Chapter 1
"Where are you going?"
Hermione jumped, sheathing her wand when she recognised Ron's voice. Surprising her tended to be dangerous these days, after her hellish year. Ron was lucky not to be hexed, lurking on the stairs outside Ginny's bedroom.
"Hermione?"
She gritted her teeth at the demanding whine of her name. Better answer him before he verbally mangled anything else… "To the Ministry."
Ron scowled. "The Department of Mysteries?"
"None of your business," Hermione snapped. He'd been there when she got the letter from the Head Unspeakable, and seemed determined to make up her mind for her on the matter of whether she was going to be an Unspeakable. Honestly, one kiss in the heat of battle, and he thought he was her keeper! She elbowed her way past him.
Ron followed her every footstep to the Burrow's fireplace, protesting all the way. "Don't go! You won't be able to talk to me about your work, or to anyone else!"
'Since when can I talk to you about things like that? Anything to do with schoolwork leaves your eyes glazed over!' Hermione counted to ten until the urge to say as much passed. "I'll be able to talk to people with Unspeakable clearance, Ron. That's restricting, I'll grant you, but hardly no one."
"Not me or any of our friends! Why not join me and Harry as Aurors?"
"I never wanted to be an Auror."
Ron waved an impatient, dismissive hand. "Yeah, I know, you wanted to take Spew further. Why not do that? I'm sure Kingsley could get you into that Department if you asked him."
"Maybe I will, one day. But I need to know more before I stand any chance of changing things."
"What about your NEWTs, then?"
She almost tripped. That was a bit rich coming from Ron of all people!
"Repairs at Hogwarts are still going on, and like you, I have special dispensation to skip NEWTs if I want to, or to take them whenever I want without needing to go back."
And she already knew she would pass them – as the job offer from the Unspeakables mentioned that they already knew what her results were, and that they were expecting her. Today. Before she had even taken those exams.
Hermione reached for a handful of Floo powder. Ron's hand closed around her wrist when she went to throw it into the fireplace.
"Let go of me," she said, fighting to remain calm. She'd never liked to be manhandled, and after being at Bellatrix's tender mercies it had become a phobia of sorts.
"No, not until you listen to me! I'm your boyfriend!"
She saw red. The next thing she knew, her wand was digging into the side of his neck. "Let go," she snarled. "You are only my friend and not even that if you don't stop trying to control me."
Ron snatched his hand away as if he'd been burned. "Control? Hermione, I'm not—I only—I didn't—I love—"
"No, you don't. Oh, you do love me, but only as I love you. Friends, Ron. Nothing more." She lowered her wand, shoulders slumping. "I might have loved you as something more once, but you killed that when you left."
"When I… But that was the Horcrux! You know I didn't—"
"I wore it too, you idiot. It brought out the worst in us but didn't create anything that wasn't already there. I'm sorry if that kiss during the battle made you believe there was anything more between us."
"I'm sorry too," Ron snapped. "Just… go away. Be an Unspeakable if that's what you want, I don't care."
He stormed off. Hermione watched him go, torn between anger and loss. With any luck he'd accept the truth when he calmed down, and they could be friends again when his wounded pride had recovered.
She stepped into the fireplace and tossed in the Floo powder.
"The Ministry of Magic!" she cried above the roar of cool green flames.
An Unspeakable was waiting for her just inside the door to the Department of Mysteries. He looked up sharply, tucking his pocket watch back into his robes. "You're late," he rasped, his voice not unlike what a crow would sound like if one could talk.
Hermione blinked, checking the time on the watch strapped to her wrist. Had Ron delayed her that much? But no, she'd allowed plenty of time. "Sir? I'm here for my interview at ten." Hopefully that would point out the fact that she was five minutes early without causing offence.
"Really? I saw you for that last week."
Last week? In her experience, Time-Turners could not go that far back. Besides, all of them had been smashed in the battle here two—
The Unspeakable dangled a familiar hour-glass pendant in front of her. "You'll need this."
Of course… they must have kept most of their Time-Turners behind the scenes. It was stupid to think that she'd seen all there was to see here during that misadventure after her OWL exams.
"To get to my interview? But—"
"Never mind that, there is a limit to how far a Time-Turner can go back, you know. Delay much longer and we'll have to assign you another partner, and the amount of paperwork involved in that makes me very unhappy."
Hermione took the Time-Turner. It felt heavier than the one she'd used during her third year. "Sir—"
"I know I'm the Head Unspeakable, but call me Croaker, girl. Everyone else does."
Hermione wondered if it was a nickname or if his voice just happened to suit his name. Come to think of it, his nose was a bit beaklike too, if not as extreme as Snape's.
Snape… It still bothered her after the month since that last battle that they hadn't found his body. She should have remembered sooner, then they could have treated him in death with the respect he had deserved in life. Granted, she had remembered before anyone else, but only after someone had time to steal it.
"Granger?"
"Oh, sorry, s—Croaker. I was wondering if the weight of Time-Turners has anything to do with how far they can go back."
He nodded. "The heavier they are, the further back they can go. Only up to a point, mind – too heavy and they won't take you anywhen."
"And this one?"
"Up to forty-two days. Don't try to turn it back any further beyond that limit, or it'll decapitate you when it gets too heavy. Those chains don't break, you know." He fingered the deceptively fragile thread of metal.
"You mean if I go back, say, a month, and tried to turn it back another month when I was back then?"
Croaker slid a finger across his neck. "Although funny you say a month back… because that's when you're going. Now that unpleasant business with Voldy-thing is over, I want you to retrieve your assigned partner."
"Severus Snape?" Hermione guessed, half-hoping, half-dreading. That Snape should have a chance to survive was great, but much as she respected him for all that he had done, she didn't like the sound of Snape as her partner. He would never respect her – the insufferable know-it-all – as an equal.
"Excellent, you already know each other!"
"He taught me," she said shortly. The less she remembered of it, the better. Not the knowledge gained from the actual lessons, of course, but his treatment of Gryffindors in general and her and Harry in particular. 'I see no difference' still stung her fragile self-image. "I didn't know he was an Unspeakable."
"He's been one longer than you've been alive. Sort of, anyway. We kept him as a sleeper agent, and he's eminently compatible with you."
"Compatible?" Hermione squeaked. That couldn't be what it sounded like, could it?
"Our Arithmantic matching is never wrong. Oh, don't worry, I mean platonically. As your partner. But if you ever wanted more, you'd be equally well matched for that, too." He winked at her. "It's how I met my wife."
"Does Snape know this?" Considering she felt like she might faint, her voice was amazingly steady.
"Certainly, it's a well known perk of being an Unspeakable. A free matchmaking service, as there's no silly rules preventing romantic entanglements between colleagues."
Hermione dropped her burning face into her hands, praying that the floor would swallow her. She'd been nervous about this interview, despite the guaranteed job. She should have been more concerned about being mortified to death.
She forced herself to look back up. "Snape does not like me. I don't like him much either, come to that. He was a horrible teacher! He called me names!"
"The lady doth protest too much," Croaker crowed, grinning at her. "That was his way of pulling your hair, no doubt. His misguided way of showing he likes you. The Arithmancy never fails, it's true love if you let yourself—"
"I don't! Stop it!" He was joking. He had to be. Playing with the new girl.
He tapped the side of his nose. "Don't worry, I won't say a word. You'd better be off to save your man."
"He's not my—Oh, forget it!" She turned to leave. It would be best to go back at Hogwarts. In theory she should appear close to wherever she'd been at the time, but it was best not to risk Splinching or whatever might happen across this distance.
She almost ran into Croaker as he rushed down the corridor. Towards her. She looked behind her through the open door. He was still there. A double by Time-Turner usage? Polyjuice?
The Croaker in the corridor pulled out his own hour-glass pendant in answer to her question. "Before you go, you'll need this too." He offered her a vial of crystal clear liquid. "Phoenix tears." He ran off.
That was true… it was all very well going back to get Snape, but he'd definitely need something to heal him after Nagini tore his throat open.
And she'd better pay Harry a visit before she made use of the Time-Turner. She'd have to be in the Shrieking Shack at the same time as Voldemort. A Disillusionment Charm wouldn't fool him; she could only hope that an Invisibility Cloak would. Especially as that cloak was one of the Deathly Hallows… except Dumbledore had been able to see through it. Was that a quirk of being master of the Elder Wand, or could he detect people by their magic?
'Breathe, Hermione. You can't die yet, you have to be interviewed by Croaker first.' Or so she hoped. In theory the laws of time travel would not allow a paradox to occur, but in practice? Those who meddled with time tended to die. For all she knew it was someone Polyjuiced as her that made it to her interview. There were no guarantees, not with this.
She really should just walk away from this madness while she still could.
Except if there was any chance she could save Snape, she had to take it. There was no love lost between them, but maybe he'd be different when he didn't have to act like he hated Gryffindors in general and Mudbloods particularly. That and no one deserved to die like he had. Or hadn't, if she had anything to do with it.
'Damn.' She had to go back. 'I'd better get my affairs in order before I go. I wish I'd managed to find Mum and Dad, but at least this way they won't even know I exist if I die.'
"Oh, Granger, you'll need this too." Yet another Croaker had appeared from the direction of the lifts. He thrust another vial into her hands before he ran off again.
Blood Replenishing Potion. She flinched, remembering the pool of blood that had been all that was left of Snape. Still, hopefully it was a good sign that Croaker was providing all of this. That it meant she wouldn't get herself killed. That Snape would live…
As soon as Harry had disappeared back into the tunnel after Ron and her past self, Hermione threw off the Invisibility Cloak and dropped to her knees beside Snape. She heaved him onto his back, yanked the stopper out of the vial of phoenix tears and tipped half of them directly onto the gaping wound in Snape's throat. The rest she poured into his mouth, praying he was still alive enough to swallow. That her past self and her friends hadn't dawdled too long.
She heaved a sigh of relief when his throat moved and he began to cough and splutter. He still looked more dead than alive, even his thin lips white, but at least Nagini's bite had almost vanished, closing right before her eyes. He blinked, the spark of life returning to his dark eyes.
Hermione waited until he had stopped choking before she gave him the Blood Replenishing Potion. While phoenix tears in his airways would be quickly absorbed, the contents of the potion would not help him there.
Snape gulped down the potion when she put the vial to his lips, his pallor quickly returning to what passed for normal with him – if she was that pale, she'd be in dire need of the same potion she'd just given him.
He reached out and grasped the dangling Time-Turner around her neck and inspected it closely. The expanding nature of the chain kept it from causing a friction burn on the back of her neck, but it still tugged uncomfortably.
"Croaker sent you." He glanced up at her for a moment as she nodded, before glaring back at the Time-Turner. "Damn him. Damn him to hell!" he spat, tossing the Time-Turner back at her.
Hermione opened her mouth and closed it again. She had no idea what to call him. He wasn't her professor any more. Mr Snape sounded odd, and 'Severus' would be both awkward and presumptuous. It wasn't long since he'd taught her, after all. "Snape." She settled on. "What—"
"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong, Miss Granger. If you're here because Croaker sent you back, that means you must be my new partner." A sneer contorted his face, his words dripping with contempt. "I have no desire for a partner, least of all a know-it-all Gryffindor!"
"Then by all means let Croaker know that so we can be reassigned. I'm not exactly thrilled about this either!"
"Not on your life." Snape rose to his feet, grimacing at the blood soaking his clothes. He raised his wand, clearly about to Vanish it.
She leapt up, shuddering at the sticky blood that made her trousers cling to her lower legs. "Don't! That bloodstain must be left, it's there in the future."
Snape curled his lip, pointedly Vanishing only the blood clinging to him, leaving the pool on the floorboards untouched. She flicked her wand at herself to deal with her own, praying she'd visualised the spell right or she'd Vanish her clothing too. She stifled a sigh of relief, thankfully not suddenly starkers in front of Snape.
"As I was saying, much as I neither need nor want you as my partner, it cancels out the life debt I would otherwise owe you. Our bond—" He grimaced almost as though the word pained him. "—negates such things, as it is part of the duty of such a role to protect each other. After the Potters, I have had quite enough of life debts."
"I imagine you have," Hermione muttered, trying not to be too miffed at his obvious displeasure with being saddled with her as his partner. After all, she was no happier about it.
"That and this is most likely Croaker's revenge for when I refused a partner during my time as a sleeper agent. He cared for the paperwork that caused as much as I cared for James Potter."
Hermione frowned. That did sound plausible, except Croaker had explicitly said that she was meant to be with Snape, be it platonically or otherwise. How did that fit in with it being a personal grudge against Snape?
"All the same," Snape murmured. "For you to be assigned as my partner, we must be… compatible." He looked her up and down, a strange expression on his face. Like Ron's when…
'Oh. Oh my…'
When he was aware for the first time that she was a girl – a pretty one at that – and surprised by that fact.
Hermione blushed and tried to resist the urge to squirm, uncomfortable. But, oddly, she was not repulsed. Croaker hadn't been joking about romantic potential, then. Or he was and played it on everyone, including Snape…
Snape cleared his throat. "For you to have come back, the Dark Lord must be dead. Or soon will be, in this timeframe. Potter… is he…"
Hermione picked up Harry's cloak, glad that it hadn't landed in the blood. She looked up sharply at Snape. Was that regret in his voice?
Of course. He thought his memories had sent Harry to his death.
"Harry's fine. Or will be. Volde—"
Snape flinched and made urgent shushing motions.
Right, the Taboo was still in place. That and saying it around Death Eaters seemed to pain them.
"Sorry. You-Know-Who did kill Harry, but either the fact that he really killed his Horcrux instead, or the fact that Harry was the master of the Elder Wand at the time… well. Harry came back to life in time to finish off You-Know-Who for good."
"Brat's like a cockroach," Snape muttered, shaking his head in disgust. Yet she could see the relief in his eyes. He might not like Harry much, but he hadn't wanted him dead. "A Horcrux… I thought as much. Dumbledore refused to tell me exactly what it was, but I had my suspicions."
Distant footsteps in the tunnel made them both turn towards it, wands at the ready.
"We can't be seen!" Hermione hissed. Even if it was friend, not foe, the risk was too great. She darted to Snape's side and threw the Invisibility Cloak over them both.
Snape slipped an arm around her. She stiffened in shock at the willing touch and the proximity of his warm body. "We should leave," he breathed in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. With that, he twisted them both into Side-Along Apparition.
They emerged in the Ministry of Magic, right inside the Department of Mysteries. Snape must have special clearance to do that, perhaps due to the current regime… or was it because he was an Unspeakable? She'd have to find out, as that would be a useful perk.
No one was in sight. Hermione swept off the cloak, bundling it up under one arm, nudging Snape's hand in the process. He abruptly let go of her as if burned, muttering an apology. She wasn't the only one to feel discomfited, then… Although it took him long enough to realise he was still holding her after Apparating. Maybe it felt oddly natural to him, too, for all that it was uncomfortable in its unfamiliarity. The fact that he'd been her despised teacher a year ago didn't help, but that only explained the oddness. It did not explain why it felt so right.
Unless Croaker really was telling the truth, and they were perfectly matched partners. She'd need to see the Arithmancy behind it before she'd believe the nonsense about it being romantically compatible too, though.
'But was it nonsense?' She eyed Snape as he summoned his doe Patronus and sent it for Croaker. Ignoring his charming personality for a moment, he did possess many of the qualities she'd ideally want in a man: intelligence to match – or even surpass – her own, academic interests, a quick wit, and a sarcastic sense of humour. With any luck he also loved books as much as she did and was not as obsessive about Quidditch as Ron. His lean body was—
"Miss Granger," Snape drawled. "Perhaps while we wait you can tell me more of what happened while I was presumed dead. If you have quite finished admiring me."
Hermione mentally slapped herself. She had not just checked out Snape, had she? No, worse, he'd caught her doing it. Her face burning, she opened her mouth to apologise, and paused, glaring at him.
"Just returning the favour," she snapped. "If you can't keep your eyes to yourself, why should I?"
The anger faded as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She blushed harder, mortified. Had she really just said that to Snape? At best he'd treat her to the sharp side of his tongue, at worst… She cringed. If he wanted to hex her, she doubted she'd best him in a duel.
But Snape blanched and looked away. "I… apologise," he choked out. "I behaved most inappropriately. I may not be in loco parentis of you anymore, but I was once. Not that long ago."
"It's not your fault. I think we can blame Croaker. He put the idea in my head, and I bet he put it in yours too."
Snape nodded. He raised his eyes to meet hers, still troubled. "Damn him. It's still no excuse. I am responsible for my actions, unless that idiot laced those phoenix tears you gave me with a love potion. Which I would have noticed, and I don't even like you, let alone love you."
Hermione bristled. He didn't have to be rude about it! "I don't like you either!"
'How mature of me. And rude, too. My only excuse is that his manners must be rubbing off on me.'
"Good. Remember that and this partnership will be tolerable. Don't let Croaker fool you into thinking there's anything more between us."
"So stubborn!" Croaker chuckled from a doorway behind Snape. "In denial, both of you."
Snape snarled and turned to face Croaker, his wand in hand. "You are the deluded one around here, you old fool."
"Why don't we agree to disagree?" Hermione edged between them. She was relieved when Snape pocketed his wand rather than jab it into her back. For all that he claimed to dislike her, he didn't seem to want to risk hurting her. Something to do with the bond of partnership between them, maybe?
Croaker sighed. "Very well. I'll drop it, if only to keep the peace. You'll see in the end. They always do."
"Stick to business," Snape snapped. "Dumbledore was a meddler too, but even he knew better than to meddle with my private life."
Snape had a private life? Between his work as a teacher and as a spy, and his lingering obsessive love for Harry's mother, how had he found the time? He'd recognised the Time-Turner around her neck as an Unspeakable model. Perhaps he had his own?
"You know what happened to Dumbledore," Snape stated ominously.
"That he ordered you to kill him, yes. Everyone knows that. Or will know that. Harry Potter has a big mouth. Rest assured I will never order you to kill me, so I'd say I'm safe enough."
Hermione glanced nervously up at Snape. He did not look quite as unhinged as he had that night in her third year when Sirius Black escaped the Dementors with her and Harry's help, but… She hurriedly changed the subject. "Isn't it time I had my interview?"
"Interview?" Croaker blinked. "Oh, eventually. Snape hasn't had his yet either. Come to that, I'm not sure I ever had mine."
"But you said—" Hermione cut herself off. Whenever this Croaker came from, he hadn't interviewed her yet. She'd hate to inadvertently cause a paradox. Especially as, come to think of it, Croaker said he'd interviewed her a week ago – still three weeks into the future.
"Then why are you here, if not to interview Miss Granger?"
"Why, to give the pair of you your first mission. And do drop the 'Miss', Snape, no need for such formality between partners." Croaker pulled out a scroll of parchment and handed it to Hermione. "Just a suspected haunting. Nothing too strenuous for two of my best Unspeakables."
Hermione stared at Croaker. She exchanged a bemused glance with Snape. "We're not. You said it yourself, this is our first case. I've not even had any training yet."
"Hmm? Of course you are the best! Or will be, anyway. Technically rescuing your partner was your first mission, and look how well that turned out!" Croaker stepped close enough to pat both of them on the shoulder. "You have a bright future ahead together."
"But… I…" Hermione spluttered.
"Don't worry, Snape will look after you. He's been trained."
"That was almost twenty years ago!" Snape exploded, forcefully shrugging Croaker's hand off him. "I was a sleeper agent, I've not had any missions yet beyond contributing intelligence."
"You'll both be fine—"
"Croaker. There are no guarantees. I will not let you risk us in this way, least of all someone untrained like Granger. Send someone else. I don't care about the paperwork involved, I'll do it myself."
"Kind of you to offer, Snape, but I'm afraid I'm the only one who can fill in the forms. And everyone else is on holiday. Including me, really, so best of luck to you both, and I'll send you a postcard." Croaker turned to leave. Snape grabbed hold of his arm before he could take a single step towards the door.
"Send. Someone. Else."
"Why not have someone qualified for this mission use a Time-Turner?" Hermione suggested, fighting back panic. She was not ready for this.
"Good heavens! We don't use Time-Turners when on leave. Speaking of leave, I'm off. Portkey to catch, you know. Cheerio!" Croaker twisted something on his neck – presumably his Time-Turner – and disappeared, leaving Snape holding onto thin air.
Hermione swallowed hard. "He's insane. They're all lunatics."
Snape clenched his fists, glowering at where Croaker had been standing. "For once, Granger, I'm forced to agree with you. But it's clear to me that there is no place for you on this mission. Go back to school and come back when you are qualified."
It was one thing to feel she wasn't prepared and quite another to hear it from someone else in such a contemptuous, insultingly patronising way. Bastard. Hermione pointedly ignored him and broke open the seal, unrolling the case file.
'First use your Time-Turner to go forward in time thirty days. Always remember not to risk a paradox.'
Her eyes widened as she took in the location details scrawled on the parchment.
"Unfortunately I can't. There's no school to go back to." She briefly looked up at him from the parchment. "It's at Hogwarts a month in the future, delaying the repairs. Completely stopped them, in fact, after… Oh, no. Filch."
"Why can't they just ignore him? He blows everything out of proportion."
"Not this time. He's dead."
AN: Many thanks to Kribu, Septentrion and JunoMagic for betaing. A ghost story for Dicky.
Disclaimer: JKR owns the Potterverse. I make nothing from playing in her world and with her characters.