Hogwarts: A History (Hermione's Version)

Chapter 35

"How is she?" James asked as Sirius quietly walked back into the study at Malfoy Manor. He had been gone since the moment he received word that there had been an incident with Hermione at the castle. There were many moments in life when James had worried about the mental stability of his best friend. He loved him like a brother and trusted him implicitly, but a part of him had always been worried that Sirius would never let himself have the future the animagus knew he was destined for. All of those fears fled his senses the moment he had seen Lord Black with his daughter.

Sirius Black had always had a large heart. He felt things strongly and never halfway. The wizard loved with his whole heart, fought with all the power within him, and was more loyal than anyone man or woman James had ever met. Watching his best friend raise a young, traumatized girl had shown him a side of his friend that he had never seen before. Sure, he had seen Sirius interact with Harry and Draco but watching him with Hermione was different. Hermione and Remus were his entire world, and it was beautiful and a privilege in itself to be able to witness it for himself.

"She will...," Sirius began but then stopped and looked at Lucius. "Thank you... thank you for raising a son like Draco and allowing him to follow his heart. You've saved my kitten's life and you don't even realize it."

"Padfoot, what happened?" James questioned more forcefully, looking back and forth between Lucius and Sirius. The two Lords continued to stare at each other, grey eyes boring into a similar pair in a silent conversation that Potter was not privy to.

"Hermione's magic is erratic. Her nightmares have increased and with that, her magic has grown more stable," Sirius explained finally. "Apparently she caught the curtains around her bed on fire while she was sleeping."

"Bloody hell," James stated, eyes wide as Lily and Narcissa walked into the room with Regulus at their heels. Everyone had been waiting with bated breath to see how the young witch was doing. "Wait didn't she set fire to her muggle home when she was-"

"Yes," Sirius answered with a sharp nod. "Draco... he was able to pull her out of her nightmare and calm her. Poppy looked her over and gave her a few suggestions."

"I'm so glad Draco was able to help her Sirius," Narcissa spoke gently, resting a hand on Lucius's arm as she listened to Sirius speak. "Their bond is truly beautiful."

"It's more complicated than just a bond," Sirius sighed, looking around the room before settling his gaze back on the Malfoy's. "Poppy suggested meditation and an anchor..."

"For her magic?" Lily asked. "An anchor like a talisman?"

"A person."

The conversation came to a halt once more as the family looked amongst one another. Having someone as an anchor was a rare occurrence. One's magic did not simply mesh with just anyone's. The magic within you had to accept the magic within the anchor, usually someone in the family.

"Remus originally thought that the sibling bond between Hermione and Harry would prove to be a good choice for an anchor," Sirius continued before taking a deep breath. He knew that the words about to leave his mouth wouldn't change anything but would in fact solidify something they had only guessed at. "But... Harry said that Draco was her anchor."

"Draco?" Narcissa gasped, clutching onto Lucius's hand with wide eyes.

"If Draco is her anchor, that would mean..." Lucius began but was cut off by the other member of the Black family in the room.

"Soulmates," Regulus spoke up, looking at everyone in the room. "Draco and Hermione are soulmates. We've all seen it, ever since they were younger."

"That's..." Lily started and then stopped, her eyes wide as she looked to James for help. She was the only muggleborn of the adults in the room and she knew she was missing something important with that word. Of course, she had heard the term soulmates before but she assumed that it was just another preconceived fairytale that was told to young girls to make them believe in true love. "From everyone's faces, I can assume that I'm missing something."