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True Identity	By : chrmisha Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 5303 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 2

Just as Helen opened her front door after an uneventful day at the library, her neighbor Doris rushed over.

�HELEN! Oh, I�m so glad I caught up with you! I wanted to thank you for bringing in the post while we were on holiday. I baked you some muffins. I do hope you like blueberry muffins, dear.�

�Thank you very much, blueberry muffins are my favorite. And bringing in the post was no problem at all.�

Helen shut the door behind her just as a deep baritone voice sounded.

�Helen.�

Her eyes wide, she plastered herself against the back of the door, grabbing the oval locket that hung around her neck. Hidden inside was her miniaturized wand. A quick enlargement charm would restore it to its original size should she need it.

He was sitting on the couch studying her.

�Professor Snape! You startled me!� Her heart was still pounding wildly as she looked at him. Regaining her composure, she rushed to his side. �How are you feeling? I wasn�t expecting you up so soon.�

�I�ve felt better in my life,� he admitted, rolling his aching shoulders and stretching his back to ease the knots of tension there.

�Can I get you anything to eat or drink? You must be starving.�

As he opened his mouth to respond, she saw the telltale signs of another spasm coming on. �Try and relax,� she coached him, taking his fisting hand in hers and working quickly to ease the muscles. When the spasm finally passed, he was watching her with a wary expression on his face. Immediately, she let go of his hand and stepped back.

Averting her eyes, she spoke quickly. �I�m sorry, that was inappropriate. It�s just� well� you�ve been suffering those spasms for days now and it seemed like when I massaged your muscles it helped ease the pain. Nonetheless, I shouldn�t have been so presumptuous as to assume��

He raised his hand to silence her. She met his eyes and didn�t see the usual disdain that resided there. Perhaps it was because of the pain he was in, perhaps it was because he was no longer at Hogwarts, no longer living a dual existence. Whatever the case, she relaxed at the sight of her former professor lacking his characteristic scowl.

�No apology necessary. I�m just not used to being touched by strangers. How long have I been here?�

�Almost three weeks.�

She watched as he leaned back and closed his eyes, seeming to be thinking something through. Without looking at her, he asked, �And where exactly am I?�

�You are in Freckleton, in Lancashire County. This is my home. Albus Dumbledore asked me to look after you while you were recovering. He said you were in some kind of trouble, but he didn�t elaborate.�

�Indeed,� Snape replied in a silky voice. �Helen, how exactly do you know Albus?�

She paused. This man thought her name was Helen. He must think her a Muggle. Dumbledore had left it up to her as to whether or not she wished to enlighten him on her circumstances. Looking at him now, the disdain and loathing missing from his eyes, she couldn�t bring herself to tell him that her name wasn�t Helen. That, in fact, she was none other than his long hated former student.

Looking away, she let the half-truth spill out of her. �He�s a friend of the family. Why don�t I heat up some soup and biscuits and then you can ask me all of the questions you like. You must have many.�

***

Snape carefully studied the woman standing before him. She had been terrified when she had realized there was an intruder in her home. As would any woman living alone, he quickly realized. She hadn�t expected him up so soon. She was young and attractive and why on earth was he in her home? He had no idea who she was. He had toured the small cottage while she was gone. There were no wards guarding the cottage, no robes hanging in her closet, no sign of anything magical at all. That left only one conclusion: she was a Muggle. That thought was slightly intimidating to him. While he knew a fair amount about the Muggle world, he had never tried to live in it before. Surely he would make a mistake sooner or later. Maybe she would just think him eccentric and not ask too many questions.

What had surprised him most, though, was her compassion. When the latest wave of pain had wracked his body, she had rushed to his side, massaging his fingers and hands in hopes of easing his pain. He couldn�t remember the last time someone had tried to comfort him. Instinctively, he had pulled away from her touch, but his body had been jerking so violently, she hadn�t noticed. Instead, she had tried to soothe him with her words while she worked on his taut muscles.

He had spent the day trying to figure out where he was and why he was here. His best guess was that Dumbledore had sent him to a safe house after the Dark Lord himself had discovered his true loyalties. He remembered Voldemort and the other Death Eaters torturing him, but that was all he remembered. He must have been left outside of Hogwarts for dead as an example of what happens to traitors. But somehow he had managed to survive. He wasn�t sure whether he was glad of that or not. It seemed now he was destined to be trapped in the Muggle world until the war was over. He had traded one prison for another. He was no longer a double agent; in fact, he was no longer useful at all. That thought left him scowling when the woman who had nursed him back to health came back into the room.

�Is everything all right?� she asked as she set down a tray of food and drink in front of him.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. �You called me Professor Snape earlier.�

�Yes, that is what Albus called you.�

�I see. And your name is Helen.� He saw her avert her eyes and he sensed her hesitation for the second time. Why was she afraid to tell him her name?

Finally, she nodded. �I go by Helen Garnell here. I work at the library.�

�What did Albus tell you?�

�He told me that someone dear to him had been injured and would I mind looking after him until he recovered. He also said that this person would need someplace to stay for awhile.�

�And you didn�t question him further?�

�Perhaps I should have, but no. I trust Albus.�

Snape raised his eyebrows at her response. She hardly looked able to defend herself and letting some strange man into her home didn�t seem like the wisest thing to do. Perhaps she wasn�t very bright, he thought to himself. Instead, he focused on his food. After awhile, he said, �You may call me Severus.�

�Severus,� she replied, the name rolling off her tongue.

If she thought his name odd, she didn�t mention it. He was sure she would find many odd things about him; after all, he wasn�t a Muggle and he was bound to act strangely by her standards.

While he continued to ask questions of his current circumstances, he noticed that she didn�t ask any questions of him. He found that quite unusual considering that he was a stranger in her home. He also considered himself lucky. He didn�t relish lying; he had spent far too long living a dual existence defined by carefully constructed lies and half-truths. The less she knew about him, the better. She seemed to accept him as he was and surely, if she had any idea of who he really was, he would find himself out on the street in no time.

Instead, she catered to his every need. She suggested a hot bath to ease his muscle aches and even added bath salts to the water for him. She cooked warm meals and laundered his clothing. He wasn�t used to being pampered, and let her know it.

�Don�t worry,� she replied. �When you are better, I�ll be more than happy to let you do the cooking and cleaning. I don�t relish either task.�

He quirked an eyebrow, quickly understanding that she fully expected him to hold his own once he was well. He had to laugh. Perhaps he had underestimated her after all.

The days passed uneventfully. He wasn�t used to having nothing to do. He couldn�t risk leaving the house for fear he might be recognized. If he was, Helen would be in grave danger. Instead, he settled for the multitude of Muggle books Helen brought home from the library for him to read. He found them fascinating. The novels he read gave him an insight into Muggle life he might not otherwise have discovered. He read pretty much anything she brought him: biographies, mysteries, war stories, even a romance or two she�d slipped in. By the time the third romance had slipped into his stack of novels, though, he was beginning to question her motives. At first, he thought she was either trying to give him a broader view of the world or she had grabbed the wrong book. Now he was beginning to wonder if she was hinting at something.
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True Identity