Chapter 50: Where There's Smoke

"He wasn't going to curse us, mum," said Freida for the 30th time. "He was just getting up to run away."

"He was about to Apparate," said Christopher. "Everybody knows Draco Malfoy is a coward."

Hermione shuddered. The horror of the murders she'd witnessed during that Death Eater raid hadn't even begun to leave her.

"Look," said Hermione. "I don't care what you think he is, I want you all to leave Lucia Malfoy alone, do you hear me? Don't talk to her, don't fight with her, and for the love of Merlin, don't harm her! You're in enough danger as it is!"

Hermione had hustled them out of the shop the moment she realized Malfoy wasn't coming back, knowing the safest place for the kids would be back at Hogwarts. They were on the long path through the woods now, and each second that passed seemed endless.

"What you two did to Salazar Malfoy was completely unacceptable," she continued, glaring sideways at first Freida and then Georgia. "Far beyond a prank. It was downright malicious! Do you understand that any parent would want revenge after something like that?"

"It wasn't our idea," said Frieda. "It was Chris'."

Hermione glanced sharply at Christopher. Sweet Christopher of the good grades and excellent record? Christopher, who'd never been in trouble for anything? Oh no, don't tell me I'm going to have a problem with him, now, too.

"It wasn't actually my idea," he explained. "Sally himself all but dared me. Said I didn't have the potions skills to manage it even if I had the resources. He was waving that Vampire's Breath around all day, boasting about how valuable it was. He was just asking to be taught a lesson."

"Listen to me," said Hermione. "Salazar hasn't had an easy time of it. His father is very busy, and has a lot of problems… and he hasn't got a proper mother at all. I know he hasn't done well at Hogwarts –"

"That's because he's stupid," said Christopher bluntly. "If this hadn't happened, he'd have had to leave after Christmas anyway. He was failing all his classes and he was already on probation for it. And he's already a year behind, you know, there's no way they'd let him slip back another. He was already twelve at the beginning of First Year."

"Right," said Hermione, though she hadn't actually known that. She paused to rally her thoughts for a moment, then continued. "But that only reinforces my point. Sometimes when people are under a lot of stress they try to make themselves feel better any way they can. That's the only reason he brags about his father's money."

There was a pause as they all considered her words.

"I think it's because he's a git," announced Jude.

"Yes," and "I agree," the others chorused to one another, nodding vigorously.

"That's enough," said Hermione sharply.

"Is it true you burned down the house?" demanded Freida.

"The house?" repeated Hermione, caught off guard. "No." It hadn't even occurred to her that the kids would have found out about the fire, but of course they would have. "No."

"The papers all say you burnt it down with Wild Magic," said Georgia. "Because you and Dad were having a row."

"First of all, it wasn't the house," said Hermione. "It was just the sheds. And it wasn't Wild Magic… I haven't cast Wild Magic since before I went to Hogwarts."

Jude's eyes grew round. "You burnt them down on purpose?"

"That must have been some row," remarked Freida. "Did dad say he was sorry then?"

"Er… look," said Hermione. "You can't believe everything you read in the Daily Prophet. None of that happened at all the way they said. It's just a misunderstanding."

"Oh," said Georgia. "Then the place didn't burn down."

"Good," said Jude with feeling. "I felt horrible when I read that."

"No no," said Hermione, who was finding this entire conversation increasingly surreal. How long ago had the fire been, anyway? Only yesterday? The day before? "It burned. Everything but the house and the chicken-coop. But I didn't start the fire."

"Why were you arrested then?" said Fredia. "On account of, it says you were, for casting Wild Magic."

"Sometimes when people are brought in it's just for questioning. It doesn't mean they actually did what they were accused of."

"Though generally if they're actually arrested it means they're at least suspected –" began Freida.

"What about that Apparition then?" asked Christopher suddenly. "From St. Mungo's. The one where you went right through the wards."

"Oh," groaned Hermione. "That." She glanced ahead futilely, but the gates of the Hogwarts campus remained stubbornly out of sight beyond the bends in the path.

"How did you manage it?" asked Georgia with interest. She and Freida had vowed to learn to Apparate before age 17 just as their namesake uncles had. They'd failed at that goal, but as far as Hermione knew they were still fervently doing their best to learn how anyway.

Much as Hermione wished she had something of mutual interest to speak to her twins about, the truth was there just hadn't been any Apparition to speak of.

"It's all a misunderstanding," repeated Hermione, spreading her hands apologetically. "I didn't Apparate. Some reporter with an odd recording angle thought I was within the wards, and the rest of the news media jumped on the story before they got the facts straight. You know how they are… always going for the sensational."

Unfortunately, they probably didn't know. Ron and Hermione's children were nowhere near as media-savvy as Ron and Hermione had been at the same age. She and Ron had experienced the maligning influence of the press first-hand as it focused on their friend Harry Potter. They'd also been in a perfect position to see the difference between the falsehoods printed and the actual truth. None of the trio had ever read the news without a grain of salt after that.

"I rather fancy Mr. Malfoy," Nellie spoke up. "And he was ever so kind to me. Are you sure you don't fancy him too, mum? I saw you holding his hand in the picture. He's quite rich you know."

"Money isn't everything, Nellie," said Hermione for probably the millionth time in the girl's life. "Mr. Malfoy has a lot of problems that money can't solve. And I wasn't holding his hand. He didn't have his wand with him and I was Apparating him to the hospital to see his son."

Christopher was watching her carefully, his eyes slightly narrowed. He'd been the unlucky one to open the fan mail with the naked picture a witch had sent to his father. His innocence had been completely lost, in that moment, in a way the younger kids had thus far avoided avoided.

"Mr. Malfoy is a client of Miz Trelawney, my employer," Hermione explained, more for Christopher's benefit than for Nellie's. "She assigned me to work with him and I'm just trying to do my job. He bought a large company that isn't in very good shape, and he only needs help getting it running well again. Sometimes people have to work together for business when they would have no reason to even be friendly in real life."

"So what were you and dad fighting about anyway?" interrupted Jude. "Was it Pandy?"

Georgia and Freida made slight abortive movements toward Jude, too late.

"Pansy? No," said Hermione. She wondered why Jude would automatically think that. It's not as if she and Ron had ever had a row about Pansy where the kids could overhear. Well, with any luck the Quidditch Barbeque was now cancelled and Pansy'd never become an issue this time around. At this point Hermione wasn't sure she could handle any more family related disasters without going completely and utterly mad.

"That's good," said Christopher. "On account of, Dad said you'd flatten everything from here to –"

"Oh!" interrupted Freida. "We're late! We promised Madam Hooch we'd tutor those 1st Years after lunch."

"We did?" asked Christopher.

"Ah I forgot!" exclaimed Georgia. "The um. Tutoring." There was a pause, and then she elbowed Christopher, hard.

"Ow!"

"We thought Nellie was in trouble and rushed off forgetting all about it," explained Freida. "We really should be getting back – Madam Hooch will be waiting. Nellie, apologize to mum for scaring her like that. Running off to Hogsmeade and all!"

"I'm sorry mum," said Nellie. "Is it all right if Lucia Malfoy wants to be my friend anyway?"

"Ow!" said Christopher again, as Freida elbowed him from the other side. "I mean oh! Yes! That thing after lunch. We're quite late." He shot Freida a what the devil? glare.

Much as Hermione desired to remain oblivious, she had been a mother for long enough to know a frantic attempt at changing the subject when she saw one. And this attempt seemed much too frantic to ignore.

"Just one minute," she said firmly.

Georgia, Freida, and Christopher all shot Jude dirty looks.

"Explain yourselves," she said firmly. "Come on. Out with it!"

There was a long pause.

"Dad said we weren't to talk about our 'extra sister'," said Jude, looking shamefaced. "On account of, you'd flatten everything from here to –"

"On account of," said Freida firmly, covering him up, "you wouldn't want to discuss her, nor hear us discussing her, so we shouldn't bring it up."

"Ever," said Georgia.

"Or else," added Christopher.

"Not talk about Pansy?" repeated Hermione. She supposed Pansy was Ron's 'extra sister' seeing as how she was sort of married to Ginny. But was sleep deprivation making her completely dense? Ron was the one who never wanted to see or hear about Pansy. Hermione would have invited her in an instant. "This is about the Quidditch Barbecue, isn't it?"

There was a long, long pause.

This isn't about the Quidditch Barbeque, was Hermione's first realization.

And then, What are they talking about?

All five of the children stared at her face in horrified fascination and she wondered what expression was running across it. Why are they looking at me like that?

"Wait a minute. Who are you talking about? Not Pansy Parkinson?" she asked.

"Not Pansy, Pandy," said Jude. "You know, Pandora."

"Pandora who?" asked Hermione, even more bewildered than before.

"Pandora… Lasherton," said Christopher carefully. "Our half sister?"

…Oh.

Hermione had the stench of smoke in her nose, the taste of it in her mouth. Perhaps it was on her clothes, from her brief time spent in the shell of the Burrow, and she had only just now noticed.

Perhaps not.

"I should take you all back to the school," she said, her own voice distant to her ears.

Just act normal. Just get them back to safety. Think about it later. Don't lose it here.

Now all three of the older children exchanged glances.

"Mum…." began Freida.

The younger two whispered frantically to each other, and then to Christopher, and then Georgia while Freida struggled for words. Hermione got the impression that the kids had all known about this but had no idea she hadn't. They hadn't expected to have sprung it on her right here, right now, and entirely by accident. They didn't know what to do.

"We only found out two years ago January ourselves," said Freida at last. "When Liza Beswick was showing her holiday photos around. Pandy was staying over at her place for Christmas and there were lots of pictures of her. She looks and acts just like Nellie did when she was younger. You'd swear they were pictures of her. We thought they were her when we first saw them."

Two years ago, Hermione thought. Right around the time the twins stopped coming home for summers and going to stay with Charlie in Romania instead.

"When we asked Dad about her," said Christopher, "he told us – I mean, he knew –"

"Of course he knew," Hermione said evenly, though there was an odd humming sound in her ears, growing steadily more insistent like the buzzing of a hundred thousand flies. "He'd have to know, wouldn't he?"

"I suppose she wouldn't make any worse a sister than Lucia would," began Nellie thoughtfully. Georgia punched Nellie in the shoulder and Nellie fell abruptly silent, staring at her shoe tips in chastened absorption.

"Let's go," said Freida, and Hermione realized they had all stopped and were standing in a circle in the middle of the path to Hogwarts. Slowly, they all turned and began walking again.

"How old is she?" demanded Hermione abruptly. "Pandora Lasherton."

"She's to come to Hogwarts next year," said Georgia, "so she's probably ten."

"Ten years old," repeated Hermione. She could feel every hair on her head and neck prickling, and wondered if she was blushing or turning deathly pale.

Ten years. That would make Sheila how old when she was born?

Hermione never knew how she managed to finish the trek back to Hogwarts with the children.

Afterward she changed to her fly form and forced herself up into a blue winter sky that no true fly could have survived, up and up and up letting the wind take her as far as it could.

I should have known, she couldn't stop thinking.

The sky was no escape from realization too long coming.

Ten years. I should have known.

THE END OF PART I (Hermione)