A/N: Do I own this? Like the annoying capitol 1 commercials NO!
Chapter 3
When Harry entered the kitchen at Grimmauld Place, he saw several members of the Order sitting around the kitchen table. Dumbledore was there as was Snape, Remus Lupin, Tonks and Moody. Harry took a seat next to Tonks as Dumbledore started to speak.
"Thank you all for meeting here on such short notice. The purpose of this meeting is to get an update on Voldemort's activities from Severus then we will make Harry an official member of the Order," Dumbledore said.
"Honestly, Headmaster do you think we should let someone like Potter join an important group like this?" Snape said in disgust.
Harry felt anger rise up inside of him, directed at Snape. He was still angry at the events that had occurred last year between him and Snape but before he could say anything, Dumbledore continued to speak.
"It is my intention to let Harry join because I believe that he has been through more than most members of the Order, including you Severus" Dumbledore said as Snape was going to object.
"If Dumbledore says Potter is going to join, then Potter is going to join. Now let's get started with this damn meeting" Moody growled, giving Snape a look that clearly indicated the matter was over.
"Ah thank you Alastor. Now if you would please tell us what Voldemort is up to Severus?" Dumbledore asked.
Severus Snape rose from his seat, "The Dark Lord is disappointed with the events at the Ministry of Magic from which occurred June thanks to Potter and company. As of right now, Azkaban has been broken into already and his captured Death Eaters have rejoined him. He plans to lie low and build up his army before he starts to attack people" Snape said, delivering another report for the Order.
"What type of creatures does Voldemort plan to include?" Remus Lupin asked, interrupting Snape.
"He plans to recruit several types of creatures- goblins, giants, trolls and dementors. The Dark Lord would also like to get some more human followers" Snape said, giving Remus a look that clearly said, 'don't interrupt me again.'
"Is that all Severus?" Dumbledore asked as Snape nodded. "Very well then, we will make Harry an official member of the Order," Dumbledore took out a piece of parchment, a quill and a pin shaped like a phoenix. "We just need you to sign this piece of parchment Harry."
Harry read the piece of parchment Dumbledore had given him. Basically it was a contract that all members of the Order had to sign in order to join and become an official member. Harry took the quill Dumbledore had given him and signed the parchment. When Harry signed the parchment, several sparks shot out of the quill and he gave the parchment back to Dumbledore.
"Very well then, this meeting is dismissed," Dumbledore said, as members of the Order started to leave. "May I have a word with you Harry?"
"Yes sir?" Harry asked after everyone else had left.
"Ah, how are you Harry?" Dumbledore asked.
"I'm okay sir" he replied.
"There are several matters which I want to discuss with you Harry. One of them is Sirius' will, the other is the DA and the last matter is your Quidditch ban. First of all when Sirius died, he had a will written out and you are the main beneficiary."
"So, that means I just got some more money?" he asked, feeling tears form in his eyes.
"Yes indeed, Harry. Sirius left you with over twenty million galleons and it has been transferred to your vault at Gringotts. Sirius also left you Grimmauld Place and several other homes around the world in countries such as Canada, Australia and Scotland. That leads me to ask you if the Order can still meet at Grimmauld Place."
"Of course it may, sir. I have no objection to that."
"Very well then, after the term ended, I had a staff meeting and the faculty voted to officially recognize the DA as an official school organization."
"Wow, thank you very much sir."
"Lastly, I believe this belongs to you" Dumbledore said, taking out Harry's FireBolt.
Harry gasped as Dumbledore returned his Firebolt. The broomstick was just the way Harry had remembered it from last year and it seemed like there had been no damage done to it.
"I daresay that Professor McGonagall does have high hopes for the Gryffindor Quidditch team now that their star seeker is back" Professor Dumbledore said, with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Professor Dumbledore sir, do you know when Hermione will be coming over to Grimmauld Place?" Harry asked.
"I cannot tell you the exact date Harry but it will be in time for your birthday" Dumbledore replied.
Harry thanked Dumbledore and went back upstairs with his broom in hands. When Hermione came to Grimmauld Place, Harry would tell her how he felt about her and hope for the best. With things looking better for Harry, he started to whistle happily as he went up to the room he shared with Ron.
Meanwhile, Hermione Granger was still crying because she was scared and upset. She was scared because Bellatrix had killed Sirius in June and now she loved Harry but her mother had killed his godfather. Now she had no idea how Harry was going to react and she felt horrible. 'Oh no, he's suffered so much goddamn tragedy in his life. Now he will find out that one of his best friends is the daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange. Why the fuck does this shit have to happen like this?' Hermione thought as more tears fell down her face. She did not notice that the Grangers had returned.
"Hermione, dear why are you crying?" Emma Granger asked.
"Mom, dad, I want to know the truth. Are you my real birth parents?" Hermione asked.
Emma and Dave Granger looked surprisely at each other. Emma Granger then broke down into tears. "Hermione there's no denying it. You were left on our doorstep almost sixteen years ago and we decided to raise you as our own. The reason we did that was because we couldn't have any kids of our own," Dave Granger spoke.
Hermione listened to what the people who she had thought were her parents had to say and continued to cry. 'So what Bellatrix Lestrange had told her was true' Hermione thought bitterly. She then looked at the people who had raised her for so long as a daughter. "That will never change how I feel about you two, mom and dad" she said, giving them both a hug.
"We love you too Hermione" Emma Granger said, hugging her back.
Later that night Hermione sat on her bed thinking. 'I will not join Bellatrix and Draco Malfoy on the dark side. I will stay with the person I love- Harry. But how will he react when he finds out who my real parents are?' Hermione thought as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
At Grimmauld Place, Harry Potter sat reading a letter from Hermione. Dumbledore had said that she would be coming over around now and obviously, Harry was excited to see her.
"Oi mate, what are you doing?" Ron asked.
"Oh, I'm just thinking about how Hermione will be arriving soon," Harry replied.
Ron nodded and continued to read some old comic books. He started to realize that Harry and Hermione were seeing each other differently; and as evidenced, the way they had started to look at each other toward the end of last year. Ron figured they would soon get together and it was just a matter of time. He was also unsure of how he would react when they did get together. Sighing, he tried to focus on the comic book in front of him but Ginny came into their room.
"Hermione has just arrived" she said, before walking out.
Harry was the first one to get up. He was unsure of what to do and he seemed nervous. Harry then walked out the door with Ron behind him, and both went down to greet Hermione. When Harry reached the end of the stairs, he almost gasped in surprise. It seemed like Hermione had grown more beautiful over the summer. Hermione then looked up and saw both Harry and Ron coming down the stairs.
"HARRY!" Hermione squealed, jumping into his arms and hugging him tightly then kissing his cheek. "How are you?" she asked.
"Um, hey Hermione, how are you? You look really good" Harry replied.
"You didn't answer my question yet" she said, wagging a finger at him before giggling slightly.
"Hey, Hermione what about me and everyone else?" Ron asked.
Hermione slowly released herself from Harry's arms and went over to hug Ron, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley and Tonks. After she was done greeting everybody at Grimmauld Place, Hermione grabbed Harry's arm and promptly dragged him into the bedroom he shared with Ron.
"So Harry, how have you been?" Hermione said, sitting down on his bed and taking off her sandals.
Harry found himself staring at Hermione, who was wearing a pair of faded cut-off jean shorts and a sleeveless tank top. Hermione had also painted her toenails with some bright red nail polish and he thought that she was extremely beautiful. 'Holy fucking shit. When the hell was Hermione so beautiful?' Harry thought.
"Are you okay Harry?" Hermione asked, her voice interrupting his thoughts, with concern on her face.
"Yeah, I'm fine" Harry said, realizing that he had been staring at Hermione for some time now.
"Were you having any dreams/visions at night?" she asked him.
"Well no dreams or visions of Voldemort but I keep having this nightmare over and over" he said.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.
Harry sat in thought after listening to Hermione's last question. Before her arrival, Harry had suddenly found the urge to tell Hermione everything that had bothered him: Sirius' death, the prophecy and his feelings toward her. Now that she was here, Harry wasn't sure what to do anymore. He glanced over at Hermione who seemed nervous now and was real close to Harry. She smiled reassuringly at him and Harry concluded to tell her what had been bothering him all this time.
Meanwhile, Hermione was watching Harry nervously unsure of what he was going to do. She had also planned to tell Harry the truth about her parents but wasn't sure how the news would affect Harry. She loved Harry but something like that could prevent the two of them from dating. Nervously, she pushed her hair back and moved her hands about.
"Hermione, are you okay?" he asked, seeing her nervousness.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about something."
"Do you want to tell me about it?" he asked with a grin on his face.
"Only when you tell me what's bothering you."
"Okay, fine then. Ever since that night in the Ministry, I keep thinking about several different ways Sirius' death could have been prevented. You were right Hermione, I should have practiced Occulumency more and maybe this wouldn't have occurred. Now look at what happened" he said, feeling tears build up in his eyes.
Hermione gasped and hugged Harry tightly. "It wasn't your fault Harry. You tried to do what was best," she whispered into his ear.
For a moment, neither Harry nor Hermione moved. Hermione kept her arms wrapped around Harry, and he sat staring directly ahead at the wall. After a few more minutes of silence, Harry spoke again.
"So, what do you have to tell me Hermione?" he asked.
"Harry, I have two things that I want to tell you," she said as Harry nodded. "First is I love you Harry" she whispered as Harry looked stunned.
"You, you love me?" he asked.
"No, I love Ron" she said, punching him playfully on the arm before moving closer to him and kissing him right on the lips. She felt him kiss her back with more passion and placed her hands on his chest. After a minute of kissing, they parted for air and Hermione started to giggle.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"I was right Harry. Remember when you kissed Cho back in December and you were wondering if you were a good kisser and I said you were? I was right, you are a good kisser."
"So, what's the second thing you have to tell me?"
"Harry, I love you but we can't be together as a couple."
"Why the fuck can't I date the witch I love?"
"Harry, I have to tell you about my past in order for you to understand" she said. Hermione then spent the next twenty five minutes telling Harry how she was the daughter of Remus Lupin and Bellatrix Lestrange. She told Harry about how Bellatrix had wanted her to marry Draco but she didn't love him and she loved Harry. She also told him of her desire to follow Bellatrix's instructions like any good daughter would, which is why she was at a crossroad. When she was done with the story, she realized she was crying and scared about how Harry would react. To her surprise, Harry didn't seem angry or upset. Instead, he helped wipe away some of her tears and then spoke softly.
"Hermione, you have to make a choice here" he said.
"What do you mean Harry?"
"I mean you have a choice in this matter Hermione. There's two different options here and what you should do is follow what your heart tells you to do."
It all became clear to Hermione after Harry had spoken to her. She gazed into his wonderful emerald green eyes and felt weak all over. Hermione had made a choice and she wanted to tell Harry, she took a deep breath.
"Harry, you don't know how much those words mean to me. I think I have come to a choice."
"Um, Hermione what is your decision?"
Hermione looked at Harry with a big smile on her face before putting her arms around his shoulder. She then moved closer and kissed him, her tongue trying to enter his mouth. She felt Harry willingly allow her to enter and soon their tongues were dancing with each other. After several minutes of kissing, they separated from each other and shared a grin.
"Is that your final decision?" he asked.
"Of course it is" she replied. She then pushed Harry down to the bed and started to kiss him passionately. They were still kissing when Ron and Ginny entered the room.
A/N: I apologize if the fic is getting slow for some people but I wanted to sort of explain what happens before getting more exciting. Please bear with me because I promise that something exciting will happen in two chapters. The exciting stuff will be here shortly. Thank you for your continued support.