Watching

Watching

Chapter 16

"Oh my god," Draco whispered gathering me up in his arms.

"I love you," I whispered, triggering his tears.

There was a knock on the door just before it opened. "Draco," came Lucius' voice. He stopped suddenly when he saw me sitting up. "You're awake," he noted. "That's excellent news. Shall I inform your father now, then?" he asked. I nodded. I needed to talk to that man.

"What happened while I was gone?" I asked laying down. Draco had a hold of my hand in a vice-like grip.

"Not too much," Draco replied, clearly fighting to maintain his composure. "We won, but only just. The Prophet is calling it the 'Battle of Hogsmeade,' and they're saying it's the first major battle in the New War."

"It's the second."

"I was there, remember?" he asked. "We all were. That was when I found out Snape was a spy."

"What?"

"I saw him there. He wasn't exactly fighting with us."

"And now both of our fathers have revealed themselves to all..." I said softly as the door opened again.

My father stood half in, half out, and stared in disbelief. "Merlin," he whispered, rushing to the bedside. "Athena?" he asked, eyes full of hope.

I swallowed and nodded. "It's me," I hesitated, "Dad."

"Can I have a moment alone with my daughter?" My father asked roughly.

Draco was hesitant. He did not want to let me go. He looked at me uncertainly and I nodded. I needed to relay a message before I forgot it.

"Alright," Draco said letting go of my hand at last. He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead and followed his own father out of the room.

I sat up and flexed my hand. Draco has a very strong grip.

"Dad?" he asked me.

I nodded. "I know what you wrote in your journal," I confessed. "If I had known Hermione was hit with the same curse, I would have brought her back with me, but my mother was the only other being I saw. I've been wondering through realities for I-don't-know-how-long. She had quite a few interesting things to say."

"Like what?" he asked, again with a rough voice so unlike his own. My father's voice was like silk, not like fingernails scraping a chalkboard.

"Like you being Harry's real father," I said first. Get the hardest over quickest. I had to know.

"She told you that, did she?" he asked, this time with an unusually higher pitched voice than normally possessed of my father. What was with this? Was it so shocking that I would find the answers? I've been pressing for answers my whole life, is it so shocking that I should find them?

"She did. She also said that she used a Time-Turner to complete her mission. She said that had she lived, and had she not been sent on the mission in the first place, that she would still be here, and that we would probably be one big happy Death Eater family. Is that true?"

"If it weren't for the Dark Lord's request," my father said calmly, his voice back to normal, "then, yes, we most likely would be a family of faithful Death Eaters. It took his request of Lillian to make me want to change sides, it is in fact the reason I went to Dumbledore in the first place. I wanted my family, he wanted to kill his one adversary."

"She said she wished he'd known about Longbottom."

"Sometimes, so do I," he confessed. "Part of the reason I made Longbottom fear me was because if he had died, she would live And who knows, maybe he really did know about Longbottom. Maybe he did what he had her do knowing there was another choice. Or, he could have sent someone to the Longbottom's as well. Perhaps someone poised as Mrs. Longbottom and when her time was through, he had us take care of the problem, make sure she didn't tell the world what he had her do."

"So many theories, dad," I said faraway. "So little answers."

"What else did your mother say?"

"That she loves you, misses you, and that she wishes that she could be there for you at night when you need her most."

He had tears in his eyes. "Did she really?"

"She really did," I replied. "Why didn't you ever tell me about Harry?" I asked. "Everyone else knew. Black, Lupin, Dumbledore, everyone! Why was I left in the dark?"

"Because you didn't need to know," he replied. "Harry was someone I was trying to forget."

"You had to have known that he would show at Hogwarts."

"I had hoped he wouldn't," he revealed slowly. "I had hoped Hagrid wouldn't find him, that his aunt and uncle wouldn't let him out of the house, that something could have happened to prevent his return to the magical world. Not just because his safety was at stake, but because I couldn't handle his return. I knew he, too, had her eyes.

"You look so much like your mother, Athena, sometimes I can't bear to look at you."

I could have cried. In fact, a tear did fall.

"It's good to have you back among the living," he said, changing the subject.

"We have to tell him."

"You know more than anyone what that will do to him."

"Mum wants us to."

Watching

Chapter 17

I found my brother in a small dingy room with a rotting wooden door. Merlin, what happened at that battle that made him come here? This was no place for a Snape to be, no place for anyone to be.

He was laying next to Hermione, crying. Not sobbing, not whispering words of prayer, but crying. I couldn't stand this place.

"Harry?" I whispered. For some reason, I felt that if a loud noise were made in this room, it would fall apart.

He looked up at me. "How did you find us?" he asked sitting. "No one's supposed to know where we are."

"I don't care about that, Harry, you need to come with me. Get out of this rotten place. You can come to the manor, we've already cleared it with Lucius and Narcissa. And you're more than welcome there, both of you."

"Did you know they had switched sides?" he asked.

"I knew my father had," I revealed. "But I didn't know Lucius had."

"You all want us there?" he asked.

"Yeah, we do."

"What was it like?" he asked. "What is she going through?"

"She has to make a choice, Harry. She has to decide to live. I met our mother where I was, I don't even know where I was. Clouds, I guess. All I saw was clouds until mum started giving me reasons to come back. I saw you, I saw dad, then I saw Draco. I can't bare to leave you all, and I'm sure Hermione can't either. Come to the manor, Harry. We have an excellent medical staff and they could help Hermione. Besides, it would get you out of this rotting hell hole."

He looked thoughtful, like he was making his decision. Then he nodded. "How are we going to get her there?" he asked.

I smiled. "A portkey," I answered. "It's unauthorized, but then again, more than half of them are these days. I knew she was out cold, and Double Apparation is dangerous. Way too dangerous for someone like us to do. And I don't think you know where the manor is." I shrugged. "Helps to think ahead sometimes. Anyway, it's about to go off, so put her hand on it and grab on yourself. I can Apparate once I'm sure you've gone."

"Aren't you too weak to Apparate?" he asked.

"No," I answered. "I've actually been awake for three days. I've got my strength back, thanks to dad's potions."

"Will he do the same for Hermione?" he asked hopefully.

There was no time for me to answer him before the portkey was activated. "Yes, Harry," I said to the air. "Our father will do anything for you."

Draco was with Harry and Hermione when I finally returned to the manor. "There you are," Draco said relieved when he finally looked up and saw me. I pride myself on being a silent Apparator after all.

"How is she?" I asked. None of us had been sure how the portkey would effect Hermione in her current state.

"She's fine," Harry answered, sitting in a chair next to her bed.

I walked over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. "She'll come out of it," I promised. "She won't leave you."

I studied her lifeless form. Her once bushy hair had tamed itself into soft curls. Her face very much improved due to her fixing her teeth. And on her left hand...

I moved to the other side of the bed and picked up her hand. On her ring finger was a diamond engagement ring. "When did you propose?" I asked my brother.

"The night before the battle," he answered. "We were going to tell you while we were at Hogsmeade, but obviously things didn't quite turn out right."

He was crying again.

"Harry," I struggled. "I am so sorry. I should never have dragged you both into this. I'm so--"

"Don't," he interrupted. "Don't apologize, Athena. You were doing your job, and you told us what to expect before we left. We've been in a battle before--"

"At the ministry, I know," I interrupted. "I was there."

He looked up at me stunned. "How long were you a Death Eater?" he asked.

"Years," I admitted. "Too many years at that."

"When?" he asked.

"My fourteenth birthday."

"Which is?"

"April twelfth."

"Little over three months," he said absently. "And just after Hermione's."

"Really?" I asked. He nodded.

"Harry," I said awkwardly. "Mum gave me a message for you. I'm not sure now is the best time to tell you this, but I don't think it'll be long before you hear it anyway, especially since everyone around here is talking about it, and if you don't hear it from me...."

"What is it?" he asked, preparing himself for news he didn't want."

"James Potter isn't your father," I said quietly. "Professor Snape is."

His face paled. He shook his head. "No," he whispered. "No, that's not possible, and it's not funny. How can you even say that?"

"That's what our mother told me to tell you. Black knew. Lupin knew. As did dad for crying out loud!" I yelled. "You're not who you think you are, Harry. I mean, you are, but you're not. Why is that so hard for you to believe? She was a Death Eater! She was married to him! It makes sense that you would be his!"

"Her mission was to have my father's child!"

"Her mission was to have you. You were born to parents who had defied the Dark Lord three times. My father's first betrayal was when she was sent back. He's betrayed the Dark Lord more times than anyone can count, and our mother narrowly escaped him three times, dying finally on the fourth. Dying to protect you. The only child she really knew. The only child she had of our father's."

"Then why do I look like James?"

"Charms."

"I don't believe you."

"Ask the Weasleys."

"I will."

"Ask Lupin."

"I will."

"As dad."

"Believe me," he said in a deadly tone, "I will."

"I'm sorry, Harry, I really am."

His jaw was clenched and his hands were balled into fists. He was furious.

"I'll leave you two alone, then," I said walking out of the room, Draco following close behind me.