Minerva sat on the couch in her living quarters at Hogwarts with her feet tucked beneath her. She stared unseeingly at the flames in the stone fireplace as she reflect on the night. It had been a shocking one but she could now breathe a sigh of relief.
She had no idea Hermione was her biological child when the young witch had came to Hogwarts. She had refused to search for her child in hopes to protect her greatest treasure from the dangers her parentage would have on her. Minerva had longed for a child for as long as she could remember and had desperately wanted to keep the child once she found out she was pregnant. But she knew she couldn't do that to her child. The child had to be hidden for fear of Voldemort finding out the truth.
Minerva scowled as she thought about her mother and what the witch had done for her. At the back of Hermione's album, had been a shrunken folder addressed to her. Inside the folder, she found her marriage certificate, more letters and Hermione's birth certificate. The marriage certificate was for her and Elphinstone Urquart but their date of union was for years earlier than it should have been. He was also listed as Hermione's father on the birth certificate.
Minerva had questioned Agatha about them which caused her friend to smile sadly at her. "Your mother knew you would want to claim Hermione but you would never do so if it caused her harm," Agatha explained. "She asked Elphinstone to visit her and explained the situation. Isobel knew Elphinstone would do whatever it would take to protect you. She devised a plan and convinced him to go along with it although he struggled with a bit of it. Your mother convinced him it was for your best interest and he relented."
"What did they do," Minerva questioned curiously.
They used a specialized time turner to go back before your captivity," Agatha answered. "Elphinstone wanted to prevent the incident from occurring but Isobel refused. She could sense how powerful Hermione was and how she had seen 'The Power He Knows Not'."
"The prophecy about Harry Potter?"
Agatha nodded and continued to tell her friend what she needed to hear. "Isobel knew Hermione would be important to Harry and to winning the war. She had seen it in dreams and told Elphinstone. Isobel refused the idea she was seeing the future but what she did know convinced Elphinstone to follow her somewhat darkish plan."
"What plan?" Minerva asked, her stomach knotting up uneasily. She didn't know if she truly wanted to know what they had done but she knew she needed to know anyways.
Agatha closed her eyes, drew a shaky breathe and then met her friend's gaze. "You mother arranged a betrothal contract between yourself and Elphinstone Urquart. They chose the start of the summer holidays before your captivity and enchanted you to go through a wedding and the wedding night with Elphinstone. At the end of the consummation of your union, you were memory charmed so that you would forget it."
Minerva stared at her friend in horror as her eyes filled with tears. Her mother and her husband had betrayed her. She had been enchanted to marry and have sex to validate the marriage. She felt nauseous at the mere thought. "They couldn't have," she pleaded with her friend to tell her it was some sick joke. "They wouldn't have done that to me, would they?"
"Afraid so love," Agatha added sympathetically. "For Isobel's plan to work, they had to."
"What plan," Minerva asked with saddened, watery eyes.
"Once back in the original timeline, Elphinstone used an old blood ritual to magically adopt Hermione. Isobel had a mediwitch friend of hers to create a birth certificate for Hermione."
"Blood ritual," Minerva asked confused. "Why?"
"Isobel knew Elphinstone wouldn't have an heir unless said heir was yours as well so this way he got his heir and you got a father's name for your child," Agatha explained. "Isobel wanted to ensure no one would ever doubt Hermione was a light witch. Had no father been listed and the truth came out then the public would have mistrusted her regardless if she gave them a reason to or not. This way, there is no doubt of Hermione's father."
"She could of told me," Minerva replied.
"We both know you would of not agreed to it," Agatha said. "You would have never stood by and married Elphinstone while Dougal McGregor was still alive. Your mother realized that as well."
"I wouldn't have," Minerva agreed. "How did they ensure I kept my vow to Elphinstone? I did, even if I didn't know about it."
"A sentence was added to your wedding vows to ensure it although they made an allowance for your captivity," Agatha said. "Elphinstone wrote letters to you and Hermione so that there would be evidence of a relationship and no doubt he was Hermione's father."
Suprised, Minerva had glanced down at the file and saw the bundle of letters. She gripped them but couldn't bring herself to open them just yet. Without a word, Hermione summoned her small beaded purse and put the letters and a copy of the album in it. "Take them," Hermione said emotionally. "Read them when you are ready."
Minerva had nodded and accepted the beaded bag. Minerva stood up, beaded bag in her hand and looked to Hermione. Words failed her though and she couldn't say anything to her child. Hermione seemed to understand and merely wrapped her up in a hug. "Send an Owl when you are ready to talk," she offered. Minerva nodded her acceptance and left.