Chapter Text
The door closed with a soft click and silence fell on the assembled mass of witches and wizards. Kingsley took his time walking across the office to his desk, observing the group carefully. Most, if not all, were injured in some way. Though Luna’s singular cut above her right eyebrow hardly seemed to count, he thought to himself. The rest were either bleeding, bruised or bandaged in some manner. Weasley, he noted, was in a cast and had a thick bandage wrapped around his head, with tufts of ginger hair sticking out where there were gaps in the wrappings. Potter sported a black eye but otherwise seemed fine and beside him sat a bandaged Hermione and what appeared to be the latest unauthorised addition to his team - Narcissa Black.
His expression crinkled into a frown upon seeing the pair sat there with clasped hands and heads together. He still had his doubts about the former Malfoy Matriarch but Granger seemed insistent in her defence of the woman. Perhaps his judgement had been clouded by the war after all. He sighed heavily and sat down in his chair. “Well?” He enquired to the room at large. “Is anyone going to clue me in here? What the hell happened?”
Harry was the first to speak, shifting in his seat so he could face Kingsley properly. “Dementors, Kingsley. Tonnes of them. They had swarmed the house of Hyacinth Westinburgh. She sent out a distress message as soon as the first one appeared but she was quickly surrounded. It was Black Manor all over again.” He shook his head and pushed his messy hair back off his forehead, revealing further bruising that nearly obscured his now pale scar.
“It was chaos, Kingsley.” Luna chimed in. “When Harry saw how bad it was he called for me and my team. The Dementors… They were unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I’ve never seen them act that way.”
“What way?” Kingsley enquired slowly, feeling worry settle in the pit of his stomach like a lead weight.
“Claws, Kingsley.” Ron answered with an angry jab towards his bandaged head. “The damn things used their hands like claws. They were more like rabid animals than Dementors!” He shuddered and clutched his cast covered arm to his chest. “You know how they usually float and look all ominous?”
Kingsley nodded.
“Not this lot.” Ron said darkly. “They moved faster than Snape confronted with soap. Swiping at us left right and centre. I thought one of them was going to give me the kiss! But instead of lowering its hood it grabbed my arm and tried to choke me with its other hand.” He yanked aside another bandage at his throat so that Kingsley could see a freshly healed scratch. “Bloody vicious.”
“It’s a miracle we got out of there alive, if I’m honest, Kingsley.” Harry took over. “We were losing until Hermione and Narcissa turned up.”
“Oh?” Kingsley raised an eyebrow as he directed his gaze to the pair in question. “I wondered when we’d address the seemingly new addition to the Auror department. Ms Granger, would you care to explain why Madam Black was involved in what is clearly Ministry of Magic business?”
Narcissa rolled her eyes and squeezed Hermione’s hand to let her know that she would handle this. “I do apologise, Minister.” She began with sarcasm dripping from her lips. “Next time your Auror department can’t handle a group of dark creatures hell bent on total destruction and devastation I’ll stay at home, shall I?” She paused for a moment before continuing. “I was asked to attend by Ms Lovegood.” A part of her wanted to add that she would have gone even if she hadn’t been asked but she wasn’t sure just how much information Hermione was willing to share with her friends, never mind the Minister for Magic. “I suspect my experience with all things dark made her think I would be a useful person to have on hand.”
“Pffft!” Ron snorted from across the room. “If you’re so useful then why is ‘Mione hurt, huh?”
It took all of her self restraint not to throw a hex across the room at him but the gentle squeeze from Hermione’s hand helped her keep her cool. Instead she retorted “She’s injured because of your attempted heroics, you oaf! If you hadn’t come wading in waving your wand about like it was the Sword of bloody Gryffindor and cast a Patronus like the rest of your team she wouldn’t have a single scratch on her!”
“How do I know she didn’t get those injuries from you?!” Ron sputtered, rising to his feet in anger. “I wouldn’t trust you as far as I could hex you, Malfoy !”
“I’ve seen your spell work and I’d trust that less than you trust me, Weasley.” Narcissa replied coolly but feeling the anger build within her as Ron advanced on her. She was considering what particular hex she would use on him when Kingsley himself stepped in between the pair, ensuring Ron did not get any further.
“Potter,” he growled at Harry. “Keep your man in line. He’s injured enough as it is.” The large wizard gave Ron a push towards Harry and addressed the room at large again. “I think I’ve heard all I need to hear from now. Potter, Granger, Lovegood, I want reports on this written up and on my desk tomorrow. We’ll form an action plan based on our combined intel on this and progress from there. You’re all dismissed!”
With a scrape of chairs the assembled group of Aurors and Unspeakables shuffled out of the office. Hermione moved with them, keen to get Narcissa as far away from Ron as quickly as possible. She wasn’t sure the redhead would keep his temper if he saw the smug smile that was beginning to form on Narcissa’s face at his rebuking from Kingsley. The brunette led them through the winding maze of corridors until they were back in her office.
Once the door was safely closed and locked behind them she turned to the blonde witch and asked “Did you really have to do that?”
Narcissa raised an immaculate eyebrow at the question. “Do what?”
“Wind him up like that. I know he’s not your favourite person in the world but he’s still my friend.”
The smug look fell from Narcissa’s face and was replaced by a look of contrition. “I’m sorry. It’s just… his idiocy led you into harm's way.” Narcissa said softly, brushing a hand softly against Hermione’s cheek, which was marred by a long thin scratch from one of the Dementor’s bone fingers. “And I hate the very thought of harm coming to you.”
Hermione felt her cheek warming at the touch and had to tear her gaze away from Narcissa’s near perfect face. The blonde witch had managed to avoid much of the attacks from the Dementors, sustaining only a small scratch on her chin from a Dementor that had tried to pounce on Hermione following Ron’s misguided attempt to save her from peril. Of course, she agreed that Ron’s actions were idiotic, but hadn’t Narcissa’s been too?
When Ron had thrown himself at her, bringing a Dementor with him in the process, Narcissa had whirled into action. Her wand seeming to move of its own accord, the spells coming out in quick succession with barely a word from her lips. Had Hermione not been fighting off a Dementor hell bent on strangling her she might have found it beautiful. But there was no doubt that her actions, whilst awe inspiring, were reckless. She didn’t seem to have any thought for her own safety and didn’t throw up a single shield throughout the fight. Choosing instead to use her Patronus and a variety of slashing spells that seemed to rip the very fabric of the Dementors apart. The fact that she escaped with minor injuries was sheer luck.
“We should go.” She murmured, sidestepping the witch to walk to the fireplace. “I need to check some things off before I report to Kingsley.” She took a pinch of floo powder and threw it into the flames. “Home!”
As soon as her feet had crossed the hearth in the flat Hermione was straight to work, summoning every book she could think of that might aid her. There was something niggling at the back of her mind. Like an itch that couldn’t be scratched. The way the Dementors had behaved… She’d read or heard something similar before but she just couldn’t fathom what.
When Narcissa came spinning through the fire, mere moments later, books were soaring through the air towards Hermione, who was already beginning to teeter under the weight of the books in her arms. Narcissa rushed forward and halted the next wave of books in the air with a flick of her hand just in time to prevent Hermione tipping backwards. Gently, she took the stack of books from the brunette’s arms and placed them on the coffee table. “You do realise you can only read one book at a time?” She teased lightly and brushed a stray lock of hair behind an ear.
Hermione’s brow furrowed. “I have to research this, Narcissa. I need those books!”
“What you need,” Narcissa said, ushering Hermione out of the living room and into the little bathroom with a firm hand at the small of her back. “Is to sit down and look after your injuries first. I recommend a bath first of all.” She sat a baffled Hermione down on the lid of the toilet seat and began rummaging through the cupboard, muttering something about Essence of Dittany.
“Narcissa,” Hermione began slowly, watching as the blonde witch shook a tiny bottle next to her ear. “I don’t have a bath…”
The corner of Narcissa’s mouth twitched upward. “For being the brightest witch of your age you do seem to have a blind spot for how magic can improve your own life.” She placed the bottle on the edge of the sink and turned round to consider the shower cubicle before her. Her finger tapped against the scratch on her chin for a moment before making a vague gesture at the glass and metal structure. The cubicle seemed to melt away in a mix of colours, all of them falling to the floor and then reforming into a long elegant silver bathtub that really shouldn’t have fit into the space available, but did.
“Of course you have your own spell for magicking bathtubs out of nowhere…” Hermione muttered under her breath, trying to hide how pleased she was by this particular bit of magic. She would need to make a note to ask Narcissa to teach her the spell.
“When one is likely to be faced with improper bathroom facilities one must always be prepared.” Narcissa said simply, leaning over to fill the tub.
Hermione rolled her eyes. “Of course one must.” she drawled in her best impersonation of Draco. “One could never be without one’s bathtub. It would be a travesty!”
Narcissa appeared in front of Hermione so quickly Hermione almost thought she had apparated there directly. “I can very easily transfigure my bathtub into a basin of ice water if you’d like to continue mocking me?” Her voice was cool and the feeling of her breath ghosting across Hermione’s lips made the brunette shiver. Not for the first time Hermione felt that Narcissa was all too close for her to handle. She gulped and looked into the pale blue eyes that stared hungrily at her.
“No.” Hermione let out in a husky whisper. “Your bath will be excellent, I’m sure.”
She sensed rather than saw the smirk that graced Narcissa’s face then as the blonde took her hand and pulled her gently to her feet and led her to the bath. “You'll find everything I do is excellent, Ms Granger." Narcissa said, sauntering out of the bathroom.
Hermione’s mouth felt dry as she watched Narcissa leave. She wanted to ask where the woman was going so suddenly and had just opened her mouth to do so when Narcissa's voice floated through from the other room. "Get in before the water gets cold, I'll be back in a moment. I just need to transport half your library!"
“It’s hardly half!” Hermione retorted, slipping out of her clothes and removing her bandages one by one before sliding into the warm, soothing bath Narcissa had drawn. She let out a soft moan of satisfaction as the bubble filled bath got to work on her aching limbs, not noticing Narcissa slip back into the room with a stack of books in her arms until she heard the witch mutter from behind the tomes.
“Apologies, it’s a mere third of your library.” She said with a most un-Narcissa grunt as she placed the books on the floor by the bath. “ Really makes all the difference.”
The blonde witch folded her legs underneath herself and took a seat next to the bathtub on the floor, pulling one of the books toward her with one hand and wordlessly summoning the bottle of Dittany with the other. She flipped the book open and used her teeth to uncork the bottle so that she could tip a few drops into the bath. A warmth spread through Hermione’s body as the Dittany went to work, knitting her various scrapes and cuts back together. She resisted the urge to moan with relief again, knowing full well that the resulting blush would produce another smirk from Narcissa. Instead, she brought a handful of the Dittany infused water to her cheek to deal with the scratch there. Before the water could touch her cheek though Narcissa had reached out and stilled her hand with a quiet “Allow me.”
Narcissa dipped her index finger in the water and slowly drew it along the length of the scratch, watching as smooth pink scar tissue formed over the scratch. Her finger was now at Hermione’s chin, just below slightly parted lips, and the air between them seemed to have become heated, almost charged. She drew herself up onto her knees and pulled Hermione’s face to her with gentle fingers, allowing her lips to just ghost over Hermione’s and no more. It was a hesitant, almost shy, kiss. Like she wasn’t sure Hermione would reciprocate, despite their activities the night before.
At one point, perhaps a month or so ago, Hermione might have found herself hesitating too. Maybe would have remained frozen in place. But now, now she didn’t hesitate at all. She closed the gap between them and kissed Narcissa fully, making sure the woman knew she needn’t worry about her not reciprocating. It was gentle and slow, not leading anywhere in particular, but still enough to get both their hearts beating faster. As they pulled away Hermione noted that the hand that had been cupping bathwater was now cupping the side of Narcissa’s face. The water that had been in her hand having run down Narcissa's neck and soaked into her evergreen top.
“Oh!” she gasped, retracting the hand quickly. “I’m sorry Narcissa, I seem to have gotten you wet!”
The blonde witch quickly looked down, coughed as though clearing her throat, and directed her attention to the stack of books again. “Yes, well, what was it you were looking for in these books?” She said quietly as a faint blush crept up her neck.