A/N: Sorry for the excessive use of the word 'bugger'. I've actually had a similar conversation with my friend James about the word 'Mothafucka' (don't ask, I don't actually speak like that), so I just changed the word. Please don't report me for it. Oh, and if someone wants to help me with my French, that'd be amazingly appreciated, as I'm no good in it and I'm basing what I use occasionally off my limited knowledge. Honestly, I'm not even good at English.

This story is going very, very slightly AU in that while Ron was making out with Lavender, Hermione had a relationship with a Slytherin. I know that's not the way it happened in the books, but can we pretend like it did for this story at least?

I'm looking for a beta right now if anyone's interested.

Disclaimer: Gosh, do you have to rub it in? NOT MINE.

Chapter 4: The Ministry of Magic

Seeing that Severus was about to say something, Potter stepped in. "Can you go get me something to eat, Aradia?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Uncle Harry, I am sixteen years old and I just helped save a man who might very well save the wizarding world. I think I have a right to stay."

"You do, but I asked you to get me something to eat, that's all. Nothing more, nothing less. Please?"

Aradia bit her lip and pulled the door open, shooting daggers at Potter with her eyes. Once the door was completely closed, Potter turned to face Severus. "Understand, first of all, that I don't like this plan, nor do I support it. I support Aradia, that is all."

"The child's plan will not work anyway." Severus shook his head, ignoring the feeling of confusion at the conversation he was holding the Boy Wonder. "One child will not convince the Dark Lord to take me back in."

"This child might. She is the daughter of two thirds of the Golden Trio, isn't she? Besides." He closed his eyes, as if that would block out the impact of his next words. "I've been told to tell you that you may offer up two women to him— the second worth even more in the eyes of Voldemort."

"And who is this second woman?" Severus crossed his arms over his chest, convinced that there was no way they could find anyone besides Potter worth that to the Dark Lord.

Potter hesitated; looking more then a little saddened and upset. "My daughter." His face turned red, and whether out of anger or embarrassment, Severus didn't know. He was too busy attempting to regain his composure, as the corner of his own mouth had fallen open, and his eyebrows had flown higher then he had previously thought possible to a human, especially one as rusty with facial features as he himself was.

"You would offer up your own daughter to the Dark Lord to get me back into the ranks?" Severus watched the younger man, unsure of whether his respect for him should have plummeted or risen. While it was a very Slytherin tactic, save your own arse first, it didn't strike him as a very Potter-ish move. Or even one that he himself would consider.

"I don't have a choice, Merlin be dammed. You've been locked up for the past seventeen years. Things have changed far more then you think. Children aren't children anymore. They aren't given time to be. By the time they enter Hogwarts, they're all too aware of what's going on around them. The Slytherin house is in the single digits; Pureblood parents have all but stopped sending their children anywhere near Hogwarts. Muggleborns have to be turned away for their own safety; we refuse to bring any innocents into this war. The attendance of Hogwarts isn't even half of what it used to be, and every one of the classes is centered on war. What were once advanced DADA lessons are now the lessons of the First Years, Snape. How am I supposed to tell my daughter that she's not allowed to help, when I go out and risk my life all of the time for this cause?! If I didn't let her do it with you, she'd sacrifice herself in some other way, and least this way, I could—" His voice broke, and he refused to look Severus in the face now. "get her body. You'd do that for me, her, right? If something were to happen to her, you'd bring her body back to me, no matter what it looks like?"

Severus was trying to swallow this information. He hadn't known what to expect upon being released, but this wasn't it. He had expected chaos outside of Hogwarts, he even braced himself for the possibility that the Dark Lord had won, but he hadn't expected Hogwarts to be in shambles. Never Hogwarts, that was the fortress of all-good. What had happened?

Potter collected himself, gulping down breath and rubbing his nose on his sleeve, blushing. "Sorry, she's just all I have now. It's been a long time since Ginny— and I—" Severus put up a hand, effectively stopping him midsentence.

"Believe it or not, Potter, I know what you mean." He thought about the little girl in the photo, the one that Weasley had told him was his daughter. For the few moments that he had believed her, he felt like there was something to his life, even if it was just to see her once.

Potter's face looked shocked. "So Aradia told you that she's—"

The door flung open at that moment. "I said no comment, now BUGGER OFF YOU—"

"Aradia!"

Aradia flushed and turned around quickly, her eyes opened wide in fear. "H-hi Uncle Harry. Did you get him to agree?"

Potter continued to look at her evenly until she rolled her eyes. "I promise not to say bugger again for at least two weeks. Wizards Honor."

Severus considered pointing out that she just did say bugger again, but chose to keep his mouth shut as Potter walked over to Weasley and stared down at her. "Listen to me, Aradia Mya Granger Weasley, and listen to me good. Your mother made me promise—"

Her face became pinched and she squinted her eyes even farther. "Yadayadayadaya, that you'd take care of me and make sure that I didn't become a war refugee and that you didn't let me become a bachelor girl like she was afraid Linnea was becoming. That includes language and eating habits, meaning no TV dinners every night." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, suddenly becoming the stereotypical teenager. Severus was baffled by the sudden transformation.

"And I intend to keep that promise. Just because I say bugger—"

"Doesn't mean I frigging get to say bugger. I know I know." She gave a small smile up at Potter, and then turned to Severus. "What did you say, anyway? To my idea, I mean."

Severus inwardly blanched at the spotlight suddenly being turned upon him. He had been watching the exchange with a mixture of disgust, confusion and— though he'd never admit it— jealousy, and the fact that she suddenly turned to him for an answer shook him a little.

"No." Short, simply and too the point. Too bad Potter was standing behind Aradia shaking his head and making motions with his fingers, trying to get Severus to back down.

"No? And may I ask why not?" The teenager was gone, replaced once again with the cool defense attorney. She stood up straight, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear and watching him with a detached interest.

"It's far to dangerous for a sixteen year old girl to get involved in. You don't know what it is that you're attempting to take on—"

"And they said the same thing about your defense trial. New excuse." She said this all in one breath, a bored, patronizing look on her face.

"Excuse me, Ms. Weasley, but I believe that I do not need an excuse to say no to the idea of turning two teenage girls in to the Dark Lord—"

"Two?" She whirled around on Potter, and Severus almost breathed a sigh of relief at her eyes being off him. "I told you to tell Linnea that fourteen was too young to get involved with this. I thought we agreed that she didn't know the right protective spells and that at least until she mastered silent spells and possibly even wandless magic, she couldn't get involved!"

"We both knew that she wasn't going to agree with this."

"Ms. Weasley." Severus's tone was dark and harsh, attempting to regain control of the situation. "I refuse to bring you two to the Dark Lord. Do you understand me?"

"Fine, just bring me." She placed her hands on her hips, looking Severus right in the eyes, and he got the idea that it would be a long time before she agreed to back off. "Linnea just doesn't want to be left out. She and I don't really get along all that well. Besides, she doesn't even know Occlumency very well."

Severus, again, raised his hand. "And you do?"

She nodded quickly. "I've been doing that since third year, Master Snape. Didn't they always teach it at Hogwarts?"

Severus turned to Potter. "They're teaching Occlumency to third years at Hogwarts now?" Maybe things had changed just a little too much for his tastes.

She shrugged. "C'est la vie, I suppose. At least in a war. Did Uncle Harry tell you anything about the world out there, Master Snape?"

"I believe, Miss Weasley, that I do not need Potter to tell me about the world in war. I was fighting in the war when he was taking his first steps."

"And you were in prison while I was." Her voice was strangely bitter, and Severus arched a brow at her. Was she angry with him for being in prison?

"I assure you, not a decision I made by my own free will."

She shrugged and Potter nudged her with his elbow, muttering something to her that sounded suspiciously like, 'Back off unless you're ready for the story.'

Choosing to fight one battle at a time, Severus turned his attention to the larger issue. "I am not risking the life of two teenage girls in order to get back in with the Dark Lord."

Weasley shook her head. "One. Besides, it's risk our lives or yours. I've always known that I'd lose my life to the war, and if I could do it for the good of the Order and maybe for the chance to end this stupid war, I'm willing to do it."

"Are you quite sure you're sixteen, Miss Weasley?"

"Pretty sure. I was a bit too preoccupied on the day of my birth to check the date." She put her hands on her hip and stood before him, her chin jutted out defiantly.

"I can tell you're Granger's daughter. Oh, you have Weasley's bluntness, but Granger's calculating comebacks too."

Weasley just ignored his comment. "I'll find ways to do this myself, Master Snape, but I was figuring that I would have a better survival chance this way. But if you'd rather I went and found the blond gentleman, what was his name, Uncle Harry, Draco Malfoy? Wasn't it him that just got out of Azkaban for… was it six or seven counts of rape? Anyway, damn technicalities." Potter made a noise at her language, and she put her hand up in his face. "I'm sure he'd be willing to help, but it'd more then likely require the loss of my virginity and—"

"Oh, please, discontinue your attempt at persuasiveness." In reality, she had him shaken down to the core with the fear that she would, in fact, turn to Draco Malfoy. The look on Potter's face told him that he, too, was a bit nervous about the prospect. Would she honestly be willing to subject herself to that in order to get into the Dark Lord's headquarters? "And what, pray tell, does make it so important for you to get into the building?"

She gave him a smug smile. "Well, I figure that from the inside, it'll be easier to scope the place out, maybe find any weaknesses the building itself possess and any vulnerable spots the charms and spells may leave."

"Miss Weasley, you realize that should I allow you to go through with this that you'd be a prisoner, and surely not able so 'scope out' the headquarters of the Dark Lord."

"Would you be allowed to walk around the headquarters as you please?"

"Certain parts of it."

"Leave a small hole in your Occlumency, and we'll be fine." Before she even had a chance to finish her sentence, a chirping noise blared out of somewhere, and he watched in amazement as she pulled her wand. The tip was currently blinking a neon green color that was neither subtle nor attractive, and he felt himself biting his tongue to avoid asking her what was happening.

"That's Neville. That means the portkey's been activated, and that it's safe to leave. We can't portkey from this room, Master Snape, so if you'll follow Uncle Harry out, since you can't touch the door, and I'll bring up the rear to shut it." She gestured toward the door, ushering him out, and for the second time that day, he touched a portkey and was pulled somewhere new.

LINEBREAKSINCEMYOTHERONESDONTSHOWUP

Severus managed to stay upright this time as they landed in front of their destination, however, his head did spin a little. After sixteen years without, portkey travel could be a bit difficult. He refused to let his queasiness show, however, because Potter and Weasley landed right behind him, both look chipper and peachy. In fact, Weasley smiled and laughed a little, running ahead in what he could only assume was anticipation at being back at her home. She drew her wand out as she was running and said another word that Severus could only assume was also gibberish, flinging open the door.

"These ones won't shock you if you touch them, Master Snape." She paused at the door, and then turned around. "Is there something else I could call you, shorter, perhaps? Master Snape's so long and it gets tired, calling someone 'Master'." She shrugged.

"Sir or Master Snape, Miss Weasley."

"Is Miss Weasley one of the options?" She asked before turning and bouncing in the house. Severus turned to Potter and glared at him as if it was his fault the girl was so damn cheerful all of the sudden.

"She figures you're agreeing to the prisoner thing, and she's nervous. That's how she gets when she's nervous or drunk. Only, she gets flirty when she's drunk too. I made the mistake of letting her have some alcohol after her mother's death, because she refused to cry. It was miserable, and she tried to make out with a lamp."

"I attempt to avoid giving teenagers alcohol anyway."

"That's just a life lesson when dealing with Aradia, though. Avoid the alcohol unless you're prepared to fend off her sexual advances. That's all I'm saying." Potter threw his hands up and followed Weasley through the open door.

Severus, figuring that he had to follow, made his way through the doors to find a perky little house with brightly colored walls. He sneered at the colors.

"Dad picked the décor. They clashed with his hair and everything he owned horribly."

Would it have been sixteen years previous, he would have been able to conceal his surprise at the voice appearing behind him. As it wasn't, he wasn't. "Miss Weasley!"

"Startled you? Sorry. But you're going to have to get used to that. You're starting back up as a spy again soon. Tomorrow, in fact." She smiled at him.

"You realize, Miss Weasley, that not only have I not agreed to take you anywhere, but that I do not even know where the headquarters of the Dark Lord is currently, nor do I have a set of robes in my possession. It is crucial to have a pair of robes in order to see the Dark Lord himself."

Weasley blushed, and walked over to a small set of drawers by the door leading to the living room. "I'd hoped that it would wait, but since you brought it up…" She pulled out the infamous robe and mask. "I… uh… rendezvoused with a Death Eater last time Uncle Harry thought I was at home during an attack. Malfoy, actually. He didn't know what hit him until too late. He's a tall man, a bit more muscular then yourself, but they should fit you decently nonetheless." She bit her lip, and then pulled it out and popped what looked like a small berry into her mouth. At his questioning look, she stretched out the hand that wasn't holding the robes, which held many, little red balls.

"Do you have any idea how priceless those are to potions? Cranberries have so many medicinal and magical properties that if I tried to explain it all to you, it'd make your head spin."

She popped another one into her mouth. "And they're tasty."

Potter walked by, and wrinkled his nose at her. "Is she eating those nasty little berries again?"

She glared at him and put the entire handful in her mouth. "Yes." she said thickly through the food, and Severus could suddenly see her father in her.

"Bitterest, most disgusting things on the planet, and she happens to love them. Especially when she's PMSing. Do you know how often I've had to go into muggle London for some berries so she doesn't bite my head off? They're so expensive at the wizarding stores. So the little witch makes me go into muggle London for her stupid berries." It was apparent by his face that he didn't mind it, but in his tone he tried to pull of the bluff. "She could go through an entire bag of those things in twenty minutes if you let her."

She just glared at him and chewed on her berries as she tossed the robe at Severus and stormed out of the room.

"Oops, I'm going to be in trouble for that one later. Hormonal teenagers are the worst to deal with, and I've got—"

The front door flew open. "Dad! Who put the stupid code on guest? We never have guests, so I didn't even remember the pass—" She spotted Severus and turned about eight different colors, opening and closing her mouth a few times before stuttering out, "S-Pro-Mas… Who's this, Dad?"

Severus missed the firm look Potter sent over his shoulder to the dark haired girl as he continued to stare at her. Unlike Weasley, she was dressed like a teenager. Her top hugged her upper body and stopped just before her navel, and her skirt was even shorter. She gapped at him as he stared at her, until Potter stepped in between his daughter and his former potions professor.

"This, Linnea, is Master Severus Snape. I mentioned that he might be staying with us he's—"

"Oh, he's the one that slaughtered Dumbledore and taking Aradia and I to the headquarters as captives. Hi." Without looking at him again, she stormed up the steps. "ARADIA MYA GRANGER WEASLEY, WHERE THE HELL ARE MY CRANBERRIES?"

Potter rolled his eyes. "Snape, let's talk."

Severus looked at Potter, assessing him. "I am not your professor anymore, and I do not have to listen to your insane ramblings as if I were anymore."

"You never did as my professor. Why should it be any different now?" He shook his head. "No, this is about Aradia. Well, her family." He led Severus over to the dining room, which, while small, was comfortable and slightly less cheerful then what he had seen of the house so far.

Setting the robes down, he waved his hand to signal to Potter to continue.

"In sixth year, we suspect that Hermione had a relationship with someone, most likely a Slytherin, because she would have told us otherwise."

"I assure you, Potter, that I am completely unconcerned with any relationships Granger may have had with a Slytherin. Or anyone, for that matter."
Potter's face looked slightly surprised, irritating Severus. Did he expect that, as a professor, he had been intently focused on the going-ons of the students that he more then often wished gone?

"Anyway, I don't know if Ron ever really forgave her for that. He saw it as betrayal on her part, even though he was busy snogging Lavender at the time. I guess he saw her relationship as more emotional, which I think it was, since she was heartbroken when it ended. She hid it pretty well, but it was hard not to notice that she wasn't sleeping or eating well. Most people took it as a normal 'girl' thing, but Ron and I were really afraid for her. Then, suddenly, she pulled herself out of it, nearly a month later, and she was fine. She and Ron continued their little games, this time more seriously to the point that I think they were having sex, really, and then Dumbledore…"

"Was murdered."

"Sacrificed himself for the good of the Order. And she got upset again. We all agreed that we weren't going back to Hogwarts the next year. Two months later, she told us she was pregnant. She couldn't help us look for the horocruxes, which I think drove her crazy, not to mention it hindered us murderously. She blames herself for every single death that resulted because she had to sit out."

"Blamed."

"Right. Anyway, she and Ron married in her seventh month, and then he took her out of the wizarding world for her safety until Aradia was born. Hermione was convinced that she'd help lead the wizarding world out of the war, claimed that she saw it during labor. So she named her Aradia, which means—"

"Goddess of Witches. Continue with your inane reminiscing, Potter."

"Merlin, Snape, let me do it at my own pace." He took a step back, realizing who he was talking to, and continued. "And she and Ron raised Aradia. It was hard for them, since neither one of them had a full education, and thus couldn't get a proper job. The war just kept brewing and I think Hermione was going insane, being held down by a child she hadn't planned on and a husband that she didn't want— not that she'd tell him that. She loved him; she just wasn't in love with him. And I think he knew that too. When Aradia was about… seven, maybe, he started having affairs. Hermione was destroyed, and he hadn't ever forgiven her for her relationship with that Slytherin. Their relationship fell apart, finally ending in divorce in Aradia's third year. Two weeks later, Aradia had mastered Occlumency, Legilimency and she started having visions. Her teachers claimed that it was something to do with the trauma of the divorce, the spurring of these sudden skills, but we knew better. She had had strange dreams for years, dreams that would happen soon later. I think the divorce only brought them out of the dark. Ron died in her fourth year, a death eater attack. And Hermione, she died just a few months ago, right after the two of them got the owl about your innocence. So she took over your case.

"When she gets something in her head, Snape, she doesn't let it go, it'd do you well to learn that now. And she wasn't lying when she said that they teach third years Occlumency and Legilimency, but only on the surface, just enough to get them through a brief encounter with a Death Eater. Snape, when she was fourteen, she broke through my barriers. I've studied for years in Occlumency to block Voldemort out. A fourteen-year-old girl smashed my protection that I built up to bits within ten minutes of trying. She told you herself that she was lacking in charms, and that her potions were decent. Her mind, her logic, her mental magic is so advanced, though, that should she try, she might even manage to break through into your mind."

Severus snorted uncharacteristically.

"Don't laugh, she might." Potter started pacing a little. "Her mother's mind was brilliant, I'm sure you know that. But Aradia surpassed her in intelligence. Wandless magic came easily to her, a trait I think she inherited from her father."

"Weasley could do wandless magic?"

Potter seemed startled to be broken out of his reverie again. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Aradia also told the truth when she said that they now teach wandless magic at Hogwarts, but it's not a mandatory lesson more of a survival one, and so few of the children actually master it. It's a hope, a final resort, if you will." Potter shook his head. "Hermione was right, she's meant to do something, Snape. Otherwise, why would she be given all of these powers? Do as she asks, and don't give her too hard of a time. And if she says she saw something, listen to her. We think that what Hermione saw was actually a vision that she transferred to her mother because her mind wasn't ready to handle it. She's meant to help end this war. I don't like it, but I've had sixteen years to accept it. You have a few hours." Before Severus was able to tell him that he didn't intend to take orders from a sixteen-year-old girl, or even blink, Potter had left the room the only indication that he was ever there the swinging of the door.

LINEBREAKAGAIN

Weasley walked down the stairs, her eyes tired. Upon seeing Severus, she snapped up and he saw a mask slide in front of the exhaustion, and the perk was firmly attached to her demeanor again. Hearing the footsteps, Potter came out of the kitchen, knowing Severus wouldn't attempt to continue the conversation in front of the girl. He may not care for her feelings, but he had his Slytherin tact and subtlety, and knew when not to bring something up.

So he chose another potentially damaging topic to poke at. "Miss Weasley, I have to wonder why it is that you chose to lie to me not moments after my release from prison."

Weasley's face woke up, and this time Severus knew it wasn't a mask, it was anger.

"Uncle Harry, can Master Snape and I have a moment?" Weasley's eyes were angry and her body stiff, and Severus for a moment wondered exactly what it was that he was in for with this child who dared to face him with her back straight and her uncontrolled attitude. Potter glanced at the pair worriedly before complying, leaving the room, and heading toward what Severus could only assume was the kitchen by the smells coming from it.

Weasley gather herself up, pulling herself to her full height and facing Severus. "I did not lie to you about anything, Sir. You mentioned the amount of years that you assumed you'd been in Azkaban, I merely nodded. I never told you my name, so therefore I could not have lied about that. I never claimed to be someone I wasn't. And that is your daughter, Master Snape, whether you choose to accept that or not. And I told you that it was the last picture taken of her, never did I say it was recent. I mentioned that you had legal rights over her, because her muggle birth certificate names someone else as the father, but you know as well as I do that the magical certificates cannot be fooled. Go and check the registry if you'd like, she's your daughter." She stared at him, her breath coming a bit quicker then normal, her anger causing her to turn red in the face.

Severus eyed her, attempting to asses her tactics. "What's your house, Miss Weasley?"

She looked taken aback at the sudden change of subject. Looking at him suspiciously, she said, "Ravenclaw, why?"

"And how long did it take you to be sorted?"

Again she stared at him. "A little while." She shifted uncomfortably. "Why?"

"You and Potter both, in the time since being released, have surprised me with your Slytherin tactics. Speaking of the boy wonder, I have to ask why it is that he seemed so pleasant about my release, having been the Prosecution Council." Severus watched Weasley as she perked up, seeming to be excited at the prospect of explaining something to him.

"Oh, that, did we forget to tell you? After they asked Uncle Harry to be the Prosecution Council, I approached him and showed him the evidence. It took a lot of convincing, but eventually I got him to agree to throw the case, because despite all of the bad history you two have, he realizes that the Order needs you. He's grown up a lot in sixteen years, from what I hear from the Headmistress." She shrugged, and Severus gapped at the girl who seemed to be so much older then she should be. Had the war done this to all of the children?

She then looked at him, all business again. "About your daughter"

Severus shook his head, interrupting her. "Ms. Weasley, I regret to inform you that I do not have the patience for this rendezvous at the moment. After seventeen years of being imprisoned, pardon me if I'm not in the most magnanimous mood the world has ever seen. I think that the delicate situation of an alleged daughter requires at least some tea. We will continue this later; do not doubt that.

From the staircase, Linnea shook her head, her glamour slipping slightly.