Pensieve Tales

A/N: I know, I know... I have been extremely busy this past week. Please, forgive me.

Pensieve Tales

Chapter 20

Draco's face drained of color as he stared at the crescent moon adorning his mother's neck. He knew this could mean only one thing. He was pulled out of his musing by the sound of Hermione's voice.

"Draco, I think it's time we get our memories from Harry. We can use Lucius' Pensieve to view them after you hear what he has to say to you."

"Yes, I think you're right." Draco replied without meeting her eyes. "I'll go and fetch Harry and the Pensieve."

After Draco left, silence enveloped Hermione and Narcissa. The only sound was the steady breathing of Violet, who was fast asleep.

Never one to keep quiet, Hermione spoke first. "So, you and Severus are... together?"

Narcissa smiled shyly. "Yes, we have always been rather close. We have been dear friends for over twenty years. When we were young, Severus and I would study together and sometimes go to Hogsmeade together. I believe we would have ended up married if it hadn't been for my arrangement with Lucius."

"That's terribly sad," Hermione retorted. "I couldn't imagine being in love with one man while being forced to marry another."

"Oh, is that so? Tell me, Hermione, what do you think of your bond with my son?"

Hermione flushed. "I hated it at first. To be honest with you, I still don't care for it. It's not Draco – I love Draco. It's just the way things have come about. I don't like being forced to do anything."

"True," Narcissa replied. "However, if it were not for the bond, would you have given yourself a chance to fall in love with him? Might you have gone your separate ways after the war?"

"You are probably right," Hermione acquiesced. "I guess we will never know, will we?"

"No, darling, we will never know," Narcissa said.

"Narcissa, how do you feel about the bond? You're a pureblood, and your son is marrying a Muggle-born."

"This might come as a surprise to you, Hermione, but I think it's wonderful."

"You do?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Yes. I don't have the same kind of prejudices against Muggle-borns that my former husband did."

"You don't have the same kind of prejudices, but you still have prejudices. Is that what you're saying?" Hermione was starting to become defensive.

Narcissa chuckled. "Everyone has prejudices."

"I most certainly do not," Hermione challenged.

"No? Tell me, Hermione, what did you think of Slytherins when you were in school?"

Hermione blushed furiously.

"You see, everyone has prejudices," Narcissa said matter-of-factly.

"But you hated me," Hermione whispered.

Narcissa shook her head sadly. "No, I didn't hate you. I was afraid of you."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Why?"

"Well, you are the smartest witch of your age, Hermione. You are a Muggle-born witch, a Gryffindor, and best friend to Harry Potter. You were never afraid of anything, Hermione. You even had the nerve to slap my son. Of course I was afraid of you. There aren't many witches like you, Hermione, and that alone makes you dangerous."

"I'm not dangerous. I would never hurt anyone."

"No, but you could. Lucius was terrified of you. He would never have let you know that, but he was. We are all afraid of what we don't understand. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, I suppose it does," Hermione said. "So, did you dislike Gryffindors as much as Draco did?"

"No, I didn't. The hat wanted to put me in Ravenclaw, but I begged it to let me go to Slytherin. My father would have had a fit if I hadn't gone to Slytherin. And as far as Gryffindors go, I had a very good friend who was a Gryffindor -- a Muggle-born at that."

"And who was that, Mother?" Draco and Harry had just entered the room.

"Ah, there you are, sweetheart," Narcissa said brightly.

"Who was your friend?" Draco asked again.

Narcissa locked eyes with Harry. "Lily Evans. Your mother was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the out, Harry. She would have been very proud of you."

Harry let his jaw drop. "You were friends with my mother? I never knew."

"I don't think anyone knew. She and I would sometimes study together. I was shocked to learn that Severus had been such good friends with her until I got to know her myself. I can't imagine anyone knowing Lily Evans and not loving her. She touched the lives of everyone around her."

"She was absolutely brilliant with charms. Her potions making rivaled that of Severus. And your poor father," Narcissa laughed, "was on the business end of her wand more than once."

Narcissa's laughter faded into sadness. "When she died, I believe a piece of the entire Wizarding world died with her. She was a phenomenal woman. I wish I could have remained friends with her."

Harry swallowed the lump in his throat and asked, "Why didn't you?"

"I had to marry Lucius, and I wasn't willing to put your mother's life in danger. I did see her once when you were about two-months-old. Sirius was my cousin, you see, and he knew how much I cared for Lily. Sirius brought me James' Invisibility Cloak, and I went to Godric's Hollow. Draco wasn't much older than you, so I took him with me."

Narcissa seemed lost in thought for a moment. "You were a startlingly beautiful baby, Harry. Your eyes were magnificent, just like hers." Narcissa laughed again. "I remember putting you and Draco in the crib together while Lily and I had our tea. When it was time for my departure, Lily and I laughed out loud at what we found in the crib."

"What did you find?" Draco asked.

"You and Harry were sound asleep, and you were holding onto Harry's arm, and you had his, oh dear." Narcissa was beginning to laugh harder.

"I had his what, Mother?" Draco asked, annoyed.

"I'm... oh... I'm sorry. It was just so sweet. You had Harry's fist in your mouth, sucking on it, like it was a bottle."

Narcissa became hysterical with laughter, and Hermione had burst into giggles as well. Harry and Draco had both gone pink and unconsciously took a step away from each other.

"Well, that was a nice trip down memory lane," Draco said, trying to compose himself. "Shall we get started now?"

The air in the room suddenly became thick with anticipation. Harry pulled the shrunken Pensieve out of his pocket and enlarged it to its normal size. Then he took the two phials out and handed them to Narcissa until they were ready to be seen.

"Go on, Draco," Narcissa encouraged.

Draco looked at his feet. "I don't really want to go alone."

"I'll go with you, mate," said Harry. "After all, I let you suck on my hand."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Let's go then."

Draco and Harry fell into Lucius' office at Malfoy Manor. As soon as they fell, they saw Lucius sitting behind his desk, drinking brandy. He looked an absolute mess, and Harry recognized him as the Lucius from the day he killed himself.

Suddenly, he began to speak. "Draco, I have never been one to write letters and such, so I decided to use a Pensieve to record my thoughts. I want you to know that I am proud of you. You probably don't care to hear that, but there it is."

"You have turned into a remarkable man, Draco, and I hope that one day you can find it in your heart to forgive all of my trespasses. I realize that I was never a good father to you. I do hope that, were you to ever have children, you will take what you have learned from your mother."

"I also hope that you can forgive what I have done to you and Miss Granger. Although it was truly an accident, I pray that your life will turn out well. Perhaps the two of you can marry and have children of your own. She is a very powerful witch, Draco, and I believe that the two of you have what it takes to change this world. Yes, I know she is a Muggle-born, but times are changing. Unfortunately, I realized that when it was too late."

"I took my life, Draco, so that you could have one. I could not allow my existence ruin your life any more than it already has. Malfoy was once a name of honor, for which I believe you can restore."

"Please believe that regardless of what kind of father I was, I have always loved you. And, again, I realized that when it was too late. You will be a good husband, and one day, a good father. You are stronger than me, Draco. I could not turn from the Dark Lord when it mattered, but you had the courage to do so."

"I have left the Manor to your mother. I have put her through nothing but hell for her entire life, so that is the least I can do for her. The villa in Positano is yours, if you want it. There is also the cottage in Hogsmeade, which has been vacant for quite some time. Your mother and I bought the cottage before you started Hogwarts. She wanted to be close by while you were in school, but she never wanted you to know. I have never occupied the residence. My solicitor will have the deeds to the properties, along with the key to the vault, which holds your savings. I hope this will give you some semblance of peace."

"I must go now, Draco. I hope that one day you will be able to forgive me enough for both of us, for I will never be able to forgive myself."

As Lucius faded, Draco pulled himself out of the Pensieve with Harry in tow. Everyone sort of held their breath, waiting for Draco's reaction.

Hermione timidly asked, "Well, what did you see? Did you find out anything about Violet, or the day we were attacked?"

Still not meeting her eyes, Draco replied, "Not a bloody thing. You are welcome to take a look if you wish. It was just a whole bunch of rubbish about how sorry he is that he made my life and my mother's life hell for so long."

Hermione whispered, "I don't want to look, thank you. I guess we have to look at our own memories then."

Draco nodded. "I will go first, if you'd like."

"Actually, Draco, I was hoping we could go together. I don't think I could do it on my own. Maybe we could look at mine first and get it out of the way."

Draco looked at a spot somewhere over Hermione's head and nodded again. "I will go in with you, but I know what we are going to find."

Hermione frowned. "What are you talking about, Draco? What do you think we are going to find? I hope to find pieces to our puzzle."

They all turned to the sound of Violet waking up. Harry walked over and took the baby from Hermione. "I'll hold her, Hermione. You go on. We'll be here when you are finished."

Draco closed his eyes in thought. "I know what this is going to be, and I just want to say how sorry I am."

Hermione grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. "What are you sorry for?"

Draco didn't respond. He took the phial with the "H" marked on it from his mother. He uncorked it and poured its contents into the Pensieve.

"Draco, look at me. What are you sorry for?" Hermione repeated.

Finally Draco locked eyes with her, and she was shocked by the emotions that played out through his grey eyes. Draco unashamedly let a tear slide down his cheek as he whispered, "I'm sorry for doing those things to you, Hermione."

"Doing what things, Draco? You're scaring me."

"When we go into that Pensieve, you will see."

"See what?" Hermione was shaking now.

"You will see that I am the one who raped you."