The Truth About Hermione Granger

Hermione hurried through the dungeons with her Violin tucked under her arm. She'd been practicing in her favorite room- the acoustics made everything echo- when she decided to show her father how well she played. She wasn't even sure if he was aware that she played. Finally, she burst into his office and closed the door behind her.

"What is it now?" growled Snape from his desk. He looked up and his sneer was quickly replaced with a half grin. "Oh, it's you, poppet!" he said. "What can I do for you?"

"I thought I'd play my Violin for you," she said, holding the instrument up with its bow.

"That would be lovely," he said, sitting back in his chair. "I need a break right about now. Play something soothing."

Hermione thought for a moment and finally put her violin to her chin. Softly, she played, "To a Wild Rose," by Edward MacDowell. It was one of her favorite pieces and one of the first she'd learned. When the piece was finished, Snape sighed. "Play another," he said.

Hermione grinned, this time starting "Song of India," by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakoff. This was another of her favorites ever since visiting Calcutta with her father when she was ten years old. When she finished this one, Snape motioned for her to continue. She played three more pieces: Pachelbel's Cannon in D, Schubert's Ave Maria and Gershwin's Someone to Watch Over Me. By the time she finished the last piece, Snape was nearly asleep. He snapped his eyes open, though, and studied his daughter for a moment.

"I used to hear you down here, practicing," he said. "At first, it was a bit fumbled and dry, but lately, it sounds lovely. I often just sit here, listening. I used to imagine that it was my daughter who was playing for me, but that made me sad because I didn't really believe it could be my daughter. But, look! It really was. All this time, it REALLY WAS my daughter!"

Hermione smiled at him. "Too bad you didn't know sooner," she said.

"Yes," he said. He sat silently for a moment, and then snapped back to attention. "In any case, you've taken too much of my time, Miss Snape!" he teased. "Now, I simply MUST get these papers graded!"

"All right, daddy," she said, heading to the door. "If you ever need a break..." she left the sentence hanging on the air as she softly clicked the door shut behind her.

"Was that you I heard playing?"

Hermione turned to see Draco standing behind her flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. He had a smug grin on his face and Goyle was cracking his knuckled menacingly.

"Yes, that was me," she answered warily. "Why?"

"It sounded like you were killing a cat!" he drawled back at her. "I was coming to rescue the poor thing."

Hermione could feel her cheeks burning. He had had the gall to pretend to like her, but now, when his friends were around, his true nature came out.

"And look at her now!" he continued. "Turning red, just like the Weasel!"

"You keep your smart comments to yourself, Draco Malfoy!" she snapped, not bothering to keep her voice down. "Or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" he mocked her.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Or I'll tell my father you've been mistreating me," she answered maliciously. "And I'm quite sure he'll tell your father and I DON'T think you want that to happen." Without another word, she stormed off down the hall.

"Oh, come on, Mione!" he called after her. "I was only teasing!" She heard him tell Crabbe and Goyle to get lost and soon heard hurried footsteps behind her. "Mione!" he said when he'd caught up to her. "Please don't do that! I was only teasing you!"

"Well, in case you couldn't tell, I DIDN'T like it!" she said hotly.

Draco grabbed her arm and whirled her around to face him. "I'm sorry, Mione," he said. "Please don't be angry with me! I couldn't bare for you to be angry with me!"

Hermione was about to tell him to get lost when he brushed her cheek with the back of his hand and leaned in to kiss her. When he backed away from her, he had the most pathetic look in his eyes, almost as if he were afraid.

"All right, Draco," she sighed. "I forgive you."

"Great," he said, grinning at her. "Then we can go snog in the dungeons!"

"We most certainly can NOT!" she exclaimed. "It's almost curfew."

He grinned. "I was only joking," he laughed. "Can I at least walk you to your dormitory?"

"All right," she answered. "I suppose." Then, without bothering to think about it first, she took his hand in hers and began walking towards Gryffindor tower.

He didn't say another word all the way there and when they finally stood next to the picture of the Fat Lady, he kissed her again and said goodnight, then walked off down the halls towards his own dormitory. She watched him go, then turned around, told the Fat Lady the password ("Licorice whips") and went into the common room.

And was immediately attacked by Ron and Harry.

"Where have you been?" asked Ron impatiently. "We've been looking all over for you!"

"I was playing my violin for my dad," she replied, holding the instrument up.

"I never knew you played," said Harry, giving his friend a confused look.

"Well, I do," she said. "I don't get much time to practice, but when I do, I make sure nobody's around because I don't like playing for people. I usually play in the dungeons where nobody hangs around."

"But, if you don't like to play for people, why were you playing for Snape?" asked Harry.

"Because," answered Hermione, rolling her eyes. "He's my father. It's different."

"Father's aren't as critical," said Ron when Harry was about to ask another question. This seemed to satisfy him and he sat down again.

"So why were you looking for me?" she asked, settling herself into another chair.

"Because," said Ron, sitting on the arm of Harry's chair because there wasn't another empty one at that moment. "We've heard rumors that you and Malfoy are dating!"

"That's right," she answered indifferently. "We are."

"Malfoy?" asked Harry, disgusted. "But, he's so... Herm, you can't! Not Malfoy! It's bad enough you're going to the Halloween Ball with him! You can't DATE him, too!"

"And why can't I, Harry Potter?" she asked, jumping to her feet and looking down at him. "He's actually very nice as long as he isn't with those two thugs of his! Besides, I happen to like him!"

"But, he called you a MUDBLOOD!" exclaimed Ron, jumping up. "On several occasions!"

"And he's apologized for it!" she exclaimed back. "AND explained things to me!"

"What things?" demanded Ron.

Quickly, Hermione sat again and leaned forward to her two friends. "Look," she said quietly. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but you know how Snape's a spy? Well, he's also Malfoy's mentor and he convinced Draco to help him spy on You-Know-Who. That's what else he told me that day he asked me to the Halloween Ball. He wanted me to know that he's on our side."

"Then why's he still trying to make OUR lives miserable?" asked Ron.

"He has to keep up appearances, so to speak," she replied. "He doesn't want anyone to know the truth. And look, guys, I've just thought of something else. There may come a time when you think I hate you, too, but I don't. If You-Know-Who or any of the Death Eaters get suspicious, I may have to charade as someone who hates you. I mean, Ron, your dad is working on a Muggle protection act and Harry, you've defeated the man several times, so I don't think any of them are going to take kindly to our friendship."

The two of them just stared at her for a moment and finally, Harry sighed. "If it ever comes to that, Herm, I'll miss you," he said.

"Me, too," said Ron. "We'll both miss you."

With tears in her eyes, Hermione slowly rose and hugged both of her friends in turn. "Thank you," she whispered as she released Ron. She wiped a couple of tears from her cheeks and picked up her violin from the floor. "Now," she said. "I've got to go to bed. We've got a quiz first thing in Charms tomorrow and I want to be well rested. You two should get some sleep, too."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," complained Ron as Hermione hurried up the stairs to her dormitory.

She really did love her friends and didn't want to loose them, but the fact remained that she just might have to. So, that night, after a taking quick shower and brushing her teeth, Hermione Snape cried herself to sleep.

* * * * * * * *

When she awoke the next morning, it was with a headache and she had to make a detour to the hospital wing to get a potion from Madam Pomfrey before she headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. By the time she got there, it was nearly empty and Malfoy was looking around, worried. When he spotted her, he seemed a bit relieved and stopped his optical search immediately.

Harry and Ron both looked haggard and when she asked them what was the matter, they both answered that they hadn't been able to sleep because they had stayed up all night talking about how horrible it would be to loose her as a friend.

"Oh, you two!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around Ron's neck. "It WOULD be horrible, wouldn't it?"

"Herm!" exclaimed Ron, trying to pull away from her. "Let go!" Finally, she released her hold on him and he jumped back, rubbing his neck. "Watch it, will you?" he said.

"Sorry, Ron," she answered, sheepishly.

"Well, hurry up and eat some breakfast Herm," said Harry. "We're about to be late!"

Hermione grabbed a piece of toast and quickly spread jam on it. "Come on," she said, grabbing her backpack. "I'll eat it on the way."

The three of them hurried along the halls on their way to charms and ducked in the door just before Professor Flitwick shut it. He nearly went toppling over as they brushed past and they received a sour look for their trouble.

"Sorry, Professor," mumbled Hermione.

He never got a chance to reply, though, because there was a knock on the door. Flitwick opened it to reveal Snape standing there, his customary scowl in place. "Hello, Severus," said Professor Flitwick. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to speak with my daughter," replied Snape.

"Very well," answered Flitwick. "Miss Snape, you can make up the quiz another time." He motioned for her to gather her things.

Hermione did so with a scowl of her own on her face. She had been looking forward to the quiz in charms and she hadn't taken kindly to being pulled out of class. She glared at her father as they walked through the halls, heading for the main entrance, it looked like.

"You could've waited until after the quiz!" she exclaimed.

"I really couldn't, my dear," he answered, opening the door for her. "We have something we really need to do."

"What's that?" she asked, still quite upset.

"Never mind," he said, leading her towards the path that led into Hogsmeade. "Now, no talking until I say."

Something in his tone told her to just keep her mouth shut. So, they walked all the way through Hogsmeade in silence. Finally, they reached the other end of the city, but Snape kept going. They made their way through the forest and finally came upon a cave. Snape led her into it and soon, Hermione saw a flickering light and heard voices. Before they were close enough to see who it was, though, someone stopped them.

"Who's there?" came the smooth voice.

Snape stopped and put out a hand to stop Hermione. "It is your servant, Severus Snape and my daughter, Hermione," he said.

Then, from out of the shadows came a figure that Hermione was sure was someone she did not want to see. Before she could get a good look at him, though, her father fell to one knee and motioned for Hermione to do the same. She did so reluctantly. Soon, she felt a hand on her head.

"Rise my child," said the same, smooth voice. "Rise and look into the eyes of your beloved Dark Lord Voldemort!"