Lucius' Fail-Proof Way To Gain Power

Inviting Kingsley In

"What is your plan?" Hermione asked, as soon as they had arrived in the receiving room of Malfoy Manor. Lucius twirled his cane, removing the soot from both of their persons.

"My plan?" he asked her, unsure of what she was really asking.

"Yes, your plan. You pushed the law through. You chose me. What is your plan? In regards to me?" she asked, whirling on him.

Her eyes were bright and fierce, and her lips were pursed in agitation. She really was bright, and quick to dispense with any formalities to get right to the point.

"I'm a Malfoy," Lucius said haughtily. "Only the best will do."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's a compliment," Lucius told her.

"I should feel good that I was bought and sold as if I am chattel?" Hermione asked incredulously. Lucius recognized something in her tone as dangerous. He would need to tread lightly here.

"The law was going to go through, regardless of anything I did. I just helped it along. And, then I took advantage so that I received the best possible outcome from it."

"You could not have participated at all," Hermione growled.

"I have no heir," Lucius spat at her. "I cannot leave this earth without an heir."

"Of course, this is about your bloody legacy. And what about your pure-blood legacy? Your heir will be tainted by my muddy blood."

Lucius' lip twitched. She wasn't wrong, he didn't relish the idea of tainting his bloodline. But there wasn't anything he could do about it now. They were married for life. He'd chosen her for what she could do to his image. Of course, he could have found some pure-blood chit to marry, but then the law would have been wasted. He could bear the tainting of his bloodline if it improved the reputation of the Malfoy name. In the end, the Malfoy name is what mattered. He took a deep breath.

"This is a ridiculous argument," Lucius sighed, all the anger leaving him. "What's done is done. Now, all we can do is play within the rules of the game we find ourselves ensnared in."

"And, what will my role in this game be?" she asked him, her hands on her hips, still glaring fiercely.

"Why, as my wife, as my partner, as the person who will help me rule the world," Lucius placated, as he took a step closer to her, intending to draw her into his embrace.

"And you'll," she pointed a finger at his chest, "support me in taking down this absurd law and Umbridge?"

"The law stays." Lucius lifted his chin, to look down his nose at her. He'd spent too much political capital on pushing the law through and then getting his choice.

"Then, the amendment and Umbridge? Other idiots at the Ministry?"

"Gladly," he nodded.

Hermione tilted her head. "Fine then. Argument over." She stepped closer to him, placed her hand on his chest, fiddled with the buttons she found there. "I believe you promised me you would caress, cajole and seduce me until I was begging for you, did you not?" She looked up then, through her eyelashes, and Lucius had not known his refractory period could be so short. He placed his hands on her hips.

"Are you—"

"Don't ask that question. I always say what I mean," she glared at him.

Lucius smirked at her, ran his hand up her back, drew her close, and cupped the nape of her neck. "In that case, Mrs Malfoy, I do have a few things to show you." He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Her lips were so incredibly soft, and she opened immediately to his seeking tongue. Her hands drifted up from his chest, to wrap around his shoulders, and when he nipped at her bottom lip, she tugged on his hair.