Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

Help!

by Katta (KET on ff.net) (katta_t2002@yahoo.co.uk)

Chapter 10

Hermione's first thought was to go to Snape's house, but he was not there and Piggy swore blind she hadn't seen him since the day he walked out on the Sunday papers.  Hermione wondered where Micky would have gone. He had said he was never going back to Liverpool, but she still thought Mrs Maguire might know something. So once again she apparated to the drab tower block.

It was with the greatest sense of foreboding that she knocked on the door to the flat. Which just goes to show that premonition is a fallible thing even for a witch. For the door was opened by Mrs Maguire smiling broadly.

'Miss Granger,' she exclaimed. 'Come in! Come in! You'll find us all at sixes and sevens, packing. Micky, it is the young journalist I told you about!' – this last shouted into the flat.

'Packing?'

'Yes, we're going … where are we going again?' This was addressed to Micky who emerged from one of the inner rooms to see who had arrived.

'Brazil, mum.'

'Brazil where the nuts come from! That's it!'

'Ehhr …why …' Hermione was for once lost for words.

'Well, when Micky came home and the strange gentleman appeared and told him about this school or college or whatever…'

'What strange gentleman?'

'I think she means me,' came a voice from the inner room. And in the doorway appeared …Dumbledore.

Hermione was now completely dumbstruck. He turned to Micky and said, 'Well, I think I've almost finished here. When you have packed you know what to do. Both grab the soda bottle at the same time …'

'Yes, yes,' said Micky, but kindly. 'You've been over this a hundred times.'

'Well then, perhaps I may leave. I would like to have a word with this young journalist.' He took Hermione by the arm and led her out of the flat. Then he said quite firmly, 'We need to talk. Will you apparate to the gates of Hogwarts with me?'

Hermione nodded.

A few minutes later they were walking up the path to the Hogwarts main entrance.

'I'm really sorry I lied to her, ' said Hermione, 'but I was only trying to do the best I could for Severus – and Micky.'

Dumbledore looked a lot less stern now that he had heard the whole story.

'Why are they going to Brazil?' she asked with curiosity.

'There is a school for late developing wizards there that will take adult students.'

'Oh, so he will get to be a wizard after all.'

'Yes he will.'

'And was he invited to Hogwarts when he was eleven?'

'Yes, he was. We had had reports of his magical abilities, but we didn't know of his parentage, of course.'

'But his mother didn't reply to the letter.'

'No.'

'So it wasn't followed up.'

'No.' Dumbledore had the grace to look uncomfortable at that.

They walked on in silence for  a few minutes. Then Hermione said, 'Can I ask you something?'

'Yes, of course, my dear.'

'Magical abilities are hereditary, are they not?'

'So it would appear, but there are squibs of course.'

'I'm not really concerned about squibs, but how much is known about why there are occasional muggle-born wizards and witches.'

'I was wondering how long it would take you to get round to that.'

'Well?'

'Not a lot is known.'

'But why – you would have thought it would be an obvious area for research.'

'Not necessarily.' Dumbledore looked uncomfortable.

'So there is no known mechanism by which magical abilities can suddenly appear without a magical parentage.'

'No.'

'But then …'

'Hermione, there is no known mechanism, but as I have just told you no research has been done on it.'

'But it still seems to me …'

'Hermione, without research you can't know …'

'But with modern genetic tests it is easy to establish paternity.'

'Yes, but would you want to?'

Hermione fell silent for a moment. Then she said, 'Yes, of course. I want to know whether are gene mutations that cause magical abilities in some muggle-borns.'

'And if you found out there were no such gene mutations?'

'But that is horrific. That would mean that all muggle-born wizards or witches were the result of rape. That is unthinkable. Why isn't there a most enormous scandal about this?'

'Hermione,' said Dumbledore quietly. 'There have always been muggle-born wizards and witches. It is possible that there are gene mutations as you say, or it is possible that they are and always have been the result of rape – or seduction as it used perhaps to be called.  There is no scandal because it has always gone on it the best wizarding families and they don't want to wash their dirty linen in public.'

'But don't the muggle women cry foul?'

'You forget the power wizards have to oblivate. What happened to Mrs Maguire was most unusual – occasioned I believe by the intervention of the muggle police.'

'But surely this can't be allowed to go on.'

'You have to bear in mind what a Pandora's box of heart ache you would open up if you forced people to face up to this. What is it you young people say? "Don't go there!"'

'Yes, but if this is all swept under the carpet, it just gives young wizards the right to rape away as they please.'

'Perhaps, but I do try my best at Hogwarts to inculcate young wizards with ideals of honour and justice and equality of the sexes which will put an end to this sort of thing.'

Hermione couldn't fault him on that, but she still wasn't convinced.

'But if people don't know their ancestry, they might unwittingly marry their half-brother or something.'

Suddenly Hermione went pale as an appalling thought swept into her mind. Dumbledore saw her stumble and decided that perhaps it was time to break a confidence in the interest of the a greater good.

'I have it on good authority, ' he said choosing his words carefully, 'that some young Death Eaters were so appalled by their first experience of rape that they refused ever to have anything to do with it again.'

'Did he tell you that?' almost whispered Hermione. Abandoning any attempt at anonymising the information, Dumbledore nodded. Hermione gave a long sigh of relief.

'Nevertheless, you can see where this might lead,' she said.

Dumbledore nodded. 'Indeed, and that is why, in the muggle world, I believe adopted children have the right to certain information about their biological parents. But I still think that in this case it would do more harm than good.'

Hermione thought about this for a while. Then she said, 'But I still want to know who my father is.'

'Your father is the man you buried a few days ago. Who brought you up and loved you.'

'Don't split hairs. You know what I mean. My biological father.'

'No doubt with modern DNA tests you could find out. But would it really do you any good or would you just want to murder him, landing yourself in Azkaban?'

'I wonder what Severus would think of this. I don't think he was too impressed by the treatment his son had received and the fact that he didn't even know he had a son.'

'I'm sure you're right. He is paying for Micky's education in Brazil, you know.'

'Is he? I thought … I thought … I don't know what I thought, but I thought you had somehow organised it?'

'Me? I was merely helping Severus. I'm not a wealthy man. Nor is he, really, but this is what he has chosen to spend his money on.'

Severus! Hermione was gripped by a deep sense of guilt. The truth was that she had hardly thought about him since that phone call. Now his face swam into her mind and she realised how much he actually meant to her.

'What happened to Severus when the aurors came?'

'He was lucky. Very lucky,' said Dumbledore dryly. 'Apparently they were already closing in on Lucius Malfoy's operation. Severus claimed self-defence and he was supported of course by the fact that the aurors were able to establish that the last curse cast by Malfoy's wand was Avada Kedavra. So they accepted his explanation and let him go.'

Hermione drew a sigh of relief.

'But why don't you ask him to tell you about it himself?'

'Where is he?'

'He's here.'

It seemed obvious as soon as Dumbledore said it, but it actually hadn't occurred to Hermione that Snape might have returned to Hogwarts.

'Would he see me, do you think.'

Dumbledore smiled. 'He hasn't seen anyone except me since he returned, but if he'll see anyone, it would be you, I should think.'

***

Snape recognised Hermione's characteristic double knock on the door. For a moment he froze and wondered whether there was any point pretending he wasn't there. But he knew there was no point. If I don't look at her, I won't have to see the rejection in her eyes, he thought. So he walked over to the window and turned his back to the door before he called, 'Come in!'

The door opened and Hermione entered silently. Snape waited for her to say something, shout something, throw something, hex him, whatever. But the silence lengthened and at last he said, 'I heard about your father. I'm sorry.'

When Hermione said nothing in reply, he finally said, 'Thank you for coming to say goodbye in person. Very Gryffindor! It really wasn't necessary and I don't deserve it.'

He heard the door close and assumed she had gone – and got the fright of his life when he turned around and found her still standing there.

'I didn't come to say goodbye,' she said gently. 'I came to apologise.'

Snape had run through countless scenarios for this meeting in his mind, but it had simply never occurred to him that she might still want him after all that happened.

'Apologise? What for?'

'For not being there for you when you needed me.'

'You have no obligation towards me.'

'I know, but I should have been there to help you.'

Snape sighed. He just had to try to explain what he felt. 'This whole episode has brought to my full attention all the reasons why you should have nothing to do with me.'

'I don't know what you mean.'

'I'm a former Death Eater – you know what I did to that poor woman, Micky's mother.'

'I know what you have just done for her and Micky, too. And I know what she said about the rape. That you whispered that you were sorry.'

Snape sank into his chair and buried his head in his hands.

'That is true. And Hermione, I promise, I never had anything to do with rapes after that. But it hardly excuses what I did.'

'She has forgiven you. And so has Micky. So why can't you forgive yourself? It was a very long time ago.'

Quietly she walked over to him and put her arms around him. He turned into her embrace and sniffed slightly which could have been a stifled sob.

'I must have been at the staff meeting where Micky's name was read out as one of those who hadn't answered the invitation to Hogwarts. And I must have sat there and scowled and thought what did it matter, it was only another muggle.'

Hermione stroked his hair gently until he calmed.

'I never thought you'd want me when you knew,' he said at length.

'I want you,' Hermione replied. 'But I'm feeling rather fragile after my father's death. I need of some help and support to get through it. I don't know whether …' She knew that what she was going to say would sound rude, but it needed to be said. 'I don't know whether you care enough for me to want to be around when things get tough.'

'Please don't doubt my commitment to you, Hermione,' he replied. 'I'll give you whatever help and support you need, but can I ask something in return? Will you help and support me when I embark on a new career outside Hogwarts?'

'Deal!' said Hermione.

***

When I was younger, so much younger than today,

I never needed anybody's help in any way,

but now these days are gone I'm not so self assured,

now I find I've changed my mind I've opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down,

and I do appreciate you being around

help me get my feet back on the ground,

won't you please please help me?