I've been sitting on this chapter for ages and truthfully, I almost scrapped it entirely. I don't know that I've got the balance entirely right with this one but here it is. There are some trigger warnings- mentions of children being in Azkaban, mentions of the effects, mentions of parental death and grief and very brief mention of an off screen childs death. Do let me know if you think I've missed any.
14th August 1998
"Kitten, you'll take pity on me won't you?"
Hermione's eyebrows arched at Sirius. "Pardon?"
"I want to go to the beach but Harry says no," he pouted.
"Why?" Hermione frowned, fighting not to roll her eyes at his dramatics.
"Apparently he went once with the Weasleys in between first and second year and hated it."
Hermione snorted, suddenly remembering that conversation. "Sand in his pants," she murmured, "Gods he went on about it for weeks."
"Well yes. But the beach Kitten! I bet Severus can't remember being on one," he wheedled.
"Ugh fine!" Hermione whined, knowing he was likely right. "You need to stop using my child to emotionally blackmail me though."
"Yes, yes," he waved her off before running up the stairs shouting, "Moons, we're going to the beach!" as he went.
"Oh God." Hermione groaned, wondering what the hell she'd let herself in for.
"What's the beach Mummy?" a small voice piped up, looking up at her curiously.
"It's ah…well there's water and sand and we can build castles." Her voice dropped ominously, "And bury Grandpa up to his neck."
Severus frowned, "Bury Grandpa?"
"Cover him in sand." she clarified
Severus nodded slowly, not looking particularly convinced. "Ok, Mummy," he murmured.
"Just…let's go and get you some shorts shall we?" Taking her hand he followed her, clearly still unsure what was going on.
Half an hour later, more than a little glad that they had magic given all the things Sirius had declared Severus absolutely needed for his first trip to a beach, Hermione found herself in the living room with an exasperated Remus and a bouncing Sirius. Severus stood, clutching her hand, taking it all in with a serious expression on his tiny face. "Where are we going?"
"Remember that Island I spoke about?"
"Uhuh." she stared at the flat gold disk he held out.
"Perementant portkey," he shrugged, before turning to Severus. "Right then Pup, who's carrying you this time?"
"Mummy," he replied promptly, still looking wary.
"Alright then," Hermione agreed, hoisting him onto her hip. "My goodness, have you grown again?" she teased, "Soon you'll be too big for mummy to carry!"
"I be as big as Uncle Charlie!" he agreed with a giggle. "And then I carry you!"
"Gods I really hope he tries it at least once," Sirius laughed. "Now, are we ready? Everyone got a finger on the portkey?"
Hermione hummed, helping Severus, holding his finger in place. "You mustn't let go alright?"
He nodded as Sirius counted down, "Three, two, one, portus!"
"That was awful, Mummy!" Severus whined the moment their feet touched the sand.
"I know darling, but it's over now." Hermione soothed, pulling off his shoes before setting him down on the sand.
His eyes blew wide, as he lifted each foot experimentally, wobbling in place as the sand shifted under his feet. "What's that?"
"Sand,'' Hermione replied distractedly, taking in what she could see of the island. It was stunning, all white sand and clear water. It was like someone had plucked it out of a staged holiday brochure. A sprawling villa dominated the land to the left, surrounded by tropical plants, and if she wasn't mistaken, some obscure potions ingredients. "Where are we?"
"Black Island. Somewhere near Puerto Rico." Sirius answered, a smile creeping over his face. "Now, sun loungers and sand castles!"
"Feels funny Mummy," Severus looked so utterly confused as he reached for her that she laughed, swinging up to throw him in the air until she was breathless and he was giggling.
"I imagine it does Imp," she agreed, allowing him to settle back on her hip for the moment, "Come on, let's go and make sure Grandpa behaves himself."
The look he gave her left her in no doubt about how likely he thought it was that they'd manage to achieve that and made Remus laugh so hard that Sirius paused in setting up the beach things to his exacting standards.
Several hours later, increasingly elaborate sand castles littering the beach, Hermione watched with a smile as Severus chased Padfoot in the sea, his loud giggles interspersed with playful barks.
"This feels surreal sometimes," Remus murmured, his cheeks pink from the sun.
"I know." she agreed, "It feels right too though, doesn't it?"
He sat up on his lounger, reaching across the space to drop a kiss onto the crown of her head, "Of course it does." he agreed.
"Sook," she teased. "Malfoy didn't want to come?"
Remus snorted, "The boy was ecstatic at having the house to himself. Something about five minutes peace."
Hermione hummed, her eyes tracking Severus who was attempting to catch the ball of water a newly human Sirius had manipulated to hover in front of him, "I think he's writing to Susan."
"Bones?" he asked startled, "Your Susan?"
"Yup." Hermione nodded.
"Good Godric." Remus breathed, "That's… that's…no. I actually can't even picture it."
"Can't you?" Hermione mused. "I think maybe I can."
"Really?"
"Yes, Sues ...straightforward. She doesn't pretend, she says exactly what she means and she doesn't shy away from saying what she's thinking. I think he needs that to be honest."
Remus nodded slowly before he shook his head "Nope, sorry, still can't see it."
"I'll invite her over again," she smirked, "If nothing else it'll be entertaining to watch."
"Mummy! Mummy Grandpa's making the water dance!" Severus' excited voice interrupted them.
"Of course he is," Hermione agreed with no small amount of amusement.
"You come see!"
"And there's my cue." Hermione laughed, heading in the direction of the dancing water people Sirius had created for her son's amusement.
17th August 1998
"Right darling, do you remember where we're going?"
"To see lots of other boys and girls!" he shouted.
"That's right and can you remember what mummy told you?"
"To be polite?" he guessed, his tiny face scrunched in concentration.
"Well yes, but you mustn't be sad if they don't want to play, can you remember what Uncle Draco said?"
"Some of them were sad and missing their mummies and daddies," he whispered.
"That's right," she agreed.
"But Mummy, can't they get new ones?"
Hermione sucked in a sharp breath, "I… It's not that easy."
"You did! And I did!" he argued
Hermione met Draco's eyes over the top of his head, he stared back with a slightly astounded look on his face. "I ah…"
"What Mummy's trying to say is um…she got lucky, Grandpa and Grandad already knew her and wanted to be her Daddies." Draco attempted.
"But I didn't know Mummy," he replied, scrunching his face in confusion.
"Oh darling you did," Hermione corrected.
"I did?"
"For a long time," she murmured, before holding him still, her hands on his shoulders, "Severus?" she waited until she had his full attention, "It is very, very important that you don't tell the other boys and girls that they just need to get new mummies and daddies, alright? It would make them very sad."
"Ok," he agreed promptly.
"This is going to be a disaster, isn't it?" Hermione groaned.
Draco grimaced but didn't correct her, placing his hand on Severus' shoulder, "Right then, let's go and see what Auntie Cissa is up to with the boys and girls."
The newly named Hippogriff House was chaos. While many of the children were undoubtedly traumatised having witnessed the murders of their families, being left in Azkaban or just by being magical in a world that didn't understand it, it was still filled with the sounds of children being children.
"The Prime Minister's scheme identified a further five children," Andromeda greeted, making Hermione sigh. While she was glad that there was now somewhere for them to go, it was difficult to realise just how many children there were. "Narcissa is under Almond's watchful eye, she's currently reading with the older children."
Hermione hummed, "Why don't you go with Uncle Draco while Mummy has a quick chat with Auntie Andy?"
Severus frowned, "But I…"
"You know, if we find Popcorn and Fudge, maybe they'll let us fly with some of the children." Draco wheedled, knowing the elves would never say no to anything that brought the children joy.
"Alright," Severus sighed exaggeratedly, accepting Draco's hand.
"How are the new children settling in?" Hermione asked as soon as they'd left.
Andromeda sighed, "Reasonably well," she admitted, "It's some of the others I'm concerned about."
"The Travers siblings, Meredith Selwyn, Cora Yaxley and almost all the muggleborns who were in Azkaban?" Hermione guessed.
"Got it in one," Andromeda sighed.
Having very quickly realised she needed help, Hermione had asked Andromeda to step in as a manager of sorts, and desperate to fill the void left by her husband, Andromeda had jumped at the chance. Alongside an ever-changing rota of volunteers and an ever-growing number of irreplaceable House Elves, they were managing but neither woman was stupid enough to think that they wouldn't need some more permanent staff.
"It's early days," Hermione mused, despite looking pained.
"I know," Andromeda agreed. "And the first lot of muggle mind healers are due in next week."
"Wednesday,'' Hermione nodded, "Kings owled. One of them is Dean's aunt. In the meantime, what do you think we should do?"
"I don't know," Andromeda admitted, "perhaps Draco would talk to some of them? The Travers siblings in particular seemed to take to him." she paused, "Meredith Selwyn asked for you."
"And that…worries you?" She checked reading something on Andromadas face.
"She's little," the witch murmured. "And you already have a son. I'm concerned...well. You can't take them all, Hermione."
Hermione blanched. "I know," she agreed, her mind drifting to the quiet girl who had taken to curling up on her lap for a story and as a result was beginning to open up around her.
"Do you?" Andromeda checked, "Because I see the way you look at her."
Hermione sighed, "I do know." she argued.
"But?"
"No buts, I cant…Severus is more than enough currently."
Andromeda hummed but didn't seem convinced. "Perhaps your Mr Zabini should visit. It might help the children."
"Alright," Hermione agreed slowly, "He offered to help."
"Owl him then," Andromeda dimpled, waving a sheet of parchment at her, "half of them are feral today."
Hermione rolled her eyes, pulling the parchment from Andromeda's hand, "How are the muggleborns?" she asked as she wrote.
"The four we found family members for are apparently doing reasonably well, the other fifteen that were in Azkaban are…struggling. The Mind Healers suggested group therapy alongside one-to-one's for the ones able of course," she looked up at Hermione
"Yes, I remember reading that, Narcissa was going to set up one of the rooms. I forwarded on the Psychiatrists recommendations. The art supplies they asked for should come next week, too."
"Right," Andromeda made a note on her parchment, taking Hermione's finished note from her and sending it along with an elf. "Other than that nothings changed since you were here two days ago, the elves are settling in well. Narcissa procured two new ones that the children have christened Spot and Sparkles. And she wants to talk to you about a Yule ball to raise money."
"Gods, right." Hermione muttered, "Can I just agree and be done with it? We both know she's better at this than I am."
Andromeda snorted, "But how will you learn, darling."
"Andromeda,'' Hermione whined, "I'll have too much to do! NEWTs are meant to be in December!"
"Very well, I'll suggest she has you shadow her for the summer ball then." Andromeda acquiesced. "Now, I assume you're going to want to check on the children?"
"Please?"
Andromeda snorted, "This is your baby," she reminded her.
"Partially," Hermione allowed, "But I'm being pulled in several different directions, you are not. I'm hoping that after NEWTs I can come here more often with Severus but we both know I've other things I want to do."
"Yes. Have you reached out to any Master warders?"
"Yes, two required me to relocate immediately, ones reserving judgement for after Newts, three rejected me outright, Master Carter is intrigued enough to set up a meeting for the 8th of September."
"That sounds promising." Andromeda encouraged before she paused, "Do you intend to focus on that?"
"No,'' Hermione groaned before laughing. "I don't ever want to lose touch with the children, but we both know that the warding could help bridge the gap with funding. And the creature rights things have to happen while we've the momentum and Severus is…young."
"And you don't want to miss any of that either," Andromeda finished with a sympathetic smile.
"No." Hermione agreed with a deep sigh, "How the hell do people do it?"
"By asking for help, accepting that you cannot be everything to everyone and knowing that your best will never be perfect but it is good enough."
Hermione slumped, "What if they resent me?"
Who?"
"Severus, the children here….what if they feel like, I don't know, what if they feel like I abandoned them or choose one over the other…"
"Hermione." Andromeda cut her off, continuing pointedly, "All you can do is your best."
"What if it's not enough?"
"It's all you have," Andromeda replied gently. "Now the children?"
"Miss Andy there bes a man here. He says Miss Mya asked for him." An unusually tall elf in a pristine little blue dress looked at her curiously.
"Hermione meet Sparkles."
"It's lovely to meet you Sparkles," Hermione answered promptly, smiling at her.
"Sparkles is honoured to meet Miss Mya." the elf nodded before smiling shyly, "Sparkles has missed working with little ones."
"I'm glad you're happy here, Sparkles," Hermione replied softly before Andromeda redirected her attention.
"Now, what man is here?"
"He bes saying his name bes Blaise."
"Send him in please," Andromeda smirked. "Merlin, that boy is keen."
Hermione flushed, unable to reply before Sparkles was showing Blaise in. His face split into a grin at the sight of her, sobering immediately before settling into something akin to fear at the sight of Andromeda.
"So you're Blaise Zabini," Andromeda mused making Hermione groan.
"Andy!" she whined.
"Yes, darling? I gather your father was remarkably tame in his interrogation, surely someone should be looking out for your interests?"
"Andy!"
Andromeda snorted, holding out her hand imperiously, "Andromeda Tonks."
"Madam Tonks," he bowed over her hand, ghosting a kiss against her knuckles."
"Hmmm," Andromeda pursed her lips, staring at him until he squirmed. "We'll have a chat later, I think. For just now, I believe that Hermione intended to go and see the children."
"Right," Blaise murmured, looking at Hermione for guidance.
She rolled her eyes at Andromeda, who smiled serenely back at her "Let's go this way." Hermione sighed, "Draco has Severus somewhere so I want to check on the ah…currently less sociable children while he's occupied.
"Oh?"
"Some are from pureblood families, but most are muggleborns ranging from twelve to sixteen. All of the muggleborns have been in Azkaban''
"Sweet Salazar," he muttered, looking unsure.
She had barely taken ten steps into the corridor that contained the rooms when a small, blonde, curly head poked its way out of a door and a blur of tiny limbs crashed into her, "Miss Mya you came!"
Crouching down Hermione took in the red eyes and trembling lower lip that indicated she'd been crying, "What's wrong Edie?"
The child's face crumpled and she began to sob. Pulling her up into her arms quickly, Hermione gestured Blaise into her room, murmuring soothing nonsense as she went.
"They said it was my fault," Meredith whispered.
"Who did?"
"The other children," she explained, "They said that my Daddy killed their parents and so I should die too."
Hermione's blood ran cold, "Did they hurt you?"
Slowly, Edie lifted the sleeves of her blouse, showing the red welts lining her arms. "Did Daddy hurt people, Mya?"
Hermione closed her eyes, before sending a generic healing charm along the girl's arms "I don't know, darling. But even if he did that doesn't make it ok for people to hurt you. I need you to tell me who it was, sweetheart."
"Cassie," she mumbled, burrowing closer to Hermione, "Jared and Callum."
"Alright," Hermione murmured, cuddling her close, nodding to Tilly who had been following them. Understanding the unspoken request, the elf disappeared to find Andromeda. "Has this happened before?"
Meredith shook her head. "Will they do it again?"
"No, darling,'' Hermione murmured into the crown of her head. Blaise watched them, his heart hurting for the small girl who couldn't have been more than four.
"Who's he, Miss Mya?" Meredith asked once she was calm.
"This is Blaise, he's going to be helping every now and then."
"Like Mr Draco and Mr Harry and Mr Dean and…"
"Yes, like all of them," Hermione laughed.
"Does he do something special too?"
"In what way?"
"Well Mr Draco and Mr Harry take us flying, and Mr Draco practises potions with the older ones, and Mr Harry helps them with spells, and Mr Neville helps us all garden, and Miss Lavender reads to us and Mr Ron plays games and you…you to lots!"
"Ah I see. I don't know yet. But I do know that Dean has been teaching Blaise football so maybe he'll play with you all."
"Yes!" her face lit up before it fell. "They won't play with me if Mr Dean's not here. They say I'm too little."
"Well, today I brought my little boy, so maybe we should find him so you've someone your size to play with."
"You have a little boy, Miss Mya?"
"Yes, Severus. He's a little bit littler than you. Shall we find him?"
"Yes!" Meredith squealed, sounding truly excited at the idea causing Hermione to wonder if part of her reticence was the vast age gap between her and the other children.
"Well then, go and wash your face, Blaise and I just need to speak to some of the others quickly, we'll be back in a minute."
She's the youngest?" he guessed once they were out of earshot.
"By a large margin," Hermione agreed with a grimace.
"And the children she mentioned.?
Hermione sighed, "New muggleborns. I'll speak to them because while they are likely telling the truth it's not her fault."
"No," Blaise agreed slowly.
"What?" she demanded.
He shook his head, trying to decide what to say, "Will you adopt again do you think?"
Hermione froze, "I don't know," she admitted slowly. "Maybe."
He hummed, a knowing look on his face, "Shall we meet the others?"
As expected the Traver's siblings refused to acknowledge her but perked up when Blaise mentioned Draco. Cora Yaxley stuck to monosyllabic answers and refused to look at them, and Hermione made a mental note to speak to the Mind Healers.
"This is…Room one" Hermione blew out a breath when the reached a shut door nearing the end of the corridor, "Remember they've been in Azkaban."
Balise nodded warily, following her into the room, it was bigger than the others. Four beds lined the walls, each occupied by a child. One was sitting, rocking back and forward, making little humming noises, one was still, staring unseeing out into the room, the other two lay flat, their eyes focused on the ceiling.
Moving methodically, Hermione moved down the beds, checking a chart at the end of each of them before, speaking soothingly to them as she passed. Stopping at the desk at the end of the room, she smiled sadly at the mediwitch.
"No changes?"
"Not many, although Malcolm Jones asked me where he was yesterday. That's new. And Stacy Wilson sat up for the first time. Oh, and little Micheal Sims spoke."
"They did?"
"Yes. It's…encouraging. I know it doesn't seem like it but it is progress."
Hermione sighed, "I know it's just…" she looked around the room, "We failed them. They should never have been in that place."
The mediwitch smiled sadly, "You didn't fail them, Miss Granger-Black. I refuse to listen to that nonsense, without this Home, you, Merlin only knows where the Ministry would have placed these children. Now, Carmen Young is in with the others next door. I imagine she'd want to see you."
Hermione hummed, accepting the dismissal, crossing the corridor with Blaise on her heels they entered a room that he immediately recognised as being a step up from the one before. The children were still subdued but they weren't as unaware as the children he'd just seen. All five of the room's occupants turned to look at them as they entered.
"Miss Granger-Black," the mediwitch smiled, "I told the children you intended to visit today. Who is this?"
"Oh, Blaise Zabini, he ah…intends to help"
The witch hummed clearly sizing him up, "And your other guest? You mentioned bringing him."
"Oh, Severus? Draco absconded with him while I was talking to Andy. I'll bring him along."
"Now, Miss Mya?" a soft voice asked.
Blaise turned at the same time as Hermione, watching her smile at the girl. She looked painfully thin, dark circles lined her eyes and her arms remained wrapped protectively around her middle. She couldn't have been more than fifteen, but her expression spoke of a child who had seen too much, lived through too much. It was an expression he often caught on Hermione's face when she thought no one was looking.
"Jennifer," Hermione smiled, walking towards her.
"Are you bringing him now?" she repeated before pausing. "I used to have a little brother."
A look of utter devastation crossed Hermione's face before she masked it. "I can," she murmured.
"I like children," the girl mumbled, "Mum had Jack late." she blew out a breath before whispering, "He was only four."
"Oh Jennifer," Hermione looked lost for a moment before she gently wrapped her arms around the girl, giving her time to refuse. Jennifer all but fell into her.
"Why would they want to hurt them, Miss Mya?" she whispered, "He was four, Ella was only ten. What did they do?"
"Nothing, sweetheart, they did nothing. I don't have an explanation. I wish I did."
Blaise met the sad eyes of the mediwitch from across the room, not knowing what he could say. This was nothing like he had imagined and he had to admit that was partially his naivety. He knew, abstractly, that Azkaban was a place of nightmares, knew there was no way these children not be traumatised. But seeing the results of it in front of him was worse than he'd ever dared consider. Deciding to give them some privacy, he moved to the next bed, finding wary dark eyes watching him back.
"I'm ah…Blaise."
The boy nodded, "Leighton," he offered finally. "Miss Mya says we're getting art things."
He hummed, "If that's what she says then that's what's happening." he agreed. "Do you like art?"
The boy seemed unsure, his eyes darting to the mediwitch who nodded encouragingly. "Yes." he agreed, "Dean draws with me sometimes."
Blaise attempted something he hoped was an encouraging smile, "I was always better at painting than drawing." he admitted.
Leighton's eyes showed some interest as he regarded Blaise thoughtfully in response to that, "I used to like clay."
Blaise smiled, feeling it come more genuinely this time, "And does Hermione know that? I'm sure she'd get you some."
The boy shrugged, "She's busy."
"Not too busy for that," he corrected gently.
"Do you think we'll ever leave this room?"
Blaise frowned, "I don't understand."
"They put us here because we're broken."
"That is not why you're here Leighton," Carmen corrected, reading the panic on Blaises' face. "You were here because you needed a little bit more help after Azkaban. What did Sirius say?"
"That it messes with your mind," he sighed.
"Yes." Hermione agreed as she came to join them, her arm still wrapped around Jennifer. "I also know he told you that he couldn't bear to be around lots of people either, it took him ages. I remember it, it wasn't pretty. You're doing far, far better than he did. You're not stuck here though sweetheart, any time you want to go and join an activity you can."
"Can I?" he looked unsure, "What if…what if I…"
"Have a panic attack?" Hermione finished gently, "Then you have one, and someone will be there to help. No one will judge you, we all have them."
"Even you?" he accused.
"Even me." she agreed to his clear surprise. "We had wondered how you felt about having some friends come here?"
"Into our room?" he checked.
"Yes."
"Can we think about it?"
"Of course." she nodded, "Jennifer asked if my little boy could come"
"You have a son?"
"He's three." she agreed.
"Oh. I ah… it's your house, Miss Mya."
"And it's your home. If you don't want him here I can take Jennifer to another room."
"What's his name?"
Hermione turned to the boy who had asked, smiling, "Simon. Andromeda told me you'd been helping the smaller children with their spells. Thank you."
The boy flushed, "It was only some."
"It doesn't matter, it helped. And his name is Severus."
"Like Snape?" the boy frowned. At sixteen he was one of the oldest and therefore well acquainted with Professor Snape."
"Yes."
"I didn't think Snape liked muggleborns," he muttered.
"Professor Snape had a very dangerous role," Hermione corrected softly, "He couldn't act like he liked muggleborns."
"But he obviously liked you enough for you to name your kid after him."
"Well not quite," Hermione snorted, "Professor Snape had a slight mishap with a potion."
Simon blinked confusedly back at her but it was the girl next to him that put the pieces together. "Your son is Professor Snape?"
"Yes, Sophie. Once upon a time, he was Professor Snape. Now, he's three."
"Jesus Christ," the room's last occupant muttered, "What's he like?"
"Severus?" Hermione sighed, "He likes dinosaurs and dragons. Oh and cars. His favourite book is Funny Bones but he's rather fond of The Tiger Who Came to Tea."
The child smiled slightly, "I used to love funnybones."
"Me too, Corrine, me too." Hermione agreed.
"He can come here." Leighton interrupted abruptly. "Maybe little Edie would like someone to play with." Hermione's eyes shot up to look at him, the question clear. "She visits sometimes," he muttered. "She doesn't do well in crowds either."
"No she doesn't,'' Hermione agreed softly.
"Will you get them both?" Jennifer asked.
"If you want."
Hermione blew out a breath as she shut the door behind her. "Fuck that never gets easier," she muttered.
"How…Why are they in that room and not the double ones the others have?" Blaise asked hesitantly.
"They were originally in the first room,'' Hermione explained softly, "That room is the stage before moving them into a double. It's…all the children need some level of extra help, but they need slightly more than that."
"They seem so…."
"Normal? Mostly. But they don't cope with excessive noise, they struggle more in crowds and their nightmares are more violent. Hence why we have a mediwitch with them all the time. Leighton is getting there, I don't imagine he'll stay there much longer but we're hoping to time his move with Simons so they can share. I think it'll help. Jennifer and Corrine still have quite a bit to go, Sophie might move sooner rather than later but we want to make sure it's the right fit."
"Are they all in a room with someone else?"
"Not all of them but mostly," Hermione explained, "We found it helped after the isolation of Azkaban, and of course for the children on the other side, it gave them someone for comfort."
"Fucking hell," he muttered, "How…how do you do this and not…"
"Rage at the world?" she shrugged almost nonchalantly but the fleeting look of exhaustion-tinged sadness told a different story, "I remember how far they've come in a short space of time. Last week I couldn't have taken you to that room. They wouldn't have coped. And later, I'll take you out to the other children, the ones who are in the place we're aiming to get those children to. We have a long way to go with all of them, but the longer the moments last where they're just children the better. They'll never be completely fine, how could they be? But they'll be healthier than they are now and that's all we can ask."
He hummed, reaching for her hand, needing something solid after facing the reality of the damage the war had done.
"Miss Mya, are we going now?" Meredith checked when they reappeared, her eyes zeroing in on their hands.
"Jennifer wondered if you wanted to play for a little bit?
"With your little boy?"
"Yes,'' she agreed, calling for Tilly. "Can you bring Severus? There's someone I want him to meet."
"Yes Miss." the elf agreed, appearing back moments later with a pouting Severus.
"Mummy, I was flying!" he whined.
"I know, darling," Hermione agreed, reaching for him, "But I wanted you to meet Edie."
Severus' eyes immediately flew to the little girl, having not noticed her. He darted to Hermione's side, clutching her hand.
"Hi," he whispered.
Meredith looked torn, watching the boy with her current favourite adult. Reading the expression Hermione let go of Blaise's hand and gestured her forward, "Edie," she murmured, pulling her into her side, "This is Severus."
"Hi," she mumbled, her grip on Hermione tightening.
"Will we go and see Jennifer? We can take some toys with us?"
"Jennifer likes to colour in," Edie whispered.
"We can do that," Hermione agreed, "Or there's cars and dolls."
"Dinosaurs, mummy?"Severus checked.
"I'm sure there are somewhere in the playroom." she agreed, eyeing the children warily, wondering if this had not been a monumentally bad idea. "Shall we go?"
With both of them clinging to her possessively, she guided them back towards the room they just left, ignoring Blaise's contemplative look.
"Oh look at him," Jennifer whispered upon seeing them.
"There's no way that's Professor Snape," Simon muttered.
"Severus, can you say hello?"
He shook his head, melding himself into her side. "Up Mummy," he whispered.
Hermione looked momentarily panicked as she attempted to figure out how to do that and not let go of Meredith. Stepping in, Blaise swooped Severus up, handing him over before the boy realised what was happening. Wrapping his arms around her, he promptly buried his head in her neck.
"It's alright darling, they're not scary, she soothed.
She felt him shake his head, deciding to change tact, she looked down at a pensive Meredith. "Shall we go over there and decide what we're doing?"
With a tentative nod, she allowed Hermione to guide her over to the table at the corner of the room. "Can we colour in?"
Hermione glanced at Jennifer who smiled, "Of course we can, it's my favourite.'' She accepted the colouring books and pencils from Hermione helping the younger witch to choose.
They coloured in silence, Blaise joining in, colouring a hippogriff he vowed to gift to Draco, making the children laugh as he told the story of Buckbeak and Draco's ridiculousness.
"Where Buckbeak now?" Sophie asked, looking at him intently.
He faltered slightly before Hermione laughed, "Buckbeak is with Hagrid. We renamed him Witherwings."
Blaises' jaw dropped, "When?"
"Oh sometime after we rescued Sirius on him. They lived together for a while."
"Sirius... your Dad and Buckbeak lived together?"
"Of course. Pads was hardly going to let anything happen to the hippogriff who helped save him. He only gave him back to Hagrid because Number 12 wasn't really big enough, he was talking about having him back now we've a garden." she replied, trying not to laugh at the look on his face. "I hope I'm there when he tells Draco."
Blaise snorted, "I hope I'm there when he tells Draco. Merlin the tantrum…."
Corrine blinked, "You don't live with your parents, Miss Mya?"
"Oh. I ah…not quite.'' Hermione answered hesitantly. "My parents died in a car crash just before what should have been my seventh year."
"Granny and Papa, Mummy?" Severus' quiet voice checked. "They live with the angels."
"That's right," Hermione agreed, swallowing down the grief, "Granny and Papa live with the angels."
"Like Penny." he mused.
"Like Penny."
"So who do you live with?" Corrine pushed.
"Sirius Black, and…you'll remember Professor Lupin don't you Simon?"
"Yes," he agreed, looking at her curiously. "He was nice. You live with him?"
"I do. And Harry, and Draco."
"Oh." Corrine mused, "So you've….made a family."
"Yes," Hermione agreed, finally understanding.
"That sounds nice," she murmured, leaving Hermione speechless as she forced down unhelpful tears at the heartbreaking unfairness of it all.
They left the room over an hour later, most of the children needing a break from being sociable. "Will we go and see what the others are up to?"
"Yes, Mummy, Uncle Draco was flying!" Severus' excited voice pipped up.
"Let's go and find him then, Edie? Do you want to come?"
"Yes," she agreed, sounding subdued but following them regardless.
"Cousin!" Draco crowed from several feet up, clearly in the middle of a Quidditch game with some of the children. "And Zabini." he finished with less enthusiasm as he dismounted, calling for the children to continue. "Little snake," he grinned at Severus, dodging Hermione's hand as she went to smack him "and little Miss Edie. how are you?"
Edie buried her face in Hermione's leg wrapping her arms around it. "Are the new children here?'' Hermione murmured.
Draco nodded, reading something on her face. She hummed, "Edie darling, will you stay with Blaise and Severus for me? I need to have a quick chat with Draco and I need someone to keep them in line."
Meredith removed her head from Hermione's leg, "You'll come back?"
"Of course, I will," Hermione agreed, "Merlin only knows what mischief these two will get up to if I don't."
Giving her a reluctant smile, Edie nodded. Arching a brow, Hermione levelled Blaise with a glare, "Make sure you listen to Miss Edie." she commanded, her lip twitching slightly, "She's in charge."
Edie's grin grew wider, "Of course," Blaise nodded, looking suitably chastened as even Severus giggled.
"We play dinosaurs?" he asked quietly.
"What's a dinosaur?" Meredith asked curiously.
Severus' eyes grew wide, "Mummy we bring them?"
"The toy room has some in one of the boxes," Hermione pointed back to the house, "You can bring them out."
"Or we can play football?" Edie asked shyly.
Severus gave her a slightly wicked grin, "Mr Zabini's in goals," he crowed.
Hermione and Draco both snorted at the look on Blaise's face. "Make sure you kick the ball hard," Draco advised as Hermione dragged him away. "What's going on?" he asked as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Edie had welts up her arms from what I think was repeated stinging hexes." Hermione sighed, noting the way Draco's face hardened. "She mentioned Cassie, Jared and Callum."
"Ah fuck." he swore.
"So their theory that Anthony Selwyn was involved in the deaths of their parents has merit?" she sighed.
"Unfortunately," he agreed, "The Aurors told the Aunt they were living with before coming here. I gather she used to shout about it when she was berating them."
"Fucking wonderful." Hermione muttered, "Right then, want to come with me to talk to them?"
"Not really," he muttered. "But I gather that was a rhetorical question."
"No," she sighed, "I can call Andy. It just needs two of us and while I remember, Andy asked if you'd consider talking to the Travers siblings. Maybe take Blaise?"
He hummed, "Come on cousin, I'll talk to the others once I've seen Zabini pelted with footballs. I'm sure that'll restore my equilibrium."
Rolling her eyes, she called for an elf, "Tilly, do you know where the Tate siblings are?"
"Games room Miss," she squeaked.
"Right then,'' Hermione glanced at Draco who held out his arm mockingly. With an eye roll, she took it, both of them heading in the direction of the games room.
The Tate siblings were the only ones in when they appeared, all of them eyeing them with distrust. "I don't think we've been introduced," Hermione opened, "I'm…"
"We know who you are," the eldest boy cut her off, "Hermione Granger." he looked her up and down with disgust, "I never expected you to turn into a traitor."
"Excuse me?" Hermione barked.
The boy eyed Draco, "If Hermione Granger was half as good as they want us to believe she'd never be standing with Draco Malfoy."
Hermione blew out a breath, taking in the blank mask on Draco's face. "Alright, that's quite enough of that, I think we're due for a chat."
"And why would we want to talk to you?"
"You don't need to say a word," Hermione informed him, "You do however have to listen."
"I don't think so." he sneered, moving to stand. He jumped when the door slammed shut and Hermione arched a brow.
"Sit down." she bit out. "Now."
He eyed her warily. His siblings shared worried looks behind him before he complied.
"You have every right to be angry." she started, clearly surprising them. "None of the last few years have been fair. What you don't have, is the right to take that anger out on the wrong people. Draco's a big boy, he can handle it, even if he shouldn't have to, but Meredith Selwyn is four."
"Her father murdered our parents," the boy sneered, "they tossed us in Azkaban."
"And you will never know how sorry I am for that,'' Hermione admitted softly, "But Meredith didn't do either of those things. What purpose does torturing a four year old little girl have? And on what planet do you think that by doing that you're not heading down the same path as them?"
All three children blanched, "We're nothing like them!" Cassie protested, speaking for the first time.
"You hurt a little girl,'' Hermione repeated, "A little girl who has done nothing wrong because…what? It made you feel better?"
"It didn't," she whispered, tears tracking down her face. "It didn't make me feel better."
With a sigh, Hermione approached her slowly, sitting down next to her under the watchful eyes of her brothers before wrapping her arm around the now sobbing girl.
"You cannot hurt people because you are hurting," she murmured, rocking Casie gently.
"I just…I was so angry," she murmured. "Her dad is the reason ours is dead."
"I know sweetheart, and you can absolutely be angry at him. But not her."
"I don't know how to stop being angry."
"You don't," Hermione admitted, shocking them for the second time.
"What?"
"You don't,'' Hermione repeated looking at the boy who had spoken expectantly.
"Jared," he muttered.
"Then you must be Callum."
"The elder boy nodded, "You don't seem angry," he observed.
Hermione looked back at him, allowing her mask to drop. "I'm furious," she whispered. "I don't think I'll stop being angry for a very long time, if ever."
He nodded slowly, his face losing some of his hostility. "So why are you with him?"
"Draco? He apologised, he was…in an impossible situation and he helped us when he didn't have to. He's the reason we lived long enough for Harry to win. He has also spent an awful lot of time helping me make my plans a reality."
"Wasn't he forced to?"
"By the Wizengamot, yes. But he asked before it was ordered. That's why it was ordered."
"He did?" Callum's eyebrows shot up.
"Yes, he did."
"Oh," he muttered.
"Now, we are going to talk about ways to manage that anger," she looked at them pointedly until they flushed, "But I am also going to request you apologise to Meredith." All three children stiffened. Cassie was the first to break and nod. "Good. Now you know we have psychologists and psychiatrists coming and someone who wants to do some sort of art therapy if that's your thing but we also have some punching bags."
"You do?" Callum perked up.
"We do. I found they...helped when I was too angry to be rational. We also have a warded duelling room with dummies that if you ask Madam Tonks, you can be booked in to."
They nodded slowly. "Ok," Jared muttered, "We can do that."
"Good. I need you to know we won't tolerate violence, no matter how justifiable your anger. Not from you, not from any of the others either. This has to be a safe space and no one here is responsible for hurting your families."
"What happens if we can't control it?" Callum whispered suddenly.
"Then you call for an elf and one of us will come," Hermione replied gently.
"How do you do it?"
Hermione sighed, "I duel, dummies, my friends. I remind myself that we have the chance to make a world that's better than the one we were given. My son helps, but so does everyone here. And we're working on things that I think will make things better, it's…easier to channel your anger when you're fighting against the prejudice."
He hummed, nodding. "Is Meredith alright?" Cassie asked quietly.
"She's…honestly, no." Hermione shook her head, "She's four, her family however vile they were, loved her. She has no idea about Voldemort or raids or the Muggleborn registry. All she knows is the Daddy who took her flying, and the mummy who brushed her hair and played dolls with her are not here now and likely will never be here again. And I'm not saying that to make you feel guilty you have every right to your anger towards them, but I need you to remember that she has lost her parents as surely as you did. Arguably through their own actions, but again, she's four, and she doesn't understand that. All she knows is that now she's alone and struggling and that three children who are far older than she is hurt her for reasons she doesn't understand."
All three flushed, "We'll apologise," Cassie muttered.
"Good," Hermione nodded before she took a breath, "I am always only an elf or an owl away. As is Madam Tonks or any other volunteer you find you feel more comfortable with. We will never be able to replace your families, but I hope you'll allow us to help build you a different one."
Hermione sat with Severus sound asleep on her lap in Andromeda's office. "They apologised?"
"Yes," Hermione sighed, "They seemed ... genuine, but I've asked Milly to keep an eye on Meredith just in case."
Andromeda hummed, suddenly looking exhausted. "I feel like I should apologise for missing it."
Hermione shook her head, "We need more permanent staff or more elves. Something."
"Any luck?"
Hermione shook her head. "Not yet. I'm tempted to ask Blaise if he has any recommendations. I've already asked Kings and Remus might step in for a while but he's more excited to help with werewolf rights understandably."
Andromeda looked at her with amusement, "This is beginning to sound serious."
"What werewolf rights?"
"Hermione!" Andromeda scolded while laughing. "You know fine well that's not what I meant."
"Ugh, we're getting to know one another. It's….we need to spend more time with Severus."
"Oh?"
"He's my son," Hermione murmured gently, "Anyone who intends to stay needs to accept that. He needs to accept them."
"So spend some time with the three of you."
She hummed, "He's due to take him out on his own soon. I can't decide whether it's a terrible idea or a genius." she muttered.
"Gods," Andromeda snorted, eyeing Severus fondly, "He'll eat him alive."
