Severus looked at his daughter with mild amusement as she hopped from one foot to another, anxious to go on the trip to Diagon Alley. She reminded him so much of Hermione the first time he saw her at Hogwarts – excited, anxious, and ready to go.

"Nicoletta, it isn't as if you have never been to Diagon Alley."

"Yes, Dad, but today is different. Today we are going to buy my school stuff. You know, my wand, my cauldron, my books, and everything else! What is taking Mum so long, anyway?" Her dark eyes went around the room, searching for her mother.

"I shall go see what is keeping her. You stay here and try not to make anything explode."

"I haven't done that in months," she protested but sat down on the couch.

"Then what did I hear coming from your room the other night?" Severus gave his daughter one last look before heading upstairs to find his wife. He finally found her in their room, sitting on the bed in deep thought. Going over to her, he put her arm around her shoulders and sat down next to her. "I can only guess what is bothering you," he said quietly.

"It's been over fifteen years since I last saw Harry, Ron or Ginny. They don't even know about Nicoletta." She looked up, and he could see that her eyes were bright with unshed tears. "I don't care about what they say to me, but how are they going to treat her?"

Severus sighed and drew his wife close. Years ago he wouldn't have shown much emotion, but being married to her had taught him that a show of emotion was not a show of weakness.

"It is my hope that Potter and Weasley will have matured since the last time you spoke with them. After all, they have children of their own and they will want to bring them up correctly." He personally thought that this was too much to hope for, but he didn't want to discourage Hermione from wanting to go to Diagon Alley.

"Maybe..." Looking at her husband, she gave him a smile. "Let Nicoletta know that I will be down in a minute."

Standing up, he squeezed her hand. "Very well. You know, our daughter reminds me a lot of you when you came to Hogwarts." With one last look at her, he left the room.

***

Left alone with her thoughts, Hermione thought back to the last day she had seen her so called friends.

Hermione walked down Diagon Alley, trying to think of something to buy for Harry and Ginny's wedding gift. She had considered buying something in the Muggle world, but she knew that their house wasn't going to have electricity so her options were limited.

"Hermione!" she heard Harry's voice calling behind her.

"Hi, Harry," she said with a smile, but the look on his face made her own smile disappear.

"Ginny just got your wedding invitation response. What are you on about?" Harry asked, folding his hands over his chest.

"I was told that I could bring a guest."

"Yeah, but I didn't know that you were going to bring our Potions professor!" Harry's eyes widened in disbelief.

"In case you have forgotten, Harry, he hasn't been my Potions professor for several years now. And you and Ron didn't even bother to go back to Hogwarts with me."

"But he killed Dumbledore!" Harry shot back at her.

"On Dumbledore's orders, according to you. Or did you forget that night in the Shrieking Shack when he showed you his memories and we all thought he had died?" Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and looked Harry right in the eyes.

"Of course I didn't forget it! That's the night when I found out he fancied my mum..."

"Oh, so that's the problem? You have a problem with me dating him because he fancied your mum?"

Before Harry could answer her, another voice joined the conversation.

"What the hell are you bringing Snape to my sister's wedding for?" Ron asked angrily, coming out of Quality Quidditch Supplies.

Hermione's eyes burned with tears of hurt and anger, but she was too proud to let them fall. "I guess some things never change. You will never see Severus for the man he really is."

"Oh, it's Severus now, is it?" Ron sneered.

With a roll of her eyes, Hermione turned to Ron. "Did you really expect me to keep calling the man I am dating Professor Snape?"

Harry grimaced. "Hermione, you are a beautiful witch. Why don't you date someone closer to your own age?"

Hermione gave Ron a sidelong glance. "In case you have forgotten, Harry, I did date someone my own age. And he cheated on me. Severus makes me happy. If you were true friends, you would be happy for me and want me to be happy." Hermione looked from Ron to Harry, who said nothing. "I guess that tells me what you think of our friendship." She turned and walked away slowly, giving them time to stop her.

Just before she got out of the range of hearing, she heard, "I can't believe she would choose going with that greasy-haired git over me."

Hermione went back to Ron and Harry. "For your information, his hair has not always been like that. It's from all the potion brewing that he has done over the years."

Harry looked uncomfortable. "Ginny is upset, Hermione. She would rather that the two of you not come to the wedding. If you come alone, you may still come. But..."

"I have accepted that Ron is with Lavender Brown. I don't see you excluding her from going to the wedding because he's not with me."

"Yes, but that's different. She's our age and she isn't our former teacher..."

"And she's not a Slytherin," Ron answered.

"If you can't accept me being with Severus, then you aren't the friends that I thought you were. Goodbye," she said softly and turned away. This time she didn't walk slowly and she didn't look back.

It was then that she knew that her friendship really was over with Harry and Ron.

She took out a tissue and dabbed at her tear-filled eyes as the painful memories came flooding back. Before she went down to face Severus and Nicoletta, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She would have to wash her face before she went downstairs – she didn't want them to know that she had been crying.

When she went downstairs, Nicoletta ran into her arms.

"Ready to go, Mum?"

"Yes, I am ready to go." She looked over at Severus and gave him a reassuring smile. "Let's go get your things for school and maybe stop for an ice cream at Florean's."

This wasn't going to be easy, but she was a Gryffindor after all. She would face it with every ounce of bravery she had in her being.