I don't know if I put a disclaimer so, ya, it's not mine or anything.
Hermione woke the next morning with a cramp in her neck. She groaned in pain and tried to shake it out. She could feel a headache coming on as well. She muttered obscenities to herself, cursing her bad luck. She didn't want to bother the nurse with it, and she less than trusted the potions master in this time, from the horrible recollections Snape had reiterated to her of him. She thought fleetingly about going to the Snape of this time, but that died quickly as she realized that he was quite probably a death eater still in this time, on top of the fact that that would make the famous Marauders even more suspicious.
"Damn it all to hell; I just want mean sarcastic bastard Snape back, the one who spies for the bloody order, the one who saves us from werewolves and dark wizards. I need a potion from my bloody potions professor," she grumbled, standing up, and looking around her room carefully. She inadvertently pushed her new puppy aside, as she pushed the covers off of her. He yelped in protest and burrowed out from under the covers.
"Hi, Doyle," she said, picking him up, gently as she started for her trunk. She stubbed her toe on the bed post and cursed, angrily.
"When will this bloody nightmare end?" she exclaimed.
"Not for a while to come dear," a voice said from her fireplace. "May I come through?" Dumbledore's voice asked. She looked over to see his head floating in the fire.
"Of course," Hermione nodded, embarrassed at the less-than-noble language he had probably heard from her.
"It's good to see you awake and healthy dear. That's a lovely new familiar," he smiled as she stumbled, clumsily the rest of the way to her trunk. She put Doyle down and opened it. Doyle ran to the headmaster and stood on his hind legs, looking up at the headmaster, his tongue lulling to the side.
"If this potion kills me, then in the future, make sure that I study medicinal potions more vigorously during school," Hermione told him, pulling a potion from her trunk. It was a potion Snape had only given her a ninety-two percent on, but it was the only headache potion she had.
"Maybe you shouldn't take it… if you think it's dangerous," Dumbledore said, looking up from Doyle to her.
"Perhaps," Hermione said, a second later downing the potion. The tension in her neck eased, and her up-coming migrane drifted away. "Bloody ninety-two, professor, really?" she muttered, glaring at the bottle which had a tab on it saying, "Maybe you should consider finding come way to transfer out of my class Miss Granger. You can't even handle a simple headache potion."
"Pardon me?" he asked. "You were mumbling."
"Nothing headmaster, did you have a reason for speaking with me?" Hermione asked, as she took out the books she'd need for the day. She called Doyle to her, and sat against the trunk, holding the happy dog in her lap.
"Indeed," Dumbledore nodded, his face darkening. "I hope you understand my wariness with inviting you to an auror meeting. You have been behaving oddly, particularly when around a certain Slytherin, who we have cause to believe is a death eater," Dumbledore told her.
"Yes sir, I understand. I cannot help how I act towards Severus. Whenever I'm around him, I feel a weird protectiveness towards him. You just have to understand. Severus isn't as evil as James and Sirius make him out to be. Usually, he is the victim to their pranks. That is probably what drove him right into the clutches of Lucius Malfoy," Hermione said.
"Yes, well, Hermione, I can tell you have great trust in him and I'm glad you have someone here you trust, but whatever he is in your time, he isn't now. He can't be trusted, as much as I wish he could be," Dumbledore said.
"I know, sir, I'll wait until the inevitable comes to pass," Hermione said.
"Good, a cryptic message, exactly what you should answer any questions you are given. Now, is there anything you wish to talk to me about?" Dumbledore asked.
"Actually, yes, there is, who's the Quidditch Captain in this time for Slytherin?" Hermione asked, curiously.
"Lucius Malfoy, but Severus Snape is Assistant Captain," Dumbledore said, without smiling. "You have to keep your distance from him, Miss Granger. Do you understand?" Dumbledore asked.
"Of course, sir," Hermione nodded, setting Doyle aside. He ran and jumped up onto her bed, snuggling under the covers.
"Very well… you'd better get ready for classes," Dumbledore told her.
Hermione nodded, and he disappeared into the flames, back to his office.
"This
is going to be a fun year," she thought.
"Professor
Dumbledore, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, someone… get me
back!" she prayed quietly as if they could hear her in the future.
Snape sighed, running a hand through his hair. He had dreamed about her in his past, and that dream came to him the night before in his own dream and it was haunting him already. He was becoming too involved with the girl. Hopefully she would keep her distance, because if the night before was any indication, he was already in lust with her. Is she got any closer, he would begin to love her and the older Snape knew that. He growled, slamming his fist on the table. Everyone looked at him, surprised.
"Albus, it's already happening. We have to find a way to stop her!" he exclaimed, bringing forth the one point there was an unspoken rule that they would not talk about: Hermione.
"I believe I had a talk with her the next morning. I don't trust her, I'm afraid. She's feeling very alone," Albus replied, simply.
"And as a bloody foolish hormone-driven teenager, I'm going to idiotically make her feel less alone, something that is very wrong on many levels," Snape said.
"Many, many levels," Sirius muttered.
"You know what Black, why didn't you befriend her? Now I know I'm going to!" Snape snapped.
"Because I thought she was already working with you," Sirius replied, harshly.
"Bloody brilliant you are… were," Snape corrected himself, confused at how to speak of it, because it was as if it was happening now, but it was actually happening to them in the past.
"Okay, what is going on?" Harry asked, frowning. The clan of Weasleys as well as everyone else present listened very closely.
"Severus is falling in love with Hermione, Sirius is shunning her, your father pulled his wand on her, and I mistrust her," Albus said, sighing.
"I'M NOT FALLING IN LOVE WITH MISS GRANGER!" Snape shouted.
"You are and you know it," Albus snapped. Everyone looked at him, shocked. Albus have close to none outbursts and seeing him get so angry with Snape was a rare occurrence, more like it never happened. It wasn't odd to see Snape this furious with the old headmaster however.
"We all are thinking she's a death eater," Molly added, putting the subject back on course as gently and smoothly as she could.
"She's slowly getting noticed more and more. The burning Hogwarts train will be in the paper that morning, and I'm sure she'll be the main topic," Albus muttered. "It didn't change anything like the outcome of the war, but it very well could. She, instead of myself, is Voldemort's number one target and he could very well kill her. I am torn between wanting Severus to get close to her, if only to protect her, and keeping them as far apart as possible to protect him," Albus said.
"Sorry to say, I was a stubborn teenager, and you won't be influencing my decision," Snape muttered.
"Hermione really is in danger then?" Ron asked, faintly.
"Hermione is very much in danger, Ron. She knocked Voldemort unconscious with one spell that she can't even remember. In the past century, the strength of wizards keeps growing by each generation. Your generation's magic is stronger than our own. Her power in that time, while it is average in our own time, is very much stronger than it was. Hermione is a walking weapon. I would like to point out that if she somehow falls in love with Severus and he doesn't change sides fast enough, Voldemort's odds sky-rocket and she's a walking weapon against the order," Remus said.
"Fat chance she falls for that wanker," Ron muttered.
"Hermione wouldn't switch sides for anything!" Harry exclaimed.
"Love is a powerful thing, Harry," Albus pointed out.
"It's highly improbable she'll fall for me of all people, Albus," Snape crossed his arms, scowling.
"Highly improbable? I'd say bloody impossible," Ron said.
"We have to recreate what happened," Ginny said. "We have to send someone back who can make Hermione see sense."
"But all the people who could do that are too old. It has to be someone who isn't born yet," Mr. Weasley said.
"I'll go!" Ron said.
"No, you look too much like your father, who is only about thirty then, besides, you wouldn't be able to talk Hermione out of anything," Mrs. Weasley said.
"Then I can go," Harry offered.
"Potter, have you ever seen your father? You're a bloody clone," Snape said, sardonically. "He's your age then."
"What about us?" Fred and George offered at the same time.
"No," Remus said, flatly. "We need someone who doesn't resemble their parents and is very close to Hermione. What about Neville Longbottom or one of her dorm mates?" Remus asked.
"Neville Longbottom would kill her in potions class, with that oaf of a potions professor teaching it," Snape muttered.
"Besides, he'd take one look at you and go running for a hiding place," McGonagall said, softly. "She is not close with her dorm mates, either. She thinks they're airheads who know nothing but glamour spells and divination, which is partially true."
"I'll go," Ginny said softly. Everyone's eyes turned to her, and everyone seemed to be looking for a way to say something against it.
"You're too young!" Mrs. Weasley said, quickly, when no one was objecting, but getting looks of approval in their eyes.
"I'm a year younger than them, mum. I'm Herimone's best friend save Harry and Ron. She'll listen to me," Ginny said. "She's told me more about her crushes and feelings than anyone else," Ginny said, looking at Snape, blushing and looking down.
"Ginny, did Hermoine have preexisting feelings for Professor Snape? I mean before the incident with the hourglass," Dumbledore asked. "Actually, you'll need to tell us everything about Hermione Granger's past love life, if only so we know how you are going to try and avert what is about to happen."
"Well… I was sworn to secrecy," Ginny mumbled.
"Ginny, Hermione's life is in danger," Harry said, calmly.
"OK, but I'm only talking to the headmaster and Professor Snape about it. No one else needs to hear it," Ginny said.
"Come then. We'll talk in my private quarters," Albus told her.
Gnny stood, understanding fully, that only the very weak argument from her mother meant she was indeed about to experience very far time travel.
They traveled in silence to Albus' private rooms, Snape at her side scowling and staring straight ahead, while Albus lead the way.
Albus held open the door, and closed it behind the two. They were in a sitting room of sorts and Ginny was motioned to a soft cushioned chair, which she sat on, Snape sitting in a stiff-backed chair, on her left facing the fire while Albus settled for a comfortable chair across from her.
"All right, Miss Weasley, where shall we begin?" Albus asked, softly.
"Her first crush was on my brother. They went out briefly, but Hermione found that after dating my brother, Seamus, and Draco Malfoy even that she would need someone with a much higher level of maturity. She had a crush on Harry for the first half of sixth year, after dating Ron, Seamus, and Draco over the summer before, but… the two never really clicked and Hermione listed that off as a big mistake, a waste of her time, because Harry was more like a brother to her," Ginny explained.
"Will you be making a point soon?" Snape muttered, staring into the fire.
"Actually, I was just about to make it," Ginny replied, sharply, annoyed with him.
"Hermione, as you may have noticed, is extremely intelligent and has been looking practically since the third year to find someone smart enough to keep up with her, and brave enough to stand up to her intelligence. When she took up the job as your assistant, professor, she found that challenge. Hermione never really said outright that she had a crush on you, but she defended you constantly from Harry and Ron when they called you horrible names or just outright disrespected you. I know she felt something for you, but it's hard to tell if that respect and admiration was… something more," Ginny finished. "All I know is that she had something very deep on her mind practically all the time in sixth year and I could just tell it was someone… someone that she liked a lot. My intuition tells me that it had to be you, no matter what my practical mind says."
"That's impossible. Miss Granger can't have feelings for me," Snape said, disbelievingly.
"I believe I began to think that when she said you called her by her first name and she thought she would faint at the sound of your silky voice addressing her as an equal," Ginny smirked, challengingly. Snape looked shocked.
"That doesn't sound like Miss Granger," Albus chuckled.
"That's because, Miss Granger, and Hermione are two different hard-working people. You'd never guess it, but Hermione is a die-hard romantic, no matter how much the Miss Granger part of her is a smart, academic person," Ginny said.
"This is a startling discovery. In any other circumstances, I would like to see such a relationship unfold. Hermione Granger truly is an extra-ordinary person. This is something I never would have thought of her," Albus said.
"There are many things about Hermione that only I know and that is why I think I am the best person to go back and talk to her. I don't know if even she realizes that she has a not-just-any crush on Professor Snape," Ginny said.
"And that is why we will send you, Miss Weasley, that is precisely why," Albus nodded.
Would anyone like some shippage with Ginny with one of the people in the past? If so, go ahead and vote for me!
Miss Elvira Dark: All right, I haven't thought of anything yet, but I will stump you. I will make you double-guess your analysis and I will win! I swear it!
Megangreer: Thanks, review again now.
Haters r gonna rock dis world: Cool, very clever Sorry it's been like three weeks since my last update, but I did get it up.
SeveursSnape'sLove: Sorry three weeks, almost for… life's been hectic as are my other stories are. I'll get some more up sooner this time.
DarkKestralArwenSilkeQueen: It's not SB/HG, but it's still a good story. Please give it a chance!
Fayna: You give me too much credit. I read a story about a faulty hourglass to get this idea, from an sb/hg story, but thanks for the compliments. They really make me happier and want to update faster.
Elra of mirkwood: Okay, okay, you've convinced me. Here's more
Tina: Sorry it's been so long with this chapter, but my other stories entertain you don't they?
Ephonia: yes ma'am, coming in the next few chapters, ma'am.
Shelby: Sure, I'll use your idea. Anything my reviewers want. You guys make the story perfect. The reviewer is always right.
StarsLover: Thank you. I like putting myself in her place and trying to display her emotions. I really have had better chapters, possibly in other chapters, to show for that, but I do appreciate your comment. So I gave you a chapter. Think you could review again?
ALL RIGHT EVERYONE! CLICK THE REVIEW BUTTON, REVIEW, THEN GO READ MY OTHER STORIES. All of them are sshg, so go read them! AND THEN REVIEW THOSE!
