Making sure the boy who lives, actually does...

Chapter 5: Snivellus

\"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LOT DOING IN MY CLOSET!\"

Lily\'s face was a mixture of fright as well as anger at being invaded. She looked to see that her clothes hadn\'t been trampled upon and then looked back to the almost shaking trio.

\"Uh...\" Hermione started as the two boys looked to her, hoping for her to say something brilliant. Sadly Hermione often depended on books for such occasions, and thinking on her feet today just didn’t seem to be working.

She finally choked out another \"Uh\" before Lily got exasperated and looked to the faces of the two boys.

\"Well?\" She asked furiously, wondering if they\'d heard or said anything. Merlin knew how long they\'d been hiding in her bloody closet. Her eyes caught those of the dark haired boy, his eyes reflecting her own.

She felt her breath catch in her throat; there was something about this boy that was so familiar yet foreign. He smiled softly at her, not breaking the eye contact and she was about to say something to him when the blonde boy spoke.

\"Well that\'s the last time I leave you with directions Granger.\" Malfoy said loudly, brushing his arms off as if they were dusty from travel, looking to the two of them to do the same. They began frantically brushing their arms in mute horror, watching for his lead.

Draco Malfoy wasn\'t in Slytherin for nothing. Lily watched him in subtle, wary interest. She couldn\'t help but notice he reminded her a hell of a lot of Lucius Malfoy, and instantly she didn\'t trust him.

Malfoy stepped out of the closet, smiling gentlemanly at Lily and nodding in respect, grimacing when his face was out of view. If his father was alive to see him bowing down to a Mud- wait. He straightened, a particular glow about him then.

\"My name is Draco.\" he said regally bowing to her, then seeing her eyebrow raised he went on. \"Draco M-...Draco Parkinson. And you are?\"

Harry and Hermione stifled laughter as he spoke, and couldn\'t help but be impressed with him. Malfoy Parkinson indeed. Although they had to wonder, where was this all going?

\"Lily Evans.\" Lily said warily, \"And you two are?\"

\"We\'re on leave from our own Wizarding School.\" Draco interrupted dramatically, looking around Lily\'s room as if for the first time. \"Your Headmaster...oh, what\'s his name again?\"

\"Shaley\"

\"Ah yes, Shaley.\" Draco said phonily as Hermione stifled a gag behind him. \"...You mean he didn\'t tell you?\"

\"Tell me what?\"

\"Well, you\'re Head Girl, are you not?\"

\"I am indeed.\" Lily said, trying to look more authoritative than she felt. This Parkinson boy was a sneering intimidation machine. She felt he was trying to fool her, and this set her on defense.

\"Well then,\" Malfoy said, \"He should have told you that we were to arrive. Exchange students from another Wizarding school.\"

\"That still doesn\'t explain why you were in my closet.\"

\"Ah,\" Draco said off handedly, \"That was a minor miscalculation. You see my assistant Granger miscalculated where we were supposed to end up. We were supposed to Apparate into the main foyer, but as it turns out you can\'t Apparate on Hogwart\'s grounds.\"

Assistant? Hermione felt a flash of angry crimson shoot up her neck and had to wrestle internally within herself to stop from throttling the little prick. Lily though, seemed none too impressed with the haughty blonde.

\"I\'m aware.\"

\"Well then,\" Draco said snippety at her rude tone. \"Then you see that we had no other choice but to travel by floo.\"

Lily looked to her fireplace in mild interest and then back to the three teenagers standing in front of her, shifting uneasily from foot to foot. That explained a bit but...not much.

\"And you all hid in my closet, why?\"

\"Yes well,\" Draco stammered a moment, \"Pot- Harry here is half Muggle.\"

At this Lily shot Harry and intrigued look before Draco went on emphatically. \"And as such, he suffers from the Muggle malady agoraphobia.\"

\"Fear of open places?\"

Draco looked mildly perturbed that she knew what he was talking about, but nodded nonetheless as Harry stood by in idle frustration. Brilliant. So far he looked like a royal bloody moron. A scared one at that.

\"So we rushed him into your closet so he could regain his composure when you burst in and scared us half to death.\"

\"He seems fine now.\"

\"It comes and goes.\"

Lily seemed more at ease as Hermione and Harry nodded, trying to look authentic. She glanced at their robes, which seemed a bit different from her own, but not much. They wore the same trousers and in the girl\'s case, skirt and blouse. She gave them a scrupulous look, circling them halfway and the stopping as she spoke.

\"Let\'s see your wands then.\"

Draco, Harry and Hermione all dug around in their robes, grasping the handles of their wands and dragging them out for Lily\'s inspection. She glanced from Hermione\'s to Draco\'s, and her eyes stopped on Harry\'s.

\"Is that an Olliviander wand?\"

Harry felt his heart thump happily as he nodded, the adrenaline of actually having a conversation with his mother threatening to take him over. Harry was furious for not thinking of something before Draco, but now as he finally looked to his Mother, the one who had loved him so much all he could utter a f a feeble: \"Yeah.\"

Lily smiled grandly, looking more like Harry than she realized and then brought out her own wand as she compared the too. \"Mine is too.\"

\"Oh.\"

\"Do you have an owl?\"

\"Yeah. Her name\'s Hedwig.\"

\"I have one too. Do you play Quidditch?\"

\"As fascinating,\" came Hermione\'s polite tone, interrupting the two. \"As all of this is...I think we need to speak to the Headmaster. It\'s quite urgent.\"

Lily looked perturbed at being interrupted in the middle of a conversation she found quite intriguing and scowled at the big haired brunette girl a few yards away. Then realizing her position of Head Girl suddenly got a very impressive air and began speaking rather authoritative to the three.

\"Which school did you say you were from?\"

The three of them exchanged surreptitious looks of worry, their minds whirring as they tried to think of one Lily wouldn\'t know anything about. But judging by her Head Girl status, and the array on books on her shelves, it didn\'t seem that was probable.

\"Surely not Beauxbatons?\" she said with a laugh, \"You don\'t seem very Veela..\" she glanced Draco up and down a moment, \"Except maybe you.\"

Draco scowled irrita \"A \"Actually we\'re from...Longbottom Academy, and we need to speak with the Headmaster right away.\"

Lily glared at Draco a moment and was about to speak furiously at the rude young man when Harry interjected politely. \"You see,\" he added gently, \"We\'re very tired from the trip, and when Draco there doesn\'t eno enough sleep he\'s a miserable sod, as you can plainly see.\"

Lily giggled and nodded, much to Malfoy\'s chagrin, and motioned for the three of them to follow her out the door. She walked to the door, her eyes gleaming with interest as well as trepidation and swung it open.

Peter Pettigrew stood there, his hands up and fat head at a slight angle, as evidence that he\'d been spying upon them a good few minutes. Lily growled lowly, looking at him with sudden disdain.

\"What are you doing spying on us you loathsome little cockroach?\" she spat, eyeing his pathetic frame with anger. The mass of jelly was sweating profusely, his beady eyes wandering over the four of them.

\"Oh...L-lily,\" the sputtering simp went on, \"I was just passing er...here and I happened to hear shouts. I came to see that you were alright.\"

\"In other words, James Potter sent one of his cronies to spy on me.\" Lily said shoving the pudgy teen out of her way. \"Well you can tell him I said for all of you to sod right off.\"

Peter scowled at her, offering a muttered hiss as he backed away, still straining to hear their conversation. Lily turned to look at the three future Hogwarts students and tilting her head to the left said, \"This way.\"

Peter sputtered a few more minutes, eyeing the three of them as they came glowering at him out of Lily\'s chambers. How Harry wanted to kill him then, smash his ugly face into the stone walls. But remembering Dumbledore\'s eternal advice, kept to himself and simply glared at the pudgy teen spotted with acne.

When they were all out of earshot from the quivering mass of the spy Peter Pettigrew, Lily turned to them speaking hurriedly.

\"I may not like James Potter and his lot -you\'ll find out who they are soon enough- but, I don\'t trust that one especially.\" She motioned over her head where Peter had been. \"I know for a fact he\'s mixed up with You-know-who.\"

\"The Dark lord?\" Draco said, trying to be nonchalant as Harry and Hermione shot him looks of angered perturbed worry behind Lily\'s currently turned back.

\"Of course the Dark lord.\" Lily said as if it were obvious. \"Anyway, just stay away from him and that ilk. That includes a certain tosser by the name of Lucius Malfoy.\"

\"Who\'s he?\" Draco said through clenched teeth, trying to be inquisitive without being obvious. Lily didn\'t seem to care as she took them through the familiar corridors of Hogwarts.

\"He\'s a rich bloody snob. He and a few others are into the Dark Arts.\" Lily said as she opened one of the doors, as Hermione stopped Draco from lunging at her. \"He\'s the so-called leader of that gang here. I wish the Headmaster would do something to stop it.\"

\"Why doesn\'t he?\" asked Harry boredly. He was hoping for a glimpse of his father, not some old Headmaster they didn\'t know. Hermione on the other hand seemed to be enjoying every moment of the history of Hogwarts. Figures. She\'d read about it, and now she\'d get to live it.

\"This is a very nice school.\" Hermione muttered jovially to no one in particular as they meandered down the hallways. \"Very clean. A bit empty than originally thought, but nice.\"

\"The Headmaster is a busy man.\" Lily said with a shrug as she looked to Harry briefly, \"Anyway, here\'s his office. I\'ll just wait outside in case you need a guide.\"

\"No I-\" Draco started before Hermione elbowed him in the ribs roughly as she turned on a wide smile for Lily.

\"That\'d be lovely. Thanks.\"

* * *

Back in the future, Albus and Ron were still huddled around the Marauder’s Map, looking at the dots and frantically scanning it for Draco, Hermione and Harry.

\"Well this is just nonsense.\" Albus babbled as he stood behind his desk pacing frantically then. \"Honestly. Our Head Girl and Head Boy gone on the first week back to classes? To Merlin knows where?\"

Ron watched in anxiety as Albus frantically paced around the room as he\'d been doing for a good fifteen minutes. Ron was decidedly peeved at his friends, thinking that this may be a prank on him, and then herd Hrd Hermione\eraterating tone of voice in his head.

Oh yes Ron, that\'s why we brought along Malfoy.

True true.

They hated him. Everyone hated Draco, save for that pug-faced Pansy Parkinson. He made a revolted face as he recalled them in the hall earlier, laughing at his expense. He\'d never apologise.

He looked back over to Albus who seemed strained, his normally conservative stance leaving him. Ron supposed that\'s what happened when the Head Girl and Boy along with the Boy who lived disappeared.

He wished he could help, but he himself had no bloody idea as to where his friends had gone. And why would they go with Malfoy anywhere? Or why would Malfoy- Suddenly fear clutched him.

\"You don\'t think this may have been a trick by Malfoy do you?\" Ron asked shakily, \"I mean, isn\'t it a little too convenient that he and Hermione and Harry -who he hates- all go missing at the same time?\"

At this Albus nodded, stroking his chin under his beard thoughtfully a moment, his light eyes narrowing in thought.

\"I mean it makes sense.\" Ron said excitedly at his discovery, \"I mean Malfoy and I haven\'t been getting on at all this year, maybe this was all just a revenge tactic for me, involving Hermione and Harry.\"

Albus nodded emphatically, yes yes that was true. He remembered the young man\'s face when he\'d brought him to his office. The pale hair slicked back to reveal a pale and narrow face littered with a permanent sneer. Severus\' long lost son it would seem.

Albus couldn\'t help but pity the young Malfoy, after all he\'d been through and all. The death of his father, his Mother being sent to St. Mungo\'s (luckily not many knew about that) and whilst he was fairly bright he seemed to be trying to follow in Snape\'s footsteps. Rude. Crass. Overwhelmingly overbearing. Whilst Snape may have favored the young man while Lucius was alive, he now treated him the same with his other Slytherin ilk. He still favored the younger Malfoy, but it wasn\'t as severe as before.

Albus then looked to Ron absently biting his nails, and he spoke softly with blue eyes twinkling. The man knew more than he let on.

\"You may just be right after all Mister Weasley.\"

Ron nodded graciously, \"What should we do then sir?\"

Albus frowned, more creases starting in his forehead, and then offered a solemn and authoritative nod of his head. \"For tonight I think it would be best that we don\'t speak of this to anyone. For all we know it could just be a small prank, or something else as equally trivial. There\'s no point in scaring the students into thinking its Voldemort\'s return ometomething foolish.\"

\"Yes sir.\"

\"If anything happens, or I change anything I\'ll let you know.\"

Ron nodded as he made his way to the door. He\'d just opened it and was about to step outside when Dumbledore\'s voice reached him and he stopped.

\"And please M\'boy, don\'t do anything stupid.\"

* * *

Hermione followed the boys into the unwarded office (thanks to Lily the Head Girl. Obviously times had changed. Students back in Lily\'s day were more trustworthy.

Harry had busied himself with looking around the office, not wanting to touch anything. He found a picture of Dumble, ae, and what he could only assume was the current Headmaster. He smiled at this, a little melancholy that their adventure was almost over.

\"He\'s not here.\"

Hermione looked up from her gaze around the office and let it fall on a sneering Draco. Suddenly what Draco had said made a resounding clunk in Hermione\'s mind and she whirled around the office and then faced him once more.

\"What?\"

\"Are you deaf as well as ugly Mudblood?\" Draco snarled angrily and began speaking slowly as if to a very dunce child. \"He\'s. Not. Here.\"

\"What do you mean he\'s not here?\" Hermione said frantically, ignoring the insult as her dark eyes widened in fright while she paced around the Headmaster\'s office. \"He has to be here.\"

\"Well unless he gets kicks off of wearing Invisibility Cloaks around the office,\" Draco sneered frustrated as he kicked the nearby footstool. \"He\'s not bloody well here.\"

Hermione sighed deeply, angry tears starting at the corner of her eyes. \"Well this is just fantastic. Thanks a lot Harry.\" with this disparaging and regrettable comment she let her face fall into her hands as she tried to calm down.

\"Oh just stop it.\" Harry said frustratedly, innerly delighted at this turn in actions. Perhaps he\'d see his dad after all. Honestly, Hermione was overreacting as usual.

Hermione stood, shaking from fury as well as pure panic. \"I will not just stop it! We\'re going to be expelled when we get back Harry. I won\'t get a good education; My mum and dad are going to kill me. Harry, you\'ll have to go live with the Dursley\'s and Draco...Anyway, Harry how could you do this?\"

Harry scowled deeply as Draco watched in mild interest a few feet away. So things were a bit tense in the Granger - Potter circle of friendship. He could barely contain a smile. That might make things easier than imagined.

\"It\'s not as bad as all that! Don\'t things usually turn out well in the end?\" Harry said desperately, trying to get that scowl from her face. Hermione\'s voice grew low and dark as she spoke next.

\"Tell that to Cedric Diggory.\"

Hermione\'s stony face was emotionless and Draco from the corner offered a low whistle of surprise. \"Low blow on that one Granger.\"

\"Oh just sod off!\" The two exclaimed simultaneously, then singsing their arms over their chests the two walked away from each other. Harry to the window, and Hermione to the door. She pulled it open with a thundering swoosh to reveal a confused looking Lily.

\"Well?\"

\"He\'s not here.\" Hermione said angrily through clenched teeth, trying to be calm. Lily looked confused a moment, her nose wrinkling up in surprise before realization flashed in her eyes.

Lily suddenly went a slight shade of pink as she looked to Harry and Draco who had come out of the office as well. Seemed there were three enemies now.

\"Oh, I completely forgot.\" Lily began blushing madly, \"You see, the Headmaster\'s not here for the weekend. He\'s gone to a Ministry meeting for a few days.\"

\"Oh.\" Harry said gently, \"Where could we find Albus Dumbledore then?\"

\"Professor Dumbledore?\" Lily said curiously, as Hermione shook her head at his clumsy slip of the tongue. \"How did-\"

\"He\'s fairly well known at our school.\" Hermione offered breezily as they stood huddled in the hallway. \"Used to teach at our school.\"

\"Oh.\" Lily looked doubtful, wanting to ask what school they came from but instead shrugged and nodded looking to her watch. \"Oh my, dinner\'s already started. C\'mon, you can find Dumbledore there.\"

The three exchanged looks of equal disdain and followed the now exuberant Lily down the hall, tired, worried and now above all hungry.

\"Dumbledore?\" Draco sneered at Hermione whispering. \"What\'s thld bld bat going to do for us now? He doesn\'t even know us.\"

\"Well if Dumbledore now is anything like he is in the future,\" Hermione whispered back fiercely, \"I\'d say we\'re in good hands.\"

The three didn\'t speak for the rest of the way to the Great Hall, the rumbling of their stomachs from the smells emitting from the hall were embarrassing. Suddenly without warning the door slammed open from one side, as a tall and handsome man entered out of it.

He was lean and tall, he had glasses over light eyes, his dark hair fell into his eyes and a small cowlick at the back of his head was the instant affirmation of who Harry believed it to be.

\"Its my dad!\" Harry whispered excitedly to himself, in dull shock as he watched the tall teen. Hermione normally would have engaged in his surprised fancy, and even joined in on the fun. But she was still furious with him and refused to bow down, especially after he\'d been so cruel to her despite what she\'d done for him.

She looked to James in interest though, after all she\'d heard from Harry, he was just as she imagined him to be.

Egocentric perhaps, his hair was purposely messy. Strong jaw, handsome features and she assumed a well-toned body under the robe he wore. Even the way he wore his robe gave a sense, an aura of cool superiority to his peers. A self-assured smile here, a wink there and he\'d have any fan girl running.

But not Lily.

James\' gaze fell on Lily\'s as her back straightened in growing apprehension. All body language pointed to stiff anger and resentment, even Harry could see that. Lily looked to her troupes behind her and prepared to move past the desperate looking James Potter as he waltzed over to them.

\"Lily,\" he said softly coming up to her, his eyes searching her blushing face. \"I trie-\"

\"This is the Great Hall.\" Lily said turning around and talking to the three of them, promptly ignoring the crestfallen James. Harry could only gape at his father, the man that he had always wanted to be. James bloody Potter. Alive and here.

\"Lily.\" James said solidly, making it quite evident that he was above begging for forgiveness. Harry wondered what his dad had done that was so wrong this time. Couldn\'t be worse than the Snape underpants debacle could it?

\"I don\'t have time for games Potter.\" Lily said in a warning tone, motioning to the three behind her, looking sheepish and inquisitive. James let his eyes fall on the three of them a moment before capturing Lily\'s face with them.

\"You have no rig-\" James tried to say roughly, hoping to convey emotion whilst still looking respectable in front of his peers. Lily didn\'t seem to want to hear any excuses though, she looked impossibly furious and leaned forward to show her malice.

\"You were impossibly cruel.\" Lily said scathingly, poking James\' muscled chest with one finger forcefully. \"How could I ever fancy a man who humiliates his peers for no reason?\"

\"No reason?\" James almost bellowed, drawing stares from students heading into the Hall. \"Didn\'t you see what happened? He was ready to bloody well hex me for-\"

\"Perhaps you deserved it, Potter.\" Came an interrupting, laconic reply from behind Hermione and the rest of the group.

Hermione felt an instant jolt of shock course through her as she realized only one man, even as a teenageuld uld sound so silkily contemptuous with such deliberate pauses in speech.

She didn\'t dare look around; for fear that she may jump or scream in fright. She instead looked to the faces of Harry and Draco, both of which looked surprised as well as a bit frightened. She remained still, not able to see and not wanting to for the moment.

James looked over the head\'s of the group and sighed angrily. This little twerp was the cause for this anxiety. This hook nosed, sallow faced, brainiac who knew more dark curses than James knew in Quidditch plays. He said the only thing his weary and overworked brain could muster.

\"What do you want Snivellus?\"

\"Brilliant nickname Potter.\" came the quiet reply. Hermione had far before learned that the softer and quieter Snape spoke, the more dangerous he was. And at this moment, his silken voice was like a light breeze. \"Not out with your dog? Shame. They say dog\'s are a man\'s best friend-\" he was about to go on when James interrupted haughtily.

\"Hmmm friends. Something you\'d know nothing about then eh Snapey?\"

Hermione felt the breathing of Snape quicken in regulation, he couldn\'t have been more than five steps away from Hermione. He was obviously growing angry at James comment. Lily must have seen this as a look of quiet desperation crossed her features.

\"James, Severus,\" she said cordially, motioning to the three future students. \"These are transfer students from Longbottom Academy. This is Harry, Draco an-\"

\"You play Quidditch Harry?\" James interrupted interestedly, shooting a snotty glance at Snape before resuming his interested look at Harry who was elated.

\"Erm, a bit.\" Harry said nervously, barely being able to find his voice. It had become cracked and hoarse, and he felt himself growing embarrassed at his lack of cool in front of his past dad. \"I was a seeker.\"

\"Brilliant.\" James said interestedly, \"You should come out to the matches sometime. Maybe I can find you a place on the team.\" he leaned forward gently, trying to look as if he was letting Harry in on a big secret. \"Gryffindor\'s doing ruddy well awful this year, it\'d do some good to get some new blood on the team.\"

\"Yes well,\" Hermione said in her usual tone, reddening as everyone looked to her, and she assumed that meant Snape as well. \"We actually probably won\'t be staying that long.\"

\"And you are?\"

The voice behind her was flat, emotionless and she couldn\'t tell if he really even cared. But given the fact that he had indeed asked, Hermione bottled her courage and gently turned to face him.

He was pretty much as tall as he was in the future, as in he still towered slightly over her, adding to his intimidation. His dark hair couldn\'t have been more than a millimeter shorter in length than in the future, and his nose still ran rampant over his other features.

He was pale, his long fingers as tapered as in older years, but fresher looking, not so worn. He was in his trademark stance, arms crossed and a look of narrowed superiority about him.

His eyes - (which Hermione was fascinated to note weren\'t black at all, but instead a dark, rich, roasted coffee bean color. She\'d never gotten close up enough to Professor Snape to see such) - darted around her face, looking at her as if sizing her up.

She instantly crossed her own arms in defense from his penetrating gaze, part of her hoping he wasn\'t trying to get into her mind. She watched his lithe frame remain completely still as he watched over her, as an animal would prey.

Hermione would later recall that she found the younger Snape slightly appealing at first, handsome even in his youth. Then of course younger Snape did what older Snape was infamous for in managing to ruin a perfectly good moment.

He spoke.

\"Oh, don\'t tell me...Let me guess...One of Potter\'s fan girls?\"

He quietly said the words laced with formidable repugnance, and Hermione felt her cheeks flaming. How dare he? Snape paused a moment, savoring the insult he\'d just bestowed on her. Draco chortled a few feet away, perhaps on instinct and Snape gave him a hidden approving look.

His lips barely moved as he spoke, and as Hermione stewed about in inner anger - as this was Professor Snape in a sense - the said lips curved up into an oily smirk.

\"Why don\'t...you just...well...sod off?\" Hermione said furiously, much to everyone surprise, glaring openly at him. Even Draco and Harry exchanged surprised looks.

Lily, trying to rectify the moment stepped forward and glancing between the glaring Hermione and the now glaring Snape, interjected.

\"This is Hermione, Severus.\" Lily said softly, trying to make amends. She was wary of Snape, that was for certain. In friendship there were those who could never fully be trusted, especially Slytherin kind.

\"I couldn\'t care less.\" Snape said boredly, glancing Hermione over one more time before glaring at the little group culminated in the hallway and whipping around on one heel, he left for the Great Hall.

Hermione was offended as she watched him, thinking it strange that Professor Snape had managed to insult her in the past and the future. Seems some things never changed.

He did so sweeping from the room, the cloaks only adding to the mysterious swishing of it all. There was something delicate about him when he walked, along with its unseen power. He strode swiftly wherever he went, and Hermione found herself thinking he must have been the perfect spy for Voldemort.

\"That,\" Lily said with a saddened voice, \"Was Severus Snape.\"

The three didn\'t answer, only moved to follow Lily and the now furious James into the Great Hall. He didn\'t bother to say anything to Lily, and instead pulled Harry aside and offered him a seat next to him at the table where they could talk about Quidditch more at leisure. Harry had nearly wet himself in excitement.

The rest of them headed to the other end of the Gryffindor table as Hermione noted Dumbledore sitting near the far left, talking animatedly with another Professor. They all clunked into their seats and Lily began talking with her otfriefriend\'s from the group.

\"I\'m not feeling so well.\" Draco said lazily, his hands in his pockets as he surveyed the busy and jubilant hall. His eyes had wandered over to the Slytherin table, and seeing no one he knew soon decided against staying. He refused to sit at the Gryffindor table.

\"I\'m going to just take a walk outside.\"

Hermione looked to him warily and just as he was about to exit she grasped his wrist, which he immediately pulled away from as a certain Slytherin watched on in interest from his seat.

\"What are you doing?\" Draco hissed, clutching his wrist as if he\'d been burned. The rest of the table was immersed in talks of exams and luckily didn\'t hear. Hermione ignored Draco\'s sneer and whispered fiercely.

\"Don\'t be long. We have to meet up with Dumbledore soon.\"

Draco made a face and was about to go outside for some air, walking by the Slytherin table when suddenly he caught Lucius\' eyes as the young man sat down, obviously just arriving.

Draco\'s heart thumped as he saw his father, his eyes widening in mild shock. The man\'s hair was longer, a pale, shimmering golden color, just how Draco wanted his hair. Silvery eyes cast around the room, falling on Draco a moment before resuming his eating and sudden bothering of Snape. Lucius interrupted Severus who sat at the end of the table, obviously Snape had been reading as he ate.

He could come in handy.

\"Mind if I sit down?\" Draco said, motioning to the array of empty chairs around Snape. Lucius glanced at Severus who glanced around, hoping that no one had seen. Then Lucius whilst lifting a spoonful of soup up to his lips muttered, \"Just sit down if you must.\" out of the corner of his mouth.

Draco slipped into the chair, happily picking up a spoon as he prepared to eat the newly delivered soup. Snape was interested in a book in his hands, his hair over his face as he read rapidly, licking his fingertips and turning pages at a remarkable speed.

\"So Severus tells me you’re an exchange student Dragon?\" Lucius said smirking lightly.

\"Draco. And I suppose so in a sense.\" Draco said tearing a piece of bread and buttering it lightly, trying to seem aloof and cool. Obviously it was working because Lucius was intently looking to him. He took in the porcelain complexion of his father, almost in awe of the youthful assurance and power he exuded.

\"You came with those two? The boy with the scar and the girl with abnormally horrid hair?\"

Draco smirked and nodded, \"Sadly.\"

\"Are you a Mudblood as well?\" Lucius said mercilessly, taking a small sip of his drink. Draco sneered contemptuously, horrified at the mere thought that he may be seen as anything less than the height of sophistication.

\"I am not.\" he puffed out his chest, \"I am a pureblood wizard.\"

\"As are we.\" Lucius said as he nodded politely, obviously seeing that the pale, blonde boy was easy to manipulate. Perhaps another welcome addition to the Dark lord\'s army. There was something Lucius just liked about him. Something Severus was lacking. The three ate in stony silence before Snape spoke up, lowly and thoughtful.

\"You go to school with that rude girl?\"

Draco looked up in surprise, his face alight with interest and humor. \"Yeah.\"

Snape nodded, taking a sip of juice. \"Is she always like that?\"
\"Like what?\"

\"Acting like she knows everything?\"

Draco smirked and nodded, \"She\'s usually worse.\"

Snape nodded once more, looking overtop the tip of his book from behind his curtain of hair, to the down turned face of the rude girl Hermione. Her cheeks were rosy from the steam emitting from the soup, her reddened mouth downturn in displeasure. She bothered him, greatly. How dare she insult him? Of all bloody people? Evidently she didn\'t know who he was...but he\'d show her.

Hermione looked to her soup in disconcerted anxiety. This stupid trip was turning out to be much more time consuming and emotionally expelling than she\'d ever thought. Would Dumbledore be able to help them?

She didn\'t know why, but she felt the compulsion to look over to the Slytherin table but refused. She instead let her eyes look around the Hall as if observing.

\"Why\'s your friend er...Dragon sitting at the Slytherin table?\" Lily suddenly piped up, \"Doesn\'t heersterstand house rules?\"

\"Draco\'s always been sort of a...like that.\" Hermione offered lamely as she looked up and let her eyes fall on enigmatic Snape talking with Draco. My how youth changed a person.

\"He really shouldn\'t mess about with Snape and Lucius like that.\" Lily said in a low voice. \"Snape\'s another one into the Dark Arts. Knew more dark curses in first year than Seventh years.\"

\"Oh.\" Hermione said, acting as if she didn\'t know all of this. Suddenly Snape\'s eyes darted over to her as if expected, and he raised a quizzical eyebrow accompanied by a sneer. She immediately averted her eyes, staring pointedly at her soup as she tried to hold down a humiliated blush.

\"Don\'t worry.\" Lily said, seeing the interaction. \"He\'s rude to everyone, you mustn\'t mind him.\"

\"I don\'t.\" Hermione lied, looking to her nearly empty soup bowl. She looked up to where the teacher\'s usually ate, and saw to her shock that Dumbledore was suddenly gone.

Bollocks.

\"We better go see Dumbledore.\" Hermione said standing, Lily prepared to do so as well. \"Oh no, don\'t worry about it. I think we know our way around, but thanks for your help.\"

\"No problem.\" Lily said genuinely, \"I hope we can become friends while your here.\"

Hermione nodded back, smiling at the kinship she felt with Lily. \"I\'d like that. I suppose I\'ll see you around then.\"

She walked up the table, waving to Lily and tapping an excitedly conversing Harry on the shoulder. He looked up to her winguinguish pooling in his eyes. Suddenly as a distraction he spoke loudly.

\"Guys, this is Hermione. She\'s a transfer student from my school. Hermione, these are the guys.\"

Hermione looked around the table as the young men introduced themselves. Hermione already knew Peter who sat in the corner of the table, picking away at his meal and occasionally glancing up at Hermione.

\"I\'m Remus.\" Lupin said with a warm handshake as he smiled up at her from his seat.

\"Pleasure.\" Hermione said as she looked to the scruffy young man, remembering him from earlier on. He was quite shy, but handsome in a way and Hermione knew for a fact that he was as sweet as he looked.

A handsome man from across the table leaned over, capturing Hermione\'s hand in his own and pressing his lips to her knuckles. Hermione blushed and giggled, knowing full well whom this was.

\"Sirius.\" Black said with a boyish grin, \"And believe me, the pleasure is all mine.\"

Hermione felt the blush rising more readily as she glanced at Sirius\' handsome, rugged face, dotted with manly stubble and hair sloppily seductive. Add in a remarkable firm jaw and kissable looking lips, and you had a heartthrob any young witch wanted to get into the sack.

\"It was nice to meet all of you.\" Hermione said when the introductions were complete, \"But we have a meeting to go to. Harry, shall we?\"

\"Just five more minutes?\"

\"No Harry.\" Hermione said sternly, trying to be patient. \"Now would be best.\"

Harry made a face at her, and then promising James and the rest of them that he\'d see them the next day at Quidditch practice stood, and slowly walked with Hermione over to the Slytherin table.

\"Why\'d you say you\'d meet them tomorrow?\" Hermione whispered angrily, \"You know we\'re leaving in a matter of minutes. As soon as we see Dumbledore.\"

Harry shrugged, absently ruffling his hair a moment in wistful hope. \"I wanted it to be true.\"

Hermione wanted to say more but stopped herself; this was hard enough as it is. She noticed that the Slytherin house members were all sneering and making rude faces at them, and she tried to ignore them as she and Harry advanced on Draco.

\"Then its decided.\" Lucius was saying as Hermione walked up behind Draco with her arm extended. Lucius\' eyes snapped up to her hand and he made a face at Draco. \"Watch out Parkinson. She\'s trying to touch you.\"

Draco whirled around, glaring at Hermione openly. \"If you don\'t mind Mudblood, we\'re trying to have a conversation.\"

Hermione noted the approving way that Lucius nodded at Draco, he and Severus exchanging smirks of delight. Hermione in a daring move glanced at Snape, seeing that he was staring at her as well.

\"It\'se foe for me to leave.\" Draco said standing and breaking the gaze Hermione had been holding with Snape. She nodded as the two boys headed for the door with her in close pursuit.

\"Hey, Granger.\" Came a merciless voice from behind her, causing Hermione to turn around in curiosity. What could Lucius want? He sneered at her openly before speaking.

\"You better stay away from us Mudblood. We don\'t take kindly to your disgusting lot.\"

Hermione felt the tears starting at the corner of her eyes; evidently Draco had mentioned her heritage. She reeled in humiliation as the Slytherin table erupting into laughter at her expense, and was about to say something cutting when Sirius appeared beside her, looking to the glowering Lucius and Snape in disapproving hatred. Soon silence ensued in the presence of the demi-god that was Sirius Black.

\"Shove off you two.\" he said scathingly, putting a protective arm around Hermione and guiding her to the doors where Harry and Draco stood waiting. \"Let\'s go Hermione,\" he said loud and dramatically, \"You can do much better than those dolts.\"

Hermione was instantly grateful in the friendly embrace of Sirius, wondering why Lily hated James and his group so. She heard the angry mutterings of Snape and Lucius behind her and she felt instantly protected in Sirius\' embrace.

She took a moment to glance around, craning her neck slightly to see what Snape was doing. Turns out he was staring at her, looking angrier than she\'d ever known him to be. If you didn\'t count that one time during the Hippogriff incident in third year.

His dark eyes were boring into the image of Sirius carting off the new girl after insulting him and he felt his fists clenching. Lucius saw this and gently rapped him on the knuckles with his spoon.

\"Bid your anger Severus.\" he said knowingly as he glanced at the figures heading out the door of the Great Hall. Snape rubbed his sore knuckles as Lucius spoke. \"He\'ll get his in time. I\'ll make sure of that.\"

* * *

\"Come in.\" Came the almost melodic voice of their former Headmaster. Hermione gave a hopeful glance at the two who looked utterly disenchanted with the whole idea as she swung the door open.

Dumbledore sat at his hearth, looking into the crackling flames and now at the three that had entered his office. It smelled of lemon, and several cloaks were strewn about on the backs of chairs.

Dishes of candy were littered about on tables and a few chairs were huddled around the fireplace. Dumbledore looked a bit younger, but not by much. Him looking the same actually brought Hermione a bit of relief as the reluctant boys followed her in.

\"Why hello.\" Dumbledore said standing and coming over to them, \"I don\'t believe I know you three.\"

\"I\'m Harry.\" Harry said flatly, \"From Hogwarts the future.\"

\"The future?\"

Harry nodded lightly, feeling the fatigue settling in. Albus believing this to be a hallucination offered the only thing he knew how.

\"Tea?\"

The three shook their heads and took the seats soon offered by the Headmaster. \"So,\" he said stirring his own cup, \"What can I do for you three?\"

\"Well, my name\'s Hermione
Granger.\" Hermione said in a hurried tone, \"And I promise what I have to say won\'t take up much of your time...\"

With this Hermione launched into her story, her hands moving as fast as her mouth as Dumbledore sat patiently in his chair nodding and listening. When she\'d finished her story, and he his tea he placed the empty cup on the table and folded his hands.

\"I\'m your Headmaster in the future?\"

\"Erm...yes sir.\"

\"And Severus Snape is a Potion\'s Professor?\"

\"Yes. A terrifying one.\"

\"And you\'ve traveled back in time to see James and Lily?\"

\"Yes.\"

\"And now you can\'t get back.\"

\"Yes sir.\"

\"Hmmm...I suppose it all makes sense.\"

\"Anyway sir,\" Hermione said in worried anticipation that he\'d call the Ministry on them. \"You\'ve always helped us in the future, and I was wondering if you could help us now.\"

\"Why of course Miss Granger,\" Dumbledore said nodding, looking to the three of them with the utmost of sincerity. \"I shall do my best.\"

\"Alright then,\" Hermione said joyfully, knowing that all along Dumbledore was their best source of help. \"All we need now is a new time turner.\"

\"A new time turner?\" Dumbledore said with a laugh, his blue eyes twinkling. \"Why, those haven\'t even been approved by the Ministry yet.\"

At his laugh and those words, Hermione\'s stomach sank in fear. \"What are you trying to say?\" she choked out in a high pitch.

Dumbledore looked to her in intensity, wondering if the girl was serious about the time turner. Seeing her grave look he himself sobered and spoke hesitantly.

\"Miss Granger, Time turners are illegal.\"
____________________________________


I am writing this as one bunny holds a sharpened carrot to my head. He\'s been bullying me all day and made me write this bloody installment until I couldn\'t type anymore.

\"I don\'t think I can go on!\" I wailed after a few hours, \"My fingers hurt. I have carpal tunnel. I have arthritus.\"

\"Nice try toots.\" [appears I have gangster bunnies] \"Now write. We\'re on strict orders.\"

So, whomever out there is secretly ordering my bunnies to multiply like well....bunnies and slipping themsh csh carrots so they gain strength and hound me to death about writing, STOP!

Also, I noticed this morning that conveniently a bunch of my shoeve bve bite marks in them...dare I accuse Lucy?

But it appears I have found a way to destroy them, the evil bunnies from hell... With reviews! MUyahahahahahhaahahahahahhahhahhahahhahah, so please! review! My life hangs in the- ..oh no...the carrot is nearing my temple!

signing out.

cheers,

a crazed holden.

p.s. I didn\'t know who the Headmaster was when Snape was in seventh year. Don\'t flame/kill me...the bunnies shall have that honor.