heart to heart

The night before term started, Hermione made her first visit back to 12 Grimmauld Place after the war had ended. The ancestral home of the House of Black brought back many memories, some good of her staying there with the Weasleys and the rest of the Order in the weeks and days leading up to returning to Hogwarts in the past but those were clouded with more recent memories of the war. Of being on the run and afraid for not only her life, but for the lives of all she cared for. But the war was over, and Hermione couldn't allow the ghost of it to control her life. 

While it had been used as the base of operations for the Order of the Phoenix during the war, now that the war was over Sirius and Harry were the home's only tenants. A late birthday party for the latter of the two had been planned by the Weasley matriarch and the date was set for that night and the easiest place to hold it was at 12 Grimmauld Place. Most of the Order of the Phoenix and a few of their classmates were in attendance. It warmed Hermione's heart, to see just how loved her best friend was when she knew that it hadn't always been like this for him. And not just because he was The Boy Who Lived, but because of who he is. 

All of the party attendees who were still there had gathered around in the dining room, some standing around the doorway to the kitchen while others were seated at the dining table. Dinner had been served already, a delicious feast prepared by Molly Weasley and Kreacher, and the first hues of orange in the sky could be seen from the now-uncovered windows. Hermione was standing with a small group close to the entryway of the kitchen, an undisturbed glass of wine in her hand as she listened to those around her. 

"You lot stayed here during the war?" Seamus asks between sips of his fire whiskey. 

"For about a month, yeah" Ron says with small shrug.

"And it belongs to Sirius Black?" Dean asks in a somewhat hushed tone with an arched brow. 

The man in question was seated at the dining table only a couple of feet away from them, engaged in conversation with Harry and Remus. The three of them had been near inseparable since the latter had arrived, with Tonks and their infant son, Teddy, not being too far away. Hermione knew that Remus and Tonks had named Harry the godfather of their son, in case the worst were to happen during the war, so it was nice to see the five of them all together as they were all the closest things to a family that they all had. 

Ron nods. 

"He let the Order use it as a safe house during the war" Hermione says, trying to explain. 

Both Seamus and Dean slowly nod, as if Hermione has already answered their next question. Taking a sip of her wine, Hermione takes a second to take a glance around the room. The Weasleys were all sitting together at the end of the dining table farthest away from her, except for Ron and Ginny who were standing only a couple of inches away from herself, along with Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom. The seats at the center of the dining table were filled by Harry, Sirius, Remus, Tonks with baby Teddy in her arms, and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Everyone going back to Hogwarts tomorrow?" Neville asks, looking between his friends with a hopeful look in his eyes. 

"Wouldn't miss it, mate" Dean says with a partially sarcastic tone. 

"Yes, this year should be a good one" Luna says in a tone that could be mistaken as ominous if one didn't know her well. 

"As long as we can have Quidditch this year, I'm sure it will be" Ginny says hopefully. 

"Second that" Ron says, clinking his glass against Ginnys before taking a quick swig of his drink. 

"If the Quidditch pitch is fixed in time, does anyone know who was working on that?" Neville asks. 

"I'm sure McGonagall and the rest of the teachers will have it fixed in time" Hermione says with a small smile. 

"If not I know enough of our fellow students that'll band together and get it done" Seamus adds. 

The sound of one of the dining room chairs loudly scraping against the floor is enough to divert Hermione's attention away from the conversation, her war-honed instincts screaming at her to pay attention to her surroundings as her heart hammers away in her chest. And it appears she wasn't the only one, as a hush falls quickly over the room as everyone looks over to a now-standing Sirius, who was looking around at everyone with a slightly sheepish expression on his face. The two people whose expressions Hermione noted straightaway however were Harry and Remus, who were looking up at Sirius with unreadable expressions on their faces. 

"Apologies, everyone, for interrupting" Sirius says as he begins to walk towards the group standing around the kitchen entryway. 

Conversation resumes around her but anything Hermione could have said died in her throat when Sirius approaches her, a torn look gripping his features like a mask. 

"Can we talk for a moment, privately?" He asks in a soft tone, unlike anything she's heard from him before. 

"O-of course" Hermione manages to spit out after a moment, feeling everyone's eyes on the two of them. 

Concern and confusion gripping her mind, Hermione follows wordlessly after Sirius, setting her glass of wine down on the table as she passes it, as he leads them out of the dining room and down the hall to the drawing room. The sound of the door closing behind the two of them rings loudly in her ears, was he alright? Had she done something to upset him in his own home? Was it about Harry? 

The older man's eyes trace the wallpaper to their direct right, the likeness and names of dozens of members of the House of Black printed on the wallpaper there. Many of the names Hermione doesn't recognize, but her eyes stop when they get to where Sirius' likeness should be but, instead, a deep scorch mark is burned into the wallpaper there. She also recognizes the name Regulus Black, as he was the same R.A.B who had helped them discover the truth of the Horcruxes and led to Voldemort's defeat.

"Is everything alright?" Hermione asks after a few moments of silence. 

"I have something I need to tell you, and I need you to promise not to freak out" Sirius says, finally turning his gaze over to her. 

What was this truly all about? Were they all in danger or something? Hermione tried to wrack her brain to see what this piece of information could be but she came up blank. What could he possibly know that could potentially cause her to freak out?

"I promise" Hermione says shakily, hoping that her nerves weren't too obvious. 

Sirius takes a few deep breaths before he looks at her, a look akin to familial fondness in his eyes as he does. 

"You're my niece" Sirius says.

"Excuse me?" Hermione asks almost immediately, not even thinking before speaking.

She's his what? That just isn't physically or biologically possible, her parents weren't in the slightest related to the Black family, they were Muggles for Merlin's sake, and even if one of them were a Squib there was no possibility of either her mum or dad being Sirius Blacks sibling. 

"My brother, Regulus, and his girlfriend, a girl named Phoebe Travers, had a daughter shortly after he died. You're her" Sirius says, reaching his hand out towards Hermione. 

Out of instinct, Hermione quickly steps back out of Sirius' reach, as her mind races and she feels her heart starting to beat harder than it was moments before, not noticing the sad look on Sirius' face as he drops his hand. That was simply impossible, she wasn't adopted, there was just no way. But why would he lie about something of this magnitude? The Travers name sounded familiar, another one of the Pureblood families from the Sacred 28, but she'd never heard of a Phoebe Travers.

"I know it's a lot to take in, I'm sorry for doing this now but I couldn't just not tell you" Sirius says, sounding as if he's trying to comfort both himself and Hermione at the same time. 

"That's not possible, my parents are Monica and Wendell Granger" Hermione argues, tears welling up in her eyes. 

"They'll always be your parents, Hermione, but you deserve to know about your biological ones too" Sirius adds softly, tears welling in his eyes as well. 

Hermione forced herself to take a deep breath, trying to keep the tears away but realizing she had failed when she could feel liquid trailing down her cheeks, as her heart was still hammering away in her chest. She wanted to cry, to scream, to do anything except be in this room at this moment. To flee to Australia to the unwilling arms of her parents who don't remember her, to hide under the covers in her childhood bedroom as she did as a little girl when the outside world was too big for her. Wiping the majority of her tears away, Hermione looks again at the man in front of her, a man who is somehow her biological uncle. 

"Is my biological mother alive?" Hermione asks after a few moments of silence.

"No" Sirius said. 

"How did she die?" Hermione asks through another wave of tears. 

"Death Eaters, for her relationship with my brother" Sirius says sadly. 

Hermione slowly nods, at this point freely allowing her tears to fall. Even though she was adopted, all of her parents were still lost to her. The Grangers' memory was permanently altered, with no way for even the most skilled witches and wizards of the Ministry to help them, and her biological parents were dead. 

"How come I'm not dead, then? If Voldemort had my mother killed?" She asks. 

"After your father died, Phoebe entrusted you to me, knowing that Voldemort wasn't.....forgiving to the family of those who defected from him" Sirius says with obvious disdain in his tone. 

"And you gave me up?" Hermione retorted.

"I was in no place to keep a child safe, let alone raise one! It was for your own safety, believe me, it was the hardest thing I've ever done" Sirius declared, anger and sadness shining equally in his eyes. 

Is this why he's been looking at her strangely all summer? Had he not realized who she was until after the war? Realization dawned in Hermione's mind as she remembered his strange behavior over the last couple of weeks, as he hadn't been the only one who had been acting in such a way toward her. 

"Remus knows, doesn't he?" Hermione says bluntly. 

Sirius looks taken aback for a moment, confusion clear in his face before he speaks again.

"Yes, he does" Sirius answers honestly. 

"Why?" She asks. 

"He's the one who realized who you were and told me. You see, he and Lily, Harry's mother, were the ones who found the Grangers and brought you to them" Sirius explains. 

If both Remus and Lily Potter knew about her existence, undoubtedly James Potter must have known as well, who else in the wizarding community did or does? Why were they the ones to bring her to the Grangers? And out of all the Muggle families in England, how had they discovered the Grangers?

"You didn't?" Hermione asks. 

"We thought it....safer if I didn't know what family was taking you in, in case I got caught by Death Eaters. They're both better Occlumens than me, or Lily was" Sirius explains. 

Hermione slowly nods her head. 

"Only Remus and I know, Harry knows that I had something important to discuss with you but that's it. Whether you want the others to know or not is entirely up to you" Sirius says after a couple of beats of silence. 

"What about your family? They wouldn't want to know?" Hermione asks, immediately thinking of Andromeda, Tonks, and the baby. 

"Dromeda would love to know, she and Regulus were close when he was young, and I'm sure Tonks would too but it's up to you. Narcissa and her son Draco are the only other closely related cousins that are still alive" Sirius says, his familial love for Andromeda clear in his tone while his indifference for the Malfoys is as well. 

Right. The Malfoys were also Sirius' cousins, as Narcissa and Andromeda are sisters after all. Hermione could do without that family knowing anything more about her, especially the Malfoy heir. Despite not participating in the Battle of Hogwarts, the Malfoys were still Death Eaters and had been since the first time Voldemort rose to power. But, with how small the Wizarding community was in England now, it would only be a matter of time before this information was to make it out to the public, if she were to tell anyone that is. The Daily Prophet would be all over it, if Rita Skeeter had anything to do with it, making story after story about Hermione's life and her dead parents. 

"I'll think about it" Hermione says with a somber nod. 

"If you need anything, please let me know. Let me do now what I couldn't do then, I made a promise to your mother after all" Sirius says with a small laugh. 

Hermione gives him a small smile and a nod, knowing that Sirius would do anything he possibly could for her, and for anyone that he cares about.