Ad Vitam

Citten:-Thank you!. I promise ...this WILL be a painfully long story.

Linda- Thank you,thank you,thank you....:-) here’s chapter five!

L- Thank you very much for your wonderful review! What can I say...when I’ve started to write this story i looked in the i-net some information about time-travel and such...I’ve found one interesting phrase, which honestly changed my plot from the begining .

The main purpose of time travel is to change the past; and the prime danger is that the Traveler might change the past." -- Larry Niven


I can not say more, you’ll just have to read to find it out. ( and I will add more scenes about what happened in the ‘future’,so to say....)

Lisa- Thanx:-)....I’ve thought about this idea too, but decided that it wouldn’t be that interesting like this plotline.

Sinbad – Well, I really hope this ,too...Only time will tell, so you’ll just have to wait a bit more :-)


lovekitten –Thank you very much:-)










The dark Scotland midnight was usually silent but for the rustle of underbrush as a fox stalked its prey.

But not on this night.

Flashes of multicolored lights and the noise that accompanied them turned midnight into twilight and the silence was shattered by the cries of the fallen and their assailants.

The green hillside was washed with blood, bodies were strewn everywhere, some with visible causes and others with none at all. Black robes here, green robes there, blue robes off in the distance, a Beitie Bott's box of the dead.

Friends and enemies were given no distinction as corpses were pushed out of the way to clear room to fight – and to flee.

A flash of light caught Hermione's eye, and she turned in time to see Ron Weasley fall as Bellatrix Lestrange laughed maniacally on the other end of her wand.

He dropped to his knees, one hand bracing himself on the ground while the other grasped at his chest as if he was clawing at something there. His body shook violently as blood spilled from the corner of his mouth and dripped from his nose.

No! Not now! This wasn't happening. It was all a horrible horrible dream and she would wake up soon to her dorm-room. She had not just lost Harry and Ron within minutes of each other.

She rushed toward the fallen red-head, the battle raging on all sides as she fought her way through the carnage.

It seemed she spent hours tripping over the dead but, at the same time, in seconds she was at his side.

They had been fighting for hours now, maybe days… she couldn't really remember anymore. All she knew was that Harry was gone. She hadn't seen him fall, but she had heard the screams as he dueled with Voldemort, had seen the violent multicolored lights from their direction.

Bellatrix clamed her laughter and smiled, a wicked smile that echoed the madness in her gleaming eyes, as she raised her wand for one final curse.

"NOOOO!"

It wasn't until later that she would realize that the voice who had screamed had been hers.

She ran for him as fast as she could, cutting down everyone in her path. Then, as she looked toward Ron again a green light fell on LeStrange from behind, her cackling black silhouette against an eerie aura borealis before the cruse hit her squarely in the back. She toppled forward in death.

Behind where she had stood was Draco Malfoy, his once pristine person coated in bloody mix of gore and mud as blood dripped from a gash on his face that stretched from his temple to his neck.

Quickly he ran to where she sat, cradling Ron against her chest as she rocked him softly. Ron gave a sudden gasp and gripped Hermione's arm tightly. He opened his mouth as if to say something but then closed it. He couldn't speak. He couldn't even breathe.

The curse Bellatrix had hit him with had severed all of the major veins and arteries in his body, leaving his blood to flow free through his body. He was drowning in blood from the inside.

Standing, Draco stripped off what was left of his robes and covered Ron with them, and then turned to face the footsteps of someone coming toward them, prepared to fight for all of their lives.

"How dare you?" an incensed Lucius Malfoy hissed as he stalked toward the three. "How dare you disgrace the honorable Malfoy name by consorting with mudbloods and blood-traitors?"

"Honorable?" Draco asked incredulously, his voice hoarse from the screaming he had done. "Our name has not been honorable, Father-" he all but spit the word "-since you attached it to that undying reptilian monstrosity!"

Their screams of rage drew the attention of those fighting around them. But Hermione wasn't distracted. Her best friend was dying in her arms.

"No Ron, you can't go. You can't leave me. Please don't leave me!" she wailed.

The desperation in her voice turned the younger Malfoy's attention back to her, and as he met her emotionless eyes he knew what had been lost. He glanced at the body in her arms – who knew the boy had so many freckles? – the absence of blood in his face bleached the skin enough that they were all visible. Ronald Weasley was dead.

"Malfoy!" she shouted, "Look out!"

The sound of her voice brought him back to reality in time to see his father fall to the ground, his throat neatly sliced by a dagger.

"Protego!" a resonating voice rang out over the battle field. Draco heaved a sigh of relief as he saw his godfather alive and striding toward them. "Draco!" Even with tattered robes he made them billow. "Get her out of here!"

Draco did not need to be told twice. Grasping Hermione's arms he tried to pull her up, away from the redheaded corpse.

"NOW! Draco!"

He looked up, startled. He had never heard Severus' voice sound quite like that. Filled with anger, occasionally; frustration, almost daily; but he had never heard the fear he now did in his godfather's voice.

Fearful himself, more of what his godfather would do to him if he did not get Granger to safety then what would happen to them should they remain on the field, he doubled his efforts to pry her away fro her friend. Managing to pull her to her feet, he swept his arm beneath her knees and began to run with her toward the castle.

"Draco put me down," she told him, "I'll run with you."

He set her on her feet but quickly pushed her off them as a jet of light sailed above their heads.

Jumping up as soon as the light had passed, they began once more toward the castle, staying low to the ground on order to avoid any more poorly aimed spells.

Huffing as they opened a secret entrance to the dungeons, they slid through the entrance, and hurried through the secret corridor until they reached one they were familiar with. Flying through the corridors, skidding around corners and mounting the stairs two and three at a time, they reached the ground floor as fast as possible.

By the time they had reached the corridor off the Entrance Hall they could hear the angry male voices behind them.

Draco made a shooing motion with his hands as he turned to face the way they had come.

As though the castle sensed their flight, the stair cases could be seen rearranging themselves into a single case up to the sixth floor and their goal: the Transfiguration professor's office.

"No! I won't go alone!"

"Yes, you will! I'll cover for you as long as I can."

"No, I can't…"

In a quick move he turned back to her and grabbed her face in his hands.

"Listen to me," he said, pulling her closer until they were only a few centimeters apart. "If there is any chance that anyone can get us out of this entire goddamn mess it's you. Only you. You can do it. You have to."

He gave her a tight smile.

"Go, Hermione," he whispered.

She took a deep breath, nodded, and began to pull away.

With a quick tug she was back in his arms and her lips were against his as he willed her to understand all that he had left unsaid.

It ended as suddenly as it began and without a word he pushed her through the old oak door that lead to the stairs and warded it behind her.

Hermione stumbled on the other side. What had just happened?

She shook her head. She didn't have time to think about it now. She'd deal with it later. If there was a later.

Gripping her wand in a white knuckled fist she turned and began to climb the stairs…

Hermione's eyes opened suddenly as her dream self's foot hit the first stair. She was drenched in a cold sweat and shaking beneath her mountain of blankets. This particular replaying of the final battle bothered her most; not because of the death of Harry and Ron, or even Draco's kiss. No, it was because she had seen something in Snape's eyes when he had told Draco to get her off the field. Something that had frightened her with its intensity and puzzled her with its abnormality….

Pushing her blankets off her, Hermione sat up and turned to dangle her legs off the end of the bed. She looked at the clock on the wall across from her. Four-thirty a.m. She groaned as she flopped back down onto her pillow.

There was still three and a half hours before breakfast would be served.

A heavy sleeper by nature, these nightmares had had her waking up at all odd hours of the night since she had gone back in time; that had been nearly a week ago now.

These replayed memories, sometimes twisted and perverted further than they already were, were really cutting into her beauty sleep. Madam Pomfrey had already threatened to speak with the Headmaster if asked for a Pepper-Up or a Dreamless Sleep potion again.

With another groan Hermione rolled herself off the bed and onto the cold marble floor – much easier than sitting up then standing and then sitting back down on the floor.

Now that she was awake (and knew from past experience that she would not be able to go back to sleep), she might as well put her extra time to use.

First came crunches: one-hundred regular, one-hundred side to side, one-hundred with one leg up and then one-hundred with the other one. Next were push ups and planks: fifty regular push up, fifty on her knuckles, fifty with one arm and fifty with the other and then a plank held for three minute. These were followed by forty-five minutes or so of strengthening Yoga exercises she had done with her mother when she was younger.

An hour and a half after she had fist looked at the clock Hermione had finished her daily exercise routine.

She took her time in the shower, washing her hair and her body and letting the hot water and steam loosen all the muscles she had just worked and strengthened. It was relaxing, a good way to start the day when her first class after breakfast was seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins.

Reluctantly turning off the taps, Hermione stepped out of the shower and grabbed a fluffy white towel the elves had left and began drying herself. Wrapping it loosely around her body, she walked over to her sink. A quick swipe of her hand rid the mirror of enough steam that she could see herself. Another towel, slightly smaller but just as fluffy, sat on the counter. She grabbed it and passed it over her hair as she walked back into her bedroom.

Standing before one of her redwood wardrobes, Hermione was faced with a bit of a problem: Of the many clothes Albus had provided for her, what should she wear?

After a few moments deliberation, Hermione let the towels fall and pulled out a navy blue dress. Floor length, long sleeved and turtle necked, the dress only showed the skin on her face and hands but did nothing to hide her figure. And with its full skirt, the dress allowed for mobility and the soft fabric insured that it was comfortable.

And she was all about being comfortable. If she had had her way she would have worn jeans and a tee-shirt every day of her life. But she didn't think it would be such a good idea to wear muggle clothes in front of pureblood bigots when she had already told some that she was not muggle born.

As an after thought she pulled out a duster-like black leather coat. Worked into being the softest leather available, it was thin with a warm lining on the inside and tiny silver buttons that lined the front of the coat from just below her breasts down to her waist. It fit like it had been made for her. Which, she thought, it probably had.

Dumbledore had never exactly said he had gotten her the clothes that filled her wardrobes, but he hadn't denied or brushed aside her thanks once she had discovered them. She was beginning to believe that it had been the castle, not her fellow Guardian, who had given her things to wear.

With a snap, Hermione pulled to coat on over her dress. Giving a quick twirl before the mirror on the inside of the armoire door, Hermione let out a small laugh as both the dress and the coat twirled around her.

She would even bet that if she walked quickly the coat would billow behind her like a certain ex-Potion professor's robes.

To finish the ensemble she pulled on a pair of knee high, black, leather boots that really made her feel like a woman with their pointy toes, high heels and decorative silver buckles.

Back in the bathroom she ran a brush through her hair and absently pulled it back into a messy bun. With a quick bit of lip-balm and a bit more eye-liner, Hermione checked her reflection one last time before turning to leave her rooms for breakfast.


September first fell on a Wednesday this year, thus classes began on Thursday. But, Hermione was shocked to discover, the students were given these first two days of the fall term to as a trial of sorts for their classes. Only required to attend their morning classes, the students were able to get a feel of what their courses would be like and were then able to drop or change any of their elective courses.

Who screwed this up for my generation? she wondered.

According to the regular schedule, Hermione would see the seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins on Wednesday first thing after breakfast and then for a double period Friday afternoons. So, apart from breaking up the potential fight outside of the Great Hall the first night and leading James and Lily to their dormitories, she had yet to have a chance to see the seventh years she most interested in.

Thus it was now September eight and she was shaking with nerves as she waited for, dreaded her first period class.


Hermione entered the Great Hall through the staff entrance and greeted her colleagues as she passed behind them. Taking her place between Albus and Slughorn, Hermione's nose was quickly lured toward the steaming goblet that sat just to the right of her plate.

Could it really be? A quick look at Dumbledore confirmed her suspicions.

"One of best things to drink in the morning, don't you agree?" His eyes twinkled as he sipped the same dark liquid from his own goblet. "Muggles have simply outdone themselves in its creation."

Hermione grabbed her own goblet and took a sip of the steaming drink. She let her eyes slip closed as the dark brown liquid warmed her from the inside.

Coffee.

She hadn't had a good cup in ages.

Having been denied it in her dentist run home, she had become addicted to the caffeinated beverage since setting out with Harry and Ron on their search for the Horcruxes. But it seemed as though only Harry was adept enough to brew it because he had had so much practice at the Dursleys. She had never found anyone who could match his skills.

"Indeed, Headmaster," she answered after a few more sips. Reluctantly replacing the goblet on the table she began to fill her plate with toast, eggs, and bacon.

After a few moment of eating in silence Hermione turned to Albus once more. "Where might I find a Boggart, Headmaster?" she asked. "I would like to show the third years one next week as they seem to have never heard of one. And I thought I might as well show the fourth and fifth years as well."

"I'm sure we have one or two somewhere around the castle, Hermione. I'll send Argus off to find one after breakfast."

"Thank you, sir."

"And how do you find the rest of your classes?" he asked as he gazed out over the semi-filled House tables.

"Honesty, so far I've only been impressed with the first years, which is really quite depressing when you think on it. Those from Wizarding backgrounds know some and those who are not are catching on quickly. But the other years… Last week I told all my classes to make a list of spells, creatures, and curses they had learned in past years. These that I have gotten back have been frighteningly short. Apart from school yard hexes and jinxes, they really don't know much."

"Seventh years as well?"

"Yesterday I had the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs for the first time, so I haven't gotten their lists back. But the class looks promising. With the intelligence of the Ravenclaws and the dedication of the Hufflepuffs, I think that after a few weeks of review they'll be ready to be taught something new."

Looking back down at her plate, she pushed some eggs around before taking a bite of toast.

"And the Gryffindors and Slytherins?"

As she swallowed the lump in her throat Hermione wasn't sure whether or not it was just her toast or toast and dread.

"I have them next," she answered, setting her fork down on her plate. "This will be the first time I will have seen them, but I have a feeling they might be a tad bit further than the rest of the school. At least I'm sure some of them will be."

He nodded and grinned behind his beard as turned back to his own meal.

They finished their food in silence, listening to the other professors' gossip and complaints about the students.

After a few more minutes, Hermione began to push herself away from the table. Suddenly a bony had gripped her right wrist.

"I have organized a… gathering I believe you would be interested in attending," he told her, his fingers lightly drumming the inside of her wrist.

She understood. He had set up a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix.

"Of course, Headmaster."

"Splendid, it will be tomorrow evening in my office. Eight o'clock."

"I will be there."


From her office adjoining her classroom, Hermione could hear the students chattering as they took their seats. She decided last week, before her very first class, that she would enter all of her new classes once the students were already there. It made the best impression when one was attempting to cultivate respect.

A little trick she had learned from Snape.

Standing at the door between the two rooms Hermione took a few deep breaths as she tried to calm herself.

You can do this, Hermione. Some of them in there are different than your other students, but you must treat them the same.

Passing through the door Hermione stood on the balcony above her class. They fell silent as row by row they realized she was there.

Once she had their attention she took a moment to study how they had divided themselves.

From her vantage point the Gryffindors had taken residence on the left side of the center aisle, leaving the Slytherins the right. Two rows of desks, five desks in each row with each desk setting two people led to a maximum of twenty seats. Sixteen were filled.

The back two desks were both occupied by students she didn't know, as were the ones right in front of them. In the third row away from her on the Gryffindor side sat Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Right in front of them were the Head Boy and the Head Girl, leaving the front desk to Remus Lupin alone. On the Slytherin side, the third row was occupied by two more students she would have to learn the names of. Severus Snape mirrored Remus in his solidarity in the front row.

She wondered why they were silent. Was it because they had heard of her teaching style from other years or because they were eager to see what she would do first? Had they been told anything? She was sure they had.

She had shocked a few students who had believed she would be an easy teacher like those they had had in the past. They weren't prepared for her quick commentary and harsh reprimands.

Her style was pulled from the two men in the front row. She could be as biting as Snape but as captivating as Lupin. She didn't want to bore the students like Binn's, but push them to take the initiative to do things on their own.

But she couldn't be as cruel to them as Snape was to her and her friends. She couldn't alienate the Slytherins like he had done to the Gryffindors in her time. She needed them to trust her enough to confide in her so that she might help them later.

She hoped the Gryffindors would come to trust her as well, but she was not as concerned about their conviction in her as she was with their rival house's. They should be fine without her help.

She made her way down the staircase to the class floor. She walked around the front of her desk and leaned back on it as she surveyed them, arms crossed over her chest just relaxed enough that she didn't seem nervous.

Once she was sure all eyes were on her, she began.

"Let me begin by stating the obvious: I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Outside of this school I am Hermione Grimaldi, inside I am Professor Grimaldi or simply Professor.

"Now that we have that taken care of, we'll move on to some things you are less likely to know. I am not here to be your friend. I am your professor, Slytherins, I am also your Head of House on the weekends for the rest of this year.

"There is a chance, perhaps a high chance, that you will not like me. There is also a fair certainty that I will not like some of you. But that is inconsequential.

"I am here to insure that you learn something this year, which could, judging by the lack of experience your peers seem to have, set an unheard of precedent for this subject. Shall we see if you change my mind?" A small, almost evil smile played about her mouth at their wide eyes.

"What is the difference between a Dementor and a Boggart and how would one deal with each?"

"OHH! I know!" came an overly anxious male voice.

Sirius Black grinned boyishly at her as he stood in the aisle next to his seat, Pettigrew trying vainly to pull him back down.

"Interesting," she intoned as she pushed off her desk. Striding down the center aisle, Hermione stopped half a meter from black, right near James's seat.

"I know a lot of other interesting things as well, Professor," he said with a wink. "I'd be happy to show you a few pointers in a private study session."

"Honestly, Mr.…"

"Black, Sirius Black. Ready and willing to be at your service, anyplace, anytime."

"Well, Mr. Black, if you insist on a demonstration, kindly proceed to the front of the room. I'm sure your peers would benefit greatly from your knowledge."

That wiped the smirk off his face.

Jaw slightly open, he sputtered a few times before looking down at James. His friend's only response was a poorly disguised snigger. Sirius would be getting no help from him.

With a sigh Sirius followed Hermione to the fore of the room.

Standing before her desk, facing the class, Sirius couldn't help but fidget a bit as this small but commanding woman circled him, sizing him up. He couldn't have possibly known that she was trying to decide what to do with him.

After a circle and a half she hit upon something. She would ask him to perform the Patronus charm. After all, he had said that knew how to deal with a Demntor.

If she remembered properly, and she usually did, Harry had once told her that only Remus had been able to produce a real Patronus, faint those it was, by the end of the Marauders's fifth year.

She hoped that still held true.

"Mr. Black, if you are able to show your class a fully functional Patronus charm, I will release you of your obligation to attend this class for the rest of the year and personally give you an 'O' on your N.E.W.T.s."

It was a risky move, but she was fairly certain he wouldn't know what she was talking about.

And judging by the look on his face, he really didn't.

"Mr. Black?" she asked sweetly.

He stammered some reply, searching the room for someone to give him the answer. He got it from Remus Lupin.

"Expecto Patronum," he mouthed to his friend.

Hermione grinned.

Perfect.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for speaking out of turn, Mr.…"

"Lupin, Professor," Remus answered sheepishly, his eyes firmly glued to his desk as a blush rose to his cheeks.

"And five points to Gryffindor for knowing the correct incantation."

His eyes briefly met hers in surprise before he quickly turned them back down.

Granted it was normally Sirius and James losing the points, but Remus had lost a few over the years as well.
He didn't know why he was acting so shy.

Scratch that. Yes he did.

This new professor was intelligent and aesthetically attractive, two qualities that few he had ever met had. One of those people happened to be Lily Evans. But not only was she James's girlfriend and therefore "off-limits," she wasn't really attractive to him. She was nice, sure, but not someone who interested him romantically.

But this woman was.

Not only was she beautiful and smart, but she was powerful. His heightened senses allowed him to have an understanding of the depths others' magical powers, and she was comparable to McGonagall and Dumbledore, despite the obvious age difference.

And perhaps, with all that power and the knowledge she seemed to have of Defense Against the Dark Arts, she wouldn't be afraid of him.

"Mr. Black, if you would kindly take your seat?"

"But I knew the answer, I just…"

"Another word, Mr. Black, and I will deduct another five points for disrespecting a professor's wishes. Now, get back to your place."

Sirius's shoulders hunched as he piteously made his way back to his seat.

James gave his friend a roughish smile as he walked pass and tried to comment on their new professor's treatment of his friend but was quickly shushed by Lily.

The red head liked the woman already. Lily knew that, despite her strict words, Professor Grimaldi would teach them all she could about the Dark Arts and how to protect themselves against them and not sugar-coat particularly Dark topics like their previous professors had done. Lily was excited to learn what the professor had to teach.

"Put your wands away," Hermione told the class, "there will be no need for them in today's lesson. From this point forward, all wands are to be put away as soon as you walk through that door," Hermione tilted her head slightly toward the door they had come in.

"You are only to take them out when I tell you to. There will be no 'foolish-wand-waving' unless I directly tell you to do so," she finished, watching Snape as she said this last.

He met her gaze with interest, filing away every word she said.

He had been watching her for the past week now, and he was fairly certain he had never met anyone quite her. There was something wrong with her… he just wasn't sure what.

He had taken to sitting closer to the Staff Table during meals, and when she wasn't speaking with the other professors, he noticed that her eyes would get a far off look in them, as if she was looking over a great distance. She wasn't in Hogwarts in those moments, not mentally at least.

Severus had always enjoyed puzzles and riddles. This young, commanding woman was one, and he would not rest until he found out what secrets she held.

And the way she had dealt with Black? She was definitely going to be worth his time.

"Let me assure you, I am not paid to play referee to your House squabbles. I am paid to teach you how to survive if you should come upon a Dark wizard or creature, which is becoming increasingly common these days."

She walked around her desk and sat at her chair, with her elbows on the arm rests and the tips of her steepled fingers resting against her chin. Another bit she had picked up from Snape.

"And let me clarify one last thing, you will do exactly as I tell you. The spells and curses I will be teaching you can be extremely dangerous. So when I say 'jump,' the only thing I want to hear is 'How high?' Am I understood?"

The class nodded and Peter Pettigrew squirmed.

He didn’t like intimidating people unless they were on his side. She wasn't. He had a bad feeling about this class.

"Now, does anyone have any general questions about this course?"



A/N: Okay....this chapter is finally up. Sorry it took so long.....it's been quite busy month.

I would like to ask all of you one thing: Please imagine, that you are in this class with Hermione ( we all know, that the questions won't be about the curse at all :-)..."What would you like to ask your new DADA Professor?"(about , or not about the course...)
I will add all of your questions into the next chapter, which already ia half written. Have your time to think untill the Sunday night....Chapter will be sent to beta in the Monday...