ship_manifesto

Title: Opposites Attack: The Storm-Tossed Ship of Evil Genius
Fandom: Harry Potter
Ship: Lucius/Hermione
Spoilers: Books 1 - 5
Author:

chthonya
Email: chthonicdancer [at] hotmail.com
Note: My thanks to:

kennahijja, whose tolerance for my L/Hr-related musings over the last couple of years has helped me develop the train of thought that has brought me to this essay;
Ayla Pascal (aka

curia_regis) and Ociwen (aka

hydaspes) for doing so much to develop the community of L/Hr writers and readers;
and to all the readers and writers on this ship for sharing the voyage!

ETA: (September 2007)
I wrote this essay over two years ago, and though I've tried to maintain the fic links, I haven't done much editing - so it does not take into account HBP and DH canon. Since then there have been new Lucius/Hermione authors, a few new trends and some new fic. Some day I'll rewrite to better reflect the Lucius/Hermione fandom of today, but meanwhile please bear in mind that parts of it may be a bit dated. And if you're familiar with the Lucius/Hermione ship, suggestions for additions will be welcomed (and credited).

Opposites Attack:
The Storm-Tossed Ship of Evil Genius

Lucius Malfoy, Slytherin: rich, pureblood, a pillar of the wizarding Establishment – and one of the Dark Lord’s closest allies.

Hermione Granger, Gryffindor: middle-class, Muggleborn, determined to change wizarding society for the better – and one of Harry Potter’s best friends.

What on earth could cause these two to come together?

That is the question that led me aboard this ship, after reading one Harry/Lucius story too many made me ponder the dearth of well-written Lucius/Hermione. Almost two years later, I find it less interesting than the question of why we might want to see them come together – so that’s where I’ll start.

Lucius and Hermione: dark, dangerous… and delicious

First of all, be prepared for a bumpy ride: this is an angsty and often angry ship. Oh, it has its moments of humour, but these are mortal enemies we’re talking about, not fluffy lovebunnies.

And for me, that enmity is what’s so enticing about the pairing: the clash of Light and Dark, innocence and evil, principle and power. Lucius and Hermione may not directly confront each other often in canon, but they are certainly not indifferent to each other. They represent two opposing – but internally consistent (given a little denial on each side) – worldviews, and when forced together they can probe every facet of those differences.

This is a ship built for those who enjoy probing the blurred boundaries between good and evil. It can show us power-within standing up to power-over, sharp verbal duels, manipulative mindgames, innocence corrupted, darkness illuminated, or the conflict between love and duty.

And sex. Lots and lots of hot (and sometimes not-so-hot) sex. Jason Isaacs has a lot to answer for…
…and I for one see nothing to complain about in that!

For those of us who find Lucius’ synthesis of power, beauty and danger irresistibly magnetic, it’s hard to deny that wish fulfilment is a motivating factor in writing Lucius/Hermione, whether it’s expressed as a clumsy Hermione-Sue or a dark undercurrent of subtextual lust. After all, a good deal of the fandom are females who are more bookish than average – Hermione is a character many of us can identify with to some extent, however annoying she can be at times.

Hermione/Lucius sex comes in both seductive and non-consensual flavours. Considering how vicious some of the latter can be, it may seem surprising that I’m citing wish fulfilment as a motivation. That of course applies to all noncon fic, not just Hermione/Lucius, and it would be too large a digression to explore the issue in detail here. Suffice it to say that Western society tends to define ‘sex’ (e.g. in terms of when one loses one’s virginity) as penetrative sex: therefore, as well as a desire for union, there is an element of invasion hard-wired into our very concept of sex. Not for nothing is power regarded as an aphrodisiac! Noncon takes this element up several notches, thus highlighting power issues that would otherwise have their edge blunted by more harmonious emotions.

But the power issues are not just interpersonal ones. Lucius and Hermione represent very different strata in wizard society, which have their counterparts in the modern Muggle UK. Lucius and Hermione are playing out the displacement of aristocracy with meritocracy, and when writing the pairing I’ve found that seeing the world from both points of view at once has helped me to deal more calmly with my gut animosity towards entrenched privilege in the UK. Their arguments touch a raw and throbbing nerve, which makes for a more intense reaction to the pairing than might otherwise be the case.

Having said that, the reason I started writing Hermione/Lucius was much more prosaic: I saw it as a test of my grasp of Lucius’ character. Those who aspire to being good writers love a challenge, and bringing Lucius and Hermione together is certainly a challenge, given where they’re starting from.

Hermione and Lucius in canon

It has to be said that this ship is about as canonical as Professor Snape donning flowing pink robes to lead the Gryffindors on a trip to Zonko’s: not categorically impossible, but not exactly a prospect I’d stake my salary on, either. Those few who believe the ship can sail under its own steam point to this line from Chapter Eight of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:

Mr Malfoy’s eyes had returned to Hermione, who went slightly pink, but stared determinedly back at him. (Page 93, UK paperback edition)

Harry immediately interprets this as a conflict arising from Hermione’s defiance of Lucius’ contempt for her less-than-pure blood – a reasonable assumption, all things considered, though Harry’s interpretations have been ~~deliberately misleading~~ wrong elsewhere. Either way, it’s not much to go on, especially considering their only other two canonical meetings.

The first is the infamous scene at Flourish and Blotts (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) where Lucius completely ignores Hermione, though he does cast his gaze over her apprehensively watching parents. In the movie, of course, this scene is played rather differently, so that Lucius focuses less on Arthur Weasley than on the children and Hermione challenges him directly. That small stand-off oozes dramatic possibilities, and I suspect many Hermione/Lucius fanfics were born of it – but though it demonstrated the potential, it’s not book canon.

The third time they meet is at the end of Order of the Phoenix, in the Department of Mysteries. Lucius doesn’t pay any particular attention to Hermione there, either.

Not the most promising start, but scratch the surface and their actions in canon affect each other far more than is signified by their face-to-face meetings:

Lucius personifies pureblood supremacist politics in the books; for example he is the one shown making public statements against the Muggle Protection Act – public statements that are bound to make expression of anti-Muggleborn prejudice more socially acceptable – and his prejudice certainly provides a model for Draco’s behaviour towards Hermione. This results in Hermione’s experience of the wizarding world being very different from that of Harry, who enters it with a similar lack of experience but has an established place in it. I suspect that Hermione has to face the darker side of wizarding politics from the start: in canon we see mainly Draco and his cronies taunting her, but in such an atmosphere she is also likely to suffer from more subtle slights that Harry (the viewpoint character in the books) is far less likely to notice, as he – with his hero status and strong wizarding family ties - is not directly affected by it. I suspect that at least one root of Hermione’s excessive studiousness is a feeling that she needs to prove herself in a world to which she is not made to feel entirely welcome.

In turn, this academic prowess challenges Lucius’ beliefs about the proper order of things. His annoyance at this is demonstrated in Borgin and Burkes, when he snaps at Draco that he should be ‘ashamed that a girl of no wizard family beat you in every exam’. I speculate that the pro-integration faction would delight – in governors’ meetings if not in the wider world – in holding up her success as proof that he is wrong.

Lucius sets in motion the diary plot that almost results in Hermione’s death; Hermione’s logic provides the key that allows Harry to find the Chamber of Secrets and defeat the Basilisk.

Hermione is responsible for planning and brewing the Polyjuice potion that leads to Ron finding out about the Malfoy’s secret chamber. We haven’t (yet?) seen the outcome of this, so we don’t know how much – if anything – Lucius knows about this incident.

In Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione organises Hagrid’s defence of Buckbeak when Lucius attempts to use the Hippogriff’s attack on Draco to oust Hagrid from his position at Hogwarts. Later,

In Goblet of Fire, Lucius takes part in – if he does not instigate – the Death Eater rampage at the Quidditch World Cup, of which Draco claims she is a likely target. Given their face-off in the Top Box, it is likely that Lucius would have recognised her had she been caught by the mob.

In Order of the Phoenix, Cornelius Fudge is seen with Lucius after he has stopped asking Dumbledore for advice. Near the end of the book, Dolores mentions that she has been discussing Snape with Lucius. It’s therefore possible that Lucius has a hand in foisting Umbridge on the school – thus rendering Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons useless – particularly given his public endorsement of her appointment as Hogwarts High Inquisitor, and the failure of his previous attempt to displace Dumbledore three years earlier.

Hermione arranges the interview in which Harry publicly identifies Lucius as a Death Eater.

So there is a significant indirect conflict between the two, even though Hermione’s battle with prejudice is mainly conducted against Draco rather than his father, and Lucius’ ‘opposite number’ and rival in the books is Arthur Weasley, a wizard equally pureblooded but with very different values. This indirectness is perhaps appropriate for two characters who serve as support to the main protagonists in the books – throughout the series, Harry relies on Hermione’s intellect to solve the challenges he faces, and Voldemort arguably sees Lucius as his second-in-command, judging by the way he addresses him (and only him) by his first name in the graveyard scene at the end of Goblet of Fire, and by Lucius’ leadership of the raid on the Department of Mysteries. (Whether Lucius will retain this position following the outcome of that episode remains to be seen.)

These, then, are people whose values and status place them in opposition – and yet their characters show some surprising similarities. This means that if thrown together, they have both the inclination and the means to challenge (and thereby get to know) each other on many different levels.

At this point, some people will probably be thinking: What? Hermione, Harry’s faithful and fiercely principled friend shares characteristics with a bigoted, vicious criminal whose very name is the antithesis of loyalty? But consider the following:

Both Lucius and Hermione give ideology precedence over reality: Lucius believes that purebloods are inherently superior to Muggles or other wizards when all the evidence points the other way, while Hermione persists in her crusade to free house-elves from a bondage that everyone – including the house-elves themselves – tells her is something they value and enjoy.

Both are magically talented: Hermione consistently displays greater magical skill than anyone else her age. True, learning how to cast lots of spells from books doesn’t necessarily mean she’s a powerful spell-caster (Harry surpasses her at Defence Against the Dark Arts, for example), but she evidently has enough power to cast everything she learns. Lucius’ ability is debated in the fandom, but we know that he has the power to cast Imperius, and it’s unlikely that Voldemort would have chosen him to lead a raid if he was of less-than-average magical ability.

Both are decisive, with a practical approach to solving problems – witness Hermione’s readiness to set Snape’s cloak on fire in Philosopher’s Stone, or her plan to use Polyjuice Potion to spy on Draco; and Lucius’ command of the Death Eaters at the end of Order of the Phoenix. Moreover:

Both can be ruthless in pursuing their aims: Is it really necessary to give examples of Lucius’ willingness to do whatever it takes to get what he wants? The entire plot of Chamber of Secrets is testament to it. As for Hermione, her capture and blackmail of Rita Skeeter, her readiness to lead Umbridge to the Centaurs and the jinx that afflicts Marietta Edgecombe all point to a less black-and-white moral view than is usually attributed to Gryffindors.

Both are politically astute: Hermione is very quick to catch on to Umbridge, and the slander of Harry in the daily prophet, and more generally she is more aware than her friends of the possible consequences of their actions. Lucius’ political nous, as with his magical ability, is more debatable: there are those who believe him clumsy and only able to get what he wants by crude threat or bribery. This may indeed be the case – there are considerable examples in canon – but the fact remains that he did escape punishment after Voldemort’s fall in 1981, that he was a Hogwarts governor, and that he did wield considerable influence with the Ministry – not only with Fudge, but with Umbridge (who indicates in Chapter 32 of Order of the Phoenix that she valued his opinion of Snape) and the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. Even if he did achieve this by threats and bribery, even his most ardent detractors must give him credit for applying the pressure in the right places.

Both have somewhat insecure positions in current wizarding society and are hence trying to change society, albeit in opposite directions. I’ve discussed the reasons for Hermione’s insecurity above; Lucius’ stems from his perception that society is deteriorating, that – as he complains to Borgin in Chamber of Secrets – Muggleborns and halfbloods are gaining power and that he’s losing the status to which he’s entitled. In this way the very existence of each of them fuels the fears of the other, which makes for some very juicy dramatic possibilities!

Both value discipline and respect for rules: Okay, I’m speculating here – but Draco had to get it from somewhere! Of course, as we’ve seen, both of them are more than willing to break the rules when they need to.

Both are academic achievers: This is another tenuous one as far as Lucius is concerned, but his disparaging comment to Draco in Borgin and Burkes implies that he had reason to expect better. Of course, he could just be being hypocritical here, but I think it fairly likely that Lucius experienced a pressure to bring glory to the family name similar to that he places on his son, and that he and Hermione at least share the experience of having parents with high academic expectations.

Both were ‘only children’: at least, there is no evidence to the contrary!

It is not entirely inconceivable, then, that the two of them might develop a mutual respect, even come to some kind of understanding – they may think very different thoughts, but there is a partial similarity in the way they think, and thinking is important to Hermione, at least. That said, there are some obvious hurdles to cross along the way…

Hermione and Lucius in fanfic

In my view an in-character Lucius/Hermione fic needs to successfully address these four obstacles:

The age difference
Hermione may be precocious enough to handle a relationship with someone older, but she’s also sensible enough not to leap into something without thinking through the implications, and 25 years is a huge difference when you’re 16.

Power inequalities
Lucius has considerable political influence (or did until the end of Book 5) and the magical power of a fully trained wizard in his prime. Although Hermione is magically talented and she is more politically astute than her friends, her book-learnt spells are unlikely to be a match for a man who honed his skills in life-or-death situations as a Death Eater, and she is operating in a world she does not fully understand.

Politics
Lucius’ politics is driven by a contempt for Muggles, and he wants to exclude Muggleborns like Hermione from wizard society, if not exterminate them entirely. (His exact policy is not clear from canon, but he makes it obvious in Chamber of Secrets that the lives of Muggles and Muggleborns are of no consequence to him.) He is trying to turn the clock back, while Hermione is openly challenging wizarding customs, such as the enslavement of house-elves. Somehow, their very different beliefs need to be accommodated, and – especially for post-War fics – they have to come to terms with the fact that they and their friends have been trying to kill each other.

Race
I see this as a more visceral objection on Lucius’ part: he has been brought up to believe that Muggleborns are inferior, so he might regard having a relationship with Hermione as akin to bestiality. This factor is linked to politics, of course, but I think Lucius would find a relationship with, say, a pureblood Dumbledore supporter a lot easier to stomach.On the other hand, there are those who think purebloods are quite happy to rape Muggles. Personally, I think that’s unlikely, given their obsession with keeping bloodlines clean, but it’s a common – and arguable – assumption in fanfic and would make the race issue less of an impediment to Lucius/Hermione sex, though it would raise a whole set of different issues for a relationship.

For some characters these might not be significant obstacles, and some writers simply ignore them. But for Lucius and Hermione they are important issues, and pretending otherwise twists them out of character. Such mischaracterisations include Fluffy!Lucius who, deep-down, never really disliked Muggleborns, and Seductress!Hermione for whom hormones overrule reason, survival, and every moral value that has driven her life to date. (Seductress!Hermione is sometimes not attracted to Lucius but instead acting as a spy, which is perhaps more feasible: but really, I find it hard to believe that the Order of the Phoenix could not have found a more convincing Mata Hari than a bushy-haired Muggleborn bookworm.)

Those aiming to remain in-character are tackling these obstacles with a range of ever more inventive plot devices:

The age barrier can be dealt with by:

Eliminating it with a Time-Turner, either by bringing Lucius forward or taking Hermione back.

Reducing its significance by making the characters older. This is a popular approach, and accounts for a high prevalence of post-War fic with this pairing.

Exploiting it by placing Lucius in a position of power at Hogwarts. Again, this is quite a common approach, though I’m sorry to say I’ve yet to see it done using characterisations that convinced me. Usually these fics bring Lucius in as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, or reinstate him as school governor. This brings them together in the same space but on its own does little to explain what they might see in each other.

Power inequalities can be balanced in a number of ways:

Putting adult!Hermione in a position of authority – usually as an Auror or a Healer.

Weakening Lucius, either physically – so that he’s subject to the whims of Healer!Hermione – or socially, as a disgraced ex-convict and former Death Eater in a post-War world (Lucius fans are crossing our fingers that JKR doesn’t wipe out this possibility during the next two books…).

Making them work together, in a situation in which Lucius needs Hermione for some reason, thereby giving her some control.

Removing them both to a new situation in which they cannot exploit their skills in the same way as they have before, leading to a new balance of power between them.

Political differences can be resolved by:

Gradual rapprochement: if they’re stuck together, they have to learn to live with each other. This is where their similarities come into play – even if each disagrees with the others’ aims, they might learn to understand why they’ve done what they’ve done. Bearing in mind the hostility they start from, though, this approach takes time.

Making them work together: they may not like it, but that’s all the more entertaining for us!

Removing them both to a new situation where their politics is irrelevant and survival takes precedence.

Lucius realising the [tactical] error of his ways in a post-War world, particularly if the author sees his allegiance to Voldemort as having been primarily opportunistic.

Hermione going to the Dark side, either from desperation or to avenge a perceived betrayal or through intellectual overcuriosity.

Race becomes less of an issue when:

Lucius is not aware that Hermione is Muggleborn, either because she has gone back in time and met him before he meets her in canon, or because they both have [temporary] amnesia.

Lucius has ulterior motives that take precedence over any visceral objection.

Lucius starts to see her as a human being, perhaps developing a grudging respect for her intellect or skill. Like political rapprochement, this needs time to develop for it to be convincing, unless the author starts from the premise that Lucius’ objection to Muggleborns is more political than racist.

Alternatively, authors can seek not to overcome these barriers but to revel in them, creating a sort of anti-ship in which hate rather than lust is the driving passion that brings Lucius and Hermione together, for example when:

Lucius abducts Hermione – this is a common plotline, and authors find many, many reasons why he might seek to do so: revenge, twisted lust, bait for Harry, information…

Hermione seeks vengeance, usually for the deaths of her parents or friends in the War.

These situations can give the characters enough time together to take the edge off the hatred, or maybe even evolve beyond that – but they can also break them mercilessly. Either way, anti-ship fics tend to be twisted and vicious, emotionally if not physically. But for those seeking a ship bound for sweetness and light, Hermione/Lucius is unlikely to be the first choice – and many of us would have it no other way.

Fantastic fics and where to find them

A year ago, I was hard-pushed to identify five Lucius/Hermione fics that were actually in character. Happily the ship has grown since then – there have been some really excellent stories posted over the last twelve months. So these fics are a starting point rather than a definitive list - they range over most areas of the ship and include those I see most often recommended. (Listed in order of original posting date.)

That Last Trembling Note (R, oneshot) by Strega Brava (

strega_brava, I presume)
This fic appears to have been removed from Fanfiction.net, but Strega Brava has a yahoo group here. If you join, you'll find 'That Last Trembling Note' in her files section under 'Miscellaneous'.
Lucius' thoughts as he awaits his fate after being captured by Hermione. Short and bittersweet.

Plaything (NC-17, 12 chapters, incomplete) by Malfoywhore
Voldemort gives Hermione to Lucius and Severus, and she proceeds to play them off against each other. Much smut ensues. IMO the writing could use some polishing but the psychology is well done.

The Night Dances (R, 5 chapters, complete) by

kitsunelover
Auror-in-training!Hermione has to write a report on Lucius in Azkaban. An elegant observation of obsession and self-control.

Lucius’ Bookshelves (NC-17, 20 chapters, complete) by Lizski
After Voldemort's defeat, the Ministry sends Hermione to Malfoy Manor to catalogue its owner's Dark Arts objects. Lucius may be a little lacking in edge for some tastes, but this is great escapist romance.

Full Circle (NC-17, 2 chapters, complete) by

pigwidgeon37
Quite simply the best exposition of the difference between non-consensual sex in fantasy and reality that I've ever seen, in or out of fandom.

Invictus (R, 16 chapters, WIP) by Chthonia (

chthonya) and its 'prequel', Open Book (PG-13, oneshot)
Hmmm, what can I say about my own fic? It follows Hermione's point of view as she is abducted by a vicious and vindictive Lucius and struggles to maintain her integrity against his mindgames. I'm going for canonical characterisation against a tense, intense atmosphere, and they tell me I succeeded so far...

Possession (R, oneshot) by Ayla Pascal (

curia_regis) - also comes with an alternative ending
Abduction fic set in a world where the Death Eaters are winning. Hermione thinks she is safe in Prague, until Lucius hunts her down.

Inferno (NC-17, novella) by Ociwen (

hydaspes)
Before I read this, I thought it would be impossible for Lucius and Hermione to come to terms with each other, but Ociwen convinced me otherwise. She comes up with a most ingenious solution to their imbalance of power, in a vivid and original setting. This is a long read, which means that there is plenty of time for the relationship to develop realistically - and the reader to be fully immersed. After reading it,

just_clodia's review on

_asphodel is well worth a look.

A Question of Loyalty (R, WIP) by Ayla Pascal (

curia_regis)
Time-Turner fic, with an interesting twist as Hermione is taken for a possible Death Eater when she travels back to the Marauders' era.

The Best Revenge (NC-17, 2 chapters, complete) by Scattered Logic (

scatteredlogic)
Lucius switches sides, and Mediwitch-in-Training!Hermione tends to his injuries after the final battle. The fic rests firmly on its characterisation, with deliciously snerky dialogue that is thought-provoking in places and downright hilarious in others.

Mudblood Act (R, oneshot) by Ayla Pascal (

curia_regis)
A chilling and beautifully structured slice of life in post-War dystopia

A Fresh Start (PG) by

inell
Yes, it really is possible to write a PG fic on this ship, as Inell demonstrates with this hauntingly convincing post-War encounter over a table for two.

Captured Memories (PG-13?) by Night Jasmin
This is a rewrite of one of the original Lucius/Hermione chaptered fics, in which amnesiac Lucius and Hermione make a life together, but have to come to terms with their past when their memories are restored.

Also well worth a look are two fics in which Hermione/Lucius plays an important – but not the central – part:

Fractured Triangle (R, 14 chapters, could be complete) by Fyre (

fyrie)
The focus of this fic is on Hermione's friendship with Harry and Ron, and with the Gryffindor girls, but Lucius is essential to the plot, which leads to one of the most tense confrontations I've read in the fandom.

Trinity by Hijja (R, 2 parts, complete) (

kennahijja)
The chilling first part, Trinity:Brothers, results in Hermione and Lucius agreeing to help each other in the second, Trinity:Lovers. Hermione doesn't show up until the second part, but read both for the full appreciation of Hijja's dark brilliance.

Fantastic fans and where to find them

LJ Communities:

lumione A new (May 2007) Lucius/Hermione community, which is already more active than

_asphodel ever was

_asphodel A far-too-quiet Lucius/Hermione community

lhr_fqf Challenges and responses to the FQFs run in 2005 and 2006. The list of challenges is great inspiration for those wishing to adopt a plot bunny.

Yahoo group: hermione_lucius
The files section includes an extensive but incomplete list of fics.

FictionAlley discussion thread: S.S. Evil Genius

FictionAlley fic listing thread: Hermione Granger/Lucius Malfoy

Websites:
Hermione’s Forbidden Loves
Links to lots of Hermione/Lucius fics (and others). It doesn't include fics that can be found by character searching ff.net, so there's a high proportion of NC-17.

Quiet Ones FQF Archive
Hermione/Lucius fic archive for the FQF held early 2005.

If anyone knows of any other good resources, or authors' LJ-names that I've missed, please comment and I'll edit them in, if I can.