Hey Everyone! I am so excited to see the response to this story. Updates will come as I edit.
I hope you enjoy this next chapter, as always we are dealing with a Rating M on this story for violence, Lemons, language etcetera.
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Chapter Two
Hermione
Having no open cases at the moment I spent the rest of the day in the ministry library. I had only just scratched the surface and so far had not found anything remotely resembling the effects of this curse. Deciding I needed to meet the person who had been cursed and possibly get the memory from them.
Unable to move any further, I packed up my bag and refilled my flask with tea and slowly made my way downstairs to the Apparition point in the Atrium.
As I spun away from a long day at the office I landed in the boundary wall of a country cottage, a purple haired boy was playing on the slide it seemed but as soon as I appeared with a crack in the garden, it disturbed him.
"Auntie Hermione!" The little boy ran at full speed to me and I caught him just in time and couldn't help the laugh that erupted from me.
"Oh my boy I missed you!" Where Harry became the best godfather to Teddy, I had became an Aunt which was a title I took very seriously. He had became so very important to me as the years passed. After my own fertility problems special thanks to Dolohov for that I tried to treat the little boy like my own.
Remus and Tonks will not get to see their little boy grow up, I wabf him to know funny stories about his parents from a different perspective. Harry and Remus were connected even before they got to know each other and so Harry will be able to be familiar in that way. The Marauders and their legend, Tonks had became very good friends but over the years each new friend of Harry's father that popped out of the woodwork.
First Hagrid, then Minerva, Sirius and Remus, every nice story he heard of his parents brought him closer to them both. I want to be able to provide that for Teddy . I walked into the house with him on my hip only to be greeted by Andie coming toward the door.
"Teddy! What have I told you about jumping on people young man!" He immediately felt guilty and slid down off me before apologising, hugging me and going on to his toys.
"Sorry Hermione!" I shook my head at her as she offered me a drink and led me to the kitchen. She looked like she was just finished having dinner as the dishes were being washed and she still had her apron on.
"So I looked over the file, I still don't know what I can do, even if it is anything. I do need to meet this person and see the memory of what happened." Andi looked nervous and guilty in that moment, that was when I realised what was going on.
"The patient doesn't know do they? Andromeda if anyone finds out you leaked confidential information of a patient!" She, scoffed at me in that moment and shook her head.
"Oh don't worry this isn't a St Mungos patient and she wouldn't ever press charges. Especially against you." I felt like slapping her in that moment. She had made such a huge mistake in bringing me into this.
"Who is the patient Andromeda?" She smirked at me before taking me by the hand and calling Teddy and going to the FLOO and activating a call.
"Hello! ANYONE HOME?" A head appeared in the fireplace that I was surprised at. Someone I hadn't really spoke to in a while.
"Auntie! How are you?" Draco Malfoy was, smirking and stood back to usher us through. One by one we made tracks through the grate and into a large living room.
"Tedster! The Boy!" Malfoy and Teddy did some weird secret handshake which had my head frazzled but was second nature to them both.
"Granger!" He nodded his head in my direction before everything fell into place. Why Andi was so secretive? Why the patient wouldn't get Andie into trouble. The woman who plagued my dreams, the woman who I really want to hate but can't find it in me to bother.
"Please tell me you are not serious!! Narcissa Malfoy!" Andi shook her head at me before Astoria, Dracos new wife came over and took Teddy away from whatever was about to explode.
"Come on love, lets go see the fairies in the garden!" He took Astoria by the hand and left without a backwards glance leaving me with Andromeda and Draco.
"This is why I didn't tell you, the past is complicated between the two of you but if anyone can help, its you." For the second time today I wanted to slap her! How dare she put me in this kind of a, position, the Malfoy Matriarch hates me.
"Complicated! Andromeda she will not want me anywhere near this, knowing these private details about her. A, she is the most private person I have ever seen exceptSnape. B, she has obviously been hoodwinked into this aswell whatever this is. C, I don't even know if I canfuckinghelp her. D, in her eyes I am nothing but a filthy mudblood so I can't imagine she will even look at me never mind me actually talking to her. And E, I don't really want the death of Narcissa Malfoy to be onmyconscious. " I saw Draco wince before looking beyond my left shoulder. Judging by the wafts of Cherry and Vanilla flowing past my nose I realised the woman was right behind me.
"Miss Granger, I am already dying believe me if you speed up the process I will not have a problem with that." As I turned around she stood in front of me like perfection. How is it she looked younger instead of older? I suppose having a homicidal lunatic living in your house and enslaving your family puts a dampener on a lot of things.
Her long blonde tresses were braided and reached the bottom of her back, her face still had her days makeup on it. She had a long floor length blue silk nightdress that was underneath a matching silk dressing gown and she had no shoes on her feet and her toes were perfectly pedicured.
"I... I'm sorry... I...I didn't..." Great job Hermione! Make words that actually form sentences. Making a fool of myself in front of this woman was not something I ever thought would happen. The one small difference the woman had was a silver and black walking stick which seemed to be taking the majority of her weight on the left side.
"Once again Andromeda you have overstepped it seems." Seeing the other woman completely ignore me and glare at her older sister was enough to make me take one step backwards from where she stood.
"What did you expect me to do? Ignore it like you seem determined to do? Throw you a fucking party what?" She rolled her eyes and on shaky legs she made her way past me to a grab a glass of what looked like Wine from Dracos outstretched hand.
"I am not ignoring it Andromeda but I am being realistic. Did you ever see a curse from Bella fail? I am going to die, this curse is going to eat away at my spine before going to my brain, I will lose my mobility first, my sight probably next and then my facultieslastto the point where I will not know myself nor my family." I caught Dracos eyes and saw him flinch at her declaring she isgoing to die. It seems the Malfoy Matriarch was not done with her rant though.
"I informed my sister of my wish to die in peace, not my healer who wants me to continue invasive and unnecessary tests to try and prolong this agony. In telling you this I had hoped you would understand notgo and tell thewholeworld. This is my life, I am going to die. This is going to happen Andi and no amount of false hope is going to change that. The girl even said it herself, there might not be anything she can do. Now I am trying to find solace in my family and friends and the only thing that is stopping me from pitching myself off a Broomstick mid-flight is my son. I will go as long as I can before I lose myself and then I am going to ask you to please allow me the dignity of choosing this for myself." Throwing her wine back in one go after her rant before setting it down, grabbing a silver cigarette box and leaving the room via the large Patio doors which were open.
As she made her way over the garden I noticed how long her blonde hair was, she stopped under a stone gazebo and lit her cigarette, I couldn't stop my fury from erupting under my skin. I was pissed at Andromeda but I felt like I had something to prove at this point. It was in that moment I knew I was going to spend the rest of her days trying to save her.
Regardless of my own personal opinion of the woman, she saved my best friends life, she chose the right side in the end and then ended up with this curse for her troubles. Doesn't she get a chance to live her life also. Without waiting for either of the other two to speak I followed the path to the older woman.
The closer to her I got I noticed it wasn't tobacco she was smoking, it was Marijuana with soft hints of Cherries. She looked surprised to see me come to her, I must look like a crazed lunatic approaching her, she never broke her gaze.
"Miss Granger in case I was too subtle your services are not required." Taking a, draw from her joint she looked away from me and crossed her left leg over the right which drew my attention to her. A crude looking star on her calf looked angry and inflamed.
"Does it hurt? The curse under your skin, does it hurt?" She, waited for a second, raised one eyebrow before nodding and without warningshegrabbed my right arm and slowly pulled the sleeve of my blazer up my arm to expose my forearm and inspected the scar.
Where there once was tight, red angry skinnow sat white scars which you could barely see. Her thin, dainty fingers trailed over my skin which I enjoyed more than I should have.
"Does yours still hurt?" I shook my head at her and slowly she released my arm and offered me a seat in one of the garden chairs they had out.
"I am not going to sit here and give you false promises of a cure, realistically I don't know if Icanhelp. I have replayed so many different versions of my first proper conversation with you and honestly I have no idea what to say. I expected many more swear words because I hated you." She didn't let her face betray her emotions, that ice cold exterior she bore everyday to the public didn't crack. The only time I had ever seen her show her emotions was in The Great Hall after the Battle.
Draco was on one side of the room and she came in the other after Harry threw his weight around and got her and Draco off with their involvement. As soon as she spotted her son, tears drifted down her cheeks and he ran to her.
Their embrace was like something out of a movie, he clung to his mother as she ignored the blood seeping down her leg. It was extraordinary, seeing two usually reserved Slytherins be open with their emotions.
Seeing her sitting in front of me now she looked extraordinary, a very desirable witch to a lot of people. I doubt many of them had ever seen her in this way. Barefoot in a summer evening smoking a joint with a glass of wine in her hand.
"Look, give me a little bit of time. Surely you can refrain the urge to kill yourself until then. If not ai will ask Draco hide the brooms." She smirked lightly before she discarded the butt of the joint and rolled her eyes at me before using her stick and on shaky legs stood to look at me.
"Fine, ten weeks, that's all you get but I need you to promise me. If you have found nothing by then you leave me alone, convince Andromeda and my son to drop this ridiculous and fruitless search for a cure. You also need to stop searching, if there is anything I have learnt about Gryffindors over the years is that you are all sentimental and impulsive idiots. " How was I supposed to take that? The woman sat in front of me in her sleeping attire which was stunning in comparison to the boy shorts and baggy tank top that I usually wear to bed.
"Ok, I promise. I have access to the Ministry Library, could I use yours also." She raised her eyebrow at me before leaning back slightly in the chair. Even though she sat perfectly regal in front of me this to her was probably relaxed.
"I have already searched extensively in my families library and there is nothing there that will help you." I knew the woman would have spent a long time looking herself for a cure and if there is something I gave found out about her it's that she was incredibly intelligent and very thorough.
" Perhaps a set of fresh eyes will uncover something. I also was wondering if I could take a look at the memory of that day, what had happened?" She shifted slightly in an uncomfortable moment and reluctantly nodded.
"Are you skilled in Legilimency?" I instantly shook my head before she waved her hand without a wand and three seconds later a pensieve landed in front of us from what looked like an upstairs window.
"You just, how did you? Holy Shit!" She smirked slightly at my rambling before she stood up to stand in front of me and wrapped her fingers around my wrist bringing my wand to her head.
With a slight smile she slowly drew a memory from her head, I could feel her magic licking around my own and slowly she drew a memory from her head and placed it gently into the pensieve in front of me.
"Feel free to use the library, I will adjust the wards to allow you access day or night. I will see you Miss Granger." She walked away from me back toward the patio doors where Draco and Andromeda were waiting. She stopped in front of her sister for a moment and as she spoke to her a broad smile echoed on her face before it fell just as quick.
Deciding not to get involved in the affairs between the two Black Sisters I turned my attention back to the pensieve. It took me a little minute or two to work up the courage to dip into it. As I placed my head down into the memory I morphed out in the middle of a battle.
Draco threw his wand to Harry and the boy in question struck a curse at Voldemort and the fighting began again. I could see Narcissa looking for her son and without warning she took off across the courtyard after him...wand less.
Shield charms came spewing out of her hands one after the other. Her wandless capabilities were impressive but it was mostly Defensive magic and not offensive. Other than a well aimed Sectumsempra at Greyback she barely did any damage to anyone.
She did cast her shields to help others though, Luna would have recieved a nasty curse to her back if it wasn't for the older Slytherin shielding her. Upon seeing this however Bellatrix was incensed, sneaking around behind her little sister she, sent a yellow beam of light at her and within a second Narcissa fell to the ground.
Blood slowly seeped from her thigh and as she wandlessly opened the leg of her robes she cast a healing spell to try and stop the bleeding and Bellatrix seemed satisfied with her handiwork and she left to confront Luna and Ginny together.
"Mrs Malfoy, come on Harry Potter and The Dark Lord are facing off with each other." Blaise Zabini, one of Dracos schoolfriends lifted her from the ground and they went as fast as they could into the Great Hall.
The scene morphed into an exam room with Madame Pomfry waving her wand on the now scarred leg. The older Mediwitch shook her head as she read and reread the parchment in front of her.
"Poppy, just tell me." She brought a chair over and held onto Narcissas hand before tearing up slightly. I could feel every emotion Narcissa had.
"It is a dark curse Cissa, something I have never came across before. It is like a modified flesh eating curse only it is designed to attack the bones. You can see in the last three months it has started travelling further up your leg. It will make its way to your hip and then your spine, I can slow it down but not stop it." The blonde woman still sat stoic in the face and nodded at the mediwitch.
" How long do I have Poppy? Roughly?" The kind mediwitch held steadfast onto the hand and shook her head.
" I honestly don't know, maybe between five, six years maybe less. Once it gets to your spine it will become more aggressive. " She still never broke and nodded her head before thanking the woman and making her way out of the Castle. A few nights of drinking and the slow pace of the disease as the years passed.
I could feel the pain, the never ending ache in the leg, her self brewing some potions to help and so many nights spent researching a cure just to come up empty. I felt the heartbreak in her heart when she told Draco and the young man cried into his mothers lap.
She then told her sister and seeing Andromeda join the search for a cure by researching in St Mungos library just to come up empty. The years passing until she was sitting in front of Andromeda looking as put together as ever but she appeared tired.
"Andie, I need you to stop, we need to stop. This is something that is going to kill me and truthfully its nothing less than I deserve. So can you please stop bringing me books and theories, I'm done." Andromeda was pissed, she started ranting about how she, was giving up and being a coward.
"I am the one dying!" Her voice hit the ceiling in a way I had never expected from her, she stood with the help of her cane and glared at her sister.
"Everyday I wake up in agony, my whole body, it takes me twice as long to actually get out of bed. Some days I can hardly walk with the pain. This curse is slowly strangling me and I cannot have false hope. I am done! Done with the tests, done wirh the guinea pig potions and I am most certainly done with research." She took two strides to her older sister and gently held onto her face and a small tear fell down her cheek.
" Please Andromeda, please just let me die when I choose, please allow me that." Andromeda walked out and the memory ended as I was thrown back into the gazebo.
As I landed on my feet again I collapsed backwards into the chair behind me, feeling her pain, her sadness and fear. It made me look at the older woman in a different way.
I had tried for years to teach myself Wandless Magic and unfortunately it hasnt exactly materialised into anything. Perhaps she could teach me? Giving myself a shake to focus on the task at hand, good news is, the disease is so slow in its progress it was comforting.
Ten weeks isn't a lot of time but it would hopefully be enough to find something to prove to Narcissa it is curable. I had some holiday time saved up so taking a break from my department to work on this full time would be beneficial.
I know right in this very moment, even after this next ten weeks is done. I will try and figure this out, until her dying breath. Slowly I bottled up the memory into a vial so it didn't fall into the wrong hands and walked back toward the house and I noticed the Black Sisters were nowhere to be seen. Draco sat in a chair in front of the fire with a glass of Whiskey in his hands.
"I would appreciate it Granger if you would not spread this around. My mother is a notoriously private person and has entrusted you with her memories, the last thing she needs or wants is the world poking fun." He handed me a glass of firewhiskey to which I knocked back in one go. At his raised eyebrow I realised how much he looked like his mother.
All throughout school I always thought he was a carbon copy of his father but his mannerisms and languages were all his mother. He took the glass and refilled it before indicating for me to sit down on the chair opposite him.
"I was going to get going..." He shook his head, took out his pocket watch from an inner breast pocket.
"No doubt my mother is firing insults at Aunt Andromeda so they might be a while." I honestly did not know what to make of the Malfoys without Lucius. Having seen them in multiple different circumstances it had always seemed like they were a strong unit with each other.
Now however it appears Draco is thriving thanks to his Law Firm. After Hogwarts he had studied to become a Lawyer for both the muggle and Wizarding world. He had done well to move away from the Legacy his father had left him.
"How are you doing?" It was a loaded question, I knew that as soon as it had came out of my mouth. He looked shocked that I cared enough to ask that. His mother was dying so regardless of our past history of course I would be here if he needed someone to talk to.
"I'm coping, to an extent." Knowing there was nothing I could do to comfort him, I didn't say anything. We sat in comfortable silence for a solid five minutes and just drank our alcohol.
"I am grateful Granger, for your help in this. My Aunt seems to think that you might have some special insight, she didn't say anything specific. I am curious, how is it you became such an expert when it comes to dark curses?" I couldn't tell whether he was being condescending or teasing. He topped off my glass with a flick of his wand before relaxing into the armchair again.
I looked at him and I could see the toll it was taking on him, he had dark circles under his eyes and the only thing that shone was his new shiny silver wedding ring. I took a large swig of my Whiskey and set the glass down in front of me.
"After the war there was so much I had to do and so everything else got placed on the backburner. I went to Australia to get my parents, I sent them there after erasing their memories to protect them from death eaters. After that I paid reparations to the goblins at Gringotts after breaking in and stealing the dragon. Helping with the rebuild at Hogwarts and preparing to get my NEWTs." Slowly I took off my blazer jacket and rolled up my blouse sleeve to expose my scar. His face became very flushed and he looked down at his feet in discomfort before I held it out in front of me.
"When we started back at Hogwarts, Minerva had banned the use of the word Mudblood. Unfortunately though as soon as she mentioned it in the opening feast my scar felt like it was on fire. It got angry and red and started to bleed. I later found out if the word was mentioned in front of me it set off a trigger. I asked Minerva for her time turner back and spent whatever time I had not studying, researching." He sat forward and asked to touch my arm, to which I nodded.
Slowly he reached his hand out and gently with surprisingly warm hands touched my wrist with one hand and an elbow with another. He looked like he was inspecting the skin for any signs of difference.
"Vulnus sanguinis...it translates to literally the bleeding wound, took me a while to find it, I had to access every library I could think of. Of all people Blaise Zabini was the one that came to my rescue. He had an entire series on blood magic. Apparently his mother liked to experiment and the knife used on me was spelled and imbued with your Aunts blood. Harry got me a sample from Andromeda hoping and I was able to reverse engineer it to create a balm to heal it." He looked directly into my eyes and nodded slowly before releasing my arm and taking his seat fully again.
"I have to say Granger you continue to shock the hell out of me. Be careful with Blaise, he would flirt with a garden gnome. Just ask my mother, she is the subject of his attention when he visits." I couldn't stop the smirk that appeared on my face as he got uncomfortable and realistically what I am going to say won't help his attitude.
"Well your mother is most definitely not a garden gnome. She is a gorgeously attractive witch whom is like a walking wet dream." He shifted in his seat and threw back the rest of his drink, before he could say anything else he stood up abruptly.
"Ok, I should get home. Andromeda should be back down soon, if there is any study left that is. Do you want an escort to the Library then Granger?" I nodded my head and followed him up three stories to the top floor, it was a huge room. In a U shape the walls were overflowing with bookshelves. At the back the room was a small access archway and it looked like three cauldrons were bubbling at the back of the wall.
"This is amazing!" He nodded and took me to one of the bookshelves on the left which it turned out was revolving. Fucking purebloods and their way lf showing off.
"Don't touch this shelf here, they are books which are dangerous to someone of your heritage." I caught glimpses of the titles and most of them were Potions, Alchemical and Runic Texts. He seemed to see my impulses try not to take control because even though he had warned me I wanted nothing but to devour the knowledge in those books.
" I am gonna go Granger, I guess I will see you around." I nodded my head and he left, I slowly walked around the room and read lots of spines of the books and lifting out the occasional one to take a quick scan of.
I don't know how long I was looking through some of the books but eventually my curiosity got the best of me and I walked into the Potions lab and I could see Hangover Draught, Nausea potion and Pain relieving potion along with a fourth cauldron away from the other three and it was the most vibrant red potion lowly simmering and it smelled like Lavender and Eucalyptus.
Some parchment was sitting in front of it and it was full of Arithmetical equations, I was hooked and grabbed one sheet off the desk and worked out one of them in my head.
"In accepting your proposal to be a Guinea Pig Miss Granger, I thought I would have at leaat have a day to prepare myself for the reality of my self imposed isolation to be invaded." She walked into the room favoring her left side as she did and stopped beside me less than a foot away and plucked the sheet from my hand.
"I don't know how things are done in the ministry Miss Granger but it isn't customary to read another's work." In a display of power she looked me dead in the eye as she wedged her body between my own and the desk.
"I am too curious sometimes. I didn't recognise the potion and then your equations intrigued me. I apologise if I overstepped."
Last Request 2.4
She shook her head at me and I took a steo away from her, even now in her bedtime attire she was intimidating. Setting the silver cigarette case on a large table in the centre of the room she wandlessly poured herself a large glass of something and sat in the small chair in front of the fire.
"Has Draco given you the tour?" I nodded and accepted the gin and tonic she wandlessly poured and levitated to me.
"Yes although the full shelf of out of bounds books makes me feel like I am back at Hogwarts again." Smirking into her glass she opened up a drawer beside her and pulled out a pair of gloves.
"They are Dragon Hide, they will allow you to touch and read through the more unsavoury books. Unfortunately I am not a curse breaker and as such have been unable to break the wards on them." I thanked her and looking at her now she looked so different tohow I had amped her up in my head.
"May I ask you a question?" I nodded my head to her and it was the first time I seen a sense of vulnerability, it was gone in a second but I could tell she was partially uncomfortable.
"Why did you agree to this? It's not like you would mourn me so why?" I honestly felt like it was a trick question, my feelings for the woman in front of me was something even I was unaware of.
On the one hand almost every nightmare I have features her in some capacity. In the other she saved my best friend and subsequently almost everyone in the Wizarding World. Lying to Voldemorts face is ballsy no matter what way you look at it.
"Truth, you have intrigued me for quite a while..." She took out one of her special cigarettes and sparked it up with a flick of her fingers.
"Intrigued, well that's certainly different. Usually I get loathe and despise so intrigued is good." I couldn't stop the smile that beamed across my face. At this point I must have been like the Cheshire cat because she leant back into her chair with a small smirk teasing me.
"When I apprenticed for Minerva she told me you were the biggest intellectual waste in all her years of teaching. She claimed that you were top in your year at almost every subject. Based on what is on that parchment she was right, you shy away in the shadows of recognition. I guess I have always seen you as three different people." Thay strong icy facade was not breaking no matter what I said, it was a shame she had a beautiful smile.
"First was the arrogant pureblooded ice queen, second was a loving mother and fierce witch. Seeing you and Draco in the Great Hall afterwards was something I have never experienced, Molly Weasley with all of her children has never looked at them the way you did that day. Third was something else, don't ask me to define it because I can't, seeing you in my dreams or my nightmares took a little bit of getting used to. It has took me a long time to come to this point of acceptance and I am trying to move on with my life. You should have the chance to do the same." I could tell it wasn't what she was expecting because her face faltered before coming back to what she usually projected.
"Well as offensive as this, unlike Molly Weasley I don't have any to spare..." Upon seeing my horrified face she let out something which I was sure hadn't been done in a while, she laughed.
"That was a joke Miss Granger, I appreciate your honesty. Unfortunately our interactions in the past have left a mark, since we are being honest with one another and my life is literally in your hands, you have featured in a dream or two of my own." I smiked at her and nodd3d before stabding up and again.
" I should get going, I am in the Ministry tomorrow but I have some leave sav3d up, I hope you dont mind me spending my working day here?"I smirked at her to try and convey a more relaxed atmosphere around us. This wouldn't work if we were constantly trying to one up each other.
" Of course, if you need anything my house elf will help you. Millie." Before I could say anything a small house, elf popped into the room with a large smile on her face. She was wearing black flare trousers and a Led Zeppelin t-shirt.
"Mistress called for Millie. Mistress should be taking a rest after hard day yesterday." Narcissa went to grab her stick again and walked over to the little elf. It was strange to see her almost affectionate toward the little creature considering Dobby.
"I thank you Millie for looking out for me. This is Hermione Granger, she has been added to the wards and is using the Library for research. Please be available to her needs whilst she is here." The little elf nodded and popped away again leaving me with the older woman.
"Assuming your home is connected to the FLOO network you are more than welcome to use the fireplace to and from this room. Draco named it when he was five and I bought the property. If you need access call oit for The Ice Palace, be was obsessed with the Snow Queen from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." I nodded and smirked at her before gathering up my bag and heading toward the fireplace in question.
" I guess I will see you tomorrow." She didn't say anything and just nodded her head at me becore I went through the grate and came to land in my home. This is gonna suck. What if I can't save her? I shouldn't have agreed to this.