The Flight from Hell.
Chapter 2 – The New Student.
"So what you are telling me, Miss Granger, is that the Castle saved you by opening a room of requirement?" Albus Dumbledore asked.
"Yes I think so" Hermione answered.
"And you have either been sent backwards in time or sideways to an alternative present"
"Mmm, something like that I suppose"
Albus turned to Minerva "What do you think Minerva, you've been awfully quiet?"
The three were sitting in the Headmasters office trying to make sense of Hermione's presence and to ascertain what it all meant. Albus and Hermione both looked directly at the Deputy Headmistress as she formulated a reply.
"What can I possibly say Albus" she began "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
"Hamlet" Hermione stated.
"Indeed" replied Albus.
"I have never heard of, nor read of, the Castle intervening on behalf of a mortal person. It does not mean it might never happen of course" Minerva philosophised "Wouldn't it be extraordinary though" she smiled wryly. "So tell me Miss Granger, did the Castle actually speak to you at all?"
"No Professor, it didn't. I felt the wards fall, like a small earthquake. There was a shimmering for a moment and I continued to run from the Death Eater" Hermione answered.
"So" Minerva said looking from Albus to Hermione "We don't really know what the Castle's motivation was. We need clarification."
"Sir Nicholas" Hermione stated.
Minerva stood up and said in a nice loud voice "Sir Nicolas are you here?"
A few moments later the ghost of Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington floated into the Headmasters office.
"Miss Granger, how delightful it is to see you again" he bowed to Hermione.
"Oh surely not as delightful as it is to see you again kind sir" she replied with a curtsey.
"For goodness sakes, can we get on with this please?" Minerva interjected gruffly.
All eyes turned to Minerva "It's almost lunch time" was her sheepish retort.
Everyone nodded assent.
"Sir Nicholas" Hermione asked "When I was at the portrait to Gryffindor tower you spoke to the Castle on my behalf and got permission for me to enter"
"That's right' Sir Nicolas replied.
"So you've spoken to the Castle?" Minerva queried him.
"In a manner of speaking dear lady, yes. You see" he turned theatrically to address everyone "the castle is a living entity. It is imbibed with the essence of the founders and has been absorbed energy from the thousand years it has stood as a magical school. Its powers have grown, though it doesn't actually use them per se. There are wards up to protect it and when it felt them fall it recognised Miss Granger as a potential protector" he said.
"Me" Hermione asked quizzically.
"Ah" said Albus raising his index finger dramatically in recognition "You bear his mark"
When Hermione looked at him askance he pointed at her.
"On your shoulder Miss Granger, you have the tattoo." Then it dawned on Hermione, the tattoo of Godric Gryffindor's sword.
She lowered her face and covered her mouth with her hand "You've seen it have you" she said sheepishly.
"Yes my dear" he replied "It's a beautiful rendition."
At the inquiring look from the Deputy she turned her back and pulled down the neckline of her robe to show the tattoo. She was greeted with a sharp intake of breath and then raised the robe to cover her shoulder.
"Indeed Albus it's a very nice illustration." Minerva commented.
"So Sir Nicholas, do you have any idea what the Castle expects of me" Hermione asked turning once again to the ghost.
"I'll just go and find out" he said and drifted off into the wall.
Albus passed around lemon sherbets as they waited for Sir Nicholas to return. After a few minutes of sucking sherbets he drifted back in.
"It seems you have been permanently moved via temporal shift to the past." He said. "The Castle expects you to right the wrongs that led to the battle and to prevent certain events from happening. Apparently you will not be told what this is but you will just do things and influence people of your own free will."
"Oh" Hermione said "I see" she didn't look like she saw at all "Um, I just do my thing and - stop stuff"
"In a manner of speaking" Sir Nicholas said, "Yes."
Hermione pursed her lips and bobbed her head "Uh huh."
Turning to the Headmaster and Deputy she continued to bob her head "I would have thought of that sooner or later" she said wryly. "I'm an avenging angel sent to change history by a lump of stone and mortar."
Minerva opened her mouth to say something but stopped and sucked her thin bottom lip into her mouth. All she managed was a mmm sound followed by a sigh.
Albus did pretty much the same thing.
After a few minutes of absorbing silence Hermione rose to her feet.
"Professor McGonagall" she addressed Minerva formally "Will you be my guardian so I can remain here at school for the rest of the year?"
"Of course my dear" Minerva said "Anything you need I will provide"
"Thank you" she smiled "And Headmaster perhaps we'd best ruminate on this for a while until we come up with a plan. Can we consult the Order perhaps?"
Albus and Minerva cast furtive glances at each other then stared at Hermione aghast "What do you know of the Order, child?" Minerva asked.
"I'm a member Professor, or at least I was in my own time" she replied. "My friends and I organised what we called Dumbledore's Army as an underground resistance front at the school."
"Charming" Albus said in his usual accepting manner "Very well then" he rose from his seat beside Minerva "perhaps it will be best if we get everyone involved." He offered his hand to help his Deputy up then pronounced "Lunch then" and the meeting was over.
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Hermione was introduced to the students of Gryffindor House as Minerva's niece who had come to stay for the rest of the school year. Remus winked at her knowingly which made Sirius curious. Remus didn't wink at girls, there was definitely something fishy going on here.
She smiled at the students but instead of sitting with them she made her way over to the Slytherin table to greet 'her husband'. After years of knowing the alternative Severus of the future in all his snarkiness, she had no idea what to do with this younger version. To her he was still beautiful but not jaded like her husband. The lines were gone from his face and he seemed a bit shorter and thinner.
Hermione decided that the first thing to do was to become friends with him and see where that friendship might lead.
Before she managed to get his attention Narcissa Black and her pet greeted her. Smiling widely she extended her hand in greeting and introduced Hermione to the table as her friend. It could be said that being a friend of Miss Black was an open invitation to any home. Many heads nodded at her in greeting and finally she met Severus' eye. She smiled coyly and waited for an offer of a seat beside him.
Of course it was unheard of. No young woman would willingly sit beside Severus Snape. He was considered an outsider even to his fellow Slytherins. Dark, quiet and brooding – he was certainly not a lady's man by any interpretation of the phrase. But Hermione knew what dwelt within and the passion that this brooding man was capable of.
Their eyes locked. She could see the indecision in his, but when the corner of his mouth turned up slightly into a small smile she knew she had won a victory.
"May I sit with you Severus" she asked softly.
Of course she heard the murmurs but they were drowned out by Narcissa's voice. "Come on Sev, be a dear and shove up for the lady."
Not only had Narcissa Malfoy spoken to him directly, but he was also going to publicly sit with Hermione. Today was looking up. He moved up and turned to offer her his hand so she could step over the bench and take a seat.
She sat beside him and turned to whisper a small "thank you" into his ear. He nodded slightly in assent. The other students offered her platters of food as they were passed along the table. They certainly were much more civilised to eat with than the Gryffindors she knew from the future Hermione noted.
Her leg was gently touching Severus' and she could feel his heat. She shifted slightly so she was closer to him and felt him move to return the pressure. It was quite heady to have him so close and to feel his thigh pressed against hers.
Narcissa started a conversation of general chitchat after they finished eating. Lucius was sleeping with his head lounging out of her jumper and seemed very peaceful. It was decided that they would meet later to change him back.
The discussion turned to classes and when she would be starting. Hermione said it would be a couple of days as she had to get textbooks and robes and would be shopping with her Aunt Minerva tomorrow. There was general surprise about her Aunt but she let it pass – someone made a joke about the Blacks and Sirius being a prime example of not being able to pick your relatives.
Severus' hand reached to cover hers under the table and his fingers wove between her fingers so their palms were together. He gave her a small squeeze and she couldn't suppress her smile and the slight blush that rose onto her cheeks.
When the bell went to announce the end of lunch Hermione regretfully released Severus' hand and rose with the rest of the students. After good-byes all round she left for the Staff table to find out about general issues.
"Come and sit in on my class dear" Minerva coaxed her "It will do you good to spend some time with the other students."
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It was a good suggestion indeed. The first class was with the 7th year Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students. She was able to sit with Remus and let him show her his transfiguration skills. Some comments were made about her changing Malfoy into a ferret and Minerva asked her to show her skills to the class.
Minerva presented her with an apple and was asked to turn it into an animal. She'd lost her wand in her escape from the Death Eater but didn't allow that to hinder her. She stood and with a wave of her hand she stunned the students and Minerva alike with her wandless magic and was showered with a round of applause for her efforts. The spider monkey that she transfigured took a liking to Sirius and sat on his shoulder while it groomed and de-fleaed him. This led to more laughter and even Minerva smiled broadly.
Remus was charged with looking after Hermione for the afternoon and she accompanied him to the remainder of his classes. It was fun and she enjoyed walking and talking with her old friend. Lily Evans also took instantly to Hermione and she found her to be a genuinely nice person. Remus explained their friendship as a distant cousin but Sirius and James remained unconvinced. Peter didn't share their suspicions and was happy to just watch Hermione's bottom as she walked holding hands with Remus. Peter was a boy of simple pleasures after-all.
After dinner that evening Hermione met with the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall to discuss her stay in the castle. It was decided that since Hermione was only there until the end of the year it would be best not to sort her into a house, she could have a room off Minerva's chamber. The advantage was Hermione would be able to make friends in all the houses without being aligned to any particular one. This would give her the opportunity to mingle freely and not arouse suspicion.
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The following day she spent the lunch hour at Diagon Alley getting her new robes, wand and schoolbooks. Hermione was then able to settle into the castle for her 7th year. In her own time she'd already completed her NEWTS early and had taken up an apprenticeship with Severus. As she already knew all the work she decided that she would now have time to revise and get a social life. Formally she'd gone without such niceties and the thought of going for trips to Hogsmeade instead of studying maniacally pleased her thoroughly.
Spending time with Severus was more difficult than she'd originally expected it to be. In class she always tried to sit beside him but he seemed shy and other than the occasional glance or small smile he was very aloof. She found him in the Library alone about a week after she'd started classes and decided now was the time to better make his acquaintance.
"Do you mind if I sit with you Severus" she asked.
He looked up with a start when he heard his name spoken, having been engrossed in his reading and not expecting company.
"Hermione, sure sit down!" he moved some of his books and shifted over on the bench.
She sat beside him. They looked at each other daring the other to speak first.
"Studying?" she asked.
"Umm, Arithmancy" he replied looking back at the book.
"I was hoping we could chat sometime when you're not so busy" she countered.
She could see the creeping red of a blush rising up his cheeks in the lamplight. At this she reached out and put a hand on his arm, his head raised slightly and looked at her hand.
"Have I done something?" she asked quietly.
There was deadly quiet for a full 2 minutes. Finally he raised his head to look at her face.
"You were easier to talk to when you were unconscious" he said.
She tried to remember that he was a teenaged boy and took the comment with grace.
"I see your point," she said smiling with a slight chuckle.
Her relaxed air seemed to calm him somewhat and he smiled and chuckled back.
"I was hoping we could get to know each other, I suppose you have questions you'd like to ask me"
At this he looked down at her hand, took hold and lifted it to look at the wedding ring that was still there.
"Tell me about this" he asked rotating the ring with his fingers.
Hermione slipped the ring off of her finger and offered it to him. "Do you recognise it?" she asked.
He took the ring, a tasteful rose gold with white gold scrolled edges, and turned it over in his hand. It was then he noticed the inscription inside and raised it to the light to get a better look.
"Eileen and Tobias 1960" he whispered.
"It's my mother's isn't it?" he asked looking into her eyes.
She reached over and slipped the ring onto his right ring finger and then held his hand. Severus was quiet for a while just looking at the ring and her hand on his.
"I want you to tell me everything" he said quietly.
They packed up his books and slipped out of the library and headed up to her room. The walk was quiet and they held hands as they went. His fingers wove between hers and she felt a warm intensity flow between them. He didn't say a word until they were safely inside her room.
Hermione's room was large with a fireplace, lounge, studying area and separate bedroom. The bathroom was small but well appointed with a shower, toilet and vanity. She dropped her bag onto the study desk, gestured for him to do the same then went to freshen up. Upon her return Severus was sitting on the lounge in front of the fire inspecting the ring again.
She'd changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt; He'd taken off his outer robe and tie. She slipped down onto the lounge next to him and sat at an angle so she could see his face.
"You found me in the room of requirement" she started "I'd been involved in a fight with a Death Eater and the castle saved me and sent me here."
"Death Eater" he asked "The Dark Lord's followers?"
"Yes, they'd invaded the castle, I was trying to escape from a rather large one" she managed a small dry laugh.
"Big bugger?"
"Yes" she replied "I kneed him in the nuts"
He laughed at this and took her into a hug "That's my girl" he said and kissed her on the top of her head.
It seemed the ice had been broken. Sitting on the lounge, drinking soda, she explained everything. He saw her tattoos, asked if the nasal piercing hurt and finally asked how it came that they were married.
"You're a spy for Dumbledore, and an inner circle Death Eater. Lucius Malfoy had the Minister of Magic in his pocket and forced him to institute a Marriage Law. You saved me by marrying me when I was 18. I'd used a time turner and the Ministry had upped my age. I did my NEWTS early and became your apprentice. You saved my life Severus."
"You're welcome" he smiled a genuine smile at her.
They sat for another half hour making small talk, sitting comfortably in front of the warm fire before she told him her most painful piece of news.
"I can't go back." The tears rolled silently down her cheeks. "The wards fell, Dumbledore is dead, Voldemort probably won. The Castle wants me to save the world. I'm pretty fucked aren't I?"
"Yeah, I suppose you are a bit fucked actually" he smiled and lifted her downcast face wiping the tears off with the pad of his thumb "But you've got me and we'll work this out together."
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