Daughter of Leda

“What characteristics would this spell have hidden?” he asked softly, not sure if he could hope she’d tell him. The idea unnerved him to an extent because he was starting to feel something for the little bookworm and wasn’t sure he wanted her to change. He respected her. That’s what it was. Just respected her and only tried to seduce her for the sake of his own pride. Another part of him, though, hidden in the back of his mind, nagged him and told a different story. Pride? It’s that lithe body and those eyes like molten caramel.

Hermione just looked at him for a minute, her eyes nearly boring a hole straight through him as she debated her answer. “Those characteristics that are neither Gryffindor nor Ravenclaw,” she finally decided on. “A new way of thinking.”

For the most part, Lucius was no fool. He’d made enough mistakes in his life, whether he would admit to them or not, but he was a Slytherin through and through and it took only a moment’s hesitation to decipher her words. He highly doubted she was referring to Hufflepuff. “Slytherin. You are becoming more calculating and sneaky like us, is that it?”

She shrugged slightly, refusing to look him in the eye for all her supposed courage. “You could say that.”

Thinking about Hermione with slightly more Slytherin qualities made Lucius’ trousers feel as though they had shrunk, and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair under the guise of pouring himself a drink. In recent days he’d had cause to become quite partial to his Ogden’s. “In what instances is this coming to the surface? If I may ask, that is.”

“I suppose you may,” she said with the slightest smile curving her lips. “Most often it comes to the surface when I’m around you, although it seems to be becoming more and more a part of my thinking.”

“Around me? I’m quite flattered, Hermione,” he answered silkily. His voice deepened as he said her name, and he saw a red tinge appear in her cheeks. “Though I know I’m rather difficult sometimes, I really must wonder what it is that would be so Slytherin about your thoughts right now.”

It was then her turn to shift uncomfortably, though for her it was because of his alarmingly intent gaze that seemed to be taking in every detail about her. The Gryffindor part of her mind screamed at her to get out of there, that it wasn’t time to spend her courage confronting the snake head on. That other part though, which she was now adjusting to, craved amusement. To an extent, she was in a position of power right then, and she couldn’t resist the urge to torture him with it.

With more grace than she was accustomed to having, Hermione rose from her chair and walked over to him, placing her hands on his armrests and bending over so that her face was level with his. If the position happened to give him an interesting view down her shirt, so much the better for effect. “All sorts of bad things I would never consider before.”

Lucius had that underappreciated but quite valuable ability to remain calm and collected under all circumstances. Even when standing before the Dark Lord, certain of the cruciatus if not worse, he managed to keep his expressions under control. She had found his weakness. He had never learned such complete control when dealing with women he was interested in, so used to relying on his Malfoy charm and needing rather more show of expression, not less. Now, though, his heart was beating fast and he was increasingly concerned that she would noticed just how affected he was by her. His hand clenched around his glass until his knuckles were white and the glass shattered in his hand.

“I hope I haven’t angered you too much, Lucius,” Hermione said, acting as though it was nothing out of the ordinary for him to break a glass in such a way. She calmly cleaned up the mess while he sat there, frozen, and rather pleasant sensation ran down his spine when she took his hand and checked for any cuts from the glass. She raised his hand to her lips and kissed it softly. “See? All better.”

“I am far from angry, my dear,” he said finally as she backed up and put space between them once more. “Just distracted thinking of what it could mean for you, a Gryffindor lioness, to have Slytherin characteristics.”

Something about how he called her a lioness aroused her, and quickly she began thinking that their current exchange was no longer simple amusement. The Gryffindor side won. “As it happens, I think it is time for me to leave and go ponder those characteristics.”

Lucius sighed. He would not hold her there longer against her will. It was not just that she could require him by his oath to release her. He didn’t want to control her. It was a strange feeling for a man who prided himself on controlling everything. He rose from his chair and nodded to her. He kissed her hand in return, but in farewell, and then quickly kissed her forehead before she had the chance to object. “I hope you will grace me with your presence again before too much time has passed. Stay safe, and please wear the necklace. I don’t seek to manipulate you with it, I just feel compelled to protect you as much as possible. I have altered the Manor’s wards. You may apparate to or from here whenever you wish, though it is probably best that you come only to this library for now.”

She put the chain in his hand and allowed him to fasten it on for her. She shouldn’t trust him, and knew he was not above manipulation, but a part of her couldn’t help it. She did trust him, and when he specifically said it was only to protect her then she believed him. “Goodbye, Lucius.”

“Goodbye, lioness,” he answered with a smile.

Apparating back to her room, Hermione collapsed directly into bed. Her mind was full of Lucius, and how her visit had gone. He was growing on her, and that scared her. She wasn’t supposed to like him. He was a Death Eater, and a cruel man in her previous experience. Gods, he’d nearly caused the death of Ginny Weasley with that book of Voldemort’s, and would probably have killed her then too if he’d had the chance. Yet here she was changing her opinion of him. She was starting to respect him. That’s what it was.

Her fingers traced the outline of the necklace he had given her, and she remembered how gentle he had been when fastening it. How she felt his warm breath against the back of her neck, and when he was finished how he let his hand rest on her shoulder for a moment before sliding it down her arm and finally releasing her. Hermione had fought rather hard to keep herself from leaning back against him and pulling his arms around her waist. He probably wouldn’t have objected too much, but she wouldn’t have felt right about it. Despite how much fun it was to mess with him, to provoke him, he still had a wife who didn’t deserve to have another woman behaving that way with her husband.

Oh, Slytherin characteristics were indeed what Leda’s necklace had kept locked away for Hermione, but the term had to be the biggest understatement of the century. Perhaps she was a lioness, but somehow she felt herself at the mercy of the serpent. When she was younger, she had seen a stray cat fighting a snake in her back yard one day. It was a strange sight, but they were far more evenly matched than she would have thought. How evenly then, were she and Lucius matched?

She would find a way. Regardless of everything, she would win.

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Poet_lover - Yes, well, its a mixed blessing. lol. Yes, Hermione has to trust him eventually. But its one of those things that sneaks up on a person and they nearly have to be dragged kicking and screaming to fully accept it.

werewolfhime - I think my writer's block is working itself out. ;) My fiance and I broke up, so even though its saddening I think it was for the best and its helping with all the stress and emotions that were driving me crazy.

Citten -- Oh yes, Leda's interference is key. I kinda feel like for a Hermione/Lucius pairing to work that she has to be a more devious character than is usually seen in the books, so it's a fun way of changing that detail. lol