A/N: This is my twist on the Hermione goes back in time. It's not with a time turner though. I'm not sure it's going to end up Severus/Hermione as it started out with a completely different pairing. I guess I've been participating in a little too much WIKTT. Oh well. sigh So just read and I'll bet you will enjoy it.
The Ingredient
Chapter 1: Books
She sprinted the last distance around the corner, to the dungeons as she skidded to a stop just outside the potions classroom. Catching her breath, she walked confidently into the classroom.
"Barely on time Miss Granger." Professor Snape informed her as she nodded to him. She took a seat in the front as he began to lecture on the importance of finding new ingredients. There was only one difference between this and the N.E.W.T potions she'd just had the day prior. It was seven, and no one else was there but her.
How she'd gotten the apprenticeship when she always thought Malfoy was Snape's favorite was a mystery to her. Voldemort was still at it with one difference. He was slowly coming down thanks to the information the man in front of her was providing. With the final battle right around the corner and Snape trying to seem like a loyal servant, she wondered why Lucius Malfoy wasn't at the Hogwart's door demanding to see Snape. With what happened in her fifth year with Umbrige, she wouldn't be surprised if Lucius one day showed up with a declaration that he was free of all charges and would be the new Headmaster of Hogwarts. She didn't even want to think about what would then happen to Harry.
She was good at potions. She deserved this apprenticeship. That was that, and besides, what Voldemort didn't know couldn't hurt Snape.
"Professor Lupin wouldn't mind a better flavor either." Hermione commented as Snape was talking to her about how new ingredients could better the Wolfsbane potion.
"I could find a way to better flavor the potion… I choose not to." Snape stated with a glint in his eye and his smirk in his face. Of course she should have figured. He still wasn't over the little prank mainly Sirius pulled with the Whomping Willow.
Hermione and Snape had taken on a new project. The Wolfsbane potion helped the werewolf regain their own thoughts during the transformation and partially took away some of the pain, but there was a lot of improvement to be made.
They were trying to figure out a way to combine the potion with some ingredients to link the werewolf to the people closest to them or one person in particular so that the subject would feel virtually no pain along with the people who he or she is linked with. This would also help speed up recovery time. The only problem was that they had no idea what the ingredient was.
It had to be a relatively new ingredient. She assumed that since the creator of the Wolfsbane potion was an accomplished potions master and would have looked through just about every single potions ingredient.
"What about some kind of combination of ingredients?" Hermione asked desperately out of ideas.
His stern look was enough answer for her. They had gone over combinations before. She was just too tired to remember now. They had been working on this for a week now. She knew that wasn't enough time to get anything done, but she had been able to do anything in a short amount of time before.
"This might be over your head Miss Granger," She groaned in disappointment, "No matter how talented you may be." he added as she stamped her foot on the ground.
"We'll get it Professor. If this takes me to my grave, we'll get it!" Hermione said determined to get it. She stood up and didn't even bother to ask for permission as she grasped the nearest books.
…while the combination of ingredients with a charm might make a new ingredient, the magical properties of the herb or ingredient will be lowered or completely wiped out…
Hermione sighed as she skimmed the section and flipped the pages.
…ingredients are gone in our time period. The most obvious solution may be to use a time turner or such to go back in time and collect the herbs or ingredients for potions, but potions masters are unable to bring the ingredients back without destroying the magical property. Potions for time travel are being explored as possibilities, but most of the time it just flat out doesn't work…
"Professor?" She asked as her eyes twinkled with excitement. She might have had just found the solution to their Wolfsbane experiments. Snape turned towards her as she read the paragraphs.
"Yes, I've read it, but however great the idea to time travel would be, there would be no way to bring the ingredients back. We would need to practically invent some kind of potion or charm to work the way we would want it to." Snape lectured as she looked at him questioningly.
"Why don't we?"
"I'm sorry Miss Granger, I don't quite understand that question." He said as his voice practically told her to keep her mouth shut.
Daringly she said, "We could make a potion or combine it with a charm!" He growled at her and she backed into the wall subconsciously.
"And get ourselves killed in the process?" He growled as he stepped closer to her. She shuddered and he backed away behind his old book covered desk.
"We would be careful. There would be some danger, but there is in everything!" She exclaimed as he sat down with a creak in his roller chair to examine her.
"I will not be responsible for the safety of a foolish student." He warned as she nodded in agreement, "And we will research very carefully and consult Minerva." He said finally as she beamed at him.
"Yes Professor!" She exclaimed again as she managed to calm herself. She had been heard by Professor Snape! Wait until she told Harry and Ron.
"Now get out before I get my common sense back!" She nodded calmly and hurried out the door with him exclaiming on last time, "Tomorrow at 6:30 Ms Granger. You will be excused from N.E.W.T potions since I'm sure you know Polyjuice potions in order to start research in my private stores."
With a smile on her face, a skip in her walk, and a smile on her face, she hurried back to the Gryffindor tower.
The next day in potions Hermione sat down next to Harry and Ron and across from Malfoy and Zabini. Malfoy gave her a smirk as Snape stormed in.
"I won't be here for class. I'm doing something for Snape for the apprenticeship." She whispered to Harry as she gathered her things and moved into Snape's office when he gave her a nod.
She put her stuff down on her makeshift desk in the corner of the large office. She spread out her notes on potions as she headed through a portrait to a long hallway with sky lights along the top. She walked for five minutes before she stopped at a door she knew well from her many Head Girl travels. This corridor was empty as it was off limits and unknown to anyone but professors and Malfoy and her.
She walked in to see McGonagall sitting at her desk because she hadn't a class this period. She looked up and nodded to a door by her desk.
"Professor Snape has informed me of this project you are taking on. I hope you find a way to link potions ingredients to a summoning spell in order to find the ingredients you need." She spoke with a stern voice as she went back to her pile of papers.
So, Professor Snape hadn't told her what they were doing. Better anyway. There was no way McGonagall was going to let her risk possibly her life for an apprenticeship.
"Thank you, Professor." Hermione mumbled before McGonagall read her like the open book she was. She didn't say anything so Hermione went into McGonagall's private book room.
It was a decent sized private library full of transfiguration books. She saw a small podium with a book filled with where everything was by subject alphabetically. She scanned the list quickly for combining spell with potions. She cursed under her breath as she noticed she only had five books on the subject. She kept scanning the list until she found binding spells.
Hermione took a shortcut to Flitwick's personal stores. She automatically scanned his long list and found bounding charms. She took three books on it and went through a door to the long corridor with her twelve books hovering in the air behind her. She quickly located Snape's door, and she stepped through it. He was still in the class as he should be so she sat herself in her desk and started working on notes.
She looked through the transfiguration book and only found a few pages that talked about transfiguring potions ingredients. She marked those pages and decided to get started on the charm books.
Advanced wards… Linking charms to charms… Linking spells to potions… Advanced locating charms… She looked at the last two sections in the table of contents. She marked both of them magically as she began to read.
She looked up as Snape came in a few moments later.
"What have you found Miss Granger?" Snape asked as he kept the door propped open. He whipped around to see Harry talking to Neville.
She was surprised that Neville continued to take potions, but he seemed to grow into himself. He seemed more like his father each day. She couldn't even remember the last time his cauldron exploded. November 16 of their sixth year. She was Hermione. Of course she could remember.
"Mr. Potter. Mr. Longbottom. Did I not say that this assignment was to be done individually?" He didn't wait for an answer as he knew there would be none, "This is not your first year, and then it would still not be appropriate. If you want to be an Auror to act the role of the hero in the spotlight with no credits to anyone else, I suggest you being able to follow simple commandments. Ten points from Gryffindor each of you, and if I didn't have something I had to do tonight, I would give you a detention. I suggest you not do it again." He simply said as Harry and Neville shrunk in the seats.
He turned back to Hermione, "We could use a combining charm to transfigure the spell, but what charms and transfiguration spells wouldn't cancel one another out when combined with a potion?"
"If we partially dilute the properties of the potion and make minor adjustments to a charm that's already combined, they won't cancel out properties."
"If we figure out which ones do that…" He seemed to be in thought for a second, "I think I might have just the one. Well, if you'll excuse me I have to get back to class. I'll write you a pass to the restricted section and get. Never mind. Miss Granger handle the class I have to retrieve a book."
Hermione looked surprised at him as he announced it to the class. Never in her seven years at Hogwarts had he put anyone else in charge or left during class unless his Dark Mark was burning. Then, Dumbledore would take over the class.
"Don't dawdle Miss Granger. Take a book and parchment and come into the classroom." He said as she grabbed what she was working on and walked into the classroom.
Snape left with a sweep of his robes. Hermione apprehensively walked into the classroom to see all the students working. Not even Malfoy said a word as Hermione sat at Snape's desk. She flipped open the page she was working on and continued reading. Her mind eventually wondered to what Snape possibly found important enough to leave class for. Obviously something had clicked in his mind about the potion, but what was it?
Hermione looked up from her book to see most of the students silently working. Harry was whispering something to Neville. She felt herself grow impatient as she gave a warning glance at Harry. He distinctly saw her as he continued talking. Snape had already given him a warning; Harry was still disobeying him.
"Harry. Ten points from Gryffindor for pure lack of respect to a Professor's orders and a detention tomorrow night if you don't stop talking." The Gryffindors groaned as Harry shot her a look of surprise.
"You don't have to listen to the slimy git's orders." Harry said as her eyes widened. How stupid were her friends? She didn't even think Ron was as stupid as Harry was being right now.
"Unless you wish to have that detention tomorrow night I suggest you keep your mouth shut for the rest of this class unless you have raised your hand." She warned as Harry opened his mouth again. "And I promise Professor Snape will hear of this." That shut Harry up real fast as he shot a glare at her. "Get back to work or there will be consequences." Hermione barked as she stood up to walk around the room. When she saw no one was having problems, she walked back to the desk to continue reading.
"If I do not come back within five minutes, tell the headmaster where I am. I should spend about a month there if the potion goes as planned. I will come back then to this time period with the ingredients." Professor Snape said as he smiled slightly. He'd been smiling for about two months now. Well, at least around her.
"Yes Professor. I'll follow you in after two minutes. We'll meet in front of the Whomping Willow. We've gone over this for weeks!" She exclaimed as she took three viles of the potions.
"We cannot risk this going wrong. We only have six viles made. If we do this wrong, we could be stuck in the wrong time period or worse: We would have to order new ingredients for everything…" He trailed off as the dungeon door opened to reveal Dobby.
"Dumbly needs to see Hermy." Dobby said as he tripped over his own new bought shoes. Hermione sighed a breath of relief as he didn't destroy any of their precious potion.
Her relief was short.
He tripped over the potion, destroyed three viles. Right over Hermione. She held the other three viles tightly as she felt a whirl with her bag behind her head.
A/N: Review please!