Chapter 2
She woke to a warmth that surrounded her. She nuzzled down into her pillow, and sighed in content. Her body ached in lingering pain, but didn't say anything as she felt safe right where she was. She looked up, and sighed at her favorite Weasley Twin. Fred's arms tightened around her waist, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Morning." He whispered tiredly.
"Morning." She whispered softly.
"How are you feeling today?"
She took a deep breath. "I'm in pain, and my hands are shaking, but other than that I'm ok."
"Your parents are in the next room. You can see them after Snape gives you something for your pain and the shaking." Fred said sternly.
Hermione nodded her head, as her heart began to pound. Fear gripped her soul in a way that she wasn't sure would ever dissipate. She curled closer to Fred, trying to process everything that had happened last night. But the one thing was for sure, she broke her promise to her mum. Tears slipped from her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. She failed to keep the secret. She failed. Fred's arms tightened around her, pressing another kiss to her forehead. He whispered soothing words to her, but the sobs just kept coming. She pulled away after a moment, sitting up and wiping at her eyes she moved towards the door and headed to her parents room. Her mum and dad were already up and talking quietly to each other. Their heads snapping up to her when she entered. Hermione, in her state of guilt, rushed over and threw her arms around her mum.
"I'm sorry I broke the promise." She sobbed.
She heard her mum suck in a sharp breath before Helena was squeezing her back tightly. Her mum whispered soothing words, but all Hermione could think about was the fact that she failed to keep her father away from the one world that had hurt him so much.
"Pumpkin, it's ok." Her father whispered, wrapping his arms around Helena and Hermione. "It's not your responsibility to protect me. And you should have told me that you and your mother had this plan going on. You are not responsible for this. Just like Sirius isn't responsible for me being forced to be a Death Eater."
That only made Hermione cry harder, moving one arm to wrap around him. When she finally calmed down, she moved back to look at her parents. They smiled gently at her, each wiping away the tears on her cheeks. She smiled sadly, guilt still lingering in her chest, but not as bad anymore.
"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked softly.
Her parents shared a glance, before focusing back on her. "Your father wants to talk to your Uncle first. He is the first one we should talk to before we explain everything else to the group downstairs." Her mum replied.
Hermione nodded, wiping at her eyes. Her hand shook as the side effects of the Crucio continued to make itself known. Her dad catching onto it, immediately called for Kreature.
"Master Regulus is alive! Master Regulus has returned to Kreature! Master Regulus has a mudblood daughter, and filthy muggle wife."
"Kreature, you will be respectful to my wife and daughter. And you will not refer to anyone with those derogatory names that my mother used." Regulus ordered. "Now, I need you to get the After-Crucio potion from Severus."
Kreature bowed lowly, muttered something under his breath before he was gone. A second later, he returned with a glass of water and the potion. Regulus handed them both to Hermione, and waited for her to take it. With a deep breath, Hermione threw back the potion, sipping the water to try and wash away the bitter taste that lingered afterwards. Only then did he relax. A moment later she spoke. "I'm going to go get Sirius. Do you want me to stay for the conversation?" she whispered.
Regulus nodded his head, but didn't say anything.
With a deep breath, Hermione stood and headed downstairs. It was then he could hear the shouting coming from the kitchen. It was then that she recognized the voices that were shouting. And her blood began to boil.
"What do you mean you've known this whole time?"
"She's my goddaughter, of course I figured it out once she came to Hogwarts."
"He's my brother!"
"A brother that everyone thought was dead until yesterday! He never wanted to come back to the Wizarding World! He had a panic attack at the mere sight of this place!"
"Why didn't he come to me!? He's my brother!"
"A brother you abandoned!"
"I was thrown out of this house and tortured by my mother before I escaped with my life!"
"Stop it both of you! We're forgetting the fact that he is a Death Eater! And Hermione has lied about who her father was for the last five years! Neither are trust worthy!" It was the last voice that sent the magic crackling through her veins in rage.
"Listen here you two-timing, gossip spouting, Skeeter supporting, ninny! My father was forced into being a Death Eater by my grandmother. Held down, tortured into exhaustion, before being branded. And it nearly killed him! So before you go jumping to bloody conclusions, like you normally do because your such a damn know-it-all, I would get your bloody facts straight! Now all of you shut up about my family! Or so help me, even Merlin wont be able to save you from what I will do to you!" Hermione screamed, hair crackling with magic. "Sirius, go upstairs. My dad wants to talk to you and explain everything that happened. After he talks to Sirius, he will explain everything you. If you have a problem with this, then don't. You have no idea what I am capable of." Hermione hissed, staring them down, before locking onto Sirius's eyes. "Upstairs, now."
Sirius hurried from his spot across the room and raced towards the stairs. He did not want to be on the receiving end of her wrath right now. Her hair, still crackling with magic, pushed a pulse out towards the Order. It forced them to retake their seats and stare in open shock that she possessed that much power. With a final glare, she turned and followed her uncle back upstairs. She stopped at the portrait that she knew contained her grandmother and with a flick of her wrist the portrait began to burn. With a huff she headed straight to her parents room.
To say it was awkward would be an understatement. So much so, you could cut the awkward with a knife. Hermione still could figure out if the knife would even cut all the way through.
“Dad why don’t you start with after Sirius left for the Potters.” She suggested gently. Both Black brothers grimaced at those particular memories. It was only thanks to her mum that Regulus would even be able to talk about any of this. And the squib therapist they found a year after her father came to live with the Grangers.
“When you left, mother turned her wand on me. She had Bella’s husband summon the dark lord in order to mark me right then and there. Bella and Cissy tried to intervene, but their husbands forbade them. They couldn’t do anything to stop it from happening. And when everything was said and done I passed out. I woke up three days later to Bella, Cissy, and Kreature tending to me. Mother came in not long after I woke and explained to me exactly what was expected of me. I was to follow him no matter what. And I could not contact you under any circumstances. If she found out she would kill you, me, and the Potters. Bella and Cissy were forced to keep their distance from me after that. I only saw them at school, even then it was brief.” He paused and sucked in a breath.
“When I graduated, I had no choice but to be the perfect pureblood. My friendship with Lily was no longer an option. I still went to her wedding. I went under polyjuice and got to dance with her and congratulate her. I was the first person she told when she was pregnant. And the one who held her when she miscarried. When I started to move up in the ranks, I told her I couldn’t maintain our friendship. She made me promise to be careful and if I saw an out to take it. So I did. It was a couple months after I last spoke to her that Riddle told me what he was planning. He needed a house elf, so Kreature and I went with him to a cave. He made Kreature drink this potion that caused him to slowly lose his mind. When I got back I healed him as best I could. Then went back. I ordered Kreature to feed me the potion no matter how much I begged him to stop. And when he got the locket he was to leave and destroy it. He was not to return for me since the dark lord would know it was moved. And then the water washed in and I blacked out. And woke up in a hospital with my in-laws standing over me.” He chuckled softly, a small grin appearing in his face as he tugged on his left hand; only for his hand and forearm to detach and hand from his right hand. Sirius’s jaw dropped as Helena pushed his sleeve up to reveal the surgical scars on his nub.
“I ended up losing half of my arm. The arm I thought I would never escape. And I began to cry. Actually cry for the first time since I was a kid. Jane and Mitchal brought me home once I was healed enough to leave the hospital. I was so weak that I had to have Mitch carry me to the bathrooms and help me bathe. I had to relearn how to do things, I wouldn’t talk to them or try and rely on them because I was still afraid that I was stuck in some sort of dream. That they knew I was still alive. Then Helena came home. To say she was shocked and pissed would be an understatement. Helena was the one that got me to really process everything that had happened. She held me while I cried and helped me relearn the basic things around the house. She taught me how to cook. A year later, I found a squib who went to school for psychology. Their mind healers. Lily called them therapists.” He rolled his eyes at that, before continuing. “It took two more years before I ventured out into the wizarding world to sort things out. I’ll never forget that day, because it was the day I not only lost my best friend, but you were in prison and Bella wasn’t Bella anymore. Cissy was trapped just as much as you were. The Goblin managing the Black vaults tried to get you a trial on my behalf, anonymously of course, but was blocked at every turn. So I wrote everything off and have it to you. I knew that when the time came you would name Harry your heir. And Lily would have been so happy to know that if something happened to the Potter accounts that he had the Black accounts waiting for him. And it would make mother furious to know that a muggle-borns child had control of the Black fortune.” Sirius laughed at this. Regulus reattached his arm and flexed his hand.
“I went back home after that, and I grieved again. Helena and I had already started dating before all of this happened. In fact Hermione was born same year as Harry, but we didn’t get married until she was three.” He grinned at his daughter, leaning over to kiss his wife. “Hermione has two middle names, but she only uses one in the Wizarding world. Her full name is Hermione Jane Lily Granger. When we married I wanted nothing to do with the family ties I had. So I took Helena’s name instead of her taking mine. When Hermione was five, she had her first bought if accidental magic. I had been living as a muggle since I met Mitch and Jane. But they knew who I was, what I was. Helena decided that when Hermione was seven we would tell her everything. And we did. Then McGonnigal stopped by. She helped charm my plastic arm to function as if it were my own. We talked it out and she helped set stuff up for Hermione for the exact reason that today is happening. Then one day, she came home from school so excited because she got to meet her uncle for the first time. She told me all about how you escaped and who the real culprit was. I had never seen Pettiegrew at the meetings. If I had known I would have gone straight to Lily and told her. With mother still alive I wouldn’t have been able to go to you.” He wiped a tear away with a sigh.
“A year later he’s back and Hermione is best friends with his arch enemy. We knew that one day she would be a target, look at all the things that have happened so far. So, we talked about how all of this would work. When it finally happened. Let’s just say I didn’t expect the panic attack to happen.” He rubbed the back of neck sheepishly and looked apologetically at his wife and daughter. “Hermione locked me in the panic room. It can only be unlocked from the outside, including by magic. I tried.”
He tugged Hermione closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead once more. Only for both of them to be tackled by Sirius as tears streamed down his face. He sobbed out the words I’m sorry. Hermione gently extracted herself until she was sitting beside the two embracing brothers and gently patting Sirius’s back while grinning at her mother. The first step between the two Black Brothers reconciling. And she knew this was the first step to her dad actually being able to cope with magic. Her grin didn’t falter, especially when a ginger twin walked over and kissed the side of her head and held her close.