"So you see," Hermione explained to Harry and Draco, "it wasn't H.A.B on that note we found at Snape's place. It was N.A.B. I'm sure of it. The little swirl on the ends of the "s" are the same in the note and in the journal. Severus Snape is Arachne's father. It all makes perfect sense."
Draco knew much more about Snape's affinity for his mother than either Harry or Hermione. All of the stolen glances Snape had given Narcissa over the years, all of the nods of his head, all of the extra favours nobody thought anything about, all of the respect he paid to no one else except to Draco and his mother. And to think it was all due something that happened in the past. One very big something.
Suddenly, Snape's past paternal attitudes toward Draco made perfect sense as well. At the time, Draco had assumed Snape was trying to steal his glory from the damnable task the Dark Lord had given him of trying to kill Albus Dumbledore. What a prat I was, Draco thought, and Snape was just trying to be a surrogate father.
It definitely rang far more true than his mother being with Igor Karkaroff. Draco just had not quite been able to wrap his head around Narcissa Black being attracted to Karkaroff enough to have an affair with him.
Draco, Hermione, and Harry all Apparated to a certain wizard hub in Paris, and from there Apparated to a borough of Munich called "Schwabing".
Though Draco stood out a bit in his all-black suit, nobody took a second glance at him. Hermione explained this was an area where a lot of university students lived. Both Muggle and magic pupils loved the area, mostly because there were many places to hang out. There were also many schools in nearby Maxvorstadt, including Universität der Magie, the premiere German wizarding college.
Their surroundings were absolutely beautiful, and it was obvious the German citizens took great pride in their city. All the streets were clean and all of the lawns, flowers, and shrubs were perfectly immaculate. Everybody was polite, yet aloof, and a fair amount of the citizenry also spoke English. Draco, who had always been on the lookout for a place to move to get out from under his mother's thumb, found himself thinking, I could really get used to this.
After walking around for a bit in Schwabing, Draco, Hermione, and Harry had finally located the library which the official at the Ministry of Adoption had told them about. It too was perfectly well-kept and perfectly silent. The trio walked inside and all the way to the back of the library in a section marked, "alte Geschichte", or ancient history, and located a book on the shelves, which was entitled, "magischer Ort", or magic place. Draco tapped the book with his wand twice, and the three of them found themselves magically whisked away to the local "Jugendhaus", or youth home, from where Arachne had been transferred once she was adopted.
A woman who introduced herself as "Bianca" walked up to Draco, and said, "I was told to expect you." She was quite unlike the other Germans Draco had yet spoken with; she was warm, smiling, but instead of making him feel comfortable, Draco felt very out of place and again looked to Hermione for help. Why does everybody always have to smile at me? Draco thought. It's so odd.
Hermione stepped in smoothly to ask Bianca, "I assume they've brief you on everything?"
"Yes," the woman answered, "and I have a copy of Arachne Schwartz's file ready. I just need to see the documented proof of Narcissa's illness, please."
Draco reached into his suit coat and present Bianca with the requisite documentation.
Harry stood there awkwardly, not quite knowing what to do, and obviously feeling like a tagalong.
Now you know what it's like, Potter, Draco thought vindictively. Then Draco shook his head at himself. It was amazing how easy it was to revert back to his old ways of thinking. Although he and Potter would never be best friends, it was true that The-Boy-Who-Lived had prevented the entire Malfoy family from being hauled off to Azkaban after the war. Draco owed him that much.
Hermione, Draco, and Harry all sat down at a Muggle pub and sat down for a drink, and to discuss their findings. The barmaid had recommended kristallweizen, and they sat and sipped their beer together. Draco felt out of place, but Harry and Hermione discussed things as if it were second nature to them. Which it probably is, Draco thought with annoyance...and a little envy.
Harry looked over Hermione's shoulder as she studied the documents. "It says here that both of Arachne's adoptive parents were professors at Universität der Magie. They were both around forty years of age when they finally got Arachne. Wow. That's a long time to wait for a child."
"Yes, it is," agreed Harry. He paused for a bit before continuing, "And it says here Arachne's residence changed...because she went to Durmstrang."
The three of them shared a look together. Draco had assumed that Arachne couldn't possibly have lived a life as luxurious as he, but apparently luxury wasn't everything. For the second time in five minutes, Draco found himself feeling envious, but this time it was of his elder sister.
"Too bad her current whereabouts are unknown," Draco lamented.
"That might not be the case," Harry replied.
"Oh? And why not?"
"Because," interjected Hermione, "Bianca did us a favour in looking up all the known wizarding citizens by the name of Arachne who have lived in the area in the past twenty-five years. There are three: Arachne Beaumond, Arachne Fritz, and Arachne Schwartz. Furthermore, Arachne Schwartz's name changed to Arachne Krum approximately three years ago."
"What you wager that it's our old pal Viktor is the one who married her?" asked Harry with satisfaction.
"Viktor Krum is not my pal," Draco answered, frowning.
"He'd better become your best pal in the next while, if you know what's good for your mother," Hermione reminded. "Otherwise, something tells me Viktor won't let us come within ten feet of his wife."