This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter 4 – Almost forgotten, but not quite

Draco came barrelling into the dungeons one Friday night; Severus jumped from his chair and whipped around wand at the ready. His young mentee stood bent over, hand on the doorframe, panting from his exhaustion at rushing through the castle. Severus wondered what had happened – had the young wizard been found out?

Just over three years had gone by and the child before him had grown far beyond his original expectations from the eleven year old he had been introduced to when he had been sorted into Slytherin. However, his expectations as a spy had not yet been met. He had been teaching the boy skills such as Occlumency, skulking and behaviour techniques for nearly four years, at first progress had been slow, then it had picked up, but just as suddenly it had slowed again.

Some days were better than others; on the others, books or other items Severus could get hold of flew across the room towards that pretty blond head.

'Well, are you going to tell me why you have barged in here and ruined my perfectly acceptable evening?' snapped Severus; he nodded towards his book and glass of deep red wine. The book, as always, wasn't even open and the glass of wine untouched.

'I'm sorry, sir,' Draco managed between laboured breaths, 'but I had to come right away. The Dark Lord issued orders, he found her.' Severus blinked for a moment or two before realisation settled in on who 'her' was.

'Where is she?' he breathed.

'I don't know. He has grown suspicious again and sent only three out after her. She had been living a Muggle life for the entire time she was away, it was hard for them to do, but they did it. I don't know how and I don't know where.' He flopped down the doorframe. It was then that Severus noticed for the first time that Draco was actually dressed in his Death Eater garb.

'You didn't come and tell me there was a meeting tonight?'

'I didn't have time. The pain was so intense. It was lucky that I got there when I did. Those who arrived after me received the Cruciatus Curse after the news was given.' Draco shook his head. 'Gosh, Snape, he was so pleased. He said… he said that tonight would deliver not just one blow to the Order but two. He didn't explain any further. Told us that three had already been dispatched to deal with the bint and that they would return shortly. He then dealt the punishment to those that arrived late, and then two others turned up. One of them had fallen; stated that they met some unforeseen resistance. He then disbanded the meeting and bid us our leave. I came back as fast as I could.'

Severus looked at the blond with his head hung limply to his chest. The weight of the world was pressed upon him. He's the lucky one, wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for Potter periodically taking his place. He's not really fit to be a spy, but he's all we have. Severus sighed, if only I hadn't been found out. She would be… he turned and stalked to the fireplace, taking a pinch of Floo Powder he threw it at his feet. 'Twelve Grimmauld Place,' he stated clearly before he was gone in a flash of green light.

Draco looked up after the green flames died down. His mouth twitched. Severus Snape had just left his rooms after three years. He stood up, closing the door behind him as he too left.

Hermione hummed to herself as she walked along the streets that would lead her back to the home she had come to love. She'd had a wonderful evening, she and Damon had been celebrating their three months together as a couple and she was starting to feel normal again. She knew that Damon wasn't the one, but it was nice to be 'back out there,' 'getting a life' and 'starting again' as her friends had advised her.

She wasn't over Severus Snape yet, and she doubted that Sam would ever allow her to be. She had tucked him in bed before she had left to meet Damon, and in his unexplainable wisdom he had managed to tug at the guilt strings connected to her heart.

'Goodnight sweetie,' she had cooed as she pressed her lips to his warm forehead, 'I'll see you in the morning.'

'Story!' he had demanded, his brows drawing together in a frown. She laughed; she still found it amazing that although he looked just like her, his eyes and mannerisms were all from the Snape line. She had prepared for this event and had allowed herself enough time.

'Which one do you want?' she asked going to his bookshelf.

'No!' came the taunt little reply, 'I want daddy story!' He crossed his arms as she looked softly at him. He always bloody knew.

Sighing she sat on the edge of his bed and smoothed his soft brown hair down. It was perfectly straight, just like his father's. She wished she'd had that blessing, running her hands through her own short, slightly kinked hair, she was just starting to let it grow again and it could sometimes take her ages to straighten even the short cut she had.

'Well, in a magical land, called Scotland, there is a magical school called Hogwarts, and in this magical school boys and girls from the age of eleven attend to learn how to do magic and cast spells. This is also where the boys and girls live during school time, but they don't live alone they also have teachers living there as well.

'In this school there is a Potions Master, who has long dark raven hair and eyes as black as night. He wears only black clothes and his skin is as pale as the moon against the shadowy night sky when he wears his attire.

'People called him ugly, but one day a girl fell madly in love with her teacher and he with her. He became very handsome indeed because of this love and wanted to spend forever with his princess student, but he couldn't. An evil wizard had swept upon the magic land and wouldn't allow anyone to fall in love, or else they would be locked away forever in a prison in the sea.

'So because the teacher loved his student so much he asked her to go away and have their baby in freedom, and so she did. She moved to England and started a new life, where she had her baby and brought him up. The teacher always wanted to come and see his son, but he was caught in a war between the good and bad witches and wizards.

'One day though, the good wizards will win and the student will take her son to Hogwarts where he will meet his dad and live happily ever after, learning to do magic with his mummy and daddy.' She smiled as the boy started to slowly fall into slumber. She kissed his forehead again and stood up to leave; as she was closing the door she heard his little voice whisper;

'I love my hero daddy,' she smiled and closed the door, leaving it just slightly ajar so Monika could hear him if he needed her.

'If you tell him stories about witches and wizards,' came Monika's voice, startling her from her thoughts of Hogwarts and the image of her son being sorted, she was smiling at the image of Severus' disgust as the hat called 'Gryffindor.' 'You really shouldn't make them involve his 'daddy' and mummy. It will only confuse him later. Actually, I really don't think you should be telling him that he was your teacher. You know I still can't believe you didn't report him when he abandoned you.'

'You know that's none of your business and I'll remind you that what I tell my son is my choice. I'm his mother.' She took her bag and headed down the stairs. 'I'll be back no later than midnight.' She called over her shoulder as she closed the front door firmly behind her.

She had been mad at Monika when she had left, Sam was three years old now and he needed his imagination fed. She also wanted him to be able to accept the wizarding world when the time came for him to make the transition and if telling him some 'fairy-tale' style stories would make that easier for him then so be it. They weren't lies after all. Monika was becoming increasingly possessive of Sam lately. She had gone through a lot this past year, suffering a miscarriage and then her fiancé running off on her. Hermione did have sympathy for the woman, she knew what it was like to lose the love of your life, but she was not going to give up her role of a mother to ease the pain of someone else.

She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she was just a few houses away from her own when she noticed it. The sky was eerily green and it was getting brighter. Suddenly she stopped as the source of the light came into view.

The Dark Mark.

She hadn't seen it in four years. She had very nearly forgotten what it looked like, but now she remembered every detail. There was a crowd of people gathering outside her house as she walked shakily towards her door.

'Its okay,' she called out, surprising herself with the strength of her own voice, 'its just some fireworks we had set up in the back for Mon's birthday, kids must have set them off on us. Bloody pains in the arses,' she watched tensely as her neighbours went back to their homes and closed their doors. She then turned to face her own door and slid the key in the lock. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she might find. She felt exposed without her wand, wished that she had it now, but it was tucked up in its box at the back of her wardrobe. Slipping through the door as silently as she could, she left it slightly ajar as she started her way through the house, she wanted to rush in, run to Sam and make sure he was okay, but those first few years of the war had woken her up to the need of a cool head and stealth in these situations.

She was doing the exact opposite to what she had done when the Dark Mark had hovered above her parents home five years previous. Then she had rushed in, wand raised and curses blazing. She had nearly caused her own death. Now she had a child to think about.

The downstairs was empty, she prayed that the upstairs was also empty, prayed that Monika and Sam had escaped before they had really hit the house. She crept to the stairs that loomed threateningly in front of her. Taking a deep breath she made her way carefully up them, and then stopped dead on the landing. A body lay sprawled on the floor, the body of a woman. Monika.

She had been hit by the Avada Kedavra, her face caught in the moonlight spilling in from the high skylights above. It was then she saw that the door to Sam's room was wide open, a little light, almost like the light from a wand was glittering through the opening. She crept into her own room, and moved to her wardrobe; pulling a long thin red box from it, she removed her wand. She could feel it hum against her skin as she felt its magic connect to her own for the first time since she had left Hogwarts that cold morning almost four years ago.

With painstaking slowness she moved into Sam's room… and fell to her knees, breaking down into heavy sobs. Her son, her precious son was dead. He lay near another figure, completely still, eyes shut, a small frown set upon his face. She wanted to go and capture him in her arms, but she was too afraid, she couldn't move. There was a message glowing in the wall above him;

We finally got the Mudblood – the Dark Lord will prevail.

Then, she heard a noise.

A/N: And much much, much thanks to Claudia! My Fantastic Beta, who I have to give much credit to for getting this story out there! Literally without her, this wouldn't be here!

p.s thanks for the reviews to!