A Girl Out of Time

After a revitalizing shower, the couple joined Harry in the courtyard for dinner.

“You are an amazing cook, Harry,” Hermione enthused. Harry laughed at her, “Says the woman who can burn boiled water!” Hermione just rolled her eyes at him and stuck out her tongue at him, making Harry laugh harder, “Such a mature response,” he chortled, “I’m sure you have better uses for it, eh?” Hermione blushed and threw a roll at him, however, Harry’s seeker reflexes kicked in and he snatched it neatly from the air, earning him a mock glare.

Once they finished eating, the trio returned to the earthen circle to wait for Professor Snape. The Doctor had pulled Hermione onto his lap, ignoring her half-hearted protests to let her go. Harry laughed at them, feeling content despite the magnitude of the tasks that lay ahead of them; Hermione and the Doctor were family, and he felt at home for the first time since he arrived at Hogwarts six years ago. As much as he loved the Weasleys, even they had not filled him with such contentment as being with his ‘adopted’ sister and her husband.

A soft gust of sound was all the warning they had before Snape materialized in front of them. Unexpectedly, his normally stoic face softened at the sight of Hermione and the Doctor cuddling. Secretly, over the years, he had developed paternal feelings for the resident ‘know-it-all’ and he was glad she had found happiness. He inclined his head in greeting, but waited for one of the others to begin their conversation.

A shimmer to one side alerted them to the arrival of the Spirit of Hogwarts. “Well met,” she chimed, as murmurs of greetings reached her.

Hermione cleared her throat, “I’ll summarize what we know, Professor, if that’s all right?” At his nod, she continued, “Ok…Tom Riddle Jr. is Lord Voldemort and he has seven Horcruxes – are you familiar with them Professor?” The Potions Master sighed, “Unfortunately, yes…pray, continue Miss Granger.” Hermione swallowed, “we know that two of them have been destroyed. We need to find and eliminate the rest…except for the one that is in Harry – there has to be someway of removing it from him without killing him. Once that is done, we can then proceed with a plan to kill Voldemort permanently.” She paused and looked at Professor Snape seriously, “However, we have another problem – the Headmaster. He is claiming Voldemort is not Riddle and there are no Horcruxes; he is also planning on becoming the Minister of Magic and taking over the Wizarding world…and that is what we know so far…”

The Potions Master was silent for several minutes as he absorbed this information. He had suspected Albus Dumbledore was a scheming old bastard – after all, look at how little concern he had shown in the past over Snape’s own injuries when he returned from Death Eater meetings, coupled with the increasingly unreasonable demands Dumbledore had begun to place on him. Two of the most powerful wizards had long manipulated him, and he longed for some peace, to be his own man. Severus Snape had aligned himself with Dumbledore, believing him to be the better choice; now he wasn’t so sure that there was a ‘better’ choice – he had not realized how deep Dumbledore’s ambitions had run. He turned to the Spirit who smiled sadly at him, “I’m sorry Severus…it’s true,” she told him softly. Snape flushed in anger, “Interfering old bat,” he snarled.

A laugh from the Spirit tinkled around him them, “He bound you unfairly, and with the deliberate intention to use and discard you, my friend. I can release you from your vow in such a way he will never know the difference.”

Professor Snape scowled, “Why not before?”

“Dumbledore had not yet reached the point of no return, and breaking the vow before that point would have killed you,” the Spirit sighed, “Now, Severus, give me your hand.” The Spirit corporealized as she took Snape’s proffered hand. “Severus Tobias Snape, your duty to Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore has been fulfilled; by the power of the Founders, I release you of your vow.” A blue ring surrounded their clasped limbs, and then dissipated as the Spirit faded to translucent again.

Severus felt a large burden had been lifted from him and he appeared younger. “Thank you,” he whispered. He cleared his throat, looked uncomfortable for a moment before stating, “So what do you need me to do?” He was surprised to see three grinning faces staring back at him, and he flushed, unaccountably flustered.

Hermione’s grin faded, “Professor, do you think you can kill Dumbledore? It will need to look like an accident.” She looked troubled, and the Doctor hugged her tight.

The Doctor looked sad, “A necessary but unfortunate bit of business. You’ve seen just as I have what the different possible timelines look like…if Dumbledore lives, even with his magic bound and exiled from the Wizard world, the future is worse than anything Riddle would bring.” Hermione had an agonized look on her face for a moment before she hardened her resolve, “I know,” she whispered.

Professor Snape gazed at them silently for a few moments as he considered the possibilities, “I’ll take care of him; have no worries, my dear,” and then he vanished.