I don't own Harry Potter, just this idea...

Apples In Autumn

Chapter One

It was a mistake, it had to be. There was no way, surely? Even as she thought this, Hermione knew that of course there was. She'd grown up knowing she was adopted, after all. Heck, even her two siblings were adopted as well! Their mother had been unable to concieve due to an accident where a piece of metal piping had robbed her of this ability when she was only sixteen. So when Judith Parker had married Eric Granger, they'd made the decision to adopt.

Michael was adopted first, from Croatia, and Abigail was second, from China. Hermione had been abandoned at a Greek orphanage, and the Grangers had fallen in love with her when they were holidaying there with their twelve and eight year old son and daughter respectively. So when Hermione recieved her letter from Hogwarts, Mike and Abbie had already moved away from home.

But right now, Hermione sat in the Headmaster's office in tears. The reason was a potion that they had been working on in class, one that Professor Slughorn had told them was one that could tell from a sample of blood what a wizard's blood status was...

"Alright, class," Professor Slughorn greeted them. "Today we are working on a potion that allows a person to find out what their blood status is. Has anyone ever heard of it before? Ahh, Miss Granger?"

"The Revealio Cruor Potion," Hermione said. "It was created in 1826 by a wizard at the request of the Wizengamot, because a lot of people were claiming to be the heir of a rich wizard family. Most of them had just wanted money, but this potion helped to sort out who really had a claim and who didn't, along with a few other methods."

"Yes, excellent, Miss Granger! Ten points to Gryffindor!" Slughorn beamed. "Now, can anyone else tell me what colour the potion turns for the blood status's?"

A few hands were in the air, even Hermione's, though she knew that Professor Slughorn wanted someone else to answer. "Ah, Mister Malfoy," he chose.

"Sir, the potion turns gold for a pureblood," Malfoy spoke, "purple for a halfblood and silver for a muggleborn. Also, if a muggle's blood is used, nothing happens to the poition at all, since it detects magic in blood. Even squibs don't change the colour."

"Excellent Mister Malfoy!" Slughorn beamed. "Ten points to Slytherin! You're right, of course, the potion only responds to magical blood, and squibs have the same result as muggles. Now, the ingredients and instructions are in your texbook on page forty-seven. Gather anything you need from the stores, you may begin when ready."

After getting the necessary ingredients from the school stores, Hermione set to work. She glanced over at Harry. Even though he no longer had a book to use to 'cheat' his way through potions, he had developed a knack for it, one she knew had everything to do with the fact that Snape wasn't breathing down his neck about every little thing he did wrong. It wasn't good to speak ill of the dead, but Professor Snape had terrorised a lot of Gryffindors, especially Harry and Neville.

In any case, Hermione was the first to finish, followed closely by Malfoy, Harry and Theo Nott. Once the rest of the class finished, Professor Slughorn looked over the four that had finished first and said, "Misters Potter, Malfoy and Nott, and Miss Granger, the four of you have the best potions in the class, an O for each of you! Now, if Mister Potter and Miss Granger would bring their potions to the front of the class? We'll demonstrate. Mister Nott and Mister Malfoy? Which one of you would like to demonstrate?"

Malfoy's hand went up straight away, and Professor Slughorn indicated for him to move forward with his potion. "Now," the Professor said, "each of you nick your finger and let a drop of blood fall into your potion."

Harry went first, and his potion turned a rich purple. "Definitely a halfblood, Mister Potter!" Slughorn said with a twinkle in his eye, and Harry moved back to his bench.

Malfoy went next, and his potion turned a shimmering gold. "Well done, Mister Malfoy," was the comment, and he returned to his bench.

Hermione went next, but when her potion didn't turn the colour it was supposed to, there was silence, utter silence until Professor Slughorn cleared his throat and said, "Well, uh, we all learn something new about ourselves every now and then. Please return to your seat, Miss Granger."

Everyone was staring at her as she made her way back to her seat. No one said anything for the remainder of the lesson, and afterwards, Professor Slughorn took her aside and suggested, "Perhaps you should go see the Headmistress. I know that you look up to her, and maybe she could help you with this?"

"How sir?" Hermione asked. "My potion turned gold!"

"Yes, well, maybe she can suggest, oh, I don't know, methods to find out who your birth parents are?"

Hermione nodded, turned and left the classroom and headed off to Professor McGonagall's office...

Which was where she was now. "Well," Professor McGonagall said, "this is a pickle. I know that you were aware that you were adopted, isn't that correct?"

Hermione nodded. "But I was in a muggle orphanage," she said. "I really didn't think a witch would leave her child at a muggle place, and not a wizard one."

"Don't be so certain," Professor McGonagall spoke. "I think that if you were an illegitimate child, then hiding you in a muggle orphanage would have been a good way to hide you."

So she was something to be ashamed of, then? Hermione's tears increased, and McGonagall sighed and hugged the girl that she viewed as her academic daughter. "Don't worry, Hermione," she spoke. "If you want to find your birth parents, then I'm here to help. If you want to leave it alone, then that's your choice."

KkKkK

The Great Hall was abuzz with the news that Hermione Granger wasn't really muggleborn. People who were there when it happened were being asked by other students what had happened, and they were giving out all the information like crazy.

"She looked shocked," Pansy Parkinson told a fourth year Slytherin. "Looks like the bookworm didn't know!"

"So you don't think she was just hiding it all this time?" the girl asked.

"No one can fake that kind of surprise," Theo Nott said.

Lavender Brown was being particularly malicious. "I can't believe she kept that from you all this time, Won-won!" she said to Ron, who was looking like he'd found out that he had a leech attached to him, which wasn't far off. "I bet you're feeling all betrayed and need someone to be there for you."

The suggestion in her tone made Ginny, who was across from them, gag, and Harry, who was sitting next to his girlfriend, nearly choke on the mince pie he was eating. "Mione didn't do it on purpose, Lavender," Ron said. "Go away."

When Hermione Granger entered the Hall, there was silence. At least, there was until she joined Ron, Harry and Ginny. Then Lavender opened her big mouth.

"So, you knew about being a pureblood, then?" she asked.

"No," Hermione said. "I didn't know unil class."

"Yeah right!" Lavender challenged. "You're such a know it all, why wouldn't you have known?"

"Leave her alone, Lavender," Pavarti said. "She didn't know."

"Why are you siding with her?" Lavender demanded.

"Because we're Gryffindors," her best friend said. "We all need to stick together."

Lavender pouted, looking around for support, but found none. "Whatever!" she huffed. "I still think you knew!"

She got up and left, then Harry covered Hermione's hand with his own. "We know you didn't know," he said.

Hermione smiled. "Professor McGonagall has offered to help me find my birth parents," she said. "But I'm not really sure I want to."

"Why not?" Ginny asked.

"I've known I was adopted my whole life," Hermione explained. "I've never been interested in finding out who my real parents are before, why would that change now that I know that they were wizards?"

Harry, Ron and Ginny just looked at each other, and let the matter drop.

KkKkK

Draco Malfoy sat in the armchair that he'd claimed long ago in his first year, and looked around the Slytherin common room. People were still whispering about Granger, how she wasn't a muggleborn anymore, and there was a lot of speculation over who her parents might be. Theo and Blaise were sitting in a corner, going over the names of every pureblood they knew of, trying to figure out if Granger could be theirs. They weren't getting anywhere, and Theo was getting more than a little frustrated.

"Oh, come on!" he finally snapped. "Neither of us even really know anything about Granger! How are we supposed to figure out which family she's from?"

"We could always get to know her," Blaise suggested.

"But she's a Gryffindor!" Pansy spoke up. "Slytherins and Gryffindors don't mix!"

"Why not?" Draco said, and all attention was on him. "The war's over, we're supposed to be getting along now. So, why not?"

Pansy pursed her lips, then said, "Alright, but I should do it. I would have more in common with her, since we're both girls."

"It's settled, then!" Blaise said. "Pansy will befriend Granger, and find out what we need to know!"

"No," Pansy said. "I will befriend her, and if she confides in me, then I won't tell!"

"Why not?" Blaise demanded.

"Because we'll be friends, and I never betray a freind's trust," Pansy shot at him. "But when I become friends with her, then maybe you guys could too. Then you can find out for yourself!"

Blaise and Theo gave one another meaningful looks. "Works for me," Theo said.

KkKkK

Far away in Greece, a woman looked at her husband with tears in her eyes. "I am sorry I never told you, my Beloved," she said. "It was before we met, when I travelled to England briefly."

Malissa looked up at her husband Kyros entreatingly, and he could not find it within himself to remain mad at her. He sighed. "I am not angry with you," he told her. "But I do wish you had told me."

"I want to find her," Malissa said. "I want to find her and bring her home."

"Very well," Kyros said. "It shall be done."

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