Azkaban Revisited

Chapter 8

Three hours later, Hermione was standing outside Narcissa's office (again, she thought to herself wearily) with bated breath. She had managed to wrangle a visit on such short notice with the intent of telling Narcissa that she wanted to see Lucius 'settled in' to his new accommodations. She hoped that Narcissa would read malicious intent into those words.

The office door swung open and Narcissa stepped out, giving Hermione a warm smile. Immediately, Hermione felt a small twinge of guilt that she was doing this. Narcissa seemed genuinely nice. She quashed the feeling without mercy. "Narcissa," she said with a crinkly-eyed smile of her own. "It's wonderful to see you again."

Narcissa smiled again and motioned for Hermione to go into her office. As Hermione watched the door close behind her, she noticed that there was a small line of magical fire going around the door. "It's magically sealed," she exclaimed in surprise.

The older woman nodded. "One cannot be too careful nowadays," she said in the same tone of voice as if she had been telling Hermione that she received threats of assassination every day. Somehow Hermione doubted that she did. Narcissa looked far too... groomed for somebody who was running the wizarding world. Her long blue robes were impeccable (and strange, Hermione thought, as one who was used to regulation black) and her long blonde hair was swept up in a twist. Her eyes were bright and there was not a hint of tiredness in them. Then again, Hermione thought, she's probably a brilliant actress.

"I suppose so," Hermione said, not knowing what else to say.

Narcissa sat down and waved for Hermione to do the same. "What brings you to my office again so soon?" she asked. "Not that I am not glad to see you."

Hermione smiled and hoped the smile conveyed what she wanted it to convey: happiness, relief and a slight desire for revenge. Frankly, she had no idea how a smile could convey such things; she had never read revenge in somebody else's smile, but she supposed that other people might be able to. Not knowing how to begin, she decided to be blunt. "I would like to see Lucius," she said. Lucius had told her that in order to lie effectively, a person should use mainly truth. And that is the truth, she told herself. I do want to see Lucius, to make sure that he's okay.

Narcissa raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "I would have thought that you would be glad to be rid of him," she said, slight suspicion colouring her voice.

"Oh, I am!" Hermione hastened to reassure her. "It's just..." she trailed off. "I want to see that he's being... properly treated."

A light slowly came into Narcissa's eyes. She nodded. "I see," she said, her lips curving into a smile. "But there are still strict laws against visiting the new prison. I'm afraid I cannot let you."

Hermione let her lower lip stick out slightly, like that of a petulant child, she thought. This was a risky manoeuvre, she thought. "Even for retribution purposes?" she asked.

One of Narcissa's eyebrows rose further until they were almost obscured by tendrils of her hair. "Retribution?" she repeated. "Don't you know that it is illegal and immoral to harm another person even for revenge?"

Hermione's eyes gleamed. She hoped that Narcissa would take it for anticipation, but it was anger. You took revenge against Lucius, she thought. "Have you ever heard of the Muggle phrase 'An eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth'?" she said.

Narcissa smiled slightly. "Knowledge is a weapon," she said quietly. "Of course, I have and I happen to know that it's translated incorrectly. The original Hebrew speaks of reimbursement not retribution."

Hermione was surprised, to say the least. She hadn't known that Narcissa would be familiar with Muggle biblical references. "I was referring to that quote as a generality," she explained. Shrugging, she said, "I wouldn't hurt him... much." It was a dangerous game she was playing, but Hermione was almost positive that Narcissa wouldn't put her in jail. Yet, she thought. Her curiosity would need to be sated first.

"Do you even know what you want to do to Lucius?" Narcissa inquired, sounding only mildly curious.

Hermione let a slow smile spread across her face. Apparently, it made her look vaguely dangerous. "Lets just say I've researched the topic thoroughly," she said quietly.

"Sometimes practical experience far outweighs theory," Narcissa pointed out.

"Surely you will give me the chance to get this practical experience?" Hermione asked.

Narcissa stared at her for a long moment. "I will let you visit him, on one condition." She held up a finger and Hermione wondered what the condition would be. "I will accompany you."

Hermione let out a slow breath that she hoped would be taken for relief. "Thank you," she said, but inwardly she was worried. What did Narcissa expect anyway, she wondered. Did she think that I meant I wanted to torture him? Mental torture? Physical torture? Sexual torture? And then she wondered whether Narcissa expected her to go through with it.

"Don't thank me," Narcissa said. She gave a slight smile. "I admit to some academic curiosity, that's all. You were a Gryffindor, were you not?"

She nodded. "But the hat wanted to put me in Ravenclaw," Hermione said, not knowing why she was being so honest. She shrugged. "Besides, our personalities do change over the years."

"It's just," Narcissa said slowly, "the conversation we just had was rather... Slytherin." Her eyes gleamed. "Are you sure you haven't been getting ideas from, perhaps, my old friend Severus?"

Hermione hurried to control her breathing and hoped that red hadn't crept into her cheeks. "Of course not!" she said indignantly.

Narcissa tilted her head to one side. "Might I inquire as to why not, then? You did campaign for his release."

"But," Hermione said firmly, feeling somewhat guilty with herself for using this argument, "he wasn't released. It would be wrong for me to treat him any differently from any regular prisoner." Narcissa was looking at her strangely so Hermione decided to add one more line. "However," she said with an embarrassed laugh, "I have to admit, I do sometimes give him extra food and stuff. He did save my life, after all."

Narcissa looked at her for a few more seconds. "I see," she said, with a nod.

Hermione sincerely hoped that the older woman did not see, but she couldn't very well ask her. "Thank you for this," she said, sincerely. "I'm not sure how I can repay you."

"I'm sure you can find a way to."

"Could I see Ron while I was there as well?" Hermione inquired, taking a chance and throwing it out there.

Narcissa's eyes immediately turned cold. "I'm afraid not," she said. "I'm already bending the rules for this."

Inwardly, Hermione felt almost like a traitor for not asking to see Ron first before Lucius, but her gut instinct told her that Lucius had more chance of finding a way to escape the new prison. Perhaps even knowing how to control the Dementors, she hoped. She wondered whether Narcissa could see through her act.

She suspected that Narcissa did.

-

The name of the London Prison, Hermione found out on the way, was Versteckt. Rather amusing, she thought. If she recalled her primary school German correctly, then that name translated to Hidden in English. Then again, her memory had always been surprisingly good and she had spent many hours looking through the English-to-German dictionary checking up random interesting words. Her amusement faded quickly, however, as she was directed from the Ministry limousine towards a seemingly innocuous wall. She then realised the prison was hidden.

"The wall is an illusion that is solid for anybody not keyed to it," the driver had told her. "The Minister will be waiting for you inside."

With the same slight apprehension she felt the first time she walked onto Platform 9 ¾, Hermione walked quickly towards the wall. As she came within touching distance, she closed her eyes and felt a slight shift of the air around her.

"Lovely to see you again," came a female voice.

Hermione opened her eyes and saw Narcissa standing there. She had several guards standing next to her and, Hermione squinted, in one of the dark corridors that seemed to be branching off their current room, she thought she could see a dark shadow that looked suspiciously like a Dementor. The room they were standing in was high, cold and made out of grey flagstones, not unlike those at Azkaban. Apparently, all wizarding prisons are the same. It generally had a rather ominous feel -- not, she admitted, that Azkaban created happy feelings. It would look rather strange to have normal decorations up in a prison.

"Thank you again for allowing me this, Narcissa," she said.

Narcissa gave an abrupt little nod. Then, turning to the guards, she said, "I will no longer be needing your services this afternoon. I will come to find you once we are finished here."

They looked at her in surprise and just stood there.

Her glare intensified. "That was an order," she said softly.

As Hermione watched, the guards exchanged quick glances and hurried off down one of the many corridors that seemed to lead off the room.

"This way," Narcissa said as she turned her gaze back towards Hermione. She spun around and began to walk towards the corridor where Hermione had first spied the dark, Dementor-like shape. Hermione followed, suppressing a shudder.

"Do I need to ask what you are planning to do today?" Narcissa said, almost conversationally.

"I have a general idea," Hermione hedged.

Narcissa let out a low laugh. "I take that to mean that you aren't really sure. I suspected so."

To Hermione's surprise, she didn't sound furious or even mildly angry.

"Don't worry," Narcissa said quietly as they walked past cells. The cells didn't have open barring like at Azkaban, but rather had a grill up the top and a small opening down the bottom where food could be slid inside. "I have a plan that should satisfy you." Hermione couldn't stop the surprise from showing on her face and as Narcissa turned her head, even in the dim light, she could see it. "Didn't I already tell you that I don't have a particular liking for Lucius?" she said, sounding faintly amused.

Hermione paled and then immediately hoped that it didn't show in the faint light. She didn't like the sound of what Narcissa was planning. Anything that would satisfy Narcissa's thirst for revenge would be contrary to Hermione's own wishes. Of course, she couldn't say that. "Hmmm," she said.

They walked along in silence for about another minute before Narcissa stopped in front of a door with a large Q on it. At Hermione's surprised look, because none of the other rooms were marked, she explained, "Lucius was moved in here this morning. It is the Questioning Room."

Somehow Hermione didn't like the idea of the Questioning Room, especially in a prison like Versteckt. She had heard moans, guttural, inhuman noises from the rooms they had passed. It reminded her of Azkaban when she had first arrived and she didn't like the reminder.

Narcissa touched the door handle and the door silently swung open. "It's keyed to me," she told Hermione without looking back.

As they entered the room, Hermione saw Lucius at the far end of the rather large room, chained to the wall with what she immediately recognised as magical shackles. Magical shackles had a certain look to them and restrained almost all movement in the prisoner. The only motion Lucius seemed to have control of was of his head. As soon as they entered, his head jerked up and Hermione saw a brief flicker of surprise in his eyes that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Apparently Narcissa saw it too because she tilted her head to one side and said, "Surprised, Lucius?"

"I would have never thought that the Mudblood would have enough courage to visit," Lucius said with a sneer.

Hermione was surprised at how much those words hurt. It wasn't so much the words as the expression of loathing with which Lucius delivered them. "I'm not as weak as you might think, Lucius," she said icily.

"I never," he coughed, the sound dry and hacking, "thought you were." His eyes gleamed. "You struggle well."

Hermione clenched her hands into fists. And that part was true, she thought. Automatically she touched her wrist, which had the remnants of a fading bruise on it. "Tell me," she said, with more than a touch of bitterness, "how would you like to experience what I experienced?" Narcissa looked at her in surprise as she said this words, but Hermione kept a mildly amused smile on her face.

"I'm sure you'd love to," Lucius said with a curled lip. "But perhaps as a Mudblood you are unacquainted with wizarding law. In our world, we care for basic human rights."

The laugh that emerged out of Hermione's lips wasn't forced at all. "Then explain Azkaban," she pointed out.

"Mistakes happen," Lucius said a matter-of-factly. "But surely," he turned towards Narcissa, "you won't allow mistakes to happen this time."

Hermione turned her head slightly and saw a slow smile spread over Narcissa's face. "I wouldn't be so sure of that, Lucius," she said softly. "For you see, Hermione here had been rather hurt by your ... actions."

"I rather thought that was the point," Lucius said, sneering. "She's just a little Mudblood, why do you even care? When we were married, you were none-too-fond of them yourself. I remember you used to call them a scourge upon the earth and that you would do all that was possible to cleanse the world of them."

Hermione tried not to hear the words, but they seemed to cut into her like a knife through butter. She wondered whether these were Lucius's true feelings and whether he'd been simply pretending when they were talking. After all, she realised, Lucius is probably the best liar I know, Narcissa included. But still, she told herself, he does have to establish himself in her eyes. "Could we just get on with it," she said, her voice tight.

Narcissa smiled at her, a smile that would seem benevolent on anybody else's face but seemed to be twisted on hers. "Indeed we can," she said. She reached into the pocket of her robes and extracted a tiny slip of parchment. "I took the liberty of researching this spell. It's an ancient Greek spell." She handed it to Hermione.

Hermione looked at the small slip of parchment and looked at the three words written upon it. "What does this do?" she asked.

When Narcissa answered, Hermione felt that it was more for Lucius's benefit than her own. "It's really too bad we no longer have too many of these spells," she said idly. "Tell me, Hermione, who was the most powerful female avenger in ancient Greece?"

A frown creased Hermione's forehead and she hesitated. "Probably Medea."

"And for Lucius, who surely isn't as up to date on his Muggle myths as we are, what happened in that particular story?" Narcissa asked.

"Well," Hermione said, wondering where this was going. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach that told her that she wouldn't like it. "Medea killed her husband and two children in revenge after her husband was betrothed to another woman."

"It's fascinating how interesting Muggle myths are. Hermione, you might be interested to know that witches in that time, upon hearing the Muggle tale, were inspired to create that very spell you are now holding in your fingers." Narcissa turned to Lucius and walked over. Her long fingers stroked the side of his face. "Aren't you interested to know what the spell does?"

Lucius was silent but after a minute of no response, Hermione asked softly, "What does it do?"

"You'll be delighted," Narcissa said, in a reassuring tone. "It's almost a perfect revenge spell. I couldn't have designed it better myself."

Hermione was liking the sound of the spell less and less by the second.

"The best part of the spell," Narcissa said softly, her voice barely above a whisper but still completely audible, "is that once cast, the man barely knows that it's there. He'll walk away thinking that everything is fine. But over the hours, the spell brings him closer and closer to orgasm." Her eyes flashed. "And this next part is the best. It brings about a permanent state of painful penile erection and unless the man manages to find a willing woman before twenty-four hours is up, the penis just falls off." She gave what sounded like a delighted laugh. "Isn't that just perfect?"

Hermione could see that Lucius had turned very pale.

"And," Narcissa continued, "that is the fate you will enjoy once Hermione here casts the spell." She smiled.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Lucius said, but the fear was evident in his voice.

"Surely you cannot expect either of you to help you?" Narcissa said, sounding amused.

"This is tantamount to cruel and unusual punishment," Lucius spat out. "You could lose your position over this."

Narcissa tilted her head to one side. "And who will tell?" she pointed out.

Hermione was beginning to severely doubt her own judgement in coming here in the first place. Lucius looked thinner than before, but not as thin as he had been those first few days she had arrived at Azkaban. Other than that, there were no visible bruises or cuts. But there was a haunted expression in his eyes. Hermione bit the inside of her cheek. She had read once that repeated exposure to Dementors, with periods of rest, were worse than continual exposure. Apparently, the healed mind broke faster.

By the expression in Lucius's eyes, she concluded that he too was questioning her sanity at coming here. Surely the possibility of a Dementor Army wasn't that important, not important enough to warrant her coming here.

But deep down, Hermione knew that if she had the decision to make again, even knowing what she knew now, she would still do the same thing. The disappearance of the Dementors from public view was a terrifying event that she knew that she should have noticed earlier. But after her first question to the Minister, Hermione had half-forgotten about the whole issue. She had been so immersed in the day to day running of Azkaban, which had been a mammoth task. To get an answer to the Dementor problem was her main goal. And if Lucius had it, she had to speak to him.

Despite the fact Lucius had become something of a friend to her - possibly more, a tiny niggling voice whispered - she still considered the welfare of the entire wizarding world her main concern. Briefly, Hermione wondered why she insisted on always looking at the large picture and whether that was why she never had any lasting relationships.

She was jerked back to the present by a sharp look by Narcissa.

"He deserves it," Narcissa said softly. "He deserves it for what he did to you."

But he didn't do anything, one part of Hermione's mind said, while another one agreed with Narcissa's sentiment. With a lump in her throat, Hermione took her wand out of her robe pocket, pointed it at Lucius who was staring at her, and said the words. As she said the rather guttural words, she could feel a surge of power through her. It was almost an addictive feeling, a feeling of complete control. And then, almost as fast as it had come, the feeling disappeared, leaving her feeling rather bereft.

"It feels wonderful, doesn't it?" Narcissa said, with a knowing smile.

Hermione refused to think of the possible meanings of that sentence. "What do I do now?" she asked.

"Wait," Narcissa told her. "In fact, I might just leave you two alone," she said, with a malicious smile. "Do what you will with him." She threw Lucius one more contemptuous look before walking towards the door. Just before she opened it, she turned her head. "If there is any trouble with him, just give a call. I'll station a guard outside the door," she told Hermione then opened the door and left.

Hermione gave a mute nod and then turned towards Lucius. He stared at her, looking straight at her wand. She was about to open her mouth when he gave an imperceptible shake of his head.

Suddenly, she realised that with Narcissa's propensity for knowing about Muggle objects, it was very likely that she knew about cameras and microphones and would have used them liberally. In fact, Hermione thought grimly, listening spells in the wizarding world were common. She bit her lip and tried to think of the right spell to counter both Muggle and wizarding listening and watching spells while not arousing suspicion. As Hermione thought, she realised that she couldn't use one spell, but rather had to use a complex weave of spells.

It began subtly at first, so as to not draw outside attention but with each mental incantation, the spell grew stronger. Biting her lip, Hermione clutched her wand tighter and began the slow mental chant. She sank deeper into her own mind and saw the room using her mind's eye. Both hers and Lucius's bodies glowed reddish-orange, while almost everything else looked like some shade of blue. Slowly, carefully, she eased her spell around them, cloaking the entire room in the subtle secrecy spell. This was a spell that she had created herself at the R & D department but had never had the chance to submit the paperwork to the Ministry proper. For that, she was very grateful.

Finally, with perspiration coating her upper lip, Hermione finished the spell.

"It should be safe to talk now," she said softly.

Lucius was looking at her with something akin to admiration. "What was that?" he asked. "It doesn't look like any sort of secrecy spell I've seen."

"I created it myself," she said. "If anybody listens in with listening devices, Muggle or magical, they'll only hear what they want to hear." She smiled faintly. "It's quite ingenious, even if I say so myself."

"It is," Lucius agreed. He closed his eyes for a second and then opened them again. "What possessed you to come here?" he demanded. "Surely you should have known something like this would happen."

A faint flush came over her cheeks. "I had an idea that she might try something like this, but I had no idea that it would be so drastic," she said defensively. "Besides, we have a problem."

"Well," he said sharply, when she stopped. "What is the problem?"

"Shouldn't," she hesitated, "shouldn't we try to do something about the spell?"

Lucius let out a barking laugh. "Narcissa isn't the only one familiar with that spell. It's foolproof. Unless you're willing to somehow copulate with me, suck me off or wank me while I'm shackled to the wall, I suggest we talk about something else. Now tell me, what is the problem?"

"The Dementors," she said, deciding to ignore Lucius's crude words as she didn't know how to respond.

He stared at her. "The Dementors? But they're here."

"But," she pointed out, "what does Narcissa plan to do with them? There was surely a reason to remove them from Azkaban Island and place them in greater proximity to the Ministry." She paused. "I think.... I think she plans on making a Dementor Army."

He looked at her strangely. "That isn't as far-fetched an idea as one might think," he admitted. "There are few Dementors around this prison, certainly fewer than there were at Azkaban. This prison is mainly staffed by wizards. It would certainly explain the lack of Dementors around here. But how?"

She sighed. "I don't know. It's just a hunch. But if it's true..." A shiver ran down Hermione's spine. "A Dementor Army, fully trained, would be almost invincible. It's..." she hesitated. "I was researching this a year or so ago. It is thought that Dementors are building immunity against Patronus."

Instead of looking surprised, Lucius almost looked like what she just said made a lot of sense. "I've heard the guards use two Expecto Patronum spells against one Dementor," he said.

She paled. "So the hypothesis is true. It makes it more likely that the rest is true. After all," she gave a faint smile, "that's what I would do if I were Narcissa. The Dementors can be promised the souls of the enemies. That should be more than enough to sate them."

"But what does all of this have to do with you being here?" Lucius pointed out. "Surely you could develop another spell against the Dementors in Azkaban. My help would be useless."

Hermione bit her lip. "Tell me," she said abruptly. "Have you ever been to China?"

He stared at her, obviously wondering why she had abruptly changed the topic. "Yes," he said. "While I was in Leningrad, I spent several holidays in China."

She nodded. "Did you ever hear of an ancient Chinese method of controlling Dementors?"

Lucius frowned. "I did hear something of that sort, but I thought that it was merely village gossip. I didn't really look into it."

"Dementors came from China. Did you know that?"

He blinked rapidly. "You're telling me that they do have a way of controlling them?" he asked. "Why are you asking me? Surely there are other people who are more knowledgeable in Chinese culture and history than me?"

"But they are either working for the Ministry or have mysteriously disappeared," she told him. "You're the only person I thought might know."

"You risked your own life, my life, on a hunch? Two hunches?" he said, in a strange tone. "On the hunch that Narcissa might be building a Dementor Army and that I might know a way to stop it?"

She bit down on her bottom lip. Put that way, her decision sounded even worse than it had ever sounded in her own mind. "Something had to be done," she snapped. "And this was the best I could think of."

"Why?" he said sarcastically. "Didn't Potter want to help? What about my old friend Severus?"

"I thought that was the entire point of your little jaunt in this prison," she said evenly. "So that Narcissa could trust me. Surely she wouldn't have left the room if she hadn't at least trusted me slightly. Now would you please think back to your holidays in China? Can you remember when you first heard of the method of controlling Dementors?"

Lucius looked like he was going to argue but then seemed to remember that there was no real point in doing so. After all, he was on the wall in shackles. "I was talking to a village elder about how Dementors controlled our prisons in England. He looked rather surprised and mentioned something about a way to control Dementors. I thought he was senile at the time."

"What did he say?" she asked sharply. This could be the key to the whole problem.

Lucius frowned, and seemed to think back. "He said something about power and kings, that's all I can remember."

"I'm sure you can remember more," she said urgently. "You must."

He stared at her. "You aren't even sure that you're right on this hunch."

"The simplest solution is often the right one," she told him. "The Dementors disappeared. Narcissa has the wizarding world all but under her control. Surely they are part of her plan to consolidate power. Now think."

"He mentioned that it was rather simple to control the Dementors," Lucius recalled. "I think he said that any Chinese person could do it."

Hermione frowned. "What on earth could that mean? Maybe some sort of historical reference to power in China is the word or words to control them?"

"I had the impression that it was even simpler than that," Lucius admitted. "He seemed rather surprised that we would use Dementors to guard our prisons. I thought at the time that he didn't like the infringement on the rights of the prisoners, but with hindsight, maybe the Dementors have a previously unknown weakness?"

"Well," Hermione said when suddenly she felt a tingle of magic go up her wand hand. It was the proximity spell she had put on her secrecy spell. Sweat tingled on her forehead as she realised how much power she had put into the spell. That was why she didn't use it often. "Breach. Finite Incantatum," she said immediately and lifted up her wand, levelling it at Lucius's face. "How dare you smirk at me, you sanctimonious bastard!" she spat out as the door to the prison cell opened. Hermione thought she could detect a flicker of admiration in Lucius's eyes for her acting skills.

Narcissa walked inside and looked quite disappointed that Lucius was in one piece. "I think it's time I helped you," she told Hermione. "The spell will take another hour or so before he begins to feel the effect of it. As fun as yelling might be, I have something better." She flicked her wand in Lucius's direction. "Crucio."

Hermione gave an inward wince at how Lucius's body arched backwards, his head thudding against the stone wall. His eyes widened and bugged out while his mouth was shut tightly. She could see every muscle in his body tightening, tightening, while Lucius fought not to make a single noise. Sweat slowly beaded up on his forehead and a small droplet fell off his nose.

"Impressive," Narcissa acknowledged and turned to Hermione. "Surely, my dear, you would like to see him scream. He deserves it for what he did to you."

Hermione knew what Narcissa wanted her to do and was horrified. It was known that combining two of the same Unforgivable curse amplified the curse a countless number of times and was known to cause permanent brain damage in witches and wizards of weaker constitutions. She doubted that it would do anything that drastic to Lucius but she still didn't want to cast a spell of that magnitude on a man who hadn't actually done anything to her. If anything, she though wryly, it was I who sexually assaulted him. "That's illegal," she hedged.

"Don't worry," Narcissa reassured her, "this entire building is shielded. Nobody will find out."

This didn't particularly reassure her, but Hermione knew that if she protested then Narcissa would be suspicious. Holding her breath and hating herself, Hermione managed to get the three syllables out. Hoping that Narcissa wouldn't notice, she didn't put her entire power behind the spell. Still, the effect was instantaneous and terrifying.

Lucius's mouth immediately opened and a long, anguished, inhuman noise came out and only after it had stopped did Hermione realise that it was a scream. He began shaking, the chains holding him to the wall clattering together as his muscles trembled.

She wrinkled her nose as the pungent smell of the human bladder evacuating itself reached her nose but didn't say anything.

Narcissa was nowhere near as delicate. She arched an eyebrow. "I have to say I'm disappointed in you, Lucius. I would have thought that you would have more control." Over your bodily functions, was the implication.

Finally, after about a minute of silence, where Hermione saw a smirk playing about Narcissa's lips, Narcissa finally lifted the spell.

Lucius sagged in the chains and Hermione could see the sweat dripping off his face. "S-s-surely," he managed to gasp out, "you and t-t-the Mudblood can do b-better."

Narcissa simply tilted her head to one side and regarded him with an amused expression. "If we did any better then perhaps you wouldn't be alive." She turned to Hermione. "I cannot stand this smell," she said as she wrinkled her nose delicately. "I think he should be more amenable to what you say now." She walked towards the door and opened it. "I would cast a cleaning spell if I were you."

It took more energy than Hermione cared to lose in order to renew the secrecy spell. After she felt it was operational, she then cast a cleaning spell and immediately the pungent smell disappeared.

"I'm sorry," she said helplessly.

Lucius took deep breaths until his breathing was even again. When he spoke, what he said surprised her. "It isn't your fault," he managed to rasp.

"I should have done something." Hermione shook her head. "You were right. I shouldn't have come."

His overbright eyes stared at her. "You felt like you h-had a reason for coming," he said, obviously trying to keep his tone even and normal. He almost succeeded.

She blinked at him. "Are you sure that too many Unforgivables haven't addled your mind? That wasn't what you said a few minutes ago."

Lucius gave a dry, hacking laugh. "Who knows? Perhaps." He stiffened.

"What's the matter?" Hermione asked, wondering whether it was the aftershocks of Crucio. She had read about them.

"The spell," he said through gritted teeth. "It's... beginning to affect me."

Hermione resisted the immediate urge to glance in the affected region. "I'm sorry," she said for want of anything else to say.

Obviously, he could see that. "If you can't think of anything constructive to say," he said. The sentence began at a normal tone but ended on a gasp. "It's progressing ... rapidly."

As subtly as she could, Hermione glanced at Lucius's crotch and could already see a slight bludge through the robes. She gave an inward shudder at the thought of what the spell meant. An idea began to occur to her, an idea made possible by her secrecy spell. Narcissa wouldn't be coming back immediately, would she? Hermione closed her eyes and would have died a thousand deaths before she admitted to herself that she didn't find the idea truly repugnant. Lucius Malfoy was an attractive man, even now when he was rather thin and shackled up against a wall.

Of course, she told herself sharply, that does not mean I like him or anything like that. I'm just feeling guilty.

Taking a deep breath, she said quietly, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"The only way to help is..." Lucius began, sounding quite irritated, and was almost about to repeat his previous statement when he stopped. "You aren't seriously considering it, are you?" he finally said in flat tone. "That's ridiculous."

"It's my fault that you're in this situation," she said stubbornly. "If I hadn't listened to Severus's stupid plan then we'd all still be safe in Azkaban." Now that was a strange statement, she thought.

"I would not ask you to help me in this way," Lucius told her. "I would have thought you would be somewhat pleased. Is this not what I deserve?"

Hermione shrugged. She wasn't sure whether she would have even believed that a few months ago, but she doubted it. Humans were humans and despite what anybody had done in the past, a part of her still believed in rehabilitation. Such a Muggle belief, she thought to herself wryly. "You're not asking," she pointed out. "I'm offering." She couldn't believe she said those words and by the expression on Lucius's face, neither could he.

"I do not think you're an appropriate figure to be a virgin sacrifice," he said dryly.

Before she could stop herself, Hermione snapped, "What makes you think I'm a virgin?"

He just stared at her and somehow, despite their respective situations, Hermione felt like sinking into the stone floor. She couldn't believe what she just said. It simply wasn't like her to blurt out things like that about herself! "My mistake then," he said blandly. "I still believe that this is a bad idea."

"Why?" she demanded. To her horror and amazement, she felt somewhat offended that he had refused her - reasonable, she thought - offer. "Why would you rather wait twenty four hours or hope that Narcissa decides to take mercy on you?" A tiny sneer tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Lucius raised his eyebrows at her. "I'm sure you don't know how much you look like Narcissa when you do that."

"I'm not stupid enough to take that as a compliment, even if she was your former wife," Hermione snapped. "It's because I'm Muggle-born, isn't it? You can talk to me, you can work with me, but you can't stand to touch me." When he didn't reply, she lifted her wand. To her shock, Lucius winced slightly. "Finite Incantatum," she said. Turning around, Hermione left her room.

Lucius was silent, and the last thing she saw was a strange expression in his eyes as he stared at her while the door closed.

A guard was outside the room. "Get me Narcissa," Hermione ordered. "I'm leaving."

He looked surprised but complied.

A minute or two later, Narcissa arrived and Hermione was surprised to see her holding a cup of tea. "You look upset," she said, looking over Hermione shrewdly.

Hermione was rather surprised that she was upset. Who would have thought that I'm still sensitive about my birth, she thought, even though she knew full well that wasn't the entire reason why she was upset. "I can't stand to be in that room any more," she said frankly. "I'm sure he'll be writhing in pain soon enough."

Narcissa smirked. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to watch?"

"I'm a bit squeamish," Hermione admitted. "Plus, well, you know." She hoped that Narcissa would draw her own conclusions from her vague words.

It seems like Narcissa had, for she was nodding slowly. "Understandable," she said in a tone of voice that implied the exact opposite. "I will get you a car back to the Ministry."

"Thank you," Hermione said, relieved.