Time lost. ...EPILOGUE UP!

Thanks for the wonderful reviews everybody. I was pretty sure that people lost hope/interest in the story a bit.

This just renews my desire to write, write, write!

I love you all and enjoy!




The next morning led to questions and questions lead to tearful reunions on all ends. Hogwarts staff was in an uproar over Hermione Granger’s return. Not to mention suddenly for no reason, Professor Snape canceled all homework for the upcoming weekend. Moreover, although none of the children knew why, it suddenly felt like Christmas.

After much consideration, both parties decided to allow Hermione time to research her problems. The irony was that being displaced age-wise, Hermione easily could pass for a seventh year with little problem.

Today, Hermione sat in the empty library with a pile of books open. She wore Gryffindor robes and her curly locks carefully held in place with a pencil.

Hermione scribbled rapidly into the journal besides her. Snape felt like he was in a time warp as he walked towards her slowly. The only sound in the near empty library was the insistent scratch of her pencil on the pad in front of her.

Hermione hummed under her breath and flipped the page. “Lost, Mudblood?” Snape felt the words trickle from his mouth and he smirked slightly as her head snapped towards him.

“You’re going to get it Snivellius.” Hermione wrinkled her nose and threw her eraser at him. “It’s really terrible for you to say that name in public. One of your stinky Slytherin children might pick it up. I do not care how cute you think it is. It’s hurtful if you mean it.” Hermione chided him.

Snape brushed past her and Hermione felt her heart slowly start to pound.

Hermione scowled slightly “Besides, you might start to think I like that name.”

“You do….” Snape murmurs, leaning down to nip her earlobe.

“Well, that’s during… Other times.” Hermione looked flustered and pushed him off.

“Excuse me Professor Snape, I have studying to do.” Hermione stuck her nose in the air.

Severus Snape narrowed his gaze on the stubborn, little Gryffindor in front of him. “Did you find anything useful in the restricted section?”

Hermione chewed on the end of her pencil thoughtfully. “Just in the Divine Horsemen. Maya Dern says, if you pay homage to it, then you can live amicably with it.”

Snape folds his arms with a scowl. “Live with it? I do not want you to live with it. I want you bloody rid of it. I want a… fam… normal life. Is that so much to ask?”

Snape shifted uncomfortably. “I have to serve detention, see you at dinner?”

Hermione nodded dumbly at him, but she was sure Severus had been about to say family. Severus wanted a family with her. Hermione hugged her stomach and turned back to her book.


Hermione began to read again and then a few minutes later she felt eyes staring at her. She reluctantly put down the book and looked across at her so-called niece.

“Anise…” Hermione smiled across at her.

Anise grinned back at her but did not say anything for a moment, just staring at her, until Hermione subconsciously patted her hair.

“How did the talk with my Dad go yesterday?” Anise flipped opens her sixth year Arthimancy book.

Hermione murmured. “Good.”

The truth was it had been good to see everybody again and visit. It was anticlimactic but familiar. She had been going through the paces for so long without anyone, it felt strange being around instant family. Maybe it showed on her face, because Anise piped up again.

“So you gonna marry Snape?” Anise folded her legs under her Indian-style.

“Professor Snape… and I don’t know.” Hermione said automatically.

“He’s a very good teacher.” Anise bit into an apple that seemed to come out of nowhere.

“You shouldn’t be eating in the library.” Hermione said mildly, thumbing through the pages of the book.

“He can get all starchy but I think it’s a defense mechanism. He missed you all those years. He was a right… git for a while. But not to me… I mean, I am his favorite?” Anise confided in a whisper.

Hermione looked up shocked at her. “You’re in Slytherin?”

“Eek, no! Remember, fifteen points from Gryffindor, and all that.” Anise made a face.

Hermione raised her eyebrow. “Hogwarts sure is different from my time. In my day, Gryffindor equaled gum on bottom of shoe and all that rubbish, to Snape, err Professor Snape.”

Anise grinned at her slip and took another bite of the apple. “Yes, well, Snape only pays attention to me because he has a crush on me.”

Hermione snorted as was about to correct her again, when Pince thundered down on them.

“Young lady! Are you eating an apple over one of our library books?” Madam Pince came up looking haggard and furious.

Anise tucked the apple behind her back with a solemn look. “Oh no Ma’am.”

Anise flipped the textbook over, showing the cover. “ It’s my own textbook.”

Madam Pince narrowed a thinning arched eyebrow. “That hardly makes a difference at all. Out! Get out!”

Anise tucked the book under her arm and winked at Hermione as she scooted out the door.

“That infuriating little chit is going to someday get her comeuppance. One day she will find someone she cant push over with her easy charm and mischievous heart.” Hermione muttered to herself under her breath.

Hermione heard Snape speak up behind her. “No doubt. She is remarkably like Lily, with all the charm of James with none of the mean, lazines. She has Harry’s gall and the charisma of Ginny. That is a positively lethal little girl. No wonder I apparently have a crush on her.”

Snape stepped out from behind a bookshelf, his tone was sarcastic but the faintest hint of fondness lingered.

Hermione laughed. “You do! Oh Gods, someday, I would like to meet the man that could bring that girl low.”




…



The man in question was fighting for his life currently, completely unawares that he was being discussed with great humor.

A series of light flashes glowed as Draco Malfoy threw hex after hex, dodging through undergrowth in the blackest, murkiest part of the Black Forest in Germany, on the run from a rabid werewolf.

Freiburg was a small, beautiful country town that was the last sane place, before entering into the pit of hell. At least as far as Draco Malfoy was concerned.

He was hunting down another of Greyback’s children.

A savage werewolf with a killing lust that rivaled his makers was hunting in this part of forest. Muggle children had gone missing for years and until Draco had shown up, the damned Muggles had simply accepted it for fact. Stupid Muggles.

A thick growl deep in the forest came from behind him and Draco turned, casting silver light that caused the werewolf to leap just off his mark. Light hurt their eyes; Draco had discovered that the first time he almost died just outside of St. Petersburg.

Draco picked up speed and began to run as the werewolf flipped to the ground to the side of him. He felt a swift wind of air as he dodged the claws coming for his throat. The stench of the wolf was enough to upend his breakfast but he knew that he had to let the wolf get closer if he wanted to truly end it.

Draco began to book towards a meadow just ahead. The trees swiped past him, long, scaly branches ripping at his face as he ran. The werewolf was gaining on him, Draco slide one arm back and arched as he threw another hex. Draco muttered a ward as he saw the stopping point.

“Effugium!” His voice roared out as he jumped. Suddenly Draco was lifted up.

The werewolf leaped as well and reached out the length of his claws as he began to fall towards the pit.

“Bugger!” Draco yelped as the claws extended and came close to connecting with his thigh.

Draco felt his other hand come down automatically and Draco sliced with the dagger in his left hand. The werewolf howled and fell back to the soft spongy earth and through the trap that Draco had dug.

“Contineo!” Draco screamed as he pointed his wand at the broken surface of the trap that he was currently hovering over.

Draco felt the new spell take over and he began to plummet towards the ground from about 20 feet up. “I hate this bloody part.”

He gritted his teeth and braced himself as he fell towards the pit containing the feral werewolf. Draco winced as he connected face first and he smacked right onto of an invisible lid in the grass.

Draco rolled over onto the wet grass and sighed. “Thank the Gods that spell worked, otherwise I would be a broken and eaten alive. Not a good combination.”

Draco smirked to himself. A nearby Gnome stared with unblinking eyes at him. “Right, I have resorted to talking to German forest gnomes. You dont even understand English do you?”

Draco felt all the anxiety drain out of him. Even in the moonlight that filtered through the trees seemed menacing as he groaned rolling off the invisible barrier to the hole he had dug.

Draco stared down, noticing for the first time the blood that was making small tracks from his nose. He really banged it up this time. A splotch of blood hit the invisible barrier and the werewolf snarled as it leapt to try to get through.

“It’s unbreakable you damned idiot.” Draco sneered slightly and wiped his nose.

He felt like hell, every muscle was sore from chasing this thing all over Germany. He did not feel he did enough to burn the past evil out of him, but it did pass the time.

“Good catch Malfoy.” A burly man stepped out of the woods.

“Yes, well I told you it would be here, didn’t I, Gremlichten?” Draco lifted his head arrogantly as he stared across at the German Auror.

“I never thought I’d see the day a Malfoy lifted a finger to help a Muggle.” The German spit into a pile of unmelted snow, and walked to the edge of the pit staring down.
“A mean bugger is he?”

Malfoy’s cold gaze stared back at him and a quirk of a smile played on his lips. Malfoy wiped another streak of blood from a scratch on his arm.

“Some might think so.” Malfoy responded coolly.

The German felt annoyance rising in him, Malfoy looked good even after chasing a werewolf all over Germany and back. Even with that scar running down the side of his face, half the Fräulein in the country chased Malfoy in the hopes of getting him in bed.

“You’re a lucky bastard, Malfoy.” The Auror growled and waved his hand to the others gathering. “Load this monster, carefully!”

Malfoy turned away from the men transporting the animal and walked towards the trees. The wind picked up and sent a cold, bitter blast down the back of his neck.

Draco kicked a decaying chunk of log out of the way, as he made the long walk back to Freiburg. Something about walking about in the Black Forest made him feel alive. It was so dangerous and cold, it felt good.


Hermione Granger still had not shown up, last he checked anyway. It made him wonder how far off the mark he had been in the timeline. Oh well, Granger could take care of herself. Once Draco gave Dumbledore the pensieve and made sure that history would resume its self correctly.

Malfoy always assumed that he would eventually forget the annoyance that ruined his plans so effectively. The titillating Anise Potter. His mortal enemies damned daughter.


Infuriatingly attractive and so gratingly optimistic, Draco could not stop thinking about her.

Anise had saved his worthless life just because she could. Not for any other reason.

Just because it had been the right thing to do.

Draco repaid her in a small way, helping Muggles, capturing evil, dark things that good wizards should never have to deal with. Most Wizards just thought it was suicidal; his occupation was dangerous, with no fringe benefits. Mostly, Draco liked being alone.

Anise’s words floating back to him. “Wait for me…”

The annoying chit did not even know who he was yet. Time for the annual visit. Anise would be sixteen now. Soon she would be moving into the past. How strange, it was only four years ago for him, but it had not even happened for her yet.

Ah well, it was time to go back to Hogwarts.

Time to go home.


TBC – More Hogwarts NEW GEN coming up. More Sev/Hermione coming up. Thanks for the reviews everybody, it really keeps me motivated to keep writing this SL.


THANKS! Reirei.