Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters solely belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. I'm just playing with it.

AN: I neglected to tell you the last time that if you find any grammar mistakes, please tell me. My native language is not English and I would very much like to improve it.

Also, I wanted to say was that this story, or at least the thought, was inspired by the song 'Bittersweet' by Within Temptation. Therefore, I copied the same title and I'll quote some of the song later.

I would like to thank my lovely friend, Kathleen =) who never stopped believing this story could be made and who kept reading it. Even in the middle of the night.

Now, here you have the story. Enjoy!

AN 2: Again this is the better version of chapter one. Thanks to my lovely beta Sarah Liz B! Who is truly amazing.

Chapter one

The rain pours down from the sky on a grey July morning. A young girl of twenty sits by the window, her head leaning in her hand, looking at the little drops of rain falling down from the window.

Behind her, a ginger-haired girl is talking with a ginger-haired boy and another boy with glasses. Hermione ignores it all, though it is her problems that they are discussing. She feels ill enough just finding out and she can't handle their meddling, even if they are her best friends. She would love to be alone, but when you are part of the Golden Trio there is no such thing as being alone.

It has been three years since they finished at Hogwarts and the war is still raging on. The trio and Ginny have relocated to Grimmauld Place. The safety is upgraded and Grimmauld Place is now the base for the Order of the Phoenix again. Every now and then there are gatherings. Great losses are felt on their side but also on Voldemort's and it doesn't seem like the end is near. Everyone is tired and everyone is on edge.

Harry and Ginny have started dating again and try to make the best of their relationship, just like Hermione and Ron, who recently are a couple again. They had dated in their last year of Hogwarts but the relationship didn't last. Over the years the two have stayed as far away from each other as they can because after their failed relationship tensions ran high between them. But it has been three years and there has been war for three years. They have grown up a lot and they are in need of each other and partially need of comfort. They have been dating again for nearly two months and things are going rather well.

Right up until that blasted letter from Dumbledore. Yes, from Dumbledore! He must have arranged it years in advance so it was a big surprise for all of them. It had arrived one day before and, to keep things short, it said that Hermione was, in fact, adopted. That her Muggle parents weren't even her real parents. They'd died a few years ago anyway, so she couldn't even go to them and ask them about it. The letter said that she was a Naberrie and that he was very sorry. And that was all.

Of course Hermione being Hermione immediately, she started looking in books for information. But nothing has been found yet.

Now, after two days of looking in all the books in the house, she was about to give up. This morning she has been starring into space for hours as the realization finally sinks in. Shock is something close you could name the state Hermione is now in.

Hermione has had a huge blank spot in her memories all her life. She can't remember anything that happened before she was nine. Her parents – the ones who were her adoptive parents – had always told her she'd fallen on her head and had a concussion. She hadn't been able to remember a thing and they'd had to teach her everything again, even her name.

But now –with the letter - she is certain that she'd had a life with her real parents. The only question is: what had happened?

She isn't certain she wants an answer on that.

"Hermione! Look what I found out about your family!" Ginny suddenly shouts.
She has been looking in a book they had found this afternoon, hidden behind others in the bookcase.
Hermione has been in a state of shock all morning so Ginny has looked through it. Two days ago Hermione had wanted to know everything. Wanted to find out who her real parents were. But now she is afraid. She doesn't want to hear it, she doesn't want to find out. She can't remember how many times already she has told them that. Not wanting to to tell them again, she gets up and walks out of the room, not looking at them. As she walks up the stairs to her room, a hand touches her shoulder, making her turn around to face Ron.

She is afraid he's going to ask her what's wrong, but instead he takes her in his arms and holds her.

"Everything is going to be alright," is the only thing he says.

She hopes he is right.

XXX

An hour and a half later they are all sitting in the kitchen. Harry has calmed Ginny down so that she will wait with her information. Ron has been consoling Hermione. She really doesn't look well, he thinks, and she hasn't slept all night, which is strange for her because she loves to sleep.

Ron smiles at Hermione, putting a steaming cup of tea in front of her. When everyone has one –and Ron has eaten almost all of the cookies - Ginny starts speaking. "Hermione, I understand how you must feel but you know me well enough to know that I'm only trying to help, don't you?" Her brown eyes stare into Hermione muddy brown ones.

"I know, Ginny, but I'm just not sure I want to know," admits Hermione, staring at her tea.

Harry is sitting beside her, watching her peculiarly and then he looks at Ginny.

"Why wouldn't you want to know?" she asks quietly.

Hermione bites her lip. "I have a bad feeling." It is just a whisper but it's so quiet in the kitchen that everybody hears it.

"Bloody hell! Of course you would have a bad feeling. If I had parents like that I would have a bad feeling too!" Ron suddenly shouts, oblivious to Hermione's distress.

"RON!" Harry and Ginny shout.

Hermione looks up, shocked. Her brown eyes are wide and her mouth is hanging open. "What do you mean?"

"You heard what I meant," Ron says simply. "Your parents were pure evil! That's what I think." Again, he doesn't even have a clue what he's saying or how he's saying it.

Completely upset, Hermione turns her eyes to Ginny. She gives Ron one more look and then gets up. Walking around the table, Ginny takes Hermione's hand and takes her out of the room, where they can talk alone, quietly.

"Pure evil?"

Hermione looks like she's on the verge of tears. She has never been a crier but today she's so tired and confused. How can everything go so wrong in just a day's time? She has never felt so lost or hopeless in her life.

"No!" Ginny almost shouts. "For the love of Merlin, of course not!" She takes a seat and Hermione follows her example.

"Look," Ginny takes Hermione's hands in hers and starts to talk. "You know you have been looking for your family name in all the books here, in this house, but you didn't want to look in the book we found just this morning. So, I started looking because I wanted to do something for you, for a change."

Hermione nods her head and watches Ginny take a breath.

"I have found out that you are from a noble, ancient family that are no more. How that happened I have yet to find out, but I will I promise you that I will," swears Ginny. "In that book I did not only find a family tree but also the connections they had." Ginny looks Hermione in the eye finding, that she is indeed paying close attention, and continues. "Your family was ranked amongst the top highest. Like now, the top highest are…" She doesn't finish but looks expectantly at Hermione, who sighs but finishes with, "Malfoy, Zabini, Parkinson, Nott and Greengrass."

Ginny smiles approvingly. "I found out that your family fitted after Zabini, which is of course very high."

Hermione casts her eyes down. "But they're all Slytherins; the ones we are fighting against."

Ginny grabs her chin and makes her look up at her.

She is worried for Hermione, who she has never seen so down. And, Ginny thinks as an afterthought, looked so ill.

"That does not mean your family was like them too. In the book there is no word about these families getting along or anything like that, so maybe your parents were just really wealthy."

Ginny keeps looking Hermione in the eye until the latter smiles and nods her head.

"Well, now. I'd better look some more," Ginny says brightly, getting up, leaving Hermione by herself, still not really knowing anything more.

XXX

The next day Harry comes in the kitchen with a bang. Ron almost chokes on his soup, Ginny gives a little scream of fright and Hermione looks up, surprised. "Look what's in the paper now!" Harry exclaims, waving the Daily Prophetabove his head.

"Does it matter? You know that Voldemort has that paper under his will," comes Hermione's logical answer.

"I know, But this is something new!" Harry runs down the few stairs and throws the paper on the table.

On the front page, there is a picture of a girl with shoulder length wavy hair, smiling, below huge letters saying, "WANTED, ALIVE AND UNHARMED" Underneath, a huge sum is printed.

"Who is that?" Hermione asks, taking the paper, happy that there is something else to ponder on.

"More importantly, why do they want her so much?" Harry asks.
Hermione nods thoughtfully, well aware of Ron reading over her shoulder, which she found a very annoying habit of him.

"Did you see the amount of money she is worth?" Ron suddenly shouts. "That's even more than you, Harry!"

Harry just nods and drops in the chair next to Ginny.

"Does it say anything?" Ginny asks. Harry shakes his head. "Why unharmed?" Ron wonders. The wanted pictures have never stated 'unharmed'.

The group grows silent and they all look up, surprised at him.

"What?" he asks.

"It's a very good question," Hermione says, reading the paper again, ignoring dizziness and a headache. She really doesn't know what is wrong with her lately. Everything seems to be falling apart since the start of the month.

After a few minutes Harry seemed to come out of his daze first. "I'll arrange a meeting with the order.

Maybe someone knows who this girl is." He gives Ginny a quick kiss and hurries out of the kitchen, Ron following him.

XXX

A few hours later Hermione is still sitting in the kitchen, by herself, staring at the girl in the picture.

Somehow she seems familiar to her. Suddenly, tapping sounds from the window. It seems to take ages before Hermione stops eying the owl – it is the same one that had brought the letter that has changed her whole world - and goes to the window to open it. The owl drops the letter in the middle of the kitchen table and flies out again. Hermione closes the window and stares at the letter. Finally finding her nerve (where has her courage had run off to?), she takes the letter and opens it. Before she can read it, a strange golden glitter falls out of the envelope, covering her from top to bottom. Not knowing what has come over her, she screams. It doesn't take long before the door is thrown open and Ginny, Ron and Harry barge in. They all stare at the bushy-haired girl covered in golden glitter.

Ginny takes a step towards Hermione, ready to investigate, and her friend starts to shimmer, making her take a step back. It only shimmers briefly before it dulls, revealing a beautiful girl staring at them with large, scared, bright blue eyes. Her normally bushy-brown hair is now blonde and cascading in soft, wavy curls down her back. Her thin lips are now fuller and have a natural red color. She is a few inches taller, but still a slim girl.

"What happened?" the panicky-sounding girl asks. Even her voice sounds different: lighter, more beautiful, Ron thinks while staring at Hermione, who he has known for years and is his girlfriend, again.

Hermione hasn't been an ugly girl but the Hermione now looking at them is without a doubt beautiful.

Another scream from Hermione, who is looking into a mirror, makes Ron rush to her side, in an attempt to comfort the distressed girl. "Sshhh…" he tries to comfort Hermione, not realizing she looks the same as the girl staring at them from the Daily Prophet. Hermione seems to be the only one who has noticed this, which is the reason why she is panicking so much in the first place.

Ginny picks up the letter, which has fallen to the ground. Reading it, she looks at Hermione again. "Dumbledore is sorry, but he'd had to put a powerful glamour charm on you. It was the only way to hide who you truly are; otherwise people would have recognized you at school."

Hermione is biting her lip as tears gather in her eyes. She wonders what is the matter with her lately. "I'm betting he means people like Malfoy," She says.

Ginny sighs but doesn't say a word. Turning away, she suddenly sees the paper and finally, realization hits her. Turning Harry around and pointing at the picture, they finally understand why Hermione is so distressed. It seems it isn't only because she has a different look.

"I think I'm going to call the Order of the Phoenix to an emergency meeting," he says before hurrying out the kitchen, Ron behind him, leaving Ginny alone with her distressed best friend.