Hermione awoke to a fluffy orange paw batting at her nose, causing a sleepy giggle to push her further to alertness. Under her pillow, she could still feel the outline of the book she had found? Been given? She decided that today she needed to get answers. The other first years would be arriving soon and she didn't want to be an "other" to them. And what had the blonde boy called her? A mudblood? She could put two and two together. It seemed that her being from non-magical parents would be an issue for some of her classmates. But what about that moving photo? Making her bed, she once more met the eyes of her ginger companion.
"And what are we going to call you, good sir? Fluffy pants?"
Hermione shook her head, knowing something so ridiculous wouldn't fit the handsome creature. The cat glanced from her face to her bed, leaping for the pillow. He began to purr while, simultaneously, head butting her pillow off the bed, exposing the journal.
"Well, let's find a good wizarding name for you, hmm?
The brunette once again paged through the book, the worn potion catching her attention. I wonder what it means.
"I s'pose you don't read Latin, do you?"
Her kneazle friend crawled to the book, turning to its backmost pages. Hermione was shocked to see drawn images of other cats, and what she could assume were kneazles. Small tabbies and hand-painted tigers decorated the parchment, small descriptions denoted the animal's births, deaths, and names.
"You're a smart boy, aren't you? Let's see here."
Hermione scanned the next pages, hoping an entry would jump out at her.
"THADDIUS, MAY 6, 1856 – SEPTEMBER 19, 1879." A serval-type cat glanced at her from beside his description, blinking, as if the light from her room disturbed him. The young witch stroked a finger over the delicate lines, smiling as the drawing moved with her. I didn't know wizarding pets could live so long. And Thaddius died on my birthday. A little spooky.
"You don't really seem like a Thadd."
Hermione continued on, skipping forward to more recent familiars. She was surprised to see that some these later magical creatures also listed their wizarding counterparts. Maybe I can learn about who this book belonged to?
The next drawing that caught her attention was of a small black cat with a white chest. Are they called tuxedo cats? The drawing moved slowly, as if the cat had been tired or sick in its, much shorter, lifetime. The inscription beside her read "DAHLIA. JUNE 28, 1936 – NOVEMBER 14, 1945. FAMILIAR TO DRUELLA BLACK."
"That solves one mystery. The book must be for the Black family. But that doesn't quite fix our problem does it buddy? No it doesn't."
Hermione mumbled to the kneazle as she scratched behind his ears, rubbing his silky mane through her fingers. His tail swished in pleasure, knocking pages back in her book. The girl grabbed the fluffy appendage before brushing his nose with his own tail, making him sneeze and leap away from her. She chuckled, glancing down and seeing a mighty lion take up almost an entire page in the book.
"CROOKSHANKS. DECEMBER 1, 1792 – MAY 30, 1948. FAMILIAR TO OMMIN BLACK, ALPHARD BLACK." The beast on the page was still, save for a slight wind rippling through his impressive crown of fur. His golden pelt shone royally, despite the age of the drawing.
"What do you think? Crookshanks?"
The cat returned, rubbing himself against Hermione's legs before meowing at her, guiding her to the door. Her stomach growled and she realized now was a good time for breakfast. Hopefully she would get the chance to see Lady Malfoy before the academic year started. She closed the book, setting it on her bed before heading towards the door. If she couldn't see Lady Malfoy she still wanted to speak to her.
"Crookshanks, do you know how I could send a letter in this place? I don't suppose they have the Royal Mail here."
The kneazle crooned at her, leading her out of the room. She didn't look back, already thinking about what she would have for breakfast. Plus, Crookshanks would surely be hungry as well.
In the little black book, in the empty room, a new entry unveiled itself. "CROOKSHANKS II, DECEMBER 13, 1989. FAMILIAR TO HERMIONE BLACK."
"Lucius, come on. Draco, stop fidgeting, you are messing up your tie."
Narcissa wasn't sure why she was nervous about flooing to her sister's house. Bella and her had always been close. Hell, we even timed it so our children would be close. Of course, the eldest Black sister had faced so many hardships over the past years that their closeness had waned some. She pushed the thoughts from her brain, and focused on getting in contact with the dark witch.
"Lucius I will go first, give me a few minutes to settle Bella. Draco, make sure you hug your Aunt. We all know what today means to her. I will see you soon."
Placing a kiss on her husband's cheek and a hand on her son's shoulder, the blonde beauty stepped into the fireplace.
"Black Summer Home."
Narcissa was engulfed in green flames as she was transported to the estate where Bellatrix chose to live. Curse that no good blood traitor Sirius. Stealing our family home. Once again, Narcissa had to shake the intruding thoughts away, knowing she would have to be alert to handle her sister today.
"Bella? It's Cissy. I haven't heard from you in a while–"
The blonde carefully walked through the rooms she had spent long, joyful months playing in with her two sisters. She saw an old photograph on the wall, meeting her own eyes she saw panic and quickly threw her wand up.
"INCARCEROUS!"
"PROTEGO!"
The conjured ropes wrapped around the shield, crushing it into shards of white energy that fell away.
"Bella. Wait–"
"REDUC–"
"SILENCIO! IMPEDIMENTA! Bella. It. Is. Me. Cissy."
The muted, frozen witch stayed still, frozen, arm raised aggressively. Her eyes and teeth gleamed in the dim light. The morning sun struggled to permeate the space, filtering through an ivy covered window. Narcissa approached her sister cautiously, knowing she was powerful and not thinking clearly at the moment.
"Bella. It's just me. I'm going to give you a hug and then release you."
The blonde sister removed Bellatrix's wand from her stiff hand, chucking it onto a table behind her, before embracing the other witch. As she hugged her, Narcissa let her spell release her sister. Bellatrix collapsed, sobbing, into her little sister's arms.
"Cissy I am so sorry. I'm sorry. It's been years and I can't move on. I thought they were coming back to kill me. Cissy I miss her so much."
"Shhhh. I know Bella. I know. You are so strong. It wasn't your fault."
The blonde held her sister, trying to warm up the shivering arms that clung to her shoulders. Bella could only cry against her, her teeth bared in a painful scream that went unheard. Narcissa rubbed her back before trying again.
"Bella, Draco and Luc are coming over soon. Your dear nephew has been dying to see you. But maybe instead we should go to the manor? You have been so alone and I thought it was what you wanted but now I would prefer you staying where those who love you can look out for you. Besides, I have some news you might like."
Bellatrix perked up at this, but she once again started to cry.
"Cissy how can I leave this place? It was our home. God, it wasn't even ours for a year but I miss her and she lived here. I can't leave her all alone."
The witch grabbed at her own tight, black curls, tugging at them as she remembered the small babbles of her lost daughter. The way the girl would shriek happily in front of the fireplace.
"That's what I mean, Bella. She may not be lost."
At that moment, Lucius and Draco entered.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE ISN'T LOST?"
"Auntie Bella!"
"Good morning, Bella."
Draco ran up to his favorite aunt, hugging her tightly around the waist. Lucius, hearing what his sister-in-law had said, fixed a glare at his wife.
"Narcissa, we talked about this. We don't know anything for sure yet, Bella. Cissy jumped the wand, so to speak."
Narcissa stared between her husband and sister, before pulling them both (with Draco still attached to his aunt) back towards the floo.
"I'll tell you over breakfast."
Author's Note: Hey folx, was wondering if y'all have a preference for chapters following a character's day or jumping between characters? (I'm not a super strong writer but if there is a preference I can try to meet your expectations.)
Hope everyone is staying safe (virus) and if you're in America, fuck the police.
AN^2: Also thanks to ThatGayNerd for reviewing again, I hope in the coming chapters some of it is answered :)