AN: To quote one of my favorite Christmas specials, Christmas is a time for surprises. Or Yule in the case of some of these characters. Bonus points if you know the special that's from. . Quite a few revelations here. In a way this is almost the end of the first part of the story.

Chapter 8: Yuletide Surprises

Emma Granger was furious when she heard what had happened to her daughter. This was not how she and her husband had planned on spending Christmas holidays. Yet here they were at their daughter's school working on having her transferred to the wizarding hospital because she was a rat…

A fucking rat. She hated rats. Ever since her fucking brother…

She couldn't believe that the fat little creature that was munching on a slice of cheese was her daughter. Yet, it was.

Someone had turned her daughter into a rat and her headmaster couldn't change her back.

Rage.

That was all Emma felt and that was pretty sure what Dan felt as well since she saw the way his jaw was clinching as they heard what their daughter had endured when she had briefly gone home earlier.

He had wanted to be here as well, but the surgery needed someone there. And honestly, Emma couldn't bear for this world to take another love one from her. Dan was defenseless against them. Just like her daughter. And Hermione had magic.

She knew Hermione had been bullied in the past in primary school, but it was nothing compared to this. A few taunts her daughter could deal with, but this went way beyond that. They had constantly ridiculed her, took and destroyed her belongings, physically assaulting her multiple times….she just had images of her daughter being so beaten down and she hated it. Hated them.

Emma was surprised the school hadn't been shut down with all the crap that had been going on. She really wasn't lying when she said she'd bring it to the attention of a wizard solicitor, though she knew they thought she was just a dumb hysterical muggle.

Typical wizards, thinking better of themselves than others.

It wasn't the first time she had dealt with this. No. Her childhood had been filled with this crap. She remembered this was how her own father had treated her when he realized she was like her mother and a squib. Very different from how he treated her useless brother. It didn't matter that Emma had excelled in school and got into dental school while Petey barely passed his classes and ended up working in a glorified pet store. He was the wizard she was the useless squib.

Emma shuddered as she thought of her brother. She was glad he was gone. She hadn't even bothered talking to Hermione about him when she got her letter because what was the point. It wasn't that anyone would know who she was anyway. Her family had never stood out in the magical world, despite the fact the creep supposedly died as a hero.

Somehow she doubted that.

Rat bastard.

Hermione's biological father may have belonged in their world too, but she hadn't been in touch with him since that night. As far as she knew, he could be dead. And probably was because she didn't think he'd leave her without a word.

It had hurt so much at the time. He never knew she was pregnant, but she survived. And as far as she was concerned, Dan was her daughter's father, and they were happy in the muggle world.

Emma really was okay not having anything to do with said world, until she realized Hermione was magical.

Both her parents were dead when she realized that Hermione was a witch and quite honestly she was glad about that. She didn't want them involved with their daughter's life and her mother had all but cut ties with her when she found out Emma was pregnant. She hadn't even told her daughter about her grandparents or her uncle, no need to. She thought starting in the wizarding world as a Granger would be a blessing for her, but she was wrong.

She frowned as she thought of what she had been told about her daughter's months at the school. While her currently predicament was bad enough, it seemed like she had been bullied relentlessly because her daughter miraculously survived troll attack while two other children (Ron Weasley and Harry Potter) died.

Potter.

That last name seemed familiar, she thought when she saw it in Hermione's letters for the first time, she couldn't quite place it though.

At least not until she saw the boy's photo.

"I have a couple more questions about your daughter's medical history before we finish the transfer paperwork." The school nurse said.

She was a nice woman, but Emma hated answering these questions. She hated being here. She wanted her daughter out of this school. Out of this mad house. She didn't know why any of this was necessary. She should've been transferred as soon as the incident happened. She needed to see a real doctor—or healer as they called them.

"To confirm you are a muggle, correct?"

Emma bit her lip. "Actually, I'm what you people call a squib. Why?"

She really didn't know why the question was relevant much like anything else in this world.

She wished she could've protected her daughter better, but she knew what happened to people like her. She knew that if she had refused for her to be educated that they might've wiped her mind and she might've forgotten about her own daughter.

It was disgusting how they treated non-magical folks.

Subhuman.

Just like her family treated her. Even though the rat bastard never had been much of a wizard himself. Not like her daughter.

The accidental magic she had displayed growing up was amazing.

The school nurse frowned. "You're a squib. Ms. Granger's chart indicates she's muggleborn."

"No one ever asked," Emma said with a shrug as she haphazardly twirled one of her curls. Her daughter had been unfortunate enough to inherit her unruly hair, except hers was the same shade as her father's. Sandy blonde, though she knew Hermione called it mouse brown. She knew her daughter had been sensitive about her looks. It pained her to realize that her classmates had been teasing her relentlessly, calling her a rat.

Her daughter was hardly rat like, not like him. Not like Petey.

If she had magic she would've cursed the little brats herself. That being said she planned to be there when those little creeps were arraigned later that month. They would pay.

"What's your maiden name?" The nurse asked.

"Pettigrew. It's Pettigrew."

Narcissa frowned looking at her nephew. She had been beside herself for the past week as had Andromeda.

Harry's condition had been so precarious they thought they were going to lose him more than a couple of times.

What had Lily Potter done?

Even Andromeda had to agree with her at this point that it wasn't the usual adoption ritual potion that they thought it would be. Though they both agreed now that it hadn't been what they had expected that Sirius had given up the child.

No, her memories seemed clearer about her cousin than they had even a couple of days ago, he would not have given his son away. It seemed like the more the flushing liquid fought whatever had been done the clearer her memory came in a lot of regards.

But that still didn't explain how the boy had become Harry Potter or any of this. There were so many holes.

A part of her had wanted to ask her cousin, but she didn't dare. She didn't even know how she was going to approach Sirius.

Lucius had told her that he seemed to go in and out of lucidity that he seemed despondent at times. His physical health also wasn't great which came with the territory of being in Azkaban. A part of her thought about visiting him in Bern to gauge how he was and if he could be reunited with Harry, but she couldn't leave Harry right now.

The situation was just too dangerous, which was one of the reasons she and Andromeda had decided to perform a Black family cleansing and strengthening ritual on the boy tonight, so that the boy's Black blood could fight whatever the Potter woman had done to him.

It being the winter solstice made it the perfect night to do a ritual, she just hoped that she and Andromeda were close enough of a blood relation to do the ritual. Usually, the parents were the ones who performed the blood sacrifice. Only Harry's parents were indisposed.

As usual, Narcissa frowned as she thought about Bella. The more clarity returned, the more Bella's behavior the year or so before Voldemort failed made no sense. She really couldn't focus on it too much though, or anything else.

Like Draco.

She knew her son was upset with her, she had barely seen him since he got off the train for the holidays, and she hadn't been overly impressed with his attitude. He seemed extremely snippy with her. It probably was in part because she hadn't doted on him as she usually did. Sometimes Narcissa wondered if she babied him too much and wasn't firm enough with him. She had heard about some of the remarks he had been making at school to that unfortunate Granger girl prior to her assault. And not to mention the fact that he was so hateful to some random muggleborn at Diagon Ally this summer.

Narcissa scowled thinking of the fight they had had when he found out he would not be there for the solstice. The tantrum was unacceptable. She had Lucius take away the boy's broom and ground him. She had half a mind not to let him have his presents either with how he had talked to her.

As it stood, she told him he needed to work on his homework. His grade in History of Magic had sunk down to a P and she wasn't terribly impressed with his Transfiguration grade either. He was not going to get that broom he wanted for Yule.

"Cissy?"

She turned to see Andromeda looking at her, "Everything okay?"

No, no, it wasn't. A part of her wanted to confide in her sister about how she thought she was raising a monster, but she couldn't not tonight. Instead, she just asked her, "Are you ready?"

Andromeda nodded.

Rituals weren't something used often these days. However, they still had relevance and purpose. Most old families used them. The Blacks used them often. A lot of people underestimated their power, and she had hoped the Potter woman had not done her homework on that.

The strengthening and cleansing ritual specifically was usually one that parents did on their children to strengthen their magic when they were younger. To purify their blood.

Narcissa started murmuring the necessary words before she cut herself letting her blood ooze into the sacrifice bowl as Andromeda did the same.

Black blood even looked Black, she thought, as she watched the blood drip from her arm.

The ritual demanded a sacrifice so she couldn't heal her hand, not that she really felt it as she painted the runes on the boys body and Andromeda did the same.

They then started murmuring the language of their ancestors as she felt her body begin to jerk. She was sure her sister's was doing the same and then the still potioned Harry eyes opened and he started screaming as she felt a force or something fighting…she didn't know exactly how to describe it. Only that his eyes kept flashing from green to grey and then back to green and then to grey and to green.

It seemed to continue for a while though until suddenly she felt herself passing out. When she woke up, she noticed that her nephew was laying on the bed completely still again, but he was different. His features that had been partially Potter partially Black were now completely Black. Something had happened.

"Narcissa… your hair.'

She looked to see Andromeda whose hair was probably the wildest it had ever been.

She rolled her eyes she could care less about how her hair looked right now. Despite what people may have thought about her she was not that vain. "He's…he's breathing." She said as grabbed her wand to check his vitals only to feel a bit woozy.

Andi shook her head, "Narcissa, sit down. You're going to collapse."

"Aunt Andromeda…Aunt Narcissa."

The boy was awake, and he had his mother's eyes.

Bellatrix Black's grey eyes snapped open.

She was lucid again.

This time it seemed a bit different.

Why the hell was she in Azkaban?

No, it couldn't be true, could it? The fucking nightmare she just had was not her life, was it?

But based on the chill in the air it was clear she was in fucking Azkaban.

What had she done…

She inwardly grimaced as she thought about the past decade of her life, she didn't even recognize herself.

Had she really been crazy enough to join him of all people? Became his lieutenant, his whore.

Did she even have any say in it?

She took in her surroundings noticing how dirty her hands were. When was the last time she took a shower?

She knew she didn't want the answer to that. She wondered how long her sanity would hold this time. There were times she felt almost like herself, but those times slipped. Like the time she realized what that bitch had done to her…

Her baby.

She put her hands on her shrunken stomach. Realizing just how thin she was. The last thing she could clearly remember was being told she was going to have a boy. It was the first time she had ever known one of her children's genders. This one was holding on. She had been so excited to tell Siri the news and…

And then their lives were ruined.

Siri? She wondered where Siri was. Surely, he wouldn't let her rot in here. But then she remembered calling him a blood traitor and him calling her a crazy ass bitch.

She was just confused. She just couldn't reconcile any of this. The memories of herself she had throwing around the cruciatus curse made no sense. Holding it on the Longbottoms until they were both foaming at the mouth. She'd never do that…not after what Mother had done to her after she had lost their sixth child.

She had been in so much pain when Mother threw the curse on her again and held it on her telling her she was a disgrace to the bloodline. She would never…but she did. She could remember doing that. Doing that and other things for Riddle like his fucking slave. His whore.

She cringed as she thought about Riddle touching her. It made her want to barf. Her parents had encouraged it.

She had no idea she had been married to Siri and had willing went into it.

Everyone else thought she had married Lestrange but that was to the contrary. Not that Lestrange cared. He was being rewarded for playing husband by the dark lord.

"It's too precarious for everyone to know the truth about you and the dark lord," Mother had told her. "Not until you have a child. His heir."

"I'm trying, Mother."

"I know my dear girl, but you need to try harder." She then handed her a cup. Likely it was one of those dreadful fertility potions. The potions that had caused her to lose all of her babies with Siri.

She wanted to cry with how many times she was forced to betray him. She wanted a shower. She could still feel him touching her. She'd never feel clean again.

All because of that bitch.

Severus Snape hardly ever spent the holidays at home, there was no point. But this year was different. He needed to see her.

He frowned as he looked at the figure on the bed.

She had looked the same since he brought her there all these years ago, her eyes never opening. Just sleeping like a fairy-tale princess. Only no kiss could wake her up.

By all accounts she should be dead, but somehow, he had saved her. No one knew. Not even Dumbledore. He wouldn't risk it.

It probably helped that he had set her home on fire that night and just had everyone believe what they wanted.

He frowned as he looked at her. He had failed.

He had hated the brat for being Potter's, but he knew how much she loved him if she ever woke up….

No, when she woke up. She had to wake up at some point he had worked too hard saving her for her to die.

"I'm sorry," he said to Lily's unconscious body. "I'm sorry, I failed."

Green eyes snapped open for the first time in over ten years.

Chapter 9 Preview: Hermione gets evaluated at St. Mungo's and more about her heritage may be revealed and there is more aftermath to the ritual.