A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! We've got some Max POV in this chapter. I know many of you are eager for Hermione and Adrian to interact again, and they will...in a little bit :) You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter three and be on the lookout for chapter four in a few days!

People often said that Max Pucey got both of his parents intelligence and none of their diligence. It was a pronouncement that he frequently found annoying, but now that he had fucked up so spectacularly he wondered if maybe there wasn't some truth to the matter. He was sure that neither of his parents would have ever been so stupid as to end up over two decades in the past.

It was an accident, though, and now there was nothing to do but deal with it and fix things.

Max had been horrified that things had gone so wrong with his experiments, but he was even more disturbed to be found by the two people responsible for his birth. Salazar, he never expected to run into his mum and dad, and seeing them looking so young had made him pass out. It was embarrassing.

After his mum - Merlin, his mum - had left him in the Infirmary alone, Max had called for the matron so that he could be released to the Headmistress. He didn't really know what to do, but he hoped that she would be able to give him good advice as his mum had promised. The matron had agreed to let him go after a thorough check, but only after extracting a promise that he would return if he began to feel even a little bit light headed.

Max agreed and got the password to the Headmistress's office.

Minerva McGonagall was waiting for him when he got there. She was no longer the Headmistress when he was in school, but he knew all about her from stories that his mum had told him and his siblings when they were growing up. He knew that his mum had been a bit of a favorite to the woman, so hopefully she wouldn't be too furious with Hermione Granger's son.

"Good afternoon," Headmistress McGonagall said, with a frown. "I'd like you to explain who you are and how you got here. As I am sure you are aware, apparition into the castle is impossible."

Max wouldn't argue with her there, having tried it several times in the past to get out of sticky situations and being disappointed every time. "It's a pleasure to meet you Headmistress," he said, putting on his best behavior. "My name is Max Pucey and you are correct that I didn't apparate into the castle. The truth is much more complicated."

Headmistress McGonagall simply raised her eyebrow at him, waiting for him to elaborate. Clearly, she did not play around.

"I'm actually from the future," he explained, running his hand across the back of his neck, hoping to stave away a headache that was beginning to form. "I had a little bit of an accident, and I've ended up here."

"An accident?" she asked, sounding like she didn't believe him for a second. "What sort of an accident?"

"Well, I was trying to make a time turner-"

She cut him off with a disbelieving sputter. "What do you mean making a time turner? Surely you don't have the magical skill necessary," she argued.

Max felt a little bit offended. Yes, it was advanced magic, but he'd always been advanced in his studies. He'd had an interest in time magic since his mum had told him about using a time turner to complete her studies. His dad always teased her for using a time turner for something as boring as completing more classes, but Max knew that she'd used it to save a hippogriff, too. That had always been one of his favorite bedtime stories growing up.

"I assure you that I do have the skill, because I've successfully traveled time," he said sharply. "Although, I obviously got some calculations wrong because I'm at least twenty years in the past," he added sheepishly, knowing that it was his hubris that had gotten him into this situation.

"How do you even know how far in the past you are?" she questioned, drawing her lips into a disappointed frown.

"Because, I might have umm...run into my parents?" Max said, casually, hoping that McGonagall wouldn't be too disappointed in him. He obviously realized how dangerous those kind of interactions could be, but he would be careful. Although, he'd already messed up twice, calling his mum 'mum' and almost telling her his last name. Salazar, he couldn't imagine what a disaster that would be.

"Adrian Pucey, I presume," Headmistress McGonagall said, looking him over, as if she was trying to figure out who made up his other half. "And your mother is?"

Max wasn't sure if he should tell her, but eventually decided to be honest, in the hopes that she would help him. "Hermione Granger," he said.

He could hear her exhale sharply in surprise. "Well, I can't say that I saw that coming. They are certainly not friendly with one another," Headmistress McGonagall said, thinking it over. "But I can't say that I'm shocked by it either. Well, Mister Pucey, what are we going to do with you?"

"Well, I've already told my mum that I'm called Max Purney," he said, looking at his feet. "Slip of the tongue. But I've avoided giving any other details."

Headmistress McGonagall was not impressed by his flimsy cover story. "Well, we must count the small blessings then," she said with a frown. "You will stay here until we can figure out how to get you back to your proper time. I will have to alert the Ministry of Magic."

"Oh please don't do that, Headmistress," Max practically begged. That would not help him at all, and he didn't fancy getting in trouble with the Ministry. He could only imagine the problems it would cause when he did return to his proper time. "Please just give me a chance to figure it out on my own first. I'm sure I can do it. And, I've got the time turner and everything - it's not damaged."

She looked him up and down, weighing his trustworthiness, before deciding. "I will give you a few weeks to figure things out on your own," she said with a frown. "But then I will have to let the Ministry know, and there will be consequences for not alerting them sooner.

It wasn't what he would have picked. Max would have preferred if he could have all the time in the world to try and figure out his time turner. But, from the stern look on Headmistress McGonagall's face, he knew that it was an argument that he wouldn't be winning. He would just have to take what he could get. "Deal!" he said brightly.

"This isn't a negotiation, Mister Pucey," the Headmistress said, making him feel rather silly.

"Of course not," he agreed, not wanting her to change her mind. "But I am sure that I will get it sorted out in a week or two. I've been researching time turners extensively."

"You sounded so much like your mother just then," she answered, a tiny smile on her face. Max was pleased to see that he was right, and could only hope that his mum's favored status would continue to work in his favor.

"Thank you," he answered with a charming smile. "That is quite a compliment coming from you, especially. My mum has always held you in high regard, Headmistress."

She gave him a knowing look then. "And then you sounded very much like your father, Mister Pucey," she said, shaking her head a little. "You are certainly well suited to Slytherin."

Max felt a little embarrassed, upset that his charm offensive had backfired. But, then, he supposed that she'd been a Professor for a long time, and it was likely difficult to get anything past her. "Yes, Professor," he answered, chastised.

"We will inform the staff that you are a visiting student from one of the local schools, here to observe different teaching methods," she proclaimed. "I will arrange for you to have a room in the staff quarters."

"And am I to be confined to the grounds?" he questioned. "There might be something that I need from the village or from London."

The Headmistress thought about it for a moment, before making her decision. "I will allow you free reign of the school, but only if you inform me of your comings and goings," she answered. "I can't have you out in the public causing havoc!"

"Of course, I'll be very respectful of the privilege," he said, already considering taking his first trip to Hogsmeade that evening. He could really use a firewhiskey after coming face to face with his parents. That was a mind trip that would disturb any wizard. "I wouldn't want to disappoint you."

"Mister Pucey!" she replied sharply. "You are making me very nervous with this altar boy routine."

Max blushed, having been caught so easily. Merlin, just what had his father gotten up to when he was a student? "Sorry," he said. "Don't worry, I'll figure out the time turner and then I will set up my parents and then I'll be out of your hair."

"Excuse me?" she asked. "You will absolutely not interfere with your parents. If I thought it was a possibility I would ban you from speaking to them at all!"

"You don't understand," he countered. "I've been here for less than twenty-four hours and it is quickly becoming clear that my parents are not interested in one another. Yesterday, they were arguing in the library rather loudly when I arrived. Then, when my mum visited me this morning, I got the sense that she didn't think very highly of my dad. And even you have said that you wouldn't see their relationship being possible."

"Be that as it may, they obviously do end up together, seeing as you are here," Headmistress McGonagall argued. "I simply must insist that you do not stick your nose into problems that don't exist."

"With all due respect Headmistress, I am very concerned. My parents said that they fell in love at Hogwarts," Max countered. "And there isn't much time left in the school year. I fail to see how the future I came from could have sprouted from this past. But I would very much like to be born, so I need to ensure that they end up with one another."

"Mister Pucey, please listen to me," she said. "Your parents ended up together the last time around without your help. Surely, they didn't mention some mysterious matchmaker that showed up."

"No they did not," he agreed.

"So, then we can know that they will figure out their romance without your help," she explained. "Let this happen naturally. Please don't try to fiddle with your parents' lives. You might end up with a future that you don't recognize."

Max gave her a tight smile. Of course, he knew how dangerous it could be, having so much contact with them. But he also felt that he couldn't just leave this to chance. His parents were meant to be together, and he just needed to help them figure it out. Maybe their argument in the library had led to some break through last time, and he'd ruined it by winking into the past? There were simply too many unknowns.

But he also knew that Minerva McGonagall was never going to see things his way. She was a Gryffindor after all.

"I understand," he placated her. "I will just have to trust that things will work out the way that they did."

But, Max had absolutely no intention of doing that. He would just have to get to the root of the problem and then help them see that they were perfect for one another. He was sure it wouldn't be too hard to figure out.

"I'm glad," she said after a beat, as though she didn't quite believe him. That was smart. "Alright...Mister Purney. I will show you to your quarters for your stay here."

She stood from behind the desk, and led him towards the spiral staircase.