Thanks for the inspiration Pinkrose14! Readers, especially my readers with alerts, review. I fear that my morale has dropped near too low to complete another chapter for ye...


Severus

By the time they had finished their rather lengthy adventure, Helga had fell into another round of choked sobs. She had hugged each of them near to death, and gotten them wetter if possible. She was about to speak when a Salazar, as cold as ever swept in.

"There you are." he walked over, and placed a rather kind hand on Helga's shoulder. He actually looked concerned a moment, before he looked a furious glare upon the three. The air gained a chill that froze them all where they stood.

"Where have you been?" he hissed, eyes narrowing. Draco's mouth flopped open like a fish, and Hermione seemed to have found her throat to dry to speak, so Severus explained, limping forward.

"Sir, I think I can shed a bit of light on that." Salazar looked at him expectantly. "We were chased by the same thing that killed Godric." his eyebrows shot up in interest at this.

"Do tell, For I must go back to arranging the funeral." So once again, their story was told, Draco and Hermione adding tidbits here and there. He nodded, eyes softening.

"So we're really sorry.." Hermione squeaked, not fully in possession of her voice.

"You seem to have had your own issues girl, no need to apologize." His eyes swept over them. "All of you to the infirmary, now." There wasn't any question about it. They were on there way as soon as he told them to go.

After they were out of sight, Hermione asked the others a question covertly.

"Why didn't we send them a patronus? It would've saved them the worry." Draco looked at her smugly.

"Hermione think about it for a second. Why would we want them to know we can cast a patronus?"

"It isn't even invented yet." Severus pointed out. "Which could work against us."

"We could be blamed for the crime." Hermione nodded at them.

"I thought you knew everything." she blushed.

"I've fell behind lately in my studies..." Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Why? Busy raising little weasels?"

"For your information I never married him!" she was furious. The limping Severus took the chance to hide behind a nearby suit of armor. He knew better then to mess with an angry witch.

Hermione...

That git had nerve! Snogging her and sleeping so close to her then running off and saying such a stupid thing! She crossed her arms over her chest and resisted the urge to draw her wand and give him a real reason to be visiting the infirmary.

"Don't need to get worked up Hermione." Draco smirked. Hermione balled up her fists.

"What gave you the impression that I was with Ron?" she hissed, jabbing a finger into his chest. He backed up slowly, with every jab. Eventually he hit the window sill with his back legs, he looked down, ignoring the ranting curly haired Hermione. "AND! If you ever want to touch me again Draco Malfoy you bloody git, you better apologize!" She jabbed him extra hard for measure, and he fell backwards and out the window.

Severus...

Severus watched as Draco was lectured by Hermione, watching him back up against to the window, anticipating the outcome of the situation. He drew his wand, and waited for him to fall, limping closer to him, but not close enough to interfere with Hermione's rant. When took his unsuspected dive out the window, Severus pushed off his good foot, and knocked Hermione aside, who just stared.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, and Draco got caught in mid-fall, and Severus levitated him inside, slowly backing up for the safety of his ankle, wincing slightly. Hermione blushed and looked away.

"Thanks Severus." Draco said mildly, glaring pointedly at Hermione. She looked at her feet.

"Eh, no problem." Draco didn't listen.

"What in bloody hell were you thinking, pushing me out a window?" He shouted, and Severus sighed.

"Protego." he muttered. A invisible barrier appeared between the two. "Can you two not fight? I don't want to be standing any longer then I have too." They looked at him in unison.

"Yeah, Hermione."

"Says the prat who started it." They walked in silence to the infirmary, where Ms. Pompfrey took one look at them and immediately ordered them into clean robes. They did as they told, and listened to her rant for an hour about how stupid they were for running about not healed fully, blaming Draco for the whole mess. Severus blessedly fell asleep soon after she left, leaving the other two to their strained silence.

Draco...

This is why he didn't trust women. You ask them a simple question and they try to kill you. He snorted at the situation from his bed in the hospital wing. The old bat had left a bit ago, after lecturing him so thoroughly McGonagall would be impressed by the severity of it. He looked at Hermione in the bed next to him. So she hadn't married the Weasel. He had figured as much, she wouldn't have snogged with him so willingly if she had.

"Well, as the old woman has gone, I suppose we should get down to business."

"Quite so Mikhail." Both Hermione and Draco looked up to see Trick, and an unidentified stranger standing at the entrance of the hospital wing.

"Hey, it's the guy who got us in this mess." Trick placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt at Draco's comment.

"How you cut me with your words, Draco child." Hermione searched for Zero in the shadows.

"Where's Zero...?" she then swallowed, realizing the event that just occurred. "Is she...? Was that who the death warrant was for?" The unknown man nodded.

"Not to be rude, but who in bloody hell are you?" Draco asked him. "We have enough trouble with the other two, we don't need you too." The man's cloak ruffled, and a gloved hand came up to pull down his hood. It fell softly. The man looked as if he could be a direct relative of Salazars. Jet black hair pulled into a simple ponytauk, with coal black eyes. He could nearly see flickers of burning orange and red move within them. He narrowed his eyes.

"I am Mikhail." His voice came out beautifully, and flowed as easily as a river over smooth stones. Hermione blinked. Draco wondered if the man was part Veela. "I am a Demon Lord that patrols the river of fire." Draco blinked this time.

"Well, that's not hard to believe." Hermione snorted.

"Considering everything else we've been through? This is mildly alarming, not unbelievable." Mikhail raised a dark eyebrow. Trick chuckled to himself, and yanked the fedora down over his eyes. He cracked his same old grin, and moved to stand next to Mikhail.

"Now, we have noticed the school is alerted to this creatures presence."

"Creature? I thought you killed one." Trick rolled his eyes.

"Fine, my dear, if you want another problem to deal with you go ahead, I, however, will deal with this one." Hermione crossed her arms over her chest.

"You three," Mikhail said, pointing to all three of them in turn. "Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger," he pronounced his 'r's in a rolling way. "And the currently asleep Severus Snape. You have been given a mission." Draco laid down and shoved his face in his pillow. He continued anyway.

Hermione...

Hermione was honestly interested in what this 'Mikhail' was saying. She knew this wasn't going to be a holiday.

"You must rid this century of the evil that contains it."

"Your gods or whatever, you do it." was the reply that came out muffled from underneath Draco's pillow. Mikhail winced.

"Well, Draco darling." Trick spoke in an annoying country twang. "We can't just up and do anything we want y'know."

"What Coyote," Trick frowned at this, "is attempting to say is that we cannot meddle with human affairs at the moment."

"Courtesy of Trick I imagine." Draco mumbled. Hermione expected Trick to glare, or yell or something, but he didn't he just nodded.

"I stole something dear to my dear brother you see," he had dropped the fake accent. "His shield. He hasn't found it yet, but he was quite aware that I had a hand in it." The corners of Mikhail's mouth twitched upwards.

"Anyhow...you must complete this mission. It is vital to the future." Hermione nodded.

"Can you tell us a bit more?"

"That creature that took Godric's life..and perhaps his soul, was summoned by a Dark magic we can neither trace nor identify." They heard a snort from the bed down at the end. Severus sat up.

"What good is it being a god if you can't do anything useful." Hermione started stammering about this and that, when Trick silenced her with a finger to her lips.

"Shh, darling he already knows. Don't make me kiss you to shut you up-" there was a thud as a pillow collided with Tricks head, throwing his hat off and knocking him down. Mikhail laughed heartily, a merry, delicious sound.

"Trick, this is not the time to be stealing girls." He told him, eyes dancing merrily, his cold facade gone.

"I was just attempting to woo her a bit, do not harm me!" This was followed by another well aimed pillow from Draco.

"Say that again and it will be the Skele-Gro bottle." he held it up menacingly. Trick grumbled, standing up and rubbing his cheek. Hermione giggled, while Severus guffawed.

"You doth protest to much!" True to his word, the Skele-Grow found its target, hitting him in the jaw. They were all laughing but Trick, who sat up rubbing the beginning of a bad bruise.

"Back to the mission details." Mikhail said, when they had calmed down and Trick had retrieved his fedora. "You must cleanse this evil before it takes the life of an innocent."

"Which one?" Draco asked. "Me, Hermione or Severus."

"By agreeing to this plight, and coming to this time you have been deemed you unworthy to enter the gates of the Promised Land for eternity." It seemed as if the world ended, right there, for Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, and Severus Snape.


HAPPY THANKSGIVING! ^^

Hello readers. Left you a bit of a cliffhanger there, eh? As I said above, I'm getting depressed from the lack of reviews. For the love of Merlin, review. I am not saying I will not upload more chapters. Thank you, and I will meet you in the next chapter of 'Back To When?'

Trick: This is sad, really.

Me: I know Trick.

Trick: Want a lap dance?

Me: Not particularly.

Mikhail: Do you want a chocolate bar?

Me: No

Zero: You want more reviews?

Me: Yes. I do.

Trick: By the Gods! If I have to give a lap dance to every person on Fanfiction, I will get you more reviews.

Me: Erm...thanks for the effort Trick really...

Mikhail: Chocolate bars too!

Me: Guys...

Zero: You could always threaten them.

Me/Trick/Mikhail: NO!

Me: That never works.

She's got a plan that could save them all, Bring time to us seems like a crawl, Wager our lives on this magic device, Just a few turns will surely suffice, Give it a spin, we begin, Replay the past again, again.

(Dear lovely readers, please review for her sanity. The beauty will flow from her writing like blood from an open wound. Be a kind neighbor, review this story for the sake of her sanity and my existence.)