Two days after Hermione sent her letter to Andromeda, she found herself sitting at Three Broomsticks waiting for the older witch to arrive. Hermione was nervous. She had made the split-second decision to ask Andy to speak about her sister, but now Hermione was not sure if she had made the correct decision.

She twirled a strand of straight brown hair around her finger as she allowed herself to feel the golden magic pulsating in a rhythm conflicting with her heartbeat. It was a syncopated rhythm that made Hermione's breath catch in her throat is she focused on it hard enough. The pull of the magical powder was intoxicating, and she had spent the last couple of days focusing on nothing but the powder. She had yet to find anything on the actual powder.

Hermione had trusted her gut and begun researching more about time turners. No one mentioned the sand that was found inside of the time turners. They only mentioned the actual device. Hermione wondered if that might be their issue. Was the time turner not strong enough to withstand traveling back in time as far as these people had tried? Was that why they all failed? Hermione was determined to try her hand at time travel if she had the opportunity, but where would she go? How could the sand be controlled if there was no device containing the magic?

Hermione had more questions than she had when she started her research. She sighed and finally pulled the small bag out of her shirt and held it with the note she had presumably received from Narcissa Malfoy.

Shortly after Hermione had retrieved the two mysterious items, Andromeda Tonks walked into the pub. She approached the brunette and promptly embraced her. "Lillian, it is so wonderful to see you. How have you been?" The pair returned to their seats as Hermione filled her in on her days at Hogwarts. When Hermione finally paused for a moment, Andromeda reached out and grasped her hand. "And how are things going with Draco? Is he still coming to the library early to speak with you?"

Hermione cast a quick Muffliato so they were the only ones that could hear their conversation. "He is at the library before I am every morning. I even tried to come early one morning so I could get a head-start on my morning duties without him there, but he was still there. Andy, it was not even six in the morning, but this boy – well, man, now I guess, - was standing outside of my office waiting for me to show up."

Andy smirked at the younger witch. "And is he only studying, or is he still talking to you? I presume you have not told him about your true identity."

"It depends. Most days, he is absorbed in his work, but he will occasionally take a break to speak with me. It is not typically about anything that is of much importance, but it is not strictly professional either. He speaks to me like a friend, and that still boggles my mind." Hermione shook her head and ran her fingers through her straight locks. "Andy, he stood by and watched me get tortured in his own home. This boy's face regularly makes it into my nightmares. I know he seems to have changed, but I am still baffled by what is happening."

Andromeda sighed, unsure what to say to help the young witch in front of her. "I can understand why that would be hard for you to endure. I cannot speak for him, but I would imagine that he had little choice in the matter when it came to your torture. If he would have intervened, I would bet that he would have either also received torture from Bellatrix, or he would have been killed for his interference. From what Cissy has told me, he was told that if he did not serve Voldemort, she and Lucius both would have been killed as his punishment."

The young ebony-haired witch closed her eyes and let out a shuddering breath. "Sometimes I forget how much the other side suffered. It is easy to view the war as us versus them, but I know it was not that simple." She opened her eyes again and met Andromeda's dark orbs. "Speaking of Mrs. Malfoy, that is actually what I hoped to discuss today."

Andromeda could not contain her surprise. "You want to discuss Cissy? I thought we were here to talk about Bellatrix."

Hermione's cheeks tinged pink as she firmly shook her head. "No, I want to talk about Narcissa Malfoy and why you think she might have sent me this." Hermione held out the card in the black envelope.

Andromeda took the card from the young woman's hands and slowly opened it. "Only time can heal old wounds. What old wounds do you have that she might be referencing? When did you get this? Was this all she sent?" The older woman's eyes were wide as she glanced around the room, unnerved by the foreboding note from her sister.

"It was on the Christmas tree a few weeks ago, addressed to Lili. I have no clue what she might be referencing, but there was something else inside of the card." Hermione finally opened her palm and showed the older woman the bag of golden powder. "I believe that this is sand from a time turner, but I cannot be sure at this point."

Andromeda gawked at Hermione, any pureblood composure gone in that moment. "She sent you what? Time turner sand? Hermione, that seems ridiculous. Why in Circe's name would Narcissa Malfoy, the mother of your childhood enemy and sister of your torturer, send you something like that?" She read the letter again, verifying that the handwriting was definitely her sister's. There was little doubt, but there was only one way for Andromeda to be sure. "Hermione, do you have time for a field trip?"

The ebony-haired witch nodded slowly. "I do, Andy, but where are we going?"

A bark of laughter erupted from the older witch's throat. "Don't be dense, my girl. We are going to pay my sister a visit." Without waiting for an answer, Andromeda guided Hermione out of the pub, whispering, "Hold tight," before spinning on her heel and disappearing with a 'pop.'

The pair arrived in front of an intimidating wrought iron fence.

Andromeda immediately retrieved her wand and conjured her swan patronus. The elegant bird swam around the older witch for a moment before settling in front of her. "Narcissa, we are overdue for a chat, and I have brought a guest whom you owe an explanation. We ask admittance through the wards."

The swan immediately took off, passing seamlessly through the bars in the gate.

Andromeda turned to the younger witch as they waited and took her hand. "I know that this is the last place you want to be right now, but I feel like if anyone has answers for you, it may be her. We may also be able to gain some explanation for why Draco is acting the way he is around you."

Hermione did not have time to answer as the gates swung open before them.

Andromeda squeezed Hermione's hand one last time before leading her past the gate, both of them shivering as the wards allowed them to pass through. "Cissy puts on a hard front, but she is really quite easy to get along with once you know her. At least, she was when she was younger." Who knew what the war had done to her?

Hermione merely nodded and squeezed Andy's hand in response.

They approached the intimidating manor, and Hermione realized that her memories had not done its elegance justice. She remembered the building, but she always saw it cast in shadows and shrouded in dark magic. Now, it seemed much lighter.

As they approached the edge of the gardens, Narcissa Malfoy stepped onto the front porch, dressed in an all-black dress that did nothing to take away from her regality. "Andy and…" The witch faltered, struggling to find words for the woman that stood next to her sister.

Andromeda smiled at her sister and gestured for Hermione to step forward. "This is Miss Lillian Matthews."

Narcissa nodded to herself. "Miss Matthews, okay. It is a pleasure to see you both. Shall we retire to the parlor and have a pot of tea while we discuss what you feel we need to, Andromeda?"

While the older witch's invitation seemed warm, her tone was reserved. Hermione was worried that this trip would be wasted. After all, Narcissa had not even recognized her. If she had been the one to send the letter, shouldn't she recognize Lillian from somewhere? She must know her.

Andromeda squeezed the younger girl's hand again as she led her closer to the entrance of the manor. "Tea would be delightful, Cissy. Thank you."

The pair followed Narcissa into the manor, and Hermione was grateful that they never walked through one particular room. Instead, they entered a small sun room that was furnished with little more than a table and chairs.

Once all three women were seated, Narcissa called for the elves to bring refreshments in for her guests.

While they waited for the refreshments, Narcissa sent a questioning look towards Andromeda. "I owled you two months ago, Andy. I was beginning to think that you were not going to contact me again."

The bushy-haired woman shook her head lightly as she brought her hands together on the counter. "I did not know what to say, Cissy. It has been a long time since we last talked – close to twenty years. I did not know what to say. I still do not know what to say. I think that I can learn to forgive you, but that is going to take more time than we have today."

Narcissa's head bowed slightly in shame before she met her sister's nearly black eyes. "Then why are you here today, sister? If you still do not know what to say to me, why have you come to my home?"

Andromeda looked towards Hermione, realizing that she would need to do all of the talking for now. "First, I did want to check in on you to see how you are. I know how lost I was when Ted passed. Even if I am hurt by you, I still wanted to check to make sure that you were okay after the loss of Lucius in your life." She paused as two elves appeared with a tray of pastries and a tray with tea and tea cups.

When things were settled at the table again, she continued. "More importantly, I think you owe Lillian an explanation for something she received at Christimas from you. Don't try to deny it either. I know your handwriting. What is in that bag, and why did you send it to her?"

Narcissa scoffed at that. "You mean to tell me that you have yet to figure out what is in the bag? Perhaps it was a waste to send it." The normally collected woman threw her hands in the air. "I assumed that you would know what it was even if you did not yet know what to do with it."

Finally, Hermione broke her own vow of silence. "Excuse me, Mrs. Malfoy, but I do not frequently receive unmarked packages containing unnamed substances. I have my theories as to what may be contained inside of the bag, but I do not have a definitive conclusion because I am smart enough not to touch something that I do not know is safe."

Narcissa squinted at the girl before her. If her theories were correct about the girl… She held her hand out to the witch. "Hand the bag here. I will prove that it is safe."

Hermione was hesitant, but she agreed to give the witch the small bag of powder.

When the bag was in her hands, Narcissa immediately opened the bag and traced one finger through its contents. "Nothing inside of this bag is toxic. Now, tell me, Miss Matthews. What is your theory about this bag?"

Hermione glanced towards Andromeda, who merely gestured for her to continue. "I believe that the powder might be sand from a time turner."

"And how would you know what this sand looks like? What leads you to this conclusion?"

Hermione sighed in frustration. "This is not why I came here. I did not want to be interrogated. I wanted answers about this. I deserve to know why you sent me this. It is not even legal to have a time turner that is not registered with the Ministry."

"Miss Matthews, you do not possess a time turner. You possess something much more powerful."

The young woman's brows knit together as she peered at the blonde witch. "No one has ever used time turner sand to do anything special if it was not confined within a time turner. That is the point. The turner controls the time travel. Without the turner..." Hermione trailed off, realizing what Narcissa might mean. "Do you mean to tell me that the time turners actually stifle the sand's powers? The sand is more powerful without the turner, isn't it? How does someone utilize it?"

Narcissa finally smiled at the younger witch. "I believe that the sand is more powerful without the turner, but you are correct in assuming that time travel has not yet been completed without the turner. I have reason to believe that you may be able to change that, however."

"But, why, Mrs. Malfoy? Why did you send this to me? We have never even met?"

At this, the older woman finally laughed. "Oh, I would not advise betting on that statement, my dear. I apologize for the inconvenient timing, but I believe that our time for discussion is over. I have business to attend to." The regal woman stood and smiled at the ebony-haired pair. "It was so nice to see you both today. We should do this again when we all have time."

A/N: Thank you all again! I am so excited to get this update to you guys. I know there are still a lot of unanswered questions, but I hope you all enjoyed this sneak peek at what is to come. Extra special thanks go to the two guests who reviewed and to mimijo541, Leo McGonagall, SQForeverSQ, dhisasian, dana9095, CopperLex, and Callie-G.