Changing Things for the Better Chapter 8, a harry potter fanfic

Hey everyone! So this is the next chapter in this story. I hope you are enjoying so far. As always Rated M for multiple reasons so proceed with caution. Please Review!

Chapter Eight

Hermione

It had been a solid week since Narcissa, Draco and I had been living together, a few teething problems to start out with of course. The TV was a constant source of amusement for Draco and wonder for Narcissa.

We had made plans to visit the Gaunt house today, strength in numbers Narcissa called it. After letting her see my memories of what Harry had told me she didn't want to risk me getting cursed if I went on my own.

I brought the Basilisk fang with me as collateral just incase, according to Harry the ring had cursed Albus Dumbledore because for some reason or another the stupid idiot tried to put it on. If we did end up having to destroy this one then I only hope he doesn't realise it.

"Ok, lets go." Seeing Narcissa in a pair of blue jeans was something I wouldn't have ever thought possible, but as she walked into the room with Draco coming in behind her with a face like a slapped arse I couldn't go and not say anything.

Grabbing her by the loop of said flare, bootcut jeans which had a nice pair of boots on underneath also I pulled her back closer to me, she startled slightly at me being so open with her.

"Hang On there Hot mama! Where did those come from?" She rolled her eyes at me and Draco looked horrified at my reaction and glared at me, in a way that was very reminiscent of old, petulant Draco.

"Granger! Stop looking at her like that!" I shrugged my shoulders and ignored him before turning around to the woman in front of me.

"I keep getting funny looks from your neighbours so I transfigured a pair of them to wear down to get mail and such. It's not that big of a deal Hermione please stop and you Draco stop pouting like that you look ridiculous." I smirked at her very straightforward way of being before I walked around her for a second just taking in the view.

" I find it amazing that under those stuffy albeit gorgeous robes, you have been hiding an arse that could crack a Walnut." A small blush appeared on her face as Draco sent a stinging hex at me. We had figured out that he too had the trace broken on his wand, no doubt due to our time travel.

"Granger, that is my mother." I just rolled my eyes at him and grabbed his bag to hand to him before smirking.

"Yes Draco, your mother is a hot, sexual being. Get used to it because I can guarantee you once the Weasley Twins sees her in a pair of anything tight it's going to be unbearable." He cringed as Narcissa grabbed a light jacket also transfigured by the looks of things and we stood in a circle holding hands.

"Ok, are we all aware of the plan?" They both nodded and I felt so comfortable having back up with me. I spun in a circle and we all disappeared with a crack before coming to land outside an old delapitated cabin. It was probably not a very impressive home when it was first built but looked even worse now.

Ivy and moss had overgrown the whole property, windows had been smashed and the roof was falling apart, I could feel the crackle of magic in the air. It was so strong and I had felt it before, Voldemort had been here, his magic had warded this, place and I had been prepared for it thankfully.

"How good are you at dismantling wards?" Draco asked and I shrugged as Narcissa took out her wand and stood beside me.

"It might be a little bit difficult and I will be drained afterward but I can get them down." I nodded to her as she, stood in front of the house she worked her wand over the property slowly until she found what must have been the initial site of the incantation.

It took her a solid ten minutes and I could feel the strain on her magic but as I felt the last of his magic ebb away and the last ward fell so did Narcissa onto her knees.

"Mother." Her nose was bleeding and as she looked up at me I could see how strong this witch was. For years she had been nothing but a housewife but now, she was a badass.

"I'm ok, go slow both of you, feel the magic around you in the air, not doubt he has put extra protection on The Horcrux so take it easy." We helped her to her feet and sat her down in a conjured seat and took out a slab of chocolate to boost her core slightly before nodding to Draco to follow me in.

The inside of the house was even worse than the outside but I could feel a cord of his magic wrapped around a floorboard in the, living room. I took out my dragonhide gloves and pried open the floorboard with my wand.

Sitting there was a black box and I could feel the magic threatening to erupt from it. Draco was in some form of trance, I hadn't even noticed until his hand was a millimeter from it and I held his hand down and tried to break his, concentration.

"Draco, stop looking at it! Draco stop." He tried to push past me to get to it and he wasn't even blinking.

"Narcissa!" I caught him in a bodybind before she could get into the room and he was struggling against the robes I had him in. I couldn't keep this in the house if Draco had this, reaction to it.

"I am gonna have to kill it, it can't be in the house with him." She nodded in agreement and I took out a basilisk fang.

"It's calling, I can hear it speak to me. All I have to do is put it on, it will make everything better I promise Mummy please." I couldn't understand why he was reacting but Narcissa and I were not. It didnt make any sense, I raised the fang up and smashed it down onto it before I could feel a rumble.

It was almost like an earthquake, the frame of the house, started to shake and I seen a small black stone on the floor beside the ring which had oozed some form of liquid. I still had my dragonhide gloves on so I picked it up and placed it into a glass vial and wandlessly let Draco go as his mother trailed him from the house.

We had arrived outside just in time as the whole structure fell to the ground in a pile and I couldn't help but laugh. I can just imagine how pissed off Voldemort would be if he found out what was going in.

"Oh merlin.That was embarrassing." I smirked at Draco whom collapsed onto the grass as Narcissa sat back down on the chair she had been previous. If he felt that then we were all screwed. This entire plan was screwed and we would not be able to find the rest of them.

" Well that was interesting?" I nodded at Narcissa for a few seconds before collapsing beside Draco in a heap.

"Just think, only five more to go." I smiled and we lay there for a few minutes just catching our breath before deciding to head home. As we stood and held tightly onto each other I felt a sense of accomplishment.

Even though everything was up in the air, I could not help but feel as if it was actually achievable now at this point. I might actually be able to pull this off. As we landed into the living room Draco announced he was going to shower and Narcissa opted to use the spare bathroom for the same.

"I'm starving, I will have lunch ready for you both." They thanked me and away they went off to their own devices. I opted for a Buddha bowl and it surprised me initially that Narcissa Malfoy of all people was a vegan.

I had expected her to only eat the finest of meats and delicacies but she shocked me with a Plant based meal the first night and we hadn't deveated since. I was quite enjoying learning and she was only too happy to oblige.

It had only been a week but between the Plant Based diet and my yoga I could see my body getting so lean and strong. Any wonder the woman has a body like a Victoria's Secret model. I was so deep in thought I nearly jumped out of my skin when the doorbell rang.

Draco was just coming around the corner as I looked through the peephole when I chased him back upstairs to also warn his mother. Severus Snape discovering I was harboring these two would not go down too well. I couldn't tell him all of the secrets and he would no doubt tell Dumbledore about it.

"Professor, good to see you. Please come in." He followed me into the kitchen as I continued to prepare food and threw potatoes in the oven. He seemed to be taking in my surroundings and bookshelves in the living room.

He looked marginally different, his teaching robes were gone and he had opted to try and blend in it seems. A pair of black slacks, white shirt and a dress jacket. He looked incredible and it really was not helping the feelings I was, starting to have for him.

"Sorry for interrupting." I shook my head at the handsome man.

"Of course Professor, you're welcome anytime." He nodded and took a seat for a, few seconds before I turned around to him.

"How are you feeling?" I only nodded at him and he seemed happy enough with that before looking around again.

"No parents today Miss Granger?" I just reluctantly shook my head at him and instantly felt uncomfortable and heard a , small creak coming from upstairs. Idiots.

"My parents are at a conference and so I have two relatives staying with me, they are upstairs." He lifted out a pot of red cream and set it in front of me. After reading his books I knew, what it was.

"How is your back? Any pain? Discomfort?" Honestly it was back to normal, except for the large now blue scar which adorned my back it was fine.

"No actually it feels fine." I nodded my head at him and he twisted his finger to get me to turn around. Luckily I was wearing a pair of black leggings and so I moved them on the left side slightly to allow him access to my hipbone.

He was two feet from me and I couldn't help my breath which I was holding at this, point, he reached out his hand and pressed against the flesh on my back. What in the hell? Why is my body reacting like this? I can literally feel my heart hammering in my chest.

"Sorry for interrupting." Narcissa and Draco in a glamour speaking in French was not something I had prepared for. She had kept her blonde hair but changed her eyes and stature to someone more like my own build. Draco had glamoured his hair to a brown but kept his blue eyes.

"Professor this is my aunt and cousin, they are staying with me whilst my parents are away." I couldn't help but hiss at her slightly in french.

"Que fais-tu..." She smirked at me before smiling at Snape and popping the kettle on.

"Puis-je vous offrir une tasse de thé." Snape seemed lost for a, second and internally I was glad there was something he couldn't do.

"Unfortunately my french is rusty, German on the other hand." He tried to appear polite and stealthily put his wand away before I furrowed my eyebrows at Dracos amused expression.

"She was offering you tea." He stood upruptly and shook his head at her before making his way slowly to the door.

"Sorry, I have a few things I have to do unfortunately but it was a pleasure, Miss Granger I will be back in a few weeks to check. I will double check the time so as not to disturb you." Within seconds he was gone and the door closed with a slam and a soft pop could be heard ten seconds later.

Their amused faces were too much, and I just rolled my eyes at both of them. Draco grabbed his coffee and left me in the kitchen with Narcissa who's usually unexpressive face was bursting at the seams to say something.

"What is it?" She, sipped on her tea and took a few, steps toward me before lifting up the balm he had left and inspecting it. A soft smile overcame her features before she set it down and took a seat at the breakfast bar.

"Severus seems different with you. Kinder. Is there a, story there? Is he aware of your time travelling escapades?" I shook my head at her and tucked the small jar into my bag to have on hand if need be.

"No, he despised me then and he despises me now." The one thing I hated about Narcissa was every move was methodical, calculated and just enough to show emotion but not enough to give too much away.

"I don't know Hermione, from what I just walked in on, it seemed intimate. More intimate than that of a student, and a teacher. If I know Severus the way I think I do then he is probably berating himself right now because he thinks you're just a Fifteen year old girl. He is a kind man, you should let him in a little." I couldn't help but snap my head up at her and scoff at a few of her points.

" You don't have to tell me what kind of a man he is, he spent my entire Hogwarts career saving our lives in one way or another." That damn Black smirk that I have seen on Sirius also was off putting.

"You trust him, more than most would considering his place beside the dark lord." I nodded unapologetically to her, if there was one thing I was sure of it was that Severus Snape is a good man.

"Be careful, Severus is more kind hearted than the resk of the heathens but he still had things to do to secure his place in the ranks." She patted me on the shoulder and made her way into my living room and perched with my copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. She did have a point, the man was probably the most closed off person in the world and yet I have seen a different side to him.

-/-/-/-/-/-

Severus

There was so many things I wanted to ask the girl, so many questions that had been floating around in my brain. I couldn't ask her in front of her relatives mostly because I wasnt sure A, how much they knew about magic. B, how much the chit had told her family and C, whether I trusted her to tell me the truth.

Apparating to the gates of Hogwarts during the Summer always seemed tedious. Only Albus, Hagrid, Sybil and Argus stayed in the castle over the Summer so it was blissfully quiet. Apparently Albus needed my help with something that couldn't wait until the new term.

He seemed rattled by something and so I wasn't surprised to find him in the Entrance Hall waiting for me. He was as white as a sheet and took me by the arm quite abruptly.

"Come with me." Without warning he apparated away from the castle and landed outside a wreck which looked as if it was once a, shack.

"I don't appreciate being summoned and then subsequently whisked away on a, whim Albus. What's going on?" He had his wand out and instantly I soon followed him, he was an inconsiderate arse but he wasnt a fool. I could feel the vague hint of a magical signature and it was both shocking and distracting.

What in the hell was Narcissa doing here? What was this, place and why would she, be dismantling wards? As Albus got closer to the now collapsed shack he slowly ran his wand over the broken pieces of timber and carnage.

"Where are we Albus?" He turned to look at me and seemed slightly shaken at what he was, seeing. He had aged ten years in ten seconds and I couldn't help but wonder what the old man was trying to do.

"This is the childhood home of Tom Riddle, he had something hidden here, something I had hoped would defeat him but it seems someone else has gotten to it first. It's familiar the signature but I cannot put my finger on it, someone dismantled the wards and stolen a piece of Voldemorts childhood." I was not a fool, I knew what that diary was three years ago without even looking at it.

The entire house reeked of dark magic just as the diary did, the crazy, mad bastard had made Horcruxes. One was now stolen by Narcissa, judging by how much Bella was, ranting about how her sister and nephew were defectors and should be killed on sight made me think Cissa had discovered the Dark Lords, secret.

I wasn't sure telling Albus exactly who had been to this place and whom had stolen his, precious item was a good idea so I kept silent. Regardless of her intention, the way Albus was getting on made me think this was more than a simple Horcrux, he wanted it for himself for some reason.

"Well whatever it was, it is, no longer here Albus. Why did you require my presence?" He, pinched his, nose and sat down onto a summer seat before I stood across and leant down on a piece of stone wall.

"I had my own ward around this property. It alerted me when someone was here or when the wards, were tampered with. I thought it was Tom coming to the house and when my ward collapsed I figured something had happened. I had been before and couldn't get past the first layer of protections on my own. I needed you with me incase something went wrong." He was talking bullshit, lying right to my face and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why.

"How was, Miss Granger?" I was a, little bit thrown for a, second before I understood exactly why he was, asking me. Between him and the dark lord I hated what they were trying to get me to do.

"The curse is still contained and she is still insufferable. I was polite and cordial and she is still a dunderhead but is significantly ahead from that of her idiot friends." The older man chuckled in that grandfatherly way which pisses, me off.

"Now Severus, she has grown significantly and considering she is older than her peers it makes sense why she would be ahead in her studies also." The girl was fifteen what did he mean by older than her peers.

"She is fifteen Albus, the same age as your precious Boy Who Lived." Upon the shake of his head I felt my stomach drop and another small piece of the puzzle click into place. Minerva did say that her time turner escapades would have aged her.

"Actually Severus, she, is not. If my calculations are correct Miss Granger should be of age by this, point or not far off it. She was born in September and Harry was July, there is almost a full year between them and then with that time Turner in her third year would have probably aged her significantly also." Still in shock that Albus and Minerva approved a time turner for her. I was completely reeling by the, fact that she was officially of age.

Slowly the gears, were turning in my head but the burning in my arm made me stop and put it away for another day. Albus, seen my reaction and nodded sadly at me.

"He is still upset about losing Narcissa and Draco?" I nodded for a monent before looking him dead in the, eye.

"He, seems to think they have been kidnapped, Bella is incensed and is convinced she defected." He nodded again and appeared so incredibly thoughtful.

"What do you think?" It really was a loaded question, Cissa does not bow, for no one but with no outside help I don't think could have defected alone. Her son is the only thing she cares about and she, would die trying to protect him.

"I don't know, Narcissa is a formidable witch and is capable of hiding in plain sight without anyone, knowing." He nodded and slowly I started to become aware of how much an idiot I was. Draco Malfoy was the perfect Slytherin Son until I saw him with Granger.

Those two 'Relatives' appeared far too comfortable and I feel like an even bigger knob for not realising it. Hermione Granger helped Draco and Narcissa Malfoy escape their fate. I didn't know, whether to be impressed, or pissed. I have even more questions now but with the burn in my arm worsening I couldn't help but ignore it all and bid farewell to Albus to go to what was going to be another hard meeting. I am getting to old for this, shit.

That's us guys, I hope you enjoyed. Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts.