Hermione blinked furiously.
Yep. It was all one big joke.
Agnese tilted her head to the side.
"Miss… Are you okay?" she timidly asked.
Hermione shook her head. She couldn't break down in front of her newfound daughter. Correction. Possible child. This isn't completely confirmed. Still, as much as there were many consequences that would follow, she still wanted to satisfy her ever questioning mind. 'Stupid bookworm Hermione' she bitterly thought to herself.
"Yeah… I'm.. okay," she replied.
*Sniffs*
Agnese gave Hermione a napkin. Hermione took it and gently wiped off the tears off her face. Before today, Hermione would've laughed at herself. Here she was, breaking down to a whimpering wimp because of this reunification. Ironically, she never felt sad when killing her targets. To the average person, killing numerous people would've left many emotional scars. Unfortunately, Hermione wasn't one of them. She felt no remorse on taking a life but had gotten emotional with a little child. Such an irony indeed.
"It's not much… but it is all I have," she mumbled. Hermione appreciated Agnese's small gesture. All of a sudden, she hugged Hermione. Hermione was caught off guard. This was definitely surprising.
"You're… the only one that has ever shown me genuine kindness," she confessed. Hermione was speechless. Really? She had hoped that this girl at least received some form of kindness from her orphanage, but her comment proved otherwise.
Something white fell off the ground. Hermione turned her eyes at the corner to get a glimpse of what it was. They were wizard bandages, all soaked up in water that they fell to the ground.
Agnese panicked. She swiftly grabbed the bandages and tried to re-wrap the injuries on her legs. She hoped Hermione hadn't noticed her boo-boos on her legs. It proved to no avail though. Her bandages were so wet, they refused to properly stick on.
Unfortunately, Hermione had seen the injuries. To her horror, they were quite severe. On her left leg, just above her knee, there were 4 dots. All were equally spaced and oriented like a consistent diagonal line. Perhaps a fork stab? On her right leg, there were 3 deep cuts. Possibly done with a sharp knife. Both her legs had a number of bruises, all varying between severity. Some had formed scabs that were ready to be peeled off while others had a dark shade of hues. Hermione internally puked. What horrors had this poor child endure?
"These are injuries I got at the orphanage. The other kids like to hurt me for fun," confessed Agnese.
What was wrong with the orphans? Injuring a poor girl like her to such an extreme. Now that Hermione recalled, most of the orphans were boys, except for Agnese. Hermione figured that boys were just very rough. Still, that was no excuse to act so gruesome.
There was a lingering feeling of paranoia in Hermione. She was very afraid to ask this specific question. If what they normally do to Agnese was this terrifying, they are also quite capable in doing this act, too. The thought of young kids acting on animal instinct to hurt a young child like her was awful to consider. Those children were quite messed up, and this was coming from the woman with a messed up career.
She didn't want this young girl to experience the same trauma that she had been forced to endure. The pain. The shame. The violation. Finally, the confusion.
Hermione gulped.
"Where you ever….. touched inappropriately?" She struggled to ask.
Agnese shook her head, not really understanding the woman. Hermione sighed with relief.
"Are there other things that they do to you at the orphanage?" she asked.
Agnese nodded.
"Compared to what the other kids do to me, the matron is worse," she confessed. Hermione tilted her head. The way she said those words raised concerns within Hermione. She said everything so slowly and quietly. Her body tensed up when the words left her mouth. It was obvious that the mistress had done more traumatizing attacks onto the little girl.
Hermione gripped her hands shut. Even if this child was her kid or not, no child deserves to be treated like trash. As a biological mother, this enraged Hermione seeing a child mistreated. This wasn't what she wanted to happen to her own child, even though she gave the child up for adoption. Hermione had believed that adoption would've been a better choice for her own child. She had believed that the child would've been adopted into a loving family. Hearing Agnese's experience at the orphanage has caused Hermione to regret choosing adoption for her child.
She hesitated.
"What.. does she do to you?"
Agnese took a deep breath.
"She.. says mean things. I may not get physically hurt by her.. but she hurts me more inside. She says that my parents could care less about me. That's why they abandoned me. She says I'm a waste of life. She purposely gives me small portions of food to prove it," she admitted. Agnese bit her lip and fidgeted with her pendant. There was a long pause.
"She says that my pendant was the worst thing I could've ever received from my parents. I don't deserve something so precious like this."
Hermione was definitely pissed at this point. What kind of authority did that woman have, trying to dictate this poor child. This woman…. no… monster…. was a sadistic prick. Hermione had no remorse as an assassin, but even she wouldn't go to the extreme on killing her targets. She was satisfying her tendencies by exercising her power over poor kids. Unfortunately, it seems Agnese was her prime dummy.
Agnese looked down at her feet. There was obviously something bothering her.
"You're going to leave me after this," she mumbled.
Hermione's heart broke. Hearing this poor child's plea was disheartening indeed. Hermione wasn't going to leave this child AT ALL. She'll help Agnese. She'll adopt her! It didn't matter if she actually was Hermione's real child. Hermione secretly hoped though, but she hoped that she'll gain redemption by adopting her.
Hermione casted concealment charms on Agnese's legs. The charms would be more efficient on healing and covering her scabs. Agnese was alarmed yet thankful. Hermione smiled when she looked at her eyes, those brown eyes twinkling with joy.
Hermione held her hand.
"Let's get out of here together," Hermione smiled.
The duo reunited with the group. That had all disapparated out of the ministry together. Agnese had held onto Hermione's hand the whole entire time. They had all been reanimated inside the main entrance of the orphanage. The other kids had gone upstairs, which Hermione had assumed were their rooms. Hermione had a quick glance at her surroundings. The floor she was in seemed elegant and expensive, decorated in fine material.
Agnese still gripped Hermione's finger with her tiny hand.
"May I ask why you are still here?" the matron asked. Hermione knew that despite the polite tone, there was a hint of disgust underlying.
"I would like to talk about Agnese with you," Hermione replied.
The matron rolled her eyes. She then hand gestured Hermione to follow her into her office.
The woman closed the door behind sat down on a chair. The matron sat on a chair behind the desk.
"What do you want to talk about?" she asked.
Hermione took a deep breath.
'Here goes nothing'
"I am curious about-"
"Agnese?" said the matron, interrupting her. Hermione cocked a brow. How could this woman have known? The matron continued, "You're curious to see if this child is your biological daughter, I assume."
It baffled Hermione how this woman could easily deduce her intentions.
The woman sloppily threw a yellow file on the desk. Curiously, Hermione opened it to see its contents. To her shock, the file revealed rather painful information.
In it contained Agnese's birth certificate.
Birth Certificate
Agnese Charlotte Granger born to Hermione Jean Granger and *Blank* on December 22, 1998
Hermione's superstition was right. She had just stood in front of her baby girl.
"How do you feel, knowing you just found the baby you abandoned many years ago?" she accusingly asked. This angered Hermione, but the woman had a point. No matter what angle Hermione tried to look at, it all ended to one conclusion: Hermione Granger gave up Agnese Granger.
"My… it appears the War Heroine Hermione Granger feels guilty for committing such an act. Guess not all of us can experience glory and be morally good people, huh?" she mockingly asked.
If Hermione in her younger years had it her way, she would've argued back. Who was she to say that when she's been abusing the children? Today, Hermione would've killed the woman in multiple ways, but since she wasn't a ministry target, Hermione didn't want to get in trouble. So, with struggle, Hermione tolerated the bitch in front of her.
"Just give me the adoption papers," she demanded.
The matron smirked. "I'm afraid that's not possible. You see, you terminated your parental rights years ago."
Hermione's eyes widened. Was she really in a dead end situation?
'No..think.'
"Well, seeing as how no one has adopted her yet, I can adopt her as my own. Besides, would you really want me to get the Minister to come and inspect the place?" Hermione challenged.
The woman was mortified and handed the papers to Hermione. She then signed them triumphantly.
Agnese Charlotte Granger was now back to her biological mother. Hermione can now undo the damage she had done to the poor child. With that, she held the papers in her hands and was about to leave. Just as Hermione touched the doorknob, the matron spoke for the last time.
"If you're looking for redemption, don't bother. That child isn't an object you can easily mend like you please. You cannot undo time to make up for time lost. Good bye."
Hermione opened the door, and there stood Agnese, crying.
Her brown watery eyes were staring at Hermione's own eyes. The child's lips were trembling.
"How could you?" she asked and then ran upstairs.
Well, here is the second chapter. Looks like Agnese really was Hermione's daughter. But why did she give her up in the first place? Do read and review lol