All the way II: And Even Further

Annie threw a stone. It broke the surface of the lake and sunk. Ripples pulsed out towards the edges and the rock where she and Lucius perched. The blonde had his arm around her waist.



"Funny, really," Annie thought aloud, "a Weasley and a Malfoy -"





"I am not a Malfoy." he said sharply.



Annie turned and looked up at him, "Yes you are. You always will be. And I don't care."



"You must care. Every one cares about things like that." Lucius told her bluntly.



Annie huffed and looked away, "So I’m every one now, am I?"



"No!" He turned her back to him by the shoulders, "No, I didn't mean that!"



She smiled gently, "I know, but... you can choose your friends, not your family. I should know."



"You have brilliant parents and loads of aunts and uncles and cousins and what ever else." he said, "Why are you complaining?"



"My mums gone. Disappeared. Dad's great, but I can't tell him anything. He's a joker and he can't be serious. My Grandparents are great, but, you know... old. Ginny's lovely, but she is too busy with Harry and Lily and well I have that thing for an Uncle."



"Ron?"



"Don't even talk to me about him!" Annie scowled, "I hate him. He did so much damage. I mean, what was he thinking when he kidnapped his best friend?"



"I don't know, ask my dad."



"Oh, I’m sorry," Annie apologized, "I didn't mean -"



"I know. Don't worry." Lucius said, "Your... your mum left?"



Annie nodded, "I didn't really know her that well, to be honest. She was always out and I was always with dad. What about your mum?"



She felt him shift uneasily, "I never knew her. My Grandfather knew my dad was an idiot, so he made sure he made an heir early. They used some charm to make sure I looked like the other Malfoy’s. Curse more like. Anyway, she had brown hair and Amber eyes and looked like Hermione."



"Because your dad loved her," Annie nodded, "I heard. But what about now? Life with Hermione must be great."



"Yeah, it is, but she doesn't have time for me." Lucius sighed, "Her husband has needs."



"You mean she leaves you so they can get jiggy?" Annie laughed.



"You have a dirty mind, Weasley." He smirked, "No, I mean he has emotional needs."



"You're saying he's unstable?" Annie laughed harder.



"No! I'm saying that she dotes on him and uses me as her personal baby sitter." he said sarcastically.



"Hey," Annie sobered up, "She doesn't use you. If you asked her to not ask you to look after Eileen she would stop; you know that. You're just jealous that Snape gets the attention."



"Yeah, I guess I am," Lucius admitted, "I don't even get why she married him, apart from the fact that she's a nice person and didn't want to hurt his feelings by saying 'no'."



"She loves him." Annie explained.



"Yeah, but why?" Lucius stressed, "He murdered, he tortures, he did disgusting things! He was near evil! How can she love something like that?"



"Hermione told me something when I was very young." Annie frowned, trying to think of the exact wording, "She said she had seen things that you could not imagine and learned thing that books could not tell, and for all of that, become a better person."



Lucius raised an eyebrow, "Even if I knew what that meant, I wouldn't care, because she must be stupid to waste her time on him. They argue - I've heard them - and he always gets his own way. She just gives in to what ever he wants."



"But is she ever unhappy, or hurt, or left wanting anything?" Annie asked.



"Well..." Lucius frowned, "No... Never..."



"And there's the mystery." Annie sighed, "She lets people walk all over her, but she gets her own way..."



"Can one war do that to some one?"



"Apparently so." Annie thought for a while, “Perhaps it was when her parents died -"



"What happened to her parents?" Lucius asked.



"You don't know?" Annie frowned.



"She's never even mentioned them." He said flatly.



"Well, I don't know exactly what happened..." She told him, "But Ginny told me they were murdered by Death Eaters -"



"Merlin -!"



"And that's not all..." Annie lowered her voice, "She was there..."





""""""""""""""""""""



It was Friday night and Hermione was awake. She had waited until Severus had been asleep for an hour, before leaving the bed for the sofa in the living room.



It was cooler. The grate was empty, but Hermione didn't want a fire.



Lucius had been strange all week. He had been really nice. No, Hermione thought, that sounded wrong. He was always nice - or at least polite - but this week there was no sarcasm, no snide comments and he had been unusually quiet. He hadn't even moaned when she had asked him to look after Eileen when she had to go to a staff meeting.



But it wasn't just that.



Lucius hadn't even looked at Severus. They didn't chat or have conversations, but they usually said a few words to each other. Hermione was sure Severus hadn't noticed anything, but she had.



She thought perhaps he was ill, but she had asked Madam Hooch, and she had reassured Hermione that he had been playing Quiditch at every opportunity, and Poppy hadn't seen him in the Hospital wing, either.



After ruling that out, she had guessed that it may have something to do with he and Annie getting together. The news had spread through the school like wild fire and Hermione had been over the moon; they were perfect together. Sort of like Harry and Ginny, but different.



She crossed that out as well, because why would getting a girl friend make him act like Severus didn't exist?



It was all so strange.



""""""""""""""""""""



Severus woke up slowly the next morning. Not bothering to open his eyes, he reached out for his wife and...



... His arm fell over the edge of the bed. He sat up and looked around. He was lying in Hermiones space and his space was - upon closer inspection - empty.



He scowled and rubbed his eyes. Where was she?



Severus got up and dressed and went to the living room. The sight that met him made his heart swell.



Hermione was lying on her back, on the sofa, with her arms around her daughter. Eileen was half sprawled on her mother, with her head resting in the crook of her neck. They were asleep.



""""""""""""""""""""



Lucius opened the door and walked into the living room. He stopped.



Snape looked up. Hermione and Eileen were asleep on the sofa.



"What do you want?" Snape asked.



Lucius ignored him and headed to the kitchen. He wanted a drink. Snape followed, billowing cloak and all.



"I asked you a question." He said coldly.



And Lucius wasn't answering!



Snape was fuming, "What is your -"



"Problem?" asked a third voice. Both Snape and Lucius spun. Hermione was standing in the door way.



"No," Lucius smirked, "I was just waiting. You promised you'd take me out to buy a new broomstick."



"That, I did," Hermione smiled, "Go and wait for me in the living room." Lucius' face must have shown his reluctance to leave, as Hermione said, with a slightly steely tone, "Now, please."



Lucius left.



""""""""""""""""""""



"What's wrong with him?" Severus asked.



Hermione shrugged, "I don't know. Teenage angst and all that, I suppose. Anyway, I guess I should go and get ready."



"Wait," Severus grabbed her arm as she turned away, "What were you doing out there this morning?"



Hermione lied quickly, "I got up for a drink, and Eileen heard me... not much more to say really."



She pulled her arm from him and left the room.



""""""""""""""""""""



Severus followed Hermione and Lucius at a safe distance, as they walked around Diagon Alley. By the time they had settled themselves in a cafe, Severus was feeling jealous. They got on so well, laughing and joking. Why wasn't she like that with him? Well, a rational voice inside his head said, maybe it's because you ARE NOT SIXTEEN!



Severus slipped into the cafe and took a table in the corner, out of sight. The waitress started to come over, but he glared and shook his head. She scurried away, pale. He could hear Hermiones conversation.



"...She is gonna flip!" Lucius was saying gleefully, "its way better than hers!"



"Poor Annie. Does this mean Slytherin will be winning the Quiditch cup?" Hermione smiled.



Lucius nodded, "We only lost last year because some one put powder on our brooms that gave us boils! We'll be the champions this year!"



Hermione laughed, "Severus will be pleased." There was silence, then, "What?"



"Nothing."



"What was that look for?"



"Nothing!"



"Tell me what’s wrong." Hermione pleaded, "What have you got against Severus? You've been blanking him for the last week."



There was another silence.



"Why did you marry him? Why did you marry a Death Eater?"



Severus flinched. He sounded like his Father and Grandfather. Although, he was interested in Hermiones answer, if not a little scared.



"I... What has that got to do with you?" She asked weakly.



"I know." Lucius said.



He could picture the frown on his wife’s face, "Know what?"



"How could you marry a Death Eater after what they did?" The teen’s voice was steely and hard. Severus didn't like his tone one bit. That was his wife he was talking to!



"They did lots of things to lots of people -" Hermione started calmly.



"Ok, let me rephrase the question. How could you marry a Death Eater after what they did... to you?"



Hermione started to stutter immediately, "I don't... what are you...? But you can't... I didn't tell...? No one should know..."



Severus wanted to get up and go to her. She sounded distressed and upset. But... what was she talking about and what did Lucius mean?



"Well?" He asked.



"They d-didn't do anything to m-"



"Don't lie." Lucius said a little less cruelly, "I know you were there. What happened?"



"No," Hermione said quietly, but suddenly calm, "I haven't told you before and I won't now, so please don't ask. It's in the past; leave it there."



"You can't leave something like that!" The teen said, scandalized, "You can't bury your head in the sand!"



"What are you trying to do?" Hermione snapped.



"Help you!" He retaliated.



"I don't need your help!" She hissed, "I'm fine as I am!"



"I bet Snape doesn't know."



"Of course not!" Hermione growled, "What do you think I am? Suicidal?"



"Exactly," Lucius said smugly, "He. Would. Murder. You. For not telling him. Maybe not literally, but he just like them really -"



"Shut up-!"



"No one can stop being a Death Eater -"



"You don't know what you're talking about -!"



"How can you even look at him, after what his lot did -?"



"He was in prison -!"



"Those Death Eaters broke into your house, tortured and killed your parents, did Merlin only knows what to you... What was it? Crucio -?"



"No -!"



"Imperio -?"



"No -!"



"Fists -?"



"No -!"



"Well, then, what did they do?"



Silence. Severus clapped his hand over his mouth, bile rising in his throat, his stomach churning.



""""""""""""""""""""



"Hang on... don't tell me they... that's... That's sick!"



Hermione refused to look up. She was thankful that the cafe was almost deserted.



Stupid child.



He didn't know what he was talking about.



He didn't understand about life.



He didn't have a clue.



"Just... tell me that I’m wrong..." Lucius said. Hermione put her head in her hands, tears soaking her palms. "Tell me." He repeated, "Please. Please! Tell me I’m wrong!" He was almost begging. He sounded like a child.



Hermione swept her hands across her face, clearing the tears in one movement. She took a deep breath and smiled as best she could.



"Right, well... I think we should go..." Hermione trailed off. Lucius was glaring hard at something over her shoulder. Frowning, she turned.