"Mark must be through in the kitchen. Let me go talk to him for a moment," Jane said quietly, disappearing from their sight down the hallway.
"Let's go straight up to my room so you can set bags down on the floor," Hermione murmured, leading the way up the carpeted stairs.
He followed her footsteps closely, stopping right at entrance of her bedroom to look around the space. It was the same as he remembered from his previous visits, but gentlemanly instincts felt it was wrong to cross without being explicitly invited inside by the lady of the room.
Hermione turned her body around after reaching the edge of mattress, noticing him frozen in doorway. "Are you just going to stand out there like a statue, Lucifer, or going to come in?"
Lucifer looked at her face for a brief beat before nodding, slowly walking over. He reached the side of her bed and set her school bags down with a soft click. "Even though we are not going to do anything that would get us into trouble, pet, it just didn't feel.. right to walk into your private space without your word."
A beautiful smile broke through her previous distress, and she stepped closer to him. "How considerate of you, Mr. Morningstar," she teased softly. Then stood high on her tiptoes, her hands reaching up to rest firmly on broad shoulders, pulling his face down toward hers so she could passionately kiss those lips of his.
They separated slowly, their breaths mingling, only when sharp sound of a voice clearing its throat cut through the quiet room.
"Aren't you two getting well acquainted with each other again," Jane said, standing in the doorway with a knowing smirk playing on her lips.
"Mum! That is not funny!" Hermione yelled, her cheeks instantly burning as she jumped back.
"...She was the one who started it, Mrs. Granger," Lucifer muttered rapidly, his face turning away as he tried to offer a formal apology to the parent.
"Lucifer!" His girlfriend squealed in pure agony.
"What on earth are you apologizing for, boy?" Jane laughed softly, walking past the door. "I know very well that you and Hermione care for each other like no one else, Lucifer. But I'll tell you both what I told her before the term started: just don't do something inside these bedrooms that you might deeply regret later down the line."
"Understood, ma'am," Lucifer agreed instantly, his posture going rigid.
"You'll be staying in the makeshift guest room located just across the hall this time, Lucifer," Jane said, turning her face back to look at her daughter. "The ceiling in the previous one collapsed a bit during autumn rains. This room sat empty for the past six months, until just earlier before your winter trip, when she wrote asking if you could stay with us... I got the space cleaned and ready. It's not much to look at, but I truly hope it's cozy enough for you to sleep at night."
She said to him.
"I am sure it is way more than I deserve to get, Mrs. Granger," Lucifer said, letting out a slightly harsh, self-deprecating laugh.
"Oh, nonsense! You are easily the best, most magnificent thing to ever happen to my daughter. Honestly, if my father in law, wasn't currently in the house making old-fashioned noises about propriety, I wouldn't have objections to the two of you sharing the same room."
Jane smirked widely, her eyes dancing as Hermione's face burned with an unprecedented wave of embarrassment.
"Mum!" She screamed, looking like she was genuinely about to die from the humiliation right there on her carpet rug.
"What? I know what your teenage hormones are like, Hermione. I know what unique fluids... you need to drink up from your boyfriend's body every day just to survive your school terms," Jane's wicked smirk went even wider if humanly possible, making it glaringly clear that her sharp mother's eye knew all about the private collection of semen, preserved urine her daughter had meticulously stored inside her bedroom's locked cabinet under magical Preservation Charms.
Lucifer found himself aggressively looking anywhere but at Hermione's face or her mother's eyes, his own cheeks burning as he focused on a random pattern in the wallpaper to escape the embarrassment of the conversation.
"Alright, I'm going to head back downstairs to get the dinner prepared," Jane said, her amusement settling. "Obviously, we maintain a strict policy of none of the... usual magical talk around Mark. The poor fellow would probably go into immediate physical shock if he discovered the truth," she said before turning to leave for the kitchen.
xxxxxx
The moment her mother's footsteps faded down the stairs, Hermione grabbed Lucifer's hand, pulling him across the hallway to inspect his temporary quarters. She looked around the tight room, noting that there wasn't much since it was a newly arranged, sparse guest room. "Like Mum said, it's not much, but it'll do you no problem for the holidays."
"It's honestly more than enough," Lucifer said smoothly, lowering himself down to test the mattress. The springs let out a stiff creak. "Not too comfy, though..."
"Oh! Well, I—I can go find some extra pillows down in the---"
"It's okay. This stiffness is just right for my internal clock," he said, his words surprising her.
"What do you mean by 'this stiffness is just right,' Lucifer? If the mattress isn't comfortable, then---" Hermione continued, her perfectionism trying to turn the bedding into a massive deal.
"Hermione," Lucifer said softly, standing up to place his large hands firmly over her shoulders to halt her pacing. "I mean this is a good thing. I hate the concept of sleeping in past dawn, and this hard bed allows me to not get comfortable enough that I'll risk failing to get up in the morning after eight o'clock."
"Well... I suppose that is a fair point for you..." She grumbled in reluctant agreement, her cheeks still a faint pink, looked at Lucifer carefully, her fingers twitching against her skirt. "Well... I am going to head back to unpack my school bags."
"Want me to come over and help you sort the books?" he offered gently.
"No!" Hermione said loudly and far too quickly, her voice hitting a sharp pitch. "No, no! I--I've got it handled myself. Don't worry about it at all," she said, putting a bit of heavy, defensive force behind her voice.
"Okay...? If you're sure," Lucifer said, his dark eyes eying her rigid posture carefully, sensing a sudden shift in her tone.
"I am perfectly sure, but thank you for the offer," She said rapidly.
Then quickly left his bedroom, crossed the narrow hallway into her own space, and shoved the oak door closed behind her back. She turned the brass key in the lock, letting out a ragged, frantic sigh of physical relief against the wood. "Godric's ghost... that was too close for comfort..." she whispered through her teeth.
She walked over to luggage on the floor and dug her fingers through the robes all the way down to bottom compartment. Hermione slowly pulled out a hidden, newly enchanted object she had privately created inside her warded dormitory at Hogwarts after meticulously analyzing every micro-dimension of his cock during their late-night sessions.
She stowed the complex item deep inside back drawer of her nightstand out of sight. If Lucifer had actually caught her hand with that explicit item today, she would have literally died from irreversible embarrassment on the spot.
Hermione could never let her pride discover that she had gone ahead and created a magically warmed replica of his crotch to sexually relieve herself whenever she got far too horny, and he wasn't physically there to fuck her brains out.
Taking a deep breath to smooth her features, she walked back over to the door, unlocked brass mechanism, and opened back just a slight fraction so that it could simply be pushed open if he needed her, returning to her trunk with a calm heart.
xxxxxx
"Hermione! Lucifer! Dinner's almost ready, would you both mind setting the table?"
She heard her mother's voice echo up the carpeted stairs. The bushy-haired girl walked over and turned the handle of door just as Lucifer fluidly appeared in his own doorway.
Offering him a soft, brilliant smile, which his eyes warmly returned, and the two of them walked side-by-side down corridor toward ground floor.
Lucifer simply followed her lead, his long strides keeping perfect pace with her. After efficiently setting polished forks and knives across the mahogany table, they were abruptly approached by the newcomer, Mark, who walked into dining room with hands tucked nervously into pockets. "So... you're Jane's daughter..."
"And you're her new boyfriend..." Hermione said tersely, her eyes racking his posture with a distinctly cold, territorial evaluation.
Mark seemed immensely fidgety under her clinical gaze. "Right... er—"
At that tense moment, Jane came through kitchen door holding a steaming plate of food. "Well, sit down, won't you? Surely it's more comfortable than standing around like soldiers, innit?" she asked, letting out a small, nervous giggle to break the ice.
"Of course, Mum," Hermione smiled warmly, her tone instantly shifting as she claimed her usual chair. Lucifer lowered onto the seat right beside her, keeping posture close to hers.
Grandpa Wendell, of course, had decided not to be present at the table tonight, using the excuse of a guest to remain hidden away inside his private study room.
Mark and Jane sat down directly opposite the teenagers. The mother only lowered herself onto her cushion after making certain that four individual plates of food were fixed up and placed right in front of each person's hands.
It was a few long, quiet moments into the meal before anyone dared to initiate a conversation, and that person was Jane, again, her fingers tracing the rim of her glass, "So, how was school these past three and a half months, sweetie? You didn't call home nearly as much as you usually do during this year."
"It was pretty good, Mum. Lucifer and I are learning quite a bit more advanced material than last term," Hermione said as vaguely and smoothly as humanly possible, her fork idly shifting her vegetables to hide her tracks.
"Your mother didn't actually tell me what subject you were studying to be, Hermione," Mark piped in, leaning forward over his plate.
"She didn't?" Hermione asked, her brow furrowing with a sharp, questioning look directed straight at her mother across the table.
"Well, I simply figured you'd be able to explain your coursework better than I ever could, dear," Jane said quickly, giving her daughter a highly apologetic look.
She forced a fake but convincing, pleasant smile onto her lips, sharply thinking with speed to protect the secrecy of Hogwarts. "Well... I am currently studying to be financial expert. Or, at least, once I officially go to University next year, that is what my major will be."
"Nice. That's excellent," Mark chuckled, cutting his meat. "Maybe you can give me some professional help later on after you graduate."
Jane let out a short, hearty laugh as well, looking thoroughly pleased by the interaction. "What about you, Lucifer? What field are you going to University for?"
"A healer," Lucifer said casually, taking a sip of his water.
Mark sat there frozen, looking stunned for a brief beat as he processed the accent. "I... I honestly wasn't expecting you to be an American..."
"Oh, did I not tell you that, Mark?" Jane asked, blinking innocently.
"I'd definitely remember if you had told me your daughter's boarding school boyfriend was an American," Mark said, his head turning to look at her with an uneasy expression.
"Well, it's out in the open now," Lucifer said, continuing to eat his meal with an unbothered grace.
"Right..." he cleared his throat rapidly, trying to regain his footing. "So, a healer, eh? Going to go work at local city hospital after certification?"
"What? No... no. I was actually thinking about funding and opening a few private hospitals myself down the line," Lucifer explained with a flat, matter-of-fact tone.
"Okay," Mark simply said, his voice trailing off. Internally, he was outghasted and bewildered by the claim; he was secretly starting to wonder whether Jane's brilliant daughter was a gold digger, and dating some kind of billionaire.
Lucifer continued eating his dinner in a calm, elegant silence. But Mark then asked, his human curiosity unable to hold itself back for long as he stared across the candles.
"So... apologies if this question is insensitive, Lucifer, but what's the situation with your red eyes?"
"I painted them with blood," Lucifer said flatly, his eyes flashing as he cast a slow, wicked glance to his right at Hermione's face.
Mark let out a sudden, loud bark of laughter, shaking his head. "Hahah! Jane, he is bloody hilarious."
Hermione was intensely, tightly listening to every word that left Lucifer's mouth, she became rigid as though she were ready to jump across the table and manually clap a hand over his lips if he said too much about the underworld. "So, Mum," she cut in rapidly, shifting the dangerous topic away. "How long ago did you and Mark actually meet?"
"Oh, it's been about three months now, dear," Jane said sheepishly, her face flushing slightly at having successfully kept her new relationship a total secret from her daughter for that long. "I... I honestly didn't know how to tell you the news properly without you being here... I'm so sorry, dear."
"No, it's alright," Hermione forced a bright smile onto her face; inside her chest, she felt it was far from alright, but maintained her decorum, "But I do wish you had chosen to tell me the truth a bit sooner."
"This food is wonderful, Jane," Lucifer's voice sliced cleanly through the developing tension as his fingers adjusted the fork. He consciously removed married title from his speech, calling her by first name just as she had requested during their vacation drive.
"Oh, thank you so much, Lucifer," Jane smiled brightly, her shoulders relaxing as the sudden weight of the tension lifted from the table.
"It really is, Mum," Hermione piggybacked off praise for cooking, letting out a soft sigh of relief.
Her mother practically swelled with the mutual praise, cheeks pinking. "Oh, really now, you two! I feel like you're both just saying it to be sweet."
"No, I am being serious, the food is spectacular," Lucifer said, offering the woman a charming, brilliant smile.
The Dining room fell into a quiet, comfortable silence for a few moments as everyone finished their plates, then Hermione directed another sharp question straight to her mother's boyfriend. "So, Mark, what industry is you do for career?"
"Hermione!" Jane lightly chastised her daughter from across the table, her brow furrowing at the blunt interrogation.
"No, no, Jane, it's a valid, fair question for her to ask," Mark said, turning his face back to look at the teenage girl across the glasses, squaring his shoulders as if he were readying his lines for corporate war, "I'm operating in a high-risk, high-reward business..."
"Oh, the international Stock Market?" Lucifer asked, wiping his mouth with his napkin.
"Yeah! Exactly! How did you guess that?" Mark asked, looking thoroughly surprised. But before Lucifer could answer, Hermione was the next to speak.
'Oh... how wonderful. A gambler,' She thought dryly. "And what does that trading entail?" Hermione asked, a look of faux intrigue plastered across her outward expression. She was doing the performance strictly to be polite to her mother's choices, but unfortunately allowed the man to launch into a solid five-minute monologue about Asset margins, trading floors, and fiscal projections, things that she, magic oriented witch didn't care about.
xxxxxxx
The dinner plates had been cleaned finished before too long, and Jane stood up from her seat. "Well, who here is ready for a bit of dessert?"
"What did you make for us tonight?" Hermione asked, her mouth practically drooling at the thought, her instincts already knowing what sweet dish her mother had prepared for holiday return.
"Banoffee Pie," Jane said with a proud smile. She wasn't even slightly surprised when Lucifer was the only person at the table to stare back at her face with a blank, uneducated expression. "It's got fresh bananas and rich English toffee in the cream, Lucifer. Hence the name."
"Oh... after explaining the words, that makes sense," Lucifer said, a light smile curling on his lips. In truth, the dessert sounded good, but knew he would have to try a piece first to know the quality for sure.
"It's not an original recipe, but I've gotten quite good at making the crust over the years. I'll go fetch the tray," Jane said, stepping toward door, "Hermione, if you'll clear the dirty plates up from dinner."
"Okay," She said, standing up from her chair as well, began gathering up the heavy plates from the table, and Lucifer immediately offered to help her lift the stack, but Hermione firmly told him to stay seated where he was; she would handle the counter.
After all, carrying four porcelain plates was nothing she couldn't easily manage, cleared the dining room door and deposited the plates into kitchen sink with a soft clatter.
Her mother was standing right beside at the counter, carefully slicing up the golden Banoffee Pie into neat triangles. "You know, Hermione, that was rather rude how you asked Mark what he did for a living after he sat down."
"Well, I needed to know with certainty that he could take care of you properly, Mum," Hermione said, her eyes turning to look at woman, "You're my mother. I have right to look after your future and safety too. It doesn't have to just be the other way around all the time."
"Alright... I know when you make a valid point. You are intelligent," Jane smiled warmly, leaning over to hand her daughter two completed dessert plates. "Let's go back inside and give the men their dessert."
Hermione almost physically cringed at the phrasing, her brow furrowing. "Did you really have to say the words like that, Mum? It sounds perverted."
She merely let out a wicked smirk at her daughter as she and Hermione carried two plates each back into the lit dining room.
To their surprise, both of the males were currently engaged in a relaxed, flowing conversation, but whatever topic they were discussing was lost to the girls' ears as their arrival drew the men's attention back to the table.
"We've brought you dessert."
"It looks," Mark paused, his eyes entirely onto Jane's face and not the actual pie when he spoke, "Absolutely, delicious."
Hermione somehow managed to keep herself from vomiting at the cheesy display as she sat back down beside Lucifer, handing him silver fork and plate. "It may not be an original, secret recipe, Lucifer, but Mum always makes it taste good."
"There's only one way to find," Lucifer said with a smirk, sticking his fork straight into the thick layer of cream and toffee.
He put the piece into his mouth and chewed slowly for a moment. She watched his face as he did, eyes searching features for any possible, minute sign of discomfort or dislike as he tasted her mother's baking.
Much to her intense chagrin, he remained neutral and unreadable as he chewed, she knew that he was showing that stoic routine on purpose just to intentionally annoy her.
The silence of the wait was getting to her nerves. "Oh, just answer me! Is the pie good or not!?"
Lucifer looked her straight in the eyes and let out a slow, teasing smirk, "It's honestly one of the best desserts I have ever had, Granger."
Hermione immediately returned his brilliant smile, her shoulders relaxing, "You are an arsehole, Lucifer Morningstar, you know that?"
"Yes, I am aware. But I am 'your' arsehole," he said winking, taking another bite of the banoffee pie as she blushed.
xxxxxxx
After it was finished, the used plateware was taken back to kitchen sink, Hermione and Jane efficiently washed the dishes together. Lucifer walked in, offering to help with the drying given that he felt useless sitting idle.
But Jane too wasn't having it, pointing a soapy finger toward the hallway as she spoke playfully to him,"You will go straight to the sitting room this instant, Lucifer, and plop your arse right onto the couch."
He knew miles better than to argue with Hermione's mother, given that his clever girl and Jane were lot alike in their stubbornness, so he did what the woman told him to do.
Sat down on the plush couch, with Mark claiming an armchair on the far end of sitting room. The man didn't seem particularly keen on finishing their casual conversation about soccer tactics anymore.
Lucifer turned his head and noticed he was still quietly, gauging at the red alignment of his eyes. 'What a dickhead,' he thought dryly to himself, leaning back into cushions.
Before Mark could find the nerve to voice another comment about his appearance, Jane walked into living room from the kitchen, "Hermione is currently requesting your immediate assistance out the back."
"Did she happen to mention what task it was, by any chance?" he asked her, rising from the sofa.
"No, she wasn't particularly keen on sharing the details with me, but out back on stone patio," She informed him with a warm smile.
"Okay. Thank you, Jane," Lucifer said, his polite naming earning another sweet smile from the mother as he cleared the carpet. Mark, sitting rigidly in his armchair, narrowed his eyes slightly; for some unknown reason, felt something incredibly fishy and secretive was going on between these two girls and the mysterious American boy.
Lucifer walked through the dark kitchen to back sliding glass door, sliding panel open and then closing it securely behind to keep out winter chill, "Hey, pet. You need me out here?"
"Yes. Look at the scene," Hermione murmured. She was sitting down on the stone bench, her eyes motioning to the magnificent, silver, moonlit scenario they found themselves in. "I need you to step over, kiss me properly, and share this romantic feeling I have tonight."
Lucifer smiled widely, stepping across to hold his hand out to her. She looked up under the winter sky, and in bright silver moonlight. He could clearly make out a beautiful, faint blush coloring her cheeks as her fingers gently took his hand, standing up until her chest was pressed flush against his heart.
He inched face closer to hers, and she met his lips halfway, allowing them to share a deep, lingering kiss under the moonlight that chased away drop of the world's noise.
xxxxxx
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