A/N: Hey, I'm getting very frustrated with my computer. It had froze 4ever when I was in the middle of writing the second chapter, and when I had turned the comp. back on, the stupid file got erased. Now, I have to remember what I wrote about. However, on a lighter note, THANKS 2 EVERY1 WHO REVIEWED. PS, I have raised this to rated R because of Language and later scary and adult scenes.

Chapter 2: Faery and Dream

It was nightfall when she returned home, and as she was flying past the vanity, she noticed a soft glow. Hermione returned to the mirror and gasped.

There, in front of her eyes where a forest green hummingbird should be floated a picture-perfect faery. The wings were beating so fast, they seem invisible. As Hermione flew in closer, it seemed as if she floated over.

Hermione looked at her skin, and saw it looked as if she was dipped in a gold melt. She sparkled radiantly. She was wearing a flower costume like Tinkerbell from Peter Pan. Her cheeks were rosy in color from her recent excursion, and if she looked closely, she could swear her eyes were lilac. However, the lighting was too poor to know for sure.

Hermione tried to remember everything she could from her studies on Faeries, and tested out her powers. Her hands tingle in anticipation. She certainly didn't need a wand to do magic. She could perform magic with a point of a finger similar to that of an elf snapping his fingers.

Concentration on the ebony brush sitting on the table, a shot of gold connected her finger and the brush, and soon it became clean of any stray hair. The next task, to see if she could walk through walls. Hermione tentative reached her hands out to touch the mirror, and immediately found herself in the bathroom, which was on the other side. Satisfied, she returned to her room in such an excited state, she failed to notice Crookshank slowly gaining on her form.

Before she knew it, Crookshank had pounced on her and she immediately merged with him. When she extracted herself, she knew more about him than she needed. Mrs. Norris must be very satisfied by the looks of it.

Anyway, she transfigured back to her human form and admonished him. She then turned back and force to make sure he got it into his head that she was in fact the faery. When he got bored and slunk away, Hermione went in search of her mother.

She hovered above her sleeping face in the bedroom, looking so peaceful. Hermione reached out a hand to brush away a riotous bang, when she felt herself getting pulled in. A moment of shock gave way to disorientation which gave way to darkness.

Hermione thought she was consciously unconscious, but then noticed a young woman crying her eyes out. She noticed it was her mother, Helen, as a teenager. A noise in the background suddenly lit the setting. It was a living room. Helen was sitting on the couch, hugging a black stuff dog.

"Please daddy. I'll do anything! Don't hurt him," Helen pleaded to the man. He was tall and huge. His black, obsidian eyes and gruffy nature could easily pass as a mountain man. He didn't look a bit as gentle as Hagrid though.

"He'll pay for knocking you up." He replied. His voice cold and deep as the glaciers of the Artic.

"He . . . He doesn't know. Please daddy. I love him." She wailed, getting up.

"I'm doing this for your own good. IMPERIO" He shouted, the house seemed to shake in fear. Hermione herself was frightened.

The scene started faded, and the next replacing it was one that was familiar to Hermione. It was the Gryffindor Common Room. However, Hermione could easily deduce it to be the late 70s because of the decor. All black. That time had been in mourning for the previously deceased Headmaster Dippety. 2 years of mourning to be sure. He had been headmaster for almost 100 years being over 200 years old.

Hermione saw Helen gather her valises at the bottom of the stairs, dictating in a monotonous tone to the house-elf Tobie to make sure everything gets collected.

Once again, they were interrupted. It was the notorious Sirius Black.

"Why are you leaving like this?" Sirius asked, pain evident in his eyes. "Please. Tell me."

"Screw You, Mother fucking Black. We're OVER. " Helen said, almost passionately.

Sirius reached out a hand and stopped her, but she wrenched it out of his and continued on, oblivious to him.

"Why?" Sirius asked desperately.

"If you don't fucking know, then you really are stupid. Fuck off," Mercy said. As she left, a picture floated to the ground, and Sirius was shocked. There, on the ground, was a picture of him with a steamy photo of him with Shantal.

He never noticed the glazed over look of her eyes. He retracted inside himself and suffered.

Hermione almost wept when she saw the next memory nightmare. Her mother was lying comatose on a hospital bed, stitches and casts covered her tiny body and had a respirator to breath for her. Hermione's heart broke. She noticed a clipboard at the end of the bed and went to inspect the chart.

Name: Mercy Snape Age: 17 . . . Allergies: none, but approx. 19 weeks pregnant. Injuries: 3 broken rips, all 4 limbs fractured or broken. Definitely bruised. Jaw dislocated. Right Cheek Shattered. Broken collar bone. Emergency Contact: Stephen and Meryll Snape, relationship: parents. Comments: Mother has visited a couple of times, but father hasn't. Mercy has been rejecting most of the blood type except for O-. Reason for injuries: parents claim of an abusive boyfriend. I'm not sure I believe that since an abusive boyfriend is very possessive, and none has come to visit her except her mother.

Hermione stopped reading when the door was burst open, and in came "daddy." He was a formidable sight, sightly more pale than the last time she saw him. The curse must have taken a toll on him. But then again, she didn't know how long between the memories were.

It therefore came as a total surprise when she heard him whisper, "I'm sorry dove. I never meant for this to happen. I couldn't control myself. Well, ha, now I'm going to pay for my sins, although I will be put away for a crime I didn't commit, I will stay in Azkaban to pay for my sins against you. And when I feel I have served my time, I will come back for you. I love you, dove. Never doubt that . . . OBLIVIATE."

Hermione heard an audible gasp out of her mother, but she settled right back into her state of stillness. Stephen Snape went to the end of the bed and muttered a few spells. Hermione could see the words changing on the tag as well as the chart on the clipboard. Mercy Snape's existence was replaced by a Helen Doe with unknown rescuer and source.

He pointed it at the door and muttered the Obliviate spell on the door before turning his attention back to Mercy. Hermione noticed a single stream of tears rolling down his face. He shakily lifted his hands again and forcefully said, "Enervate."

As the alarm sounded when Mercy's heartbeat increased and her eyes fluttered open, Stephen Snape had already disappeared. When the first doctor entered, Hermione was surprised to see her muggle Half-brother, Reagan Granger. He must have still been an intern. It was always a familiar joke inside the family that her mother was younger than her son.

As all the doctors and nurses entered, their eyes glazed over for a few seconds, and then nothing out of the ordinary as a miracle occurred. Hermione saw fuzzily saw the respirator being removed, and soon, she was staring into the eyes of her mother. Hermione shook herself to make sure she was back in the real world. She transformed and fell on her mother.

"Hermione, what were you doing?" Her mother asked.

"I was pulled into your memories. I think," Hermione said, still confused.

"Oh, and what did you find out? I never remember my dreams." Her mother said sadly.

"Er--your 30th birthday party. The first time you got drunk. But then it became so woozy that I had to leave again, and here I am!"

"Oh, okay. I guess we better start breakfast before anything else. I'm famish!" Her mother said, cheering up. They fell into amiable silence as the made dinner and ate it. While they were washing the dishes together, that Hermione brought up the subject.

"Please mum. I'm worried about you. You're always tired. I want you to move to Hogsmeade. If its any consolation, I'm sure Harry's Godfather, Sirius Black, could get you a place next to his. I know you've never met him, but he is really nice and funny. He'll cheer you right up. He's a professor again at Hogwarts after his disastrous start when he just graduated from Hogwarts. Funny really. Just up and quite after working there for three years. Anyways, he's back, and better than ever, and that's a lot considering one was in prison for 13 years." Hermione chuckled.

Her mother frowned, as if that note struck a chord inside her. She then shrugged her shoulders and they quit the kitchen.

By the time the two retired to their respective bedroom, Hermione had convinced her mother to sell their house and move to Hogsmeade.

**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**

Knock. A few seconds later, footsteps could be heard, and the door opened to show a middle-aged chubby man cross looking at the couple who dared interrupt him when he was eating. Grease was all over his mouth, but years of training kept them from recoiling at the nauseating site.

"Can we speak to Helen Granger?" the woman asked nicely, although her voice was very scrappy, as if not used enough or just recovered from sickness.

"Don't know any Helen Granger, but the Grangers sold this house when the old timer died. Are you MI-6? Hey! You can't just entire my house--" the man voice was cut off as the man of the couple raised his wand and performed the body bind charm.

Two hours later and endless searching spells, they came up empty. Doing the usual rites in dealing with muggles, they left and headed back to their hiding place, hand in hand, both wearing weary looks upon their face.

"We'll find her. I promise." The man spoke quietly to his wife.

"I know . . . Stephen."

"I--I want to pay a visit to him. Please, Stephen?" the woman asked, looking at her husband desperately. "At least for a couple of minutes?"

"I'm not sure that's safe Meryll. All of the wizarding world probably knows by now of our escape. How are we suppose to be undetected without glamours?"

The thought on the problem for a while, until Meryll stopped suddenly, and smile spreading across her still youthful features. "Muggle permanent glamour: plastic surgery."

He nodded, and they apparated to their cove to retrieve their money. By the following week, both had receive new faces that almost made them indistinguishable from each other. Color contact lens' grace their eyes as well as a permanent dye of brown in their hair. Stephen's nose was visibly reduced to a more pleasant one, while Meryll's skin was rid of wrinkles. Both she and her husband were made to look like they were in their late thirties. Satisfied with their transformation, they obliviated their surgeons, and made their way back to wizarding world.

Stepping into Diagon alley, they were nervous of being discovered. Aurors were lurking around the entrance, and randomly deglamouring people, especially woman. Meryll, herself was hit, but since her appearance had been altered the muggle way, no spell was able to turn her features back to their original structure.

They passed security easily. Their acute hearing allowed them to learn more about the rumors surrounding their escape. Phrases like " . . . Snapes were giving the DK when they tried to escape. . . ", " . . . Moby Dick ate them when they tried to escape . . . ", "Then why are Aurors here then? . . . Because Harry Potter is, silly. They still haven't caught Shantal Hemmings . . . "

At the mention of that name, Stephen stiffened, and his arms tightened around his wife's waist. They shared a guilty look, and continued on their mission. At least the general public thought they were dead. The dementors were probably too scared that they had lost two convicts that they made up some excuse.

They were exchanging their muggle money at Gringotts when Meryll just happened to look at the figure coming off the trolley. It was a younger version of James Potter. Meryll nudged him and pointed her chin in the same direction. She mouth Harry Potter, but when she looked over again, she almost went into shock. There, beside the young man, was a very alive Sirius Black.

There was a sadness that surrounded him, although he looked happy. Especially when talking to the teen. Sirius Black was sent to Azkaban a couple of months after them, and consequently, they got their escape plan from him when Stephen noticed a black dog stalking past his cell. The dog had been able to smell him, but refrained from making noise as to arouse his presence. He did, however, glean his teeth. That was 4 years ago, and Stephen doubted that Sirius still remembered.

As if sensing someone looking at him, Sirius glanced up and around him. The Snapes returned their attention back to the goblin, who was annoyed at having been kept waiting.

"400 galleons, 23 sickles, 13 knuts. NEXT!"

They exited Gringotts moments after Sirius and Harry, and at a fairly distant space to make them unsuspicious. The couple saw the teen turn towards the Quidditch store, and ran up to a red head boy taller and bigger than him. The awkwardly hugged each other and laugh. They startled and turned around. Mischief returned to their faces as they each hugged the person that the Snape couldn't see. By the looks of it, it was probably a girl.

A few minutes later, Sirius made his way to the trio, and the four walked off, disappearing into the crowd.

"Hey! I've never seen ya here before? Muggles are ye?" a gnarled old witch asked them when they entered the apothecary.

"No, we're Grecians witch and wizards from Greece. But we decided to take our daughters to Hogwarts instead of Pnyx. Might i inquire? I heard that Severus Snape is a great Potion's Master. Do you know where his office is at?" Meryll asked the old witch.

The attempts of an old witch to laugh sounded like a dying cat. "Yea. His office is at Hogwarts. Teaches there, he does. Great customer. Was in here the otha day to pick up some supplies. Now, whatcha want?"

Stephen and Meryll bought something trivial to appease the old witch, then discreetly obliviated her, and then left. Both knew what their next destination was.

**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**

"Mum! I told you before, the house isn't going to collapse because the inside is bigger than the outside. It's magic." Hermione told her mom for the umpteenth time as they were looking for a house.

Hermione finally collapsed onto the nearest chair and gave her mother an exasperated look.

"But this cottage has 5 rooms! The cottage didn't look like it had enough for a kitchen and a bedroom on the outside, but it has 5 rooms" Her mother said, still in awe. "And look, it has the prettiest garden yet. I think I want this place."

"Finally!" Hermione exhaled. "I don't want to live in the Leaky Cauldron for another night." By nightfall, they had settled into their cottage, all the paperwork and monetary exchange were finished.

Hermione thought back on the recent weeks. Her father's death was truly a mixed blessing. It had brought her mother closer, but only made things more confusing as Hermione would sometimes infiltrate Mercy's mind. Some of the memories were mundane like her mother being a little girl playing on her broom as her brother yelled at her from his window.

Other times, well, lets just say they were so intimate, that Hermine had to cover her ears and closed her eyes to block out the scene. They were scenes of her mother doing the dirty with none other than Sirius Black. In his quarters, apparently. Hermione would uncover her ears to listen to the after-coital conversation, but kept her back to the couple. Hermione learned that Sirius was very worried about his relationship with a student, her mum, but could nonetheless stay away from her. Hermione always smiled sadly as they would profess their love for each other before the next scene took its place, usually with their breaking up.

Hermione learned that after her mother left Hogwarts, she was always sad. One night, finally, when she was asleep, her father came in and subjected her to the Cruciatus Curse repeatedly. It was a huge fortune indeed, that Hermione wasn't killed when she was left to die on her bed. When Meryll Snape found out, she had taken her daughter to a muggle hospital where she waited for her to recover. Unbeknownst to her, she and Stephen were betrayed, and she was held in captivity while Stephen finished up their business before they were both sent to Azkaban. She had told her daughter all this when she had visited the hospital for the last time.

School was to start the following day, and the first thing Hermione was going to do was talk to Sirius. She had meant to last week at Diagon Alley, but was never left alone with him. She didn't want Ron or Harry to find out just yet.

Meanwhile, Hermione learnt that Harry and Ginny were steady, and they joked about Hermione and Ron following suit soon since Ron needed his attention diverted from seeing Harry and Ginny snogging, and Hermione could easily distract him, if not with kisses, then with shouts. Harry soundly earned a hard whack on the head by Hermione and a punch on the arm by Ron.

Hermione smiled at the challenge issued the minute after. Harry had dared both Ron and Hermione to go on a date and a ball. Unwilling to be called a wussy, Ron and a secretly elated Hermione rose to the challenge. They made plans to go to Hogsmeade together on the first weekend that they were allowed out, and they decided to go to the Winter Ball held during winter break.

Hermione had told them about her faery transformation, and they were incredulous. When she transformed for them in private, they finally believed her. Harry was happy for her, while, Ron, despaired at his animagus form. It seems that being a bull was an insult to his intelligence.

The last thought that crossed Hermione's mind before going to sleep was, Could Sirius Black be my father?

End Chapter 2: Faery and Dream

A/N: That's for waiting diligently for this chapter. I had originally cut this into two chapters, but decided against it. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW.

PS, just to let you know, Mercy aka Helen Granger, is about 3 years younger than the Mauraders and Severus Snape, as you could probably deduce is her brother. You will learn more about the incriminating picture of Sirius and my OC, Shantal, later.

Love,

~Cera~