Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't know what 'The Casual Vacancy' is about, that means that I can't be J.K. Rowling, since she wrote it.

A/N: THANK YOU! Yes you! You there, who is reading this story. Thank you so much for reading this, I think it is truly amazing that you do. I hope you will enjoy this chapter.


Isabella's small hand tightly held her mother's warm one, as Hermione guided them towards Bellatrix' grave, while the other hand held a red calla lily. After a few minutes of walking Hermione and Isabella stopped in front of Bellatrix' tombstone.

Hermione, who carried four red calla lilies, let go of her daughter's hand so she could place the flowers on Bellatrix' grave. Isabella mimicked her mother's behavior and carefully placed her red calla lily on top of the others.

Isabella lifted her arm, which Hermione took as a cue to pick her up and put her on her left hip. They stood like that for a few seconds saying nothing, until Hermione started to talk.

"Your Momma was a really special woman. She might have been a Slytherin, but the bravery she possessed would make Goderic proud."

Hermione hugged Isabella close and placed a tender kiss on her cheek.

"Well, well, well, isn't this sweet. A Mudblood and her bastard child standing at the grave of a blood traitor." A low voice said from behind them.

Hermione quickly turned around, looking Lucius Malfoy straight in the eye. She pulled her daughter a bit closer towards herself, in an attempt to protect her.

Hermione opened her mouth, but before she could say something, a feminine voice from behind Lucius started talking.

"Don't talk about my sister and my niece like that, Lucius."

Lucius turned around and stared at his wife.

"You really believe that Mudblood, when she claims that her daughter is family of yours?"

"Miss Granger has no reason to lie about something like that, it probably made her life harder instead of easier." Narcissa said. "Besides, even you can't deny that the child she is holding looks exactly like Bella." Narcissa pointed at Isabella.

Isabella was indeed the spitting image of Bellatrix while she was a child, only her eyes were different. Isabella had inherited Hermione's eyes.

"But-" Lucius started before his wife cut him off.

"I warn you Lucius, if you are going to insult my sister, miss Granger or their daughter again, I will hex you. Understood?"

Lucius looked at his wife in shock before he walked away.

"I apologize for my husband's rude behavior." Narcissa said turning her attention to the young mother.

Hermione, who had watched the interaction between the Malfoys, let go of the breath that she was holding and loosened her grip on her daughter.

"So this is my niece." Narcissa said leaning forward, staring at Isabella.

Hermione instinctively started to take a few steps backwards. Narcissa might have defended her against Lucius a moment ago, but that didn't made Hermione trust her.

"What is it exactly that you want Mrs. Malfoy?" Hermione asked.

"I was hoping that we could talk. And please call me Narcissa." The elder woman replied.

Hermione nodded and they started to walk towards a bench that was close to Bella's grave. Hermione sat in the middle with Narcissa on her left side, while Isabella sat on her right. The older brunette pulled something small out of her jeans pocket. She grabbed her wand to enlarge the object, that turned into a book, before she handed it to her daughter.

"She likes books?" Narcissa asked.

"Yes, but I highly doubt that you wanted to talk about my daughter's love for books."

"You are right about that." The blonde witch replied.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to apologize for never responding to your letters. And I was hoping that your offer is still available." Narcissa said.

Hermione looked at Narcissa bewildered. "You want to be a part in Isabella's life?"

Narcissa nodded.

"Why now?" Hermione asked. "I asked you to be part of her life when I was pregnant and after that I send you a couple of letters asking for the same thing. You never responded to any of them. What makes it different now?"

"It was foolish of me to not want to be an aunt to your daughter. It's just, Bella and I always have been very close. I was devastated when she died." Narcissa sighed deeply. "I blamed you for her death. If she hadn't fallen in love with you she would've never sacrificed her life for you and she would still be alive. But I didn't see that she didn't completely die, that she still lives inside Isabella."

"And you do see that now?" Hermione asks while lifting her right eyebrow.

"I understand if you are a bit skeptical about this. But my intentions are sincere."

Hermione looked at her daughter, who was still engrossed in the book she had in her lap, and then looked back at Narcissa.

"Sure, why don't you drop by somewhere next week."

"Thank you Miss Granger."

"If you want me to call you Narcissa, you should call me Hermione."

"Alright, Hermione. Can I ask you why you kept sending me those letters."

"I want Bellatrix to be a part in Isabella's life, even though she died. I want her to know who her mother was. And you and her knew each other the longest and probably the best. I want my daughter to know the person who was so important to her mother." Hermione explained while a few tears fell down her cheeks.

Hermione looked at her watch and stood up from the bench.

"It is getting late. We need to go home, Fleur will have our dinner ready in a few minutes. Until next week." Hermione said.

"I'll see you next week." Narcissa said smiling before she walked away.

Hermione held onto Isabella, who was still holding the book in her hands, and apparated home.


Behind a tree, near Bellatrix' grave, stood a woman who had watched the interaction between the witches intensely. She had a pale skin, dark curly hair, heavy-lidded eyes with long eye-lashes and black clothes. The woman was no one else then Bellatrix Black.