The Sound Of Silence

The next morning dawned bright and clear. Steph was up and dressed before her Mom. She was sitting, looking out the window when Hermione woke up. \"Steph, how long have you been awake?\" Steph signed, then motioned for her to hurry up. Hermione laughed and got up to get ready.

After a quick breakfast, Hermione and Steph apperated to the gates of Hogwarts. Steph couldn\'t keep the grin off her face. Hermione looked up at the school. \"I wish I had gotten in touch with The Headmaster. We wouldn\'t have had such a long walk to the doors.\" Steph frowned, pulled her hand and pushed the gates open. Hermione laughed. \"It looks like we were expected.\"

At the doors, Hermione stopped. S tur turned and frowned at her. Hermione straightened her robes and hair, while Steph shifted from one foot to the other. Hermione stopped her and gave her the once over. After straightening her robes and tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, they opened the doors and stepped into the main hall.

Dumbledore lay his book on the desk. The wards had alerted him that there were two visitors at the gates. The magical defenses had allowed them to enter, so they weren\'t dangerous. A house elf appeared in front of him. \"The visitors have come into the Main Hall, sir. What should be done?\" Dumbledore smiled. \"Prepare a welcoming lunch for us. I\'m sure our visitors will be staying with us.\" The House Elf bowed and disappeared. Dumbledore started down the greet the visitors.

***

Hermione bit her lip as she looked around. She was back. Twelve years after she left, she was here to deal with her past. Steph was already looking around for the Professors. She took Mommy\'s hand and pulled her towards the Great Hall.

Dumbledore stopped at the top of the stairs. He smiled. Miss Vance has returned. He saw Ms. Granger. He had been wondering when she would return. He continued down the stairs. \"Ms. Granger. Welcome back.\"

Hermione turned to see The Headmaster at the bottom of the stairs. She walked over and offered her hand. \"Headmaster. A pleasure to see you again.\" His eyes twinkled as he pulled her into a hug.

Steph ran over to hug him as well. He looked at her. \"I see that you made it back to your Mother safely.\" Steph nodded.

Hermione looked at him. \"You knew?\"

He smiled. \"Yes. The first time I saw you together. I was very proud that she chose not to use your name while she was here. She\'ll be a fine asset to Hogwarts next year.\" Stbeambeamed as Hermione worried her bottom lip. Dumbledore patted her shoulder. \"Things have a way of working themselves out. Let\'s go to my office and you can tell me all about New York.\"

***

Steph was petting Fawkes as the grown-ups talked. Maybe Mommy would buy her a familiar when she started school. Steph frowned. If she got to come to school. Fawkes tilted his head and looked at her. Somehow, she knew the bird was telling her everything would bne. ne. She smiled and patted his head.

Dumbledore offered more sweets to them. Hermione declined, but Steph gladly took another sweet. She moved to a bookshelf and after a nod from Dumbledore, she found a book and began reading.

Hermione watched her for a few moments and then turned to Dumbledore. He studied her for a moment and then leaned back. \"Would you like to talk about why you left?\"

Hermione bit her lip. \"I wasn\'t expecting a choice.\"

He smiled. \"There is always a choice, my dear. Always.\"

She nodded. \"I chose to live my life. Her father forced me away. It hurt, but I left him. It was later that I found out I was expecting. I didn\'t want him to feel obligated in anyway, so I chose not to tell him. My life hasn\'t been what I expected, but it has been better than I could have ever dreamed.\"

Dumbledore nodded. \"Have you considered telling him now?\"

Hermione looked at Steph. \"I promised her that I would introduce her to him this afternoon.\"

The Headmaster smiled. \"I\'m sure it will not be as bad as youecteected.\"

She chuckled nervously. \"From your lips.\"

Steph looked up from her book. Mommy and The Headmaster were discussing something. She was happy to be back at Hogwarts but she wanted to see the rest of the Professors. She wanted to go down to the Dungeons and listen to Professor Snape teach. She stopped, frowned and remembered what Mommy had said. He had been hurt. She wanted to make sure he was better. Maybe she could sneak down to see him. She closed the book and looked around.

Dumbledore smiled. \"It looks like young Miss Granger is becoming restless. Maybe a walk around the Castle would benefit everyone.\"

Hermione stood and nodded. \"I think so. I know Steph already has a destination in mind.\" Steph came over and signed. Hermione nodded. \"The Dungeons it is then.\"

Dumbledore chuckled. \"One day, I want you to teach me that language.\"

***

Snape sat and stared into the fire. He hated the holiday\'s. Well, not so much the actual day as the emptiness that it brought. With the students gone, he had nothing to do. He walked to his study desk and opened the topmost journal. It had been almost nine years since he had given up on Miss Vance ever returning. It hadn\'t stopped his research. He flipped through the notes and smiled slightly at the folded paper at the bottom. He gently unfolded it and reread the words.

Don\'t worry about me. Mommy takes good care of me. Please, take care of yourself. I want to see you when I come back. I\'ll miss you. Thank you for everything. I wish you could go with me.

Stephanie.


He gently folded the letter and closed the book. She had most likely forgotten about him. He was foolish to hold out hope that she would come for a visit. He got up and decided to go for a walk to get her out of his mind.

He was getting his cloak when there was a knock on the door. He crossed the room to answer it and muttered about Albus spreading holiday cheer. Sure enough, there stood the Headmaster. \"Can I help you Albus?\"

The Headmaster smiled. \"I hope I haven\'t come at a bad time Severus. I just came to tell you that you have visitors.\" He stepped aside and Snape\'s eyes went wide with shock.

There stood Miss Granger except she was all grown up. The last time he had seen her was the night after she had her fight with Potter and Weasley. Damn, she grew up into a beautiful woman. He watched her run her fingers through her hair and caught the glint of an earring at the top part of her ear. A bit of rebellion? I wonder what else she has pierced? He schooled his face back into his customary sneer. \"Miss Granger. Such a surprise. What brings you to Hogwarts?\"

Hermione bit her lip when she first saw him. He hadn\'t changed much. He looked better in fact. He\'s filled out more than I remember. Still looks trim and fit. I wonder if his chest is still as defined as it was? She squared her shoulders and held her head up high. \"Professor Snape, I came to visit. I would like to introduce you to someone as well.\"

With that, she stepped aside and Snape found himself on the receiving end of a bone-crushing hug around his waist. He looked down into the face of Stephanie. He smiled widely and returned her hug. He looked at Ms. Granger.

She smiled. \"Severus Snape, I\'d like to introduce you to my daughter, Stephanie Jade Granger.\" She looked at Steph. \"Honey, I\'d like you to meet Professor Severus Snape. Your father.\"

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Thanks to Lily Malfoy for being my Beta!


Deb: I can only imagine what she must have been feeling. I\'m sure that Harry and Ron wouldn\'t have been happy to hear she was going to have a baby. I hope that their reaction will be what you were expecting. Thanks for reading.

April Grey: Thanks so much for reading this. I\'ll post more next week!

Florentia: I promise. More next week.

Jenny: Thanks so much. I don\'t know why I did that. I guess being hung over and posting isn\'t such a good idea.

Shemhamforash: There you have it. I hope it doesn\'t make you cry again. As for the happy ending, I\'m not sure. Sev and Hermione haven\'t told me what their plans are. Thanks for reading!

Rosmerta: I thought that would be in characfor for him. Imagine waking up and the first person you see is someone who you\'ve disliked for so many years. I would be a little cranky too! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing.

Pal: Well, I\'m not going to let the cat out of the bag just yet. I hope you\'ll keep reading and find out exactly who it is. Hope you keep reading to find out!

Nesscafe: Now, you know I can\'t tell you that. That would ruin the whole story! I hope you\'ll keep reading to find out. Thanks so much for your review!

Zeniawulfe: Sorry. I don\'t mean to be evil. I promise, I\'ll update as soon as I get the chapters from my beta!
Fish: Wow...I\'m on someone\'s rec list? That\'s the best news I\'ve heard all day! Thanks so much for your spirited review. I swear, I\'ll update as soon as I can!