Usual disclaimer applies…Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling.
A/N-Because of new information in this chapter, I have re-updated chapter 4, the family trees. They should now include the current ages of the all the children. Hopefully this will clear up some confusion that might be present while reading this chapter. Enjoy!
The Secret
Chapter Twelve; Family
Hermione couldn't concentrate. She was in Muggle Studies, the class right before dinner. There was a lot of free time before the class was supposed to start, and since Hermione couldn't stay focused on anything, she had decided just to go sit in the classroom thinking until the class began. She sat at a desk, deep in thought, not noticing that a number of people were following her lead and arriving early.
She couldn't help the fact that her mind kept going back to her uncle's reaction to seeing the woman from the dream. She was extremely worried about Severus. She was afraid that he might hurt himself if he lost control of emotions, or that he would hurt someone else.
She was brought back to reality when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She quickly turned around and saw a tall girl with reddish-brown, stick straight hair standing in front of her.
Dark brown eyes staring intently at her, the girl asked hesitantly, "Are you Hermione Granger?"
Surprised, Hermione nodded.
Relief washed over the girl's face, and she broke into a wide smile. "Can I sit here?" she asked a little bolder.
"Sure, go ahead," said Hermione, taking her things off of the other desktop.
"I'm Niki by the way. Nicola McGuire actually, but everyone calls me Niki," she said, twirling a thick strand of hair in her pale fingers.
Hermione was trying to think why that name sounded so familiar, but she couldn't place it.
"Well, I guess you already know who I am," she said with a smile. "What year are you in Niki?" she asked curiously.
"I'm in 5th year, just like you. Except that I'm in Slytherin."
Hermione looked at her in surprise, and then laughed when Niki scrunched her nose up in disgust.
"I take it you don't like it there very much," Hermione said, still smiling.
"Ha! You can say I don't like it if you want to. I'll say I hate it…despise it. Ech. I would rather have been sorted into Hufflepuff!"
Hermione watched in amusement as Niki quickly turned to the boy sitting behind them, saying apologetically, "No offense, Max, you know what I meant, right?"
The boy smiled, and nodded, saying "Course I do, 'cuz."
Surprised at him calling her 'cuz', she looked more closely at the boy. He looked a little younger than the girl, but did have the same reddish-brown hair. His was cropped short all the way around then spiked on the top. Looking closely at the two, she realized that there was something oddly familiar with them, but couldn't put her finger on it.
"You two are cousins?" she asked instead.
"Yuppers," said Niki. "Hermione, meet my cousin Max McGuire. He's a fourth year Hufflepuff."
"Hey 'Mione," said Max with a friendly smile. "Is it alright if I called you 'Mione? I kinda have a thing for nicknames."
Hermione laughed. "Sure, I don't have a problem with it. As long as you don't call me Herm-own-ninny, you can call me anything you want," she said with a smile, then added with a dry grin, "or Mudblood."
Max's and Niki's faces immediately darkened. Hermione quickly sobered and looked from one to another.
"What?" she finally asked. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No, it's not you, Hermione," said Niki quickly. "It's just that only the really nasty people in Slytherin and other houses will use that word for Muggle-borns."
"It's not exactly a favorite among us McGuire's, and we know that it shouldn't ever be used," stated Max. He continued after a glance to his cousin, "And besides, there are a number of us who know for a fact that you definitely should not be called one."
Hermione looked at him sharply, then turned to look at Niki. Thinking furiously, she suddenly realized why the two looked so familiar. They looked like younger, brown haired versions of Uncle Severus! She gasped, then quickly leaned forward.
"You guys are Snape's, aren't you," she whispered fervently.
They nodded, then Niki spoke up. "You're our cousin. We didn't find out until this year that you were still in England and actually in the same school as us, the same year as me. It was a shock!"
"How many cousins do I actually have here?" Hermione asked excited. She could hardly sit still. She had just met her first cousins! She couldn't believe it. For her whole life she had thought she had had no family, then she found an uncle and a grandmother, and here were two cousins, sitting in front of her. It took all of her self control not to go running around the room, screaming 'I have family!! I have family!!'
"Well, in my family, Nathaniel and Zoe's kids, there's me, a fifth year, Jordan who's a seventh year, and Casper who's a second year. We have two other siblings, but they're already out of school. They can't wait to meet you, although it's going to have to be a secret."
Hermione nodded, "Of course," she said. She turned to Max, who smiled and started talking.
"In the Rogers family, that's Cassidy and Sean Rogers as our parents, there's me, a fourth year and Andrew, a first year. We also have two that already graduated, and they also can't wait to meet you. You're our long lost cousin. We were all told that you were alive, just never where you were, or who you were for that matter."
"Do you guys know of any family I have on my dad's side here?" Hermione asked expectantly.
"Well, your grandmum is McGonagall, right?" Niki asked quietly.
Hermione nodded.
"Then you have twin cousins here as first years. They were sorted last night, probably when you were in the office waiting for everyone," she continued.
At Hermione's questioning look, Max smiled.
"Before school started yesterday, all of us McGuire's were told what you looked like and we were kind of all looking for you and watching you yesterday and today," he said sheepishly.
Hermione then thought of something, and quickly asked them, "So you guys all know who the new DADA teacher is then, right?"
The two looked at each other glumly for a second, then back at Hermione, nodding. They looked like they were about to explain it to her, when she interrupted them. "I already know, you guys, its fine. I just wanted to know if you knew who she was, that's all."
"How do you know about her?" asked Niki curiously.
"I kind of have dreams. Sometimes they're of the present, sometimes of the future. Last night I was unfortunate enough to have a dream of the night Uncle Sev and Rose had their huge argument. I saw the whole thing, and watched her leave," she said sadly, still remembering the heartache and pain that had been emanating from her uncle.
The two gasped in shock. "That must have been horrible!" Niki whispered, stunned.
Hermione nodded sadly. "That's why I was completely shocked when she turned around and I caught sight of who she was. I could barely keep myself from running up to Uncle Sev!" she exclaimed.
Niki nodded vigorously, "I know what you mean! Jordan had to practically use magic to keep me in my chair!"
"I feel so bad for him! But I also get the feeling, somehow, that he's going to be fine," said Hermione slowly. "It's actually really weird. I was sitting here worrying about him when you guys came in, and now, all of a sudden, I don't feel so worried. I just…know…somehow….as if everything has been worked out of something." She shook her head, and murmured "Weird."
Max laughed. "When you're talking about our family…weird is always the best word," he said, grinning widely.
The two girls laughed with him, Niki punching his shoulder playfully.
"So how did you both get put in this class? I mean, I'm from Gryffindor, you're in Slytherin, and you're in Hufflepuff. Is this a mixed class? Or is it just because of…"
Hermione was interrupted by the teacher's answer.
"Actually, this is a mixed class. There are fourth years and above from each house, sorted into this class based on past experience with Muggle Studies. There's a new curriculum this year, as I am the new teacher, so I decided to also change the way the classes were organized. This also lets you meet more people from different houses and different years, which I think is very healthy and important to growing up. Oh, I'm sorry. I completely forgot. My name is Ms. Victoria Formato. I'm the new Muggle Studies professor."
The rest of the class went very pleasantly. Hermione, Niki and Max enjoyed it immensely. Professor Formato spent the first class getting to know the names of the students, and pushing the students to get to know each other. They played a number of Muggle name games that Professor Formato said were common in Muggle schools.
When the class was over, Hermione, Niki and Max chatted excitedly about the class on their way to the Great Hall for dinner. When they were getting closer, Hermione stopped, and pulled the other two into an empty classroom.
"Hey look," she said, "I really want to meet everyone! Can you guys get everyone together, and can we meet one day this week?" she asked eagerly.
Niki and Max immediately exclaimed that it was a great idea, and they decided tomorrow night, before dinner, in the classroom they were in right now.
An elated and overly excited Hermione hugged both of her surprised cousins, before grinning and calming down slightly.
It was a laughing and joking trio that made their way into the Hall. After final farewells, the three split and walked to their separate tables.
A number of Slytherins were giving Niki venomous looks as she made her way over to her group of friends at the Slytherin table. She had a small, close-knit group of friends in Slytherin, consisting of her, two other girls, and two boys. The five of them were one of the few groups in Slytherin to not care a smidge about blood lines and lineage that many Slytherin purebloods deemed so important. Her group had been on the receiving end of pranks, taunts and threats from their housemates a number of times, until they finally proved that they could out-curse, out-punch, and out-wit most of the others their age. An older group similar to theirs happened to consist of their older siblings, so the older housemates left them alone as well.
However, to be seen walking into the Great Hall laughing and joking with a Muggle-born was considered close to blasphemous in the Slytherin house. Not that Niki cared, but she belatedly thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea for her to have done that, especially when she knew many of her housemates were getting cocky because the Dark Lord was back.
The others around her age were especially upset because not only had she been seen being decent to a Muggle-born, it had been Hermione Granger. It was common knowledge in the Slytherin common room that Hermione Granger was considered one of the three personal enemies of Draco Malfoy. To be seen with one of those three was, in the Slytherins' opinion, worthy of getting beaten and cursed to within an inch of the person's life.
Not that Niki was extremely worried. She was, after all, put in Slytherin for a reason. That and the fact that her older brother, Jordan, was one of the best duelists in Slytherin and was highly respected in the upper ranks of the house helped immensely. Still, she watched her back throughout dinner, thankful when her brother sat down next to her. Their little brother, Casper, joined them, and she ended up telling them about her meeting with Hermione and Max, leaving out the family parts, of course, since they were in a public place. They were thrilled to hear about Hermione, especially when Niki pointed her out. The three talked about her for the rest of dinner, hiding their conversation well from the others.
* * *
Max had no such problems as he walked happily to his group of friends at the Hufflepuff table. As he passed his younger brother, Andrew, he paused and briefly told him about his meeting Hermione. The young first year was ecstatic to know that his older brother and been one of the first to meet their mysterious cousin. Max unobtrusively pointed her out to Andrew, who was staring at awe at the brown haired girl now talking to her friends. Smiling, Max ruffled his brother's hair and went to sit with his friends.
He watched quietly as his Slytherin cousin received glares from others in her house, and mentioned the fact to his friends. He told them briefly about the new Muggle professor, and how fun the class had been. He commented that his cousin and their new friend, Hermione, was in the class, and that them talking to her was the reason Niki was receiving death glares from the other Slytherins.
This led to a discussion about how stupid they thought all the little rules and regulations of Slytherin were. The topic was quickly dropped, however, when someone started talking about Quidditch.
* * *
Hermione watched as well as her new found cousin walked past her fellow Slytherins. She grimaced as she saw and heard the sneers and taunts made as Niki walked to her group of friends. Shaking her head, she waited until her cousin was safely seated with her friends before turning and making her way to the Gryffindor table.
She noticed as she walked towards Harry, Ron and Ginny, that a number of Gryffindors were looking at her oddly, but was thankful that none of them were commenting.
As she approached the other three and sat down uncomfortably, she noticed that they too were looking at her strangely.
After a couple of seconds, she finally asked exasperated, "What?!"
Harry, Ron and Ginny jumped slightly, as if they hadn't realized that they had been staring at her.
Ron was the one who finally answered. "Who was that Slytherin that you came in with?" he asked, a hint of disgust present in the word 'Slytherin".
She looked at the three of them for another couple of seconds before asking, "You're kidding, right?" When no one said a word, she huffed in frustration. "You're going to tell me that I can't simply be friends with a girl because she's Slytherin? Especially with everything that happened on the train?"
"That's different, 'Mione," argued Ron. "We know Dra-…Malfoy. We've always known what he's capable of and what he's like. We don't even know this girl. How can you be sure that she's not a Death Eater?" he asked his voice lowering until it was only a whisper.
Hermione snorted. "Oh, please. She's not a Death Eater, alright? I know for a fact that she would never be a Death Eater, and would likely fight like a hell-cat if she came across one."
"How can you be so sure, Hermione?" asked Ginny worriedly.
"Let's just say her family has had very unpleasant interactions with them in the past, alright?" Hermione replied her face growing dark as she thought of Uncle Severus's daughter, and the fact that she had had to grow up without her family.
"Let's just say we all have," she muttered to herself, under her breath but loud enough for Harry to hear.
He looked at her oddly, and then asked softly, "Did something happen, Hermione? With your family I mean?"
Hermione pulled herself out of her thoughts and quickly shook her head, reassuring him that nothing was wrong with her family.
Harry looked at her again, doubt and worry in his eyes. Hermione's heart lurched slightly when she saw the concern etched on his face.
::Oh Merlin! What is happening to me? Falling for my best friend? He doesn't even care about me that way. I'm just his best friend. That's it!! Nothing more! Get it out of your head!::
Shaking her head vehemently, Hermione glanced up at the Head Table. She wasn't particularly surprised to see that her uncle and Rose were not present. However, since she did not know why the two were not present, she was worried once more for her uncle. Glancing over at Niki and Max, she could see them glance up every once in a while at Severus's customary seat, also worried by his absence.
Harry, following Hermione's gaze as she once more stared at her uncle's empty seat, asked the other three quietly, "Who do you think that woman was? What do you think happened to Snape? I've never seen him like that!"
"I know!" exclaimed Ron. "It was almost as if he had…feelings…or something," he added, shuddering slightly at the thought, and then quickly banished the thought with a shake of his head. He chuckled softly to himself, and said, "Yea, like that could happen. Stupid greasy git. Forget I even brought that up."
Hermione's face flushed red as she pooled all her strength and will power to keep from shouting at and hexing one of her best friends.
Harry, noticing her flushed face, placed one of his hands over hers and asked gently, "You ok 'Mione?"
Looking at him, and then at his hand over hers, Hermione forced herself to calm down. Taking deep breaths, she slowly unclenched her hands, then squeezed Harry's hand where it still covered hers. "Yea, I'm fine. I just remember that I have lesson tonight. I have to go. See you guys later!"
She stood up quickly and hurried out before anyone could say anything. Harry looked up at a surprised Ron and Ginny, and shrugged at their questioning looks. "I have no idea," he said to them, then returned to his meal.
The other two followed his lead and were soon talking about the different things that had happened during their first day back.
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A/N-Hope you all enjoyed. Sorry this one was so much shorter, but I need more time for the next part, and I wanted to update with something. Thank you to all those who reviewed. They are much appreciated and I enjoy hearing what you think. As for those who want to know about the Harry/Draco/Hermione thing, I'm not even sure yet as to where I'm going, or who she's going to end up with. So we shall see. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review!