Summary: Hermione's first week in the past.
A/N: Hi everyone! Glad you're enjoying this.
Chapter 3
Her first view of Severus Snape in the Great Hall had taken her breath away. She hadn't realized how young he would look, and if she was honest with herself, she had found him quite attractive. She also had wondered what his reaction to her as a professor would be. Would he care one way or the other if she was a teacher there at Hogwarts?
A week had now passed, and Hermione had tried to interact with Severus, but he was aloof and mostly ignored her. She needed to figure out how she could get him to pay her any attention. But right now, she was on her way to Dumbledore's office. He'd sent a message to her that he had some news on the Time-Turner situation.
Knocking on his door, she entered at his summons.
"Ah, Hermione, how is your first week going?"
"It's good, Headmaster. I'm actually enjoying the break of not having to teach every class. The students seem to accept me, too."
"Good, good. I figured you'd acclimate quickly. Now, I spoke with the Ministry and was able to have a meeting with the Department of Mysteries. Unfortunately, there is no Time-Turner that can transport you twenty-eight years into the future. There are really only a couple of forward-turning Time-Turners in existence, evidently."
"So, I'm stuck here forever? Is there no way to return me to my time?"
Dumbledore stroked his beard. "In speaking with the Ministry, they think it's possible to alter one of the existing Time-Turners to make that sort of leap, but they don't know exactly how. They have given me one."
He reached into his pocket and took out the Time-Turner, letting Hermione see it.
"So, how far will this let a person travel into the future?"
"One week."
Hermione blew a few strands of hair out of her face. "That's really not helpful. Even if I turned it multiple times it would take forever to get to my future."
"I will need to research and experiment. I'm not sure how long this will take, but according to the Ministry, it is possible to create a Time-Turner that will transport you that far into the future."
"But it will take some time."
"Yes."
"Is there anything I can do, Albus?"
"Not really. I will let you know if I find anything which I could use your assistance with."
Hermione stood. "Thank you, Albus. Hopefully, this doesn't take years to fix."
"I don't think it will be that long."
"Okay, thank you."
Leaving his office, she felt pretty down. She'd have to be here much longer than she had initially anticipated. But maybe she'd need that time to convince Severus to not become a Death Eater. She was just confused and somewhat depressed about the outcome of her conversation with Albus.
As she walked, she mulled over how she could get Severus to warm up to her. An idea suddenly came to her mind. She hurried to Horace's quarters to pass it by him. In a few minutes, she was knocking on his door. It opened magically and Horace looked over at her from his sofa.
"Hello, Hermione. Come in, come in. What can I do for you?"
She entered and sat on the sofa next to him.
"I've been thinking. There are a couple of students who excel in Potions in the seventh-year class. I think they could do more."
"What do you mean?"
"I'd like to offer Severus Snape a tutoring position and mini-apprenticeship. He would tutor one person in each year and come to the Potions room and make potions to help with stores. He'd also have some time to create at least one new potion. You should choose someone to do the same."
"So, we each have someone to mentor."
"Yes!"
"I like that idea very much!" he said as he pointed his finger at her.
"Great! I'll talk to Mr. Snape tomorrow."
"And I'll talk to Miss Evans."
Hermione's face fell. "Oh, you're going to choose Lily Evans?"
"Yes! Aside from Mr. Snape, she's the most advanced in the class."
Hermione wondered if this was such a good idea now that the one person who ignored Severus at all costs would be involved. Oh well, there was nothing for it. She nodded.
"Sounds perfect," she told him.
Standing, she bid Horace a good night and quickly made her way out of his quarters.
oooOOOooo
Hermione perused the students as they created their potions. They were creating a Wiggenweld potion today, and everyone was being careful to put the ingredients together in the correct order so as not to ruin the effects.
She passed by Severus and gazed into his cauldron. Giving him a nod, she smiled at him.
"A word after class, Mr. Snape, please."
Severus' eyes met hers, and he nodded, immediately looking back at his potion. She continued her trek amid the tables, making her way up to her desk finally. Noting the time, she cleared her throat.
"All right, class time is up. Please place a stasis charm over your potions and move them to the stasis shelves so you may continue with them tomorrow."
Everyone waved their wands over their cauldrons and levitated them off their tables. They gathered their things and left the classroom, some saying goodbye to both Hermione and Horace, who had transfigured a second desk to sit at, so they both were visible at the front of the class.
Severus held back. Once the room was empty, he slung his backpack on his shoulder and came up to Hermione. Horace got up and moved out of the room to give Hermione privacy to discuss the apprenticeship with Severus.
"You wanted to see me, Professor Granger?"
"Yes, Mr. Snape. Thank you. You are a talented young man in this field. I would like to give you a chance to do some extracurricular activities in the subject."
He arched a brow. "What sort of extracurricular activities?"
"It's something of an apprenticeship. Part of it would be tutoring those who need help. The other, more exciting part, would be to come down here a few times a week and brew potions. You'd be able to research as well and maybe create something new."
"That's very tempting."
She nodded. "One thing to note is that Professor Slughorn will also be choosing an apprentice. You won't work together, but you will work alongside one another."
"That doesn't matter to me."
"Okay. Well then, if you want to accept, we can begin tonight around seven."
"I accept," he said with a bow of his head. "I will return at seven."
"Good. I'll meet you here," Hermione said.
Severus turned and left the room quickly.
"Only slightly less aloof than usual," Hermione said to herself before getting ready for the next class to come in.
oooOOOooo
That evening Severus came into the lab. Hermione was already there waiting for him.
"Mr. Snape," she greeted. "Professor Slughorn has gotten behind on the Pepper Up potion stock for the Infirmary. Would you please make a batch of that?"
Severus bowed his head and got to work. Hermione waited for him to amass and prepare his ingredients before she came up to him.
"How many students do you think you could tutor?"
Severus shrugged. "How many did you have in mind?"
"I was thinking one from each year through fifth?"
He looked up at her briefly. "That would be attainable."
"All right. I have some students in mind. I'll make a list and speak with each of them. I'll have them reach out to you. If you don't hear from them within the week, then seek them out."
"I will do so."
He added the Mandrake root and began stirring.
"So, tell me about yourself."
He glanced up at her and shrugged. Continuing to stir, he answered her.
"There's nothing to tell."
Hermione bit her lower lip. This wasn't going as she'd planned. "Where are you from?"
"Cokeworth."
"I'm not familiar with it," Hermione said, urging him to open up despite knowing full well where Cokeworth was.
Shrugging, he replied. "It's a small factory town. Lots of nobodies doing nothing."
Hermione raised her eyebrows at his comment. "Sounds like you didn't enjoy growing up there. Are you going to live there when you graduate?"
"You couldn't pay me enough to do so."
Hermione gave a short laugh. "So, where do you want to live?"
He removed the stirrer from the brew and set a Tempus charm for ten minutes. Looking at Hermione he shook his head.
"I'm not sure yet. Probably London somewhere."
"I lived in London for a bit. I enjoyed it."
"Did you live in Wizarding London?"
She nodded. "Yes. I was working with a Potioneer in Diagon Alley, so had a flat close by."
"Who did you study with?"
It was the first bit of interest he'd shown her during the entire conversation. Unfortunately, she started a conversation that would be difficult to continue. She wracked her brain as to what she could say. The Potioneer she apprenticed with was probably still taking classes in Durmstrang right now.
"You probably wouldn't know him," she said offhandedly.
"I know all the Potioneers in London."
Hermione opened her mouth to answer him but snapped it shut. Turning away from him, she worried her lip. Maybe it wasn't too soon to divulge just where she came from. Turning back to him, she looked into his eyes.
"Can you keep a secret?" she asked, knowing full well that he could.
"Of course."
"You must promise to tell no one about what I am going to tell you."
He arched his brow. "I promise."
"Severus, I'm not from this time. I am from the future. I had a Time accident and Headmaster Dumbledore is trying to alter a Time-Turner so I can return to my present."
"Ha ha, very funny. You think me a fool?"
"Hardly. I know you in the future, and greatly respect you."
"How could you travel here from the future? Time Travel is only possible with a Time-Turner, and they are only used to travel a few hours back. And this ridiculousness that Dumbledore is trying to make you a Time-Turner. There are no Time-Turners that transport forward in time."
"Actually, that's not true." She assumed her lecturing stance. "There are some Time-Turners that are top secret that can transport you to the future. They are kept deep in the Department of Mysteries. Also, the item that transported me was a necklace. This one, actually."
She fingered it, pulling it from beneath her jumper so he could see it.
"That's impossible."
"It's not. I touched it and it worked somewhat like a Portkey. It transported me here. But it was a one-way trip. It doesn't have the magical time properties within it any longer."
He eyed her caustically. "May I see that?"
She nodded and pulled the necklace up over her head, giving it to Severus.
He studied it carefully, then narrowed his eyes at her.
"This is a Prince family relic. How did you get your hands on it?"
Hermione's mouth dropped open. "I had no idea. I…"
The timer went off just then, and Severus turned to the cauldron.
"Please explain yourself while I decant this into vials," he demanded.
She began to slowly pace back and forth in front of his table.
"I'm the Potions Mistress in 2004. You used to teach at Hogwarts and served as the Headmaster at one point, but you are no longer alive in my time. You have a portrait frame in my sitting room. We've become close friends."
He looked up. "You're friends with a painting?" he sneered.
She turned and straightened. "Yes, I am. We've been friends for five years, and I cherish every minute I spend with you."
"So, I'm dead and you talk to pictures. Do you have any other eccentric qualities? How does that fit in with this necklace?"
"Oh come off it. There are many talking portraits here at Hogwarts. Don't act like I'm bonkers."
He gave her a level look. "Very well. Go on with this wild story."
She folded her arms and glared at him. "We are friends, like I said. I was mentioning that I wish you had survived, and you asked me if I was willing to change time to make it possible for you to do so. Before I could do more than agree, a hidden drawer appeared in my desk. I opened it and found that necklace. I went to pick it up and once I touched it, I was transported here."
"Professor, I don't know what you're on about. That necklace never had any time-traveling properties to it. You'd best tell me how you really got a hold of it. Did you somehow get into the Prince vault?"
Hermione grit her teeth. "I told you, it magically appeared in my desk."
He spun toward her, his fists clenched. "That is impossible! That necklace is only proffered for one specific reason."
"And what reason would that be?" Hermione asked, fed up with his stubbornness.
"For a betrothal!" he ground out.
Hermione's mouth dropped open, and she sunk into a nearby chair.
"You were proposing to me?" she said as she looked back up at Severus.
"I was doing nothing, and the me that's made of brush strokes couldn't have done so either."
"Why not?"
He closed the distance and bent over her as she sat. His eyes were filled with rage.
"Because a painting can't fall in love. How ridiculous is that? I would never, ever do such a thing, so tell me the truth. Where did you get your hands on that necklace?"
Hermione's wand was out in an instant, pointing at Severus' face. "You forget your place, Mr. Snape. Back off, or I'll have you serving detention for the rest of the year!"
Severus straightened but still looked enraged. "I apologize for my actions, Professor, but you are not telling the truth."
Hermione reholstered her wand and stood up. "I am not lying, Severus Snape. I swear that necklace appeared from nowhere, and your portrait didn't say anything about what it was or why it had appeared. What can I do to convince you that I am telling the truth?"
He glared at her. "I can't think of one thing." He gathered his things. "I resign from this position. I will not be involved with you anymore until you can tell me how you came into possession of my family necklace."
He threw his backpack onto his shoulder and stalked to the door.
"Mr. Snape… I may have a solution."
He stopped but didn't turn. "I can't see how."
She sighed. "I suppose this heirloom is located in your Gringotts vault?"
He turned slightly. "It was before you nicked it."
She almost laughed at his petulance. Almost.
"We will go to Gringotts tomorrow and check to see if it's there."
Turning fully toward her, he gave her a nod. "First thing in the morning," he demanded.
"I have a class to teach."
"Have Professor Slughorn cover for you. I want to get this taken care of."
"Agreed. I'll talk to him."
"I'll meet you at the Entrance Hall at nine."
He turned and stormed out of the room. Hermione frowned after him. She wasn't sure if finding the necklace in his vault would actually change his mind about anything, but the other alternative was something she wanted to avoid unless it was absolutely necessary. Legilimency could reveal too much.
