A/N: Hello, loves! I'm back with Chapter 2 and a shortish note. I'm sorry I didn't post last weekend! Due to a death in the family, I took a step back from writing for a little bit to be with family. However, I'm back with this chapter and hope you enjoy it! I am eternally grateful to MamaHD and Luca Agneta for their continual help with this. They are wonderful, and any issues within are solely my own.

Special shoutout to .Stuff221, imasurvivor21, WildflowerWeasley, JuliSt, In Dreams, TimeyWimeyMagicWagic, Kyonomiko, EStrunk, Toastie, Pastelize, EssTheDreamer, , Nantai, Coralyne, and ClumsyKnowItAll for the wonderful reviews last chapter. You all certainly know how to make a girl grin like mad!

I wrote this chapter to "Shake It Out" by Florence + The Machine
So I like to keep my issues strong/ But it's always darkest before the dawn

Cēlō ● 2

You're a witch, Ms. Granger. The words echoed in Hermione's head as she stared at the man in front of her. Suddenly, Sev no longer seemed to remind her of the safety she'd come to associate with him from his continual supply of the lotion he'd supplied her with for nearly the last eleven years.

He was a stranger wearing a familiar face.

The stunned silence was broken by her mum's strangled laugh. "That's—that's impossible. Witches aren't real!" She looked between Severus and her husband. "Hugh, you can't tell me you actually believe him!"

"Of course not, Jean!" her father spluttered, looking every bit the rabbit in the headlights.

Severus cleared his throat, glancing between the two of them. "I believe the letter will explain, if you will, Ms Granger." He glanced pointedly at the letter and Hermione reddened, once again caught in his somber gaze. She looked to both her parents, who nervously indicated for her to open it. With a deep breath, Hermione slid her thumb over the wax seal and carefully broke it. Inside were two heavy sheets of parchment.

Dear Ms Granger,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress.

The second page of the letter was filled with items that Hermione would need to attend the school. Her eyes widened at the words wand and cauldron. She couldn't bring herself to ask why first-year students weren't allowed to have a broomstick; did someone else clean for her?

With unusual stillness, she handed the letter to her parents, who quickly read through both letters. Hugh laughed disbelievingly and stood from the couch. Hermione's racing mind ground to a halt when Hugh leveled a look at Severus and said, "You need to get out of our house."

Even Jean squeaked quietly in surprise. Hermione's father was not one to get angry, but his face was thunderous, and his voice brooked no room for argument. Hermione even shrank back into the cushions, unwilling to be in the line of his sight with a glare as menacing as the one that currently played across his features.

Severus, however, paid no heed to her parents and stood. He crossed the room to the small fireplace, hands clasped behind his back and robes swirling around his legs. His cloak, Hermione belatedly reminded herself, thinking of the list sent with the letter. The robes were likely underneath that.

When he reached the fireplace, he stared pensively into the small grate for a moment then turned back to address her parents. "In the short time that I have known you, have you ever known me to put your daughter in harm's way?"

Silence met his question, as neither parents could say that he had. If anything, he had saved their daughter from harm more often than they could count.

"I will take your silence in answer to that question to mean that no, I have not ever harmed Hermione." Severus reached into the depths of his robes and pulled out a handful of green powder. "However, I see that it will take more convincing to prove that I am, in fact, being truthful. Might I borrow your fireplace?"

Though he asked for permission, he did not wait for an answer. Severus waved his hand over the small hearth and flames sprang to life, despite the missing kindling. Hermione gasped and her heart began to race. Glancing over his shoulder, Severus tossed the green powder into the flames.

The orange flames turned the same hue as the powder and silenced reigned in the sitting room. Seconds later, a voice issued from the flames, making all the Grangers jump.

"Who can I be of service to so unexpectedly?" The flames shifted and, much to the Grangers' utter astonishment, a head appeared in the flames. Genial and smiling, the man appeared to have an extremely long beard and wide, kind eyes were hidden behind half-moon spectacles. "Ahh, Severus. I was unaware that you would be contacting me by Floo today."

The man in the flames peered around Severus, observing the décor. "It appears that you've also connected an authorized Muggle home to the network, as well." Disapproval oozed in the old man's voice, though Hermione could see a twinkle in his eyes.

Her mother and father sat with identical looks of confusion written across their faces. Jean glanced at Hermione's father and uttered, "Muggle?"

The man in the fire tutted. "Care to explain yourself, Severus?"

Severus sighed and said, "I came to deliver Ms Granger's Hogwarts letter. I thought it would be better received coming from me rather than Minerva though I expected—" he paused "—complications. I added the Grangers' home to the Floo Network so that I might have assistance in verifying my claims." He glanced over his shoulder at Hermione's parents. "I daresay I've proven myself?"

Both of her parents nodded slowly.

Severus' mouth flattened into a thin line as he turned back to the flames. "I expect we'll be discussing this, Headmaster?"

Hermione watched the man's eyes twinkle once more in the flames. "Oh, right you are, dear Severus. Right, indeed. Toodlepip!" The flames shifted and died away once more as the old man disappeared.

Severus turned away from the emptied grate and observed the Grangers, all still silently staring into the fireplace where a face had just been speaking out of the flames.

With a deep sigh, he crossed the room and once again resumed his place on the settee. "I assume you all have some questions?"

Hermione's father was the first to gather enough wits about himself to ask simply, "How?"

Hermione wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer. She didn't know how she could be a witch, but it would explain a lot. She was beginning to connect the pieces of information she had—accidentally exploding the mirror in her bedroom, moving things around the house when she was particularly upset, the time she accidentally changed her toothbrush bristles purple. It made sense. She'd known something was happening, and she suspected that Sev hadn't told her everything he knew. She always wondered how he'd known exactly when she needed help. She supposed this was her answer.

Severus opened her mouth to speak, but she beat him to it. "Is this why I can do things other kids can't? Is this why you believed that I was the one who exploded the mirror?"

Severus nodded gravely. "You, Ms Granger, are what we call a Muggle-born in the wizarding world." Her eyebrows drew together in confusion when he paused. "This simply means that you were born to non-magical parents. The bloodline that you come from did not previously have magic in it."

Hermione simply stared at him, and he mumbled under his breath, "This is why they usually send Minerva," before he continued his explanation.

"When individuals with magical potential are born, their names are recorded by a magical quill in Hogwarts. Every student who has attended Hogwarts has been recorded in the same book, which resides in Hogwarts castle, located in Scotland," he intoned with slight irritation. "Students are notified of their acceptance into Hogwarts when they turn eleven. However, as you would turn eleven after the term begins, you have been notified early and will start school just before you turn eleven."

At this, her father shot up off the couch. "Now, wait a bloody minute! No one has said anything about Hermione actually attending your school! Don't you think you ought to ask her parents' permission before assuming she will attend?"

Severus sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose once more. "This is where this explanation gets tricky." He gestured to the seat that Mr Granger had just vacated. "I don't wish to presume to order you about your own home, Dr Granger, but you should have a seat when I explain."

Hermione watched the interaction with a shrewd expression, but it was her mother who asked, "Explain what?"

Severus looked down, seeming to steel himself before making his revelation. When he looked up, his eyes were hard and unforgiving. "Though this is the first time of this timeline, this will not be the first time your daughter attends Hogwarts. She has, though I loathe to admit it, attended Hogwarts once before."

Jean and Hugh exchanged glances, and the dull beat of Hermione's heart sped to a gallop. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. As young as she was, she could still recognize the hesitant expression on Sev's face: he was hiding what her mum called a Big Truth. There was something important he wasn't telling them. "But that's not possible," Jean protested. "If students aren't accepted until they turn eleven, then—"

Severus interrupted her with a raised brow. "It is not as simple as that, I am afraid."

Neither of Hermione's parents answered, almost as though they couldn't bring themselves to ask what it was that Sev meant. Hermione, though, could not handle the silence and leveled her big, brown eyes on Severus' and asked, "What do you mean?"

Severus stood once more and Hermione watched him pace to the fireplace, hands once more clasped behind his back. It was, Hermione realised, a nervous tick.

Despite her youth, Hermione had become accustomed to watching others' mannerisms. It was beneficial when one had to worry about someone recoiling from a scar she couldn't help. She'd realised that some people were more likely to disregard her scar out of kindness. Some would stare openly and with disgust. Others looked at her with pity.

The pity was the worst.

Sev, though, had never looked at her with any of those emotions. He, of all people, seemed to understand her. He, too, covered his left arm at all times. She'd only seen the tattoo on his arm once, and she hadn't asked him about it.

He'd been quick to explain though, unlike her own resounding silence on her scar. "It's a reminder of something very bad that I did once. Something I spend every day working to fix."

He'd left it at that, and she never asked him about it.

In some ways, she wondered if her own scar was a result of something horrible she had done. Maybe in another life, like the stories she'd heard about birthmarks. She'd never wanted to know what she had done to earn such a mark, but it appeared that today would be the day her blissful innocence was shattered.

Hermione looked back and forth between her parents, who stared at Sev's back as he stared into the fireplace. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she was sure of one thing.

She trusted Sev. Even if his name was Severus Snape. Even if he looked much different in these robe things. Even if he had kept something secret from her. He was like her: he kept a part of himself hidden from the world.

Whatever he had to say, she trusted him.

So Hermione stood up and crossed the room. She stood next to the tall, greasy-haired man and turned her face up to stare intently at him, and then she did something she'd never done before.

She slid her small hand into his and squeezed.

Sev started at the small contact, his sharp eyes staring at her. Hermione knew the man was particular about contact of any kind, but she'd come to love the man and knew that he wouldn't intentionally put her in harm's way. He was like the stern uncle she'd never had, the one who scolded her for acting out but still slipped her bits of chocolate and bandaged her wounds. He quite literally bandaged her scar every time it flared to life again.

Ever so slowly, his dark eyes crinkled and he squeezed slowly back. In a very un-Sev-like move, he squatted in front of her and looked her in the eye.

"What I am going to tell you will be scary. You must be brave." His tone tolerated no questions, so Hermione bobbed her head and slipped her hand from his. She returned to the couch, this time sitting between her mum and dad. It seemed she might need them to lean on after all.

After a brief glance to her parents, who both looked on soberly, Sev unfolded himself and stood once more, joints popping.

He cleared his throat and began.

"Hermione has attended Hogwarts once before. But," he paused, eyes growing distant for a moment, "she has not attended Hogwarts in this timeline."

Stunned silence met his declaration, so Severus continued. "In a different timeline, Hermione attended Hogwarts, where she befriended a boy by the name of Harry Potter."

"Wait—Harry Potter? I've heard that name before," her father interjected.

Severus nodded. "I have no doubt that you did in 1981. On that day, Harry Potter defeated the dark wizard Voldemort. All of the wizarding world celebrated it, and it inevitably spilled into the Muggle world."

"All the fireworks—" Hermione's mother gasped. "You mentioned it when you came home from the practice…I thought you were mad! You were going on about shooting stars in the middle of a day and asking about a celebrity by that name."

"The boy—Harry—was a celebrity. He was merely a year and some months old, but Voldemort tried to kill his parents. No one knows how they survived, but they did," Sev said. He turned to address Hermione again. "In that timeline, you were best friends. You did everything together and befriended another of your classmates, Ronald Weasley."

Hermione wrinkled her nose at the odd name.

Severus seemed to agree. "The boys were not my favorite, and I was no fan of yours then, either." He ignored her outright glare of anger. "However, the dark wizard rose again, bent on destroying the one thing that had stopped him in his quest for power: Harry Potter. Though he hated Harry, he hated Muggles and anyone that opposed him, too. He wanted to rule the world. And you tried to help Harry stop him."

Hermione's heart seemed to stop. She was only eleven! She couldn't stop a powerful wizard, so she told Sev as much. "That's crazy! I would never—"

"You were sorted into Gryffindor, the house known for its unending bravery at Hogwarts. I assure you, you threw yourself into harm's way more than once." He grimaced apologetically at her parents.

Hermione plowed on, "But that doesn't explain why I'm here. If this other timeline happened, why are you here now and what happened?"

Severus looked away, but she caught the pained look in his eyes before he stared once more into the fireplace. "You are here because, in the other timeline, you were captured by one of Voldemort's most fanatical followers, Bellatrix Lestrange, and you were tortured in the home of one of your classmates while he and his mother watched. Somehow, during the torture, you altered time and created a warp. Technically, the other timeline does exist, but this one is an offshoot of it."

The dull beats of Hermione's heart thudded in her ears. "What does that mean?"

Severus finally looked back at her. "What this means is that, when you created this warp, you changed the future. Your magic was so strong that you altered the future at your birth. Everything, from your birth forward, has been changed."

Hermione was at a loss for words. She didn't know how to process everything she had been told. Somehow, it wasn't even important that everything she knew about her life had changed. It didn't matter that she didn't know what a Muggle was. What mattered was that she had somehow altered everything about the life she was supposed to have. While life had always been an unforeseeable mystery before, she felt that chasm even deeper now.

If Sev was right, she'd already lived part of her life before. She had friends, and she'd gone to school. She fought bad guys—even her terror of what he had told her couldn't help feeling impressed by that. But now, Sev seemed to be telling her that the unknown was even more unknown.

As her mind whirred through all the possibilities, Hugh spoke to Severus. "If the future is changed, and Hermione has no memory of what happened, how do you know so much?"

Severus sighed. "That is a complicated question. The wizard who I spoke with earlier would be able to provide a more satisfactory answer, but, to be plain, Professor Dumbledore is a very powerful wizard. He found the warp and was able to communicate with himself in this timeline. It wasn't easy, and he wasn't able to give all the information he knew, but what he's given us has saved countless lives. He informed me of the situation and the likelihood that Hermione would bear the repercussions of the magic she wielded the day that she created the warp that changed the timeline. He sent me to help her."

Hermione looked at Severus for a long moment, then peeled back her sleeve to peer at the ugly scar on her arm. "You mean this was because of that Bellatrix woman? The one who tortured me?"

Severus nodded grimly. "I'm afraid it is. It appeared, as Dumbledore thought it would, on the day on which Voldemort tried to kill Harry Potter's parents. In this timeline, he failed to do so. You set in motion a new timeline, but he sealed it when he failed to kill the Potters. In order to protect you in this timeline, we've concealed you. We do not know whether Voldemort knows about the changes in the timeline."

The Grangers all looked at one another, unsure what to say. The revelation was far-fetched, but they couldn't argue with it. Not when they had born witness to the mysterious scar appearing on their daughter's arm. Not when she had accidentally destroyed the mirror in the room.

Their daughter was not a typical child, and it seemed that she bore far more significance to the world than any of them realised.

Her mother spoke into the silence of the sunny living room. "So, what do we do?"

Severus looked at each Granger in turn. "We take this information and this opportunity and fight."

Both the Grangers stiffened their backs at this and prepared to argue, but Severus held up a hand to stop them. "I don't intend to throw Hermione to the wolves—figuratively or literally. She will go to Hogwarts, and she will learn magic. She'll learn to hone her skills. She'll learn what it means to be a witch. And I will help her. I'll protect her life with my own."

Hugh and Jean looked at one another, then at Hermione. Hermione's heart, still roaring in her ears, skipped a beat at the tears in her parents' eyes. Her father cleared his throat and picked up her small hand, his thumb brushing over the knuckles like it always did. "Honey, it's up to you. We trust Sev. It's scary, but it sounds like you're pretty important to save wizards and—Mukkins?" He cleared his throat after the unfamiliar word. "We love you no matter what."

Hermione took a deep breath. She tried to think over the rushing in her ears, but she knew that she couldn't say no. Something in the back of her mind was whispering to her. This is your purpose. This is how you prove to everyone that you are more than the scar on your arm. So she opened her eyes and squeezed her dad's hand, took her mother's hand in her open right hand, looked Sev in those always-serious eyes, and nodded.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to post a chapter next weekend, as I'll be in Michigan house hunting with my fiance. I'll try to update as soon as I can after that!