the_debt_of_time

"I've got Veritaserum in a safe if you want to test me," Draco offered.
Sirius stared at the boy for a long minute until he felt Hermione grasp his shirt
tightly as another wave of pain washed over her body. He peered down at her with worry
and then back up at the boy and Narcissa.
"Go," he said shortly, wondering if he had made the right call.
"Where are Harry and Ron?" Hermione rasped, throat clearly tender from
screaming. "And did I hear right? Malfoy's on our side?"
"Possibly." Sirius rested her head back on the floor. "I'd pick you up, love, but you'll
just be in more pain with every move. You need to stay there until it's safe to leave. Then
we'll go somewhere you can heal properly." His eyes flickered to the word carved into her
arm, and he growled.
"That won't heal, will it?" She blinked away a few straggling tears.
Sirius shook his head. "No, it'll scar. Her blade was cursed. I'm sorry."
"So am I," Narcissa whispered, kneeling down beside Hermione with a pillow in
her hands, eyeing the girl curiously.
She looked at Sirius as she moved, showing that she was not going to touch the
young witch without his permission. Apparently, she understood how protective he was
over Hermione.
Sirius lifted Hermione's head to help Narcissa make her more comfortable.
"What do we do, Sirius?"
He turned his attention to his cousin. "Apparently, we wait for your son. Is he telling
the truth?"
"I don't know," Narcissa confessed. "I was never allowed in the meetings. Draco
always attended with Lucius. He's different around his father and the others. At home, here
with just me, he's always been a kind boy. I was heartbroken when Lucius dragged him into
the inner circle, branding him like that." A few tears escaped from her eyes. "I should have
listened to you all those years ago."
"I've got it," Draco said as he entered the room once again.
Before he had a chance to reach Sirius, a voice shouted from behind
him, "Expelliarmus!"