Premise: Hermione is thrown back in time in an accident during the final battle at Hogwarts. Hoping to change things, she establishes herself at Hogwarts and slowly begins to change things. After becoming friends with Lily Evans, Hermione works with her to gently lead Severus away from the life of a Death Eater. However, along the way, Hermione and Severus fall in love. Though hesitant, Hermione marries him after their graduation, though only on the condition that he promises her to never join the war on either side. However, when Hermione discovers that she is pregnant in 1979, Severus becomes nervous and secretive. After months of trying to discover why, Gideon Prewett, a friend of Hermione's, finally apprises her of the situation.

Notes: I wrote this when I'd recently watched Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, as you'll no doubt be able to tell. There are some clear differences, such as Gideon's supposed motivations, but many of the events of the movie rang true in these scenes. They've been sitting in my documents for a while, and I figured why not post them?

Hermione stared at Gideon, her lips pressed together tightly. After a moment, she shook her head. "I don't believe you," she said simply.

"Hermione," he replied, taking her hand in his own, "I wouldn't say such a thing if I didn't know it to be true. Severus has joined You-Know-Who."

Again, she shook her head, pulling her hand away from him. "No, that's not true. We are both neutral in this war," Hermione maintained, turning to sit down on the sofa, her left hand resting carefully on her swollen abdomen. "Severus gave me his word, as I gave him mine." He promised, she thought. He promised all of that was behind him.

Gideon, however, did not seem inclined to let it go. He followed her to the sofa and sat down next to her. "Hermione, listen to me. He may not be going on missions for You-Know-Who, but he has been providing Him with potions and information. He's spying on Dumbledore at Hogwarts."

"No." Did her voice waver?

"Yes," Gideon countered. "He hasn't taken the Dark Mark yet, but it's only a matter of time before he does."

Hermione felt herself beginning to tremble. She didn't like to admit it, even to herself, but Severus had been different lately, since she'd told him about the baby. Though he had crowed about it in his own, smirking way, he had seemed to grow somewhat secretive, vanishing into his lab to all hours of the night. It was the one place in the house she could not enter while she was pregnant, so she had no idea what he was up to.

"No." Her voice was little more than a whisper. "He promised me…"

Gideon's voice sounded so very far away now. "Hermione, listen to me: go to Dumbledore. He'll protect you and your child. No harm can befall you at Hogwarts."

Hermione couldn't restrain a snort. Gideon had no idea just how dangerous that school could be. Still, all she said aloud was, "Protect me from what? My own husband? Why would I need protection from him?" She forced herself to stand up, to distance herself from Gideon and his words.

"Hermione –"

She cut him off. "No, Gideon, you are wrong, and before you ask me, I will NOT tell you where he is. Please, go."

Silence reigned and Hermione knew he did not move from the sofa. She could feel his familiar brown gaze on her back. Then she heard him stand.

"Where did he get the Galleons to buy that necklace?" Gideon asked. Her hand automatically flew up to the white cat pendant. She remembered the utterly satisfied look on his face in the mirror that night, when he had put it around her neck, telling her of the large commission he had taken that had paid him extremely well.

He had not lied then. He had merely withheld the identity of who had given him that commission. Hermione's hand left the pendant to cover her mouth, stifling a whimper.

"I'm so sorry." Then he was gone and Hermione was alone with her thoughts.

It had taken Hermione nearly an hour to calm herself down. She had retreated to the bedroom after Gideon left the cottage, curling up on the bed and staring at the wall. She did not sleep, though. Instead, Hermione's mind raced over the events of the past several months, thinking of Severus' movements and behavior. Dread had swept through her. She did not want to believe that he would break so sacred a promise to her. So finally, she rousted herself and left the cottage, taking the quick trip through the Floo to Severus' laboratory.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" he demanded, holding her close and keeping his body between her and the cauldrons.

She didn't mind his protectiveness. Instead, she squeezed his arms tightly, reassured by the contact. "I was worried," she said breathlessly. "Gideon stopped by today." Hermione watched his eyes darken a bit at the mention of the man's name, but she continued. "He told me terrible things."

"What?"

She stared at him. "That you'd joined Voldemort," she replied. "That you were spying on Dumbledore and providing him with potions." Hermione shook her head. "I told Gideon that was impossible, reminded him that you and I are neutral –"

To most people, Severus' expression did not even flicker, but to Hermione, there was a great change. Anger. Guilt. She froze.

No…it's not… he wouldn't have…

She backed away from him. "You didn't…" she breathed. "Gideon was wrong." The plea in her voice was palpable.

Severus didn't answer at first, his eyes lowered to the ground and his fists clenched at his side. After several moments, he looked up. "It was the only way, Hermione."

"What?"

"There is no neutrality where the Dark Lord is concerned," he told her. "If I did not join him, he would have handed you over to his minions to play with before he killed you."

Hermione clenched her teeth, her hand resting on her pregnant belly. "My fate," she growled, "is not his to decide."

"He would have found a way to make it so," Severus maintained.

"I don't believe this…" she said. "You gave me your word! Does that mean nothing to you?"

"It was for the best!"

Childish though it was, Hermione stomped her foot. "Bullocks! You should have told me he was threatening you. We could have gone abroad –"

"And when they found us again? What then?" Severus demanded. "Our fate would have been much, much worse. There is nothing to be gained from defying him except for an agonizing death, Hermione! I've saved you and our son! We need not ever fear again!"

She couldn't breathe, just stared at the fanatical gleam in his eyes. It was terrifying, seeing a look on his face that she had only ever seen on the ruined face of Bellatrix Lestrange in the Department of Mysteries, so long ago.

"I don't believe what I'm hearing," Hermione whispered, her voice trembling. "Gideon was right…"

He waved his hand negligently. "I don't want to hear about Gideon, Hermione. The man's worthless."

"He has been our friend for years!" she shouted, suddenly enraged.

Something in Severus' demeanor changed, but Hermione didn't study it as she normally would. She wanted nothing more than to slap him at the moment.

"Friend? Just a friend, Hermione?" he asked, sneering at her. "Or do I need to be concerned about the paternity of that baby in your womb?"

Now she did slap him. Hard. "How dare you –" She was cut off when he shoved her back. His wand appeared out of nowhere. "Petrificus Totalus."

She couldn't move, and the panic immediately began to set in. Severus knew that casting such harsh and invasive magic on her was dangerous at this point in the pregnancy, but he didn't seem to care now. He leaned close to her face and hissed, "Hear me now, wife. Behave yourself or you'll get us both killed. This is for your own good, so show a little gratitude, and I don't want to hear anymore about Gideon Prewett."

Pain began to blossom in her stomach, but Hermione couldn't cry out. Severus continued to lecture her, but she didn't pay him any attention. Oh God, the baby…

"Let her go, Severus!"

Gideon.

Severus didn't reply, just stood there with his wand in hand, glaring alternately at her and Gideon.

"Let her go, now," Gideon growled. Hermione could see him out of the corner of her eye, striding toward them.

Several moments passed, the pain continuing to spread across her abdomen. Hermione couldn't even cry out. Then, with an unconscious snarl, Severus waved his wand at her. "Finite Incantatem."

It was as though she was a marionette whose strings had been abruptly cut. Boneless, Hermione slumped to the ground, and something exploded inside her. The spell had obviously muted the pain somewhat, but now it came on her in full force. Hermione could feel her belly contracting, could feel a kind of warmth spreading from between her legs. However, even with the agony she suffered, Hermione could still faintly hear the two men speaking.

Severus. "You turned her against me!"

Gideon. "You did that on your own, Severus."

A growl. "You may love her, Prewett, but she is my wife. She will never be yours."

Under other circumstances, Hermione might have taken great offense at being spoken of as though she was a bone for them to fight over like two ravenous dogs. Now, though, she didn't care. She was fairly certain her water had broken, and the sharp pain that she continued to feel was even more terrifying now. The baby…

Neither of the men seemed to notice her predicament, however. As Hermione's perceptions grew faint and grey, she could hear her husband and friend firing off spells at one another.

Severus… no… Gideon, stop…

Then Hermione finally fell unconscious.

It was the pain that woke her again. Sobbing in distress, Hermione flailed her arms out, searching for something to grasp, something to take the pain away.

"Madam Snape! Calmly, dear, you're safe." That voice. Hermione knew that voice.

"Ma'm P'mfr'y," she slurred, struggling to open her eyes. "Wha…"

"You're at Hogwarts, dear," the mediwitch told her, leaning close. "Mr. Prewett brought you to us a few hours ago."

Hermione sucked in a great gasp of air. "Sev'rus?"

Madam Pomfrey's lips tightened a bit, but she said only, "He's alive, so far as we know." Hermione moaned a bit, but the mediwitch grasped her hand and continued. "Madam Snape, I need you to listen to me very carefully. The magical toxicity levels in your blood are extremely high. Mr. Prewett did not know how long you were under Petrificus Totalus. Your baby is under considerable distress. I need your permission to perform an emergency c-section to get the baby out. Hermione, do you understand me?"

Severus, gone… baby… danger…Still struggling to breathe clearly, Hermione managed a nod. Though Madam Pomfrey didn't say it out loud, she knew very well what her request meant. C-sections didn't happen often in the magical world, and only when there was only the faintest of hopes to keep the baby alive and no hope for the mother.

I'm dying. The thought terrified her. Hermione was under no illusions of bravery, former Gryffindor or not. So much depended on her, her husband, her child, the timeline! Nonetheless, she could do nothing but weather the pain that engulfed her body.

The next several minutes were quite hectic. Hermione was aware of Madam Pomfrey rushing to and fro, preparing the instruments she'd need for the procedure. She was distracted, however, when another figure appeared in her line of sight.

"Albus," Hermione breathed.

The headmaster sat down next to her and took her trembling hand, looking older than she'd ever seen. "Conserve your strength, my dear," he told her. "Your child will need you."

Her breath hitched and her eyesight grew blurry. "Severus… where…"

Albus did not have the opportunity to say anything, because at that moment Madam Pomfrey appeared at the foot of the bed. "Madam Snape," she said firmly. "I am ready to begin." Hermione only managed a slight nod.

What came next was so utterly painful that Hermione could barely comprehend that she was screaming and clutching Albus' hand in hers tightly. Her thoughts alternated between the baby squirming in her belly and the husband who should have been sitting where Albus was.

Severus…

The next minutes were a haze of confusion and pain, until suddenly Hermione felt something torn away from her body. Hermione cried out, her back arching on the bed. What could possibly be worth this? She wondered.

A shrill cry pierced the air.

That. That's worth it.

Madam Pomfrey appeared again in Hermione's line of sight, carrying a tiny, slimy, squirming thing in her arms. The mediwitch stepped closer and leaned down close to Hermione's face.

"'Tis a girl, Madam Snape," Madam Pomfrey told her.

Hermione blinked. She and Severus had not asked healers about the gender of the baby, but he had been so certain… Her body began to convulse a little, and the other two adults looked at her in alarm. They relaxed slightly, however, when weak laughter bubbled out of her mouth, they relaxed.

"Severus was so sure," Hermione whispered. "So sure it was a boy…" Gathering what little strength she had, she reached up and brushed her fingers along the baby's chubby cheek. "Healthy?"

"Yes," Madam Pomfrey confirmed. "Quite healthy. Much more than I expected, given the circumstances."

Hermione barely heard her. "He was so sure," she breathed, continuing to stroke the baby's cheek. "But you're my baby girl, my Amelia Anne." It was then that strength gave out, and her arm dropped back to the bed. "Take care of her…"

She forced her eyes away from the baby, and back to Albus, whose face was even greyer than it had been before. Hermione forced herself to squeeze his hand. "Albus."

He leaned down to her. "Yes?"

"Beware… Pettigrew… help… Severus… still good in him… Lily… key… I know…"

That was all she could say. Her energy was gone. Hermione could only hope her words were enough. Though she had promised Severus to let things run their course, she could not feel any remorse at speaking. He had broken his word to her, broken their pact. She was free to do the same.

Why was it so dark now? She could barely see Albus' face any longer. Where was Amelia? Who would look after her baby? Severus was in no position to do so, not when he was known to at least to the Order of the Phoenix as a Death Eater.

So much left undone. Hermione could not be there to fix it. She could not stand against the whim of Time.

When Hermione's hand grew slack in his and her chest ceased to draw breath, Albus closed his eyes and bowed his head. She was gone. The young woman who had traveled through time was gone. Her words seared his mind.

Beware of Pettigrew. Help Severus. Lily is the key. My dear, you do not ask much, do you?

Multiple gasps from behind him distracted Albus from his thoughts. Turning his head, he saw Gideon Prewett, still covered in soot and scratched from his altercation with Severus. With him was Minerva, her face utterly white as she stared past him, as well as Lily, her hand covering her mouth as tears leaked from her green eyes.

"She's gone?" Gideon asked in a small voice. When Albus nodded tiredly, the grief vanished from the younger man's face to be replaced by rage. "I'll kill that son of a bitch!" He whirled around, his wand appearing in his hand, and moved toward the door.

"Hold Gideon!" Albus called firmly. There was much to be done, and he could not have Gideon rushing off to extract vengeance on Severus. Hermione's final wishes notwithstanding, Severus could still be of use to the war effort.

The younger man stopped and turned back, his brown eyes still blazing with hatred. "He killed her!" Gideon roared. "Before my very eyes, he attacked her magically and held her immobile. He killed his own wife and child!"

"You are only half-correct, Mr. Prewett." Poppy, it seemed, had decided to step in. Albus watched her stride across the Infirmary, carrying a bundled pretty yellow blanket ever so carefully. She stopped next to Albus, and he gently took the swaddled baby into his arms.

"Madam Snape is dead, yes," Poppy continued, her voice cool and efficient. "Complications in childbirth. However, her daughter still lives."

Gideon stilled at those words, but Minerva and Lily inched forward. Both of them seemed to now avoid looking at the body behind Albus, and kept their eyes on the baby. Lily reached out and pressed her finger gently into one of the baby's tiny hands, which reflexively curled around it. "A girl?" she breathed.

"Yes," Albus answered. "Amelia Anne, I believe Hermione called her."

"She is beautiful," Minerva whispered. She then looked up. "What will become of her now, Albus?"

"That, Minerva," Albus answered tiredly, "is just one thing we have to determine this night." He turned to the mediwitch. "Poppy, if you could make the arrangements and inform St. Mungo's?"

Poppy nodded. "Where shall I direct them to take her?" she asked quietly.

"Nowhere," he said. "She will be buried here at Hogwarts, in the old cemetery."

All three women's eyes widened. "Albus, are you sure that's wise?" Minerva asked. "No one has been interred there in over three hundred years! It will undoubtedly be much talked of, even if it is for such a rising star in the academic world."

"The burial will be private," Albus stated. "Friends and colleagues only. I will deal with the press if they should attempt to come." The baby began to fuss slightly and he carefully shifted her in his arms, which caused her to go quiet again. He almost wondered if little Amelia Snape knew they were speaking of putting to rest the mother she had lost within minutes of her arrival in the wider world.

"Come," he said to them, "we will go to my office. There is much we must talk of."

September 1, 1991

The Sorting of 1991 was well underway and Albus could not help but feel nervous. He had been waiting for this day for years, and it had finally come. The pack of new students stood huddled together at the front of the Great Hall, just before the staff table, as Minerva summoned them forward one-by-one.

Several of the children in the group stood out. Albus could easily make out Ronald Weasley, Gideon and Fabian Prewett's youngest nephew, by the mop of messy red hair. There to the boy's left was Harry Potter, the one whom on all hopes would eventually lie. Albus was relieved to see the curiosity and kindness in the boy's eyes. Lily had raised him well, even without James by her side. Then there was the little girl near the front, the most familiar of them all, who was about to be called for her Sorting.

"Flamel, Amelia!"

Albus' goddaughter grinned happily as she nearly skipped up to the stool and sat down. The Sorting Hat covered her honey-colored curls, leaving everyone else to wait for the Hat's decision. Albus took the opportunity to glance down the table to his left.

Severus sat next to Quirinius, his customary scowl firmly in place as he stared down at the batch of new students. His dark eyes did not appear to linger on any one student, not even young Harry, which gave Albus hope. Perhaps Severus had grown enough to not take his old grudge against Sirius Black, the boy's godfather, and James Potter out on the boy. Perhaps more importantly, he did not appear to give Amelia any special attention. Expected, considering that as far as Severus was concerned, she was only the ward of Nicholas and Pernelle Flamel. A well-known child, to be sure, but he doubtless did not feel the need to gawk at the girl.

Albus had never told Severus that while Hermione had died, their child had lived. In the hours after Hermione had expired, he along with Gideon, Minerva, and the then-pregnant Lily, had conspired and planned for Amelia's future. Gideon had been adamant that the girl be kept away from her "murdering father," and even offered to take her in himself. Lily's cooler head had prevailed on him, however, stating that it would look rather suspicious if he was suddenly to appear to have a baby in tow. Minerva had agreed, stating that if anyone within the Order who did not have a family or was not pregnant took in the child, it would eventually get back to the wrong kinds of people.

That fact had left them with the need to find a family that was not involved in the war, and yet would not be attacked by Voldemort or his followers. There were few families who could fit that description. Almost none of them were in Britain, and few were in France or the Americas. Still, even though Albus trusted those few foreign families, he was unsure if they would have the strength to repel an all-out attack seeking to take little Amelia from them. There was, however, one family who could. Rather, a couple who could protect her. Thus, Albus had sent a message with Fawkes to Nicholas and Pernelle, requesting that they shelter the infant. Fortunately, they had agreed and Amelia swiftly left Britain, leaving them all to concentrate their energies on the war effort.

She left just in time. Some days after Hermione's funeral, Severus appeared at Hogwarts, a broken, and now Marked, man. By then, Lily had also been delivered of a healthy son, called Harry, and Severus had babbled about how Voldemort had come to believe that Lily's son was the boy spoken of in the prophecy, even to the exclusion of Neville Longbottom.

"My wife is dead, along with our son," Severus said, his voice wooden. "It was my own stupidity and inability to control my temper that caused it. Now Lily is marked for death as well, because she bore Potter a boy who lived."

Albus stared at him. "What would you have me do? I cannot quell your conscience with false platitudes, young Severus. Hermione all but died in my arms."

The boy flinched at the mention of her name. "Hermione… is gone, but Lily was her closest friend. Protect her, protect her son, protect her husband if you must." Severus looked across the desk at him, his eyes devoid of all emotion. "Enough children have died on my account."

Albus did not correct Severus' assumption over the death of his child. He recalled Hermione muttering something about Severus assuming that their child would be a boy, and had not even considered a girl. The young man was broken and regretful, yes, but he did not believe then that Severus was capable of bearing the responsibility that came with caring for a baby. That, and Albus had no desire to see Hermione's child laid at the feet of Voldemort for some obscene dark blessing. Let Amelia be raised among those who would love and treasure her. It was not a decision he had been wholly comfortable with, denying a father the right to raise his own child, but Albus had forced himself to make it nonetheless, for the girl's own well-being.

The war continued, and people continued dying, including Gideon and his brother, Fabian. Gideon had left all of his possessions to Amelia, but it was being held in trust until she was of age. The war ended only when the Potters were attacked before they could go into hiding. James had been killed when he and Lily had used a series of protection spells on their son that Hermione had begun developing and Lily had built on. James' death had been a catalyst that had left Lily and Harry to survive the attack, but it had also permitted Harry to be marked, just as the prophecy foretold. They were committed to the course ahead.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Applause broke out, jarring Albus from his thoughts. He turned his eyes back to Amelia in time to see her hop off the stool, turn to hand the Hat back to Minerva, and flash a bright smile in his direction before she joined her new housemates. Albus allowed himself a slight chuckle concerning his goddaughter's high spirits.

The next student – a Justin Finch-Fletchley – was sorted with relative ease, and then came the fourth and last student that had stood out remarkably in the pack of new children.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Albus gave Minerva credit for saying the young girl's name without her voice breaking. He glanced again at Severus, and saw a small flicker on the man's face, but nothing else. It was an expression that Albus had seen many times in the past, whenever someone had said Hermione's name in front of him. Albus knew that Hermione had never told Severus her real family name, but Severus was no one's fool. It was one thing to hide Amelia, Severus had never seen the girl nor had any reason to mark her existence. Hermione, on the other hand, was another story entirely. The girl in front of them was young, but she would grow up right in front of Severus. He was bound to see the resemblance.

Given the speculating gleam in the Potions Master's eye, Albus was fairly certain that the younger man would be visiting his office before the night was out, demanding answers.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Albus blinked, a little surprised, and tried not to laugh at the irony that was playing out before them. Amelia Anne Snape Flamel, the daughter of Severus and Hermione Snape, had been sorted into the same house as her biological mother at the same time.

The rest of the Sorting passed fairly quickly, Gryffindor gaining many other students such as Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter, and Ronald Weasley. Minerva would certainly have her hands full with this set of year-mates.

After dismissing the children at the end of the Welcoming Feast, Albus turned to find Severus standing next to him, giving him a hard stare.

"Yes, Severus?" he asked, his voice innocent.

If anything, the younger man's glare intensified. "I would speak to you, Headmaster, before you retire for the evening."

"Of course," Albus agreed. "Would you like Minerva to join us?" His deputy still sat in her seat at his right hand, watching them both carefully.

"If she so wishes."

The journey to his office was spent in silence, though they could hear the distant echoes of the students in the other parts of the castle making their way to their common rooms. The gargoyle moved after Albus muttered his current password – peppermints – and the three rode the revolving staircase up to his office.

Severus barely waited until they were all seated before demanding, "Is it her? How can it be her?"

Albus stared at Severus and knew that now was not the time to dance around the subject. He sighed. "Yes, the girl was Hermione Granger. As for whether or not she is your wife, it is a matter of interpretation." Severus cocked his head questioningly, and Albus continued. "Genetically, your wife and Miss Granger are one in the same person. Technically, no, she is not. Hermione Snape was buried in the old Hogwarts cemetery over eleven years ago."

Severus flinched only slightly, and Minerva took up the conversation. "But did you not once speculate that the timeline would prevent two of them from existing at the same time?" she asked him.

"I thought as much might happen," Albus admitted, "but I was proven wrong when her name appeared on the list eleven years ago. I investigated, and found that Hermione Granger was a healthy child, and would undoubtedly join us at the appropriate time. It is possible that by the time Miss Granger was born, Madam Snape had evolved to the point that the magical differences between them were enough to permit both to exist in the same time stream."

"So, she is not my wife," Severus stated, standing up. "Good. I will not ruin her life again."

Minerva stayed behind when Severus departed for the dungeons soon after. She slumped slightly in her chair. "Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Amelia Flamel," she muttered. "Please, Hat, explain why you put all three of them in my house?"

The Sorting Hat had already returned to its customary place in Albus' office, and seemed to eye them both in exasperation. "Because that's where they belong, of course," the hat snapped irritably. "Though, I will admit that Misses Granger and Snape would both have done well in Ravenclaw, and Mr. Potter in Slytherin."

Albus stiffened slightly. "Please remember, Hat, not to use Amelia's birth name so cavalierly. It would not do to have it overheard by the wrong people."

"You mean the girl's father? Yes, I suppose that's true, from your point of view. But no matter. The three children are where they wish to be, and that is the end of it."