Chapter 5
Chapter 5
When they arrived at the manor, Bella gave a brief tour while the house elves prepared a room for Lyra. The tour ended in what was now Lyra’s bedroom. Lyra heads to bed without much discussion. Rodolphus floo calls the Malfoys to explain that the girl was in fact Lyra, that she had agreed to come home with them, and due to this they may not be available until she was comfortable with the idea of a visit. Lucius and Narcissa agree not to visit until invited.
‘I will come over in the morning. There are several things that I need to discuss with you both as well as Rab.’
‘Of course. Come over whenever you have time.’
‘Will do, enjoy the rest of your evening,’ Rodolphus closes the floo just as Bella walks in.
‘Lyra is in bed already. The house elves tell me that she took several potions before lying down. We should probably ask her what the healer said about her recovery.’
‘Bella, we will. But tonight let us just be happy that we found her and that she is home. Let's go to bed. It has been a long day.’
Rodolphus wraps his arm around her shoulder and begins to lead them toward their room.
*.*
The next morning Rodolphus and Bella enter the dining room to find their daughter already eating.
‘Good morning, Lyra. Did you sleep well?’ Bella asks as she sits in the chair to their daughter’s left.
Lyra swallows before answering. ‘Yes, I did. Unfortunately, I always wake early when I am somewhere new. It did give me time to explore this morning, though. I was able to find my way here without asking for help from the house elves.’
‘That's good to hear. Feel free to explore as much as you want. Would you like your mother to show you around some more? I'm sure she would love to spend time with you.’ Bella nods enthusiastically ‘We heard you were recently injured. Is there anything we can do to help with your recovery?’
Lyra froze and dropped her fork.
‘I forgot to take my potions this morning!’ She quickly leaves the room, only to return several minutes later.
‘Thank you for reminding me. I have been taking all the potions on time. However, I need to spend much more time resting to ease my recovery. I’ll also need to send a note to Madam Pomfrey letting her know where to send the rest of the potions. Do you have an owl here or will I need to go to Diagon Alley?’
‘We have two owls here. If they are both gone, we can always floo Cissa and ask to borrow one of the Malfoy owls. Please keep us informed on your condition. While we are on the subject of Diagon Alley… Do you need anything? New clothes? Or anything to make your familiar more comfortable? You can go to Diagon Alley whenever you want, but if you find that you are unable to get the things you need, we can ask Narcissa to go.’
Lyra shakes her head before saying, ‘Actually, I think I am fine for now. But in these next few days I may think of something. Perhaps Mrs Malfoy can come over for tea later this week? I’m interested in meeting her in person.’
‘That is a great plan,’ Bella exclaimed. ‘I will arrange everything. Is there anything you don't eat? Or something specific you would prefer to eat?’
‘I'm quite simple in that regard: I tend to not eat too many sweets, but that is about it. I will be sure to let you know if that changes, of course.’
Rodolphus finishes his breakfast and rises from the table. ‘I will see the both of you at dinner. Enjoy your day. You may want to rest outside by the pool. There are several places outside that are perfect for reading. Bella, perhaps you could show her the library?’
Lyra jumps up and hugs him. After a moment he hugs her back.
‘It is great to have you home. I will see you this evening.’
‘Have a good day, father.’ Lyra sits back down to finish her meal.
Roddy looks at his wife with tears in his eyes. He leans down and places a kiss on her temple before leaving the room.
Immediately afterwards, he floos his brother and asks to meet him at Malfoy Manor. After a moment to gather himself, he grabs the Floo powder to head to the Malfoy abode himself.
When he arrives, the Malfoy family is just finishing breakfast. Not a second later later, Draco excuses himself, catching a pointed look from his father.
‘Rodolphus, we are so happy to see you. How are things this morning?’
‘She called me father just before I left. I didn't expect it so soon…’ Rudolphus stares at the table before clearing his throat and looking around. ‘I'm sorry. Everything is still so fresh, so raw. Narcissa, Bella is planning a tea for later this week. Lyra is interested in meeting you.’
‘That is wonderful. I will rearrange my schedule to fit whatever time they choose.’
‘Lucius. I must speak with the Dark Lord. Lyra will not have an interest in meeting with him any time soon, but it is in our best interests to let him know how things are progressing.’
‘Of course, I am set to meet with him later today. I will let you know when he can see you.’
At that moment, Rabastan enters the room. Rodolphus stands up and strides across the room.
‘Rab, we found her. She is at home with Bella right now, and she called me father!’
The brothers embrace tightly.
‘When can I meet her?’
‘I'm not sure. She agreed to meet with Narcissa later this week, but I haven't asked about anyone else yet. She is still recovering, and I don't want to overwhelm her. Come, sit. There is another matter that I must discuss with you all. Lyra asked me to obliviate her adoptive parents, and when I did I saw various conversations with Dumbledore in the month leading up to the kidnapping.
‘The husband was persuaded by his wife and knew almost nothing. The wife, on the other hand… Dumbledore told her everything. Apparently, she was a squib and he felt she could be trusted. It seems as though Dumbledore has not visited her in years but if he does he will know her memories were removed. I did place a compulsion on both of them to leave the country, but I am not sure how strong.’
Rudolphus said all this in a rush before slumping down in the chair. Lucius was the first to recover.
‘What are you planning?’
‘Lyra wants to help, and I think we have the start of a plan. Last night, we cast the lineage spell. That is the fastest way to confirm when you suspect two parties are related. However, I’m sure you remember the potion that details familial history on a parchment. Given how studious she is, we believe it is possible she may have discovered this potion and decided to brew it over summer or at the start of term. Doing so would cause her to seek guidance from trusted Order members. I wonder what they would tell her.’
‘Interesting. And how will she communicate what she learns?’
‘House elf. Anything she learns she can write down, and our elf can grab it with no one the wiser. If that becomes too risky, perhaps she can give the note to Draco during the school year? Surely, it would not be abnormal for him to write home regularly.’
‘That is a great start. When will we inform Draco that his long lost cousin has returned?’
‘Excuse me? My what?’
All eyes snapped up from the table. Draco stands by the doorway.
‘Oh, Draco, thank you for joining us again, did you need something?’ Narcissa was quick to walk over to her son in an effort to distract him.
‘Mother, what cousin?’
‘Draco, won't you join us? We need to share something with you.’
‘Yes, Father.’ Draco follows his mother to the table and sits down before focusing on his father.
‘I am listening.’
Rudolphus spoke up first. ‘You wouldn't remember, but you have a cousin that was born ten months before you. She was kidnapped at thirteen months old. We all searched for her. Your parents continued while we were locked in Azkaban. No trace was found for years. Recently we began looking with renewed effort.’
Draco nods in understanding.
‘We have finally found her. She has agreed to come home with us. The kidnapping is a delicate situation. We are trying to figure out how many people are involved. Because of this not many will know of her true identity for some time.’
Draco was silent for some time.
‘Who is she? Is this why you were asking about Granger last week?’
Draco looks around the room. Rodolphus and Draco make eye contact before the latter looks ashamed and lowers his gaze to the table. ‘I am sorry for the way I have treated her over the years. I thought she was a mud-’ Draco clears his throat, ‘-muggleborn. I would never have behaved that way if I had known.’
‘What way?’ Rudolphus' voice hardens.
‘I will apologize as soon as I am able. I will never do it again.’
‘What did you do to my daughter?’
In a quiet voice, Draco begins to tell his uncle about his behavior. He also includes how Hermione defended herself.
‘You will make it up to her however she chooses, do you understand?’
‘Yes, Uncle. Let me know when I can see her so I may apologize in person.’
‘You will not share anything with any of your friends, understand?’
‘Yes, Father. May I be excused?’ Lucius nods and Draco flees the room. Rudolphus laughs.
‘That was fun. Do you think any of his friends have also behaved this poorly towards my daughter? I think I’ll enjoy doing that again.’ Rodolphus says before laughing.
*.*
As her father left the room, Hermione caught the loving look her mother sent her way.
‘Mother?’
‘Yes, dear?’
‘I need to write a letter to Madam Pomfrey and send it. Can you show me where to find the owls?’
‘Of course, darling. Would you also like to visit the library? You seemed interested when your father mentioned it.’
The women stood from the table and began to make their way through the manor toward Hermione's room. Once there, Hermione sat down at her new desk and began to compose a letter.
Madam Pomfrey,
I have successfully found alternative accommodations. As this letter relates to my medical health, I urge you not to disclose its contents with anyone. As you said, I am legally old enough to oversee my wellbeing without parental consent and that is what I am doing. I will send an owl to you every week to collect the potions I need.
If you need to see me in person, we can arrange to meet at the Leaky Cauldron. For now, I am going to keep my location to myself. If anyone asks, please tell them I am safe and doing my best to get better. Please send a few of those parchments we discussed. I will ensure that one arrives each week with the owl who will pick up my potions.
Is this arrangement acceptable? If not, we can meet and discuss at length.
Sincerely,
Hermione Granger
Before sealing the parchment she hands it to Bellatrix.
‘Mother, this is what I am sending to my healer. Do you think it is acceptable?’
Bella walks over, reads the note, and nods her head.
‘That should be fine. Let's go send it, then we can explore the library. On the way there could you please explain why your healer considers you an adult?’
Lyra describes her 3rd year as they begin their walk through the house.
‘So you did all that in 3rd year and you were at the Ministry recently. Please tell me the rest of your schooling has been less exciting.’
After taking the time to send her note, Lyra looks at her mother.
‘Unfortunately, there are many more stories I can tell you regarding my ‘adventures at school’, but I'm not sure if I should tell you now or wait for Father.’
‘Go ahead and tell me now. I will fill your father in when I have time. He may have questions.’
Lyra nods and starts at the beginning when she found out she was a witch. By the time she has completed her story, they eat lunch, after which she wanders the library looking for something interesting to read.
*.*
Later that afternoon, Lyra wakes from a relaxing nap. As she opens her eyes, she sees Bellatrix sipping her tea in a nearby armchair. They had spent the afternoon reading in the library. Lyra was stunned at the sheer size when they first entered the room. An hour of browsing later, she sits with a stack of books that she planned on reading over the next few days. Shortly after opening the book she chose to read first; Lyra drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
Slowly Lyra pushes herself up until she is sitting upright.
‘Would you like a cuppa?’ Hermione nods and Bella prepares a cup before handing it to her.
‘How did you sleep?’
‘Good. It is very relaxing here.’
‘That is good to hear. I do have something I would like to ask you if you don't mind.’
‘Go ahead.’
‘Well, this morning we discussed tea with Narcissa, and while I am already planning that, there are other family members that would love to see you. Your uncle Rabastan, on your father’s side, as well as Lucius and Draco, I’m sure. You don't have to see them all at once, but I wanted to see how you felt. We won’t try to introduce you to everyone, but family is a different matter.’
Hermione sips her tea as she considers the request. ‘I think I can manage one at a time? I'm not sure in what order. You can talk with them and decide. Just let me know so I can get ready. I don't want to be in my pajamas when someone arrives.’
‘I can understand that. I will talk it over with your father and then the rest of the family.’
‘Thank you. After we finish our tea, can you show me around the grounds? Father made it sound like I would find many places to read.’
‘Whenever you are ready, we can go out for a stroll.’
*.*