A/N: And the plot thickens. So much longer than 3 chapters. My guess is another 2 or 3 and then I swear I am going to continue with Save me from me. Meanwhile, I leave this offering, I hope you enjoy :)
Sins of the Past
Chapter 6
The whitewashed room was eerily quiet despite the large number of people currently occupying it. The only sound that could be heard was the frantic scratching noise made by pen on paper as the muggle doctor made a couple of notes, clearly lost in thought. Since the host was too engrossed in her thoughts to notice the heavy energy of unease that settled into the room the occupants tried to occupy themselves with their surroundings. However, that too proved slightly lacking. Not only the walls but all the furniture and the instruments were white as well, giving the interior the illusion of being much more spacious than it actually was.
Upon entering, Minerva thought that the room was uncomfortably sterile and she made a mental note to ask her lover after this appointment if all muggle health institutions were quite as unfriendly as this one. 'Merlin, I can see why muggles dread going to their so called doctors...'
Hermione amused herself by watching the elder Weasleys, who in that exact moment, despite being the perfect couple in her head, couldn't be farther away from each other in terms of their reactions. Arthur was clearly excited and his eyes dashed around, trying to take the whole place in at once. The brunette witch also had a hunch that the man was probably bursting with all sorts of questions the poor doctor was absolutely not prepared for, which Hermione was oddly looking forward to. In comparison, Molly looked positively suspicious, her eyes slowly taking in her surroundings, probably mentally dissecting each item and guessing about their uses. The younger witch couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was that she could see but she was certain it was not flat out disapproval. She knew that Molly was not at all bigoted like that but her expression betrayed a measure of uncertainty that belied exactly how alien she felt in the muggle world.
"Yes, well, lets begin then." The voice breaking the near silence in the room was so sudden that all the magical people in the room jumped in surprise.
There was a moment of awkward silence as the blond muggle doctor stood from her desk which Hermione took as her cue to help ease the tension.
"Dr. Peterson, again, thank you so much for having us." Hermione said with an engaging smile, hoping to draw attention to herself. "I understand it was very short notice but we are all very keen to shed light on possible secrets in my daughter's heritage."
The doctor focused her attention on her, sharp eyes darting across her features as if she were seizing her up. Hermione wouldn't say that it was an unfriendly look but it was very...exact, as if the woman tolerated no nonsense, particularly on her time. 'Hmpf...that's fine in my book.' The brunette witch thought, suddenly realizing that she liked the muggle doctor because she reminded her of Minerva. A moment later the strict look gave way to a small half smile which the young witch noted with some relief, suddenly hopeful that this appointment wasn't going to be quite as stressful as she feared. She loved Minerva to bits but two of her in the same room with a handful of stressed out magical folk could potentially prove disasterous.
"Of course. I quite understand." The woman replied kindly, a hint of interest warming her eyes. "I have to admit I was vastly intrigued by your case." She said, excitement vaguely colouring her voice. Then she abruptly turned to Arthur who was listening to the polite chatter with interest. "Arthur, is it? If you could sit on the edge of the examination bed I'll take your samples." She said, pointing at the white bed that stood right next to the wall.
"Excuse me, but could you explain what exactly you mean by taking samples? Samples of what?" This came from Molly, who looked quite concerned, the polar opposite of a gleefully excited Arthur. "This isn't going to involve any of your so called stitches, is it?"
Dr. Peterson's eyes widened in surprise at the odd question, not knowing where to put it at first. A few moments later everyone looking at her could see the transformation in her features from perplexed to knowing as understanding suddenly dawned on her. "Ah, yes, Mrs. Weasley, is it?" Dr. Peterson hazarded a guess "Hermione mentioned over the phone that you might be somewhat apprehensive of muggle medical procedures. If you were on the receiving end of badly done stitches I am not too surprised I guess." She said, donning a kind expression that Hermione figured might have been part of the doctor's bedside manner kit. "Mrs. Weasley, I can promise that I will not be doing anything invasive that you'd need to be concerned about. I am only going to take some blood, saliva, skin and hair samples from Arthur."
"How do you intend to take his blood? And why do you need it?" Molly asked, her voice so thick with suspicion Minerva had to struggle to keep a snort from erupting from her nostrils. The Animagus was quite sure that the Weasley matriarch was already imagining blood rituals inside her head.
"Blood contains vital information for us scientists. It's one of the best sources of DNA, which are essentially the building blocks of our body." Dr. Peterson explained patiently, going into lecture mode as seamlessly as if she were used to doing it on a daily basis. "I am going to take samples from Arthur, Hermione and..." she consulted her notes for a moment, "Minerva" She said, making eye contact with the only other female in the room, nodding in acknowledgement "and cross-examine each of them to see if there might be any familial links between any of you."
"Why not take samples from Ron and myself?" Molly persisted.
"Since we have Arthur's DNA, Molly, Ronald's would be redundant as whatever genes his DNA would show up would most likely show up from Arthur's sample." Hermione said, cutting into the conversation. "And... we are guessing that if there is a connection between your family and either Minerva or myself it is going to be someone from prior generations, so Arthur's samples would be a better match. Good point about you though, come to think of it." She said and then turned to Dr. Peterson. "Could we expand the list by one other person, please? Unless of course it would take up far too much of your time, we wouldn't want to be a burden."
"Nonsense, Hermione. I wouldn't have agreed to it if I had thought that it was a burden." She replied in a cheerful tone. "Like I said, it's a very intriguing case. It's just a blasted shame, excuse my language, that I cannot publish any of it." The doctor said with feeling. It was quite clear to everyone in the room that she truly was upset about not being allowed to publish her research results. "Alas, I understand the necessity, but it really is a shame you people have to be so secretive around muggles."
"We people? Muggles?" Ronald asked, suddenly alarmed. He hadn't spoken a single word since they'd arrived, content to read his muggle newspaper while they waited and then too curious about where the conversation was going to want to interrupt up until that point.
"Dr. Peterson knows about the wizarding world. Her sister is Amanda Abbott, whom you might know as she works in the Ministry." Hermione cut in hastily again. 'God, this is more difficult than I anticipated.' To her relief, the fact that the muggle doctor had a wizarding relative seemed to soothe some of the anxieties as both Molly and Ron visibly relaxed.
"Indeed. Shall we then? I'll just get the syringes."
Much later at Hermione's apartment...
"Today was...eventful." Hermione said after she crashed on the sofa next to Minerva. They had just finished putting Rose to sleep and finally had a few hours to themselves. At least until Rose woke up again. The little witch was barely two weeks old and the brains of the golden trio was already learning to appreciate quiet time. She smirked to herself at the notion, remembering how she protested that it wouldn't be like that. 'It's such a shame that I am so damn exhausted though...'
"That it was." The Animagus agreed, automatically moving closer to her lover as she settled into her side. She wrapped an arm around the younger woman, pulling her closer. Without even realizing what she was doing she started humming a familiar tune.
Hermione only raised an eyebrow at first, then chuckled softly, figuring that after having sung it to Rose so many times Minerva probably automatically started singing the song now as a form self-comforting.
The soft giggles of her lover alerted the older witch's attention that something was amiss and after a moment she caught on and realized that she'd been singing. "Ah, my dear, this song is becoming second nature to me."
"It's so familiar for some reason... where could I have heard it? Other than from you?" The younger witch asked. She shifted her position from sitting beside Minerva to lying on her back and resting her head on the Animagus' thigh.
Minerva pursed her lips, lost in thought for a moment. "I am not sure, dearest. I'm told this song has been in my family for centuries. I would not be surprised if some form or another made it into muggle culture."
It had taken Hermione a few moments to soak in what Minerva had said but then her eyes widened as an idea formed in her head. She surprised the animagus when she flexed her stomach muscles to gain momentum from zero and rolled off of the woman's lap, landing less than gracefully on the carpet on all four before springing up to retrieve her laptop.
"What's that? Is that your... lamb top computer device?" Minerva asked, eyeing the thin square box with interest. It had been the newest addition to the young witch's collection of muggle artefacts. Since Hermione liked using muggle technological devices when she was in the flat in muggle London, Minerva made efforts to learn what they were for. Names, however, mostly eluded her. 'Muggles have such a confounded odd way of naming things...'
"Almost. Yes, it's a computer but it's called a laptop, not lamb top." Hermione corrected gently as she sat down next to the dark haired witch. "It's called a laptop because instead of sitting at a desk to use it, you can sit anywhere and the computer goes on top of your lap, like this." She brunette said, demonstrating where to put the machine.
Minerva nodded in understanding before glancing vaguely in the direction where she knew Hermione's study was, thinking of the other machine the brunette stored there. "So...the computer device currently under your desk would be an underdesk?" She asked, hoping she got the muggle naming convention right.
Hermione managed to swallow most of her laugher but Minerva's assessment was such a surprise to her that she still ended up making an oddly strangled sound in the back of her throat. "Yes, well. You've got the general idea quite well, but it's actually called a deskTOP."
"But why?" Minerva asked in an exasperated tone. She was trying to hard to understand muggles but whenever she thought she was making progress they just up and did something completely illogical.
"Um, I think it's because they used to keep the computers ON the desks...and then some bright person realized that if they just made desks where you can fit it under you have more space." Hermione said, grinning at Minerva's incredulous expression. "Muggles also have an odd fascination with binaries. Black and white, life and death, LAPtop and DESKtop. It's easer to remember this way so the name stuck."
"Hmpf," the Animagus huffed, turning her attention to the suddenly brightly flashing screen. "So why do you need your laptop?"
"I'm going to Google the lyrics of the song." The brunette witch said absently as she started working her muggle magic on the device.
"Excuse me?" Minerva said, dumbfounded at the fact she had absolutely no idea what the younger witch just said. "What do goggles have to do with my ancestral lullaby and how on Earth do you even fit one in there?"
Hermione snickered to herself, retracing her steps to show them to the Scottish witch more slowly. Minerva was one of the most intelligent and sharp witted people she had ever met which made her lack of muggle knowledge all the more endearing. In the five years they had been together the dark haired witch learned to use the telephone, ride a bike and even how to use the public transport system without causing some sort of a scene, but most technological gadgets were completely beyond her. And still she tried, stubborn and determined to understand everything Hermione thought was worthwhile to use or do. Just thinking about it made the younger woman fall in love with the Scottish witch all over again.
"Sorry love, I sometimes forget that I need to explain things differently." Hermione finally said, managing a sheepish sideways glance, which was decidedly difficult with the amount of mirth still shining in her brown eyes. "So... let's start from the beginning. You remember, I said that muggles invented a network that connects all computers to one another so we can share information more effectively? Um... imagine if you could sit at Hogwarts comfortably doing research and upon request any book from any city or country would magically materialize on your desk."
"Yes, yes, that still sounds really useful!" Minerva said excitedly. Half the hassle of doing research was hunting down journals or books that were not available either at Hogwarts or in Minerva's private library. Granted, it did not happen often to the Animagus, but all the more annoying when it did.
"Yeah. So now muggles keep a lot of things available on this network, it's called the Internet by the way, including song lyrics. If I've heard your lullaby in something muggle it's going to be on the internet." Hermione said, opening her browser.
"And the goggles?" Minerva asked, peering at the screen that popped up after Hermione did something.
"It's Google, not goggle, see?" Hermione said, bringing up the search engine. "It's kind of like a library catalogue, you type in what you want and it searches for it." The brunette witch typed in the refrain of the song which was the only part she remembered and was rewarded with quite a few hits. Some of the top finds appeared to be videos so Hermione clicked on one of them to listen. To her astonishment a beautiful female voice started humming the familiar tune of Minerva's lullaby.
"Oh we found it!" The younger witch said excitedly. "It's called Mordred's lullaby..Mordred...Mordred... wasn't he...?" She said, racking her brain to pinpoint the familiar name.
"He was the son of Morgana." Minerva said, her voice suddenly blank. Hermione turned to face her lover whose facial expressions were an odd mixture of seriousness and confusion.
"Morgana? THE Morgana? Le Fay, from the Arthurian legends?" Hermione asked in disbelief. 'Is Minerva related to Morgana?'
To the younger witch's surprise, Minerva's eyes flashed in annoyance and the older woman straightened her back, sitting slightly more upright on the sofa. Hermione knew this pose, it was Minerva's way of preparing for a potential fight or uncomfortable conversation. What the bright young witch didn't know was why Morgana would cause such a reaction in Minerva.
"I do wish muggle born witches and wizards stopped referring to her like that." Minerva huffed, clearly upset. "She was much more than just King Arthur's sister and downfall. She has a whole history before her brother came to any sort of prominence."
The fact that Minerva had just made a vastly generalizing statement based on blood status made Hermione start, the first tendrils of anger beginning to tug at her reason. But it had also been so uncharacteristic of the Animagus that it also made Hermione think too hard about it, which allowed her to stay calm, as hard thoughts were never good nourishment for her anger. "Are you saying that people born into wizarding families never refer to Morgana as King Arthur's sister?"
The moment Hermione phrased it like that Minerva realized how unfortunate her choice of wording had been. Her features softened perceptibly as her annoyance ebbed away to be replaced by embarrassment and she took one of the brunette's hands in hers and squeezed it emphatically. "I'm sorry dearest, that came out wrong. To answer your question, yes and no. We have such richly detailed information about her life, so many stories to tell our children that most of them know about her quite separately from King Arthur." Minerva explained, then almost as an afterthought added "I believe an article was once written about the vast differences in how the witches and wizards connected to King Arthur were portrayed in wizarding and muggle societies."
The Animagus' explanation effectively placated the younger witch, who briefly smiled at the prospect of diving into something that she appears to have only had a one-sided account of. However, her smile vanished as her thoughts wandered back to the legendary witch and the lullaby that started this discussion in the first place.
"But...wasn't she a dark witch?" Hermione asked, treading softly with her line of questioning. She had a wild idea but didn't want to spin conspiracy theories and especially not ones that could hurt Minerva's feelings.
"Well, yes, in her late life she did dabble in the dark arts too much, notably after her fallout with King Arthur, but part of the rich lore I was referring to remembers her as one of the most gifted healers of British wizarding history." Minerva said, slipping into lecture mode.
"Minerva..." Hermione said carefully "your ancestral lullaby made it into muggle culture as part of Morgana's legacy... do you suppose you could be related to her?"
TBC
So what do you think so far, what the heck might I be up to? Please feed the author, I thrive on reviews! :)
A/N: I know there are a lot of different traditions to approaching the Arthurian legends but bear with me, I'm making some alterations and quite possibly adding bits here and there. Generally speaking my starting point for Morgana is one of the more modern interpretations that merge Morgana's and Morgause's character so Mordred becomes Morgana's son rather than her nephew.
