AN: First of all, I'd like to apologise that this update is a bit later than usual. I normally update just before I go to bed but I stayed at a friend's yesterday and didn't have time to upload before I left. So I'm terribly sorry but hopefully this chapter will be worth the wait. Second on my agenda for today is a quick thank you. You may have noticed that the other day there was a request for suggestions of fictions where Hermione is Severus' daughter and some of you lovely people kindly recommended this story and gave me a glowing reference, so thank you very much, it is greatly appreciated. Anyway I've rambled on for long enough...Happy reading...
The next Wednesday, Hermione left Hogwarts via the Floo in McGonagall's office and landed in the crumbling fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron. Professor Dumbledore had arranged with her parents that Hermione would meet them outside the Leaky Cauldron and then head into muggle London for lunch before dropping her off at the leaky Cauldron again afterwards so that she could Floo straight back to Hogwarts.
Brushing the ash off her clothes, Hermione stepped out of the fireplace and into the dingy pub. The room wasn't crowded but was still fairly busy for 11.50 on a Wednesday morning. A number of people were just passing through, using the pub as a pathway to Diagon Alley, and nodding politely at Tom the Barman as they went. A few dishevelled looking wizards were sitting at the bar nursing firewhiskeys and wizard ales, and one brave soul was even eating the pea soup. Hermione weaved between the tables towards the door, slipping past a pair of wizards whispering secretively in a corner, who stopped speaking and eyed Hermione suspiciously as she passed.
Hermione was a few minutes early and wasn't sure if her parents would have arrived yet, but as she stepped out of the doorway and onto the cement paving outside, she saw the awkward figures of her mum and dad at the end of the deserted street. Hermione felt her heart swell at seeing them for the first time since August. They were talking to each other with serious expressions and hadn't noticed Hermione yet. She moved further down the street and her father looked up and saw her, he nudged his wife who smiled at the sight of her daughter. Hermione noted the nervousness in her mother's face and felt guilt settle in the pit of her stomach as she thought about the worry she'd caused them recently.
"Hermione." Her father greeted warmly as she drew close to them. "How have you been?"
"Good, thanks." Hermione gave a small smile in return. "What about you guys?"
There was an awkward moment while Mr and Mrs Granger shared a silent exchange about whether they should be honest with their daughter with exactly how they'd been while she ran away from home and wouldn't return their letters, but then Mr Granger thought better of it and answered simply, "We've been well, thank you."
Hermione's mum spoke softly. "It's so nice to see you again, Hermione. I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, Mum." Hermione replied genuinely.
"Shall we go and get some lunch?" Mr Granger suggested and they all hummed in agreement.
The sun shone as they walked towards the centre of Muggle London and the warm spring air meant that Hermione only required a light jacket. Over her shoulder she carried a large fabric bag that held her wand, her cloak for later and other more generic necessities for a teenage girl. They soon found an Italian restaurant; the type that was part of a national chain, smart but not overly expensive. A young waiter sat them at a small table looking out of the front windows onto the busy London street, he handed each of them a menu, smiling slightly longer than necessary at Hermione, and then left to fetch their drinks.
Hermione could feel the tension buzzing around the three of them as they politely discussed the menu choices and carefully avoided the metaphorical elephant in the room. So far the meeting had gone as well as she could have expected. There had been no tears or shouting, no denials or accusations, and generally there was a feeling amongst the three of them that they were all just pleased to be back together as a family.
The polite chit chat couldn't last for long though, and once their meals had been delivered and silence had reigned for slightly longer than was comfortable, the conversation turned more serious.
"So, how's school Hermione?" Her mother asked innocently, though Hermione recognised it for the fishing expedition it was. She nodded while she finished her mouthful of seafood ravioli and then replied. "Umm…yeah, it's been alright. Busy, I guess."
"Of course, you have exams this year, don't you?" Her dad said.
Hermione nodded earnestly.
"Well don't work too hard." Her mum offered, kindly. "We we're sorry not to see you at Christmas…"
Hermione kept her eyes on her food but could feel her parents' scrutinizing glare. "I wanted to get started on my revision."
"Professor Dumbledore said you stayed with friends." Mrs Granger's voice carried an edge as she caught her daughter out on her lie.
Hermione flushed, she should have known Dumbledore would be telling her parents everything. "- It was a last minute thing. Mr Weasley had an accident and was in hospital, so Dumbledore suggested that we all go stay at Harry's godfather's house together. – I still spent a lot of time working."
There was silence for a few minutes, in which time the waiter approached again. "Is everything alright with your meals?" He asked cheerfully. Mr Granger made a polite, if brief, reply in confirmation, and, suddenly sensing the tense atmosphere at the table, the young man made a hasty retreat.
There was quiet again until Mr Granger, a normally jovial man, could supress his anguish no longer. "Hermione, did we do something wrong?"
Hermione looked up sharply at the slight crack in her father's voice but all she could manage in reply was a soft and inadequate, "No."
"Then why would you leave?" He returned, his voice quiet but the emotion still evident. "Why would you just leave one day without saying anything? I don't understand."
Hermione put her fork down purposefully and looked directly into the concerned faces of her parents.
"I'm really sorry for all the worry I've caused you this year, I know you must have been really upset when you couldn't find me and when I wouldn't make contact after school started. I won't lie to you, but I also can't tell you my reasons for leaving. All I can really say is that I was angry at the time and leaving felt like my best option. I'm not angry anymore and I promise you I'm not upset with you. It's been a really hard year for me but now I just want to move on and forget it ever happened." Hermione finished calmly and looked at her parents in turn.
Her mother had tears in her eyes as she said, "I don't understand what could be so bad that you felt you couldn't come to us?"
Hermione shook her head. "It doesn't matter now. All I want is to forget about it and I'd like to go home for summer…if that's ok?"
"Of course it is!" Her mother said sincerely.
Her father nodded his agreement. "Hermione, I know you don't want to talk about what's going on with you right now, so we won't push it, but just know that whenever you're ready to talk, we'll be here. – For now we'd just be glad to have you back home where you belong."
Hermione felt tears spill over her cheeks and smiled softly back. She knew that they would be alright now. It would be difficult at first, but they would get back to being the family they used to be. For the first time since leaving home, Hermione had hope.
An hour and a half later, and having spent the rest of the meal catching up amicably, Hermione was hugging her parents goodbye. "We'll see you at the end of term, ok?" Hermione's mum said, squeezing her daughter tight.
"Definitely." Hermione responded honestly.
"And remember that you can write to us if you need anything." Hermione's dad said as he took his turn to hug her.
"I will." Hermione promised.
With that, they said their last goodbyes and Hermione waved to them before turning around to walk through the dilapidated entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.
Inside the pub, Hermione found a quiet corner in which to remove her jacket and replace it with her cloak which would be rather more inconspicuous whilst among the Wizarding community. Strictly speaking, Hermione was now supposed to head back through the Floo to Hogwarts, but Dumbledore had set no time limit on their meeting so, provided she was quick, she would be able to achieve what she wanted without her teachers being any the wiser. Hermione waited until Tom the Barman was busy with a large group of rowdy wizards before she moved through the pub, past the bar, towards the wizard's entrance.
Hermione exited the building and came face to face with the enchanted brick wall that disguised the entrance to Diagon Alley. She paused a moment before tapping her wand to the specific red bricks so that she could put up her cloak hood before passing through. This way she could keep her face hidden in shadow and avoid arising unwanted suspicions from anyone who might recognise her. Fortunately, the magical world was full of odd looking characters who wanted to remain anonymous as they went about their daily business, so she wouldn't look too out of place, even in the warm sunshine.
Hermione walked discreetly down Diagon Alley for a few minutes before coming across the entrance to Knockturn Alley, where she turned off of the main street and descended through the darkened corridors. While she knew that she would be able to purchase her required items from one of the standard apothecaries on Diagon, Hermione knew that the only way she had of being sure that what she bought was kept secret was to buy from the rather shady apothecary in this dark corner of magic London.
Filled with nervous tension, Hermione made her way down the street, avoiding the menacing stares of old hags and scar-faced wizards. The teenage witch passed Borgin and Burkes and finally came across Ratchet and Reed's apothecary, where laws were considered mere guidelines and no questions were asked. Keeping her hood up, Hermione pushed open the creaking door and crossed the threshold.
Once inside, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. It was dark and creepy inside, the walls lined with jars of unspecified content, but the shop was at least quiet and away from the suspicious characters that lurked on the street outside. In the dim light, Hermione made out a small, withered looking man, sat behind a counter in the corner of the store. The man eyed her speculatively as she made her way tentatively towards him. She stopped as she neared the dust covered counter and strained her eyes to see more clearly in the lack of light. The man's face was half covered in shadow so that, even though she was now stood only a few feet from the shopkeeper, she struggled see him properly. The man continued to stare at her from his sunken eyes but made no attempt to speak.
Hermione, sensing that if any communication was going to take place, she would have to be the one to initiate it, cleared her throat discreetly and asked in a squeaky voice, "Excuse me, I was wondering if you could help me."
"That depends wha' you wan'." Came his gravelly reply.
"Right…of course…" Hermione stuttered, reaching into her bag and pulling out the scrap of parchment with her list on. "…I just wanted to purchase some potions ingredients…"
She looked up to see if he was still even listening and he gave her a curt nod to continue.
"Well…I just need…ashwinder eggs…" The little man nodded but made no move to get them so Hermione continued. "…And also dragon blood…" Again a small nod. "And then…" Hermione hesitated on the final ingredient, which was the most regulated by the ministry and also the most indicative of the potion she wished to make. She took a deep breath, "Moonseed."
Hermione looked nervously up at the man expecting him to make comment or else refuse to sell to her. Instead, the wizard merely raised an eyebrow which told her that he knew exactly what potion she was trying to brew, and then flicked his wand to summon her items.
"D'you wan' 'em packaged?" He asked gruffly.
Hermione nodded. "Please."
While the man was wrapping her ingredients in brown parcel paper, Hermione heard the door creak as another customer entered. The shopkeeper raised his head and then nodded at the customer in acknowledgement so Hermione assumed he must be a regular, though she didn't turn to see who it was.
"4 Galleons, 7 Sickles." The small man demanded of her when her items were wrapped. She searched through her purse and selected the relevant coins, handed them over and then took her purchases from him with a murmured, "Thank you."
She turned around as she was putting the items into her bag and almost ran into the customer waiting behind her. She looked up from beneath her hood in order to apologize and froze.
Snape stood tall and dark in front of her, his expression betraying his shock at finding her there. He soon recovered however, and his face turned into a scowl that expressed his anger.
Neither said a word and neither broke eye contact. Hermione first feared that he would demand an explanation for being here or that he would insist on seeing what she had bought, but then she remembered the last time they had met and the anger she had felt after he had invaded her mind returned. She waited to see if he would keep to his promise to leave her alone.
Snape was also thinking of their last interaction, and it was his guilt over his actions that prevented him from berating her now. He narrowed his eyes at her as she glared back. He had agreed to leave her alone, but he hadn't expected to stumble across her in an unlicensed apothecary down Knockturn Alley. He couldn't believe she'd been so stupid as to walk alone through these streets. Not only was she an underage teenage witch, but she was also a muggle-born friend of the-boy-who-lived.
Severus sighed. Even if she was breaking dozens of rules being here, he stilled owed it to her to let this one go after he used Legilimency on her. Without saying a word he stepped to the side to let her pass.
Hermione smirked slightly at her victory and made to leave, but as she passed him, Snape's hand quickly shot out and grasped her around her wrist stopping her in her tracks. Hermione kept her eyes on the door and her face neutral as the potions master leaned towards her and murmured in a deathly quiet drawl.
"I strongly suggest that you head straight back to school." He waited until he saw her give the smallest nod of understanding and then released her, walking towards the counter while his student scurried out the door.
"Reed." Severus greeted the shopkeeper.
"Professor." The weedy man returned. A quirked eyebrow told Severus that while the man wouldn't say anything, he hadn't missed the exchange between him and the previous customer.
Severus desperately wanted to know what Reed had just sold to Granger but knew better than to ask. There was no way that the owners of this establishment would divulge the business of their customers, even to a regular like Severus, and to ask for that kind of information would be considered bad manners round these parts. No, Severus would have to deal with this new Granger development later, for now, he had his own business to attend to.
"Knockturn Alley?" The headmaster repeated in disbelief. "Hermione Granger? In Knockturn Alley?"
The potions master was exasperated. "Yes, Albus. For the last time, I caught Miss Granger in Knockturn Alley; presumably, when she was supposed to be having a reconciliatory lunch with her parents."
The elder wizard frowned. "You saw her today?"
Severus nodded. "I suppose it would have been just after 2."
"Well they were supposed to meet at noon, so she probably popped into Diagon Alley afterwards before she came back. I don't like that she was walking around alone through." Dumbledore's eyes crinkled in concern.
"Just another example of the girl's idiocy this year." Severus drawled. "I mean she knows she's a major target of Deatheaters and she's not even of age yet. If there had been an incident, even if by some miracle she got away unscathed, she would have been hauled off to face the ministry just like Potter."
Dumbledore hummed thoughtfully. "Which begs the question; if she knew all of the risks, why was she there?"
"I found her in Ratchet & Reed's apothecary, so I can only assume she was purchasing potion ingredients."
"Potion ingredients?" Albus raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Do you have any idea what she would have wished to purchase from such a place?"
"I have no idea. Certainly, none of the 5th year potions would require her to venture into Knockturn Alley, which either means that she intends to brew an illegal potion or else didn't want anyone to know what potion she is brewing."
"Did you ask her why she was there?"
Severus frowned. He knew at some point he would have to explain his actions but he'd been trying to skirt around the issue as much as possible. "I'm afraid I did not. I merely expressed my displeasure and suggested she get straight back to school."
The headmaster's frown deepened. "That's all you said to her? You didn't even escort her back to the Floo? That's not like you, Severus."
The younger man sighed and avoided the Dumbledore's gaze. "I admit I did not act as I usually would have. I'm afraid that in my attempts to discover what is currently troubling Miss Granger, I may have crossed the line, and as a result felt it would be better to keep my distance for a time."
Albus eyes Severus carefully. "I see. You didn't mention this before."
Severus looked up and into the elder wizard's eyes. "I can't say I'm particularly proud of my actions." He said gravely.
Dumbledore nodded in understanding. Though he had no clue as to what Severus was so ashamed of doing, he decided not to push the matter, seeing that the young man was already feeling guilty.
"Severus," Dumbledore said after a moment of silence, causing the man to look up through the dark curtains of his hair. "Whatever wrong you feel you have done Miss Granger, I strongly urge you not to sacrifice Miss Granger's well-being in a misplaced attempt to make amends."
Snape narrowed his eyes but said nothing, so Albus continued. "Finding her in Knockturn Alley, only goes to show that she is still vulnerable. If she won't talk to us willingly then we must keep a close watch over her. It isn't in her best interests to take a step back."
Severus was still for a few moments more and then slowly nodded his reluctant agreement.
Albus smiled, "Thank you, my boy. As always your service to this school and its pupils is greatly appreciated."
The brooding professor scowled and Albus continued earnestly. "I mean it Severus. Your loyalty is of even greater importance now;" the old man turned to stroke Fawkes lovingly. "I fear I shall not be headmaster of Hogwarts for much longer."
AN: Thanks for reading everyone, reviews are greatly appreciated; long or short, good or bad. Please do continue to recommend the fiction to friends and foes alike if you are enjoying the story and think others will too. In the next chapter: Hermione brews a potion, the DA are discovered and Severus tries to get Hermione to open up. The update will either come tomorrow evening (British time) or sometime on Monday, depending on how much writing I get done. See you then! x