"Okay, that is it! Spill it!" the voice of her red-haired, ball busting best friend startled her out of the textbook she had emerged herself in.
"Geesh Ginny, don't do that!"
Hermione glared up at her friend as Ginny sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk, but Ginny was not that easily intimidated and simply raised her eyebrows as she leaned back in her chair. It was rather obvious to Hermione that she would not get out of here without telling Ginny what she wanted to hear. She was as stubborn as they came that girl.
"I've been patient, Hermione and so has Harry. But it has been two weeks and you haven't told us anything, you have barley talked us at all. If we ever see you, that is. So, speak!"
"What is there to say?"
"Are you kidding me?!" Ginny looked at her as if she belonged locked up in a mental institution. "How about why they gave you away or what happened after Snape and McGonagall took you away?"
What had really happened? It was still a little hazy and hard for her to phantom. She had barley progressed any of the snippets of information she had gathered up during the weekend at the Zabini mansion. While Hermione had certainly learned a lot about her newfound family, they had also learned a lot of things about her. In fact, they had probably learnt more about her than she was comfortable with at this stage. She had gone through a whirlwind of different emotions that weekend, and the storm had yet to calm down.
By the time she, Blaise and Draco had returned back to the castle, the news about her newfound parentage had reached every soul and ghost from the lowest dungeon to the astronomy tower of the castle. Everyone knew, and everyone was talking. Wherever she went in an attempt to escape the madness and collect her thoughts, people were there whispering and staring. It was starting to slowly get on her nerves and she had taken to explore the castle to find nocks and cranes to hide. She had even been forced to find a new private place amongst the rows and tombs of the library. Nothing was sacred anymore.
Ultimately, since she wanted to avoid the people and the gossip that surrounded them, it meant that she had to avoid her friends too. It seemed though like they had finally found her and that the time for hiding was over.
"Well you heard what Snape said that day, once they found out that they were having twins and saw our magic they wanted to protect us. Protect me and my magic from the hands of Voldemort."
"That doesn't explain why they didn't come and get you after it was all over though. In hindsight it might have been a good thing, since the mad man did come back, but they did not know that at the time. It's not like they didn't know who you were."
Ginny was right. That very same question had plagued her mind this past week. During the time she spent together with her newfound family she had taken any information that were given to her and she had asked questions as they had presented themselves. The subject of her adoption had never been brought up because everyone had been so busy to fill her in on all the aspects of their lives that she had missed. Somehow the reason why they had to tell her all of this had been forgotten. Hermione though was rather interested in hearing the answer to that question though.
She smiled sadly at her friend and shrugged her shoulders, not knowing what to say to that statement.
"What are they like?" Ginny asked. "Your parents, I mean."
"I don't know…" she contemplated. "Bianca seems like a very gentle woman. Talkative, bubbly. Cassio is quite the opposite really. He is rather quiet. He doesn't talk much but it's like he doesn't need to. His presence holds so much authority it's like it speaks for him. He is intriguing though, it seems like he holds a lot of knowledge and secrets. Bianca is more of an open book that is more than willing to let you in."
"Do they seem like good people? Like people you could feel comfortable with?"
"I think so. They seem normal and nothing like I first thought they would be like, they actually seem to care about each other and about me." Ginny smiled and leaned in closer across the table.
"That is a good thing, isn't it?" she inquired.
"I suppose so. I don't know."
Hermione shrugged her shoulders and looked away from her friend to focus on the work in front of her again. It was her subtle way of letting Ginny know that she was done talking and that the subject was closed. But once again her friend was not so easily discouraged.
"So, did anything else happen while you were away?" Ginny's tone of voice immediately had Hermione on the defence. That tone often meant that Ginny was up to no good, at least it was no good for the one who was on the receiving end.
"Why?" Hermione asked suspiciously. "Isn't meeting my biological family for the first time enough?"
"Right… So, you have no idea why a certain blonde Slytherin came asking for you earlier?" the look on Ginny's face was anything but funny to Hermione right now. "Because it seems to me like it is not just me and Harry that you are avoiding."
Hermione's heart stopped, if only for a second. Draco had come looking for her? The notion had tingles erupt in her stomach and a sense of warmth spread through her body up to her cheeks. She would not say that they were close. They had just started to get to know each other and despite her better judgement she felt like they had connected and that there was something between them, however insignificant it might be. His reputation amongst the girls were no secret and she knew that these feelings were probably one sided. It did not stop her from feeling happy about the fact that he came looking for her though. It was silly and she could not help it, but she would never admit to it out loud.
But why had he come looking for her then? It must mean that he at least cared for her a little bit and was concerned about her wellbeing.
"You do know!" Ginny exclaimed, and Hermione would not be surprised if the entire library had heard her. "What happened?"
"Nothing happened!"
Even though nothing did happen, the statement sounded weak to Hermione's own ears. She and Draco had just talked and hung out with Blaise. They had talked about both light and heavy things as well as laughing and joking around. So while nothing had happened specifically, the time they spent together had changed things. There was no way that Ginny was going to believe it though. Not when she did not really believe it herself.
"Oh come off it, Hermione! You two have been flirting with each other ever since we got back to school at the start of term. It has been quiet amusing to watch you try and act oblivious."
"Don't you have somewhere else to be or someone else to bother?" she asked desperately. "Like at quidditch practice or with Harry?"
"Yeah, yeah. I will leave you alone." Ginny laughed. "I didn't just come here to terrorise you though. Professor Snape wants you to come and see him in his office." with that she got up and left, leaving Hermione behind to listen to her laughter that carried throughout the library until the door closed behind her.
Hermione groaned and looked down at her books and notes that rested, forgotten, on the desk. There was no way she would be able to concentrate on her work until she had gone and seen the headmaster and found out what he wanted. Had it been anyone else that asked for her, she would have ignored the request and continued on with her stint of reclusiveness. But she had always held a huge respect for authority figures and honestly, she was a little curious of what he wanted. She had never been called to the headmaster's office before, that had been Harry's domain. She stayed for five more minutes before she packed up her things and left the library as well.
The hallways on her way towards the golden gargoyle were relatively empty, which made it easy for her to ignore the few stares that were cast her way. A few more turns and another staircase and had the gargoyle in her sight. That is when she realised that she had no idea what password was required to get through. She doubted that it would be "honeysuckle" or "sugarquill". But she didn't need to worry. As soon as she stopped in front of it, it swung aside and revealed the staircase that lead up to the office. The office however was empty and the chair behind the desk was unoccupied.
"Hello?" she slowly walked further into the room. "Professor?"
"You should really get used to calling me Severus, little girl." his deep voice travelled across the room, but she could not pinpoint the origin. "I'm to your left."
Turning to the left she spotted a gap in between the large bookshelves that covered the entire wall and walked cautiously towards it. Not only was it the headmaster's office but Snape himself was a rather imposing man and Hermione did not feel like she knew him well enough to stroll around his office.
As she walked through the gap, she found herself standing in a large potions lab that was equipped with all the latest and fanciest cauldrons and scales. Behind all that fancy equipment, the headmaster's dark hair could be seen as he stirred something in one of the many active cauldrons. It was an incredible place, almost rivalling the library she found at the Zabini manor. The room was definitely fitting for a world-class potion master.
"You wanted to see me, sir… eh Severus?"
"Come over here." he motioned her over to where he stood.
"What are you doing?"
"I am helping Madam Pomfrey to stock her supply." he said as he moved from one cauldron to another. "It's something I have always done and still do when I have the time."
Hermione sat down on an empty stool next to one of the benches and watched him work in silence. Every once in a while, he would pass her something to chop or grind and before she knew it thirty minutes had passed, and she was none the wiser as to why she was there. It wasn't uncomfortable though as she would have expected. The man could be intimidating and scare the crap out of his students, but he could also be rather pleasant to be around when he tried.
"So what have you been up to today?" he addressed her without looking up from the task at his hands.
"I have been in the library studying. Then Ginny came and disturbed me."
"Is that what you call hiding out nowadays?" he raised an eyebrow at her and Hermione could feel how the heat rose in her cheek for the second time that day, in less than an hour even. "Your brother and Draco ratted you out. Apparently, you have been avoiding them and they are worried."
"Did they talk to everybody?" she asked in exasperation.
It was sweet that they worried about her, it showed her that they cared about her wellbeing, but she did not like being talked about. Being talked about is the reason she hid away in corners and avoided being with her friends since that meant she would be surrounded by the people that talked about her.
"Are they right to be worried?" this time he did put down what he was working with to really be able to look at her. "Because I have not known you to be someone who backs down from a fight for anything."
"No, I'm fine! I just don't appreciate everyone staring at me all the time."
"So you failing to show up for almost every meal for two weeks is you being fine?" his voice grew hard. "Do you want to try again?"
Severus Snape's dark eyes were searching her face hard for any kind of sign or tell. He could clearly see that she had lost weight since it got quite obvious on her already slim form. Her quiet demeanour was another clear giveaway that she was not as fine as she claimed to be. It seemed like his inquiring eyes was all it took for Hermione to break.
"I have a trillion questions and no answers, but I don't get any time to sort through them. Everyone wants to know how I am doing all the time, but I have no idea how I am feeling. On top of that people keep whispering and I just want to ask them all to piss off and leave me alone."
"You do know that I can be assistance with some of those questions right?" he covered her folded hands with one of his to relay his message. It was his way of offering her some comfort and show her affection.
Hermione looked at the dark man in front of her. It was so strange to have the Severus Snape show her affection and once again he had gotten her to open up. But for some strange reason he made her feel comfortable and at ease around him. She also realised that this was a perfect opportunity to ask the big question that had been on her mind for most of the time this week.
"Why didn't…" she couldn't look him in the eyes when she asked him this, because to be honest she was not quite so sure she wanted to know the answer. "After the first war, when everyone thought that Voldemort was gone, why did my parents not come and get me? You obviously knew where I was?"
It was clear that her question startled him and that he did not know how to answer it either. He cleared his throat and took a seat on the chair next to hers.
"Well, you have been through a war and know what kind of damages that has to a person. We did not have it easy, your parents included, after it all ended. I figure you know that I cared very much for Mr. Potter's mother, she was my best friend, and after her death and the stress of the war I needed some time to pick myself together again, so I left for a while. When I got back things were not the same anymore… All I know is that you parents wanted to have you back home where you belonged, but something kept them. I don't know if the rumours that Voldemort was not really gone since the dark mark stayed printed on our skin or if it had something with you and your new family. Every time we would ask about you, Bianca would start crying and Cassio got this dark, haunted look in his eyes before he stormed out of the room."
"Do you think they will tell me if I ask?"
"I think there is a chance, yes. Look little girl, I know that you want all of your questions answered and preferably yesterday. But you have to accept that it is going to take a while. We are still all getting to know each other and find a new dynamic where everyone is comfortable, and nobody's boundaries are crossed."
"I know." she sighed. "I just, I don't like feeling this way."
"May I make a suggestion?" he asked. "How about not avoiding your brother and Draco, they can probably also answer some of your questions, maybe not fully, but in working on your relationship with them you will see that things start to move in the right direction."
What Severus was saying was of course very true and it made perfect sense to her, even with her currently unlogic brain. The perfectionist and control freak inside of her was just making things worse and harder for her to deal with everything.
"Now, I need to finish these potions and you need to go find your friends. Scram!"
Hermione laughed at the playful snarky tone of voice he used and got up from her seat, ready to leave his office. When she reached the gap in the wall she turned around and looked at the man that was already back to stirring one of the cauldrons.
"Thank you, Severus!" the man looked up from his cauldron and gave her one of his very rare, half smiles.
"You are very welcome."
Hermione felt a little lighter as she treaded back through the castle and her dorm where she knew she would at least find one of her friends. She was in no way immune to the stares and the whispers on the way, but they didn't rile her up as much as they had just an hour earlier. Within minutes she reached the portrait of the four founders that lead into the dorm. She spoke the password out loud and rushed through the hole but came to a stop almost immediately when she got inside.
There on one of the couches in front of the fire place sat no one other than Draco. That meant that the avoiding came to an end sooner than she had expected. Draco was not the first of her friends she wanted to run into and not alone. How was she going to act, what was she going to say? It would be easier to face him if someone else was present as well.
"Hi." she spoke, and Draco smiled as he noticed her presence.
"Hi."