Glamours and Lies
by sick-atxxheart
Chapter Eight

Explaining Hermione's parentage to the Hogwarts staff was almost as difficult as explaining it to the Dark Lord had been. An unofficial but still fully attended staff meeting was taking place, with Severus' story the main attraction.

"When did you find out?" Was the first question asked of him by Professor Flitwick, who was the most tactful of the group.

"Only a few days ago. She had a glamour placed on her at birth." Severus' answer was short and to the point, as he hoped this interrogation would be. He had no desire to sit and hash out every single piece of knowledge he had.

The two questions that were the most interesting to the group – and the most crucial to answer carefully – came next: how Severus was going to handle the situation, and the identity of Hermione's mother. The crowd of staff waited around him excitedly, wanting an answer.

Severus apparently waited too long, because Minerva McGonagall nudged his shoulder. "Come now, Severus," she said sharply. "They are fair questions."

Severus snorted. "Fair questions? They are intrusive ones," he shot back, sighing deeply. "I will not reveal the identity of Hermione's mother," Severus finally said. His statement was met with cries of outrage and disappointment.

"You at least must know who it is," Minerva coaxed, leaning forward in her seat next to him. Severus scowled. He often forgot exactly how strong the rumor and gossip mill at Hogwarts was, with many of the teachers right at the top of it.

"Of course I know who it is," he growled, growing more irritated by the second. Severus rose out of his chair and stood, slightly scattering the group. "Hermione is currently staying with me. I expect you to treat her as you would any other student." With that, he strode out of the room, a scowl still on his face.

All thoughts of a long, perfectly silent hour or two of grading papers in his office fled from his mind when he saw who was waiting for him outside of the staff room. "Mr. Malfoy," Severus greeted him formally, sighing softly. He had been expecting this conversation and dreading it all the same.

"Can I talk to you in private?" Draco requested, looking unusually nervous. His confident demeanor, which often bordered on arrogance, was notably absent.

"Of course," Severus replied, turning on his heel and moving down the corridor. "Let's adjourn to my office."

Draco followed him in silence on the trek to his office. Once they arrived, he waited tersely as Severus shut the door and situated himself behind the desk before speaking.

"Is it true?" Draco said quietly, shifting in his chair. He found himself unable to look at his adopted uncle.

Severus sighed again, for what felt like the fiftieth time that day. He did not answer until Draco finally chanced a glance up at him. Severus caught his gaze and said, "Yes, Draco. Hermione Granger is my daughter."

"Hermione Snape then, isn't she?" Draco shot back. Severus paused. Draco's reaction was perplexing. Surely the boy had made the connection that he and the girl were family, and Severus had expected that would please Draco.

Severus voiced his thoughts. "I had thought you would be rather excited to discover you have a cousin," he said carefully, knowing what he was revealing with those words. What if Hermione hadn't already revealed the whole truth to him?

His concerns were for naught, however; Draco did not react with surprise at that statement. Instead, he frowned. "That's not it," the boy sighed, looking remarkably young in that moment. "It's just that – Uncle Sev, I –"

It was in Draco's uncharacteristic inability to express himself that Severus finally understood what the problem was. He leaned forward slightly and stared at Draco until the boy's eyes met his once more. "This changes nothing, Draco," he said softly. "I'm still your Uncle Sev. You know that."

Draco looked embarrassed. "You have Hermione now," he said quietly. "I'll just be in the way –"

"You will not," Severus said easily, confidently. He stood, walked around his desk, and gathered Draco into a hug. Only with his adopted nephew – practically son – did he show such affection. Lucius Malfoy's parenting skills left much to be desired, and Narcissa followed her husband's will so strongly that she, too, was often absent. Severus had found himself filling into a parental role for Draco while the boy was growing up. Severus still worried, however, how the boy would grow up, what with all the not-so-good influences around him.

Despite having held a fatherly role for Draco for so many years, that feeling was not the same as what he felt when he considered his role as Hermione's true father. Falling into caring for and loving Draco had been something natural, something necessary, that he hadn't avoided and had come to love. Hermione was a different story, however. She was an unknown to him, and his willingness to care for and protect her was still foreign.

Severus released Draco from the embrace and sat down next to him, on the far side of the desk. "You'll look after her?"

Draco paused, and then looked up to meet Uncle Sev's eyes. "Of course I will," he replied with a small smile. "I already told her that, too. I… I just wanted to hear it from you, I guess."

"Understandable," Severus commented, leaning back in his chair.

Out of the blue, Draco laughed quietly. "It seems kind of appropriate that she would be Slytherin," he said, his gray eyes sparkling.

Severus couldn't help but smile back at him, in a rare show of camaraderie. "It's rather unsurprising, with the genes," he responded. "I think you will be surprised at just how Slytherin Hermione is."

Draco's smile vanished. "She's met the Dark Lord," he said. It was a statement, not a question.

Similarly, Severus' expression sobered. "Yes," he replied, bowing his head. "It was unavoidable."

At only eleven, Draco possessed a knowledge of the Dark Lord that was both impressive and unfortunate. Severus knew for a fact that it came from both stories from his father and from personal experience. "And she escaped unscathed?"

Severus frowned. "Somehow," he said slowly, "Hermione seemed to impress him."

Draco was appropriately shocked and astounded. "That's impossible," he claimed. A shake of the head from Severus, however, told him it was otherwise. "That's… incredible. It seems to me like she will be a good ally to have, Uncle Sev." Upon second thought, Draco added, "And a good friend."

Inwardly, Severus smiled, satisfied with the outcome of their discussion. Draco would look out for Hermione. And if Hermione continued to excel in everything that was thrown at her, it was very possible that she could help protect Draco, too.

Severus sighed. Both his snakes were safe, at least for now.

Hermione went to class that day with a quiet trepidation that had everything to do with the truth of her parentage. She knew that Severus had had a meeting with all the staff and revealed at least his part of the story; however, whether or not the student body also knew was a mystery.

Her first class of the day passed without incident, as did all of them before lunch. It wasn't until Hermione took her seat in the Great Hall that she heard the beginning of the whispers.

"I heard she's Snape's daughter!"

"I heard her mother is some Muggle – that's why he won't tell who she is."

"I heard she's a Squib –"

"Don't be stupid, she wouldn't be here if she was –"

"She definitely looks like him."

"How is it possible, though? He doesn't have feelings –"

The whispers became more and more urgent as the news swept through the Great Hall like wildfire, stretching to the corners and all the way back to those who were seated right next to her. Hermione leaned over her plate and tried to ignore the stares and the cruel words, finding it quite difficult to do so. To her great relief, however, Draco moved down to sit next to her.

"Hey," he said, taking a large helping of the lunch entrée. Crabbe and Goyle were on either side of him, stuffing their faces with an impressive amount of food. Hermione had no qualms about exactly how the two boys had acquired their large girth.

"Hello," Hermione said quietly. "I guess word's out, huh?"

"Yes," Draco replied. He leaned in conspiratorially and looked around him, making sure that no one was truly listening to what they were saying. "I talked to Uncle S- I mean, Professor Snape."

Hermione glanced at him quickly, and then looked away. "And?" She whispered, her heart fluttering. At this moment, she really needed someone on her side.

Draco leaned back. "And I believe you," he said simply, smirking. "Don't worry about what everyone is saying. It'll die down in a day or two."

Hermione couldn't help the huge smile that appeared on her face, and she dug into her food with new fervor. "Thanks, Draco," she replied gratefully.

From that moment on, Hermione had gained a friend.

Regardless of her new friendship with Draco and, by association, Crabbe and Goyle, Hermione found the day difficult to get through. The whispers and pointed fingers followed her, and yet no one worked up the courage to come up and ask her directly. If they had, she would have immediately set them straight and confirmed the rumor; there was no reason to deny it, after all. And yet still no one questioned her – that is, until the last class of the day. It was double Potions with the Gryffindors, which Hermione understood was meant to be an absolute nightmare due to the rivalry that existed between the two houses.

It was made doubly awkward by the presence of the two main characters in the big rumor, and the discussions, theories, and whispers were even louder and profoundly more offensive than they were before, even before Professor Snape arrived.

Hermione was sitting with Draco waiting for class to start, her head leaning on her hand, when a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Um – Hermione? That's your name, right?" The voice was small but decidedly masculine. Hermione opened her eyes slowly to find a boy with a large scar on his forehead staring back at her. In the seat next to hers, Draco was clearly angry.

"Get out of here, Potter," he snarled. "You –"

"It's alright, Draco," Hermione said reprovingly, giving a reassuring glance to him. "You're Harry Potter," she stated, turning back to the boy. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Er – yeah, I am," he replied, his green eyes staring at the floor. Hermione studied him for a moment. She knew all about him from the books she had read prior to coming to Hogwarts – he had thwarted Voldemort eleven years ago, right after the very same man had murdered his parents. His scar was the only tie he had remaining to his parents and the fateful day they died.

"What can I do for you?" Hermione said politely.

Harry sighed. "Perhaps you don't remember," he said, "but just yesterday I was the focus of all the gossips around here. Today, you are. I'm guessing it is as difficult for you as it was for me, so I figured I would just help you get it over with. Is it true that Professor Snape is your father?"

Hermione was surprised at the boy's words, but she was suddenly immensely grateful to him. The rest of the room seemed to be waiting, holding their breaths in the silence for her answer. "Yes, it is true," she said, sighing. The room broke out into frantic whispers once more.

Harry smiled at her. "And is it true that he does not have feelings, is a bat or a vampire, actually lives at the bottom of the lake, or kidnapped you? Or that your mother is a Muggle, a gypsy, or any other strange magical creature?"

Hermione stared at him for a long moment before bursting out laughing. "No, of course none of those are true!" She gasped out, glancing at Draco, who had a trace of a smile on his lips. "I can assure you, he is perfectly human."

Harry nodded. "Good, now that we've got all that cleared up, we can go back to business." He held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Hermione Snape."

Hermione looked at his hand for a long moment. This was the first time anyone had truly addressed her as Hermione Snape – but she found it wasn't as shocking as she had anticipated. Inwardly, she nodded, and then shook Harry's hand. She returned his smile.

"Nice to meet you, Harry Potter," she said. Just as they broke apart and returned to their respective seats, the door opened and Professor Snape swept in. The lesson had begun.

This is a bit of a filler chapter, but I'm happy with it. Please review!