Chapter 17

The Floo flared to life, Hermione jumped up only to see Harry dusting himself off.

"Harry? Where is Draco?" panic bleeding into her voice.

"In London, he is staying in his flat until this is over," Harry said apologetically as Narcissa entered the room then.

"How bad is it Harry, do not lie to me," Narcissa said gravely.

"Hermione is 'the witch', he told me he was taking Dreamless Sleep but that felt like a lie," Harry said almost clinically. Hermione recognized that voice she used it every day as a doctor delivering bad news.

"He most definitely lied, Draco is a very skilled Potioneer and he also used to have more than his fair share of night terrors; even the strongest Dreamless Sleep was useless after a while. I turned a blind eye because he sought treatment on his own shortly after moving to France. Hermione dear, please know this is not personal," Narcissa turned to Hermione then, but Hermione knew that. She also knew what Narcissa wasn't saying; Draco at one point had an addiction to Draught of the Living Dead. Hermione couldn't dwell on that in this moment though, so she turned her attention to Harry.

"Harry what can you tell me?"

"Not a lot, I haven't reviewed the memories yet. I do know Draco discovered a layer to this case we had not anticipated and will now be the major focus of our efforts," Harry said cryptically.

"Do you know how Thomas tricked everyone?" Hermione asked the desperation to know how she was forgotten by her friends bleeding into her voice.

"He kept your phone and returned texts that Ginny sent on occasion. We also discovered he Imperius'd you at some point and commanded to you write a letter to your boss at St. Mungo's informing them you had an emergency arise with your parents in Australia and would be on emergency leave with immediate effect. He also had you call your boss at the hospital and give the same excuse," Harry finished gently in that same clinical calm voice.

Hermione sat back down. Imperius'd. How many times had that happened. If she knew this much Draco knew more because he had been in Thomas's head and Harry had not yet seen the results of that. Narcissa was at her elbow then offering her a Draught of Peace. Hermione gratefully took it. She rose then and walked to Harry before reaching for him, because in this moment she needed her best friend not the Head Auror. Harry embraced her, squeezing tightly and only letting go when Hermione did.

"Narcissa, will he allow you to help him?" Harry asked then.

"He is already sleeping, if he is as far gone as you are suggesting he was likely very near burn out when you left," Narcissa's tone had a detached quality that spoke to the long and terrible history she had with her son in this type of situation.

Hermione was seeing more and more how harshly she had been judging a boy and man she did not know. The Phoenix tattoo was truer than she had ever known.

"Harry, may I ask how you are in the Manor? Draco activated all of the wards before he left, and no one should be allowed here unless they are blood," Narcissa said.

Hermione looked at Narcissa then.

Harry held up his left hand, "he made this today so I could come deliver this news in person." Harry said simply.

Hermione looked down at the ring on her hand and Narcissa met her gaze as she looked up again.

"He must have told you dear, under any circumstances. He warded the house in the middle of the night. I felt the familiar ripple as I am a Malfoy. With the ring, the magic recognizes you, but you wouldn't be aware of any invocations of familial magic," Narcissa explains.

Blood magic was still such a gray area, it wasn't taught, and it was mostly a tradition of Pureblood families. As such Hermione had very little understanding of how it truly worked. This alone made her uncomfortable on top of the new knowledge that Draco had, for all intents and purposes, made his home an impregnable fortress because of her.

"Hermione, he did seem concerned you would be upset with him for this deception, but with the most recent development I am glad you are safe her. Draco may be an overprotective, possessive git but in this case, he was right," Harry said in defense of Draco. This caught Hermione off guard. If Harry agreed with Draco's insane choice, what had they learned?

"Do you need me for anything else Hermione, I want to stay but I need to get back to the Ministry, we have a lot to do with the new information Draco has uncovered," Harry said apologetically.

"Go Harry, finish this so I can see him again," Hermione said.

"Narcissa, can I give this back to you at the edge of the wards so you can keep it. I would prefer to remove any possible access to your home," Harry asked.

"Yes, I appreciate your consideration Harry, I will just Floo with you to make it easier for you. I don't mind at all," Narcissa said and accompanied Harry to the hearth.

Hermione sat in silence until the hearth flared again. Narcissa crossed the parlor to her then.

"What do you need from me my dear?"

"I want to learn more about blood magic, there are so few texts on it, it is mostly closely guarded Pureblood tradition so I would never have had access to it," Hermione said.

"Of course, do you want to know about the Malfoy blood and family magic specifically or blood magic in general?" Narcissa asked.

Hermione was slightly taken back by the open expression on Narcissa's face.

"Whatever you can give me, I am on the edge of a very dark canyon so anything that can occupy my mind is a much better alternative at this point," Hermione admits.

"Then we will start with basics and go from there. The magic of this estate in very old and complex, so having a foundation first will be helpful. I will also preface with this; blood magic is considered by most a dark art in a similar way to potions. Blood magic requires sacrifice as the name implies," Narcissa says cautiously like she might deter Hermione with this statement.

"Narcissa, I am not sure the impression I give off, but I will just tell you this dirty little secret to allow you to decide for yourself about the purity of my soul. I kept Rita Skeeter in a jar with an Unbreakable Charm in her unregistered Animagus form for over two weeks to blackmail her. I still do not feel an ounce of remorse," Hermione said smiling.

Narcissa regarded her then with a calculating eye.

"Well then, welcome to the family dear," Narcissa said returning Hermione's smile.

Hermione turned those words over in her mind for a moment, the idea of truly being a part of this family would have at one time been ludicrous but now she found herself truly considering her life as Lady Malfoy. A shudder passed over her. That train of thought could wait, that was far too much to wrap her heart and mind around.

Narcissa settled her in the library with several tomes and told her she would send her dinner around seven. Hermione didn't think she would be hungry considering her nerves over the entire day and the revelations. Not even beginning to unpack all the feelings thoughts of Draco dredged up right now. However, dinner arrived, and she found herself hungry. She cleaned her plate before returning to her reading, at nine Tippy appeared again with snack. She gave Hermione a sweet smile and took her leave.

Hermione wanted to feel more upset about being served by house elves but seeing these elves and their treatment she couldn't help but find herself happy in their company. She had learned today there were two more elves that kept the grounds. One was Tippy's brother and the other was Henrietta's mate and husband. Narcissa had explained that Tippy had a potential mate who was employed by Blaise Zabini. Hermione was fascinated to learn so much about the more personal lives of House Elves. Once again, her education was limited by what had been written verses what was just known by those who grew up in wizarding households, specifically Pureblood families.

The hour was drawing on midnight when she finished her review of the books Narcissa had given her. She decided to give in to the exhaustion then and made her way up the stairs. She considered the door to the guest room for a moment before continuing down the hall to Draco's suite.

On the nightstand in there she found a Dreamless Sleep potion and a note from Narcissa, she was not under any illusion that Hermione was sleeping her son then.

I am happy to provide any and all reading material about the Manor tomorrow, get some rest and I will see you in the morning. ~NBM

Hermione had begun to forget what it was to have a mother. She had been able to undo most of the Obliviation damage, but her parents had not wanted to return to England. They still felt strange and wary around her. She visited occasionally, but it was easier on all parties if they remained apart. The kindness and acceptance from Narcissa was unexpected and overwhelming. Hermione undressed quickly and shrugged into one of Draco's shirts. Unstopping the vial, she upended it quickly before crawling into the bed that still smelled like him. She fell asleep fingering the ring on her index finger.