Disclaimer: I did not create Hermione Granger or Severus Snape; they are the property of J.K. Rowling.

Thanks to Zarathustra46 for betaing!
...

He walked up the path slowly and stared at the deep red hue of the door. He lifted his hand to knock, took a deep breath, and dropped his hand again. He leaned his head against the door.

"Why me?" he had asked the headmaster. The headmaster had replied with some generalities of the other teachers being unable to take the girl in, the Weasleys having so many children already etc, etc. Of course, she was one of "The Saviour's" best friends and the Order needed to protect her since Voldemort was bound to return and attack her to get to Potter. Snape had just sighed, accepting his duty and its consequences. Now the "Insufferable- Know-It-All"—as he liked to call her—was becoming his foster child.

Snape took another deep breath; at least the unhappy task of informing Miss Granger had been taken care of by the Muggle police and social worker. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his head, raised his fist, and knocked sharply on the door. A small, frizzy-haired twelve-year-old girl answered it. Unshed tears hung in her eyes, and the remnants of earlier tears streaked trails down her cheeks. She looked up at him, unable to quell the surprise that mingled with the deep sadness in her eyes. "Prof..." she trailed off.

"Is this your uncle, dear?" the Muggle social worker asked her, coming up behind her; the Ministry had owled Hermione earlier to have her tell the Muggle social worker that her uncle was coming. However, Hermione just stared mutely.

Stupid girl! Snape thought irritably. "Yes, ma'am," he replied, ignoring Hermione's silence. He extended his hand,"Severus Snape."

The woman took it. "Who are you related to?"

"Hermione's mother is my cousin. When Hermione was a small child, her mother decided that 'uncle' was a more appropriate title." He said a silent prayer that the Ministry had not gotten bogged down in red tape, and had managed to magically change the Grangers' will, listing him as legal guardian.

"Patricia Salk," the woman said, a bit more warmly. "I'm the social worker in charge of Miss Granger's case. I have some papers for you to sign and then I'll see you both in court in two weeks."

"Court?''

"To finalize the guardianship. Since the Grangers named you as guardian, it's just a formality. I'll remind you a few days before the date."

"Thank you very much." Snape followed Ms. Salk into the kitchen to sign the required papers.

Hermione mechanically shut the door. Snape!, she thought. All this and now Snape!... Professor Snape, she corrected herself as an afterthought. She wandered into the kitchen, blankly staring at Snape and Ms. Salk.

A half hour later, Snape let Ms. Salk out and went to speak to the girl who still stood at the entrance to the kitchen. "Miss Granger." Hermione remained silent. "Miss Granger, I'm very sorry to hear about your parents.

"Thank you '"she managed to squeak out.

"Why don't we sit down?" he suggested. He sat down at the table, and gestured for Hermione to do the same. "I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here." Hermione nodded, unable to get the words out to answer him.

Snape sighed. "Well, Miss Granger, Professor Dumbledore has selected me to be your guardian now that..." he trailed off as Hermione's eyes filled with tears again. He passed her a napkin from the holder on the table. "We will stay here until after the funeral tomorrow, and then we will go to Hogwarts for the remainder of the summer. We will return for the court hearing in two weeks. My guardianship has been finalized at the Ministry already." Hermione nodded quickly, pushed back from the table, and left the room.

Snape forced himself to remember that her parents had just been killed. But was excusing herself from the room too much to ask? He was losing patience quickly with the girl. I'll go find the guest room, he thought, standing up. As he searched, Snape noticed a bedroom with the door open. Hermione was on the bed, curled up in the fetal position, crying into a worn teddy bear. Snape sighed, and then walked past the doorway to continue looking for the guest room.