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.

"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.

"When did Kingsley first approach you?"

"Just after the war, maybe a month or so after. It was at the same time he offered Harry and Ron Auror training."

"Why didn't you take it then?"

"I went back to Hogwarts and took an accelerated version of my last year."

"Did he not wait for you to finish?"

"He did, he sent me a new offer a week after I graduated."

"Why didn't you take it then?"

"I was already drinking a bottle of wine a day and finishing off several pints each night."

Narcissa paused in her questioning realizing just how blunt she was being. It really wasn't her place to question Hermione this way but she had a lot of trouble holding back her curiosity.

She took a quick moment to look around and realized they were on Kingsmead Way turning toward the water. They were a block away from her flat.

The blonde, waiting to see what was going to happen next, followed Hermione down the block and up to her building. The brunette then held the door open for Narcissa and waved her in.

"How did you know I live here?"

Hermione blushed, "I, well, I figured it out a few weeks ago."

Narcissa turned toward the younger witch and raised an eyebrow. "Have you been stalking me?"

"You wish," The brunette laughed. She shook her head, her long curls hitting softly against her face. "I live here too."

"You do?"

"Yes, on the top floor."

"Oh."

"Sorry I didn't say anything before." Hermione rubbed the back of her neck, suddenly feeling very shy.

"Can I see it?"

"What?"

"Your flat, can I see your flat?"

"Why?" The younger witch squeaked.

Narcissa raised her eyebrow again, then realized her question and blushed slightly. "I'm sorry, I was just curious, it was silly. I wanted to see the top story. The view must be amazing. Nevermind, I'll say goodnight."

The blonde turned and walked to the elevator door, pushing the button multiple items.

Hermione must have noticed the red-tinge around the older witch's face because she walked up to Narissa with a bold smile. "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions. I just, well, nevermind what I thought. Sure, come on up."

The older witch turned slowly toward Hermione but didn't say anything. The two shared a small smile when the elevator door opened and Hermione picked the 13th floor. Leisurely, Narcissa followed the brunette out of the elevator and down the hall. When Hermione opened the door to her flat, Narcissa laughed.

"What?"

"You can't even see the view!" The older witch laughed even more, stepping into the flat.

Hermione looked up and noted the stack of books and closed curtains. When was the last time she had opened those curtains?

Narcissa reached for her wand, flicked her wrist and wordless moved the books and opened the curtains. She walked straight through the now opened doors and looked out over the evening sky. The sun was beginning to set and the light over the Hackney Marshes was glorious. Her smile must have reached from ear to ear.

"This is marvelous," The older witch said, mostly to herself.

"It's something spectacular," Came the reply. Narcissa turned to Hermione and noted the younger witch was standing a few steps behind her but staring at her instead of the sky. She blushed again and walked back into the flat.

Looking around she saw piles of books, bookshelves full of books, and an assortment of journals and scrolls scattered on counter space and seating areas.

"The rumors about you certainly don't disappoint."

"What rumors?!" Hermione asked, searching her flat for something damning.

Narcissa laughed and waved her hand out at the scattered mess. "You certainly love to read."

"Oh," Hermione blushed slightly, "I find information to be helpful. Now that I've stopped drinking, I seem to have a lot more hours to my day. And to my nights."

The older witch followed Hermione's eyes toward an open bedroom. Inside there were even more books scattered around the bed, side table, and a few on the floor. Hermione waved her wand and the door closed.

"Well," The older witch began, searching the room for something to focus on. It was the same setup as her own flat, a large living room which connected to the open kitchen. There were now three closed doors, one to Hermione's bedroom, one to the bathroom, and one to the second bedroom. "Tell me about this." She walked toward a large fang in a glass case. "What is it?"

"That would be a basilisk fang."

Narcissa blinked a few times before sending a questioning look toward Hermione.

The younger witch laughed and added, "Yes, that basilisk. After Harry killed it during our second year, the corpse was just left down in the dungeon. Merlin knows why, but it ended up being helpful so I'm not complaining. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Ron and I actually grabbed it and used the fang to destroy Helga Hufflepuff's cup."

"So you really did steal the cup from Bella's vault," Narcissa said in awe. "I honestly wasn't sure." She turned back to see Hermione showing a sour look on her face. She quickly changed the subject. "How about this?" She pointed to a strange-looking pin on one of the bookshelves. "Spew?"

Hermione laughed. "I tried to free all house-elves while I was in my fourth year at Hogwarts. It stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. I know, it's a horrible name. Besides, I only ever got anywhere with Dobby."

Narcissa stirred at the name before quietly commenting. "He was a good house-elf."

The younger witch tilted her head but slowly nodded. "The best." She pointed toward a small jar of sand and added, "That's from his gravesite. He's buried at Shell Cottage, out in Tinworth. It's beautiful there."

The blonde cleared her throat and searched the flat for something else. There were several odd nicknacks that she couldn't even begin to question, including a few copies of The Quibbler. Instead, she focused on a toy tucked in the corner.

"Is that a tricycle?"

Hermione laughed again and went over to the small metal toy. "It is!"

"It's broken," Narcissa stated matter of factly. She wanted to offer to fix it but honestly, she wasn't sure what the point would be.

"Well, yeah, Grawp was never very delicate."

"Is that a friend of yours?"

"I don't know if those are the exact words I would use. I mean, he is very friendly, for a giant.."

"A giant?!" If Narcissa dropped her wand. She wasn't sure if she had ever dropped her wand in all her life but the idea of Hermione talking about being friends with a giant simply made her lose all sensible action. She was even at a complete loss of words.

"That wasn't quite the reaction I was expecting however it also wasn't the most extreme." Hermione reached down and picked up the white colored wand, handing the hardwood over to the blonde. When their hands touched, the wand sparked and Narcissa felt warm, like she was swimming in a warm bath.

The older witch pulled her hand back and quickly tucked her wand back in her dress.

"What was that?" Hermione asked but Narcissa changed the subject. She didn't want to think about Hermione possibly experiencing the same warmth from her wand.

"The corsage on this bookshelf, what is that from?"

"The what?"

"The corsage here, the magically preserved flowers." Narcissa touched the soft pink petals.

Hermione, finally realizing Narcissa was not going to answer her original question, crossed her arms and roughly replied, "Those are gentle Hermione roses. Ron got them for me on our first date. I guess I just haven't had the time to throw them out."

"Why would you?" Narcissa asked. "They're beautiful and I'm sure they were given to you with love."

"But we broke up?"

"Does breaking up mean you forget?"

"Isn't that what you're supposed to do?"

Narcissa smiled sadly, "I don't think so. I think holding onto the good from a relationship is important. I think things change and people grow apart, but I don't think there's anything wrong with remembering."

The younger witch smiled and nodded once, a quick, sure nod. Soon after, the two parted ways. Narcissa said her goodnights, walked out the door, down the hall, into the elevator, down three floors and across the hall to her own flat. She opened the door, checked her wards, changed, climbed into bed, and reached out for her wand on her side table. She held the hard beech wood and closed her eyes, trying desperately to bring back that warmth Hermione had brought her.

A/N: A short chapter but a sweet chapter. Full of fluff and flirt.

[Shadow994] I don't know if this story fixes all the bad in the world but I'll take the compliment when it comes to your daily life. I hope school is keeping you safe and teaching you lots of important things! Hermione's definition of fun is getting top marks.

[Saiorse820] So much more blushing in this chapter.

[Yanana] I loved that line! Thank you so much for loving it as well.

[1-2-3] I hope you adore this chapter even more.

[DutchDreams] LMAO! I didn't even fully make that connection. Instead I'm over here like, of course they ordered tea, that's all Brits drink, right? Hahaha!

[ithinkyourewonderful] Well duh! Everything that has to do with the supernatural is actually old magic. ::smiles::