Beyond the Veil -- COMPLETE

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Updated 9-6-08


So many insights and some excellent guessing have been going on in the reviews. It is very impressive. I hope I live up to your hopes **checks quietly to see that the getaway lever for the bolthole escape tunnel works**.

I've answered everyone, I think. Here they are...


Citten - Yes, I wrote about the dinner party (ad nauseum LOL). This chapter should answer that. As for your other questions, most I can’t answer (but you knew that…). And Citten, I loved your long review. Thank you.


ShiningEyes – I think Hermione would love to chuck her Mrs. Wealthy Malfoy “I am an ornament” image and go back to her department in the bowels of the Ministry. She wouldn’t give up Lucius, just the inane mask she wears. But it’s for a greater good, so she perseveres.


Utopia – I agree Hermione’s vulgar vocabulary is rather limited. And nasty females probably do congregate, witness movies like “Mean Girls”. Does the magic world need Muggle plumbing? That’s a question to ponder. Not sure. Actually, while I agree Hermione has a lot of love to share with children, I think Lucius needs them more than she does. He’s so alone. So was she in her previous life, but by choice.


angelprince – You want me to part Lucius and Hermione when it took me twenty-three chapters to get them together? I do understand that when the conflict lessens, the story goes flat. This last chapter showed the turbulence going on in the high reaches of the magical world over the Squibs. The new bath was truthfully just to move them into getting ready for the dinner party. And to give Lucius a way to show Hermione she’s special to him. We’re back to the plot now. Fluff alert has been turned off. You may return to your position in front of the keyboard. [grin]


Heidi191976 – If anyone can get information from women, it will be Lucius. Personally, I’d tell him anything, even what I did at the after-football party in high school…oh, well, that’s not really relevant…I’m sure Lucius and Hermione working together will solve their problems.


Snapes_Goddess – Sending hugs.


HermioneMalfoyFan –Sometimes the characters just want a chapter to themselves. This chapter did tell of unrest among magic folk whose families have Squibs so there was a tiny bit of plot in the fluff. I’m sending our two out to do battle at the dinner party now. Their relaxing moments are over. Lucius can be generous. But he’s no weakling, our Mr. Mob Boss, LOL.



helensgirl – Hi and I’m glad you’re back. We’ve passed 75% done, now. Excuse me, I have to go into the back room and squeeze some more lemons for later chapters, heh, heh. ‘Riding’ took my entire store of lemonade.


sisterae – Yes, Lucius certainly uses his ‘charm’ :cough: on those ladies. For all that Lucius wants to be seen as more than a physical entity, he’s not above using his ‘gifts’. But now he makes sure Hermione won’t misconstrue anything. Yep, he’s hooked.


jw - You are correct. Lucius will use his charms to get what he wants. He will protect his relationship, though, before he lets his magnetism loose for the evening.


FlowersBecomeScreens – Hermione is clever, but I’m not sure she would have used Margaret to keep Lucius away from the bordello. She didn’t really want to tell Lucius about Margaret at all. But it was pure ‘Hermione Granger, Know-it-All ’ doing the research. Ouch, Lucius wasn’t too successful with his prison candles, poor sod. The Veil and the Sorting Hat parallel just emerged as my story got written. That hat is an enigma good for a story or six. And Lucius is always at his best manipulating others. I think he got an extra gene for it somehow, New Leaf Policy aside. Yeah, there are untold reasons for admiring Lucius as a complex character. He’s great to write. I suspect your bated breath might turn you blue for a few more chapters, anyway.


Rini – Here’s more plot. I think they’ll serve wine at the dinner party. Help yourself. Do you think Hermione was too effusive thanking Lucius for the spa? What man ever gets enough compliments for his hard work? Lucius ate it up. So, what analytical essays are those?


blue artemis – Lucius will need the words to be entirely sure Hermione cares. He’s so adept at using wiggle words himself, he wouldn’t assume anything.


meankitty69 – I’m happy you can enjoy lemon-free chapters. I’ll bet our couple is happy, too, LOL. They were relaxed enough with each other that Hermione could feel free to be angry in his presence and know she’d get some sympathy. She was just surprised at the type she got!


pasen852 – Welcome back! My story does twist and turn a bit. I’m dealing with two difficult people with minds of their own. Writing them is always a surprise to me, too.


Scary Bear Hair – Ah, my next story…I’m still wrestling with it, but it is coming a bit clearer. It made me laugh that you concluded I had more done if I was posting this story more. You may be right! Lucius will always need a bit of managing by Hermione to keep him from exacting retributions just because he can. I caved and put in the bathtub. I’m a wuss. Modern bathing facilities seemed needed (by me).


Muffy – I’m so glad you liked the bathtub. Romance and water just go together so well, I think. An intimate place for two.


nitesfool – So may I assume you’ve been reading “Hungry, Thirsty, Crazy”? It’s a wonderful LM/HG story, isn’t it? //I’ve mentioned before that I love words. I’m happy that my word worship is increasing your vocabulary. Reviewer Clare1984 has figured a way to visit Lucius in Azkaban. You might develop a similar plan if Lucius is your goal. Both Hermione and Lucius are getting better at understanding and pleasing each other.


doodle - I’m happy to know you’re safe from Gustav, doodle. You have amazing ideas about how this story could go. Perhaps I should have been looking over YOUR shoulder.


sheherazade – Magical Regency (for lack of a better term) was just as inbred and snobby as Muggle Regency, maybe more. I thought it funny that Lucius was so sure he now fit in with the ‘common’ sort. As if. Hermione got a good laugh out of that, but didn’t do it in front of clueless Lucius, I’m sure.


WhiteWitch – Hello. Thank you for reading my story, WOW, for two days nonstop? Now that you mention it, that old episode about the portal the Star Trek crew found, and the way they altered history, does have parallels to this story. Very interesting! And I think Lucius could have chemistry with a metal suit of armour, so Hermione is a happy woman (as long as no suits of armour show up on the doorstep). I can’t seem to write without humor creeping in, so I’m glad you like it.


Is everyone in their evening best for the dinner party? We're leaving soon...


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Chapter Thirty-Nine

The Dinner Party

“Lucius.”

The blond wizard stirred and opened his eyes, blinking to see Hermione standing above him at the edge of the spa, dressed in her chemise. He sat up and saw that the bubbles were gone. A rolled up towel had been placed under his head while he slept.

“You fell asleep and looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you,” Hermione said. “I know transfiguring this magnificent spa probably took a great deal of energy and you still have a lengthy dinner party to get through so I thought I would let you sleep.” She smiled at him, but her brown eyes indicated a pinch of worry that she had made the right choice.

“I appreciate your care, kitten. I must have needed to rest, although I’m sad to have missed christening our new spa more energetically,” Lucius teased, lifting his arms over his head and stretching, a big yawn truncating any other words. “How much time before we need to leave?”

“You still have almost an hour. You’ve been asleep for forty minutes. I didn’t know how much time you needed to get ready, but I tried to wait to wake you. I think you might have spent the night in there if I hadn’t roused you. You always have this quiet snore when you’re especially tired.” Hermione dimpled at her husband, seeing a slight flush coat his face.

“I snore?” he asked, embarrassed.

“Narcissa never told you?” Hermione laughed at his chagrin.

“We had separate bedrooms. She was a light sleeper and I tend to take up whatever space there is on the bed. She said I disturbed her rest.”

“Well, I certainly understand that. Getting you to leave any space for me in bed is about as useless as giving old Voldie a brush and comb set. I’ve long since given up and just use you for my mattress.” Hermione walked over to the dressing table and picked up her own brush, trying to coax her hair into a semblance of control and failing, as usual.

“That’s why now I wake up to find you on top of me every morning? I thought you were attracted to the warmth.” Lucius rose from the water and pulled a towel from the rack, drying himself off haphazardly and searching through his clothing for his wand, which he used to complete the drying process. “I will admit that finding you on top of me every morning has been extremely convenient, now that you aren’t concerned about making love in daylight.” He laughed at Hermione’s matching bloom of color in her cheeks. Lucius shrugged on his dark green silk robe leaving it untied as he strolled over to the wardrobes where his increasingly large collection of clothes was stored.

Hermione didn’t have any complaints, but why Lucius had even bothered with his robe seemed pointless as it merely hung from his shoulders covering only his attractive buttocks. That was crime enough, she supposed, but any visiting of that lovely, resilient part of his anatomy would have to wait for after the dinner party. There wasn’t enough time now due to Lucius’ unscheduled snooze. He did look very refreshed, though, and she was glad he was back on form.

She watched him paw through his jackets as he minutely inspected all his black evening ones. The little witch snickered to herself – he was such a dandy. Dandy? The translation drifted into her mind. A man especially concerned with his sartorial effect. Hermione grinned. Yes, that was Lucius – a dandy. She sat on the stool in front of the small dressing table and prepared to be entertained as she pretended to powder her nose and brush her hair.

Lucius fretted over which of his black evening jackets he should use for Hermione’s plan of him charming unknown women. Should he look romantic with the velvet or wealthy with the black satin and silver trim? Or should he try for approachable with the black wool and velvet piping? Frankly he didn’t want to do the charm act at all, but it was in an important cause. That reminded him.

He turned to find his wife smiling at him. He smiled back and said, “Hermione I do want to put you on notice that you are sending me out to talk to these other women. I may need to spend considerable time in conversation with them and you need to appear complaisant about my behavior. It would be good if you could enter into conversation with others as though my cozying up to the women was of no importance to you. I’ll make it clear before we leave the party that I would never consider going home with anyone but you, but I do need the space to do the charming. Do you understand?”

Hermione’s smile faded as she took in the full implications of what course she had set for her husband. She frowned, then sighed, “I do see that it is a little more complicated than I understood. I guess I’m still rather naïve. This is very important so I’ll play my part. But if any of the women think you’re available and try to cut me out, I may learn how to throw a crucio. And it might not be at the women,” she added sweetly.

Lucius grinned at his little combatant and pulled her up from her seat and over to his large, oak wardrobe. “Tell me which jacket to choose. Velvet for romance, satin for wealth and power, or wool for blending with the crowd.”

Hermione goggled at the differences he pointed out. If she lived two hundred years she would never have the interest in clothing that her wizard did. She had to concentrate on which black jacket was velvet rather than satin or wool – not that she was going to admit her feminine shortcomings to him. She squinted at the jackets Lucius indicated and chose one at random.

“Ah,” said Lucius with satisfaction. “Good choice. Yes, I agree that tonight I should tone down my appearance and try to blend in. I do think I’m getting the hang of that. You’re right – I don’t want to overawe a female when I’m trying to be sympathetic and a confidante. The black wool it is.” He briskly pulled the jacket and its hanger from the wardrobe and hooked it over the wardrobe’s open door.

“Now, dearling, what are you wearing?”

Hermione smiled weakly. She always hated trying to figure out which dress was suitable for an event. Lucius had overestimated her knowledge ever since he’d seen her in that yellow dress she had created so long ago in the landlady’s boarding house. All she had done was transfigure the dress from a picture she’d seen in a lady’s journal there. She had no style of her own. So much of her younger years had been spent in school under a Gryffindor robe or in jeans and summers with her mother who mostly wore jeans or her white dentist’s smock. She hadn’t had much education in women’s frills.

Her parents had wound up in Australia by the time she was eighteen and the Unspeakables section of the Ministry didn’t teach her anything about fine clothing either. She hadn’t been much interested in learning about being beautifully dressed after her two mistakes with Ron and Roger. All her clothing now was created by Madam Celestine who had quickly seen Hermione had no input for her.

Maybe she should throw herself on her husband’s mercy and admit she was clueless about clothes and he could teach her about the nuances and variations of that, too. But not tonight. “Um, I’m having a hard time deciding how to dress, now that I see I’m to be the complaisant wife. What do you suggest?” She needn’t have worried as she saw him light up and instantly step over to her wardrobe, throwing the doors open and perusing her collection of dresses.

“This one,” he pulled the evening gown out and hung it on the door of the wardrobe like he had done for his jacket.

“Oh, Lucius, not that one. The front of that dress is cut down to my clit. I’m too embarrassed to wear it in public.”

“That’s a total exaggeration, Hermione. It merely displays to wonderful effect the womanly virtues you’ve been blessed with. Try it on.” Lucius whipped the dress off its hanger and quickly threw it over Hermione’s head, letting the material fall around her. It was woven of iridescent thread and shimmered as it moved, making the overall effect one of walking in moonlight. The dress was cut low in the front straight across Hermione’s breasts showing a brazen amount of cleavage while retaining enough coverage to be modish rather than trashy. The dress was simple with tiny puff sleeves, the square-cut neckline, and a lavender ribbon going around her torso and tying under her breasts. It was the material that made the dress rather than the simple design.

“See?” Hermione complained. “If I breathe hard, my bosoms will fall out.”

Lucius snickered at the word. He still got a kick out of the silly name. “So don’t breathe hard,” he said callously. “That dress will have the husbands all gathering around you hoping you’ll sneeze and I’ll have free sway with charming the wives. Consider yourself a decoy on a mission.”

He looked in the bottom of her wardrobe, “Here. Wear these gray velvet slippers. I’ll be back in a moment.” Lucius disapparated, then popped back into the dressing room with a velvet box. “I got these from the estate vault. They will enhance the dress and provide a little bit of coverage for your ‘bosoms’.” Lucius handed Hermione the box and she opened it to see a matching set of earrings, bracelet, and necklace of deep purple amethysts.

“Mr. Malfoy! No diamonds?” Hermione grinned and lifted out the necklace and fastened it around her neck. “Oh, Lucius! This only draws the eye to my bosoms. It doesn’t cover anything,” she groaned, resigned to being on display.

“Hmm, so it does. Well, you’ll just have to embrace the joys of exhibitionism. I need to shave and get dressed.” Lucius went to the pitcher and basin and began lathering up some soap. He had found a nice straight razor and preferred to shave himself rather than use his wand if he had time.

“I do love watching you shave,” Hermione sat, absently yanking up on her décolletage without appreciable effect. She put the bracelet from the box on her left wrist and then settled to enjoy seeing all the funny faces Lucius made as he shaved.

All too soon Hermione’s entertainment was over and Lucius was dressed in his black wool jacket, a silvery satin waistcoat to coordinate with Hermione’s gown, and a white shirt and neckcloth edged in lace, topping tight, white pantaloons. He stepped into some white stockings and black evening slippers and declared himself ready. Hermione handed him the list of people she wanted him to cozy up to and he perused it, then put it in his breast pocket.

Lucius checked over Hermione’s toilette, then held out his arm and said, “Shall we?”

“You do know that those white pantaloons establish you as Wizard of the Month material for Playwitch magazine, don’t you?” Hermione frowned at the tight trousers currently draped inadequately over Lucius’ assets.

“All part of my charm, kitten. You set this up. It’s your decision. I can change into black pantaloons, but the effect on the women won’t be as mesmerizing."

The blond wizard shrugged, “I’m going on stage. Think of this as the costume for my role tonight. I want to learn about blackmail, not gather recipes for scones.” Lucius waited for Hermione to decide if she wanted Lucius to stroll into the dinner party exhibiting his attractions for the greater good.

“A compromise is in order,” she finally declared. “Loosen the trouser front a bit for the dinner, then if you get some women to interrogate after the meal, you can tighten up the material slightly for your role. After seeing some of the inadequate tackle on some of the other wizards in their tight trousers, we don’t need any more animosity or unpleasant envy sown among the men – or among the women who aren’t going home with you. Our reputations are unstable enough as it is.” She looked up from her husband’s crotch to meet his amused eyes. “Agreed?” she said, still frowning.

“As you wish,” said Lucius unperturbed. “You do see that I was willing to display myself as a parallel to you wearing that low-cut gown, I hope. We are both playing parts tonight, but I will limit showtime to the drawing room after dinner.”

“And it won’t be blatant?” she asked.

“When am I ever blatant?” he replied and only got a disbelieving snort from his sprite. Lucius leaned down and kissed Hermione’s cheek. “Thank you for protecting my, um, sensibilities,” he said with a smile.

Hermione grinned up at the handsome man, “Well, you haven’t many, so the few you own need to be guarded.” She got a swat on her rump for her impertinence, then Lucius held out his elbow. Hermione placed her hand on his arm and he apparated them to the Armbrusters’.

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The Malfoys were welcomed into the main drawing room of the Armbrusters’ home, an elegant room done in white and gilt with tall mirrors on the walls reflecting the numerous candles and other orbs so the effect was of shimmering light and warmth. Hermione saw several people she had already met as Lucius drew her over to their hosts.

“Good evening, Leticia,” he smiled, “Harmon,” he nodded at her husband. I’m looking forward to dinner. I understand you have a French chef who works miracles with his cuisine.

“We’re lucky to have Armand in our kitchen,” acknowledged Leticia Armbruster. “May I introduce you about?” She took Lucius’ other arm and the three of them, Lucius, Hermione and their hostess Leticia, went around the room, the two Malfoys being introduced to the others, most of whom he hadn’t met before. Lucius made a note of the women whose names were on Hermione’s list, making subtle eye contact with them as a beginning to possibly more lengthy contact later. He was careful not to overplay his attentiveness, but his actions made the various ladies aware of him on a slightly more visceral level. It was a pity he couldn’t make the ladies more aware of him lower down yet, but he had promised his wife. With a philosophical shrug, he let the idea go.

Lucius had omitted mentioning to his wife that he was going to work a little dark arts legilimency into his ‘masculine charm’ as he was fairly certain she wouldn’t like it. Being a Death Eater for years was going to be a benefit to the wizarding world this time instead of a detriment and Lucius’ conscience was clear. He was finding that his new leaf was rather flexible after all.

Hermione was seated between two wizards who were happy to talk to her (and her cleavage) during the meal. Lucius took advantage of the distraction to focus on his first target, the wife of one of the Ministry officials. His wand was hidden up his sleeve under the table and he aimed it at the woman, sifting quickly through her thought processes, some of which were dissecting Hermione across the table, worrying that her husband was too interested in the young witch.

Lucius pretended great interest in his soup and three minutes later had the information he needed from the woman. Her sister was a Squib who had recently married a Muggle after her prospects had been ruined with the original wizard she had been affianced to. There was intense anger, which made it simple for Lucius to find the thoughts he sought, but all she knew was that the blackmail threats came by an owl with an odd pattern of black and grey tail feathers.

Lucius had better luck with his second target. As long as he was at the table doing legilimency, he decided to try one of the men across from him whose family was also being blackmailed. He instantly had better luck, discovering that whoever had been blackmailing the wizard’s family had done it years ago, but had never demanded money. Before, it had only been the direction to keep their Squib, his mother, from marrying a wizard. She had married another Squib and after her marriage, the blackmail had stopped for a while, but had recently resumed with the demand for money.

Lucius decided to wait to work on the other two women Hermione had listed for him later, after dinner. His dark arts legilimency was buffered and less noticeable than the regular sort, but Lucius didn’t want to press his luck. He wasn’t the only older, powerful wizard at the table. While Hermione kept up a light, constant flow of conversation going at her end of the table, Lucius relaxed and settled in to enjoy some truly fine cuisine and wine and the company of the two women seated on either side of him.

As courtesy dictated, all the diners traded back and forth talking first to the person seated next to them on one side, then with the person on their other side. It was considered bad manners to talk across the table to anyone. The different courses came and went and conversation hummed along, the free-flowing wine adding a convivial atmosphere to the group.

Finally as the dessert came to an end, Leticia Armbruster rose and signaled to the ladies that they should remove to the drawing room and leave the gentlemen to their gossip and port.


tbc...

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More dinner party to come. Lucius isn't through, yet...


Reviews are always welcome. Thank you all who have been so supportive of this story with your time and words.
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