Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. Everything belongs to JK Rowling, and I'm merely allowed to play around with them. No copyright infringement is intended.

Huge thanks to my reviewers! The feedback I get for this story is amazing, it literally blows me! I love you guys! Thank you! Now, on with the story! :)

Chapter 30

-o-O-o-

"What do you mean, 'dead'?" Lily asked, her voice trembling.

Sirius bowed his head and gave a slight dry sob. The rest of the Order bowed their heads as well, in acknowledgement. All seemed saddened at this loss.

"How did she die?" Lily whispered, her eyes filling up with tears.

Sirius sniffed a little. "I don't know. It's all Regulus' fault."

"He killed her?" James asked, appalled.

He shook his head. "No, but he threatened to kill himself… She went to him and… She never came back."

"Then she's not dead!" Lily exclaimed, standing up. "If you haven't found proof, then it's impossible."

"Lily," James tried to reason. "If Sirius says it…"

"Sirius trusted what a warning letter said once." she cut him. We all know what happened then." Sirius looked ashamed. "And who got us out? Hermione did. Who reunited Sirius and Remus when they hated each other? Hermione did. Who went through multiple problems with Sirius and Regulus still came back to them? Hermione did. Hermione, Hermione, Hermione." she started to cry. "I don't give a mother-fucking rat's arse what you think, but I know that she's not dead."

And with these words, she stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. "It's her hormones." James said. "She'll come around."

Dumbledore, who hadn't said a word until then, declared: "Very well. Now, other important matters, should we make a ceremony for dear Hermione… Even though we have no body?"

A few whispers went around the room, until James stood up and declared: "We shall place a monument, here in Godric's Hollow, in the name of all the members of the Order of the Phoenix that died fighting. Hermione's name will be on the very top, written in big for all eyes to see."

Dumbledore nodded. "Very well." he said. "Let's move on to that mass murder in Diagon Alley the other day… Marlene, dear, would you care to investigate."

The pretty witch nodded her blond head, her curls flying around her face as she did so. "I'll do it."

Peter sneezed.

-o-O-o-

Dumbledore had always known where Hermione really came from. That did not stop him from believing that she belonged here, in 1979. The same way he believed that, he also agreed with Lily, Hermione couldn't be dead.

She was much too clever to die in a stupid suicide attempt… although he was pretty sure there was more to that. Besides, it would have been a clever way to escape, to make everyone believe she was dead… So she could simply sit and wait for her other self to go back to the past… A clever way to stop altering the timeline, if it had been.

So it was without surprise that he called out: "Come in, Miss Granger!" when a knock sounded on his office door as he was thinking about his problems.

The door swung open, to reveal not only Hermione, who looked slightly green, but also Regulus, his raven hair windswept and grinning broadly. "How did you know it was me?" she asked as the pair of them entered the busy office.

"Simple deduction." he revealed. "Sirius announced your death this morning."

She nodded. "They believed him?" she asked, just to make sure.

"Most of them did," the elder man said. "But I think Lily has doubts."

Regulus laughed a little. "What can we say? The Evans girl was always one of the cleverest."

"It's Potter, now, Mister Black." Dumbledore corrected him, before motioning to them to sit down. "I assume you're here because you want me to help you to go in hiding."

Hermione sighed. "Yes, we have." she said. "We both hold information that could be dangerous to know of. I thought it better if everyone believed we were dead."

"Regulus was supposed to die." Dumbledore said. It wasn't a question. "He was supposed to die and you saved him." His tone wasn't accusatory, yet she bowed her head in shame.

"What do you mean, I was supposed to die?" Regulus asked Dumbledore, slightly alarmed.

Dumbledore turned to Hermione. "You haven't told him?" he asked.

"Told me what?" Regulus panicked, turning to Hermione. "Hermione what the fuck's going on here?" She didn't say anything. "Hermione, what are you hiding from me? Tell me!"

"Shut up!" she yelled at him. She stood up abruptly, and, yanking Regulus to his feet, left the office. They both stormed down the staircase, out of the castle, out of the grounds… It took them fifteen minutes. And for these fifteen minutes, Hermione looked absolutely murderous.

Suddenly, she stopped, and twirled around, her wand in her hand. Regulus felt the pressure of Disappariton, until he felt his feet touch the ground. He looked around. "Where are we?" he asked. They were in a sort of complex of red brick houses, all the same. However, Hermione knew exactly which one she was walking towards.

He followed her, wondering where on Earth she was taking him. She rang the doorbell and waited, until a young woman, with striking chocolate brown doe eyes, opened. "Yes?" the woman asked.

"Good morning Madam." Hermione said, a now small but beautiful smile upon her features. "I was just wondering whether you'd seen a dog around here."

"Erm… I haven't, but you can ask my husband, he leaves the house more than I do." the woman answered, before stepping away from the door. "Please," she invited them. "Come in."

"Thank you." Hermione answered, and motioned for Regulus to follow her inside. He followed obediently, not quite getting where she was going at.

"What's your name dear?" the woman asked Hermione, leading her way through the slightly narrow corridors.

"I'm Cassia, and my boyfriend's name is Josh." she lied, motioning to Regulus, who was following behind her.

They entered a living room, where a man was watching television, his glasses on. "Richard?" the woman asked.

The man looked up and smiled. "Jean!" he said. "And you've got company! Who are these young people?"

Hermione laughed. "I doubt we're much younger than you!" she declared, and the couple smiled. "I'm Cassia, and this is Josh. We're looking for our lost dog."

Just then, a cry echoed in the room and a worried look crossed Jean's face. "Excuse me." she said and ran up a flight of stairs.

Meanwhile, Richard was smiling. "Where do you live?" he asked.

Hermione looked at Regulus pointedly. "Two blocks from here." he hastily answered. "We were walking our dog… er… Snuffles, around here, when he saw a… fox, and chased after it, about ten minutes ago."

Richard nodded. "What does Snuffles look like?" he asked.

Regulus gulped. "Well, he's big, and black… with long, curly hair… and he's very bouncy! Not very serious, if you know what I mean."

Hermione was trying hard not to laugh. Regulus turned back to her with a cheeky smile and he winked. "Well," Richard said. "I'll ask the neighbours, but I, personally, don't know any dog that goes by this name and description."

They heard some noise, and Jean descended down the stairs, cradling a small baby in her arms. "She just needed a diaper change," she told her husband. "But she refused to go back to her bed, so I brought her downstairs." She turned to Hermione and Regulus. "Have you had any luck with your dog?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, but he might come back on his own anyway. That's a beautiful baby you've got there… What's her name?"

Jean held her daughter up proudly. "Hermione." she declared. "Hermione Jean Granger."

Regulus stood, petrified. How could a baby have Hermione's exact name? Then everything fit together. The hasty arrival. The detachment at first. The Time-Travel researches. The reason to be believed dead. The way she seemed to know how and why everything was happening around her.

Hermione was from the future.

Thanks to a rapid mental calculation, since she was nineteen, and the baby looked about three months old… She had gone nineteen years back in time. It was, in theory, possible, but no one had ever managed it before… How? Why?

"Are you feeling alright, Josh?" Richard asked.

Regulus shook his head rapidly. "Yes, yes, I'm fine." he reassured him. "Can I… Can I hold her?"

Jean smiled. "Sure you can. Just be careful, she doesn't like strangers."

She handed him the baby, and he tried to fit her in his arms, clumsily shifting her occasionally. "She's…" he gulped. "She's beautiful." he managed to say.

The baby Hermione opened her navy blue eyes and stared up at Regulus in wonder. He smiled. She was truly pretty. She was so small, with only a tiny bit of frizzy brown hair on top of her apple-sized head. She had a cute button nose and, he saw when she yawned, a tiny red tongue and toothless gums.

"She's truly gorgeous." he said, before handing her back to Jean. "Well, ladies and gentleman, I'm afraid we're going to have to leave you, and go look for our dog."

Richard shot him a knowing smile. "Good luck." he said in Regulus' ear. "For both your dog… And the other thing."

And with these rather confusing words, the pair left the Grangers' house and went back to Hogwarts.

-o-O-o-

Dumbledore conjured them each a mug of tea and began speaking. "Now that you are both aware of the situation," he said. "I think I have found something for you. As you may perhaps know, a few days ago, there was a mass murder in Diagon Alley. Nineteen people were killed… Four of which were Hogwarts teachers. A professor, named Horace Slughorn, hearing the news, has quit his job. That leaves me with five jobs to be filled before the end of the Christmas break."

"What subjects do you need?" Hermione asked.

"Slughorn taught Potions, the others taught Divination, Arithmancy, Astronomy and Muggle Studies." he revealed. "What I can propose is that you start teaching next trimester, under a fake identity, one of these subjects each. It helps all of us. Now, I thought Hermione, being Muggle-born, could teach Muggle Studies-"

"No." Hermione cut him. "It'll be too conspicuous. A person nobody's ever seen comes and teaches Muggle Studies… Everyone will know, or at least suspect, it's me." She shook her head. "I'll take Astronomy."

Dumbledore nodded. "And Regulus, what will you take?"

"I suck at Muggle Studies and Divination, and although I like Potions, I think it's too much of an important job." he declared. "That leaves me with Arithmancy."

"Alright." Dumbledore agreed. "Each of you will have to find a suitable costume of sorts to play your part in. I suggest you find one tonight, as well as a name, an origin etcetera. Tomorrow, we will forge your papers and make the contracts… Since you will be teaching here, you will get paid, and so I suggest you take an appointment to Gringotts as well. I'll give you quarters to live in during the school year… I take you wouldn't mind sharing?"

They looked at each other and Regulus grinned cheekily. "Oh, no. I don't mind sharing at all."

Hermione slapped his arm.

-o-O-o-

"Regulus?" Hermione whined in front of her mirror. "I don't know what colour to do my hair!"

The man who walked in definitely did not look like Regulus. She would've gasped if she hadn't spent the last two hours staring at him as he changed form and voice right before her eyes. He aced at human Transfiguration. "Do like me." he said.

She stared at his fake balding, deep brown hair and shook her head. "WE can't have the same hair colour." she told him.

He rolled his eyes. "I mean my technique." he clarified. "I did my hair the same colour as your eyes, and my eyes the same colour as your hair. You try it."

She had to admit, she was impressed by his reasoning. Concentrating very hard, she turned her hair a very light silver and her eyes black. The result looked very good… and convincing. "Wow." she said, before turning to Regulus. "How do I look?"

He smirked. "Gorgeous." he said. "Good enough to eat." he added, slipping his hands around her waist.

He tried to kiss her but she shook her head. "I am not snogging some weird dude who looks twice my age." she said.

He groaned but pulled away, before staring at himself in the mirror. "Hello." he said with a deep voice. "My name is Professor Hershel Vector. I will be teaching Arithmancy from now on."

Hermione cleared her throat. "And I'm Professor Stella Sinistra. I will be teaching Astronomy from now on." she said with a fake high voice.

Then turned to face each other, trying to find some flaws they could fix. When they found none, Regulus declared: "This just might work."

-o-O-o-

We all hope it does! Please review and tell me what you think! :)

WARNING: Next chapter owns its rating, if you know what I mean. ;)