A/N This one is a bit later because I had a meeting and wasn't feeling real hot, and because I had a reviewer demand to know where the rest of the story was, like I had falsely lead them to believe it was completed, or that I don't update daily. Guys, I post everyday. I think that's quite enough. There are only three more chapters after this, and I'll be working for each of them, so expect 4pm-ish EST updates, but if it's bit after, cool your britches. I haven't forgotten.

As for the other 307 of you - you kick ass. Carry on.

Chapter Fourteen

The school was abuzz with gossip for the following week, almost exclusively about Hermione. She took it in stride—it certainly wasn't the first time there had been ridiculous speculation about her love life. She attempted to keep her regular routine of research, interviews with staff, and searching the castle for facts not found in the current Hogwarts: a History.

Filch had never been happier, and even Madam Pince was rumoured to have cracked a smile, though nothing could be verified.

As far as Severus went...it was mostly just as it always had been. The morning following the ball, Hermione came downstairs, later than usual with tired feet and a freshly washed face. Sitting beside him, she mumbled a greeting to him, which at first he didn't answer. Seeing her blurry eyes, he slid her the teapot, and the awkwardness between them was erased.

Though she wasn't really sure if she wanted it to be. The air of something greater was lingering between them, but it was a frightening path to follow. Perhaps it was better that they take a step back. For now.

Hermione was becoming increasingly involved in being a Godmother. Now just walking through the halls or the library, her palms would tingle, and she would feel a little tug she was beginning to understand meant there was a need for her. A calling. Perhaps not one deep enough to be etched onto a coin, but there was something she could do or someone to aid. She was starting to think of them as requests instead of wished.

A few times a coin actually popped into existence right in her hand. These wishes were wishes far more urgent than her usual grants. She shuddered to think what happened to these when there was no Godmother. Thankfully, she was a meddler by nature with free reign of the castle, so it didn't seem unusual for her to appear unexpected in places or to offer her aid.

So far, her secret was still a secret. But soon, she knew it would come out. Nothing could stay secret for too long, especially if one was Hermione Granger.

When she went to see her backlog of wish coins, she stumbled upon a Galleon she hadn't noticed before.

"I wish someone would save the girl," it read. Signed Bellatrix Lestrange, and marked the day of her death. Hermione was actually had been present when the wish was cast, having watched Molly Weasley deliver the final blow. Gooseflesh broke out over her body.

What girl? he wondered. Bellatrix hadn't been pregnant when she...

No, she couldn't have been. But still...

She would have to talk to Severus.

Patience not being a strong suit, she waited outside his last class of the day and ventured inside once the last student had gone.

"Severus?" she tentatively asked. "Can I talk to you?"

He slowly raised his head from where he had been reading at his desk. "Is this room an appropriate location for said discussion?"

"Uh, not really."

"I thought not," he said, his voice clipped as he rose and led her into his study. "Well? What is it?"

He sounded perturbed with her from his voice. He sounded exactly like Ron when the two of them had been in a relationship, and he had been in a snit. Did he think she was about to throw over his friendship?

"I have a question about Bellatrix," she quickly told him and watched as his shoulders relaxed. After a moment, he took the seat beside her.

"And what about her?"

Hermione was suddenly uncomfortable, shifting in her seat as she realized the discussion she wanted to have with him was highly personal and irregular. "Was she a mother?"

"No," he told her without hesitation. "Rodolphus never wanted children. In fact..." He paused, as though unsure if he should be saying anything. "...she wanted to keep your friend, Longbottom, after they thought his parents were dead, but Rodolphus refused to have the son of a blood traitor in the house. She may have tried the same thing with Potter if given the chance. Thankfully, she wasn't."

Hermione was horror-stricken at the image of poor, sweet Neville growing up in the home of a demented Death Eater. And Harry! The catastrophic result of him living under the thumb of Voldemort was too much for her to think about. "That would have been terrible."

"An understatement, to be sure. Now, why did you storm my classroom to ask about the maternal habits of a dead psychopath?" he asked her, his curiosity piqued.

"It certainly sounds strange when you put it that way. I was doing some reading, for the book, and I came across ad anecdote that mentioned her and a child. I started to wonder if there was a child left behind or the possibility that she was pregnant when she passed."

"Well she certainly wasn't pregnant. She would have done anything to protect her child. The child you are referring to is Lyra."

"And Lyra is?" she asked impatiently.

"Rabastan's. A Muggle mother, if I'm not mistaken."

Hermione sat thoughtfully. "Her niece."

"Yes, her niece."

She nibbled the inside of her lip in thought. If Bellatrix had been attached to a niece who was a baby at the time, she would be about four years old now. "During the battle, Rabastan was killed, wasn't he?"

Severus nodded. "And Rodolphus is in Azkaban."

"And the girl?"

He shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. I imagine the girl's mother was killed as soon as the Dark Lord discovered the girl's parentage. The child was saved because of her father. She likely lived with Bella in hopes of rehabilitation to their way of thinking."

"And now who knows what happened to her."

"And now who knows," he agreed.

With a cock of her head, she asked another question. "Why would Bellatrix marry him if she knew he had no interest in children?"

"It was arranged," he answered smoothly. "Such are the ways of pure-blood society. She married him because she was told she would marry him. I think it's largely their relationship that made her into the person you know. She was wilful at your age, much like you," he added. "When she didn't do as she was told, she was taught how to listen. I wasn't present, but I'm told her husband was egged on by his comrades. Her mental capacities were tested, then she was put in Azkaban. No one comes out after that long completely whole."

His story made Hermione think. Bellatrix really could have been anyone. And maybe any of them could have been Bellatrix. It all depended on your birth and your house.

She was determined to find the girl and place her in safe hands, in hope that she wouldn't turn out like her mother or her aunt.

"She loved the girl as her own," Severus said quietly. "Bella wasn't a lot of things, but she did try to protect that baby."

"Thank you for telling me," she told him. "There are a lot of things we never get to learn about people. Sometimes it's easy to forget that conflict isn't just us against them. We're all just people. I imagine you are either vilified or glorified more than most."

"I wouldn't know. I burn most of my unknown post, and I refuse to read the paper," he told her, sneering at the fireplace. He really did hate being in the spotlight.

"Probably a good idea for now. Walk me to dinner?" she asked.

He rose from his chair to accompany her. "Probably safer than leaving you to get into your own mischief."

Severus had hoped that with the return of the ease of their friendship, after the kiss she seemed to want to forget, that he would see more of her. Perhaps he could assist in her research or help her decompress all the information she was gathering.

This did not, however, appear to be the case.

He went to breakfast the day after she came with her odd questions about Bellatrix, hoping to find her there but he found her unusually absent. Why was it that one minute they seemed to be returning to, well, whatever passed for normal, and then she would disappear into the ether again?

He had no idea that inside that bushy head of Hermione's, a plan was forming. A plan that for now needed to stay a secret.

One by one, she stole books into her room to read on her own. Information could be gathered in other ways, of course, but this was easily started with a book. When Hermione left her room to keep up appearances, she would just magically change the cover of her book. Severus realized she was masking the title by just the barest shimmer of the words if one looked closely, but he didn't pursue it—yet.

Finally after several weeks of barely any communication, he went to Minerva.

"And where is that blasted girl?" he asked her, crossed. "First she is barraging me with questions and pestering me for my time and then she drops off the face of the Earth. Has she fallen back into the world of Potter and his Weasel?"

"Now Severus," Minerva admonished, "be careful or you'll seem like you care about her wellbeing. You have a reputation to maintain. And for you information, it's not A big secret, but Hermione isn't in the castle at the moment. She told me she had to go see someone."

"See someone?"

"Are you a parrot?" she asked him, enjoying watching him squirm. "Have you designated yourself her champion and feel you need to protect her honor?"

"No," he said between gritted teeth. "But I would hate for us to start back at square one with these stupid revisions. The war is over. The right side one. What more is there to tell?"

"You know there is more to it than that," she said, alluding to the paper and the girl. "But I wager you'll see her at dinner tonight and you can ask her all about her whereabouts then."

Severus left her office, the door closing with slightly more than its usual bang. Minerva sighed and watched the door. "Ah, love. To be young again," she muttered before going back to her work. He would work it out sooner or later, she decided, and if he didn't, Hermione would help him along, or her magic would.

"Hello, Severus!" Hermione greeted him out of breath and she slid into her seat late into the dinner service. "How are you?"

"Not as busy as you it seems. Working on something important?" he sneered.

She nodded. "Very. I can't say anything about it just yet though. Some others need to be informed first, but," she hedged, "it's the best news!" She knew he shouldn't be told but she couldn't help it. She wanted to tell him everything.

"I take it congratulations are in order," he said sharply. "I hope your wish comes true."

He left the room, barely even registering her, "Not mine but..."

He left her in peace after that. There was no point in bothering her after he had caught the title of her last book before it was covered. Modern Magical Marriage and Family. Clearly there was something between her and the ginger. Severus had been down that road already, and it didn't lead to anywhere he cared to travel. As Hermione spent long nights in her room, in the library, or out of the castle, he left her in peace. If she wanted to spend her time without him, he would let her.

Hermione was mostly clueless as to his thoughts. As an intellectual, she could be pretty focused on the problem at hand, especially when the problem with a little girl.

She had found Lyra.

It seemed that in the aftermath of the battle, the little girl had been found in a small home owned by the Lestranges. The girl was only a few years old, being cared for mostly by house-elves. After the Dark Lord came into full power, it had been difficult for Bellatrix to have a pretext to see her niece. Rabastan had all but disowned her after finding out her mother was pregnant. Rodulphus had no interest. After Bellatrix died, the girl had no advocate, whether before the Dark Lord or the Ministry and was tended to by the elves before the Ministry came. With no record of who she was, she was put into an orphanage where she remained.

This, in Hermione's opinion, was not "saved" and the wish seemed to agree by its constant presence in her satchel. But what to do with her? It wasn't like she was ready for a family.

So she formed her plan, the execution of which took up most of her time. She missed Severus and she hoped he wasn't offended. But did he have a reason to be offended? They were just friends, right? Hermione didn't feel like a very good friend to him right now though.

After three or four weeks of silence following his outburst, Severus heard a knock on his door. His face melted into surprise as he saw Hermione—a very cute-looking Hermione—at his door with her hands full of a tray for dinner and papers stuck under her arm.

"Can I help you?" he coolly asked.

"You can move out of the way!" she responded as he stepped aside to let her pass. Setting the laden tray on the table, she turned to him. "I need to apologize and explain."

"You have nothing to apologize for," he told her in his flat lecture tone of voice. "Sometimes life just leads us down unexpected paths."

"True," she told him, "but that doesn't mean I couldn't take time out to tell you what was going on. But, it's over with now." She smiled at him. "Sit down, I can't wait to tell you and I brought you a peace offering."

She waved her hand over the table, lifting covers to reveal shepherd's pie, soda bread, some mixed vegetables, and two slices of apple pie for dessert. "My mum's recipes," she told him. "I'm a terrible cook without a recipe, just like in Potions, but my mum is fab. I thought you might like some of your favourites not made by the house-elves for a change."

"You cooked?"

"I did. And don't make that face at me. You know I brew exceptionally well."

And he did, he decided as he sat down to be served. He would trust her cooking. It was pleasant to have a change from the typical preparation.

"So I do need to explain to you why I was in my own world for while," she told him as she loaded her own plate. He noticed that she had lost a little weight and a little sleep, and she didn't have much of either to spare. It was good to see her looking rested with a full meal. "It's a change you're bound to hear about soon anyway."

"More congratulations in order?"

"Well yes, I suppose, but you should probably direct them at Remus."

"Remus?" he spat, almost losing his plate to the floor. His quick reflexes saved it, but only barely.

She huffed. "I know you aren't his biggest fan, Severus, but honestly, you could try and be happy for him."

"But what does Tonks think about it?"

"She's thrilled, of course. Nothing ever would have happened between them anyway."

Severus just stared at her, only his reserve keeping him from gaping at her. He never had pictured her as a home wrecker. "And the wolf pup?"

"Teddy?" she asked. "He's still pretty young but I imagine he'll be okay. Severus, why do you have that horrified look on your face? Remus deserves a family. It was the best solution for Lyra."

"Lyra?!"

By now he had completely forgotten to eat and his plate was once again in a precarious position, balancing on his lap.

"Of course. What did you think I meant?"

"What did I think? I thought you were with that mongrel, that's what!" he snarled.

"Tonks would kill me!" Hermione yelled back. "Why on Earth would you think that?"

"I saw you with hidden books, then I saw one about magical marriage and you were out of the castle seeing someone according to Minerva. You haven't eaten or slept properly in almost a month. You haven't even come down here for anything since asking about Bellatrix! What was I supposed to think? I know the signs when I see them!"

He could have continued his tirade against her behaviour, but suddenly, the precarious plate was replaced with a lap full of curvy witch. Hermione grabbed his head and gave him a sound kissing, her hair filling his nose with the scent of the kitchens and surrounding him completely. He slid his hands up her back, pulling her close, kissing her back as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Hermione's hair crackled, little blue stars of sparks falling aimlessly around them. Unbeknownst to them, a little star tattoo was added to her back as the coin in her pocket shimmered and vanished.

Hermione pulled away first, Severus still trying to pull her back to him like a drowning man grasping onto a life preserver. "I still need to explain," she told him.

"If you're not with Remus, then I don't care, and it can wait," he told her petulantly.

"Severus," she admonished and reluctantly at back in her own seat. "Sorry, I just really needed to get that out of the way. I was visiting Remus and the Ministry. Remus and Tonks wanted to expand their family, but after that curse that almost killed him in the battle, he's infertile. They'll never have more biological children. So I introduced them to Lyra after checking to see about magical adoptions. If Remus could even adopt since he is still classified as a werewolf, for now. It was all pushed through, the introductions were made, and as of yesterday, Lyra is a Lupin."

"That poor girl," he said as she smacked his arm and told him to behave. "Well now that that is settled, you still have another matter to atone for."

"What's that?" she asked, curious.

"We still haven't eaten dinner."

She rolled her eyes and started making a second plate.