Hermione carefully supported her weight on her feet as she clutched the chair with her hands. She was nearly a year old in the country of Westeros.
She had been paying careful attention whenever her mother Joanna held her while discussing the affairs at Casterly Rock with uncle Kevan, who she discovered was a knight. She was reminded of Sir Cardogan's painting of him and his pony. Sir Cardogan loved to regale the casual passerby with his tale of conquering the Wyvern of Wye, among other achievements.
She realised that Ser Kevan was not nearly as flamboyant as Sir Cardogan. He tended to be more reserved, preferring to attend hearings of petitions and working on treaties, as compared to trotting off on an adventure.
Joanna was the Lady of Casterly Rock, by virtue of her marriage to the Lord of Casterly Rock. She was in charge of managing the household and taking care of the accounts. She always held Hermione close to her while she reviewed the finances. Hermione often looked into the parchments, learning about the financial aspects and currencies in use. The only denomination she was familiar with was a golden dragon, which she understood was the equivalent of a galleon. She was confident that she would find out about the possible equivalents of the Knut and Sickle.
Joanna was a kind lady, though she could be quite demanding from the household servants. They were always eager to work closely with her in organising the feasts and the running of the castle. She also heard petitions with uncle Kevan. Hermione was quite concerned about the number of cases where the women of the smallfolk reported that they were subject to abuse by the men in the place.
Joanna would often promise protection to the oppressed women. She was quite reasonable with the punishments for the guilty parties, which uncle Kevan and uncle Tygett personally ensured was carried out to satisfaction.
The smallfolk came with many problems. Insufficient food, lost property, assault and thievery were some of the common problems which uncle Kevan and Joanna heard from petitioners with endless patience. Yet, the petitioners never left unsatisfied due to the fairness of the judgements.
When she was confident that a child nearly a year old could be reasonably expected to talk, she had put in every effort to vocalise her thoughts. It had taken her an entire month to speak few basic words like mama, papa and food. Moving her tongue and lips in her new body was initially difficult, until she practised hard everyday.
She was now focusing on relearning how to walk. She was eager to find a library and start reading about the fascinating world around her. She was unsure of how she had come to be born into it, nor how she could return back to Hogwarts where Ron, Ginny, Professor McGonagall and the others needed her help.
At all times, she was constantly aware and took care not to show an unusual progress of her abilities. She was able to understand that despite her initial assumption about being born into a wizarding family, the Lannisters were muggles. Her muggle parents in Britain were happy to find out about her magic, but she was wary of her new family's opinion about witches and wizards.
Her new family was quite peculiar indeed. Joanna was just as sweet and protective as Molly, uncle Gerion was the comic relief, with his jokes and a smile that could make Gilderoy Lockhart jealous. Aunt Genna was one part fun loving and one part crazy. She could earn Hermione's respect with her incredible wit and lose it near immediately with an inappropriate comment. Uncle Tygett never bothered them much, though she could understand that he was not fond of her father Tywin. Uncle Kevan was the counterbalance, he was the binding force that kept the family together in Tywin's absence.
Cersei and Jaime were not fond of her. Hermione realised that both were unhappy about having another person to share their mother's affection with. Joanna spent nearly half the day by Hermione's side, ensuring that her needs were well taken care of. While she was quite frail from the pregnancy and needed the help of a wet nurse, she preferred to keep Hermione close to her at all other times. Hermione guessed that she was afraid of the loss of an infant child, a thought that terrified her too for a short while, until she realised she was being silly.
Hermione was eager to cooperate with her, never crying out or making a fuss unless she needed help. She found it easier to communicate with her newfound power of speech, the vocabulary for which grew everyday with the number of words she practised. Joanna was extremely encouraging of her progress and Hermione basked in the affection she received from her mother.
When Hermione was confident of her balance, she let go of the chair and tried her best not to collapse on her knees. Her legs swayed under her, handling her weight in her new body for the first time. She used her hands for balance, trying hard not to lose her focus.
She managed to take five steps forward, heading towards the bed. Joanna was asleep, leaving her free to explore the surroundings.
Cersei and Jaime came rushing in abruptly, startling Hermione with the suddennesses of their appearance. She slipped on a rug and went down on her hands and knees with a crash. Her eyes clouded with tears from the pain. Jaime moved towards her, possibly to help, before Cersei yanked him back.
"Why bother, Jaime? Mother never spends as much time with us as she used to, because of her. She always tells us that the new babe needs her attention, but the little mouse does not even look like us. We will only have each other, if we don't act fast", she said in a haughty voice.
Hermione realised that Cersei and Jaime disliked her for Joanna's sudden change in her attention to her children. She could relate to her fears. Her mom had once talked about a sibling for her, agreeing not to have one only after she was quite persistent. She enjoyed being doted upon by her parents and it was clear that the two shared the same feeling.
Hermione was yet to understand how she could befriend the twins without them antagonising her.
She tried her best to push herself off the floor, keeping her bruised palms on the ground to support her weight while trying to stand. Cersei climbed onto the bed to wake Joanna, while Jaime watched her curiously.
When Joanna saw her bruises, she gathered her in her arms as quickly as possible and sent word to the Maester to bring some cooling poultices. Hermione was grateful for the intervention, she had nearly collapsed again due to the pain in her knees.
Cersei clambered next to them on the chair, with Jaime standing by Joanna's knees. "Mother, I want to sleep next to you tonight. Jaime also wants to hear about the story of the wise old man", Cersei said in her sweetest voice.
Joanna tried her hardest not to sound demotivating, "But my sweet girl, I need to ensure that the babe is alright. These bruises look absolutely dreadful. I have to stay by her side till she falls asleep. Mayhap we can do it on the morrow".
Cersei scowled immediately. "It is always about the babe. Jaime and I want you back!", she declared hotly.
Joanna was not happy with her tone. "Cersei, Jaime. I suggest the two of you go to bed immediately. I did promise you that I will be by your side on the morrow isn't it?"
"I want it to happen now", Cersei demanded.
Hermione found it uncomfortable to remain in the room while Cersei and Joanna had their feud. She knew the blame was with her, though she couldn't do much about it. She was suddenly struck by an idea.
She extended a hand to Cersei. "Sasei", she said. She had been attempting to try her name, but her tongue didn't cooperate. When she had heard of her sister's name for the first time, she was surprised by the reference to the witch who played a major part in various Greek legends. But the name was just a coincidence and there were no other commonalities.
Joanna beamed at her attempt to address her sister by name. Cersei was not as excited. "She is just a stupid babe. She cannot even say my name properly", she huffed before she left the room. Jaime trailed behind her like an obedient familiar.
Joanna looked sorrowful at Cersei's outburst. Hermione felt helpless. She wanted to reassure Cersei and Jaime that she meant well, but she also wanted Joanna to be happy and spend more time with them. She wished she could grow up faster and start building bridges.