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Narcissa Malfoy stood at the gates of Hogwarts frustrated. Earlier she felt her bond to Lucius break; she knew he was dead. No one contacted her and after what should have been enough time, she arrived at the bank to be told she couldn't access the family vault. The goblin, who hated Lucius maybe as much as Narcissa, showed the widow her husband's will and how he clearly cut her off from the family vaults and property. He also mentioned Lucius's arrival at the bank, his actions at the vault and how he'd not called for the goblin to return. Until that happened goblins couldn't access the vault. "Even with him dead, only the head of the family can allow a goblin to now access the vaults."
So Narcissa went to her son, who she suspected knew something about what occurred, in fact she believed Draco to be in the middle of it. In the last few weeks the items Draco requested Kitmu bring from the Manor were an odd assortment and it told the woman her son was planning something. After a short wait, the headmistress approached the gates. "You arrived sooner than Draco expected or we would have been waiting." Minerva opened the gates long enough for Narcissa to enter before shutting them again.
"Draco expects me?" At the snort, Narcissa smiled an evil grin, "I take it he aware of something that occurred today." Minerva shrugged.
"Don't rightly know what he knows or doesn't. He smugly said a thing happened today and I should expect you. I have my own suspicions, but he neither confirmed nor denied them." The conversation ended and the pair of women walked in silence the rest of the way. As they reached the turn that would take them to the headmistress's office, Minerva shook her head and lead the way to the hall where the head student dorms were located.
On entering the dorm, Narcissa was met with a wall of noise. There were children she didn't know and quite a bit of laughter. "Hello Mother," Draco appeared next to her and pulled her into a hug, an uncommon greeting when in public. "All will be explained shortly. I want to make some introductions first."
Narcissa watched as an older girl, the head girl, walked toward the pair. "Mum, this is Hermione Granger." At Hermione's smile, Narcissa nodded slowly, unsure on what was happening. Lucius spent a good portion of the last nine months trying to remove the girl from the role. "Hermione and I have been together since fifth year. I intend to keep the relationship."
Narcissa looked again at the girl who leaned into Draco. In response, Draco wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Narcissa's eyes dropped to her son's family ring and with the confirmation of her suspicions, Narcissa returned her attention to Hermione Granger. The girl appeared unconcerned, but on closer inspection, Narcissa noticed the obvious signs of worry.
"Miss Granger," Narcissa acknowledged Hermione before turning back to her son, "I assume you are introducing me now because of what occurred earlier today." Draco chuckled darkly.
"Yes, well sort of. We were going to be together regardless. But, before I explain that," Draco waved toward someone and Narcissa's mouth dropped open. "This is Scorpius." Draco placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and then picked up another child. "And this is Lyra."
Before either Draco or Narcissa could say anything else, Lyra released her hold on Draco and lunged toward the recently arrived blonde, "Grannie Cissa!" Lyra gripped her grandmother's neck and tried to wiggle herself free of her dad's hold.
"Grannie?" With her question, Narcissa took the girl into her arms and looked at Draco, "It seems there is much to discuss." Draco and Hermione motioned for Narcissa to sit. As Draco opened his mouth, Hermione glanced toward the other adults.
"Probably doesn't matter that much, what's done is done. Magically speaking, nothing untoward occurred today." Hermione blinked slowly and thought about what Ron told her. How he explained what Draco planned to do. The reasons why Draco decided to do this at the bank. And finally, how if successful, it proved Draco was in the right. With a sigh, Hermione summoned two more chairs and motioned for the others to sit.
Draco spent the next hour recapping everything they knew. He detailed what Lucius did and their suspicions on how he did it. He explained how in the future what he and Hermione figured out. He spoke of what they did to stop it in the original timeline and how it apparently failed. He discussed what information Scorpius was tasked to bring to them. And finally, he explained how Scorpius now wore the family ring. What he didn't say, because it wasn't necessary, was exactly how he killed Lucius. It was obvious magic found Lucius to be unworthy of his magic.
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Narcissa noticed Draco skipped over parts of the story and how the children seemed to have experienced more than just her dead husband's machinations, "What aren't you saying?"
"It seems Father wasn't working alone. But we don't know the hows or whys yet. All we know for certain is that Father and Albus Dumbledore apparently were in cahoots." Narcissa watched her son and waited for him to continue. "He isn't dead and we suspect he is searching for the deathly hallows, from Beedle the Bard." Narcissa leaned back in her seat.
Lyra shifted and laid her head on her Grannie's shoulder. Narcissa started to rub her young granddaughter's back feeling the young girl relax a bit more with every pass of her hand. "I take from your demeanor you have some sort of plan already in place. Maybe missing parts, but closer to the finish than the beginning."
"Quite Mother, I've been looking through the family records. Kreacher is being difficult, Kitmu finally got him to at least respond. But I'd like for you to see if there are any records related to the family associated with the second brother."
"So you have the wand and cloak already. Well done." She thought on the many families and worked her way back through the centuries. "Those brothers supposedly harkened from Godric's Hollow, but I never believed that story. Too many famous people from one small village. Though I don't believe that has anything to do with the stone."
Hermione watched Narcissa as she sorted her thoughts. But it was Severus who spoke, "So the stone, a small rock in the expanse of the grounds. Seems an impossible mission."
Harry looked up and caught Hermione's gaze, "Maybe not so impossible. We believe he had the hallows on him when he died. So what happened to those possessions?" Minerva stood at Harry's question and left without saying anything.
"I suspect our headmistress has an idea, best to just wait." With Severus's monotone statement, Narcissa started to ask Lyra all sorts of questions. She was bound and determined to know her grandchildren and to make sure they knew she loved them. Scorp looked at his father and smirked.
"Yes, Scorp you were right." At that Narcissa looked up, "He was always confident you'd support us. Not that I doubted it. He told us how you supported us in the future. He said how you loved him completely, but when Lyra was born something in you changed. She was the reason you stood with us against Father in the future."
"Wish you would have allowed me to participate, you know how I've longed for this day."
"Sorry Mum, had to work quick once we knew he was on his way." She shrugged and turned back to Lyra who started to talk about playing dress up with all of Grannie's pretty stones.
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Minerva tore through the headmaster's office. She opted to remain in the same office she always used for the current school year. Over the summer she planned to get through the garbage in the office reserved for the Head of the school. She finally found the box of personal items the DMLE returned after they released the old man's body. Aberforth dropped all the boxes off at the school stating he wanted nothing to do with the dead man or his useless estate.
"What are you looking for Minnie?" The woman gripped the stone she just located and slid it into her pocket without the portrait seeing her.
"Something the Regents requested. Apparently they believe you had it illegally and wanted me to check. If I can't find it, they'll be by on the weekend to search themselves." As she turned to leave, she set a charm that would record anything said. Maybe they would learn something else important.
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"It seems your theory is correct. It was in the box of things the DMLE returned." The stone, something no one and everyone wanted to touch, was placed it on the table. "But the question now is what do we do with them?" That was something they didn't know.
"The other question becomes figuring out what he did to escape death last year. He had the hallows, but would that of stopped death considering his body is in the crypt." Hermione smiled at Harry's questions. He was trying so hard to get over the pain of what he learned about Dumbledore and wanted to help end the threat the man posed.
It was Narcissa who hummed, at everyone's look she smiled, "No I don't think they stop death in the way he did. The wand could beat death in a duel. The stone could bring a soul back across the veil. The cloak could hide from death. None of these are escaping death without your body."
Severus clicked his tongue, "So we are looking for a way a soul can survive a curse that causes death of the physical body." Narcissa's eyes shot up and met Severus's. He didn't pause in his comments, but held her gaze steady with his, "I withheld a bit of information from the Ministry. Mainly because they didn't need to know and didn't ask if I knew anything else." Severus's attention shifted to the table where the stone sat and he gingerly picked up it up. "This was the main stone in a ring he found at the old Gaunt house. He must have known it was the resurrection stone."
Setting the stone on the table, Severus looked up, "But, Albus admitted to the ring being something more than just a ring. He never explained what, but that it was dark." Severus's eyes focused on the stone; his suspicions on the ring could never be confirmed. If what he thought was true, he was not the only person in the room who had the knowledge to come to that same conclusion, "While Albus knew the ring wasn't safe, he still tried to wear it. The ring was cursed and I believe the reason for his rushed attempt to use the hallows in the astronomy tower."
"Gaunt, dear Merlin, —" Severus shrugged, many things about the Dark Lord were left to the side after his supposed death in 1981. The most prominent story not researched was how he survived the much discussed events in Godric's Hollow. How he also survived the killing curse. While the public only knew of Harry Potter's survival that Halloween night, his followers knew the Dark Lord was still present.
Over the years between Halloween 1981 and his ultimate death in the autumn of 1995, a number of those same followers, the ones with enough sanity to think about the events, figured out what happened. The majority of those followers also felt the act too risky. Those believing it was a good idea, mysteriously ended up dying while attempting to complete the spell. Two of the individuals who felt the cost was too much looked at each other in that moment.
Narcissa shook her head at Severus's nonchalant reaction to her comment, "—That monster hid one of those atrocities at his mother's old home?" The woman paused, "If he really wished for immortality and for the items ensuring his success to not be found, he wouldn't have left them with the idiots, —" Narcissa looked and smiled at Severus, "— present company excluded, the idiots who followed him." At the confused looks on the majority of the faces, she shook her head. She noticed Hermione and Draco giving each other a surprised look. She wondered what else they learned from their future selves.
"When the Dark, —" Narcissa stopped and took a steadying breath before starting again. "There are ways to survive death. The spell cast by Lily Potter worked because she offered her life." Looking to Harry Potter she saw sadness, "Any mother would do the same for her child and a life for a life is the important bit. But I believe this is something some of you already know." She looked to the four other students and noticed they all had a similar expression, one telling her they were more aware than she expected.
Deciding it was time to see exactly what they knew, she continued her story, "When Voldemort returned, he wanted to know what happened to a book he gave to Abraxas. Lucius used the book as a means to wreak havoc when Draco was in his second year." The room stilled at the mention of that year, "I believe the monster called it a diary."
"You have to be bloody kidding me?" Harry threw himself back on the couch in an overdramatic response Narcissa found oddly familiar, "That's what I destroyed?" Harry looked to Hermione and seemed surprised when she shrugged. "Did you know what it was?"
Hermione decided the smirk her boyfriend mastered wasn't from the Malfoy side, but instead from his mother and the Black side as Narcissa currently wore it proudly. Narcissa didn't give Hermione a second to answer Harry's second question before she went to answer the first, "Quite, Voldemort didn't appreciate what Lucius did."
"I wonder how many he had." Hermione mused quietly. Now confident her suspicions in the future about Voldemort were true, the head girl looked at the woman who seemed to know more than expected and wondered what secrets she may still carry. Smiling at both Hermione and Draco, Narcissa gave the pair a quick nod to confirm their suspicions.
"Not sure we will ever really know but there were probably at least two others. I found a melted thing in Bella's vault shortly after taking possession of it. And unbeknownst to Lucius, Kreacher delivered something Regulus wished to destroy. It was something the monster placed the elf over but Regulus gave his life, in order for the elf to remove the item from a cave Voldemort secured."
Harry wanted to voice to those in the room he suspected he was one, but didn't know how to do it. Then Draco gave him a helping hand, when he bluntly said, "Potter was one." Though Harry doubted he would ever tell the ferret he appreciated the assistance.
At everyone's gasp Severus tilted his head. "Albus believed he was too, but could never verify. Are you sure?"
Draco shrugged, "As sure as we can be. The day of the prison break, Harry said the headache felt like something was being ripped out through his scar. A scar that is now almost non-existent."
"I suspect that's what Albus assumed as well. He made a passing comment about how the prison break changed a great number of things." Similar to the Headmistress a bit earlier, Hermione stood and left the room, only to return with her notes.
"The prison break changed a number of things." Hermione mumbled over and over as she flipped through the parchment. Looking up she knew the answer, "The prison break was the first change we noticed. In the future, it was the first thing Scorp knew was wrong. The prison break that as of right now destroyed Voldemort and killed the majority of his followers." Draco slowly caught on to what Hermione thought.
"The reason Lucius agreed to help was to reset that day and have everyone survive." Hermione nodded at the head boy. He continued as the pieces snapped into place, "And Dumbledore also needed a do-over since the ring cursed him and it was something the hallows couldn't stop."
"That's the only thing I can figure out that makes any sense. Otherwise I doubt either of them would work with the other. Both thought they could turn on the other once they got what they wanted. Now we just have to figure out what Dumbledore used as his horcrux."
"No Miss Granger, we have to figure out when he killed someone and then work out the horcrux. The soul starts to mend itself immediately after the murder. It's why the spell works almost as a living thing after the caster learns it." Minerva looked at Severus with a raised eyebrow. "There were many things I've picked up over the years Minerva. Knowledge that allowed me to stop any number of potential immortals from attaining their goal."
No one wanted to know what Severus did to stop the mysterious others.
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The next morning found Molly Weasley standing at the school's gates a bit earlier than planned. When she saw Minerva approaching, she smiled. "Figured you knew I got here early." Minerva gave Molly a half hearted smile. "Minerva?"
"Molly, there are a number of things you'll learn today." Molly gave Minerva a look, similar to the look she gave the twins when they did anything, "Molly, I am very serious." Minerva's look told Molly whatever she would learn would not be pleasant.
"Is this why we've yet to enter the school?"
"One reason. The security risk is less here and I know you'd want to talk."
"What does this have to do with Ron asking for the Weasley and Prewett papers?" Minerva shrugged, with what she learned over the prior twenty-four hours she began to doubt herself. Her trust in her own thoughts and beliefs and her ability to make good decisions were now all suspect, "Well, seems I have things to learn. Let's go."
The two women made their way through the surprisingly quiet halls. "Year end tests are starting in two weeks, the professors have organized study sessions over the last eight weeks. The head girl suggested it as a way to help those who need it but are worried about asking. The last two Saturday mornings have been like this. We have a bit of time before they are scheduled to be finished."
Molly snorted, "That sounds like our Hermione. How is she?" Molly knew of Rich Granger's diagnosis and Hermione's concerns. Molly had been doing a bit of research to see if there were any magical remedies that might assist him.
"She has a lot on her shoulders, but some of those things will lift soon." When they arrived at the door to the head dorms Minerva placed her hand on Molly's shoulder, "Please just listen to everything they have to say first."
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Molly walked into chaos, utter chaos. She wanted to raise her arms to quiet the entire room. Her eyes flicked over everyone as if checking off a list on who she expected to see. Ron and Harry were on the far couch, Hermione and Neville Longbottom seemed to be trying to figure something out.
Draco Malfoy, not a surprise since he was the head boy, but surprisingly seemed quite comfortable with the others in the dorm, was on the couch reading a large text and a sour expression. Luna Lovegood, an odd addition, was reading a story out loud.
Molly then noticed a number young children in the room, most sitting with the older students. It was then she felt two of the children slam into her, both calling out the same thing, "Nana Molly!"
A young girl started to cry as she gripped Molly's arm, the boy on her other side was trying to hold in his own tears and seemed to be losing the battle. The older woman sunk to her knees and pulled both into a hug and instinctively began to comfort the two children. Neville stood and gripped Hermione's arm. He and Ron looked at each other and made their way to the newest arrival.
"Um, hey Mum, so there's a story." Ron rubbed his neck and put his arm out, "Come on Rosie let her up." Rose stood and clung to her father as Neville held his own conversation.
"Charlie, is Molly your Nana?" The boy, still clinging to the woman, nodded fiercely. "Well, then I guess it's about time we get your mum here. After we tell Nana Molly what's going on though. So come here and let Uncle Ron help her up." Neville pulled Charlie into his arms and realized Ginny always did give good hugs.
"Ronald Bilius Weasley, just what in Merlin's name is going on?" At Hermione's sigh Molly looked up, "Hermione, explain." And the young woman did. She started with the children's arrival and the reasons behind it. She went into how something happened to each of the adults in their original time leaving the children alone. She explained how Scorpius was tasked with taking care of the others until they arrived here. Molly, now seated on the couch with two apparent grandchildren, thought about what she heard. "Since I doubt you or Mr Malfoy will allow this to happen. What have you done to stop Lucius?"
Draco stood, handing Lyra to Hermione before bowing to Molly. "First of all, Mrs Weasley, with Mr Weasley not here, I would like to offer my apologies for a great many things. Some of which I did and said to your children. But mostly, for whatever it was that caused the rift between our families all those generations ago. Ron and I have come to a bit of a truce and I hope to extend it to the rest of the family." Being raised in a traditional family, Molly knew the only way Draco could make apologies on behalf of the Malfoy family was if Lucius no longer breathed.
As if to confirm her thought, she looked to his hand. The boy turned it and Molly got her first good look at the family ring. It looked as the Malfoy signet always did, dull platinum raising to a flattened surface with the Malfoy insignia, but now there was a new aura to it, a power indicating the wearer as the head of the family.
She smiled, "I accept your apology for as much as I am able, I apologize for what assuredly my children have done to you. I'll leave the rest to Arthur and have him come up later."
The room relaxed thinking the worst was over. "Now while what you've told me upsets me greatly, I know you've done what was necessary to stop it from happening again." Molly turned to Scorpius who held Lyra with a happy expression.
"Scorpius, thank you for what you did. I know it was difficult, but you did it and now you're all here. You can relax knowing we will not allow what you all experienced to happen again. While you may not be my grandson by blood, you are by spirit." Scorp nodded and blinked away his tears, he missed Molly almost as much as his actual grandmothers.
"Thank you Nana Molly, that means more to me than you know." Molly gave Scorpius a smile he recognized, one she gave him countless times before they lost her. Her pride was something Scorpius treasured.
Turning back to the issue at hand, Molly looked to her long time associate for a moment, "So what was Minerva so worried would make me unreasonable?" She looked around and it seemed as if none of the children wanted to explain. "Minerva?"
"I'm really not sure I am the right person." Minerva balked, it was something none in the room ever experienced.
"I should probably be the one Headmistress." Harry stood and walked toward Molly. "I mean I think I probably was his biggest defender over the years." Molly's right eye twitched and Ron stiffened. The Weasley children all knew their mother's movements, what gave away her thoughts. When her eye twitched like that, she knew one of her children was about to tell her something incredibly unpleasant and something she didn't know.
"Harry? What's going on?"
"We started with the children because, we knew how Rose would react. We, uh, we didn't know about Ginny and Neville. And we knew you needed to understand who they are first. Understand the reasons why they were forced to come to our time." Molly nodded in a way Harry recognized. She knew Harry was stalling and Harry knew Molly knew it. "I think it's best to just rip off the plaster as it were. Just remember you have two grandchildren who love and missed you cuddled to you." Turning to the two children firmly in Molly grip, "Kids, stay where you are." Charlie chuckled.
"Nana Molly is great, she loves us totally and you all only get yelled at because you didn't listen to what she said." The older witch looked the boy and smiled. "See, she loves me."
"Thank you Charlie, I will try to remember that for the next time I undoubtedly do something wrong." Harry appreciated how Charlie, like Neville, didn't like tension. "So, what we learned from the kids was that Professor Dumbledore isn't dead." Molly opened her mouth only to feel Rose and Charlie both wrap their arms around her a bit more tightly.
She waved Harry on, "He isn't who we all thought Molly. That book, that horrible woman, —" Harry looked up trying to contain his emotion, "— She didn't lie. That book only brushes the truth in what he did." Harry picked up Ells and seemed to wilt. He admitted his change in belief to Hermione and those who totally understood, but Molly was the first who wouldn't be told everything.
"What are you saying Harry?"
"I'm saying he was responsible for Mum and Dad's death. He told Pettigrew where the house in Godric's Hollow was. And he did other things. Things we just discovered and haven't had time to process." Harry sat heavily on the couch and cuddled his daughter more tightly. Luna and the boys sat around Harry and the group hug seemed to help pull him back from the brink of anger.
"Mum?" When Molly looked up, she saw her baby boy seem to grow in front of her eyes. He was a man now, "We've been going through his papers today. There is something we are trying to find, but we've found other things." As his head dropped, Ron wondered how he was going to admit what he read earlier that morning.
"Ronnie, love what is wrong?" Molly didn't want to know. She followed Albus Dumbledore without question. She didn't want to admit she was wrong. Ron's eyes were bouncing around the room to all his friends as they filled with tears.
"I don't know how to tell you Mum." It had been years since Ron cried in front of her, when his voice cracked Molly wiped at her own tears. Something was very wrong. It was Hermione who stood and gave her friend a hug. When she whispered something to him, he gripped her a bit more. Molly wondered again how those two didn't end up together.
When Ron looked up and saw Molly's expression he let out a laugh, "I see her like Ginny. She's my best friend and we know each too well. We'd annoy the other." Hermione wiped her eyes and nodded through her laugh.
"Molly, none of us know how to tell you this. I think it might be best if you read it for yourself." Hermione flipped the pages of a journal and when she found the page she handed it to Molly. "Rosie, Charlie, come sit with me while Nana Molly reads." The children, a little leery because of what Uncle Harry said about not moving, looked at each other, "Really, you think Uncle Harry has a better idea on what should be done when Nana Molly reads that?" The two looked at each other and jumped from their position.
"No Aunt Mione, you're right, like always. Come on Rose." The declaration caused the room to laugh and Harry pout.
Molly's reaction was as expected and her broken whisper seemed to mirror what the rest of them thought as they read that particular portion of the journal, "No, he didn't. He couldn't. Could he?" Molly sat shaking as she continued to read what was found that morning. "They followed him to their deaths? He was responsible? Fabian and Gideon never stood a chance." Minerva, still standing with a straight back and closed eyes, could only nod.
"Molly, the other things we've found. I don't even know how to release the information. It has to be released, but Merlin, Molly he is more evil than Voldemort. Everything he accused the dark of being was merely a weak reflection of his own soul." The two older women, the two women who fought by his side, started to second guess all their choices.
Hermione sighed and caught their attention, "We've all come to realize he was more duplicitous than we ever thought possible. I look up to both of you and know you're not to blame. He did everything he could to keep his reputation spotless. I think we've all learned to never trust appearances." Hermione took Draco's hand and the boy rolled his eyes.
"Way to be subtle woman." She smiled and the rest of the room started to come down off the emotional high.
"Minerva, I will take care of getting this released. Just, let's do it once. Make a list of everything the public is to know and only tell me those things." At the surprised expressions on the faces of the students Molly chuckled, "I raised one of you, have considered two of you my children for seven years now and can see my other children in the rest. So yes, I know you are hiding something best not told. So as long as you don't do it often, I'll accept it this time. Now I want to spend time with all my grandchildren. So the rest of you get over here." At that the rest of the children clambered to the older woman and settled into a new sort of normal.
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A/N - And we have the arrival of the grandmas. Nothing says a powerhouse more than Minerva, Molly and Narcissa all on the same side.