Nobody Cared Enough !

Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 8

21 Sept 1991 - Saturday

The rest of the week Hermione did her best to avoid her House mates; especially Eleanor Broodland who had been released from the Infirmary on Thursday. Twice Hermione had been hexed in the corridors but she'd dodged each one. A lecture from their Head of House ended the hexing war, but the teasing and pranking continued.  Hermione was glad of having lunch to sit with her friends, but breakfast at the Gryffindor table had changed for the better once Fred, George, and Neville joined her place of exile. Draco and Harry tried to sit with her but Professor McGonagall had forbade it.

In Gryffindor Hermione noticed that the nasty looks she would get in the common room were starting to fade as the twins and Neville were not going to be chased off.

Things were easier but not entirely. Hermione would not allow her guard to drop and for that she was slowly losing sleep as her body refused to relax.

Harry was having problems as well that were making his days difficult. Nightmares, horrific ones that made him scream or fight in his bed until he fell from it, were plaguing his sleep. Draco was suffering, too, from a decrease in sleep and because Harry wouldn't talk about the nightmares to him.

Also suffering was Prefect Billock, who was awakened nearly every night because Draco couldn't wake his friend and would wake him, instead. Once roused, Billock would find that Harry had retreated to the space under his bed. The Prefect sat poised in vigil over Harry while Draco was sent to awaken their Head of House.

When Harry did awaken he would only respond to Snape, seeking comfort in the stoic man's arms. He would weep silently against Snape's chest until he fell back into an exhausted sleep. Snape rarely was able to go back to sleep after tucking the small boy into bed because he would worry about him.

Consequently, despite strong coffee in the morning, Snape's mood wasn't at his best for his classes.

And Harry wouldn't talk to him about the nightmares.

And Draco was turning back into a little brat.

And Orencia and Prefect Billock had broken up, making everyone's life in Slytherin House miserable because they wouldn't make up.

These concerns were on the mind of the Potions Master when he dressed in his finest black robes, left the castle, and then Apparated to Malfoy Manor for tea on Saturday.

A somewhat distracted house elf escorted him to Narcissa's parlor where the lady of the house greeted him.

Narcissa Malfoy was a regal looking, tall, slim woman who wore her long, blond hair in a soft bun with perfectly styled curls dancing lightly around her face in a random way that was hardly random. The beauty that was Lucius Malfoy's greatest jewel was dressed in a gown of powder blue silk that complemented her ice blue eyes and creamy complexion.

Narcissa greeted Snape warmly and directed him to place his outer cloak upon a gold plated brass coat tree inside the parlor door. Snape did so, and then seated himself upon one of the silk upholstered, pine chairs that had a subtle, but clean design of celery green and cream stripes. It matched the rest of the furniture and the entire parlor.

"Lucius regrets being a bit late, but he was called to the Ministry for some last minute business," Narcissa smiled and bade her guest to seat himself.

Snape settled in his chair and took in a measure of his hostess. He’d had a crush on the willowy Black girl when he was a student. Narcissa had been the definition of grace and kindness. She held herself above the petty politics of “Pureblood Supremacy” that riddled their House. Even before she was a made Head Girl in her seventh year Narcissa was taking care of the younger Slytherins. She organised study groups, talked to the girls, and even some of the boys.