Chapter 4

Bloodties

Chapter 4 of 14

Rhea Silvia

“Honestly. Harry. How many holidays has she spent at home with her parents?”

Alternate Universe Hogwarts Castle 11,544 Words 14 Chapters WIP

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“It isn’t there, Harry. I’ve looked. There’s nothing to know, just like Sirius said.” It’s probably the third time she’s said it, and being Hermione, she now sounds extremely annoyed that he is suggesting that there may be information she hasn’t managed to root out from the materials available to her.

“But you said there was something odd.”

“Oh, that. Rodolphus Lestrange was in Romania during December, 1979; the society pages had a photo of him with the Romanian Minister.”

It takes him a moment to get it, by which time Ginny, who had stuck with Hermione long after she’d thrown him and Ron out, is smirking and Hermione is trying not to. “You mean…”

“Probably not, actually,” Hermione says, shuffling the papers into a neat pile, “But, if she was Voldemort’s daughter, it would explain why he called it an honour.”

He’s not quite sure how he feels about Voldemort fathering children, except that he really doesn’t want to think about it. But in some part of his mind—the part Fred usually calls girly and throws things at—he makes a connection. “Would have been seventeen if it hadn’t died,” he says. “Maybe that’s why he was remembering.”

“Right. That’s sweet.” Except that Hermione’s face has twisted into something rather resembling a scowl. “Voldemort misses his baby. Glad we could clear that up for you, Harry.” She leaves before he can formulate a response.

“What was that?” he says, after she’s long-gone and he’s reasonably sure she can’t hear him. “What did I do?”

Ginny says nothing, which is unlike her, and just stares at him till he’s feeling distinctly uncomfortable. “I have to find out whether you lot ever outgrow this.”

“What?” He isn’t sure what she means, but the tone makes it pretty clear it’s meant to be insulting.

“Honestly. Harry. How many holidays has she spent at home with her parents?”

Well, she’d been at Grimmauld Place this year before he had reached, and last year she’d spent most of July helping put Godric’s Hollow to rights and August wandering with him and Ron from The Burrow to Godric’s Hollow to Grimmauld Place, working as not-overly-recognisable and perfectly-normal messengers for the Order members gone to ground there, and fifth year she’d been at Headquarters long before he had and fourth year she’d come to watch Quidditch World Cup and… “Oh,” he says, comprehension dawning.

“Yeah. And, well, they know this is her world, but not even the most understanding parents in the world would stand for this.”

“But she’s…”

“I mean,” she says, ignoring him completely, “can you imagine how Mum would behave if I had been nowhere near home for the last three years and was basically working as a child-soldier during my school-holidays?”

He can. In terrifying detail. “But there’s nothing else we can do.” And that’s what you are, Ginny, except the not being at home part.

“Sure there is. She could just go live with them and forget all this life-endangering magic business. It’s not too late for her to take her A-levels and get into a college. She could get in anywhere with the brains she’s got.”

"That’s what they told her?” He can’t imagine having no Hermione around, bossing him and telling him things and just being there, frizzy-haired and intellectual and always right. “But that’s ridiculous. How do you stop being a witch or a wizard?”

“I know. But they’re worried. They’re her parents, Harry.” But he doesn’t know what that word means, not really. His parents are in albums and his dad’s also in a portrait he found last year and the man who had any chance of being a father is in another. “It’s not going to happen. She told them that. But then she had a row with her mum over the telephonee…”

“Telephone,” he corrects automatically. “Wait. What?”

“She wrote her Mum last week, but there was no answer and they’re used to owls by now, so she got worried and we went down to the phone booth on the corner and she called her.”

“Oh. That’s why she’s angry?”

“Well… she also thinks her parents have a point. She has been neglecting them a bit. She told me she’d wanted to at least visit them this month, but she never got the time.”

“And tomorrow we’re going back to school.”

“Yeah. So, just stay out of her way for a bit, then?” He nods. “Good. And tell Ron, will you?”

He will. The last thing any of them need is for Ron to project the hearty, blustering self he’s created over the last year, given Hermione is tense enough about her parents to call Regis Lestrange a girl when it states clearly in the article that he’s, well… a boy.

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Latest 25 Reviews for Bloodties

35 Reviews | 5.0/10 Average

0/10

genrou

hmmmm i wonder how things will progress from here.

0/10

genrou

i dont know if its because i just ate so my processes are being directed to my stomach instead of my brain but im finding a number of things in this fic hard to follow. i feel as if i keep missing a number of things that are not being said directly and i assume im suppose to be able to follow. or it might be because of the pov.

0/10

magenpie

Interesting that Voldemort knows that both Lucius and Narcissa recognize greater claims on their loyalty than service to him. Promising start I think!