October 1, 1982

Narcissa Malfoy did not usually visit Muggle London.

She found it way too loud, polluted with smoke from Muggle vehicles, and greatly overpopulated. Too much was going on in such a small space. She also noticed that all these Muggles seemed to look unapproachable.

Although, after a visit to France and a shocking discovery about Margaux Avery and her three-year-old son, Muggle London seemed like a very suitable place to go.

She was not exactly sure where in Muggle London she was, however, because she only ever apparated to this one spot, and she never wandered too far. She was seated on a bench in front of a small, rather patchy-looking hill. Its view was an open space of grass and from a distance, she could hear the sound of a river.

If she had to guess, she'd say she was in a park.

She spotted several families walking about the grassy terrain. Most of them had children and pets. Some shared food with other families. It was a Sunday, so this was not surprising. She watched from a distance as a little girl, shrieking with laughter, was being swung to and fro by her colorfully-clad parents.

She turned green with envy. Not because of the child, for she had one those at home. In fact, her little Draco seemed to be about the same age as the one she was observing. But Narcissa was jealous because she knew that her husband, Lucius, was not one for colorful robes or laughter. He wore the sleek, dark, and expensive type of robes. Said robes must be tailored for him. He was always serious. Lucius Malfoy would never spare a moment for some quality time with his wife and little boy. She had stopped dreaming of such frivolous things a long time ago. When she met her husband, she knew who he was, but more importantly, she knew that he wouldn't change for her. She loved him, no doubt, but it was out of obligation.

Narcissa was so deep in her longing thoughts that she almost missed it.

As soon as her parents set her on the ground, the little child—whom she was observing earlier—extended a chubby hand to a large walnut tree. Almost immediately, the ground started to shake, and the yellow leaves fell to the ground in large bunches. Its trunk seemed to grow longer and longer as it was being pulled up from the soil where it was planted. Slowly, other muggles started to notice and draw attention to the tree. People in vehicles stopped in their tracks, and a group of teens started yelling and calling for help. The child's helpless parents looked on with an expression of pure horror on their faces. Narcissa herself could not believe her eyes. She stood in awe.

The little Muggle-born girl single-handedly uprooted a tree with accidental magic.

Immediately after the child released her invisible hold on the tree, it fell sideways towards the other families. Luckily, as it dropped to the ground, the Muggles standing underneath it managed to run and take their families with them. Nobody was hurt.

Narcissa searched for the culprit again. She was looking at the tree with pure mirth in her eyes. Glancing up at her parents, her proud face seemed to say see what I did there?

While everybody else was in turmoil in the wake of the disastrous chaos, nobody suspected the little giggling girl.

A few Muggles ran around the scene yelling, "Earthquake! There was an earthquake!" Others in work uniforms and fluorescent yellow vests took a closer look to inspect how much damage was inflicted. Children started crying. Her wide-eyed parents wisely started to pack their belongings. The father swooped his little witch with one arm. Two seconds later, the trio fled the park, leaving chaos behind.

Narcissa did not hesitate to follow them.

She made sure to trail after them close enough to hear what the child's parents were saying, but far enough as to not seem suspicious. Because of this, she did not completely hear everything the pair was saying. She merely picked up words and phrases.

"...not again…"

"...so many people this time…"

"...has got to stop…"

"...magic?"

"...impossible."

The trio stopped in front of a red Muggle vehicle and climbed in. As soon as they drove off, Narcissa discreetly disapparated and apparated every time the vehicle took a turn or drove too far. After a few turns and stops, she noticed that she was in a Muggle neighborhood, judging from the uniformity of architecture along the whole street. The red machine stopped in front of a big house with a lush-looking front yard, and out came the family of three. She watched them from across the street as they hurriedly entered the house.

This was an opportunity given to Narcissa on a silver platter. Prior to her detour to the Muggle park, Narcissa had paid a visit to Margaux Avery upon the request of one slightly deranged sister, Bellatrix Lestrange née Black. Bella had informed her that her husband's brother, Rabastan Lestrange had slept with a French pureblood three years ago, and the woman bore a son after Rabastan was killed. Bella asked Narcissa to take him in her wing and raise him the proper way, until Bella was released from Azkaban, and would therefore take over. Narcissa went to France and indeed, her sister was right. Except... Margaux Avery and her son were dead. They have been, for what seems to be around two weeks. She did not know why.

The Slytherin in Narcissa told her to take the child. She could erase her memories and fabricate new ones to convince the child that there was nothing amiss. Her parents, on the other hand, would have to be obliviated completely and sent away. Narcissa was not the best at modifying memories, but she would have to manage.

She did not want to obliviate right away, of course. Narcissa decided to ask them politely, and if they refuse, only then will she resort to memory modification.

She was aware that the child was Muggle-born. In pureblood society, Muggle-born children are looked down upon and ridiculed for their lack of magical ancestry and name. However, unlike her friends and family, Narcissa Malfoy did not care too much about blood purity. She was raised to believe it, but she could not bring herself to summon the hatred for such people. She did believe them to be of a somewhat lower class, but she did not wish them death or misfortune like some purebloods she knew. This was something she had tried to impart on her son, but from the looks of it, she was unsuccessful.

With her mind made up, Narcissa crossed the road, walked up the steps of the white wooden porch, and knocked on the door thrice.

Not ten seconds later, the Muggle mother appeared at the door. She was speaking to somebody behind her when she saw Narcissa. "Just clean it up for me, please, honey—oh!" She looked at Narcissa up and down and smiled apprehensively. "Hello. Can I help you?"

Narcissa stretched her lips to form what people call a smile, but to her, it seemed rather forced and unnatural. "Good afternoon. I am Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy. May I come in?"

This time, the Muggle did not mask her skepticism. "For what? If I may ask."

"I want to talk to you about your daughter. I saw what she did at the park." She said. The woman's eyes widened, and she quickly started to shut the door on Narcissa.

"Wait," She put her hand to the door to stop it. "I'm magical. Like her." With the other hand, she opened her palm, facing up, and conjured a small fire. The Muggle let out a small gasp and stopped resisting her hold on the door. Narcissa closed her hand and the fire was extinguished.

"Of-of course. You may come in." The Muggle said. She opened the door wider and gestured for Narcissa to enter her home. She stepped inside and looked around. The family seemed to be well-off, judging by the interior design of the house. Narcissa had hired enough interior designers to know what a professionally-done home would look like. The intricately upholstered furniture and spotless surfaces impressed her. This is not what she imagined a Muggle habitat to look like. It wasn't, by any means, as grand as the Malfoy Manor, but it wasn't too shabby either. There were little plastic and brightly-colored toys littered on the ground, and somewhere inside the house, there was children's music playing.

Though the house was beautiful, it felt strange walking into a home without even a single protective ward around it, but it was expected given their lack of magical ability. Still, it unnerved Narcissa. She felt her skin crawl.

The Muggle led her to the living room where a tan-colored couch and two matching arm chairs sat facing an ornate-looking fireplace. Narcissa sat on one of the arm chairs. "Would you like some tea? Oh, silly me, of course you do." The woman hurriedly made a beeline to another room that looked like a kitchen. She called out to somebody, "Honey, come downstairs will you? And take Hermione too, please." The music stopped.

After, she hollered at Narcissa. "Do you take one lump or two?"

"Just one, thank you."

The woman appeared with a cup of tea and handed it over to Narcissa. Then, the Muggle's husband descended the stairs with the little girl in his arms.

Narcissa had not been given to take a close look at the child before, but seeing her now, she was impressed. She had brown curly hair gathered into a ponytail, doe eyes the same color, long, dark lashes, and rosy little lips. She was a beautiful child, and no doubt, would be even more so when she'd eventually grow older. She looked every bit like a pureblood's daughter. She faced Narcissa with curiosity. And in that moment, Narcissa confirmed that the little girl was one hundred percent magical. The child's eyes studied her with the air of a wise, old wizard, rather than a naïve toddler. She could tell that the little girl was very, very powerful. She would make a great pureblood.

"My name is Dana Granger. This is my husband Richard, and our daughter Hermione. She's just turned three last month. September 19th." Dana Granger pointed to her husband and child who sat adjacent to Narcissa on the big couch. "Richard, this is Narcissa Malfoy. She knows about Mione."

"Really? About the…" He gave her a pointed look.

"About the magic, yes. She's magical too." Dana looked at Narcissa.

"Is that right?" The man asked her.

"Correct." She replied.

Richard looked at her with suspicion clear in his eyes. Narcissa could tell he was about to call her out until Dana said, "show him, Mrs. Malfoy, please."

The woman was quite demanding for a Muggle, but ignoring the fact that she wouldn't normally take orders from her friends, let alone a Muggle stranger, she removed her wand from a pocket in her robes and channeled the memory of the day Draco was born. From that, a ribbon of silver emerged from the tip of her wand, bathing the room in a soft white light. The magical strands interlaced together to form an arctic fox. Narcissa easily produced a corporeal patronus. It pranced around the room, hopping from couches and tables, and after, it started swimming in the air. It caught sight of Hermione and leapt to her. The little girl squealed in delight. From the corner of her eye, she saw Dana grip Richard's forearm reassuringly.

Hermione's eyes were wide as saucers as the fox nudged her side to give it a pat on the head. "Can… can it talk?" She asked in a little voice.

"It can if I give it a message."

"That is amazing." Hermione giggled. "I want one, too. Can you teach me?"

Narcissa noticed that for a three-year old, the Muggle-born child already had an established vocabulary, perfect grammar, and she also used stress appropriately. She did not even stumble or stutter like her son did sometimes. "I'll have to talk to your parents about that, dear." She smiled warmly.

The patronus disappeared and Hermione turned to her mother. "Mummy please? I want a fox too. Please Daddy?"

Dana nodded. "Yes, love, we've got to talk about it for a second. Will you go play in the kitchen?"

"Okay." She hopped off her father's lap and scurried to the kitchen. The adults braced themselves for the impending conversation, but before they were able to utter a word, Hermione's head poked out of the kitchen door. "But please be quick." She retreated.

Richard laughed. "Bossy little thing, isn't she?" Dana laughed and touched his hand. Once again, Narcissa was jealous of their easy relationship.

"Right," she said, breaking any intimacy between the couple. "There's a school that teaches magically-gifted children such as your Hermione. It's called Hogwarts. First year starts when she's eleven, but I'd like to give her education a little primer in the meantime with our governess."

Dana put a hand over her chest. "Oh dear. I haven't heard of governesses in business since the 1800s."

Narcissa nodded. "It's very common where I'm from."

"Where are you from? If you don't mind my asking." Richard leaned forward.

"Malfoy Manor. It's a remote location, and Muggles can't access it."

Dana tilted her head, confused. "Muggles?"

"Muggles are what our kind call non-magical folk like you." She explained.

"Oh. I understand." But the look on Dana's face told Narcissa that she, in fact, did not understand.

"So... what happens now? Is there a schedule we should follow, or a venue to drop her off on weekdays? We don't exactly know how to educate a wizard."

"A witch, you mean."

"Oh, um... a witch."

"You'll have to entrust her to me, of course. I have a son who's about the same age as your daughter, and other parents have children who are also being educated by my governess. She'll be safe with me." Narcissa explained.

"What do you mean by entrust?" Richard asked, looking uncomfortable.

"She'll stay with me."

"On weekdays?"

"No. Every day."

Dana gaped at her. "Every day?"

"Yes."

"Like a boarding school? Until when?"

"Until she's graduated seventh year. But of course, you should know that by then, she'll likely choose to stay."

"And just how often do you do this?"

"Not at all, Mrs. Granger."

"I'm sorry, but let me just get this straight. You're asking us to give up our daughter, quite possibly indefinitely, to a complete stranger who knows a few parlor tricks and special effects?" Richard asked incredulously, but Narcissa was unmoved.

"Essentially."

"Absolutely not." He scoffed and shook his head.

"Mr. Granger, you're being very selfish. Hermione will not be equipped with the right knowledge to control her magic. This needs to be done for her sake." She tried to reason out with the Muggle man.

He did not hear her out. "Please leave. We don't want your input anymore."

Narcissa sighed and tutted twice. "You're making a big mistake."

"No, you are. You're making a mistake if you think we'll let you adopt Hermione because of... magic! Absolutely ridiculous. Honey, please show Mrs. Malfoy the door." Dana turned to Narcissa, but when the Malfoy matriarch did not move to leave, she threatened, "You have overstayed your welcome, Mrs. Malfoy. If you do not leave, I won't hesitate to call the police. Please do not contact us after this. I can assure you, we are not interested in your… proposal."

"I'm afraid not, Dana… what a shame. And I thought I could do this the easy way. I'm truly sorry about this."

"Excuse me?! What are you talking abou—"

"Obliviate."

Narcissa successfully finished erasing the Grangers' memories, and she did it rather efficiently too. There was not a single objection as she obliviated and imperiused them after. She gave them new identities and told them to relocate to America, where they will no longer remember their old lives, jobs, and most importantly, their magically-gifted daughter. She knew that if Bellatrix saw her, she would have been proud of the work she's done.

She went to the kitchen as soon as she was satisfied, and found the little witch reading a thick cookbook that looks as though it weighs double her body mass. When she saw Narcissa appear, her eyes lit up and she sprang up to meet her.

"Did Mummy and Daddy say that you could teach me to make a fox like yours?" She asked eagerly.

Good, Narcissa thought. The child hasn't a clue.

Narcissa knelt down so they could see each other eye-to-eye. "Yes they did, little one." She smiled and touched the tip of Hermione's nose. She giggled. "But first, I need to take you somewhere. Is that alright?"

"Okay!" She jumped up and down, still giggling.

"Alright, hold my hand." She put her small hand in Narcissa's while the older witch withdrew her wand and pointed it at the child. "Stupefy." Because she had been holding her hand, Hermione fell right into Narcissa's waiting arms.

Narcissa apparated directly into the Manor's guest house and set Hermione down on the sofa in front of the fireplace. She then proceeded to modify the child's memories. She pointed the tip of her wand to Hermione's temple. "Legilimens." She cast. With her eyes shut, Narcissa went through the archive of the girl's memories. There were not very many, because she had just turned three last month, according to her mother. Her memories also became less detailed going back from her second birthday, and before that, they were nonexistent from having the underdeveloped brain of a toddler. Narcissa delighted in the fact that her work was basically cut-out for her. She only had to modify a year's worth, which was a lot easier than she had expected.

The Malfoy matriarch took her memories and extracted them from her mind with her wand. She destroyed them immediately. As soon as her mind was a blank slate, she formulated new memories of her supposed life in France with a house-elf. She planted some of her reading in the Avery estate's library, learning to dress herself without anybody's help, and climbing stairs with her two little legs for the first time. Narcissa also kept her memories of meeting her and agreeing to be taken elsewhere with her.

Her work was finished in a little over twenty minutes. Narcissa leaned back and inspected her mind one more time, just to check if there were any irregularities she needed to go back and redo if needed. She found none.

"Dobby!" She called out, and there was a faint pop beside her as the house elf materialized.

"Mistress Narcissa has asked for Dobby?" His eyes fell on the unconscious child in Narcissa's arms. "A child! Mistress has brought back a child!"

"Yes, I have. Dobby, as of today, you are now to attend to her needs." Dobby nodded dutifully. "This is Rabastan Lestrange and Margaux Avery's daughter. Rabastan was killed before she was born, and Margaux died of childbirth. I found her under the care of the Avery house elf, and I have decided to raise her here instead, at least until she is of age, or until Bella is released from Azkaban... whichever comes first. She is a pureblood, and she will be raised as such." The lies flowed easily out of Narcissa's mouth. She has had some time to work out the little details while modifying the child's memories.

"Yes, Mistress." Dobby smiled. "Dobby will take care of little..." Dobby's eyes furrowed. "Dobby is wondering, Mistress Malfoy. What is the new little Miss's name?"

Narcissa smiled over Hermione's angelic sleeping figure.

"Her name is Hermione Lestrange."