Chapter 29

Something was changing, that much was clear. The coming days felt like an overpass of dark clouds, waiting for the storm yet to come; a tornado waiting to wreak chaos on the ground below. There were only a few weeks left in the school year but the tension was growing with every passing day. The halls weren't safe anymore, not for the younger years who constantly worried about getting from place to place. They were too scared to wander the halls without the fear of being cursed. They were scared to receive letters as each one could mean that they lost someone they loved. They were scared to read the paper, knowing it would be filled with death and destruction, or to go to Hogsmeade in fear that the Death Eaters would get them.

The atmosphere had changed, and it was dangerous, knowing that with every passing day it was only getting worse. With every day was a step further into the war and a step closer to death.

Harry was disappearing more and more, with sessions with Dumbledore, and she knew that he was prepping Harry for what was to come.

And she was prepping too. She could tell Harry was debating not coming back to school next year, and she would be damned if she let him go about what he was planning on doing alone. She would be damned if he thought he would be able to win this war by himself. She had been by his side through all these years, and she would continue to fight with him until the end. She wouldn't be able to do nothing, knowing what was out there. How could she go back to school and finish her final year when she wouldn't be able to have a future at the rate the world was progressing. There was no way she would be able to go forth with her life, in a war that wanted her dead.

What difference did it make if she had all NEWTs if she wasn't able to get a job? What difference did her scores make if she was killed for her blood status the moment she made it out of the school wards? School only came so far when the rest of the world wanted her dead just for being born. No, she would fight by Harry's side because it was right; because it was the only way to save thousands of people like her, simply because they were deemed unworthy of possessing their magic.

So she began prepping. Going to the library and signing out book after book that could possibly help them for different scenarios; for survival, healing, and for anything else she could think of. She charmed her bag to be bottomless, to carry everything that they would possibly need in a single bag. She packed supplies, brewed extra potions.

Whatever petty fight she had with Ron was put aside, as they both agreed that they needed to be there with Harry next year. Despite whatever they were arguing about, it was nothing in terms of the war that was brewing outside their walls. It was nothing in comparison to the fact that people were dying with every passing day. She got him to pack extra clothing, for him and for Harry, anything that they would possibly need.

She knew something was off with Draco as well, he was pulling away from her and spending less time with her in the library.

He was distant, brushing off her attempts to talk, and she knew that something was wrong. She knew that whatever it was that he was facing was approaching quickly, and no matter what she tried to do, she wouldn't be able to stop it, to save him.

Asking him to seek help from Dumbledore would only go so far. Asking him to seek protection wouldn't work, not when he wasn't worried about his own life. She knew him better than that. She knew that he wasn't doing all of this out of fear for his own life, but for someone else. And even though he didn't say it, she knew that there were few people he would risk himself for. She knew that his mother had been there for him when no one else had; had loved him, and raised him, when his father barely cared enough to look at him. His mother meant the world to him, and it didn't take much for her to figure out that Narcissa Malfoy meant enough to him for him to risk his life.

And if his mother was held captive, then for her he would do anything. And it broke her heart, knowing that he had such little choice in the matter. But she didn't blame him. If she were in the same position then she would risk herself too, regardless of the consequence. If it were Harry or her parents she would risk her life in a heartbeat.

She knew that if she were to do this, then she would need to tie up loose ends. To ensure that if the Death Eaters went after the people she cared for, they would be safe. Harry and Ron would be safe, well as safe as they could be. And the Weasleys would be able to take care of themselves. But her parents on the other hand, wouldn't be safe. The Death Eaters would come for them, trying to hold them leverage to get to her, and in turn, to Harry.

She had spoken to them over the last little bit, trying to inform them that a war was coming to her world, similarly to World War II. But they didn't believe in the seriousness. That a boy was the key to stopping all of it, and a boy who was her friend, thus putting them in danger. Why would a mad man want to come to come for a pair of dentists, out of all people? It was absolutely ridiculous to them. And it made them believe her to be insane. They wanted her to leave the world, especially if her life was in danger. If she wasn't wanted in the Wizarding World, then wasn't her place in the muggle world, where she was wanted?

How did she explain to them that it was her fight? That running away wouldn't save her, because the fight would come to the muggle world soon enough if she didn't help stop it. She needed to help, to be by Harry's side and bring down Voldemort. It was the only way to ensure that they all had a future.

The war was coming, whether any of them liked it or not, and she knew it was only a matter of time before Hogwarts lost the safety it had been holding so dearly. And when the war came to them, she would be ready.


Hermione sat up in her bed as she heard a knock at the door. It had been a little over a day since she had found out the news of what Astoria had done to her, and since that time she had been avoiding Draco like the plague.

She loved him, she did, but she couldn't bear to look at him at the moment, not knowing what it had happened.

How could she look at him, knowing that she was broken now, that she would never be able to be with him fully? That she would never have a family with him, other than what they were currently.

They had both wanted more than one kid in the past, but now it seemed as if that dream was gone forever, and she hated herself for it. How could she look at him knowing that she would not be able to fully offer him the same future that she could have before?

She was so broken now, haunted by nightmares, and broken through years of abuse and mistreatment. And now she could no longer have children. How could he want her when she was so damaged that her own parents didn't even want to look her in the eyes anymore after everything that had happened; that they never even bothered to meet their own grandchild out of hatred for her.

It broke her heart.

She knew that even if he stood by her now, he wouldn't forever. He would pull away slowly, once he realized how damaged she truly was. She wasn't the same girl he fell for during their sixth year; the war had left her broken and bruised, and there were days when she didn't think she would ever be able to heal from any of it. And now, when she was slowly beginning to recover, she was kidnapped once more, bringing back all the horrid feeling she had felt during the war. She was tortured, and nearly killed. And even after surviving that, she was poisoned.

Would her family ever truly be safe with people trying to kill her at every turn?

"I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you," a gentle voice said, as Narcissa Malfoy entered the room. She stood tall, but Hermione could tell she seemed unsure of her presence in the room.

She stared at the woman, slightly unsure of herself. She hadn't talked to Draco's mother since his trial, when she murmured a brief thank you. And since then, she had barely seen the woman since then.

Why had she come? Was she yet another family member coming to discourage the relationship she had with Draco? Was it yet another person who believed they shouldn't be together?

Merlin, she was exhausted. She was exhausted of having to fight against the entire world for her happiness. Against everyone who seemed to be telling her what they wanted to hear, and fighting against those who were unhappy with who she wanted to be and who she wanted to be with.

"Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione said cordially, sitting up straighter in her bed.

"Narcissa, please," she said, giving her a soft smile, "Don't strain yourself too much Miss Granger, you've been through quite the ordeal."

"Call me Hermione," she said smiling carefully. She still felt slightly unsure about Narcissa's presence in the room, and was thus unsure of how to proceed.

"I find myself at a loss of what to say to you," Narcissa admitted, sitting down on a chair beside her. "I assume you must be confused and conflicted about my presence here, unsure of what my intentions are. I don't blame you; my sister tortured you in my house, and my brother-in-law and husband plotted for your death."

She tensed at that, but looked firmly in Narcissa's eyes.

"I assure you, I mean you no harm," Narcissa said softly, "This war has cost me too much. It cost my son his innocence. It cost me one sister who I pushed away due to my own prejudices, and another sister who was driven to insanity by her beliefs. It cost me a husband who would have gladly sacrificed us all for a so called better world. But that is not what I want."

"What do you want?" Hermione found herself asking her curiously.

"I assumed something similar as you," Narcissa told her, "I want a family, and I want happiness. I want Draco to be happy and to be loved. I want what is best for him."

"And that is?" Hermione challenged, waiting for the part where Narcissa told her she wasn't good enough for her son, and that she had half a dozen pureblood girls lined up, ready to be a better daughter-in-law than Hermione could ever even pretend to hope to be.

"You," Narcissa said simply. "You're what makes my son happy. You kept him grounded during your sixth year, when you were both facing enormous pressures from both sides. You showed him he was capable of happiness, and of being better and more than what his father raised him to be. You let him grow and you cared for him at a time when I could not. You assured him that he was capable of being more than what others wanted for him."

"You knew?" she whispered, in shock. She had no idea that his mother had found out, and honestly, she would be surprised if Draco even knew about such a thing.

"I knew something had changed in him," Narcissa admitted. "I didn't know what, but I knew that he was changing for the better. That he was looking towards the future he wanted, and stepping out of the perfect shadow that his father was raising him to be. He was growing as a person, finding out what was right and what was wrong. And he made a choice that I wish I could have made so many years ago, to protect the people I cared about over everything else. It wasn't until a year later, when you were on the floor of my house, and I saw his face full of anger, and full of pain, that I knew the truth. That he had fallen in love with you."

"And you didn't care?" Hermione asked, stunned, "That he loved someone like me."

"I meant it when I said I did not care about blood purity anymore," Narcissa said firmly, "It's cost me everything I hold dear, and I will not let it cost me my son as well. He loves you, now just as he had back then. I know he pushed you away all those years ago, but he's never stopped loving you all this time."

"I know," Hermione whispered slightly, looking down as the guilt began to fill her chest. How could she begin to properly love someone again when she felt so broken inside?

"All I am asking is that you do not push him away," Narcissa asked her softly, "I know you went through an entire ordeal, between my husband and Astoria. I know that you are in pain right now, and that you are extremely unsure of where your future with my son lies, but do not push him away because you are hurting. Do not him go, because it will hurt the both of you to no end. If you do, you will only be condemning yourself to sadness and misery. He makes you happy, just as you do him."

"Even if I can't be whole?" Hermione asked, voice cracking, "Even if I can't give him the same future I could before? With children, and a happy, fully home? Even if everything has changed now, because I can't be the same person I was before? If I am just broken?" She sobbed out the last part, and Narcissa took her hands in hers.

"You are not broken, Hermione. You are one of the strongest people I know, fighting Voldemort head on, even though you put yourself at risk. Standing by Harry Potter, even though it nearly assured your death. And you did it for love; because it was the right thing to do. It's not the future that either of you wanted, or is it what you had imagined your lives being. But it is not the end. It is a tragedy, Hermione, but you will get through it. You may not be able to give him children of your own, but it is not the only way for children, if you both wish for it. It is not the end."

She sobbed again, and Narcissa wiped away her tears, "It does not need to be the end of you, Hermione. You used your love once, to stand strong against the darkest wizard that the world has ever known. You used it to fight for Draco back when you were in school, because he made you happy. Do not push him away now, not when you both still love each other so strongly. Use your love for my son to fight for your future, and to fight for your happiness with him. Use that same love to show Astoria Greengrass that she did not win, nor did she ruin your happiness. Use your love to fight for yourself, Hermione, instead of putting everyone else first. Because you deserve happiness as much as anyone else."

"I had three miscarriages before Draco," Narcissa admitted to her, "And after I had another stillborn. It broke my heart, because I always wanted to give my children siblings. I wanted Draco to have brothers and sisters, but it never happened. Honestly, he was a bit of a miracle himself, and I am forever grateful for it. Years and years of inbreeding and the reduced genetic pool made it hard to conceive. It's why so few purebloods have many children. So I know exactly how you are feeling, Hermione. It does not need to be the end, however. You have beautiful daughter, who I hope one day I can consider my granddaughter. You have people in your life who love you more than anything. Do not let this be the end of your happiness."

"Thank you," Hermione said softly, looking the woman in the eyes. If anyone had told her that it would be Narcissa Malfoy who comforted her when she felt down before, she might have been sceptical. But this woman had come into her life, and assured her that what she was feeling was valid, but that it did not need to be the end of her.

"We're family," Narcissa told her firmly, "Any time you need someone to talk to, I'll be here for you. And while I am quite hoping that it works out between you and my son, I would be there for you even if it didn't. I know you're hurting because of this, and I understand your pain. But do not let anyone else take away your happiness. Let Draco make the choice, instead of making it for him, of whether he wants to be with you or not. And let me assure you that nothing would be able to deter him from loving you."

And with that, Narcissa stood, before saying her good byes. Hermione sank down on the bed, as she took in the conversation, which had given her quite a bit to think over.