A/N: I sincerely apologize that I have taken so long to post a new chapter. Unfortunately life has gotten in the way of writing. Hopefully I am back on track to post weekly again.

This is an extra long chapter that includes an Outtake that will give you insight and explain the relationship between Narcissa and her best friend from Hogwarts Zellina, who is a character of my own creation. If you would like you may skip the outtake as it is not necessary to the plot, but it does give insight into what some of you may consider out of character actions and reactions for her. The beginning and end of the outtake are marked.

Note: the words in italics signify a persons thoughts or emphasis in a dialogue. As a reminder, I don't own anything related to the Harry Potter universe.

Please send healing thoughts or prayers to my doggie. He had to go to the vet again and his glucose readings are out of whack. Doc suspects an infection. He's on antibiotics and we should hear back on Monday regarding test results.

Thank you for all the follows, favorites and reviews. They make my day! A world of thanks goes to my beta, CindyBarnard. She is the best.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and happy holidays!

Enjoy chapter 13 - it's a long one!

Chapter 13

Hermione is curled up, sipping tea, in what is now her favorite spot in her new flat, an easy chair in front of her stacked stone fireplace, watching flames lick the seasoned hardwood. She is glad she didn't go with Harry and Ginny to dinner, deciding to eat leftover take away from lunch after a long hot shower.

Hermione had hoped Draco might stop by this evening, but at 8:00 PM with no sign of him, she scoffs at herself. Right, like Draco Malfoy would come see me when he returns home from France, he's probably got some beautiful pureblood socialite wrapped around him right now. This thought makes Hermione feel nauseated, but instead of letting the depressing feeling that came with it take over, she huffs, gets up and stomps to her bedroom. Taking out the comfortable Hello Kitty flannel pajamas she loves that Ginny had gotten her last Christmas as a joke, then slams the door of the wardrobe shut soliciting a hiss across the room from her Portum. Her anger dissolves and she walks across the room and coos to the box, stroking it lightly. "I'm sorry little love." Then she suddenly stops and shakes her head no. I'm turning into a crazy old cat lady and I don't even have a real one, just a box and PJs covered in them.

Feeling a bit stupid, she turns on her heels, returns to the living room, her book and tea. She reads for a while then sets it aside when she realizes she has read the last paragraph three times.

Although it hadn't taken long that morning to haul all her belongings over from the Burrow, she was tired as it had taken all day to organize her things and transfigure the furniture. She smiles when she recalls the events of the day, thankful for magic.

Harry had arrived relatively early. Mrs. Weasley made them a feast for breakfast and made sure they ate before she allowed them to leave, making a fuss about it being Hermione's last meal. Ginny responded by throwing her hands up in the air and in exasperation huffing, "Mum, she isn't dying, just moving. Plus you made less of a fuss when I left!"

Harry grins cheekily and replies laughing, "She knew you would bat bogey hex her if she did." Everyone laughed, even Molly.

Hermione knew Ginny wasn't jealous, just annoyed at her Mum. All the Weasley kids use comparing their mother's treatment to another sibling as a manipulation tactic that typically works.

After they ate she apparated to her flat and opened a temporary floo connection to the Weasley's to make moving things easier. Earlier, she had asked them all to not tell Ron her new address. If, somehow he did find out where she lived, he would find it virtually impossible to get upstairs as the building security provided an additional layer of protection on top of the magical wards.

She had been surprised after Harry had gone out to get lunch when an intercom system by the door buzzed to notify her that a Mr. Potter was there to see her and could he come up.

When she opened the door, Harry gave her a cheeky wink and playfully said "Blimey, Hermione this place is posh with the doorman downstairs and all the fancy furniture in here."

She pulls the door open fully and gestures with her arm in a sweeping motion to her room and grins at him when she replies, "Oh, posh and fancy is it?"

Harry takes in his surroundings wide-eyed and stunned at the transformation she and Ginny had made in less than an hour since he left. "It is so you!" he says with delight.

Hermione smiles sweetly and gives him a hug telling him thank you. They sit at her white-washed oak table recently transfigured from mahogany.

After eating, Hermione went down stairs after eating to introduce herself to the doorman, and he informed her of the magical capabilities of the building, which in hindsight is understandable because it is owned by a wizard or witch. Harry, Ginny, and Draco are anow the only people who have direct access to apparate to her front door, everyone else would have to use a special room in the lobby and be announced.

They had spent the rest of the afternoon organizing her things, then Harry and Ginny left to go to dinner.

Hermione chuckles remembering Ginny's vehemence that they must go shopping for new clothes for her before the New Year's Eve party when a knock on the door startles her. Padding across the newly carpeted floor she thinks Harry or Ginny must have forgotten something.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After having a quiet dinner together, Draco and Narcissa continued to talk into the wee hours of the morning. She manages to get him to reveal more information about the woman who holds his heart. What moves her most is her missing parents, and how she is devastated at the loss of them in her life, especially when she sees Draco hurts for her as well.

"Son, I have an idea if you would allow me to help" she looks hopefully at Draco whose interest is piqued, he nods, saying, "How?"

Narcissa eyes are glinting with mischief, when she questions, "How do you feel about taking a quick trip to Sydney today."

Draco's eyebrows go up in surprise. He knows his mother doesn't tease but is unsure of what she means so he answers slowly, "I'm only scheduled for one portkey and it is back to London and I have to return to work on Monday."

She smirks at Draco and arches an eyebrow and asks, "Are those your only concerns?"

Draco is staring at his mother like she is mad, but nods in the affirmative. There is no way I can get another portkey today, what is she thinking?

She looks at her son with delight and begins, "I have never told you about my best friend from school, Zellina. She now lives in Sydney working mainly with muggles, fully taking over detective duties after the death of her father, Sherlock Holmes." She stops and eyes Draco waiting for him to respond.

Draco gives his mother an incredulous look, "What? You mean the fictional character written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?" He is trying not to be impatient with his mother. He shakes his head to clear it.

She smiles at him, "No the very real wizard, who was his father, but in actuality, his name is Charles Altamont Doyle."

OUTTAKE

Draco runs a hand through his hair, and blows out a breath, "What? He was really the famous detective? Why weren't we taught about him?"

Narcissa holds up her hand to stop his questions, settles into her chair and takes a sip of her tea before clearing her throat and saying, "It is a long story, but I will try to condense it and answer your questions." She smiles again and begins, "Doyle took his son's writing to heart, using his magic and brilliance he made himself into his son's famous detective, but that was much later in his life. You see, when Doyle's son turned out to be a squib, he practically drank himself to death. His wife, obliviated little Arthur to forget magic before he was sent to boarding school.

After his return home, she convinced Arthur that his father was mad because he would rave about magic while drunk. Together they had him committed to a lunatic asylum. Once he detoxified from the alcohol he realized what his wife had done to him and was able to use wandless magic to escape. He confronted his wife and she begged him not to tell their son as he was doing well and happy. He grudgingly agreed to let her tell him he was dead if she would agree to tell the Ministry of Magic what she had done so that their marriage could be dissolved. The Ministry considered sending her to Azkaban for exposing a wizard to muggles in the asylum, but because they thought Doyle was insane, she was only stripped of her wand and forbade from practicing magic." Narcissa eyes Draco expectantly, waiting on his deduction. She sips her tea.

His tea is now forgotten. He has been watching his mother as she talks, engrossed in her story, his face resting on his hand and his elbow resting on his knee. He knows that look; she's waiting for him to analyze what she has told him. He thinks a moment then says, "Let's see, the Doyle family isn't part of the purebloods so the ministry was able to easily sweep the scandal under the rug, that's why no one knows the muggle author is a squib." He raises an eyebrow in question and his mother nods. "That still doesn't account for your friend, I assume went to Hogwarts." She nods again "and why I have never heard of her and why she is a detective in Sydney?" Intrigued, Draco leans back against the settee stretching out his legs, crossing his arms across the back of it waiting for her to continue.

"Mr. Doyle decided he needed a change in his life. He moved to Sydney, Australia after talking with the ministry and finding out Aurors were greatly needed there. He had been one when he had first graduated from Hogwarts but had quit after the birth of his son at his wife's insistence because of the danger in the job.

He met Zellina's mother at the Australian ministry and even though there was quite an age difference they were both smitten. He had become Head Auror around the time Zellina was born. They both knew of his prior life and her half brother and the pain it still caused him.

Zellina insisted on attending Hogwarts like her father, even though her mother had attended Beauxbatons. She and her father were both rare half-blood Slytherins. Bellatrix hated her because of it." She smiles widely and somewhat wistfully at this. "Although she couldn't have much say in our friendship as Zellina and I were the only two female Slytherin first years. I could tell she didn't like your father much, but she never said anything other than 'are you quite sure' when we got engaged. Zellina was more of a sister to me than Bellatrix could have ever been. She had helped me deal with my family disowning Andromeda and ever other good and bad time during our Hogwarts years together. We were inseparable until graduation. I had hoped she would stay here, but she returned to Australia to be with her family. We even visited each other a few times before the first war broke out, but then we lost touch." She sighs and brushes a tear from her face.

Draco is immediately concerned, he can't remember ever seeing his mother cry. He quickly stands and rushes to her, enveloping her in his arms and asks "Why?" although he is sure he knows the reason.

She lets him hold her for a moment and then quickly composes herself, and he returns to his chair. "We were on different sides. Your father, of course, was a Death-Eater and me his dutiful wife." She manages to keep up her façade this time but does release a small sigh of regret. Draco now understands why he hasn't heard of his mother's best friend before.

She straightens her posture and takes a delicate sip of her tea, but her poise doesn't completely disguise the bitterness in her voice when she says, "The last package I received from her had a letter that told me that she and her father were starting a private investigator business, taking the idea from his son's writing, in a way trying to make up for drinking away his childhood. He vowed to help anyone that needed it since he had not been there for his son. He ended up mainly working for muggles and the Sydney police. During the first war, he had been let go from the Australian Ministry because he was a Slytherin and couldn't be trusted, although he had dedicated the majority of his life to fighting dark wizards who hurt muggles."

Draco watches the emotions play across his mother's normally stoic face. He is concerned and wants to say something but isn't sure what.

She looks up at him then, her eyes glassy and mutters an incantation he doesn't catch. He is surprised when his dog-eared stuffed dragon from childhood flies into her hands. She softly caresses his "Draggie" before standing and walking over to Draco. She places it gingerly in his lap, it flaps its shabby wings and lets out a tiny rowr and they both laugh.

Draco smiles broadly, picking up his old toy and letting his mind fill with thoughts of playing with it. He looks up at his mother and she is smiling fondly at him.

She smooths down her son's hair and says, "Zellina sent me this when she found out I was pregnant with you. When we were in school studying astronomy she helped me pick out the name Draco for my son. I sent her a thank you note for this and unfortunately did not talk with her again until after we moved to France." She sits down next to her son and takes the dragon in her arms almost cradling it, before sending it off again.

Draco studies his mother and sees the pain and regret on her face. She looks up into his kind eyes and says with determination, "Never let anything come between you and someone you care about, be that a good friend or lover."

END OUTTAKE

His mother stands up, gives him a cheeky wink and performs magic he'd never think she could do.

"Expecto Patronum!" A silvery dragon bursts from his mother's wand and she tells it to find Zellina, she and her son need a favor and would like to visit today. The figure, which resembles his childhood toy, bows then flaps its wings and flys out through the glass wall of the solarium.

Draco is stunned. He had jumped up to aid his mother thinking the worst when he heard the spell, but is now dumbstruck, staring out the wall of windows watching the dragon patronus disappear into the night.

He looks at his mother, mouth agape and forgetting about Australia for a moment questions, "How?...I was taught to believe that couldn't be done by us." He bites his lip when he says this dropping his head. Of course, his mother can produce one, she is pure of heart. He stumbles over his words trying to get an apology out "I…no…you…uh…can… I didn't…uh…sorry…what I meant…"

She reaches out and grasps her son's hand and tilts his chin so he is looking at her. His cheeks are blazing red and she thinks it would be cute if he wasn't hurting. "Have you ever tried to produce one? As an Auror, you should." She asked concerned.

"No…no..." He takes a deep breath to compose himself as his mother releases his chin and pulls him toward the settee for them to sit. "They talked about it, but all the other recruits knew how since they were part of the DA, uh, Dumbledore's Army, that is, the students who fought against him." He says dejected, his posture slumping.

Narcissa's heart breaks again for her son. Touching his knee lightly she says, "Then I will teach you."

This causes Draco further distress, a deep frown marring his handsome face, not sure what his mother is thinking, he can't look at her piercing gaze and droops his head, "Mother, It isn't possible."

Narcissa uses her free hand to lift Draco's chin, then caresses his cheek, "Oh my precious son, it is possible. You truly do not give yourself enough credit." Draco rubs his arm over his ruined mark as if it is stinging, but it is really his soul that is hurting. He looks at her with pain guilt showing clearly through his gaze. Sighing softly he replies, "I have too many regrets."

Narcissa squeezes the hand she has been holding and says, "You also have goodness and love. I also have regrets and am not so innocent, but I can produce a patronus and you have the ability as well. I'll return home shortly and we will work on it together."

Before Draco can argue, a large peregrine falcon, made of a shiny mist, swoops into the room, landing in front of His mother. The patronus opens its beak and says, "Narcissa, I would be delighted! I look forward to seeing you again and meeting your Draco. I am at my home and will await your arrival." The bird bowed before its silvery form slowly disintegrated into a mist that melted away. Draco continues to stare at the spot where the falcon was perched until his mother speaks and he looks at her in wonder.

"It is now 2:00 PM in Sydney, which will give us plenty of time. You can meet with Zellina, and even take a nap before your portkey back to London at 7:00 PM."

Before Draco can ask how they will get to Australia, Narcissa crosses the room, and opens a drawer in her desk and pulls out what looks like an old pocket watch. She taps it with her wand while saying "Portus." She beckons Draco to her and saying, "Clasp the other side, the portkey that will activate in less than a minute."

He gets a good hold on the other side of the watch. Looking at his mother he shakes his head in disbelief, of course, an unauthorized portkey, but smiles broadly at her then says, "Why mother, I am beginning to think you should have been sorted into Raven…" his word are cut short when they both feel the hook-like sensation behind their navels and then find they are descending into warm and bright sunlight, landing with a thump in front of a beautiful manor. Draco relishes the feeling of the hot sun after the last few cold months of winter. He follows his mother up the stairs and onto a beautiful veranda that looks like it wraps around the grand two-story home. She turns around and smirks at her son, saying "Well, that dreadful sorting hat did try to place me in Ravenclaw, but I told it I would set fiendfyre to it if I was not put into Slytherin, so it obliged, although it did stutter a bit when it screeched out Slytherin."

Draco is stunned but laughs at the hilarity of the thought of his Mum as a tiny, 11-year-old child threatening that moldy old hat. Through the laughter, he is finally able to say, "Brilliant!" She smiles at her son warmly then turns to knock on the door as it is flung open by an impressive looking lady in purple robes who grabs his mother into a fierce hug which she returns. He takes this time to study the woman who must be Zellina. She is tall and thin but does not seem as delicate as his mother. Her smile is warm and genuine which relaxes Draco a bit. The women release and turn to Draco, Narcissa says, "I would like to introduce you to my son Draco." He takes confident strides to Zellina, taking her hand and placing a quick kiss on it before releasing it and saying, "Ma'am, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Her brown eyes twinkle and she chuckles before hugging him as tightly as she did his Mom. Her embrace is warm and caring. Instead of reacting as his normal indifferent self, he returns her hug. He can almost feel love radiate from her. "Draco, you must call me Zellina, after all, I am your Godmother. His eyes widen at this but thinking of what his mother just told him, it makes complete sense. He did not think he had one; not realizing his mother was this close to another female. He gives her his true smile and says, "Thank you, Godmother; I would be honored to call you Zellina."

She ushers them into her home and offers them tea and breakfast, knowing that it is around 4:30 AM in Paris. Draco is thankful as he is famished. It also gives him to think. He isn't sure that he is ready for his mother to know that it is Hermione's parents that are missing. He doesn't realize he has let a breath out in a huff which garners Narcissa's attention as she notices his look of turmoil. She finishes her sandwich and takes her napkin, touching it delicately to the sides of her mouth to remove any crumbs. Zellina follows her eyes to Draco. She notices his expression and is pleased that even though he looks so similar to Lucius at that age, he seems to have inherited his mother's personality.

Narcissa begins, "Zellina, as you know, we came here to ask a favor. Draco has a friend whose parents disappeared while in Sydney and we would like to hire you to find them for us." Zellina begins to interrupt but Narcissa holds up her hand. "I know what you are going to say, but you must accept payment or we will…" Now Zellina throws up her hand in a stop motion, "Say no more. I know you are too stubborn to change your mind." They both giggle. Draco is dumbfounded; he has never seen anyone interrupt his mother and for her reaction to being laughter is almost disturbing. He is beginning to think he doesn't know her at all, but he really likes the glimpse of the woman he has seen over this holiday.

Narcissa continues, "The Australian Ministry for magic has assigned a girl to find them but she hasn't come up with anything." Zellina scoffs, shaking her head, and fixing Draco a knowing look, "Of course they haven't. Most of them are idiots."

This comment actually makes Draco a bit angry as she is insulting one of his Hogwarts classmates, even if she is a Gryffindor that he mistakenly cursed. He keeps his voice low and his anger under control as he says, "Katie Bell is not an idiot. She was one of the highest of her Hogwarts class, even though she missed almost half a year of school." His eyes are flashing and his fists are clenched, and he is not sure he wants this woman's help now.

Zellina smiles at him, then looks at Narcissa, "He has your fire, Cissy. The name Draco is perfect for him." Draco moves to stand but Narcissa stops him by placing a hand on his leg. He takes a deep breath and counts to 10 slowly while exhaling.

Zellina leans back in her chair as she studies him watching him get himself under control. She is impressed. His father, evil bastard that he is, would have already been firing curses if he had been that angry. She cocks her head to the side still studying Draco as she silently accios her parchment and quill and writes up what she knows this far. She can tell Draco is under control again when he crosses his arms over his chest and returns her scrutiny. "You are correct, Katie is very bright. We have actually worked on several cases together. Her workload is almost unbelievable, so she comes to me for help from time to time."

Draco silently scolds himself for almost being a rude, arrogant arsehole. He uncrosses his arms and leans forward saying, "I would prefer she not knows we are employing you. We had some issues in school, house and quidditch rivalry." He looks down when he says this, feeling ashamed, knowing there was more to it.

Seeing that Draco was again in control of his emotions, Narcissa knows it is time to excuse herself so Draco can share other details with Zell. "I believe I shall take a walk in the beautiful garden you have told me so much about so that you two may discuss the rest of the case details." She takes one last sip of her tea, hoping Draco might ask her to stay. After a few seconds of watching Draco look everywhere but at her, realizing he will not. She stands and Zellina gives her an understanding look and says, "The gardens are through the door across the hall. You will walk right out onto the path as the garden surrounds this part of the house."

Narcissa kisses Draco on the cheek and says, "Give her all the details you can, she will keep it private between the two of you." She walks outside to see the beautiful flowers, loving the blooms and the fountains, wishing there was something more she could do so that Draco would trust her. She sighs, deciding to enjoy the beauty around her instead of getting maudlin.

Draco is surprised by his mother's actions but is thankful she left so he can talk about the Grangers in open, and he begins to tell Zellina all he knows about Harmonie's parents.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

They return to the villa with enough time for Draco to take a quick nap then shower, shave and catch his portkey. Once he is back in his flat he quickly puts away his things, by waving his wand like a child playing.

He freshens up then checks his watch noticing it is almost 9:00 PM.

"FUCK!" He decides he can't wait another day to see Hermione, so he apparates to her front door and knocks, before he loses his nerve, as his heart races. He wonders if she will be wearing the necklace he gave her.

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