Disclaimer: T'isn't mine. Wish it was.

Sorry about the slow-er update, RL's a killer. But I won't detain you long, just want to add this:

Main Characters:

Severus Tobias Snape: 54 years of age, former Slytherin, former Death Eater, DADA Professor

Hermione Jean Granger: 34 years of age, former Gryffindor, Head of Gryffindor House, Deputy Headmistress, Transfiguration Professor

Ammon Achashaverosh Granger: 17 years of age, seventh year Gryffindor and Head Boy, younger twin of Nikomedes Granger, son of Hermione Granger and Severus Snape

Nikomedes Drakon Granger (Niko): 17 years of age, kidnapped as a first year Slytherin, older twin of Ammon Granger, son of Hermione Granger and Severus Snape


The Potion Master's Redemption

Chapter Three

Meeting Ammon

Severus Snape woke up slowly, his head throbbing with every heartbeat. He ached all over-especially his bad leg. Understandable, he supposed. The floor was rather hard.

"Is he awake yet, Mum?" a voice asked to his left side. Severus tensed slightly, analyzing the voice. A young voice, probably a young man nearing adulthood.

"I don't know," a female voice said softly in answer to the young man's question. A soft hand touched Severus' forehead cautiously, drawing back swiftly when he took a sharp breath. The female voice sounded closer than before as they said, "Alright, sir. We know you're awake."

Severus smirked slightly to himself and opened his eyes, saying in a now-hoarse voice, "Who's 'we'?" He looked around at the white beds in the large stone room and frowned. "The Hospital Wing?" He looked down at myself, sighing in thanks that he was still clad in his usual black robes. He continued looking about the room, and his gaze fell upon the slender figure in blue robes that stood to his right.

Hermione Granger looked much the same as she had seventeen years ago, now that he thought about it. Soft doe-brown eyes just above small nose, with high cheekbones that gave her a bit of an exotic look. Curly brown hair fell down into one of her eyes, swiftly pushed back by a small hand. She took a step towards him, fingering her wand cautiously, and said slowly, "To answer both of your questions, you're in the Hospital Wing, and we consist of me and…er…" Her gaze turned to the figure on Severus's left, and he followed it with his eyes.

The figure they both now studied was a young man, about seventeen. He was tall, about five feet eleven inches, with a familiar prominent nose, but slightly softer facial features. His hair was a very light brown, cut so it swept across his forehead just above his eyes. The eyes! They were black-brown…just like Granger's. He wore black Hogwarts robes with the Gryffindor emblem on his chest, and a badge-Head Boy-was pinned next to the patch. He stood casually, his arms crossed across his slender chest, but something about him...he seemed ready to spring into action at the slightest warning.

He smiled crookedly at Severus and looked at Granger. "Well, Mum. Are you going to introduce me?"

Severus too turned to look at Granger. "Mum?"

She scowled at her former Professor, crossing her arms. "Must you always mock me? Seventeen years and you can't change?"

"I've found no-one to mock in seventeen years, Granger," he retorted dryly, sitting up and swinging his feet off the bed. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" he made to stand up and Granger sighed loudly, stepping in front of me. "Alright."

She turned to the boy. "Ammon, come here."

"Yes, Mum," he said cheekily, moving swiftly around the bed to stand next to her.

She sighed, rubbing her nose with one finger as her gaze flicked between Severus and the boy. "Well, better now than never, I suppose," she said grimly.

Severus raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Pardon?"

She faced him again, and he was treated once more to a scowl. "Quit." She turned back to the boy, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Ammon, meet Severus Snape. Severus Snape, meet Ammon Granger."

"Nice to meet you, sir," the boy-Ammon-said, holding out a hand.

"Can't quite say the same," Severus said dryly, shaking his hand.

There was a frustrated sigh and Granger stepped towards him. "Can't-"

"No."

Ammon laughed delightedly and turned to his mother. "You've finally met your match, Mum!"

Granger sighed again, although her eyes twinkled cheerfully. "I met him a long time ago, Ammon. You've just never met him before."

Ammon nodded thoughtfully, turning to face him. "Why are you back?" he asked bluntly, his brown eyes bright with intelligence. "Mum says you-"

"Ammon!" Granger hissed, but he ignored her.

"Mum says that you're the greatest Potion's master in Britain," he said smoothly. "And you were the youngest ever. And the youngest Hogwarts teacher. And that you're a hero from the war. And that you were terribly brave. And that-"

"What do you know about me?" Severus interrupted in irritation. He hated it when people did that; listing his achievements. They were never something he liked to hear about, not in the slightest.

Ammon looked confused. "Didn't I just say?"

Severus shook his head. "Not quite. What else do you know?"

Ammon glanced uncertainly at his mother, but she was pointedly staring at the ceiling. He shrugged. "You were Mum's potion's teacher until her sixth year, when you taught DADA. You saved her life in the final battle. She set fire to your robes in first year. You insulted her teeth in fourth year. She-"

"Enough!" Severus snapped. "Now we've listed the false things about me, let us list the real ones. I'm a former Death Eater, second only to the Dark Lord himself, I murdered Albus-"

"Stop!" Granger said suddenly. She stepped towards him, hesitating. "Please stop."

"Why?" he asked softly, looking directly at her. "It's true."

Ammon shook his head. "So? But aren't you also my father?"

Severus froze suddenly and looked down at his hands, white against the black of his robes. "I…suppose," he said with difficulty. "And where is Nikomedes?"

There was a gasp, and he looked up just in time to see Granger turn white and sway slightly on the spot. Ammon leapt forwards and laid his hand on his mother's shoulder, murmuring something as he waved his wand. An armchair appeared suddenly, and he pressed his mother into it. "Sit, Mum," he said softly. She did so, falling listlessly into chair and leaning her head into her hands. Ammon looked at her for a moment, a soft expression on his face, then he lifted his head and walked over to Severus. "Come with me," he said calmly, gesturing with his hand. "I need to show you something."

Severus looked at him for a moment, considering. Would his questions be answered? Possibly. He got to my feet. "Show me."

Ammon stared at Severus for a moment, an odd look on his face, then swept out of the Hospital Wing, clearly expecting me to follow.

"He takes after you in that respect, at least. Dramatic exits" Granger mumbled from her position on the chair. She lifted her head, regarding Severus with empty doe-brown eyes. "Go. But I want to speak with you when you get back, if you please."

Severus nodded once, unsure how to respond. "We shall see." And he followed the boy out.

Ammon was standing in the hall with his arms crossed across his chest, obviously waiting for the man. "Coming?"

Severus sneered slightly. "You've inherited your mother's talent for stating the obvious."

"I've also inherited my father's talent for smirking," he returned quickly, performing the expression.

"Touché."

"Just like my parents," he retorted, spinning on his heel. "This way."

Parents? thought Severus indignantly. I never act that way! He followed Ammon down the familiar stone halls until the boy turned and went into an empty classroom, nearly losing him. Severus followed him…and saw something especially different.

The room was huge, painted silver and green, with the Slytherin crest on the walls. Pictures of a solemn boy with black hair and green eyes, pictures of two little baby boys as they grew up through the years. But the years stopped at about eleven. And then there was a large picture, a Wizarding photo, with a solemn pre-teen with black hair and green eyes, and the words in green across his chest,

'MISSING: Nikomedes Drakon Granger
Eleven years of age, five feet tall.
Answers to 'Niko'
Son of Hermione Granger.
If seen, contact Hogwarts immediately.

Severus turned to looked at Ammon. "Drakon?"

Ammon nodded slightly, a slight smile touching his lips. "Yes. It means snake-warrior. My middle name is Achashverosh, and it means lion-king. Mum gave us names to remind us of who we are. Who our parents are." He lifted his brown eyes to meet Severus' with this last part. His eyes were calm, and a bit challenging, daring the man to say something.

But Severus refused to. He would not get on the bad side of this boy and his mother after only a day back at Hogwarts. He turned away from the boy, looking around the room some more. "What happened to him? Did he run away?" His tone was rather disbelieving.

The boy in the pictures...he just looked so happy and carefree. But that last one, on the poster...he looked like had seen more than a child should.

Ammon laughed harshly, facing the wall with clenched fists. "No! Niko was kidnapped." He threw a punch at the wall, stopping it just short of collision as he took deep, shaky breaths. "This was our place," he said quietly, looking at two pictures in front of him. "We used to come here, before. We'd play for hours, games of chess and such. I always wanted to play Quidditch, but Niko hated it. He'd much rather curl up with a book somewhere." He reached out, caressing the glossy surfaces of the pictures with a soft touch that spoke of years of sorrow.

When Severus moved closer, he saw that one was of a small boy, eight or nine, looking to the camera. The picture was a Muggle photo, done in black and white, but it was easy to tell that he had dark hair and lighter eyes. He had a solemn, moody look on his face. The other picture was of a small boy of eight or nine years, also a Muggle photo in black and white, with very light hair and dark eyes. He was smiling hesitantly at the camera, and his eyes looked a bit frightened.

"These are Mum's favorite pictures," Ammon explained quietly. "We were eleven, but we were always smaller and looked a great deal younger than anyone else our age." He turned his eyes to Severus, a strongly mad and sad gaze that burned in intensity. "What are you going to-"

"Ammon!" came a voice from the doorway. They both turned to see Granger standing there with her hands on her hips, a slight frown on her face, She looked around the room and sadness flashed across her face, unexplainably deep and profound. "Ammon, leave," she said soft, stepping more into the room. "I wish to speak with Severus alone."

"No, Mum!" Ammon insisted, gesticulating wildly with his hand. "He's-"

"Ammon Achashverosh Granger," Granger said softly, stepping towards her son. Her eyes were filled with some deep emotion. "Please."

Ammon looked at her for a few moments, then nodded. "Yes, Mum." He stepped around her to the door and exited swiftly, shutting it behind him.

Granger closed her eyes tightly as he left, opening them swiftly and stepping up to the wall. She gazed at the photographs with a kind of longing and sorrow that Severus had never seen before. Never wanted to see.

"What do you want?" he asked coolly, leaning back against the wall and folding his arms as he watched her.

Granger didn't answer. Instead, she touched her fingers to her lips and then to the photograph she was studying before saying gently, "He was just like you." Severus froze in surprise, and Granger continued, "He loved Potions, brewing. He had already done the coursework through thr third year when he started school here. He loved to read, and he was always inventing some spell. He'd come rushing into my classroom in the middle of a lesson, telling me about some spell he'd invented…" She sighed quietly and turned to face him, folding her arms across her chest. "And then they took him."

"Who?" he asked quietly.

Granger shook her head. "As far as we know, a group called 'The Dark is Rising'. We received a letter this morning." She reached into her robes, producing a cream scroll, and tossed it to me.

Severus caught it and unrolled it, scanning it swiftly.

Mudblood,

The life of your boy depends on how willing you are to cooperate.
We want it. Bring it to us, and you'll get your brat back.

The Dark Is Rising

He looked up at her. "This is the first time you've heard anything? Did you not search for him?"

"Of course we searched for him!" Granger snapped angrily. "I spent months looking for him. The whole Order did. But we never found anything. He was just gone. They came one night, when he was out watching the Gryffindor team practice Quidditch. They stunned the whole team, Ammon included, grabbed Niko, and left. And until today, we didn't know why." She looked up at him. "What do they want?"

He sighed loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "I don't know. What might Nikomedes have had, or known, that they would want?"

"Nothing," Granger said softly. "Nothing at all."

"Why didn't you contact me when the boy was kidnapped?" he asked.

Granger looked at me in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Here goes, Severus assumed dryly. He took a deep breath. "I'm his father."

"You showed no intention in being involved in the twins' lives," Granger pointed out.

"I didn't know they existed!" he snapped back. "How the hell was I supposed to do anything?"

She seemed defeated. "Good point," she admitted, looking down at her hands. "But they know. I told them right up from when they were able to understand."

"What do you want?"

"I need your help," she said simply, accepting his change of subject after a moment's hesitation. "You're the best spy the-"

"Do not speak of that!" Severus hissed, striding quickly towards her. "Ever! And why do you want my help?"

"They are your sons."

"I never wanted them! You could have left me to die and none of this mess would be here today!" he exploded. "Why did you let me live, Granger? Why?"

She looked down at her boots, wrapping her arms around herself as she muttered something.

He frowned angrily. "I can't hear you…"

Undeterred, she muttered slightly louder, "Because. The Wizarding World needed you." She lifted her gaze to his, backing slightly away, and said softly, tears coming to her eyes, "I needed you." With that, she spun on her heel and fled the room.

Severus stared after her for a moment before sinking to the ground. This day had indeed given him a lot to think on.


Eh, not much of a cliffe. But it's done! And, now, a short wait for the fourth installment...until then...adieu...