"Get comfortable,” Narcissa propped herself in a sitting position in the middle of the bed. Hermione sat in front of her, legs crossed. Both women took a moment to relax into each other’s company. “We’ll do the hard part first.”
She grabbed Hermione's hands and brought them to rest on her knees.
“Close your eyes and think of something… Happy. Something that brings you joy.”
“So.. This is like conjuring a Patronus?” Hermione asked.
Narcissa pursed her lips. “In a way, yes. A hybrid of Lumos and a Patronus, you could say. A Patronus has a natural protective aura that takes a physical form, which is powered by the memory you’ve used to produce it. But this spell only draws from the aura and nothing else. The light is what powers it. Without the light, it's useless.”
Hermione furrowed her brow, still not quite understanding. “But a Patronus gives off a light of its own, right? So why not just cast a Patronus?”
Narcissa shook her head. “Completely different lights. Close your eyes, you'll understand once you give it a try.”
Hermione sighed and did as she was told. Happy… Happy…. Happy…. Happy………
She was met with a wall of white static.
“I've got nothing,” she sighed after a few seconds. She heard Narcissa chuckle.
"You barely tried," Narcissa embraced her. Hermione felt herself relax despite her mind’s tension. She just couldn’t allow herself to feel “happy” after everything that happened.
“Am I allowed to be happy?” she timidly spoke around the soothing arms that held her.
“Yes,” came the stubborn reply she knew all too well. “Do you trust me?” Slim arms wrapped themselves around Hermione's waist.
“Yes,” Hermione murmured.
"Then let go,” Narcissa whispered and Hermione closed her eyes once more. “Find that place that you've kept hidden. Locked away deep in your heart.” Narcissa placed a hand over her chest, “The place you've always longed for, the feelings you’ve left forgotten. They’re there, I know they are. And I know you can draw them out.”
Hermione released a deep sigh and let her heart relax. Funny, it seemed, the closest thing she had to happiness these days were moments like this, so calm and serene with the one woman who truly knew how to keep her safe.
“Yes, that's it,” Narcissa worked her magic over the younger witch. "Something warm, something soft, something light, something that will always bring you happiness even in the darkest of times.”
Narcissa slid her hand down to Hermione’s wrist and lifted her wand until it was pointed at the ceiling.
The room came to life in a spurt of soft pink. Flowers in wreaths of roses and lilies cast in vines bloomed around the windows and spread across the entire room. Scones of mini candles were conjured; they set to work dancing star shaped shadows across the ceiling. Hermione sat admiring their glow.
Narcissa gave a soft laugh from her neck.
“What, do you not like it? I don't know how I did it, but maybe I could change it?”
“No, it's perfectly fine,” Narcissa nuzzled. “Such a strong aura. See the flowers?” She pointed to the window, Hermione gasped.
“Mmmhmm,” she hummed. “What on Earth were you thinking about?”
Hermione fell silent, face flushed, her thumbs fiddling in her lap. She smiled to herself.
- An excerpt from Luminescence Chapter Seven, available on ao3 and ff (link in notes. Tumblr hates it when I post links)
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