Nineteen seventy-eight brought peace to the wizarding world, but Potter Manor seemed to have not gotten the memo when an unexpected visitor arrived. With the elves dedicating time to raise their babies on Dorea's orders, Sirius and Regulus had taken over Mipsy's duties of answering the door and greeting guests.
A chime signaled to Regulus that it was his turn to go to the edge of the wards and see who was visiting. Thankfully, Hermione was in the front garden as well and looked up when Regulus hadn't said anything, and noticed he was standing stock still, staring at the blond woman just outside the wards. Sending a patronus to Dorea, knowing the older woman would be the only one who knew what to say to the woman, Hermione walked to stand by her friend.
Both teens stared the woman down as they waited for Dorea. Their visitor had tried to speak several times, with Hermione merely telling her they were not the lady or lord of the home, so they were unable to allow the woman entrance. Finally, Dorea appeared behind the teens and placed a comforting arm around her youngest son. "Narcissa Malfoy," she said, her voice hard. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"
"It's Black, actually," Narcissa said softly, her voice lacking the bite that Hermione remembered all too well. "Uncle Alphard dissolved my marriage to Lucius when he was found guilty of his charges. Alphard decreed that due to the length of his sentence, Lucius will be unable to meet the conditions of our betrothal contract and dissolved our marriage within hours of his incarceration."
Dorea merely arched her brow. "That still does not explain why you've come to my home, Miss Black."
Narcissa sighed, wringing her hands. "I've always wanted to be a mother. That was the main reason I agreed to marry Lucius, the main clause of our betrothal contract was that I provide Lucius an heir within a year of our marriage. There was also a clause stating that should Lucius be unable to impregnate me, our marriage will be voided with my entire dowry returned. Uncle Alphard decided upon Lucius' arrest that both clauses were in effect and ended the marriage before the year was over. Regardless of that fact, I still want to be a mother desperately."
Dorea waved her wand, lowering some of the wards, but not the ones preventing those from entering who intended to harm or kill anyone inside the wards. When Narcissa entered the wards with no ill effects to her, Dorea motioned to the benches that Michael and Evelyn had found by the horse stables and moved to the front garden. "What do you need?" Dorea asked her. "If you're looking for another suitor, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place, as our family strongly believes that each person finds their own partner, only drawing up contracts upon engagement."
Narcissa shook her head. "No, I don't want to find another suitor."
"Then what do you want, Narcissa?" Dorea asked, having a feeling what the younger witch desired, but wanting the woman to say it herself.
"I know your family funds several orphanages throughout England," Narcissa began. "I was wondering what the process was to adopt a child. I'm not Lucius or my oldest sister, I don't care how powerful the child is magically, or if they're even magical at all. I just want to be a mother so badly, Dorie."
Narcissa's eyes widened at her slip. She had not called Dorea by her nickname since she was a young child. Dorea just smiled at the younger witch.
"There's an orphanage that I'm particularly fond of," she began. "Godric's Home for Children. That's where I adopted my daughter, Charlotte, and Minerva adopted her son, Lachlan. We're due for a visit anyway, my family visits every month since adopting the kids, you should join us."
"I don't know," Narcissa said, again wringing her hands. "What if I don't meet a child there?"
"That's the beauty of Godric's," Dorea said, placing a comforting hand on the witch's shoulder. "Godric's is both magical and muggle. They have two separate buildings, designed exactly alike. One houses magical children, and one houses muggle children. Of course, it's hard to tell if the children under two are magical or muggle, Minerva met Lachlan on the muggle side, yet he's a wizard."
Before Narcissa could reply, Regulus spoke. "You took care of me when Walburga was especially maniacal. I've seen the kind of mother you could be. I think you should join us."
Hermione, knowing Narcissa had protected both Draco and Harry in her previous timeline also spoke up. "I'm not going to lie and say we'll be instant friends, but I will tell you that I know you have it in you to be a fiercely protective mother."
Not realizing the teens were still close by, Narcissa gaped at them, before her eyes landed on Hermione. "You're the one Lucius told me about before his arrest, the time traveler."
Hermione nodded. "Since the threat against me has been eliminated, I feel safe telling you something. In my previous timeline, you lied directly to Voldemort's face, saving my friend and your son. You will protect any child you raise, whether you give birth to them or not."
Narcissa nodded, her reservations gone. "I'd love to join you when you visit Godric's then."
Dorea smiled. "Lovely! We're leaving soon, why don't you come in and get acquainted with everyone?"
Narcissa nodded, standing and following Dorea and the teens inside. Once she was fully inside the manor, she found herself in someone's arms. The person holding her was sobbing, caressing her head. "Andi?"
The witch holding her baby sister sobbed even harder. "Cissa!"
Both witches were crying now, with Dorea watching the scene, smiling. She had hoped Andromeda was still in the front sitting room, as she'd be the first person who saw Narcissa as she entered the door. Suddenly, two dark-haired boys came flying into the room, hearing Andi's sobs, thinking something was wrong.
"Cissa?" the taller of the two said, dropping his wand and joining in the hug. "Cissa, what happened? Uncle Alphard? Orion?"
"They're fine, Siri," the blond said, sniffling. "We're all fine. I just haven't seen Andi since before I graduated Hogwarts and I was surprised she was here."
"What's going on?" James asked, his eyes moving from the two witches embracing to his mother.
"Alphard has dissolved the marriage between Narcissa and Lucius," Dorea began. "Her biggest desire is to be a mother, and she came to me asking about orphanages. She will be accompanying us to Godric's in the hope of adopting a child, just like Charlotte and Lachlan."
Minerva entered the sitting room, carrying her son, with Charlotte holding her hand. "Mrs. Malfoy, it's lovely to see you," the elder witch said cooly yet politely.
"It's Black, Minnie," Andi said, smiling at the professor. "Narcissa is officially single."
"In that case, it is truly lovely to see you," Minerva said, setting Lachlan down, feeling safe in letting the toddler roam. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"
"I'll be coming with you to inquire about adopting a child," Narcissa said, smiling at the small boy.
Minerva nodded. "You were an excellent prefect and Head Girl, especially when it came to the younger children's needs. I'm sure you'll be an excellent mother."
The group including Narcissa Flooed to Godric's Home and were immediately greeted by Ashley and Ophelia, who were thrilled that someone else wanted to adopt from their orphanage. Since Charlotte and Lachlan's adoptions, the orphanage had seen a large uptick of visitors to the orphanage and the kids could not have been happier. As Ashley led the group to the muggle building, Narcissa was a bundle of nerves.
"Don't worry, Cissa," Sirius muttered to the witch. "We'll be spending hours here, feel free to go back and forth between the two buildings. There will be several of us at either building at any given time."
She nodded, smiling when the group was greeted by a chorus of children cheering, apparently the inhabitants of Potter Manor weren't the only ones who looked forward to this day every month.
They made their way through the muggle building, and despite Narcissa stopping and playing with and speaking to over a dozen children, she didn't feel the "click" that Minerva and Dorea told her about. They ventured over to the magical building where Narcissa was immediately drawn to a baby girl sitting on the floor, playing with a stuffed hippogriff. Hermione's eyes drifted to where Narcissa was now sitting cross legged on the floor with the girl, smiling and playing with her and gasped.
Dorea, having heard Hermione's gasp, looked in Narcissa's direction. "She looks a lot like you, Mione."
Hermione wordlessly summoned a family portrait she'd taken from her home before she obliviated her parents in her past life and showed Dorea. Dorea looked at the photo, noticing indentations on the front, and flipped it over. Mommy, Daddy, and Hermione (10 months).
"Ophelia," Dorea called. "How old is the little girl with Narcissa?"
"She'll be a year old in two months," Ophelia replied. "Her parents were killed just before Voldemort was defeated, she's the last of the Dagworth-Grangers. She had some distant cousins come visit her once, but the husband was a squib and didn't know how to care for a magical child, and the wife wanted a muggle child. The husband said if she wasn't adopted within the next year, he was going to come back with a de-aging potion and de-age her to a few weeks old and convince his wife that she wasn't the same girl when she grew to be magical."
"What were their names?" Hermione asked, her eyes not moving from the little girl.
"Daniel and Emma," Ophelia said. "Their last name was Granger, Daniel said something about only using Dagworth-Granger on legal documents and such."
Dorea, having realized what was happening, hugged the girl tightly. "Do you want me to get Sirus for you?"
Hermione nodded, unable to speak. Dorea called across the room to Sirius, and all the teens turned to look at her. They all moved as one to Hermione, once they realized their friend was silently crying in Dorea's arms. "Take her outside, you lot," Dorea said softly. "She'll explain when she's ready."
Once Sirius had led her far enough away from the buildings so the kids couldn't hear her, she loudly sobbed. "They didn't want me!"
"Who didn't want you, love?" Sirius asked, holding his girlfriend tightly.
"Mum and Dad!" she cried harder. "The little girl playing with Narcissa is me! Apparently I'm not a muggleborn like I thought I was! I was born a Dagworth-Granger, and my biological parents were killed when I was a baby. The people I called Mum and Dad came here and they didn't want me because I'm magical. Last time, no one wanted to adopt me by the time I turned one and Daddy Dearest fed me a de-aging potion and managed to convince Mum that I wasn't the same magical child they saw at the orphanage!"
"Are you sure?" James asked.
She nodded, "I asked Ophelia the names of the little girl's cousins that came to see her and told her of the plan to de-age her. Their names were Daniel and Emma Granger. Daniel and Emma were my parents' names in my past life." She handed James the photograph she'd shown Dorea. "That little girl in there, and the little girl in the picture are one and the same."
Suddenly, Narcissa came out of the building, rushing straight for Hermione and, even though the two witches were wary of each other, hugged her. "Dorea told me what happened. I'm so sorry, Hermione."
Hermione, knowing that she was always supposed to come to the seventies with the appearance of the younger Hermione, hugged Narcissa back. "Please, Narcissa," she began. "Don't let the Grangers adopt her. If you fell in love with her, please adopt her. Raise her in a magical home where she won't be ostracized and forced to hide away to do her schoolwork. Raise her to love everyone, and be the badass I know she is, even if I didn't realize it until it was almost too late."
Narcissa nodded. "Ophelia is drawing up the paperwork now. I do have something to ask you though, and it will only be done with your approval."
"What is it?" Hermione asked, confused.
Narcissa hugged the witch again before answering. "Dorea and I spoke, she told me all of your past and what you accomplished in Hogwarts. I truly believe that the little girl in that building and Harry Potter were meant to be lifelong friends, especially in a post-Voldemort world. With that being said, she will be a year, maybe two years ahead of Harry in Hogwarts, and I'd like your permission to de-age her and alter her records so she will still be friends with Harry."
Hermione thought about it for a moment, and tried to imagine her life without Harry, and she couldn't. "I accept, on one condition."
Narcissa nodded, releasing the breath Hermione hadn't realized she was holding.
"I imagine you're going to be at Potter Manor quite a bit in the coming years," she began. "It would be confusing for everyone to keep Hermione as her name."
"I was planning on asking you for suggestions for her name," the older witch said, smiling. "I don't know whether to keep it Shakespearian or use the Black family custom and name her after a constellation."
"Why not both?" Sirius asked, solving the problem for them.
Narcissa was thoughtful for a moment. "I've always like Danica," she said smiling. "it's Slavic, and means morning star."
"What about Emilia for the middle name?" Petunia suggested. "The name Hermione is from A Winter's Tale, right? Emilia was Hermione's lady-in-waiting."
Hermione finally relaxed and giggled. "Thank you for not recommending Perdita."
"Why would she recommend that?" Regulus asked, confused.
"It's the name of her patronus," Remus answered. "The first patronus message I ever received from Hermione told me how she named it Perdita because that was Hermione's daughter's name in A Winter's Tale."
The group laughed, before returning to the orphanage. Ophelia was smiling at Narcissa, and motioned her over. "There is a way to de-age a child without making them drink the potion."
"Hermione, come over here," Narcissa said suddenly. "Sorry, I just want her input, she's the smartest witch I know." Narcissa knew that Ophelia didn't know Hermione's story, but wanted the witch to be involved in any decision she made regarding her younger self.
Ophelia began again once Hermione joined them. "We can technically de-age a child under one year old without the use of the potion."
"How?" Hermione asked, she was sure she'd never heard of this method and wanted to know everything she possibly could about it. "I thought the potion was the only way."
"No," Ophelia said, handing Hermione a small book. "There's an obscure charm, one that I've only seen used once in all my years here. It essentially keeps the child the same age, until a predetermined time. They don't grow, they don't age, and it doesn't hurt them. The charm also affects every record of the child, altering it so the birthdate the parent wishes for the child, is their official birthday."
"Hermione, what do you think?" Narcissa asked.
"When was the charm last used?" Hermione asked.
"I cast it myself three years ago," Ophelia replied. "A couple came in and adopted a little boy, as they weren't able to conceive after the traumatic birth of their daughter. The boy's birthday would put them only a few months apart, meaning the parents would have to buy two of everything when they turned eleven and headed off to Hogwarts. They opted for the charm, and a year later, the boy began aging again, and is the healthiest little thing I've ever seen."
Hermione was still skeptical, but nodded to Narcissa. "May I be there when it's cast?"
Narcissa nodded at Hermione, as did Ophelia. "We ask that two people are present when the charm is cast anyway, just to be safe. Here's the form for the charm, just fill in all the information, this is also the form you'd want to use if you want to change a child's name."
Narcissa nodded, and began filling out the form. Ophelia told them she'd be back in a moment to file the form away, there were a few things she needed to check on first. Once she was gone, Narcissa whispered to Hermione. "What's the birthdate we need?"
"The nineteenth of September, nineteen seventy-nine," Hermione whispered back, smiling at the kids that had gathered around James and Lily.
A few moments later, Ophelia reappeared. "Okay, we're going to cast the charm after your trial visit, if it goes well; the name change will be effective then too."
A short while later, the group, plus the little girl, traveled back to Potter Manor.
A few hours later, after Narcissa had prepared lunch at her insistence, Hermione was nowhere to be found. Remus, knowing her best, eventually found her in Moony's room, tidying up and preparing for the next full moon, her face streaked with tears.
"What's wrong, Mione?" Remus asked quietly. "I thought you were happy about Narcissa adopting Danica?"
Hermione sniffled. "I am, it just hurts that the people I knew as Mum and Dad didn't want me, and Mum only agreed to the adoption because she thought I wasn't the same baby she had said no to previously."
"What if Mum adopted you?" Remus asked suddenly. "I know she's technically your cousin, but you've called her Aunt Hope since you came here, but I've heard you almost call her Mum a few times too. Plus, Mum's always wanted a daughter."
"Do you think she would?" Hermione asked, surprised she hadn't thought of that. "I mean, it's not like she'll get to enjoy the full daughter experience, I mean, I'm sixteen and I'm technically not even in Hogwarts anymore!"
"We won't know until we ask," he replied, hugging her. "Besides, even Moony sees you as more of a sister than a cousin anyway."