A Hundred Storms
Chapter Thirty-Two: The Place Where I Belong
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old.
I said these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.
- Home, by Daughtry
The hours that flew by after the funeral would forever remain etched in Hermione's memory. Following the surprising arrival of Andromeda Tonks and Teddy Lupin (who was sporting a rather normal shade of dirty blonde hair), those who were invited for refreshments were led into the Manor by Narcissa herself. Hermione thought it odd that the sisters did not speak at first, merely staring at each other before nodding and heading inside. Teddy, in right toddler fashion, immediately ran to his godfather and Harry swung the small boy up on his shoulders with a laugh. Hermione smiled at what a domestic scene it was and knew Harry was going to be the best father figure to Teddy, and the best father a child could ask for if he and Ginny ever decided to start the family Harry never knew.
Narcissa led the party of about twenty into the manor and Teddy took in his surroundings with wide eyes in a way only a child can. Hermione decided the best thing she could do for her own peace of mind was keep her gaze trained firmly on Narcissa's back. She fought the urge to try to recall from memory the decorative details from her last visit, any clues that might indicate she might be dangerously close to where she was tortured. Her fight or flight instinct had kicked into high gear as soon as she entered the massive stone structure, but she tried to turn her fight into something a bit more becoming for social engagements.
Before long the hallway they traveled through opened into an enormous sitting room. Enough chairs and loveseats dotted the space to allow ample room for the guests to spread out into smaller groups, while a buffet style selection of light food and beverages was spread out on the far wall under welcoming candlelight. Hermione was immediately drawn to the life-sized tapestries that were the only pieces of art adorning the walls.
"Oh my," Hermione couldn't help herself. The scenes depicted in the tapestries ranged from raging water battles to serene meadow moments.
Harry saw what caught Hermione's attention and pointed out the beautiful pieces to Teddy, who still had his small arms wrapped securely around Harry's neck.
"No moves?" Teddy asked doubtfully. To be sure, the scenes stitched into the tapestries where completely immobile. "Muggwles?"
Hermione cringed inwardly but Draco, to her incredibly profound amazement, volunteered an answer.
"They're called tapestries," Draco was not much taller than Harry, so he had to look up at the small boy. "Our ancestors made them a very long time ago with special magic wool."
"Magic all gone?" Teddy asked seriously.
Draco pursed his lips, not in distaste but in concentration. "These are not pictures you watch," he said carefully. "They're something you experience. You can, ah, go into the tapestry if you wish, and watch what's going on around you."
"Movie?" Teddy's attention had peaked.
Draco looked quite pleadingly at Hermione.
"It's like a muggle moving picture," Hermione explained to him. "Only instead of one scene the movie tells a whole story with many scenes, like a play."
Draco mulled this over for a moment. "Like a movie," he finally agreed. "Only you're in the movie, rather than just watching it. It's quite exciting. I used to visit a lot when I was younger."
"Can I?" Teddy looked down at Draco with excited eyes.
"You absolutely could," Draco said with assurance. "You have to be family blood in order to enter, or be with someone of family blood."
"You family?" Teddy's excited smile turned to an expression that Hermione imagined his father might have worn when faced with a strange scheme of his mates back in the day.
"Blood?" It was Harry who caught the key word Draco had mentioned.
"Malfoy blood enchanted these tapestries, meaning only those with connection to Malfoy blood can use them," Draco explained half-heartedly.
"I don't follow," Harry admitted. "Can you explain for us?"
Teddy wiggled and Harry let him down off his shoulders. The boy hit the ground with a bounce and grabbed his godfathers hand while looking up expectantly at Draco.
Draco looked down at Teddy, who resembled Draco himself so little, and dropped down to one knee to look at his distant cousin on the same level.
"My mother married my father, a Malfoy," Draco started. "She didn't share his blood until she had me, who has his blood. My mother's sister is your grandmother. Through me, my mother has Malfoy blood. Through my mother, your grandmother and mother would have Malfoy blood, which would pass on to you."
"Bloody complicated," Ron muttered.
"Fascinating," Hermione breathed. "Blood magic like that, it works through marriage as well?"
Draco shook his head. "Only if there is a child born of it," he specified. "My mother, for example, was unable to enter the tapestry until I was born. That linked her, through me, to the family. I only speculate it would link young Teddy here, but it wouldn't hurt anything to try."
"Can I?" Teddy asked again and looked up to Harry, as it looked as though his grandmother and her sister were finally having a proper conversation.
Harry looked uncomfortably at Hermione, and then at Draco.
"Let Teddy try it," Hermione suggested. "And take Ron. Draco can follow you in to make sure you don't get trapped in the tapestry. You did say you used to visit these scenes often?" she directed the last question at Draco.
"Yes," Draco agreed, suddenly feeling a little at a loss for what just transpired at Hermione's hand. "I would suggest the meadow, however, the battle ship may be a little too intense just yet."
Hermione's heart swelled. She suggested Ron go along for Harry's benefit. She didn't think Harry would be comfortable taking little Teddy in by himself, and if Draco already knew how to work the magic he would be the obvious choice. She hoped Ron would behave himself, if not for her sake then for Teddy's. Hermione did not think for one moment she could win Harry's full approval for Draco if Draco did not manage to win Teddy over. Teddy was already like a son to Harry, and nothing would change that.
"Yes!" Teddy jumped with excitement. "Can we? Can we? Can we?"
"Well," Harry said uncertainly. "I suppose I don't see why not."
"We can certainly try," Draco reminded Teddy. "Remember what I said about the magic?"
"Yes, yes," Teddy was still bouncing. "Maybe won't work."
"We can try," Harry said as he leaned down to Teddy. "I'm sure we can try." Harry looked pointedly at Draco.
"I'll take you no matter what," Draco promised. "It's a beautiful place."
"Go go go!" Teddy said in his impatient fashion.
Harry looked around the room, first at Hermione, who could do very little but shrug her shoulders. Harry's eyes locked on Teddy's grandmother and he was surprised that she nodded, as if she knew exactly what was going on and was perfectly content to condone it.
Harry still had his hand firmly in Teddy's. Teddy in turn was still looking up at Draco with wide, expectant eyes. Ron kept glancing around as though he was expecting an attack.
"Alright, then," Draco cleared his throat and led the way to the tapestry of the beautifully green meadow. Hermione noticed upon closer inspection that hundreds of tiny butterflies in rainbow colors were woven in the thread and she resisted the urge to invite herself. Her boys didn't know it, but this was the test of how well they could get along without her hovering over them. Hermione didn't want to spend the weeks and months to come holding her breath waiting for the next blow up.
Draco stood beside the tapestry and addressed Harry. "It's pretty simple," Draco explained. "The magic is activated with a few words before someone enters. You have to have Malfoy blood to enter, but after that anyone can get in until the spell is ended. The spell ends one of two ways. Someone of Malfoy blood can block the entrance from the inside or when everyone has exited."
"Why would you cut access?" Ron finally spoke up.
"These tapestries were first created to hide from Muggles," Draco explained flatly. "You know our families are older than the spells that could fight fire. If Muggles came calling, often the family would retreat the children to the tapestries. The adults and older children could appear non-magical, but as you know sometimes children are unpredictable. Secrecy was of the upmost importance, and the children could lock themselves in a safe place if things ever came to violence."
Hermione always seemed to find herself without words when Draco would reveal a piece of the Pureblood versus Muggle history. Hermione had to remind herself that she must always take history, and those repeating the trials of history, with a grain of salt. She longed to lose herself in some of the books Draco promised her, but first she had to see the boys off into the tapestry.
Meeting no rebuttal from his explanation of how the magic fabric worked, Draco handed over his wand to Teddy.
"Tap three times and on the third tap you should see the wand go through the fabric like a door," he told the young boy. "If it doesn't work I'll take you in."
Hermione watched with a strange fascination as Draco interacted with small Teddy, going so far as to relinquish control of his wand to a toddler. To Hermione's knowledge, Draco had no interaction with children since he himself had been one, and she would rather forget that unpleasant experience.
Teddy, who was not used to being treated as such an equal, was beside himself with barely controlled excitement. Desperately wanting to prove himself a big boy, however, he fixed his tongue between his front teeth in concentration and tapped once, twice...
And nearly tumbled into the meadow scene on the third tap. Draco grabbed him by the back of his small cloak and steadied his young cousin.
"Looks like it worked," Draco said, indicating that the fabric was now very much alive and shimmering, the stitched butterflies fluttering aimlessly across the green and blue backdrop.
If Teddy was beside himself when Draco handed him the wand, it was nothing to the toddler's vibrating form now. Teddy was now waving the wand a little too carelessly for anyone's comfort, and Harry plucked it out of Teddy's tiny hand before it took an eye out, physically or magically.
Teddy pouted for a moment but Draco nodded to the tapestry after securing his wand from Harry. "Follow me in?" Draco asked Teddy.
Teddy looked put out for a moment for not being able to go first, but Harry nudged him after Draco disappeared through the gently fluttering cloth. Teddy followed and Harry was right behind Teddy. Ron took another look around the room and locked eyes momentarily with Hermione before disappearing as well.
Hermione couldn't help feeing a little guilty at the rock and hard place she put Ron in. She tried to make herself appear occupied as she carefully poured a glass of berry colored punch. She smiled as she recalled Teddy's excited face and hoped all went well with all her boys on their small adventure.
Hermione was so caught up pin her own thoughts she did not realize Narcissa has come to stand at her side until the older woman was addressing her.
"I was hoping the opportunity to have a private word with you would arise," Narcissa commented nonchalantly. "And, of course, to thank you for the acts of exceeding kindness you displayed today. I truly doubt they have passed unnoticed."
Hermione was studying Narcissa's face carefully and it didn't pass her notice when Narcissa's gaze left the intricate pile of finger sandwiches and flicked quickly to another group of witches and wizards gathered around another platter of delicate pastries across the room.
Narcissa's eyes met Hermione's once more and Hermione wondered if Draco's mother was giving her a very subtle warning.
"I'm not concerned about gossip," Hermione said in a strong but quiet voice. "People have been talking or reporting about me since I was fourteen. It makes no difference."
"Brave words," Narcissa replied. "Gryffindor words."
Hermione sighed. "Please let me be frank," she gripped her drink in both hand but looked up to Narcissa. "I'm not trying to be brave and I'm not trying to make the Gryffindor house proud. I'm trying to survive. I never would have been able to dedicate myself to my studies or focus on anything of substance if I let myself be side tracked by the inconsequential and trivial gibberish people have spewed about me."
"I stand corrected," Narcissa said. "Extraordinarily brave words. Perhaps, perhaps Draco was not wrong."
"I'm sorry?" Hermione was trying to be polite. It took more of her wit than she would have liked to admit.
"I won't apologize for my son," Narcissa said calmly. "He is an adult and can make his own decisions. I'm afraid I may have...bullied him into explaining your character and perhaps your story to me."
Hermione silently sipped her drink and wondered what Narcissa was alluding to. Her story? Her poor, downtrodden, Muggleborn story? Or maybe her war story? Or her publicly personal story that bounced between Ron and Harry, and now Draco, the one that was splashed across the Dairy Prophet?
"I'm sorry for your parents," Narcissa continued softly. "I cannot begin to understand what your parents may or may understand about the taint that has afflicted our society. I cannot begin to understand how they feel about their daughter. I can only understand my own feelings about my son. As a parent I would do anything to protect my child."
"I understand," Hermione began to say.
"No," Narcissa shook her head once. "You will not understand unless you have a child of your own. The bond you have to your child will surpass any emotion you have. Slytherin or Gryffindor you will understand nothing until you understand the devotion to your child. I want you to know, Ms Granger, that Draco's father was a weak man. He loved his family, that is undeniable, but he did not once put his son before the Dark Lord. Please understand me when I say that I cannot condone that. My Draco could not thrive in this world with his father's sins and shadow hovering over him. I told my husband what he needed to hear to leave this world. Nothing more."
Hermione remained silent. She thought she understood the admission Narcissa withheld. If she was correct, Narcissa was telling Hermione that she used Draco's relationship with a Muggleborn in hopes of pushing Lucius off the edge, metaphorically speaking.
Hermione and Narcissa stared at one another for a beat before Hermione nodded her head once. The understanding that passed between the two woman was that Hermione would never again mention the last conversation that passed between Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.
"We all do what we have to," Hermione said evenly. "Regardless of the outcome."
Narcissa looked sideways at Hermione. "You are a curious girl," she said after a minute. "But perhaps all brilliant minds are."
Narcissa left Hermione then, as though the older woman knew how to make an exit that would leave an impact. Hermione felt as though Narcissa had complimented her, but in such a way that left Hermione wondering exactly how she should take the compliment. Hermione had wanted to defend her parents. Narcissa had alluded to the love a parent has for a child, was she insinuating Hermione's parents didn't love her as much as Narcissa loved Draco? Did it matter? Hermione's relationship with her parents was one a Pureblood could not possibly understand. It's why she turned to Harry rather than Ron, it's why she told Draco she finally understood the animosity Purebloods felt for Muggles. You could not understand the dynamic between the two worlds unless you yourself were trapped between the two. Like Hermione.
Hermione didn't regret what she did to protect her parents. She didn't regret choosing the Wizarding world over the world her parents knew. She didn't regret who she was and certainly wouldn't apologize for it. But she still felt alone. Standing in a room surrounded by people who had no idea how things worked in the other world that went on parallel to their own, she felt hopelessly alone in her own mind and wondered how much longer her friends would be. What startled her the most, however, was the fact that she wasn't sure which one of her friends she longed to lay eyes on again the most.
Twenty more minutes went by, and Hermione finally knew the answer.
(A/N) This was really...complicated to write. Now that we're branching out to see how different characters are reacting to one another I'm trying to take my time and really appreciate the character dynamic, especially writing about a child, which I have no experience with. We're going to be focusing a little more on Hermione now as well as her relationship with everyone she loves, including her parents. Hopefully Draco's willing to play a big role in that regard ;) Please review! And remember you can find me on Tumblr as arielxwriter. Til next time (and hopefully I won't take a month, so sorry!)