Here's the next chapter of 'It's A Twin Thing', so sorry for not updating sooner but it's summer know so hopefully I should be able to write more often!
Thank you so much for all the reviews, they honestly mean the world, you're all so amazing!
*Last Time*
"Hermione!" came a voice from down the corridor, Hermione had just finished her history of magic exam, while Harry and Ron were talking to Neville about the plan for tonight she was walking through the dungeons on her way to go and talk to her dad. Turning around Hermione saw Theo running towards her from the other end of the corridor, a stupid grin plastered on his face.
"Hey Theo, everything alright?" Hermione chuckled, as Theo bent down to catch his breath.
"Yeah, just wanted to ask how to history of magic exam went?" He asked.
"That's all you wanted to talk about?" Hermione asked again, raising her eyebrow in question, knowing that Theo wasn't just here for that.
"Well, no, but I am curious," He replied sheepishly.
"Well I thought it was alright, question 12 caught me out but once I remembered the weapons the Goblins used it was a piece of cake. So what did you really want to ask me?" She asked.
"I was wondering if you wanted to maybe meet up in the holidays," He muttered.
"Really?" Hermione shrieked, surprised at how excited she was, then a thought struck her, "My um - parents, are muggle though, won't your dad not approve?" Hermione asked, aware that his dad was a Death Eater - or would be if Voldemort was alive.
"Oh he'd hate that I'm hanging out with a muggleborn, I don't care though, he doesn't have to know," He replied defiantly.
...
I - don't want to be Hermione Granger - the - the mudblood. I want to be Hermione Potter-Snape, The daughter of - of Severus and Olivia." Hermione bawled, trying her best to get her sentence out.
"You have no idea how bad I want the world to know that you're my daughter, you're the most amazing, beautiful, intelligent, stubborn witch and I love you so much."
"I know why I can't change my last name but I can't help but want it so bad, i want it so bad it hurts."
"I know Poppet, I know," Severus responded, cradling her in his lap and just holding her. The two of them sat there for what felt like hours but in reality had only been half an hour.
...
"Crucio"
Harry watched as the light came speeding towards hims and closed his eyes, waiting for the pain to hit him; yet it never came.
An ear-splitting scream echoed around the room, Harry looked down and tears sprung to his eyes as he saw Hermione on the floor, her body writhing in pain and her eyes wide with fear.
Hermione felt like her whole body was on fire, she couldn't breath and the pain that ripped through her body was like a thousand tiny needles that wouldn't stop. She couldn't hold back the scream that tore through her throat, the tears streamed effortlessly down her face and it felt as if the fire would never die.
Finally the pain subsided but the scars were clear for everyone to see, Hermione felt helpless, the only thing keeping her going was the fact that Harry didn't have to endure what she just experienced.
"Oh dear, did your mudblood get in the way? Maybe I'l curse her again, you seemed to enjoy her screams so much."
The last thing Hermione saw before blacking out was the look of fury on Harrys face as he ran towards Quirrelmort and burnt him with his are hands.
Chapter 10
To say that the start of Hermiones' summer had been boring would be an understatement, it was worse than having to sit through one of Binns History of Magic classes - and that was saying something! Ever since she'd arrived back to the Grangers life had been bleak, she'd had her daily chores handed to her, aka all the chores, and each day was the same. Get up, eat the leftover breakfast, do chores, have lunch with Martha, do her homework before the Grangers arrive home, make dinner and sit down with the Grangers in an uncomfortable silence while the three of them ate. Some may say this was cruel, but in Hermiones eyes it was normal life, at least she was fed well and had a roof above her head - it was better than some.
The evenings were the only real time that Hermione had to herself, she spent it reading and building on the knowledge she already knew about the magical world. Hermione would definitely say that evenings were her favourite time of the day; the Grangers were asleep, the neighbourhood was silent and she could finally be herself and feel all the emotions she should be feeling after the events that transpired the previous school year.
Currently, Hermione was sat on the roof of the house, this had become a daily occurrence for her. It was a place where she could just sit and relax, a place where she could just be herself. At this current moment she was debating with herself, it was currently 5pm and the Grangers had left to go visit some friends for the weekend. They'd left about an hour ago, in that hour Hermione had written a letter to her dad. He'd sent her a letter this morning but she'd only had time to write him a reply after the Grangers departure. Giving the letter she had to Hades - Severus' pitch, black owl - she stroked it before saying a farewell and watching it fly off to Hogwarts. As she watched the bird fly into the distance she thought more about her situation.
"Don't do it Hermione," She warned herself, knowing that it wasn't one of her brighter ideas.
The thing that she was trying to stop herself from doing? Going to Diagon Alley. She wanted so badly to just go somewhere magical, she felt disconnected from the magical world and wanted to go somewhere where she could feel close to it again. Not only that but she was eager to get herself an owl, then she'd be able to send people owls when she pleased instead of having to wait for them to send her one first.
That was the biggest reason, she hadn't heard from Harry since they left each other at the train station. After the events with the Philosophers stone Hermione had been in the Hospital wing for about a week. Severus was fuming with her, at first he'd been concerned - obviously, I mean she'd just been put under the torture curse - but once he realised she was alright he'd lost it. His shouting was only placated when Minerva burst through the doors and gave him a piece of her mind. Telling him that Hermione had jumped in front of the curse to stop it from hitting Harry, that she was brave for doing it and only jumped in front of it out of love.
After that catastrophe Hermione had been released from the hospital wing and to say that Harry, Ron and Neville hadn't been protective of her would be lying. They followed her everywhere and didn't want to let her out of their sight. Even Theo was more protective after she told him what happened. This is what confused Hermione; Neville, Theo and Ron had been sending letters none stop for the past week but she hadn't heard anything from Harry.
"That's it, I'm going," Hermione said, standing up and making her way off the roof and towards the front door.
"Martha! I'm going out for a bit, I should be back later this evening!" Hermione cried, hoping that Martha had heard her and wouldn't get worried.
Grabbing some money from her room Hermione left the house, making her way towards the train station. It would take her roughly half an hour on the train and then she'd just have to walk the rest of the way to Diagon Alley, it really wasn't that long and if she hurried then she'd be able to make it in time for the shops to still be open.
When Hermione got to the underground she was lucky enough for a train to already be waiting to be boarded. Hopping on Hermione sat down, waiting for it to stop. She only had to change a couple more times and walk about 10 minutes before she made it to the Leaky Cauldron.
"Hi Tom," Hermione chirped, she'd talked to the barman for a while on her first visit and never forgot to greet him when she walked through.
"'Ello there Hermione, you're out a bit late aren't ya?" Tom replied from behind the bar.
"Yeah, but I was thinking of getting an owl and didn't want to wait till tomorrow!" Hermione replied, giving him a little wave as she made her way out into the alley. Walking out Hermione looked around for anyone she could know before making her way towards Eeylops Owl Emporium.
As she walked in, a little bell sounded above the door, alerting Mr Eeylop to her presence.
"Hello young Lady, we close in 10 minutes," He said gruffly, although his tone was friendly.
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know!" Hermione replied apologetically, "I was just looking to purchase an owl, if it's too much hassle I can return tomorrow."
"No worries my dear, you're here now. Go look at the owls and I'll get you everything you need to care for it," Mr Eeylops told her, smiling kindly at her before retreating through a door in the back.
As he left Hermione made her way to the birds at the left of the store, as she was looking one bird in particular caught her eye. Unlike the others this owl wasn't sat still in it's cage but was thrashing around, obviously bored of being cooped up. It was beautiful, it's eyes were a deep green and feathers a sandy brown colour, with white markings on its face, tail feathers and chest. when Hermione approached it the bird stopped thrashing and stared into her eyes, before cocking it's head to the side and letting out a little chirp, causing Hermione to giggle at its antics.
"Wow, she's never behaved like that before." Mr Eeylops said, his arrival causing Hermione to jump in surprise. "Oh sorry dear, I didn't mean to scare you."
"Don't worry about it sir, I think I'll take this little one," Hermione replied, taking the bag of supplies that the old man gave to her.
"Here you go," Mr Eeylops said, handing the cage over to Hermione.
"Thank you sir, are you able to charge this to my Gringotts account?"
"Of course," Mr Eeylops responded, making his way over to the counter as Hermione followed behind him. When the transaction was complete Hermione bid farewell to Mr Eeylops, before leaving Diagon Alley and making her way back to the underground.
While on the train home Hermione stroked the owl softly behind it's ear, people were staring at her weirdly and most kept their distance as she sat and talked to the owl.
"I think I'll call you Amaya," Hermione told her, chuckling when she received an appreciative hoot from the Barn Owl.
...
It was now Sunday and Hermione had decided that she was just going to try and call Harry, she wanted to talk to him badly and had managed to get his house number off him with a lot of persuasion.
"The Dursley Residence, who's calling?" Came a gruff voice from the other end of the line.
"Hi, this is Hermione Granger. I'm calling to talk to your nephew Harry, I'm a friend from school," Hermione replied politely, trying to make a good first impression on Harrys' relatives.
"No!" The voice hollered, "We don't want any of you freaks calling us! The boy won't be talking to you, we have enough freakishness to deal with as it is."
"Wait! I just want to -" Hermione spluttered, not believing what she'd just heard, before she could finish her sentence the line went dead as the other end hung up. A million thoughts were spiralling around Hermiones' head:
Who was that man? Harrys' Uncle? What had he meant by freaks? Is that what he called Harry? A freak? How dare he!
"That good for nothing bastard!" Hermione shouted into the empty house, magic trickling from her core, setting her hair on end as sparks literally crackled at her fingertips. She was trying her best to contain the rage bubbling in her, how dare that man call her cousin a freak. He was the best person she'd ever met, her own blood, and that man dared to call him such a derogatory name.
"HERMIONE!?" Cried a startled voice, whirling around Hermione was surprised to see a ghost white Martha staring at her with wide eyes and a slack jaw.
"Martha, I can explain," Hermione said, her voice strained as she tried to control her magic.
"You're a witch? Why didn't you tell me?" Martha asked, watching Hermione warily as she continued to try and leash her magic. Hermione didn't reply straight away, her magic was mostly under control now, even though her anger at Harrys' relatives still stayed prominent in her mind.
"You're a muggle I didn't - Wait. What? How do you know I'm a witch?" Hermione asked, stunned that Martha knew straight away what her magic was.
"How about we go and sit down, then I'll explain everything," Martha suggested, gesturing for Hermione to follow her as she made her way into the living room.
"Sit," Martha told her, when Hermione simply stood next to the sofa, trying desperately to get her head around everything that had just happened.
"Martha, how do you know?" Hermione asked, her eyes fastening onto Martha as she sighed and smiled tiredly at Hermione.
"I'm a Squib," Martha informed her, smiling at her sadly, "I understand if you don't want to talk to me now but -"
"Wait, why wouldn't I want to talk to you? This is great! Now I can talk to you about the wizarding world and everything I do at Hogwarts!" Hermione replied excitedly.
"You don't hate me?" Martha asked perplexed.
"No why would I?" Hermione wondered, moving to sit next to Martha, reaching out to take her hand.
"My family rejected me. My mother gave me to an orphanage when I didn't receeve my Hogwarts letter. She hated me, her and my brother. Father had always loved me, I was his little Princess, he would always pretend that I'd done accidental magic around him so that mother wouldn't get angry. He died when I was 10. Mother was so smug when I didn't receive my letter, her and Peter ridiculed me, then dumped me at a muggle orphanage," Martha sobbed, clutching onto Hermiones' hand as tears ran down her face. "I miss him every day, my dad, I wish he'd stayed with me, he was the only thing that kept me going. I love him so much, I don't think I could love anyone more than I love him."
"I know how you feel," Hermione muttered, thinking of Severus and the love she felt towards him as her father.
"Really? Mr Granger is awful to you though," Martha replied, her voice shrill as she voiced her opinion.
"He's not my father," Hermione said, "My real father is a wizard, I found him when I started Hogwarts," Hermione informed her, smiling fondly at the memory.
"The Grangers aren't your parents? Oh Hermione that's wonderful!" Martha exclaimed, hugging Hermione in excitement.
"No, his name is Severus. I'll tell you the whole story soon but first we need to discuss you," Hermione said sternly, though there was no malice in her words. "I don't care that you're a squib, I didn't care when I thought you were a muggle, so why would I care now? You're the sister I never had, I love you so much Mar, how could you even think that I'd ever hate you?"
"My mother did, that's all I've known since my dad died. I love you like a little sis too Mia," Martha said tearfully, pulling Hermiones hand up to kiss her knuckles.
"Why were your mother and brother so mean to you?" Hermione asked, squeezing Marthas' hand in reassurance.
"We're a pureblood family, The Pettigrews, my mother didn't want a Squib as a daughter, not only that but my father loved me more than he did her, she was jealous I suppose. I never truly did understand but from what I did know my mother and fathers marriage were arranged, he never did like her but she was infatuated with him. I wouldn't call it love because it most definitely was not but she obsessed with the notion that he loved her, that he'd do anything for her and give her whatever she wanted. He abhorred that she was so clingy but entertained it for a couple of years. They had Peter, and for a while they were happy but mother wanted a daughter, a little girl she could love just as much as she did her son. Father always said that she had loved me, for the first 3 years she loved me unconditionally but that changed when she'd never seen me do magic, when Father would spoil me and love me more than he did her."
"Mar, that's awful! Why didn't you ever tell me?" Hermione asked, tears streaming down her face as Martha told her story.
"I thought you were a muggle," She shrugged, trying to control her emotions.
"Fair enough, it's the same reason I never told you about Hogwarts," She nodded in understanding, then she froze, had she said that she was a Pettigrew?
"You alright Mia?" Martha asked, noticing the fact that she'd frozen in place.
"You said you were a Pettigrew?"
"Yes, why?"
"Your brother, is Peter Pettigrew?"
"Yes, Peter Pettigrew. A right bastard he was, he was such an idiot he got himself killed."
"He was murdered wasn't he? By Sirius Black," Hermione stated, not wanting to look Martha in the eyes.
"By his own friend, he probably found out what a rat he was and killed him in a rage."
"A rat? Why would he be a rat to his friends, he was there friend right?" Hermione asked, maybe Martha knew more and it would help her free Uncle Pads.
"Oh Peter never was one for friends, he used people. Made them think that he was worthless and knew nothing, then they'd become his friends and he'd be seen as weak. That was until he struck. I believe he made friends with three boys in particular, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and James Potter. I only met them a couple of times, they seemed like nice boys. I wish I'd warned them but once Mother and Peter left me I had no contact with the magical world," Martha said sadly, Hermione desperately wanted to ask more questions but knew that now was not the right time. Martha was emotionally drained and just needed her to be there for her at the moment, she'd talk about this with her at a later date.
"You know that I would never leave you right? I love you so much, if you're father were here then he'd say the same thing, I'm certain of it. Maybe one day you can meet my dad, He's amazing and you two would get along so well Mar!" Hermione said, pulling Martha into a hug and holding her close, never wanting to let her go.
"Oh Mia, I'm so happy for you!" Martha whispered into her ear as they hugged, "I'm so glad that you've found a family that truly love you, you finally get to be happy and that makes me happier than I've been in years."
"You'll never know how much you truly mean to me Mar," Hermione whispered back, squeezing Martha before letting her go and sending her a watery smile.
"So what about your mum?" Martha asked.
"That's a long story," Hermione sighed, slumping back against the sofa.
"We have time," Martha smiled, "Let me just go get some hot chocolate."
Once Martha returned with some hot chocolate for the two to share, Hermione told her all about her mother, about Harry being her cousin, about her plan to free her mum and Uncle Padfoot from Azkaban and everything that happened at Hogwarts. At the end of it all, the two where snuggled on the couch, the talk having finished a while ago, watching the television.
"I forgot to ask you something," Martha suddenly said, sitting up from the couch and looking at Hermione in confusion, "why were you so out of control earlier? Did something happen?"
It was as if a switch had been flicked in Hermiones' brain, all of the talk with Martha and the revelation that she was a squib had caused Hermione to completely forget about how their conversation was initiated. Emotions enveloped Hermione in a matter of seconds; guilt, anger, sadness. She could feel her magic start to stir again, reacting to her emotions and becoming out of control.
"Woah, woah, woah! Mia calm down, it's okay! Everything's going to be okay, calm down, stop!" Martha shrieked, words tumbling from her mouth as Hermione began losing it again.
"They called him a freak," Hermione retorted, her teeth clenched and fists tightened by her side. "Those useless pieces of crap called my cousin a freak. How dare they? I need to get him out! He can't stay there, they've probably hated him ever since he was left there. How dare they! How dare he! How could Dumbledore just leave him there, does he have no compassion? No heart? Did he seriously stoop so low as to leave him with the Dursleys? They sounds horrible, ooohh when I get my hands on him ..."
"MIA STOP!" Martha cried, watching as Hermione spoke to herself, at first her hands were shaking but as she got angrier her hair started to crackle with magic and sparks were spitting from her fingertips.
"Sorry Mar, I can't help myself," Hermione told her, sighing as she tried to reign in her magic once again. Disappointing at herself for losing control twice in one night.
"It's alright, you can't help how you're feeling!" Martha assured her, smiling at her reassuringly. "Hey, do they still have that newspaper, what was it called again?"
"The Daily Prophet, they do interviews and - " Hermione began, but suddenly stopped as she was hit with a surge of inspiration.
"Martha, I have a plan to get Harry away from the Dursleys. You may not like it but just hear me out ..."
...
"The Dursley Residence, who's calling?"
"Hi, is this Vernon Dursley? Director at Grunnings Drill Company?" Martha asked, making sure that her voice sounded polite.
"Yes this is, who am I speaking to?" Vernon replied, his voice gruff.
"I'm Martha Pettigrew, I'm just calling on behalf of The Daily Mail newspaper, we're doing a column on the company and your manager gave us this phone number in order to contact you. We were hoping to get your address in order to arrange an interview with you, just a couple of questions about the company, what your job involves, and others along those lines."
"Oh, well of course! That should be fine, we can meet for the interview tomorrow, my residence is 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey." Vernon replied smugly, obviously proud of himself for having an interview with 'The Daily Mail'
"Oh that's great!" Martha chirped in fake joy, "We'll arrive around 11 in the morning."
"Very well, Goodbye Miss Pettigrew." Vernon dismissed her, before hanging up the phone.
"Dear Merlin, that man is so arrogant!" Martha shrieked in outrage, her face that of disbelief as she spun around to stare at Hermione.
"The address?" Hermione asked, eager to get going so that she could get Harry and return before The Grangers arrived back.
"Oh of course, sorry Mia!" Martha replied, "4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey."
"Surrey? How long will it take to get there?" Hermione asked dejectedly, the journey from Hampstead - where the Grangers reside - to Surrey was sure to be a long one.
"I'm pretty sure we can get the train from Hampstead Station, it'll take roughly an hour, then we can see if there's a bus from there to Little Whinging."
"When are the Grangers back?" Hermione asked, she was pretty sure that it was tomorrow morning but needed to double check.
"They said that they could be back around 11, so that gives us 12 hours to get Harry, bring him back and set him up in your room."
"Okay great, you ready?" Hermione chirped, excited that they were going to rescue Harry.
"Ready when you are," Martha smiled back.
...
Meanwhile Severus was sat out by the lake at Hogwarts, he'd decided that he'd stay this summer. He really didn't feel like staying at Spinners End, that place was such a dump and although he would've been fine to stay there in previous years he was thinking of cleaning it up soon and selling it. He really didn't want to have to take Hermione there, he was hoping that Potter Manor would still be free for their use. Maybe they could even move back into the house that he and Olivia had to flee from.
His dream were big though, he knew in reality that he may never get to move back to that house. It had been their dream house, his and Olivias, not too big but also not too small. It was spacious for the many kids they'd wanted, it had a large backyard and for Severus a potions lab at the end of the grass. The front yard was filled with a variety of flowers, potions ingredients and other plants; it smelled heavenly in the summer, when all the flowers were blooming and the trees had fresh fruit on them ready to be picked. The little path that led up to the front door was accompanied by strings of fairy lights which hung from tree to tree, they lit up the night sky and creating a path for guests to dance down as they arrived.
The images never left his mind, he wished daily for his dreams to become a reality. All he wanted was for his family to be reunited, to stop loving each other from afar and to finally be able to show the love they all shared as one, as a family.
Severus was shook out of his daze by the fluttering of wings, looking up he saw Hades returning with a letter in his claws. A smile lit up on his face as he realised who the letter must be from. Taking the letter from Hades, Severus stroked him as a thank you, before opening the letter to find a blank page. He and Hermione had been sending letters and then covering them with a charm so nobody but the two of them could read it, it was keyed to their magical signature so no-one like Dumbledore could open it if he were to try and intercept it.
Hey Daddy,
I miss you so much! You'd honestly never believe how much I miss you and want to see you right now. How are things at Hogwarts? Dumbles not causing you too much stress I hope?
It's great that you've been spending more time with Minnie (It's my new nickname for her, don't tell her I want to surprise her!) I've missed seeing her around the school, I felt a bond with her after she found out who I really was, is that strange? She just gives off this really warm, familiar feeling that is so comforting. Anyway, tell Minnie that I miss her and would love a letter from her if she has the time, I'm currently drafting my own to send to her, I should be done in a day or two.
I've also been thinking about my idea to get mum out, nothing more since last time I'm afraid. This idea is really tricky, we just need to find a way to get a letter into her cell. I mean it can't be that hard right? I can see you shaking your head right now, I know you told me to enjoy the summer and enjoy being a kid but I can't help it. I need to save mum and Uncle Pads, it's more important than my childhood. You may not agree, in fact I'm positive you don't agree, but in the grand scheme of things, getting mum and Uncle Pads away from Azkaban and back with family is way more important.
Some happier news is that I'm going to try and call Harry, I gave him my house number for the telephone and after some persuading I managed to get the number for his house too. He hasn't managed to call yet and the Grangers are out of town for 2 weeks soon so thought that we could meet up then. Hopefully everything is alright for him and he's available to meet up! It's getting kind of lonely here, I have Martha with me and she's like the big sister I never had. I'd love for you to meet her some day dad, she's amazing!
Apart from that the summer at the Grangers hasn't been that eventful, I'm going to Theos for a week when the Granger are away, so that should be fun, I'm really looking forward to it to be honest.
Miss you loads and can't wait to see you again, don't stop writing,
Lot's of Love,
The Best Daughter in the whole entire world x
Severus couldn't help but chuckle, his Hermione really was something special. The only thing that was bothering him about the letter was the fact that she mentioned only doing things when the Grangers were away.
Was she not allowed to do activities when they were around? Maybe she did things with them instead? Surely she would've mentioned that though?
He'd have to discuss it with her when they saw each other next. Sighing he stared back out at the lake, wondering what his daughter was up to at this very moment.
...
"MAR! HURRY WE'RE GOING TO MISS THE BUS!" Hermione shouted, racing as fast as she could down the street, their train had been delayed so her and Martha were having to rush to the bus in order to catch the earliest one. Looking behind her Hermione was happy to see that Martha wasn't far behind, hopefully they'd make it in time.
Looking ahead Hermione was ecstatic to see the bus stop just up ahead, but the smile was quickly wiped from her face when she realised that the bus had just pulled in. Racing towards it she cried out for it to wait, waving her hands frantically at the driver, praying that he noticed her and would wait.
"Oh Merlin, thank you so much!" Hermione gasped, climbing onto the bus, gasping for breath as she tried to inhale enough air into her lungs. Smiling up at the bus driver Hermione bought a ticker for her and Martha, having the tickets handed to her just as Martha made her way onto the bus.
"Come on let's go to the back," Hermione told her, taking a hold of Marthas arm and dragging her towards the seats situated at the very back of the bus.
"Okay, so let's go over the plan again." Martha said, she wasn't really hooked on the idea that Hermione had come up with but she went along with it because it was Hermiones friend they were rescuing.
"We're not allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts, but I've been experimenting with wandless magic, and although I've only managed a couple of small spells, one that I have been able to do is alohomara and a charm to make you light footed, I use them a lot when I sneak around Hogwarts at night." Hermione explained, after seeing the look on Marthas face, "The ministry can't track wandless magic so it's our only option, save just knocking on the front door at 1 in the morning and telling the Dursleys we're going to be taking Harry."
"Okay, so let me just say this again. We're breaking and entering a house, where our goal is to kidnap an 11 year-old child. Sounds like a very legal thing to do Mia." Martha commented sarcastically.
"It's not a kidnapping! It's a rescue mission!" Hermione shrieked in exasperation, perhaps a little too loud as the driver seemed to be looking at them funny via his rear-view mirror.
"Fine, this rescue mission seems a little risky," Martha hissed back at her, keeping her voice at a whisper as she too noticed the looks from the driver.
"It's the only way to help Harry! I don't want him to stay with those horrible people Mar!" Hermione explained, her eyes down-cast as she thought of all the years Harry had to spend there, and nobody even helped him or knew what was going on.
"Okay, I understand," Martha assured her, not wanting to see the sad look that had taken over Hermiones eyes. "We're nearly there, so quit talking about it now, the driver keeps giving us funny looks."
10 minutes later the two of them had left the bus and were walking towards Privet Drive.
"What number was it again?" Martha asked, squinting into the darkness.
"4, number 4 Privet Drive," Hermione told her, grabbing Marthas hand and guiding her down the rode.
"Over there!" Hermione said, pointing towards one of the identical houses and walking over as fast as she could. She'd made it to the front door when the sound of ceramic hitting cobblestone caused her to spin around.
"Shhhhh!" Hermione hissed, "Quit tripping over the plant pots!"
"Sorry Mia," Martha whispered apologetically, raising her hands in mock surrender as Hermione glared at her.
"Alohomora," Hermione whispered, smiling when she heard the almost inaudible click of the lock, "we're in!"
"Well hurry up, I'm going to stand out here, I don't want to make anymore noise," Martha told her, knowing that her clumsiness was bound to cause some noise in the house.
"Okay, I won't be long," Hermione whispered back, making her way into the house while trying to open the door as quietly as she could.
As she walked into the door way, Hermione could't shake the sense of dread that filled her body. Something just felt off about this place, the pictures on the wall were like a mask. Frames were full of certificates, family pictures - the fact that Harry didn't feature in any didn't escape her notice - and awards; none of the decorations fit the sinister feel Hermione felt for this house. Everything was perfect, the rugs were spotless, the frames pin straight and the walls a crisp white with no marks in sight.
Hermione was about to make her way into the kitchen when a noise caused her to stop, listening closer she thought it sounded like a rat scratching on wood. She followed the noise towards a small cupboard on the other side of the hallway, the cupboard had a key hole lock on the outside of it and was located under the stairs.
"That's a weird place to put a lock," Hermione mumbled to herself, before she knew what she was doing she opened the lock with a quick 'alohomora' and opened the door.
"Harry?" Hermione gasped, there on the floor of this cupboard was Harry, a clip in his hand, looking worse than she could ever imagine.
"Hermione?"
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I would love it if you could leave a review letting me know your thoughts and ideas :)
Chapter Question: When do you think Harry should find out about his relation to Hermione and Severus? Soon or Later on in the fic? Let me know on your review!