The Sibling Introduction and the Second Interloper
“What–?”
Theo waited while Hermione stared at her reflection in confusion. Then her newly ice-blue eyes travelled up from the mirror and met his precisely identical ones.
“I’ve had … they were brown …! How could–? And YOUR eyes …?”
Theo stood silently as she looked rapidly between him and the mirror. She peered closely at his eyes, then back to her own. And again.
“No, this … I– I can’t … this can’t possibly–”
Without warning, she dropped the mirror and glared at Theo.
“You KNEW! For over a YEAR you knew! How could you–?! You cast that spell – you must’ve KNOWN what it meant – and you didn’t TELL ME–!?”
“What day is your birthday?”
Hermione gaped at him, torn between confusion and fury.
“What?!”
“Your birthday,” he repeated softly. “Please.”
She blinked.
“Why does …? It’s nineteenth September … WHY?”
Theo’s eyes closed.
“It’s mine, as well,” he murmured. “You and I … we’re twins.”
Hermione took a step backward and sat down, hard.
“T– Twins!? I thought …! I mean, I realise my– our eyes mean I’m– well, I’m likely related to you, but–”
“You were born first,” he whispered. “You’re the heir … but he … you got away before he found out–”
“He?” Hermione whispered. “Who’s HE?”
His eyes squeezed shut, and Hermione’s blood ran cold as she realised: he’d come to find her as soon as there’d been an Azkaban breakout.
“You … you mean, your father? But … why–?”
Theo slipped down into the chair beside Hermione’s and stared at the floor, not wanting to say it aloud.
“This … no,” Hermione shook her head frantically before Nott could say anything else. “This is ridiculous … plenty of people have blue eyes; you’ve … you’re looking for some long-lost sister, fine, but you … you’ve got the wrong person!”
There was dead silence for a minute.
Theo extended his hand slowly and took Hermione’s hand in his own.
Hermione’s breath caught in her throat.
The pale, slightly freckled hand in hers felt familiar.
She looked again into his eyes. Eyes that precisely matched her own – her own blue eyes hidden by a spell that took her five months to find! Given such efforts, there must’ve been a reason her true eyes were concealed … and what were the odds that Theodore would be searching for a long-lost sibling with blue eyes only to happen upon a witch exactly his age whose natural blue eyes had been hidden–?
“You … you look exactly like my mother,” Theo whispered.
Suddenly overwhelmed, Hermione took her hand back and gripped her chair tightly. Her shoulders trembled as her brain raced to catch up with itself.
How could this have happened to her again?
This wasn’t the first time a massive secret blasted its way into her life. The secret of magic itself was both the best and worst thing that could’ve happened.
It had changed everything. She’d been thrust headfirst into an utterly unfamiliar world where her entire reality changed and her carefully structured future disappeared in a flash. Her logical response was to read, to study, to learn everything about the wizarding world. She would prepare for every possibility and never again be taken by surprise in such a life-changing way.
But for all she might’ve learned, there was no preparing for THIS … the very day she wrote herself out of her parents’ minds she discovered … they might not be her parents at all?
Could it be true?
Could she be pure-blood? Could she have a TWIN–?
Her breathing sped up and Theo opened his mouth, concerned–
“Look who’s back!”
Ron came in happily, with Harry on his heels. Harry dropped a rucksack at his feet. His grin disappeared instantly as he saw his best friend looking like she was about to burst into tears.
“Hermione?”
Ron’s glee switched immediately to concern, and he turned on Theo.
“What’d you do, Nott?” he demanded. “Did he say something–?”
Hermione shook her head but promptly buried her face in her hands.
Theo slowly stood and moved toward the door, but Ron blocked him with his arms folded.
“You Portkeyed here?” Harry asked. “When?”
“This morning,” Theo murmured. “I just– I had to give Hermione some news. I think I’ll … I’ll let her be. I don’t need to be here.”
Theo ducked around Ron before the redhead could argue. Harry had already started towards Hermione and squatted beside her.
“What was that about? He called you Hermione.”
Though still fighting tears and trying to regulate her breathing, Hermione managed to raise her head and study those emerald eyes she knew so well.
Harry frowned. Something about her seemed different, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze.
Hermione squeezed back, trying to decide what to do.
If anyone else could possibly understand this, it was Harry. He was all too familiar with previously unknown family secrets rearing their heads and unexpectedly changing his life.
Yet, for all the secrets, Harry had never discovered he wasn’t an only child. That he had a twin.
A twin brother.
Hermione stared into Harry’s concerned eyes as her overwhelmed brain finally caught up with reality.
A brother.
She loved Harry like a brother. Or at least, how she imagined she’d love a brother. Now … could she have the real thing?
It might be mad, but … somehow, it FELT right. She could really have this … a brother …
… and he was leaving. She leapt to her feet.
“Nott, wait!”
Harry’s and Ron’s faces jumped from concern to confusion as their friend disappeared out of the drawing room and down the stairs.
xxxxxxxxx
Theo felt his eyes stinging as he moved quickly down the stairs.
He should’ve expected her horrified reaction. He didn’t know Hermione, really. Just things he’d observed as a bystander. He didn’t know about her relationship with her Muggle family … she might even have a brother already, and then Theo swooped in out of the blue to claim her as his?
She could wind up hating him. His father was a criminal, he belonged to her rival house, and the brilliant Hermione Granger wouldn’t slip into the role of pure-blood heir even if Thoros wasn’t out for blood. This could become a nightmare for her.
Theo’s chest felt cold. Now that he knew Thoros wouldn’t get to her first he realised his secondary terror: that she wouldn’t want to be his sister.
WHY couldn’t he have kept the bloody secret to himself?
“Nott – Theo!”
He slowly turned before he reached the kitchen door.
Hermione ran up to him and opened her mouth.
No words came out. She didn’t seem to know what to say.
But as Hermione looked at the jumble of conflicted emotion on his face, she felt even more sure that he hadn’t been making things up. He believed it … and he was afraid she didn’t.
“I …” she tried.
The kitchen door swung open.
“Oh good, there you are,” Molly said. “Where did Harry and Ron go? We need everyone in here …”
“Ron’s getting Ginny,” Harry announced as he jumped the last few stairs.
He looked at Hermione in concern. He didn’t know what his friend was going through, but he was a bit miffed that she hadn’t seemed pleased to see him.
Hermione glanced into the kitchen, surprised that a bunch of Order members had gathered. Sirius must’ve called an emergency meeting to discuss the breakout.
The sight of his head of house made Theo relax slightly. He followed Molly’s gestures and took a seat with the others. Hermione was waved into a seat beside Tonks, across from Theo. He tried not to look at her and focused on Snape instead.
“Professor,” he nodded.
“Theodore.” Snape seemed happy for an excuse to turn his attention from the excitable wizard in the pin-striped cloak and tall hat on his other side. “So, the first Portkey has been used. Did Black offer you a place?”
“Er, yes,” Theo said timidly, feeling Sirius’ eyes on him. “But I think I might’ve been a little quick to come so soon; I expect I can go back–”
“To Thoros?” Sirius wrinkled his nose.
Theo felt a spark of affection for the older wizard. Rumour was certainly incorrect; Sirius Black was no Death Eater.
Snape shook his head. “Don’t be foolish, Theodore. I hardly expect you to be the first to use a Portkey now that more Death Eaters are suspected to be out. If nothing else, you can remain here to support your housemates if more arrive.”
Theo might not have been perceptive enough to notice the flash of sincerity in Snape’s eyes as he spoke, but he did see something hopeful flash across Hermione’s and he dared to believe, for a second, that she might not hate him.
“Very well,” he consented. “I accept your kind offer to stay, Mr. Bl– er, Sirius.”
Sirius clapped his hands once. “Great! That’s one item out of the way: Theodore Nott here – Theo, yeah? – is our first Slytherin refugee and he’ll be crashing at Grimmauld. I think we’ve also got confirmation, thanks to him, that the Azkaban breakout wasn’t just a rumour?”
“I’m afraid not,” Theo murmured.
“Your father, then?” Mad-Eye Moody grunted from across the table. Theo tried not to be intimidated by the man’s bright eye as it zeroed in on him. “Any idea who else?”
“Lucius Malfoy,” Theo answered. “But that’s all I know of for sure.”
Moody nodded, though he hardly looked pleased. “The Ministry invaders, then. Prob’ly gotta keep an eye out for Mulciber, Macnair …”
“Now that the breakout’s confirmed, we better get notes to the other Portkey landings,” Sirius pointed out. “A handful of Slytherin refugees will be younger than Theo here, and we need to make sure someone’s at each place all the time in case they show up needing help.”
There was a general murmur of assent. Down at the end of the table, Ginny was resolutely taking notes. At the start of summer there had been a long, loud discussion among the Weasleys (and Hermione and Harry via owl post) that the younger generation had every right to sit in on meetings. They argued that staying in touch with the Order’s dealings would keep them safer than staying out of everything, since trouble seemed to follow Harry and company around regardless.
Sirius, Tonks, and Remus were among the adults who sided with the younger generation. They were impressed at the Gryffindor-Slytherin alliance, and the Order was making contingency plans around the information Bletchley had revealed to Hermione. Already there were a dozen safehouses around the country to protect anyone fleeing Voldemort, plans were being designed to protect other former Slytherins who might also be “Grey” Wizards, and there were spies placed carefully in the largest Ministry departments to watch for attempts at Death Eater interference.
The younger generation were proving invaluable to the Order, but it was a while before the older generation allowed them to participate fully. It had taken Molly the longest to come around, and it was Ron, amazingly, who managed to convince her.
“Mum, you seriously want us to just hide in the bedrooms upstairs and do homework? You-Know-Who is out there, NOW, and he’s trying to do in my best friend! We’re not gonna start following you lot on ambushes or anything, but we gotta KNOW what’s going on so we might actually have a chance to see danger coming, for once! I mean, if you lot had just told Harry that You-Know-Who was after something at the Department of Mysteries, then Harry wouldn’t’ve freaked out over that dream and tried to run to the Ministry himself!”
Molly eventually gave in, but she didn’t allow Ginny to attend the meetings immediately. The youngest Weasley continued fighting for her right to join – far from wanting to be the only member of the household excluded, Ginny firmly stated that her fresh perspectives would be beneficial to the Order, and she’d proved several times that her fabulous memory made her an ideal secretary for the group. Sirius and even Moody vouched for her unique insights, and eventually Molly was overruled.
To Molly’s relief, the “children” weren’t any more reckless than usual; indeed, they weren’t demanding to initiate ambushes, work guard duty, or start hunting down Death Eaters. Instead, they took on planning and research roles in the Order instead of militant ones and were more comfortable now that they had a better idea of what was going on and had agreed to remain inside for the majority of summer. Even Molly admitted, reluctantly, that Harry and his friends were far past the point of being able to preserve childlike innocence.
It was perhaps Hermione’s bold decision to Obliviate her parents that pushed Molly’s resolute stubbornness completely over the edge and she finally treated the next generation like adult members of the Order instead of kids listening in on their parents’ business dealings.
Moody finished telling the gathered Order about Rufus Scrimgeour, the new Minister for Magic. The man was desperate to regain support for the Ministry after so many people lost faith thanks to Fudge. Some of Scrimgeour’s efforts were alright, like issuing pamphlets about protecting one’s home against Death Eaters. Others – primarily his desperate attempts to wheedle support from Harry Potter – were far more self-serving.
Remus got a funny look on his face and recounted the adventure of the morning, making Snape’s eyebrow go up and Molly’s face to be dominated by a worried look.
“You think Scrimgeour’s so desperate to find me he sent someone after Hermione?” Harry said disbelievingly. Ron’s angry expression closely matched Harry’s – but oddly, so did Nott’s, they noticed.
“I suspect the arrest order was out for both Hermione and Ron,” Remus explained. “Very few people at the Ministry could find your address unless you performed underage magic – and it would be very suspicious for the Minister’s office to try and find you using regular channels. He might’ve had someone discreetly issue the arrest order so he could interrogate one of you privately. It wouldn’t raise nearly as many red sparks to bring in one of you – not compared to bringing in Harry personally.”
Ron shifted his chair minutely closer to Hermione while Harry made a face at Remus’ idea.
Tonks interjected with a shake of her head.
“Moody checked in before coming here; he said the arrest order was just for a teenager roughly matching Hermione’s description, not Ron’s.”
Remus frowned. “Perhaps the Minister was concerned about tracking down a Weasley, given that Arthur works for them, and decided to only try Hermione, then?”
“Well, I’m not sure it was actually HER they wanted, since the description was sorta vague,” Tonks admitted as she played with her colourful hair. “And I have no idea who issued it – it was just a generic order to bring the witch in for questioning; right, Mad-Eye?”
The older Auror – who permitted nobody but Tonks to address him directly as Mad-Eye – nodded his head.
“I’ll go deeper when I’m back in. Can’t be sure it wasn’t Harry they wanted in the end, but it’s good we brought him here anyway. Better the three of you stay put for now,” he added to the trio.
“I’ve no reason to leave, anyway,” Hermione said quietly. Harry glanced over at her, several questions on his lips, but he decided to save them for later.
“Obviously no trouble getting Harry here?” Moody inquired of his protégé.
Tonks answered with a conspiratorial smirk, “I might’ve had a teensy bit of fun Transfiguring his uncle’s trousers into crocodile skin when he got smart with me about the colour of my hair, but no other trouble.”
Ron grinned appreciatively at Tonks while Molly and Remus shook their heads with a sigh. Theo got a tiny smile on his face and decided he was right; he liked Tonks.
“Now, young Nott,” Moody said firmly, both magical and normal eyes fixed firmly on Theo. “You realise what’s happening now you’ve used that Portkey, don’t you? You’ve accepted our offer of protection. That means you’re one of ours now. Means you don’t leave the house – ‘cept to go back to school, which you’ll do with escorts – and means you’re obligated to share ANYTHING you know about the enemy, even if it is your father. You know what we’re fighting for, here.”
“We’re happy to hear anything you can tell us,” Remus added in a softer voice with a reassuring glance at Theo. “But we’re not going to throw you out if you don’t feel up to sharing at this moment. We would only withdraw our offer of protection if you attacked or betrayed one of us, and I’m sure you won’t have a reason to.”
Theo remembered Lupin from third year, how he’d been one of the few teachers to not immediately discriminate against Slytherins. He nodded gratefully.
“At the end of term, my classmates shared much of the information I learned from my father about the Dark Lord’s priorities,” he nodded to the Gryffindors across the table. “I’m afraid I don’t have any recent news since my father was locked up, but I’ll certainly answer any questions I can.”
Remus gave him a reassuring smile and Moody gave a sharp nod, seemingly deciding to trust the interloper for now.
“Ginny, are we missing anything?” Sirius called down the table.
The keeper of minutes shuffled her pages.
“Guard duty for Privet Drive is obviously null and void now … We’ve kept protective enchantments over the Burrow even though most of us have been sleeping here, but I reckon now that Harry and Hermione are here, we can split our numbers and establish the Burrow as Safehouse B. We’ll have enough people to be at both places at any time, and we’ve got enough bedrooms to accommodate some Slytherin refugees over there, too.”
“I’ll talk to Arthur when he’s home from work,” Molly said immediately. “I’m sure it’ll be fine; we just need a few more reinforcement charms, and perhaps we could consider the Fidelius again?”
Moody nodded. “Always safer that way. And we already confirmed Dumbledore’s Portkeys can bypass it, so the refugees can still get in.”
Hermione wondered incredulously how Dumbledore managed to design such powerful Portkeys. Perhaps it was because he was the Secret Keeper of a Fidelius, so he knew intimately how the spell worked?
Despite being still overwhelmed at today’s events, Hermione’s fingers suddenly itched for some NEWT spellbooks.
“I’ll tentatively schedule that for third August; we should be good to go by then,” Ginny confirmed. “And Dumbledore will return by Saturday next. Professor Snape, has the Hogwarts summer programme started?”
“Begins on Monday,” Snape answered in his usual drawl. “Sixty-two students confirmed so far. If any don’t show, the Headmaster wants the Order to track them down. Most likely they’ll be held back by scared parents or parents with no choice. It could require some manoeuvring to get them to safety.”
Theo felt a shiver running down his back. Those in his year were probably safe enough, but some of the younger students could be threatened as a quick and easy way to make their parents join …
“Minerva is determined to have a potions-aid kit at each safehouse in case anyone turns up injured,” Snape continued. “Some of the summer students’ work will involve Wiggenweld Potions and other simple healing brews, but we will need more advanced assistance from the Order outside the school to avoid suspicion.”
“I’ll tell Andromeda,” Sirius said politely, but without making eye contact with Snape. “She’s a good brewer, and she has the room. She’s not likely to take in many refugees, and she should be low on the Death Eaters’ priority list since she’s never raised arms against them.”
Tonks added, “Mum wants Dumbledore to cast the Fidelius over their place too, when he’s back.”
“I shall contact Andromeda to arrange a list and a secure method of transport for emergency potions,” Snape said.
“Er … Professor, what’ll happen if one of the Slytherins tells their Death Eater family that you were helping some of them?” Ron asked Snape tentatively. “I know they all swore not to mention Dumbledore, but you … I mean – couldn’t they potentially blow your cover?”
Snape’s raised eyebrow was far less judgmental than Hermione had ever seen it while pointed in Ron’s direction.
“I suppose you are not as useless at tactics as you are with Hydration Draughts,” he said flatly, ignoring the annoyed look from Molly. “My efforts have all been for the purpose of shielding underage Slytherins. Any parent who learns that I have assisted in hiding away their children will certainly not press for details – they shall be content knowing I am keeping them from conflict on either side. And any Death Eater who finds out that a young Slytherin is hiding with a Gryffindor will be led to assume they are infiltrating the Order.”
Ron exchanged a look with Harry, who seemed equally satisfied. Hermione supposed she didn’t blame them for still being worried about a security breach from any of the Slytherins, but she was fairly confident they could trust Snape.
“We should be just about ready to wrap up, then–” Sirius began.
He was interrupted by the kitchen door swinging open and two identical redheads marching in.
“Sorry we’re late!”
“We had a surprise guest–”
“Thought you might wanna check him over yourself, Harry–”
“Maybe give him a few pokes, make sure he’s legitimate–”
“Not just playing us–”
“I already told you two jokers I’m not faking, that’s why I had the Portkey–” came a familiar, irritated, drawling voice from behind the Weasley twins. An expensive-looking black leather satchel was slung over his bony shoulder.
Harry and Ron jumped up, immediately defensive.
“Malfoy,” Ron said in an unhappy voice. “What’re you doing here?”
“It seems Dumbledore has a rather twisted sense of humour,” Malfoy drawled as he leaned against the kitchen door frame. “He thought it would be funny to have my emergency Portkey go to the Weasley Wonders.”
“Hey now, that’s not bad,” George mused.
Fred agreed, “We could start a new line of daydream tonics called the Weasley Wonders …”
“Featuring us, of course–”
“Sit down, you two,” Molly ordered firmly. She regarded the newcomer carefully. There was a long history of dislike between the Malfoys and the Weasleys.
The silver eyes of the latest interloper passed over the Weasleys and landed on Theo in surprise.
“You’re here? So, you sent that elf–?”
“With the help of Sirius Black,” Theo answered with a gesture to the older wizard.
Malfoy frowned, deciding to temporarily bypass the sight of his Azkaban-escapee relative. “But how come it’s only us?”
“I– It’s better we’re here since both our fathers are free,” Theo muttered. His friend raised an eyebrow.
Snape rose to his feet.
“Draco, Theodore, I expect you’re in capable hands, or at least tolerable ones. I must return to Hogwarts–”
Malfoy noticeably jumped. “Professor–!?”
“Yes, I rather thought you knew I was part of this motley crew, hence my suggestion to bring your housemates here in the first place,” Snape said dryly.
“But … sir, couldn’t Theo and I come with YOU? Surely, we don’t need to stay … here.” Malfoy’s eyes had already inventoried the cracked ceiling, crooked cupboards, and mismatched chairs. Ron noticed and scowled at him.
Snape raised an eyebrow.
“I hardly think the two of you need to attend the summer tutoring programme, given that you’re in the top five of the year. As you know, the quarters for the summer students are smaller than regular house accommodations–”
“We could help you teach!” the blond protested. “We can grade homework, and brew potions–”
“And be under my feet along with the summer group of half-wits?” Snape finished for him. “You’ll do just fine here, I think.”
Malfoy’s shoulders noticeably dropped. He glanced over at his fellow Slytherin, pleading with his eyes for help.
Theo said slowly, “I’d actually like to stay.”
Malfoy looked baffled but relented with a disappointed sigh as Snape let himself out of the room.
“This is gonna be a loooong summer,” Ron groaned.