Chapter 38: I See You
Hermione woke the next morning and groaned. She reached to her bedside table for the hangover relief potion and chugged it down. She was halfway through her shower when she remembered that she had snogged Severus the night before. She groaned and tried to come up with a reasonable excuse to tell him. She hoped Albus hadn't noticed or she would have to explain to him that she had kissed Severus, not the other way around, or it could jeopardize his job! She lightly banged her head against the shower tiles as she debated with herself over why she had kissed him. The feeble excuse that he was the best kisser worked for her friends, but she had a much harder time lying to herself. She had wanted to kiss him, really wanted to. Now she just had to figure out why.
"No, no, no, I will not fall for my professor and best friend!" She scolded herself out loud, oblivious to the presence of the small green snake stretched lazily across the ledge of her tub. "Get a grip Hermione, he's a grown man, he'd never want you. Besides the fact that he could loose his job and Voldemort would kill him if he ever found out he had even kissed a mudblood!" Jade was enjoying the fact that Hermione was talking to herself, it made it much easier to figure out what she was thinking.
"Hermione, darling, are you in here?" Her mother's voice drifted into the bathroom followed seconds later by the woman herself. "Darling, why are you trying to drown yourself in the shower? Didn't you take any of that hangover remedy?"
"I took it," Hermione said as she reluctantly turned off the water. "Mum, I am so stupid! I kissed Severus last night and not just any kiss, I wrapped my arms around him and… Ugh! What do I do?"
"What seems to be the problem dear?" Tori asked her daughter trying not to laugh. The two obviously had some attraction to each other and it looked like neither one would admit it to the other.
"He's my professor! He could get fired! Now he'll probably never want to speak to me again," she said sadly as she sat down at her vanity clad in her fluffy towel. "He's my best friend, what if my stupid antics messed that up?"
"Dear if he really is your best friend then he won't let this stand in the way of your friendship. Besides, if I saw correctly he did nothing to push you away." Her mum said with a smile. "You looked lovely in that bodysuit by the way."
"I'm in over my head mum," Hermione said quietly, head in her hands. "I didn't even realize it until just now."
"How so honey?" She asked even though she already could tell the answer.
"Never mind," she replied standing and finishing toweling off. "Let's me get ready and we can go down to breakfast." Tori just smiled, her daughter obviously wasn't ready to admit her feelings to herself let alone someone else. Jade slipped out after the women to make her way back to her brooding master.
Severus was pacing his sitting room when Albus walked in. He had been trying to analyze what happened last night and was still no closer to an explanation. He knew Albus would seek him out for answers, but he didn't have any. "Sit down Severus or you'll wear a hole in the floor. Now tell me what has you so agitated."
He sat and looked at his mentor. "What did you need Albus?" He asked, deliberately avoiding the question.
"I just wanted to remind you of the order meeting tonight," he said with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. "I'll make sure to save you a place next to Hermione. You two seemed quite close last night."
"I cannot explain my actions last night," Severus told him. "She asked me to dance and then she kissed me at midnight. I never expected it and wasn't prepared, that is the only reasoning I can give for my actions."
"Why do you trouble yourself so over this?" Albus asked him with a pat on the hand. "You are not in trouble my friend. Hermione is a grown woman and if she chooses to kiss you that is her prerogative."
"I still cannot determine why," Severus said with a sigh. He had spent half the night trying to determine what had caused her to kiss him.
"You are a dashing young man," Albus said with a chuckle at Severus' dark look. "Is it so unlikely that a young woman may desire you?"
"I do not deserve anyone as pure as Hermione to desire me," he said sadly. "I would only corrupt her and taint her beauty with my darkness."
"If that is what you believe my boy, then perhaps you do not deserve her," Albus said sadly as he left the brooding man alone. He had hoped he would see the potential that exists for a real relationship, but he tries to push everything good away before he can get hurt again. He only hoped that Severus would survive the war and come to realize his potential.
Ginny knocked carefully on the door to the Granger's suite. She still wasn't sure this was the best idea, but she wanted to make sense out of her vision. Emily Granger opened the door for her and ushered her inside. Both Mr. Grangers and Lexie Longbottom were there and they offered her a seat and a glass of tea. "Hello Ginny, what can we do for you?" Pip Granger asked his daughters best girl friend.
"I don't know how much Hermione has told you about magical powers. You see I am a seer. I have the gift of premonition and foresight." She told them and continued when they nodded their understanding. "Over the summer I had a vision while consulting an orb or what you would call a crystal ball." She paused; there was no way to go about this without telling them everything. "I am going to tell you what I saw, but I need you to promise to keep it to yourselves." They agreed and she sighed in relief before continuing.
"I saw in the vision Severus Snape in his death eater robes pretending to hold a young woman captive in front of Voldemort. I could tell in the vision that she was pretending to be afraid of him when in reality she was leaning against him for comfort and support. In this vision Voldemort tried to attack the woman and Snape pushed her out of the way, revealing himself as a spy. When Voldemort retaliated against Snape something happened to the woman. She started to glow with a purple haze around her and her hair whipped around in an invisible breeze and Voldemort lowered his wand in fear of her." She paused to see the others looking at each other in silent communication. She was glad as she hadn't been certain until then that her interpretation was correct.
"That is not all," Ginny said gaining their attention again. "After that vision I made a prophesy." She watched their eyes all widen slightly and knew she was correct, there was no way muggles would react like that to hearing she made a prophesy. "The prophesy stated: The Lord of the House of Snakes will become prince then king, and together with the Lion Heir Lord will unite the world using the power of their loves." She was once again rewarded by widened eyes from her audience. "Professor Dumbledore, myself and my father are the only other ones that know of this prophesy. We determined it to mean that the royal family is still alive and will return. The use of the words 'become prince then king' led us to believe that there is a princess born to the royal family and she will marry a Slytherin of nobility and they will work with Harry who is the 'Lion Heir Lord' to unite the world."
She waited for any questions they had. "May I inquire as to why you are telling us this information?" Emily asked her.
"You see we determined that the 'Lord of the House of Snakes' most likely meant Severus Snape since he is the Head of Slytherin House as well as the highest ranking noble other than the royal family. It is also understood from my vision that he knows the princess. You see the royal family has extraordinary powers that manifest as a purple glow, just like the witch in my vision." She paused before continuing. "I know Severus well enough that he wouldn't just marry anyone, he would have to either love or respect her greatly. That means that he most likely falls in love with the princess. It would explain why he tries to save her from Voldemort."
"As fascinating as all this is," Edison Granger told her. "It still doesn't explain why you are telling us."
"I had a vision last night as well." She told them with a smile. "It was of Snape and he had a woman in his arms kissing her deeply. They were both wearing fancy dress clothes and there was a man with a crown standing beside them while everyone else in the room applauded their kiss. It leads me to believe that the woman in his arms is the princess, for why else would the room applaud?"
"So you believe that Severus Snape will fall in love with and marry a princess of the royal family? The same royal family that has been in hiding the past 20 years?" Lexie Longbottom asked skeptically, the girl knew too much for her own good. "I must ask once more why involve us."
"Because the woman in Severus' arms in my vision from last night was Hermione," she told them with a smile as they looked uncertainly at each other. "I believe that Hermione is the hidden princess. That would make you the royal family. It also explains the odd friendship between you Emily and you Lexie. Lexie you were great friends with the queen, it would make sense that she asked you to be their secret keeper."
"Who else have you told this little fantasy to?" Emily asked her standing.
"No one my lady," Ginny said with a smile. "I know how important the secrecy of your family is. I also knew that if I had guessed correctly then you needed to be aware of the prophesy as well as my visions. And I wanted to know why you never told Hermione and when you plan to." Ginny had to take a wand oath that she would not reveal the secret.
"I fear the charm is weakening after all this time," Emily said after Ginny had left. "In her first vision she was unable to make out Hermione but she could in the second one. Perhaps it is time to break the charm and then recast it."
"I am not sure the charm is weak," Pip told her. "Her second vision would not expose Hermione without the content of the first vision and the prophesy. She is a smart girl, which is why she was able to put it all together. Besides, the vision last night was triggered by her seeing Hermione in Severus' arms."
"I think it is time to stop hiding," Edison told them. "At least for us my dear," he said kissing Emily. "We can break the charm and then cast it solely on the kids. This way we can help in the final battle where we are needed. Perhaps having the king and queen on their side will give the light the final push they need to be victorious. Besides, I would feel better if we were there to help Hermione."
"And what if you are killed?" Phillip asked his parents in shock. "We went into hiding to be protected against the death eaters. Why not wait until after the final battle?"
"I believe that our coming out of hiding will help bring about the final battle," Emily said. "Tom and his band of evil lackeys will want nothing more than to destroy me. Dumbledore can use us as bait to draw them to where the Order is poised to attack."
"We will not reveal where you are and Hermione will still be safe. The breaking of the charm will only allow for the update of wizarding records. It will show a daughter born to you but there will be no name and once the charm is back in place there is no danger. We will be safe here while we reset the charm." Edison told his son who nodded reluctantly.
"We will wait until Hermione goes back to school. She will not be aware that we are really her grandparents. She will still think we are still here at headquarters. The only ones who we will tell the truth to are Albus and Arthur Weasley. Albus will help protect our secret and it is only right that the Minister of Magic knows the truth." Emily stated and everyone agreed and went off to tell Albus.
The dining room was crowded with order members waiting for the meeting to start. Albus and Minerva were the last to arrive from retrieving Tom and Rosemerta. Albus called for order and the two newest members were initiated. They shook hands with everyone and it was easy to tell they were surprised by the sheer number of members, especially the young ones. Hermione nudged Ginny and pointed to where Rosemerta had decided to sit next to Charlie. He was discreetly checking her out and she was smiling winningly at him.
"Maybe we can set them up so he'll stop following you around," Ginny said with a laugh.
"She's in Hogsmead so it's not too long of a walk for him to see her either, it could work out nicely!" Hermione said excitedly, she really wanted Charlie to be happy and knew that she was not the witch to do it. They were silenced as Albus began speaking.
"I have some wonderful news," he told them with a large smile. "The King and Queen have decided to come out of hiding." He paused to let the murmurs run through those assembled. Both Ginny and Severus were instantly paying close attention. "I spoke with Queen Amelia and she has pledged her help in defeating Voldemort. They will be keeping a low profile and trying to stay out of the news. She hopes that we will be able to use her to draw Voldemort out since he is hell bent on destroying her."
"What about the prince and his wife?" Frank asked curiously. "Are they coming out of hiding as well?"
"No they are not," Albus told them. "It would be safer to keep them in hiding until after the war. The King and Queen are big enough targets as it is. We don't want to give him the opportunity to wipe out Merlin's line."
"And the princess?" Luna asked, "Will she be revealed?"
"Her identity will remain a mystery but her existence will be documented once the charm is removed. The record of her birth will be documented but not when or what her name is. The fidelius charm will be recast on the prince and his wife as soon as the original one is broken." Albus told them and they spent the rest of the meeting debating the best ways to use this new information to their advantage.