Hermione POV
I was spending my Saturday night with Harry and Ginny in the ‚Three Broomsticks', they decided that I couldn't constantly hide in my office. I tried to make them understand that as first secrecy to the Minister of Magic, I had a lot to do. My job was to make sure that everything the Minister decided would be done achieved a week up to a month later. That didn't give me much free time and when I did I liked to spend it in my cozy apartment with the now very old Crookshanks reading. They thought that for someone who was the youngest ministry official of my standing I behaved as if I was 50 and to embrace my actual 19 year old self, I was forced to go out with them or Luna and Neville thrice a month. Ron and I agreed that our kiss at the last battle was just the adrenaline and he was happily in a relationship with Lavender Brown. I was single but it has only been four months therefore I didn't think it was too bad.
So here we were sitting, chatting about anything and everything when a gorgeous blonde woman entered. I didn't recognize her at first but then I heard the whispers all around me about how that icy bitch dared to show herself. It was Narcissa Malfoy! She didn't look like herself anymore, but no one seemed to see it. I gave her a once over and noticed the changes inner face, the dark rings, the worry and frown lines, and the sad eyes. Her hair wasn't its old gold shade but it was dull and she had lost a lot of weight. Her once amazing curves weren't anymore. The worst was how her face contorted for a second, she must have heard what the people said, but after a small moment pulled herself together to her ice queen persona that she had perfected after years of being married to that pig Lucius Malfoy. I always thought she was gorgeous and interesting but after she stood by watching her sister torturing me I couldn't look her in the eye anymore and she reminded me of that dreadful situation every time I looked at her even just by passing. In this moment though, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She looked so broken, so lonely and the comments by the people around us seemed to dim her even more. I realized that it must have taken her quite some courage to go out of the house in such a public place. She had no one now, with son and husband in Azkaban, and I didn't think she had any real friends. Sure, some elitist acquaintances but real friends? Probably not. It must be hard to lose ones son and husband and sister, no matter how crazy she was. My friends were still chatting and I just nodded at the right times.
„Excuse me for a minute guys." I said and followed my intuition.
„Hello, is this seat taken?" I asked Narcissa, she just waved her hand for me to sit down before she decided differently. For a minute I just looked at her profile, she had cast a glamour, that must be why no one else noticed how thin she really was, I had used a spell on myself quite some time ago, with which I could look right through glamours because of some problems my friends had. I studied her, she turned around and looked me right in the eye. I could see the tears in her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to keep them in. „What do I owe the pleasure of your company?" she asks me. I didn't know how to answer that, it was clear that she was a little drunk, there was no way she would stoop so low as to talk to me otherwise and her trembling hands gave her away as well. „You seemed shaken, I wanted to make sure you were alright." I decided that lying wouldn't do, she must have been lied to by so many, I wouldn't want to add to that.
Narcissa POV
Did the mudblood just say what I think she said? I asked myself. I tried to still my trembling hands and just looked at her for a second, her eyes were a warm caramel color and she looked at me with sincerity and for the first time in months i felt something. I had to remind myself that she was just a filthy mudblood and didn't really care, it was probably a dare from her friends or something like that. ‚There she is the woman whose world broke apart, look at how awful she looks!' must be something she was thinking, she probably just came to make fun of me. That was alright, I was used to it, still somewhere inside it hurt. Against public knowledge I am not made of ice and I do have feelings, people stepped upon them way to many times for me to be able to open up to anyone and now she comes along acting as if she cared and actually just laughing at what a failure I am. And she is a fucking mudblood. I have sunk really low. I answer „I am fine, thank you for your concern." and turn away from her. I down another shot of Odgens fire whiskey and stand up to leave. For a second everything went black and my legs gave in. I had to grab the back of my chair to hold myself up. Great, Narcissa, now you cant even hold your liquor in public. Just fan-fucking-tastic. And right in front of the mudblood as well. Oh God, dont fall. Steady your legs and try to walk. I am wearing 5 inch heels and I am dizzy, how am I supposed to get home? I cannot apparate like this. I really lost too much weight, time to eat more Cissa.
Hermione POV
I see her take a step and she almost faints, and is really wobbly on her legs. She grabs the chair as if her life depended on it and I can see the white of her knuckles. I look her up and down and decide that I cannot let her go home by herself. I think about who to get for her but there is no one. Jeez Hermione you will have to take her home! But she lives in Malfoy Manor, I really dont wanna go in there. But leaving this poor woman in her condition is a better choice? No of course not, but there must be another way! There isn't and you know it. Alright alright I will do it. When I break out of my thoughts she tries to take another step and i can see her falling so I grab her in the last second by her waist and I can feel her body go rigid. I shouldn't have done that probably, but there really was no choice. I couldn't have let her just fall! Slowly I bring her back up and steady her, I leave my hand around her torso, she looks at me and I see confusion and gratitude and something else in her blue blue eyes. I cannot move for a second but then I realize that I will have to get her out as fast as possible before she really faints on me. „I am not letting you go alone in your condition, you wont be able to apparate without splinching, and no matter how much I dislike this situation as much as I am sure you hate it as well, I will make sure you get home safely." She just stares at me in bewilderment. For a second I believe she is gonna push me away and tell me to go to hell, but then I feel some tension leave her body and she relaxes a bit against me. Slowly I pull her with me, I stop at my table to get my things and tell Harry and Ginny good bye. They look at me as if I wad crazy when they see Narcissa standing next to me but dont say anything. They know I wouldn't leave anybody hurt and she qualifies as hurt this moment. I notice her heels, they must be at least 4 inches, and I wonder why she wore them to get drunk. But who am I to judge. We make our way outside. „I need you to hold onto me really tight Mrs. Malfoy" I tell her, I sound patronizing but she doesn't seem to care, I see that she's close to passing out. She slurs „Narcissa, Mrs. Malfoy is my mother in law." „Well then, Narcissa could you please hold onto me?" For some reason she blushed but does as I tell her. I apparate us right in front of the gates of Malfoy Manor. It looks exactly as I remember it. Huge, imposing and absolutely dark. I don't think I would ever feel at home. Narcissa touches the gate and it swings open, I transfigure her high heels into a pair of flats. She looks thankful and we make our way up to her house. I expect an house elf to greet us but there is no one there. Just great now I will have to get her into bed. „My husband loved elfs but I felt bad for them so I freed all of them, I can manage on my own. It is just me after all and I enjoy having something to do, it is really no effort with a wand." She tells me, and I look at her surprised. Who would have thought a Malfoy to not have a single house elf and, god forbid, to enjoy doing thins for herself. I just nod and take her inside, I take her coat and hang it up. I leave her for a second and when I come back I catch her in the middle of falling again. No leaving her alone Mione! She really is a piece of work, how did she even get so drunk? I hold her close and notice she is asleep. I decide to carry her, so I swing her legs over my arms and unconsciously she puts her arms around my neck and cuddles close. Her head in my neck and the rest of her in my arms I carry her to her room, through wandless magic I figure out which room is hers. When I open the door with an Alohomora, I come into a beautiful room. The walls are a sea blue and her four poster king site bed is covered with cream colored sheets and an arsenal of pillows. Oh so gently I lay her down, but she wont let go of my neck. I sigh and remove her fingers one by one, she groans in her sleep when she is laying on the bed ny herself my body heat gone. I notice how cold it is, no fire on and the windows open. I close the windows and put a fire on. I notice her shivering and put a heating charm on her sheets and herself and she sighs in contentment. I look at her and decide that I should remove her tights and robes and put some pj's on her. I walk into her closet and look for her night ware, what I find is only dessous like short gowns..Holy hell she really wants to kill me, doesn't she! I think and come into her room again. I come closer to her and remove her robes and then her thighs, twice she almost wakes up. Oh by Merlin, that would be so awkward! I think. There she lays in only her panties and bra and I first notice how skinny she really is, her glamour had fully worn of by now. I could see all her ribs and her once full hips and bust were no more and her stature looked like that of a child. I make it my priority to get her to eat soon, and promise her silently that I wont leave her alone like this. Gosh Hermione, you should hate her, now you think about how you have to take care of her? You have a job and your friends hate her! But she has no one, I know how that feels. She is other very own and she is not dealing with her problems in the right way. If she keeps going like this, she will die! Serves her right. No it doesn't, come on Mione no one deserves her fate, she did bad things, but she is alone and underweight and seems so sad and lost. She doesn't want your help tough, you are just a mudblood. Well then she will have punishment with with my help. Win/win situation. Do what you cant leave. I will! I take off her bra and put her night gown on her. It is way too big, and she is still freezing, so I transfigure her old school pajamas in a blue like her eyes with her name on the sleeve. When she thought about it she changed the Malfoy to Black. Right now, the frail woman lying on that huge bed wasn't the ice queen Narcissa Malfoy but the helpless little Cissy Black, so that was the name she put on the pajamas. She seemed a little warmer, Hermione put the sheets over her tiny frame and loosened the French Roll, so that her hair was splayed out on the pillows. She looked so innocent and beautiful, Hermione couldn't help herself and put a tiny kiss on Narcissas forehead. She transfigured herself an armchair from a sock, there were some advantages in being a level 6 Transfiguration mistress, and accio'd herself something to read. She curled up and started reading. When she looked at the clock again it was 9am so she decides to get Narcissa a hangover potion and a glass of water. When she comes back in the room, she turns the light on and puts the tray on the nightstand. She sits down on the edge of the bed and pets Narcissas hair and cheek to get her to wake up. Narcissa starts stretching with the grace of a feline and yawns. When she notices Hermione sitting there, she sits up abruptly and her eyes widen at once. She hisses „What are you doing here?"