A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. I am just having fun
playing with her characters. This story is rated R for a reason. You have
been warned.
Chapter Ten
Settling down on the couch, which was in front of the roaring fire in Severus' office, Severus and Hermione snuggled closer together and watched the crackling of the flames as they danced up the back of the floo.
"How are you feeling, love?" Severus asked her as he placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. He was becoming even more protective of her now that he knew she was carrying his child.
"I'm fine, Severus. The potion is still having its effects on me thankfully." Hermione recognised he was stalling so she decided to push him for some answers. "Tell me what this Book of Shadows is, Severus." She asked him quietly as she curled her legs up underneath her to get more comfortable and tucked her head underneath his chin.
Snape inhaled sharply at the mention of the book and was silent for a moment before muttering charms to ward the room from any eavesdroppers and sealing the door to any intruders. "The book was written by one of the Ancient Egyptian witches called Sekhmet. Do you know of her?"
"Erm. no I don't believe I've heard of her, Severus." Hermione said as she frowned whilst racking her brains.
Severus nodded slightly. "She was one of the first truly Dark Witches of the ancient world and she wrote a book, which has been called The Book of Shadows by modern day wizards."
"Why? What's its real title?" Hermione interrupted him, her curiosity always in over drive where there was information readily available to her starved mind.
"The whole book is written in a very ancient hieroglyphics code, including the title itself, supposedly. It is thought that the actual book cannot be opened unless this ancient tongue is used. It is believed that the title is the password to opening the book but as the words on the cover are said to be mere symbols and no-one knows how to pronounce them, we have been fairly safe from its full Dark magic potential thus far." Severus told her.
"So what's the problem then? If no-one can read it?" She asked frowning again.
"The book emits dark magic wherever it goes turning the current owner into something like its author was. Sekhmet was the founder of the ancient curses, which protected the Ancient Egyptian's tombs."
"Well, what about the curse breakers then? Bill Weasley may be."
"No." Severus said shaking his head. "They wouldn't be of use. Sekhmet was far more than a simple dark witch putting curses on tombs. She invented most of those curses and murdered most, if not all of the pharaohs by practicing her dark magic on them. She was the true ruler of Egypt and none could stop her. You see the book turns the current owner to the Dark." Hermione gasped and looked directly into Severus' eyes as he continued.
"Voldemort found the book when he was travelling the Far East. He had been on the trail of Grindlewald's library, which he found hidden deep underneath the mountains in Singapore. He was the last wizard to have been in possession of this book and when Voldemort found it he began to turn to the Dark more so than he already was immersed in. The book served to push him to much greater heights and his magic benefited from just being in contact with the text." He paused and looked at Hermione, she was taking this well and was eagerly awaiting the rest of the tale as though it was a bed time story. "Voldemort had every Death Eater qualified enough to try to decode the title and open the text but to no avail. The book would only answer to the one owner at a time and whomever else came in contact with it whilst it was owned by another was slowly sapped of their magical ability. this magic would be sucked into the book, turned dark and then given to the current owner. The one sapped of their magic would turn dark anyway, and weaker until finally they would lose all of their ability to perform any kind of magic and die."
"So, that's why Voldemort was so hard to defeat!" Hermione said suddenly. "That's horrible.But, when Voldemort died, what happened?"
"Well, the book was left in one of Voldemort's fortresses, I know not which one. I suspect that the Death Eaters who were still alive and knew of it went in search of it. It must have fallen into Urmintrude's hands through him being one of the low level Death Eaters. I think he may have been involved with curse breaking at one point before branching off into his own business, and that may therefore explain how he got to know about it in the first place."
"So, it's at this school right now?" Hermione asked him aghast and wondering at the possibilities they could be faced with if the book decided on a student as its new owner.
"Well, if Chris is correct, and we must assume that he is, I would say yes. The book is at the school. or certainly in the possession of one of its students." Hermione was silent and Severus thought for a bit. "Have you noticed a change in any of the students'... first years in particular, magical abilities? Have any of them shown signs of weakness recently for no apparent reason?"
"Well, as first years you don't expect great things from them first off anyway. They hardly know what they are capable of and if they're Muggle- born then the idea of magic is a totally new concept to them anyway." Hermione said as she thought about anything she may have noticed.
"True." Severus agreed.
"I teach subjects that do not often require a wand anyway, Severus. Surely you've had more chance to see for yourself teaching DADA?"
"Hmm. Not as yet but I will certainly be more vigilant looking for the signs in the future." He said looking deep into the flames.
"Does the Headmaster know about all of this?" Hermione asked, glancing up at him.
"Oh, yes. Actually he told me about it. Voldemort didn't share this kind of knowledge with his minions you see. Someone would have surely tried to get the book away from him in order to try to become the new owner you see."
"I can understand why. Did you ever come in contact with it, Severus?" She asked him and noticed he tensed slightly at the question.
"I saw it being handed to other Death Eaters but my role was to try and brew a potion that when poured onto the cover would translate the text. As you can guess I didn't find one." He shivered remembering the punishments he had had to take each time he had to report that every potion he was trying was also failing to have the desired effect. Hermione placed a hand on his thigh and squeezed it gently in support.
"So, if we find it. what then?" She asked him.
"I do not believe that it can be destroyed, Hermione. It has too much dark magic contained in it. Perhaps the Headmaster will know of something to do, assuming that we find it of course." Severus replied rather dejectedly.
"Well, Severus. We'll have to ask the Headmaster for permission to search the dorms of the students in question. Just in case the book has been left behind."
"I agree but you are not to touch it at all, Hermione. Do I make myself clear? There's no telling what it would do to the baby." Severus said placing a hand protectively over her abdomen, which she gently covered with one of her own.
"Of course, Severus. You can come with me if you like anyway." Severus nodded his head, wanting to make sure Hermione was safe from the book if it were somehow in Gryffindor Tower. They decided to inform Albus of the search they had planned and they still needed to talk to him about the wedding as well. So they left Severus' office and went to speak to the Headmaster.
~~*~~
Later that day the teachers who were present during the holidays met in the Headmaster's office to inform him that a search of the first year dorms had proved to be fruitless. They would have to wait until the students returned in the new term before they could search again as searching for it hidden in the castle somewhere could take decades due to the size of the place. In the mean time Hermione and Severus had plenty to keep themselves busy; they had a wedding to organise and their Council to pull together.
Albus had informed Severus he would be more than happy to fill the place of one of Severus' closest friends and also that of the High Wizengamot as well. Severus asked Remus Lupin to fill the other spot since he had been friendly with him during his school years at some time or another. Hermione had asked Ron and had owled Harry to find out if they would be her witnesses. Ron had said yes straight away but she was still waiting for Harry's response, hoping that this time she would actually get one to her owl.
Severus and Hermione planned to take a visit to her parents house the next day to let them know about their wedding plans and the baby, and Severus had owled his mother and his brothers to let them know and invite them also.
~~*~~
The following morning was a cold a crisp one with heavy grey clouds that promised the first snowfall of winter. It looked as though they would have yet another white Christmas this year and Hermione was more than happy with this as it made Hogwarts look like it was straight out of a book of fairy tales. Hermione had spent the night curled up with Severus in the dungeons; she missed him so much during term time when she had to stay in her own chambers most of the time to avail her self of the Gryffindor students. She had no idea how it would work when they were married because Severus needed to stay near to Slytherin for his students as well. She thought they would have to make some kind of compromise and move to the middle of the castle so they were equally part way from Slytherin and Gryffindor. Hermione lay thinking about the near future for what seemed like ages before Severus stretching slightly roused her from her thoughts.
"Good morning, love." Severus said as he wrapped his arms tighter round her and hugged her close, placing a kiss lightly on the top of her head.
"Good morning to you too, Severus. Did you sleep well?" She asked looking up towards him.
"Very well, thank you. I always do when you are with me." She grinned at him and gave him a long kiss. "Our plans for today are to go to your parent's house are they not?" Severus asked her.
"Yes, if you don't mind?" Hermione replied.
"Not at all."
"We need to discuss some things with them and it will be good to see them again. I missed them so much for those years we were out of touch." Hermione said as she placed her chin on his chest and looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes.
"I know you did but there's plenty of time to make up for that." Severus said as he glanced towards the small window that was the only source of natural light in this room. "Come along, love. We should be making a move if we are to visit with your parents today. It is already mid morning."
"I'm too comfortable. and it's too cold to stand on the dungeon floor." Hermione said protesting and moving her whole body up against Severus' for warmth. He tutted and crawled out of the bed to Hermione's protests. He stepped round to Hermione's side and pulled back the covers in one motion. She yelped at the sudden onslaught of cold air but Severus just grinned at her before bending down and picking her up. "What are you doing, Severus?!"
"We need to get ready, you said the floor was too cold and so I will carry you to the shower." He told her as he marched off towards the bathroom with her in his arms.
They both showered and got dressed into transfigured Muggle clothes, Hermione feeling much warmer afterwards before they sat down for a light and quick breakfast. They then walked out to the front doors of the castle and summoned a horseless carriage to take them down to Hogsmede, where they both apparated straight into the Granger's spare bedroom.
Hermione opened the door to the bedroom and motioned for Severus to follow her. They could hear chattering coming from the kitchen downstairs and made their way towards the voices. Having entered the kitchen Hermione cleared her throat and watched as her parents and brother all jumped in surprise.
"Hermione!" Peter said rising from the table and putting his newspaper down and hugging his daughter tightly for all that she was worth. "We never heard you come in. Hello, Severus. It's a pleasure to see you again."
"You too, Peter. You are looking well indeed." Severus said shaking Peter's hand in a warm gesture as Hermione moved to hug her mother and Christopher.
"That's all thanks to you of course, Severus. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you. I could never repay you for what you have given me." Peter said shaking his head as he spoke.
"It was a pleasure, my pleasure, Peter. And as for payment." He looked at Hermione, "Your daughter's love is more than enough for me, and it is I who must thank you for bringing her into this world."
"How was your journey then?" Amanda asked as she moved to hug Severus also.
"Oh, about as well as can be expected when you apparate from one location to another in the blink of an eye." Hermione said grinning at Chris.
"Hermione is a witch, mum. You know she can do magic outside of school now." Chris said.
"Yes, I'm just still not used to the fact my girl is all grown up now." Amanda said glancing at Chris. "Won't you both take a seat? Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"
"Some tea would be lovely, thank you Amanda." Severus said as he held out a chair for Hermione to sit in before sitting in the one next to her. Peter resumed his seat and Chris sat down as well. "So, how are your holidays so far, Chris?"
"Oh, they're great but I do miss Hogwarts. It's so hard not to practice magic and I never thought I would miss not being able to do magic, after all I went eleven years without it." Chris told him. "I have already finished all of my homework though and I've been reading some more of the books Hermione left here and of course the ones I got for my birthday."
"Another bookworm then?" Severus commented and Chris grinned. "We must discuss a certain book of particular interest a little later, Chris." Severus told him and he nodded a little puzzled but understanding that it was a conversation to be had in private.
"So, what brings you here? Just visiting?" Amanda asked as she brought the tea and some biscuits and took her own seat at the table.
"We." Hermione glanced at Severus who nodded in return. "Severus and I had some things to tell you." She replied, why she was nervous was beyond her, she was 25 years old after all and ha the right to do whatever she liked without her parent's permission.
"Go on." Peter told her as he reached out to squeeze her hand gently.
"Well as you know Severus and I are engaged to be married and we wanted to invite all three of you to the ceremony."
"Certainly, just name the day and we'll be there." Peter told them both as he sipped his tea again.
"We've decided on the date. It will be December the 24th, Christmas Eve." Severus told them.
"We're having the ceremony at the church in Hogsmede and the time will be 11pm." Hermione said.
"Why so soon?" Chris asked, suspecting he knew the answer; he was quite a perceptive boy.
"I'm pregnant and we wanted to be married before I started to show too much and also needed to have it during the holidays for obvious reasons." Hermione told them.
"Well, we all wish you both all the best. As we suspect it will not be a conventional ceremony you'll just need to let us know what is expected of us, that's all." Peter said looking to Amanda and smiling warmly. "When's the baby due?"
"The end of May. Hermione is three months pregnant." Severus said clasping her hand beneath the table.
"Well, we've just gotta celebrate. How long are you staying?" Chris asked.
"Oh, we'll have to go back this evening, we've so much to organise, Chris. I doubt we'll see you until the ceremony either, but there'll be plenty of time to celebrate then. It will be a small wedding though." Hermione told them.
Hermione's parents needed to run by the office to make sure everything was set for the closing up over the holidays. Hermione decided she would accompany them so she left Severus and Chris behind to chat about the book that had been plaguing all of their lives unknowingly until recently. Once Hermione, Peter and Amanda had left in a contraption known as a car- according to Chris anyway, Severus and Chris sat down in the lounge where it was more comfortable.
"So," Chris began. "What book did you want to talk about, Severus?" Straight to the point just like Hermione, Severus noted.
"Do you remember telling me you had heard one of the Weasley quads talking about a book known as The Book of Shadows?" Severus asked as he got comfortable in the armchair and crossed his legs.
"Yeah, Jo said one of her friends had it. erm. Theresa Urmintrude." Chris replied. He had been wondering about this particular book ever since the carriage journey from Hogwarts to the train station and he had seen Severus' reaction when he had mentioned it.
"Have you seen it?" Severus asked.
"The book?" Severus nodded. "No, I don't think so. Jo said she keeps it well hidden. something about it being an invaluable artefact. really old or something."
"Hmm. Have you noticed any of the first years acting strangely?"
"Just the Slytherins but then they are a weird bun. Sorry, Sir." Severus grinned at him.
"Quite alright, a Slytherin is hard to understand but I will have to take points from you if I catch you slandering my House whilst at school. Understand?" Severus warned him.
"Yes, Sir." Chris said thinking about anything that he had seen that could be classed as strange to the wizarding community. "Well, you are aware of Jo's strange behaviour towards her brothers and sister." Severus nodded. "Jo is really friendly with Theresa now and she is always in a bad mood with the Gryffindors, especially us Muggle-borns. I don't know much about Theresa, haven't noticed anything odd about her. Her brother is a different matter though. He."
"Brother? Miss. Urmintrude is an only child." Severus interrupted, correcting him.
"No," Chris said shaking his head. "She has a half brother in Slytherin. He's in fourth year. Layton. Layton."
"Frontera?" Severus asked.
"Yeah, Frontera, Layton Frontera, that's it. Didn't you know?" Chris asked.
"No, I did not." Severus said becoming lost in deep thought. How could that vital piece of information have escaped his attention. and one of his own Slytherins as well? Most definitely food for thought and he would have to keep close tabs on Layton Frontera when school began again.
"Yeah, Layton Was telling his friends one day in the common room that his half sister had just come to Hogwarts but she'd been placed in Ravenclaw. I've seen them talking with one another in the corridors sometimes and they were always being covert about it, hiding from everyone and speaking in hushed voices. All very strange." Chris said smiling and thinking it was all strange.
"And how have you seen them doing this if they've been covert?" Severus asked.
"I'm a fan of Sherlock Holmes. I love spying and finding clues, piecing together information and things." He said nodding and grinning at Severus' severe lack of knowledge about the Muggle world, which he could tell from the blank expression on his face. "I love a mystery."
"Well, this is not one that I can have you directly involved in I'm afraid." Severus replied.
"What's with this book anyway? What's so special about it?" Chris asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"That is not something I can discuss with you, Chris. I do need for you to keep me apprised of anything that occurs which is out of the ordinary though. If anyone suddenly seems to turn towards more dark magic or if any of your friends suddenly seem to lose their magical abilities for instance. Can you do this for me?" Severus asked as he heard the front door open and Hermione and her parents return. "Promise me this, Mr. Granger." Severus said before they were interrupted, his tone of voice demanding an immediate answer.
"Yes, Professor. I promise I will." Chris replied.
The living room door opened and Hermione came in smiling at the two of them. "Everything alright?" She asked as she moved to sit next to her brother on the couch and patted him on the knee.
"Everything's fine, love. We need to speak to Albus upon retuning to Hogwarts though." Severus told her. She nodded in reply, frowning with a little concern. Severus shook his head at her indicating that they would discuss it later.
They stayed for a late lunch and chatted about a wide range of things but predominantly the up and coming wedding. Severus and Hermione both said their good byes a few hours later and apparated back to Hogwarts by early evening.
Chapter Ten
Settling down on the couch, which was in front of the roaring fire in Severus' office, Severus and Hermione snuggled closer together and watched the crackling of the flames as they danced up the back of the floo.
"How are you feeling, love?" Severus asked her as he placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. He was becoming even more protective of her now that he knew she was carrying his child.
"I'm fine, Severus. The potion is still having its effects on me thankfully." Hermione recognised he was stalling so she decided to push him for some answers. "Tell me what this Book of Shadows is, Severus." She asked him quietly as she curled her legs up underneath her to get more comfortable and tucked her head underneath his chin.
Snape inhaled sharply at the mention of the book and was silent for a moment before muttering charms to ward the room from any eavesdroppers and sealing the door to any intruders. "The book was written by one of the Ancient Egyptian witches called Sekhmet. Do you know of her?"
"Erm. no I don't believe I've heard of her, Severus." Hermione said as she frowned whilst racking her brains.
Severus nodded slightly. "She was one of the first truly Dark Witches of the ancient world and she wrote a book, which has been called The Book of Shadows by modern day wizards."
"Why? What's its real title?" Hermione interrupted him, her curiosity always in over drive where there was information readily available to her starved mind.
"The whole book is written in a very ancient hieroglyphics code, including the title itself, supposedly. It is thought that the actual book cannot be opened unless this ancient tongue is used. It is believed that the title is the password to opening the book but as the words on the cover are said to be mere symbols and no-one knows how to pronounce them, we have been fairly safe from its full Dark magic potential thus far." Severus told her.
"So what's the problem then? If no-one can read it?" She asked frowning again.
"The book emits dark magic wherever it goes turning the current owner into something like its author was. Sekhmet was the founder of the ancient curses, which protected the Ancient Egyptian's tombs."
"Well, what about the curse breakers then? Bill Weasley may be."
"No." Severus said shaking his head. "They wouldn't be of use. Sekhmet was far more than a simple dark witch putting curses on tombs. She invented most of those curses and murdered most, if not all of the pharaohs by practicing her dark magic on them. She was the true ruler of Egypt and none could stop her. You see the book turns the current owner to the Dark." Hermione gasped and looked directly into Severus' eyes as he continued.
"Voldemort found the book when he was travelling the Far East. He had been on the trail of Grindlewald's library, which he found hidden deep underneath the mountains in Singapore. He was the last wizard to have been in possession of this book and when Voldemort found it he began to turn to the Dark more so than he already was immersed in. The book served to push him to much greater heights and his magic benefited from just being in contact with the text." He paused and looked at Hermione, she was taking this well and was eagerly awaiting the rest of the tale as though it was a bed time story. "Voldemort had every Death Eater qualified enough to try to decode the title and open the text but to no avail. The book would only answer to the one owner at a time and whomever else came in contact with it whilst it was owned by another was slowly sapped of their magical ability. this magic would be sucked into the book, turned dark and then given to the current owner. The one sapped of their magic would turn dark anyway, and weaker until finally they would lose all of their ability to perform any kind of magic and die."
"So, that's why Voldemort was so hard to defeat!" Hermione said suddenly. "That's horrible.But, when Voldemort died, what happened?"
"Well, the book was left in one of Voldemort's fortresses, I know not which one. I suspect that the Death Eaters who were still alive and knew of it went in search of it. It must have fallen into Urmintrude's hands through him being one of the low level Death Eaters. I think he may have been involved with curse breaking at one point before branching off into his own business, and that may therefore explain how he got to know about it in the first place."
"So, it's at this school right now?" Hermione asked him aghast and wondering at the possibilities they could be faced with if the book decided on a student as its new owner.
"Well, if Chris is correct, and we must assume that he is, I would say yes. The book is at the school. or certainly in the possession of one of its students." Hermione was silent and Severus thought for a bit. "Have you noticed a change in any of the students'... first years in particular, magical abilities? Have any of them shown signs of weakness recently for no apparent reason?"
"Well, as first years you don't expect great things from them first off anyway. They hardly know what they are capable of and if they're Muggle- born then the idea of magic is a totally new concept to them anyway." Hermione said as she thought about anything she may have noticed.
"True." Severus agreed.
"I teach subjects that do not often require a wand anyway, Severus. Surely you've had more chance to see for yourself teaching DADA?"
"Hmm. Not as yet but I will certainly be more vigilant looking for the signs in the future." He said looking deep into the flames.
"Does the Headmaster know about all of this?" Hermione asked, glancing up at him.
"Oh, yes. Actually he told me about it. Voldemort didn't share this kind of knowledge with his minions you see. Someone would have surely tried to get the book away from him in order to try to become the new owner you see."
"I can understand why. Did you ever come in contact with it, Severus?" She asked him and noticed he tensed slightly at the question.
"I saw it being handed to other Death Eaters but my role was to try and brew a potion that when poured onto the cover would translate the text. As you can guess I didn't find one." He shivered remembering the punishments he had had to take each time he had to report that every potion he was trying was also failing to have the desired effect. Hermione placed a hand on his thigh and squeezed it gently in support.
"So, if we find it. what then?" She asked him.
"I do not believe that it can be destroyed, Hermione. It has too much dark magic contained in it. Perhaps the Headmaster will know of something to do, assuming that we find it of course." Severus replied rather dejectedly.
"Well, Severus. We'll have to ask the Headmaster for permission to search the dorms of the students in question. Just in case the book has been left behind."
"I agree but you are not to touch it at all, Hermione. Do I make myself clear? There's no telling what it would do to the baby." Severus said placing a hand protectively over her abdomen, which she gently covered with one of her own.
"Of course, Severus. You can come with me if you like anyway." Severus nodded his head, wanting to make sure Hermione was safe from the book if it were somehow in Gryffindor Tower. They decided to inform Albus of the search they had planned and they still needed to talk to him about the wedding as well. So they left Severus' office and went to speak to the Headmaster.
~~*~~
Later that day the teachers who were present during the holidays met in the Headmaster's office to inform him that a search of the first year dorms had proved to be fruitless. They would have to wait until the students returned in the new term before they could search again as searching for it hidden in the castle somewhere could take decades due to the size of the place. In the mean time Hermione and Severus had plenty to keep themselves busy; they had a wedding to organise and their Council to pull together.
Albus had informed Severus he would be more than happy to fill the place of one of Severus' closest friends and also that of the High Wizengamot as well. Severus asked Remus Lupin to fill the other spot since he had been friendly with him during his school years at some time or another. Hermione had asked Ron and had owled Harry to find out if they would be her witnesses. Ron had said yes straight away but she was still waiting for Harry's response, hoping that this time she would actually get one to her owl.
Severus and Hermione planned to take a visit to her parents house the next day to let them know about their wedding plans and the baby, and Severus had owled his mother and his brothers to let them know and invite them also.
~~*~~
The following morning was a cold a crisp one with heavy grey clouds that promised the first snowfall of winter. It looked as though they would have yet another white Christmas this year and Hermione was more than happy with this as it made Hogwarts look like it was straight out of a book of fairy tales. Hermione had spent the night curled up with Severus in the dungeons; she missed him so much during term time when she had to stay in her own chambers most of the time to avail her self of the Gryffindor students. She had no idea how it would work when they were married because Severus needed to stay near to Slytherin for his students as well. She thought they would have to make some kind of compromise and move to the middle of the castle so they were equally part way from Slytherin and Gryffindor. Hermione lay thinking about the near future for what seemed like ages before Severus stretching slightly roused her from her thoughts.
"Good morning, love." Severus said as he wrapped his arms tighter round her and hugged her close, placing a kiss lightly on the top of her head.
"Good morning to you too, Severus. Did you sleep well?" She asked looking up towards him.
"Very well, thank you. I always do when you are with me." She grinned at him and gave him a long kiss. "Our plans for today are to go to your parent's house are they not?" Severus asked her.
"Yes, if you don't mind?" Hermione replied.
"Not at all."
"We need to discuss some things with them and it will be good to see them again. I missed them so much for those years we were out of touch." Hermione said as she placed her chin on his chest and looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes.
"I know you did but there's plenty of time to make up for that." Severus said as he glanced towards the small window that was the only source of natural light in this room. "Come along, love. We should be making a move if we are to visit with your parents today. It is already mid morning."
"I'm too comfortable. and it's too cold to stand on the dungeon floor." Hermione said protesting and moving her whole body up against Severus' for warmth. He tutted and crawled out of the bed to Hermione's protests. He stepped round to Hermione's side and pulled back the covers in one motion. She yelped at the sudden onslaught of cold air but Severus just grinned at her before bending down and picking her up. "What are you doing, Severus?!"
"We need to get ready, you said the floor was too cold and so I will carry you to the shower." He told her as he marched off towards the bathroom with her in his arms.
They both showered and got dressed into transfigured Muggle clothes, Hermione feeling much warmer afterwards before they sat down for a light and quick breakfast. They then walked out to the front doors of the castle and summoned a horseless carriage to take them down to Hogsmede, where they both apparated straight into the Granger's spare bedroom.
Hermione opened the door to the bedroom and motioned for Severus to follow her. They could hear chattering coming from the kitchen downstairs and made their way towards the voices. Having entered the kitchen Hermione cleared her throat and watched as her parents and brother all jumped in surprise.
"Hermione!" Peter said rising from the table and putting his newspaper down and hugging his daughter tightly for all that she was worth. "We never heard you come in. Hello, Severus. It's a pleasure to see you again."
"You too, Peter. You are looking well indeed." Severus said shaking Peter's hand in a warm gesture as Hermione moved to hug her mother and Christopher.
"That's all thanks to you of course, Severus. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you. I could never repay you for what you have given me." Peter said shaking his head as he spoke.
"It was a pleasure, my pleasure, Peter. And as for payment." He looked at Hermione, "Your daughter's love is more than enough for me, and it is I who must thank you for bringing her into this world."
"How was your journey then?" Amanda asked as she moved to hug Severus also.
"Oh, about as well as can be expected when you apparate from one location to another in the blink of an eye." Hermione said grinning at Chris.
"Hermione is a witch, mum. You know she can do magic outside of school now." Chris said.
"Yes, I'm just still not used to the fact my girl is all grown up now." Amanda said glancing at Chris. "Won't you both take a seat? Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"
"Some tea would be lovely, thank you Amanda." Severus said as he held out a chair for Hermione to sit in before sitting in the one next to her. Peter resumed his seat and Chris sat down as well. "So, how are your holidays so far, Chris?"
"Oh, they're great but I do miss Hogwarts. It's so hard not to practice magic and I never thought I would miss not being able to do magic, after all I went eleven years without it." Chris told him. "I have already finished all of my homework though and I've been reading some more of the books Hermione left here and of course the ones I got for my birthday."
"Another bookworm then?" Severus commented and Chris grinned. "We must discuss a certain book of particular interest a little later, Chris." Severus told him and he nodded a little puzzled but understanding that it was a conversation to be had in private.
"So, what brings you here? Just visiting?" Amanda asked as she brought the tea and some biscuits and took her own seat at the table.
"We." Hermione glanced at Severus who nodded in return. "Severus and I had some things to tell you." She replied, why she was nervous was beyond her, she was 25 years old after all and ha the right to do whatever she liked without her parent's permission.
"Go on." Peter told her as he reached out to squeeze her hand gently.
"Well as you know Severus and I are engaged to be married and we wanted to invite all three of you to the ceremony."
"Certainly, just name the day and we'll be there." Peter told them both as he sipped his tea again.
"We've decided on the date. It will be December the 24th, Christmas Eve." Severus told them.
"We're having the ceremony at the church in Hogsmede and the time will be 11pm." Hermione said.
"Why so soon?" Chris asked, suspecting he knew the answer; he was quite a perceptive boy.
"I'm pregnant and we wanted to be married before I started to show too much and also needed to have it during the holidays for obvious reasons." Hermione told them.
"Well, we all wish you both all the best. As we suspect it will not be a conventional ceremony you'll just need to let us know what is expected of us, that's all." Peter said looking to Amanda and smiling warmly. "When's the baby due?"
"The end of May. Hermione is three months pregnant." Severus said clasping her hand beneath the table.
"Well, we've just gotta celebrate. How long are you staying?" Chris asked.
"Oh, we'll have to go back this evening, we've so much to organise, Chris. I doubt we'll see you until the ceremony either, but there'll be plenty of time to celebrate then. It will be a small wedding though." Hermione told them.
Hermione's parents needed to run by the office to make sure everything was set for the closing up over the holidays. Hermione decided she would accompany them so she left Severus and Chris behind to chat about the book that had been plaguing all of their lives unknowingly until recently. Once Hermione, Peter and Amanda had left in a contraption known as a car- according to Chris anyway, Severus and Chris sat down in the lounge where it was more comfortable.
"So," Chris began. "What book did you want to talk about, Severus?" Straight to the point just like Hermione, Severus noted.
"Do you remember telling me you had heard one of the Weasley quads talking about a book known as The Book of Shadows?" Severus asked as he got comfortable in the armchair and crossed his legs.
"Yeah, Jo said one of her friends had it. erm. Theresa Urmintrude." Chris replied. He had been wondering about this particular book ever since the carriage journey from Hogwarts to the train station and he had seen Severus' reaction when he had mentioned it.
"Have you seen it?" Severus asked.
"The book?" Severus nodded. "No, I don't think so. Jo said she keeps it well hidden. something about it being an invaluable artefact. really old or something."
"Hmm. Have you noticed any of the first years acting strangely?"
"Just the Slytherins but then they are a weird bun. Sorry, Sir." Severus grinned at him.
"Quite alright, a Slytherin is hard to understand but I will have to take points from you if I catch you slandering my House whilst at school. Understand?" Severus warned him.
"Yes, Sir." Chris said thinking about anything that he had seen that could be classed as strange to the wizarding community. "Well, you are aware of Jo's strange behaviour towards her brothers and sister." Severus nodded. "Jo is really friendly with Theresa now and she is always in a bad mood with the Gryffindors, especially us Muggle-borns. I don't know much about Theresa, haven't noticed anything odd about her. Her brother is a different matter though. He."
"Brother? Miss. Urmintrude is an only child." Severus interrupted, correcting him.
"No," Chris said shaking his head. "She has a half brother in Slytherin. He's in fourth year. Layton. Layton."
"Frontera?" Severus asked.
"Yeah, Frontera, Layton Frontera, that's it. Didn't you know?" Chris asked.
"No, I did not." Severus said becoming lost in deep thought. How could that vital piece of information have escaped his attention. and one of his own Slytherins as well? Most definitely food for thought and he would have to keep close tabs on Layton Frontera when school began again.
"Yeah, Layton Was telling his friends one day in the common room that his half sister had just come to Hogwarts but she'd been placed in Ravenclaw. I've seen them talking with one another in the corridors sometimes and they were always being covert about it, hiding from everyone and speaking in hushed voices. All very strange." Chris said smiling and thinking it was all strange.
"And how have you seen them doing this if they've been covert?" Severus asked.
"I'm a fan of Sherlock Holmes. I love spying and finding clues, piecing together information and things." He said nodding and grinning at Severus' severe lack of knowledge about the Muggle world, which he could tell from the blank expression on his face. "I love a mystery."
"Well, this is not one that I can have you directly involved in I'm afraid." Severus replied.
"What's with this book anyway? What's so special about it?" Chris asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"That is not something I can discuss with you, Chris. I do need for you to keep me apprised of anything that occurs which is out of the ordinary though. If anyone suddenly seems to turn towards more dark magic or if any of your friends suddenly seem to lose their magical abilities for instance. Can you do this for me?" Severus asked as he heard the front door open and Hermione and her parents return. "Promise me this, Mr. Granger." Severus said before they were interrupted, his tone of voice demanding an immediate answer.
"Yes, Professor. I promise I will." Chris replied.
The living room door opened and Hermione came in smiling at the two of them. "Everything alright?" She asked as she moved to sit next to her brother on the couch and patted him on the knee.
"Everything's fine, love. We need to speak to Albus upon retuning to Hogwarts though." Severus told her. She nodded in reply, frowning with a little concern. Severus shook his head at her indicating that they would discuss it later.
They stayed for a late lunch and chatted about a wide range of things but predominantly the up and coming wedding. Severus and Hermione both said their good byes a few hours later and apparated back to Hogwarts by early evening.