My gratitude goes to my dear beta martee98, who keeps my grammar &etc in check. Her enthousiasm works contagious.
Chapter 11: The big mean cat.
Malfoy Manor.
The house of horrors.
Majestic, imposing, filled with the worst kind of memories.
The place she refused to enter voluntarily unless she had no other option. See her now, at the front doors of the Manor, waiting for the house elf to allow her entry. Using the Floo wasn't a decent option, these weren't people she regularly visits to be granted such liberty.
A cough coming from below woke her up from her murmurings, "Misses, Missy help yous?" The creature staring at Hermione wore a pink housekeeping apron including the little head cover and forced Hermione to bite her lips and contain a smile.
"I would like to speak with your Master, Lucius Malfoy."
"Is Masters expecting yous?" Hermione denied with a shake of her head, and Missy thought for a second, "I must ask Master if yous can speak with him." Two puffs later, the elf gestured her to follow and guided Hermione to a sunny seating room.
Lucius stared out the window, in a stance worthy of royals, "Miss Granger, assume me delighted with your visit. To be polite. What can a fallen god do to help you?" He turned around slowly, assessing her from head to toe.
"I'm here, Malfoy because I need your help." Her voice masked well her nervousness.
"You need my help? I'm sorry to disappoint you, thank you but no, thank you." An iceberg shone more warmth than the man watching her from under his eyelashes.
"Not even if it's in your son's interest?"
"He made his choice ten years ago. I make mine now." Something twitched on his face, teeth clenched together.
"I see," Hermione nodded lightly, "So it's easy to assume you are aware your son is being attacked, and you choose to sideline." She always hated the man, and the feeling returned in full throttle.
A figure rose from behind her, "Draco was attacked?" Narcissa was apprehensive, "Is he hurt?"
"Narcissa, our son's life doesn't concern us anymore. He made his choice." Lucius couldn't sound more arrogant.
"He made a choice, Lucius. He chose to live differently. Miss Granger, be honest with me. Is my son's life in danger?" Narcissa came more in Hermione's view, and the younger witch saw the face of a sad woman. She had aged faster than Hermione expected; the eyes had lost their spark. "He spoke to me a week ago." A snort followed her words, "He told me nothing."
"It happened a few days ago ; maybe you spoke him the day before."
"What happened?"
"Ask your husband; he might know more." She was playing with fire, but hell if I'm backing down. I'm no longer scared of Lucius Malfoy.
"How dare you insinuate I have anything to do with Draco's attack?" His nostrils flared, Lucius barely contained his anger.
"You've just said you made your choice. Makes me believe you could be very well behind his attack. Let me enlighten you on the facts, to make sure you can feel delighted in the consequences." She was unstoppable, "He was heavily beaten up; cracked ribs, several gashes and bruises, bleeding all-over. On top of this, he developed a fever - for unknown reasons, and navigated more than a day between life and death." Narcissa gasped in the background, "He's refusing help, believing somehow he's not worth it. Allow me to congratulate you, . You've done quite a job; you broke your son's self-esteem." She drew a deep breath, yet she delivered her last words with a passionate fire, "I thought you could help me save your son, now I believe I came to the wrong address."
She turned to leave, but her wrist was caught by a female hand, "Miss Granger, please." Both women stared at each other, "How can I help my son? Don't mind my husband, I'll deal with him later," desperation shone through, while a single tear slid down her face.
"I'm still the master in this house, Narcissa."
"You can shove up your title where the sun never shines. If Draco believes he isn't worthy, then you're the one to blame, with your hunger for power. What good did it bring us, Lucius? Where do we stand in the ladder of celebrities? Newsflash my dear, we are in the very rock-bottom. Your mighty name means nought in the Wizardry World nowadays; we are completely neglected. The owls aren't lining up to drop invitations anymore." By now Narcissa shoved Hermione behind her back and was blazing fire at her husband. "You will help our son, by whatever means necessary, or so help me Salazar, I will show you what a Black witch can do."
Narcissa's focus shifted from an astonished man to the younger witch, who looked warily at her, "I'm not a lunatic like my sister, Miss Granger. But I'm neither a porcelain doll nor an angel. When need be, I can be a force to be reckoned with, something my beloved husband tends to forget." Narcissa's chest rose and fell with rapid breaths, "First, I want to apologise sincerely for the horrors my sister inflicted upon you. I felt repulsed by her actions but was also tied down, due to multiple and severe threats towards my son. Second, you and I will sit down, drink a nice cup of tea to calm the nerves, and you are going to tell me all you know about this attack and my son's whereabouts. I suspect he gave me the cleaned up version."
She offered Hermione a seat, and bossed, "Lucius, sit!"
Hermione's eyes widened, watching the scene unfold, as Lucius obeyed, someone, pinch me please, I can't believe my eyes.
The next hour, Hermione recounted all the facts, leaving nothing out, Lucius snorted multiple times but refrained from commenting, and Narcissa listened, her face an open book; all while everyone sipped from a warm cup of tea. Narcissa's spark is returning I see. A mother will always protect her baby.
"Why did you come to Lucius for help, my dear?"
"Hoping still had contacts to corroborate with Theo's allegations about Gibbons, and Rookwood. Hoping with his information, I could draw an end to this cat and mouse chase. I believe Draco deserves a peaceful life." Hermione couldn't be more honest.
"Well, Lucius, do you have the means to find out more?" The man refused to answer, "For Godric's sake, you're acting like a pouting toddler right now."
Am I in an alternate universe? I never thought Narcissa wore the trousers in their marriage. "Harry is looking into it, but he hasn't found any red flags yet."
Lucius snorted anew, "Not surprising."
"What do you mean, ?" Hermione squinted her eyes at the newest condescending remark concerning Harry.
"He will only see it when you shove it under his nose, Miss Granger. It is widely known, that won the war thanks to your cleverness." Wow, did he just compliment me?
"I must agree with my husband. Now, Lucius. I'll ask you once more, can you find out more?"
It was against his will, so much was obvious, "I can. Despite my wife's beliefs, the name Malfoy still carries some weight. Some people still fear it."
"Then Miss Granger, my husband will search for more information, and we'll keep each other up to date. I'll do whatever necessary to bring peace to my son's life." She sent a nasty look to her husband, who almost didn't flinch. Almost. "In the meantime," Narcissa handed over a small note, "call me if anything happens, and please ask my son to visit me, when you see him."
"He's quite hard to find. He hides from me." Hermione gave the intention to leave, rising to her feet and nodding to the wizard; who was still fuming.
"Since when do you back down from a challenge, Miss Granger?" Narcissa gave her a half crooked smile, "Allow me to walk with you," When the matriarch was sure to be out of ears reach, she held Hermione gently by her arms, "I see you care about my son and I cannot feel more grateful for this. Accept my sincere gratitude. Despite all what my family has done to you, my son included, you still find a way to forgive him and to help him."
Hermione was lost for words, but Narcissa wasn't done talking, "Many pure-blooded witches wouldn't show this much compassion, you know. If my son uses his common sense, then I'll be more than happy to welcome you into this family. The big bulldog in there usually barks louder than he bites," She jerked lightly towards the room.
"Your son and I are not romantically involved, ."
"Call me Narcissa, and please don't take me for a fool. They say the eyes are the windows of the soul. Yours are an open book, my dear. But I can accept if you aren't there yet with your mind." The woman scared the younger witch even more, by embracing her and kissing her softly on her cheek.
Hermione had one last question, "You have a mobile?"
"Draco taught me how to work with one, so we could keep in touch during his long travels." Narcissa smirked, "But I see, he hasn't told you everything yet. You'll have to pull it from him, Malfoy men tend not to share much about their feels and experiences. On the other hand, they love to spoil the women they love." Wink. "Take care Miss Granger, and keep in touch."
-oOo-
From the Manor to Harry's office.
A journey of seconds, not enough to recover from her experience at the Malfoy's. Narcissa's fire returned in a matter of minutes; now she felt she had a mission in life. Which made Hermione wonder, how did Draco go from following his parents to abandoning them altogether? His change of heart must have happened before the end of the war; now recalling a distant memory of the Slytherin Prince fighting at their side, in the end. Did he travel? Where to? How long was he away in the end? The ten full years?
She opened the door and entered without requesting permission, much to Harry's hilarity, "Oh, hey, hi Hermione, please come in, don't need to knock, make yourself at home. A cup of tea, perhaps?"
Hermione blushed, "Oh, I'm sorry, I should have knocked. It's too late for that now. Now, tell me what did you want to talk about?"
"I want your help. I want you to help me help Draco?"
"WHAT?"