Hey for all those who messaged me about Ginny-- I'M SO SORRY! I completely forgot about her as I was plotting. Let's just say that Ginny is coming back to Britain with Bill and the Twins. It's sort of my intention to isolate Ron and try to make him into a decent individual. (In case you can't notice, Ron's not exactly my fav character). Sorry again, I hope I didn't offend anyone too badly.
Chapter Eight-- Introduction to the Snape's
As Severus had known would happen, he lost all contact with his daughter for the rest of the week, as she immersed herself in the Snape Library. Only a few stern warnings kept her from completely eschewing eating and he doubted she would have made it to bed each night if not for Missy's diligence.
He left a few times during the week to acquire a few missing ingredients for his potions, but did take the time, however reluctantly, to contact his parents about the meeting that he had promised Hermione.
Unfortunately, the response was as he had feared. They could not be more ecstatic. It took all of the Slytherin cunning he had ever possessed to keep his parents from coming through that instant and he had then been forced to listen to a two hour long speech chastising him for never telling them that he had managed to have a daughter as well as for not being properly married to the mother of his heirs.
Like he could stand being married to that woman again. She'd probably try to kill him the next time.
Needless to say, he already had a bad feeling come Friday. But he was an honorable enough man to keep his word and keep his word he would. He woke early enough to stop the girl before she could make her usual dash to the library.
"We are going to Prince Manor today." He said, ignoring the petulant look he received from her for daring to stop her before she could get to her new favourite place on earth. "Your grandparents," he said, maliciously and gleefully ignoring his own unfortunate connection to the two, "want to meet you. Let me tell you, they could not be more happy to have a granddaughter. We shall stay the weekend, returning Sunday night, so please pack appropriately. We will be Flooing to Prince Manor as soon as you pack; Mother is expecting us for breakfast, though Sebastian and his brood won't be there until lunchtime, so you'll have some respite."
He smirked, for she suddenly looked torn between dashing back into her room and pumping him for more information. After being told by his mother about the upcoming family reunion, it had occurred to him that he had never informed his daughter about his brother or his two young nephews. Oops.
Her curiosity overwhelmed her, as he knew it would, and she demanded, "Who is Sebastian? Is that your father?"
"Sebastian is my younger brother, Lord Prince, as our parents split our heirships." Severus explained. "Bast lives in France, he was schooled at Beauxbatons. He has two sons as well, Shaun and Seth, but unfortunately their mother died when Seth was born. Mother insisted on them coming to visit so that you could meet them all."
"Oh." She said, frowning. "I didn't mean to put anyone out." She said, her guilt clouding her face.
He sighed at such a Gryffindor display. "Believe me, had Bast not wanted to come, he wouldn't have." He informed the girl. "He is as skilled as I am at coming up with ways to ignore the frequent summons we receive from our mother. You had best come up with excuses of your own or they will have you there all the time. Don't forget," he said, smirking. "You are my heir. You're older than Blaise, meaning you will receive my Lordship when I die. You are the next Lady Snape."
She gasped and he was pleased to see shock overtaking any remaining guilt on her face. "I didn't know I was in line." She protested. "I thought those titles were passed on father to son! I don't want the title."
"Too bad." He said, shrugging. Very few people wanted the duties that came with a title, himself included. It was just part of their life. "And for your information, the Snape line is not patriarchal. Only the diehard fanatics, such as the Blacks and the Malfoys hold for a male heir. So few pureblood children are born anymore, whole lines could die if a female wasn't able to inherit. And as a matter of fact," he added, grinning. "If you made a fuss, you could probably claim the Prince line as well. Not only is it not patriarchal, it is full-heartedly matriarchal. You have quite the claim, seeing as you're the only female heir. Perhaps that is why Sebastian is so keen to come." He added, savoring the thought. He would have a lot to tease his brother about, he couldn't wait. It might even make such a horror of an event worthwhile.
She looked horrified at having so much power, so he merely turned her around and pushed her gently through the door. "I will be in the den awaiting you. Come down when you are finished." He informed her, shutting the door.
***
He waited a moment, until the sounds of his daughter scurrying around her room reached his ear, before retreating to his den. As much as he enjoyed seeing the know-it-all girl he'd taught for the past four years struck speechless- and oh, how he had enjoyed it!- he wanted to make sure she was alright. Seeing the after-effects of her breakdown the other night had brought her situation to a new perspective for him- she was clearly lacking the emotional maturity she needed to grieve properly.
While he was more than capable of compartmentalizing his grieving and his work as a Death Eater, he was no longer sure of her ability to do so. She was fine here, where she had no outward stimuli reminding her of her loss, he was more than a bit worried about her actual abilities once back in the confines of a peer-dominated Hogwarts. If she thought some of the more malicious students wouldn't use this to try and harm her, she had another thing coming.
He would, therefore, be swallowing his distaste of the idea and asking his mother to look into it. The woman was a Mind-Healer, though she was nearing retirement. Eileen Prince had never been one to sit around the manor idly, having reveled in her high grades and achievements during her own years at Beauxbatons. Marrying Septimus Snape had not cost her any of her dreams, though it had made Severus's life quite unpleasant for the first decade or so.
Scowling, he Occlumed the thoughts away. Those thoughts were often shipped to the back part of his mind, the darkest part, as he tried to repress them. He could gain nothing from those thoughts; he was working hard on rebuilding a relationship with his parents, at the Headmaster's interference, and didn't need any more backsliding. They had apologized, he had promised to forgive them, and that was that.
Still, he crossed the room from where he had been pacing in front of the fireplace to pour himself a brandy. He had a perfectly cordial relationship with his parents now, mostly because he never saw them. He Flooed them once a month, like any courteous son, but ignored all attempts at communicating with them further. He had liked his life.
He threw the brandy back as another unpleasant thought occurred to him. He would have to listen to his mother snipe for the whole day if he arrived in his usual black. He wanted the day to go well and it was highly unlikely his mother was going to let him out of her sight long enough to sneak away to brew a bit anyways, so he had no real reason not to change into one of his few casual, colored robes.
Casting a tempus charm, to check the time, he figured he had the few minutes he'd need to change. Hermione shouldn't arrive anytime soon, so he slipped through the side door into his bedroom.
He went straight to the wardrobe, unbuttoning his robe as he went. He replaced the thick, billowing black robe that was his constant companion for a plain robe, in Slytherin green. His father would be agreeable enough to the color, a Slytherin himself, and would keep his mother from harping on the color.
Underneath he was wearing his usual, a stark white dress shirt and perfectly-pressed black trousers. If she didn't like it, he would leave and be happy, he thought darkly as he buttoned up his robe.
He already felt uncomfortable as he reentered his den, not only because of the normal, wide sleeves of the robe as opposed to the specially tightly-tailored sleeves necessary for brewing, but at the knowledge that this would be the first time Hermione ever saw him in anything other than black.
Not that he was trying to impress his daughter, but he knew she would notice. She might think he was trying to show his parents something, that she had to show them something. She might think him absolutely ridiculous- trying to hard.
He had just about made up his mind to change back when she entered the room, carrying the rather- beaten satchel she had carried for several years already at Hogwarts.
She stopped, surprised by the vision of her father in green. "Wow, Severus." She said, blinking rapidly to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. "You look fabulous. The green really brings out your eyes."
He fidgeted uncomfortably with his sleeves, not at all accustomed to such praise. "Thank you." He said. He was quick to explain, "My mother would have never let up an opportunity to criticize me if I had chosen to wear my usual black. She absolutely detests the color."
"She won't find any fault today." She said, grinning up at him. Hermione meant it, too. She'd never seen the professor look so good. Since it was barely past daybreak and he looked rested, if not exactly at ease, she knew he hadn't been brewing. She'd quickly discovered she could tell when he was brewing a lot and when he wasn't, as his hair was never greasy when he wasn't brewing. It looked gorgeous today- she only wished her hair could be so smooth and silky.
But still, seeing him so out of costume made her look down at her own outfit for the day. She knew her grandparents- and apparently, an uncle!- were purebloods, so she had worn one of her nicer sets of robes, one that was a deep red color, as she certainly didn't intend to hide her Gryffindor side. "Do I look alright?" She asked uncomfortably. "I can change."
She had on one of the newer cuts, he saw, reluctantly looking her over. One that had an underrobe, one much like a regular dress, with an overrobe that only buttoned right over her breast and then hung loosely, just barely outlining her curves. He would have approved, if only the underrobe wasn't cut so low over her breast. As it was only family they were meeting today, however, he nodded. "You look every inch the pureblood." He said approvingly. "Capricia would be proud, I'll be sure to send her a photo. I've no doubt your grandfather will be camera-happy today." He explained, when she sent him a questioning look.
His father, proud pureblood though he was, was absolutely thrilled when Muggle cameras had been adapted to work magically. It was one of the reasons Severus was so needlessly ruthless with Colin Creevey- the Gryffindor boy reminded him quite uncomfortably of his father. And, you know, the whole worshipping-Potter thing.
"Mother will be pleased as well." He said, taking her satchel from her shoulder. "You were able to fit everything?" He asked, seeing she had no additional luggage and no tell-tale bulging of the bag.
"Yes sir." She said, nodding. "My parents bought me that as a present. It was quite expensive- it has an Expansion charm and a Feather-Lite charm." She explained, smiling fondly.
"Ah." Severus said awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to that. "A lovely present for you. It must have made hauling your books quite easy." She merely nodded, so he quickly changed the subject. "Well, if that is everything, let us go. You may go through first," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder and leading her over to the fireplace. "Call out, Prince Manor."
***
Severus stumbled only the slightest bit as he followed his daughter through the Floo, emerging in the family den he'd known all of his life. His parents, as their arranged marriage had gone on, had come to love each other fiercely- even he could admit that, and so they had created a dual den that they would both be able to work in.
The room was decorated in his father's style, in dark leather accents. Two desks sat facing each other on the side walls, leaving the middle space open, excepting for the three sofas making a U-shape around the fireplace. Bookshelves covered every inch of wallspace, besides the fireplace and the door to exit the room and a dull red carpet covered the floor.
He broke off from peering around the room, as he heard his daughter making an uncomfortable squeak. He turned to see his mother had swept the girl up into her tight embrace, thoroughly ignoring the fact that they had just met.
"Mother, please release her." Severus said, rolling his eyes.
Eileen did, grinning at the gob smacked face staring up at her as she looked down at her granddaughter. "It is such a pleasure to meet you, child." She said before releasing the girl to hug her son.
Severus allowed his mother only a few moments before he grabbed her arms and forced her back. "Yes, Mother, it is good to see you as well." He said formally. "Father." He bowed his head respectfully to the man still seated on the middle couch, camera in hand as it clicked away, saving their greeting for all eternity.
When Septimus finally decided he had enough photographs, momentarily of course, he set down his camera and stood. "Severus, good to see you. I like the robes." He said, grinning as he stuck a hand out to his son.
Severus gravely shook his father's hand before turning to his daughter. "Hermione, I would like you to meet your grandfather," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder and maneuvering her in front of him. "This is Septimus Snape, Lord Snape."
"Hermione?" Septimus questioned, even as he bowed over the hand a wide-eyed Hermione had presented him with. "Severus, how could you? Breaking with tradition?"
"Tradition?" Hermione queried, twisting around to look up questioningly at her father.
"Do not fear," Severus assured his father, squeezing Hermione's shoulder comfortingly to give her the same assurance. "Hermione was the name she ended up with when she was adopted- I spoke to you about that- and has been dutifully added into her proper name."
"Oh lovely," Eileen said, smiling as she inserted herself beside her husband. "I had feared Capricia's tempermental nature might have gotten the better of her and she would have ignored your wishes."
"No, no." Severus said, shaking his head. "I spoke to her at length. Though she left me when pregnant, she still abided by my wishes." He finally allowed his gaze to fall to his daughter. He could practically feel the frustration coming off of her in waves. He arched a brow, as if confused as to why she was glaring at him.
She shook free of his grasp, turning to face him. "What are you talking about?"
"If we did not place you with the Muggles, surely you've thought about the fact that they must have named you," he replied, in a warning tone. He did not care for her indignant tone, especially in front of his parents. "Though I will admit, the Grangers chose an adequate name for you. I am well pleased that it wasn't a common name."
Hermione blushed, thinking of all the times she had cursed her name for that very reason. But still, she was far too curious to dwell for long. "What is my real name?"
"You were known at birth as Serena Zinone Belladonna Zabini-Snape." Severus said, rattling the name off expertly. "As is traditional for the Snape family, your first name began with a 'S'. Likewise, for the Zabini family, one of your middle names began with a 'Z'. Belladonna came from the fact that 'Bella' means 'pretty' in Italian and Belladonna is a potent ingredient in brewing, a nod to your father and your mother's heritage. Your birth certificate has been amended to add in Hermione, though you will have quite a bit of petitioning to go if you choose to add Granger in officially. The ministry likes to keep last names to a two-name minimum."
"Oh." Hermione said, overwhelmed with the information even as she mentally giggled over the fact that Severus had fallen into his 'lecture voice'. She rather expected him to take points from Gryffindor any second.
"Hm." He said, smirking. "You are within your rights to keep using Hermione as your name. Likewise, should you wish to drop a last name, we can discuss it."
"Excepting, of course," Septimus swooped in to say. "Our last name. As Severus's oldest child, you will be the next Lady Snape. I do not know how the Zabini line falls, so you may be within your rights to drop that one."
And, she noted, by his expression he'd dearly love her to. "I will consider it." She said politely. "It's an honour to meet you, Lord Snape. Lady Snape." She said, bowing slightly.
"No, no, child," Eileen gently scolded the young girl. "You must call us Grandmother and Grandfather. And I do hope you excuse us if we call you Serena. That would be your official Snape name, Serena Hermione Snape." She said, more than willing to use a little bribery on the girl.
Hermione cast a questioning glance at Severus, whose carefully polite face warned her not to disagree. She could already see the two before her were a sight to be reckoned with. "That would be lovely," she said, not in the mood to fight. "You have a beautiful home." She said, looking around.
Neither Septimus nor Eileen were fooled, both noticing she had concentrated more on the alluring bookshelves than on them. Their son had been every bit as addicted to reading and they had only ensured themselves a visit once a year from him when at Hogwarts by only giving him access to some books once he had completed another year of schooling. It could be the key to drawing her in.
They both knew they had made mistakes with Severus, ones that had nearly cost them their son. They also knew he would come close to spoiling his daughter, much the way he already spoiled his son, in order to make sure her childhood was not the horror his had been. Therefore, if she enjoyed her time with them, Severus would bring her back no matter how much he hated being there.
The two elder Snape's had talked out their plan, long into the night, in order to succeed. Eileen would show Hermione all the wonderful books she could access as well as giving her feminine advice minus the sarcastic edge Capricia was known for while Septimus would strive to keep his son calm and relaxed.
"Well, Hermione," Eileen said, grinning down at the girl. "What say we go on a quick tour and then eat breakfast."
Hermione grinned, even as she discreetly pushed down on her stomach, hoping that her Grandmother wasn't saying that because she had just heard her stomach growl. Again. "That would be lovely." Hermione said honestly. If this was the amount of books they kept in their office, she couldn't wait to see the number of books in their library.
"Excellent." Eileen took the girl's hand and led her away, trusting her men to keep up.
***
Severus willingly followed his mother and daughter through the house with his father by his side for well over an hour until he could finally take it no longer. "Mother, come now." He said, rolling his eyes as they came out of the fourth guest bedroom in a row. "I am famished. She has seen more than enough of this godforsaken Manor. I would like to see some breakfast and as she did not deign to eat dinner last night, I'm sure she would as well."
"Oh!" Eileen had gotten so caught up in showing off her family's manor she hadn't even though about the slightly-lagging young girl. "But of course," she said, seeing from the girl's blush that her son's words were true.
And thus, they quickly found themselves in the Breakfast room. Eileen ignored her rightful seat at the foot of the table, taking the seat to her husband's right so that she could chat more easily with Hermione, who sat at her husband's left, and Severus, seated beside his daughter.
"So, how did you enjoy our mansion?" Eileen asked, politely ignoring the fact that both her son and granddaughter were practically tearing through their breakfasts. Obviously Severus hadn't changed much and had passed on more than a few bad habits to his daughter. Tsk, tsk, she had so much work to do.
"It's gorgeous," Hermione could honestly say. Though she wouldn't say Snape Manor was run-down, not by any means, Prince Manor was so much more gorgeous. Obviously, Eileen was paying much more attention to the upkeep than Severus was on his manor. "I loved seeing your relatives. They're such a…colorful bunch."
She winced, as soon as the words were out, sure they would be taken for an insult though she hadn't meant them as such. "I mean, compared to the Snape's, of course." She quickly amended. Both men turned to her, shocked at that, and she winced again. "I just meant, that the colors in the pictures were so bright. The Snape women, lovely though they were, chose darker colors."
"Ah." Eileen caught on, grinning delightfully as she saw both of her men still looked slightly offended. "I do see. The Snape's portrayed a more rigid upbringing." She explained. "The Prince's believed that gaiety had its place and therefore most of our pictures have been commissioned at large parties and balls we had."
Hermione nodded thoughtfully. That certainly fit what she had seen. Snape Manor was filled with pictures of Snape's passed, but all were of a certain nature. Severus had explained that when each Snape reached majority, they were painted, alone and in their favorite room in the manor. She had noticed, however, an overwhelming tendency to dress in darker colors. The men, of course, in black or brown, but the women were usually also in a dark green or a brown.
By contrast, the Prince pictures were much larger, often with large crowds. The men all adhered to a strict black dress, some with colorful ascots or a white shirt underneath, while the women were clearly meant to liven the room. Bright reds and oranges and purples were splashed along each picture.
"I wish we had a bit more warning you were coming." Septimus said, fiddling with his coffee and ignoring breakfast, as he so often did. "I would have contacted Arctus Higglesby and had him here to paint a portrait of all of us." He looked at Severus, clearly disapproving.
"Well," Severus had no sympathy for his father whatsoever. "Then I can't help but be glad I waited. I saved us all from such a dreary fate." Higglesby, now well over two hundred, was widely respected as the greatest Magical Artist in the world, but was well into his dotage.
Eileen cleared her throat delicately, giving her husband a warning glare to remind him of their plan, and then spoke to Hermione. "Now, my dear Serena." She said sweetly. "I saw that look on your face when we peeked into the library. Why don't I go show you some of my favorite books?"
Hermione was on her feet in a flash. "That sounds lovely." She said, grinning happily.
"Excellent." And with that, Eileen swept the girl out of the room.
Severus paused for a moment, to better talk with his father. "I can see what you're up to." He said, frowning at the older man. Excepting for the gray hair at his temples, the extra fifty pounds and the ridiculous blue robe he was wearing, the other man could have been his mirror image. It was a frightening realization. "Such a blunt plan, so lacking in cunning, could have only been thought up by Mother and only Serena could have fallen for it. And even she's not a complete idiot. Don't think for one second you're fooling her; she's only after the books."
And with that, he swept out after his daughter, determined that she would not be drawn into the web his parents were weaving.
***
His hopes for causing his father to back off were quite clearly in vain, as his father disregarded his every word and stepped up the ridiculous campaign that his mother had clearly talked the man into.
The two of them pulled out all of the stops to sway Hermione to their side, introducing her to all sorts of rare books. She lapped it up, content in furthering her lust for knowledge and Severus could only hold on for the ride.
His only respite came when his brother finally deemed it time to arrive.
They were still in the library when one of the house elves showed the rest of his family in.
"Grandmother, Grandfather!" Severus quickly darted out of the way as his nephews came bearing down on them. Eight year old Shaun and six year old Seth had all the markings of a Snape, with all the luck that their father had inherited from the Prince side; ie, no hooked nose. Seth, it was becoming apparent, had received the Snape coloring, pale as a ghost, while Shaun also took after the Prince side in the golden tone of his skin, like his father.
"Sebastian." Severus greeted his brother as the other walked over to him. Sebastian was much more handsome of the two of them, but Severus could always be happy in the fact that his magic was stronger and his height was a full half-foot more.
"Severus." Sebastian grinned up at his grim older brother, before gazing over at his new niece. "Well, she's a beauty isn't she."
Compared with the two little ones attempting to climb all over his father, Severus realized that Hermione wasn't so bad. She was seated at one of the many armchairs around the library, blissfully reading a book as his mother droned on about the library, completing missing the fact that Hermione was no longer paying attention.
"She's much more than that." Severus said, glad that the words were true. "She's brilliant. A very bright child."
Sebastian grinned, glad to see his brother hadn't changed much. Though how he would stay the same now that he would have a full-time child… "I'm glad to hear that." He said. "I didn't get her name from Mother, it didn't appear as if she knew it."
"The girl has kept the name her Muggle family gave her." Severus said, shrugging easily. "She is Serena, but she goes by Hermione."
"Ah." Nothing more needed to be said, really. Both knew of their mother's over-fondness for propriety. "Well, you're looking well."
"Thank you. Your boys are growing up. They look…healthy." Severus had never been one for small talk, even with his own brother. "What are you doing here, Bast? I haven't seen you since the birth of your youngest."
Sebastian smiled sadly, regretting more than ever than he had shut himself off from the world as his beloved wife grew worse. She had never recovered from her second child, from which he blamed himself entirely. He should have been satisfied with one boy. "I wanted to see you. I don't think I'd insult you by telling you that you are every bit the buffer for me with Mother than I am with you. It's been too long; I need to reconnect."
Severus was never one for sympathy and still Sebastian couldn't help but wince at his next words. "Good." Severus said. "I've been wondering how long you'd grieve. Mother and Father will help you and you can all reconnect." He spat the last word as if it were the most disgusting expletive he knew. "And you can all leave me and mine alone. Be the perfect little family again."
Septimus pulled himself away from his grandsons as he heard the library door slam shut. Only his younger son was still in sight, cringing at the door. He sighed, setting Shaun down. "Why don't the two of you go see Grandmother. She can introduce you to your cousin, Serena."
The two dark-headed boys nodded eagerly, running over to the lilac-dressed woman they knew fondly and he went over to his son. "Five minutes, Bast." He said mildly. "That's impressive. I don't think I've managed to drive him away so quickly in years."
His youngest son sighed. "I know you and Mother were finally getting along better when I came along." Sebastian said bitterly. "But couldn't you have hit me around a little too? Then Severus wouldn't hate me as much. Never thought I'd have to defend not getting beat up as a child."
With a sigh, he pushed past his father to go greet his niece. Septimus watched him with sad eyes, suddenly feeling every year he had on this earth. Why, oh why couldn't he and Eileen have worked out their feelings sooner.
Or even have been a little smarter about the situation. Instead, they had worked out their anger at their forced marriage on their son, for the first decade of his life. Only to discover their mistake as he entered school. Surrounded by cunning, bitter peers, they had lost him forever. When his brother had been born, a month before he returned for his second year, the jealousy between them only grew as Eileen and Sept attempted to give their second son everything they hadn't given their first. Their treatment only served to further the wedge between their first son and them.
Severus had calmed a little when his son had been born. Septimus could only hope that his daughter would allow Severus to open his heart a little more, so that he and his wife could truly work to make amends.
******
Hello girls and (are there any?) guys. I hope you enjoyed this portion, which grew way too long and wieldy. I hope it wasn't too much, lol. It's almost as long as two of any other chapter combined. I didn't want to add any more and make this longer, but if I need to, I may add flashbacks and we'll definitely meet the Snape's again, with Blaise included this time. Tell me what you thought- did you like Hermione's name? I always wondered if anyone else besides Dumbledore had a ridiculously long name. And I figured pureblood families being so fanatical about tradition and all, they'd all have a tradition that needed to be adhered too. Let me know if you have any guesses as to Blaise's 'S' name and 'Z' name. If I like your guess, I'll let you know, though I already have it made ;). This piece is a bit of an interlude, but I wanted to explain. I hate how JK treated Snape, from his back story to his ending, not even giving him a chance at happiness. I wanted to keep some bits of his past (the abuse), but wanted to give him a somewhat probable chance at a happy future (Capricia, children). Let me know if I succeeded!
Minara.