AN: I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween weekend I reworked this chapter a few times but I'm actually quite happy with the way it turned out. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 12

The long night

Recognizing the onset of a panic attack in the man before her, Hermione calls out, "Narcissa!" Leaving her hands against his clammy skin, she attempts to pull his wide eyes back to her own. "Stay with me Malfoy," she calls out above the cacophony of sound that surrounds them. The wind begins to whip around them, pulling her hair from the security of its tie and causing it to blow about their faces.

"What's happened?" Narcissa exclaims as she hurries over to them.

"I need you to reach in my thigh holster and grab my wand," the younger woman replies, not moving from her position on the floor as she nods toward her right thigh. Narcissa comes around to her side, grabbing the wand and holding it out to her. "You need to do it," Hermione says with a shake of her head.

"Miss Granger, I cannot…"

"As a senior member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in these extenuating circumstances, I, Hermione Jean Granger, do impart the pardon of one Narcissa Malfoy in the use of my wand to cast the most powerful silencing charm she can manage on the area around us." At Narcissa's silence, she turns a stern glare on her and exclaims "Do it!" All at once, the voices cease, the only sounds remaining those of the roaring wind and Draco's gasping breaths. "Listen to me Malfoy," Hermione urges him as she gently pulls one arm free of his grasp. His eyes land on hers and she offers him a small smile, "That's it. Focus on me. What do you hear?"

"Screams," his voice is rough and she almost misses his response, it's so quiet.

"The screams are gone." His head shakes roughly and she reaches out and takes his hand in hers, gripping it tightly.

"Feel that? That's my hand. Can you squeeze it for me?" After a moment, she feels his hand tighten on hers and she nods. "Great. Focus on the feel of my hand in yours." His eyes close, hands shaking against her skin. "Eyes on mine, Malfoy," Hermione urges him, shaking him slightly. "Focus." Silver eyes meet hers and she nods in acknowledgment. "Perfect. Ignore the screams. I need you to listen to my voice. The screams are gone. You're stuck with me, I'm afraid. If I'd known we'd be stuck together like this I would have prepared a conversation but you'll be stuck with whatever I can think of instead.

"Your case has taught me so many absolutely fascinating things about spirits. I've always known we had the corporeal types like we had at Hogwarts and, of course, poltergeists like Peeves. Did you know there are so many more? And the lore that different cultures have to explain them, it's truly amazing to read some of the tales.

"Though you probably don't really want to talk about ghosts, I suppose," she murmurs with a grin. "Eyes on me Malfoy," she reprimands and his eyes begin to dart around the room. "Good, now, what else? I always knew you were good at potions, yes I paid attention, but I'm surprised you've become a potioneer. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful profession. The amount of focus and discipline necessary to even attempt some potions is immense and I commend you for taking that path. Your boss seems like a good man. He definitely has a protective streak when it comes to you," she chuckles slightly at this, remembering the old man at the shop. "I didn't think he was going to allow me and Harry into his shop. It's good that you have people like that. What about your other friends from school? Are you still in contact with them?"

She pauses, to take in his countenance. His breathing has slowed, though not back to the calm rhythm she was aiming for. "You don't have to tell me, of course, I'm just curious. Have to know everything, you know. I still see Harry and Ron, obviously. Ron's started helping George at the shop. They've gotten rather busy so we don't see him as much right now but we still get together when we can. Neville's been studying Herbology, he's spectacular at it too. Ginny plays for the Harpies, she's away a lot and I know Harry misses her but he's proud of her too. Umm...Luna has been working for her father. She does a lot of traveling as well trying to find all of those obscure magical creatures of hers. Dean and Seamus have been together for two years now. If you ever wind up stuck in a room with the two of them beware, they are not shy about their relationship."

"Don't see that happening anytime soon." The sound of his voice, though breathless, brought a smile to Hermione's face.

"No, I suppose not." Her eyes narrow slightly as they take in his features. He is even more pale than usual, her grey eyes overly bright in contrast.

He releases her hand and wrist, his arms falling limply by his sides. "Why are you here?"

Hermione nods toward the woman behind him, "I was having tea with your mother."

Draco's head slowly turns to look behind him, his eyes falling on Narcissa who walks quickly over and kneels beside him, handing Hermione back her wand before laying her hand gently on his arm. The wind has pulled strands of her hair from its delicate twist and they blow across her face as she stares silently at her son, relief evident in her eyes. "Thank you, Miss Granger."

Hermione twists her hair into a tight bun atop her head, securing it with a fresh tie and casting a quick charm to keep it in place. "Let's do something about this wind, shall we," she states, pulling herself to her feet and waves her wand in a large circle above her head, the wind immediately dies and she lets out a satisfied sigh before glancing up and down the hallway. "You've picked a wonderful place to have a panic attack, Malfoy," she says, turning to him with a grin. "Might I suggest somewhere with chairs next time." Taking a seat against the wall, she twirls her wand into her hair and looks back at her two companions. "Have you attempted a silencing charm to drown them out before."

Draco nods, "It's only a temporary solution. They always fail long before the screaming stops."

"Have you had Cibney try it."

Draco nods. "I've only found one way to truly halt the screams and you, apparently, have decided against using that method."

"Allowing yourself to be injured by ghosts every night is idiotic, Malfoy. I never thought you would be that moronic."

"High praise coming from you," he replies with a smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Now, Miss Granger," Narcissa cuts in.

"It's fine, Mother," Draco states, patting her hand fondly. "Have you forgotten my past, Granger? A few voluntary cuts and scrapes is hardly the most idiotic thing I have done in my life."

"Cuts and scrapes," Hermione exclaimes. "Your Mother and Cibney had to feed you potions for hours after everything. You had internal bleeding. You were coughing up blood, Malfoy. How can you put your Mother through that?"

"Miss Granger, this is hardly necessary," Narcissa begins, only to be cut off once more.

"How dare you," Draco exclaims. "I am protecting my Mother. What happens when they can't get to me? Who else in this house do you think they might hold a grudge against Granger? Not Cibney, certainly not you." He pulls himself to his feet, staring angrily down at her.

Hermione jumps up storming up to him in frustration. "Your Mother wouldn't even be in this house if you hadn't insisted on getting yourself beat up on a near nightly basis. Don't blame your stupidity on her protection."

"That is enough!" Narcissa's voice rings through the quiet hallway as she places herself between the two, giving each a stern look in turn. "This helps nothing. Miss Granger," she states, turning toward the younger woman, "while we greatly appreciate your assistance in this matter, please remember that you are a guest in our home. While I might agree with several of your statements, now is not the time for us to be bickering amongst ourselves." Turning a glare on her son she continues, "Draco Lucius Malfoy, you will cease this nonsense immediately. Miss Granger is a guest in this house. She is here out of kindness to attempt to help us. You will not treat her so rudely."

"You think you deserve it." Hermione's voice is eerily calm and quiet when she speaks. "You think you're some sort of monster that deserves to be destroyed." She pauses, staring the taller man in the eye. "I've seen monsters, Malfoy. You're not even close."

The time passed slowly after their mild altercation, Hermione and Draco each occupying a wall on opposite sides of their silent haven. Narcissa had taken to regaling Hermione with stories of the grand parties that had once filled the manor halls with laughter and music. Glancing around at the darkened hallway, Hermione found it difficult to imagine the lighter atmosphere the older woman was attempting to describe to her. Her vision of the manor too clouded by both past and present experiences. "Perhaps, once we've solved your problem here, you could bring celebrations back to the Manor." Hermione replied after Narcissa finished her most recent tale.

"Oh how I would love to have these halls filled with laughter once more," Narcissa responded airily. "Those who would gladly accept an invitation to Malfoy Manor, however, are no longer the sort that I would wish to welcome here. I'm afraid my days of Galas and fine dinners are behind me. I had hoped to one day be allowed to host an engagement gala for my son," her voice had grown slightly louder with her final statement, her eyes straying to the quiet man at the other end of the hall. At his silence, she shook her head and continued, "That day seems to be forever in the future, however. What about you, my dear, you and Mister Weasley were quite the pairing if I remember correctly."

"Oh, Ron and I have been over for quite some time now," Hermione replied, shaking her head slightly. "He's still one of my dearest friends but we would never have worked out in the long run. We want vastly different things."

Narcissa arched an elegant eyebrow at the young woman, "I am sorry to hear that. When you spoke before, it sounded as though many of your friends have begun pairing off. Do you have any other prospects of that nature?"

"Oh, umm, not currently, Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione felt her face heat slightly at the pointed question and glanced farther down the hall to hide her reaction. "I'm afraid that I'm much too busy at the moment for anything serious."

Hermione could tell that the other woman had more to say on the topic but they were interrupted by the sound of a quiet sob. Hermione immediately turned toward where Draco sat alone and found him staring back her direction, mirroring her look of surprised confusion. "The silencing charm must be beginning to fail," Narcissa stated. "Perhaps if we refresh it."

Another sob rang through the silence, louder than the time before. Hermione and Draco stood at nearly the same time, both pulling their wands. Draco began to make his way slowly toward the women, his eyes darting back and forth in search of the source of the sound. "I don't think silencing the hallway again will help," his voice was hushed, eyes alert as they scanned the hallway before him.

"It certainly wouldn't hurt," Hermione started, only to be shushed by Draco as he attempted to pinpoint the origin of the sound. She folded her arms crossly and glared over at him but fell silent.

The sound grows louder.

Draco maneuvers Narcissa so that her back is to the wall and he stands directly across from Hermione. His eyes are trained on the door to her right as he motions for her to come across the hall toward him. Following his line of sight, she turns toward the same door and backs toward him.

The spirit of a petite woman comes through the door, her sobs echoing through the otherwise quiet hallway. Hermione stumbles backward as Draco reaches out and immediately pulls her behind him so she is standing beside his mother. The ghost has yet to spot them, her face buried in her hands as she begins to glide across the floor. Her clothing is tattered, what remains of it hanging loosely on the spirit's small frame.

Hermione jumps slightly as a second voice joins the first, again from behind the door the spirit had just exited through. "Malfoy, where exactly are we?" Hermione's voice is barely a whisper as she attempts to keep the woman from hearing her.

"The main hall to the cellars. Greyback was allowed to keep his...preferred women in these rooms while they were here."

"Preferred?" Draco simply shakes his head, eyes never leaving the sobbing ghost before them as she begins to glide down the hallway toward the dungeons. "You don't mean…" Draco nods and Hermione's eyes are drawn back to the woman down the hall. She can feel Narcissa's shoulder pushing into her as Draco pushes them both closer together and farther behind him. She turns her attention back to him, her eyes landing on a second figure who now stands across from them. She is taller than the last, her long once dark hair spilling down her back in messy dark ringlets.

Her eyes are trained directly on them.

"Who is she?" Hermione whispers.

"I never learned her name." Though his stance is defensive, his voice is calm as he stares the new apparition in the eyes. The woman stares back, her sobs quieting as she watches them.

"She knows you?"

Draco nods, his grip tightening on his wand. "I'm the one who killed her."

AN: As always reviews are greatly appreciated. I love hearing your opinions and comments!