Glamours and Lies
by sick-atxxheart
Chapter Four

Hermione had never Apparated before, but she had read about it and personally found she highly disliked the feeling. It was like being shoved into a rubber tube that seemed to squeeze you, without letting go; in all reality, it felt like she was dying, and Hermione wished it would end. In the first place, it had been awkward enough to have to hold on to her teacher's arm; and secondly, she was still uncomfortable in her body.

All in all, Hermione just wanted to crawl back in to the bed in her dormitory and cry.

But that obviously wasn't an option, so Hermione steeled herself as she seemingly fell out of the hair. Falling hard, she cried out and she landed on her knees.

Hermione could feel the slight tears beginning to fall, and she was just starting to try and get up when a strong grip lifted her up and straightened her out. Looking up, Hermione found Professor Snape staring at her, an almost questioning look in his eyes. He seemed to be asking whether or not she was all right.

Hermione hadn't known much about the teachers at Hogwarts before she came. She was muggle-born, so she hadn't heard the Wizarding rumours and gossip that often swirled around them, especially Snape. Therefore, she was unprejudiced when regarding the man, relying only on the fact that she found him intimidating. For this reason, she found it extremely kind of him that he was even being mildly amiable towards her. She had always had the perception that boarding school teachers were rather harsh.

Snape was speaking, and Hermione immediately brushed away her tears, looked down at her knees, and waited for him to finish so she could respond.

"Are you all right, Miss Granger?" The man was saying, and Hermione almostnoticed a wince on his face when he said her name. Hermione quickly convinced herself she was just imagining things, however, and replied in what she hoped was a brave voice.

"I-I'm fine, s-sir," she said quietly, looking at him while dusting off her now-bleeding knee. "It's nothing."

Snape frowned, and Hermione couldn't help but tense when he brought out his wand. He raised his eyebrows, looking at her briefly, before muttering a spell that caused the skin on her knee to weave itself back together. Hermione wished she knew that spell.

"T-thank you, sir," Hermione said gratefully, rubbing the remaining blood off her knee with her hand. She had just noticed her surroundings, and couldn't help but be surprised by them.

In front of her rose a great grey castle, with all the turrets and balconies and decorations that would seem appropriate for a medieval-looking castle. The only thing missing, Hermione thought wryly to herself, was the crocodile-filled moat that had always been told of in her childhood fairy tales.

They still weren't moving, however, and Hermione looked up abruptly to find Professor Snape still staring at her. She quickly looked down once again shyly, but the man had begun speaking once again.

"I'm not quite sure you understand that this isn't going to be easy," Professor Snape said. "This isn't just about meeting your... mother. I understand you have read quite extensively on Wizarding history before coming to Hogwarts?" Hermione nodded eagerly, and the man continued.

"Very well, then I'm sure you have heard of Lord Voldemort, the wizard against the Light who is planning to take over the Wizarding World."

Hermione frowned and nodded once again, wondering where exactly this was leading.

"There is a... society, for a lack of a better word, of followers of this man. She is one of them."

Hermione knew immediately who he was talking about, and she couldn't help but be shocked. She had gathered from Dumbledore's frantic whisperings with Snape that something strange was happening, but she would have never guessed that she was the child of someone so... dark.

It scared the hell out of her, but it thrilled her at the same time.

Professor Snape was still watching her carefully, and Hermione noticed with a shock that her face hadn't changed when he gave her the news. Her look was still relaxed but questioning, and she almost breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that she hadn't screamed or fainted or something. That would have been embarrassing.

Hermione finally looked up once again, and said in an even tone, "Well, this certainly will be an adventure, won't it?"

The shock on her teacher's face was so obvious that Hermione almost burst out laughing, but thankfully refrained herself just in time. "You- you aren't scared?" The man asked, his voice still calm but incredulous all the same.

Hermione really did laugh at that. "Of course I'm scared, sir," she said. "I would be a fool to not be. I'm scared out of my mind. But I have... what I suppose would be called... great respect for those on either side of the spectrum. Light or Dark, I suppose I should say. The want for power, no matter how it is achieved, is nothing to be ashamed of."

Snape couldn't help but be shocked. It just simply did not make sense for the girl to react so calmlyto the news that her mother was a Death Eater! Many people would deliberately kill themselves if they found out news like that, or at least try and run away as fast as possible. She, however, was taking it extremely well.

Severus Snape hated fear, but he hadn't been able to deny to himself that he was afraid of telling Hermione that he was her father. He hadn't gotten barely any sleep the night before, instead tossing and turning and worrying about what the day's events would bring. How would Hermione react to him? How would the Dark Lord react to her? What would Bellatrix say? Would Hermione be hurt?

A million questions had run through his mind, and the Potions Master hadn't had answers for any of them. He had finally drifted off to sleep early in the morning, only to be woken up once again for the day.

It seemed now, however, that perhaps telling her now would be the proper thing to do. If she didn't know before they entered the Dark Lord's headquarters, bad things could happen when she found out. Yes, perhaps now...

The girl was still watching him, and Severus sighed deeply before finally responding to her statement. "That is a very... wise stance to take on this matter," he said slowly, looking at her, black eyes meeting identical black; "However," he continued, "I must admit that I have a confession to make."

Hermione watched him, her eyes questioning. "What is it, sir?" She asked, trying very hard to control her fear. She may be accepting of all that was going on, but she definitely didn't like it.

"You are going to meet your mother today," Severus said slowly, looking over her head to the large pond that was stretched out in the distance. "However, you have already met your father."

"I have?" Hermione exclaimed, looking surprised. "Who is he, sir?"

If Severus hadn't known better, he would have guessed that she already knew who he was referring to. Leave it to my child to be a bloody genius, he thought to himself, before answering her question.

"Me." The single word was one of the hardest things he had ever had to say, landing below only his promising words of loyalty to both Dumbledore and the Dark Lord. Severus carefully watched Hermione, but her reaction was very much the same.

She stayed still for a good long minute, before nodding abruptly and saying, "Well, that's fine then. Will you protect me?"

She looked up imploringly, innocently up at him, and Severus felt his heart pull in his chest. How could he say no?

"To the best of my ability," he managed to say, with a hint of kindness laced through his words. Turning on the spot, Severus led her to the door of the castle.

--

Voldemort had just been beginning his brunch- oh, how he didlove that Muggle meal! It was a fantastic combination of breakfast and lunch that was just oh-so-pleasing to the taste buds. He was, of course, ignoring the fact that he hated all things Muggle... but regardless, he was eating, and was nothappy when the spineless Wormtail came scurrying frantically into the room.

The man stopped running immediately as soon as the Dark Lord's wand was trained upon his forehead. "What is it?" Voldemort asked, his voice full of contempt. "This had better be worth it, Wormtail, or you'll live to regret it."

"S-Severus S-Snape requests a-audience with y-you, M-My Lord," the man stuttered, looking to the ground. "H-he has someone w-with him... a g-girl..."

The Dark Lord smirked. Somethingwas going on for Severus to deliberately get permission to leave Hogwarts.

"Send him in," he told the trembling man, who squeaked but didn't move.

"I-I'm s-sorry, my L-Lord," Wormtail continued in a near whisper. "But S-Severus asks that B-Bellatrix be p-present, if it is p-pleasing to y-you, My L-Lord."

Voldemort frowned. What could be that important that Bellatrix would need to be involved? What could Severus tell him that Bellatrix needed to know also? And what was more, what would he need to say that involved a girl he had brought with him?

He sighed and shook his head slowly. "Very well."

--

I suppose that is a cliffhanger. Sorry Bellatrix isn't in this yet again- she definitely will be next chapter. Thanks for all your reviews!

How was this chapter? What should Bella's reaction be?