Malfoy's jaw absolutely dropped. He could not have looked more shocked if he'd tried. I laughed at the looks on everyone's faces. "You should really see all your faces right now!" I giggled. Blaise rolled his eyes. "Go easy on them, Ari. We've all grown up hearing stories about you as a baby, then watched you go through hell for Potter the past four years. It's a bit of a nasty shock."
Before any of them could speak, I held up my hand. "First, I want to tell you that you don't have to apologize for any of the past four years. It's how you were raised, how I should have been raised. That being said…don't betray my trust. If you do, I will not hesitate to retaliate. I trust you-" looking at Draco- "most certainly know what I mean. Now, let's put everything behind us and get to know one another properly."
Daphne Greengrass, who I took an immediate liking to, grinned. "Fair enough, Ariana. It's nice to formally meet you." Blaise, who I could already tell was very energetic, fidgeted. "Enough chit chat already. Race you guys to the common area!" They all took off, racing for what they each thought would be the fastest path. Blaise had told me that his friends all preferred to escape to Zabini Manor and away from the cold loneliness of their own homes. I smirked. Family traits tended to be handed down…
"Chrissy!" I called, and the elf popped into the room. "Yes? How can Is be helping Mistress Ariana?" she asked. I grinned. "Can you bring me to the common area in my wing? I'm trying to win a race." The elf chuckled. "Just like your mother, you is. And young Mistress Lottie is just like you too." "Well," I said, "strong women do tend to run in families."
Chrissy apparated me into the common room, and I sat there, not having even broken a sweat, when the others arrived. "How?" Blaise whined. "How did you get here so fast?" Theo saw my smirk first. "She definitely cheated." I laughed. "Five points to Slytherin, Mister Nott." Blaise groaned. "I should have thought of that. House elf?" I nodded. "House elf."
Pansy sat down next to me. "How did you not get put in Slytherin, with an attitude like that?" I giggled. "Oh, I've done much worse. Let's see…I set fire to Snape's robes in first year." Their jaws dropped. I began telling them the story, which led to many other stories from my time as Hermione Granger.
Many hours later, after dinner had been delivered to us so we could continue to talk, and the sun had set, the others began to get ready for bed. Blaise stood and looked to me. "Mum and Dad asked us to come talk to them once we were done here. Ready?" I nodded and we set off down the stairs to our father's office.
"This room is heavily warded by ancient magic. No other spells can interfere with the wards, and only Zabinis by blood or marriage and invited guests can come in," our father said. He turned to me. "Ariana, do you know anything about the Order of the Phoenix?" I shook my head. "Alright. Do you know anything about the Death Eaters that you haven't been told by Dumbledore, the Weasleys, or any other so-called "light" wizards?" I bit my lip. "Well, there was one book in the Hogwarts library, but…it vanished quickly after I started my first year, so I never read it." My father sighed. "Right, then. We have a lot to discuss."
"You see, Ariana, the Light and Dark sides aren't what they seem. The Light side is represented by Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix. It formed during the first war against the Dark side, but they aren't necessarily good. There are records of them destroying homes, killing and framing it on the Dark side, and kidnapping children. We have evidence that you were among the kidnapped children, because we received a letter shortly after. It told us your new initials and that you would be raised on the Light side of the war in a Muggle home. Dumbledore signed it himself. Now, the Death Eaters, led by Voldemort, represent the Dark side of the conflict. While they have done some regrettable things, they have been goaded into many of them by Dumbledore. Dumbledore, as you likely know, fought against Grindelwald many years ago. However, he was on Grindelwald's side until there began to be rumors of his arrest warrant. When that happened, Dumbledore switched sides and publicly duelled and killed Grindelwald. After that, he began climbing the ranks of wizarding society. His ambition is likely to become the one to defeat Voldemort and ascend to a position that allows him to rule wizarding societies all over the world. Voldemort is against him and has been attempting to recruit as many magical folk as he can in order to defeat him. Dumbledore has filled many Muggleborn and half-blood heads with lies about their beliefs, and has forced them to play a specific role in society. You've just seen for yourself how different Blaise's friends are in private. The Death Eaters are not the true villain here, for the most dangerous villain is the one that poses as a hero. Do you have any questions?"
I shook my head. It all made perfect sense - how Dumbledore had never treated me with the same warmth as Harry and Ron, how he always had a perfect answer prepared whenever anyone questioned him. He didn't want anything getting out about what he had done, especially to a member of the so-called "Golden Trio".
Our parents hugged me and my twin and bade us goodnight. We walked up the stairs together in silence until Blaise let out a big exhale. "Wow. That was…a lot." I nodded. "Yeah, it was. But it actually explained a lot from the past four years."
We walked in silence again until we reached our bedrooms. Blaise gave me a hug, and I melted into the embrace. "Good night, Ari. It's good to have you home at last."
As I settled into my bed, my usually racing thoughts were quiet. It had been a very long, very strange day. Within no time, I quickly dropped off to sleep.
That night, the first of the dreams arrived, and they wouldn't stop for months.
Hello! Thank you so much for choosing to make it this far in my story. I'm also msreadsalot88 on Wattpad, and hopefully soon on AO3 as well. I'm so glad you're still here, and I hope you enjoy the rest (that I'll hopefully actually finish!)