A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I am really glad that you liked it. It so made my day. Thats the kind of thing that I need to help me finish this story. lol I'm excited about it all. The next few chapters wont be as heart stopping as that first one was. It's gonna slow down for a little while. But I hope that you all like it just the same. If you have any questions please review and I will try my best to let you know without giving anything away. :) I would also like to say thank you to everyone who added me to thier favorites or alert list, I am thrilled.
I would like to say a very special thank you to my beta deathtechie, you put my mind at ease when it comes to my grammar mistakes! :) Thank you so much it is an honor to have you as my Beta!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter! That goes to the amazing J.K.R.!
Chapter Two:
Punches were flying left and right in a two-against-one brawl, between James Potter, Sirius Black, and Severus Snape. A crowd had formed around them of mostly Gryffindors, whom were vigoursly cheering on their fellow housemates, in the dungeons outside of the potions class room. It had started as all of their altercations usually do; James and Sirius had shoved Severus, telling him to get his abnormally large nose out of their way. Severus wasn't really in the mood to deal with their childish antics, so he just told them to "Sod off." Obviously this wasn't the right thing to say to get them to go away because the next thing that Severus knew Sirius' fist comes out of nowhere and hits him square in the jaw.
Although he was being double teamed, Severus was putting up a pretty good fight. He had managed to give both boys a black eye, a busted lip, and a bloody nose. Even though he was giving it his all, two against one is never a fair fight, and he was soon knocked off of his feet. James started kicking Severus over and over again in the stomach while Sirius reached into his robes to pull out his wand.
"Prongs, get out of the way! I'm going to show Snivellus a thing or two." Sirius sneered looking down his nose at the bruised and bloody mass that was Severus sprawled on the floor.
James gave Severus one last kick to the chest before he moved aside. As foot collided with flesh a loud and sickening crunch was heard as two or more of Severus' ribs gave way and cracked under the pressure, causing Severus to cry out in pain. The crowd around him cringed at the sound and a few sniggered at the fact that Severus was again being hurt and humiliated for their enjoyment.
"Alright, Padfoot, show him what you've got." James sneered ready to start laughing at whatever humiliating thing that Sirius had planned. Sirius had just only managed to raise his wand before he heard the stern voice of his head of house, Professor McGonagall, ring out over the crowd.
"What in the world is going on here?" She screeched causing the whole corridor to go quiet all at once. "What is the meaning of this?" When no one said anything she turned her head in Sirius' direction, her eyes traveling over his wand, which was still pointing at Severus. "Mr. Black, tell me what it is that you are doing with your wand pointed at Mr. Snape!" She spat as her eyes narrowed as she shot dangerous looks at all three of the boys.
"Well... Uh - I..." Sirius stuttered looking for a good excuse as he lowered his wand.
"Professor, Sniv... Uh I mean Snape started it it, he shoved me and Sirius here was only helping me after..." James' lie trailed off as Professor McGonagall's glare turned even sourer.
"All Three of you," She whispered threateningly pointing to James, Sirius, and Severus. "Follow me."
As Severus made to get up he cringed and fell back to the floor as his ribs shot a shock of pain through his body causing him to gasp. Professor McGonagall seeing this walked over to him and kneeled down beside him and said. "Mr. Snape, I am not as good a healer as Poppy is, but I've healed many a broken bone in my day so relax." She pointed her wand at Severus' chest and muttered, "Episkey."
Severus felt a painful snap that made him cry out as both of his ribs snapped back into place and mended leaving behind just a slight tingle as the pain ebbed away into oblivion.
"Tergeo." Professor McGonagall said with her wand still pointed at Severus. She moved her wand all around his face and he felt a warming sensation as all of the blood was removed from his skin. She turned and did the same thing to James and Sirius. When all the blood had been cleaned away Professor McGonagall briskly turned away and started marching up the stairs in the direction of the headmaster's office. "Come!" She barked at the three troublemakers without stopping, and they each hastened to catch up with her.
They walked in silence the whole way there, James and Sirius kept shooting worried glances toward one another but neither of them dared speak. Severus just kept his head bowed looking to the floor brooding over the fact that those two dunderheads were more than likely going to get out of punishment again, while he, being a Slytherin, was probably going to get a years worth of detentions.
Sooner than any of them wished it, they had arrived at the stone gargoyle that marked the entrance to Professor Dumbledore's office. "Sugar Quill." Professor McGonagall said marching them to the staircase that had appeared as the stone gargoyle had leapt aside and the wall behind it had opened up. Together they ascended the stairs until they came to a door, which Professor McGonagall quickly knocked on.
"Enter." Dumbledore called from beyond the door. Professor McGonagall led the unhappy trio into his office and he looked up at them all and smiled his all knowing smile. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" Dumbledore asked feigning ignorance.
"I found these three in the corridor fighting again!" Professor McGonagall said stressing the word 'again' "Potter and Black were double teaming Snape and broke two of his ribs and would have put some kind of jinx on him if I hadn't walked in on it." She turned her head and glared at all three boys then turned back to Dumbledore, "Albus, I have tried everything to get these three to stop going after one another, but nothing that I have done has worked. I am at my wits end, and I'm not sure what more I can do to punish them. I have given them countless detentions and docked so many points that neither of their houses will win the house cup for ten years!" She finished with a defeated look plastered on her face. Dumbledore looked her in the eyes to find them pleading with him to help her sort this mess out.
A few moments of silence passed as Albus silently considered all of his options. His penetrating eyes roamed over each of the three boys in turn causing them to feel uncomfortable with the feeling that he could read their very thoughts.
"Thank you, Minerva." He had spoken so suddenly that everyone else in the room aside from Professor McGonagall jumped. "You may leave now, I will handle this little situation." Professor McGonagall let out a relieved sigh as she made a swift about face and exited the office. "Now I would like to talk to Mr. Potter and Mr. Black separately, so Mr. Snape if you wouldn't mind stepping outside my office and waiting in the corridor, please." He finished with a polite smile. Without a word Severus stood up and walked into the corridor shutting the door and all sound from within could no longer be heard.
Severus sighed as he thought about what Dumbledore must be saying to the two boys he loathed more than any other. 'Probably telling them that they did a good job, secretly giving them points.' He thought. As the minutes slowly crept by Severus grew more and more angry, he couldn't get the idea out of his head that Dumbledore, like every head of house, favored Gryffindor. Severus had a sneaking suspicion that Dumbledore himself had been in Gryffindor so of course why wouldn't he let them get off lighter than he himself could ever wish to get off.
After what seemed like half an hour but was only about ten minutes, James and Sirius burst out of the headmaster's office. Neither of them looked pleased nor did they even glance at Severus as they stormed off along the corridor, down the spiral staircase and out of sight.
"Mr. Snape, you may once again enter." Dumbledore said not even raising his voice that much above a whisper, but it seemed to carry farther than it should have. Severus slowly walked back into the office. He was still livid from thinking that he was about to be treated unfairly but didn't let it show on his face. Although he was just a teenager Severus was no stranger to abuse and for that he rarely let his emotions show. In fact the mask Severus usually kept in place to hide his emotions was in place so much and so often that it had become second nature to him.
"Please, have a seat, my boy." Albus said motioning to one of the armchairs across from the desk. Severus walked over to the first chair he came to and sat down, it was the closest to the door and would allow him to exit the room in a hurry should the need arise. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Black have told me quite a story." Dumbledore began with that ever annoying twinkle in his eyes, and that all knowing smile plastered on his face. "I have heard their account of the events that occurred in the corridor outside of your potions class, but now I would like to hear your side of things."
It took Severus a moment to respond; at first he was shocked that he would even get to plead his case, usually they just jumped straight to the punishment. Then after the initial shock wore off he, not being able to trust, came to the conclusion that even if he told the truth, this Gryffindor-at-heart wouldn't believe that precious Potter and Black would start anything.
So Severus Snape, future potions professor, put the scowl on his face that would inevitably terrify many students for years to come, and began to tell the truth. Even though he knew that it would be the account over looked as the lie he still wanted to be truthful. "The bell rang for supper so I gathered all my things and began to head for the Great Hall. Next thing I knew, Potter shoved me and told me that my abnormally large nose was in his way and that I should turn my head away before I hurt someone. I told him to 'Sod off.' because I just didn't feel like messing with either of them. Which must have enraged Black because the next thing I know he punched me in the jaw." Severus spoke slowly and enunciated every syllable in his deep, dark voice that would eventually make students shiver in fear and battle the urge to run from his presence. Although he was discouraged that it had no affect what so ever on the headmaster.
Dumbledore studied Severus for a moment contemplating what to say next. "Interesting." he paused and gave Severus another penetrating stare before he nodded and spoke once again. "I believe you, Severus." It took Severus a moment for what he had just heard to sink in and in that moment his ever-present mask slipped off of his face to reveal his confusion. "Don't look so shocked, my dear boy, I have ways of knowing if someone is lying to me. While you were telling the truth your classmates were in fact telling me the complete opposite of your account. They said that you decked both of them in the nose before either of them could get a punch in." He chuckled. Severus scowled again, not sure what else to do because the man sitting before him was so odd. "Even though I know that you are telling the truth you still must be punished, getting into a fight no matter who started it is against school rules. Although seeing as you did not start it your punishment wont be a severe as Mr. Potter's and Mr. Black's. As I see it, I think that a fitting punishment-"
Before Professor Dumbledore could finish his sentence and give out his punishment something strange happened. A body appeared out of nowhere and was flung across the headmaster's desk causing everything on it to fall to the floor. The body was moving so fast that it flew off the desk, across the room and crashed into a mirror hanging on the wall. With a thud the body landed on the ground with glass shards raining down upon it.
With the sudden appearance of the body both Albus and Severus had jumped out of their seats, drawn their wands, and were pointing it towards the body right as it had finally hit the floor. Neither one of them spoke for a while, both had their ears straining to hear an enemy approach, but all they could hear was the clinking of glass shards as they cascaded on to the body.
Dumbledore moved so quickly that is shocked Severus and made him jump, almost throwing a curse at the old wizard. Albus pointed his wand at the door to his office and muttered, "Colloportus." locking it. He then turned back toward the body and moved forward to get a better look and Severus did the same.
The body was laying on its back, head to the side and its arms and legs were at awkward angles. Everything about this person's body was dirty, bloody, and bruised except for its hair. Its hair was a long straight, pure gold color that looked as if it had recently been washed and brushed. If the hair hadn't been thrown all over the place it would have looked like this person had attached a sheet of gold strands to its head. Severus looked down at its face to try to see if maybe he recognized him or her, but it was too bruised and bloody to even tell what gender it was. Upon further inspection of the body he saw that what little clothes this person had on were tattered and torn and were barely covering what he recognized as breasts. Who ever this girl was, she had been beaten and tortured to death. Severus was about to look away, because he didn't want to gaze upon this pitiful being anymore, but before he lowered his eyes he saw a slight movement in her chest. 'She just breathed' he thought, as his eyes grew wide.
"Professor, she's alive!" Severus whispered.
Albus quickly bent down and said, "Rennervate." When she did not wake up, he flicked his wand and conjured a stretcher in midair and magically lifted this strange girl onto it. He turned toward Severus and told him to follow them before turning toward the fire. He picked up some floo powder stepped into the fire place, threw the powder into the fire and aid, "The Infirmary." The flames flashed an emerald green and swept over Professor Dumbledore and the strange girl swallowing them.
Severus took a minute to contemplate just going back to his common room, but remembered that Dumbledore had asked him to follow, plus Dumbledore knew where he slept. So he walked to the fireplace grabbed some floo powder and threw it into the fire, stepped into the tickling green flames and said, "The Infirmary." He began spinning faster and faster until he stopped at his destination.
The scene before him was utterly chaotic; Madam Pomfrey was screaming orders to everyone in the room, which was only Professor Dumbledore, and now Severus. Still it was odd seeing the headmaster taking orders from this frail witch. As soon as Madam Pomfrey saw that Severus was there she barked an order for him to come over and help.
The three of them spent the better part of an hour getting her stabilized. Once they had achieved this she shooed Professor Dumbledore and Severus over to the other side of the infirmary. She pulled the curtain around her bed so that she could begin cleaning the girl's wounds.
Dumbledore and Severus each sat on an empty hospital bed facing each other. They were both silent for a long time, both trying to collect their thoughts. Finally after about fifteen minutes Dumbledore was able to speak. "Severus, there are a few things that I think we must discuss." Severus looked at the headmaster for a moment before nodding his head in agreement, he was more than a little curious. "First of all," he continued, "I need your word that you will tell no one, not even your friends, what you have seen tonight regarding this girl or what we discuss concerning her."
"Yes, sir." Severus eagerly said, "I promise I won't tell anyone."
"Good, good." Dumbledore muttered, his thoughts running away.
"Um, sir, if you don't mind my asking, who is she?" Severus asked his curiosity getting the better of him.
"I've got a theory about all of this, and if I am right..." Dumbledore trailed off again as he thought harder and harder. "Severus, I think that we need to return to my office for this discussion." At Severus' nod of assent he stood and walked over to Madam Pomfrey to tell her to contact him as soon as she was done with the girl. He then walked back to the fireplace, Severus quickly followed and they each grabbed some floo powder and made the quick journey to the headmaster's office.
When Severus stepped out of the fire, Dumbledore was already seated at his desk; Severus stepped around him and sat in the chair that he had occupied when the strange girl had made her appearance. "Professor? May I ask what your theory is, the one you spoke of in the infirmary?" Severus asked tentatively, wanting to get all of the information of the headmaster as he possibly could.
Dumbledore took a moment or two to think over his answer before he said a word. "Yes, I will tell you, but you should be aware that if any of what we are about to discuss is leaked to the general public, that girl's life would be in danger." This intrigued Severus above anything else that he had heard tonight. No one had ever trusted him enough to give him information like this. Severus was a lot of things but he was no snitch, he was actually really good at keeping secrets and would take this one with him to his grave.
"I swear, sir, not a word to another soul!" Severus vowed. "You can trust me."
Dumbledore's eyes, if possible, twinkled all the more brighter under his half moon spectacles at Severus' words. "I think that I can answer the question of who she is, although that is not the important question." At these words Dumbledore's expression became grave.
"What," Asked Severus starting to get annoyed by the headmaster being completely vague, "Is the important question?"
"Not who she is, but what happened to her and more importantly how did she get here." Dumbledore stood up and started to pace the room. "Apparation is not possible inside of school grounds, so that is ruled out..." At this point Professor Dumbledore was mumbling to himself.
"Excuse me, Professor," Severus interrupted Dumbledore's musings, "But you said that you knew who she was. How? Her face was unrecognizable!"
"Ah, good point, but as long as she is of school age and has not graduated or been expelled I indeed can put a name to a bruised and beaten face." Dumbledore explained as he walked to one of his cabinets and pulled out an ancient looking long roll of parchment. He carried it over to the desk and laid it down. Severus glanced down at it and was instantly confused, it was blank. But before he had a chance to voice his confusion Dumbledore tapped the parchment with his wand and hundreds of names appeared on the list. The list was grouped by year, seventh was at the top and first at the bottom. Under each year the names were sorted by house. Severus looked under sixth year, then found Slytherin, and saw his own name.
"So do we just go through all the names and check off who is already here?" asked Severus.
"We could do that, yes, but I have an easier way," and with that Dumbledore tapped the parchment once again and a single name glowed. A closer look at the name showed then that the name had created it's own category.
Year: 6th 7th
Gryffindor: Hermione Granger
"Sir, what does that mean?" Severus asked.
"Well, I believe that Miss Granger had finished her sixth year but has yet to start her seventh year." Dumbledore said. "Which would make one wonder why she was in my office."
"How is that possible?" Severus wondered, "We're at the end of the year. Could she have come from another school?"
"No, I don't think that is the case." Dumbledore answered.
"Then what is it?" Severus asked getting more frustrated.
"I think," Dumbledore began to explain. "That young Miss Granger is from the future." Nothing but silence followed that statement. Severus wasn't sure if the headmaster was being serious or if he had completely lost his mind. He looked into his eyes and saw nothing but the truth in them; he knew that he was telling the truth.
"Ok, but why do you think that she came from the future? Could it also be possible that she is from the past?" Severus asked trying to make all of this make sense in his head.
"That is a good point, but I am afraid that it is not possible." Dumbledore explained. "There is no known way to travel to the future. A time turner only goes one way, when you turn it back you have to have to relive how ever long you turned it back to be able to get back to your point of origin. Does that make sense?"
"Yes, I think." Severus answered his brain was beginning to hurt. "Is there any way to tell how far into the future she is from?"
"Well if Madam Pomfrey succeeds in keeping her alive, which I have no doubt that she will, maybe she can tell us when she is from." The flames in the fireplace turned green and a tired Madam Pomfrey stepped out.
"Albus, I have done all that I can do for now." She said, "Her wounds are cleaned and she is stable, but she is in a magically induced coma and nothing that I have tried has woken her up. Only time will tell if she even will."
"Thank you Poppy." Said Dumbledore. "Also I would like her to be put in a private room, no one is to know she is here."
"Yes, headmaster." Madam Pomfrey said as she turned around and quickly flooed back to the infirmary.
"Now Severus we have one more matter to discuss before you head to bed." said Dumbledore. "You never received your punishment for getting into a fight." At those words Severus' heart sank, he had forgotten all about the fight until then. Bracing himself for the worst Severus waited for his punishment. "I want you to visit the bedside of Miss Granger at least three times a week until I lift it. If she wakes up I want you to get to know her, be her friend."
Severus was stunned and starting to get angry again. "You want me to baby-sit her?"
"No, I want you to get to know her, she probably has no friends or family in this time." Said Dumbledore smiling. "I also want you to report back to me."
"Wait... So I am spying on her?" Severus asked.
"No, you are going to befriend her and let me know how your detention goes." He said, as his smile grew larger and larger. "If you have any further questions, I am afraid that they will have to wait for a later time. Now, off to bed with you."
Severus stood up and walked out of the office and down the spiral staircase. His mind was full of everything that had happened that night and he was indeed tired. He headed straight towards the dungeons and the Slytherin common room. He would think more about things when he woke up and had an entire nights rest behind him.
A/N: There you go, Chapter number two. Please be sure to review and let me know what you thought. I am interested to hear how you think that it'll turn out. I want to say thank you again to everyone who took the time to read and review this, it really made my day. Chapter three will be up soon.