A/N: Thank you so so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! Huge thanks to lanamarymack for alpha/beta reading this chapter. You can find me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty-six and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-seven soon!
The night before, Regulus said that he hadn't known when the family would meet, but it seemed as if time was of the essence for the Black family. Kreacher woke Hermione up shortly after dawn and instructed her to get dressed quickly because the four of them would be leaving in not much time.
Blearily plaiting her hair, Hermione wished she wouldn't have stayed up so late the night before waiting for Regulus to return home. Only, if she hadn't she wouldn't have learned about Bellatrix running off with the Dark Lord, jilting Rodolphus Lestrange and the whole Lestrange family in the process. Pulling out a pretty set of robes, Hermione thought it was probably for the best that the family meet as quickly as possible, to try to get in front of the issue that Bellatrix had created.
When she joined Walburga in the dining room, grabbing a piece of buttered toast to stave off her hunger, her mother was still so upset that she didn't have anything to say about Hermione's less than perfectly polished appearance. She must have looked well enough that it wouldn't be a topic of conversation. How could she be when Bellatrix's spectacular 'fuck you' to the rest of the family would be sucking up all the oxygen?
However, Hermione was still not entirely convinced that things couldn't be smoothed over with the Lestranges. After all, she still remembered Bellatrix as a Lestrange, so she must have still married Rodolphus, right? Only, she couldn't be entirely sure how the time travel thing worked. Maybe it was more like Dumbledore said, with a million different possible outcomes based on how you breathed.
It didn't take long for Regulus and Orion to join them, both looking tired as well. Once they were all ready, they Floo'ed over to Arcturus's manor. Hermione had half a mind to ask Orion if he'd grown up there and what his sister was like as a child, only she knew well enough to know that he was much too stressed at the moment to entertain that sort of questioning.
They walked into the same family parlor that had been used when the Black family was made aware of Hermione's presence, only this time the room really was stuffed to the brim. They found seats on a settee near the front, with Hermione tucked safely between Regulus and Orion.
Cygnus and Druella were front and center, looking absolutely miserable. Narcissa hovered behind them, in full mourning attire. Hermione wanted to laugh at the dramatic black veil that she wore, thinking that it was a bit over the top, but she bit her tongue. As expected, Bellatrix was nowhere to be found.
Arcturus swept into the room not much later and stood next to the fireplace mantle. "I think we all know why we are here, so there is no reason to stand around whispering anymore," he said, sternly. "Bellatrix has disgraced the family and, in turn, betrayed our agreement with the Lestrange family, something that we need to rectify now."
Narcissa gave a great sob at the damning pronouncement and Hermione briefly wondered what was going to happen to Bellatrix. Would she be blasted off the family tree by some angry member of the family?
"What is going to be done to atone for this... this insult to the family?" Cassiopeia demanded, looking at her brother sharply. "Running away to be the lover of some upstart half-blood who calls himself Lord. It's disgraceful!"
"Be careful how you speak of him, Cassiopeia," Pollux hissed. "He is powerful. He is going to rule and elevate pureblood families like our own to their rightful places."
"Oh tosh," Cassiopeia said with a sneer. "He's going to be the ruin of this family if we let him walk all over us and do whatever he wants. He's already ruined one daughter."
"Bellatrix isn't ruined, she's —" Cygnus, Bellatrix's father, struggled to find the words to describe his daughter's situation.
"And don't think you aren't complicit in this face, Cygnus," Cassiopeia said, haughtily. "You are just as much to blame, letting the girl push off her engagement time and time again. They should have been married five years ago. And let me remind you of Andromeda, running off with that muggle. Seems to be a trend with your daughters. Perhaps this one will run off to throw away her life, too."
"Cousin," Arcturus cautioned, holding up his hand. "In hindsight we can all agree that Cygnus gave Bellatrix too much leeway, but at the time, we thought letting her get to know the Lestrange boy a bit better would make for a happier union."
"You don't have much room to talk about betrothals, anyway," Pollux sneered at his younger sister. "Father couldn't even find anyone who would agree to take you off his hands."
Hermione felt a pang of sorrow for the older witch, who was viewed as a spinster, never married. She wasn't entirely sure of the circumstances, but it must not be pleasant to have it thrown in her face that way. Only, she didn't need to feel sorry or worried. Cassiopeia had sharp enough claws on her own.
"He still loved me more than you, you nit!" Cassiopeia roared back. "At least my betrothal philosophy isn't making my son marry my mistress once she falls with child."
Walburga gasped and pressed a hand to her heart beside Orion and Hermione watched as Pollux and Druella went very red in the face. Apparently Cassiopeia wasn't above sharing all of the family's dirty laundry out into the open, no matter how tawdry. Hermione felt suddenly like she shouldn't be here. She was an outsider, without any of this institutional knowledge.
"Cassioepia. Enough," Arcturus said imperiously. He began to pace in front of the fireplace. "None of this infighting is going to help anything. We need to remain a united front — one family. The Black family. Everything that we do now must be for the good of the family. Agreed?"
Cassiopeia looked sour, her gaze sweeping around the room to avoid making eye contact with Pollux again. "Agreed," she said, finally.
"Agreed," Pollux added, though he did not seem happy to be giving this sort of deference to Arcturus either.
"Sniping at each other will not help us solve the most pressing issue: dealing with the Lestranges," Arcturus continued. "They will not accept Bellatrix as a bride now that she has so publicly taken a lover. It would be one thing if it was rumor or conjecture, but she has basically openly proclaimed it. Edmond cannot stomach the slight."
"So, another bride must be found to fulfill the pact," Pollux said, like it was the most simple thing in the whole world.
"The pact?" Hermione whispered, wondering what was going on. "What are they talking about?" she asked, tugging on her father's sleeve to get his attention.
Orion looked at her queerly, before realizing that she was not privy to the information. "Our family has entered into a magical pact with the Lestrange family," he said, his voice a quiet rumble in his chest. "The Lestranges will take a Black bride into their family, thus tying us together by marriage."
Hermione's eyebrows furrowed together. That sounded like something out of the Middle Ages. Did Arcturus fancy himself as some kind of King, hoping to cement his dynasty through a series of good matches? So far, it did not seem as if the Black family had been very successful at that.
"What we need to do now is find someone who can take Bellatrix's place," Pollux said, rather matter-of-factly.
"Seems obvious enough to me who it should be," Cassiopeia said, smugly. "Cygnus has one other daughter. Make her do it."
"Daddy, no!" Narcissa gasped, pressing a hand to her mouth, her blue eyes wide in horror. Her fingers looked like claws as they clutched onto her father's shoulder tightly. "You can't make me do that. You won't make me do that, will you?"
Cygnus put a hand on Narcissa's, in a comforting gesture. "Don't be ridiculous, Cassiopeia. Narcissa is already betrothed to Lucius Malfoy," he said with a sneer. "I can't promise her to two families."
"Yes, but the agreement with the Malfoys is not a magically-binding pact," Cassiopeia argued, her patience with Pollux and his family wearing thin.
"It's much too close to the wedding to call off now," Druella said, breathlessly. "Less than a month away. Too much work has already been done."
"Is that all you care about? The wedding?" Cassiopeia questioned, haughtily. Her disdain for Druella was dripping with every word.
"Besides, we already have one powerful family who is mad at us. It doesn't make sense to anger another ally, just because," Pollux said, with a frown. "What about Arcturus's daughters? Don't they have a gaggle of children between the two of them."
"Callidora's daughter is too old and married besides," Cassiopeia said dismissively. "Charis's are probably too old, as well, but I think one daughter remains unwed."
"Charis's children belong to the Crouch family," Arcturus said with a frown, sounding truly disappointed. "Even if I wanted to offer her up, there is no way that I could compel her to listen to me. I am not her paterfamilias."
It seemed that there was a dearth of Black witches, but each and every one of them was unsuitable for one reason or another. Hermione wondered how a family as wide reaching as hers could possibly have so few people in her generation. Maybe the Black family's dynasty skills were not as good as they presumed, Hermione thought a bit meanly.
"It seems obvious that there is only one viable candidate," Pollux said, eventually. "And how fortunate we were to have her drop into our lap so... unceremoniously."
Hermione was looking around the room, wondering just who Pollux was talking about, until she realized that everyone had turned to look at... her. Her breath left her in a rush. "You can't possibly mean me?" she demanded, her nostrils flaring in rage that they would even consider asking this of her.
When no one rushed to assure her that of course they didn't mean her, Hermione could feel tears begin to prickle behind her eyes. "Father?" she asked, looking to Orion, begging him to step in and put an end to this.
Orion at least looked guilty. "We all have to do our part for the family, Hermione," he said gently. "You are the only one who can fulfill the pact."
"That's ridiculous! Just… dissolve the pact. Surely the Lestranges would wash their hands of us," she argued, looking between Orion and Arcturus. They stared at her blankly. She turned to look at Walburga. "Mother?" she asked, feeling her voice beginning to waiver.
"We all have to make sacrifices," Walburga said weakly, unable to even look at her. "The Lestranges are a good family. It's a good match."
"Will they be a good match when they find out that I am born from squibs?" she demanded, her voice getting more shrill. "You can't keep that sort of secret from them. And they won't like it when they find out."
"Though your parentage is… unusual, you are pure blooded. Nothing but magical blood runs in your veins," Arcturus said, with a frown. "Though you are right that we should inform them."
Desperate, Hermione turned to look at her brother, grabbing his arm tightly. "Regulus?" she asked, her voice completely garbled with emotion.
Regulus took a deep breath, his eyebrows drawn. "I-I don't think that Hermione should marry Rodolphus," he said. "He's much older than her and he might have a lot of fury, being rejected as he was by Bellatrix. I wouldn't trust him not to take his anger out on her."
Hermione let out a sigh of relief, glad to know that someone was going to see reason.
Arcturus sighed. "It isn't ideal, but there is no way around it."
"Rodolphus has a younger brother who is in our year at Hogwarts — Rabastan," Regulus said, looking at her with wide eyes. "I think that he would be a better match with Hermione. They are well suited and… and they seem to get along well. I think Hermione should marry Rabastan Lestrange."
Hermione could feel her throat tighten up as soon as the words left his mouth. Finally, the tears fell down her cheeks. "You traitor," she whispered, bitterly. She stood from the settee, shaking her head. "I won't do it. I'm not going to do it."
She fled the room, cursing when her attempts to apparate out were thwarted by the wards. She made a frustrated noise and stomped off in the direction of the Floo, determined to put as much distance between her and her damned family as she could.
"And just where do you think you are going?" came a rather haughty sounding voice. Hermione was surprised to see that it was Cassiopeia who had followed her.
"Away from all of you," she insisted. She hadn't entirely thought through where she would go. She could hide out at Grimmauld Place or maybe she would be so petulant that she would hide at Sirius's. But that would mean explaining herself to Remus and she just wasn't sure she was up for that at the moment.
"Don't be a child," Cassiopeia said with a disappointed frown.
"I am not going to marry someone just to fulfill a pact one of you idiots made," she insisted.
The older woman rolled her eyes. "Yes, you are. You are going to do it for the good of the family. You are going to do it because you have a chance to make changes to the future that you came from," she said sagely. "The only question is, are you going to run away in a strop and be made to do it by Arcturus after all is said and done or are you going to agree to it and get something that you want in return for your sacrifice?"
Hermione was stunned at the thought and she wondered how the rest of the family was content to overlook Cassiopeia as a batty old Aunt. She didn't want to give in to the idea — marry Rabastan? What a preposterous thought! — but she knew that what her Aunt was proposing did merit consideration. She half-heartedly stomped on the floor, her mind already spinning with possibilities of what this meant for the future.
"Okay, I won't run away to Sirius's," Hermione agreed, unsure of what to make of the fact that Cassiopeia didn't even blink when she heard that Hermione was in touch with her disowned brother. "But there is no way I am going back in there to agree now that they've doomed me to this fate. Let them sweat a little while they try to figure things out."
Cassiopeia smirked at her and patted her shoulder. "Good girl," she whispered. "Now you are thinking like a Black should."