"ten metres and nothing so far," Hermione wrote down the progress. "One more?"
Harry rose another metre, slowly. The broomstick so far hadn't done anything nefarious, but Hermione was ready for him to suddenly make take a spill into the pitch. Hermione had started slow, they met each night and the past week raising a metre each night. It was Saturday, so they could afford to go longer this night. Hermione sat on the ground eyes fixed on Harry (Hermione knicked what she needed for the Owl Sight Potion, they operated in the dark to avoid detection).
The Kellas cat and the two kittens sat in the grass with Crookshanks next to Hermione. Something she became comfortable with after the third night out. They, of course weren't nearly as fixated on the flying boy as Hermione.
Harry flew smoothly, back and forth and various speeds. Hermione marked the progression again on her sheet and wondered if it was safe for her to tear her eyes away from Harry for a moment. She turned to the Kellas cat and wondered what if she could get further evidence from the cat. Maybe solidify her theories.
"The man with the knife," she asked. "Did he turn into a dog?"
The Kellas cat turned her sapphire eyes to Hermione, staring at her as she thought back to that night so long ago.
Yes.
"Has he been here since?"
Yes.
"Have you seen a rat-" Hermione described Scabbers to a tee and watched the thoughts churn behind her eyes.
Seen loads of rats, eaten them too. That one...something is wrong with that one. Saw scurrying across the grounds last moon cycle. Nothing since.
Scurrying across the grounds... Hermione bit her lip. It once again wasn't enough to go to anyone, but it was enough for her to turn the gears in her mind. If she could track both of them without being seen, she might catch them. She considered it before, and now it seemed like it would pay off.
After ten more metres Harry returned to the ground, his cheeks red from the January wind and beaming. "Twenty metres and nothing!"
"Yeah," Hermione smiled. "Looks like you might just have a benefactor. How are you feeling?"
Harry's green eyes twinkled in the moonlight and he beamed, trying to smooth his wind-tossed hair. "I reckon you're right. So, you won't make it very expensive firewood?"
Hermione smirked. "That depends on how nice you are to me."
"You're cruel," Harry teased.
"Meh," she shrugged. "I'm my father's daughter. I have something else I have to do. Grab the cloak and I'll see you in the morning."
Harry reluctantly, after much insistence, left Hermione to her own devices.
"Mufflato" she whispered in all directions around her.
She glanced around her surroundings before ducking behind an old tree. She plucked two petrified worms from her robes and bit her lip. She didn't like this part. Lifting her wand she whispered an incantation over the worms, which glowed green as they crawled up her arms and burrowed into her ears.
Completely deaf for the next three hours, Hermione made her way to Greenhouse Three.
"Don't bother, Hermione," Severus mulled over his thoughts. "Can we talk?"
"Erm, of course, Dad." Hermione sat the clipboard down and stared at him, confusion swimming in her tired brown eyes. Hermione wasn't a terribly open child, and Severus didn't excel at fatherly heart-to-hearts, thus the typical busy work the two engaged in while making conversation. But this was...tread very carefully.
"I've been meaning to speak to you on the matter for a few months now," he took a deep breath. "But, as you well know, things have been...less than ideal."
Hermione clasped her hands together, driving her nails into her flesh and scanned the room nervously. Five minutes and the girl already assumed she was in trouble...which wasn't inaccurate.
"Are you and Hiro Yamato involved?"he asked bluntly. No use beading around the bloody bush.
Hermione's already large eyes grew in size as she stared at him, unsure how to respond. She let out a series of inarticulate squeaks before staring at the ground and muttering: "he's on the other side of the planet, sir."
"And thirty days out of the year so are you," Severus folded his arms across my chest. "Makes this information pertinent. Are you two seeing each other?"
Hermione lowered her head further, hiding deep within her bushy locks. He noticed her drive her nails even further into her flesh.
"This shouldn't be a difficult question, Hermione," he sighed. "Are you seeing this boy?"
Hermione shrugged. "I think so? maybe? It's-erm-it's complicated."
Complicated? How the hell was anything between thirteen-year-olds complicated-He's a year above her, so he's fourteen... possibly fifteen. Merlin, I hope not. He stared at the young, small and fragile girl before him. She couldn't bring herself to have a conversation with her own father, she barely uttered a word to her friends. What kind of-she was so... The idea that anyone could look at her and not see a small child was hard to believe.
"Excuse me?" Severus scoffed taking to his feet. "You are far too young for there to be a complicated answer to that question!"
"We're not-we didn't-I can't believe you'd imply-Dad!" Hermione squeaked, leaping to her feet.
"I didn't imply that!" he choked perhaps as lost as she was. "I simply-wait-" he felt his own face warm. "Should I be worried about that? How old is this boy?"
"F-fifteen," she answered.
"And allow me to uncomplicate matters for you then," he said. "He's too old for you."
"Wh-I-erm-" Hermione squeaked, staring at her clasped hands rather than making eyecontact. "He just turned fifteen a couple of weeks ago, sir."
"And my opinion remains unchanged," he sighed. "If I'm being completely honest, you're to young to be pursuing a romantic relationship at all. Let alone a 'complicated' one where you evade supervision for an entire month."
"It's a boarding school, Dad," Hermione scoffed. "No different than here. There are rules and prefects and teachers. It's not like we're some adolescent version of Lord of the Flies."
"So," he said. "I suppose Lupin saw some other girl and boy wandering about the forest alone?"
Hermione stared at him, her eyes wide, the pink from rage and embarrassment drained from her face. "Wh-what else did he tell you?"
"Nothing relevant," he felt his breath catch in his throat. "But apparently there was more to tell?!"
Hermione simply stared at him, her eyes threatening to fall out of her little face. What the "more to tell" was, terrified her it might come to light. It seemed she thought she hid it all so well for months, he could see her little world crashing down around her. Hermione was raised better than this. She should have known better.
"I won't get anything more from you," he admitted. "If you intend on going away this summer, sit down. It's seems we're overdue for 'the talk'."
"Dad, I don't think that's nec-"
"If you're old enough to be dating behind my back you're old enough for this conversation, now sit the hell down."
Hermione left her father's office with a tangled web of emotions she wasn't sure she could undo herself. On one hand that awkward, impossibly long conversation prevented him from noticing the mandrake leaf wrapped in a lock of her own hair currently sitting in her mouth. Yet another secret to keep, but with the time turner, the amount of time she had to keep it from him was less. She just had to ensure she didn't go mad.
She knew she wasn't getting anything from him on the matter of her mother. But the one scrap of hope that refused to die finally perished with in her. And she was definitely not getting permission to stay with the Yamotos during August. Could he really blame her for not telling him? What child tells their parents about people their dating? If Hermione thought she was going to marry him, maybe then, but-okay, that was something she stupidly fantasized about.
Hiro's too old for me?! Hermione thought bitterly. He just turned fifteen! I should tell him about the sixteen-year-old girl I have a crush on!
Hermione unfurled the braided cord from her wrists and examined it. She thought of the folktale Hiro told her. No matter how far apart the lovers were, they were connected. Hiro was so thoughtful, so kind. Maybe...maybe she should have been upfront about. If he knew how thoughtful and sweet Hiro was it...Wouldn't have made a bloody difference! You have much more pressing matters to attend to, you stupid little girl!
Hermione was going to keep seeing him anyway. She put it from her mind, she didn't need her father's approval. She put her anger and her confusion on the abundance of Lilies from her mind. She had to find Mayakovski. If she could, she'd be able to figure out aspects of his life before hand, she might be able to find out why he was among muggles.
She wasn't sure how long she'd been searching, but she finally found something. Mayakovski's record of expulsion. He'd been expelled during his first year, something about cursing a housemate three years above him. What kind of eleven-year-old picks a fight with a fourteen-year-old. That was when she came across the name of the alleged victim.
Tom Riddle...
Mayakovski definitely knew what the serpent represented. This was it! Hermione copied the file and placed it in her bag when a familiar voice sang from behind her.
"Hi, Hermione!"
"L-Luna?!" Hermione quickly waved her wand with an incantation putting the file back.
"Ooh!" Luna beamed. "Working on another Herald article? It's been a really long time. I love your articles."
A furious warmth brushed across Hermione's cheeks. Flatter turned into guilt when she realized she couldn't remember the last submission she made to the school paper. Hermione's pieces were so irregular. Hell, Colin submitted more (at one picture per Quidditch match) at this point. She sat on the table with Luna and sighed.
"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I've been a shitty columnist."
Luna smiled and shrugged. "You've been busy. You have more classes than I know how to fit in a day, you're clearly helping Harry with something about Sirius Black-"
Hermione shuddered, knowing that if she caught on her father must have suspected something.
"And you're still building a defence for Hagrid. Not to mention whatever busy work Snape's using to keep you from fully engaging with it. You also were a cat a couple weeks ago."
Hermione smiled. Luna had a very-well-Luna way of thinking about things.
"I have been busy," Hermione admitted. "Distract me?"
"Padma's been very nice to me recently," Luna mused. "Curious it happened after you started tutoring her."
Hermione gave a innocent shrug and weak smile. "Is that so?"
Luna rolled her silver eyes and smirked.
Hermione set a side her work and listened intently as Luna described her day, theorized over the possibility of Cornelius Fudge keeping a secret stash of Felix Felicis. At some point Hermione shifted from listening to drifting off to the files she'd discovered. She wondered if she should ask Lupin about any of the Lilies, Elizabeths or Lilian Nakamura. Would he know anything about them? She didn't know if he'd tell her if she asked. And she very well couldn't write a letter to each possible "Lily" saying: Hi, my father is Severus Snape and he may have stalked you when you were fifteen. Are you my mother?
"If you want to talk about whatever it is," Luna offered taking her hand. "I'm a very good listener."
"What?" Hermione shook her head. "Oh, no, I'm just tired. Sorry. Go on?"
"Your eyes drift to the lower left corner of the room when you're troubled," Luna declared. "You know I wouldn't tell anyone, and I find talking helps."
"Oh, Luna," Hermione offered a smile. "I know you wouldn't tell anyone. I trust you with my life, honest."
"Then won't you talk to me?"
"Luna!" Hermione sighed. "We're talking right now."
"You know what I mean, Hermione Elizabeth," Luna went nuclear.
"L-Luna!"
"Please, Hermione," Luna held both her hands and stared into her with imploring silver eyes.
"I-erm-I-" Hermione sighed, taking her hand back and clasping her hands together. She shuts down when I mention Hiro, but I might be able to talk about this..."I think I might have a lead on the woman who gave birth to me. If not that, at least a glimpse into my father's past. But I've hit a road block."
"Really?" Luna leaned in intently.
"I overheard a healer while I was at Saint Mungo's..."
Hermione explained the conversation she overheard-leaving out some more disturbing theories-and that "Lily" and "Mary" had no last names to work off of.
"Now, I'm going through these files and I have an abundance of Lilies to sort through!" Hermione lamented.
"I can help!" Luna suggested.
"I don't want to bother-"
"I'm helping."
Luna saw herself to 1971 files and Hermione watched in a mixture of disbelief and guilt. Was it okay to get Luna's help on something that had nothing to do with her?
