Chapter 2
Hermione spent the morning getting ready, preparing everything for her departure. She'd emptied her Gringotts account, which had included her Order of Merlin as well as the hefty sum it had come with. At least she wouldn't want for anything in the past. Knowing the amount in the bag would cover her nicely for years to come, she placed it into her trunk.
She'd packed everything she thought she might need in the past. She was leaving most of her clothes behind, as she didn't think they'd fit the style of the seventies. At least she had the money to get a new wardrobe when she got to her new time.
She sighed as she closed the lid on her trunk. Taking her wand she waved it over it, making it weightless as it shrunk to the size of a toy car. She placed it in her pocket as she turned around and looked at the room she'd been living in since the war ended. It had only been a couple of weeks, but she'd felt comfortable here. Her future held other plans for her, though.
Leaving her room, she knocked on Harry's door. He opened it immediately as if he'd been waiting for her to knock.
"You're sure there's no other way, Hermione?" he asked.
She shook her head, before throwing her arms around him.
"I'll miss you so much."
Harry's arms came around her, and he hugged her furiously. "You're my best friend. How am I going to go on without you?"
She pulled back and grinned at him. "I'm sure you'll find a way. You'll be so busy with Auror training that you'll not even have much time to think about me." At his frown, her grin softened, and she looked at him seriously. "I'll come find you when I can," she reassured him. "Besides, Ginny will surely be able to make you forget about me." She winked at him then.
He smirked at her but became serious once again as reality sunk in. "Oh, Hermione, I'll never forget about you!" he cried.
From behind her, she heard a throat clear. She turned to see Ron looking at her.
"Can we talk? In my room?"
Hermione pulled away from Harry and nodded. She followed him into his room where he turned and looked at her sadly.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I was out of line last night. It's just that…" He frowned and looked to the ground as he gathered his thoughts. Looking back to Hermione, he continued. "It's just that the thought of not having you around made me mental. Merlin, I don't know what I'm going to do without you."
Tears fell down her cheeks as she went to Ron and embraced him.
"Oh, Ron! Leaving you and Harry is the worst thing about this whole plan. I'll miss you terribly, and I'm not sure how I'll do it either, but you know I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try to help him. I would be condemning him to death just so I could be comfortable."
Ron pulled her closer. "I know," he whispered in her ear. "You are too caring a person to let him stay dead. I just hope he realizes what you're doing for him."
Hermione rubbed his back. "I don't know if he will or not, but it really doesn't matter. He'll be alive, and that's the whole reason I'm traveling back."
"But, you should be here."
She pulled back and looked into his eyes while wiping the tears from hers. "Ron, I know it's crazy, but in my heart, I know this is what I'm supposed to do. I did what I needed to here in this time. Now, I have something to do in the past, and I'm really the only one who can do it. I'm not sure what my future will bring, but I know it's what I'm supposed to do."
Ron gave her a small grin. "Well, when you put it that way…"
She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Goodbye, Ron. I'll never forget you."
She turned and moved out of the room. Harry was in the hall, moving from foot to foot, waiting for her. She ran to him and hugged him furiously one last time. With tears in her eyes, she pulled back and smiled at Harry for the last time.
"Goodbye, my friends," she said as she turned back to Ron and gave him a small smile.
Neither of the boys could say anything as she moved away from them and descended the stairs and out of Grimmauld Place. Her heart ached at leaving her dearest friends behind, but despite her heart breaking, she moved forward. The tears flowed freely down her face, and she hugged herself as she struggled to control her emotions. She moved to the Apparition point and spun away without a look back.
It had taken her several minutes after she had Apparated to pull herself together. She stood outside of the Hogwarts gates sobbing. Despite her grief, she knew she had made the right choice. She had told Ron the truth. She knew instinctively that this was what she was supposed to do. The past was to be her future now. She took some deep breaths and finally calmed. She was here now, and she was ready.
Hermione made her way up to the main doors. It took less time than she'd anticipated to make her way to the Headmaster's office. A quick explanation to Minerva about needing to speak with Dumbledore again, and she was once again alone with the former Headmaster. He was awake this time, no subterfuge. He was obviously getting what he wanted, and he was eager to begin. If she wasn't so determined to save Severus' Snape's life she'd just leave him there with that satisfied look on his face and let it turn to anger. But this was about Professor Snape, not Albus Dumbledore. She ignored his look and gave him a determined one of her own.
"You've made your mind up already?" he asked.
"In the end, there was really only one thing to do. I'm not one to procrastinate. How do we proceed?"
"If you go to the desk and wave your wand over it, chanting Alohomora Absconditum, a hidden drawer will appear. All that you need is in that drawer."
She did as he directed. A large drawer appeared at the bottom of the desk. Stooping down, she opened it. The Time-Turner glittered up at her. It was smaller than she'd anticipated; about the size of a quarter. She lifted it out of the drawer along with a large envelope, a paper with a potion recipe on it, and the bottle of the potion that would save Professor Snape's life. She stood and showed the items to Dumbledore.
"Maybe the reason you couldn't get the Time-Turner to return you to this time was because it's so small?" she asked coyly.
He laughed. "In this case, size doesn't matter, Hermione." He motioned to the envelope. "The envelope is a letter to my past self. It explains what we're trying to do, who you are, and what you need from me."
Her eyes narrowed. "You knew all along that I would do this."
"I believe I told you yesterday that you were the only one who could."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean…"
"I had to be ready for any option, Hermione. I knew I would be dead. I prepared."
She nodded. "What exactly does the letter say I need?"
"It explains how important Severus is to the war effort, and that you have something he needs in order to survive. You are to be a seventh year, placed in Slytherin."
"Slytherin!" Hermione exclaimed. She composed herself quickly, despite being stunned. "Of course, that makes sense, I just didn't think…"
"You must also present yourself as a half-blood. There are instructions to myself to create documents to prove your blood status."
She nodded. "What's my back story?"
"You'll need to choose a different name, of course. Your story is that your parents were world travelers. They educated you at home. You've lived in France and Germany."
"I don't speak German, Albus."
"I doubt it would be much trouble for you to learn. You already speak French well."
"Yes, but they're entirely different. It's not like going from French to Spanish."
"Hermione, I think that's the least of your worries, but if you'd prefer, you can say you weren't able to pick up the language because you didn't spend much time there and spoke French the whole time."
She nodded. "I feel better about that."
"You didn't attend Beauxbatons because your parents were constantly on the road, and they wanted you to get the experience that being a world traveler could afford you."
"Should I go on a world tour to prepare for this assignment?" she said caustically.
"Hermione, you will be fine. You are well educated, you have traveled a bit with your parents, and you can read about anything for which you feel you lack knowledge."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Half-blood, traveled the world, home educated. Why am I at Hogwarts for my seventh year?"
Your parents have settled in London for the year. They felt that going to the best Wizarding school would be a good experience for you."
Nodding, she placed the potion and the recipe in her pocket then looked down at the letter. "What else do I need to know."
"Being in Slytherin will give you the chance to get close to Severus. He's already taken the mark. Other than giving him the potion, just let everything evolve the way it did before. You mustn't tell him about his future."
"I understand. Wouldn't want to change the timeline, except for saving one life."
"Exactly so. Do you know what your name will be?"
"I've thought about it. I need something that I will respond to. I think Maia is close enough that I would turn when someone called to me." She giggled. "Last name, something simple. How's Davies?"
"Maia Davies. Perfect. Not a well-known surname, so no one will be looking for connections with Purebloods. It will do, Hermione. I think you are ready to go. Instead of turning the Time-Turner, just lay it flat on your chest like a normal necklace. Cover it with your left hand and say Tempus Regreso."
She undid the chain as it was much shorter than the necklace she'd used in her third year. Reaching back, she set the clasp. The pendant set on her breast-bone right above her cleavage. She looked up to Albus as her left hand covered the Time-Turner.
"See you in a minute," she said.
"Good luck, Miss Granger."
"Tempus Regreso."
There was a bright flash, and Hermione appeared in the same office in the past. Dumbledore was feeding Fawkes and dropped his food as he jumped at the burst of light and loud crack.
Hermione dropped her hand from the time device and nodded at Albus. "Headmaster," she said but stopped as a burning sensation hit her chest. The Time-Turner burned up and disintegrated. Hermione sunk to the floor, her hand grasping where the Time-Turner had been. She gasped as the burning sensation settled down to a dull roar. She looked up to find Dumbledore stooped over, looking at her with concern. She scowled.
"You could have told me it was going to do that," she growled.
"I beg your pardon, Miss?"
She shook her head. "Never mind. My Time-Turner seems to have burned me." She stood up.
"Here, let me see," he said as he drew her hands away from her. "Hmm," he said as he reviewed the burn. "I believe that will leave a permanent mark."
Hermione craned her neck to try to see her chest. She could barely make out the red, angry circle with several lines crisscrossing it and the small hourglass within. "Fantastic," she muttered.
Albus turned as he waved one finger in the air. "One moment, Miss. I have some burn paste."
Retrieving the jar with a quick Accio, it sailed into his hands from a cabinet across the room. He turned back to her and removed the lid. He held it out so she could scoop some onto her wound.
"Thank you," she said quietly as she took a bit and rubbed it into the mark. She immediately felt better. I never thought I'd have a tattoo, but it looks like I will now." She waved her wand, and her shirt's neckline rose to hide the mark.
Dumbledore drew his wand and looked sternly at Hermione. "Now, maybe you could tell me who you are and why you appeared in my office, Miss?" he asked.
Hermione reached out and handed the envelope to Dumbledore.
"My name is Hermione Granger. This is a letter from yourself. As you probably have already figured out, I'm from the future."
Albus took the letter. "How far in the future?"
"Nineteen ninety-eight."
Albus' eyebrows rose considerably. "How did you come about a Time-Turner that would transport you so far into the past?"
"You made it, of course," she explained.
He harrumphed as he lowered his wand and opened the letter, quickly reading it.
"It seems that you have quite a task ahead of you, Miss Granger."
"I'll go by the name of Maia Davies."
"A fine name, unlikely to be suspected by anyone. I will see that your paperwork is filed at the Ministry discreetly to support your parentage and blood status. Your arrival is perfectly timed, as the Welcoming Feast is tonight. I'm sure I planned that."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you did."
Albus looked her over. "Do you have any belongings?"
She patted her pocket. "Shrunken in here."
He nodded. "I'll have your name added to the rolls and talk with the Sorting Hat." His eyes flitted up to it sitting on a high shelf. "I suppose you can wander around the grounds until the Feast. You might bump into Severus. He came two weeks early because of problems at home."
Hermione's eyebrows rose. "Is he all right?"
"He's fine. You can probably find him wandering by the lake," Albus said nonchalantly.
"Thank you, Headmaster!" Hermione shouted as she hurried out of the office.
Racing through the castle, she burst through the doors. She stopped herself there and caught her breath. It would look very odd if she were racing to find him. She had to happen upon him by chance. After a minute she began to walk towards the lake. She meandered as if she was enjoying a solitary walk. As she neared the lake, she spotted Severus. He was sitting by the shore, throwing rocks into it.
Her heart leapt into her throat as she saw him. He looked so young. It was odd to see him the same age as she was. As a student, she'd never really taken the time to think that all of her teachers had once been her age. Now she was faced with that reality as she got closer to the lake.
She cleared her throat as she neared him so Severus wouldn't be startled by her appearance. He turned his head and studied her as she approached.
"Hello," she said nervously. "I was taking a walk and saw you out here. I thought I'd come and introduce myself."
His eyebrows knit together but he didn't say a word.
"I'm Her… Maia Davies. New student, seventh year."
He looked her up and down and turned his head back to the lake. "Severus Snape, old student, also seventh year."
"We're in the same year?" she said enthusiastically. "How exciting! May I sit?"
His head turned back to her, and he regarded her coolly. "If you must."
Hermione debated her next move. She could sit and be an annoyance, or retreat and hope he saw that as meritable. She decided on the latter.
"I see you don't want to be bothered. Maybe I'll see you tonight at the feast. It was nice meeting you, Severus," she said breathily. Turning to go, she was surprised to hear him speak again.
"Wait," he called out. "You may join me."
She beamed. He didn't see, as he still faced the lake. Settling down, she turned and looked at him. He was long and lean, relaxing with his legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankle. His hands supported him on the ground behind him. His hair was a bit lanky, but not horrible. His nose was definitely prominent on his face, as it had always been.
His youthful face looked like her professor's but was obviously different. She didn't find his looks off-putting and wondered why he had such a hard time of it here as a student. She shrugged off her thoughts and decided to take advantage of his invitation to ask him questions.
"What's it like here?" she asked.
"It's a school," he replied.
"Well, that makes sense, but I've never attended a school before, so I have no frame of reference."
His head turned to her then. "You've never attended a school before?"
She shook her head. "My parents have moved around a lot. They wanted me to have the experience of living in various places."
He arched an eyebrow at her. "Where have you lived?"
Well, I've lived mostly in France and a short bit in Germany, but I've spent time in Spain, Egypt, Greece, and Switzerland. I appreciate all that my parents have done for me, but I've never really had a school experience like I said, and I really don't have any good friends because I'm never in a place long enough to establish any."
Severus nodded. "You don't have a French accent."
Hermione panicked for a minute, holding her breath. "I… I was raised here until I was ten. We've been back and forth during our travels too."
"Why are you here now?"
"What? Oh." She smiled and shook her head. "My parents have relocated to London. They thought it would be good for me to have the experience of attending Hogwarts, as it's such a good school."
"Yes, it can be," he said dryly.
"Do you live near London?"
"Cokeworth," he answered. "It's in the Midlands."
"What was it like growing up there?"
"Horrible."
She looked at him curiously. He smirked. "It's an industrial town. Lots of factories. Lots of poverty. Lots of drunks."
Hermione looked out over the lake. "I see. I'm sorry it's not a fun place to live."
"Well, not all of us can jet-set around the world," he replied testily.
She looked at him. Normally she would be angry at such a statement, but because it was him, she restrained herself. She took a breath before overreacting. "I'd like to think I'm not the type of person you think I am," she said finally.
He turned to look at her then. "And what type of person is that?" he asked as his brows shot up his forehead.
"You think I'm stuck-up because my parents have traveled. It's not like that. We aren't well off. We have what we need, but all of my moving around was so my parents could put food on the table."
The tension seemed to melt off Severus. She hadn't even realized how guarded he was until he relaxed a bit. He held her gaze in his. "I apologize," he said. "I shouldn't have assumed. I hate it when others do that, and now I've done it to you."
She smiled at him. "That's all right. I understand."
He stood then, and she scrambled to get off the ground as well. "We should head back," he said. "The feast will be starting in about an hour."
"What's that like?" she asked.
"Lots of food. Dumbledore rambling on endlessly. New members of each house meeting their housemates." He began to walk towards the castle, and she followed him.
"What are the houses like? Which one are you in?"
He looked at her with amusement. "Do you always ask this many questions?"
"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I'm naturally curious and tend to ask a lot of questions. I didn't mean to bother you."
He sighed. "Actually, you're not bothering me. I'm just surprised you haven't grown tired of me already."
She gave him a puzzled look. "Why would I have grown tired of you? We just met."
He stopped and turned to her. "Like you, I don't have any friends. For some reason, people don't really like to talk to me."
Her eyebrows knit together. "I don't understand. You've been perfectly fine with me. Why don't they like talking to you?"
He shrugged. "I believe I intimidate a lot of people. I work hard and have a good understanding of everything here. I find people don't know how to relate to anyone with half a brain."
She chuckled. "Do you think I'll have a problem fitting in, Severus? I tend to be a bit of a book worm."
He looked her up and down again as they continued on their way. "I think you'll do fine."
They made their way to the castle in silence. As they entered through the doors, Severus turned to her.
"Did you just arrive today?"
She nodded. "My parents dropped me off. They weren't really sure about that train thing. I actually only got here a little bit before I met you. I spoke with the Headmaster and decided to take a walk.
"We can probably sit in the Great Hall until everyone gets here, then you'll have to join the firsties so you can get sorted."
He led them into the Hall and motioned for her to sit at the Slytherin table. He explained the four houses, motioning to their banners that hung from the ceiling above each table. Hermione looked to the Gryffindor table, her home from her previous years. Severus noticed her staring.
"The House of Gryffindor is known for its bravery," he said with a frown. "They tend to follow their hearts when making important decisions."
She looked at him with an arched eyebrow. "That was a very diplomatic answer for a Slytherin."
He cocked his head and gave her a curious look. She blushed and tried to explain.
"I studied up a little on the houses before coming. I noted a pretty intense rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin. That's nice of you to be so kindly toward them in case I get sorted there."
He rolled his eyes at her and went on to discuss the attributes of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw houses for her. Before they knew it, the hour had passed, and the students were filing into the Hall. Hermione stood.
Pretending to look confused, she leaned over and whispered in Severus' ear. "Where do I go?"
He pointed out the door. "Go out to the doors we came in and look for a witch dressed in green. That's Professor McGonagall. She's in charge of the sorting. She'll tell you what to do."
Hermione nodded at him. He looked at her wistfully.
"Good luck, Maia," he said finally.
Hermione felt her heart clench within her. She knew she'd be sorted into Slytherin, but she got the feeling that Severus hoped that she would be as well. That was definitely a good sign. As she moved to the Entrance Hall she was thankful that she'd found Severus and had a chance to meet him before the sorting.
Hermione quickly found Professor McGonagall and introduced herself.
"Ah, yes. Professor Dumbledore told me of your arrival. Welcome to the school, Miss Davies. I hope you find joy in your studies here."
Hermione smiled broadly. "Thank you, Professor. I'm excited to be here."
She stood with her until the first-years were ready to be marched into the hall.
"Miss Davies, why don't you walk in with me, as you're obviously a little big to be a first-year."
Hermione nodded and fell into step with her professor as they proceeded into the Great Hall. Excitement filled her as she walked those steps up to the stool and the sorting hat. She couldn't believe she was doing this again. She eyed all the tables with all the unfamiliar faces. She suddenly was very nervous and began to gnaw on her bottom lip. What had she done? She didn't know anyone here. She truly was a stranger with no friends. Well, maybe one friend. Her glance went to find Severus. Her heartfelt full as she saw his shy smile. She grinned back broadly. He'd never know what that little upturn of his mouth had just done to her.
Professor McGonagall stopped, so Hermione did as well. They listened to the song of the hat, which rambled about unity and friendship. Then it was time for the sorting. She was first so she made her way up to the stool and sat. The hat was placed atop her head and immediately began its chattering.
"Hmm, you've been here before, but you haven't. Your name isn't quite what you've stated it as either. From the future, are you? You had a choice in that time, didn't you? Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. But neither one of those will suit now, isn't that so?"
That's right. I need to be in Slytherin, she thought.
"Your nature is not that of the snakes."
I understand, she told the hat. But I need to be there.
"You must harden yourself. They are not the open books your previous friends were. They will as likely turn on you as take you in."
I understand.
"SLYTHERIN!" the hat shouted out.
Hermione grinned, rose and headed for the end table. She noted an empty chair on both sides of Severus so she made a beeline for him, shaking several hands on the way, and settled in on his left. He turned to her and shook her hand vigorously.
"Welcome to Slytherin House, Maia."
She grinned at him broadly. "Thank you. Maybe now I can finally have a best friend."
The blush on Severus' cheeks was not something she'd forget easily. This was going to be fun.
A/N: Thanks to Amortentia in my Veins for the awesome beta work. I also need to thank her for coming up with the title for this fic. I knew that "Time-Turner fic" probably wouldn't work well but couldn't come up with anything I liked. We batted around a few titles together until she came up with First Loves and Second Chances, which works perfectly for this.