Again, sorry it took so long. Life is hectic, so… ya.

Hermione placed the glamour charms on herself that she had initially in Black Manor as the had worn off the night before. Her black hair and green eyes intact, she turned to Ginny, who took a scared step back, but with two swishes of her wand, Ginny's skin was a more bronze color, her freckles were gone, her hair was a rich blonde and her eyes were a vibrant gold.

"You really are good with charms work," Ginny commented. Hermione only nodded, mutely.

Hermione felt her stomach twist into knots with each step she took as she walked with Ginny to the Great Hall for breakfast. Ginny kept close to her side, glaring at any Slytherins who crossed their path, even and especially when they passed Severus, who was about to say hello to Hermione, but stopped when Hermione shook her head, sadly. His expression went from one of welcome to a mask of cold and it hurt her. Ginny sat with her at the end of the Slytherin table. Hermione was facing the wall, while Ginny faced the rest of the hall. Her eyes fell on Sirius, then moved to James, Peter and finally Remus, who oddly was staring at the back of Hermione's head.

"Why is Remus looking at you as if you're a puzzle?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know. I didn't think he would be looking at me at all," Hermione said.

Remus locked eyes with Ginny and his intense blue gaze made her look away, blushing deeply.

"He sent his house elf to look after me; he takes good care of her," Hermione said, out of the blue. She was coming to find, after thinking on it for a long time, that Ginny's explanation for her fierce need to be Severus' friend was making a lot of sense about now.

"Hermione, I know it's hard, but forget about him," Ginny insisted. "You can't get close to him or you will change the future."

"Oh my god Ginny, I might have. I said something to Sirius when I first arrived I told him he was James' truest friend and no one could take his place. I was using a very hinting tone when I said it!" Hermione said in alarm.

"Hermione, calm down, calm down. Nothing drastic as of yet has been changed, but Sirius and Severus do seem to hate each other just that much more, but it's only one more thing to the list of thousands," Ginny soothed. "Deep breaths." Ginny stopped talking when she saw Lucius Malfoy walk in, arrogantly, walking past Hermione. He elbowed her hard in the back. Hermione let out a squeak of pain. Ginny watched in amazement as Severus who had been trailing a few steps grabbed Lucius' arm roughly and whispered a heated, angry thing in Lucius' ear. Lucius nodded, tightly. Whatever Severus had told Lucius had made him turn and say, in a gentlemanly tone, "Pardon me, Miss Howard. Might I know who your enchanting friend is."

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "You can keep walking Malfoy. That is what you can do," Hermione said, coldly. "Severus," she acknowledged stiffly, looking away from him, to Ginny, biting her lower lip, tears in her eyes. She sucked in her breath and looked down drawing shaky breath after shaky breath.

"Hermione, you have to, sweety," Ginny said, in a gentle tone.

"I can't!" Hermione whispered. Hermione ducked her head as she fought with her emotions.

"Students, welcome our late arrival, "Ginette Wesley, please come up as you haven't been sorted!" Albus said loudly.

Just as Ginny stood, so did Severus Snape. He walked past Ginny to Hermione. As he passed, Ginny hissed, "Leave her the hell alone," in a biting tone, but he paid her no mind and she reluctantly kept walking to the front of the hall to be sorted. He walked around the end of the Slytherin table and sat beside Hermione. She jumped when she realized he was sitting beside her.

"Why are you ignoring me? Is it because of her?" Severus asked, darkly looking at Ginny.

"No," Hermione replied.

"Do you suddenly dislike me?" Severus asked, carefully, ignoring Dumbledore as he began a speech about the wonders of the Irish Academy for Wizardry, where Hermione and Ginny were allegedly from.

Hermione felt his hand discreetly come into contact with her forearm and she flinched. "Stop," she moved away from him, slightly.

"So, it is because of her?" he asked.

"No, it is because of me and it is because of you," she insisted.

"What does that even mean?" Snape asked, angrilly.

"Nothing but the fact that we are nothing alike and I can't speak to you ever again," Hermione said.

"Then why do you look as if someone just Avada-ed your familiar and given you a dose of tear-bidden potion?" he growled, gruffly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione said, trying her hardest to hold back her tears.

"I'll see you in classes Howard," he snapped at her. She winced at his harsh tone, but remained silent.

"Fine," he growled, stalking back to his spot between Lucius and Rudolphus Lestrange, who sat beside Bellatrix Black, who was glaring darkly at Hermione.

Hermione tried to change her frame of mind. He was sitting with many people who would just as soon kill her as look at her if they could get away with it. He is one of them; she told herself.

He's not, he's noble, honorable, cunning, and brave! He's everything they are not! He's your age. You can make him feel the way you do! The other part of her mind argued.

What is it exactly that you feel, you foolish girl! Her mind asked her.

I don't know, but it's something. Hermione thought.

It is nothing. You are eighteen, not in your own time and he is a death eater and thirty-nine in your time. He'll never want you so give it up you fool. You can't do that here. He can not be altered in any way here. He has a role to play and you do not. You can not ruin that! Hermione sighed, brushing away the tear that fell from her eye. She let no more fall, resolving to keep her distance from Severus, at least in this time. She'd try her luck when she didn't have a chance to screw up the future.

"You need to stop acting like a child and look ahead of yourself and around yourself, you insolent, impotent woman. Do not look to the past and cry like a leaking faucet. Act your age! You are a fully-qualified witch and you will act out your part in this war as any fully-qualified witch would." The words echoed in her head. They were the last words Snape had said to her and she was going to hang onto that little bit of advice, let it get her through this time so she could get back to her own time.

"GRYFFINDOR!" she heard, and clapped for Ginny as the girl watched her warily, seating herself at the Gryffindor table, right beside Remus, who smiled at her offering her a roll.

Hermione smiled, grimly at her friend, and nodded. Ginny looked relieved and she took the proffered roll, eating it slowly, watching the back of Hermione's head, taking in her drooping shoulders and her shaking hands as she slowly went about her meal.

Hermione watched Snape for nearly three weeks, and the pain she felt at having shunned him transformed into a dull constant ache. She didn't know exactly what it was that hurt her so much. They barely knew each other. She knew he watched her too, but she rarely caught him doing so. She sat through all her classes with tears in her eyes, attending them with the Gryffindors, as Dumbledore had suggested to "keep her in line." She had felt like a scolded child through her entire time there.

The Slytherin Head Common room was practically unbearable. When Snape came to the room, he usually brought Lucius Malfoy with him. Lucius, not caring who and what side she worked for, would try and feel her up. She'd leave, usually followed by the scoffing Slytherin groupies that hung around Severus and Lucius.

On this particular night she was hiding in the library, which, as always was her escape from everything else. It was past curfew, but she had just finished patrols and the Head Girl had no curfews. She was walking between the shelves looking for a book, when a sound startled her. She dropped the book, grabbed her wand, and ducked, drawing her wand.

Hermione was surrounded on both sides by Lucius and Crabbe and Goyle. She shivered, surveying her surroundings carefully for any escape. Ginny was studying in the Great Hall with the marauders, so she was alone, currently surrounded by death eaters. "What do you want Lucius?" she asked, standing with her chin up, summing up all her Gryffindor courage, though she wasn't currently a Gryffindor, it didn't mean the house hadn't given her a backbone.

"Well, I want what I've always wanted. I want you, I want my mark, and I want darkness," Lucius said.

"How long did it take you to figure out your three wants, Malfoy? From what I've seen, your intellect isn't quite up to Severus' standards," she growled, stepping back. She knew what she was going to do would be risky in every sense of the word.

"Please, Severus is a pawn in the palm of my hand. He'd do anything for me," Lucius scoffed.

"Maybe that's what he wants you to think. He always has been the brains in the relationship hasn't he, Lucy?" Hermione smirked. Just as Lucius flung a spell at her, she dropped to the floor and shot a spell towards him, a spell he dodged.

"Expelliarmus!" he called. Her wand flew from her hand. She gasped, trying to grab at it. Lucius laughed at her. She tried to sum up her wandless energy, but she had just been tutored in it by Professor Spring a few hours ago and her power was drained. She cried out when Crabbe and Goyle grabbed her from behind.

"And here I thought you were powerful," Lucius smirked.

"Don't fuck with me Malfoy," Hermione warned, glaring dangerously.

"Oh I'll do more than that," Lucius said. Hermione began focusing her energy as well as she could, but Lucius' fist came to her face hard, making her lose her train of thought. She could feel her raw power bubbling within her, but not enough yet. He continued to pound her, a few more to the face, then several in the stomach.

Goyle kicked the back of her knees and she fell before Lucius on her knees, her right one colliding particularly hard, hurting her badly. He grabbed her hair, tilting her head up to face her. She cried out, softly, but knew no one would here her, not this late at night.

"So, Alaira, how are you feeling?" Lucius asked. "Finally accepting your place, on your knees, aren't we? You can stay there, or you can join us. I can do much more. This is only a fraction of the pain you're about to feel," Lucius growled. Hermione stared defiantly at him, earning a foot to her chin. She was thrown back, but she crawled to her feet, her right leg still throbbing in protest, only to be backhanded to the floor. She coughed violently, pushing herself to her hands and knees. Goyle kicked her side and she fell against Lucius' legs.

Her green eyes flashed red, and finally her original brown. Goyle and Crabbe fell to their knees, screaming in agony, their skin bubbling. Hermione continued coughing, while Lucius took a quick step away from her.

Footsteps were heard and Snape soon appeared. "Lucius, what are you doing?" Snape growled, trying not to look at Hermione. "This is Springs area of patrol, idiot!" Snape snapped. "Did you hex Crabbe and Goyle?"

"They just dropped," Lucius said.

Hermione coughed and then started laughing hoarsely. "You really don't know what real magic is Lucius, raw power… simply put: witch feels pain, witch has no wand, witch's magic attacks whoever is inflicting the damage. I actually am more powerful than you thought aren't I?" Hermione's laughs subsided in a fit of coughs. "I can't reverse it either, not that I would," Hermione said. Crabbe and Goyle were unconscious, but their skin was still bubbling.

"No one finds out about this. Get them out of here," she barked the order at Lucius, who hurriedly agreed, rushing to Crabbe and Goyle, and levitating them, leaving at a run.

Hermione pushed herself up to her hands and knees again, getting to her feet, before stumbling and falling into a shelf that wobbled dangerously. As soon as Lucius was out the door, Snape ran to the shelf, steadying it, as it wobbled dangerously over Hermione. He set his wand on the ground, getting on his knees beside her. He gently brushed her hair from her eyes, which were closed tightly, silent tears running down her cheeks, her entire body slack.

He bent up her torso, allowing her to lean against his chest, rocking her softly as she sobbed in pain, which only caused her stomach to hurt more.

"Severus Snape, what is going on?" the usually-cheerful voice of the headmaster said, with an angry edge.

"She was attacked," Snape said, picking her up easily. She gripped his shirt, sobbing into his arms.

"By who pray-tell," Dumbledore snapped.

"I can't tell you," Snape said.

"Would you like me to expel you instead?" Dumbledore said.

"Well, it's better than what he'd do to me?" Snape growled back, knowing Dumbledore would catch his meaning.

"Get your bloody hands off of her," an angry voice ordered, and suddenly James, Sirius, and Remus appeared out from underneath a cloak.

"No," Snape stated, simply.

For the first time ever, Remus drew his wand on Snape, pointing it right at his face. "Let her go," he said, darkly.

"I will not!" Snape said. Hermione choked on her tears, knowing what Dumbledore was trying to make her do as he pushed slightly against the barrier she had secured over her mind.

"Put me down, Severus; I have to go with them," she said, tears streaming faster down her face. He looked at her with betrayal in his eyes.

"I don't have a choice. We aren't the same, Severus. You are a death eater and I am a Phoenixer," she whispered. Unable to stop herself she brushed her lips across his neck, without it being noticed by the others.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. He placed her on her feet, with a look of indifference, holding her up as she took the few steps to Remus, collapsing on her injured right leg. He caught her, dropping his wand, nodding to Sirius, who came and picked her up. Severus couldn't contain his growl of anger that he was the one to carry her out of all of them.

Remus quickly grabbed his wand from where it was dropped and kept it on Severus as he walked slowly to retrieve his own and then walked out of the library.

"Put me down Sirius Black," she ordered, loudly.

"No, you're injured," he snapped, beginning to carry her, following Dumbledore towards the hospital wing.

"I'm bloody fine!" she snapped, in protest.

"You're not, so just stop your fussing," Sirius said.

"I don't want you touching me, all right? I'm a little pissed off, and I don't want to be carried for someone who obviously thinks I'm the spawn of satin. Let go of me this instant!" she ordered.

"Alaira, you're only hurting yourself further," Dumbledore told her.

Hermione shut up and sighed gloomily, swallowing down the fit of coughs that was coming upon her. Her skin felt like it was on fire. She felt weak, weak and utterly alone and she hated every second of it.

Xjaoj: was that good surprise?

Tina: You know me too well to think I'd do it soon… hehe

Magical wonder: Do you think I should send her back sooner or later?

Ephona: I'm sorry, but that's what Ginny's there to prevent remember. It will only get to be romantic just before or after she goes back to her own time.

Haters r gonna rock dis world: Well you solved that problem didn't you?

Blinded One: Of course. The only other Ginny relationship I've ever written is GT and GSev. I do like the idea of GSir a bit, but you're right

Innogen: No, she's not a pureblood, but she's not a muggleborn, because she's not even born yet. The only difference in blood between muggle-borns and purebloods, in my opinion, is that the purebloods are interbred freaks. Therefore, Hermione's blood is as pure as a Malfoy's.