A/N: I am so very VERY very sorry that it has taken me AGES to update, but life just got in the way and now I have momentarily pushed it aside. Perhaps I should learn to juggle both. Oh, and sorry in advance if there are any mistakes.
Disclaimer: No I don't own this.
"Your worst enemy could be your best friend"
Bob Marley
"Cissa, can you speed it up!" Harry hissed from behind her. Draco and Ginny nodded in agreement. They had searched the rooms where they thought Hermione would be and they only had one more room in the Manor to check.
"You lead the way then." Narcissa hissed back. Harry stepped in front of her and treaded down the long marbled floor hallway. Narcissa turned back to Ginny who looked absolutely horrified at the comments coming out Lucius' ancestors. Draco threatened to slice the portraits in half if they did not stop insulting Ginny. "Ignore them Ginny, there is a reason why they are stuck in a portrait and you are out here."
"Yeah, it's not like they could jump out and hex me." Ginny joked lightly.
They proceeded to walk further down the hallway, their footwear making noises as they treaded. More portraits made noises as they passed, the group ignored them. Narcissa was too consumed in the happy memories with Hermione, that kept her mind from straying to what happened the last time she was there, she did not see Harry stop, in fact she nearly walked full force into him.
"Oh, forgive me." She apologised.
"Of course," Harry smiled warily. He pointed to the door. "Is this Lucius' office?"
Narcissa nodded.
"Be prepared for the worst of situations. And have your wands ready." Harry spoke to the group seriously. They all nodded and held their wands in firmly in their hands. He took a deep breath and reach for the door knob. He counted slowly to three and opened the heavy oaked door.
Everyone but Narcissa jumped back in fright at the sight that welcomed them. Draco could hardly believe what he was seeing. But then again he always knew Hermione did have a dark side and wasn't afraid to use it if she was pushed. Ginny stared animatedly at Harry who was watching Hermione beat the life out of Lucius Malfoy with her fists. From behind Lucius, Harry could tell by the limp swinging of his head, that he was knocked unconscious.
"Hermione stop!" Harry yelled across the room to.
Hermione had not heard the door open, she had not heard Harry yell at her, she didn't even see the audience she now had. She was too angry, she was caught in between rage and revenge that she could only focus on lashing it out on Lucius. She couldn't feel the sweat dripping from her head and down her chin, she didn't know that her breath was laboured from beating Lucius, she couldn't even feel her knuckles that were hurting from the force of her punch's. She just had one goal in mind and nothing was going to stop her.
Still no one had moved. Narcissa and the trio were wedged at the doorway.
"She won't listen to me." Harry eyed Narcissa and commanded. "You need to stop her."
Narcissa raised her eyebrow.
"Cissa, she will regret taking a life and it will happen if you don't stop her." Harry pressed on. When he did not receive the confirmation he wanted from the blonde witch he used a more effective tactic. "You are the only one that can stop her without me using any magic."
Without a word Narcissa gritted her teeth and advanced toward Hermione. She did not take her eyes off the brunette as she got closer. She could see the anger, frustration and tiredness edged in Hermione's features. The most intriguing thing that caught Narcissa's attention was the blank look in those brown eyes. There were many situations they had shared together where Narcissa could read how Hermione felt by just looking into her eyes. The day the brunette had come to the Manor to collect the last of the relics and had kissed her, Narcissa saw tenderness in those brown orbs. The day she had moved to The Three Broomsticks, she had seen frustration in the younger witch's gaze. On the night of the ball when Hermione had caged her between the barrier and her young body, Narcissa saw lust seeping from the depths of Hermione's eyes. The morning Hermione returned from South America and found her in an emotional mess, Narcissa saw the worry in Hermione's eyes. This complete bleakness was something she had not seen and she was not sure if she could stop the younger witch.
Narcissa edged closer toward Hermione and rounded Lucius, his face and his body was a mess. He was cut everywhere, bruises forming on the skin that wasn't either sliced or covered by his clothing. There was much of his blood everywhere, it stained the blonde of his mane and the expensive material of his robes. Bravely Narcissa laid her hand gently on Hermione shoulder. "Mione."
Hermione moved so quickly the fear was visible in Narcissa's eyes. The brunette hauled off Lucius in a knee jerk reaction, quickly snatching Narcissa forward with one hand by the throat and the other ready to hit her.
"Mione! It's me!" Narcissa pleaded anxiously. She looked into those emotional lessened eyes and whispered. "It's me, Mione. It's Narcissa."
Slowly Hermione began to register everything, the air she was sucking into her lungs to help her rapid breathing, the ache she suddenly felt in her knuckles and that it was Narcissa she was about to hit. She removed her hand away from the pale woman's throat and lowered her other hand. She did not feel the lump in her throat until she whispered, "Cissy."
Hermione momentarily softened seeing Narcissa. She continued to breathe heavily and used the sleeve of her hoodie to wipe the sweat off her forehead. Now that she knew the reason behind Narcissa's behaviour she wanted to say something comforting, something intelligent, something that would take her own guilt away but the words failed to leave her lips because she couldn't say anything to the blonde that would even make her own self feel better. So she stood there in front of her lover frozen in the moment.
Narcissa felt exactly the same way as Hermione. The emotion returned to her brunette's eyes and she saw the guilt hidden in those brown orbs. She did not know what possessed Hermione to feel so guilty. If anything, it should be her, it was her, that felt guilty when the situation they were in could have been completely different if she had of just told Hermione herself. But like her lover, she did not, could not say another word.
"What the hell were you thinking Hermione!" Harry yelled loudly. Hermione slowly turned to face Harry and also saw Ginny and Draco standing awkwardly by the door. When Harry began to approach her she turned back to Narcissa and ignored him completely. "You could have gotten yourself hurt, even worse you could have killed him!"
The moment of peace that she found with Narcissa slowly began to disappear as Harry ranted. Finally after hearing him lecture her on what she should have and what she should not have done, Hermione spun around and glared at the man who was meant to be her best friend.
"How could you have been so stupid?" Harry continued. He had placed his wand in the pocket of his trousers and both of his hands were flying around in the air as he spoke. "If I had not of come, Merlin only knows what could have happened!"
Calmly Hermione moved away from Narcissa, she stood in front of Lucius but her eyes were glued to Harry, who was directly behind the pureblood. Her hand slowly reached inside the pocket of her hoodie.
"This is not you, Hermione!" He yelled. He pushed his messy dark hair away from his glasses. "You are more rational than this."
While Harry continued to rant Lucius began to stir. At the sound of his lazy moans Narcissa used all her might not to aveda him while no one was watching. Very slowly, very cautiously his chin a rose from his chest, one cold grey eye opened revealing how disorientated he was. It was obvious he was in a very painful state but that did not belittle the air of arrogance that still surrounded him. He was still the pretentious prick he had always been even though he was strapped to an arm chair and had been practically mutilated, Narcissa thought bluntly.
She saw him eye Hermione with suspicion. After being with him for over twenty years she knew he was trying to remember, trying to recall why Hermione Granger was standing in front of him. Narcissa waited a few moments for his memory to regain and when it did, he done the wrong thing by opening his mouth.
"I….Knew…Someone..Would..Come." He grunted out. His interruption caught Harry of guard and the famous wizard stopped ranting. And as a consequence he also caught Hermione's attention with a swift glare. He challenged her with the one eye that could only open. "You…Will..Never..Have..What..It..Takes."
"Shut your mouth Malfoy!" Harry's voice dropped an octave and he sounded very menacing. But Lucius did recognise that it belonged to him.
Hermione bent forward gracefully, almost like she was about to kiss Lucius before she whispered. "I will kill you, eventually."
Beneath all of his blood, cuts and bruises, Lucius tried and failed to smirk. He knew he had been saved and in typical Malfoy fashion to gloat he whispered weakly; "After the power I'm about to gain, you all will be begging for your lives. Especially you, you little cuntfucker."
"What is he saying to her?" Draco asked Harry. He already heard Hermione growl.
"I don't know, but if he doesn't shut his mouth he will have more to regret." Harry turned back to his wife and Draco. They both looked stunned, the red headed witch still steadily holding her wand in her hand and the blonde doctor gripping his wand like a scalpel.
"I'm not even going to waste my time." Hermione took advantage of Harry being distracted by Ginny and Draco, she leant back yanking the spare dagger she had in the pocket of her hoodie out. And in one clean swing she slit Lucius' throat. Several gasps were the only sounds to be heard in the room. Harry spun around to see what Ginny was pointing at and froze. Hermione did not balk as Lucius' blood splattered everywhere and even as she saw the life slowly drain away from his eye and heard him choke repeatedly, she did not possess an ounce of care.
Much like the moment she had shared with Narcissa and very similar to the situation she was caught up in, in Bosnia, time stood still. And as the blood of an aristocratic wizard trickled down her face, she waited for Harry to do something.
Harry had his wand tightly gripped in his wand, his arm shaking. He didn't know whether to be shocked or angry. But what he was feeling did not stop him from yelling, "You have made a terrible mistake!"
Hermione was staring down at the bloodied corps and felt no regret what so ever. After what Lucius done to Narcissa, it was the least he could have deserved. Without another blink to an eye Hermione yanked Lucius' head up by his blonde hair and ripped part of his scalp off with the dagger. And as she held a bit of Lucius' hair and skin she pushed the dead pureblood so that he fell to the ground taking the seat he was in with him. She stalked toward Harry and stood only inches from him.
"Hermione!" She didn't know if it was Draco, Ginny or Narcissa that called her name. Perhaps it could have been all three, shocked at what she had just done. But she ignored it and just glared at Harry.
"The only mistake I made, was listening to you and letting Narcissa stay here." Her words were laced with venom and she made sure she had said it loud enough for everyone to hear. "Seven years Harry, for seven years I followed you, helped you, fought for you and trusted you're judgement."
Harry swallowed Hermione's words in fear with what was about to come.
"And after what we have been through, I thought you would have pulled me out of South America after what bloody happened with Narcissa!" Hermione gritted her teeth. "But you couldn't even tell me! So as far as I'm concerned, you can go and get fucked Harry James Potter!"
"Hermione you don't understand, I was under- Harry was cut off by fragments of Lucius' scalp slapped into his face. He splattered and stepped back. He dodged the blonde hair when Hermione threw it at him. "What the hell was that for?"
"It was a reminder." Hermione sneered. She did not have her wand in any of her hands, it was still in the pocket of her hoodie. She was not sacred and she was going to make sure she didn't show any fear arguing with Harry. "That you and I are through."
Hermione pushed past Harry and stormed toward the door leaving Harry wide eyed. She turned back only when she realised Narcissa was not with her.
"Mione please." Harry pleaded with her. His friendship with Hermione was never questioned, he had never deceived her, he had never held anything back. Suddenly he regretted making the un-breakable vow with Narcissa. "The consequences could be grave and I could talk to Kingsley."
"Are you coming?" Hermione's attention was zoned in on Narcissa who was left near her dead ex-husband. The blonde nodded and began to walk forward while Harry tucked his wand into his pocket.
"Mione please." Harry begged the brunette but it was too late.
Narcissa was slowly removing the boxing wraps from Hermione's hands. There was a cold silence in Hermione's dim lit living room. An open half bottle of firewhiskey and the Granger family rings were the only items that decorated the coffee table. Hermione had been silent when they left Malfoy Manor, she had not said a single word. Even when they arrived home and she opened the last bottle in her liquor cabinet and slouched down on the sofa, she still had not said anything. Narcissa joined her and waited. After a long period of silence she decided it would be useful of her to un-wrap Hermione's hands while she waited for the younger witch to fire questions.
It was not until Narcissa began un-wrapping the second hand when Hermione found her voice. "Why didn't you tell me?"
When Narcissa did not reply Hermione took it the wrong way.
"You could have called or sent an owl or gotten Harry to call me." Hermione frowned. It didn't make sense to her. She was a person of logic and the most logical thing Narcissa should have done was to contact her as soon as it had happened. She stared at the older witch whose head was low focused on un-wrapping her hands. "Or at least if you weren't going to get in contact with me while I was away, why couldn't you tell me when I got home and found you in tears?"
"I…" Narcissa started and then stopped. She looked up and met a very confused set of brown eyes. Her own hands stopped moving but were still touching Hermione's. She just could not voice the words that were screaming to be released in her head.
"What I don't understand is why Harry or even Ginny didn't just me tell right away." Hermione began to feel frustrated and it showed. "I just..don't get it."
Hermione's heart sank when Narcissa whispered, "They never told you because we made an un-breakable vow."
Almost as it was unnatural to be touching Hermione quickly snatched her half wrapped hand away from Narcissa and quickly stood. As the revelation sunk in she felt rejected. Not just by her best friends but by her lover. She glared at Narcissa and just like how she had intimidated the blonde's ex-husband the words came firing out of her mouth before she could stop them. "So you three had planned it all out and forgot the part when I eventually come home. How could you do that? How could you try and make out like you were only missing me when you damn well knew it was because he fucking raped you! Why didn't you want me to fucking know?"
"I didn't know how to tell you." Narcissa responded calmly. She was poised as ever sitting elegantly with her hands lace together in her lap.
"Then why make an un-breakable bloody vow? If you didn't know how to tell me!" Hermione snapped.
"Because…" Narcissa paused and refused her meet Hermione's eyes. "I felt that there…was..no..need for you to know."
Hermione staggered back as if she had been shot in the chest with a crucio. She felt completely betrayed by Harry and she was prepared to carry on living without acknowledging his existence, but Narcissa's betrayal hurt her more profoundly than she wanted to show.
"Hermione, it was wrong of me to do that." Narcissa admitted. "But it felt right at the time."
Hermione muttered a few colourful expletives under her breath and began to walk away before she got her self- done for a double murder. She was near the kitchen when she turned back to the blonde.
"What hurts the most." Her voice broke and she forced the next words out like it was the last thing she would ever say. "Is that, you don't trust me enough."
Once she was out of her flat and on the footpath she ripped the rest of the wrap off her hand and threw it into the on- coming traffic. She just wanted to walk, she didn't know where she was going, she just needed to get away from Harry, away from Narcissa. And before she knew it she was running.