Pansy knew that she wasn't fulfilling her role as leader very well as she looked to her sister's father for a clue as to what she should do. Not that Severus was being much help either. He was in pure shock as the student he spent years casting his glare upon lay in the center of a pile of scorched splinters and crushed glass. The denial washed over him and for once he didn't know what to do.

It simply couldn't be.. He thought.

Pansy closed her eyes and tried to take herself out of the equation completely. When she opened them again she pushed as much authority into her voice as she said, "Severus, no one knows yet. We must be careful about how this is handled. She needs help, she's in shock. She needs to go to the infirmary and you have to take her." His eyes moved to hers as she put a gentle hand on his arm.

"I... I wha-? No, I- couldn't.. She won't want me!" His face broke out in anguish as the consequences of years of pride and Slytherin favoritism crashed down on him. "What have I done?" He choked.

"Professor! Pull it together. We are responsible for her now. What ever we will get from her, we must handle as it comes, as we both surely deserve it, but for now, I can't be seen carrying her like this, you know what other's will think! The feast is letting out and the only Slytherin with an acceptable excuse for carrying an unconscious Gryffindor is a teacher, so GET IT TOGETHER!"

Severus looked at Pansy a moment. Though he hadn't spent much time with his pack since his daughter was born, it was still his pack and he was bound follow the orders of his Miss. He would have time later to think about how unreal it was for him to follow the orders of a teenage girl as though they were the laws of heaven; but for now, she was right. He stood straight, masked his emotions, and scooped his little girl off of the floor. Broken glass crunched into sand beneath his shoes as he carried her to the care of Madam Pomfrey.

Pansy turned back to the room before her, briefly pleased at her ability to form a command and have it be followed. She assessed that the divination tower had been far too damaged to be repaired, so she settled for vanishing the mess from the room and clearing the scorch marks from the walls. It was better that students gossip about the divination class disappearing than it being completely destroyed. There would be a panic and important people would start asking dangerous questions. Her first priority now that she'd found her sister, was keeping her safe.

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"I don't understand, Severus. You have your daughter back. This should please you."

"I'm pleased, Master, of course. I just didn't know... you have been watching me all this time, surely you know how I was treating her? I understand, to reveal my mistake would have been against the very nature of our deal, it's just that I fear for her even more now."

"Yes I have been watching, Severus. I know the danger you fear. Did I not give my word that she would be safe?"

"Yes, Master, forgive me. I just didn't know if now that she is revealed to me, if that meant that your end of our bargain was over with?"

"I won't deny that loopholes are a favorite of mine, but as the world evolves and grows I also have obtained a 'business sense', if you will. I know that you are my greatest asset, and you know that your soul is not the same as your free will. I know that to ensure that you continue to be my greatest asset, I must keep true to my word, completely. I would not risk losing such an ally as you, Severus."

"Thank you, Master. I owe you much."

"I will say this, Severus. I am not my father. I do not know all that will happen, and if your daughter should encounter a fatal danger, you will not approve of my methods to keep my word. It will be kept, none the less."

"I understand, Master. I only asked for her safety in this deal. It is not my place to dictate how it's done."

"I'm happy you understand, Severus. Let us hope that day never comes, shall we?"

"Yes, Master."

With a twist of smoke and a blinding light, Severus's one true master evaporated from his quarters in the Hogwarts dungeon. Hermione was sleeping surrounded in the unnerving white walls of the infirmary. He briefly wondered if he should glamour himself when he revealed that he was her father but that scene quickly turned horribly wrong in his mind. Both disgusted and amused at his own cowardice in this situation, he tore his cloak from a hook by his chamber door and silently made his way to his daughter's side. Pansy was right. He deserved what ever came to him and he would face it head on.