Hey all! I'm really sorry for not updating for the past few days. For some reason, the site was not letting me log on to my account, but I figured it out. So, I'm thinking of giving you a two for one deal. Also, I definitely have more chapters ready for you!

I appreciate all the reviews and the favorites and follows! Please, I definitely want to read more from you!

Now without further ado, enjoy!

Chapter 11

It has been a few weeks since Hermione sat down with Beckett and her family, which oddly included the Dark Lord, and the effects of that conversation have weighed heavily on the teen. By this time, she had completely accepted everything that she has been told, but because of that conversation, it caused Hermione to be wary of all of her friendships and relationships.

She began to question as to who were her real friends and allies, and who were not. However, throughout these past few days, there has been one friend who she could never question the validity of their friendship. Even though many questioned the girl for being a bit batty or looney, Luna Lovegood was a true and real person. She knew things that others wouldn't even take the time to learn or acknowledge, and the knowing smiles that she had been sending Hermione whenever she caught the girl questioning the others' motives. Hermione just knew that she had a true friendship with the platinum blonde witch.

Unlike her friendship with Luna, Hermione wasn't so certain and confident about the ones she had with Ginny and Neville. She felt that she needed to be especially wary and skeptical of the pair of them. While she knew the personalities and the obvious feelings of the golden boys, she was suspicious of the other two. Their parents had been involved with the murdering of her parents and the kidnapping of herself. How does she know if she should put in a giant leap of faith when it came to those two when they could easily be playing the girl? So, as per the plan that was given to her by the Dark Lord, she would continue to act the same way she had been before the conversation ever happened.

It was the following Thursday when Hermione had begun to receive letters from Beckett by the daily. The words exchanged were mostly simple ones: missing one another's presence, looking forward to seeing each other, and then of course, Beckett's desire for another opportunity to kiss the girl soundly. Every time, this had forced a heated blush to spread across Hermione's face. She had taken a custom to read her letters in the comfort of her private prefect room whenever they arrived; she was starting to get irritated at the constant feeling of eyes boring into her skull whenever Elara flew in with her mail. And the light pressure on her mental barriers were not helping the situation either.

Hermione absolutely adored her witch's adoration and thoughts, however, after all of the simple and short letters, her attention was grabbed by Beckett's latest letter for it while it was short, it was most definitely not simple. This coming Saturday was going to be the last Hogsmeade trip before winter break, which was only in two weeks. The violet haired witch wanted to have lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Beckett simply couldn't wait for the upcoming break to see the teen, however though, she also had something important that she needed to tell the Ronan heir before term comes to an end. This had concerned the young witch, but without any more information, it wouldn't wise to work herself up over nothing. And that is where Hermione found herself now, walking into the popular Hogsmeade establishment, the Three Broomsticks.

Upon entrance, she immediately felt the pull of magic guiding her to one of the only booths in the pub, on the second floor. As the teen made her way to the table, Beckett stood up to greet her young soulmate. Without any form of hesitancy, Hermione walked into the stretched out arms of the now grey eyed witch. After a few seconds of hugging, both witches reluctantly pulled away from each other in order to take their seats in the booth. Finally seated, Hermione appraised the witch before her, just as Beckett was doing the same. Once Hermione's eyes made its way back up to the older witch's face, she found her witch smiling. "Hi," the teen shyly said as she blushed.

"Hello, love, did you miss me?" Beckett asked, her smile turning in a smirk already knowing that answer. Her little witch nodded, bashfully.

"Yes, I did; just as you missed me," Hermione said with a smile of her own. Training her eyes on the witch's gorgeous long purple hair, she felt the need to question it, again. "I know I had already asked you about your hair, and you told me that you're a metamorphmagus, but you never told me why you settled on this color." Hermione couldn't help but be curious at the reasoning, especially since she knew Tonks maintained her bubblegum hair color since she was born. She wanted to know if it was the same for Beckett. She was fixated on it.

Laughing at the question, Beckett's eyes twinkled. "When we would spend time together before I went off to Hogwarts for my first year, I would shift my hair color across the color spectrum. However, love, you always seemed to light up whenever my hair was any shade of purple, especially lavender, orchid, and a deep violet. And after you were taken, I chose to go with deep violet since it was my favorite out of the three." The older witch said with a soft smile, remembering those precious memories she had always held close to her heart. Even though, it still hurt the metamorphmagus to speak of that fateful day, she couldn't help but let those emotions fly away as those feelings of warmth and happiness replaced them when she saw the teenager.

At hearing the other witch's explanation, Hermione's hazel eyes lit up at the image of an orchid haired Beckett. And at seeing the girl's expression, recognizing it from all those years ago, Beckett took a quick look around their area. They were all alone upstairs. Closing her eyes, Beckett's hair color slowly shift from its deep purple to a soft orchid shade as if a waterfall had washed over her head. It wasn't until she felt soft fingers comb through her locks did she finally open her eyes.

Hermione fell in absolute love with the new hair. It wasn't that she didn't already love how Beckett looked originally, for the witch looked beautiful with those waves of deep violet, but the younger witch felt that this new hair gave the witch a soft look to the woman. Whenever Beckett was around her, the older witch had always wore this warm expression with loving and adoring eyes. But, her hair, the darkness of the purple gave her a colder, harsher tone to her personality. It was perfect for her outwardly appearance to the rest of the world. She held such strength and authority and her image just personified that. But, now, with this new shade, Beckett seemed softer, warmer. She had a glow, now. Ethereal was the word that came to mind for Hermione. She loved it.

So, she couldn't help herself, for she was acting purely on instinct. Reaching across the table, Hermione gently combed her fingers through those luscious waves, watching as her witch slowly opened her eyes. Slowly, just as Hermione's hands had moved, Beckett's hand met the other's, grasping it lightly. Moving their hands, Beckett brought the hand to her cheek; Hermione's palming the soft skin. Looking deeply into those hazel eyes, Beckett gave the palm a sweet, soft kiss.

Hermione couldn't help but feel entranced by the action, and when she realized that her mouth was slightly open, she closed it, looking down as she blushed. After another second, Hermione felt the other witch lowered their entwined hands down onto the table, fingers still entangled. Looking towards their hands, the curly haired witch couldn't help but smile, and when she looked up at the older woman's face, she noticed that Beckett's face held a mirroring look.

After a few seconds of staring at one another, Hermione, at last, broke the silence as she cleared her throat. The young witch blushed fiercely as Beckett watched on with now twinkling eyes, lit up with amusement. And taking the other's cue, Beckett spoke up again. "However, while I was at Hogwarts, I chose not to sport my typical purple hair. We, Blacks, have always been taught to never reveal the true extent of our magical abilities, especially if one had the same ability as myself and my cousin. However, it seems as though my Aunt never taught her daughter the same lessons. We are taught to wait for the right moment to reveal how powerful we actually are. You see, by keeping certain abilities a secret, it gives you the advantage in any situation, especially when you need to trick your enemies.

"So, instead of looking as how I am now, I made myself look like the spitting image of Aunt Bella. Many thought that she was actually my mother, however, I just passed them off as strong Black genes. And because my disguise at Hogwarts was so convincing, barely anyone knows who I really am, today. The only people who know are yourself, Draco, my Aunts, Lucius, my parents, a select number of members of the Dark Lord's inner circle, and the Dark Lord, himself." Beckett's explanation stunned Hermione, however, it made a lot of sense to the teen. It was a smart plan, so she impressed by the advantageous secrecy.

"So, is this the real you?" asked Hermione, "I mean, aside from your hair color, this is the real you?" The teen looked over the woman in front of her once more with a look of adoration and love. She still saw some strong similarities between the aunt and niece, but, not so strong that Beckett was the spitting image of Bellatrix-though it didn't take a giant leap to make that parental leap. But, despite that, Hermione also noted some Malfoy features in her. She had remembered the features from the last time she had seen Lucius Malfoy. They were just a distinct as those of the Blacks.

"Beautiful," Hermione muttered subconsciously, and with noticing the smirk form itself on the orchid haired witch's face, the teen realized that she had said that out loud. Blushing furiously, she quickly cleared her throat, "ummm, so, I believe there was something you need to tell me?"

Lightly laughing at the embarrassed girl, Beckett chose not to torture the poor girl. "Yes, I do." She spoke with a tone that shifted from her jovial one to one of serious neutrality. "Hermione, the Dark Lord believes that this would be the perfect time to reveal your true identity to the world. And so, He decided to have the reveal announced on the day before you are set to leave for break."

The addressed witch scrunched her nose with a frown, clearly wondering why she wasn't consulted before this decision was made.

Noticing the witch's expression, Beckett's quickly continued to speak. "He believes that this would be a good time for you to 'learn' who you are, gain your rightful title and inheritance, and properly adjust to pureblood society. And it is a plus that once your identity is revealed—in the Dark Lord's opinion—that the 'light' side will begin to expose who they truly are as they will try to woo you or worse."

Hermione couldn't help but deadpan at the 'plus' part. How is that a plus? She thought, that may be a plus for him, but that is for sure not a plus for me…

Eyebrows still furrowed, "What is the Dark Lord's plan with this? Why is there an all of a sudden need to expose my identity to the world?"

The curly haired witch had valid questions; Beckett didn't blame her witch from asking them. This plan was forced upon her, which directly affected her and yet she had no say in the matter. "The Dark Lord has many plans, Hermione—most of which we do not know as he is a fan of waiting to make a big reveal," she started off. "But, as for you, I believe it is for two reasons. Partly, I believe that it has to on some sort of selfishness. While he is an understanding man, The Ronans—just like the Blacks and Malfoys—are a very well known, connected and wealthy family. Your family, while most are deceased, is still very well connected and can still provide a good bit of resources for his cause." The purple haired carelessly shrugged as she said this. It is true, while the serpentine wizard can be gracious and understanding, the Dark Lord is like every power seeking wizard: greedy and cunning—not un-similar to the Hogwarts Headmaster.

"However," Beckett continued, "I think majority of it has to with you." An eyebrow raise was her only response. "No one more so than the Dark Lord, himself, understands the importance of knowing ones true identity. It makes up our very lives—how we view ourselves, how we go about our lives, how we interact with the world around us. It consumes us to the core. And when don't know who we truly are, we are incomplete and we will do everything in our power to find that missing piece. By embracing your real identity, knowing where you truly come from, you are now able to achieve your true potential."

Hermione nodded, comprehending the words she was hearing. She didn't really know what to think on the matter. She didn't know about Voldemort's past; Harry never told her much about him. But, she sensed that there was something more to story, if the Dark Lord held such strong convictions on this topic. "Okay," she began, "I can understand that, but, why make it so public. Why not just keep it private as we have done so far?"

"What do you think will happen when the vaults and estate of one of the most known families in the Europe are just so suddenly claimed by an anonymous claimant?" Beckett asked instead. She paused, allowing for the witch opposite of her to think about it. "Speculation and investigation. Extensive investigation by both the media and the Ministry will commence, demanding the identity of this person. Why hide? Why not face it head on? Why not confidently go to the world and say 'you are here. You are alive. And you want justice for yourself and your family." Looking earnestly into the younger woman's eyes. "Hermione, do you not want justice for yourself and for your parents?"

Hermione took a deep breath at that. While she did not appreciate how loaded the question was, but she understand the point behind it. And she understood the importance of it, too. The curly haired witch wanted to question as to whether or not she should actually to this, confront the past and set things to how they are suppose to be. Or, should she ignore it all and go about living her live as she had always had? She wanted to; she desperately wanted to question. But she knew that there was no point, because regardless if wanted to even try to ignore it, she couldn't. Not after everything she had heard from that meeting with Narcissa, Bellatrix and the Dark Lord. And not after everything she had witnessed since the beginning of this current school year. Everything had changed for the young witch in the past five months, and it could not be forgotten or ignored.

As upset as she was, Hermione knew her answer. Nodding, she finally asked, "Okay, if that is the plan, is there anything that He would like for me to do?"

Giving the girl an understanding look, Beckett spoke up again. "There actually isn't much for you to do. The Dark Lord has instructed Severus to assign you and your classmates to create a heritage potion for you next class. And at the end of class, when you are able to see the results, yours will be sent off to Dumbledore who will then inform the Ministry of your newly revealed identity."

Hermione was thoughtful as pondered this new plan. Though, soon enough, she furrowed her brow. "Sound plan, Bex, but, how does that ensure Dumbledore's compliance? Wouldn't he have to be aware of this plan in order for it to work?"

Beckett couldn't help but smile at the nickname, "Bex?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione blushed, "I—I…uhhh." The curly haired witch managed to stutter out before she was cut off by a throaty laugh.

"I like it," Beckett said with a smirk. "But," she continued, her smirk dropping, "for Dumbledore, he knows of the change in lesson plans, but not the main reason for them. As we do not want him and his precious Order to know that we know who you really are and had found you and that now you know, we had to devise a plan to continue keeping him in the dark. Severus was able to convince the Headmaster that as you and your classmates are sixth year newt students, it essential for you to learn potions of higher difficulty. He insisted that if the students were to pass this year and continue on in the next year, you would have to make a perfect batch of the heritage potion."

"And Dumbledore just easily accepted this? He believes that Professor Snape is too tough on the students," Hermione countered.

"Apparently, the Headmaster was intrigued by the idea but was hesitant, but it wasn't until Severus threatened to go to the Governors for approval did he finally consented to the plan. He knew that he couldn't go against the Governors' Board," Beckett explained.

"There is a part of me that believes he may suspect something's up," the younger witch offered.

"No doubt," Beckett agreed, "but, he also has no doubt to believe Severus. Dumbledore believes Severus is his spy, and by extension believes he would turn over any and every important bit of information that is coming from our side, especially including as something or someone as important as you."

Hermione nodded, finally having no further questions, except for one more: "and what happens after that?"

The purple haired smirked. "Dumbledore will be forced to report your discovery of your real identity," she said simply.

Hermione's brow furrowed, confused where the point was.

Smirk still planted, "There is a reason why he hid you away and kept your real identity a secret. He would have to eat crow, I believe that is the saying. While he forces Severus to 'secret' information from the Dark Lord and our side, he also knew that as Severus is considered the Dark Lord's right hand, aside from Aunt Bella, he would have to report this piece of news to his Lord."

"Ahh," Hermione finally caught on to what Beckett was saying. "And in order for him to stay ahead of everyone else, Dumbledore would have to report this to the Ministry. That way, he stays in the good graces with the Minister despite having already ruined his own reputation. In his eyes, he would come off as the good guy by saying 'I found her and am helping her to get her justice."

"Exactly," Beckett confirmed with a smirk, still firmly planted on her as if she were the cat that ate the canary.

"So, after that, what's next?"

"Once they have the results, straight away, the Ministry will release the news to the press—which is what we want. And then shortly after, you will more than likely receive an invitation from the Headmaster to meet with you about your new found identity and inheritance. Considering your family high status, I'm sure the Minister, himself, will also be there. But, worry not Little Witch, everything will turn out just fine. You will not be alone in that room."

Nodding her head, Hermione understood, though she was a little confused at the last bit. "What do you mean by that? I will not be alone?"

"You'll see," said the smirking witch, earning her an indignant eye roll.

It was two weeks later when, once again, Beckett's words were true. For today's potions' class, Professor Snape assigned his sixth year students to make a perfect brew of the heritage potion. As usual, Potions class started with the brooding wizard's typical condescending drawl and sneer. "Today, you will work independently. You will be brewing the heritage potion which it's recipe you will find on page 87 in your books. If you must, you can ask for assistance from your lab partner. Once completed, I will grade it and if it is sufficient enough, you will use the potion for yourself, for which then I will show you how to test your potion. If done correctly, your heritage will be revealed on your parchment." His instructions were met with a majority of blank stares. The potions master simply raised an eyebrow, "did I stutter?" His words were laced with ice as he mentally insulted all of the students he finds to be completely incompetent. At his tone, the sixth year witches and wizards scrambled to begin their work. Already knowing this as the first step of the Dark Lord's plan, Hermione didn't need any further prompting and set out to start her potion.

The overall atmosphere of the class was one of distress. The heritage potion was one of the harder potions within the book, and due to that, the room was filled with annoyed moans and groans from most of the students as they were experiencing difficulties being able to adequately brew their assignment. Hermione and Draco, on the other hand as the witch noticed, were the only two that seemed to be enjoying brewing such a potion. This specific potion was rarely used, mostly for it was not necessarily needed as most births and lineages were not in contest, but also partly from how difficult it was to brew. So, to the students, it was not a surprise for the sadistic professor to assign his NEWT level students such a task. After brewing and letting it settle, both teens hailed their dark professor.

Even though he was unsurprised that Hermione and Draco were the first two to finish, Snape nonetheless raised an eyebrow before inspecting the cauldrons. A single, curt nod was the professor's only indication of his satisfaction of what he viewed. "Excellent work," he spoke out finally as he looked to the two students. "O's, the both of you."

Hermione and Draco beamed at each other at the grade—well, if a smug look from Draco was what one would call a beaming look.

"Now, to be able to properly use this potion, you both need a parchment, an athame—which I will provide you—two drops of your blood, and a vial for the potion."

After Professor Snape obtained the athame, he guided the two students through the steps. Once they had their parchment on their stations, Hermione and Draco poured some of their respective potions into the vials. Next, with a prick of the finger, they let two drops of blood fall into their vials. Next, they swirled it counterclockwise thrice times before pausing to let it settle. And then finally, the two students dropped four drops of their potion onto their respective parchments. As they waited for their results, the professor silently took both vials for 'grading purposes' while Hermione became acutely aware of the entire class's stares that bore holes into hers and Draco's parchments. After a while, the students went back to focusing on their own potions when they heard a "this isn't right," coming from the Gryffindor know it all. Everyone's attention snapped to the girl at the outburst.

Unimpressed, and seemingly annoyed, Snape made his way back over to her station. "What is it, Miss Granger? Did it not turn out to be what you expected it to be?"

Bristling at the jab, Hermione quickly snapped back, "yes, actually, it is not because that is not my heritage and that is not my name."

Snorting at the girl's gall, he examined the results himself, while Draco looked over her shoulder to get a look too. "Hmmm, it seems that you are right. But, however, I have my own batch that we will use to test it again." And with that, everyone around them began whispering harshly, speculating about what could be on that piece of parchment. Professor Snape glared at his students, silencing them before he performed all of the steps once more with his batch and Hermione's blood before dropping four drops of the newly mixed potion on to a new piece of parchment. Yielding the same results, he looked back down to his shocked, wide eyed student.

Ryann Lyra Ronan

Heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Ronan (Clan Ronan)

Born: September 19th, 1979

Age: 17

Mother: Maeve Whelan (Deceased)

Father: Brendan Ronan (Deceased)

Godmother: Bellatrix Lyra Lestrange nee Black

Godfather and Uncle: Shea Ronan (Deceased)

Soul bonded: Io Cassiopeia Black

"It seems, Miss Granger, that you are not a Granger."

The whispering began immediately after Professor Snape had announced her results in front of her whole class. Soon enough, it followed her everywhere as the news spread out to the entire populous of Hogwarts and Hermione did her best at ignoring it and them. But, it seemed to have only gotten worse with Elara's and everyone else's owls' deliveries of the next day's morning edition of the Daily Prophet.

Lost Ronan Heir Found!

Today is a great and interesting day, indeed. The lost daughter of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Ronan, or as Ireland's own refer to them as, Clan Ronan, has finally been found. Ryann Lyra, daughter of the late Brendan and Maeve Ronan has finally returned home after her disappearance at just three years old. However, it seems as though the Ronan Heir had been hiding in plain sight, for she, herself, did not even know of her true identity. The most famous muggleborn, the Gryffindor Princess, Hermione Jean Granger is the revealed to be the long lost daughter. However, we at the Daily Prophet question as to how this came about, and why the young heir had not known her own identity. We suspect foul play, especially since her disappearance coincided with her parents' brutal murders. We have yet to receive word from the Heiress herself, but we do anticipate one during the coming holidays. In the meantime, we wish the best to Miss Ronan during these troubling times and hope for swift justice for her and her family.

By: Rita Skeeter

For more one Hermione Granger, see page 3

For more on Clan Ronan, see page 5

For more on Brendan and Maeve Ronan, see page 7

Hermione knew that she needed to give the appearance of surprise, that she needed to continue the act of her ignorance throughout it all. She knew it needed to be real, that she needed to be convincing. But in that moment, it was very convincing because it was real. Truly surprised, Hermione stared wide eyed at the article written by that Skeeter woman, the very same woman who had so enthusiastically bashed the younger witch repeatedly throughout the entirety of the Triwizard Tournament. Though, this time however, Rita wrote in support of the curly haired girl, even giving her own dismay and criticism over those fateful events that happened that night.

While Hermione was already aware of her true birth and the traumatic events that took place in that one spring night, the surprise she felt for Rita's article. One would think that the woman would once again find another way to run the girl through the mud, so to speak. The light brown haired witch had expected the reporter to back out on their tumultuous truce they made after Hermione had threatened to expose the animagus' secret. But, she was, interestingly, proved wrong, for this article was written well after their year of truce was up. Maybe the witch truly meant the words she wrote. She had always been blunt in her findings, and her curiosity in the unsettling reappearance of the young orphaned heiress was greatly inflamed; and supposed, Hermione and the people had the right to know what exactly all those fourteen years ago.

Looking up from her copy of the Daily Prophet, still with her look of supposed shock, Hermione glanced about the expansive room to see the others' own reactions. She found varied expressions of the students throughout, most were shocked, unsurprisingly. Some were oddly proud and happy at the news, which were, of course, from Slytherin house—though thinking of it, Hermione shouldn't really be surprised by that considering who her parents were and whom exactly they were associated with. And unfortunately, thought again unsurprisingly, anger, which mostly came from half of her own house—one being the most prominent came from Ronald Weasley. Why he was, and with such intensity, Hermione did not know, nor did she really care at this point.

After looking throughout the crowd of students, Hermione turned her gaze up to the Head table, curiously looking at the staff and faculty—weirdly some of them making her earnest and concerned. She wanted to know if that the professors she had respected and valued and knew felt the same for her would still feel the same after this new revelation. Looking first to the Hogwarts Headmaster, she was nonplussed though unbothered. He sat up on his throne of a chair while he stared, or rather, glared coldly at the teen witch. Ignoring him, Hermione turned her gaze over to the other professors, ones that greatly differed from Albus Dumbledore's. She had caught, weirdly, proud smiles coming from Professors Snape, Sinistra and Vector. Why they were proud, she did not know, however, there was a part of her that internally preened at the positive appraisal from three of the hardest professors (aside from Professor McGonagall) to impress. Professors Sprout, Flitwick, and Burbage, as well as Hagrid, seemed highly concerned for the Gryffindor. It the next three expressions that concerned her greatly, however, more than all the others. Professor McGonagall and Madams Hooch and Pomfrey were expressionless, neutral, calculating if you will. They not cold like Dumbledore, but nor were they soft and concerned or proud, just…neutral. Rattled, Hermione could not tell as to what they were thinking, but Professor McGonagall wouldn't betray her… would she?

After that, Hermione had finally had enough of all of the stares and whispers. She had withstood it for the last 24 hours, but right now, she did not want to deal with anymore. At once, she grabbed her belongings and swiftly left the Great Hall with the promised plans of returning to her prefect rooms, and no one stood up to stop her. It was the last day of classes for fall term and she knew that she should attend, though instead, she opted to not leave her room. Hermione didn't want to deal with all the staring and whispering anymore. And considering the fact that she had already done all of her coursework for each of her classes, as well as the homework due after break, the light brown haired witch felt she had earned herself an unexcused day off. And unbeknownst to her, the Professors that would see her this day agreed as well. So, throughout the day, Hermione sat in the solitude of her room, enjoying the silence. However, her rather peaceful afternoon was soon disrupted when she received an owl informing her to meet the Headmaster in his office the next morning after breakfast. Frowning, she really didn't want to be in the same room as one of her kidnappers. Closing her eyes and releasing a deep sigh, Hermione laid down on her bed, wishing it to swallow her whole.

The next morning, Hermione awoke to see the soft snow, gliding across the air outside her window. She watched it fall for a moment before finally deciding to get up. She knew that she needed to go to breakfast before she had to go to her meeting with Professor Dumbledore, though she felt that she wouldn't be able to hold anything down. Quickly, she got herself ready, and since it was the last day and they were going to be leaving for the train after lunch, Hermione opted to wear a pair of dark washed skinny jeans with a black sweater under a deep blue wool coat and grey beanie.

As she made her way down to the Great Hall, slowly, Hermione was relieved to find that there were not many students up and about yet. Releasing a sigh of relief, the curly haired witch was pleased to say the same for the Great Hall. However, she did find her friend, Luna, waiting for her at the brunette's usual eating spot at Gryffindor table. The white blonde haired witch smiled as she approached once she noticed her friend's arrival.

"Hello Hermione," the wistful witch said as the older teen sat down in front of her.

Smiling back, "Hello Luna," the older witch replied softly.

"I missed you yesterday at lunch and dinner, but, I can understand why," Luna gave the girl a knowing, kind smile. "I'm sure that this must be a difficult time for you, with everyone staring and whispering. Finding out that you're not really you but that you are someone else entirely," Luna paused, looking thoughtful.

Hermione was a little put off by the blonde's blunt words, however, it was Luna, so she wasn't really surprised.

"My mother used to tell me about the Ronan Clan, especially about your parents. They were friends, our mothers, while at Hogwarts, good friends though not as good as your mother's friendship with Bellatrix." Luna had spoken simply, but not vaguely, but the pause in her words made Hermione believe that the blonde was not going to elaborate anymore on their mothers' friendship. "Hermione," Luna continued, "I like to think that we have just as strong of a friendship as our parents', if not like your mother's with Bellatrix. So, please know that you have a true friend in me." The younger witch had spoken softly with a kind and sincere smile. Hermione was stunned for a moment, but, nevertheless, warmth filled her heart. However, Hermione did feel like the blonde was leaving some information out. Maybe there had been more Luna wanted say in concerns to their friendship or their parents', but, she put that aside for right now.

"Thank you, Luna. You have no idea how much that means to me," Hermione couldn't help the small, kind smile that appeared on her face. She had received a nod and smile in return, but the blonde offered no further verbal response. After Hermione had voiced her appreciation, the two witches sat in comfortable silence as they continued on with the rest of their meal, even when the noise level in the Great Hall began to steadily increase as more and more of the excited students came in for their breakfast.

As it almost came time for Hermione to leave for her meeting with the Headmaster, a relaxed Neville came up and sat beside herself. She looked at the boy and saw a sympathetic smile, which she returned with her own small one. It seems as though Neville does not know of what his father did to my family, Hermione thought. As the awkward, tall wizard settled himself with a plate full of breakfast foods, the light brown haired witch noticed that Ginny had yet to arrive—she typically came down with Neville. However, Hermione didn't think too much about it since she had to leave for Professor Dumbledore's office. Sighing, she bid the two her good byes and a message of seeing them on the train and left for her meeting.

Thank you for reading!