A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! Also, huge thank you for the patience - sorry this chapter was delayed...I'm in the process of moving and my life has just been super hectic lately. Hopefully things will be more settled by May. 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 fifteen and be on the lookout for chapter sixteen soon!

March 1968

Hermione figured out fairly quickly that Dumbledore was trying to avoid her. Since she had tried to sit down with him again, he seemed to be traveling out of Hogwarts a fair amount. But, this Dumbledore did not know the kind of witch Hermione Granger was, not really anyway. He didn't know how persistent and stubborn she could be once she had set her mind to something. She would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.

And she wanted to talk to Headmaster Dumbledore, dammit!

Eventually, Hermione decided to simply bypass requesting the meeting with the Headmaster. Instead, she just showed up to his office practically every evening, arguing with the gargoyle to give her entrance. On the fourth day, the gargoyle finally relented, jumping aside so she could run up the spiral staircase and talk to that slippery man.

She did not have the patience for greetings when she finally got in front of him. His auburn hair was quickly fading into a silvery blond, reminding her more of the man she knew in her own time. "You've been avoiding me, Headmaster," she said with a frown. "I believe that I am owed an explanation."

"I'm afraid that you are simply mistaken, Miss Granger. I've merely been busy. I'm sorry that our schedules have not lined up until now," he said with that serene, unflappable quality he always seemed to have, even though Hermione was practically positive that he was lying through his teeth.

"The school year is nearly over and we haven't made any progress on sending me back to the correct time," Hermione said, slipping into the chair opposite the older man once he had offered her tea. "What's the status report on sending me back?"

"I thought that you've been settling in to the school year, well," Dumbledore said with a frown. "That you were enjoying yourself and letting the adults handle it."

Hermione bristled at the insinuation that she was not adult enough to be party to the discussion. "Of course I am settling in well, but that doesn't meant that I am not still interested in what my status is," she answered crossly. "Should I just...give up hope on ever returning? Because it seems as if I am the only person who has any real consequences of this. I have no OWL scores, I have no family here. I have no means of money while I am at school. I have nowhere to go," she ticked off all the concerns that she had on her fingers.

"Of course, we don't want you to give up hope, MIss Granger," he said, his eyes softening a fraction when he realized how much she'd been worrying. "Don't fear that Hogwarts and the Ministry will arrange for your well being and care when you are a student. You will have somewhere to go and you will have money to take care of the necessities."

Hermione felt her shoulders hang heavy. Even though it was nice to know that he was looking after her, it didn't exactly assuage all of her fears, the unspoken ones about making irreparable changes. She'd promised not to give him any details when she'd first shown up, but the longer she was in the past, the more inevitable it all seemed like her presence was changing things. "Of course," she said, her eyes focusing on her fingers.

"The Weasleys have agreed to host you again this summer," he said softly.

That had Hermione's head snapping up in surprise. "This summer?" she stammered. "So that means that I won't be going back anytime soon."

"I am afraid not. We've run into some snags," Dumbledore said, without offering any kind of explanation of what sort of snag he might be talking about. "But I don't want you to worry about this. I just want you to continue you on like you have been. You've been making friends and having a good time, same as any other student."

"I-yes," Hermione agreed. "I have been making friends, but you don't understand how difficult it is," she continued, nibbling on her lower lip. "You see, I know some of these people, and well, it makes it very difficult to interact with them, when I know what their futures are."

"I cannot possibly have any sort of advice to give you in this situation," he said sadly. "But it would only be my suggestion that you try to operate as if you did not have this advanced knowledge. Take them at face value, as difficult as it might seem."

She frowned, trying to read between the lines with him. "I take it...I take it this means you know about me and Rodolphus?" she cautioned.

"I daresay that there is very little that goes on in this castle that I am unaware of," he explained. "And personally, I think that Mr. Lestrange is a well-rounded, well liked young man, who has the unfortunate tendency to care more about Quidditch than his schooling."

Her frown deepened, hating the way that they were talking about something without just coming out and speaking about it plainly. "But his family…." she trailed off, knowing that everyone in this time seemed to know exactly what kind of wizard Rodolphus's father was.

"Mr. Lestrange does not seem to particularly share his family's views. After all, he seems close with you, and that tells me all I need to know about him," Dumbledore said, steepling his fingers together. "Just try not to worry about it, Miss Granger. Have fun and enjoy young love. Might you have your heart broken? Of course, but I promise you that it is temporary."

It sounded as if Dumbledore spoke from experience, but it was clear that he wasn't going to add anything else to what he'd already said. Recognizing that this conversation was quickly becoming a dead end, Hermione knew there was no arguing with the Headmaster any longer. "Of course, sir," she said, before standing a smoothing her skirt. "Thank you for your time."

"You are welcome anytime, Miss Granger," he said, his eyes twinkling once again, perhaps just rubbing in that she knew his words were not nearly as true as he suggested.

After leaving the Headmaster's office, Hermione was feeling more dejected than ever. She wished she could just act like a normal teenager, but it was difficult. Still, she had to recognize that she wasn't going back anytime soon, and it would do no good to go moping around over the next couple of months. Harry and Ron wouldn't want that for her, would they? Well, Ron would probably want her to be miserable if she wasn't with her friends.

Wandering back towards the Common Room, she bumped into Arthur on the way, quite possibly the last person that she wanted to see when she was in this melancholy state.

"Hey!" he greeted her brightly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Mum wrote to me and said that you'll be staying with us again this summer. I've just been thinking about all the things we could do together. I never got to take you on a broom ride last summer and I know of this place that is just brilliant at sunset-" he coughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

Knowing that this conversation was long overdue and she couldn't put it off any longer, she turned to face him. "Yes, I'm...I'm so grateful for your family's generosity in letting me stay with them," she started gently, looking him directly in the eyes. "But, I feel that I have to be clear that...that I won't be going on any romantic broom rides with you."

"What do you...what do you mean?" Arthur asked, his cheeks growing pink at the word romantic, but not denying that that was what he'd been thinking.

"What I mean, Arthur...what I've been trying to tell you these last few months is..." she bit her lower lip, knowing that it was going to be hard for him to hear, no matter how necessary it was. "I just don't see you that way. I'm not, I'm not interested in you as a romantic partner."

Arthur's face fell immediately, his eyes dropping to his shoes, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Oh," he said simply.

"I'm really sorry, Arthur," she said, reaching out to give his arm a squeeze. "I'd still really love to be your friend. I like spending time with you, but, I just don't think...well, I know that we aren't right for one another."

"Of course," he said, his voice cracking a bit. "You said that before, but then, I hoped...maybe after Valentine's..."

"I'm afraid there's just no chance," Hermione said firmly, not wanting to get his hopes up at all. "But listen, Arthur...Molly...Molly really does like you a lot. Anyone with eyes can see it, and I understand that before I showed up, you seemed to like her a lot, too."

"Molly?" he asked.

"Yeah, Molly Prewett," Hermione said with a smile. "Red hair, makes you biscuits that you like the most, makes you laugh the hardest of anyone. And, she really likes you and I feel like the two of you were destined to end up together, until I showed up and got into the mix..."

A smile began to tug on the corner of Arthur's lips. "Yeah, Molly is...Molly is special," he said, a light quality to his voice. "But, don't you think that I've really screwed things up with her, now? How do I even know that she still wants me? Maybe she'd rather date Kieran instead."

"I don't think that you need to worry about that, Arthur," Hermione said, not wanting to give away everything Molly had shared about her. "But every girl likes to be told why the boy she likes thinks she is special. And maybe a present or two wouldn't hurt, either." She hoped that he would take the hint, knowing that Molly really wouldn't take too much convincing.

"I - thank you, Hermione," he said, his voice softening once more. "You really are a great friend, and, I'd love to return the favor sometime."

"What favor?" she asked, feeling a little confused.

"Helping me see what was right in front of my eyes the whole time," he said with a grin.

"Well, I don't think I need any help in that department as of right now," she answered, thinking that Arthur wouldn't be able to help in her particular case. After all, he didn't know all of the details. "But, I'll come to you if I ever need help. Promise."

Once their discussion was handled, Hermione was eager to get back into her dorm room. Her head was beginning to hurt from all the thinking that she'd done that day and all she wanted to do was lie down and talk about something inconsequential.

Luckily, It was only Lottie waiting for her when she got back. "Missed you at dinner," she said with a grin. "Was it a boy keeping you away from sustenance?" she asked with a light teasing tone.

Hermione chuckled at the thought. "I suppose technically," she said before adding further clarification. "I was meeting with Dumbledore to talk about my plans for the summer. The Weasleys have agreed to house me again, while the Ministry is still sorting out my situation."

Despite not knowing what Hermione's situation was, Lottie gave her a frown of commiseration. "That's too bad. I'd figured they would have figured things out by now, but the Ministry has always been slow...especially recently," she said. "But, if you ever need to get away from the Weasleys for a little bit, I'm sure you could come visit me for a week or so. My parents would love to meet you, after all."

Thinking that it was a really nice offer, Hermione thought she might actually take the girl up on the offer. She doubted that Georgie would be much company.