Chapter 10: Starting the Search
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the below characters. They all belong to the world of Harry Potter so cleverly created by JK Rowling.
A/N: I am so sorry that I didn't update last week. I meant to update on Saturday but I have been really busy in school. I had all my finals this week plus my boyfriend and I drove up to
Solvang on Saturday. Anyway, I did pretty well on two of my finals and am waiting to find out how I did on the last one. I am going to post chapter eleven on Saturday. I am going to
have the next few weeks off of school so I should be able to keep regular weekly updates and I am going to try to update even more, but I can't make any promises about that.
Anyway, without further ado here is chapter ten, I hope you enjoy it!!
"Okay," Harry said. "Are you ready for this?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Hermione replied a bit nervously.
"Alright, I'll be back in a moment." Harry said squeezing her hand.
As Harry went downstairs, he was surprised to see his aunt sitting by herself with an almost upset look on her face. She was holding onto something, but Harry couldn't tell what.
"Aunt Petunia?" Harry said, making her jump. "Are you alright," he asked, not used to seeing her look so lost.
Petunia turned to look at her nephew, staring at him for a minute as if she were seeing him for the first time. "That girl, is she your girlfriend?" Petunia asked suddenly.
Harry who was caught off guard by his aunt's actions, took a moment to answer. "Hermione? No she is one of my best friends though." Harry was so surprised by how civil his
aunt was being to him that he failed to notice her brief change of expression when he said Hermione's name.
"I see," was all Petunia said before getting up and leaving the room.
Harry was so confused by his aunt's strange behavior that he nearly forgot the original reason he came downstairs. Recomposing himself, he quickly went to the front door and
opened it. A member of the Order, whom Harry recognized but couldn't place immediately appeared next to him.
"Can I help you Mr. Potter?" he asked, his demeanor very formal.
"Yes, I need to speak to Tonks immediately. Is she on duty right now?"
"Yes, I'll be right back. Please stay here." Harry rolled his eyes slightly at the wizards comment, where else was he going to go? He briefly toyed with the idea of bolting out the
front door to see what their reaction would be just for fun, but reluctantly decided against it.
"Wotcher Harry!" Tonks said brightly as she appeared a moment later. "Edwards said you needed to speak with me."
"Yes," Harry said, smiling at her in spite of himself. "But I need to speak to Remus as well. Is there anyway you can get him here too? It's rather important."
"Umm, I can try. Give me a couple of minutes."
"Okay, I'm going back in the house, just knock on the door when you come back."
Tonks vanished immediately and Harry went back inside, and sat down with a sigh. He didn't know why, but he was slightly nervous. He couldn't understand why Remus had
never said anything either. It was all so confusing to him, and his head was still spinning from yesterday's confrontation with the Grangers. Harry was so lost in thought that he nearly
fell out of his seat when there was a loud knock on the door a few minutes later.
Knowing that the Order would have immediately stopped anyone else, Harry opened the door immediately. Standing before him was a stressed out looking Tonks, and a concerned
looking Remus.
"Is everything alright? Remus asked almost immediately.
"I'm not entirely sure." Harry responded truthfully. "I supposed it's really Hermione that you should be asking. Although we both have questions, it is Hermione that this is really
all about." Tonks looked confused at Harry's comment, however Harry couldn't quite tell what to make of Remus's expression.
"I see," was all Remus said. He had a sneaking suspicion as to what all of this was about, but he was really, really hoping that he was wrong.
Harry led them upstairs to his room, to find Hermione sitting at his desk lost in thought. He could see she was holding the envelope that had changed her entire life. Harry gently
cleared his throat, making Hermione jump slightly. Harry noticed that she tensed a little at the sight of Remus and Tonks, so he did his best to give her what he hoped was a reassuring
smile.
"Hello Professor, Tonks" Hermione said politely. Harry could hear the nervousness in her voice.
"Hi Hermione," Tonks responded in her usual cheery voice. Remus however, remained quite. He was staring at the envelope in her hand. He knew that if that envelope contained
what he thought it did, than his first suspicions had been correct.
Everyone was silent for moment before Harry finally spoke. "Well, why don't we put a silencing charm around the room. I know that the Order is outside, but I don't want to take
any chances."
Remus simply nodded in agreement before taking out his wand and performing a much more complex version of the charm. If he was right, the conversation they were about to
have could very well put everyone's lives at even more of risk if it was heard by the wrong person.
Taking a deep breath Hermione began "Judging by your demeanor Professor, I'm guessing you already know what this is about?"
Remus sighed, "You found the letter didn't you?"
"Yes" was Hermione's simple reply.
A heavy silence fell on the room as Remus thought about what he was going to say. It was apparent that Hermione wanted answers and he wasn't sure he had all of them.
Tonks meanwhile was extremely confused. Judging by everyone's expression, she was the only one who didn't know what was going on. Tired of trying to figure it out herself she finally
said, "Does anyone care to fill me in?"
Remus sighed again. "Umm, well I'm not exactly sure where to begin. You know that your mother, Bellatrix, and Narcissa were all sisters, and Sirius and Regulus were brothers.
Well Regulus and Sirius had another brother."
"What!?" Tonks said, completely shocked.
"Yes, he was two years younger than Sirius and three years older than Regulus. His name was Corvus Black and he was Hermione's birth father." Tonks stared wordlessly at
Remus and then the other two.
"But I though Hermione was muggle-born." Tonks said looking at Hermione. She couldn't understand why her mother had never mentioned it. She knew that her mother had
disowned the family, but for the most part she still knew what was going on within the family. Why then, had she never mentioned Hermione before? Why did everyone think Hermione
was a muggle-born?
"So did I," Hermione said. "But then I found this while I was packing the other night." She added as she handed the letter to Remus and Tonks. They read the letter silently and it
was a couple of minutes before anyone spoke again.
"So then that means, that means you're my cousin Hermione!" Tonks said as she began to comprehend the complexity of all of this. "But I don't understand. How was this all kept
such a secret. What does this mean for Hermione?" Tonks had always had a soft spot for the young witch, but now that she knew she was her own family, that changed everything.
She felt even more protective of the young girl. Tonks silently vowed to watch over her as she learned the truth behind her identity. "What does it mean for the war?" She added as an
afterthought remembering what the letter said about the other prophecy.
"That's what I was hoping Professor Lupin could help me with. I talked to my mother, and she didn't have much information for me." Hermione responded quietly.
Remus sighed. He had known this day was coming. He remembered the first time he had seen Hermione nearly four year ago. He had known it was her the instant he laid eyes on
her, but so much had changed, that he wasn't sure how to approach her. He had quickly realized though, that she had no inclination of her true identity. So for the entire school year he
had kept it to himself. He was thrilled to find out that she and Harry had become such good friends after all those years. It made it easier for him to watch over both of them. Before he
had figured out that Sirius was innocent, he had worried twice as much as everyone else. While the rest of the wizarding world was afraid he had escaped to come after Harry, he knew
that Hermione was in just as much danger. He remembered the day that he had found Harry with the map and how closely he had come to telling Harry that it could lead Sirius not only
straight to him, but it could also lead Sirius straight to Hermione. He had very nearly told Harry that Lily and James had died to keep him alive and Hermione's father had done the same
to keep his only daughter alive. That was part of what had him so upset. He wasn't as worried about Harry quite as much because he knew that Harry knew Sirius was after him.
Hermione though, had no clue what Sirius's relation to her was and would have been completely blindsided. Then, after he discovered the truth, he remembered the look of hatred and
betrayal in Hermione's eyes when she looked at him after he had come to Sirius's aide. That had stung him deeper than he had expected. He had come to love and care for her as much
as he loved and cared for Harry. Over the last four years, those feelings had remained constant, and with each passing day he had come to dread the day she found the letter. Sirius
had revealed to him that Corvus had left Hermione a letter that she was to receive on her seventeenth birthday. That day had come and gone and she never indicated any change. Still,
Remus knew that it would only be a matter of time before it was found, and he was correct.
"I suppose I can start by asking if there is anything specific that you want to know?" Remus knew it was a long shot, but he was praying that Hermione wouldn't want the whole
story. This was Hermione though, and he knew that she would want every detail.
"Not really. I want to know anything and everything you know. Anything you can tell me about my dad, anything Sirius told you. I am desperate for any information you have
professor." Hermione finished with a pleading look in her eyes.
"Well I want to start by apologizing to you Hermione. I have known this day was coming for quite some time, and I have been dreading it everyday. I want you to know that
neither Sirius nor I wanted to hurt you in anyway by withholding this information."
"I don't understand," Hermione began. "He had so many chances to tell me. I know that he loved Harry and that James was like a brother to him, so having Harry was almost like
having James back, but…but my father was his blood brother. I have the same blood as him running through my veins. He was always very kind to me, but" Hermione sniffled as tears
began to build, "why didn't he love me like he loved Harry." As soon as the words slipped out of her mouth Hermione gasped and put her hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to let
that slip. The truth was, that was one of the first thoughts that came to her mind. After she realized that he was her Uncle, she regretted all the times she had questioned his
recklessness and intentions. The thought that maybe that was why he had never told her had crossed her mind a couple of times in the last twenty-four hours. Then she began feel
many of her old insecurities resurface. She hadn't wanted to let that slip, but she couldn't stop herself.
Remus's heart broke as he watched the emotions play across Hermione's face. Not able to take it any longer he got up from the bed and knelt down in front of Hermione. Cupping
her face in his hand so that she had no choice but to look at him, he let the mask that he had always kept up for Hermione, fall. "Listen to me," he said in a very firm, but kind voice.
"Don't you ever let yourself think for one second that either Sirius or I love you any less than Harry. Sirius loved you with all that he had. You were his only niece, and believe me, it killed
him everyday that he had to hide that from you. He had to work very hard to keep his true feelings concealed. He loved you Hermione, you could tell just by the way he looked at you
when he thought no one else was looking. You were like a daughter to him and you represented the normal life that he almost had. If Pettigrew hadn't framed him, then he would have
helped your mum to raise you as his own daughter."
"Hermione, the reason Sirius never told you was because during your third year, as he was watching Harry he was also watching you. He immediately realized the same thing I
did, you had no idea. We both realized that Abby had raised you as a muggle and kept your true identity a secret. Immediately after the truth was revealed, Sirius didn't know what to
do. Only hours before you had thought he was a murderer and a traitor. Even though Harry had belived the same, he had known early on what his relationship to him was, but to you
he was a complete stranger. Sirius and I had many talks and we decided that your greatest strength and defense was the fact that you didn't know at the time. Then during your fourth
year, Sirius and I discovered something that made us even more determined than ever to let you find out who you were on your own."
"What!?" Hermione all but demanded. She didn't understand what could possibly have persuaded them to keep her identity a secret, even from her.
"Before I can explain that, I need to start from the beginning. I need to tell you who Corvus Black really was, and how his story goes. I want to give you a chance to truly get to
know your father and all that he stood for."