Hermione squinted and blinked a couple of times as the bright rays of the sun shined into her eyes when she woke up the next morning.
When her eyes slowly got used to the natural bright light, she slowly rises from her bed and glanced over to Ginny's side of the room to see an unmade bed with Ginny in sight.
Assuming Ginny had gone downstairs for breakfast, Hermione made her bed and went to the bathroom to freshen herself for the day.
She then proceeded to go down to the kitchen for something to eat.
When Hermione walked into the kitchen, she found only Mrs. Weasley, who was sitting down at the head of the table reading an article from the daily prophet.
"Good morning." Hermione greeted the Weasley matriarch warmly with a smile.
Mrs. Weasley nearly jumped in surprise when she heard Hermione speak.
The red-headed woman placed down her daily prophet and looked up at Hermione with a bright smile.
"Oh! Good morning Hermione, darling," Mrs. Weasley said standing up from her seat," Sit down, and I will warm you up something to eat."
Hermione sat down in the seat on the right of the place previously occupied by the Weasley matriarch.
A moment later Mrs. Weasley sat down a plate filled with toast, eggs, and sausages served with pumpkin juice. The smell of the delicious food made Hermione's stomach grumble, and she began to eat. Mrs. Weasley once more sat down in her seat next to Hermione and resumed her reading.
Hermione had devoured the eggs and toast. She picked up the sausage with her fork and was about to take a bite when she thought about something, more about someone. Hermione placed her fork down on her plate.
She turned to Mrs. Weasley.
"May I ask you a question, Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione asked.
Mrs. Weasley barely glanced up from her article.
"Of course, you can love. What is it?"
Hermione took a sip from her cup of pumpkin juice and cleared her throat before she continued talking.
"Do you know anything about the Crouch family?" Hermione asked Mrs. Weasley.
Mrs. Weasley placed the prophet on the table and turned to watch Hermione skeptically.
" The Crouch family? Why would you want to know anything about them?" Mrs. Weasley asked Hermione curiously.
Hermione shrugged. She didn't know how to tell Mrs. Weasley about what she had seen the night before.
Mrs. Weasley sighed and shrugged her shoulders slightly.
"Well, I'm sure you already know what the "Scared Twenty-Eight' is."
Hermione nodded, and Mrs. Weasley began to explain.
"The Weasley's are related to them through Arthur's mother, Cedrella Weasley. Cedrella was born Cedrella Black and had two sisters. One of them was Charis Black who married Mr. Casper Crouch. Together they had a son and two daughters: Bartemius Crouch Sr., Athena Crouch, and their youngest child, Artemis Crouch."
Hermione's ear perked at the last daughter's name. She'd heard it before in Scabior's memories.
"What happened to Artemis?" Hermione asked hoping to gain more information to prove her theory.
Mrs. Weasley continued talking happily, glad to have someone listen to her talk.
"There was a point in time where rumors were swirling around the wizarding community that Artemis had fallen pregnant by a muggle at the age of twenty-four. Mr. and Mrs. Crouch tried to convince everyone that she had simply gone to Romania to live with a distant relative of the Crouch family."
"Was she truly pregnant then?" Hermione asked before sipping more of her pumpkin juice.
Mrs. Weasley smiled slightly before continuing.
"Well, it was never confirmed. Artemis hadn't been seen by the wizarding world for three years since those rumors went around. No one had ever seen her pregnant nor did they see the said child, so all of the gossipings about the Crouch family's mishaps had been laid to rest. Artemis, to her mother's dismay, refused to marry when she returned home. Instead, she made a career for herself working at the ministry in the DRCMC."
Hermione quirked an eyebrow.
"The DRCMC?"
"Yes, dear. The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures," Mrs. Weasley answered nonchalantly before moving on, picking at a spot of dried mashed potatoes from the night before with her finger.
"Anyway," Mrs. Weasley sighed audibly," she died about seventeen years later in her own home. She was murdered by an intruder in her living room. Her killer also murdered her older sister, who rushed in when she heard her sisters' screams, a few moments after he killed Artemis."
Everything was slowly but surely coming together for Hermione.
"Did the murderer get caught?" Hermione asked Mrs. Weasley.
"Oh yes, my dear. Barty Crouch Sr. walked in just in time to see the scene of both of his sister being murdered. He immediately stunned the man before he knew what was happening and alerted the Aurors. Barty Crouch ensured that the man was sent to Azkaban for his wrong deeds."
Mrs. Weasley sighed and rose from the table to make herself some tea. Hermione glanced down with the lukewarm sausage on her plate, no longer hungry.
Hermione felt like she had been doused with a bucket of cold water.
It was all coming together. Between the memories, Scabior had shown her and what Mrs. Weasley had just told her, Hermione's mind plugged everything together.
Scabior was that man, the supposed imposter. It was at that moment, Hermione's negative view of Scabior slowly began to morph into something else.
The man's mother left him with his strict father who trained him harshly to be the hunter that he was today. Then his said father passed away, leaving him all alone in the world to finish raising himself.
He didn't even know his mother was still alive until she was about Hermione's age.
The killing curse his aunt had thrown was meant for him, not his mother who jumped the way to protect him.
He had no choice but to kill the woman that was his mother's sister. It was the timing that fucked it all up. Before Scabior got the chance to leave, Barty Crouch Sr. stepped into the living room and assessed the scene.
Scabior tried to explain but was disarmed and placed under the Petrificus Totalus charm by his uncle.
Then the Aurors were called, and Scabior was tried and sent to Azkaban for the murder of both his mother he loved dearly and the aunt he only met when she was trying to kill him.
Hermione felt a wave of pity wash over her.
Scabior was falsely accused of murdering his mother by his uncle, Barty Crouch. Scabior was an innocent of the crime and placed into Azkaban.
Hermione was sure he joined the group of snatchers, where he had no choice but to, protect himself, form his typical hard, arrogant and bipolar exterior, just make a living. He apparently didn't care if she was a Muggle-born or not.
When it came to her, the only things he seemed to care about was keeping her in his grasp and his son that rested in Hermione's womb.
Hermione knew none of this justified the terrible things he had done to her, but his life story almost made her want to forgive him.
She sighed and rubbed her swollen belly feeling the light kicks of her baby boy.
She began to ponder about their future.
What is going to happen when this baby is born? Will Scabior try to take them away from the people she considered family? What will happen if he succeeds in doing just that?
Hermione couldn't bear the thought of being taken away from her family and friends again for such an extended period. It was inevitable that Scabior would be back for her and their son.
Hermione froze momentarily at the thought that just crossed her mind.
'Their son.'
No! Scabior shouldn't be a part of her son's life. He has no right to be. He is a cruel, vile, and sad excuse for a wizard.
Scabior was a complicated man who dragged her into his complicated life.
It frustrated Hermione to know that these unsolved questions and emotions were going through her mind. None of which she had the slightest clue of an answer to any of them. Hermione had a feeling that even if she tried to ask Scabior these questions through their bond, he wouldn't answer them.
She slowly pulled herself out of her thoughts when Mrs. Weasley sat back down at the table and came to a decision.
She would have to see the snatcher in person to get the answers she wanted. He would have no choice if she were standing right in front of him.
Hey guys! Hope you all liked this chapter. I know its been a while since I last updated this story. I had a bout of writers' block and I am still a little unsure of where this story will go. I, however, thank you all for the reviews, favorites, and the people who decided to follow this story and myself. You all are deeply appreciated for reading and sticking around. I am trying to work out an idea for the next chapter which I am thinking about writing it from Scabior's point of view a bit. Hopefully it ends up well and that I can get it uploaded soon for you all. Thank you all once more.
-Dani