(A/N: I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of my reviewers. It is really great of you to take the time and share your thoughts. Reading them is my favorite part of the day. I also wanted to clear a few things up.

First of all, Hermione did not loose her powers. I tried to figure out where that assumption could have been made, but I could not find it, so please point it out to me and I will fix it.

Second of all, Hermione is definitely still a know-it-all. I may be having some trouble expressing it, so I will try to add more know-it-all-ness to future chapters to keep her IC. (Also, lets just assume Hermione is so smart that she already knew it was poison ivy, but just wanted to confirm her facts).

Thirdly, Harry still hates Snape to the core. However, he will tolerate him because he realizes that that is what Dumbledore would have wanted, and he is genuinely interested in Hermione's Happiness.

Lastly, Hermione does check the wards, and Severus knows how to take them down. But I think hearing noises in the middle of the night would freak anyone out.

Thank you for your concerns excessivelyperky, I hope that I gave you satisfactory answers. I'm glad you brought this up because I may have confused other people who did not review.

So lets get back to the story, because this author's note is obnoxiously long).

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Hermone ushered Snape into her room and put up a silencing charm.

"What's wrong?" Snape asked her. Hermoine sat down on her bed, staring straight ahead.

"Olivia is not a muggle," she said in a daze.

"What?" Snape exclaimed, shocked. "How do you know?"

"She went into a fit, and a whole load of books went crashing to the floor. They didn't push themselves off, that's for sure. She started crying and told me she didn't mean to do it. That she didn't try to do bad things. Now, I finally understand what she was talking about. The poor girl, she must be so scared when things like that happen, and she is trying to hide it so people don't think she is a bad child. How could she possibly understand?"

Snape joined Hermione on the bed. Both were lost in thought.

"Do you think she is muggle born?" Snape asked her.

"I don't know, you were the one who checked up on her family. You tell me," Hermione said meanly.

"Look, you don't have to get snippy. Her mother was definitely a muggle. And her father was in the muggle armed forces. I saw loads of information on him, down to his high school transcripts. What would you assume?" He spat.

"Well I suppose I would have conducted more thorough research; looked at all the possibilities," she replied.

"Look, I don't need this. What difference does it make? She's a witch. I mean really, what is there to understand? You were born from muggles. Why is it so hard to just leave it at that?"

"Aside from the obviousness that she could have magical relatives that we don't know about, what about just for the sake of knowing? Do you honestly think that she won't have questions about this some day? I, for one, would like to know the answers."

"Like that's something new," he said rolling his eyes, but he knew she was probably right. Why had it never occurred to him to check? What if she did have relatives out there? How could he possibly give her up? He wouldn't. He didn't want to know.

Hermione could see his thoughts written on his face.

"Severus," she put her hand on his," We need to know the truth. She needs to know the truth."

Severus stared down at their hands. Hermione noticed, and nervously took hers away, setting it next to his. He stared at the space between, tempted to move his finger three inches to the left. He could not handle this. He finally took a chance and let people get close to him. What if she did have some aunt or uncle out there, just waiting to take her in? He couldn't bare it. And if Olivia were gone, Hermione would have no reason to stay. Why did Hermione want to find out so badly, if it meant possibly separating the three of them? He was upset, but if this was what she wanted, then he would try to find out the information.

"What are we going to tell her?" Snape asked quietly.

"I'm not sure. Let's just wait until we have all the facts. She was scared enough as it was."

"I think you're right. If this is what you want, then we will find out."

Hermione stared at nothing in particular, deep in thought. Part of her, the logical part, was arguing that it was the right thing to do. No information should be left hidden; it may cause problems later. The other part was telling her exactly what the consequences would be. Could she really let this precious child walk out of her life? She adored her. Hermione had never been happier than she was right now.

And what would this do to her and Severus. She did not want to picture him walking out of her life. They may argue, but it was because they were just too alike. They were stubborn, but they were good for each other. Would she ever find someone who could fill that place? The more she thought about life without him, the more she realized just how deep her feelings were. She was positive he would freak out if he knew. They may be friends, but she was sure he would not want to be anything more than that.

"What are your thoughts? Severus inquired, shaking her awake.

"Oh, um nothing," she said to the floor.

"Come now. It is never "nothing" with you, tell me," he urged.

"Severus, if we do have to –let her go- will we still be, you know, friends?" she asked in a timid voice. He breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps there was hope after all. With a strengthening of courage, he took her cheek and gently forced her to look at him.

"Hermione, I consider you one of the few real friends I have ever had. I can't think of a single reason why I would ever want to give that up," he said in a gentle voice. She smiled at him.

They may never be more than that, but at least she knew that she would always have his friendship.

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Two weeks went by, and no information had been found. Hermione and Severus were making inquires about the name "Taylor" to every circle they could think of, or in Severus' case, approach, but nothing turned up. They were trying to spend as much time together as possible, fearing any day could be their last. Olivia, who knew nothing of the matter, was thrilled by the attention and activities.

Hermione was torn. She wanted so badly to discover the information she was seeking, but she was also relieved. Each day of no progress meant one more day with the child she loved.

Snape was less torn. He did not even want to find out.

Xxxxxxxx

A few days later, Snape and Hermione were sitting on the sofa while Olivia played outside. Each was going through a stack of genealogy papers. Hermione began to stretch like a cat, and Snape stared at her. She smiled and gave him a look like "what?" and he looked away. How could he possibly tell her what he was thinking? He was sure the thought of being romantic with him would disturb her. They may be friends, but lets face it. He was almost twenty years older than her, an ex death eater, her previous professor, and not much to look at. If only he knew what she really thought.

Hermine was doing her best to keep her feelings hidden. He may appreciate her. He may think she is smart- some of the time. He may even put his trust in her- but love, even like her? Not likely. But there was no turning back. She had fallen for him, and there was nothing she could do about it now, but he didn't need to know that.

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"Lets do something fun today," Olivia told the group at breakfast.

"Like what?" Severus asked, pouring her some milk. He quickly got up to retrieve the chocolate powder to stir into her glass. He was getting to know her more and more everyday, and loving every second of it. He smiled at her milk mustache. These feelings were more difficult to hide from the dark lord than anything else. The dark lord's hatred of love was strong, and anyone who possessed the feeling sickened him. Thank goodness Severus was the best Occlumens around.

"Let's go to the mall," she exclaimed. Severus looked doubtful. He tried to stay out of places heavily crowded. The may be in a muggle area, but you never knew. Hermione was thinking along the same lines.

"Oh," Hermione said in a false sadness. "I was really hoping we could play dress up." Snape gave her a cold stare. He remembered the last time they played dress up. Olivia had tried to make him a princess. He was not having it. He promptly took of the tiara and placed in on Hermione's head. He was afraid this time she would try to make him a faerie, or some other silly character.

"Yeah! I want to play dress up!"

Oh Merlin, Snape thought. Hermione, you are going to pay for this!

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Severus was pacing around his room at spinner's end. He was driving himself crazy with thoughts of Hermione. He could picture the way that one strand of hair fell into her eyes until she's swat at it, clearly annoyed. How disheveled she looked when she came down to the kitchen each morning. Especially how her and Olivia giggled together when they were up to something. Her brown eyes seemed to see into his soul. He was obsessed.

He thought about the way they interacted, mentally and physically. She was such a challenge sometimes. He pretended to be annoyed, but he loved to see the fire in her eyes. But when they made physical contact, it would start out natural, and then she would seem to grow nervous and break away. Why was she so nervous?

He knew why he was.

She, a smart, beautiful, caring person, could have anyone she wanted. What did he really have to offer her? Okay, besides the mass fortune he had inherited ten years back from his Grandfather prince, but money could not buy love. A sappy cliché, but it was true.

And that sweet angel, Olivia. His Olivia. Okay, she was just as much Hermione's as his, but he lived for that child. The circumstances that brought them together were deplorable, but he will never regret taking that child into his home. He hated having to leave her each night, and Friday was the worst of all. He spent all weekend thinking about what would make her happy. Well, her and Hermione. Why couldn't they just become a nice, normal family? Because the fates were cruel, and he still had many sins to atone for. But how much longer was he to suffer?

Little did he know what earth shattering changes lay in store for him the very next evening.

(A/N: HAHA, cliffie!!! Okay, at least they stopped denying the feelings to themselves. I don't think there are too many chapters left. Probably around five, give or take. I don't know. But I hope you enjoyed. And I hope they are more in character. Well, there is not much hope of keeping Sev 100 percent in character. I mean, he's in love for crying out loud. But if you aren't Hermione or Olivia, he's still a snarky mean-head. Okay, enough of my blabbing. Sorry about my author's notes being so long. Please review. It makes me so happy.)