"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ADOPTED?" Hermione yelled at her parents for the first time ever. It was a wondrous day at the Grangers a few hours earlier but it changed when Hermione discovered something which turned her whole world upside down.
"I am sorry dear, we couldn't tell you this. We wanted to but we couldn't bring it up, you see." Mrs. Granger looked quite pale as she tried to calm her adopted daughter.
"NO I CAN'T SEE. If… if I am not you daughter, whose daughter am I?" Hermione broke down in tears which were long fighting to expose itself after the truth was revealed. It was just too much for her to take. Her discovery surprised her and she still hasn't recovered from that stage. She sat down on the pastel couch and covered her face with her trembling hands. "Twenty years. Twenty years you have been hiding this from me and you never thought what would happen if I discovered it? How… why would an..anyone give m..me to adoption?" Her voice trembled as she stammered her thoughts out loud. She had a million questions but these were the most important ones which needed to be answered.
"We are so sorry, honey. We are terribly sorry but if you would just be calm and listen to us, you would understand." Mr. Granger said while soothing his teary wife.
"How could you expect me to be calm after all this? You guys were lying to me for my whole life. But I do need an explanation so explain this to me, please." Hermione lowered her voice at the last sentence. Her hands were vibrating like a machine and she was surprised she could speak after the horrible shock. She looked upward to find a more scared Mrs. Granger holding her napkin to her nose with one hand and holding her husband's hand with another. She wore a bright pink top with a long black skirt and a flower designed apron. Her dress was half wet with the overflowing tears pouring out from her eyes. Mr. Granger on the other hand looked only grim with no tears. His veins could be seen clearly as he tried to hold back his emotions. He was wearing a normal shirt with white shorts. He was in the middle of reading a newspaper and his wife was cooking when Hermione's scream startled them.
"Well your mother knows the best. I mean Helen knows the best. So you have to wait until she regains her voice. Why don't we have dinner until she can tell you everything?" Mr. Granger calmly asked after they settled on another couch opposite Hermione.
"What?! How could you be so calm? I want an explanation and I will not move until I get it!" Hermione bellowed.
"It's alright, Jack. I will tell her everything. Why don't you go and see if the soup is ready?" Helen asked her husband since she wanted some privacy with her adopted daughter. Mr. Granger understanding this and not wanting to be in the middle of a fight between two girls, made his way to the kitchen without hesitating. Mrs. Granger wiped her tears and began to talk but hiccups were only heard. Hermione conjured a glass of water out of thin air. Mrs. Granger thanked her and drank it all up.
"Ahem." Mrs. Granger coughed and Hermione was forced to smile a little being reminded of her fifth year Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher and her pretend coughs.
"Well, it was long ago. Jack and I knew about wizards then since Jack's cousin's son once received a letter claiming that he was a wizard. Unlike Harry's aunt and uncle we never hated them but we wanted our child/children get admitted to Hogwarts as well. But alas I was told by the doctor that I couldn't have children. That was the most horrible news to have struck us. We were so upset until one day a knock on our door was heard and there sat a beautiful baby crying with nothing but a note attached to the basket carrying her. The note… well I don't quite remember it but it said that you were a girl who needed a couple to take care of her and that you were a witch. It was a real shock for us but we were so happy as well. We took care of you and raised you the best way. You are probably thinking why we didn't try to contact or know who your birth parents were. The truth is we tried but after failing once, we thought it unnecessary. We loved you so much that giving back to your birth parents were too hard of us. Time flew by and you got your Hogwarts letter and fought at the battle, now you are a celebrity in the wizarding world. We are so proud of you. I thought we can hide the truth and make you our baby but we forgot about the adoption papers until you discovered them." Mrs. Granger sighed at the last statement while Hermione bit her upper lip. She had been trying to hold back tears but they were forever stubborn. She looked at the ceiling above hoping her tears would flow back into her eyes and then looked at Mrs. Granger who wasn't ashamed to show her tears.
Instead of replying to the teary-faced Mrs. Granger, or even comforting her, Hermione took her purse and ran out off the house.