Changing Destiny

Twenty-Six: Spooky Train Ride

Younger Hermione

Summer had been fairly fun as she spent it with the Malfoy's and Zabini's traveling Italy and the French Rivera. Sebastian had his first word of "Mummy," and started crawling about the house, and they all had to put repelling charms around Grimmauld Place to keep him from putting things in his mouth. She continued her pre studies, particularly Potions, since Uncle Severus was of a mind to assist her with any questions she had about the third year text book. He did his own private research, and she tried to follow along with it, but it was a bit out of her skill level, and told him so.

"You will get there, I am certain of that," He reassured her. "Now, go clean up the tentacula weeds off of the lab table."

"Okay. Um...dad?"

He rose an eyebrow at that. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry that Harry doesn't trust you as his foster dad," She admitted, as she worked. "Things won't like change too much if my Aunt and you have another kid, right?"

Snape gestured to one of the lab stools. They sat across from one another, and he said calmly, "Hermione, listen. Just because I can show no partiality towards you during school does not mean that I do not care for you as your Uncle. Do you understand what I mean?"

She smiled. "Yes. I just wish he knew you as I did. Well, Draco too, but even he thinks of you as more his dad than Uncle Lucius can be." Her cheeks flushed red as she admitted, "Is it wrong of me that I kind of...well, like him, like him?"

A faint curl of his lips upward indicated his amusement, "Of course not. Didn't you say that you had a brief infatuation for Professor Lockhart?"

She playfully socked him in the arm. "Dad! Eww, not any more. Geez, I didn't know he played for the other team. It's bad enough that Dumbledore keeps him around."

Snape laughed his quiet laugh. "It is stranger to have to work around that, yes, but no, if you and Draco ever became serious, your Aunt and I would not stand in your way. And should more children arrive, I won't care for you any less, you don't have to worry about that."

She hugged him. "Thank you. I love you too...dad..."

🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋

Harry

Saying goodbye to his foster mum, and Sebastian was surprisingly hard, particularly since the little guy began speaking. He kept wanting to reach for him, and grab at his blue plaid shirt, because apparently, it tasted good to him for some reason. Hermione kept kissing his cheeks, and calling him 'little brother,' and Bastian called her 'sissy.'

Harry was also kind of annoyed that Mione' kept getting all googly eyed every time Draco or Cassius Warrington was around. Adrian Pucey not so much, because his teeth were more crooked than hers used to be, but after one of the Weasley twins pranked her with the tooth lengthening jinx, and Madam Pomfrey had to fix it, that pretty much fixed her buck tooth problem straight away.

A teacher was sleeping in their usual train cabin when they entered the Slytherin section on the train. "Who's this loser?" Crabbe inquired.

"R. J. Lupin, apparently," Hermione answered.

"How come y'know everythin', Mione'?" Goyle asked.