A Siren's Call

Part 2 of A Siren's Song.

Chapter 1

Summer 1995~ Malfoy Manor

It had been two weeks since Draco returned home from school, and his father was still sending him severe looks over the paper he was reading at the dinner table. It was not proper etiquette to read at the dinner table, though no one said anything. It was the only thing keeping Draco from getting murdered by his father.

Since Draco had been home for the summer, he took to spending most of his time in his room when he could. His father had grown more and more obsessed, and his questions were more and more obscene. As it was, Blaise, Theo, Crabbe and Goyle came over to spend the last two weeks before school started. Draco hoped that with his friends being over, his father would stop with the death glares and the inappropriate questions.

One night after Draco retired from dinner and went back to his room, there was a knock at the door. "Draco it's your mother, may I please come in?"

Opening the door cautiously, checking to see if it was just her. once he saw that his father was not with her, he sighed in relief.

"Come in," he said, trying to sound older than he feels now. He moved out of the way, allowing her room to enter.

After entering, she sat down on his bed before patting the spot next to her, "Severus told me what was happening with your father," she said, trying to calm him. "I'm not angry with you for trying to hide it from me. Your father has not seen fit to hide that he was trying to get all the information he could on the girl. I am glad that you went to Severus about it. Your father is just angry that you went over his head to your head of house."

"What happens now?" Draco asked, feeling more and more like a little boy again. It was bad form for friends or classmates to see you feel less about yourself. You always had to make them think that nothing they did or could ever do to you hurt you. To be Slytherin you have to be a great pretender. They were not Gryffindor's or Hufflepuff's who wore their hearts on their sleeves.

"Well after your friends come and stay the week with us, we'll be sending to your Godfathers for the rest of the summer. With You-Know-Who being back, I want you to stay away from this place as much as you can. I won't influence you like your father, but I know there will come a time when you'll have to choose what you want to do." She paused in her speech to look at him. "I want you to know that whatever you choose I will still love you very much."

"I love you too," Draco said, his mother pulling him in for a hug as he continued speaking, "but what about you? What are you going to do?"

"I'm still unsure what my plan is," she said with a shrug, "but I plan to keep you safe. I will do whatever it takes even if it means my life."

Draco did not know what to say, his mother was his rock. She was always there for him. She hadn't held a grudge against him, even when she had to hear from Severus that his father seemed to be going crazy over Granger.

"At some point I have to tell you a story," she said, breaking the silence, "of course it would be up to you if you want to hear it or not."

"What is the story about?" Draco asked in an excited, childlike manner.

"Who dear, not a what," she said, standing up and going to the door. She peeked out through the door and did a charm to reveal if there was anyone hiding in the hall. Not that there would be, of course; but one can never be too careful, even in their own home. After discovering that there was no one around, she shut and locked the door. She ushered him into his private sitting room before locking that door as well and placing a silencing charm. Then she proceeded to tell him all about his Aunt Katherine, and the girl she was sure was his cousin.

Summer 1995 ~Grimmauld Place

Hermione was sitting in a small sitting room adjacent to the kitchen, sipping tea and nibbling crackers. She was watching the old House Elf Kreacher who was watching her from the other side of the room.

To say the silence was deafening would be an understatement. She could not tell if the old elf was sizing her up or cursing her to her death in his mind.

Sirius, or Uncle Padfoot as he preferred to be called. Though she tried to tell him that Uncle made him sound older. After which he pointed out that women thought it was cooler if a man had a niece that he could spoil. Though for the life of her she could not figure out how he came up with that thought.

Sirius had told her that there was no point in trying to make nice with Kreacher, he was his mother's elf through and through. Although Hermione was still technically a Black, she was still was not a Pure Blood. Sirius and her father planned to introduce her to the Tonk's family. Andy being her aunt, and Nymphadora being her cousin, they undoubtedly had a right to know. Mrs. Malfoy, on the other hand, was out of the question. It would be too tempting if Lucius found out that little piece of information.

Suddenly her thoughts changed from her magical family to her adopted parents. It was a tad surreal not to be going back to her parents. Although she was where she wanted to be, it did not change how everything came about. She silently worried about the events of the past few months. Would something worse happen? Would her being some rare magical creature endanger those around her? Would Dumbledore try to use her as a pawn in his plot for the greater good? The last thought made her shutter in annoyance. Could she trust everyone who knew not to use her for their own means?

It had been 2 weeks since she arrived at Grimmauld Place with her father and uncle. Her father lived in a little cottage normally; but as it was not fit enough for a family of 3, they needed somewhere else to go.

So, when Sirius mentioned his Grimmauld Place, it was his mother's home. Hermione and Remus cringed at the way Sirius spat his mother's name. They decided that for the time being it could serve as a home. Sirius thought that the three of them could make the place over. Sirius really liked the idea of remodeling and changing the decorations. His eyes gleamed with a sort of impish glow at the idea of destroying his mother's portrait.

When Sirius announced that Dumbledore was reorganizing the Order of the Phoenix, he then told them that he went ahead and offered it as headquarters as well. Hermione was not sure if she liked the idea or not. She was hoping to get the chance to bond with just the three of them for a bit. However, Hermione was relieved when Sirius said it would not be for three weeks or so until everyone started arriving for the summer holidays. When she heard that the Weasley's would be a few of the many staying at 'Headquarters' she visibly brightened. She silently wondered about Cedric and Viktor.

After spending the afternoon joking and playing 20 questions with Sirius and her father, she retired to her room. She spent the next two hours writing letters to Cedric and Viktor. And then, so that Fred and George would not feel left out, she wrote them a nice long letter about whatever she could. Then, feeling that she was leaving people out, she wrote to Harry, Ron, and Ginny. All the letters asked about different things. She was stunned to look at the clock to find that it was nearing midnight.

Hermione returned from her thoughts, to see Kreacher still looking at her. "Kreacher," she said loud enough for him to hear.

"Yes Mistress," he asked cordially. Hermione was not sure what to think.

"Are you alright?" she asked the elf.

"Kreacher is fine miss," he responded as if this occurred every day, "Is miss needing something?"

"Could I have a cup of sleepy time tea, and a couple biscuits?" she asked kindly. She was startled when he disappeared without a word and returned a moment later with a pot of tea and a small plate of biscuits.

"If miss is needing nothing else."

"No, I don't need anything else," she told him. After which he promptly left the room.

Well, that was beyond odd, she thought to herself. A few minutes later, Sirius and Remus made an appearance.

"How are you today pumpkin?" Remus asked. He had started calling her pumpkin on the first night at Grimmauld Place. Hermione, not minding the endearment, decided not to say anything about it.

"I'm good Daddy," she said, smiling up at him before asking him how he was.

"I'm doing better," Remus said, pulling her into a hug.

Sirius, who was feeling a little ignored, started making noises and making silly faces at the two of them.

"Uncle Sirius," Hermione called, which caught him off guard while he was trying to wiggle his ears.

"Yes, love?" He asked, feigning ignorance.

"How are you this morning Uncle Sirius?" she asked curiously. Remus gave her a look; he knew full well Sirius just wanted the attention.

"Well since you asked..." Sirius said, going off on a tangent about how he was doing. Hermione laughed at his antics before hugging him. "So... How about some lunch?"

"Sounds great," Hermione said, standing from the settee she was sitting on.

During their meal, they went over with her, what and who to expect from the order.

"The Weasley's will be over in a couple of days," Sirius said between bites, "then Cedric will be over. His parents will not be staying; however, they will be dropping by once or twice a week for a meeting. Let's see who else?"

"Harry won't be here until after his birthday," Remus said, picking at the crust of his bread, "your Aunt Andy and your cousin Tonks will be coming by for a visit before the Weasley's come. I think Molly is expecting the place to be in shambles and in need of a good cleaning. I'd hate to disappoint her, but the place really just needs a good make over."

"She'll be pleasantly surprised then I suppose," Hermione said with a smile.

"We were planning to tell her you were exempt from cleaning if Molly deemed it necessary," Sirius said with a smirk, "besides, you have a bit of research to do. Mating bonds and all that. You will find everything you need in the library. I have pulled most of the books, for you already. We want you to be prepared for what comes next. Since you are going to be 16 in September, we need to know what to expect. We just want what's best for you, and we'll help you in any way we can."

"Thank you," Hermione sighed in relief, "Ginny and Neville have been helping me with research."

Hermione leaned across the table hugging her father first and then Sirius. At some point it became a group hug. Hugs that she desperately needed.

Two days later brought the day when she was to meet her Aunt Andi and her Cousin Tonks. She was feeling a bit worried, she tried to wear something flattering, and after trying for what felt like a decade on how to do her hair, she decided to just leave it as it was. She really did not have a clue about fashion or makeup.

After she was ready, she descended the stairs to the front sitting room. Sirius, picking up on her nervousness, went straight to her rescue.

"It's going to be fine," Sirius assured her, "you've nothing to be worried about."

"I'm just worried," Hermione admitted, as she started fiddling with the hem of her shirt, "what if they don't like me?"

"They'll love you," Sirius said encouragingly.

"How could they not," Remus said with an encouraging smile.

"Now, stand up straight, stop fiddling with your shirt and prepare to be hugged to death," Sirius said, making her giggle. Nodding she did as he said and was surprised when there was a knock on the sitting room door. The door then opened to show a disgruntled Kreacher and two women standing behind him.

"Master, Misses," the House Elf said, "Mrs. Tonks and her Daughter Misses Tonks are here to see you."

"Show them in, please, Kreacher," Sirius said in a kind manner. Hermione was really pleased with his progress in the way he treated Kreacher. Sirius looked over at her for her approval to see her smiling brightly, causing Sirius to smile in return.

"Hello, Sirius," a lady said from the doorway. Hermione was assuming it was her aunt as she was a bit older than the other woman in the doorway.

"Andy," Sirius said standing to greet her, "or is it Dromeda?"

Hermione watched amazed as her aunt laughed at Sirius, "It's good to see you," she said hugging him again, "and you can call me Andy, Siri."

"That's a name I haven't heard in ages," Sirius said with a bark of laughter.

"This is my daughter, Nymphadora," Andy said, with a touch of humor to her voice.

"Please call me Tonks," Tonks said, glaring daggers at her mother, who just grinned back at her. "It's good to see you."

"You've grown since I last saw you," Sirius said with a bright smile.

"People have a tendency to do that, Sirius," Tonks said with a bright smile.

Hermione watched on as the three of them laughed for a minute or two. "Andy Tonks," Sirius said, suddenly becoming less serious. "you know Remus Lupin."

"It's nice to see you again," Andy said, nidding her head.

"Watcher," Tonks said a little too loudly causing her to blush and for her hair to turn a bright purple color.

"It's nice to see you both again," Remus said to them both, but his gaze was drawn to Tonks.

"Now there won't be any of that," Andy said sternly, "were family." Then she did something that Hermione was not expecting, she hugged him. "You should have kept in touch, Remus," Andy said quietly, "I was worried when we got news of Katherine. I'm very sorry."

"Thank you," Remus said, returning her hug. Hermione felt her eyes heating up with emotion. She was trying to hold back tears when Remus turned to her, reaching for her hand.

Hermione walked up to him, reaching her hand out, she took him and came to stand next to him. "Andy," Remus said, "I want to introduce you to Hermione... Mine and Katherine's daughter."

Andy reached out for her and held her at arm's length looking into her eyes. It was like she was looking for something, searching for her soul. When her eyes brightened, she pulled Hermione into a hug. "Dear child," Andy said her voice rich with emotions, "I wish you could have known your mother."

"Tonks," Sirius said, breaking the silence a few moments later, "meet your cousin Hermione."

"Watcher," Tonks said greeting her younger cousin, "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Tonks," Hermione said after she was released from her aunt's embrace, "Uncle Sirius has been telling me all about you Aunt Andy. Is it alright for me to call you that?"

"Aunt Andy," Andy said with a smile, "It has a nice ring to it. Cousin, explain why she's calling you Uncle."

"Well, Katherine was practically my sister," Sirius said, "so it only seems right that she should call me Uncle Sirius."

Andy smiled brightly "we will discuss that at another time. I believe right now we have some catching up to do."

The rest of the afternoon was spent talking about old times, they told Hermione all sorts of stories about her mother. Tonks also showed her some of her Metamorphmagus abilities. They decided to accept the invite to join them for dinner, and Kreacher was happy to have his mistress's family in the house. Dinner was a quiet affair with only three courses per Andy's request. Kreacher even allowed Hermione to sever the tea.

A few days later, Sirius was greeting the Weasley's at the front door, "Welcome to Grimmauld Place," Sirius said jovially, "Kreacher will show you to your rooms and then we'll meet in the Kitchen for lunch."

After everyone agreed to the plan Sirius called Kreacher to show them to their rooms. Though there were enough rooms; Hermione had already agreed to share a room with Ginny. Ron, of course, would share a room with Harry when he arrived. The twins would share a room because as they liked to remind everyone, they were a pair. And of course, one room for Arthur and Molly, for obvious reasons.

After dropping their things off in their room, Fred and George wandered into the kitchen. They were surprised to see Hermione helping Kreacher fix something on the stove. They seemed to be having a conversion of some sort, and they were even more surprised when Hermione laughed at something Kreacher said.

"Hermione," the twins said to get her attention. She turned to face them, a surprised look on her face. It wasn't long before surprise turned to joy. She found herself running around the table, jumping into their arms.

"I miss you," she said, squeezing them both tight, with one arm wrapped around each of them. She gave them both a hello kiss, before letting go and pulling them to sit down at the table. The three of them sat at the table, much like they did at school, with one twin on either side of her.

"How is it possible?" George said, tugging at one of her curls.

"That you look more beautiful," Fred said, drawing her attention back to him.

"Then when we parted."

"at Kings Cross."

"Do you think so?" She asked, blushing slightly.

"Most definitely," the twins said.

She could not stop the grin that appeared on her face, "You both look very handsome as well," she said happily.

Shortly after they finished speaking, Kreacher declared that lunch was ready. The rest of the Weasley's, Remus and Sirius came into the kitchen. They chatted and talked before Sirius announced that there would be a meeting in the evening and that their kids would need to remain upstairs and out of trouble.

"After the meeting we'll have dinner," Molly said, taking over the conversation.

"I can see to dinner, if you like," Hermione said happily, smiling at Molly.

"That would be wonderful dear," Molly said, smiling back. When no one else said a word, she continued, "You really seem to have made yourself at home here," Molly said looking around, "I'm surprised it's livable."

"Kreacher took very good care of the place," Hermione said praising the House Elf, "the only thing it really needs is a bit of decorating. Change some of the color, maybe make it brighter, change some of the tapestries and the curtains. Maybe refresh the carpet and the furniture. Nothing that I bit of magic couldn't take care of."

"You've thought about it a lot," Sirius said, surprised.

"Yes," Hermione said, "It is a bit hard to sleep at night sometimes, and Kreacher is usually awake at 1 O'clock in the morning and will sometimes join me for a cup of tea. We talked about this and that, and I was surprised at how nice he has been, Sirius said he was foul and loathsome. I don't think so, I think perhaps he's just a bit misunderstood maybe a bit under appreciated."

"Hermione suggested reaching out with common courtesy," Sirius said, picking up where she left off, "he doesn't seem to be as cranky." At this, Sirius scrunched up his nose before continuing his thought, "Though it could just be Hermione, she has a way with words."

"Is there anything else that I can help you with?" Molly asked, her eyes were happy, and her voice reflected her feelings.

"Well, I was wondering if you and Ginny would like to help with redecorating?" Hermione asked her cheeks suddenly flushed in embarrassment for blurting out her question, "I plan to hole myself up in the library doing research and reorganizing the books. Sirius has given me the go ahead to rearrange the library to my liking. Dumbledore and Professor Moody have already been through to take out the really dark stuff."

"You do love your books," Ron said laughingly.

Hermione tried to be annoyed with Ron for his statement, but she found herself smiling in agreement instead.

After lunch, Hermione gave the younger Weasley's a tour of Grimmauld Place, starting with the first floor sitting room. The full tour consisted of three drawing rooms, an office, a very large dining room, two conjoining ballrooms, and of course the kitchen. The second floor was much the same, there were 8 bedrooms on the second floor and another 6 on the third floor. There was a nursery and a school room on the second floor. She showed them were Sirius's mothers' portrait, she warned them to be quiet as Kreacher was the only one who could calm her. she also suggested that she ignore it if they can.

As on que, Sirius's mother's portrait started screeching, about Mudbloods and Muggle filth. About Blood Traitors and Traitorous, ungrateful children. And something about the curtains of Grimmauld being thus polluted by outsiders and traitors. * Hermione walked back and stood in front of the portrait and reached to close the curtains. For the briefest of moments, Walburga Black was silent, and then she screamed louder than ever, returning to her tirade of obscenities. Hermione closed the curtains quickly, and though all the curtains did was block the sound a bit, her ranting could still be heard.

"Kreacher is really the only one who can make her quiet down," Hermione said, walking briskly around the corner and down the stairs.

"Does that happen a lot?" Ron asked, a bit disgruntled.

"Yes," Hermione said, nodding, "we have to be careful not to make too much noise around that part of the stair,"

She stared at them as they all nodded yes in agreement, before ushering them back to the sitting room. When they arrived in the sitting room Molly was already working over the walls and curtains, changing the colors trying to find the perfect match for the room. The room was flickering between a burgundy red and a mauve color. "I just can't make up my mind," Molly said to Hermione after she entered the room.

"Hmm," Hermione said grinning, "Try Blue."

"Oh, wouldn't that be lovely? What shade?" Molly asked, turning to look at the girl.

"Light blue, not like the sky, more like a robin's egg or even a brilliant blue," Hermione said grinning.

"Let's try it," Molly said, raising her wand, as the room changed into a brilliant shade of bright blue. It was darker than sky blue but lighter than royal blue in tone. "What do you think?" Molly turned to her to ask.

"It's perfect!" Hermione exclaimed before continuing with another thought, "What if we got a catalog and looked at furniture styles as well?"

Molly pulled Hermione into a hug, before agreeing to her request. They then called for Ginny to join them and spent the rest of the afternoon looking at color schemes and furniture styles.

As everyone sat down to dinner that evening, Hermione could not help but wonder what they talked about in the meeting. The twins, where sending her glances, before turning to look at Ron and Ginny as well. It seemed they would have their own meeting about the meeting they were not allowed to be a part of.

Most of the order members stayed for dinner that evening, Molly had out done herself once again with dinner. After dinner, Dumbledore pulled Ron, Hermione, and Ginny aside and told them not to send any information about what was happening to Harry. Hermione argued that he had a right to know what was happening, but he told her that under no circumstances was she to write about anything pertaining to the Order, and what was going on.

Everyone in the room seemed to be upset with Dumbledore, he said they could not say anything about the order. Hermione smirked; he had not said anything about not writing at all.

Hermione sat on her bed, looking at the calendar hanging on the wall. Two more days she thought to herself, and Cedric would arrive. That gave her two days to try and get some alone time with the twins. Now if only she could do it without anyone else knowing, as she was sure that Molly would not give her the chance to do so. She doubted she would get the chance to be alone with any of her boys before School started September 1st.

After pondering about getting her boys alone, she sat down and penned a note to Harry.

A/N: Rewritten on 1/2/21

If you recognize it, I do not own it!

*is a reference from Pride and Prejudice

So, you may have noticed that quite a bit has changed. My writing style has changed quite a bit since I started writing this story in 2012. What do you think?