Chapter Six: The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But…

Hermione went back to her room, working on a plan of attack regarding Severus. She knew she had made a favorable impression that afternoon, even if he had clammed up. It was a foundation that she was determined to build upon. She knew wanted to play it safe, but she knew that she did not have the luxury of taking the time it would require to work past Severus' wall the old-fashioned way. It was time for some decidedly Slytherin tactics, and she knew it would take all of her vaunted Gryffindor courage to do this. At that moment, a knock came at her door.

"Come in," she called out. Severus cautiously opened the door and poked his head in. Hermione just looked at him and said, "I told you to come in. Please, take a seat." She motioned to a chair she had just conjured up.

Severus, out of sheer instinct, sat down on the chair. "I just though I'd bring you the news I received from Dumbledore," he addressed her. "The dance music has been approved, and we've got the band we requested. Also," at this he paused slightly, "the dance has been moved to the end of October at the request of the Headmaster. Oh, and it's been moved outside of the school grounds, to a discotheque in Hogsmeade."

Hermione nodded. She had been listening only marginally, trying to devise a plan to get Severus to trust her enough to let her in. 'You can remember the ingredients to any potion and remember any date of any given goblin rebellion, but you cannot figure out how to get a boy to talk to you. Typical,' she said to herself. At that moment, brilliance struck.

"Severus, thank you for letting me know about the changes to the dance. It certainly gives us more time to finish the planning, doesn't it? I think since that's all done for now though, I think we should play a game," she said.

At the suggestion, Severus raised his eyebrow. "A game," he repeated incredulously. Hermione nodded. Severus studied her for several silent, tense moments. He was just waiting to see if she would squirm, but much to his surprise (and slight displeasure) she kept still.

"Fine then, I'll agree to a game," he finally replied. "A game of my choosing, however." Hermione nodded, looking a bit worried at the prospect. Severus continued, "We will play Truth or Dare."

Hermione was secretly delighted. This was the game she had in mind, as it would give her an opportunity to show faith in him, and maybe win some of his trust in return. "Fine then, Severus, you ask first."

"Okay then, truth or dare," he asked.

"Truth," Hermione said without hesitation. Severus looked at her, wondering how far she would allow herself to be humiliated before she kicked him out of her room. He decided that he would go as far as he would on the first question, even if only to test her mettle.

"What is your most embarrassing secret," he asked.

Hermione searched around in her mind. She had no hesitation in telling him the answer to his question, and she wanted to make sure to tell him something that juicy, in a matter of speaking. She finally settled on one very embarrassing, at least to her, secret.

"I've never been kissed by a boy," Hermione stated with absolute confidence. It was not something that had particularly bothersome to her; it was just something that had never happened. Contrary to popular belief, she and Victor Krum had been good friends but nothing more.

Severus stared at her. The first thoughts running through his head were that she was lying. While she wasn't a classic beauty, he found her delightful to look at anyways, even if he didn't like her very much. The second thought was not as pleasant.

"You're lying to me," he said coldly. A thought flashed through his brain. This summer he had finally mastered Legimens, something he had been working on for the past two years. He would delve into her mind and see if she was lying or not. It would be tricky to do it without her noticing too much.

He continued to stare at her, slowly reaching mental fingers into her brain. He sorted through her memories delicately, looking for some clue to her dishonesty. He saw her getting sorted, meeting Ron and Harry, being called a 'mudblood' by some blonde Slytherin he did not recognize, and finally, he saw himself… except it was not himself as he was now. He was older, more sullen, and telling Hermione that he saw no difference to what were teeth that would shame a beaver.

He pulled back abruptly. He was desperately trying to collect his thoughts enough to process them. He did not know what he had found in her mind, but he was sure it was not something he was meant to see. Just who was this Hermione Granger anyways?

It occurred to him to ask the question to the woman he was wondering. "Who are you," he hissed at her, simultaneously scurrying backwards off his chair and out of her room. Before she could answer, he slammed the door and took off running in the direction of the Headmaster's office.

Hermione sat in her room in shock. She could not believe that he had violated her private space with so little regard for her. It was horrible, and she was shocked that even now – that was, before he was a Death Eater – he was willing to violate others in order to get information he thought he was in need of. It served him right that he saw all of her memories.

Oh God, he saw her memories. Not just any memories either, memories about her time at Hogwarts. This was definitely not a good thing. She was not sure how to proceed, but she knew Dumbledore would. She was also sure that Severus would take off for there before he did anything else. He would, she hoped, remain that logical.

She would just have to wait to see what the Headmaster would do. The waiting, she was sure, was going to kill her.

As luck would have it, Hermione was right. Severus left her room, running full bore for the Headmaster's office. He was in a blind panic. He was, not for the first time, scared of what he had seen. He was trying to make sense of what he had seen in her mind. How was she being sorted if she had never been here – it was a normal Sorting Ceremony, that much he was certain of – and who were those boys he had seen? They were protective of her, but more like brothers than lovers were. He knew the Headmaster would have the answers for him.

Before he realized it, he was standing in front of the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office. He gave the password, and waited to be taken to the top of the stairs. He hoped that he would find Dumbledore behind his desk, as the man seemed to know everything that took place within the castle. He was not surprised in the least when he saw the Headmaster waiting behind his desk.

Without preamble, Severus told the Headmaster what he had seen in Hermione's head. While he did not exaggerate, he also did not leave out any details, no matter how small and insignificant they may seem to him. When he finished, he stared at the Headmaster intently, waiting for an explanation. Surely, the great Albus Dumbledore would have an explanation for him.

For his part, Dumbledore was lost for words. He was unaware that Severus had perfected his Legimens technique over the summer. The boy was extremely proficient at hiding his talents it would seem. While Dumbledore knew he could not tell the boy the images he saw were false (the boy was far too smart for that), he could not tell him the entire truth to why Hermione was here.

Finally, Dumbledore spoke. "Severus, nobody was meant to see what Miss Granger has in her head. It is intrusive at best, illegal in the worst case. However, what has been done has already been done, and there is nothing we can do to reverse that.

Severus, I am going to tell you Miss Granger's reason for being here, but I most require that you keep silent on the subject. It would be detrimental for her, and others, if what I am about to tell you became widely known. Do I have your silence?"

Severus nodded. Dumbledore knew he would not have to require a wand-oath from the boy; he had already seen the extent that the boy kept his word.

"Very well then; Miss Granger is from approximately 20 years into the future. She was sent back here by accident. It seems that an extremely inept student was practicing a charm to reverse aging, but he somehow managed to send her back to this time. She arrived here a week before you did. I have been trying to help her adjust ever since her arrival. Consequently, she has met Miss Evans, who was here to tell me of her decision to turn down the position of Head Girl. Miss Granger had been Head Girl in her time, so I thought it best to allow her the position here. Miss Evans has agreed to help her with the transition and other Gryffindors.

Severus, I cannot impress upon you the importance of not only your silence, but also your support of Miss Granger. She very well may never see her family or friends again. It is going to be a very trying time for her, and she will need all of the love and support she can get. Severus, can I count on you to make this an easier transition for her?"

Severus nodded automatically. He would make an effort to be kind to her. He knew far too much about losing one's family because he had lost his own at the end of the last year. Witches and wizards unknown had murdered his parents, left them hanging in Knockturn Alley with a sign that read "Muggleborn Equality NOW!" and made sure he received the news. He had not been prejudiced against Muggleborns before the incident, but it had placed the seed of hatred into his subconscious.

He also knew that she was a Muggleborn because of what he had seen in her memories. He was bound to not let it influence his decision in being nice to her. After all, she was not the one who had killed his family – she was not even present yet in the decade when his parents had been found murdered.

Severus sat silent for a few moments more. He turned over thoughts in his head, and finally decided that he would open himself up to her completely if she told him the truth about herself. It had to come out of her mouth voluntarily; he would know if she was lying or leaving something out of her tale. He decided he would talk to her in the morning. With that, he bid the Headmaster farewell and left for his quarters.

It would seem, however, that Severus forgot one crucial detail when he was thinking about his plan in the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore was a far more practiced Legimens than Severus, and could easily read the foremost thoughts on a person's mind with ease. Severus had just allowed his thoughts to be read like an open book. Dumbledore knew that he had found a way for Hermione to gain Severus' trust, even if the method was a bit underhanded. It would seem they would have to out-Slytherin a Slytherin. Dumbledore strolled over to his fireplace, used a bit of Floo Powder, and called Hermione (in a manner of speaking).

When she answered, he said to her, "Hermione, Severus has inadvertently let it slip that he would open himself to you if you told him the truth about you being here."

"Sir, I can't tell him the truth… it would ruin everything wouldn't it?"

"I have already given him a version of the truth. I have told him that you are here because of an accident. You were at the wrong end of a spell cast by an inept student and are here purely by mistake. That is what I told him, and so that has become your story. I'll let the other members of the Order know that is what Severus believes so that there won't be any unwanted mix-ups."

Hermione nodded. She said her goodbyes to the Headmaster, sat back down on her bed, and planned what she was going to tell Severus in the morning.