A Lifelong secret

Chapter 9: When light concurs

Snape clenched his arms around his body. She was alive after that faithful December night, what had happened. He had no idea what happened after he saw her for the very last time. He wished he could meet her once more again, tell her his true feelings towards her. Tell her the very reason he had become a death eater. Everything that had happened in his life, why had she grown away from her? Why had she never told him about her pregnancy? Why were there so many blanks in his memory, moments that he couldn't bring home.

One of them was always that faithful night that she disappeared. People had always told them that he was a murderer. Yet he couldn't remember anything about it. Some nights that started with Leyla were a strong. He turned around, could he have harmed Leyla. Why did he awoke with blood on his hands? Why were there nights. He let the tears go for just a moment.
"Leyla." He whispered as he stared at a picture. " I miss you."

FLASHBACK

"Aah, Severus." When he opened his eyes he was standing once again in a room about 17 years ago. He was a lot younger, a lot more scared. As Voldemort came to him. He looked behind as he saw Leyla laying down behind him. "Caring for that filth."
Severus used his body as a shield keeping Leyla save.
"I thought you seemed a promising recruit." Voldemort shook his head as he tried to touch Leyla's wavy long blond hair. "Yet you protect this rebel…"
"You can't judge me for caring for someone…" He slowly picked her up in his arms. "I would do anything for Leyla. Anything."

"Anything for that rebel that saves muggles." Voldemort turned around him. "Muggles that are like your father, dirt. May I remind you that he killed your mother. That's the filth she's protecting."
"I may not like muggles…" Snape kissed Leyla's head. "But if she stands for someone, she does because she cares. I care for her, so no matter what cause she fights for, I will always choose her.."
"Brave…" Voldemort turned around him. "I might have a deal for you. You join us and the little girl get out here. She stops with her little 'rebelling' and we will not go after her anymore. How does that sound? Your services, for the girls safety."

"I would do anything for her safety." Snape turned away. "You have yourself a deal, dark lord."
That was a memory that was still so fresh, why was it so fresh. He didn't want to forget that. The feeling of her in his arms. Yet, even before that there were small moments of confusion, of moments he didn't know anymore. How was that possible? Yet the very moment following was burned in his memory.

"Severus." She threw her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. "You saved me. How did you beat him? He came out of nowhere, he was too strong."
"You should pay more attention to yourself, Leypey." He smiled. "Really."
"I know, Sevi." She pulled him in her arms once more again. She moved her arms away from him as she stared in his eyes. Her eyes were crystal blue as he hang closer. One kiss, that was all it took. He was enchanted by here. And as his arm caressed against hers, he pulled away in pain.
"What's it?" Leyla reached for his arm. "What happened?"
She softly moved the dark fabric from his arm discovering a dark mark. Her eyes were filled with shock as she jumped of the bed. She raised her arms.
"You're joined the very thing I'm trying to fight." Leyla screamed. "The very thing I hate, I thought you were different. Why? So that's how you got me out of there, just by being a death eater. I thought I meant more to you than that. Your master would kill me, you know that right."

"I do, that's why this very mark scars me." Snape replied " You are the reason. It was his price for your life, my loyalty."
"Your loyalty for my life?" Leyla stepped away. "Oh what a nice price, Severus. You should have just let me die, at least you would have kept true to your nature. I thought you agreed with me. That he's wrong…"
"I think his views on muggleborns are wrong." Snape replied "I think his views on muggles are…"

"Not every muggle is like your father, Severus." Leyla stepped in front of him. "Remember Lily's parents, they treated you as a son and this is how you repay them. Admit it, you wouldn't have been the person you were today without them. This is how you repay them? Or do you think they are the exeption?"


Hermione turned away, as Thor looked down. She thought her mother and Thor looked very similar. They had the same ice blond hair, the same streaking blue eyes and the same strong jaw line. In a lot of ways she looked like him too. There were differences, but she assumed she got that from her father, whoever that person turned out to be. Thor looked away, not really knowing what to say.
"I didn't know much about him.." Thor looked away. "Not his name, nor who he was. She only shared her affection towards him and the presence of something dark in his life. That's about it."
"You say she had a good influence on Loki…" Ron turned to him. "What happened after she left?"

"He lost it." Thor stood up. "In a way I think he blamed my mom for making her leave. I'm sure mom didn't ask Leyla to leave, she adored her, in her own way off course. Leyla would always the prove to her, that there was a time that dad loved someone else. Leyla left without saying a word, I don't know what happened that 31st of October in 1981."
"Hold on?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "1981? When Voldemort attacked your parents' house, that was when she left…"
"Yeah, somewhere around the night." Thor spoke "I saw her around dinner, later she was just gone. No one saw her leave…"
"What happened to Loki?"
"He talked about taking over other dimensions." Thor turned away. "He left."
"So what was the real nature of their relationship?" Hermione moved her hands through her hair. "How did she keep him from going evil?"
"Honestly…" Thor smiled "There wasn't a single person that Leyla loved that would turn evil, not willingly. Her dedication towards helping Loki change his ways turned him in to something I never saw. Pure."

"What happened on that night you saved Leyla?"

FLASHBACK

It was a sunny day in Asgard. Maybe it should be told that every day was a sunny day in Asgard. It was a good day, Thor remembered as much. He stared at the sun that was going down and remembered playing a game with some of his pals. They drank a few beers and after a few hours, they had called it a day. In many words it was a day that was better than most he remembered. Yet that the day changed as a spark of light, brought visitors to the land.

There hadn't been visitors from earth for a while, the latest visitor was Minerva McGonagall with her beautiful baby girl Leyviena, a half-sister he only met once. And as he stared to the long road, he could notice a young girl crying for help.
"What's your name?" Thor said as he ran towards her.
"Lily." She cried. "I need Odin's help. Leyviena got trouble, she needs her father's heeling. She needs it very urgent. I'm telling you, please help her. I'm begging you!"

Thor pulled his baby sister in his arms. This brought back memories to the moment he held his younger sister for the first time. Right than she was awake, she was healthy. Yet right now she lay in his arms dying. He wanted to whisper to her, tell her she needed to be okay. Yet the whisper wouldn't help. He started to run faster as he opened the doors to the throne room.
"Thor, what is it?" His mother Friga hurried to his side. "Is that…"
"Is dad here?"

"Thor…"
"She needs your help." Thor cried. "Dad heal her."

"Dad healed her." Thor turned around. "It took time before she got better. Lily stayed for a bit at Asgard, but she needed to return to her life. It took time for Leyla to get to grips with her father, I think she never truly did. She and Loki, they were friends. She seemed to see something in him that she had before. And the attention was good for Loki, he became different, less dark. I did know she still had her ways of leaving Asgard, she never truly gave up fighting. She even got Loki to stand by her, fighting against Voldemort."
"When she left…" Frigga stepped in the room. "So did he. Hermione, Loki was in love with your mother. And he wasn't the only one…"

"If Loki is your brother…" Ron looked up.
"Adoptive brother. " A smile appeared on Loki's face. "I don't think it was returned. She loved his company, but it seemed her heart belonged to another."
"So did she ever talk about a Severus Snape?" Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Not really…" Thor turned away.


Hermione stared at the roses in the garden. She smiled, they were blood red. The sight of them brought Alice in Wonderland to them.
"You have the paint the roses red…" Hermione smiled.
"Alice in wonderland right." Thor sat down. "Leyviena loved Alice in Wonderland. She had a copy of it. She never went anywhere without it, only when she left."

He handed the book to her. "I thought you might want to have it. She added secret signs to her books. She's a secret to be uncovered. Odin is right, you're the only one that can find her."
"I saw her in a dream…" Hermione turned to Thor. "She said I was the key to beating Voldemort, that I was the only one that could shield her brain. Was it really her?"

"If she was able to visit you in your dream…" Thor stared at her. "She is very close. She had to be at the school that very moment."
"Why didn't she come see me?"
"Fear." Thor looked to his feet. "Maybe she's scared to face you."
"She shouldn't be…" Hermione turned around. "I have so many questions for her, questions that only she can answer. She's my mother, she did what she did because she believed she wasn't a great mother. I think she would have been…"
"She was sure of everything…" Thor turned away. "Yet she was so unsure at the same moment."


Hermione started down after she returned from Asgard. Knowing that her grandfather and the rest of her family didn't mind her visit brought a smile to her face, yet her visit had brought a reality to her life. Her mother had been saved by Odin, and so she survived that faithful night, that was something that brought her happiness. Yet her mind couldn't understand how she was the only one that could find Leyla, she had smarts. Yet most times she knew that when people didn't want to be found, they usually wouldn't be found. Mostly because her mother had found way around the al powerful Odin. If he couldn't find her, why would she? She was not as powerful as him and her powers were not as strong as her mothers. She didn't know how to pop up in people's dreams like her mother had done and the idea that her mother had to be close to do so, made her happy. Leyla still kept an eye on her after all this years. In hear heart she knew she would meet her mother. She needed too.
"So, you need to have a way to find her…" Ron spoke "Or at least a way to draw her out…"

"What are you saying, Ron?" Hermione turned around. "I think you're overestimating me. I mean how can I know where she is, she has powers that I can't even understand. If she can pop in my head, god knows what she can do."
"So find out what her powers can do…" Harry spoke "We need to find someone that knew her, but wasn't altered by prejudice."

"Someone like Hagrid…" Hermione spoke "But the only thing you forget is that Hagrid is not in Hogwarts. There is no one else that doesn't have a personal agenda. Like Sirius…"
"You don't believe my god father?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"See, his mind is altered by prejudice." Hermione turned away. "His story could be not trust worthy. I mean look at what he said, he said Snape killed her."
"Well, Snape could have killed her…"
"He didn't…" Hermione spoke "He lets his hate for Snape guide him. So I don't think he will be a good person to ask about powers. Dumbledore…"
"You forget the whole Dumbledore won't talk to us.." Harry spoke "What about professor McGonagall? She will know her own daughters powers…"

"I guess…"


"Hermione.." Minerva McGonagall's face "How are you?"
"I'm fine…" She smiled to her grandmother. "I found out that Odin, you know mom's father, healed her after she was hurt. She stayed about a year and she left that night Harry Potter's parents were murdered. After that they haven't seen her anymore. They don't know where she is, or how to find her. Odin says she had a way around her powers…"
"Well, she does." Minerva laughed as she stepped to the other side of the class room. "She got Odin's shield, she can shield herself from his powers. And I wouldn't be surprised if she can actually play with his mind."

"Could she do that?" Hermione turned to Minerva. "I mean play with people's mind…"
"Let me say it wouldn't be the first person's mind she has toyed with." Minerva turned away as Hermione's eyes were fixed on her face. "You have to wonder what she can't do miss Granger. She could be right here in this room and we wouldn't even know it. I've seen her toy with the mind of 50 people at the same time and not even breaking out sweat. She read mind you must know, she can bring herself in anyone's reality and twists is so it will be hers. She can look at you and make you believe that you want to jump out of the window, miss Granger. That's how strong her powers are, yet her curse keeps her alive. She's a demi-god, she has that god part in her. You don't, miss Granger. You carry around all the powers, yet none of the responsibility."
"What happens when she hurts someone?"

"Easy, she will suffer the same pain she's inflicted on someone else." Minerva turned away. "It's easy, if she would kill someone, she would die herself. There are limits to it, like she can block herself from certain damages, yet death is something she's never been able to block herself from. It's easy, if she would stab someone, she would suffer the same stab wound."
"So…" Hermione looked at her hands. "I could do the same thing, toy with people's minds."
"You could, with a lot of concentration and will." Minerva turned away. "Leyla once told me: if you don't have the will the harm anyone, it won't happen. You can have as much power, if you don't have that need to destroy a life, all you will do if wait for it to destroy itself."
"She came in one of my dreams…" Hermione turned to Minerva. "she said I needed to protect Harry's mind from Voldemort. What does that mean?"
"It means you are the only one that can make sure Voldemort never enters Harry's mind." Minerva touched her granddaughters hand. "It means you are a very important thing to help Harry defeat Voldemort."
"I'm the key." Hermione turned away from Minerva. "Does that mean that I need to control this powers I got? And how can I?"

"With Leyla it seemed a natural process." Minerva turned her eyes to her. "As she grew more confident, her powers grew with her. What I'm saying is that you are like your mother, Hermione. If she could control these powers, sure you can."
"How do I find her?"
"Leyla." Minerva turned around. "You don't find Leyla, Leyla finds you."


As Hermione stepped in the room, Harry and Ron turned to her. They were looking at their books defense against the dark arts, a subject that wasn't the same with someone who didn't want to teach them how to defend themselves.
"It's not fair…" Hermione stared at her hands. She turned to Ron. "Why have I no idea what you're thinking? I'm a mind reader, I'm supposed to know."
"You're not relaxing." Ron replied "Can you believe this, I know all about things I don't need to know, but I don't know how to defend myself. We have to do something…"
"Like start a club…" Hermione turned to Ron. "We could practice in the garden, it's the only place Umbridge doesn't have power."
"Practice in the outside will get noticed…" Harry replied "But we have no one to teach us."

"You." Hermione turned to him. "You can teach us, we can all teach each other."
"I'm not good enough." Harry turned away. "I don't think people will listen to me. I don't think anyone would show up to a class I teach."

"The rest of the class needs to protect themselves too…" Hermione replied. "If we give them a chance, they'll show up. I promise."
"Okay, let's try it." Harry turned away from Hermione."