He had pronounced Turner's brandy as 'pitiful' after they had nearly emptied the decanter without him getting so much as a buzz. As the rest of E-Branch filed out at the end of the evening, Severus summoned a bottle of Ogden's for them to continue. After all, if the Michael Turner could rewrite every memory since the day you were born and work side-by-side with a woman capable of summoning a regiment of walking corpses should the need hit her, surely he could handle firewhiskey. The muggle handled himself well, but Severus still had to help him back home.

It was a drunk and somewhat unsteady Severus Snape who made his way back to Hogwarts later that evening. He wasn't all that surprised to find the headmaster waiting for him in his private quarters, lounging in one of the high backed chairs that flanked his hearth. "Rough night, Severus?"

"One could say that." It came out only slightly slurred. Bully for him. "Shouldn't you be off somewhere wrapping presents for the students staying behind? Isn't that what you normally do?"

"Oh, I've already finished with my presents." He popped something into his mouth, likely another muggle sweet, and worried it over his tongue as he peered at Severus with those twinkling blue eyes. "I received word from Remus earlier."

"Did you? What did the cur have to say?"

"He said that you had convinced Hermione to stay at with the rest of the order rather than spend the holiday with her parents as she had planned. Something about an incident at the funeral." He looked to him with undisguised concern. "Are you certain that the man was targeting Hermione?"

"I have no doubt of it whatsoever."

Albus worried the candy in his mouth a bit more, the hairs of his beard twitching from about his mouth. "This is unsettling, to say the least. Miss Granger is a clever and talented young woman, but I can think of nothing about her that would draw enmity in her direction."

Severus swallowed and approached the hearth, his hands clasped behind his back. He squeezed them together, keeping a reign on his temper. "It is nothing to do with her and everything to do with her parentage. It appears that Kathryn had a few enemies of her own. People who would like to see her bloodline wiped out in its entirety."

The other wizard listened to him, appearing to weigh his words carefully before speaking. "That would indeed be a shame. The Keogh family's abilities have thus far proven to only show up within the family. Though it means little to the world at large, their loss would be a tragedy."

Severus stilled, his expression one of unfeigned shock. "You knew?" The headmaster said nothing, but there was a twitch in his beard that confirmed it. Anger and betrayal bubbled inside his chest. "You knew all this time and said nothing!"

"It was not my place to tell."

"But it was my place to know! How much else did you keep from me? Did you know that she was my daughter from the start?" Albus lowered his eyes to the hearth, his silence damning. Severus inhaled a breath with a hiss. "You said nothing. My child, my own flesh and blood arrived at this school and you said nothing!"

"The Grangers were all she knew, Severus. They had been her only parents her entire life, and Kathryn had told them she didn't know who fathered her child. How would you have explained it to any of them?"

"I would have found a way!"

"And this all would have turned into a vicious battle within the courts. What would have come of things between the two of you then?" Severus glared in silence. "Kathryn had to be the one to tell them, even if it was after her death."

"After her execution." Snape's jaw twitched. "She was tortured to death. The bastards recorded it all. I watched… I watched the footage."

Albus' eyes darkened. "They let you watch such a thing?"

"I would have asked to do so had I learned what was on the tapes beforehand. I need to know what I'm up against." He glowered at the fire crackling in the hearth. "Apparently muggles have their madmen as well."

"Oh, that is a given. Muggle or wizard, we are still only men, and men can fall prey to the darkest desires of their hearts." He heard the headmaster shift in his chair. "What will you do now?"

"I am unsure of that as of yet. With the Dark Lord and his plans looming I can hardly take the time to track down the man trying to murder Hermione. However, it would seem that keeping her in our world as much as possible should lend her some small part of added protection. According to my newly found sources, their kind has difficulty locating warded locales, even though they are aware of our existence unlike ordinary muggles."

"I see. So it would seem that it would be in Miss Granger's best interest to remain with the Weasleys as much as possible."

"That was the general idea behind my sending her there." He refused to apologize for his tone of voice. "As it stands, however, there is much I need to discuss with my daughter as soon as I am sober enough to do so. If you will excuse me, Headmaster."

Albus rose from his chair, his expression somewhat sorrowful. "I know you feel betrayed, Severus, but I truly did believe that I was acting in the best interests of you and Hermione. You had no knowledge that Kathryn had conceived, but can you honestly say that you believe she erred in her decision to find her a different set of parents? You once said you would have ruined her had you raised her. Has your opinion on that changed?"

Snape turned away from the headmaster, refusing to give a vocal answer. He didn't need to. Both men were well aware of what he believed.

Harold Winston had been a jovial man in life, but serious in his work. He had been brought into E-Branch in his mid-twenties when his ability to read minds had spiraled past his ability to control it. For nearly thirty years he had worked with the organization, dedicating himself to the service of queen and country in the way to which he was best suited. It ended when he had suffered a massive coronary while sitting at his desk. He was believed to have been gone for two hours by the time a co-worker had discovered him. Had Kathryn still be with E-Branch it wouldn't have taken nearly that long.

Of course, Harold Winston hadn't ever truly left E-Branch. Quite the contrary. He was still hovering around, in mind if not in body, and was happy to now serve as the 'eyes and ears' inside the beast itself. He had been the one to pass along the information when Trout had been drummed out of the building. He had kept the Great Majority, and thereby kept Kathryn, apprised of any suspicious goings on inside the organization. And now he felt it his duty to inform the new Keogh, Hermione, of her biological father's visit to E-Branch.

Her toothbrush clattered into the basin of the sink, having fallen from suddenly slack fingers. "Hewhat?"

"Turner has disclosed the facts behind Kathryn's employment with E-Branch and the events of her death to Mr. Snape."

Hermione's eyes stared back at her from inside the mirror above the sink. This could not be happening. "How much did he tell him?"

"Everything. Dr. Stroud authorized full disclosure."

She thought she might be sick. "Full disclosure? Did I enter into this conversation?"

"I'm afraid so. Turner confirmed that you had inherited Kathryn's abilities. I don't think he took that realization very well."

"I bet not." She braced her hands on the rim of the sink, bending over the basin as her mind whirled. "Thank you, Harold. I appreciate the head's up." Shit-fire-mother-fucking-damn! This was the last thing she needed. She wondered how long it would be before he arrived at Grimmauld Place to speak to her about it. She wondered if she had time to pack and run.

Then something crossed her mind. "Harold, you said that Michael told Severus about the events of Kathryn's death. I don't even know what happened. Did you find out?"

The was the usual increase in the white noise at the back of her mind, the agitation surrounding that question she had come to expect. After a moment, Mr. Winston dared a response. "It isn't something we should tell you, Hermione. Kathryn's death… you should hear that from one of the Living. From someone able to offer you comfort should you need it."

That was more than she usually got. She was about to press further when a knock sounded at the door, followed by Ginny's voice. "Hermione? Are you all right? You've been in there for ages!"

"Yeah, sorry. Coming out." She put away her toothbrush and pulled her hair back into a ponytail using a terrycloth band before gathering her toiletry kit and unlocking the door. Ginny peered up at her with unfeigned concern.

"Everything okay? If you're still shaken up I bet Mum'd make you a hot toddy or something to help calm your nerves."

Yes, most likely she would. Molly Weasley had been torn between hovering over her and hovering over Arthur. The woman was already upset over her husband's near death experience. She had nearly fallen apart when she learned that someone had taken a crack at Hermione as well. "I'm fine, Ginny. Just tired."

And she was. Hermione made her way to the room she and Ginny shared and crawled into bed. Her head was pounding and she was more than a bit nervous. Doubtless she could expect a visit from her esteemed bio-Dad, and she was pretty sure that it was going to be an uncomfortable one.

He flipped through the photos one at a time. Jamil was recovering from his contact with E-Branch and its agents, but they had never noticed the Cog taking pictures from across the street. The glossy prints had been cleaned up quite well, allowing him to see the faces clearly. "A daughter." He held a shot of the girl up and to the side for better view. "She looks a great deal like Kathryn."

Cecily nodded from her seat in front of his desk. "She's only recently turned sixteen and attends what is described as an 'exclusive boarding school' in Scotland. We believe this might be the school of magic where reports have indicated most of the 'magical' population sends their children. We have yet to pinpoint the location."

"Don't bother. We've tried to locate that damn school for decades. They've got tighter security than most of the royal estates." He flipped through a few more shots, pausing at another one. "This man, the pale one in the old fashioned trench coat. He looks like the wizard she was whoring around with."

She nodded and opened her book. "He was addressed as 'Mr. Snape', which would agree with the information acquired from the E-Branch files. We found little information on him when doing a direct search, but we were able to confirm his identity as her biological father once we tracked down her adoptive parents and were able to do some shallow mind reads. From what we have gathered, he only came into the picture a few months after Kathryn's death." Cecily paused and swallowed. "It appears she had put some triggers in place should anything happen to her, a means to ensure that the girl was made aware of her origins."

"Adoptive parents? We have a name for her, then?"

"Yes, Sir. Hermione Jean Granger, legally the child of Jacob and Hannah Granger. Norms, from what we can tell. The Scanners don't pick up any ESPer talent from them and they've shown no signs of being 'magical'. They make their living as dentists. I was puzzled by how they came to have her until I did a bit more digging." She flipped through her notebook, scanning her notes. "Hannah Granger was originally Hannah Grouse. She and Kathryn were in the same classes together at University until Grouse changed to dental studies, apparently not able to stomach some of the more gruesome aspects of forensics. According to the registrar's office, she and St. James were roommates until Hannah married Jacob Granger. It was a civil ceremony, one that Kathryn is listed as a witness of."

Geoffrey Trout blinked. "And old school friend?" He shook his head before leaning back in his chair and allowing himself a chuckle. "Brilliant. She hid behind her own reputation of being a cold-hearted bitch. It never occurred to me to look for friends and allies among the living. Other than Turner, I didn't know she had any. She never seemed to show any care for anyone still living." He shook his head again. "She's still full of surprises."

Cecily nodded. "Yes, Sir. It was rather clever of her." She cleared her throat delicately. "Sir, I'm sorry to report that we lost track of the girl shortly after the attempt at the cemetery. Our Scanners can't find her anywhere. We believe she has been pulled back into the 'magical' world."

"Oh, I'm sure that she has been, especially if her biological father is back in her life. He will have secreted her away, no doubt. Which also means going after the parents who raised her would be a futile move, as he will override her decision to go after them, as will Kathryn."

The woman sitting across from him blinked. "Kathryn? But, Sir, Kathryn St. James is dead."

"Dead, but not forgotten, Cecily. Remember, this is a Keogh we're talking about, and a Keogh never let anything as insignificant as death stop them from their goals. We can never forget that this girl, this Hermione Granger, has a reservoir of knowledge that is near limitless at her disposal, but she has not had the time at practice that Kathryn benefited from at her age. If I know St. James, she's keeping an iron grip on the girl. She would not let something as petty as the concern of a child for her parents override the instinct to survive."

"Yes, Sir. I forgot that about her."

Geoffrey gave the woman a smile. "Quite all right. You weren't with us three years ago. You've never seen what she can do. Believe me when I tell you that it is the stuff of nightmares. Never assume that the girl is alone and always keep in mind that she, too, can bring about sights you could not have imagined in your worst dreams."

Cecily pressed her lips together but said nothing, looking back down at her notebook. Geoffrey reached out and skimmed the topmost edges of her thoughts. "Don't let her pretty face fool you. This girl is a time bomb. It is only a matter of when and where she will complete her metamorphosis and truly become her mother's daughter. Kathryn was utterly without conscience, lacking even the tiniest shred of remorse. And believe me, she had much to be remorseful for. She will shape her daughter into the same personality, but this time we won't just be dealing with a Keogh or even an ESPer. We must be prepared to face her when the time comes." He gave the woman was carefully measured smile that most would consider to be warm. "That will be all Cecily."

The Cog rose from her chair and left him alone in the quiet of his office. The man known as Geoffrey Trout looked back to the photographs on his desk, pulling out the one affording the best view of the girl for closer inspection. Pale eyes moved over the image, memorizing the shape of her face. "So this is who you were hiding all those years. A merry chase, St. James, but I always win in the end."