Hermione was finishing up the last of her packing when her mom called her down for lunch. Hermione quickly put the last of her things on her bed to pack later and headed downstairs. She had just finished setting the table when she heard a quiet tapping sound at the kitchen window. She looked over and saw a beautiful brown owl sitting on the ledge. Hermione didn't recognize the owl as belonging to Harry, one of the Weasleys or Hogwarts, so she was quite curious as to who it belonged to. She opened the kitchen window and the owl flew in and perched itself on the kitchen counter, waiting patiently for Hermione to take the letter that it had. Hermione took the letter and then scratched the lovely creature on its head. The owl hooted at her and then took off out the window. Hermione was even more surprised when she saw that the letter was addressed to her parents; she couldn't remember either of her parents ever receiving a letter by an owl.

"Mum, this letter is for you."

Her mom smiled and took the letter, assuming it had something to do with her daughter's last year of school. She opened the letter and scanned the first few lines, before her smile disappeared. Hermione had been watching her mom and frowned when she saw her expression change.

"What is it, mum?"

Liz stared at the letter for a moment, then smiled at Hermione, "It's nothing, dear; I'll be right back. Will you pour the lemonade, please?"

Liz disappeared into the living room before Hermione could ask anymore questions.

Hermione was just finishing pouring the lemonade when her parents walked into the kitchen with grim expressions. She set the pitcher down and crossed her arms over her chest, "Alright; someone had better tell me what's going on."

Her parents looked at each other and then at her before finally speaking, "Hermione dear, have a seat." Her mom patted a stool and Hermione slowly walked over and took a seat.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yes, everything is fine. However, we need to have a talk."

Hermione furrowed her brows, "Ok..."

Her parents sat down on stools on either side of her and her mom took her hand, "You know that we love you more than anything on this planet, right?"

"Of course I do. You're scaring me, mum. What is this about?"

"Did you know that several hundred years ago, the magical world took part in rather barbaric traditions such as trading children for other...goods and services?"

Hermione furrowed her brow, "No, I've never heard that. How did you know?"

"Well, even though those traditions haven't been practiced since the 1800s, arrangements that had been made back then still have to be followed now, to a certain extent."

"I don't follow."

"Say for instance, a wizard had made a deal with another wizard to obtain full legal custody of the first born female child in a family line. This agreement was made in 1875, but a female heir for that family wasn't born until 100 years later. Since the agreement was made when it was legal, the family is obligated to follow through with it. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, I understand now. Although, I don't understand what this has to do with us and how it is that you know so much about it."

Hermione's mom looked at her dad, "I don't know how to tell her this, Lewis."

"Oh, for hell's sake, just give me the letter then." Hermione snapped.

Her mom pushed it out of her reach, "Hermione, you aren't our biological daughter."

Hermione stopped reaching for the paper and gaped at her mother, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"You aren't our biological daughter."

Hermione was silent for a full minute before she came to terms with everything that her parents telling her. Unfortunately, she misunderstood what they had told her, "You-you took me from my real parents as some part of a century old agreement!?"

Lewis immediately understood what she had said and he took her hand, "No, honey, that's not what happened. Your biological parents gave you to us to protect you from the wizard who had legal claim to you. You see, this wizard wasn't a good man. There's no telling what would have happened to you if he had gotten his slimy hands on you."

"I'm not-I'm not a-Who am I?" Hermione couldn't fully wrap her head around what they were telling her.

"You are the biological daughter of a very wealthy pureblood family." Her mom explained.

Out of sheer shock, Hermione started laughing. She had spent her entire life defending herself against the pureblooded elite who constantly looked down on her because she was a muggle born, but in reality she was just like them? How was this even possible? Hermione prided herself on being so knowledgeable about the wizarding world, but she had never heard of such atrocious things like trading human beings for property or other things.

Hermione studied her parents, "I have your features; hair, eyes, nose. Was it a concealment charm?"

"Yes; you were actually quite a surprise to your parents. Your mother had no idea that she was pregnant with twins. When you came out a few minutes after your brother, your mom was both overjoyed and terrified. The younger generations of your family had made other arrangements to keep the next female heir safe. The plan was to lie about your sex and then say that you had died at childbirth and then they would send you away to a new family. When your mom found out she was pregnant, they were only able to detect your brother and when you were born, they had to put their plan into motion immediately. Your father put a concealment charm on you to look like us."

Hermione let all of this information sink in and tears starting running down her cheeks, "I have a twin brother?"

"Yes, you do."

"Why were you chosen to be my parents? I thought you knew nothing of the magical world."

"Well, we wanted you to believe that. It was of the utmost importance that you believed that you had come from a completely non magical family to keep you safe. If anyone had ever suspected that you weren't who you said, this wizard that had claim on you could have found you."

"Who was this wizard and why are you telling me all this now?"

Hermione's mom held up the letter, "This letter is from your birth parents. It says that the wizard was killed by some Aurors last month when they caught him torturing a muggle family."

Hermione gasped, "Oh, what a horrible man!"

"Yes, he was. Now you see why your real parents went to such trouble to protect you. The wizard's name was Aldo Acey."

Hermione had never heard that name before and she was very glad, "So, this means that I don't have to be hidden anymore?"

"That's right; you can go be with your real family if you so choose."

Hermione hugged her mom and dad, "You two are my real family. But, I would like to meet them. Have I heard of them before?"

"It's possible; they are Felix, Rachel and Blaise Zabini."

Hermione gasped, "The Zabinis...I am a Zabini?"

"You've heard of them, then."

"Yes, they are quite known in the wizarding world and more that a little wealthy In fact, they are the wealthiest family in Europe next to the Malfoys." The mention of Malfoys made her think of Draco and then Blaise, as he was Draco's best friend and then she gasped again, "Oh my, I'm Blaise Zabini's twin sister?"

"Yes, you are."

Hermione tried to think of all she knew about Blaise Zabini. He was a Slytherin, Draco Malfoy's best friend, very smart, popular, attractive, and he had never gone out of his way to be a jerk to her the way Malfoy always had. In fact, he had always been relatively nice to her. Did he know that she was his sister?

Hermione asked her mom that question, "No, the only people who know your true identity are Mr. and Mrs. Zabini, and us."

"What-What's my real name?"

"Hermione Olivia Zabini."

"So, I look like Blaise." She thought of Blaise's features; he had flawless, tanned skin, midnight black hair, and cobalt blue eyes. Hermione wondered how many features they had in common. Would she look like a completely different person after the concealment charm was taken off? She had her mom's hair, nose and eyes, so she knew that those things would change at the very least.

Her mom broke her out of her thoughts, "I know that this is a lot to take in, sweetheart, but we promised Rachel and Felix that if you were ever safe from the clutches of Mr. Acey, then we would tell you the truth and let you decide how you wanted to move forward."

"Can I read the letter?"

Liz handed the letter to Hermione and she began reading.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger,

I am writing to inform you that Aldo Acey is dead; he was killed by some Aurors when they caught him torturing a muggle family. It is time to tell Hermione who she really is and let her decide what she wants to do. My husband and I always agreed that when the time came, it would be her choice to choose her family. If we are all lucky, then she will want to have us all in her life. I pray for the sake of my son that she chooses to get to know her other family and perhaps have a real relationship with her brother. My son is very loyal when it comes to family and I am certain that he will be less than pleased to learn that he has a twin sister that he has known all these years, but never really knew. My husband and I have kept tabs on Hermione as much as we could and we are very pleased with the way you've raised her. I hear that she is extremely intelligent, much like Blaise, as well as kind, generous, and fiercely loyal to her friends and family as well.

Obviously, we all need to come together and speak in person. We are very eager to meet the wonderful young woman that you raised, as well as reunite Blaise and his sister. We will be talking to Blaise this afternoon and then we will all come to your house on Thursday afternoon to meet with you.

My husband and I want to thank you from the bottom of ours hearts for taking such wonderful care of our daughter and we look forward to meeting with you once again.

See you on Thursday.

Sincerely,

Felix and Rachel Zabini

Hermione set the letter back on the counter, "They are coming here today?!"

Liz nodded and Hermione blew out a sigh, "I'm going up to my room; I need to think."

She kissed her parents and went up to her room. Hermione threw herself onto her bed and tried to sort through everything that was flying around in her head. She was a Zabini; the second wealthiest pureblooded magical family in Europe. She was Blaise Zabini's twin sister; if she had been a Zabini her whole life, would she have been sorted into Slytherin as well? Would she still have become friends with Harry and Ron? Harry and Ron; what would they say when they found out who she really was? Would they still be her friend? Of course they would; it's not like she had been keeping it a secret from them, she had no idea either! They would understand, she knew they would. She was a pureblood witch, a wealthy, pureblood witch; this was all just so surreal. She had absolutely no complaints about her life, but she couldn't help but think how things would be so vastly different if she had been raised a Zabini. She knew that Harry, Ron and Ginny would always stay by her side, but how would everyone else react when they found out about her? She had to admit that she wasn't too keen to find out. The thought of Everyone at Hogwarts made her think of Blaise's best friend; Draco Malfoy. She almost laughed at the thought of how he would react when he found out that Hermione Mudblood Granger was actually his best friend's sister; she found that she was quite looking forward to that part. Hermione looked at her bedside clock and jumped off the bed when she realized that she had been deep in thought for almost two hours. They would be there in less than thirty minutes! Hermione tore through her closet in search of something to wear. She had just put the finishing touches on her outfit when she heard the doorbell ring. Hermione's stomach dropped to her toes and she had to remind herself to breathe. She took one last look at her reflection before she went down to meet her real family.