...

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Chapter Eighteen


After Dinner Discussions




Finally, the meal came to an end, everyone lauding the crème brulée and raspberries dessert. The two couples retreated to a small drawing room overlooking a side garden laid out in the formal knot design with its miniature hedges enclosing colorful plants and a variety of culinary herbs that scented the late evening breeze. The knot garden itself wasn’t visible in the dark, but the aromatic plants added a sweetness to the air coming in the open windows.

Lucius and Snape gravitated to a sofa, its attraction a small, flanking table holding a crystal decanter of brandy and two snifters, leaving the two women to occupy a second sofa several feet away. Instead of immediately sitting down, Narcissa excused herself to the facilities, wordlessly inviting Hermione to accompany her.

“He’s baiting you, you know,” Narcissa announced, stepping up beside Hermione and idly adjusting a blonde curl. Her eyes met Hermione’s in the mirror, rampant curiosity in her glance. “About the etiquette corrections, I mean. I wonder why?”

Hermione gave the other woman an uncertain smile and sidestepped the question. “I think Slytherins must learn it in school. While the other houses had debating teams, your house had baiting teams. Your son excelled.” Hermione didn’t know what to make of the elegant woman inviting her to the loo. She eyed the blonde Mrs. Snape inquisitively.

“Apparently, you’ve learned the art of baiting also,” Narcissa replied, a hint of frost entering her voice.

“Oh, dear, I am sorry,” Hermione grimaced. “That was habit. I guess I was firing the first shot in possible self-defense. I’m still in shock over having Lucius for a husband. It wasn’t my choice and I’m not sure where I stand with you and Severus.”

Hermione pulled the pins from her upswept hair and let it relax back into its normal style, breathing a sigh of relief and drawing a chuckle from her blonde guest. She drew a brush through her wayward curls, making her hair crackle with static electricity as she tried nonchalantly to add to this very odd conversation. “Uh, if you don’t mind me asking, and since I am now embroiled in this quartet, isn’t it a bit awkward, the three of you maintaining a friendship?”

“Yes…and really not,” Narcissa smiled slightly, putting Hermione a little more at ease. “Lucius and I were, of course, an arranged marriage. We learned to accept what we had no control over and in time we grew to love each other after a fashion. But Lucius is so…so volatile. And didactic. I was always a little in awe of him and his family’s wealth. And, I suppose, afraid of him, never knowing when his temper would erupt. He’s very intimidating, isn’t he?”

“Um, actually I just find him annoying – and patronizing,” Hermione looked quizzically at the other witch, a little confused.

“He doesn’t scare you?”

“He has browbeating down to a fine art,” Hermione answered, “but no, he doesn’t scare me. However, he has startled me in our more… um, intimate moments.” Hermione drew a deep breath and decided to just ask, “If you don’t mind me saying so, your ex-husband has some odd tastes in boudoir activities.” Hermione blushed a little, thinking perhaps she shouldn’t have said anything, but she was swiftly disabused of any hint of a faux pas.

“Oh, that! Yes, he’s quite good, isn’t he? Quite creative. Well, of course, so is Severus, although Sev doesn’t go in for any role-playing costumes. Otherwise, it was purely a lateral transfer for me there.” Narcissa smiled dreamily as though she were seeing something in her mind.

“Hermione goggled. “Severus? I would find him intimidating. Aren’t you afraid of your new husband, then, if he is just like Lucius?”

“Oh, no, I find him very restful after Lucius. He’s always very clear about what he wants from me. There aren’t any of the same uncertainties I had with my ex. And besides, if I hadn’t been promised to Lucius from the cradle, I think I would have tried to marry Severus a few years after we were both out of Hogwarts. I am five years Severus’ senior, but he was always something of an embittered old man, even as a youth, so he was mature for his age.”

“Does Lucius know that? I mean that you would have wanted to marry Snape?” Hermione obscurely felt as though she needed to defend her husband. How odd.

“We’ve never talked about it.”

“But Snape knows?” asked Hermione.

“Of course. He wouldn’t marry me until I let him go through my mind with a fine-tuned wand. He had to be certain of my feelings, but I wasn’t worried in the least. I love him. That was all he cared about.” Narcissa leaned against the powder room counter and faced Hermione as the new Mrs. Malfoy pretended to fix her hair in the mirror.

Hermione slid her eyes to Narcissa in the mirror, “Everyone thinks Severus chased you relentlessly until he managed to get you to agree to marry him.”

“Yes, I know.” Narcissa contemplated her successor for a moment with a kindly, but shrewd appraisal, then nodded to herself and went on, “It was a polite fiction designed mostly for Lucius’ sake. We both love him and didn’t want him to think I divorced him and sought out Severus. It wasn’t true. I didn’t, but people are catty and they would have decided that I chose Severus and dumped Lucius for him. It wasn’t that way. After I was released from marriage to Lucius, I didn’t want to be married again at all. But after a few months of being alone, I saw Sev at a Ministry gala where he was being feted as Head of the School Governors and hating it. We’d been friends for many years and I just went over to disengage the bootlickers like I’d done times without count for Lucius and somehow there was magic.

“I think there had always been just a frisson of je ne sais quoi between us, but that night it bloomed. We quietly saw each other for a few weeks, then when we knew we wanted to be together we developed the idea of his pursuing me. Lucius wouldn’t care if Severus chased me; that’s how the Purebloods would behave. But me choosing Severus would have been humiliating for Lucius in front of his peers. It’s acceptable for a Pureblood woman to be fair game, but not the hunter. Your husband’s ego is a delicate thing needing constant care. He’s worth it, though, Hermione.”

Hermione was appalled at learning Narcissa had wanted another man. Her heart broke a little for Lucius even though he would probably never know. Certainly, he would never learn it from her, but… was he in fact fooled by Snape’s and Narcissa’s ploy? The man was not at all stupid and knew both of them very well.

“So Lucius is fine with you marrying Snape and you’re all comfortable in your friendship?” Hermione shied mentally at the convoluted relationships whirling around her. Lucius’ love life was more twisted than an Edgar Allen Poe tale, but his past shouldn’t be her concern. She was mostly angry, not on her husband’s behalf, but her own. She did not want to feel sad or sorry for Lucius Malfoy. She wanted to feel nothing for him. Nothing at all.

Unaware of Hermione’s reaction to her artless confession, Narcissa said, “Yes, well, except for the last year or so. We noticed that Lucius has become more fractious – oh, not with us – but just, oh… unhappy, I think. More so than usual, anyway,” she smiled. “And this escalating problem with his financial holdings hasn’t helped. Sev and I thought he needed to be married again, but to someone who suited him better. Then Lucius found you. He is ever so much more relaxed now. Severus and I can both see it.”

Hermione stared. Relaxed? Merlin’s balls, if that man was relaxed now, she was glad she hadn’t run across him when he was wound up. Her tush would have had permanent handprints. “So about your lateral transfer… you mean Severus, um, is physical?” Hermione blushed, “I mean, he…he…”

“Oh, my, yes!” Narcissa offered a conspiratorial grin, “Sev makes such delicious shivers run down my spine when he raises his hand and pauses just before the first spank. And he makes fire flow through my veins when he tells me I’ve been naughty in that deep, resonant voice of his. But I’m sure you know just what I mean. I learned to cry a few fake tears – both of them like that – I think it allows them to be all tender and cuddly, which wouldn’t otherwise be comfortable for them. And the sex is staggering, isn’t it?” Narcissa smiled happily at her hostess, “Don’t you like it best that way sometimes?”

Hermione goggled at the other woman. So she wasn’t unnatural to find a trace of titillation in being spanked? “It is new to me,” the young witch offered cautiously, “but I am learning to appreciate its effect,” she said, bemused by the unexpected gift the older woman had just handed her. A tiny frown wrinkled her forehead. The only problem was, whenever Lucius finally was goaded into spanking her, those were the only times when he didn’t have sex with her afterward. He left her alone those nights. No wonder she was so surly the next day. Somehow she had disconnected the two events in her husband’s behavior. She either got sex or got a spanking, which made her horny, but left her unsatisfied and she had no idea how to fix the problem.

~~~~

Lucius was getting fidgety in the drawing room, “What did Narcissa hope to accomplish by going with Hermione to the loo? Is your wife going to sing my praises or warn my wife off my warped bedroom practices?” He looked at Snape with a worried frown.

“Probably some of both,” Snape said in total unconcern. He motioned to the attending house elf to bring him another Benedictine. “Are you thinking anything Narcissa says about you will destroy your marriage? I can’t imagine she could do anything more detrimental than you’ve managed to do yourself. If anything, maybe my wife will help Hermione see the funny side of your totalitarian tendencies.”

Lucius bridled, “I’m not a dictator. I’m merely trying to help Hermione be comfortable in the stratum of society she will be asked to traverse by my side. You know it’s cutthroat.”

Snape snorted, but another swallow of Benedictine muffled the slight, dubious-sounding reaction. “Lucius, I suspect your family line can be traced back to Attila the Hun. Luckily, I think Hermione’s family tree has Queen Boadicea swinging from a branch somewhere. Do you really imagine any Pureblood living will impinge on Hermione’s self-esteem whatsoever? She’s already gone up against you and won. Unfortunately, she rather despises Purebloods.”

“You needn’t tell me her attitude toward my heritage. And I resent you comparing my attempts to help my wife as a barbarian invasion, by either Attila the Hun or Boadicea. Attila was a brilliant wizard, but he overextended himself. He was too greedy. And I have no sympathy for the witch Boadicea – she should have won. No one likes a loser.”

Snape tsked, “Your skewed view of magic historical figures is useless to discuss; we went through you rewriting history and aggrandizing the Purebloods enough times when we were students. And by the way, when you take over your duties at Hogwarts I’ll appreciate it if you don’t try to introduce your theory that Merlin didn’t like the clinging feel of underwear and it was why he wore voluminous robes. Just because you hate underwear it doesn’t follow that Merlin and you were soulmates in despising boxers. History shows that wizards didn’t wear underwear as such back then, but I don’t want to get into your ridiculous old argument at school. Write it in your memoirs if you must, but leave it out of the Hogwarts curriculum.”

“Merlin can kiss my arse. What about Hermione?” Lucius demanded. “She and I are not in a competition.” He’d only advanced his ‘Merlin hates boxers’ theory to watch Snape get angry in school. Apparently it was still working beautifully. Lucius made a note to needle Severus with it again, sometime.


“Aren’t you?” Snape waved his Benedictine in the air to punctuate his point, “Aren’t you in a competition? I think it’s not Hermione’s grasp of etiquette that concerns you, it’s your own image that you’re defending so much. You’ll have to make a choice between Hermione as your wife and your Pureblood crowd. Anyone who snubs her, snubs you. How hard is that to understand?”

“She is now a Malfoy. She comes first as family. I have had a few remarks from other Purebloods about my marriage, but I’ve made it clear in every case that the full support and influence of the Malfoy family is behind her as my wife. So I do understand that. My image is not the problem. At least it is a problem insofar as Hermione believes me still to be evil, although I think I’ve moved up from archfiend to merely fiend. But I think I have a new problem now. I’m coming to believe she’s feeling inferior to Narcissa. Did you see her reactions to Cissy at dinner? I don’t know how to counteract that. She accused me of still being in love with Narcissa. You know that’s not true, but how do I prove it?”

Canting his head to the side, Severus considered his friend’s worried frown, “Hmm, I didn’t know you could be that perceptive about lowly Muggleborns. Your sensitivity usually begins and ends in the boardroom. There might be hope for you yet.” Seeing Lucius’ glare Snape shrugged, “Perhaps Narcissa’s little tete-a-tete with your wife in that ladies’ retiring room will help, or maybe it will make it worse. Who knows with women?”

~~~~

Hermione wasn’t quite sure what to say to the beautiful witch, but she wasn’t quite as intimidated as she had been at the beginning of the evening. The two women exited the bathroom and rejoined the men in the cozy drawing room. Hermione looked over at the two men with their quite startling differences in coloring – but, except for superficial details of background and societal ties, so similar in personality, behavior, outlook, and apparently sexual practices; it was a bit eerie. Two chess pieces, one black king and one white king, who loved to move around the chess board testing each other’s vulnerabilities, happily claiming each other’s psychological pawns, neither ever winning. Hermione watched them quietly squabbling back and forth.

“Do those two always joust with each other like tonight? It seems more a sport than any serious discussion, the way they pick at each other,” Hermione mused as the two ladies sat down on their sofa.

Narcissa sighed, “Sometimes I wonder why I bothered to change spouses. Two peas in a pod, if one realizes the pod is made from destructive if withered Death Eater memories. I guess I’ll always love Lucius, but never the way I love Severus.”

Hermione stiffened at Narcissa’s mention of loving her husband, but relaxed again with the addition of Severus’ name. “I don’t understand what made you divorce Lucius. If they are so similar, surely Lucius had more to offer.”

Narcissa suddenly smiled a bit grimly, a militant glow in her eyes, “Not for me. I was wed to Lucius by my parents and we had a solid enough marriage until Draco became enmeshed in Lucius’ political shenanigans and our child was endangered by Voldemort. Lucius was in too deep by then and I blamed him for nearly getting Draco killed. One doesn’t put the pieces of a marriage back together after such a cataclysm.”

Narcissa’s tone became softer; Hermione could only describe it as ‘moony’. “I had thought Severus oddly compelling even as a child in school – he’s extremely clever, you know - but he was five years my junior and I didn’t think of him in that way at all then, plus he had his eyes on Lily Evans. I was already given to Lucius anyway. Besides, a seventeen-year-old and a twelve-year-old is quite different than a forty-four-year-old being courted by a thirty-nine-year-old.

“When I decided my life with Lucius was over, I suddenly felt so free! He isn’t the most even-tempered man and I always felt like a drop of water on a hot griddle, jumping to avoid the heat before nothing of me was left. As the war dragged on, he scared me more and more as Voldemort dug craters in his Pureblood pride. Looking back I suppose it was more my ingrained habit than anything else, but he does tend to go from suave to ill-tempered in a heartbeat sometimes. I don’t know how you deal with it, but toward the end it just made me frightened all the time.”

Hermione gazed quizzically at the beautiful witch; she saw that Narcissa had never found Lucius’ telltale finger rubbing and wondered how in all those years of marriage the woman could have missed the signal that the blond wizard’s pride had been pricked and his temper was on the rise. Lucius gave plenty of warning.

Narcissa glanced under her lashes at the two wizards, seeing they had ceased their conversation. “Severus, who had always been closely tied to us anyway, indicated he was interested in me. It took him awhile, but Severus convinced me to try marriage again and I was finally with someone who was so much more even-tempered.”

Hermione’s eyes went round at that blatant piece of flummery, but Narcissa just laughed. “I didn’t say his even temper was good, just always the same. I always knew he was easier to understand, but I finally found someone who also understood the real me. I don’t think Lucius ever did, or if he did, he was disappointed. That doesn’t make a happy marriage, not like I now have. I want the same happiness for Lucius and I hope you fit better with him than I ever did.”

Hermione was so wound up in what Narcissa was telling her, she didn’t realize the two wizards had broken off talking to each other and were intently listening to Narcissa, but Narcissa had. She had no intention of representing her new marriage as anything but Snape’s determined siege of her. Neither she nor her husband ever wanted to wound Lucius with Narcissa’s latent attraction to the dark-haired wizard.

Lucius’ eyes were sad as he looked at his ex-wife, “We weren’t well-matched, Narcissa. But you know I’m happy for you and Severus. I agree he suits you far better than I ever did. And I also hope the same for my marriage.” He looked briefly at Hermione before resuming his discussion with Snape, leaving Hermione gasping at her husband’s stated desire for a happy marriage. How would that ever happen? She wondered if he was just saving face in front of his ex-wife.



~~~~~

After saying good-bye to their guests, Lucius and Hermione went to their own rooms to change from their formal wear. Hermione went into her pretty white and peach tiled bathroom and ran a bath as hot as she could stand it to soak her stress away. It had been an enlightening evening, but she felt more confused than ever seeing Lucius interacting with his ex-wife and Snape. The talk she’d had with Narcissa had been a bit shocking in its way, letting her in on a secret about that threesome she would rather not have known, as well as liberating her from her own taboo reaction of excitement from getting spanked.

Hermione wondered why Narcissa had told her about Severus. The woman had to know Hermione wasn’t happy to have been shanghaied into marriage with Lucius. What was to keep her from rubbing the blond wizard’s face in his failure, telling him his wife of twenty plus years was in love with someone else who had attracted her for a long time?

Even as the thought crossed her mind Hermione knew she wouldn’t tell Lucius. It was no business of hers, but beyond that she wasn’t cruel by nature. Her own wicked taunting of Lucius was completely out of character, making her confused and upset by her weird bouts of vituperation against him. It wasn’t all about getting him to spank her.

Hermione slowly sank into the hot water, pouring a few crystals of an herbal mixture into the water to relax her tense shoulders and back. “Mmmmm,” she swished her spine against the back of the large white marble tub, further easing into the heated bubbles the crystals had generated and scissoring her legs in the froth. Lucius’ mother could have held tea parties in the tub, it was so large.

Another dismaying remembrance suddenly floated through her mind. The diamond parure wasn’t from the Malfoy vaults if she understood Lucius’ remark - it was his wedding present to her. She felt like a fool, a stupid fool, having hurt him with her… oh, she didn’t want to admit it. Argghh! She was jealous. She hadn’t wanted to wear jewels that had adorned his previous wife. How lowering. Especially when a moment’s thought brought the knowledge that generations of Malfoy women had probably worn the heirloom jewelry in the Malfoy vaults. She really was a stupid fool.

Choose your battles, Hermione, she decided, then she laughed out loud. Her nasty tongue ran away with her the minute Lucius walked into a room. How was she to control her behavior? He brought out the absolute worst in her with no effort at all.

“What is so amusing?” Lucius asked from the doorway, his voice, smoky and smooth, strumming her already jangled nerve endings. He always sounded so… so polished, so upper class. It tightened nerves that had just started to relax in the steamy heat.

He limped farther into the bathroom fixating on the steaming tub of hot water with an acquisitive eye and groaning with a very unpolished sound of anticipation. “Ahhhh. Delightful. Just what I need.”

Hermione had no chance to protest before Lucius was lowering himself into the other end of the tub with a heartfelt sigh. He had come to her rooms naked as usual, so he’d been appropriately undressed for immediate submersion. Hermione’s frown was lost on the blond interloper as he closed his eyes briefly, savoring the warm water.

tbc...

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I would love to hear from a lurker or two. This chapter is full of things to talk about. Please take a minute or two to make a comment on some aspect of the chapter or the characters. And hugs to all who reviewed the last chapter. Much appreciated!!

Don't forget to see the pictures for this chapter at:

http://labibliographe.livejournal.com/51982.html

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