A Muddy Secret

Lovely Reviewers:

LadyVoldemort87: I knew that brat was trouble. Look at how his daddy treated Severus...his son didn't fall far from the tree. That Dolohov bastard killed my Remy-kins. Maybe she will be Draco's mummy! Who can know for certain? OH WAIT! I can! *happy dance*

Mia: I am glad.

meankitty69: The wait is over!

Heidi191976: Glad that it's interesting! Scroll on down and your wait is over!

Lauriurix: Read more, read more as fast as I post it.

Citten: Lucius is a good little sex spot! He is going to help Hermione understand several things, I think. *Trewlawney Mistiness* I see LM/HG goodness in future.

Utopia: I feel a little bad now. You've planned yours out, and I wrote the idea on a whim. I am very glad that you like it so much. I could not be offended! We need more delicious LM/HG stories! May I ask a question that might be rude or impertinent? Even if you say no, I already will have typed it. Are you British? I am guessing this because of your email and you said "uni" . In fact if any of my lovely readers are British. Can you let me know that slang terms are used correctly and well? I am American, and I do not believe that in general we have the same knack for it. I want to be sure that I do not load the characters down with "Americanisms" being that they are British!

Also, random off topic question, someone told me the other day, in proper British English that you do not put periods after Mr. and Mrs. Is that true? I do not have my Brit. editions of the HP books with me, otherwise, I would check it out myself. I seem to remember seeing periods after Mr. and Mrs. in the books. That doesn't mean anything. (I know. I have British and American editions of Harry Potter. I know they are both written in English but there are differences. I am a wierdo. Woopdie-doo. I am proud to be so obsessed! Except for the seventh book which is a sore subject with me! *pouts*)

LaBibliographe: I intend to finish this, and dare I excite you? I dare. I plan a sequeal. Not having a plan is usually how I write. It annoys some people. If I go more than a week without updating without posting a logical explanation (i.e. I have final/midterm exams this week. I am visiting friends and have no internet access.) then feel free to post things that tell me what a bitch I am being! Thank you for the italics advice. Do you just type that in at the paragraph you want to begin with? I have never used a function like that before. I am not computer smart.

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Well, it took me two days to get to this chapter...It is a bit longer than the others. So I hope that that will make up a bit for the delay. Try to expect a chapter at least once a week!
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The next two weeks passed for Hermione and Lucius in much the same way. Him trying to converse with her at every opportunity, and her trying to find ways to escape his constant attention.

She would purposely enter the great hall for lunch after Malfoy was already there. She would sit at the opposite end of the table from him and whatever sycophants were mooning over him at the time. She tried to avoid the glares of the girls when he would inevitably gravitate to her side the same way Hagrid was drawn to frightening, dangerous beasts. She’d made it a point to have a book with her at all times though her reading didn’t stop him from hanging around and trying to engage her. Usually she gave in and spoke to him in monosyllabic words and a clipped tone.

Lucius was at a loss when it came to Hermione. She wasn’t the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. That prize went to Narcissa without any competition. But Hermione was an enigma to him. He was entirely aware of the fact that girls stared at him, loved his looks and his money at the very least. Hermione seemed as if she would rather dig through dragon dung than pay attention to him.

“Hermione,” he tried in his smoothest, most velvety tone. “Why don’t you like me?”

Hermione slammed the book she was reading shut, “The History of Merlin”, and glowered at him. She glared at him attempting to decide between her two options, telling him to go bugger himself or giving him a reasonable answer for why she didn’t like him.

“Why are you so concerned with me?” she said.

“I can’t decide if you are a paradox or not,” Lucius responded quietly, not shouting the rest of what he wanted to say because they were in the library albeit in a section in the back and she did not need to know everything he observed.

“Best to never let anyone, whether you trust and like them or not, know everything you know.” His father had taught him that at the tender age of four.

He caught her staring at him often. His appearance was always impeccable. So there was no chance that he was dirty. She must—she simply had to—HAD to find him attractive. He certainly had not been able to keep his liking her a secret.

Every damn girl and boy in the school saw his behavior, and he just couldn’t seem to stop. She made sure of that. Always ignoring him. Never sitting with him. Making him move to sit next to her at the last minute! Always reading a book, instead paying attention to what really mattered. HIM! He VOWED to have her.

Hermione turned her head to look at Lucius out the corner of her eyes.

“Why don’t you like me?” Lucius repeated, slamming his hand down on the table without looking. “OUCH!”

Hermione had to fight the urge to laugh as Lucius held his hand and shook it with a scarlet quill sticking out of his palm.

“Hold still,” Hermione said, unable to hide the smile.

“You think me hurting myself is funny?” he asked, scowling at her.

“A little,” Hermione answered, and she winked at him before she could stop herself.

He smiled at her when she winked.

“If you like seeing me hurt, I will gladly crash my broom into the newly planted whomping willow at tomorrow’s quidditch match,” Lucius offered.

“Don’t say that! I don't like seeing you hurt,” Hermione said as she took his injured palm with one hand. “Hold still.”

He flexed his fingers as she held his injured hand. Her hands were so soft and so little. It would take both of her hands to cradle one of his. She snatched the quill and pulled it out quickly.

“WHAT THE HELL?” Lucius yelped, and he pulled his hand back from her. “THAT HURT!”

“If you held still,” Hermione snarled back before snatching his wrist. She pointed her wand at his hand and murmured a healing spell.

The tip of the wand glowed and sparkling, white light oozed out of it and into his palm closing the wound.

“How’d you do that?” Lucius asked, letting her continue to hold his hand.

“Simple, “Standard Medical Spells for Healers”, Chapter 2,” Hermione responded.

She traced a hand over his palm slowly.

Lucius stared at her.

“So you do like me?” he asked, taking a step toward her and smiling. He leaned in toward her face.

Hermione released his hand and stepped back from him so they were not nose to nose.

“Malfoy—” she began.

“LUCIUS! My name is Lucius! Lucius Abraxas Malfoy! Call me Lucius! You always call me Malfoy! You sound like bloody Arthur Weasley or that cow Molly Prewitt! Even the first year Slytherins address me as Lucius!” Lucius said, stomping his foot emphatically and scowling.

“Lucius,” Hermione said. “I know you as a name. I do not know anything else about you other than you are rich and Pureblood. I don’t know you as a person.”

But I know what you will do as a person. And I don’t like those things. I don’t understand why you will do them! I do not understand why you will hate me in the future. I do not know why you hate Muggle-borns so much! Hermione couldn't look at him as the thoughts raced through her head.

Lucius stared at her. What more could any girl need to know about him?

Hermione carefully packed her bag while he stood there staring at her with his chin jutted out, jaw dropped, and eyebrows raised.

“Wh—we—wa?”

“Goodbye, Mal—Lucius.”

“You will like me one day!” Lucius said when he found his voice and started to follow her. “One day you will pay attention to me! How can you know me if you never speak to me?”

Hermione didn't even turn around when she heard him interrupted. She didn't want to admit that what he was saying was very logical. She didn't want to admit that some of the death eaters weren't dumb brutes with wands. It was easier to dislike dumb brutes. She didn't want to get to know death eater scum. She wanted to understand why they hated Muggles and Muggle-borns. She didn't want to like him and go back to the time when he hated her. Even if he had not let her be killed or tried to hurt her, it did not mean that he liked her, even a little. She didn't want to admit that he was attractive to her, that his voice alone made her feel as if the jelly-legs jinx had been cast on her, that his eyes were beautiful when they looked at her, that he actually seemed nice for a Slytherin.

“Lucius.”

Lucius groaned in his head when he heard the voice of Goyle.

“What’re you doing in the library Goyle?”

“Uh, reading.”

Lucius frowned at him and leaned back crossing his arms. Goyle was lying; Lucius knew he couldn't read.

“I’m busy,” Lucius said, and he walked past Goyle. He shoved silky strands of blonde hair back.

“Lucius wait,” Goyle called in his deep, dopey voice.

“WHAT?”

“I need you to help me talk to Valerie.”

“Not now!”

“I have elsewhere to be. A girl of my own to talk to,” Lucius said, frowning at Goyle.

He knew he shouldn’t have ever helped the poor, dumb bastard talk to a girl in the first place. Goyle was obsessed with Valerie Foxworth, and there was no denying that the girl was rather foxy, but she was too smart for Goyle. He never understood what she was talking about, and he had developed the bad problem of always seeking Lucius’ help to woo the girl.

“You talking to that Beaumont girl again,” Goyle asked. “Lucius, she don’t like you.”

“She will like me!” Lucius snarled raising his wand and putting under Goyle’s chin. “She will love me! I always get what I want. Make no mistake about it.”

I always get what I want, Lucius thought with a determined scowl on his face. I will fuck her into my bed the night we wed. She will know no other. She will bear my children. She will love me if I have to force-administer Amortentia to her every day for the rest of my life!

Goyle nodded fearfully as he turned his back on Goyle. That lump wouldn’t dare take him on. He swept out of the library with his face dark red in anger.

“YOU LITTLE COWARDS!”

Lucius slipped into the shadows at the sound of the feminine shout.

“Accio James Potter!” the same voice yelled.

Lucius slinked through the shadows toward the voices.

He could hear a younger boy, perhaps a second year, asking for mercy. He stopped when he saw Hermione holding a young Gryffindor against the wall with his legs bound with her wand pointed to his throat. A little way beyond, he saw Severus Snape dangling upside down by his belt from the statue of the one-eyed, hump-backed witch.

“YOU’RE HURTING ME!” James yelled at her. “Let go of me!”

Lucius surveyed the scene.

Narcissa's cousin, Sirius Black, was bound to the railing by the steps with a gag in his mouth and had wide eyes. Peter Pettigrew had fallen forward under the influence of the full body bind. Lupin hadn’t been with them when they came upon him.

“Does it make the three of you feel powerful to attack someone from behind? Someone walking alone? Someone who has never done anything to you?” Hermione asked in a low voice.

“Let go of me!” James demanded again.

“Oh, James,” Hermione said as she stared at him. He looked just like Harry had in second year, except for his eyes.

It hit Hermione then that while Harry and James looked alike and Harry might possess some of James few admirable qualities, that Harry really saw the world through eyes more like Lily’s and that it was fitting that they were emerald and pretty like hers.

“I think I need to punish you three,” Hermione said, and she tapped her wand against her temple. “After-all, Slytherins stick together. Don’t they?”

Severus just watched her, memorized every detail about this witch. She was something else. Most lone Slytherins would have left him to hang there due to his carelessness until Filch or a teacher came along. But he nodded to the new girl.

Hermione pointed her wand at James’ wand hand. His fingers clenched and unclenched around the wand that was in them. The wand clattered out of his hand and rolled as his hand became somewhat amorphous as she removed the bones. It flopped back and forth.

James screamed and shook what he could move of his arm around. Hermione turned her attention from the messy, black haired boy to the one tied at the banister. She pointed her wand at his forehead. Green light streamed out of it and wrote “Slytherin Rules!” and it flashed a moment later to read “I will not torment other students.” She moved to Peter next and pointed her wand at him, his nose elongated and whiskers sprouted from his cheeks.

“You’ll have to wait for those to wear off, darlings,” she said. “And if you mention a word about who did this, I will have to do something much worse next time.”

Lucius bit back laughter at the sight of the boy waving his arm and the other with flashing words in Slytherin green and silver and the rat-faced monstrosity.

“Shoo!” Hermione said, waving her hands at them and releasing the various bindings.

All three raced away without looking back.

“Are you alright, Severus?” she asked looking up at him.

He nodded and tried to speak.

“Did they put a silencing charm on you?”

He nodded.

Hermione waved her wand and removed the spell and levitated him gently to the ground on his feet.

Severus stooped and gathered his bag and the book he was reading, Moste Potente Potions.

“How’d you get that book? It’s in the restricted section," Hermione said.

“Why’d you save me?” he asked.

“Would you have preferred to hang there all night?”

“Most Slytherins aren’t nice. They would say I got what I deserved.”

“I’m not most Slytherins,” Hermione responded, looking down at the boy as they walked. “You’ll do great things one day, Severus Snape. You’ll be a great man. Don’t ever doubt it even when those Gryffindors pick on you.”

She fought back a giggle when she saw how his robes billowed about his shorter body as they walked by a large window. The light of the full moon shown through it and a howl was carried by the wind.

She never saw the grey eyes watching them.

Lucius waited till Severus and Hermione were out of sight down the hallway. Then he laughed and laughed. He was still smiling and laughing to himself when he walked down the main staircase.

She was perfect. She was Slytherin, and she was kind-hearted. She was protective. She would be an excellent mother to his children. She would be his. She would. She would, no matter what.

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I had to have someone else there to be nice to dear, sweet Severus. And being that I love Remus, I could not have him getting on the wrong end of Hermione's wand.

I do not think, given how quickly James and Lily started reproducing after school, that it is unreasonable to think that Lucius would be thinking about children.

On a side note! I LOVE RAMEN!

Hope you all enjoyed. Please drop me a review.