"You could look a little happier to see your sister, Cissy. What's with the morning gown? Did dear Sevy stay over?" Bellatrix jeered at her sister when she entered the dining room.
Narcissa tried her best not to roll her eyes at Bellatrix, knowing only too well how greatly it would annoy her sister. And she could not afford to displease her in any way at the moment. The best she could do was to humour her and have her leaving with her knives before she noticed anything odd.
"I have told you that a million times Bella; I have never been interested in Severus that way. He is a trusted friend, nothing more." the blonde argued, though still walking over to her visitor to hug her briefly. Bellatrix always became particularly mad when Narcissa did not hug her to welcome her home.
"It didn't seem like it last year. You should have seen yourself beseeching him and clutching his robes like a beggar. That half-blooded peasant!" Bellatrix spat out between gritted teeth.
"Well, I was not completely wrong to trust him, was I? Did you not see first-hand that he stood by his word?" Narcissa claimed.
Bellatrix rolled her eyes and snorted, her mouth distorting into a disgusted scowl. She started strolling across the room, inspecting it as though she were looking for something. "Sure, he took your boy's glory, that's what he did. He just wanted my place at our Lord's side!" she growled, throwing Draco an appalled look. "Look at you, Draco, all worn out and shabby. What's the use of getting you these nice clothes if you make them look this pathetic? Did no one ever tell you how to stand like a real pureblood?"
Draco chose not to answer his aunt's taunts and simply nodded. "I should go and get your things" he proposed, ready to leave the room. He had to find Granger before she did something stupid.
"No Draco, stay. The elf can fetch that. He has already shown himself very helpful today." Bellatrix stated with a mischievous grin. "I think that you should stay and hear out why exactly mummy thinks that she shouldn't join us in battle tonight."
Narcissa swallowed with difficulty. She knew that the subject would come up. She knew that she would not be able to evade the Death Eaters forever. If she did not march onto Hogwarts with them tonight, she would not be considered their ally if they won tomorrow. She had to prove her loyalty. "I ..." she started, but she did not know how to argue in her own favour. She could not think of one reasonable explanation for her not being able to leave the Manor. But she had to. Her life depended on it.
"Bella, can't you see that mother is coming up with a fever? You know it's not like her to stay in bed this late. She should rest. There will be plenty of things for her to do in order to prove her worth once we won this battle." Draco intervened, surprising both his mother and his aunt with his confidence.
"You are not wrong, Draco." Bellatrix agreed, looking at him differently now, as though he had suddenly become noteworthy again. "Once He has taken over, Cissy can help us without fearing breaking one of her precious nails. And she does seem quite pale. Would you be a sweetheart and fetch her a pepperup potion? I think you know exactly where they are".
Draco paled considerable at the implication but seized his opportunity to leave the room. Of course, Bellatrix had known about his helping Hermione, back when she was her captive. She probably even had a hunch about what his mother had been up to these past months. He had to act, and fast.
Once Draco had left the room, the heat seemed to drop drastically. Narcissa slightly shivered when Bellatrix threw her a cunning smile before licking her plumb lips apprehensively.
"You know, Cissy" Bellatrix started anew, walking up to the dining table against which Narcissa was leaning. "One thing that I always appreciated about you is that, even though we grew up to be very different witches, I always knew that I could trust you. You always knew where your loyalty lay, you always held on to the right values. You knew when to turn your back on Andromeda and other Black family members of whom we speak no more. You know what happens to blood-traitors, and therefore you know better than to hobnob with them. I am no admirer of Lucius', but you found yourself a wealthy pureblood, despite the hundreds of other suitors you could have chosen from. You always behave so well, Cissy." Bellatrix went on, and she had walked so far that she was now standing awfully close to her sister.
The eldest Black sister was leaning flush against her sister's body, and held out one of her long, bony, hands, to cup the blonde's chin between her thumb and index. Her voice was a purr, but her eyes screamed danger. Narcissa knew this look only two well. Bellatrix was about to snap. She was building up to something particularly murderous.
"Why this sudden praise?" Narcissa asked coolly, trying to sound unbothered by her sister's proximity. She had thought that Bella had let go of these games ages ago, when they had both married. Her sister had always told her that she was only making sure that she was educated in every area before she left the house. But this felt like old times once more, this closeness, this caressing tone, this threat in her eyes.
Bellatrix suddenly leaned in even closer, bracing herself with her hands on both sides of Narcissa's hips, her lips inches from the blonde's ear. "Because you are always so terribly good, aren't you, Cissy?"
Narcissa shivered despite herself, and she felt her body tense up. Bellatrix hooted softly but did not retreat. "I spoke to the elf, Cissy" she added after a moment, her voice still strangely soft and pleasing, though she could not veil the danger it was carrying.
The blonde's heart was hammering in her chest now, and she knew that her sister could feal it beating against her own. Would she be able to draw her wand before Bellatrix did? And if so, would she be able to duel her? Narcissa did not want to find out.
"What ... What did Netty tell you?"
"Everything ... How you took hours to get back to me in the cellar that day, how the elf was suddenly banished from your greenhouse, how you had it cleaning the cellar, buying potions ingredients, and woman's clothing. It had more to say, but apparently you forbid it to talk to me, and it could not go against this ancient magic that binds it to its closest master." Bellatrix explained, slowly leaning back to appreciate the fear that was spreading in her little sister's eyes.
It was in that exact moment that Draco walked back in, Hermione on his heels. The sight of his aunt's body flushed against his mother's had him stopping dead in his tracks though, and Hermione crashed right into his back. The dull sound cut short to the two sisters' conversation and they both turned to Draco at the same time. Hermione was still hidden by Draco's tall back, and she seized the opportunity that this momentary distraction was giving her. She roughly pulled the wand out of Draco's hand and walk around him to point it at Bellatrix.
"Granger, what the hell!" Draco cried out.
"YOU!" Bellatrix bellowed at the same time, drawing her own wand.
"Hermione no!" Narcissa pleaded, but her voice was covered by the two others.
Bellatrix threw a first curse at Hermione, but the Gryffindor blocked it with ease. For a moment, even the Hermione herself had thought that the months she had spent without a wand had weakened her, but she was wrong. All the feelings she had bottled up were now finally resurfacing. This was her moment to take her revenge on Bellatrix, and she would not back out of it.
Narcissa had drawn her own wand now, but it was still unclear whether she would side with Hermione or Bellatrix. Hermione herself was walking a few steps back to keep both Bellatrix and Draco in her sight, for her former classmate seemed uncertain also.
"What are you waiting for, Draco? Take back your wand!" Bellatrix screamed at him, though never leaving Hermione out of her sight.
The Gryffindor threw two Expelliarmuses at the Death Eater, but she blocked them without any difficulty. Draco looked from Hermione to his aunt, to his mother, back to Hermione, unable to make a single step forward. Bellatrix and Hermione kept shooting spells at each other, but the raven-haired woman seemed to wait for her sister and nephew to take a stand before she attacked properly. It seemed like ages had passed before Draco suddenly spun around and disapparated, making good use of his Malfoy privilege to run for it.
"COWARD!" Bellatrix bellowed, and it seemed to be the last straw. She suddenly pranced forward, throwing jinx after jinx onto Hermione, who was forced to take steps back. She was barely blocking them now, unable to find a single opening to fight back. Soon she would be backed against a wall, and it would be over for her. She threw a quick look at Narcissa, who seemed to be petrified with her wand in hand, her arm neither lowered nor really held out.
The blonde was overwhelmed by the current situation. She had not foreseen that she would be forced to make such an excruciating choice. But she had to. If she stood there doing nothing and let Bellatrix win without helping her, her sister would come for her next. Yet if she helped Hermione, it would be even worse. If she did so, she would need to kill her own sister; there was no other possible choice. If she helped Hermione, but Bellatrix came out of this alive, she would send all Death Eaters after her family. But if she helped Bellatrix ... she did not even want to think about it. How could she possibly participate in Hermione's murder after saving her, bringing her back to health, spending every minute of her days with her, falling asleep in her arms, kissing her, making love to her? A thought crossed her mind before Narcissa even realized what it meant: If she ever lost Hermione, she would lose herself too.
And suddenly Narcissa's mind was made. She came out of her reverie right in time, for Hermione was now backed against the wall on the other side of the dining room, and Bellatrix was coming for her. The Malfoy matron raised her wand, and though she felt revulsed by her actions, she threw a body-binding curse at her sister's legs. Bellatrix was just raising her own wand again when her body suddenly stiffened and she fell to the ground like a great statue.
Hermione quickly smiled at Narcissa through dishevelled locks, and the blonde knew that she had made the right choice. She walked over to the brunette; her wand still held out defiantly. Hermione briefly squeezed her hand and they cautiously walked towards Bellatrix. The dark witch was quick to get back to her feet, and she seemed furious now; out of her mind with anger.
"Cissy get over here now, or you will regret this." she warned her sister, her eyes burning with anger.
"I am done fearing you Bella. This ends here and now." Narcissa refused, gripping her wand even tighter.
"Cissy. If you kill the Mudblood now, I can still forgive you. Tonight, our Lord will rule; you do not want to be on the wrong side of history." Bellatrix advised her, and sparks were erupting from her wand already.
"I know which side is the right one Bella. And it is not yours." Narcissa retorted.
Bellatrix shook her head in disbelief and muttered crude words under her breath. "You are no better than Andy then. You will know the same fate as her family." she declared, and the battle resumed.
The night had fallen now, and nothing had happened. Hermione decided for herself that no one would come for them. Apparently, Bellatrix was not as essential as she had thought herself to be. Her Lord must have started the attack without her. Hermione's heart ached at the thought of the battle that was probably ragging all around Hogwarts now, destroying the corridors she had grown up in, blasting off the walls of her former home. But she had more urgent things to think about. The digging had taken her hours, and it was only now that she realized how ironic it was that she was burying Bellatrix Lestrange like a Muggle.
Before she dragged the life-less body into its last home, Hermione looked up to the dark windows of the Manor once more. A part of her still thought that Narcissa would suddenly rush down the stairs and join her. She could at least have been watching from a window. But Hermione's most rational part knew that she was not. And her assumptions were confirmed when she walked back up to the dining room, the corpse's face imprinted on her pupils, for she found Narcissa in the exact same position she had left her in a couple of hours earlier.
The blonde was still curled up in a corner of the room, covered in her own blood, her eyes wide-open in shock, her knees trembling, and tears running down her face. Her wand was lying on the ground next to her, the murder weapon she could not bare seeing any longer. Hermione kneeled in front of her and silently cast cleaning spells on both of them. Once she was certain that all dirt and blood was entirely gone, she wiped Narcissa's tears off her cheeks and kissed her forehead.
"You should go to bed now, Narcissa." she proposed softly.
The blonde mumbled something Hermione did not understand. But then she repeated it again and again, a little louder each time, and Hermione finally heard it echoing across the empty dining room.
"I told you I was no better than her."
"That's not true" Hermione refused, but her voice was shaking. "Please, let me take you to bed."
Narcissa shook her head no but did not fight the brunette when she slipped her arms around her back and legs and hoisted her up. She did not protest either when Hermione walked away from the scene of the crime and carried her straight to her private bathroom, where she conjured hot bubbly water into the large tub. She did not even say a word about the Gryffindor banishing both their clothes and slipping both their bodies into the warm water. As soon as she was settled between Hermione's legs and her back was resting against the young witch's front, she simply fell asleep.
In the first hours of the morning, Hermione woke up to Narcissa staring at her intently. She did not want to think about how long the blonde had been watching her sleep. She just opened her mouth to test the water and try a light-hearted joke, but Narcissa was quicker to speak.
"Make love to me." the blonde ordered, and Hermione could not help raising her eyebrows at her.
"Are you sure that this is what you want?" she wondered, taken a little aback.
"Please ..." Narcissa breathed out, and it sounded like her voice was about to crack.
Then Hermione simply nodded and leaned towards her to kiss her. Narcissa's lips tasted of blood. She had been biting down on them ever since it happened the day before. But the taste was soon taken over by the lavender scent of her skin that still smelled of their shared bath. Narcissa kissed her back instantly, hungrily, as though her life depended on it. And yet Hermione felt tears dampening the older woman's cheeks.
She wanted to break it off, but Narcissa had begged her, and she never begged. She therefore trailed off her lover's mouth, along her soft jawline, down her neck and collarbones, further south. She stopped at her ribs, on which the wounds were still fresh, and kissed the injured skin tenderly before her mouth wandered down to Narcissa's rounded hips and protruding hipbones. The blonde was quieter than usual, but Hermione did hear her breath hitching and then coming out in a relieved sigh when her lips met the apex of her thighs.
After Narcissa toppled over the edge of her orgasm, half an hour later, she instantly fell back to sleep. Hermione wiped her lips clean and kissed the blonde goodnight before resting her head on Narcissa's shoulder and going back to sleep also. On the bedside table, Draco's succinct letter that had woken Narcissa up was still open. It spelled out three brief sentences that had been scribbled down in a hurry:
Potter won; Dark Lord died.
Father ran away, Snape passed.
You made the right choice.
So, at first I was planning on writing another chapter after this to wrap it all up (and add one last smut piece to the story), but now I feel like it could also end here. Let me know if you want that last chapter or if you also appreciate an open ending.
Cuddos