Hermione's Alive

The next morning, breakfast served and eaten, members of the Order were working on a few defensive plans. The attack on the Granger House had caused panic to rise to a new level. In order to prevent similar attacks and calm the chaos, they were attempting to install more security in muggle communities. They were all surprised by a knock on the door and even more so when Hermione waltzed in.

Hermione looked like she had been posing as a hobo for the last month, her clothes were dirty and torn while specks of dirt and dried blood was smeared on her face. She surveyed the room until saw Minerva then she slowly made her way to her. She plopped herself in her lap, laid her head on her shoulder and cried. Minerva just wrapped her arms securely around Hermione and rocked her until she calmed. Everyone else in the room was shocked by Hermione's strange behavior but didn't say anything. They just looked on and waited for the answers they knew would follow.

"Where have you been Hermione," Minerva asked after her sobs eased a bit. "We thought the Death Eaters had you."

"I escaped before they could clutch onto me," she said between sobs.

"How did you escape the Death Eaters?" Minerva asked curiously. "It's not an easy task especially when you're outnumbered as I assume you were."

Hermione just looked at her with sad almond eyes for a few minutes then answered, "My father helped me escape."

Someone in the back of the room shouted, "How could a muggle help you escape from Death Eaters?"

"My birth father helped me escape not my adoptive dad."

"You're adopted," asked Ron surprised. Everyone looked at him in disbelief. "What," he asked oblivious as usual.

Hermione just rolled her eyes and nodded her head. "I knew I was adopted but I didn't know who my birth father was until last night."

"What about your mother?" someone asked from the back of the room.

"I've known who my mother was since second year."

Minerva asked, "You did, how did you find out?"

Hermione turned to look her face to face and then answered in a soft voice, "When I was in the hospital wing, I heard a lullaby and it was so familiar. It was the same song that my locket played and I remembered it from dreams I used to have when I was a baby. In my dreams I somehow remembered what my mother looked like and what she smelled like. I don't know how it's possible but I can remember her tears when she gave me away. I remember your tears."

Everyone in the room was surprised that Minerva was Hermione's biological mother and it showed on their faces. They wondered who her father was but didn't dare ask. Minerva had the best glare in all of Hogwarts so people tended to stay on her good side. They just watched as Minerva pulled Hermione into a tight embrace and whispered how sorry she was for everything. After a few moments of comfort, Hermione pulled back and reached inside her cloak and pulled out something. "Da asked me to give you this he said you would know what to do with it."

Minerva took the red phoenix charm, removed the gold tabby charm necklace from her own neck and connected the two pieces. She watched the two charms merge into one and then placed the necklace around Hermione's neck. "It's imperative that you wear this at all times. It will protect you from dark magic. With as many enemies as your father and I have, you will need all the protection that you can get."

Hermione nodded her understanding and then asked, "Is that why you put me up for adoption, to protect me?"

Minerva nodded, tears falling down her face. "If I had kept you, you would have been targeted and I couldn't let that happen."

"Did my father agree with the adoption?"

Minerva had hoped she would never ask this question but it had been in vain. She didn't want to answer it but she would not lie to her daughter, not intentionally anyways. "He didn't know about you until a couple of months ago," she confessed.

Hermione just looked at her stunned. Her mother didn't even have the decency to tell her father about her impending birth. She never would have guessed it from the no nonsense teacher she had portrayed at Hogwarts. Hermione didn't know what to think of her mother at the moment and told her as much. She stood and stormed upstairs with a heartbroken Minerva following.

Minerva found her in her bedroom waiting on her. She recognized Hermione didn't want to be around her, much less talk to her, but knew she had to know the truth. She was so much like her father, had to know the complete truth, and Minerva would tell her. She sighed and started the speech she had practiced over the years, the one she knew she would have to give eventually.

Hours were spent talking between mother and daughter. Minerva explained and Hermione listened. With each moment passed, more understanding seeped through until Hermione fully understood what lengths Minerva had went through to protect her and what it had cost her. She had sacrificed so much to protect the people that she loved.

She had given up Albus, the only man she ever loved, to protect the magical community from the threat of evil. She had erased his memories of their love and marriage so he wouldn't be distracted during the fight against evil. She had given up the child she desperately wanted to protect her from harm. She had given it all up, lived with her secrets and survived it all by living a miserable life alone and heartbroken.

When Hermione scratched her head Minerva sent her to the bath. She was filthy from head to toe. She lounged in the bath until Minerva had retrieved some fresh clothes for her. After she had dressed and ate a light lunch, she went back upstairs to relax. Minerva, who was still downstairs eating, went to check on her. When she entered her room, she found Hermione sleeping peacefully in her bed. She smiled and lay down beside of Hermione, pulling her close and wrapping her arms around her. She was asleep within moments and had peace of mind knowing her daughter was safe and sound.