Chapter 25

Kate sat down at her desk, reading over the material with her lips pursed. "Interesting," she murmured, eyes moving quickly. She walked over to the fireplace, threw in a pinch of Floo powder, and found Hermione.

"Hermione! I just heard about your daughter- how's everything going?" Kate decided it was uncomfortable leaning through the Floo network, but neither her own, nor the Hogwarts fireplaces actually allowed people to travel through them. Security reasons, they said.

Hermione shrugged, "As well as is supposed. Adrienne and I brought Malfoy here."

"So the potion worked?" Kate interrupted.

"Yes. Adrienne worked on it with Snape, so I have no idea what they did. It worked, however. And- you'll be surprised about this- Malfoy's been practicing soul magic."

"Really?" Kate gasped, her hand gripping tightly on the parchment before her.

"Really. I'm thankful, though- he'll be able to find Lianna. She'll be home soon enough. He knows what he's doing." Hermione sighed. "I just wish there were something I could do. I feel unnecessary."

"You need a husband, dear." Kate muttered, a bit too loud, and her face went red when Hermione looked at her oddly. "Sorry, Hermione. That was uncalled for. But I do think you need someone to love. Your girls are growing up, and you need someone to look after- and to look after you."

Hermione looked at the floor, silence permeating the room. Kate fidgeted. Finally, Hermione looked up at her. "Thankyou, Kate. That will be all," Her eyes were cold, and Kate left quickly, green flames going up her nose as she did so. She snorted them out, and the fire died immediately, leaving a dark fireplace.

"Drat. The poor dear. And now I've gone and made things worse- ah, what can you do?" Kate sat down with the parchment again, reading over the words.

~*~

How could she? Even to suggest that I need to rely on a man is insult enough, Hermione fumed. But to suggest that I need one to look after me is worse. Hermione stormed out of the staff room, down the stairs, down the drafty corridors, up the stairs, out a door, in a door, up stairs and into the Hospital Wing.

Poppy took one look at the fuming woman and stopped her.

"What's wrong, Hermione? You look as though you're about to destroy something. Adrienne looks surprisingly like you when she looks like that," she chuckled.

"What's wrong with Adrienne?"

"Oh, Malfoy was riling her. She let him get to her. She stormed out with the same expression as you are now wearing. I think she was going to take out her anger on inanimate objects. I take it you are going to take your anger out on a person?" Poppy's eyes crinkled into a smile, and Hermione felt a little of her anger ebb.

"You're probably right. I was actually just going to sit down and watch Lianna. It seems to calm me somehow. Like when I used to watch the girls sleeping." Poppy nodded; then let her into the room.

"Malfoy, out." Hermione commanded when she stepped into the room. Draco looked at her, saw the expression on her face, and sauntered out, leaning in as though to say something to her on the way through. He kept silent though, and closed the door softly behind him. Hermione shook her head and sat to watch her daughter.

"Ah, Lianna. I love you so much. I hope you realise just how much." Hermione rested her head in her hands. She jumped back up, however, when a hand reached out to touch her.

"Mama?" the question came, and Hermione looked straight into the dazzlingly blue eyes of her daughter, no longer empty.

"Oh, Lianna!" Hermione jumped onto the bed, feeling the sheets warm from another person. She threw her arms around her daughter, holding her as she began to weep.

~*~

'Are you here?' The figure opened its eyes, filling the world with silver again.

'Yes. Just pondering conundrums. How are your guests?' she asked, watching the lights in the other spirit's aura flicker back to their normal balance.

'It seems that I'm the guest now. Would you like to go home?' The spirit asked her intently, leaning forward to peer at her.

'Yes. I think I would,' she replied, 'I'm sick of not even knowing my own name. I want to know what I look like again.'

'You look like that,' he nodded towards her. 'Your spirit does, anyway.'

'Yes, I understand that, but I want to know what I physically look like again. And I want to know what part of me is missing,' she said softly, not quite sure if she should reveal this vulnerability of herself to this stranger.

'Ah. Yes, you will find that part of yourself when you return. Here-' the spirit showed her a dark form that she had previously overlooked. There was a tiny thread emanating from it, but it was quite lengthily stretched into the ground.

'Is this my body?' she asked.

'I think so. Look-' She looked, and saw that the lifeline was dark purple with golden ripples, just like her own.

'How do I go home?' she asked, perplexed.

'Just move into it- can't you feel the pulling?' as soon as the spirit said this, she could feel it- an aching pull somewhere in her midsection, dragging her down into the body. Her head began to swim. The other spirit snapped its eyes shut. She could feel herself falling…

~*~

A/N: We found Lianna! Thankyou to my reviewers, and enjoy the rest of your reading!

*kitten