A/N: I just had a baby six weeks ago and I would like to inform everyone that may be reading this that it MAY take me a couple of weeks for each chapter. This story is also going to be posted on under the same pen name. Hugs and cookies to my beta, Broken Memories, and my prebeta, Laerenielwen. Everything that appears in italics are thoughts. If you recognize it then it's not mine and I'm not making millions on it… Well, enjoy.

Chapter 1: The only way out

It was more than she could handle.

Hermione had been dating Ron for almost a year, and she had been perfectly happy with the way things had been going. Outside of his family and Harry, no one had known about it, and that's the way she liked it. She had too much schoolwork that needed to be done without the distracting gossip about what they had or hadn't done. Besides, she knew that Malfoy would have a hay-day with the tormenting again. That boy had just begun to leave her alone.

However, as of recently, Ron had been acting totally out of character. Just the week before he had asked her to walk around the dungeons with him, which was extremely odd. Once they were far enough from prying eyes, he pushed her against the cold stone wall and began groping her. She had fended him off well enough that time, but since then he had always been trying to cop a feel.

"Ronald!" Hermione gasped while shoving him away. "What in the hell are you doing?"

"Come on, Hermione. It's been almost a year and you haven't let me do anything but hold your hand." He ran his hand through his fire engine red hair. "I want you."

Hermione could hear the lust in his voice and pressed herself more tightly against the dungeon wall.

"You want m…" Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her. Ron's hands began the exploration from which they had long been forbidden. "Ron! Stop!" Her pleas seemed to go unheard. He was bigger and stronger than she could ever be. In all the years she'd known him, never had she thought he would ever force himself upon her (or anyone else for that matter). She fought with his hands while he fought against the buttons on her blouse.

She hoped that somebody, anybody, would walk around the corner and come to her rescue. For once in her life, she wished that Malfoy would walk around the corner. She knew Ron had an ego problem and would jump Malfoy the moment he opened his mouth. In which case she would have a chance to get away. But she had no such luck.

Without thinking, she pulled the Time Turner from inside her shirt and frantically gave it a spin. The walls around her began to swirl out of existence, pulling at every fiber of her being. Ron began to dissolve into the walls as all the colors mixed together. Everything went black.

She could feel the cold stone beneath her as she moved to stand up. Her legs were weak and her head hurt incredibly. Dizziness overtook her, and she gave in to gravity. With all the willpower she could muster, Hermione tried to remember what had happened. How she had came to be lying on the floor in the dungeons was still a bit fuzzy. She had been with Ron when he-

A hand came to rest on her shoulder. "Get off me, Ron!" she shouted, suddenly finding the strength to get up. She turned to throw a punch but was stopped by a firm grip on her wrist.

"Calm yourself!" a deep voice commanded.

With logical thought returning, Hermione realized the person behind her was not Ron at all. She could tell that he was tall and lanky, though the rest of his features were hidden in the shadows.

"What are you doing down here? It's after curfew."

"I-" What was she supposed to say? This wasn't her time frame so she had to be careful with what she said. Had she turned the time turner forward or back? The first rule of the time turner is not to be seen…Oops. That was one rule broken.

"Can you talk, Gryffindor?" the boy asked, stepping into the torchlight.

He looked oddly familiar, though Hermione was hard put to give a name to the face.

"Who says I'm a Gryffindor?" Hermione responded, a little taken back by the reference.

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms across his chest. His long, dark hair fell to his shoulders. He studied her for a moment with dark eyes. He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "The insignia on your robes has a red border, as only those in Gryffindor do. Now state your purpose down here."

Instantly she recognized him.

Oh, shite! It's Snape! "I was, uh," she said deciding to stick as close to the truth as was plausible, "trying to get away from a boy who couldn't control his wandering hands."

"Potter, no doubt!" he scoffed.

"No, not Harry," she said without thinking.

"Who's Harry? I was talking about that bastard, James." He continued giving her a puzzled look. "Come with me, girl!"

She was so used to following his directions without question that she fell into step behind him, staring at the ground as she normally did. How was she going to get out of this?

"Where-"

"Silence! Dumbledore will deal with you," he said as he continued walking quickly towards the stairs to the main entranceway.

Hermione had to gauge that he was about 17 or 18 years of age and in his final year at the school. He was tall, though entirely too skinny. His robes had the same billowing effect that they had in the present. She had discovered by now that she had gone back in time.

"Yes, sir." At least she was going to see someone who would understand. At least, that's what she hoped.

He turned back to her and raised his eyebrow again. Shaking his head, he turned back to the stairs.

Damn, here I go fudging things up again, Hermione thought to herself. She hoped that nothing bad would come of this little incident.