When past and present collide!

Dilemmas, dilemmas! Will they or won't they? Sophia and Granger get one final chance to become friends! They'll either become friends next chapter or kill each other, leaving poor Thorfinn brokenhearted in the present!

Sophia woke up the next morning with a new plan brewing and a determination to make friends with Hermione Granger if it was the last thing she did before leaving this time! Blast it, the girl simply had to be brought to her senses!

She jumped up, got ready and raced down to find Rowle, only to discover he wasn't even up yet. 'Oh! Where WAS that annoying boy when she NEEDED him?' She approached the couch he normally sat on, eyeing the two older students warily. They weren't the same Dolohov and Yaxley she knew and had faced at the Ministry last year. She knew this but they resembled their intimidating fathers so much, it was hard for her to remember that! She felt a small shiver of fear run through her as she tried to gather the courage to get closer.

Cory and Tony had been wondering how long it would be before Thorfinn's firstie had to face them by herself and how she would handle it. They were about to find out! They watched the little girl as she inched closer to them. Just because she'd approached them, though, wasn't saying she was brave enough to actually speak to them.

"H-hi, hi. Hello, um, d-do you know w-where Rowle is? He wa- was supposed to c-check my essay." She stammered slightly, holding out a sheet of parchment.

Cory had to hide his smile at her evident nervousness. "Potions?" he asked. 'So the little firstie wasn't as arrogant as she makes out to be.' He thought in amusement. She nodded shyly.

"Rowle is still turned up in bed. We were about to go roust him out. Of course, we'll have to listen to him curse us the rest of the day! Unless you wanted to try to wake his grouchy arse up. He might not object to you waking him. He might even be fairly nice today." Cory gazed at her.

"I can try to wake him if you really want me to, but won't I get in trouble for being in the boys' dorm rooms?" Sophia wondered.

"No worries, sweetheart. We'll wait until you clear the stairs, then we'll follow. He gives you any trouble, we'll be right there to get him under control." He grinned at her easily. "Anyone asks why you were in there, we'll tell them you were giving him hell because you needed that essay checked!" Fully confident that she would succeed, he sent her up the steps to wake up Thorfinn. 'The boy was in for a shock.'

Tony was shaking his head. "I seriously hope that doesn't backfire."

Cory looked at him. "What?"

"You know what! Sending a first year female, Professor Snape's daughter no less, up into the boys' dorm to wake up our resident Casanova. You know what he's likely to do as well as me! Are you bloody mad? This goes south, at best he'll get charged with Stat, the worst our Head of House will kill his bloody arse for daring to lay hands on his daughter!" Tony exclaimed.

"This is not going to go south. Professor Snape will have no reason to get him for Stat or kill him." Cory said calmly.

"How do you know that, though?" Tony asked in frustration. "He slips out every chance he gets to go feel up Becky Selwyn or any other girl he can chat up in the library. Now, he's about to be woken up, by a girl he might not realize is just a firstie, and you're just sitting there?"

"That's why." Cory said simply. Tony looked at him, confused.

"Tony, think about this closely. Since that girl showed up, how many times has Thorfinn slipped out to go chasing skirts?" Cory asked.

Tony's eyes widened in comprehension. "None. He's not been going out. He's been staying in the common room. With us. With,, that girl!"

"Exactly." Cory smiled. "He's been paying more attention to that little first year than he has any girl since he started school!"

They sat back and thought about what this information meant in regard to their young Beater and the little girl who appeared to have him wrapped around her little finger.

Meanwhile, up in the boys' dorm, Sophia was once again faced with waking Thorfinn up. Remembering him mumbling in his sleep last night, she had to smile. Finding his bed was easy as he was the only one still asleep. Actually she was glad Yaxley had sent her to wake him up. Now she could tell him her new plan. As he played a big part in it, she needed him to cooperate!

She sat down on the side of his bed. "Rowle? Rowle. Thorfinn?" she would have poked his shoulder except he was curled up in a ball and completely covered from head to toe!

She reached for the top of the cover, hesitated, then pulled it back slightly, only to be confronted by his feet! She suppressed a giggle. Apparently, he slept upside down in his bed. It was a curious little fun fact that she tucked away. She was glad now she hadn't poked him as it would have been his bum or his leg she hit! Turning to the foot of the bed, she now registered the very smallest corner of his pillow, pulled into his cocoon. She reached out and, once more, took hold of his cover and pulled it up. She smiled as she revealed his dark blonde hair.

"Rowle? Rowle. Thorfinn. Wakey, wakey! Come on, Thor, rise and shine. I need your help." She pushed his hair back from his face. She heard a very slight moan. She pulled the cover down some more. His eyes were still closed and he was frowning. She stroked his forehead until the frown melted away. His eyes fluttered. One hand came up, resting on her hand. "Sophia? What are-?" he whispered, still half asleep. His eyes shot wide open. "Sophia! What the fuck are you doing up here?!"

"Yaxley sent me up here. I think he was hoping you'd be in a better mood if I woke you, instead of him and Dolohov." She told him brightly. "Plus I wanted to tell you my new plan. I need you to help me!"

"Oh, Merlin!" he groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. "Ok, you go on down. I'll be down as soon as I get dressed." She smiled and ran out of the room.

"Yaxley, Yaxley! I think it worked! He did cuss a bit when he realized it was me but then he said he'd be right down. That's good, right?" she bubbled happily as she jumped onto the couch she was accustomed to sharing with Rowle.

Cory smiled. "That sounds good to me." Tony was smiling but shaking his head. 'Damned if Cory hadn't been right!'

Thorfinn came bounding down the stairs a mere five minutes later. He jumped onto the couch, hugged her and told her to go get her bag. Then she could tell him her plan. Somehow, he had a feeling this 'big' idea concerned Granger. She seemed bound and determined to either make friends with the girl or clash with her, every chance she got!

Sophia ran up to get her bag. No sooner had she dashed away than Thorfinn whirled around on the couch, glaring fiercely at his Quidditch captain. "What the fuck, Cory! Do you know what I could've done to her before I realized who it was?!"

"Yes, I do but you didn't do anything. So no harm done." Cory told him calmly, ignoring Thorfinn's smoldering anger. "Come on, Thor. Cheer up. You got woke up by a sweet, pretty, little girl and didn't get dumped into a cold bath by the two of us. That's got to count for something, right?"

Tony was chuckling. "He's right, Thor. That has to an improvement on how WE wake you up!"

They were finally able to tease Thorfinn into a better mood before Sophia returned with her schoolbag. Thorfinn was sprawled out, having told them his firstie apparently had some wild plan she needed him to help her with.

"All right, firstie. What's this big plan of yours?" he asked, looking sideways at her.

"I need you to help me pick a fight with Hermione Granger! A fight bad enough to get me and her BOTH thrown into detention! You already said, if my essay was passable, you'd stick Weasley to the wall for me. You also said you wanted me to go to detention with you when they punished you for messing with a baby Gryff. We need to build on that plan so that I actually get detention and then Granger gets pulled in as well!" she announced boldly. Thorfinn stared at her silently before busting out laughing. Cory and Tony were laughing and face palming.

"Let me get this right. You WANT me to help YOU pick a fight with GRANGER! So you, me and her will all be in detention TOGETHER? Are you out of your ever loving mind, child?!" he shook his head.

"But, Rowle! It has to be done. The girl is too prissy, too uptight! Someone has to help her pull that bloody great stick out of her arse!" she stomped her foot and put her hands on her hips, chin tilted stubbornly. Thorfinn, Cory, and Tony howled with laughter, especially as someone else had also heard her plan.

"Language, child, language!" Sophia cringed as she heard the voice of her father, right behind her! She took a deep breath and said with a grimace, "Bloody hell!"

The boys tried desperately to compose themselves in time to hear her punishment. Snape waited until Sophia had partially turned enough to face him. She couldn't help noticing that even though he sounded stern, he looked like he was actually fighting to hide a smile.

"Now. Tell me, child, wherever did you hear that kind of language?" he asked, lips twitching.

Without missing a beat, she pointed at Thorfinn and threw the fourth year under the bus. "I heard him say that the other day, father. He really did!" Thorfinn was staring at her, open mouthed in shock! Cory and Tony were, again, dying laughing at the two of them. 'Damn, they needed to set the two of them up in the lobby and sell tickets! They'd be rich in no time!'

"I think you both know what this means. Detention! Not of you will report to my office as soon as classes are over today. I'll have a huge stack of dirty cauldrons that need to be cleaned!" he turned to leave and Sophia gasped.

She jumped down and raced after him. "Father, just a moment!" Snape waited until they were out of the common room and in his office before he stopped to look at her.

"Yes, child, what is it?" he asked. He still had a hard time believing this vivacious, scheming girl with mediocre Potions skills was actually swotty Hermione Granger.

"Would it be possible for you to find some reason to put Hermione Granger into detention with us? I'm trying to befriend her and not having too much luck." Sophia surprised him with that request.

"I shall do my best to find a reason to punish her." He promised. Sophia threw herself against him in a tight hug. He returned it after a moment.

"Thank you, father!" she squealed happily. "Oh, by the way, Thorfinn might also be getting in trouble for sticking Ron Weasley to a wall at some point." She smirked as he threw his head back and laughed. Then she headed back to the Slytherins common room to calm down her partner in cri-um, fellow student!

Thorfinn was still sitting, right where she'd left him, still open mouthed with shock. As she approached, he snapped his mouth shut and glared angrily at her. "I'm sorry, Rowle! I panicked! But I got him to promise he'd try to put her in detention with us. Don't worry. If I really can't make friends with her, we'll guilt her into doing most of the washing, ok? I really am sorry! Please forgive me?" she threw herself against him trustingly. "Please?"

Cory and Tony let out low sputters of laughter when Thorfinn rolled his eyes and growled but accepted her apology. True, Thorfinn had never been one to hold a grudge. But when he was angry at someone, he usually ignored them the whole day, he certainly didn't forgive them within ten minutes of pissing him off!

"So, are you still going to stick Ron Weasley to the wall for me? I'll sit with you in detention!" she wheedled. Thorfinn thought about it, then nodded. "Give me a five minute head start, then come on up to the Great Hall."

He winked, grabbed his bag and left. "In case you're wondering why I'm trying so hard to befriend Granger, she may be a Mudblood but she's the only other Granger here. Even though we're not at all related, I just want to be able to sit and talk to someone my age who has my former last name." Sophia spoke softly, talking to Cory and Tony. Cory cast a Tempus and told her to run along and catch up with Thorfinn.

On her way out of the room, she stopped and invited Daphne and Pansy to walk up with her. They chattered about the upcoming broomstick lessons. Sophia confided that she wasn't sure how her lesson was going to go, considering she was terrified of heights. They assured her they weren't feeling too sure about the lessons, either. When they were almost to the lobby, they heard screaming and a loud voice shouting at Rowle, seemingly scolding him!

They ran in and busted out laughing. Thorfinn Rowle had outdone himself. He'd made a line of five Gryffindors stuck to the wall. Starting with Seamus Finnegan, Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter, he'd gone down the line alphabetically, ending with Dean Thomas and Ron Weasley! He looked extremely proud of himself!

Hermione Granger was loudly scolding him and he looked extremely close to sticking HER up there, between Finnegan and Longbottom!

Sophia ran over and stood between them. "Rowle, Rowle, Rowle! What have you done! These poor innocent little Gryffindors!" Cory and Tony had followed her up and stood beside the doors, watching yet another performance of the Thorfinn and Sophia show!

"You should keep your beast on a tighter leash, Snape!" Granger snapped at her. Sophia's eyes snapped in sudden anger.

"Me? Keep Thorfinn Rowle on a tighter leash? He's an uncontrollable, untamed force of nature, Granger. What makes you think I have him on any kind of leash? And where do you get off, calling him a beast!" she frowned at the girl. 'She had no right calling Rowle a beast!'

"Where does HE get off, sticking students to the walls?" Granger hissed.

"It's a harmless prank, Granger! They aren't dying, for Merlin's sake. They may have lost some dignity but that's all! Merlin, the other day, I was the one stick up there! Nobody came to MY defense except Pansy and Daphne! Today, there's a dozen or more of you, outraged at him! Leave him alone!" she cried. Rowle reached out, laying his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it in gentle warning.

Granger watched him and looked at her. "Well, it seems weird how close the two of you are and yet you can't keep him under control!"

Before Sophia could reply, they heard a voice. "Mr. Rowle! What is the meaning of this!" Professor McGonagall had arrived on the scene. For a bare second, Sophia could have sworn that the old witch was about to burst out laughing herself, in spite of the fact that it was her Gryffindors hanging on the wall.

"He attacked them, Professor, I saw him!" Granger loudly announced.

"She called him a beast! He's not a beast, Professor McGonagall! He's just Rowle!" after hearing Granger's denouncement of Rowle, Sophia suddenly lost all interest in helping the girl change her ways. 'She wanted to BE a swotty, insufferable, little know it all, LET her be a swotty, insufferable , little know it all!' Suddenly her only goal was to keep Thorfinn OUT of detention for sticking the boys to the wall. "How did he attack them? There are five of them and only one of him! Maybe THEY attacked him and he retaliated the only way he could without hurting them!" she defended, glaring at Granger angrily.

While this was going on, Tony leaned over and whispered quietly to Cory. "Is it just me or are the words 'betrothal contract' suddenly running through your head, too?"

"I've been thinking that ever since he yanked her up and took off after Quidditch practice yesterday!" Cory replied. After yesterday and now this morning, he was wondering how long it would be before Thorfinn's dad sent a marriage contract to Professor Snape, demanding his daughter for Thorfinn!

The hall suddenly grew quiet as Professor Snape stepped into view. He took a moment to analyze the situation, then met the eyes of Professor McGonagall. He could see amusement in her eyes, even though she was frowning sternly. He already knew, from that look, there would be no punishment for Rowle. This was typical Thorfinn behavior. Now, if she'd caught him knocking into one of them, throwing their schoolbag down the hall, scattering their books and homework out or otherwise tormenting them, she definitely would have punished the boy.

Rowle had come to Hogwarts, already knowing and using the sticking charm he wielded so well. Even as a first year, he'd been the biggest one in his class. Right from the first day of classes, he'd stuck various classmates to various walls all over the castle! They couldn't very well punish him, now, for a trick he'd been using for the past four years without being punished for.

Snape looked down at Sophia. Her eyes were shining with tears. "Rowle! Sophia! My office, now!" His eyes glinting dangerously at Granger, Rowle reached down, grabbed Sophia's arm and tugged her back down the hall.

"His punishment?" Snape asked McGonagall. She allowed a small smile to show. "You know better, Severus. No punishment but you know his charm better than I do. Would you kindly release my students from the wall?"

"Both he and Sophia have detention with me, do I need to add Miss Granger to that list?" he asked, watching as Granger suddenly looked horrified.

"Hmm, yes. I do believe she would benefit from spending time with someone she has labeled a beast." McGonagall replied, ignoring the betrayed look on Granger's face as she looked at her. "When does she need to come down?"

"Their punishment will begin as soon as they both reach my classroom after classes." McGonagall nodded. "Oh, by the way, why are they in detention, Severus?"

"Apparently, Rowle has been teaching my daughter all the creative ways of saying 'bloody hell!'" he smirked, remembering how she'd cringed at the sound of his voice. McGonagall laughed before she could stop herself. 'Oh, that did indeed sound like Thorfinn Rowle!'

She'd make sure Granger was there. In the meantime. "Come with me, Miss Granger, we need to have a serious talk about your manners!" as she led the incredulous first year away. He almost burst out laughing at the shocked look on her face. He'd definitely need to relate THAT ONE to Rowle and his daughter! He paused just briefly, as he was unsticking the boys, when he realized he had stopped thinking of her as Hermione in hiding and begun to actually regard her as his daughter! He strode rapidly to his office. Just outside the doors, he paused again.

Inside, Sophia was seated on Thorfinn's lap. Whether this was his choice or her own, Snape wasn't sure. Her head was laid on his shoulder and her shoulders were shaking. She was either laughing quietly or crying. As he watched, one of Rowle's hands patted her back. The other one stroked her hair. In his defense, Rowle did look slightly uncomfortable, Snape doubted he was used to comforting crying girls, but he also looked peaceful. It was an expression you just did not see on the face of Hogwarts resident wild boy, Thorfinn Rowle. He was either smiling, laughing, smirking or angry!

He stepped in inside. "Well, I have good news and bad news." He watched as they straightened alertly. "There will be no further punishment for you, Rowle but Granger will be here for detention. Whether you still want her here will be entirely up to you. Also I should tell you that Granger was being given a sound scolding on manners by McGonagall." He smiled as that caused them both to start chuckling happily.

"Now, you do still have time to go up and eat breakfast before you go to class. Remember, as soon as classes are over, you come to the Potions classroom." He dismissed them to return to the Great Hall. As soon as they were in the hall, Rowle bent down and offered Sophia a back ride in order to get upstairs faster.

After breakfast they separated in the hall. She was now getting serious qualms the closer it got to flying lessons. She was pleased to note that Granger was quite subdued after her scolding. 'Good, that would teach her to call someone a beast!'

During the flying class, she was pleased that she managed to actually get the broom to raise up this time. The last time, it had stubbornly laid there and, at one point, had actually rolled over on its back! Granger, she saw, didn't even get the broom off the ground. Then classes were over and they was heading for the Potions lab for detention. As she and Granger arrived, Thorfinn was already there. He was glaring fiercely at Granger and she was looking terrified.

She was still angry about this morning but she decided that, since they were all in there anyway, she'd give it one last try. 'Who knew, she might even be able to get her and Rowle to be somewhat civil while they were there!'

Present time

Cory, Tony and Snape watched in shock as Thorfinn backed up to the wall, sank down and covered his face. "This is my fault! She said it herself! She was thrown back in time and landed at MY feet!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Mr. Rowle! There are any number of reasons why that girl was pulled back in time!" Snape snapped at him.

"But you do believe me? You know that's where she's at, too, don't you sir?" Thorfinn asked him.

Snape reluctantly nodded. 'He'd been getting his own share of memories from the past, the most shocking of which he'd apparently, spontaneously agreed to act as her father!' he knew they needed to update both the Dark Lord and Dumbledore. One would be ecstatic because it would throw the other one into chaos! Hermione Granger was not only the 'brains' of the Trio but she kept a tight grip on how impulsive Harry was. If not for her calm logic, Harry would long since have already attacked Malfoy on several different occasions.

"Listen to me, Rowle, this is NOT your fault! Since this was apparently a spontaneous trip to the past, you might be something she wanted to change! I know you and her fought the whole time you were in school together. Maybe she was subconsciously thinking of that and fate decided the rest!" Snape knelt down beside the young man.

"You think so?" Thorfinn peered at him hopefully. It hurt him to see the boy in this shape. For his sake alone, Snape hoped Granger didn't dally around too much in the past. Like Cory and Tony, he wasn't sure how she'd managed to get the boy twisted up this badly in such a short amount of time but she had. Now it was time for her to come back and straighten out what she'd done!

"Go and rest. Keep up with your training. I'll keep you informed of any new developments." Snape told him. Cory and Tony came over and pulled Thorfinn to his feet. As they left Snape's office, hoods raised, they passed a group of Slytherins, including Draco, Theo, Pansy and Daphne. As soon as they were out of hearing range, Pansy slapped both boys' arms. "See! We told you! That was Rowle! He's looking for Sophia and Granger!"

They didn't notice the men had turned back. "Should we tell them?" asked Cory.

Thorfinn shook his head. "Not today."

They exited the castle and went back to the cottage. Thorfinn went to lay down. His hand rested on the packages he'd been collecting all day. On impulse, he decided to send them tomorrow morning. It would be a while before she got them as she was still playing in the past. But they would be waiting for her when she got back. He'd send them to Potter to hold for her. She might not take them on her own but she would accept them from Potter. There was only one that she absolutely needed to accept right away. He'd put a drawing charm on it. It was geared to MAKE her want to accept that one gift. It was the one that would ultimately declare her as his!