Chapter 120: A Meeting
The next morning, something incredible happened. The entire House gathered for breakfast, and they all stood facing Hermione.
"Hermione, on behalf of the House, I apologize to you. Forgive us for that disgusting act. We acted on emotion and simply couldn't understand in that moment that we were behaving extremely badly."
Harry said those words, and Hermione looked at him in a way entirely different from the first day.
"I... I..."
She was clearly bewildered by what was happening, and the other Houses watched the scene in confusion.
"Doesn't anyone want to apologize to me?!"
Sixth's outraged voice rang out from the Gryffindor table, but no one answered him at all.
"Hermione... I understand that what we did..."
Harry winced.
"...was extremely disgusting. And you probably won't be able to forget it, but... I ask you to give us one more chance. A chance to prove that you weren't wrong to choose Ravenclaw."
Tears were rolling down Hermione's cheeks.
"I... all right... I forgive..."
The last word came with difficulty, but she managed to say it, and after that, every member of the House, including me, Penny, and Flitwick, approached her and hugged her, each individually asking for forgiveness for what had happened.
"All of this is certainly good..."
Dumbledore slightly amplified his voice with magic.
"...but it does not exempt you from punishment. And since Ravenclaw chose collective responsibility yesterday, the punishment will be for everyone. Starting tomorrow, you must send twenty people at a time to Pomona Sprout's disposal. You'll find something for that many children to do, won't you?"
"Of course I will... dragon dung won't distribute itself into pots and beds..."
The woman was more than pleased that she would have so many students at her disposal.
"And all of this until New Year's."
"Wonderful!"
She even clapped her hands at Dumbledore's words.
"All right, since we are finished with business, I think we can begin breakfast..."
*** Some Time Later. ***
The days until the weekend flew by, and now parents who wanted to spend time with their children began arriving at Hogwarts.
"Mr. and Mrs. Granger..."
I nodded to Hermione's parents and gestured for them to follow me, since I knew exactly where both Hermiones were. They were waiting in a separate classroom, because the meeting was going to be somewhat strange.
"Did something happen?"
"No..."
I shook my head.
"More precisely, nothing terrible. Rather, something unusual. But since Hermione didn't write to you about it, she decided to keep it a secret so she could tell you herself. So I won't say anything."
"Ahem..."
Hermione's father was clearly displeased by my words, but he didn't insist, since there were only a few minutes left until he could meet his daughter and question her.
"So, please..."
I opened the classroom door, and Hermione's parents entered. More precisely, only her father entered, and when he saw two daughters, he simply froze on the spot.
"Dear..."
Hermione's mother finally pushed him inside, and then she herself froze in shock.
"Mum, Dad, allow me to introduce you. This is Hermione Granger, and she is from a parallel world."
"Parallel?"
Jean was the first to come to her senses.
"How is that possible?"
"I'm afraid I don't know..."
Hermy shook her head. "One day, Draco just called me to the hospital wing and showed her to me..."
Jean and John looked at me with a silent question.
"A slightly damaged artifact activated. In its intact state, it shouldn't have been able to do anything like this. We won't be able to send her back, so now you have two daughters..."
"You aren't against it, are you?"
The new Hermione asked this question and was immediately caught in her mother's embrace.
"Of course not! My daughter!"
Very quietly, I left the classroom with a faint smile on my face and went to study. It wasn't my turn to greet the arriving parents today.
*** Several Hours Later. ***
"So, tell me..."
John sat across from me and looked me straight in the eyes.
"And what am I supposed to tell you?"
"Who is she?"
"I thought I already said that."
"You expect me to believe that?!"
"That's the only answer. You can check for yourself. Submit her DNA for analysis, and you'll be told she's your daughter. And if you submit both her DNA and Hermy's, the test will most likely show that they're the same person."
"Most likely?"
John gave a crooked smile.
"Well, I'm still not sure that everything in the parallel world was exactly the same as in ours. Maybe in that world, you had some Black ancestry..."
"Me?"
John raised an eyebrow, as if to emphasize his thoroughly British appearance.
"How should I know?"
I shrugged.
"Just accept that you have two daughters now."
"I... it's hard to just accept something like that. And also... I keep thinking our Hermione could have moved like that too..."
"She could not."
I shook my head.
"She couldn't? Then why are you so sure this one could move? And where does this certainty even come from?"
"She couldn't because the artifact that shouldn't have worked that way isn't standard. It's not simply handed out to students. For some reason, your daughter had one... to be honest, I'd question the teaching staff who issued such a dangerous artifact to a student..."
I sighed.
In short, either someone hit her or shoved her hard, and the artifact was damaged, so here she is. The artifact is being studied in the Department of Mysteries, but the chance they'll figure out how to return her to her native world is almost zero.
"I see..."
Dan closed his eyes.
"...damn it, they must be beside themselves right now!"
"I'm afraid you're wrong about that..."
I shook my head sadly.
"Wait... of course, I'd forgotten that you wizards have special procedures for cases like this. They simply erased their memories?"
"Most likely..."
Or they picked out some girl, changed her appearance with rituals, and placed her with those Grangers, so they could go on living as if nothing had happened. Except that their memories of magic would have been wiped.
"Damn..."
Dan shook his head.
"...even imagining that is frightening. Still, all right... if you say everything we were told is true, then we'll accept the girl... take her in as our daughter."
"That is the right thing to do."
I nodded.
"All right... is there anything I should know?"
"Well... only that the girl is overly categorical. In her world, everything was somewhat different, and she hasn't even begun to reconsider her views yet."
"Are you saying she doesn't like you?"
"Well... there, I was most likely quite the little bastard."
"Bastard? What makes you say that?"
"Her reaction during our first meeting. But none of that matters. In the end, I'll survive one specific girl disliking me."
I smirked.
"All right, so in short, you insist that this is our daughter from a parallel world, that any test would confirm it, and you say she cannot return home. Did I get that right?"
"Exactly..."
I nodded.
"Well, to hell with you..."
He waved in my direction, and John rose from his seat and left. I leaned back and stared at the ceiling. It wasn't so much that the conversation had tired me out; general fatigue was setting in.
"I think you need to rest..."
Daphne appeared behind me almost out of thin air, placing her hands on my shoulders and beginning to massage them gently.
"...you've started pushing yourself too hard again. And that doesn't do you any good."
"The holidays are soon..."
"During them, you'll deal with the Quarter's affairs, but right now you need actual rest, not a change of activity. So why don't you stop for a couple of days and cancel at least forty percent of your tasks..."
I smiled.
"Well, I think I can cancel some of them. Rest really wouldn't hurt."
"I'm glad you agree. Now come on, no reason to sit here overthinking things. We'll start your little holiday right now..."
*** Several Hours Later. Outside Perspective. ***
"Thank you... But you really don't mind?"
Hermione looked at her copy from this world. In the short time she'd spent here, she was already getting used to having her exact copy nearby, or perhaps she was the exact copy, since she was the one who'd come into this world...
"Mind what?"
"Well... that your parents... our parents..."
Hermy sighed.
"Listen, I don't really like the way you're behaving..."
Hermione bit her lip.
"...but that doesn't mean I want you left here alone. No one deserves a fate like that."
"I... listen, I really am trying to stop reacting to Black that way, but..."
Hermione bit her lower lip.
"...you simply don't understand..."
"Don't understand what?"
Hermy smiled sadly.
Don't you understand that you were in love with your Draco?
Hermione flinched, and her eyes opened as wide as they could as she stared at her copy.
"You were in love with him from the first meeting on the train, when you were on your way to first year?"
"You..."
"Yes. I love him too, but... I don't have even the slightest chance of making him feel the same way. He loves Penny and Fleur... and everyone else, including Daphne, who never leaves his side, is only a friend or a sister to him..."
"Then why?"
"Why don't I shout at him and try to be friends?"
"Yes..."
Hermione nodded.
"Because I at least want to be near him. You know, it hurts, it hurts very much, but on the other hand, when I imagine not being able to approach him and just talk... It's better to be near him with no chance, especially since he, like any other boy, simply doesn't understand when someone treats him not as a friend, but as something more."
"But what about..."
"Penny and Fleur?"
"Uh-huh..."
"They simply know that Draco, even if he suddenly realizes, will not cheat on them. They trust him... and I won't force myself into their relationship either... at least not without their permission, since they've become my friends."
"I see..."
Hermione nodded.
"...but I won't be able to do that. I might understand that this isn't the Draco I was in love with, but... he looks so much like him... not in his behavior, no, he mostly irritated me with his behavior, but on the outside..."
"You'll get used to it... you'll get used to it..."
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