Here we go, chapter 3! I'm so happy with all the reviews I've gotten.
They help a lot!!! KEEP EM COMING! And I'll feed ya more of my story!
Hermione ran as fast as she could toward the only place she could think to go to get some needed answers. Finally, after what seemed like hours of running, Hermione came to the stone Gargoyle, out of breath.
"Shit," Hermione whispered to herself. She didn't know the password. Well, she knew he liked sweets. "Pumpkin Pasties," shot Hermione; nothing happened. "Cauldron Cakes," still nothing. Then it came to her: "LEMON DROPS!" screamed Hermione, and the Gargoyle jumped out of the way. Hermione ran up the stairs and banged on the Headmaster's door, hoping he wasn't asleep.
"Come in, Miss Granger. I knew you'd be coming," said Dumbledore, with slight amusement in his voice.
Hermione shot open the door and got right up in Dumbledore's nose.
"Why am I here again, Sir? To fall in love with Severus, or Sirius?" fumed Hermione. "I was just in the Shrieking Shack with Sirius, and he KISSED ME! Don't you get it, Mr. "I see all"? Your "brilliant" little plan has a little flaw, if you haven't noticed!" she continued, only taking a break to get a breath.
"Miss Granger, I do have an explanation for you. I must say, I never expected Sirius to let his feelings out so soon!" said Dumbledore with a chuckle, as though this whole thing was one big joke.
"What are you talking about? You KNEW Sirius liked me?" questioned a confused Hermione.
"Well, of course, naturally. I just figured he wouldn't "express" himself until after you and Severus got together. I must say, this has presented another problem."
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Headmaster, I must ask you to please return me to the future. I can't take this sick little joke anymore. Haven't my feelings come into consideration?" asked Hermione, a single tear sliding slowly down her cheek.
"Yes, Miss Granger, I am well aware of what this may be doing to you, but unfortunately I can't return you until you've fulfilled your purpose here." Hermione was ready to speak, but Dumbledore held a hand up to silence her. "Please child, let me continue. Many things have happened that I never dreamed. It seems you have to figure out your purpose here on your own. I can no longer help you. You must choose with your heart to which man you want to go to. What will happen in the future, depends on who you choose. If you choose Sirius, he will not have died that day 2 years ago. If you choose Severus, then life will go on as it should have before you chose to like him, though you two will have a steady relationship. Once you've made your decision, you will be transported forward into your time."
"This is getting too hard. It was so simple before. I don't know where to turn," whispered Hermione in exasperation. It was true, she like Sirius, but she didn't know Severus that well yet to choose between one of them.
"I suggest you return to your room and sleep on it. You don't need to decide now. You have until the end of the term at Hogwarts."
"Yes, sir. Goodnight."
Hermione made her way slowly to her dorm, thinking about the possibilities. She could save Sirius's life if she chose him! Harry would be so happy, and she would be just as happy. If she chose Severus, her life would be normal, instead of slightly out of whack. If Harry ever found out about what her decisions would cost, he would be mad. Hermione was talking to herself, staring at the floor, so she did not realize it when she bumped right into Severus.
"Holy shit! Oh, Severus, you scared me!" gasped Hermione.
"Next time you should watch where you're going," replied Severus with a sneer. He was nicer before. . .what happened?
"Well, sorry. You don't need to be all smug about it," snapped Hermione. She rather liked the way he treated her before.
"Just get out of my way, I have places to go," hissed Severus, as he walked past her.
"What is your problem?" inquired Hermione, yanking on Severus' robes to get him to turn around.
Severus got right up in her face. "Well excuse me, whore, but I don't know what you're talking about."
"Whore? Are you kidding me? I am NOT a whore!" yelled Hermione, eyes wide. What was he getting at?
"Well, the least you could've done was not kiss the bastard before you knew him!" shot back Severus.
"Were you spying on me? How dare you interfere with my personal life! I know Sirius plenty well, thank you," hissed Hermione back to Severus.
"Yeah, you know the back of this throat!" Severus shot daggers at her.
"The kiss didn't mean anything! I wasn't even paying attention to it!" ~Shit~ thought Hermione. Why did she tell him she had other things on her mind at the time?
"What?" asked Severus, dumbstruck.
"You heard me. I wasn't thinking about Sirius. I was thinking about this," whispered Hermione as she grabbed his face and kissed him.
Severus was startled at what she did. Her kiss was good alright, but he wasn't expecting it. Severus then put his arms around her waist and brought her closer. Hermione slowly snaked her fingers in his silky black hair.
~This kiss is definitely better than Sirius'~ she thought. ~Though I didn't pay that close attention to it~
The kiss slowly deepened, Severus began sucking on her lower lip, and running his tongue across it. Hermione willingly opened her mouth, letting his tongue explore. He then hesitantly touched her tongue, and she began running her tongue along his, and then made its way into his mouth. After a few more seconds, they broke away, only for the lack of air.
Hermione stared into his black eyes; they were glazed over from their actions, but she could see the same desires in his eyes, as she was sure were showing in hers.
"Um. . .I-" Severus stuttered, not thinking of anything to say.
"I agree," smiled Hermione. "As much as I'd like to continue, I really need to get to sleep," said Hermione shyly, their arms still around each other.
"Right, well I'll see you tomorrow then," whispered Severus, hoarsely. He then bent down and gave her a small kiss on the lips, before giving a quick smile and walking in the opposite direction as Hermione would go.
Hermione stared back at him, realizing she loved his kiss and wanted a lot more. She then skipped up to Gryffindor Tower, feeling much happier than she had all day.
**NEXT DAY**
"You kissed him?!" screeched Lily, as Hermione told her about last night's events, from Sirius' kiss all the way to Severus. They were sitting on Hermione's bed before they went to breakfast.
"Shh! Not so loud, and yes, I did kiss him. Slytherin or not, it was worth it," said Hermione with a bright smile on her face.
"Wow. You have many more guts than I do. I still can't believe you kissed 2 guys last night; and on your 1st day of classes no less!" smiled Lily.
Hermione blushed at her comment. She didn't realize it all happened her first day. Even though she did know the men, she couldn't tell Lily that.
"What about James? Haven't you kissed him yet?" inquired Hermione to her new found friend.
"How could you tell we were together? We've tried to keep it a secret from our closest friends, and none of them had figured it out yet! And to answer your question, yes, we have kissed, but not that much!" blushed Lily.
"Oh, well. . .I'm very good at deducing you two fancied each other," lied Hermione picking at the hem of her robes.
"Hermione, we better head down to the Great Hall. It's in the middle of breakfast," realized Lily, as she grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her off the bed.
At breakfast, Sirius kept trying to get Hermione's eye, wondering if she would still like him after what happened last night. Hermione's thoughts were elsewhere; she looked over at the Slytherin table and saw Severus sitting at the table with a trace of a smile on his face. He then looked up and locked eyes with Hermione; they both smiled. With his eyes, Severus motioned for her to meet him in the Entrance Hall after she finished breakfast; she nodded.
Hermione rushed to finish breakfast, told everyone she needed to study, and winked at Lily, so Lily would know really where she was going. Hermione got up and strode to the doors, trying to act normal, but really she was anxious about what would happen. She opened the doors, and found Severus leaning against the Entrance doors.
"Milady," bowed Severus, with a joking smile on his face.
"Sir," curtsied Hermione, the same stupid smile shown plainly on her face.
Severus then walked up to her and kissed her hand, never breaking eye contact with her, making Hermione blush.
"Want to walk out to the lake with me? Classes don't start for another 30 minutes," asked Severus, taking hold of her hand and already leading her outside.
"Looks like I have no choice," joked Hermione as they walked out in the warm air.
Once at a hidden spot on the outside of the lake, Severus transfigured a large rock into a soft blanket for them to sit on. They sat in silence for a while, watching the giant squid's tentacles protrude from the water every few seconds.
"Enjoying the new school?" asked Severus, not thinking of anything else interesting to say.
"Yes, I feel at home here, and I have great classes," replied Hermione.
"You like the learning?" asked Severus, curious to the fact she enjoyed the classes.
"Yes, I've always wanted to learn. I read constantly, and I love to spend late nights reading school books or random potions or charms books. I'm interested in them the most," replied Hermione truthfully. "What about you?"
"I love potions. It's the only class I can really handle. I hope to be a Potions Master once I get all the degrees for it. I also love reading. I've been picked on a lot for it, though. Mainly by the damn "Marauders" or whatever they call themselves," said Severus, with a tinge of hatred when referencing the Marauders.
"They aren't that bad. I guess you have to be a true Gryffindor to really like them," chuckled Hermione.
"So, do you like Sirius?" asked Severus, hesitantly.
"Well, he's a lot different from me, being the troublemaker that he is. Maybe that's what makes him exciting, but really, I just want someone who can keep my attention long enough, and at least have close to the same intellect as me," said Hermione, not realizing she described Severus.
Severus then looked relieved.
"Well, it's getting close to classes, so we'd better head back to the school," said Hermione, changing the subject.
"Right. Almost lost track of the time," replied Severus, helping Hermione up off the ground and taking her hand while walking back to the school.
Potions class was fairly simple. They had to complete their potion that they started the research on the day before.
"OK, now add the boomslang," instructed Hermione, remembering another potion she had to use boomslang skin for.
The potion began to boil and hiss as Severus dropped the skin in. It then turned a deep purple. They achieved the 1st half of the love potion, and the rest needed to be done the next day.
Severus took the cauldron up to the front of the class to the teacher for safe keeping until the next day. Meanwhile, as Hermione sat there, Sirius tried to get her attention.
"PSST! Hermione, over here," whispered Sirius, as he slightly waved his hands to get her to look at him.
"What is it?" hissed back Hermione.
"I was wondering if you wanted to study together tonight. I mean, we have the same classes, and I really need to ace the N.E.W.T.'s this year, and James, Remus, and Peter don't study that hard. You're the one with the brains!" smiled Sirius.
Hermione looked at him for a moment. She was probably going to have plans with Severus, but she wanted to have another chance with Sirius, too. Of course she knew they really wouldn't be studying. The male testosterone was too high. Finally she said:
"If I don't have any other plans tonight I will meet you in the back of the library OK?"
"Great, see you then!" whispered Sirius excitedly, completely missing the fact that she said "if I don't have any other plans". He then turned his attention to his potion that was smoking furiously.
"Alright, class. If you have completed your day's worth of potion making, then please head to your next class," said Professor Lockhart.
Hermione then met up with Lily, and made her way to Herbology.
Hermione ran as fast as she could toward the only place she could think to go to get some needed answers. Finally, after what seemed like hours of running, Hermione came to the stone Gargoyle, out of breath.
"Shit," Hermione whispered to herself. She didn't know the password. Well, she knew he liked sweets. "Pumpkin Pasties," shot Hermione; nothing happened. "Cauldron Cakes," still nothing. Then it came to her: "LEMON DROPS!" screamed Hermione, and the Gargoyle jumped out of the way. Hermione ran up the stairs and banged on the Headmaster's door, hoping he wasn't asleep.
"Come in, Miss Granger. I knew you'd be coming," said Dumbledore, with slight amusement in his voice.
Hermione shot open the door and got right up in Dumbledore's nose.
"Why am I here again, Sir? To fall in love with Severus, or Sirius?" fumed Hermione. "I was just in the Shrieking Shack with Sirius, and he KISSED ME! Don't you get it, Mr. "I see all"? Your "brilliant" little plan has a little flaw, if you haven't noticed!" she continued, only taking a break to get a breath.
"Miss Granger, I do have an explanation for you. I must say, I never expected Sirius to let his feelings out so soon!" said Dumbledore with a chuckle, as though this whole thing was one big joke.
"What are you talking about? You KNEW Sirius liked me?" questioned a confused Hermione.
"Well, of course, naturally. I just figured he wouldn't "express" himself until after you and Severus got together. I must say, this has presented another problem."
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Headmaster, I must ask you to please return me to the future. I can't take this sick little joke anymore. Haven't my feelings come into consideration?" asked Hermione, a single tear sliding slowly down her cheek.
"Yes, Miss Granger, I am well aware of what this may be doing to you, but unfortunately I can't return you until you've fulfilled your purpose here." Hermione was ready to speak, but Dumbledore held a hand up to silence her. "Please child, let me continue. Many things have happened that I never dreamed. It seems you have to figure out your purpose here on your own. I can no longer help you. You must choose with your heart to which man you want to go to. What will happen in the future, depends on who you choose. If you choose Sirius, he will not have died that day 2 years ago. If you choose Severus, then life will go on as it should have before you chose to like him, though you two will have a steady relationship. Once you've made your decision, you will be transported forward into your time."
"This is getting too hard. It was so simple before. I don't know where to turn," whispered Hermione in exasperation. It was true, she like Sirius, but she didn't know Severus that well yet to choose between one of them.
"I suggest you return to your room and sleep on it. You don't need to decide now. You have until the end of the term at Hogwarts."
"Yes, sir. Goodnight."
Hermione made her way slowly to her dorm, thinking about the possibilities. She could save Sirius's life if she chose him! Harry would be so happy, and she would be just as happy. If she chose Severus, her life would be normal, instead of slightly out of whack. If Harry ever found out about what her decisions would cost, he would be mad. Hermione was talking to herself, staring at the floor, so she did not realize it when she bumped right into Severus.
"Holy shit! Oh, Severus, you scared me!" gasped Hermione.
"Next time you should watch where you're going," replied Severus with a sneer. He was nicer before. . .what happened?
"Well, sorry. You don't need to be all smug about it," snapped Hermione. She rather liked the way he treated her before.
"Just get out of my way, I have places to go," hissed Severus, as he walked past her.
"What is your problem?" inquired Hermione, yanking on Severus' robes to get him to turn around.
Severus got right up in her face. "Well excuse me, whore, but I don't know what you're talking about."
"Whore? Are you kidding me? I am NOT a whore!" yelled Hermione, eyes wide. What was he getting at?
"Well, the least you could've done was not kiss the bastard before you knew him!" shot back Severus.
"Were you spying on me? How dare you interfere with my personal life! I know Sirius plenty well, thank you," hissed Hermione back to Severus.
"Yeah, you know the back of this throat!" Severus shot daggers at her.
"The kiss didn't mean anything! I wasn't even paying attention to it!" ~Shit~ thought Hermione. Why did she tell him she had other things on her mind at the time?
"What?" asked Severus, dumbstruck.
"You heard me. I wasn't thinking about Sirius. I was thinking about this," whispered Hermione as she grabbed his face and kissed him.
Severus was startled at what she did. Her kiss was good alright, but he wasn't expecting it. Severus then put his arms around her waist and brought her closer. Hermione slowly snaked her fingers in his silky black hair.
~This kiss is definitely better than Sirius'~ she thought. ~Though I didn't pay that close attention to it~
The kiss slowly deepened, Severus began sucking on her lower lip, and running his tongue across it. Hermione willingly opened her mouth, letting his tongue explore. He then hesitantly touched her tongue, and she began running her tongue along his, and then made its way into his mouth. After a few more seconds, they broke away, only for the lack of air.
Hermione stared into his black eyes; they were glazed over from their actions, but she could see the same desires in his eyes, as she was sure were showing in hers.
"Um. . .I-" Severus stuttered, not thinking of anything to say.
"I agree," smiled Hermione. "As much as I'd like to continue, I really need to get to sleep," said Hermione shyly, their arms still around each other.
"Right, well I'll see you tomorrow then," whispered Severus, hoarsely. He then bent down and gave her a small kiss on the lips, before giving a quick smile and walking in the opposite direction as Hermione would go.
Hermione stared back at him, realizing she loved his kiss and wanted a lot more. She then skipped up to Gryffindor Tower, feeling much happier than she had all day.
**NEXT DAY**
"You kissed him?!" screeched Lily, as Hermione told her about last night's events, from Sirius' kiss all the way to Severus. They were sitting on Hermione's bed before they went to breakfast.
"Shh! Not so loud, and yes, I did kiss him. Slytherin or not, it was worth it," said Hermione with a bright smile on her face.
"Wow. You have many more guts than I do. I still can't believe you kissed 2 guys last night; and on your 1st day of classes no less!" smiled Lily.
Hermione blushed at her comment. She didn't realize it all happened her first day. Even though she did know the men, she couldn't tell Lily that.
"What about James? Haven't you kissed him yet?" inquired Hermione to her new found friend.
"How could you tell we were together? We've tried to keep it a secret from our closest friends, and none of them had figured it out yet! And to answer your question, yes, we have kissed, but not that much!" blushed Lily.
"Oh, well. . .I'm very good at deducing you two fancied each other," lied Hermione picking at the hem of her robes.
"Hermione, we better head down to the Great Hall. It's in the middle of breakfast," realized Lily, as she grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her off the bed.
At breakfast, Sirius kept trying to get Hermione's eye, wondering if she would still like him after what happened last night. Hermione's thoughts were elsewhere; she looked over at the Slytherin table and saw Severus sitting at the table with a trace of a smile on his face. He then looked up and locked eyes with Hermione; they both smiled. With his eyes, Severus motioned for her to meet him in the Entrance Hall after she finished breakfast; she nodded.
Hermione rushed to finish breakfast, told everyone she needed to study, and winked at Lily, so Lily would know really where she was going. Hermione got up and strode to the doors, trying to act normal, but really she was anxious about what would happen. She opened the doors, and found Severus leaning against the Entrance doors.
"Milady," bowed Severus, with a joking smile on his face.
"Sir," curtsied Hermione, the same stupid smile shown plainly on her face.
Severus then walked up to her and kissed her hand, never breaking eye contact with her, making Hermione blush.
"Want to walk out to the lake with me? Classes don't start for another 30 minutes," asked Severus, taking hold of her hand and already leading her outside.
"Looks like I have no choice," joked Hermione as they walked out in the warm air.
Once at a hidden spot on the outside of the lake, Severus transfigured a large rock into a soft blanket for them to sit on. They sat in silence for a while, watching the giant squid's tentacles protrude from the water every few seconds.
"Enjoying the new school?" asked Severus, not thinking of anything else interesting to say.
"Yes, I feel at home here, and I have great classes," replied Hermione.
"You like the learning?" asked Severus, curious to the fact she enjoyed the classes.
"Yes, I've always wanted to learn. I read constantly, and I love to spend late nights reading school books or random potions or charms books. I'm interested in them the most," replied Hermione truthfully. "What about you?"
"I love potions. It's the only class I can really handle. I hope to be a Potions Master once I get all the degrees for it. I also love reading. I've been picked on a lot for it, though. Mainly by the damn "Marauders" or whatever they call themselves," said Severus, with a tinge of hatred when referencing the Marauders.
"They aren't that bad. I guess you have to be a true Gryffindor to really like them," chuckled Hermione.
"So, do you like Sirius?" asked Severus, hesitantly.
"Well, he's a lot different from me, being the troublemaker that he is. Maybe that's what makes him exciting, but really, I just want someone who can keep my attention long enough, and at least have close to the same intellect as me," said Hermione, not realizing she described Severus.
Severus then looked relieved.
"Well, it's getting close to classes, so we'd better head back to the school," said Hermione, changing the subject.
"Right. Almost lost track of the time," replied Severus, helping Hermione up off the ground and taking her hand while walking back to the school.
Potions class was fairly simple. They had to complete their potion that they started the research on the day before.
"OK, now add the boomslang," instructed Hermione, remembering another potion she had to use boomslang skin for.
The potion began to boil and hiss as Severus dropped the skin in. It then turned a deep purple. They achieved the 1st half of the love potion, and the rest needed to be done the next day.
Severus took the cauldron up to the front of the class to the teacher for safe keeping until the next day. Meanwhile, as Hermione sat there, Sirius tried to get her attention.
"PSST! Hermione, over here," whispered Sirius, as he slightly waved his hands to get her to look at him.
"What is it?" hissed back Hermione.
"I was wondering if you wanted to study together tonight. I mean, we have the same classes, and I really need to ace the N.E.W.T.'s this year, and James, Remus, and Peter don't study that hard. You're the one with the brains!" smiled Sirius.
Hermione looked at him for a moment. She was probably going to have plans with Severus, but she wanted to have another chance with Sirius, too. Of course she knew they really wouldn't be studying. The male testosterone was too high. Finally she said:
"If I don't have any other plans tonight I will meet you in the back of the library OK?"
"Great, see you then!" whispered Sirius excitedly, completely missing the fact that she said "if I don't have any other plans". He then turned his attention to his potion that was smoking furiously.
"Alright, class. If you have completed your day's worth of potion making, then please head to your next class," said Professor Lockhart.
Hermione then met up with Lily, and made her way to Herbology.