A/N – Last time I posted a couple of pieces in this collection I received a few reviews saying that things were becoming predictable and boring. If that is people's opinions than that is completely fine, but I did say right from the start that Hermione would be related to Voldemort in most of these stories. And if people are getting impatient waiting for these pieces to become longer stories, then I am sorry for disappointing you. I still want to turn quite a lot of these pieces into full stories and I can see so much potential in so many of them. But I literally have hundreds of ideas (not all of them dark), and I'm constantly working on several stories at any one time, so sometimes the tales might take a bit of a back seat. I basically started writing this collection as I kept getting pieces of stories that wouldn't leave me alone, and rather than lose them I chose to write them down. So all I can say if people are getting impatient waiting for more, is sorry. I try and do the best I can, and I write as much as is physically possible. And to the people who are growing bored of this collection, then they don't have to carry on reading it. If anyone feels it is growing predictable and boring, just walk away. I wouldn't read something I've lost interest in, and I don't expect anyone else to. But for those who are still enjoying Tales, here is the newest piece – Old Friends.
Old Friends.
Emerging from Madam Malkins with her son, Draco, Narcissa Malfoy stifled her frustrated sigh at the crowds in Diagon Alley. With Hogwarts starting back up in just under a week it seemed everyone was doing their shopping on the last weekend. Narcissa wished the school would send the letters out earlier, but Draco had only just received his letter informing him of what he needed a few days ago. No wonder the shops were as crowded as the school hadn't exactly given the parents much notice to get their stuff together.
"Where to now?" Narcissa asked Draco, who'd gotten distracted by a display of brooms in the nearby quidditch shop.
"Can I have a new broom?" Draco asked, not tearing his eyes away from the display. "These are the new Nimbuses, and now I'm going to be a second year I can take a broom to school."
"We can ask your father when he joins us for lunch," Narcissa said. "For now, let's get the rest of the things on your list. Let's head to the apothecary next to get your Potions supplies."
Narcissa had to practically drag her son away from the quidditch store, but eventually she managed to get him into the apothecary. Once in the shop, she sent Draco off with a list of stuff he needed to buy, while she browsed the shelves. Narcissa was a bit of a potions whizz herself, and she often spent her afternoons whipping up beauty potions and lotions.
Narcissa browsed the shelves for a few minutes, before she was well and truly distracted by a young girl, with long bushy brunette hair entering the shop. The second Narcissa spotted the girl she froze as her mind sent her back to her childhood. The young brunette girl was a dead ringer for Narcissa's childhood friend, Meredith.
Narcissa and Meredith had been friends from their early years. Narcissa knew their father's were friends, but for a long time she didn't know that Meredith's father was the dark wizard, Lord Voldemort. It was only when they were about to start school at eleven, that Narcissa discovered who Meredith truly was. Because Meredith was The Dark Lord's daughter, he didn't want her going to Hogwarts, so Meredith had gone to a wizarding school abroad. However, that didn't stop Narcissa and Meredith from staying friends and they were in constant contact throughout their school years.
It wasn't until they finished school that the two girls began to drift apart. After Hogwarts, Narcissa was engaged to Lucius and ready to settle down, whereas Meredith was more involved in the front-line of her father's battle against Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix. With the two witches lives heading down different paths, they'd slowly seen less and less of each other. In fact the last time they'd seen each other was at Narcissa and Lucius's wedding, when Meredith had confided in Narcissa that she was doing something major to help her father finally win the war he was fighting.
Narcissa regretted the fact she hadn't seen Meredith since her wedding, but she didn't regret making Lucius her priority. Unlike a lot of pureblood couples, she and Lucius genuinely loved each other, and Narcissa had no regrets for putting her relationship first. She just wished she'd kept in touch with Meredith at the same time. But she'd been lost in her new life as Mrs Malfoy, and then Draco had came along and he became the focus of her life.
Narcissa had tried to contact Meredith when her father had mysteriously disappeared the night he'd gone after the Potters, but she'd vanished from the wizarding world. Even Lucius, who was a supporter of Voldemort and by that time had risen up the ranks to be highly thought of, didn't know how to contact her. Meredith had vanished from the wizarding world, and Narcissa didn't know how to find her. Now a decade later, she was standing watching a young girl who was the spitting image of Meredith.
"Mother, what are you doing?" Draco hissed, coming up beside Narcissa and making her jump slightly.
"Don't sneak up on me like that, Draco," Narcissa hissed.
"I didn't sneak up, you were in your own little world," Draco retorted. "What were you looking at anyway?"
"Nothing," Narcissa answered quickly, but as she spoke the girl she'd been watching moved back into sight and Draco directed a sneer in her direction. "Draco, do you know that girl?" she asked.
"Who? Granger?" Draco replied, the distaste dripping from his voice. "Unfortunately, I do know her."
"From school?" Narcissa asked, pleased that the girl hadn't noticed them staring and had finished getting her shopping and exited the shop.
"Yes," Draco answered with a nod. "She's the mudblood who beat me in every lesson last year."
"Mudblood?" Narcissa couldn't keep the surprise from her voice. She was sure the girl had something to do with Meredith, but she couldn't if she was a muggleborn.
"I know, it's terrible," Draco said with an annoyed grunt. "But she's some sort of genius. She knows things no mudblood has a right to know. Plus she's ridiculously swotty. She spends all her spare time studying. Well, when she's not sucking up to Potter and his pet Weasel."
"She's friends with Harry Potter?" Narcissa asked with a frown.
"Yeah, she saved his life a couple of times last year," Draco replied, sounding put out by the idea. "But why the questions? Why are you so interested in her?"
"No reason," Narcissa said, giving her son a smile. "Now we should be off to meet your father for lunch. We can then all go and get your books from Flourish and Blotts. I'm sure there was a sign in the window about some book signing."
"Yeah, Gilderoy Lockhart," Draco said with a grimace as he and his mother left the apothecary. "Don't tell me you like that stuck-up prat."
"Heavens no," Narcissa said with a chuckle. "He's such a smarmy git. I like my men with a bit of an edge. But he is the author of all your new Defence books, so I'm guessing your new Professor is a fan."
"Probably some old witch with a crush," Draco suggested with a shrug.
"Probably," Narcissa agreed as the pair headed for The Leaky Cauldron where they met up with Lucius, who'd finished his business and was going to join them for the afternoon.
The Leaky Cauldron wasn't Narcissa's favourite place to eat, but unfortunately Diagon Alley was severely lacking in decent restaurants so the pub was the best place to eat while out shopping. Luckily Lucius had managed to reserve them one of the better tables near the back of the pub, and they were able to eat their meal in relative peace.
Throughout the meal, Narcissa couldn't turn her mind away from the young witch she'd spotted in the apothecary. She was dying to talk to Lucius about her, and see what her husband had to say, but she didn't want to raise the subject where Draco was. Draco knew nothing about Meredith and given the unpredictable situation with Voldemort, Narcissa wasn't sure it was wise to let her son know that The Dark Lord had a daughter. Luckily the solution to her problem presented itself shortly after they'd finished eating and one of Draco's friends, Theo Nott, approached them and asked if Draco could join him for an ice-cream in the ice-cream parlour.
"We'll meet you in the bookshop in ten minutes," Narcissa told her son as she gave him permission to go off with his friend.
"Thank you," Draco said politely as he got to his feet and hurried out of the dark pub with Theo.
"You know they're going to look at brooms as well, don't you?" Lucius checked with a chuckle.
"I don't doubt it," Narcissa said with a nod of her head. "Draco's already been eyeing up the new Nimbus. Be warned, he wants you to buy him one."
"I might think about it if his grades improve this year," Lucius muttered.
"Draco's grades were top rate," Narcissa argued. "He's doing great in every subject."
"Yes, but he's still being beaten by a mudblood," Lucius spat, a disgusted sneer marring his handsome face. "Honestly Narcissa, it's just not good enough. He needs to work harder this year."
"I saw the girl earlier," Narcissa said, diving into the topic since her husband had kindly give her the perfect opportunity by mentioning the Granger girl.
"What's she like?" Lucius asked. "Draco says she's an awful know-it-all."
"She's the spitting image of Meredith," Narcissa confided in a low voice. "I swear, Lucius, it was as though I'd gone back in time. She looks so like her, it's scary."
"Coincidence," Lucius said with a shrug. "After all, a mudblood is not going to be related to Meredith."
"But what if she is?" Narcissa asked quietly. "I'm telling you Lucius, she's Meredith's double. If she's not related to Meredith, something strange is going on."
"She can't be related to Meredith, Narcissa," Lucius insisted. "It's just not possible."
"We'll have to try and find her this afternoon and then you can see for yourself," Narcissa said. "If you see her, you'll not be able to deny it. She's something to do with Meredith, I just know it."
Lucius gave Narcissa a sceptical look, but he didn't argue as the couple settled their bill and headed back into Diagon Alley to meet up with Draco. When they reached Flourish and Blotts, and found they had to squeeze in through the crowds, Lucius's last thought was trying to find the girl Narcissa was convinced had something to do with Meredith. Instead all he could think about was getting Draco and his books and escaping the crush.
"This is ridiculous," Narcissa muttered. "You can barely move in here."
"You go and find the books, while I find Draco," Lucius said. "We can then get out of this mayhem."
Narcissa nodded, before she darted off into the crowds to try and locate all the books Draco would need for the year ahead. Heading in the opposite direction, Lucius had barely managed to get moving before he was almost knocked off his feet by a small girl with long red hair.
"Watch where you're going," he snapped at the girl.
"Sorry," the girl offered meekly.
"Malfoy," a voice called from behind the girl, and when Lucius looked up he found Arthur Weasley heading his way.
"One of yours, Weasley?" Lucius asked, getting a good look at the girl who'd almost knocked him down and deciding she was most likely the Weasleys youngest.
"Yes, and I would appreciate it if you left her alone," Arthur Weasley retorted.
"You should teach her about running into people," Lucius sneered. "Maybe you need to keep her on a leash."
"If anyone needs keeping on a leash, Malfoy, it's you," Arthur shot back.
Lucius smirked at Arthur, but before he had a chance to say anything he spotted a few other youngsters behind the red-headed wizard. One was a gangly boy with red hair and freckles, clearly another Weasley, and the other boy was Harry Potter. However, there was a girl with them and she definitely made Lucius look twice. Narcissa was right, there was a girl who looked exactly like Meredith, right down to her wild, brunette hair and large brown eyes.
Lucius was still staring at the girl when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Glancing up, he spotted Draco making his way towards him, elbowing a few people out of the way as he did so. When Draco reached his side, Lucius gave him a small smirk and nodded his head at his son.
"I think we're nearly finished here, Draco," Lucius announced. "I don't think these are our sort of people."
"Indeed, Father," Draco said. "Who wants to mingle with Weasleys, mudbloods and Saint Potter?"
"Quite right," Lucius said with a nod as both Harry, the Granger girl and the red-headed Weasley boy protested. "Come along Draco, we've got things to be doing."
Lucius gave the Granger girl another long look, before placing his hand on Draco's shoulder and escorting him towards the front door. Before leaving the shop, Lucius glanced back over his shoulder and he froze when he spotted the Granger girl standing with a couple. The man was a nondescript dark haired bloke, but the woman was Meredith, he was sure of it. Of course she'd changed over the years, and her brunette hair was neatly pinned on the top of her head, but Lucius would swear that the woman was The Dark Lord's daughter. As if sensing she was being watched the woman turned, and Lucius found himself looking into the face of a woman he hadn't seen in over a decade. The question was, what was The Dark Lord's daughter doing posing as a muggle, and why was her daughter attending Hogwarts as a muggleborn and befriending Harry Potter?
Almost immediately, Meredith turned away from Lucius and she was soon swept away in the crowds. Knowing he'd seen enough, Lucius pushed his way out of the bookshop with Draco, and they waited outside until Narcissa emerged with Draco's books.
"The signing is just about to begin, so we've gotten away just in time," Narcissa said. "Although if there's nothing else, we should be heading home."
"Actually, there's one more thing I want to get," Lucius said. "Draco, let's go and buy you a new broom. You want to get on the quidditch team, don't you? Well, you'll need to practice before you go back to school."
Draco grinned excitedly as he followed his father down the street and into the quidditch shop. Narcissa didn't question why Lucius had changed his mind about buying Draco a new broom, when earlier in the day he wanted to wait and see what Draco's school work was like. She was used to her husband changing his mind on a whim, and the fact he was spoiling Draco wasn't anything unusual.
Once Draco had a new broom, and a pile of accessories to go with it, the family headed back home to Malfoy Manor. Draco went straight outside to try out his new broom, while Narcissa deposited all their shopping into her son's room. She then returned to the main living room, where one of the elves brought her and Lucius some tea and they settled down to talk.
"Well?" Narcissa asked. "You've got something on your mind, I can tell."
"I saw her, Narcissa," Lucius said quietly. "I saw the Granger girl."
"And?" Narcissa leant forward expectantly, eager to hear her husband's opinion. Lucius hadn't known Meredith the same way she had, but she was confident he'd known her well enough to spot the resemblance between her and the young girl today.
"You were right," Lucius said. "She's the spitting image of Meredith."
"I told you," Narcissa said, felling rather smug that she'd been right. "But what does it mean?"
"I also spotted Meredith, or at least I think it was Meredith," Lucius said. "I think she's posing as a muggle, and the girl is her daughter."
"Acting as a muggleborn to befriend the Potter boy," Narcissa continued, picking up from where her husband had stopped talking. "That's an elaborate scheme, Lucius. And what will it achieve? The Dark Lord is missing in action."
"Missing, but not dead," Lucius pointed out, absent-mindedly rubbing at his left forearm where he'd been branded with the Dark Mark. "I suppose when he does come back his granddaughter will be in the perfect place to help him."
"I suppose so," Narcissa agreed. "But what do we do? Do we just pretend as though we don't know what's going on?"
"We don't know what's going on," Lucius said. "We can guess, but we could be wrong. Meredith might have turned her back on her father and she could genuinely be living as a muggle."
"Not Meredith," Narcissa insisted with a shake of her head. She refused to believe the girl she'd grown up with would have abandoned her father and his beliefs. "I refuse to believe she's on the light."
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Lucius remarked. "We'll find out what's going on when The Dark Lord finally returns."
"I guess we will," Narcissa murmured, wishing there was a way they could find out what was going on right now. Unfortunately there wasn't, so the Malfoys would just have to be patient.
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Less that a week after their trip to Diagon Alley, Narcissa's attention was well and truly distracted when it came to time to see Draco off to school. She couldn't help but wonder if she would spot Meredith on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, and as such her attention wasn't on her son. However, Draco was well aware he wasn't receiving his mother's full attention and he was determined to know why. He would be away from home for months, yet his mother didn't seem at all concerned.
"I guess I'll see you at Christmas," Draco remarked. "Or would you prefer it if I stayed at school?" he asked when he got no response from his mother.
"Narcissa," Lucius hissed, subtly nudging his wife.
"Sorry," Narcissa said with a sheepish smile as she turned back to her family. "What have I missed?"
"Just your only son getting ready to go off to boarding school for another nine months," Draco said snappishly. "Nothing too important."
"Draco," Lucius warned. On a whole his son was very respectful towards him and Narcissa, but every now and again Draco's natural sarcastic nature got the better of him.
"Sorry," Draco muttered.
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry," Narcissa said guiltily. "I wasn't paying attention, and I should have been."
"So you are going to miss me?" Draco questioned with a cheeky smile.
"Of course I'm going to miss you," Narcissa said, pulling Draco into her arms for a hug.
Predictably, Draco quickly wriggled his way out of Narcissa's embrace, making both of his parents chuckle.
"And you're coming home for Christmas," Lucius told his son.
"I just wasn't sure if I was wanted," Draco said with a shrug. "After all, you've both been in a world of your own this last week. Something is going on, and I want to know what."
"Nothing is going on Draco," Lucius insisted. "You just get on the train, and focus on your school work. I expect your grades to be top notch this year."
"Of course, Father," Draco vowed with a nod.
Narcissa managed to focus on Draco long enough for her to see her only son get onto the train with his friends. However, once Draco had disappeared onto the train, she turned her attention back to the platform in hopes of seeing Meredith. Unfortunately, the platform was so crowded with parents and guardians that she didn't even get a glimpse of her childhood friend.
"I don't think she's here," Narcissa whispered to Lucius as the Hogwarts Express slowly began to move out of the station.
"Who can tell, it's so crowded," Lucius replied. "But for now, let's see our son off."
Narcissa waved at the train as she spotted Draco and his friends at one of the windows. Once they were out of sight, Narcissa took another look around the platform. However, there was still no sign of Meredith and Narcissa had to concede defeat for the day. Today wasn't the day they would find out what was going on with Meredith.
After leaving the train station, Lucius and Narcissa returned to their normal activities. Lucius headed off to the office, while Narcissa returned to the manor. Even though she didn't work, Narcissa's days were always full and busy as she devoted a lot of her time to charity work. A lot of her friends just spent their spare time shopping and spending their husbands money, but Narcissa preferred to do something useful with her time. That wasn't to say she couldn't spend the occasional day shopping and spending Lucius's money, but there was more to her life than being a spoilt pureblood wife.
After a day of losing herself in planning her upcoming charity fund-raiser events, Narcissa had almost forgotten about Meredith. It wasn't until Lucius returned home for the evening that she turned her thoughts back to her childhood friend.
"I know you said we have to wait until The Dark Lord returns, but couldn't we do some digging of our own?" Narcissa asked her husband. "I mean, we know what name Meredith is using. And I'm fairly sure Draco said the girl is called Hermione. Could we not do some digging into their past and try and work out what's going on?"
"I'm not really sure I'm equipped to do such a thing," Lucius admitted. "My contacts in the muggle world are extremely limited. I don't have the power, I have in our world. And I certainly don't have the knowledge to look into things myself. You know I avoid the muggle world unless absolutely necessary."
"I know, but there has to be something we can do," Narcissa said with a sigh.
"I'll have a think and see if I can find a solution," Lucius replied, just as a low beeping noise emitted around the room causing him to frown. "Someone just crossed the boundary line at the front of the house."
"A visitor?" Narcissa queried with a frown. It was very rare anyone showed up at the manor unannounced, and very few people used the front door as means of entry.
"Or an intruder," Lucius said as he pulled his wand from his decorative cane and got to his feet. "Stay here Narcissa, and be alert. If I shout, you leave without question. Is that understood?"
"Yes," Narcissa whispered, even though she didn't think it would come to that. Even if the worst should happen and whoever was on their property was an enemy, she doubted they could break the wards around the actual manor and enter the house.
Lucius took a quick glance out of the front window, before exiting the living room and heading down the hallway to the front door. Narcissa moved to stand in the doorway of the living room, but even then she couldn't see the main hallway and the front door. However, she did hear the heavy wood doors being pulled open and she felt the wards ripple when her husband stepped outside the safety of the manor.
Narcissa waited for what felt like ages, but in reality was just over five minutes, before she heard Lucius re-enter the manor. Again the wards indicated he was back in the safety of the protected manor, and they also revealed that he wasn't alone, someone else passed through the wards at the same time. Knowing Lucius would never allow anyone dangerous to enter the house with him, Narcissa slid her wand back into her robes and returned to the living room, where she stood by the fireplace.
When Lucius returned to the living room, he gave her a large smile before making a sweeping gesture behind him. "There's someone here to see you, Narcissa."
Narcissa barely had time to register her husband's words when a sophisticated looking woman entered the room behind him. Instantly, Narcissa recognised her childhood friend. Meredith's hair was no longer wild and uncontrollable, and was pinned back neatly, but there was no mistaking her friend. Her sparkling brown eyes were still the same, as was her general features and her warm smile.
"Meredith," Narcissa gasped slightly as she rushed over to her old friend and embraced her. "I can't believe you're here after so many years."
"I'm sorry about that," Meredith said with a sheepish smile. "I really should have been in touch, but the more time that passed the harder it became."
"It was you last week in Diagon Alley, wasn't it?" Lucius checked.
"It was," Meredith confirmed with a nod. "I probably should have spoken to the pair of you last year, but I admit I was unsure of your situation. I know after what happened with Father, you distanced yourself from him and his cause."
"I did what I had to to save my family, Meredith," Lucius said gravely. "I wasn't going to end up in Azkaban. I did what I could to avoid jail, even if it did mean renouncing your father. But I want you to know, it was all talk. My loyalty is still with your father, should he ever return."
"That's good to know," Meredith said with a relieved smile. "And he will return, I just don't know when. Things are rather complicated."
"Why don't we all sit down and you can tell us everything," Narcissa suggested.
Meredith was more than happy to join Lucius and Narcissa for a drink, and she settled down next to her old friend, while Lucius summoned an elf and arranged for drinks to be served. Once the elf had provided drinks and they were all alone again, it was time to get down to business.
"I think I should start by apologising for losing touch," Meredith began. "I never meant to drop off the face of the earth, but things sort of got away from me. As you know, I went off to help Father with some things just after you were married. Well, during our travels I met a wizard and fell hopelessly in love. We were married quickly after a whirlwind romance and a few years later I was pregnant. I just got so caught up with everything that getting in touch was something I kept putting off."
"I know the feeling," Narcissa said, giving her friend a reassuring smile. "It wasn't until your father disappeared that I really realised we'd lost touch. Before that, I was just so busy with Lucius and Draco."
"We did try to find you when your father disappeared, but you were off the radar," Lucius said. "We didn't know what had happened to you."
"Sorry about that, I should have let you know I was okay," Meredith said. "Our disappearance was my husband's suggestion. After Father vanished we didn't know what had happened, and to keep Hermione safe, Richard suggested we make ourselves scarce."
"So you don't know what happened with your father?" Lucius checked. "All we know is that he went after the Potter boy in regards to some sort of prophecy, but what happened next is a mystery. The Potters were found dead, and Dumbledore spirited the boy away to go and live with some muggle relatives of his. I'm sure you heard the rumours that your father was killed by a rebounded killing curse aimed for the boy, but that was never proven. Plus, I know from my mark that he isn't dead."
"He isn't dead," Meredith said. "Although, I do actually know what happened to him now. We didn't at the time, but we do now."
"It's understandable if you don't want to share it," Narcissa said, sensing her friend's hesitance to say more. "We haven't seen each other in over a decade. We don't blame you for not knowing if you can trust us."
"It's not that, Narcissa," Meredith said, taking hold of her friend's hands and giving them a friendly squeeze. "I'm just thinking about what an idiot I've been all these years. We should have spoken to you years ago. You could have helped us with our plan. Our children could have been friends, and we wouldn't be sitting here as virtual strangers when we were once so close."
"You can't change the past, Meredith," Narcissa said. "But we can make things right now. Lucius and I will help you in anyway we can. And it's not too late to catch up on everything we've missed. I still think of you as my best friend, and I'm sure it won't take long before we know everything about each other once again."
"You're right," Meredith said with a smile. "And I'm going to tell you everything. Starting with what I was helping Father with all those years ago, because that's where the story really begins. Have either of you heard of Horcruxes?"
Narcissa shook her head whereas Lucius slowly nodded, a frown etched on his handsome features.
"It's a dark magic ritual," he explained. "A Horcrux is formed when a person tears his soul by killing another human being. It doesn't happen naturally, spells have to be in place to create the Horcrux. It's means premeditated murder is on the cards. It's said your soul tears every time you kill someone, but without the dark magic to contain it in a Horcrux, it just vanishes. But harvesting the soul is said to keep it connected with yourself."
"To make you stronger," Meredith finished. "Or at least that's what my father believed. By the time he confided in me, he'd already made himself several Horcruxes. It means he can't be killed properly, until all the pieces of his soul have been destroyed."
"He made several of these?" Lucius interrupted with a frown. "I've read about Horcruxes, but I've never heard of more than one being created."
"You know my father, always going one step further than anyone else," Meredith said with a tight smile that showed how unhappy she was with the situation. "He got the idea into his head that seven was the most powerful magical number, therefore he would be stronger and more powerful if his soul was split into seven."
"He split his soul into seven pieces?" Narcissa queried with a startled gasp. "That means he made six Horcruxes."
"Against my better judgement," Meredith muttered. "As I said, he'd already made several before he told me what he was up to. I thought I'd persuaded him to stop while I looked into an alternative way of making him stronger. That was the important job I was doing for him. I was trying to save him from himself."
"But he didn't listen, and he continued to split his soul," Lucius summarised, knowing The Dark Lord well enough to know he wouldn't change his plans, not even for his beloved daughter.
Meredith nodded, confirming Lucius's theory. "He did. Weeks before he disappeared, he told me he'd achieved it. He'd spilt his soul into seven pieces. I was furious with him, and told him he wasn't making himself stronger, he was weakening himself. I accused him of killing off his human side, and turning himself into a cold-hearted monster. I told him that unless he let me help him, he would never see Hermione and I again. Before he got a chance to make his decision, he was gone."
"So you and your husband went into hiding," Lucius said as Narcissa gently soothed a clearly upset Meredith.
"Until we knew what had happened, yes," Meredith replied. "It didn't take us long to hear the rumours about the Potter boy. We also kept an eye on Father's followers to see what was happening there."
"And you thought we'd betrayed you and your father by turning our backs on the cause," Narcissa said sadly.
"Deep down, I knew you were still loyal, but I admit I couldn't be a hundred percent sure at the time," Meredith confessed. "I knew your family was your main priority, and I wasn't going to judge you if you had truly abandoned the dark. I know that when it comes to family, you do whatever it takes."
"You do," Lucius agreed with a nod. "We did what we had to do to protect Draco, just as you did what you had to do to protect your daughter. But, I'm assuming there's more to your story."
"Much more," Meredith confirmed with a sly smile. "Anyway, after Father vanished we laid low for a while. Then one evening, I had a dream. It was my father, and he was contacting me. He explained that the stories were true, he'd attacked the Potter boy and for some reason the spell had backfired and hit him. The only reason he wasn't totally dead was his Horcruxes. But he was without a body, he was merely a ghostly presence floating around in the atmosphere."
"Is he still that way?" Lucius asked.
"For the time being," Meredith replied with a nod. "Anyway, once we knew what had happened, we started researching. My husband and I have spent years travelling with our daughter, looking for answers. After a lot of work, we discovered that the Horcruxes my father had made had indeed robbed him of his humanity. So when the Potter woman gave her life to save her son, her loving sacrifice was too strong for him to handle. He was already vulnerable when he cast the killing curse, which rebounded off the protection the sacrifice had given the boy, and hit my father. Hence, his loss of his physical body. Once we knew all that, we looked into how to get his physical body back."
"Do you have answers?" Narcissa asked, wondering if there was some way in which she and Lucius could help.
"A few actually," Meredith replied. "Firstly, we need to reunite the remaining pieces of my father's soul. Once we've got them all, we have to harness them into a living person with a blood connection to my father. We can then perform a ritual to bring him back to physical form."
"What about the person who's been used in the ritual, will they survive?" Narcissa queried. It was fairly obvious the only people who could perform the ritual were Meredith and her daughter.
"Yes, but they'll be irrevocably linked with my father," Meredith replied. "Their souls will be melded together. When one dies, the other will die. But the spell will give both of them prolonged life, so it's not too bad."
"You're going to do the spell, aren't you?" Lucius asked.
"I am," Meredith replied with a nod. "The only other alternative is Hermione, and I won't risk her in case anything goes wrong."
"So how can we help?" Lucius asked. "Do you need help tracking down these Horcruxes?"
"That would be greatly appreciated," Meredith said with a grateful smile. "Since I was so against the idea of my father making Horcruxes, I don't really know what he actually used. I do have some possibilities, but it's been hard to track them down and keep us all off Dumbledore's radar."
"Consider us at your service," Lucius said. "We will aid you in whatever way we can."
"Thank you, Lucius," Meredith replied. "And if it's okay, I would also like some help on the ritual when the time comes. I've got most of it together, but I need to be sure we have every piece of information. I don't want anything to go wrong, not when both my life and my father's depends on it."
"We'll help there as well," Lucius promised. "If you don't mind me asking, may I enquire about your daughter?"
"You want to know why she's posing as a muggleborn," Meredith stated with a chuckle.
"I have to admit, we are curious," Narcissa replied.
"It's simple really, I didn't want her coming to Dumbledore's attention," Meredith answered. "I didn't want Dumbledore asking questions about me, since I never went to Hogwarts. All we had to do was settle in the muggle world about eighteen months before Hermione started school, and when her name appeared on the list of students, it looked like she was a muggleborn."
"And befriending Potter, was that a plan?" Lucius asked.
"My daughter is eager to prove herself," Meredith said, a proud smile breaking out on her pretty face. "She's hoping when her grandfather is back, she can give him what he truly wants, the Potter boy."
"Are you not worried in case she gets emotionally attached to him?" Narcissa asked. "Draco implied she was pretty close to him."
"My daughter is ruthless," Meredith answered with a shrug. "She's inherited all of my father's darkness and then some. Getting attached will not be a problem, believe me. When Father does come back, he's going to have a hell of an asset in Hermione."
"The sooner we can achieve that the better," Lucius said. "I think it's time the Malfoys and the Grangers joined forces and together we can bring back The Dark Lord."
And that was exactly what the two families set out to do. Of course it wasn't going to be easy and it would take them several years, but together the Malfoys and the Grangers would identify, find and reunite Voldemort's Horcruxes and use them to return the dark wizard to full strength. And then once he was back, they would stand at his side as he fulfilled the dream he'd set out to achieve all those years ago. The Dark Lord would rule the wizarding world.