Chapter Text
Hermione
Hermione set her coffee cup down and unlocked her iPad. She lived for the first sip of coffee in the morning. Hermione was a morning person, always had been. But there was something about that first sip that she needed, no craved , to get her day started. Hermione’s mornings were ritualistic.
4:45 Wake up
Check.
5:00 Brush teeth, change
Check.
5:15 Work out
Check.
6:00 Shower, skin care, hair, and makeup
Check.
6:30 Get dressed for work
Check.
6:45 Drink coffee and read the news
In progress.
7:30 Walk to her tube station
8:00 Arrive at work
She quickly flipped through her usual news outlets until something caught her eye. She clicked on the link and it led her to the Daily Express website. Right there in flashy font: Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy Finalise Divorce. Notorious Black Sisters Enjoy Night on the Town
Hermione hated tabloid gossip. She found it a waste of time, often inaccurate, and usually involved hurt feelings. Still, she couldn’t help but read all about how the enigmatic founder of the law firm Hermione herself worked for, Black & Associates, had finalised the divorce from her husband of 20 years just last week.
Narcissa Malfoy (née, Black), 41, filed for divorce from her husband, Lucius Malfoy, 52, in August. While sources close to the Malfoys insist that the pair are making an effort to keep their divorce quiet, Narcissa appears to be going a different route. Just last night, Thursday, September 14th, Narcrissa was seen in Soho with her sisters and business partners, Bellatrix Black and Andromeda Tonks (née, Black). The trio seems to have been having a wild night and were reported by onlookers to be crudely toasting to Narcissa’s separation from the Malfoy patriarch.
Readers will remember that the infamous Black sisters as London-born and raised socialites officially went into business together 15 years ago in 2008 after Narcissa Malfoy officially severed ties with her father’s law firm, Nebula and Riddle, the same firm her ex-husband is still partnered to this day. Black & Associates quickly took the European law community by storm, building a client base that rivals top firms across the continent.
The rest of the article discussed the history of Black & Associates, highlighting a few particularly flashy celebrities they had represented in recent years before devolving into even less substantial conjecture about why the pair were separating after so long together. The article speculated everything from professional rivalry to Narcissa’s possible unfaithfulness. Hermione scoffed. Of course they would assume Narcissa had been unfaithful but make no such comment about Lucius. Typical sexist rubbish.
There was a photo mid-way through the article that caught Hermione’s attention. The three Black sisters walked out of a bar, arm in arm. Bellatrix on the left, Narcissa in the middle, and Andy on the right.
Bellatrix was wearing a tight black dress that revealed far too much cleavage to ever be considered appropriate. Her arms were covered in an expensive looking leather jacket and a smirk was plastered across her lips. Her hair, wild as ever, was in black ringlets, carelessly yet flawlessly tossed over her right shoulder. At nearly 50 years old, the eldest of the Black sisters still looked incredible.
Narcissa was wearing a blue dress, made of silk or satin, Hermione couldn’t tell from the photo. But if she were a betting woman, she would guess silk. Hermione had never seen the woman in anything but the most fashionable trends and they always looked like they cost more than Hermione’s university tuition. She was taking a step in the photo and Hermione was drawn to the expanse of toned porcelain that was her leg. Hermione didn’t often work with Narcissa, but she was confident the woman had never worn anything that short to the office before. She looked fabulous with her long blonde hair trailing down her shoulders. She almost always wore it in various intricate updos to the office. It was nice, Hermione thought, to see it flowing down. Free .
Andy was wearing a deep red dress, slightly longer than her sisters, but no more modest overall. It had a deep plunging neckline and skinny straps. Her brown hair, slightly below shoulder-length, was styled in soft curls. Hermione could tell from the way the shot had caught her at an angle that the back of the dress was nonexistent, probably down to the waist of the middle sister.
She knew Andromeda the best out of the three sisters. Andy, as she preferred to be called by friends and family. Just before starting her first term at Oxford Law, Hermione had been looking for a new place to live after a nasty breakup with her ex-girlfriend and found a ‘roommate wanted’ sign posted on campus. She called the number, met Dora for coffee the next day, and the rest is history. Dora and Hermione lived together for their first two years at Oxford Law. Andy, who happened to be Dora’s mum, unofficially adopted Hermione into their family when she found out Hermione had been orphaned at 16 after her parents had been in a tragic car accident on holiday in Australia. Hermione regularly spent weekends and holidays at Dora’s parents, Andy and her husband Ted, house when they were in law school.
They only lived together officially for the first two years. After that, Dora dropped out of law school to pursue her passion of music. Dora moved to central London, where her band regularly played. She was the drummer and had become quite locally successful. She was extremely talented and Hermione was proud of her friend.
Hermone had spent her last two of her summers in law school interning for Black & Associates. Upon graduating, she became a full time associate at the firm and moved to London reuniting with her friend, though they didn’t live in the same flat anymore. Hermione often went to Dora’s gigs and loved being in the same city as her friend again.
When Hermione had first started as an associate at Black & Associates, she did a month-long rotation with each of the three sisters, as they were all co-founders at the firm. Andy and Narcissa were both partnered lawyers and Bellatrix was the Chief Financial Officer, heading up that side of the business. For the business’ impact, it really was a relatively small team. Andy and Narcissa were still the only partners. They had about twenty or so other lawyers working under them, a handful of administrative workers, paralegals, and accountants, and a small marketing/public relations team, one or two hosted interns each summer, and that was that. Black & Associates was a lean team competing with firms that had hundreds of employees.
Hermione completed her first rotation with Andy, the woman who had become like a protective big sister to her over the past few years. She would say Andy was like a mother to her, but Andy was less than 20 years older than her, having had Dora when she was only seventeen. How the woman had gotten through an elite university undergraduate and law degrees with a toddler, Hermione will never know, but she has immense respect for her. Andy showed her the ropes of the business, introduced her to professional life, and took her under her wing at the firm. Andy taught her the tricks of the trade and helped her launch her career. Hermione ultimately joined Andy’s team. But before she did, she had her rotations with Bellatrix and Narcissa.
Bellatrix was all fire. The woman was brilliant, there was no doubt about that, but she was also famous for her temper. She reminded Hermione of a snake who would squeeze and squeeze her prey until she got what she wanted. And she got what she wanted. Every time. Working under her, Hermione understood why the company was so successful. She was a shrewd business woman. Like Hermione, she received her undergraduate degree from Cambridge University. Hermione had heard through the grapevine that the woman was accepted into law school, but dropped out after only one term. Hermione had always been curious as to why she withdrew from the course, but it seems she found her perfect fit as CFO of Black & Associates. Regardless, the woman was beyond impressive, sealing deals for the company that skyrocketed their revenue year after year.
Where Bellatrix was fire, Narcissa was ice, both in the blonde shade of her hair and her personality. She was like a winter storm slowly freezing over a lake, creating a beautiful, crystalline and solid surface. Smooth, strong, but with the sense that one crack could pull you below and throw you at the mercy of the icy waters. The sheer intensity of her disposition was heady. The woman had a quiet leadership style and often didn’t speak in meetings, but Hermione had no doubt there was a whirlwind of emotions going on just below her carefully placed features that she only revealed to a privileged few. Hermione enjoyed working under Narcissa. She wasn’t as direct with her teaching as Andy had been, but Hermione still felt she learned a lot from the quiet confidence of the youngest Black sister. If Bellatrix and Andy were brilliant, Narcissa was a genius. Much like Hermione, she had an aptitude for catching minute details, following near impossible patterns, and thoughtfully using logic to tackle challenges. Hermione deeply admired the woman.
That was nearly seven years ago now. Hermione continued under Andy at Black & Associates and was quickly rising the ranks as a senior associate. Turning 31 this month, Hermione was hopeful that she would soon earn her status as the third partner at the firm. She was supposed to be up for review within the year and she wanted nothing more in her career than to become a junior partner at the firm she had grown to love. Not only had her career been incredibly financially fruitful, she felt she had a relatively good work-life balance compared to many of her former classmates. She enjoyed her work and often got to take on pro bono work with local charities. And to top it all off, working for a woman who had grown from mentor to close friend over the years made her often long days at the office genuinely fun.
She had grown closer to Bellatrix and Narcissa over the years as well, often seeing them outside the office at Dora’s performances or Andy and Ted’s house for holidays. She still wasn’t as close with them as Andy, but Hermione had a comfortable relationship with both of the other Black sisters. Though she hadn’t known Narcissa was getting a divorce. She felt badly that the woman’s personal life was being discussed in the tabloids, but she couldn’t help but smile at the thought of never having to speak to Lucius Malfoy at an office holiday party ever again. Hermione was always polite, but she didn’t like the man. He was smug, pompous, and often made backhanded comments to Hermione about her clothes, upbringing, work cases, or whatever other thing he found inferior about her.
A buzzing drew her from her thoughts and she smiled when she saw Dora’s name pop up on her phone. She looked at her watch and answered her phone, “who died?”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s 7:17. I didn’t think you were capable of getting up before noon, so someone must have died.”
“Oh go fuck yourself, Granger.”
“Can’t. Don’t have time before I have to leave for work. But thank you for the suggestion, Nymphadora.”
“You’re lucky I’m in such a good mood, otherwise I’d chew your head off for calling me that. It’s Dora. Or Tonks.” She continued in a mischievous tone, “or, the most recent lay of Hot Hair Guy.”
Hermione gasped dramatically into the phone, “oh my god! You finally shagged Hot Hair Guy?”
Dora laughed. “Yep! He showed up to our gig last night and we made eyes all night. I’m walking home from his now. He had work. He’s an accountant, would you believe?”
“How very normal of you,” Hermione teased.
“I know! Can you believe it? Dora Tonks: sleeping with a normal .”
“Hey, he already sounds better than the last guy. The guy with the belly button piercing and the weird toe. And the guy before that with the pet snake. And the guy before that who-”
Dora cut her off, “point taken!” A moment passed before she continued, “soooo I wanted to talk to you about tonight.”
“No! No, Dora!”
Dora rushed out the next sentence, “I’m going to have to bail, but you’ll be all right!”
“Dora, no! Your mother has been planning this movie night for a month ! You will not leave me unattended with her!”
“But my mother loves you! She won’t be mad.”
“Dora. It’s not about her loving me or not. It’s about the fact that she specifically planned tonight because she’s been missing the ‘good old days’ when we were in school and would come home for the weekend and stay up all night gossiping about our classmates and watching terrible rom-coms. You cannot bail!”
“I’ll make it up to her, I promise. But Hot Hair Guy wants to take me on a date tonight. Like, a real date. And I reeeaalllly want to go.”
Hermione huffed and acquiesced, “fine.”
Dora squealed, “thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“But you’re telling Andy.”
Dora made white noise into the phone with her mouth and said, “I can’t hear you! I’m going through a tunnel! Talk to you-” and then hung up the phone.
Hermione rolled her eyes and packed her bag. Grabbing her phone, keys, wallet, and work bag, she left her apartment and began her commute to work.
••
Hermione knocked on Andy’s door for their weekly lunch. They often had lunch more than once a week, but Fridays were their designated lunch-date day.
“Come in,” Hermione heard Andy call from her office. She swung the door open, revealing the huge corner office on the 59th level of their building. It had floor to ceiling windows overlooking downtown London. Their company wasn’t large enough to occupy an entire building in the city hotspot, but they rented out the top three levels of a large skyscraper. Narcissa’s office and staff operated out of level 58, Andy’s out of level 59, and Bellatrix’s from level 60. Hermione recalled Bellatrix once joking that they chose the office arrangements by sibling seniority.
Hermione greeted her friend/boss, “Andy, having a good day?”
“I was until I found out Dora won’t be attending my movie night tonight.”
Hermione laughed and asked, “and did she tell you why she’ll be missing?”
“Yes, something to do with a date,” Andy said coyly. She shifted in her chair and said, “you’ll still come over though, right? Ted’s making his ratatouille and I know he’s preparing too much.”
“Sure, I’d love to. Can I bring anything?”
“No, just yourself.”
“Sounds perfect. What do you want for lunch?”
“Hmm… sushi?”
“Sure,” Hermione said.
Andy picked up her phone to ring her assistant. “Hey, Nat. Could you order sushi for me and Hermione? Yep, the usual. Thanks!” She hung up. “Should be here soon. Now, let’s talk about the Grunnings account.”
••
An hour and several rolls of sushi later, Hermione and Andy were both sitting on the floor of Andy’s office with case papers sprawled out around them. Two sharp knocks on the door disrupted their work-flow.
Andy called out, “yes?”
“Remind me never to go out with you and Bella again. God I still have heada-” Narcissa Malfoy cleared her throat when she saw Andy wasn’t alone. “Miss Granger,” she greeted.
Andy snorted, “Miss Granger?”
“Hermione,” she corrected herself. “Apologies,” Narcissa said stiffly, “I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be in here. You took me by surprise.”
“Hi Narcissa,” Hermione greeted. She collected her papers, stood up, and said, “I’ll give you two some privacy.”
“Please, don’t leave on my account,” Narcissa said politely. She began searching the drawers of Andy’s desk.
“No, it’s okay. I’ve got a meeting in 30 I should prep for anyway.”
“Top right drawer, Cissa,” Andy said to her sister. Narcissa pulled out a packet of paracetamol and swallowed two without water. Andy turned back to Hermione, “have a good afternoon. I’ll see you later.”
“See you,” she said as she left the office, returning to her day.
••
Narcissa
The door shut behind Hermione and Narcissa rubbed her temples. She spoke to her sister, “perfect. Now I have a raging hangover and I’ve embarrassed myself in front of one of our associates.”
Andy laughed, “please, Hermione isn’t just any associate. She’s basically family.”
“Perhaps to you,” Narcissa argued.
“Right. And we’re family,” Andy said gesturing between herself and her sister, “which makes you like family. Plus, it’s not like she’s some loud-mouthed intern. She’ll make partner soon enough.”
“We haven’t voted on that officially,” Narcissa reminded her.
Andy rolls her eyes, “obviously. But we need another and no one else at the firm is as worthy as Hermione. She’s still young, but she’s earned it.”
Of course, her sister was right. Hermione was more than worthy of the title they were soon to promote her to. Out of arguments, Narcissa snapped, “well I still have this bloody headache. And Draco blew me off this morning. I’m not exactly having a good day.”
Andy inhaled dramatically and clutched at her chest. “Your perfect son missed your standing Friday morning coffee date one time? Whatever will you do?” Narcissa’s glare could have frozen hell over. Andy conceded, “sorry, sorry. I know things have been… difficult between the two of you lately.”
Narcissa scoffed, “difficult? Andy, he’s absolutely devastated about me and Lucius. And he’s taking it out on me.” She sat down on the sofa in Andy’s office, resting her head in her hands.
Andy slowly approached her little sister, sat down and placed a careful hand on her shoulder. “Cissy, he’ll come around.” Andy only called her ‘Cissy’ when she was being soft. To Bella, she was always Cissy. To Andy, Cissa unless her middle sister was feeling the need to baby her. Cissy had been her childhood nickname before she began insisting on Narcissa or sometimes Cissa, if you’d earned the right to use the shorthand.
In a voice that came out more vulnerable than she cared to admit, Narcissa admitted her greatest fear to her sister. “Andy, what if he hates me for this? What if he never gets over it? Am I a terrible mother?”
Andy grabbed Narcissa’s shoulders, forcing the younger woman to look at her. “Cissy, look at me. You are not. A bad. Mother. You’ve devoted your life to that boy. You’ve given him everything. For Christ's sake, you only stayed with Lucius until now so he wouldn’t have to grow up in a broken home. But he’s 18. He’s an adult and at uni now, probably having the time of his life. Yeah, maybe he’s having some feelings about his parents getting divorced. He’ll survive. Give him some space. He’ll be fine. You’re one of the best mothers I know. You’ve poured your heart and soul into Draco. Now it’s time for you to take care of yourself.”
If Narcissa Black was a weaker person, she’d have shed a few tears at her sister’s kind words. But she wasn’t. She blinked away her emotions, straightened up and said, “you’re right. I’m being silly.”
Narcissa knew it was frightening how quickly she could mask her emotions. She intentionally placed the carefully crafted, passive look on her face and silently thanked god when Andy didn’t push. Andy knew her sister, and while a part of Narcissa was loath to admit anyone could read her so well, she was grateful her middle sister let the subject drop. Andy respected her need to avoid the emotional moment by asking, “why don’t you come round mine tonight? Ted is making ratatouille. We’ll eat delicious food, drink wine, and watch a movie.” Narcissa winced at the mention of wine but nodded her acceptance.
••
At 7pm on the dot, Narcissa clicked the lock on her BMW XM and strided up the short path to knock on the front door of Andy’s house. Andy lived in a beautiful Georgian-style home in Richmond, claiming she preferred the quiet district over the convenience of central London.
Ted opened the door. He was wearing a frilly pink and white striped apron and Narcissa had to suppress a laugh at the sight of her brother-in-law, who towered over 6 feet. “Cissa, welcome, come in,” he greeted.
“Hello, Theodore,” she greeted, rising up on her tiptoes to give him an airy kiss on the cheek. As they walked to the back of the house, where the open floor plan kitchen and living room were located. Entering the space, she saw her sister wearing a similar apron, stirring something on the stove, but she wasn’t alone. Hermione Granger was sitting on a stool at the marble island twirling a glass of white wine between her long delicate fingers. The younger woman was sitting more casually than Narcissa could ever remember having sat herself. The brunette’s right leg was bent at the knee and tucked under the thigh of her other. She was wearing black LuluLemon leggings that hugged her slender but muscular frame. She had on a cropped Cambridge sweatshirt that revealed a thin band of tan midriff and her hair was tied in a messy bun on the top of her head. Narcissa was caught off guard by seeing how relaxed her colleague looked in her sister’s kitchen. God, she looks…
She’d seen Hermione outside of the office before, of course, at family gatherings or holidays hosted at Andy’s house, her niece Dora’s band’s performances, even once at a professional conference. But she’d never seen her so… dressed down. She looked nice without makeup, her youthful tan skin splattered with small freckles on her nose. The odd strand of hair escaped her messy bun, framing her face. She’d never seen the brunette like this before and Narcissa had to stop herself from staring.
Andy greeted her by calling over, “you’d better be wearing something more comfortable under your coat since I specifically told you we’re having a movie night, Cissa.”
If Narcissa was a woman who was easily embarrassed, her cheeks might have coloured slightly, as the way Andy said ‘something more comfortable’ made her mind indecently conjure images of her revealing lingerie under her trench to Hermione. But she wasn’t, so they didn’t. She brushed off the thought, chucking up the stray thought to a long week at the office and removed her Burberry coat to reveal a matching navy blue Derek Rose lounge set.
“Jesus, Cissa, I said casual,” Andy called from the stove.
Narcissa looked down and furrowed her brow. “This is casual.”
“Casual? You call that casual? Good god, woman, you’re wearing £1500 of cashmere,” Andy teased disbelievingly.
Hermione interjected, “well I think you look nice, Narcissa,” and shot Andy an incredulous look.
Narcissa couldn’t explain why, but Hermione’s comment and playful defence made her stomach do a slight flip. Christ, what is going on with me tonight?
Hermione spoke again. She gestured to the wine bottle and asked, “would you like a glass?”
“Please,” Narcissa replied instantly.
Andy handed Hermione another wine glass and Hermione poured her a hefty amount of the Chardonnay she seemed to be working on. She pulled out the stool to her left slightly and held out the glass. Narcissa sat in the seat next to her and took two big sips in a row, hoping to calm her nerves. I’m just feeling weird because I didn’t know Hermione would be here. I like plans. I didn’t know the plan.
Small talk went smoothly, the Chardonnay effectively relaxing her. Dinner was delicious. She complimented the chef, “dinner was divine, Theodore. You really do have such an aptitude for the culinary arts,” which earned her a snort from Andy, which earned Andy an elbow in the side from Hermione. As the four sat around Andy’s kitchen table eating and enjoying casual conversation, Narcissa learned Dora was initially supposed to attend the evening as well, which explained Hermione’s presence. Not that it was unusual for Andy and Hermione to spend time together without Dora. Since Hermione had been working at their firm, the pair had grown even closer, which was impressive considering Andy thought of Hermione like another daughter long before the younger woman stepped foot in their office.
Andy and Ted cleaned up from dinner, instructing Narcissa and Hermione to head to the adjoining living room to get settled. “And stay away from my spot. After the week I’ve had, I’m ready to spread out,” Andy called after them. Knowing her sister meant business when it came to relaxation, she dutifully left the longer sofa for her and Ted and sat on the left side of the love sofa, leaving a spot for Hermione. The brunette was looking hesitantly at her.
Narcissa arched an eyebrow and said, “I don’t bite.” Hermione settled beside her and Narcissa added, “well, not unless you ask me to.”
Shit. Why the fuck did I say that? She’s going to think I’m flirting with her! Is it sexual harassment if you didn’t mean to flirt?
To her surprise, Hermione matched her tease and playfully said, “huh, I didn’t peg you as the biting type. I guess we all have secrets.”
Narcissa raised her eyebrows at the brunette who merely suppressed a smirk and took another sip of their wine. Andy and Ted, thankfully, chose that moment to enter the living room. Andy jumped on her sofa like a child and laid back. “Come here, hottie,” she reached for her husband.
Ted chuckled, but joined his wife on the couch, lifting her legs to sit under them, he then began rubbing her feet. Narcissa often teased her older sister about her handsome, albeit somewhat dorky husband. But in reality, she was in awe of their relationship. They’d accidentally gotten pregnant at 16 and somehow made it work. Thirty years later, the pair were still together and almost disgustingly in love. Narcissa could admit to herself that she was at times even a little envious.
Hermione’s voice cut through her internal ramblings. “So, what are we watching?”
Andy replied, “Ocean’s Eight. Ted’s never seen it and it’s a feminist classic.”
Hermione replied, “a movie about a group of thieves and con artists is a feminist classic?”
“ Female thieves and female con artists. Duh,” Andy said, as if it were obvious.
Hermione rolled her eyes. “You just like it because Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchet are hot.”
“No, you just like it because Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett are hot. You’re such a sucker for a blonde/brunette duo. And they’re not even technically gay in this movie,” Andy teased.
“They are totally queer coded and you know it, Andy! Who flirts that much with their friends?”
Andy laughed and clicked the remote a few times to start the movie. Narcissa had never seen the movie either, but she decided now wasn’t the best time to reveal such information.
Sometime in the middle of the film, she found herself relaxing more into the seat. Not sitting up as straight anymore, her body brushed slightly against Hermione’s. It didn’t seem to bother the younger woman, for her only reaction was to intentionally briefly feel for the fabric of Narcissa’s sleeve where it had brushed against Hermione’s hand.
“This is soft,” Hermione whispered.
“I should hope so. It’s £1500 of cashmere,” she whispered back.
To her surprise, Hermione snorted out a laugh. Most people would have thought she was flaunting her money, but Hermione had picked up on her dry sense of humour. That put Narcissa at ease even more and she felt herself a tension in her shoulders she hadn’t realised she was carrying.
At the end of the movie, Andy flicked the lights back on and Narcissa jerked away from where her body had progressively relaxed until it was pressed up against Hermione’s, perfectly moulded to the younger woman’s soft curves. How embarrassing, she mentally chastised herself.
Hermione yawned and proclaimed, “ugh, I do not feel like taking the tube at this hour. Is it okay if I crash, Andy?”
“Of course, honey. You know you’re always welcome,” Andy supplied.
Narcissa would never be able to explain what came over her when, without thought, she blurted out, “I’m headed that way. I can drive you.”
Hermione replied, “You live in Soho?”
“Knightsbridge.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“You’re not imposing. I offered. Plus, it’s close enough.”
Hermione seemed to think it over for a moment before accepting, “if you’re sure?”
“Absolutely.”
••
The drive home was a bit awkward at first. Hermione gave Narcissa her address and then there were several moments of silence where Narcissa could practically feel her shoulders touching her ears, she was so tense. Defaulting to professional manners, Hermione asked about a case Narcissa had been working on. That did the trick. Narcissa appreciated that the younger woman had clearly been taught social niceties. But somewhere along the way, the conversation became more personal.
“I’m sorry to hear about your divorce.”
“Don’t be,” Narcissa replied simply.
There was a slightly uncomfortable pause in the conversation before Hermione blurted out, “I saw the article about you in the Daily Express. Fucking arseholes. You’d think they’d have something better to report on.”
Narcissa had never heard such an outburst from the woman to her left, who had always conducted herself in a well mannered, albeit sometimes slightly nervous, way. She assumed the sass must be in her somewhere, underneath all her polite professionalism she dawned at the office. She was best friends with Dora after all. Narcissa found her outburst refreshing. She briefly wished she too had the candour for such outbursts, before remembering her mother’s words, ‘Narcissa, hush, young ladies are to be seen and not heard.’ Perhaps Narcissa couldn’t have the younger woman’s candour, but she could have her fun too. “You think there’s something more interesting than me and my family, Miss Granger?”
Hermione spluttered, “what? No, I- I just thought you wouldn’t be keen on the speculation. Narcissa, I meant no offence. I find you fascinating, I-”
Fascinating, hmm?
Narcissa couldn’t let the poor girl suffer any longer. She felt her lips curl up at the corners and Hermione’s face transformed from worry as realisation dawned on her. “You’re fucking with me?”
Narcissa, not yet finished with her game, doubled down, “Miss Granger, I do hope you’re not using that kind of language with clients.”
The colour drained from Hermione’s face as she tried to recover the conversation, “I would never- I’m- I don’t speak to clients like that!” Narcissa couldn’t hold in her laughter any longer. She covered her mouth with a hand, lest she look as unruly as Bella cackling maniacally. Hermione narrowed her eyes and said, “oh, you’re mean.”
Narcissa forced her eyes back to the road and smiled. “Well that was fun,” she concluded. Narcissa pulled off and put the car in park. Hermione’s eyes were still assessing her. Narcissa’s eyes flashed between Hermione and the building her flat was in. “I believe this is you,” she drawled.
“Right,” Hermione said quickly. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Anytime, Miss Granger,” Narcissa practically purred.
Why does my voice sound like that? She’s going to think I’m coming on to her. Christ.
Hermione cleared her throat and opened the door. “Well, I suppose I’ll see you Monday.”
“I suppose you will,” Narcissa replied before Hermione closed the car door and made her way into her building.