Unexpected Places

The next few weeks went by quickly. Hermione quickly got used to be woken up in the middle of the night and her life began to follow a schedule. She got up at seven with Alex and fed him. The house elf, Dolly came at 7:30 and began to care for him while she got ready for the day. She took him to breakfast with her and sometimes to class.

She didn’t take him to all her classes and not every day. It would be too distracting for her and for the other students. Dolly was also on call to take him if he became too fussy or Hermione needed to concentrate fully on her work. In the afternoon, Dolly watched over him as Hermione studied or did homework. She spent the evenings with Alex, bathing him and reading to him from Hogwart’s, a history.

Every day, she and Alex met with Snape in his office for lunch. She became acquainted with a man few people knew, one she respected and actually liked. He had a wicked sense of humor that was very much like her own and a love of knowledge that she understood. He didn’t seem surprised when she told him she wanted to be a Potions Mistress. He had listened to her dreams and had not mocked her for them, like she had expected. He also held and played with Alex. She liked to watch them together. He had become attached to the child.

Harry and Ron didn’t understand her sudden like of the Professor. They still saw the greasy git who terrorized and tormented them in class. She saw beyond that to the man who laughed when he held a baby and talked of potions so passionately. She considered him a friend.

One afternoon, after class, she was adding ingredients to the Paternity potion when Snape set a vial down beside her. It was filled with a pale pink liquid. She didn’t stop what she was doing but she did give him a questioning glance.

“It is a Maternity potion. Takes only a week to brew. I thought you might like to know who the child’s mother was before he became completely yours…” he said slowly.

She gave him a surprised smile. “Of course. I understand it takes about six weeks for the blood adoption to complete. Do you think it is a good idea to find out who she is?” she asked.

He hesitated and nodded. “It would be best to have some information for the father. He may doubt the child if you do not know who the mother is… or if in six weeks the Maternity potion says he is yours.” The last was said with a smile. She returned the smile and nodded.

“You need his blood, don’t you?” she asked, measuring her lacewing flies and adding them to the simmering potion.

He nodded. “It won’t hurt him. I will use an old Medi-witch trick.” He assured her.

“I trust you Professor.” She said simply. She didn’t see his cheeks redden slightly at her words. How many others besides Dumbledore had ever said that? And if they had, who had actually meant it like she just had.

In a daze, he turned to the crib and using the Medi-witch spell, took a small vial of blood. He added it to the pink potion and waited. Hermione finished what she was doing and turned to sit in her favorite chair. Snape had a piece of parchment and the finished potion.

“After I pour the potion on the parchment it will take a few minutes to start working. Maybe a little longer since the Blood adoption. How was your day?” he asked, pouring the potion on the parchment and then leaning back in his chair. She lifted her feet into the chair and got comfortable.

“It was alright. We went over animagus forms in Transfiguration. I also got a letter from the Weasley twins. They want my help with potions. They heard that I have been working with you and wonder if I can help them brew some potions…” she left the rest unsaid but Snape caught on.

“They want to know if I can help them with some potions they cannot get right?” he asked amused.

She blushed and nodded. “They have some… interesting ideas that they are having problems with.”

He smiled at her. “Interesting, Miss Granger? Surely you don’t condone their behavior...”

She smirked, a very good imitation of his own smirk. “Not exactly, but I won’t be here next year, now will I?” she said playfully. He laughed.

“But I will. Do you want me to have to deal with it? That is cruel, Miss Granger. I thought you were nicer than that.”

She laughed. “You should know me better than that, Professor. If I was nice, how did I ever get Harry and Ron to study? I had to be made of meaner stuff to accomplish that.”

He nodded and smirked. “Of course, I should have remembered.”

Alex began to cry and before Hermione could get up, Snape was on his feet and taking the baby out of the crib. He stopped crying once he was picked up and just stared around. Snape cradled him for a moment and then sat back down. Hermione watched him.

“Will you ever tell me where you learned to care for a baby?” she asked. He looked up and sighed.

“It is a long story and not a happy one.” He said.

She stared at him for a moment and nodded. “I would still like to know, but only if you want to tell me. I don’t want to hurt you.” She said softly. He looked down at the baby and then back up at her.

“In the beginning of my seventh year I fell in love. She was beautiful and smart and fun to be with. And she felt the same about me. One thing led to another and she became pregnant. It wasn’t something that happened a lot, but wasn’t as unusual as you think. Usually it is covered up pretty well and the couple married quickly. This didn’t happen that way.” He paused

“Her parents were pureblood and you know I am not. They refused to allow her to have anything to do with me. She was locked up for the duration of her pregnancy. When the baby was born, one of her sisters brought it to me. Her parents had planned to send it to an orphanage but she had begged her sister to bring the babe to me.” He paused again and Hermione could see that it pained him. She opened her mouth to say something but he held a hand up.

“I am fine, my dear. Let me finish. I was given the child, a girl I named Jasmine. She was… everything to me. I wanted to protect her so I joined Voldemort. He wanted a better life for purebloods and I wanted a better life for her. It wasn’t easy caring for her. I was a young man who had never been near a baby in my life but I learned.”

He stopped and rocked Alex back and forth locked in his memories. When he began talking again, his voice was haunted.

“I had hired a Muggle born witch to watch her while I was at work. I didn’t know she was Muggle born and personally I didn’t care. She took good care of my daughter. The Dark Lord did care though. She was killed along with my six month old daughter. A child that had not harmed anyone or anything, the child of one of his followers was killed. The Dark Lord didn’t care. He laughed and said she was only a half blood. Someone had told him my daughter’s mother was a Muggle. That was when I went to Dumbledore. My mistake in believing that Voldemort wanted what was best for the Wizarding world cost my daughter her life.”

Hermione was stunned. She had always wondered what had made Snape change sides and why Dumbledore trusted him so much. She had never imagined the real reason. She didn’t know what to say and didn’t realize she was crying until he reached forward and wiped away the tears from her cheeks.

“My daughter is at peace now. Don’t cry for her. She has been avenged and mourned.” He said gently and she wondered that he was comforting her when it had been his daughter. She nodded and wiped the rest of her tears away.

“It has been many years since I have been around a baby but there are some things you never forget. Now let’s look at who the child’s mother is.” He said returning to his chair. He handed her the roll of parchment. She smiled at him as she unrolled it. When she read the name of the child’s mother, her face paled. She handed the parchment to Snape. He stared at it disbelievingly.

“It’s not possible is it? I mean hasn’t she been dead since the beginning of the summer?” she asked, confused. Snape shook his head.

“No, she died about a week before you got Alex. Lucius Malfoy murdered her before he escaped. It was kept quiet because everyone thought she was dead. But she didn’t have any living sisters of that age. The girl must have lied.” He mused.

“But would the adoption have succeeded if she hadn’t been the aunt? It wouldn’t have been legal would it?” Hermione asked worriedly.

“If she had been given guardianship of the child, it her title wouldn’t have mattered. If it hadn’t been legal, then the adoption would not have succeeded. It did succeed though so there is nothing to worry about.” He assured her, still stunned by the identity of the child’s mother.

Hermione took Alex from Snape and help him close, looking at him for signs of his mother but he was too young. She couldn’t see any sign of his mother. She looked back up at Snape to find him staring at the parchment with unseeing eyes.

“Did you know her well?” she asked tentatively. He nodded.

“I was friends with her in school… mostly. As much of a friend as you can be with someone who has a husband like she did.” he said wryly.

Hermione nodded. “I… this is… I…” she stuttered, not really knowing what to say. She read the name on the parchment again.

Narcissa Black.

She knew she would not be giving the Alex to his father now. Lucius was a Death Eater who was on the run. There was no way he would get his hands on Alex, she vowed as she held Alex closer. Snape watched her, knowing what she was thinking. Suddenly Hermione wondered if she should tell Draco he had a brother.