Hermione groaned to herself. Six hours of shopping. Six hours! She thought Draco was exaggerating about his mother. But no, six hours later Narcissa was dragging her into another store despite the fact that she had more clothes than she knew what to do with. Her feet ached and her legs were sore. She hoped the Malfoy's had some pain potions at home.
"This will be the last one and then we will get lunch," Narcissa promised.
Hermione didn't trust it. Narcissa said that an hour and two stores ago. No matter how tired and hungry she was, she wouldn't complain. She may not be a fan of shopping but what Narcissa was doing for her meant more than she could ever say. The amount of money Narcissa was spending had to be more than her parents made in a year.
The supposed last stop before lunch was Twilfitt and Tatting's. It was an upscale clothing store. It was so expensive only purebloods could afford to shop there. She didn't feel like she belonged. Without Narcissa Hermione would never be able to go shopping here.
"Last stop, I promise," Narcissa said. She could see Hermione was getting tired and didn't want to make her suffer more than necessary.
"Lady Malfoy," the seamstress greeted.
"Ms. Granger needs a full wardrobe," Narcissa said, putting her hand on Hermione's shoulder. "A wardrobe fitting of being tied to the Malfoy name."
"Full wardrobe," the seamstress repeated. Hermione could practically see the galleons in her eyes. "Yes, of course Lady Malfoy. Up on the stand Ms. Granger."
Hermione stood still for twenty minutes while the tape measurer, measured every inch of her body. "Dress robes," Narcissa muttered to the seamstress.
Hermione mentally groaned as the various fabrics flew over to her. Lucky for her when it came to her to her daily clothing she was allowed to pick out the fabrics and colors. The dress robes were the only thing Narcissa insisted on picking out. Although they were pink Hermione loved them.
An hour later and all her new clothes were picked out. After lunch they would have to return to pick them up but lucky for Hermione she was done with the fitting. "Come, I'll take you to lunch now."
Hermione followed Narcissa down the road from Twilfitt and Tatting's. There was a small French café not too far from the clothing shop. Hermione didn't recall ever seeing it before. One look and Hermione could tell it was expensive.
"Lady Malfoy," the host said in surprise. "Were we expecting you?" Hermione could see him sweating in fear over forgetting about their highest paid client.
"No," Narcissa informed them. "I was taking my ward shopping and we decided to stop here. Will that be an issue?"
"Not at all," the host said, recovering quickly from Narcissa's announcement of having a ward. "It will be a minute for us to get your table ready."
"Very well. We will wait," Narcissa said leading Hermione off to the side.
"You told him I'm your ward," Hermione muttered.
"Yes, I did," Narcissa said. "You are in my custody while you visit for the holidays. Someone has to be responsible for you."
Minutes later they were escorted to a table. The restaurant was far nicer than Hermione expected. Drink orders were taken and once again they were left alone.
"Tell me Hermione, is there anyone that has caught your eye this year?" Narcissa asked sipping her water.
Hermione choked on her own water. "No ma'am. There's no one."
Narcissa nodded in understanding. "You're still young. I met Lucius in school, you know."
"I didn't know," Hermione said grabbing a piece of bread. The waiter returned with their drinks and quickly took their orders. "How do you know Morgana?"
Narcissa was confused. It took her a moment to remember that was the name her sister went by when talking to Hermione. It made no sense to her but Bellatrix refused to use her real name.
"You should ask her," Narcissa said.
"She won't answer," Hermione grumbled. "Do you know why?"
"She wants to protect you," Narcissa answered honestly. "She's done a lot of bad things, things that she fears will turn you against her."
"She saved my life," Hermione whispered. "There's nothing that would turn me against her."
"She's done some bad things Hermione," Narcissa repeated slowly. "Horrible things. Then again we all did back then."
"You mean because she's a follower of the Dark Lord?" Hermione asked. Narcissa stared at Hermione. "She didn't tell me. I guessed it."
"You don't look frightened," Narcissa noticed. She flicked her wand and cast a silencing spell around them. She should have done it sooner but she didn't realize the direction of the conversation.
"She saved my life from a troll last year," Hermione said. "If she wanted to hurt, or kill, me then she wouldn't have saved my life. I… I know I don't know her. I don't even know her real name. But none of that matters. I trust her. I trust her more than anyone else in my life."
Narcissa stared at Hermione. She was stunned by her confession. Perhaps the soul bond was stronger than Narcissa had originally thought. "And what about the Dark Lord?"
Hermione hesitated. She hadn't actually thought that part through. "I… don't know," Hermione admitted. "The Dark Lord… he doesn't like Muggleborns. I know that. Which means I'm fated to die."
"You seem certain of that," Narcissa commented. If Bellatrix could hear their conversation, she would be cursing anyone and everyone over the thought of Hermione dying. "The Dark Lord knows value when he sees it. He would never kill someone that could be useful."
"You speak of him as if you know him," Hermione noted.
"I was a student when he first rose to power," Narcissa informed her. "I may not know him personally but I know enough about him. He may not like Muggleborns but he knows he can't go around executing them all. That would decimate the wizarding world population."
"Do you know Tom Riddle?" Hermione questioned.
Years of practice were what stopped Narcissa's jaw from hitting the ground. "What do you know about Tom Riddle?"
"Nothing," Hermione admitted. "Morgana, she said he was a friend of hers. She said he wanted to meet me."
"He's a family friend," Narcissa said carefully. "He has some influence in our world."
"Why would he want to meet me?" Hermione asked. She wondered if it had something to do with the sorcerer's stone and her missing memories.
"I don't know," she said honestly. "When are you supposed to meet him?"
Hermione shrugged. "She didn't specify when. Just sometime during break."
Narcissa nodded, seeming uninterested, but in reality, she was curious. It wasn't unheard of for the Dark Lord to meet with prospective Death Eaters while they were in school. But never at thirteen years old, and never a muggleborn girl. Perhaps it had to do with the debt that the Dark Lord felt he owed her. Either way it worked out in Bellatrix's favor.
"I'm sure it's nothing bad," Narcissa said confidently.
Narcissa lifted the privacy ward while they finished up their meal. She never intended to have a conversation like this in a crowded restaurant which is why she erected the privacy wards. They were strong enough to keep their conversation safe, as long as no one went prying. Luckily, that hadn't been an issue.
"Is there anywhere you would like to stop before we return to the Manor?" Narcissa questioned after lunch was over.
"The bookstore?" Hermione asked hopeful. She expected Narcissa to laugh at her and tell her no. She was used to her parents telling her no when it came to bookstores. But instead Narcissa simply smiled.
"The bookstore it is," Narcissa agreed. "Is there anything in particular you're looking for?"
Hermione bit her lip. She wasn't sure if she wanted to admit that she was interested in the Dark Arts, or at least what made them so dark. "There's some books I'm interested in," Hermione said slowly. "Do the shopkeepers…uh, care what we buy?"
Narcissa studied the younger girl. She clearly wanted to buy something questionable. "No, they typically do not care, though they may restrict children from buying some of the darker books." Narcissa watched Hermione's face fall and her suspicions were confirmed. Hermione was trying to buy books on the dark arts. The question was why? "Point out what you want and I'll see about ordering it for you."
Narcissa didn't say anything as they browsed through the aisles of the bookstore. The first time she came here her parents had refused to let her look around. They insisted she only get the books on the list. They didn't want to waste their valuable time. To her parents, letting her have free rein in a bookstore was a waste of time.
Hermione grabbed some books here and there. She wanted to learn about all aspects of magic, including wandless magic. From what she gathered it appeared to be weaker than magic done with a wand but she didn't believe that to be true. She heard rumours that the Headmaster and the Dark Lord could do wandless magic but she doubted any magic they did would be considered weak. And she wanted to learn to do that. The Headmaster would never teach her. As far as she could tell the Headmaster didn't teach anyone. But the Dark Lord did take protégées and she wasn't sure if she would ever get the chance to meet them.
After the bookstore they headed back to Malfoy Manor. The house elf, Dobby, took her packages to her room and came back to tell her that Draco was waiting for her in the garden. She thanked the elf before making her way to the garden.
"Hermione," Draco exclaimed when he saw her. He was flying around on his Nimbus 2001, an early Christmas gift from his father. He landed next to her and hugged her. "How was shopping?"
Hermione groaned. "You were right. Your mother is absolutely mental when it comes to shopping." Draco laughed. "But she was incredibly generous. She bought me a complete wardrobe. She even took me to the bookstore."
"Well, I'm glad something good came out of it. I feared you would never return."
"I was starting to think that too," Hermione laughed.
Draco caught her staring at the broomstick slung over his shoulder. "Want to go for a ride?"
Hermione shook her head. "No way. You remember our first flying lesson?" Draco laughed at the memory of Hermione panicking when she was barely three feet off the ground. "I enjoy having my feet planted firmly on the ground."
"You know it would be good for you to learn to ride a broomstick in an emergency situation," Morgana commented, walking over to them. Hermione whipped around at the sound of Morgana's voice and frowned.
"I don't understand, why would I ever need to ride a broom," Hermione said.
Morgana stepped closer. "If all other means of escape are gone and all you have is a broom. Then you need to know how to fly to protect yourself," Morgana explained.
Hermione sighed. "Fine. But if I die, I'm coming back as a ghost to haunt you."
Morgana laughed. "I'll hold you to it."
Hermione turned to Draco. He mounted the broom and patiently waited for Hermione to get the nerve to get on the broom with him. She took a deep breath, summoned her Gryffindor courage and climbed on the broom behind Draco. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on for dear life.
"On the count of three," Draco told her. "One…two…three."
Hermione screamed as they rose into the air. Bellatrix watched Hermione and Draco fly around the property. Draco was careful not to do any tricks so he didn't scare Hermione.
"What was that screaming?" Narcissa called running out to the garden.
"Relax Cissy," Bellatrix said rolling her eyes. "Hermione is flying with Draco. She doesn't seem to enjoy it."
Narcissa relaxed as she watched Hermione and Draco flying around. The screaming had lessened but Hermione was clearly still terrified. "What are you doing out here Bella?" Narcissa questioned. "I assumed you would be in your room avoiding her."
Bellatrix shook her head. "I don't want to hide from her anymore," she said honestly. "I still won't tell her who I am just yet, simply because I know what will be said if anyone found out." She tore her eyes away from Hermione to look at her sister. "Besides, I had to make sure my young witch survived an infamous Narcissa Black shopping trip," she added with a smirk.
Narcissa rolled her eyes. "She's fine. You can't be surprised it took so long. She needed everything! But now, now she will look like a respectable pureblood. We had an interesting conversation during lunch."
"Oh? Do tell," Bellatrix said intrigued.
"She talked about you. She trusts you, more than you know," Narcissa told her. "She asked about the Dark Lord and she wanted to buy books on the Dark Arts. I think…" she paused when Draco and Hermione flew near them. "I think she will be willing to join the Dark Lord and she will be a powerful dark witch."
"She's thirteen," Bellatrix hissed. "Much too young to make decisions like that."
Narcissa rolled her eyes. "She's not a child Bella. Besides, she has to join or else she will die," Narcissa reminded her.
Bellatrix sighed. Narcissa was right but it bothered her. She was thirteen. She wasn't ready to make a decision like that. It was too big. Yet, the thought of Hermione being ready now to join made her happier than she could say.
"Hermione," Bellatrix called getting the young girl's attention. Draco landed and Hermione walked over to Bellatrix and Narcissa. "Tom is waiting for us."
