Beauty From Pain

Chapter Twenty-Five

The next few weeks went by in wonderful whirlwind of pleasant days at Virago and romantic nights with Draco. Hermione lost herself in the bliss of a budding relationship and running a successful business, and before they knew it, Samhain was upon them.

Draco had been pestered relentlessly by Narcissa to invite Hermione to the Manor for their Samhain celebration, but he had been hesitant. In fact, 'hesitant' was putting it lightly. The idea of suggesting Hermione should return to the place that she had been held captive and tortured was the absolute last thing he ever wanted to do. But he refused to lie to Hermione, so when she had asked what his plans were for Samhain, he had been honest.

The dark shadows that had passed over her face when he mentioned the Manor had felt like knives being driven into his heart. That he would have anything to do with such a painful memory for her was excruciating. She had finally agreed to attend but only after he had sworn on Merlin, Salazar, and his magic that the dinner would be held in Narcissa's garden. Hermione wouldn't have to step foot in the Manor, and that was fine with her.

He had also promised to attend a muggle party with her afterward, although he was still confused on how muggles could celebrate a magical holiday. She had been extremely tight-lipped about the whole affair, and had only told him muggles celebrate with candy and costumes. This only served to confuse him further, but it would make Hermione happy, so he had agreed to go.

To be completely honest, Hermione expected the group of Slytherins to host some sort of séance or ritual to contact the dead. A lot of candles, maybe a few skulls and potions, Merlin forbid a wizarding version of a Ouija board. She wanted to scold herself for being so close-minded, but she was preparing herself for the worst.

Instead, Narcissa had invited everyone to dine in her gardens, the setting sun over a distant lake creating the perfect backdrop for a quiet dinner. Hermione was relieved and felt slightly guilty for her assumptions. Some habits were hard to break.

"It's beautiful," she said in an awed whisper, as though speaking too loudly would ruin the peaceful atmosphere.

"My mother takes great pride in her garden," Draco said with a soft smile. "I have never met someone more skilled with flora."

Hermione could see the pride her felt for Narcissa in his smile, and she couldn't help but find it rather cute. When she said as much, Draco scoffed and ushered her quickly towards the table Narcissa had set up for dinner.

His mother greeted them graciously, and Hermione was immediately struck by how beautiful she was.

They had met several times over the last few years, during the war and the trials that followed, but she had never taken the time to truly admire Narcissa's classic beauty. She held herself with such a sophisticated and confident air. Her evening gown was a deep shade of emerald green, and her hair curled beautifully down her back.

Conversation was surprisingly easy, much to Draco's relief. She chatted with Narcissa about different books they had read, realizing they both adored works by Lukas Karuzos. They had just begun discussing his latest addition to his numerology collection, which Narcissa promised she would send a signed copy of to Hermione, when Pansy, Blaise, and Theo arrived.

Theo greeted her warmly which caused Draco to roll his eyes. He placed his arm protectively over the back of her chair and nodded to Theo in greeting. His action didn't go unnoticed, but Theo merely smirked at him and moved to greet Narcissa.

"You seem to be getting along well," Draco observed quietly.

Hermione smiled up at him and nodded. "I can see where you get your intellect from. I haven't met anyone else that was as enthusiastic about numerology as I am, so it was nice to be able to chat about it."