Happy Traditions, everyone!
Title: Unlikely Bedfellows, Part 5
Author: cmwinters
Gift For: all fest participants! [original recipient] wanted hurt/comfort, D/s with spanking and femmedom, threesome, Eastern Europan Summer Solstice/Festival of St. John the Baptist, Saturnalia/Yule, Lammas/First Fruits, anything Jewish and/or anything Christian. Er, I tried.
Pairing(s): Lucius/Hermione/Severus, Lucius/Severus
Summary: Hermione finds herself in a strange alliance with the Malfoy family when it's discovered that Snape is alive and in desperate need of immediate medical attention
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: BDSM, hurt/comfort, slightly dominant female, threesome, some homosexual themes although I wouldn't strictly call it "slash"
Author's notes: I hope the beginning isn't too entirely boring. I tried to set it up for something plausible. The muse went on the warpath here. *stabs her with a rusty titanium spork*
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
A few days after her spellcasting in the Shrieking Shack, a large eagle owl tapped at her window. She thought she recognised the owl and let the animal in. A scroll was tied to his leg and the animal thrust it haughtily at her. She carefully untied the scroll and fed the owl a piece of salmon from the refrigerator. He took it after nudging her head in a bizarre imitation of Crookshanks. She smiled; she'd been afraid he wouldn't want the cold fish, but he seemed grateful for it.
The scroll was elegantly scribed letter from Lucius Malfoy, asking her to meet him for lunch in Diagon Alley at her convenience. She'd just recently gotten a list of the course books for the year at Hogwarts and needed to make a trip there anyway. She carefully penned a reply saying she'd planned to go the day after tomorrow, and made it a point to leave extra early that day to get her shopping done in advance.
When she arrived at the Leaky Cauldron a few minutes ahead of her scheduled appointment, she saw Lucius casually leaning up against the bar, a glass of sparkling water in his hand. He was smiling at something Mandy Brocklehurst had said, and when he replied, they both broke up into laughter, as did the few people around them. The mood was contagious and she walked up to the apparently happy group with a smile on her face.
"Hermione, my dear!" Lucius declared. "So glad you could make it. Are you well?"
"Yes, thank you. Hi, Mandy," she said, waving at the girl who had been her Arithmancy partner until the end of their sixth year. Mandy waved back.
Lucius drew Tom's attention to get Hermione a drink. It was quite warm that day, and the sparkling water Lucius was drinking looked quite refreshing so she ordered one. He smiled and set a few coins on the counter, and then walked with her to a table. They spared a few moments of polite small talk, before Lucius asked her if she had a preference for eating establishment.
"Would Lindsay's do?" he asked, when she stated no preference.
"Um, sure . . ." she said, not entirely sure who or where Lindsay was, or what they served.
"Very good," he said, standing to pull her chair out for her. "We'll need to Apparate there, and as it's in Muggle London, we'll need to transfigure our clothing, but neither of those will take long," he pointed out, walking toward the back wall and, presumably, the Diagon Alley Apparation point.
"I, uh, don't know where it is," she admitted, feeling kind of ridiculous. Why accept an invitation to a place she couldn't find?
He looked at her and offered his arm. "I can Side-Along you, if you're amenable."
She offered her arm and he pulled her close to him and took a deep breath, which she felt him let out slowly as they were squeezed, apparently to prevent the pulmonary discomfort so associated with Apparation.
That's a neat trick she thought. I'll have to try that.
However, what drew her attention next was the extremely quiet arrival they had. Apparition was known for being loud, Side-Along even more so.
"How did you do that?" she asked him.
"Hm?" he queried with raised eyebrows.
"How do you do silent Apparation?"
"Oh!" he exclaimed as understanding dawned, then scowled. "I probably shouldn't have done that. I apologise, it's habit."
She couldn't fathom why he'd apologise, but really wanted to know the mechanics of it. "But HOW did you do it?" she insisted.
He gave her a measuring look as he led her in the direction of the restaurant. "You Apparate from your starting location, almost all the way to your intended destination, then almost all the way back to your starting location, then all the way to your destination. Doing so cuts down on the sudden air displacement, and alleviates the noise."
"Oh," she replied, thinking that would take a lot of practise and concentration, much less with a companion. It also explained why the Apparation had seemed to take an unusually long time, especially to only go across town. "It's not illegal, is it?"
He turned sharply toward her. "Illegal? No . . . no, it's not illegal . . ."
He seemed uneasy, and that put her on her guard. "Then why shouldn't you have done it?"
He stopped walking and turned to face her with a sigh. "It's a Death Eater trick, Hermione, designed to be used when we wanted stealth in arrival. That usually didn't bode well for whoever was on the destination end. But once someone masters a mode of Appparation, they usually continue to use that method to avoid Splinching themselves."
"Oh," she replied again, facing the sidewalk. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"Not at all," he replied, starting to walk again. "You weren't to know, and it's not as if my past alliances are as any surprise to you," he opined, holding a heavy oaken door open for her.
She was able to mask her shock at her surroundings by ostensibly adjusting her eyes to the reduced lighting. The settings were just short of opulent, and she was certain she'd never even been in the vicinity of such an exclusive eatery. She smiled uncomfortably as the maître d' led them to their table.
She sat primly, in sharp contrast to Lucius' casual ease. The items on the menu bordered on exotic, and she was baffled. Nor did it escape her eye that the menu was entirely without numbers - at least, her copy was.
She frowned, and feigned confusion. "What's this?" she asked, fixing her finger on a spot on her menu.
Lucius peered at her with raised eyebrows, and she reached forward to point it out on his menu, pulling it toward he so she could get a glance at it.
His had no prices, either. Oh boy.
He explained the cuisine to her and examined her sharply, eyes darting from her to the menu on occasion. "You might like the loin of beef," he opined, "although that comes with a truffle dressing, and if I recall, you don't care for mushrooms?"
She laughed sharply. "I lived almost exclusively on mushrooms for almost a year. But that would probably be fine," she replied.
He made a face at her pronouncement and set down his menu. "I don't suppose I would like them much after that, either."
The waiter arrived and Lucius ordered their entrees, an appetiser and drinks for both of them, for which she was thoroughly grateful. She was afraid if she tried to order she'd make a complete buffoon out of herself, and this was neither the time or place to do so. Not that she ever wanted to make a buffoon of herself in front of a Malfoy.
Once their drinks were served, Lucius leaned back and appraised her openly. "What are you intending to do about your exams?"
She smiled at him, grateful for the chance to discuss something on potentially neutral ground. "I was sent the course list and I picked up my books today."
"So you intend to go back to Hogwarts alone, to finish the year? Won't that be awkward? Your friends are in Auror training, are they not?"
"Ron's not, but Harry is," she corrected, taking a sip of her water. She wasn't quite ready to start in on the wine. "Well, I mean . . . I can't very well take my NEW . . . my exams without the final year of school, and I missed a whole year, so I definitely think I should take the refresher."
"Take private tutoring," he suggested with a cavalier shrug.
She blinked at him, taken aback. "I couldn't do that!"
"Why not?" he said, seeming truly confused. "Draco is."
"He didn't go to school last year?"
Lucius sighed. "Ah, no. The Dark Lord took him out of school."
"Why?"
His gaze was piercing. "He wanted to keep an eye on him, after his earlier failures. And after my earlier failures, he wanted Draco close to hand." Hermione's eyes widened as Lucius continued. "As I had been recently, ah, 'released' from Azkaban, and Narcissa under scrutiny for the Vow she made with Severus, we were in no position to protest."
She found she had no response for that.
"In any case, both Draco and Severus assure me that you're motivated enough to learn on your own. Narcissa is teaching Draco Charms and Transfiguration, I'll be taking over Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures, Andromeda's quite talented at Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, Severus is teaching Potions and Defence, of course, and all of us made it through History of Magic even with that horrible ghost of an instructor. Our gardener will teach Herbology. Draco tells me you're not taking Divination, and I'm rather assuming you don't need to actually take the Muggle Studies class?"
She smiled. "No, not really. It's all ridiculous nonsense, anyway."
"Well then, it's settled. Sit beside Draco," he said with a shrug.
"I couldn't do that!" she repeated, scandalised.
"Why ever not?"
'Because' didn't seem like all that sturdy of a protest, even to Hermione, but that was about all the protest she had. She wrung her hands slightly as she considered her answer.
"Are you worried about Severus?" he asked pointedly.
"Well, yes, but. . . . " she muttered. That was part of it but that wasn't all of it. There was also the part that was not so covered by her 'because' reasoning.
"We're going to be teaching Draco anyway, Hermione; we may as well sit for two as one. And . . . well, your private study over the last few days . . . that should take care of any objections Severus would have had," Lucius drawled.
She blushed and looked down.
"It's not my business what you do, but to release him so easily from a life debt - and a well-earned one at that - well now. That wasn't very Slytherin of you."
She jerked her head up to look at the bemused expression on his face. "You say that like it's a bad thing?"
He laughed.
She couldn't help but smile at him. "Exactly what part of our association gave you any idea I was Slytherin?" she asked, laughing. "Was it my fantastically pure heritage? Or how about the part where I so stoically supported your boss? Or even how close a friend I was to your son all these years?"
He laughed at the banter, but after a few moments looked at her very seriously.
"Actually," he confessed, his face serious, "it was what you did to secure your parents from danger."
She was saved from having to reply because at that moment, their food arrived.
The meal passed companionably and more than once she reflected what a truly charming man Lucius Malfoy could be. It was easy for her to forget his past crimes against Muggle-borns when he was making her laugh at the retelling of some antic a Ministry toady had gotten up to. She truly enjoyed the meal and the company and was quite happily reflecting upon that when the check arrived.
Lucius didn't even glance at the total, nor did he allow it to touch the table. He simply handed the waiter a small card that looked to Hermione suspiciously like a Muggle charge card. She furrowed her brow.
"You don't have to pay for my food," she protested.
"Ah, Hermione, don't insult me," he laughed. He seemed truly amused.
"I'm not insulting you! But you don't have to pay for my food."
He shook his head. "You've heard the phrase 'compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe'?" She nodded. "Are you familiar with the Franklin trusts?"
"No, I don't think so."
He cleared his throat. "Benjamin Franklin was an American . . ."
"Yes, I know who he was."
"Ah, good. In his will, he left one thousand British pounds sterling each to the cities of Philadelphia and Boston, with the stipulation that they remain in trust for 200 years. When the trusts came due, there were two and five million American Muggle dollars, respectively, in the trusts."
Her eyes widened. She hadn't known that, and couldn't fathom why Lucius would, either.
"Two HUNDRED years, Hermione. My family has been investing money in trusts for the last one thousand years. In both the Muggle and Wizarding worlds. I couldn't possibly spend all my money, even if I tried. I invited you here, and I am paying for the meal," he declared softly.
Although she still had some misgivings, she really couldn't argue with his logic, and argued the point no further.
* * *
As luck would have it, she chose not to sit in private tutoring with Draco. The situation was simply too uncomfortable for her, and besides, she missed Hogwarts. She also missed the companionship of other people. She'd spent most of the last year with only Harry and Ron as her company (and sometimes not even that much), and there were many times when none of them were feeling particularly sociable. Her time with the Malfoys had been rewarding to her in that she'd had access to an exclusive library and had been instrumental in seeing a real improvement in Snape's condition, but she was ready to be around more than one or two other people her age. And due to the extenuating circumstances (not the least of which was the battle which debilitated the school), Hogwarts and the Ministry had set aside a special program for all those who'd left the school the last two years or been otherwise unable to sit their exams.
Hermione chose that route instead, but Lucius was right; she was good at self-study and although the war had affected everybody, it seemed to have affected her even more profoundly. Not a single student acknowledged her nineteenth birthday, and the only present she received was the one Narcissa sent her on behalf of the Malfoy family. She knew she was going to be upset that her parents didn't send anything, but they could hardly be blamed, as they were still in Australia, oblivious to her existence. However, Ron and Harry didn't send her so much as a card, and she was stung by their indifference. She could almost excuse Harry, being stuck in an accelerated Auror programme, but Ron was lazing about the shop and had no such excuse. She felt even less able to relate to her peers than before, and as per usual, threw herself into her studies. She ended up sitting her NEWTs aside Draco in November anyway, when Lucius paid the Ministry for a special testing session that was left open to anyone who wished to take advantage of it.
Because all of the other students were using the rest of the year to study, she and Draco were the only examinees, and they were actually able to receive their grades the morning after their last exam.
She passed of course, and so did he, and they were congratulating each other warmly when Draco mentioned that Lucius and Narcissa were throwing a party for all those who completed their schooling, and as the only other newest alumni of Hogwarts, she would be expected to attend.
"Oh," Hermione said, and her face fell. "Draco, I'm truly sorry, and I mean no offence to you or your parents, but I'd rather wanted to bring my parents home for Christmas. I'm sorry, really."
"Oh, yeah . . . about that. Snape said he'd help. Um, I think he and my father are securing the Portkey this afternoon. It would be easier if you went with Snape; it would be better, too. But he's just finished brewing a really complex memory restorative potion for them and it has to be consumed within a certain time after it's completed brewing. I'm sorry I didn't mention it before; I swear it just slipped my mind," he said, waving his hand in front of his face.
My parents could be home for Christmas? With their memories intact? Hermione nearly burst into tears of relief at the thought.
"Anyway," Draco continued, seemingly oblivious to her mental distress, "the Portkey - if they can get it - leaves tomorrow, I think. The party isn't until next Friday. You and your parents are invited, of course, and anyone else you wish to invite; Mother's been dying to put on a large celebration since May. Honest, if she doesn't do it soon, I think we'll all regret it."
* * *
It had been a busy week. Portkeying to the other side of the planet with a man Hermione was quite well-assured despised her had been nerve-wracking, but she'd managed to ignore it in her excitement to see her parents. She'd had to Apparate Snape from the Sydney Portkey Authority to her parents suburb, which he only grudgingly allowed, and with ill-grace at that.
"Do take care not to Splinch me, Miss Granger," Snape had snarled at her as she moved to take his arm. "I would so hate to be laid up again."
She'd spun around to face him. "Yes, well, I didn't Splinch you or Lucius when we rather abruptly discovered you were still alive and had to be Apparated immediately, and I didn't Splinch Harry or Ron when we Apparated out of a collapsing house fleeing Death Eaters, so I'm quite certain I can manage, provided you cooperate!" she'd spat at him. Without further preamble she'd grabbed his arm and Disapparated. She wished she'd had the presence of mind to do so silently, but she was so irritated with him she didn't want to be near him any longer than absolutely necessary.
When they'd arrived on the street, she'd dropped his arm so forcibly a casual onlooker may have accused her of throwing it. So intent was she on studying her surroundings that she'd missed Snape's quirked eyebrow and flaring nostrils.
Not that she could possibly have cared less; it had been almost a year and a half since she'd seen, spoken to, or heard from her parents, and she missed them terribly.
"Mraouw . . . "
"CROOKSHANKS!" Hermione had squealed, causing Snape to wince. She'd thrown herself at the cat with such force Snape was shocked the animal didn't claw and bite her.
He'd withdrawn his wand protectively when the animal started growling, and the idiot girl showed no signs of releasing it. The ugly animal had batted her in the face and head-butted her, and it wasn't until then he realised the cat wasn't growling, but purring.
Merlin save me.
Hermione sniffed and the cat leapt down, walked over to him as calm as you please, and rubbed against his leg. Snape was affronted and scowled and Hermione scoffed.
"Something amuses you, Miss Granger?" he'd sneered.
"Crookshanks likes you," her voice clearly intoning God only knows why. "C'mon, Crooks; we have to find mum and dad."
"Mraouw!" the cat had replied, that apparently being the extent of his vocabulary.
The visit had gone well, although the travel and the hours of delicate but intense Legilimency left him barely able to stand. He had excused himself to the guest bedroom as soon as he had been reasonably certain the Grangers were recovered. Truth be told, he would have preferred to go back to England, or even back to the Sydney Wizarding Quarter, but he had been so physically and magically depleted he wasn't entirely sure he'd make it down the hall unassisted - never mind cross-continental Apparation - and he was quite convinced international travel within the next twelve hours would kill him. After sleeping until the unforgivably indecent hour at which breakfast was served, he'd spent a significant amount of time convincing the frightened and disoriented Grangers that what their daughter had done had been in their best interest. He'd even disclosed that the Dark Lord had tasked him with "eliminating" them, at which point Hermione had turned a speculative gaze at him.
He had no desire to nurture foolish adolescent notions however, and he took his leave as soon as he was decently able. Bad enough he was going to have to endure her presence at the Malfoy's party. He certainly didn't want to do so in the privacy of their own home.
Part 6
Author: cmwinters
Gift For: all fest participants! [original recipient] wanted hurt/comfort, D/s with spanking and femmedom, threesome, Eastern Europan Summer Solstice/Festival of St. John the Baptist, Saturnalia/Yule, Lammas/First Fruits, anything Jewish and/or anything Christian. Er, I tried.
Pairing(s): Lucius/Hermione/Severus, Lucius/Severus
Summary: Hermione finds herself in a strange alliance with the Malfoy family when it's discovered that Snape is alive and in desperate need of immediate medical attention
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: BDSM, hurt/comfort, slightly dominant female, threesome, some homosexual themes although I wouldn't strictly call it "slash"
Author's notes: I hope the beginning isn't too entirely boring. I tried to set it up for something plausible. The muse went on the warpath here. *stabs her with a rusty titanium spork*
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
A few days after her spellcasting in the Shrieking Shack, a large eagle owl tapped at her window. She thought she recognised the owl and let the animal in. A scroll was tied to his leg and the animal thrust it haughtily at her. She carefully untied the scroll and fed the owl a piece of salmon from the refrigerator. He took it after nudging her head in a bizarre imitation of Crookshanks. She smiled; she'd been afraid he wouldn't want the cold fish, but he seemed grateful for it.
The scroll was elegantly scribed letter from Lucius Malfoy, asking her to meet him for lunch in Diagon Alley at her convenience. She'd just recently gotten a list of the course books for the year at Hogwarts and needed to make a trip there anyway. She carefully penned a reply saying she'd planned to go the day after tomorrow, and made it a point to leave extra early that day to get her shopping done in advance.
When she arrived at the Leaky Cauldron a few minutes ahead of her scheduled appointment, she saw Lucius casually leaning up against the bar, a glass of sparkling water in his hand. He was smiling at something Mandy Brocklehurst had said, and when he replied, they both broke up into laughter, as did the few people around them. The mood was contagious and she walked up to the apparently happy group with a smile on her face.
"Hermione, my dear!" Lucius declared. "So glad you could make it. Are you well?"
"Yes, thank you. Hi, Mandy," she said, waving at the girl who had been her Arithmancy partner until the end of their sixth year. Mandy waved back.
Lucius drew Tom's attention to get Hermione a drink. It was quite warm that day, and the sparkling water Lucius was drinking looked quite refreshing so she ordered one. He smiled and set a few coins on the counter, and then walked with her to a table. They spared a few moments of polite small talk, before Lucius asked her if she had a preference for eating establishment.
"Would Lindsay's do?" he asked, when she stated no preference.
"Um, sure . . ." she said, not entirely sure who or where Lindsay was, or what they served.
"Very good," he said, standing to pull her chair out for her. "We'll need to Apparate there, and as it's in Muggle London, we'll need to transfigure our clothing, but neither of those will take long," he pointed out, walking toward the back wall and, presumably, the Diagon Alley Apparation point.
"I, uh, don't know where it is," she admitted, feeling kind of ridiculous. Why accept an invitation to a place she couldn't find?
He looked at her and offered his arm. "I can Side-Along you, if you're amenable."
She offered her arm and he pulled her close to him and took a deep breath, which she felt him let out slowly as they were squeezed, apparently to prevent the pulmonary discomfort so associated with Apparation.
That's a neat trick she thought. I'll have to try that.
However, what drew her attention next was the extremely quiet arrival they had. Apparition was known for being loud, Side-Along even more so.
"How did you do that?" she asked him.
"Hm?" he queried with raised eyebrows.
"How do you do silent Apparation?"
"Oh!" he exclaimed as understanding dawned, then scowled. "I probably shouldn't have done that. I apologise, it's habit."
She couldn't fathom why he'd apologise, but really wanted to know the mechanics of it. "But HOW did you do it?" she insisted.
He gave her a measuring look as he led her in the direction of the restaurant. "You Apparate from your starting location, almost all the way to your intended destination, then almost all the way back to your starting location, then all the way to your destination. Doing so cuts down on the sudden air displacement, and alleviates the noise."
"Oh," she replied, thinking that would take a lot of practise and concentration, much less with a companion. It also explained why the Apparation had seemed to take an unusually long time, especially to only go across town. "It's not illegal, is it?"
He turned sharply toward her. "Illegal? No . . . no, it's not illegal . . ."
He seemed uneasy, and that put her on her guard. "Then why shouldn't you have done it?"
He stopped walking and turned to face her with a sigh. "It's a Death Eater trick, Hermione, designed to be used when we wanted stealth in arrival. That usually didn't bode well for whoever was on the destination end. But once someone masters a mode of Appparation, they usually continue to use that method to avoid Splinching themselves."
"Oh," she replied again, facing the sidewalk. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"Not at all," he replied, starting to walk again. "You weren't to know, and it's not as if my past alliances are as any surprise to you," he opined, holding a heavy oaken door open for her.
She was able to mask her shock at her surroundings by ostensibly adjusting her eyes to the reduced lighting. The settings were just short of opulent, and she was certain she'd never even been in the vicinity of such an exclusive eatery. She smiled uncomfortably as the maître d' led them to their table.
She sat primly, in sharp contrast to Lucius' casual ease. The items on the menu bordered on exotic, and she was baffled. Nor did it escape her eye that the menu was entirely without numbers - at least, her copy was.
She frowned, and feigned confusion. "What's this?" she asked, fixing her finger on a spot on her menu.
Lucius peered at her with raised eyebrows, and she reached forward to point it out on his menu, pulling it toward he so she could get a glance at it.
His had no prices, either. Oh boy.
He explained the cuisine to her and examined her sharply, eyes darting from her to the menu on occasion. "You might like the loin of beef," he opined, "although that comes with a truffle dressing, and if I recall, you don't care for mushrooms?"
She laughed sharply. "I lived almost exclusively on mushrooms for almost a year. But that would probably be fine," she replied.
He made a face at her pronouncement and set down his menu. "I don't suppose I would like them much after that, either."
The waiter arrived and Lucius ordered their entrees, an appetiser and drinks for both of them, for which she was thoroughly grateful. She was afraid if she tried to order she'd make a complete buffoon out of herself, and this was neither the time or place to do so. Not that she ever wanted to make a buffoon of herself in front of a Malfoy.
Once their drinks were served, Lucius leaned back and appraised her openly. "What are you intending to do about your exams?"
She smiled at him, grateful for the chance to discuss something on potentially neutral ground. "I was sent the course list and I picked up my books today."
"So you intend to go back to Hogwarts alone, to finish the year? Won't that be awkward? Your friends are in Auror training, are they not?"
"Ron's not, but Harry is," she corrected, taking a sip of her water. She wasn't quite ready to start in on the wine. "Well, I mean . . . I can't very well take my NEW . . . my exams without the final year of school, and I missed a whole year, so I definitely think I should take the refresher."
"Take private tutoring," he suggested with a cavalier shrug.
She blinked at him, taken aback. "I couldn't do that!"
"Why not?" he said, seeming truly confused. "Draco is."
"He didn't go to school last year?"
Lucius sighed. "Ah, no. The Dark Lord took him out of school."
"Why?"
His gaze was piercing. "He wanted to keep an eye on him, after his earlier failures. And after my earlier failures, he wanted Draco close to hand." Hermione's eyes widened as Lucius continued. "As I had been recently, ah, 'released' from Azkaban, and Narcissa under scrutiny for the Vow she made with Severus, we were in no position to protest."
She found she had no response for that.
"In any case, both Draco and Severus assure me that you're motivated enough to learn on your own. Narcissa is teaching Draco Charms and Transfiguration, I'll be taking over Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures, Andromeda's quite talented at Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, Severus is teaching Potions and Defence, of course, and all of us made it through History of Magic even with that horrible ghost of an instructor. Our gardener will teach Herbology. Draco tells me you're not taking Divination, and I'm rather assuming you don't need to actually take the Muggle Studies class?"
She smiled. "No, not really. It's all ridiculous nonsense, anyway."
"Well then, it's settled. Sit beside Draco," he said with a shrug.
"I couldn't do that!" she repeated, scandalised.
"Why ever not?"
'Because' didn't seem like all that sturdy of a protest, even to Hermione, but that was about all the protest she had. She wrung her hands slightly as she considered her answer.
"Are you worried about Severus?" he asked pointedly.
"Well, yes, but. . . . " she muttered. That was part of it but that wasn't all of it. There was also the part that was not so covered by her 'because' reasoning.
"We're going to be teaching Draco anyway, Hermione; we may as well sit for two as one. And . . . well, your private study over the last few days . . . that should take care of any objections Severus would have had," Lucius drawled.
She blushed and looked down.
"It's not my business what you do, but to release him so easily from a life debt - and a well-earned one at that - well now. That wasn't very Slytherin of you."
She jerked her head up to look at the bemused expression on his face. "You say that like it's a bad thing?"
He laughed.
She couldn't help but smile at him. "Exactly what part of our association gave you any idea I was Slytherin?" she asked, laughing. "Was it my fantastically pure heritage? Or how about the part where I so stoically supported your boss? Or even how close a friend I was to your son all these years?"
He laughed at the banter, but after a few moments looked at her very seriously.
"Actually," he confessed, his face serious, "it was what you did to secure your parents from danger."
She was saved from having to reply because at that moment, their food arrived.
The meal passed companionably and more than once she reflected what a truly charming man Lucius Malfoy could be. It was easy for her to forget his past crimes against Muggle-borns when he was making her laugh at the retelling of some antic a Ministry toady had gotten up to. She truly enjoyed the meal and the company and was quite happily reflecting upon that when the check arrived.
Lucius didn't even glance at the total, nor did he allow it to touch the table. He simply handed the waiter a small card that looked to Hermione suspiciously like a Muggle charge card. She furrowed her brow.
"You don't have to pay for my food," she protested.
"Ah, Hermione, don't insult me," he laughed. He seemed truly amused.
"I'm not insulting you! But you don't have to pay for my food."
He shook his head. "You've heard the phrase 'compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe'?" She nodded. "Are you familiar with the Franklin trusts?"
"No, I don't think so."
He cleared his throat. "Benjamin Franklin was an American . . ."
"Yes, I know who he was."
"Ah, good. In his will, he left one thousand British pounds sterling each to the cities of Philadelphia and Boston, with the stipulation that they remain in trust for 200 years. When the trusts came due, there were two and five million American Muggle dollars, respectively, in the trusts."
Her eyes widened. She hadn't known that, and couldn't fathom why Lucius would, either.
"Two HUNDRED years, Hermione. My family has been investing money in trusts for the last one thousand years. In both the Muggle and Wizarding worlds. I couldn't possibly spend all my money, even if I tried. I invited you here, and I am paying for the meal," he declared softly.
Although she still had some misgivings, she really couldn't argue with his logic, and argued the point no further.
* * *
As luck would have it, she chose not to sit in private tutoring with Draco. The situation was simply too uncomfortable for her, and besides, she missed Hogwarts. She also missed the companionship of other people. She'd spent most of the last year with only Harry and Ron as her company (and sometimes not even that much), and there were many times when none of them were feeling particularly sociable. Her time with the Malfoys had been rewarding to her in that she'd had access to an exclusive library and had been instrumental in seeing a real improvement in Snape's condition, but she was ready to be around more than one or two other people her age. And due to the extenuating circumstances (not the least of which was the battle which debilitated the school), Hogwarts and the Ministry had set aside a special program for all those who'd left the school the last two years or been otherwise unable to sit their exams.
Hermione chose that route instead, but Lucius was right; she was good at self-study and although the war had affected everybody, it seemed to have affected her even more profoundly. Not a single student acknowledged her nineteenth birthday, and the only present she received was the one Narcissa sent her on behalf of the Malfoy family. She knew she was going to be upset that her parents didn't send anything, but they could hardly be blamed, as they were still in Australia, oblivious to her existence. However, Ron and Harry didn't send her so much as a card, and she was stung by their indifference. She could almost excuse Harry, being stuck in an accelerated Auror programme, but Ron was lazing about the shop and had no such excuse. She felt even less able to relate to her peers than before, and as per usual, threw herself into her studies. She ended up sitting her NEWTs aside Draco in November anyway, when Lucius paid the Ministry for a special testing session that was left open to anyone who wished to take advantage of it.
Because all of the other students were using the rest of the year to study, she and Draco were the only examinees, and they were actually able to receive their grades the morning after their last exam.
She passed of course, and so did he, and they were congratulating each other warmly when Draco mentioned that Lucius and Narcissa were throwing a party for all those who completed their schooling, and as the only other newest alumni of Hogwarts, she would be expected to attend.
"Oh," Hermione said, and her face fell. "Draco, I'm truly sorry, and I mean no offence to you or your parents, but I'd rather wanted to bring my parents home for Christmas. I'm sorry, really."
"Oh, yeah . . . about that. Snape said he'd help. Um, I think he and my father are securing the Portkey this afternoon. It would be easier if you went with Snape; it would be better, too. But he's just finished brewing a really complex memory restorative potion for them and it has to be consumed within a certain time after it's completed brewing. I'm sorry I didn't mention it before; I swear it just slipped my mind," he said, waving his hand in front of his face.
My parents could be home for Christmas? With their memories intact? Hermione nearly burst into tears of relief at the thought.
"Anyway," Draco continued, seemingly oblivious to her mental distress, "the Portkey - if they can get it - leaves tomorrow, I think. The party isn't until next Friday. You and your parents are invited, of course, and anyone else you wish to invite; Mother's been dying to put on a large celebration since May. Honest, if she doesn't do it soon, I think we'll all regret it."
* * *
It had been a busy week. Portkeying to the other side of the planet with a man Hermione was quite well-assured despised her had been nerve-wracking, but she'd managed to ignore it in her excitement to see her parents. She'd had to Apparate Snape from the Sydney Portkey Authority to her parents suburb, which he only grudgingly allowed, and with ill-grace at that.
"Do take care not to Splinch me, Miss Granger," Snape had snarled at her as she moved to take his arm. "I would so hate to be laid up again."
She'd spun around to face him. "Yes, well, I didn't Splinch you or Lucius when we rather abruptly discovered you were still alive and had to be Apparated immediately, and I didn't Splinch Harry or Ron when we Apparated out of a collapsing house fleeing Death Eaters, so I'm quite certain I can manage, provided you cooperate!" she'd spat at him. Without further preamble she'd grabbed his arm and Disapparated. She wished she'd had the presence of mind to do so silently, but she was so irritated with him she didn't want to be near him any longer than absolutely necessary.
When they'd arrived on the street, she'd dropped his arm so forcibly a casual onlooker may have accused her of throwing it. So intent was she on studying her surroundings that she'd missed Snape's quirked eyebrow and flaring nostrils.
Not that she could possibly have cared less; it had been almost a year and a half since she'd seen, spoken to, or heard from her parents, and she missed them terribly.
"Mraouw . . . "
"CROOKSHANKS!" Hermione had squealed, causing Snape to wince. She'd thrown herself at the cat with such force Snape was shocked the animal didn't claw and bite her.
He'd withdrawn his wand protectively when the animal started growling, and the idiot girl showed no signs of releasing it. The ugly animal had batted her in the face and head-butted her, and it wasn't until then he realised the cat wasn't growling, but purring.
Merlin save me.
Hermione sniffed and the cat leapt down, walked over to him as calm as you please, and rubbed against his leg. Snape was affronted and scowled and Hermione scoffed.
"Something amuses you, Miss Granger?" he'd sneered.
"Crookshanks likes you," her voice clearly intoning God only knows why. "C'mon, Crooks; we have to find mum and dad."
"Mraouw!" the cat had replied, that apparently being the extent of his vocabulary.
The visit had gone well, although the travel and the hours of delicate but intense Legilimency left him barely able to stand. He had excused himself to the guest bedroom as soon as he had been reasonably certain the Grangers were recovered. Truth be told, he would have preferred to go back to England, or even back to the Sydney Wizarding Quarter, but he had been so physically and magically depleted he wasn't entirely sure he'd make it down the hall unassisted - never mind cross-continental Apparation - and he was quite convinced international travel within the next twelve hours would kill him. After sleeping until the unforgivably indecent hour at which breakfast was served, he'd spent a significant amount of time convincing the frightened and disoriented Grangers that what their daughter had done had been in their best interest. He'd even disclosed that the Dark Lord had tasked him with "eliminating" them, at which point Hermione had turned a speculative gaze at him.
He had no desire to nurture foolish adolescent notions however, and he took his leave as soon as he was decently able. Bad enough he was going to have to endure her presence at the Malfoy's party. He certainly didn't want to do so in the privacy of their own home.
Part 6