*NOTE* This chapter was re-posted 15 September 2015
A/N: As I said in the previous version of this chapter, I've been out the last month with a busy performance schedule, a concussion, a broken computer, as well as traveling and starting school. Whew! Updates may be a bit slower from here on out, but rest assured I have not abandoned this story and would not do so without letting you know. Thank you so much for all your kind reviews and well wishes :)
So, on with the adventure, then...
Trigger Warnings: Mentioned genocide, mentioned imprisonment, anxiety symptoms
They sat by the window and watched the world spin past them, amazed by the way Muggle London operated without the burden of impending war and genocide. They felt like intruders upon a utopia in which they had no rightful place. To pollute the blissful obliviousness of the innocent was a crime neither would dare commit; they had experienced too much to ever wish it upon another.
An hour was all they could manage of peace before the nagging in their minds became too much. Hermione was restless remaining in one place; she was keen to cover their tracks as quickly as possible. Narcissa, too, was squirming with anxious impatience.
"What do you propose we do now, Hermione?" Narcissa's voice was soft and caressed the silence rather than broke it.
"We need to leave here," Hermione sighed sadly, noting with no little emotion that Narcissa had addressed her by her first name again. It was a reminder of their newfound… intimacy. It was the only word that fit. Hermione couldn't bring herself to return the compliment just yet.
"May I ask where you and your friends were hiding when you were snatched?" Narcissa asked somewhat awkwardly; she clearly didn't know how to discuss Harry and Ron.
Hermione ignored the awkwardness and plainly answered with a sigh, "We were in hiding in the woods. We were looking for… tools that would help us defeat Voldemort."
Narcissa barely flinched at the name this time, though she did blanche a little. But she didn't press further and appeared to be thinking. Hermione's anxiety grew as Narcissa's pondering went on in silence; if they didn't have a plan soon Hermione was liable to unravel hopelessly. Her new sensitivity and delicacy was frightening.
"I have been unable to track international events consistently with all the goings-on here in England, but I believe that Wizarding Greece is stable."
It took Hermione a second to process Narcissa's seemingly irrelevant statement. "What? You think we should leave?" she blurted after a minute's deliberation.
"But of course," Narcissa responded, eyes wide in surprise at Hermione's unexpectedly negative reaction. "Surely you do not wish to stay in a country full of such strife, where you are being hunted for the crime of your very existence?"
Hermione blinked, emotions beginning to form. "But what good will leaving do? How can we defeat Voldemort from Greece?"
"How in Merlin's name do you expect to defeat the Dark Lord from anywhere, Hermione? Surely you must see that the two of us together are putting ourselves in needless danger by attempting it, and our chances of survival—let alone success—are abysmally low."
"You want to run away!" cried Hermione. "You want to go hide from the fighting! That's cowardice! That's—that's pathetic!"
"Hermione!" Narcissa was shocked by Hermione's temper. The witch's eyes were burning with angry tears and it seemed so unusual that she would be this easily upset. Of course Hermione was famous for her passions, but this seemed far too severe. The evidence of what the stress of captivity had done to her character only further distressed the two. Hermione was afraid of her newfound volatility, and Narcissa troubled by it.
"I can't leave!" Hermione sobbed. "Please, do not make me leave. I can't abandon this. If you want to run away, then fine. Go. I'm staying here."
Her point made, Hermione took a moment to wipe the hot tears she found her cheekbones. Her emotions were more turbulent than she ever remembered them being and she didn't know how to handle it. She'd always been the cool, level-headed one. What would it mean if she lost that?
"I am not going to leave you here on your own, Hermione," Narcissa responded firmly. "But I cannot condone your decision to thrust yourself into this violence when you have an opportunity to escape!"
Hermione wanted to roll her eyes, but resisted the urge. It seemed like such a bratty, childish thing to do and she had a feeling that it would only make Narcissa dislike her more than she already did. "I don't need your approval or permission," Hermione said carefully, hoping it didn't sound too teenager-y.
"I would not insult your intelligence or maturity by implying that you did," Narcissa answered easily. "I am not your mother," her nose wrinkled, "nor do I wish to be." Hermione didn't know what to make of that, but didn't have time to think as Narcissa kept talking. "Will you not at least consider going abroad? We would be safe. You are not expected or required to win this war single-handedly; you are allowed to save yourself."
"That's the most Slytherin thing I've ever heard." Hermione smirked.
Narcissa made an odd expression. "Perhaps, but that does not inherently mean it is without merit."
"That isn't what I meant," Hermione defended quickly, suddenly regretting her joke and realising that perhaps it hadn't been a joke at all.
"Of course not," answered Narcissa, and that was the end of it. "If you do not intend to leave Britain, then what in the world do you have in mind, Hermione?" The question was posed with the slightest hint of sarcasm and Hermione didn't know what to make of it.
"Well, Harry and Ron and I were hiding in woods and things." Hermione wanted to punch herself for sounding so foolish. "We were looking for… items that Dumbledore advised us to find. Without them, Voldemort will be impossible to defeat."
Noting Hermione's hesitance, Narcissa's brow furrowed. "I see," was all she said. "And were you given any advice as to how to locate these items?"
"Not exactly," Hermione stuttered. "But we were able to deduce what and where they were, and then destroy them accordingly."
"There are many, then?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes. Six in total, and we already destroyed…" frowning, Hermione counted them in her head. The diary, the ring, the locket… One, two… "Three."
Narcissa raised her eyebrows. "Only half?"
Hermione bristled, defensive. "Well, they are very difficult to find and destroy, especially when we had to be so inconspicuous and had no resources!"
"I understand," Narcissa said dismissively. "But it certainly leaves much to be done if you intend to defeat the Dark Lord."
"That may be the case, but it's the only plan I've got, unless you have anything better in mind?" Hermione smirked as Narcissa shrugged good-naturedly.
"You have more information than I," answered she simply.
"Who knows—maybe Harry and Ron destroyed some while I was—" Hermione faltered, suddenly trapped by her expansive vocabulary. Her eyes widened helplessly as each word flew through her head: Captured, imprisoned, held captive, held hostage, taken, gone….
Narcissa's demeanour changed instantly, going from impatient teasing to deep concern. Standing, she moved the two paces to where Hermione sat in the opposite armchair and placed a hand on the young witch's shoulder. Hermione found herself instinctively leaning against Narcissa's front and allowing herself to be soothed by the woman's gentle hand along her shoulder.
"We will continue as you have been advised, then," Narcissa promised gently. Hermione nodded against her robes, excusing her emotions by the fact that she was still sensitive from her capture and that Narcissa was the only one she had to turn to. "We will stay in Britain, as you wish, and we will continue your task."
The tears still leaking out of her stinging eyes, Hermione sucked in a choked breath and tried to control the tsunami in her bloodstream. Narcissa continued to silently run her hands across Hermione's shaking shoulders and bony back, silent and patient. The idea of a Malfoy comforting Hermione was as foreign as ever and only served to jar her further. She tried to push it out her head and focus on taming her anxieties.
She needed to ground herself in her faultless logic, to construct the walls of a plan that she could navigate in the dark. The last month never happened, she would forget it, repress it, whatever she needed to do to be how she was before and not this fragile scrap of a person she was now. The war couldn't afford to have this emotional child in place of Hermione Granger, and Hermione herself was too afraid of what it would mean for herself.
Taking in a breath and pushing it into her lungs and through her limbs, Hermione shut off her tears and sat up straight. Narcissa removed her hands from the witch's shoulders, frowning in concern at Hermione's stiffness. "We should get out of here, then." Hermione said firmly, though her voice was fractured. "As soon as we can. Get supplies, and figure out a solid plan."
Narcissa nodded, more so for the sake of keeping Hermione calm and satisfied than with the actual content of her ideas.
Hermione stood, albeit a little wobbly, from the chair and began bustling around the room, collecting their few possessions and tossing them onto the bed. Watching, Narcissa pursed her lips as Hermione took a moment to steady herself against the wall. She needed medical attention from a certified healer, or even a Muggle, but Narcissa wasn't sure how to convince Hermione to get treatment.
"Well?" Hermione said impatiently, turning to look at Narcissa by the window. A sly grin overtook her features as she asked, "Are you ready to go shopping, Narcissa?"
A true smile broke Narcissa's concern, the first in months. It felt foreign upon her lips.
"Come on, then!" Hermione chided playfully, smothering her anxieties with the tiny fragment of joy that was born of scurrying around a London hotel room with Narcissa Malfoy.