Hope Does not Disappoint Us

Summary:

Hermione goes back in time to save her parent's life, but accidentally goes to far and ends up in the time of Lily's and James's seventh year. Hermione falls in love, but what happens when she has to return to her own time? Will he love her twenty years later? HGSS

Disclaimer:

I do not own any characters or settings. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

And hope does not disappoint us...

Romans 5:5


Chapter 4

Strange Dreams

The next morning Hermione woke up early. She couldn't help but spend a little extra time getting herself ready the next morning. She hoped that Severus ate breakfast early every morning.

Her wish came true, when she got to the Great Hall she found he was already sitting down and eating.

"Good morning," Hermione greeted him warmly with a smile.

Severus returned the gesture and pointed to the seat across from him. Hermione began piling sausage and eggs onto her plate. "Are you going to the dance?" Severus asked curiously.

"Yeah, I'm really excited. Lily and I are going to buy dress robes this Saturday. What about you? Are you going?" Hermione questioned.

"I don't know… I think so. I haven't been to one before," Severus admitted.

"Oh, you have to come then. They are so much fun. I went to the prefect's ball last year. It was awesome," Hermione said not realizing her mistake.

Severus looked puzzled, "I didn't know that other schools had prefects. What school did you go to?"

"Umm…well, I went to—to North England's School for Witches. They had prefects too." Hermione lied.

"I've never heard of that before," Severus said skeptically.

"Of course you haven't. It was just a private girl's school. It didn't have enough Newt level courses. That's why I moved here," Hermione said crossing her fingers under the table.

"Oh, that's strange. Anyway, about the dance," Severus said as he rubbed his hands together nervously, "I was wondering if you would like to go…" Severus trailed off as Lily came over and sat next to Hermione.

"Good morning, Hermione," Lily exclaimed brightly. Lily grabbed a bowl of cereal and began pouring milk over it.

Hermione looked back and Severus, "What were you saying?"

"Uhh… I was just wondering if you wanted to head towards divination class?" Severus asked.

Hermione was slightly disappointed. She was hoping that he was going to ask her to the dance, but replied, "Sure we need to plan stage two of operation grim."

Severus and Hermione grinned evilly at each other. Lily gave Hermione a curious look and Hermione mouthed silently, "I'll explain later." Lily nodded and said, "See you guys in transfigurations."

Hermione waved to Lily and then directed her attention to Severus. "What should we do to the old fraud today?"

Severus pondered for a moment then said, "Well, yesterday was the last day of tea leaves. Today we should be analyzing dreams."

Hermione's eyes lit up and she whispered excitedly to Severus. When the silver ladder descended they were greeted by an extremely pale and nervous professor. Hermione patter her comfortingly on the shoulder before joining Severus at a round table.

Professor Calmany greeted her class with an attempt at her usual misty voice but failed and resulted in sounding like someone with a severe cold. "Today we will begin analyzing dreams. Write a description of your dream then hand it to your partner so they can analyze it. Begin," the professor manage to choke out. Hermione smirked evilly and began writing out her preplanned dream. She winked at Severus and handed him her "dream."

Severus pulled out his copy of Dream Oracle and began to go through the steps of analyzing a dream. "Was the dream in color or black and white?"

"Color," Hermione answered.

Severus turned to the appropriate page then asked, "How many times has it occurred?"

"Three times."

Severus turned the page again then said, "Okay, I need to pull of the key subjects and look up their meaning. First you see a lady reading by candlelight…" Severus thumbed through until he found what he was looking for. Then he said, "Okay, if this is a prophetic dream, then it will occur to a female scholar or professor. What happened next?" Severus asked Hermione.

"Well she looks at a clock and it reads 3:00. But it is dark outside so it must be really early." Hermione flipped through her book until she arrived on time then continued read aloud from the text, "When time is shown in dreams it is used to show how long until the event will take place. If it occurs early it means the event will take plan soon."

"Right, so the event will take place soon. What happens next?" Severus asked.

"Well, I hear a sort of rustling noise outside and a low growl and a bark." Hermione pondered for a second, "That must be an animal. The only animals I know that bark are dogs and seals. Since it couldn't have been a seal then it must have been a dog."

Severus searched through his book then said, "A happy dog represents companionship and loyalty, but if also could have been a grim since it was kind of angry sounding. What does the lady do when she hears the dog?"

"Next, the professor, or whoever she is gets up and looks out the window. She drops her lamp and everything goes black. That's when I woke up," Hermione explained.

"Hmm…" Severus said as he searched for breaking glass in the book, "Ahh, her it is. It means the worst has happened."

Professor Calmany walked over to Severus's and Hermione's table and politely asked them to explain the dream they had analyzed to her. This was what they had been waiting for. Hermione tried to keep her voice even as she began to explain the dream.

"You see, I've had this dream for the past three nights, but it doesn't have a happy meaning. Hermione handed the dream description to the professor and began to explain, "The main subject is a female professor or scholar. The time on the clock means the event will happen soon. She hears a dog outside which we are assuming is a grim because it is growling and barking. Then the lady stands up and breaks her glass lamp which means the worst will happen."

Professor Calmany looks terror stricken as she says, "Excellent interpretation. I just feel sorry for the professor this dream is about…"

"But professor," Severus said innocently, "aren't you worried. This dream could be about you."

"Don't be silly, boy." She said in a would-be-calm voice, but the professor's eyes revealed her inner turmoil.

When the class dismissed, Hermione and Severus couldn't stop laughing until they reached their transfiguration class where they the Serio (or serious) charm on themselves before entering the classroom.

Lily had saved both Hermione and Severus a seat. Professor Mcgonagall announced that they would be attempting human transfiguration on each other. McGonagall paired people. To Hermione's delight she was paired with Severus.

"So what animal do you want to be?" Severus asked.

"I don't know," Hermione thought for a moment. "I've always loved horses. Do you think you could manage that?"

"Sure," Severus answered. "Equinimagus."

Hermione transformed into a beautiful bay mare with a brown coat and a long flowing black mane. She trotted in a little circle around Severus then took a bow. (Or the closest this a horse can do to a bow.) He laughed and transferred her back into a human. Now it was Severus's turn to become an animal.

"What do you want to be?" Hermione inquired.

"I would like to be a cat."

Hermione waved her wand, "Felinimagus."

Severus turned into a sleek black cat and he gave a soft meow. Hermione picked him up and said, "You look like a tiny panther." She began stroking his soft velvety fur. Then he started to purr. After a minute or so Hermione set him down and turned him back into a human.

"You make a cute cat." Hermione complimented.

Severus blushed slightly. The rest of the afternoon flew by for Hermione. She had double charms. They had received a list of charms likely to appear on the NEWTS. Hermione and Lily spent the whole period practicing these together.

After dinner Hermione and Severus went to the library to study.

When they had both finished their homework, Severus offered to walk Hermione back to her common room. They walked together in silence. Hermione could tell that Severus was pondering over something in his mind. When they finally reached the Gryffindor common room entrance Severus finally spoke, "Hermione, I was wondering…" Severus trailed off. His face was red, but he continued, "Would…would you like to the dance with me?"

Hermione looked into his eyes and saw his apprehension and she replied with glee, "Oh, Severus, I would love to go to the dance with you." She gave him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. "Goodnight," she said as she climbed through the fat lady's portrait.

Severus stared at the portrait Hermione had just disappeared into for several minutes before finally coming to his senses. With a slight smile on his face, he made his way to the Slytherin common room.


So… what do you think? Please tell me by reviewing. Sorry about the long wait, but I was gone on vacation and didn't have access to a computer. Thanks

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