Hi my dear readers,
For those who have doubts about why some chapters naw say "Chapter:" something, rest assured, it is not because chapters are missing, but when I uploaded the other chapters I forgot to put which chapter it was and they remained without the "Chapter:" but I assure you that nothing is missing, you can read calmly and ignore the number of "Chapter:".
And for all those who have doubts about the personalities of the characters and the relationships Severus has with each of them, let me make it clear that they are teenagers.
I don't know about you, but my adolescence was a fucking chaos of romantic emotions, and a lot of nonsense.
I try to give the most realistic touch possible to what adolescence is in this story.
On the other hand, I didn't change anything in Hermione's personality, if you think that because she's smart, brilliant, and calculating she can't have the weirdest crushes, you're wrong. In fact, for me she is the most susceptible person to fall in love and think about her future with that person, starting from if she would get married or have children because if even I have done it with the person I liked I can't imagine that Hermione Granger who thinks about everything wouldn't do it.
However, I don't claim to be an expert on everyone's adolescence, but I know my own and those of my acquaintances, so I base my history on that.
I hope you can understand it and not jump to wrong conclusions.
On the other hand, I don't plan this story to be a harem, yes there will be many love interests but the idea is that Severus ends up with only one female.
Mostly because I wouldn't know how to make a world like Harry Potter allow something like a Harem.
Now, enjoy the chapter and peace.
…..
…..
Chapter 76: Puzzlegreen
-Prince Manor, Dorset, West Country, south-western England
-21 December, 1976
-Pov Hermione
Lying in the bath at Prince Manor, the warm sudsy water and various medicinal salts felt good on my stressed and tired body.
Yes, one of the benefits of living at Prince Manor was the incredibly relaxing baths, though I supposed all pureblood noble houses must have such baths.
Yesterday and the day before were two very busy days for me, while Severus went to do business with the strange Addams Family, which I discovered had quite an interesting and ancient history in the wizarding and muggle world, I took the opportunity to arrange everything with Democles Belby and the "Wolfsbane Potion", I looked and hired the qualified staff along with the necessary installations.
And then I summarised the whole process along with the expenses so that Severus, as always, would be aware of everything.
I admit that I was a bit excited with the idea that the Wolfsbane Potion could be finished much earlier than it was supposed to be developed, if I remember correctly it would still take a few years before Mr. Belby could finish developing it, but now with Severus' intervention things had changed again and something that would take years would only take days or weeks.
This would help Remus and many others in a similar situation as he was, it was these little things and changes that made me realise how much people's lives could be improved with a few actions.
Anyway, now before going to the Greengrass's I took the opportunity to relax a bit and go more calmly, not everyday you meet people who are as important as Lord and Lady Greengrass.
Relaxed, I let my mind wander a little as I immersed my naked body in the warm water.
But as always, even in this moment of relaxation my mind could only think of ways to defeat Voldemort and how to work with Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix to achieve this goal.
Although there were times when my mind wandered from those thoughts to something more embarrassing...
Like my situation with young Severus during this time, from the first time we met to the dance at Slughorn's party and more...
I had to admit that everything would have been very different and probably more complicated if Draco and I hadn't met Severus in that embarrassing and awkward situation.
Severus was assertive and had no problem saying what he thought, as well as getting the information he wanted.
Sure, he was also quite dry and cold, but there were some moments when he would joke and relax as if he were someone completely different.
It may be absurd, but I was convinced that he was slowly softening during this time.
It was probably because of his separation from Lily and from Voldemort's followers...
But I feel it's mostly because of his new friends, the most important one being perhaps Pandora, she had a way of making Severus lower his defences like no other person.
I laughed amused at the thought of them as big brother and little sister.
Well, I was sure I wasn't the only one who made such a comparison.
Yes, Severus was very different from the one I remembered from Professor Snape's memories, too different perhaps... and I was sure that the blood ritual had surely played a part in his radical change, both mentally and physically.
Well, time travel was probably also another important factor in all this, she already knew that several things would change due to her interference in the past.
Yes, Draco and I might actually be in an alternate realitie a simple version of the original universe now.
Anyway, Severus had been unknowingly becoming a better version of himself and gradually he was opening up to others and finding himself, if he continued on that path, I was convinced that he would become an amazing man... a rare combination of a cold but joking man with his friends, dominant but gentle with people like Pandora, assertive and very intelligent.
For some reason when I thought about all this, I felt my body suddenly start to heat up..., maybe the water suddenly got warmer.
Or maybe I have a weakness for a man, smart, assertive, and with a dominant personality.
Severus always knew how to put me in my place when it was necessary although he also knew how to tease to irritate me, but even I admit that spending time with him was fun and certainly relaxing.
I could imagine being happy with someone like him... this... well, maybe I have feelings for him.
But in the future, could I accept him as a possible partner or even husband?
I could only sigh and immerse myself even more in the hot water.
Hermione Granger with Severus... What would Harry think? What would he say if he knew?
As I closed my eyes and felt the water combined with the magical medicinal salts on my body, I wished once again that Harry and my friends were here.
The persistent feeling of never again seeing my friends and family as before was a difficult thing to overcome.
I resigned myself to the knowledge that some of them were probably never going to be born, including... Harry ...
Although I still had hopes that Lily and James would end up together, but the time travel had already altered a lot of things in this timeline, making it a very different timeline to the one before..., an alternate reality.
We knew with Draco that this would happen, but seeing it with your own eyes was something very different from knowing it.
'Realisation was the first step of acceptance and healing' I had said to myself, even though I wasn't feeling the healing yet, but at least I was coming to terms with it and accepting the current situation.
Just the thought that Lily now seemed to have feelings for Severus was shocking.
I didn't blame her though even I was starting to feel that way, I supposed my tastes and Lily's were similar in some ways.
Merlin! I didn't know if I was having such a hard time getting used to this situation because of all these changes or because I was slowly getting disillusioned.
My dream of defeating Voldemort while avoiding the death of many innocent people and making everything better for the world was crumbling at the thought of the amount of changes this would bring.
And yes, once again, I was filled with memories of my former life with Harry, my friends, my family...
I wanted Harry back. I wanted my friends and family back! I wanted everything to go back to the way it was, but I knew it was impossible.
And Voldemort was the reason, he caused so much damage and pain to so many people.
I took a deep breath, shook my head, and submerged myself completely underwater.
I had to remember that this is why my goal was to defeat Voldemort above all else, to prevent all the evil he did to the world, I couldn't just think selfishly about what I wanted, this was about more than just myself.
Thinking about the past wasn't going to help me.
I slowly pulled my head out of the water again and laughed a little at the thought of Professor Snape probably comparing me to Dumbledore and his philosophy of doing things for the "Greater Good".
Although my laughter was hoarse, almost sounding like an angry cry.
It was too hard to get used to so many changes and the idea that I was now part of this timeline...
Yeah, Draco was definitely doing much better than I was.
Fortunately, there were things that made my stay in this time not so hard and bad.
...
When I finally came out of the bathroom, dressed and ready, Severus was there dressed formally in a white shirt that slightly framed his muscles, I couldn't help but think that he looked really good, it was amazing how different he looked from before, he was very fit and almost unrecognizable from when Draco and I first saw him this year.
I couldn't help but smile a bit as I looked at him.
As much as I loved my old life, this one wasn't so... bad.
I had the chance to save so many lives that had suffered in this time for standing up to Voldemort or for just disliking him and his followers the death eaters.
She could meet and make friends with Lily, the marauders, and so many other people.
She had even changed Severus' miserable future.
So that had to count for something, didn't it?
"Hermione" Severus nodded when he saw me.
It was amusing to watch as his gaze roamed over my dress.
"Something wrong?" I asked teasingly with a raised eyebrow, though I already had an idea of what he would say.
"No, nothing, I should have expected you to wear the same dress" he replied, shaking his head slightly.
I smiled a little at that.
Yes, this was the same dress I wore to Slughorn's feast, the one I bought with the money he gave me for my birthday present.
Maybe it wasn't as elegant but it was comfortable and I liked it, so I felt that in an important meeting like this, the priority was to feel comfortable with myself.
"Well, I only used it once and I remember you said you liked it, plus it's comfortable. Is that a problem?"
"No, if you prefer to wear it that's fine, but remember Olivia was present when you wore it and you know how pureblood noble families are"
"I know..., do you think she would remark on it?"
"Not with us present, in private with her family..., maybe. Who knows"
"That's good enough for me" I smiled making him shake his head again with a soft sigh.
"Hermione" he called back making me look at him with a raised eyebrow in doubt.
"Yes?" I asked confused watching his penetrating black eyes stare at me.
"Are you okay?" he asked with a slight frown.
"Why do you ask?"
"I heard you crying in the bathroom"
'Damn!' I thought and frowned as I didn't expect him to hear that, I'm sure I was so immersed in my thoughts that I didn't realise I was probably crying pretty loudly.
"It's nothing. I'll be fine, I was just thinking about some things from the past or the future depending on how you look at it" I joked a little, it was good to be able to do this with him.
Meeting Severus was surprisingly a relief, he may not be the most emotional person but in some way or another, he had supported me through this whole situation.
And apart from Draco he was the only one who knew about our time travel and for me to have someone else who knew something so important was relieving, I was able to be with him and talk to him without feeling the pressure of being a person from the future.
I was proud to say that with Severus we had definitely passed the phase of acquaintances by benefit to maybe... friends?
Or would it be better to call us... cousins?
I got a shiver at the thought of that, I definitely preferred the term friends.
Although I was still kind of his secretary in all Prince matters, but I wasn't complaining, it kept me entertained and distracted, it was a good way to not be constantly thinking about Voldemort and I was also earning a good amount of gallons.
Severus looked at me for a moment before nodding slowly.
"Let's go, I wouldn't want to be late for our meeting with Lord and Lady Greengrass"
I rolled my eyes at his lack of insistence on the matter, but I knew that was the way he was and I didn't dislike it, I knew that if I wanted to talk he would listen to me, but he wouldn't push the issue, so I just smiled slightly and nodded.
-Pov Hermione End
...
Severus took some Floo Powder, threw it into the fireplace making the red fire turn green, and said, "Puzzlegreen".
At that Severus and Hermione walked towards the green fire and disappeared through it.
...
-Greengrass Manor, 21 December
Severus and Hermione took a step forward ignoring the feeling that they were walking on air and after a while, they both felt their feet touch solid ground again.
The first thing they saw was Olivia Greengrass standing in front of them in an elegant midnight green dress that perfectly framed her curves and a silver necklace with a simple jade stone around her neck that went down to her exquisite breasts.
"Lord Prince, Miss. Prince, I'm glad you accepted our invitation," Olivia said bowing slightly which only gave to both of them a better view of her necklace and well, her chest.
"Olivia, it's good to see you and just Severus is fine, there's no need for formalities between us, I think Hermione agrees," Severus said with a smile to which Hermione just nodded in complete agreement.
Olivia rolled her eyes, already expecting him to ruin the entire seriousness of the matter, then her gaze fell for a moment on Hermione's dress as if she was thinking/remembering something, but after a while, she stopped caring and returned her focus to the two guests.
"Alright then, Severus, Hermione, my parents are waiting for you in the meeting room. Please follow me," Olivia said as she guided them through the Greengrass manor, also known as Puzzlegreen.
"So...?" asked Olivia to Severus.
"So what?"
"What do you think?" she said, clearly referring to the Manor.
"Um, Manor Greengrass is actually quite... cosy," Severus joked, which only made Olivia roll her eyes again.
'Why do I even bother asking him?' wondered Olivia shaking her head with a slight smirk on her full red lips.
"By the way, I thought you were with your little sister. Or is she with your parents?"
"Adelaide's staying with our grandparents, my parents didn't want her to get... bored."
"Oh, too bad, I wanted to meet the little sister you care for so much," Severus joked.
"Looks like you'll have to just wait"
"Yeah, another day I'll get the opportunity"
….
….
Chapter 77: Black/Malfoy
-Greengrass Manor, 21 December
"Um Olivia, may I ask a question?" asked Hermione suddenly, who looked a little intrigued as Olivia led them through Greengrass Manor.
"Sure, as long as it's something I can answer it shouldn't be a problem"
"Why Puzzlegreen?"
"Uh-oh that..., well, my family thought it was appropriate because of the huge forest surrounding the manor, one would have to know every part of the forest perfectly in order to find it" replied Greengrass.
"I see..., like a puzzle, if you don't fit the pieces together you won't be able to fit them all together and you'll never complete it," commented Hermione understanding the reason, the forest was the pieces of the puzzle and to successfully locate Greengrass Manor you had to first complete everything correctly.
"Yeah, something like that..." said Olivia.
"Alright, here we are," she added once the three of them found themselves in front of an elegant and huge dark brown door with dark green borders.
She slowly opened the door and then let Hermione in along with Severus.
Naturally, in the great room, Greengras's parents were already waiting for them.
Both were dressed opulently but at least they were very simple clothes, Lord Greengrass wore a white shirt with a black coat with green trim and the Greengrass house crest on his chest and Lady Greengrass wore a black dress that like her husband's coat had elegant green trim, which made their clothes complement each other.
"Lord Charles Greengrass and Lady Arabella Greengrass, it is a pleasure to meet both of you. I appreciate the invitation to your residence," Severus said politely, bowing slightly as he stared at them both, and Hermione at his side did exactly as he did.
"Lord Prince, I am glad you accepted our invitation and honoured us with your presence," said Lord Greengrass, replying Severus' greeting.
"Well, Olivia was very convincing," Severus commented, looking at the beautiful young woman in green.
"Oh I trust it was Lord Prince," smiled Lady Greengrass looking at her daughter with amusement while Olivia just rolled her eyes as she listened.
"Please call me Severus"
"Uh-Oh yes, Olivia mentioned that you might prefer that..., well, in that case, you may call me Arabella in private, however, I must warn you that my husband loves the formalities," Lady Greengrass joked with a soft, elegant laugh.
"I will not deny that my dear, but we can save the formalities as long as we aren't in public, only Charles will be fine in private," nodded Lord Greengrass smoothly.
"I'm glad to hear that," nodded Severus.
"Now, I would like to formally introduce my cousin, Hermione Prince, without her it would have been quite impossible for me to obtain the position of Lord Prince and she is currently in charge of several of the family businesses," he added, introducing Hermione at his side.
"Of course, well met Miss Prince," Charles greeted.
"Well met as well, Lord and Lady Greengrass," replied Hermione by giving them a formal bow of greeting.
"A pleasure my dear. Then how about we sit down and talk more comfortably," said Arabella with a smile to which they all nodded.
...
"Would you like something to drink?" asked Lady Greengrass as she led Severus and Hermione to comfortable and elegant guest seats.
"Tea would be fine for me. You Hermione?" replied Severus quietly.
"I'm fine for now, thanks anyway," Hermione said politely though a little uncomfortable with all the formality, she wasn't used to dealing with people as refined as the Greengrass, it was a good thing Severus wasn't one for formality, otherwise this meeting would be even more awkward for her.
"Tonney, prepare and make a tea for our guest," Lady Greengrass suddenly said to nothingness itself but instantly a house-elve appeared at her side in clean and presentable clothes, though he was nothing fancy, he almost seemed to stand out in his simplicity from the rest of Greengrass Manor.
'I'm glad to see that at least the Greengrass have their house-elves in better condition than the Malfoy's' thought Hermione as she saw the poor house-elve in front of her.
"Tonney will do in a moment, Lady Greengrass," the house-elve replied politely and quickly, and instantly disappeared again.
"Now, Severus, before we talk business, how about telling me what you think about this..." said Lord Greengrass as he held out a golden letter in his hand that was stamped with the Malfoy seal.
Hermione and Severus noticed instantly that it wasn't just any letter, it was actually the Malfoy's letter of invitation to their annual Yule Ball.
How did Severus and Hermione know that?
Well, Severus as Lord Prince received a similar letter, of course, Lord Malfoy, Abraxas Malfoy, stated very clearly in his invitation that only he would be allowed to enter the Malfoy Manor, therefore he could not invite a partner to go with him, neither his family's members, which would clearly put him in a bad position in front of the rest of the families present.
A small revenge by Abraxas after all that happened, maybe as Lord Malfoy he could not afford not to invite the current Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Prince when all the other Ancient and Noble Houses were invited, the Malfoy's Yule Ball would only lose credibility if they did that, but he could still do some small things to discredit him in front of the rest.
On the other hand, Severus in the past when he was still Snape had been invited to the annual Malfoy Winter Ball.
Of course, this was different from the Yule Ball, the Winter Ball is also in the Christmas holidays but this one is before Christmas and only all the pure-blood supremacists and death eaters are invited.
"Lord and Lady Malfoy has once again invited us to their annual Yule Ball taking place in their Manor, only this time the invitation is a little... special," Lord Greengrass said as he stared at Severus as if he expected him to understand why it was different/special.
"Um, indeed it is, although I don't think you are referring to the engagement between Lucius Malfoy and Narssisa Black, after all, it was already known about the two of them, it's just that this time it was formally announced," commented Severus lightly.
"That's right, as you said, the Black/Malfoy alliance is something already known to everyone, but even so, the Malfoy's decided not only to suddenly formalise it at this year's Yule Ball but also to invite all the pure-blood British families, without excluding any of them," clarified Lord Greengrass.
The Malfoy's used to be quite selective about which pure-blood British families they invited to their annual Yule Ball, the only ones that were always invited, regardless of the relationship between the Malfoy's and them, were the Sacred Twenty-Eight and all the British Ancient and Noble Houses.
At that precise moment, the house-elve called Tonney appeared with a cup of tea and then respectfully approached Severus and handed him his tea.
Severus took the cup calmly and nodded to the house-elve who disappeared again.
" And I suppose it's not exactly like the Malfoy's to do this at their annual Yule Ball," Severus said quietly as he took a slow taste of his tea.
"Correct..." nodded Lord Greengrass looking suddenly at his wife beside him.
"As you have recently become Lord of the House of Prince you must not know this, but usually the invitation to the Malfoy annual Yule Ball is only for the Sacred Twenty-Eight and those considered respectable pure-blood British families," explained Lady Greengrass as politely and courteously as possible, she and her husband knew very well that no pure-blood would like to lose credit or be underestimated by being told that they did not have enough knowledge as the heir of their house.
During Christmas holidays the Malfoy's used to hold two balls, the annual Winter Ball which was before Christmas for all the blood purists, death eaters, and all future members or possible supporters of the "cause" and on the other hand the annual Yule Ball to which only the Sacred Twenty-Eight and the "respectable" pure-blood families were invited.
Of course, the Yule Ball was just a formality that served the Malfoy's as a cover for the real meeting which was the Winter Ball where all the followers and supporters of Voldemort gathered, this was a very useful way of recruiting wizards and meeting without the Ministry really being able to do anything unless they had proof.
"You are right Lady Arabella and I thank you for mentioning this to me..., now you also mentioned that it is usually that way, which means that there have already been exceptions like this year," Severus replied making both her and her husband nod at his words, even Olivia Greengrass who was standing next to him nodded in agreement.
"Only when a new heir of the Sacred Twenty-Eight was introduced," Lord Greengrass clarified.
"So a new heir to the Sacred Twenty-Eight is going to be introduced?" asked Hermione suddenly a little intrigued.
The Greengrass family turned their gaze to her and Hermione almost felt a little intimidated by them but she kept her gaze steady despite her discomfort, which only earned an amused smile from Severus.
Hermione watched as he seemed amused by her discomfort and silently cursed him.
"That's a good question, Miss. Prince," Lord Greengrass finally said.
"But the Malfoy letter doesn't say anything about this, so this time it's different because it only makes it clear that the invitation is to formally announce the Black/Malfoy matrimonial engagement," he added.
"It might have something to do with Sirius Black and Regulus Black," Hermione commented.
"That's what my daughter said and we think so too. It's quite possible that the Blacks don't want to formally mention anything about Sirius Black who was the supposed heir but not now," Lord Greengrass nodded.
….
….
Chapter 78: Elitist pure-blood supremacists
"They intend to present Regulus Black as the heir so that everyone will take Sirius Black for granted without having to actually mention anything," Hermione said, slowly understanding the situation.
"It seems that your cousin is remarkably quick to figure things out, now I understand your decision in making her take care of several of the Prince family businesses despite her age. Very wise," Lord Greengrass commented, making Hermione blush slightly at his compliment.
"And indeed, you are right, Miss Prince. Doing this allows the Blacks to introduce their new heir to all the pure-blood British families without tarnishing their reputation"
It was then that Severus and Hermione realised that this year's Malfoy Yule Ball was a ploy by both families to formally introduce Regulus to all the pure-blood British families.
Despite the Blacks' public image of associating with only the most "respectable" pure-blood families, they have business dealings with almost all the pure-blood British families.
Both those they consider "respectable" and those they do not.
Using the upcoming engagement between Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black to invite everyone was the perfect cover to introduce Regulus as the heir and at the same time let everyone know that Sirius Black was no longer the heir without having to mention it, which would save them from being embarrassed by the disinherited young Black.
"But more importantly, this whole Malfoy/Black move together is to be feared, it will let all the British pureblood families know that they support each other and as much as I don't want to admit it, this whole Malfoy/Black alliance being formalised in public will greatly increase their influence in the Wizengamont, in the Ministry and in the other families of Britain," said Lord Greengrass with a frown.
"Which means that they will be able to pressure more wizards and neutral families to join them," Hermione commented.
"That's right Hermione, the combined political and economic power of the Malfoy's and Black's is not something that others can withstand without support, and although my family usually supports and intervenes for all wizarding and neutral families to prevent them from being pushed too far..., it won't be that simple now," said Olivia Greengrass, speaking for the first time in the conversation.
"It never was my dear, but at least so far we have been able to keep things from getting worse, but with recent events, things are going to change a lot, so much that even we will find it difficult to intervene for most of these wizards or families who are still neutral," commented Lady Greengrass.
Hermione stood quietly processing all this, it was a rather complex matter, the majority of the most influential families already supported either the Ministry or the Purist cause, the Greengrasses being one of the few who had remained neutral in support of the other families and wizards who wished to stay out of the conflict, but it was one thing to deal with the different pureblood houses separately and another to deal with two of the Sacred Twenty-Eight together.
"Severus, I understand that you have a close relationship with Lucius Malfoy and even Narcissa Black as well, in fact when I and many others heard of your position as the new heir to the noble house of Prince we were convinced that you had decided not to support the Ministry and remain neutral only to eventually join the cause of the purebloods," Lord Greengrass admitted truthfully, it was a topic that had been discussed a lot with various wizarding families over the last few months.
"Imagine my surprise when Olivia told me that you had a conflict in the Slytherin dormitories with Mulciber, Avery, and Rosier, your old friends if you want to call them that, and that you had then made it very clear to two Slytherin seventh years that the Prince would remain a neutral house," he added without the need to clarify that his conflict with these three people already pretty much disassociated him from the cause of the blood purists after all the houses of all three of them supported the Dark Lord.
"Well, I can only say that your daughter certainly took full advantage of the whole situation," Severus joked as he remembered with some amusement how he had found himself being one of the 'leaders' involved in a group that Olivia had formed without even anticipating it, though he never actually did anything, she just used him as a dissuasion to the other Slytherins, apparently there weren't many wizards out there willing to mess with Severus.
Yes, Olivia formed a group with Slytherin students from less important houses and she and her group started hanging out with Severus at meals, in class, in the library, or in the Slytherin common room to give the impression that he, Olivia, and the others were a close-knit group, a group that remained completely neutral to what was going on between Slytherin and the death eaters.
Severus noted that for all the Slytherins who had no support and did not want to get involved with the death eaters, it was a great help, it may have seemed like a small thing, but what Olivia had done was to form for the first time a group led by herself and "Severus" inside the snake house that stood together in the face of the pressures of the aspiring death eaters who used to pressure the other snakes to get them involved in the cause of the blood purists.
"Oh, actually we know, I apologise if my daughter has brought you trouble, but I cannot deny that as a mother I am very pleased and proud of what she has achieved in Slytherin, she finally did what Dumbledore as headmaster or Slughorn as head of her house did not," said Lady Greengrass with considerable annoyance at the mention of the latter two people as both should be doing something to help Slytherin students not involved in the cause of the blood purists...
But neither of these two did anything, either they were blind or they just didn't want to see everything that was going on in Slytherin, which was not logical since they all noticed how the other three houses were segregating the snakes.
And without any support from Hogwarts or the teachers, many in Slytherin who weren't initially interested in being part of the cause ended up joining under the influence or pressure of others.
Of course, now thanks to Olivia's new group more and more snakes could choose to remain neutral without feeling the constant pressure from their house or other wizards.
"Don't worry Lady Arabella, I agreed with her so I can't complain, although I admit it was strange, before that Olivia and I had no relationship, I don't even remember talking to her," Severus smiled.
"Actually we did," Olivia cut in, making Severus look at her curiously.
"We've spoken a few times in class, I just doubt you were paying attention enough to remember, apparently you could only think of one person at the time," she added boldly, clearly referring to Lily Evans, something Hermione and Severus understood instantly.
"Yes..., well, I'm not going to deny that that's possible, because it is," Severus nodded, not ashamed of what he did or didn't do as Snape, things were different now.
Hermione smiled slightly at Severus' response, she knew how obsessed he was with Lily Evans to the point of ignoring or dismissing most people being only a few with whom he had any conversation or relationship.
"So tell me, what exactly did my daughter tell you to make you agree?" asked Lady Greengrass a little intrigued as her daughter didn't explain how she convinced him or how the conversation with him went, Olivia had only told them just the necessary things about what she was doing at Hogwarts to keep them well informed.
"Um, I remember her mentioning that the pressure and tension in Slytherin was growing and that there aren't many snakes that can be trusted anymore, but that me being a Prince and her being a Greengrass, families that the other Slytherins can't easily push around, we could team up to make things easier for each other at Hogwarts and avoid getting picked on," Severus explained as he remembered the situation, though he probably missed several details.
Olivia Greengrass glared with her light brown eyes at Severus as if she had expected him not to be so insolent as not to mention that he had teased her several times about refusing to join only to later agree to it as long as he was not disturbed.
But Severus ignored Olivia's glare with a simple smile that made it clear to her that he wouldn't mention that, but if she wanted to comment on it she was welcome to.
To which she just rolled her eyes and looked away to her father who was about to speak.
"The truth is that we told Olivia that at Hogwarts she should join those who chose to remain neutral and that it was convenient if any of them were from a renowned house, so when I heard about your rather peculiar situation I suggested that she try to talk to you"
"Although the rest of it was entirely her own doing and I had nothing to do with it, in fact, I was quite surprised when she told me what she had done," Lord Greengrass commented with pride clear in his voice as he mentioned what his daughter had done to help the Slytherins.
"Yes, and both Charles and I thank you for accepting our daughter's proposal, we were very happy and relieved to know that things could be a little easier for her and the others, especially when she had told us that lately, everything was quite complex in Slytherin and that her friends along with their families were going through some very complicated situations," added Lady Greengrass thanking Severus.
"There's no need to thank me, actually I didn't really do anything, it was all down to her, I just provided my name and she took care of everything"
"'Maybe it is, but still, I thank you, now I feel much calmer and more confident about sending Adelaide, our youngest daughter, to Hogwarts next year,' smiled Lady Arabella Greengrass.
"My wife is right, you have our thanks. We try our best to help as many wizards and wizarding families as possible to remain neutral with our influence in the Wizengamon and the Ministry, one could say that we maintain a united front with several major and minor families. But inside Hogwarts we don't have as much influence as we would like," explained Lord Charles Greengrass.
"And Olivia couldn't do much for herself as the only one from a neutral house with influence in Slytherin, she could barely maintain a small group with her friends and keep a low profile and avoid communicating with future sympathisers of the Pureblood cause"
"Everyone was having a very difficult time when Hogwarts should be a place where everyone can relax and feel safe, but for the Slytherins, it wasn't and it was very hard for me to feel there was nothing more I could do for Olivia," he added with a soft sigh as he finished speaking.
"You know it's not your fault father, Dumbledore, and Slughorn are responsible for Slytherin falling under the control of the more elitist pure-blood supremacists," said Olivia.
"I agree with Olivia on that. Maybe it wasn't obvious and that's why Dumbledore or Slughorn couldn't do anything, but I'm sure that at least the Headmaster of Hogwarts must have known perfectly well the difficult situation that everyone in Slytherin house was in as it was obvious to all the snakes and I don't believe that a wizard like him didn't know about it, few things must happen at Hogwarts without that man knowing about it" clarified Severus earning a nod from the three Greengrass.
Even Hermione, who frowned slightly, had to nod in agreement with what Severus said.
Dumbledore was an extremely powerful and intelligent wizard who could be quite manipulative, so it was impossible for him not to be aware of what was going on in Slytherin.