"What happened?"

Salazar looked up in surprise at his friends. "I didn't realize you were in here."

"It is our office," Godric said. "What is that stupid grin for?"

"I'm not grinning," he said defensively. "Has something happened?"

"We were waiting for you," Helga said. "The students are to arrive in a fortnight, and we've been preparing all day. What were you doing?"

"I was…" he paused to collect himself. "Assisting Alexia with her memories. We discussed her patriarch."

Godric laughed at him with a wide grin. "And then you kissed the time-traveling witch that's definitely going to leave us."

Salazar's eyes snapped to his friend. "What?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Rowena looked between Salazar and Godric. "I thought we told you not to get attached!"

"Can you not use your Seer powers for important things?" Salazar snapped at his friend. Godric just shrugged.

"I Saw her coming, I Saw you kissing her two days ago, and I Saw the argument we're about to have. If you guys want a spoiler, no one wins it."

"Gods, you're not even focused on our students! We have a school to run, Salazar," Rowena reminded him sharply, ignoring Godric. "You need to prepare your classrooms, you need to make lesson plans, you need to ensure your dorms are ready. You have a mountain of work and you spend all day playing with flowers and watching her memories."

"I will do my duties, but she-,"

"She can wait! And truthfully, it sounds safer for her if she does."

Salazar glared at his oldest friend. "She deserves to go back to her own time safely."

"Sal, we cannot ensure her safety," Helga agreed with Rowena. "I want to as much as you do-,"

"You have not seen what I have!"

"Tell us what we can do and we will do it," Godric said calmly. "But ask her to help you get the school set as you do your work."

"Fine," Salazar said shortly, his gaze on Godric. "She needs two daggers, charmed to the Underworld and back."

Godric grinned. "I can certainly do that for her if she agrees to duel me."

He looked to Helga next. "Something for her health?"

"I'll put a bracelet together," Helga assured him.

Finally, he looked at Rowena. "Ro."

"Sal," she sniffed.

"You know I care for her."

"Yes."

"Help me protect her."

Rowena sighed. "Fine, but don't get so swept up in her that you forget where- when you are."

He smiled softly. "Thank you."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Alexia had been in the past for two weeks and she was getting frustrated and restless. Her memories were getting more sporadic, and she'd wanted to work on them less and less.

She was wandering the halls of the castle that day, running her hands across the stone and walking the familiar paths to her favorite classes. It took her a while before she ran into someone - literally.

Hands reached out to steady her and she looked up to find a familiar face smiling down at her. "I imagine you're somewhere else, mm?"

She let out a short laugh. "I've been thinking a lot about my family. The Potters, that is."

Godric turned to walk with her, and she followed him as he paced the castle to make sure they'd caught all the cornish pixies that had moved in. "A good family?"

"Does Sal not tell you what he sees?" she wondered. He looked surprised.

"No, of course, not. Not most of it, anyway. He respects your privacy, Alexia."

"Oh. Well, they're incredible. Dorea Potter is my mum, and she's who I strive to be. Charlus is my dad, and… really, exactly who I imagined Harry's grandpa to be. Jamie… I've never felt love like that. He's my best friend. I miss him… so much."

"You'll get back to your time," he comforted her.

Alexia glanced at him. "You don't know that. I very well may be stuck here. I know time travel is different than we thought, but… I'm very far in my past, Ric. I could be stuck here."

Godric looked surprised and stopped to look at her. "Sal hasn't told you."

"Told me what?"

"I'm a Seer."

Alexia's eyes widened dramatically. "You're… a Seer? Oh my god."

"Yes," he took her arm and they kept walking. "Mostly, I See inconsequential things like Helga losing her temper over dinner or a student skipping a class or Sal kissing you-,"

Alexia stopped short. "You-,"

"But sometimes," he said, continuing to walk so she was forced to move again. "Sometimes I See something like you falling out of the sky. Sometimes I See something like you making it back to your own time."

"You've seen me go back?" she asked quietly. "I make it back?"

"Yes," he assured her. "You'll get back. And in the meantime, work with Sal on your memory. Oh, and help him prepare the castle before Ro strings him up in the courtyard."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Who did this?"

Salazar spelled a desk down from the ceiling and glanced at her as she did the same. "I believe it was likely Rowena. She has a temper."

"Godric said the students will be here soon," she said. "What classes will you teach?"

"Defense, potions, and transfiguration," he told her.

Alexia smiled softly. "I've served quite a few detentions in here."

"For what?"

"Various pranks, mostly," she shrugged. "There was the detention I served with Lucius at the end of first year when I finally answered his questions about me being from the future. There was the one where me and-," she cut off as pieces of that detention came back and confused her. She'd been with Dolohov again, and they were civil, but she couldn't figure out why. She changed the subject before he could ask. "I nearly got suspended for the pranks, but it's not my fault we had a war going."

He hummed as they finished flipping the desks back to the ground. He knew something was going on, but she was unwilling to explain. "Have you had any other memories come loose without the spell?"

She shrugged and sat on a desk. "A few of them."

"And?"

"I… saw Alphard's death," she admitted quietly. He moved over swiftly and touched her arms. "It was my fault, Sal."

"I cannot believe that is true," he told her firmly. "He was your friend."

"He walked into Fiendfyre that I was putting off because he thought I was in danger," she said before pausing. "By the way, apparently I can do intense elemental magic."

"And that is certainly something to discuss later," he said, trying to contain his surprise. "He thought you were in danger. It is not your fault he died."

"Aside from that," she muttered. "Lucius and I broke up."

Salazar looked vaguely relieved as he nodded. "You assumed you would."

"I don't know where that attack and those memories came from, but they're definitely not mine," she confirmed. There was a moment of silence before she spoke. "Godric told me."

He stopped and breathed out in disappointment. "I thought he might."

"He and Helga both mentioned that you're neglecting your duties," she said. He looked frustrated and she shook her head. "You fascinate me, Sal. I love spending time with you. I don't know what… this is, but I like it. And despite that, we both know that it will end."

"It doesn't have to."

Alexia tipped her head back in frustration. "Maybe not now, but when I go back, you'll have to stay and-,"

He cupped her face in his hands. "I do not have to stay."

"Yes, you do!"

"Why? Have I not done all I need to do here?"

Alexia ran her fingers through her hair, simultaneously pushing his hands away from her face. "Sal, we've known each other for weeks. You cannot abandon your friends for me."

"It isn't just you," he argued. "I must do something to help the future, and you have said I cannot change time. The best I can do is come with you and make changes in your time."

"You just- you can't just leave here," she shook her head. "You can't."

Salazar stepped back to look at her seriously. "Does your book not say that I leave my friends?"

Alexia rolled her eyes. "It also says that you have a huge fight with Godric and leave because you don't want to teach muggleborns. Clearly, it's not all right."

"Alexia-,"

"Sal, please," she said tiredly. "It's not that I don't want to stay with you, or you stay with me. I just… think we should discuss this when it comes closer to when I can leave."

Though he looked frustrated, he nodded shortly. "We should accelerate these memories. Students will be arriving soon."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"You seem troubled."

Alexia looked up in surprise to find Helga walking in. "I didn't think anyone would find me here."

"I insisted upon these passageways," the woman told her with a smile. "Fun, aren't they?"

She laughed a little. "And very useful."

"What's on your mind, sweetheart?"

Alexia shifted so that Helga could sit with her. They were in the one-eyed witch passage, and Alexia had spelled the floor to feel like a pillow and stayed there for hours. "A lot."

Helga nudged her. "I can keep a secret from Sal. He certainly has plenty of his own."

She blinked at the woman in surprise. "How'd you know?"

"That you don't want him to know whatever's going on? Because you have the same look that Godric gets when he's doing something he thinks Sal would disapprove of. Just… a bit more serious, I suppose."

Alexia sighed and leaned her head back against the wall behind her tiredly. "Some of these memories are confusing me. I mostly get them when I'm sleeping or meditating, or just when I'm thinking about it."

"What are they?"

"Antonin Dolohov. He's hurt me a lot and… he's a bad person. It's just, I keep getting small bits of memories where we're being civil. I don't want to dig into it too much because… what if I ended up on that side of the war?"

"There must be a reason you spent time with him," Helga told her. "And you won't know until you uncover all of the memories."

She sat quietly for a moment, thinking. "I care for Sal quite a bit."

Helga smiled a little. "He cares for you."

"I can't take him from you."

Her words had the founder frowning. "The thing about Sal is… he will do what he wants. No one can stop him, sweetheart. If he wants to come and protect you-,"

"I don't even know that I need protection," she shook her head. "And I don't know what the future holds. If he comes with me and nothing is wrong, or things aren't what they seem… I don't know what I'd do. I don't know if it would be possible to send him back."

"He is very much an all or nothing type of person," Helga told her. "And… I think you may be his all."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Discussing it will not do either of us any good."

Alexia grimaced. "I'd been avoiding him for a while."

"You did break up," Salazar reasoned.

"Yeah, and that was fine, but-,"

"I'll tell you, but only if you understand that I think this is pointless and won't do us any favors."

Lucius quirked an eyebrow. "I understand you feel that way."

Alexia took in a breath and met his eyes. "I spoke to Dolohov in January. I didn't believe him at first when he told me but the more I thought about it… I see it."

"You spoke with him," Salazar looked at her. She just grimaced.

"What did he say to you, Alexia?"

"He said you're still in love with me, Lucius."

"I am betrothed to Narcissa," he said softly after a pause. "You are dating Regulus. I would not disrespect either of them or you."

"When we were dating, did you think I felt anything for Regulus?"

"Regulus died," she told Salazar softly. "He sacrificed his life to defeat Voldemort. He knew about the Horcruxes, and he gave one to his elf to destroy, but the elf couldn't do it."

Alexia got to her feet abruptly, startling them. "I have to go. But I'll… I won't avoid you."

"Alexia-,"

She moved away quickly, running through the castle until she reached Pollux's office. She used the floo and when they came out, they were in Fabian and Gideon's apartment.

The place was trashed, and Alexia tensed at the sight before her.

"No," she breathed softly, her eyes glued to the floor before them.

Fabian and Gideon were dead on the floor by the floo, surrounded by dead Death Eaters. At the sight of them, Alexia paused for a moment, like the calm before the storm. But soon enough, she let out a shrill scream as fire erupted from her.

"Gods," Salazar whispered. "That didn't hurt you?"

"No."

Apparently, there were others in the apartment. At the sound of her screams, the three Death Eaters ran toward her. Immediately, two of them were killed by her fire. As the scream died in her lungs, the fire receded to just her hair.

She turned toward the last one, tears running down her face. They stood for a mere moment, looking at each other, before the duel began.

They traded hexes and curses quickly, but to her frustration, he was clearly holding back.

"It's as if he isn't trying to win," Salazar frowned. "Do you know who he is?"

Alexia didn't look at him. "Yes."

The Death Eater purposely shot a curse to the left of her, and it ended up cutting up Gideon's body. At the sight of it, Alexia let out another scream. Instead of fire, a violent gust of air swept through the room. It knocked him back against the wall and threw his mask off of him.

Salazar gasped lightly. "Dolohov. Why wouldn't he-,"

Alexia charged at him. Caught off guard, he was unable to keep her away. When she was close enough, she dug her dagger into his stomach and pulled it back out, quickly pushing it up against his neck.

The sight of a sobbing woman with fiery hair and a dagger to his neck was enough to make Dolohov put his hands up. "Hermione-,"

"He knew your name," Salazar whispered. Alexia still didn't respond.

"I fucking forgot!" she cried furiously. "I forgot Sirius and I knew- I couldn't forget again and I fucking forgot! And I can maybe save Jamie but I didn't fucking save them. What fucking use am I if I can't save the people I know are going to die?"

The dagger pressed up harder against his neck and he put a hand on hers to keep it from accidentally killing him. "Let me go, Hermione."

"And you!" she snapped, her eyes widening to glare at him. "I should've fucking known not to trust you. I should've listened to Lucius. If you're willing to treat me like that in the future- making me watch Sirius die should've been the only sign I needed. You hurt me four years ago and you'll hurt me again in twenty, it doesn't fucking matter. And in all of this, you think you're guiltless, don't you?"

Dolohov watched as the fire in her hair began to fade to sparking. She'd dropped her hand to the side and was breathing heavier. "You are from the future."

"You killed them," she whispered, turning to stare at her friends' bodies. "How could you kill them?"

"Hermione-,"

"Tell me!" she yelled, turning back to look at him. "Why did you do it?"

"Why do you only care when it is someone close to you?" he shot back, raising his voice. "You already knew what I am."

Alexia grabbed his arm as she began to fall and the memory faded out as she fell unconscious.

They left her mind and both sat quietly for a moment. Alexia stared down at her hands and chewed on her lip, waiting for him to speak.

"I don't understand."

She took in a deep breath before she answered him, trying to calm herself. "I've been getting… bits of memories. I think, at some point in the past, we became… civil."

"You were friends."

"No… I don't- I don't know what it was or how it happened. I trusted him, at least for a while. But he… killed them."

"And you told him you were from the future," Salazar pointed out.

Alexia shook her head. "Not on purpose."

He frowned quietly for a moment. "That memory ended… oddly. What happened?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I've had other memories come up that ended like that, but I thought they were just cutting off. It's like I was… passing out when I get upset."

"That is… concerning."

She stared down at her hands and spoke softly. "Fabian and Gideon were like brothers. I loved them so much. Having Fab there that year- he made it better. They both did. They escorted me to the ball after my breakup, they checked on me to make sure I was safe, they dueled me when no one else would, and they listened to me. And I wasn't able to save them."

"It isn't your responsibility to save everyone you love," he said softly. "Sometimes all you can do is love them with everything you have."

"I had the ability to save them, and I didn't. I couldn't. Loving them wasn't enough, Sal. I lost them because I wasn't enough to save them."

Salazar looked at her intently. "Alexia, I well understand, and I am sorry."

She looked up. "You do?"

"I had… a brother," he admitted slowly. "A younger brother, Everard. I loved him dearly."

"I'm sorry, I… didn't know," she admitted. "Can I ask… what happened?"

He frowned to himself, but after a moment, he nodded. "We… were third-generation wizards, but we hid it for our safety, as we lived among muggles."

"Third-generation," she repeated. "I thought all wizards lines could be drawn back to a squib somewhere."

"And that may be true, but we were the third consistently magical generation," he explained. "Do you not count that?"

"No… we just call them muggleborns."

"How extremely divisive," he said in disgust. "Regardless, Everard was reckless with his magic. For years he had excessive accidental magic, but then, he began doing wandless magic, creating his own spells born from creativity and boredom. One day, he showed his friend's sister a spell to make the grass grow. She told the entire town. When I came back from the fields that day, I found him being beaten to death."

Alexia gasped sharply, her eyes wide. "I am so sorry."

"I got them away from him," he continued. It sounded like a story he hadn't told in a long time, and she stayed quiet and let him speak. "Mother and I, we Obliviated the town and our family fled. We were magically exhausted and physically exhausted by the time we got to safety. Our parents were forced to start over, finding new jobs and creating an entirely new life for us. Everard didn't understand what had happened- all he knew was that he used magic and was brought to the edge of death."

"How old was he at the time?"

"He was six."

"Oh," she breathed in horror.

"From then on, I tried to teach him to control his magic in more discreet ways, but I could tell there was something wrong. He was hesitant to do magic at first, but after a while, he outright refused. It became dangerous quickly. When he got upset, his magic lashed out. It gave me a scar," he pushed his shirt to the side to show her a scar on his collarbone. "His magic burned me when I tried to get him to bed."

"Oh, gods," she traced her finger over the scar lightly. It was still rough years later, and she could only imagine how bad it had been when he got it.

"And one day… Circe, I wish I knew what happened. Something upset him. I think he must've been reminded of what happened to him. Whatever it was, he became… inconsolable. Quickly, he became violent. I woke in the middle of the night to…"

When he paused, she took his hand in her own. "You don't have to tell me."

"I woke to him- his magic killing our parents. Mother was torn apart by something sharp. Father- he was being suffocated by the pure density of the magic in the air. By the time I got to them, they were dead, and he turned on me. It was like he didn't see me. I truly thought he was going to kill me that day. The point came when I realized… even if he killed me, he wouldn't be able to stop. He'd keep going, killing the entire village. I had no choice but to end it before it began.

"He died that night. He died, and I went to Rowena's family. Helga was there, staying the night, when I walked in, covered in blood and half-dead myself. They healed me up and… we went traveling. Shortly after we found Godric, we ran into a town that was said to contain magicals. When we got there, all I saw was a town full of people like my brother, unable to use their magic to a dangerous extent. We asked why they were there, and we were told they didn't know how to teach them. The people left to watch them, make sure they didn't escape, they were muggles. Witches and wizards were being rounded up and left there to eventually kill each other. That was when we knew we had to teach."

Alexia didn't wait - she pulled him into her arms, holding him tight as they both mourned the loss of their brothers.

OoOoOoOoOoOo