Disclosure Hp belongs to Jkr. The storyline, new character development, new events, and new characters are my intellectual property. Glorioux

A Chess Game

Broken Hearts-

Lucius couldn't sleep, he lay on his bed and read most of the night. He dried the tears that refused to stop, afraid that Ermi would leave him, and didn't know what to do. In the morning, Lucius saw Rodolphus also looking crestfallen; maybe because Rabastan didn't sit by him at breakfast. This had gone on for a few days.

He noticed that Andromeda sat with Rabastan away from her sisters, this was new; now, the tension was high. Severus sat by him, "I have an idea, I'll tell you after breakfast, my friends and I have talked," he whispered.

Rodolphus moved after Bellatrix sat next to him, she put her hand high up on his thigh, "Let me be," he snarled. Bella laughed nastily and gave Andromeda a killer look.

Rodolphus moved next to Lucius and whispered after lowering his head. "Can we talk? I need advice."

Rabastan was on the warpath, he told Bellatrix, "Can you try to be pleasant, just once? I guess not, I don't see what Rodolphus sees in you, because all I see is your nasty face. I wish that I could sit with my friends, so I didn't have to look at you; it makes my stomach sick."

Bellatrix gave him a dirty look, "One day, you will regret all your words, now shut up."

Sirius and James walked to the Slytherin table, others took notice. "Malfoy, do you want to play a round of Quidditch with us, Rabastan and Severus are also playing, how about it?"

Lucius smiled, he needed their help, "Sure, is Remus playing?"

"Yes, but we need to find a broom for him, his is not working too well," Sirius answered.

"Great, I might know of a broom; sure, I will play," Lucius answered. Bellatrix harrumphed and made a nasty comment but Lucius ignored it. A couple others at the table wanted to join, what Lucius did, many followed.

"Bye my nasty cousin, I hope that your tea milk doesn't curdle," Sirius said as he left.

She glared at him, "You and Rabastan will regret your words," she told him while others laughed. Lucius worried, he suspected that Bella would hurt them given a chance.

Albus was keeping an eye on them and didn't like what he saw. Minerva was keeping a close eye on Albus, liking his attitude even less, why was he so interested in the Malfoy heir? Minerva wished she had someone to trust; maybe an old admirer; after breakfast, she would send him an owl.

Minerva noticed that Lucius seemed to be more accessible, she had seen him with the four Marauders and suspected that Malfoy had a hand on Remus and Peter's improved clothes. This was good, so why Albus' attitude?

Bellatrix

In the shadows, three figures talked. "Something we have never considered before, there are two open fronts, Bellatrix and Dumbledore, both influence the outcome. We need to find out what happened to her."

Cygnus was stood at the front of a small business, "We Find," was the name. He wasn't sure because not only he would find out the information he sought, but the others, namely the investigator, would also know.

An older witch tapped his shoulder, "Mr. Black, I also want to find out what happened to your daughter several years ago," she spoke softly.

Cygnus pulled out his wand, who was this witch?

She must have read his mind, "Who I am, isn't important, but what matters is that we have common goals. I want to find out what happened to her, for the welfare of someone important to me. We all want Bellatrix to cease being a danger to everyone around her. Even to you, I can see that you are afraid of your daughter, with good reason may I add. Don't go in there," she pointed at the investigator's door, "you are correct, whoever finds what you seek, may use it against you, or your family."

Cygnus knew that she was right, and why not trust a stranger? He was going to ask another stranger to help him in any case.

He told her, Mrs. Watson, as much as he knew. They agreed to meet in two days at Hogsmead.

Years earlier - Hogwarts

Arthur Weasley liked Molly Prewett until that day when he saw her. The Slytherin was too young, probably 13, but it mattered not. She saw him looking, and when Bella smiled, he couldn't breathe. All he ever wanted was her; he also knew that his love for her would last until the day he died.

Over the next weeks, Bellatrix Black had a secret, the name was Arthur Weasley. Arthur was naïve and wanted to be respectful, but Bella wasn't new to touching, kissing, and even more. He was lost; and before long, they found ways to meet; and Bella gave him her heart. She felt happy for the first time in a long time. They made plans to marry as soon as she was of age.

Too bad that Albus saw them one day when they were coming back into Hogwarts. It was clear to him that Arthur and Bella were lovers. The shadows could only follow Albus. Since Bella wasn't one of theirs, they couldn't influence a change of the outcome, but they could impact the timeline where Hermione existed. That same day, Albus sent a scroll and then met with Walburga Black, confident that she would put a stop to this ill-advised romance. He needed an evil Bellatrix, he had seen the future, and it needed to be so.

Hogsmeade-

Cygnus looked around, he hoped against hope. The Dark Lord was following him since he left nothing to chance. Cygnus saw the old witch, drinking tea.

Cygnus sat, after greetings, Mrs. Watson gave him a scroll. "Your daughter had a baby, she lives, your cousin Walburga tended her that summer. Wallburga threatened the young wizard your daughter loved and scared him away. She is powerful and a master manipulator; she said that you would either kill him or make sure he was sent to Azkaban." She paused to look at Cygnus; he was solemn, thinking that he might have done just that, or maybe not, hard to second guess.

"Your daughter didn't want to give her baby up, but her lover was and is poor, and what you call a blood-traitor; so your cousin made your daughter see the errors of her ways. Too bad, because they would have been happy and Bella would have had a chance. Now she is constantly reminded and more bitter than ever. "

"Who is he? We have plenty of money," Cygnus smiled relieved, who cared about the rest of their society, he never had judging by his own situation, "Where is the child, I will get him or her, and arrange a marriage for my daughter. "

Mrs. Watson looked sad, "No, the wizard married soon thereafter since it was Walburga's condition to leave him alone. He has children already and has learned to love his wife; although, he will never stop loving Bella. Don't despair, some are lucky to find other loves. She is one, but what she needs first is her child. The one she wants now is only a means to the Dark Lord." She stopped at Cygnus' frustrated groan.

"Take this scroll, it shows where the child is at. Your grandchild is a beautiful little witch. Do it now, or soon. I found out that you have a formidable enemy, one who wants your daughters' unhappiness. Either find him or make sure that your daughters are happy, each one of them. "

Cygnus closed his eyes for a minute, the logistics overwhelmed him. When he opened his eyes again, she was gone.

Voldemort sat near him, he saw Cygnus sitting and talking to himself until a scroll appeared as if given by an invisible hand. Whoever was with Cygnus didn't want to be seen, how interesting.

When Cygnus read the scroll, he shook his head, Walburga was a mean bitch. No wonder that Bellatrix was bitter this last New Year's trip and during the past years. He wished that he knew the name of the child's father, maybe something could be done; married or not, his daughter came first. He needed to travel, but first, he would talk to a solicitor.

The Dark Lord stood and touched Cygnus' shoulder, "I came and saw you talking to yourself."

Cygnus nearly jumped, but composed himself, "It would seem that I have an enemy, one who wants to destroy my family. The question is who and why?"

Cygnus wanted to run to Abraxas, he needed advice, but not from Tom, if he knew how Bella hated Ermi and wished to harm her, Tom, the Dark Lord, would kill her.

"Do you have any suspects? Or why? What does the enemy have in mind, any ideas?"

"No, I cannot even start to imagine, but someone wants my daughters to have a miserable life." Cygnus had to say at least that.

Voldemort had no idea who that could be or why, but he knew they needed to find out.

Hogwarts

Games

"We want to play," the Prewett twins told Sirius. Neither liked Lucius, but Dumbledore had asked them to keep an eye on him. Though a few minutes later, Mrs. McGonagall had told them not to do so, and, instead, to make up their own minds.

"Yeah, sure, we will meet after classes," Sirius answered when Hagrid came looking for Remus and Pettigrew. He had two large gift-wrapped bundles.

"Have you seen Lupin or Pettigrew, I have packages that arrived for them. A uniformed wizard came to deliver them."

Remus and Peter were walking towards them. Hagrid and the twins waited, each bundle had two brooms, with a scroll, "Enjoy them, one for you, the other for either Sirius or James." It was unsigned but they knew who sent it.

Sirius was in heaven, his mother was not generous since he had been chosen for Gryffindor, so the broom was more than welcome.

Fabian Prewett observed, "Those are some of the best; so is Malfoy your benefactor? I would say so. You see, I saw the gloves you wear, made of dragon-hide, and only the Malfoy can afford them."

"If so, why should anyone care?" James answered, curtly.

Severus was running towards them, and he also had a broom, "You got one too? He is the best."

The Marauders nodded. "And before you say anything, you would be surprised, Lucius is changed," Sirius looked at the twins aggressively.

Hagrid was grinning from ear to ear, "The love of a good witch, does that."

Gideon felt sick, "You mean Narcissa Black?"

The Marauders looked at him as if he were crazy, "No, he is talking about Ermi, she is the good witch."

When the twins were far enough, Gideon sounded bitter, "Like it would make any difference, thanks to my father's bad investments we are poor as rats. I will never get Narcissa."

Fabian added, "He was cheated by Malfoy, the Dark Lord had a hand," he stopped when he heard Hagrid.

"Stop, I also have a scroll for you," Hagrid gave them a scroll in very expensive parchment with a gold ring around, and sealed with a green wax stamp, The stamp was an M.

They read as they walked to their next class, Mr. Fabian and Mr. Gideon Prewett. Please meet me this afternoon at Hogsmeade. One of my solicitors noticed a gross error related to the way your father's investments were processed. No need for concern, the error is in your favor. Please keep this information confidential until you meet with me, and maybe later…"

Their hearts soared with hope, they talked and decided not to be honest as to why they needed permission to go out.

Abraxas was already waiting. He had ordered a full tea service. They welcomed the expensive treat, they could no longer afford such luxuries. After small talk, his solicitor explained that a new employee had mishandled the transaction years before. So now, the original sum plus the earnings and accrued interest had been divided into thirds and deposited in three vaults, one for each one of them, and one for their sister, Molly Weasley. This was done as per the contract terms in case of their father's demise.

Gideon asked in a shaky voice, not daring to hope, "How much are we talking about?"

Abraxas grinned, "The total was around 2.5 million Galleons, divided in three, and of course the deed to the Manor that served as collateral."

They hadn't seen Cygnus Black, who happened to be at Hogsmead. "Sorry I overheard, congratulations. I guess you two will make a good match for any witch; remember that I have three unmarried daughters." He winked and chuckled along with Abraxas, and both were puzzled to see the twins blushed. Did both like Narcissa, they were handsome lads, why not?

On their way back to Hogwarts, the twins felt as if they were dreaming. "We need to make sure Dumbledore doesn't know; something tells that he won't like it. But gold or not, Narcissa will never accept me, Bella doesn't like me and calls me a Blood-traitor." Gideon no longer sounded hopeful. He excused himself and told Fabian he needed to see someone.

"Who are you seeing? "Fabian asked, "It seems that you have a secret, tell me." Fabian hoped the secret was Narcissa, he wanted to see his brother happy and maybe, have a chance himself.

Gideon said nothing and left in a hurry.

The Game

Albus heard about the game and decided to go and watch. He had noticed that Lucius was turning popular with the Gryffindors, why? He didn't like so many changes, even Minerva was acting odd; but not her, she was loyal, and probably fancied herself in love with him.

Hermione saw Minerva and went to talk to her. When Minerva saw Hermione's profile, she reminded her of Tom, something around her mouth, the shape of their face, her magic core; was she Tom's child? The young witch could have been her daughter if she hadn't been a fool. Albus was interested in the witch, but Minerva made a vow not to let Albus hurt Miss L'Argent. Her old suitor answered immediately, they were seeing each other later the same day. Then, she would ask for his advice. He would be interested, she was sure. It wasn't late for her, not yet.

Many came to see the game, Hermione did as well and brought Serge. She knew this wasn't the Lucius from late, she longed to be in his arms, her body ached for him. She wanted his love.

At the game she saw the Black sisters, Andy came to sit by her. Narcissa's eyes were on the game, but Hermione followed her eyes, no, not on Lucius on one of Prewett twins, she couldn't tell them apart.

Zecke was also playing, how funny that so many had come to see a casual game. The uncrowned prince was accessible, he was friends with Blood-Traitors, werewolves, and Half-bloods; it was indeed something to see.

Hagrid came to sit by her. They liked each other, just like in the future. Serge left the rucksack and flew to Hagrid, who hardly watched the game playing with Serge. Hagrid fed Serge all sorts of stinky snacks, probably mouse jerky. Serge looked like a fly on Hagrid's wrist, it was endearing. "I'll take care of the wee one whenever you need me too." Hermione thanked him, but knowing Hagrid's nasty pets, it was a no.

Hermione was happy, even Peter played, he wasn't good, but he was treated better.

When the game was over, she left before Albus could reach her; she didn't trust him, and the feeling was growing strong. She waited for Lucius half-hidden.

Lucius was pretending to be okay, but he wasn't. He could close his eyes and see his Ermi half naked; her body against his. Her memory of her naked breasts and her soft skin made him ache. Damn, he should have insisted and done what Rodolphus did. At least she would have to marry him because he would make sure that she got pregnant, even if it were wrong.

He avoided the rowdy bunch and left before he was noticed. He felt something fly by him and land on his shoulder. He looked by the corner of his eye and saw a tiny owl, it made Hera his fey owl look like a giant. Serge liked his silver locks and started to comb them with its beak.

"Ah, a hair owl, I have two at home. I see. And where do you come from, do you want to come with me?" Lucius asked, and Serge extended his wing and caressed his cheek, but he also screeched twice, it sounded like "No, thanks"

He heard a giggle and smelled her light perfume all at once. "Ermi, you are here? My love." He wished he had flowers to give her, maybe a rose. After wanting it, a rose appeared in his hand, and he smiled knowingly.