A/N - Sorry about nothing earlier this week. With the holiday (Thanksgiving in the States) I was working a little extra so I could actually take my planned vacation. Yeah for me!
Anyway, here is the next chapter.
One quick comment, I had a review on the stilted conversations between the characters. I do agree there are some of the conversations that need some help, but I also think the reviewer was commenting (not in a totally bad way) on my writing style being more formal. In my job I must be perceived as knowledgeable in both speaking and writing. While commas may be the bane of my existence, the vocabulary I use is very common, for me at least.
Also both Hermione and Draco are stunted emotionally. Hermione lacked friends as a child. She did not appear to have anyone in the muggle world her age and her "best" friends at Hogwarts weren't exactly the best to her. (HP was abused as a child and RW was a jealous git who wants to be better than anyone). Draco isn't much better. I imagine his childhood (at the best) was filled with how to act, when to speak, how to speak, etc etc etc...So point in this is simply, I'm not sure either of them had a childhood where they were actually children. The likelihood of them using a lot of slang or vernacular words seems outside of the biographies. At least how I viewed them.
But again, these are characters that people love to twist into their stories and I have done the same. They will get more comfortable with each other over time. As they get to know each other better and the trust grows so will the ability to relax. This is a first for both them.
But I will also work on the conversations and try to make them flow more smoothly. :)
' - - - - - - '
Now figuring out how to make the map work as she wanted would just be a matter of reading. Every problem has a solution and for Hermione, solutions were found in books and taking whatever time was needed to investigate, formulate and execute. Draco knew from their time together this was her process regardless of the event. School projects, OWLS/NEWTS, creating a map that shouldn't work, taking down a megalomaniac, the finish line didn't change how she got there. And by Merlin, she always got there.
Once Draco made it to where Hermione was standing, he was shocked. What shocked him wasn't that Hermione was right, no it was the book she was holding should have been impossible for her to read. In her shaking fingers was the book Draco has been unable to locate. It was the Malfoy family spell book; the book that Cygnus was given when he left his family. Only a Malfoy should be able to read it; even his mother, after all her years as a Malfoy, could not see anything other than blank pages. Hermione amazed him more and more each day. Hermione moved quickly toward Draco and started pointing.
"Right here Draco. See how this talks about marking family members so the head of the family can contact any member with the mark at any time? This had to be how they came up with the spell to create the Dark Mark. It even shows how a mark can be removed if someone should be shunned from the family." Hermione was beside herself. "Maybe, if this spell does get the map to work, we can figure out if the removal spell would work with a little modification as well." Draco thought about this and there was one person who would give almost anything to have that blasted mark removed.
' - - - - - - - '
Four hours after starting their search a squeal of delight ripped through the halls of the Manor. Narcissa and Louisa ran towards the library and when they entered the sight they saw amazed them. Hermione stood in the middle of the library jumping and doing some sort of odd movement. Draco was rolling on the floor and laughing to the point of tears.
"What is going on here?" Both Hermione and Draco stopped. Hermione dropped her head and Draco jumped to his feet.
"Sorry Mother. Hermione found what we have been searching for and she got a little excited." Draco couldn't look at Hermione since it would cause him to break into another fit of laughter. "'Mione why don't you show Mother what we were able to accomplish."
Draco hoped the use of the nickname would bring up a little of her anger and it would dispel her slight embarrassment from being caught dancing in the middle of the Malfoy Manor library. Draco also knew how Hermione loved to explain her overly complex ideas and how his Mother loved to hear overly complex ideas. With this knowledge Draco concluded there would be enough time for him to regain his composure before having to address the dancing witch again. The dancing witch moved to where Narcissa was standing and Draco walked toward the fireplace. Narcissa pointed toward an open table and the two witches sat. Hermione did not dance her way to the table. Louisa decided to stand with Draco as she didn't really care about complex ideas.
"You care for her." It wasn't as much a question as it was a statement of fact.
"Yes and maybe more. She has feelings for me too. She isn't ready to move quickly so for now we are close friends. Maybe someday more; however, for now she is content being in my arms and I'm happy to give her that." Draco smiled genuinely toward his mother's best friend.
"I'm glad you found someone to love dear. Sometimes love doesn't manifest itself. Don't squander what you've been given."
Louisa squeezed the hand of her honorary son. Draco and Theo had been together since diapers. When the Zabinis had moved to England they were quickly brought into the fold. Everything had seemed right...three children again. Blaise was a great boy; however, she and Narcissa knew he wasn't the third who was supposed to be there.
'Damn that crazy maniac! He had destroyed everything and even now that he was gone the missing pieces were still missing.'
Draco noticed something odd on Mrs. Nott's face. A sadness that should not be there; they had won and had all survived. Draco hugged Louisa until she stood a little straighter and smiled. Draco released her and turned toward his mother and Hermione catching the end of the conversation.
"Really? You can tell it who to find and it finds them? How?" Narcissa nearly yelled with an excitement reminiscent of Hermione after Hermione's overly complex explanation. If Muggle Studies had a better curriculum, Draco may have been introduced to the phase "marrying your mother". And the underlying concept of children being attracted to someone that is similar to the parent that is most "opposite" of the child. Hermione and Narcissa were both powerful and intelligent witches who did their upmost to ensure the safety of their family and friends.
"It's two fold. First it looks for the dark mark. The marks were placed using special magic and thanks to your library I was able to tune the map to it. I believe I was able to find the spell that Voldemort..." Everyone except Hermione shuddered at the mention of the name. "...used to create the mark. I suspect he had roamed the library during his first attempt at world domination. When he couldn't find anything, he got Lucius to provide him with a spell. This spell came from the Malfoy family spell book."
Hermione looked and noticed the expressions on the faces of those in room. They were still shocked at the ease with which she used his name. Hermione decided that she needed to change the topic back to the map.
"I had figured a way for the map to also look for a dark heart. I know there were people who were given the mark against their will. I plan to test the map with them first, to see how those who were, generally, not in agreement with him show up. Then we test it on those individuals who we know are out there and see what happens."
Narcissa sat in wonder knowing there was a better than not chance this amazing muggle-born witch may end up being her daughter-in-law. While this may have shocked Narcissa five years ago, now all that mattered was Draco's happiness. If Hermione made Draco happy that alone was sufficient reason for Hermione to be welcomed with open arms. Hermione was also an incredibly powerful and brilliant witch. Her powers will strengthen the family line for many generations. There would be a few generations who would not like it; however, more of the family acknowledged that purity only led to problems. It had been less than two hundred years where it was truly a point of contention. Not to mention Hermione seemed determined to make sure the wizarding world was safe once more. Narcissa just wanted to make sure that Hermione was safe and she believed that Draco intended to be that protector.
"Hermione please test it on me." Narcissa removed her elegant robe under which was an equally elegant short sleeved dress. She exposed her inner arm and the black mark that signified so much hatred, destruction and death. Hermione, knowing it was there was happy Narcissa trusted her enough to be able to admit she had it. "Lucius forced me to take it. To this day I'm not sure how I was able to keep Draco from the same fate."
"Mother, I was fighting as hard for you. I failed in my quest." Draco was still at the fireplace watching the scene unfold in front of him. The anger and bitter disappointment at his failure was evident in his voice.
"Draco, I've already told you it had to happen so I could keep helping. This mark only means I had something to live for...without you dear, I would not have had any desire and would have ended my life myself." Draco nodded and lifted his eyes to his mother.
"Let's not think that way. Hermione, why don't you finish the test?"
"Yes, of course Draco." She turned toward the map on the table and addressed it. "Show me Narcissa Malfoy." Slowly the outline of Great Britain began to appear on the parchment then it started to zoom in on Wiltshire. It stopped when the outline of the Manor appeared and a light pink dot appeared on the map and written below in gold leaf was 'Narcissa Black Malfoy'.
"That is amazing; how did you ever come up with the idea?"
"Harry, something he inherited from his family, his godfather specifically but it was something James Potter also used."
"As you've been to Grimmauld and you know my maiden name, you know we are related to Sirius and more distantly to James and thus Harry." Narcissa looked to Draco and gave him a little shrug.
"Yes, that was hard for Harry to accept but I think he has moved on since the war."
"Good."
"I know. I have been pleased they are getting along now. I think his desire for family, regardless of the distance is more important to him that he actually realizes." Hermione gazed to Draco and Draco wasn't sure if she was referring to Harry or himself. Both of them were limited in family members and had realized holding onto what you do have is very important. Hermione may have been a contributing factor to the wizards current close friendship. Draco decided to change the topic to something much more important. At least, more important to him.
"Mother, Hermione informed me my portrait at Grimmauld Place is rather dated. I need to get that fixed. How do I update my portraits on all the other trees?"
"That is simple, once you've updated your branch on our tree, tap the portrait with your wand. The spell is 'detrudere'." There was a momentary pause and a wistful expression crossed Narcissa's face. "It is an interesting site to behold if you are observing a tree and something is changed or added. I was at Grimmauld when Theodore Tonks appeared on the tree. We were visiting for some reason, it is of little importance now. Andromeda had claimed to not feel well and Aunt Walburga feared getting ill." Narcissa's shifted again. "Andromeda had packed what was important to her and left the family home right after we alighted to Grimmauld. My parents hadn't realized Andromeda had eloped. She smiled and waved at me. I think she knew she and he would be blasted. I was sad I was losing my sister but at the time all I knew is what I was told. The fact Andromeda and Teddy are the only ones left still hurts. I didn't get enough time with my niece."
Draco quickly moved to Narcissa and held her tightly. He too was angered over not getting to fully know his family before they were taken. Tonks, as she preferred to be called, accepted Draco almost immediately upon his arrival. Hermione too was still sad about the loss of her friend. Draco looked toward Hermione unsure what to do next. Hermione's attempt to steer the conversation toward more neutral topics was much more successful than her male counterpart.
"Narcissa, the books in your library are quite amazing. I would love to be able to read them all." Draco smiled in gratitude at her less than subtle topic change. Again, the change of topic was something important only to the person asking. In this case, the rest of the room got a little chuckle out of the attempt.
"Mother, I mentioned to Hermione that you may allow her to borrow a few books." Narcissa's smile returned fully and she noticed Draco's gaze had not shifted from Hermione.
"Of course, just nothing too dark, I don't want to explain to Minerva why they are on the school grounds."
"No, those need to stay here. The last thing any of us need is for those to be available to students; I was more interested in some of the older volumes by the doors. There are ones that I have not heard of and am very interested after reading their summaries." Hermione was excited at the chance to read them; Draco was pleased Hermione was relaxed; and Narcissa wanted to help her son. Hermione wasn't the woman Narcissa had thought her son would end up with; however, that girl had been missing for almost 20 years. With Dumbledore's death the last link was gone and Narcissa;s attempt at locating the girl were for not.
There was a feeling of relief in the room. Hermione and Draco realized they had succeeded in their mission. None of their friends really knew what they had been working on all year or why it was so important. Even with the war over their experience in the receiving parlor earlier in the day reminded them they were still on edge and until all the Death Eaters were gone no one would truly be relaxed.
Draco did not trust Ron enough to let the other lions know. It took some time, but eventually Hermione agreed to keep the project between them. Draco eventually agreed they could tell their friends after they got the map to work. Luckily enough, Harry was too focused on Ginny and what was going on with Ron to remember Hermione borrowing the map to show Draco.
Narcissa and Louisa were happy to see how over the last five hours the feeling between Draco and Hermione had grown even if they were not fully aware of it themselves. Draco was in love and the feeling was reciprocated. Narcissa just wasn't sure if Hermione realized she was in love and began to wonder if there was a way to help Draco and Hermione.
'I wonder if they were able to spend more time alone if these feelings would grow.'
It was decided and she would to try to make sure the two would be able to spend time together. Maybe she could invite Hermione over during the holidays to visit the library. There was always the holiday ball. The ball hadn't received much thought as she hadn't been decided on if it would even happen. Now, with this turn of events, the ball may be a perfect chance for Hermione to take her place in society. She seemed comfortable here now so maybe she would be willing to visit more often. Given they had each reached the age of majority, Minerva would give them permission to leave the grounds assuming their duties were being fulfilled.
Without any warning Hermione suddenly had a very ominous feeling. Someone was trying to send curses into the Manor. Hermione spun toward the window with her wand drawn. At the same time Draco sensed the same thing and faced the other window overlooking the gardens. Both began to counteract the curses being shot in their direction. It was during the frantic first few moments when Twinky popped into the room and moved toward Narcissa.
"Mes to tell the Mistress and Master Draco that his father was spotted. Is did not see but Flower seen while in garden. Hes trying to get Flower but could not get in the garden." Hermione and Draco instantly started to throw stronger shields, wards and protection spells over the property. Narcissa paled and almost fell over after hearing Lucius was so close. In an attempt to determine what she needed to do, she noticed what spells her son and Hermione were sending. The wards going up were well beyond what a child still in school should know. Granted their childhood had been different from most but the magic was too powerful. She was too shocked to ponder the true meaning of what she was seeing.