Chapter Nine: Snapped

Thank Merlin for late Order Meetings.

Otherwise Hermione and he would have never managed to sneak out.

But with people constantly coming and going that night, it was just a matter of time before someone left the door open long enough for him and Hermione, safely hidden away under his invisibility cloak, to slip through without anyone knowing any better.

Since the adults thought they'd all gone off to bed early, it left them with a time window of a good two hours before the meeting would be over and anyone would come and check up on them.

Plenty of time to meet with Narcissa.

As soon as they had left Grimmauld Place behind, they discarded the cloak and hopped onto the nearest bus going west.

The cemetery they were headed too was not particularly big or famous but it was close to where Harry and Sirius now lived and he'd seen the signs a few times.

Though he had to admit, the prospect of going to a cemetery so soon after his last visit was…unnerving.

Hermione wasn't thrilled either.

While they had told Ron where they were going and needed him to cover for them, in case someone came looking for them, she still thought this was a bad idea.

Especially after he had told her who they were meeting.

He had disclosed all the information to her as they sat on the bus.

How Narcissa had first cornered him at the celebration at the How last winter, how she had saved his life at the beginning of the summer to their correspondence and now to her letter just today.

"I don't know Harry." Hermione finally said after he was finished. "You putting a lot of trust in a person that might only be out for her own gain."

"Believe me Hermione, I know that, it's just…"

"You just cannot not help, I know Harry. Its what I love about you and at the same time it frustrates me so much." She interrupted him.

She sighed. "So, what exactly is the plan here?" she then asked.

"See what she wants. Then go from there."

She shook her head. "You are terrible." She announced.

"I really think Narcissa could be helpful to us."

"Only if she wants to be. You realize there is a good chance this is just a ruse, right?"

"I know Hermione but I…I have yet to be wrong about my gut instinct."

She stared at him in disbelieve. "That's what you are relying on?"

He sighed. "Please Hermione. I need you on board with this. As my advisor."

"I am. And as your advisor, I advise you against this. We don't even have a way to defend us if this is just an ambush."

Sheepishly, Harry reached into his coats pocket.

"Oh, you didn't…" she whispered indignantly as he discretely handed her a wand. "Where did you even get these?"

"Sirius has like… a ton of wands up in the attic. They were all won in duels by his family over the centuries. The really old ones pretty much obey anyone by now. Give it a try."

"We're on a bus." She hissed.

"I'm not saying you should transfigure the seat into a pig, just saying you should test it out." He hissed back.

Hiding the wand with her own jacket, she wordlessly flicked it and flowers bloomed from the tip, spilling onto the floor, much to the confusion of the handful other passengers.

Blushing, Hermione kicked the flowers under her seat.

Harry supressed a snigger.

"Not funny." She hissed.

Their stop came up and they hopped off.

If they followed the street further up, they would reach Harrys new neighbourhood. But their path let them down the street towards the high gates of the cemetery that they could already see in the gloom.

"Did she say where to meet her?" Hermione asked as Harry draped the invisibility cloak around them.

"No." he admitted. He ignored her huff and instead raised his own borrowed wand and muttered: "Homino revilio."

A second later a single red ball of light reappeared, dancing in front of them.

"Okay that's good, right?" he asked Hermione.

"Not really. But let's go."

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Narcissa was not that hard to find.

She had chosen a bench in front of a row of single graves. The tombstones were simple but nobody seemed to really take care of these graves.

Leaving Hermione under the cloak for now, Harry revealed himself.

"Ms. Black?" he asked carefully.

She turned.

"I haven't heard that name in quite a while." She admitted, rising to her feet.

"I think it suits you." Harry offered.

"You flatter me. Now, who is it you brought along?"

Harry smiled. "There's no keeping secrets from you, is there?"

"On the contrary, it was merely a guess. You would have been a fool to come alone. So, who is your companion?"

Hermione revealed herself gracefully, handing Harry back his cloak.

"Lady Narcissa Malfoy, this is Hermione Granger. My advisor and confidant. The smartest witch of her generation." Harry introduced her.

"So, this is the young woman I hear Draco complain so much about." Narcissa mused.

Immediately Hermione's expression closed off and her eyes became cold and sharp.

"Is that so?" she asked.

"Yes. Always upstaging him, always getting better grades than him, always one step ahead. He's quite frustrated with you."

Hermione's expression closed off even more.

"How is that my problem?"

"It's not. I told Draco to work harder if he wants to be on top."

Hermione shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.

"Just so we're clear" she said "I'm against us being here, I am against you and your 'deal' with Harry and all that."

Narcissa nodded. "Noted Ms. Granger. Now, let us walk, its not safe to linger in open spaces for too long."

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The two teenagers followed the older witch as she let them across the cemetery, always staying in the shadows of the mausoleums.

"What do you want? I assume you have a reason for calling me." Harry pointed out after a few minutes of silent walking.

"I do." Narcissa said, glancing over her shoulder.

"Time is running out and I'm done waiting for you to talk to Sirius. I want out and I want out now."

"Yeah, well, you are not holding the cards Ms. Malfoy." Hermione growled.

"Quite the contrary. The Dark Lord is planning something. Something big. I know what it is. And I can tell you. But if I do, the Dark Lord will know someone in his innermost circle will have spilled the beans on his little endeavour. And with his skills of legilimency it won't take him long to find out who did."

"What's…" Harry began but Hermione quickly whispered: "A form of mind-reading." He nodded.

"So…you want to trade this information in return for getting you out?" Harry guessed.

Narcissa nodded.

"What about the offer to become my spy? That would be wasted, wouldn't it? You'd be of no use to me then." He pointed out sharply.

"I'm no good to you dead either. But I do have power and influence and I might be able to sway some minds to join our cause."

"Oh, now it's 'our' cause?" Hermione snapped. "Just what we need, more Deatheaters we cannot trust" turning around to Harry she continued "You're not seriously considering this, are you?"

When she saw his face, her expression dropped. "Unbelievable" she muttered "You are considering it."

"Hermione…" he began but she cut him off.

"Next thing you're telling me she wants to take Draco with her."

The silence told her everything she needed to know.

"Oh hell no." she said through gritted teeth.

Harry had never heard her curse so much. Part of him was impressed by her potty mouth.

"Malfoy? Draco Malfoy, the guy that has bullied you, Ron and me and pretty much everyone we care about since day one? That guy? The guy who calls me mudblood and freak, that guy, you want to offer him and his mother protection? Hell no!"

"Ms. Granger, I can understand that you have been hurt and are afraid. But so am I. I stand to lose the most important thing in my life. My son."

Hermione scoffed. "Forgive me if I don't consider Malfoy worth compromising the security of our entire movement."

"In times like these it's important to set our differences aside. Draco is just a little boy, he's afraid…of what they might make him do or do to him." Narcissa insisted.

Harry cringed.

Hermione shook her head and even a little laughter of disbelieve escaped her mouth.

"Differences? After being constantly bullied, hexed and belittled for being Muggleborn, something I had no control over might I add, and having to deal with his insults on a daily basis, questioning my self-worth because of his painful words and actions and having to deal with all of that completely unprovoked, after all that…I am supposed to consider his feelings? I am to set aside his misgivings and just forgive forget, al because he is sacred?"

Hermione stepped up to Narcissa and stared her down.

"I have been afraid for the better part of five years Mrs. Malfoy. Mostly because of your son. Everyday, I question whether coming to Hogwarts and pursuing a magical education and career was the right decision in a system that is poled against me. Will I ever get a job worth of my education, my dedication, endurance and intelligence? Or will I always play second fiddle to people like your son and be considered a second-class citizen, all because I can't trace my family's line and magic back thousands of years?"

She balled her fists and Harry wondered if he would have to keep her from punching Narcissa.

But Hermione wasn't done yet.

"Malfoy is scared? I am terrified! If we lose this war, I will either be imprisoned, enslaved of killed. What's the worst that can happen to him? He should have thought about potential consequences beforehand. He geos around for years parroting the ideals and teachings of the Dark Lord and promising me I will be the first on his Kill-List when the time comes. And now that he is called to act upon his words, he realizes what they actually mean? And that surprises him? He doesn't deserve my understanding or my pity and he certainly doesn't deserve my protection. He has no place with us. And to be honest. Neither do you in my eyes."

She breathed deeply, turned on her heel and walked towards Harry.

He took her hand and squeezed it in silent support.

Narcissa nodded. "I see" she said at last "But Mr. Potter and I have an understanding."

"Your deal was non-binding." Hermione growled.

"Be that as it my, I have a lot to offer to Mr. Potter."

"Do you? Because as far as I am concerned you are just like your son. You realize you are in way over your heads and now you try to find a quick and easy way out without much compromise. You don't care who gets hurt in the process as long as it's not you. You might not gain anything from this war or joining our side. But you won't lose anything either if you stay by your husbands' side."

Narcissa studied Hermione thoughtfully.

"I admire your passion. And your protectiveness. And your caution. Is there anything I could do to prove to you that I mean it?"

"At this point? I don't know. You are part of the problem after all." was Hermione's surprisingly quick answer. "You cannot just buy my acceptance with some information. But you can give it up willingly and freely." She then added.

"What do you mean?" Narcissa asked warily.

"Give us the information about Voldemort's plans, whatever they are. The reason you came tonight. Tell us." Harry intervened.

"And then? You'll protect me?"

"No, you'll just tell us. As a gesture of good will and as a sign of your commitment."

Narcissa frowned. "Not without protection. It will be my death-sentence if I go back after telling you."

"That doesn't matter to me. Because as I see it. We might be your only hope but you certainly aren't our only hope."

"What makes you think you are my only option?" Narcissa asked icily.

"You're here with us, aren't you? That pretty much tells me everything. You have nowhere to go if this goes bad for you."

Narcissa didn't reply.

"Sucks, doesn't it? Knowing your fate is in someone else's hand." Hermione whispered. "Welcome to my world."

Harry studied the older woman intently. By all means the night wasn't progressing as he had thought it would but now…it seemed like Hermione had done it.

Narcissa nodded.

"Alright. I'll tell you. But please…help me."

Harry nodded ever so slightly at Hermione. She nodded back.

"Tell us." Harry said.

"The Dark Lord is planning to attack Azkaban and break out several of his loyalist trapped within. Among them my sister, her husband and several others. Its set to take place about two weeks from now. But nobody but the Dark Lord knows the exact date. It's sort of a 'on-call-situation' where his followers have to be ready to attack at any given moment. They have been given special portkeys they have to carry at any given moment. On the Dark Lords command, it will activate and take them to Dead Mans Beach from where prisoners are transported to Azkaban via ship. It's also where the wards that protect and control Azkaban have part of their origin and where they are controlled. They also have someone on the inside of the prison to aid with the attack but I don't know who it is."

Harry exchanged worried glances with Hermione.

"An attack like that would surprise the few guards at the beach and make it easy for the Deatheaters to overpower them. We cannot let it happen."

"In two weeks, we'll be back at Hogwarts." Hermione reminded him.

"You know what I mean."

Hermione nodded.

Turning back to Narcissa she raised an eyebrow and asked: "Is that all?"

"They also plan on making Sirius their scapegoat."

"What? Why? How?" Harry asked.

"He's, aside from Barty Crouch Jr., the only one in the last two hundred years to successfully escape Azkaban. Also, he and Dumbledore had a falling out with the Minister. They are not in Fudges good graces and it won't take much to convince him that Sirius was behind the attack."

"Nobody in their right mind would believe this!" Harry protested indignantly.

"Sure, but we are talking about the Minister here. Fudge only sees what he wants to see or what the people with all the money want him to see." Narcissa said offhandedly.

"Alright, thanks for the information. Come on Harry, we've got what we need. Let's go before someone notices we're gone." Hermione interrupted him, dragging him away by his arm.

"Hermione wait, we cannot leave her here!" Harry protested quietly.

"I can." Hermione muttered.

"Hermione, stop."

He forced her to stop.

"Look at me."

She did but unwillingly.

"I know you are hurt and you have every right to be hurt and I agree with everything you've said one hundred percent. Malfoy doesn't deserve shit. But its not about deserve. It's about what is right. And saving a life is always the right thing to do. Even if its Malfoys. Even if it's his mother's life. She saved my life. She didn't have to do that. Let's help her now. I will settle my life-debt to her this way and we can go separate ways if need be."

She took a deep breath.

"Harry, I know its your job to protect everyone. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. But wat you might not know, it that it is my job to protect you. And right now, I am doing my job. I'm not taking her back to Headquarters. There is no way in hell I am letting you that. I will put down my foot."

"I know. I understand. And I agree. I think I have an idea where we can take her. I know where she'll be safe. At least for a while until we think of something more permanent."

Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"Alright, I'm listening."

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"Where…exactly are we?" Narcissa asked slowly as she looked around.

"The less you know the better. Just know that it's safe here and I don't think your husband or anyone else would bother looking for you here. Just keep up the runes that hide your magical signature and you'll be fine while Harry sorts everything out for you." Hermione muttered.

"This…this all looks awfully like there will be a lot of Muggles around." Narcissa remarked.

"It is a Muggle neighbourhood, yes." Harry agreed. "And here we are." He added and nodded at the house before stepping up to the door and rang the doorbell.

The lights were still on so he knew the inhabitants were still awake.

Sure enough he saw the silhouette of someone walking towards the door thought the stained glass of the front door.

The door opened.

"Harry? I thought you and Sirius were staying somewhere else over the last weeks?"

"Hi Grace. I'm so sorry to bother you so late at home but its rather urgent."

Ginas mother hesitated, taking in his company.

"Gina is not here dear; she and the others are having a sleepover at Madeline's place."

"That's okay, I'm here because I need your help." Harry said quickly.

Mrs. van Zuid hesitated, the nodded. "Well in that case you better come in. You and…"

"Oh, right, Grace, this is Hermione Granger, one of my best friends. We go to the same school. And this is Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy. She's the mother of one our year-mates and also Sirius's cousin."

Mrs. van Zuid nodded and let them inside.

She let them into the kitchen and after preparing tea for everybody and putting out some biscuits she sat down with them.

"What's going on Harry?" she asked softly.

"Gina told me about your work. How you…help people. Women especially whenever they find themselves in difficult or…dangerous situations in their homes." Harry started, not quite sure how to explain it.

Mrs. van Zuid nodded. "That's correct. It's a special kind of social work."

"You see…Narcissa here…she is in a difficult, even dangerous situation…at home. She…she can't go back." Harry explained carefully, aware of Narcissa hard gaze on him.

Immediately the expression on Mrs. van Zuid's face changed from mildly concerned and interested to full-on professional mode.

She turned to Narcissa.

"Is that true?" she asked softly.

Harry nodded slightly at Narcissa.

Who in response nodded at Mrs. van Zuid.

"Yes" she finally said "My husband and I…it is complicated. I cannot go back."

"Would you like to inform the police?"

"We cannot do that Grace." Harry informed her quietly "Her husband has…money and connections and he would immediately find out and she wouldn't be safe. We were hoping that maybe you knew somewhere safe where she could stay until we got it all sorted out."

Mrs. van Zuid frowned.

"Sort it all out? Harry, does Sirius know what's going on?"

Harry slowly shook his head. "No. For several reasons. One is that Narcissa and Sirius haven't spoke in a long time. They aren't exactly on best of terms. Also, we fear Sirius might do something stupid if he found out and…we want to make sure Narcissa is taken care of before we tell him and then hopefully with some help of our attorney and law-enforcement that is not completely corrupt we can settle this."

"Harry…this is not how we do this." His friends mother reminded him gently.

"I know Grace and I'm sorry to bother you with this but…it would just be for a couple of days until we can make sure her husband has not found her and once we've settled everything there is to settle, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"I don't know Harry…" Mrs. van Zuid whispered.

"Please. We don't know where else to go."

To his surprise Narcissa stepped in. "Please…I have no where else to go right now and…I'm afraid he'll hurt me if I do go back." She whispered.

It was a brilliant performance, almost too real…

It seemed to work because Mrs. van Zuid nodded warily.

"Alright. But because it's 'off-the-books' for now I cannot send her to one of the safe-houses just yet. You'll have to stay here with me and my family for a while. We'll just say you're a cousin from farther away here for a surprise visit. I'll see if I can find a safe-house somewhere further away that you can stay in for a while."

They all nodded.

"I'll head up and prepared the guest rooms, why don't you say your goodbyes for now? It's getting late you probably need to head home."

Harry nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Grace."

She nodded and disappeared upstairs.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Narcissa turned to him.

"You are not seriously leaving me in a house full of Muggles in a neighbourhood full of Muggles! They cannot protect me."

"Nobody will find you here. Only Hermione and I know where you are, you are hidden by almost every rune under the sky and we made sure nobody followed us. You will be safe here for now. And you will be nice to these people and you will do what they tell you." Harry whispered back harshly.

Narcissa narrowed her eyes.

"Fine." She growled.

"If you don't, if you leave, neither Harry, nor I nor anyone else will be responsible for what happens to you. Also, with this the life-debt Harry owes you will be fulfilled." Hermione added.

Narcissa narrowed her eyes even further but eventually spat out another: "Fine."

"Grace's daughter Gina knows how to contact me. If you need to contact me do it through her. She doesn't know about magic but she knows how to reach me. Unless you have our shared parchment on you…"

"I have nothing on me. I had to leave everything behind because it would have raised suspicions very quickly." Narcissa hissed.

"How long before they'll notice you're gone?"

Narcissa schooled her features and straightened herself.

"Hopefully not for a few weeks. I've left Lucius a letter telling him I'm visiting my Aunt Irma in Ireland."

"Really? He'll believe that?" Hermione asked sceptically.

"Lucius is very busy these days. Also, I've been visiting my Aunt Irma every year for a few weeks to get away from him every now and then. He'll notice eventually when I won't return but until then…nobody else should be overly suspicious."

"What if they check up on you or your Aunt Irma?"

Narcissa snorted. "My Aunt Irma's been dead for more than nine years. Lucius was at her funeral. He doesn't care to remember. He won't check up on me. And Draco will be safe at school. He doesn't know either."

Harry exchanged another look with Hermione.

But before anyone could say anything else Grace returned.

"Alright, off you go. It's late and I can safely guess its been a long day for everyone involved."
"Try a few long weeks." Hermione muttered.

Grace walked them to the door.

Harry nodded at Narcissa. "Be safe, I'll be in contact soon."

To Mrs. van Zuid he said: "Gina know how to reach me and so does Narcissa. If anything happens, if there is any hint or reason to think she's not safe here contact me or get her out, whatever is better."

Mrs. van Zuid nodded.

"Thanks again." Hermione added and smiled sweetly at her.

Then the two of them left.

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They caught the last bus of the night back to Grimmauld Place and carefully sneaked up the front door.

According to Harrys watch it wasn't even two in the morning yet. Plenty of time.

Carefully he opened the door, mindful of is squeaking nature and Walburga Blacks painting. Last thing they needed was her to alarm Sirius and everyone else to their little adventure.

They needn't have bothered.

There was already someone waiting for them, sitting in a chair by the stairs.

Only when they leaned forward and into the light did Harry recognize them.

"Now" they said "Where ever might you two be coming back from this late? And maybe explain to me what business you have been conducting with my sister?"

Expectantly Andromeda Tonks looked at them, waiting for an explanation.

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AN: Hermione snapped slightly.