Author's note: Alright, here's the last chapter for Australia! I plan to skip ahead a few weeks for the next chapter, so I can post their Christmas reunion on Christmas Eve! Please read and review!
Hermione and Serena returned to Severus's flat bright and early the next morning, though they had only left less than 10 hours ago, when Hermione could no longer hide her yawns and Severus urged her to get some rest. Hermione would have thought he was tired of her by now, but he told her to come back over as soon as she was able to, so he could spend the day with Serena for the last time during their trip; they would be flying back to London early the next morning.
Once Serena was settled in the crib that had remained transfigured since the night before, and Severus and Hermione each had a warm cup of tea, Severus asked, "I was wondering if you could tell me about the modifications you made to your parents memories." He was hesitant, unsure if he should bring back up the distressing topic. But he wanted to know if there was any chance he could bring the Grangers back.
"Oh," Hermione said, "Well, it was right before Bill and Fleur's wedding. The middle of that summer, before I left for the Weasley's house." She paused. She hadn't talked about it for a long time, she hated explaining why she knew she would never get her parents back. Only Ron and Harry knew fully what happened. And now, so would Severus. "I didn't obliviate them; not only would it have been harder to return their memories, if they were found… and tortured… the charm could have been broken. I remember Harry told me about the memory charm on Bertha Jorkins that Pettigrew broke. It caused her so much damage…"
"I'd researched a number of different spells that summer, but nothing seemed safe enough to use, and the ones that were safe were permanent. I-" Hermione took a breath, "I'd started learning about legilimency. It seemed I had a knack for it," Hermione wasn't boastful, her tone was rather regretful, "I decided the simplest and best thing would be to use legilimency and draw the memories out of them, like a wizard would to view them in a pensieve. I know wizards don't necessarily always forget the memories they remove, but it works quite well with muggles."
Severus remained quiet, though he had to admit he was shocked. Legilimency, and actually removing a memory from someone's mind, was quite difficult.
Hermione continued, "Once I replaced their memories with the false ones, I kept theirs with me, in a small vial. I took it on the run with us, kept it in my bag. I kept it hidden, while we were at Malfoy Manor."
Severus heard about that. About the torture Bellatrix inflicted on Hermione.
"However," she said, "After that, I was very worried. I didn't know how to protect those memories. It's not like I could just store them in my own mind, I wish that's how it worked. So, I did the next best thing." Hermione pulled a thin silver chain from under her blouse. It was worn, Severus could tell, it was quite tarnished.
Hermione rolled the chain between her fingers as she continued, "I kept their memories in a vial around my neck when we got back to Hogwarts. Of course I placed as many protective charms as I could on it. But there was one thing I couldn't anticipate." Hermione grew increasingly flustered as she continued the story. "You see, we found the diadem horcrux in the Room of Requirement, and Draco, Crabbe and Goyle ambushed us there. Crabbe… he used Fiendfyre in there. In the end, it destroyed the horcrux. But we barely got out of there. While we were escaping, the necklace… I always kept it under my shirt… but it must've come out during the whole ordeal… anyways, it got caught on one of the towers of things when we rounded a corner. The vial snapped off of the chain. Before I could pick it up the fire got to it."
Hermione let out a half-hearted, unamused laugh, "I suppose if the fire could destroy a horcrux it was bound to destroy the memories as well."
"Hermione…" Severus didn't know what to say, "I'm so sorry."
Hermione wiped at her eyes, "Yes, well, there was nothing I could do after that, we had to get out of there, and after that it was about staying alive. After the war, I used my own pensieve and tried to recreate their memories from my own, but as I said earlier, you can't put another person's memories into someone else's head, it just doesn't work. I tried to find other solutions, kept checking in on them. But then I realized that they've lived nearly half as long as the Wilkins as they did the Grangers. As much as I want them back, I can't disregard that they've lived a good life as the Wilkins. But no matter, I haven't figured it out either way." Hermione shrugged sadly.
"I would offer to look into it myself, but I suspect at this point, your intelligence and research skills rival mine," Severus said, smirking slightly, "I doubt there's anything I could think of that you haven't tried. And with legilimency…" he thought it through, "if there were any traces of their life as the Grangers still in their minds, there's a chance that, with pulling them to the surface, the dichotomy between their two lives could drive them mad."
Hermione nodded, "I know." She brushed away a tear that had slipped out, "I just- after all this time, I wish I knew if it was the right thing to do. What if they were safe all along, and I lost them for nothing."
If he couldn't give her back her parents, at least he could give her the knowledge he had, "You did the right thing, Hermione." He explained, "I found out about it after the fact, though unfortunately given my position if I had known about it beforehand I can't say I would have been able to do anything anyway, but your parents were targeted. Death Eaters raided your house. It was actually the night of the Weasley wedding... They had a lot planned that night," Severus shuddered thinking of it, "You were right to give them new identities, lead them to Australia. If you had just wiped their memories, they would have been tortured or killed."
Hermione processed what Severus said. Eventually, she responded, "That's something. It's good to know it wasn't all for nothing. Thank you." They looked at each other for a long moment, interrupted only by Serena waking up.
Hermione moved but Severus patted her arm, "You sit, I'll get her. She'll keep you busy enough in the next few weeks." He returned a few minutes later with Serena in his arms, happily drinking from her bottle.
Severus sat quietly, content to just watch Serena. "Can I ask you something?" Hermione asked shakily.
While Severus was a private man, after all she shared about her parents, he felt she had the right to ask him questions, "I suppose," he answered, not about to show his willingness to share with her.
"Your mother… what was she like? I mean, given that Eileen is Serena's middle name.. I was just curious."
"My mother, as I know you know, was born Eileen Prince. She was a witch, went to Hogwarts, was a Slytherin. When I was in school I called myself the Half-Blood Prince," Severus cringed at the old title, "because I preferred to think of myself as a Prince than a Snape. My father, Tobias Snape, was a muggle. That was never the problem," Severus added hastily, "I actually quite liked the muggle world. But my father… he was cruel. He yelled constantly, he was physically…" Severus didn't want to say it, "He was everything I didn't want to be. And sometimes I fear he is who I became," Severus looked down.
Hermione placed a light hand on his arm. Severus shook his head, "Nevertheless, my mother… she always tried to protect me, keep me away from him. He nearly beat the magic out of her, but she always managed some magic for me; she showed me that it was special, something that should be celebrated, not hidden." Severus looked away, his eyes glittering, "she used to make flowers grow for me, right out of her hand. That's how Lily learned to do that, from my mother." That was the first time he had said her name in a long time. It was the first time he could remember that it wasn't accompanied by the ache in his chest.
"She sounds lovely." Hermione said.
Severus nodded, "She was. As I grew up, it was my turn to protect her from my father, instead of the other way around. And when I went to Hogwarts… I couldn't protect her anymore. She died during my third year."
Hermione cried for Severus. It was her turn to give him sympathy, "I'm so sorry, Severus."
"Thank you," he said quietly, choosing to look at Serena and hide his eyes from Hermione. Sometimes it was as if she could see into his soul when she looked at him.
"Your patronus," Hermione couldn't help herself; he had already brought up Lily, "It changed."
"Yes, it did," he didn't feel as comfortable expanding on this. It felt odd, knowing what Hermione knew about herself and him in that other reality, as well as Lily and him in the past. "I… moved on, I suppose. I had to let her go eventually. My patronus changed about five years ago. It might have been before that, I hadn't really cast a patronus since the war, but that's when I realized it."
Severus continued to surprise Hermione with his honesty. "I think the thestral suits you quite well," she noted, smiling at him.
"What's your patronus?" Severus figured he was allowed to ask that since she knew his.
Hermione wondered if hers had changed. She hadn't cast a patronus in years, either. "Expecto patronum," she said. She had been thinking of Serena when she cast it; despite all of the pain of seeing her parents again, the past week had been the happiest she'd been in a long time.
It wasn't a playful otter that formed. No, that was the symbol of her youth, the youth she lost in the war. Instead-
"It's a demiguise," Hermione said surprised. "I've never seen one in person, but I've read about them."
"Yes, they're quite extraordinary," Severus said, "They're very rare. Intelligent, quiet, kind. They protect the ones they love. They can become invisible when they feel it necessary."
"I suppose they're like thestrals in that way, with the invisibility," Hermione noted. "I've even read that thestrals and demiguises have known to befriend each other in the wild."
"Yes, I've also heard that," Severus agreed. He smiled lightly; as much as he appreciated his doe patronus, it was a constant reminder of Lily, that part of him belonged to her. But now, the similarities between Hermione's and Severus's patronuses spoke for themselves.
Whatever was growing between them wasn't out of a debt, or out of an uncontrolled desire. Instead, it was a mutual bond, a relationship, a friendship that was in their control. And within reach.
…
Severus kept Serena in his arms the whole day, every chance he could. When it came time for Hermione to take Serena back to the hotel, Severus was surprised how hard it was to say goodbye. He handed Serena gently to Hermione as Serena babbled away, smiling at him.
"I'll send you an owl when we get back," Hermione promised him.
"Thank you. Let me know how she's doing. Also, I plan to floo to Hogwarts on Christmas Eve, if you can arrange that with Minerva." Severus mentioned.
"Of course," Hermione said, "I'll make sure she's made aware of your arrival and that there should be limited interaction during your visit."
Severus chucked, "Limited interaction with Minerva McGonagall? Good luck with that." He sighed, "I wouldn't tell her this, but I actually look forward to seeing her again. I just hope she doesn't try to finish the duel we started last time I had seen her," Severus joked, though there was worry in his last time he had seen Minerva he was a Death Eater who turned the school upside down.
"Hey," Hermione said, "They know who you really are. She'll just be glad to see you alive and well."
Serena's mouth formed a little O as she yawned. "We better be going," Hermione said regrettably. She placed Serena in her stroller and stood in front of Severus, "Until Christmas?" She outstretched her arms, unsure whether to hug him or not.
Severus pulled her to him in a light hug, feeling slightly awkward. He muttered into her hair, "Until Christmas."
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
