Losing No More Time

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Chapter IV


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“That was amazing! One of the best study sessions for Charms I’ve ever had, and we have a practical tomorrow. You are more than ready for it.”


Lucius smirked as they walked back.


“I’m glad that you think so highly of me,” he said, bowing his head a little.


“First, though, tomorrow morning, we have Potions with Professor Slughorn.”


“Sounds like fun,” Lucius said, turning his attention to the portrait of the fat lady, “Golden Trio.”


He offered a hand to Hermione to help her climb into the portrait hole. He looked into her eyes as she took his hand and allowed his help. Lucius bit his tongue to hold in a moan at seeing her simple black knickers.


“Have you been shown to your dorm room?” Hermione asked, realizing as she stopped outside her door.


Lucius shook his head.


Hermione smiled and pointed to the stairs, “Up that side and the first door you come to.”


Lucius stood with his back straight and his eyes meeting hers as he asked, “May I walk with you to Breakfast tomorrow morning?”


“You may,” Hermione said, turning and unwarding the door to her room.


Lucius smiled before he took her hand and kissed it, “Goodnight, Miss Granger.”


Hermione blushed a little at the debonair wizard’s actions as she stepped back into her room.


“Would you tell me something, Adonis?” Hermione asked, licking her lips and leaning against the edge of the door.


“Anything within my power to tell you, I would wish to tell you,” he said, standing at the door making eye contact with her.


“I was just wondering why you call me Miss Granger,” Hermione said. “Most students don’t address each other so formally. Your brother simply called me, Granger.”


Lucius’ nose crinkled up. Apparently his child was ill-behaved. The boy clearly needed more discipline. Lucius logged that away in his mind.


“You’ve not invited me to use your first name. I was raised to treat a lady with respect,” Lucius said, inclining his head. “It would be inappropriate for me to take such a liberty with you.”


“Please call me Hermione,” Hermione said, looking up at him through her lashes. “I would like that.”


“Very well, Hermione. That is a beautiful name. The name of Helen’s daughter and the queen of Sicily in The Winter’s Tale,” Lucius said, tilting his head as he reached back to release his hair.


“Very nice,” Hermione said, smiling at Lucius. “And Adonis was reputed to have been a favored love of Aphrodite who became a flower.”


Lucius beamed, “Very true.”


“If you have more questions of me, Hermione, I am happy to stay awake.”


“I think I’m going to go to bed. We are finishing the brewing of a potion tomorrow. It took the better part of the last two months to brew.”


“What potion?” Lucius asked.


“Amortentia,” Hermione said, “Goodnight.”


Lucius bowed to her and waited till the door was fully shut before he walked up the stairs. He opened the door and scowled. He looked around and saw four other Gryffindor boys. He needed to send a note to Severus. Surely, HE wasn’t expected to share a room with these miscreants. He moaned when he saw the empty bed. He never shared a room in his life, and he only intended to when he found a proper witch to share his space and tend to his many needs.


One of the other wizards was snoring. Lucius felt a whine in his throat that he held back. He glared at the horrendous robes on top of a trunk. He walked toward the foot of the bed where a trunk rested. His nose crinkled as he noted the red and gold…a Malfoy in Gryffindor…when he thought of it, it made him want to vomit.


He opened the trunk and reached in using the thumb and forefinger of his left hand to remove a book with a cracked spine and a partially chewed corner. He flung it onto the floor and moved to stand on the opposite side of the trunk from it. He cast looks at it from time to time, and his lip curled up.


Lucius pulled out a pair of red pajamas and frowned when he found it was the only pair. He took out his wand and tried a simple color change charm. A sparkling grey star appeared on the fabric before it rose and fizzled out. Lucius glared at the red pajamas and grabbed them up. Severus was a right foul bastard, and after all Lucius had done for him while he had been a student.


He went into the bathroom across the hallway and changed quickly. He looked a fright in the awful, brassy red. He crept back to the bedroom. He poked the pillow and whimpered at it. What was in that pillow? It certainly wasn’t goose down. He plucked at the coverlet. What was that odd scratchy material and why was there a stain on it? It was not the fine Egyptian cotton to which he was accustomed.


Lucius crept down the stairs to the common room with his soft cloak in tow. He began to cast numerous spells on the sofa with fiercely down turned lips. He swished his wand viciously at the couch turning the leather a deep black. He curled up on the couch staring at the fire and wrapping his cloak around his shoulders.


“What is going on out here?” Hermione asked, walking out of her room.


Lucius stood quickly wrapping his cloak about himself and fastening it.


“My bed is unacceptable,” he said, sniffing a little. Through his disdain for his accommodations, he couldn’t help noticing the shapely legs being displayed to him, the creamy skin, the deep cleavage.


Hermione rolled her eyes, “What is wrong with them?”


“The sheets aren’t clean. Am I really expected to share a room and wear only red pajamas and utilize filthy, mouse chewed upon books that might carry deadly diseases?” Lucius felt a tickle in his nose at the soft lavender scent that floated through the air.


“I will go and look at everything. I can’t believe Se—Headmaster Snape would do that to a Malfoy. Your brother was his favorite. Let him get by with anything.”


Lucius nodded, “I should accompany you.”


Hermione nodded, and the tip of her wand lit up. She walked up the steps to the boys’ dorm rooms behind Lucius. Lucius opened the door first and peered in. The only sign that their presence had perhaps been detected was a snort from one of the boys. Lucius led her to his bed and showed her the awful stains on the sheets and the pointed out the awful book. Hermione made a face, and took his hand leading him from the room.


“You can’t sleep there, and I can’t believe the headmaster would allow that. Did you piss him off? He can be rather vindictive.”


“I’ve done nothing to him. It is a misperception on his part,” Lucius said, looking down at her with big eyes.


“Well, you can’t sleep on the couch, and that bed, I would agree is unacceptable. And it would be wrong for us to bother the house-elves at this hour. You will wake up with a hoard of nosy females breathing all over you if you slept on the couch,” she said. “Come with me.”


Lucius, not caring about upsetting house-elves, but not really wanting to share a room with the disgusting snoring animals in the upper rooms, followed Hermione as she flung open the door to her room.


She dragged him into the room. Lucius looked around.


“Hermione, I wouldn’t want to damage your reputation,” Lucius began, looking about nervously as he was dragged through her bedroom.


“Don’t be silly, Adonis,” Hermione said, pulling him through a small study. She pulled open the door on the other side of the study.


Two torches on the walls burst to life.


Lucius gasped as he looked at a room decorated with midnight blue and highlighted with pale golds.


“What is this room?”


“This room is for if there is a Gryffindor Headboy. This year, the Headboy is a Ravenclaw and is therefore using the Ravenclaw Headboy Rooms. This room is unoccupied, and as your circumstances are so unique. You can certainly kip here,” Hermione said. “And your parents will surely send you better books than that piece of crap.”


Lucius smiled at her. He could order the books himself. He had been doing so since he started at Hogwarts. His mum and dad had not even taken him to Diagon Alley. They sent him with an elf.


“I can surely send an owl order in the morning. The books won’t take long to deliver,” he said, smiling warmly at her. “Thank you so much for allowing me to share your space.”


“It’s not a problem. Now, it really is late, so I am going to go to bed.”


Lucius bowed to her as she left the room and shut the door when Hermione had gone into her room and shut the door. He went to his bed and ran a hand over the bed and sighed. This was more like it. He would move his uniforms here tomorrow. Hopefully, those would be clean.


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Lucius stood at the window in the double study the next morning. The Gryffindor robes Severus had provided for him were disgustingly frayed and worn almost completely through in places.


Lucius watched the direction of Hogsmeade. They always kept extra Hogwarts uniforms there and could adjust one to his measurements easily. It wasn’t as good to just send measurements as it was to actually get them fitted, but it would be better than the shitty robes Headmaster Snape had tried to foist on him.


A simple barn owl carrying a plain brown paper wrapped package swept down and landed on the sill. It was about to tap the window when Lucius opened it. The owl swept in and landed on the back of a chair.


Lucius untied the parcel and offered the owl a treat from the box on the mantle. He undid the parcel and sighed as he saw crisp, fresh, clean Hogwarts robes. He shut his eyes and shuddered as he tucked the horrendous red and gold tie over his arm. He walked into his room to change. When he was fully dressed in his fine new robes, he walked out into the study.


Hermione walked into the study a moment later.


Lucius bowed to her taking her hand and kissing it.


“Good morning,” Hermione said, as he gently released her hand.


“Good Morning,” Lucius said. “Shall we?”


Hermione smiled taking his arm.


“May I carry your bag?” he asked, noting the heavy books in it.


“I can manage,” Hermione said, looking at the floor.


He led her out through the door between the Head’s study and sixth floor corridor.


“I received permission this morning to visit Hogsmeade today to purchase appropriate materials for classes during our free period. As I am not wholly familiar with Hogsmeade, I was hoping you would accompany me. We could eat lunch there if you desired.”


Hermione looked over at the blond, “How do you mean have lunch? I don’t have time for a boyfriend right now, you understand, with my studies.”


Lucius took a deep breath through his mouth as his mind spirited to the challenge of manipulation; no witch had ever turned him down. If this was rejection, he didn’t like it. He looked away from the pretty witch who rested her hand on his arm.


“Not a date. Just as friends. Surely, you have done things like this with friends,” he tried. “Besides…” Lucius trailed off. He was betrothed to the queen of frigidity.


“Besides what?” Hermione asked, feeling his muscles slacken a little.


“Nothing of significance,” Lucius said, pushing open the door to the Great Hall. “I was simply hoping that you would show me around the village. I thought it might take a while to find everything that I need, and foolishly I can see, I hoped you would come with me as you are the only person with whom I am acquainted. I suppose any number of girls would be happy to go with me, though. You needn’t trouble yourself. I apologize for any discomfort I caused.”


“Adonis, I would be happy to go with you. I just wanted you to understand that my studies are priority one right now,” Hermione said, as he helped her to sit on the bench and took a seat across the table from her. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. And I would enjoy showing you around Hogsmeade.”


“You are sure you can spare time for me?” Lucius asked, staring into an empty goblet. “I wouldn’t want to distract you when I was the best study partner you’d ever had for Charms.”


Hermione blushed as she grabbed a piece of toast and filled her goblet with pumpkin juice.


“I do apologize for hurting your feelings, Adonis. I would enjoy it, truly. Guilting people is not nice.”


“Well, my parents were Slytherins. You can’t expect that simply being in Gryffindor means all those traits are negated,” Lucius said, reaching out and pouring himself a cup of pumpkin juice and grabbing a blueberry scone and slathering butter on it.


“I suppose not,” Hermione agreed.


“How are we going to test the Amortentia in Potions today? I thought it was illegal to do such.”


“Surprisingly, it is alright for school purposes, as it was cleared with the Board of Governors.”


Lucius ate the rest of the meal quietly as Hermione filled him in on what they were doing for the other classes that day. She told him about the Personal Potions Project that they were to be assigned for the rest of the year.


The buzzing of Hermione’s watch startled her as she was telling him about how she was attempting to document the process of becoming an animagus for her Transfigurations Project.


“Oh, we need to go. We just have fifteen minutes to get to Professor Slughorn’s class,” Hermione said, popping the last bite of her toast into her mouth and standing.


Lucius rose as she did.


“You could finish your scone,” Hermione said, noting that he had left half uneaten.


“I’ll be fine,” Lucius said, offering Hermione his arm after she slung her backpack onto her shoulder.


Hermione smiled placing her hand on his arm and paying no attention to the jealous stares of the other witches as she was escorted from the Great Hall.


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“Excellent, excellent!” Professor Slughorn exclaimed as all the students presented their Amortentia to him, and he caught Lucius’ eye. “I am pleased to announce that Mr. Malfoy has joined our small number. Now everyone has a partner. I think I would like the final project for this class to be a group one. It is important in Potions to learn to get along and work well together more than it is for any other field. You will select your partner. I will give you choice based on the current standing of grades in class.”


Lucius sat up straight. Several girls looked at him and sighed. He closed his eyes to avoid rudely rolling his eyes at them. Not that he could blame them, but it would be nice if they had the nerve to speak with him instead of looking at him like he was an expensive cut of filet mignon.


“You will also choose a partner of the opposite gender,” Slughorn said, smiling at the students as he sat behind his desk. “Ladies will be picking. Miss Granger, as you are top in the class, take your pick of our five gentlemen.”


Hermione looked around at two eager looking Ravenclaws who stared at her, one Slytherin who looked like he would rather die than work with her, and one Hufflepuff who was blushing fiercely.


Lucius looked at her with slightly plaintive eyes, and Hermione looked around seeing the drooling of the other girls. She rolled her eyes.


“Choose carefully, as you will also be testing your Amortentia on this individual as well.”


“I pick Adonis,” Hermione said, smirking as the looks on the faces of the other girls dropped and the boys looked slightly down as well.


Lucius sighed, taking her hand and kissing it, “Thank you, Hermione.”


Hermione nodded.


“I want you to take your Amortentia, and I want you to test it within the next month. As my good friend used to say: Constant Vigilance. It would be more satisfying to try the potion when the drinker is least expecting.”


Hermione pocketed her vial of the potion and looked over at Lucius who was already packed when the bell rang to dismiss them.


Lucius smiled and offered her his arm escorting her from the room.


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Chapter IV. I hope you liked it. I decided to get rid of Chapter titles. I am really not much of one for doing them with my own stories.


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