Summary: Last chapter, Snape told Hermione the whole spiel about Draco,
and what happened at the Death Eater thingy. We found out that Sirius and
Narcissa had a bit of a, ahem, past. So, here we are!
Disclaimer: Obv not mine, C&P by Fyodor Dostoevsky (good book, you should read it), ***Matilda*** by the God of children's literature, Mr. Roald Dahl (JKR being the Goddess, of course)
The next seven days felt like the longest of Hermione's life. Even with the tape recorders McGonagall bewitched for her (a/n: there you go dudette, lol!) to work inside Hogwarts, she still only was preoccupied for a few hours a day. She spent her days staring at Draco, or out the window. It was mid-November, and it had begun to snow. Hermione loved watching it snow, especially at Hogwarts. Hagrid's hut looked like a picture from a Muggle Christmas card. The students would appear out on the lawn regularly every day, about a half hour after classes let out. They'd build castles, forts, and have snowball wars, blissfully unaware of one of their peers, lying in the Hospital Wing.
One night, after she realized she'd been looking out the window for an hour, Hermione shook her head, and walked back to Draco's bed. Another thing she had taken to was reading to him. Since she had no idea what he liked to read, she simply read what she chose. Hermione really preferred Muggle books, and one day while she was nosing around the library in her 5th year, she found that they have a collection of almost any Muggle book you could want. Sirius had left Harry in London to let him get to know some of his parents' other friends, so Hermione had Sirius or Narcissa bring her a new book every day or two.
Since she had finished Crime and Punishment earlier that day, she picked up the only other book she had with her, Matilda.
She giggled to herself, "Well, I don't know how much you'll enjoy this, but you don't have much of a choice, do you?" She looked down at her extremely tattered copy and smiled, reflecting on her childhood. "Who knew I'd ever be right here right now? Hmm- well, here we go. Chapter One, The Reader of Books. It's a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful..."
Hermione had not noticed that Narcissa walked in. The older woman stood behind Hermione, about 20 feet back. She watched the girl reading to her son, and inexplicably began to weep silently. 'I don't know how she does it,' Narcissa thought, 'Every day, she just stays there with him, he's never done anythign to deserve it-I've never done anything to deserve it.' Narcissa's thought were interrupted by a pair of arms around her waist.
"Don't cry, Cissa, he'll be fine," a voice whispered.
She turned around, and could hardly control her tears, as she buried his face into her shoulder. "Sirius, I don't know what I'm going to do if-if he doesn't make it!" She sobbed even harder.
Fearing that Hermione would be interrupted, Sirius led Narcissa into Madam Pomfrey's office. She could not even stand up independently at that point, she wept bitterly into his robes.
"I-am so-s-s-sorry, Sirius. It's all m-m-my fault! J-James and Lil, Sirius, I didn't do anything. And Dr-Draco... and NOW look! I-I have no o- one left, Sirius. I'll d-die if he doesn't make it!" She could no longer even speak. All of the heartbreak of the past 25 years simply poured out of her.
Sirius stroked her soft hair, and let her cry into his shoulder. 'The feeling hasn't even changed.' He noted.
"Shhhhhh. It's going to be all right, Cissa, he's in good hands. Shhhhhh. You know if anyone can handle that boy of yours, it's our Miss Granger," he said with a laugh.
Narcissa's crying subsuded after five more minutes. She broke away from his embrace, and looked into his eyes.
"Sirius, if I had known what Lucius was like, I-I never would have..."
"It's ok, it was a long time ago, I've already forgiven everything."
"No! I have no right to be forgiven! He-he KILLED them, Sirius, he killed my best friend!"
"And mine, Cissa, but there was nothing for us to do. Neither of us could have stopped Voldemort, you know that."
"I should have tried. She would have died for me, even after all that, I know she would have. And, I didn't do anything. I knew Pettigrew was having a meeting with Voldemort, I SHOULD have known!"
"You know James and Lil would never blame you. They thought about you all the time. When Lily was pregnant with Harry, all she talked about was how she knew your children would grow up to be friends. She knew you were going to have boys, she was pretty mad, but she knew," he laughed. "And Draco and Harry WILL be friends, Cissa, they will be, I know it."
She sniffled and looked back into his eyes. He had never lied to her before, she knew that. Something about what he said to her was reassuring. She nodded her head, wiping tears from her eyes.
"There you go, that's my girl. You know I hate to see you cry," he smiled.
She gave him a half-smile in return. "I don't know how you can-"
"We can always forgive the people we love, Narcissa."
She embraced him with all the strength she had in her body. She remembered that feeling, she felt like she was made to hug him, it all just fit so nicely.
Her muffled voice came from his shoulder, "You still smell the same."
He laughed, "Well, I try to bathe every so often," he said with a wink, "I've been on the same bar of soap since our fourth year, so it's not too often that I get to shower." He laughed at the repulsed expression on her face.
"Oh! God! How could I forget?"
"What, Sirius?"
"I, I have something for you! Oh, but it's in London, damn. I'll go tonight to get it."
"What is it?"
"Like I'd tell you! It's a surprise! OK, I'll go right now, and be back by tomorrow." He walked towards the door, stopped and went back to her. He placed a very small kiss on her forehead, "You gonna love this, Ciss, I swear. See you tomorrow." He quickly left the Hospital Wing.
Narcissa allowed herself the smallest smile, and walked back out to Hermione. The younger girl was still there, reading to Draco. Narcissa joined her on the bed, and took the book out of her hands.
"Wh-what'd you do that for? I was just getting to the part with the hat and the glue!" She said, yawning.
"Honey, you haven't gotten proper sleep in two weeks. Please, go back to your dormitory and try, you need it. We can't have both of you sick."
"I can't, I have to stay here! What if something happens when I'm gone?"
"Nothing will happen, believe me. You need to be well, Severus is going to be finished with the potion in a few days, he says it's going faster than he thought."
"It is?" Hermione gazed at Narcissa hopefully.
"Yes, he says in five days, we'll know, one way or another."
Hermione nodded. "OK, I'll go back to my room, but I'll be up in the morning, first thing."
"Yes, of course, dear. Go now, sweetie, you need sleep."
Hermione smiled, and turned to Draco. She squeezed his hand. "Good night, you old prat." She got up and left.
Narcissa looked at her son and smiled. "She's going to be a fine mother." She paused, "To my grandchildren, I think."
Hermione trudged back to her room. 'I haven't been out of there in a week. It's a wonder I still know my way around!' She finally approached the portrait of the Founders.
"Ah! Good evening Miss Granger!" The picture of Rowena Ravenclaw smiled down at her.
"How is Mister Malfoy?" Slytherin inquired.
"Um- he's, well, we don't know."
"Ah, I see. Well, you should get some sleep, dear," Hufflepuff said.
Hermione nodded, "Oxygen." She entered the potrtait. She walked into her room, and got changed into her pajamas. She noticed how quiet it seemed while washing up, and how cold. She walked towards her room to get a sweatshirt, but turned, and went to Draco's instead. She opened a drawer, and pulled out a bright orange shirt.
"Chudley Cannons. Ron would be thrilled," she mumbled as she pulled the shirt over her head. She glanced around Draco's room, shut off the light, and walked back to her room.
She had snuggled under the covers, and had been lying there for a good 10 minutes, tossing and turning.
"Hmph, something is wrong here."
She got up, and walked across her room, and the study, and into Draco's room. She threw back the covers on his bed, and climbed in.
"How come his bed is so much squishier than mine? Lucky," she yawned, and nestled in deeper. "I really must get some of that cologne for myself," she mumbled, and she quietly drifted off.
Up in the Hospital Wing, Severus joined Narcissa.
"So, I believe I know how this will work, Ciss, the magic has to be incredibly precise. I'll give him the potion, and then to counteract the Dark Mark Curses, I'll need another person to do the spells with me, to mirror what Voldemort and Lucius began. I was thinking that should be you. The magic is quite advanced, but I know you can do it, and you're his mother, and everything."
Narcissa looked at Draco, and her eyes wandered to the book on his night stand.
"No, Sev, it's got to be Hermione."
A/N: Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn.. Does this mean fair Draco will be waking up soon?? You can have Chapter 13 for the low, low price of 15 reviews! Ooh! Announcement! I HAVE THE KISS WRITTEN!!! It is in Chapter 15, all you antsy people. I have up to 16 written, I stayed up late last night and plugged through. And, I really like what I have written! More S/N fluff to come as well, and Harry's getting nicer! Notes:
~ Alanna~ Draco's coming up soon!! I PROMISE! ~Squin~ I'm hurrying, I was up till 4 am! ~buffysummers168~ Yay! I'm glad you found this and you read it all! ~Kearie~ tee hee hee Not telling! Wait and see! ~hemlock~ I'm glad you like the slightly drawn-out stuff, lol! ~ Rachel Hunt~ whew! Tell me when/if I'm OOC, though! ~LadyKnight~ Get up, you're making me blush!! And, would I have made Snape say that if he wasn't gonna end up wearing the pants?? I think not! ~ dudette~ LOL, I was wondering if some one would notice that. I was kind of on a roll when I wrote that, and I was just gonna go back and plug in a reason, btu I forgot to when I was editing, good eye, I'm impressed that some one is as nitpicky abt details as I (usually) am ~Tara~ Should be. 25 chapters? I'm on 16 now, but they still need to go on break, and the trip, and Spring and all ~allee kat~ I'm glad you like S&N, and I agree, happy endings are the best! ~amanda~ryn~ innocent~Lyra~ THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!
Disclaimer: Obv not mine, C&P by Fyodor Dostoevsky (good book, you should read it), ***Matilda*** by the God of children's literature, Mr. Roald Dahl (JKR being the Goddess, of course)
The next seven days felt like the longest of Hermione's life. Even with the tape recorders McGonagall bewitched for her (a/n: there you go dudette, lol!) to work inside Hogwarts, she still only was preoccupied for a few hours a day. She spent her days staring at Draco, or out the window. It was mid-November, and it had begun to snow. Hermione loved watching it snow, especially at Hogwarts. Hagrid's hut looked like a picture from a Muggle Christmas card. The students would appear out on the lawn regularly every day, about a half hour after classes let out. They'd build castles, forts, and have snowball wars, blissfully unaware of one of their peers, lying in the Hospital Wing.
One night, after she realized she'd been looking out the window for an hour, Hermione shook her head, and walked back to Draco's bed. Another thing she had taken to was reading to him. Since she had no idea what he liked to read, she simply read what she chose. Hermione really preferred Muggle books, and one day while she was nosing around the library in her 5th year, she found that they have a collection of almost any Muggle book you could want. Sirius had left Harry in London to let him get to know some of his parents' other friends, so Hermione had Sirius or Narcissa bring her a new book every day or two.
Since she had finished Crime and Punishment earlier that day, she picked up the only other book she had with her, Matilda.
She giggled to herself, "Well, I don't know how much you'll enjoy this, but you don't have much of a choice, do you?" She looked down at her extremely tattered copy and smiled, reflecting on her childhood. "Who knew I'd ever be right here right now? Hmm- well, here we go. Chapter One, The Reader of Books. It's a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful..."
Hermione had not noticed that Narcissa walked in. The older woman stood behind Hermione, about 20 feet back. She watched the girl reading to her son, and inexplicably began to weep silently. 'I don't know how she does it,' Narcissa thought, 'Every day, she just stays there with him, he's never done anythign to deserve it-I've never done anything to deserve it.' Narcissa's thought were interrupted by a pair of arms around her waist.
"Don't cry, Cissa, he'll be fine," a voice whispered.
She turned around, and could hardly control her tears, as she buried his face into her shoulder. "Sirius, I don't know what I'm going to do if-if he doesn't make it!" She sobbed even harder.
Fearing that Hermione would be interrupted, Sirius led Narcissa into Madam Pomfrey's office. She could not even stand up independently at that point, she wept bitterly into his robes.
"I-am so-s-s-sorry, Sirius. It's all m-m-my fault! J-James and Lil, Sirius, I didn't do anything. And Dr-Draco... and NOW look! I-I have no o- one left, Sirius. I'll d-die if he doesn't make it!" She could no longer even speak. All of the heartbreak of the past 25 years simply poured out of her.
Sirius stroked her soft hair, and let her cry into his shoulder. 'The feeling hasn't even changed.' He noted.
"Shhhhhh. It's going to be all right, Cissa, he's in good hands. Shhhhhh. You know if anyone can handle that boy of yours, it's our Miss Granger," he said with a laugh.
Narcissa's crying subsuded after five more minutes. She broke away from his embrace, and looked into his eyes.
"Sirius, if I had known what Lucius was like, I-I never would have..."
"It's ok, it was a long time ago, I've already forgiven everything."
"No! I have no right to be forgiven! He-he KILLED them, Sirius, he killed my best friend!"
"And mine, Cissa, but there was nothing for us to do. Neither of us could have stopped Voldemort, you know that."
"I should have tried. She would have died for me, even after all that, I know she would have. And, I didn't do anything. I knew Pettigrew was having a meeting with Voldemort, I SHOULD have known!"
"You know James and Lil would never blame you. They thought about you all the time. When Lily was pregnant with Harry, all she talked about was how she knew your children would grow up to be friends. She knew you were going to have boys, she was pretty mad, but she knew," he laughed. "And Draco and Harry WILL be friends, Cissa, they will be, I know it."
She sniffled and looked back into his eyes. He had never lied to her before, she knew that. Something about what he said to her was reassuring. She nodded her head, wiping tears from her eyes.
"There you go, that's my girl. You know I hate to see you cry," he smiled.
She gave him a half-smile in return. "I don't know how you can-"
"We can always forgive the people we love, Narcissa."
She embraced him with all the strength she had in her body. She remembered that feeling, she felt like she was made to hug him, it all just fit so nicely.
Her muffled voice came from his shoulder, "You still smell the same."
He laughed, "Well, I try to bathe every so often," he said with a wink, "I've been on the same bar of soap since our fourth year, so it's not too often that I get to shower." He laughed at the repulsed expression on her face.
"Oh! God! How could I forget?"
"What, Sirius?"
"I, I have something for you! Oh, but it's in London, damn. I'll go tonight to get it."
"What is it?"
"Like I'd tell you! It's a surprise! OK, I'll go right now, and be back by tomorrow." He walked towards the door, stopped and went back to her. He placed a very small kiss on her forehead, "You gonna love this, Ciss, I swear. See you tomorrow." He quickly left the Hospital Wing.
Narcissa allowed herself the smallest smile, and walked back out to Hermione. The younger girl was still there, reading to Draco. Narcissa joined her on the bed, and took the book out of her hands.
"Wh-what'd you do that for? I was just getting to the part with the hat and the glue!" She said, yawning.
"Honey, you haven't gotten proper sleep in two weeks. Please, go back to your dormitory and try, you need it. We can't have both of you sick."
"I can't, I have to stay here! What if something happens when I'm gone?"
"Nothing will happen, believe me. You need to be well, Severus is going to be finished with the potion in a few days, he says it's going faster than he thought."
"It is?" Hermione gazed at Narcissa hopefully.
"Yes, he says in five days, we'll know, one way or another."
Hermione nodded. "OK, I'll go back to my room, but I'll be up in the morning, first thing."
"Yes, of course, dear. Go now, sweetie, you need sleep."
Hermione smiled, and turned to Draco. She squeezed his hand. "Good night, you old prat." She got up and left.
Narcissa looked at her son and smiled. "She's going to be a fine mother." She paused, "To my grandchildren, I think."
Hermione trudged back to her room. 'I haven't been out of there in a week. It's a wonder I still know my way around!' She finally approached the portrait of the Founders.
"Ah! Good evening Miss Granger!" The picture of Rowena Ravenclaw smiled down at her.
"How is Mister Malfoy?" Slytherin inquired.
"Um- he's, well, we don't know."
"Ah, I see. Well, you should get some sleep, dear," Hufflepuff said.
Hermione nodded, "Oxygen." She entered the potrtait. She walked into her room, and got changed into her pajamas. She noticed how quiet it seemed while washing up, and how cold. She walked towards her room to get a sweatshirt, but turned, and went to Draco's instead. She opened a drawer, and pulled out a bright orange shirt.
"Chudley Cannons. Ron would be thrilled," she mumbled as she pulled the shirt over her head. She glanced around Draco's room, shut off the light, and walked back to her room.
She had snuggled under the covers, and had been lying there for a good 10 minutes, tossing and turning.
"Hmph, something is wrong here."
She got up, and walked across her room, and the study, and into Draco's room. She threw back the covers on his bed, and climbed in.
"How come his bed is so much squishier than mine? Lucky," she yawned, and nestled in deeper. "I really must get some of that cologne for myself," she mumbled, and she quietly drifted off.
Up in the Hospital Wing, Severus joined Narcissa.
"So, I believe I know how this will work, Ciss, the magic has to be incredibly precise. I'll give him the potion, and then to counteract the Dark Mark Curses, I'll need another person to do the spells with me, to mirror what Voldemort and Lucius began. I was thinking that should be you. The magic is quite advanced, but I know you can do it, and you're his mother, and everything."
Narcissa looked at Draco, and her eyes wandered to the book on his night stand.
"No, Sev, it's got to be Hermione."
A/N: Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn.. Does this mean fair Draco will be waking up soon?? You can have Chapter 13 for the low, low price of 15 reviews! Ooh! Announcement! I HAVE THE KISS WRITTEN!!! It is in Chapter 15, all you antsy people. I have up to 16 written, I stayed up late last night and plugged through. And, I really like what I have written! More S/N fluff to come as well, and Harry's getting nicer! Notes:
~ Alanna~ Draco's coming up soon!! I PROMISE! ~Squin~ I'm hurrying, I was up till 4 am! ~buffysummers168~ Yay! I'm glad you found this and you read it all! ~Kearie~ tee hee hee Not telling! Wait and see! ~hemlock~ I'm glad you like the slightly drawn-out stuff, lol! ~ Rachel Hunt~ whew! Tell me when/if I'm OOC, though! ~LadyKnight~ Get up, you're making me blush!! And, would I have made Snape say that if he wasn't gonna end up wearing the pants?? I think not! ~ dudette~ LOL, I was wondering if some one would notice that. I was kind of on a roll when I wrote that, and I was just gonna go back and plug in a reason, btu I forgot to when I was editing, good eye, I'm impressed that some one is as nitpicky abt details as I (usually) am ~Tara~ Should be. 25 chapters? I'm on 16 now, but they still need to go on break, and the trip, and Spring and all ~allee kat~ I'm glad you like S&N, and I agree, happy endings are the best! ~amanda~ryn~ innocent~Lyra~ THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!
