The Wrong Time

Discovery

Hermione awoke to the sun pouring in her room. She stretched and looked at the clock. 7:30 AM. She took a deep breath and pulled back the covers. It would be nice to get up and shower before Josiah was ready to get up and play. She ran a brush through her hair and shuffled across the wooden floor to the bathroom. She turned on the tap and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water cascade down her full breasts.


She wondered what it would be like if Silvano was in the shower with her, what the water would look like cascading down his lean frame. She wondered what he would do to her. Without even realizing it, she had snaked her fingers down to her wet mound. She pumped them in and out, gasping softly . She felt her muscles tighten around her fingers as she climaxed.


She came down from her climax, and rested her head against the wall of the shower. She felt her cheeks redden. What was wrong with her? She hadn’t masturbated to the thought of a man in years. She pushed aside the thought. There was no use bringing him to mind again. He’s dead she reminded herself firmly, as if that settled matters.


She finished her shower, and slowly turned off the tap. She walked back into her room and dressed. It was time to do some exploring. She opened her door to find a note taped to it.


Hermione,

I went out to the vineyard. I won’t return until lunch. I left some muffins in the warmer for you and Josiah for breakfast, and there is tea in the pot and pumpkin juice in the cooler.

Regards,

Silvano


Hermione stared at the letters on the parchment for a few moments, as if mesmerized by them. Her head was pounding slightly, and she resolved that if she found nothing else in Silvano’s room, she would at least look for pain potion.


She peeked in on her son. He was still sound asleep, with his thumb in his mouth an his hand curled tightly around Norby.


She made her way down the tiled hall, looking for Silvano’s room. She passed a drawing room, a study, and a small library before she found the right door. She knew it was the right one, because it was locked tightly. It took her several minutes to break the wards. She knew it was wrong, but she just had to know. It was eating her alive. Who was he, and why was he so desperate to keep it secret from her?


She felt the lock click softly and stepped across the deep hunter green carpet into a room with a very smart four poster bed with deep emerald curtains and large cherry posters. She inhaled sharply. The room was rather beautiful. Not that she expected someone with such good taste to have any less. She checked the nightstands first. There was nothing of importance, but she did find several small blue vials of pain potion, and she downed one.


She made her way to the great cherry wardrobe and opened it. There was nothing out of the ordinary here, just his wardrobe, which consisted primarily of black and white garments, and a few pairs of heavy leather boots. She fingered a soft cashmere cloak for a moment before closing the wardrobe.


She noticed it then, a beautiful cherry desk with runes carved in the edges. It had a locked roll top. This must be where she could find some scrap of evidence to his true identity. She tried the lock. The desk was also heavily warded. It was no problem for her though. She had aced charms, and was able to easily break them .


She gingerly rolled back the top. The desk was exceptionally neat, with quills in a small ceramic canister to the right, and fresh parchment stacked neatly in the center. It was here that she found the key to the drawers. The top drawer held paperwork for his patented potions. She was impressed by the sheer volume of these documents. She moved on to the middle drawer. Here was smart stationery with his initials stamped across in fancy Old English lettering. She moved on to the bottom drawer.


She found several parchments, what appeared to be letters. She did not bother to read most of them, just scanned through the pile, looking for a name. All of the letters were addressed to Silvano, save for one. One she recognized to be in Minerva’s handwriting. She felt her mouth go dry when she read the name. Tears formed in her eyes. It couldn’t be, it was impossible. Yet, there it was, clear as a July sunset, Severus


She blinked back the tears and stuffed the parchments back into the desk. She re-warded it, and bolted from the room, not forgetting to re-ward that as well. She felt the tears sting her eyes as she raced down the long corridor to her bedroom. She threw herself into the silken pillows, and then did she allow herself to cry. She had dreamed of this for years, but always forced the thoughts away.


She had hoped beyond hope for over twenty years that somehow he managed to escape. The tears stung her eyes, and formed a slick pool on the satin pillowcase. Her heart was pounding wildly. He said he would be at the vineyard until lunchtime, and it was barely nine o’clock. Josiah would be waking soon. She didn’t know how she would be able to keep herself composed until his return. She knew that if she told him she knew who he was, he would probably know she had been snooping through his belongings.


She pictured him in her mind, and slowly, Silvano’s features melted into Severus’. He was using a glamour on his eyes, and he was hiding his mouth with a goatee. She wondered if he had changed his appearance the natural way, or used magic to do so. Well, she would find out soon enough. She felt a small hand touch her arm.


“Mummy, why you cwy?” Josiah asked, his big brown eyes filled with concern.


“It’s ok, Baby, Mummy’s fine,” She said, wiping her nose on her sleeve. “Let’s go get us some breakfast, shall we?”

“Yeah!” Josiah squealed enthusiastically.


Muffins were his favorite breakfast food, and Hermione had no doubt he would be very excited that he would be eating them.


She led him to the kitchen and set him upon his transfigured chair and placed a muffin and a cup of milk in front of him. She sat across from him and bit into a rich orange cranberry muffin. She savored the flavor and contemplated ways to occupy herself until Severus returned from the vineyard.


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Severus trudged up the hill. The grapes were in perfect condition, and would be ready to harvest in just a few more days. He felt accomplished, but at the same time, like a great ton of rocks had settled in the pit of his stomach. He had no idea how he would tell Hermione who he really was, and not having the faintest idea how she might react scared him deeply.


He reached the door, and walked through the back entrance, to find Hermione seated on the sofa and Josiah playing on the floor with blocks. Hermione looked at him, her cinnamon colored eyes full of pain. Her cheeks were red, and he could tell she had been crying. Before he could open his mouth to speak, her wand was pointed directly at him.


“Finite,” she breathed, and slowly, his hair lengthened and turned black.


He could feel his goatee disappearing. He felt a shimmer down his eyes, and there he stood before her, not as Silvano Scolari, but as Severus Snape. Her eyes brimmed with tears again, and his cheeks reddened. This was not how he wished her to find out.


A/N: I hope you enjoyed that….please review! ;)