The Black Lion

The Black Lion 

Chapter 10

Hermione stared at the ring now on her finger as she sat in the room with Regulus and Sirius. The black diamond gleamed brilliantly, though its elegance was undeniable. She marveled at it, still struggling to come to terms with everything that had happened.

Regulus smiled softly, leaning closer his face had a glow to it that it didn’t have the previous days. “It’s called Carbonado. One of our ancestors decided that Black’s family ring should be just that black. For strength and power.”

Hermione nods and leans closer to him, “It’s beautiful! Can you tell me more about our family? I have so many questions.” she tells him.

Regulus nodded happy that he had a chance to bond with his daughter. However, before he could speak, their family account goblin walked in. 

“I see that Heir Black proved to the family magic that she was the rightful heir.” their account manager, Bogkrat says to them.

Regulus smiles slightly standing tall with pride, “Yes, it was no doubt that she would. After all, look at who her parents are. Were you able to do what I asked you to before I came back?”

Bogkrat snorts at Lord Black if it was anyone else he would have asked this tiny wizard who he was to question a goblin. However he and Lord Black have started to have a friendship and he genuinely liked the young wizard more than others.

“Of course, I already billed the expenses to your family account. Would you like me to bring them in?” he asks the young lord.

Regulus holds his breath and nods his head, he reaches over and looks Hermione in the eye, “I have a surprise for you, I know it's been hard these last couple of days. So I hope this helps.”

Hermione blinked, confused. “A surprise? What do you mean....”

The sound of the heavy doors to the room creaked open cutting her sentence short. Bogkrat entered, gesturing behind him with a slight bow. Two familiar figures stepped into the room.

Hermione froze, her breath catching in her throat.

“Mom? Dad?” she whispered, her voice barely audible as she stared at the Grangers standing before her, looking equally stunned.

Her mother’s eyes welled with tears as she broke into a shaky smile. “Hermione,” she whispered back.

Hermione shot up from her seat, her chair scraping across the floor as she rushed forward. The distance between them disappeared in an instant, and she was enveloped in her mother’s arms, her father quickly wrapping them both in a tight embrace.

Regulus and Sirius watched quietly from the sidelines, both men giving her the space she needed for the moment. Hermione buried her face in her mother’s shoulder, the comfort of the familiar scent of her mother's perfume bringing a wave of emotion she hadn’t realized she was holding back. 

“How...?” Hermione asked, her voice muffled as she pulled away just enough to look at them.

“Regulus arranged everything,” her father said, his voice deep with gratitude, glancing toward Regulus with a nod of appreciation. “He found us and made sure we could be here. He had them restore our memories, young lady. We will talk about that later.” he tells her his voice light but with a slight scolding tone in it.

Hermione turned back toward Regulus, her eyes wide with disbelief. “You... you did this?”

Regulus stepped forward, a gentle smile on his lips. “I wanted to do something for you. I know how much they mean to you and how important they are to your life.”

Hermione nods before burying her face back into her mother's shoulder crying softly. Finally finding the comfort she’s been missing for the last couple of months in the warmth of the woman who raised her.

Her mother rubs her back gently before pulling away slightly, “I know you’ve been through a lot Hermione. Let it out.”

Hermione cries harder looking at her parents as she wipes her eyes, “It’s been so much. I felt alone with no one here to help me. I feel like I have to choose between you and him. I’m lost. I’m sorry for sending you guys away.” she tells them softly.

Her father placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder giving it a slight squeeze. "We always knew this day would come." 

He glanced at Regulus, his expression softening. "You have more family now, and that’s okay. It’s okay to love him too, Hermione. You have enough love in you for all of us. We want him to be a part of your life too. You don't have to choose. He can be there to help you with things we can’t bunny. You’re not alone anymore. We’re all here for you."

Sirius, standing nearby, grinned and leaned over to Regulus. "See? They're much better at the heartfelt speeches than we are."

Regulus smiled, but his attention remained on Hermione, watching the flickers of emotion on her face. He wanted to reach out to his daughter but knew she needed this time with her adoptive parents. He would wait for his time with her. He couldn’t force their relationship, he just hoped that she would give him a chance to be in her life.

Bogkrat cleared his throat from the side of the room. His sharp eyes narrowed in on Hermione. The room fell into a small silence at the interruption.

“I’m sorry to interrupt this moment but there are more things we need to discuss,” he tells everyone in the room. In honestly the moment was beautiful even to Goblin standards but they had many things to discuss that couldn’t wait any longer.

Hermione looks at Bogkrat confusion deep on her face, “What else is there for us to discuss?’

Bogkrat reached into his bag and pulled out an old scroll, sealed with the Black and Malfoy family crests. He held it out toward her.

“This,” Bogkrat said with his usual precision, “is a marriage contract. Between you, Heir Black, and Heir Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. It is binding. It was signed when between Lord Black and Lady Malfoy years ago it seems. Gorraff the Malfoy family accountant gave this to me a couple of minutes ago when I went to get the Grangers.”

The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Hermione’s heart skipped a beat as she stared at the parchment, her mind reeling. “A marriage contract?” Her voice shook with disbelief. She looked at the parchment then back at Bogkrat trying to process the information.

Regulus stepped forward, his expression solemn. “It’s true, Hermione. This was something I arranged with Narcissa years ago before you were born. It was even before I started dating Dorcas.”

She turned to him, shock and confusion etched across her face. “Why would you, how could this happen?”

Regulus took a deep breath, his tone remorseful but steady. “At the time, I was young and desperate to secure the future of our family, to ensure its power. The war cast a shadow over us, and I felt a deep sense of responsibility to protect those I cared for. Narcissa and I believed that uniting the Black and Malfoy lines was the best way to strengthen our families against the chaos we feared was coming. We were young, naïve, and scared. Most of all, we wanted our family to stay connected in some way, as it was already starting to fall apart.”

He glanced down at the scroll in Bogkrat’s hands. “The contract was sealed magically. It can’t be broken. It’s not something I’m proud of it was a rash decision two teens made at a moment without thinking. We did it with a spell from the family library. I’m not even sure I could even find the spell since we were drunk and high on fear that night.”

“So you’re telling me I have to marry bloody Malfoy?” she asks him through clenched teeth.

Regulus reached for her hand but stopped just short. “I promise you, Hermione, I never wanted to force anything on you. I never wanted to take your choice away.”

But Hermione’s thoughts raced. Draco Malfoy? The boy she had loathed and fought against for years? And yet... over time, he had changed. They had all changed. Malfoy was almost a shell of himself from what she had seen last time. It almost seemed as though he was as lonely as she was.

Making her mind up she looks at Regulus and sighs softly pulling into a hug. She wanted to feel angry at him but she couldn’t, especially since she understood his reasoning.

 Seeing the pain and regret in his eyes made her falter in her anger. Here was a man trying to fix his past but it seemed as though at every wrong he made right something else popped up that needed to be fixed. Yes, she was angry but not at him but at the circumstances.

“It’s okay, I don't like it, but I get why you did it” she whispers in his chest.

Regulus took a deep breath and rubbed her back and kissed her forehead, he didn't know how but he would figure out how to make it up to his daughter.

“I promise to be a better parent and fix all my wrongs, Hermione. I can’t undo the past but I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you” he whispers in her hair.