Chapter 2
"Hermione, are you okay?" Sirius asked, lifting a hand to her face, to brush back an errant curl.
"I, well, I remember things now, being here. My name isn't Hermione. Father continued Black family tradition with that. It's Siri Andromeda Black, Father had begun to respect the two of you. He wanted out, but I don't know what happened to him. I suppose, you're the family I have left now," Hermione whispered in a strained voice.
"Well, Her—uh, Siri, you have me and you have Tonks here. She is our cousin, Andromeda's daughter. Why don't we start from what you and I know together? Do you know who your mother was, or her family maybe?" Sirius questioned. Hermione shook her head in the negative. She remembered flashes of her mother's face, but the memory charm was still very potent. Maybe removing the glamour charm on her would help? She had not read of one lasting so long, but perhaps it had been cast by an extraordinary witch or wizard. Sirius seemed to be thinking the same, because he suggested they try it. Tonks being the skilled auror, pointed her wand at Hermione and began muttering a low incantation.
Hermione, didn't feel any different, but upon hearing the gasps of Tonks and Sirius, she knew something had to have changed. Sirius transfigured a nearby book into a small mirror, and offered it to Hermione. She stared, transfixed, at the reflection before her. Where tan skin had been, there was now a porcelain cast, and her once honeyed locks were ink black. Her eyes were the biggest difference, the brown chocolate color was now purple. A most unusual color, she could not recall any wizarding families that had it.
"Well, I guess we know who the mother is now," Sirius grumbled, running a hand through his hair.
"Who?" Hermione inquired, noticing that her voice had become slightly softer.
"That great fool of a brother went and united himself with the Shafiq heiress, a family I was certain had died out years ago. Madeline Shafiq was a Slytherin in the same year as my brother. I suppose I shall have to ask Kingsley to look into any marriage records regarding Reg. The Shafiqs were a very powerful family, and their magic rivaled that of Voldemort's. I personally think he had them exterminated. The only members still alive during the first war were Madeline and her grandfather. Both of Madeline's parents had been killed under accidental, yet mysterious circumstances. It was rumored that Madeline had fled to the continent, but no one heard from her, even after Voldemort had fallen from power," Sirius answered, staring at the tapestry, which Hermione realized had her name along with her parents' names.
Tonks, who had been silently listening, informed the two that she was going to speak to the rest of the others gathered in the kitchen, so that Hermione would not be overwhelmed.
"Before you do, please, call me Siri. I loved my father, and the name helps me feel closer to him," she smiled, tearfully, at Tonks who winked and left the room. Sirius embraced Siri and held her for what felt like ages as she cried, mourning the loss of her family. She was desperate for answers about what had happened and why she had been so thoroughly hidden. Bitterly, she assumed, it had to have something to do with the noseless maniac that had begun to terrorize Britain again.
"Sirius, Father was doing something important before he disappeared. I am not sure, but I am almost certain it is something against Voldemort. Father always whispered about a secret the Dark Lord had," Siri informed her uncle.
"We will bring it up at the meeting. I am sure some of the others will raise a fuss about you being there, but something tells me Dumbledore can crack the rest of your memories. I am also certain that those memories will prove valuable to our cause," Sirius smiled, as he led her to the kitchen where the rest of the order were gathered. Siri couldn't help but to wonder what impact this would have on her adopted parents or how much they really knew. She always thought it curious that they had taken so much in stride. Perhaps they knew more than they had let on.
Meanwhile, in the Granger household, Dr. Granger felt a pulsing on his arm that indicated his daughter's glamour had finally been removed. It was time for Regulus Black and his bride to return home.
