Summary: Trying to be secretive.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Dumbledore enters the picture here. Just so you know, I'm not a fan of his. LOL

Chapter 11

Mid May

Hermione meandered up to the Hogwarts gates. She tapped her wand on them and awaited someone to grant her entry. Regarding the castle as she waited, she felt a strong sense of home. Even though she hadn't attended school in this time, she still had fond memories of her time here–when things weren't going all pear-shaped.

She smiled as she noted Severus heading down to let her in.

"I was hoping I would see you on this trip," she remarked as he neared the gate and unlocked it with a flick of his wand.

"As was I. Luckily, I was near enough to hear your call."

He leaned low to kiss her, but she moved back. Extending her hand, she shook his.

"We don't know who might be watching, Professor Snape. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Severus hesitated, then grasped her hand and shook it.

"The pleasure is mine," he greeted with a bow of his head. Releasing her hand, he motioned for her to follow him.

"I will take you to the Headmaster's office."

"Thank you."

"You are well?"

She grinned. "I am, and I'm looking forward to speaking with Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Mmmm. Don't let him intimidate you."

She glanced over at him. "If anything, he should watch out for me."

Severus arched a brow at her, but she didn't explain her cryptic comment. They had reached the doors, and he opened the one for her to enter. They headed up the stairs and were soon in front of the Gargoyle.

"Fizzing Whizbee," Severus muttered with a frown.

"Always with the sweets," Hermione said with a shake of her head.

He smirked at her. "I shall leave you here. Good luck."

"Thank you, Professor. I appreciate your time."

She moved to the stairway and rode it up to the entrance to the Headmaster's office. It was open, but she knocked to announce her presence.

"Ah, Miss Moreau, come in, come in!"

Hermione entered through the doorway, smiling at Dumbledore.

"Headmaster, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Dumbledore stood, and they shook hands before he motioned for her to take the seat in front of his desk.

"Miss Moreau, when Lilah Devane contacted me, I was intrigued by her description of you."

"I'm sure you were, sir." She handed him the letter that Lilah had given her.

He took it and read it through. He nodded and placed it down on his desk.

"Is it true you traveled here from the future?"

"Yes, it is, sir."

"So, you have knowledge of the upcoming war with Voldemort?"

"I do, but as I'm sure Ms. Devane told you, I am under a vow not to divulge many things."

Dumbledore's eyebrows knit together. "She did, but surely, having lived through the war, you can give me some help in knowing how to fight Tom Riddle?"

Hermione's lips thinned. Of course, he'd urge her to break her vow with no concern for what it may do to her. Typical Dumbledore. He was lucky that she was there to help him with fighting Voldemort or he'd be hexed already. She cleared her throat.

"There are some things I can share, but what I tell you is all I'm willing to discuss about this matter. The war must follow the timeline, or there could be grave repercussions to our future."

"Miss Moreau… I'm sure…"

She held up her hand. "I could just leave without telling you anything, Mr. Dumbledore. I'm here to help, but my help is limited. Take it or leave it."

Dumbeldore tutted. He was not used to being challenged. "I will take what you can give me, then, Miss Moreau. Something is obviously better than nothing."

She nodded. "I thought you'd see reason. Before I say anything, though, I would ask you for an Unbreakable Vow."

"But Miss Moreau, I may need to speak of these issues with others to win the war."

"Oh, I'm not asking you to take a vow of secrecy about the things I tell you. What I'd like you to take a vow of would be to never speak of my being from the future to anyone."

Dumbledore tutted. "Do you not trust me to be discreet?"

"Whether I do or not is of no consequence. I can't have anyone know I'm from the future. You can imagine the repercussions if the enemy found out."

"I assure you, Miss Moreau…"

She raised her hand to halt his diatribe. "I know you are discreet, sir, but I want to avoid any accidental disclosures. I will not tell you anything about the future unless you agree to this vow."

Dumbledore's eyebrows drew together, and he looked at her grumpily as he mulled over what she asked.

"Fine," he sighed. He stood, and she followed suit. They made the vow, with Hermione listening carefully so that Dumbledore didn't word the vow to be able to get out of it somehow. He was direct, and the vow was sealed and official. They both took their seats again.

"Now, what I can tell you is that Voldemort has created several Horcruxes so that he may live forever. He will use them to return to life in the future."

"When?"

"I'm sorry, I cannot say."

Dumbledore gave her a cross look.

"What I can say is that I know the location of two of the Horcruxes that Voldemort created, and I can share that with you."

"Two? A Horcrux is a horrible form of magic. Very difficult to create."

"Yes, by killing someone."

Dumbeldore regarded her silently for a bit. "I see you understand what we are dealing with."

"All too well, Professor."

"How many did he make?"

"I'm sorry. I cannot say."

"Miss Moreau! This is outrageous. How do you expect me to fight this war if you don't give me this information?"

"I expect you to fight it the way you did in my timeline. These two Horcruxes do not change the course of time by their destruction, so I have okayed it with Ms. Devane to be able to share them with you. Any others that exist must be discovered by you."

"And what's to say that I won't figure out all of them tomorrow and change the timeline?"

She shrugged. "You may, but my research shows that anything that you discover yourself does not affect the timeline either, so you are free to investigate however you see fit."

"Oh, I assure you, I will!"

Hermione knew that he would. She'd run the experiments. Despite his knowledge that there were more Horcruxes, he didn't find out how many until he got Slughorn's memories, even though he would search extensively. She nodded at him finally.

"Now then, the two Horcruxes I can tell you about are Helga Hufflepuff's cup and Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem."

"That diadem has been lost for centuries."

"Voldemort found it in Albania and hid it in a place he thought no one would think to look."

"And that is?"

"In the Room of Hidden things… the Room of Requirement."

"You seem oddly familiar with this school and that location."

"I am, sir." She left it at that. Explaining where to find the hidden diadem, she told him how to destroy it. "You should use controlled Fiendfyre to destroy both of these Horcruxes."

Dumbledore nodded. "And the second Horcrux?"

"Hufflepuff's cup is locked away in the LeStrange vault. Bellatrix LeStrange placed it there herself."

"Well, how am I supposed to get in there?"

"Polyjuice Potion. Become one of the LeStranges and get the cup. It's high up on a shelf at the back of the vault. Be careful, there are Flagrante and Gemino curses on everything in the vault. Touching anything will burn you and cause the item to duplicate."

"I have a better idea. As Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamot, I will get access to the vault."

She shook her head. "No one must know that the vault was accessed by anyone other than a LeStrange. Voldemort will find out when he returns if you do this any other way, and he will know one of his Horcruxes was destroyed. That will destroy the timeline. You will need to make a duplicate and embody it with an essence of evil so no one will realize it has been taken."

"All right. I can do it your way. It will just be a bit more difficult."

"I'm sure it will, but you are one of the most powerful wizards in the world. A little subterfuge shouldn't be beyond your capabilities."

"I appreciate your confidence in me, Miss Moreau, but I assure you, this will be a difficult task."

"You have time to figure it out and execute it correctly." Hermione stood, signaling that she was done with her interview with the Headmaster.

"Miss Moreau, you're not going to just drop that information in my lap and leave, are you?"

"I most certainly am. I know you are a renowned Legilimens, and I'm not going to give you the opportunity to search my mind for more information."

She felt him then and threw him out of her head. Dumbledore spluttered.

"Oh, I forgot to mention I'm an accomplished Occlumens, so if we ever meet again, don't think about probing my mind. You won't get far."

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed at her. "Miss Moreau, I insist you tell me more about the war!"

She leaned down and patted him on the hand condescendingly. "You'll figure it out, sir. We will prevail in the end. Thank you for your time."

With that, she grinned at him and turned away, leaving the room. Smirking as she left the Headmaster's office, she congratulated herself on handling the old coot well and not letting him find out anything she didn't want him to know. She would need to be alert if she ever ran into him again. She expected the man to try and penetrate her mind to find out what he wanted to. She hoped that he had some modicum of decorum and wouldn't rip through her mind, but, honestly, she couldn't be sure because he'd do anything for the greater good, no matter who it hurt.

ooo

Severus rushed into Spinner's End and hugged Hermione.

"You have to tell me how it went!" he demanded.

"It went well. I told Dumbledore what he needed to know and nothing else."

Severus pulled back. "Did he use Legilimency on you?"

"You bet he did. I pushed him out as soon as I felt him."

Severus put his fingers under her chin and slightly directed her head up towards him. "That's my girl," he said before kissing her.

She drew back after enjoying him fully. "You taught me well."

"You were already experienced. You're a natural."

Smiling at him, she leaned up and kissed him some more.

"You were going to tell me what you discussed with Dumbledore," Severus said between her kisses.

She froze but then relaxed into him. "Do you really want to know?"

"I do. I doubt he will tell me. At least not now."

"Possibly not ever."

"Glad to know he trusts me."

"I don't think he fully trusts anyone," Hermione grumbled as she grasped his hand and led him to the sofa. They settled in, and she looked at him. "I told Dumbledore about two of the Horcruxes in the hopes he'll be able to destroy them now instead of when they were destroyed in the future."

"Why not destroy all of them?"

"One of them hasn't been made yet, and the others need to be discovered and destroyed in their right time so as not to cause chaos in the timeline."

"But the two you told Albus about?"

"Their being destroyed early doesn't affect the timeline at all."

"Why wouldn't they?"

"Because You-Know-Who feels they are hidden well enough that he doesn't have to worry about them or even check on them. He's hidden them where he thinks no one can access them."

"But Dumbledore can."

Hermione nodded. "Right."

"Can I help?"

She shook her head. "You mustn't let on that you know about Horcruxes until Dumbledore tells you. He will succeed in finding and destroying them."

"All right. I just wish there was more that I could do. I want to make amends for Lily's death."

Hermione reached out and squeezed his arm. "You will, love. You just need to bide your time and keep your place at Hogwarts."

"Stuck there, I see."

Nodding, she gave him a rueful smile. "You don't really care for teaching, do you?"

He huffed. "I don't mind teaching the older students. They at least know something about Potions. But the younger group. It's like I take my life into my hands every day we have class. If they're not exploding their cauldrons, they're inadvertently creating some deadly poison."

"I'm sorry, Severus. You'll need to stay at Hogwarts until the end of the war."

"I sort of figured that."

"But, it's the means for you to help defeat You-Know-Who."

"You know, you can drop that mouthful and just refer to him as the Dark Lord."

She frowned. "I'm not one of his followers."

"But I am. And you and I are always alone when we discuss him."

Hermione mulled it over. "All right."

Severus' arm came around her, and he pulled her close. Placing a kiss on the top of her head, he held her to him. They stayed like that for a long time.

Hermione chose not to tell Severus anything else about the future. If he asked about something, she would be forthcoming, but the less he knew, the better it would be for him. He had so much he would need to hide from the Dark Lord as it was. There was no sense in burdening him more.

ooo

Late May

The Ministry was throwing a party. A 'Spring Celebration' as they'd labeled it. From the New Year's party, she knew it would be an elaborate affair in the main atrium, and everyone would be dressed elegantly. She quickly slipped into her shimmery golden gown. She turned back and forth, making sure the dress fell the way it should. It hugged her curves and fell to the floor. Her black hair was accentuated with the golden hue of the dress. She felt quite beautiful. Happy with her appearance, she sat down in front of the mirror and began to wrangle her hair.

She tried everything, but it was just being unruly, and she was having the hardest time getting it into a messy bun or even a ponytail. She grit her teeth in frustration as she looked at her hair, which looked a total mess.

Severus came in then wearing his best black robes. He was glamoured so no one would know he was accompanying her. She glanced at him in the mirror and smiled. He had transfigured his hair into brown short locks, made his nose a bit smaller, added a mustache and goatee, and changed his eye color to blue.

"You look nice," she said.

"Hmm, thank you. I can wear this glamour all the time, if you'd like."

"Nonsense. You look so very plain, which is what we're going for. I much prefer your dark looks to this, but it will do for the night."

He tilted his head in acknowledgement. "Thank you… for accepting me as I am."

"I love you as you are."

He smiled and put his hands on her shoulders. Leaning down, he placed a kiss on her neck.

"You look lovely, my dear."

She huffed, staring at her black hair that was sticking out in every direction. "My hair won't do anything I want it to."

"Leave it down," he remarked.

"But it's unruly like that!" she moaned.

"That's exactly the way I love it," he said as he nuzzled his nose in her black curls.

Reaching up, she undid the bun and let her hair cascade down around her.

"Much better," Severus murmured as he looked at her in the mirror.

Her blue eyes sparkled at him. "Thank you, love. You always make me feel good about myself."

"You should always feel that way. You are always lovely."

She stood and came around the chair, pulling him into a hug. Her lips met his, and she kissed him lovingly.

"Come on, we should go," she said once she'd pulled back from him.

He took her hand and kissed it. "I am ready."

She smiled at him. "All right, Stephen Smythe, off we go to test out your glamour."

"No one will know who I am. My glamour is impeccable."

"It is. I'm honored to be your date for tonight."

Severus took her in his arms and Apparated them to the Ministry Atrium. They moved quickly from the Apparition point, as it looked like a lot of people were arriving just then. Moving into the hall, they admired the decorations. Large flowering cherry trees were everywhere. It looked like they were in an orchard.

"Oh, Sev… Stephen, this is so pretty."

"It is, but you outshine it by miles, love."

She leaned into him slightly to acknowledge his compliment. "Thank you, Stephen."

"You are most welcome, Maia."

Lilah spied Hermione from across the room. She came over to greet her.

"Maia! So good to see you here. And who is your friend?"

"Hi Lilah, this is Stephen Smythe."

Lilah reached out and grasped Severus' hand, shaking it vigorously. "Nice to meet you, Stephen. What do you do for a living?"

Severus bowed his head in greeting. "A pleasure. I am an investor in medical supplies. I help stock items in Apothecaries and St Mungos."

"Oh, that sounds fascinating."

They spoke a little more before Lilah excused herself.

"You two must sit with my husband and me. We're over there." She pointed to a table along the side.

Hermione nodded. "Of course. We'll search you out once dinner begins," she said.

They meandered around the hall, greeting some people as they went. They walked past Kingsley Shacklebolt and stopped to say hello. As they were conversing Alastor Moody wandered over.

"Miss Moreau," he said. "We chatted briefly at the New Year's Party."

"Ah, Mr. Moody. It's a pleasure to see you again. This is my companion, Stephen Smythe," she introduced.

Moody looked Severus up and down, his eye going crazy, spinning around curiously. He grunted before extending his hand. "Nice to meet you," he grumbled. He looked over at Kingsley. "I see you've met our newest protege."

"Kingsley?" Hermione said. "Yes, we were just getting acquainted."

"Just started as an Auror and is knocking everyone's socks off."

Kingsley looked down at the floor. "I'm just doing my job, Auror Moody."

"Now, now. We're partying. You can call me Alastor, but come Monday, it's back to formalities."

Kingsley grinned at him. "Yes, sir."

"He's my partner… for now," Moody advised. "So… Stephen. How did you meet Maia?"

Severus looked at Hermione. "We bumped into one another, almost literally, in Godric's Hollow. We struck up a conversation and found we enjoyed each other's company."

"You're not from around here…"

Severus looked directly at Moody. "I am not."

Moody's eyebrows rose. "Well, where are you from?"

"If you're asking where I was educated, I went to Durmstrang."

"Oh, lots of Dark wizards there…" Moody trailed off.

Hermione gave him an annoyed look. "I went to Durmstrang, Mr. Moody. Are you insinuating that we are Dark Wizards?"

Moody spluttered. "No… No, Miss Moreau. I didn't mean anything by that. I was involved in the war, and I sometimes see mysteries when there are none." He glared at Stephen and excused himself.

Severus watched him move away before turning to Shacklebolt. "If you would excuse us," he said.

"Sure, talk to you later, maybe," Kingsley said as he shook both of their hands.

Severus turned to Hermione. "Do you think Moody could see through my glamour? He was incredibly antagonistic."

"It's possible. I think if he fully could he would have exposed you."

"We should watch our backs."

Hopefully, we won't speak with him again," Hermione said with a huff.

"Come, let's find your boss and settle into our table."

ooo

Dinner passed with polite conversation. Lilah's husband, who Hermione had met at the last get-together, was funny and garrulous. She laughed a lot during that dinner, and Severus smirked quite a bit as well, seeming to enjoy the conversation. Once the dinner hour was over and the band began to play, Severus stood and extended his hand to Hermione.

"Would you like to dance?"

She smiled brightly and grasped his hand. "I would love to."

Standing, she followed him to the dance floor, where they danced together for several dances. They were dancing a slow dance when Moody came up and cut in, taking Hermione in his arms and swaying with her.

"Miss Moreau," he said. "Why are you here with Severus Snape? He's a Death Eater, you know?"

Hermione froze internally. She didn't react to what he was saying outwardly but simply made eye contact with him.

"Mr. Moody, I don't know what you're talking about."

"He didn't tell you, eh? I'd watch my back around him if I were you. Not sure why he'd want to glamour himself… Didn't want to be glared at by half the Aurors, right?"

Hermione stopped dancing. "Mr. Moody, honestly, it's none of your business. Severus Snape was cleared of any Death Eater charges because he was spying for Dumbledore."

"So, he did tell you. I don't know what Dumbledore is up to, covering for him, but I think he's shifty."

Hermione dropped her hands and stepped back. "Thank you for the dance, Mr. Moody."

"You can call me Alastor," Moody said with a nauseating grin.

"Just stay away from me," Hermione said and stormed off the dance floor in search of Severus. She found him standing in the corner, watching the floor.

"Moody knows it's you."

"I figured. What did he say?"

"He asked why you were glamoured, then came up with the conclusion that you didn't want the Aurors to know it was you. He warned me that you're dangerous."

Severus moved up closer to her. "I am dangerous."

She bat his arm and gave him an annoyed look. "Not now, Severus."

Severus straightened. "Sorry. Was just trying to lighten the mood."

Hermione relaxed. "No, I'm sorry. Moody flustered me. I shouldn't take it out on you."

He bent down and kissed her cheek. "Do you want to leave?"

She looked at him. "No. He's not going to do anything more than threaten. I guess you won't be able to accompany me to these functions anymore."

"We could try Polyjuice next time," Severus suggested.

She frowned at him. "He might be able to see through that too, who knows. I don't want to risk it. If he sees me with you again, he'll know we're serious about each other, and no one can know that."

Severus nodded in agreement. Hermione sighed. "I want to enjoy the rest of our evening."

"In that case," he extended his hand again. "Would you dance with me again?"

Smiling, she grasped his hand.

"Come along, my beautiful companion," he said as he led her to the dance floor. They were soon swaying together. Hermione's gaze traveled over to Moody, who was glaring at her.

"Ah, ah, ah. Look at me."

Her eyes snapped back to Severus.

"Keep looking at me. It's just the two of us. No one else on this dance floor or in this hall matters. It's just you and me, enjoying being together and dancing together."

Their eyes were fixed upon each other. Hermione felt a chill run through her. It was so intimate just looking at each other like that while they danced. He slowly came closer and captured her lips. He gave her a reverent kiss and pulled back so as not to make a scene, but he smirked at her as her pupils dilated, and she smiled at him.

"That's my girl."

She leaned up and whispered in his ear. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

She placed her head on his shoulder, and they continued to sway to the music, fully enjoying their closeness.