Albus Dumbledore wasn't shocked to be woken in the early hours of the morning during the Summer, he would always be called when a student had used under age magic, what did surprise him, so much so that he was afraid of what they would find at the young witches home, he didn't want to go there on his own, and to be honest he was almost afraid of making his professors witness it, but Professor McGonnical was her head of house and Professor Snape was his go to in times of trouble, he wanted to get to Hermione Grangers house before the Ministry and Aurors, the girl wouldn't break the rules without cause. Minerva's breathing became frantic once they saw the Dark Mark floating in the sky above the Granger home, she shook her head,
"Mother of Merlin, Albus its starting again and they have started with Hermione, Albus I can't, I can't go in there and see another one of my lions dead, please" Minerva whispered as they walked up the path to the house, she couldn't shake the foreboding she was feeling, this seemed like history repeating herself, Albus grabbed her gently and shook her,
"Minerva, I need you to calm down, Hermione will need you, she will need you because she will be ok, we have to get in there" he said as he followed Snape into the house, Minerva took a deep breath and followed the two men into the house.
"Good Lord" Snape muttered as they stared around them,
There was scorch marks from spells gone array which meant there had been a fight and that gave them a little hope, as it wasn't too long after the underage magic, they heard the whimper, that made it solid in their view, Hermione was alive, but they weren't expecting what they saw when they turned the corner into what seemed to be the living area.
The room was a mess of broken furniture and blood, two bodies of whom they believed to be Hermione's parents were thrown to the side near the wall at the back, what surprised them that there were three known Death Eaters out cold and tied up,
"Granger did this" Snape muttered, they all knew that the young witch was smart, but to see that she was strong and obviously quick,
"Pettigrew" Minerva muttered as she looked at one of the men, Snape moved forward to identify another of the captured only to step back shocked,
"Barty Crouch Jr, he was reported to have died last year in Azkaban, how" he said, Albus looked at him with wide eyes and then moved to the third, turning him over,
"Rosier, my gods the girl has taken down two of the inner circle Severus" Albus said in an awed whisper, a whimper made them look around the room again and over in the corner by a strange box that Severus told them was a Muggle Entertainment device, they saw bloodied feet that were moving,
"Minerva will you, she may need a feminine touch" Albus said, motioning towards they hidden young girl, the Head of Gryffindor nodded and slowly made her way over to her prized pupal as the Aurors finally arrived, Albus had moved to quieten them, not wanting to hinder Minerva getting through to Hermione,
"Professor McGonnical is trying to get Miss Granger to come out of her hiding place, but as you can see, there are two Muggles dead by the wall, three Death Eaters including Peter Pettigrew, please take them away and cover the bodies before we get our student to come out, she has already been traumatised enough and please take care with the bodies," he said, Alistair Moody walked into the room then, he had heard of the alert and even though he was retired, he was to join Hogwarts as a teacher after the summer, so he thought himself needed for this matter,
"You heard him Davis, Creed get those scum back to the ministry, call for the Healer to bring her parents to St Mungo's for Autopsy" he snapped causing the two men to jump and do as they were told, each grabbing the Prisoners and dissapperating, Moody turned to the two men standing near him,
"A student did this, how old is she" he asked as he too watched Minerva kneel in front of the scared student,
"Not yet 14" Albus muttered,
"Hermione, Hermione I am so sorry that this has happened to you, but you need to come out so we can make sure that you are ok, we need to make sure that you are not badly injured" Minerva said softly, they all waited on baited breath,
"I had to, I had to, you have to believe me, I couldn't let them get away, they killed my parents, no they did more than that, they tortured them first and made me watch, so for them I couldn't let them go, they wanted, no he, he wanted to, he said he wanted to have some fun with me, I couldn't let him, you understand Professor, you know other whys I wouldn't have done it, I wouldn't have broken the rules, I had to stop them before they could hurt anyone else" she said, her voice was obviously raw from whatever amount of screaming she had done during the attack, everyone, even Snape's hearts broke at once, though they could see her being worried about being in trouble.
"Hermione, My dear I can assure you, you are not in any trouble, you are allowed to use magic when there is dire need of it, anyone who walked in here can see it, the Healers are going to bring your parents to St Mungo's, I can promise you that they will be looked after, those men have already been taken to the Ministry, you are safe now, you can come out and we will all go back to Hogwarts where we can have Madam Pomphrey check you out, you know her, she will look after you" she told her, she blinked when Hermione snorted,
"Barty Crouch Jr, Barty Crouch Jr, he is supposed to be dead, safe, how can anyone be safe when the Ministry can't do their job right, Sirius is convicted wrongly, spent 12 years in Azkaban and now a Death Eater is free because someone has obviously faked his death" she muttered, Minerva sighed and nodded,
"I know Cub, but now that these things have come to light, we will be able to prove that Sirius is innocent, someone will be held accountable for Crouch, all because you were insanely strong and brave enough to fight back, you have avenged your parents in ways other ways people could only dream of, you now need to be just a little bit stronger" she said when she noticed that the Healers had arrived and had already taken the Grangers bodies back to the Wizarding Hospital. "Who is here with you" Hermione asked, she didn't want to go out there if there was too many people, she had blood all over her, she had cuts and bruises, her hair matted with the drying blood of her parents, not that she cared about her looks, but she didn't want to look weak,
"Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape and Auror Moody" she told the skittish young witch, Hermione blinked after hearing the Aurors name, she began to mutter,
"Moody, Moody, he said something about Moody, Alastair Moody was going to be the DADA Teacher this year and he had a plan to capture and impersonate him because was something big to happen at Hogwarts and no one would question it, he had a plan and he was sure he was going to be successful" she said, her voice scratching her throat causing her to cough at the end of her sentence,
"Who said Hermione, who had that plan" Dumbledore asked as he walked closer,
"Crouch" she said as she began to crawl out from her hiding place, she had a split lip and rapidly blackening eye, she stood up,
"Come Hermione, the Auror's want to clean the house, we need to get you checked over before they come to question you" Minerva said, Hermione nodded, her eyes staring at the wall where her parents had been thrown, she let the older witch cover her with a transfigured cloak and they dissapperated from the house.
"That girl will need to be protected Albus, she has put a target on her back and will be in much more danger than that Potter boy will be, but I will tell you that not even rookie Aurors can disarm, stun and incarcerate three Dark Wizards, she is something truly special and will need to be trained, she could be the only way we can win this upcoming war" Moody told the Headmaster, Albus closed his eyes and nodded as he looked around, "I know Alastair, gods don't I know it, but right now we need to see to our student and her needs, can you stay here and find out what you can before reporting back later" Albus asked, the retired Auror nodded and watched as the two professors dissapperated, he closed his eyes and sighed,
"That poor girl doesn't even realise the impact she has just made and how much her life is about to change in more than one way" he said to himself.
Hermione had lost conscious as soon as she got to the school, it helped and hampered her treatment, the Healer Madam Pomphrey was glad that she didn't have a head strong Hermione Granger declaring she was alright and only needed rest and was able to heal a great bulk of the young witches injuries, only problem was they had lost some time in what they could do, not wanting to make any decisions without speaking to her,
"I can't understand why we don't decide what is going to happen, the girl needs to be protected, she needs to be placed in somebodies custody, someplace and somehow the Ministry wont remove her and place her where they want her, Merlin help who they would have thought was right to look after her" she heard a gruff voice say as she woke,
"Alastair is right, I fear the Ministry will want to make her a poster girl, or worse take her into its custody, the only way we can stop that from happening is to have someone from the order Blood adopt her and why we are waiting, as you saw, the young woman is well able to protect herself, that I am sure we can all agree, she is smart and would prefer to have a choice in what will have to be done" she heard Albus Dumbledore say, she closed her eyes and let herself to calm, she knew it was the only reasonable option, it's the only type of guardianship in the Magical world that cannot be disputed, Blood.
"The Weasley's would do it in a heartbeat" Minerva said, they all jumped and turned to look at Hermione as she snorted, Hermione pushed herself into sitting position,
"Mrs Weasley has let it known that she believes that I am a bad influence on her children" she said quietly,
"Hermione I am sure you heard wrong" Minerva said, Hermione turned her deep sad eyes towards her favourite teacher,
"I would love to say that could be the case, but I received a letter from her last week, she told me I wasn't welcome at the Weasley Home this Summer as I normally am, because Mrs Weasley didn't like the fact that I had two male friends, and only a loose and Wonton girl would have no female friends, she didn't want Ginny learning from me, doesn't matter that I am the reason her son is actually passing his classes, I will go anywhere you want me to go, but I will not go to that woman's home, I will not bow to her" she said as she pulled her knees towards her chest,
"Miss Granger needs someone who would be able to protect her Albus, she has made enemies this night and will need a family who is part of the sacred 28 and has standing behind it, who is willing and able to provide her with Pureblood status and protection, someone who has the Ministry in their hand" Severus Snape said, Dumbledore turned towards the potion master,
"Severus are you implying that she should be blood adopted by Sirius Black, I think that is the best idea, with him and Remus as mates, it will give her two pureblood heavy weights protecting her, the Blacks have always had the best protection on their homes, and with Sirius about to be pardoned, the Ministry will want to keep him onside so he doesn't sue them for everything they have" he said as he nodded, Hermione had met and saved Sirius at the end of the last school year, she knew Remus, he had been the best DADA Professor she had, had.
"You'll want to do it before morning because Fudge is more than likely on his way here and will want to use her for political gain, he could very well lose his job tomorrow, but if he has her, he will believe that will not happen" Snape said, Hermione had always trusted the Potions Master, he had proven himself time and time again and no matter what Harry and Ron said, he was a good man.
"I will go floo them, they are staying Grimauld Place" Minerva said as she headed into Madam Pomphrey's office as the woman in question headed towards her,
"I have healed all the major problems so anything that is paining you right now is nothing too worrisome, so I want you to tell me if you get a head ache or something hurts alright" she told her, Hermione nodded, she placed her head onto her knees again, she knew that there was no way any of this night would be kept out of the media, everyone was going to know her parents had been killed and that she had used underage magic, she didn't know what the backlash was going to be, she got enough of it from being friends with Harry.
"Miss Granger, you know about Blood adoption yes" Snape asked as he moved closer to her, Hermione turned her head to see the Professor had taken a seat beside her bed, she nodded and swallowed,
"I will essentially be the daughter of whom ever adopts me in both blood and law, I understand how that is important Sir, but my dad, my mum, I can't forget about them" she whispered, he shook his head,
"You won't forget your parents, none of us will ever forget your parents, because they raised you, they raised an amazingly smart, strong and persistent daughter, they will probably be the first Muggles to make our history books, your parents will want you safe and blood adoption is the best possible way for that" he told her, she nodded and took a deep breath as they heard the flurry of feet coming towards the Hospital wing.
"I'll go get the potion while the Headmaster explains everything to Black and Lupin" Snape told her, she nodded as he swung his cloak and left through the office.
She didn't want to forget her parents or leave any thoughts of them behind, they had taught her, raised her, loved her, but her mother had always said not to question what fate had in store for you as she knew what she was doing, though she would forever miss and mourn her parents, she could do as her mother said and follow the path that fate had set for her, she blinked when someone called her name. "Hermione, oh you poor child, I am so sorry that this has happened to you, and it's all my fault, I should have taken my potion that night and Peter would have been captured and you wouldn't be going through this" Remus said as he rushed to her bedside, he dropped frantically by the side of her bed, his head bowed, resting on the bed beside her, his hand tightly around hers, she shook her head as she ran her fingers through his greying hair
"This would have happened with Peter there or not, it was me that was the target because they believed it would be a major blow to Harry, Peter took a back seat until my parents were killed, they laughed when they were fighting me, stating that Harry would have been able to cope during whatever this big thing that is happening at Hogwarts this year, so please Remus don't blame yourself" she implored him, he looked up, his eyes filled with tears, she wasn't surprised when they flashed with amber before returning to normal.
"Moony, love I told you that Kitten here wouldn't blame you, it wouldn't even be in her thoughts, Hermione I am so sorry this happened and we will do whatever we need to, to make sure you are forever safe" Sirius told her as he walked towards her slowly, to show he wasn't aggressive, she swallowed and took a shuddering breath.
"Fate has her reasons, my mum always said never to question to her, I'm going to mourn them, I am going to watch the men that killed them suffer in Azkaban for a long time, then make them and their side regret ever targeting me and my family" she told him, Sirius nodded and patted her bent knee.
"And we will be with you every step of the way, we want you to know that we don't want to or won't ever replace your parents, but we would be privileged to be your guardians in Blood and Law" he told her, she nodded as one side of her mouth lifted in a reluctant smile,
"I must warn you Miss Granger, with Remus being a Werewolf, you might get some traits, but you will not become a Werewolf, do you still want to press ahead" Dumbledore stated, Hermione looked from the Headmaster to Remus,
"I'm sure Remus will help me through whatever traits I get, I trust him and Sirius to protect me and teach me as I go" she said softly, Dumbledore nodded with a smile and a twinkle in his eye,
"Hermione will be able to go after the blood adoption" Madam Pomphrey told them as Snape came rushing back into the room.
"Albus, we must get this over and done with now, Phineas Black has told me that the minister has arrived in your office, and we have all of ten minutes before he heads here" he said as he uncorked the potion vial.
A new urgency started in the hospital wing, Hermione watched through half lidded eyes, Sirius and Remus placed three drops of blood into the vial, she wasn't interested in what was happening so she didn't listen to the incantation that was said while the headmaster swished his wand around it.
"Hermione dear, one shot" Dumbledore said as he handed her the potion, nodding he took the vial and tilted her head back, drinking everything in one go, wincing as it burnt her throat, she handed the vial back as her heart began to beat so frantically that she could hear t herself, her chest was tightening that she was breathing faster to make up for it, her head was spinning so she lay back in order not to throw up.
"It will pass in a moment, you are gaining the familial traits of both sides of your new families" Severus told her, she swallowed back the uncomfortable feeling that was crawling up her throat, closing her eyes tightly as the pressure built in her body until it just stopped.
"You are now a Black, Hermione I want you to take this potion it will help you rest, we don't want the Minster t question you right now" Dumbledore said as he handed her a sleeping draught, she nodded taking the potion, she didn't want to deal with the Bumbling Minister, soon after taking the potion she fell asleep.
"She looks like a Black but she has your eyes Rem" Sirius said, his mate smiled as he moved a piece of hair out of her eyes.
It was true, she was so beautiful, wild silky Ebony curls, pale blemish free skin, her eyes had been a beautiful amber before they closed, and she was smaller than she had been, another of Remus' features,
"And obviously my height, she is tiny" he said, Sirius chuckled,
"I didn't want to say that" he told him as Remus pulled a blanket on top of their new daughter, they looked up as the Hospital wing doors opened with a bang,