Chapter One

Hermione curled into the corner, huddled against the wall, listening to the voices of other orphans, of workers, of guests who might adopt. None of them even glanced at the tiny six-year-old girl with the curly hair and the gray-blue eyes.

She jumped when she felt a shock run through her, and weird sensation, like safety, or home. At the same time, the front door of the orphanage opened, and she listened as a woman spoke.

"I am looking for a child. A girl who would be about six, name Hermione Black."

Hermione gasped, then hastily covered her mouth. Someone's looking for me!

The strange sensation was still there, getting stronger and stronger.

She heard the matron speak, "Yes, there's a child of that name here. Fern, go get her."

Fern banged open the door, and spotted her. "C'mon then, someone was askin' fer you."

Hermione stumbled to her feet and trailed after the older girl, wondering to herself why someone was looking for her.

Then she saw the woman.

The matron was looking impatient, like this was a big waste of time. But the woman also looked impatient. He gray-blue eyes landed on Hermione and widened. She rushed towards the little girl, and wrapped her arms around her. Hermione felt the sensation growing stronger, and for the first time she could remember, she felt safe.

The woman straightened, now carrying Hermione. She drew a stick from a holster at her side and spoke.

"I will be taking Hermione. Now…" she waved her stick in the air. All the other people's faces went blank, then they returned to normal and moved about their normal business.

Hermione stared up at the woman's face even as she was carried outside, and then the lady introduced herself as Bellatrix Black and Hermione's mother.

"I have a mother?" Hermione squeaked.

"Yes, and I'm your mother." the woman responded.

Hermione's eyes widened. "R-really?"

"Really." The woman smiled down at her. "Come on, my darling. Let's get you somewhere safe."

Hermione could hardly believe it. She, Hermione Black, was actually a witch. And not just any witch. A pureblood, rich, heir to a powerful family. Her mother, Bellatrix, had been searching for Hermione for four years.

Bellatrix had taken Hermione to a townhouse, where an elf named Kreacher had drawn a bath and made food. The elf had quite happily referred to her as "Mistress Mione", which made her smile.

Now, she was tucked into her mother's lap, listening to Bellatrix explain.

"I'm still looking for my cousin's godson. Harry Potter. I haven't been able to track him down, but you can definitely help."

"How?" Hermione tilted her head to one side, looking up at Bellatrix. Bellatrix smiled down at her little daughter.

"When you and Harry were babies, you were very fond of each other. A bond formed between the two of you. A magical bond. That basically means that the two of you will always be very close, whether friends or otherwise. And you might be able to sense him."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Wow."

"We can go out tomorrow, get you some proper clothes and things, then go about the country in the Muggle"-here Bella's nose crinkled- "side of the country, see if you sense him at all."

Hermione nodded, starting to feel sleepy.

"Here, darling. I'll put you in bed. Kreacher! Get the Tales for me. I'm going to read you wizarding bedtime stories, darling." Bellatrix carried Hermione upstairs as Kreacher popped out. He returned with a worn old book, which he held out. Bella settled her daughter into the bed that she'd selected, then took the book.

And, for the first time, Hermione fell asleep to the lull of her mother reading her a bedtime story.(Though, The Warlock's Hairy Heart may not have been the best choice.)

The next morning, patrons of the Leaky Cauldron gasped and shrank back as Bellatrix Black swept in. Tagging along next to her was a little girl with the same dark, curly hair and gray-blue eyes.

"Oh no…" someone whispered. "She has a kid!"

Bella swept toward the entrance to Diagon Alley, Hermione trotting after her.

Hermione was awed by the colorful storefronts. Her eyes widened as she turned, gaping at the Alley.

"Oh, wow…"

Bella looked down. "Isn't it amazing, darling? We're headed to Gringotts next." She glided onward, through the doors to the bank and toward a goblin teller.

The goblin checked Bella's key and had another goblin take them down to a huge vault. Hermione saw twisting tunnels and doors and even a dragon on the way down.

The vault was overwhelmingly big and full. Bella snagged money and guided her daughter back out and into the cart, apparently having noticed how overwhelmed Hermione was feeling.

They bought new clothes and went to Flourish and Blotts, where Hermione bought some novels and Bellatrix bought a few educational books about Wizarding Britain.

Then they passed the Magical Menagerie, and Hermione froze.

Bella looked down. "What is it, darling? Do you want a pet?"

Hermione nodded, tugging her mother into the store after her. Bella laughed and followed her precious daughter. Hermione veered away from the owls and rats, and suddenly a large orange blur dropped onto her.
Bella tensed, her wand sliding into her hand, then relaxed as the little girl laughed and wrapped her arms around the huge, fluffy orange cat.

The cat was quickly paid for and they headed out again, with Hermione beaming, clutching her mother;s hand.

They stopped at Florean Fortescue's ice cream shop.

"Order whatever you'd like," Bellatrix told Hermione.

"Really?" the little girl asked, eyes wide. "Whatever I'd like?"

"Yes." Bellatrix said, smiling. The two got some ice cream and left the Alley.

They briefly returned to Grimmauld Place to put away the books and wizarding clothes, before they headed out again to look for Harry.

They wandered through Muggle London, but Hermione didn't feel a thing.

"Let's try looking at a map of Britain, and you can see if anything jumps out to you." Bellatrix murmured, Apparating with Hermione back to Grimmauld Place.

Dumbledore was pacing. He often did this, fretting about whether his plans would work. The fact that Bellatrix Lestrange- no, it was Black again- had avoided jail time was unfortunate, although he'd successfully taken her daughter. Hopefully the little brat would die, he'd specifically chosen a bad orphanage.

However, he was concerned. The wards he'd placed on Privet Drive should prevent anyone from finding Harry. The problem was that did nothing against soulmate bonds, and he specifically remembered Lily Potter telling him that her son had bonded with the Black and Lovegood brats. He couldn't just kill the Lovegood brat outright, but he needed to try something.

But what to try?

An alarm went off, and he whipped around. The ward he'd place on the Black brat had been removed. Her mother had found her. Or some wizard or witch.

He snarled and drew his wand. He'd need to deal with the Black/Lovegood menace. Before it became a problem.

So I've been working on this for a while, and I finally finished a chapter. I hope this appeals to someone somewhere. Please R&R! (don't flame me over pairings or portrayals)