Summary: Reviewing the future.

A/N: Thanks for reading! More Snapey angst ahead.

Chapter 5

Late November

Three weeks had passed, and Hermione–Maia–was feeling confident in her job. She'd been surprised to find that Warren was her coworker–an Unspeakable second class just like she was. He was about five years older than she was now, and she found their great working relationship from before was repeated in this time. They were maybe even a little closer because of their similar status and ages.

True to her word, Lilah had designated a room in the Time department for her to have all to herself for her studies. It had taken a little time to set up, but she was now in the room, getting ready for her first experiment–to see what Severus Snape surviving would do to the future.

The room was a spectacular work of magic. Lilah and she had spent days working out the spells to create the room. It was like dipping into a Pensieve, producing an image of Hermione's memories that she could view and interact with. Her thoughts would drive what happened in the vision. She would record what happened and submit a report to Lilah each week during her study. Lilah had given her whatever time she felt she would need.

Honestly, this study could go on for years; there were so many variables.

Using her wand to set the spell for the vision, she thought of what she wanted to view and cast. Immediately, Severus Snape lay on the floor of the Shrieking Shack in a pool of blood. She was so shocked that she just let the memory play without doing anything mentally. Wiping tears from her eyes, she fought to control herself. She'd get nothing done if she kept falling apart like this.

Taking a few deep breaths and gathering herself, she ran the memory again, this time thinking of what could have saved Severus. Her first experiment of Severus taking Antivenin still resulted in him dying. For all she knew, he had done that in her reality. She tried several other options, rerunning the vision over and over again to see what might save his life. The successful one combined the antivenin with Maia coming in after the trio had left and using Dittany and Blood replenisher and then Apparating him to a safe house immediately.

She curiously watched time move along at an accelerated rate. Severus was cleared of killing Dumbledore with the help of Harry and Dumbledore's portrait. He was finally free to live his life as he saw fit. She carefully reviewed the next three years, checking the Prophet to make sure nothing out of the ordinary from her memories happened. Severus lived a quiet life, selling potions to make a living. Everything major she remembered happened as expected. She was mildly surprised about that. Evidently, freedom agreed with Severus, and he kept a relatively low profile.

Severus had been right. His survival would not affect the future. At all. At least nothing life-shattering in the future she was aware of. She was sure there would be some changes, but they weren't extreme enough to set her timeline on its side. She rejoiced internally at that. They could do one thing to change the future and not impact major events in the timeline. It was perfect.

ooo

That night, Hermione waited anxiously for Severus. She paced back and forth, waiting for him to come through the Floo. He was right on time, and she threw her arms around him. He stiffened but didn't pull back right away. When he did, he gave her a quizzical look.

"I figured out how to save you, and it won't affect the timeline."

"How?"

"I can't say. But I will make sure it happens."

He shook his head at her. "You are a tease, Maia Moreau."

She smirked at him. "Would you like some tea?" she asked.

"Please."

They both headed to the kitchen, and Severus settled in while she prepared tea for both of them. Soon she placed a cup in front of him and settled across the table with her own.

"I have some other good news. I have saved enough to find a flat of my own. You won't need to babysit me anymore."

He sipped his tea and put it back down. "I actually have been thinking about that."

She arched a brow at him and nodded for him to continue.

"This place is empty for three-quarters of the year. Why don't you just rent it from me and stay here?"

"What about summer?"

He shrugged. "We'll work it out. I can stay at Hogwarts in the summer too so you can have your privacy."

Her mouth fell open. "I thought I was a pain in your arse."

"Well, of course you are, but I could use some extra money, and really, you're not that bad."

"You'd be okay with me living here long-term?"

"Yes."

She grinned widely. "Then I'll do that! Thank you so much, Severus!"

"I'm benefiting from it, you understand."

"Yes, of course, but so am I! I wasn't looking forward to searching for a flat and then moving and having to furnish it."

"Then we are helping each other."

"Really, Severus, thank you. I know you value your privacy, and letting me stay here is an imposition."

He held his hand up. "It is not an imposition. As I said, we are helping each other out." He paused for a moment. "If it's alright with you, may I still come to visit?"

She grinned enthusiastically. "I would enjoy that."

ooo

December 5

Severus stormed through the Floo, stomping over to his reading chair and throwing himself into it.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"It's nothing, Maia."

She huffed. "Well, it's obviously something, but if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I'll get us some tea. Are you hungry?"

He gave her a side-eye. "I skipped dinner."

"Well, you're in luck. I made some extra soup. Come on into the kitchen."

She didn't look behind her as she moved into the kitchen herself. She was worried about Severus, but she knew she couldn't push him into telling her anything. Pulling out the leftover soup, she ladled some into a bowl, waved her wand to warm it, and set it before Severus, who had seated himself at the table. She moved back to make some tea for both of them.

"This is very good," Severus remarked.

"Thank you."

He ate silently as she brought the teacups and set them at their places. Sitting down, she looked over at Severus. He seemed to be slightly less angry. She sipped her tea as he finished his soup. Putting his spoon down, he looked over at her.

"Thank you for not pressing me."

"You have enough people forcing you to do things. I'm not going to be one of them."

His eyes widened at her statement. "That's… actually what I am upset about."

Hermione groaned. "Oh, no. What did he do?"

Severus arched a brow at her. "Who?"

She threw her hands up. "Dumbledore, of course!"

"I get the feeling you're not enamored with him. Why?"

She pursed her lips. "I can't go into great detail, but he's manipulative, and puts those he proclaims to care about in danger even when there are other alternatives."

Severus stared at her for a while before saying anything again. "Of course, you are right."

"I want you to know that I'm on your side. Whatever he did, he's an arse."

"You don't even know what happened."

"You're right, I don't, but I know what he's done in my time."

Severus' lips thinned as he looked down at the table. His eyes moved back up to hers. "Do you know what he did? What he always does? He throws Lily in my face to coerce me to keep spying, keep teaching, keep whatevering so his plan will move along the way he's envisioned it."

He stood and stalked back to the sitting room and threw himself into his chair. Hermione got up and joined him. She didn't say anything. Just looked at him expectantly.

He huffed. His voice grew sing-songy. "Severus, you have to keep teaching here. There's no other way. It's for the Greater Good. You promised to watch over Lily's son. He won't come to Hogwarts for years. You have to stay here. Lily is counting on you." His face twisted in pain and he threw his head into his hands.

Hermione's heart went out to him, and she got up and knelt in front of him. "He is foul, using Lily's death like that."

"He enjoys it, I swear he does," he said through his hands. "He knows it's my fault that she's dead, and he takes every bloody opportunity to remind me of it."

"I'm sorry she was killed, but it's not your fault."

He drew his head up and glared at her. "Yes, it is! I… I told the Dark Lord about the prophecy. I was the one who heard it. I was the one who killed her!" he cried.

"I know what you did, Severus. Sure, you blabbered about what you heard, but…"

"I never even thought that prophecy could be about a child. I mean, how would a child be a danger to the Dark Lord?!" he cried as he waved his hand about. "And that it was Lily's son… " He cringed. "I knew. I knew he would seek out and kill whomever that prophecy spoke about. I didn't care. I just wanted him to favor me."

Hermione's lips thinned. "What you did was terrible and selfish, Severus. Leaking that information when you knew it would result in a death… It's a horrible thing to do. I can't say that you were innocent in that. But what Voldemort–"

"Don't say his name!"

"Sorry… What You-Know-Who did with that information isn't your fault. Whether you felt he would kill someone or not, that death is on him, and no one else."

"But if I hadn't said anything…!"

"I know. It's got to be a terrible burden to bear. I'm sorry that you have to live with that."

"I deserve the worst possible punishment. When she… died… I wanted to kill myself."

Hermione reached out and squeezed his forearm. "I'm glad you didn't."

"Why?" he choked out. "I have killed my friend and now my life is worthless."

Her other hand came out and grasped his other arm. "Severus, look at me."

His eyes lifted to her.

"Without you…" She stopped for a second but decided to soldier on. "We won't be able to defeat You-Know-Who. What you will do during the war… It's vital to defeating him. You're a hero, Severus Snape. Please know that."

"How–" His face was filled with misery. "How can that be?"

She shook her head. "I can't go into that, Severus. Just know that you are a hero. You use this time in your life to become the person we need to win this war."

"What could I do? How…?"

"Do you trust me, Severus? We've known each other for a little while now. Can you trust me?"

His eyes searched hers for a while before he gave a crisp nod. She smiled at him.

"Thank you. Then trust me in knowing that your role in the war is one of the most important."

"Potter needs to defeat the Dark Lord."

"Yes, he does, but without you, he'd have been killed several times over. I owe you my life, too. Please don't feel that you're worthless or that you deserve to be punished. Yes, you erred, but you killed no one. The, ahem, Dark Lord, is psychotic and a vicious murderer. You're not to blame."

Severus looked down at the floor. Hermione was quiet so he could work everything out. At long last, a giant sob broke from him.

"Dumbledore… he makes me feel like he's just enduring his association with me. A means to an end. I…"

She squeezed his arms. "You are not just a means to an end! Like I said, Severus, you are essential. And I want you to stop feeling worthless. You are anything but that."

He stood then. "I need to go."

He made his way to the fireplace. Hermione followed him.

"Think about what I said. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

He didn't turn toward her but nodded before he threw Floo powder into the fireplace and disappeared.

Hermione sighed at his exit. She really didn't know how to help Severus other than to keep telling him that he had worth. He seemed upset when he left, though. Perhaps she'd pushed too hard.

She turned and sat in his reading chair. He was a private man, and she had delved into his private life–perhaps too much. She'd apologize tomorrow when he came back.

ooo

The next day after work, Hermione Floo'd into Spinner's End and was surprised to see Severus sitting there in his reading chair. He was reading The Prophet, which he folded and placed on the side table when she appeared.

"Oh! I wasn't expecting you so early!" Hermione called out to him.

"I wanted to apologize for my actions yesterday. Running out and all that."

She chuckled. "That's funny, I was going to apologize to you."

"Whatever for, Maia?"

"I'm sorry for yesterday. I pushed you too hard and delved into things you probably didn't want to talk about."

"I wouldn't have spoken of them had I not wanted to. I just… got to a point where it was too much. I should have explained myself better instead of leaving so abruptly."

"Apology accepted. I understand you know. I don't ever want to push you too far."

"Thank you for that." He cleared his throat. "I asked the House Elves to prepare a takeaway for us."

"Oh, that's lovely, Severus! I'm so knackered. I wasn't looking forward to making dinner tonight."

"Everything is set up in the kitchen under a stasis charm."

"Well, come on then!" Hermione said with enthusiasm.

Severus rose and led the way into the kitchen.

"Roast chicken. One of my favorites."

"I don't think we've ever discussed our favorite foods. What else do you like to eat?" Severus asked.

"No, we haven't discussed foods," she agreed. "I love Italian." She suddenly got serious.

Severus looked at her curiously. "What's wrong?"

"I just thought of a family trip we took to Rome." She frowned. "I've been missing my parents recently."

"Would talking about them help or make it worse?"

She looked up at the ceiling and thought about it. "I think it would help." She took a deep breath before continuing. "They are dentists. Do you know what they do? I find Wizards give me a vacant look when I mention dentistry."

He smirked. "You forget I grew up in a Muggle home. I know about dentists."

She smiled at him. "My mum is named Jean. Her maiden name is Moreau, which is where I got my current last name. My dad is Jonathan Granger. They were always super supportive of me. Very forward-thinking. They always taught me I could do anything I wanted to. They didn't understand all the politics about Muggle-borns in our world. They just thought that I should fight the good fight and I'd succeed."

"They're right, though. It is possible to succeed."

"Yes, but it's a lot harder. Even as a war hero, people didn't expect me to be able to catch on to my job as quickly as I did. I sometimes got some pushback from people who didn't work with me directly."

Severus' lips thinned. "We have a long way to go to be accepting of Muggle-borns."

"I'd imagine it's even worse now. I'm glad I'm considered a Half-blood. Nobody gives my abilities a second thought."

Severus folded his arms in front of him. "When I was young… before Hogwarts, I didn't think there was anything different about Muggle-borns. I even told that to Lily many times before we got to school."

Hermione nodded.

"But being in Slytherin… it was hard to keep that mentality. As you can imagine, my Death Eater colleagues have a very negative view of Muggle-born witches and wizards. I am embarrassed to say I let it influence me for quite a while and felt much the same for a long time."

"But you don't anymore?"

He sighed. "No. Hearing that prophecy and changing sides… it helped me to open my eyes and see how foolish I was." He was quiet for a bit. "I think I always knew, but I was trying to fit in with everyone."

"I can't imagine how that was, Severus. Having to act a certain way to be accepted."

He shrugged. "We were talking about your family before I commandeered the conversation."

"We just strayed from the topic. It's okay. They loved to travel. We went to France, Italy, and Germany on trips. It was a lot of fun. I always felt supported by them." She sighed. "I wish I could see them."

He arched a brow. "Well, you could, you know."

She opened her mouth, then shut it. "Erm… Well, I guess I could. Do you think that would help?"

He shrugged. "Perhaps. It might give you some closure. You were abruptly thrown into the past. You weren't able to say goodbye to anyone."

"Maybe I should." She thought it over for a bit. "I had put that idea out of my head to preserve the timeline, but maybe I could do it where it wouldn't affect anything. What would I say to them?"

"Whatever you want."

She frowned. "Well, I certainly can't go up to them and say 'I'm your daughter.' They'd think I was nutters."

"Most definitely."

She huffed at him. "You're not being very helpful."

He smirked. "Let me ask you this. How would you approach them? And would you be recognized? You're what… three years old now?"

She nodded.

"Well, the holidays are almost here. Maybe you can do something related to Christmas?"

"Hmm, that's a good idea. Maybe… oh I know. I can give them some kind of gift as an award for having the best dental office in the area." Her eyes shot up to Severus'. "Will you come with me?"

Severus spluttered. "I… I… you want me to come with you?"

"Yes! You'll have to dress like a Muggle of course, but it will look more official if the two of us show up."

He thought for a moment. "I will accompany you when you are ready. I just will need a day or so advanced notice so I can arrange for my classes to be covered. I assume this will have to happen on a weekday."

She nodded. "Yes, and probably in the morning. They have odd afternoon hours. I'll reach out to them and set up an appointment and get back with you."

"All right. Maia…?"

"Yes?"

A pained look came over his face. "I thought about what you said last night, and I can't foresee anything that would make me a hero. I know you're serious about protecting the timeline, but we've already discussed my death. Would you please tell me how on earth I could have been a hero?"

Her lips thinned, and she gave him a commiserating look. "If I did it would reveal too much of the future. What if what I tell you causes you to do something different?"

"Please, Maia? I just… I don't know how to feel about what you said."

"Do you not believe me?"

"Of course, I believe you."

"Then please, Severus, leave this alone."

He looked sullen and studied the floor for a while. Hermione felt awful. She debated telling him, but she couldn't know if that would change anything. Just a slight deviation from what he did could cause the war to go on, or Merlin forbid, for them to lose it. But maybe she could tell him something!

She got up and knelt beside his chair. "Severus?"

The man wouldn't look at her.

"You're angry with me."

"I'm not, I just… I can't even explain how I'm feeling."

She rubbed his knee. "Well, let me try to explain what you did without actually telling you what you did. Will that help?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'm going to make some tea for us and figure out how to word everything so I don't reveal anything important, okay?"

"Thank you."

"Why don't you go into the sitting room? I'll bring the tea out to you."

She rose and moved to the stove, and he left the room. As she made the tea, she thought about how she could phrase everything. Once the tea was ready she prepared their cups and floated them over into the sitting room. She sat down and took her tea, sipping a little before she began.

"You're a spy, Severus. How would that make you a hero?"

He shrugged. "I just am a go-between for Dumbledore."

"But You-Know-Who will return someday. What will be your job then?"

"To protect Potter," he sighed.

She nodded. "You're no admirer of him, but you do what's expected of you. I already said yesterday that you saved his life and my own several times. You pass information that is vital to our moving forward. Even when things seem impossible, you carry on, despite what anyone thinks, and you stay true to Dumbledore and the cause. You pass on information to people who need it to survive with no thought of your own life. You take that life into your own hands every time you meet with You-Know-Who. He could find out the truth at any time, but you are stalwart and your Occlumency serves you well." She looked at him then. "That's all I'm willing to say. I hope it's enough."

He was silent for a while, digesting everything she'd said. "Thank you," he murmured after a long while. "I have wondered what the future would bring and how I would handle it. I respect you not wanting to go into detail, but what you have been able to say gives me some comfort."

She smiled at him. "I hope so. I hope you can see your worth, Severus. Sure, you made mistakes before now, but you never repeat them, and you're true for your entire life."

He looked away, and she could swear his cheeks had tinged pink.

It was kind of nice knowing this Severus. He was a bit more open than the Snape she knew. She didn't think he'd be this open with anyone in her timeline. Not after everything he had gone through.

He composed himself and looked back at her.

"Shall we practice some Occlumency?" he asked finally.

"Sure," she said with a grin.