Chapter 5

Hermione gasped as she looked around, then she began to laugh hysterically. She realized that she'd Apparated without thought, only to land at the spot she'd been the happiest, the cottage on Ogmore Vale. Knowing that she couldn't stay here, she quickly gathered her things and left. She stopped next at her flat in London, but then decided that wouldn't do either.

From Lucius' reaction she knew he would to try to find her, and this was obviously the first place he would look. She just couldn't face him right now. Maybe never. Her romantic track record was bad, really bad, to begin with. Her past was littered with bad boyfriends and poor choices. This had felt so much like the real thing. Even though she'd only been with Lucius a few days, it had all been so intense and so mind blowing that she'd been sure that this time, this time, finally she'd found the real thing. To learn so cruelly that it was all the result of a fucking Compulsion Charm, after being assured by a man whom she'd trusted beyond all reason that it wasn't really the case... It was just too much to handle on her own right now. But she couldn't go to Harry, or the Weasley's or Minerva, they had all been witness to her humiliation. Suddenly she knew just where she needed to go first and what she needed to do. She shrunk her newly packed bag and Apparated away.

Draco felt a shift in the wards and knew someone had arrived. He looked up to see the house-elf in the doorway to his office. "Yes, Ren, what is it?"

"Missy Hermione is being in the foyer, master."

Draco frowned. "Well, have her come in."

The elf looked at him nervously. "Ren, is thinking that something is being wrong. The missy be's crying, sir. She is not moving from the doorway."

He hurried out to the foyer. Hermione stood there her head down, her face hidden by her hair. "Hermione?" he asked, uncertain of her reaction.

She raised her tear-stained face to his with a look of complete and utter misery. "Oh... oh... oh, Draco," she stuttered, then threw herself into his arms and sobbed broken-heartedly.

Without a word, Draco scooped her up and quietly told Ren to take the missy's bag up to the guest suite. He carried her to the library, a place he knew would be soothing for her, where he held her on his lap and let her cry.

Hermione finally got her tears under control and slid off Draco's lap onto the love seat. "I'm really sorry about that," she apologized, taking the hankie he offered to wipe her eyes and blow her nose.

"Not, a problem, love. Merlin knows you've been there for me countless times when I needed a shoulder to cry on," Draco answered. He poured her the tea that Ren had brought during her crying jag and handed her the cup. "Care to explain what that was all about?"

She nodded as she took a sip. "Well, I have good news and bad news."

Draco smiled; they had played this game before. "All right, good news first then."

She swallowed hard and squared her shoulders. "I found your dad."

Elation filled Draco's eyes. "Seriously?"

Hermione nodded.

"Then what's the bad news?"

"I found your dad."

Draco stared at her perplexed for a moment. Then he slumped back in his seat. "Oh, fuck. What's he done now?"

It took some time for Hermione to tell the whole story: Of where his father had been and what he'd been doing. Of Severus being alive and keeping Draco's forgiveness of Lucius a secret, thus accounting for the five-year absence. Finally she explained that as far as her brief involvement with his father, it wasn't really what Lucius had done so much as what had been done to both of them with the Compulsion Charm.

"You and my father? That's hard to imagine."

"I know. Stupid of me to think it could be real. Right?"

Draco was silent for a minute. "No, not stupid at all. Severus was quite right about that, deep down you and father do have a lot of things in common. I can certainly see how he would have fallen and fallen hard for you. Malfoys always do seek the finest things in life, after all. Maybe you should reconsider and talk to him."

Hermione shook her head. "No, he was only attracted to me because of the charm. We need to stay away from each other and give it a chance to fade. I'll start looking for a way to reverse it, but that could be difficult since I don't even know what charm Linton... I mean Macnair used." She set her teacup down and turned to Draco. "I need to leave. I'm sure the first thing Lucius will do is come here to see you. I don't want to be here when he arrives."

"I doubt father will show up so soon. Stay here at least for the night. Tomorrow, I know the perfect place for you to go. It's a villa on the Isle of Capri. We haven't used it in years, it's peaceful and beautiful, it'll a be a good place to pull yourself back together. I'll even be your Secret Keeper."

Hermione was hesitant but eventually she let Draco convince her. He even agreed to take care of the book store while she was gone as he'd already been helping her out from time to time in the Nook. He'd discovered he actually enjoyed restoring rare books.

The next morning Draco side-along'd Hermione to the island and introduced her to the Villa San Malfoy. Hermione, who had been expecting a small forgotten cottage, was overwhelmed by the size and absolute beauty of it. Certainly not on the same scale as Malfoy Manor, but impressive nonetheless. It seemed like the perfect place to recover from a broken heart.

Lucius spent several days trying to track Hermione down. He'd checked all of the logical places: her flat, her shop, her friends, all with no luck whatsoever. Potter himself was willing to help and admitted that he was worried about her. He suggested a few friends that Lucius hadn't considered like Luna Lovegood, Padma Patil, and Neville Longbottom, but all to no avail. She seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Lucius figured that could mean only one thing: the Fidelius Charm had been implemented. Then, in a palm to forehead moment, Lucius realized that there was one particular friend whom he had not even considered.

He arrived at Malfoy Manor, Apparating directly into the entrance, only to find it quiet and empty but for a house-elf, dusting. The elf squealed and attached himself to Lucius' leg. "Master is being home! Master is being home!" he cried in glee, sobbing against Lucius' leg.

Lucius rolled his eyes and patted the little elf awkwardly on the head. "There, there now, Ren. Calm yourself." The little creature finally managed to get himself under control and unlatched from Lucius' leg.

"Where is Master Draco? I need to speak to him."

"Young master is being at work in the nookie."

Lucius frowned. "What work? What is a nookie? I thought Draco still worked at the Ministry."

"Oh, young sir is taking a...a..." The elf considered for a moment. "He has taken a tree away from the Ministry."

Lucius knew that sometimes communicating with house-elves could be a challenge, but at this he was completely stumped. "I don't understand, Ren. He's taken a tree?"

Ren frowned. "Is that not being the right wordsies, sir? Trees has leafs, yes?"

Lucius thought for a moment. "Leaves! Ah, yes! Leaves. So Draco has take a leave from his job at the Ministry. But why?"

"He is being helping Missy Hermione in her library shop, in the nookie. Young master helps the miss repair booksies. He helps her while she is away, staying at the secret place."

Lucius felt a warmth kindle in his chest. He smiled. "Do you know where missy's secret place is, Ren?"

The elf nodded happily. "Oh yes, Master. Ren helps the miss. Ren is bringing her foodsies from the manor and booksies from the library." Suddenly the little elf looked sad, pulling at his ears. "But Ren is not allowed to tell where missy's secret place is, not even to you, master. Especially to you, master Draco says." A tear ran down his cheek, "Ren is sorry master. He will punish himself."

"No," Lucius responded quickly. "There's no need for that. I just needed to know that she is safe. Thank you. I'm going to the Nook to speak with Draco now." Having been to her shop once already, looking for Hermione, Lucius knew just where to go.

Seconds later he arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and strode down the block to Top Shelf Books. Ignoring everyone in the main shop, he opened the door to the Nook and hurried up the stairs, flinging open the door. It bounced back against the wall with a bang as Lucius stepped into the room full of old books. Books on shelves, books on tables, books in boxes, books everywhere.

Draco, sitting at a work table across the room, a book partially dismantled in front of him, looked up. "It's about time you showed up," he said calmly, as if he'd last seen Lucius at lunch rather than five years ago. "I like the new look, by the way."

"Where is Hermione?" asked Lucius bluntly.

"Can't say," Draco responded, just as bluntly.

Lucius observed his son carefully. "Can't, or won't?"

Draco put down the bone folder in his hand and set aside the book he'd been working on. "Can't," he said, folding his hands together in front of him. "But also won't."

"Draco, I don't know what she told you..."

"She told me everything. She believes the feelings you two had for each other are the result of Macnair's Compulsion Charm."

"She's wrong about that," declared Lucius, ready to argue his case. "It's not a Compulsion. I love her. And she bloody well loves me even if she won't admit it."

"I know," said Draco, one corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk.

"You know?" Lucius was taken aback. He'd expected an argument, or at least a trace of surprise. "How can you possibly know?"

"Because Macnair's a complete idiot. I can't believe the man successfully ran a terrorist organization since the end of the war and never got caught before now," Draco said. "He doesn't have the sense of a Pygmy Puff. He left the book he used for the charm in one of the boxes of books Hermione bought for the shop."

"You've seen it? Examined it?"

Draco nodded, the smirk widening to a grin.

Lucius grinned back and grabbed him by the shoulders giving him a playful shake. "Tell me immediately, you little bastard, or I'll have to hex you."

"Hey, I have it on good authority I'm completely legitimate. My parents were married when I was born, and very much in love."

Lucius hesitated at Draco's words, Narcissa's shadow suddenly loomed between them. "I'm so sorry, son. I hadn't thought how this might affect you. I did love your mother, very much, you know. It's just that..."

Draco wrapped his hand around his father's wrist and squeezed in a gesture of affection. "I know, father. But she's been gone for a long time. You deserve to find love again." Draco dropped his hand and added with smile, "I am a little weirded out that it's with one of my best friends, but I suppose I'll manage to get over it."

"I'm glad for that, because if I have my way Hermione will be around for a very long time. So what charm was on the book?"

"It was Italian. Tocco Vero Amore."

"True Love's Touch," translated Lucius. "Just as I suspected. It's some kind of love recognition spell isn't it? It makes sense, since we both noticed the intense attraction to each other the first time we touched skin to skin. Instead of revealing a love at first sight, it's love recognition by touch. Have you been able to research it? Found its source?"

Draco nodded. "Yes, everything you said is pretty much spot on. And I think I've figured out why Macnair thought it was a Compulsion Charm. One source, probably the only one he bothered to check, describes the results of the spell as an undeniable attraction to the first touch after the charm's enactment. What that source failed to mention was the attraction was only to the first touch of the victim's true love."

"Tell me about the charm. What is it's history?" Unlike Macnair, Lucius wanted to know as much as possible about the charm that had changed his life.

"The spell was first devised in the sixteenth century by a very romantic Italian Strega with seven daughters. She had good intentions, but it ended tragically."

"Hmm... yes, these things usually do," commented Lucius.

"Her eldest daughter had married happily and the witch wanted each of her other girls to find her own true love. As each of the daughters came of courting age the mother cast the 'True Love's Touch' spell on her. When the wizards came courting, they flirted and touched and danced and true love's touch found each girl her own true love time and time again. However, when it came time for the youngest daughter, the witch cast the spell but none of the young wizards who came to court her were the right one. Then at a village wedding, the girl danced with her oldest sister's husband. Remember, the oldest daughter hadn't used the spell to find her spouse, but when the sister and her brother-in-law touched during the dance the spell was triggered. They were soul mates, but he was already wed to her sister. The youngest daughter, realizing she would never have her own true love, became despondent and eventually threw herself into the river and drowned. The brother-in-law, who'd been quite happy in his marriage up until then, took to drinking and fell from his broom to his death one night in a drunken stupor. The oldest daughter ended up a widow, bitter and broken."

"Sad tale," muttered Lucius.

"Yes, well, probably a very good illustration as to why love spells, although they sound very romantic, are an extremely bad idea. It's pure coincidence and a miracle of fate that you and Hermione connected after she was exposed to the spell. If you hadn't found each other she might have gone all her life never finding happiness and love," said Draco.

"I do intend to make her very, very happy, Draco. But in order to do that I need to know where she is. I'm fairly sure she's hidden herself using the Fidelius charm. If you're her Secret Keeper you could help me with that."

Draco grimaced. "Sorry, I can't. I promised. Hermione takes issues of trust seriously."

Lucius nodded glumly. What Draco said was true, even more so after the debacle with Severus. "I can't win her back if I can't find her, son."

Draco just shrugged. "You're an intelligent man. You'll have to figure something out, father."

Lucius paced back and forth in the small space that wasn't covered by books. If Draco had arranged the safe house for Hermione it was probably one of the many Malfoy holdings. Chances were Draco would have chosen a place far away and little used. That narrowed the choices, but still not enough. Ren had admitted he was helping Hermione, bringing her food and books from the manor's library, but had also said that he had specific orders not to tell Lucius the location. But... Ren didn't have to tell him where it was to take him there.

"I'll need a copy of your research and findings, and that book as well."

Draco quickly produced the requested items and Lucius whirled and headed for the door.

"Leaving already, father?"

"I think I know how to find her. If this doesn't work, I'll be back to wring your scrawny neck, son."

Draco laughed. "I always thought I got my sense of humor from mother, but maybe you had something to do with it too."

Lucius looked at him grimly. "Who says I'm joking?"

Draco just laughed harder. "Good luck, father. I hope whatever you've figured out works."

Lucius arrived back at the manor and summoned Ren.

"You called Ren, master?"

"Yes, Ren. I'd like you to prepare a picnic basket with a nice lunch for two and bring it back here to the library." The elf disappeared and Lucius busied himself putting together a pile of several books about love spells and charms, knowing that Hermione would want to conduct her own research.

Ren returned with the picnic basket. He looked a little confused. "Should Ren be setting up your picnics here in the library, master?"

"No, Ren. I will be having the picnic with Miss Hermione. You will take me to where she is."

"Master, knows that Ren cannot be telling where Miss Hemione is being," said Ren cautiously, looking worried.

"I don't want you to tell me anything at all. You will follow the orders given by Master Draco. I don't need to know the name of the place. Just take me there with you."

The house-elf considered Lucius' request carefully for a few moments. His huge eyes rolled first to one side then to the other. He crossed his arms across his chest and stared at the ground, then scratched his head and looked at the ceiling. Finally he spoke, "I is being thinking that Master Draco only is telling Ren he is not to give the name of Missy's secret place to the master. Master Draco is saying nothing about Ren not to be taking the master there. So Ren will be taking you there as you asks, master."

Seconds later they arrived at the Villa San Malfoy. He hadn't been to this place in years, he'd forgotten how lovely it was. Lucius told Ren to set up the picnic in the garden and put it under a stasis charm, then return home.

Lucius set off in search of Hermione. He found her a few moments later, sun-bathing in a lounge chair next to a beautiful blue pool. She was wearing a Muggle swim-suit that was little more than a few scraps of fabric. Lucius found that he was quickly gaining an appreciation these days for many things Muggle. He heart ached as he admired his girl from the cool shadows of the house before stepping out into the Mediterranean sun to greet her.

"Hello, sweetheart."

She'd been dozing. She lifted her head and looked around, then jumped to her feet when she realized that he was really there and not a dream or an illusion. "Lucius!" she gasped, tossing on a lacy cover-up that really didn't cover up much of anything. "How did you find me? Did Draco..."

"No, he didn't give you away. I looked everywhere for you, Potter even helped me. When it seemed that you'd disappeared completely I figured out you must be hiding under a Fidelius Charm. Then it occurred to me the one friend I hadn't checked with was Draco. He wouldn't tell me where you were, and Ren was under orders not to tell me where you were either. Luckily, there were never any orders given not to bring me here with him." Lucius grinned at her. "Voilà, here I am."

"Lucius, you shouldn't have come," she said, the joy fading from her face. "Nothing's changed."

"Everything has changed, love."

Hermione looked sad. "No, it hasn't. I can still feel the Compulsion Charm." She took a few steps closer to him, but then forced herself to stop. "I want you so badly I ache."

Lucius smiled and reached out to touch her cheek. Unconsciously craving his touch, she leaned into his hand. "It's not compulsion, sweet, it's love. True love. I kept trying to tell you and everyone, but no one would listen to me. Draco's found the proof. Here." He produced the copies of Draco's research as well as the book. "That idiot Macnair didn't even bother to take the book out of the box when it was sent to your shop."

Hermione grabbed the papers and stepped back to drop onto the end of the lounge chair. She scanned them quickly. Lucius settled back in the chair, his legs straddling chaise as she continued to shuffle through the papers.

"Is this true?" she asked in disbelief. "Tocco Vero Amore? My Italian's a little rusty..."

"True Love's Touch. It's a recognition spell for true love through first touch. Remember that moment in the attic, when I disarmed you and sent your Patronus away?" Lucius pulled her back against his chest, his hand gently covering her mouth, reenacting that first touch. Then his hand slid down to caress her throat, holding her head pressed back to his shoulder as his thumb stroked lightly at her pulse point. "We both felt the attraction immediately. This is where it began, my love. But it wasn't a compulsion forced upon us, it was a recognition of what was within us. What we hadn't known until that very instant."

"Dear Merlin. Can it be true?" She twisted around to gaze into his eyes.

"Draco has documented all his research. I'm sure, knowing you, that you will want to confirm it all yourself. But could you possibly take pity on an old man and wait until tomorrow to start that, my dear? I've spent the last week searching for you and now I've brought a lovely picnic to share and I just want to hold you in my arms and love you."

Hermione pulled herself up to turn and straddle his lap. She wrapped her arms around Lucius' neck, threading her fingers through his hair, pulling him to her for a kiss. It started slow, a brush of her lips against his, then the tip of her tongue teasing him, a flick here, a tickle there, then it slipped between his lips to taunt his mouth. She was playing with fire and before long it consumed her as he took control and devoured her. When the kiss came to an end they were both breathless.

Hermione reached down and carefully stacked all the papers in a neat file and returned them to the folder in which Lucius had brought them. "I think the research can wait until tomorrow, or perhaps even the day after that. Until then I'm sure I'm going to be much too busy getting reacquainted with my own true love. I hope that picnic can wait awhile as well, because I think I'm hungry for something else entirely."

"Stasis charm," Lucius muttered as he swung Hermione up in his arms while he tried to recall the location of the villa's master suite. Oh well, if he remembered correctly there were six other bedrooms; if he didn't find it the first time they'd just have to keep trying.

Fin