A/N: Hi everyone, I'm sorry this chapter took so long to be published. I've been having a rough few weeks, my class is a bit more work than I wished it was, but it's my own fault for picking it, and now we are in for a round of sickness in the home. I'm also behind on Cassie, so if you read that as well, never fear, I should have a new chapter out soon. Today if I can help it, but as I am currently battling with chills, don't hold me to that. Thank you to my lovely beta GidgetMalfoy. Love her so much!

Peace, Love and Slyther,

Gimi aka Jess

Cheeks turned to Rodolphus and gave him a small nod, "Missy Bella mustn't frighten my Missy, Master Roddy."

"What did you call her?" Bella stood, solemnly next to Rodolphus who was staring at the little elf he hadn't seen in over twenty years. The girl whom she was tending to was shaking, tears falling from her unfamiliar eyes, but Cheeks held tight to her hand with one of her small ones, her other stroked her cheek and she began to hum lightly a child's lullabye.

Recognition sparked in the girl's muddy brown eyes. "I… I have heard that before…" she scrunched her nose and Rodolphus could see the wheels turning in her head, "I… I know I have…"

"What did you call her?! Cheeks?! Answer me, I am your Mistress, you will answer me!" Bella screamed from her spot and Kingsley trained his wand on the woman.

Cheeks stood up in front of Hermione and stared at Bellatrix, "You are not my Missy! My Missy is Missy Lyra and you will not scare her!"

Rodolphus chortled, he remembered how brazen the little elf had always been about his Lyra. Cheeks was an unusual elf, she had never taken orders from Bella or himself, only doing so if it was about Lyra. Lyra… what was a name he hadn't thought of in a while. He thought of her all the time, but he hadn't thought of her name in a long time. His little girl, his princess, she was the light of his life. When she died, a part of him did as well.

Wait… Rodolphus came back to reality, "Wait…" he said out loud, "What do you mean, your Missy is Missy Lyra? Lyra is dead Cheeks, this is not your Missy. Lyra LeStrange is dead, I've been to the crypt. I've seen her stone."

"Sit down," Kingsley boomed. "I will explain why we are here." Rodolphus and Bella both sat at the edge of their chairs, and Kingsley sat down as well.

Hermione took a deep breath, "Like I said, I dropped my blood on the parchment and it turned blue. The name appeared and it wasn't my own. Then Cheeks appeared and…"

"She died," Bella whispered, a hollow look in her grey eyes. Hermione had never been this close to the witch; she had Draco's eyes. "She died when we went to prison, the Order killed my daughter."

Rodolphus took his wife's hand, they had heard about her death while in prison. The guards told them years ago how Aurors had gone to LeStrange Estate and saw the stone. She was dead. Bella died that night. She had been fighting the dementors, fighting for days because of Lyra, knowing she was with Cheeks, that she was safe. Hearing about the stone, knowing she had to be dead caused Bellatrix to finally give in to the madness that eventually consumed her.

Cheeks shook her little head. "Missy Bella told Cheeks to take my Lyra to the muggles, to stay away from wizard folks cus of bad men. Cheeks took my Lyra to muggle healers and watched from afar until one day Cheeks couldn't find her Lyra," Cheeks began to sob again, "She was gone, Cheeks couldn't feel her magic until today."

"I don't believe you," Bella shook her head, "My daughter is dead, you are trying to trick us, you bound Lyra's elf to this Mudblood to trick us."

Hermione huffed and stared daggers at Bella, "Yes, because I really want to be YOUR daughter," She raised her left arm to the table and moved the sleeve of her robes up over her forearm. A red and jagged scar stood raised on the pale skin, "The woman who gave me this lovely reminder of hatred. I want to call you mummy."

Cheeks sobbed, she hadn't known what the scar was, but knew it had to be bad. She ran her small elf hands over the scar. Hermione could feel the heat of Cheeks' magic flowing over her arm and knew what the elf was trying to do, trying to take it away. It was fruitless though, the scar was there for good. Cheeks threw herself against Hermione, hugging her tight, crying for her Missy.

Kingsley cut off whatever retort Bellatrix was going to throw at Hermione and over the sobbing elf he said, "I am here to verify Hermione's parentage so we know where we can go from here."

"Why does it matter?" Rodolphus asked the Minister, "What will this prove?"

"My parchment turned blue," Hermione shouted, "If I'm really Ly… your dau…" Hermione took a deep breath and let it out. Closing her eyes, she finished her thought, "If I'm really her, I need to break the betrothal so I can get married."

Kingsley looked at the LeStranges, Bella still looked half doubtful about this new revelation. Rodolphus did not look convinced either. Kingsley looked over at Hermione who just rolled her eyes.

"We are going to use the Familia Sanguinem spell," Kingsley informed the room. "It only requires a few drops of blood from both parents and the suspected child."

Hermione nodded, eyes closed and praying to any God that was listening that the parchment at the ministry was faulty and she could marry Ron and this would just be a cruel joke. Kingsley pulled at a glowing piece of parchment and Hermione groaned, she was not having much luck with parchment today.

Kingsley set the paper on the table. Rodolphus stuck his hand out and just like Mister Stebbins, and Kingsley made a cut with his wand on the man's palm. Rodolphus let the blood pool in his hand and then dropped a few drops onto the parchment. The paper continued to glow while Kingsley waited for Bella to put out her hand.

Bella shook her head, "I don't believe you, Lyra died. The side of Light kidnapped and killed my beautiful baby girl, she was only two." For the first time, Hermione could see tears glistening in the eyes of her torturer. Hermione felt a stab of guilt, but quickly shook that away. She should not be feeling sorry for Bellatrix LeStrange, the woman tortured her and tortured Neville's parents into insanity.

Rodolphus looked at his wife, he took her hand, "Just do it Bella, you know the magic will tell the truth. They can't fool the parchment."

Looking at her husband, she held her head up. She looked down her grey watery eyes, down at Hermione and surprisingly Kingsley, surprising as he stood half a foot taller than the witch. Bellatrix held her hand out to the minister. Hermione had to admit, the woman was unshakeable. Bellatrix had just been given news that her once thought of dead daughter could be alive and she was not the least bit perturbed. Hermione was shaking like a leaf, but then again, she didn't have dead and tortured muggle blood on her soul. That must keep your nerves in check.

Hermione chuckled darkly at her own odd sense of humor, if you could call it that. The small laugh oddly calmed her enough for her hands to settle down. Hermione watched Kingsley open Bella's hand and after a moment, she watched Bella drop the small pool of bright red liquid onto the parchment.

Bella eyed the girl sitting across from her, "Never see anything so pure, little girl?" disdain dripping from her lips. Bella brought her hand up to her mouth and licked her palm clean.

Hermione rolled her eyes and scrunched her nose, "Of course I have, in my cat's litter." Kings laughed at the look of rage on Bella's face as Hermione held out her had. Kingsley, once again opened up her palm. Staring into Bella's cold grey eyes, she willed herself to stop shaking. She had already had a shite day, she was not going to continue to show vulnerability to this woman and her husband.

Hermione tipped her hand over and the blood dripped onto the page in the middle of the other drops. She healed her cut as Kingsley began the incantation and wand movements. His wand emitted a violet light and they all watched as as Hermione's blood turned blue.

Kingsley began to explain the spell to Hermione. The spell was separating her DNA and essentially compelled to rejoin its primary source, which would be the parent's. If the parental blood is not found on the parchment, the sample will stay put, if it is, it will separate and move towards the likeness and then turn bright red once again.

As Kingsley finished explaining to the girl, Rodolphus was staring at the blue blood on the parchment as it began to separate. He held his breath as the blue liquid began to travel, each stream towards the other stains. His heart plummeted as a trickle of blue worked it's way and combined with his own and turned bright red. Looking over at the other side of the parchment, he saw the same bright coloring as soon as the blue touched the blood.

"Oh sweety Circe," Rodolphus whispered, his blue eyes swiftly glanced at the young woman standing behind the table, eyes closed and hands braced on the hard surface. A whimper escaped her lips. Kingsley grabbed hold of her arm, as added support and a precaution, "Lyra? Baby girl, is that you?"

"No… no, Kings," Hermione moaned. Tears clouding her vision, no longer caring about what the woman thought of her. Even though she knew it was more than likely that she would have the same outcome as before, but seeing it again, in front of these people? Reality just smacked her in the face. "Gods, what am I going to do? I'm supposed to be happy about this?" She looked up at Rodolphus and Bellatrix, the latter with a red face. "Am I supposed to be happy that my entire life has been a lie? What about the bond? Can I reject it?"

"Why would you want to reject it?" Rodolphus asked, not sure how to feel. His daughter, the daughter that he thought had died all those years ago at the hands of the light was standing in front of him. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch her, to make sure she was real, not a figment of his subconscious.

Hermione looked at him incredulously, "Why would I want to break it? I am supposed to be married one week from today! Why would I want to leave a loving relationship to marry a man who has tried to kill me on several occasions?!"

"You can't break it," Bella said simply, "If you are Lyra, you are bound by magic older and stronger than your own. You have to marry Thorfinn Rowle."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Bellatrix. Bella, looked at the girl, looking for a hint of the toddler she once loved more than the Dark Lord. "I don't see Lyra in you." She announced, "Our Lyra was a beautiful baby, you are plain."

Hermione scoffed and Cheeks frowned at Bellatrix, "Missy Bella," The little round faced elf started, "That is not nice, my Lyra is beautiful. I did what you told me, Missy Bella. I puts a powerful glamour on her when I leave her with the muggles." Cheeks brought her hands up to Hermione's face. She began to chant in elfish and Hermione could feel the heat from her magic running through her body.

Rodolphus gasped, he could see her hair darken, her nose elongated a bit and her eyes went from muddy brown to blue grey. Her jaw squared just a bit; she looked just like he remembered Bella had looked when they were young.

Kingsley watched in awe. While she still retained her natural Hermione aura, she was just different enough that if you didn't already know she was Hermione, you wouldn't know. Hermione looked up, her now grey eyes looking across the table at the man who was her newfound father.

His hard eyes, turned soft as he looked at her. Her death was the worst part of his world in Azkaban during his first incarceration. Going with his brother and Crouch was the biggest mistake of his life, taking his wife was just as big. He should have left Rab and Barty to go off on their own. He should have taken Bella and Lyra and ran, ran far from England. He hadn't cared about where his Lord had been; he had a two year old to care for. He had only joined the cause to keep his little brother out of trouble. While he and Bella believed, they had not been fanatical.

Bellatrix LeStrange was not always the crazy woman that she was known for. The Black family is known for madness, but she was not when she went into Azkaban. She was a wife and mother, believing that she and her husband were working for a good cause. Muggleborn witches and wizards were not as strong magically, that had been proven through the ages. Magic did not run free through their blood the way it did in a pureblood. They didn't understand the customs of the traditional wizarding family. Familial magic was everything, witches and wizards did everything they could to ensure that their magical line was as strong as possible.

"Is this true?" Hermione had asked Rodolphus, "Am I bound to marry a prisoner because of this blood bond you did the day I was born?"

Rodolphus nodded, still staring at his daughter. She had grown up so nicely, he had been properly impressed of the then muggleborn witch during the war and in the Department of Mysteries all those years ago. He had heard from his nephew, Draco, that she had been the smartest witch of their age. Lucius was outraged over the fact that she was a muggleborn. Always whinging about how he would rid the world of this witch. An anger flared through his veins at the thought that his brother in law had tried to kill his daughter. Oh Gods, he had just caught sight of her scar as she fidgeted with her sleeve. He glanced at his wife and felt rage unlike any other at the woman he loved. She had deformed his daughter, balling his fingers into tight fists as to not wrap them around Bella's neck.

Bella, on the other hand, had paled considerably since Cheeks released the glamour. She knew there was no doubt now that this girl standing before her was indeed her daughter. She looked just like Andy at that age. Bella had always admired how her sister had such a look of softness compared to her own harsh Black features. Lyra had the same kind and soft face. While she had the same strong jaw as her mother, it was softened by the gentle slope of her nose and the demure smile. Bella reached out, as if to touch her, to be sure she was real when Hermione recoiled from the gesture.

Instantly feeling rejection, Bella swallowed hard, "I wish to go back to my cell." She directed at Kingsley. Looking over at Hermione, "You are bound to Rowle, there is no getting out of it. You must marry him. I suggest you get over whomever you love and start planning a different sort of wedding. You will marry him or die as part of the bond." She could not look back at the girl, a girl she knew to be hers, her baby she mourned every day for over twenty years. She now mourned the girl who would never forgive her for the acts she had done to her.

Kingsley opened the door and a guard stepped inside. Motioning towards Bellatrix, the man released her chains from the chair and took her back to her cell. Facing away from Hermione, the young girl never saw the tears that threatened to fall from her mother's eyes.

Rodolphus watched his wife leave, a look of disgust crossing his face. Turning back to his daughter as Bella turned from their sight, he had a look of deep remorse, "Bella is right. I'm sorry Lyra, you must break your pending marriage to this man, there is no way out of this contract. It is one of long standing, before you were born. The Rowle and LeStrange families have had this bond in place for over a century. You must marry by your twenty fifth birthday or you and he will perish."

Hermione paled, "But that's only six months from now!"

Rodolphus nodded, "September 19th," Hermione looked at him curiously and he gave a small smile, "Don't look surprised, just because I was a Death Eater does not mean I would forget one of the happiest moments of my life." He stood as the other guard posted outside stepped in and undid his chains. Looking back at his little girl, "I am sorry, Lyra, I know it doesn't mean anything to you and that you are ashamed of having such people for parents, but just know. I am sorry for everything."

He began to walk away when he heard her voice again, "My name is Hermione, it's all I've ever known. I will not answer to Lyra." Looking back at her determined grey eyes, he nodded his head with a small smile. And with that, he followed the guard back to his cell. Back in his cell where he could dream of a day where his long lost and thought to be dead daughter did not hate him or her mother.

OoOoOoO

Hermione left Kingsley at his office after their meeting with the LeStranges; she couldn't think of them as her parents. She made her way down to the Auror office to find Ron. Her heart ached. A part of her wanted to throw caution to the wind, run away with Ron and live happily for the last six months of her life, but she knew she couldn't do that. It wasn't in her nature to give up; she had to find a way around this.

Ron had been at his desk dealing with paperwork, distracting himself from the situation that he was in. He knew Hermione, knew she would be stubborn and in the end it would all be for nothing. He sighed, hands on his face and his heart in his stomach as he knew what he would have to do. As much as he loved Hermione, he would not risk her life because of that love.

"Ron, Kings and I just got back from Azkaban," Hermione gasped out, tears falling as soon as she walked into his office. She had been holding it in, she couldn't break down in front of Kingsley again. Hermione had sent Cheeks away, where the elf went, she did not know, not that she cared too much at the moment.

Looking up and seeing Hermione in distress, Ron stood and she ran into his arms and began to break. He rubbed her back, holding back his own tears; already mourning the end of them. He would always be her friend, but never again could he be anything more.

Sobbing, Hermione could barely piece a sentence together, "It's…" hiccup, "It's true…" hiccup, "I'm one of them," she shuddered as he brought his hands to her face and wiped the tears away, her new darker hair sticking to her cheeks as he stared into her unfamiliar, yet familiar eyes. It was strange, while she looked different, she was distinctly Hermione. That look in her eyes didn't change with the color. While she looked like her mother and sent a shiver down his back, looking closely, you could see Hermione shining through and that was comforting.

"Gods, how will I ever look Neville in the face again?" Hermione paled at the thought of having to face Neville Longbottom as a LeStrange. Her parents were responsible for the torture of his.

"Shh…" Ron said soothingly, "Don't worry about Neville right now, he will be okay eventually. It might be a bit of a shock at first and maybe some resentment, but he knows you aren't your parents and you did not do anything to him."

Hermione sighed, she began to calm. She then began to think about the bond and Rowle and impending death and almost started crying again. "Ron, I have to take a look at this bonding. There has to be a way out- I can't marry-"

"Hermione," Ron said sternly, "I told you and you know as well as I do, there is no way out of a blood bond."

"But I-" She was gasping out as her chest began to feel heavy, "I can't and we're suppose to-" Putting her hand on her chest, she concentrated on breathing as Ron brought her back to his chair.

"Hermione, you know I love you," Ron started, hating that he had to do this now, but with the wedding that was going to take place the next week, he knew that she would be in the archives of the ministry all week looking for a way out. She didn't even work there. "I won't risk your life by letting you live in denial. We can't get married, not next week," She cried out in anger and despair, and he softened his tone, "Not ever. I won't, I can't risk your life. I'd rather you marry Rowle than die because of your inability to accept something you can't change."

"It's my life Ron!" Hermione screamed in anger.

"No! It's my life, too!" he roared back at her. "It's my life and I can't watch you die. I love you damn it, I love you enough to let you go. If you don't want to marry Rowle, I can't stop you, but it won't be because of me."

Hermione cried even harder then. Ron was giving up, he wasn't going to fight for her. Standing up, she took his ring off her finger and threw it at him. "Fine Ronald, I won't bother with this then," turning on the spot, she disapparated away.

Ron sighed again, his heart torn. Rubbing his face clean of residue, he bent down to pick up the ring and went to find Harry. It was time to take a long assignment out of the country.