Hermione's Baby
Chapter 3
*flashback*
After picking the name she would be using while in the past, Hermione followed the headmaster wordlessly through the hallways of the school that she knew so well, yet was currently so different from how she remembered it to be. As they passed portraits and statues that she had never seen before, Hermione pondered the concept of time and what it was doing to her life.
"Erm... headmaster?" She questioned softly, "What should I tell everyone about my past? I mean, where am I supposed to have come from?"
"That is a good question Miss Finnegan," the headmaster said, gazing at her thoughtfully, I suppose that I should say that you have been home schooled for your entire life and finally convinced your parents to let you come to Hogwarts. Would that work for you?
"Of course, sir," Hermione said, sighing quietly. Everything that the headmaster was saying was making her realize that this was going to have to happen. She was going to have to attend the school she had gone to for the past six years as if she had never been there before, and she was going to have to learn with children whose futures she was painfully aware of. For instance, she had absolutely no idea how she would react around James and Lily.
Sticking her hand in her pocket, Hermione's finger scraped against the corner of what seemed to be a piece of paper. Pulling it out, however, she discovered it to be a picture of her, Harry and Ron. Tears came to her eyes as she realized that she would not see those two boys, with whom she had grown up, for a long time, if ever. Bringing the picture up to her face, she kissed it softly before putting it back in her pocket.
When they reached the fat lady, Dumbledore said "bouncing ferrets," causing the portrait hole to open and Hermione to snort in a rather unladylike manner.
"Sorry professor," she said, still grinning to herself, "you'll understand some day, when -" but she had to cut herself off. The headmaster gave her a sympathetic look before leading her into the common room.
The few students who happened to be present looked up in surprise as the headmaster entered with a strange girl. "My apologies, Gryffindors," he said, smiling at them, "I did not wish to disturb your study and gossip time, but I am here to show our new student to her rooms. It won't take a moment."
Feeling the curious stares of the Gryffindors, Hermione followed the headmaster up the girl's stairs into the same dorm that was hers in the future. "Miss Finnegan, in the seventh year, there are two other Gryffindor girls other than yourself. They are Miss Evans and Miss Reynolds. Miss Evans occupies the head girl's room and you will share with Miss Reynolds. Both girls are extremely nice, and I am sure that they will be happy to have another girl amongst them, for, you see, the boys of your year can be quite overwhelming."
Hermione smiled sadly, "yeah. . . Sirius told us all ab-" she cut herself off and threw herself onto the nearest bed, letting out a frustrated groan.
Dumbledore smiled at her and said "My dear, it will get easier as time progresses. I know that this is not the ideal circumstances for you, but do try to understand that there is nothing that I can do, and make the best of it. Who knows, you might make a best friend."
Dumbledore's words, which had been meant to cheer her up, only made Hermione feel worse. What if she DID become best friends with Lily Evans for instance? What then? How could she live with herself if she let not only her best friend, but also her other best friend's mother die?
Neither Dumbledore nor Hermione spoke for a moment until Dumbledore broke the silence by saying "Now, I think that it would be easiest if I were to introduce you at dinner. If the circumstances were regular, I would give you a tour of the school, but you obviously don't need that. So might I suggest that the two of us head for my office? Perhaps you could tell me certain details of your life that would not be catastrophic for me to know, if that would make you feel better."
Hermione beamed at him and nodded, following him up to his office.
*******
"May I have your attention please?" Albus Dumbledore said, calling for a silence amongst the students, "I have an announcement to make." He waited another moment for the whisperings to subside before continuing. "I am happy to announce the arrival of a new student. She is the daughter of two of my greatest friends, and I have been convincing them for years that she should come to Hogwarts. Unfortunately, I only recently managed to convince them, so she is having a rather late start. I would like to introduce Lavender Finnegan, our new Gryffindor seventh year."
There were cheers from the Gryffindor table as Hermione, who had been standing awkwardly at the end of the staff table, made her way over to the Gryffindor table. She hesitated, unsure of where to sit, until she saw a girl with red hair and shockingly green eyes waving her over. Smiling slightly, she made her way over to the girl.
"Hi," she said, smiling, "Welcome to Hogwarts. I'm Lily Evans, and I'm the head girl, so if you need anything, just let me know."
Hermione smiled at Lily and said "I might just take you up on that" before being surrounded by other people fighting over who could introduce themselves first.
"Hi Lavender," said a pretty girl sitting next to Lily, "I'm Alida Reynolds, and I am assuming that we will be sharing a room now."
"Err. yes," said Hermione uncertainly, "I hope that you don't mind."
"Of course not!" said Alida, smiling. The other people sitting around them, however, would not let the two girls have the new girl all to themselves for too long.
"Hi, I'm Sirius Black, my friends call me Padfoot, and I am the head of our little group here. Evans might be head girl, but if you ever need to pull one over on a teacher, or. say. Snivilus, I'm your guy." Hermione smiled slightly, biting her lip to stop herself from saying anything.
"Excuse me," interrupted the voice of James Potter, "But Padfoot is most certainly not the leader. That would be me." He winked at her before extending his hand, "James Potter at your service. But you can call me Harry if you would like, since you seemed to before," He said, grinning at her.
"Err. . . sorry about that James," Hermione said, trying to come up with a good excuse, "It's just that you look a lot like my best friend from - erm - back home. The portkey kind of messed me up and I wasn't thinking strait."
James nodded before saying "This quiet little wolf - " he pointed to a boy sitting next to Alida, while winking at Remus in a way that no one would have noticed had they not understood the pun, "- is Remus Lupin. And this -" he pointed to a fat boy sitting on the other side of Sirius "- is Peter Pettigrew."
"Hi," said Hermione, smiling at Remus and letting her eyes flick towards Peter while the smile was still on her face so that he'd think it was for him too. But inside she was repeating over and over and over again 'don't say anything. Don't say anything. Don't say anything.'
"Well now that that's settled," said Sirius, looking hungrily down at the food that had appeared in front of them and rubbing his hands together, "Let's eat!"
*******
Over the next month and a half Hermione became tight friends with the six other Gryffindor seventh years, even Peter, who she decided to give the benefit of the doubt, seeing as she had no idea when he had joined Voldemordt.
Her friends soon learned just how dedicated to school work she was, and they blamed it on being home-schooled. Lucky for Hermione, Lily, Alida and Remus were just as dedicated as she was, and for the first time, Hermione had a group of friends who understood how she felt. But just as she realized this, she also felt deeply guilty for not missing Ron and Harry as much, but she knew that she had to not worry about them, and she just enjoyed being in the past.
The marauders also managed to convince her to go with them on some of their pranks, and Hermione learned some fairly useful charms, such as one for turning hair pink with purple poka dots, one for turning a once silver and green room into a red and gold one, one for charming boys to dress in drag without realizing it, and once even, a spell that made a certain hook- nosed, greasy haired boy profess his undying love to a shrubbery located in the central garden while practically the entire school was watching.
That greasy haired boy - Snape - was another problem for Hermione. She was starting to understand - or think she did - why he had hated her so much. When he realized that she had been a part of the shrubbery spell, Hermione trembled to think which of the many deducted points or detentions resulted from that.
The only class Hermione had with Snape was potions, which turned out to be only a touch less scary than Snape's future classes were. Although she never admitted it to anyone, Hermione did feel somewhat sorry for the boy who was so tortured by her good friends. She couldn't understand quite how they could be so mean to him when he hadn't done anything to them. Once, when she questioned Sirius about it, he told her that it wasn't so much a matter of him doing something as it was a matter of him being alive.
Over the first few months that she was there, other than the one prank she pulled on him with the shrubbery, Hermione stayed away while her friends taunted Snape, watching from afar as not even his 'friends' defended him.
One night, when she was hurrying back to Gryffindor Tower, she bumped into him, causing both of them to fall. Glaring at her, he pulled himself up before hissing "watch it Finnegan."
Hermione looked at him for a moment before saying, "Look, I'm sorry Snape. I really don't know why the boys are so nasty to you. They've never really explained it to me, and I think that it's extremely juvenile, and you don't deserve it."
He stared at her for a moment before turning around and sweeping away.
The next day, when the class entered the potions room, Professor Smiley - whose name the entire class found extremely ironic - announced that they would be switching partners today, and that they were not allowed to triple up anymore, as the Gryffindors had been. The seven Gryffindors looked at each other, unsure of who they would make go sit with a Slytherin.
Hermione glanced over at the group of Slytherins, and saw that it had already been arranged. Snape was sitting by herself. Quietly, as her friends were still staring at each other, Hermione made her way over to him and said, "Is anyone sitting here?"
Snape glanced at her in shock but said "no." Hermione plunked her bag down and sat next to him before looking around to see her friends staring at her in shock. She merely shrugged at them and began to pull out the ingredients for the day's potion. She and Snape worked silently, but it was an almost friendly silence, and they knew that a truce had been called between the two of them.
After the class, in which Hermione and Snape had finished their potion, which was, unsurprisingly, perfect, first, Sirius caught up to Hermione and stopped her. "Lavender!" He said, staring at her, "What were you doing?"
"What does it look like I was doing Sirius?" She asked wearily, knowing that they were never going to let her live it down, "Snape didn't have anyone sitting with him, and I decided to go sit with him. Besides, he is the best in the class, and seeing as I have had some extremely bad experiences with potions before, I would like to work with someone who I feel is completely competent at not botching a potion."
The entire class, even the Slytherins, was staring at her now. "Oh for god's sake!" she said, "I will never understand this house conflict. You guys need to grow up." When she got no response from the still staring crowd, Hermione sighed, exasperated, before turning on her heel and storming off to the great hall for lunch.
Before lunch was even completely over, the whole hall was filled with whispering students, all talking about how the 'new' Gryffindor girl, Lavender Finnegan, had been nice to a Slytherin. The talking followed her around for the whole day, until she managed to get to the library, her private sanctuary, where no one was allowed to talk.
Upon arrival, Hermione noticed that the room was empty except for Snape, who was sitting alone at the back of the room, writing a transfiguration essay. Hermione made her way over to him and said quietly "Can I sit here Sn- Severus?"
He looked up at her with confusion and nodded. They worked in silence for a few minutes before he said "Err- Finnegan- why are you doing this?"
Hermione shrugged and said "Honestly? Because I think that Sirius and everyone are being asses, and I want to see if there is a reason for them to be so awful. And also because you do know your shit when it comes to potions, so it's a convenience to be your partner!" She said the last bit grinning at him, and was shocked when he gave her a half smile back before they both got back to work.
*******
Over the next couple of months, Hermione and Severus became closer and closer. And as they did, the rumors got crazier and crazier. The rumors concerning these two seventh years were anything from claming that they were 'humping like rabbits' to, from an innocent first year, 'secretly trying to discover what color underwear Dumbledore wore.'
But, even they did not know the truth about their relationship. Hermione could almost claim that she loved him, but she was also racked with guilt for having to lie to him. She also could tell that he was fighting an inner battle as well, because, as a Slytherin, he was supposed to be a cold- hearted Gryffindor hater, which, although he did not know this yet, he would ultimately turn into, but he was also fighting increasing attraction for this girl.
But when Dumbledore announced that there would be an Easter ball, Severus asked Hermione and she said yes. After that night, although no one knew the exact details of why or how, -- And Hermione certainly didn't mention them to Ron or Hermione --, Severus and Hermione officially became a couple.
Hermione had convinced her friends to forget about it and treat her the same because, just because she was dating a Slytherin didn't mean that she was any different, and, although it took a while, they believed her.
As time went on, Hermione and Severus became closer and closer, if that was even possibly, until the point when one was rarely seen without the other. It became a publicly known secret that they had slept together more than once, and neither of them thought to deny it.
The day before graduation Dumbledore called Hermione to his office. When she got there he sat her down and said "Hermione, I have found a way for you to get home."
She stared at him for a moment in shock before saying, "When. . . when did you find it?"
"Yesterday," he replied, gazing at her sadly.
"But -" she looked at him and said, "Professor - oh god. What do I do? I can't leave Severus!"
"Well, my dear," the headmaster said, smiling at her, "You don't have to decide quite yet. You have time to make a decision."
She nodded and left the office.
*******
On graduation day, Hermione woke up bright and early when Alida dumped cold water all over her, saying "up and at-em, Lav!" way to cheerfully for Hermione's liking.
"Shuddup Al!" groaned Hermione, shoving her head back into her pillow.
"Nope!" And Alida dragged her out of bed and tickled her until she climbed out of bed.
At the ceremony, when Hermione received her diploma, she looked around her with tears in her eyes. This was her home, whether in this time or the future, and she had no idea what she was going to do when she left.
But the answer to that question came at the end of the ceremony. There was a ball for the graduating class and their families directly following it, and Hermione, her fellow Gryffindors, and Severus went as a group. Well, not exactly as a group, but more like Hermione dragged him along.
As they were dancing to a slow song, Severus kissed Hermione on the lips softly and said "I love you Lavender."
Smiling at her lover, Hermione replied "And I love you Severus."
"Marry me?" Asked Severus, staring into her eyes.
"What?!" She exclaimed, stopping in her tracks and staring at Snape.
"Err. never mind then," he said hastily, assuming that her outburst had been one of disgust.
As Severus looked at the floor, embarrassed, Hermione thought. This was the man she loved, and she wanted to stay with him. She would see Harry and Ron again, and nothing mattered more at the moment than Severus. Putting a hand under his chin, Hermione gently lifted Severus' mouth to hers and whispered "yes" against his lips before drawing him in for another kiss.
*******
They were married not a month later, and they were happy at first. Well. they continued to be happy, but the news that Hermione received after a while put a stopper to her happiness. She didn't start to notice it for a while, but her power was slowly leaving her. When she confronted Albus, they did some research, and he realized that she had to go home. To her real home: the future.
She tried to prevent it, but she realized that it was inevitable, and she had to return to the future.
*End Flashback*
A/N: So.. I got many answers to my question about whether or not I should focus on the past, and the majority of the responses - actually, all but one - said that the 'present' would be more interesting, and I have to say that I agree. So for all of you that reviewed, thank you. And please keep reviewing if you want updates soon. I love feeling loved!! (.
Anyway. In case you didn't get it, this is the story that Hermione tells Harry and Ron, so certain parts have been left out, and since Albus told her not to mention the baby part to them, that's not in here either, but it's talked about earlier on. Anyway..
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (please) lol
Chapter 3
*flashback*
After picking the name she would be using while in the past, Hermione followed the headmaster wordlessly through the hallways of the school that she knew so well, yet was currently so different from how she remembered it to be. As they passed portraits and statues that she had never seen before, Hermione pondered the concept of time and what it was doing to her life.
"Erm... headmaster?" She questioned softly, "What should I tell everyone about my past? I mean, where am I supposed to have come from?"
"That is a good question Miss Finnegan," the headmaster said, gazing at her thoughtfully, I suppose that I should say that you have been home schooled for your entire life and finally convinced your parents to let you come to Hogwarts. Would that work for you?
"Of course, sir," Hermione said, sighing quietly. Everything that the headmaster was saying was making her realize that this was going to have to happen. She was going to have to attend the school she had gone to for the past six years as if she had never been there before, and she was going to have to learn with children whose futures she was painfully aware of. For instance, she had absolutely no idea how she would react around James and Lily.
Sticking her hand in her pocket, Hermione's finger scraped against the corner of what seemed to be a piece of paper. Pulling it out, however, she discovered it to be a picture of her, Harry and Ron. Tears came to her eyes as she realized that she would not see those two boys, with whom she had grown up, for a long time, if ever. Bringing the picture up to her face, she kissed it softly before putting it back in her pocket.
When they reached the fat lady, Dumbledore said "bouncing ferrets," causing the portrait hole to open and Hermione to snort in a rather unladylike manner.
"Sorry professor," she said, still grinning to herself, "you'll understand some day, when -" but she had to cut herself off. The headmaster gave her a sympathetic look before leading her into the common room.
The few students who happened to be present looked up in surprise as the headmaster entered with a strange girl. "My apologies, Gryffindors," he said, smiling at them, "I did not wish to disturb your study and gossip time, but I am here to show our new student to her rooms. It won't take a moment."
Feeling the curious stares of the Gryffindors, Hermione followed the headmaster up the girl's stairs into the same dorm that was hers in the future. "Miss Finnegan, in the seventh year, there are two other Gryffindor girls other than yourself. They are Miss Evans and Miss Reynolds. Miss Evans occupies the head girl's room and you will share with Miss Reynolds. Both girls are extremely nice, and I am sure that they will be happy to have another girl amongst them, for, you see, the boys of your year can be quite overwhelming."
Hermione smiled sadly, "yeah. . . Sirius told us all ab-" she cut herself off and threw herself onto the nearest bed, letting out a frustrated groan.
Dumbledore smiled at her and said "My dear, it will get easier as time progresses. I know that this is not the ideal circumstances for you, but do try to understand that there is nothing that I can do, and make the best of it. Who knows, you might make a best friend."
Dumbledore's words, which had been meant to cheer her up, only made Hermione feel worse. What if she DID become best friends with Lily Evans for instance? What then? How could she live with herself if she let not only her best friend, but also her other best friend's mother die?
Neither Dumbledore nor Hermione spoke for a moment until Dumbledore broke the silence by saying "Now, I think that it would be easiest if I were to introduce you at dinner. If the circumstances were regular, I would give you a tour of the school, but you obviously don't need that. So might I suggest that the two of us head for my office? Perhaps you could tell me certain details of your life that would not be catastrophic for me to know, if that would make you feel better."
Hermione beamed at him and nodded, following him up to his office.
*******
"May I have your attention please?" Albus Dumbledore said, calling for a silence amongst the students, "I have an announcement to make." He waited another moment for the whisperings to subside before continuing. "I am happy to announce the arrival of a new student. She is the daughter of two of my greatest friends, and I have been convincing them for years that she should come to Hogwarts. Unfortunately, I only recently managed to convince them, so she is having a rather late start. I would like to introduce Lavender Finnegan, our new Gryffindor seventh year."
There were cheers from the Gryffindor table as Hermione, who had been standing awkwardly at the end of the staff table, made her way over to the Gryffindor table. She hesitated, unsure of where to sit, until she saw a girl with red hair and shockingly green eyes waving her over. Smiling slightly, she made her way over to the girl.
"Hi," she said, smiling, "Welcome to Hogwarts. I'm Lily Evans, and I'm the head girl, so if you need anything, just let me know."
Hermione smiled at Lily and said "I might just take you up on that" before being surrounded by other people fighting over who could introduce themselves first.
"Hi Lavender," said a pretty girl sitting next to Lily, "I'm Alida Reynolds, and I am assuming that we will be sharing a room now."
"Err. yes," said Hermione uncertainly, "I hope that you don't mind."
"Of course not!" said Alida, smiling. The other people sitting around them, however, would not let the two girls have the new girl all to themselves for too long.
"Hi, I'm Sirius Black, my friends call me Padfoot, and I am the head of our little group here. Evans might be head girl, but if you ever need to pull one over on a teacher, or. say. Snivilus, I'm your guy." Hermione smiled slightly, biting her lip to stop herself from saying anything.
"Excuse me," interrupted the voice of James Potter, "But Padfoot is most certainly not the leader. That would be me." He winked at her before extending his hand, "James Potter at your service. But you can call me Harry if you would like, since you seemed to before," He said, grinning at her.
"Err. . . sorry about that James," Hermione said, trying to come up with a good excuse, "It's just that you look a lot like my best friend from - erm - back home. The portkey kind of messed me up and I wasn't thinking strait."
James nodded before saying "This quiet little wolf - " he pointed to a boy sitting next to Alida, while winking at Remus in a way that no one would have noticed had they not understood the pun, "- is Remus Lupin. And this -" he pointed to a fat boy sitting on the other side of Sirius "- is Peter Pettigrew."
"Hi," said Hermione, smiling at Remus and letting her eyes flick towards Peter while the smile was still on her face so that he'd think it was for him too. But inside she was repeating over and over and over again 'don't say anything. Don't say anything. Don't say anything.'
"Well now that that's settled," said Sirius, looking hungrily down at the food that had appeared in front of them and rubbing his hands together, "Let's eat!"
*******
Over the next month and a half Hermione became tight friends with the six other Gryffindor seventh years, even Peter, who she decided to give the benefit of the doubt, seeing as she had no idea when he had joined Voldemordt.
Her friends soon learned just how dedicated to school work she was, and they blamed it on being home-schooled. Lucky for Hermione, Lily, Alida and Remus were just as dedicated as she was, and for the first time, Hermione had a group of friends who understood how she felt. But just as she realized this, she also felt deeply guilty for not missing Ron and Harry as much, but she knew that she had to not worry about them, and she just enjoyed being in the past.
The marauders also managed to convince her to go with them on some of their pranks, and Hermione learned some fairly useful charms, such as one for turning hair pink with purple poka dots, one for turning a once silver and green room into a red and gold one, one for charming boys to dress in drag without realizing it, and once even, a spell that made a certain hook- nosed, greasy haired boy profess his undying love to a shrubbery located in the central garden while practically the entire school was watching.
That greasy haired boy - Snape - was another problem for Hermione. She was starting to understand - or think she did - why he had hated her so much. When he realized that she had been a part of the shrubbery spell, Hermione trembled to think which of the many deducted points or detentions resulted from that.
The only class Hermione had with Snape was potions, which turned out to be only a touch less scary than Snape's future classes were. Although she never admitted it to anyone, Hermione did feel somewhat sorry for the boy who was so tortured by her good friends. She couldn't understand quite how they could be so mean to him when he hadn't done anything to them. Once, when she questioned Sirius about it, he told her that it wasn't so much a matter of him doing something as it was a matter of him being alive.
Over the first few months that she was there, other than the one prank she pulled on him with the shrubbery, Hermione stayed away while her friends taunted Snape, watching from afar as not even his 'friends' defended him.
One night, when she was hurrying back to Gryffindor Tower, she bumped into him, causing both of them to fall. Glaring at her, he pulled himself up before hissing "watch it Finnegan."
Hermione looked at him for a moment before saying, "Look, I'm sorry Snape. I really don't know why the boys are so nasty to you. They've never really explained it to me, and I think that it's extremely juvenile, and you don't deserve it."
He stared at her for a moment before turning around and sweeping away.
The next day, when the class entered the potions room, Professor Smiley - whose name the entire class found extremely ironic - announced that they would be switching partners today, and that they were not allowed to triple up anymore, as the Gryffindors had been. The seven Gryffindors looked at each other, unsure of who they would make go sit with a Slytherin.
Hermione glanced over at the group of Slytherins, and saw that it had already been arranged. Snape was sitting by herself. Quietly, as her friends were still staring at each other, Hermione made her way over to him and said, "Is anyone sitting here?"
Snape glanced at her in shock but said "no." Hermione plunked her bag down and sat next to him before looking around to see her friends staring at her in shock. She merely shrugged at them and began to pull out the ingredients for the day's potion. She and Snape worked silently, but it was an almost friendly silence, and they knew that a truce had been called between the two of them.
After the class, in which Hermione and Snape had finished their potion, which was, unsurprisingly, perfect, first, Sirius caught up to Hermione and stopped her. "Lavender!" He said, staring at her, "What were you doing?"
"What does it look like I was doing Sirius?" She asked wearily, knowing that they were never going to let her live it down, "Snape didn't have anyone sitting with him, and I decided to go sit with him. Besides, he is the best in the class, and seeing as I have had some extremely bad experiences with potions before, I would like to work with someone who I feel is completely competent at not botching a potion."
The entire class, even the Slytherins, was staring at her now. "Oh for god's sake!" she said, "I will never understand this house conflict. You guys need to grow up." When she got no response from the still staring crowd, Hermione sighed, exasperated, before turning on her heel and storming off to the great hall for lunch.
Before lunch was even completely over, the whole hall was filled with whispering students, all talking about how the 'new' Gryffindor girl, Lavender Finnegan, had been nice to a Slytherin. The talking followed her around for the whole day, until she managed to get to the library, her private sanctuary, where no one was allowed to talk.
Upon arrival, Hermione noticed that the room was empty except for Snape, who was sitting alone at the back of the room, writing a transfiguration essay. Hermione made her way over to him and said quietly "Can I sit here Sn- Severus?"
He looked up at her with confusion and nodded. They worked in silence for a few minutes before he said "Err- Finnegan- why are you doing this?"
Hermione shrugged and said "Honestly? Because I think that Sirius and everyone are being asses, and I want to see if there is a reason for them to be so awful. And also because you do know your shit when it comes to potions, so it's a convenience to be your partner!" She said the last bit grinning at him, and was shocked when he gave her a half smile back before they both got back to work.
*******
Over the next couple of months, Hermione and Severus became closer and closer. And as they did, the rumors got crazier and crazier. The rumors concerning these two seventh years were anything from claming that they were 'humping like rabbits' to, from an innocent first year, 'secretly trying to discover what color underwear Dumbledore wore.'
But, even they did not know the truth about their relationship. Hermione could almost claim that she loved him, but she was also racked with guilt for having to lie to him. She also could tell that he was fighting an inner battle as well, because, as a Slytherin, he was supposed to be a cold- hearted Gryffindor hater, which, although he did not know this yet, he would ultimately turn into, but he was also fighting increasing attraction for this girl.
But when Dumbledore announced that there would be an Easter ball, Severus asked Hermione and she said yes. After that night, although no one knew the exact details of why or how, -- And Hermione certainly didn't mention them to Ron or Hermione --, Severus and Hermione officially became a couple.
Hermione had convinced her friends to forget about it and treat her the same because, just because she was dating a Slytherin didn't mean that she was any different, and, although it took a while, they believed her.
As time went on, Hermione and Severus became closer and closer, if that was even possibly, until the point when one was rarely seen without the other. It became a publicly known secret that they had slept together more than once, and neither of them thought to deny it.
The day before graduation Dumbledore called Hermione to his office. When she got there he sat her down and said "Hermione, I have found a way for you to get home."
She stared at him for a moment in shock before saying, "When. . . when did you find it?"
"Yesterday," he replied, gazing at her sadly.
"But -" she looked at him and said, "Professor - oh god. What do I do? I can't leave Severus!"
"Well, my dear," the headmaster said, smiling at her, "You don't have to decide quite yet. You have time to make a decision."
She nodded and left the office.
*******
On graduation day, Hermione woke up bright and early when Alida dumped cold water all over her, saying "up and at-em, Lav!" way to cheerfully for Hermione's liking.
"Shuddup Al!" groaned Hermione, shoving her head back into her pillow.
"Nope!" And Alida dragged her out of bed and tickled her until she climbed out of bed.
At the ceremony, when Hermione received her diploma, she looked around her with tears in her eyes. This was her home, whether in this time or the future, and she had no idea what she was going to do when she left.
But the answer to that question came at the end of the ceremony. There was a ball for the graduating class and their families directly following it, and Hermione, her fellow Gryffindors, and Severus went as a group. Well, not exactly as a group, but more like Hermione dragged him along.
As they were dancing to a slow song, Severus kissed Hermione on the lips softly and said "I love you Lavender."
Smiling at her lover, Hermione replied "And I love you Severus."
"Marry me?" Asked Severus, staring into her eyes.
"What?!" She exclaimed, stopping in her tracks and staring at Snape.
"Err. never mind then," he said hastily, assuming that her outburst had been one of disgust.
As Severus looked at the floor, embarrassed, Hermione thought. This was the man she loved, and she wanted to stay with him. She would see Harry and Ron again, and nothing mattered more at the moment than Severus. Putting a hand under his chin, Hermione gently lifted Severus' mouth to hers and whispered "yes" against his lips before drawing him in for another kiss.
*******
They were married not a month later, and they were happy at first. Well. they continued to be happy, but the news that Hermione received after a while put a stopper to her happiness. She didn't start to notice it for a while, but her power was slowly leaving her. When she confronted Albus, they did some research, and he realized that she had to go home. To her real home: the future.
She tried to prevent it, but she realized that it was inevitable, and she had to return to the future.
*End Flashback*
A/N: So.. I got many answers to my question about whether or not I should focus on the past, and the majority of the responses - actually, all but one - said that the 'present' would be more interesting, and I have to say that I agree. So for all of you that reviewed, thank you. And please keep reviewing if you want updates soon. I love feeling loved!! (.
Anyway. In case you didn't get it, this is the story that Hermione tells Harry and Ron, so certain parts have been left out, and since Albus told her not to mention the baby part to them, that's not in here either, but it's talked about earlier on. Anyway..
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (please) lol
