"Oh, okay. I just wanted to know." With that Christina left the Gryffindor table and out of the Great Hall.
"That was close." Hermione said.
"I'll say. Why does this have to be a secret?"
"She could be a tool to get to you, Harry. We have to check her out first and that can take some time. Let's see if we can get in to see the Headmaster before classes start." Hermione said quietly to Harry. It's for his own good. She thought.
She got up from the table, carrying the book and was heading for the door to the Great Hall. Harry followed close behind her. He had no idea what she was thinking, but hoped he was along the same lines.
Hermione finally stopped in front of the stone gargoyle that would lead them to Dumbledore's office. She said something that even Harry could barely hear, but whatever she said, it worked. The gargoyle sprung to life, allowing them to pass through and up the stairs to Dumbledore's office.
When they entered, his back was turned to them. "Sit. I've been wondering when one of you would come to visit." He said as he turned to face them.
"You were expecting us?" Hermione asked, she had now placed the book on the desk in front of her.
"Of course, after all, it is the first day of the new term. I hoped you would have questions about our guests. I knew you would, Harry, seeing as Miss Potter shared your last name." He replied.
"Well, are you going to tell us about them? I really want to know who they are." Harry said.
"I'm not going to tell you much. I've pulled you out of your classes for the day. You will learn more today than you ever thought you would."
"That means what to us?" Hermione asked.
"Ah! Thank you for coming. I'm so glad that you could join us. Have seat ladies." Dumbledore told the three new students who had just entered the room.
"Why are we here? Don't classes start today?" Claire asked as her eyes wandered around the room.
"I thought that it would be a good opportunity to find out about each other. Also learn who is related to whom." Dumbledore said, his eyes holding their mystic glow when he was up to something.
"I shouldn't be here then." Hermione said.
"Actually, Miss Granger, you are meant to be here as much as Miss Decimus should be."
"I don't want to be here, can we get this over with?" Christina said.
"Alright, the story begins 17 years ago. All of your parents, except for Miss Granger and Miss Decimus' mother, attended this school. Now Miss Granger and Miss Decimus take a long look of each other. As it turns out, you are related."
"What?" Hermione said.
"How is that possible?!" Alex exclaimed.
"Well, Miss Decimus, your mother is a muggle, correct? She is the younger sister of Miss Granger's father. You are cousins."
"I guess I can live with that."
"Now, Miss Decimus, I have more to share, but I would rather wait for a few people to arrive first." As soon as Dumbledore finished several people entered the room. One was Natalie Potter and the others were the heads of each of the houses.
"What is all this about, Headmaster?" Snape spoke first.
"It's the right time for the children to know about each other. The prophecy has come into sight and they need to be ready. Ms. Potter, I want you to explain your situation and how you got here." Dumbledore said.
Natalie stood in front of everyone and began the story of her life. "I was a sixth year the year my brother was Head Boy and his fiancée was the Head Girl."
"Natalie! Guess what! We're getting married. He just proposed to me. I'm so excited." A red haired woman with green eyes said.
"Oh, Lil, I'm so happy for you. I can't believe it! We'll be sister-in-laws. So, when is the happy day?" Natalie replied.
"Not sure." They walked on the beaten paths outside the school, "sometime soon, I'm hoping. I want a family."
"Knowing James, he'll get you what you want, no matter what. I'm still in shock. When did he propose?"
"Last night. I hardly slept a wink, what with N.E.W.T.S. and everything."
"You'll be a beautiful bride, Lily." Natalie couldn't contain her excitement at all.
"You'll be a beautiful bride for someone, someday. Don't be discouraged, you're a Gryffindor after all. Speak of the snake, look whose coming." Lily pointed to a tall boy with short black hair.
"Lily! He's my boyfriend!" Natalie ran over to him and placed a kiss on his lips.
"You are so beautiful, my love." He spoke in a hushed tone. Natalie would not see her beloved for another year after this, for he too was a seventh year and a Slytherin at that.
"Thank you, Sev." She told him.
"I'll leave you two alone. I'm off to find James." Lily left Natalie and Sev alone outside. He took her hand and pulled her over to the lake.
"Natalie, I have a question to ask you." He said. One hand was inside one of his pockets.
"Yes?" Her eyes questioned his motivations as he kneeled before her.
"Natalie Marie Potter, will you be my wife for always and forever?" He held out a small box with a small band of white gold.
"Severus? I don't know what to say. Oh my god! Oh, I'm so happy, you just took my breath away." That was all she could reply.
"Will you?" He stood up as he said this and was standing right in front of her.
"Yes! Yes, I will. I love you, Severus, I do." She had tears coming down her face. He slipped the ring on her left ring finger and kissed her after doing so.
"I love you too, Natalie."
As Natalie told her story, several pairs of eyes wandered over to where Snape stood. He had loosened a bit since he arrived as if just remembering the beauty of his bride-to-be. Claire looked at her mother's left hand and noticed the ring still there. She had yet to learn who father was even though he stood, but a few feet away. Hermione noticed and whispered in Claire's ear, saying that her father was the potions professor.
"Dad?" She whispered in Snapes' direction.
"Severus and I planned to marry a year after my brother and by that time, Lily was pregnant with her first child. I was really excited for her and couldn't wait to have a family of my own. I was happy when I learned that I was pregnant, not too long after. Lily was carrying her second child and was glad that they would be the same age. Lily hoped for a boy after she gave birth to her first child, Christina Lillian-Rose Potter. I spent most of my time trying different name combinations. I could not come up with one I liked. Then one day, Severus came through the door and started saying some names, pausing after a few."
"How about Claire, I like that name. My grandmother's name was Claire when she was alive, but it was a different surname. With the middle name is whatever you want." He suggested.
"I like that name too. Clair e Rose Snape, the perfect name for our girl, now for our boy." Natalie said. Claire gasped at this part, as did everyone else.
"We never did come up with boy names, but we didn't need them anyway. Claire Rose Snape was born two weeks before my nephew. I was proud of my child, but not proud of what my husband did. He was a spy for us, infiltrating the Death Eaters."
"Honey, no, you can't stay. I'm telling you that you need to leave. Take Claire away and change her name. I don't want others to find out that I have a wife and daughter. Protect her."
"No, Severus. I will not do it. You can't make me take her away!" Natalie screamed in reply. Their baby was only six months old at that time.
"Natalie, don't argue with me. I know that you will be safer in the states, they can't touch you there. We need to protect you as long as we can. That way we can convince your brother and his wife and children to leave as well." He tried to calm his wife, but was not successful.
"I can't do it. I won't do it."
"You are going, no matter what you say. You are not putting my daughter in danger because you were being so selfish." He snapped. His fresh spout of words brought her back and allowed her to agree. She would leave as soon as possible and hopefully with Lily, Chris, and Harry.
8 months later...
"Lily! Are you coming, we have to leave now." Natalie shouted in the empty house. She was holding her daughter in her arms and held onto her niece by the hand.
"No. We'll be safe, James promised. Christina will have to go with you, but Harry can stay here with us, he's under the protection spell as well." Lily replied.
"You're not being stupid, I hope." Natalie sat down beside her sister in law.
"We are not being stupid. Don't worry. It will all be over soon and we will be a family again. So until then, take care of Chris."
"I will. I'll miss you Lils. Take care." Natalie said before she left. She headed for her bags that sat next to the front door. She used her wand to make the bags follow her to the ministry car that her husband had rented.
"I'll miss you, but as soon as it's safe, I'll send for you." Severus told her before helping her into the car.
"I'll hold you to that. I love you. Goodbye." Natalie was in the ministry car that took off to the airport. Her flight would leave in little less than half an hour after she had arrived.
Natalie was lucky that the magical airlines were still open for business, taking the many families that were endangered. She was glad that it would be a short, hassle-free flight. She never went anywhere using muggle transportation; of course, she was almost 19 years old.
"How are you this day, Miss?" The flight attendant for the Magic Airlines said.
"Its Mrs. I'm doing just dandy. May I board my flight yet?"
"Of course, my mistake and you may board. It is down the hall to the left and you have special accommodations."
"Thank you." Natalie said and headed down the hall. The hall was slightly narrow and dark, but in the wizarding world, risks had to be taken.
"Nana? Where we go?" Natalie looked down at her little niece.
"We are taking a trip. We are going to a different home to live for a while. Don't worry; you will see Mommy and Daddy soon." She tried to comfort Christina the best she could.
"Okey." Christina murmured.
Natalie smiled and finally came into the opening and saw the small plane that belonged to Magic Airlines.
"What is the relevance of this story?" Hermione interrupted.
"I'm trying to tell you how no one knows about each other. I just found out that my nephew was alive and that I finally get to see my husband again. Do you know how heart-wrenching that is? I'm sorry if you don't find this important, but someone does care." Natalie snipped.
"In case you didn't know, one of your nieces is my cousin!" Hermione said, "Headmaster, I'm leaving." With that Hermione stormed out of the room in disgust.
Harry's eyes followed her and wished she had stayed. Natalie launched into her story again. She skipped about a month and came to Halloween 1981. The time Harry's parents were killed.
"I found out that my brother was gone the day after they were killed. Unfortunately, I was left clueless about my nephew. I didn't know what to do other than take care of my niece. I never told my daughter about her father, or my niece about her family, just little tidbits. I didn't realize I was named Godmother for Alex until a month before they passed away."
"Headmaster, may I leave?" Harry asked.
"No. You have to stay a little longer." Dumbledore replied.
"Then I had the opportunity to come back here again and allow my daughter to attend such a fine school. I was very pleased. That's my story as I know it." Natalie finished.
"Professor Snape, I never knew you had a child?" Professor McGonagall said.
"Yes, I did have a child, as you can see. You will also notice that my older brother also had a child with a muggle no less." He answered quietly.
"Mr. Potter, you may leave at this time, if you want." Dumbledore said to Harry.
"Thank you Headmaster." He replied.
Harry left the room just as Hermione had done not long before. He wanted to find her. He found a clock that told him that the time for lunch had passed. Maybe she's in our next class? He thought. He wandered through the halls before he finally bumped into someone.
"Hello, Harry," said a short red-head.
"Hello, Ginny, where are you going?" He replied.
"I was called to the Headmaster's office. I don't even know why. Where are you going?"
"I'm trying to find Hermione. Have you seen her?"
"Uh... Yes, she was in the common room the last time I saw her. She kept mumbling about something. I believe she hasn't left yet."
"Thank you, Ginny." Harry gave her a quick hug and dashed to the common room.
A minute later Harry entered the common room. He looked over towards the corner where they normally sat. There she was, just staring at the wall.
"Hermione," he softly whispered. She blinked and turned her attention to Harry. A smile crossed her face.
"Harry!"
"Hermione, what are you doing in here?" he asked as soon as he reached her side.
"I couldn't take it. It's not even about me and I couldn't take it." A tear trickled down her cheek every so often.
"It's okay, I'm here now." Harry was sitting across from her and pulled her onto his lap.
"Harry, I want you to be happy. I... I haven't told you something Harry. I was stupid and it shouldn't have happened." She started to say.
"What happened? Tell me, I want to know. Don't worry, we are all alone in here and we can go up to my dorm if we do need the privacy." He whispered in her ear.
"Let's go there now. I want to make sure we can't be heard at all." Hermione stood up and took his hand in hers.