Beta love to the ever patient CarbConnoisseur
"I think we all need a break," Dorea said faintly, not sure that she could stand any more tonight. It had been a long day already, with Hermione constantly close to the edge as the sheer scale of the horrors she'd been forced to live through seemed to hit her all at once now that she had time to fall apart. Dorea was trying to keep them all together while watching her adopted son cling to her adopted granddaughter, both of them barely keeping the pieces together, as her son and the boy she assumed would one day be her son-in-law couldn't keep the devastation from their faces. It was all too much. They were just children.
"Dorea, I really do think it would be best…" Albus began.
"No! No, you thinking you knew what was best got us into this fucking mess!" she screeched, feeling the dam burst. She sent a stinging hex at the infuriating man, determinedly ignoring the immediate stunned silence. "Look at them! Fucking look! They are children! They are children and look at what you've done to them! Get out of my house! Get out! We'll contact you when I can stand to be in the same bloody room as you without wanting to fucking murder you!"
"Mum…" James voiced hesitantly as she raised her wand again, positive that he had never seen his mother so out of control. Merlin, he wasn't sure he had ever heard even the tamest of curses come out her mouth and now…now she sounded like Hermione. Apparently his daughter, because despite his concession to her protests that's what she was, was a really bad influence on her grandmother.
"What!" His mother barked, whirling wildly to look at him.
James felt his eyes widen involuntarily. "I was just going to suggest that we head to the living room and that perhaps we could all do with a drink?"
Slowly, his mother nodded and he felt his body sag with relief.
"Are you going to be alright?" Charlus murmured, seating himself beside his wife after ensuring everyone else made it through the floo.
"I…I imagine I'll have to be," she replied, holding her glass tightly in her hands. "I don't know how they did it. I don't know how they manage to get up every day and face this. We both know that it's only going to get worse, but how much worse can it possibly get? Sirius died. Hermione almost died. Children thought that they had no adult they could trust and grown adults thought it was ok to try and murder them. What are we doing Charlus?"
"Attempting to stop it?" he suggested gently.
"I know, but how much longer before that girl breaks? Albus… Albus doesn't seem to be able to understand, nor does he seem to try to, and that scares me."
Charlus' eyes drifted over to where Hermione was wrapped tightly around Draco. Sirius and Remus were in touching distance at her side, the boy's hands entwined in a white knuckled grip. James and Lily sat at the floor in front of Hermione, James's hand wrapped around Sirius' ankle as if to reassure himself he was still there, his eyes darting wildly around the rest of the room every few moments as if expecting that one of them would disappear if he didn't keep his eyes on them. Charlus was sure that it was only the worry that he wouldn't be able to hold himself together that stopped James from inserting himself in between Sirius and Hermione and holding on tighter.
"I think… I think she's far stronger than you give her credit for and we both know that she's no longer alone. Look at them."
"I know," Dorea whispered. "But that scares me too. She's going to be front and centre in this war, even without Albus being Albus, and they're going to follow her. I can't lose them, Charlus. Any of them."
"Then we come up with a plan that means you won't have to," he soothed.
"Does such a plan exist?" she asked, slightly desperately.
"If anyone could find it, it would be you, love."
"Tell us something… something good," Lily begged, once Charlus and Dorea had gone to bed, her eyes on the girl she knew was family, even if she wasn't sure how. Magic knew and she was learning to trust it.
"I…fuck there were good times, there were. I…Dumbledore gave Harry the invisibility cloak for his first Christmas at Hogwarts. When he was refused permission to go to Hogsmeade in third year, he used it and the map that the Weasley twins ah…liberated from Filch's office. He used both to sneak into Hogsmeade and threw snowballs at Draco and his cronies outside the shrieking shack. They thought he was a ghost and were terrified. It was funny at the time."
"It was not," Draco grumbled as the others laughed. "It was fucking terrifying! Snowballs coming out of thin air! How about the time you spent weeks on end as an anthropomorphic cat, Princess?"
"What?" Lily gasped.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I brewed polyjuice potion in second year to see if we could find out who the Heir of Slytherin was. Harry thought it was Draco. He and Ron turned into his friends and infiltrated the common room. I unfortunately used a cat hair. It wasn't pretty. Severus thought it was fucking hilarious, the arse."
"You brewed polyjuice potion….successfully, in second year?" Lily asked incredulously.
"Ah…yes?"
"Brightest witch of her age," Draco quipped, tugging on a curl with a smile.
"Yes, thanks for that," Hermione groused. "Stupid nickname. Shall I tell them exactly how I broke your nose?"
James snorted. "How about you explain how you went from that to a relationship?"
"Oh ah…it sort of just…happened. He approached me at the end of third year after you escaped and apologised. Profusely."
"On his knees?" Sirius grinned.
"Oh his knees," she agreed.
"Like literally? I sort of assumed you were joking about that."
"Oh no, I meant it literally. I didn't think he was at all serious, but I couldn't work out what the point of it all was. So I told him I wouldn't believe him until he begged for my forgiveness on his knees."
All of them laughed, but Draco merely shrugged leaning down to kiss her. "Best decision I ever made, Princess."
"What made you do it?" Lily asked her head tilted as she regarded them.
"She told you about the Hippogriff that hurt me after I insulted it?" They nodded. "Father was…out to prove a point, but I knew that allowing Buckbeak to die was wrong. I had…expectations, I suppose, in terms of how I was supposed to be treated and for the most part, people adhered to them. But Hermione, Hermione never believed me to be anything more than what I showed her. She didn't give a fuck about my pedigree or my expecations. She sure as fuck didn't believe for one second that I was better than her. And she was right." He grinned down at her as she rolled her eyes. "My father was fond of physical punishment combined with an explanation. He liked me to understand why he was raising his wand but even when he was he was…detached, I suppose. When Hemione punched me over that bloody hippogriff, she was all avenging fire and rage. I had never seen anyone look at me and blatantly feel anything that strongly. And I decided that if she could hate me that much that I could convince her to love me instead. So I did."
"Just like that," Remus grinned.
Draco snorted. "If only. It took that apology, several others, a first edition of Hogwarts a History, convincing Severus to allow me to write to her, and quite a lot of begging. It was not fucking easy. Especially with that flying twat hovering around."
Hermione snorted. "Flying twat?" Remus asked, confused.
"Viktor Krum, the Durmstrang champion. He was also the Bulgarian National Team's seeker. And not only did he rescue me from the Black lake, but he also took me to the Yule Ball. He was lovely."
"He was not fucking lovely! He was fucking eighteen and you were fifteen. And might I remind you that you were mine!"
Hermione snorted. "Do you see me whinging about Pansy and her wandering hands? You were mine and she was practically wanking you off in the Great Hall."
Draco flinched. "I did not need that image Princess."
"You couldn't go together?" Lily asked.
"No. Lucius would have murdered us both. And despite what he thinks, Viktor was the perfect gentleman. Pansy on the other hand…."
"Yes well, she had her eye on being the next Lady Malfoy." Draco responded with a slightly wry twist to his mouth.
"What a wonderful ambition," Hermione laughed.
"Oh, I don't know, Princess. I think Lady Hermione Malfoy sounds rather nice," Draco crooned, watching her face closely.
"I think the current Lord Malfoy might have some issues with that," she responded drily.
"Ah well, nothing new there then. Lucius does indeed have rather a lot of issues."
"Right," Sirius interrupted, seeming to come out of his previous stupor. "We need to get out of here. Kitten wanted a tattoo so….who's coming?"
"You want a tattoo?" Draco asked, surprised, looking down at her with a frown.
"I...yes."
"Of?"
"Ah, a snitch, a chess knight, a broomstick, mimbulus mimbletonia, and ah spectrespecs."
Draco blinked, saying nothing for a moment before he dropped a kiss onto her head. "I see."
"What…what in the name of Merlin are Spectrespecs?" Remus asked, breaking the awkwardness slightly.
Draco laughed. "Apparently they help you see the wrackspurts."
"What the bloody hell is a wrackspurt?"
Draco shrugged but grinned back at him. "I have no idea."
"You….you know you're not making sense, right?" Remus floundered, looking around the room in the hope someone else had an explanation.
"Yup," Draco agreed with a nod.
"Right, tattoos!" Sirius commanded, clapping his hands to bring their focus back, ignoring Remus' bewildered look.
"I'll come," Draco decided.
"I think I'll just come and watch. I have no urge to let Valentina permanently mark me. She was sadistic enough at school," Remus laughed, deciding that an explanation wasn't coming any time soon.
"Valentina?" Hermione queried with a small frown.
"Yes, Valentina Mir. Vicious little Hufflepuff two years above us at school. Best magical tattooist in Britain," Sirius grinned.
Hermione shrugged. "Fine."
"I think I'll watch with Remus," Lily decided.
"I want one," James said suddenly.
Lily blinked at him in surprise. "What?"
"I want one. I don't know what…."
"A lily?" Hermione suggested with a grin.
"How cliche!" Sirius exclaimed, his hand splayed over his heart in mock horror.
"A doe?"
"I could…" James looked thoughtful.
"Wonderful! One doe for Prongsy, one random collection of odd items for Kitten, and I think I might get something added to mine."
"I think I might get a dragon too," Hermione mused.
"Pardon?" Sirius looked momentarily startled.
"I think I might get a dragon too… Somewhere not with the rest. How badly is this going to hurt?"
Sirius shrugged. "Not too badly. They're magical rather than muggle. It hurts a little, but not for long."
"Hmmm. Dragon then."
"I…you don't need to," Draco stuttered, his eyes wide.
"I'm aware," Hermione agreed, looking back at him, silently conveying that she wanted to.
"Wonderful! Lets break up whatever the fuck this is and go!" Sirius whined impatiently, already on his feet.
Hermione laughed, pulling Draco to stand. "I love you, you know Princess," he murmured into her hair as he squeezed her tightly, not quite able to suppress the instinctive caveman reaction to the thought of her having him tattooed on her body, marking her so that everyone knew she was fucking off limits. Not that he'd ever tell her. He liked his balls attached to his body.
"Hmmm. I should bloody hope so," she smiled.
Draco laughed. "Maybe I'll get something. A book perhaps."
"A book?" she asked unimpressed.
"Hmmm yes. Hogwarts a History…"
Laughing, she hit him. "Arse."
"You love me."
"Unfortunately."
"Let's go!" Sirius whined again, reaching to drag them towards the floo.
The alley Sirius led them down was dark and disgusting.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Lily asked hesitantly.
"Of course! Come on, it's just up here!" he called, almost bouncing with excitement as he herded them towards a nondescript little shop simply bearing the name "Valentina's" in matt yellow script.
"This is it!" He pulled Remus through the door, trusting the others to follow. The shop smelled clinical, but the walls were an explosion of colour, covered in artwork. Not one area was unpainted.
"Sirius! My favourite customer! What can I do for you?" a stunning dark haired girl beamed. She looked… exactly like you'd expect a tattoo artist to look, Hermione mused. Her skin was almost completely covered in beautiful ink–some stationary, some not. From what she could see, only her neck and face remained blank.
"I brought some friends…including the one I spoke to you about earlier."
"Isn't she meant to be coming tomorrow?"
"Ah, yes… Small change of plan?"
Valentina rolled her eyes. "You're lucky I like you. How many exactly?"
"Ah…Kitten, the one I spoke to you about, apparently she'd like to add a dragon somewhere too. And Prongs here would like…something. Moony, Draco, and Lily are just here for moral support.
Draco shrugged. "Actually, I think I want something."
"Good for you, Cousin!" Sirius clapped him on the back happily as Remus rolled his eyes.
"And you?" Valentina arched a brow.
"Maybe just a teeny tiny addition?"
"Christ. Who's first? I'd like to go home tonight." She turned and hit Sirius' chest. "Have you any idea how fucking late it is! Why can't you bring me multiple customers during the day!"
Sirius grinned back at her slightly sheepishly. "Kittens first. She's the entire reason we're here," he decided before anyone could say anything.
"Right. Come over here. Let's see what you're thinking. I assume your name is not actually Kitten?"
Hermione laughed. "No. My name's Hermione. Sirius just appears to struggle with given names."
Valentina smiled, leading Hermione over to a small counter where a stack of pencils and paper sat in front of her. "So Hermione, describe what you want and I'll draw. Close your eyes. It helps." Doing as she was told, after checking that Draco was behind her guarding her back, Hermione began talking, wondering what magic this was as her mind cleared of anything other than what she wanted her tattoos to look like. "You can look now," Valentina spoke with some amusement. "What do you think?"
It was exactly what she wanted. Tiny images that would look like they were drawn using pen and ink interspersed by connecting dots in a long line. The dragon in contrast was a bright, icy blue grey, its body curled protectively around a tiny book, dots that represented the stars that made up the Draco constellation dotted along its body in black, all of them contrasting starkly with the dragon's pale hide.
"I don't think I could have imagined that," Hermione said softly, running her hand over the drawn snitch."
Valentina smiled. "Right arm?" Hermione nodded. "And the dragon?"
"Ah, side maybe?"
Valentina hummed. "Right, let's start with the arm. Do you want movement?"
"Oh. Um…yes?"
"We can do that. The wings will beat, the broom will move and the fireworks can burst. Are you sure you don't want any colour? I can honestly say I've never done fireworks in shades of black and grey before." Hermione shook her head, making Valentina shrug. "Ok then, if you're sure you're ready?"
At her nod, Valentina lifted her wand, tracing it over her skin. It didn't hurt exactly, but it wasn't comfortable. The urge to squirm away from the slightly niggly annoyance was strong, even if it only lasted ten minutes. "Done," Valentina announced with a grin.
"Already?"
"Yup. Want to see?"
Hermione's eyes smarted as she looked at the line of seemingly random objects running down the inside of her forearm. "Oh," she whispered, running a finger over the snitch as it fluttered its wings at her. Valentina smiled softly.
"Sirius said that… well he said these were a memorial of sorts. Take your time and then we can start on that dragon."
Hermione swallowed hard, ignoring the concerned look Draco was shooting her from across the room. "Thanks," she said softly, her eyes still on the fluttering snitch. "Let's get it done before one of them comes over and starts fussing."
Smiling gently, Valentina gestured for her to lift her shirt, her eyes going slightly wide as she took in the scars that littered the girl's torso alongside her overly prominent ribs. She forced herself not to react. It was not her job and based on how close to tears the girl looked, it was better not to know. "Right, where do you want it?"
"Here I think." Hermione gestured towards her ribs. "It'll move wont it?"
"It can. It's up to you how animated you want it. I can make it so it circles your torso or remains in one place."
"Oh. Give it as much movement as you like. I sort of like the idea of it not staying in one place."
Lifting her wand again Valentina began casting, the dragon coming to life on Hermione's skin. She almost laughed when she ran her fingers over the finished artwork and the tiny dragon seemed to rub its head against her fingers like a cat before scampering off around her back, reappearing to hug its book.
"Thank you. I love them."
"Any time," Valentina smiled, looking down at the girl who was now stroking the preening dragon. "Now, let's get through the rest of your lot. Sirius never does anything by halves does he?"
Hermione laughed, allowing her top to fall back down. "No. I don't think he knows how."
More than two hours later they stood outside the shop and headed for home, James with a stag, doe, wolf, and grim frolicking over his back, surrounded by a prowling lioness and a spectral dragon. Sirius had added the same lioness and dragon to his chest, deliberately obscuring the rat. And Draco had a miniature book with a single narcissus flower next to a crown drawn on its cover. As the pages of the book turned, the flower and crown alternated, paying homage to the two most important people in his life.
"I think I like this," he murmured into the silence as Hermione used his chest as a pillow, his hand stroking the dragon as it alternated rubbing its head against his fingers and flicking its tail towards him.
"Hmmm I think he's my favourite too," she murmured.