Hermione hugged herself as she stayed against the wall in the corner. Her knees were tucked up to her chest and her forehead was resting on them. She'd been separated from Harry two hours before, although she didn't know why. She ran over every scenario possible, but without any real proof, she couldn't really think about whether she was right or wrong. She hated being alone. She hated not being with Harry. He was the only person who made her feel safe in this place, and she wanted to know why they were separated. Oh, God, were they torturing him? No, she insisted silently. You've gone through that scenario. There's no need for torture because Ron can read our thoughts, and Harry knows nothing to begin with. Maybe they were torturing Harry just for fun. No, she thought again. Because if that were the case, they wouldn't have waited this long to do it.
She was going insane trying to figure out why they were separated. She almost wished Ron would show up to let her know, and she hated seeing Ron. She hated seeing him in that black cloak, the skull on his hand, his blue eyes hard and uncaring, his red hair the way she remembered it. She could still feel his soft hair running through her fingers sometimes. She missed being able to do that. His hair was so vibrantly red, and so unbelievably soft. She was sad that Sterling and Chaim were the only two remaining family remember with red hair. Bill and Percy didn't have any children, and Charlie's twenty-two year old son had brown hair similar to Vilandra's. It was sad. Red hair was so beautiful.
She shook her head, erasing the thoughts from her mind. She had to stop thinking about Ron as if he was still the man she married. He wasn't. He was completely different, even if he still looked incredibly handsome with his hair falling messily into his soulful blue eyes, and—You're doing it again! She thought angrily. She had to stop that.
Her head snapped up as she heard footsteps approaching the room she sat in. She listened hopefully, trying to determine if it was Malfoy's arrogant stride, or even Harry's angry one. This one sounded different. She frowned as she realized there were three sets of footsteps, and one of them was crying. Her eyes widened as she recognized this cry. God, she thought urgently, her breath catching in her throat. Please, God, no! The door was thrown open and someone remarkably small was thrown roughly into the room.
"Chaim!" She shrieked, bolting to her feet as she saw the mesh of red hair. He turned to face her, his eyes wide with fear, tears staining his freckled cheeks.
"Mum!" Hermione fell beside him, hugging him hard. He hugged her back just as tightly. She pulled away from him, grabbing his face in her hands and inspecting it.
"Are you okay? Are you okay, did they hurt you?" She asked urgently. He shook his head.
"I'm fine, mum. I'm okay. I'm just glad you're not hurt." He hugged her again and she held him tightly.
"Where's Vilandra? They don't have her, do they?" Hermione asked, still hugging Chaim. He shook his head against her shoulder.
"No. I mean, I don't know. They—I don't know. They attacked the school and Lonnie was there and she was okay, but they pulled me out while the others were fighting. She tried to get to me, but she couldn't and—I don't know what happened to her. I'm-I'm sorry."
"Sh, it's okay." Hermione closed her eyes and ran her hand soothingly up and down his back. "It's okay, baby. Don't worry."
"Mum?" He asked her, his voice shaking. "What's going on? Why is this happening? Why-why did they take me?" A lump formed in Hermione's throat as he asked her this. She couldn't lie to him. Surely Ron would come in eventually to see his son, and Hermione would rather Chaim heard it from her than from him.
"Chaim." She whispered. "I haven't been completely honest with you and Vilandra." He pulled away slightly, but cuddled against Hermione, wanting to stay close to her. Hermione bit her lip to hold back tears. She didn't know how Chaim would react, but because of Vilandra's reaction, she knew it wouldn't be very good. "Chaim, your father never really left me. He went to put a plan he had into effect, and he asked me to join him, but—I said no." Chaim frowned, but said nothing. "You see, your father—he never made me cry because he left me, Chaim. He made me cry because of what he became." Hermione paused to calm herself. She had to be ready for Chaim's outburst. "Your father is the one who requested you be brought here, because he wants you safe."
"How safe can I possibly be here with the King of Darkness?" Chaim whispered. Hermione cringed.
"Because the King of Darkness is your father." Chaim's body tensed against Hermione and she held him tighter. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I wanted to tell you and Vilandra, but—I didn't know how."
"Lonnie found out, didn't she?" Chaim whispered. "That's why she was so upset." Hermione nodded.
"That's right, Chaim. That's why she was so upset." Hermione whispered. "And I'm sorry for lying to you."
"I understand why." Chaim whispered. "I guess spending time with Lonnie makes you forgiving and understanding." He scoffed. "I hope Lonnie's okay."
"Me too." Hermione whispered.
"I hope Sterling is okay, too. I hope—dad never finds them."
"I hope so, too, baby." Hermione whispered. Hermione's heart wrenched into her throat as a shadow loomed before her door. She pushed herself into the wall harder, clutching Chaim tightly against her chest. Chaim, in turn, held onto her as if he were a small child. She curled as much of her body around him as possible, her shoulder digging painfully into the wall, but she didn't move. The door opened and Ron entered the room, smiling at his wife and second child.
"Is that my little Chaim?" He smiled as he walked forward, a smile on his face. Hermione couldn't help but see genuine happiness in his eyes. He was truly happy to see his son. The last time he'd seen Chaim, he was only four, so the boy hadly even remember him. Ron crouched down in front of his wife and child, smiling. "How are you, son?"
"Don't speak to him!" Hermione hissed, pulling Chaim tighter into her. He welcomed her protectiveness, keeping his eyes tightly closed, his face buried in Hermione's chest. "Just leave him alone! Leave us alone!" She shrieked. Ron was about to slap her, but changed his mind, not wanting his son to think he was an abuser. He sighed, shaking his head.
"It's okay, Chaim. We'll have plenty of bonding time later." He smiled at the boy who still couldn't see him. Didn't want to see him. Ron smiled as he saw the red hair, happy that two members of his family were the only ones who would be carrying down the red hair. He turned back to Hermione who was shaking.
"Chaim's not your son anymore." She whispered to him. Ron's face hardened and he raised his hand to slap her. She flinched and turned her face away. This caused Ron to laugh. He obviously commanded more power over her than she thought he did. He grabbed Hermione's arm, yanking her roughly to her feet, Chaim falling from her arms.
"Stay down, Chaim!" She ordered her son, and he obeyed her, staying on his hands and knees, looking at the floor. It was almost as if he were scared he would die or turn to stone if he looked at his father. Ron pushed Hermione against the wall and she cried out. Chaim clenched his fists angrily, wishing there was something he could do for his mother. Ron pinned her body against the wall with his own, smiling at her.
"Familiar, love?"
"You disgust me." Hermione spat bitterly. Ron laughed.
"Where are my two other children, Hermione?" Ron demanded. "They weren't captured, so I'm assuming Vilandra wasn't at school. You know where she is, I know you do." He leaned in closer, his mouth right beside her ear as he spoke, as if he were telling her a secret. "Where are my children, Hermione? We can start this war with them safe in here, or in danger out there. Your choice." She still said nothing, and it didn't matter if he read her thoughts, she didn't know where Vilandra and Sterling were. Grimmauld place, back home, Hogwarts, the Burrow, Harry's house—she didn't know, so she couldn't tell him anything.
He pushed away from her, shoving her painfully against the wall as he did so.
"I'll find them. Don't you worry." Ron turned and stalked out of the room, slamming the door loudly, bathing the two in darkness. Chaim reached up and took his mother's hand. She looked down at him, and forced a smile, sitting down beside him.
"Are you okay?" He asked her worriedly, his brown eyes wide with fear and concern.
"I'm fine, sweetheart." She whispered, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. He buried himself against her, hugging her tightly.
"You don't think he'll hurt Lonnie and Sterling, do you?" Chaim asked in a whisper.
"I don't know. The man I once knew no longer exists. Anything is possible." Hermione said sadly, eying the door.
"Lonnie will take care of Sterling." Chaim reassured Hermione. "She always does."
"But who will take care of Lonnie?" Hermione whispered, running her hands soothingly through her son's hair.
-----
"Lonnie!" Vilandra almost flew backwards at the intensity in the voice. Sterling came sprinting down the corridor, leaping into the air. She dropped her trunk to catch him, letting out a small 'oof' as he slammed into her.
"Hey there. Miss me?" Sterling shook his head and Vilandra laughed.
"Why didn't you come when I needed you?" Sterling pouted. Vilandra felt anger boiling in her stomach, but she kept the smile plastered on her face.
"I wanted to, Sterling, I really did, but Chaim needed me." The name of her other brother was like razor blades in her mouth. She was almost surprised her tongue hadn't started bleeding.
"Where's Chaim?" Sterling asked, looking behind Vilandra where their cousins and the Malfoys were, chatting and bringing their things in. Vilandra's throat clenched and she found it hard to breathe for a few seconds.
"With mum." She said. It was half-true, she was pretty sure Chaim was with Hermione, but the fact that he was taken there against his will was something Vilandra would keep from the six-year-old.
"You don't look very happy." Sterling said, examining her face. She cursed herself for being so easy to read but shook her head, still smiling.
"No, no, sweetie. I'm fine. I've just been feeling ill lately." She replied. It was true, she felt ill all the time because of her father.
"Maybe it's the filth you've been shoving in your mouth." Leroux said as he walked up beside her. "And in case I'm not being clear, I'm talking about Malfoy's tongue!" Vilandra let out a frustrated growl, but Sterling squealed happily.
"Leroux!"
"Hey, monster." Leroux took Sterling from Vilandra's arms, giving him a huge hug. Vilandra walked back to the entrance and saw that Salai was bringing up her trunk. She ran up behind him.
"Hey, you don't have to do that." She insisted. He turned to her, smiling.
"Why not? It's the gentlemanly thing to do." He winked and continued up the stairs. Vilandra watched him go, and then turned back to look down the stairs.
She couldn't believe everything that had happened that year. She wanted to rewind the entire year and start over. No, she thought bitterly. I want to rewind to the day dad left and make him stay. She sat down on the stairs, staring off into space. Things would've turned out so differently if her father hadn't left and become evil.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice someone coming up the stairs. He sat down in front of her, examining her face as she continued to think.
"You look like your mother when you do that." Snapping out of her thoughts, Vilandra turned to Remus Lupin as he smiled slightly. "Hermione always did that when she was deep in thought."
"Did what?" Vilandra asked confused.
"She'll kind of let the world fade around her and stare off into space biting her lip." Vilandra's hand went to her mouth. She hadn't even realized she was biting her lip. He put his hand comfortingly on her knee. "Hermione's a strong woman, Vilandra."
"I know." Vilandra let out a sigh. "People should stop telling me that. Believe it or not, it worries me more when they do." She looked at Lupin. "It's as if they're trying to convince themselves."
"Well, we don't need to." Lupin insisted, rearranging himself more comfortably on the stairs. "We know Hermione. We know what she's capable of, and how strong she is. We just tell you to reassure you. We all believe she'll survive this, and she'll keep Chaim safe." Vilandra nodded, looking away.
"I should've been able to stop him from taking Chaim." She whispered.
"How?" Lupin demanded.
"Somehow." She turned back to him. "I'm his sister, he's my responsibility. I should've protected him."
"Hermione won't be mad, Vilandra." Lupin reassured. "Hermione knows you protected Chaim as best you could. Everyone knows it. You and Chaim never saw eye to eye, but family means everything to you."
"Yeah." Vilandra said bitterly. "I guess I get that from dad's side of the family." She shook her head, clenching her jaw.
"Well, that should make you feel better, shouldn't it?" Lupin asked her.
"No." She insisted. "My family means a lot to me, but so do my friends. Hagrid, Dumbledore, you."
"And Salai Malfoy." Vilandra said nothing to this, but she didn't need to. It was true, and they both knew it.
"That's hardly the point. You mean a lot to me, too, Professor." He laughed.
"Well, thank you, Vilandra. You and your family mean a lot to me, too." She smiled and he stood up, kissing the top of her head. "It'll be all right." He disappeared down the stairs and Vilandra watched him go. She sighed, shaking her head.
"Um, Lonnie?" She turned as she heard Alca's voice. "I was wondering if you could do me a favour."
"Sure, what is it?" Vilandra stood up, turning to Alca.
"Well, since we're not in school anymore, we're not learning what we should be learning, and I don't feel very safe not knowing anything, so I was thinking maybe you and Leroux and the twins could, you know, teach me the necessities." Vilandra smiled wrapping her arm around her younger cousin's shoulders.
"Sure thing, Alca. Come on."
-----
A few days had passed with the cousins and Malfoys residing in Grimmauld place. The tension was so thick one would be able to cut it with a knife. The children and adults usually stayed separated for the most part. The children couldn't know about the Order's plans, anyway, so it didn't matter to them that they weren't spending time with the adults. The only two who did were Rhett and Talak. They spent every possible moment with Ginny, wanting to stay with her—keep her safe. They knew they wouldn't be able to keep her safe, really, but they wanted to be with her as often as possible.
Kei had returned from St. Mungos, and she was fine, for the most part. She'd joined the Order of the Phoenix and was incredibly helpful with recruiting more Order members. Almost all the Seventh year Gryffindors were angry that the King of Darkness had ruined their year, and all were eager to join. Of course, their jobs weren't as dangerous as the adults, but they did their parts.
While this happened with the adults and older children, the others were all in the boys' room doing various things. Vilandra was teaching Alca everything she could remember about First year, Sterling always really close to her. Sterling was acting like Vilandra was going to leave him again, and he didn't want that, so he spent as much time with her as possible so he could watch her and make sure she stayed. He also listened to her lessons, along with Tyr. Sterling barely understood most of it, but Tyr saw it as an advance to what he would be learning in a few years' time.
So as they sat in the boys' room, Sterling was sitting on Vilandra's lap while she motioned the book in front of Alca, Tyr looking over Alca's shoulder to get a better look. Talak and Rhett were downstairs with Ginny and Leroux sat on his bed, grumbling about how crappy their year had been. Salai and Sharka were both talking in hushed voices in the corner so as not to disturb the others.
"So, you take your wand and you just swish and flick it." Vilandra instructed as she moved her wand in the appropriate fashion.
"Swish and flick." Alca imitated the motion and Vilandra smiled.
"Perfect. Now, we just need something light for you to levitate." She looked around the room and her eyes fell on Leroux's owl, Braxtor. Vilandra looked at Leroux who was still sitting on his bed, muttering about something or other. She put her index finger against her lips and carefully placed Sterling down on the floor beside her. She stood up silently and inched towards Braxtor. He merely watched her come closer and closer. She reached him and cringed.
"Sorry." She whispered, as if the bird would understand, and then pulled out one of his feathers. Braxtor started squawking loudly, flying away from the window and around the room wildly. Leroux finally looked up confused, his eyes falling on Vilandra and the feather she held in her hand.
"What did you do, you bloody woman!" Leroux jumped to his feet and attempted to retrieve Braxtor as he flew around the room, staying close to the ceiling.
"Sorry." Vilandra cringed, the squawking getting almost unbearable. Sharka ran to the window and opened it, Braxtor flying out hastily. Leroux turned to glare at Vilandra.
"Bloody tosser." Leroux grumbled as he fell back onto the bed. Vilandra took her seat in front of Alca again, placing the feather before her.
"All right, then. It's the swish and flick motion, and you have to make sure you annunciate perfectly. Wingardium Leviosa." Alca nodded and held her wand aiming at the feather.
"Wingardium Leviosa." She did the appropriate wand movements and the feather began to rise. "I did it! I did it!" Alca exclaimed excitedly as the feather continued to rise, following her wand from side to side.
"Good job, Alca." Sharka said from across the room. "It took me about four attempts before I got mine in the air." Alca smiled at Vilandra happily.
"I've got a good teacher." Vilandra laughed, waving her hand.
"Please. It was all you."
"So stupid." Vilandra turned to Leroux, raising an eyebrow. He was lost in thought and it didn't appear he'd even noticed he'd spoken aloud.
"Excuse me?" Vilandra asked. He turned to her.
"What?"
"What?" Vilandra echoed.
"What are you on about?" Leroux demanded, shifting uncomfortably on his bed.
"Something troubling your little mind, there, Weasley?" Salai inquired, sounding bored, the way he usually did when he spoke to Leroux. Leroux and Salai were the only two in the entire group who had a problem with one another. Everyone else was fine, it was just them two, and the twins suspected that it was because Leroux thought Vilandra could do much better than Salai Malfoy.
Leroux turned to glare at the blond-haired boy across the room.
"Even if something were, I wouldn't let you in on it, Malfoy." Leroux hissed.
"And here we go." Sharka sighed, falling backwards onto Rhett's bed. When the two of them started, they never ended. It was like they wanted to see how long they could fight before one of them gave up. Usually, Salai did because Leroux hit way below the belt.
"Why?" Salai suddenly asked. "Worried I'll actually be able to help?" Surprisingly, Leroux didn't pick up on the fighting and just went back into his sulking mood. This was a shock to everyone, and Vilandra stood up, sitting across from him.
"This is serious if you don't rise to Salai's bait."
"Oy!" Vilandra ignored Salai.
"What's wrong?" And then, Leroux exploded.
"I should've just gone out with her while I had the chance." This was clearly not what Vilandra was expecting because her head snapped back startled.
"With who?" Alca asked confused.
"Jase!" Vilandra raised an eyebrow.
"So why didn't you?"
"Because!" Leroux exclaimed again. Everyone waited, but he said nothing else.
"Are we going to find out the rest of this story?" Alca inquired. Leroux opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, shaking his head.
"It's because of me, innit?" Vilandra asked. "Because of my dad." Leroux said nothing, and it was enough to confirm it. Vilandra sighed.
"Well, why don't you let her know that when things calm down, you can make it work?" Everyone turned to Salai and he shrugged. No one had been expecting him to say anything, especially not when it concerned Leroux, but there he was, giving him sound advice. Leroux looked at Vilandra and she shrugged.
"We'll end up back at Hogwarts eventually. You and Jase can pick up where you left off—and I really can't believe we're having this conversation." Vilandra shook her head. "This is weird." Leroux merely nodded then swung his legs over the side of his bed.
"I'm going to go ask aunt Ginny if I can send Jase a letter." He disappeared through the door, bounding loudly down the stairs. He looked into the kitchen and saw the twins cutting carrots while Ginny set the table—using magic, of course.
"Aunt Ginny?" She turned to him and smiled, returning her wand to her apron pocket and wiping her hands on it.
"Hello, Leroux. Can I help you with something?" Leroux nodded.
"Yeah, I was just wondering if I could send a friend a letter." Ginny pressed her lips together.
"Well, it depends. What would this letter contain?" Leroux blushed and shuffled his feet, looking at the floor, his hands in his pockets.
"Nothing important." He muttered.
"Leroux." He looked up at Ginny. "I have to know. Whatever you write could be our undoing."
"How does me writing to a girl I like cause our undoing?" Leroux asked, starting to get annoyed with having to admit something so embarrassing in front of the twins—and he'd had reason to worry, because they started imitating two lovers speaking to one another before they burst into hysterical laughter. Leroux gritted his teeth but snapped his attention back to Ginny as she spoke.
"Sorry, Leroux, but no." Leroux frowned.
"Why?"
"Because anything you write can be intercepted and if they know you have feelings for this girl, they'll use her to lure you out. And if you leave, someone from the member will leave, too. And if that happens, we'll all be in danger. Apparently, the King of Darkness can read minds. He knows where Grimmauld place is, but he doesn't know the password that allows him to enter it. That is the only thing keeping us safe. I can't afford to let you jeopardize our mission, not when we're so close to bringing him down." Leroux sighed, shaking his head.
"Too bad. It was a good idea." He muttered, turning on his heel and disappearing back up the stairs.
"Do you really think uncle Ron will hurt us, mum?" Rhett asked in a small voice. She sighed, shaking her head.
"He already has, Rhett." She turned to him. "And don't call him 'uncle Ron'." She turned and left the room, leaving the twins alone in the kitchen.