Witnessing Voldemort learn that his daughter wasn't dead after all, and had instead been stolen from him as a baby, was extremely emotional for Severus and something he was never likely to forget. In all his years of serving Voldemort, he'd never seen the man underneath the darkness, but his human side was very much on display as his entire world was shaken to the core. Watching him digest the news about his daughter, Severus was left in no doubt that despite what Dumbledore claimed, Voldemort did know how to love and he did have a heart.
Just witnessing the emotion on Voldemort's face made Severus think about how different things might have been if he hadn't lost Hermione. Fatherhood might have changed him, and who knew how he might have changed if he'd had the chance to be a real father to his daughter. Maybe having Hermione in his life would have calmed him down, and while Severus knew it never would have erased his darkness, it might have made him less rash and prone to rushing in without thinking. Maybe if he hadn't lost his daughter he wouldn't have been in such a rush to get to the Potters. Maybe he wouldn't have rushed in the way he'd done, and maybe Lily would still have been alive.
The thought of Lily, caused Severus to briefly shut his eyes and take a moment to deal with his own pain. Losing Lily had shattered his entire world, even though he'd been forced to accept that he would never have had her the way he desired. She hadn't loved him the way he loved her, but just knowing she happy and alive had brightened Severus's heart. Then she'd been killed, and now he was wondering if it all could have been prevented. Not that it mattered now as the past couldn't be changed, and right now his focus was on helping deal with the fallout of the days revelations.
From the second Hermione had revealed the truth, he'd felt compelled to protect her, and even now, she was still his top priority. Any worries he'd had about Voldemort not accepting her had been dashed as it was clear the dark wizard wanted nothing more than to be reunited with his daughter. Still, Severus was wary of Hermione being pushed into something she wasn't ready for, but fortunately Voldemort was more than happy to agree to let his daughter set the pace for their meeting. The dark wizard seemed to understand that as shocking as events were for him, it was even more of a shock for Hermione and she would need longer to come to terms with what was happening.
"Are you sure she's safe, Lucius?" Voldemort asked for the third time, jolting Severus from his thoughts.
"No-one can get to her at the manor, My Lord," Lucius assured the dark wizard.
"But the Order will eventually work out where she is," Severus pointed out.
"If they haven't already," Lucius said.
"They can't have done so this quickly," Severus answered with a shake of his head. "They'll know she's gone by now, but it'll take time to locate her."
"All Dumbledore would have to do is go to the Ministry and ask about her under-age magic trace," Lucius pointed out. "With his connections, he could have all the answers by this evening."
"Then we use our connections to slow him down," Voldemort announced. "Lucius, get in touch with the Ministry and do what you can to slow down the process if he does get in touch asking to use Hope's trace to find her."
"Will do," Lucius said with a nod as he rose to his feet and departed the room.
"What do I do?" Severus asked. "Even if the Order don't know where Hermione is right now, they'll know where she is soon enough. And once they know she's at the manor, it won't take a genius to work out who helped her get here."
"It looks like your time with the Order is coming to an end, Severus," Voldemort said with a thoughtful nod. "How do you feel about that?" he asked, his piercing red eyes scrutinising the younger wizard as he gently entered his mind to make sure he was telling him the truth.
"I'm more than happy to leave them behind," Severus replied honestly. Truth be told up until that day his allegiance to either side had been interchangeable and he'd always figured he would make a final choice on where he stood towards the end of the war, but the situation with Hermione had made his mind up for him and now he would openly pledge his loyalty to The Dark Lord.
"Well, let's make sure you do so with a bang," Voldemort said, satisfied that Severus could be trusted. "Lucius may be holding things up with locating Hope, but as you say, they will find out where she is sooner or later."
"And what then?" Severus asked. "They might bring the Ministry into things. Dumbledore could accuse Lucius of kidnapping her."
"And we refute that by having Hope declare she's where she wants to be," Voldemort said. "If of course, this is where she wants to be," he added quietly.
"It is," Severus reassured him. "But you need to give her time, My Lord. This has come as a major shock to her. Not only discovering you're her father, but finding out she was kidnapped as a child, and then having people she trusted plotting to kill her."
"Which reminds me, Molly Weasley and Sirius Black have to go," Voldemort snarled. "I want everyone to pay for what they did to my daughter, but those two will die for even thinking about trying to kill her."
"Do you have a plan?" Severus asked.
"Even I can't plan this fast, Severus," Voldemort replied with a low chuckle. "I only arrived at the manor an hour ago. I'm still reeling from the fact my daughter is alive, and now I have to decide on a plan of action."
"We've at least got some time now," Lucius announced, after entering the room towards the end of Voldemort's reply. "I've spoken to my man at the Ministry. Dumbledore was actually there at the same time as I was, but I ensured he didn't see me. My man assured me that even without interference it would be morning before they could get an accurate trace on Hope's magic, but with his interference Dumbledore won't get any results before mid-afternoon."
"That's time enough for us to gather our thoughts," Voldemort said. "Thank you, Lucius."
"Are we going to make Hermione's identity public knowledge?" Severus asked.
"I said we wouldn't make any decisions like that without talking to her," Lucius interjected. "We have to remember that this is her life we're discussing here."
"I do think in these circumstances, the truth is our friend and it will be better for us to be upfront and honest. After all, it's the Order who have been lying and deceiving people," Voldemort said. "However, I will respect my daughter's wishes, and we will do nothing until she's had her say."
"She'll appreciate your thoughtfulness," Severus said. "But I can't imagine she'll be ready to talk this evening. So what do we do tonight? What do I do about the Order?"
"Do you fear for your safety if you were to go back to them?" Voldemort asked.
"No, I'd be confident of getting away from them if things got sticky," Severus replied.
"In that case, keep up your cover for the moment," Voldemort decided. "Deny any knowledge of taking Hope, and if it comes up deny any knowledge of who she is. Once they know where she is, I think you should tell them everything. Let them know that you helped her escape and that you're going to do everything in your power to make sure they pay for what they've done to my daughter."
"That should ruffle a few feathers," Severus chuckled.
"I intend to do more than ruffle some feathers," Voldemort warned in a low voice. "When I get going the Order won't know what's hit them. But for now, my daughter is my priority. Lucius, would it be possible to see if she's ready to talk?"
"I can go and ask her," Lucius said, yet again getting to his feet.
"Make sure she knows she's not under any pressure to see me tonight," Voldemort said, sounding slightly reluctant to make the offer since he was dying to see his daughter and find out what she'd turned out like. "I'll wait as long as I have to in order to see her."
Promising to be back as soon as he could, Lucius departed the room, leaving Voldemort and Severus in contemplative silence. Severus could tell that The Dark Lord's mind was on his daughter, no doubt wondering what she was like, and he didn't wish to intrude on the dark wizard's thoughts. Instead Severus lost himself in his own thoughts as he wondered just how Voldemort and Hermione would get along. He had no doubt that there would be some conflict between them, but he really hoped that they could learn to get along as he was a sucker for a happy ending.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was really just over twenty minutes, Lucius returned to the study by himself. With a rueful shake of his head, he informed Voldemort that while Hermione was pleased that her father now knew she wasn't dead, she wasn't quite ready to meet him. Although on a brighter note, she had promised to meet him the following morning, after she'd had a good night's sleep.
"In that case, I think it's time I went home," Voldemort said, unable to hide his disappointment that he hadn't seen Hermione. "Give my daughter my love, Lucius. And please look after her."
"She'll be treated like part of the family," Lucius assured the dark wizard as he said his goodbyes and departed the manor.
"I guess I should be leaving as well," Severus said. "Would you mind if I went and checked on Hermione before I left?"
"Be my guest," Lucius said, informing his friend where to find the young witch. "She also rejected my offer of coming down to dinner, but if you can get her to change her mind, you're welcome to join us, Severus."
"I'll try, but I suspect she just wants to be alone."
"I can understand that," Lucius conceded with a nod. "The poor girl's had her entire life turned on it's head, it's miracle she hasn't broken down completely."
"She's a strong girl," Severus replied.
"She's going to need to be," Lucius retorted with a sigh, thinking of the trials that would undoubtedly lie ahead for the young witch currently residing in his guest suite. It certainly wasn't going to be easy for her as the long lost daughter of The Dark Lord.
Leaving Lucius to bring his family up to date with what was happening, and who was staying in their house, Severus made his way to the guest bedroom Lucius had directed him to. When he knocked on the door, he also identified himself, so Hermione knew who was bothering her.
"Hello Professor," Hermione greeted as she opened the door.
"I think after all that's happened, you can call me Severus," Severus said with a small smile. "How are you doing?"
"I feel numb," Hermione admitted as she walked over to the bed and perched on the end of it. "I know this is all real and it's all happening to me, but it sort of feels like a dream. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up back with the Order and find that none of this is real."
"It's very real," Severus said, warily perching beside Hermione on the bed. "And I just want you to know that if you need anything, all you have to do is call and I'll be here."
"Can you be here tomorrow when I meet Vol… my fath... him?" Hermione asked in a whisper, stumbling over what to call The Dark Lord.
"I'll be here," Severus promised. "As will Lucius. You can trust him as well, Hermione."
"I know," she replied with a nod. "I can't believe I would ever say this, but I feel safe here. I feel safe with the Malfoys."
"You are safe," Severus assured her. "Lucius said you refused his offer to join them for dinner, do you want to reconsider? I can also stay if you want?"
"I don't mean to be rude, but I would rather stay here," Hermione admitted. "Once I've eaten, I was planning on having an early night. My head is killing me, and I've got a big day ahead of me tomorrow."
"In that case, I'll say goodnight and be leaving you," Severus replied, getting to his feet.
"Thank you for everything," Hermione said as she escorted the Potions Professor to her bedroom door. "I don't know what I would have done without you. You saved my life."
"I'm sure I did nothing of the sort," Severus mumbled with a blush. "You would have found a way to save yourself."
"Maybe I could have gotten away from the Order, but I'm not sure I would have been safe. Nor would I have been in any position to get answers. But because of you, I can get some answers. We will find out what happened to me, won't we?"
"You can count on it," Severus replied with a low chuckle. "Goodnight, Hermione."
"Goodnight, Severus," Hermione whispered as she closed the door behind him.
After quickly informing Lucius that neither he nor Hermione would be joining them for dinner, Severus flooed back to his cottage. No sooner had he alighted the floo then it began to chime and alerted him to the fact someone had been trying to reach him for some time. Figuring that whoever it was would try again, Severus headed into the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. Before he'd even finished pouring his tea, he heard the floo activate again, followed by Dumbledore's voice calling his name.
"In the kitchen," Severus called, plucking a second cup out of the cupboard for Dumbledore and pouring the headmaster a cup of tea.
"Ah Severus, it's good to see you," Dumbledore said as he entered the room. "We've been trying to get in touch for hours."
"I went out to get some new Potions supplies," Severus lied. "I didn't think I would be needed again so soon. I was just at Headquarters today."
"Which is why we need to talk," Dumbledore said, gratefully accepting the cup of tea Severus offered him. "Hermione is missing."
"Missing?" Severus repeated with a frown. "What do you mean, missing?"
"We can't find her," Dumbledore explained. "The last time she was seen was just before the Order meeting. I used a spell to trace her movement and she vanished from the front step."
"People don't just vanish, Albus," Severus said. "For her trail to just vanish she had to have apparated, or possibly used a port key."
"We never considered a port key," Dumbledore mused with a thoughtful frown. Apparition had been the first thing to enter their minds, but a port key would also explain the trail ending so abruptly. "Although where she would get a port key from is a mystery."
"Indeed," Severus agreed with a nod. "So what do you want me to do? Do you want me to help with the search?"
"I've contacted the Ministry, and they've agreed to activate her under-age magic trace," Dumbledore said. "We should have her location by the morning. I really came to ask if you'd seen Hermione today."
"You mean did I take her from Order headquarters," Severus corrected sharply, giving the headmaster a piercing glare.
"We're asking everyone who was at headquarters today," Dumbledore soothed. "No-one is accusing you of anything, Severus."
"No, I did not see Hermione today," Severus lied. "Nor did I take her from headquarters. But if I can be of any assistance in finding her, I would like to help."
"There's nothing we can do tonight, Severus," Dumbledore admitted with a sigh as he sipped at his tea. "I'll be in touch tomorrow once we know where Hermione is. Maybe then we can work out what happened and where she vanished to."
Severus nodded, all the time keeping a concerned look on his face. Of course he knew it would be afternoon before Dumbledore and the Order found out where Hermione was, and hopefully by that time Hermione would have met her father and a plan of action would have been decided upon.
