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.
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.
"I honestly don't know how I end up in these situations," Hermione whined as they made their way through Hornchurch. She turned down Bruce Ave and started watching the house numbers. "I should have just said no but I couldn't think of a good enough excuse. Now I'm stuck in it. And I don't want to be rude, or anything, but I just don't think it's a good match."
Narcissa watched the shorter witch as she wandered down the streets and chattered on. Hermione noticed the blonde's close examination and blushed.
"You know what I mean, right?" The brunette asked, turning toward the older witch.
"I do not," Narcissa said with a smile. "You have yet to tell me what you've gotten yourself into."
Hermione blushed harder and looked down at the basket in her hands. "I've been set up on another date."
"Another blind date?" Narcissa turned to search the road, the same gesture she always does when trying not to seem interested.
Hermione felt a little warm at the realization that Narcissa did care about who she was dating. "Susan Bones, she was a student at Hogwarts, same year as us."
"Related to the late Amelia?"
"Yes, she was her aunt."
"Amelia was quite the catch; is Susan not of the same caliber?"
"It's not that she's not pretty, she is. Maybe I'm a little tired of redheads, though." The younger witch mused. "Susan has a lot of personality for being so bland. I guess that's the best way to put it."
Narcissa watched Hermione closely, opened her mouth once, closed it, then turned back to the road. They walked for a few more paces before the older witch finally admitted. "I've been set up on a date of my own."
"Really?!" Hermione immediately realized just how loudly she had asked that question and slapped a hand over her mouth. Feeling quite embarrassed of her outburst, she quietly asked, "Who is it you're seeing?"
"I haven't a clue," Narcissa admitted, ignoring Hermione's behavior. The younger witch wasn't sure if she was grateful or confused by her disregard. "I'll admit I allowed Draco to set things up. We are supposed to meet tomorrow night."
"Where?" Hermione's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Narcissa smiled at the mischievous look. "Why do you want to know?"
"My date with Susan is tomorrow. Perhaps we can help each other out, just like you helped me with my last blind date."
The older witch didn't hesitate when she nodded. "What do you have in mind?"
The restaurant was dark overall but magical lights danced amongst the vines covering the walls and ceiling. The atmosphere was extremely romantic and heightened Hermione's anxiety.
She took a large gulp of her water and wished desperately to reach across the table and guzzle down Susan's wine. The witch was droning on about something to do with secretarial work at a potions shop in Bradford but Hermione honestly couldn't find the strength to engage. She twisted her head around, searching the restaurant for any sign of blonde hair.
"Do you think the pappardelle is good?"
"What?" The brunette asked sharply.
Susan laughed and repeated the question.
"I've never been one for pasta," Hermione replied shyly. "I'm sorry, I'm not being the best date, am I?"
Susan reached out and patted Hermione's hand. "We're not a very good match." She agreed. "I don't know what Harry was thinking."
Hermione tipped her head to the side and asked, "But you picked such a romantic restaurant. I mean, isn't that literally the tag line of this place?"
"I've never been to Clos Maggiore. My ex, Orla, always said we'd go but for one reason or another, it never happened. To be honest, I agreed to the date because I figured we could catch up. It's not like we're in the same circles to run into one another often." Susan shrugged her shoulders. She looked up at the bright lights and added, "It is quite magical here; it reminds me of the first time we saw the Great Hall and you leaned over to me and explained how the ceiling was enchanted with the night sky. Do you remember that?"
Hermione smiled, realizing it was Susan she had said that to. At that point on, Hermione lightened up a bit and enjoyed her meal with Susan.
Sitting across the table from Ratih Zabini was not how Narcissa expected to be spending her night. She knew something must have gone terribly wrong with Draco's planning to have this be her date. Perhaps he had someone back out and asked Blaise for help. He would do something that foolish instead of just canceling the whole thing.
When they first met at the restaurant, Ratih was every bit as glamorous as she had been back in Hogwarts, perhaps even more so. However, knowing her history made Narcissa's skin crawl. She had no interest in being one of the many disappearing acts of Ratih's long list of exes.
"The menu is a sorry sight tonight; I wonder what the chef has up his sleeve." The dark-skinned woman's voice drawled in a fake disappointment. Or perhaps her attitude was real and Ratih truly did find everything to be below her expectations.
Narcissa internally rolled her eyes at the idea but instead said, "Bothering a chef always leads to a distrustful meal. Let's order the pappardelle; I hear the truffles are especially delicious this time of year."
"Of course, you're right," Ratih smiled, another fake emotion. Narcissa held herself from shivering. The idea of truffles being in season in the summer, really, this woman would simply agree with anything Narcissa said.
The blonde slowly moved her view across the darkly lit room. They were in a darker corner, somewhat separate from the rest of the dinners, which made it quite hard to find Hermione amongst the packed tables. To bid her time, Narcissa made sure to ask Ratih questions about herself, allowing the woman to prattle on about materialistic and superficial issues in a seemingly downward spiral.
The meal was delivered at the same time Narcissa heard the laugh. It was like a chorus, a song of joy filling the room with its own type of music. She knew that laugh anywhere. She smiled.
"You truly are beautiful," Ratih said, bringing Narcissa's attention back to her date. "We would look amazing together."
The blonde's smile immediately dropped and she realized she couldn't continue the act. She didn't want to be there, at least not with Ratih.
Narcissa reached across the table and grabbed Ratih's hand. "There comes a time in one's life when they realize they do not have the things they need. It's not about money or social status or other ideologies we have been indoctrinated with. It's about love." Narcissa waited to see if Ratih showed any reaction to her words; the woman's eye didn't even dilate. "Ratih, I wish the best for you, but I'm not prepared to provide it."
Getting up from the table, Narcissa thanked Ratih for the lovely evening and turned toward the door. Before she made it, Hermione walked up to her, smile as bright as the sun.
"Hi."
"Good evening."
"How about some dessert?"
"I would love to."
It was nearly 11 PM when Daphne left the theatre performance of Art. Dating a stagehand meant a lot more late nights than she was used to but Archie loved the muggle magic of theatre.
She made her way into Clos Maggiore, saying high to the maitre d as she passed by. After eating at the restaurant for nearly every dinner in the last three weeks, Daphne had become quite close with the employees and was able to secure a reserved seat just past the bar.
The blonde wound her way toward the back and dropped down into the chair near the fireplace, which had a heating ward on it. The colors danced across the room without adding any heat, so Daphne loved being near the roaring fire.
She checked the menu quickly but knew she was going to order the banana cake. The waitress took her order and left a Yaka Hula Hickey Dula, Daphne's new favorite cocktail, which the bartender had made when he saw the blonde walk through the door. She smiled at him and waved.
It was then Daphne saw the two women, sitting very close together up at the bar. They were laughing, chatting, touching each other's arms, and sharing a chocolate cake.
"Huh," Daphne thought to herself. "When did Narcissa and Hermione start dating? What an interesting pair."
A/N: I have no doubts y'all enjoyed this one but I don't mind you tell me all about it. Sidenote: In the movie, Hermione told Pansy about the ceiling, but Susan was right behind them. So yeah, that detail was changed for my story.
[Saoirse820] I hope you still got your errands done! Was there any more swooning? Because there's going to be some more swoon worth things to come.
[tattooedsappho] Warm indeed, a magical warm, a warm that exists only when a wand accepts a user. And it looks like Narcissa has decided what she wants as well.
[Bet_on_black] I agree that Narcissa is incredibly inquisitive and that her interest is very much in Hermione. Hermione will be returning the favor soon, just wait a little bit longer.
[nanonano] You thought there was progress in the last chapter! Just wait for what's to come. Writing Narcissa is always a joy.
[Yanana] ::sparkle:: ::sparkle::
[ithinkyourewonderful] Trust me, the slow and steady method was, is, and will be worth it. I think we can all agree without a doubt that Narcissa knows who she wants now. The next step is figuring out how to get it.