Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter; I simply play with her toys.
Regardless of if she would ever be his, he could not marry a girl he felt absolutely nothing for. He would not be marrying Narcissa Black.Now, he would just have to convince the third year of the same.
Chapter Eleven
Hermione woke up the next morning and readied herself for breakfast. If the room layout was the same as it had been in Gryffindor, there was only one other seventh year Slytherin girl. The bed was already empty and made, but when Hermione walked downstairs a girl her age sat on the couch looking at her.
She smiled gently. "Anna Greengrass. I'm your roommate."
Hermione smiled back, shaking hands with the girl. "Hera Elias. Are we the only seventh year girls?"
Anna nodded. "Yes. There was another until third year, but her family relocated to the United States. Most of the girls sorted with our graduating class went to Hufflepuff. There are only two Gryffindor girls as well, and four Ravenclaws. Want to go get breakfast?"
They set off, and Hermione found the girl to be quite nice. They were almost to the hall when Anna brought up dinner the night before. "Bellatrix sure doesn't seem to like you," she observed.
Hermione snorted. "Yes. I am not sure what her problem is, other than that I wasn't raised in a manor or something like that."
"With her, it always comes down to three things. Did you best her in a duel, insult her family, or get Lucius's attention?" Anna looked as if she already knew which of the three it was, if the knowing smile was anything to go by.
Hermione shrugged. "Lucius is betrothed, best I know. Plus, would he really decide to pursue something with someone like me even if he wasn't?"
Anna shrugged. "I don't know. He's kind of quiet, and I haven't had a lot of interaction with him. I generally keep to myself, anyway."
"Well, thanks for joining me for breakfast. It's one thing to live on your own, but another to be ignored when you are living with someone." Anna nodded, smiling as they sat down and started to put food on her plate.
"Well, it looks like Bellatrix only has to worry about her own sister getting in the way," her new roommate said, looking down the table.
Hermione looked down the table to see Lucius sitting with a petite, pretty blonde girl. "Kind of strange," Anna continued, "I don't think I have ever seen them speak. They typically avoid each other."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "So, Narcissa isn't as obsessed with Lucius as her sister is?"
Anna laughed. "No, I don't think she even likes Lucius. She isn't known for being shy; so if she was interested, I think I would have seen them together." The conversation looked amicable enough, and the two seemed to be speaking rather quickly.
"Yet they are still betrothed?" Hermione asked, skeptically.
"Oh, yes. A lot of the old families can be very serious about their arranged marriages." If what Anna said was true, she guessed Lucius must be trying to get out of the contract. She wondered if that was for the best… would he expect them to immediately be together if he did?
Still, she wouldn't stand in the way. Lucius seemed like he might be making efforts to get out of the influence of his father. That could certainly not be a bad thing.
Hermione finished her breakfast, avoiding looking in Lucius's direction, but was interrupted by Horace Slughorn handing her the schedule she would use for the term. "Miss Elias, as your first class does not start until afternoon today, Headmaster Dumbledore would like to see you in his office at your earliest convenience. Perhaps Miss Greengrass can show you where to go?" Anna nodded, and Slughorn waddled away.
Hermione and Anna stood up and started out of the hall. They happened to walk out at the same time as little Narcissa Black. Hermione knew she was there but did not acknowledge her. As they reached the end of the corridor and started to head in different directions, Narcissa stopped her.
"Thanks. I am not sure if you are purposefully responsible for it, but Bellatrix will think that you are. Watch your back." Then, she was gone. Hermione continued following an interested looking Anna to the office thinking that if Narcissa was talking about what she thought she was…. Bellatrix would be angrier than ever.
"Well, this has been one of the more interesting breakfasts. Welcome to Hogwarts. The headmaster's office is just behind this gargoyle. As the de facto prefect, Blood Pops will get you in." Hermione tried to look intrigued by the moving gargoyle and appearing staircase, and smiled at Anna.
"Thanks. I'll see you in classes, I guess." Anna nodded and went on her way.
Hermione climbed the steps behind the Headmaster's gargoyle sentinel. She wasn't quite sure how to go about telling him what she needed to put hoped that it would all go okay. Once at the top of the staircase, she knocked on the door.
"Come in, Miss Elias," she heard the headmaster say.
Hermione walked in and stood in front of the man's desk, nervously.
"Please, have a seat. Would you like a jelly bean?" Hermione looked at the dish on the headmaster's desk, guessing that he hadn't yet found his affinity for lemon drops. Perhaps she could get him some. She sat down, fidgeting.
"Miss Elias, I typically invite any transfer students to a meeting at the end of their first week to see if they are settling in well. You, though, seemed as if you were trying to get my attention at dinner last night. Was I correct in my assumption?"
Hermione nodded her head, still trying to figure out where to start.
"What can I help you with, Miss Elias?" the headmaster asked, curiously. "Tea?" He took out his wand and waved it at a teapot in the corner which started to hiss and steam. Her eyes followed the wand before looking at him.
"Sir, I am going to tell you things that require your absolute trust that I am telling you the truth. In order to do that, I am going to tell you something about yourself that no one else, at least for now, knows."
He chucked lightly but nodded, as if humoring her.
"The wand in your hand is the Elder Wand of the Deathly Hollows. You won it when you dueled your former lover, Gellert Grindlewald."
Whatever the headmaster had expected, it wasn't that. His eyes were wide and flat, and she noticed his right hand drop to rest at his side near the wand. "How do you know that?" He looked as if he was preparing himself to battle her for it, and her anger that his greed had cost so much hit for the umpteenth time since his death.
"You are familiar with the name Tom Riddle," she said, quietly. A spark of anger entered the blue eyes that had only twinkled at her in the past.
"What about him? Does he know about my wand?"
"No, sir. He does not know. I wish for it to stay that way, as well. Tom Riddle is currently befriending the heads of many powerful pureblood families. They will eventually pledge their support to him, and he will create the alias Lord Voldemort for himself before going public. He and his followers, the Death Eaters, will wage two wars against the Bristish magical community that will devastate our society. He will be so feared that most people will not use his name for thirty years to come."
Fear came into the headmaster's eyes. "Are you a seer, Miss Elias?"
"For the purposes of this world, yes. But I do not have the sight. I have lived in the world I speak of. My name is Hermione Granger, and I was born in September 1979."
Dumbledore shook his head, jerkily. "Then you cannot speak of this to me anymore, Miss Granger. You could ruin the timeline and make things worse!"
Hermione shook her head. "No, sir. I came by using a rather powerful device that moved me onto a completely separate timeline. I have effectively went back in time and with the first change, a new reality was created. My own time should go on unaffected. I have come here to prevent the horrors I saw in my own reality. To prevent death."
"And where did you come by such a remarkable device, and why leave your own time? Is it that bad, the unassisted future?"
The girl shook her head again. "I will not say where I got the device. I do not want it to be known, just as its keepers have protected it in secret for over 200 years. As to your second question, eventually, the wars are won by the side of the light. I travelled from a peaceful, recovering time. The losses along the way were great, though… many useless deaths."
"How long do you plan to stay here to change that?"
Hermione smiled, sadly, tears swimming in her eyes. "Headmaster, this was not a jump of a few hours. I could not get back if I tried. I will be here for the rest of my life."
"Why sacrifice a time in peace for the destruction you see ahead for mine?"
"My best friend, Harry, will be prophesized to be the only person that can defeat Voldemort. A target is painted on his back before he is even born. Before he can defeat Voldemort he loses his parents and any that would be fit to replace them, numerous friends, and any semblance of a happy childhood. His losses were the highest, I believe, but I can give you a list of people who will personally see death within their families. The population is so decimated that I was legitimately shocked to see how many students and first years there are."
"In the future, I do not agree with many of your methods. I think one of your idioms is well applied, though…. I am doing it for the Greater Good. I can, hopefully with your help, prevent the torture and death of hundreds of people. My happiness is meaningless knowing that I can create a life for so many that wouldn't have it."
Dumbledore leaned forward, eyes starting to show a touch of the familiar twinkle. "While I cannot say that I would have done the same had I been in your shoes….what is done is done. Where do we start?"
"I made a vow to someone to help prevent certain people from taking the wrong path. Most of those are or will be a part of Slytherin house. That is why I am there. The Sorting Hat and I believed it would be the best for me. Regarding that part of my mission, preventing people from making the worst decisions of their lives…. Four of your first year Gryffindors, Black, Potter, Lupin, and Pettigrew, they will bully Severus Snape and humiliate him throughout his time here. Potter will be jealous of Severus's friendship with Lily Evans. In my timeline, you largely dismissed the bullying as childhood pranks. Eventually, Sirius Black even talked Severus into taking a trip into the Whomping Willow on a full moon…"
"No!" Albus said, eyes widening.
"Severus is rescued at the last moment, but then you did not greatly punish Sirius. Severus left school thinking that he was hated and worthless. Voldemort promised him power and revenge. Though he came to regret it and turned out to be a great man and an invaluable spy, he was directly responsible for the death of Harry's parents- James and Lily Potter. Sir, you cannot let them bully that boy as they will do. Though he dies a hero at the final battle, he lives as a miserable, lonely man who constantly puts himself in danger to atone for his mistakes."
Albus nodded, sadly. "I will make an effort to come down more harshly on bullying all around."
"So will I," Hermione said with a frown. "I will not watch him be abused by his peers." The headmaster looked at her seriously for a moment and nodded once more.
"What else?"
"The most powerful opposition Voldemort had was a group called The Order of the Phoenix. In my timeline, you do not start it for a few more years. I suggest you start it earlier now. Members that have graduated already that I know of are Alastor Moody, Aberforth, Arthur and Molly Weasley, Dedalus Diggle, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Elphias Doge, Hestia Jones, and Minerva McGonagall. I think it would also be useful to look into Kingsley Shacklebolt's parents, Augusta Longbottom, Filius Flitwick, and Adeline Malfoy. I will tell you who else to approach after they graduate in the future…if it is needed still."
Dumbledore nodded as he thought over the names. "All of those sound very acceptable except perhaps… Adeline Malfoy. Her husband I would suspect to be one of those sought out by Tom. I greatly liked her as a student and wish she had even stayed longer, but I am not sure she is trustworthy now."
Hermione nodded. "Abraxas has been approached by Voldemort, I believe. He and Lucius both become Death Eaters, as does Lucius's son, Draco. It is a decision that I know the latter two come to greatly regret."
"Yet, Adeline," Dumbledore encouraged, hopefully.
"Does not at all agree with her husband's ideals. It might just be a hunch, but I feel she would be willing and valuable to the cause," Hermione said with a light smile.
"Very well. I request we take time before that, though... Is there anything else I need to know, urgently?"
"Voldemort, by the time of my generation, has created horcruxes."
Any color that had returned to Dumbledore's cheeks rapidly disappeared again. "Multiple?"
"Seven by the time he is finally defeated. Obviously, it would be best if he never got the chance to create all of them. At this point he has created four… possibly five, I believe. Getting them will be hard. He gave them to followers to protect, thought they didn't know what they had. Seeing as I plan to prevent at least two of those people from becoming followers, it might be harder to find where he puts them instead. There are two that are relatively easy to get to, though."
Dumbledore looked like he was having a hard time processing the information at this point. "Sir, I think that is enough for tonight. You have a lot to think about. Be aware… he knows when one is destroyed. I think that it would be best to gather them and then destroy them all so he can't hide any. Then, we can destroy them all at one time…. One last thing, has he already been here seeking a job?"
Dumbledore nodded, "Yes. Just before the last school year."
"One is already here, then. I can retrieve it if you have a place to keep it safe and hidden."
Dumbledore nodded again, though she could tell he was barely able to focus.
"Sir, do not be disheartened. At least we have a chance to get in front of it without him knowing. I would request, of course, that what I have told you in regards to myself needs to stay between you and me. I think, at this time, we should also keep the knowledge of the Horcruxes to ourselves as well."
"Of course, Miss… Elias. Please let me know if you think of anything else I can do to help."
Hermione nodded. "I will, sir. Most of this will wait until after I have graduated, though. I need to concentrate on my classmates before they are approached by Riddle or out in the world."
"I understand. Thank you for trusting me with this, Miss Elias. I will contact some of the people you mentioned with concerns over Tom Riddle. For my purposes, may I saw that I have seen a seer? It would be a better explanation than the truth. I will not give your name."
Hermione thought for a moment before nodding. "Yes. It might suit me in time as well."
"Good night, Miss Elias." Hermione walked out, watching the man reach for the pensieve on the edge of his desk. She suspected he would stay up late watching their conversation.
Abraxas Malfoy watched as his wife of twenty one years walked out of the bathroom they shared. She was in the middle of tying her robe, but had not quite finished. He jumped up from the bed and walked toward the woman that, he was sure, only did get better looking with each passing year. Stopping her hands, he proceeded to undo the first part of the bow. "Why don't you return to bed, Addy? I am sure I could make it worth your while."
"Could you? Well I suppose I could-" her sentence was interrupted by a sharp pecking at the window. Glancing over, Adeline pulled away from Abraxas.
"A letter from Lucius! I bet he is so please that Hera got sorted into Slytherin," she said, excitedly. She opened the window and took the letter quickly, leaving it open so the owl could choose if it wanted to come in or not.
Abraxas grumbled, walking over to his wife to see what was so important. It had better be important….
When Adeline started to read out loud, he changed his mind, wrapping his arms around his wife and kissing her neck.
"Dear Mother and Father,
I hope this letter finds you well and not too upset to have the manor so quiet again." Abraxas snorted. He loved his son, but the boy had a horrible habit of interrupting his time with his wife. Adeline swatted her husband and read on, a smirk on her face.
"First, I want to thank you for how eagerly you have groomed me and reassure you that I fully believe you are looking out for my best interests. I am very fortunate to be your son.
The truth of the matter is that, after conversing with Narcissa Black, we have decided it is in our mutual best interests to not marry each other. As to the business dealings that would have taken place when we wed, we fully intend to follow through with them and split any profits or losses 50/50.
I am sure that you are disappointed that I do not wish to marry the girl you set aside for me, but I urge you to look at it another way. The benefits of marrying Narcissa will still take place in the form of furthering our family's standing and finances, and now I can marry a woman that can further it even still.
I have no plans as to who I will choose to marry at this time. I do not know the girls here well enough yet to make such a serious decision. Still, Narcissa and I realize that a marriage between the two of us would only bring tension and strife.We would probably only provide one heir as we do not find each other to be to our liking much at all.With a woman I care about, there would be multiple heirs to make the Malfoy name into the proud, large family it has been in the past.
Please do not assume that I am doing this to fight back against the wishes of either of you. I am not only thinking of my future happiness, though I do hope to have that, but my family as well.
Your devoted son,
Lucius A. Malfoy
P.S. I am sure that Cygnus Black will be in touch with you shortly. Narcissa and I both wrote home with our decision today.
Adeline had felt her husband stop his ministrations a few lines into the letter, though she had kept reading. Could it be that there was hope? Was Lucius going to become a man that would make decisions for himself and not be directing by whatever his father thought best? Her mind went to Hera, thankful to the girl once again. She wasn't sure if there was any actual involvement between the two, but Adeline was quite sure that none of this would have happened without the girl.
"Abraxas?" she questioned, turning around.
"I can't believe he would do this! Who is he to say they would not have a successful marriage?! We were arranged, and you are the love of my life!"
Adeline smiled tenderly, putting a hand to the cheek of her husband, a man who was so loving behind closed doors. "Abraxas, dear, we did at least find each other attractive and like each other decently before we wed. You know that Lucius has never been very keen on Miss Black. To be honest, I am quite glad. I feel like Lucius needs a woman that is a bit more… warm."
Abraxas sneered, "And I imagine your idea of a warm woman would be that silly Hera Elias!"
Adeline shrugged, pulling away with a slight smile. "The girl is powerful, smart, poised, and quick on her feet. If she was not poor and of unsure lineage, you would be locking them in a room together with lust and fertility potions."
Abraxas walked a few feet away and started to pace, as he always did when stressed. "Yes, but she is poor, and she could be a mudblood for all we know!"
Adeline glared. "You know I hate that word, Abe."
"Muggleborn, then, Adeline. My point still stands! Our circles would never accept her. Look at Eliyona Dolohov! You are her only friend in society, and do not think that Vaughn's business dealings haven't suffered for it!" he argued.
Adeline smiled, taking Abraxas's hands. "As to her wealth, we have more than enough to not need a dowry. As to her blood, the Malfoy family branching out could bring more business our way. The Shacklebolts, the Prewetts, the Sprouts, the Longbottoms, the Potters, and the Bones! All very influential, wealthy families that will not deal with us because they worry any profit they made for our family would go toward oppressing their own ideals within the ministry and Wizengamot!"
"And Lucius?! He would be shunned by most of his friends. The Shacklebolt boy hates him already, and will make things hard for him!"
Adeline leaned in, kissing the man. "Abraxas, my love, the fact that you are mostly concerned with the effects it will have on our son pleases me tremendously. I ask now that you do not act out in anger. We don't even know if the girl is responsible in the least. However, if she is, and Lucius decided he would prefer her… you can do your best to see to her being accepted. In the end, it is Lucius's decision, and if he feels that a girl, any girl, is worth the loss of the more conservative friends that he has…. That will be up to him. You are his father; you simply love him and try to soften the blow."
Abraxas stood quiet in her arms, thinking for a few moments. "Fine. We will see where this leads, but just know this, Addy. I am not pleased…. Now, take off your robe. I will write back to the boy later."
"And I will be reading your response before it is mailed of," Adeline said, strictly.
Abraxas nodded, and the robe hit the floor.
Author's note: This thing is getting complicated. I'm having a ball, though, because I like puzzles. This is the last chapter I already had edited, so I am going to take a few days to do editing on the next five or so chapters. I am already 25K ahead of where you are at this point, so there is plenty to come! Currently, I am trying to figure out how to plausibly get key people where I need them.
I hope everyone has a better understanding of Abraxas now. Considering there is a whopping two lines that reference Abraxas in canon, it is my choice where to take him. Much like an older Lucius, he is not necessarily a nice man, but he is not evil. He, like his son and daughter-in-law in Canon, views family as coming above all, even pride and their bad decisions. As I said previously, I think there are very few truly evil characters. That isn't too say that people can't commit evil actions.
Reviews, especially the in-depth ones (not that I am constantly expecting that) make me smile and even more eager to write. I'll try to get up the next chapter by Wednesday, I think. Next chapter will bring in some familiar faces and the beginnings of changes outside of the Malfoy family.