After the war ended, Narcissa was determined to change her life. Not just for herself, but for Draco as well. When the Ministry of Magic owled the family that they were to stand trial for their crimes during the war, Narcissa took it upon herself to hire the best solicitor that money could buy.
The Wizengamot held a closed court for the Malfoys' trial so that it wouldn't turn into a circus of outbursts and protests. Lucius was sentenced to life in Azkaban, whereas Draco and Narcissa were cleared of the charges due in large part from Harry Potter testifying that Narcissa saved his life as well as Ron's and Hermione's during the war. The solicitor also mentioned that Draco was forced into taking the mark under duress by a crazed lunatic. Said lunatic forced himself on most of Britain's Pure Blooded society. No one felt safe to say no to anything that psychopath wanted for fear of torture or death.
Once the proceeding was done, Narcissa didn't waste any time in filing for a dissolvement from Lucius. Within a few months, it was granted to her and she was once again a Black. She was now the Black Head of House, since Bellatrix was dead and Andromeda had been disowned by the family years before.
She moved back into Black Manor and began the necessary process to gain her Mastery in potions once more, since Lucius refused to let her do anything other than mother their son and play the doting housewife. The process was long and strenuous until, finally, she had achieved her goal. She found work in St. Mungos fairly quickly, since they were always looking for good potions masters.
It was nice having a job that let her work alone, save for a few assistants here and there as needed. She didn't have to try and be sociable with people who may or may not like her, which was a nice reprieve. As the years passed, she restocked all of the reserves in case of an emergency, and began working on new potions that could be helpful in the future.
Draco, for his part, went back to Hogwarts to finish out his last year, then decided to try and become a solicitor. It was hard work, since he had to take even more classes after graduating from Hogwarts to get his license, but he didn't mind. It would keep him busy and out of sight from the public for a while. As the years went on, he received his license and began working for a well-known firm that allowed him to start specializing in criminal cases. It suited him since he had a better understanding of the people that he would be working against. He was able to reconcile with Harry and Ron, considering he saw them fairly often for some of his cases.
A year after the trial, Narcissa tested the waters with her estranged sister Andromeda to see if they could patch up their relationship. To her surprise, Andromeda was willing to try to work on their relationship. Once a month, they would get together to catch up on what was happening in their lives.
Narcissa enjoyed her work, but there was always a feeling of incompleteness in a way that work could not fill. There were plenty of times when she would be approached by eligible alphas, but none of them met her standards. They could not match her in wit, nor intelligence, nor give her enough respect to not treat her like some object or a broodmare.
It didn't help that she was stubborn for an omega, that a few alphas thought she just needed the right one to put her in her place. To them she was either arm candy, a warm body underneath them, or a nursemaid to raise their children. Some of them even tried to coerce her into doing what they wanted, but none of them succeeded. It was interesting to watch them try to use a subtle alpha command on her and fail miserably in the process.
While Narcissa was working in her lab, one of her assistants carefully came up to her and told her that there was a letter for her. She nodded her thanks and asked one of them to continue stirring and monitoring the cauldron. She walked over to her desk, lifted the letter, and opened it. The note was from Hermione, asking her if she would like to meet for dinner on Friday at 7pm. Nothing too formal, something business casual would be fine. They were to meet at the Ministry because it was the quickest way to reach London without much hassle. She quickly wrote out a response saying that Friday would work for her perfectly. Once she sent off the note, she went back to work on her potion experiment.
Friday came quickly for both women who worked tirelessly at their jobs. As 7 o'clock rolled around, both women met outside the Ministry. Hermione had decided to wear a simple business suit that day. Charcoal grey pants, a blazer with a white button up shirt, and a scarlet red tie with solid brown wingtip shoes. Once outside, Hermione removed her robes, neatly folded them and placed them into her brown leather work satchel with an undetectable extension charm.
Narcissa arrived in an emerald green silk shirt, a black pencil skirt, and black stiletto heels with simple silver jewelry for accessories under her robes. Her hair was meticulously pulled back into a bun. Hermione offered to take her robes and put them into her satchel, which Narcissa accepted gratefully. "So, Hermione, where are we dining this evening?" Narcissa asked as she softly smiled looking Hermione over, subtly admiring how good the woman looked in a suit.
"I thought that we would go to a Japanese steakhouse, but we would have to take a cab there. Is that alright with you?" Hermione asked as she, too, was subtly appreciating Narcissa's choice of clothing. The skirt fit perfectly over her hips and round arse like a second skin, and her shirt was slightly flowy and dipped appropriately down her chest to show just a little skin.
Narcissa thought about it for a moment. "I've never taken a cab before, but I have heard about them. It's almost like taking the night bus, isn't it?"
Hermione nodded with a grin. "Yes, only this one is smaller and is used by muggles to transport them where they need to go. Would you be ok to try it?" Narcissa nodded. Hermione held out her arm for Narcissa to take, and she took it gratefully. They walked a little ways down the road so as not to attract the attention of other magickal folk and caught a cab.
When they arrived at their destination, Hermione slid out of the cab first, held out her hand to help Narcissa step out of the vehicle, paid the driver, placed Narcissa's hand in the crook of her elbow, and then walked them into the restaurant. She gave the hostess the reservation name and they were seated at a secluded table where it almost felt like being seated at a bar with a flat top grill in the middle.
"Hermione, not that I am complaining, but can you explain how this place works?"
Hermione smiled sweetly. "It's sort of like having dinner and a show. They cook the food in front of you, but with style and panache to make it more interesting. I think you'll like it." They were handed menus then asked what they would like to drink. Hermione ordered a hot green tea and Narcissa decided to order one as well. After looking over the menus, they put in their orders and waited for the chef to arrive to begin the show.
The chef arrived with a stainless steel cart full of food, utensils, various cooking oils, and seasonings. The flat top grill had been turned on when they put in their orders so that it would be heated up when he arrived. He started by applying cooking oil onto the flat top. He began to put rice on one side of the grill, squirting soy sauce on top and mixed it all together. He cooked some eggs to the side of that until they were perfectly scrambled, then added vegetables to the rice while it cooked. He took the various meats and began to chop them up while flipping his knife at different points to add some flair to the performance.
Narcissa watched the spectacle in awe as Hermione just looked at her with a slightly amused look in her eye. When the chef was done, the two women clapped and went about eating. Hermione used chopsticks while Narcissa used a fork and knife to eat her meal. She looked over at Hermione, tilting her head to the side curiously. "How do you eat with two sticks?"
Hermione put her chopsticks down and looked at Narcissa with a soft smile on her face. "While I was in Asia and Japan, I had to learn how to eat with chopsticks because they don't really use forks. I only use this skill for special occasions such as this, so that I don't forget. Would you like me to teach you how to use chopsticks?"
Narcissa thought about her offer for a moment, but decided against it for the time being. "Not tonight, but I would like to learn at some point if you wouldn't mind."
Hermione nodded and they went back to eating their food.
When dinner was finished, Hermione paid the bill and took Narcissa's hand, placing it in the crook of her elbow once more as they walked down the street. "Hermione, not that I'm complaining about the impromptu walk after a very filling meal, but where are we going?" Hermione smirked devilishly, flashing her fangs at Narcissa.
"I thought we could talk over drinks if you're up for it?"
Narcissa internally whimpered at the flash of fangs. "Salazar's snake, how am I supposed to handle this if she keeps shamelessly flirting like that?! Morgana help me because she's making it hard to breathe," Narcissa thought to herself as they walked along the sidewalk.
"I think I could be persuaded into having a drink, but only if I get to pay for it. Don't think that it has gone unnoticed that you have paid for the last two meals we've shared, including the cab fare. So, I will be paying for drinks tonight," she said matter of factly as Hermione chuckled softly.
"I wasn't trying to hide the fact that I was paying for our two meals together. It is just a habit for me to cover the bill. I wasn't really thinking about who pays for what, honestly. I just happened to be the one that paid first, is all. I know for a fact that you are more than capable of covering yourself. So if you feel that strongly about things being equal, I won't stop you," she smiled.
Narcissa nodded. "Thank you," she smiled and held onto Hermione's arm a little tighter. "What a strange alpha this woman is. She didn't even bat an eye or become upset by the fact that I didn't want to feel indebted to her for covering some of our outings, or try to be unsuccessfully sneaky and make me pay for everything because I'm wealthy. She keeps surprising me at every turn," she thought.
They continued walking until Hermione directed them to a little bar and opened the door for Narcissa. They sat down at a small table in the back away from the rest of the clientele. This way, they could have some privacy while they talked so they didn't have to scream over the other patrons. "This alpha confuses me at every turn; she's been nothing but a gentleman the entire time. Only wanting to get to know me with what seems like no ulterior motive or expectation. She does things that most of the men I've reluctantly gone on dates with do, such as opening doors or paying without expectation or compensation. I'm surprised. At this point in the night, I would have caught some of the alphas leering at me when they think I'm not looking, yet with her, there was an approving once over in the beginning, but ever since, she's been looking me in the eye when we speak. That, or she's just more subtle about her gazing than others. I could gleam what's going on in her head, but that would be rude. I suppose that I might be prejudging her too soon based on my own biases on alphas. She hasn't done anything untoward and I am having a nice time with her. Conversations have been enthralling and I feel safe and comfortable around her, so let's see where the night takes us," Narcissa contemplated as they waited for the waitress to arrive to take their orders.
They ordered two glasses of house Merlot from the waitress who brought it to them quickly. They talked about how Narcissa became a potions Mistress for St. Mungos and all the other things in between while they sipped their drinks so as not to become too drunk.
"Sweet Freya, this woman is amazing. The conversations haven't been stagnant or boring. It's nice to talk with someone who can keep up with me, mentally, that doesn't pertain to Quidditch, Auror work, or babies. Not that I don't enjoy the company of my friends, but they don't make for very stimulating conversation." Hermione mused to herself as she continued to listen to Narcissa talk about the newest potion that she was creating at the moment.
The night drifted on as they talked and laughed; Hermione slid her hand across the table and held Narcissa's, rubbing her thumb along Narcissa's knuckles mindlessly. Narcissa continued chatting about her life and the fulfilling work she was doing for St. Mungos when the waitress came over with a regretful look on her face as she interrupted the conversation. "Excuse me ladies, but we're closing down for the night, so unfortunately, could you close out your tab, please?"
Hermione smiled sweetly and nodded at the girl. "I apologize for getting caught up in conversation and forcing everyone here to stay so late, but can you blame me when I have the privilege to converse with such a gorgeous woman?" she asked with a wink at Narcissa who was fighting the blush that was creeping up her neck.
Narcissa quickly paid the bill while adding a huge tip for the server so that she had a chance to compose herself. Hermione put her arm out for Narcissa once she was done and walked them out of the bar. The brunette hailed a cab to take them close enough to the Ministry so that they could walk to an apparition point.
As they got closer Hermione started to rub the back of her neck nervously. "Narcissa, I had a good time tonight. I would like to see you again if that is something you would want?"
Narcissa stopped walking which in turn stopped Hermione. She pivoted towards her, smiling sweetly before leaning close and kissing her cheek with a feather light touch that almost felt like nothing at all. It made the alpha shiver slightly at the tingles it sent down her spine.
"I would love to see you again. We could make this a weekly engagement on Fridays, perhaps?" Narcissa asked with a soft blush. Hermione looked at Narcissa with blood red eyes that had dilated slightly as she nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment. The blonde smiled softly, feeling a wash of warmth behind her eyes that she figured was her own shifting to gold again and started to walk toward the apparition point once more. She pulled a glassy-eyed Hermione along with her until they reached their destination.
Narcissa turned to Hermione once more and smirked at the blushing alpha. "Well, this is goodnight, Hermione. Until next week. Tonight was a lot of fun, thank you."
Hermione snapped to attention and gently took Narcissa's hand in hers, brought it to her lips and lightly kissed her knuckles. "Yes, this was a fun experience. I'm glad that you had a good time tonight, and yes, I would like that. Until next week. Goodnight, Narcissa." She let go of the blonde's hand, and with a soft pop, the omega was gone. "Odin help me if this is how I react to her kissing my cheek, I think I'll have a heart attack if she kisses me for real," Hermione thought to herself as she apparated home.