Fascinated

Tangled

~Author's Note: This has been yet another huge collaboration and I would love to thank all who have helped. Arendora for stepping in when I really needed help and helping to really bring this story to where it is today. Savedprincess85 for always and forever being my beta. and last but never least Silver Lioness for the fantastic cover she created for us. I am eternally grateful to all of you.

So without further ado, as always J.K. Rowling own the Harry Potter world, it characters, original plot and ending. I simply borrowed them for no financial gain. I only wanted to have fun. Please enjoy!~

Tangled

The world did not end in a bang or a whisper, but rather one scream at a time. The war was over. Harry Potter boldly died as he fought valiantly against Lord Voldemort. The world was dark as Death Eaters spent their days rounding up Muggle-born witches and wizards and burning down half of the Wizarding world in retaliation for the Order's defiance. Hermione's parents had been killed by Death Eaters in an attempt to lure her out, almost immediately after the Battle of Hogwarts. It almost worked, too. Hermione had become melancholy and withdrawn after that.

Ron distanced himself from her after receiving death threats to himself and his family. He even went so far as to threaten to turn her over to Snatchers if she dared to contact them again. Molly had been even more protective of her family once Fred died in the Battle of Hogwarts. Her other friends were all afraid to even communicate with her, in fear they would have Death Eaters attack their homes and families. She had been, and still remained, the most wanted Muggle-born in all of Wizarding Britain. She was well and truly alone.

***

Lucius thought back to the day he lost his wife. Narcissa was sent to check Harry Potter for signs of life after the Dark Lord hit him with the Avada Kedavra. They left Potter in the forest to fade into history; death had been easy for Potter, at least according to the Dark Lord. On the walk from the forest to the castle, Bellatrix used legilimency on her exhausted sister and saw something that caused her to kill her sister, in cold blood. Draco, having seen everything, killed his aunt. The dead sisters were hidden by Draco until he could find his father.

Voldemort's fury had been palpable, but he did not know it had been one of his own Death Eaters that had caused the demise of his favorite lieutenant. With a single spell, he demolished most of Hogwarts and nearly everyone that had been within her walls. The war was far from over, but the battle that changed the world had already been won.

Lucius, even in his grief, continued to rally with the Dark Lord's crusade against the Muggle-borns and Muggle-born sympathizers. He spent his days tracking blood traitors and mudblood's across Europe, yet his life seemed empty and void. He kept up appearances, having no choice, but his loyalty had long since abated with the death of his wife and a bond he felt blooming, even if he didn't want to admit it's existence. Nothing seemed to make sense any longer; his life had truly turned on its axis, and he didn't know how to correct it. He drank too much, his haggard appearance decreasing as each tedious day passed.

Lucius watched as Draco was put in charge of the many Muggleborn camps spread throughout Europe. He could even see a child-like enjoyment on his son's face as Draco worked relentlessly to capture the most famous Muggleborn, Hermione Granger, who had escaped during the Battle of Hogwarts. Draco's work towards finding Hermione caused much turmoil within Lucius' mind. He wanted nothing more than for her to be captured; however, he did not want to see her caught at the hands of his unhinged heir.

Lucius and Draco had been assigned to keep track of Hermione; with their personal experience with Granger, they had insight other Death Eaters lacked. Lucius was equally fascinated and frustrated by the impertinent chit, she had already evaded capture for more than two years, if he included the year prior to the Battle of Hogwarts. He assigned every available Snatcher in search of her. And yet he felt an unexplainable need to work damn hard to consistently misdirect them from getting too close to her trail. He wanted to be the one to bring her in, to keep her safe. Something in him wanted to keep her safe.