Illumination

She runs into Lucius Malfoy in the hallway.

Hermione does not go down to eat with the senior advisors, remaining mostly out of sight of the court. She is still a Mudblood, even though she is one of his top advisors, and he does not require her presence at council meetings. She spends time in the library with the books, in the potions room, or working on her newfound skills in the dark arts. This new knowledge is frightening, but it consumes her. At night, she languishes in bed, dreaming of cold hands and forbidden delights. She does not tell him of these dreams, and she works hard to forget them when he is near. It is the final horror she cannot bear to face, but somehow she thinks it is only a matter of time until she confronts this terror as well, and the traitorous rush she feels at the thought shames and enthralls her.

Lucius Malfoy looks much as she remembers. His white-blond hair is still tied back in a neat queue, his gray eyes inscrutable, and he is impeccably dressed. They stare at each other for a moment, both of them unmoving. She wonders if this will be it. If she will be killed by the Dark Lord’s most trusted servant in the hallway as she hurries to the library to read up on blood magic. Her arm is sore from the cuts where she has taken her blood for her newest experiment, and she is slightly lightheaded from losing so much blood. She has refusedVoldemort’s offer to find her someone else’s blood—Hermione has some morals she still clings to, although the idea has begun to taunt her with its allure. If you had someone else’s blood, you would not be in this situation of running into Malfoy Senior in the hallway without full use of all of your senses. She cannot hex him,Voldemort would have her killed. He does not tolerate dissension amongst his ranks.

To her surprise, Malfoy nods his head slightly and says only, “Miss Granger,” before moving past her. She inclines her head in a return greeting. “Mr. Malfoy,” she says, and they pass each other. She feels no hatred towards him, even though she should. It was he, after all, who had killed Ron. Instead, she has the vague sense that they are merely colleagues passing each other at work. He goes towards the council hall, she to the library. They meet again on occasion, and this is how each of their interactions play out.

She does not see Draco or Ginny, as they remain at Malfoy Manor. Lucius comes to the laboratory where she works with Snape and asks for a potion for his daughter-in-law, who is expecting her first child. There is a gleam of pride in his eyes and his cruel mouth softens slightly. She notices he wears a platinum band around his ring finger, and remembersVoldemort’s words about Malfoy’s wife. Strange to think him capable of fidelity and love, and pride in his daughter-in-law, who he had once tried to kill.

She is given projects to work on, objects that have been confiscated from the former Department of Mysteries. Sometimes, she becomes so involved in her work that she refuses to leave her office. She has been given a room where she can keep her books and her copy of the Liber Mortis, as she has almost worn out the Dark Lord’s copy. There is no longer any precautions on her movements in his fortress, which she is given to know is in the north of Scotland, in some enchanted castle.

She still sleeps in the Dark Lord’s bed.

Hermione Granger has been in the service of the Dark Lord for over a year. When she realizes this, she is amazed. She does not dwell long on it, for she has work to do, and the blood she has been given will not remain fresh for long. That is the problem, she thinks, with heart blood—its power seldom lasts long after the victim dies. She dislikes making complicated potions in such haste.