Greengrass

~5~

To Hermione's delight, her parents were as wonderful as her sisters described them to be. 

After the initial tears, everyone moved into the privacy of the manor. Daphne and Astoria escaped to the kitchens to make some tea while her parents apologized to her over and over again. Hermione had to remind them that they were obliviated and would never have known otherwise if not for Minister Shacklebolt. 

"We're just so sorry to have missed so much. We never even got to have any photos taken of you as an infant. My own daughter, ripped away from us before we got to know her!" Laurel dissolved into another round of sobs as Cyrus patted her hand supportively.

He fixed Hermione with a kind gaze as he rubbed his wife's knuckles. "What of your adoptive parents? I understand that before all this you were believed to be a muggle-born, proof that muggle-borns are just as talented as pure-bloods. Do they know the truth?"

Hermione swallowed thickly and watched as her sisters came back with the tea. Daphne handed her a cup and she took a shaky sip, relieved that it was her favorite flavor, ginger chai. "My parents, my muggle parents, don't know the truth. I obliviated them and sent them away before I left for the war to keep them safe." She heard her mother's sharp intake of breath. "A risky spell on wizards, even more so for muggles. The Minister says it's too dangerous to try to reverse the spell without damaging their minds. I don't exist to them anymore."

Daphne placed her free hand on Hermione's back and rubbed soothing circles. She hadn't talked about it much, but Daphne knew her twin was still upset at losing the people that raised her. 

Laurel straightened up and brushed a strand of hair away from her daughter's face. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

Hermione couldn't help but be a bit surprised. "You aren't...jealous or anything?"

Her mother smiled sadly. "Of course I'm jealous. They got to raise my baby, get her fitted for her first dress, take her to Diagon Alley for the first time. I'm also very thankful for them, wherever they are, whoever they may be. We're near-strangers, but the name Hermione Granger has been in The Prophet since before the war. They raised a magnificent girl and I'm glad we finally have the chance to know her."

Overcome with emotion, Hermione moved in for a hug that her mother was all too happy to return. 

Her mind raced with more questions before deciding on one that had been pressing on her mind. "I know this is forward, but how did you come to know Voldemort?" The air in the room shifted, and she Hermione her mother stiffen against her. 

Cyrus cleared his throat. "I can answer that, dear." He straightened up in his seat. "At first, it was a business deal. The Dark Lord had a potions expert on hand already, Severus Snape, but Snape couldn't work brew potions for the entire army while also working at Hogwarts. Voldemort came to me. I had heard about him, of course. The Malfoys were subtle but loud in their support for him and they were also one of my business partners. They recommended me, and for a while I even almost enjoyed doing business with them."

Hermione's breath caught in her throat and a pit of anxiety formed in her stomach. Was this going to be how she found out her parents were actually terrible people?

"I was young, fresh out of a potioneering apprenticeship and full of ideas and wonder, so when the most feared man in our world knocked on my door, I answered. I brewed several portioned for him, half of which were veritaserum. He was very paranoid and was always testing the loyalty of his followers." Cyrus frowned down at his hands. "Then he began using it on us, testing our loyalty, despite us never really pledging it before."

Laurel jumped in. "He hit us with the crutiatus. I was pregnant with you both at the time, almost due," she said looking at Hermione and Daphne. "Your father tried to reason with him, tried to strike a deal and get him to stop, but he didn't. We told him that we wanted to shift our focus from his cause to our growing family."