The New Severus Snape

An Unexpected Visit

As Hermione listened to Severus' rant about this "thing" between them had to end. She had no intentions of stopping whatever this was. She enjoyed it too much. The way he was second guessing himself, what he meant to others and such. He was trying to find himself, as well as realize what he was. Not a bad guy, but a good guy. After all, for almost twenty years, he'd kept Harry safe, even when he didn't want to.

"Are you even listening to me, Granger?!" He snapped. She jumped. He took that as a no. Sighing, trying to let go of his anger, he went on, "I know this may come hard for a teenage girl to understand, but I don't want this to continue. So, enough is enough. You will only get us both into trouble, do I make myself clear?"

Hermione didn't answer. Severus didn't know whether that was a good sign or not. "So what am I writing this time, sir?"

"You're not writing, you are helping me clean my storeroom up. I trust you know where it is," He said, standing, motioning for her to go ahead.

They both entered the storeroom and started cleaning. Severus explained how bad potions smelled, and even how the ingredients looked to dispose of them in a bin so he could take them off later. They wore gloves, so none of the more deadly potions that possibly were outdated (since some bad potions tended to get worse if exposed to the skin if the potions were outdated) got on their skin. He double checked everything she put in the bin, to make sure they were bad, if they weren't, he'd scold her and show her or tell her how she went wrong. She'd not make the same mistake again, and in some cases, caught something that Severus himself had missed as he thought about her.

"Severus!"

The two had been working for almost three hours when a shrill voice coming from his Private room broke them out of their silence. Severus knew that voice. It was his old friend, Drea Varn. Or really Daniel Varn's daughter. Daniel had died years ago when Voldemort first lost power. His daughter Dreana, or how she liked to be addressed, Drea, had been orphaned since. He took care of her until Lucius had come into the picture. Lucius and Narcissa had taken her in. Although, Severus still took care of her when he could get away from everything.

She was only five years old when her father died, making her only a few years older than Hermione. While she knew that Lucius and his family wasn't her family, and neither was Severus, she was treated as both Lucius' and Severus' daughter all the time. Which was why Severus jumped and rushed to his private room behind his office. However, Drea wasn't in his private room anymore. She was standing right by his desk, completely spent and terrified. His heart skipped a beat. She always took pride in her looks, with her dark blonde hair perfectly straight, her bangs pulled behind her left ear, hoop earrings that weren't too big, and makeup that showed off her hazel eyes perfectly.

"Drea, what's wrong?" Severus asked, rushing to her side as she collapsed into his chair. Normally he would have told her to get up, even for Drea Varn, he didn't let anyone sit in his chair. However, she was upset, and clearly something bad was wrong. He knelt in front of her as she cried.

"Severus, Curt and Seth are alive," she choked, wrapping her arms around herself.

Severus' eyes were the only thing that betrayed his emotions. They were shocked and curious. How? Curt and Seth were missing for almost twenty-four years. Since they were two years old. Daniel and Severus just assumed that another death-eater had kidnapped the twin boys and raised them as their own. Or they killed the boys. Either way, they were lost to the two friends. They looked for three years after, quietly checked every death-eater and their children for any signs of Daniel's boys, until Severus forced Daniel to come to terms with the loss and have a memorial for the boys. The same place that Daniel's wife was buried.

"What?"

"My older brothers, they are alive," she repeated a little more clearly.

Hermione didn't know what to do. When the woman's voice came, it was a clear desperate call for someone to help. Although she knew that the call was for Severus. She didn't know if she should go and offer her help as well or not. She placed the Wolfsbane potion that Severus had brewed a few days ago back in its place, then headed to the sound. Severus was knelt in front of a dark blonde haired girl, not much older than herself. She was clearly distraught.

"My older brothers, they are alive," the girl said.

Hermione stayed quiet for a while, hoping that they didn't notice her as Severus stood up.

"You're sure?" he asked, a certain tone to his voice that rather worried Hermione.

The girl nodded, "Yes, I'm sure, they are the spitting image of dad. Right down to the nose."

Severus started pacing the room, thinking. Why was it so worrying that her brothers were alive? If they were missing for a while, then they should be rejoicing at the news. However, whoever took the boys knew exactly how to get into the Varn Home without being seen or heard of by anything. They had to of been friends with the family before and had access to the house.

But who? Who could hate the Varn's so much to kidnap the twins and they keep the family in agony. Of course Drea didn't remember her brothers at all, after all, they were two years older than her and gone by they time she could talk. But she had pictures of her dad, and those two boys that she saw in Knockturn Alley by Borgain and B urke's looked like that man. She was positive of it.

"Okay, we have to be careful about this. Whoever took your brothers, obviously knew the family, which means it had to of been in relations to the Dark Lord. Half the death-eaters were in Azkaban now, the other half was fighting for their freedom, making the ones in jail jealous and angry. Not to mention all the followers that just was a fan of the Dark Lord's work, but never a real "follower". They didn't have the mark, or the price on their heads. They stayed to the side of everything and just did what they were told, sometimes liking it. They all were suspects.

Hermione thought it might be time to speak up. She had an idea of how they could narrow down the list of suspects. She knew the list had to be long if Severus was thinking and pacing at the same time. "Sir, perhaps the first thing you should think of is who had immediate access to their house, their family, and wouldn't be the first one to be thought of as a suspect. Perhaps a good friend, or someone the friend knows."

Severus whipped his head to face the young girl. He'd forgotten she was there. That they were cleaning out the storeroom. However much it grieved him to say it, she was right. That was the first thing they should be doing. But that list is long too. They would have to write it down. Since Drea wasn't even born then, it would be up to Severus and perhaps Lucius. Then, thinking about it again. Even Lucius was a suspect. A small one, but still a suspect. He would have to do this alone.

"Right, yes, I'll get to work on a suspect list and give it to Kingsley at the Ministry," Severus stated in a final voice. Drea was still upset by it, because something was up, and right after a war, anything could happen. There was the calm before the storm, then there was the aftermath that needed to be cleaned up. The wizarding world was still being cleaned up. "Drea, I will find out what is going on, you just keep on the boys. Can you do that, without letting them know you are their sister?" He asked the girl in a softer voice.

She nodded, then stood up. "I can do it, don't worry about me," she responded. Severus chuckled, really chuckled at the girl. Hermione wanted to drop dead. The bloody git that had a permanent sarcastic nature and sneer had chuckled.

"I can't help it, Drea," he responded softly. She hit him on the arm lightly, then waved at Hermione. Hermione waved back lightly, watching the girl leave into the private room again. Most likely to use the floo again to go back where ever she came from.

Either way, she left Severus and Hermione alone in the office awkwardly looked at each other. Severus didn't know what to do or say. Which was the first. He always knew what to say or do. She brought so much to the surface that he'd buried long ago. "Thank you for the insight," he muttered to her before heading back to the storeroom.

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