Narcissa was practically racing through the streets of London – despite her very high heels – and Hermione was struggling to follow her pace. Not only was the brunette not much of a runner, but it was also difficult for her to stay under their umbrella without standing too close to Narcissa. Not that she did not want to. However, as long as she would not be able to explain why she would not mind standing closer to her, she would not try it. Therefore, it was almost a relief when the blonde-haired witch finally stopped in front of a small cafe that Hermione had never noticed before.
"It operates the same way as the Leaky Cauldron: only witches and wizards can see it – if they get close enough." Narcissa explained as she put the umbrella down "There is no comparing their menus however"
Hermione grinned at Narcissa's disgusted frown, and they entered the cafe. The main room was of a small circular shape with a bar in its midst, all tables stood low, and sofa and armchairs were the only seating option beside the bar stools. If it were not for the large magic windows, the dark wooden panels on the wall would have made for a particularly dubious ambiance. Yet, luckily, the windows were there, and they were displaying a perfectly sunny weather that shone on the Thames, very far from the actual hurricane that was raging outside.
As they took place in two separate armchairs in a secluded corner of the room, Hermione examined Narcissa's face for the first time since they had left the clinic, and she could not help the amused gasp that escaped her lips.
"What is it?" the blonde exasperatedly asked.
"It is just … I don't mean to be rude … but your hair!" Hermione tried to explain, while still staring at Narcissa's dishevelled face. The bun she had neatly tied together was now a mad curly mess that had her resembling a blonde Medusa.
"Don't look at it!" Narcissa hushed her, and Hermione could have sworn that she had blushed a little. Yet, with a swift wave of her wand, Narcissa's hair was already perfect once more. She then pulled a small mirror out of her purse and smiled at her own reflection. "That is considerably better".
"I think I liked you better before." Hermione taunted her. Somehow, it seemed like the best way to fight her nervousness was to attack the blonde before she could do it herself. Luckily, Narcissa only rolled her eyes at her.
"Should I also do you?" she then asked.
Hermione felt her blood rushing in all places – especially inappropriate ones. She thanked her darker complexion, for it was hiding most of her flush. Narcissa, who had sensed her distress, gestured towards Hermione's birds nest of a hair to clear the air.
"Do you have experience with my type of hair?" the young witched wondered, quite fidgety now.
"No. But, it should not be any more trouble than Draco's. His natural hair is excessively frizzy, you know." Narcissa noted in a falsely concerned tone.
"That does explain the overly slick hair" Hermione laughed.
Narcissa rolled her eyes at her, but she was somewhat smiling also.
"So, shall I?"
"That would be very nice, thank you"
With another wave of Narcissa's wand, Hermione's wild muddle suddenly turned into elegant, silky, locks, which were not without reminding the young witch's great efforts for the Yule Ball.
"I might have overdone myself a little" Narcissa commented while handing Hermione her mirror.
"Not at all, I love it!"
"I believe I preferred you before" the blonde argued, mimicking Hermione's previous amusement.
Hermione suddenly felt an urge to stick her tongue out at the mocking woman, but she reigned in her urges. She probably would not be able to take a comment about her tongue right now.
"So ..." Hermione started apprehensively, looking for a conversation topic.
"We will have two poached eggs and creamed spinach" Narcissa cut in.
The waiter, who Hermione had not noticed, wrote down their order, complimented Narcissa on her choice and left. The blonde then fished a silken scarf and a silver box out of her purse. She draped the scarf around her naked shoulders and drew a cigarette from her box.
"Do you mind?" she asked while putting the cylinder between her red-painted lips.
"Not at all" Hermione answered, before she pulled out her wand to light Narcissa's cigarette "If I may say ..."
"Thank you, dear. You may" Narcissa thanked her while drawing on her cigarette.
"This isn't exactly a healthy habit."
"I know. But I believe it superfluous to describe to a therapist what a coping mechanism is." Narcissa retorted while blowing some smoke towards the window.
As much as she loathed smoking, Hermione could not help noticing how good it looked on Narcissa. The way her lips puckered, and her cheeks hollowed ... Some very inappropriate images came to mind ...
"Are you aware that I am a naturally talented legilimens?" the blonde abruptly asked, a satisfied smirk stretching her lips.
Hermione's eyes bulged. Did that mean that she had just seen every inappropriate image that flew through her mind?
"I try not to invade people's privacy, but on occasion your thoughts lack concealing ..." Narcissa added while drawing another puff on her cigarette.
"Well, that's nice to know ... Does Anselma know about it? Your skills don't seem very compatible with therapy." Hermione observed.
Narcissa's mood seemed to drop a little as Hermione mentioned the clinic. Nice job Granger! Want to make someone feel comfortable? Mention the place where they try to fix their trauma. Works every time.
"You certainly know that Dc. Bones is a very skilled legilimens herself; her occlumency is impeccable. I would need to give it my best if I wanted to penetrate her thoughts. Which I do not intend to do. She knows about my skills anyways, and she would very well feel it if I tried anything on her mind." Narcissa explained, her tone much colder now, as Hermione had always known it to be.
Sensitive subject. Noted. Narcissa drew on her cigarette one last time, and then vanished the bud with a wave of her wand. Yet another spell that Hermione would have loved to learn from her.
"So, err, how have you been doing these past years?" Hermione asked, and she instantly felt stupid for doing so. What a foolish question. What's next Granger, been missing your Death Eater husband? Do you still eat in that room where your sister tortured me? It could use some refurbishing.
To Hermione's great surprise, Narcissa chuckled.
"I am sorry, I should not have been listening in on your thoughts. Plus, it was certainly inappropriate for me to laugh at this. You do not need to entertain me with small talk, though. It always sounds forced." the blonde clarified.
"I am the one who is sorry, I have never really been able to shut my brains off. But what should I say? Nothing? That doesn't sound better."
"Tell me about yourself. What do you do beside work?"
Was Narcissa Black really asking about her life? Why was she suddenly so interested? They had never really spoken before, and the little they had said had not been particularly engaging.
"There is such a thing as beside work?" Hermione joked.
"Not to you, apparently." Narcissa jeered.
"Well, what do you do? Do you even work?" the brunette retorted defensively.
"Your lack of manners really is astonishing, Miss Granger. Yes, I do work. My late husband left me with many estates and investments to care about. That does indeed keep one rather busy. As for my extracurricular activities, you should know that I am fair gardener and potioneer. I am also a fervent reader and have read many of your scientific articles."
Hermione could not help blushing once more. Why did she always need to get so defensive and childish around this woman? Why did she always expect the worse of her?
"Oh, that's actually nice of you. I don't think anyone beside my colleagues ever read my papers. I also read a lot; that's what I do most times when I am not at work. And I go out with friends from time to time. But I am more of a one-on-one person."
"I see" Narcissa nodded with a wicked smile, and Hermione suddenly felt extremely self-conscious. It was very unsettling to be stared at by such a beautiful woman. Not that Hermione thought anything of it; but no one could deny how perfectly proportioned and noble Narcissa's traits were. And they were not the only perfectly proportioned thing about her. Shut it, Granger!
"You are starring, Miss Granger."
"You started it."
"I did."
Luckily, the waiter arrived just when Hermione thought that her heart would burst out of her chest. That woman's gaze was criminal. How could eyes do that to someone? She had not even touched her, and yet Hermione felt the bizarre urge to surrender. To what, though?
The eating part of lunch was excruciating. Poached eggs and creamed spinach. What a wacky idea. It was positively impossible to eat that without messing it up. Every time Hermione tried to bring her fork to her mouth, half of it fell back to her plate, splashing her shirt in the process. Narcissa, on the other hand, was scooping their lunch up as thought the leaves and eggs were jumping into her mouth on their own accord. From time to time, she would smile at Hermione in a polite fashion, but the Gryffindor knew that the Slytherin was mainly making fun of her.
At a quarter to one, their lunch was finally coming to an end and, as Hermione noticed, it was time for her to go back to the clinic. She was meant to meat one of her new patient at one thirty. Narcissa pursed her lips for a split second, but other than that she did not show any reaction to Hermione's cutting short on their lunch break. "You should take your umbrella; it is probably still pouring" she only said.
"What about you?" Hermione wondered as she reached for the check.
"I can apparate home, thank you very much. And do not look at that, I told you that I was paying for lunch" Narcissa intervened while swatting Hermione's fingers.
"But if you can apparate, why didn't you do so at the clinic?"
"You are the one who changed the wards around the building, aren't you?"
"What do you mean, changed? How would you know how they were before?"
Narcissa sighed, rubbing her temples.
"Aren't you a bright one?" she hissed, nearly ominously. "I used to come here very often before you took over. That is how I heard about your new business."
"Really? Which kind of office used to be operating there?" Hermione inquired, choosing to ignore the blonde's viciousness.
"That is none of your business. The wards you added to the building go much further than the old ones used to. They disable apparition in a ten feet radius around the building." Narcissa retorted.
Silence fell as Hermione tried to remember the day where Anselma and she moved in and chose which wards to put up. Yet, the longer she waited, the heavier the silence was becoming. Why was it that Narcissa's mood could change so quickly? Was she saying things that were much more offensive than she thought? She could not make out what had angered her this time. Her curiosity? After all, Narcissa had been the one to bring up this dubious business that not even Anselma knew of. She was clearly avoiding the subject, yet such behaviour could only raise suspicion.
"Aren't you going to be late for work?" Narcissa asked after a moment, her tone more bored than actually invested in Hermione's schedule.
"Yes, you're right. I should go" Hermione admitted reluctantly.
Somehow, it did not feel right to leave things like that. The air around them was so dense. Where was the light mood their shared under her umbrella? Where had the jokes gone?
"Err ... Miss Black ..."
"Narcissa."
"Narcissa ... Did I do something wrong?"
"All the things, and none at all. But you would understand what I mean if you had chosen to be my therapist." Narcissa said with a salty pout.
"What do you mean? You did not really leave me a choice. You only wrote to Anselma."
"Well, she is the head of operations, isn't she?"
"Yes, but regarding the clinic, we operate as equals. Whoever a patient writes to becomes their therapist. Only if they address both of us do we choose who will work with said patient." Hermione explained, now growingly irritated herself.
"I ... I did not know that. I figured ... it would only be natural to address your superior as a mean to reach the entire clinic."
Silence fell once more. The clock was ticking. Some customers were staring now, for Hermione had been standing next to their table for some time already.
"Did you actually want me to be your therapist? Is that why you kept ignoring me?"
Narcissa looked away as Hermione tried to catch her eyes. It was enough of an answer.
"YOU HAD LUNCH WITH NARCISSA MALFOY?!" Ginny bellowed.
"Black, actually"
"Like that's the important part" the redhead sneered.
"I think it must be important for Miss Black to be called by the right name. Her husband didn't seem to be a very nice man." Luna intervened.
"I know, honey, I know. But don't you want Hermione to explain how the hell she got there?"
"Miss Black is a very attractive woman. I understand why Hermione had a date with her." Luna noted in a reflective tone.
"Well, it wasn't really a ..." Hermione started, but Ginny was quick to cut in.
"But she's Malfoy's mother, for Merlin's sake! She's a pureblood supremacist ..."
"Used to, actually" Hermione added, but no one seemed to notice her anymore.
"... she used to work for You-Know-Who, she ..."
"Not really, actually ..." Hermione once more tempered her.
"People can change" Luna stated, not at all impressed by Ginny's overflowing emotions.
Ginny fell silence all at once and now noticed that she had stood up. She let herself fall back down on the couch and stared at her girlfriend in utter disbelief.
"Luna, the woman had you locked in her cellar for weeks" Ginny whispered in an imploring tone.
Luna only shrugged and said: "Times were different. I doubt she would do that to me now."
"Well, obviously! But that doesn't make her less of a ... I don't even have the words ... Hon' ... How can you just let it go like that?"
"We don't know what we would have done in her shoes. She seems to do better now. That's enough for me. Well, she can apologize to me one of these days, if she feels like it."
"Should I leave you?" Hermione asked as Ginny was staying dangerously silent.
"No, you stay. You're next."
This would be a very long evening ...
Yes, I did read and watch Carol.