4: Snape's Request

The two weeks since Snape's letter went by so slowly that Hermione had begun to question if maybe time had stopped. She spent most of her days in her room, outside, or visiting people she knew in the neighborhood. She would have done almost anything to avoid her mother and father. She had not contacted Harry or Ron since the night before her parents had told her she was adopted. She didn't know how they would take the news and figured it would be better to give it to them in person. Though the two of them had sent her countless owls asking where she was and why she was not writing back she ignored them. It was hard but she did is. There were things she had to sort out for herself first and she was not about to get Harry and Ron involved in her life's drama. The two of them had enough of their own.

Finally, the sixth arrived. Hermione had gathered several of the things she would be taking with her to the Burrow. Crookshanks was tucked away safely in his carrier, her books and several outfits of clothing had been shrunken and put away in a backpack that had been charmed to stay light, and she had arranged for her school trunk to be delivered to the school on September the first. She was all set and ready to go. Now all she had to do was wait for the Portkey.

At noon promptly Flake swept through the window and landed on the footboard of her bed. He dropped a small key onto the comforter then took off again through the window. Hermione looked at it and took a deep breath. She hated traveling by Portkey, by Apparition, or by broom. She's much rather have walked or taken the train. But she knew that Spinner's End would not be somewhere she could go by any normal Muggle means. It was likely clocked in magic like Hogwarts.

"Well, here we go Crookshanks," she said as she slung the bookbag onto her back and grabbed his carrier with her left hand. Reaching out with her right hand she wrapped her fingers around the cold metal key and felt the familiar tingle of power emitting from it. She felt a pulling in her gut and closed her eyes tightly. There was a gust of wind and she was moving.

At one point during her trip she cracked her eye open and instantly regretted it. Things were spinning so fast that she became sick to her stomach. She had quickly shut her eyes again and tried to breath. It was next to impossible but she finally managed it.

But as quickly as the trip had started it was over. She landed on her tail with a soft thump on a marble walk way leading up to one of the biggest houses Hermione had ever seen in her life. Towers stuck up here and there and the house stretched out wide on both sides. The large oak front doors stretched to around eight or nine feet in height and made her feel a little nervous. It was huge! What had happened to Snape after the war to allow him such a luxury? She knew it was his ancestral home but damn, the place could not have existed like this at the beginning of the war. It was hands down more beautiful than the Malfoy Manor. She shuddered at the mere thought of that place; remembering the torture that she had endured there. But the difference between Malfoy Manor and Spinner's End was that somehow this place seemed bright and cheerful, though she knew the man who occupied it was not. It was strange and it intrigued her. But then again Snape had always intrigued her. She would never have been caught dead admitting it out loud but she had formed a certain amount of attachment to the older man in her years at Hogwarts and as a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

She stumbled to her feet and picked up Crookshanks. She looked down at where the key lay and then back up to the large front doors, wondering briefly if maybe it was the key to unlock them. She bent down and retrieved the Portkey before starting up the steps. There was no lock on the outside of the doors. For a moment she found this very strange but remembering where she was and who lived here it wasn't that big of a surprise really. She had just raised her hand to knock when the doors burst open. A short man with a mustache and a large stomach stood before her. He was several inches shorter than her and also several years older. She raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything. He bowed low as she walked through the door.

As soon as she crossed the threshold she gasped. The inside of the house was even more exquisite than the outside. She had stepped into a fairytale castle. She stood in the long entry way and gawked at the size of everything. It seemed almost larger than life. The ceilings were so far from the floor that she had to tilt her head nearly all the way back to look up at them, and when she did she found that they were made of carved wood in many shapes and forms. Her gaze came down the wall and noted the deep burgundy coloring and the rich gold boarder that ran about its middle.

"Miss. Hermione Granger I presume." The short man asked from behind her making Hermione jump. She had forgotten the man was even there.

"Yes," she answered holding out her hand but the man ignored it and breezed past her.

"If you will follow me Lord Snape has been awaiting your arrival." He began to weave his way through a complicated length of hallways and passages as well as several doors. Hermione moved quickly to keep up but his words did not go unnoticed.

"Lord Snape!" Hermione nearly screamed in shock. Snape was a Lord! When had that happened.

The man stopped in front of a door, this one like all the others was a dark oak wood. He raised his hand and knocked quickly clearing his throat as he did so. She waited and heard the unmistakable sound of Snape's voice float through the heavy door.

"Enter," was all he said and Hermione felt her heart drop down to her shoes. What in the hell could Snape want with her? She had been so tangled up in her own pain that she hadn't even stopped to think about it. Questions began to race through her mind but she moved quickly into the room as the butler (she was pretty sure that was what the man's job was now) opened the door and motioned her inside ahead of him.

"Miss. Hermione Granger, my Lord," he said shortly as she looked up into the impossibly black eyes of Severus Snape. Her heart sank just a little lower.

He was seated behind a large oak topped desk. It was the most intimidating pose she had ever seen in her life. He was not smiled but then again she had not expected him to be. Snape didn't smile and even if he did there was no way in all nine levels of hell that he would be smiling at her.

"Thank you Marcus," he said shortly and the man, Marcus, disappeared. Snape rose and walked around the desk. He limped slightly and Hermione remembered the accident during the war in the Shrieking Shake when he had been attacked by Voldemort's snake. But remembering the war and Voldemort only made her mood become more foul and she was sure that Snape picked up on that because he raised an eyebrow at her as she stood inside the room looking around.

It was a very impressive study that could have doubled as a library and probably did. Books were everywhere along the walls in tall bookshelves that were made of the same dark oak as the door. She noted that in this room the walls were a deep green and that the furniture was very comfortable but masculine at the same time. She saw Flake in the corner with his head tucked under his wing. He looked as if her were asleep. But her attention was quickly pulled back to Snape who was watching her with mild interest. It was unnerving to see him looking at her in such a way. As far as she knew Snape had never thought of her as more than a menace, a pain in his side to be endured for as long as it took to get her out of him hair.

"Please have a seat Miss. Granger." He gestured toward one of the two leather chairs in front of his desk. She hesitated for a moment but moved forward and dropped Crookshanks down onto the floor beside the chair and shrugged out of her backpack before dropping into the chair. She was a little surprised to find that it was rather comfortable.

She looked at Snape for a moment, noticing for the first time that he looked different. His hair, which had once been greasy and unwashed, was pulled back from his face with a band and looked as if it were clean. He was no longer wearing the long black teaching robes of late but instead dressed in a black waist coat and wool trousers. She could see a red vest under the coat and a white neck cloth tied firmly into place. Her gaze bounced around, looking him up and down without reservations. There was no reason for her to attempt to cover it up. Snape knew that she was surprised and she could have sworn she saw the second cousin to a smirk on his lips for a brief moment. The attempt at a smile made her a little more comfortable. She couldn't have said way. She had never been comfortable around him, no one had to her knowledge. But as her gaze came back up to lock with his a sense of peace overtook her and shocked her into silence. It was such a shame too. She had so many questions but couldn't seem to find the words to say them.

"Well, if you are done looking me over I propose we get to the reason that I have asked you to come and see me." Hermione merely nodded her head. She had a feeling that she would have agreed with anything Snape said at the moment.

"Good," he crossed to the chair beside hers. She watched him the whole way. "I have asked you here for several reasons' Miss. Granger. The first is to inform you that you are of noble blood." He paused for effect. Hermione stared at him but didn't say anything. "You are the daughter of a Baroness Francesca Van Baron and the Dark Lord Voldemort." The way the name feel from his lips had the uncomfortable feelings from a moment ago rising again but she quickly pushed them away determined to give him some kind of response.

"I know about being Vol-Voldemort's daughter. I had no idea who my mother was." It was now Snape's turn to be surprised.

"How did you come across this information?" He asked politely as he tilted his head slightly to study her. He must have known that there was something off in her mood but he couldn't figure out what it was. Hell, she had no clue herself.

"My parents told me about the adoption." She said shortly and let her gaze wonder to the large bay window behind his desk. It looked out onto the mountains and she was nearly breathless at the beautiful sight.

"Well then, I suppose that I should also tell you that as your mother was a Baroness that you are entitled to a rather large sum of money and power. After her death it was presumed that she had no children but upon the discovery of your birth certificate the estate that she had inherited from her father was passed down to you. It has been waiting for you to come of age." He left out the fact that she would have to choice a husband. He would get around to that in a moment.

"I thought daughter's never inherited?" She questioned turning her gaze back to him. He started into those warm chocolate brown eyes and felt a slight fluttering in his chest but ignored it.

"They usually don't but it was a stipulation of your grandfather, the Baron's, will and also that of your mother's. It is a very unusual situation but I think it is a reasonable one nevertheless." He watched as she nodded her agreement and looked around the room some more. He thought about taking a look inside her head and seeing what she was seeing but he decided that would be cheating and not the best way to start off a courtship. Gods, help him.

"You should be receiving the information about the estate soon. Hopefully while you are in residence here at Spinner's End." Hermione's head came around.

"What!?" she yelled and jumped to her feet.

Snape looked at her calmly. He was not very sure how best to handle this situation. He had hoped that she would be too preoccupied with everything else.

"That brings us to another reason, the ultimate reason that I have asked you here to Spinner's End." Hermione sank back down into her chair and watched him, waiting for something but unsure of what it was. Snape took a breath and launched into the well organized explanation of the meeting. "I have recently acquired the title of Lord as you are already aware and I have also received a fair amount of power with that title but the estate of Spinner's End has been divided and in order to bring it back to its complete state I must marry. I might add that another stipulation of your mother's will was that you must marry before you can fully inherit your estate. As we are both in need of a spouse I find it fitting that, since we have known each other for some time now, we being a courtship and become betrothed to each other." Hermione nearly passed out. She rose to her feet to leave but her knees buckled under her. Snape was there in an instant, grabbing her up into his arms and sitting her back down in the chair. A brief moment of concern passed over his face but when he was sure she was okay he stepped back and knelt down by her chair.

Hermione struggled to find the words to express how she was feeling. Confusion was the most dominate one at the moment but rage took a close second. Snape wanted her to marry him! It was the most preposterous idea she had ever heard in her life. She would not do it. She didn't need her mother's estate or the money or the power, though she knew that if she had them she would be free to pursue the things that she longed for. She could study Potions more in depth; she could work on the Charms and Transfiguration theories that had been brewing in her head since her third or fourth year at Hogwarts. It could open so many doors for her. But she refused to let that taint her decision.

"Hermione?" Her name, her given name, was a question spoken in a voice that she did not recognize coming from Snape. It was different, gentle but still firm, and in that moment she found herself falling just a little in love with him. She quickly shook her head and knocked the idea loss. She was NOT going to fall for Snape! No, no, no!

And as she opened her mouth to tell him so there was another knock at the door. The person didn't even wait for Snape to answer, they opened to door and breezed inside. It was a woman, older with lines around her eyes and a sweet motherly vibe coming from her. Hermione instantly liked the woman and wondered who she was.

"Oh, I wasn't aware that you had company." She said but Hermione could tell that she had already known. She stepped forward and looked Hermione up and down. "I'm Caroline Snape, Severus' mother." She held out her hand and Hermione shook it. So this was Snape's mother. How had this nice woman raised such an arrogant pain in the arse?

"Mother," Snape growled in a warning but there was no real venom in it. It brought a smile to her face and she had to cough to cover up the giggle that escaped.

"Oh, Severus," she said teasingly and hooked her arm around his. The two were a complete contrast and it was very appealing. But she didn't have much time to dwell on it before Mrs. Snape was speaking again.

"Will you be staying with us here Miss. Granger?" She asked an edge of hope in her soft voice. Hermione looked at one then the other. Well, if nothing else she would be able to escape things for the time being. And she could leave if things go to awkward between her and Snape. They would if he continued to press the issue of marrying her. So she said yes and saw the smile spread across Caroline's face but Snape's own smile, just a slight curling up of his lips, was what caught her attention. Gods help her but she was being pursued by Lord Severus C. Snape. And for some reason the idea didn't bother her as much as she thought it should have.

TBC…