Flashback I

I unlocked the door to my house, struggling to hold my luggage and Crookshanks' cage alone. Strangely, my parents hadn't come to pick me up at King Cross', so I had no choice but to take the Tube back by myself. I was worried out of my mind: What if there were Dementors floating around Victoria/ A/N: This is set pre-Final Battle.

"Mum? Daddy?" I called. "Are you guys okay?" My voice seemed to ring through the empty house. Then, I heard a loud crash from the kitchen. I froze. Surely there couldn't be any Death Eaters here?

I bit my lip as I pulled my wand out. This definitely counted as an emergency. Besides, would the Ministry of Magic really care if we used magic in front of Muggles now? We had to, for Godric's sake. I felt a lot more frightened now than I did with Ron and Harry. I dragged my stuff in and levitated my luggage somewhere it wouldn't get in the way. I let Crookshanks out, who shot upstairs like a bullet. I gulped. If Crookshanks was afraid…

I stepped forward, afraid to breathe. I padded slowly to the kitchen, wand at the ready. Suddenly, a figure sprang out from the kitchen. What I saw nearly made me drop my wand; it was my father, but his clothes were torn and spattered with something red, and his face was bloody and cut.

I resisted the urge to run to my father (if it was him) but instead opened my mouth to demand who the hell he was. At least, that's what I was going to say. My 'father' beat me to it. And he didn't ask me who I was.

"So, you had the gall to come back to this house, eh bitch?" he snarled. I held my wand even tighter and glared at the… person. At least now I knew that my father was either under the Imperious Curse, or that this was a Death Eater impersonating him.

"Wh-what's your favourite flavour of jam?" I asked him, cringing at the silliness of the question. My 'father' didn't reply. Instead, he just snorted and said, "I don't have time to play your stupid little games anymore, Hermione,"

And before I quite knew what he was doing, he came over to me and savagely grabbed my tresses. I screamed, not only in pain, but in shock and surprise. I took hold of his arm and tried to wrench it off me, but he was too strong. My 'father' then snatched my wand out of my hand and crushed it under his foot. I couldn't stop the tears rolling down my face. My wand… It was my protection, my shield, practically my life.

He let go of my hair suddenly to smirk at my tears. Then he smashed my head into the wall hard. I was surprised I didn't black out from concussion right then. My 'father' lowered his head and whispered in my ear.

"So you thought you could keep it a secret from me, did you?" I had no idea what he was talking about, so I said so, only to have my head slammed into the wall again. "Don't lie to me, you little bitch!" he said, his voice rising in volume. "You thought you could keep the secret of your slut mother having an affair from me FOREVER?" he roared. My mouth opened in surprise. My mother? Having an affair? But it simply wasn't possible! My mother was one of the most honest people I ever knew. But then, I only saw my parents two months a year…

"Su-surely you've made a mistake! Mummy… She wouldn't… She'd never…" I mumbled. "Well, your mummy," he spat, "did. That whore… AND YOU NEVER THOUGHT TO TELL ME, YOU LITTLE BITCH! IF ANYTHING, YOU'RE AS BAD AS THAT SLUT WHOM I STUPIDLY MADE MY WIFE SIXTEEN YEARS AGO!" he screamed. A fresh flow of tears poured down my face.

"But I didn't know! Honestly…" My father snorted again. "Don't YOU tell ME about honesty, bitch," he said. Then he brought his face close to mine again. I crinkled my nose at the smell of beer coming out of his mouth. "You knew. And after all I'd done for you, you didn't think to tell your precious daddy about your fucking mother, BITCH!" he yelled, screaming the last word. He viciously slammed my head into the wall again. And that's when I blacked out.

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Woooh! My longest chapter EVER! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read and review!