All the way II: And Even Further

"Found it!" Lucius said at last. He turned, to find Hermione still looking at the picture of his mother. Frowning slightly, he went to her side, looking down on the photograph.

"She... she's your mother..." Hermione whispered.

His frown deepened, "I know that. And you've seen this picture before; what’s so special now?"

She sat down heavily on the bed, "Did you ever meet her?"

Lucius shook his head, "No. She could be dead for all I know; actually, she probably is, knowing my family."

"Do... do you know how she met your father?" Hermione asked quietly.

"No. I think my grandfather just saw her, noticed she looked like you and knowing that my dad liked you... some how managed to get her to have his sons child." Lucius said with a heavy heart.

He wished he'd known his mother, known the other side of his family; they had to have been the nice side, as not many people were nastier than the Malfoy’s. He wished so dearly that he had known a love like Hermiones - like a mothers - when he was little. He wished that he could have had a loving family, like so many people did.

But he realized that wishes were useless when they were wishes to change the past.

"Would you come with me... some where?" Hermione asked suddenly.

"Of course," he answered, "Any where."

"Right, come on then," She stood up and started to leave the room.

"Now?" he asked.

"Yes. Now."

"But I have Herbology!"

"Tough."

Lucius followed Hermione, surprised. She was always so serious when it came to him missing classes; this was totally out of character.

He was even more surprised when she flooed them to St. Mungo's.

"What’s wrong?" He asked urgently, "Are you ill?"

"No,” She said quietly, "Don't draw attention to yourself, I don't want any one delaying this."

Lucius followed her silently around the hospital, dodging all the healers that might stop them. Finally, they came to a ward that obviously housed long term patients. He wondered why they were there and was about to ask, when Hermione opened the door and pushed him in. He looked around and was startled to see the wall above one of the beds covered with photos of his mother. He turned to Hermione.

"What's going on?" He asked frantically.

"The man who was shouting about Voldemort..." She sighed, "He's called Bill. I took him back to the castle and cleaned him up and then I brought him here." She pointed to the bed under the picture covered wall and when he looked, Lucius saw the man from Hogsmeade. "He thought I was his daughter."

Lucius was not stupid. He knew what this meant. The mad man, asleep in the bed to his right, was his grandfather. He looked to Hermione desperately.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked, needing some one to tell him, needing some one to guide him. "I don't know what to do."

"We can stay until he wakes up, if you want." Hermione suggested. Lucius nodded. "I'll go and talk to the healers."

She left the ward as Lucius walked slowly over to the chair by the side of the mans bed.

Why was he here? What had happened to him? Why did he seem to be so mad?

Lucius looked around the ward. Apart from this bed, only one other was not curtained off. The other bed had a woman lying on top of the white sheets. She was staring at the ceiling and smiling, as if she wasn't in a hospital, as if she wasn't in a room full of people.

He looked back to the man that he was related to. Bill. His grandfather. His mothers’ father.

Hermione came back into the ward and sat on a chair next to Lucius.

"Why is he in here?" he asked quietly.

"He was attacked by Death Eaters in his house. When the Ministry got there, they reported that no one else lived there, but he was shouting for the Aurors to save his daughter. They decided that there was no daughter and admitted him here." She explained in an equally low voice.

"But there was a daughter. And there was only one Death eater." Lucius said slightly bitterly.

He hated his family so much.

No.

He hated the Malfoy’s. They were not his family. Families were meant to care for each other and love each other.

They may have no biological link, but the Snapes were his family.

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Hermione reached out and stroked her hand through platinum blonde hair. She wished so much that she had not had to bring him here. He had been through too much in his life, and it was starting to get ridiculous. How much damage had the two earlier generations of Malfoy done?

"It'll be alright," She reassured him, "We'll find out what happened."

"How?" He sneered, "He's in no fit state to tell us."

Hermione thought for a moment. "What..." she said slowly, "What if I asked Severus to come and take a look?"

"What is he now?" Lucius laughed, "A bloody healer."

"No," Hermione sighed "No, he's not a healer, but he is a Legilimens."

Lucius turned to her, wide eyed, "He can read minds! You mean, as well as being a skulking, snarling, sneering bastard, he can read minds, as well?" He rubbed his hands over his face, "Holy shit of Merlin, his class was screwed from the beginning..."

Hermione smiled, "Yeah. Well, anyway... I could ask him to come and see what he can... see...?"

"No," Lucius shook his head, "I'll ask him."