Author's note
Greetings! Here is the first chapter! Hope you enjoyed Sirius's introduction as much as I did. He's certainly more of a young "Ben Barnes" look than Severus is (who in my head an older teen version of Severus is still Adam Driver because...you know... Adam Driver.)꒰ღ˘‿˘ற꒱❤⃛. It is definitely fun to be able to play with the characters all at around 13/14. There's so much development to mess around with, including a pre-hurt and pre-Death Eater gang Severus who just wants to spend time with his best friend. It's going to be a trip getting from "Severus type A" to "Severus type B" over the course of the story, and the same for Sirius.
Though I have to say, the worst thing about this taking place in HP era canon is that all of my favourite pop culture references can't be used since the majority of them didn't exist in the early 90's (I even looked into Witcher books but they weren't released in English until the early 2000's and Hermione doesn't know Polish! lol). I was tempted to push the timeline forward a bit but decided that canon was going to be the best way to go. :)
Well, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy the chapter! ꒰ ˊ͈ ु꒳ ूˋ͈꒱.⑅* Thank you to my new beta TRGrimm!
Please fav/like/comment/review if you have time! And of course...Im looking forward to your Severus or Sirius votes! ꒰｡•ॢ◡-ॢ｡꒱
Disclaimer: Although I may take liberties for fun and entertainment, I do not own Harry Potter as Harry Potter and all related properties are the sole belongings of JK Rowling and WB.
꒰ ˊ͈ ु꒳ ूˋ͈꒱.⑅* - ꒰ ˊ͈ ु꒳ ूˋ͈꒱.⑅* - ꒰ ˊ͈ ु꒳ ूˋ͈꒱.⑅*
Chapter 1
Wait a minute...did he just make a Bond reference? Hermione eyed this shockingly handsome and charming version of Sirius Black and tried to place him as the man she met for the first time only days ago. There was no comparison; couldn't be. The man she had met had been so gaunt, thin and pale in comparison that he was completely unrecognizable now as he stood before her. It truly made the severity of the consequences of thirteen years of Azkaban and neglect seem that much more tragic.
His smile faltered briefly in the long moments it took for Hermione to acknowledge him and so he tried again by flashing her another grin. "So. Beauxbatons, huh? You don't sound French."
"Oh bloody hell will you people leave it alone?!" Hermione let out a frustrated huff and all but threw her hands in the air. He laughed and it was so musical and light that she sort of swayed along to it without being able to stop herself. He put his own hands up in surrender.
"Forgive me. My apologises, miss-?" He was still smiling and she could find no malice or hidden intent in it. How did the man who helped create the Marauder's Map just for the sake of mischief have such a genuine disposition?
She cleared her throat and tried to calm herself a bit by smoothing her hands over her lap. "Hermione," Her eyes remained shifty as she could still not place Sirius's intentions, "And I'm not French…" She added with a mumble. His grin only widened but did not appear to mock her. He folded his arms casually across his chest and seemed to relax, his shoulders falling back slightly as if he had just released some sort of burden of his own into the air. There was a nod of some sort of approval from him.
"'Hermione'," Sirius's grey eyes glanced upwards and she was reminded of how she sometimes did that when going into some sort of academic thought, "the daughter of Hermes and Menelaus. God of thievery and known for being the most clever and mischievous of all the gods." With another grin and nod of approval he shifted his gaze back onto her, looking down the bridge of his perfect, straight nose at her. "I approve. And most definitely agree," The casual disposition turned serious for a moment, "You aren't French."
"Thank you," she started with relief and sighed. Her hand ran through her hair feeling all the knots and tangles from the day's adventures. "I just can't seem to understand why people don't realize that another person can live-"
"You're Greek."
Her eyes widened and her mouth hung slightly ajar at Sirius's sudden conclusion and she was pretty certain that her hair was beginning to frizz she was so frazzled. Her cheeks flushed with a small amount of heat and she let out a breath that she had been holding while she had been speaking.
And Sirius, the bastard, was now looking at her with the most mischievous twinkle in his silvery eyes despite how serious he looked that Hermione suddenly realized that this boy was not a normal human being...he was a monster in disguise. A god of mischief in boy form who obviously let himself into her hospital partition for more than just friendly conversation.
"Why are you here." It was more of a demand than a friendly question. Her entire afternoon had been slammed with unexpected event after unexpected event and now she felt tired and emotionally spent. She just wanted to go home and pretend this was all a weird dream that was a result of an emotional rollercoaster of a year.
Sirius's head shook, the feathery ends of his dark hair floating with no small amount of elegance. "Well, to be honest I'm here for a friend. In fact I was just minding my own business when I heard your lovely voice and had to see for myself who this new person was behind Poppy's door number one." He held up a finger to indicate the number one. "And I have to say," again with that grin of his, "I am not disappointed. I do love Greek food."
"Are you serious?!" She asked incredulously.
"Why yes," he did not miss a beat and nodded earnestly, "I am Sirius. And the last name is 'Black' just in case you've forgotten already."
Now it was almost as if it were her duty to express a large amount of annoyance in the way that her eyes narrowed on the boy and her lips pressed together tightly. She pinched the bridge of her nose for good measure. "That's not even good," she mumbled, "that's an awful joke."
Sirius looked dejected, his earnest expression becoming almost pouty. "I thought it was brilliant."
She shook her head. "Don't do it again."
"I'll work on it." He concluded with a bob of his head.
"Please don't." She begged with a wince and his pout brightened instantaneously into a smile again.
"So. Mysterious girl wearing Gryffindor House robes and yet not ever having been seen in Gryffindor House before and claims to be a transfer student from Beauxbatons, who is not French I may add, but may actually be Greek-"
"Definitely not Greek."
But he continued right over her not skipping any beats. "I very much look forward to getting to know your mysteries." The two of them were actually facing each other now, both sitting on either side of the bed and twisted so that their gazes were mostly level. He was smirking and she was matching it with all the miffed emotions she could manage with a set of pressed lips and eye rolls. Despite her haughtiness though, Hermione could not help but to feel drawn to this boy's charming constitution.
So of course she was surprised when he did a double take and a light blush crept up onto his cheeks.
"I mean," he started with a slight stammer that he tried to correct, "That's not what I mean. Sorry. I meant that in a friendly way-a friend. Like a friend. Of course." In his first display of uncertainty and fluster Sirius ran a hand through his hair and then rubbed the back of his neck. "Not weird. I didn't mean for that to be weird."
A smile quirked the corners of her mouth while she watched him flail a bit and attempt to recollect himself. She couldn't help but find it endearing. "It's fine. It wasn't really all that weird." Grey eyes watched her almost as if they didn't believe her.
"Of course not. I mean. Yes. Erm…" Sirius made a final attempt to collect himself and pulled his shoulders back to his regular height instead of letting them hang in a casual slouch and then grinned crookedly.
He was awkward. Sirius Black back in the day was charming and awkward and all sorts of boyish genuinity and Hermione was finding that it was helping her cope with her situation in a surprising way. Gone completely was the image of the tortured man of days old and replaced with this devilishly bodacious boy who momentarily was making the young witch forget that she had only just been pushed down the stairs by Draco Malfoy while wearing a Time Turner that had sent her back to the childhood years of their parents. Sirius looked to be maybe fourteen, or at least around her age.
"What year will you be transferring to, Hermione?" The use of her name on his tongue just flowed so easily for him. He did not hesitate at any vowels or get stuck on any of the pronunciation.
"Well...I just finished my third year so it would be my fourth-'' She stopped herself and glanced up at Sirius. He had a brow raised but didn't comment so she continued. "Where I'm from we have years too."
That seemed to be enough for him as he nodded along with her. "Fantastic!" He declared, "That means you'll be in our year with me! I mean 'us'. My friends and I. You'll love them once you meet them. But I hope you'll love me more. I'm much more handsome and stylish and intelligent than the other guys." He went on to boast about himself some more, but Hermione tuned him out to the sound of her own thoughts.
While sure, she was pretending now that she was transferring, the truth was that she had not been able to talk to Dumbledore about what happened. Which also meant that she was making gross assumptions about her ability to continue to attend Hogwarts until they found out how to send her back home. That should be her priority, going home. Not sitting here on a bed in the hospital wing enjoying (and occasionally hating) the company of a very young, very handsome rendition of her best friend's godfather. Merlin's beard she sounded insane.
"'The distance between insanity and greatness is measured only by success.' Or something like that."
Hermione jumped and looked up at Sirius unexpectedly. Had she said that out loud?
"Oh don't worry," The mischievous glint was back in his eyes and he leaned in a little more with a smirk, "I absolutely can read minds."
She huffed and growled and shoved him, her hands on both of his shoulders to give him a hard push. His body didn't really move under her strength but he did have the gall to let out another laugh.
"Sirius!" Another boyish voice called from somewhere on the other side of the partition and Hermione was one hundred percent thankful to whoever her savior was. "We're gonna be late, mate!" This person was not right outside the bed, but sounded as if he was standing near the exit to the hospital wing.
Sirius looked back down to Hermione and stood, fixing his robes and straightening his tie and collar. "It's been a pleasure. I do hope to see you next year." He grinned, "Hermione." With a wink, and before she could protest that wink, he disappeared behind the curtain and was gone as if he had never been there in the first place.
She was once again alone and left to her own devices; her own thoughts. Why the hell did this have to happen? She had been so careless on her way to drop off the Time Turner figuring that never through the course of the year she had had an issue. Why should she have one now? An entire school year with no real accidents or people uninvited to know about her little secret. Of course it had to be Draco Malfoy. Briefly Hermione wondered how the poor boy was dealing with his near accidental murder of her. Was he shocked? Was he shook? Or was he gloating that he was the one to end the life of Harry Potter's muggleborn friend?
That last one wasn't likely. There was probably a greater chance that Draco was trying to scrape up some excuse as to what happened and that was if anyone had even seen them.
Wait...wasn't Professor Snape there on the landing? Hermione remembered seeing the shocked expression on the older man's face while she was busy doing backflips down the staircase to her demise. He had looked truly terrified. It was an expression Hermione had not seen on his face before except once: when Remus Lupin was about to attack the four of them as a werewolf. He had actually expressed true terror in those moments even as he had tossed himself in front of her and her friends as the werewolf reared back its terrifying claws and swiped at them. But even then that was a different sort of fear. No..what had been on the professor's face today had an entirely different level of 'oh shit' that the young witch was not quite certain of. Was it because a student could have potentially died on his watch? But he wasn't patrolling. It was the early afternoon in the middle of the day...No...he was most likely on his way to meet another professor.
During her wait, Hermione let herself do some comparisons between the Professor Snape she had known the past three years and this younger, boyish Snape she had met just today. They were like stark contrasting people. Besides the obvious, one was sullen and cruel; very precise in his control of speech and mannerisms but incredibly easy to anger...particularly if one was Harry Potter. This other Snape, however...this young Snape...was boyish and awkward. He seemed a bit more relaxed even when he was obviously trying to intimidate. He joked, joked, and teased her and his voice that cracked and lacked control also lacked malice even when he gave jabs. And his eyes. Those eyes. As an adult they were so terrifyingly cold and calculating. They were pitiless pits of black and darkness.
But young Snape's had not been. They were much easier to gaze into and they glinted when he was about to say something he thought was clever. They were warm.
"There is absolutely no way they are the same person." Hermione mused to herself out loud quietly, a finger tapped against her chin gently. "Just no way." Which left to question…
What the hell happened between now and her time that made such a sharp difference to his personality?
"May I come in?"
The sound of Albus Dumbledore's aged, soft voice was such a relief that Hermione let out an audible breath. "Oh please, Professor." She moved to stand as he entered but he simply held up a hand politely to stop her.
"Please remain comfortable," He stared at her over his spectacles concerned and curious, "I understand you had taken quite a fall, miss-?"
"Hermione. Hermione Granger, professor."
He nodded his head in response and acknowledgement. The curtain opened briefly directly to his left and McGonagall, one who looked almost twenty years younger, stepped into the small and cramped space.
"Miss Granger," the Headmaster carried on, "I have been informed by one of my brightest students that you are...transferring from Beauxbatons to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Those blue eyes of his twinkled as they bore into her very soul and she groaned, running a hand through her bushy, frizzy, messed hair.
And oh dear Merlin Sirius had seen her hair like this.
"I'm sorry Professor, I didn't know what to say," she started off in a ramble, "but I'm NOT from Beauxbatons and I'm NOT French or Greek." If she were standing then she probably would have stamped a foot. "I'm not even from this…" Instead of continuing at the risk of being overheard, Hermione instead tugged out the Time Turner from beneath her clothing to reveal it to the professors. The golden metal frame glimmered beautifully in the late afternoon sunlight that poured in through the window behind her. "There was an accident…" The tone of her voice was soft as she held up the little device on the chain. "I'm sorry...You both trusted me with it…"
McGonagall had gasped but there was no audible sound from the Headmaster while he studied both her and the Time Turner. "It appears you have gotten yourself into quite the predicament, Miss Granger," There was a hint of disapproving as he spoke, "however. I am inclined to believe this was not entirely an accident of your fault?"
She shook her head but digressed. Was she going to out Draco Malfoy for bullying before he was even born? How did she want to divulge this story? "I fell down a flight of stairs," Close enough, she guessed, "I had this in my hand and I guess it flipped as I fell and…well…" Her hands gestured around them, "here I am."
Dumbledore took his time with the information and Hermione had to wonder if he was going to respond at all or if he had fallen asleep with his eyes open while standing. When the eldery wizard did finally speak, it was with words that were laced with a multitude of emotions and clear intent. "I do hope you have not sustained any serious injuries, Miss Granger. Falling like that could have been much more serious. I'd almost rather thank the accident for happening rather than condemn it." Why was that as comforting to hear as it was? "However I must regret to inform you that if it is a solution that you seek, I am afraid I do not have one. Not one that you would like to hear."
She frowned. He frowned. They all frowned and Hermione chanced a glance at McGonagall when she stepped forward one step and shook her head. "Time Turners are dangerous in that they can alter the course of history and the future. This is why they are strongly regulated by the Ministry and are not given freely. You must be some student to have been granted my signature and approval to even so much as have one in your possession, Miss Granger."
"And I must have broken your trust, then."
"I highly doubt that. If this was truly an accident as you say then I do not believe for a moment that your intent was to come here. The question is what will you do with your time going forward?"
Wait. What? "Um..Professor...I was hoping that maybe there was a way to go back? Maybe a pattern of flips forward I can do to go back to my time?"
The Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress looked at each other solemnly and then back to her. Both of their expressions were grim. "I am certain that before you received the Time Turner you were explicitly informed that it is a one way ticket backwards...Whatever time you may be from, I am afraid it is no longer present. I do hope you are not too far away from home and that you may at least have friends and family?" McGonagall's concern was clear, but Hermione shook her head.
"What year is it?"
"...1974."
"Twenty years."
Another gasp escaped the woman but Hermione did not acknowledge it. Instead she was far too busy mulling over everything she had now lost; her friends, her family, her parents. Twenty years... She had no home to go back to and no one to take her in. There was no one who would be waiting for her at Platform Nine and ¾ in a couple of days. There would be no Harry or Ron waiting for her in the Great Hall for dinner tonight. She was on her own, alone and orphaned because she had made a stupid decision with stupid timing.
"Miss Granger…"
She could hear their voices, but not the words they were speaking to her. Clearly they were making an attempt to comfort her but no comfort would come. Anxiety spiked her heartbeat and sped up her breathing. Her eyes threatened to blur over with tears as she tried to fight away the burn of them.
"She's in shock."
"Of course she is, what would you expect? The girl has nowhere to go."
"Miss Granger?" Softer this time, "There are still a few days left of the school year before the trains leave. How about the three of us spend some time over the duration and figure out a plan for you?"
"A plan for what?" She couldn't even look up at them, so lost in her inner turmoil.
"An integration plan. One to help you adjust to a new life and time. I'm certain we can come up with something that will be suitable for you and your needs. It may not be easy but.."
"What else can we do? Are you sure there's no way back, professor?" Hermione turned to face Dumbledore with only the barest glimmer of the quickly fading hope left in her unfocused gaze.
"I'm terribly sorry." He shook his head slowly and finally took a seat next to her. His violet robes were made out of a lush, flowy velvet and pooled onto the bed and cascaded to the floor like a waterfall. "I know you must be feeling lost right now, Hermione, and I should not tell you to make the best of your situation. So I won't. I will tell you that it will be okay and that you will be okay. Clearly you are an intelligent girl with a bright future. I believe in you."
Nah. She wouldn't cry. Crying never helped anything tangibly. So then why were there hot, wet streaks of salty water making trails down both of her cheeks? At least her sobs were silent.
"How about you get some rest for the time being. Come to dinner if you are feeling up for it and we shall reconvene afterwards?" McGonagall stepped closer to her. "Based on your house robes it appears you must be one of mine, therefore I shall place you in my charge for the time being." She offered up a maternal smile in an effort to comfort the distraught child. It was all Hermione could do just to nod as Dumbledore stood once more.
"And...perhaps you are not from France after all? Perhaps we could rather say you have been under private tutelage for the time being." The headmaster winked and turned, his hands clasped together behind his back as the two professors gave Hermione some space.
For maybe five minutes or so, Hermione sat in silence staring at the floor to the Hospital Wing. When she finally found her voice there was only one thing she could really say.
"Like I said...I'm not from Beauxbatons."
A muffliato and three hours later, Hermione lay spent on the crickety old bed. She had cried and sobbed and wailed for a long enough time that she eventually fell into a short slumber. By the time she had woken up it was already nearly time for dinner. Which meant that she had to crawl out of the bed, make herself presentable enough, eat and then find the courage to again confront what was becoming her living nightmare.
In her anger the witch wanted to curse Malfoy for his negligence and blame this whole thing on him. Sure he was a bully but he had to have known that putting his hands on her in the first place, especially near a flight of stairs, was a bad idea all around. It made her feel more correct for punching that smarmy face of his that afternoon before Double Potions. While it felt good at the time, Hermione did not pride herself on being a violent creature and had actually felt some remorse after the adrenaline had run its course.
Now though...now she was ready to do it again and then some.
But was that really fair? Because the part of her that was logical was screaming in her brain to remind her that this was also her fault too. She should not have had the Time Turner exposed in the first place and it was stupid to carelessly walk around with it out even if, especially since, it had been the last day for her to possess it. If Hermione had not had it out then she would not have had to put it away and draw attention to something that a bully like Malfoy wouldn't have been able to resist. His curiosity had been too great to resist the urge to demand to know what the muggleborn witch wanted to hide from him so desperately.
If that had not happened, then this wouldn't have happened.
So yes. The fact that Hermione Granger was now living twenty years in the past most definitely was her fault.
"I'll blame Draco if I want to, though." She muttered to herself with a glare.
"There are two things I'd like to know."
Bloody hell she nearly leaped out of her skin at the unexpected drawl of a male voice just to her right. The immediate reaction was to reach for her wand and point it at the intruder but what actually happened was that she rolled to grab her wand from the bedside table and ended up rolling off the edge of the bed and onto the floor in a heap at a pair of feet. She groaned and looked up, fussing with her hair to move it out of her view as he continued, completely unaffected by the chaos.
"Who are you really and how do you know my spell?"
Spell? Hermione craned her neck and looked up to find black eyes staring over a hooked nose down at her. What spell?
"You're probably wondering 'what spell,'" Merlin did everyone read minds in this era? "I am referring to this one." Snape held an arm out to gesture at the partition as if it was obvious what it was that he was referring to. She only furrowed her brows at him in confusion for a brief second.
Ah. "Wait...muffliato is your spell?" Snape was the one who invented it? Already? He looked so young to be playing around with spell creation and formulae though! HIs lip curled in response to her and his dark eyes narrowed into a much more familiar look for him. Yeah...this is definitely Snape. The relaxed and mischievous boy from earlier was gone and had been replaced with a miniature version of the Head of Slytherin. Her eyes widened when he leaned forward. Their foreheads almost touched.
"You may think that I am some half-wit fool because of the way I look or whatever it is you may have been told about me, but I assure you that I am far from not being a threat to you if you have been spying on me." His eyes narrowed more, almost turning them into black slits. Hermione had pushed herself up and was now close enough to see the separation of his pupil and iris and that they were two slightly different shades of black. "Now. Who. Are. You." Though his voice cracked on the 'you', his voice was silky smooth. His arms were folded across his chest and caused his shoulders to pull back and broaden a bit despite him not having the meat on him to appear large. He didn't need to; never needed to. Severus Snape was always a large presence that his mere existence in a room was enough to force it into silence and make everyone (and everything) living and breathing feel small. Apparently this was a trait he had possessed for many many years of his life.
"I...well...I was just…" All she could do was stare back at him and attempt to swallow the lump in her throat.
"Yes?" He emphasized, waiting with a feigned patience. Which meant that he was about to run out of any sort of patience he just might have.
"I was just…" Wait. Did he just accuse her of spying? On him? "Excuse me?" She sat forward and cocked her head slightly to regard the boy incredulously. "What on earth are you talking about?! Me? Spying!? Why would I do that?!" Her voice rose in pitch with each syllable that passed her lips. Standing she balled her hands into fists at her sides so that the tables could turn and she could take her own turn to stare down at him with offended accusation. "Just who do you think you are?!" To be fair though...she and her friends had spied on Snape in the past on a few occasions. But all of those occasions were irrelevant to the now.
However Snape stood too and he was actually a bit taller than Hermione had remembered from earlier. He did not tower over her, but he had a good head on her in size. "Don't lie to me. I saw Black come over here as I was leaving. You're both up to something and I just. Know it."
"You know nothing, then! I don't even know who that boy is and here you are accusing me, me, of spying on someone else I don't know! I've never seen you before in my life and by the gods I don't ever want to see you again, you are infuriating!" She let out a growl and was a bit surprised that he matched one right back at her. They were now both leaning in (up in her case) and their foreheads were touching. The greasy looking, black hair that framed his sallow skinned face fell down the sides of his face so that the ends of it barely touched her cheeks with the proximity.
"I will be more than happy to indulge you once I get the answers to my questions!"
"Well maybe I won't answer your questions now that you so eloquently threatened me!"
"How do you know my spell? Who are you? Where are you really from? And I'll say again don't lie to me because you are the worst liar I have ever met!"
"Then maybe I should take lessons from you if you think you are so good at it!" She rose up onto the balls of her feet to try to establish some sort of dominance.
""Don't even think about so much as glancing in my direction, bushy hair!"
"Why don't you go crawl back to your dungeons then, lest I just happen to look in your direction?"
"I think I'd rather run!"
"Then RUN!"
"What the bloody hell and blazes is going on in here!?" The white curtains flew back dramatically to reveal an irate Madam Pomfrey. "Care to explain to me why there is yelling in my ward!? This is a hospital! Not a Quidditch match!"
Only because they both respected Pomfrey more than they hated each other, Hermione and Severus pulled apart at all, both snarling and growling at the other.
"If you two can't keep your voices down then I will have you both thrown out! Sick or not and I'll do it myself!" Her threat was firm.
Severus took a deep breath, mumbled an awkward apology to the woman and plopped himself back down into the chair next to Hermione's bed. Hermione mirrored him, except she sat on the end of the bed instead as far away from Snape as she could get. The two of them utilized the time it took for Pomfrey to continue ranting and threatening them to try to take a few breaths and calm themselves. By the time the healer was finished with her own tirade and had slung the curtains closed again with a final warning Severus and Hermione were at least calm enough to regard each other.
It was Snape who finally broke the silence. "I saw the Time Turner you are wearing around your neck. You cannot hide from me until I have answers." The vehemence in his voice was like slow dripping venom. "So either you are spying on me or you know me from wherever it is you're from."
"I don't owe you an explanation about my Time Turner-"
"How far in the future are you from?" He was not interested in her rambling. He wanted to get straight to the point.
"Far enough." Hermione folded her arms across her chest rebelliously. Snape was undeterred.
"How do you know Black? Are you close? Are you hired? He certainly has the money. Or you are just another one of his arm charms willing to do just about anything to remain there."
"Wow," She scoffed at his deductions. "That's awful. You know what they say about assuming?"
"Enlighten me. Please." He gestured for her to continue and folded his arms across his chest and a leg over a knee.
"You'll just make an arse out of you and me."
"Clearly you are capable of doing that without my assistance." He stated matter-of-factly and she glowered over at him.
"Whatever happened to the boy I met earlier because I really do not like the one I'm talking to now?" She groaned.
Snape's expression soured. "Whoever said it was about you?" His long arms were still folded across his chest though Hermione almost got the feel that it was more of a protective posturing than an intimidation one.
But his comment sort of stopped Hermione in her tracks. Maybe she had been going about all of this the wrong way. Of course it wasn't about her, but because of her near death experience, time traveling and losing everything she ever had or loved the witch let her emotions get the better of her. The truth was...Snape did not actually do anything wrong aside from the way he just approached her. He was truthfully in the right for being suspicious of her and wanting answers. If muffliato had been her spell that she created and some random witch or wizard from literally out of nowhere suddenly knew what it was and how to use it and used it with such casual deference Hermione knew she would be pissed...or suspicious at the very least.
And here was a young Severus Snape who was very suspicious of her and demanding answers to things he probably had no idea how to comprehend yet. And she had lied to him and been caught with a hand so bright red that it was more obvious than a black spot on a white wall. That alone was red flag number one. And she had ran with it straight to his face even after he called her out on it subtly. Because he had (still has) every opportunity to straight up tell Lily Evans that Hermione was indeed lying about being a transfer student and that she was wearing a Time Turner around her neck.
"That girl from earlier," Suddenly a really big question entered Hermione's thoughts and she was having a rough time kicking it, "are you friends?"
And just like that Severus's aggression disappeared and was replaced with a heavily guarded, almost introverted exterior. This was obviously a topic that he was not really comfortable with broaching.
This was as good a time as any to try and compromise with the boy. "I won't ask anything else about it…" She digressed, "unless you want to tell me then I won't ask." Feeling that the aura of emotion in her little hospital wing cubby had reduced from hostile to tense, Hermione slid back to her original spot on the bed that had been positioned closer to Severus. He was far from relaxed though. His body was tense and as taught as a bow string. He looked ready to bolt at any moment depending on what she said next.
"...Thank you." The silence had lingered for a couple of minutes after her assurance and Hermione had not expected Severus to give her any sort of response. The little "thank you" he had just offered meant a great deal more than it seemed on the surface and she felt as if she at least owed him some sort of return.. This was a boy who was not accustomed to things like apologises or 'thank yous'.
"You don't need to thank me," This was the least she could do, "I should respect your privacy."
"..." He watched her a moment. His black eyes were guarded and cautious but a little bit of that warmth from earlier had started to return, lightening up their black depths and allowing just the barest hint of browns to bleed through the black. "And I should respect yours…" Then he sat to his full height, arms still crossed. "But I would like some answers. I am...uncomfortable."
That was fair and Hermione couldn't argue. But how was she going to answer him? How much should she answer him? "I...I don't know what I should tell you," She replied carefully, "I can't give you answers right now until I have answers too...Time Turners are strictly regulated by the Ministry-"
"Which begs the question to how you even have one in your possession." His eyes narrowed on her again but lacked the amount of malice they held earlier.
"I was given approval by McGonagall in order to take all my classes."
Seemingly unconvinced Severus raised a brow at her.
"See. I pride myself on my studies and accomplishments in academics. So I decided I wanted to learn everything I could and…" She blushed a bit, "so I signed up for all the third year electives."
For a long moment Severus merely stared at her, blinking a few times while he appeared to digest what she had just said. His mouth pulled back in what could be described as a wince of confusion. "But there are five electives. Plus your core classes and if they are the same as ours now then that would mean you were taking twelve full courses at the same time."
"...Yes." They stared at each other.
"And this was approved?"
"Yes."
"By the Deputy Headmistress?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"...And did you pass all of them?"
"Best in my year."
"..."
The two of them didn't move as he took in the information. "And yet...here you are." He gestured towards her with a hand that briefly appeared from under his crossed arms and then disappeared under them again.
Her lips pressed together. "It was an accident. I fell down the stairs."
"I don't believe that for a moment." And he certainly looked as if he didn't either.
"I'm clumsy…" And Malfoy is a prat. "I was on my way to return the Time Turner to professor McGonagall when I tripped over my feet and fell."
"Likely…" Finally he took his eyes off of her and watched something out the window. Possibly a bird. "But I'll let it slide for now." He turned back to her and leaned forward while making himself more comfortable in the chair. "Instead I'd like you to inform me how you know muffliato and what your relationship with me is."
The blush was unintentional. However the way he spoke in that boyish, cracked voice and how his stare intently bore into her when the word 'relationship' slid past his lips had her all sorts of chaotic. "N-no. I don't know you, per say…" How was she to explain this without changing anything? Or affecting the future? This was one of the number one rules of Time Turner time travel. "We are...acquaintances of a sort. And obviously you are much older."
It was now time for his own lips to press together while his brows knitted with concern and confusion. It took a moment for Hermione to realize how she had said what she just said.
Flustered she waved her hands back and forth to refer to a negative. "A teacher. You are a teacher of mine." The relief he clearly felt was instantaneous since Hermione could see his shoulders fall with the breath he let out. And apparently her reply had also inadvertently answered another one of his questions.
"So then of course you would have learned my spell."
Ah. Okay. We'll go with that, then. She neither confirmed nor deny his claim and instead settled to let Severus draw his own conclusions.
"So you really aren't a spy?"
"No. You already confirmed I am a terrible liar. How could I possibly be a spy?" Hermione quipped rather seriously but found it irritated her when he nodded in agreement.
"What is going to happen to you from here? I assume you've spoken with the Headmaster."
Right...that little tidbit of information. Reality did its best to crash down on her again but she stifled back the strong emotional turmoil while he was sitting there. "Ah…" She put her hands in her lap and looked down at them. "Well...It's a one way ticket. So I'm stuck here. It's a lot to comprehend but.."
"Certainly you have friends or family who you can contact? Surely you did not travel too much farther from your time."
She shook her head. "No…"
"...No?"
"Well...see...None of my friends are even born yet and pretty sure my parents haven't even met…"
Severus once again observed her in silence. It was nearly a full three minutes before he spoke. "...What?" Surely he was thinking that there had to be no way such a long backwards time travel was possible. Or if it was possible, it was dangerous and unheard of (or unspoken of at the very least). "This is...an incredibly dangerous path you are on right now, Hermione."
Oh. So he remembered her name. It was the first time he had used it. "I know...which is why I didn't want to say anything but you were so insistent-"
He held up a hand to stop her. "I thought you were maybe from a few years or something. Three at the most considering you divulged that you have just completed your third year at Hogwarts...But it sounds as if you are referring to nearly an entire generation's worth of time travel. This is insane."
"Yeah well...welcome to my world." She rolled her eyes and sat back a bit. Before Hermione could say anything more though her stomach let out a few grumbles, reminding her that she had yet to eat since breakfast and it was already dinner time. "I should probably take care of that...I have to speak with Professor McGonagall again after dinner."
He stood from his seat then and stared down his nose at her while she did the same. "Let it go for now, then. But you should work on that cover story of yours before others question it. Not everyone is trustworthy with this sort of information and you are a terrible liar."
"We've already established that." Did he really have to keep going back to that? "Ugh..and people will be questioning me in the Great Hall if I go…" And I won't recognize anyone. My friends won't be there waiting for me.. "Ah…"
"...How about you remain here and have a house elf bring food to you." That was actually a good idea all things considered. Although she was feeling stuffy here at least she had the ability to remain anonymous and unbothered by curious peers from another era. Because while she was confident that eventually this was going to work itself out, Hermione was not sure that she would be able to handle all of the stares, whispering and questioning in mass.
"Yeah...I'm just going to stay here…"
Severus nodded his head once to acknowledge her and then turned to leave, parting the partition. He only stopped when she cleared her throat.
"Thank you...and I'm sorry for earlier…" An apology was the least the girl could do for lashing out at him. Yes, she was pretty much obligated to secrecy but she did not have to treat him the way she had.
There was no reply and when Hermione looked up again Severus was already gone, leaving her once again alone with the company of her thoughts.
ლ(ಥ Д ಥ )ლ - ლ(ಥ Д ಥ )ლ - ლ(ಥ Д ಥ )ლ - ლ(ಥ Д ಥ )ლ
To be continued...-ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ
Excerpt ch2:
"So...Led Zepplin or Queen?"
She stared at him matter of factly. "If I have to choose then it would definitely be Bowie myself." His jaw dropped and he looked offended.
"What? But Bowie only really has one good song and it was just released last year or whatever...what was it...Ziggy something or another?"
"Ziggy Stardust and just wait..he may come out with something even more smashing and call it 'Starman' or something."
He 'pffft'ed and shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "No way. Queen all the way."
"Im still shocked you even enjoy muggle music."
The grin he flashed her with those perfect teeth of his and that wink he gave was devilish. "You'll be shocked at a lot of the things I enjoy."