A/N: In case anyone didn't see the note that I posted last time, I have combined the previous chapters as follows: 1-4: chapter 1, 5-8: chapter 2, 9-12: chapter3, 13-16: chapter 4, 17-20: chapter 5, 21-24: chapter 6. Chapter 25, which was posted earlier this week is now chapter 7. The new chapter is chapter 8. Each new posting following this change will be its own chapter unless otherwise noted. I have also tried to correct many of the spelling mistakes which have plagued the document from the very beginning. I don't think that I caught them all, but it was a start. Thanks to those of you who kindly pointed the mistakes out.
A/N II: The plot thickens again, but it's not what you think. As I said when I first posted the first chapter: assume nothing. And, as I said when I posted chapter 25, which is now chapter 7, earlier this week, in the words of the window washer, all will be made clear (eventually). Until then sit back, hang in there, and enjoy. I don't know if destiny exists IRL, but it certainly does for JKR's characters in my story. At least, they all have a general purpose and they are all headed in a general direction. It just takes some time and some finagling to point them that way. Thanks for reading!
A/N III: I still own nothing. Boy, that gets old really fast.
* * *
Ron accompanied Hermione as far as the steps leading to Dumbledore's office before she asked him to let her finish her mission alone. She had some trepidation about showing Dumbledore the picture of Arial. She knew that he was nothing if not a perceptive man, and felt that he would have little trouble seeing through the lie that she had fabricated to make her possession of the picture seem both plausible and innocent. If trouble was going to come her way, she didn't want Ron becoming an innocent victim.
Ron looked as though he didn't know how to say goodbye to her. She could tell from the look of concentration on his face he was searching through every scenario and contemplating the ramifications of each. She kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you later." He blushed and nodded, turning away and rubbing his hands together. Hermione chuckled softly to herself. It wasn't that she was comfortable with their newfound relationship; far from it, in fact. She was simply putting things into perspective. She wouldn't allow herself to lose the love of a friend in the interest of romance. She would take things with Ron slowly and carefully, one step at a time. And who cared what anyone else thought?
She gave the password to the pair of guardian gargoyles and steeped onto the staircase which began to ascend of its own accord as soon as her feet were firmly settled. She could almost hear her heart beating it was pounding so laboriously in her chest. She tried to take deep, calming breaths. This whole thing was shaping up to be a massive snafu.
"Ah, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, looking up from his papers as she entered the room. His phoenix, Fawkes, was perched on the back of his chair. "What brings you to our humble abode," the headmaster asked, smiling.
Hermione took another deep breath. This was a mistake, she was certain of it. If her inquiry with Dumbledore yielded to her no clues she would simply call the whole thing off and find a way to persuade the others to do the same. Now, though, she had no choice but to push forward. It would seem rather odd if she simply turned around and left. "I was doing some research in the library, Sir."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Not an unusual pursuit for you, Miss Granger."
She smiled in spite of herself. "no, sir, though this time it has produced a mysterious result."
Dumbledore suddenly grew more somber and Hermione felt her nerves beginning to freeze up a bit. "This result doesn't involve the unfortunate dredging up of yet another painful memory for our Professor Snape, does it," he asked her.
"No," she replied the way she had rehearsed. He seemed satisfied and sat back. She mentally released the breath she had been holding. No hesitation, no blushing, no awkward aversion of the eye. She had passed the test. She wasn't certain that this success was something that she should be proud of. "I was simply looking through the history of the magical schools in Europe. I was considering correspondence with someone from Beaux Batons, and I wanted to ensure that my background knowledge of the school was accurate before I accidentally made a foolish remark."
Dumbledore shook his head slightly, but said nothing, leaving Hermione to continue. "As I was leafing through the pages, I came upon a picture of someone whom I presume to be a former student at that institution. The picture had no caption, though, and I found that it was not attached to the book. I took it out, and I have it with me now. I was wondering if you would look at it and see if it's anyone you recognize."
The headmaster smiled at her and adjusted his small reading glasses. "The possibility is small, Miss Granger, but I will try." He extended his hand, and she placed the photograph in his upturned palm.
He leaned back in his chair before looking at the picture. "If only the other students would pursue their leisure with the same degree of fervor that you pursue your leisure Miss Granger." He sighed, held the photo before him, and gazed upon it.
Hermione watched his face go from benign and kindly to socked and disbelieving to sad and almost angry in a succession of contortions that spanned less than a few seconds. "Is something wrong, sir?" she asked. She knew the answer to that already but she couldn't think of anything else intelligent to say.
He didn't answer, he just clutched the photograph before him, his knuckles turning white. He looked as though he were trying not to cry, and Hermione began to back away, wanting to afford him a degree of solitude. She felt sick inside. If she would have known what kind of reaction that her plan would have provoked she would have never followed it through. "Arial," Dumbledore whispered.
"You know who that is?" Hermione asked, then mentally smacked herself for her tactlessness. Obviously he knew who Arial was. It seemed that the pain she had caused for others did not begin and end with Professor Snape.
Dumbledore looked like a man shaken and bereaved. His eyes were haunted by a ghost he seemed to have pushed aside which Hermione had just unwillingly resurrected. She blinked, and all of that was gone. His face was a great deal calmer, though it still had a milky pallor to it. In his eyes rested a deep and weary sadness. "Yes, Miss Granger. Arial went to Beaux Batons during the same time period that Sirius and James attended Hogwarts," his smile was forced and awkward. "She graduated with high honors from the school, but she fell through the cracks. Everyone had great ambitions for her, but she couldn't aim herself in any one direction. She became obsessed with the dark arts, but was timid to ally herself with the Death eaters, despite their growing power. It was a difficult time for her."
Hermione wanted to ask how he knew Arial so well, but she didn't dare interrupt. "Things kept getting harder and harder for her, and she increasingly felt herself pulled in two directions. She wanted simultaneously to be good and bad."
He stopped his narration and stared at his hands for a moment. "What happened to her," Hermione asked.
He sighed mightily. "Arial couldn't take the pressure. It was too hard for her to live in a home that believed in and championed the fight against Lord Voldemort and his supporters. One night, she ran away. I have never seen her since, nor have I heard from her." He let that sink in a moment. "So in answer to your question, Miss Granger, yes, I know this woman." He stared out the window directly across from him and spoke his last words almost to himself, "At least, I used to."
* * *
"Why all of the long faces," Hermione asked her three friends upon returning to the common room that night. They were all sitting together looking as though they had just attended a funeral. Hermione had not seen any of them since she had left Ron at the foot of the stairwell earlier that day. She wondered, for a brief moment, if he had told Ginny and Harry about the kiss the two of them had shared, but she dared not ask right now. It looked as though business of a far more serious nature had been transacted.
"Ginny got a howler," Harry said glumly. "It was from her mum and dad and Tonks. They told her that the four of us needed to stay out of everyone's business. She said that she didn't care where the picture had come from, we should put it back where we found it as soon as possible."
"I'm sorry, Ginny," said Hermione.
Ginny shrugged. "it's not a big deal. Only now, we won't have any way of finding out who Arial was. I'm sure mum and dad heard from Bill and Charlie that we had written them as well. They probably told them not to give us any answers either. My mum said she couldn't believe that we would go sneaking around behind someone's back bringing up a past that they obviously didn't want to relive. She said having to live through whatever it was Snape lived through was probably bad enough for him to have to do once. She said it wasn't our place to make him dredge up the past."
Ron looked at Hermione hopefully. "Did you get anything out of Dumbledore?"
Ginny and Harry both seemed to brighten at the idea. It was obvious that they had forgotten about her visit with the headmaster in the face of their own personal gloom. "Yes," Hermione said, not sure whether to smile or to be further disturbed. She had been planning on calling the whole thing off before her interview with the headmaster earlier in the day. Things ad become far too muddled, and she was having difficulty justifying any of her action to herself anymore. After she had seen Dumbledore's face when he had set eyes upon Arial, however, she knew that she had to find the woman. It wasn't about Snape anymore. Snape probably would just attack them for finding her anyway. This she wanted to do for Dumbledore. She knew he would appreciate it.
"I showed Dumbledore the picture of Arial and he got sort of upset. Actually, he got very upset, though he tried hard not to let me know that he was. He started telling me all about her past. He said that she had run away because she felt pulled in two different direction. She didn't know whether to support Voldemort or to join the fight against him. He said it was too hard for her to live with someone who was such a strong advocate for ridding the world of Voldemort's influence when her own feeling were so confused. She ran away from home because she couldn't deal with the pressure anymore. Apparently, Dumbledore didn't know she was pregnant with Snape's daughter at the time. In fact, he didn't even mention Snape at all."
The other three were on the edge of their seats. "Who was Arial's father," asked Ron.
She hadn't asked that. Dumbledore had seemed so shaken just by looking at the picture that she had been grateful for information he had given her. It would have been cruel for her to push the matter any further than she had.
"Don't you get it," Ginny said, looking at them with an air that was a bit patronizing. "You don't get it, Hermione?"
"No." She didn't 'get it', whatever 'it' was.
"Well, go on, tell us then if you're so smart," said Ron snappishly.
Ginny rolled her eyes and cleared her throat, looking around her as though to ensure the security of the secret of the universe. "How do you think Dumbledore would know so much about Arial?"
"Because he knew her father, you moron," said Ron.
She continued as though he had not spoken. "Why would he be so upset when he saw the picture, and when he talked about her?"
"Because he was good friends with her father I don't know." Ron looked annoyed.
Harry, however looked intrigued, "What are you getting at, Ginny?"
"What was Arial's least name, Hermione?"
"Dora," Hermione suddenly though she knew where Ginny's train of thought was headed.
"Do you really think that that is a coincidence," Ginny asked, hands on her hips, eyes staring straight at the three of them as though daring them to challenge her position. "Dora, Dumbledore. You can see where someone would get suspicious. Remember too that Beaux Batons wouldn't release who Arial's father was for her safety. Dumbledore sent her to Beaux Batons so that she could be treated fairly by the students and staff. They changed her last name so that no one would know she was his daughter. They wouldn't release the fact that he is her father because the would put her in jeopardy as a target of the Death eaters and Voldemort."
Ron looked skeptical. "Do you really think that Dumbledore could be her father?"
Harry shrugged. "I guess he could. It seems odd that no one has ever mentioned him having any children before though."
Hermione sat lost in thought as the others babbled on about the possibility of Arial being the daughter of Albus Dumbledore. She wasn't sure what to think. She remembered the pain on Dumbledore's face, the shock when he had first seen the picture. She thought about how sad he had been when he had spoken of the fact that it had been years since he had last seen Arial. She knew that, whether he was the woman's father or not, she had to find her for Dumbledore's sake. As far as she was concerned, Snape was no longer a part of the picture.
She excused herself and headed up to bed where she contemplated picking up the spirit book. She couldn't think of anything to write that would lead her to any new information, though, so she replaced it on her bedside shelf. Sirius and James had known nothing about Arial before. It seemed unlikely that their position would have changed since her last letter.
Lavender smiled at her from across the room as Hermione looked around before switching off her bedside light. She was painting her toenails a lurid shade of blue, to match her eyes, she explained. Lavender changed the color of her eyes so often that Hermione couldn't even remember what they had looked like when the two of them had arrived for their first year at Hogwarts. It seemed as though it had been a lifetime ago.
She thought about everything that had happened so far this year. First, she had visited with the Tree and found out that Snape was Harry's uncle. Then she had found out that Snape also had an estranged daughter with a mysterious woman by the name of Arial. Now it looked as though it were possible that Arial was Dumbledore's daughter. She tried to picture the twisted family tree as it was now developing, but found it impossible to do so. Her head was throbbing and spinning. She had to get some sleep. She would deal with the rest in the morning.
* * *
"A word, please, Miss Granger," Snape called out from over the stack of essays he was grading as the rest of the students filed out of the dungeon following their potions lesson. Hermione shrugged at Ron and Harry, and told them that she would meet them shortly. She turned back down the steps and stopped across the desk from Snape. All that she could see was the top of his greasy head.
At last he looked up after she cleared her throat. "Sit down," he ordered.
She carefully slid into the chair, keeping her posture ramrod straight, her eyes looking forward. She wasn't sure what this was about, so she warned herself to exhibit exceeding care before stepping forward.
"I have received a bit of disturbing news from one of the students in my house," he said, his voice quiet and dangerous. "Draco Malfoy said that he happened to be walking by when he saw you receive an envelope from Beaux Batons school of magic. He heard you tell Ginny Weasley that you wouldn't open the envelope until you returned to Gryffindor tower because you didn't want the contents to be confiscated. The next evening, he reported that Ginny Weasley received a howler from her mother telling her, in no uncertain terms, to mind her own business. Though you have already explained the first event to Professor McGonagall, who saw fit to deduct points from Slytherin for Draco's behavior, I would be delighted if you would share with me your version of the tale."
"I have a pen pal at Beaux Batons," Hermione said shortly. "Ginny and I both have been writing, and we had asked her to respond with some advice concerning a personal problem that the two of us have both had. I didn't want to read the answer out loud in the Great Hall, or have it taken from us and read by someone else because the contents defiantly had the capacity to become exceedingly embarrassing."
Snape looked at her as though she had "I'm a liar" tattooed on her forehead. He didn't press the issue, however. "And what do you make of Miss Weasley's howler?"
"Ginny's family is very close," Hermione shrugged. "She didn't seem too upset about the incident, so I have to conclude that there wasn't much to it. Ginny probably asked her parents a question that they felt was too personal, and they told her to back off."
"Indeed," said Snape, who still looked as though he could read the imaginary sign on her forehead. Hermione wondered why she had ever thought that it would be a good idea to try and find this man's daughter. Obviously, such a gift would be wasted on him, assuming he were to accept her in the first place. She had given up on Snape completely. Her whole quest was now focused on Dumbledore. She thought that she would have even backed out of the whole thing were it not for her chat with the headmaster yesterday afternoon. After all that he had done for their world, she felt that she owed him something. She also knew that he would appreciate the effort once it had been completed.
"Is that all, Professor," she asked sweetly.
"For now," he said, still looking a bit dodgy. "Stay out of my business, Miss Granger. That warning goes for your little friends as well."
She nodded at him and shifted her eyebrows in order to feign that she had no concept concerning what he was talking about. She pushed her chair away from the desk and took her leave, grateful to have escaped without enduring any more of Snape's abuse.
* * *
"So," Harry said meeting her at the top of the staircase that led away from the dungeons, and Snape, "what did you do now?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Remember when Draco saw me receive the letter from Beaux Batons? He went and told Snape about it, and Snape wanted some information. He also wanted to know why Ginny would receive a howler that told her to mind her own business. I told him that the letter was innocent and that I didn't know what Ginny's howler was about."
Harry sighed. "I still don't know if trying to find Arial or her daughter is the best idea."
"I was having second thoughts about the whole thing too," Hermione admitted. "I have been ever since I told the three of you. I wasn't sure if I should even tell you. Actually, I was ready to call the whole thing off until I sat down with Professor Dumbledore. Now I want to find Arial for him. I don't even care about Snape anymore. He'd probably just hate us more for trying to help him."
Harry nodded in agreement. "Snape certainly seems to like being alone. He never does anything to try to change the situation."
"Speaking of being alone," said Hermione, "What happened to Ron?"
"He said that he had to meet McGonagall for some sort of review."
"Oh," Hermione said, "I forgot all about that. I should have told him good luck." Harry looked confused. "Every term all of the prefects have to be individually reviewed twice by their heads of house. At the end of the year we all get reviewed together. You get tested on your knowledge of rules and polices and you have to go over all of the citations you've given. They just want to make sure you're still up to the job, I guess. I have mine tomorrow."
"Sounds like fun," Harry said sardonically. "I guess Ron must have passed your examination though."
Hermione felt her face burning red, "What are you talking about?"
Harry grinned wickedly. "Ickle Ronnikins said that he kissed you out in the hallway two nights ago."
"So," Hermione said with a bit more of an edge than she had intended.
Harry held his hands up in mock surrender. "So nothing, I'm just saying."
Hermione shook her head and turned her nose up slightly as they walked towards Gryffindor tower. She didn't know what to say to Harry. She wanted to leave the subject of her and Ron for another time when the two of them could face their friend together but she wasn't entirely certain of how to let it go. It seemed that Harry, however, had no intention of changing his tune. "Ron was worried that he's not a good kisser," he said.
"I don't know if he's a good kisser or not. He only kissed me once, and it was just a friendly peck on the lips. There was nothing overly passionate about it. It was very sweet," she added quietly.
"Hmph," Harry snorted, obviously searching for something a bit more racy.
Hermione continued walking. There really was nothing more to say.
"Do you want to have a relationship with him," Harry asked at last.
"Yes," she said exasperatedly. "I suppose that I do. I mean, it wasn't something that I'd spent a lot of time thinking about before but I'm open to the idea so long as we don't ever let it destroy our friendship or any of the mutual friendships we have. If I didn't want it, I'd have told him so."
"Just checking," said Harry.
Hermione walked through the portrait hole ahead of him. She smiled at Ginny, who grinned back at her like the Cheshire cat. Hermione looked around the room, and it seemed as though everyone in there had the same look upon their face. "What's the matter with you," Hermione asked, feeling that she already knew.
"Ron told me at lunch that he kissed you," Ginny squealed excitedly. "It's about time!"
"Not so loud," Hermione begged in Ron's interest. She didn't know if he was ready to let the whole world know.
Ginny shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. He said it loud enough for Parvati to hear, so now everyone knows."
"Great," said Hermione sarcastically. "I'm sure he'll be thrilled."
"We'll see," Ginny answered brightly. "He was the one that told, though. Anyway, what did you find out today?"
"Nothing new. Draco told Snape about your howler, but all Snape knows is that your mum said to mind your own business. I told him I didn't know what that was all about. Also, in case he asks, I have a pen pal from Beaux Batons and the two of us have been jointly writing for some advice on a problem."
"Got it," Ginny said.
"Anything new for you to report," asked Hermione. She chided herself for sounding like a general.
"Yes," Ginny said smiling, "but I think we should wait until Ron gets here. In the meantime, why don't you tell everyone the story of your first kiss?"
"Why don't you tell everyone about the time you tried to curse away your freckles and you ended up with big hair warts all over your face? I have pictures if you need a visual aid"
"Or," Ginny reconsidered quickly, "we could just sit here and study while we wait for Ron."
Hermione nodded amicably and the three friends sat in comfortable silence finishing their homework for the night. Hermione kept glancing at the clock over the mantelpiece. If Ron didn't get back soon, he would be up all night finishing his assignments.
At last the door to the common room opened and he stepped through looking a bit tired but still proud of himself. "I passed the inspection," he said plopping down on the couch heavily.
"Good for you!" Hermione congratulated him.
"That's nice," said Ginny. "I got a letter today."
"From who?" Ron asked, completely forgetting about his success.
"Fred and George."
"And," said Harry.
"And they've seen Arial. At least, they've seen someone who looks like Arial, only older. She's been in their store before. Just after it opened, they said. She dropped in and picked up some of their phony sweets. They said they haven't seen her for about three months since then."
"So they know anything else about her?" Hermione asked.
"Well, not really. I mean, we don't even know if it's really her or if it's just someone who bears some resemblance to her."
"Did they get her name? Maybe even an address."
Ginny sighed. "They actually had enough foresight to put some of that into their letter. They thought they would look it up in their records, but they don't have anything about anyone named Arial, or anyone with a last name of Dora. They keep a record on all of their customers so they can put them on a mailing list. Nothing seemed to match. That either means that it isn't her or that she's living under a different name now."
Hermione was so frustrated with this entire ordeal she thought she might scream. Every time it seemed as though they might be getting somewhere they just came to another impasse. This time, it was Harry who offered a possible solution. "They said that they haven't seen her for about three months, right?"
"Yes"
"They haven't been open all that long. Have them send us a copy of their records for the first four months of their business. That should cover everything from their opening day up until three months ago."
"Harry's right," Hermione said excitedly. "Let's do that."
Ginny wrote out her request on a piece of paper ad ran off to the owlery to send it on a rush.
"I think I'm going to head off to bed," Hermione said standing up and stretching. It was early still, but the past few days had been somewhat difficult for her and she felt that she needed some rest. She had to be in a sharp frame of mind to pass McGonagall's inspection tomorrow. "Goodnight," she smiled.
Ron stood up with her. "Goodnight, Hermione." He hugged her awkwardly, and then shyly kissed her again, only this time with far more certainty than he had the last time. He blushed only slightly. Hermione supposed that he had suddenly realized they were in the middle of the common room.
"I should write you up for that," she teased. "Public Displays of Affection aren't allowed. Just ask poor Dean Thomas." As soon as the words had left her mouth, Hermione would have given her right arm to take them back. She had forgotten all about Harry. She knew there was no way he would just let that statement go. He would have to know just who it was that Dean had been kissing. Ron's look of horror mirrored her own, she was certain.
Harry was nonchalant. "Was he kissing Cho out in the corridors again? I'm glad somebody wrote them up. The whole thing is rather disgusting really."
"So you know," Ron asked incredulously. It was obvious to Hermione that he, like herself had believed that Harry would be devastated upon hearing the new.
"Who doesn't," he shrugged. "It'll be like you and Hermione in a day or two. Everybody will know the two of you are together."
"You aren't devastated?" He said disbelievingly.
"No. I told you she was sort of crazy. Nice, but sad and crazy."
Ron sighed. "Well, that's a load off. I thought you'd blown it for a moment there, Hermione."
"Me too," she admitted. She had ruined everything else this year, it seemed. It was nice to know that someone had already taken care of that particular item for her.