Family Reunion
Narcissa paced the length of her guestroom in the strange, kindly Veelas home. By now she had guessed they were somewhere in France based on the scenery she could see from the window and the various other Veela she had seen mingling and strolling on the vast Manor grounds.
The blonde haired witch had not slept well, she had spent the majority of the night tossing and turning, worries regarding the unknown fate of both her sisters on opposite sides of the war. It worried her because regardless of which side won one of her sisters were going to suffer, if they survived the inevitable fight. She could only pray that they had both somehow made it out alright. If her thoughts weren't tormenting enough as they taunted her with images of every possible, gruesome ending her sisters could face, her traitorous mind also taunted her with images of that bright eyed, intelligent muggle-born girl that had saved Narcissa and her sons life by sending them to this strangely wonderful place. She still couldn't figure out the importance of that little witch but she knew that somehow the girl was someone important to her.
She couldn't fathom though just why this unknown little witch had been willing to put herself at so much risk to protect a woman and her son who had directly fed into the prejudices and abuse she had faced at Hogwarts for years. She didnt know why she would be willing to risk her own life for a Malfoy and it baffled her, uncertainty and confusion along with intense relief and gratefulness swam in a confused murky sea around her mind. The realisation that she actually cared about whether or not the muggle-born actually survived the war was a startling revelation, one that she should have realised sooner she noted, as she replayed her interactions with the girl, especially that day at the Manor when Bella had tortured the girl. She knew she had been apprehensive about the situation, only now she realised it wasn't apprehension but fear for the girls life that had gripped her that day as she willed herself to plead with Bella to stop. The young brunettes cries and screams tore through her even now.
She knew Draco felt similarly about the girl and she vowed to herself that if the little witch who had shown them nothing but kindness and acceptance survived she would do everything she could to help the witch in the future.
Her internal analysis and restless pacing was cut short by the sudden pop as a little house elf appeared infront of the blonde. The creature looked young, younger than Narcissa had seen in a long time. Her large pale blue eyes, big droopy ears and cute pink tutu dress made the young elf look adorable in the percievably cold witches eyes.
"Sia has been asked by mistress Emilia to ask ms Black to come to the library as ms Black has some guests" the little elf informed her with a hesitant smile as the elf offered Narcissa her arm. The Blonde haired witch felt a wave of satisfaction wash through her when she realised she was being addressed as Black and not Malfoy by the elf which pleased her as she had no desire to continue her life under her husbands name or rule.
"Thank you Sia, may I enquire to the whereabouts of my son Draco?" Narcissa asked the adorable little creature, offering her a kind smile. One that was foreign to the witch but strangely came to her quite suddenly.
"Yes Ms Black's son is already in the library. We must be going now" Sia replied, her smile growing as Narcissa nodded and moved her hand to hold the little elfs offered one.
With a soft pop they were gone from the room.
-----
Hermione stood nervously between her parents and Aunt Andromeda in the Delacour Library. She and her mates had said a quick greeting to Fleurs family before being ushered into the room and left alone to await Narcissa and Draco's arrival. Her mates choosing to take a seat at the back of the library to offer her a little privacy to meet her aunt but still ensuring they were close enough that they could get to her quickly should she need them.
She was unsure about how this would all go and she could only pray for the best. She knew her aunt would be ecstatic to see Bellatrix alive but she wasn't sure just how forgiving her aunt would be about all the lies and truths that had been kept from her regardless of the reasons they had been kept from her and Draco. She knew she had already let Draco in on some of the truth and hoped that he would be able to soften his mothers reaction to the truths that were about to be laid infront of her.
"Draco I know you want answers but perhaps it is better that we await your mothers arrival?" Andromeda stated warmly, smiling at her nephew in an attempt to reassure the visibly nervous blonde boy. Hermione was relieved to see him cease his pacing and turn to face their aunt.
"Of course aunt Andromeda" he replied immediately, surprising everyone, including himself with how easily and quickly he had taken to calling Andromeda his aunt. He thought the smile on her face was worth the inner shock.
The soft pop drew all four of the current library occupants eyes to the centre of the room where Sia and Narcissa had just appeared in the room. Hermione studied her aunt carefully as the blonde took in the relaxed, easy smiles on all present. Her eyes first lingering on Bella and Andromeda, relief flashing through her eyes before they were schooled again into a cooler blue, that came to rest on Hermione. The little brunette had to work ever so hard not to laugh out loud in amusement at the mixture of relief and wariness that shone briefly in her aunts eyes as they focused on her.
"Miss Granger, I assume that seeing as you are here, looking relatively un injured you have news?" The blonde began carefully as she resolutely ignored her sisters for the time being. She needed to know what was going on before she would allow herself to deal with what she knew would be an awkward reunion with her sisters.
Hermione smiled gently, nodding an affirmative before speaking. "I do Ms Black, however I promised you the truth when it was safe to do so and as the Dark Lord is no more and our world begins to rebuild itself again I can assure you that I will answer all questions you have of me truthfully to the best that I can. Although I first must ask that you and Draco take a seat and allow me to begin telling you what I have had to keep from you for years." The little brunette spoke politely, her tone measured but firm and polite as she gestured towards the sofa that lay infront of her.
Without a word Narcissa nodded and placed herself elegantly on the sofa, her back rigid, her posture and poise emulating the stellar of pureblood pride. Draco followed his mothers lead, albeit somewhat less refined in his movements as his mother as he threw himself back into the sofa with a heavy sigh, Hermione smiled sympathetically at her blonde cousin she knew this war had effected him harshly and it would take him a long while to recover his bearings.
"Firstly I must start with who I am but I ask that while I tell you my story you do not interrupt me at all or I fear I may never get through it." The little witch began.
-----
"I grew up for the first eleven years of my life with two dotting muggle parents, whom I loved tremendously. Those eleven years were great. They weren't perfect by all means, my parents worked a lot and were rarely home but when they were they showered me with love. This started to change after my eleventh birthday when I recieved my hogwarts letter. They were understandably weary of magic but excepted it. However each holiday I returned from hogwarts I noticed them pulling further and further away from me until the summer before my fourth year. I was fifteen, my grandmother caught me using wandless magic, transfiguration spells have always been my specialty. She didnt know I was a witch but when she saw me using magic her usually loving demeanor changed drastically. From that moment onwards throughout the entire summer I became my familys punching bag. They physically, mentally and emotionally abused me to the point I was often beaten into unconsciousness. Coming back to hogwarts for fourth year, McGonagall noticed something was wrong with me. I did not know it at the time but she's my bond-grandmother so was very attuned to my wellbeing and knew straight away something was wrong. That evening she took me aside and convinced me to let her in on what had happened. She also told me that night about the bond" Narcissa listened intently as the little brunette witch told the story of her young life. She wasn't sure why but hearing that this girl had been treated so cruelly by her family infuriated Narcissa and if they were not already dead then she would have taken it upon herself to ensure that they did meet an entirely horrible ending.
"Once McGonagall knew what happened things moved pretty quickly. There were meetings where McGonagall was awarded guardianship over me and my parents and grandmother were arrested. They were sentenced to 80 years in Azkaban. Now it was during the first meeting I found out that I am infact adopted. My adoptive parents informed me that they had adopted me from a muggle orphanage in London and the only thing that I had in my possession when they met me was a sealed envelope that they could not open from who they presumed to be my birth family. They had been unable to break the seel however I could easily. Inside there was a green embroidered blanket with my name on it and a letter from my mother. In the letter my mother explained everything, the reasons she gave me up and then requested that I go find my aunt to hear the full story. McGonagall helped me make contact." At this the brunette paused and Narcissa watched curiously as she cast a loving look behind her at Bellatrix and Andromeda.
Narcissa gasped, pieces of the puzzle that had been plaguing her mind since her earliest interaction with this little witch suddenly falling into place. Why the girl cared so much, why she was drawn to the girl, why the girls magic felt so familiar to her, why the girls magic called out to her as if they were family. Why Andromeda was always around her, why Bellatrix encouraged Narcissa to trust the little witch. It all made perfect sense and Narcissa had to hold herself back desperately as she blinked back tears and held herself rigid. Her eyes fixed on the brunette teen infront of her. Not even daring to look at her sisters. She couldn't get the confirmation from them she needed it to come from this girl. This girl who could be... who could be.. Narcissa couldnt bare to let herself say it even in her own mind. She couldn't let herself hope yet.
"Tell me" narcissa whispered out through clenched teeth. "Who is your family? What is your name?"
"My name is Hermione Andromeda Narcissa Black Lestrange and..." Hermione got no further, suddenly finding herself enveloped in petite arms that were far stronger than they seemed as she was crushed against her blonde aunts chest.
"You're alive" was whispered reverently in Hermione's ear. "Bella, oh Merlin Bella you said.." Narcissa gasped out as she sobbed "I believed.. I believed she was dead"
"I'm sorry Cissa, I had no choice" Bellatrix said quietly as she took a tentative step towards her youngest sister who was still clinging to her daughter as if she was afraid the girl would suddenly dissapear if she let her go.
"How?" Narcissa whispered. "How could you let me believe that my niece had died but tell Andromeda everything? How could you deny me the right to know her? I could have helped protect her Bellatrix" the blonde hissed, her voice still a whisper but the hurt was clear in her voice and Hermione pulled her aunt in tighter in response, trying to calm her.
"Please aunt cissa, you have to hear everything before you let yourself give in to anger. Mama did what she had too and you need to listen to her reasons" Hermione whispered, she wasn't sure if it was her words or the emotion in them that caused her aunt to nod, giving in to her nieces pleading request.
The blonde relaxed her grip slightly as she pulled away from her niece to get a proper look at her. The tear stained cheeks of the young witch infront of her tugged painfully at her heart and she pulled the girl down onto the sofa with her, pulling the little brunette into her arms again.
"Talk Bellatrix" Narcissa demanded, burying her nose in her nieces curls, allowing their magics to twirl together in greeting as she took comfort in the girls, her nieces, scent and magic.
-----
Bellatrix gulped, this was the part of all this she was least looking forward too. She could already hear the hurt in her baby sisters voice and it broke her heart. She knew lying about Hermione's death would hurt her sister but she had to do it. She knew it was the only way to keep her daughter and her sister safe. If the Dark lord had found out before the final battle then he would have killed Narcissa and Bellatrix couldn't let that happen.
"Your graduation started it all. Dumbledore approached Rod and I, gave us the chance to join the order as his spy's. It gave us the ability to protect you and Meda and for years we managed fine. He taught us how to fake tortures and deaths, we climbed the dark lords ranks quickly. He believed us his most loyal and we let him, all the while we fed information back to the order." The dark witch began, moving to sit on the coffee table infront of her sister and her little girl. Hermione was watching Bella with soft warm eyes and the love and pride Bellatrix could see shining at her through her little girls eyes alongside the soft hand that Andromeda had placed on her shoulder gave her the courage she needed to keep talking.
"Six years in I fell pregnant as you know, but we realised quite quickly that based on Hermione's heritage alone then Tom would not leave her be, she would be brought up as his soldier and we didn't want that life for our baby. We made a hesitant plan to hide her, I glamoured my pregnancy and only you, Lucius and us knew about it. A few weeks before I was due I was looking through the family book when I saw an updated page on Hermione, it included a prophecy that basically said our girl was destined to help the boy who lived destroy the dark Lord with the help of two mates. A metamorphmagus of her own blood and a Veela of nobility."
"Fleur Delacour and Nymphadora. That makes sense now" Narcissa cut in as she looked down at her niece, smiling gently at the beaming smile on the young witches face as she recounted how close and intimate the three younger witches always seemed to be with one another whenever she had caught sight of them.
"Yes, Fleur and Dora. After I saw the prophecy I went to Andromeda, we took Dora to the ministry to collect the prophecy and I removed the family book from the Manor. Leaving it with Meda for safe keeping. Once I had seen the prophecy I knew there was no hope that I could keep my daughter safe if she was to remain with her family. If anyone found out about her she would have been used for her power and she wouldn't have survived. So between Rod, Meda and myself we devised a plan to hide Hermione in the muggle world so she had a chance at a proper childhood. One that wasn't filled with violence and fear. We agreed that only the three of us could know the truth because we couldnt trust Lucius and your marriage contract to him at the time wouldn't allow you to keep it a secret from him so we agreed to tell you both she died. Lying to you about her death was almost as hard as having to say goodbye to her when she was less than a day old knowing that it would be the last time I saw her until she was almost an adult." Bella swallowed thickly as she tried to hold in the concoction of emotions coursing through her.
Seeing her mother struggle so much caused Hermione to smile apologetically at her aunt before the brunette extricated herself from Narcissa's arms and moved to sit on her mothers lap. Wrapping her arms around her mother and burying her face in her neck. Offering Bellatrix silent comfort.
Bella wrapped her arms around her girl appreciatively, placing a tender kiss on the side of her little girls head. She didnt fail to see the soft smile that appeared unconsciously on her youngest sisters face as the blonde watched them quietly.
"When I was in prison because Albus knew voldemort would rise again and sent me and Rod there to keep our cover I almost lost hope in everything the prophecy predicted but thoughts of Hermione and our family gave me the strength to keep fighting. When she read the letter I had written for her, Hermione sent Dora to give me word that she knew her true identity and to reassure me of her love and faith in me. Once I found out about her muggle parents I was furious that anyone dared to touch MY child that way" the dark witch didn't even attempt to hide the swell of anger and possessiveness she felt as she held her daughter tighter and spat out the final few words, her body going tense only to relax a second later when her girl gripped her tighter, letting her know silently that she was alright and with her now.
"When voldemort sent his minions to break us all out I killed the muggles, painfully. Knowing that the aurors would just assume it was because I despised muggles and wouldn't look any deeper into it. From the moment I was free I resumed my role as spy. Informing Hermione whenever I could of what needed to be done. I told her about the horcruxes. I didnt actually torture her properly either. I did my best to keep her safe whenever there was a battle and she prepared the best she could. Informing those that needed to know of the truth. Trained her own army, and did everything she could to watch over you and Draco" Bellatrix whispered the pain clear in her voice. Pain of a thousand and more sleepless nights, the pain of her daughters absence, the pain of her own lies, the pain of having to live a life of deciet and violence all spewing forth in a rare moment of vulnerability and Narcissa couldn't find it within herself to hold on to the anger she had been feeling at her oldest sister. The sheer emotion displayed on her usually stoic big sisters face was enough to reduce both the blonde witch and Andromeda to tears as they both moved forward to envelope Bella and Hermione in their arms.
"Its alright now Bella" Andromeda whispered, running her fingers through the older witches tangled curls in an attempt to help soothe her sister.
"I may not like that you have lied but I understand now why it had to happen and I forgive you, both of you" Narcissa confesses honestly, glancing at Andromeda as well to make it clear that she was part of the 'both she spoke of. Bellatrix couldn't help but meet her gaze, hope springing to life in the dark witches tormented eyes.
"You forgive me?.." she whispered hesitantly, bringing a hand up to rest on her baby sisters cheek.
"I do Bella, how can I not. Everything you did was to protect us all. I cannot hold on to anger when I see how much you and Rod had to sacrifice to keep us safe. Nor can I be angered by the knowledge that even though she grew up without us my niece is the most remarkable, intelligent and kind little witch to have lived because of how much all three of you sacraficed. If it wasn't for Hermione I do not believe Draco and I would have made it out alive" Narcissa replied, smiling gently down at her niece.
"You're family aunt cissa, you may not have known who I was but I knew who you were, I could not allow you and Draco to come to harm. Aunt Meda, Aunt Teddy and Dora were protected already. Mama and papa to a degree as well. For your own safety you couldn't know but that didn't mean I didn't love you both just as much as I do the other members of my family." Hermione replied quietly, still holding her mother close knowing Bella wasn't quite ready to let her go yet.
"Oh Hermione!" Narcissa cried out as she flung her arms around her niece and sisters more tightly in response. She couldn't stop the tears that slid down her face relentlessly even if she tried. She was overjoyed to know that her niece hadn't actually died and that her niece had spent years protecting her family secretly. She found it remarkable how one little witch who held so much power had been able to stay so humble and loving but then again Narcissa had grown up in the dark. All she had ever known was fear, violence and power hungry individuals. She had never known love outside of her sisters but it was clear that her niece knew love. The real sort. The unconditional love that any child should grow up with no matter what and she knew that Bellatrix had done right in hiding the girl from the world. She knew Bella was right Voldemort would have done all he could to secure the loyalty of the girl knowing her heritage, even if it meant murdering the girls family. By hiding Hermione's existence Bella had prevented any harm befalling them.
-----
Draco had sat silently as he had listened to his aunt and his... his cousin? Merlin that was strange to think of, he thought to himself. He took in their words and couldnt help the immense amount of guilt that swelled within him at just how much of an arrogant bigot he had allowed his father to make him. He had spent so long pinning after his father's affections that he had not noticed just how horrible a man his father had become until it was too late, he let his own anger cloud his rationale and followed in his fathers prejudiced and archaic views blindly. Yet this little brunette, a girl he himself had put through so much upset had the courage to not only to stand up against such prejudices but also give up her childhood and safety to take down the darkest man alive? He knew he couldn't possibly make it up to her for his awful actions against her but the realisation that all along HE was the the unworthy one was stark and he found he could not conceal the tears of anguish that began streaking his face as he stood to face his family.
"Hermione, I know it will never be enough for all that I have put you through but I am so sorry for the suffering I have caused you. I blindly followed a horrific man, letting my anger consume me as a tried to gain his approval and I hate that I cannot take that back but I promise you I will do everything I can to ensure that I never make the same mistakes again" He whispered quietly, his shame and upset colouring his voice.
"I do not want your apology Draco, not because I cannot forgive you but because it is entirely unnecessary. You are and were only a child, your father is at fault as he was meant to guide you. He failed you, you did not fail him or anyone for that matter, the important thing is that you see the error now for what it is and I fully expect you to ensure that you correct the errors you do see" Hermione replied warmly as she smiled at her cousin.
Draco nodded his head vigorously in agreement, unable to speak aloud as he choked on the strength of his own emotions, it was like suddenly a well had been opened and all the turmoil, pain, anxiety, guilt and heartbreak he had pushed down since this all began burst forth at the look of sheer love and acceptance that decorated the face of the cousin he had never known he had and he went gratefully into her offered open arms as she pulled him in to the family huddle that seemed to be taking place right infront of them.
Hermione felt relieved to finally have been able to be open with her family. To now have the chance to get to know them and rebuild her family back to where they had once been, respected members that gave meaningful contribution to a society that they helped create.
All that was needed now was her mates, her papa and her grandmama to join the family huddle and she knew that her family would once again be complete. Her heart fluttered as her chest filled with love for those she held close to her and she knew that this moment right here would forever be the memory she called upon whenever she had need to cast her patronus for she had never in her life felt so entirely free or content as she was in that moment surrounded by the family she had spent years fighting to reunite.