Disclaimer: Of course, these lovely characters do not belong to me. I do borrow them for a new idea.

Thank you to all of you kind followers and the reviews.

Friendship

November 1998 - February 1999

It took a whole week, but then Harry owled her with instructions for her visit to the Malfoy Manor. When she had read the words, she had suddenly been reminded of another visit there. The realization came that she had never been there because she wanted to be. Her hand went straight to her scar. For the next few days, she had been on and off about wanting to really do this.

Since she wanted to see Harry, Ginny had accompanied her to McGonagall's office to see them of. Hermione had to admit, she was glad for her friend's presence. It was incredibly awkward between Harry and her. Her words from their last meeting still weighing on both of them.

When they stepped out of the fireplace at Malfoy Manor, they were let by an elf to the nearby library. Hermione was stund to silence as she looked around the vast variety of books. Harry, oblivious to the worth of those books, had spotted Narcissa and walked to the small sitting area. She could hear him ask his check-in questions but didn't want to hear the answers. Obviously, Narcissa was well aware of what she had to say to keep the Aurors of her property. She had done this for a long time. Her husband had been in prison a few years ago, her sister for over ten years, and her family was known to get out of trouble.

The brunette scanned the books on the shelf, recognizing them as being organized in variety of research topics. Some of the more popular authors stood out to her, others she hadn't heard of. She stepped to the next shelf, finding more research books. Finally, she ended in the fiction area. She had read a few of the wizard fiction books, but not nearly as many as she had in the muggle world.

"I'll be back in 30 minutes." She looked up at Harry, who stood by the door. She glanced back at Narcissa, surprised his check-in was done already. Then he left.

The silence was awkward. She still had a book in hand, she had pulled out in curiosity. After a long while, her mother-in-law walked over to her.

"I don't think you will like that one." Her expression was guarded. Like her husband and son, she was schooled to keep her emotions at bay. Hermione wasn't sure if she preferred that or preferred to see the crumbling interior of the other witch.

"Why not?" She regretted asking, as soon as she did.

"A girl is given as wife without her consent. The rest of the story revolves around it."

Hermione flinched and carefully replaced the book on the shelf.

"Has your marriage been arranged?"

Another question she regretted as soon as she asked it.

"Nosy, are you?" Narcissa walked down the shelf, seemingly looking for a book. She ended up pulling out a few and replaced some of them as she studied them.

"How do you keep busy?"

The older woman laughed. It was a sad laugh. The kind that was not forced but bitter. She pulled another book from the shelf.

"I read. I tend to the gardens. I think and I suppose I stare a lot."

She walked back towards Hermione, handing her the books.

"These should be better suited to your liking."

Hermione stared at them. She was going to ask, how Narcissa thought she knew what she liked, but the other woman was already walking back to the sitting area.

-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-

Her next two visits were equally awkward. As Harry had monthly check-ins, she also had monthly visits. She would hand her books back, and Narcissa would have a new pile prepared. On her second visit, it occurred to her that she might find some literature on the marriage bind in an exquisite pure blood library like the one she had at hand, so she scouted out a few more shelves. On her third visit, Hermione commented on a couple of the books she had been given. She only got a polite nod out of the woman. So she returned to her task of finding books relevant to her situation.

On the day of her fourth visit, Hermione had a particularly bad day at Hogwarts. Nobody could tell her how, but word had gotten out that she was visiting the Manor. The icy glares and rude whisperings had taken their toll. It only made it worse that she had the two classes without Ginny, Neville, and Luna by her side that day.

When it was time to meet Harry, it seemed impossible to keep the tears back. He noticed but she just shrugged, stepped towards the fireplace.

"Wait." McGonagall wasn't at her office and Ginny had already left. It was the first time the two of them were alone since their afternoon in Hogsmeade.

"I do trust you and I shouldn't have asked for your promise." She froze. Her tears were at the merge of spilling.

"She saved my life because of you."

"What do you mean?" It took all of her to keep control over her voice, as she dipped her head back to keep the tears in.

"After the death curse, I was laying there. I had this weird dream with Dumbledore and then Voldemort and I woke up. I played dead and he sent Narcissa to check if I really was."

She stood there silently, eyeing the floo powder.

"She asked me if you were alive and after I confirmed, she told him that I wasn't."

Hermione drew in a deep breath. She had no idea why Narcissa had cared so much for her safety, after all, it would be so much easier to marry Draco off again if she was dead.

"I just thought you should know. I trust you and I trust her." She nodded. It was Malfoy he didn't trust. She grabbed a handful of floo powder and disappeared.

Narcissa had set up in a parlor, awaiting them. Hermione took in her surroundings, stepping away from the fireplace. They usually walked through this room, but she had never taken the time to study it. So it was today that she noticed, it looked similar to the drawing-room and that was just the bit it took to push her over the edge. Holding in a sob she motioned to the books she was holding and rush into the hallway. It took her a while before she found the library. Other than the short trips guided by a house-elf she realized she had been mostly at the merge of unconsciousness when she was moved around the building.

She was surprised when she found herself standing in front of the fiction bookshelf, staring at the book Narcissa had felt wasn't for her. It would have made more sense to finally find a way of breaking the bind, while Narcissa was distracted in another room.

But once the first tear pushed past the barrier, they all flowed freely and her research was forgotten. She sank to the floor, leaning against the opposite shelf. She still held the books tightly, like others would hold a stuffed animal. Her gaze towards the book of the girl who was married off.

She didn't know how long she had been crying, when Narcissa sat down next to her. The older witch followed her gaze. She could feel her tense.

"I told Potter, I would send you back to Hogwarts later. We have to make sure you get there before eight, or they will send the whole ministry, assuming I murdered you."

Hermione tried to laugh at the well-meant joke, but she only hiccupped. Her face was probably red and puffy, nothing that she wanted elegant Narcissa to see. The older witch seemed to study her for a moment, then she got up and held out her hand.

"Let me show you a different room."

The younger witch stared at the outheld hand, and finally grabbed it, immediately being apparated away. They ended up in a lovely room. Narcissa pulled her off the floor, glancing rather amused at the books her daughter-in-law had still pressed against her chest.

Hermione was pulled towards the small dressing table and pushed on the seat. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked worse than she had imagined earlier. She wanted to look away and followed Narcissa's movement instead. The other witch grabbed a brush and carefully began to comb through her hair. Hermione started to protest, but she could feel herself calming down with each stroke.

"I wanted to marry Lucius."

She stared up at her mother-in-law through the mirror with confusion.

"You asked me during your first visit, if my marriage was arranged." She parted her hair, focusing just on half of it for now.

"We had known each other during our childhood, events, and such. But I fell for him during his last year in Hogwarts. We sent owls after he got his N.E.W.T.S. and when I came close to finishing school he had convinced his father to arrange with my father that I should be his wife." Hermione now noticed the smile playing on her lips.

"We got married and I considered myself so lucky until his parents started to teach me what it meant to be his wife." Her voice became more bitter. "No affection, not even in the house. We were caught a couple of times, and while Lucius could do no wrong, I was punished, when he wasn't around."

Hermione's eyes widened. She hadn't expected such a revelation.

"I expect Lucius to treat Draco's wife much the same, should he ever get out, that is." Her voice was sad again. She took care of the other half of Hermione's hair now - carefully brushing it.

"I won't though."

The young witch stared at her in the mirror. Narcissa hadn't specified if she would be the wife she was talking about. After all, she was a mudblood.

Narcissa was done going through her hair, and just occasionally gave another brush.

"I thought it would be easier after the war."

They caught each other's eyes, in the mirror. Hermione realized that the older witch had probably anticipated the opposite.

"Sorry."

"We made our choices and now we pay the price." She put the brush down and now it was just her fingers, which played absentmindedly with the brown hair. Hermione stayed quiet. This last sentence had stung. She hadn't chosen to be born to non-magical parents, and she certainly hadn't chosen to marry Malfoy. Yet, she was continually punished for both of these things. She knew Narcissa had spoken of her husband, son, and herself, but Hermione felt much the same.

She didn't realize the tears were falling until Narcissa softly turned her on the chair and cupped her face with her hands.

"Are you going to tell me, what all these tears are about?"

A soft whimper was followed by heavy sobs. The child in her wanted to cry out for her mum. A mother who was still in Australia, clueless she even had a daughter. Once again she pressed the books against her chest. Narcissa continued to wipe the tears away. When Hermione seemed to calm, she summoned a chair and sat across from her, both of her hands holding Hermione's.

"Growing up, I was always the bookworm and then the little magical accidents started. The other children didn't like me anyway, since I always knew everything from my reading, but the magical slips made it worse." She huffed at the thought and excitement her Hogwarts letter had caused her. "Then coming to Hogwarts, turns out being born to muggle parents makes you a mudblood and one-fourth of the students hate you just for that."

"I'm assuming my son made sure, you didn't forget that." It wasn't a question. Narcissa knew how Lucius and she had raised Draco. It was a miracle he hadn't turned out much worse.

"I wanted Voldemort gone, so I didn't have to deal with that anymore." A bitter laugh followed. "Turns out being a Malfoy gets you, even more, hate, but you have to guess why they hate you. For ruining the perfect bloodline or for being a traitor."

Narcissa watched her quietly. Hermione was chewing her lips, as she did when her thoughts took a hold of her. While she had managed to keep those thoughts bottled away and just look away from the disgusted faces on most days, today it was too much to ask.

"How can they believe what Voldemort said? How can they believe I willingly married Malfoy and gave up all this information?" She was sobbing again. Her hand was rubbing against her shirt that covered her scar. "I was ridiculed, I stripped my parents of any memories that I exist, I ran, I starved, I was tortured, I was married off to a jerk as some sick punishment, I was almost killed multiple times. How can they believe I am a traitor?"

She drew in a labored breath.

"How can they be so scared of me." This part hurt her the most. She was used to people calling her names, but she wasn't used to being feared. Whenever her dormmates made sick jokes she could just close her ears off to it.

But once a few weeks back, she had overheard some first years whisper about the Malfoy girl glaring at them during lunch. Wondering if she would use the killing curse like her husband would. Hermione hadn't even known she had looked at the girls.

She looked up from her hands now. Tears were once again streaming down her face.

"For all it's worth, I'm sorry for the pain my family caused you over the years." Her voice sounded sincere, but Hermione wasn't ready to just nodded that off. "And I wish I could make things better for you now." She flinched when Narcissa's thin fingers slowly moved up her sleeve to reveal the scar. She was careful as she touched it. Looking at it from all angles, carefully tracing it.

"It won't even fade."

"Her blade was cursed." Narcissa shuddered before she pulled the sleeve back down. They sat quietly for a while longer. It was a house-elf that interrupted them, with his announcement for dinner. Hermione was invited to join and so she found herself on long table, obviously in the usually empty spot, staring at Draco's seat.

"That room, it's yours if you want it. I'll adjust the wards tomorrow." The blonde paused, pushing a piece of her meat around her plate. "I know you are at Hogwarts for now, but it's yours when you need it."

Hermione nodded slowly. She wasn't sure what she should do with a room at Malfoy Manor. But then again she didn't have a home to return to. Her parents were still off in Australia. She could live with the Weasleys or with Harry and Ron, but there was no room waiting for her. Not like there had been during her first years in school.

"Thank you." She finally mumbled.

It was a quarter to eight, when Narcissa walked her back to the fireplace. Hermione had a new stack of books in her arms and her face didn't tell the tale of many tears anymore.

"The Malfoy strategy might sound shallow to you. But walking with your head held high, will always make you feel better. It will still hurt or anger you whatever is said, but you are the future lady of this house and that mighty well should mean something to the world."

Hermione gave her a weak smile.

"I know it doesn't mean anything to you, yet. But it will make you feel better when you call upon the power that you are entitled to."

Hermione then returned to Hogwarts. At first, she dove into any corner she could find, when she heard voices, but then there was a hallway, where she couldn't escape. She could feel her anxiety level rise. It was a group of Ravenclaws. Her heartbeat, but as they came closer she figured it couldn't hurt. So she straightened her back and shoulders, lifted her chin, and walked past them with unseeing eyes.

Once she was back in her bedroom, she lost that composure and tiredly fell into her bed. She talked a bit with Ginny, but her friend had early morning quidditch practice, so she wanted to turn in.

"Malfoy?"

There was no response, and when she was sure he hadn't entered her mind, she carefully grabbed the necklace. Since she was waiting she could feel him enter.

"Your mom is a great woman. That's all." She never got an answer and eventually felt him retreat.