Chapter Three
It was after supper and Jeanette and Anna had already left for the evening. Melok was straightening up the living room while the boys played together in Filius' room when the Floo came to life, and out stepped Hermione. He raised an eyebrow. "Does this mean you're through being cross with me?" he asked, thinking it had been more than a month since he'd seen the Witch.
She glared at him. "No, it means I miss my Godsons, and I'm choosing to be an adult and work through things with their overbearing prat of a father so I can see them again."
"I'm not overbearing, Hermione!" he grumbled. "I'm just concerned for your wellbeing! What's wrong with that?"
"You're entitled to be concerned," she countered, taking a seat on the sofa next to him. "But you can't put me ahead of the greater good. My life isn't more valuable…"
"I can't bloody help that I'm in love with you, Hermione!" he snapped. "You can't ask me to just sit back cordially as you suggest using a spell which will cost you your life!"
"Still?" she asked, gaze softening.
He wondered how she could doubt his heart, but at the same time he knew that despite their occasional kisses, they each guarded their words and were careful how much emotion they let show. Not today though. Not right now. "As if I was born to," he whispered, breathless.
Hermione leaned over and gently kissed his lips. He responded with a sigh, the kiss going on a bit longer than their kisses usually did, but still not getting out of control before she pulled away. "I'm sorry," she whispered, resting her forehead on his. "Love, I'm sorry."
"What for?" he asked.
"For trying to forget you're more than a friend to me," she admitted. "For thinking it reasonable you should be rational when considering me laying down my life for the cause. For even letting us get in this position…"
He kissed her again, not wanting her to feel sorry for letting herself love him. For better or worse, he could never regret loving this woman. Their kisses hadn't grown this passionate since before Genia's death, his hand sliding onto bare skin under her shirt as her blouse became untucked, and her nails dragging down his chest as his tie was pulled away and the top few buttons came undone. They were on the verge of crossing the line when the metaphorical bucket of cold water was dumped on them at the sound of the boys' feet padding down the hall toward them caused them to abruptly pull apart and quickly right their clothing.
Melok smirked a little at the blush on Hermione's cheeks.
"Hey Caelum, look," Filius said brightly. "It's Mernte."
Hermione let out a sigh of exasperation. "Filius, love, what have I told you about calling me that?"
The little boy just shrugged.
"That's what you get for teaching them the Goblin tongue," Melok teased. "They opt to use it."
"Yes, well," Hermione huffed. "I remind you that I'm only teaching it to them because their father is a Goblin and it's appropriate, and because Genia had told me at one point she wanted them to learn it, so I felt like it was important I see to it that they did regardless of her not being here to teach them. That they seem dead set on pinning the Goblin word for mother on me was not something I'd anticipated. I'm not their mother, Melok."
"No, but you're the closest they're likely to get to one," he reminded her.
Caelum climbed up into her lap, tugging at her curly hair with a bright smile. A moment later his own hair had changed to match hers, the dark stringy mop now charmed to be a mess of riotous ebony curls. "Like Mernte!" Caelum said excitedly.
Melok watched on as Hermione's gaze softened. It was only hair, but that the little boy now shared a feature of her own made him seem as though he could be her son in truth - that he could be their son - and Melok had to admit that the notion of having a child with Hermione Black did give him pause. In another life, perhaps. Even if she were free to marry him, were Sirius out of the picture, that didn't change the war to come, and her duty as a Mage. She didn't have the freedom to go through a pregnancy, no matter how beautiful she might be during such a time, and how wonderful any child of hers might be.
Besides, after what had happened to Genia, Melok wasn't sure he could bring himself to father any more children. He loved Hermione too much to risk something happening to her. He knew logically the risk to her would be all but void, but his fear was far from logical.
"Let the Golems go, Caelum," Hermione instructed calmly. "That's enough playtime with them."
His younger son let out a suffering sigh and then ran his hands through his hair gently, after which it was returned to its natural state. Once that was done, he clamored back off his Godmother's lap, tugged his brother by the arm, and the pair of them went back down the hall toward one of their bedrooms again.
Hermione glanced at Melok and let out a heavy sigh. "We got a bit carried away there, didn't we?"
He chuckled. "A bit. Sorry. Been awhile since we've done more than just…"
"Kiss?" she finished. "Merlin knows we probably shouldn't be doing that much as it is, but there are moments I just can't seem to help myself."
Melok snorted in amusement. "Honestly, I'm just pleased with myself for keeping it to kissing without pushing the line further, Hermione. You at least have the advantage of having gotten shagged sometime in the last three and a half years."
She rolled her eyes. "I'll not be made to feel guilty over your dry spell, darling. There's nothing stopping you from seeking out company, long term or short flings. It just can't be me."
"I'm not the sort to engage in flings, Hermione," he admitted. "I wasn't like that before I had children, and I'm certainly not like that when I have impressionable children at home to think about. And before you suggest I go looking for a serious relationship, do you honestly think that would be fair to some woman, even if I found one who wanted to be with me, to get involved with her knowing full well that my heart belongs to you?"
"Melok, you're going to have to find a way to let me go," she said softly. "In the end, you may not have any other choice. If I have to utilize Domus Fidelius…"
He let out a ragged breath. "Do you honestly think that will be necessary?"
"I think it's possible," she confided. "I think that if push comes to shove, you need to consider that as much as it might hurt to lose me, you'd never forgive yourself if you asked me not to cast that ward and I agreed, and it cost you Filius or Caelum as a result. Who would you rather lose, Melok? Me or the boys?"
"That's not playing fair," he accused. "That's an impossible choice."
"It's not," Hermione said gently. "Yes, you are my Master, and I your Mage, but I am fully awakened at this point. At this juncture, your duty as a father comes before your duty as my Master. Your duty is to Filius and Caelum first. The same goes for my duty as a Godmother. My priority is to my Godsons before it is to my Master. No matter which way I look at it, the boys come before we do, no matter how we feel about one another. We come second, Melok."
He hated that he knew she was right. He absolutely hated it. Still, he did understand duty, just as much as she did, and he would concede the point even if it broke his heart to do so. "We come second," he said mutely. "Just please, Hermione, a last resort only. You're beyond intelligent. There has to be another way to go about things."
Growing up, Sirius had only had the one brother, and he and Reg hadn't been close. Even as children they'd often been at odds, and it had gotten worse and worse the older they got. So, to say the least, Sirius relished in the relationships he'd built with his siblings here in this new life of his. No, he hadn't asked to be thrown back in time, and sure, it had come with all sorts of complications that he could have done without, but he honestly wouldn't trade the camaraderie he had with Phineas, Arcturus, Belvina, and Cygnus for the world.
It had taken the longest to build a relationship with Phineas, although at this point he was closest with him when all was said and done. Phineas had been disowned by his elder brother for marrying a Muggle, Ruth, and had been slow to forgive that action. While it hadn't actually been Sirius who'd done that, he couldn't exactly explain that to his brother, so he'd just had to give it time. That said, Phineas had taken to the new incarnation of Sirius Black like a fish to water once that process of forgiveness had begun, and now they were nearly as close as Sirius had once been to James Potter. They laughed and joked and even pranked their younger siblings. If anyone in this reality was his best mate, it was Phineas Black.
Arcturus was a serious sort of bloke, but tolerant of the antics of his elder brothers. He was a bit like Remus in that regard, Sirius mused, and the oldest of the siblings liked to think that had Remus lived long enough to have daughters, he'd have been much like Arcturus was with Callidora, Cedrella, and Charis. Merlin knew Arcturus doted on his daughters, even if he liked to claim that the doting was done by his wife Lysandra. Art had gone above and beyond since the disownment on Cedrella had been rescinded. Sirius knew he hadn't wanted to do it when it happened all those years ago, and he also knew the pressure to adhere to such things. He and Lysandra both had been driving poor Cedrella spare the last few years making sure she knew how important she was to them. They were making up for lost time.
Belvina was the only of the siblings who hadn't had a family of her own. She'd married Herbert Burke, who was a decent fellow and Sirius liked him well enough, but Herbert had been a younger son among that generation of Burkes and they hadn't really been under pressure to have children. Belvina, however, had interests of her own in regard to Herbology, and rather than having a family, she had her greenhouses. Potions Masters from all around got plants from her, and woe be the idiot who tried to steal from her, because she wasn't any sort of slouch when it came to her skills in defense, either. Belvina reminded Sirius a great deal of Beta Bella, to be honest. She was fierce with an ironic sense of humor, completely lacking in tact, and would not hesitate to tell you how she felt. Sirius thought that among the siblings, she'd been the one he'd honestly felt like a sibling to first. Personality wise, they had so much in common.
Cygnus was the baby of the family. He was an odd blend of deeply traditional and remarkably forward thinking. Sirius and Belvina personally thought that the traditional side of him was largely influenced by his wife, Violetta, who they both thought was a cow. Cygnus and Violetta got on about as well as Orion and Walburga, honestly. Walburga was very much her mother's daughter, and Cygnus and Orion weren't that different either. Regarding his relationship with the rest of his siblings, Cygnus was a bit of a stick in the mud but mostly Sirius thought he enjoyed spending time with them. He imagined Cygnus enjoyed spending time with peers without needing to worry about his wife going into a rage and accusing him of improper conduct. It wasn't as if he was likely to be shagging one of his brothers or his sister.
About once a month, the Black siblings met up for lunch at the Green Dragon in Diagon Alley. The five of them, spouse and children free, would just get together and catch up for the hell of it, leaving business discussion at the door. Mostly they managed to leave business at the door, anyway. Occasionally politics would come up in discussion, as it was such a big part of their lives and it was hard to discuss what was going on with them without talking about current events, but they tried to just talk about what was new in their personal lives. It was the twelfth of July, and Sirius Floo'd to the Leaky Cauldron, quickly making his way out of the pub and out to Diagon Alley, briskly walking the ways down to where the Green Dragon was.
He walked in and spotted Cygnus and Phineas already seated at their usual booth and slid in beside the latter. "Gentlemen," he greeted. "Do my eyes deceive me or did I beat Mister-Compulsively-Early?"
Cygnus snorted in amusement. "Yes, one expects Belvina to be a bit late, but Art? I'm sure there will be a very dramatic story to explain."
"Just because I don't arrive exactly on the bloody hour does not make me late," their sister said, sliding in next to Cygnus. "Honestly, you three."
"How are the babies?" Cygnus teased, elbowing Belvina.
"If you refer to my latest crop of Devil's Snare," she said, rolling her eyes, "they are doing well. Growth is as expected. I had Pomona Sprout over last week and we had a wonderful chat about the species. It was lovely to talk to someone who actually appreciates plants."
"How did you connect with her?" Phineas asked. "I hadn't realized you had any connection to the Hogwarts staff."
"Sirius suggested I speak with her," Belvina reported.
He shrugged. "Hermione is friends with Minerva McGonagall, who is the Transfiguration Professor up there. She and Pomona Sprout are close in age, and have gotten to be friends, and Hermione mentioned that Minerva had mentioned that Pomona had mentioned being frustrated about feeling isolated as a woman in the professional circles where Herbology is concerned. So, I suggested Belvina reach out to her."
Truthfully, there had been no such mentioning. Sirius had actually had a discussion with PK in Beta about how when she was a young woman, she'd felt like she was one against the world because not many women pursue Herbology as a profession. Sirius had figured that feeling was likely the same here, so he'd urged Belvina to seek out Pomona.
"You and that wife of yours have sticky fingers everywhere," Phineas teased. "Remind me, where'd you find her?"
"Hell," he said ruefully, and not even lying a little. No matter how he looked at things, he'd met Hermione in some sort of hell. That they'd managed to find something resembling heaven in the aftermath was the grace of the gods.
"Way to be dramatic about it," Phineas replied. "Bloody hell, where is Art?"
Sirius cast a quick tempus spell. It was quarter past the hour now. Typically, Arcturus was a quarter hour early, so for him to be this late was more than odd; it was concerning. "He didn't say anything to any of you about plans earlier today that might have put him behind schedule?" he asked the rest of his siblings.
"The opposite, actually," Belvina said softly. "I spoke to him by Floo last evening and he mentioned that Ruth had gotten Lysandra interested in the Muggle sport, ah… Golf, and that he wished we were meeting earlier today because he knew he'd spend all morning listening to Lysandra try to talk him into investing into a membership at a Muggle Golf Club so that they could learn together."
"It's actually pretty relaxing, once you get the hang of it," Phineas defended his wife. "I don't know what Art is so fussed about. Golf is a great couple's activity, and unlike Equestrian clubs, you don't have to feed a bloody set of golf clubs."
Cygnus, who Sirius knew had gone golfing with Phineas a couple of times even if Violetta refused to participate in the Muggle activity, snorted in amusement at the comparison. "Yes, well, those carts we ride about in on the courses guzzle enough in Muggle petrol, and then there's the fees at the club, and the cost for the equipment. I'm not honestly certain it's less expensive to golf than it would be to own horses."
"Yes, well, my golf cart doesn't shite on my lawn," Phineas countered.
Sirius had been listening to the conversation, although with each passing moment his concern for Arcturus grew. He didn't want to be a worry wart, but it wasn't like Art to be late. It just wasn't. That he had the advantage of knowing full well that there was a dark lord on the rise wasn't helping the sick feeling in his gut in the least.
"Sirius?" Belvina asked, looking at him with concern. "What is it?"
He shook his head. "I'm probably being a completely over protective twat, but with as late as Art is, I feel like I should go check and make certain he's alright. Likely he just got the dates mixed up, and thought we meant to meet next week."
"But?" she pressed, frowning.
He sighed. "But, you know as well as I do there have been attacks, Bel. It isn't like Art to mix up dates. It isn't like him to be late. I'm worried his lateness is not of his own making."
Phineas put a hand on his shoulder. "If you are truly that concerned, then I'll go with you to check on him. If he and Lysandra are under attack, you'll need an extra wand."
Sirius nodded, and then glanced over at Cygnus. "Can you please make sure Bel gets home safely? I hate to be paranoid but if there is some sort of attack happening on our family right now, they could be lying in wait at any of our homes. Hers is the least protected."
"But…" Belvina began to protest.
"No arguments, little sister," Sirius said firmly, leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead. "I couldn't stand to lose you, alright?"
She rolled her eyes. "You're such a prat."
That said, Sirius settled the bill with the barkeep quickly and the four siblings paired off. Cygnus and Belvina apparated away toward Belvina's home, and Sirius and Phineas, under Sirius' order, apparated a short distance from the perimeter of Arcturus and Lysandra's property.
It was like getting punched in the gut with all the memories from the first war as his brother's home came into view the moment they materialized. The house looked perfectly fine except for one thing. Hanging in the air above it in wispy, pale green, signaling the fact that Death Eaters, if not Voldemort himself, had come and gone already, was the Dark Mark. "Gods, no," he whispered.
"What is that?" Phineas asked, voice cautious.
Sirius swallowed, knowing damn well what they were going to find inside. The dark mark was only cast over a home when the occupants had been killed.
"Death," he answered after a moment. "Brace yourself, brother."
Phineas shook his head side to side, denial written clearly all over his face as he followed Sirius up the walk and up to the front door. As they got closer, the home that was so familiar to them both looked less normal and undisturbed as it had from a distance. The door was broken down and flat on the ground, allowing them to walk over it to enter Arcturus and Lysandra's home. To the left was the staircase that led to the second floor, where there were three bedrooms and a bathroom which had been home to Callidora, Cedrella, and Charis as they'd been growing up. The main floor held the living areas and the master suite, although the brothers only needed to make it as far as the living room before they found Arcturus and Lysandra.
At least, what was left of them.
"Oh, Merlin," Phineas choked, turning around nearly at once and rushing out of the room. Sirius could hear him throwing up in the half bath off the kitchen a moment later. He could vaguely remember being that innocent, that the sight of the broken and tortured bodies of loved ones could turn his stomach. Now, it just broke his heart.
With a heavy sigh, Sirius moved over to the bodies and cast a few spells to assess how long it had been since they died, resolving not to touch them until Hermione had had a chance to examine them herself. He knew she'd want to. It looked like they'd been here for two or three hours. Another flick of his wand cast a ward around them to prevent any insects or wildlife from getting at their bodies before they'd been moved for burial. They didn't deserve to be desecrated like that. After that he sent a Patronus to Hermione.
Phineas' footsteps sounded behind him, and he turned. "You alright?" he asked softly.
"No," his brother said honestly. "How could I be?"
Sirius nodded. "Fair enough. I'll get you out of here soon, Phineas. I just need to wait until Hermione gets here and has a chance to examine the scene."
"You'd expose your wife to this?" the younger of the brothers asked, looking horrified at the very notion.
It was an excuse he and Hermione had formulated years ago, knowing this day would come. "My wife endured two years of torture at the hands of Dark Wizards, at my side, remember?" he said. "This is nothing she hasn't seen. We knew this was coming. We just hoped it wouldn't be so close to home. The day Edmund was born… it was orchestrated by the same bastard. He calls himself Voldemort."
Phineas gripped his wand tightly and his teeth clenched together in anger. "He'll pay!"
"He will," Hermione agreed, appearing behind them. "You are not prepared to bring the fight to him, however. I say this with all due respect, Phineas, but you have no idea what you'd be facing. Not when it comes to Voldemort, or his Death Eaters. If you want to train, we can train you, but don't you dare run off half cocked looking for vengeance and get yourself killed. That will help nobody, and poor Ruth would be devastated."
"We?" Phineas asked, looking at her incredulously. "Due respect and all that rot, Hermione, but I was top of my class at Hogwarts in Defense. I somehow doubt there's a whole lot of anything you could teach me about dueling. My brother, maybe, but I've got decades on you in age and experience, and you weren't even educated at Hogwarts."
Hermione crossed her arms. "Let's go outside, Phineas. Duel me. You win, I won't stand in your way, and you can do what you like. I win, and you shelf your silly pride and understand that age has nothing to do with relative skill or experience."
Sirius groaned. "Babe, don't kick the crap out of my brother."
"Sirius," she said calmly, "he is literally asking for it."
"Sirius, stay out of it," Phineas ordered firmly. "Trust me, I can take her."
He sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
The trio went outside, and for the next fifteen minutes, Sirius sat back and watched as his brother flung curse after curse at his wife and she just danced around them, not getting hit and not even bothering to fire back. In fact, she'd not so much as bothered to draw her wand yet. The longer it went on, the more furious Phineas got. "Fight back, Witch!" he finally yelled.
"Very well," Hermione replied, not even breathing hard in exertion.
She still didn't draw her wand, casting wandlessly and silently as she began a counter offensive. From that point on it was all his brother could do to defend against her, the possibility of attacking between her own rapid attacks completely out of the question. He only lasted three minutes before he was bound, petrified, and unconscious on the ground.
"Overkill much?" Sirius asked, walking up to his wife.
"I was proving a point," she said, rolling her eyes. "If he was going to give me that look like he thought I was some silly little girl, then yes Sirius, I was going to prove otherwise and hammer the point home."
"Well one thing is for sure," he replied, "he's going to be fairly clear on why I find it wise not to piss you off."
She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "I'm sorry about Art and Lysandra. We knew this was coming, love, but I had hoped it wouldn't be so close to home."
"I thought pretty much the same thing," he agreed. "It's utter bollocks. I found him because we were meant to meet for lunch today and Art didn't show. Cygnus and Belvina are likely waiting for word on what Phineas and I found out."
"They'll take the news best from you, I'd imagine," Hermione mused.
"The girls need told too," he remarked. "Can you handle that?"
She let out a ragged breath. "Yes. I don't want to, but I will. You best start with Cygnus and then go to Belvina's. She'll likely need you there for a while."
"I have to patch Phineas up before I go see either of them," he remarked, looking over at his still unconscious brother.
"He's just stunned, Sirius," she scoffed. "For a man who said he had top marks in Defense, his shields could use some work. All he was using was shield charms. Shield wards are far more stable and reliable. And more ethical, point of interest."
His gaze shifted above them to the dark mark still hovering over the house. "Do you happen to know how to get rid of that thing, speaking of spells?"
She paused, eyes closing briefly in that way that made him know she was remembering something. "Lumos," Hermione finally said.
"Who?" he asked gently.
"Albus," she replied quietly. "After Severus killed him in Alpha. The Dark Mark was cast over the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts, and Minerva cast Lumos into the sky, and it began to poke a hole in the dark mark. Before long, every student there was casting as well, and in less than a minute, the whole thing was just gone. For as devastating as the whole thing was, it was a beautiful moment of unity, as light defeated darkness."
"Together?" he asked, holding her hand.
She nodded, and pulled out her wand as he pulled out his. Her voice layered on top of his as they cast the spell together, bright light shining above them and beginning to break apart the Dark Mark above Arcturus and Lysandra's home. It took a few minutes with just the two of them casting, but eventually, it was gone. Light, as his wife had said, defeated the dark, even in the midst of tragedy.
Cedrella was surprised when Aunt Hermione showed up just before supper. For all of the woman's odd little quirks, one she appreciated was how well mannered she was, particularly in how she tended to avoid showing up unannounced, especially right before mealtime, preferring to not interrupt what she felt was reserved for immediate family. For the woman to show up now was very odd indeed, and indicated there was something of an emergency. Even more oddly, Aunt Hermione didn't directly make for her position in the living room, rather pausing where Septimus had been in the kitchen, going through some papers from work at the table.
She couldn't hear the exchange as Aunt Hermione leaned over and whispered something into her husband's ear, but a sense of foreboding sunk into her gut as her husband's eyes widened and she saw his fists clench briefly before he stood and called for the boys. He briefly made eye contact with her, offering a half hearted smile, before he activated the Floo in the kitchen, called out the address to his parents' place and ushered all three of the boys through before following them. Hermione busied herself briefly turning off the stove that had been cooking the family dinner, making it clear to Cedrella that her husband and children would not be returning for the evening meal.
Slowly, she made her way into the kitchen and sat down at the table, somehow instinctively knowing that whatever the news, it was not good, and her ability to be steady on her feet would be in question. The silence in the house was deafening. "What's happened?" Cedrella asked softly after a moment.
Aunt Hermione slowly walked toward her, finally taking the seat opposite. She looked terrible, Cedrella thought absently. It didn't seem as if she'd been in a battle so much as she seemed emotionally wrought. "There was an attack," the other Witch said softly in reply. "Death Eaters. Might have even been Voldemort himself… we're not sure. One way or another he's responsible. Cedrella, your parents are dead."
Denial hit first. "You're… you're sure it was them?" she whispered, heart thudding wildly.
The other woman nodded miserably. "I saw the bodies myself. Darling, I am so, so sorry."
Bodies.
As if she'd been doused by a bucket of ice water, the news sank in all at once, denial washing away in an instant, and a chair with no arms wasn't enough to hold her up. Tears began to fall and she curled up into herself and toppled off the chair onto the ground, only half aware of the fact that Aunt Hermione must have hastily cast a cushioning charm to soften the impact. The next thing she knew she was wrapped up in Aunt Hermione's arms, sobbing relentlessly. "It's not fair," she cried. "It's not fair."
"I know," her Aunt agreed, pressing a soft kiss to her hair. "Gods, Cedrella, I know. I wish like hell I could spare you this pain."
The damning part of it all was the years of lost time with her parents, she absently thought as the tears kept falling. If she didn't know the truth - if she didn't know her monster of an Uncle had been replaced with the man she now called Uncle Sirius, then she might find it in her heart to take her grief and lash out in anger toward Uncle Sirius now for the years he'd taken away from her with her parents, but she did know the truth, so that wouldn't be fair. Ultimately, the only one to blame was Voldemort.
"He'll pay," she hissed, nails digging into Aunt Hermione's sleeves. "Voldemort will pay."
"He will," the other Witch agreed. "I'll say the same thing I said to your sisters, and to Phineas though Cedrella. Don't go running off half cocked and get yourself killed. You have people who love you and need you."
Cedrella turned and looked her Aunt in the eye. "It's time to start training the rest of the family, Aunt Hermione," she said firmly. "Even if they don't all formally join the resistance, they do all need to be trained. My parents are the last to go down without any hope of defending themselves properly."
"I agree," came a soft reply. "After the funeral, we'll open up Black Manor and have a family meeting. I think we may even tell a select few about me being a Mage. I'll be hard pressed to get anyone to agree to train under me otherwise, and we both know I'm the best qualified to teach them."
Finally beginning to pull herself together, Cedrella's brain circled back to Aunt Hermione's comment about telling her sisters not to run off half cocked. "How are my sisters coping?" she asked softly.
"I told Charis first, and then took her with me to tell Callidora," Hermione reported. "I didn't fancy leaving either of them alone after news like that, and Callidora's place is more defensible. I told Caspar to take the girls and go to Barty's for the next few days to be an extra wand for him and Arianna. Besides, it's been too long since Barty has spent time with his sisters. When Charis is ready, I may have Barty and Arianna go spend some time at her parents' place for a bit, until I'm more sure of if this attack was a one off or if we can expect more."
"For you to be endorsing any of us spending time with the bloody Malfoys, you must be worried," Cedrella quipped.
"I am worried," Hermione admitted. "As for Callidora, obviously Charis is with her, and I did not send Harfang away, but I may have Andew and Augusta come stay with them, along with little Frank of course. Until we have more of an idea of what's going on, I mean."
"Where do you want me?" Cedrella asked.
"It's up to you, Cedrella," Aunt Hermione said, voice sincere. "I sent Septimus and the boys to his parents because I wanted you to have the space to break down without reservation, and because I know they will be safe and protected there. You are welcome to join them, or you can join your sisters at Longbottom Reach. Or, if neither of those options appeals, you know Grimmauld Place is always open to you as well."
She considered her options. Merlin knew she loved her husband and her children, but they couldn't comprehend what she was going through right now. Septimus still had both his parents, and she honestly thought that being at their home right now, seeing him with them, would be like rubbing salt in a very fresh wound. "I think I should be with Callie and Charis," she admitted after a pause.
Aunt Hermione nodded knowingly. "Run along upstairs and pack a bag for a few days. I'll wait here, and then I'll escort you over there. You'll have to forgive me being a bit overprotective at the moment."
The pair stood, and Cedrella wrapped Aunt Hermione in a warm hug. As she stood back and looked the younger woman in the eye, she was struck with how very aged her Uncle Sirius' wife seemed. Cedrella might have nearly a decade on Aunt Hermione, but most of the time it seemed as though it was Aunt Hermione who was the elder by at least two or three times that. It wasn't as if Cedrella herself was particularly immature, or even naive. Aunt Hermione was just… old. She was old long before her time. Mostly, this made Cedrella sad. Today, however, she was grateful. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for being my Aunt."
"Oh Cedrella," the other woman said, brushing a stray hair away from her eyes. "Being a part of your family has been a gift. No thanks are necessary."
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