"What the bloody hell happened to you over the summer?" a red-haired teenage boy stated as he looked at a previously bushy-haired brunette. A black-haired teenage boy stood next to the other, his mouth hanging open.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Harry, close your mouth, or else flies will go in. Ron, I'm a girl and I do have female anatomy. So stop gaping like fish and get on the train," Hermione said annoyed at the two boys.

She stepped on the train, ignoring all the looks the males on the train gave her.

"Is she new?"

"No, it can't be her…"

"Wasn't she the daughter of that woman from the Wicked Sisters?"

"Where did she get that shirt?"

Hermione almost laughed at some of the comments she heard as she head down to the Heads Compartment to get her new assignment. Her hair had finally been under control ever since her new friends showed her a device that straightened your hair. Using her books, she managed to spell the contraption so no electricity was needed and it would do it automatically while you studied without burning hair.

She wore a white lace skirt that went to her ankles that swirled around her feet as she walked. Her shirt complemented it well, a lacy white blouse with a pink layer underneath. While her hair seemed too frame her face in silky waves, her slight makeup brought out her best features. Hermione smiled at a first year, which choked on his pumpkin juice from the trolley.

"Ah, there she is, the Mudblo- oh Merlin," she heard, a slight sneer replaced by utter astonishment. Draco Malfoy in all his glory, looked as perfect as ever, choosing the perfect moment to enter. His entourage seemed both shocked and pleased. She noticed only a select few were really pleased, including Blaise Zambini.

"Ah, Malfoy, we meet again. Pleasant summer, ferret boy?" she asked sweetly, making her tone as light as she could while still glaring. Draco moved towards her until they were almost touching, and stared at her.

"You can touch yourself up, you can make your aphrosidacs, but hear me, you shall not be anything more than the Mudblood whore you are!" he spat in her face and spun around, his robes catching in a door. She laughed all the way down the hallway.

Hermione opened the door to the compartment and entered. The door closed of its own accord, surprising her. To her concern, there just happened to be a reason and he was sitting in an armchair, conjuring up some brandy and drinking it slowly. "Ah, the delicate Miss Granger returns to Hogwarts this year, I see. Unfortunately she still does not know her real fate," Lucius Malfoy stated, rising from his overstuffed chair.

"You see, my dear, I have been sent by my Lord to make sure you understand your prospects this year, you know what you have to do," he said lightly, tapping her arm with his cane, producing a small sting from her Mark.

"What do you want Lucius? I've only just been inducted as the fallen-from-grace angel our Lord has set me out to be. I've only fallen on hard times, and misery came in unexpected ways. I needed help, our Lord was there to provide it. I spent a week in that forsaken castle, getting makeovers by dimwitted women, and receiving gifts from the men asking for sexual and intellectual favors,"

"Are you done rambling? I don't have a lot of time in which to explain this. You are assigned the role of being the typical Hermione Granger before your 'fall from grace'. You will learn all you can learn from Potter and Weasley and will lead them to our designated spot when told. Blaise, Draco and Severus had mentioned that if you have any questions, you are to notify them. And, as for the new you, I thought I might mention something. The Dark Lord has sent you a letter, a letter that he dares not send by owl. I am his messenger. You shall have to read it on your own, for I must depart. Send all information through the black and white feathered owl Severus has for assignments," and with that, Lucius disappeared.

Carrying a thick parchment in her hand, Hermione settled herself on the loveseat and began to read the contents of the letter:

My Newest Follower,

My congratulations to your true rising to power, Miss Granger. It pleases me that you see truth now. As you have explained to me, there is no black or white, only gray. The good see us as the enemy, while we see them as the enemy. Stories are the same, while the telling has different meanings. I am seen as a savior, while in another view, a monster. You realize this is true in many cases, such as history and politics, which will be helpful when you come to aid my in my affairs.

This letter contains information that is vital to you, my dear. I'm afraid the saintly Professor Dumbledore has lied about a great many things to suit his own view, and to save those he favored most. I must tell you about a history you will find troubling, and no doubt you will question it. However, it is vital you understand this history, and I have no wish to hide anything from you, especially as you have been lied to your entire life.

Harry Potter is no danger from me. He simply comes between my methods of longevity in order to carry out my purpose, which contrary to the views (so gray as you said) sentenced to me. I have no revenge, as I was simply carrying out my duty. I sometimes wish I could make it up to him.

Ronald Weasley has never been your friend. He lingers behind you like a dog, lapping up answers like water in the desert. Had you left him to his own devices, he would not have passed his first year at Hogwarts. You are kind and generous, but he is deceiving you.

Severus Snape was unfairly judged by his peers, as were you, my dear. The bookish, silent type that tend to wander within the tomes of the school library. He has been harsh with you particulary in an effort to make sure you did not become arrogant in your intellectual sense. He will be your mentor over the next year. Trust in him.

Finally, when Lily Potter (as you know her) and Severus Snape were in their 6th year, they happened to have a relationship. This love carried a large burden, one poor Lily had to hide from the prideful James Potter. Severus, once the child was born, came to Dumbledore begging for help with the child. They were destitute and had no way to raise the child. This child went to a small, quaint Muggle family of dentists, and Severus was soon dismayed as Lily went to James seeking comfort and wealth in her pain over her child's departure. His anguish over the loss of his love and his child haunted him, and seeked me.

I promised to find his child, tell her the truth and return her to him, while he demanded that James be killed for tearing them apart, and to kill Lily for betraying him. By the time I managed to wrangle an opportunity to salvage Severus's revenge, I unfortunately came upon Harry. I did not try to kill him. I soon realized, upon notice, that James was not the father.

Although a splitting likeness, something about the baby annoyed me as I pondered it. The green eyes were definitely of the mother, but the hair seemed different. As I performed a spell, I noticed that the child had had modifications in it's physical properties as it was in the womb. Powerful magic was used in order to make the child look like James Potter, but have Lily's eyes. Upon figuring this out, I need to figure the father. I took a sample, thereby giving him the scar (I was dramatic yes, I had just murdered in revenge) and found out that dear old Snape was the father.

I placed the child in the crib, and used Legimens to transmit some abilites so I could easily trace him. Unfortunately this cost me much, and I found myself lacking a body. Harry Potter is really the bastard child of Lily Potter and Severus Snape. And the other child, a girl, was renamed from the name her parents originally gave her. Hermione Jane Granger was adopted by the Grangers when she was no more than 10 months old. Your real name, my dear, is Melina Rose Snape.

I'm sorry this news is so shocking. Please forgive me.

Kindest Regards,

Lord Voldemort