Disclaimer: I own nothing – the characters belong to JKR. This is the first Harry Potter fic I've ever written, and I would greatly appreciate any feedback. Thanks! - - - Caterina
Prelude
There will be those that blame me for the part I've played in this sordid affair. I will be the first to admit I've made mistakes. However, I firmly believe that for every mistake of mine, there were at least two successes. I've preserved the kingdom and kept my family as safe as I could.
Both of my daughters died, and there was nothing I could do for them. I couldn't protect my sons-in-law from the Dark as well as I would have liked. Nonetheless, with the help of my husband and with several loyal noble families, my granddaughters grew up in relative safety. I wish that I could have been the ones to raise them, but I acquiesced to my husband's wisdom. Hermione, the crown princess – daughter of Crown Princess Serena and Duke Sirius Black, was raised as the only daughter of two muggle dentists. Her cousin, the princess Virginia – daughter of Princess Maria and Lord Severus Snape, was placed under a glamour and raised as the youngest child in the Weasley household.
We anxiously awaited the time at which our girls would come to Hogwarts. Not only would they be under the guardianship of their grandfather again, but they could start developing their powers. The members of the royal family of Magical British Empire are all quite powerful, and I fully believe the girls will be the most powerful royals since the Hogwarts Four. Hermione should be particularly powerful with regards to transfiguration (thanks to her father) and arithmancy (of which her mother was a master), while Virginia should be a potions master and a particularly powerful divinator (both her mother and I are extremely talented in this field as well). Between the two of them, the kingdom should triumph in this latest battle with the Dark.
Oh, this most recent war – it could have been prevented; it should have been prevented. I should have stopped this years ago. I didn't think that Voldemort was that big a threat – I was so blind at that time. Few people know this, but Voldemort's main aim is to steal the thrown and the title of "King" from his older half-brother. Voldemort's mother was scared to name Duke Algernon Dumbledore as the father of her baby, so she named the child after an ex-lover of hers, and turned the baby Tom over to a muggle orphanage. Tom was a sixth-year student at Hogwarts when he learned of his true parentage, and assumed the name "Lord Voldemort". Albus and I had been married for just a short time at that point, and Tom felt that he deserved to wear his brother's crown. Albus and I assumed he was no threat, and that we should leave him be. That decision haunts me every day.
Voldemort left us alone for many years, and only directly attacked the royal family after Serena and Maria were both fully-grown and married.
Serena and the French Crown Princess Lillian were best friends. I must be getting old – I forgot that Lillian preferred to go by the more common "Lily" and that she choose not to acknowledge her title. I'm sorry, I digress - because Serena and Lily were such close friends, Serena was also quite close with Lily's husband James and his friends – Sirius, Peter, and Remus. After many years, and a particular notable amount of liquor at James and Lily's wedding, Sirius finally proposed to Serena. They were married just one month after the Potters' wedding.
In the meantime, Maria finally convinced Severus that she did not care if he was a spy or not. Albus had convinced a young Severus that the best role he could play in the war was that of a spy – no one would suspect a pureblooded Slytherin from a noble family of being a spy. However, in all the time Severus spent at the castle, I suppose it was inevitable he should fall for his mentor's daughter – they were married before she even graduated from Hogwarts.
We were all so happy at that time. Serena gave birth to Hermione exactly two months after Lily had her son, Harry. In the tradition of old royal families, the two future rulers were betrothed at quite a young age. Harry was heir to the Magical French throne, just was Hermione was heir to my throne. A year after Hermione's birth, Maria gave birth to Virginia. However, Maria lost too much blood during childbirth and even magic couldn't save her life. Severus was distraught, and unable to look after his young daughter. He threw himself full-time into spying, and came to realize that Lord Lucius Malfoy was also spying against Voldemort. Severus insisted that Virginia be betrothed to Lucius' son, Draco, and Albus and I agreed that this arrangement would be for the best. We knew the Malfoys were a powerful wizarding family, and were related to the royal family of France – Harry and Draco were cousins.
All during this time, Voldemort was gaining more and more power. It seemed like fights between his Death Eaters and the Aurors were occurring daily. The Dark Mark could be seen from one end of the kingdom to the other. No one was spared from his attacks. Albus was trying to raise an army, but seemed to be having trouble – few wanted to risk their own lives and the safety of their families. Sirius, James, and Lily were all Aurors, and Serena couldn't bear to send her husband and her closest friends into battle while she stayed safely at home. She convinced Lily to train her, pleading that she needed to know how the Aurors fought in order that she could protect herself and Hermione if the need arose. Lily, unaware of her best friend's true intentions, trained her and provided her with weapons and armor. One night, Serena sneaked out of the castle, and apparated to Voldemort's stronghold with the intention of finally ending the war by capturing her half-uncle. No one knows exactly what happened during that confrontation – her mangled body was sent back to us with the message "Another Dark victory" carved into her back.
That night, Albus convinced the Potters to go into hiding, because he believed that they were Voldemort's next targets. Sirius, too broken-hearted by his wife's death to think clearly, convinced them to use Peter as their secret-holder. Two nights later, the Potters were killed. I fully believed that Harry had been killed with them, and was in shock when Albus announced that Harry was "the boy who lived." No one had ever survived Avada Kedavra before, and it's unlikely any one ever will again. I wanted to take the boy in and raise him, but Albus insisted on sending him to the Dursleys. I still feel like crying every time I look at him, knowing what type of life we condemned him to so long ago – it's a testament to his own will and character that he emerged from that particular hell relatively unscathed.
The Potters were not the only ones lost due to that attack. Sirius was unfairly sentenced to Azkaban for their murders, Peter's murder, and the murder of numerous muggles. Although I know the true story, even I couldn't save him. I had to let him go to that hellhole with the full knowledge that he was innocent – it just would not look right for the Queen to pardon her son-in-law when the entire world believed him guilty. Severus blamed himself for being unable to protect any of his family, and entered into a spiral of guilt and depression.
Albus and I had to make a decision – what should we do with Hermione and Virginia? Their mothers were dead, and their fathers were incapable of taking care of them. Albus had the duties of Headmaster of Hogwarts to consider, and I just could not deal with the care of two young girls. The Weasleys were more than willing to take in both girls, but it seemed too dangerous to have both princesses in the care of one family – if one of Voldemort's followers were to attack the Weasley household (Arthur was known throughout the kingdom for being a staunch supporter of Albus and of being a "muggle lover"), then both girls could be harmed. Molly Weasley suggested that they take Virginia because Hermione was the same age as their youngest son – they could convince more people that Virginia was actually their daughter. They suggested that Hermione should be raised by muggles – Albus thought this idea was brilliant, and found a childless couple who would accept a child, no questions asked.
Years passed, and the kingdom was relatively quiet. Virginia became the much beloved little sister of the Weasley clan, and Hermione grew up in safety with her foster family, the Grangers. Soon, both girls, as well as Ron Weasley, Draco, and Harry were all at Hogwarts. Voldemort returned to power, but didn't recognize either girl. We had some scary moments during Virginia's first year when she became a pawn of a much younger Tom Riddle, but she escaped unscathed with Harry's help. Severus and Albus looked after the children, each in their own way, over the years. Every year Harry faced Voldemort, and every year Harry triumphed. I knew that Voldemort would attack again at full strength at Harry's graduation, and I knew this time he must be stopped.
I did what I had to do. As Queen, I have amazing powers – beyond that of any normal witch. I sent dreams to my granddaughters, and to Draco and Harry as well. I pushed them as hard as I could to research their pasts, and find the missing links. I made sure Sirius escaped, after a suitable number of years, and helped him find Peter – I immediately pardoned him, and gave him back his title and position. However, I could not give him back his daughter. She has a destiny, and it's important that she discover it herself. She will be the most powerful Queen ever, with Harry at her side as the most powerful King. Virginia and Draco will also yield awesome power. All four of them will come to full power soon, but I can only pray that it is before Voldemort regains his full power. Not a single one of them has the power and training necessary to defeat him, but I believe that together they can destroy him and the Dark Arts. I can only pray that I'm right – I'm betting my kingdom and the lives of my subjects on this belief. God help us all if I'm wrong.