Scarlet Eyes and Silver Tears

Hermione stared at the woman in front of her. 'She must be deluded, who the bloody hell is Pandora?!' The woman took a step towards Hermione, reaching out, but too scared to touch her, all at the same time.

"Um, sorry to barge into your home like this. But I think you might be my Aunt Lydia?" Hermione hoped that it might help bring the woman back to reality, and make her talk some sense as opposed to just gawping at her.

"Ugh, sorry this is a lot to take in, do you mind if I do a quick spell, it will let me ensure that you're who I think that you are? It won't hurt, it'll just feel tingly..." Hermione simply nodded her agreement, and waited for the woman to wave her wand. Only she never produced one. Instead she gently placed her index finger gently to Hermione's forehead. She suddenly felt like she'd walked through a cloud, it was a peculiar sensation to say the least. Her arms and the back of her neck came out in goose bumps; the kind brought on by listening to a moving piece of music. The woman removed her hand after a second of contact and stepped back to look at Hermione.

Much to Hermione's distress, the woman started to cry even harder. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught her reflection in a nearby mirror, only it wasn't what she was used to seeing. She looked almost the spitting image of the other woman in the room. Her hair was no longer a weird brown colour, nor was it a bunch of tight and messy curls; instead, it was as black as pitch, and poker straight. The length of it left Hermione feeling astonished, it went all the way down to her hips. She appeared to have grown at least 3 inches, her stomach was flat and toned, her bust had gone from being non-existent to at least DD's, her butt was perky and toned too. She now had long slender legs that were white as porcelain along with the rest of her skin. But her face was one of the biggest changes, what had originally been an oval shaped and rather ordinary face, was now heart shaped, with high cheek bones. Her eyebrows were now smooth and sleek, her eyelashes long and seemed to have tripled in volume. The last thing she noticed, which in reality should have been the first, was that her eyes were no longer a weird murky brown, they were burgundy red like a fine red wine. How she managed to not scream at her new appearance, she would never know.

"It's you, it really is you! But how, I don't understand?" The woman seemed overjoyed but also overly confused. Hermione abruptly sat down, feeling rather dizzy from all the changes that seemed to be happening in her life. "Come, we can't discuss this in here. This is the visitor's parlour; this won't do at all. Are you okay to stand and walk?" After her dizzy spell had faded, Hermione nodded to the strange woman and followed her out of the room, after three minutes of walking down long dimly lit hallways, she was finally ushered into another room that looked similar to the first, but far grander if that were even possible? The woman guided her over to a gorgeous black velvet loveseat that had crimson detailing in the shape of oriental dragons.

"Mog?" The woman called out, as she sat on an identical loveseat opposite Hermione. Within seconds the little House Elf appeared and bowed low to the two women.

"Yes M'lady?"

"Could we have some tea and scones please?" This distressed Hermione slightly, she couldn't drink normal tea as it made her feel quite sick, hence the constant consumption of Earl Grey. The woman turned to Hermione after the Elf had vanished again. "If you're anything like your mother and I, you only drink Earl Grey, am I correct?" Hermione was gobsmacked. Maybe the aversion to standard tea ran in the family? She simply nodded, too stunned to speak.

"So, given you used the floo network, I assume you do possess magic?" Hermione simply nodded at the woman. "Oh, come now child, you have no reason to fear me. I am your mother's sister, you were correct earlier, I am you aunt, however my real name isn't Lydia, it's Aurella." She beamed at Hermione. "I am slightly perplexed however that I wasn't informed when your magic became obvious, I asked the Grangers to inform me?"

"My mum... I... I mean Mrs Granger... well anyway, they aren't exactly the warm and cuddly kind of parents. The minute they realised I had magic they were even more distant with me than before. I know they see me as a freak and I don't entirely believe that they simply 'forgot to inform you' as they told me earlier." Hermione frowned, before giggling in shock as even her voiced sounded different, it was softer, and sounded slightly ethereal. She decided that given the amount of changes that were likely to happen, she might as well get used to the absurdity of it all.

Aurella smiled at the sound of her laughter, it was nice to know she hadn't completely terrified her niece. "Well better late than never I suppose. I assume you would like to know why you were given to the Grangers to be raised?" Hermione nodded; it was the one thing that had truly puzzled her.

"It's a slightly long story so bear with me. Your father; Mazarius, was believed to be a squib by his pureblood parents. Because of this, they obliviated him at the age of eight, and took him to a muggle orphanage, where he was raised as a muggle." Hermione's face took on a look of pure horror. Who on earth would obliviate an eight-year-old child!?

"He grew up never knowing of his magic, until he met your mother; Astrid, who was also a pureblood witch. She noticed your father's magical abilities had never been assessed, and told him about our world, about everything she could possibly teach him, and they quickly fell in love. They never did marry; they didn't get the chance. You arrived and they got engaged. A week after you were born, Maz died in a freak apparition accident in which he splinched himself in half. He was the love of your mother's life, and she couldn't deal with the grief and a new baby, that was a constant reminder of her lost love. So, she asked me to glamour you and give you to a distant relative to rename, so that you could still grow up and lead a happy life. She also asked that I ensure that should you grow up to have magic, that they were to contact me so I could let her know. She assumed you were a squib when we never heard anything, and she grieved for you thinking that it was her fault. I used to send money and present to the Granger's to give to you, but your mother told me to stop after she'd come to the conclusion that you were a squib, as she didn't see the point. The Dagworths are one of, if not the, most powerful pureblood family on this planet. We pride ourselves on our good breeding. In your mother's eye, for you to have been born a squib, would have been a fate worse than death."

Hermione noticed the silver tears were trickling down her aunt's face, she was shocked to notice that her own tears were just like her aunts. "I am so glad you're a witch my dear. So very glad. Your mother has been in permanent mourning. Maybe once she meets you, she'll be able to live again?" Hermione just nodded, too emotional to be able to speak. "Would it be okay if I requested her to come here? I won't tell her you're here; I'll simply say that I have a surprise for her? Although should you say yes, I should remind you, she named you Pandora, she won't know you as Hermione Granger, she should recognise the name Granger, but to her you are Pandora Dagworth..."

"Of course, I'd quite like to meet her, she is my mother after all. Although calling her as such may take some time, and I will bear that in mind. Thank you for reminding me!" Aurella simply nodded her understanding and stuck her head in the fireplace. Because Astrid lived in England, Aurella's fireplaces were all linked up internationally, so they could communicate quickly. Hermione only heard her aunt's side of the conversation.

"Morning Astrid, are you free?"

"Good, I have a surprise for you!" She chuckled at whatever Astrid's response had been.

"Give me a few seconds to get my head out and then floo over."

Aurella pulled her head from the fire with a grin. "She's on her way, although she'll come through the same fireplace you did." As if on cue and loud bell could be heard throughout the manor, signalling someone's arrival. Five minutes later, Astrid Dagworth walked through into the parlour and hugged her sister. She was clearly Aurella's identical twin, they looked exactly the same, except for their choice of clothing. Although as Astrid turned to look at her, she noticed a small crescent moon shaped scar on her right cheekbone.

"Aurella, whom is this, and where is my surprise?" She turned to face his sister with a quizzical expression and a raised eyebrow. The fact that there was a girl who looked eerily like her sister, dressed in muggle clothing in her sister's tea parlour, was something she hadn't been expecting at all when she'd agreed to come over.

"Ast, I think you might need to sit down for this one." After her sister was perched in an armchair that matched the loveseats, she continued. "Ast, take a closer look at this young girl. This is Hermione... Hermione Granger..." The look of shock that appeared on Astrid's face was similar to the one her sister had worn earlier.

"P..P..Pandora?" She stumbled over the name, having refused to say it in so long it felt foreign on her tongue. "Is it really you?"

"Um, I believe so, I've only ever been called Hermione, but your sister says that my real name is Pandora Dagworth, and that you are my biological mum." She replied timidly.

"Oh, Merlin's beard, but you're a squib, I don't understand why you're here?" At this, Hermione removed her wand from the inside of her boot, and transfigured the vase of flowers on the coffee table into a pair of socks, and then turned them back again.

"I assure you; I am no squib! I've attended Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry since I was eleven years old, I was top of my year when I took my O.W.L.s June of last year, and I've achieved the highest marks in all my classes since Tom Riddle himself walked the halls." At this Astrid beamed, and pulled her long-lost daughter into a tight hug.

"I am so proud of you my dear Pandora! And if you would like, although I know it's sudden, I'd like to become a permanent fixture in your life? Where about in England do you live?" She still hadn't let go of Hermione yet, but that was okay with her, because she liked being cuddled in her mother's arms.

"I live in Bath, an hour from Bristol, how far from there do you live?" Hermione hoped her mother lived fairly close; she would love to get to know this interesting woman more.

"Oh that's fantastic! My manor is on the northern outskirts of Wiltshire! We've been so close all this time!" She squeezed Hermione even tighter, scared that if she let go, her daughter would slip through her fingers.

"I hate to say this, but I have to be going soon, the Granger's want me back in 20 minutes, however I have to get my new books and robes for my return to school next week. Would you perhaps like to join me tomorrow to get them? I normally go alone or with friends, as the Granger's struggle being around magic for more than half an hour. They're not exactly understanding people." She looked up at her mother hopefully, practically begging her to come with her. Although it hardly took much convincing, Astrid wanted to spend as much time as possible with her daughter, before she returned back to school.

"Right then, it's settled, I shall meet you in the Leaky Cauldron at 9:30am! Would you like the glamour to be put back on, or would you rather it remains off? Only Aurella and I have the ability to remove it, so should you choose to keep it on, but later want it off, you'd have to contact one of us to remove it." She desperately hoped her daughter would choose to keep it off, and was delighted when she did.

"I think from now on, I want to discover as much about my family and who I am as possible. That starts with looking like my true self. And taking my true birth name. I am Pandora Dagworth!" Aurella beamed at her niece, and guided her to the floo in the entrance hall, with Astrid in tow. She gave them both strong loving hugs, and let them travel back to England together.

They climbed out at the Entrance hall of the Dagworth Estate in Wiltshire, where her mother asked her to wait for two minutes whilst she went to fetch something. She came back with a jewellery box in her hands, and handed it to Pandora. Upon sliding it open, Pandora saw an absolutely stunning necklace, it was a crescent shaped blood red garnet, surrounded by tiny diamonds, attached to a long silver chain. Astrid removed it from the box, and placed it round her daughter's neck, it hung just below her now much larger chest.

"This is not only a family heirloom, but now that you are wearing it, the house recognises your blood. It knows you are true family. You can apparate not only around the estate, but also to and from the estate. You are always welcome here Pandora, my sweet daughter. Now go before the Grangers start to worry! And I will see you tomorrow at 9:30am!"

With an ecstatic smile upon her face, Hermione pulled her mum into a tight hug. Astrid placed a gentle kiss upon her daughter's forehead, before letting go of her. Hermione gave a sly grin to her mother, and apparated to the Granger's back garden.

(A/N. Hermione will be referred to as Pandora from now on, except by those who struggle with her new identity.)

The next day couldn't come soon enough in Pandora's eyes. The Granger's had a complete freak out when Pandora walked into the kitchen from the back garden, thinking she was an intruder. After she explained that she was still Hermione, just with a new appearance, or rather her true appearance, and a different name, they had calmed down slightly, although if the truth be told, they just wanted shot of the freaky girl with the blood red eyes. She then went on to tell them all that she had learnt whilst at her aunt's house, and her surprise encounter with her biological mother. She explained that she would be meeting with her tomorrow to get her school supplies.

After spending as little time as possible with the Granger's, Pandora had slunk off to bed to relax and think over what she had found out throughout the day. Just that morning she had woken up and thought she was the Granger's biological daughter, not even 24 hours later, and her whole world had been turned upside down. She realised she was coping with it rather well. Little did she know that things were only going to go downhill.

A/N Not too much needs editing in this chapter, so it was fairly quick to edit, enjoy :D

A/N: So, lots of new developments, although it was a filler chapter, there was an awful lot of information that needed to be revealed. And there's a WHOLE load more shock surprises to come!

From now on Hermione will be called Pandora!

Coming up next, Pandora's shopping trip with her mum Astrid!

Thanks, to my wonderful support and handy helper Joey. You're the Christmas Elf to my Santa; I couldn't do this without you!

Reviews are my bread and butter! Even if it's just to tell me of a grammatical or spelling error! So, don't hesitate, I don't bite.

Much Love

Az xXx