Disclaimer: Harry Potter and characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and co. although I wish I had made them up. Enjoy!!
The Secret
Chapter Four; Illusions, Godparents, and more Surprises
After breakfast, the four decided to spend the day at a Muggle theme park located in London.
Before they left however, Isabel asked her daughter, "Well, now that you know what we really look like, would you like to see your true form?"
Hermione immediately agreed, before nodding her head yes. "Sure, I've actually been thinking about that for a while now," she said sheepishly.
"Alright. Since we put a more permanent Glamourie on you, we're going to have to take it down. After today, your father and I will teach you how to place one on yourself so that you can perform it without us there."
She looked at her husband, and when he nodded, they said simultaneously, "Finite Permeanante Illusiona."
At these words, Hermione faced the mirror in the front hall. She tensed, waiting for the painful transformation to begin. As she saw herself beginning to change in the mirror, she realized that it wouldn't be like the painful transformation in the Polyjuice Potion. By the time she realized that she wasn't feeling any pain, her limbs had stretched to give her two or three inches in height, and her hair and face were in the process of shifting. Her hair became heavier and straightened out slightly, while still keeping most of her usual frizz. As she watched, it darkened, becoming a deep, rich brown that was a combination of her father and mother's hair color. As her skin deepened slightly, becoming tan to match her now dark hair, her facial structure shifted to include higher cheekbones and a more prominent chin. To end the transformation, her light chocolate-brown eyes darkened till they reached a black similar to Severus's onyx color.
When the last of the transformation had taken place, Hermione was amazed. She looked nothing like her former self. Glancing at her mother, she realized they looked more like mother and daughter than they had before. Apart from the brownish color of her own hair, and the lines on her mother's face and the slight graying around her temples, the two could pass for sisters. Hermione stood silently for several seconds longer, examining and admiring her new features.
Her mother interrupted her by saying, "Now in order to transform back into your other 'self', just say the words 'Creotia Illusiona' and concentrate on what you looked like before. Once one aspect of your body changes, like your hair color, the rest will follow to complete the image. Try it."
"Alright." Hermione concentrated on having wavier, lighter brown hair, and said firmly, "Creotia Illusiona".
With that, she watched herself revert back to her brown haired form. She repeated the spell and transformed once more into the black haired girl.
"What happens if I can't keep this image up?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"This is your actual form, honey," her father said. "The other form was one that was a permanent Glamourie. You needn't worry about having this image falter, for this isn't an image. However, once you revert back to the 'Hermione' figure, you might have trouble keeping the spell in control for long periods of time, at least at first. You'll have to practice it during these last few days before going back to Hogwarts. For right now, why don't you just stay the way you are?"
"Sure," Hermione replied. "I kind of like being taller, anyway. And I love looking like Mum," she said, smiling at Isabel. "What should you call me though? I mean, if someone from school happens to be at the park, and they hear you calling me Hermione, it might attract attention. Hermione's not exactly a common name, even in the wizarding world." she said with a smile.
"How about Alexial," Severus suggested. "This way you could also get used to being called your given name."
"It would be lovely to call you by your true name for once, but it's totally up to you," her father said.
Hermione nodded, smiling. "Sounds good. Let's go!"
With that, the four got into their car and drove to the amusement park. Hermione and her parents introduced Severus to the many different Muggle contraptions at the park, his favorites being the upside-down roller coasters and the animal shows. The four especially loved making fun of the 'Magic Shows' performed throughout the park.
Hermione spent the day getting to know Severus as her uncle, instead of a Professor, and he seemed to fit the 'Uncle' job very nicely. The two joked and teased one another constantly, as if catching up for all the time they had missed. Hermione found herself comparing her uncle to the Snape she knew at school and could hardly find any similar characteristics between the two.
After many hours of exhilarating rides, cute sideshows and lots of cotton candy, the four made their way home completely exhausted from the day of walking, talking, laughing and joking. Dinner that night was spent telling Hermione, or Alexial as her parents and Severus were now calling her, stories of when Isabel and Severus were children, and when Isabel first brought Mikhail home to the Snape family. Many of these stories ended with Hermione in fits of laughter, trying to visualize everything told to her.
The four were very satisfied as they bid each other goodnight and went to their separate bedrooms for a night of rest.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The next morning at breakfast, everyone was still in a cheery mood. Hermione had succeeded in using Glamourie to change her into her 'Hermione' form, even though it only lasted for fifteen minutes or so. After eating their fill of milk, eggs, bacon, hash browns, and fruit, they sat at the cleared kitchen table talking about everything and anything that came up.
After a while, Hermione tried again, this time succeeding in keeping the image up for close to forty-five minutes.
"A hint from someone who is constantly under the spell," her uncle said, "for some reason, milk, cheese, eggs and other dairy products help maintain the image longer than usual. Studies have been done trying to figure out why, but no one knows as of yet why milk products help. It might have something to do with the hormones found in the milk, but no one's sure," he finished.
"Ok, thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Good thing I like milk and eggs, right?" Hermione asked.
Her uncle laughed and replied, "Yes, that's definitely a good thing. I myself am not too fond of cheese and other types of milk products, but I deal with it by having an extra serving of eggs and two or three glasses of milk instead of pumpkin juice in the mornings."
"Why do you need a Glamourie spell?" Hermione asked curiously.
Severus laughed. "You don't really think my hair is this oily, my skin and teeth this yellow, or my nose is this big, do you? How else am I supposed to portray the evil greasy git who's loyal to Voldemort?"
Hermione chuckled. "That makes sense. I guess I've never really thought about it before. We all assumed it was from the Potion's fumes, or something."
"And that is what you're supposed to think, and what everyone else will continue to think," he said, playfully giving her his classroom glare.
"By the way Alexial," her mother interrupted, "tomorrow is the twenty-fifth. Weren't you planning on meeting Ron and Harry at Diagon Ally tomorrow?"
"Oh yes! I completely forgot about it, what with everything that's been going on," Hermione answered.
"Not that I need to remind you, but you can not tell anyone about the information you've learned these past two days. That goes for all your Gryffindor friends, but especially Ron and Harry. I know you three are inseparable, and tell each other everything imaginable, but they can not know of your identities. If anyone found out, it could put all of you in danger," Severus told his niece in a grave voice.
"I understand, Uncle," Hermione responded.
"Alexial," her mother interrupted, "I know that you would never intentionally tell Harry and Ron, but you three do like to go looking for adventures. Harry can never know about any of this, but especially the prophecy. If he ever found out that he will be helping to destroy Voldemort, I think it would drive him insane figuring out how he would ever be able to help. We also do not know who the person is who will save us all, so it would be very dangerous if this prophecy were to be known throughout Hogwarts."
"I know Mum. I won't tell them. I was able to keep using the Time-turner a secret and this is more important than that. But what happens if I can't keep up the image all the time?" she asked.
"Well, you still have a week to practice until you go back to school, but if it would make you feel more comfortable, we can always recast the permanent spell on you instead of you trying to cast it yourself. But we'll deal with that when it's almost time for you to go back," her mother said to her.
"That sounds fine, mum," Hermione said. After a pause, she continued, "There's something that you mentioned last night, or the morning before, that has been stuck in my head. When you said you narrowed the babies born in the eleventh year of darkness down to those with a parent in Slytherin and in Gryffindor, you mentioned the Malfoys. Are you saying that Lucius Malfoy actually married someone from outside of Slytherin? And in Gryffindor no less?" she asked her uncle.
Her uncle smiled. "That's actually your parents' field. Why don't you answer that," he said, looking at Mikhail.
"Gee thanks, brother," her father said with a laugh. Looking towards Hermione, he said. "During our school years, there was definitely not as much animosity between the Gryffindors and Slytherins as there is now. The only fighting was between Severus and the Marauders, actually. So there was nothing extraordinarily odd when Lucius Malfoy's younger sister Gina joined our group of friends, or when Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy became a couple."
Mikhail paused, then continued, "Alright, let me start at the beginning. I was friends with a rather large group of students. Our little tight-knit group consisted of Arthur Weasley, Frank Longbottom and myself. The extended group contained your mother, Narcissa, Draco's mother, Gina Malfoy, Molly Ryder, and Lily Evans. Eventually, after Lily and James Potter started going steady, the Marauders, or James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, also joined our large and rather rowdy group.
Her mother continued, "Narcissa was in our year, along with Frank and Lily, but Arthur was a year older and Molly a year younger than us. Narcissa was one of my closest friends. After our first year, she, Arthur, Frank, your father, and I made up the core group. It was just the five of us, until Narcissa and I became friends with Lily, Gina and Molly in third year. Molly and Arthur constantly bickered, worse than you and Ron, but by the time Arthur graduated, they had been going steady for a while, and you know the outcome of that."
"The seven famous Weasley children," her uncle interrupted with a grin.
"Shush," her mother said, laughing. "As I was saying, a year later, we graduated, and most of us were already in couples. Lily and James had been going steady for two or three years, as well as your father and I."
Hermione saw a loving look pass between her parents before her mother continued again.
"Gina Malfoy, Lucius' younger sister, was in Slytherin obviously, but was part of our group of friends, for she was a prankster at heart. We ended up being friends with a number of Slytherins through her, which is actually how Lucius and Narcissa met. During our fifth year, Frank and Gina had been seeing each other, and Gina had fallen for him, hard. Unfortunately, he didn't love her back, and he broke her heart to go steady with a Hufflepuff, Neville's mum. After that, Gina, Lucius and many other Slytherins became cold towards Gryffindors, and sadly, that is the year the real animosity between the two houses started."
"I have a quick question," Hermione interrupted. "If Molly and Arthur went to school with you, how are Bill and Charlie, and the rest of the Weasley's so much older than Ron, Harry, and I?"
Her father answered with a smile, "Usually, after graduation, students are offered a job in some section of the Ministry of Magic, or some other wizarding job around London or Scotland. Your mother and I, for instance, both became Aurors as soon as we graduated."
"You were Aurors!?!" Hermione interrupted in shock.
"Yes," her mother said with a smile. "Hard to believe that your two quiet Dentist parents were Aurors, fighting the Dark Side instead of plaque, isn't it?"
"Yes, actually, it's extremely hard to picture it," Hermione answered.
"Anyway," her father continued, "Instead of Molly getting a job, the two decided to have children. A lot of children. A whole Quidditch team of children. Anyway, Arthur was the one to get the job, while Molly stayed home almost constantly with child. By the time your mother and I were married six years later, Bill was almost six, Charlie was two and Molly was pregnant with Percy. By the time you were born five years later, Bill was eleven, Charlie was seven, Percy was five, Fred, and George were three, and Ron was on the way."
Her mother took over, "During all of these children, Molly, Narcissa, Lily and I had all stayed very close, along with Frank and his wife, Margaret. Narcissa had married Lucius two years before your father and I were married. The Potters and Longbottoms were both married the year between our weddings. The five women actually ended up being pregnant together, as funny as that sounds. You, Harry, Ron, Draco and Neville were all born within a six month period of each other, Neville being the oldest and Ron being the youngest. Since we were all so close, the five of you shared cribs and playpens until our family left the magical world to come here."
"You're telling me that I…I shared a crib with Malfoy??" Hermione squeaked, her face white.
"Yes, as hard as it is to believe. And, well, actually…Narcissa, James, Frank, and Molly are your Godparents. That also means that, by default, so are Lucius, Lily, Margaret, and Arthur," her mother added, almost hesitantly, afraid of Hermione reaction.
A chuckle escaped Hermione's lips as realization dawned on her. Between bursts of giggles, she finally managed to get out, "You…you're telling me that…that not only did I share a crib with Malfoy, but that his parents are my…my…godparents?! I can't believe this. And you're telling me that I can't tell anyone? Do you know how crazy Harry and Ron would react when they found out we shared a crib? And Malfoy! He'd go crazy if he knew that his parents were godparents to the girl he constantly calls 'Mudblood', and we shared a crib," she paused, then said again, "Wow. I know I can't tell anyone about the prophecy, but can't I tell them about sharing a crib? Even if I don't mention that I was there too? I would love to see the look on Malfoy's face. It would be absolutely priceless!!"
Laughing herself at Hermione's reaction, Isabel shook her head. "No, honey, I'm sorry to say that you can't. And even if you wanted to get back at Draco for all the names and pranks he's played on you in the past, no one can know. If they knew, it might shift something that is meant to happen in the future."
"Ok. I won't say anything. Question, though. How did Voldemort get the prophecy?" Hermione asked.
Through all of this, Severus had been quiet, letting her parents explain everything to Hermione, but now he spoke. "After you five were born, Pettigrew found out about the prophecy, and before he betrayed Lily and James, he took the prophecy to Voldemort. A few months later, he became the Potters' secret keeper, and betrayed them. Voldemort followed the same steps as your parents did to find who the baby was in Trelawney's prediction. The only part he doesn't know about is that I have joined the Light. He believes that Trelawney was mistaken, which is easy to conclude, given the fact that she is a horrendous teacher, and has very little Inner Eye," he finished.
"I have another question. I overheard you talking about binding, or unbinding my powers. How powerful exactly am I?" she asked hesitantly.
Her mother answered, "We aren't quite sure, Alexial. We know that sixteen years ago your power to heal yourself was almost fully developed. And now, you are able to See, through dreams, even though your powers are bound. Your abilities are maturing, and whether you are ready or not, when you turn seventeen next year, no one will be able to bind your full powers any longer."
Severus continued, "This means that during this school year and next summer, you will be having private lessons with specific teachers to learn how to control your abilities. Albus, along with your grandmother, myself, Professor Flitwick, and some help from Sybil, will be helping you do this. The five of us are the only ones in the school who know of the prediction, and that you are the girl mentioned. Sybil will be helping you develop your Inner Eye, well, as much as she can without…never mind."
Hermione snorted, and while a gleam of amusement flickered through her uncle's eyes.
He continued after a pause, "Professor Flitwick will be helping you with your wand less magic, especially in the area of Charms. Not many people know this, but he also has the rare ability to perform wand less magic, but his power is no where near where yours will be. He was also a lawyer for the Light during the dark years, prosecuting and sending many Death Eaters to Azkaban before teaching Charms at Hogwarts. That is why Albus informed him of the situation, because he already knew most of what had happened. Your grandmother, Albus, and I will be training and helping you in all other aspects that need to be dealt with. We will be there for any questions, fears, concerns, etc. that you might have."
"When am I going to be doing all of this?" Hermione asked, awed yet excited for all the work that was planned for her.
"As you have probably noticed, you have not been made Prefect for this year."
"Yes, I was going to ask you about that, but I forgot, what with everything."
"Instead of being a Prefect, you're going to be focusing on your abilities and training with us."
"Who was made Prefect then?"
"You would have been the Prefect for Gryffindor, but since you have too much to handle, it was passed to Dean, for he has the second highest grades of the fifth year Gryffindors."
"Oh, ok."
"Disappointed?"
"Well, yes, of course I am. I've been working to become a Prefect since I read Hogwarts, A History! Don't you think people will become suspicious when they find out I wasn't chosen to be a Prefect and that Dean was?"
"I'm sure that many people will be shocked, but all you need to tell them is that you are taking double the amount of classes that everyone else is, so when would you have the time for the duties of a Prefect. You could also mention that next year, you will not have to take as many classes, so you can concentrate more on being a Prefect, and helping others with their duties. I'm sure that, knowing how important your studies are to you, people will understand," her uncle finished with a smile.
"That makes sense. Still, it did hurt a bit when I didn't get the letter and the badge."
"I'm sure it did. But we knew that you would have a much harder course load this year, and we assumed you would want to concentrate on defeating Voldemort and being a Prefect next year," Severus said, still smiling.
Hermione smiled back and nodded. "You guessed right. When you put everything in perspective, it doesn't really matter at all that I'm not a Prefect."
"That's true."
Hermione looked around the cozy living area where she had been talking to her uncle, and noticed that her parents had left the room without her knowing.
"Where'd mum and dad go?"
"Probably talking in the kitchen. Shall we?"
With that, her uncle offered his arm to Hermione with exaggerated flourish, which she accepted in the same manner. Laughing, the two made their way to the kitchen, to find that her parents were indeed sitting at the table talking.
Hermione, still laughing, said to her parents, "When did you two leave? We didn't even hear you or notice that you had gone."
Her father replied, elbowing her mother with a grin, "Hear that? Our own daughter doesn't even notice us. Too busy chatting with that brother of yours."
Her mother laughed and elbowed him back, "Oh hush, you. It's good to see them together, talking in a humane manner. I must tell you Severus, we've heard horror stories about how you act at school."
Grinning, Severus nodded and responded, "Yes, well. Couldn't ruin the image of being dark, mysterious, and evil now, could I?"
The four laughed, before Hermione asked her parents, "What were you guys talking about?"
"We were discussing whether or not to unbind your powers now, or when you returned to Hogwarts, dear," her mother answered, still grinning at the image of her brother evilly stalking innocent teens.
"Well, since I have a week, and I'm sure that I'm not going to make anything explode, why can't we do it while I'm still home? That way, you both can help me without worrying about having other kids finding out, like we would at school."
"Well, we shouldn't do it today, because you're going to Diagon Ally tomorrow. And since your mother and I should probably discuss this with Albus first, it will give us two days to see what he thinks as well. Besides, we don't really know if something is going to explode or not, do we?" her father asked with a grin.
"Alright, alright, sounds good to me. I'm going to go owl Ron and Harry to remind them that we're meeting in front of Gringotts at 12:30. Uncle Severus, will you be here when I get back?"
"Not sure, Alexial. I've been gone for almost three days now, and I really do have to start preparing for classes. That and I have to practice my scowl," he said, with a grin on his face.
"When we get back to school, I'm still supposed to pretend that I hate you then, don't I?" Hermione asked, also grinning.
Severus gasped and pretended to look hurt. He said, "Like you could hate such a handsome, caring, pleasant teacher such as me? I'm shocked you could say such a thing!"
Hermione cracked up, soon followed by her parents and Severus. Laughing, she walked towards her uncle's hidden room where an owl was drinking quietly from the water bowl. Quickly writing a letter to Harry, and then one to Ron, she tied the two letters to the owl's leg and sent it off, watching till it disappeared in the sky.
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A/N The spells used in this chapter were made up by myself. The Glamourie spell was borrowed from other stories that I have read through Fanfiction.net.
'Finite Permeanante Illusiona' means End Permanent Illusion
'Creotia Illusiona' means Create Illusion