Last chapter. Hope you've enjoyed this brief little tale of desire. They have hardly behaved well, these two, but who can look back on their lives and say they treated everyone with complete decency, for whatever reason? In the end, I suppose, you have to do what is right for you.

LL x

Lucius and Hermione barely spoke the next day. The knowledge of what they must do sat heavily with them.

She never allowed Draco to see her at the Manor anymore – the Community Service programme had officially ended and she had no valid reason to be there. But on this day he came into the drawing room to find her standing, waiting.

'Hermione! Bloody hell! What are you doing here?'

'I came to see you. Your house elf showed me in.'

Draco's face immediately fell when he heard her tone of voice. 'About last night ...'

'Draco ...'

'I didn't mean to pressure you. I'll never make you do -'

'Draco. It's not that.'

He stood there, tense, his face ashen. 'What is it then?'

She swallowed hard. Lucius had wanted her to wait for him, but she couldn't prolong things. 'I don't want to carry on anymore.'

'What? With what? Your job?' He was panicking.

She spoke as clearly as she could. 'With you, Draco.'

She heard his breathing quicken in short rushed gasps.

'But ... it's going really well.'

'I can't, Draco. I'm sorry but I really, really can't.'

He ran his hands through his hair in that distracted way he had when his world was in turmoil. 'But things are going so well. You're so good for me. You're so fucking good for me. I'll do anything. I'll do whatever you want ...'

'No.'

He darted his head up suddenly, his face grave. 'Is there someone else?'

It was her turn to look away. 'Draco ...'

He swallowed in panic. 'I'll take that as a yes.' Draco took a fast step towards her. 'Tell me who it is.'

She couldn't speak.

'Do I know him?'

Hermione turned away, her silence telling him all he needed.

He was angry now, his body tense, his face twisted, his voice snide and cold. 'Who is it? Potter? Back to Weasley, are you?'

'Draco ... It's none of them.' He was sounding like the Malfoy of old. She crossed her arms against it.

'Who is it then? I need to know. I thought we had something good, Hermione. You let me think ...'

'Draco, I'm sorry. I thought maybe ... The times we spent together were really good. I just ...'

'Who is it?' He stepped closer again. She was struggling to draw in breath. 'If there's nothing between us you may as well tell me. I'll find out soon enough.'

Hermione turned quickly away. 'I can't.'

'Draco.'

It was Lucius' voice. Hermione turned to find him standing in the doorway.

Draco looked at him dismissively, his face twisted with annoyance. 'Father, bloody hell. Leave us alone. We've got something to sort out. It's none of your business.'

Lucius took a step into the room. 'Perhaps it is my business.'

'How the hell can it be? Just leave us.'

'Draco – you can't have a relationship with her.' Lucius approached his son.

'For Merlin's sake, father – you're not still harping on about pure bloodlines, are you? I thought you two were supposed to be getting on?' Draco turned with sarcastic maliciousness to Hermione. 'Doesn't look like your community service programme worked.'

She spoke softly. 'It's not like that, Draco. Lucius has done brilliantly on the programme.'

'Brilliantly? Oh, really?' he scoffed with mock amazement, turning back to his father. 'Well, there you go, Dad, I –' And then he stopped dead.

Hermione glanced up towards Lucius.

Draco was staring at them, his eyes darting from one to the other. 'No. No ... no no no.'

'Draco ...' murmured Lucius.

Hermione glanced over to the younger man. He was shaking his head, his eyes wide with disbelief. 'You are kidding me. You are fucking kidding me.'

'Listen to me,' tried Lucius again.

'It's you. You and her.'

Their silence confirmed it.

'How long?'

'About three months,' said Hermione.

'Three months? But that's when we ...'

Hermione forced herself to be honest. 'I tried not to, Draco. I wanted it to work between us so much.'

'No wonder you wouldn't fuck me for so long. Who needs another Malfoy when you've already got one?'

She couldn't stand it. 'Please ...'

'Why the hell did you let me think ...?'

'I don't know. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I like you so much, Draco, and I tried so hard to deny what was happening ... but ... I couldn't ...'

'Why did you let me carry on?' He was forlorn. She closed her eyes against the pain.

'I couldn't bear to hurt you. I didn't know what would happen, I just ...'

Draco sniffed out with aggrieved defeat and looked to Lucius. 'And what do you have to say ... Father?'

Lucius held his head up. 'Hermione makes me happy, Draco. I can't remember the last time I was happy. I love you; you know how much I love you. And I knew you liked her. I didn't want to destroy that.'

'But you couldn't stop fucking my girlfriend?'

'I love her.'

Hermione stared at him.

Draco stepped into his father and stopped only a breath away. 'You are a disgrace to me, my family and yourself. You've never been worthy of calling yourself my father. But then, I've never known anything but selfish, cowardly behaviour from you – why should I expect different now? You disgust me.'

Lucius lip jigged erratically but he looked Draco in the eye. 'I'm sorry.'

'Save your breath. And as for you, Granger ... what a bloody fool I am. Seems I was right all along – once a bitch, always a bitch. You're welcome to each other.'

And he turned and left.

Hermione and Lucius stood, time passing them by, numbed by the juggernaut of despair.

'I'm sorry.' Lucius' words jolted Hermione chaotically out of her stupor.

She turned to him, bleary-eyed, and asked barely audibly, 'Did you mean what you said?'

'What?' He looked at her, his eyes damp.

'What you said about me to Draco.'

Lucius' expression creased a little as if he couldn't comprehend her doubt. 'Yes. Completely.'

Walking up to him, Hermione looked straight into the brilliant grey of his eyes. 'And I love you too.'

Still neither of them could move or barely think. 'Do you want me to go?' she asked at length.

Lucius reached out to hold onto her wrist suddenly, desperately, his grip tight with fear. 'No! Don't go. Don't leave me.'

And in the next instant, with a fluidity born from his need, Hermione had flung her arms around his neck and was weeping openly into his hair. 'Oh my darling, my darling, I won't leave you. I won't ever leave you.'

xoOox

When Hermione pulled back the curtains the next day and inhaled she was struck by the freshness of the air. Never had a new season carried with it so much promise. She looked back to the man still sleeping on the bed, his long limbs hanging limply over the edge. Hermione couldn't resist moving back and kissing him all over. He stirred, turned over and let her continue. She could tell his mind wasn't the only thing awakening. By the time he was fully erect, he'd spun her over, opened her legs and plunged into her in one smooth movement. Hermione took all of him.

'Good morning.'

'Hello, gorgeous man,' she grinned.

'So ... Miss Granger ... your little assignment didn't turn out so badly after all. I distinctly recall you initially proclaiming me to be 'a waste of your time'.'

'Did I?'

'Hmm.'

'Well ... Mr Malfoy ... you can continue wasting my time whenever you like.'

'Now there's an offer,' he drawled. And she came. He followed soon after.

'God, you're good,' she panted as he rolled off and lay with his arm stroking her hair.

Hermione stared above her. 'Do you think Draco will be alright?'

'Eventually. He's entitled to be miserable for a while. He always was brilliant at sulking.'

'He deserves to sulk. I don't want to damage your relationship with him.'

'It has. But it will heal … over time. I have learnt patience recently.'

'We shouldn't have done it like this.'

'You're not backing out on me now, are you?'

'Of course not, but ... why the hell didn't I just say no to him? I was so bloody confused. I couldn't believe I was falling for you.'

'Don't think I wasn't confused too. But under it all was this extraordinary clarity. I suppose I wanted Draco to have that clarity. But in the end ... I wanted you for myself. Selfish to the end.'

'You deserve to be happy too, Lucius. And anyway, I didn't want him. I'm more to blame than you.' She looked over at him. 'But you know what? He'll survive, and eventually thrive. And so shall we. Come on.' With that she rose swiftly again and pulled Lucius with her, taking him over to the window. 'See that?'

'What?'

'Spectacular, isn't it?'

Lucius looked out over the distant hills and creased his brows. It was the same view he had looked on nearly every day of his life. But when he turned to see the bright burn of optimism in her eyes he began to understand.

'Do you know what it is?' she asked. He cocked an eyebrow. Hermione's face broke into a beaming smile and without another thought she jumped up, throwing her arms around his neck and locking her legs around his waist.

Lucius was only momentarily caught by surprise but then he clasped her to him and kissed her deeply, breaking away to carry her back to bed before whispering in her ear, 'The rest of our lives.'

LL x