Chapter 12 – Cissy
Disclaimer – I don't own any of the recognisable characters in this story.
Last Chapter – "Don't touch her!" The words were comforting for Hermione, but as soon as Draco released her and they both stared at the owner of the voice, she felt the calm rush out of her.
The tiny, pretty blonde-haired girl had tears streaming all down her face, looking terrified as she clutched onto the hem of her pink dress.
"Get your hands off my mummy!"
Hermione gaped at the small girl just metres from her from where she was pinned to the wall by Draco. Surprisingly, Draco didn't look shocked at all, but angry instead. Hermione, however, did not see Draco's expression, too shocked to move her eyes from the little blonde girl, who suddenly appeared scared.
"What did I say about leaving your room?" Draco scowled at the girl, whose bottom lip began trembling.
"I-I … I just wanted to see mummy," she whispered, ashamed. "You told me you brought mummy to the Manor and I wanted to see her."
"Mummy can't see you right now, we have somewhere to go," Draco said sternly.
"But-"
"No Cissy, go back to your room, NOW! I don't want to see you again until I open that door." Draco's word was final.
Despite the fact that Draco had taken a step away from Hermione, she still felt pinned to the wall. Rooted to the spot and staring at the girl who claimed she was her daughter and who Draco just called Cissy, Hermione was confused out of her mind.
As Cissy stalked passed them, sulking back to her bedroom, Hermione opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. A slam of a door told Hermione that Cissy had just gone inside her room. Hermione could not believe it. Questions bugged her mind like mad.
What the hell is going on!
"Well, anyway, we've still got that meeting with your parents, let's go," Draco said and went to grab her arm to pull her along. Hermione threw his hand off her, staring at him with a shocked and angry expression.
"Oh no, no way. You can't dismiss something like that with a wave of your hand!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Don't worry, it's nothing important," Draco muttered.
"Nothing important!" Hermione was incredulous. "Mummy ... Mummy! For Merlin's sake Draco, some girl is claiming that I'm her mother and all you can say is "it's nothing important" !"
"Okay, okay," Draco gave up. "I don't know everything; I'm as confused as you are."
Hermione gave him a look that said she highly doubted that.
"Well, maybe not that confused. Anyway, she arrived here the day you did. I found her roaming the corridors shortly after I locked you in my room. I asked her who she was, why she was in my house and where she planned on going and she told me to follow her. She led me to that room," Draco said, eyeing further down the corridor.
"Her bedroom?" Hermione asked. Draco hesitated.
"It's not hers … it's … someone else's. She claims it's hers though."
Hermione looked at him, confused. Draco continued.
"Well, as that bedroom has an owner, I doubted her. Then she asked me where 'mummy' was. I said I didn't even know her mother but she insisted that I did. Then she pulled this out of her pocket." Draco reached into his own pocket and handed Hermione an old wizard photograph. She gasped.
"What in Merlin's name …?" Hermione trailed off, bewildered. What was in the photograph was possibly the last thing she would have guessed. Her mind reeled, searching for a possibility but she couldn't find a single one.
The photo showed Hermione and Cissy in the room they were just in. They were sitting on the bed and Hermione was tickling Cissy who was going crazy with laughter. Their faces weren't exactly clear as the photograph appeared quite old, but it was obviously them. Hermione looked up at Draco in disbelief.
"How is this possible?" Hermione asked.
"I thought the exact same thing. I told Cissy that you had only just arrived in the Manor and that it was impossible that the picture could have been taken." Draco paused. "She laughed at me and said that I had taken the photo."
"What?" Hermione breathed.
"I asked her what she was doing here and she told me her 'mummy' told her she could find her here. Then I asked her how she got here." Draco appeared to be getting to the climax of the sorry. "She said you had used a time spell on her. I think Cissy's from the future."
"From the future …" Hermione repeated, the words numb on her lips.
"Yes, almost six years from now."
"But she doesn't look a day over five!" Hermione exclaimed.
"She's five years and two months," Draco stated.
"But that would mean …"
"That you're going to conceive her in a few months," Draco finished for her. Hermione felt sick, unable to accept all of this.
"No … no, that isn't possible … no way," Hermione murmured, glad she was leaning against the wall. If she wasn't, she was sure she'd fall over.
"There's no other explanation," Draco insisted. "It has to be true."
One question that particularly bothered Hermione came to mind.
"Who's the father?" Hermione asked, her eyes scanning Draco, praying her suspicions were wrong. Already she was dreading his reply.
"I'm not the father," Draco snapped at her. Even though it was the answer she wanted to hear, another question popped up.
"How do you know that? Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure," Draco said, becoming irritated. "How many times must I say it?"
"But how do you know?" Hermione desperately repeated. "Surely you have something to back it up! Tell me!"
"No!" Draco roared. Hermione didn't back down.
"Why?" Hermione pushed, "Why won't you tell me?"
"Because it doesn't make sense, that's why!" Draco burst out.
"What do you mean?" By this stage, Hermione was also getting irritated. "Just tell me, Malfoy."
"She claims that I'm someone I couldn't possibly be …"
Frustrated, Hermione exclaimed, "And who's that?"
"She says I'm her Uncle."
Hermione's jaw dropped.
"What! But that would mean that we're-"
"Brother and sister."
Hermione's eyes widened and stared at Draco, on edge waiting for confirmation that this wasn't true.
"I already told you that this is impossible!" Draco said angrily. Hermione sighed, relieved.
"Good. Changing parents once is enough, but twice …."
Draco rolled his eyes.
"So you're not my brother?"
"That's right," Draco replied.
"And you're certain you're not the father?" Hermione pressed this point once more.
"YES!" Draco exclaimed.
"I just thought … you took the photo … she's blonde … her name's Cissy … and isn't your mother's name-"
"Narcissa, yes. I already thought of that."
"Well who is the father – and don't tell me it doesn't matter!"
"Calm down," Draco ordered.
"Calm down!-"
"I don't know who the father is!"
"Well let's go and ask Cissy then," Hermione said, going to push passed Draco but he stopped her.
"No, you have to meet the Guinevere's now. If we're gone too much longer, they're going to get suspicious. If you think about the position we left them in…" Draco trailed off and span Hermione around. She pushed the picture of her astride Draco, her face covered in clown makeup, to the back of her mind.
"But-"
"But nothing. You have to meet them; now. No buts." Hermione sulked, reminding Draco incredibly of Cissy. "Come on."
It took a few minutes to reach the lounge, though to Hermione it felt like a few seconds. She needed more time to think and gather her thoughts. She didn't see why Draco couldn't have given her a moment alone to think. Could he really blame her for not being able to comprehend the fact that in a few months she would supposedly be pregnant? But how could that be true? He had to be wrong, he just had to be. At least, Hermione hoped he was. Draco nudged her outside the lounge door.
"Act human," Draco suggested, getting a glare out of Hermione before he led her into the lounge. The Guinevere's were sitting on a crimson couch, with Lucius to the left of them in a matching armchair. The mahogany coffee table before them held trays of biscuits and several glasses of drink. A couch exactly the same as the one the Guinevere's were seated on say opposite them. Lucius smiled at them as they entered.
"Ah, at last! Sit down, sit down," he motioned to the couch on his right. Draco and Hermione, as they were told, walked to the couch and took their seats. Hermione didn't try to sit as far away from Draco as she could usually have done. Then again, these were not normal circumstances. As she looked over at the Guinevere's opposite her, Cissy's image seemed to dissolve from her thoughts.
Looking at their faces, she could tell that this was no hoax; they were definitely her parents. They looked just as they had in the photos Draco had given her and the similarities Hermione could see between her and Lucretia were amazing. Hermione was speechless.
"Well, Raziel, Lucretia – this is Hermione, your daughter," Lucius introduces them. Raziel stiffly leaned over the coffee table and shook her hand. He had a firm grip, Hermione noted. Lucretia got out of her seat, so Hermione quickly stood up. Hermione expected a peck on the cheek or a similar gesture, but, after a few silent moments, Lucretia threw her arms up and embraced her daughter.
Hermione was slightly taken aback; being so suddenly hugged by a woman she had only met a short while ago was a bit unnerving. Slowly, Hermione hugged her back, feeling the warmth and comfort she had been deprived of for what seemed like ever. She felt Lucretia breathing quite rapidly, over-come with emotion.
"I'm so sorry …" Lucretia whispered softly so only Hermione caught it. Hermione pulled back, confusion written all over her face, questioning Lucretia with her eyes. Before she could ask, they were interrupted.
"Well, we have a bit to discuss. I'm sure Hermione would like to learn of why she is her and of course, the other issues that we must bring to light," Lucius said crisply, a slight chuckle following his words. Hermione still stared at Lucretia, who had since dropped her gaze and realeased Hermione from her embrace. They both took their seats again; Hermione still had her eyes on Lucretia.
"Now," Lucius began, and Hermione whipped her head around to face him. "I'm sure you have been waiting for an explanation as to why you are here." Hermione nodded. "Well, we'll get to that, but I believe your parents have another story for you."
Hermione turned and looked at her mother and father. Lucretia looked nervous – almost afraid – but Raziel was perfectly calm, perhaps a little too calm. He looked rather cocky.
"Maybe you could start it, Lucius," Lucretia suggested, obviously trying to hide the tremor from her tone. Lucius stared at her and Hermione could feel tension between the two.
"Of course, Lucretia, of course," Lucius said, his eyes boring into hers. Hermione imagined a stare like that to be rather intimidating.
"Where to begin…" Lucius said. Lucretia dropped his gaze causing Lucius to smirk, as if in triumph at winning their 'staring contest'. "Well, I suppose this all began about three years or so before you were born, Hermione. Your father was in a bit of financial trouble – he owed people money, and a lot of it. I helped him out on one condition."
At this stage Lucretia had her eyes squeezed tightly shut, as though dreading Lucius's words.
"He agreed to my terms, so I paid out the wizards he owed money to. Raziel and I became quite aquainted and I introduced him to a few of my … ah, associates," Lucius worded carefully, glancing up at Raziel momentarily before returning his gaze to Hermione. "Within in a few years, Raziel was back on his feet. I actually was the one who introduced him to your mother."
Hermione's eyes flicked over to where Lucretia sat.
"Of course, Lucretia wasn't a Guinevere then." Lucius paused for deliberate suspense, a fire in his eyes telling Hermione that his next few words were going to spice things up. "She was Lucretia Parkinson."
"What!" Hermione and Draco exclaimed in unison. Hermione's head was spinning.
Am I Pansy's sister!
"Parkinson?" Draco repeated. "Making you Pansy's … ahh…"
"Aunt," Lucretia filled in for him. "Her father is my brother."
"Pansy's my cousin!" Hermione exclaimed. "But we don't even look alike!"
"Well, I've always been convinced that my sister-in-law had an affair…" Lucretia told her.
"How is this possible!" Hermione asked incredulously.
"Save your surprise … there'll be more shocks soon enough," Lucius said with an amused smile, causing Hermione to shut her mouth, left staring indignantly at him.
"Father, how could I have not known about this?" Draco asked angrily.
"There's a lot you don't know, Draco," Lucius snapped. Draco, similarly to Hermione, closed his mouth. It wasn't worth arguing over – at least not yet.
"As I was saying," Lucius continued. "I introduced Lucretia and Raziel. Only a few months later, they were married. About a year after that, you were born, a few months after Draco was." Hermione glanced at Draco sitting next to her, who was looking straight back. Hermione was surprised to see that all this appeared to be news to him as well. Somehow, if back her feel a little better knowing she wasn't the only one.
"After you were both born, Raziel and Lucretia spent a lot of time with you at Malfoy Manor. We even gave you each a bedroom. By the time you could walk and talk you were both very good friends."
"Hold on," Hermione interrupted. "You're trying to tell me that Draco and I were … friends when we were younger!"
Lucius nodded briskly, as did Lucretia and Raziel.
"No way," Hermione said in disbelief.
"It's the truth," Draco said, causing all eyes to turn to him. He looked deep in thought, slowly recalling memories. "I remember you." Even Lucius and the Guinevere's stared in shock at Draco.
"I remember a girl until I was about five or six. You told me she died," Draco turned to his father angrily. "You told me she drowned." Draco looked oddly calm for having such a furious tone.
"How come I don't remember any of this?" Hermione burst out. All eyes turned to her. Lucius and Raziel both glanced over at Lucretia, who was suddenly finding an emerald-green pillow very interesting.
"Your mother didn't like Lucius's conditions that I had already agreed too," Raziel answered. "She swiped your memory and sent you off to live with Muggles." Hermione could tell by his tone that he disapproved,
"So they knew I was adopted and they never told me?" Hermione asked, shocked, her eyes suddenly burning, feeling the betrayal stab her in the heart.
"No, no, no," Lucretia suddenly spoke. "I wiped and altered their memories as well and tricked them into thinking you were their daughter."
Hermione sat there shocked, and asked, "Just how bad are these conditions?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't mind knowing either," Draco interjected, still angry. Lucius, Lucretia and Raziel all exchanged glances.
"They're going to find out soon enough anyway, Lucretia," Raziel said to his wife who was obviously very against the idea of them knowing. "Why not tell them now?"
"No, not yet, not yet!" Lucretia exclaimed. "They don't need to know just yet." She was beginning to sound desperate.
"We planned this, Lucretia," Raziel said sternly. "We can't go back on it now."
"But-"
"You're betrothed to each other," Lucius burst out. Everyone stared. Hermione and Draco seemed to have frozed, absolute shock and horror written over their faces.
"Well someone had to say it. The suspense was killing me."
A/N – YAY! I updated quickly this time! I'm absolutely LOVING the reviews, didn't expect so many! Keep them coming. I didn't really like this chapter … didn't enjoy writing it at all. Still, I added in my chapterly cliffy! Heaps of the plot is hidden in this chapter, so read it carefully if you want to know more! I'm in the middle of writing chapter 13 at the moment, so that should be up soon! Holidays are next week so I'll see what I can do for you all!
Thanks again for the reviews! Love you all!
Marauders Gal
