Severus Snape stood outside the townhouse, next to Narcissa and stared at it. It was infinitely nicer than Spinner's End, of course, and he wondered if things had been different where they would have lived, the three of them, as a family. He swallowed hard, and straightened the collar on his muggle suit nervously.

Taking pity on him, Narcissa chuckled and rang the bell, wondering if things were looking up for her friends. Both Cressida and Severus would be happier if they could work things out. Of course, if things didn't work out, it could be even worse, but given the emotion Severus had shown, Narcissa was sure it would go well.

Severus felt something drop to his feet when the door opened, and there stood Cressida. She looked different, most notably the short hair, and the glasses hiding her brown eyes, but despite eleven years, she was obviously still Cressida. "Cress…" He said, half in shock.

"Sev…" Cressida answered, looking just as nervous.

"And I'm Cissy." Narcissa said, shaking her head. She pushed them into the room. "Come now, you can't do this standing on the front step." Smiling, she closed the door behind them, and sat on the swing on the front portico, letting them have their privacy, but there if she was needed to break it up.

Severus tripped awkwardly into the room, recovering and brushing himself off nervously. "Cress, I…"

"Would you like some tea?" Cressida interrupted him, already moving to the table where a tea service was laid out. "Do you still take your tea black? I can't imagine that would change but you never know, it's been years, of course, and…"

"Yes, thank you." Severus said, cutting off her babbling with a fond smile that felt foreign on his face. "And yes, I still take it black." He had almost forgot her tendency to ramble when nervous. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "I'm sorry, Cressida."

"You have nothing to apologise for." Cressida replied, with a bit of a wince. "You never lied to me, or hid that you loved someone else. I accepted that."

"And I was angry and vengeful and a little stunned someone could desire me, and I didn't treat you like I should have." Severus admitted, though it was difficult. "I was so fixated on Lily that I couldn't see what was in front of me, or understand what it was I felt." He frowned into his tea. "If I'm to be honest, and you deserve that, I still don't understand what it is I feel for you, Cress, but I do care. I hated myself for trapping you away from the world."

Cressida watched him in interest, unused to hearing him say so much about his own feelings. Usually the only things he would talk about on at length were academic in nature. "Thank you." She admitted. "I still love you, Severus."

"I know." Severus said, a bit sardonically. "If Aurora hadn't read me the riot act, the fact that Hermione seems to only know only the best of me would have been a clue." When she winced at his words, and he realised that the 'I know,' was what he had always said, he rushed to correct himself, even though he hated talking about emotions. He already felt raw and vulnerable, but he had done Cressida a great disservice all those years ago. "I don't know if I truly understand love, Cress. I won't lie to you and say I do, but you do mean something to me. I don't know what to call that feeling, but it is there. And I do love Hermione."

"How is Hermione?" Cressida asked. "How did you find out?"

Severus quirked an eyebrow at her. "The girl is identical to you, Cressida - and I've never seen a first year that thrilled to be in my classroom, let alone practically stand on her bench to get attention."

Cressida groaned at that. "She should know better!"

"I believe most took it as an over-eager muggleborn wanting to show off." Severus reassured her. "But I still wouldn't be shocked if she bled potions."

Cressida laughed at that, though it was a bit watery. "I know. She used to ask for me to read her potion books as bedtime stories, after a muggle storybook convinced her muggles tried to burn Narcissa."

Severus found himself actually smiling at that. "She's brilliant, Cress. All her teachers rave about her."

"Is she making friends?" Cressida asked, cautiously.

Severus shook his head sadly. "Gryffindor doesn't suit her well." He admitted, wryly. "The muggleborn story keeps the Slytherins away, and the Ravenclaws are annoyed at being outdone by a Gryffindor. The Hufflepuffs, well, I'm not sure there. She keeps trying, though."

"She takes after us," Cressida said, wryly. "Neither of us can claim that we were overburdened with friends."

Severus could only nod, taking a sip of his tea. "Hopefully it will improve. You have done wonderfully, Cressida. I…" He trailed off, slightly. "I regret that I missed it, but you did what was best for our daughter. I am...remarkably ill-suited to deal with children and never had a positive role model to emulate. I fear I would have ruined her long before now."

Cressida looked surprised by this, but only shook her head. "I won't pretend that I never thought you would have preferred other children to another witch. I did fear you would find Hermione lacking because I was her mother, but…" She swallowed hard. "I can see I was wrong. You will be a good father, Severus."

Severus flushed, but shook his head. "Not if I can't even find a gift for the first birthday I'm in her life. She suggested you might have some ideas?"

Cressida smiled at Severus, really smiled, from the corners of her eyes to the dimples in her cheeks. "Oh, I have some ideas."

Hermione didn't want to get out of bed on her birthday. She had had a midnight Astronomy class the night before, and Aunt Rory had kept her after, slipping her a few presents, and stuffing her full of sweets. She hadn't minded at the time, but now getting up seemed like a monumental bother. Grumbling to herself, she wished she could just curl deeper into bed and be done with it, but she had built up her reputation, and she needed to get up.

Bleary-eyed, she headed to breakfast, ignoring everyone, and falling into her usual seat on the edges of the first-year Gryffindors. At least there was tea. It wasn't as good as Maman waking her with crepes piled high with strawberries and cream, and her annual new birthday dress, that she would get to don before they travelled to the safehouse, where Aunt Rory and the Malfoys would be waiting. At least there were pastries.

She wasn't expecting presents when the owls came. Everyone from Draco to her mother had given Aurora their gifts to be passed on the night before, but much to her surprise, an owl dropped a box right onto her plate. Opening it, she found a book on alchemy and a note: 'To the most precious child.' She smiled, alchemy was something she hadn't yet started to study, but the crossovers between Potions and Transfiguration did make it right up her alley. She smiled brightly at the Head Table, but wondered why her father hadn't waited until their meeting later that night to give it to her.

Hermione had hoped that her good mood from the birthday present at breakfast would stick with her through the day, but the snubs from Lavender and Parvati, and then Ronald's insensitive digs just made her sad. By the time she had morosely finished dinner, she didn't even bother reaching for a serving of pudding. It was officially her worst birthday ever. She hadn't even gotten to talk to Draco. There was at least one bright spot, though, her upcoming visit to the dungeons. Still, she had trouble managing her usual excitement. You'd think one person, one person in this castle would wish her happy birthday on her birthday. It wasn't hard to pretend to be morose as she entered the Potions classroom, as if she had detention. With no one around, she heaved a sigh and headed for the lab. "Papa?" She said quietly, as she closed the lab door behind her.

Severus attempted a smile, but t looked awkward on his severe aquiline features. "Happy birthday, Hermione." He murmured, holding out a package. "I thought about bringing you a fairy cake, but I didn't want to encourage bad habits like eating in the lab."

Hermione took the gift and tilted her head. "I thought you sent me the book I got at breakfast, Papa." She frowned, suddenly worried. "If it wasn't from you, who was it from?"

Severus frowned, suddenly concerned. "Let me see it, Hermione."

Hermione immediately started going through her bag. "I mean, I knew it wasn't your normal handwriting, I just thought you had another, like how my Snape handwriting is different from my Granger handwriting." She explained, pulling out the volume with the note pressed inside, waiting to be a bookmark. "Here, Papa."

Severus took the book, and his heart plummeted at the title, even as his throat closed over at the note. Was the Dark Lord grooming his daughter to be his heir, or was it purely her position as a spy that made her 'the most precious child.' He found he didn't like either answer. He wanted to wrap his daughter up in his arms and protect her from the Dark Lord and his service, except how could he, when she had been groomed and trained for His service? He checked it for spells, being especially thorough looking for compulsion spells in particular before handing it back, begrudgingly. "It's safe, but I don't know who sent it."

Hermione was bothered by this, and quickly put it back in her bag. The actual present from her father was much more interesting. She opened the box, to find a necklace, with a silver coin at the bottom, the coin had a head with two faces.

"A Prince legacy." Severus explained. "Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings, transitions, war and peace - a god of contradictions, supposedly charmed to help us with patience and protect us from the worst of our decisions." He gestured slightly. "May I?"

Hermione nodded gratefully, staring at the simple necklace, that meant so much more than any of the expensive jewels she used to envy Cissy. This was an actual heirloom from her very own family.

"I've added a few more charms for protection." Severus admitted, as he placed it around Hermione's neck and clasped it. "I'm sure you'll need some sooner or later, whether it be from your ridiculous Housemates or your...tasks." In actuality, he had put every protection ward he could possibly imbue into the metal on it, but he wouldn't tell her that much. "Happy birthday, Hermione."