Summary: Throw back–literally.

A/N: Thanks for your interest in this story! I hope you all enjoy this first meeting with Severus.

Chapter 2

Hermione appeared in a graveyard, surprisingly on her feet. She stumbled to the side, her head spinning. She felt strong hands steady her and looked up to see a tall man with shoulder-length black hair and black eyes looking at her with concern. She gasped.

"Severus Snape?" she whispered.

"I believe I'm at a disadvantage, Miss. How do you know who I am? And where did you come from? Are you all right?"

His arms dropped back to his side after he ensured she was steadily on her feet.

She just gaped at him, unable to say a word.

He looked grumpily at her. "Are you going to say anything?"

She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. I was just caught off-guard. I'm fine. Thank you for steadying me."

His eyes narrowed at her. "Did Dumbledore send you after me?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "Oh, Merlin, no."

Arching a brow, his head tilted as he gazed at her.

"So, why are you here, and where did you come from."

Hermione's hand came up, and she rubbed her forehead, trying to decide how to proceed with her explanation. She decided she might as well be straightforward. That would be the only way Snape would continue speaking with her.

"My name is Hermione Granger. I know this sounds odd, but I came from the future. I'm a Ministry employee and an Unspeakable. There was an attack at the Ministry. A hex struck me and there was a bright light, and I found myself here." She rubbed her forehead again. "My head is killing me."

Suddenly, she found his wand pointing in her face.

"Very humorous. Did Yaxley send you?" he snapped.

"Yaxley? Wait, the Death Eaters who aren't in Azkaban are after you?"

"Some, yes, now answer my question!" he demanded.

Scowling, she answered him. "No! No one sent me. I told you, I'm from the future!"

"Highly unlikely."

Her eyes moved up and down his frame, settling on the wand pointed in her face.

"How can I convince you? Anything I tell you that hasn't happened yet can't be proven. Anything I know of the past doesn't prove anything about me being from the future."

Hermione felt his mental attack and pushed him out of her head quickly. For the first time, her wand crossed his, pointing in his face.

"Do not invade my mind, Severus Snape! Don't you know how to ask for something?"

He looked quite shocked. "Most people do not know when I enter their mind."

"Well, I am not most people! And even if that was so, how dare you invade others' privacy!"

He cleared his throat. "It is necessary in some cases."

She lowered her wand. "I can see how that might be, but this is not one of those cases." She glared at him, daring him to try it again.

"I apologize. It seemed like the only way to tell if you are being truthful or not."

"Well, how about just taking my word for it?" she glowered.

"I have not found that to be reliable in the past," he answered in annoyance.

She huffed and folded her arms in front of her. "Is there no other way I can convince you?"

He shrugged. "Not that would convince me completely."

Frowning, she agreed. "All right, but I will put a couple of innocuous memories forward in my mind for you to view. Do not go digging. You cannot learn about the future."

He regarded her cooly before nodding. "All right."

She pulled a couple of memories to the forefront of her mind and felt Severus enter it. An old Dumbledore stood in front of the students in the Great Hall as he welcomed them to another year at Hogwarts. An older Severus sat next to Minerva McGonagall at the high table. Hermione was a first-year, waving her arm crazily in his class as he looked at Harry. She felt him quickly withdraw.

"Was that Potter's son in that last memory?"

She nodded.

"You know him?"

"He's my best friend."

Severus sneered. Hermione's eyes drifted behind him, noting the gravesite where they stood. It was Harry's parents.

"Oh, you're visiting her grave."

His wand pointed in her face again. "What do you know of it?" he snarled.

Hermione's lips thinned. "I am not sure I can say. I don't want to mess with the future."

"Don't you think you standing here hasn't already messed with it?" he asked testily.

"I don't doubt that it has, but I can be careful not to change it anymore," she answered carefully.

He lowered his wand and huffed. "Fine! Now, I'm busy, so if you'll be on your way." He turned and knelt in front of the headstone. His head turned back to her. "Leave," he ordered sharply.

Hermione backed off, giving him some privacy. She watched him trace Lily's name with his finger. His head bowed. She was close enough to see that he'd closed his eyes. His face was filled with pain, and she was filled with empathy for him. She wondered how long it had been since the Potters' murders.

She rubbed her forehead, which still ached from her voyage into the past. Turning her head and looking at one of the nearby headstones, she let him grieve in private. He was there for a long while. When she saw him stand out of the corner of her eye, she turned back to him and stepped back toward him.

"I thought I told you to leave," he ground out.

"I have nowhere to go. This isn't my time. I have no money. I was wondering if you could help me out in some way?"

"Perhaps you should seek out Dumbledore. He loves charity cases."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "I won't involve Dumbledore in this. That would not be prudent. Honestly, I can't involve anyone because of the timeline. You already know I'm from the future. Please. I just need to figure out what's going on and get back to my time."

"What if you can't do that?"

Hermione sighed. "Then I don't know what I'll do. Hide in some obscure part of Britain and try to stay out of time's way?"

Severus looked at her carefully. His eyes roamed her figure and settled on her face. He frowned. "All right. You may accompany me back to my home until you can figure out what's going on."

"Thank you, Severus! I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. Oh… we're not going to Hogwarts, are we?"

"Well, that is my home."

"I don't want to be discovered by any of the faculty."

He looked at her grumpily. "You may stay at my home in Cokeworth."

She relaxed and nodded. "That would be better. Thank you."

He put his arm out, and she grasped it to Side-Along Apparate with him. They popped out of existence and appeared in his study. Hermione looked around. There were books everywhere. An old reading chair with some patches on it was centered next to a fireplace that had stonework crumbling from it. The entire room looked a bit depressed.

"I don't spend much time here except for during the summers. There's not much food." He handed her some muggle money. "Get some groceries."

"I'll pay you back."

"Don't worry about it. I need to get back to the school. Dumbledore insists we are present for meals in the Great Hall."

She nodded. "Oh, Severus?" she blurted out hastily before he disappeared. "What's the date?"

"It's October 31st, 1982."

She gasped. "Oh, it's only been a year since their deaths!"

She rushed up to Severus and grasped his arm. He looked down at her hand like it was a viper.

"I'm so sorry, Severus. I hope you've found some comfort this past year."

His eyes narrowed at her. "What do you know?"

Her lips thinned. "I know you were close to her. She was your friend."

"No one knows that except for Dumbledore and a couple of my old classmates."

Hermione shrugged. "I know it."

He pulled his arm away from her. "Don't assume you know me just because you know about some of my past," he ground out.

"I would never assume to know you, Severus Snape."

He turned and threw some Floo powder into the fireplace. "I'll check on you sometime tomorrow after classes."

And then he was gone in a flash of green. Hermione's shoulders sagged as she stared at the now-empty fireplace. She threw herself into the reading chair and chewed on her bottom lip, trying to figure out what had happened. Well, she knew what had happened, but how could she get back to her present? Maybe she needed to go to the Ministry and consult those in the Time room. But how could she do that without letting them know that she was from the future?

Of course, they were sworn to secrecy. Perhaps that would be the way to do it. Casting a Tempus charm, she noted it was only four p.m. There would be plenty of people in the department who she could consult with. Rising from the chair, she moved over to the fireplace and threw some Floo powder in. Calling out for the Ministry, she disappeared.

ooo

She descended in the elevator to the Atrium on level eight. The wizard at the security desk had looked at her oddly but hadn't asked her anything specific. He just handed her wand back and let her go through. She was relieved she hadn't needed to explain herself.

Exiting the elevator she made her way down the hall to the Entrance Chamber. She thought of where she wanted to go and waved her wand. The door that led to her department spun to a stop in front of her. She was relieved it would recognize her. Opening the door, she walked through the entry area and came into the reception room. She found a plump witch sitting behind a desk. The woman looked up at her and smiled.

"How may I help you, dear?"

"I need to speak with someone in the Time Room. I've had an accident with time."

The witch's eyebrows rose high on her forehead. "Oh my! Let me find someone for you." She sent her iguana Patronus to summon somebody.

It didn't take long for a middle-aged witch to come through the door and move up to Hermione. She extended her hand.

"Lilah Devane," she introduced herself.

Hermione took the woman's hand and shook it. Lilah Devane was Head of the Department of Mysteries and overseer of the Time Room, Death Chamber, and Space Room in her time. She'd done a lot for the Department of Mysteries, revamping the Unspeakable program completely and making it what it was in Hermione's day.

"A pleasure, Ms. Devane." Her eyes strayed to the receptionist. "I'd prefer to introduce myself in private; if that's okay?"

Devane nodded. "From Celia's Patronus, I expected no less. Follow me, please."

Hermione was led through a door and down some hallways to Devane's office. The older woman motioned for her to take a seat.

"I'm Hermione Granger. I'm from the future… 2001 to be exact. I'm employed in this department as an Unspeakable second class. I've been in the department for two years. I was involved in a time accident that brought me here."

"Has anyone spoken with you in this time?"

"Only one person. He is someone I know in the future, and he's helping me out with a place to stay while I sort all of this out."

"Is he trustworthy?"

"I'd stake my life on him."

Devane nodded.

"Ms. Devane. How do I get back to my future?"

"You may call me Lilah. What was the accident you had?"

Hermione frowned. "How much detail should I go into, Lilah?"

"You know the rules here. Everything is kept secret. There is no chance that the future will be harmed by you being fully transparent about what happened."

Hermione nodded. She told her about the attack and how all of the Death Eaters had been defeated.

"A partial hex caught me in the side, and I was thrown through the Time Door."

Lilah gaped at her. "You weren't hurt?"

"Thankfully, I'd blocked most of the curse sent at me. I think it was meant to slam me against the wall, but it pushed me through the door instead. I wasn't hurt except for a splitting headache, which I'm not sure is associated with the hex or the time travel."

Lilah looked down at her desk. Opening a drawer, she pulled out a headache remedy and passed Hermione the vial. She eagerly took it and downed the potion.

"Thank you. That helped a lot," Hermione said.

Lilah nodded, then looked at her solemnly.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. There's no way to send you back."

"Can't I just go through the door again?"

Lilah shook her head. "As an Unspeakable Second Class, you wouldn't have been fully trained about the Time Door. We've found that one can only travel once. We've never had anyone return from a trip through it, and those who have come through from a different time have been unable to return to their present. When someone tries, they simply walk through the arch and come out the other end. We don't understand how it works fully, but the magic is only good for one trip."

Hermione's shoulders sagged. "But…"

"We don't have the ability aside from the door to travel into the future."

"What about the Time Machine?"

Lilah raised a brow. "We have been working on developing something like a time machine, but it is only in the early stages. You're saying you have it in the future?"

Hermione nodded. "I forgot that it's only been around for a few years."

Lilah smiled. "Well, I'm happy that we're on the right track." She became serious again. "I'm afraid you cannot return."

"Lilah, what do I do? My friends, my career, my everything is in the future."

Lilah leaned forward and extended her hand. Hermione leaned forward too and grasped it, letting Lilah squeeze hers.

"We'll figure it out, Hermione. I'm sorry you've lost everything, but there are wonderful things going on here in this time."

"How can I live in this time knowing what I do of the future?"

Lilah straightened and leaned back in her chair. "As an Unspeakable, you are used to not saying anything about your work. You'll just need to do that with what you know of the future as well."

Hermione frowned. "I…"

"Hermione… You must."

Hermione was silent for a while, thinking it through. Finally, she straightened. "All right. I will. What do we do now?"

"We'll need to get you a new identity. Perhaps a glamour?"

"How about I just dye my hair or something?"

"Dye your hair?"

"Sorry, it's a Muggle thing. It's a way that Muggles use to change their hair color. I might be able to get something to change my eye color as well. Will that be enough?"

"It might be. We are looking at a twenty-year difference in your age. By the time the young-you is the age you are now, you'll be forty-something."

"That's true. If my hair was black, and my eyes were, say–blue I bet even I wouldn't recognize myself."

"May I try something?" Lilah asked.

"Of course."

"This is a spell to cast a picture of you with a changed appearance. Let's try what you're suggesting."

She waved her wand and cast the spell. A picture of Hermione appeared in front of them. Her hair was black and her eyes bright blue. She was her current age.

"So, this is what you will look like with the changes now, and this–" she waved her wand again, "is how you'll look at forty."

"That's a marvelous spell. Honestly, I barely recognize myself looking at my older self."

Lilah switched the picture back to her current age with the changes.

"I can tell it's me, but I doubt anyone else would," Hermione noted.

"I agree. I can't tell this is you," Lilah offered.

"Then I think this appearance will work."

"Good. Accio hair book."

Lilah waved her wand at the bookshelf and a text flew into her hand. She handed it to Hermione. "Your Muggle dye comment made me remember this. There are a few spells in there to permanently change your hair color. That should be easier than dying it all the time."

Hermione nodded. "Thank you. Do you have anything that will change my eye color?"

Lilah frowned. "Not that I know of. I'd check the Ministry library. They've got just about every book ever written in there."

"I will, thanks."

"So, what name do you want to go by?"

"Harmony?" she asked, but her voice betrayed her reticence to be called that.

Lilah shook her head. "Too close to Hermione. We wouldn't want to point to you being Hermione Granger."

Hermione nodded. "What about Maia?" she asked. "It's far enough away from Hermione that I don't think it would trigger any curiosity, but I think it's similar enough that I could learn to respond to it quickly."

Lilah nodded. "I think that would do. All right, what about a last name?"

"My mum's maiden name is Moreau."

"Maia Moreau…" Lilah mused. "It's a lovely name. I like the alliteration of it. Are you sure, though? Once we create it, there will be no going back."

Hermione smiled and nodded. "I like it."

"Okay. Now… you can be our new employee. We'll keep you as an Unspeakable second class." She tapped her lips with her finger as she thought. "Give me a week to get your documents created and put into the Ministry archives. I think having you be a Hogwarts graduate may not be the best choice. People your age would not know you and wonder about that."

"How about Beauxbatons?" Hermione suggested.

"How about Durmstrang? Graduates from there are much less well-known here in the UK. They tend to stay in the north of Europe. If you were to mention it, people wouldn't think it odd that no one has recollections of you from school."

"But I'm Muggle-born. How would I have attended Durmstrang?"

"Hmm." She made a small note on her parchment. "We'll have to make you a Half-blood."

"Will that be suspected by anyone?"

"There are a lot of Half-blooded witches and wizards. And if you're from Durmstrang, we'll set your history from Norway or Sweden."

"Sounds prudent."

They discussed a few other items and set a time to meet the following week.

ooo

Hermione walked numbly back through the Ministry and took the Floo back to Spinner's End. She was surprised to find Severus there. He was laying a plate on the kitchen table.

"I brought you a meal," he told her.

She smiled wanly at him. "Thank you. I appreciate that. I'm starving and just realized it when I smelled the food."

"You look… Is something wrong?"

She motioned for him to sit at the table as she sat down herself and took a bite of mash. She sighed and looked at him.

"I went to the Ministry and spoke with the Head of the Department of Mysteries. There's no way for me to return to my time."

Severus looked at her gravely. "I'm sorry to hear that. What are you going to do?"

She explained what Lilah had arranged. "So, if I could appeal to your kindness for a bit more… maybe a month? Give me enough time to get some money so I can get a flat of my own."

"I have contemplated if that would be the outcome of your traveling. Yes, you may stay here. I can check in on you in the evenings."

"I should be working sometime next week. I will work as hard as I can to get out of your hair."

"It's fine," he said tartly. "Eat your dinner."

She took that as a cue to shut it, so concentrated on her dinner until she was done. Once Severus had ensured she'd eaten, he stood and bowed his head slightly to her.

"As I said earlier, I'll check in on you tomorrow in the evening sometime."

Hermione stood as well and smiled at him.

"Thank you, Severus. You really don't need to…"

"Nevertheless, I will."

With that, he moved to the Floo and left her to herself.

Hermione sighed and settled onto the sofa and stared into the fireplace. The silence around her was deafening. Her mind couldn't stop thinking of everything that had happened to her in the last twelve hours. She'd lost everything, and the reality of that hit her like a brick wall. Her friends… they were all toddlers. Her parents didn't know she existed as an adult. She would have to live through the war again. She'd need to live here in the past and acclimate to this time.

She'd have to start all over again. No one knew her work ethic or anything about her. Tears formed in her eyes and finally streamed down her cheeks as she covered her face with her hands and mourned all that she'd lost. She was so engrossed in sobbing that she didn't hear the Floo activate.

She felt a hand awkwardly patting her on the back. Her head shot up, and she looked to the left and found Severus sitting next to her looking incredibly awkward.

"Oh, Severus, I'm sorry!"

"You've been through a lot. It's only normal to have a good cry."

She didn't think–just reacted, falling into Severus and crying on his shoulder. She felt his arm tentatively go around her and awkwardly pat her again. The irony of it all helped her to control her tears. She sniffled and got her crying under control, finally stopping. After a few minutes, she was chuckling slightly.

"Why are you laughing?" Severus' dark voice inquired.

She pulled back and wiped the tears from her eyes, giving Severus a wan smile. "I was just thinking how odd it was for you to be comforting me."

He sniffed. "Yes, well, I am not incapable."

"Oh, I know. It's just that you never really… liked me in my timeline."

"Is that so?"

"You thought I was a…" she cleared her throat and deepened her voice. "Know-it-all."

He arched a brow. "Were you?"

She huffed. "Yes, if I were to be totally honest. You see, I'm Muggle-born, and especially in my first years, I felt the need to prove myself. Most of the other professors liked me, but you never did."

"I will admit, I don't like show-offs."

She nodded. "I can see how you would have thought that's what I was doing." Her eyes met his. "The thing is, I understood from nearly the first moment I found out I was a witch that I would have an uphill battle to be accepted."

Severus was quiet for a bit. "Did you find the acceptance you were looking for?"

"Yes, but it came at a price. I probably shouldn't say anything more about that. I will say that even though I found acceptance, it wasn't always so, even as an adult."

"There is a lot of prejudice in our world," Severus agreed.

She nodded. "That's for sure."

They were quiet for a bit before Severus said anything more.

"Will you be all right?" he asked.

"Yes, I mean, I'm not sure if I'm done crying, but you don't need to stay with me."

"Crying can be… cathartic."

Hermione studied him. She figured he had probably shed many a tear when Harry's mum had been killed. She nodded finally. "Thank you for understanding."

He stood then. "I came back through because I had placed my Potion's journal on the table and forgot it."

"Oh, can I read that when you're done with it?"

"Of course. I'll drop it back when I'm through."

"Thanks, Severus." She gave him a small smile.

Once he'd left, she went upstairs, transfigured her robes into some sleepwear, and curled up in a ball in bed. It was a long while and many more tears before she actually fell asleep.