Disclaimer: Not mine as you know.

A/N: Sorry this took so long---well, so long for me anyway. Please review! Oh and I have a little quiz here for you—Dumbledore quotes something in this chapter. I know what it is and who wrote it, but I want to know if you do. Review and let me know. I'll tell you in the next chapter if you are correct!

Chapter 13

Returning to Tomorrow

Like a leach,
I hold on as if we belonged,
To some precious pure dream.
Cast off, you've seen what's beneath,
Now fail me.

Forget closure,
Forget closure,
Forget closure,
Forget closure.

Closure has come to me myself,
You will never belong to me.
Closure has come to me myself,
You will never belong to me.

--Chevelle

Hermione needed to be alone…desperately. It was so early in the morning barely any students were up and about, especially on a weekend. When she stepped out of the doors and her eyes fell upon the pristine grounds, she felt almost guilty about disturbing it with her footprints. No one had disturbed the snow yet. The landscape was a vast whiteness that settled calm over all its inhabitants. She slowly set out toward the lake.

Leaning against a tree as she looked out over the cold lake, she allowed the silence to overcome her. Her thoughts began to drift about—always to the same thoughts. Her parents' murder. Lucius in the future, in her time. Lucius in the past, in this time. Bellatrix. Her parents' murder. She would never forget the feeling of fear and grief that gripped her that night. She closed her eyes willing the images to go away…to drift off…anything but exist in her mind…in her memory.

She heard the sound of the crunching snow as Lucius approached her. Hermione kept staring straight ahead, not bothering to turn to look at him. She was trying desperately to extricate herself from his life. In the future he hates her for what blood runs through her veins and that was something not easily forgotten. Through the corner of her eye, she saw Lucius lean up against the tree with his back to her. Slowly, her eyes shifted to look at him from behind. She felt tears prickle at the corner of her eyes. He could be so sweet and caring towards people…but it was toward people he believed to be "pure" and "untainted." The potential was there, she had seen it. She turned to look back out across the lake. The Dark Mark floating, casting an eerie glow over her house crossed her mind as if reminding her that Lucius was one of those people.

Lucius turned his head so he was looking at her profile.

"Why are you so sad?"

She felt her breath hitch in her throat at that question. His voice was unusually sweet and soft…nothing like what he would grow to be. She turned to look at him and found herself merely inches from his face. The bare trace of a smile graced her lips.

"Just memories. Nothing for you to fret over."

Her eyes followed him as he stepped out from the tree and in front of her.

"Memories of what?"

She said nothing, not sure as to what to say. Instead, she looked down, avoiding his gaze. Her eyes fell on his left forearm and though she could not see it through his cloak, she knew what lie beneath. She knew that underneath the fine black material the Dark Mark branded him as its own. She closed her eyes, wishing it all away. Lucius' finger slid under her chin and gently lifted her face up to look at him.

"Memories of what," he repeated with a bit of a sterner voice. It was funny. Yet another difference between this younger Lucius and the one she knew in her time. The Lucius she knew would never deign to put his fingers on her to lift her face up…no he would use his cane not wanting to touch a Mudblood.

"My parents' murder," she whispered.

His hand fell from under her chin. She had never told him she was parentless. A chill ran through her body. Lucius thought they were best friends. He just stared at her.

"Why did you never tell me?"

Hermione laughed slightly and looked down and back up at Lucius.

"You are the only one besides Dumbledore that knows I am from the future. I have told you more than once; there are some things I just can't tell you. You know this so it would go without saying that there are some things about me that you have no idea about…some things best kept silent."

Lucius simply nodded his head in understanding. He looked around at the pure white grounds and the students beginning to come out to enjoy the snow. The laughter of the other students drifted across to them, seeming oddly out of place for what they were discussing. They just stood in silence, neither knowing really what to say when a young first year ran by laughing. He stopped not far from where Lucius and Hermione stood. The boy turned to look back at the girl running after him. Anger was apparent on this first year's face. Her face was red, as if it had just been covered in snow. She scooped up handfuls of snow and threw them with all her might at the boy.

"I hate you James Potter!" She scooped up more and threw it again. "I hate you!"

A small smile slowly found its way onto Hermione's face. Lucius glanced over at the students and with a nod of his head in the arguing students' direction, he let Hermione know that as Head Boy he needed to take care of this. Hermione watched wondering if he would take excessive house points like Snape would do in the future and if he would even be civil to Lily. She was muggle-born after all.

Lucius stepped behind Lily and with an aristocratic stance that was very much his own, he looked down his nose at James.

"Mister Potter?"

James stopped laughing and looked at Lucius. Lily gasped in surprise, not having seen Lucius there with Hermione when she ran past. Jumping and turning to look up at Lucius, Hermione could see the shame on her face as Lily looked from Lucius to the ground. Lucius' eyes shifted to the small redhead.

"Miss Evans, kindly return to the castle while I have a…word with Mister Potter."

Lily nodded and ran for the castle not noticing Hermione standing there watching. Once Lily was out of site, Lucius took a step toward the young James.

"One day, Mister Potter you will meet your match and then you will see that you are most certainly not the biggest fish in the pond. Twenty points from Gryffindor."

James ran toward two boys waiting for him near the castle doors. Hermione stood there watching Lucius deal with James and when Lucius turned around his eyes found hers. There was something in her eyes…something akin to recognition and deep down he wondered what that was about, though he had an idea she did know him in her time.

In silence, Lucius took his place against the tree again. Nothing was said, no movement was made for a few minutes. Then, Lucius, with his hands in his pants pocket nudged Hermione with his elbow. Her head turned to him quickly. He had a mischievous smile on his face as he nudged her again, pulling himself away from the tree. With a nod toward the castle, Lucius began to walk toward it and Hermione, instinctively knowing what he was saying began to follow…they only had a few days before Hermione would leave.

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Everyone retired for the night. Hermione sat on the sofa staring into the fireplace. The fire danced its reflection in her eyes.

"Are you ready?"

Hermione looked up at Lucius standing there. His eyes were full of something she could only label as regret. To Lucius, Hermione's eyes shone with a future she knew all about and one he knew nothing of and feared. His only hope was to find her again. In somber silence, they left the common room and traveled through the corridors up through the castle toward the Great Hall. Hermione's heart pounded heavily with each step. The two students slowed to a near stop when they saw Dumbledore standing before the doors of the Great Hall and walk toward them. He smiled at each of them as he gently nodded his head.

"I will let the two of you say goodbye as I wait by the doors." Dumbledore turned to leave, but stopped and turned around.

"Ah…but let us not forget:

'We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time."

With a slight twinkle in his eyes, Dumbledore turned from the two students and walked over to the door of the Great Hall acting as if the students were not there. Lucius and Hermione watched in bewilderment as the old man walked away.

"Barking mad," she heard Lucius whisper.

She couldn't help but to laugh slightly.

"I'd like to say he improves in the future, but I am afraid I can not oblige you—he only gets worse."

Then an uncomfortable silence followed. Lucius watched Hermione's every breath and Hermione stared down at the floor between them. She couldn't look him in the eye know what their relationship was in the future…knowing what a lie this is. Then she felt his fingers so gently under her chin lifting her head up to look at him. It pained her to recall once again that in the future she was returning to he would not condescend to touch her in such a way.

"I have to go," she whispered and hugged him quickly. She turned in swirl of robes and made her way toward Dumbledore only to feel her insides freeze at Lucius' almost panicked sounding voice call her back.

"Will I see you again? Do we meet later on? You will never tell me the things I ask."

She felt the wretchedness wash over her. She feared facing him after hearing such a voice escape his lips. She did though, slowly and sadly, she turned to look at him.

"Yes, Lucius, but you will be clouded by hate for who I am and what I am."

Thoughts, memories, emotions boiled over her…he was the past's equivalent to what Harry was to her. Her best friend, her confidante…and what she would be returning to where he was concerned hurt and ached deep down in her every fiber. She sprang forward for one last desperate attempt to lock in her memory this past. His arms wrapped tightly around her in return.

"I only wish that the boy you are today could grow to become the man you are capable of being instead of the man you are." She felt her tears but tossed them out of her mind as she pressed her lips upon his cheek, chastely, and gently. The moment her lips left his cheek, she hastened toward Dumbledore and followed him into the Great Hall.

Lucius stood out in the corridor feeling the burning of the mark upon his skin as her voice still echoed in his mind…a voice holding a warning that would forever echo in his memories and haunt him in his dreams.

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Hermione stood in the middle of the Great Hall looking at the object in the Headmaster's hand. It looked like a time-turner, only of a smaller size. Curiosity caused her eyebrow to rise slightly. Dumbledore smiled, knowing what was going through her mind.

"It is a specially made time-turner. A dear old friend of mine created this disposable time-turner. The magic of the usual time-turner has been adjusted to allow a massive jump forward in time and once it is done, the time-turner will disappear with no harm to you."

Hermione nodded understanding perfectly. Reaching out with shaking hands, she placed the time-turner around her neck. Dumbledore noticed her eyes wonder from the time-turner to the closed doors of the Great Hall. She missed her friends…her life, but she hated to return to a relationship with Lucius that was pure hate and loathing. She felt the warm comforting, grandfather like touch of Dumbledore's hand on her shoulder.

"People are not always what they seem, remember that."

"No," she spoke sounding off in another world, deep in her thought, "No, they are not."

Nodding that she was ready she took one last look at Dumbledore. He was dead in her time and she wanted to warn him about Snape, plead with him never to accept the foul Potions Master, but she knew she could not do that. A tear trickled down her cheek and Dumbledore smiled.

"We do not live forever, Hermione. It is alright to mourn, but one must not forget to live themselves."

Hermione smiled slightly as she picked up the time-turner and turned it the number of times she was told. In a matter of seconds, she felt herself rushing through time.

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Lucius knew it was only a matter of seconds before Hermione would re-appear. After all, time may have passed in the past, but it did not pass simultaneously in the future. He was right. Before Severus could completely exit the cabin, Hermione re-appeared in the middle of the room.

Hermione stood in the middle of the room feeling slightly shocked at being back in her own time in a room with one who hated her. Only seconds ago, to her, he was her best friend. All the emotions of the past filled her…the memory of what was happening that sent her back in time hit her like a bomb as she saw Severus' brooding facing scowling at her from the door he had been exiting.

It happened much faster than what Lucius thought her capable. In less than a second, Hermione standing there in Slytherin robes drew out her wand pointing it toward Snape. Lucius watched Snape fly back unconscious. Lucius' head whipped around glaring at Hermione.

"What do you think you are doing? You know nothing you silly impertinent child!" He turned out the door to see to the traitor.

Hermione remained in the middle of the room. His words cut to the bone, wounding her mortally. Fighting to keep the tears in check, to prevent the anguished cry from escaping her throat, she did the only thing she could think of now. With the pendent, she returned to Hogwarts in search of her two best friends. That is what she needed more than anything…her best friend.

Lucius heard a strangled cry come from inside the cabin. He knew it was Hermione and a side of him was glad for it. So, his plan did not work; so the memories remained. That was fine. It was fine because now she had those memories; now she would suffer as he had suffered and it was well deserved—in his memory, she lied to him. She was in Slytherin under false pretensions. He smiled at the thought of her agony taunting her for years to come as it had him. Hers was a fresh wound and these days following would be nothing more than salt in that wound, whereas his has had time to begin to heal and accept what once was and never will be.

It is her turn to suffer.