The days were growing longer, but time felt much shorter. While Harry, Draco, and Hermione had been let into the one meeting concerning the war, they knew they were being left out of much of the planning. It made Harry furious to know that his parents were hiding so much from him when there was such sufficient evidence pointing towards the fact that he was paramount in the downfall of the current dark wizard.

Since the night that Pomfrey and McGonagall had been at the Manor, Pomfrey had shown back up twice. Once because Harry had fallen off of his broom doing a ridiculous stunt nearly twenty feet in the air and had broken both his left arm and right leg. Severus had not been at the house at the time of the accident, and Rosemerta had had to send Dobby to wait in the healer’s office for her to come in, so that she could discretely come to the manor and heal the boy. Rosemerta had lectured him relentlessly while Madam Pomfrey had fixed the broken bones, and had then taken his broom away from him until further notice.

Did the boy have no common sense, Rosemerta wondered to herself. Really? Twenty feet in the air and he had decided to attempt a double Wronksi Feint with an added undersided triple loop!

Due to his idiocy, Rosemerta had been practically at his beck and call for the next two days. Pomfrey had cautioned them both of the dangers of his moving around too soon and had warned he would be quite sore despite the healing she had done. Harry had not been any happier than Rose. He hated having to be stuck in bed, but Rose had told him quickly that it was his own fault, and if he didn’t want to be confined even longer he would keep his complaints to a minimum.

The second time she had been there had been for a meeting. One the children had been forbidden to attend, leaving them each unhappy. However, the adults had assured them that they would survive the unfairness of it all.

McGonagall had not been able to leave the castle at all. Apparently, Dumbledore was growing more and more paranoid of those leaving the castle for any reason, so she had had to limit herself immensely. It was easier for Pomfrey to leave the castle, as she had a private floo that she had personally warded and sealed herself due to confidentiality reasons. She often had to discuss issues with the parents of students, and she could not take the chance of anyone, especially the Headmaster, overhearing anything. Not even the Ministry had control of her floo. It was old healer magic, and no one was privy to the information except for certain healers. Thankfully, she was one of those who held the information.

Over time, Hermione had also been getting to know her mother better. Fifteen years had been a long time and neither knew much about the other, though Hermione knew the things that her Aunt Cissy had told her about her about the woman as she grew up.

However, the woman was still a mystery. A mystery that fascinated Hermione, a girl who was so used to studying because of the person she pretended to be that it had actually become a habit.

But, there was no book on how to get to know the mother you were stolen from. There were no

scrolls to explain what to say to a woman you knew nothing about. There was nothing, and that made it extremely hard on the fifteen year old girl.

One thing was for certain though. Hermione did feel that since her biological mother was now living in the same house as she was, that she no longer had to necessarily follow the rules of Uncle Lucius and Aunt Cissy. Did it not cancel out their rules since her mother was here?

Did it matter that she had not actually been given rules by the other woman?

Hermione simply pushed all of those thoughts aside. Did it really matter one way or another?

~*~*~*~*~

“Come on, Hermione! You are the only one of us three that can even think about brewing that potion! You know that we can’t! Merlin, Harry would blow the whole house up with the first porcupine quill!” Draco begged.

They were in Draco’s room, all sitting on his bed. Harry pushed the blonde off of the bed after he said that.

True, he had not been the greatest potioneer in class, but really? He had been a nervous wreck the whole time, knowing that the man who was teaching him was his father, yet at the same time having to listen to him drone on about James Potter and how he was just like his father. He had not particularly had the best potions experience.

“Draco! It is a master level potion! Only year Seven NEWTS are even allowed to think about brewing it, and only then with a potions instructor beside them the entire time!”

“Hermione! You brewed the Polyjuice in our second year! That is not even taught at Hogwarts, only mentioned!” Harry said.

Draco looked at her and raised his eyebrows in a smirk she was all too familiar with. One that told Hermione that he was not going to let this go because he knew that she was capable of brewing an advanced potion such as the one all three of them wanted to try.

Harry merely grinned.

Hermione sighed and the other two held their breath. Because they knew that any moment, she was fixing to give in.

She rolled her eyes and gave them a tiny smile.

“Fine. Though if I get into trouble…”

Both boys jumped up and whooped in the air, excited that Hermione had agreed.

“But really? The Euphoria Elixir? I am only making enough for us to do this once! I am already going to have to figure out a way into the potions lab.”

Both boys were too excited to even pay attention to her words at that moment.

Perhaps they should have.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione walked towards her mother’s room and knocked lightly on the door, only opening it when she heard the soft, “Come in,” from the other side.

Bellatrix was sitting by her fireplace, her feet drawn up on the chaise lounge, the fingers of her right left had twisting curly locks of hair. All the while holding a book loosely in the other.

Hermione stared at the woman for a minute. Bellatrix no longer looked frail. After weeks of a strict potions regime given to her by Severus, she was nearly as healthy as she had been before Azkaban, though she would never fully heal from her time there.

“Hello, Mum.” Hermione said softly, going over and sitting beside her mother, sitting as close as she could.

“Hello, darling. How are you?”

Bellatrix was smiling at her daughter. She was, perhaps, happier than she had ever been by her daughter’s mere presence.

“I am fine, Mum. I was wondering if, maybe, I could ask you a favor?”

Bellatrix straightened up. Her child had not yet asked her for anything. Not for help, or guidance. Not for things that she needed.

But, finally, she felt comfortable enough to ask her for something.

“Of course, Mione. Ask away, Love.”

Hermione held her breath for a moment and then let it go just as quickly.

“I need to work on a potion, Mum, and everyone else is busy. I cannot get into the lab without an adult. Draco, Harry, and I are not allowed.” Hermione said, looking down in mock disappointment.

Bellatrix’s smile only widened.

“Of course, Love, we can do that now!” Bellatrix said as she stood up and grabbed her child’s hand, pulling her gently with her. She was excited that finally…finally, her daughter had asked

her for something.

Yes, it was a simple request. But at least it was a request.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry stared at his father defiantly. The man couldn’t be serious? Could he? This was so stupid!

“Harry, are you listening to me, son?” Severus asked his son, who was so obviously daydreaming.

“What? Yes…” Harry said, though he wasn’t sure if he had missed something or not.

Severus stared at Harry intently for several moments.

“What did I just say?”

Harry, at least, had the courtesy to blush, but then immediately turned his head away from his father.

“I don’t understand why I have to do it!” Harry hissed at his father and crossed his arms over his chest.

Severus counted to ten in his head, and then squatted down in front of his son who was sitting on the couch.

“Listen to me, young man. You may feel like you have nothing to learn, but you are sorely mistaken if that is the case. You are fifteen years old, young man. You have plenty to learn, and as your father it is my duty to ensure that you learn everything you must.” Severus deadpanned.

“I shouldn’t have to do school work. I’m not in school and there is a war going on. It doesn’t make sense.” Harry smarted back to the man.

Severus stared at him.

“Harrison, you are fifteen years old and you will further your education.”

“What if I don’t want to?” Harry snapped at him.

Severus’ eyes bulged a bit.

“You haven’t the choice.” His voice was deadly, and probably would have made several first years from all houses wet themselves. His son, however, seemed unphased.

“There is a war going on and you want me to study! This is crap, Dad!”

Severus Snape had the capabilities of being a calm man. He had learned even more patience in the last eight and a half years.

However, there were times when his son really struck a nerve so deep that there was no possible way that that nerve had had the time to learn patience or calmness. This was one of those times. Severus knew that if his son kept up with his atrocious attitude, he was going to lose his temper. He didn’t want that to happen, as they were all on tight ropes as it was.

“Go to your mother.”

Harry looked at his father in confusion. What? His father rarely ever sent him to his mother during a…heated discussion. The whole discussion was ridiculous anyways. What was his father trying to prove? That he had more power?

“Why?” Harry asked him, staring at the floor, something he knew that his father detested, but something he also didn’t care about at the moment.

Severus took a deep breath. He was not one to explain himself often. It shouldn’t really be necessary, as he was the father and Harry was the child. He expected the boy to question his authority at times, but once he told him to do something, he also expected it to be done.

At the moment, Harry was simply being difficult for the sake of being difficult.

“Son, I am going to tell you something, and you will listen. Once I am finished talking to you, you will go to your mother because I have no desire to lose my temper. Yes, we are at war. That does not mean that you do not have a lot to learn. I am your father and I, along with your mother, am in charge of your well being, be that food, safety, shelter, or education. That is not up for debate, nor is it for you to question. You will follow these rules whether you wish to or not.”

Harry stood up. If his father wanted him to go to his mother, then he would. Maybe he could talk her out of this nonsense. Because, for Merlin’s sake, he was fifteen years old!

Severus watched his son closely as the boy walked to the door and rested his hand on the door knob. He knew that Harry would be going to his mother, for all that he whined and had an attitude, he still, mostly, listened to Severus.

Severus, however, was confused for a moment because Harry was not turning the knob, but merely resting his hand lightly on it, standing very still.

“Harry?” Severus asked.

Harry swallowed deeply. He wanted to talk, but could tell that, at the moment, his stupid voice would squeak because it always did when he felt his emotions running high. It was a definite downside to growing up, and he was actually quite jealous of Draco and the fact that his voice had already deepened and greatly resembled Uncle Lucius’ silky, smooth, aristocratic tone.

However, he knew that he had to say something.

“Dad, it is your responsibility to keep me safe, but that is not going to be possible. I know it. You know it. Everyone knows it. So maybe you are wrong about everything else as well.” Harry’s voice had, indeed, pitched up and down through the sentence, and he blushed a bit as it did.

Severus watched him for a moment. Why did the world expect so much from his son? How was a boy whose voice had yet to fully change supposed to save the wizarding world from a dark and evil man?

That was the question.

But Severus had an answer.

“I have told you before. I will always be there to catch you, Harrison Snape. I will protect you. If I have to fight you along the way, every step and every breath, I will make sure that you come out on top.”

Harry didn’t dare turn around. He couldn’t. Because a single tear was sliding down his cheek and he didn’t want his father to see that he was, once again, crying.

He was not a baby after all. He quickly opened the door and left, to stop first at a bathroom and wash his face off, and then to find his mother as his father had instructed.

Left alone in the room, Severus Snape knew that his son had left crying at least a bit. What did he expect? What did anyone expect? Harry Snape was still a boy. A child. He was still a son.

Did no one realize that but his family? Did no one understand the immense pressure they had placed on a boy?

But, thought Severus, were he and Rosemerta any better? Were Narcissa and Lucius?

Because they had all had a hand in developing the young minds they were in charge of. They had all taught their children to pretend to be someone else. Had they damaged their children just as much as Dumbledore had? Had they damaged them more? Were they responsible for their children’s insecurities?

But the question that was at the fore front of Severus’ mind was this:

What if they had found the children, and instead of training them to survive, simply ran with them so that they could live?

Suddenly, Severus was left with a very heavy heart.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione was just adding three mint sprigs to the nearly complete Euphoria Elixir when she heard someone clearing her throat behind her. She froze. She knew that it wasn’t her Mum, as Bellatrix had helped her through the wards and had then gone back to her room until Hermione was done since Hermione had told her that she didn’t have to stay with her.

Mainly, Hermione didn’t want the woman to know what she was really brewing.

So, that only meant two options. Either Aunt Rose was behind her, which was probably the safer choice, or it was Aunt Cissy.

Hermione was literally frozen in place.

“What do you think that you are doing, young lady?”

Bloody hell. It was Aunt Cissy. That meant that she really had to do some quick thinking.

Lifting her wand to banish the potion before her aunt noticed what it was, Hermione was caught off guard when a hand larger than her own wrapped around her wand hand in order to stop the spell from being cast.

Hermione swallowed deeply when she realized Narcissa was looking at both the potion and the ingredients that were left before standing back up and staring at her niece.

“How did you get in here? You know very well that you are not to be in here without either myself or Severus.”

Hermione looked at her aunt and narrowed her eyes.

“My Mum gave me permission and let me in here. So you can’t do anything about it. She helped me get into the lab and didn’t ask what I was planning on brewing, so obviously, she trusts me enough to let me do whatever I want. Unlike you and Uncle Lucius!” Hermione said. She was standing straight, a scowl on her face, defiance in her voice.

Narcissa stood and looked once again at the cauldron on the lab table. She knew that in the cauldron was nearly a complete Euphoria Elixir, a potion that many teenagers, at one point or another during their school years, attempted to brew with the intent to use it. It was obvious that this was something all three of the mischievous teenagers in the house wanted to try and the two boys probably put Hermione up to it.

However, that was currently beside the point. The point at the moment was that Hermione had gone behind her back to Bellatrix in order to get into the potions lab, something she knew was strictly forbidden.

Narcissa also tried to push down her hurt. Again her fear of losing Hermione was beginning to rise and choke her. It was a realistic fear and was becoming more and more so every day.

Narcissa wanted to cringe.

“Hermione, are you allowed in here without either me or Severus?” Narcissa asked the fifteen year old girl.

Hermione looked at her intently.

“My Mum said I could be in here. I told her that you were all busy, so she said that she didn’t mind helping me.” Hermione said, and then looked towards the door of the potions lab, which was now wide open.

“You know the rules Hermione, and you are also aware of the possibility that your mother may not be aware of the rules in our home. Just because Bellatrix is here does not mean that you are allowed to break the rules. I expect better from you Hermione Cassandra Black!”

Hermione glared at her aunt through squinted eyes and tried to stand taller than she had.

“I am sure that my Mum isn’t aware of all your rules. I am sure that she is not aware of a lot of things. But she is here now, and she gave me permission to be down here. The rule is that I have to have permission to be down here!” Hermione shouted.

“Lower your voice, Hermione. You are in enough trouble as it is.” Narcissa was calm. A bit too calm for Hermione’s liking in fact.

“I don’t know what the big deal is!” Hermione hissed.

Narcissa sighed. She could feel the child sliding through her fingers. She was losing her.

“What is going on?”

Narcissa turned towards the door and noticed Bellatrix.

“Bellatrix. I am glad that you are here. You may join this little conversation, as Hermione has a bit of explaining to do.”

Hermione glared at her aunt. This was so ridiculous!

“Hermione, would you like to explain the rules of the potions lab to your mother?” Narcissa asked her. Hermione simply shrugged. Did she really want to tell on herself? Um, no! Of course not!

“How about I help you out then. Trixie, the children are not, under any circumstances, allowed in the potions lab without either me or Severus. At one time we considered letting them in here to practice on potions that they had already brewed; however, when they were in second year, Hermione brewed a Polyjuice potion which resulted in her turning into a cat, human hybrid because she added a cat hair to the potion instead of a human hair. We realized then that the

children needed to be supervised because they know no bounds when it comes to restrictions. They have not yet proved us wrong.”

Hermione glared at her aunt. She remembered the incident as if it were yesterday. She, Harry, and Ron had been trying to break into the Slytherin common room because Dumbledore had been hinting that they may find out more things about the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione and Harry had failed to mention the fact that they were on a mission to get into the Slytherin common room to their guardians, and instead had opted to brew the Polyjuice and sneak in.

It had worked for Harry and Ron, but not for Hermione. She had been in the Infirmary for a month and a day when her Uncle Severus had been checking her out in Madam Pomfrey’s office under the guise that he had to make sure that the potion had no ill effects, before he gave her any further antidotes. A botched Polyjuice was not an easy fix, and it took many different antidotes to correct the issues; especially when the person was A. prepubescent child and B. when the transformation was an animal instead of the human it was supposed to be. Some of the antidotes took hours to brew.

The day after it had happened was when Narcissa and Lucius had shown up. They had been visiting Draco who had been in the infirmary with a fake stomach ache, making the trip necessary when Draco had asked for his parents. At least that had been their cover. They had come to make sure their niece was healthy.

When they realized that she was, they had both lectured her for what felt like hours.

Hermione came back to the present and looked at her aunt and then her mum. What in the world had she gotten into this time?

“Hermione, is this true?” Bellatrix asked. Not that she didn’t believe her sister, as she was the one who made the rules. Well, she and Lucius, along with Severus and Rosemerta.

Bellatrix realized, once again, just how much she had missed in her child’s life.

“You gave me permission to be in here. I thought that overruled Aunt Cissy’s rules.”

Narcissa had to give the little false lion credit. She was putting her Slytherin tendencies into over drive now.

Bellatrix looked hurt.

“Hermione, I cannot allow you to do this.” Bellatrix whispered.

Hermione spun around towards her mother.

“What do you mean?”

Bellatrix looked at Narcissa. It was at that moment that she realized that Narcissa, her little sister,

the girl she had once protected with every ounce of magic she could muster, the woman she now loved for caring for her daughter, was hurting.

Her little sister was hurting.

And it was partly her fault.

Bellatrix took a deep breath.

‘Hermione, you cannot play us against one another. I am your mother, and you may ask me for or about anything. You may not get it, and I may not always be able to give you the answers you want, but I will always be here if you need to talk. But you are not allowed to put Narcissa and me against one another. You still have to follow your Aunt Cissy’s rules. You cannot come to me and ask me for something when she has already said no. That is not how our relationship is going to work. It can’t. I cannot allow you to use me because you don’t want to follow the rules that are set to protect you.”

Oh how it had hurt Bellatrix to say that. It had stung her chest and broke her heart in places she didn’t know even existed.

Hermione felt horrible.

Had that been what she had been doing? Had she been trying to play one guardian against another?

She hadn’t really meant to do that. Yes, she had wanted to get her way. But she also wanted her mother to be the one who set rules for her.

But why was that? Was it because she thought that she would get away with more if her mother, the woman who hadn’t been with her entire life, was in charge?

And it dawned on Hermione.

She simply wasn’t sure. She wanted her mother to be a part of her life so badly that she was willing to put every other relationship she had with every other person on hold. She wanted her mother to love her so much that she figured if she lost the love of others it wouldn’t be so bad.

But that was it. No matter how bad she was, or naughty, or mean, or cruel, or selfish…her family was still going to love her.

Uncle Lucius was still going to be wrapped around her finger, Aunt Cissy was still going to take care of her, Uncle Sev and Aunt Rose were still going to be around when she needed to talk, Draco was still going to be her brother, and Harry was still going to be her bonded.

But where did that leave her mother?

Hermione looked at Narcissa.

And for the first time ever, she realized that she, she, was the reason for the hurt look on her aunt’s face.

“Oh Merlin.” Hermione whispered. Tears began to slide down her face with gusto. Had she messed up too much already?

“Hermione,” Bellatrix started as she watched the emotions change over her daughter’s face, “as I said, I am here for you…always. But you are already very much in a family situation with guidance, structure, and discipline. I only want to add to that. I will not, however, take away from it. I love you too much.”

It was said so softly that neither Hermione nor Narcissa were positive that they had heard it. It was like a whisper in the wind.

But the meaning was pure and strong.

At that moment, Hermione was not sure who she wanted to go to. Should she cry on her mother’s shoulder, or the aunt who had been there for her, always?

But, Hermione realized, perhaps they were close enough that she could hug them both at the same time.

So she did.

As Narcissa wrapped her arms around not only her niece, but her sister as well, she realized that her sister was also crying.

Did her sister have the same fears that she had?

And what about Hermione? Was Hermione finally aware of the fact that she had, perhaps unconsciously, been playing the two older women against one another? Or was it that Hermione actually realized that she was just a lost little girl who no longer knew who to turn to, and wasn’t sure if she could turn to both women or not.

Narcissa felt that it was probably the latter.

“Come Mione, Trixie, let’s go to my room so that we may talk about this in depth.” Narcissa said, raising her wand and cleaning the potion from the cauldron.

The Euphoria Elixir could be addressed later. Right now they had bigger things to discuss. ~*~*~*~*~

A couple hours later, Harry was asleep on his parents’ bed, where he had laid down while talking to his mother about his fight with Severus.

Rose had simply listened, deciding to stay neutral at the present time. Emotions were high in the manor, and she knew that someone needed to remain calm. She could literally feel the magic buzzing, and it felt as if her senses were going into overdrive.

Severus walked in to the room. He knew that Harry was probably in there, as he didn’t dare disobey his father, and Rose would not have let him leave until Severus came into the room. Severus sat down beside Rosemerta and watched their son sleep.

“Where did you go?” Rose asked quietly.

“I walked around the edge of the property looking for faulty wards. I only want to protect him, Rose.” He whispered when she leaned her head over to his shoulder.

“I know, Love. It is what we all want.”

And then they were silent.