Chapter 4
“Merlin” huffed Andromeda that night at the Order meeting “We didn’t even see her coming”
Hermione crashed, she ran out of Grimmauld place and disapparated to Hogwarts were Hagrid let her go in and walked next to the Black lake were a monument stood, it was a stone monolit with the names of the students victims of both wars, infused with the magic of the survivors,a spell similar to a patronus permanently attached to the monument, it was sensed to bring peace and calm to the visitors.
She sank to her knees on the wet sand and cried. She heard movement near her and knew that Ron and Harry came for her.They already knew where she went when she spiraled out of control with memories of the war.
Everything that happened before Dumbledore's death, she’ll go to her parents house, no longer their house, and sit in the curve. If it was the Horcrux hunt, Ron’s splinching and his disappearance, she’ll be found at the forest of Dean near the pond where they found the sword. Bellatrix? the beach near Shell cottage.
The Battle? Draco? here at hogwarts, she would cry for the small moments of kindness that he bestowed on her during the years, in secret of course, no one near to witness, there was a point when she thought she was going mad, until his eyes panicked when he saw her in his drawing room, and then she knew that those memories were very real. She cried for a boy in an bigoted house, surrounded by bigoted people, she cried for a boy who might have had a different life, different believes if his parents were there to guide him and not oppress him, she cried for the 18 year old boy who died in a war and his last action was move her away from the curse that killed him. She cried until her body ached from the spasm of her sobbing.
This would happen every month, sometimes for Lavender when she saw an article in Witch weekly that reminded her of the girl, and she would regret being so dismissive with her. Sometimes for Remus and his lonely life and wondering if he was happy to reunite with his friends finally. When she cried for Fred she just became numb.
The knowledge of Narcissa being behind all the scheming brought a stain to her memory of Draco and what he could have been doing if he had the opportunity to live a free and happy life.
After what felt like two days but surely were less than 30 minutes, she stood up, brought back the happiest memory she could, in view of the circumstances and conjured her patronus, letting the ghost-like otter dance around the monolit, a jack russell terrier and a stag accompanying it.
She turned and, holding hands with the both of them, they found their way out of Hogwarts and back home.
It took her two days to come out of her room, her face, hair and bedroom reflecting clearly the turmoil and desperation that came over her. She wasn’t giving up, she gave up on the election though, the candidates were Kingsley, who lost all support of the people, including the Order even if they were going to vote for him, Cornell Mclaggen, Cormac’s father who was as despised as his son and his brother and was purposely inept and Narcissa Malfoy, who we already established is bad news.
“I don’t think Lady Malfoy is bad news, maybe the whole coup was Mclaggens doing and it backfired. she saw an opportunity and took it”
Harry, bless him, bought all of the hippogryph’s shite that Dumbledore drilled into him over the years about a mother’s love, and decided to compare Lily’s sacrifice, with Narcissa’s disobedience of the Dark Lord over knowledge about Draco. Not that she doubted Lily’s actions, but she was sure Lily wasn’t the first witch to put herself between danger and someone they loved. But Harry decided that this made Lady Malfoy a good person.
“She has been cordial and polite to all of us everytime we see her” Harry insisted. Hermione Locked eyes with Ron and Ginny over Harry’s head. Ever since she left the dark hole that was her bedroom she has been meeting with them regularly, but Harry has missed most of them now that the Auror Forces were reuniting getting ready for the elections and the possible aftermath.
“Harry” Ginny called his attention “Hermione, Ron and I have been talking a lot lately, and because the League hasn’t restarted I’ve had time to help Hermione look into things”
“You know, I heard you mate” Ron continued “ You and Hermione both talked a lot about second chances and how Mrs Malfoy was a victim, and if Malfoy, Draco I mean, were alive how things should have gone, so what i’m about to say is not part of the old feud between our families or any of that rubbish but what we have observed” a pause, letting Harry breathe before saying “ In none of those events has Mrs Malfoy ever directly talked to Hermione or other muggle-borns. She has always approached you, Neville or Luna when we are around and she asks questions to the room, that she knows, she knows that you, being the good lad that you are, are going to include us in conversation. When Hermione talks to her she never makes eye contact”.
“She always looks over my ear and has a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, Harry” Hermione added “ she doesn’t answer, she just hmmms and redirects a vaguely related question to you or the other two”.
“I talked to Dean and other Muggle -borns in my year that have had contact with her lately, and they said the same”
“She hasn’t even restarted a relationship with Andromeda Harry”
“And Everytime ‘Mione would pass near her Mrs Malfoy would move away mate”
“I thought that was some posh manners of something” Harry defended
“What about Andromeda?” Hermione insisted
“I reckon you're right”
Well, that was strangely essay, Hermione Thought.
“But what about.. “ ah! that’s more like it “the charities and the donations, the articles that she publishes. Hermione you said so yourself all those days ago”
“That's what I’ve been helping her with Harry. While you and Ron have been at work, Hermione and I have been pouring in every single document she could smuggle out of the Ministry archives. And although she has been very vocal and open about her charity work, none of those funds are going to anything that the blood purists do not stand behind”
“ the scholarships are being used only for orphan purebloods,as if they need the money, the rest is the same, the most controversial idea she has supported was the protection of wild unicorns, which the Malfoy name profits from because raising and harvesting from unicorns is not illegal in france where her farm is , and now she sells the ingredients at three times the price” Hermione’s hair was pulsing once she ended her tirade
After a moment of contemplation Harry asked “has anybody spoken to Andromeda about any of this? She’s the one who knows her better”
It was Ginny who answered “ she’s coming in a few minutes, I promised to take care of Teddy because we didn’t know if Hermione would be able after the crush”
“the crash” the other three corrected
“Reckon that’s why malfoy wanted to speak to us?” Ron mussed
Shortly after Andromeda entered with little Teddy who started having longer conversations and running around falling down every four steps, like mother, like son. Just behind Andromeda came Luna
“Are you ready for our date Ron?” she asked to the room. Ron nodded trying to cover his face that went Griffyndor red all over.
Harry ignored the couple and asked Andromeda if she knew anything about her sister’s alliances, Unsurprisingly she didn’t know her now like she used to when they were young and told them that if anything Bellatrix would have known better having shared a house during the war.
“ I talked with her a lot when I stayed at the Manor” Answer Luna making the room stop for a breath
Luna always referred to her abduction at Malfoy Manor as if it was a sejour of her choice, If it was because of her trauma or because she seriously believed that, Hermione would never know
“she always visited me, almost everyday,and stayed for hours asking me about the Department of Mysteries”
This time the room didn’t stop, it came rushing to her. Hermione knew, because they would always tease her about it, that she looked like a crazy person pacing the parlor up and down while muttering under her breath, after a minute that felt like ten she said
“It’s the Veil!”