Hermione grumbled as she busied herself with rearranging the books she had knocked over in her excitement. She wanted to say it wasn't her fault, not entirely – Narcissa had a habit of placing haphazard piles rather precariously onto side tables.

Plus, she had come in rather animatedly, but she couldn't help it. She thought she had just stumbled upon a major breakthrough as far as the Black Manor wards were concerned, and she wanted to let Narcissa know about it as soon as she possibly could. Their shared excitement over research never failed to brighten her day; it showed a side of Narcissa Hermione very much doubted had been seen by most people. She felt immensely privileged to be privy to a relaxed, eager Narcissa, and wanted to elicit such reactions often.

And thus, she found herself in Narcissa's quarters. The blonde had already told Hermione she was always welcome, particularly if she was there to discuss the tricky wards that had consumed much of their time. She had gone in confidently, carrying a thick stack of loose parchment upon which she had been gathering some of her notes on how the Blacks had managed to create Runes that somehow presented transfigurative properties.

When she called for Narcissa, she heard the blonde's muffled reply, presumably coming from the bedroom attached to the sitting room. Her little run-in with one of Narcissa's massive piles of books had distracted her momentarily, so when she turned to Narcissa the second time the other witch called her name, she choked on her own saliva.

Narcissa's voice had undoubtedly come from her bedroom, but Hermione had expected to see her stepping out to greet her. Instead, her eyes inadvertently looked straight through the door, which hung slightly ajar, and connected to Narcissa, clearly stepping out of a bath, wrapped in a plush grey bathrobe, her long blonde hair darkened by the water and hanging all the way to the small of her back.

Hermione's surprise made her knock Narcissa's books onto the ground for the third time in the span of two minutes. Unfortunately, the sound drew Narcissa's attention and their eyes connected through the half-open door.

Narcissa's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and to Hermione's horror, the woman began walking her way, the bathrobe tightened only barely by a delicate knot resting upon her midsection, the swaying of the fabric reaching just above Narcissa's knees.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Narcissa asked once she reached the door, leaning against it delicately and tilting her head slightly in question. She didn't seem to care that Hermione was seeing her in her current state – her lack of concern led the brunette to furiously overthink her reaction. Hermione made a deliberate effort to breathe very slowly, fighting the rush of blood she felt surging to her cheeks.

"Ah, yes!" She said, much too quickly. "Sorry for interrupting your bath, I... I can come back later," she breathed out.

"Oh, no, it's perfectly alright." Narcissa said, reaching down and tying the bathrobe a little more securely around her. "You had something to show me?"

"Ah..." Hermione croaked, her mind a complete blank as her eyes followed Narcissa's graceful hands twisting the robe's ties into a tighter knot. "Ah! Yeah, the wards!" She finally caught herself, dropping down to her knees to gather the parchment she had also dropped to the floor. Research, now that was something she could easily shift her focus to. "I think I may have figured out how your ancestors made Runes that followed certain transmutative properties."

"Oh!" came Narcissa's enthusiastic exclamation, and now Hermione could breathe a little easier, eager to return to the normalcy of their academic discussions. Narcissa would go, close the door, get appropriately dressed for company, and then they could take their time dissecting some complex, dangerous, and ridiculously old spell work, perhaps over a soothing cup of tea. Hermione could want for nothing more.

Therefore, she felt her nervous system short-circuit as her eyes suddenly connected to the exposed skin of Narcissa's knees as the blonde knelt next to her, assisting her as she gathered the loose leaves of parchment that littered the floor.

"How could they do it?" Narcissa inquired as her eyes pored over Hermione's messy scrawls on the sheets she picked up. "Have you found anything detailing how they circumvented the limitations of Transfiguration? Perhaps there are records of similar spells, though if I am honest, I am not quite sure where to even begin looking for such..."

Hermione had to stop from physically shaking herself. She could see Narcissa's rosy lips moving, but she was painfully aware her brain was decidedly not registering any of what the other woman was saying. Something to circumvent, something records, something...

"Hermione?" Narcissa called for the second time, and Hermione had to force her eyes to focus on Narcissa's blues. Her cheeks felt warm and her stomach tightened itself into a knot. "Are you sure you're alright? You look feverish," the blonde said, reaching a hand to Hermione's cheeks as if to test for her temperature.

"I'm fine!" Hermione nearly yelped, a hand reflexively catching Narcissa's before it could make contact – she didn't know if she could handle that. The blonde's eyes widened and she stiffened in Hermione's sudden grip, surprised by the sudden movement.

"I'm good," Hermione repeated, quickly letting go. This was not how she had felt when she held Narcissa's hands at the Black Mausoleum. That touch had been filled with comfort and warmth – this one had been inexplicably charged with something she couldn't place, and wasn't sure she wanted to. "Here," she continued quickly, not giving Narcissa any time to interject. "Let me show you what I've found so far."

She quickly gathered the loose parchment in a crumpled mess in her arms, but the priority was to get some distance between herself and Narcissa. The blonde eyed her quickly, but stood, motioning towards the sofa and chairs elegantly arranged around the room.

"Very well," she said, sounding unconvinced. "Please, take a seat."

Hermione gladly made a beeline for one of the chairs, not willing to risk taking a seat on the sofa and having Narcissa settle next to her, not in her current state. She flopped onto her seat rather inelegantly, but was relieved when Narcissa daintily made herself comfortable, curling her legs under herself and leaning over the arm of the sofa.

"Alright" Hermione began again, regaining control of her breathing. "I think I found out how some of the original warding runes were created using transfigurative properties." She said, getting right down to business – it was what she did best.

"What have you found?" Narcissa asked, the gleam in her eyes betraying her interest.

"Well, for starters, I found some incredible research done by a certain Cassius Black, in the fourteenth century. It's the oldest research I've been able to find, and it has been incredibly helpful. It detailed a lot of his own theories about how the first wards were created, and they actually sound plausible. I mean, they are bonkers, but they are plausible," Hermione continued, handing one of the now-crumpled parchment sheets for Narcissa to examine.

Narcissa's teeth nipped at her bottom lip, deep in thought as her eyes quickly scanned the complex diagrams before her – for once, she began feeling a bit out of her depth. "How did they do it?" She asked, eager to hear Hermione's explanation.

"Well, we were thinking about this wrong. Runes are not transfigurable objects, therefore they do not abide for the transfigurative formula."

Narcissa's brows furrowed in confusion. "Wait a minute, didn't you say they had somehow managed to do it?"

"Yes," Hermione conceded, curling her lips into a smile. "But the diagrams I had found then were only part of the story. Cassius research goes a step further!" She rifled through some more of the papers she had gathered on her lap before handing a small stack over to Narcissa.

"Why aren't Runes transfigurable?" Hermione asked with a gleam in her eye.

Narcissa laughed heartily at the question. "Is that a trick question?" She quipped with a smile, and her tone was playful enough to elicit an unfamiliar warmth in Hermione's chest. "Am I being quizzed, Professor Granger?"

Hermione managed to keep her flush at bay, only just. She shook her head, smiling as if she guarded a secret. "Not a trick question at all."

"Very well," Narcissa sighed, leaning back in deep thought. "They do not have enough transfigurable properties to abide to the transfigurative formula. Things like body weight, viscosity, texture – their values are inexistent or irrelevant for transmutative purposes."

"Excellent, Ms. Black" Hermione quipped in her most professorial tone. "Twenty points to Slytherin!"

Narcissa chuckled, and Hermione rerouted the conversation. "You see, when I first found those crazy diagrams, we were thinking that, somehow, Runes had been transfigured into something. That's not the case at all." She paused, reaching into a pocket in her robes. After some fumbling, Hermione took out fairly large stone pendant attached to a leather cord; she handed it to Narcissa.

The blonde turned it over in her hands, feeling the weight of the polished stone. It was a talisman, the kind of which the druids of old used for their enchantments. It was crudely but beautifully carved into a familiar rune, though she wondered why Hermione of all people would be in possession of such a charm – the brunette just didn't seem like the type.

"Interesting..." Narcissa said, amused as she recognized that particular rune. "May I ask why you have a fertility talisman in your possession?" She couldn't help but ask, delighting in how Hermione's cheeks flushed to a deep shade of red.

"I hoped to get that past you..." the brunette bemoaned, ignoring Narcissa's look that said she should have known better than to try to get anything past the Slytherin. "That was a not-so-subtle hint from Molly, years ago. But that's not important!" she quickly got back on track. "What is this talisman?"

"Is that a trick question?" Narcissa questioned with a quirk of her brow. "I believe I just told you – it's a fertility talisman."

"Yes, yes" Hermione agreed, waving her hands in excitement. "But what makes it a fertility talisman?"

"You keep phrasing questions like that, and you wonder why I think they're tricks" Narcissa quipped with a laugh as Hermione began to bounce in her seat with impatience. "The carved rune depicted is most often associate with Damona, one of the Gallo-Roman goddesses of fertility."

Hermione gave Narcissa an appraising look, visibly impressed. "Well done, you know your Runes" she cheered with a smile. "But yes – what makes this a fertility talisman is the rune carved onto it. Now how do you suppose it was carved?"

Narcissa rolled her eyes, and Hermione had to laugh. "Alright, alright, no more 'trick' questions" she relented. "Say this was carved by hand, as most rune talismans usually are. What is stopping a talented witch or wizard from transfiguring the rock into a carving of a rune?"

Narcissa froze at what Hermione insinuated. "Good Godric" she whispered after a beat, completely in awe. "The wards weren't created by transfiguring Runes! Something else was transfigured into warding Runes!"

Hermione's smile was blinding in her satisfaction as Narcissa finally caught on. "Exactly!"

Narcissa's eyes darted from the talisman in her hand to the diagrams on the parchment. Her mind was eagerly rifling through every memory she ever held regarding Runes, transfiguration, her family's history, and her knowledge of magic in general.

"Remarkable" she couldn't help but breath out. Of course, the functions of those wards when they were first created were obviously less-than-savoury, but they had to admit how impressive that bit of magic was.

"So in the end, it's not like your family broke all rules of Transfiguration as we know them" Hermione quipped, looking rather pleased with herself. "They were just really, really, really good at math."

Narcissa had to laugh at that. "Indeed," she agreed. She could not even begin to imagine the intricacies of transfiguring something into a sculpture of sorts – they needed to account for different dynamics, different ways in which the material would behave, and somehow maintain part of its structure. Transfiguration worked in transforming a known object into another known object, but this was transfiguring an object into a new form. She had to wonder why her ancestors chose to go the transfiguration route – the formulas for such calculations would undoubtedly give the average wizard a galloping migraine.

"So the Runes themselves never really had any transmutative properties to begin with," Narcissa whispered as she mulled over Hermione's discovery, "but rather, the materials from which they were made retained their own."

"Precisely. Somehow, your family managed to create a series of these – they'd have to, for wards such as these. Which leads me to the good news!"

Narcissa smiled. "Which would be?"

"I am positive my Rune-tracking charm will work! I just need to set it to look for origin points specifically. That would certainly eliminate any interference from other miscellaneous runes that might be found on the property."

Narcissa's grin got impossibly wider. "Hermione," she murmured, fingers delicately drifting across the page she held in a pattern Hermione couldn't help but follow intently with her gaze. "Thank you. You're just... extraordinary."

The brunette preened and flushed, feeling that inexplicable warmth in her chest begin to expand at Narcissa's words and smooth, velvety tone. Her immediate reaction was to wave the praise off, even if inside, she relished in it.

"Oh, not at all" she retorted with an ill-concealed gasp. "It's just... I just looked at some books, that's all."

"Don't sell yourself short, Hermione" Narcissa countered, her blue gaze softer than Hermione had ever seen it. "You made sense of centuries of complex spell-work, runes, and some of the darkest blood wards ever conceived. Were it not for you, Mr. Longbottom and I would be hopelessly stuck with a fully functional hospital that could not receive a great number of patients... we could never open it. Now, there's hope."

Hermione took a moment consider it. She had never stopped to think about it, because Narcissa's request for her assistance had been so intriguing at the start of term, but a new wizarding wellness facility opening and not accepting any Muggleborns would... not go well.

"I suppose opening it would send the wrong message." She pondered aloud. Narcissa froze at her statement.

"Oh, no, please don't think – I didn't embark on this for publicity. I – Merlin, how can I – there was no m–"

"Narcissa," Hermione interrupted, seeing at once where Narcissa's mind had gone to. "I never thought that. Neville vouched for you at the beginning of the year – that's all I needed."

The blonde looked exceedingly grateful at Hermione's reassurance. It was the truth – Hermione had never even considered how much something as big and audacious as creating an entirely new Wizarding Wellness Ward could be construed as a publicity stunt for someone like Narcissa Black. She didn't think it was needed, in any case – Narcissa seemed to have a much worse opinion of herself than the rest of the wizarding world at large did. It was a mystery Hermione had yet to crack.

"Well," Narcissa breathed out, her relief painfully evident. Hermione briefly wondered if she had gotten better at reading the Slytherin, or if Narcissa was just more comfortable around her, and thus, more open. "I'm glad. It would be a shame to see a project we have cultivated for so long fall through after so much work."

"How long have you and Neville been working on this?"

Narcissa's elegant shoulder shrug made another appearance. "It was a plan of mine for a long time. I approached Mr. Longbottom about it..." she narrowed her eyes, deep in thought. "Three years ago, if I'm not mistaken."

"Three years?" Hermione repeated, taken by surprise. What a secret for Neville to keep for three long years. "That's... a while. When did you first get the idea?"

Narcissa shifted in her seat, her long legs unfurling from under her and crossing over one another. Hermione was momentarily distracted – and immediately reminded of what the other woman was wearing – as the bathrobe hitched up ever so slightly along her pale thighs with the movement.

"The seed had been planted in my brain immediately after the war. St. Mungo's wasn't... exactly welcoming those first few months, but they desperately needed people who knew their way around more than the most common healing spells and potions. They... begrudgingly allowed me to help while I awaited my trial."

Hermione wanted to interject with her surprise. She had been off with Harry and Ron rounding up as many escaped Death Eaters – and more than their fair share of Dementors – before the trials began. She had very little idea of what happened in the months immediately after the war ended. There hadn't been much time in between mourning and capturing escaped convicts to think of much else.

"They were overworked, understaffed, and because of the hospital's location, it was nearly impossible to keep magically expanding it as fast as they needed to. I opened the doors of Malfoy Manor to patients and Healers, and that went a long way in establishing some tentative trust. After I was... acquitted" Narcissa said the word as if it pained her "the hospital's Research Department reached out. They wanted me to come on board."

Hermine smiled, thinking of how many doors that opened up for Narcissa. Before the new Potions Professor had been hired, she had looked through some of her research at Minerva's behest. It was the first time Narcissa had truly impressed her. The St. Mungo's Potions Research and Development Department world-renowned in the subject; Narcissa had undoubtedly proven herself a valuable asset in those first few months to be called to work there without actually having the Mastery under her belt.

Hermione would forever be grateful for the Potions Department. Once the post-war chaos had died down and she deemed it safe enough finally go on the search for her parents in Australia, their help had been priceless in her efforts to restore their memories. Despite all her research on memory charms and her ability with them, the mind was a complex, intricate structure, and it took very little to damage it beyond repair. The fact that her spell had been an extreme solution for extreme circumstances, there was absolutely no room for error – one simple mistake and her parents' minds would be destroyed forever.

The Potions Department had come in with a wide array of serums, draughts, and elixirs the likes of which Hermione had never even heard of before. So much of working with the human brain and mind was based entirely on guesswork, but the measures the specialists had taken to safeguard her parents' minds before she could counter the damage she had done were invaluable – Hermione was certain they had been essential for her parents' total and seamless recovery.

"After that, I was made a research fellow" Narcissa continued, her tone a little wistful, but smiling all the same. "It was hard work, and not everyone was welcoming – at least not when I first started. I'd like to think that, over time, my research spoke for itself."

"I owe a lot to the St. Mungo's Potions Department" Hermione admitted, thinking back on how out of her depth she could have been without their help. "When I went to find my parents and return their memories, Kingsley arranged for some expert opinion, and I'm really, really glad he did." She sighed. "I don't think they would have recovered so well without it."

"Ah, yes. Memory charms, correct? Those can be quite problematic to work with." Narcissa faltered, suddenly looking extremely self-conscious, with a hand running nervously through the golden strands of her hair and her eyes looking intently at the forgotten parchment that lay on her lap.

The reaction stumped Hermione. "Narcissa?" The blonde remained quiet, and Hermione couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong. Then the thought occurred to her.

"You were already working with the department then, weren't you?" she asked, feeling her heart thundering wildly in her chest. Hermione knew the answer – she was suddenly aware of something monumental – she didn't even need Narcissa's slight nod to confirm it.

"You were the specialist." Hermione breathed out, awe in her voice.

Narcissa's cheeks pinked, but she did absolutely nothing to deny it. "I was one of them, yes."

"You... you..." Hermione stuttered, the revelation too momentous for her to even form coherent words – it was as if her brain was having difficulty processing the importance of that fact. There was so many things she wanted to ask, like how, and most importantly why, but the one swirling in her head at that moment had more to do with why Kingsley hadn't told her in the first place. She had read stacks of notes and research and instructions detailing exactly which concoctions would assure the smoothest possible recovery for her parents. Even months after their memories had returned, the department had provided William and Katherine Granger with specially-made draughts to ensure their minds did not suffer any after-effects of such intense magical interference.

And Narcissa had been the one responsible.

"You never told me." Hermione lamented; for whatever reason she felt tears pooling at her eyes and they embarrassed them. "Kingsley never told me either."

Narcissa stiffened in her seat, caught unawares by Hermione's tears; she looked like she wanted to comfort the brunette, but knew not how.

"It... it never really came up during our acquaintance" she defended weakly. "And I... when Kingsley came to me in the department, I told him I would prefer it if you didn't know."

The confession hung in the air with Hermione's quiet sniffles. She didn't feel sad – it was some sort of bittersweet emotion the couldn't quite recognize. "But... why?" She groaned as her voice struggled to leave her throat, raspy and blubbery from her tears. "We've been working together for months, and I... I never even got the chance to thank you."

Hermione hiccoughed, wiping at her errant tears. She hid her face in her hands in embarrassment; she couldn't believe she was crying over something that wasn't sad at all. She had absolutely no reason to be crying, yet here she was, unable to stop her tears.

The soft touch of a hand upon her knee made her jerk, and her eyes connected with Narcissa, who now knelt by her side, looking uncomfortable with the situation but trying to make the best of it.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, a hand coming to cradle Hermione's cheek. The brunette leaned into the warmth of the other witch's touch almost by instinct. "I didn't think you'd accept my help – I was the wife of a Death Eater and... During the war, back at the Manor, I –"

"Narcissa," Hermione interjected, taking Narcissa's hand in her own "You helped save my parents. Why didn't you tell me when you came to Hogwarts?"

Narcissa shrugged, her hand trembled in Hermione's. "It never came up. Furthermore, I thought you would prefer to keep your distance from someone like me."

Hermione scoffed, agreeing with the sentiment somewhat. That might have been true at the beginning of the year – it certainly wasn't now. Plus, if she had known, she would certainly have been a lot more receptive to Narcissa from the start.

"I wish you had told me." She reiterated.

"I'm so-"

Narcissa was cut short by Hermione's arms winding themselves tightly around her shoulders. The Slytherin froze in place, caught off-guard by the gesture – it took her a long moment to finally reciprocate, wrapping her arms around the brunette and allowing Hermione to lean deeply into the embrace. She felt the wetness of the Gryffindor's tears against and the heat of her breath against her neck, and was at once enveloped in the sheer warmth that Hermione radiated.

"Thank you." Came the young witch's teary whisper on her skin.

Narcissa could only hold her tighter.