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“Is that my jumper?” Hermione asked, the first words to come out of her mouth when she walked into the townhouse she shared with Narcissa after a long day at work.
“Hm?” Narcissa looked up innocently. She was seated on the couch Hermione had picked out years ago, sipping tea from a large mug with a book on potioneering charms closed in her lap. Crookshanks had nestled into the couch next to her. “This? Now that you mention it…. It might very well be, yes.”
Hermione laughed. Even with the engagement rings around their fingers and the wedding in three months, Narcissa hadn’t lost her habit of playing aloof when she gave all the evidence to prove otherwise. “Any reason?” Hermione asked, not expecting a genuine answer.
She often asked Narcissa to be very direct with her, knowing that the annoying and unnecessary subtleties of sarcasm and implications might only frustrate them both and result in miscommunication. This type of teasing and playing pretend was familiar, however. She even enjoyed it.
“It must’ve been the nearest on the living room floor when I grew cold,” Narcissa spoke calmly, putting her book away to make room for Crookshanks to climb into her lap. “Your untidiness has its perks.”
Hermione took off her cloak and boots, proving Narcissa’s point when she left them right at the door to the living room and sat down on the couch as well. “That must be it,” she told Narcissa, smiling at the sight she made.
Narcissa’s black and white hair hung loosely over her shoulders and she seemed to have put Hermione’s deep maroon jumper over the dress she’d been wearing — she’d had absolutely no need for it, Narcissa was perfectly capable of casting a heating charm if she’d been that cold. It was covered in orange cat hairs and the ink that Hermione had spilt on it yesterday morning. Narcissa looked at peace in it.
“It looks good on you,” Hermione told her with a tired, warm smile. “I should forget to tidy up more often.”
She laughed heartily when Narcissa pursed her lips, tugging at the sleeve of the jumper as if she was considering it duly, and said “Well, what can I say. I make do.”