The Brotherly Concern and the Blatant Misunderstanding
Hermione still wanted to talk to Theo, but thankfully he didn’t seem to be going anywhere.
Given that she didn’t care to be around anyone else while she was already an emotional wreck, she opted to slip away as soon as the meeting wrapped up. She followed Ginny to their shared room under the pretence of unpacking.
Theo’s eyes trailed after her. Harry noticed first and Theo quickly turned away.
“Draco, you didn’t see my father at your place, did you?” he ventured.
Malfoy had opted to stand against the sideboard instead of taking a rickety chair. He shook his head.
“My father had only just got home when the elf showed up. I had no idea the message came from you though; why exactly did you need me here?”
“I don’t … I just didn’t want to leave you there,” Theo murmured. Ron raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
Sirius thumped his hands on the table and stood.
“Well, you two are probably gonna be here for a while, so I may as well get you set up. I think I’ll give you my brother’s old room; it’s decorated in Slytherin colours, so you’ll probably feel right at home. Just a charm to split the bed into two …”
Malfoy blinked at Sirius, looking at him properly for the first time. “Are you …?”
“Sirius Black, your mum’s cousin,” Sirius answered immediately. He studied the younger wizard a bit. “You definitely take after your father, but you look a bit like Cissa round the eyes. This place is mine, and the elf – Kreacher – will probably do whatever you ask since you’re a Black by blood …” His eyes narrowed a little at the younger wizard warningly. “… but you absolutelycan’tfree him. He could pass on dangerous information.”
Harry was surprised that Malfoy didn’t argue or sneer in response. He must have more respect for older wizards when they were relatives, Harry assumed. Or maybe it was because Sirius was pure-blood.
Theo and Malfoy followed Sirius up the staircase, leaving Harry and Ron to themselves.
“What’s up with Nott?” Ron blurted immediately. “Why’s he so interested in Hermione?”
Harry shrugged. “I wondered if he … er, maybe had a bit of a thing for her, which would’ve explained him trying to keep her safe all of a sudden. But it doesn’t explain how he got her so upset.”
Ron frowned. “She was already upset ‘fore he got here, though. She barely looked at anybody.”
“Well, she did get attacked earlier.” In his concern, Harry was no longer miffed about his friend’s lacklustre response to his arrival.
Ron shook his head.
“That wouldn’t’ve upset her like this. She was like … sad. Not talking at all, which is pretty odd for Hermione.”
Harry played with a leftover Butterbeer cork.
“D’you think she was sad leaving her parents to come here? I mean, she barely sees them as it is, and now it’s just three weeks into the summer and she’s left again already.”
Ron scratched his ear. “Maybe … I guess. She could’ve just said so, though.”
Harry thought about it a bit. Hermione rarely discussed her parents. She seemed so comfortable in the wizarding world that he didn’t consider how it might be difficult for her to spend so little time with her Muggle family. For the little he knew about the Grangers, they were nothing like the Dursleys–
His musings were cut off by someone suddenly poofing out of the Floo.
Harry thought his eyes might shoot out of his head. That hair … the eyes …
The wizards leapt to their feet simultaneously, wands in hand.
“Don’t move!” Harry snarled at the sooty witch who’d emerged from the Floo.
She immediately raised her empty hands.
“I’m not Bellatrix Lestrange,” she said exhaustedly. “I’m Dora’s mother, Andromeda. Sirius’ cousin.”
“You’re …?”
“I know I resemble her; but I assure you, SHE can’t get into Headquarters. I’m looking for Theodore Nott; did he make it here?”
Harry slowly lowered his wand, though his heart was still racing.
“Yeah, he’s here. Sirius is getting him and Malfoy a room upstairs.”
“Oh, excellent, then he’s safe too.”
Andromeda cast a quick, nonverbal spell over herself to make every trace of soot disappear. Without a word she bypassed the younger wizards and made for the door with an elegant gait.
Curious, the younger wizards trailed Andromeda as she confidently made her way up the stairs. She clearly knew her way around; she side-lined into the drawing room and primly sat herself down.
Harry and Ron had a brief nonverbal discussion; Harry took a seat to wait with their visitor and Ron continued up the stairs to retrieve the others.
Near the top floor, he heard a noise in the form of a familiar posh drawl.
Probably complaining about the room being too small, Ron thought bitterly to himself. He’d acquiesced to the general idea of giving sanctuary to the Slytherins, but he didn’t exactly anticipate sharing a house with Malfoy for the majority of the summer.
“… books and things so you can do your summer homework,” Sirius was answering whatever Malfoy had said. “Kreacher should be able to return to your Manor undetected; he can retrieve the rest of your stuff, including whatever Theo had there. Just make sure to give him a really specific list and I’ll order him not to speak to anybody.”
“But can’t my parents come here, too?” Ron heard Malfoy ask disdainfully. “Or I could just go back–”
“You can’t,” Theo said sharply. “Trust me, Draco, it’s not safe. Your parents’ll be fine; your Mum’s Occlumency is brilliant and if the Dark Lord was really displeased with your father, he wouldn’t’ve broken him out of Azkaban.”
Ron heard a light grumble and assumed Malfoy gave in.
He wondered again why Nott had come. Was it really just because his father was out of Azkaban? Were the Slytherins in danger for some other reason, or was this part of some other plan of theirs? Why was Nott so focused on Hermione?
The room had gone quiet, so Ron decided there was no further need to eavesdrop. He knocked on the door to announce his presence.
“Er, Andromeda Tonks Flooed in, she’s looking for Nott.”
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Ginny discreetly glanced over Hermione’s shoulder.
“Undetectable Extension Charm? That’s beyond NEWT level.”
“I just practiced a lot,” Hermione murmured. She reached into the satchel and pulled out another bag, full of clothes. “You need that middle drawer, Ginny?”
“Nope, you can have it. You’ll be here longer than me, I think. I might go back to the Burrow with Mum and Dad. They’ll need help getting the place ready, and I figured you’d prefer to stay here with Harry.”
“Thanks,” Hermione said softly.
“Y’know … I was wondering if underage wizards can be Secret-Keepers? I thought if I could be the Burrow’s, it might be safer since nobody would suspect me.”
“Mm,” Hermione said distractedly. “I dunno.”
“Might just be an issue if someone needs to get in while I’m at Hogwarts.”
“Right.”
“You dropped a sock, by the way.”
“Mm.” Hermione retrieved it and continued to pile clothes into the drawer, unaware of Ginny’s furrowed brow behind her.
“I caught Ron snogging Kreacher last week.”
“Mm.”
“OK, that’s it,” Ginny pushed the drawer shut, nearly catching Hermione’s fingers. “What’s going on?”
“What?” Hermione looked at Ginny properly. “It’s … it’s nothing. Just distracted.”
Ginny gave her a look.
“Nu-uh. Firstly, you barely spoke during the meeting, which isn’t like you at all. Secondly, you look like somebody died. And finally …” she squinted at the other witch carefully “… your eyes have gone blue. Did Fred feed you something?”
Hermione turned back to her satchel with a lump in her throat. Nobody else had noticed her eyes yet, and she’d kept her gaze down during the meeting.
“I … I guess I’m just …”
“Paranoid about getting caught by the Ministry for using an illegal Expansion Charm?” Ginny teased dryly. “They didn’t arrest you for the curse you used on Marietta Edgecombe, so I doubt you’ll get arrested for this.”
“Given you didn’t tell them about your dad’s equally illegal charms on the tool-shed, I gather you won’t turn me in.”
“But I might turn you in to the Janus Thickey Ward for head trauma if you don’t tell me what’s wrong,” Ginny said quietly.
Hermione swallowed and thought about it, deciding to share half the truth for now. Ginny was a good confidante in that she would keep personal information to herself, but if she suspected that a secret was putting anyone in danger, she’d shout it from the rooftops.
“I … m– my parents are–”
Ginny waited patiently while Hermione fiddled with a silver locket in the pocket of the leather satchel. She didn’t much care for jewellery, but this one had been a family heirloom. A Granger family heirloom.
Which no longer resided with a true Granger.
A large teardrop left a dark stain on the leather, and that was enough for Ginny. Despite not being the most sentimental of girls, she was sensitive when needed. She thrust the satchel out of the way and yanked Hermione down to the bed, pulling her into a fierce hug.
“Tell me everything.”
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“She’s here, too?”
Theo nodded. “She’s safe.”
“You were worried about her since she’s firstborn, is that right?”
Theo nodded again with a look of concern. Andromeda had insisted on speaking with him alone, to Draco’s dismay. Theo wasn’t sure Draco had even properly met his estranged family, and despite being in his cousin’s home it was Theo who seemed more comfortable with everybody so far.
And yet, Theo had also just met everybody today. It was odd that these new people trusted him so quickly. If any of them had showed up at Nott Manor seeking sanctuary Thoros would’ve booted them to the street before they finished leaving a single scuff on the rug.
Strange how one’s etiquette lessons extended only as far as “proper” wizards.
Andromeda sighed.
“Thoros won’t like this one bit. When does she come of age?”
“Mid-September,” Theo murmured. “I just confirmed for sure that we’re twins.”
Andromeda blinked. “I can’t believe he never found out … you said the elf helped you?”
“My – our mother had her take Hermione away, and then Minky worded the explanation to my father to make it sound as though she died, which he believed until today.”
“I have a quiet place for Minky, off the garden,” Andromeda said softly. “If you’d like to return in a few days, Dora can bring you with her.”
“Thank you,” he murmured. It was another strange-but-nice thing about these new people that they seemed to respect house-elves.
Andromeda’s lips went tight.
“You’re aware of the risk Hermione faces? As soon as she leaves this house and tries to go back to Hogwarts–”
“I know,” Theo muttered. “He’s gonna start hunting her.”
The older witch shook her head.
“He won’t need to. He’ll get help, and that’s what I’m concerned about. Given that she’s underage, he could still take legal guardianship–”
Theo’s eyes flew open all the way.
“No …!”
Andromeda nodded. “You’ll need a backup plan, and fast. DON’T let her leave the house. And I know Dora’s fond of her, but you’ll need to keep her away for both their sakes if it comes to it.”
Theo nodded but his heart sank.
Things were even worse than he first thought … How on earth was he going to tell Hermione?
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Ginny snuck a plate of dinner upstairs for Hermione, so her distraught friend didn’t have to face the others.
After ages of talking and sobbing to Ginny, the newly discovered pure-blood looked a sight. She brushed her tangled hair and cast a Refreshing Charm on her face to make some of the red splotches disappear, but she still looked like she’d just returned from a funeral.
Ginny made an excuse to Harry and Ron that Hermione was exhausted and wanted to sleep early. Meanwhile, the redhead returned to the Burrow along with her parents, Remus, and Tonks.
The official plan was to refurbish and expand the Burrow into a stronger safehouse, but Molly apparently had underlying plans to matchmake the latter two guests after her plans to set Tonks up with Bill had failed. Bill was now to marry Fleur Delacour, to Hermione’s surprise, and she’d patiently listened to Ginny ramble about thehorrors ofPhlegm during their extended talk.
Even though Ginny encouraged her to smile a few times over the afternoon, Hermione wasn’t ready to stop feeling sad yet. She stood in front of the tall mirror by the door for a while, staring at her changed appearance. Ginny hadn’t asked again about her blue eyes, and Hermione didn’t bring it up.
She searched her own face, trying to find evidence against Nott’s pronouncement … and she couldn’t.
She’d always thought she looked like the Grangers. She had Helen’s wild brown hair, Gerald’s thick eyebrows … but now she saw slight details that she hadn’t considered before: She had attached earlobes, where the Granger’s were both detached. Her nose was a bit wider at the base, just like Theo.
And her eyes … the false brown had matched both Grangers perfectly, but the longer she looked at herself she realised the blue suited her better. As an indoorsy bookworm, Hermione was paler than both her parents and the blue eyes seemed more appropriate to her complexion than brown ever did. The Grangers had been a mixture of French, Scottish, and British, but now she wondered if she had some Scandinavian ancestry like Theo seemed to.
Really, it was odd that she hadn’t noticed before … though perhaps a part of her suspected the truth but didn’t want to consider it? Finding out she was a witch had been enough of a shocker after all, much less finding out she lived with the wrong family. If she had any inkling, maybe she’d subconsciously pushed it away? It would explain why she’d been so determined to believe Theo’s Ocular Revealing Charm was useless–
A knock on the door took her by surprise.
Hermione steeled herself before opening it. She expected Harry or Ron but was surprised by the mirror image of her own eyes she’d been studying for the last half hour.
“Oh,” she said. “Hi.”
Said eyes immediately narrowed in concern. “Have you been crying?”
“Er … yeah. A little,” Hermione sighed. The puffiness was hard to fully charm away.
Theo shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet on the rug.
“I’m sorry that I … I sprung the truth on you, and–”
Hermione was taken aback.
“Theo, it’s not … I wasn’t crying because of that.”
He immediately looked ashamed of himself.
“Oh … no, of course! I mean, you were nearly arrested today, and it sounded like you had to fight your way out–”
Hermione almost laughed. “I’m not upset because of that, either. Actually, it was oddly nice, being able to defend myself with magic given that it’s not always an option.”
He cracked a smile. “Of course, I should’ve known you’d enjoy the spell practice.”
Hermione managed to smile back a little, but she didn’t know what else to say. Theo’s feet started shuffling again and he ran his fingers through his hair.
“I– I don’t mean to disturb you, but I wondered if I could tell you … there’s a few things you should know. About my family– er, our family.”
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In retrospect, it might not have been a great idea for Harry to enter Hermione’s room uninvited.
In his defence, he was concerned for her. She was sleeping uncharacteristically late, and there were no other witches in the house to send in. Harry suspected Hermione might be a little less startled by his presence than Ron’s – precisely why Harry didn’t mention to Ron that he was going to check on their friend.
He knocked quietly at first, then peeked around the door to see if she was still in bed.
It was dim in the room; the late-morning light had begun to filter through the translucent drapes, but Harry still had to do a double-take to make sure he saw what he thought he did.
His hand went to his mouth.
He could make out two brunette heads among the pillows.
With a bright red face and possible steam billowing from his ears, Harry ducked back outside and shut the door with a snap.
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A sudden noise jolted Hermione out of a sound sleep.
She almost sat up straight, but she couldn’t. Her legs were tangled up in blankets and …
More legs?
She might’ve considered having a panic attack had she not quickly turned her head and recognised Theo’s peaceful face beside her.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Hermione carefully untangled herself from the sheets and stood up. Theo blinked awake and looked over at the light visible around the drapes.
“Oh, bugger,” he cursed as he awkwardly freed himself from the covers and landed on the floor. “Draco’ll notice I didn’t come back …”
Hermione frowned. “But there’s nothing wrong with … oh.”
She rubbed her arm uncomfortably.
“Er, Malfoy doesn’t know?”
“No … I didn’t tell anyone,” Theo straightened his mussed clothes and tried to flatten his hair, which would probably resemble Hermione’s unruly locks if he let it grow out. Instead, his hair was rather like Harry’s, but with Hermione’s colouring.
“Just Madam Tonks, yesterday, ‘cause I needed to find you so fast – but I haven’t told anyone else … I– I didn’t know if … if you’d want to tell anyone.” Theo ruffled with his sleeves uneasily.
Hermione bit her lip. Large, dramatic revealing of secrets wasn’t something she particularly enjoyed, and she suspected that in the process of telling her friends about Theo she’d have to explain what she did to the Grangers yesterday. She’d already talked about it to Ginny and Theo – reliving it again wouldn’t be fun.
On the other hand …
She glanced across at her slightly mussed twin, reading the unspoken concern on his face. His eyes held a very distinct look that Hermione only saw sometimes in her best friends and the Grangers’ eyes: unconditional concern.
This random wizard she barely knew had abandoned his home to find her and now looked at her with an unspoken promise that he’d spin the world backwards if she asked him to.
Her brother.
Last night was utterly unprecedented. For hours she’d sat with him quietly sharing stories and finding parallels in their lives. They both hated sardines and loved marmalade. They made their tea the same way. They both disliked Divination and thrived in Arithmancy. The Sorting Hat had considered both of them for Ravenclaw. They both cared about their few close friends above everything else.
It had been so easy to talk to him. She couldn’t hold back the inevitable sobs as she told him about the Grangers, and he’d immediately pulled her into his arms allowing her tears to stain his shirt. He comforted her while cursing himself for springing a whole new family on the very day she lost her other one.
She, in turn, wrapped him tightly in her arms when he found it difficult to verbalise just how terrified he’d been as he unravelled the truth about his secret sister while trying to keep it from Thoros. She was a little irritated that he hadn’t told her about this a year ago but understood that he was trying to protect her.
She’d felt a warming in her heart that was entirely unfamiliar but pleasant. It seemed like the most natural thing to drift off to sleep with her shoulder against his.
A small part of Hermione wanted to keep Theo to herself – her secret family, who she could turn to for advice and comfort – and yet a larger part of her realised she wanted to announce to the world that she had such a wonderful person in her life who she could trust unequivocally. Real family, here, in the wizarding world – something she’d never dreamed of.
Hermione let go of her unease. She crossed over to Theo and wrapped her arms around his waist. He was just tall enough that her head nestled perfectly under his chin.
It felt wonderful. Perhaps if she’d ever had occasion to hug him before, she might’ve suspected a connection of sorts. Holding him simply felt right.
“I don’t want to hide this,” Hermione murmured. “We missed a lot of time together, and I don’t want to miss any more.”
Theo squeezed her tightly. Her hair carried a faint scent of lemons which was indescribably comforting, like the scent of home. Maybe it was what Isabelle had smelled like, too. It had been too long; Theo didn’t remember what it felt like to hug his mother.
Thoros Nott had been a lot of things, but an affectionate father he was not. Theo decided he didn’t care if he never saw the old man again; the only family he needed was right here.
“Well, we better call a little group chat, then? Except, you might wanna take care of your morning breath first,” he teased with a light tug on her curls.
“Look who’s talking,” Hermione joked – something that had been supremely difficult to do yesterday – and batted his arm before heading for the door.
She froze as she realised muffled voices carried from the other side.
“… she’s not sick, or you’d just SAY so!”
“Trust me, you don’t wanna bother her–”
“For the love of Godric, Harry, did you walk in on her dressing or something …?”
“I doubt it,” a third voice appeared. “I expect I would’ve awoken to find Potter’s mangled remains scattered on the stairs.”
“Shove off, Malfoy, this doesn’t concern you–”
“But it does concern me that you seem to be missing a friend, given that I happen to also be missing one of those.”
There was a moment of dead silence.
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Ron’s face went as red as his hair.
“… oh, FUCK no–!”
Harry rubbed his forehead. “Look, Ron–”
“NOTT!”
Ron shoved Harry of the way and began pounding at the door.
“GET OUT HERE YOU CREEPY SLYTHERIN!”
Behind him, Malfoy chuckled and leaned against the wall. “Well, now I know why Theo wanted to stay.”
Harry gave him a suspicious look. “Shouldn’t you be trying to save your friend from the dangerous clutches of the poisonousMudblood, or something?”
Malfoy rolled his eyes.
“Theo’s a big boy, he can handle himself. I’d only be concerned if he angered Granger … she’s scarier than Weasley, that’s for certain. Though Theo’s father might give her a run for her money.”
“… MAKE ME COME IN THERE AND … oh.”
The door had swung open. Ron was faced by a very steamed Hermione with folded arms and a dangerous look in her eyes.
Harry took a giant step backwards with his hands raised. “I tried not to say anything, I swear–”
Hermione ignored him and kept her fierce eyes trained on Ron.
“One. You have NO say regarding how I spend my time. Two. You have NO say regarding who I do or do not spend my time with. THREE–” Hermione took a step forward and Ron swallowed while Malfoy smirked. “–IF you had a problem with whom I spend my time, there are a THOUSAND ways to express your concern besides throwing a tantrum like a four-year-old CHILD. Do I make myself clear, Ronald Weasley?”
The red had faded from Ron’s face, giving way for a great deal of white, making him almost as pale as the amused Slytherin behind him.
“Er … I was worried–”
“You are allowed to worry. You are NOT allowed to break down my bedroom door unless you have a legitimate reason to fear for my safety. Do youunderstand me?”
“Okay,” Ron uttered in a sound that Harry might’ve described as a squeak. “So … you’re … er– but– with NOTT?”
Malfoy peered around Ron’s shoulder with an uncharacteristically cheeky grin.
“I think the terrified Weasel is trying to ask … have you two been secretly dating? Last I heard, you barely knew each other.”
Theo finally exited the room and sighed at the unexpected crowd.
“No,” he said tiredly. “We were talking late last night and happened to fall asleep. We have an explanation, but perhaps we could ingest some caffeine first?”