Seeing Double

This was written for the Dramione Remix 2018, and originally posted to AO3.

The prompt was Nick/Elizabeth from the film "Parent Trap", although I did adapt a few details to make it fit better into the wizarding world.

Many many thanks to all those who helped me shape this into an enjoyable story! Much love to you all!

..

It was one of those sweltering summer days in Paris when even the lightest piece of clothing would stick to your skin from all the sweat. Hermione had cast several Cooling Spells in her study at home, but she could still sense the heat creeping in underneath.

She envied her daughter who was enjoying a swim in their pool, her laughter drifting through the open windows. It didn't exactly help Hermione's concentration, despite her efforts to stay focused on the urgent documents in front of her.

Sometimes the French Ministry was worse than even the British when it came to bureaucracy, though they were much more charming and easier to work with on a daily basis. The gated wizarding community she lived in near Bois de Boulogne had a surprisingly relaxed, slightly bohemian atmosphere, as if time had stood still in this corner of the city.

"Iris, please, I'm trying work here!" Hermione shouted in exasperation when the laughter of her daughter grew louder and disrupted her concentration once again. With a sigh, she got up to look out of the window after recasting the Cooling Spells on the room.

"Hey, Mu-Maman!" Iris waved at her with the biggest smile she could muster, before she continued to splash and dive in the water with the joy of a child on a summer day. "Come on and join me! You promised!"

"Later, sweetheart," Hermione replied, barely resisting the temptation to jump into the pool with her clothes on still. Instead she spared a few more minutes to watch Iris, hating the fact that her high-ranking job at the French Ministry claimed so much of the time that she would rather spend with her daughter. Summer always passed too fast, and this one seemed especially fleeting, as Iris had been away for most of July at a prestigious Quidditch camp in Ireland.

Maybe they could do a short mother-daughter trip to the country before she had to leave for school in September and the house, once again, was left empty and entirely too big. Hermione wished she didn't have to let Iris go; she was tired of letting go of the people in her life. And the closer Iris' school start came, the more Hermione thought about those she had left behind in Britain—especially Harry and his family, who had always welcomed her with open arms. But it also brought up memories of her ex-husband and his family, who had been the reason she chose to leave the country and accept the offer from the French Ministry.

But above everyone else, she missed Amaranthe.

"Madame?"

Pulled from her musings while watching Iris outside, Hermione turned around to find her maid, Ernestine, standing in the doorway with her usual soft smile. Ernestine was the heart of the house and ran it effortlessly; Hermione and Iris adored her.

"A letter for you just arrived, Madame. Looks important." Ernestine held up a nicely folded piece of parchment before handing it over.

"Merci," Hermione replied with a sigh, expecting that it was likely just another important document that needed her notes and signatures."You wouldn't mind bringing me a snack and something to drink, s'il vous plait?"

"Pas de problème, Madame. La petite already asked for ice cream."

"Ice cream! Gods, I could do with a bowl of your red currant ice cream." Hermione let out another sigh, this time imagining the slightly sour taste of the red currants against the sweetness of the homemade ice cream.

Delicious was not an adequate word for it—not by a long shot. It was something even better.

"A bowl of ice cream for Madame it is," Ernestine said with a chuckle. "Why not take a break and come down to the kitchen for it?"

Hermione nodded, smiling in anticipation and holding up the letter. "I'm just going to read this first to see if it requires an immediate response. You know how they are..."

"Yes."

Hermione watched Ernestine go before she opened the letter. She was surprised to find a second letter inside, next to a short note in Harry's hurried handwriting. His note stated only that he was passing the letter along, and urged her to read it immediately upon reception.

She didn't recognise the handwriting on the attached letter, but it was a beautifully flowing style— usually something she only found in notes from her elder co-workers. Curious now, she opened it.

..

Dear Hermione,

I'm sure you are surprised to hear from me. I do not want to open old wounds—far from it. After all these years, I wish that we were on better terms. I wish I could change a few things in the past.

Please do not be alarmed, even though the matter as to why I'm writing you is important, and it concerns your daughters. Yes, both of them. It seems that you and my son have both sent the girls to the same Quidditch camp in Ireland, where they inadvertently met.

Those bright girls have switched places.

My dear Eleanor has been staying with you since they've returned, and your Iris is here with us, charming her father as well as her grandfather. I only realised it this morning, and all I can say is thank you for raising such a wonderful girl.

I wouldn't ask if I was able to solve the situation otherwise, but I think it might be necessary for you to come to England to rectify the situation. I'm in contact with your friend Mr. Potter should you have further questions. He is informed about the situation and was willing to relay this letter to you.

I hope to see you soon in England. Give my Eleanor a hug!

Narcissa Malfoy

..

When Hermione finally made it down to the kitchen, her knees felt weak and she was still trying to comprehend the words in the letter; she was completely overwhelmed and her mind was desperate to understand what this could possibly mean for all of them.

"Maman, you took so long... Ernestine had to put a Stasis Spell on yours."

"Ben, your mother works 'ard enough," the maid replied with a click of her tongue, though she was unable to hold back a small smirk. "So that you can 'ave a great room, and swim in the pool when it's 'ot like this."

Hermione watched the banter between her daughter and her maid. Focusing on the girl, she realized she could pick out small details that could have tipped her off that this wasn't Iris. But mostly Hermione noticed how much the girls looked alike—enough to fool everyone around them. The same platinum blonde hair, the same freckles, and the same dark brown eyes with a mischievous spark in them.

However, the girl sitting at her table had a small scar on her arm— Iris didn't have one. And this girl had a slightly different pronunciation to the French words she spoke; Iris spoke like a native with Ernestine, but the girl in front of her now spoke with an accent— although it was slight enough to easily miss.

After a deep breath, Hermione finally scooped up a spoonful of her ice cream, letting it melt in her mouth as she continued to stare at her daughter. It had been such a long time since she had left England, and she had felt constant guilt about leaving her behind with his family. She never thought she'd ever see her again, and now the girl sat here at the table with her, smiling and enjoying her day.

Her vision started to blur ever so slightly so she quickly wiped her eyes, swallowing hard in an attempt to loosen the knot in her throat.

"Maman?"

"Madame, you look like you've seen a ghost..."

Slightly startled, Hermione shook her head, unable to hold back a happy smile. "Not a ghost. Just someone I thought I'd never see again."

"M-Maman, what do you mean?"

"You're not Iris, right? You're her sister, Amaranthe."

Instead of replying, the girl scraped the remains of her ice cream from her bowl, the sound of it filling the whole kitchen as everyone had fallen silent. She eventually nodded, the spoon still between her lips. "Eleanor. I'm Eleanor. I don't like the other name."

Wiping her eyes again, Hermione nodded. She was grateful to Ernestine for putting the bowls away before leaving the kitchen. "Eleanor–"

"I always wanted to meet you," the girl said in a quiet voice when they were finally alone in the kitchen, avoiding Hermione's gaze. "Dad never speaks about you, but he still has an old crumpled picture of you in his room. And then... And then I met Iris at the camp, and she said she always wanted to meet Dad because you never mention him either."

"Oh, Eleanor!" Hermione moved to the seat beside her daughter, pulling her into an embrace. "You have no idea how much I missed you! I had no choice back then, I wanted to take both of you with me–"

"Why didn't you?"

Hermione shook her head, unable to say anything, as the memory of the divorce all those years ago was still too painful to talk about.

"Mum..." Eleanor held on tight to her mother's form, her voice muffled by her summer clothes. "We're not mad at you."

"I missed you so, so much, my dear!" After another deep breath, Hermione let go again to have a closer look. "Gods, you look just like Iris–"

"I have more freckles."

Hermione chuckled and wiped a tear off her cheek. "Yes. I love them."

"Are-Are you going to just switch us back?" Eleanor asked, a hint of fear entering her voice, her dark brown eyes widening.

"I don't know yet, my dear," Hermione replied, brushing through her daughter's hair in a comforting gesture. "All it means right now is that we have to go back to England, and that I have to talk to your father about it. Maybe we can find another solution for both of you… who knows."

..

Over the following days, Hermione was busy organising everything for her return to England while trying to keep herself together. She had managed to take a long well-deserved vacation— after a short fight with her superiors— as it had been on very short notice and the Ministry was already understaffed due to summer vacations.

But mostly, Hermione was panicking about having to meet Draco and his family again, and about having to talk to them once more after the painful divorce that still stung in her heart whenever she thought about it.

"Madame, calmez-vous," Ernestine said with a worried tone as she entered the master bedroom on the first floor, where Hermione was walking around hastily, throwing out half her wardrobe. "Sit down and let me 'elp you."

Hermione only stopped when her maid reached for her hands to lead her to the bed to sit down. "I don't know what to pack. It's been such a long time since I've seen him and I simply don't know how he'll react."

With her usual soft smile, Ernestine briefly leaned down. "Madame, remember what his mother wrote in the letter—and what your friend said when you talked with him."

With a sigh, Hermione nodded. Between the desire to spend as much time as possible with her new-found daughter and organising the trip back to England, Hermione had contacted Harry at her first opportunity. He barely had any satisfying answers to her many questions but offered to let her stay at his place.

She just hoped that her former mother-in-law meant the words she had written in the letter, and that they could be on better terms. It would make everything so much easier.

Meanwhile, Ernestine went through the wardrobe, holding up different pieces of clothing, each time with a very solemn look. However, she smiled when she held up a short black dress that Hermione hadn't worn in years. "Parfait! This dress and you will wrap him around your little finger, Madame..."

"You think? It's so old–"

"Madame, good fashion never goes out of style. And you should show him what he has let go, cet idiot."

Now Hermione had to chuckle, glad for Ernestine's company and capable hands. "I wish you could come with us..."

"And who will take care of the 'ouse in the meantime?" Ernestine said as she closed the packed trunk and sat down next to Hermione, who sighed heavily. "D'accord... But I want my own chamber."

"You're a pearl," Hermione replied, feeling a weight taken off her shoulders. "Eleanor is ready?"

"We were just waiting for you, Madame."

..

Hermione had barely a day to settle at Harry's place before she found herself at the home stadium of the Holyhead Harpies, dragged along by a very enthusiastic Eleanor and followed, to her relief, by Harry.

"Come on, Mum, we're almost there..." Eleanor ran up the last couple of stairs to the level where Harry had his box with a good view over the pitch.

Reaching the level, Hermione had to stop and catch her breath; she was no longer used to climbing so many stairs at once despite her own regular running exercises. "I'm getting old..."

Harry laughed as he joined her at the top of the stairs. "It's just a couple of boxes down, then you can sit down."

"Why did I have to come along again? I could have read instead..." She followed him down the aisle and tried not to walk into the other spectators as they talked outside the boxes, oblivious to the stream of people being forced to walk around them.

"You'll see," Harry replied, a smirk playing on his lips. Hermione groaned at his vagueness, but she didn't have a chance to ask him further.

"Mum!"

"Maman!"

As they reached the entrance of Harry's box, Hermione was greeted by two girls storming towards her, tackling her in a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around them in response, happy to have her Iris back in her arms, together with Eleanor. Then her mind caught up with the situation.

"What— what are you doing here?" she asked Iris, letting go of them both. "I thought you were with your father–?"

"He's here too," Iris replied with a grin. "And he doesn't know yet that we switched. I'm still Eleanor to him. Our box is actually two doors down–"

"Oh gods!" Hermione uttered in surprised shock; she saw Harry disappear into the box to get ready for the game that was about to begin. "What the hell have you two planned? You can't just..."

"Mum, please," Iris replied, looking at her with puppy dog eyes. "He's nice. Like really nice. And I'm sure he won't be mad–"

"–just shocked to see us both."

"The game is starting any moment, ladies." Harry peeked out of his box with a smirk. "Better go back if you don't want him to see you just yet..."

"See you later." The twins hugged each other, before Iris ran back to her father's box, keeping up their charade while Eleanor pulled Hermione inside and got ready to watch the Harpies defeat their opponents, the Chudley Cannons.

..

And what a game it was. The Harpies not only defeated the Cannons— they destroyed them. Harry's ex, Ginny, scored goal after goal to loud cheers by the spectators. The Harpies' Seeker catching the Snitch was rather an act of mercy as the defeat could have been much higher otherwise.

"We won, we won, we wo-o-o-on!" Eleanor danced around in the box, cheering happily and trying to get the others in the box to join her. "And Ginny was easily the best player!"

Even though she wasn't as much into Quidditch as her daughters, Hermione enjoyed the game. She had listened to Eleanor explaining the tactics of the moves throughout the match, sometimes with a small sense of apprehension when she thought about the fact that her daughter might fly those moves as well. Her eleven-year-old daughter.

"Want to meet the team?" Harry offered as he rose to his feet, collecting his things.

Positively shocked, Eleanor froze momentarily before a giddy grin appeared on her face as she ran up to him with an excited hop. "Dad never lets me meet the team, even though we come to almost every game! And he even sponsors them..."

"Harry!" Hermione uttered as she got up to follow them outside, though she couldn't contain a smile in response to Eleanor's excitement.

"It's okay, really. I don't think they will mind meeting a fan."

Outside, they were greeted by an impatient Iris who wanted to share her experience with her sister, drowning everyone around them in short squeals as the recapped the game until they were interrupted by Harry.

"Girls, come with me if you want to meet the team."

"Eleanor, where the hell are you?" a familiar voice carried over, causing Hermione to stiffen momentarily.

"Go," Iris said to her sister with a nod towards the stairs. "I'll follow you in a moment."

"Eleanor!"

"Okay." Eleanor gave her sister a quick hug before following Harry down the stairs, disappearing from their sights just moments before Draco appeared.

"Iris, this isn't the right moment," Hermione whispered, her eyes fixed on her ex-husband as he came closer. She wanted to run after Harry and Eleanor, but she felt paralysed and glued to the spot instead.

With an appeasing smile, Iris took a step back and waved in her father's direction. "Dad, I'm here!"

"Thank Merlin!" He picked his daughter up for a quick hug in relief. "You know that I don't like it when you run off."

"Sorry, I just needed to use the toilet."

Frozen in her spot and hoping he would just overlook her, Hermione watched them interact, her heart melting at the sight of him holding her girl in such a loving manner. She had to admit that he still looked good—he had a casual and shorter haircut than she remembered and his angular face had slightly softened, though he still kept himself fit.

Her heart raced, and she didn't know how to keep her hands from fidgeting. Seeing him now brought back the memories of their divorce and how she almost lost both her daughters to them. The old feelings of hurt and disappointment threatened to take over and Hermione tried to push them back down.

Draco finally put his daughter back down on her feet and reached for her hand when he noticed Hermione. He stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide for a second before he caught himself, the confused expression softening immediately. "I didn't... What are... I mean–"

"Nice to see you too," Hermione said, her voice cracking slightly, trying to smile as she waved at him. But then the situation and the simmering panic managed to overwhelm her. Her throat was choking even harder, and all the people and the noise around her threatened to drown her—it was too much. "Sorry, I can't... Need air."

Running down the stairs, she heard Draco calling after her in surprise, but she didn't turn around. All she wanted was to get out of the damn place and to catch her breath again. It was all she could think of as she hurried down.

She only allowed herself to stop once she found Harry and Eleanor outside the player's entrance. Eleanor was sitting on a low branch of the nearest tree, swaying her legs and talking to Harry.

"Mum!" Eleanor jumped down as soon as she saw her, a confused expression on her face.

"I... I couldn't..." Hermione finally breathed in deeply, shaking, but refused Harry's offer of a hug. "That wasn't a good idea–"

"Hermione!"

"Mum! Why did you run away?"

Hermione shook her head pleadingly at Harry as she heard Draco and Iris approach them, but he only shrugged his shoulders because it was too late to do anything about it—her ex had seen her. Apprehensive and with shaking hands, Hermione finally turned around to face him.

Gods, if only she had had more time to mentally prepare herself for their first meeting after all these years!

"Hermione..." Nodding briefly at Harry in the background, Draco stopped in front of her, keeping a safe distance; the two girls watching them quietly from the side. "I didn't mean to scare you. I was just... well... shocked to see you."

She took a deep breath to steady herself and put on a friendly smile. "We've been tricked into this."

"What do you mean? Does Potter have anything to do with this?" Utterly perplexed, Draco followed her nod towards the girls to their side, who were by now grinning sheepishly.

"Dad, I-I can explain..." Iris made a reluctant step forward. "We planned it. And Grandma helped–"

"Merlin's balls! It's both of them!" Draco let out in shock, gasping loudly. For several seconds, he just switched between Hermione and the girls and back, trying to comprehend the scene in front of him. "How...? What...?"

"They switched on us, Draco. They met at the Quidditch camp–"

"You mean...?" Running his hands through his hair, he took a deep breath before he shook his head at the girls, a smile slowly curling up his lips. "I... You had my Eleanor, and I had your...?"

"Iris. My name is Iris, Dad."

He nodded, and with open arms, he kneeled down. He almost fell backwards when the girls tackled him in a heartfelt embrace. "You two..."

"Why didn't you tell me about Mum?" Eleanor asked, interrupted by a small hiccup, but still holding tight to his frame. "Or that I had a twin sister?"

He loosened his hold on them, throwing a quick glance to Hermione who didn't know what to tell them either. "I wish I could tell you. It wasn't an easy time when your mum and I broke up..."

"But it wasn't fair, you know?"

"I know, my dear. Maybe one day we can tell you what happened, okay?"

Eleanor nodded in understanding, even smiling before she looked at Hermione. "Mum is so cool, Dad! She has a great house, with a swimming pool! And we've been to Muggle Paris so many times–"

"Paris?"

Now, Iris nodded, finally letting go of him and quickly rubbing her eyes. "Mum works a lot, but we still do a lot together."

After giving each girl a kiss on the cheek, Draco rose back on his feet to return his attention to his ex-wife. "I didn't know you live in Paris..."

Hermione nodded, biting her lip. "I was offered a job at the French Ministry, and after everything, I just wanted to leave, get away as far as I could."

"I... I get that." Draco ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I guess we really need to talk then. It's just... I already have plans for tonight that I can't change."

"Dad, can I at least stay with Mum and Iris?"

"Please? We promise to behave!"

Faced with two begging daughters using the full force of their puppy eyes on him, Draco had no other choice but to agree to it, so he nodded with an embarrassed smile. "Alright. For tonight you can. And your mother and I can have a talk when I pick you up tomorrow."

"Fine with me. Harry?" Hermione turned around to check with her friend who had kept quiet in the back, and Harry smiled and nodded confirmation. "See you tomorrow then."

"Looking forward to it," Draco replied with a soft smile. He offered his hand and Hermione gladly accepted it as an offer of peace. Then he slowly turned around to leave, shaking his head in apparent disbelief.

"Now, still up to meet the team?"

The girls nodded excitedly while Hermione let out a tired sigh. "I think I'll pass on this one. I'll wait for you at home."

"We'll bring you an autograph!"