The Forgotten Zabini

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"Orion, you've spelled 'because' wrong again. For the third time, it is spelled b-e-c-a-u-s-e, not b-e-c-o-s," Hermione sighed. Why she had volunteered to help Orion with his spelling and maths, she had no idea. She had never been particularly patient with children in the first place but paired with her turbulent sleep the night before, she was being snippier than usual. Orion had already cried over his multiplications; that was when she knew it would be a long day.

Someone knocked on the door and she gave a heavy sigh. "Come in," she called out, and she quite literally groaned when she saw who it was. "Pardon- I know you're busy, but could we talk?" Malfoy asked, dark bags under his eyes. Hermione avoided the eye contact he was searching for. "I'm a little occupied at the moment. Could it wait?" she asked, resuming the tedious task of checking timetables.

"It won't take long, I promise," he said with finality. Hermione rolled her eyes and stood up. "Finish the last two sentences and I'll review them once you're done, alright, love?" she said to Orion, who was sticking his tongue out as he carefully wrote with his quill. Malfoy held the dining-room door open for her and she did her best to avoid brushing against him. Draco closed the door and crossed his arms as he looked down on her.

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"So? What was it you wanted to talk about?" Hermione said nervously, noticing the way he was scrutinizing her face. "I wanted to thank you for the sobering draught from yesterday and I wanted to apologize. I obviously have made you uncomfortable in some way and I don't know how to redeem myself but-" his ramblings were interrupted by Hermione's sarcastic laughter.

"Redeem yourself? Oh, come on, Malfoy. Do you think you can undo 5 years of tormenting me? Calling me slurs? All of a sudden, everything has to be alright because I'm your best mate's sister and I showed you a few ounces of toleration? You're really exaggerating," she said, regretting the words she spoke as soon as they left her mouth. His mouth turned down at the corners and his eyebrows furrowed. He gave an awkward laugh and shoved his hands in his trouser pockets.

"Well... wow. Is that what you think I'm asking for? What I'm expecting from you? Through my two-week stay here, you've made it quite clear that my presence is a nuisance, and any time there was any sort of cordiality between us, it managed to be ruined, and I do take the blame for that. I'm just wondering... bloody hell, why am I even trying? You've made it quite clear that-"

"Perfect, just the two I was looking for!" Aediva interrupted, strutting down the hall with her usual buoyancy. "What for?" Malfoy asked, probably more brusquely than he intended to. "Why, I've just received an owl from your Madrina, Briar, your godmother in Italy, and she's invited us all to spend a few weeks with her in her Villetta. I was thinking it would be the perfect opportunity to re-introduce you to the extended family, to welcome you officially into the familia Zabini. Of course, you always have an open invite, Draco. I'm sure we would all enjoy your company," she said, oblivious to the tension between her daughter and guest. Hermione's mouth went dry at the idea of meeting her family yet she vaguely felt herself say yes to the impromptu trip. This is a disaster, she thought.

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After more discussions and planning, Hermione found out much about what was truly involved in this family gathering. Her Madrina, a single, highly wealthy witch and magi-lawyer in Italy was named Ludovica Zabini, fondly nicknamed Vic by the family. She had been picked to be her godmother as she was Darian's favorite cousin and was considered the best role model he could think of for his darling daughter.

As a baby, Briar had adored Vic, who would spend hours with her, strolling around Nonna Marta's fabulous gardens and pointing out every flower, plant, and bird they happened upon. Nonna Marta was the 114-year-old Zabini Matriarch and Briar's great-grandmother. She was alive and spry as ever, while still able to organize the annual family gathering, held on the 25th of July every year, something that tended to upset certain members of the family.