Their minds wandered off to foreign worlds and Narcissa's addition disappeared on its own, while they both smiled to each other in their sleep. Rarely had they been so peaceful. Little did they know, at the time, that, the next day, they would be woken up by the last person they could bare seeing.
The sun seemed high in the sky already when Narcissa opened her eyes, and she had to blink a few times before she could adjust to the bright light that was flooding the bedroom. She cautiously rolled onto her back and off Hermione, who was still sleeping soundly. She smiled to herself as she watched the brunette's innocent expression. She could not help being reminded of Draco, of all the times she had crept into his room at night to watch him sleep, of the days before He had come back to power. She sighed a little as she looked away from her sleeping beauty, for the memories that emerged in her mind were too painful.
She then finally left bed, cautious not to wake Hermione up, slipped into her morning gown, and left the room. She needed time to think. At first, she had taken Hermione in because she needed a companion; so much was true. She had also liked the idea of possessing something that Bellatrix had lost. It was not something that her sister was not used to: losing to someone else. But then, she had realized what extraordinary opportunity had been offered to her. Hermione was with no doubt one of the brightest witches of her age; she would be able to help her with her secret project. With their two minds combined, they might find the answer she was so desperately looking for.
Not many people knew of it, but the Dark Lord had punished their family with more than the impossible mission he had given Draco a year prior. As he had done to others in the past, he had ordered Greyback to bite Draco. Lucius had known about it, but he had let it happen; he had never had the guts to speak a word against his master. Yet Narcissa had thought that Draco would be where her husband drew the line. She had thought that, to protect his son, he would be able to endanger himself. She had been wrong. Lucius was a selfish coward, and he would rather see both Draco and she perish before his eyes than to ever cross the Dark Lord.
Therefore, Narcissa had started thinking of a new plan. If the Dark Lord were to win the war, she would leave with Draco. But beforehand, she needed to find a way to cure him of his Lycanthropy. Hermione's input had been extremely valuable over the past weeks, but it had been difficult to work without letting the brunette know what exactly they were researching about. Narcissa had a few leads now, but none of them were very promising. The books that Severus had recommended let her know that he was aware of Draco's condition also, and they had been very helpful – especially considering that he had written many notes in the margins. If only he had been able to stay with her at the Manor. Given the time and equipment she could have provided him with, he probably would have been able to find a cure already.
Yet there she was, after months and months of research, left with nothing more than a lead to a potion that might keep her son from transforming on the full moon, if he drank it every day for the rest of his life. And she was holding on to that hope for dire life, though it seemed desperate now. Especially since she had made the ludicrous decision of binding herself to Hermione with an Unbreakable Vow. It had seemed at least a little rational back then, because she did not know the girl and she could not trust her not to run away again. If she had run away, if people had known that she had lied to Bella and the Dark Lord, if they had known that she had betrayed them by saving this girl, they would have killed her without a second thought. She was tolerated between their ranks, nothing more, and she knew it. But if she died, all her work would die with her, and Draco would probably never be saved.
Narcissa was reflecting upon these dark thoughts, trailing down the long corridor that led from her bedroom to the ail of the Manor that held her study and the dining room, when a tall figure suddenly appeared at the other end of it. She shrieked and stopped dead in her tracks.
"Lord, what are you doing here?" she wondered, her voice shaking.
"Coming home. Or is that not allowed anymore?" he answered in a strained and tired voice.
"Of course, of course, but you should have told me. I would have prepared something nice for you ..." Narcissa defended, her stammering heart slowly coming to a rest.
Draco shrugged and Narcissa noticed only know how tired and older he looked. She had been worried last time he was at the Manor, when the Snatchers had captured Potter, but this was different. Any youthful or pure part that one could have guess in his traits before was now completely gone. Every line on his face screamed the terror and despair he bathed in every day. Narcissa felt her eyes watering.
"Sorry Mother, occasions for pleasant correspondences were scarce lately. But please ... Don't look at me like this ..." he pleaded, uneased by his mother's tears.
"Oh Draco ..." Narcissa exhaled, blinking her tears away and closing the distance between them to pull him into her arms. She felt him tense at first, but after a moment he relaxed and breathed in her long forgotten motherly scent. "I missed you so direly" she added, and he tightened his grip around her petite waist.
"So did I, Mother. But I wouldn't have wanted you there. The men are growing impatient ... you wouldn't want to see what they do to Muggles these days, especially to women" Draco whispered to her.
"You should not have to witness it either, Dragon" she retorted, while releasing him to cup his grey face. She stroked his unshaven cheeks with her thumb, smiling sadly at him. He shrugged once more, for there was nothing more to say about it. Yes, the life they led was horrifying and sometimes unfair, but there was no way out of it. It was both too early and too late for that.
"Come, Netty will prepare you breakfast, you look like you could use some!" Narcissa encouraged him, pretending bonhomie.
Draco only nodded and followed her into the dining room. "I meant to ask you about that: where are all our house-elves? I couldn't find anyone but Netty. And why aren't you dressed anyway? Aren't you always the one to tell me that if you don't get up before noon, your day is wasted?" Draco questioned her, and Narcissa could not help tensing.
She gulped and tried her best to seem natural as they took place and ordered their breakfast from Netty. "Poached eggs and some fruits for me." she told the elf. "Your aunt sent all our elves away when ..." she started, turning to her son.
"She took care of Granger" Draco cut in, hiding nothing from his disgust. "And what about the you sleeping in? Did you catch a cold?"
"I ... I have been working late yesterday ... I felt close to a break-through and did not want to go to sleep before I was satisfied with my work" Narcissa explained, and it was not a complete lie, for she had indeed spent a great deal of her day in the laboratory the day before, when she had been hiding from Hermione. Hermione. Narcissa felt her heartbeat increase rapidly at the thought of the brunette. She would wake up ultimately.
"Ah, you still think that you can change my fate, don't you?" Draco mocked, and it saddened Narcissa to see that her son had lost all hope on the matter.
"How have you been doing these past months? I could not help worrying about you every time that night came ..."
"Alright, I guess. Snape has always kept the potions coming. He can be quite the git, but he's the best at potions. It's okay when I take what he gives me. He even prepares me some pick-me-ups on the next day. We should probably do something for him when this is all over. About that, they know where Potter is." Draco explained. His tone was cold and empty of any feelings. Never had Narcissa thought that she would regret the days where her son could not finish a sentence without showing off or mocking someone.
"Is that so? I suppose that it is a good thing. Where is he?" she asked, half-heartedly cutting her egg open to spill its yellow on her freshly baked bread.
"At Hogwarts, of all places. We're going tonight. I wanted you to know."
Narcissa nearly chocked on her white tea. It could not be. It was all way too soon. She was far from ready. Draco seemed to read her distress as concern for his safety, for he reached out to cup her hand and stroke it with his thumb. "Don't worry Mother, soon it will all be over and ..."
Draco's eyes suddenly bulged, and he jumped up, nearly knocking over his plate of eggs and bacon. His face paled and turned a deep shade of crimson in a matter of seconds.
"WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING HERE?" he bellowed, and Narcissa's heart skipped a beat. She was in deep, deep, trouble. She slowly turned around and, for sure, Hermione was standing in the doorframe, even more dishevelled than usual, wearing one of Narcissa's morning gowns.
"Dragon, I can explain ..."
"Explain? EXPLAIN?! How do you plan to explain this to anyone? She's supposed to be dead! For Merlin's saggy bollocks ... Mother! You're insane! What the ..."
"Lower your voice Draco, please!" Narcissa pleaded, raising to her feet and reaching out to him.
But Draco merely brushed her off and made his way to Hermione. "And you ... YOU! Do you even know what I went through when I heard? And you were just hiding out here and ..."
"DRACO! SILENCE YOURSELF!" Narcissa voice suddenly rose, stronger than either Draco or Hermione had ever heard it before. It took them a couple of seconds to notice that she had amplified her voice with her wand. The Malfoy matron used this moment's distraction to shove Draco aside and place herself between him and Hermione.
"Leave Hermione out of this. It was I who decided to take her in. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me" Narcissa declared, her eyes as fiery and protective as they only used to be about Draco.
Draco's anger seemed to ease a little, but now he merely looked sour and taken aback. If there was one thing that he had always been sure of, it was that his mother would always love him the most. He had learned early on that she had never really loved his father, and that she had always struggled to get on with her sisters. He had always been the exception. He had always been the one and only person she really cared about. Yet there she was, throwing herself between him and Granger, of all people, protecting her like her cub. It seemed laughable now, that he had thought that seeing his mother would give him the strength to fight his last battle.
"What on Earth happened here Mother? This is completely insane ... When Bellatrix hears ..."
"Please, be patient with me. I can explain. But I need you to promise that you will not tell anyone. Especially not Bella!" Narcissa pleaded, and it only made Draco sourer.
"I think I know exactly what this is." he said after a moment, taking a glance at Hermione's state of undress. "Unfortunately, I don't have time to listen to your tales. I will tell you this: if you want us all to survive, hide her. Bellatrix wanted to leave for the Manor shortly after me; she needs to pick up a few of her favourite toys for the battle. She could be here any minute."
It seemed like hours had passed, and yet no one had come to say a word to Hermione. When Draco had spoken about Bellatrix, she had not thought twice about it. She had run. Yet, because of the Unbreakable Vow, she could not run far without endangering both her and Narcissa's life. Therefore, she had settled for hiding in Narcissa's dressing room. She was about to fall asleep against one of the long fur coats Narcissa wore in winter, when she suddenly heard steps in the adjacent room. For the first time in weeks, she wished that she had her wand. But then she heard Draco's voice:
"Granger?" he called in a low voice.
Hermione rose to her feet and met her former classmate in the bedroom. He looked awful. She had not had time to look at him properly earlier, but now that she could see him from up close, it wretched her guts.
"Look at you, literally hiding in the closet" Draco sneered at her, but it was only a shadow of his former taunts.
"Is she still there?" Hermione asked, avoiding his mocking glaze.
"Bellatrix? Yeah. She's still shouting at Mother because she won't join us for tonight's battle." He explained with a shrug.
"What battle?"
"Ah, of course, no one told you. They found Potter. That idiot went back to Hogwarts. The place is full of Death Eaters; of course, they found him in no time. But apparently old McGonagall wants to pull up a fight, and she's not the only one."
Hermione gulped with difficulty. Harry, Ron, Hogwarts. How could she forget? If the boys were at Hogwarts now, it had to be linked to the Horcruxes. And at Hogwarts, they could find more Basilisk venom. They might actually have a chance to win this war; especially now that they were under the protection of their former teachers and classmates. Hermione could not help smiling a little.
"Someone's brewing up a plan. I'd recognize that expression on you anywhere." Draco commented, and Hermione thought he nearly seemed glad about it.
"Well, aren't you? You might be able to fool them, but we both know you aren't as tough as you seem. You probably also have a plan." Hermione retorted.
"Why would I tell you?"
"Why wouldn't you? It isn't like I have anywhere to go or anyone to tell." she argued.
"True. If you really need to know, I'm getting my family's honour back. Sorry to tell you that, but I'm going after Potter."
"Like you'd have the guts to do that."
"You'll find out sooner or later."
For a moment, Hermione wanted to jump at him, but then she remembered that he had a wand, and that she did not. Draco seemed to notice her containing her anger, for he sneered at her a little wider.
"What did you want from me anyway? I thought you were only meant to get me when your aunt was gone." Hermione went on, trying to keep a cool front.
"I just need you to tell me what you want from my mother."
"What I want from your mother? I did not ask for any of this. Do I really need to remind you of how exactly I got here and what your people did to me?" Hermione exclaimed, her anger rising once more.
Draco sighed deeply, seemingly annoyed at Hermione's outburst. It was only now that Hermione realized that, thought he was his father's spitting image, he had a lot of his mother's temper. He massaged his temple with his index and middle finger, just like she would, and sighed once more before he answered.
"I know exactly what my people did to you, Granger. I was there. I was there for longer than you would care to remember. Every time you passed out from my aunt's treatment, she wanted me to have a go at you and left me the keys to the cellar for an hour or two." He disclosed, not a single ounce of remorse showing in his tone.
"YOU RAPED ME WHILE I WAS UN...?!" Hermione bellowed, but Draco was quick to plaster a hand against her lips and muffle her.
"Christ, Granger, shut up! Do you want us to get killed? I said that my aunt wanted me to. I never did. It's quite the opposite, actually. I was slipping you strengthening potions. I don't even know if you would have made it otherwise. But sure, yell at me. I'm totally the bad guy in this story."
"Right, cause not raping me and letting your aunt torture me makes you a hero." Hermione snorted at him.
"Oh, so I'm still a piece of shit for doing nothing, but Mother is fine to shag you because she became nice to you when no one was around anymore?" Draco retorted. "Yeah" he added, seeing the surprise in Hermione's eyes. "Wanna know why I guessed that you two were shagging? Because you're not the first. She had her way with Pansy and Daphne just last year. She likes them young and helpless, because then they don't know better and won't tell anyone. But I never thought she'd be mad enough to have her fun with a mudblood."
Hermione felt the familiar burn of shame and humiliation run her over. Draco had gotten better with the years. He had learned to find his opponents' weaknesses and exploit them ruthlessly. She bit down on the inside of her cheek to control her emotions, and there was an unpleasant smile on her face when she looked up to Draco once more.
"You just can't stand that your mother actually does care about me." Hermione jeered at him, reading through his careless facade.
"Sure, tell yourself that. She's good at occlumency, but Bellatrix's legilimency is better. She'll find out about your being here at some point. And then we'll see if Mother is still so fond of you." Draco countered, though he could not hide how right Hermione was.
"If your mother doesn't actually care about me, please tell me why she thought that it would be a good idea to enrol us both in an Unbreakable Vow?"
"She did what?"
"Guess you don't actually know everything about her, do you?" Hermione riposted.
"What did you Vow to? And who the hell was your witness?"
"She made me vow to never leave her. And because we were each other's witness, the vow goes both ways." Hermione explained, rather proud of the effect her explanation was having on Draco.
"This is it. She has definitely gone mad. She's completely out of it ..." Draco muttered to himself out of disbelief. "That means ... I have to tell Bellatrix." He stated out loud, after a moment.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Easy thinking. As long as you live, you're a danger to Mother. But if my aunt hears that you're here, she will kill you to set the record straight. If you die, Mother is out of harm's way. I was kinda relieved to see that you were actually alive, Granger, but you don't leave me any choice." He explained, suddenly very lucid.
"You can't be serious Draco ..." Hermione wondered, though she already started regretting boasting about their Unbreakable Vow.
"Try me, Granger. You're talking to a Slytherin."
Soooo I loved writing this chapter, though there was no smut. I had been building up to this for quite some time! There are one or two chapters left until the story I planned is wrapped up ... suspense, suspense!
Reviews are always appreciated!
Cheers!