DISCLAIMER: HP belongs to JKR. My intellectual property is the storyline, all new characters, new character development, new developments, and all outside the HP realm, are copyrighted. Glorioux Glorioux

a/ I will finish the story, but will make it shorter if there is not enough interest. Let me know if you like it. Now all the players are in, and soon Remus and Hermione will come in focus.

A New Life and Family

Harry noticed the older Lestrange were very affectionate. They held Hermione and kissed her. The grandmother sat on a Muggle wheelchair that Hermione had gifted her. She looked a lot like Hermione. Rodolphus hugged her and kissed her cheeks several times. Without a doubt, the evil Death Eater loved Hermione; it was easy to see. Harry wanted to rub his eyes, maybe this was a dream. He did not look as dark as before.

Rabastan had also improved since he found out about Hermione. He had no chance to father children because Bella had made sure of that, so he saw Hermione as also his. Rabastan also held her tightly; she had seen the rape, and he knew it. He had seen her face looking from her cell, whipping her tears. He whispered, "My dear niece, I am sorry you saw it. She forced you to watch. It was intentional, the nasty witch. Please forget about it; we both should do so. Now, more than ever I want to kill Narcissa. If she tries again to hurt you, I will." And louder, "Our witch, when we think about what happened, our hearts hurt. We cannot wait to see the memories your parents gave to Lucius; it will make us all incredibly happy."

All eyes zeroed on Harry. They saw a potential suitor; they could sense Harry cared, and they were not sure whether they liked it or not.

"Darling, you are too young to marry." One of the fathers said, shaking his head disapprovingly, while giving Harry a dirty look. The Lestrange family did not want suitors for a while, not for at least four years, or longer if possible. They wanted time alone with her. Like Lucius, they would demand she and her husband or husbands live with them part of the year. It was the way of many families.

Lucius agreed, "Agreed, no marriage at least not for three to four years, there is much to learn." They all agreed that she would need to learn about the two-family holdings, and they wanted time alone with her.

Hermione sat between Lucius and Rodolphus, and her Granger parents looked sad. They were older, and Hermione was the apple of their eyes. They also noticed she looked exactly like Lady Lestrange but for the coloring. Hermione had already extended Lucius' invitation to live with them, in the dower house. They were considering accepting and move, after all, Hermione was their life. Both families had already made substantial gifts to them. Whereas they were grateful, they were upset about Bellatrix.

Hermione's mother had cried with her, not understanding why a mother would abandon such a precious baby and later tried to kill her. Since Hermione would look at her Granger parents and grin, her mother realized Hermione loved them, and she was the only mother. Thinking about it, she told her husband, and they decided they would live in the dower house. They had money, and now they were rich; the gold given to them made them so. Ironically, both parents were children of squibs, raised by the same guardians, also Squibs, and never were able to have children. They knew about magic and felt comfortable around it. They had known Hermione was a magical baby not long after they found her. Maybe, later on, they could ask Hermione's father to investigate their last names, since the guardians never disclosed them.

"Darling, would you come for a visit, a long one? As you know we are also planning a great ball in your honor; the invitations also went out today. We are so excited; there are so few witches in the family. Imagine, you will unite two great houses. Lucius can come as well, whoever you want to bring to visit," her grandmother asked.

Hermione, set on her matchmaking scheme said, "I will come with my father. I would also like my aunt Andy to come. She could use the company. Of course, Draco might also wish to come, or my parents might; I would like that."

Rodolphus grinned when he heard Andy's name, "Great idea my dear. Lucius, don't you agree?" Lucius nodded, eagerly, wondering if that was the choice Andy and Mimi were talking about; he hoped so. He was almost certain if he were to judge by their laughter when he asked them what choice. Lucius had already started divorce procedures, which should not last long, and soon he could start wooing Andy. But he had an idea, since Rodolphus had no wife, and the families were together; he could easily spend time with Andy and Rodolphus, using his time wisely.

Draco was quiet, he was not sure how to feel, though he was ashamed for the rough times.

Harry could not believe what he was seeing, the two evil wizards were besotted with the strange looking Hermione. It was delightful, seeing the two dark wizards behaving so nicely, loving, smiling, joking, and not a trace of the darkness. Things would have been so different had they known earlier; Hermione was special, without a doubt. Though Voldemort would have tried to make her his bride. After thinking abut Voldemort, Harry decided it was best they did not know before. A chill ran down his back, the idea of the monster and Hermione was upsetting.

Rodolphus had two boxes for her. She opened them, one was a ring with a roman number two engraved in an emerald, a magical ring. "A family ring, we will talk about it," they all showed her their right hands. The other was a strange key, "A vault so you can buy whatever you need or want. We will discuss about things you will need."

Harry was amazed; he had already figured many wizards wanted to marry her for being Lucius' daughter. But when people found out Hermione was the heir of two of the largest Wizarding fortune, wizards from all over the world would be after her. How lucky was the one who would get her; Ron would be sick with regret, particularly when he thought about Hermione, a rich heir, probably the richest one. He did not feel sorry for Ron, and George was right, saying Ron was selfish, besides being rude and nasty to Hermione. He said Ron did not deserve her. Harry knew he needed to think about himself, the hero gig was finished it. Professor Snape had told him so.

"And for you," Rodolphus had an envelope for Draco. "For her brother, also a vault, and a house in the estate."

Draco was surprised, "Thanks, sister," he looked at Hermione, "this sibling business has its benefits."

Now for the surprise, Draco added, "I must agree. Potter, you best know there will be no marriages in the near future for my sister or I; we all need time alone as a family, the time we did't have before." Draco looked at Harry as if he were beneath him. Draco did not want Harry in his family and wanted to have a say so. Draco believed that Harry was not good enough to marry Hermione, neither was Weasley. He was not not sure if anyone he knew was good enough, probably not.

Draco remembered, the pictures from the first day at the beach. Since there were photographs in every paper, his friends and everyone knew about Hermione, and every wizard he knew had already asked him to recommend them to Hermione. Draco, haughtily reminded each one of them how they had called her nasty names, forgetting he had done the same. With nothing more to add, he told them off. When his friends Flo to visit, he took them into his room, not wanting them around his new sister. When they asked to visit with Hermione, he ignored them.

When Lucius decided no more Hogwarts for either of his children, and tutors would come to finish their learning, arguing he did not want to expose his daughter to any harm; Draco happily agreed. He liked his father's great idea which suited him. Draco had not changed his ways; he was selfish, and his new sister was his, therefore he did not want to share her, not yet. The Lestrange relatives were with Draco, agreeing that possibly nobody was good enough for their darling witch.

Hermione chuckled, Draco the protector; Lucius grinned, looking at Draco. Although he liked Harry, he wanted his daughter around for a while, no Hogwarts or anyone else; his father and mother had asked him to do so, they all wanted her around, enjoying her. Besides that, his mother shared, once again, her dreadful suspicions. Seeing Hermione, she had remembered the day she lost consciousness. Same had happened to his father had done the same thing, worrying Lucius. They both had said before, to watch out for Narcissa, saying she might have cursed Lucius's mother, but could not remember why,

His mother believed Narcissa had cursed her after she had seen her Polyjuiced as Bella and changing into herself. Hours later Mrs. Malfoy overheard the sisters talking about how they exchanged husbands since day one, laughing about how nobody had any idea. After she confronted Narcissa, Lucius's mother lost consciousness and died days later. When his father started investigating, he became deadly ill with Dragon Pox. If Narcissa had killed his parents; she would die.

Later, the families sat to look some of the pensive memories. Starting with the day they found newborn Hermione, once she was indoors. The Granger couple said Hermione was a couple of hours old. A friend who came to examine her, said she had been just born. She had been a pretty baby, tiny, and nearly blue from the cold. She was naked, wrapped in an old rag, which made everyone angry. Hermione had not been cleaned after the birth, and part of the umbilical cord was hanging.

The Granger cleaned her a little, then lovingly wrapped her on a warm shawl, and sat by a fireplace, waiting for a Muggle Healer, their friend. Though Lucius and everyone else were happy to see the baby, they wanted to kill Narcissa. They were beyond angry seeing what the sisters had done. Her grandmother dried tears, knowing she had been denied of holding her granddaughter. Draco was somber, angry with his mother. They saw a few more memories, happy ones, all while Hermione was a baby. There were several vials already, so Rodolphus asked Lucius to duplicate the vials, later on. They also passed around Muggle picture albums of Hermione's first years.

"Lucius, do you have a vial with the memories of what they saw that night?" Rodolphus asked Lucius, softly.

"No, Hermione didn't want her parents to give me those memories. She doesn't want anyone to see them; she cries, thinking her mother wanted her dead, throwing her inside a rubbish bin. The parents explained the bin was full of needles that might have been infected. Maybe she will allow it later. Truth be told, if I were to see them, I would find a way to go back to the past to kill both sisters, and I would be sent to Azkaban." Lucius said, shaking his head, angrily. Rodolphus disagreed, he wanted to see the memories of that night, and he would find a way to go to the past and kill Bella, and nobody would be the wiser. He wondered who else knew? Could the sisters have had an accomplice.

Lucius sat by Harry, "Mr. Potter," he started.

Harry grinned, "Please call me Harry."

"We need your help; we need you and whoever of your-friends you trust. You all should be standing by my daughter when we make the announcement about the two fathers. I know you have joined the Aurors, and you will not be going back to Hogwarts. I would like Aurors here because I don't trust Narcissa. Of course, when the time comes, we can talk about my daughter again, if you are interested." Lucius looked at Harry. He considered Harry a suitable candidate, later on, but Weasley was out.

Harry grinned, not saying much about Hermione, "I will be interested, she is especially important to me. Moreover, I will make sure she is safe whenever you need me. I know others wished, never mind.' He had almost talked about Ron. "Yes, I have been offered to be in the Aurors; we can talk about the ball." Harry's interest had shifted, no need to be coy. If Ron wished to get Hermione, let him try alone, Harry would not help him. For once he was going to think about himself. It was time he acknowledged his feelings.

"I hope you are making sure she is safe. We worry," Rodolphus told Lucius, privately, while they served Firewhiskey.

"Yes, Bill Weasley, is working for us; he is in charge of security. His other brothers will also join him. The Weasley family works with us; it is important since Hermione loves them as her family." He looked at Rodolphus; they could not stop worrying about Narcissa. "I told Bill he needs to get rid of anyone who tries to hurt her, including Narcissa."

When tea was served in the drawing room, Rodolphus sat with Lucius, with Hermione between both of them. Rodolphus said, "Lucius, you and I need to report Narcissa and Bella's crime; we will go together and let the law decide."

"No need, I want to bring charges against Narcissa. They abandoned a magical child to a likely death. My dear, she knew who you were, and also, ahem, sorry, during the torture. That needs to be reported because Narcissa also knew who Hermione was." Rodolphus turned pale, thinking he had tortured his daughter; he had daily nightmares.

Hermione patted Rodolphus' hand, "Dad, it wasn't your fault, I already told Harry. My parents want her punished as well. But she is Draco's mother, so he should also have a say." She looked at Draco.

Her Granger parents disagreed; they wanted Narcissa punished; they did not want to upset Hermione, but she was nearly dead when they pulled her from the deep rubbish bin. It was raining and quite cold. It had been heartbreaking. She had scratches, and they did not know if they were from needles. Their friend, a pediatrician, stayed with them that evening because the baby would not get warm for hours. He had gone to the private clinic he directed and brought an incubator and other equipment. They had told this to Lucius but not to Hermione.

"I have changed my mind. What I don't want is for my mother to hurt you. Let's think about your first. Our father and uncle Rodolphus should decide what must be done. I want you safe and well." Draco meant it, surprising Harry, and everyone else.

Harry understood Hermione was loved and protected, and he liked that. She was important to him.

When the visit left, the Malfoy went out to walk the dogs. The puppy walked between the wolf hounds, playing with them. Draco and Hermione were horsing around, making Lucius laugh. Behind them, Lucius guards followed. He did not trust Narcissa, not one bit.

Hermione was still in awe; she had been at Malfoy Manor for five days and had visited daily with several Malfoy, not the portraits, while it was eerie, it also made her feel like she belonged. Her Malfoy grandparents were loving, making her wish she had known them and spent time with them. Gifts and flowers arrived daily, but they were all submitted to rigorous inspection. Marriage brokers wanted to meet with Lucius, but he didn't want to see anyone. Luna and Ginny came to visit. They didn't ask any questions. Ginny said they were moving to a cottage in the estate; she had seen it and could not wait to move. Hermione invited them to go with her to the hair witch and other places to get ready for the ball, and asked them not to buy their robes, but to go with her shopping, a few days before the ball. She wanted them to get whatever they wished.

Harry the Friend

The next day Harry received an unexpected visit, Rodolphus Rabastan, and one of their fathers stopped for a visit. After a short greeting, the father asked, "Mr. Potter, could my children and I use your library. We need to do research about Black curses." They explained they wanted to find the curse used on Mrs. Lestrange. They considered Harry Hermione's best friend and trusted him. Harry thought that was flattering and unreal, the former enemies now nice and friendly.

Harry called Kreacher to take them to the library and to let them come whenever they wished to do so. Kreacher was solicitous, glad to help. Now he respected Harry since he had such fine friends. When Lucius came later to discuss the ball, Harry was now Mr. Harry. Kreacher found Harry worth of his respect, also knowing he was best friends with a niece of Mrs. Black, forgetting, like Draco, he had been quite nasty with Hermione. Kreacher was happy since he was again somebody by virtue of Harry.

Harry would make sure to win Hermione's fathers trust; he had not lied when he said Hermione was important to him. She was, regardless of what the future might bring, therefore, he wanted her family to trust him. He had visited with Professor Snape, who was changed, wanting to be close to Lily's son. Severus had told him, again, to think about himself first, and to bury the hatchet, accepting the Malfoy and Lestrange's friendship. Severus liked that now he could be friends with Harry. "Harry, do you like Hermione? If so, make sure you don't help Weasley. I never told anyone what your mother offered, she said she loved James, but she also cared for me. So why not talk to James and ask what he thought about a triad. I said no, consumed by anger. I don't know what your father would have said, but I often regretted not asking, and wanted revenge instead. What I learned since is to take chances that might make you happy, when they are offered."

Harry was not sure what he meant, but he had an idea. Time would tell, Remus loved Hermione, and the feeling might be mutual. All Harry wanted was to help to keep Hermione safe. He had a bad feeling because Sirius had often said Narcissa was exactly like Bella, just more reserved. Lucius had told him not to hesitate and kill Narcissa if she tried to harm Hermione. He told Harry he needed to help him solve an old crime and would tell him more after the ball. Harry felt uneasy, he sent an owl to Remus, wanting to know what else Remus knew about Sirius's cousins.