Chapter 25

The Life Never Known

She didn't remember much about what happened, only that these two men had taken her somewhere and where, she had no idea and had been asleep for two days from pure emotional and physical exhaustion. Hessa's eyes fluttered open and it was hazy at first, from what she saw, she was in a room of more of a rustic homey feel to it with fine fabrics, and a fireplace. The four-poster was very comfortable and nearly engulfed her and noticed that she was in a modest nightgown meant for more of a young girl then a woman.

The door opened and Hessa found herself backing up against the headboard. A woman dressed in clothing that she had seen in the book that she read came through with some more wood for the fire and noticed that she was up. "Hessa…you're up?" The woman looked very much like her and slowly came over, Hessa watched her closely, "don't be afraid…do you know where you are?" Hessa shook her head. "You're in the city of the Conks, right now we've moved it out of Ireland because of your last master…"

"Who are you?"

"That is a more complicated answer…I'm you're aunt, Adamina." Hessa looked at her as if she didn't believe her. Adamina sat by her carefully and put her hands next to Hessa's, look, we have the same hands…and the same eyes, eyes like your father, Adem." She went to the mantle and gave it to Hessa, "see…this was your father just before he married your mother…"

It was the same man that Ollivander had showed her…this was his home and the woman standing next to him was Adamina, they seemed to be joking with each other. Hessa's eyes started to tear and soon they fell down her cheeks and onto the bedspread.

"He was my twin," Adamina's own eyes started to swell with tears "It was hard when Voldemort took his life, I didn't fair very well for a while. But now…I have my niece back, his daughter, I feel like that part of my heart is complete again."

Without warning, Hessa reach up and wrapped her arms around Adamina's neck and the hug was more than welcomed. Adamina seemed to rock Hessa back and forth as if trying to ease the intensity of the emotions between them. "Why, why wasn't I brought to you sooner?"

Adamina pulled away from Hessa slightly and then slowly stood up as if annoyed, but not at her, "because of your mother." She paced a bit, "I wish she would have handled things differently but given what happened…I guess she thought she was doing what was best at the time." Adamina sat back down. "When your father died, we moved the city as soon as possible…in a way I guess it was our fault but still…anyway, we thought everyone who was out had been informed of it's new location. We had to get out of England as soon as possible…and we don't think your mother got the information so when she returned the city was gone. Her being so close to pregnancy, I guess I can understand why she did what she did…and by the time we found her, Cynthia was in emotional and mental shambles, the adoption had already taken place and there was nothing to be done."

Hessa sat confused and almost overwhelmed by this information, "you found her? Then she's here?"

"Yes, she's here and has been waiting for you to wake up. Do you want to see her?" She looked up, uncertain. "I know that you are confused and possibly angry with her, but your mother has more then just the reasons I gave you…there's so much more to the story that I think she should tell you and not me. You need to hear it from her, please, listen with an open-heart, if you even want to talk at all and just want to see her…you've been through enough this past week."

Hessa nodded, "yes, I…I think I want to see her." Adamina gave her hand a squeeze and then left the room for a few moments. She sat there looking into her bedspread, nervous, what would her mother be like? Then the door opened, a woman with dishwater blonde hair came through it, small framed with large brown eyes, her skin was soft and supple with some signs of age but not much, she was pretty and elegant looking, clearly pureblood.

This pretty woman seemed to look down, almost ashamed…she knew what she had done, given her daughter up for adoption…leading to the events Hessa had gone through, they knew what had happened to her and could do nothing about it. The council could not intervene with a bond, no matter how much she begged. Finally she met the eyes of her daughter…eyes like her father…she looked so much like him…and then she heard it…

"Mama?"

Cynthia rushed over and hugged her daughter and to her surprise, Hessa squeezed back and cried. "I'm sorry, Hessa…I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to leave you there, I didn't know this would happen. Please forgive me, please…"

After a good few minutes, they looked at each other. Cynthia's heart was overjoyed at the fact that they had found her daughter. Overjoyed that the bond ended up being broken, overjoyed that the family Malfoy was in a shambles and that the son of such a monster would not possess her daughter. They didn't need to speak now, it wasn't necessary, soon everything would be laid out on the table, but for now, Hessa and her mother were both very tired.

"Will you lye down with me, Mama?"

"Yes," Cynthia spooned her daughter's body; she was just a bit taller then Hessa and found it funny…probably from her grandmother who was just a bit shorter then the rest of the family. She entwined her fingers with Hessa's and looked at her hands and wrists, similar to her aunt's and her father's…soon, after all was discussed, she would teach Hessa to be a potion-maker, she had some magical ability and there were very few witches and wizards in the city itself, she could make a good living and barter outside the city if she needed to. No doubt after Voldemort completely took over, only specific potions would be allowed to purebloods…but the Conks didn't believe in that.

…………………………………………………………………………

Adamina watched from a crack in the door, she was glad in a way, yet wishing that Cynthia had gotten more of a tongue lashing from her daughter…but hadn't they both been through enough? Cynthia had begged the council to intervene once they found out that Draco Malfoy was her wizard. But Conk law strictly stated that they couldn't intervene, no matter how dark the witch or wizard, a Conk was to serve whom they were bonded to without question unless that witch or wizard gave up that right…which later, thankfully, out of foolishness, Draco did.

She walked over and sat by the fireplace in the living room, "they're asleep."

"Did it go well?" Marius sat in the chair across from her, the same male Conk that brought Hessa into the city, along with Marcus.

"It did…"

"You seem disappointed?" Marius grinned.

"Yes and no."

"Hessa has a forgiving soul, like Adem did."

"Yes…I guess I'm just…"

"Jealous?"

"In a way. Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to be bonded to your witch? And then to have a child with them, a family? First she gets my brother and now her daughter…"

"Adem had to leave, he found her merely by accident…"

"Yes, and later got killed because her people went into a ridiculous war over whose blood was purer."

"That wasn't Cynthia's fault. They did the best they could; she did the best she could in the chaos of what was happening. Hessa grew up well and now at a critical point of her development she's found us, it's fate…it's destiny."

"That's what her name means, you know? Destiny, Cynthia did at least one thing right…and name her daughter appropriately."

"Destiny that she turned the fate of the war to the dark side?"

"That's not Hessa's fault!"

"No more then it's Cynthia's fault for what happened to your brother. You're too hard on her, and it may be a twin's bitterness, but you have to forgive her. Adem was the one that stepped in the way of that curse, she didn't make him and she tried to save him. She blamed herself and still does, isn't it enough that she punishes herself every day?" Adamina almost huffed. "I'm only thinking of Hessa. Don't you think she'll sense the tension between you two. You're her family, so act like it."

"You're awfully defensive over my little niece," Adamina grinned.

Marius looked at her in annoyance, "I'm only thinking of her best interest."

"She is getting to be proper marrying age…"

"Adamina…"

"I've seen the way you've looked at her when you thought I wasn't watching and you were helping take care of her," she pointed her finger playfully at him.

"Please," Marius huffed with a small blush across his cheeks. "Besides, I don't think she's thinking about something like that right now."

"I know…but you're one of my dearest friends, a leader in our community, on the council, you're a good jewel crafter so you'd be able to take good care of her financially…I know she would never want for anything, especially love and affection and you're of the right age too."

"She is near eighteen and I am in my forties…"

"You're talking like a muggle…you know damn well that a Conk lives to at least 200, I doubt she'll view you as old. Besides we all look young anyway…"

They heard a small noise…it was Cynthia, "I'll thank you to not be planning my daughter's wedding already."

They both looked up slightly embarrassed and their eyes followed her as she sat down and poured herself some tea. "I thought you were asleep?" Adamina asked willfully.

"I took a small nap, but I think Hessa is still exhausted. She needs more rest, so, what were you two talking about?"

"I was just saying that Marius would make a fine suitor for Hessa."

Marius interrupted, "well, we were saying that it could be a possibility…Hessa's gone through so much right now, there's no hurry as far as introducing her to society."

"You're right, there is no hurry," Cynthia chided. "It's not that I don't like you, Marius…"

"He did bring her to the city…"

"That doesn't mean I owe him my only child, Adamina."

Marius felt like he was in the middle of a lioness' den and tried to diffuse the situation, "oh, I'm not saying that…not at all, you're quite right…" They weren't listening to him.

"Why, you were willing to give her up to a stranger, why not a friend this time?" Adamina spat and satisfied that she clearly hurt Cynthia.

"ADAMINA!" Marius snapped.

Cynthia slammed down her teacup, "don't you talk to me like that! And I did not give her to a stranger, Ollivander was a dear friend of both mine and your brother's, we trusted him! I don't understand this…you told HER to listen with an open heart, but that is quite a contradiction to what you're doing!"

"Maybe because…," Adamina stopped.

"Why? Because she reminds you of your brother? She's not Adem, Adamina…I won't let anything happen to her. We thought the prophecy of Harry Potter would have turned out better…but it didn't, she was part of it but not in the way we thought…and WE ALL thought it would turn out so much differently, BUT. IT. DIDN'T…."

There was another sound…Hessa. Marius immediately stood up and nodded his head, she looked at him for a moment, "oh…are you that man that took me here?"

"Yes," he said softly.

"Thank you," she nodded kindly.

"You're welcome…"

Hessa then turned to her mother, "mother…is everything all right, I heard arguing?"

"No, it's all right love. Your aunt and I were just having a discussion."

"Oh."

"Did you want to go back to bed?"

"What time is it?"

"4:15 in the afternoon…?"

"Oh, I think I've slept enough…where are my clothes…and I feel dirty…"

Adamina looked over, "they're in the bathroom, second door on your right." She watched as Hessa disappeared and then heard the shower run, "just like her father…couldn't stand to be dirty, loved to preen. I swear, I felt like I was supposed to be the male."

"Yes, he'd spend a good time in the bathroom," Cynthia laughed.

"Cynthia, I'm sorry," Adamina's admission of guilt was even surprising to Marius, who raised even his eyebrows. Adamina was known for her stubbornness and willfulness. "Seeing her, it brought up old feelings…"

"I know…everyone's feelings are raw, especially Hessa's. I have so much explaining to do."

Marius sat back, "I think she'll understand."

"I don't know…"

After a half hour, Hessa was dressed and ready, "can we go out to the city, I haven't seen it?"

This surprised everyone, they thought she'd surely want to sit down and discuss what happened in the past, both hers and her mother's but Hessa again, was very much like her father, wanting to explore first, there was time for details later. In a way, Cynthia was relieved by this, but wondering was her daughter avoiding the painful and gory details of her father's death?

"Don't look at me like that," Hessa said defensively. They startled, "I know what you want to tell me and…we can do that tonight. I just want….," she couldn't tell you what she wanted.

"…to feel freedom?" Marius finished.

"I guess so…," she smiled meekly.

"All right then," Cynthia said determined. "If my daughter wants to go and explore town, we will…you need new clothing anyway."

"Fit for a Conk of course," Adamina finished.

"Yes…of course," she rolled her eyes. "You can come with us, Marius, if you'd like…?"

"I'd be happy too," Marius smiled a bit too stupidly for an older man and then fixed it. Adamina giggled.

……………………………………………………………………

Draco had found the camp site, her smell was all over the tent…but near the opening and on the grass, there was the scent of two men…unrecognizable men. And this deep and low growl came from his chest. Who were they? There was no sign of struggle and her scent ended right there, she was carried was his assumption…why was she carried, was she wounded? Had they done something to her?

He followed the scent further down…further down…and he looked at the grass, the scent ended here. But there were imprints! Imprints for a good few miles that encircled…the distinct smell of a city…IT WAS THE CITY OLLIVANDER WAS TALKING ABOUT! They had moved it! They took her and moved it! But it didn't matter, he had her blood and if he found her before, he could find her again…no matter what it took or how long it took, he would get his Hessa back… "Your blood is in my veins my precious Conk, my Hessa, I will find you."

From there he went back to her campsite and lay in her bed…bathing in her scent.