Disclaimer: JK Rowling is the creator of the HP universe and its characters. I do not own anything except the rather strange plot bunny, and I solely profit in reviews.

Years Ago From Now: Chapter One

Narcissa sat primly in her chair underneath a large willow tree, looking at the crisscross pattern woven into the bark. The small wrought iron table and matching chairs were situated in her garden, and it was her favorite place to be on the property. When she was younger, she had had a large passion for books, but as the need to solve problems and prove herself had passed, she had started to gravitate toward reading for pleasure, all highlighters and notes left behind.

It had come to pass that, by the time she was thirty, she could generally be found in her "Mecca," as Lucius called it, her small garden utopia. There, she would read any manner of books, pausing frequently to enjoy the breeze blowing the heady fragrance of flowers through her long blonde hair.

Today, her purpose was not relaxation, though. No, today was a meeting that had been thought over and planned for longer than anything else she had ever cared about. Today, decades worth of stress and frustration would come to an end as she would, finally, begin a wholly unanticipated future.

She adjusted napkins on the plates sat in front of her once more, making sure they were perfect. Of course, they had been perfect ever since Twinkle had laid out the place settings to begin with. Still, she had come to appreciate things being a certain way and prided herself on her poise and good manners. She was an incredible hostess.

While she had to admit that what she was doing today, at least this morning, couldn't really be ruined, she still wanted it to be nice. The girl would feel what she would, and she was intimately aware of what those feelings would be. Anger. Fear. Depression. But eventually, with time and understanding… Joy. Pride. Love. Contentment.

She inspected the silverware and noted that the teaspoon had a water spot on it. That wouldn't do at all. She was just about to call Twinkle to replace it when said elf popped up across the table. "Mistress, Hermione Granger has beings arrived now."

Narcissa took a deep breath in, trying to conceal her nerves. Certainty that all would work out as planned was hers, so she should not feel so anxious. Human nature, she supposed.

"Thank you, Twinkle. Before you show her here, please replace this teaspoon. It has a spot on it. Perhaps it was the need to control things that made her so obsessive over the settings. She had long come to terms with the fact that time made a slave of them all, though. She had no control, ultimately. Not yet, at least.

Twinkle gasped, taking the spoon from the setting. Two quick pops saw a new spoon in its place. "I is sorry, Mistress. I wills be making sure that Rossy does better cleanings the silver."

Narcissa nodded. "Thank you, Twinkle. Please do be sure to tell Rossy that I will not stand for him being punished over something so negligible. Better attention to detail will more than make up for it. You may bring Miss Granger, and then the tea as we discussed?"

Twinkle nodded, looking at her Mistress happily. While the Master had often gotten in bad tempers, the Lady had never looked at them angrily. As for the Master, it could be said that his relationship with the elves was complicated, but all that were in his service now happily remained so.

Twinkle popped out of existence, and Narcissa made an effort to calm herself once more. Finally, she saw Twinkle walking toward her, with a familiar girl close behind.

Narcissa had forgotten how she looked after all of these years. She did not consider the Hermione Granger that had been through the war to be the memory of what the young woman truly looked like. No, bathed and well-fed made the Gryffindor girl a totally different person, aesthetically speaking. Hermione Granger was not conventionally beautiful, but she was striking. Her brown hair had tamed since childhood, but only slightly. And her eyes had a cautious and slightly wary look about them, hidden behind a not so well constructed mask of passivity. She was short and curvy, a juxtaposition to Narcissa's own slender and tall build. At peace with her own appearance, it was easy to look at Hermione with new eyes. She stood when they were about ten feet away, and Narcissa smiled.

"Miss Granger, thank you so much for accepting my invitation. Please, sit with me."

"Thank you for the invitation, Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione responded, providing the compulsory niceties with ease. Narcissa's smile widened slightly.

A moment later, tea and a variety of small plates appeared in front of them. Narcissa took to pouring the tea for them both. "Please feel free to take what you will. And do not worry about amounts, as I am sure the kitchens have extras of everything."

She watched as Hermione served herself some fruit and a chocolate croissant. Narcissa continued to smile as she put the same things on her own plate. "You should also try some of the bread there with some orange marmalade. It is made here at the manor and is one of my favorite treats."

Hermione looked at the bread, considering, before following Narcissa's advice.

"Two sugars and a dash of cream?" Narcissa asked, after adding exactly that to one cup.

"How do you know how I take my tea?" Hermione asked, surprised by the unexpected knowledge.

Narcissa smiled as she handed the cup to Hermione, putting the same combination in her own cup. "I have planned quite thoroughly for this meeting, Miss Granger. Part of that involved reading up on you wherever possible. Your tea preference was mentioned in a rather nauseatingly long interview published in Witch Weekly's Wizarding War Heroes edition.

"Oh, yes, that. They actually cut down quite a bit of it before publishing. The Minister suggested it would look good if I was… humanized a bit. The public has been a bit overwhelming in their… gratefulness how the part I played in the war," Hermione said, taking a sip of the tea.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "This is delightful tea. May I ask what kind it is?"

Narcissa smiled, "I was sure you would like it. It is actually a unique blend that the elves have come up with over time. They are most protective of the recipe, but I am sure that they would be more than happy to supply you with as much as you want in the future."

Hermione nodded, obviously not intending to ask for gifts from the Lady of the Manor. "Mrs. Malfoy, I do not wish to be brusque, but I believe I know why you called me here."

Narcissa felt her lips twitch in amusement. "I would be very, very surprised if that turns out to be the case, but please continue."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Your husband has been in prison for just over two weeks now, and even without the Dementors' presence, word has travelled that you are appealing to anyone you think might help in his early release. I encourage you to accept the sentence given to him as it is. Your money could do so much good other than just being used to fund expensive appeals. It is time to accept what the courts have decreed."

Narcissa smiled slightly and nodded. "You have heard correctly. I also have reason to believe that I will be very successful in achieving my goal."

Hermione looked down, taking a deep breath before returning her gaze to the blonde woman. "Mrs. Malfoy, you are aware that Harry and I both came to the defense of yourself and Draco. We felt it was compulsory to do so, considering your apparent unwillingness to serve the Dark Lord and your service to Harry when it was most needed. We remain thankful, but that gratitude does not extend to releasing a Death Eater from prison that, to the best of my knowledge, willingly served and only stopped when he realized the tide was turning against him."

Narcissa smiled, though it appeared just the slightest bit menacing. "Miss Granger, I am well aware that you take pride in your accumulation of knowledge, and I greatly respect that. However, your knowledge is… less than it should be concerning my family. While I am sure you will become intimately aware of what you are missing some other time, I feel the need to share that I have not brought you here to discuss my husband's upcoming release."

Hermione, who had not yet touched her plate, looked at Narcissa with confusion. She pushed her rather messy hair over her shoulder as she replied. "Then why did you wish to have tea with me? Does it have something to do with Draco? No one has seen him since Lucius's sentencing."

Narcissa shook her head. "Draco is fine, he is currently taking a much needed vacation at our home in Mallorca. He is coming to terms with some of the same information that you are lacking, but he should return in a few days."

"Then…?" Hermione's voice trailed off, and she finally took a bite of the bread with marmalade. It was delicious.

"I wished to share some information with you that has been made known to only a handful of people. I also am at rest knowing that you will find it to be nothing but entirely factual."

Hermione nodded, slowly, feeling slightly excited. She loved learning new things… especially secrets, ever since she had been a girl and had always had to figure out things for herself if she wanted to know anything at all. As an outcast in the muggle world, she had been lonely and isolated. The need to feel included had never quite left her.

Narcissa smiled at her knowingly, almost as if she were reading her mind. "What I say will not make much sense right now. After you leave here, though, I think it will set your mind at ease. Because of that, it is necessary that you pay very good attention and trust what you will learn to be the truth."

Hermione nodded again, slightly more vigorously.

"Hermione, life brings continued surprises to you. In short time, I think you will see your future as being very dark indeed. I think you will feel isolated and as if you have to hide who you are. I wish to reassure you there. The closest person to you, your husband, will love you all the more for the things you believe you must conceal. The path you will be on is just that, though, your path. You are meant to do what you will do and nothing you can hope to do will change it."

"I… could you speak more clearly?" Hermione asked, looking at her, the picture of befuddlement.

"No, I can't. What I can say is that… if you give in to what the future holds for you and accept it, you will find that it is exactly what you want. You will find happiness, despite the pain, and you will ultimately not wish for anything different than the hand you have been dealt. Eventually, you will find that you don't truly know what is to come for you. It is a position I find myself in now. Your lack of surety will not be victorious over your hope though. Truth will out. And so will good. Have faith."

Hermione was startled from the strange words by the appearance of the house elf that had showed her in.

"Mistress, the kitchens has finished the latest new recipe. We thought you might likes to share it with your guest."

Hermione was looking at the elf in confusion, and Narcissa smiled at the elf before looking at her guest.

"I have discovered that I quite prefer muggle confections. Ever since, the elves have started experimenting with new recipes to see what I like most."

She turned to the elf. "What is the name of dessert today, Twinkle?"

"They is beings called Lemon Bars, Mistress."

Narcissa smiled and nodded, looking at Hermione again. "Do you like lemon bars, Miss Granger?"

Hermione had felt her mouth start to water at the thought. She did, in fact, love Lemon Bars. She had not had one in years though and preferred to stay away from topics that included her parents in any way. It had been her mother's specialty and her favorite treat. "I do, yes."

"Lovely, Twinkle. Please bring two for us, then, and if Miss Granger finds them to be satisfactory, you can pack some for her to take home with her. Along with some of the house tea, regardless."

The elf popped away, and Hermione smiled at her host. Mrs. Malfoy sure was capable of making a guest feel welcomed.

"Mrs. Malfoy, why did you wish to call me here to share such strange information with me? It is all very cryptic, you understand. Do you believe yourself to have the Sight?"

Narcissa laughed lightly, shaking her head. "No, I am not a Seer. I actually have quite the aversion to Divination. My only dealing with it involved a woman that was mostly a complete fraud."

"Professor Trelawney?"

Narcissa chuckled again, "One and the same. Yes."

The elf appeared again, and the two woman both took a bite, making identical small sounds of approval.

After swallowing, Hermione smiled. "It's delicious. Lemon Bars are actually my favorite small treat."

Narcissa nodded, "I can understand why. They will certainly continue making this here."

They took another few bites before Hermione returned to her line of questioning. "So if it isn't some sort of ridiculous prophecy, why did you share something so unexpected and strange with me? What do you know of my future husband? At this time, I do not even have an official boyfriend, just feelings for someone."

Narcissa smiled, finishing off her small dessert and prompting Hermione to do the same. After swallowing the last bite, Narcissa spoke again. "I wished to share it with you because I know that, in time, it will be a source of comfort for you. As for your husband to be, I am intimately aware of him."

Hermione's eyes widened. "What is he… how do you… you have slept with him?"

Narcissa actually put her napkin to her mouth as she tried not to laugh at her guest. Looking at Hermione with amusement and no small amount of fondness, she reached across the table, taking Hermione's hand in hers.

"Now for why you can trust my information, Hermione. Is it okay if I call you Hermione? It's been so long since I have said it…"

Hermione nodded, brushing off the strange comment. It certainly wasn't the strangest comment of the day.

"As a child, you had a series of warts near the elbow of your right arm. They made you so self-conscious that you wore long sleeves all summer, despite the heat, and your grandmother believed you were hurting yourself."

Hermione balked at the words, "I…I… How do you know that?"

Narcissa continued without answering. "When you were being sorted, you pleaded with the hat to put you in Hufflepuff. You were terrified that you would be a failure as a witch and hoped that you could just blend in there and be welcomed. You also suspected that the only person that had been truly nice to you, Neville Longbottom, would go there as he predicted. The hat said that it knew your ability and gave you the choice of Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. You agreed to Gryffindor in the hopes that you would be less likely to be the biggest failure in the house, if you tried hard enough."

Hermione's eyes were wide and staring as her thoughts, things she had never shared with anyone, were spoken to her. She pulled her hand away from Narcissa's, opening her mouth to tell the woman to stop. Narcissa had no intention of stopping, though.

"When you had sex with Ronald Weasley the first time, you faked your orgasm. Worse than that, you spent the time envisioning Charlie with the reasoning that it wasn't quite as bad if the object of your fantasy at least looked a bit like the man you were with."

Hermione was mortified, and felt her stomach start to churn as a wave of dizziness hit her. She stood up from the table, intending to angrily leave, but she clutched the table instead as her head swam.

Narcissa stood up as well, coming around the table to put a hand on her guest's shoulder. "Miss Granger, to answer your earlier question, yes… I've slept with the man that will be your husband. And you will sleep with mine. They are, after all, the same person. Just like you and I are."

Hermione said nothing as she fell, knocking the wrought iron table with her head.

Narcissa looked down at the body on the ground, sighing. "And that explains the headache… Twinkie!"

The house elf appeared, looking at her Mistress and then the young woman on the ground. "Everythings is ready, Mistress."

Narcissa nodded. "Very well, Twinkie. Take her to the ritual room."

At four in the afternoon, a slightly tired looking Narcissa Malfoy could be found walking down the hallway toward the office of Interim Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. She nodded at the secretary, as this meeting had been set up weeks before. Walking in, she was pleased to see Kingsley sitting behind his desk.

"Mrs. Malfoy, I have to say I was not very surprised to hear that you had scheduled this meeting. If this is regarding Lucius, I regret to inform you that I am not much inclined to help."

Narcissa smiled as she sat herself at the edge of one of the brown leather chairs between her and the desk.

"Forgive my informality… Kings… but this conversation has been a long time coming. I have all of my ducks in a row, and I believe that you have the power to grant pardons, do you not?"

"….I do, but…"

Narcissa cut him off. "Lovely. I suggest you ink your quill and grab a fresh bit of parchment, then. I'll be walking out with a full pardon as well as your promise to stand by the side of the Malfoy family as you publicly support the incredibly compelling story I am about to share with you…"

Kingsley looked at her blankly, a feeling of trepidation coming over him as he leaned back in his chair.

"This should be good," he said, voice tinged with sarcasm, trying to sound unaffected by her confidence.

"Oh, it is," she said, smiling widely.

The Daily Prophet released a breaking edition less than three hours later.

Lucius Malfoy Released with Full Pardon

The byline read: Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Declares Malfoy a Hero for the Light.

Author's Note: I'M BACK! A long time in the making. I have been mentally playing with this idea for a very, very long time. Probably 8 ish years, I'd imagine. Even before my previous writing. There have been so many plot holes to muddle through and figure out, but at this point, I am confident that I've sorted everything away. I already have just over 20 chapters written. I am hoping that this is well received and reviews will help keep me going as I am nowhere near done. This has been a slower going thing as I am working and it is a lot more a headache. You will see why soon.

Also, I would like to say how thankful I am for the over 2000! reviews left on my other two stories. Even though its been forever (and I've been working for this almost as long) I promise I have read and appreciated every single review and private message I have been sent. Thank you for your support. If you haven't read Bonds Between Lost Souls or The Bond Servant.