Disclaimer: I do not own any original Harry Potter characters. Sniff sniff.
Claimer: I own Jack Harry Arthur Potter, Robert Clegg, Victoria Fitzsimmons, Amy, Maxmillian Xavier Black, and the entire 'de Varci' family.
This story is being used for entertainment purposes only, no money is being made and no violation of copyright intended.
Read, enjoy, and review!!! *****************************************************************
This chapter is dedicated to the *real* Katharine. Rock on, chugger! **************************************************************
Draco had owled, as he'd promised. An owl had been tapping at the kitchen window barely five minutes after Hermione had woken up. Conjuring a cup of coffee, Hermione sat down at the table and read it through.
Hermione
It's a big mess. Cendrillon killed herself the muggle way, with a knife, and there was blood everywhere. They think she did it two days before anyone found her. She left a letter too. She says if none of her or Robert's relatives can be found, she wants me to take Katharine. Which is why the Aurors came to us and told me to get over here to France. When I come back, I'll bring Katharine. I know it's the right thing to do. Max will have a sister, and the little girl won't go without a home. It looks as though she'll be with us for quite a while, if not forever. They are tracing back through family trees to find long-lost relatives, but it's a slow process. Katharine, the baby, is in hospital now being treated for mild malnutrition. She should be ready to come home in a couple of days. Along with the letter, Cendrillon left a bag with things in it she wanted Katharine to have as she grew up- photos of Katharine and her, a photo of Cendrillon with Robert- and a photo of Max. I suppose she wanted Katharine to know she had a half-brother out there somewhere if she didn't end up with us. Also in the bag was the key to Cendrillon's bank account and some jewels, family heirlooms, and documents and everything. These have been put in safe deposit, except for Katharine's passport and things she'll need in the near future, such as baby clothes. I'll translate Cendrillon's suicide letter into English then copy it into this owl- I'm sure you want to know what it said. It's addressed to Maria, her cleaning lady, who she knew would find it.
' Maria.
You will find my body in the bedroom. Katharine will be in her
nursery, in the
crib. Next to Katharine will be a white duffel bag, and in it will be
some items. I want
Katharine to keep all these items, and never be parted from them
unless she wishes to sell
something. I want Katharine to have a good life. If my first choice is
not feasible, would like her to live with relatives of my
own or relatives of Robert Clegg, her father, the man I don't like to
speak about. Please,
Maria, if I am still alive when you find me, let me go. I don't want
to live any more and if you
keep me alive I will just try again. There is no love in my life. I've
lost my little boy, and my
little girl would have been taken away from me soon enough. How stupid
I was to leave Max's-
that's my son, the one you don't know about Maria- father. He was a
good man, and we could
have made a perfect life together. But I chose to run away with
Robert, and that ruined me.
Under no conditions is Katharine to go to Robert if he gets out of
jail. I have no objection to
His relatives, but never him. However, the person I really want
Katharine to go to is a man
named Draco Malfoy. He lives on Merlin's Island. He is Max's father,
and I know that f he
chose to take Katharine she would have a good life. I only hope that
he will take my girl and
raise her for me. I expect, Maria, that the authorities will want to
see this letter. Show it to
them if they ask you. I assure you that you will not get into any kind
of trouble. They will want
a reason for me killing myself, and the reason is I wanted to. There
is nothing left for me here.
I will go to see my brother and sister, and my dear Maman once again.
Thank you, Maria, for
all you have done for me in the past half a year. Tell Katharine I
love her. And ask the
authorities to make sure that Draco Malfoy lets our son- his son- know
that I loved him.
Goodbye
Cendrillon'
The letter is very precise about what Cendrillon wants to do with her
daughter and why she
killed herself. I will be taken into questioning soon, I expect, since
my name is mentioned in
the letter. They are examining the body for any further clues- I don't
know what they are
looking for, though. As I write this, I'm at the hospital watching
Katharine. She is a tiny baby,
and she looks like Cendrillon which is good because it means she also
looks like Max. As I said
before, I know the right thing to do is to take Katharine in. They
will be burying
Cendrillon in three days, and I expect to be home just after that. I
will write again when more
news comes in. Give Max a huge hug from me, but don't tell him
anything about Cendrillon or
Katharine. Say I'm on a business trip.
Draco.
Hermione sipped her coffee slowly, her mind overloading with
everything Draco had
written. There was going to be another kid in the house- which would
make three when
Hermione's baby was born. Draco had helped her set up a crib and
everything in the
second spare room, which he had insisted on painting yellow to make it
lighter. There
was also some other baby furniture such as a changing table and a
mobile, and stuffed
toys. She wasn't sure whether it was a boy or a girl yet- she wanted
it to be a surprise.
In a weird way, she was slightly jealous of baby Katharine. It would drive her further away from Draco, even more than her having her own baby was already going to. They would forever be friends living together, nothing more. Draco would be so preoccupied with Katharine and Max that they would barely have time for each other any more. Draco might even adopt Katharine, and they would be a little family on their own, with Hermione and her baby on the edges, left out.
Max came running in, disrupting her train of thought.
"Mione, is Daddy home yet?" He asked eagerly.
"Not yet, Maxy. He'll be home in a few days. He sends his love." Hermione replied as the boy scrambled up into a chair.
"Oh. What is he doing in France?" Max asked.
"Um.. work stuff." Hermione lied.
"Daddy doesn't work." Max said suspiciously.
"He did, before you were born." Hermione said quickly. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Eggs please, Mione." Max said, letting the subject go.
********************
Three days later, Draco came home late at night. Hermione had put Max to bed and spent a while on the phone to Ginny, chatting about random subjects. She had then spent a couple of hours watching movies and working her way through a tub of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food. She heard the door open and before she could get up, Draco was striding into the room with a bag in one hand and a small bundle in the other.
"Hi Hermione. Thank you so much for watching Max while I was gone." He said, tossing the bag onto a chair and sitting down next to her.
"It's okay. I have nothing to do, being on maternity leave and everything." Hermione replied. She looked over Draco's shoulder as he unwrapped the bundle that was Katharine.
Katharine was a beautiful baby. She had soft, pale skin and huge blue eyes that seemed to take up the whole room. Her hair was the same shade of blonde as Max's and Cendrillon's. She blinked at Hermione and gurgled. Now that Hermione had seen the baby, all feelings of jealousy vanished.
"They're still tracing through the family trees, but it's going incredibly slowly." Draco said.
"Should we wake Max?" Hermione asked.
"No, he can meet her tomorrow. He'll never go back to sleep if we wake him." Draco replied. Hermione nodded.
"Yeah, I guess so." She said. "Where will Katharine sleep?"
"I thought maybe we could put another crib in the room that your baby will have, and they could share it. If that's okay with you." Draco suggested. Hermione knew she couldn't say no.
"Of course, it's fine. That would be the best thing." She said.
"I'm going to go check on Max- would you mind putting Katharine to sleep for me?" He asked. Hermione took the baby from him, grabbed the bag from the chair, and walked down to the guest room. Katharine smiled up at her as she walked.
"It's a pity, what your mother did." Hermione whispered for no reason to the little girl, feeling sorry for her. "She could have made so much more of her life. After all, she would have had you."
She changed the baby into one of the little outfits that had been in the bag, and shuffled through the photos. There was one of Cendrillon holding a newborn Katharine, looking serene in the sunlight streaming through a window.
"Your mother was so lost. What she did to Draco was wrong, but it cost her almost everything."
She found a roll of spellotape in the drawer in the cabinet and neatly taped the photo above the crib. She felt kind of stupid afterwards, but left it there. Gently placing Katharine into the crib that had been meant for her own baby, she sighed.
"I guess this means we'll need to buy another crib for my own baby. You two might be raised together, and be like sisters."
Katharine gurgled, as if she were talking back to her. Hermione carried on talking.
"I always wanted a sister. My parents said that they only wanted one child. I haven't seen my parents in years though. It's as though I'm an orphan, like you. But you have Draco, who has been kind enough to take you in. And you'll have Max, as a brother. He's a good boy."
Tears were running down Hermione's face. She blamed the hormones and wiped them away.
"Maybe you and Max and Draco will be a family. He might adopt you and you can be together, the three of you. But then me and my baby would have to leave here, I suppose. I would hate that. I love it here. I love Max. And god... I love Draco too."
Unknown to Hermione, Draco was standing outside the door. Not eavesdropping exactly, but having come to check on Katharine finding that his roommate was confessing her love for him to a one-month-old baby had made him freeze in his tracks.
"It would never work between us though. We might have stood a chance before. Even though there's my baby that isn't Draco's, and Max who isn't mine, it could have worked. But now you're here, and it changes it all. Draco has to look after you. I wanted to hate you for that, when he first told me about you. It meant he would never love me back."
The tears were coming faster now.
"I've never been lucky in love. There was Ron, but that ended badly. I haven't heard from him since... well, since Ginny tried to kill herself."
Draco sucked in his breath. He hadn't known that Ginny had ever tried to commit suicide.
"But that's a story for another day- oh god, what am I doing? Talking about suicide to a baby? I must have lost my mind. Good night, little one. Sleep well."
Draco crept silently down the hall just before Hermione came out, wondering why she could smell his cologne in the air.
*************************************************
Okay, that was a slightly weird chapter. Sorry. There might be some repetition or contradiction of opinion, because I wrote this in lots off little sessions then stuck it all together. It isn't the most polished chapter I've done.
I am quite sad, because all my friends except one have gone on a history trip. I didn't want to go- three days in a coach looking at muddy battlefields? No thanks! But still, its lonely in this city. T and F are still around, as is Linney who I love dearly. I am hopelessly crushing on F. damn them all.
issasop2 - I love the name Leah, but I've already planned it out to the very end of the story. I might incorporate the name into it somehow!
Tiger_tiger2- did someone kill themselves? If so, I'm so sorry to hear that.
Thank you to everyone else who reviewed! Love to you all!
Claimer: I own Jack Harry Arthur Potter, Robert Clegg, Victoria Fitzsimmons, Amy, Maxmillian Xavier Black, and the entire 'de Varci' family.
This story is being used for entertainment purposes only, no money is being made and no violation of copyright intended.
Read, enjoy, and review!!! *****************************************************************
This chapter is dedicated to the *real* Katharine. Rock on, chugger! **************************************************************
Draco had owled, as he'd promised. An owl had been tapping at the kitchen window barely five minutes after Hermione had woken up. Conjuring a cup of coffee, Hermione sat down at the table and read it through.
Hermione
It's a big mess. Cendrillon killed herself the muggle way, with a knife, and there was blood everywhere. They think she did it two days before anyone found her. She left a letter too. She says if none of her or Robert's relatives can be found, she wants me to take Katharine. Which is why the Aurors came to us and told me to get over here to France. When I come back, I'll bring Katharine. I know it's the right thing to do. Max will have a sister, and the little girl won't go without a home. It looks as though she'll be with us for quite a while, if not forever. They are tracing back through family trees to find long-lost relatives, but it's a slow process. Katharine, the baby, is in hospital now being treated for mild malnutrition. She should be ready to come home in a couple of days. Along with the letter, Cendrillon left a bag with things in it she wanted Katharine to have as she grew up- photos of Katharine and her, a photo of Cendrillon with Robert- and a photo of Max. I suppose she wanted Katharine to know she had a half-brother out there somewhere if she didn't end up with us. Also in the bag was the key to Cendrillon's bank account and some jewels, family heirlooms, and documents and everything. These have been put in safe deposit, except for Katharine's passport and things she'll need in the near future, such as baby clothes. I'll translate Cendrillon's suicide letter into English then copy it into this owl- I'm sure you want to know what it said. It's addressed to Maria, her cleaning lady, who she knew would find it.
' Maria.
You will find my body in the bedroom. Katharine will be in her
nursery, in the
crib. Next to Katharine will be a white duffel bag, and in it will be
some items. I want
Katharine to keep all these items, and never be parted from them
unless she wishes to sell
something. I want Katharine to have a good life. If my first choice is
not feasible, would like her to live with relatives of my
own or relatives of Robert Clegg, her father, the man I don't like to
speak about. Please,
Maria, if I am still alive when you find me, let me go. I don't want
to live any more and if you
keep me alive I will just try again. There is no love in my life. I've
lost my little boy, and my
little girl would have been taken away from me soon enough. How stupid
I was to leave Max's-
that's my son, the one you don't know about Maria- father. He was a
good man, and we could
have made a perfect life together. But I chose to run away with
Robert, and that ruined me.
Under no conditions is Katharine to go to Robert if he gets out of
jail. I have no objection to
His relatives, but never him. However, the person I really want
Katharine to go to is a man
named Draco Malfoy. He lives on Merlin's Island. He is Max's father,
and I know that f he
chose to take Katharine she would have a good life. I only hope that
he will take my girl and
raise her for me. I expect, Maria, that the authorities will want to
see this letter. Show it to
them if they ask you. I assure you that you will not get into any kind
of trouble. They will want
a reason for me killing myself, and the reason is I wanted to. There
is nothing left for me here.
I will go to see my brother and sister, and my dear Maman once again.
Thank you, Maria, for
all you have done for me in the past half a year. Tell Katharine I
love her. And ask the
authorities to make sure that Draco Malfoy lets our son- his son- know
that I loved him.
Goodbye
Cendrillon'
The letter is very precise about what Cendrillon wants to do with her
daughter and why she
killed herself. I will be taken into questioning soon, I expect, since
my name is mentioned in
the letter. They are examining the body for any further clues- I don't
know what they are
looking for, though. As I write this, I'm at the hospital watching
Katharine. She is a tiny baby,
and she looks like Cendrillon which is good because it means she also
looks like Max. As I said
before, I know the right thing to do is to take Katharine in. They
will be burying
Cendrillon in three days, and I expect to be home just after that. I
will write again when more
news comes in. Give Max a huge hug from me, but don't tell him
anything about Cendrillon or
Katharine. Say I'm on a business trip.
Draco.
Hermione sipped her coffee slowly, her mind overloading with
everything Draco had
written. There was going to be another kid in the house- which would
make three when
Hermione's baby was born. Draco had helped her set up a crib and
everything in the
second spare room, which he had insisted on painting yellow to make it
lighter. There
was also some other baby furniture such as a changing table and a
mobile, and stuffed
toys. She wasn't sure whether it was a boy or a girl yet- she wanted
it to be a surprise.
In a weird way, she was slightly jealous of baby Katharine. It would drive her further away from Draco, even more than her having her own baby was already going to. They would forever be friends living together, nothing more. Draco would be so preoccupied with Katharine and Max that they would barely have time for each other any more. Draco might even adopt Katharine, and they would be a little family on their own, with Hermione and her baby on the edges, left out.
Max came running in, disrupting her train of thought.
"Mione, is Daddy home yet?" He asked eagerly.
"Not yet, Maxy. He'll be home in a few days. He sends his love." Hermione replied as the boy scrambled up into a chair.
"Oh. What is he doing in France?" Max asked.
"Um.. work stuff." Hermione lied.
"Daddy doesn't work." Max said suspiciously.
"He did, before you were born." Hermione said quickly. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Eggs please, Mione." Max said, letting the subject go.
********************
Three days later, Draco came home late at night. Hermione had put Max to bed and spent a while on the phone to Ginny, chatting about random subjects. She had then spent a couple of hours watching movies and working her way through a tub of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food. She heard the door open and before she could get up, Draco was striding into the room with a bag in one hand and a small bundle in the other.
"Hi Hermione. Thank you so much for watching Max while I was gone." He said, tossing the bag onto a chair and sitting down next to her.
"It's okay. I have nothing to do, being on maternity leave and everything." Hermione replied. She looked over Draco's shoulder as he unwrapped the bundle that was Katharine.
Katharine was a beautiful baby. She had soft, pale skin and huge blue eyes that seemed to take up the whole room. Her hair was the same shade of blonde as Max's and Cendrillon's. She blinked at Hermione and gurgled. Now that Hermione had seen the baby, all feelings of jealousy vanished.
"They're still tracing through the family trees, but it's going incredibly slowly." Draco said.
"Should we wake Max?" Hermione asked.
"No, he can meet her tomorrow. He'll never go back to sleep if we wake him." Draco replied. Hermione nodded.
"Yeah, I guess so." She said. "Where will Katharine sleep?"
"I thought maybe we could put another crib in the room that your baby will have, and they could share it. If that's okay with you." Draco suggested. Hermione knew she couldn't say no.
"Of course, it's fine. That would be the best thing." She said.
"I'm going to go check on Max- would you mind putting Katharine to sleep for me?" He asked. Hermione took the baby from him, grabbed the bag from the chair, and walked down to the guest room. Katharine smiled up at her as she walked.
"It's a pity, what your mother did." Hermione whispered for no reason to the little girl, feeling sorry for her. "She could have made so much more of her life. After all, she would have had you."
She changed the baby into one of the little outfits that had been in the bag, and shuffled through the photos. There was one of Cendrillon holding a newborn Katharine, looking serene in the sunlight streaming through a window.
"Your mother was so lost. What she did to Draco was wrong, but it cost her almost everything."
She found a roll of spellotape in the drawer in the cabinet and neatly taped the photo above the crib. She felt kind of stupid afterwards, but left it there. Gently placing Katharine into the crib that had been meant for her own baby, she sighed.
"I guess this means we'll need to buy another crib for my own baby. You two might be raised together, and be like sisters."
Katharine gurgled, as if she were talking back to her. Hermione carried on talking.
"I always wanted a sister. My parents said that they only wanted one child. I haven't seen my parents in years though. It's as though I'm an orphan, like you. But you have Draco, who has been kind enough to take you in. And you'll have Max, as a brother. He's a good boy."
Tears were running down Hermione's face. She blamed the hormones and wiped them away.
"Maybe you and Max and Draco will be a family. He might adopt you and you can be together, the three of you. But then me and my baby would have to leave here, I suppose. I would hate that. I love it here. I love Max. And god... I love Draco too."
Unknown to Hermione, Draco was standing outside the door. Not eavesdropping exactly, but having come to check on Katharine finding that his roommate was confessing her love for him to a one-month-old baby had made him freeze in his tracks.
"It would never work between us though. We might have stood a chance before. Even though there's my baby that isn't Draco's, and Max who isn't mine, it could have worked. But now you're here, and it changes it all. Draco has to look after you. I wanted to hate you for that, when he first told me about you. It meant he would never love me back."
The tears were coming faster now.
"I've never been lucky in love. There was Ron, but that ended badly. I haven't heard from him since... well, since Ginny tried to kill herself."
Draco sucked in his breath. He hadn't known that Ginny had ever tried to commit suicide.
"But that's a story for another day- oh god, what am I doing? Talking about suicide to a baby? I must have lost my mind. Good night, little one. Sleep well."
Draco crept silently down the hall just before Hermione came out, wondering why she could smell his cologne in the air.
*************************************************
Okay, that was a slightly weird chapter. Sorry. There might be some repetition or contradiction of opinion, because I wrote this in lots off little sessions then stuck it all together. It isn't the most polished chapter I've done.
I am quite sad, because all my friends except one have gone on a history trip. I didn't want to go- three days in a coach looking at muddy battlefields? No thanks! But still, its lonely in this city. T and F are still around, as is Linney who I love dearly. I am hopelessly crushing on F. damn them all.
issasop2 - I love the name Leah, but I've already planned it out to the very end of the story. I might incorporate the name into it somehow!
Tiger_tiger2- did someone kill themselves? If so, I'm so sorry to hear that.
Thank you to everyone else who reviewed! Love to you all!