Chapter One – Two Proposals
More than anything else, Hermione Granger hated being disturbed while she was trying to study for her NEWTS. Ron and Harry, along with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, were talking strategy and not being very quiet about it. For half an hour more Hermione tried desperately to block out the noise they were making, but failed miserably to do so.
'That's it!' she thought to herself. 'I've got to find somewhere much quieter than this.' Hermione grabbed her books, shoved them into an already overstuffed book bag, and left the Common Room.
As she was about to exit, Harry finally noticed her and called out, "Oi, Hermione. Wait a moment." He bounded over to her and whispered in her ear. "Dumbledore wanted to have a word with you, when you have some free time. He mentioned that it was very, very important that you speak with him."
Hermione instantly forgot about her plans to find a quiet place to study and went straight to the Headmaster's office. She looked at the Gargoyle and uttered the new password ("peppermint imps"). She hated how the stairs were like a slow-moving muggle escalator that made it very hazardous to bound up them. Hermione's curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she was impatient to see what the Headmaster wanted.
"Ah, Miss Granger, please come in. Please, come in." Dumbledore was sitting behind his large desk, munching away on what looked suspiciously like Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Hermione knew that the Headmaster actively disliked Bott's because he was constantly eating one of the more … interesting varieties. Dumbledore seemed to read her thoughts.
"Ah, no. These are muggle beans; something called 'Jelly Belly.' I'm quite fond of both the name and the pear-flavored ones, even if they do resemble the bogie-flavored Bott's Beans. You, as I'm well aware, however, are not here to discuss my choice of sweets. I take it Mr. Potter has finally delivered my message to you."
"He has sir. I was wondering what you need." Hermione sat fidgeting, waiting for the answer.
"Don't worry, my dear, I am not about to feed you to the proverbial sphinx. I was wondering if you could assist our dear Potions Master with the basic potion stock we will need for the ongoing war. Between his obligations (such as they are) to Lord Voldemort and those he has towards the Order, he has been quite overwhelmed."
"Sir, are you sure he will accept my help? He seems to work best alone."
"I have already spoken to Severus on the matter. He has agreed to allow you to help him. Begrudgingly, I must admit, but he has agreed. Before you ask, you will work with him on Saturday evenings, as to not interfere with your class schedule. You begin this upcoming Saturday."
"You mean, tomorrow night?"
"Yes, my dear. He will be expecting you immediately following dinner. I suggest you finish your homework now."
Hermione nodded her agreement and headed back towards Gryffindor Tower. She was apprehensive about working with someone who so clearly did not want to be helped. She thought to her that at least it would be a good way to practice her technique for the upcoming exams. Snape would be sure to criticize her every move when they were working together. She resolved to not give him anything to criticize about her, and immediately began researching the potions he was surely going to have her make.
The next evening came far more quickly than she would have liked. Hermione picked at her dinner, anxious to be done with the upcoming task as soon as possible. She had informed both Harry and Ron of what the headmaster had asked of her last night in the common room after her meeting. They wished her luck, and she left the Great Hall early to head down to the dungeons.
When she arrived at the potions laboratory door, she knocked, hesitated a moment, and let herself in. She was greeted by the site of an empty classroom. She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing she had a moment to compose herself before she spoke with Professor Snape.
For Hermione, even in her mind, it was always Professor Snape. Not Snape, not 'greasy git,' and heaven forbid, never Severus – even though she had been working along side him in the Order for over six months now. Dumbledore had deemed it imperative that she, along with Harry and Ron, join the Order sooner than they would have otherwise. Hermione did not see it as an early end to her childhood as the headmaster had because she knew her childhood had ended along ago – it had died as Voldemort regained some semblance of walking life.
A soft sound behind the door that led to Professor Snape's office broke Hermione out of her private reverie. She set her book bag gently on the front table and made her way to the door.
"Professor," she called out softly. "Sir, are you in here?"
With that, Hermione pushed the door open and saw Professor Snape in a very unusual position. He was hunched over his pensieve, looking positively miserable. Every so often, he would admit a whimper or a soft string of curses which all contained some variation of the phrase "goddamn asshole… why did you torment me so…?"
Hermione was taken aback. This was so out of character for the Potions Master whose infamous temperament simply did not allow for such displays of emotions. At that moment, Hermione would have given anything to know what had given the potions master such a morose and tortured expression. At that moment in time, Hermione would have done anything to change the past.
Professor Snape chose that moment to look up, and to his surprise and embarrassment he saw Hermione staring intently at him. The vein by his temple began to pound against his head and his eyes burned with an intense hatred.
"Get out!" he shouted at her. "You are just as bad as your friend, Potter. Thinking you may tread where you are clearly not wanted. You must think yourself a clever girl, having something on the fearsome potions master, something to tattle to your little Gryffindork friends. Leave my dungeons this instant!"
Hermione was clearly stunned by his outburst. She surely did not mean to intentionally catch him in such a compromising situation. "Sir, the headmaster sent me," she stuttered, trying to gather the courage to face his wrath.
"Go and tell the headmaster then that I have no use for such a nosy assistant," Snape hissed. "I advise you go to him this instant so that you leave my dungeons in one piece!"
Hermione scrambled to get her bags and leave the dungeons. She heard him call out to her as she left, "Oh, and fifty points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all!"
Hermione's eyes watered at the injustice of the situation. She hadn't asked to be the professor's assistant, she hadn't asked to see him at his most vulnerable. She wandered around the castle, not consciously thinking about where she would end up. Hermione finally found herself staring at the gargoyle that stood guard over the entrance to Dumbledore's office. She gave the password and allowed the stairs to take her up with none of the anxiety she had felt yesterday.
Dumbledore sat behind his desk, waiting for her. Severus had talked him only moments before, still in a complete rage. The headmaster knew it was only a matter of time before Miss Granger found her way to his office. When he saw the door open, he found himself glad that she seemed to be in one piece.
"Have a seat Miss Granger," Dumbledore began gently. "I owe you an apology. I should not have sent you down there tonight, but I was insistent, with both you and Severus, that your partnership should begin as soon as possible. This is always a rough time of year for him."
Hermione looked at Dumbledore strangely. She contemplated asking him for more information, but was beat to the punch by the headmaster himself.
"Miss Granger, so long as you can promise me that this will go no further than this room, I will explain several things to you about Severus' past. This includes not saying anything to the young Mr. Potter or Mr. Weasley."
"Headmaster, I assure you that you have my complete confidence in the matter. I will not say a thing to the boys."
"Well then Miss Granger, I ask you not to interrupt with any questions until after I am done with my story, if you will. I assure you that I will answer questions you may have, and I have another proposal for you to consider. Will this arrangement be acceptable?"
"Of course, Headmaster," Hermione asked. She then turned every ounce of focus she possessed on Dumbledore; this was something even he found a bit unnerving.
"As I am sure you are well aware, Severus did not have anything close to resembling a decent childhood. His father was abusive to his mother, and ignored Severus completely until Severus showed magic ability. It was his father's mistaken belief that Severus was not his child, but that of his brother. He knew his wife to be in love with his brother, and so he naturally assumed that her nature was as corrupt as his was, which wasn't the case in the least.
Severus grew up without much support or love. When he at last came to Hogwarts, he found himself looking for acceptance as part of a group. While it is true that he knew more about the Dark Arts at age eleven than most of the seventh years, it was not a malevolent quality in the boy. He was forced to learn them as part of his family heritage. It made him stand out as an excellent student in both Defense against the Dark Arts and Potions.
As you are also quite aware, Severus was sorted into Slytherin. He was not received well there because of his financial situation. His father had gambled most of what he owned away, and the Snape name was badly tarnished as a result. He caught the eye of a few of the older students, namely Lucius Malfoy, but they also paid him little attention at first.
Severus sought out other people in other houses to befriend. He made a few acquaintances in Ravenclaw because of his intelligence, and, believe it or not, he befriended Remus Lupin. It seemed as though Severus had finally found some sort of attachment that he could look at in a positive light.
It wasn't long afterwards that young Lupin became friends with Sirius Black, James Potter, and the ever-tag-along Peter Pettigrew. Potter was brought up to intensely dislike anyone in Slytherin house because it was widely believed that no good came out of them, they were all dark wizards of one variety or another. This prejudice blinded him to the true nature of anyone in that house, including Severus.
Potter was an incredibly popular student, even as a first year. He began to pick on Severus, calling him on both his advance knowledge of the Dark Arts and his unfortunate complexion. Slowly, Potter began to convince Lupin that his reputation would be hurt if he was seen in the company of young Severus. For many years, up until the boys' fifth year I believe, Lupin continued to be a friend to Severus despite the pressures that both Black and Potter were putting on him. Lupin even let Severus in on the secret of his condition, and Severus swore to him that he would find a solution to the problem one day.
It was during his fifth year, however, that Lupin became more self-conscious. He was trying to get the attention of several different girls and knew that Severus was not a positive image enhancer. He decided, rather mistakenly, that the best way of Severus would be to humiliate him in such a way that Severus would know that Lupin had been behind the prank. It would be easy enough to convince James and Sirius to help him, as the boys played pranks on Severus nearly all of the time. You see, not only had Lupin shared his darkest secret with Severus, but Severus in turn had given some potentially dangerous information to Lupin.
Lupin was in the possession of the information that Severus had a crush on Lily Evans, not-so-secret desire of James Potter. Between himself, Black, and Potter, they devised a plan that would allow for maximum humiliation with little recourse for Severus to take. Lupin was sure it would make him stand out as part of the 'cool group' for the girls he pursued and get rid of Severus at the same time.
What you must understand is that Lupin was a fifteen year-old boy at the time, not given to thinking about the ultimate consequences of his actions. I take it that our Mr. Potter related the events he saw in Severus' pensieve to you a few years ago?"
Hermione nodded.
"That was the prank, and it worked rather well. Lupin realized his mistake, and begged Severus for his forgiveness. Severus would not grant him it, but told him that he would remain true to the memory of their friendship and not tell a soul about Lupin's condition, and he would continue to work on something to cure it. Severus was becoming a man of uncommon honor.
It was also at this time that the Dark Lord saw a use for young Severus, and bid Malfoy to befriend the boy and bring him into the fold. Malfoy delegated this task to Rodolphus LeStrange and his friends. At first, Severus resisted their attempts to 'befriend' him, and kept to himself. However, by the end of his seventh year, Severus had become so despondent that he began to believe in what LeStrange and the Death Eaters were promising him. What sealed the deal was Voldemort's promise to hand him the opportunity to pay back the group of Gryffindors that had made him so miserable. Severus then became a Death Eater.
You know the rest of the story, I'm sure. Severus realized he had made a huge mistake, and tried to rectify it before it was too late. Unfortunately, he was not able to save James and Lily Potter (who had rectified the mistakes in their past in their own right). He became dedicated to the cause of bringing down Voldemort, a man he saw as abusive as his own father. He has worked tirelessly ever since.
Miss Granger, now is the time for questions, as I'm sure you have many," Dumbledore finished.
Hermione looked at him for a moment before proceeding. "Why sir, are James, Sirius, Remus, and, well not Peter so much, but the first three regarded as good people when they clearly were not?"
"Miss Granger, while I am generally one for excuses, I can say with absolute certainty that Mr. Potter's upbringing caused him to retain certain prejudices against others, correct or not, prejudices held by many wizards of the time – and Mr. Black grew up with Mr. Potter.
The group of them were also fifteen year-old boys who wanted nothing more than for girls to find them attractive. James even saved Severus' life one night after a particularly malicious prank Sirius tried to play on him, if I recall events correctly. Severus, my dear, was not wholly innocent either – he extracted his revenge almost every time, and in some cases the results were particularly nasty.
I can also say that James and Lily Potter regretted their behavior once they grew up and had a child. They realized what they had done was wrong, much in the same way that Severus knew joining the Death Eaters had been a mistake. Unfortunately, these things never seemed to resolve themselves and precious lives were lost."
Hermione nodded and strained to think of another question. She could not, so instead she settled on bringing up a point from earlier in the conversation. "Sir," she began tentatively, "What is the nature of the other proposal you said you had for me?"
Dumbledore pressed his hands together and held up his chin. "If given the opportunity Hermione, would you be willing to give up your life for the cause of defeating Voldemort?"
"Of course I would sir," Hermione quickly responded.
"A true Gryffindor indeed. Miss Granger, I have been studying a number of subjects for a great number of years now, including the time stream that governs our daily actions and courses. I have recently discovered a means of transporting a person to the past for a lengthy amount of time to change something in the past that would have a great impact on the present situation. This spell, as it were, gives that person the opportunity to return to the time from which they came once they feel they have done the best job they can in the situation, although they will no longer lead the same life they had lead before, but they will know what is happening in that timeline."
Hermione cocked her head. "Headmaster, how is that possible that the person would have prior knowledge of the time if it had been radically altered from when they left that timeline? If that person chose to stay in the past, then wouldn't there be two of that person in the future?"
"Miss Granger, I do not pretend to know all of the mysteries that time presents. I know, however, that it works because I myself have done it, but there are some things I simply cannot change because I am not in such a position to do so.
As for your second question, it is an excellent point. Allow me, however, to explain what it is I would like you to do before I answer because I want you to take that into consideration as well.
When I asked if you would give up your life for the cause, I did not mean literally. What I would like to you to do is go back to 1977 when Severus was beginning his seventh year at Hogwarts. I want you to do everything in your power to stop him from becoming a Death Eater. He played an extremely important part of Voldemort becoming as powerful as he was.
You see Hermione, Voldemort is only as powerful as his Death Eaters. When a person takes the Dark Mark, part of their power and knowledge is transferred to Voldemort. You can imagine what happened when Severus, an exceptionally talented and powerful wizard took the mark, and what kind of benefits that the Dark Lord gained. This was augmented by the fact that Severus became his right-hand man, which allowed Voldemort to bring about the terror that he did. I have studied the situation thoroughly, and I have concluded that if Severus did not join the Death Eaters, the original Order could have defeated Voldemort for good early in his career and saved countless lives."
Hermione looked at him, "What will you tell the others if I am to leave?"
"They will be told you are on a mission for the Order. Your schooling is nearly complete, and I will tell them that you have postponed taking your NEWT exams until you return. Assuming you return, that is."
"Headmaster, that brings up another question," Hermione stated. "What does happen if I choose to stay in the past? And how will explain myself if I do go back to 1977?"
"Hermione," began Dumbledore, "I will not lie to you. This plan is a long time in the making. If you are to go back, it will look as though you're an orphaned child that has bounced from school to school depending on what family you are living with at the time. Because you are of age in the wizarding world, you no longer have need of legal guardians, but you will find a home with anyone in the Order should you so desire. I will set up a handsome bank account with Gringotts to ensure that you have sufficient means to live comfortably. You will have a plausible background story that will pass even the scrutiny of the Ministry should you apply for a job with them.
As for what will happen in the future, it is complicated. If you decide to stay, I will go forward to notify myself and make sure that you never meet yourself in the future. This means I would move your parents out of the country, most likely to America, where there is little chance you would ever run into the other version of yourself.
Curiously enough, the other version of you will be the exact opposite of you, for there cannot be two of the exact same people occupying the universe. This means that the other version of yourself would not be a witch, but instead just a muggle. This also great reduces the chances of you ever running into her. While this plan is not one hundred percent foolproof, every feasible cautionary action has taken place."
Hermione seemed perturbed at his assumption she would go. However, what disturbed her even more was that he was absolutely right to think so. It made her think of a line from a muggle movie she had recently seen. She repeated a version of it out loud to herself.
"Courage is not the absence of fear, just deciding that there is something more important than the fear. Headmaster, I will do this for the cause. Even if I'm not friends with Harry in the future, the idea that I may be able to save his parents, along with the parents of so many others, is compelling in and of itself. I also want to help Professor Snape lead a better life, as he has proven himself a man of great honor. When do I leave?"
Dumbledore looked delighted. "Certain arrangements must be made. I will perform the spells early tomorrow morning. Enjoy the last evening you will be spending here for a while, but do not tell anyone of the plan."
Hermione nodded in agreement and left for Gryffindor tower. She spent the night with her two best friends and headed off to bed, anxious to see what tomorrow would bring.