Hermione Granger woke up with a start. She heard loud crack from downstairs, and then some voices. She was afraid. Voldemort has returned two months ago, and she was sure that some of his Death Eaters are after her now. After all, she was Harry Potter's best friend.

She heard footsteps approaching her room. Silently, she grabbed her wand from her nightstand. The door opened, letting some light from the hall into the room. She could see the figure walking towards her. It was tall, bald man, with red eyes, pale skins and snakelike nose. Hermione's heart stopped at that minute. It was him. He continued walking to her. Suddenly, the fear stopped. There was something soothing in his presence, as if he had some aura. She shrugged at that thought. Voldemort and aura. Suuure.

"Good evening, Hermione." His voice was quiet, but pleasant. "I'm sorry for waking you."

"What do you want?" She screamed, pointing her wand to his chest.

"No, no, darling, we're not gonna play like that." He waved his wand, but instead to disarm her, as she expected, he just turned on the lights. "You and I need to have very important conversation."

Hermione glared at him. This was freaking Voldemort in front of her, and he wanted to talk to her.

"About what?" She asked silently. She was sure that she dreamed everything, and she expected to wake up any moment. Everything was so weird.

Voldemort slowly sat at the edge of her bed. She wanted to move away, but she just couldn't. There was something about his posture, his expression that stopped her. She hadn't seen him before, but she knew the stories. However, sitting like that in front of her, he looked so much like human. Like human in pain.

"I want you to listen to me carefully, for if you interrupt me, I'm not sure that I'll be able to finish this story. My story", he sighed, and then continued. "I am aware that you know many things about me. Things that most of the world knows. Therefore, I won't be talking about that. I want to tell you about something very few of my loyal Death Eaters know. About a woman named Evelyn Yaxley."

Hermione blinked. He came here in the middle of the night to talk about his love life. She tried to pinch herself, to make sure herself this is all real.

"We went to Hogwarts together. I was in Slytherin, and she was the same year, but in Ravenclaw. She was very intelligent, they called her the smartest witch of our age. She was beautiful. We started seeing each other at our sixth year. Five years after, I proposed to her, and when she said "Yes", I was the happiest man alive. Few months after we married, she told me she was pregnant. Again, I thought I was on the top of the world. I was about to become the most powerful wizard on Earth, and I had my beautiful wife by my side, our family soon to be bigger. But faith can be cruel, so cruel."

He stopped there, and Hermione watched him in awe. She couldn't possibly believe that Voldemort ever loved anyone, not with all the things he did. But she didn't dare to say anything. She was mesmerized with his story, and she wanted him to continue.

"My darling Evelyn gave birth to twins one night in September. I kept that a secret even from my most trusted companions. Only her brother knew. He was there to greet our children. A son, and a daughter. I knew that my Death Eaters won't give away my secret, but I wanted to protect my children. I wanted to set all my affairs in order, and then to present my heir and heiress to the world. They were perfect. Adrian looked just like his mother, and our daughter resembled me. Of course, back then, I didn't really look like this." He chuckled.

Hermione let a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. Voldemort actually chuckled. She just starred. She could feel that this story is not going to have happy ending. After all, no one ever heard anything about Voldemort's wife, let alone children. She just couldn't process what it has to do with her, and why is he telling her all of this.

"My children were ten months old, when I heard about the Prophecy about me and young Potter."

"What Prophecy?" She asked, forgetting to keep quiet.

"It is an ancient Prophecy about a boy destined to destroy me. That was a great threat, and I had to act quickly to protect my family. So I went to Godric's Hollow, to put an end to it, but of course, thing weren't going as I planned. I'm sure that you know that part."

"But what happened with your wife and children?"

"Evelyn found out what happened. Naturally, everything fell apart. She needed to protect our children, so she gave our daughter to her brother. She tried to escape the country with Adrian, and her brother would join her later. But Dumbledore somehow found out about that. He intercepted her, tried to take away our son. She fought him, of course, but he was stronger. He killed Adrian first, while she watched, and then finished her as well."

Hermione could feel tears rolling down her face. But she was even more surprised to see wet mark on Voldemort's pale face as well.

"Yaxley was furious, but there was little he could do. He honored his sister in the best possible way, by keeping our daughter safe. He didn't keep her, of course, someone could put two and two, as he was unmarried. He put Glamour on my little girl, and gave her to Muggles to raise her as their own. At first I was furious. My beloved Princess to be raised by Muggles. But then I realized that it was the perfect plan. No one would suspect her to be my daughter. Even if Dumbledore knows about her, he would never realize who she is."

He took a deep sigh, and looked her in the eyes.

"And tonight I finally get to see her. You look just like your mother, my dear."

Wait, what?

"What?! No way, that's impossible!" Hermione yelled in terror.

She heard soft knock on her door, and then her parents entered the room with another man, unknown to her.

"Hermione, sweetie", her mother started. "I see you finally met your father."

"What? No! You are my parents. I don't know what does he want, but it's not true. Tell me it's not true!"

She then realized she was crying. She saw Voldemort pointing his wand towards her. This is it, she thought. He wanted to confuse me with some stupid story, and then finish me. She heard him mutter something, and then a pale blue mist spring out his wand, covering her fully. It should be green was the last thing she thought of, and then she felt like falling in the darkness.

It was the weirdest dream ever, she thought while she was opening her eyes. She dreamt that Voldemort was her father. But when she lifted her eyelids, she realized it actually happened.

Voldemort was sitting in her chair by the window, his face turned to her bed. Next to him stood the men she saw last night before she fainted. Her parents were sitting on the corner of her bed, watching her worriedly.

She looked at Voldemort. But instead of him she saw young man, with long, white face, strict brown eyes, and curly brown hair. And then it hit her. She remembered him. It was the man who sang her lullabies, carrying her around the nursery and calling her princess. She remembered tall blonde woman, with most beautiful green eyes on the Earth. She remembered another baby in her crib, light-haired boy whom she played with. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Daddy!"

Voldemort genuinely smiled. At that moment he resembled his younger self more than ever.

"My princess", he stood and walked towards her. "That was the first word you ever said."

Hermione looked at him, as he was coming to sit at the edge of her bed. He was her father. Despite everything he did, she felt like he was the most important person in her life. He was her family, he loved her, and she knew that. As he hugged her, patting her hair, she felt as if she found her peace. She saw his good side, now she knew that the story he told her last night was true. He deserved to have a family that was once brutally torn away from him. He was her father.

"I love you daddy."

She was now sure that Voldemort was crying, but his face was buried in her hair. She only felt that he tightened his grip.

"I love you too princess."

She said good-bye to the Grangers before Yaxley obliviated them. She didn't feel as she was losing a family. They were her parents for the last fourteen years, but her memories about ten months with her real family were much more vivid. She mourned deep inside her mother's and brother's death. She couldn't imagine Dumbledore as a cold killer, but then again, before last night she couldn't imagine Voldemort as sensitive man.

She joined-apparated with her father and Yaxley to Yaxley's manor somewhere in Scotland. Yaxley led them to the spacious salon, and he ordered house elves to prepare breakfast.

"My Lord", he bowed slightly to Voldemort, "I would give you some privacy with your daughter."

"No, my dear friend, stay. I have something to discuss with my princess, but I need you here as well."

Hermione looked surprised. She didn't think that she would take part in her father's affairs, but he obviously had something in mind.

"As you know, my dear, I removed Glamour from you, and now your heritage is more recognizable. You are a pureblood, after all, and now everyone can see that. But I cannot reveal that you're mine, not yet. I don't want anyone to hurt you to get to me. So I want you to keep our secret. I need to revenge your mother's and Adrian's death, and I need to know that you will be safe. We will proclaim that you are Yaxley's daughter, if you agree, my friend", he turned to Yaxley.

Her uncle dropped on one knee.

"My Lord, you are giving me the greatest honor."

"You are her uncle, after all. You are gonna say that her mother died at childbirth, and that you've given her away to protect her. It took you years to find her, but now you finally have your family back."

"I will, my Lord. I will issue a notice to Prophet."

"And another thing. My princess, you cannot stay in Gryffindor."

"My Lord, I will arrange her transfer to Slytherin. Minister himself will do that for me."

"Are you consent with this, my princess."

Hermione blinked. Only thing her father wanted was for her to be safe. Of course she was consent. And her being in Slytherin only made things easier.

"I am. Thank you daddy."

Many miles from there, Draco Malfoy was just finishing his breakfast, when his house elf Kinky appeared with a crack. Tiny creature handed him the letter and then disappeared. He opened it, looking at familiar handwriting.

Something happened. Meet me tonight at eight sharp.