Chapter Two - Hermione's Secret

A soft rap on his door made him cringe. He had been the Headmaster for nearly eight years now, having taken over when Flitwick could not adequately do the job. Since he had taken the position, there had been a new problem-finding a professor to deal with the demanding task of teaching potions. Most of the potion masters lived in Asia, and he had heard of a young potions mistress-whose praises had been sung far and wide by Junichiro Kumada, a great potions master in his own right-and he was only mildly surprised to know that it was Miss Granger, a former student of his.

The rap was a little more insistent, as the occupant was obviously waiting for him to give an assent. A wry smile crossed his lips as he said, "Enter, Miss Potter."

The door swung open as Ariadne Potter entered the room. She was wearing robes this time, and he was mildly surprised that she had left her hair down. Since he still had a partial liking to Slytherins-and he could spot a potential one miles away-Ariadne was a welcome presence in his office. She sat in a chair in front of his desk, and took one of the licorice spikes out of a bowl on his desk. She let her legs rock, and she looked at him quizzically. She then asked, "Has Professor Granger spoken to you yet?"

Snape raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "No subtlety this morning, Miss Potter? I am most surprised; you may become a Gryffindor yet." He smirked at her impatience, and picked up his reading glasses. He began scanning the parchment in front of him, and very nearly jumped when she kicked his desk. He looked up, and saw the self-satisfied smirk spreading across her face. He looked over the top of his glasses, and said, "No, she has not spoken to me yet."

Ariadne tugged at a strand of her hair in frustration. It had been nearly a week, since she had learned he was her father. She had assumed, that Professor Granger was going to let him know, and by soon, she thought she had meant tomorrow. Ariadne stood, and headed to the door. She turned, and said, "Thank you for your time, Headmaster Snape." As she exited, Severus heard her say, "Good morning, Professor Granger."

Pretending not to notice her presence, he sipped from a teacup, and continued to pour over parchments. Hermione entered the office, and stood before the fireplace. She gave him a few moments to finish his business, as she watched the fire. If it had not for the fact that he had come to Japan personally, she would assume that he was indifferent to her. She turned toward him, and asked, "Is this how you make your colleagues feel welcome, Severus? Ignore them, and leave them to their own devices?"

He poured her a cup of tea, and brought his, and hers, toward the fireplace. He sat in a chair that he had refurbished into his colors. Handing the teacup to her, he asked, "Is this a social or business visit?"

She carefully sipped from the cup, and contemplated her answer. It was surprising what eleven years could do to relationships. She no longer felt nervous in his presence, and the physical longing had died down somewhat. "A little bit of both, I am afraid," she finally answered, looking away from him.

Severus watched her profile, and was surprised that he still liked the look of her. Her face had finally lost the drawn look that was on everyone's faces near the end of the war, and it looked like her time abroad had done her some good. He took off his reading glasses, and said, "I have never known you to remain close-mouthed about anything, Hermione."

She gave a small laugh, and looked back at him. The firelight played on his strong features, and she gave a small smile. "You are right, Severus, but time has a way of changing things." She twisted a thin gold band on her right hand out of nervousness. "I wanted to talk to you about a student entering Hogwarts this year. I believe that Ariadne Potter was already here this morning."

Severus gave a small chuckle, and said, "Miss Potter usually visits every morning. She almost reminds me of you, with out the annoying habit of raising her hand." He casually sipped from his cup, as Hermione glared at him. A small smile tugged at his mouth; he knew she was holding her anger in check, and it amused him.

Hermione willed the tick in her cheek to stop, and said, "There may be another reason that she reminds you of me." It was her turn to sip her tea, as he contemplated her statement. She silently gave thanks to the stars that they still had a month to be settled with everything. "She has been very impatient with me, after she learned a bit of information when I arrived."

Severus watched as she twisted the band on her finger again. He set his cup down, and took hers. She was staring at the fire again, and he placed one of his hands on hers. She gave a muffled gasp, and stared at him. He lightly stroked her hand, and said, "What ever did she learn, Hermione?"

Hermione could feel her courage start to leave her, and she knew that this was why she had been having trouble talking to him. These days he seemed nearly human. She swallowed the lump in her throat, and whispered, "She found out, that she is our daughter, Severus. Yours and mine."

He pulled away from her, and sat back heavily in his chair. He brushed his hand over his face, and gave her a hard glare. This whole entire time he had a child, and she had never deemed him fit to tell him! "I do hope you have a reasonable explanation for why, I am only now finding out about my daughter." He rose from his chair, and pulled her out of hers. "Was it enough that you made me feel things I had forgotten I could? Or did you think you were doing me a favor by not telling me?"

Hermione pulled away from him, and glared at him through slits in her eyelids. She wanted to hurt him physically, but with words would do. "First off, I did not want you, of all people, to be lonely. I will admit it, I was lonely too, and it is my fault that I found myself in the situation I did. However, I didn't know how you would react about a child; for all I knew, you would have held something against her, and I didn't want to have her hated, just for being a child."

He grabbed at her robes, and shook her. He felt in a full fury, and he was not going to drop the subject anytime soon. "So what if you didn't tell me? You should have at least told her!"

She pulled away, and said, "I gave her away with the intention of never seeing her again. I was going to be the godmother who lived far away. I gave her to Ginny, and I have regretted it ever since." She collapsed into a fit of tears on the floor, and pulled her robes tight around herself.

Ariadne flew into the office, and let the door slam into the wall. She didn't exactly understand what was going on, but she knew what tears like Hermione's meant; she was hurting badly. She stood behind her, and wrapped her arms around her mother's shoulders. It was odd to think of someone, like Hermione, hurting like this. She looked up at her father, and saw him intently watching her; then he left the office, his robes flying out behind him. She wanted to go after him, but her mother needed her more.

Author's Note:
This was originally a plot bunny I borrowed from emmakitty over at WIKTT. I saw it and decided that it would be fun. Her attempt is here titled "Both Your Houses"

What do you think will happen now? I await your answers :)