Alright guys, as promised, chapter 2 is longer than the previous one. Enjoy!
Hermione plopped herself down in the booth next to Harry and took several swigs from a bottle of Knotgrass mead.
"Blimey, 'Mione, that took forever. Who were you talking to over there?" inquired Ron.
"Narcissa."
"As in Narcissa Malfoy? The wife of that arsehole, Lucius Malfoy?" the ginger spluttered.
"It's Black now, Ronald. You know, divorce and all that, which I'm sure you'd know if you actually read." shot Hermione. She paused, clearly taken aback at her own surly mood. What the hell is wrong with you, Granger? It's Ronald, you'd ought to be used to his insensitivities by now.
"I was just asking, no need for a fit." muttered Ron. Lavender patted his arm and shot an accusatory look towards the brunette.
"Do you want a fit, Ronald? Do you? Because I can certainly give it to you after you interrupted the actual conversation I was having." Hermione seethed, the pain in her jaw only fuelling the burning sensation she felt.
Their little quarrel had now drawn the attention of Harry who quickly interpreted the situation and decided to step in before his best mate got hexed by his best friend. "Did you see the Cannons match, Ron? Puddlemere's seeker was absolutely bonkers!"
Hermione forcibly exhaled and sank back as the boys' animated conversation dominated the table for the next hour. She folded her arms and fumed in silence, trying to establish the cause of her anger towards the red-haired prat. Of course there was the fact that he had come in between her conversation with Narcissa, whom she had tried to muster the courage to talk to ever since she saw her distinct blonde hair at the end of the bar. You've gone traipsing off on a poorly planned quest for the horcruxes of the most powerful dark wizard of all time, you've even destroyed one of them. Why ever in the world did it require three drags of vodkacloud to prep your arse for a conversation with her? You didn't even have to talk to her! Serves you right. Hermione stewed, glaring at Ron across the table periodically. Needless to say, he had to open his gap again.
"Whateva' the bloody 'ell were you doing talkin' to hic her? She's a Malfee, 'Mione, hic a Malfee! Di' she imperio yooou? Tell me and I'll hic go after her!"
"Ronald Bilius Weasley. Whoever I choose to interact with is none of your fucking business!" She slammed the table and shot up, knocking over several empty containers. Her inebriated friend was this close to getting his mug hammered in and it was obviously evident.
"Come on, love. Let's go outside for a breather, yeah?" Ginny coaxed gently as she rubbed Hermione's shoulders. The brunette shrugged off the hands on her person and stormed off with a bottle in hand. The younger Weasley followed after exchanging a glance with Harry to deal with her brother.
—
Narcissa landed in a brightly lit foyer with a soft pop. "Chalky?" she sighed as she removed her heavy cloak and kicked off her boots.
"Chalky welcomes mistress backs." a house elf dressed in a pillow case squeaked as he apparated into the room and took the cloak from Narcissa's hands. "Is there anything Chalky can gets for mistress?"
"Run a bath for me, Chalky. Thank you."
"Rights aways, mistress." and with that, the house elf vanished.
Narcissa opened the door and walked into an airy penthouse loft with wall-to-wall views of muggle London. After spending all of her life being confined to dark, draughty buildings with suffocating decor, she had opted for an hundred and eighty degree change once she had left Lucius. The breathtaking scene over the Thames hadn't come cheap but it had hardly been an issue; what with her various investments over the years and the sizeable chunk of the Malfoy fortune her ex-husband had parted with.
She all but took in the spectacular cityscape below her when she found herself fumbling with a pack of cigarettes on the sprawling balcony as cold gusts of wind blew blonde strands into her face. Growling, she cast a protego charm around her and then placed a cigarette between her lips. She reflected on the day's events as she lit up and took a drag. Lucius had been quite compliant throughout the whole procedure, and for that, she was grateful. Packs of reporters led by Rita Skeeter had mobbed her after she stepped out of the courtroom. Narcissa Malfoy would have loved the spotlight and the attention, but Narcissa Black did not. It took her close to an hour before she was able to ditch the flashing lights and the clamouring questions. By then she had been forced to cover her highly conspicuous form with a heavy cloak, blending into the questionable frequenters of Knockturn Alley.
The bar was nothing more than a stop for a quick glass to clear her head. And then she ran into the muggleborn, which did quite the opposite. Given both their respective statuses in the wizarding world, it was inevitable that they interacted with each other on occasion, but it hadn't gone beyond the brief formalities and polite smiles. "So what brings someone like yourself to a place like this?" By now, Narcissa had dismissed the informal disposition of the girl as an effect of alcohol but it had still startled her, nonetheless. Exhaling a cloud of blue smoke, she stubbed out the glowing end and categorized the interaction as nothing more than an outlier, she had a bath waiting for her.
That's it for this one guys! I realize that some of the characters may seem a tiny bit OOC right now, but it'll all make sense in later chapters.
School's starting soon so I doubt that I'll be able to post the next chapter in the same timeframe as this one.
As always, don't forget to review!