A/N: I really do apologise for how long it has taken me to update. There's been so much drama in the past year that I've struggled to gather the inspiration to continue with any of my stories. I have been working through some serious emotions but I will try very hard to update at least once a month from now. This chapter will be more of a backstory.

Disclaimer: I do not own this franchise or any rights associated with it

Chapter 10

Ginny smirked at her before retorting smartly, "Oh Mione, you always have your little dragon over there to talk to, you hardly need me".

She chortled as Draco spluttered next to her.

"Oi Red, I'll have you know there's nothing little about me. Isn't there Mia?"

She flushed red at his comeback, the red deepening as everyone in the room laughed at her expense. Oh she was going to get him back for that one later. He didn't need to draw her into it to embarrass Ginny. The chuckles died down as Severus spoke lightly.

"I'd rather not hear about my godson's love-life if you wouldn't mind. Not only do I not need those images but I doubt your father would want to think too deeply on this princess. You might find yourself missing a few essential body parts if Tom happened to come across certain memories Draco".

Draco blanched next to her as Severus's words sunk into his brain. She grinned at Severus before sharing a knowing look with Ginny. That had put her mate in his place, however temporary. Even after growing up with her father his entire life, Draco was rightly petrified of Tom.

Hermione had been so preoccupied since Ginny and Theo had entered the room of requirement that she only now realised that Harry had yet to say a word. She found him still staring at Ginny in shock, his mouth hanging open. She thought about waiting for him to recover by himself before deciding that it was perhaps a better idea to hurry the situation along.

"Careful Harry, you don't want to catch flies in that mouth; no matter how much protein they might be worth".

His eyes met hers as his mouth slowly closed. He blinked owlishly at her before the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile. He barked out a short laugh before sitting back on the couch.

"I can always rely on you to bring me out of my head with your humour Hermione. Now while I'm sure everyone is enjoying shocking the living daylights out of me, I don't think I can handle any more surprises today. Please can you explain to me what is happening now that we are apparently relatively safe".

Hermione sighed deeply as she glanced around the room at the people that she considered as a part of her family. The time had finally come for the truth to come out and she didn't know how to explain the shit storm that had been the last 20 odd years. She caught Severus's eye and waited for him to nod encouragingly at her before beginning.

"You may as well all get comfortable. We all know how long this is going to take to explain, no matter how much I summarise".

She sunk deeper into the couch and Draco's arms as Ginny and Theo took a seat and Harry and Severus sat back in preparation.

"For the sake of our sanity, I am not going to explain all of the circumstances that have brought us all here today. Harry, you are the only one in this room that deserves an explanation. The rest of us already know this story better than anything.

It all started many years ago when a boy murdered a group of muggles for attacking and assaulting his only sister while she was in their family garden attempting to practice her magic. Dumbledore's father took the blame to shield his son from the consequences that that action would have caused. She was still a child, mentally and physically scarred by what those monsters had done to her. Her magic rebelled, and her body shut down. Her death furthered Albus's path into the dark.

Years later his jealousy overrode his love for Grindelwald and he turned on him so that he could keep the power for himself. He paraded himself as a saviour through the wizarding world while in reality Grindelwald's crazy ideals were the result of Dumbledore's convoluted imagination. None of it had been Grindelwald's idea; but he became the scapegoat. When my father was born, his magical signature was off the charts. We already told you how the ministry likes to keep an eye on records like that. Dumbledore had already ingrained himself in the ministry by this point and had made it a habit to keep an eye on the magical children register and the hall of prophecies down in the department of mysteries.

The Riddles and the Gaunts were both Pureblood families that lived on the outskirts of a muggle town. A romance between the children of both families blossomed without interference.

On the night my grandmother died, she was under a befuddlement and memory charm. My grandfather and her had gone into London that day and become separated while shopping. She had started going into labour and that was when Dumbledore decided to strike. She was alone and in pain, and he took her wand and cursed her. It was only luck that day that prevented Albus from finding my grandfather. Merope found her way into the muggle world and stumbled across the worst type of orphanage imaginable. She was confused and the memory charm prevented her from being able to try and find Tom. While he searched for her, Dumbledore was murdering their families back in their ancestral homes. Tom scoured the streets for her for hours before magic finally led him to her; but it was too late. She had just given birth and was fading fast. The staff had used invasive objects to try and remove the baby quicker but did not have the necessary experience to handle them properly. They hurt her; and by the time Tom had found her it was too late for magical interference. He found answers in her memories before she left this world.

My father never grew up in that orphanage. It was all a fabricated lie to keep him and my grandfather away from Dumbledore's influence. He pretended to be the poor orphan half-blood that Dumbledore was insisting he was while he and my grandfather plotted revenge in the background. Papa always had a thirst for knowledge; and that only grew stronger when Albus tried to limit his learning and banned material that was suddenly considered "dark". Once father had left Hogwarts, Dumbles no longer any control over him; and he didn't like that one bit. The stories began to get twisted to suit Albus's preference. Spells were dark and radicalists were Death Eaters that wanted to rape and kill muggles and the like. The so called Order was formed to protect the helpless and fight against the evil. They were a group of uninformed people that hung on Dumbledore's every word in search of praise and glory. While fathers forces only attacked those whose souls were already destroyed through rape and worse; the order attacked without discrimination. If they thought someone was a "Death Eater", they were tortured and killed without mercy. Papa was working on a plan when that Halloween arrived. After things went to shit everybody decided to lay low for a while; to rebuild numbers and strengthen any potential plans.

Every year that we've been at Hogwarts, Dumbledore has manipulated the situation to twist you into being his weapon. You are destined to help bring him down and he has tried his hardest to manipulate fates design. We have tried every year to bring this to an end; so many times that I still do not understand how our covers were never blown.

For now Harry; I believe that is enough, over the next several days we will all fill you in on our plan but I think you need some time to process this don't you?"

Hermione's voice trailed off as she watched Harry brace his elbows against his knees and stare blankly into the space between them. A handful of hours had passed since they had entered the room of requirement and she could only imagine the thoughts flying through his head right now. She found that she couldn't blame him for shutting down. It was a fucked up situation if she'd ever heard one; and she had known all of the details for years. Poor Harry had been dumped in the deep end and had had his entire life turned upside down in the span of a few hours. Hermione stood up before treading across the patterned carpet to kneel in front of one of her best friends. She slowly placed her hand on his bicep before drawing him forward into a tight hug. His arms clung to her tightly before relaxing as his body shut down in exhaustion. She manoeuvered him carefully into Severus's arms before rising to her feet once more. She addressed the others as she made her way back towards Draco.

"I think it's time for bed guys. It's been a long and emotional day and I don't know about you but I'm about ready to crash. We can discuss plans again tomorrow".

Goodnights drifted through the air as her and Draco travelled through the doorway that led to their room. She undressed on autopilot before allowing him to draw her into his arms underneath the covers. She sighed deeply as he gently stroked her hair.

"Think about it tomorrow Mia, right now just let me hold you and sleep", he whispered against the shell of her ear before kissing her drifting eyelids. Darkness surrounded her as she embraced the warmth and comfort of her mate.