Not really much to say, thank you all who reviewed and this one I hope you all like.

happy reading, :)

I don't own Harry Potter, if I did...Well you know by now what I would change.

Happy it was the weekend. Hermione quickly got up and dressed before the sun made its appearance. She moved past Crooks who merely stretched and rolled over taking command of her pillow leaving her to it before she pulled out her boots. Today was a special day…Well something not special but important.

Thanking Circe that she had no lessons she moved to her side table and retrieved her gloves before debating taking her wand. Did she really need it for such a day? Mulling it over she shook her head and left it in her drawer, but not before casting a locking charm over it, it was the only thing she had really tried without her wand seeing as it was the simplest. Ever since she had seen her Mother perform wandless magic as a demonstration in class, she had been eager and determined to master it.

For now she could only limit herself to small things such as a basic locking Charm. But she wasn't giving up, she would practice every night and spare time if she had to, but she would learn it all.

Satisfied that no one….Or rather, two snooping roommates. Would be able to get in…It wasn't that she didn't trust them…Actually.

She had to laugh at that as she got her cloak. She, trust them? That was funny even for her; she would sooner trust Ron with the key to infinite knowledge and make sure it was safe for the day then leave these alone without warding her belongings.

Not that she would trust the red-head with infinite knowledge either, he probably would just leave it somewhere in favour of a Quidditch book.

Leaving the common room she ignored the fat lady who made a comment about her being up so early and made her way down the flights of stairs smiling at the pictures in passing until she came to as top in front of Godric. The Gryffindor founder gave her a welcoming smile which was laced with a slight sadness.

"Hello little miss."

She returned his smile with her own he clearly knew the date today and so knew how her Mother got. The feeling of melancholy along with old memories had the well-known sturdy woman less than what her reputation would have her be.

But that was ok she needed this, needed a day where she could break down. Grieve and wonder, question's had been left unanswered and most likely never would. It hurt to think that she would never get them and she hated also how it affected her so, giving him once last smile he allowed her to go in as she stepped over the threshold of the chamber. The room was empty save for the crackling of the small fire and if she hadn't of seen the cup on the side then she would have thought the older woman had gone out.

But she knew she hadn't and so made her way to the side door on the other side. To her room and to the place she knew she would be. Opening the door, she peered inside and saw her lying on her bed. She was facing the other side her back towards her, she was slightly hunched so she couldn't really tell if she had been crying but knowing that she would have if not already had, making her way over she didn't wait for her to notice before sliding on to the bed and moving until she was right behind her.

Moving her arms she slid them across her stomach and huddled up hugging her tightly. The slight tense she didn't pay attention to nor take offense at just placed her head on her back they stayed like that for a few minutes until she felt a shift and moved a little as Minerva turned so that she was now looking at her, she was right in her assessment and that she had cried. Giving her a watery smile the other woman spoke quietly.

"Hello my dear."

"Hello Mamma."

They didn't speak for a few minutes just content to let the moment linger until Hermione turned so her back was to the older woman. She wasn't being rude or ignorant she just knew what Minerva liked. As a few seconds later hand's moved to slip around her waist bringing her body closer to her chest as she rested her head on her shoulder,

Having gone so long without anybody to share this day with the last being Albus until she became a teacher and he didn't think it professional anymore…Not with the close body contact. She was glad that she had Hermione now to help her through. It wasn't every day that she was neither open with her feelings nor give any indication with the small exception being the hug and kiss that she gave the little girl, but for that one day of the year she just needed to…..Feel.

She needed to hold something keep that close-knit with something to help her through and be that constant she needed, her dear friend had been that for so long but then professionalism got in the way, she didn't begrudge him because she knew he was right. Also, she loved him like the best friend he was and he was always there when she needed him….But it wasn't enough.

He had been a big help but she didn't feel complete. Whole not that she ever would, but it wasn't as it used to be. Not until Hermione came along at least. She felt compelled to hold her when their eyes met all those years ago, and it was the best decision she had ever made. For the years they had together had been the best and helped heal what had been left during her earlier life. Every year she would just hole up in her room and hold her little baby to her, with Hermione always content to snuggle into the warmth she offered and fall asleep.

Her life had a lot more meaning now the little girl was in it she had someone who needed her, someone who depended on her, and in return the little child gave her that solidity she so desperately craved. She had lost so much already in her life and now she had someone to care for she was going to make sure nothing would ever harm Hermione.

It was just them….Always had been. Always will. Their little family, pulling her tighter to her chest she closed her eyes and silently thanked it was the weekend as she didn't think she was up to facing classes today. She just wanted to stay here exactly as she was now before kissing the side of her head. A small hand moved to cover her own and held it tight as she once again thanked that the younger girl was smart enough to know what she needed.

The disappearance of her brother had left a huge hole in her heart and had devastated her; everyone else she knew of her family had been killed. He was the only one left and he had vanished. She was deeply saddened as it showed on this day, but she was also angry. She was angry that he could have done that…He had been feeling discontented, after the war in which he found himself on the front of he became listless and withdrawn shying away from all and including her.

Not that she noticed as she too was busy mourning the loss of their family in her own way. She knew that he had locked himself away but at the time couldn't bring herself to care. It wasn't until she had gotten past some of that with the help of Albus that she learnt he was gone.

Panic overtook her at the word; depressed people at that time didn't have a lot of help and most often than not were left to themselves. She had feared the worst after hearing of some that had been found dead by their own hand on being left to their illness. Not knowing if she could take another death she braced for the worst only to be told that he had up and vanished during the night.

It wasn't what she was expecting to hear but was glad at the least that he hadn't killed himself. For weeks she searched for him only to come back empty-handed and more weary than before only breaking off when her own infliction from the war came about she put her search on hold until she was able to cope with both the loss of him and the loss of her future. By the time she had recovered enough to be able to carry on without breaking down she had lost all hope of ever finding him.

And so that was how it was from then on she had no other family apart from Albus who was the closest thing she had to anything like a brother, but was also her best friend, until Hermione came and added to that now what seemed like the second worst day of her life was naught but a trying day that she needed to get through. A small nudge had her looking down to see Hermione snuggling further into her body as she moved her arm so she could rest on her shoulder.

Wrapping her arms round the small body she inhaled the mass of hair that had splayed over and closed her eyes taking in the scent of cherry. This day might have been arduous for her and she hated how it made her carefully forged facade to crumble but as long as she had this, the little rock that held her together. She knew she could get through it that little bit better each year.

The gentle and even breath's informed her that Hermione had fallen asleep as she looked down to see her relaxed face. She took the time to gaze at the serene image a picture of ease that made her look younger than she seemed. Lifting a hand she ran her finger gently down the tender and smooth skin of her cheek and smiled wistfully.

She had never fully thought about it, never wanted to as it would bite at her heart but as she looked upon the calm face. She saw with each day passing more and more of Bella. She wasn't sure if it was just her subconscious playing tricks on her or because she knew the truth. But the more she looked at her the more she could see the beginnings of a young Bellatrix. It made her ache that deep down she knew this little girl wasn't hers biologically; it hurt to know that nothing of her was passed on genetically, the only thing that she had done was the eyes and even that was a lie.

She couldn't fault Hermione for looking like her Mother, it was better than the father at least but soon maybe in another year so, it would be hard, running a single finger over the cheek and smiling a little at the muffled snort. She was glad of the chance she never thought she would have, to bring back some meaning into her life, and play her part in giving this sweet little girl a loving childhood.

She may not have been the one to bring her into the world. But she was the one who was there to love her like she was. She wasn't sure if Bella could love anyone given how horrendously she tortured the Longbottom's if it had been for the little girl then yes she could have seen a slightly, if very and twisted logical sort of sense as to why she done what she did, any mother would protect their child and if it had been Hermione they had hurt then she wasn't saying it was justified, but she could see the reason.

But it wasn't for her it was for her lord. The one who she truly loved if what she heard was correct. She had gone and tortured them to avenge a beast not capable of anything other than murder and hate. She couldn't see how the other woman failed to see that surely that fact he cared for little and no one was proof? Surely the way he used them like his own toys should have been evident?

Movement had her glancing down to see Hermione curl closer into her before stilling. Whatever the twisted reasoning she couldn't argue with what she had been given. Of all the vile and evil they had done they had, for that one tiny minute. Graced the world with a beautiful gift and given her the second greatest thing.

A second chance

Determined not to dwell on any more daunting thought's of a reality she made sure wasn't possible she decided that a nap would be beneficial to her health. She was exhausted from crying and a rest would do her the world of good, so settling down she closed her eyes and allowed to deep steady breathing of the girl next to her to lull her into slumber. With that being how Dumbledore found them a few hours later when he came to check on them.

Peeking in to her room he made sure that she wasn't in any situation before doing so, he had tried calling her but got no response prompting his check. He spied them on the bed and smiled at the sight of them so close together, it seemed his initial worry was for naught as he could tell Minerva was more than taken care of in the company department. He watched them in silence for a little while his ever sharp gaze roamed their faces. Both seemed at ease when they slept…Like the weight of the world meant nothing in dreamland.

He supposed they didn't for when people woke the real reality would be waiting. He knew the struggle his old friend had for she had come to him many a time with worries. He tried his best to dispel them but as history has shown it was not all that easy to just forget. His gaze left the older woman and turned to the younger one in her arms. Hermione was as it was with every other child, getting older and like his friend, he too had begun to see the signs of her resembling his old student.

The black family was very well-known for their looks and grace Hermione it seemed, was blessed with both. He had never noticed it before but now that the year's were going by he feared slightly that she would grow to look too much like her birth Mother she already had the cheekbones of the blacks the elegant beauty that came from the family, though it was emerging now would no doubt blossom and shine through not too far in the future.

Her eyes though Minerva had changed them were undoubtedly Bella's he could at times see a mix between both the oldest black and her Aunt. Bella might have had the unique color of black for her shade but it was Narcissa who had the iciest of blue. They could have struck fear into the heart's of many and did he remembered rightly from her time here the piercing stare that stirred souls as through she could see them.

That was what he saw sometimes within the little girl, the shrewd, calculating stare tempered with her green made it seem as though a big cat was staring right at you, it did unnerve a few people students and teachers alike. He had to chuckle at Professor Flitwick. The diminutive teacher had done nothing to incur her wrath but he had still mentioned not around the ears of a certain deputy, that in class, her stare was enough to make him fidget and that was only because she was listening to him speak.

He couldn't imagine it if she was angry.

That made him smile but also made him weary. He had not been idle in his observation's that and Snape still muttered under his breath now and then. At how quick she was to anger, he normally would have put it down to a new change and situations that were sometimes hard to deal with along with others that might have clashed in a difference of personality, but they knew that she wasn't just any child and therein lay the problem.

Tom as a boy, was also very quick to temper, he could be calm one minute and furious the next without so much as a word to defend oneself against him he feared that this she got from him and had watched her more closely for it he knew from past experience's tom's anger was legendary, he had the entire school terrified of him if not fear than awe at his magical prowess. Only he knew the real boy behind the mask. He knew the volatile, ego-maniacal, brutal and sadistic boy he truly was.

But he couldn't prove it for not only was Tom a psychopath. He was also cunning, intelligent, devious and charismatic. He had the entire teaching board, save himself wrapped around his finger. He could get away with murder, literally, whilst around them which made him all the more deadlier.

Bellatrix herself had a temper that was something to fear, like Tom she too could fly into a fit of rage at the drop of a wand. But unlike the dark lord's often Crucio then death routine Bella was notorious for being very creative in her ways of 'Playing' with her victims. There was a reason she was his right hand, and that was just one of them…It made him quite sick to think of all the people who suffered under her wand.

Both had megalomaniacal tendencies that made them formidable. Both very different but equally as devastating Tom with his icy demeanor, the silent but ever-growing storm of anger and hate that built up until at the last-minute he unleashed it and if you happened to be in his way, well there was no chance of escape.

Bella with her fiery inferno of pent-up anger that mostly came from her Father and Mother, the failure to be boys like he wanted, and the expectations of a family legacy neither of the sisters were ever going to live up to in his eyes, she needed an outlet and Tom needed loyal but unfeeling killers. It was only time before they joined together causing untold horror on the wizard world.

He had unease that the little girl had inherited one of both of their tendencies for violence. He was always in a state of restlessness and consternation as he watched from afar, and from what he had gathered so far. She hadn't shown any true forms of enmity but from what she had shown and what he could guess, she got from Bella which made him breathe a little easier.

Though just as lethal in some ways. Bella had always been easily distracted. If something else took her fancy she would drop what she was doing and move on leaving behind what it was she first was undertaking.

With Hermione he found it hard to tell, she was bright there was no doubt about it, being the top in everything she did; she also had focus which drove her to succeed. But she to tended to look the other way when something came along and took her attention that was where she differed from Tom. If he did something he finished it there and then not letting anything get in his way, he would just get rid of the annoyance at a later date but after he completed his task.

He just thanked that she didn't have the urge to go about killing off other students. He also thanked that she didn't have any plans on terrorizing her peers. Scare them yes as she had done before but not kill. He was just glad her main topic's of distraction where both her friend's and not some potential victim who would later end up scared or dead.

He would still keep watch from a distance. He knew that things were getting darker. She may have unknowingly stopped her birth father from coming back earlier, but it wouldn't stop him again he would return. And when he did that was when his friend had to really keep her eye on things. Anybody in Azkaban would have gone mad by now and seeing as Bella had been in there for almost thirteen years he was positive that she would have either little to no memories of her child, or none at all.

Tom on the other hand never forgot. He wasn't sure what his move would be once he came back as this was his first priority. Would he try to come for her? He didn't know but also didn't rule it out if that indeed was his plan then she would be a very good asset to have. She grew up with people who had played part's in ensuring he didn't come back sooner, she was magically gifted and so any spell put in front of her he was sure she would master. He was pretty sure she knew the layout of some of the tunnel's if what Minerva told him was right and most of all she was best friends with his mortal enemy.

Chances are if he did ever manage to get a hold of her in the future then she could potentially bring a lot of people around her down with all that she knew, it would also kill Minerva as he would surely use their relationship to his advantage or try and twist her against them Severus once said that she had a soul susceptible to darkness and with times slowly changing as they were…He knew that it would be put to the test.

He tensed a little as the small body moved slightly twisting her head a little. He watched carefully and was preparing to come up with an excuse about why he was watching them like a creepy man if she woke. But to his relief she didn't and so knew it was time to take his leave slowly he turned and crept from the room and closed the door behind him before calling for a house elf who appeared at his side and bowed in greeting.

He smiled and once he asked what it was he wanted. Told the little creature to come back once they woke as they would have missed dinner before watching him vanish again as he headed to the door, he smiled at Godric on his way out before heading down the hall, new thought's and determination on his mind.

If Tom did come back as he knew he would, and find a way to take Hermione from them then he made it his mission to try and keep her safe. A lot of people's lives were in danger of being ruined and he wasn't about to let that happen. Harry may have been the one destined to finish him for good, but that didn't mean Voldemort wouldn't do all in his power to break him first and taking away one of his best friend's would be a very good start.