2/3 for today!
Tuesday, July 28, 1998
On Tuesday, Hermione found herself at Headquarters, sitting between Remus and Kingsley as they went through the information from Lucius. He'd been a treasure trove of intel, but shrank back whenever someone joined him in his cell. They had plans for patrols and some of the plans for the Muggleborn Registration Commission. The Order was planning a mass breakout from Azkaban to free the incarcerated Muggleborns and hopefully bolster their forces.
After their meeting, Hermione stood for a while watching Lucius outside of his cell. He was sitting, staring at the door, and he looked broken. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, but eventually she was joined by Narcissa.
"I come here sometimes to see if I can see the man I thought I married," Narcissa said quietly. "He used to be so sure of himself, so powerful and now…"
Hermione looked at her Mother-in-Law, "What made you change your mind about it all?"
"Andromeda and Ted, actually," she said, turning to Hermione and holding out her arm to walk back to the parlour. "Andi is older than me, but she always protected me from our sister and Father. Andi and our sister were only a year apart, and then I was four years younger than them. She protected me through Hogwarts too. She was supposed to marry Lucius actually, but when she met Ted…"
They settled themselves on a couch and made themselves cups of tea. "They really loved each other," Hermione said quietly.
"They did, it was obvious to anyone. Ted wasn't completely gifted at Magic the way you are, but he was powerful," Narcissa continued. "When she was in her Seventh Year, I could see how broken up she was about having to leave Ted. I-" she choked off and Hermione gripped her hand. "I told her that I was willing to take on the contract if she wanted to marry him."
"She was only 15," Andromeda said from the doorway, "we were both so naive. We thought that our family would just accept it."
Hermione looked between the two women. "We kept in secret contact through Dora's childhood," Narcissa continued, "but Draco always looked up to his Father and I had to stop bringing him when he was about three."
"She did so look forward to your visits," Andromeda said, smiling.
"So, dear, to answer your question," Narcissa said, "I've known since Hogwarts that the only difference between Pureblood and Muggleborn was that Muggleborns had more power because you're less diluted by intermixing."
"In-breeding," Andromeda coughed with a wink.
Narcissa chuckled and Hermione smiled between the two women. "Well, when we defeat Tom, I'll need both of your help to start changing the narrative," Hermione said, sipping her tea.
"Oh we have so many plans," Andromeda said, "we've just been waiting for our chance to resurrect the Black Name."
"Black's are hereby known as Blood Traitors," smirked Regulus from the doorway where he was holding a sleepy looking Teddy. "The Black Heir was looking for his grandmother, sorry for interrupting."
"No worries, Cissy, will you help me put him down?" Andromeda asked, standing.
"Of course," Narcissa said, leaning over and kissing Hermione's cheek, "I'll see you on Sunday, dear."
Regulus continued to stand awkwardly in the doorway until Hermione gestured to the tea that was still hot on the table. He sat himself down and tried to press the non-existent creases out of his trousers. "I was told that you're the one to talk to about Horcruxes."
Hermione chuckled, "Did Harry send you?"
"Yeah," Regulus said, rubbing the back of his neck, "he's been a bit preoccupied, I suppose. Are you certain we've gotten them all?"
Hermione folded her legs underneath her, "I suppose I can't be 100% certain, but from everything we could find, yes. He was always so obsessed with Hogwarts. I think you'll have a better chance of finding that out."
"I know, but I'm not sure how to ask without being obvious about it. He seems weaker than he did during the First War," Regulus continued.
"I think we've gotten them all, as long as he doesn't create any more, we should be alright. We just need to stage the final battle so that he can be ended," Hermione said firmly. "I think freeing the other Muggleborns will help. Even just for morale reasons." She gasped, "He's not going to punish you and Draco for that will he?"
Regulus chuckled, "I'm sure we'll get the standard punishments, but neither of us are in charge of that. Hopefully that Umbridge Bitch gets punished."
Hermione grinned, "I fucking hate that woman. Did you ever ask Harry about his "I must not tell lies" scar?" When Regulus shook his head, she grimaced, "She had a Blood Quill, it was her form of punishing students who misbehaved. She's the worst."
"I can see why they value your input," he said with a grin, "so many of the Order are too afraid to use force to win this war. They don't trust people like Draco, Theo and I, but you know better, don't you?"
"You have no idea, just what I'd do to protect the people I love," Hermione said darkly, stroking her stomach.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think or if you have any thoughts about what might happen next!