A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I cannot believe how quickly this story is coming to an end - I don't want to say goodbye to Max! 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 twenty and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-one soon!

Max was really lucky to have her around to help him, Hermione thought smugly when they met in the library the following morning. He'd made a good dent on the available time magic materials and produced some good notes, but it was nothing like what she had accumulated over the years. She proudly presented her extensive research to Adrian and Max and sat back while she waited for them to read over everything.

It was really odd to see the two of them sitting next to each other, as they really had many similarities to one another. Not that it was going to change Hermione's mind - there was still something about Max that made her stomach churn if she thought about kissing him. No, she was sure that Adrian was the wizard for her. When she looked at him, it was like her heart got an electric shock and skipped a beat. And now that she had some real life experience with him, he certainly had an effect on her body that she simply couldn't deny.

Flushing, she realized that it probably wasn't a good idea to go off fantasizing about her boyfriend when they had a third party involved. Plus, she wanted her mind fresh should they have any questions to ask her about her research.

Eventually, after going through all of the papers, Max looked up with a hint of disappointment on his face. "Well, you've just got it all figured out, don't you?" he asked.

Hermione was shocked. "Yes, I mean...just theoretically. I've never tested it," she explained. "But, I don't understand why you are upset about it? Shouldn't you be pleased? This means that you will get to go home."

"I just..." Max trailed off, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. "It's just hard to know that what I was going to do wasn't really novel work at all. I thought that I was going to be on the cutting edge - discovering something about time magic, and here you've been sitting on these notes for who knows how long!"

She could understand how he felt, having had the same thing happen to her before involving a little known charm to file and organize loose papers. "Don't feel so bad, you've made remarkable progress in just a few weeks," she said diplomatically. "I have been working on this in my spare time for years."

Adrian had been surprised to learn about her third year, using the time turner, surprised that she had actually wanted to take Divination, especially with her well known hatred for it. Hermione had explained her desire to learn everything magical, having come from the muggle world. If it hadn't been for the awful way Professor Trelawney had treated her, Hermione might have continued with the study, even if she wasn't particularly good at it. As it stood, she found the whole practice rather useless.

"And, if it makes you feel any better, it will actually be you who is moving through time, not here," Adrian said. "I think that people would be more likely to remember the person who actually tried something out, not just the person who created the theory."

Hermione felt a little bit cross at that, hoping that something like that didn't happen. It would make her really sore if Max Purney just swaned in and stole all her hard earned glory.

"I guess you are right," Max said, finally getting some pep back in his step. "Also, I did repair the time turner. I bet you never did that, right?"

"No, but-"

"And I have already successfully moved forward in time, even if it was only for a few seconds," Max continued on.

Suddenly, Hermione did not feel the need to stroke his ego any longer. She wondered if Max knew of her in the future. Maybe he was just trying to best the great Hermione Granger? A witch could hope, she supposed.

"Well, do you think we should get started and begin testing," Hermione questioned, raising an eyebrow. "You've gone forward a few seconds, but it's hard to know how successful it actually was. Maybe we start out with a minute?" She passed the golden time turner across the table towards the other wizard.

Max took it, scoffing at the idea that he hadn't been successful in his initial testing. "I guess a minute is a good place to start," he agreed, though he made no hurry to put the chain around his neck.

"I think a half turn of the inner ring should do the trick," Hermione said with a grin, seeing Max still looking nervous. "I'm willing to try it out first if you aren't brave enough."

"I'll go!" Max insisted in a huff. "Sorry I wasn't moving at a Hermione-approved speed." He quickly put the time turner around his neck, before giving the inner ring a half-turn forward.

Hermione and Adrian watched as he let the ring go before he disappeared from his spot. Hermione made a note of the time on the massive clock in the middle of the library. When she looked up, Adrian was smirking at her. "What?"

"You don't have to be so hard on him, just because you are annoyed that he might steal some of the limelight from you," he said, having caught on to what got under her skin.

"I just...like being recognized," Hermione insisted. "But you are right. It isn't good to have us fighting during a time like this."

Before they could talk much more, Max was rematerializing in his seat. "Did it work?" he asked, hopefully.

"Yes," Adrian agreed. "You were gone for exactly a minute, so there doesn't seem to be any time distortion. But those could also be exacerbated at longer time stretches."

"Did it feel any different from a normal time turning experience?" Hermione asked, determined to be nicer to the younger wizard.

"No, it was exactly the same," he said. "I guess I've been a little bit silly being so cautious, haven't I? Well, should I go for five minutes this time?" he asked, his mood improving immensely from the positive results of their testing.

"Great idea," Adrian said. "We'll keep an eye on the clock."

"And try to keep your hands off of one another," Max chided them, obviously imagining that they would be all over each other the moment that they were left alone with one another.

Hermione blushed furiously. The thought of a quick snog had crossed her mind while they waited. "Just go, Max," she insisted, wanting the awkwardness to dissipate as quickly as possible.

When he was gone, Hermione and Adrian did avoid snogging and instead passed the time glancing at the clock nervously. They counted down the seconds until he was back in his chair. The five minutes seemed like an eternity to the pair, wondering if they had just seriously hurt the other wizard with unproven magic.

But, at the appointed time, Max did wink back into his chair, five minutes from when he left. With his confidence growing, they spent the rest of the morning going on longer and longer trips forward, until he decided to go for a whole hour. It was nearing lunch time, so Hermione and Adrian told him they would head to lunch. Max agreed to wait in the library for them to return.

The couple walked to the Great Hall holding hands, before separating to go to their respective tables. Hermione gave Ginny an update on her date and the rest of her day, leaving out the details about their run in with Max. There was no need to involve any more people than there already were, as it could only complicate things. In the end, Hermione told Ginny that she was spending the day studying with Adrian in the library.

"I can't believe you found the only wizard who is as happy as you'd be to spend a weekend in the library," Ginny said affectionately with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, I don't think he will always be like this," Hermione said, finding Adrian across the room. "I think he's very devoted to his mastery. But, maybe later he won't want to spend all his time there."

"Oh, I'm sure he enjoys the scenery at least," Ginny teased.

A great flapping of wings signaled the owl post was arriving, and Hermione was equal parts excited and nervous to see that she had a letter from Harry and Ron. Reading over the letter, she was sure that Ron's portion had been heavily edited over the last two days. He was...terse, but congratulatory. Obviously, he was glad that she found a wizard that had suited her, but he just couldn't understand why he had to be a Slytherin.

Harry's portion was, as always, more verbose. He too was glad that Hermione had a new boyfriend, and he was eager to get to know Adrian a little bit better. He complimented the other wizard on his Quidditch playing (probably the only think Harry could remember about him). He included in the letter the Marauder's Map, with a note that it must be urgent for her to ask for twice in less than a week.

Biting her lip, Hermione wasn't sure if she would even learn anything about Max now that they knew his secret, but there was something that had her opening the parchment and whispering the password. She adjusted the map until she was focused on the library and found their table. Her heart stopped when she read the name.

Max Pucey.

All of the oddities about Max suddenly slipped into place with a jolt when she remembered the first word that Max had spoken when he showed up in the library that first night.

Mum.

She was his mum, she thought, her heart lurching. And Pucey, that meant...

No wonder Max had been so keen to make sure that the two of them ended up together. It must have been distressing for him to see his parents fighting so much. At least, she hoped it was. For a moment, she thought about running over to tell Adrian about it, but something was holding her back. She didn't want him to feel any pressure to continue on with their relationship. She couldn't trap him with destiny when things could very well change in the intervening years. Maybe they wouldn't actually end up together in the future.

Hermione knew that it was better to just see where things were going to go, naturally.

Closing up the map and putting it in her bag, she rejoined Adrian and they made their walk back to the library together. As expected, Max was waiting there at the table they had been using, brimming with hope.

"It worked! No time distortion this time either," he said, his cheeks flushed pink.

Now Hermione could understand why Max was so familiar to her. He obviously took after Adrian in his build, but he had the curl of her hair. She looked for other parts of her in his face, and she thought he might have her nose, too. Her son was handsome and smart and apparently incredibly reckless and sneaky. The perfect union of her and Adrian.

"I think I am going to jump forward to this evening," Max said brightly. "If it all goes as planned, I'm going directly to Headmistress McGonagall and going back to my time. It's time for me to be getting back, before I cause some sort of catastrophe."

"We'll miss you," Hermione said, her voice suddenly thick with emotion as she blinked back tears. She wouldn't want Max to figure out that she knew and she didn't want Adrian to think that something was wrong.

"You know, I'll miss you too," Max said with a small smile. "But, I'm sure we will cross paths at sometime in the future," he added cryptically.

Adrian frowned. "Hey, now, don't start giving us hints as to the future," he chided the younger wizard. "If we see you again, we'll see you."

Max grinned at the pair of them, giving them one last look, before he threw the chain of the time turner around his neck. He grabbed the inner ring and began spinning. And then he was gone.