The Next Morning

Narcissa stepped out of the fireplace in Hermione's apartment, coffee and a box of pastries in hand. She called out for Hermione, but there was no answer. She made her way through the apartment, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor. When she reached the library, she noticed the secret passage to the lab was open. She frowned and made her way down the passageway.

As she reached the end, she saw Hermione hunched over a console, typing frantically. "Hermione?" Narcissa called out softly, not wanting to startle her.

Hermione jumped in surprise and spun around, her eyes wide. "Narcissa? What are you doing here?" She looked exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes and her hair a mess.

"Last night we said we were going to meet in the morning, correct?" Narcissa questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Hermione let out a small chuckle. "Of course! I just lost track of time and didn't realize it was morning already. I planned on working for about an hour last night then heading to bed."

Narcissa shook her head and said. "I brought breakfast. I thought we could eat in the library together."

Hermione hesitated, looking back at the console. "I'm not sure I can leave right now. I'm so close to figuring this out."

Narcissa stepped closer to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hermione, you need to take a break. You've been down here all night."

Hermione sighed, looking down at her hands. "I know. I just can't stop. There's so much to do."

Narcissa gently led her out of the lab and up to the library, where they sat down at a small table. She poured them each a cup of coffee and handed Hermione a pastry.

"Thank you," Hermione said, taking a sip of coffee. "I'm sorry I didn't hear you come in."

Narcissa grabbed a pastry for herself and took a bite, savoring the sweetness. "So, what were you working on all night?" she asked, looking over at Hermione.

Hermione swallowed her own bite of pastry before replying. "I was adjusting the 'way-back machine', as you call it, so that more than one person can travel back in time."

Narcissa raised an eyebrow. "Really? And what made you decide to do that?"

"Well, I thought it might be helpful to have more than one person there to observe a memory and make sure we don't miss anything," Hermione explained. "And it also opens up the possibility of being able to work together to change something if necessary. I figured that while I hate this sexist idiom 'Two heads are better than one.'"

Narcissa looked confusedly at her "Sexist?"

Hermione replied with a small smirk. "Sure. Women typically say they only have one head, where men often point out they have two…"

"I see," Narcissa said, not fully able to suppress her snort of laughter.

"Anyway, I also adjusted the programming and arithmancy equations to allow us to record the memory and to be able to watch the recording on the large display." Hermione said. "Though it does also work in real time, so we do have the option of watching as it's happening."

Narcissa took another bite of pastry, considering Hermione's words. "What's the point of watching real time?"

"Well, it may be advantageous later to have the ability to monitor the person going back in time. In fact, despite adding the ability to send multiple people back, if we send only the person whose memory it is, they would be back in time only as an observer," Hermione explained. "We minimize our effect on the timeline. But it would allow us both to see what's happening, much like a traditional pensive. Only thing left to do there would be figuring out how to enable communication between someone in the past and the lab. I haven't worked that out yet."

Narcissa nodded slowly, taking in the information. "I can see how this could keep you working all night."

"Oh, I forgot," Hermione said, looking excited. "I also made what I think of as a quality of life improvement. Instead of interfacing with the pensive the traditional way, one only has to put their hand in to be transported into the memory and back in time."

Narcissa laughed. "My old back appreciates that," she said, stretching her shoulders.

Hermione grinned, pleased with the reaction. "My young back does as well. Anyway, I figured it would be a lot easier than leaning over the pensive for hours."

Narcissa looked closer at Hermione, "Why don't you lie down and rest for a moment? You look like you could use it."

Hermione protested with a yawn, "No, I need to keep working. There's so much to do. I still have the communication problem to solve."

Narcissa gently led her to a couch despite Hermione's protestations and encouraged her to lie down. Hermione reluctantly did so, and before she knew it, she was sound asleep.

Narcissa looked at Hermione fondly, then stood up to browse the shelves for a book to entertain herself while Hermione rested.

Hermione woke up from her nap and slowly realized where she was. She was on the couch in the library, using Narcissa's lap as her pillow. She sat up quickly and coughed in embarrassment.

Narcissa had been running her fingers through Hermione's hair, so engrossed in her book that she hadn't noticed Hermione wake up until the moment the woman sat up.

"Er, sorry about that," Hermione said, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red.

Narcissa blushed as well, realizing what she had been doing. "It's quite alright, dear. You must have migrated in your sleep from the other side of the couch. Not that I minded being used as a pillow," she added with a sly grin.

Hermione laughed, feeling a bit more at ease. She then noticed the book Narcissa was reading and let out a loud laugh. "H.G. Wells' The Time Machine? Really?"

Narcissa looked up at her with a smile. "It seemed appropriate," she said, and Hermione noticed the mischievous glint in her eye.

Hermione laughed again. "I suppose it is."

Narcissa sat the book aside and turned her full attention to Hermione. "How are you feeling? Did you get enough rest?"

Hermione nodded. "I feel much better, thank you. Well, we should probably get to work, it is the whole reason you came by. I think even without communication between the past and present, we are good to start investigating."

Narcissa agreed and the pair made their way down to the lab, eager to test the newly modified device. The excitement was palpable as they entered the room and Narcissa couldn't help but feel a flutter in her stomach at the thought of going back in time.

"So, where do we begin?" Narcissa asked, looking at Hermione expectantly.

"Well, we know something happened between your interaction with Lucius and Bellatrix and Rodolphus interacting about 30 min later, so I think we should use the point where Lucius cornered you as the starting point," Hermione replied, busily setting up the console.

"Sounds good to me," Narcissa said, nodding her head in agreement.

Hermione continued to work on the console and after a few minutes, turned to Narcissa. "I think it would be best if we both went back in time, not just you."

Narcissa furrowed her brow in confusion. "Why both of us?"

"Because I think we need both of our observations from differing points of view to best be able to narrow down the point of deviation," Hermione explained.

Narcissa nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. As you mentioned I'll be in my past self observing and you'll be yourself and thus free to move around more."

Hermione finished setting up the console and turned to Narcissa. "Are you ready?"

Narcissa took a deep breath and placed her hand in the pensive. "Beam me up, Scotty!" she quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

Hermione rolled her eyes and pressed a button, transporting them back in time.

April 1968

Narcissa felt herself being pulled backwards, almost as if she was falling through a tunnel. She closed her eyes tightly and braced herself, unsure of what to expect. She was no longer in Hermione's lab, but rather was back in 1968, inside her own body as a younger version of herself. She looked around the Slytherin Common Room, taking in the familiar surroundings. It was morning and students were bustling about, as she noticed this, the thoughts of everyone around her became overwhelming.

"Merlin, I forgot how little control I had over my legilimency when I was younger," she thought to herself, trying to quiet the voices. She focused on the shielding she had developed over the years, and gradually the noise faded away. She noticed that her younger self didn't seem to have noticed the shielding of thoughts, leading Narcissa to conclude that she had control over her passive legilimency powers as an observer separate from her younger self.

Suddenly, she noticed a disillusioned body nearby and focused her attention on it. She felt a magical signature that she recognized as Hermione's, who had apparently just arrived and was mentally commenting on the scene.

"Huh? So this is what the Slytherin Common Room is like," Hermione thought to herself, clearly amazed at what she was seeing.

Narcissa sent a mental message to her, letting her know that her legilimency powers were working.

"Hermione, can you hear me?" Narcissa thought.

There was a pause, and then Hermione's voice echoed in her mind. "Yes, I can hear you. Hmm… You know this could be very useful ," she thought back.

Narcissa mentally smiled to herself, glad that her powers were still intact even in the past. She turned her attention back to the Slytherin Common Room, and that's when she noticed Lucius Malfoy approaching. She unfortunately heard the disgusting thoughts he was thinking about her and mentally shuddered.

"Hey, Narcissa," he said, smirking at her. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me sometime?"

Narcissa declined politely, but Lucius didn't take no for an answer. He began to physically intimidate her, and Narcissa felt the surge of fear go through her younger self.

Suddenly, Bellatrix appeared out of nowhere and began to hit Lucius with multiple stinging hexes, causing him to stumble and yelp in pain.

Narcissa watched from inside her younger self as Bellatrix approached Lucius, wand still outstretched. "You disgusting filth," Bellatrix spat at him. "How dare you think you can treat my sister like that?"

Lucius looked stunned, as if he couldn't believe he was being confronted like this. "I was just asking for a date," he muttered, trying to save face.

"A date?" Bellatrix laughed bitterly. "You think you can just ask for a date and get it? Narcissa deserves someone much better than you, Lucius. Someone who will treat her with respect."

Narcissa felt a sense of pride wash over her as she watched this version of her sister, whom she remembered fondly, stand up for her. She had always admired Bellatrix's fierce loyalty, even if it sometimes bordered on obsession.

Lucius slunk away, looking defeated. Narcissa felt the wave of relief wash over her past self as he disappeared from view.

A few moments later, Andromeda joined them, a dreamy look on her face. "Oh, Bellatrix, I just can't stop thinking about Ted," she gushed.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of amusement in her expression. "Well, I'm glad someone's happy," she said, before turning to Narcissa. "Cissy, did you finish that Arithmancy essay yet?"

Past Narcissa nodded. "Yes, I finished it last night," she said.

"Good. We don't want you falling behind," Bellatrix said, her tone serious. "Oh I meant to tell you both, I have a surprise for you over Easter Break."

"What kind of surprise?" Andromeda asked, looking intrigued.

"Now that I have access to my trust, I've gone ahead and bought a small apartment in London for us to stay in," Bellatrix said. "We can get away from this place and our parents for a while and have some fun."

Narcissa felt the spark of excitement at the idea of escaping from Hogwarts experienced by her younger self.. "That sounds amazing, Bellatrix," she said, smiling at her sister.

Bellatrix smiled back. "I've got it all planned out," she said. "We'll go to the cinema, maybe see a play, go shopping on Oxford Street…"

Andromeda clapped her hands in delight. "Oh, Bellatrix, you're amazing!" she said.

The sisters continued chatting as they walked to breakfast. They entered the Great Hall and as they headed to the Slytherin table, Narcissa couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia wash over her as she listened to them. Narcissa sat down at the table, next to her sisters. She took a piece of toast and buttered it. As she chewed her toast, Narcissa turned her attention to Bellatrix's thoughts. She had always avoided delving into her sister's mind, out of respect for her privacy, but now she felt it necessary.

As she focused on her sister's mind, she heard Bellatrix waxing lyrically about Professor McGonagall.

"She's so brilliant , so powerful. I could listen to her talk about Transfiguration for hours. McGonagall is so amazing. I would do anything to be with her. She's everything I want in a partner."

Narcissa continued to listen in, despite feeling awkward listening to Bellatrix go on and on about Professor McGonagall.

"But wait… Rodolphus. I can't stop thinking about him. He's so charming, so handsome, so… different from the other purebloods. I just can't resist him."

Narcissa watched as Bellatrix turned from watching the head table and turned to Rodolphus who was beside her and focused intently on him. Abruptly, ignoring the conversation she had been having with Andy. It was clear that this was the turning point, the moment that had set everything in motion. She listened intently as Bellatrix's thoughts became more and more consumed with her crush on Rodolphus. She examined Bellatrix further, and realised she didn't feel the same dark, controlling presence she had felt at the time of Bellatrix's death. Narcissa found this curious and made a mental note to tell Hermione this later.

April 1968

Hermione was careful not to draw too much attention to her disillusioned self as she took in her surroundings. Hermione's eyes roamed around the Great Hall, taking in the sights and sounds of 1968. The hairstyles, the clothing, the mannerisms were all different. She was trying to take in as much detail as possible.

As she continued to observe, she saw Rodolphus Lestrange sneaking up and sitting next to Bellatrix. Something about his presence made her uneasy. She couldn't help but feel like he was up to something, especially as he obviously was looking furtively about.

She was about to try and mentally contact Narcissa when she noticed him pouring something into Bellatrix's drink when no one was looking. Hermione's mind raced with the possibilities of what could be in that drink.

She quickly decided to sneak closer, being as discreet as possible. As she neared, she caught a whiff of various scents, including the unmistakable smell of freshly mown grass and new parchment. There was something else that she couldn't quite place. A rich, floral, heady scent that she had definitely smelled before, but couldn't remember where.

That's when Hermione realized that Bellatrix had been doused with Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the wizarding world. She had to act fast. She discreetly pressed a button on the device she was carrying, and she and Narcissa were whisked back to the present day lab.

Present Day

Narcissa and Hermione arrived back in the lab in the present day, both slightly disoriented from the time-travel experience. They looked at each other, taking in the sight of the other person standing in front of them, both looking as if they had discovered something important.

"Did you find something?" Narcissa asked eagerly.

"I saw Rodolphus slip something into Bellatrix's drink," Hermione responded.

Narcissa's eyebrows shot up. "What was it?"

"Amortentia," Hermione said, her voice laced with disgust.

Narcissa's face twisted in anger. "That bastard. If he wasn't already dead I would kill him."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "Exactly. But what about you? What did you find?"

Narcissa took a deep breath before responding. "I heard Bellatrix's thoughts, and they suddenly changed from being fixated on Professor McGonagall to obsessing over Rodolphus. I must have been focused on her thoughts at the point when she took a sip of her drink."

Hermione started pacing back and forth. "So it was Rodolphus who caused the deviation?"

"It would appear so," Narcissa said, her expression serious. "Though, I didn't sense the dark, controlling presence I felt when Bellatrix died, so there must be more going on."

Hermione's mind raced. "So this event is a point of significant deviation but there are likely more. I think since we do know that this is a deviation from the original timeline, we need to fix it."

Narcissa nodded. "Yes, we do. I can brew an antidote to Amortentia, but it will take a few days."

Hermione smiled. "That's great. We'll reconvene when you have it ready."

Narcissa agreed and they hugged goodbye, but Hermione's mind was elsewhere. She realized that the third scent she had noticed in the past was Narcissa.