T. K.: Hey. *looks at the fight cloud on her floor* I'm still offering muses if anyone wants one. I want to thank the following people:
Zahrah Radcliffe: Thank you for saying that.
karina: I'll touch on Hermoine's secrecy in this chapter, but won't delve into it completely.
life0ca: You'll find out a bit more about the Snape-Charisma-Draco relationship in this chapter.
Caspian58: I'm glad you like this story.
T. K.: Thank you for reviewing. I don't own Harry Potter .*sob* JKR does but I'm sure she doesn't mind me borrowing them. R&R!
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Charisma woke to the find the bed empty and a note to her on the nightstand.
Charisma,
Don't worry about going to classes today. I'll cover for you. There is a potion for you in the kitchen on the counter but you have to eat first. Take only half the potion and if you wake again take the other half, but eat before taking a dose. I'll see you tonight after dinner.
Severus.
Charisma stretched and walked into Snape's bathroom to take a shower then walked back into the bedroom in a towel to find that either he or a house elf had left her clean underwear and another nightgown. Charisma smiled and changed into the green silk gown and matching panties.
Green,
she thought, Snape always wanted me to be a Slytherin. Guess I'm just too much like Mum.Charisma walked into the kitchen and found the potion that Snape had made. It was deep blue and smelled faintly of chamomile and lavender. There was another note under it. Did you eat? Charisma smiled and looked around the kitchen and found that breakfast was on the table. Lifting the top off of a silver serving tray, Charisma found a fruit platter and a small glass of milk. After eating quickly, Charisma opened the vial and swallowed half the contents. It tasted sweet and went down easily; the effect was almost instant. Charisma slowly made her way back to bed and slid between the silver coloured satin sheet and fell asleep. No dreams, no running, and no Draco screaming.
~~~~~~
Harry sat having tea with Dumbledore, who had been chatting about the various things that had happened over the years, who was with whom on the staff (I swear if Severus and Minerva would just get over themselves and see what is right in front of them), who had retired (Madam Pince, Professors Flitwick and Sprout as well as Hagrid, who now has a family with Madame Maxime from Norbeaux), and who was new to Hogwarts (Professor Delp has taught DADA for six years now, Professor Hydranth Blue teaches Herbology, Professor Matrix Hildreth has taken Charms, and Charles Weasley has Care of Magical Animals).
"Anything I've left out?" Dumbledore asked sitting back.
Harry had just one question, "What about Charisma?"
Dumbledore smiled knowingly. "I was wondering how long it would take you to ask about her. Charisma is an excellent student, straight A's and makes in the 300's on all her OWLs. She's been Captain on her Quidditch team for two years and Seeker for five." Dumbledore sighed. "She keeps herself busy. If she doesn't have homework or practice, she looses herself in the library or writes her own stories."
"She's a writer?" Harry asked, somewhat surprised.
Dumbledore nodded and said, "And a fairly good one. Here's her newest story." Dumbledore handed Harry a thick roll of parchment. "If you unroll it, it comes to about thirteen feet long. Over two rolls, but it amounts to more in the way of actual words; her writing is tiny."
"You've read it?"
Dumbledore smiled. "I couldn't put it down. It gets a little racy after about seven feet. Fair warning. Take it with you and read it," he said.
"Oh, I couldn't. She gave it to you," Harry said, trying to hand it back.
Dumbledore waved it back at him. "All the staff has read it and she loves feedback. She always wants to know what she could do different or better. I'm sure you'll finish it before she goes home for Yule."
Harry nodded. He was staying over Christmas break, finally taking a well-deserved vacation from the herb shop he owned in Diagon Alley. "Does Draco know she writes like this?"
"Knows, loves, and encourages her every step of the way," Dumbledore said happily, then adopted a more serious tone. "He treats her very well, Harry. Hermoine knew what she was doing when she asked Draco to take her if anything happened to her."
"I know, but it blows my mind that she never told me she had a daughter," Harry said running a hand through his still untamed hair. "Does Ron know?"
"Oh, yes, and absolutely threw a fit when Draco adopted Charisma. Charisma goes to the Weasley's every chance she gets and Draco goes with her; he and Ron have become friends to some extent. Although," Dumbledore said thoughtfully, "I'm sure it was at Charisma's insistence."
Harry sighed. "He sounds like an excellent father."
"Only problem he has with her," Dumbledore noted, "is that she refused to call him 'Father'."
Harry logged this in the back of his mind. "Does she know who her father was?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "Hermoine took that secret to the grave with her, as far as I know," he said morosely. Harry sat silently thinking.
~~~~~~
Snape too was lost in thought at lunch, remembering the July day Draco had dropped a bombshell on him.
Snape was collecting potion ingredients when Draco arrived at his Mansion in Sussex. "Severus!" Draco called over to him, not daring to walk through Snape's herb garden. "I, uh, I need to speak with you." Draco seemed unusually nervous.
Snape stood and brushed the damp soil from his knees. "What is it?" he asked as he walked towards his former and favourite student.
Draco looked at his feet for a second then looked at Snape. "Remember when I told you that I saw Hermoine Granger at my father's funeral two months ago?" he asked. Snape nodded, coming to stand in front of Draco. "Well, I may have gotten myself into a bit of a situation. I can't say I'm unhappy with it but still..."
"Draco, what happened?" Snape asked, beginning to get worried.
"Well, I took her home with me and we were talking and I broke out the Napoleon brandy, then one thing led to another and I ended up in bed with her." Snape's jaw dropped in shock. That wasn't even the worst of his news. "I'm not sure if anything even happened. Hermoine went home and we've gotten to be friends and today she owled me. She's, uh, she's... pregnant."
Snape passed a hand over his face. "It's yours then?" he asked wearily.
"We aren't sure," Draco admitted.
Snape clenched his jaw. He was not going to yell at Draco. "What do you mean by 'we aren't sure'?" he asked slowly.
"Hermoine told me that she had been with... someone else later that week," Draco said and Snape knew by Draco's evasive manor that he wasn't going to tell him who that 'someone else' was.
"Well as I see it, you've got two choices. You can marry Ms. Granger, or wait and see if the baby is yours. And if it isn't, hunt down this someone else and tell him he is a father."
Draco smirked. "I figured those would be the choices. I already asked her to marry me; she turned me down flat. But I don't want to sit around waiting the next seven months to either ask again or go grab the other man by the collar and make him do the honourable thing. I was wondering if there is anything we can do magically to prove who the father is."
Snape shook his head and said, "Not until the baby is born. Until then, I have some potions Ms. Granger should take to ensure a healthy and easy pregnancy. Come inside and I'll give them to you."
Snape shook himself out of his reverie and stared at the cold food in front of him. He decided he wasn't hungry.
~~~~~~
Charisma woke late in the day, 7:30 by the clock on the nightstand, to the sound of the portrait shutting. She hadn't needed a second dose of the potion Snape had left.
"Charisma?" called said Potions Master.
Charisma yawned. "Still in the bed." Snape appeared in the doorway a few seconds later. He smiled at the girl.
"Sleep well?" he asked before shedding his cloak and revealing a black long sleeved tee shirt and blue jeans.
Charisma sat up and smiled back at him as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Without a dream," she said.
"Good, good," Snape said lying down beside her. "I told Dumbledore at dinner that you would be staying in my rooms until further notice.
"He agreed, I take?"
"Didn't ask a single question. Just nodded and told me it was fine." Charisma stretched and pushed her hair behind her ears. Snape looked up at her and for the first time noticed that her ears had been pierced for a third time; she now wore onyx studs in them. "How many more times are you going to pierce your ears?"
"Not," she said lightly. "Next time it's my belly button." Snape rolled his eyes.
"Com'on, I brought you some supper," he said getting off the bed. "And I am not bringing it to you." Charisma smiled and slid out of the bed searching for her glasses.
______
Harry sat reading Charisma's story and was completely amazed. Racy, ha! Try NC-17, Professor, Harry thought. But other than that, this is very good.
Harry put the parchment down and thought about Hermoine. Why didn't you come to me, 'Moine? Was it something I did or was it something I didn't do? Did I not pay enough attention to you? Did you even want to tell me? Harry stopped his train of thought. Maybe you didn't want to tell me but then again maybe there is something I'm missing. By the Powers that Be, why did you run to Draco?
Harry pondered that last thought. Draco may know something about this that he's not told anyone. He pondered it only another moment before snorting. Not likely he's going to tell me though.
Harry looked at the clock. 10:45. I'll read just a bit more.
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