Chapter 2: We're Not In Kansas Anymore
Hermione was beginning to wonder if she was sane. She could see the look of utter and complete shock that had graced Dumbledore's face when she said her name. It was as though her really didn't know who she was. It had taken him a couple of minutes to absorb her words during which he simply stared at her as though seeing a ghost.
He finally seemed to come to some conclusion about her statement as he stood from the chair at her bedside. "What you have said here raises questions that I do not believe you are quite ready to answer at the moment. You are obviously very distraught and no doubt exhausted." Hermione snorted in agreement and Dumbledore smiled, the twinkle coming back into his eyes. "Well then, my dear, I will leave you here to rest. Please come to my office when you are feeling up to it. Do you know where it is?" She nodded. "Very well then. I do recommend that you use the less frequented corridors. The fewer people who see you the better. Hermione Granger is quite the famous figure of our history."
Hermione was nodding her compliance to his request when his last comment hit her. "What do you mean by history?"
He sighed. "I'm afraid it's a very long story, my dear. Still…" He paused, seemingly to consider whether or not to continue. "You may have noticed how surprised I was at your identity." Hermione nodded cautiously. "You must understand that I firmly believed you to be some kind of prankster when you were discovered in the dungeon, although the purpose behind your actions was a mystery. I can see now that you truly believe that you are Hermione Granger, or rather Snape as it were. That is a difficult thing for me to believe."
"Why?" she asked, even more confused.
"Because Hermione Granger has been dead for seven years."
Hermione felt the blood drain from her face at his statement. Her mind, which before now had been unforthcoming with any theory as to the circumstances she now found herself, began to work furiously. The Latere potion This had to be some kind of side effect. Had it sent her forward in time somehow? But no, that still didn't explain how Dumbledore and Pomfrey were still alive. Had it then somehow changed the past? She stopped the dizzying thoughts racing through her mind. "What year is it?" she asked quietly.
Looking at her oddly, the Headmaster replied, "The year is 2006." Her eyebrows furrowed as she ignored his quizzical look. The year was the same then, so she wasn't in some strange future and she knew that it was unlikely that a mere potion could change the past. Another question came to her. "I know you probably think I'm nutters, but is the Dark Lord still alive."
His countenance sharpened. "No, of course not. He died the same time you- Miss Granger died. Why do you ask?" His voice was suspicious.
"By the Gods," she muttered in disbelief. "What has happened to me? I'm beginning to think this isn't even my world, if that makes any sense. I suppose next you're going to tell me that Hagrid's been made Minister of Magic and that Neville Longbottom is a Potions Master." Dumbledore laughed quietly at her statement.
"No, never that, my dear. Arthur Weasley is in fact Minister of Magic and I believe last I heard young Mr. Longbottom was an herbologist."
Hermione glared at him as his eyes betrayed his mirth. "Fine. This is all a little… well, actually it's a lot- odd. So, what you're telling me is that I'm dead, a Weasley is Minister… and- did Harry Potter kill Voldemort?" He nodded an affirmative. She continued, "Well. This is all quite a bit to absorb. I think I do need to rest for a while. I need some time to consider what you have told me. I…" Her voice finally failed her.
"I understand. Say no more. I will see you when you feel up to discussing more." With another reassuring squeeze of her shoulder, he turned to leave. Hermione shrank back into the bed, her mind racing with all that she had been told. She knew that she desperately needed to discover exactly what the Latere potion had done to her. Certainly, she was safe. In fact, she hadn't felt as safe in years, but that didn't change the fact that she now appeared to be in a world that bore no resemblance to her own. Voldemort was dead; Albus Dumbledore was alive. With a start, she wondered how many other people were alive. Well, that was certainly something to put down on her ever-growing list of questions. For now, however, she could think no more and as her eyes drooped irresolutely shut her last thought was of a dark-eyed man.
Severus Snape, Hogwarts Potion Master, former Death Eater and recipient of the Order of Merlin, First Class, had thought that he had see and heard it all. Apparently he was wrong.
Or, he reasoned, Albus Dumbledore had finally gone off the deep end.
"You mean to tell me that the woman I found in my office last night is none other than the Gryffindor know-it-all Hermione Granger?" Snape's disbelief was evident. "Don't you think that's perhaps not quite possible, Albus? As I recall, Miss Granger is quite dead, at least to my knowledge."
Dumbledore gave him a withering look. "I'm quite aware that Miss Granger died several years ago, Severus. I'm simply telling you that she believes herself to be Hermione Granger and, barring the chance that she is a phenomenal Occlumens, she is telling the truth insofar as she knows it." Wisely, he had omitted the fact that she had called herself Hermione Snape. He honestly didn't want to open that can of worms until he absolutely had to.
Snape was now gazing thoughtfully at a point over Dumbledore's head. The look on his face did not reassure the aging Headmaster, it in fact worried him to no end. "Perhaps," he began thoughtfully, "you should allow me to question her." Dumbledore groaned. He knew that by question Snape had in fact meant interrogate.
"That will be quite unnecessary, Severus." he said lightly. "She is quite willing to answer any question that I pose her. In fact, she seems to be as confused about this situation as we are. She claims that she is the last survivor of the Final Battle. She was quite surprised, I gathered, to find me alive. It's quite the conundrum."
Severus grew more surprised as the Headmaster spoke. "Sounds to me like she's simply an escapee from St. Mungo's. I saw Potter holding Granger's dead body, Albus. As did you as I recall. She…"
Dumbledore raised a hand to forestall any further comment. "I did indeed, Severus. But Pomfrey has compared her old medical records of Miss Granger to the woman in the infirmary. Hermione had several distinguishing marks due to her adventures here." He smiled as he remembered the escapades of the aptly named Gryffindor Trio. "Poppy tells me that this woman bears all of these markings. And you have to admit the physical resemblance is uncanny. I do not think we can simply discount the possibility that she is who she claims to be."
Snape knew that he was fighting a losing battle. If Dumbledore believed the young woman to be Granger, then he would be unable to reason with him. He would play along with this girl's game, though, until he could figure out the truth. Then he would expose her to the Headmaster. He may not have particularly liked the know-it-all chit when she was his student but he had respected her intelligence and sacrifice in the war. She had been one of the few casualties of the Final Battle and everyone knew how lucky they had been to escape relatively unscathed. Severus grudgingly had to admit that many lives had been saved due to Granger's sacrifice. She had been instrumental in devising the curse that Potter had used to kill the Dark Lord, but had truly saved the day when she threw herself in front of the Killing Curse that Lucius Malfoy had thrown at the Boy Who Lived.
Severus had been standing only feet away as he saw her give up her life for her friend. He still firmly believed that she had wasted her life for someone who didn't deserve it, but he could not deny that her actions had probably saved them all. He couldn't even begin to fathom what would have happened if Potter had died before he could defeat the Dark Lord.
Of course, Snape felt secure in the knowledge that he had avenged her death. The Stupefy that he had directed at Malfoy mere seconds after Lucius had delivered his Killing Curse had never felt so satisfying. It was one of the few moments that had made the last few years bearable. And his actions had earned him the Order of Merlin.
Yes, Snape decided, he may not have liked Hermione Granger but he'd be damned if he let someone make a sham of her sacrifice.