It\'s All Done With Mirrors
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Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
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Adult ++
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Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
38
Views:
10,641
Reviews:
120
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 10 - More Memories
A/N: \"Chapeau\" is French for \"Hat\", but I\'m sure most of you knew that anyway.
And Avebury, Silbury Hill, and Swallowhead Springs are all real places, as is the Red Lion pub.
Hope you\'re all having a wonderful Christmas Hol! Blessings and much love, Kxxx
Chapter Ten
More Memories
Swallowhead Springs, West Kennet, Wiltshire, March 2000
The ancient spring chuckled from the bank, icy water warmed only a little by the melt of oncoming Spring. Lovingly, she cradled the boy to her breast. His perfect form nestled against her, in the light of the new day.
She kissed his tiny hands, his feet, and his precious nose. Such a tiny, tiny, beautiful creature. He latched onto her nipple, and she felt the sweet pain through her.
She held her baby, and in her heart she sensed danger. It was close...
No. She wasn\'t Hermione any more. Her name was Carol Jones. And this was not the child of a Witch and a Wizard. If she could just ignore the dreams...
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Headmistress\'s Office, Hogwarts, August 2010
\"I have no son,\" I said, flatly.
\"\'Mione, you\'re upset, I know...and this might take a whi - \"
\"No, Harry,\" I hissed. \"I *gave* him to Emily Pewsey. He isn\'t mine any more! He\'s happily at home in Wiltshire, doing his summer homework and collecting eggs in the barn!\"
I refused, I totally and abjectly refused to consider that I have a son.
\"No, Miss Granger,\" and Dumbledore who was speaking now. \"He\'s asleep in bed, in Hogsmeade, dreaming about beginning Hogwarts in a fortnight\'s time.\"
My heart lurched. Memories came flying into my mind, from where they\'d been forced down for so long. I remembered the dreams...remembered the terrible, heatwrenching truths that had spoken to me in the night.
(Dirty blood will tell, your little bastard will know you for what you are. And it will never love you...no one could ever love you. I\'m so surprised that a know-it-all like you can\'t see that.)
(I can feel how near you are, and I\'d just love to show you, you ugly little mudblood, just how much use your Know-It-All mind will be when I take what\'s precious to you and consume it in front of you!)
(The little baby is not quite as ugly as his Mother, but I think a little experiment is in order to see if looks can be improved by death...)
(It will never love you. ead,ead, the little bastard will see you for what you are, and hate you.)
Malfoy rose swiftly and grabbed me by the shoulders. I cringed, rather pathetically.
\"Listen to me, Hermione!\" His use of my name jerked me out of my panic. I shuddered, trying to regain control but I could only stare dumbly at him as he let me go, and continued.
\"I saw you at Avebury, when you were out here - \" he put his hand in an empty space about a foot from my abdomen, \" - with child. And I saw you again, at Swallowhead Spring, with a tiny baby...and you were breastfeeding.
\"I went to see Dumbledore, because, well we\'d all been told to keep a look-out for you. He said to watch you...which was quite easy, considering you were right under my nose.
\"But you were also right under someone else\'s nose, too, Hermione. That day at Avebury, Pansy was with me - we\'d been to some awful family \'do\' at Silbury Hill, and it had ended up in the Red Lion - I thought I had managed to convince her it wasn\'t you...I should have known better, really.\"
I rub my face with my hands, wishing I could disapparate out of here.
\"The day you left Emily Pewsey\'s farm, I was there. I borrowed Potter\'s Invisibility Cloak, and let myself in. And I watched you, Hermione.\" Malfoy was looking at me almost...tenderly? I couldn\'t believe it.
\"I watched you as you stood over the crib, and cried. I saw the pain on your face, the love, the fear. If I had only worked out that it was my wife who was causing your demented dreams, I would have killed her there and then. Putting it into your head that your son would grow up to hate you was her doing, not anything real.
\"But all I could do was watch you struggle with yourself, and then leave, with your heart locked away inside you. I felt it, even though at that time I didn\'t even know what love was!
\"Hermione, I picked that child up, crib and all, and walked out the door with him, and brought him to Hogwarts. Mrs. Pewsey thought you had taken him with you, so she was none the wiser. No one had to be obliviated, no damage was done...that hadn\'t already been done to you.\"
He took my hand almost gently. \'Who are yond wnd what have you done with Draco Malfoy?\' I mused, feverishly.
His eyes were glassy with disgust as he continued, almost spitting out the words. \"Pansy has hunted you for over fifteen years. There is something about you that caused her to select you as prey. Have you any idea what that might be?\"
I had no idea. I\'d always thought she was a total cow to me at Hogwarts simply because she was an utter bitch, and I told Malfoy that.
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
A wastepaper basket, Head Girl\'s Room, Gryffindor Tower, January 1988
Ugly little mudblood...
Teacher\'s pet.
Bushy-haired muggle trash, riding on the Famous Harry Potter\'s celebrity cock!
Book worm...
Know-it-all!
Teacher\'s pet!!!
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Headmistress\'s Office, Hogwarts, August 2010
\"It\'s simple, really.\" That was Lavender\'s voice. \"What did you have that she didn\'t have?\"
I was stumped. \"Flat feet? Big hair? Loads of books?\" I hazarded, and heard Harry stifle a laugh.
Lavender grimaced, and took me by the hand, drawing me over to the window. It was inky dark outside, the moon behind clouds.
\"You, Hermione, had something that Pansy Parkinson and Pansy Malfoy never had. You had the ability to command attention.\"
She smiled at me, but I honestly didn\'t get the joke. If there was one.
\"Who helped Harry pursue Voldemort, time and time again? Who earnt the most points for their house in the whole of Hogwarts\' history? Who came top of the class in every subject in OWLs and NEWTs alike?\"
I blushed with pride at the mention of my NEWT marks, but felt I must disabuse her. \"Ron helped Harry, too. And loads of people won house points...and,\" I finished, lamely, \"I\'m crap at riding a broomstick...and...and at Divination!\"
Lavender looked sternly at me, and she dropped my hand and rolled her eyes at Malfoy. \"Come on, Draco, help me out here, love?\"
Draco, in a parody of Lavender\'s voice, began to harangue me where the love of his life had left off.
\"Who dared to sneak into the potions lab and steal ingredients to make one of the most difficult potions possible? Who managed to take three classes simultaneously because she\'d impressed the Ministry with her intelligence, honour and dedication? Who was the talk of the Slytherin boy\'s dorm even though she spent most of her time in the library, and never once wore lipstick? Who got the most attention, both negative and positive, from the Head of Slytherin House? You can bet your life it wasn\'t Pansy.\"
I was sort of halfway between hugely pleased and aghast, because I had dragged so many people into a stupid feud brought about by pure jealousy.
But...I had had no idea that I was the talk of the Slytherin boy\'s dormitory.
I must have said that last part out loud, because Harry chimed in with \"Not to mention the Gryffindor boy\'s dorm!\"
\"But that\'s awful!\" I wailed. \"I didn\'t even know about the bloody boy\'s dorms! It wasn\'t my fault that Pansy was jealous! It wasn\'t my son\'s fault that his father - \" I stopped, biting my lip.
Harry comes over and puts his arms around my waist.
\"\'Mione...everyone here knowsctlyctly who the father of your son is.\"
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Miss Lavender\'s Fine Hats, Hogsmeade, April 1999
\"Oh, isn\'t he sweet!\", Lavender cooed. \"Hello, darling,\" she crooned. \"You\'ve got great big eyes, and a lovely poochy little mouth, and tiny little fingers I could eat...right...UP!\"
\"Miss Brown,\" Dumbledore said, in a solemn tone. \"Are you aware of the importance of this matter? This young boy must be kept safe, and it will not be an easy task. For one thing, I cannot tell you for how long this will last. If you are to agree to this, you must know that it could be many years before this responsibility is lifted.\"
\"Ah, pshaw, Professor Dumbledore! I always wanted a little brother or sister, and my parents never obliged. I do have a load of experience with babies! I\'ve been to the Patils\' for almost every Hogwarts holiday, and they\'ve always got loads of babies crawling around.\"
Lavender went back to tickling the young boy. Albus watched her for a little while. He\'d never rated Miss Brown as a particular achiever, but something reminded him academic excellence wasn\'t everything. She was polite, and hardworking, and with enough courage for the sorting hat to have placed her in Gryffindor without a moment\'s hesitation. Her life was not overrun with worry, she simply sat in her shop and made hats all day. If he could entrust her with this task, he would see to it that she was more thacompcompensed...
\"What\'s his name, Professor?\" the little child was pulling Lavender\'s hair, at which she simply giggled and made faces. This decided Albus. The boy could stay with her. It would simply be a matter of protection charms and constant surveillance.
\"His name is Robin Granger-Snape, Miss Brown, but it would be in all our best interests if you would refrain from using his true surname until I give you leave. I think the best surname he could ask for in the meantime would be...\" He cast his eyes about for a good appellation, and his gaze finally rested on a navy beret, covered with hundreds of tiny stars and moons.
\"His name, for now, Miss Brown, will be Robin Chapeau\".
And Avebury, Silbury Hill, and Swallowhead Springs are all real places, as is the Red Lion pub.
Hope you\'re all having a wonderful Christmas Hol! Blessings and much love, Kxxx
Chapter Ten
More Memories
Swallowhead Springs, West Kennet, Wiltshire, March 2000
The ancient spring chuckled from the bank, icy water warmed only a little by the melt of oncoming Spring. Lovingly, she cradled the boy to her breast. His perfect form nestled against her, in the light of the new day.
She kissed his tiny hands, his feet, and his precious nose. Such a tiny, tiny, beautiful creature. He latched onto her nipple, and she felt the sweet pain through her.
She held her baby, and in her heart she sensed danger. It was close...
No. She wasn\'t Hermione any more. Her name was Carol Jones. And this was not the child of a Witch and a Wizard. If she could just ignore the dreams...
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Headmistress\'s Office, Hogwarts, August 2010
\"I have no son,\" I said, flatly.
\"\'Mione, you\'re upset, I know...and this might take a whi - \"
\"No, Harry,\" I hissed. \"I *gave* him to Emily Pewsey. He isn\'t mine any more! He\'s happily at home in Wiltshire, doing his summer homework and collecting eggs in the barn!\"
I refused, I totally and abjectly refused to consider that I have a son.
\"No, Miss Granger,\" and Dumbledore who was speaking now. \"He\'s asleep in bed, in Hogsmeade, dreaming about beginning Hogwarts in a fortnight\'s time.\"
My heart lurched. Memories came flying into my mind, from where they\'d been forced down for so long. I remembered the dreams...remembered the terrible, heatwrenching truths that had spoken to me in the night.
(Dirty blood will tell, your little bastard will know you for what you are. And it will never love you...no one could ever love you. I\'m so surprised that a know-it-all like you can\'t see that.)
(I can feel how near you are, and I\'d just love to show you, you ugly little mudblood, just how much use your Know-It-All mind will be when I take what\'s precious to you and consume it in front of you!)
(The little baby is not quite as ugly as his Mother, but I think a little experiment is in order to see if looks can be improved by death...)
(It will never love you. ead,ead, the little bastard will see you for what you are, and hate you.)
Malfoy rose swiftly and grabbed me by the shoulders. I cringed, rather pathetically.
\"Listen to me, Hermione!\" His use of my name jerked me out of my panic. I shuddered, trying to regain control but I could only stare dumbly at him as he let me go, and continued.
\"I saw you at Avebury, when you were out here - \" he put his hand in an empty space about a foot from my abdomen, \" - with child. And I saw you again, at Swallowhead Spring, with a tiny baby...and you were breastfeeding.
\"I went to see Dumbledore, because, well we\'d all been told to keep a look-out for you. He said to watch you...which was quite easy, considering you were right under my nose.
\"But you were also right under someone else\'s nose, too, Hermione. That day at Avebury, Pansy was with me - we\'d been to some awful family \'do\' at Silbury Hill, and it had ended up in the Red Lion - I thought I had managed to convince her it wasn\'t you...I should have known better, really.\"
I rub my face with my hands, wishing I could disapparate out of here.
\"The day you left Emily Pewsey\'s farm, I was there. I borrowed Potter\'s Invisibility Cloak, and let myself in. And I watched you, Hermione.\" Malfoy was looking at me almost...tenderly? I couldn\'t believe it.
\"I watched you as you stood over the crib, and cried. I saw the pain on your face, the love, the fear. If I had only worked out that it was my wife who was causing your demented dreams, I would have killed her there and then. Putting it into your head that your son would grow up to hate you was her doing, not anything real.
\"But all I could do was watch you struggle with yourself, and then leave, with your heart locked away inside you. I felt it, even though at that time I didn\'t even know what love was!
\"Hermione, I picked that child up, crib and all, and walked out the door with him, and brought him to Hogwarts. Mrs. Pewsey thought you had taken him with you, so she was none the wiser. No one had to be obliviated, no damage was done...that hadn\'t already been done to you.\"
He took my hand almost gently. \'Who are yond wnd what have you done with Draco Malfoy?\' I mused, feverishly.
His eyes were glassy with disgust as he continued, almost spitting out the words. \"Pansy has hunted you for over fifteen years. There is something about you that caused her to select you as prey. Have you any idea what that might be?\"
I had no idea. I\'d always thought she was a total cow to me at Hogwarts simply because she was an utter bitch, and I told Malfoy that.
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
A wastepaper basket, Head Girl\'s Room, Gryffindor Tower, January 1988
Ugly little mudblood...
Teacher\'s pet.
Bushy-haired muggle trash, riding on the Famous Harry Potter\'s celebrity cock!
Book worm...
Know-it-all!
Teacher\'s pet!!!
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Headmistress\'s Office, Hogwarts, August 2010
\"It\'s simple, really.\" That was Lavender\'s voice. \"What did you have that she didn\'t have?\"
I was stumped. \"Flat feet? Big hair? Loads of books?\" I hazarded, and heard Harry stifle a laugh.
Lavender grimaced, and took me by the hand, drawing me over to the window. It was inky dark outside, the moon behind clouds.
\"You, Hermione, had something that Pansy Parkinson and Pansy Malfoy never had. You had the ability to command attention.\"
She smiled at me, but I honestly didn\'t get the joke. If there was one.
\"Who helped Harry pursue Voldemort, time and time again? Who earnt the most points for their house in the whole of Hogwarts\' history? Who came top of the class in every subject in OWLs and NEWTs alike?\"
I blushed with pride at the mention of my NEWT marks, but felt I must disabuse her. \"Ron helped Harry, too. And loads of people won house points...and,\" I finished, lamely, \"I\'m crap at riding a broomstick...and...and at Divination!\"
Lavender looked sternly at me, and she dropped my hand and rolled her eyes at Malfoy. \"Come on, Draco, help me out here, love?\"
Draco, in a parody of Lavender\'s voice, began to harangue me where the love of his life had left off.
\"Who dared to sneak into the potions lab and steal ingredients to make one of the most difficult potions possible? Who managed to take three classes simultaneously because she\'d impressed the Ministry with her intelligence, honour and dedication? Who was the talk of the Slytherin boy\'s dorm even though she spent most of her time in the library, and never once wore lipstick? Who got the most attention, both negative and positive, from the Head of Slytherin House? You can bet your life it wasn\'t Pansy.\"
I was sort of halfway between hugely pleased and aghast, because I had dragged so many people into a stupid feud brought about by pure jealousy.
But...I had had no idea that I was the talk of the Slytherin boy\'s dormitory.
I must have said that last part out loud, because Harry chimed in with \"Not to mention the Gryffindor boy\'s dorm!\"
\"But that\'s awful!\" I wailed. \"I didn\'t even know about the bloody boy\'s dorms! It wasn\'t my fault that Pansy was jealous! It wasn\'t my son\'s fault that his father - \" I stopped, biting my lip.
Harry comes over and puts his arms around my waist.
\"\'Mione...everyone here knowsctlyctly who the father of your son is.\"
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Miss Lavender\'s Fine Hats, Hogsmeade, April 1999
\"Oh, isn\'t he sweet!\", Lavender cooed. \"Hello, darling,\" she crooned. \"You\'ve got great big eyes, and a lovely poochy little mouth, and tiny little fingers I could eat...right...UP!\"
\"Miss Brown,\" Dumbledore said, in a solemn tone. \"Are you aware of the importance of this matter? This young boy must be kept safe, and it will not be an easy task. For one thing, I cannot tell you for how long this will last. If you are to agree to this, you must know that it could be many years before this responsibility is lifted.\"
\"Ah, pshaw, Professor Dumbledore! I always wanted a little brother or sister, and my parents never obliged. I do have a load of experience with babies! I\'ve been to the Patils\' for almost every Hogwarts holiday, and they\'ve always got loads of babies crawling around.\"
Lavender went back to tickling the young boy. Albus watched her for a little while. He\'d never rated Miss Brown as a particular achiever, but something reminded him academic excellence wasn\'t everything. She was polite, and hardworking, and with enough courage for the sorting hat to have placed her in Gryffindor without a moment\'s hesitation. Her life was not overrun with worry, she simply sat in her shop and made hats all day. If he could entrust her with this task, he would see to it that she was more thacompcompensed...
\"What\'s his name, Professor?\" the little child was pulling Lavender\'s hair, at which she simply giggled and made faces. This decided Albus. The boy could stay with her. It would simply be a matter of protection charms and constant surveillance.
\"His name is Robin Granger-Snape, Miss Brown, but it would be in all our best interests if you would refrain from using his true surname until I give you leave. I think the best surname he could ask for in the meantime would be...\" He cast his eyes about for a good appellation, and his gaze finally rested on a navy beret, covered with hundreds of tiny stars and moons.
\"His name, for now, Miss Brown, will be Robin Chapeau\".