A/N: Hello all, Sorry for the delay, but a lot has been going on in my life since my last update, a lot, a lot. First, I tried getting this chapter done before going on a 9 day vacation, but had a cold for the 5 days before going and didn't get much done. Then I went on said 9 day vacation and didn't have reliable access to wifi, plus I spent most of it chasing after my three year old at the beach, zoo, and various outdoor shopping areas. (My husband and I are vaccinated and so was everyone else we vacationed with, and we kept my child outdoors in public and at restaurants btw)

On the day we arrived back home, we realized that the house down the street from ours, which is smaller and not as cute, sold for almost three times what we paid for ours. Basically what that boils down to is that we worked nonstop trying to get our house ready to sell (Declutter, repair a few things, stage the house), and our house is now on the market. So even though I will in no way be abandoning this fic, I don't have as much time for writing until we sell, buy, move, and settle into a new home.

Because of this, I have actually deleted the two other stories that I was working on, mainly because I don't have time, and also once I finish 1989 there are other Charmione fics I have plotted that I'd rather write instead. So, sorry if you were fans of Paper Airplanes or A Wedding and a Funeral, but I just don't have the time or energy for them.

Anyway, that is what I have going on right now. Hope you enjoy today's chapter, where Hermione is finally headed to the future.

Disclaimer: JK owns HP

1989

Chapter 39

It was just before curfew, and all of the other girls in Gryffindor Tower were currently getting ready for bed. None of them knew that in exactly eight years a big battle was going to take place. Some of them would be fighting for their lives just downstairs from where they currently stood. Nor did they realize come tomorrow morning one of their own would be missing, and that they'd be none the wiser.

Hermione was currently sitting cross legged on her four poster with the curtains drawn wide open, waiting for the perfect time to say her goodbyes. Before long she'd have to find a way to slip out unnoticed, not knowing if she'd ever meet any of them again. She needed to leave soon, as there was still one more thing she had to ask of Dumbledore before it was too late, but she didn't want to leave her new friends without a word even if they wouldn't remember it.

Though she tried to act normal on that boring Tuesday evening, for once she had foregone any and all assignments from her classes, knowing she definitely wouldn't be there to turn them in. Instead, she had talked Laura, Sarah, Devon, and even Laura's new boyfriend Broderick Scrimgeor into several rounds of exploding snap in the common room, but now it was getting late. And even though Hermione knew that in a few hours their memories of her were going to be completely erased by the ministry, for her own sanity she wanted to say a memorable farewell.

When Sarah and Laura had finally made it out of the bathroom after their nightly vanity rituals, Hermione crawled out of her bed to approach them. She crossed over to the bed that lay diagonal from her own, and knelt on it beside the brunette as she waved the blonde over as well.

"Is everything alright?" Sarah asked her, while snapping to get her best friend's attention.

"Well, yes and no." Hermione couldn't help but grimace.

"Is it Charlie?" Laura asked, finally joining them on Sarah's bed. "Are you missing him again?"

"I mean, of course I miss him, but no." Hermione shook her head as she tried to explain. "Although maybe his leaving has me feeling a bit sentimental I guess."

They both nodded, and gestured for her to continue on with whatever it was she wanted to get off her chest.

"It's just that with the school year ending in a month or so, I wanted to let the both of you know that I'm really glad to have met you this past year. When I first came here in September I was prepared to just make it through until the end of the year, but I'm glad to have found such great friendships instead."

Both girls smiled at her, and Sarah gave her a loving pat on the leg. "Well we are glad to have you in our lives too." She reassured her.

Hermione leaned down to give Sarah a hug from the side, and then forward to pull Laura into a regular frontal hug from both of their sitting positions. In just a few hours, neither girl would remember her, or this, and Hermione wondered if all of her new friends would be able to stay safe in the years between now and the big battle. They were all Gryffindors after all, and she hoped none of them would end up targeted by death eaters between now and then.

"While I'm glad to hear you like us too." Laura spoke up with a cheerful smile. "I feel I should remind you that just because our time here at Hogwarts is coming to an end, that doesn't mean our friendship has to."

"Yeah, that's right Jean." Sarah nodded in agreement. "I'm sure we will all continue to be friends, whether we all live in the same place or not."

"Yes." Hermione pretended to agree as well, but looked down at her hands, knowing otherwise. "Yes, you're right. I'm sure we will."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Without the cover of the cloak, Hermione had to be careful not to be seen as she made her way across the seventh floor to the Room of Requirement. As eager as she was to make it back to Charlie, she had to keep in mind that going back to the future had its own set of problems attached with it. Not only was she about to be thrown straight back into the biggest battle of her life, but she was also going to have to explain to Harry and Ron what had happened to her, and everything she learned since she'd last seen them. What would only seem like a few minutes apart for them, had been close to a year for her. Not to mention the conversation she was going to have to have with Ron, who was bound to be upset when he found out that she'd fallen for his older brother while she was away.

A pit formed in the bottom of Hermione's stomach. She'd awaited this day since the moment she arrived, but now that it was here she felt so uncertain. So much was at stake on the other side of her journey. Imminent danger, and possible death. Even the thought of being in Charlie's arms again, and discovering all the ways he'd changed throughout the years couldn't stop the insurmountable fear from overcoming the rest of her senses.

When she was only a short way down from the designated meeting spot, she could see that Dumbledore was clearly already waiting for her just in front of the large doors that would lead them into the room of hidden things. He was holding the bag she'd stuffed her battle attire into the night he'd arrived, and checking his pocket watch.

"There you are Miss Walters." He greeted her when he looked up. "You are just in time. The unspeakables should be here in a few minutes, and there are still a few things to prepare."

Knowing she didn't have any time to waste, Hermione got straight to the point. "Good." She replied, before drastically changing the subject. "And pardon me for being abrupt, but I've run out of time. You're right about there being things to prepare for, and there's something I really really need to know before I return to my own time. To the battle. I need to know why you trust Severus Snape."

Dumbledore looked taken aback, and then he sighed. It seemed he knew she'd eventually ask this question, but had hoped she wouldn't anyway. "Miss Granger-"

"It's for Harry." She interrupted him before he could decline her request for vital information. "Not for me. If there is something or anything that Harry might need to know at the very last second you've got to tell me. If there's anything you need to pass on to him, but might not get the chance. Because when I left I was positive that we couldn't trust Snape."

Dumbledore seemed to pause as if he was contemplating something deeply. "And now?"

Hermione remembered back to the doe patronus, and how it resembled the one that helped Harry and Ron in the forest the day they'd found the sword of Gryffindor. The thing that finally worked for destroying horcruxes.

She also wondered back to how Harry described the events surrounding Dumbledore's death, and how he'd begged Snape. Specifically how he'd used the word please. Not please spare me, just please.

"Now, because of things I've seen and heard this year, I can't help but hope that maybe we can."

What she really wanted to ask was if he'd pulled an Obi Wan Kenobi, but she knew he wouldn't get that reference.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes." He answered, his tone dark. "There is something actually."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She stood in the very spot she had arrived from eight months earlier, in the very clothes that were still covered in whatever muck she'd fallen into in the Chamber of Secrets. The familiar gold chain of the time turner was clasped around her neck while Dumbledore stood beside her. They were surrounded by the nine unspeakables who had shown up at the strike of midnight, who formed a wide circle around them.

"The time has finally come. You only have a minute to go now." Dumbledore informed her, while the wizards in black robes tethered their hands together with a single gold cord. "Any last words before you do?"

She bit her lip and nodded her head in the direction of the large oak desk. Though she was still reeling from the last bit of information he had given her, she also knew that this was vital information that needed to be passed on too.

"The time turner that got me here came from that desk over there, but it isn't here yet."

Dumbledore's eyes followed in the direction she was indicating to and looked the surface over carefully. "Then I'll keep an eye out for it for you." He promised. "Good luck Miss Granger. To all of you."

Hermione turned and looked up at him with sorrowful eyes, knowing this would be the last time she would ever see or speak to him again. When she returned to her own time he would long be dead and buried. "Thank you sir. For everything really."

The hand that would later hold a curse clutched onto her shoulder as he gave her a final reassuring squeeze. "It has been my pleasure. Let's just hope it hasn't all been for naught."

His hand released her, and he stepped back before she could reply, ducking behind the last two unspeakables just before their hands were bound together with the thin gold cord. Their eyes met over Mr. Harper's shoulder, and she gave him a final nod of farewell.

"It's time, Miss Granger." Mr. Harper instructed her. "Turn the dial eight times if you please."

Delicately, Hermione took the time turner between her fingers and looked it over. This was it, her one way ticket back to her friends and a much older Charlie. She hoped desperately that he would be there waiting for her, happily and with the diadem in hand.

As requested, she flipped the spinner around eight full turns, all the while praying that she really would end up back where she started from all those months ago. The device in her hand began to turn of its own accord, and she could just make out the eerie voices of the unspeakables chanting in Latin all around her.

Starting with Mr. Harper, and moving in a circle, the gold cord began to glow; as if it was creating a portal just for her. The unspeakables continued to chant, and before long, time within the circle began to speed up. Her vision blurred as things changed at an alarming rate, her skin felt cold as the air rushed around her. She'd never traveled forward before and certainly not this far. It was much different than her journey here, and eventually it began to feel like the seconds were turning into minutes.

Piles and stacks of hidden treasures grew. The speed of which reminded her of being carsick as a child. Characters raced in front of her vision, until she finally had to close her eyes to stop herself from throwing up. She could now see why people weren't supposed to travel more than five hours at a time, and hoped that the spinning would end soon.

Eventually it did, and she felt like she was finally on solid footing again. She could hear a thumping noise in the distance, but wasn't sure if it was coming from the room itself, or if it was just the sound of her heart thudding in her ears.

Hermione took in a deep breath to ready herself before opening her eyes. Confirming once and for all that she really was back.

Back to May 3rd, 1998. Just after midnight.