DISCLAIMER: All characters and settings are the property of J.K. Rowling. I'm just the girl who likes to play in her world.

Chapter Five: Questions?

Hermione had woken up early enough to avoid the inevitable meeting between herself and the other girls in her room. She took a quick quiet shower, got dressed and crept out of the dorm. She found Sirius already down in the common room, he turned to look at her and gave her a hesitant smile, she grabbed his hand and led them towards Dumbledore's office, on the way there they talked about anything that avoided the subject of the future, which she was glad for but she could tell that Sirius was eager to scoop the information out of her as soon as possible.

Dumbledore and Sirius had been listening to her story about the whole 'ending up in the past' ordeal for the last 24 minutes. She had left out the part about seeing her future professors writing in the book and she had only stuck to what they needed to know. That meant not letting them know that they had both died in her world.

She had thought about telling them about Snape, but she didn't want to tag a still relatively innocent boy, man? She still didn't know whether to think of these people as the people she knew or the people that they were at the moment.

"I still can't believe this." Sirius said interrupting her thoughts.

"Why were you even in my house in the first place? Do we know each other in the future? Am I married? Have I got kids? Oh does Moony finally bag himself a girlfriend? What about Pete-"

"I can't answer questions like that Sirius, it might affect the future, but yes I'll know you in the future." Dumbledore noticed how she avoided saying that she still did know him. He frowned, her world must be worse than he thought. Sirius didn't notice however, he was too full of questions just waiting to be said. The force of trying to keep them in was literally making him shake in his boots. They didn't have to wait long for his silence to break. That's how they spent the next 20 minutes, Sirius asking questions and her shooting them down every time.

"SIRIUS! Just shut up for a moment. I need to speak to professor Dumbledore privately. You can go down to breakfast without me, I'm sure the others are up by now, they'll be down anytime now." Being asked so many questions could be very tiring, no wonder the teachers got so cranky by the end of the day. Sirius got up and walked out of the door slightly put out, but Hermione could tell he'd be on her case again later.

"Something you wish to tell me Miss Granger?" Dumbledore said with that damn twinkle in his eyes. It still made her heart ache. She couldn't think of any way to clip around the subject so she just came out with, straight to the point.

"That day in the library I was researching Horcruxs, Voldemort's Horcruxs. I think that's why I'm here, there's one I have to find here." If Dumbledore was shocked to hear this he didn't show it. He got up and stood in front of one of the many mysterious trinkets he had collected over the years, and started playing with it.

"The soul is a powerful thing Miss Granger. It can be shaped to give the greatest amounts of love if we find the person who needs it or it can be shaped to destroy that love. I think you'll find the first one applies to you. Maybe you'll find that person standing before your very eyes sooner than expected." He turned around and their eyes locked with the others, they both knew there was something the other wasn't telling them. A tapping at the window broke the silent knowing between them.

"I do believe that's my indication to end this meeting. Good luck Miss Granger, but then again, we both know you don't need it." She lifted herself from chair nodding dumbly at him and turned to leave his office.

She was walking towards the hall, lost in thoughts of Dumbledors little speech, when she collided with something solid and ridged. She braced herself for the fall that was surely to follow but was startled when she felt strong hands fold around her wrists keeping her up right.

"Watch where you're going next time." A gruff voice spoke at her. Her head quickly snapped up expecting to meet those cold eyes that could freeze fire, so what she saw surprised her. They weren't the emotionless eyes of a man full of hate. They were the emotionless eyes of a broken boy. It had never occurred to her to think about what Snape was like as a boy her age. He was still lanky and had that nose that was too big for his face but it didn't seem to stand out as much, probably because he had a bit of fat on his body, unlike in the future. She realised she was staring at him and he was still holding her.

"Um … I'm sorry. I wasn't really looking where I was walking."

"I would have never guessed, the part where you knocked into me was a slight giveaway." Was he trying to make or joke? Or was he just being sarcastic. Either way she still thought it rude. He raised an eyebrow at her squinted eyes, and then he quickly shoved her arms back at her and walked past her into the hall.

She stood there rooted on the spot looking after him with her mouth hanging open, then snapping back to the world around her she shut it and followed after him but going to Gryffindor table instead of Slytherin.

Hermione had been sitting down for all of five minutes before Sirius started throwing looks her way and she got tired of it.

"Sirius I know you're dying to ask me something, so just ask." She said slightly annoyed that the boy couldn't even contain himself that much that he was risking shouting out at her and ruining her entire cover. Not that she had rely had to come up with one yet. Nobody seemed to have asked her. She would have to remember to think of something to say. Somebody was bound to ask her.

"Okay, But you have to promise that you'll answer this one?" Hermione hesitated. What if he asked her something that would kill him if he knew? Could she rely resign herself to be known as the girl that killed his dreams? She looked sadly at those pleading eyes he was giving her and she felt in her heart that she owed him some ounce of truth, so she gave him a slight nod. When he spoke his voice was full of every emotion that he must have known.

"What's it like in the future? Does everything turn out alright?" Her entire body went rigid. She wasn't expecting that. What could she say? That her world was in total disarray and you couldn't walk down the street without fear of being attacked? That Hogwarts wasn't remotely safe anymore? She felt so uncomfortable under his stare. Her hand went to the bracelet that was on her left wrist, she had developed this nervous habit ever since Harry and Ron had bought it for her birthday last year. She felt round her wrist only to realise that her bracelet wasn't there, she panicked even more, she never took it off, she couldn't have lost it. She make a little squeak and then the memory of Snapes' hands around her wrists popped into her mind, she immediately stood up and growled, making everybody within ear shoot look at her. She turned sharply to look over to the Slytherin table and made another little growl. She moved to start walking towards him but a hand on her arm stopped her.

"Are you mad? You don't honestly think you're going over there do you?" Remus said to her harshly. She raised her eyebrows at him. "Look I don't know what it was like for you before but in this school Gryffindors' don't just storm over to the Slytherins' for a chat." She turned to Sirius he had a similar look to Remus plastered all over his face.

"I don't intend to have a 'chat' in any way shape or form Remus Lupin." She felt his hand loosen and his eyes lower. "Cover me, I'm going in" she said dramatically to him, as if she was about to enter a battle field. She gave a little laugh and shaking Remus's hand off of her she walked over to the Slytherin table. She saw that most, if not all of the Gryffindors, were looking at her either horrified, or as if she had been condemned to death. Some of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had taken notice too. The Slytherins, to their credit, hadn't yet made a spectacle of her being there, they were keeping to themselves, plus they probably thought that she wasn't worth the worry, being new and all.

Standing behind Snape she waited a few seconds then realising that he was ignoring her she gave a deep cough, as if clearing her throat, to get his attention. He was still non-fazed by her so she reached out her hand and touched him lightly on the shoulder. That seemed to get his attention; he snapped around in his seat quickly and whispered menacingly to her.

"Don't touch me again you filthy Gryffindor." She was going to give a sarcastic reply but forced herself not to, she needed that bracelet back and she didn't think that would be the best plan of action. She put a sweetly smile on her face and spoke to him in a sugar coated voice.

"I'm sorry but you have something of mine. I'd like it back please." She held out her hand, waiting to have it placed there. He looked down at her open palm then back at her face, raising one think black haired eyebrow at her he was about to reply when somebody else's voice drifted to their ears.

"Severus my friend, give the little girl back her trinket and then she'll be of no bother to anybody." Hermione and Snape both snorted at the same time at Lucius Malfoys words. She was most certainly not a 'little girl'. He was most certainly not Malfoys 'friend'.

"Lucius, I do not need you butting in my conversations, or in anything that I do as a matter of fact." Snape said sending an icy glare towards the blonde.

"Severus it would serve you well to talk to your betters with a little respect." He shot back sending a challenging look at Snape. She had no interest in hearing these two quarrelling, she'd only come over here to retrieve her bracelet, which still had yet to be returned.

"Just give me back the bracelet Snape and I'll be on my way, then you two can get on with your little ego match." She saw Snape give her a funny look as if she'd said something shocking. Malfoy was just looking at her with fury behind his eyes.

"How dare you, you filthy tramp! If you every disrespect me again you'll regret it. I'll make sure of that." He spat at her. She found it quite amusing that this soon to be neatly trimmed aristocrat let somebody like her get him so wound up, with only a few simple words. She felt Snape grab her hand then felt the cold metal of her bracelet be pressed into her palm. Her eyes flicked away from Malfoy's for a moment to land on his black ones. She saw something akin to a laugh in them but it was gone the next second. Giving him a slight nod in thanks she turned to Malfoy again, holding the bracelet firmly in her hand, and gave him a sly smile.

"I somehow don't think I will, But if I ever do, it would still be worth it to see that look on your face." She turned to walk away but before her back was turned she saw him pull out his wand. She pulled out hers too and murmured a deflexion charm pointing it behind her back. Malfoy hadn't noticed so still fired his hex at her, he was too busy smirking to move out of the way before he realised what was happening. She didn't even bother turning round to see what damage he had done to himself.

"It's not nice to attack when somebody's back is turned, you never know what could happen." She said in a sing song voice that drifted back to the Slytherin table. When she sat back down at her own table Hermione could feel at least ten pairs of eyes on her. Ignoring them all, she clipped her bracelet back on her wrist and kept her eyes downcast as she ate her breakfast. Everyone went back to their toast or cereal within a few minutes, but she could still hear a whispered conversation every now and then that would contain her name. How did these people even know her name? She realised she had hardly been here for less than a day and she had already become a topic of conversation. Hermione could already tell that her time here was going to be disastrous. She sank into her seat praying that she was wrong.

Author's Notes- I might be able to get the next chapter up tonight, to make up for the late postage of this one :)
Snape steeling! How dare he. It was his little cameo, and he shall have many more through-out the story, after all this is Hermione's and his love I'm playing with.

.x.o.o.x. R E V I E W .x.o.o.x.