chapter 1 Prologue

Hermione could not look away from him. She needed to convince him and she hoped he would make a right choice.

"Lucius, please," she pleaded, her voice shaking.

"You are asking too much," was his only answer. Cold and hard.

"I am not! This is your choice to make the right decision."

She could see his eyes darken and his lips part, but he said nothing. Hermione waited a few more seconds in silence, hoping he would change his mind, but his impenetrable stare was enough for her to realize she was not going to win this battle.

All was lost. He was lost.

ooo

Three months earlier

Hermione awoke with a scream. Again.

She was used to it by now. Not one night since her return had gone by without her waking up in the middle of the night. Her heart was beating faster than usual and she had to take a few breaths to calm down. She did not want to wake up her parents. They have been through enough already.

Hermione bit her lip and threw a glance at the corner in the room. The place where the shadow had been a lot of times in the last few months. She could feel disappointment rise in her chest as she realized there was no one in the corner. She liked to think that he was there. Watching her. It made her feel better thinking he had not forgotten her. A part of her liked to think that he cared about her enough to visit her room every once and a while. It was horrible to think he moved on easily while she could not get him out of her mind.

Hermione slowly got up from the bed and quietly made her way to the bathroom. On the way there she threw a look at the clock on her nightstand. It was two in the morning.

When she was finally in the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. One would expect she would look better after being home for a whole month and a half. The bruises were gone, but Hermione knew she still looked horrible. There were huge bags under her eyes and she had not gained weight as she was supposed to. She simply could not bring herself to eat. She had no appetite. Food made her sick. Her parents were worried about her behaviour. They could not be more happy when she came back. They thought they got back their daughter. Hermione Granger. The know-it-all, a nice and talkative girl. But after the first few days it became clear she was a different person now. They demanded explainations, but she could not give it to them. It was something personal. Something that would remain between her and Lucius. She could still remember their last conversation at three in the morning, when she woke up screaming.

"Hermione, please, tell us what happened to you! Where were you?" her mum tried.

"I-I-I can't….just leave it, please."

Hermione's dad stepped towards her, but Hermione flinched away from. A few days after her return she realized she was not comfortable with other man's touches, even if it was her dad's.

"We want our little girl back," her mum whispered, tears in her eyes.

If they only knew what their little girl did. Got involved with a Death Eater, killed a man, betrayed what she believed in.

But what Hermione learned from everything she had been through, was that life was not a fairytale.

In the Wizard World she had been a slave, she had been tortured, humiliated. And now she was finally saved. She was back at home, with her parents. She should be happy, she could be grateful for the second chance at life that she got, because not many people did. But she was everything but glad. She did not feel like she belonged back home, she could not smile, she could not talk about normal things. And at the same time she was feeling an enormous guilt because she could see what it was doing to her parents. It would be better for them if she simply disappeared again.

"I am a mess," she said out loud, observing her reflection in the mirror.

She knew she would see Lucius again. Her story with him could not be finished just like that. But she did not expect it to happen that soon. Her entire body tensed as she realized she would have to find him. Sooner the better. She placed her hand on her stomach and let out a shaky sigh.

Lucius needed to know. He was the only one who could help her.

A/N: Hi, guys! I am back! The story of Lucius and Hermione did not want to leave my head! So I decided to write a sequel, I don't know if you will like it or when will I be able to update. But I simply needed to get this published. Tell me what you think. :)