Fascinated

Answers

Lucius left Hermione to clean the floors of his room, and rather than heading to his office, he went to the library to research bonds. The bond between him and his charge was becoming more and more distracting by the minute. Bonds such as the one he felt between the two of them were uncommon. It took everything in him to not throw the door to his room open, lay her out on the bed, and have his way with the beautiful woman. That was how he knew this was not a normal bond- the only one he could come up with was the soul bond. 

The well of desire he felt through the bond finally gave way to anger and embarrassment. A smile grew on his lips, because an angry Hermione Granger was fun to toy with. It would make their occlumency lesson later much more enjoyable if she was angry.

After a few hours of researching soul bonds and any other type of bonds, he had more questions than answers still. It was just such an unknown branch of magic. He decided to go in search of his charge; he could feel her hunger pangs which was more of a distraction than the desire he felt earlier. Lucius decided then and there if he could prevent her from going hungry, he would.

Walking through the Manor, he found her in the foyer just finishing the floors. A small surge of guilt welled in him, but he pushed that down quickly, no need for Hermione to feel his guilt. He was a master at occlumency; he would have to be better at shielding her from his feelings. At his approach, she looked up from the floor.

“Are you finished?” He asked gently. 

“Yes sir,” she answered quietly, standing to her feet; he noticed she didn’t look him in the face. He wondered what he had allowed to seep through the bond earlier.

He nodded and motioned for her to follow him. They walked to the dining room quietly. She walked to the table and stood next to her chair waiting for him to give her permission to sit.

“Sit.” Lucius said plainly as he sat. He cleared his throat before he began speaking again. “I did some research today. It may help explain the pull we have towards each other. I’m sure you have felt it as well.” 

She nodded, relief was visible in her eyes, “Yes, I’ve been wondering about it but obviously have not had time to research it myself.” Her voice was laced with irony and accusation. “What did you discover?”  

“Before I explain that, I should probably explain my motives for agreeing to take you in. It will also shed light on the bond, I think.” Lucius sighed and began to eat the meal before him while speaking between bites. He motioned for her to begin eating as well.  

“When you arrived here I was so desperately angry at you for getting caught, especially after all the efforts that I’d made to keep you safe and out of the Dark Lord’s hands,” he paused in his words. Now was the time to tell her how he kept her safe, “Since you were a child, Hermione, I felt something- deep inside me- that kept me close to you, I desperately needed to help you. I couldn’t explain it, honestly, I still can’t.”

Hermione interrupted him gently, “Thank you. I knew there was someone helping me stay ahead of the Snatchers, I just wasn’t sure who it was. You saved my life more times than I can count.”

He nodded his head in acceptance of her thanks and took a sip of the soup in front of him before continuing, “In the Department of Mysteries, when we were chasing you and your friends, I didn’t want any harm to come to you. I was so distressed thinking you would be killed, and I was so angry you were even there, that I distracted the rest of the Death Eaters by sending them down an aisle that none of you had gone down to give you a chance to get out.”

A look of shock on her face stopped him from speaking for a moment. 
“After Narcissa was killed by her sister, I felt the pull to you become greater, so strong in fact, I was a bloody mess. Any time I heard my group of Snatchers make mention of being on your trail I would throw them off and send them running in the opposite direction. I made sure that you had food at least a few times a week, I couldn’t do it more often, or it would have become too obvious to others around me.” He stopped momentarily taking a steadying breath and watched her take in the information he had just dropped into her lap.