Hey everyone, finally got some spare time from a hectic work schedule so I was finally able to work on more chapters. Hope you guys enjoy it. Lumione forever. Thanks to all my followers/reviewers so far and as always, I look forward to hearing what you all have to say! Here we go!

Warnings for this chapter: Violence, darkfic

ADMIRABLE SENTIMENTS

CHAPTER 5

Everything was quiet. There was nothing. Nothing but darkness. And that's the way it stayed until, for whatever reason, she began to stir. Her conscious mind was coming back as brown eyes slowly opened. However, hardly anything about the action was pleasant. At first, everything was incredibly blurred. After fighting the resistance of her relaxed arm, it took a few moments to rub whatever it was from her eyes to see properly.

Though, as her hand continued to rub her eyes, a dull pounding within her head made the Witch close her eyes once more she groaned. Why did her head feel so...she couldn't find the right word as an ache pulsed up her spine. She gave another groan. Why did her body feel so sore? It was like she had run for miles and then some. What could she have possibly done the day before that-

Despite the how stiff she felt, Her body jolted into an upright position as a particular memory flooded her mind. Her eyes popped open for a moment before they forced themselves shut as her body protested such a sudden movement. It was all coming back to her. The forest, her abduction, and him.

"Mr. Malfoy."

She gasped as her words fell from her lips, remembering now how it was him who had cast the cruciatus curse upon her. But it was also in that same moment that Hermione found herself taken back. As her eyes took in the room she sat in, the young witch saw what she hadn't at all been expecting. All around her were the house colors of Gryffindor. Her house.

In fact, as she peered around the room Hermione noticed that besides the bed being a bit bigger with a different throw cover, an overwhelming sense of relief washed over her. She was in the head girl dorm. She was at Hogwarts.

But, how could that be? Everything she remembered happening last night felt so...real. Even her body felt like hell. Could it have really just been a dream? A nightmare? She didn't remember making it to the castle. She remembered being taken. Had someone found her? That had to be it.

Harry and Ron had told someone and she had been rescued. Nodding her head, Hermione determined that was the only explanation. There was no way she wouldn't have remembered enjoying her first dinner back at Hogwarts.

Sitting there for a moment longer, Hermione decided she had best get moving. She had no idea what time it was, where her friends were, and come to think of it...she was probably missing a class right now. However, upon moving, it was all Hermione could do to just hiss at how stiff she felt. She found herself sitting down on the edge of the bed instead.

Tears were felt forming in her eyes as a wave of emotion hit her. She still wasn't sure if it all had actually happened or if it had just been a dream, but either way, Hermione didn't like it. It had been so long since she had actually felt fear like that. Sheer panic that truly rendered her helpless.

And whether Lucius had been there in reality or in her dreams, he had absolutely managed to make her feel like there was nothing she would have been able to do to actually defend herself. All of his looks and expressions had seemed somewhat...feral.

An intense shiver passed through her whole body at the thought as she drew her arms protectively around her own middle. Letting out a sigh, Hermione took in a breathe. This would all pass sooner than later if she let it. She had to take control of her mind and push whatever had or hadn't happened away. She slowly placed her hands on the bed and prepared to stand from it once more.

"Better now than never..." She spoke out loud. "And just think, no one should be at the library this early on in the year."

Taking a tentative step away from the bed, Hermione let a smile form on her face as she straightened up. If she indeed had been rescued, then a simple trip to Poppy would relieve her of the aches and dull pains that were pulsating throughout her body. Physically, it would be a simple fix.

But, as Hermione walked the length of the room, something caught her attention. There, in the far left corner of the room was a mirror. And while she normally wouldn't have thought anything of it, the fact that it was inconsistent with the rest of the rooms decor that made Hermione halt.

"That's a bit out of place." She mumbled.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the object. It was silver. Why on Earth would something silver be in the Gryffindor house? Silver was not a Gryffindor color. To say it struck her as odd was a bit of an understatement. It was downright suspicious. And while anyone else might have looked passed it or simply not acknowledge it at all, Hermione always had an eye for detail.

Pursing her lips, Hermione made her way toward the mirror. As she approached it she tilted her head slightly as her eyes took in the ornate craftsmanship. The design was positively elaborate with an elegance that seemed to overshadow everything else in the room. Come to think of it, this was something Hermione imagined one might find in the Slytherin common rooms.

"What are you doing all the way up here?" She directed the question toward the mirror.

Inching closer as to take in the details, she examined the scrollwork for a moment until she spotted it. Hermione's eyes opened wide as she recoiled from the mirror. She took a few steps back, putting a decent amount of distance between herself and the mirror. Was that what she thought it was? Was she seeing things? Her mind toying with her?

A rather concerned look was laced with and expression of both anxiety and confusion. Her brown eyes looked about the room before they once more found the mirror. Biting the inside of her cheek, Hermione decided a closer inspection was needed. Besides, there was no way. They wouldn't have ever allowed such a possession to make its way into the Gryffindor house. That was absurd.

However, as Hermione's eyes landed on a single letter, her head seemed to move on its own accord as it shook side to side. How could this be? For there, at the bottom of the mirror, the letter 'M' was engraved. It stared back at Hermione as intimidatingly as any object could.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Hermione breathed. Her hand moved from her side, slightly trembling as she came closer and closer to brushing her fingertips over the letter.

"If you have any sense at all, you'll refrain from touching that."

It was all she could do to not scream as his voice reached her ears. Noticeably jumping, Hermione turned to her right sharply. Why in the name of Merlin, was he standing in her room at Hogwarts? Hermione swallowed hard trying to find her voice. Was she still dreaming?

"H-how did you get in here?" She was shocked.

Lucius didn't answer right away. No, he merely stood by the closed door and watched Hermione as she stood rigidly near the mirror. He could see and feel the slight panic in both her voice and her expression. It was enough to draw out a huff from Lucius as he watched her try and control her breathing. His silence was undoubtedly scaring her as he took a few lazy steps toward her.

"M-Mr. Malfoy..." She watched him warily. "Please leave."

For a moment, Hermione thought he might have been considering her request. His only reply was the slight quirk of one of his aristocratic eyebrows as he continued to look at her.

"Unfortunately, you are not in a position to make such...requests, Miss. Granger."

Hermione scowled.

"And why is that? After all, a Death Eater inside the school? The Ministry wouldn't hesitate to put you back in Azkaban if a professor were to be alerted."

A surge of confidence. It made Lucius chuckle.

"It wouldn't prove wise to threaten me." Lucius's subtle smirk didn't go unnoticed.

What was he playing at?

"It wouldn't exactly prove wise for you to attack a student at Hogwarts either, Mr. Malfoy."

"Dear me, I suppose you would be right..." He mused

"Would be?" Hermione's scowl deepened, eying him, her head turned slightly.

"My dear, if we were at Hogwarts you indeed might hold some power over the situation. In fact, If you were at Hogwarts I wouldn't be standing here as I do now, would I? For, a Malfoy inside the Gryffindor Commons, that would have raised an alarm indeed. I'm afraid I wouldn't have gotten very far."

Hermione's defensive disposition dropped slightly. She couldn't contain the small laugh of mockery as she gave Lucius a rather...perplexed expression.

"Are you mad? Look around you, sir. This is the head girl dorm." She stated.

"Is it really?"

"Of course." She was positive.

"Then pray tell, why would a Malfoy family heirloom be hung on the wall at Hogwarts, hm?"

Hermione broke eye contact with him to look in the mirror. That was a fair question. Come to think of it, why would that be? She knew that he Malfoy's were charitable... but with their money, not their possessions. She found Lucius's eyes again. The only explanation that popped into her mind was that-

"What are you saying?" She dared him to continue.

It was as if she was watching him in slow motion. The smile that crept up on his face was almost enough to leave Hermione breathless. It wasn't malicious but it wasn't exactly friendly either. His eyes were beginning to burn with the same hunger she had seen before-

"Such a pity. I would have thought that you would have been able to detect that this room has been charmed, Miss Granger."

"This room is transfigured..t-this...this isn't..." Hermione choked on her words.

"Hogwarts?." He said, eyes becoming expressive. "Oh no. You'll find reality can be quite...deceptive."

And then, he advanced.

Hermione's feet moved on their own until she once more found herself stuck. Her back had hit the wall. Her head bumped into the corner of the mirror and in an instant, colors swirled before her as everything in the room began to change. The only constant was herself and the ever frighteningly imposing sight of Lucius Malfoy as he crossed the threshold of Hermione's own personal space. A large hand grabbed her upper left arm.

Tearing her from her spot against the wall, Hermione was flung toward the bed. As the room took on its real appearance, the witch realized he was telling her the truth. She was not at Hogwarts. They were not at Hogwarts. She looked about the room wildly. Lucius obviously found her fear stricken behavior amusing as he laughed in her direction. It was deep, rich, and would have been attractive if he wasn't looking at her in that way. Like he wanted to eat her... like he wanted to kill her.

"Tell me Mudblood, what do you think of the furnishing?"

And while she had assumed earlier where she had been brought, Hermione found his eyes, the question forming on her lips. She needed confirmation.

"I-is..is this the-"

"The Manor?" He finished "Why of course! Who else would have such exquisite material possessions?"

"B-but why did you bring me here?"

He was standing before her now. Well, towering was more like it, and as she stared up at Lucius Hermione knew...she knew she had been brought to hell.

"Why wouldn't I?" He asked nonchalantly.

Hermione felt a bit dumbfounded. Why wouldn't he? Well, many reasons came to why Lucius Malfoy wouldn't have brought her into his home. The most obvious reason formed on her lips.

"Because I'm a-"

"Muggle?" He interrupted.

Hermione found herself nodding quickly.

"Well, you see that is precisely why, my dear." His wand came into view as he inspected it in the most lackadaisical fashion before turning his gaze upon her once more from the corner of his eyes.

"After all, what place better than the Manor..." He turned to look at her in full now, expression returning a predatory state while his tone remained somewhat personable, "To teach a muggle that she is nothing more-"

He was going to say it…

"Than a Filthy-"

He was saying it…

"Little-"

This was bad.

"Mudblood?"

He said it.

He said the words so pleasantly that Hermione didn't think of what might happen next. A curse hit her so fast she didn't have time to draw in another breath. In fact, it had been stolen from her altogether. She tried and tried for oxygen but the spell Lucius had cast was meant to choke her. Fear was obvious in her eyes as her hands almost clawed at the throat, trying desperately to tear the invisible weight from her neck so she could breathe. She didn't know how long she would last. But, For a moment the curse was lifted and Hermione coughed and choked as oxygen flooded her lungs until-

"Everberus!"

A guttural, ear piercing scream echoed through the room. Hermione was only vaguely aware she was the one screaming. She began to sweat profusely. She was being hit over and over again, all over her body. The fist he had conjured was most likely so he didn't have to touch her more than necessary.

And then it all stopped. Hermione found herself face to face with the Malfoy patriarch. The expression on his face was angry. It was dark. Hermione wondered if at all that look could worsen.

"How does it feel, Mudblood? How does feel to know you have no power? That no magic could possibly assist you. You do not deserve such a privilege." He sneered down at her. "Tell me."

"It's all very disappointing..." She coughed her words out.

"Hm, yes I'm sure it would be-"

"No you don't understand, sir-" She coughed again

"What I mean is, It's disappointing that someone wouldn't have a heart. T-that...that someone would forcibly take away the privilege I had been given when they don't have the right. Magic chose me, Mr. Malfoy. I would have thought someone such as yourself would have been educated enough to know that."

And in that moment, Hermione suddenly wished she had not of wondered if he could look any more terrifying. For the second the insult left her mouth, Lucius let out the deepest, feral growl. His lip twitched as his pupils shrank before almost immediately dilating within an instant.

His breath was lost before it suddenly returned raggedly as his heart rate increased. His stare was fixed on her and her alone. Hermione realized the mistake she had made when her head was knocked to the right by a powerful source. Lucius had hit her. With his own bare hand, he had hit her!

Hermione cried out in pain. The left side of her face, it burned. It was bruising already. Her tears could not be contained. They streamed down her face as a sob emitted from her. Her hands immediately went to cradle her face as she tried to turn away from Lucius. But she could not. He held her firmly in place. With all his weight was on her, He was crushing her.

"How dare you, Mudblood!"

He was almost shouting at her.

"How dare you presume you know anything about my intelligence!"

Hermione peeked at him but then looked away just as quickly. His face was truly terrifying. His whole aura trembled with rage from her insult. She looked again and inhaled sharply when his hand jerked back as she struggled against him. Was he going to hit her again?

"No! P-p-please! Don't!" She wailed, bracing for impact. "I'm sorry!"

Hermione would have covered her own mouth if her hand hadn't been preoccupied with her swollen cheek. She had apologized to him even though she was right. But the physical pain that came from his own hand rather than his wand felt worse than magic. And while she was tempted to call him out for striking her in such a 'muggle' manner, at the moment, Hermione knew better.

But as she tensed for the impact that never came, Hermione's heart was still beating a million miles a minute. His grip on her shoulders was painful and only ebbed slightly upon her apology. While he could have continued his onslaught, perhaps it was the fact that she was basically begging, that Lucius ceased his actions.

Whatever it was, Hermione jumped and let out a small squeak when he spoke into her ear. His breath was hot on her already inflamed skin.

"You will learn your place, Miss. Granger. Of that, you can be sure."

His weight was lifted from her and the heat from his body went away as well. Her eyes were closed tightly and they did not open until the door slammed shut. Only then did she truly start to hyperventilate. Her eyes shot open and her breathing was uncontrolled. Her body shook as she scrambled away from the bed and practically fell into a corner of the room. At this point in time, she was sure at the end of it all, she would die.

AUTHORS NOTE:

Ok, so what did you guys think? Hopefully, you all enjoyed it. Right now, Lucius is a dick. For Hermione, things might get a little worse before they get better and I'm letting you guys know right now that at some point...Lucius just might regret his actions for more than one reason. Thank you all for your reviews so far, I love the feedback! You guys are great. Next chapter up soon!