Harry smiled when he heard the knock on the door. He started walking towards the main door before he heard a popping sound when Kreacher appeared in front of it. Harry sighed a little. Having a servant was strange for him, it felt a little wrong, but it was clear this would stay this way, so he let it go. The elf opened the door, Harry staying outside of the line of sight like he was told to do. Still, he could hear the dialogue.
"Huh. Oh Hello, I uhm I'm here to visit Harry." Hermione's voice echoed through the main hall, making Harry smile. He could really imagine her leaning down towards the small creature. Still, the elf held the handle, preventing her from entering. The elf stood with a straight back and a proud demeanour.
Hermione smiled looking down at him. She liked elves, they were nice. She didn't know that they had an House-elf but it fit the whole noble demeanour. In fact, she was a little intimidated by it. Harry's whole life had changed and he was suddenly one of the top dogs in the wizarding society. She had read a book about the noble houses and their way of doing things. She just hoped Harry wouldn't change too much. The elf waved his hand shortly over her and she felt like a small shiver when some spell was cast on her. The elf nodded.
"Heir Black has stated Heir Blacks friend would come here. Kreacher has to test if this really is Heir Blacks friend Hermione Granger. Would Miss please answer Kreacher's question. What was the first spell Heir Blacks friend Hermione Granger performed in front of Heir Black?" The elf stared at her in an almost defiant way. Hermione thought for a second, remembering their first encounter on the Hogwarts Express when he had the taped glasses.
"A Reperaro Spell for his glasses." She answered kindly, only for the elf to bow down deeply, stepping aside.
"Thank you Heir Blacks friend, that is what Heir Black told Kreacher. Please step inside." The small creature held the door open and she came in, looking around. It was really impressive a huge hall, some crest on the wall, but still, it looked warm and homely. Her gaze glided over the walls until she found a familiar face.
"Harry!" She called out, running over, almost knocking the boy to the ground in her quick advance. She still stayed careful not to press against his painful chest-bulge. He smiled, hugging her back. Harry wore again a shirt with the Peverell crest and black jeans, completed with dragon-leather boots he got from Sirius. He smiled into the bushy hair, holding her.
"Hermione, I'm so happy to see you and knowing you are okay." It had been two days since the World Cup and while they had written letters, they hadn't seen each other. Hermione hugged him fiercely back, sniffling a little into his neck for a moment. Then she stepped back, smiling while brushing her hair out of her face.
"You too. I was so worried when it all happened and when the floo network was shut down and the owl returned with the letter still on his leg, I thought something had happened to you! So we tried to get here but Mr Weasley was called in and Ron's mom wouldn't allow anyone to leave and then there was nothing Mr Weasley knew when he returned only that people had been injured at the " She spoke fast like she often did when she was worried, her fingers picking of imagined loose threats from Harry's shoulder. He chuckled, smiling at the antics of his best friend.
"I'm fine Hermione really. Nothing happened to me as I told you in the letter. I was more worried about you guys, your tent was way closer than ours. How is Ron?" He said while stepping back. She just shrugged, shaking her head, making her hair fly around.
"Mostly annoyed Mrs Weasley wouldn't let him come here. She said he would stay at home till school. We weren't in danger though. We were on the other side of the whole thing. When the explosions started, Mr Weasley just escorted us to the Portkey site and that was it. We were never in danger, they were interested in the noble part. Does anyone know what they wanted?"
Harry nodded, turning to the sitting room. She followed him.
"Yeah, probably put up a riot as a distraction from Azkaban, but they also tried to kidnap Daphne." He mused, their footsteps quieted by the thick carpet. Hermione raised her eyebrows in a surprise motion.
"Daphne Greengrass?" He nodded. "Why did they try to kidnap her? For ransom? I mean I know her father is wealthy and all but..." She had already this intrigued look on her face. Harry smirked. She always got that when she was thinking about something, trying to deduct her way through a new mystery or new spell. She didn't know it, but it was one of the few similarities between her and the girl she thought about. Both were smart and curious, but their personalities were quite different apart from that.
"Narcissa thinks they wanted to force her into a marriage contract. Her dowery is quite large and it would tie her to the House in question. Apparently, bride theft was quite common back in the day." Harry stated begrudgingly. Hermione now stared at him before she got a furious look on her face.
"How could someone do something like that? That is barbaric. God that is so infuriating. Sometimes the wizarding world is awesome and then you hear something like that and think they have stopped in the last century. To think that would even be legal, disgusting."
Harry nodded in agreement, putting his hand on the handle of the room, the other protecting the bulge on his chest carefully.
"Yeah, I agree. And no it is not legal but once a contract like that is signed there isn't much you can do about it. It's a magical contract and breaking one causes you to lose your magic. At least you can't be conned into one of these, because you have to realize what you sign in order to have this work. There are apparently exceptions to this regarding other contracts but in this case, you are more or less safe."
She nodded slowly. Why would anyone have her in a marriage contract? She was muggle-born, just a nosey know it all and not pretty at all. Sure she would find someone who liked her intellect...she hoped but there was no reason to con her.
"Is Greengrass okay?"She asked carefully, not sure what to make of the former statement. Harry nodded in response, lowering his hand from the handle.
"Yeah, she is all right. Padfoot, Narcissa and I came by just in time to drive the attackers away. Two got caught, the last one escaped. We took them here and they stayed overnight, due to safety reasons. I think Lord Greengrass and Padfoot will be working together in the future, they seem quite eager to ruin the day of Malfoy's dad." He smirked again, winking at her. He had written to her about the theory that Malfoy Senior was part of the attack. She nodded, smirking at him too.
"Let's hope so. I hope your godfather will not do anything stupid." She was normally not this way but Sirius Black had a really easy-going way of life and she was a bit worried he would do something he would later regret. Harry chuckled before he responded.
"Oh, he will don't worry. But not about this. But yeah, I think he will find something stupid." Then Harry got serious for a moment. "Do me a favour, don't talk about Malfoy with Narcissa. He has done something...really horrible to her and it wouldn't be nice to talk to her about him. About the escape too."
Hermione nodded, frowning a bit.
"Of course, I don't want to upset her. Is she all right? Malfoy is such a prat, he just...aaaarg, I'm still upset about Buckbeak you know?" Harry agreed, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"She is all right, it's just a lot at once at the moment, that's all."
Hermione nodded again, reaching out to the doorknob only to pull back once more. "Why not the escape?"
Harry sighed, shaking his head.
"She never liked Greyback, like at all, Sirius neither. He is the one who turned Remus. But the real main reason is Lestrange is Narcissa's sister and...well she wasn't the nicest to grow up with." Hermione shuddered thinking about the pictures of the crazy lady and that hairy man in the papers. It had been last morning in the Daily Prophet with a details description as well as the statement you should always immediately contact authorities when she saw them. There had even been a statement in the Muggle news, at least her parents asked her to be careful. The woman had looked completely out of it wailing and yelling in the picture, laughing like a crazy person. To think such a person was the sister of the calm, collected and rather cold Narcissa Malf- Hermione stopped herself mid-thought. Narcissa Black. That was her name now, not Malfoy. Black. She nodded at Harry.
"All right, I keep it in mind." With a smile, Harry pushed open the door, revealing the sitting room. Hermione was impressed. Harry had told he had helped in deciding on the decoration and it looked really nice. Regal but not cold and most of all not really old looking but quite modern. Simple forms not to much elaboration. On the walls were paintings of landscapes and ships on the high sea. It had green and onyx sails and a Kraken rose from the deep attacking the ship. Of course, there was the crest again on the carpet. On a couch sitting was Narcissa, holding up a book and reading. She put it down and turned her head. Her face was void emotion a carefully maintained mask once more. She rose to her feet, placing the book beside her.
"Good day Mrs Granger." She stated, nodding slightly. Hermione bowed her head to return the nod slowly before she smiled at Narcissa.
"Good day to you too Miss Black. How are you? " Narcissa didn't change her expression while she gestured towards one of the couches, nodding.
"I have been fine, thank you for asking. I hope you are well too. Would you like something to drink?" Harry followed Hermione and then was unsure. Should he sit with Narcissa or Hermione? What was the right procedure at this moment? And should there be procedure at the moment? Hermione just sat down smiling still at Narcissa, who also sat down when her guest was sitting.
"Oh yes, I'm fine, thanks for asking, Miss Black. Tea would be nice. It was a fun summer while being a little chaotic ever since I went to the Weasleys." She chuckled. This morning had been a long discussion about whether she was allowed to come here or not. She wouldn't have been able to if Mrs Weasley had her way but her husband reminded his wife, Hermione wasn't their daughter and they couldn't keep her there. Mrs Weasley had been really displeased, but her parents had written it would be okay. But Fred and George caused an explosion in the garden, taking up a lot of the heat that happened. Still, she knew Mrs Weasley had ordered Percy to come with her waiting till she was inside, before turning to whatever thing he had to do that HAPPENED to be in the same part of London at the same time. Also this evening she just knew Mrs Weasley would look at her with disapproving eyes. Harry called for Kreacher, asking for tea, to which the elf bowed and Hermione noticed the admiring eyes the creature had while talking to Harry.
Narcissa nodded, looking her in the eye. Her calm collected mask didn't falter at all.
"Yes, I have seen the Weasleys home. It is...a lively bunch." She said carefully. Chaos would describe it better maybe proletarian, but that was not a polite thing to say, so she stayed away from the thought. It wasn't as bad as she had thought before her visit but still, it wasn't her favourite place to be. That would be here.
Hermione raised her hand hiding her giggle a little bit, before smiling brightly.
"Yes, they are. It is loud and chaotic but I like it. Even though I sometimes want to strangle the twins." Narcissa actually smiled the slightest bit at that, nodding. "I can relate to that Mrs Granger. Yesterday I would almost have broken my neck because SOMEONE has made an ice pitch in front of my door." Hermione tried hiding her laughter. "But I got the trespasser and he paid dearly. We-..." She stopped herself mid-sentence, looking at the still-standing Harry.
"Harry, why don't you sit down?" She asked seeing him a little nervously shifting around, his hand cradling the lump on his chest in a nervous pattern. He looked conflicted at Hermione then sighed.
"Sorry, I just...Narcissa, what is the right thing to do here? Do I sit with my guest or do I sit with family? What would be the proper way? There is no need for high-etiquette with my friends but it got me thinking. Both could be right."
Narcissa smiled at what she noticed was a tendency, the first real smile Hermione saw from her. When Harry encountered a situation where he thought there must be a right way to do it but didn't know it he got stuck a little. She knew he didn't want to upset her, wanted to please her for some reason but at the same time still had real trouble asking her about anything. Unlike her own son, who would demand answers right away, she thought, her smile faltering a little. Still, she focused on Harry, taking her mind away from that dark pit she knew her thoughts would return to when she was lying on her bed this night, thinking about the cute little fella he once had been and where she had turned wrong to earn his hate so dearly. She turned to Hermione.
"Excuse me, Mrs Granger, I'm teaching Harry manners and try to cram years of learning into half a summer, I'm sorry for that." Hermione shook her head, smiling.
"It is never too late to learn manners. Maybe when you are done with him you could teach Ron a few. I swear if he talks to me one more time while eating I will hex his mouth shut." Narcissa raised an eyebrow, thinking back at the youngest Weasley boy, who really had terrible manners, despite his mothers best efforts. She nodded.
"Maybe I will. So, Harry, the proper thing to do would be sitting next to your friend, you know why?" Harry shrugged, thinking hard. This wasn't just telling him the answers, he should come up with the right answer, at least try.
"Because Hermione is a guest and a friend?" Narcissa nodded while waggling her hand.
"Kind of right. Yes, you should sit with a guest, at least a single one. If you have more than one guest you give them room, sit opposite of them. Unless it is a formal occasion where you never sit next to your guest but always in a way they can see you well. The only exception is a single female guest in which case you always sit right next to her."
Harry smiled sitting down next to Hermione, not to close but not far away. She smiled watching him nod while the adult woman taught him that, listening in too. She had been raised with good manners but this was more formal than what she had learned, like always be polite, don't talk while eating, offer your guests a drink and so on. Right on cue, Kreacher appeared, handling a plate with teacups. With an elegant move, he placed them on the table asking if there was anything else they needed. Harry suddenly looked rather stern, surprising Hermione.
"Kreacher, have you fulfilled your punishment for leaving a dirty glass behind yet?" Hermione raised a really surprised eyebrow, while Narcissa smiled into her teacup, hiding her expression behind it.
Kreacher bowed deeply, shaking his head. His hand still rose to his ear like he was about to pull on it only to catch himself.
"Kreacher is terribly sorry, he hasn't done it yet. Should Kreacher punish himself harder, slam his fingers in a door young Heir?" Hermione followed the scene with horror. What was Harry thinking punishing the poor creature? Harry shook his head.
"No, remember I'm the one who decides about your punishment, but it will be longer now. One hour! You may leave." Kreacher bowed again, rambling about how sorry he was before popping away. Hermione stared at her friend open-mouthed. Harry drank a sip and looked at her confused.
"What?" He asked unsure what was going on.
"What? What? You punish that poor elf because he left a dirty glass and you ask me what? What is wrong with you? Mistakes happen! You should stop him now, that isn't something he should be punished for! That is a thing ..." She caught herself, glancing over at Narcissa. She had been about to say 'a thing Malfoy would do.' but stopped herself, remembering her promise. Harry waved at her, smiling a little.
"Calm down Hermione, it's not what you think it is. His punishment is to rest for at least an hour. Everything is fine." Hermione was all in her mode and ready to rim into him when his words got through to him.
"Rest? What the hell is going on Harry?" Mid her rant she had jumped up pointing at the door, but she slowly sat down unsure how to handle this. He smiled at her patting her knee.
"It's all right. Kreacher works so hard and never takes any breaks. He only sleeps a few hours at night, is always cleaning and cooking and all. Still, it is a little worrying. Even Lord Greengrass said it was a little overeager. He sees idle time as a sin against house Black, but I don't want him to work all the time. So, I use his 'punishment' to force him to rest or do something idly, like lying in the grass, eating a proper meal or anything like that. Since he sees every tiniest mistake as a grave insult towards me, Narcissa or Padfoot, I can do that often enough, even with minimal things like leaving a glass behind. But he is sneaky, when I started I told him to do something he liked, on which he started polishing the silverware. " Hermione stared at him, blinking for a moment then tilting her head.
"That...is okay. I don't like there is a slave in this house but at least you treat him right even if it is odd." On that Narcissa entered the dialogue.
"It is odd, even for an elf. I think you can blame my aunt, Sirius mother, for that. She has instilled these ideas in Kreacher, punishing him for the most minor things. Yet while he thinks Harry is crueller than my aunt with his forced free time, he really adores Harry. As for slavery, it is a little more complex than that. When you return to Hogwarts I recommend reading 'Created creatures, a History'. It will explain most of it." Hermione still looked sceptical, but then she nodded, staring at Narcissa definitely.
"I will." She wasn't going to back down that easily. Harry chuckled, knowing exactly what would happen. Hermione would be in the Library, reading every book on house-elves and so on she could find, annoying and delighting the Mrs Pince in the process. He leaned over.
"We have the book here, I will lend it to you." He whispered with a smile. She turned her head, smiling herself at him and nodded. For a moment it got quiet only clattering of their cups. Then she set it down, turning again.
"Harry, you said you wanted to show me something." The boy set down the cup nodding while swallowing his mouthful of black tea.
"Oh yeah right. I almost forgot. I actually wanted to show it to both you and Ron, but since he isn't here, yeah, it can't be helped." Harry cupped the egg with his hand, brushing over it with the other hand. Narcissa raised an eyebrow at him.
"You want me to leave?" She had an idea about what he wanted to show her. He had only shown it to Sirius and apparently the young Heiress Greengrass had seen the egg by accident. The boy shook his head smiling.
"No, I think you should see it too Narcissa. Stay. Also this way it isn't as awkward." He turned back to his friend.
"But you must promise me not to tell ANYONE about it! At all. Ever!" She squinted at him but was madly curious so she nodded.
"Of course Harry, your secrets are safe with me." She smiled at him, he knew it was this way but still she thought it was good to reassure him. Hermione had learned Harry's low self-esteem the hard way and fought it with clear signs of affection. The boy returned the smile and pulled his shirt over his head in a quick motion.
Hermione jerked back but then her eyes landed on the object at his chest, leaning closer instantly. It wasn't a blister, no ugly pus-filled bulb or anything but a beautiful pitch black egg, cracking firey lines. The lines pulsated and the small object was secured to Harry's chest right over his beating heart. It was endearing and rather entrancing. Hermione blinked leaning closer.
"That is no potions accident." She stated lamely, staring at the object. Harry smiled nodding, while Narcissa rose from her seat, walking over and leaning into her curiosity winning too.
"Nop, that's just a cover story. It is a phoenix egg." He petted the egg proudly feeling waves of affection in return. The bond had only strengthened in the last days, the closer he got to the hatching day the deeper the bond got. He could feel how the egg felt most of the time now, strong waves through his mind. He had noticed the phoenix inside liked him petting the egg and when he was outside laying in the grass, letting the sun warm his body. On the other hand, the small bird inside seemed to dislike a cold shower. He had a rather intense dream about Cho Chang the other night. They had been on the Quidditch Pitch, flying against each other. She had promised him a kiss if he won, but every time he got close to the snitch, she flew really close to him pressing her chest against his arm until he lost it. After a while, he forgot about the game and they were in the Gryffindor common room she was still pressed against him. She had kissed his throat and stated since he didn't get the snitch she would let him catch two Quaffles, lifting the hem of her shirt. He had gulped and watched her really slowly raise it. Her stomach flat ad in this wonderful warm cream colour. Right before she had revealed her breasts a loud bang had crashed the whole thing.
He had awoken to breathe rapidly, his prick painfully hard under his sheets. Fighting his way out of his sheets he had taken an ice-cold shower. He had learned two things. For one he couldn't get the image of Cho raising her shirt out of his head and two his little darling really didn't like cold showers. He had later learned the bang had been Remus downstairs, hexing Sirius because the man had levitated a bag of flour over his head and dropped it.
"Where do you got a phoenix egg? Is it from Dumbledore? Why did he give it to you? Did he take it from a nesting phoenix? Won't the parents be mad? Is it safe? How does it feel? Is it warm? Can I touch it? When will it hatch? Aren't you worried of breaking it? Why do you carry it around on your chest?" Harry held up his hand chuckling at the eagerness of his friend. Hermione took a few deep breaths, smiling at her.
"Calm down Hermione, slow down, that were a lot of questions. Yes, it is from Dumbledore, no he didn't steal it, but sorry I can't tell you where I got it. What I can tell you is stealing an egg and sticking it to your chest won't work. It will hatch in eight days. The carrying is for the bonding, she will be my familiar. As for how it feels wonderful, warm and just...I...it is hard to describe. Would you like to touch it, you will understand."
Hermione smiled nodding. She stretched her hand out only to stop herself when he pulled back a little.
"Are you sure Harry? I don't need to if you don't want me to." He shook his head, sitting up straight. The whole time Narcissa had watched him carefully. She had it on her mind for quite some time, Harry acted like a pregnant mother. The cradling, strange mood swings, strange cravings, the worry, the care with which he held the egg, the love in his eyes when he petted it. This was maybe not the exact same but in some magical way, Harry was a parent to it or felt that way. The same way she had been, when she was with her boy, she thought, returning to her gloomy state of mind. Harry would have picked up on it but he didn't notice this time, being too proud of his lovely, lovely egg, making Narcissa smile a little. She didn't want to ruin this moment for the boy. Draco would return to her, she knew it. This was just a phase.
Harry nodded, stretching out his chest, smiling at his best friend. If he trusted a girl he had almost no contact to, he would trust Hermione out of all people.
"Yes, it's okay. Just...Just be careful, I know the egg is protected but I just feel like I need to protect it all the time. She likes being petted." He said smiling. Hermione nodded and with utter care, her fingertips brushed over the curved surface. Warmth crept from the egg through her fingers up her arm and into her chest. She felt like a curtain around her heart was lifted and the world just seemed brighter. Harry smiled at the delight on her face.
"Woooow." His friend whispered a dreamy look on her face, with a goofy smile. Her fingers cradled the egg, brushing overall surface there was. "You feel this all the time?" She asked with a happy jet a little envious voice. Harry chuckled.
"Yeah and now. She can be a little prat sometimes and quite gloomy. It's hard to describe, but sometimes she is sad and then I turn sad at the same time." He smiled affectionately, looking at the object, brushing his own fingers over it next to Hermione's.
"She likes you." He pointed out, his voice proud and happy. He had never thought about it but feeling the infant's liking in Hermione was a relief anyway. He didn't know what the baby felt, her aura, or her magic or just liked her because he liked her but still, he was happy. Hermione smiled herself.
"I'm happy to hear that. You call her she, is it a girl?" She asked with a curious voice. Harry shrugged a little grinning.
"Not sure. She feels like she, it is hard to describe." She nodded, continued petting the egg, her other hand propped on her knee.
"Do you know what you will call her?" Harry shook his head.
"Haven't thought about it yet. I will have to do so." Hermione was about to ask another question when the door open and Sirius stepped inside. He wore simple clothes and his hair in a ponytail. He stopped mid-step, then he started smirking at the sight of Harry barechested with his best friend petting his upper body. He swaggered closer.
"Well well well, what do we have here? Getting the attention of the ladies by revealing your abs? I must say, Harry, I knew you would learn a few tricks from me." He chuckled at the sight of Harry scrambling back, his face beet red.
"Padfoot! This is not like that! I'm just showing her my phoenix egg! It's Hermione!" Sirius laughed out in a barking manner, shaking his head.
"Prongslet, Prongslet, you are too easy to get. Bwharharhar. S-Sorry it's just, oh it is really easy teasing you. Hi there Hermione." He said, sitting down next to Narcissa after kissing his cousin on the cheek. Hermione as red as Harry turned towards him.
"Hello, Mr Bl...Sirius. We were not, this is just. He showed me the egg and..." She paused, her eyes tilting up."Uhm, why is your hair green?"
Sirius sported a completely green hairdo, in vibrant neon green, changing it's colour to evergreen green, to a puke green and others. Sirius chuckled, gripping a curl and holding it up.
"Ah this, yeah, this. A certain someone." He tilted his head his shoulder bumping into Narcissa. The women in return scowled at him, huffing a little and crossing her arms. "Though it would be fun making my hair green. So I had to walk through the entire Ministry with this hair, since I met Melia today, to talk with her about how I escaped last year." He chuckled, finding this absolutely hilarious. Narcissa scowled even more.
"Well a certain someone thought it would be funny to turn the floor in front of my door to ice, so he deserved punishment. Also, my dear cousin, do I need to remind you, I said I would return your hair to normal before you go there, but you just slipped out half an hour early only so you could sport that out there?"
She wasn't pleased with that. This was something embarrassing for the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, it's Lord looking like a teenage punk. No one on the outside should have seen this, it was a disgrace. Sirius, on the other hand, had no such problem laughing deep from the heart with Harry chuckling and Hermione smiling.
"Well, cousin and letting you get away with a prank you have lost control over? I don't think so. Like the muggles say I turned the tables on you." He winked and his cousin actually pouted a little. Then he leaned in kissing her cheek, smiling.
"Awww don't pout Cissy. Look, I flooed right to Melia's office. She was the only one who saw me and let's face it she has seen way worse of me, than that. She had only shaken her head, sighed and said nothing."
Narcissa sighed shaking her head. Yes, she knew Amelia Bones had seen her cousin in way worse situations at school. That one time he had vomited slugs around because a spell mishap, the countless detentions, howlers and point losses he caused with his friends and then later the times he was caught in the broom closets, either alone or with some girl in a state of undress. One time, Narcissa knew since she was a perfect and the one finding him, was with Bones herself. Then Narcissa got a mischievous look on her face.
"Well, It seems you haven't learned your lesson from my punishment what so ever then."
Now it was Harry's and Hermione's turn to laugh at the nervous look on Sirius's face. Narcissa Black could be scary when she put her mind to it.
AN
What do you think of pranks in the Black household? I mean yeah Remus and Sirius sure but I am unsure if Narcissa would deal with it. My mind is right now, she keeps up with it and retaliates, but will not do it on her own behalf while Sirius pranks her to keep her mind from Draco.
Also, I know Narcissa should be moping more about the loss of her child, but my mind is she is burying this deep inside herself, tries her hardest not to think about it until the night comes and nothing can keep her mind occupied. I want to work with the five stages of grief and right now it is denial.