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.
"Well, we're not exactly close. I only met the man once, that I recall. Not to mention…"
"Don't mention it then, just come." Hermione cut the woman off. "Don't think so much about it. When was the last time you went to a celebration?"
Narcissa straightened and seemed to think hard.
"Exactly," Hermione said. "I'll pick you up tomorrow. Don't worry, we'll have a wonderful time. And if we don't, I can sneak us out." She laughed and twirled away, suddenly feeling very nervous, like she had just planned a date.
What am I doing here? Narcissa thought to herself as she waited outside the Leaky Cauldron where Neville's party was being hosted. Neville Longbottom, the only son of Alice and Frank Longbottom. The two Order of the Phoenix members whom her older sister cursed into complete insanity. How did she find herself in this situation? The war was over but that didn't mean everyone stood around holding hands and wishing the best for each other, right?
A hand slipped into hers and gave a quick squeeze of reassurance. Narcissa looked over to see Hermione smiling up at her in general encouragement.
Her other problem. Hermione was so incredibly sweet and considerate and willing to not only interact with Narcissa every day but also seemed to want to be around her. And that smile. Narcissa felt the edges of her own lips pull up as they longed to match the smile with her own. Her lips begged to mimic the ones before her.
The door flew open and a very enthusiastic blonde girl stood on the other side.
"Hermione!" The blonde stepped through and held the younger witch in a tight embrace. "And you brought Narcissa!" She exclaimed but wisely decided not to pull the blonde into a hug of her own.
"Hannah, you look as lovely as ever," Hermione replied just as enthusiastically. "Where is Neville? We brought him a gift."
Narcissa was surprised that she was included as a gift-giver but was quickly ignored as the two younger witches turned into the inn. Closing the door behind her, the blonde took in the room with a practiced ease. Most of the tables and chairs had been removed for a more open space feel. The bar was manned by a house-elf and there were two tables put together with food displayed. Minerva McGonagall and Pomona Sprout were taste testing a few items at the table. Molly and her husband Arthur were speaking with the house-elf. Andy was speaking with two young men, most likely Neville's age. They were holding hands and the shorter one, who was most likely of Irish descent with his red-tinged hair, was leaning into the taller, dark-skinned one.
"What do we have here?" A sharp, high-pitched voice screeched its way into Narcissa's ears. She flinched slightly and turned to see an older woman with a ghastly hat. Was that a stuffed bird on top? "Narcissa Black."
"And who may you be?"
"As I live and breath," The woman said, ignoring the blonde's question. She moved in so that Narcissa felt cornered in the large room. Somehow she had been pushed back into a table she didn't remember being there. "You Black sisters were the very bane of my existence at Hogwarts."
Narcissa looked wildly around the room trying to find a way out of the conversation. Hermione had made her way over to Neville who had two blonde women on either side of him. There was a set of twin Indian women a few steps away whispering to one another and laughing at their shared secrets. Next to them was a Weasley, one of the older ones, and a woman who was just starting to show her pregnancy. They were speaking with another Weasley and Fleur Delacour.
Not knowing what to do or who to turn to, Narcissa felt incredibly alone. Why on earth did I agree to this mess? She thought to herself as the woman began to tell a story of how Bellatrix had let loose an Erkling in the first year's dorm room.
"Augusta, please," Andy's voice came like a rescuing siren, begging to pull this ridiculous woman away from Narcissa. "You're terrifying the poor woman."
"Oh come off it," Molly volunteered as she approached Narcissa and Augusta with Andy by her side. "Narcissa wasn't nearly as bad as Bellatrix."
"You weren't any better!" Augusta rounded on Andy with a pointy finger. "All of you Black sisters were trouble, right from the start! You are a packaged deal, you are."
Minerva and Pomona made their way to the loud ruckus but didn't offer any help. Instead, they laughed at how easy life was back when they were in Hogwarts. Minerva spoke of the Quidditch wins she was a part of and Pomona joked about a food fight in the Great Hall she had managed to start.
Andy made her way next to Narcissa as Augusta continued her detailed exploits. She mentioned the time Narcissa rearranged the furniture in the Slytherin common room and when Andy made all the house-elves leave the kitchens so she could try and bake a cake.
"It was a 12 layer chocolate cake. You need concentration to be able to pull that off," Andy whined.
"Was that the one you made for Ted?" Narcissa asked. She watched Andy blush in response.
Neville made his way over to the group and asked what was going on. Augusta ignored him and continued with a description of Bella tormenting a Quidditch player by hexing her broom so she couldn't land for hours.
"How do you even know the Black sisters, Gran?" Neville asked more clearly. "I mean from when they were in school. Didn't you go to Hogwarts with Minerva and Pomona?"
"You didn't know?" Minerva asked, surprised.
"Your Gran was the Flying Instructor at Hogwarts for five years after we graduated," Pomona explained.
"You taught at Hogwarts, Gran?!" Neville's voice finally got Augusta's attention.
She turned back to him asking, "Did I not tell you that? Well of course I didn't! If I had I would have spent all my time complaining about the Black sisters!"
Narcissa caught Andy's eye and the two burst out laughing. If nothing else, Augusta had certainly stirred up quite a few memories they had long forgotten.
Harry, Ron, and Ginny stood over the food, betting each other to try a few of the options. Ron, however, was all too willing to taste everything and give a full report.
"I wouldn't eat those together," Luna commented when Harry had talked Ron into pouring vinegar on a scoop of whipped cream. "The Wrackspurts like to nest in odd combinations. That's one of the ways they make their way into your head."
"We all need a little adventure in our lives, right?" Ron smiled at Luna and took a big bite. He immediately regretted it and started coughing at the odd taste, spitting into a trash can next to the table.
Harry laughed and was about to say something when he noticed Draco rushing over to them. He opened his mouth to say hello but the blonde boy cut him off.
"Daphne told Astoria who told me that Granger went on a date with my Mum." He spit the words out so quickly they sounded like one big word.
"Oh isn't that lovely," Luna said, taking her own bite of some cut up veggies.
"You're barmy," Seamus said, leaning against the bar with a fire whiskey in hand. "How on earth could those two end up together?"
Dean, who ventured over to the group, asked, "Who is together?"
"Hermione and Draco's mum," Seamus answered, shaking his head. "I bet you five sickles nothing is going on."
The group turned to look at Hermione and Narcissa. Hermione had just brought a drink over and handed it to the older witch. When their hands touched, they lingered. Harry noted just how closely Hermione leaned in toward Narcissa. He looked at Ron to find the redhead's jaw hanging open.
"What if…" Harry started to say but Ron quickly cut him off.
"No way, mate. No way in all of Gringotts vaults is there a single change that could be true." Ron shook her head several times trying to comprehend what he was seeing. Ginny mimicked him exactly.
Draco raked his hands through his hair and groaned. "Potter, go over there and ask Hermione."
"But she's with Narcissa."
"Pull her away! Honestly, how did you Gryffindors ever get anything done?" He walked over to the bar and asked for a strong drink while grumbling about having to take care of everything.
Harry looked at Ron, but he was still desperately arguing with Seamus and Dean about all the obvious reasons the two were definitely not together. The black-haired boy shrugged to himself and turned toward Hermione and Narcissa. Once he arrived he made a quick note of how Hermione's hand was touching Narcissa's shoulder and how Narcissa's full attention seemed to be on his friend. He frowned, unsure what to make of this developing idea.
"How did your date with Susan go?" Luna's voice seemed to appear before the blonde did. Harry smiled down at the younger witch, thankful for her bluntness. "Harry said you went out the other night."
Hermione waved her hand in the air and mused, "It was great but not a date. Sorry Harry, but I have no idea what you were thinking setting me up with her."
"Oh well," Harry rubbed the back of his neck and said, "You were both single."
"Unfortunately," Narcissa added. "It takes more than just availability to find a spark."
"And you?" Harry asked. "Have you found someone special?"
He watched Narcissa closely. He noted the way her cheeks lightly flushed, how her eyes seemed to move toward Hermione before stopping themselves, how she leaned away but then returned to her comfortable position so close to Hermione. Harry's eyes widened and he didn't even bother to listen to Narcissa's response.
"I have to go," Harry said and spun around back to the bar. He pulled up next to Draco, grabbed the blonde's drink from his hands, and gulped it down.
Draco looked at Harry, turned to look back at a confused Hermione, and then asked the bartender for another.
Seamus asked Hermione three questions about what she looked for in a spouse. Dean asked her what her favorite baked treat was. Ginny questioned Hermione about Luna, figuring she might have a thing for blondes. Luna laughed at the idea and told Ginny she needed to get checked for Umakis, who were well known for stealing people's attention and confusing them.
After a few hours, Andy, Minerva, and Pomona were all brought on board and started asking Narcissa questions. Andy asked what she would bring on a deserted island; Minerva asked what she thought of an old wizard novel that involved an age gap relationship; Pomona asked whether she was allergic to peppermint.
When Molly heard what the fuss was about she laughed it off. A few minutes later and a long list of evidence, she joined Harry and Draco at the bar. Arthur asked both women whether their families had any wedding traditions.
Narcissa and Hermione wondered why the attention had turned toward them but didn't grow any wiser at the weird interactions. The evening wound down, and after Hermione yawned a few times, the two women said their goodbyes and left the party.
At the end of the night, when only a few people were left to place their bets with Seamus, Neville and Augusta asked Luna what she thought. The blonde replied, "The lives of loves are often on a journey."
Ron gave his five sickles and admitted, "They're actually a really good fit if you stop to think about it. I mean, their personalities and junk. Merlin, this has been an exhausting night."
Harry took the moment to apologize to Neville. "This sort of turned into a night focused on those two. Sorry, mate."
"Are you kidding me?" Neville laughed, his arm wrapped around Hannah. "I hate having the attention focused on me. This whole party was Hannah's idea! I gotta say though, when Daphne owled her and said Hermione and Narcissa were a pair, I didn't believe her."
"You knew?" Draco asked, his face red from drink.
Neville laughed again, "it was definitely worth inviting everyone over."
Draco groaned.
"Come on, guys," Harry said, gesturing at Ginny, Ron, and Draco. "Let's get you all home so you can sleep this whole thing off."
"Will it just be a bad dream?" Draco sighed.
"Not a chance," Ron half laughed.
A/N: Umakis are a creature name I made up. The Swahili word for Attention is Umakini, or at least that's what Google Translate said. When I reversed it, Umakini meant Seriously, but then when I reversed that it was Kwa Umakini and it just kept going like that.
[Shadow994] The rest of the group has also noticed the chemistry looming between the two!
[JenDamn] I will admit that I'm too excited to not work on this story. Each little reveal is so much fun to write!
[Yanana] I think it could have turned into something if the two women allowed themselves closer contact but we're not at a kissing stage just yet. No angst! I promise!
[Mayer] Tension can be seen in so many different ways.
[Bet_on_black] I am an unbelievable tease. I really hope you keep enjoying it!
[VileniaVeladorn] "Glacial pace slowburn" I think I may have to add that to my tags! Haha!