Author Notes: Thank you to emerald_dragon8 for the beta!

Warnings: Infidelity, dubious consent involving potions.
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended. All characters engaging in sexual activity are 18 years or older.

Down the Rabbit Hole: Part I

The words were out of Hermione's mouth before she could think. "What if you gave me the Lucius Malfoy case?"

Judith pursed her lips. "Why would you ever want that case? It's hopeless. In any case, Malfoy has fired our firm. He prefers to represent himself in front of the Wizengamot and I wish him luck in that endeavour."

Hermione took a deep breath. Now that she'd said it, she couldn't back down. Not with Judith Blake as her boss anyway. As far as she was aware, Judith slept at the office. She had once gotten in at six am to find Judith at her desk with a steaming cup of coffee, looking over briefs and parchments. "If I win the Malfoy case then I get to choose my own cases. At least fifty per cent of them."

Judith raised an eyebrow. "Why would I let you do that, Hermione? I have no doubt that you'll choose those pro bono cases you're always trying to convince the partners to go for." She examined a perfectly manicured fingernail.

"It'll help our publicity," Hermione blurted out.

"Go on," Judith said slowly, looking up at her.

"The new laws regarding the Imperius Curse are rather controversial," Hermione pointed out. "It has gotten rid of a legitimate defence for many people. Yes, it has been abused in the past. Yes, Lucius Malfoy may have abused it; however, it doesn't mean that it should be abolished as a valid defence altogether."

Judith raised an eyebrow. "That's true."

"Plus, if we win the Malfoy case, which you say is impossible, then everybody will hire us. If I take pro bono work in the future, then it'll also help bolster our image," Hermione said.

Judith smiled thinly. "I doubt that having one of my best new associates campaigning for house elf rights will benefit our image, but you're right about the other aspect." To Hermione's surprise, Judith held out a hand for her to shake. "Very well. We have a deal."

Hesitantly, Hermione put out her hand. This was too easy. Far too easy. She knew Judith too well for this. Even the new cleaner who had only been working in the building for a week knew Judith too well for this.

"However," Judith added, her smile widening, "if you should lose, then I expect not a single peep out of you about house elf rights or the rights of any other disenfranchised creatures you might care about for the rest of your career here. You will work on the cases I assign you and only those cases." She folded her arms across her chest and leaned back in her comfortable leather chair to regard Hermione through slightly lidded eyes. "I already give you too much leeway around here."

Hermione mentally snorted. She knew she got the leeway because she could come up with the good ideas. She didn't exactly get her pick of the cases even now. She had been campaigning for the firm to have a bigger pro bono section; however, it wasn't for house elf rights. She had given up on that hopeless idea a long time ago. "Agreed," she said with a nod. She crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped that she hadn't just made the biggest mistake of her life.

"Long day at work?" Ron asked as he rubbed her shoulders.

"Mmm," Hermione said, closing her eyes and sinking into his embrace. "A lot of paperwork."

Ron kissed the back of her neck and she felt a pleasant shiver slide through her. "How about we do something interesting on top of the paperwork?" he suggested as he nibbled on one of her ears. "You look like you need a distraction."

Hermione was tempted. She laughed as she turned around in her chair and kissed him. "I also need to get this done," she pointed out. "You know I do." She nuzzled him and then leaned back with an apologetic look on her face. "I've got a lot of work."

Ron pouted. "But what about your poor neglected husband?"

Hermione poked him. "What about him?" she teased. "When he gets back, I'll tend to him."

Ron stuck his tongue out at her and then leaned forward to kiss her again. "Okay, I'll let you get back to work," he said cheerfully. "What are you working on anyway?"

"I have a new case," she said, turning back to her papers. "I'm representing Lucius Malfoy."

There was a silence. Hermione almost thought that Ron had left the room, except when she turned around, she saw him still standing there staring at her. "Lucius Malfoy?" he repeated, sounding incredulous.

Hermione stared at him. She never thought that Ron would have a problem with it. "Yes..." she said slowly.

"Did you forget what he did to Ginny?" Ron burst out. "What about the fact that he hates my family? Or yours, for that matter! He's a racist git and you shouldn't represent him!"

"I shouldn't?" Hermione repeated quietly.

"I didn't mean it that way," Ron said, sounding tired. "You know that. But, Hermione, how can you represent him? Knowing who he is? Knowing he deserves Azkaban for life?"

Hermione bit her lip. "Everybody deserves representation." That was, in fact, one of Judith's favourite sayings. Of course, it mostly only extended to those who could afford representation. Hermione never thought she'd be repeating the phrase verbatim to her husband. She usually disagreed vehemently with Judith.

Ron looked mutinous. "But some deserve it more than others."

She raised her eyebrow. "I never realised you read Orwell."

Ron just looked confused.

"Never mind," Hermione said with a sigh. "Look, I haven't even met with him yet. He hadn't even agreed to let me represent him. I'm just reviewing the case file. Besides, Judith agreed to let me do pro bono work if I win this case." She hesitated. "If I don't win the case, I'm basically her slave."

From the expression on Ron's face, Hermione suspected that this was less than reassuring to him. She sighed softly. It wasn't as though she didn't understand his reasoning. She did. It was just that she was doing this for a greater cause that was definitely nothing to do with Lucius Malfoy. There were plenty of disenfranchised groups within the wizarding world that didn't have the money to represent themselves within the legal system. She needed to help them. But she knew from the expression on Ron's face that this wasn't the right time to argue the point with him.

Hermione felt unaccountably nervous as she sat in the visitor's waiting room inside Azkaban. She knew that there were no longer any Dementors within Azkaban's walls but the entire place still made her feel rather nervous. It was as though the years of having Dementors here had permeated into the walls. She normally wasn't a superstitious person, but looking around, Hermione decided that if auras existed, then Azkaban would definitely have a negative one. Not that she believed in auras, of course.

"Mrs Weasley?"

Hermione looked up. The guard was gesturing for her to follow him.

"Mr Malfoy is in one of visitor's rooms," the guard told her. "There are silencing spells up already for the room; however, you are also welcome to put up your own. Most lawyers tend to prefer that." They stopped outside a door marked Visitor Room Three.

"Thank you," Hermione said, her fingers tightening around her briefcase. She looked down at her neatly buttoned up robes. It had taken her over ten minutes that morning to decide whether to go with her Muggle suit or wizard style robes. Her workplace had contacts in the Muggle world and she was often expected to dress for it; however, most people chose robes while within the wizarding world. She had finally decided upon robes as being less antagonistic. There was no need to throw the fact that she was Muggle-born in Lucius Malfoy's face. He already knew that, after all.

"I'll be down the hall," the guard said, giving her a friendly smile. "You are authorised to use any and all spells to subdue the prisoner if necessary. Although, given that he has a magic-dampening bracelet and is magically handcuffed against violence, it shouldn't be necessary."

Hermione nodded, and watched as the guard walked away. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the door handle and twisted it. Her first impression of the room was that it was small, almost cramped. She entered it and shut the door tightly behind her.

Lucius looked up from where he was seated. "Figures," he drawled, "that the Ministry would choose to appoint a Muggle-born lawyer to my case."

"We're both going to have to make do," Hermione told him crisply as she sat down on the other end of the table. She had decided against telling him that she had chosen this case. "Now, I'm going to have to put up silencing spells."

Lucius looked almost amused, as if he had expected her to do nothing. "Go right ahead. I've got all day."

Hermione gritted her teeth as she took out her wand and concentrated. From what she could feel, the guard had told the truth. There were already silencing spells up that were woven into the very walls of the room. However, from what she sensed, these hadn't been renewed for a very long time. She added her own spells to the walls, and wove a privacy net over the ceiling and floor just to be sure.

"You're thorough," Lucius remarked, raising an eyebrow. "I suppose I ought to be glad."

She spread her files out on the table. "Yes," she told him, "you should be. I'm the lawyer who will keep you from rotting in Azkaban for the next hundred years of your life."

Lucius stared at her.

Hermione wanted to squirm under his gaze, but she mentally schooled herself to keep still. He was just trying to psych her out. She knew that. She returned his gaze steadily.

"At least you're strong," he finally remarked after what seemed like minutes had passed. "You'll be better than the last idiot."

Hermione resisted the urge to give a wry laugh. It was true that the Lucius Malfoy defence team seemed to have been staffed with idiots since the end of the war. The last lawyer he'd had went with the defence of the Imperius Curse, notwithstanding the fact that that had been overturned as a valid defence with the Wizengamot Reforms. "Rest assured, Mr Malfoy," she said crisply. "You will be more than adequately represented."

"I have no doubts about that," he said, to her surprise. "Draco always told me about your marks at Hogwarts."

She wrinkled her nose involuntarily. It brought back memories of Hogwarts that she didn't want. Draco was a brat back then. Nowadays, she saw him occasionally in the street, and he always gave her a polite smile, but they never spoke. "I'm glad you have faith in my abilities," she said stiffly. "I will be reviewing your files over the next few weeks. I expect that I will have to come over every few days to corroborate statements."

"It's not as though I have anywhere to go," Lucius told her.

She decided to take that as a yes. "However, today, I would like you to go over what happened between you and You-Know-Who during your Death Eater years in your own words."

Lucius stared at her.

"This is necessary, Mr Malfoy," she told him.

"You can call me Lucius," he said unexpectedly. "You don't seem completely incompetent, Hermione."

Hermione pursed her lips. Somehow, Lucius managed to make a compliment seem like a complete insult. "Thank you for that glowing praise," she said snidely. "Now, I do need an answer to my question."

Lucius's eyes glittered. "I killed Mudbloods and Muggles indiscriminately. I served the Dark Lord the best I could. Is that what you want to hear?"

"I want the truth," she stressed. "You weren't with You-Know-Who up until the end. You turned. You claimed to be under the Imperius Curse during the first war. Now, while I know that's a lie, it still belies your statement that you served You-Know-Who the best you could."

"I very much doubt you want to know the answers to these questions," Lucius said icily. "And I do not wish to share the answers."

Hermione sat back in her chair and folded her arms. "Then we're at an impasse," she said. "As your lawyer, I need to know the entire story. I may not have all the time in the world, but I am very patient. I can wait."

Lucius sneered. "You'll be waiting a long time."

"I see that this conversation will be going nowhere today," Hermione said. She pushed her chair back and gathered up her filed. "I will be back soon. Perhaps you will be more willing to share information then? Need I remind you of attorney-client privilege?"

Lucius was silent.

Hermione pulled her wand out of her pocket again, and removed the wards she had placed up. "Have a good day, Mr Malfoy," she told him as she opened the door and left.

Ron looked up from where he was sprawled out on the couch reading a Quidditch magazine. "I take it your day didn't go too well," he said.

"What makes you say that?" Hermione said sharply as she hung up her coat. She placed her bag on the ground, and began taking off her shoes. It was certainly true that her day could have gone better. It was long, and she certainly didn't appreciate Lucius insulting her. After her visit to Azkaban, she had ended up working in her office for several hours just to brush up on the details of the case.

"You look tired," Ron said simply as he swung his feet over the side of the couch. He came up behind her and kissed her on the ear. "Sweetheart, let's go out for dinner tonight."

"You could have said that before I took my shoes off," Hermione complained but she was smiling. "And yes, you're right. My day could have gone better."

Ron waggled his eyebrows. "I could say 'I told you so' but I won't." He kissed her on the lips softly. "I know my wife and she's a brilliant lawyer. If Malfoy doesn't want you as his lawyer, then it's his loss."

"Thanks," Hermione said softly as she leaned forward into his embrace. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady sound of his heartbeat. There was nothing more comforting to her than being in Ron's arms. "Hopefully the next meeting will go better."

She could feel Ron stiffen slightly.

"Remember the deal I made with Judith?" Hermione reminded him. She lifted her head slightly and rubbed her nose in the v-shape of his collar. Ron made a distracted noise. "I want to win this, Ron. Think about how good it would be for my career."

He sighed. "You should have told me you were so career-orientated before I married you."

Hermione looked up and rolled her eyes at the twinkle in Ron's eyes. She swatted him. "Oh shut up," she said. "Come on. Let's go and get dinner."

Hermione looked up as Judith stopped by her desk. "I'm just popping out for a coffee," Judith said casually. "Did you want one?"

"No, thanks," Hermione said. She couldn't help but suspect an ulterior motive. Judith wasn't normally the type to offer other people coffee. In fact, Judith was far more likely to demand that her employees fetch her coffee -- double shot, skim caramel latte, Hermione remembered wryly. She held up her half-full cup. "I already have one."

Judith gave her a brief smile. "Last chance... I'm going now."

"I'm fine," Hermione said.

She was about to turn back to her work, when Judith leaned forward. "By the way, how's the Malfoy case coming along?" Judith asked.

"Excellently," Hermione said blandly.

Judith raised one of her eyebrows. "No problems with getting statements from him? You're doing well."

Hermione narrowed her eyes as she watched her boss walk off towards the coffee shop. She longed to grab one of the pictures frames on her desk and throw it at Judith's head. It was obvious that she knew of the problems Hermione had been having. With a sigh, she turned back to the files detailing Lucius's previous trials and appeals. She needed to figure out a fantastic defence for Lucius in order to win the case.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed with a smile. She hurried across the crowded cafe and hugged him. "How've you been? How's Severus? It's been so long since we've caught up."

Harry returned her smile. "We're both good."

They sat down together at an empty table, and Hermione ordered a cup of tea from a passing waiter. "How's your job been?" she asked after a brief pause. "Ron and I never get to see you much nowadays."

"It's been interesting," Harry admitted. "I'm away from home a lot conferencing with my Muggle counterparts. Severus complains a lot about the Muggle gadgets I bring back." He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a shiny silver mobile phone. "These mobile phone things, did you know they have touch pads now?"

Hermione picked it up the sleek phone and laughed. "My parents still use their landline and I've never had a use for these. It's pretty though." She turned the phone over in her hands, the silver casing glinting in the light. She still remembered the first time she'd seen a mobile phone. They were so awkward and clunky back then. It was interesting how much the Muggle world had changed since her childhood, and how much the wizarding world seemed to have remained the same.

Harry looked thoughtful. "I don't suppose you would. How's your job been? I heard from Ron last week that you've taken on Lucius Malfoy as a client. That has to be interesting."

"It's certainly unique," Hermione said. She wasn't sure why Harry had brought that up and in all honesty, she didn't really want to talk about it. "Ron doesn't seem too happy about it though." The waiter returned, placing her cup of tea on the table. She lifted her cup, and took a sip, closing her eyes as she tasted the sharp tang of lemon.

"Really?"

Hermione nodded. "I don't know why," she confessed, "but he doesn't seem to want me to work on this case."

Harry looked hesitant. "Don't take this the wrong way, Hermione, but I agree with Ron. Maybe you should rethink having him as your client."

Hermione set her teacup down on the saucer with a bigger clatter than she had intended. "Why?" she said, her voice frosty. She had enough of this at home with Ron. They'd had another huge fight about it the previous night. She really didn't need Harry telling her the same thing.

"I was talking to Severus about it last night," Harry said carefully. He was looking anywhere but at her. "He mentioned that perhaps it would be better if Lucius Malfoy remained in Azkaban."

Hermione couldn't believe her ears. "Perhaps you ought to remind Severus," she said, through gritted teeth, "that if it weren't for people like me, then he would have been facing a very long sentence in Azkaban himself. Lucius may not be a pleasant person. In fact, you know that I find his politics personally abhorrent; however, he deserves a legal representative as much as everybody else."

"You're calling him Lucius now?" Harry asked, finally looking straight at her.

"I can't very well call him Mr Malfoy every day," Hermione retorted, narrowing her eyes. "I'm on a first name basis with all my clients. It makes it easier."

"I guess," Harry said, sounding doubtful. His face cleared and he smiled at her. "I didn't mean to be so insistent before. It's just that... Malfoy's a dangerous man."

Hermione gave a wry smile. "I know that," she said. "Of course, I know he's dangerous."

Harry looked troubled. "Just promise me that you'll be careful."

She rolled her eyes. By the way Harry was going on, it was as if he believed that Lucius would kidnap her in order to drag her back to his cave so that he could have his wicked way with her. Nothing like that was going to happen. Lucius hadn't always been polite the few times she had met with him privately; however, he wasn't stupid enough to do anything to his lawyer. He knew as well as anybody else that this was his last appeal before the Wizengamot. He wasn't going to jeopardise his chances at freedom. "I will," she said, slightly exasperated.

"How was your lunch?" Ron asked. There was a clinking noise as he placed something down on the bench next to her.

"Okay," Hermione said cautiously, looking up from where she was chopping onions. She resisted the urge to wipe her eyes with her onion juice stained fingers. "Oh, good, you brought the oregano."

Ron looked mildly affronted. "You asked me to get some this morning. Of course, I got it."

Hermione bit her lip as she walked over to rinse her hands at the sink. She reached into the cupboard and held up her own bottle of oregano. "I'm afraid I picked some up when I had lunch with Harry."

"Then why'd you ask me to get it?"

Hermione opened her mouth, about to say something angry when she suddenly realised that they were about to have an argument about oregano. "Do you know how silly we sound?" she asked. "It's not like oregano goes off anyway." She put down her knife and walked over to kiss Ron on the cheek. "Thanks for picking it up."

He looked rueful. "I know I didn't pick up the toilet paper last time when you asked. I don't blame you."

She swatted him, and went back to chopping up vegetables. "You might be interested to know that Harry agrees with you," she said as she was chopping.

"Hmm?" Ron asked.

"Harry just told me how he and Severus believe that I shouldn't have Lucius as a client," Hermione said, unable to keep the note of irritation out of her voice.

"Well, you can't really blame him for having that opinion," Ron said.

She bit her lip. "I suppose not," she agreed. "But I'm still representing him. Even if his views make me want to throw up."

Ron came up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Not in the tomato sauce!" he said in mock horror. "Otherwise, how would we ever make spaghetti tonight?"

Hermione giggled as she leaned back into his arms.

"You haven't been home on time in forever," Ron complained.

Hermione cuddled up to him on the couch. "I'm here now," she pointed out. "I'm going to be here all night." She nuzzled his arm, but he didn't seem to get the message.

Instead, Ron twisted around to look down at her. "You're always working late on the case," he said quietly. I know you said it's important, but isn't this important as well?" He gestured around the room. "I have opportunities to work late too but I don't take them because I want to be home with you."

She bit her tongue to stop the torrent of words that threatened to spill out. "We're different people, Ron," she said as she pulled herself upright. "I like ..." she trailed off.

"You what?" Ron demanded. "You like your job?"

"I didn't mean it that way," she protested. "Can't we go back to being on the couch and watching that Muggle movie my parents sent over?"

Ron ignored her. "I like my job too," he snapped. "Believe it or not, it's a thrill catching bad guys and putting them in Azkaban. I love you more though. I want to be home with you more than I want to be at work."

"I love you too, Ron," Hermione said. "It's just my work's important too. I don't like my work more than you... but it's still important!"

Ron sighed as he settled back down on the couch. "I know," he said softly. He held out his arms. "Come here."

As she settled back down into their earlier position, Hermione couldn't help but think that the peacefulness of earlier had been erased. As she curled up in the crook of Ron's arms, she still felt tense, as though they were still in the middle of an argument. Although, she reflected, they kind of were. They tended to always bury their arguments in what had originally seemed to be a never-ending pit; however, recently, she had begun to see overflow from the pit. It seemed that their relationship wasn't as infallible as she originally thought.

With a sigh, she tilted her head and kissed Ron on the neck. He smiled down at her.

"I need to go to work," Hermione said quietly as she neatly stacked her files together and placed them in her bag. "I won't be back until late." She didn't look at Ron; she didn't want to see the expression on his face.

"This is the third time this week," Ron said. His voice was slow, careful and measured, the tone of voice he always used whenever he was about to start shouting.

"I have an important job." Hermione regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. She didn't mean for the words to sound that way, but she knew there was no way that Ron would believe her.

"You have an important job?" Ron repeated incredulously. "Are you trying to tell me that being an Auror isn't as important as being a lawyer? Are you trying to say that somehow standing in front of the Wizengamot wearing pretty robes is more important than chasing after the bad guys?"

Hermione gritted her teeth. "No," she snapped. "Of course not. I didn't mean that. You're putting words in my mouth, Ron."

"Well, I need to put them there, don't I?" Ron said loudly. "Lately, the only words you've directed towards me are about you being home late from work, or needing to work longer hours."

Hermione put on her coat and buttoned it up. She picked up her umbrella and slung her bag over her arm. "I need to go," she said evenly. She needed to be at work. It was important for her case. Lucius's last appeal was very soon. She had to be there for him. It wasn't as though she was abandoning Ron. She narrowed her eyes. "This is important, Ron."

He let out a long sigh. "Of course it is," he said, with a nasty edge in his tone. "It's always more important than us."

She leaned over Ron's chair to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "We'll talk about it later," she promised, absentmindedly.

"We need to come up with witnesses," Hermione said as she flipped through his case files. Reaching over, she took a bite of one of the bread rolls that the guard had brought in earlier. She stared at the bread. "Urgh," she said, putting it down. It was stuffed with nuts and berries, and was rather heavily spiced. "This is far too rich."

"The food here could be improved," Lucius said blandly.

She stared suspiciously at him. Was that a joke? "The stew isn't bad," she said, taking another mouthful. It too seemed to be heavily spiced, but it was pleasantly warming to her stomach. She noticed that Lucius only had a couple of mouthfuls of his meal. "We're going to be here a while," she reminded him.

He curled his upper lip. "I'm not hungry. After years here, I've found that my appetite has diminished. My appetite for food anyway."

She could have sworn that Lucius leered at her. There was a strange look in his eyes. If it was anybody else, then Hermione would have thought the look was that of sexual attraction, of lust, but this was Lucius Malfoy, and the mere idea that he would be looking at her with anything other than revulsion was laughable. "You haven't mentioned what you did during the years during the two wars," she said, pointing to her neatly drawn schedule. "If you managed to stay out of trouble for those years, then that would be a strong defence."

Lucius frowned. "You can likely get the records from Narcissa; however, I think she is in France with her family."

Hermione made a note. She wondered if she could get Narcissa back to testify against Lucius. Given that they were divorced, she wouldn't have spousal privilege any more. As she absent-mindedly took another bite of the roll, Hermione fanned herself with a piece of paper. It was getting awfully hot in the room. "Is it always so warm in here?"

Lucius shrugged.

Hermione watched him shift slightly in his seat. Somehow, she found herself noticing every small action he made. Lucius lifted a hand to tuck his silvering hair behind his ear, and she shivered. Stop it, Hermione told herself firmly as she turned back to the documents but to no avail. She couldn't seem to concentrate properly on her work. She was feeling a strange of curl of warmth in her stomach, and there was a familiar ache deep inside her.

With horror, Hermione realised that she was aroused. Surreptitiously, she pressed her palm against her neck, and realised that she was perspiring.

"Are you feeling all right?"

Startled, Hermione looked up. "I'm fine," she said abruptly.

Lucius stood up, and walked around to where she was sitting. He sat down on the table and peered intently down at her. "You don't look fine," he said lightly. "You're sweating and your pupils are dilated."

Hermione could feel her heart hammering in her chest as she sat back in her chair trying to put as much distance as she could between herself and Lucius. "Maybe I'm coming down with something," she said tartly. "After all, my immunity to Muggle illnesses isn't as good as it used to be."

To her surprise, Lucius smirked. "I don't think that's what it is," he said with a knowing smile. He reached forward, and ran a light fingertip over her forearm.

Hermione shivered as she saw goosebumps appear on her arm. "That was entirely inappropriate," she said, but her voice seemed to lack the desired effect. The simple touch of Lucius's fingertip on her arm seemed to have opened the floodgates inside her. She could feel herself getting wet just from the proximity and the heat in his eyes.

"Of course it was," Lucius drawled.

She was flummoxed. She hadn't expected him to admit it.

Lucius leaned closer, so close that she could smell the sharp tang of the soap they gave all Azkaban inmates. His breath was warm on her face. "So what are you going to do about it?"

Hermione opened her mouth to say that she would report him to the guards and to the Legal Commission; however, she found herself reaching up to touch the side of his face instead. The skin there was surprisingly soft. She saw a flicker of lust in Lucius's eyes that made her weak at the knees. She suspected that if she had been standing up, then she would have fallen over.

"Now, just what are you doing," Lucius said in a low voice as Hermione traced the line of his jaw slowly.

She wasn't sure. Her mind felt almost as though it was fuzzy except for one thing and that was Lucius. She could see him clearly and once she did, it felt like the rest of the world just fell away and didn't matter. "This," she said and half stood up to drag him down for a kiss. As she did, Hermione thought she could see a flicker of surprise in his eyes. It was only there for a second, and then the world seemed to tremble as his lips met hers.

Hermione's hands were shaking as she let herself in the front door. She found herself wishing that for once, Ron would be home late, but from the light on in the kitchen, it was apparent that he wasn't. She sniffed. From the smell wafting in from the kitchen, it seemed that Ron had been cooking dinner. A wave of guilt assaulted her. Despite the arguments they had been having lately, it was obvious that Ron loved her. How could she have thrown herself at Lucius? The very thought of it made her feel nauseated now. In fact, now that she was thinking about it, she couldn't figure out how it had happened. It was as though one minute, she had been thinking about how strange the roll tasted and the next minute, she found herself virtually attacking him.

She shook her head to dissipate the memories. She didn't want to think about it. She knew that she ought to tell Ron but the as soon as she opened her mouth, she closed it again. The words seemed stuck in her throat. She couldn't tell him. She couldn't bear to see the look of betrayal on his face and to deal with the consequences. It was a mistake that could cause her not only her marriage but her career and possibly her friends. A wry smile twisted her lips. It wasn't as though she had kissed Neville or somebody like that. Lucius was not only her client but he was a former Death Eater. It was wrong with a capital 'w'.

It was a one-off mistake, Hermione told herself vehemently, ignoring the knot of doubt in her stomach. She wasn't going to do it again.

"Hey," Ron said as he poked his head around the kitchen door. His shirt was dusted lightly with flour. "I thought I'd try to make us dinner." He gave her a sheepish smile. "I don't think it ended up too well."

"Oh Ron," Hermione said. She walked over, and wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks for trying," she said as she buried her nose in his collar, breathing in his unique smell. "I'm sure it'll be fantastic."

Ron stepped backwards looking confused. "What have you done with my wife?" he asked good-naturedly. "She normally isn't anywhere near as accepting about my cooking." He winked. "Say, how about we go up to the bedroom before Hermione gets back."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, though," Ron said, sounding concerned. "Are you okay? You look a little upset."

Hermione forced a smile. "I'm fine. It was just a hard day."

Ron leaned over and kissed her. "My lasagne will make it all better," he promised. "Least the non-burnt, non-soggy bits will." He grinned, and she was suddenly reminded of the last time he had cooked for her. It had been over a year ago, and she had found it a really sweet, if ultimately futile, gesture. They had ended up going out for take-out after the food had been declared inedible.

"Should I go and dust off our take-out menus?" she teased.

"I think you might need to," he said ruefully.

"Do you realise that's the third time in less than two minutes you've mentioned Lucius Malfoy?" Harry said sharply, his forehead creased with a frown.

Hermione took a deep breath. Did Harry know? Did he know that she had cheated on Ron? Could he tell by the way she looked and the way she acted? The logical part of her mind knew that it was ridiculous, and that there was no way that Harry would know just by looking at her, but her emotions seemed to be thrumming like an electrical field. "Well, I am working on his case," she said irritably.

"I didn't want to have lunch with you to talk about him," Harry returned. "I've tried to change the topic, but you keep on bringing it back to him."

Hermione blinked. She didn't know she was doing that. "Sorry," she muttered.

Harry looked at her for a few seconds before laughing softly. "There's no need to look so guilty. I know that you're stressed about the case. I just want to hear about other aspects about your life, not just the Death Eater you represent."

She bit back a retort that after the death of You-Know-Who, Lucius was a former Death Eater. "I know," she said, with a sigh. "And I haven't asked how you are yet! I'm sorry, Harry."

"No problem. Although," he added thoughtfully, "the way you were going on about him. I would have thought that you were obsessed about him or something."

"Ha," Hermione said dryly. "That would be ridiculous, wouldn't it?"

Harry grinned.