Hermione took a deep breath and walked towards Longbottom Manor. She found the strong scent of the red roses that lined the path to the entrance a bit off-putting, but she had to admit that the visual effect was very pretty. There was the occasional bright ribbon weaved through them, which she attributed to Luna's efforts. She knocked on the door promptly when she reached the end of the path.

She let out a sigh of relief when Luna opened the door instead of Mrs. Longbottom. Luna greeted her with a smile and grabbed her hand, dragging her through a maze of hallways. Her vague impression was of a regal stateliness in Gryffindor colours, softened by signs of the chaotic lives of the inhabitants. There were potted plants everywhere. Some of them were beautiful, and some of them were very ugly plants that she recognised for their practical uses. She was glad to see them sitting proudly in spots of honour. It seemed that Mrs. Longbottom was letting Neville flourish in his own way now.

Luna opened the door to the lounge room with a flourish and a curtsy. At a glance, Hermione took notice of Harry, Ron and George whispering in a corner, while Theodore stood with Mrs. Longbottom and Neville on the other side of the room. Ginny was flipping through a magazine on the couch in the centre of the room, the only person who appeared at ease. When Hermione caught her eye she shrugged and made a face. Hermione couldn't tell if it was her my-brother-is-an-idiot face or a your-brother-is-an-idiot face. She thought things could go either way with Ginny. She was the wild card. Time would tell.

Hermione walked over to the trio of boys first, giving each of them a hug and a hissed 'play nice'. She patted George's pockets as she hugged him, and confiscated a mysterious bottle of blue liquid. George just shrugged and smiled. She tried to judge whether any of the potion was missing, but it was hard to tell. She moved quickly over to Theodore and the Longbottoms, scanning her brother for any sign of pranking. There were no obvious abnormalities.

She greeted Neville's grandmother. 'Mrs. Longbottom, it's nice to see you again. Thanks for inviting us to your home. It's lovely.'

'Thank you dear. But this is Luna's little soiree. Don't mind me, I'm just another guest.' Mrs. Longbottom always wore a thick cloak of pride and command that she couldn't hide with false modesty, but it was nice of her to make the gesture. She could walk into any room and hold it in tyranny within seconds.

Hermione gave Theodore a hug, to his surprise. It was the first time she had made the show of affection, but the timing felt right. In their short time getting to know each other, they had already progressed to a nice friendship, and she was hopeful for more. Plus she needed to show her friends that she had no doubts, and was ready for their enthusiastic support rather than their caution.

'Did something happen? You're never late.' There was a touch of concern in Theodore's voice.

She shook her head. 'Luna,' she said, exasperated. 'She told me to be here at 7pm.' It was futile to try and work out Luna's motives. Hermione would just have to trust that she had a good reason. 'How is it going so far?' she asked.

'It's a mixed reaction,' Theodore said. 'I got a grilling from Ginny, but I think she gave me her seal of approval in the end. George was suspiciously pleasant, and your two shadows grunted a hello and then promptly ignored me.'

'That's better than I expected,' she said. She was more worried about Harry than anything else. Of course Ron had his temper and jealousy issues, but he seemed genuinely happy that she had found a brother, if slightly wary of his Slytherin ways. Harry had been incredibly supportive. Almost too supportive. He had always been the closest person in her life to that spot labelled 'brother', even if that was far too simple a word for their friendship. She sensed some insecurity bubbling under the surface, and wasn't sure how it would come out.

'The Longbottoms have been amazing,' Theodore said. 'Do you know Mrs. Longbottom actually invited me to stay here, on the pretext of being childhood friends with my father's sister?'

That was surprising. It seemed Mrs. Longbottom was making a habit of collecting strays.

'How do you feel about that?' she asked.

'I just can't comprehend it. All my life, when I walked into a room I knew what everybody thought of me. A dark horse, a potential villain. I could be as unassuming and neutral as I wanted, but the stain of my father was always there. So I never tried too hard beyond the minimum effort necessary to avoid following in his footsteps. And now they look at me, and they just assume that I'm a good person, based on your word and the tiniest shred of acquaintance with me.'

Hermione smiled wryly. 'I know the feeling. When I started Hogwarts, all of the blood purists had this preconceived notion of what I would be. Dumb, crude, dirty. And later on I developed that good girl reputation, the brightest witch of her age. The pressure was overwhelming sometimes.'

'How did you cope?' he asked.

'I had my family who knew me, the real me, the good and the bad. It was harder when I got to Hogwarts- I wasn't the best at making friends. But I kept pushing and eventually fate in the form of a rampaging troll took care of the rest.'

Theodore gave her an irritated look. 'All that gooey Gryffindor nonsense is really sweet, but how does that apply to me?'

'You don't have that now, anyone who knows the real you. But you will. You have to put in the effort where you can, and then accept that the rest of the friendship equation is just unquantifiable, it resists logic. You're letting me in. The next step is to let them in.' That had been a difficult lesson for the eleven-year-old Hermione Granger, who had thought everything responded to logic, even magic.

She could tell he was getting ready for another snarky defensive comment. She turned away so he didn't have to look her in the eye while he processed his uncomfortable feelings.

'But you already knew that,' she told him over her shoulder. 'All you need is the bravery to do it. Remember you have a Gryffindor for a sister. You must have a little bit of lion in you too.' With those parting words she marched quickly over to Luna, to get herself out of his firing range.

Half an hour later she almost jumped out of her skin when a loud bell rang out. She paused her discussion with Mrs. Longbottom about her library, and looked over to see Luna holding a gigantic bell.

'Gather around!' Luna shouted. 'It's time for some fun and games.'

What followed was a bizarre game involving pairing up to solve puzzles. The teams would put together a jigsaw puzzle while wearing blindfolds, and then the completed puzzle would transfigure into a toad that needed to be sung a lullaby. By the fifth stage Hermione was feeling dizzy. For reasons known only to Luna, Theodore and Ron had been paired together. Hermione had deliberately set up her game facing in the opposite direction. She didn't want to be distracted by their inevitable bickering. Hermione had been paired with Mrs. Longbottom, who was almost as competitive as she was.

Hermione picked the red feather and placed it in the green cap. The effect was garish, but it seemed that was the right answer, as mist formed over the table while the game moved on to the next stage. As they waited for the magic to settle, Hermione turned to Mrs Longbottom. 'Theodore told me about your offer. That was very generous of you.'

Mrs. Longbottom waved her hand in dismissal. 'Nonsense. The boy shouldn't live in his mansion all alone, and he would be good company for my Neville and Luna. I never realised how quiet this place was until Luna came to stay.'

'I'll admit it would be a weight off my mind. I haven't seen Nott Manor, but I imagine it isn't a very homey place. If he were staying here, it would be easier for me to visit.' She would step foot in Nott Manor when hell froze over. It was right up there on her list of places to avoid with Malfoy Manor and Bathilda Bagshot's house.

Mrs. Longbottom tapped her foot impatiently as they waited for the next stage of the game. 'I wanted to take him in, you know,' she said, with a nod towards Harry and Ginny's table. 'He was just a baby, and Alice and Frank had been so close to the Potters. Things would have been different. I would have kept a firm eye on the boy. There would have been no dark hijinks messing him about.'

Hermione believed her wholeheartedly. Mrs. Longbottom was a force to be reckoned with. 'That would have been better for Harry,' she agreed. 'But we can't change the past.' She had expended a lot of energy lately in not thinking about the past.

She was distracted by a loud bang from a rainbow firework. It came from Ron and Theodore's table. 'Yes!' Ron shouted. 'We won!' He did a little dance around the room, and then gave Theodore a high-five. Hermione was shocked speechless. As she offered her congratulations, she asked Ron, 'Did you hit your head?'

Ron shrugged. 'The bloke knows his Quidditch. He supports the Chudley Cannons too, can you believe it? He's a good egg.'

Hermione could believe that Theodore knew how to play to his audience. She had never heard him express interest in Quidditch before.

After the games wrapped up, a group of house-elves brought out an interesting feast. Luna refused to tell them the names of the dishes, so they all had to gather up their courage before digging in. The food was surprisingly nice, though Hermione often had no idea what she was eating. The only thing she recognised was the fairy floss they had for dessert. The food disappeared quickly, except for a plate of what could only be described as purple goo, which only George would touch. The look on his face discouraged anyone else from trying it. He begged Luna to let him take the rest home, and Hermione shuddered to think of what use he would find for it.

Luna took her aside at the end of the evening and gave her a box of brownies with pink icing. 'Present these to Draco with my compliments,' she said. 'I'll invite him to my next party. It's fun to make new friends, don't you think?'

Hermione just shook her head. Neville was the soul of discretion, so he wouldn't have told Luna about Hermione's affair with Draco. Luna must have seen them together with her own eyes- she wasn't the sort to gossip.

'Are you sure Luna?' Hermione had tried to champion many unpopular causes in her time, but bringing Draco Malfoy into the group would be tougher than all of them put together.

'Please give Draco the brownies,' Luna said earnestly, but with a hint of steel behind her words.

Hermione agreed. She saw Theodore glance at them suspiciously from his conversation with George. Ten seconds later, there was a green bang and a foul smell started emanating from that area. Oops. She had forgotten to warn Theodore about the strange potion she confiscated from George. Well, at least it would distract him from Luna's clandestine brownie operation.

After saying her goodbyes, Hermione apparated to Draco's apartment. She knocked on the door. There was no answer, so she waved her wand and set off the internal doorbell. She heard shuffling from inside the apartment, and two minutes later a scruffy-looking Draco Malfoy opened the door. She was speechless. Despite their amorous activities, she had never seen him like this, hair sticking up in front, bleary eyes, wearing slippers!

'I'm so sorry, I didn't realise you would be asleep yet.'

'It's alright,' Draco yawned. 'I just had a long day.'

'Well I won't keep you, I just wanted to deliver these brownies. They taste better fresh.'

'You came over to bring me brownies?' he asked. 'At 11pm?' But he eyed them greedily, and she figured his sweet tooth would forgive the wake-up call.

'A gift, from Luna Lovegood.'

His eyes widened. 'Oh, crap.'

Two days later

Theodore whispered 'Athena' to the gargoyle, and stepped into the lift as it opened. He held his hands behind his back, a practiced posture he used to avoid the urge to fidget. When he entered the Headmistress' Office, he gave a slight bow and nod to Professor McGonagall as she rose from her desk.

'Mr. Nott,' she greeted him. 'It's always nice to see a former student.' Their student-teacher relationship had always been fairly neutral. He performed well academically, and never stirred any major trouble, but he wasn't one of her lions. Her greeting was a shade too warm. He supposed someone had been filling her in on his progress with Hermione. Hermione was unlikely to have spoken about it herself, and if it was a good report the suspects narrowed to Luna or Longbottom. Perhaps he would drop a few hints at their next study session to try and suss out the culprit. He owed them a favour, as he thought McGonagall would have been more reluctant to grant his request without a reference.

After a few pleasantries, she shook his hand and walked over to the lift. 'I will return in half an hour. You may call for a house-elf if you require assistance.' Dumbledore would have said such a sentence with a twinkle in his eye, putting on an act of naïve trust. But McGonagall said it with her strict teacher's voice, with assurance that she had security measures in place to stop any snooping or malevolent behaviour even in her absence.

She hadn't pointed out the portrait to him, because it was obvious even amongst the rabble of other former headmasters, most of whom appeared to be absent or sleeping. Snape always had cut a striking figure, and the artist had captured him realistically. He had been painted in a simple library in Slytherin colours, with a few potions instruments lying about unobtrusively. Snape did not pretend to be asleep like his brethren, probably finding it beneath his dignity. He stared at Theodore straight on, his dark eyes focused like a laser.

'Mr. Nott,' he said. 'Have you come to pay your respects?' There was a trace of sarcasm in his voice. He was likely irritated that there had been no hint of Theodore's purpose during the conversation with McGonagall, leaving him in the dark.

'You have always had my respect,' he answered, speaking truthfully. 'But I'm here to deliver some news.'

'Bad news?' Snape asked with narrow eyes.

'That depends on your perspective,' Theodore replied. 'I see it as good news, but you may not feel the same.' Theodore found that Snape was easier to speak to when not in the flesh. The eyes were just as piercing as ever, but his robes were lying still, removing some of the menacing aura his bat-like movements always created.

'Well, come out with it,' Snape snapped.

'My mother became pregnant during your affair with her. Hermione Granger is your daughter.' Theodore kept his eyes glued to Snape as he spoke, trying to capture his reaction. But Snape was ever the consummate Slytherin, despite his deceptive temper, and Theodore couldn't get the slightest read off of him.

'What do you want from me Nott?' Snape asked with a sneer. 'An apology? An explanation? Some fairy-tale story about true love to help you sleep at night?'

'No,' Theodore said, shuddering. 'The less I know the better. I'm here to find out if seeing your portrait would help her.'

'It wouldn't,' Snape said firmly. 'How much do you know about magical portraits?'

'There's not much to know. Competing theories abound, some wizards think they capture a copy of the subject's soul, others think it's all mere puppetry.'

'I can neither confirm nor deny those theories for myself. But I believe there is something missing, from my previous interactions with portraits. An ability to adapt, to grow. I am as I was when I died. I had nothing for her then, and I have nothing for her now. I am not her father.'

Theodore nodded. 'She knows that.' He gave a shallow bow. 'I apologise for disturbing your peace, such as it is,' he said, turning away. There were things he could say, questions he could ask, to try and find his own peace. But it was best to let sleeping wizards lie. Enough had been asked of Snape during life.

'There are journals,' Snape called out. 'Research journals, purely academic. The girl might find them of use.'

'Where are they now?' Theodore asked.

'They should belong to Draco Malfoy. I named him as my heir.'