Meeting the Armstrongs
When they arrived on beck road Hermione's heart was beating so fast she swore it was going to through her chest at any moment.
Gracella pulled into a entrance of a two story house it had a wide winding driveway and a welcoming front lawn she then shut off the ignition.
"Okay lets just get something straight right off the bat, Hermione even though your name is Miranda when someone address you, you will always hear Hermione same goes for you Draco. Secondly, from this moment on try not to say any wizard phrases so as not to draw attention to yourselves. Do I make myself clear?" she asked.
Draco and Hermione nodded, "that's good. Well Hermione lets go"
They got out of the car and walked to the door, Hermione approached it first. She looked back at everyone with a mix of fear, anxiousness, and nausea filling her. She then turned back towards the door and raised her hand to open it and
"Herm-iiiioon-eee" exclaimed to voices that sounded like hamsters being grinded in a blender. They belonged to Rebecca Madigan and Torrance Kane Felicia's two best "friends". They got the best of everything: grades, bodies, and all the money they could spend in other words Hermione belonged to the upper crust.
Rebecca and Torrance pulled Hermione into a hug then started giggling.
"Oh we missed you..."
"Yeah life was totally boring without...."
"Everyone's been talking about your arrival" the said in unison. After they pulled away from Hermione still smiling then they scanned the other three who had arrived with her.
"Umm...Hermione aren't you going to introduce us to your friends," said Torrance as she eyed Zack hungrily.
"Oh of course" Hermione smiled and motioned toward Gracella "this is....."
"Grace, I just got back from an exchange program in Spain" Gracella stuck out her hand and Torrance and Rebecca shook it with politeness.
"Erm...right this is Zack...uh what's your last name is?" she asked eyeing Zack suspiciously.
Zack blushed a bit and smiled shyly. "It's Porter, Zack Porter" he said taking a step closer to the two young girls and shaking their hands, they both grinned widely and batted their eyelashes. "I just arrived with Draco and Hermione, we all went to boarding school together this year." He explained as they walked in the house and sat on a couch in the living room.
"And this must be Draco" said Torrance disdainfully even though she was smirking and her eyes were filled with glee "My my looks like a year away from us did do you some good"
Draco just said nothing but glared.
This girl eerily reminded him of Pansy. She was prettier then her yes, but her whole character from the slutty way she eyed him right down to the way she talked to him. He felt like a piece of meet.
"Being away from you would do anyone some good, Pan...Becca" he had almost called her Pansy this was just odd, but this girl pissed Draco off in a special way; A way only two people could. One of them was dead and the other was currently trying to kill him.
When Hermione had heard him almost say Pansy's name she knew that Draco wasn't up for a battle with Rebecca.
"Hey Becca and Tori do you think you two could come back later" Hermione tried to ask this in the most tiresome voice with just a hint of annoyance in it.
It seemed to work because Torrance shot Rebecca a death glare. "No problem...we understand you want to talk to your parents and stuff. So..." she hugged Hermione again, "just call me tonight okay?" she said as she pulled away.
Hermione nodded to her request, then went over to Draco "and try not to get home before your parents get there, I'm sure aunt Sheila and uncle Richard will want to know where there fantaboulus son is."
Draco nodded also and avoided looking at Rebecca as she got up and loosely hugged Hermione then mumbled she would see her later before they both walked out.
"What was that all about?" Gracella asked trying to hide the glee hidden all over her face.
"Rebecca and I used to date before she accused me of liking Hermione and sleeping with her" Draco answered darkly "she's delusional"
"Well...um...she'll get over it" Hermione said unbelievingly "but I think I should go and meet my mom and dad" she left the two in the foyer and walked towards the den and into her mother's study.
She turned the knob and opened the door.
"Oh why hello Hermione. How are you? How was your flight" said her mother as she stood up and lovingly wrapped her hands around Hermione.
Hermione was unable to move because the woman in front of her was indeed her mother.
No not some unknown foster mother but here actual birth mother that she had left in London. There was no doubt in Hermione's mind that this woman was Clarissa Granger.
"Mo...mother" Hermione wrapped her arms around her mother even tighter. Never wanting to let go, the fact that she could be closer to her mother was standing right in front of her when she was supposed to be thousands of miles away unnerved her a bit.
"Of course it is sweetheart...whom else were you expecting?" She smiled as she pulled away and looked at her daughter, staring lovingly in her eyes.
She pushed away a lock of her hair with her right hand.
That's when Hermione noticed the differences she hadn't before: Hermione's actual mother was left handed, another thing was that the imposter mom had brown hazel eyes, Hermione's mother had green hazel eyes.
It's just like the i.d.s, Hermione thought, subtle differences.
She smiled weakly and pulled back to sit on the chair opposite her "mothers".
"So you didn't answer my questions....how was everything?" the imposter mom said as she sat on her desk chair gazing at Hermione.
She looked back at her not breaking eye contact, "oh well it was okay...you know" she shrugged and stood up, "well I should go Draco and Gracella are downstairs waiting for me"
"Umm...yeah okay, but tonight we'll have a special dinner just you and I" her mother suggested as she turned back towards her work.
"Yeah...sure" she walked towards the door and out of it.
Gracella has a helluva a lot of explaining to do, Hermione thought as she stomped downstairs.
When she arrived in the room Draco, Gracella, and Zack were not where she had left them, then she noticed a sign on the door.
Got bored, went to the car
Signed you-know-who
Okay that's really creepy, Hermione thought as she grabbed the note, shoved it in her pocket, and walked out the front door.
She walked up to the car and saw that Draco and zack were engrossed in a conversation about sports (guys) and Gracella had a palm pilot in her hand and was tapping it with a stylus.
To any on looker they looked like normal teen and the fact that everything seemed so normal, so muggle scared Hermione even more.
She got in the car trying to be as "normal" as possible.
"So how'd it go Hermione" Gracella asked, "you look a little bit pale"
"hell yeah I don't feel good" Hermione bellowed "my mom looks like my actual mom, my mom who is supposed to be in England my mom who isn't supposed to know I'm here." She stopped and took a breath "can you tell me exactly how that is possible? I thought we were not supposed to be around magic. I could have sworn that's what Dumbledore and Kingsley said"
Finally, Hermione finished and glared at Gracella, the look on her face told Hermione she had struck a nerve. It was in between fear, astonishment, and anger.
"Dammit...I thought they would have explained this to you. I am not authorized to tell you but I will. Hermione haven't you ever heard of plastic surgery" she began to explain, "that woman is a muggle...but we cleared her memory and replaced it with a new one. The same goes for all of them, your friends, family, the entire system has been modified to keep you tow safe....so I'd like a little less criticism and a little more understanding"
She started the car, "so Draco you're next...nervous?"
Draco shrugged arrogantly in the backseat, they can't be any worse than the originals" he said it more like a fact instead of a question.
((sorry about the long break between chapters but I re-wrote this one because I didn't like the way the story was heading...and if you think Gracella is a bitch....you ain't seen nothing yet, she's an angel compared to Rebecca))