This has been floating around in my head for some time. It's a bit darker then my other Dramione Auribus Teneo Lupum, so I'm excited to start something a bit different. Don't fear though, Auribus will continue to be updated!

Let me know what you think!

..00..

The first time Hermione questioned her Muggle heritage was during her second year. The monster from the Chamber of Secrets had been unleashed and had met her as she rounded a corner, shocking her as she stared at it. She had been so sure that she was about to be petrified, but the giant basilisk just kept moving, leaving her completely unharmed.

She had wanted to tell someone about it, to see if there was an explanation, but fear of the truth kept her lips tightly sealed.

The second time was in her fifth year, during the fiasco at the Department of Mysteries. She had come face to face with the Dark Lord and had been sure she would be killed, but he had froze, staring at her with an unreadable expression.

She had once again wanted to tell someone, anyone, in hopes of a good explanation, only to once again keep quite in fear.

The third time was now, as she sat in the Potions classroom. She had been asked to stay after class and while she was sure she hadn't done anything wrong, she still worried her lip. It was her sixth year and she had silently been hoping that it would be a quiet semester, though Ron and Harry had been convinced that Malfoy was up to something. She tried to tune them out, but they seemed to be determined to prove he had joined the Death Eaters.

When she had walked up to his desk at the front of the classroom she wasn't sure what she expected, though for Snape to reach out and nick her finger hadn't even been a thought. Before she had even made a sound he had held her finger out and allowed some blood to drip into a foul smelling potion. She had been so shocked that she simply stood and watched as the potion turned from a deep brown to a startling green. Snape swore under his breath and the door at the back of the classroom slammed shut.

"Prof- Professor, I don't understand." She had managed to get out as he paced back and forth.

He stopped, his robes billowing out and swirling around his lanky frame. "Your whole life has been a lie. It's been one huge bloody lie and now I have to find a way to make it right."

A lie? Surely he had gone mad.

"You've noticed small things, haven't you? Things that didn't quite add up?"

She paused, thinking back to her second and fifth year. How could he have known about those? About her own doubts?

"You're not a bloody muggleborn like you've been led to believe your whole miserable life. No." He let out a bark of laughter which scared her far more then anything else he had done. "You want to understand? That potion is a bit of that the blasted "light" would call dark magic. It tests the blood status, black for muggles, purple for muggleborns, green for halfbloods, and gold for purebloods. That potion turned green, Miss Granger, though I now have little doubt that your last name isn't truly Granger."

She sat down on the nearest chair, her heart somewhere around her feet.

"After the stupid stunt you and your bloody friends pulled at the Department of Mysteries the Dark Lord himself asked me to test your blood." He stopped once more and came close to where she sat. "Do you want to know why he wanted me to do that? Do you?" He sneered at her.

Did she? Surely this was all a bad dream and she would soon wake up, but what if she didn't? Pinching herself seemed like a stupid thing to do, so she simply nodded. She did, after all, want to know the truth.

Snape stared at her before leaning back against his desk, the most casual she'd ever seen her professor be. "The Dark Lord has been rumored to be incapable of love, though I can assure you that is simply a rumor. The story I have to tell you cannot be uttered within this school, where Dumbledore has ears everywhere. No, if you truly want to know, then I need you to do something you may find reprehensible."

Why did she get the feeling that her whole life was about to change? Did she really want it to? Would Snape just let her leave and forget about this whole thing? Common sense told her no, told her that her only real choice was to go along with whatever this was.

"In three days Draco Malfoy will come up to you and ask you to follow him. All you need to do is that; follow him. It is a Hogsmeade weekend and I have it on goood authority that this one won't be canceled."

Her eyes widened. "You want me to follow someone whom everyone thinks is a Death Eater?" She tried to keep her voice down just in case anyone was close by, but even she could hear how high her voice had gotten.

Snape narrowed his eyes. "If you want to find out the truth then following a supposed Death Eater will be the least of your worries."

She had always been told that she would reach times where there would be a fork in the road and she would have to choose which path she wanted to follow. She always assumed she would know exactly which one to follow, but now she wasn't so sure. Yes, she wanted to know who she really was, had wanted to know since her second year, but at what cost? What if this was all a trap and Harry and Ron had been right?

But what if this tells you everything you've been yearning to know? a small voice asked. What if indeed.

"Okay. I'll do it. I'll follow him."

Snape simply nodded and gestured for her to leave, which she did as fast as she could.

Snape, however, let out the breath he had been holding. He really hadn't been sure if she would agree, but really, who would turn down the chance to learn who he or she really was? The potion proved what had already been guessed: that she wasn't a muggleborn. He glanced down at the small bit of blood that hadn't gone into the cauldron and bent over to pick up the small vial that he had been given the last time he was summoned. He took the stopper off and carefully poured the contents into another vial before adding the tiny bit of Hermione's blood to the mix. The color turned a bright red almost instantly and he breathed a sigh of relief. He had been correct, as had the Dark Lord.

Hermione Granger was none other than Lord Voldemort's missing daughter.

..Draco..

He truly couldn't believe what he was hearing; surely his godfather had gone off the deep end.

"Uncle Severus, there's no way that our resident muggleborn is the Dark Lord's daughter."

The older man merely lifted an eyebrow.

"There's no way! She's best friend with Harry Potter and Weasel! She's a Gryffindor!"

"Have you forgotten that her mother was also a Gryffindor?"

Draco sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. "You really believe she's his daughter?"

"I wouldn't risk my own neck if I didn't believe she was." Snape relaxed and took a seat next to his godson. "I know you've been under a lot of stress lately. You've had to take on numerous roles that you weren't ready for and have managed to not break under the pressure, but I must ask you take on one more. If she is truly whom I believe she is, then it is your duty to protect her."

The young man looked off into the dark of Professor Snape's office before sighing. "If she is then I'd protect her with my life."

Snape clasped a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You've made us all so proud already; you deserve the title you were given shortly after her birth."

Draco nodded and stood up, dusting off the invisible lint from his trousers. "Just tell me where to do and I'll make sure she gets there."