Another chapter, because what makes the most sense after a months-long hiatus other than machine-gunning chapters?
Thank you for reading!
~Naralanis
Narcissa's first Christmas morning in Hogwarts was an odd one. Besides Minerva and Madam Pomfrey, she was the first Professor to arrive at the Staff Table. There were only a few scant groupings of students at their House Tables – not a single Slytherin among them.
"Happy Christmas, Ms. Black" called Minerva once she caught sight of the Potions Professor. The Headmistress had broken out her Christmas-themed tartan robes for the occasion; they made her look comically less severe and more like a kind grandmother than the strict Headmistress they all knew.
"Likewise, Headmistress, Poppy." Narcissa greeted back as she sat. "Nary a soul in sight this morning." She commented. Pomfrey laughed.
"Oh, I believe Ms. Granger will be making her way down soon – as soon as the dose of Caldwell's Crapulence Concoction I gave her has any effect." she said with a humorous grin.
"I take it dinner went well at the Weasleys, then?" Minerva inquired.
"Very well" Narcissa confirmed, still giddy from her reunion with Andromeda. She would spend some time during the holiday catching up on years of letters she had not dared open. "I met with Andromeda. All is well."
Minerva broke out in a genuine smile. "I'm very glad. It's about time." She quipped kindly.
Narcissa was happy to engage in pleasant conversation as Christmas breakfast continued. Apparently, a few students attempted to charm snowballs to fly around the Great Hall the night before, only to have them go rogue and begin an impromptu snowball fight. Minerva spoke of the occurrence with a bit of annoyance, but the Potions Professor could plainly tell Madam Pomfrey was thoroughly amused - as she tended to be when shenanigans did not result in visits to the Hospital Wing.
After a good half hour of tea and talking, Hermione finally dragged herself down for breakfast, her face still tinged slightly green – a common side effect of the Crapulence Concoction she'd had to down after a night of holiday drinking.
"Good morning, Ms. Granger" Narcissa called with a knowing smirk.
"G'Morning. Narcissa, Minerva, Poppy." Hermione rasped out. "Where's Hagrid? I'm going to kill him. That eggnog is positively lethal."
"You don't look too worse for the wear" the blonde said with a laugh.
"Thank Merlin for potions such as Caldwell's. I don't think I'd survive the Muggle way." Hermione quipped, groggily scooping some eggs into her plate.
"What is the Muggle way for curing drunkenness?" Narcissa asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Paracetamol, a glass of water, and a prayer, usually." Hermione grumbled.
"Para-what?"
"Paracetamol. It's medicine. Muggles sometimes use it for headaches." The Muggleborn explained, remarkably patient considering her state.
"I see. Is it effective?"
Hermione laughed. "Not nearly as much as a Crapulence Concoction!"
Hermione's mood - and overall physical state – much improved after breakfast. On a whim, she invited Narcissa for a walk on the snow-covered grounds, and was quite pleased when the blonde agreed. The two left the Great Hall directly for the castle courtyard. As soon as they crossed the doors, Narcissa wordlessly let a warming charm drift onto them.
"I had forgotten how beautiful Hogwarts looked in winter" Narcissa said as they walked. Hermione led the pair through the path she usually took in her late-night walks – towards Hagrid's hut, then down by the edge of the Forbidden Forest and back to the Black Lake. They had just passed the groundskeeper's residence; the little hill they found themselves on provided a breathtaking view of the castle.
Hermione turned to look, squinting with the brightness of the sunlight reflected by the thick blanket of snow. It was beautiful indeed.
"It's quite something, isn't it? Remind me to bring you back at sunset – the snow turns a million different colors as the sun sets." She turned to face Narcissa.
"I wanted to apologize, for not really keeping an eye on you yesterday. Though I think it turned out OK."
Narcissa smiled. "Yes, thank you. I feel quite stupid, to be perfectly frank" she confessed with a muted whisper.
"Stupid? Why?"
"So many things" the blonde said, waving a hand around herself "but particularly for wasting so much time in reconnecting with Andromeda. Having her there turned out to be the greatest gift I've ever received."
"Ah!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed, startling her companion. "Gifts! I completely forgot" she yapped, comically slapping her own forehead. "I've got you something, but I must have been truly sloshed yesterday to have forgotten to give it to you."
Narcissa looked taken aback. "Ms. Granger, there's no need for you to give me anything. I certainly did not get you a gift" she added guiltily.
"Are you joking? You added me to the Black Family Blood Wards - that's the best thing anyone has ever given me. The very thought of Walburga turning in her grave is just delightful!" Hermione proclaimed with just enthusiasm for Narcissa to know she truly meant it. The Potions professor could only chuckle.
"I guess that may count for something – certainly not as a Christmas gift, but something." She conceded.
"Tough luck. I've got you something and I'm actually excited to give it to you" Hermione declared, catching Narcissa off-guard with her eagerness. "Would you like to come up with me to my quarters? I've left it there last night."
"Lead the way" Narcissa said with a grin, though she was puzzled.
The two made it back to the castle just in time for Narcissa's warming charm to wear off. The corridors were eerily silent, with most remaining students choosing to linger in the warmth and comfort of their dormitories.
Once they finally arrived at Hermione's private quarters, Narcissa could not contain her surprise at how the Transfiguration professor kept them. She had known Hermione to be a bookworm as a child; as a Professor, Narcissa guessed she was impeccably neat and thoroughly organized in every aspect of her life.
She had been entirely off the mark.
While Hermione's office and sitting room had quite a cozy feel, they were littered with books, papers, academic journals, and stray pieces of parchment. Narcissa counted at least four quills, all half-used and stained with ink. Hermione's fabled reputation as a bookworm very clearly preceded her – there were more books cluttering the space than anything else. The brunette even had no fewer than five portable chalkboards, two of which were floating neatly behind her messy desk, covered with complicated strings of Ancient Runes and complex Arithmancy equations. There was a massive birdcage in one corner – the bird was absent, but the cage was mercifully clean. At another corner, Narcissa spotted a haphazard reading nook, surrounded with several of the books Hermione had taken from Black Manor.
Hermione must have sensed Narcissa's shock, for she turned to explain herself with a sheepish look. "My apologies. I promise it doesn't usually look this... disorganized."
"Merlin" Narcissa muttered before she could help it. "You are aware we're on holiday, Ms. Granger?"
"Perfectly" Hermione retorted with a roll of her eyes. "That's precisely why it looks like that. I got carried away with research. I promise you I'm normally much tidier than this."
With that, the brunette stepped into a doorway that most likely led to her private bedchamber. Narcissa caught a glimpse of dark woods and drapes that were not the expected Gryffindor red, but periwinkle blue. She busied herself with examining one of the floating chalkboards as she heard Hermione rummaging through her bedroom.
It was fascinating, Narcissa mused. In her school years, she had been quite adept at both Runes and Arithmancy, especially the former, since her family had always been a kind of authority on the subject. Still, Hermione's dusty scribbles were exceedingly complex; from what she could understand, the young woman had been trying to use a few select principles of Arithmancy in an attempt to reorganize and restructure the age-old Warding charms from Black Manor. Narcissa was nothing short of impressed, and was eager to learn more about that particular theory - she had never seen the two disciplines being used concurrently in such a way.
"Here it is" came Hermione's voice from behind. Narcissa turned to see the brunette with a small, wooden square box in her hands. Somehow, the young woman's posture seemed awfully timid in comparison to her bubbliness from just moments before.
Hermione seemed to take note of Narcissa's silent gaze. "Sorry." She said. "Just wondering if I went a bit overboard with this." She added cryptically.
Narcissa did not know how to respond to the pronouncement, so she let Hermione continue.
"I just wanted to say, it's been really good to have you here as a colleague, Narcissa" she said, and Narcissa could see she spoke truthfully. "I know we've had our differences, but I've greatly enjoyed getting to know you. We've had a difficult past, the both of us. So, I wanted to give you a little something to remind you to look to the future."
With that, she shyly handed the box to the older woman. Narcissa murmured a nearly-silent thank-you, but she knew Hermione had heard her.
The little box was beautiful by itself; an intricate intercalation of expertly fitted pieces of wood, alternating in color and tone. While it wasn't heavy per se, she could feel that whatever it contained had a considerable weight taking into account its size.
Overboard, the brunette had said? That simple statement had filled Narcissa with trepidation for whatever reason. Talk about the past – and the future – usually had that effect.
With her heart beating a bit faster than she'd like, Narcissa clicked the box open. She saw what looked to be a silver chain inside, then loops, no, rings of metal surrounding glass. She gasped, looping the polished chain delicately on her fingers and lifting the item from the velvet that surrounded it, just to make sure she wasn't going mad.
She wasn't. Hermione Granger had given her a Time-Turner.
"How...?" She didn't even know where to begin.
"It's broken" Hermione was quick to say. "That's part of the message, I guess. Can't change the past, look to the future." She suddenly pulled a face. "Sorry, this all sounded much better in my head, I promise."
"I thought all Time-Turners had been destroyed." Narcissa said, still in awe at the instrument. Its metal rings moved slowly on their own accord, but the glass was cracked, and the enchanted sand usually housed within was noticeably absent.
"Broken beyond repair, perhaps, but not destroyed, not completely. Not all of them." Hermione said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "It's a pretty trinket more than anything else. But I happen to like its meaning."
Narcissa could only stare at the magical apparatus in her hand, overcome by wonder. She had known about Time-Turners, of course – the Malfoy Family even had a few that were turned over to the Ministry for safekeeping shortly after she married Lucius – but she had never seen, much less held one before. It was even a little difficult to process how powerful the little trinket had once been. But now, stripped of its function, it carried much deeper meaning. She at once understood what Hermione meant by going overboard, but Narcissa did not mind it at all. She was grateful.
"Thank you" she said in a hoarse whisper. Narcissa hoped Hermione could tell just how much she meant it. "For everything."
"Everything?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"This" she held up the Time-Turner. "For being so accepting and kind to me, when you of all people have no reason to be. For your conversation, for your company... For dragging me to the Weasleys, for helping me reconcile with Andromeda, even if inadvertently. Thank you for believing in me."
Hermione suddenly looked bashful. "Narcissa, you give me far too much credit." She argued.
"I hardly think so." Narcissa countered, grinning from ear to ear. "It is thanks to you and your friends – thanks to you I've been allowed to start anew, even after everything I've done. That, Hermione, is the most priceless gift. It's because of you I even have the chance to think about the future."
Hermione only smiled.
Narcissa lingered in Hermione's private offices for long after the brunette had gifted her the Time-Turner. She was eager to talk about the intensive research the young woman was so obviously absorbed in. While both of them had been selecting tomes from the Black Library for weeks, Narcissa hadn't thought about how far Hermione would go if left to her own devices. From what she could see, it was very far indeed.
"Explain it to me again." She asked, practically giddy with her excitement. Her life after Hogwarts was wretchedly deprived of academia and intelligent conversation, and she hadn't realized how much she had missed the thrill of discussing research with someone else until Hermione demonstrated the same level of unbridled excitement. It was refreshing.
"Well" Hermione preened, fully aware Narcissa was impressed, and relishing in the feeling. "I've borrowed the Arithmantic Transmutation Theory in order to see how I could adapt the existing Runes that form the estate's Blood Wards. In theory, one should be able to tweak and adapt the runes so they may perform a different function."
"I understand how one may create and mutate the artihmantic composition of a spell or enchantment; but how would this practice translate to ancient runes? They were invented before the advent of numerology." Narcissa countered.
"Indeed" Hermione agreed, but there was a twinkle in her eyes that belied the thrill she felt at explaining it "But think about how many properties a spell, or even something as simple as a single number, may have. There are several magical properties to the number seven, for example – the same is true for every spell, every charm, every curse. The true challenge lies in redirecting its objective." She said, motioning to the various sketches on one of her many chalkboards.
"Just as like any spell or number, Runes have their own multitude of properties." She continued excitedly.
"But these wards were established before Wizardkind even carried their own wands. How could we establish their originally intended properties?" pressed Narcissa, amazed but skeptical.
"Therein lies the challenge" Hermione conceded, her brows furrowed. "We know it can be done: your relatives changed how the wards would deal with undesirables through the years, though the last significant change was about four hundred years ago. We need to find records on how they managed; that would be a good start."
"That will take forever." Narcissa said with a pout. "Is there any other way?"
"There might be one, but I'm not sure if it would take any less time, to be perfectly frank." Hermione said. The two women stared intently at the messy chalkboard with furrowed brows.
"Well, what is it?"
"I'd need to see specifically which Runes were used. For that, we need to find the exact location of the original wards that were created solely by using Runes." She said, an expression of utter annoyance overcoming her features.
"Merlin! That would be impossible: the property is older than Merlin himself, not to mention enormously large. And who's to say more Runed wards were not added in later years? How could we determine which were made when?" She countered, mirroring Hermione's expression of discontent.
"Now you see what a headache this is." Hermione quipped. She stared at her sketches in deep concentration. "Of course, perhaps a simpler solution would be to create a ward within a ward, or a cancellation ward, if you will – providing the initial wards won't have provisions against that sort of thing" she mused out loud.
"Now there's an idea. That would be much simpler, no?"
"Yes and no" Hermione grunted with a defeated sigh. "If we do it and it works, that's all well and good. However, if the existing wards were projected against something like that, the consequences could be disastrous."
"Such as?" Narcissa asked, already dreading the answer.
"Best case-scenario... the wards close completely. No one comes in or out." She took into account Narcissa's expression of disbelief. "Worst case... Instant death – knowing your family, I wouldn't be surprised." She said. "No offense."
"None taken" the blonde sighed with a shrug. "Is there a way to find out whether the wards were projected against creating a... a cancellation ward?"
"It takes us right back to where we started." Hermione proclaimed. "Either we find accurate records detailing what they were projected for, or we find the original runes."
"Well... that's disappointing." Narcissa lamented, leaning against Hermione's desk and pinching the bridge of her nose in defeat.
Hermione found both the gesture and the position oddly intriguing – Narcissa was never anything other than perfectly composed, no matter the occasion. Now, she languidly leaned back; the soft rays of light coming from Hermione's open window illuminated her golden hair while leaving part of her features obscured. Hermione caught herself staring for much longer than was considered appropriate – she immediately felt the blood rushing to her necks and cheeks. Thankfully, Narcissa was too intrigued by the Runes on the board to notice.
"Sorry" Hermione thought aloud.
"Whatever for? This is already much more than we had – it's just disappointing so many patients and patrons will have to wait so much longer." Narcissa replied, genuine concern marring her beautiful features.
Hermione was thankful Narcissa hadn't realized what she was apologizing for, but she was also quite alarmed by a startling realization of her own – one that she had been moderately aware of for quite some time, but that then and there, after their shared enthusiasm for the blasted runes on her chalkboard, made her breathing hitch and her heart thump a little erratically. It suddenly hit her like a galloping Hippogriff
Narcissa Black was breathtakingly beautiful.
