Title: Past, Present, Future

Summary: The past will come back, the present will change them, now what will the future hold?

Disclaimer: I do not own them, sad but true

A/N: Yes this is an AU fic. Reviews are welcome, flames are shared with friends for amusement.

Chapter 24

Months went by and still the trio seemed no closer to finding out about the stone. It was now the last day of finals,and Hermione was elated. Ron and Harry wished to crawl in a hole and die, as each were not as good at Charms as Hermione and it had taken them six times between them to levitate the book across the room. Their other exams had gone well, and each of them had managed to stay awake during History of Magic. Now they were going to visit Hagrid and enjoy the nice warm sunny day.

As they walked on, Hermione was rambling about how the Herbology exam had been almost too easy, when Harry stopped abruptly. "How could I have missed it?" he thought to himself. Quickly telling the other two his discoveries, all three ran to Hagrid's hut.

After tricking Hagrid into telling them the information they wanted, they ran back to the castle, hoping to stop whomever was after the stone. "If your father finds out, he will ground you till next year," Ron exclaimed.

"If I find out what, Mr. Weasley?" Severus said, from behind the group. He had to smirk at the three startled yelps that came out.

Harry was about to answer, but Hermione stepped in for him, saving the day. "You should be appalled at how he did on his Divination final. I told him to study, but he said it would not matter to you."

Snape studied the three faces, and he knew there was more to the story, but regardless, he answered the Granger girl. "Harry would have been correct in his assumption, Ms. Granger. I for one think Divination will not help one to become a great wizard. It is a class full of misleading information at best."

Hermione's mouth fell open, for she had never heard a teacher bad-mouth another class. She was quickly pulled along by Ron as all three rushed off talking about things they had to do before dinner that evening.

As the moon crept over the trees of the Forbidden Forest, the three met up in the common room of Gryffindor tower.

"Come on, I have my invisibility cloak to get past any prefects or teachers wandering the halls," Harry remarked. All three started two feet in the air when Neville suddenly jumped up from the chair he was in.

"You three are leaving again?"

"We have to, Neville. There is something we have got to go and do."

"You are going to get Gryffindor into trouble again. I won't let you." Neville said, balling his fists up. "I'll fight you if I have to."

Ron and Harry watched as Hermione's wand came out of her robes in a flash. "I'm really sorry about this, Neville, but it is for your own good," and before Neville knew what had hit him, he was stunned.

Stepping over him, Ron and Harry both shook their heads. "You're scary sometimes, I hope you know that, brilliant, but scary," Ron said to Hermione. He now saw her in a whole new light. She was a wicked evil witch, when she wanted to be. He had to remind himself never to become her enemy.

Walking as one big tight ball was getting to be a great pain, as feet were stepped on repeatedly. All were relieved when they saw the door on the third floor. They had bypassed Filch along the way and, when his cat had gotten to close, Hermione had conjured a mouse out of thin air. The cat had gone chasing it, sending Filch in the opposite direction.

When they got to the door, Hermione opened it, and they walked in cautiously, expecting to be attacked by the vicious three-headed dog. They were still clad in the cloak, but found the dog asleep and a harp playing in the corner.

Harry started to panic. "This means someone has already gotten to the stone."

Hermione said nothing, going over to the door and trying to move the huge paws out of the way. "It means nothing of the sort. If we hurry, we can catch whomever before they get to it."

Helping her move the humongous paws, Harry and Ron stood.

"Look, if something happens in there, get yourselves out. I mean it," Harry said, trying to look as menacing as he could.

"Harry, if your father finds out, we will all need new limbs, as he tears ours out slowly for putting you at risk."

Hermione noticed it had become awfully quiet and wondered why for a mere second. The slobber that dripped on Ron's shirt gave it away, and all three turned to see three menacing heads.

The response was the same from all three -- screams. Harry pushed Hermione to jump first, and when he saw she was clear, he jumped in. Last but not least was Ron, and when he landed, he was glad it was a soft. "Good thing this was here, aye?"

As each tried to get up and move, the thing that they had landed on came to life, wrapping vine-like tentacles around them, suffocating their airways, and preventing them from moving. Each one of them struggled to get free. Harry did not wish to have anyone find the saviour of the wizarding world killed by a murderous plant.

"Help!" Ron tried to yell. The other two chimed in with their pleas, as well, but soon Hermione's voice died down. "Quiet. This is devil's snare, if you don't relax it will only kill you faster."

"Kill us faster!" Ron yelped. His panic could not be staved off, and he struggled to no avail against the bonds. Shockingly, Hermione suddenly vanished beneath the mounds of the plant.

"Hermione!" Harry and Ron shouted, thinking that she had met her demise.

Somewhere from underneath them, Hermione answered, "You have to relax, trust me."

Soon Harry could think of no other alternative. It was either relax or keep up this futile attempt to get free. Clearing his mind, Harry felt himself falling and soon he was on the ground next to Hermione.

"Thanks," he said as he stood and worked out the kinks. He noticed Hermione was rubbing her wrist and assumed she had twisted it in the fall. He was about to ask if it pained her, when Ron's muffled screams stopped him.

"He is not going to relax, is he?" Hermione asked, and Harry shook his head no in reply. "There was something Professor Sprout said in Herbology, but cannot remember it," Hermione said, pacing back and forth in front of Harry. "I got it!" she replied, almost running into Harry. "Devil's Snare hates sunlight, but how are we going to make sunlight?"

Harry looked at her as if she were insane. "You are a witch Hermione," he said with a wee bit of sarcasm.

Hermione glared back at him for showing her up in a thought matter, but she did not blink as she incanted a spell and a great light sprung from her wand. Soon, both saw Ron falling with a great thump to land on the floor at their feet.

"Whew, good thing it didn't eat me," he said, brushing the grime off of his shirt. Harry rolled his eyes. Sometimes Ron could really be thick-headed.

"It's a good thing Hermione pays attention in Herbology." This made Ron blush a deep crimson to match his flaming red hair, and he began walking down the tunnel in front of them.