Hermione grinned, squeezing the tiny tot before pulling away slightly from her daughter's small frame, still holding her in her arms. "Hello, love. I've missed you today, you know." She booped her on the nose gently, as she'd done so many times when she was a babe and elicited a small giggle. "Did you have a good day at school today, Addie?"
The young girl, only five, nodded excitedly. Though not as excitedly as when she'd seen her mother. "Oh, that's good." Hermione stood and extended her hand out to her. Addie slipped her palm into her mother's hand, walking beside her towards the office. "What did you learn today?"
"We did numbers!" Addie exclaimed with a grin. "I did a lot of adding! We went up by ten!" The tiny human lifted both her hands up, fingers spread out. It took her a while to count, but she grabbed her mother's free hand and made her open her palm, counting the fingers.
"That's fantastic, darling. Remember we've been practicing at home."
Hermione pecked her cheek as they reached the office where she could see Bran sitting on top of Allison's desk, full of charm and wit. Allison was currently laughing as if she'd never laughed before. She watched as the brunette female placed her hand on Bran's and shook her head with a smile. When Bran leaned forward, Hermione decided to intervene. She gave a gentle knock on the door and waved as they looked over at her. The Principal stood, a little flustered and ushered Brandon over to the door, which he opened with a big grin. "Hello, Mr. McAllister, Mrs. Wades. I'm a smidge late, I'm so sorry. I got held up at work." She adjusted her grip on the five year-old.
"Oh, nonsense!" Allison shook her head, clearly smitten with Brandon. "I had Mr. McAllister here to keep me company. He's actually pretty funny, you know." She stepped aside to let Hermione in. "But I'm glad you're here, Mrs. Granger. Come on in." As Hermione passed by Bran, he held a thumbs up and snuck out.
"Ms." Hermione corrected, a fake smile on her lips. She had feminized her of this several times before. "I'm not married. It's just Addie and I."
"No, of course not." The woman shook her head. The statement made Hermione livid, but she kept her cool. Allison Wades was openly flirting with a member of her staff despite the fact that she was married and she had the nerve to judge her. Hermione promised herself she would not engage; it would just lead to more problems. "Please, take a seat."
She settled little Addie into a small chair, taking the tiny green backpack from her and pulling out a book and a small container of blueberries. "Here you go, love. Something to keep you busy while I speak with your principal." The child took it happily, popping a piece into her mouth and opening the book. She had taken a liking to reading very quickly and even though she often had to sound out words, she could get through several of the Dr. Seuss books on her own.
The little girl shifted back in her seat, feet dangling off the edge. "Okay, mummy." She opened the book and began to read it as best she could, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
Hermione turned to Principal Wades and took a seat on the opposite side of the desk, crossing her legs. "I'm not sure if you're aware of why I've asked you to come in today, Ms. Granger." Allison laced her fingers together, crossing one leg over the other. Hermione stared at her, unblinking and making it obvious that no, she did not know why she had been called in. Allison squirmed under her stare. "Okay. Well, you see, Elizabeth has been acting up a bit during class." This made the 26 year old sit up straight, a brow raised.
"Has she now?" She crossed her arms. "How long has this been going on?"
"A little over a week. We thought maybe it was the kids she sat with, maybe they were influencing her. We made the decision to move her to a different seat." Allison let out a quiet sigh, tilting her head. Her eyes moved to the golden blonde child. Her little legs kicked as she read. "You know, she's always been a good child, ever since she began schooling here in the beginning of the semester. One of the brightest in her school year."
"Why did you wait so long to bring it to my attention?" Hermione was clearly annoyed. She turned her head slightly to watch her daughter, who was very deep into her reading, her nose stuck in the book.
"Well, it started off as drawings." Allison handed Hermione a folder with the name, 'Elizabeth Adeline Granger' written on a label in the corner. Her fingers curled over the edge, opening the folder and trying to hide her surprise at the images. "We asked her where she saw these…horrid images and she couldn't exactly explain. It was dreams and photos and stories." Wades paused to let the younger woman survey the images. She flipped through them. Hermione's lips spread into a tight line, hoping she was doing a good job at disguising her fear.
A castle on fire, definitely a child's depiction of a castle, but there was no doubt in Hermione's mind. Hogwarts.
A troll holding a club in the air. The quidditch pitch, just as Hermione had described.
Hermione let out a sigh, closing the folder together. "Elizabeth brought up her father quite a lot, Ms. Granger." Hermione's head snapped up at the principal's words, confusion etched into her face. A trace of worry and fear. "Yes, that worried me, too. I remember when we first met, you told me that he wasn't in the picture." There was a hint of judgment in Principal Wades' voice and it took all Hermione had in her not to roll her eyes. Honestly, people couldn't look past their own hypocrisy.
She looked down at the folder with her daughter's name on it and bit her lower lip. "He isn't, but that doesn't mean Adeline-" Hermione stressed the middle name. She knew how Addie hated to be called Elizabeth. "-does not know who her father is. "Can I keep these?" She lifted the folder, shaking her hand to emphasize them. The Principal nodded at her. "What else has she been doing?"
"She has these elaborate stories to go along with the drawings of castles and elfs." Trolls. "It distracts the children from their work. They are all already distracted enough as it is at their young age. Stories of pretend only hurt their learning process more."
"They're children. Surely, they should have some imagination?" Hermione retorted, leaning her head into her fingers to massage at her temples. She let out a sigh.
"Yes, but there is a time and a place for it, Ms. Granger. She speaks of witches and wizards and giants." Allison seemed to really find this upsetting and Hermione had to wonder if she was really so unimaginative that she wanted the rest of the world to be, too. "She has this idea in her head that someday she'll be whisked off to some magic school!"
Hermione let out a laugh at this and shook her head, looking behind her at her daughter. Adeline lifted her eyes to her mother and smiled, taking a blueberry from the plastic container. She offered it to her mother, who shook her head, and then popped it into her mouth. The witch turned back to the older woman and nodded. "Yes, I understand that she does have quite the imagination, doesn't she?" Hermione snuck another glance at Adeline, happy to see she was swinging her feet and turning the page of the book, blissfully unaware of the conversation happening before her. "I apologize for all the inconvenience, Principal Wades. I promise I will speak with Addie about these…drawings and I'll get her to tone down her stories, to at least wait until after school. I promise."
Allison seemed to be happy to hear that as a grin appeared on her face. "Excellent. Then there should be no problem." Hermione's smile faltered a bit at that, but she caught herself and nodded. "Good. Now, why don't I show you the way out?"
"Oh, no, please. I'm sure I can find the way out myself. " Hermione said as she stood, bending down to tie Addie's shoelace and grab the book. Her daughter gave it back to her without fuss and watched her mum put it away, zipping up her backpack. The blueberries, however, she did not return. She kept a tight hold on the container. Hermione stood, swinging Addie's backpack onto her shoulder and giving the Principal a smile. "Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention." She took a hold of Addie's hand and headed for the door, pushing it open. She took one step out when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Oh, Ms. Granger, please don't forget that it's your turn to organize the bake sale this Friday." The tone in Principal Wades' voice was condescending and Hermione bit back a snap. "The other kindergartener's mothers are already asking why you haven't sent them notice of what to bring." Hermione shrugged her hand off her shoulder as politely as she could and smiled, nodding.
"Of course I haven't forgotten; I'll send the list this evening." Allison smiled and returned to her desk, giving Hermione the chance to finally get out of there. She made her way out of the school, waiting patiently as Addie took each step slowly. The subway was not very far from where they were at, but as Hermione turned forward, she stopped. Brandon leaned against his car, giving her a big smile.
"Need a lift?" Hermione looked down at her yawning baby girl and nodded. It was all Bran needed to open the back door for the little one. "Come on in, Addie." There was no need to tell her twice as she raced to the car and jumped in, moving to the middle seat.
Hermione slid into the passenger side, letting Bran close the door for her. She looked back at Adeline as Bran spoke, checking the little one, too. "Make sure you buckle up." The soft click told them she had as Hermione did the same, crossing one leg over the other. Bran let out a small chuckle as he pulled from the curb. "That bad, huh?"
"You know, I don't know how you can stand working for her, Bran. She is the absolute worst!" Hermione placed her hands over her face, growling low into her palms. Her shoulders rose and fell as she tried to steady herself. She raised her head to look at her friend. "At least she didn't comment on my clothing. Grace did and apparently the janitorial staff is dressed better than me."
Bran scoffed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "Oh, you know that's not true." He made a turn, heading towards the Brooklyn Bridge. "Besides, Grace is a total bitch when she doesn't have her tongue up Wades' ass." Hermione gasped quietly and slapped him across the chest hard, pointing to the backseat. He gave her a sheepish smile, rubbing the spot she'd hit. "Sorry." She turned in her seat to look at Addie, glad to see that she was fast asleep and none the wiser. Hermione smiled, turning forward again. Bran looked through the rear view mirror. "She was tired from all the counting today."
"How'd she do?" Hermione asked, looking at him with furrowed brows. Brandon McAllister was an elementary maths teacher and he was quite good at his job. His lips curled into a smile.
"She did great. Not many of the students could catch on as fast as she did. You'll be pleased to know that there were only two and she was the first one." This did please Hermione, for as far as she was from home, she would always be the same bookworm. She held on tight to the folder in her lap, obviously nervous. His gaze dropped to them and back up to her worried expression. "Is that the drawings? I swear I didn't know. I would have told you otherwise. Allison explained it to me when I spotted them sitting on her desk."
"It's fine." Hermione shrugged, but then twisted her lips, looking out of the window. She shook her head a little, swallowing thickly. Her voice coated with worry. "I mean, it's not fine. I- I don't like these drawings. I don't like what they could mean."
"'What they could mean?'" Bran repeated her words, flicking the turn signal before taking a right. "Hermione, she's five. It means she has an overactive imagination. As she should, it means her brain is developing and she's using critical thinking skills." He shook his head at her, hand coming up to squeeze her shoulder. She sighed. Of course he would think that, he's a muggle.
She nodded, rolling her shoulder to get his hand off of her. Physical touch was not her thing. "I know, I'm sorry. You're right. It's just- I'm learning along as I go, you know? I don't have anyone helping me with this- with her. My parents are gone and this- this is weird, even for me." She frowned and stared out the window. "I don't know. I just have the feeling something bad is going to happen and I can't shake it off. It's in my bones, the pit of my stomach."
Bran rolled to a stop in front of her home, clicking off his seat belt and turning to look at her. "Hey, nothing bad is going to happen, Granger. Get your head out of the gutter." He took her hand in his and she flinched, pulling it away quickly. He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
"No, it's okay." She gave him a smile that didn't meet her eyes and opened the door, catching his gaze. "It just caught me off guard."
She turned to look at the beautiful townhouse situated on her right. It was the finest thing Hermione owned and the only thing she'd used her war reparation money on. The rest sat untouched in Gringotts with an order to be given to Adeline should anything happen to her. She had looked through a dozen apartments and studios when she first moved, but after finding out she was pregnant, she knew she'd need a master bedroom, a nursery, a fireplace for emergencies and a library. Those were the four things on her list. Finding the place in Brooklyn was a godsend and she bought it almost immediately.
Hermione stepped out of the car and went around to the driver's side. Bran lowered the window and smiled. "Thank you, Bran. You're always so good to us." She leaned in and pecked his cheek, smiling at the blush that crept onto his olive skin. She opened the back door and unbuckled Adeline, scooping her up in her arms. Her little blonde head rested on her shoulder, arms wrapping around her daughter's waist. She took the little backpack and closed the door, waving at her friend.
Hermione made her way up the stairs and pulled the keys out from her bag, unlocking the door and heading inside the first set of doors. She unlocked the second door and pushed it open, keeping it propped open with her hip. She stepped into the hall and walked to the living room, dropping the bag on the couch along with the folder. She made her way up the stairs towards Addie's room. It was in a beautiful pale seafoam color, the twin bed settled into the right corner. Beside that and just under the barred window was a little desk with a night light. Hermione lay Addie down gently, pulling the covers over her.
She admired the little thing, tears of joy coming to her eyes. When she thought she would fall apart, all it took was one look at this perfect creature and Hermione knew it would all be okay. How could it not? Adeline was perfect. She had a head full of curly, curly, golden blonde hair. It was as if it couldn't decide between mother and father and went straight down the middle. Her eyes, though closed now, were icy grey. Now that was all her father's. When the color started to develop, they were a painful reminder of her past. The good times and the worst times.
She leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead before looking at the photo framed on the nightstand. It wasn't the only photo of him in the home, but it was the nicest one. It was the only photo Hermione had taken of him, when they'd forgotten who they were and that there was any other moment, any other people in the world but them. Hermione had gotten a house elf to sneak it from his home before she left the country. It was important to her that her daughter knew who her father was, even if he didn't know her. So Hermione spoke to her about him.
Adeline always gave her mother 100% of the attention when it came time to speak about her father. Her eyes were wide and gleeful as Hermione told her stories. Some of them longer than others, always toned down and always speckled with hints of the truth. She had made a promise that she would never paint Adeline's father as a saint, but she wouldn't slander him, either. Most of their childhood had been painted for them, each path already forged ahead. But it was in their early years of adulthood that things changed between them.
XXXXX
Hermione took a step back from the Weasley family as they mourned, her own face stained with tears. Fred Weasley lay on the cot between the family and she felt her chest tighten every time she looked at him. She turned around, giving them space. Harry had stepped off to one side, sitting with Hagrid and although he gave her a look of concern, she waved it off, walking out of the destroyed Great Hall.
Bodies had littered this space not hours earlier, but many of the surviving aurors had spent most of the time collecting the dead. Hermione placed her hand on her heart as she walked down the corridors, a soft cry escaping her. This moment would be etched on her heart forever, carved into the very fabric of her soul.
She hadn't paid much attention to where she was walking and before she knew it, she'd ended up on the seventh floor. She just needed to get as far away from everybody as she could. The sound of a quiet sob made her stop in her tracks. She craned her neck and stepped forward, brows coming together. He knelt with his back to her, his shoulders shaking. His blonde hair was a mess and covered in dirt, soot, and blood. His head lifted at the sound of her feet scuffling. Blue eyes darted to her and she halted, eyes wide. Every part of her expected him to say something, but the look on his face. Completely dejected, completely hollow and broken.
Hermione knew that her own features were a mirror image.
He must have noticed it, too, because Draco Malfoy let his eyes slip to the ground, a pain contorting on his face as tears slipped back down. She walked over quietly, eyes never leaving him as she moved to kneel down in front of him. He didn't lift his gaze as she moved her hand to his side, moving his robes to one side. Her breath hitched as her suspicions were confirmed. The blood pooling on the floor was his. "You're hurt…" She swallowed thickly, voice small as she turned to reach into her expandable bag and pulled out a small first aid kit. He didn't fight her, he barely registered that she was in front of him.
Draco stayed still, silent tears flowing down his cheeks. Her fingers gripped his shirt and she lifted it up to under his arms. The wound was not as bad as it looked, but it bled a lot. She cleaned him up with a simple Scourgify spell and then the wound was really on display. She wasn't entirely sure why she was helping him. Maybe it was because he seemed so small, alone and shattered and she felt exactly like that on the inside. The things she'd been through, the things that she'd seen. Tears welled in her eyes as the memories came back to her. She lifted her hand and his fingers closed around her wrist. Eyes snapped together, blue on brown. It took a second and then he released her, swallowing before looking away again.
Her hand lifted to press the magical gauze over his side and he winced. The gauze expanded and then shrinked, a red light emitting as it began to cauterize the wound. Another round of silent tears ran down their cheeks, the only sound coming from their uneven breathing. Hermione pulled back, clearing her throat. "It's not perfect. It's just a holdover until you can get yourself to a healer." His eyes made no notion that he'd caught that and she gripped his chin so he could look at her. The movement caught them both by surprise, but she held her voice strong. "Draco. If you don't get to a healer, you'll bleed out." His eyes searched her face, no hint of recognition on his face. "I need you to tell me that you understand, okay? As soon as you can, you get to a healer."
His eyes stayed on hers and after a second, he nodded, looking down at the ground beneath him again. Hermione felt that tightening in her chest all over again and looked away from him. She felt like she should say something, but what could she say? Nothing would fix what he was feeling. Nothing would make any of this okay. She pushed herself to her feet, wiping her eyes and grabbing her expandable bag, swinging it over her shoulder again. She moved away from him, heading back down the hall. When he spoke, it was so quiet, confirming all of her previous thoughts. "I tried. I really tried."
The sound of a broken soul. Hermione didn't look back at him, lip quivering. "I know." She walked back down the hall, his sobs the only proof that the interaction had really happened.
XXXXX
Hermione snapped out of the memory and stood from the bed, turning the night light on. Unicorns and stars and dragons danced on the ceiling in a kaleidoscope of light. She pressed another kiss to her darling daughter's head before stepping out of the room and heading down the steps to the living room where she opened the folder once more. She flipped through all of the images. The last drawing was the worst. Adeline had a good eye for detail, apparently. However, this was one piece she wished she could keep from her. Hermione sat down on the sofa as the conversation with the principal sprang fresh in her mind. The drawings sprawled out on the coffee table for her to properly take a look at. Yet, it was the first one that she kept going back to. Tears filled her eyes as she sank back into the sofa, a pain in her chest, and a drawing of the dark mark in her hand.
XXXXXX
He'd watched her enter the home from across the street. He noticed the man in the vehicle, deciding to keep a close eye on him. Disguised as a dog, no one paid him much attention. He stayed all the rest of the day, watching, waiting. He stayed even when she'd left the house, child in hand and when they'd returned holding a matching pair of ice cream cones. His eyes never once left the house. It was dark when he decided to stray closer to the home, pawing his way up the stairs. At the entrance, he returned to his human form, his eyes darker than before. A hand reached out to touch the door and a silent curse escaped at the sudden heat the knob emitted. He looked to his hand, watching the burning skin. "Smart little witch." His voice was almost inhuman, multiple tones in it as if he had more than one. "I'll get in there somehow, Ms. Granger. I'm a man of determination."
Upstairs, Hermione fell asleep with her arms curled protectively around a freshly bathed Addie, blissfully unaware of the danger lurking just outside their door.