The Lost Horcrux

The Order of Merlin

"Can ... can you stop them doing it Nanny Ciss?" Celesca was asking in a pitiful little voice. "Can you stop them giving me nighty-mares? I really don't like them, and they are making me awfully frightened. Can you stop the crazy lady with the wild hair from bringing the nasty witch with the black eyes into my dreams ... can you stop her because she's your sister?"

Hermione felt all her breath leave her in one, agonizing go. She leapt up and hurried over the couch, kneeling down where Celesca was kicking her feet against the bottom of the seat.

"What did you just say?" Hermione demanded, then she swore at herself in her head as Celesca looked up at her with wide, terrified eyes, as though expecting a serious telling-off. "I'm sorry, honey, I didn't mean that to sound so nasty. Can you tell me what you just said to your Grandma?"

"I was just telling her that I've been having some nighty-mares," Celesca explained, timidly. "But I know they're not normal nighty-mares, because I can stop those ones if I have them. So these must be real, because I cant."

Hermione felt her heart crack at Celesca's fraught little tone. "And you think you know who's causing them? You think it's your Grandma's sister?"

Celesca nodded, grimly. "But it's not just her ... it's the other one ... and she's just as bad."

"Which other one?"

"The ugly witch with the black eyes and long black hair," Celesca answered, quietly. "The one who used to be your sister, Miss Hermione, before you snapped that nasty cord inside you. I mean, she wasn't really your sister ... but she still was somehow. I don't really know how that works, but she was."

Ginevra twatting Weasley. Her hair and eye pigments tainted black by carrying Voldemort's evil offspring in her cursed womb ... this must be who Celesca was referring to. And she had found a way to invade her dreams? Hermione scowled viciously at the thought ... ooh, when she saw that bitch again, she was going to kick her right in the ovaries.

Hermione turned her head to Narcissa with a dark frown. "You'd better explain this to me, right now. Did you know?"

"I had no idea," Narcissa replied, shaking her head. "This is the first I am hearing of this, I promise you."

"Hmm," Hermione huffed, not sure if she totally believed this. "And how is she getting into Celesca's dreams? And more importantly ... why?"

"The 'why' I have no clue about," Narcissa answered. "Though my guess would be that there is something we have overlooked regarding why Celesca was targeted in the first place. Perhaps our enemies have an interest in her that we have been as yet unaware of."

"Something beyond her Seer ability, you think?" Hermione pondered in response. "Like what?"

"Who knows, but my goal will be to uncover it as soon as we are done with your Acolyte Induction."

"I'll leave that to you, then," Hermione nodded. "But you said you know how they are doing this? Explain it to me."

"They must be using Draco," Narcissa stated, bluntly. "I don't know how they even learned about Celesca ... Draco never knew, or if he did he never let on to me about it. Bella was always good when it came to the Dark side of cerebral magic ... just ask your friends, the elder Longbottoms, about that. She made it a sadistic art form."

"And now she's turned her palette on her Grandniece," Hermione spat. "Bloody Draco ... why didn't I just kill him when I had the chance? Harry always said not to play with your food before you ate it ... and this is exactly why! I see that now. I was such a fool! Gah! And now this little angel is paying the price. How can it make it up to you, sweetie?"