Learning the Past
April 1926 - Outskirts of Zarasai, Lithuania
"You were born in Gryffindor Palace near the Baltic Sea. The youngest daughter of several long, royal lineages; On your father James' side you come from the McGonagall's of Germany and Denmark as well as the Dumbledore's of Russia. On your mother Lily's side you are from the Slytherin's of Germany and the Ravenclaw's of the United Kingdom. Your mother was the favorite granddaughter of Queen Rowena Ravenclaw who ruled for over 60 years!" Theo explained, all too happy to talk about the history of the suppressed royal family since the rise of Lenin had deprived him of his passion for teaching. "Your father James was the oldest of five, his brother Grand Duke Regulus passed before you were born and Grand Duke Remus passed a few years ago. However, your Aunt's Grand Duchess Bellatrix and Grand Duchess Alice are both still alive."
"So, I have a living grandmother and two living aunt's?" Mia asked as Theo showed her portraits from a well-worn book.
"Technically speaking. Bellatrix married Grand Duke Tom Riddle and Alice married Colonel Frank Longbottom. And Remus was married to Countess Nymphadora before he passed away. So you have three aunts and two uncles alive on James' side. Your mother also has three living siblings; Marchioness Marlene, Princess Pamona, and Grand Duke Severus. Pamona's husband Price Filius and Severus' wife Princess Sybil are both still alive so you also have two living uncles and three living aunts on your mother's side as well," Theo added as he pulled out a second album of photos and pointed out the different people as he spoke.
She felt a tingle in her chest at the thought that maybe (just a small maybe) she might actually have a family who loves her. She won't admit it out loud but she wants these distinguished-looking men and women to be related to her. To be a potential support system for her in the future. She knows she shouldn't but she imagines meeting them and being showered in hugs and 'I missed you's. She imagines that in just a few weeks she will have not only a loving grandmother but several aunts and uncles to act as parental figures as well.
She has to mentally shake herself to stop the fantasy. She's not actually the missing princess so she'll never meet these people and she'll never be part of their family. But it's nice to think that, even if not this group, she has familial matches somewhere out there who are waiting for her.
"Your immediate family, obviously, consisted of Tsar James Dumbledore II - son of Dowager Empress Minerva McGonagall and Tsar Albus Dumbledore III - and Tsarina Lily Ravenclaw - daughter of Princess Helga Ravenclaw and Prince Salazar Slytherin. They had your eldest sister Pansy in November of 1895. Now normally when royal families have a firstborn daughter there's quite a bit of hemming and hawing from relatives and the couple is publicly disappointed to not have a son and heir but Tsar James and Tsarina Lily were very overjoyed to have had your sister. When Grand Duchess Astoria was born in June of 1897 they still showed the same happiness."
"I thought all royal families wanted a boy to take the throne. Why were they so happy if they had two girls in a row?" Draco asked from where he'd been silently observing their conversation, taking a seat beside Mia.
"I don't really know, probably because they loved their kids equally? No one at court really talked about why, it was just a big part of the gossip that they were so happy with their girls when there was no one to secure the dynasty. The gossip mongers got even worse when in June of 1899 Grand Duchess Ginevra was born. It wasn't until your younger brother Tsarevich Harry was born in August of 1904 that the Imperial Court sighed in relief that there was finally an heir to the throne. From all accounts, you got along well with your family- especially your younger brother. You would both terrorize the palace staff and play practical jokes on the visiting dignitaries. The only way to get you two to behave was your father giving you his famous look and a stern talking to. But even your sisters were quite close with you when you were younger, you and Ginny shared everything from dresses to confidants and you would often send secret letters to each other signed 'ДжГе', the first letters of your names together. It was said that your two eldest sisters had a similar arrangement when they penned notes to each other, and the four of you as a unit were nicknamed ПАДГ."
"Yeah, a unit of troublemakers," Draco grumbled under his breath.
"Huh?" Mia questioned, unable to quite hear what he said.
"I just remember that- er I remember hearing that the four of you together was quite a hassle for the palace staff. Pansy was very demanding, Astoria had swaths of boys following her everywhere, Ginevra was constantly chatting people's ears off if she could get them to stop and speak with her, and you and Harry were just all over the place. Climbing trees and refusing to come down, tripping the servants when they walked past carrying laundry, removing shoes from dinner guests. The list goes on," Draco explained to her with a fond yet exhausted look on his face. Mia smiled at the thought. What she wouldn't give to remember her past. To reminisce about this tight-knit group that she could only recall in fuzzy hazes that fluttered on the edges of the royal portraits. She was sure she was imagining the way their laughter sounded and how boisterous the siblings could be, but she let herself daydream for a few moments that this was real.
April 1926 - Aleksotas, Kaunas, Lithuania
They were lucky enough to hitch a ride on the back of a pig farmer's trailer, the owner promising to take them as far as Suwałki, Poland since that's where he was heading anyway. The companions sat on their suitcases and haybales as they went over royal etiquette; sitting up straight, keep your chin level, when you eat never make noise, when you drink tea don't let the cup or stirring spoon make a sound. The men had made her practice walking as though she was floating for several hours (she had no idea if she'd managed to accomplish it or if she'd just made a fool of herself). She had to hold back from rolling her eyes when Draco kissed the back of her hand and Theo made her curtsey back. They observed every bite she took of her stroganoff, critiquing the way she held the spoon. Criticizing the way she held the bowl, where her elbows were placed, even the way she swallowed!
"Can we go to bed now?" She asked when they'd finally finished eating, exhausted from a day and a half of walking and etiquette lessons.
"Not until you can do this correctly," Theo reprimanded her as he handed her a plate of Kuršėnų Vyniotinis that they'd picked up at a market when they'd stopped for dinner before getting on the wagon. "Here, desert. Show me exactly what we've been practicing and we can stop for the day." She suppressed a groan, not even the appetizing desert could make up for this hell.
April 1926 - Rajgród, Poland
They had thanked the farmer in Suwałki before stopping at an inn nearby. The boys bartered with the owners for a few minutes before it was decided they could stay the night if they finished the farm chores for the day. Mia and the innkeepers got a kick out of seeing Theo attempting to milk a cow (who'd been a bull and a very angry one at that) and Draco had a surprisingly easy time herding the sheep into their night pasture (with a little help from Sirius. The two still hated each other but it seemed they'd come to a mutual understanding about herding avis). Mia herself had helped start the guest's fireplaces and cleaned the dinnerware before bed.
When the trio had left in the morning one of the guests who'd overheard that they were trying to get to Warsaw offered to let them come with him to Łomża. He was traveling with a pack of horses for market so they could all ride along with him (Sirius had to catch a ride in Theo's satchel but Mia guessed that wasn't an issue from the way the dog kept popping in and out of it with treats in his mouth and his tongue eventually flapping in the air).
It took a few minutes for Mia to get the hang of riding a horse but she was a fast learner (or had great muscle memory if the men were to be believed, saying she'd had a horse as a child) so soon they were off. They made it to Rajgród before they had to stop, Draco needed a break from riding. He claimed he was just tired but the others guessed it had something to do with being bucked off of his horse a few hours earlier. He was fine overall (his pride more wounded than anything else) but he did have a few scrapes on his hands and knees where he'd landed on the gravel road.
April 1926 - Radzymin, Poland
"Thank you again for the ride!" Theo called as their driver took off down the road. They'd caught a gentleman in a good mood when they'd delivered the horses to Łomża and he'd been kind enough to take them as far as Radzymin before he had to go north while they kept on toward Warsaw. He'd told them of a few places they could rest and clean up nearby before he left and they were grateful for the chance to refresh before heading on to the next leg of their journey. They walked for a few more hours before Theo managed to procure a couple of bicycles for them. It was fun learning to stay upright, and entertaining to find that while it took Mia a little under an hour to get the hang of riding, Draco spent half of the ride wobbling left and right and attempting not to end up in the ditch again. They arrived at the bus depot in Warsaw a little before dark and procured three tickets to Bremerhaven, Germany where they could board the boat to France. The ride would take a little over eleven hours, but it wasn't an animal's back, a bike seat, or their own two feet so the small group was thrilled for the chance to let the machine do the work for them.