"Why?" Hermione asked, in a voice like molasses.
"Because I love you." Perhaps it was the sleep which cut her away from her inhibitions, or perhaps it was the sudden realisation that at that moment in time all Narcissa had was Hermione. She had longed for her and loved her, for years.
"You've loved me for all this time?" Hermione asked again.
"Yes." As she replied Narcissa breathed in deeply and closed her eyes, forcing her body to wake up from it's slumber.
Hermione was taken back slightly, by this woman before her, watching her sleep was nothing compared to the adoration she felt at that moment, marvelling over her beauty and at how comfortable she suddenly was, as if no time had passed between them and they were back in the Slytherin Dormitory. "…you are magnificent, Narcissa." 'Magnificent.' She thought to herself.
"Hermione…" Narcissa said, the beautiful resonance of her speech passing over Hermione like a wave, leaving her swimming in it's wake.
"-that wordless Episkey was very impressive, by the way." Hermione said out of nowhere. "I just thought I should tell you before I forget."
"Oh. Thank you, I had to do something." Narcissa chuckled lightly at Hermione's enthusiasm, she seemed to be doing alright for someone who had very nearly been tortured to insanity. Here, she frowned. "I'm sorry about Bellatrix, for what she did to you."
Hermione furrowed her brow, slightly confused at the comment as she thought 'Bellatrix.. What? Oh!' She had all but forgotten about that since Narcissa had woken up, she was barely able to focus her thoughts on a maintaining a coherent conversation and even that wasn't going terribly well, especially with that remark about Narcissa's spell out of nowhere. It was like she was again the nervous, blushing mess she had been in Transfigurations. "Oh, I hadn't thought about it, really. Thank you for saving me, Narcissa." Hermione suddenly had a compulsion to use Narcissa's name as much as she could, perhaps enjoying the feeling of having it fall so freely from her lips after keeping her Time-Turner incident secret from everyone - everyone save Crookshanks.
This time, it was Narcissa who blushed. A subtle colour spread from the base of her neck, creeping up her chin until it nestled and remained for a moment on her cheeks. Narcissa clearly felt it as she pursed her lips and look from Hermione's left eye to her right, smirking. "Anytime. It is inappropriate, I know, but we did make a very dramatic exit."
"In twenty five years, Narcissa, you've hardly changed." Hermione replied, playfully.
"Perhaps it's all to blame on the youthful company I now find myself keeping."
"Maybe." Hermione could hardly believe she was flirting so unashamedly with Draco's mother, after all this time of secretly lording it over him that she'd slept with his mother, before she was his mother. More than once.
"How did you know my name?" Hermione asked, a now smiling, Narcissa.
"Well, I asked Lucius after we saw you at the Quidditch World Cup at the start of the year, I thought you were your own daughter for a time!" Here Narcissa giggled nervously, "…and then, when you were sprawled out on the floor of my lounge room you made a very particular sound which absolutely could not be attributed to family resemblance. And that's when I dove on top of you."
"I remember that part." Hermione hadn't flirted this shamelessly since she'd first been with Narcissa at Hogwarts.
"Tell me, Hermione, where did you get the name Jean from?" Narcissa asked, her brow furrowing lightly.
"It's my middle name."
"Clever girl." Narcissa murmured.
Here, Narcissa freed her hand from under the pillow and reached out towards Hermione, she watched her hand as it extended across the space between them, her hand found it's resting place on Hermione's waist. Narcissa lightly caressed the warm flesh she found there with her slender fingers, Hermione's eyes fluttered shut at the contact. The blonde witch let her hand roam up past her waist, her fingers lightly undulating over her ribs, in a gentle wave. Narcissa pushed her arm forward so that her fingers enveloped Hermione's side and then moved it back slowly and lifted, so that only one finger was in contact with pale, desirable skin as it staggered along the hem of Hermione's bra.
"What are we going to do now?" Hermione asked, a serious tone coming over her.
"What do you mean my dear?" Narcissa moved her hand from Hermione's bust to her cheek, where she caressed it briefly.
"I mean, well, now. Will you join the Order? Will we be together?"
"Oh.. Hermione, darling, you know I can't do that. We can't be together, you have your whole life ahead of you and I won't let you spend it with the former wife of a Death Eater and sister to one of the most infamous sadists in wizarding history. I couldn't do that to you. My life is over, Hermione, but you'll have me forever."
"I was so sure you would say that, I almost feel relieved that you have. But I don't regret it, you know? I don't regret being in love with you." Hermione shifted, first her legs and then the rest of her body, towards Narcissa so that by the end of the motion she was lying on top of the blonde witch with her thigh resting between Narcissa's legs and her arms folded across her chest, where she lent her chin.
Narcissa smiled at the movement, now feeling the girl's weight settle on her chest and pin her (most agreeably) to the bed, and then smoothed both her hands over Hermione's hair, "We'll always have then, all those years ago," here she chuckled, "it's almost like a dream to me now, blurred at the edges and exceptionally colourful."
"And we have now." Hermione added, smirking.
"Yes, my dear. We do have now."
Hermione unfurled her arms from Narcissa's chest and placed them either side of the blonde's head, her fingers entwined with strands of luminescence and Narcissa's scent rose and floated about her. They paused for a moment and held each others gaze as the world around them spun and travelled back, back until they were surrounded by the shadowy greys and the quietness of the Slytherin Dormitories, in their all too small bed.
She leaned down then, so her own lips were only breaths away from Narcissa's and exhaled, so the warmth from within her own body poured over the blonde's parted and waiting lips.
"Stay with me now?" Hermione whispered against her lips.
Beneath her she could feel Narcissa's staggered breathing making her stomach rise and fall rapidly, as if in a state of paroxysm. Narcissa's hands wandered over her back feverishly, grasping uncontrollably at any flesh they could.
"Yes." Came Narcissa's breathy reply.
Hermione lowered herself closer to Narcissa, so that their lips were now almost indistinguishable form each other, Narcissa, who was clearly frustrated, suddenly seized hold of Hermione's head and began to kiss her wildly, as if twenty five years of repressed thoughts and urges were suddenly flowing through her lips and tongue. A whimper escaped Hermione's mouth as the older witch raised her leg, which was nestled between her own, and firmly pressed it against her core. Hermione broke the kiss and pulled back slightly so she could look into Narcissa's eyes, her pupils were dilated and she was panting, Narcissa's hands still roaming across her body. Hermione moved her hand from beside the blonde's head until it was tangled in golden strands and pulled forward - Narcissa's head lifted off the bed, followed by her back, until the two had risen to a sitting position with the younger witch sitting on the elder's lap. Hermione wrapped her legs around Narcissa's slim waist and cradled her head with her two hands and kissed the woman in front of her. Their bodies collided together and the muscles of Hermione's back shifted and tensed as she clung onto Narcissa, the bones of her pubis grinding into the yielding flesh of the older woman's stomach. Between gasps and moans Hermione reached down, blindly and haphazardly, searching for the hem of Narcissa's shirt, when she found it the garment was peeled, very swiftly, from between them and vehemently cast aside. She was then both surprised and pleased to see that Narcissa, in fact, had not been wearing a bra and now her voluptuous breasts pooled and flattened as they were pressed against her own.
"Hermione…" Narcissa moaned in a deep voice with reverberated around her entire body as she trailed her nails down Hermione's back, urging her closer.
These were her last memories of Narcissa, she had gone into hiding and Hermione had to continue the fight against Voldemort. She'd heard whispers about her, here and there, but she hadn't seen the blonde witch since their illicit rendezvous in the Shrieking Shack. Narcissa had saved Harry, she knew that much at least, she had come like a phantom and disappeared, Hermione kicked herself for weeks for missing, what felt like then was her last chance, at seeing Narcissa. She had written letters, after the war, and sent them to the Manor - she never heard back. But she knew they had been received because her owl always came back. Hermione grew tired of letters and owls, of whispers and phantoms. She decided, that morning, to go to the Manor and find Narcissa, to see what had come of her after these years.
With a swirling and a sudden solidness Hermione appeared at the gate of the Malfoy Manor, it looked so aged and abandoned Hermione almost left without looking inside, but for the records sake, she would be glad she did.