A Tale of Two Grangers

Hermione Granger stood in the middle of her bedroom, boots on her feet, packed bag at her side, and determined expression on her face. She took one last, loving look at a picture of Ronald Weasley before spinning the time turner and disappearing.

Nymphadora "Tonks" Lupin watched from the doorway, her own expression almost as bored as her body was ethereal. She waited for a few minutes before a pop sounded behind her. "You missed it, dear."

Remus Lupin peeked over her shoulder disappointedly. "Damn. I told Sirius I had to go, but you know how he is. Anyway, did she find the turner?"

Tonks nodded. "Don't worry, I covered it. I let her find it in Bella's manor, though how I distracted Harry long enough for her to hide it I'll never know. That boy really is too nosy for his own good." She frowned at her husband.

Remus shrugged and looked quite unapologetic. "You'll have to take that up with James; it's not my genes. Are you ready to go?"

When she nodded, he took her hand and they were instantly gone.

A moment later, Hermione flew through the sky and suddenly (and painfully) landed in a dark clearing. She groaned and waited for her breath to come back before sitting up, rubbing her pounding head, and taking stock of her surroundings.

The grass beneath her was dry and the trees in the distance were leafless. Smokestacks rose against the dark gray sky. A dismal-looking row of houses wound across the landscape. She looked confused.

"Where the hell am I?" she mumbled to herself as she stood.

Suddenly, a hand was at her throat and a wand tip pressed into her temple.

She stiffened immediately and began to speak when her assailant growled, "Don't make a sound."

Why did that voice sound so familiar? The man (at least she could tell that much) shoved her forward toward one of the houses. She tried to stumble with him, but his height and grip left him carrying most of her weight. By the time they reached the back door of the house, her neck was burning and she could almost feel a deep bruise forming.

"Who are you?" she timidly whispered, but he answered only with a grunt and a shove through the house. When he finally threw her onto a dusty couch and she could breathe properly, she gasped.

Severus Snape, former Hogwarts potion master and current Hogwarts coffin occupant, stood before her in defiance of his death two years prior. In fact, she noted, he looked rather good for a dead man. He even looked... younger.... Hermione gaped at the scowling man still pointing his wand in her face.

"Well?" He did not seem to be taking her silence well now that they were indoors.

"Well what, Professor?"

His eyes narrowed and he searched her face. "How do you know who I am?"

She winced. Probably not the best way to stay incognito, Granger, she thought to herself.

"Don't you teach at Hogwarts?"

Stall for time, come up with a cover story. Don't let the old git kill you just yet, girl. Well, young git. Tall, dark, and handsome git. What are you doing?! Think! Her fingers itched to grab the time turner inside her blouse, but she knew he could easily kill her first.

Snape still glared at her, his patience clearly running thin. He moved closer, raising his wand to a point right between her eyes. "Speak quickly, girl. I don't waste my valuable time on thieves and spies."

"I'm not a thief or a spy, you barmy old—" She stopped herself, but too late. His scowl darkened, if it was possible, and she found that the tip of a wand felt quite a bit sharper than it looked when grinding into one's brow.

"I'm your student and I came back to save your life!"

Oh, great job Granger, now he'll really believe you. Why not throw in that you're the Easter bunny and you've brought him a nice chocolate? She took his moment of surprise to pull her face back just a fragment, relieving the pressure between her eyes.

She almost jumped when he laughed, startled both by the sudden noise and the fact that she'd never heard him laugh until now. She couldn't decide whether to be frightened or, well, more frightened.

"That's the worst story I've ever heard. Did you bargain I'd let you live if you entertained me?"

Think, Granger, think! Tell him a secret about himself!

"You're Severus Snape, Hogwarts potion master, you've been in love with Lily Evans almost all your life, your Patronus is a doe, and when you were fifteen years old James Potter hung you upside-down so that everyone saw your underpants!"

She knew she was going to die even as the words tumbled from her mouth, and she was already saying her last prayers while the color drained from his face. She finally closed her eyes, unable to watch as he murdered her.

Thirty seconds later, she opened one eye just a bit to see what was taking him so long. He still stood before her, staring in shock.

"How do you know all of that?" he whispered.

A cold wash of relief flooded through her. "You gave Harry Potter your memories before you died, and we all saw them when he convinced the Ministry to clear your name."

She immediately regretted letting out this bit of information when his scowl returned.

"I gave my memories to that brat? What in Merlin's balls was I thinking?"

"Well, sir, you were dying."

He sunk into a chair opposite her and waved off the excuse. "Preposterous. I would never trust that idiot Potter's son with such sensitive information."

With a sigh, he waved his wand over the small coffee table between them. A bottle of red wine and two glasses appeared.

"In any case, I'm certain no student of mine would have come to save my miserable life. What have you really disturbed my peace for Miss—whatever your name is?"

She blushed, ashamed that he was absolutely correct. She had never even thought to save anyone besides Ronald, and even had she, Snape certainly wasn't at the top of her list. Why though, she couldn't say. He was a hero, and she'd always argued that he deserved better than his painful, tragic death in the Shrieking Shack. She decided that at least partial honesty was the best policy.

"Hermione Granger, sir. I suppose I didn't intend to begin with you. My fiancé, Ronald, died in a Quidditch accident shortly after the war ended. I found a time turner during an Auror investigation at Bellatrix Lestrange's old manor, so I thought I might go back in time to rescue Ronald and some of our war heroes."

He snorted while he poured two glasses of wine. "Nice try, Hermione."

Her eyebrows rose when he used her first name. She supposed they were closer in age now, as he looked at least fifteen years younger than when he died, but she was still surprised.

"My best guess is that you made a grievous error in your time turning calculation, and you are quite shocked to find yourself intruding upon my hospitality. As for your fiancé," he sneered, "I imagine you're better off without being shackled to a Quidditch-playing dunderhead lousy enough at the game to get himself killed."

He toasted her and sipped from his glass while she stared at him in shock. Well, at least his usual level of snarkiness means he's in a good enough mood not to kill me for the moment. When she finally convinced her mouth to stop opening and closing like a fish, much to his obvious amusement, she leaned forward to pick up her glass.

At just that moment, Tonks and Remus appeared with a pop unheard by the living occupants of the room. Tonks's eyes widened at the sight of Hermione and Snape sitting together in his living room. With a wave of her ghostly hand, time stopped. Remus dipped his finger into Hermione's glass to sample her drink.

"A bit deep for me, but Severus has good taste," he mused.

Tonks stamped her foot exasperatedly. "This isn't right, Remus! She's supposed to be at Ron's match, not in Snape's house! And how many decades ago is this? The old bastard almost looks human!"

Remus smirked at his wife, always so ladylike. "It appears that Hermione has made a mistake. Odd that she would misjudge by so many turns though, don't you think?"

Tonks walked around Hermione to peer down at the time turner. It fell out of her shirt when she leaned forward to pick up her glass, and now it dangled in plain view. "It looks alright to me. Do you think I damaged it somehow when I planted it?"

She picked up the tiny gold hourglass by its chain and pulled it over Hermione's head to inspect more closely.

"Perhaps. The girl did have enough practice with it the year I was teaching, though. I think she would have noticed any cracks or loose parts."

Remus shrugged. He was looking at Severus closely; so closely, in fact, that had the potions master been aware of his presence, he would have hexed the werewolf immediately and without mercy.

"Severus looks well. He must have just started at Hogwarts. He barely has any frown lines at all."

Remus's inspection was interrupted by the sound of tinkling glass. He winced, knowing before he turned what happened.

Tonks stood over a tiny pile of glass and sand, the broken gold frame of the time turner in her palm. She looked up at her husband and cried out in frustration. "Damn it! I thought I'd be a little less clumsy without a body!"

She sighed when Remus only laughed at her outburst. "I don't know what she'll do. It'll take me forever to find another one of these without anyone noticing. Why did we have to break the Ministry's whole stock in one night?"

Tonks unclasped the chain and dropped the gold pieces of the turner on top of the sand and glass before standing with Remus.

"You know, dear, I smell a little meddling. Perhaps we should just see how this turns out."

Remus smiled lovingly at his puzzled wife as he swept her into his arms and disappeared.

Time sprung back to life, and Hermione's horrified shriek was almost as sudden. A pair of twinkling, mischievous blue eyes watched from a shadow in the corner. "Remus, old friend, I knew you'd catch on sooner or later."

Albus Dumbledore chuckled as a passionate argument broke out before him between the bushy-haired young woman and the dark wizard.

"I suppose I'll leave you to your second chance, Severus. Good luck."

And with a last pop, he was gone.

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This story began as a chapter I contributed to the fabulous Ms_Figg's collaborative story "100 Ways to Kill a Weasley." Please be patient with me—this is my first long story, and I am a huge fan of endless editing. :)