Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Not mine. I just borrowed them for a while. I promise to put them back when I'm done. Oh, nope, no money either...just for fun.

I want to give a great big thank you hug to EverMystique and DuchessOfArcadia for combing through this to point out my numerous errors and help me make this presentable for reading. You're the best, thank you!

Hermione arrived in the small classroom and suddenly realized that she wasn't alone. "Headmaster!" she exclaimed, taking a step back in shock and turning to look in confusion at the unfamiliar man sitting at the desk. "Who? What? Hi."

"Hello, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, sitting in a comfortable chintz armchair with his elbows on the armrests and his hands laced together at the end of the very same table she and Severus had used. It boggled her mind; it seemed like that had been only yesterday, but in reality it had been twenty years ago. "To answer you, this is Mr. Cronus Latimer, the inventor of the time device you are currently using." The man sitting across the table from her nodded politely as Dumbledore continued. "As to what, it has come to my attention that there seems to be some problem with the device, or you have forgotten your instructions on how to use it properly, as you are apparently experiencing some miscalculations and have been having a few adventures in time."

Hermione noticed that his blue eyes had none of the usual twinkle, and he looked at her rather sternly. "Do have a seat," he said, indicating the wooden armchair across from Mr. Latimer. "We are waiting for Professor Snape to finish his lessons so that he may join us."

Hermione swallowed nervously as she dropped her bag and sat in the offered chair. Mr. Latimer had a journal open in front of him and a small inkwell and quill.

"May I see the Time-Turner, Miss Granger?" Mr. Latimer asked, extending his hand toward her. He had a strange cloth draped over his hand that looked like it was made of water but was as black as night.

Hermione nodded as she removed the Time-Turner and placed it on the cloth. The fabric seemed to shimmer with rippling wavelet rings at contact with the device. Mr. Latimer carefully examined the device. "It's the same as before, Albus. It's been overused...or should I say...strained to its capacity."

"Do you think that is the extent of its ability, Cronus?" Dumbledore asked, leaning forward to examine it as well.

"How far back did you go, young lady?" Mr. Latimer asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, sir," Hermione admitted. "I don't have a reference really."

"I believe Professor Snape indicated to me that she went back to 1976," Dumbledore said. He turned to face Hermione. "You will be forthright and honest with me, young lady. I expect you to tell me the truth and hold nothing back. How did Severus treat you? What did you do?"

Mr. Latimer looked amazedly at the Headmaster, then at Hermione. He picked up his quill and began to write out an arithmantic equation.

"He was nice to me," she answered the Headmaster immediately, watching Mr. Latimer with great interest.

"Elaborate. Were you seen? What did you discuss? What did you do, and was he in any way inappropriate with you?"

"Never!" Hermione looked up and gasped at the questions the Headmaster asked. "I mean, no, sir, he wasn't. He brought me books from the library, and sometimes we'd discuss them. We brewed potions...healing potions and a few of his own. We practiced spells, mostly ones Severus said were my year." One of Dumbledore's eyebrows rose at that comment. "Okay, not all, possibly, but nothing I couldn't do."

"That is not very reassuring, as I am well aware that you are capable of doing spells far above your age level. You will be examined by Madam Pomfrey for depletion of your magical core or signs of magical stress," Dumbledore said in a smooth, even tone, watching her carefully for signs of deceit. "Were you seen?"

"No, I don't think so. There was once when I was almost seen leaving the boys' bathroom," she admitted, then quickly felt the need to elaborate. "But I'm sure the guy didn't see me...Severus had me Disillusioned. Severus would sneak me in really late at night so I could shower. He always used a Notice-Me-Not Charm and Disillusioned me when he did. There was only the one time that Avery entered the showers before I was through, but Severus told him I was Moaning Myrtle and that seemed to satisfy his curiosity. But that's all I can remember."

Mr. Latimer placed Hermione's device on the cloth carefully on the table. "This one is my prototype," he said as he pulled a small black box from his robes and opened it. He pulled out another Time-Turner from the box. "It's an unfinished piece, but the rings are complete. If you would, please demonstrate for me how you set the rings for your jump back in time," he said, extending the device toward her.

"I'm not sure I can. I mean I can approximate," she said, accepting the piece and examining it.

"Try, Miss Granger," the Headmaster said firmly.

Never one to want to disappoint, Hermione tried to adjust the rings as she remembered having set them, struggling to align the runes just right. "I can't be sure, but I think this is right," she said, handing it back. "I was in the corridor after Ancient Runes near the window with the willow tree, and I was trying to keep from being bumped from behind...that's what happened this time."

"And that is how you met Severus Snape when he was a student?" Dumbledore asked.

She felt her face burn with embarrassment. "Well, no, my first jump I saw a Professor Snape who didn't recognize me. He took me to his office to question me, but there was a disturbance, and he warned me to stay put. I was scared and tried to return, but I went further back instead. That's when I met the younger Severus Snape. He knew who I was and hid me...both times."

Dumbledore pointed his finger at the calculations Mr. Latimer jotted down. "Professor Snape started teaching here in 1981," he told Mr. Latimer. He turned his gaze upon Hermione. "How old would you say Severus was, Miss Granger?"

Hermione looked at the wall as she tried to remember how old he looked. "The first jump, he looked twenty or maybe a little older. The other times, he was N.E.W.T. level...sixth- or seventh-year. He's really smart and was always reading the advanced books."

Mr. Latimer wrote a few words down on his journal, checked the device again and made a few more notations. "So you made a second jump back instead of returning to your time?"

"Only the first time. The second time, I jumped back to when Severus was a student," Hermione stated, then had to clarify more accurately what details she could remember.

"Very interesting... seventeen years," Mr. Latimer said, making some calculations on his journal. He looked up at the Headmaster with a thoughtful yet distant expression. "I would have guessed that Miss Granger had made two ten-year jumps her first time, Albus, and a twenty-year jump her second, not seventeen. Only the alignment she's shown me doesn't equate to twenty years, it's more like..." He checked his calculations. "Eight years or so. Eight-and-a-half." He looked up at Hermione. "Do you ever repeat days, Miss Granger?"

Hermione felt her face get warm, and she lowered her head. She looked up at him through her fringe and nodded. "Occasionally, once or twice, but only when I had essays due in all my subjects at once."

"When you made the jumps in time, going back to the seventies, what condition was the Time-Turner in? Did it look like it does now?" Mr. Latimer asked, setting the second device on the desk and moving hers in between them.

Hermione looked at the sands in the hourglass and nodded. "Yes. It was hot, and the sands looked like this, more like shards of glass, not exactly liquid, but more fluid than the opalescent white sand it normally does. When I went back, Severus put it in a blue box lined with some kind of cloth, similar to what you have there," she said with a jut of her chin.

Mr. Latimer smiled and turned to Dumbledore. "If it's our box, then it should be all right." He looked up at them, then back to his notes. "Albus, if she bounced back as far as she's admitted and used the box for a week before bouncing again... that might be enough time."

"Miss Granger, how long were you with Master Snape in the past?" Dumbledore asked as Mr. Latimer added a few comments to his journal.

"A week the first time; this last time, two weeks or so, sir," she explained. "It was hard to tell being cooped up in the room the whole time."

"I don't understand...how long did he detain you in his office when you met the younger Professor Snape?" Mr. Latimer asked.

"Only a few minutes. I activated the Time-Turner as soon as he left his office," Hermione said, realizing he misunderstood her. "That jump I stayed with Severus Snape a week...when he was a student. This time I stayed with him two weeks."

"This time? There was another?" Mr. Latimer was flipping though his journal with his brow furrowed in confusion. "You said she was only gone a week last time she miscalculated, and this jump...when was this other jump back?"

The door opened, and everyone turned to see Professor Snape enter, his robes billowing behind him as he approached the table, and the door closed on its own behind him. "Ah, Severus, join us," Dumbledore said with a wave of his hand. Professor Snape sat in the chair at the desk across from Dumbledore. He was introduced to Mr. Latimer. "Professor, please tell us about your jaunt back in time. Firstly how did you acquire the Time-Turner?"

"I can only tell you what I remember, Headmaster. When I was sixteen, I had two strange visits from myself...well, my older self. The first time he identified himself as me from the future and told me things only I'd know. He explained that Miss Granger had come back in time...to my time...and had been brutally beaten by my housemates and died. He then convinced me to do what was necessary to protect Miss Granger from harm and to hide her until she could return," Professor Snape said smoothly, his hands laced together with his elbows on the armrests as he sat casually in his seat. Mr. Latimer was busily writing down Snape's comments. "The second time, he informed me that Miss Granger miscalculated again and would be back. I made sure to be where he said she'd appear and hid her."

"How did you get the Time-Turner?" Dumbledore asked again.

"I do not recall how my older self came by it, but I assure you, he did have one. He was wearing it around his neck both times," Snape replied calmly, his eyes on the two men as if Hermione wasn't even in the room.

"And the box?" Mr. Latimer asked, looking up with his quill poised in his hand.

"My older self gave it to me the first time I saw him," Snape stated. "He explained what it was for and told me to keep it in my pocket, so I did." He turned to look at Hermione with a casual glance, which made her sit straighter in her seat. "I assume he still has it; is that correct, Miss Granger?"

Hermione nodded, about to say something, and was interrupted by Mr. Latimer. "Did you by chance see the setting on the device, Professor? Would you be able to tell me how the runes were aligned?"

Snape turned to the man and shook his head. "Yes, I examined the device, but I was more concerned about the sand in the hourglass than the setting. I was, however, careful not to change it and used the box I had been given. So, no, I'm sorry to say that I cannot recall how Miss Granger set the device to make such a jump."

Mr. Latimer looked up again from his writing. "And do you remember going back in time, Professor?" he asked.

Snape sighed. "I do not. I know I did, twice, and I remember what he said to me, but I don't remember making either trip. I can only assume that since I went back to correct a wrong, that timeline doesn't exist any longer." Snape told the men what his older self had said during his second visit about Hermione being hurt from a misfired spell from a duel and about living in Gryffindor tower for a month. "Of course, I don't remember either of those jumps as they occurred in his time line, not my own."

Hermione gasped in shock.

"I see?" Mr. Latimer said, his finger moving as if he were writing in the air. "A month? Why a month? Most intriguing. Miss Granger said that each time she went back she had to stay longer, a week, then almost two weeks... Intriguing...quite unexpected. Why was that, do you think, Professor?"

"The sands took only a week to cool enough to flow normally from one side of the hourglass to the other the first time. I was careful to move the device without changing or rotating anything when I'd examine it. The second time, it took longer, nearly two full weeks; she returned the morning of the fourteenth day to be precise. The third time took longer, possibly because of the amount of time Miss Granger had been using it, but that's speculation," Snape said in a clinical tone as Mr. Latimer jotted down Snape's assessment. He looked at Hermione, and for two brief seconds, the span of two heartbeats, she thought she saw a look of wistfulness in his expression before his face schooled into his usual disdain for her.

Mr. Latimer leaned over to talk to Dumbledore, and Snape turned to look at Hermione again. She saw an odd flicker of emotion on Snape's face, almost like the conspiratorial glances Harry and Ron got on occasion, before he turned to address the other men. "That duration was nearly a month if I recall correctly. My older self warned me that each time Miss Granger miscalculated and bounced back to my time, the duration increased. It was his opinion that it was because Miss Granger uses the device every day."

"A third time?" Dumbledore said, his brow creasing as his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Mr. Latimer's eyebrows rose and he grinned. "Are you certain?"

"Yes," Snape said as Mr. Latimer turned the Time-Turner over carefully in his hands.

"The sand is still crystallized, barely, not liquid yet. Given enough time, the piece might have repaired itself if conditions are cool and dry... If placed in the box, it will cool sufficiently faster." Mr. Latimer set the device down and wrapped it carefully in the cloth. "Albus, I will of course need the box," he said, missing Dumbledore's nod of assent as he turned to Snape. "Unless you still have one...oh, wait, Mr. Snape has it in the past."

"It's in my office," Snape stated. "Since I still had it as a teen, I've kept it all these years. I'll be happy to go get it."

Dumbledore held up a hand. "Not just yet, Severus, I still have questions." He turned his gaze as if staring off into space. "I am in need of service," he said loudly. A house-elf popped in and bowed. "Professor Snape has a small blue box..." Dumbledore looked pointedly at Severus.

"In my top right desk drawer in my office, all the way in the back," Professor Snape said smoothly. "You will have to open it in the same manner in which you rascals open my private stores to dust." The elf smiled nervously, nodded, then bowed quickly and vanished. "I hope the charms are still in effect." The elf reappeared, holding two small boxes, the one Hermione immediately recognized and a long one that looked like a gift box for a pen. Snape took the square box and asked for the other to be returned.

Mr. Latimer turned back a few pages of his journal. "So, what I don't understand is why I have a notation that on the twenty-third of September, Miss Granger made a one week jump back in time, then this jump today?" he asked and looked up at Hermione. "When did you make the second jump you mentioned?"

She shifted nervously in her chair. "On the twenty-third of September, that was the first time I bounced back...the one I told you about. When I returned, I bounced back a week and asked Professor McGonagall to hide me..."

Mr. Latimer and Dumbledore looked at her, obviously confused.

Professor Snape's eyes narrowed, and he sat up, put his forearm on the table as he leaned toward her with his other hand fisted on his thigh. "So you made another jump that day you came back...for a week? Explain," he demanded softly.

She stared at her hands, unable to look him in the eye. "I was worried that I was in too many places at once. I had been using the Time-Turner all that week to get to lessons on time and a few extra turns to complete essays. I thought that if I went back to a day when I had only used it once it would be safer, and then remembered that I had stayed a week with Severus to let the device cool...so I went back a week... so... I wouldn't miss classes," she stammered, feeling uncertain when she looked up at Professor Snape and met his sharp glare. "I thought it would be best."

"An extremely irrational and immature reaction, Miss Granger," Snape sneered, raising his voice at her. "You took an unnecessary risk that could have endangered you...permanently damaged the device."

"Severus, that's not..." Dumbledore admonished him as Snape turned to fully face her.

"Did it not occur to you, child, that this device could have returned you to the proper time for your lessons after it had cooled?"

Hermione hung her head in shame.

"Do you ever think about the risks you take, the dangers you put yourself in on a regular basis? I cannot always be there to save you...to protect you." He slammed his hand on the desk. "You cannot go through life jumping to the first conclusion you come up with without first considering the consequences and other options. You're a brilliant girl, but you do the most idiotic things! I expect such dunderheaded decisions from Potter, but I would hope that you would know better. I spend more time worrying about you..."

"SEVERUS! That's enough," Dumbledore snapped. "We'll discuss this another time." He turned to Hermione and smiled, his twinkle once again sparkling in his blue eyes. "Miss Granger, if you will take out a quill and parchment, I think you should be instructed on how to use the Time-Turner properly from Mr. Latimer."

"Yes, sir, I... under..." she said and froze midway for reaching for her bag, looking at the Headmaster in shock. "You mean I get to keep it?"

"Young lady, in only two months' time, you have given me so much information in the use of my invention!" Mr. Latimer said, smiling in delight. "Albus gives me weekly reports as does Professor McGonagall. This bouncing back decades in time is so exciting! No other Time-Turner has done this. It's beyond my wildest expectations!"

"You have got to be kidding me?" Snape snorted, gripping the armrests tightly and leaning forward. "You're letting her continue using the device?"

"Oh, certainly," Mr. Latimer said, his face aglow with anticipation. "You say she bounces again. Are you certain?" He turned to Hermione, not waiting for an answer. "I'll have to instruct you again on how to realign the Time-Turner for your return and make sure that you know how to read the time variance feature..."

"Headmaster, you cannot be serious!" Snape said in exasperation. "I lost her once and had to go back, and now you are letting her experiment for this old fool..."

"Severus, this device has a safeguard feature that will return Miss Granger from whenever she is," Dumbledore said patiently, his eyes sparkling. "It doesn't seem to cause her any physical harm, and we have you to thank for seeing to her safety." He set his hands on the desk as he rose to stand. "I, for one, am pleased that Miss Granger is so well looked after, but surely with the proper instruction, she won't have another unintentional mishap."

Snape ran his hand through his hair and gripped the back of his neck. "Don't count on that, old man. I still remember her being there."

"We'll see," Dumbledore said, smiling at him, and then turned his attention to Hermione, placing both hands, laced together, on the table. "Miss Granger, do pay attention and be careful with the device. In the future, you will please come to me if you make any miscalculation, no matter how small. I will notify Mr. Latimer myself. And, if you need hiding, Professor McGonagall and I will make whatever arrangements are necessary." He smiled as he looked at Mr. Latimer. "Cronus, Miss Granger will show you to my office when you are done here. Severus, would you come with me?"

Hermione caught the odd look Professor Snape gave her before he turned to follow the Headmaster from the room. Mr. Latimer spoke, drawing her attention back to the device in his hands to listen to him explain the use of the runes when setting the device for time travel.

Severus walked down to his private quarters after leaving the Headmaster, still furious that Miss Granger would still be allowed the use of the Time-Turner. He walked into his bedroom, opened the wardrobe, pulled out a drawer and took out a small brown diary. He turned the pages, glancing at the entries that correlated with Hermione's visits. They were all marked, one with a scrap of parchment she'd used to write down the books she'd wanted him to retrieve from the library, another with a leaf from the first day they'd gone hiking. He smiled as he fingered the brittle leaf, remembering the day with fondness. It had been such a risk, sneaking her out of the castle and back. They had nearly been caught, but it was one of the fondest memories he had. Gathering ingredients in the forest and playing in the snow were another. He turned the pages and removed the Chocolate Frog card she'd given him to read the brief entry.

Severus closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. She was an anachronism that his younger self enjoyed the company of for a little while. In this time, she was his student and completely unattainable. He saw no future for them; he made sure of it on a daily basis. Any association he might have could so easily be discovered and used against him, or worse...against her. The situation with Professor Quirrell two years ago was proof of that; the Dark Lord was still out there, biding his time before regaining strength to return. He had to maintain his persona.

However, he missed revising with her, missed their discussions, having her help him brew potions. She was an exceptional lab partner, even at this young age. If she had been his age, or if he could have afforded to drop his pretenses and tutored her, she'd be an exceptional witch. But those thoughts were futile. She was Muggle-born and worse, Potter's friend. She will be a target, and I have to protect her. He put the diary away and stared at the door. He had failed Lily. He would not fail Hermione.

Severus turned the pages to the entry of Hermione's third miscalculation and read the entry. Date, time, location, who was in the corridor, and the situation all clearly spelled out. He'd even noted what books she'd read and which potions they'd brewed. His younger self had grown fond of her in such a short time.

He closed the book with a snap and placed it back in his drawer. That was the past, this is the present. His job was to teach her, protect her from harm, and damn Merlin to hell, he planned to keep an eye on her and her friends and do just that.

Severus knew he was being unjust, giving Hermione a week's worth of detentions for assisting Longbottom in class, but she did speak back at him, defending her actions.

"But, sir, if I hadn't, then the potion would have made a toxic fume and exploded...either of which would have put all of us in the hospital..."

"Yes, s..." she had started to say, most likely an apology, but he'd cut her off again, and doubled her detention.

He hadn't even marked it down in his ledger. Actually he had been furious with her for encouraging Potter to sneak down to Hogsmeade, even though everyone, including himself, was trying to protect the boy from Sirius Black. And they were seen...in front of the Shrieking Shack...Black's old haunt from his school days!

Hermione arrived on time, dressed for drudgery work. Severus smiled. "Miss Granger, I presume you remember how to make the Burn Paste properly?" he said smoothly, indicating the worktable situated closest to his desk that he'd set up for her detention.

Hermione looked at the stack of cauldrons in the sink and back with a confused crease between her brows. "Yes, sir. Of course I do."

"I expect you to brew the potion for first-, second-, and third-degree burns, and I want them to be of exemplary quality," he stated, indicating the three cauldrons lined up for her. He smiled, knowing that the task he was giving her would take her three evenings, not one. "Your results will be given to Madam Pomfrey, if they are adequate."

"And this is my task for my detention, sir?" she asked, clearly amazed by his choice.

"Yes," he stated, smiling. "Unless you'd rather scrub cauldrons all evening?"

"No, sir," Hermione said, smiling back, dropping her bag on the stool next to her.

Severus moved closer to her. "You do remember the changes to the directions in your book?"

Hermione nodded. She was biting her lip as she lit the burner under her cauldron and adjusted the fuel so the flame was blue.

Severus watched her as she worked. As a third-year, she didn't know how to brew all three at once. But if he played this out right, he would be able to have her help him brew the Wolfsbane with him next week. He ducked his head over the essay he was grading to hide his smile at the thought.

~ T. B. C. ~