Adventurous Hearts Part 2: Nimue's Island

Chapter 7: The Jilted Wizard









He was watching her, she could feel his eyes on her as she walked across the grassy hill towards the small cemetery. He was following her. She looked over at the lake side and saw Severus bent over investigating a patch of moss growing on the side of a stone, completely oblivious to her and Lucius. She stopped suddenly and Lucius slammed into her back. She had to laugh, given how many times he had chastised her for doing the same in the temple.







“Why are you following me?” She asked, turning around to face him.









“I want to talk to you, I have been trying to for awhile now but you are being stubborn.” He said adjusting his cloak.







“I’ve been busy, Lucius.” She frowned, turning once more to head towards the cemetery. “Unlike most of the pureblood witches you are used to, I have a job.”







“Don’t bring up blood politics again, Hermione, I think we more than proved that your blood line has little bearing on how I respond to you.” He said, following her, secretly hoping that she had no plans for exhumation of remains, he had seen enough corpses in the previous few days to last an eternity.







“No, what we proved was that a decade of abstinence makes for a rather randy wizard and a very tired witch.” She quipped with a little chuckle as she pulled out a sketchbook and charcoal pencil and began sketching the cemetery ruins. Normally this would be Gilford’s job, but since he wasn’t available her sloppy sketches would have to do.







“Ah yes, you still believe it was simply because I had gone without for so long that I wanted you the way I did.” He said, watching her attempt to sketch the cemetery. She obviously lacked artistic talent. “Give me that, you are making a mess of it!” He said, taking the sketchbook and pencil from her hands and flipping the page. He began to sketch the scene quickly and expertly, stunning Hermione. “I’ll have you know that I have gone out with another witch or two since acquiring my freedom, I even went home with one of them but still it is you that I want.”







Hermione didn’t want examine why her stomach tightened at his words, why sheer giddiness washed over thinking that he wanted no one else.







“It’s simple attachment, Lucius, it will fade. I was the first person to offer you comfort and affection in a decade so you became attached.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Simple imprinting theories can apply here. It’s the same as an orphaned child attaching themselves to a caregiver or an abandoned animal attaching to one of another species. With time apart those feelings will fade.”







“Then explain how it is that after a month away from you I still want you as if I hadn’t ever had you.” He looked up for a moment, then went back to the sketching. Hermione was lifting onto her toes so she could look at his sketches.







“You want me because you can not have me.” She took the sketchbook from him and stared in amazement at the beautifully rendered drawing of the site. “My gods this is wonderful! I never dreamed you would have this kind of talent.”







“There is much about me you do not know.” He said softly. “And, Hermione, I can and will have you.”







“Damn you are stubborn.” She shoved the sketchbook at him. “However, your talent with the pencil will come in handy, come with me.”







“That sounds promising.” He drawled, as he followed her towards the ruins of the chapel. She nearly laughed, but she bit it back as she moved towards the back where the roof wasn’t caved in.





She managed to find an opening that once held stained glass windows, the remains of which lay scattered in tiny pieces of brightly colored glass on the ground. She pulled out her wand just in case there was something inside hiding from the sun and stepped through. She heard the crunch of glass and gravel as Lucius followed.







“Sketch the altar, please.” She said distractedly as she walked around the undamaged portion of the church.







“I am not one of your team to be ordered about.” He said with a frown. She looked back at him over her shoulder and flashed him a cheeky little grin.





“Today you are. Do you have something better to do?” She didn’t wait for an answer, she knew he would do just as she asked because he wanted to continue talking to her. And though she would never admit it she didn’t really want to be alone as she explored.





He withdrew the sketchbook and pencil then perched himself on the broken window ledge. He began to sketch the front of the church and without her knowledge, he began to sketch her. She moved around the ruin slowly, taking in every detail, reading the inscriptions carved into the walls. She picked up several items off of the floor, dusting them off with a brush she withdrew from the familiar utility belt around her waist.







“This is so strange, Lucius.” She said as she pulled a couple of books from beneath a pile of rubble. “There is a mixture of both Druid and Christian markings on the walls and altar.”







“Was Christianity not a part of England’s history?” He asked.







“Of course it was, it just seems strange to me that the Mages would have erected a Christian temple on the Goddess’s Island. Not to mention that some of these texts were created long after Camelot fell.” She said. “Did you find any more journals in the library?”







“No, though there were several magical texts I would not mind taking home to put in my personal library.” He said. “How do you think the texts got here?”







“Perhaps the mages rotated…new ones replacing the old as time went on, or perhaps they journeyed out to seek wives and supplies…there could be any number of explanations.” She said softly. “I will have to explore the libraries and bedchambers in detail this evening, perhaps I can locate more journals.”







“Not without Severus or I present.” He said. “We decided that when night falls no one should be alone. If we have to fight, it is better if we are together.”







“Yes, he mentioned that. Though I don’t agree with you, those things only seem to react when they can actually see us. I think you two just want an excuse to have me in bed with you.” She said. “Kinky ass death eaters.” His lips twitched, but the smile never came.







“The things I want to do to you and with you are better done without company.” He smiled.







“Somehow I don’t think it would stop you.” She laughed. “I know it wouldn’t stop him.”







“You were with him this morning weren’t you?” He asked quietly. She looked into his eyes and she could see his pain and the guilt she felt that morning washed through her again, though she had no reason to feel guilty, she was a free witch, she could be with whoever she wanted.







“It’s none of your business, Lucius. What you and I had is over.” She said. She jumped when he came up from his seat and nearly flew across the ruins to her. He grabbed her by the upper arms and pulled her roughly to his chest.





“Stop saying that!” He growled.







“Let me go.”







“No, you are trying to find excuses to explain what happened between us, trying desperately to find a way to distance yourself from me.” He pulled her upwards so that she was standing on her toes. “That’s why you slept with him isn’t it? To prove to yourself that you could and put another barrier between us.”







“What I do is my business, Lucius. And do not, for any reason think that I fuck Severus for any reason other than the fact that he makes me feel good.” She said, deliberately using the foul language because she knew it drove him crazy.







“Maybe it felt good at the time but how did you feel after?” He asked, angry, jealous that she let another man touch her. “It wasn’t the same was it? You got release but you felt empty inside.”







“Shut up, Lucius, you don’t know what you are talking about.” She said weakly, hating him for knowing the truth.







“Oh yes I do, because it was the same for me. I kissed that witch, touched her but when it came down to it I just couldn’t take her because it felt wrong. You belong to me whether you admit it or not.” He said, brushing his nose against hers. “You miss me, admit it.”







“Stop.” She tried to sound forceful but it came out a whimper. “I belong to no man.”







“Don’t lie to yourself, or to me.” He said. “Say it, tell me that you have missed me.”





He kissed the tip of her nose, brushed his lips over her cheekbones, blew gently in her ear.

She couldn’t help her reaction, she had missed him, still wanted him desperately. She could not deny that it hadn’t felt the same with Severus, she did indeed feel empty afterwards. But she could not accept that his words were true, she didn’t belong to him, she couldn’t.







“I…I have thought of you.” She said, it was all she was willing to give him. Her pride refused to allow her to admit that she missed him, ached for his touch long after she left him that morning.







“Why didn’t you respond to my letters?” He asked, his voice vibrating against the side of her throat.







“Because, I didn’t want to see you.” She said, trying not to moan when he grazed the tendon with his teeth.







“Liar, that’s your pride talking. Why didn’t you want to see me?” He used his tongue to trace a hot, wet line over her pulse all the way to the sweet spot below her ear.







“Because…it was over.” She closed her eyes and let her head fall to the side, unable to prevent the sigh from slipping past her lips.







“No…it isn’t.” He sucked hard and the spot, marking her.







“What are you…” She was cut off by his mouth slanting over hers, his tongue delving into her sweet heat. Her groan was muffled against his lips as he devoured her, his kiss both pleasuring and punishing her for pushing him away, for daring to let another man sample what he felt was his and his alone.







She was incapable of resisting him. She had thought of him, his tenderness, his passion, the incredible pleasure she had found in his arms more often than she cared to admit. Not a day went by that she did not think of him before she drifted off to sleep at night.







Her arms came up and around him, one hand clutching the back of his neck and the other tunneling through his hair. When he felt her acceptance he released his grip on her arms, sliding his arms around her waist to hold her close to him.





He eased the ferocity of his kiss, taking the time to explore her mouth, to reacquaint his self with the taste of her. He nipped, sucked and licked at her lips, his tongue sliding against hers, toying and tasting until they pulled apart, gasping for breath and staring into each others eyes. She was so confused but did not feel the odd sense of guilt that had overcome her that morning with Severus.





He brushed his lips against hers again, his hands sliding over her back gently as he soothed her. He could have pushed her, could have had her on the altar with her legs wrapped around him if he wanted and he knew it, but he wanted more from her than just sex, he would wanted all of her. He would go slowly, court her.







“That is why I couldn’t see you.” She said as she pushed out of his arms. “You take over! You kiss me and confuse me with your sweet word until I don’t know my own name!”







“Do you think you would react that way if it wasn’t a sign? There is something here worth exploring if you would just swallow your pride and let it happen.” He watched her pace agitatedly back and forth.







“I can’t do that, Lucius. I can not be what you want, I’m not cut out for it.” She said.







“What is it you think I want?” Lucius asked, leaning back against the wall. She turned to face him, her fingers linked and locked at the back of her neck.





“You want a woman who will give up everything she is for you. Some pretty little toy to hang on your arm when you are out, to run your house and make sure your meals are on time and your clothes are always clean and pressed, I can’t do that.” She said sadly. “I wont give up my career to sit at home and play house. I work long hours, I come home dirty and tired and grumpy. I leave for long periods of time and if we were to attend social engagement I am not going to sit back and say nothing while you talk business and politics, if I have an opinion I’m going to voice it.”







“What makes you think I want that? I had that, Hermione and I’m divorced.” He said.







“You are divorced because you went to prison and Narcissa was just too selfish to stand by her vows, she cared only for herself. You want what all powerful, wealthy men want, the perfect little wife. And what happens when I grow older, when I age and am no longer young and attractive, or when you grow bored of having me in your bed? Will you sneak off to take a mistress like you did before? Would you be unfaithful to me?”







“The only reason I had mistresses before was because Narcissa did not want me in her bed. She said my demands on her wifely duties were excessive and that once a month was all she was willing to endure and actually TOLD me to get a mistress.” He said. “IF this relationship led to matrimony then I would hold to my vows, as I would have in my previous marriage had my ex-wife asked it of me. I am far older than you and it is more likely that you would be the one who grew tired of me as I aged.” He held up his hand when she began to speak. “Furthermore, I know you love your job and I would never ask you to give it up. I have house elves that see to the running of the house and the care of my wardrobe, and your various and often amusing opinions are one of the things that I admire about you so I would never try to censor you. Except perhaps to curb your rather vulgar language.” He smiled. “I have put my old life behind me, Hermione, my beliefs, my goals are all different now. I want a new life, a better one and I want you to be a part of it, just as you are.”







“Pretty words, Lucius. You can not just suddenly decide to change everything you have ever known.” She said softly. “You are who you are.”







“You are looking for an excuse! Well you know what, you don’t have one that works! You claim you don’t have feelings for me, then I will pull you into my arms and prove you a liar. Say I that I cant change and I say sit in prison for ten years and tell me that doesn’t change a person. You are afraid, pure and simple.” He said with a smirk.







“You know it’s not just you and me to consider here, I am involved with Severus, I have his feelings to take into account too.” She said, hoping that it would put some distance between them.







“You have no commitment between you though I am certain he cares deeply for you I know he would step aside for you to be happy. Besides, he knows how I feel. I went to see him to ask him where you were and to let him know I intended to pursue you. It is how I came to learn of your predicament here, I was there when that annoying assistant of yours barged in.” He said, scowling a bit as he thought of Claire.







“You what!” Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed in anger. “You dared go to him so that you could….stalk me and tell him you wanted to pursue me! You had no right, no right whatsoever to meddle in my personal life.”







“You left me no choice.” He snapped. “You flee from my bed and take off to parts unknown, you my darling witch are a coward.”







“And you haven’t changed a bit you arrogant prat!” She shoved him out of her way and climbed through the window. Lucius was quick on her heels as he followed her up the sloping rise. Severus stood at the top, watching them, he could see that both of them were in a temper.







“There you are!” He said when Hermione came to a halt in front of him. “I wondered where you got off to.”







“I was exploring the church.” She said, a bit breathless from the climb.







“Lucius was helping you?” He asked, looking over to his friend who was completely rigid with frustration.







“He was, he is quite a talented sketch artist, but then he had to go and open his mouth.” She said, glaring at Lucius over her shoulder.







“Sounds interesting.” Severus said, the corner of his mouth lifting in a slight smile. “Looks like you had a good time at any rate.” He said, running his fingertips over the lovebite Lucius had left on her neck. She colored in embarrassment.





“Yes well….did you find anything interesting?” She asked, anxious to change the subject.







“Some rare moss and gillyweed I hope to harvest before we leave. I will search the forest tomorrow.” He said. “I am hungry so I came looking for you.”







“You are always hungry and what happened to the bacon sandwich I gave you to put in your bag.” She asked.





“I ate that a while ago and now I’m hungry again. Aren’t you hungry, Lucius?” He asked, looking over the top of her head.







“As a matter of fact, I am.” He said.







“Alright…so I guess that is a hint for the little woman to go inside and make her men some supper?” She asked sarcastically, batting her eyes exaggeratedly as she looked between them.







“Now I like the way that sounds.” Severus drawled. “Get to it woman before I starve!” He gave her a playful swat to the bottom that earned him a glare, he merely raised one eyebrow and gave her one of his cocky half smile half smirks.





“This is going to be a long month.” She muttered as she headed up to the castle.







“It isn’t like you to do something so base as to leave a hickey on a woman.” Severus said to Lucius as the two wizards stood side by side and watched her backside as she walked to the castle.







“I’m not used to having to compete for a woman’s affections either, I have to mark territory when I can.” Lucius said.







“Are you warning me to stay away from her with that mark?” Severus asked.







“No, you wouldn’t heed it anyhow.” He said. “But it will serve as a reminder that you aren’t the only wizard with a claim on the witch.”





Lucius didn’t wait for a reply, with an arrogant flip of his cloak he made his way up towards the castle to prepare for night fall.