Unfathomable Desire

Chapter 23

I managed to convince Lucius to show me the downstairs first, insisting I see the dining room. Lucius grudgingly accepted, walking me down the stairs, into the hallway and through a door. In this room, an overwhelmingly long table sat in the centre with at least a dozen chairs around it.

"Quite large for a small family," I noticed, circling the dining table, feigning interest in the room.

"We often have guests over," Lucius explained, eyes following me. After a moment of lingering, he said "There are much more interesting rooms than this one."

I eyed him warily, strategizing my next move.

I let him lead me away from the dining room. We were about the pass the door that I knew led to his office. I stopped in front of it, and crossed my arms.

"You almost wouldn't notice this door, it's sort of hidden," I commented.

"You're very observant," Lucius noted, still staring at me with great interest.

"What's in it?" I turned to look at Lucius, doing my best to appear innocently curious. I knew Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater, and understood how dangerous that could be, I needed to appear harmless.

"That, my dear, is my home office," Lucius said, standing slightly too close to me.

I turned to face him. "Can I see?" I tried to appear doe-eyed in order to come off as flirty but innocent. "There's too many people out here. I'm sure it'll be more private in your office."

Lucius appeared to be thinking it through, seeming hesitant but eager.

"Please," I begged, putting my hand on his arm gently.

"Only because you asked me so nicely," Lucius said, barely opening his mouth to speak.

Lucius slipped past me and took out his wand from a cane he was holding. He tapped the door handle once, muttered something under his breath that I couldn't hear, and opened the door. He stepped aside, allowing me to enter first.

I walked into his office, my eyes lingering on him and I saw as he looked both ways outside of the office, most likely checking whether anyone saw us enter. He then came in after me, and shut the door.

I turned around to take in his office. There was a large wooden desk at the centre of his office, untidy piles of paper littered it. A leatherbound chair sat behind. There were no windows, and bookcases lined the walls. A large bronze globe sat in one corner of the office, dust covering it.

"I don't allow our house-elf to clean in here," Lucius said.

"Why not?" I asked, walking around his office, looking for something that looked like a blueprint. Dumbledore had told me it would be in a brown slip. However, I also realized there was no way Lucius would leave something like that lying around.

"I like to keep it private," he said. I felt him closing the distance between us from behind me.

I turned to face him, his eyes never leaving me. I started slightly panicking about what I would do now. I realized I locked myself in a small space with a dangerous man and nobody knew where I was. I also had no idea how I would get these blueprints with him here. I felt like I failed already; not only was I in potential danger but I had no way of completing my task. I should have come alone, broken in somehow, but it was too late for that.