A Hermione and Percy story, set against a change of perspective, allegiance and buried stories.

Chapter 1

Hermione felt sorry for Harry, after the events of the Triwizard tournament she tried to be there for him as much as possible but nothing seemed to shake his intense feelings of guilt following Cedric's death.

Although she usually spent a lot of time at the Burrow most summers, she decided to go home first and spend time with her parents, while being at Hogwarts was great, she felt neglectful of her parents who barely saw her anymore.

She knew, however, she would have to go to the Burrow as she had received a letter from Ron saying they would celebrate Harry's birthday there. The letter also spoke at length of Percy's betrayal of the family, refusing to speak against the Ministry's decision to ignore Voldemort's return, or more accurately Hermione thought, refusing to believe anything Harry had to say.

She did feel angry on his behalf that Minister Fudge wouldn't budge, but a very small voice in her head whispered that she, herself, didn't totally believe him.

Of course, she was convinced Voldemort was back, but the way he came back and what allegedly happened at the cemetery left her with doubts. She reasoned, of course, that Harry was traumatised and likely concussed at the time anyway so his memory wasn't the most reliable.

Either way, she wasn't looking forward to the entire Weasley clan celebrating Harry and lamenting Percy's life choices.

Harry's birthday at the Burrow was a very loud and lively affair, even though Hermione loved him like a brother, she had wanted to leave as soon as possible to escape the suffocating atmosphere, between the almost manic eyes of Molly Weasley every time Harry even glanced at Ginny and the constant put down of everything Molly didn't agree with, it was exhausting.

Why she thought the twins should work at the Ministry was beyond her, they would burn down the place in less than a week, it made no sense but of course, it was respectable and therefore the only way to live. Nevermind that Percy was successful at the Ministry, he didn't agree with her so his successes didn't matter anymore.

Fred and George were clearly smart with their inventions, even if their OWL scores didn't reflect that and no doubt their NEWT wouldn't either.

Hermione knew Harry had given them his Triwizard winnings so they could open up their dream shop to bankrupt Zonko, they didn't need the grades or the Ministry. The rigidity of the Weasley Matriarch was hard to accept, follow or even understand sometimes.

Hermione stayed at the Burrow for about a week, and left quickly, she heard whispers of an Order and headquarters and assumed most people at the Burrow would be heading there soon but she didn't want to be a part of that, not now and not while she was feeling so adrift and unsure.

Coming home was not as relieving as she thought, her parents hadn't taken time off so she spent most of her time reading and trying to have a conversation with them in the evenings but the conversations often fell short and she had a gut feeling that something was up.

Mid august she decided she had enough, after dinner was done and her parents were about to leave the room, Hermione stood up and yelled "STAY HERE AND LISTEN!"

Dan Granger was so shocked by the outburst of his quiet daughter, he stopped moving and sat down automatically, looking at his wife, Jean Granger in frozen confusion.

Jean Granger, however, was not confused, she knew this summer they had been drifting away from their daughter and she knew it was not subtle nor did it go unnoticed, so she stayed put.

Thankfully they had listened, Hermione said "I don't understand or know what is going on lately but something is, we've barely said anything to each other all summer and every time I try I feel shut down. I need to know what's wrong !?"

Her mother, Jean, was the first to reply "I'm sorry honey, I know we haven't been around as much lately, this is a conversation we should have had years ago honestly and I don't know where to start..." she cut herself off, looking at nothing, lost in memories for a while. Hermione was even more confused and didn't know what to say, when suddenly Jean shot up, left the room and came back a few minutes later with a letter in her hand.

"You need to read this and you'll understand maybe, I hope, I'm sorry" babbled Jean.

Hermione took the letter, it looked old and wrinkled but more importantly it was clearly written on parchment, her Muggle mother had just given her a very old letter written by someone from the wizarding world. Now, more curious than confused, she opened the letter and read:

"My dear Jean,

I am afraid it is time.

I was hoping for a long time it wouldn't come to this, but it looks like they're closing in and I will disappear, I hope it won't be too long and truly I hope I will be back before my lovely Hermione starts Hogwarts.

In the meantime, however, no one can know she exists, while hiding her away as a muggleborn seems harsh, it's the safest thing I can think of. Barely anyone even knows she exists now, they might look for her but they won't look there.

I have applied a strong glamour to Hermione, tied to my own magical signature so I will be the only one able to remove it. That way, if I never come back, she will remain safe.

Narcissa will drop her off tomorrow and be obliviated of your location, names and appearances when she comes back, only knowing Hermione is safe.

Keep this letter, if for some reason, I am not back before Hogwarts, keep to the agreed story and she will be fine. As a muggleborn there, it is likely she will hear stories about me, about the war and the twisted version of the Light Victory. I hope she can look at it critically when the time comes and trust you and Dan that not everything is always as it appears.

I am unsure if I will be able to approach her directly if I come back too late, in which case I hope you can make her understand and she can come to me.

Tell her I love her, I always will and I will come back for her.

Thank you for everything Jean, Dan, may we meet again soon.

With all my love,

Tom M. Riddle"

Hermione's hands started shaking as she read on, tears started slipping and as she read the signature on the parchment, her world promptly faded to black.