Author's Note: I know this has taken forever, and I'm sorry. The first scene of this chapter was a bear to write, and I'm still not happy with it. It's quite difficult to balance a Severus who is struggling with many different kinds of love and loyalty without making excuses for the bad choices he made all around. I'm trying to show a Snape who is different with his friends than he is with others, and different with Hermione than anyone else, especially since I've already been accused of making it 'too easy,' for him. Hopefully semi-regular posting will continue after this hiccup.

Severus Snape took the summons seriously when he received a note telling him to come to dinner at Malfoy Manor on Tuesday. He told the Headmaster that he was hoping for information on what angry Death Eaters might be planning with the reentrance of Harry Potter into the Wizarding World. It was true, only he had ulterior motives under his usual ulterior motives. He had made a lot of mistakes in his life, and he felt like a bastard of the lowest order every time he thought of what he had put Cressida and Hermione through. Neither the fact that he had not intended to hurt them nor the fact that Cressida and he had entered into their relationship fully knowing his feelings for Lily could assuage his guilt. He had a lot of experience with guilt, it was an old friend, and knew where the chinks in his armour lay.

The Manor was unchanged, and it seemed almost wrong, now that he knew the truth and knew what they would be discussing tonight. It was ridiculous, of course, but he couldn't help but look around the halls and wonder how much time his daughter had spent here. Draco's personal house-elf appeared with a pop. "Master and Mistress have asked Gimme to show Professor Godfather to the small dining room." It squeaked happily.

Severus would have said that he knew his way, but didn't feel like dealing with a hysterical house elf, especially this one. "Very well." He drawled, setting off before the elf could pick itself off from the bow. It walked almost beside him, in an effort to get ahead of him to properly show him to the small dining room, apparating small hops, trying to get ahead of his long stride. By the time they reached the dining room door, the house-elf wheezed as it opened: "Professor Godfather, Master and Mistress."

"Thank you, Gimme." Narcissa said, smiling at Severus. "Please, join us, Severus."

Severus gave a a slightly-more-than perfunctory nod. "Thank you, Narcissa, Lucius." he remarked, taking his usual seat at the table. What was not usual was the fourth person at the table, sitting next to Lucius. "Aurora."

"Severus." Aurora said, voice cool and flat. "Narcissa says you want to see Cressida."

"Now, Aurora." Lucius interrupted. "The interrogation can wait a bit." He lifted his wineglass to his lips as the appetizers for the night appeared before them. "How are your classes going, Severus?"

Severus gave a drawling critical answer, as he would have in any other situation, but his heart wasn't truly in it. He found that he would have preferred the quick, sharp interrogation of Aurora over the interminable wait and pleasantries of his closest friends, but he played along nonetheless. The dinner crawled along until the interrogation resumed over the Beef Wellington.

"So, Severus," Aurora stressed, as if they weren't friends in Hogwarts, the only two teachers to come from Slytherin House, and able to commiserate over lost friends they were not allowed to grieve. "Why should we let you see Cressida?"

Severus paused, fork halfway to his mouth, and then put it back down slowly, bite uneaten. "I suppose the fact that I miss her isn't good enough for you." He said, self-deprecatingly. "I want to apologise for the self-absorbed bastard I was when we were together. I want to apologise for not being there for her and for Hermione. I want to know everything about her life as it is now, I want to know everything about our daughter's life, but...I also do miss her." He picked up his wine glass and looked away from the gatekeepers of his former flame, looking into the wine instead, as if the scarlet liquid could offer answers "I want to sit and talk for hours like we used to, I want to hear her ridiculous jokes that no one without a Potions Mastery can understand. I want to sit in the quiet with her, like we used to. I don't deserve her forgiveness. I won't claim to, but I want her to understand that I have missed her, and she wasn't just a...a warm body." H looked at his meal, now no longer hungry. "Even though I imagine she wouldn't be willing to try again."

Narcissa's eyebrows had climbed higher as Severus spoke, partially because it was rare to hear him speak at such lengths for any reason outside of his classroom. Taciturn described the man in his best moments. She nodded to herself. "Alright." Narcissa agreed. "In two days, I'll take you to go see Cressida. You can change into muggle clothes here. "

"Cissy!" Aurora argued. "That's it? You're just...going to let him see her? He's going to hurt her again!"

"You're overruled, Aurora." Lucius said, calmly. "I agree with Narcissa. He's already figured out the mission, and even if you're right, and he doesn't care, which is a ridiculous idea after that, he could jeapordise the mission just by claiming her, and Hermione wouldn't argue. He's made a point to play along."

"Men!" Aurora shot at Lucius, annoyed. "I better get a very large portion of that chocolate torte I was promised to agree to this meeting."

Hermione Granger ran her fingers over the wooden box carefully. It looked like a standard quill box decorated with the constellation of Cassiopeia, but she knew better. She tore a piece of parchment and carefully wrote a note, disguising her handwriting.

D.M.ℾ

I miss you. I feel like I'm failing. I have one job, and I can't seem to make them like me. I can't seem to make anyone like me. I hate getting called a Mudblood when it isn't true, and what makes it worse is that Aunt Rory wants me to come by the Tower tomorrow before class. She already knows I have no friends. You have loads of friends! Tell me what I'm doing wrong.

H.S.

She placed it in the box, closed the lid, and tapped the lid with her wand. After opening the box to ensure that the note had disappeared, she closed the box again, and waited for a reply. It didn't take long, but the frayed end of her quill would have made anyone think it had taken days for the pattern on the box to change from one constellation to another. She flipped the box open and pulled out the note inside.

H.S.

I miss you too. Pansy tries, but she can't keep up. I know it's hard, but that's because you're stuck with the lions who wouldn't understand value if a goblin smacked them with the financial pages. Why do you think Weasley can't afford textbooks of his own? You're not doing anything wrong. I don't think Potter knows how making friends work. He wouldn't even shake my hand, after all! Tell Aurora you'll figure out something suitably stupid and brave to get them on side. Or just do their homework for them. You can do it. Just try again.

D.M.

P.S. - Don't forget, you're worth more than all of them put together.

Hermione smiled, more warmed by the postscript than the rest of it. The note was Draco all over, the snobbish prat she had known since she was tiny, and it made her feel better. At least she had one friend, who would rather spend time with her than perfect Harry Potter or lovely Lavender Brown, or even pureblood Pansy Parkinson. She had Draco, it would get her through it all.