The Given Choices

*** Chapter Four ***

With a small kick, Hermione opened the dorm room, as her arms were full of opened boxes and various objects. She passed the other girls' empty beds, laid her birthday presents on hers and started putting things away. Ginny entered the room and flopped onto Lavender's bed and watched her friend sort out her gifts. The redhead spoke as Hermione put some of the sugar quills from Ron into her book bag and side table. "I swear, my brother's sweet tooth can rival the Headmaster's any day of the week. So, do you really like my gift?"

"Of course, I can be even more organized with a set of colored quills," the birthday girl stated with a smile that wouldn't disappear as she placed the mentioned quills inside the side table next to the journal Remus had gotten her. It was a non-magical journal with her initials in gold on the back.

She sat on her bed as she looked over the two gifts that puzzled her completely. Both arrived by owl earlier that morning by two different owls, but neither had a sender's name. A long thin black box tied with a scarlet ribbon held a beautiful black quill with a gold tip. After examining the quill, she placed it back in the box and stored it in her trunk as she pulled her hair back with the ribbon that had originally tied it. The other gift was an old hardbound book called Charms for the Most Advanced Witch and Wizard. The cover was navy with the title printed in silver and looked liked it had seen better years. She started to flip through the pages as Ginny's voice got her attention. "So, any idea who got you that book or the expensive quill?"

Hermione closed the book and placed it under her pillow to read before bed. She lay on her stomach as she turned toward her best friend. "Nope, all the family members and friends who normally give gifts are accounted for."

The younger girl got off Lavender's bed and sat next to Hermione as she played with Harry's gift. He had given her a gold ankle bracelet with the letter H dangling from it. "Well, who ever sent the quill spent a pretty Knut on it. That's the fanciest looking one I've ever seen."

"It's very lovely. But the thing I do not understand is Malfoy wishing me a happy birthday this morning."

Ginny chuckled as she lay next to her best friend. "True," she stated, "but it made Harry's happy birthday kiss right after a lot hotter."

"Okay, true, I never figured he was the jealous type but I am not complaining. Speaking of kissing and not complaining, I'm going down to get some more of those birthday kisses from my very cute boyfriend," Hermione said as she left the dorm and a chuckling best friend behind.

As she walked down the stairs to the common room, her thoughts went back to breakfast after Harry had kissed her. Over his shoulder, she saw Malfoy had seen the kiss and wore an angry look. Blaise had said something to the angry Slytherin that caused him to smile and both left the Great Hall with smirks on their faces.

When she reached the common room, she noticed it was empty except for Harry, who was lying on his stomach in front of the fire as he flipped through a Quidditch book. Silently she crept up on her boyfriend and pounced on his back as soon as she was close enough. Her fingers tickled under his arms a few moments before he had her flipped over and her arms pinned under over her head. "It may be your birthday, my little witch, but that doesn't give you the right to tickle me whenever you want."

She gave a thoughtful look and then slyly asked, "Well, if that's true, does that rule apply to kisses as well?"

"No, my dear, just tickling. If you want kisses, all you have to do is ask," he whispered into her ear as he began to trace a path from her ear to her exposed neck.

Hermione loved how his strong chest pressed against hers, which prevented her from moving much. Her head tilted a little to give him better access to more skin above her tee shirt's collar. The birthday outfit was from her mother. It was a faded pair of black jeans with gold thread that made angel wings on each pocket in the back. The tee shirt was a little pink one. In gold cursive writing '90% Angel' was written. And the mark Harry was placing on her neck was bound to lower that number.

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Remus Lupin stood at the door of a large house on a Muggle street as he waited for someone to answer the door. The sun was just about to set and the breezy air carried the smell of fall. In a few days, it would be October once again - his favorite time of year. But neither the gentle breeze nor the cool air settled his nerves. He was at this house on Order business and quite possibly personal business as well.

The square glass window revealed a woman as she unlocked the door and opened it with a smile. The woman was dressed in a simple but nice gray suit and her straight brown hair hung right above her shoulders. She had a perfect white smile as she greeted him. "Ah, you must be Mr. Lupin. Please come in. We have been expecting you."

"Thank you for seeing me, Mrs. Granger," he replied as he stepped into the foyer.

She closed the door behind him as he took off his jacket and handed it to his hostess. She raised her arm in the direction of a room with opened double-doors, which showed a study. "My husband is in the there and I will join the both of you after I get the tea."

Remus entered the room and found Mr. Granger sitting on a loveseat covered with a soft brown material. The man had on a nice tailored suit but his suit jacket was draped across the back of the couch. He stood as soon as he saw Lupin enter the room and offered his hand to greet him. "Please to meet you, Mr. Lupin. I have heard a great deal about you from our Hermione. You were once a professor at her school a few years back. She stated how disappointed she was when you were not able to return the next year. But I see you are working for the Order now," he said as they shook hands.

"Yes, I have been so for the past couple years. I want to assure you that Hermione is quite well," Remus commented as he took a wooden chair next to the loveseat.

Mrs. Granger entered the room with a tray filled with white cups, a teapot, and an assortment of extras. She poured Lupin a cup and handed it to him as she spoke. "That is good news, but why are you here? Your letter mentioned something about a few questions about our family."

He slowly took a sip as he tried to let the warm liquid sooth his frazzled nerves. After a minute of silence, he looked up at Hermione's parents and began. "I do have a few important questions that I'd like answered, and some might be on the more personal side, if you don't mind?"

"No, please, Mr. Lupin. I am sure that if it were not important, you wouldn't have made the trip. Please feel free to ask anything, and my wife and I will do our best to answer them."

"Very well then," he stated and with a heavy sigh he asked his first question. He dreaded to ask it but he knew it had to be done. "Are you Hermione's birth parents?"

The wife tried to hide the fact she choked on her tea as the husband closed his eyes. Mr. Granger's right hand held his wife's left hand and their eyes met for a moment. "No, we are not."

Lupin almost wanted to let out a sigh of relief but he wasn't sure if that information was a good thing or not yet. "Can you please tell me what happened?"

"Certainly," Mrs. Granger began, as she looked the picture of Hermione that was above the mantle. "Sixteen years ago, I was nine months pregnant and we were on our way to the hospital. On the way, something appeared in the middle of the road and my husband tried to avoid it, but we crashed into a fence. We were both taken to the hospital by an ambulance. When I awoke, the doctor informed me that my husband and I would be fine in a few days but the baby did not survive."

"I am very sorry about your loss," he stated as he watched the tears start to fall from the woman's cheeks.

She nodded and squeezed her husband's hand, "Thank you. Once the doctor left, the nurse informed us that what my husband almost hit was a young woman who was unconscious. She was also pregnant but had a complication that caused her to black out. How she ended up in the middle of a country road, we'll never know. But the young girl was treated and told that she would never be able to have children again. The nurse stated that she was acting irrational and saying things that didn't make sense. When the nurse left to go get the doctor, the young mother left without her baby and was never to be heard from again."

Mr. Granger continued for his wife as she took a sip of her tea. "We tried to find the mother, but she never came forth, and we adopted Hermione. We named her, raised her, and gave her a good life. Then when Professor McGonagall came, informing her that she was a witch, we were surprised but we knew that the wizarding world was where she belonged. We decided that the young witch that left her behind must not have wanted her. So, we did not inform the Deputy Headmistress then and we still have not told Hermione."

The room became quiet as they were each lost in their own thoughts. The only sounds were the frequent light sips of tea and the clinking of dishes. After a few minutes, Mrs. Granger spoke. "I do have a question for you. You knew that she was not ours, but how? Has her mother come forward? Does Hermione know?"

"No, she does not know yet. Her biological mother has mentioned her existence to a selected few but she has not made her relationship publicly known thus far. I highly doubt it will be anytime soon. But Hermione must be told soon, before the mother comes forward. So she is able to accept the fact before meeting her again," he stated as he placed his cup on the coffee table in front of him. He stood, and both of the Grangers rose to their feet.

The woman walked past Lupin and turned towards him as he reached the foyer. "Should we come to Hogwarts to tell her then? Do you know the birth mother at all?"

"No, I think it would be better if this came from someone else. She might not take it well at first but she will be told you offered to inform her. And yes, I used to know the birth mother many years ago. Now, I must be going; there is another matter I must see to. Good night, Mrs. Granger. Mr. Granger," Remus Lupin stated as he walked down the cement sidewalk with the now dark sky surrounding him. The cool air and the quiet street left him to his own thoughts and worries.