Chapter 1-

Where am I thought Hermione Granger in a panic as she groped for her wand and came up empty? As she looked around the dark room, she tried to muddle through her memories and figure out where she was and how she had gotten there. I don't think I've ever been here before, thought Hermione. The room was scarcely decorated, with a rickety desk and small clothes cupboard being the only furniture besides the small bed that Hermione was lying on. The window didn't offer any clues for where she was at, although if forced to guess Hermione thought she was at least still in England. Hermione began to walk towards the door to leave and find her way back to Hogwarts, however, as she approached the door she noticed an envelope addressed to her taped on the wall next to the door knob. After a briefly hesitating (after all you don't survive a war without learning to be a little cautious) Hermione opened the envelope and began to read the letter inside.

Dear Miss Granger,

I know that the information contained in this letter will be difficult for you to accept, however I assure you that anything I tell you in here is true. In the early morning hours, directly after the Final Battle, you went back to the Shrieking Shack to make sure that Severus Snape received the honors he deserved. I was there in the room with you, and I was deeply moved by the regret and compassion you showed for your formerly despised professor. So, when you were hit with an Avada Kedavra from behind shortly after exiting the Whomping Willow, I granted both you and Severus a second chance at life. I have always wanted to be able to give Severus the chance for a better life, starting with his abusive childhood. Since you are the only person to have shown true remorse for him (with no thought of reward for your actions either) I decided to grant you a new life alongside him.

Now, here is where you will need to listen closely. In order to give you both the second chance, I was required to send you back both to the same time and to the same dimension. I know you are familiar with the laws of time travel dear, but since you are in a different dimension, then you have no need to worry about the disruption of the timeline. In fact, I left you with your memories intact so that you could change the timeline, so that you can end Voldemort's reign early and save millions of lives. Now, I know that this will be difficult for you, but today's date is June 1, 1971. You are still Hermione Granger, but your birthday is now September 19, 1959. Since your parents are technically still teenagers in this time period, you are considered an orphan and have spent the last eleven years at Netherley's home in Surrey. I made sure that the money you had on your person and the money set aside by your parents in your education fund have been set up in a Gringotts account under your name, so that you are able to support yourself in the absence of your parents. Sometime later today Professor McGonagall will be arriving to tell you that you are accepted to Hogwarts and take you to Diagon Alley to purchase your school supplies.

I know that this will be a difficult adjustment for you Hermione, but try to make the best of the situation. You are being given this chance to have a childhood free of fighting Death Eaters, a chance to make new friends and have fun. Learn from your previous life and use that information to help you make the most of this life. I will leave you with one final piece of information. Severus Snape has not retained his own memories of his previous life. His childhood was truly awful, and in order to give him the best shot at happiness this time around, he does not need to know about how miserable his life was. I have already taken steps to make his life better, but I hope that you will be able to see past memories of him as your professor and get to know him as a peer. He needs people like you in his life.

Good luck,

Fate

To say that Hermione Granger was shocked would be an understatement. This cannot be true, she thought, there's no way that I am now an eleven year old living 9 years before I should even be born. No, it has to be some prank, some elaborate and stupid prank. Someone probably saw me leaving the shack with Snape and they put a really good glamour on me to make me look younger, and they stole my wand. It has to be a prank. As Hermione sat on the edge of her bed and tried to convince herself that Fate's letter was not real, the sun began rising and the occupants of the home began to rise. After what seemed to Hermione like only a few minutes (but really was about 3 hours) there was a knock on her door, and she opened it to a stern looking woman leading Professor McGonagall. In that moment, Hermione finally acknowledged to herself that this was not an elaborate prank. "Miss Granger, this is Professor McGonagall, said the stern woman. She would like to speak with you for a minute, so be on your best behavior." While Hermione nodded, Professor McGonagall gave Hermione a small smile then turned towards the other woman. "Thank you Madam Rivera, I'll let you know when I am done."

When Madam Rivera had shut the door behind her, Professor McGonagall turned back to Hermione and motioned for her to sit on the bed. "Hello dear, my name is Minerva McGonagall, and I am a professor at a boarding school in Scotland. We would like to offer you a place at the school starting this September." "Professor, what school are you from and why am I being singled out to attend," asked Hermione. "Well dear, the school is called Hogwarts, and it's a school for special children, children who… Dear, have you ever done something that was odd? Something that the other kids around you couldn't do also?" Hermione thought quickly and smirked to herself as she thought of an answer to that question. It would be funny to see her ace if I said I could do magic, but I should probably be more subtle than that. What can I tell her that would help me to blend in better at Hogwarts and hide my knowledge of the alternate universe? Placing a slightly panicked look on her face, Hermione said quietly, "Well, I can read really fast. The other kids think I just flip through the pages, but for every page they read I can read 30 or even 40 if I want to, and when they get too noisy all of a sudden it gets super quiet and I can't hear them but I can still see their mouths moving. Is that what you mean by odd?" "Exactly, Miss Granger. That is what we call magic. At Hogwarts, we teach young wizards and witches like yourself how to control their magic."

Hermione spent another ten minutes listening to Professor McGonagall tell her about Hogwarts before McGonagall introduced the subject of Diagon Alley. "Now, Miss Granger, if you are willing I will accompany you to Diagon Alley to get your school supplies this morning." "Of course, Professor" replied Hermione. Hermione trailed behind McGonagall as she told Madam Rivera that she would be taking Hermione out shopping for her school supplies, and as they left the orphanage Hermione mentally prepared herself for the trip to Diagon Alley as she touched a finger to the portkey that McGonagall had pulled out and instructed her how to use. Planting an expression of pure joy on her face, Hermione made sure she looked around the alley in wonder whenever McGonagall looked her way. Hermione was led first to Ollivander's shop, and after only trying 3 wands Hermione was extremely relieved to see her original wand of vine wood and dragon heartstring. She felt a twinge of guilt, however, when McGonagall paid for the wand. Hermione decided right then and there that as soon as she was able to tell Dumbledore about her memories, she would pay the school back. Since she couldn't see how to tell McGonagall that she had a Gringotts account when a few hours ago she wasn't supposed to have known about magic, Hermione reluctantly continued to let the professor pay as they visited the apothecary, Flourish & Blotts, and Madam Malkin's. After a few hours of shopping, Hermione was returned to Surrey, and began to count down the days until she was back to her true home…back to Hogwarts.

AN: Thank you to everyone who took the time to favorite/follow/review! I really appreciate all the helpful advice and criticism you guys gave me over the past few days. Keep it up! I'd love to hear your comments and concerns over this new chapter. I promise Snape will be in the next chapter!