Greengrass

~1~

Dear Miss Hermione Granger,

While I wish this was a casual letter, we at the Ministry have important news to share with you as you are entering your final year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. It might be difficult to understand at first, but we have already spoken to your professors and they have vowed to help you adjust to this transition if need be.

While digging through Voldemort and his minions' things, we have found documentation that you are not from where you think. Voldemort journaled all of his daily happenings, which turned out to be quite useful now that we are investigating all of his wrong-doings. 

I'm sure you've heard of the Greengrass family. There are one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, a group of wizard families that are driven on blood purity and who are made up entirely of pure-bloods. They used to be followers of  Voldemort, and, according to his journals, turned on him. He learned of their betrayal and punished them by taking one of their children and placing them instead in the hands of Muggles. A spell was placed on you so that you would have no memories or no physical ties to your birth family. The Greengrass' were obliviated. After further investigation, we learned that you were that child. I have charmed this letter so that the spell would be reversed once you finish reading it. Please don't be alarmed if your appearance starts to alter to match that of who you truly are.

We know it is a lot to take in, but we hope you understand that now that you, along with your professors and the entire Ministry know who you are, you have the option to go through the process of getting sorted into a different house. While familial ties do not mean you will be placed in a new house, traits that you didn't know you had might come shining through now that the spell is dissolved. Based on this new information, we recommend being sorted once more. Fair, warning, there is a chance you may be placed in Slytherin, as your biological family is known to do significantly well in that house. While there, you might also want to reconnect with the two Greengrass girls currently at Hogwarts or learn more about your family in the Slytherin library. 

I am sorry to spring this information on you right before your final year, but I have no doubt you will do as phenomenal as you have been despite the sudden change. Good luck Hermione, and take pride in your name. The Greengrass family name has proven to open many doors.

Your friend,
Kingsley Shacklebolt
Ministry of Magic

Hermione reread the letter again and again. It didn't seem real. She knew in her heart that Kingsley was a reliable source and he would never tell a lie like this to anyone, but how could she believe it? 

She yearned to run to her parents, to ask them if he was right, but she knew she couldn't. After the war, after she told Kingsley what she did to her parents, she was advised not to seek them out. Obliviating muggles was always a tricky job, and while he applauded her for doing it with no trouble, a testament to her skill and magical range, he said it was almost impossible to reverse the spell without them losing their minds. He said he would have someone check up on them every so often to ensure their safety and monitor their behavior for any side effects of her spell. 

He also provided her with a flat not too far from Diagon Alley. The Weasley's, of course, offered to let her stay with them for as long as she needed, but she preferred to have her own space. She enjoyed spending time with her magical family but she thought everyone could use some time to heal from the wounds left behind from the war, so she accepted the Minister's offer.

The girl sunk to her bed with a sigh, her mind racing. She was a pure-blood, like Ron, like Neville. She felt lost. Her life was a lie. She had endured years of bullying just for her to be the opposite of what they called her. Mudblood. Her hand flew to the scar on her arm, the terrible reminder of the torture she had endured at the hand of Bellatrix Lestrange. The scar had no meaning anymore. She was hunted, abused, tortured for nothing.