"But Professor Granger, George snores like a gassy hippogriff! And he leaves his dirty socks everywhere in the room; he's told the elves not to take them just to spite me! I slipped on one just his morning. I could have died!"
"Oh, so we're holding my breathing problems over my head now, are we, Stuart? Aye, that's rich. And the socks delimitate the perimeter of my own bed, ya complete twat. I ought to…"
"Mr. Atticks, Mr. Davies! That is enough!" Hermione hissed from behind her desk. She really wanted to smack her two most problematic students over the heads with a book, but it turned out Hogwarts had rules against that type of thing nowadays. What a pity.
"Mr. Atticks, you let the elves take away your dirty socks. No one should live with such a mess; keep in mind your dormitory is still a shared space." She said as evenly as possible, her eyes narrowed into slits. George Atticks still looked a little too smug for her liking.
"What about his abominable snoring, Professor?" Davies insisted. Hermione turned to him.
"I'm afraid I cannot simply change Mr. Atticks' respiratory tract problems, Mr. Davies." She said. "However," she added as Stuart was clearly about to whine about it. "I can ask the elves to shield your bed from the sound at night. Would that suffice?"
Davies looked like he wanted to complain about it even more, but Hermione must have gotten McGonagall's signature glare down to a tee, because he closed his mouth without saying anything further.
"Excellent. I would like to ask, Mr. Atticks, that you do not antagonize your dormmates. And you, Mr. Davies; it would be best to try to resolve matters amongst yourselves before escalating it to me. You will share a dorm for the duration of your Hogwarts' career, I suggest you start getting used to each other. Good evening." She said, dismissing the two.
Once the students finally vacated her office, she allowed a tired sigh to escape her lips. The year had been progressing quite smoothly, but her two most recent visitors were starting to get on her nerves. George Atticks was quite a popular, talented student, if a bit arrogant and proud. He was friendly with most other students, inside and out of Gryffindor.
And Stuart Davies… Her professional opinion said he was an extremely talented student, particularly in her subject. Her personal opinion – one that she reserved for after her teaching hours were done – was that he could be a bit of a twat. He came from a prominent Pureblooded Welsh family, and from what she could gather, was the first Gryffindor to be sorted in a line of Slytherins. She vaguely remembered he was sorted right before Narcissa began guessing who would be sorted into her House, but she could not recall whether the blonde had been surprised by his Sorting. He obviously had been, and had since had a hard time integrating in Gryffindor – truth be told, he was not making any effort either, preferring to fraternize with some Slytherins and a couple of Ravenclaws.
Hermione massaged her temples. She was done thinking about the two today – they had started bickering any chance they got for a week straight, and it was getting on everybody's nerves. Davies would find fault with literally anything, and Atticks would stoke the fire for sport. She half suspected he was faking the snoring.
The young professor sighed, tired of being holed up in her office. She took up some essays she had to grade – her first years' research on Animagi – and made her way to the Teacher's Lounge for a change of scenery. Hermione still had about half of the essays to go through, but thus far it seemed like a good batch. She had checked the Ministry's Official Animagus Registry before she assigned them, and sure enough, there was the Potions professor: Narcissa Malfoy. Malfoy, meaning Narcissa had already been registered before her divorce.
Hermione felt quite stupid for not checking the Registry more often, especially since Animagi were such an important facet of Transfiguration. But in reality, she never needed to – Minerva was happy to give an actual demonstration anytime they had that particular lecture, and the Registry was not really needed in the study of Animagus theory. Plus, what could beat the shocked looks on students' faces as a cute kitty cat on Hermione's desk suddenly transformed into their strict Headmistress before their very eyes? Hermione would not miss it for the world – it never got old.
She finally walked into the Teacher's Lounge to find her two favorite chairs by the fire occupied by Neville and Narcissa. The Herbology professor noticed her at once and stood, motioning for her to approach.
"Come, 'Mione. I know you like these chairs." He said, an odd smirk on his face. Narcissa looked at him as oddly as Hermione did.
"Neville, it's alright, I'm not taking your seat." She protested. He waved her off.
"Sit, sit! I'm just leaving, anyhow." He said. He turned to Narcissa. "Good evening, Professor Black."
Both Narcissa and Hermione looked at his retreating form, puzzled.
"I suppose you should sit." The blonde finally said, motioning to Neville's vacated chair.
"I suppose so." Hermione smiled. "What's going on with him?"
"I am not certain." Narcissa admitted. "But he was very excited about a particularly good batch of poison parsley he received from Bulgaria this morning."
Hermione sat, shaking her head. "Poison parsley? What on Earth could he possibly use those nasty things for, besides knocking out Doxies?"
Narcissa smiled. "I believe he is working on some natural repellent for our project." She said.
"Oh!" Hermione remembered. "Black Manor. How is that going?"
The blonde shrugged her shoulders. "A little more slowly than I would have liked, to be quite honest. I had hoped to have it ready by Christmas, but now it seems we will have to wait until after the New Year."
Hermione simply nodded, unsure of what to say. The two women graded in silence for a few minutes – Hermione noticed Narcissa was grading some complicated theoretical work from an upper level class. Unable to help her curiosity, she squinted, trying to recognize something similar she had worked on in her years as a student. It was terribly hard to read upside down.
"Are you naturally this curious, Ms. Granger?" Narcissa said softly, not looking up from the papers she worked on. Hermione blushed furiously. She started to blubber a hasty apology, but before she could the blonde looked up with a smile.
"Sorry." Hermione finally muttered. Narcissa's eyes were full of mirth.
"You can just ask." She said simply.
"Again, I am terribly sorry" the brunette blabbered on. Narcissa chuckled good-naturedly.
"Ask."
Hermione let out a breath she did not know she was holding.
"Sorry. Um, what is that you're grading?"
Narcissa handed her one of the papers she had already graded.
"An assignment given to my seventh-year students" she explained. "They must research a potion ingredient and its properties, and hypothesize on a new utility for it. They must then prove it, after more research, in a practical test." She shrugged once again. "I advised them to look for something simple, yet some of them insist on trying to rediscover more than the twelve uses of Dragon's Blood." She tutted.
Hermione smiled. "New utilities? Is that not what William White did in his first practical?"
Narcissa grinned openly, and Hermione could see a bit of pride in her expression.
"In a nutshell, yes. He had the right idea. However, this assignment is much more complex; it is one thing to substitute an ingredient for another of similar properties. It is quite another to devise new uses for a known ingredient."
"Indeed." Hermione agreed. "How do you expect them to do?"
"Oh, I doubt many, if any at all, will be entirely successful. This assignment is designed to teach them a lesson – they all read a potion recipe the same way they would a cake's." Narcissa murmured, clearly a bit annoyed. "There are intricacies to the study of Potions that most people dismiss."
Hermione nodded, looking over the paper Narcissa gave her. The student had received good marks, and as far as she could tell, their reasoning for alternative uses of Wormwood seemed sound.
"How about yourself? What are you grading?" Narcissa asked, subtly tilting her silvery quill towards Hermione's stack.
"Oh! Just some short essays from my first years'." She said quickly.
"I see. And what topic would they be on?"
Hermione held in a nervous laugh. "They're on the history and theory behind Animagi." She all but whispered.
"Ah" Narcissa said softly, giving the brunette no sign she was thinking of Hermione's previous invasion of privacy. "Animagi? Seems like a complex topic for a first-year class. We only covered Animagi briefly in fourth year, I believe." She wondered.
The brunette nodded. "Ordinarily, I would agree with you, and yes, I cover it a bit more extensively on fourth and fifth years respectively. However, I give my students a series of essays exploring the sub-branches of Transfiguration in their first year." Hermione explained "We have covered Unstransfiguration, Vanishment, and Conjuration in previous essays; Transformation usually takes a bit more time and research."
"Oh, what an inspired idea. Students should know a bit about the different branches of Wizarding areas of study; I cannot count how many of my students think a Potions Master and an Apothecary are next to equivalent." Narcissa sniffed.
Hermione laughed – the very idea had to be insulting.
"Yes, I agree. My students were not too keen on writing multiple essays, but they seem to be very interested in Animagi." She said. Narcissa smirked once more.
"Of course they would be, it's a fascinating thing" She said with an air of faux haughtiness. "Tell me, have you graded William White's essay?" she asked.
Hermione was a bit taken aback at the question.
"Not yet, he is in the pile. Why?"
Narcissa had a wicked look on her face. "Tell me when you get to his. I am inclined to think it will be positively riveting."
Hermione gave Narcissa an odd look, but felt inclined to return to her grading once the blonde did the same without another word. The pair carried on for quite a while in this fashion, with Hermione periodically stealing a glance or two at the elegant witch sitting across from her. She once again noticed how concentrated Narcissa was on the task at hand – her entire attention seemed devoted to the papers in front of her. Her blue eyes scanned the pages quickly and efficiently. They continued in silence; the only sound in the room came from the crackling fire and the scratching of the witches' quills.
It was by chance that Hermione picked William White's essay from the pile – she had not organized this batch alphabetically due to her little conflict-resolution session earlier, so it came sooner than she expected. She held in a laugh as she read it.
"He interviewed you." She said suddenly, turning Narcissa's attention to her. The other witch smiled, at once understanding what Hermione meant.
"Yes, I must say he was very thorough in his research." She quipped.
Hermione smiled. She liked it when students went a step further in their assignments. William had referred not only to the usual texts, but to the actual Ministry Registry and additional textbooks Hermione had not mentioned. He had even quoted an article from Minerva McGonagall herself, published decades before on Transfiguration Today. As well, of course, as his own Head of House – a little footnote acknowledged her as one of his primary sources.
"He certainly appears to be. He was the only one to feature the Animagus Registry in his paper, even though I directed them all to it." Hermione said. She looked up at Narcissa. "I even looked at it, for the first time in years – I had never needed to before, since Minerva usually gives demonstrations. I always mentioned it, but hadn't looked at it in… forever." She admitted guiltily.
Narcissa chuckled. "In truth, there isn't much need. There are not many who become Animagi – at least registered ones. I was the only addition since before the War." She explained. It was true – the Registry had been quite a static compilation since its inception. No more than a couple of witches or wizards made it to the list every few decades.
"You must have registered immediately after the War – you are still named as Narcissa Malfoy." Hermione commented off-handedly.
Narcissa's brows furrowed.
"And that was my mistake. I wonder if I could have that changed. I was just so eager to do it, I didn't even think. The divorce proceedings would start shortly after, I should have waited."
Hermione frowned. "How did you even manage it so soon? It can take years to get the opportunity finalize the incantation."
Narcissa nodded. "It was a combination of preparation, planning, and sheer dumb luck. I had kept mandrakes in my garden at Malfoy Manor, specifically for that purpose. After only three months, I was in France with Draco, and there was a storm perfect for the incantation. I honestly did not think it would work."
"How did it feel?" Hermione could not help but ask.
Narcissa put down her quill, lacing her fingers onto her lap.
"Terrifying. Unsettling. Exhilarating." She murmured. "The first transformation was… I don't think I have the words to explain the feeling. To have your body change so instantly, but to still have it be yours entirely… It is an indescribable feeling." She finished, her eyes distant.
"I always wondered – is your Patronus the same as your Animagus form? That seems to be the case for most people I've known, but there's not much research on the subject, and I know that a Patronus can change under certain circumstances." Hermione asked, her brain already in research mode.
Narcissa looked embarrassed.
"I assume so, though I would not know. I…" she stammered, which was unlike her poised nature. "I have never been able to produce a corporeal Patronus." She admitted, a slight flush of embarrassment tinging her cheeks.
Hermione opened and closed her mouth, unable to contain her surprise. Her shock obviously did not help ease the sudden tension at all, as Narcissa hastily went back to grading her papers, moving her quill vigorously in her discomfiture.
Hermione wanted to kick herself for her lack of tact, but she couldn't help it. A Patronus was a complicated charm, sure enough – many witches and wizards had trouble with it, it wasn't a rare occurrence – but Harry had managed it in his third year. If Narcissa was an accomplished Occlumens – something Harry could never do, Hermione couldn't help her shock at learning the witch had never produced a corporeal Patronus. Clearly the witch was skilled enough; it made Hermione wonder what held her back.
"I do wonder" Hermione blabbed on, unsure of what to say to remedy the situation. "Because if that is the case, if I ever decided to become an Animagus, I would likely turn into an otter." She smiled at Narcissa. "Not very convenient unless I'm close to a body of water." She joked.
Thankfully her pathetic attempt at humor seemed to have the desired effect. Narcissa stopped writing and chuckled.
"I don't think you'd have too many options; here the Giant Squid would probably mistake you for dinner." She said.
Hermione laughed, and the two witches went back to grading. Hermione was still occasionally stealing glances to the older witch – something about her practiced elegance and poise was oddly enticing to her. It compelled her to speak, but the brunette wasn't sure what to say, so she remained silent.
The two were interrupted by some tapping at the nearest window. Hermione looked up to see the biggest, most angry-looking owl she had ever seen tapping at the glass with its mighty beak.
"Merlin's beard, that bird is massive!" She yelped as Narcissa stood up with a grin, clearly recognizing the gigantic bird.
"Draco's" she said simply. "He's always been dramatic." She joked, letting the owl in. It perched itself, surprisingly gently, onto her arm, ruffling its golden feathers slightly. "Hello, Aurelius." Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes. Of course Draco Malfoy would name his owl something dumb like Aurelius. Though, she supposed, she couldn't quite judge – her own owl was named Athena. Still, Aurelius was so… Draco.
The owl let Narcissa take the letter attached to its leg, accepting a few pats on the head. As soon as it had arrived, it departed in a flurry of gold.
Narcissa opened the letter then and there. Hermione gave the woman some privacy, returning to her grading. It wasn't long, however, until she heard the blonde's exclamation.
"Oh, by Salazar's slimy snake!"
The brunette quickly looked up at the uncharacteristic expletive coming from the other witch. Narcissa had a shocked look on her face; she was rattled enough to sink rather inelegantly onto her chair. She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a heavy sigh, Hermione was at once inexplicably concerned.
"Narcissa?" she said, clearly startling the blonde – a pair of blue eyes snapped up to meet her own, no less shocked. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, yes." Narcissa said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Draco has news." She added, a smile discreetly tugging at her lips.
"Good news, I would hope?" Hermione prodded.
"Yes." The blonde breathed out. "It seems I'm to be a grandmother once again. Astoria is expecting." She said.
Hermione muttered something unintelligible under her breath. Narcissa looked at her oddly.
"Come again?"
Hermione shook her head. "Must be something in the water. You might as well know; the official public announcements are coming in tomorrow – Harry and Ron are expecting. I mean, their respective partners are expecting." She rambled.
Narcissa's eyes widened.
"Good Godric. Babies everywhere." She sighed, sinking even further in her chair and massaging her temples. It was quite a strange contrast to the perfectly poised woman Hermione had seen earlier.
"Pardon me, but you don't look particularly thrilled at this news." She said, unsure if she was overstepping.
Narcissa let out a bitter chuckle.
"I suppose it's selfish" she said, running her delicate fingers over the words on the page. Hermione was instantly brought back to the moment when those same fingers traced over her cursed wound; her arm erupted in goosebumps at the memory. "I love my grandson to death, of course. But he… Well, being called a grandmother, it just… It makes me feel so terribly old." She confessed in a hoarse whisper.
Hermione was stunned. She assumed it was only logical Narcissa had insecurities and doubts – she doubted anyone who had lived a life like hers would be free from them. But to discover that Narcissa Black feared aging, of all things? The woman hadn't aged a day since the first time Hermione met her. If anything, she looked younger, without the pressures of her marriage, a war, and having the Dark Lord himself in her home.
"I wouldn't worry" Hermione said, trying to lighten the mood. "You look beautiful, Narcissa; no one would think you're a grandmother." She finished, turning back to her papers before her flush caught up to her cheeks. She still noticed Narcissa's widening eyes.
"Thank you, M… Thank you, Hermione." Narcissa replied softly. Hermione ignored the strange shiver the mellow drawl caused to run down her back.
The two looked at each other for a few moments before Narcissa cleared her throat.
"So it seems that Potter and Draco are on their way for child number two… And Mr. Weasley on his first. How about you, Ms. Granger?" Narcissa asked off-handedly.
Hermione choked in her own saliva, strained coughs bubbling out of her throat.
"Excuse me?" she wheezed.
Narcissa smiled kindly. "Your friends are all starting families, or expanding them. How about yourself? Do you not have someone, after all these years?"
Hermione blushed; she could tell she was as red as a tomato.
"I seem to have overstepped. My apologies." Narcissa said, one eyebrow cocked in amusement.
"No, no, no! Not at all, the question… uh, it just surprised me, that's all." Hermione said quickly. "Uh, no, I don't have anyone. I dated a bit after the war, but… Well, at one point I wasn't in the right frame of mind to… to go out. I tried after I got better, but to be quite honest, I'm not really…" she reddened even further, hyperaware of her rambling. "I'm not the casual dating type." She said lamely. "And I quite like being married to my work." She tried to joke.
Narcissa nodded in understanding. "Fair enough. But you are young still, Hermione; don't let opportunities pass you by." She said kindly. Hermione breathed a little more easily.
"What about you?" she asked reflexively.
The Potions professor was clearly startled.
"Me? What do you mean?"
"Have you got someone? After the War and the divorce, have you… been with anyone?" Hermione asked.
Narcissa shook her head, a bit too quickly from Hermione's perspective.
"Oh, goodness, no" she almost hissed, a flush creeping up her chest and neck all the way up to her cheeks. "I am much too old for all of that" she waved her hand vaguely. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Merlin, you talk as if you were some wrinkly old lady – which you are not. Even if you were, you could still go out and get some. There's no reason for a gorgeous woman like you to be alone." Hermione retorted. Narcissa looked at her as if she had grown a third head. "What?" the brunette shot back.
"Gorgeous?" Narcissa asked, a knowing smirk tugging at her lips.
Hermione felt the rush of blood flood her cheeks again. First 'beautiful,' then 'gorgeous'? Had she lost all sense of propriety? Damn her mouth!
"Uh… Objectively speaking, you are, uuh, a very attractive woman." Hermione tried in vain to recover.
Narcissa merely laughed.
"Thank you, Ms. Granger. But I think that I, much like yourself, am married to my work, so to speak." She said, thankfully letting the matter drop. Hermione had no clue why she turned into a babbling idiot with no filter between brain and mouth whenever she was around Narcissa. She chalked it up to the blonde's commanding presence and elegance – she found it all quite intimidating.
The hours ticked by as the two women turned back to their grading. Hermione was quite happy with the results from her first-year class. It wasn't a hard assignment, and the majority of students had been thoughtful enough to include an extra reference or two for their research. Overall, she couldn't complain.
As she glanced at Narcissa every now and then, she could tell the blonde grew frustrated with the occasional assignment – she would write notes upon the margins of the parchment in a neat, elegant cursive script. After one essay that left the other professor particularly annoyed, Hermione interrupted.
"Bad yield?" she tried to joke. Narcissa blessedly smiled.
"Quite." She scoffed in annoyance. "I believe Horace was a bit lenient when he accepted a few students to his NEWT-level class." She said, tossing the essay she had just graded onto a pile. "No doubt their prominent last names earned them a spot."
That last part was so softly whispered Hermione wondered if Narcissa meant to say it at all. Still, she responded to it.
"Ah! The infamous Slug Club. I think I already know which students you mean." She said, with a roll of her eyes.
Narcissa laughed. "Indeed. After Potions, rubbing elbows was Horace's main specialty. Merlin knows he could scarcely contain his excitement when there were four Blacks under these enchanted ceilings; I thought he'd have an aneurysm."
Hermione let out a guffaw of laughter. That sounded like Slughorn.
"Four?" she asked.
"Yes. My sisters and I, and then my cousin Sirius. Regulus came shortly after Bellatrix graduated. I suppose at that time, Blacks were in plentiful supply." She said wryly.
Hermione nodded. "Sirius never truly liked Potions – or Slughorn, for that matter." The other witch nodded.
"His little parties for 'extraordinary' students… What pitiful nightmares they were" Narcissa mused aloud. "He could justify Bella and I as good students in his disciplines, but Andromeda…" she laughed. "I think she nearly fainted once he announced he had added her to his NEWT class, since she had 'obviously forgotten'. Dromie was always terrible in Potions."
Hermione laughed. Part of her was desperate to ask about Andromeda – did Narcissa see her sister now? Andromeda never spoke of her.
"Potions was never my best area either" Hermione said. "Mind you, I got excellent grades, but I never really enjoyed it as much as my other subjects."
Narcissa smiled. "Yes, the surprise of the Brightest Witch of her Age not being entirely perfect in every discipline. The horror!" she joked. She then looked earnestly at Hermione. "What were your favorite subjects at Hogwarts?"
Hermione beamed. This she could talk about for hours on end.
"Well, Transfiguration – clearly – was always one of my favorites. Charms is up there as well. Herbology, too. But I think… I think Runes and Arithmancy will always have a special place in my heart. How about you?"
"As you may expect, Potions was my calling. Otherwise, I enjoyed Herbology and Transfiguration. Astronomy was also an old favorite." Narcissa then cocked an eyebrow at Hermione. "Runes and Arithmancy? Complicated subjects, even in my day. It is unusual for someone to like them so much."
Hermione shrugged.
"Yes, I know. I can't help but find them fascinating. It was lucky I was so good at them too; they were quite handy at my job in the Ministry." She explained, thinking back. Damn helpful, they were – Runes and Arithmancy provided her with the tools to deconstruct and dissect even the oldest of spells and enchantments. In her mind, the two disciplines intertwined likely showcased the history of all magic on Earth.
"How so?" Narcissa asked.
"Oh, I was a Wards Specialist for the DMLE. Runes allowed me to develop counter-charms for ancient wards created centuries before our modern warding charms; Arithmancy helped me dissect and reassemble spells and enchantments. Tricky disciplines, but incredibly useful." Hermione clarified.
"Ah, I remember now. Draco mentioned something along those lines; you broke down the ancient wards in the Mulciber Estate while you worked with him, no?" Narcissa questioned.
"Yes" the brunette confirmed, a bit surprised. "I've worked with many types of wards over the years, from simple defensive charms to centennial Blood-Wards."
Narcissa looked intrigued.
"If I may be so bold, Ms. Granger… Would you be willing to help me in my project with Mr. Longbottom?" she asked. Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"With warding charms?" she pondered a moment. "I don't see why not. Are there wards you need help with at Black Manor?"
"Yes" Narcissa began. "I am not sure if you know, but my family is notorious not only for it Toujours Pur motto and belief, but for our infamous Blood Wards. The family's main estate and its grounds are as old as Merlin himself, and thus, so are its wards. Mr. Longbottom and I want to open the manor as a Wizarding Mental Wellness Ward; however, such a thing is impossible until all of its more unsavory wards are torn down one by one.
Hermione nodded, her eagerness for such a project clearly showing. The Black Family's wards were all but legendary – mentions of wards as old as Wizarding Britain itself were scattered through her many Runes textbooks. The family had been using magic to safeguard themselves – and keep undesirables out – long before the advent of the wand. Narcissa regarded her pensively.
"Do be forewarned, Ms. Granger, the wards in question may be beyond even your expertise."
Hermione narrowed her eyes, not liking to have her abilities questioned before she even gave the thing a shot.
"I think I should determine that for myself, Ms. Black." She said, as evenly as possible.
Narcissa stood, glancing at the clock.
"It is not too late" she said. "Would you care for a short trip?" she asked, extending her arm and pulling her polished wand from within her robes.
Hermione stood without a word, her gaze never wavering Narcissa's. She grasped the woman's offered hand for what had to be Side-Along Apparition.
"Keep in mind, Ms. Granger, this will not be pleasant."
And with a loud crack, they vanished.
A/N: I know one technically can't apparate to/from Hogwarts, but roll with it for the sake of my dramatics. Maybe I'll add in an explanation later.
~Naralanis
