Hey guys :) I really hope you like this chapter, I loved it when I wrote it. Huge thanks to B. for pointing out that I did not go into detail about the necklace, oopsy haha. I've gone into a bit more detail about it here, and I've added a link at the bottom to my pinterest board devoted to this story, it has a picture of the necklace, and an outfit for this chapter, if you're interested in seeing my inspiration. Read and review and I appreciate
all of you. Enjoy!
Hermione laid in bed that night. She tossed and turned for hours but she just couldn't get comfortable. She fingered the necklace. It had a simple silver chain. The blue sapphire was held by a silver braided pendant. It was very simple and no fuss, much like herself and she thought it was perfect.
Finally, with a huff, she got out of bed. There wouldn't be much sleep tonight and she needed something to distract herself. So she wandered the halls of Malfoy Manor.
It didn't take her very long to find the drawing room. She moved as if her body had a mind of its own, opening the door and sliding inside. She barely heard the door click shut behind her as she moved forward. She came to s stop in the center of the room. Looking up she saw that the Malfoy's had not had a chance to replace the chandelier. The room had been cleaned, no blood or glass remained. There was no reminder of what had happened here, except for the missing chandelier. A thick layer of dust suggested that the room had been made of limits to even Hestil.
Hermione closed her eyes and suddenly she was back there; Bellatrix stood over her. She was struggling to remain conscious when Ron and Harry ran into the room. She Heard them disarming Bellatrix and Stupefying Lucius. She could feel Bellatrix's fingernails dig into her skin as she pulled Hermione up. She could feel that damned knife poking her throat, feel it start to break the skin. She felt Bellatrix drop her and the chandelier crash around her. But through it all, she couldn't feel anything as well as she felt the burning in her arm, the blood running down and dripping from her fingers. She felt each and every letter 'MUDBLOOD'.
Hermione opened her eyes again and looked around the room. She'd become aware of a presence behind her and could tell whoever it was, was waiting for her to decide she was ready to talk. She took another moment, allowed herself to remember every cackle Bellatrix let out, every hit she took, every question she had to answer, and every slice in her skin. After several long minutes she turned.
Narcissa stood by the door, wrapped in a glamorous silky robe, a small blanket around her shoulders. Her hair was surprisingly messy and Hermione worried that she had woke Narcissa up on accident. She wanted to apologize but for the moment words seemed to escape her.
Narcissa must have sensed this because she stepped forward and took the blanket off herself, wrapped it around Hermione, and led the girl to a nearby couch. Neither one of them paid attention to the poof of dust that rose when they sat.
"I'm sorry if I woke you up. I was having trouble sleeping." Hermione murmured.
Narcissa shook her head, "No apology needed. I found myself rather restless tonight too." Narcissa had been tossing and turning but her restlessness was from a mixture of happiness for Draco, and sadness from missing her husband. And she had long ago enchanted this room, when the door were opened, a bell that only she could hear would ring. She had done so because she knew what horrors had occurred behind those doors.
That day when Hermione and the two boys had been brought in by Snatchers was hardly the first time Narcissa's sister had destroyed lives in this room. It had been one of Voldemort's favorite rooms, so of course Bella used it whenever she could.
After Voldemort fell and Narcissa lost her sister, she would wander into this room, overridden with guilt by her role in it all. And for awhile she would often find her son or husband inside, experiencing the same guilt. So she enchanted the door. She made it her mission to be there whenever her boys needed her, she swallowed her own pain so she could absorb theirs. And one day she woke up no longer feeling that pain, and so did Draco and Lucius. After a few weeks everyone stopped going in there.
She heard the bell and knew it could only be one person. She had given Hermione a few minutes alone before she quietly slipped into the room. She saw Hermione gazing up at the missing chandelier, saw her look to the spot she had laid as Bellatrix had carved into her arm, and Narcissa saw her instinctively reach for the scar on her arm. Narcissa had only gotten a glimpse of it as Hermione dressed in her gown for the ball at Christmas break. It had unnerved Narcissa, she had assumed Hermione would have used a charm to get rid of the scar, and had spent parts of the night trying to get a good look at it, but Hermione was always careful to keep her arm close to her body.
Now sitting on the couch with Hermione she did what she always did with Lucius or Draco. She sat close enough to comfort Hermione, but not close enough to make her uncomfortable. She lightly rubbed Hermione's back and waited for her to be ready to talk, if she wanted to.
"I'm sorry. It's just so strange being here." Hermione murmured.
"If it were too much for you, I'm sure Draco would understand. I mean if you had to leave." Narcissa trailed off. She had been afraid of this. She knew it would break Draco but he would understand and forgive Hermione. This was Hermione's chance to leave.
"I'm not leaving Hermione said. "It's just hard to grasp. I'm just back in a place where I was almost destroyed. But I just need to accept that it wasn't the place that did this to me. It was her." Narcissa knew Hermione was talking about Bellatrix. Hermione continued. "But she's gone. Now the people in this place are the closest thing I have to a family. It's where I want be, it's just hard to accept it all. I just need to find the balance."
Narcissa nodded. It amazed her how intelligent and adult Hermione was right now. She had been to hell and back, seen and experienced worse than most people ever would, and she still managed to come out on top. She was stronger than anyone Narcissa had ever encountered, even stronger than Voldemort himself. And she told Hermione this adding, "If I could have had a daughter of my own, I would have been happy if she had been half the woman you are. But I'm more than happy to settle for such a strong daughter-in-law."
Hermione and Narcissa leaned in to hug each other, Narcissa stroking Hermione's hair in a comforting way. Hermione closed her eyes and let herself pretend for a second that it was her own mum. But then she opened them again. Her parents were gone and this is what she had now. And she was okay with that.
At dinner that night Hermione and Narcissa were deep in talk about the next day's plans. Narcissa had planned an Easter brunch and was teaching Hermione about their traditions. Hermione's Muggle parents usually took her to a church service Easter morning, followed by a small lunch at home and an Easter egg hunt when she was younger.
In the Wizarding world, they typically skipped church unless it was to keep up an appearance, brunches were held, and most pure-blood families opted out of having an egg hunt. The men and women were expected to dress up and it was a fairly formal affair. Narcissa had already purchased Hermione's attire.
Draco sat quietly and smile at them. He loved that they got along so well. Draco had always been afraid that his future wife would be an empty-headed girl, someone who had been bred into her role and couldn't form an original thought to save her life. His mum had always stood beside his dad as an equal and he craved that. And he got that and more in Hermione. He couldn't wait to graduate and see what he and Hermione could do together.
The next day Hermione awoke, feeling extremely refreshed. Hanging by the vanity was a gorgeous dress, complete with a hat and matching shoes. A note laid on the table nearby.
Hermione,
I'll be by at 10:00 to escort you to brunch. I love you, beautiful. -Draco
Hermione grinned as she got out of bed. Things were getting better everyday. Thanks to her time with Narcissa, she felt ready to let go of the past and move on. The only hiccup in her plan was her parents absence. She would miss them everyday but having Draco by her side, and his mum close by, made it a little easier to swallow the pain.
After Hermione had showered and brushed her teeth, she took a seat at the vanity, wrapped in a fluffy robe. She used a charm to quick dry her hair but was at a loss with what to do next. A Soft knock sounded at the door before Narcissa slipped in.
"Just what I thought." She chuckled. "You're struggling with your hair aren't you?"
"Everyday." Hermione laughed.
Narcissa picked up the hat she had picked out, "I think this one looks best with a low bun." Hermione nodded in agreement. Narcissa pulled out her wand and began enchanting Hermione's hair. She defrizzed it, allowing the curls to form soft ringlets. The she pulled it all up in a chic chignon on Hermione's neck. Then she fastened the hat onto the side of Hermione's head.
"Thank you so much, Narcissa. It looks perfect." Hermione admired her hair in the mirror.
"I'll leave so you can get dresses. Just watch your hair when you pull the dress on. Oh! And you should keep your makeup neutral again, it looks quite beautiful that way." Narcissa left again, needing to get herself ready as well.
Hermione smiled. It was nice having a motherly figure again. Her own mum would have done the same thing for her. She stood up and removed her robe, admiring the dress in front of her. Narcissa had great taste.
She pulled the dress on, careful of her hair and hat and stood in front of the mirror. The dress fell just below her knees. It had an A-line skirt, the neckline was modest, though sleeveless. It was white, with roses in light and dark shades of blue. It cinched in at her waist, giving her perfect curves. The hat that sat on her head was round, almost the size of a dinner plate. It was a dark blue that matched the shading on the roses, and had a small lip around the edges, and a bow sitting toward the back of her head. She slid on a pair of navy blue closed toe pumps. A light layer of foundation and a layer of mascara finished off the look.
She stood back and admired herself one last time. She looked sophisticated. She realized the entire outfit had been tailored around the necklace Draco had given her. It complimented the blue in the stone and made it a focal point of the outfit. Narcissa was a genius, Hermione thought.
There was another knock at the door. Hermione opened it to find Draco. He looked more handsome than ever. He had a morning suit on, complete with coattails. The pants and coat were a dark grey, the vest underneath was a lighter grey. His white shirt underneath was buttoned up to the neck and secured with a navy tie. Hermione smiled, knowing Narcissa had orchestrated the navy tie to match Hermione, also knowing that the simple gesture could be down played in case it raised any suspicions. They hadn't decided yet to announce their relationship.
"You look dashing, Draco." Hermione said with a coy smile.
"And you look gorgeous, as usual my dear." Draco smiled back, extending his arm for her to take.
The two chatted aimlessly about the weather as they made their way down the stairs and outside to the brunch in the garden.
Hermione recognized many of the faces. She had met most of these people at the ball after to the side she could see Astoria Greengrass and her family. Astoria seemed intent on avoiding eye contact with the party.
Draco noticed her too. "Mum said the Greengrasses were terrified they would be shunned by the families, after what she did. That's why she won't look at anyone."
"I think maybe we should go and say hello. She's young, I wouldn't be surprised if half the girls at Hogwarts would have done the same thing if they had the chance." Hermione replied.
Draco nodded and turned to head towards the Greengrasses. Astoria's parents looked panic stricken before placing a quaint smile on their faces. Draco extended his hand, "Good morning, . Ms. Greengrass." Draco shook their hands. "This is Hermione, I believe you met her when my mother returned from France."
"Of course, nice to see you, Ms. Granger." Mrs. Greengrass smiled at her.
Draco turned to their daughters, "Daphne, Astoria, you two are looking well."
Daphne thanked Draco, and smiled at Hermione. Astoria on the other hand, couldn't look Draco in the eye. Her gaze was fixated on Hermione's necklace. Hermione noticed this, as did Mrs. Greengrass whose eyes widened, clearly afraid her youngest daughter would say something to embarrass the family again.
Astoria narrowed her eyes and looked at Hermione, "That necklace is really nice. I feel like I've seen it somewhere before. Draco, hasn't your mum worn one similar to this one." She seemed to challenge the two, much to her parents horror.
"Astoria", Her mum hissed at her. But Astoria chose to ignore it. She continued to glare at Hermione.
"It is beautiful isn't it?" Hermione said, as she touched the necklace and smiled sweetly at Astoria. "Draco surprised me with it at breakfast the other day. Oh Draco! There's Millicent, we should go and say hello." Hermione was surprised by the sass in her voice.
Everyone, aside from a hocked Astoria, bid them farewell.
Draco chuckled as they turned. "I guess that's one way to handle it."
Hermione elbowed him, "I had every intention of being nice, she just rubbed me the wrong way. She couldn't even pretend to be civil."
Draco and Hermione stayed together for the rest of brunch. Greeting new and old acquaintances before feasting on ham and other delicious food. It was late in the evening before people began to leave. Hermione was aware of Astoria's eyes on them at all times. Even as Narcissa bid the Greengrasses a good night, Astoria's eyes never looked away from Hermione.
If you're interested in seeing Hermione's dress and hat, I've linked my pinterest down below, just copy and paste then remove the paces, if that doesn't work, I'll try to have it on my profile :)
www .pinterest hannahbear1110 /standing-together/