Here's the next chapter of 'It's a Twin Thing', I hope you enjoy it :) Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter!
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*Last Time*
"Why's Fluffy there Hagrid?" Harry asked politely, not wanting to offend his first friend again.
"Well he's guarding the - " Hagrid began, but stopped when he looked at the intrigued faces staring up at him, "Why do yer want to know?"
"Hagrid we already know what's down there," Hermione told him, ignoring the looks she was getting from Harry and Ron.
"Yer do?" He asked.
"Yes," Harry confirmed, catching on to what Hermione was doing, "We just want you to confirm it."
"Oh, well if yer already know then there aint no 'arm in tellin' yer then," Hagrid decided.
"Thanks Hagrid," Hermione replied.
"Well yer've figured out that Fluffy is guardin' the Philosophers Stone, and nobody can get past him unless yer sing to him, he likes that," Hagrid said, smiling to himself as he thought of his beloved pet.
"Thanks Hagrid," Hermione chirped, motioning the boys to leave as she watched Hagrid fall slowly to sleep at the thought of Fluffy.
"Go," Hermione whispered, walking out of the door behind the boys, before she left though she turned around and got out her wand. Checking that the boys were outside she lifted her wand up to Hagrid,
"Sorry Hagrid, but I can't have this getting to Dumbledore ... Obliviate ..." She whispered, sad that she couldn't trust him.
Chapter Eight
"Oh my gosh! I missed you guys so much," Hermione cried, as she ran towards her friends.
Harry, Ron and Neville had come and waited for her at Hogsmeade station, it was the first day back after the Christmas holidays and Hermione couldn't be any more overjoyed than she was the moment.
"It's good to see you too," Harry wheezed, as Hermione practically crushed him, Ron and Neville in a bear hug.
"How was your holiday 'Mione?" Ron asked, as she let go of them and they started making there way to the carriages.
Christmas at the Grangers was its usual boring affair, every year the Grangers had an annual ball, yes a ball. Richard and Jean invited all of their closest friends ... well ... Hermione used the term friends lightly. They were really just business associates and people who could get the family higher up in the social ladder.
Hermione spent the majority of her time with Martha - their maid - in the kitchens, baking a special homemade treacle tart for Hermione and her to eat later, when all the adults were preoccupied with Business talk.
The worst part about the whole thing is that Jean and Richard made her wear a dress, not just any dress but a frilly pink dress, with a corset. She was a twelve year old girl for heavens sake, she didn't need a corset.
Christmas day wasn't any better, she got a few presents from Jean and Richard, just a couple of dresses and some jewellery.
"A young lady should never have enough clothes," Jean had informed her, which was followed by a stern don't slouch from Richard, who was sat on the opposite side of the room, a glass of whiskey in his hand.
Christmas got significantly better in the early hours of boxing day though ...
*Flashback*
Hermione was awoken by a tapping on the window.
"What's that noise?" Hermione pondered to herself, looking at the clock she realised that it was only 2 in the morning.
Her head turned to the window when she heard the tapping noise again. Outside there were two birds, each taking turns at tapping on her window.
Reluctantly, she got out of bed and opened the window for the birds to get in.
One was a big, majestic bird with ink black feather and cute yellow eyes, holding a letter in her beak and the other was Hedwig, holding three parcels in her mouth.
She took each present out of the birds mouth and opened the window to let them out again, Hedwig flew out straight away but the black bird stayed behind.
"Hey there cutie," Hermione cooed, stroking the back of the birds head with two fingers.
The bird nipped Hermione affectionately on the ear before taking flight and sending a coo back in her direction.
Hermione giggled at the birds antics before walking over to her bed and ripping the parcels open first.
She had a cute sweater from Rons mum, it was a lavender colour with a White 'H' embroidered on the front, Hermione thought it was wonderful and appreciated the efforts, she got a bag of fudge from Ron, a book on Ancient Runes from Neville (She'd expressed her interest in them to him and it seemed he'd remembered) and a bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans from Harry.
When she opened the letter brought by the black bird Hermione heart skipped, it was from her dad ...
My dearest Hermione,
Merry Christmas Poppet, I'm so sorry that I'm not with you on Christmas, hopefully next year we can be together. I just want to remind you how much I love you, I hope you know that I love you with every ounce of my being. I hope you realise your importance not only to me but to every one who has been lucky enough to know you. I hope you know that when you're feeling down I only ever strive for your happiness. I hope you remember that no matter what, I'm here for you and I fully intend on staying in your life for as long as I live. I hope you recognise the fact that I appreciate and adore you without restraints and that this will never change.
I'm so proud of every thing you've been able to achieve in the short time that we've been reunited, I know your mother would be proud as well and although she can't be with you, let me tell you just how much she loves you, She loves you unconditionally and she'd do anything for you, she'd walk through hell and back for you - just as I would.
Sleepyhead, close your eyes, for I'm right beside you.
Guardian angels are near, so sleep without fear.
Lullaby, and good night, with roses bedlight.
Lilies o'er head, lay thee down in thy bed.
Your mother will always be in your heart Poppet, remember that. One day we'll all be reunited, you'll see.
Love you 'Mione.
Dad x
A steady stream of tears were cascading down Hermiones' cheek and she reached up for the locket around her neck, opening it she listened to the soothing sound of her mothers voice.
"I love you too dad," Hermione said into the darkness, as the verse that he'd written in her letter began playing.
As the song finished Hermione crawled back into bed, pulled the sheet over herself and closed her eyes.
"I love you mum," Hermione whispered, as she closed her eyes and fell asleep, dreaming of memories from when she was younger.
*End of Flashback*
"Mione?" Neville asked, "Everything alright?"
"Oh, yeah, It was good! Thanks for the presents, I loved them," Hermione chirped.
"That's alright, I'm glad you liked them," Neville blushed, and Hermione smiled sweetly at him.
"So what did you guys do?" Hermione asked.
"Harry found this really neat mirror!" Ron told her excitedly.
"Mirror?" Hermione and Neville asked at the same time.
"Yeah, sorry we didn't tell you Nev, but we wanted to tell 'Mione with you," Harry said apologetically.
"Don't worry about it, it's fine," Neville informed him.
"When can we see it?" Hermione asked, eager to find out what was so special about this mirror.
"We'll go this evening," Harry decided.
"Okay, now hurry up, we're going to be late for dinner," Hermione called, as she got into one of the carriages ahead.
"Coming," the three of them called, before running to the cart, racing each other to see who'd come first.
Surprisingly, it was Neville.
...
"We shouldn't be out here," Neville whispered, trying not to fall out of the invisibility cloak.
Harry and Ron had explained to both Neville and Hermione about the mysterious invisibility cloak that Harry had been given for Christmas and although Neville was wary, Hermione was all for it because after Harry had shown her the note that accompanied it she knew exactly who had sent it to him and was going to talk to him later about it.
"Come on Neville, It's just a bit of fun," Hermione said, nudging him playfully in the side.
"Yeah, I suppose," Neville replied, smiling gingerly at Hermione.
"We're here," Harry announced, ripping the invisibility cloak off the four of them and opening a door. As they entered Hermione couldn't help the intake of breath that escaped as she looked at the most beautiful mirror in front of her.
"What does it say at the top?" Neville asked.
"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi," Hermione said out loud, then smiled to herself, "It says 'I show not your face but your heart's desire.'"
"How in the bloody hell did you know that?" Ron asked.
"It's backwards Ron," Hermione told him.
"So it is," Ron replied in awe, as he read it backwards just like Hermione had before him.
Neville walked up to the mirror and had to stifle back a sob at what he saw.
"What is it Neville?" Harry asked, placing a hand on his friends shoulder, "What do you see?"
"My parents," Neville sniffled, placing a hand towards the mirror as if he could touch someone.
"Your ... your parents?" Hermione asked, feeling a strange sensation in her lower abdomen.
"Yeah," Neville replied weakly, before composing himself and moving away from the mirror, thankful for the fact that nobody asked him any questions.
"Why don't you try 'Mione?" Harry suggested, walking over to her and leading her towards the mirror.
"No, honestly, It's fine," Hermione managed to choke out, she knew what she was going to see in the mirror and to be quite honest she didn't know if she was ready for it.
"Come on 'Mione, It'll be fine," Harry assured her.
Hermione didn't have much to say in the matter before she was shoved in front of the mirror and then froze.
There in front of her was a group of people; her family. In the middle was herself, her dad and the woman next to him must've been her mum. she looked just like Hermione had imagined, brown hair just like hers, but her hair was less frizz and more curls, her skin was just that bit darker than Hermiones but was just light enough that you could still see the scattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and along her cheeks. Her eyes were a bright blue and she had small, plump lips that popped on her face. She couldn't have been anymore than 5'5" but then again, Hermione was small for her age.
Next to them was a man that looked just like Olivia and Hermione realised that his was her Uncle Jamie, she remembered him from some of her dreams and to his left was Aunt Lils, with Harry standing in front of them holding his mums hand.
Hermione had started crying now, it wasn't until she saw the four people grinning at her from behind her parents that she started full on sobbing in front of the mirror.
Standing behind her was Uncle Moony, Uncle Padfoot, Aunt Marls and Aunt Alice.
She wasn't just crying from sadness, it was relief as well as happiness. She could remember them, she could remember them all.
She remembered how her Aunt Marls and Aunt Alice would dress her up in cute clothes and dance around the house with her as if she was at a grand ball.
She remembered how Uncle Padfoot would transform into his animagus and would take turns giving her and Harry rides on his back while Uncle Moony would place the other on his shoulders and pretend he was a muggle aeroplane.
She remembered how in the evenings they would sometimes all sit down and watch muggle Disney films, curled up in a blanket and eating what Aunt Lils liked to call Popcorn.
She could remember it all, she felt like she was going to explode from happiness. There was one thing nagging at her though, she knew that Aunt Marls, Aunt Lils and Uncle Prongs were dead. She knew that her mum was in Azkaban and she also knew that Aunt Alice was insane in St Mungos but she had no idea what had happened to Uncle Padfoot and Uncle Moony, if only she could remember their real names, then she could research them.
Before Hermione had anymore time to think a voice echoed throughout the room.
"Holding on to your dreams is all well and good, but there comes a point when holding on to your dreams becomes unhelpful and even unhealthy, Miss Granger," A voice said from behind the four of them.
"Professor Dumbledore," The three boys said in shock, as they turned around quicker than a race car and looked at Dumbledore in horror.
"Headmaster," Hermione said, nodding in Dumbledore's direction and turning around much calmer than the others, it was almost as if she knew he was there, she wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled politely at him.
"I see you've found the mirror of Erised," Dumbledore said, sitting on a table at the back of the room casually.
"So that's what it's called?" Neville asked.
"Yes Mr Longbottom, that's what it's called."
"So what we see in there, will it come true?" Ron asked, obviously thinking about becoming head boy and wanting it to become a reality.
"No, Mr Weasley, it will not." Dumbledore told him, "What you see in the mirror is simply your deepest desires, it's what you want most in this world."
"What do you see sir?" Hermione asked, intrigued as to what his answer would be.
"I see myself wearing a nice pair of socks," Dumbledore chuckled.
Hermione had to try and resist the urge to snort, was he honestly serious?
"What do you see young Harry?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses.
"I saw my mum and dad," Harry told him, "There was also a woman and a little girl, they seemed kind of familiar and I remember calling her Aunt Liv but that's about it."
Hermione watched as Dumbledore shifted his gaze onto her for but a second before returning his attention to Harry.
Well that was strange, Hermione thought to herself, Does he know something?
"Was there anyone else Harry? Perhaps someone stood next to the woman and little girl?" Dumbledore asked him.
"No ... Should there be?" Harry asked nervously, not wanting to disappoint Dumbledore.
"No, I was simply enquiring, how about you Miss Granger, What did you see?"
"I'd prefer not to say Headmaster," Hermione told him, keeping a cold edge to her voice but also managing to sound polite.
"Very well," Dumbledore concluded, "Well you must be on your way back to the common room, It seems that you're out after curfew."And with that Dumbledore walked out of the room, leaving behind a very confused Harry and seething Hermione.
"How dare he!" Hermione growled, trying to keep her emotions in check.
"What's wrong 'Mione?" Harry asked.
"That ... That ... That bloody Bastard," She screamed, ignoring the shocked faces of Harry, Ron and Neville.
"Hermione? What ARE you on about?" Ron asked, concerned with the behaviour his best friend was showing.
"He had no right. No Right. To ask us what we saw in that mirror, it's private and he shouldn't have pried like that," She hissed.
"I don't think that was his intention," Harry said, trying to calm her down.
"Of course it was," Hermione snapped, "What was with those questions Harry? He shouldn't have asked you, he knows that it must've been heart breaking to see Aunt L - your parents in there but he couldn't just give you some space." She hissed, mentally berating herself for almost slipping up and calling Lily and James, Aunt Lils and Uncle Jamie. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Neville was staring at her strangely, almost as if analysing her.
"'Mione, honestly it's fine. I'm fine," Harry assured her, reaching over to squeeze her hand.
"I need to leave," Hermione sighed, her rage still boiling. She was trying her best to not take it out on her friends but if she didn't get away soon then she'd say something that she'd regret.
"But what about Filch?" Neville asked her, still looking at her strangely. Hermione hoped he hadn't noticed her slip, that would lead to some awkward conversations and she really didn't want to lie to him.
"I know where everyone is," She told them, before storming out of the room and slamming the door behind her.
"Bloody hell, what was that all about?" Ron cried in disbelief.
"I don't know Ron, I don't know," Harry replied sadly, "Whatever she saw in that mirror must've really freaked her out."
"No kidding," Ron scoffed.
"Come on, let's get going," Harry said, pulling the invisibility cloak over the three of them and exiting the room.
"Hopefully she'll be better tomorrow," Neville muttered, his brows creases as if in deep thought.
"Yeah hopefully Nev, hopefully."
...
"Hermione?" Severus asked, as an angry 12 year old burst into his quarters.
"I hate him," Hermione seethed, pacing up and down the room, in front of Severus, who had previously been marking essays in his arm chair.
"Hate who?" Severus asked calmly, trying to be rational about the whole situation until he knew what had happened.
"Dumbledore," She spat, stopping in front of he father and glaring at him crazily.
"What's he done?" Severus growled, chucking his papers to the side and leaning forward to hear her reply.
"Have you ever heard of the mirror of Erised?" Hermione asked, starting to pace again.
"Yes," Severus replied, "How do you know about it?"
"Well, Harry conveniently found it over Christmas break and asked me to go see it with him," Hermione told him.
"What does this have to do with Dumbledore?" Severus questioned.
"He invaded our privacy! He turned up in the room and asked Harry what he was, do you know what he said? He said he saw Uncle Jamie, Aunt Lils, me and mum. Of course he didn't know it was me but he called mum Aunt Liv which prompted the old man to ask him if he saw another man besides Uncle Prongs. when Harry said no he asked again, this time specifying whether he was stood next to me and mum. Then he had the audacity to ask me what I saw in the mirror!" She screamed.
"You didn't tell him? Did you?"
"Of course I didn't! Why would I tell that old manipulative bastard -"
"Language." Severus warned, though his heart wasn't really in it.
"Sorry, but honestly, what's wrong with him! He also gave me this look when Harry mentioned mum, it was as if he knew. You know? It was like he knew that Harry was describing mum I bet he - wait ... it was like he knew," She muttered.
"What are you on about 'Mione?" Severus asked, shocked that she'd stopped mid rant.
"He knows," She mumbled, "HE KNOWS! He knows that that I'm mums daughter, he knows, how does he know? I thought you didn't tell any one but Aunt Lily, Aunt Marls, Aunt Alice, Uncle Prongs, Uncle Padfoot and Uncle Moony?"
"We didn't - wait, how'd you know about Black and Lupin?" Severus asked, he'd never told her about them or even mentioned them at all.
"I saw them in the mirror, and I ... I remembered all of them. I saw her dad, i actually got to see mum ... she's beautiful," Hermione sniffed, trying to keep the tears down.
"She is, just like you poppet," Severus said, smiling as memories of Olivia popped into his head.
"I miss her daddy," Hermione cried, suddenly flinging herself into his arms and sobbing into his chest.
Severus clung on tightly, trying to stop himself from crying along with his daughter. He hated that she had to go through all this pain, he wished he could help her, but he didn't know how. So he decided that stroking her hair slowly and rocking her in his arms was enough for the time being.
"I know you do poppet and I'm sorry that she can't be with us at the moment," Severus whispered to her.
"She'll be with us soon, you'll see. I'll make sure of that," Hermione sniffled, although the edge in her voice was determined the sadness overwhelmed her tone.
"Hermione ..." Severus warned, not wanting to get into this again.
"No, dad. Don't bother." Hermione told him, "Will you tell me about Uncle Padfoot and Uncle Moony?"
"Of course but why do you want to know?" Severus pondered.
"Well, I assumed that since I haven't heard about them that they must be alive and maybe I could meet them," She asked hopefully.
"Hermione ... I," Severus began.
"They're dead aren't they," She asked through gritted teeth.
"No, not dead."
"Then where are they?"
"Black or Uncle Padfoot, was sent to azkaban."
"Azkaban?"
"Yes, azkaban."
"But why?" Hermione managed to croak out, her mouth was getting dry and her eyes were welling up just at the thought of another member of her family being locked up in that hell hole.
"He betrayed James and Lily, he sold them out to the Dark Lord and then murdered Peter Pettigrew and 12 muggles not long after," Severus told her.
"I don't believe you," Hermione replied, tears spilling down her face. She was replaying all the memories that she had of Uncle Padfoot in her memories, he just seemed so care free, so nice, so innocent.
"Hermione, it's true." Severus informed her, struggling at seeing his little girl looking so heart broken over a real criminal.
"Stop." She growled, "What about Uncle Moony?"
"Nobody's seen him since the night James and Lily died."
"You mean murdered," Hermione spat, jumping up from her place on the sofa and pacing again, muttering about good for nothing death eaters and lies.
Severus didn't say anything and just sat waiting for Hermione to calm herself down. When she finally did, Severus walked over to her and took her hand in his.
"Calmed yourself down now?" He asked, Hermione merely nodded.
"Will you tell me more about mum?" She muttered.
"Of course, what do you want to know?" Severus asked, a smile gracing his lips.
"Did she have any talents? Like any cool tricks that she could do?" Hermione questioned excitedly, eager to learn more about her mum.
"Well she could sing amazingly, she never really liked to sing in front of others though. It gave her the shivers," He chuckled, Hermione giggled along to, glad to know that her mum had some fears.
"Anything else?" She asked.
"Well ... I could tell you but you can't repeat it," He warned her.
"Who am I going to tell?" Hermione joked.
"Okay, your mum is an unregistered animagus," Severus admitted.
"Really? Wow, that's so cool, What form did she take?" Hermione asked.
"A Squirrel," Severus said, laughing at the thought, "She's a light brown Squirrel and the fur on her tail was kind of curly, to match her human hair."
"Really?" Hermione said in awe.
"Really."
"Do you have any books on Animagus?" Hermione suddenly asked. Severus had to chuckle at this, of course she'd ask for a book.
"Let me get one," Severus told her, getting up and making his way over to the bookshelf. He picked a book of one of the shelves and handed it to Hermione.
"Page 197," He said.
Hermione flicked to the correct page and started reading.
Guide To Advanced Transfiguration
By Emerich Switch
An Animagus is a witch or wizard who can morph him or herself into an animal at will. It is learnt, rather than hereditary, unlike those of a Metamorphmagus. It takes practice, skill and patience for wizards and witches to become Animagi. The process of becoming an Animagus is long and arduous, and has the potential to backfire and cause transformation to go horribly wrong.
Animagi can only take on the form of one specific animal. For example, witches or wizards could take on the form of a species which is capable of flight, therefore, they can enjoy the sensation of flying without a broom, flying carpet, or riding on an animal such as a Hippogriff or Thestral. The animal form, however, is not chosen by the wizard, it is a representation of their personality and inner traits. It is a common misunderstanding that your Animagus form will be the same as your Patronus, this is not always the case. Many people have discovered that their Animagus is different to their Patronus, this is because your Patronus is affected by what is going on in your life and can change at any given moment, for example, if you were to fall in love with someone then you may change to match his/her Patronus or you may both change to an animal that represents the both of you as a couple. An Animagus is different in the sense that it is who you truly are, no matter what happens to you or who you think you are, your Animagus will never change and will always stay true to who you are inside.
Each Animagus bears an identifying mark on their animal form that is caused by something on their human body. This may be a physical trait like hair colour, or an acquired taste such as glasses. If an Animagus undergoes a major physical change in their human body, such as the loss of a limb, their animal form will also reflect that. In addition, an Animagus will appear to lose their clothing upon morphing if they are wearing clothing. The clothing will reappear upon re-establishing the human form. What happens to the clothing is unknown but there is a strong possibility that it is enchanted beforehand, and will morph/disappear with the person as they do so. Another explanation would be if the clothing was physically involved in the morphing, i.e. Transforming into the skin and fur of the animal form.
When in your animagus form you act more like the animals you morph into, you have less human thoughts and wish to act like the animal you transformed into, for example, if you were a cat then you'd have the urge to chase small animals or if you were an eagle then you may wish to fly more. Although all of your human thoughts are still present and you can still remember everything but a small part of your brain has become almost animalistic.
"Do you think I could become a -" Hermione began but then stopped as her eyes widened in excitement.
"Mione?"
"Do you have any books on Dementors? I have an idea but I just need to check if my information is correct," Hermione asked suddenly, she was smiling like crazy and Severus could see that her eyes held that glint in them, the same Olivia had, it meant she'd come up with an ingenious idea. Quickly Severus rushed over to the shelf and pulled out a book.
"I think it's page 43 or 44," He informed her.
"Thanks," Hermione muttered as she opened the book.
A Dementor is a non-being and Dark creature, considered one of the foulest to inhabit the world. Dementors feed upon human happiness, and thus cause depression and despair to anyone near them. They can also consume a person's soul, leaving their victims in a permanent vegetative state, and thus are often referred to as "soul-sucking fiends". They are known to leave a person as an 'empty-shell'.
There are certain defences one can use against Dementors, specifically the Patronus Charm. Dementors hold no true loyalty, except to whomever can provide them with the most people to feed off. They cannot be destroyed, though their numbers can be limited if the conditions in which they multiply are reduced, implying that they do die off eventually.
Being blind, Dementors sense and feed on the positive emotions of human beings in order to survive, forcing their victims to relive their worst memories over and over again. The very presence of a Dementor can make the victim's surrounding atmosphere grow cold and dark, and as the number of Dementors increase, so do the effects. Those that are kept in the company of a Dementor for too long tend to become depressed, and are often driven insane, which was the main source of Azkaban's well-deserved horrible reputation when they still guarded its prisoners.
Dementors rely fully on their ability to sense emotion and physical and/or mental health to track the movements of the prisoners in their care, and are generally unable to distinguish one person from another if both are in similar physical or mental condition.
"Bloody hell," Hermione whispered in amazement.
"What? What is it?" Severus asked, eager to know what Hermione had been referring to.
Ideas were swirling around Hermiones mind ... Dementors sense and feed on the positive emotions of human beings ... you can still remember everything but a small part of your brain has become almost animalistic ... unable to distinguish one person from another if both are in similar physical or mental condition ...
"I know how to get mum out."
Thank you so much for reading this chapter, I hope that you enjoyed it! If you have a few seconds I'd love it if you'd let me know what you thought of the chapter! REVIEWS WOULD BE APPRECIATED :)
A/N: Unfortunately I'm not sure when the next time I update will be, I start my GCSE exams on Monday and am current;y revising like crazy. I will try and update asap, but please be prepared for it to take a a couple of weeks, sorry!