Before the Ball

Huge thanks to my reviewers (especially June W for pointing out a grave error on my part) and to the TPP staff for their patience.

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I'm just playing in their world.

Chapter 14: Before the Ball

I sat on an unfamiliar, pale blue couch in an unfamiliar, suburban-style, Muggle sitting room. And yet, I knew that if I stood and walked up the stairs, I would find a loo and two bedrooms. One bedroom would hold a king-sized four-poster bed with eggshell curtains and a deeply stained oak dresser. The other room would be painted white, wall-to-wall with bookshelves; a single twin bed would be tucked neatly in one corner.

But here I sat in the sitting room, with a pair of adult strangers. They were Muggles, the ones who lived here. I was reading The Canterbury Tales. A knock came at the door. The woman moved to get the door, a woman with wild, untamable black curls. She opened the door. Another woman stood on the other side, this one a familiar face – Professor McGonagall. She was a bit older, but her stern stance, warm smile, and tartan robes were still readily in place.

"Damn it, girl!" Draco shot to his feet. "Do you want to go round killing Muggles and Mudbloods? Do you?"

The dream dissolved before I could answer him. By then, I didn't recall the discussion anyway.

The flat was quiet, the rooms dark. My Muggle alarm told me it was just shy of six o'clock. I rose, showered, and dressed in a simple maroon set of walking robes. Lucius wouldn't be taking me to any Muggle shops, and I refused to dress like a Muggle unless I had to.

I grinned to myself. Lucius was taking me dress robes shopping as my Christmas gift.

Molly came out of her bedroom in her scarlet dressing gown, her usually spiky white hair falling in soft short tendrils. She smiled upon seeing me.

"What time is Lucius coming to get you?" she whispered.

"Seven. Since Illi's going to be there, we changed the time," I said softly.

"I have to get to Nellie's shortly, Hecate," she said, glancing at the plain black clock on the wall. It was six thirty. "I had best leave now, actually. I'll see you when you get home. I love you."

"Love you too, Molly."

She stepped into the Floo and vanished.

I sat down at the kitchen table with some cereal and milk. Scorpius' calm, soft snores came from his closed bedroom door. Never in the short months of my memory had I experienced so quiet, so empty a time. I could not start reading – I'd accomplish nothing doing so. I didn't want to watch the Muggle news.

I began to wander through the flat, reacquainting myself with a place I'd lived in for so short a time before school, and now only the past couple days. I began running through all that I'd learned about myself – my past self – now. I was from the future...

"Molly has something to do with this. The potion you took, the one that Obliviated you so precisely."

Why hadn't I thought of it before? Molly was bound to have more evidence of who I was prior to this, especially since she'd so easily done things. She had to have more things from the future aside from a Galleon from the Malfoy vaults. I listened closely for any signs that Score was going to wake – I didn't want him knowing what I was going to do.

And then, I walked into Molly Taylor's room.

Molly hadn't done much to her bedroom. She had a queen-sized bed with red and gold bedclothes. A beech trunk sat at the end of the bed. Her dresser was beech, too, and the mirror that hung over it was framed with simple beech branches instead of a normal frame. Her bathroom was still steamed up from her early-morning shower.

I wrapped my hands up inside the cloth of my robes and opened her closet. Potions ingredients and cauldrons of several styles were stacked neatly inside. A black Muggle purse sat on the other side. I opened that – nothing but Galleons, though it looked like an Expansion Charm had made it so that the purse held more than usual.

The trunk was locked, but I found the key between the mattresses of Molly's bed. I chuckled softly – how utterly Gryffindor. Inside, various items jumped out at me at once. The undeniable scent of the ocean, of seashells and salt, overwhelmed me. There was a black leather journal dated... 1991 at the start. At least that confirmed we were from the future.

A photograph sat on the opposing page of a woman who looked much like Molly with brilliant, long red hair. She stood with a boy in the pre-Sorted Hogwarts uniform. Unbidden, I recalled the sharp brick that often poked my thigh during class in my pockets.

It's him. It was the boy in my memories. I turned back to the start of the journal and began to read.

Ron is starting Hogwarts this year, and Ginny will be following him next. Arthur thinks that if I start this journal, I won't feel so bad when Ginny graduates and leaves the Burrow for good. I can't stand to think of it – my babies, all grown up! It was bad enough when Bill and Charlie left. Percy's next – my little Prefect! I love them all so much, even Fred and George. I wish they'd stop poking fun at Percy, but that's their way. My little boys.

I skipped a few pages to Christmas, shocked to find a photograph of a young girl with curly brown hair and a boy who looked quite a bit like James Potter. Had it been my hair, I'd say the girl was... me. Maybe she was related?

Ron finally sent a photo of his friends for me to put in here, journal. I'd like you to officially meet Hermione Granger and Harry Potter – yes, that's right! The Boy-Who-Lived is my own sweet son's best friend. Who would have thought it? And Hermione is so very bright. She's borrowed books from Percy, and he's a fifth-year!

I flipped toward the end of the journal, to the last entry. I was surprised to see that instead of some far-gone date, I'd found myself at today's date.

Hermione and Scorpius seem to be getting along as siblings in spite of the House affiliations. I don't know what I'm going to do if Hermione ends up dating Lucius Malfoy. Will it be for the better? Will he not become what he is, in the future? Will this lead to the end of... Oh, I can't even write it.

And what will I do, if instead, she continues down this path? If she, God forbid, becomes one of them?

A whooshing noise from out in the sitting room interrupted my reading. I closed the journal shut with a snap and returned the entire trunk to its rightful place. I locked it and hurried out of Molly's room.

Lucius smirked at my bedraggled appearance.

"Snooping, Hecate?"

"Something like that," I said, rubbing my fingerprints from the doorknob with my robes. "Quiet a moment." I listened hard in the silence and breathed a sigh of relief – Scorpius was still asleep. I turned my eyes on Lucius. "We've things to talk about. Molly was in on my Obliviate."

_-~*~-_

It took me several moments to actually move from the elegant crystal fireplace into the silk-draped room. Lucius had to tug on my arm, and I stumbled against his chest, my eyes still locked on the silver drapes, the chic vanity that sat before a ceiling-to-floor mirror. Lucius chuckled softly, the feel of it in his chest shaking me from my stupor.

"I take it you've never seen anything quite like it?" he whispered in my ear. The warmth of his breath on the shell of my ear sent firecrackers off in my veins.

"What is this place?" I murmured, stepping out of his impromptu embrace.

"Bienvenue en En Beauté, mon cheri," said a thick accent somewhere to my right. I turned wide eyes on a petite woman, whose sleek blond hair hit the floor with every step. She was dressed in fine silk dress robes that matched the exact hue of her pale blue eyes.

"Bonjour, Madame Rouge," Lucius said, bowing lightly. "You will have to forgive our lovely Hecate for any oddities; she is still learning yet the ways of the snake."

"Forgiven, forgiven," said the woman. "Ah, let me look, let me look, mon cheri, you are a peach on a tree, indeed, indeed! Madame Taylor, oui?"

"Er... yes?" I said, not entirely certain how to answer that. I borderline hated being referred to as "Taylor" – it didn't sit well with me.

"Madame Hecate is here to be fitted for my father's Christmas ball this evening, Madame Rouge. Might you have something appropriate for a blushing maiden such as this exquisite specimen?"

I truly had no idea whether I was pleased or infuriated by his comments. So, I made the wisest choice under the circumstances – I appeared neither. Inwardly, I made a note to talk with Lucius about what exactly he meant by "blushing maiden" and "exquisite specimen."

Before I could dwell on it much more, Madame Rouge had lifted her wand – and I suddenly was quite unclothed. Lucius had the decency to turn his back as I stood there in my ASDA knickers and bra. Madame Rouge simply waved her wand again. Out from behind one of the silver curtains came a chocolate-colored gown. I didn't even move – the dress had found my skin and attached like a leech.

The gown was tasteful and long, cinching in at my waist and spreading out to billow around my ankles. The neckline was shaped like a lotus petal, revealing nothing but concealing little. Silver robes revealed the chocolate, swishing on the floor. There was a hidden pocket in the sleeve for my wand.

Lucius turned back around and tilted his head in scrutiny.

"What about deep green, Madame Rouge?"

A wave of the wand, and the gown was green. I turned to the mirror. It did look good on me, flattering the curves of my hips and bust without making me look like a prostitute. Lucius nodded.

"It is perfect, thank you, Madame Rouge," he said. He turned away again just as the petite French witch spelled me out of my gown again. My day robes redressed me, and before I knew it, we were preparing to leave again.

"We can talk about Molly in my room," Lucius whispered as we stepped back into the crystal fireplace. "I believe we've much to discuss. Malfoy Manor, sitting room!"

The familiar spin of fireplaces and sitting rooms flew by, spinning in a vortex of brilliant colors. When we stepped out of the grate, however, I knew why Lucius was not impressed by En Beauté.

The room we stepped out into was enormous, easily the size of the Slytherin common room or larger. There were three doors leading out and a floor-to-ceiling window. A bookcase and pine china cupboards with glass windows in them, all displaying various artifacts, sat against one wall. Ornate coffee tables sat by the window, green upholstered armchairs flanking each one. A couch and two armchairs surrounded a larger coffee table near the fireplace we'd just come from. Rich carpets lined with silver tastefully surrounded the seating areas. The floor itself was polished marble.

There was a certain amount of homeliness to it all, though, in spite of the size of the room. It reminded me a little of Molly's flat in some ways, and in others it just made my jaw want to drop. Lucius smiled at me, his cheeks a rosy pink.

"Home sweet home," he murmured.

"It's beautiful," I said, grinning. "Like a dream..." If, I thought, I could remember my dreams.

Lucius shook his head, cleared his throat, and stood just a touch taller than before. "My father should be in the ballroom, so we'll be all right. Illi is already in her room for the night."

"Illi's spending the night?" I asked, blinking.

"You could too, if you like," Lucius said quickly. "Illi doesn't have much in the way of family, and I figured you would want to spend more time with..." His words trailed off in polite query.

"To be honest, I don't know how much I can trust Molly at the moment," I said quietly.

Lucius nodded and wordlessly escorted me up to his rooms. The path up the marble stairs was lined with portraits of Malfoys past – most of them had the same white-blond hair as Lucius. Crystal sconces lighted the walls, sponge-painted cream and white with silver baseboards. What surprised me most was the sheer vastness of it all. There were rows upon rows of rooms, though most of them appeared empty.

"Malfoy Manor allows for the entire Malfoy clan to gather at once, each with their own set of rooms," Lucius explained in a low voice. "A long time ago, there were a lot of us. That I am an only child is unusual for our family. I think the Dark Lord is behind that, though."

Somehow, it seemed prudent not to ask why.

"Would you like Illi there with us?" he asked.

"Yes," I murmured. I wondered briefly why we were keeping our voices down. Then I realized it. If we were to speak much louder, the room would echo our voices, and probably Abraxas would hear us. It was with a start that I realized Lucius was hiding things from his father. Just like I was hiding things from Molly.

Did all kids hide things from their parents?

With nothing and no one else's life to base this on, I had no idea. I decided to ask Remus the next time I saw him.

My musings were quite rudely interrupted by a reverberating CRACK. Lucius' hand found my shoulder for a moment, and then he knelt by a wide-eyed house-elf.

"Tell Illiad to meet me in my room," he said. "Bring tea and sandwiches."

"I is doing what Master Lucius is saying, I is," said the elf. The CRACK came again, and it was gone.

"That was Darin, my house-elf," Lucius said. "He answers only to me. My mother made certain that I had one who would not tell my father of my doings."

"Is that... preferable?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, and I was surprised to see his eyes darken considerably. "It is quite preferable. Abraxas is... not a kind man."

Lucius didn't elaborate, and I didn't push him.

Illi met us in the hall outside of yet another of the nondescript silver doors. She wore a simple set of traveling robes, so I was glad at least I wasn't the only one not dressed for the ball yet. She grinned at the sight of us and embraced us both around the middle.

"I was starting to think you would never get back from En Beauté, Luc," she said. "Will I get to help you dress tonight, Heck?"

"No make-up," I said. "But yes. That would be great."

Darin the house-elf was waiting for us in Lucius' sitting room. Unlike the blatantly Slytherin sitting room downstairs, his was decorated in varying shades of blue. A trio of armchairs sat on either side, and facing a fireplace much too small for Flooing was a coffee table with carved phoenixes making up the legs. There were no portraits here, just a pair of blank navy tapestries hanging on either side of the bedroom door. A silver tea caddy with all the trimmings sat on the coffee table.

"The snake motif gets tiresome," Lucius said blandly as the door shut. "Darin, my privacy wards, if you don't mind."

A slight shimmer of magic glowed from the doors, around the walls. Darin turned his bright blue eyes up to his master. "Is Master Lucius needing anything more?"

"No, that is all for now," Lucius said. Darin vanished with another crack. He gestured to the table. "All right, Heck, we have all the privacy in the world."

I took a deep cleansing breath and sat down on one of the armchairs. Slowly, I explained to Illi and Lucius everything I'd found out so far.

"But you don't know if she's really against you or not," Illi said. "Maybe she was saving you from whomever Obliviated you?"

"That makes no sense, though." I shook my head. "Why save me from my Obliviated captors and bring me back in time?"

"Maybe you're here for a reason," Illi said. "Maybe you're here to stop something from happening?"

"By Obliviating me," I said rather than asked.

"Well... I mean, what if that's the point?"

Lucius and I stared at her, teacups suspended between saucer and lip.

"What I mean to say is what if the point of coming back in time was to put the essence of you here, without the memories that would make you... act differently toward people."

I set the teacup back on the saucer and carefully back on the coffee table. "That could be. If I was to go back in time, and I had none of the skills to act differently toward other people that I know later in life..." I gasped. "That explains it."

"Explains what?" Lucius asked irritably.

"It explains Molly's weird reactions to people," I said, knowing I was on to something. I stood, unable to contain my excitement. I paced behind the armchair. "That explains why she's so keen on Remus and me being friends. That's gotta be it. She wants me to save Remus! She bought him an extra cloak and stuff when we were at Madam Malkins, and she's encouraged both of us to stay friendly with him. The Marauders are going to do something to him."

"That can't be all, though," Illi argued. "I mean, come on, it's one life. Why would someone go to such trouble to save one life?"

"I don't know." I threw my hands in the air in exasperation and sank back into my seat. "But that's all I can think of until I can get back at that journal."

Lucius sighed. "We don't have any other information to go on. But at least we've confirmed you're from the future, Hecate."

"I can confirm one other thing," I said softly, staring into the flames. "My name. My real given name."

Illi and Lucius both stilled. Illi's voice was breathless. "What is it?"

"Hermione."

"That's so pretty!" Illi said, her lips spreading into a coy grin. "Isn't that some derivative of Hermes, the messenger god?"

"I prefer Hecate," I said off-handedly. "It's... more natural to me now."

We whiled away the rest of the morning discussing various situations in which I would have needed to be Obliviated. Some of them were quite outlandish (like that I was the Muggle Queen's granddaughter and I was being taught magic in the past to keep my identity a secret). Others were... reasonable (perhaps I was the daughter of the Dark Lord, and he wanted me by his side at a younger age!).

But after Darin delivered a delicious lunch of savory beef stew and fresh baked bread, Illi started pushing me toward the door. "We've got to get ready, you know!"

"The ball isn't until seven tonight," Lucius protested against her shoving me.

"Even worse!" Illi shrieked. He was still scowling when Illi closed the door behind her with a kick. "Come on, doing your hair is going to take at least an hour by itself."

Bemused, I simply followed the half-American girl down the hall to her guest quarters. I was surprised to see that they were much the same as Lucius'. Illi didn't pause at the sitting room, and I was shocked again to see that my new dress robes were already laid out on a luxurious bed. Illi shoved right past it, however, and right into the bathroom, which looked like a fair miniature of our Slytherin common bath.

"Lots of lavender and sandalwood," Illi said, grinning broadly. "We're going to relax, boy-less, for a while."

Illiad undressed before my eyes. Though the three of us – Ali, Illi and I – had been bathing together since the beginning of term, this was somehow different. The spice of the lavender, the smoothness of the sandalwood, and the gentle curve of Illi's naked belly had a different sort of effect on me. I had been tense and worried about meeting the Dark Lord that evening.

Illi smiled over her shoulder at me, her smooth, dark skin lighting up her beautiful, moss-green eyes. She extended her hand toward me, drawing our nude bodies together. We slowly entered the steamy water, her breasts pressing against mine.

"Heck... I couldn't tell Lucius this, but... I'm terrified."

"Me, too," I confessed. "I mean, it's the Dark Lord we're meeting tonight."

"What if I say something wrong?" Illi said, hugging me closer, her breath cooling the water on my shoulder. A shudder ran through her body, passing on to me. A spot of warmth fell on my chest – she was crying. "What if he kills us? Or tortures us, like Ali said? What if he tries to get into our minds and our Occlumency doesn't hold?"

"Sh-sh-shush," I murmured, wrapping my arms around her and caressing her shoulder blades. "It'll be all right. We won't, ooh-luh."

"But what if we do?" Illi whispered back.

I did what Lucius always did to calm me down – I kissed her softly on the lips. She gasped, her eyes going wider. "I'll be right here. If anything happens, I'm right here."

Illi smiled softly.

We washed languorously, rubbing away our worries with calming lavender and soft caresses. Illiad was my sister by choice only, but that didn't make her any less precious to me. I had the same worries as she – I was just better at hiding them.

Wrapped in towels, we began placing the memories we did not want the Dark Lord – or anyone else, for that matter – away. All of my discussions with Scorpius and Remus, the book, the shirt, the journal – my true name – I pushed all of it into the tiny space inside of the hollowed-out Moste Potente Potions. I left the one conversation in place with the Marauders that had eventually led to my discovery of the truth of my origins.

I was still especially angry with Molly, in spite of Illi's protests to the contrary. The Dark Lord knew I was Obliviated. If he asked, I wouldn't hesitate to tell him about Molly's transgressions.

We dressed slowly, taking all the time in the world to powder, primp, lotion, and otherwise abuse our flesh. In spite of my aversion to make-up, I allowed Illi to talk me into a light lip-gloss and a pale shade of amber to bring out the golden color of my eyes.

By the time we were ready, there was only fifteen minutes left before the ball was to begin. Lucius appeared at our door only five minutes later, accompanied by none other than Rabastan Lestrange.

Never before, or since, had I taken the entirety of six and a half hours to get dressed in a single set of dress robes, my hair up in a stylish twist.

As Rabastan escorted a now-terrified Illi away, Lucius offered his own arm to me. The thoughts on Illi's mind were on mine as well.

What the hell do you say to a man like Lord Voldemort?

_-~*~-_

I am French Canadian on my father's side, but in no way have I ever studied the language. Bienvenue en En Beauté basically means "Welcome to In Beauty." The other words are mostly in common use, I hope. =)

The scene between Illi and Heck was not meant to be sexual, though Illi may have taken the kiss that way. I put the warning in just to be safe.