Chapter 7: Her Other Father

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the below characters. They all belong to the world of Harry Potter so cleverly created by JK Rowling.

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Neither Abby nor Charles got any sleep that night. Abby was absolutely beside herself. She hadn't known that Voldemort was still alive, or she definitely wouldn't have let Hermione go

to school, and now, her only child was fighting him. Charles did his best to comfort her, but he was having his own problems. Part of him was hurt, and the other part was angry. He had

raised her since she was three, and he had always treated her as if she were his own. It was around 9:00 in the morning when there was a quick knock on the door. Both Abby and

Charles jumped, and together they quickly went to answer it. They were both very surprised to find four people at their door along with Hermione. Abby instantly recognized Harry, even

though Charles did not.

"Hermione," Charles began, "how dare you just vanish like that. You are not 18 yet, and we can still stop you from…" He didn't get to finish his sentence though.

"Excuse me, Mr. Granger, I presume?" Harry interrupted rather rudely. He actually did it more for the man's sake than out of rudeness. He felt Hermione start to bristle, and knew that if

he said to much more, Hermione just might hex him. "Hermione has been of age in our world since she turned seventeen," he continued without a response, "so technically, she can do

as she pleases."

"Why you little," Charles began but was once again cut off, this time by Abby.

"He's right Charles," Abby said sadly. "She came of age on her seventeenth birthday. That was day I was supposed to give her the letter from Corvus. You must be Harry," she said

turning to Harry. "Please, come inside. I know you came for answers, both of you."

Harry, who had been just as angry as Hermione when Charles began to address him, relaxed a bit. He was still fuming though, that this man had the nerve to talk to Hermione like he

was.

After a brief discussion with the Order members, Harry convinced them to let them go in alone on the condition that they stayed right outside the door. Harry also managed to convince

them to let him use a silencing charm to keep their conversation with her parents private.

When everyone had sat down in the Grangers' sitting room, there was an uncomfortable silence. "So," Hermione began, breaking the silence. Harry immediately realized that Hermione

was done crying, and meant business. "Why? Why did you lie to me all these years? You have no idea what this means for me, how much this changes everything. I lived in Sirius's

house and saw him every day for more than month and I never knew that he was my godfather, let alone my Uncle. I watched him die by the hands of a woman that I despise, only to

find out that she is my Aunt! Not only that, I find out that the boy that I hate, the boy that has spent the last six years making every single day of my life a living nightmare at school is

my cousin. My cousin! And do you want to know why? Because I was a filthy mud blood! Because I was a disgrace to all witches and wizards. I have spent the last six years trying to

overcome that identity, when in reality I come from one of the oldest pureblood families around!" Hermione, who was red in the face by now, stopped. She didn't know how much more

she could say to express the anger and betrayal she felt. She felt Harry squeeze her hand reassuringly as she continued. "And you," she said, looking at Charles, "have been lying to

me for the last fifteen years. You gave me your last name; you pretended to be my father. Did you think that you could take his place? Did you honestly believe you could hide this from

me forever? Did you just figure that when I finished at Hogwarts I would forget all about it and return and become a dentist like you two? Well I'm not! I plan to remain in my world. I

have always felt it was where I belonged. I have always felt more at home there than in your world. In school I was made fun of, I was teased, and bullied. I got called every name in

the book. Nobody wanted to be plain, boring, ugly Hermione's friend. Then I got that letter from Hogwarts and from the moment I set foot in that school I knew it was where I belonged.

Sure, I was still teased and called names, but for the first time I could use my knowledge to defend myself, and more importantly I found friends, I found people my own age that

actually cared about me, people who were my friends because they actually wanted to spend time with me, not just try and get me to do their work for them. For the first time, I found

real friends who looked out for me, and cared about me, and actually defended me when I got made fun of. For the first time in my entire life, I found friends who give their life to save

mine. You aren't going to take that away from me. It is truly where I belong; I know that more than ever now." Hermione finished the last bit quietly, but at the same time with force.

This man had hurt her more that he would ever know, and she was determined that she wouldn't let him do it again.

Harry could feel the energy radiating off of Hermione as she stared at Charles, looking at him directly in his eyes. He watched as the comprehension finally dawned Charles of what he

had done to Hermione, of the pain he had caused. Sensing that he wanted to say something, and realizing that in the state of mind Hermione was in that probably wasn't the best idea,

Harry quickly interceded. "Mrs. Granger," he started "in the letter he left to Hermione, her father stated that my parents were one of the very few people he trusted with her true

identity. That tells me that you guys, him in particular, must have been very close to my parents. I also have a picture of all six of us when Hermione and I were just babies, so I know

that you must have known them at least a little. I would like to know anything you can remember about them."

Harry watched as a strange look came over Abby's face. "Yes, I knew them very well, they were our best friends. It was your mother that introduced me to Corvus." Abby paused, as if

recalling some memory. "Your mother and I were actually very good friends, we grew up on the same street, and were close in age. We met when she was about 11 and I was about 9.

Yes, it was the summer before she started at Hogwarts, of course then, I didn't know that was where she went every year. We got together every chance we could though, and we

became really good friends. Then I remember one summer, the summer before her last year at Hogwarts she was eighteen and I was sixteen, I went to her house to see if she was

home and her mother told me she was out with a friend from her school. The next day I met this friend of hers. His name was Corvus Scott. He was two years younger than her, so he

was my age. We hit it off immediately, and I was thrilled to learn he only lived about ten miles away. After he left and Lily and I were alone, I mentioned how cute he was and if she

could arrange for us to meet again. She got oddly distant. When I asked her what was wrong, she made me promise not to freak out and then she told me. At first I thought she was

joking, but then she showed me some of her books, her robes, and of course the pictures. I found myself to more much more intrigued than scared. I spent the night that night, and she

told me as much as she could. She told me all about your amazing school. She told me how the staircases moved, how the portraits talked, and all about the lake and the grounds. The

rest is history. Corvus and I fell very much in love and as soon as we finished school we were married. It was always a joke between the four of us that we had married before Lily and

James even though they were older. When Hermione was born, Corvus named Sirius her godfather because he was family.

That was when I found out Corvus's darkest secret, well at least part of it. He told me that he and Sirius were brothers. I never did understand that, and he never shared more with me.

I couldn't understand why that was such a dark secret. They got on wonderfully, and although Sirius always seemed very protective. I didn't find out is name was really Black until the

night he left. That was when I began to realize that it wasn't the fact that they were brothers that made secret so dark, it was the fact that he was a part of that family.

Anyway, I got to choose the Godmother, and well I chose Lily." At this point Abby closed her eyes while Harry and Hermione gasped. "Then nine months later Harry came along and once

again Sirius was named godfather but this time I was named godmother."

"WHAT!?" Harry and Hermione screamed in unison, not believing their ears.

"You mean to tell me," Harry started, but was cut off when Abby raised her hand.

"Please, let me just finish. Time went on, but there were problems, the war was escalating and more and more I was finding myself alone with you and Hermione. Then that night

arrived. I begged him not to go, but I knew he had too. All he would tell me was that it was an important mission and that Lily, James, Sirius, Albus, and Alastor were involved. I knew

the second he was killed, I could just feel it. Not too long after, Lily, James, and Sirius arrived. Sirius had gone back for Corvus's body and was badly wounded, but would survive,

though I wish he had just died that night. Then at least your parents would still be alive." she failed to notice both of the teenagers expressions change. "I will never understand how

he could betray them, but when that happened, my world shattered. That is when I moved to Ireland. I…"

"He was innocent." Harry said in a quiet, but deadly voice. "Sirius was innocent. He was framed by Peter Pettigrew. Weren't you listening to Hermione at all? We lived with him for a

month. Do you honestly think Professor Dumbledore would have let that happen if he wasn't?"

"Yeah mum," Hermione said, a bit calmer than Harry, "last night I told you he was innocent."

Abby, who hadn't really heard either of those things was stunned. "But they said that Sirius murdered Pettigrew…I thought,"

"No! Pettigrew set Sirius up, caused the explosion that supposedly killed him, and then vanished when Sirius tried to confront him about what he had done to my parents. I will not let

Sirius be accused of that, he is the closest thing to a father I have ever had."

"I am so sorry Harry. I can't imagine what it must have been like growing up with Petunia. She and Lily were very close until she started Hogwarts. Then Vernon came into the picture

and he was rotten to the core. They began to start mending their relationship though, without his knowledge. Then everything happened. I should have fought harder to maintain

custody of you. I tried, I must have asked Albus a dozen times, and showed him proof that I was your godmother, but he said it didn't matter, that you had to go to your aunt,

something to do with protection. It wasn't Petunia so much that I was worried about, it was Vernon. But I couldn't seem to sway him, so I just took Hermione and left, and didn't look

back for over five years. I met Charles in Ireland. I told him everything about Corvus and none of it bothered him, not even the magical part. He still loved me, and what's more he loved

Hermione so much. When I returned, I tried to block everything that was magical out. After all that time, I couldn't bare to even try to track you down, so I didn't." As she finished, Abby

closed her eyes. She didn't want to see the look on Harry's face because she knew that it would be Lily's eyes starring back.

Harry was beyond stunned. He couldn't even speak. He just looked at Hermione wordlessly, unable to really comprehend what had just been said.

"I just have one more question," Hermione said once again breaking the silence. "Who else knows my true identity. The letter mentioned that Remus Lupin knows, but does anyone

else?"

"Arthur Weasley," was Abby's simple reply. She flinched as Harry and Hermione gasped.

"That means that Ron knows, why wouldn't…" Hermione began but stopped when her mother put up her hand.

"No Hermione," Abby said firmly. "I made Arthur swear up and down that he wouldn't tell a soul, not even his wife. I didn't know Arthur well, but I knew him well enough to know that he

is a man who holds to his word. He found out the summer before you started your second year at Hogwarts. He recognized me the moment he saw me and, well needless to say, he

was quite shocked to see that I had an eleven year old daughter."

All four occupants sat in the room quietly for a few minutes as the news began to sink in.

"Well, it is time we should go. I won't be returning home. I packed all of my things last night. If I survive the war I will come look you up, but until then, don't expect to see me." As they

headed toward the door, Hermione paused for a moment. Those two people had hurt her more than they would ever understand. For as long as she could remember, they had been

the only people in the world she could trust her heart with and now that was shattered. She wanted more than anything to be done with it. To walk out that door and never look back.

And yet, she knew she couldn't. After all, they had been the first people she could trust. Turning to look at them one last time she added, "I don't hate you. I just need some time. You

have hurt me and broken the trust that I had in you, but I still love you," Hermione looked at Charles directly in his eyes before adding "Both of you. You are still me parents after all."

And with that final statement, Hermione turned at walked out the door. Everything she had told them had been true. She still loved them, and she knew that Charles had given up a lot

to take care of her and her mother. Deep down in her heart, she knew that she was actually extremely lucky to have been able to call him dad, but she also knew that it was going to

be a while before she could see just that.