To answer some questions: Hermione will regain memories gradually and the romance shall sprout when the muse demands it which should be soon. If you are wondering how long this will be I plan on going until the end! You cannot finish a HP story with Voldy still alive unless it is like a Tomione or something.

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter would I need to be preparing myself for at least three college level calculus courses?

Hermione sat at the same table she always did whenever she waited for Severus in the library. Surely if he needed to speak to her now he would know to come here. As she waited she pulled out one of the few books from her purse that she kept. The text books were still in the Headmaster's possession to prevent anyone from seeing the contents or copyright date. The books Hermione kept were books on the subject of darker magic, she didn't want the Headmaster to know she owned them and she reluctantly had to admit that she found them interesting. Not that she would ever use the spells mentioned but knowledge is power.

Despite being hidden away any noise put her on edge. She believed that Severus would be the only one to come into the library on the first day of vacation but she wasn't sure. Reading these books always made her paranoid, what if someone caught her? What if that someone for some reason realized that it was different than current books on the subject? Surely these had new spells that were invented in the next twenty years. Honestly she shouldn't be reading them in the first place; this was the kind of book a Slytherin would read behind everyone's back not a Gryffindor. Finally Hermione decided to put the book, which focused on mind magic, back into the purse and think of other things as she waited for Severus.

She did not allow her thoughts to dwell on the discussion she was about to have as anything concerning Malfoy and the Dark Lord just made her anxious. Instead she skipped over that and thought of her dance with Severus. He was obviously inexperienced in the area especially when compared to Lucius but it was the highlight of her night. Not only was she away from all the questions and flattery of Slughorn and his guests but she was spending time with her friend. Sure he didn't talk to her after saying he would talk to her today but it was nice. Severus seemed a little nervous but she wasn't sure if it was about the dance or the talk.

She remembered seeing Lily and the guys' faces when they saw her dancing with Severus, she was sure they would bring that up last night but they only mentioned the dance with Lucius. Perhaps Severus knocked some sense into them during those duels or maybe they were scared of her. They were quite a few people who were still jumpy around her after the incident with Dolohov. Maybe she should just let it go as she doubted this attitude would last until the New Year. Besides she didn't plan on becoming buddy-buddy with them anyway. Hopefully there would be less tension in the Tower and she could spend more time with Remus.

Finally she heard the distinct sound of someone entering the library and their footsteps heading in her general direction. 'Deep breathes, Hermione, deep breathes. You've been through worse, I think.' Hermione bit her lip in anticipation for whatever it was that Severus had to say about Lucius' infuriating comment. Of course she was worthy of her magic, it was hers. It coursed through her veins, resided in her blood just like any pureblood. Accusing people of stealing wands, stealing magic at age eleven, it was insulting and despicable and whoa…

Lucius didn't say that. Someone did but not Lucius, not last night. Then who and when? She knew she heard someone say that but not recently… A memory it had to be. Was that what this world was coming to? That wasn't a private opinion; it was said in public as if a law. She couldn't remember anything else but if she ever remembered the speaker then he or she better start running. Hermione dropped her head and began rubbing her temples trying to reel in the memory. She almost remembered a woman, an obnoxious woman when a skidding chair made the memory go away.

"Damn it," Hermione mumbled under her breath.

"If you wanted to hide from me this was not the place to go," Severus snipped, a little hurt that she appeared upset to see him.

"I wasn't trying to hide from you. I was just irritated because… Look it does not matter, just tell me what you need to tell me so we can move on and have a relaxing vacation," Hermione asked even though she knew in her gut that last part wouldn't happen.

"If only it were that easy," Severus said mostly to himself, then he cast a muffliato. "First tell me what all Lucius said to you."

Hermione scoffed, "Pureblood supremacy nonsense." She then attempted to imitate the blonde wizard's sophisticated drawl, "They only want to preserve their culture and keep the future bright."

"That is true," Severus said then held up his hand as Hermione glared at him. "It is, they are going about it the wrong way but that is their goal. Not to mention they just hate those they exclude. Did he say anything else?"

Hermione huffed and crossed her arms, "He said that the Dark Lord and his minions find me to be one of the few mudbloods," Severus flinched at the word ever so slightly, "'worthy of their magic.' What right do they have to judge and decide?"

"They don't have the right; their arrogance makes them believe they do."

"Well they need to be knocked down a couple notches."

"Get in line Hermione, they are many people already waiting for the chance." Severus smirked, "I have a feeling though that you actually have a chance with some of the bigots."

"Thanks for the compliment. Now please explain why Lucius was trying to convince me of his way if I am something that he hates? Is it because I'm 'worthy'?"

"Exactly," Severus said. "But there's more to it than that. They want to recruit people, bring them to their cause. They have been badgering me for years for my talent with potions. I was recently informed that You-Know-Who has recognized your potential as well as Lily Evans' and wants to recruit you two. I told them it would be impossible to sway Lily."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "And what did you say about me?"

Severus sighed and looked every bit as tired as he felt, "Hermione listen to me as I explain everything. I have been trying to avoid them for years, almost as long as I've been at Hogwarts. But I never said no outright because to do so is suicide. Everyone who refuses You-Know-Who dies. My life may suck but I'm still quite fond of living. Unfortunately I can avoid the question any longer, they expect an answer. The only protection I could hope to have is under Dumbledore and I'm sure you can see the problems with that. Lily will be made a target for the Death Eaters, an example to anyone who refuses. She will not be actively hunted down but if a follower has a chance at killing her then he will take it. The same will happen to you if you refuse."

"If? You think there's a chance that I will accept?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"Your situation will be different than mine," Severus began to explain, "No dark mark, you won't be a true Death Eater. I don't know what they will ask of you, probably just research…"

"To help them win," she interrupted indignantly.

"You have no other options. You are considered more valuable than Lily, there's a chance that you will become a prime target if you refuse. When Lucius told me this and gave me the task to tell you, you became my responsibility," Severus explained, "I don't want you to die when I could have prevented it."

"You want your conscious clean."

"No, it's more than that. You're my… friend. I care, as much as I hate to admit it, and I don't want you to die."

"We could go to Dumbledore, he doesn't hate you that much."

"You know that he does."

"If I fight in this war it will be against You-Know-Who."

"You will die, even with protection from Dumbledore it will only be a matter of time."

"Everyone dies at some point," Hermione pointed out, standing now though she didn't remember getting out of her chair.

"But it doesn't need to be now," Severus said very loudly as he stood and placed his hands on Hermione's shoulders. "I don't want you to die, Hermione. This life won't be easy but you will be alive."

"As I support the deaths of countless people? Do I really want to be alive in that scenario?" Hermione posed.

"As long as you are alive you can escape," Severus countered and looked her straight in the eye, "It won't be forever, we will find a way to escape at some point but for now we need to accept and survive. Maybe you can even give some inside info to the 'good guys' when we flee so you can fulfill your Gryffindor need to be a hero. We need to bide our time and get out of this alive."

Hermione would have yelled at him for being a coward and refused to be a traitor when a little something began to scratch at the back of her brain. A dim light coming from a light bulb of an idea in the back of her head along with all the forgotten memories that plagued her. Some bit of information that she recognized to be vitally important, something about his remark on giving away information. She needed to think, she needed to remember.

"Severus, I'm going to have to sit down think about this. I'll get back to you when I have an answer, okay?"

"Of course," Severus said trying to hold in the relief that she was at least considering this. Hermione grabbed her purse and swept past him, determined to get to her empty room where no one could bother her.

XXXXXXX

Hermione made it to her room in record time and threw herself onto her bed face down. She tried to concentrate on the memory, that dim light but as always it eluded her. She let out a scream of frustration that was muffled by her comforter and tugged at her hair.

Why oh why couldn't her life be simple? Why did it seem to always be filled with pain and hard decisions? No new memories came but she knew her whole life she was different and at any point she was being singled out for some reason or another.

Hermione didn't realize she was crying until she noticed the damp spot under her face on the comforter. Hermione flipped over onto her back and tried to relax. Resorting to her deep breathing exercises from earlier Hermione found herself asleep from the combined exhaustion of a sleepless night and stressful emotions.

At first her sleep was deep but then as her eyes began to move during REM images cut through the pitch black vision that had been in front of her closed eyes. Images flashed by, images that flowed into her conscious mind as the light bulb in her subconscious brightened. Images of a much older Dumbledore and an almost middle aged man that appeared to be Severus. The dream Severus yanked up his sleeve to show a hideous mark on his left forearm. The mark struck fear in Hermione but Dumbledore tried to calm her and explained that he was on their side. He was a spy.

Then the images were gone and left Hermione sleeping for a couple minutes more before she roused from her nap. The clock said she had slept for about an hour and a half but Hermione was more concerned with what she believed to be a memory that appeared in her sleep. Like any other dream important details slipped away from her as she tried to hold onto them. Only one detail of the dream-memory stayed concrete in her mind: Severus the spy.

Hermione had her answer.

XXXXXXX

"Severus!" Hermione called as she entered the library. She had no reason to believe he was still in here but if he wasn't she had no idea where to find him. She was promptly shushed by a Madame Pince who gestured for her to exit the library. Hermione did so grudgingly but was joined in the hallway by the very Slytherin she was looking for.

"Yes, yelling in the library in front of Madame Pince is a very good idea," Severus remarked sarcastically.

"Oh, shut it you. Look I have an idea concerning our little problem. It will include Dumbledore though," Hermione said.

"Any plan including Dumbledore and myself working together has to will work wonders, I'm sure," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"Tone down the sarcasm and let me explain before you get all pessimistic. You don't want to actually help him do you?"

"No."

"Then show me some place I can tell you the plan in private before we talk to Dumbledore."

"Fine, follow me I know somewhere we can go." Severus took the lead and led Hermione to an abandoned old classroom she had never noticed before. "The castle has many secrets," Severus explained as he tapped a brick that triggered the audible click of the classroom door unlocking. The room looked like any normal classroom but it had a thick layer of dust that looked impossible to completely remove.

Severus sat down in one of the cob webby chairs after a quick flick of his wand removed most of the filth and then once again cast muffliato. "Okay, now tell me this great plan of yours?"

"Alright first do you know anything about occlumency?" Hermione asked remembering the book she was reading earlier. This skill would be necessary for the plan to work at all as she was sure the Dark Lord had some skills in finding traitors amongst his ranks and this was the only foolproof way to keep them safe.

"Yes, I'm actually quite good at it," Severus answered. He had began learning the skill as a side project and found that he had a natural talent for it.

"Do you think we could both know enough by graduation to face an accomplished legilimens?"

"Depends," Severus said cautiously, "Who exactly are you suggesting?"

"Voldemort."

"Are you insane?"

"No just… look there's a lot I need to tell you but my basic plan is that we join Voldemort but as double agents, we'll be protected by both Dumbledore and Voldemort. And we'll be helping fight that monster."

Severus looked at her like she had grown a second head. "Again I ask, are you insane? What possibly makes you think this would work?"

Hermione paused for a moment and wondered what she should tell him. Nothing would convince Severus to do this except the truth, if she could convince him of that. She would need Dumbledore to help her with this one. Hermione closed her eyes and asked, "You know that secret of mine?"

"Well don't know what it is but I'm guessing it has to do with your crazy scheme."

Hermione knew no easy way to say this so she blurted it out, "I'm from the future."

I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist. This would have been posted much earlier but my internet is stupid

Please review even if it is just to hate me for this cliffhanger