Blood ties chap 4

"Mamma mamma!" cried Sebastian as he burst through the double doors into the master state suite of bedrooms. Hermione followed behind trying to catch up with him.

"What is it little man?" it was regulus that spoke and Hermione could hear some sniffling.

"Dada saffy's home and I've come to show mummy so that she wouldn't be upset again. " Sebastian replied running through the elegant sitting room and into the bedroom. Hermione followed gazing around her as she went and stopped at the open door. She could see bellatrix sitting on the bed crying holding a picture frame. Regulus was sitting next to her.

Sebastian run up to his mother and then frowned.

"Why are you crying mama? Saffy's home. I don't like it when mummy's upset." Sebastian said and hugged the woman. Hermione watched from the door as her mother wiped her eyes and sniffled again.

"Sebby honey I'm not crying because I'm upset, I'm crying because I'm happy. "Bellatrix replied Sebastian nodded and then went over to the door to drag Hermione into the room.

"Mamma saffy and I want you to smile" Sebastian said determined as he brought his sister into the room. Bellatrix looked up at the pair and gave a weak smile but then put her head back down and sniffled a bit.

Regulus stood up and picked up his youngest son.

"Come you let's leave the girls to catch up and you and I go and get some lunch." Sebastian nodded and regulus turned to his wife. "I'll send up some lunch for you girls and I won't have you two walking around the house all depressed so sort it out."

The boys left the room and Hermione shifted on her feet.

"May I sit down?" she quietly mumbled. Bellatrix looked up and vaguely nodded. Hermione sat down next to her on the bed, took off her shoes and brought her legs up to cross them. She then brought out of her pocket the bag she had packed and enlarged it and brought out the book that had changed her life forever.

Bellatrix watched her but still sniffled and looked down at the picture. It was the one in the book do her wearing the silver dress hugging the three year old seraphim.

Hermione took a deep breath.

"Um...mum... this morning when I found out that Helena was a witch and that she knew my mother, she told me that you did everything to protect me and that I wasn't told about you because of the many things you had to do in the war and do you know what my reply was?"

Bellatrix didn't reply. Hermione however decided to continue

"I told her that that was absurd and that she was my mother and so she must have had a good reason to do the things she did. It can't be that bad."

Hermione looked at her mother. Bellatrix was tense as she grasped into the picture and the odd sniffle could be heard.

" I know that you think that because I'm Hermione granger, Sorry was Hermione granger, the know it all Gryffindor, best friends to harry potter and a third of what people call the golden trio that I would automatically hate you for what you had done. I won't lie to you but without my actual memories you were the enemy and a death eater. You had killed Sirius, you had made the long bottoms mad from the crucitus curse, and you were the right hand woman to voldermort. I hated how you didn't have a care in the world about other life and how it might affect them." Hermione looked up again and carried on to see her mother's reaction. "But I was wrong. I started to realise that not everyone is black and white and the battle in the department of mysteries showed me that. "Bellatrix was still tense but the sniffling had stopped and Hermione thought she could see a small smirk on her mother's lips.

"When malfoy dragged me into the room and you and Sirius appeared I was terrified. I thought you were going to kill me. In that moment I was so confused. When I looked at you I was determined to finish you, the bring you to your knees for what you had done, however I looked into your eyes and I just couldn't do it. I saw what I now know was my mother staring at me. She may have been acting but in her eyes she looked worried and underneath affection. No one else seemed to notice it. I couldn't do what she had done to others because I would have sunk as low a death eater. When I was told you were working for the order, I couldn't believe it but I trusted Sirius and so I decided to help him. "

"You were brave to do so not many other people would" bellatrix mumbled

"No I wasn't brave, just stupid. If I was in my right mind I wouldn't be here now, I would have killed you and malfoy and then possibly even Sirius but I'm not like that. Then when I was captured by the snatchers and brought to a manor you were there. You had to torture me but you told me to pretend to be under the cruitias curse and that you didn't mean anything you said. You did that because fenir and dolohov were there screaming at you. I followed your lead and it must have looked believable. So believable in fact that afterwards harry and Ron made me be in bed rest for 3 weeks although I was perfectly fine. "

Bellatrix started to chuckle.

"I wasn't going to curse you but I had to make it seem real. I didn't mean the unforgivable and so though it looked like the curse was being cast you weren't hurt at all." Bellatrix replied at looked up at her daughter. "You have to mean an unforgivable for it to work. I could never mean it when it came to my own child. I never wanted to hurt you are all in those battles. I blocked curse after curse so that you could protect potter and the red haired boy because I knew that you needed to help defeat voldermort and that was the best I could do."

"I know it was. You gave yourself up in the great hall for me and you fainted. I then remember Zach running up to you and there was a pool of blood on the floor. I walked up to you healed you and took the sword of Gryffindor off you. You didn't protest against anything. Zach I remember was shouting at me and shoving me telling me to get off you and was whispering for you to be alright. Let's just say Zach sometimes doesn't do well in certain situations."

Both of them laughed.

"I'm sorry Hermione for what I have done and I want to tell now that even though I have committed some terrible deeds not everything that you may have been told is true. I did not cause the long bottoms to become mad from that unforgivable. I was there but I did not cast the spells. Instead I turned myself in 5 years later so that I could spend time with Ben and Zach. The ministry knew that I was innocent. "

Hermione nodded. She then opened the book onto the black family. By that time lunch had arrived and they both had tucked into some food.

"Mum why does it say in the book that I couldn't return home because I was too powerful?"

Bellatrix sighed.

"We were afraid that he would return and I was right he did. We didn't want you to fall into his clutches. If he had found you, you would have become a death eater and made into his assassin. You are a very powerful witch and unfortunately look the splitting image of me. If he had found you then you would have been killed or recruited you into his army. You were the brains behind potter if voldermort had you then he would have succeeded. We wanted you to be safe and out of his clutches. He already had Draco and we couldn't lose both of you to him. If he realised the connection you two had then the light side would have been defeated. "

Hermione nodded and didn't ask anymore. She could tell that this was a tough subject for her mother and although curious about this connection wasn't going to push it.

"Thanks mum" Hermione said and hugged her.

"No problem honey just remember that I love you." bellatrix replied and kissed her forehead.

"by the way mum do you think you could start calling me seraphim. Everyone else is and I know that I've been called Hermione for a long time but seraphina is my real name. I know you're only calling me Hermione to make me more comfortable."

Bellatrix beamed and nodded. Hermione got up and walked to the door.

"I better get going back downstairs. Zach and Ben want to show me the upstairs next. "

"wait!"

Hermione turned around.

"your room is the second door on the right from here. Also have you told your friends yet?"

Hermione stared at her mother. She couldn't read her face. Hermione shook her head.

"no I haven't. It's been too much of a whirlwind. "

"tell them soon sweetheart so that there aren't any horrible surprises. I would like to meet them someday if that alright? They can come over whenever they want if you stay here"

"Yea mum ill tell them and thanks, I'll do that" Hermione replied and ran from the room.

...

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When Hermione entered her room she couldn't believe her eyes. It was the room that she had always dreamt of. It was large and painted cream with the large French windows and a French door on the back wall leading out to a balcony. The windows and doors had blue/teal silk curtains hanging on them and they ruffled when they came into contact with the soft cream carpet. There was a cream wrought iron four poster king sized bed. The teal curtains hung down at each end and the bed sheets were the same colour with silk patterns on top. At the end was a silk throw and there were gold, cream, teal and blue cushions. Opposite her bed was a mirror with a mirrored dressing table underneath. By one of the windows in the corner were two large bookshelves containing different magical and muggle books. There was a desk facing the door leading to the balcony and at the end of her bed was a sofa facing the mirror and a chest.

On her bedside table was an ornate phone like the ones she had seen before. This one however was a pearly white. There was also a silver carousel which was a music box when you turned it as well as a little gold music box that had sapphires encrusted into it. On the walls were paintings of flowers and there were some family photos of when she was little with her brothers. There was one photo that really caught her eye however. It was of her and her brothers, Draco and what was a baby version of pansy, a young Ronald weasley, Neville long bottom and last but not least harry potter. They were sitting on a picnic blanket and everyone's parents were there including Tim and Helena, snape. Everyone seemed so happy.

"I knew them all before Hogwarts" she whispered.

On the left side of her bed there were two doors. The first one lead into a large white marble bathroom with every luxury Hermione could ever want. Each towel was a pale blue and had SB sewn in gold. When she opened up the next door she gasped. She had opened the door into the largest wardrobe she had ever seen and it was full of clothes shoes and every other accessory. Hermione knew that all the clothes would most likely fit her. There was another mirror and a cupboard which held the newest broom, dance shoes of all sorts, quidditch robes, snowboard, skis, poles and their relevant shoes. She saw tennis, football, and about every other sport wear in her closet.

"Oh Merlin" she cried and sat herself down in her large wardrobe.