Unexpected

The Marauders and Lily sat around at the table, trying to process what was happening. Remus read aloud a passage from Hermione's journal, as they tried to put the pieces together.

"December 24, 1996

Ron's been gone for a month by now. It's hard to keep track of days, but since I've been writing everything down I guess it's not too hard. Harry's struggling with the horcrux, but there's something else to it. It almost seems to communicate with him, as if they are familiar. When wearing the horcrux, it just magnifies my insecurities, my deepest fears. For Harry, his anger tends to get the best of him. It's horrifying to see the boy that used to shy away from affection, just lose it in frustration. Which isn't like Harry at all. There's something more to it, I just haven't figured it out yet. He wants to go to Godric's Hallow, to see his parents grave. I understand why he wants to, he hasn't been able to see it because of the bloody Dursley's and Dumbledore. I'm worried that Tom Riddle has a trap set up; waiting for Harry to come to his parents graves." Remus paused in his reading. "The next entry says there was indeed a trap." He whispered.

It had come up multiple times. James and Lily being dead, Sirius being in Azkahban, and Remus being shunned from the community. It was still a hard pill for them to swallow. They were snapped out of their musings, by low whimpering and the sound of the shifting from the couch. Sirius popped up, over and brushing away the hair from her face. He whispered soothingly, hoping to either get her to settle or wake up. It only caused her back to arch as an ear piercing scream echoed through the apartment. 

"Hermione, wake up. You're safe. Everything is alright now!" Sirius cried, shaking her shoulder. Harry's cries could be heard now, James and Lily both trying to sooth the baby. Hermione continued to scream, before suddenly sitting up, wand flying to her hand, and aiming it at Sirius. Sirius threw his body back, eyes wide at the sight of her wand pointed at him. "Hey, it's alright. You're safe."

"You-Who are you?" She croaked.

"My name is Sirius Black. What's yours." He answered. 

Her brows furrowed. "That's impossible. Sirius Black died two years ago."

Sirius swallowed, having already read that in her journal. "Well, clearly I am alive."

He watched her eyes dart around the room, before settling on James, Lily, and baby Harry. Her eyes widened, head shaking violently. "It's impossible. This can't be possible." She muttered, looking back and forth between everyone. "What's the date?" She whispered.

"August 5th, 1980." Lily said, bouncing Harry in her arms gently.

Hermione, buried her face into her hands, running them through her mangled hair and tugging harshly. Tears built up in her eyes, as she took a shuddering breath. "This is real?" She whispered, glancing up through her eyelashes to Sirius who sat beside her on the table.

He nodded. "We're real, Kitten."

A sob broke through at his words, at the term of endearment. It wasn't common knowledge, but Hermione had a crush on the older version of her best friends godfather. He pushed her buttons, drove her mad, but he was sweet and caring. He held her when she was sad, and made Harry smile, which was rare. Plus, tattoos aren't bad either.

Sirius moved slowly, gathering Hermione into his arms and holding her close as he leaned back against the couch and settled her in his lap. She clutched his shirt, burying her face into the material. It was then, that he noticed just how light she was. How thin she was. He held her closer, tighter. Everything in his body begged him to protect her, to keep her safe. He looked up as James came into his line of sight. He leaned down, and wiped away her tears. A flash of blue light appeared, and a hole that James always thought was empty was filled.

"Merlin's sagging tits." James whispered, staring at Hermione in shock.

"What is it James? What was that?" Lily asked.

"She's my sister. She's Mia." He breathed.

Hermione sniffled, waving her hand and summoning a tissue to clean her face up, before turning to face James. "That's impossible. I know I'm adopted, but-I've never heard of Harry having an aunt either."

James continued to stare at Hermione in shock. The more he looked at her, the more she reminded him of a mix between his parents. "Mia was taken from her crib one night when she was a year old. She was born two years after me. Mom and dad used to tell me stories about how I reacted when the news came that I was getting a sibling. How I stuck to your side like glue. When you disappeared, it devastated us. We looked for you for years. It took years for us to move forward. Dumbledore was the one to convince them by now you were probably dead."

Hermione scoffed at the mention of Dumbledore. "If you had a sister, Dumbledore was probably responsible for her disappearance. He's a manipulative ass who can't mind his own bloody business." 

"Tell us how you really feel." Sirius teased, poking her side gently, and resisting the urge to shove cheese burgers down her throat when he came in direct contact with three of her ribs.

"You don't know that half of it. Have you gone into hiding yet?" She asked James and Lily. They nodded slowly. "Have you checked the protection charms on the property?" They shook their head. "Let me guess, Dumbledore took care of it?" At their nod, she scoffed again and shook her head. "Even if you were betrayed a bout of accidental magic could take down the protection charms. Let's not even start on the fact he left Harry with Lily's awful sister, and her whale of a husband. Even after I begged to take Harry in, or the Weasley's did. I know Remus fought years before Dumbledore had him run out of the Britain for a while." Hermione ranted, before locking eyes with James. "I can't be your sister either. I was born in 1979 and raised by my muggle parents."

"You already said you were adopted." James reminded. "So, we can easily disprove that with a blood test." 

"Later." She whispered, before looking around the room once more. "Why is my stuff all over the place?" She asked.

"Sorry, we were going to clean up, but we got distracted." Remus said, rubbing the back of his neck.

It was then that Hermione spotted Harry's photo album sitting out, and her journal open on the table. She groaned and rubbed at her temples. "Stupid bloody Potter's always getting me in trouble." She growled.

"HEY! I resent that, and you will too when you turn out to be a Potter." James exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "From what I've heard it was Sirius that went digging around in your bag."

Hermione sighed. "Why am I not surprised."