Hey everyone! It's been a week of ups and downs and still trying to deal with it all but I'm here with new updates at least. Thanks you for the views and support. They really keep me writing. Enjoy. Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!

Lots of love,

LM xxxxxx

Finally Belonging Somewhere-Part 36:

Narcissa had been unable to sleep after what she'd discovered and she knew she wouldn't sleep until she'd spoken to someone about it. She looked and saw that Aurora and Lucius were asleep so she rose from the bed, being careful not to disturb Lucius and quietly grabbed her wand and cast the Patronus charm and her comforting swan appeared before following her instructions and it wasn't long before Dumbledore walked softly into the room wearing his velvet purple pyjamas and matching robe.

"Sorry to call you in the middle of the night but I just cannot sleep," Narcissa said after casting a charm around Lucius and Aurora so they wouldn't wake up.

"I'm guessing this has something to do with Aurora and the Thestrals," Dumbledore guessed as he sat down and took the warm drink offered to him. Narcissa nodded and sat down again.

"Yes. There was an accident at the orphanage. Some older girls were bullying her and then they pushed her down the stairs and she fell into another girl and they tumbled down the stairs. The other girl died but Aurora blames herself and she pushed it to the back of her mind but she understood what happened even though she was only 5-years-old when it happened."

Dumbledore listened and sipped his drink before he nodded to say that he understood,

"It appears that the memories from the orphanage were so traumatic for her that she pushed them to the back of her mind and put up a wall to keep them away," he said before looking at her.

"And I broke through that wall…Oh Albus! What if she gets nightmares because of my actions? I never wanted that to happen."

"If she does, she does but I feel that she hasn't spoken about this since all this happened. She trusts you and will understand why you did it but you will need to help her through it all. She has never known what a mother is until the day she ran into you at King's Cross."

"I never thought the pain and hole in my heart would ever be filled but she is somehow and I wouldn't change it for all the Emeralds in the world," Narcissa said before she heard a whimper and hurried over to Aurora's bed and began to sooth her back to sleep before Dumbledore excused himself and Narcissa downed the shields before slipping back into bed beside Lucius.

The next morning and Lucius woke up to a sea of blonde half covering his face. He moved slightly and saw Narcissa awake, the blonde wasn't coming from her.

"Don't move. She's laid against you," Narcissa whispered and that confirmed that the blonde hair was that of Aurora.

"What happened?" Lucius whispered.

"It appears that I may have caused her to start having nightmares when I found out why she can see the Thestrals," Narcissa whispered before she went to take Aurora in her arms as the girl began to wake up but she stopped as Lucius moved to hold their foster daughter better.

"Hello little one," he said softly before Aurora just snuggled into him and woke up more.

"Aurora you won't be going to class today. Mummy needs to talk to you about something," Narcissa said as she stroked Aurora's cheek. The 11-year-old sat up and then watched as Narcissa summoned a House Elf and ordered breakfast for the three of them before leading her off to get ready to get dressed into some clothes that were Malfoy worthy but not her school uniform.

Aurora looked confused as she wondered what was going on. Narcissa sat at the table and Aurora looked before sitting down at the table and eating her breakfast quietly.

"Aurora…" Narcissa started, "I know all about the Thestrals and what happened at the orphanage," she said before Aurora dropped her fork onto her lap and she whimpered before Narcissa held her hand softly, "I'm something called a Legillimens. That means I can get inside someone's head and see what is going on."

Aurora looked and whimpered as she realised what that meant and she tried to run but both Lucius and Narcissa were too quick for her and stopped her and Narcissa moved over to the window seat and Lucius sat Aurora on her lap.

"Aurora you need to tell me in your own time what happened," Narcissa said softly, "because we need to know what happened so we can help you and find out what happened to you at the orphanage."

Aurora just sat there and remained silent. Lucius suspected that the girl hadn't spoken to anyone about what had happened and he looked at his helpless looking wife before he sat down.

"So you were heading to the bathroom when you came across the girls," he started, "but they wouldn't let you passed…?"

"No…" came a whisper, "they say because they're bigger than me they didn't have to listen to what I was saying. I just a baby."

"You weren't a baby," Narcissa said softly, "anyway so you.."

"Tried to go underneath them because I was so small but they just blocked my way and tried to take my book away from me but I wouldn't let go of it because I had wanted the book forever. I stepped back as they tried to grab the book but I wouldn't give it up…" she whispered, her voice beginning to wobble as she got closer.

"You're being so brave Aurora," Narcissa said as the tears began to fall. She didn't need to ask what happened as Aurora just said it all.

"They managed to get the book from me and then they pushed me down the stairs. I didn't see the girl coming up the stairs…I fell and knocked her down and then we tumbled to the bottom. I broke my leg but she wouldn't wake up. I shook her and shook her but she wouldn't wake up. The adult said she wouldn't because she died. I didn't mean to hurt her!" she cried before she began to shake and Narcissa instantly wrapped her arms around the little girl and held her close and soothed her before she looked at Lucius, unsure what to do other than comfort the little girl and he just nodded at Narcissa before heading off to speak to Dumbledore about Aurora and to figure out how to help her get over the horrors that she had suffered at the orphanage. That was going to be a huge challenge but Lucius and Narcissa were ready to face it because Aurora was their little girl…at least that's the way they saw it.