Title: 500 Hours
Author: pantheradraconis
Rating: T
Pairing: Hermione/Narcissa
Summary: Hermione, unexpectedly crashing and burning after the war, finds herself in community service with nonother than Narcissa Black. Through the course of their mandatory 500 hours, the two slowly find a mutual understanding which eventually blossoms into a relationship.

Andy deflated. She saw the concern in her baby sister's eyes and realized her own mistakes. "You're right. Arguing with her now about what she should have done won't change anything."

"Exactly."

"Well, what do you propose?"

"Do you remember that summer we spent in Fenghuang? Mother and Auntie Walburga met with an old wizard there. I tried to find his name in my files but I still haven't unpacked everything. I need your help in finding him."

"That's the second location you've walked by today. Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Hermione grabbed at Narcissa's wrist and pulled her back to the entrance of The Ginger Pig Cafe on Hoxton. "As I said earlier, the delivery is in the flat just above the cafe."

"Yes, of course. My apologies. My mind is somewhere else today."

"Yeah, I've noticed you've been like that for the last few days."

"I apologize. Who is the name here? Mrs. Cabbage? Well, isn't that ironic."

Hermione watched Narcissa while she delivered the basket. Mrs. Cabbage was quite blind and deaf and kept asking who it was while leaning ridiculously close into the blonde. Twice she denied ordering delivery of kittens. Hermione smiled while Narcissa attempted to explain the delivery while remaining calm, sincere, and even sweet. Hermione realized her thought was true, the blonde was incredibly sweet. It was in her smile, her voice, and her scent.

The younger witch felt warm and realized she was blushing. She turned away once Narcissa was able to pass along the basket and the two made their way back outside. It was overcast and damp but the rain hadn't fallen on them all day.

"We should celebrate," Hermione said, looking up and down the street.

"Celebrate?"

"Yeah, our 50th day is now complete!" Hermione explained, smiling up at the blonde. "We could go to a cafe and get a cuppa."

Narcissa smiled back, almost reflexively. It was that shy smile Hermione absolutely loved. "I do believe that's a fine idea."

The younger witch's smile grew and she almost laughed at the response. "I'll be honest, I'm a bit surprised you agreed."

Shyly, Narcissa looked away, pretending to search the street for something. "I may have surprised myself a bit." She pushed a lock of blonde hair behind her ear and pointed down the road. "I believe there's a nice cafe down that way. How does that sound?"

Hermione watched as the older witch slowly turned back to her. Her eyes were shining so blue in the overcast air the brunette almost felt like she was experiencing a fresh breath of air.

Paula's cafe had been around for years, although owned by several different witches. It had a running gag that the food only tasted good if the cafe was run by a widow. Luckily, there were plenty lining up to take over whenever one died or found love again.

Narcissa hadn't been in the cafe since she had attended Hogwarts. Back then it had been run by a tall woman with striking long black hair. When they entered today, there was a short, chubby, red-faced woman bustling around. Most of the tables were full, so the two witches found themselves sitting right up against the front windows.

For a few minutes, while Hermione looked over the menu for something to munch on, Narcissa watched out the window. The streets were quite bare for the early afternoon but there was enough entertainment to keep her attention.

A large family of five made their way across the busy road, the smallest boy tripping over his own feet but managing to stay upright. Two men walked quickly by, their hands clasped together, while arguing about the cost of their rent. A woman offered her sweatshirt to an elderly woman who was shivering against the cool afternoon.

"Would you share an order of onion rings? I hear they're amazing here." Hermione's voice broke Narcissa away from her people watching.

"Those things are awfully bad for you." She mused, taking a sip from a glass of water she hadn't noticed before.

"That's mine." Hermione gestured toward another glass next to Narcissa's right arm. "That one is supposed to be yours."

"Forgive me, I didn't realize it."

"It's fine, I just thought you should know since I had already drunk from it. I know how some people are about sharing drinks."

"Oh, I've never minded," Narcissa said flippantly before realizing it was most likely Hermione who did care. Before she could apologize again, the brunette clarified.

"I don't care either but Ginny has a huge problem with people taking sips from her drinks or stealing food from her plate. I don't think it's a germ issue, more so a repercussion from having to fend off six brothers from stealing her stuff."

"I must say, I always forget just how many Weasley's there really are in the world."

"There's another one on the way! George and Angelina are expecting."

The two continued to discuss the Weasley family tree, mostly with Hermione explaining who was who while Narcissa tried to keep the names straight. The waitress came and took their order, two cups of tea, and an order of onion rings, and Hermione left to use the toilet.

Just as she walked to the back of the cafe, the door opened and a tall, young man came in with a stack of books almost toppling over. Narcissa got up to help him.

"Thank you so much, I honestly thought I was going to lose them all!"

"Of course," Narcissa took a few of the books from the top of the pile and placed them on her table as all the others were occupied. She looked them over, noting the titles. "Are you taking an herbology class? Are you in Hogwarts?"

The young man laughed and placed the rest of the books on the table. "I wish! Hogwarts was a breeze compared to these finals, even during seventh year. Oh! Narcissa Malfoy!"

Narcissa looked back up at the young man, not recognizing who he was but used to many people knowing her. "Black, but yes, that's me."

"Is Hermione here?" The man turned to look around the rest of the cafe. "You two are working together, right?"

"Well, yes, she is and…"

"Neville!" Hermione's voice carried from the back of the cafe, the young brunette taking long strides in her excitement. "It's been too long!"

Narcissa was momentarily startled at the smile and excitement in Hermione's eyes. A part of her chest hurt in what appeared to be a reaction from knowing Hermione's happiness wasn't directed at her. Before she had time to contemplate the feeling, the name of the man came to her attention.

"Neville Longbottom? Frank and Alice's boy?"

"The one and only."

Narcissa flushed, unsure what to say or do. Should she apologize? Should she grovel? Should she run away? She wasn't there but she had heard the stories, heard Bellatrix boast about her accomplishments over the Longbottoms. Regardless of her own involvement, Narcissa most certainly felt a level of responsibility toward what happened.

"It's okay," The young man reached out and touched her wrist. "Well, it's not but it's also not your burden to carry. What's done is done. The only way we can all move forward is to learn from the past, accept it as truth, and do better."

Narcissa asked to be excused and escaped into the toilet for several beats.

"What's it like, working with her?"

"A lot stranger than I ever thought it would be." Hermione admitted the words but also added, "I was consumed by so much fear and regret it took me weeks to realize she was a real person, another victim of the war."

"I wouldn't say she was a victim." Neville nodded to himself. He had ordered a tea and joined the table Hermione and Narcissa had commandeered. They were waiting for Narcissa to return which left Neville plenty of time to question Hermione. "Still, she does seem to be a genuinely nice person," Neville explained how she helped with his books. "It's almost unnerving."

The two laughed in agreement, which was the scene Narcissa came back to.

"So, what have you been up to Narcissa?" Neville asked once the blonde had settled and took a sip of her tea.

"Me?"

"Yes. It appears you and Hermione have become quite friendly. Any friend of Hermione is a friend of mine, so my interest is genuine."

"Well, I recently sold Malfoy Manor," Narcissa answered slowly.

"I almost forgot you were putting that up for market. How did the sale go?" Hermione asked.

"Very well. It was sold to a muggle historian who…"

"You sold Malfoy Manor to a muggle?!" Hermione screeched out, causing a bit of a scene in the cafe.

Neville smirked. He had read about the sale in the paper and even spoken to Harry about it. The fact that Hermione didn't know all the details actually amused him.

He watched while Narcissa raised an eyebrow and slowly, quietly replied, "I did so after several very thorough run-throughs by Astoria and Daphne Greengrass, the foremost expert Curse-Breakers in their field."

Hermione deflated, the cafe went back to business. "Oh."

"Oh, indeed." Narcissa mused while rolling her eyes.

Neville laughed quietly at the interaction before turning to Hermione. "What about you? Anything you're working on? Do you have plans for once you're done with the community service?" He noted how Narcissa perked up at the topic, apparently, the two hadn't discussed it before.

"Well, you know, nothing really. I mean, I have a few options. No, I'm not working on anything now. I just, I'm not sure about it." Hermione tripped over her words and seemed very ambivalent.

"Not sure about what exactly?" Narcissa asked, leaning in with interest.

Hermione played with her cup, rubbing her fingers along the edges. "Kingsley offered me a job at the Ministry, back when the war ended. He actually sent me an owl the other night letting me know it's still waiting for me."

"That's wonderful!" Both Neville and Narcissa exclaimed.

A/N: A little more flirting and technically a friend date. That counts right? I do believe they are both starting to notice each other in a new light as well.

[nanonano] Protective partners are a lot of fun to write. Narcissa is currently working very hard behind the scenes to help her new friend.

[ithinkyourewonderful] I think your reviews are wonderful! And yes, I have a playlist for every fanfic I've written (sometimes two because the story changes) and I listen to them while writing. The side characters are very important to me and I'm hoping to give them the justice they deserve while still focusing on my main pair.

[Yanana] Hermione will learn not to underestimate the lengths Narcissa will go to for those she cares for, never you fear!