Upside Down Mirror: Granger Yet

Numbly

"Was Mr. Weasley really the best choice?" Hermione wondered as she listened to Arthur Weasley talk her uncle's ear off. While he never actually used the word Muggle in front of her uncle, his questions were definitely odd, something another Muggle would never ask. Her normally sociable uncle, always the most agreeable of the three, said nothing in response as Mr. Weasley chatted away. Hermione tickled Crookshanks chin, trying to pretend the somewhat awkward situation was going on.

Eventually, they arrived at the family home, and her uncle went to unload her trunk from the back. At the same time, Hermione picked up Crookshank's basket and started towards the front door, noting Mr. Weasley hung back to continue chattering at her uncle. She could see her youngest sister sitting on the step, a pout on her face as she clutched a rather giant stuffed rabbit, hugging it tightly as if waiting for something or more of someone; Hermione had an idea who that might be as she walked over. "Hey, Jules. What are you doing outside?"

"I want daddy," Jules muttered, her focus remaining on watching the path for that particular person. "Daddy needs his rabbit."

"I'm sure dad will be okay," Hermione said, smiling at her younger sister. Jules looked up at her, allowing her to see the wetness in Jules's eyes. "I mean, he's our dad? Right?"

"Right. Daddy is daddy," Jules said, looking at her sister as the sound of Mr. Weasley speaking with their uncle drew closer.

"Oh. Hello," Mr. Weasley said.

Jules pulled the stuffed rabbit up, so it hid the lower part of her face, staring at the person who was a stranger.

"Are you Hermione's younger sister?" Mr. Weasley asked.

Again, Jules didn't respond.

"She's Olivia and Sebastian's youngest. There's also Elizabeth, the middle child," her Uncle Lettie said. "She's the one who refused to attend Hogwarts, and we're expecting Jules to receive an acceptance letter this summer."

Hermione stiffened, her head turning to look at her Uncle Lettie. "Wait? You know?"

"Why don't we head on inside," her uncle said, opening the door while Mr. Weasley frowned for a rather apparent reason.

Her uncle shouldn't have known about Hogwarts. She turned to look at Mr. Weasley. "I didn't tell him. I don't know why my parents would have. I guess Elizabeth blabbed?"

"That might be, but..." Mr. Weasley frowned. "I don't think your uncle brought up that your mother thought she—no, they—could trust me for just any reason. Let's head inside."

Hermione followed him inside, closing the door as she looked at Jules still sitting on the step, waiting for their dad to return home. The growing feeling that something wasn't right kept nagging at her, but putting her thoughts together was pushed aside when she heard her other sister excellent her in a way that sent chills down her spine. "It's all your fault."

"What?" Hermione turned to look at Elizabeth, who sent her a death glare, though the way her sister looked at her, it felt as if there was even more anger than usual directed at her.

"I wish you'd never introduced us to magic!"

"Elizabeth Jane Granger!" their Uncle Lettie snapped. "Don't! Don't you dare..."

"Lettie. Calm down. Getting mad at Lizzy isn't going to help," someone said. Hermione recognized the voice and turned to look at her mother, feeling like crying because of what her sister had said. Olivia folded her arms. "And Lizzy, don't talk to your sister like that. This is not her fault."

"But magic..." Elizabeth murmured before glaring at her sister before turning on her heels to go to another part of the house.

"Tea?" her mother asked, indicating that they should head into the kitchen. Hermione looked at Mr. Weasley, feeling the panic setting in at how calm her mother was, let alone how angry her uncle had regarded Elizabeth's reaction to magic—and he was a Muggle, making it make no sense at all. "And Hermione, you'll want to take a seat. Please."

Hermione sat Crookshanks carrier onto the table, pulling out a chair to sit while Mr. Weasley sat down in a chair. "How long has your youngest been waiting at the footstep of your home waiting for her daddy?"

"Since this morning," Hermione's mother said. "Sebastian left yesterday, thinking he'd be back shortly after he left, but obviously, things didn't go as planned. And because things didn't go as planned..." Her mother's hands clenched against the counter, the words not coming out of her mouth as her eyes closed, a deep sigh coming out, indicating something was definitely not suitable regarding Hermione's father.

"It's not as if we can help him." Hermione turned to look at her uncle, but the look on his face reminded her of all the times the other adult members of the Granger family would remind her father to ask for help rather than do something on his own. "But to be honest, I don't like..."

"Lettie, please." Olivia sighed, turning to glare at Hermione's uncle, her brother.

"I need to say it. I need to say that I don't like Wizard folk."

Hermione looked at the table, feeling her heart sink, knowing she was in that group, yet her head spun, remembering how her uncle had lectured Elizabeth when she'd said what she did. "The pieces don't make sense."

"To clarify, my brother doesn't like the community," her mother said, obviously trying to smooth over the situation.

"To clarify, I don't like that you are putting words into my mouth," Lettie snapped. "I don't trust wizards. Not after what happened to Sebastian."

"But you trust your brother-in-law?" Arthur Weasley asked, smiling despite the conversation making him feel uncomfortable, or at least Hermione thought so when she looked at his face.

"Brother! Sebastian is my brother. That's something I'll own till the day I die," her uncle snapped. "But the only reason, the only reason I'm trusting you is that you're the only person we can turn to for help."

"But I'm right in assuming he's not a Granger?"

"No. He is," Hermione blurted out. "There are others with the last name of Granger locally who are distant relatives on the family tree."

Silence.

"Right?" She felt her throat tighten.

More silence.

Hermione looked down at the table, suddenly feeling quite stupid at not figuring it out. "Or maybe I didn't want to?"

"If you want to know what Sebastian's name was before he married my sister, I don't know," her uncle Lettie said. "And I don't care. As I already said, he's my little brother, and nothing in the world will ever change that, Mr. Weasley."

"Then the reason you said you're waiting for Jules' letter this summer, that would be because the girls aren't Muggleborn?"

"Technically," her mother said.

Hermione sucked in her breath. "If one of the parents isn't a Muggle, there's no technically about it."

Her mother turned and looked her in the face. "It's your father's technicality. If he were here, he could explain it better than I ever could."

Numb.

Hermione felt numb.

She swallowed, knowing her mother was referring to one of her dad's eccentricities, but more importantly—she knew. She knew what her mother was getting at. "Then dad is a Wizard?"

"Yes," her mother said.