Hey guys! So this is a story that I'm writing with my friend. This is my first Harry Potter fanfiction so I hope I am accurate and if not just let me know. Also I don't have a beta so if there are punctuation or grammatical errors let me know that as well. For those of you waiting on my other fanfiction, I swear I am typing it up but I'm not sure when it will be up. I have a lot of summer homework and I'm a huge procrastinator but it will be up at some point. Thanks for sticking out.
Disclaimer: I own only the plot, everything else belongs to J. K. Rowling.
Enjoy!
"Hermione, could you fish your father out of the attic?
"Yes, mum. I'll be right down," Wait, where is the attic again? I thought before I narrowly missed a collision with a pull-down ladder in the hallway by the guest bedroom. I hadn't been up there in ages; I was under the impression that there really wasn't much in it except a few boxes of holiday decorations and a whole lot of filth.
Dust motes danced lazily in the shafts of light cast in by the window on the far side of the small, warm room. "Papa?" I glanced around, peering around boxes. His head popped up from the box he had been leaning over. He jerked and snapped a flap of the cardboard lid closed.
"Oh! Hey, 'Mione lovey," he choked out, attempting to slyly slide a packet of papers back into the box.
"Um, Mum wants you downstairs. I think that there is a cupboard that's too high for her to reach or something," I managed, trying to keep my face as blank as possible.
"O-Okay," he stammered, and high-tailed it out of the room as fast as he could, blowing past me and shimmying down the ladder like a cornered garden snake.
I immediately started toward the box that dad had shoved the packet into. A manila brad folder glared up accusingly from atop the little Hallmark boxes of Christmas ornaments. Despite the little voice in my head screaming at me to leave the folder alone, I popped open the brads and tried my best not to rip the wrinkled cardstock. A thick packet of official looking papers slid out of it. I ruffled through it, heart rate quickening. A couple documents with Deed Poll stamped all over them, a birth that read a different name than mine, adoption papers, health certificates, letters, a copy of my parents voting cards, a copy of their marriage certificate, and much more.
Adrenaline whisked through me, my hands shook as I tried to shove the papers back into the envelope, somehow managing to rip it up the side, my vision blackening on the edges. I scooped up the papers and ran to the ladder; during my descent my jumper caught on a bare nail and the packet went tumbling out of my arms, strewing themselves all over the floor. I scrambled to collect them with my shaky hands, tearing eyes, and burning ears. "Where is Hermione, Chris?" I heard my mother quietly ask with urgency. The stairs boomed as I flew down them.
I slammed the pile of papers down on the counter "What is this?" I asked, trying desperately to maintain my calm. It felt like I could see all of the blood drain from my parents' faces to their feet as I stood in front of them, trying to measure my haggard breaths. That lasted but a few seconds into an awkward silence. "WHAT IS THIS?!" My voice cracked as I yelled, and my breathing ran away like a shot. Heat pooled in the spaces behind my eyes and the tears welled in their corners.
"Hermione, honey," Mum finally managed, "it's nothing really, you are so loved and your parents weren't… safe. We heard about your situation from some friends in the wizarding world and we knew we had to have you. We…adopted you when you were only a few weeks old," A bubble tore its way up my throat and all of a sudden I was laughing. Laughing like Ron had just told the funniest joke I had ever heard, laughing like I hadn't just found out that everything my parents had told me for my entire life had been a gratuitous lie. I saw the whole situation like I wasn't in my body, two adults looking like they needed shock blankets and a teenager laughing herself to tears.
"He- Hermione," my dad choked, reaching for my arm. I jolted back to myself in just enough time to jerk my arm out of his reach. He looked like a wounded puppy.
"So who're my…biological parents then?" I spit as acerbically as I could.
"Honey, are you sure this is the right time..?" My mom trailed off, looking from me to dad then back to me.
"The 'right time' was 14 years ago, as soon as I could understand the English language. You're the one who chose to raise me so that we would have this big ordeal the first time I had to use my official birth certificate. Now. Tell. Me. Who. My. Parents. Are."
"Love, we're your parents. Now is not the time. You are from a very important family and with whatever is brewing in the community right now, it would only put you in more danger than you already are if you knew," she said leaning over the counter, "Don't. Push. Me."
"Fine."
…
Headmaster Dumbledore,
I have recently learned a fact I am sure you well know; I am not indeed a Granger, but a member of another important pureblood wizarding family. It is vital that I know who I am. With the war happening, I cannot bear to think that I could do something more to help my cause. Please tell me who I am.
Sincerely,
Hermione
Hermione,
I regret to inform you that I cannot do anything for you at this time. I have come to an agreement with your parents that knowledge of your biological parentage would only put you in more harm than you already are. Your proximity to Mr. Potter puts you in more danger than most experience in a lifetime. Please do not push the issue with your parents, any other or me.
Sincerely,
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore
…
Professor Snape,
I have only recently discovered the fact that I have been adopted from a very important wizarding family. Being formerly aligned with the Death Eaters, and due to what has been implied by both my parents and Headmaster Dumbledore, I believe you must have some knowledge of my biological parentage. Please owl me as soon as you can.
Sincerely,
Hermione
Hermione Granger,
I have no idea what you are talking about, and your parentage is of no consequence to me, or anyone I have interest in preserving. Please do not bother me with your child-like desperation to have an identity rooted in that of your parents and enjoy what little both you and I have of this blessed holiday.
Sincerely,
Severus Snape
…
Lucius Malfoy,
I come to you only in my desperation. I have recently learned that I am not of muggle parentage, but a member of an important family within the wizarding world, one that I have been led to believe is both pureblood, and affiliated with the Death Eaters. Due to your obsessive interest in such matters, I believe that you are the last option I have to discover my lineage. I have no interest in allying with you, or any of the members of the dark army, but it is my understanding that your secretive nature will be the best bet that I have to find the rest of my family.
Sincerely,
Hermione Granger