"That's my foot you ox!" Harry whispered to Ron as they both struggled to stay hidden via invisibility cloak.
"S'not my fault… you should figure out a way to make this thing bigger, were not 11 anymore." Ron replied in the same hushed whisper a Harry.
"Lets just get to Hermione before anybody notices that were not in our dorms." Harry finished with a shake of his head.
Both boys continued the slow, clumsy walk to the hospital wing, anxious to see the girl they had missed and worried about over the last few months.
Hermione noticed as the door to the hospital wing opened and closed, yet no one entered or exited. She smiled knowing who it was, and even though she though she should be upset that they had left her to her own devices all those months ago, she couldn't help the urge to run and hug her best friends, Merlin how she had missed them.
Once Harry and Ron removed the cloak, they were greeted with a firm hug from a teary eyed girl.
"How did you know I was back?" she asked as she sat back on her bed, finally releasing the two boys.
"Dumbledore told us." Harry stated as he plopped down on the bed next to her, followed by Ron.
Ron looked like he was about to burst as he sat next to her, fidgeting and sighing.
"What is it Ron?" she asked, slightly concerned that she had missed something while she was away.
Ron sighed, "It's – well it's just that – oh, bugger it, we are so sorry Hermione." He managed to spit out, "We have been a right mess with worry over you… and not to mention angry with ourselves for not going with you."
Hermione smiled, "It's okay, Ron, I was angry at first, but im so glad to see you both that I just cant stay mad… but the crappy part of this is that the reason this all happened to begin with didn't happen anyway."
"What are you on about?" harry asked, confused.
"The book silly! I vanished before I was able to buy the book… it's a shame too because I had my heart set on buying it."
Harry gave her a big grin, " well in that case, you will be happy to know that I bought the book for you."
"What? When?"
"The day you vanished. We had waited for you instead of going back and when you left to get the book. After about 30 minutes, we decided to go look for you at the book store… we both had a feeling something was wrong. When we asked the old man, he told us that you had read a small paper and vanished… he also didn't fail to mention that you had gone before the purchase was complete, so I quickly bought the book and we left to tell Dumbledore what happened."
Hermione was happy, overly happy about a damn book, she slightly worried about her fascination.
"So," Ron started, "Where were you?"
"I travelled back in time, 20 years to be exact." She said with a sadness, "I had to live as a student until they could get me back to my own time, but… oh, Merlin Ron, I screw so much stuff up."
Ron and Harry gave her a look but kept quiet. They knew if they just let her talk, they would know what she was referring to sooner.
"I met 2 boys while I was there and, gods, I fell in love with both of them."
Ron smiled, "Wow, two boys in three months… musty have been something in the water." At that he and Harry both laughed, but noticed that she didn't.
"You don't understand… it was at the same time, the three of us were in a relationship… together."
"Oh Merlin, Hermione, please tell me it wasn't with my dad, or Sirius, or anything like that." Harry stated, still in a bit of shock that Hermione had admitted to being in a relationship with two boys.
Hermione shook her head, "Worse, two slytherins."
"Are you mad!" Ron asked, "Do you even know what could have happened?"
"It was different back then. Twenty years ago, the gryffindors were really messed up." She stood from the bed and started to pace, rubbing a silent Tibbs on his head as he watched his mistress struggle, " The two slytherins were my only friends, my partners in class, and my only sense of belonging… I was a fish out of water there, but the problem now is that I fell in love with them as they did with me." She rubbed her hands over her face, "And the relationship is an impossible one – I don't see how it could ever be the same, not in the times we live in."
"Who Hermione? Do we know them?" Harry asked, kinda scared of her answer.
"You do, you both know the both of them." She took a deep breath, "I just don't know how to tell you, you'll both hate me."
Harry groaned and leaned back on the bed, "Can I venture a guess?"
Ron just stared blankly, not knowing if he really wanted to know.
"Is one of them Snape?"
Hermione nodded a yes but refused to look in their direction, she couldn't handle their disappointment.
Harry rubbed his temples while Ron looked ready to spew his dinner everywhere.
"And the other?" Ron finally asked, not able to even guess who the second one was.
"Is worse than the first." She answered, "I was in a relationship, physically and mentally with both Snape… and Malfoy."
Harry groaned even louder, "Oh, Hermione, how did you land with those two?"
Ron excused himself to the bathroom, he was suddenly feeling very sick.
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A week later, Severus watched the girl that had turned his life into a complete mess, try and get back on track with her studies. He hadn't entertained the thought of having her back in his classroom, and he couldn't say that he was completely comfortable with it either.
His mind had been made up to talk to the girl and possibly continue with their relationship, but every time he made up his mind to do just that, he changed it back again fairly quickly. He was confused on what to do.
Things weren't going well for Lucius either. In the three weeks since her return, he acted as if she was just another student, ignoring the fact that she had in fact, been with him and Severus in a relationship and a sexual relationship at that. It was stressful having that kind of knowledge about a person, especially knowing the feel of said person's body wrapped tightly against his.
He walked through his manor in search of Narcissa, he need to talk to someone and considering the circumstance with Severus, and not wanting to entertain Dumbledore, his wife was his only option.
He found her walking through the gardens, looking deep in thought, and she gasped when she noticed his presence.
"Lucius, what are you doing here?" she asked with a smile, walking towards her husband, who by his own right, looked worse for wear.
"I needed someone to talk to about a rather… odd and stressful situation."
Narcissa looked concerned and sat on the edge of one of the fountains, patting the spot next to her. Lucius joined, looking stiff and uncomfortable as he did so.
"I'm in a situation, one that I didn't even know about until recently, and I'm stuck on what to do."
He sighed and shifted, trying to get himself comfortable on the blasted stone wall of the fountain that did nothing for his posterior.
"A student of mine apparently travelled back in time, 20 years to be exact when Severus and I were in our 7th year. Apparently, Severus and I were both…. Interested in her and had even formed a relationship between the three of us. Severus, nor I remembered anything until the memory charm that she had placed on us started to wear off, in which neither of us were sure of what to make of the sudden memories and dreams that we were having."
Lucius stood from the wall, and turned towards Narcissa, "The girl is now back and Severus and I remember everything, yet neither of us know how to react… not to mention that you and I are married, and that she is a student, and that she is a… muggleborn."
Narcissa smiled, "So, your problem with this is age, which considering that we are wizarding folk, means little. She is a student, but as long as she is of age, I see no problem with that… she is of age isn't she?"
Lucius nodded.
"And lastly, our marriage – which is something I wanted to discuss with you anyway." She said with a bit of sadness, "I want to marry Dominic but didn't want to leave you alone… this could be our chance to finally find the kind of relationship we seek, so if this girl is what you want, don't hold back for my sake, Lucius, I'm happy and I want the same for you."
Lucius smirked, "Do you even want to know who it is?"
"Parkinson?" she replied
Lucius set his face to disgust, "Not in this lifetime. She is a Gryffindor."
Narcissa set her face with a funny grimace, "A Gryffindor – I shudder to think."
"Hold on to your knickers, but the Gryffindor is Hermione Granger."
"What the hell?" Narcissa screeched with a laugh, "You can't be serious!"
Lucius returned to Hogwarts feeling a great deal better than when he had left. Seeking out his wife, soon to be ex, was the best decision he could have made. She had made valid points and had also set his fear about his marriage to rest. He was free to seek out the one and only, Hermione Granger – the best approach was an entirely different matter.