"NO!"
Hermione never thought she could hear Professor McGonagall yell so shrilly. She spotted the limp person Hagrid was carrying in his arms and realised why she had yelled. Harry lay dead in Hagrid's arms.
"HARRY!", Ginny and Ron joined her in their futile calls to their brave, fallen friend.
Voldemort took in the scene before him with relish, as he stroked the jaw of his monstrous snake, an inhuman glee reflected in those red eyes.
"SILENCE!", he finally bellowed. "Set him down by my feet, Hagrid. Right where he belongs. You see, my deluded children, Harry Potter is dead. He was nothing, but a boy who relied on the sacrifice of others".
"He beat you!", Ron shot back.
"No, he was killed when he was sneaking away from the castle, unlike what would be expected from a typical Gryffindor…", Voldemort started to explain with relish, before a red curse nearly hit him. Hermione looked down to her wand hand and realised that she had just fired a Cruciatus curse at the Dark Lord himself.
"Who is this?", Voldemort asked, his gaze directed on her. Ron moved to stand in front of her, but Hermione stepped forward. She was about to introduce herself to Harry's killer, when she saw Voldemort's gaze drifting to someone behind her.
Hermione turned around to see Professor Trelawney behind her. She seemed to be in a trance when she opened her mouth and a deep, booming voice emanated from her.
"And who are you? The proud lord said,
That I must bow so low.
Only a cat of a different coat,
That is all the truth I know.
In a coat of gold or a coat of red,
A lion still has claws,
And mine are long and sharp my Lord,
As long and sharp as yours.
And so he spoke, and so he spoke,
That Lord of Castamere,
But now the rains weep o'er his hall,
And no one there to hear
Yes, now the rains weep o'er his hall,
And not a soul to hear"
It seemed barely like a prophecy, yet it was absolutely bone chilling to hear. Hermione felt herself shuddering when she heard those ominous words. A coat of gold or coat of red, a lion still has claws, was Trelawney composing an odd song about Gryffindor? And what was a Castamere?
Voldemort was not happy with the odd words either. The song was about a lord who questioned someone, only for the rains to weep over their hall, perhaps a symbolisation of death?
"Avada Kedavra", he roared. Trelawney collapsed to the ground near instantly. "That is Potter's mudblood, my lord", Bellatrix contributed helpfully. Voldemort's hate filled eyes turned on her. She met his gaze this time, emboldened by the queer words of her one time Divination professor. Perhaps, if she lived beyond the day, she was willing to take up extra courses in Divination, as a way of honouring the late woman for providing courage to her when she needed it.
When the green light of the killing curse engulfed her, she could hear Ron's desperate scream, Ginny's wail, the heartbroken sobs of Professor McGonagall and Molly, but it all faded to the sounds of a woman and a crying child.
How peculiar, Hermione thought when she recognised the screams as that of a child. The light was flashing too brightly, making it difficult for her to see anything. She felt a singing pain at her chest. Startled, she drew the pendent hanging around her neck. A red haired witch had asked her to keep it when Hermione, Harry and Ron were in the Ministry. It reminded her of Gryffindor, with the roaring lion head. Harry and Ron had been wary initially, but Harry reasoned that the witch was well meaning and intended to give them a token of House Gryffindor to symbolise her support for the Order.
As she felt her strength leaving her body, Hermione's thoughts were with her parents, whose memories she had to modify for their own safety. I am sorry, mom and dad. I did what I had to do to protect you. Please forgive me.
When the lights finally faded to to a reasonable level, Hermione realised that she couldn't see anything around her, with spots in her vision due to the intensity of the lights. She closed her eyes and blinked rapidly, trying her hardest to banish the dark spots. She felt someone lifting her, wiping at her with a wet rag and covering her in a cloth of some kind. "A healthy daughter", the voice announced.
Hermione realised belatedly that she was not dressed in anything, except for the cloth around her. She opened her eyes and tried to glance around her, taking in as much of the scenery available for her inspection with her limited vision. She felt sluggish, like her body was too heavy for her to move. An odd pain from her navel troubled her endlessly, though she managed not to cry out.
She was able to make out a golden haired man taking her in his arms, from the woman who carried her. The man was much larger than her, with green eyes that differed from Harry's own, as they appeared to be flecked with gold. He had golden side whiskers, which when combined with his gold hair, made him look like a majestic maned lion.
He inspected her with a frown on his face. "The brown hair is quite unusual. The eyes are the same as mine and Joanna's", he remarked as he tilted his head from side to side in his inspection.
Another golden haired man made his way to her side. He did look similar to the man holding her, though his features appeared to be gentle. "Our mother was a Marbrand, dear brother. I believe the child has inherited the traits from that side of the family".
Hermione realised with shock that she was in the body of a new born baby. She wondered if the men were aware of the fact that she was mentally a teenager, as they assumed her to be the daughter of the man who held her.
With great difficulty, Hermione raised her hands in front of her to confirm her theory. She was proven right when she saw the delicate hands of a child replacing the hands of a battle hardened girl who faced certain death at the hands of a Dark Lord.
"I wonder what she is trying to do", the man, whom she guessed was her uncle, said. Hermione opened her mouth, trying to vocalise the words that plagued her thoughts, but a steady stream of nonsensical sounds came out instead.
Hermione huffed in frustration, eliciting a hearty round of laughter from the two men. "My my, she is a chatty one", a new voice added. Hermione turned her head slightly to watch two more golden haired men joining them. Just how many wizards have the same features?, she wondered.
"Tygett, Gerion, I do remember telling the two of you to wait for me in my solar", the man holding her said slowly, though Hermione could hear the dangerous undertone in his voice.
"I mean no disrespect, sweet brother. Entertaining the king was a fine way for us to pass the time as we eagerly awaited the arrival of our newest niece. But the king sent us here to inform you that he wishes for the child to be presented to him on the morrow, before he departs for King's Landing".
Hermione was confused with the references to a king's landing and the king himself. Surely she was not in a muggle house, the surroundings reminded her of the opulence of Malfoy Manor. The men around her were wearing the period style of clothing, complete with a doublet.
The man holding her stood up suddenly. "Very well, the child will be presented to his Grace on the morrow", he declared.
"Wait, Tywin. You still haven't told us her name", the uncle whose name she didn't know announced.
The man named Tywin, her father, Hermione supposed, looked down upon her. "I am in half a mind to name her after mother, Kevan. Especially after the way how father dishonoured mother's memory in recent years with that whore".
Hermione gaped at his usage of a swear word. That was not the style of talking in a polite wizarding society. Lucius Malfoy may have been a narcissistic pureblood supremacist, but he was always mindful of his courtesies, even with her.
The uncle she finally identified as Kevan examined her again. "Very well, brother. Jeyne Lannister it is".
Hermione was oddly reminded of the coincidence that her middle name was Jean. She smiled at that instinctively. Tywin and Kevan smiled back at her. "She seems to like mother's name. She will be a fierce lioness, brother. You needn't worry", Kevan declared, as he ushered Tywin into another room.
Hermione noted the way how Kevan emphasised on her being a fierce lioness. Perhaps this family was sorted into Gryffindor. But she could not remember seeing any Marbrands or Lannisters in any of the four houses.
Tywin walked in with Hermione in his arms. He set her down on a bed next to a golden haired woman, before he greeted her warmly with a chaste kiss. "I would like to hold our daughter, Ty", the woman told him.
Tywin gathered her in his arms and passed her to the woman. The woman had a kind face with the same green eyes she had seen before. She was reminded of the time when Ron claimed that most wizarding families intermarried to keep their bloodlines pure. Perhaps she was in one such family. The resemblance of her new father to her new mother was alarming.
"I have named her after my mother, the late Lady Jeyne, my love", he informed her. "Jeyne is a beautiful name indeed, Ty. She does resemble a Marbrand with the hair. It will be a fitting name for our daughter. I do hope that she grows up to be as capable as your mother", the woman said as she held her to her chest protectively.
"I know you will not be pleased, but the king has announced that he would like our daughter to be presented to him on the morrow", Tywin spoke up suddenly.
Her new mother nearly wailed in protest. Tywin hushed her cry, "I will be by your side for the whole time. He cannot make any cruel japes or try to dishonour you on my watch. You needn't fear".
Hermione understood that the king was a cruel one, if he wished to insult women by terrorising them. The woman's arms were trembling and Hermione was afraid that she may drop her. Tywin seemed to realise the same as he moved to take her back, laying her down in a small wooden crib. "You must rest now, sweet Joanna. The wet nurse will be here shortly. You must gather as much strength as possible for the visit on the morrow".
Joanna, her mother, seemed disturbed as she conveyed her acknowledgement of Tywin's recommendation. Tywin moved to brush a kiss on Joanna's head, before he repeated the same with Hermione.
"Have Jaime and Cersei met her yet?", Joanna asked Tywin. "It is the hour of ghosts. Both were eager to meet her, but I had to send them to bed". Hermione could understand that she had siblings in this family, given Joanna's concern about her meeting them.
As Hermione settled to get some sleep herself, she realised that Tywin was talking about a wet nurse. Which could only mean…
She cursed Merlin for the embarrassment she would be forced to endure during her time as a baby. Surely the immortal beings above wanted to have a laugh at her expense. She resolved to endure the same with quiet acceptance, while she figured out how she ended up in the body of a baby born into a strange family.