The Floo spit me out in a small room, clearly just a receiving room. Two little faces peered up at me. I assumed they were the 'beasts' my twin had mentioned. The eyes of the little girl widened. "Are you Hermione Granger?"
I mentally groaned. The entire wizarding community in the United Kingdom probably knew who I was thanks to Rita Skeeter. I nodded at the children. "Yes, I am." The girl's eyes widened even further. "Did you really fight off a werewolf? And solve that riddle in your first year?"
I was confused. I had expected to be asked about my supposed romance with Harry and Krum, not my accomplishments. The boy grinned. "Blaise has come home every year talking about what the 'Golden Trio' has done that year. And his friends complain about it." I chuckled. Just then, Blaise came through the Floo behind me.
The little girl launched herself at Blaise. "Easy, tiger!" he teased her. Then he turned to me. "Sis, this is Emeric, who will be heading to Hogwarts in the fall. And this little monster is Charlotte, but we call her Lottie. Em, Lottie, this is Ariana…your older sister. We finally found her."
The two children hurried to hug me, and Blaise quickly joined in. As our parents entered the room as well, they joined the embrace, our family reunited after fourteen long years.
My siblings then showed me to my bedroom, located in the east wing of the vast manor. We had our own private hall, with a common area at the end and many rooms on our hall. My room was right across from Blaise's. "My friends usually come to stay during the summer, so they'll be in our wing," he told me. I wasn't sure how to respond to that. I knew he ran with the elite Slytherin crowd, the people who had taunted me for four years. However, one of the house elves popped into the hall.
"Mistress and Master Zabini is requesting the Young Misses and Master to be joinings them in the parlor. Theys sends Chrissy to bes finding you! Oh, young misses, we elves have always been hopings for your return!" The elf squeaked, throwing her arms around my leg. "Thank you, Chrissy," I said, and the little elf bowed and disapparated. "Shall we?" my brother asked, leading me through the labyrinth of a manor to the parlor.
Our parents were waiting for us, and they smiled at us. "Your friends planned to arrive today, Blaise, about three o'clock. I've had the elves prep the rooms," our father informed him. Mum turned to me with a smile. "First thing's first. Would you like to go by Hermione or Ariana? We understand that you've been Hermione for as long as you can remember, so it's really up to you." I hardly had to think about it. Although I loved the Grangers and they had cared for me very well, I had always known that I wasn't truly theirs. When I had been very small, I used to think about my birth family and wonder what they were like, what my name had been. And now, being reunited with my family and knowing that they had never stopped looking, the choice was clear.
"I'd like to be Ariana. I spent fourteen years as Hermione, but I don't want to be trapped by my fake life." I responded. My mother beamed. "Ariana it is. Now, the second thing. We'll discuss the circumstances of your disappearance later, but you were most definitely placed under a Glamour Charm. As a baby, you looked nearly identical to Blaise, except for the eyes. You got your father's looks and my eyes." Blaise, meanwhile, was a carbon copy of our father. Our mother continued. "If you'd like, we can attempt to remove the charm. You don't have to have it removed; again, it's your choice." This also required little thought. "Yes, please remove it," I told her. She and my father both raised their wands and spoke in what I thought was Italian. It made sense, based on our Italian roots, that they would know spells not just in English.
I felt a strange tickling sensation, and gold sparks gathered around me. They formed a tight cloud, shielding me from view, and suddenly burst. By the expressions on my family's faces, the spell had worked. Mum conjured up a small mirror for me, and I gazed into it. Caramel skin, silky black hair, and piercing blue eyes. It was a far cry from the pale, easily sunburnt skin, bushy brown hair, and muddy brown eyes I'd had before.
After the removal of the charm, I sat talking with my family, describing my childhood. The time crept closer to three o'clock, and soon Blaise's friends were tumbling out of the floo. Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy, and Theodore Nott. As I made eye contact with Theo, something inside me fluttered. The Slytherins all looked to me with confusion. "Blaise, who is this?" Pansy asked. Blaise grinned.
"This is Ariana, my twin. We finally found her and brought her home." I smirked at the expressions on their faces, then decided to shock them a little more. "You might know me better as Hermione Granger."
"GRANGER?!"