Disclaimer: I never have and never will own anything Harry Potter :(

Authors Note: Thanks to my amazing Beta jerrway69! Thanks for all the reviews guys hope you enjoy this chapter!

They made the appointment for Monday morning, deciding to give themselves two more days of normalcy and family time. Hermione had written a letter to Harry and Ron to let them know that she wouldn't be able to make it to her own birthday party. She told them there was a family emergency and that she would see them at Kings Cross.

She felt bad about canceling on them. But right now the only people she wanted to be with was her parents. They had spent the whole day together. They went out to lunch at Hermione's favorite Indian place and went shopping for new clothes for school and an outfit for the meeting on Monday. Her mom

took her to get her nails done while her dad waited with a scowl on his face as the two girls giggled at how uncomfortable he looked.

After a quick trip to the store they all came home and Hermione helped her mother cook dinner. They made one of Hermione's favorites, spaghetti with meatballs and warm garlic bread. They also tossed a salad and her dad even brought out his favorite bottle of wine. They sat around the table and reminisced about the past. Her dad told this awful story about when Hermione had accidentally turned the neighbor girls' hair puke green. They had laughed till they were blue in the face and had tears streaming down their cheeks.

After dinner they all went into the family room and snuggled on the couch, Hermione sat between them and snuggled as they each read their own books. In Hermione's mind this was the perfect day. As boring as it may sound to most, this was her happy place.

The rest of their time together was generally spent in the same fashion. Just being in each other's company. But all too quickly Monday approached.

Hermione lay awake staring at the clock next to her bed. It was 1:45 AM, it was Monday. 'Today is the day I meet my father. What if he doesn't like me? Does it even matter? What if he is someone I know!?' Her mind was filled with questions and was going a million miles a minute. She knew that she needed to get to sleep. She needed to be at the ministry by 8:30.

She tossed and turned under her covers trying to get comfortable. She didn't even remember falling asleep. And she had no idea that there was someone else having difficulty sleeping as well. Not so far away a dark haired man wrestled with the exact same questions.

Dawn came quickly and before she knew it her alarm was going off. Hermione bolted upright, her sleep had been light and she had been waking up every hour or so just to check the time. She had barely gotten any rest but she was bursting with nervous energy. She hopped out of bed and quickly crossed to the bathroom.

After a quick shower Hermione was standing in front of her mirror. She was debating what to do with her hair. She did have a straightening potion, it was quiet beautiful when straight and she typically only used the potion for special occasions. Although it was a special occasion she had this nagging thought in her mind. 'He should meet the real me, the crazy frizzy hair me, I shouldn't try to hide it with a potion.'

She sighed and set down the bottle, deciding to go with her more natural look. She set to it with her brush and comb to make it look at least somewhat presentable. After she was satisfied with the result of her hard work, she got out her make up, and once again went with a more natural look. Light browns on her eyes with very light liner and a quick swipe of mascara, and pale pink gloss.

Stepping back she looked over herself in the mirror and was pleasantly surprised at how well it all came together. She wasn't much good with make up so this was a victory in her book. She then stepped back into her room to grab the outfit that they had picked out 2 days ago. It was a yellow sundress with a brown beaded belt with black flats.

After she was dressed she went downstairs to find her parents sitting down to breakfast. Hermione glanced at the clock, she had 45 min to get to the ministry. She was going to be flooing there, so she had time to enjoy some food. She grabbed a plate and sat down with her parents trying not to seem as excited as she really was.

"Sorry we can't go with you honey. If we could get away from work we would." Her mom said as she was sipping at her coffee.

"It's alright mum, I'll be fine." Hermione said in an attempt to sound reassuring. To be honest Hermione was kind of thankful that her parents wouldn't be there. It would all just end up being a blubber fest. She loved her mother dearly but she had been quite weepy the last few days. After a few more minutes Hermione glanced up at the clock. 8:15 it was time to go, but suddenly a pang of nervousness hit her like lightning making her feel suddenly weak and shaky.

"I...I guess I should get going then." She stood up, trying to ignore the slight spinning in her head. She gave her parents tight hugs. Checked that she had everything she needed then walked into den where the fireplace was. She reached up to the mantle smiling to herself as she grabbed a handful of powder. It had been a Christmas present from Mr. Weasley, who used it as an excuse to pop through the fire place to bombard her father with questions, which she knew her father secretly enjoyed.

She had paused to enjoy the memory but suddenly snapped back to attention. She took a deep breath tossed in the powder and stepped in.

"Ministry of Magic!"

Hermione walked through the grate and began to brush herself off and fix her hair a bit. She really did hate traveling by floo, but it really was the simplest way to get here. She sighed and began to move forward with the crowd. She was deep in thought about the meeting when she was suddenly jerked from her thoughts as she ran into someone losing her balance slightly before finding her feet. "Sorry!" She exclaimed, not exactly sure who she had run into.

"Filthy little mudblood watch where you're going!" A cold voice snapped towards Hermione.

Hermione looked up and the first thing she noticed was long platinum blonde hair. Lucius Malfoy. Of all the people she could have ran into it had to be him. She noticed Draco lurking behind his father's back. A sneer perfectly in place as it always was. Hermione just huffed and turned away continuing towards the lifts. She didn't feel that she needed to respond to their taunts. As she climbed into the lift she thought she had seen a flash of red hair. Hermione tried to hide her face, she hadn't told any of her friends what was going on yet and it would be awkward to run into any of the Weasleys and have to explain why she was there.

She managed to get to the right floor without running into anyone else. Her nerves came back as she approached the family services office, her hands were shaking in anticipation. She took a deep breath and opened up the door.

The door led to a reception desk where a small blonde witch sat. The witch looked up and smiled as Hermione approached.

"Ms. Granger I presume?" Her voice was surprisingly light and airy but not to the point of annoyance.

Hermione just nodded and tried to smile through her nerves, but she was sure it ended up looking like more of a grimace. 'Pull yourself together Hermione! You have faced things more terrifying than this, and you're shaking like a damned leaf!'

Hermione followed the witch down a hall way and into a small waiting room. She wasn't waiting very long when another witch came and brought Hermione into a small oak room with a round table and chairs. Hermione sat facing the door. She wanted to see him as soon as he stepped through that door.

She had been sitting there for about 10 minutes. She was looking down at her hands and her heart began to fill with despair. What if he had changed his mind? What if he decided he didn't want to meet her? What if he decided he was better off without knowing her?

Just as these thought crossed her mind the door opened. Hermione's head snapped up. But she quickly put it back down. It was just the witch who had led her in here. Most likely to tell her to just go home. Hermione's fingers found the necklace she wore and she began to fiddle with the charm.

"Ms. Granger, don't look so melancholy. Your father is here. He is just as anxious to meet you but there are some things we need to go over before you officially meet."

Hermione looked up again and nodded to the witch suddenly feeling relieved. The woman then sat across from Hermione and looking very serious began to debrief Hermione.

"Not too long after your father gave you to the Granger's, He became aware of someone looking into your whereabouts. You had been reported officially as deceased. Only a few actually knew of your existence at all. Your father realized that through all the precautions that he had taken, he had forgotten the one piece of you that still existed in the magical world. That piece was his memory."

It then dawned on Hermione why she was being told this. "So he obliviated himself?"

The witch simply nodded. "It is not easy to get back the memories that have been lost. He had written himself a letter to explain the situation which he then left with us. We had instructions to send the letter on this date as soon as you arrived here. He could not bear to relive the memories if you had chosen not to come today. As we speak he is working with our own potion master to brew a potion to allow his memories to come forth."

Hermione understood now why she had been waiting so long. Brewing a potion takes time. She just wished that someone had told her earlier before she had gotten herself so worked up. "How much longer do you think they will be?" Hermione's voice came out quieter than she had expected.

"They were in the final stages the last I looked. Would you like some tea while you wait?" The woman looked at Hermione smiling with encouragement.

"That would be lovely, thank you."

The woman turned and left the room and once again slipped into her own thoughts.

It wasn't long before the woman returned with the tea. Setting it in front of Hermione she sat down next to her. She could tell that Hermione was nervous and maybe even a little scared. Her heart went out to the girl. She took her hand and gently squeezed. "It won't be long now, dear."

Hermione smiled back at the woman, grateful for the small sign of sympathy. There was a moment of silence. And then a knock came to the door making both witches jump. Hermione felt the color from her face drain and suddenly became very aware of her shaking body.

The older witch rose from her seat and crossed the room quickly. She cracked the door and Hermione could hear her whispering to someone. The woman then turned around and with a grin on her face said, "Mrs. Granger, I would like to introduce you to your father." The door swung open and someone stepped through. Hermione did a double take. She couldn't believe who was standing just across from her.

"Professor?"