September 1990
"As a member of this house, you're expected to behave accordingly, so no more crying, understood?" The scary woman scowled at the girl's tear-streaked face. Still dressed in nothing but her flimsy pyjamas, the fire at the back of the room did little to warm Hermione's shivering form. For what had felt like hours, she had been listening to the older man and woman who had taken her from her home, feeling the fear in her heart grow with every word that came out of their mouths.
"Please just let me go, I need to know if my parents are –" Before she could finish, the haughty woman sitting across from her sat up and pointed her wand at the distraught girl.
"Don't you dare to call those muggles your family, you're Black, and you should be grateful that we took you back!" She exclaimed furiously, her threatening tone sending shivers down Hermione's spine.
"Walburga calm yourself, the child is clearly distressed, let Kreacher take her to Regulus' old room for now and let's continue this talk tomorrow." The patriarch of the house spoke, and Hermione watched Mrs Black take a couple of deep breaths before nodding in agreement.
"Fine, I'll oversee her atrocious behaviour for now, what else should we've expected from someone raised by muggles…Kreacher!" Hermione let out a startled yelp when the house elf appeared beside his Mistress. She was tired from everything that had happened, but the thought of having to stay with those strange people kept her from giving into her exhaustion.
Turning her head towards the door, she contemplated if she could make it to the front door fast enough to call for help, but when she looked back to her two captors, she found the older Black's calculating gaze on her.
"Take Hermione up to Regulus' room, and lock the door, my precious granddaughter is not in her right mind right now." He spoke, and the creature looked at Hermione with wide eyes, something akin to awe written over his wrinkled features.
"Kreacher will take good care of the young Miss, he'll make sure that she stays in Master Regulus' room." Petrified Hermione felt the creature's bony hands grab her wrist before she felt the same nauseating sensation from before and suddenly found herself standing in a dark room, the creature from before nowhere to be seen.
"How- This has to be a dream; I need to wake up." She whispered quietly to herself, before dashing towards the high door, feverishly pulling on the golden handle. When it didn't budge, she let out a frustrated yell and proceeded to bang her hands on the hard wood until she felt blood running from her bruised knuckles.
"Please let me out! I beg you, please I just want to go home!" Her calls were met with silence. After a while, her throat burning from her exasperated cries for help, all her remaining strength left her body as she slid down to the floor. With fresh tears clouding her blurry vision, Hermione leaned her head back on the cold wood of the door, finally giving in to her exhaustion. She felt her consciousness slip away and a few seconds later the young witch had fallen into a restless slumber on the faded rug …
Downstairs, Arcturus Black took another sip from his whiskey, enjoying the silence that had followed after the girl had finally stopped wasting her breath. His daughter-in-law stopped her agitating pacing, and he watched as she pinched her nose, trying to collect herself before speaking up again.
"She's definitely got spirit; we need to be careful, or else we've got ourselves another Sirius." He told the dark-haired witch.
"I'll not fail again, I was much too lenient with that boy, seeing as he was my first." Mrs Black said, determined to make a proper Black out of the girl. Arcturus watched her for a few seconds before inclining his head, showing his approval of whatever the woman thought was best to make his great-granddaughter a part of the family.
"Do as you wish Walburga, I'll return to my own estate in a few days and leave everything else to you, failure is not an option." The woman standing a few feet away from his seat nodded grimly, the flickering fire in the room casting dark shadows over her gaunt face.
"What about that useless son of mine? Maybe those ten years in that awful prison have made him regain some of his senses again." Arcturus put his glass away and thoughtfully folded his hands.
"No, he'll take her with him and ruin her like Andromeda did with her own daughter." Walburga hissed at the mention of her niece's name.
"The ministry will give her to him if he ever gets out, he is after all her father." He murmured darkly while staring into the dying embers in the grand fireplace across the room.
"No, for now, we'll raise her. A son would've been preferable, but this will have to do for now." After all those years of being certain, that the Name of the most noble and ancient House of Black would die with his grandson, the girl came as their saving grace and Arcturus Black would be damned to have this chance taken from him...