Indescribable Taste

Chapter 5: Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown

Four eyes seemed to be locked at once. Seamus was staring at Hermione with a scowl of disgust; Draco's bewildered stare turned to a spitting grin as he surveyed his father. The young Malfoy's gray eyes looked like they were now: blue, happy and seemed to dance with glee.

Lucius broke his gaze towards the intruders and craned his neck down to look at the shuddering little school girl that was scuffling with her robes. He instantly broke apart from her and his lip curled, as if he hadn't even known what he was doing. Hermione put her hand out to feel his face, for he had always permitted her before but this time he smacked it away and glared at her, his eyes on fire. Hermione pulled back her hand and held it, tears brimming over her eyelids.

"Come in," Lucius growled, casting Alohomora and unlocking the door.

Draco strolled in as if he had just won the Quidditch World Cup. He smirked at Hermione. "I see. You had a taste of a Malfoy and after that you couldn't get enough, is that it? Father, did she taste as good to you as she did to me?"

Hermione had expected Lucius to draw back and punch Draco but he kept his fists at his side and a calm look painted on his long face. "Didn't I tell you that you were not allowed here at this hour?" he asked, the lines in his forehead growing.

Draco ran one hand through his sleek silver hair. "Ah, yeah, you did. I, now, see why. That is beside the point though, Father. I caught this Gryffindor lurking in the halls"--he pointed at Seamus, who was still standing in the door way--, "and I followed him. I'm head of Slytherin house and I MUST enforce the rules," he said with fake dignity. "I saw him come into your room, which surprised me because the classroom doors are barred by this time. Then I watched him stare dumbly into this room for about five minutes before I confronted him. He didn't even notice when I called for him. I came to see what he was so entranced about and look what I find," Draco said, the smirk spreading across his face, making his cheeks raise well over his eyes.

"And what, pray I ask, did you find?" Lucius dared.

"Father, are you trying to tell me that my eyes just deceived me and you weren't about to stick your--manhood in this girl that is nearly twenty years your junior?"

Lucius pulled his jet black wand from his silky robes and pointed it directly in between Draco's blond eyebrows. "Yes, that is what I'm telling you," he said grimly, opening his mouth to spout a memory charm when a tall, white bearded wizard stepped in behind Seamus.

"Lucius, please, put the wand down and let's have a cup of tea," Dumbledore said calmly. He was wearing a nerdy looking plaid pointy hat and matching pajama robes. He was smiling happily as always. "The young ones, who should be in their dormitories, are to return there and get what few hours of sleep you have left."

The lifted wand wavered for a moment between Draco's sweating brows and fell, overpowered, at Lucius's side. "Yes, Headmaster," he said, glaring at the old man as if he would strangle him. "But I can deal with my son in the manner I choose."

"As you should and you will choose to send him to his dormitory and to keep hushed about this," the feeble looking, but strong man said gently. He was looking directly at Draco as he spoke, who was also scowling at the Headmaster.

"We'll see how long that will last," Draco challenged. His gray eyes pierced into Hermione and he blew her a kiss, winking. He pushed violently past Seamus and slammed the classroom door with both hands to make sure it echoed nice and loud.

Dumbledore bent down and whispered something in Seamus's ear that made his horrified face turn calm. He turned around without looking at Hermione and made his way out of the dramatic situation. Hermione just stood there, not knowing what to do. She wanted so desperately to run and hide behind Lucius, to hear him say he didn't care about his job or his dignity. She wanted to hear him say he had feelings for her. The look on his face told her he would never even think of saying such a thing. She was just a Mudblood after all. Hermione's heart sank to the pit of her stomach and seemed to boil in the acids there, never to beat again.

"Miss Granger," the Headmaster said softly. "I propose you leave as well. You do have classes tomorrow, I imagine."

Hermione nodded but she felt like her feet were planted to the floor. The unyielding feeling in her chest was overwhelming. Lucius continued to stare at the Headmaster, with his face forlorn at last. His breathing was deep and fast as his chest rose and fell visibly under his loose-fitting robes. 'Look at me,' Hermione begged him in her head. 'Just look at me one last time...please, don't let me leave you.' Her throat felt clogged and she had to bite the inside of her cheeks to keep from weeping out loud.

She found the strength in her to lift one foot, then the other until she had a steady walk going. She hung her head as she walked past the long haired Professor, bushing her hand against his, hoping he would just grab her but he only took one step back and turned away.

Dumbledore put one gnarled hand on her shoulder and she shrugged it off cruelly. "Don't you dare touch me," she growled at him, her eyes filling with fresh tears. He wouldn't feed her any of that sympathy. She had wanted it all to happen. She had wanted it...

Then the longing refutation exploded in her like dynamite as she stepped into the dungeon hallways that were cold and clammy. It had been the feeling that had been enslaved and finally let free to fly within her.

No, Hermione hadn't liked Lucius at all. She loved him with every inch of her being...and he had treated her like the scum of the earth, as he always had. He despised her and always will.

With such a disturbed feeling, his kisses now just felt like spit in her mouth.

**

Studying for Snape's Lethal Potions quiz was harder then usual as Hermione lay curled up on a large feather pillow next to the roaring fire. Everyone was chattering away. It had only been three days since the incident in Defense against the Dark Arts but usually news traveled fast in Hogwarts. No one had even acted different towards Hermione, though, save for Seamus who avoided her whenever possible. It was if it never happened. Hermione didn't bother returning for her last evening of detention and hid in the old D.A. room, spending the entire night staring up at the white ceiling.

Tonight was the Halloween feast and everyone was planning happily for it. The Headmaster had insisted it be a gala affair and everyone was to wear a costume to the dinner. The majority of Gryffindors had planned it out and was all matching in tan jump suits with Luna Lovegood's enchanted lion hats adorned their head. A few others had dressed as ogres and Ron dressed in some old tattered robes and said he was Remus Lupin: Defense against the Dark Arts professor by day and Werewolf by night.

Hermione hadn't even bothered with a costume and had intended to stay in the common room, studying how rashroot and Raeth's fang can make an object explode if combined. Ginny, who insisted on forgiving and forgetting, had begged her since this morning to just go for the food. She pulled out one of her old pointed witch hats that belonged to Molly, her mother, and put it on her. "You can be a witch," she said with a supportive smile.

Dressing up wasn't what had scared Hermione away from the feast. She actually looked forward to Halloween most of all. Hogwarts was always so alive at this time of the year. It was HIM. He would have to be there. All the teachers have always attended the Halloween feast and Hermione was sure Lucius would be with them all. She just couldn't look at his face, yet. She just wasn't ready, but as her love for Ginny would have it, she agreed.

The gaining amount of roaring in the Gryffindor common room was amazingly annoying and Hermione couldn't even make out the words in the book with all the noise. Slipping the bookmark marked with the Gryffindor emblem in the book, it announced the amount of time she had spent studying and then closed itself within a mass of pages.

"Are you ready?" Ginny asked Hermione, her arm looped around Harry's. Harry was having a terrible time keeping the large lions head balanced on his bushy amount of black hair. It kept falling over his eyes and roaring in his ears. Ginny had to hold it up for him while they walked down to the Great Hall.

The feasting hall was already packed with students waiting for the party to start. Hermione's heart cracked heavy against her ribs as she noticed Lucius wasn't sitting with the rest of the teachers who were all already congregated and talking over their empty plates. Dumbledore was dressed in a bulky pink rabbit costume and looked extremely silly next to Professor Mcgonagall who was wearing her standard teaching robes, her hair still pulled up in a rigid bun atop her head and hidden by a simple emerald green hood.

Harry, Ginny, and Hermione found Ron sitting with Lavender at the front of the room. They walked past the Slytherin table. Draco was dressed like a vampire with every strand of hair slicked back and a cape with a collar that rose above his head and came to a sharp point. He had obviously used a spell to change his eyes from smoky gray to blood red. There was also artificial blood running from the corner of his lips. Pansy sat beside him, looking bored. She was dressed in an old Victorian dress and had a trail of more fake blood running from her neck. Draco hissed as they walked by but none of them bothered to look at him.

The tables were adorned with large pumpkins with gaping, toothless smiles that spoke constantly. It was most annoying and some people at the Hufflepuff table had begun chucking them at the wall, almost causing Filtch to have a heart attack. The black candles that were on tall black pedestals were singing soft Halloween songs that no one could hear over the other noise.

"Hi, everyone!" said Luna Lovegood, coming over to join them. Her hair was pulled up in several ponytails all around her head. She was wearing a skirt that went well past her feet and a flowery red blouse with no shoulders. "You wouldn't believe the Galleons I've made selling those roaring Gryffindor hats. Great idea, huh?"

Hermione, who had gotten a headache long before they had even gone into the Great Hall, only nodded with her eyes squinted at all the blare.

Luna just laughed. "I can't believe we actually lost another Defense against the Dark Arts teacher," she said, tilting her pony tailed head towards the professors.

Hermione stood up quickly, knocking her chair over. Many of the lion roars ceased. "What do you mean?"

Luna looked at her with a bewildered look on her face. "Didn't you know? He resigned a few days ago, something about the ministry needing him for a serious job." She shrugged. "I didn't care much for him anyways. Dumbledore actually took his spot until they can get someone to fill in. How desperate and the last one didn't even stay an entire week! It must be a cursed job."

"Hermione, why don't you sit down? What's wrong?" Ginny asked, tugging on her clothes but she didn't sit down. She had finally noticed the old man in the bunny costume, gazing at her with a look of remorse. She shook her head no and he only nodded back at her.

Hermione pulled Ginny's hand away from her robes. "There's--there's something I must do," Hermione stuttered, setting her chair up and backing away from them. "I, uh, think I left something in my dorm. Don't wait on me to eat," she cried as she turned away from her friends and stumbled over a piece of pumpkin, nearly falling to the floor. She retained her balance and fled from the huge room, a million eyes watching her.

A few minutes later, Draco excused himself from the table.

**

The Defense against the Dark Arts room was completely empty--and completely clean. Everything was in its place and even the display cases were shining like crystal. The stacks of homework Lucius had yet to grade were gone and no papers, not even a small note remained. Hermione pulled out all the drawers. They were all empty. The podium, as well, had no papers behind it.

In the professor's private office, the bed was stripped of its sheets and pillows. The windows were no longer covered with curtains. The desk was no longer scattered with quills and sheets of unused parchment. Everything was completely bare down to the last rug and picture.

"Surely he left something," she said sadly, looking under the bed, finding only cobwebs. Could he really leave her without any word? He seemed as if he really had liked her, even LOVED her if she dared to think that much into it. She was beginning to open the drawers in the private desk when she heard someone come in.

"Looking for something?" a deep, sweet voice drawled. LUCIUS! Hermione turned around quickly, audaciously smiling. Deep red eyes stared back at her, a glint of mischievousness in them.

Draco grabbed her wrist before she could pull her wand out from the inside of her robes. He shook one finger in front of her face and gave her a soft tsk tsk. "I knew you would come back," he breathed, running his nose along the hollow of her neck and smelling the sweet scent of her flesh. "Why would my father want something so filthy?" he whispered against her skin. "Don't you realize he wants nothing more to do with you? Maybe he wanted to find out if a Mudblood was good in bed, but he never wanted you, really."

Hermione pulled her hand away from him and tried desperately to pull her wand out of its designated pocket but he knocked her hand away and pushed her on the small bed, her head smacking the stone wall. He lay on top of her, one of his hands wrapped around both of her wrists, his breath reeking of chocolate and butter beer. Hermione was kicking and screaming but he was so much bigger then her...

He pushed his free fingers in between her legs and felt the warmth there. "Ah, as much as you hate to deny it, do I not look like my father? I can please you in ways he can no longer do. If you accept this--" he pressed his two fingers harder against her stimulated nub--"I won't tell anyone why my father really left and you can go on pretending to all your friends, as if this never happened." He slipped past the thin strip of material that covered her most private of places, sliding his middle finger inside of her and shuddering with pleasure. Tears streaked across Hermione's face.

"I don't care," she choked. She was biting on her lower lip so hard it began to bleed down the side of her already tear stained cheek. "I would rather have no friends then know I've had sex with you, Draco."

He chuckled. "I knew you would say that," he cooed, moving his finger in and out of her with increasing speed. "But that doesn't matter. I will get what I want--I always do. I made sure my father was caught by hinting to that idiot Seamus earlier that day. I used him as an excuse to barge in on you both. I KNEW he wanted you. He wanted you because I did but I got rid of him. Dumbledore fired him but agreed to give him a temporary job in the Ministry to cover up his little mistake." He leaned down and kissed her with his wet lips, forcing his tongue through her lips but she kept her teeth clenched.

Hermione's vision was nearly blank. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and he was touching her, making her feel like she was going to vomit. She bawled up both hands and tried to wrench them out of his grasp but he held tight to her. She tried to knee him in the groin again but he had been smarter this time and he had his knees pressed against her knees and she couldn't even move her leg to the side. She felt completely helpless.

'You can't be so weak and dependant on other people to protect you. To survive, you must be your own defense. No one else is in charge of you but you.' Lucius's words reverberated through her mind. What could she do? There was nothing left for her to defend herself with! It was so hard to think with his disgusting fingers plunging in and out of her. 'C'mon, Hermione, use your...head.'

Draco leaned in to kiss her again and she, without warning, bashed her head against his with all the force in her neck. It caused her to see stars for a moment, but Draco was obviously feeling much worse then she was. He had let go of her wrists and removed his hand from her beneath her panties and was holding the right side of his eye, groaning loudly. Hermione took her balled up hands and swung them like a spiked flail, colliding with the side of his face he wasn't holding. Draco fell off the bed and Hermione pulled out her wand.

"IMMOBULUS!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, sweat beading off her forehead. He froze, his hand still holding his face. Hermione wiped a drop of sweat from under her nose. Her entire body was quivering but she stepped over Draco and opened the few drawers in Lucius' personal desk that she hadn't checked yet.

In the very bottom drawer was a piece of glass covered in dried blood.

**

She had wanted to tell Dumbledore. She had wanted to expose all the lies and deceits Draco had made but she couldn't. She had no proof...and Lucius had kissed her. They had been found. It wouldn't make a difference if Dumbledore knew the truth or not. Hermione was almost sure he DID know, but there was nothing anyone could do now. He was gone.

When Hermione stepped into the common room the day after her incident with Draco, everyone had stopped talking and stared at her. She froze and stared back at them.

"What?" she asked with a confused look drawn on her face.

Harry stood up and walked out with a disgusted look, followed by Ginny who wouldn't even glance Hermione's way. Ron and Lavender were looking at her but when she gazed towards them they looked away. Seamus, alone, remained locked on her.

"What is wrong with everyone?" Hermione demanded to Seamus, her hands on her hips.

"Draco told everyone--about you and Lucius at dinner. Dumbledore asked me not to say anything, but you can't lie to everyone now. I told them it was true." Seamus said with a small look of revenge fulfilled in his eyes.

The heat of embarrassment rose in her face. "What exactly did he tell everyone?"

"Well, you know, you and Lucius were having--sex when we walked in and seen you," he said cautiously.

"WE WERE NOT!" she shouted suddenly, her face now the color of a radish. "We were only KISSING!" It somehow felt good to finally get it out in the open.

Ron stood up suddenly. He pushed the table over that was holding his and Lavenders chess game. "HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL US YOU WERE SCREWING THE DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS TEACHER?" Ron accused, his rage making his freckles stand out. "HE'S A MALFOY! YOU'RE JUST NOTHING BUT A DEATHEATERS WHORE!" He marched off and up into the dormitory. Lavender continued to sit in her chair but she was grinning evilly at Hermione.

"He's right, you know," she said, perching her lips together and bending down to pick up the chess pieces that were complaining loudly.

Hermione punched her side and climbed through the fat lady portrait again. Seamus followed her shortly after.

"Look, everyone else is mad at you but they will get over it," he said. He began rubbing her back. Hermione jerked at his touch. "Hey, it's ok, it's just me--your ex, remember? Look...if you want to get back together, I promise I can get them to over look this whole thing. We can be a normal couple like before. Remember?" He looked hopeful.

Hermione stared into his brown, pleading eyes. At that moment she wished she could just disappear and never come back...