"The greatest wizarding school? Is that really what you think Azkaban is?" Hermione watched as a glimmer of confusion made its way into Vinny's innocent gaze.

"It says right here, in uncle Harry's book!"

Hermione took it from Severus and opened it to the front cover. She read: "To Scarface, from George Weasley."

"Oh, Vinny." Hermione sighed. "This is a gag gift for uncle Harry from one of his friends. It isn't real, it's from a joke shop."

"S-so, magic school isn't real?"

Hermione shook her head. "Well, that one isn't."

"Mr. Snape?" he said, turning to face her taut-lipped companion.

"Perhaps Hogwarts would be a viable option."

"They would never be allowed to go," Hermione whispered into his ear.

"They would if you told them so," Penny said, looking at Hermione, then at Severus. "Both of you. If you showed them the magic chicken trick, mum would be so pleased, and dad would-"

"No. Penny-"

"But why, WHY?"

Why were the kids making it so hard?

Hermione urged herself not to go into Wizarding politics and explain to her why parents need to give consent prior to their children practicing magic. Besides, judging from Harry's stories, Dudley Dursley did not seem like the liberal parent who would permit magic under his roof, not after all his misfortunes with spells and dementors and pigtails as a young boy. She reasoned that it was better to cut Penny and Vinny from their dreams early on, instead of giving them any false hope their father would change his mind.

She put the book down. "Your dad didn't like magic when he was your age and he probably doesn't like it now. Your grandpa made sure of it."

"Our poppa wouldn't-"

"He wouldn't? He made your favorite uncle Harry sleep in a cupboard under the stairs and made his life miserable in every way imaginable. All because he couldn't stand the thought of something extraordinary happening in his home!"

"Don't talk about our poppa that way!" Penny snapped her fingers in front of Hermione's face. "You don't know him and you are the worst babysitter ever. And we-" She grabbed Vinny by the hand. "We're going to go live with Ms. Skeeter cause she's the only one who cares about us."

Hermione cried, "You can't do that...I'm in charge of you! Besides, Ms. Skeeter doesn't know the first thing about caring for anyone besides herself."

"She is the best," Penny said, gazing hopefully at the reporter. "She said that we were the brightest children she's ever met and that if we invite her to dinner with Mr. Snape, she'd do something nice for us. Didn't you? I bet she's way better at magic than any of you. Right, Ms. Skeeter? We can come with you?"

Clearly, this was not part of the woman's plans. Ms. Skeeter's eyes darted in the quick calculation, guessing the distance between her chair and the front door.

"Dearie, leave her be. Ms. Skeeter has already had her fill of embarrassment by watching the lot of you," Mrs. Prince chimed in. "To think that my sweetie-son has been tricked into a cruel scheme of hearts."

The dancing dames in the old grandfather clock twirled ten times. Ms. Skeeter took that as her cue, stood up, and blotted her perfectly lipsticked mouth. Having reapplied the red gloss, smiled a saccharine smile. "Would you look at the time?"

Penny and Vinny sat on the edges of their seats, as though waiting to be called to come along, but the reporter made no notion of including anyone in her impending itinerary.

"Dearie, so soon?" Mrs. Prince asked.

"Ms. Skeeter, wait for us!" Penny jumped over to her side only to be met with a squeamish response.

"Sorry doll, not tonight. I'm afraid there's a...commitment I have to attend," she began.

"Dearie, at least stay for a cup of tea and a rum cake."

"I don't think any tea will surpass the one I just indulged in."

The rejection Mrs. Prince's rum cakes, being the highlight of her culinary skill, struck a nerve with the old crone. She withdrew a small pouch from her pockets, one that made Severus tense up. "In that case, thank you for your services, and there's a little extra in there for compensation. Come to think of it, my sweetie boy is better off living here with me than with some harridan."

For a moment, it looked like he was going to tell his mother the truth about the situation. Instead he made his intentions clear by grasping her hand and muttering that it was not necessary.

"I've already been paid," Rita said in a haughty tone, and left the payment in the old woman's hands. "Look at all of these wonderful stories. A dead headmaster - found, a suspended Ministry caught between two heartthrobs and two Muggle children in the presence of magic. This will make for a pretty set of articles, and mind you, my place in the Daily Prophet will resume once again."

"Article?" Mrs. Prince muttered as her eyes watched a thick pad of papers emerge from under the table and into her hands.

"No not worry, Mrs. Prince, I will send you a copy of them myself once they are released. Large print , of course."

Severus looked like he would burst with anger, He lunged forwards, but Ms. Skeeter stopped him with a wag of her manicured finger.

"I would not do that, not unless you want another trip to Azkaban. Although come to think of it, that may not be the worst of places to get over your secret heartache. You might give the children a little tour while you're there."

All expression drained from Severus' face. This was another secret he had not revealed tonight.

"Well, as much as I'd like to stay, these lovely drafts won't edit themselves." Ms. Skeeter said. She blew a kiss into the air towards the crowd and sauntered towards the front door, her bright red trench coat floating off the hooks towards her. With a snap of the fingers, two valises descended down the stairs and sat like foot dogs beside her.

"Oh, and Mrs. Prince, do be dear and set up a few more chairs in the front hall. We would want the press to have somewhere to sit while they interview you and your son. What a fortuitous week it will be!"

"Sevvy dear, what is she talking about?"

"Just that. We've all been bamboozled in the same fashion of the rest of wizarding Britain."

"Then do something about it!" Mrs. Prince cried, giving her son a shake. He, being so much taller and a fair bit stronger only shook a tad, and that Hermione supposed was only to please his mother. He looked tense, too tense, but he did not do anything to stop the reporter from leaving. Clearly, a return to Azkaban was not something he was excited about.

"What can be done now? You heard her. Azkaban for me if I get rid of her and then, who will help you run the Black Sheep?"

"I certainly did not raise a coward."

"Then perhaps, mum, you should take care of her yourself. After all, she is your guest." This snide comment earned him a smack straight across the head with a dishcloth.

"Would you step up and be a man for once, lad?"

Ms. Skeeter stood by the door, relishing in her triumph and cleverness and celebrating with a freshly lit cigarette.

All stood still until Severus turned to Penny.

"Miss Penny, were you telling the truth about doing magic?"

"Sure, whatever," she said crossing her arms.

"If you are serious, I believe you are ready for your first lesson." Her expression brightened as he extended his hand into his pockets, produced his wand and handed it to her.

He leaned in close and whispered into her ear. "Say it clearly now, then finish with a sharp flick." He demonstrated with the unwavering movement of his hand.

Penny concentrated really hard, so hard that her hair stood on her head and with a wave of his wand, Rita Skeeter dropped her valises and notepad and turned into a big, black fly.

In a flash, Toby the cat, made it just in time for the end of the third act. He was never one to miss a smoke break. He hopped on the table, feet first, and had the fly in his cat mouth. With a resounding gulp, the fly was gone and so was Rita Skeeter.

"I did it?" Penny asked and when Severus head gave her the approving nod, she exclaimed, "I did it! I did it!"

Her face lit up just so and she jumped onto Severus, pulling him into a big hug. Severus, who was not a fan of these displays of affection struggled for a bit and then gave the girl a stiff and cordial pat on the back.

"So where is she? What happened to Ms. Skeeter," Penny asked.

Severus leaned on close and his smile was not the least bit dark. "Don't trouble yourself with the likes of that twit. She has her ending."

This announcement did have Penny reconsider her actions, and much like a child faced with her first dark magic experience, her lip quivered. "So-so she's really gone?"

"Quickly too. You have excellent aim, Miss Penny"

The compliment went unnoticed as Penny's eyes watered.

"O-oh I didn't mean it. I didn't mean to make her die. Please have her back please." Penny wailed. When Severus' silence confirmed her it was too late, she dashed into Hermione's arms and begged to go back home. "Please don't tell mummy I did that. She's going to ground me forever."

And innocent little Vinny bent over the black puss and held his chubby hand before its mouth. "Mr. Toby-cat, she didn't taste that good, please spit her out," Vinny said, petting his scrawly fur.

The cat only grunted and brushed his tail over his face.

"Mr. Snape, tell your cat to be good and spit Ms. Skeeter out," Vinny then turned his attention to Severus and began to yank at his clothing. "Tell him, tell him-"

"Get off of me," he snarled. "Don't you understand? What's done is done. Magic isn't all fun and games. Sometimes its about making sacrifices. Hard sacrifices."

Vinny didn't understand the meaning of 'sacrifice', but judging by the rude tone in which it was delivered, felt it was a very scary word and ran to hide behind Hermione.

"And what would you know about sacrifice, Sevvy?" Mrs. Prince said. "Don't run on about things you don't understand and stop scaring the children. Now feeding you as a babe, that was a sacrifice."

"So you would rather believe that I'd not had the wits to leave this...gnarly little town in thirty-some years since graduating? That I didn't long for something more?"

"Something more? I would have remembered if-" Mrs. Prince paused. Then her face contorted. "I would have remembered."

Two heads shorter than her son, she seemed to grow twice the size in her fury. Her chest puffed up and mouth unravelled by the seams as she slowly and deliberately said three words that twisted the headmaster into the size of a hairball, "Severus. Tobias. Snape."

"Yes?"

"Did you think you could make a silly puss out of your mother?"

And then, he really did turn to one. His eyes became small and beady, his long hair grew in patches over his neck and hands and bellybutton and kept growing until it covered his entire body. He shrank until there was nothing left but a cat in a pile of clothing on the floor. A scraggly tail sprouted from his behind and he side nstepped over his wand.

"Dearies well take it from here. And I suppose you can stay in your rooms until morning."

Severus the cat looked pitifully at the kids and Hermione as they went back up the stairs. Penny had to cheek to stick out her tongue at him, and Hermione , decided not to scold her for it, for she rather felt like doing it herself.

Hermione decided that it was for the best that his mother transfigured him into a scaredy kitten. For all his talk of grand plans and schemes, Severus Snape could not step over his ego far enough to admit a truth that would have saved Hermione a great deal of embarrassment. And perhaps, she admitted to herself, she had been guilty of that herself. Had she admitted the truth to Penny and Vinny, shown them the proper way of doing magic, they would not have gained mistrust in the skill and perhaps learned a thing or two.

Hermione peaked into the children's room.

Vinny had fallen asleep, his cherub face buried in the sheets and his stomach gave a satisfied growl. He had been to young to understand the situation, and likely passed it off as another one of his sister's games.

Penny lay in her own bed, trying to suffocate the rest of the day away under the blankets. Hermione sat by her side, brushing her hair out of her face, and was met by a grumble and a reiteration of how terrible of a nanny she was.

Hermione retreated to her own room, and as she undressed, realized that she had finished exactly where she'd begun. She had not made a connection with the children, she had not given them or herself a proper vacation, she let Harry down. And now, she was returning back to her Ministry job as the witch who had made her way into the higher ranks of the Ministry through the sheets, a reputation she had not meant to acquire at all.

Rita Skeeter's report of the disastrous supper lay on her bedside table. She considered casting it into flames by means of a spell, but decided to keep it a while. She admitted that with all her faults, Rita Skeeter had written an exquisite comedy out of the meeting of a witch, her two Muggle children, a dead headmaster, his doting mother and her husband, the cat. She turned on the little bedside lamp, curled under the sheets and read and occasionally, her lips would curve into a smile. And when she finished, she tucked the papers away into her bag and watched the fireflies flicker outside.

What was she thinking, admitting her crush to Severus, no, Mr. Snape? This was bound to end poorly. Now she'd made him angry and Penny got hurt in the process. She was just tricking herself if she had thought for one moment, that he felt the same way about her.

And the kiss? That was nothing more than a way to sell their relationship out for dinner. Had it been necessary to give it so much importance.

Hermione had laughed at Penny's obsession with her Backstreet Bois magazines, but at 34 years old, she should not have been acting half the bint these youngsters were. She should have been smarter, brighter, and more in control of her feelings. When it came to relationships, she was rubbish. That was the truth. First sleeping with the Minister of Magic because he'd shown her a bit of attention that one night at the staff party, and then continuing to do so. All because she didn't think she was loveable just the way she was.

Could she really not have found anyone better to fancy? When will she ever learn?

Was there no other choice but to suffer the misfortune of being unlucky at love at thirty-four?

There was a knock on the door.

"Hermione?"

No use hiding in his house. She pulled on a cardigan and stumbled to the door to see his dark figure slumped against the door frame. Above his head, two pepper-grey ears perked up and his tail did an amusing twitch.

"Go on then, amuse yourself," he beckoned. "I know you are thinking it."

"Actually, I don't find it amusing in the least bit. If you're looking for some sympathy, you won't find it here and if you're looking to make me feel like a fool- don't. I feel like it without your help," she said bitterly and closed the door, only to be met with the weight of his foot in the frame.

"I came to inquire about your…Penny and Vinny."

"They're asleep."

"And have the effects of your potion worn off?"

"Well Severus, I can tell you that you are the absolute worst sort of wizard."

"Now I'm not sure if you're telling the truth or lying."

"Does it matter?"

They stood like that for some time, each not knowing what else to say until Hermione realized that this was a game of tit for tat and it was her turn.

"You really me down there. Was it so difficult to admit the truth from the start, at least in part to your mother?"

"Do not compare your woes to mine. I was not the one convincing your to muck up your reputation at the Ministry. I mean, Shacklebolt? Miss Granger, you are brighter than that, I would have assumed you'd at least choose someone younger."

"Goodnight."

His foot would not leave the door.

"What kind of mother wants to know that their son used to kill for a living?" Severus said, looking at the floor.

Hermione nodded. She knew something about disappointing parents too. "We've all got skeletons in the closet."

"Hermione, out of all the names you could have taken…why mine?"

"I don't really know, it was the first name to enter my mind."

"Do you think of me out of guilt for not having saved my life that day or out of genuine affection?"

"A bit of both. You, you really did a lot for us, students. So many lives were saved. You were a hero. A good wizard."

"But a rubbish man." He crossed his arms. "What I mean to say is, I don't think I deserve the epithets you sang for me at the table. I was untruthful to a great many people over my lifetime. I have used magic to hurt a great many people, many good people. And if someone should teach Miss Penny and little Vinny magic, it shouldn't be me."

"Well I'm not a good candidate either. I mean, I missed all the signs. They really tricked me and all because I was thinking about myself and my own problems I didn't have time to think about them." She put her hands over her eyes and laughed. "Brightest witch of her age couldn't point out two wizard children before her eyes."

"Some pair the two of us make."

Hermione sighed. " You know if we had all told each other the truth from the very start, maybe we would have saved ourselves a load of trouble."

"Certainly. What I wish to say is, I would be, pleased if you decided to stay at the Black Sheep and allow me to make amends, free of charge."

"Well, I'll consider it on one account, you teach Penny and Vinny some real magic-"

"You're a brat, Mrs Snape," he scowled, his cat ears twitching. "What makes you think I'll agree?"

"Something tells me you do not want to go downstairs with the wrong answer, Sevvy."

"Call me that again and I will take back the offer."

Hermione could not help but smirk as he turned around and his cat tail rounded the corner.