Disclaimer: I don't own anything and some of my ideas have come from other fanfictions out there which gave me the inspiration to write my own story.

A/N: So here is the next chapter... As usual thank you to LaraLumos for all her help :)

Chapter 3

Marian Potter had been devastated when her daughter had gone missing at the young age of twenty-four. It had happened the day they were supposed to attend the Blacks' wedding. Marian had gone to Violetta's room to wake her up and had found her bed empty. The wardrobe had been hanging open and Marian had been able to see that most of the clothes were missing, only some of the more fancy robes had been left behind. Most of the books had been taken and the previously cluttered desk was bare. There was no note, no message, no clue as to why she had left. Marian had wept that day, sitting in Violetta's lifeless room wondering what had driven her daughter away.

It was almost six months later that Marian was notified of Violetta's death. She didn't think she could ever forget that fateful day. It was the thirty-first of July, 1927. Charlus and Harold had just come in from playing a one on one game of Quidditch. Marian could still remember the joy in Charlus's young eyes as he smugly boasted that he had finally managed to beat his dad. She had been smiling softly as Harold ruffled Charlus's black locks, so similar to his own, when a proud, black owl had made his way through the window, dropping a black envelope in her hands. Her breath had escaped her in a rush as she looked, wide eyed, at the letter. She knew exactly what would be written inside, knew that a black envelope was sent only for one reason. And sure enough when her trembling fingers had managed to extract the letter, she read the news of her daughter's death through blurry eyes.

Marian had trembled and fallen backwards, barely acknowledging the arms of her husband that had prevented her from collapsing on the floor. The reason of her death was unknown. The location of her body was unknown. Everything was unknown. She had only known that she was gone. Her beautiful, sweet daughter was gone. Her darling Violetta would never come back to her.

Following the arrival of the letter, the family grieved as one for the next whole month. They hardly ever left the manor and barely talked to anyone.

It was difficult, the grief was all-consuming but they knew however, that it should not, could not, go on. That they had to face reality. And so Charlus started his second year at Hogwarts, Harold returned to his Auror job and Marian went back to her job as a photographer for the Daily Prophet. They carried on with their lives, but they never forgot about Violetta. Her room had been left untouched and she was always with them in their hearts: a bittersweet memory.

Now, fifteen years later, Marian finds out that her sweet Violetta had birthed a daughter. A daughter with Arcturus Black. The letter from Gringotts had awakened all kinds of emotions in Marian. A longing to connect with her unknown granddaughter, sadness at the way she reminded her of her daughter, confusion upon discovering of her existence, frustration that Violetta had not been comfortable enough to confide in her and some much awaited understanding as to why Violetta had left in the first place.

Marian had immediately contacted Harold and Charlus with the news and made them promise to be there for dinner to meet the new addition to the family. And so, it was with much anticipation that Marian, Harold, Charlus and his wife Dorea gathered around the fireplace, waiting to catch a glimpse of Violetta's daughter.

As the large, century-old grandfather clock struck seven, the Floo flared green and a girl was violently spat out, landing atop the burgundy carpet in a heap of dust. The most gorgeous green eyes blinked sheepishly at her and a soft blush adorned the face that was so similar to Violetta's it was almost painful to look at. She scrambled to her feet, stumbling slightly in her haste, and smoothed out the emerald dress she was wearing. She then looked up and smiled shyly.

Marian already loved her.

Holly self-consciously looked around the room, an elegant entrance hall that, whilst extravagant, didn't flaunt the Potters' wealth. The floor was covered in a burgundy carpet that felt very soft to the touch, Holly would know since she had been sprawled over it just moments before, and the walls were a cream colour. There were a couple of landscape paintings and one big window that showed a glimpse of the grounds outside.

Her gaze snapped to her relatives, scattered around the Hall, who seemed to be looking at her in a mixture of amusement, shock and grief. Holly guessed she must look similar to her mother. She cleared her throat slightly and stepped forward.

"Hello, I'm Ho-honoured to be here. My name's Lilian. Lilian Black" she said, holding out a hand and mentally congratulating herself on her save. She really needed to start thinking of herself as Lilian or else she would mess up one of these days. She snapped to attention as the woman nearest to her rushed forward and hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry dear, you look so much like your mother that it took us by surprise. It's so good to meet you. I'm Marian and this is my husband Harold, we are your grandparents" she said, not letting go of Holly who was basking in the warmth of her embrace. Marian reminded Holly slightly of Molly Weasley. She had the same motherly air around her, though appearance wise they couldn't be more different. Marian had the aristocratic face of a Pureblood. Her high cheekbones were framed by straight, chestnut hair and light grey eyes smiled warmly at her. Over her shoulder Holly could see that Harold Potter had the traditional Potter hair and warm hazel eyes. He seemed very easy going and was smiling at his wife's antics.

"And this is my son Charlus and his wife Dorea" Marian continued, pointing at the couple standing in the corner. Why do those names sound familiar? Holly ran the names through her mind and with a jolt she realised that they would have been her grandparents in her previous life.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all" Holly said politely if slightly awkwardly.

Dinner went extremely well in Holly's opinion. Her grandparents had wanted to know all about her. Where she had grown up, where she had learnt magic, why she had decided to come back to England and so on. Holly patiently recounted Lilian's life, noticing again how similar it was to her own. Her relatives had been thankful to finally know how Violetta had died: giving birth to her. They had been shocked when she told them of her treatment at the orphanage. And when she told them about her latest confrontation with Grindelwald Marian, or grandma as she had been told to call her, had started crying while everyone else had been suitably impressed with her bravery.

"You mean you actually managed to beat the Dark Lord?" Charlus asked her with wide eyes. He reminded Holly of Sirius and she had instantly taken a liking to him.

"I guess so" she said embarassedly.

"Brilliant!"

"Charlus Potter! Lilian barely survived with her life and lost her mentor and you say brilliant? Have you no tact?" Marian exclaimed. Charlus immediately lowered his eyes and the room fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"It's ok. Really, no harm done." Holly immediately said, trying to rectify the situation.

"Oh honey I'm so sorry. I can't believe what you have had to go through in your short life. I just wish we would have known about you sooner. Then none of this would have happened. If you ever need anything you know where to find us." Marian said tearfully.

"That reminds me. Where are you sleeping tonight?" Harold asked her.

"Oh I'm staying at the Leaky Cauldron and tomorrow I will meet my father for lunch" Holly said sweetly.

"Nonsense!" Marian immediately exclaimed. "You can stay here tonight"

"But all my stuff is over there..."

"We'll send Tippy to get it" Marian said waving a hand. "Tippy!" she called.

"Yes Mistress Marian?" a young house-elf, that judging from the higher pitched voice was a female, materialised before them.

"Can you fetch all of Lilian's belongings and bring them to the guest room, please?" she asked kindly.

"Tippy be getting Mistress Marian's guest's things right away Mistress Marian" she said, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Thank you Tippy" and with a pop she was gone.

"Thank you so much" Holly said happily.

"There is nothing to thank me for. We are family" Marian exclaimed. And with those words Holly felt any of the remaining tension caused by the fear of rejection fade away. A radiant smile made its way onto her face, making her eyes glow with happiness and her magic purr contentedly.

Arcturus Black was pacing backwards and forwards in the private room he had reserved in the Leaky Cauldron as he waited for his daughter to arrive. The only sound heard was of his polished black shoes clicking against the hardwood floor. His eyes were roaming unseeingly around the room, barely noticing the table that took up most of the space or the dark blue curtains that hung around the only window, providing some colour to the otherwise barren room.

Arcturus gracefully sunk down in one of the rickety chairs, sneering in derision at its sorry state, and allowed his mind to wander. He still remembered Violetta. How could he forget the Gryffindor girl whose eyes still haunted his dreams? He could perfectly recall the moment they first met; Arcturus had been in his sixth year at Hogwarts. And naturally, he was at the very top of the Slytherin hierarchy. Thanks to his ancestry and good looks, he had been labelled the Slytherin prince and no one ever stood up to him or his gang of friends. That was until Violetta came along.

He had been making fun of a little fourth year mudblood. He had been told that she had a crush on him so he had pretended to like her. He even took her out on a date so that later on he would let her down harshly, telling her that he would never be interested in a filthy mudblood like her. It was obviously deserved; thinking that there was even a small possibility that he might like her was laughable and she was all the more fool for thinking so. As he was telling her precisely that, in not so nice words of course, Violetta had stormed around the corner. She had taken one look at her sobbing friend and marched up to him until she was right in his face.

"You are nothing but a disgusting pig with an ego the size of Europe! I'm surprised your own mother can even stand to be in the same room as you!" she had shouted, just before she slapped him in the face and stormed away with her little friend.

Arcturus had been so shocked he just stood in the corridor for a few minutes, one hand holding his throbbing cheek and mouth hanging open in a completely undignified way. Even afterwards, when he had finally managed to compose himself, he had been unable to muster the outrage that would have been appropriate for the situation. But more importantly, he had been unable to get her flashing hazel eyes out of his mind.

He had sought her out a few times after the incident, intent on punishing her for her unacceptable behaviour, but it seemed that she was unaffected by his insults. At first she simply ignored him and later on she started finding witty comebacks for everything he said, insulting him right back. Arcturus should have been angered by this and yet his strange fascination with her just increased.

As they grew older their bantering turned into a tentative friendship which was put on hold when he got engaged. The marriage had been arranged by his parents as was customary in Pureblood families and Arcturus liked Melania well enough, so he found no reason to object to the match in any way. However, Melania was extremely jealous and demanded that he stopped spending time with his 'Gryffindor pet' as she had referred to Violetta. Not wanting to start things off on the wrong foot, he had acquiesced to her wishes.

And so, after Hogwarts Arcturus and Violetta lost all contact. He only saw her again exactly three months before the wedding. He was taking care of some business in Diagon Alley, when Violetta had run into him as she was trying to escape from a filthy wizard who had cornered her. Arcturus had felt his blood boil at the sight and blasted the wizard away. As he approached her, Violetta had looked up at him with relieved eyes full of trust and affection, her pouty lips forming a thankful smile and in that moment Arcturus realised that he was in love with her, that he had always been in love with her.

Before he had realised what he was doing, Arcturus found himself pulling her against him, covering her lips with his own. Berating himself for his sudden impulsiveness, he had made to pull away immediately, but he was stopped by a small moan and the tightening of Violetta's arms around his neck. Losing all semblance of control he had apparated them away to one of the many empty Black properties. That night she had given herself to him as he whispered sweet words of love in her ear. She had been his first just as he had been hers and in his opinion it had been perfect.

When he had awoken the next day he had been alone. He realised with a pang that Violetta must have left during the night and hated himself for being upset that he didn't get to wake up next to her. That night was the last time he ever saw Violetta. He had invited her to the wedding and had been disappointed, but not too surprised, when she didn't make it. That disappointment turned to worry when he found out that she had ran away. He had immersed himself in his work at the Ministry, playing the role of the perfect Pureblood husband in an attempt to forget that night, to forget the worry and longing he felt whenever he thought of her.

The day he was told of Violetta's death he had turned into a wreck. Melania had been pregnant at the time but he couldn't even find it within himself to be excited about the upcoming birth of an heir. He had fallen in a depression for months and it only eased when his beautiful daughter was born. Yet he had never forgotten Violetta. She had been and always would be the love of his life.

Years later, when he received the letter telling him he had a daughter, Arcturus had wept. That night he had fathered a child and he hadn't even known. Cancelling all his meetings for the next day Arcturus had immediately made arrangements to meet the girl, his last link to Violetta.

And so, here he was, perched on a chair that had been previously used by Merlin knows who, in a filthy barren room of the Leaky Cauldron, which he normally only ever went to if he had no other choice, waiting for his daughter to arrive.

He didn't have to wait long before an almost exact replica of Violetta came round the corner. To Arcturus however, she looked far more beautiful than her mother. A feat he thought to be impossible. He could clearly see the Black family traits in her dark hair and pale complexion, they showed him that she was his as much as she was Violetta's and that thought alone filled him with joy. As she approached him, he could not miss the mesmerising emerald eyes that gave her an exotic beauty and that were, at that moment, nervously scanning the room.

Arcturus was pleased to see she was wearing wizarding robes looking almost as a Pureblood witch should. His brow furrowed at the slight wrinkles on her dress, at the strands of hair that were beginning to fall out of her bun and at the low quality of the material of the dress. That wouldn't do. He would have to fix it immediately. No daughter of his would wear less than the best.

Holly immediately spotted Arcturus Black as soon as she stepped into the room. He seemed impassive, as he watched her make her way towards him, looking her up and down but not allowing any kind of emotion to show on his face.

When Holly stopped right in front of him, he didn't say a word. His eyes bored into hers, examining every single detail of her appearance. Feeling extremely awkward, Holly coughed slightly.

"Hello, I'm H-Lilian... your daughter" she was horrified to hear her voice shake slightly and she only now she realised how much she wanted him to like her.

Suddenly his emotionless mask broke and grief, joy, amazement flashed in his eyes as they softened considerably. He ran a finger gently down her face.

"My daughter" he said, almost as if he couldn't believe his eyes. "You look so much like your mother... so beautiful..."

Holly could feel herself blushing under his gentle caress and she shyly smiled at him.

"Where have you been all this time?" Arcturus asked her.

"I was raised in an orphanage in France, sir. My mother died giving birth to me, you see" she said. Arcturus looked horrified.

"An orphanage? A muggle orphanage? We must rectify this immediately! Where is this orphanage exactly?" he demanded.

"Oh, I haven't lived there in many years. When I was eleven a witch, Camilla Purlet, found me and taught me about magic." Holly said with a slight smile.

"Where is this Camilla Purlet? Is she a mudblood? Or worse, a blood traitor?" Arcturus looked around as if expecting her to suddenly appear. Holly bit her tongue to not snap at her father.

"Please don't use that term. Just because newbloods have been raised by muggles doesn't mean they don't deserve our respect." Holly said as politely as she could manage, however her voice had turned slightly colder and she felt her eyes narrowing.

To her surprise Arcturus just looked amused. "You really are your mother's daughter. She used to give me a similar speech every time I mentioned the word, although I never heard of the term newblood..." he looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I came up with it" Holly said, blushing slightly. "I thought it was more appropriate than muggleborn or mudblood"

Arcturus chuckled, making more heat rush to Holly's face.

"As for Camilla... she... she was a Dark half-blood witch. She... she died a few days ago" Holly bowed her head sadly "That's why I came back to England. Grindelwald killed her" she said, looking up at him through long eyelashes.

"My condolences..." he said. "How did you survive? Did you portkey away to safety?" He asked, leaning forward in curiosity, and in what she hoped was worry.

"No! I fought him and he was the one to portkey away, sir" Holly said, slightly annoyed once more. As if she would run away like a coward when someone else was in danger.

"You beat Grindelwald? The Dark Lord Grindelwald?" At Holly's nod Arcturus' eyes flashed proudly. "You must be very good at duelling" he commented, making Holly blush again and look down self-consciously.

"You must come home with me" he suddenly commanded, leaving no room for argument. "There will be a ball thrown in your honour, as is customary when introducing a new Pureblood into society. And we will need to buy you a new wardrobe" he said, looking at what Holly was wearing. "Only the best for my daughter. And of course you will have to be enrolled in Hogwarts. How old are you?"

"I just turned fifteen" Holly said feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"You will be in the same year as my oldest daughter then. I'm sure you and Lucretia will get along splendidly." he mused.

"Are you sure? Won't your wife and children mind if you just show up with me?" she asked nervously. She didn't want to cause any problems.

"They will just have to adjust. Come along now." he said, grabbing her arm and with a loud crack they apparated away.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed that... please leave a review: they make me very happy :D

Till next time :)