Second Chances 4

“This is no big deal. You are simply meeting a new friend for lunch.”Narcissa mumbled to herself as she made her way through Diagon Alley to the restaurant Hermione picked out for them to have lunch at. If Narcissa had any illusion this wasn’t a date it had been silenced when she read the name of the place that Hermione wanted to eat. A Veela restaurant was a very romantic choice and showed exactly what Hermione’s intentions were. The fact that Hermione wanted to date her was still something Narcissa had a hard time believing. Hermione was the most famous person in the wizarding world and could have her pick of any romantic partner she wanted. The fact that she chose Narcissa was surprising. It made Narcissa walk a little taller knowing that Hermione wanted to date her. Noticing the large crowd gathered outside of the restaurant Narcissa was unsure how she was going to get inside. Before she could decide two wizard and two witches dressed as aurors circled her.

“Please stay close Lady Black and we will get you to the front door.”One of the witches said.

“Thank you for you help.”Narcissa wasn’t sure why she was getting help but she appreciated it.

“It’s our pleasure ma’am.”The witch replied.

“Lady Black who are you here to meet?!”A woman in the crowd shouted.

Narcissa just kept her head up high and ignored not only the woman’s questions but the other ones shouted and the sounds of cameras going off. She had plenty of experience with crowds. After her arrest she was hounded everywhere she went. Hermione had been gracious enough to hire bodyguards that escorted her everywhere she went and after a few months only a few people ever bothered anymore. Once she made it inside the restaurant she turned her attention to the guards.”Thank you for your help.”

“Any friend of Lady Granger Lestrange Black is a friend of ours.”The guard told her before she and the other three guards blocked the front door stopping anyone from entering.

Before Narcissa could even wonder what the woman meant by that she was greeted by a very excited blond woman who looked like a younger version of Fleur.”Lady Black welcome to my establishment.”

“It’s a pleasure to be here.”Narcissa said.

“My name is Gabrielle. Hermione sent me to fetch you so you wouldn’t be photographed together if you were uncomfortable with that.”Gabrielle explained. Gabrielle was ecstatic that Hermione chose to have her date at her restaurant because it gave the Veela a front row seat to how everything went. Something that she took great pleasure in bragging about to her mothers, sister and sister in law. All of whom were forbidden from showing up until the date was over.

“That is very kind of her to think of my comfort.”Narcissa was touched that Hermione was letting Narcissa decide how public the date was going to be.

“When it comes to you Hermione would do anything to make you comfortable.”Gabrielle told her.

“I see.”Narcissa wasn’t sure how to respond to that. It was still surprising to find that Hermione cared so much about her.

“Just walk through there and when you’re ready to order tell Hermione to signal me.”Gabrielle said.

“Thank you.”Narcissa took a deep breath and exhaled before walking through the door Gabrielle indicated. Once instead she stopped. It was like she had stepped right into a fairy tale. The room wasn’t a room at all. It was forest complete with trees, a lake and green grass everywhere. Narcissa even saw a rabbit run behind one of the many bushes. If that wasn’t enough there were butterflies and birds everywhere but what caught her attention the most was Hermione standing in front of a gazebo holding a bouquet of flowers dressed in beautiful green robes that brought out the auburn highlights in her hair.

“Hello Lady Black you look lovely as always.”Hermione walked towards Narcissa and held out the flowers.”I got these for you.”

Narcissa took the flowers and noticed that just like the other ones that the bouquet was filled with her favorites.”Thank you and please call me Narcissa.”

“Then you must call me Hermione.”Hermione was happy Narcissa gave her permission to use her first name. It was step in the right direction.

“I must say this place is amazing.”Narcissa said.

“Gabrielle came to me with the idea and together with a few friends were able to create this forest as well as other themed rooms for the restaurant.”Hermione explained.

“You created this?”Narcissa was very surprised to hear that.

“Not alone but the majority of the spell work was my own.”Hermione told her.

“That’s incredible Hermione.”Narcissa smiled seeing Hermione blush at the praise. That blush making Hermione seem more touchable to Narcissa.

“It’s no big deal.”Hermione waved off the praise.”I chose this room because Andy told me you always loved to have picnics with your sisters growing up.”

“I did love to have picnics with my sisters.”Once again Narcissa was touched that Hermione thought about her preferences. It was so at odds with how she had been treated all her life that Narcissa wasn’t sure how to process it. One thing was for sure was even though the date had only just started it was already the best one Narcissa had ever been on.

“I would have gone all out with the blanket and picnic basket but Gabrielle’s mother Apolline said that you being a lady of class deserved better than to sit on the ground to eat.”Apolline had said a lot more than that on the subject but Hermione didn’t think it was important to tell Narcissa.

“For future reference I would have been alright with the blanket and picnic basket.”Narcissa told her.

“I will remember that for future dates.”Hermione quickly caught herself.”I mean if you decide to see me again that is.”

Narcissa held back a smirk seeing how flustered Hermione was.”Let’s see how this date goes first before we start making future plans.”

“Of course. Let’s me escort you to your seat and you can go over the menu.”Hermione held out her arm for Narcissa to take.

Narcissa happily took the arm and walked side by side with Hermione to her seat feeling pleased when Hermione pulled out her chair for her.”Thank you.”

“No problem.”Hermione took her own seat and handed Narcissa a menu.”Is it to early in the day to have some wine?”

“Are you planning to get me drunk and take advantage of me?”Narcissa asked.

“What?…That’s not…”Hermione stuttered out.

Narcissa laughed at the response.”I’m just kidding.”

“Good one Lady Black.”Hermione took Narcissa joking around as another good sign that she might get that second date.

“To answer your question I don’t think it’s too early for wine.”Narcissa said.

“They have some very good fae wine that I think you would like.”Hermione told her.

“They have fae wine?”Fae wine was very rare. So rare in fact that Narcissa had only ever had a single glass and that was by chance as one of the Dark Lord’s followers had gotten a bottle during a raid and it was given to Bellatrix as a gift. Even her parents had never gotten a bottle before as Narcissa had heard her father once complain about a rival who had gotten his hands on some.

Hermione nodded.”I set up a trade deal between the Delacour flock and a few clans of fairies that make the wine. The Delacour flock has exclusive rights to it so they are the only ones you can get it from.”

“You know fairies?”Narcissa asked.

“During my travels I came across a clan. I didn’t realize I was on their territory. They of course attacked me but instead of killing or hurting anyone I simply froze them in place. Noticing I wasn’t there for nefarious purposes they spoke to me and explained that their lands were being taken over by humans. I immediately bought all the land they lived on and a large area around it. I don’t have nature aligned magic like Veela do so I asked the clan elder of the Delacour flock if she would be willing to send some of her flock members to help the fairies rebuild their territory and fix the damage the humans had done. The flock didn’t want anything for the help but the fairies insisted so they set up a deal to get so many bottles of fae wine a year as repayment and a promise they will never give any to anyone else other than members of their flock and myself of course.”Hermione explained.

Narcissa stared at Hermione dumbfounded. She had never heard of any witch or wizard that had ever talked to a fairy. They were notorious for hating humans and always kept to themselves. Not only was Narcissa surprised that they spoke Hermione but that Hermione was able to defeat an entire clan as fairies were deadly when they fought in groups.”You really are the savior of the wizarding world aren’t you?”

“I wouldn’t say that.”Hermione didn’t think she deserved that title. She just did what she thought was right.

Noticing that the praise was making Hermione uncomfortable Narcissa decided to change the subject.”Do you have a recommendation on the best dish to get?”

“It will depend on what you are in the mood for.”Hermione said

“It’s hard to pick.”Narcissa had seen many things she would like to try.

“Would you like to do a tasting menu then?”Hermione suggested.

“Good idea.”Narcissa appreciated that Hermione gave her the choice. When she went out with Lucius he ordered for her and never let her pick what she wanted to eat. He actually never let her pick anything during their courtship and marriage. From the things she wore to who she spent time with were all controlled by the man. Something that Hermione had already proven she would never do when she gave Narcissa full rights to the Black estate and let her do what she wanted. Narcissa even got to pick she where she wanted to live. That being something Lucius would never allow.

“Let me just tell Gabby.”Hermione called forth her patronus without a wand and sent the message to Gabrielle.

“You can summon a patronus without a wand?”Narcissa wasn’t sure if Hermione would stop surprising her and found the idea of a lifetime of surprises from Hermione very appealing.

“It was something I learned while training for the tournament.”Hermione told her.

“I was very impressed with your performance during the tournament. It was obvious after the first task that you were going to win the cup.”Narcissa had been so proud that a muggle born witch had shown everyone that she could accomplish something that had been never done by one before. She had remembered how Lucius and the others had ranted and raved about the contest being rigged and that Hermione had cheated but even the minster who was one of the Dark Lord’s followers confirmed that Hermione won far and square.

“I wish I had never had to compete to begin with.”Hermione had hated every moment of the tournament.

“I heard that Dumbledore entered your name. Why did he do it?”That was one of the many things that had been released to the public about Dumbledore’s actions before and during the war. Narcissa hadn’t paid much attention to it as the other information released had been much more shocking.

“When it was obvious Harry wasn’t going to follow through on the destiny Dumbledore set out for him he needed someone to take Harry’s place. As I was the one who did all the things that Harry had been given credit for he picked me because he knew I was capable enough to carry out Harry’s mission. The tournament was basically my coming out moment. A chance for the public to get a glimpse of their new hero. It’s my belief that if Harry wasn’t such a coward Dumbledore would have put his name in the goblet and forced me to help him win each task.”Hermione had been forced to help Harry all though school up until the tournament. After that she was able to drop Harry and Ronald Weasley as friends and could live her life. Well the life Dumbledore manipulated.

“He really was a horrible person wasn’t he?”Narcissa hadn’t really given much thought about how much Dumbledore screwed up but after talking to Hermione about Bellatrix she had taken a look over everything and realized that the man was responsible for a lot more than Narcissa had realized.

“He wanted glory. Two be known as the greatest wizard since Merlin. The people’s champion. To achieve that he allowed a war to happen and gave no one the skills to fight the threat. I personally think that it was his plan to come in and defeat Tom by himself but when he poisoned himself retrieving the horcrux all his plans were ruined. At the end he was scrambling to save whatever legacy he could have. It was also after he was poisoned that he gave me the mission to destroy all of them. If he hadn’t been on the verge of death I doubt he would have included anyone else.”Hermione didn’t think for a second that Dumbledore would have shared the spotlight with anyone if he was alive when the war was won by the light side.”At least Tom was honest about his intentions.”

“The Dark Lord lied about many things but his intentions were not one of them.”Narcissa knew the man would have done everything he promised if his side had won the war. He had already started following through on his plans before the war even got started.

“I’m honestly surprised that he didn’t interfere with the tournament.”Hermione would have thought that Tom would have used the opportunity to cause some kind of problem.

“I think because the event was being watch by not only many members of the English ministry but the French and Bulgarian ministries as well he couldn’t do anything without being obvious.”Narcissa said.

“That’s true. The fact that the dragons came from a foreign country and the Black Lake creatures followed their own laws and couldn’t be influenced by outsiders probably helped.”Hermione agreed.

“He could have messed with the maze at the end. It would have been hard but that would be the only opportunity for him to do anything.”Narcissa had remembered how she had to physically stop herself from chewing on her nails as she watched Hermione on the magical screens going through the maze. Chewing on her nails being a habit she broke when she was a small child. That’s how nervous and scared she was for Hermione.

“He may have had a loyal following but Tom wasn’t really the smartest advisory. I mean if Dumbledore had actually let his allies talk to each other Tom would have been properly killed after the first war. More than one person knew about the horcruxes and brought the facts to the old man but he hoarded the information for himself and told those that came to him that they shouldn’t tell anyone about them because it was to dangerous for others to know. Dumbledore was also the person who advocated for the Death Eaters to be released on the grounds they were forced by curses to do what they did. He could have easily known that was a lie but he didn’t say anything. That’s why that excuse didn’t work the second time around.”Hermione said.

“It was only because of you it didn’t work.”Narcissa had read the many articles about Hermione’s effort to prove that the Dark Lord’s followers were willing participants in the war. She had came forward with different potions and spells to force someone to tell the truth even if they conditioned themself to be immune to both. Hermione was the reason those who should be punished got punished. It had taken a few years to get through all the trials but in the end the public got their justice and Hermione got even more respect for leading the charge when all the ministry wanted to do was sweep everything under the rug and move on.

“If someone had done what I did after the first war Tom’s people wouldn’t have had a chance to rebuild their ranks. They definitely would have lost most of their funding due to the reparations that the families involved were forced to pay to their victims.”Hermione had made sure that not only were Tom’s people punished physically but financially as well.

“I know that the Malfoys would have lost their standing completely.”Narcissa had felt bad for Draco because after the lawsuits the Malfoy family were left with very little gold and only a couple of houses. If it wasn’t for her access to the Black estate Narcissa and her son would have been close to destitute as Narcissa never had a job in her life and Draco hadn’t graduated school and neither had any job skills.

“I sometimes feel bad for the younger generation of pure bloods but then I’m reminded of how their privilege shaped the previous generations and I think to myself that maybe having to struggle would be good for them.”Hermione said.

"It was nice of you to set up the scholarship fund for most of the children to be able to afford to continue their educations at Hogwarts.”Narcissa had been impressed with Hermione when she found out that the young witch personally funded the education of not only the poorer students but the pure blood children whose fortunes were seized after the war. Narcissa knew that no one else would have even cared if the pure blood children got any help but Hermione didn’t discriminate. She was the champion of the people it didn’t matter where you came from.

“Every child deserves a chance to succeed. It doesn’t matter who their parents are or how much gold they have in their vaults. If I can help them reach their full potential then I have an obligation to step up. The next generation of graduates from Hogwarts is going to shape the future of wizarding Britain. I want them to be well informed and mentally prepared to make the right decisions on what they want that future to look like.”Hermione told her.

“That’s admirable.”Hearing the passion in Hermione’s voice during her mini speech made Narcissa understand what people meant when they said that hearing Hermione speak was like a religious experience. Narcissa felt overcome with the need to be involved. She wanted to help Hermione in her mission to save the world because hearing her talk Narcissa knew that Hermione was going to do it even if she had to do it by herself fighting every step of the way.

Hermione shrugged.”I don’t know about that. I just don’t want the past to repeat itself. If someone like me was there to help Bellatrix then she could have achieved so much good with her brilliant mind. That’s why I’m doing all this. I want to save the future brightest witches of their ages from walking down a dark path. If someone had righted the wrongs done to you and your sisters the war would have never happened. Bellatrix was the one who taught Tom about horcruxes and planned many of his missions. It was her brains that led Tom’s side not his. She deserves to be remembered for her genius even if I’m the only one willing to give her any credit.”

“You’re very passionate about my sister.”Narcissa couldn’t quite figure out how Hermione felt about Bellatrix. Logically Hermione should hate the eldest Black sister for what she did to Hermione but Hermione had always spoken about her respectfully. It didn’t make sense.

“Bellatrix’s life and death was the greatest tragedy of the entire war. Her life and mine were very much the same except we were on different sides. Both of us were exploited for our background and genius by powerful men who wanted to rule the world. If Tom had won instead of us Bellatrix would be known as the savior of the wizarding world and would probably be in the running to be minster of magic.”Hermione told her.

Narcissa thought that over for a minute. Pulling from her knowledge of how both sides operated she realized Hermione was right. If the Dark Lord had won Bellatrix would have been showered with praise and loved by the public. Narcissa could easily see the Dark Lord putting her in the role of minister. It made Narcissa’s heart ache thinking of the life Bellatrix had missed out on. Narcissa also felt guilty because she had long ago felt nothing but hatred for who her sister was. It was her talk with Hermione at the ball that had her reevaluate her opinion of the Dark Lord’s right hand and hearing what Hermione just said was like a slap in the face. Hermione was right Bellatrix’s life and death really was the biggest tragedy of the war. Hermione’s life was a glimpse of what could have happened if Bellatrix had been saved. The two together would have changed the world. Narcissa felt silly feeling somewhat jealous of the relationship that the pair could have had if Bellatrix had gotten a chance to choose what she wanted out of life. Before she could examine that jealousy to deeply Gabrielle walked though the door carrying a tray filled with different plates of food and a bottle of wine.

“Here you go.”Gabrielle looked at the pair and couldn’t quite tell how the date was going. Even though she knew Hermione wouldn’t like it she couldn’t help but let her thrall blanket both woman. Ignoring the glare Hermione was giving her Gabrielle focused her thrall on Narcissa not understanding why she was feeling sadness and jealousy. She didn’t think Hermione would do anything to make Narcissa feel either and she was dying to ask what they were talking about.

“Thank you Gabby.”Hermione was not happy about Gabrielle using her thrall and was planning on speaking to the young Veela when she got a chance.

“Of course. Is there anything else I can get you?”Gabrielle asked. She wanted to help Hermione salvage her date but didn’t know how. Maybe she would have to reach out to her mothers after all. This might be a situation that only they could help with.

“No we are fine thank you.”Narcissa said.

“Let me know if you think of anything.”Gabrielle turned her attention to Hermione and was unsurprised when her friend made a shooing motion with her hand. Gabrielle was going to help Hermione fix this. Even if Hermione didn’t want her to.

Hermione waited for Gabrielle to leave before speaking.”So tell me about yourself.”

“There isn’t much to tell.”Narcissa had dreaded that question as she didn’t have a very good answer.

“I’m sure that’s not true. Tell me about your business.”Hermione knew that Narcissa’s life was very interesting. She had heard stories from others about it.

“It’s just a small shop. It’s nothing impressive.”Narcissa told her.

“Don’t put yourself down. I know for a fact that you are the most sought after potionier in Britain. I also know about the vaccine you created to prevent dragon pox.”Hermione reached out and took Narcissa’s hand in her own and waited until Narcissa looked her in the eye to speak.”Narcissa Black I find everything about you impressive.”

Narcissa wanted to brush off the compliment but the absolute sincerity in which Hermione spoke and the honesty shining in her eyes made Narcissa believe that Hermione truly did find everything about her impressive. She wasn’t sure what she had done to gain such adoration from the exceptional woman but it make her feel special.”Thank you.”

“I assure you finding you impressive is no hardship. Now tell me about your business.”Hermione pulled the cork off the wine bottle and poured a glass for both herself and Narcissa.

“What would you like to know?”Narcissa took a sip of the wine finding it better than the glass she had all those years ago.

“What are you working on right now?”Hermione asked.

“I have been trying to figure out the right recipe to create a potion to cure the long term effects of mange.”Narcissa told her.

Hermione smiled at the excitement that came over Narcissa’s face talking about her work.”How is that going?”

“I’m on my third trial and I think I may finally be on there right track. I’m waiting for a shipment of a rare plant from Indonesia to continue my experiments.”Narcissa said.

“If you need me to call in a favor to get any ingredients in the future let me know. I doubt there is anything I can’t get my hands on.”Hermione would do anything she could to help Narcissa even if she had to walk through miles of desert by herself to collect a plant.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”Narcissa liked the fact that Hermione was genuinely interested in her work and wanted to support her. No one else in her life except for Andromeda did and she was obligated being her sister and all.

Hermione piled some food on her plate.“How do you like living at the beach house?”

“I like it a lot. It’s very peaceful. Thank you for letting me build the greenhouses. They have helped greatly with my potions.”Narcissa took a bite of her food and was very impressed with how good it tasted.

“You don’t have to thank me for anything Narcissa. I would give you the world if you asked for it.”Hermione told her.

“Why?”Narcissa couldn’t help to ask the question that had been bugging her since they danced at the ball.”Why would you do anything for me?”

”Do you want the long answer or the short answer?”Hermione asked.

“I want the short answer first then the long answer.”Narcissa said.

“The short answer is because I am madly in love with you and I have been since the first time I saw you.”Hermione wasn’t ashamed to admit it either.

“You’re in love with me?”Narcissa hadn’t expected Hermione to say that.”You don’t even know me.”

“That was the short answer. Do you want to hear the long answer now?”Hermione wasn’t surprised by Narcissa’s shock. She would be shocked as well if she was in Narcissa’s position.

“Yes I would.”Narcissa wanted to know how Hermione came to the conclusion she was in love Narcissa before Narcissa got her hopes up. Narcissa had been in love Hermione ever since she saw her defeat that dragon all those years ago. It had grown from there. Narcissa just couldn’t believe that Hermione felt the same. No matter how much Andromeda tried to tell her otherwise.

“Initially it was simply a school girl crush. I thought you were so beautiful and just wanted to know everything about you. I would ask around and spent a lot of time ease dropping on Draco’s conversations just on the off chance he would mention you. Like I said it was a crush.”Hermione shook her head thinking about how silly she had been when she first went to Hogwarts.”I was so jealous every time Draco mentioned his father because he was so highly thought of in the wizarding world and I was nothing but a muggle born. It made me want to make something of myself so I could be just as worthy of you.”

“You were jealous of Lucius?”Narcissa asked.

Hermione chuckled.”Terribly jealous. It was that jealousy that led to me losing my temper and punching your son.”

“That was why you punched Draco?”Narcissa had always assumed that Hermione punched him because he insulted her.

“He had just gotten into a fight with a Hufflepuff and was going on and on about how he was going tell his father and how great Lucius was. Hearing that something in me snapped and before I knew what I was doing my fist connected with his face.”Hermione was still embarrassed by her actions.”I got a month’s worth of weekend detentions for it. I got let off easy though because Prof. McGonagall had me spend them with Hagrid instead of Finch.”

“I remember how pissed Lucius was when he found out. I think he even complained to minister trying to get you expelled.”Narcissa had thought the whole things was funny and figured if Hermione was the one punch him that Draco probably deserved it.

“After I did that I realized that I was a little too attached to you. I tried to date a few girls but the relationships went nowhere. I didn’t understand why that was until after the first task when I made eye contact with you after I got the egg. I don’t know if I was imagining it or not but I could have sworn you looked proud of me.”Hermione said.

“I was proud of you.”Narcissa admitted.”There you were overcoming great odds to achieve something that everyone didn’t believe you could do. I remember thinking here is this young girl with everything and everyone against her and she is accomplishing great feats. I was in awe of you.”

“Well it was your pride that not only made me want to win the tournament but it made me realize that the reason my relationships didn’t work out was because my crush never went away. I didn’t want to be with anyone but you. No one else could ever compare. That’s why I worked so hard to win when initially I was going to do the bare minimum to complete the tasks so I didn’t lose my magic. I wanted to see that pride again when I was holding the cup over my head.”Hermione told her.

“I was so nervous for you when you were in the maze. Actually I think I was nervous for you every task and when you showed up in the front of the maze holding the cup I had to stop myself from cheering along with the rest of the crowd.”Narcissa had started clapping before she caught herself after a few seconds. Luckily Lucius was to busy complaining to have noticed.

“After the tournament I had talked with Andy and Sirius quite a bit about your childhood and your marriage to Lucius and I vowed that I would do everything in my power to get you out of your marriage and help you live the life you always wanted to live. When I went off on my own to hunt the horcruxes it was what kept me going. Knowing it I failed not only would Tom win but I wouldn’t be able to save you. Even when I was being tortured by Bellatrix I wasn’t angry at you for not helping me I felt angry because I couldn’t protect you from watching the horrors Bellatrix inflicted on me. Seeing you struggle so hard to keep your composure and seeing the anguish and despair in your eyes gave me the strength to fight off Bellatrix’s attack. I couldn’t give in no matter how much I wanted to because if I did I couldn’t save you.”Hermione took a sip of you wine to gain control of her emotions as remembering how helpless Narcissa had looked when Hermione was brought before Bellatrix.

“All that time you thought of me? Even when you were being violated by my sister?”Out of everything she had heard about and from Hermione herself Narcissa thought this was the most shocking. To hear that Narcissa actually gave her strength during one of the most vicious and violent acts she had seen her sister commit was unbelievable. Narcissa had harbored a lot of shame and guilt for her inaction during that incident. An incident that was featured in Narcissa’s many nightmares. Finding out that Hermione hadn’t been worried about herself but about Narcissa was mind blowing.

“Out of the two of us you were in a worse position. I knew that I would eventually get away. You on the other hand were stuck with Tom and his people with no way out. The only reason I didn’t try to take you with me when Dobby came was because I knew you would never leave Draco.”Hermione wanted to take Narcissa more than anything but Draco was her number one priority and Hermione knew she wouldn’t leave him behind.

“You’re right I wouldn’t have left him.”Narcissa would never have left without her son even if staying meant missing out on being free.

“That’s why I didn’t even try.”Hermione said.

“Thank you for not making me leave him.”Narcissa fully believed if Hermione wanted to she could have easily taken Narcissa with her.

“I would never put you in a position where you would have to choose between me or your son. Draco is and always will be your number one priority and I would never do anything to jeopardize that. Even if it meant that I had to stop pursuing you.”Hermione told her.

“I’m glad you realize that.”Narcissa wouldn’t let anything come between she and her son and was happy Hermione wouldn’t try to do it.

“After the war was over I held off on contacting you personally because I didn’t want to overwhelm you. I wanted you to have a chance to live your life and have your freedom. I also wasn’t quite where I felt I needed to be in my life to be worthy enough for you. I was going to wait to speak to you when I became minister of magic but when I saw you across the ball room in that beautiful gown I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. So I threw out the plan I had made on my first train ride to Hogwarts and approached you before I was in a place that I felt I would worthy enough for you.”Hermione wasn’t sure what the blank expression on Narcissa’s face meant and it made her nervous.”I ruined everything haven’t I? You think I’m some crazy person who is obsessed with you.”

Narcissa shook her head.”I don’t think you are a crazy person and you haven’t ruined anything. It’s just hard to believe that all this time I have been pining after you thinking I wasn’t worthy enough to reach out to you, you have been pining after me thinking the exact same thing.”

“You have been pining for me?”Hermione was very surprised to hear that. She had honestly expected after she finished her story that Narcissa would toss her wine in her face and storm out.

“Ever since I saw you defeat that dragon I was drawn to you. With ever interaction that interest grew. After the war I followed everything you did in the papers and listened with rapture every time someone would speak about you. I just always thought I had nothing to offer you. That’s why I never reached out. I didn’t think I was worth you wasting your time on.”Narcissa told her.

“Anytime spent with you is never a waste.”Hermione didn’t care what they did she would cherish any time spent with Narcissa.

“Sweet talker.”Narcissa teased.

“Does this mean I get that second date?”Hermione asked.

”Yes this means you get a second date.”Narcissa smiled at the pure joy that spread across Hermione’s face.

Hermione sighed.”That’s such a relief. I was honestly sure that my confession would send you screaming out of the room.”

“I thought your confession was very sweet.”Narcissa was somewhat overwhelmed with Hermione’s confession but overwhelmed in a good way. It made her understand why Hermione was so interested in her and made her feel secure with her own feelings.

“Speaking of sweet would care for dessert?”Hermione asked.

“I’m afraid I can’t. I have an appointment with a customer at the shop.”Narcissa wished she had canceled so that she could spend more time with Hermione.

“I can’t say I’m not disappointed but you are a busy business owner so I will not complain.”Hermione would have liked to spend more time with Narcissa but understood that the woman was busy.

“Thank you.”Narcissa was pleased the Hermione didn’t demand that she skip her appointment to spend time with her. That would have been something Lucius would have done. Narcissa just had to keep reminding herself that Hermione was not Lucius nor would she ever be.

“Then how about you leave first so that the public doesn’t see us leave together. I don’t want them to hound you.”Hermione would be proud to have Narcissa officially linked to her but didn’t want to disturb the woman’s life.

“I appreciate that.”Narcissa wasn’t against being seen with Hermione she just wanted to be prepared for the attention before the went out in public.

Hermione stood up from her chair and waited for Narcissa to do the same holding her arm out for the other witch.”Let me at least walk you to the door.”

“That would be lovely.”Narcissa took Hermione’s arm and walked beside her stopping at the door.

“I want to thank you for such a lovely meal and even more lovely company.”Hermione took Narcissa’s hand in her own and kiss her knuckles.”I will send you an owl about that second date.”

“I will be anxiously awaiting to hear from you.”Narcissa replied before quickly leaving the room. She needed to get out of there before she did something impulsive like kissing Hermione on the lips.

“How was your meal?”Gabrielle asked upon seeing Narcissa leave the forest room.

“It was very good.”Narcissa told her.

“I’m happy to hear it.”Gabrielle unfolded her thrall and blanketed Narcissa with it again. The Veela was very happily to feel nothing but love and joy coming from the older woman. It seemed that Hermione hadn’t needed help after all.”Come back anytime time you want and bring a friend. Not everyone comes here for a date. Some just come to enjoy the rooms.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”Narcissa replied as she made her way to the door. The crowd was just as big but it was easy to slip out without too much attention. There was a question or two yelled out to her but she ignored them. The people wanted a glimpse of Hermione not her. At least not yet. Once she and Hermione became an official couple the public would give her just as much attention. Narcissa stopped suddenly when she realized where her thoughts had been. She was already planning on being in an official relationship with Hermione. The idea of being the one to claim Hermione was exciting and Narcissa found she liked the thought of it very much. It was obvious that Hermione was planning a future for them so it wasn’t like Narcissa was getting ahead of herself. Plus it was finally time for her to grab on to a bit of happiness and she knew deep down that Hermione would make her happy. The other woman already did and Hermione barely put in any effort. It made Narcissa do something out of character for her. That being looking forward to the future because a future with Hermione by her side was definitely worth looking forward to.