A/N- You guys are just so fucking awesome. Thank you for the overwhelming love you've already shown this story. It makes me want to write instead of grocery shop, haha. My hubby and brats may not appreciate that though. To everyone out there reading, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: None of this story belongs to me. The characters belong to J.K.R. and the plot has been done before, I'm sure, by some fan fiction writer many years ago. I haven't made a single knut off any of my stories.

Chapter 5

July 31, 1995

Life at Grimmauld Place was so different than what she had expected. When she had heard headquarters to a secret organization that fought evil, her mind had gone straight to Batman and Robin, Superman, and the like. She had imagined spying and intrigue. What she had not expected was cleaning.

Molly Weasley had had them deep cleaning every single room in Grimmauld Place. It was mind-numbing work that passed the time, but Hermione couldn't say that she enjoyed it. While she didn't mind cleaning the muggle way, she always had at home, this level of cleanliness was something she hadn't expected.

As much as she hated cleaning this dark and dank home, Hermione kept her complaints to herself. She knew that the alternative was Janine and George Albright's house, and she would happily clean for the rest of her summer break as long as it meant she didn't have to return there.

Just because Hermione refrained from complaining, that didn't mean that anyone else did. While Ron and Ginny were the loudest in their displeasure, the twins and Harry also whinged more than their fair share. Hermione did her best to tune them out, but sometimes she stormed off in a huff because she just couldn't listen to them anymore.

Hermione figured that she should be more dedicated to cleaning the place she would call home for the forseeable future. Dumbledore had stopped by Grimmauld Place her second day there and pulled her aside so they could have a private conversation.

Hermione had been surprised when Dumbledore had apologized for leaving her with the Albrights for so long. The wizened wizard had explained that he had been out of the country doing his best to cultivate allies for the war. Hermione could hardly blame him for that so even though she really wanted to be angry about being left in the hellhole, she couldn't be. She had graciously forgiven her headmaster.

Dumbledore had gone on to inform her that while she would remain his ward, she would continue to reside at Grimmauld Place until he informed her otherwise. He had told her that while he knew Sirius and Remus weren't the most mature of adults, he was counting on the pair to be the adult supervision for her in the household. He had assured Hermione that if she needed anything whatsoever that she only had to speak with him and he would take care of it.

The loss of her parents was still fresh in her mind. She knew that it was impossible to get over their loss so quickly, but she was just a little surprised by how much easier she found it to focus elsewhere when she had friends that loved her near at all times.

Despite her friends being close, Hermione knew that she was depressed. There was really no surprise in the matter, she had been told by Harry that everyone in the house had expected it.

Molly Weasley had taken to coddling Hermione relentlessly. While she had appreciated it at first, after the first day, Hermione had kind of felt like the older Gryffindor was trying to take over the role as her mother. She was sure that Molly hadn't been meaning to, but it made Hermione nervous and unsettled her.

The rest of the house seemed to tiptoe around her. The newly introduced Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks didn't seem to know how to act around her after they had been informed of her loss. Bill and Charlie Weasley, both infrequent guests, seemed to be supportive in nature, but never really spoke at any length with her. The twins, Ginny, and Ron gave her plenty of space and never brought up her parents. To be honest, when she was around them, it was like her parents had never even existed.

Harry, Remus, and Sirius were the only ones who didn't coddle her and make her feel worse. When she was feeling down and didn't want to talk, they left her alone and continued on with their day. When she needed someone to talk to or cry on, Harry was the first one there to offer comfort.

Hermione had laid in bed the night before, pondering her last moments with her mother. Science didn't lie, and there was no explanation for why she would have a different blood type than her parents except adoption or obliviation. She couldn't come up with any other scenarios in her head.

She had laid there, once again confused, and wondered if she truly wanted to know just who her real parents were. Jake and Miranda Granger would always hold a place in her heart, they had raised her after all, but did that mean that she didn't want to know who had actually fathered her or carried her to term? It was a touch decision and she had struggled with te choice for a long while.

The deal breaker had come when Harry and sneaked into her room to talk to her like he almost every night after Ron had fallen asleep.

*Flashback*

Hermione's head didn't even turn at the knock anymore. Harry had come to see her before bed every night since she had been at Grimmauld Place bar one. While others may have thought that he was sneaking into her room for other reasons, Hermione found his presence at night to be comforting.

He opened the door and didn't say anything before he sat next to her on the bed, allowing her to flop out unceremoniously and lay her head in his lap. His fingers always found her curls, twisting and twirling them with his long digits. Sometimes, they would remain completely silent while other times they talked well past midnight.

It was this night that she had decided to tell Harry the whole story about Dr. Green's findings.

"I need to tell you something, Harry. You have to promise me your opinion of me won't change." His fingers stilled for a moment in her hair. His hand went to her shoulder so he could turn her to look at him.

"No matter what you tell me, I'm still going to think you're the most beautiful and most intelligent girl I know. That won't change." She stared right in his eyes so she could guage his sincerity. When she found him to be telling the truth, she gave him a soft smile and snuggled her face back down into his lap. She kept her silence for another few moments.

"When I was trying to donate a kidney to my mother, the doctor told me some disturbing news." She paused for a moment to make sure that she wasn't going to regret telling Harry. When she continued, her voice was small.

"The doctor told me that I couldn't donate a kidney because my parents were both type A blood type and I'm a type B." Harry was twisting one of her curls in his hand. When he spoke he sounded confused.

"I don't understand what that means, 'Mi." She rolled over so she was facing his abdomen, fiddling with the string on his tee shirt.

"If both my parents had type A blood, I should have had either type A or type O. I have neither, I have type B." Harry seemed to draw the same conclusions that she had. While he didn't say it right away, she could see that her words had shown their true meaning. When he did finally speak, his voice was tentative.

"This means you're adopted?" Hermione shrugged.

"I'm not sure. My dad always told me that I was born in a rainstorm, but my mum told me that day in the hospital that it was sunny. My mum swore to me that I belonged to her and my dad, that she had given birth to me." Harry stiffened when he seemed to come to the same conclusion that she had.

"You think someone altered their memories, making them believe that you were their child." Hermione nodded her head, closing her eyes when someone else said it out loud. For some reason, that made it seem more real. She finally broke the silence between them.

"I'm trying to decide if I want to just forget about it and honor my parents or if I want to pursue finding my birth parents." Harry reached out and began carding his fingers through her hair. Truthfully, she didn't think that he was even aware he did things like that sometimes.

Silence fell between them for a time. Hermione had almost dozed off when Harry finally spoke.

"If you did find them, would you want something to do with them? I mean, if you aren't planning on doing anything with the information once you have it, what's the point in finding out?" She shrugged her shoulders as best she could.

"If I did want them in my life, wouldn't that be betraying my parents?" Harry started laughing. Hermione was starting to get indignant. She really hated it when people laughed at her. Harry, however, noticed and quickly stopped.

"'Mi, don't be stupid. That wouldn't betray the love you have for your dead parents. If anything, from what you've told me about them, they're probably looking down at you right now and screaming at you to find a family that would love you. Sure, Sirius and Remus are great stand-ins, but the real thing is hard to pass up."

Hermione didn't say anything for a long time. She considered his words carefully and reasoned his statement as best she could. Of course she wanted another family. Not having someone to love and care for you was horrid. Even Harry would embrace another family if he were in her shoes.

"There's only one way that I can come up with to find out who my parents might be. I don't really fancy my chances with it either." Harry was silent, but raised his eye brows as if to urge her onwards.

"I need to brew a paternity potion." Harry scrunched his face up as he considered it.

"Do you have all the ingredients you need to make that potion?" Hermione shook her head.

"No, I think I'll have to catch Professor Snape next time he's here and see if I can convince him to brew it for me." Harry snorted.

"You know he'll want something in return." Hermione nodded. Severus Snape was a consummate Slytherin and he wouldn't do anything for nothing. She just hoped that he wouldn't ask for anything that she didn't want to give. However, she couldn't help but voice her fears.

"What if he won't do it? You know he hates me." Harry bent and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Then we'll steal ingredients from his rather formidable cupboard once we get to school amd you'll brew it yourself. If you can brew poly juice in second year, you can brew a paternity potion in fifth." Hermione shook her head.

"It's a mastery level potion, Harry. I don't think I'd be able to brew it yet." He snorted, but remained silent for a few moments. When he spoke, there was a tinge of amusement in his tone.

"Whatever level it's at, I know you can do it. We'll let Snape brew it though." She chuckled softly before she snuggled deeper into his lap.

"It's Professor Snape, Harry."

*End of Flashback*

Hermione was drawn from her thoughts by a loud banging in the kitchen.

It was Harry's fifteenth birthday and the whole household had been adamant about throwing him a party. Harry had told them all that he didn't need a party, that he just wanted to have a family dinner where all the people that he cared about attended, but Hermione, Ginny, and Molly had shot that down.

The whole house was determined to make it a memorable event for everyone involved. Neither Remus nor Sirius had ever been around for one of his birthdays (that he could remember), and Hermione knew that he was excited to celebrate with the two of them. Hermione had sent off an owl order for his gift, a signed quidditch jersey of Graham Seagood, seeker of Puddlemere United, Harry's favorite quidditch team.

Molly had been cooking since soon after dawn, singing about the fact that she was cooking for her "surrogate son". She wasn't sure if Harry appreciated her wording, but since he didn't bring it up, she didn't either.

All the available Order memeber were there standing around the kitchen and library, chatting good-naturedly about anything that came to mind. Hermione was currently flitting from conversation to conversation, doing her best to draw information from every source in the home.

Molly had been most adamant that none of the school children be aware of anything having to do with the Order of the Phoenix. Hermione got the feeling that if she could have kept the fact that 12 Grimmauld Place was the actual headquarters from them, she would have.

Molly, Ginny, and Tonks were making their way through all the rooms carrying snacks on trays and drinks in hand. Hermione wondered why they didn't just tell people to serve themselves, but she decided that since she wasn't being asked to help she didn't really have a reason to complain.

True to the Marauder name, Sirius and Remus were causing mischief throughout the house. Well, mostly Sirius was causing mischief and Remus was standing back laughing at him, but who was she to split hairs? Most of the pranks were in good fun and made everyone laugh which meant that Hermione was just fine with it. The twins would stand back in these moments and watch with a look of adoration on their features. Hermione didn't understand the draw or the humor, but everyone seemed happy so she kept her mouth shut.

Professor Dumbledore had came, Professor McGonagall in tow, which pleased Hermione to no end. Nobody wanted to discuss academics with her except Bill and Kingsley, and they mostly wanted to discuss Ancient Runes. While she did adore Ancient Runes, Transfiguration was where her heart lay. It was her all-time favorite subject and she simply adored Professor McGonagall. Most people would tell her that this was because she was her Head of House, but really, it was because the older woman was stern, but kind, and always treated everyone fairly no matter which House they originated from.

Dinner was a loud and boisterous affair with everyone seated around the table in the kitchen as if it were one of the tables in the Great Hall. There was laughter abound and Hermione didn't think that she had ever seen Harry so happy. He was never with his friends until after his birthday so this was probably the best birthday party he had ever had if his horrid relatives were anything to go by.

Cake and ice cream followed dinner, which Hermione could barely eat any of. She had never been one for sweets or pudding so when it followed a rather large meal, she had no problems turning it down. The fact that she had been raised by dentists probably didn't help either.

Harry and Ron put away far more than their fair share, however. Hermione still couldn't get over just how much the pair of them were able to eat. While Ron ate much like a hog at trough, however, Harry used proper table manners that seemed to detract from the sheer amount of mass that he was able to put away.

Harry began opening his gifts directly after he finished his cake. Since he had put away so much of it, everyone else had finished and was waiting for him and Ron to finish. When he saw the pile of gifts that had been brought for his birthday, Harry had blushed and stammered about how nobody needed to buy him anything, that their company was far more than he deserved.

Most everyone just laughed at his embarrassed ramblings and urged him on. It took him well over a half hour to open everything, and by the time he was finished, Hermione knew he was astounded.

Remus and Sirius had gone in together on their gift and purchased him a cape and gloves that were made of dragonhide, saying that it would help repel hexes, curses, and jinxes. Harry had been thrilled and had modeled his new wardrobe for the whole room. Hermione had been the first to admit that it was a very practical gift considering that Voldemort was now currently trying to kill him.

Molly and Arthur had decided to go with a practical gift and had purchased him a new set of dress robes. They fit him perfectly and had the sizing option so he could expand them as needed as he grew. Hermione admitted to herself that he looked quite dashing in them when he had tried them on.

The twins had made him a personalized box of pranks for him to take Hogwarts. While Ron and Ginny had shown great interest in the products, Professor McGonagall had rolled her eyes and shaken her head, exasperated. The older woman knew that those pranks were going to wreak havoc on someone in the school.

Ron had given Harry a new set of keeper's gloves, which Harry seemed to truly appreciate. Ginny had gifted him with the newest edition of "Quidditch Through the Ages". Bill and Charlie had gone in together and gotten him a whole line of his own personalized Quidditch jerseys.

There were several other gifts that Harry had received that Hermione couldn't remember and had been opened too fast for her to hear just who it was from. True to his good manners, Harry had stopped and thanked each and every person that had purchased him a gift. It broke Hermione's heart to realize that he had probably never had a birthday gift on his birthday that hadn't been delivered by owl.

Everyone seemed to gather around Harry while he tried to pick up the wrapping paper that had been scattered across the room from his binge opening. Deciding that she was getting a little too claustrophobic sitting in the same room as all the people that were attending the party, Hermione started gathering up dishes so she could haul them to the kitchen to be washed.

It was on her third trip into the kitchen that Hermione heard someone following her. When she turned to see just who it was, she was surprised to find Ron behind her with a load of dishes in his arms. This was highly irrgeular for Ron since he adored being coddled and waited on by his mother. When she shot him a questioning glance, he blushed slightly and set down his load of dishes in the sink.

"Since when do you help clear the table, Ronald?" She made sure that there was a soft lilt of amusement in her tone so he wouldn't think that she was unappreciative. He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously.

"Since I wanted to speak with you privately." He heaved a deep breath before he soldiered on.

"The truth is, Mione, I've liked you since our second year. I know I've gone about it the wrong way sometimes and that I was a complete fuck up last year with the Ball. I should have had the courage to just ask you, but I was scared to death that you would reject me. What I'm trying to say is, well, would you be my girlfriend?"

Hermione was equal parts horrified and impressed. She never would have thought that Ron would gather the stones to actually ask her to be his girlfriend. The fact that he had done so was a huge milestone for him. The horrified part came in at the same point.

Hermione hadn't liked Ron like that in quite some time. Her attention had turned to Harry the night that they had saved Sirius together. The ride on the hippogriff, while absolutely terrifying, had been exhilarating, and Hermione had felt like she had never been lighter even with the weight of what occurred that night on her shoulders.

Hermione knew that Harry didn't see her like that. He saw her as the sister that would always stand behind him and always offer her advice. That was made clear when he had openly mooned after Cho for the whole of their fourth year. She did her best to not let it affect their friendship or how she acted around him, but it had grown increasingly difficult.

This being said, Hermione knew that she couldn't agree to date Ron when she had such strong feelings for Harry. Not only would it be unfair to Ron, immensely so, it would have been unfair to her. She didn't want to spend her time pretending to have serious feelings for someone just because it was expected of her by some of the people in their home. Clearing her throat, she decided to let him down fairly easy. It wasn't entirely honest on her part, but it would do until she could gather her courage to shoot him down proper. After all, she had never had this problem before. She had never thought she would have this problem. There were few men that would want anything to do with her romantically.

"Ron, I appreciate the sentiment and the offer. I truly do." His face clouded over and instantly turned red. When he spoke, his tone was harsh.

"I see how it is, Hermione. Had my chance and I blew it, did I?" She would forever regret not answering in the affirmative to his snide comment. She reached out and grasped his hand in her own, his large hand dwarfing her tiny one.

"That's not it at all, Ronald. My parents just died. My mum died in my arms and there was nothing I could do to save them. Do you have any idea what that's like?" He shook his head which she took as a good sign. Therefore, she continued.

"I have so many things going on inside my head right now and the last thing I need is one more thing to complicate my life further. Please don't ask me to do that." He cast his eyes downward and finally nodded his head.

"Yeah, alright. I can see how it would all be pretty overwhelming. I'll give you some time and ask again when you're doing better." While that response wasn't ideal, it would do for now. Hermione wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth so to speak.

Ron approached and kissed her cheek softly. She remained unmoving and silent as he dropped his load of dishes and made his way back out into the library, leaving her alone once again. Before Hermione had even realized that she wasn't alone, Ginny stepped out from the shadows.

"You don't have feelings for him like that. You should have just been honest." Hermione dropped her head in shame.

"I know I should have. I've never had to turn down a boy's advances though. I wasn't truly sure what I was doing." Ginny chuckled and stepped beside Hermione so she could wrap an arm around her waist.

"We'll practice later after everyone goes to bed. We can role play, I'll be Ron, and you can practice telling me that you only feel for me like a friend or a brother." Hermione knew this was more than she deserved from Ron's sister. Her loyalty should be to her brother first, but she was helping Hermione instead. Hermione smiled at the younger girl.

"That would be great, Gin. Next time, I'll be ready for him." Ginny chuckled and moved to leave the kitchen. As she walked out the doorway, she hollered over her shoulder.

"Tonight at eleven, your room." Hermione couldn't help but to grin at Ginny's antics.

-O-

This had been the best birthday Harry had ever had. Sure, his birthdays since he had started Hogwarts had been much better than his earlier birthdays, but they had still been spent at 4 Privet Drive. He had never had a birthday party or friends to spend the day with. He has never had Hermione there.

Harry was trying to come to grips with the realization that Hermione would never feel more for him that brotherly love. It had taken him much longer to realize his feelings for her than he wanted to admit, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now.

Going to her room every night so she could rest her head in his lap was pure torture. He had to constantly think of quidditch fouls so he wouldn't get a raging hard on. For some reason, he didn't think that Hermione would appreciate being stabbed in the back of her head with his cock while she was pouring her heart out to him.

Harry was certain that Hermione still had feelings for Ron. He had been certain of it all last year. She had been heartbroken when Ron hadn't believed that Harry hadn't put his own name in the Goblet of Fire. She had hated that they were fighting.

This being said, Harry was completely and utterly surprised to hear Hermione turn Ron down in the kitchen. He knew he shouldn't be hiding outside the door and eavesdropping, but he wanted to be able to react accordingly if she had answered him with a resounding yes.

Instead, Hermione had fobbed Ron off with some half-arsed answer of how she didn't need the added complications and such. Even Harry could tell that she just didn't want to hurt his feelings and that she didn't know how to let him down easy. Honestly, if Ron hadn't been so close to the situation, he would have noticed it too.

Once Ron left, Ginny had appeared in the kitchen and had blasted that Hermione didn't feel for Ron like he had thought. When had she stopped liking their red-headed best friend? He was so confused. Ginny had offered to help Hermione figure out a way to tell Ron that she didn't care for him like that the next time he came calling and Harry couldn't have been more ecstatic.

The young Gryffindor was startled out of his joyous feelings when the door swung open and Ginny was revealed. She yelled one last time to Hermione before she turned her full attention to Harry.

"Tsk, tsk, Harry, eavesdropping on girl talk." He knew that his face was bright red and that his cheeks were hot. This just made Ginny grin even wider.

"I know why you were listening." His eyes widened and he couldn't help but wonder if it was true. Was he that transparent? Ginny just laughed.

"You wanted to know what her answer was so you could hide how hurt you were if she said yes." Harry dropped his eyes at her very truthful guess. Ginny leaned forward so she could whisper in his ear.

"You're an idiot, Potter. She turned him down because she's in love with you. She doesn't think you're in love with her." Harry's head came up at record speed.

"What?" Ginny laughed again and stepped back.

"Heemione told Ron no because she's in love with you. Well, and one other, but she's loved you since you saved Sirius together. It's so obvious. If you hadn't spent the whole year mooning over Cho, you would have noticed too." Harry didn't know what to say. Regardless of what he said, he knew he would just embarrass himself. What came out of his mouth wasn't what he expected.

"Who else is she in love with?" Ginny gave him a conspiratorial smile.

"Well, I wouldn't say in love with, but definetely in like with. I won't say, even though you should know as her best friend. Can you think of nobody that's smart enough to keep Hermione's attention?" Ginny didn't wait for him to answer, just sauntered off. Before she was out of sight, she turned back and called to him.

"Don't go by her room tonight, we have plans." Harry just shook his head and couldn't help but smile after her.

The rest of the evening went by quickly. The big party broke up into several smaller groups that pursued their own line of conversation. Harry flitted from group to group, making sure to thank everyone for coming and for their thoughtful gifts. He kept a steady eye on Hermione from across the room. She stayed mostly with Sirius and Remus, chuckling softly behind her hand when they started fooling around. Harry adored that she loved the only family he had left.

He bestowed a quick hug upon Molly and Tonks ruffled his hair like he was six. He mock-glared at her, but didn't say anything against her since she really had done a lot of hard work to make this party happen. He noticed that she kept casting furtive glances over to Remus, Sirius, and Hermione. Since Hermione was a female and Sirius was her cousin, he could only assume that it was Remus that had caught her eye.

The party finally ended around nine. Harry had tried to stick around and help clean up since the party had been in his honor, but Molly wouldn't hear of it. She swatted him with a towel much the same as she did her own children and shuffled him off to bed. As he came down the corridor, Hermione stepped out of the loo in her tank top and night shorts.

Harry couldn't help but stare at her. Her body was beautiful and she didn't seem to realize it. Her breasts were full, pert, and made him want to bury his face in them. Her nipples were poking out of her thin tank top, teasing him relentlessly. It took every last bit of restraint he had not to reach out and tweak one of them.

Her waist dipped inward perfectly,and when paired with her flared hips and lean legs, she had the perfect hourglass figure. Her shorts were short enough that he was treated with a long expanse of soft tanned skin and her cute little feet were bare. He must have been staring for longer than he thought because Hermione reached out and laid a hand across his forehead, obviously checking for a fever.

"Are you alright, Harry? You look flushed." He visibly shook himself.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just tired." She gave him a smile before she floated into the circle of his arms and hugged him round the waist.

"Happy birthday, Harry. I'm so glad we finally got to celebrate with you." He leaned his face down closer to her hair so he could breathe in her cherry blossom and vanilla scent. He dropped a kiss to the top of her head before she pulled away.

"Me too, 'Mi. Goodnight." She smiled one last time before she disappeared into her room.

Harry bolted into his room and shut the door tightly behind him. Ron was already snoring and for that Harry was grateful. The erection he was now sporting would have been awkward in explaining to his best friend.

Knowing he really wanted to have a good old fashioned wank but couldn't because Ron was present, he threw himself on his bed and did his best to take deep breaths and calm down. He swore to himself that he would recall that exact moment in the corridor the next morning in the shower so he could show himself a good time.

It took several minutes, but he was able to will his cock to deflate. Not letting himself focus on Ginny's words to him and what they could possibly mean, Harry rolled over, closed his eyes, and let himself be carried off to sleep.

A/N- There she is, kids. Another chapter down. I'm hoping you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks again to everyone for reading, I appreciate it so much. Leave me your thoughts, they make me smile.

Next up, Hermione catches Snape at Headquarters, Draco makes his first appearance, and a secret relationship is revealed. Stay tuned!

Love,

Alicia