The headline on the Daily Prophet that morning read "Dark Lady Escaped during Azkaban Breakout". Tom had no idea that one day he would be reunited with his beloved wife. All they needed now was their little girl, their precious Hermione.
…
Hermione woke up late the morning before her sixteenth birthday. She had stayed up late reading the night before, as was the usual for her. Once she had summoned the energy to get up from her comfortable bed, she dressed in a simple black maxi dress and threw her hair up into a bun before grabbing a book and her wand on her way out of her bedroom.
Knowing that her parents had already left for work that morning, Hermione turned on her Wizarding Wireless as she set out to make herself some tea. She fed Crookshanks his breakfast, before sitting down at the kitchen table to read. At the end of the last school year, Hermione snuck a book out of the Restricted Section of the library called "Dark Arts through the Ages". She had recently come to the realization that she had an interest in learning more about the Dark Arts. She felt that in order to properly defend herself against dark magic, she should first know what dark magic really was.
Hermione found herself humming as she read, and had not heard the faint pops of apparition outside of her home. She was so focused on what she was reading that she hadn't even noticed when someone walked into the kitchen behind her. She jumped when she felt a wand poking into her back, thinking that someone from the order has dropped by to surprise her; but last thing she heard was a quiet "stupefy" before losing consciousness.
…
Hermione awoke in a beautiful bed chamber, all royal purples and dark wood with bookcases along one wall. She immediately started searching for her wand, but could not find it. She checked the bedroom door and it was locked. She yelled, but nobody seemed to hear her. So she paced the carpet in front of the door, trying to think of a way to escape. For the life of her she couldn't think of who might have kidnapped her. Voldemort, maybe? But what would he want with her? What would her parents think when they found her gone? Would the Order come looking for her?
The lock on the bedroom door clicked and Hermione's head snapped up as she glared at it. When it swung open, she was faced with none other than Bellatrix Riddle. She looked much less crazy than what her Azkaban mugshot and the Prophet photos showed her to be. She smiled softly at Hermione, leaving her puzzled. "Why am I here? Where is my wand?" She demanded. Bellatrix chuckled. "With me, dear girl. I will tell you why you are here. But first, you must sit down." Hermione's eyes grew wide and her brow furrowed.
"You know that the Order will come for me." Hermione told Bellatrix coolly. "Oh, I doubt that very much. That old coot could not care less. You are THE Hermione Granger, but he left you with no security? You are not yet old enough to perform magic outside of school - you have no way to protect yourself." Bellatrix replied calmly. "Now, I'm sure you would like to know why you're here and why I'm being so kind. I shall tell you, but as I said, you must sit down. It's quite a lot of information."
...
Hermione sat there dumbfounded after she had been told what had happened. "So what you're telling me is that I am your child, Voldemort's child, and that I was stolen from you by Dumbledore and placed with the Grangers?" Bellatrix nodded solemnly. "Your father has searched for you since you disappeared. But they put a glamour on you and you weren't easily found. Jean is a squib, that's why Dumbledore placed you with them." Hermione thought for a moment. "Prove it. I can't say that I believe you."
Bellatrix smiled then, and called for Tom. "Of course we can prove it to you, darling girl. I just need to call for your father." With that, she sent a nonverbal patronus to her husband and then spoke to it softly, saying "She is awake. Bring the pensieve." And with a flick of her wand, the snake patronus left the room.
Moments later, there was another knock on the bedroom door. "Ladies, is everyone decent in there?", the voice could only belong to Tom Riddle. Bellatrix smiled, "Yes, dearest. You may enter." The door swung open to reveal a dark haired man carrying a pensieve. He did not look anything like what she remembered from the battle at the Ministry, Hermione thought. "Hello Hermione. I must say that I have been looking forward to this day for many years. Funny that you were right under my nose the entire time." He set the pensieve down on the table by the window. "I'm sure you would like to view our memories of what happened before we progress with anything else." Hermione nodded, too nervous to speak.
Bellatrix and Tom took their respective memories from their minds with quick movements of their wands, and added them to the pensieve. "Whenever you're ready, dear girl." Bellatrix said to her daughter. Hermione took a hesitant step towards the pensieve before turning to them, "You do realize that I will know whether or not they are real memories, right?" she said. Tom smiled then, "Of course we do, Hermione. You're not the smartest witch of your age for no reason." She nodded and then with a determined look on her face walked over to the table. With a deep breath and one last look to the others, she bowed her head over the pensieve.
…
An hour later, Hermione emerged from the pensieve with tears streaming down her face - her jaw tight and her small hands balled into fists. "Why would he do such a thing?" she fumed. She looked at her parents. "I need some time… I never thought that the people I've surrounded myself with for years would be the people who ruined my life and I didn't even know it." Bellatrix nodded and walked over to her husband. "We'll be in your father's study when you're ready to talk. Call for Tippy, she will bring you to us." and they left Hermione to herself.
Hermione stared out the window, overlooking the gardens below. She just couldn't believe it. Her whole life was a lie. Her parents - the Grangers - weren't even her parents. Jean knew the whole time that Hermione wasn't her child and she never said a word. Dumbledore took her from her parents, her entire family. The things that had happened to Bellatrix at the hand of the Order… How could she ever look at Harry again without seeing James in him? She now understood the anger and contempt that Professor Snape had held for Harry. It had nothing to do with Lily Potter and everything to do with the crimes that were committed against her mother.
Hermione wiped the tears from her face and wandered across the room to the bathroom. It was so big - marble everywhere - a walk-in shower tucked into one corner, and a large tub tucked into the other. She walked straight over to the sink and washed her face. She looked into the mirror and sighed. I wonder what I really look like, she thought. She sighed again and dried her face before walking back into the bedroom and curling up on the lounge by the bookcases. "How can I ever trust anyone again? I've been lied to my entire life. The only people in my life that have told the truth are my parents. Me, Mudblood Granger, the Dark Lord's daughter." She said herself with a hysterical giggle. This must be a nightmare.
…
Hermione woke up in the same position she had been in earlier. When did I fall asleep? She wondered, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She looked up to see a tiny pink house elf dressed in a clean and tidy pillowcase with the Riddle Crest on the front. "Who are you?" She asked the little elf. "I is being Tippy, young Mistress." replied the elf. "Oh! Um. Could you take me to my parents? I believe they mentioned that they'd be in… my father's study." Hermione said. Tippy nodded excitedly, "Of course, little Mistress. Right away!" She grabbed Hermione's hand and with a pop they arrived in Tom's study.
Tom and Bellatrix looked up from the conversation they were having on the couch in front of the fire. "Hello, darling girl. How are you feeling?" Bellatrix asked her daughter. Hermione smiled weakly, "Overwhelmed. Angry. Upset. I'm feeling many things right now," she told her parents quietly. Tom nodded silently before waving his hand, an armchair appearing out of nowhere. "Sit, Hermione. There is much to discuss. I'm sure you have many questions." she nodded before walking across the room to sit in the chair. "I do have questions. For starters, what do I really look like? I know that there is a glamour on me as I look nothing like either of you.", she said to her father.
"Indeed. You do have a glamour on you, my dear, and your mother is more than willing to take you up to her dressing room and help you remove them," Tom told Hermione. Bellatrix stood and smiled at her daughter, offering her arm. "It's much quicker if we apparate upstairs. There will be time for a tour of the manor later." Hermione stood and walked over to her, and with a quiet pop they left Tom to the quiet of his study.
