Chapter 28

A/N: My thanks again to luvsev and WriterMerrin for their dedicated work. I would like to dedicate this chapter to my friend, beaweasley2, who pushed me to dive into my imagination and create this original character you will read about shortly. Thanks, sweetie, for all your help :)

***

Severus, Hermione, and Albus sat quietly in the headmaster's office. Hermione and Severus had just finished telling Dumbledore about Hermione's confession. It was finally out in the open. Now, the problem was what to do.

Albus leaned forward and rested his hands on his desk. "I have not been sitting idle these past years only thinking about Tom. I have been in touch with the Unspeakables at the Ministry. There were only two wizards who would even give me any information at all that could help us. It is contained in the Department of Mysteries, and to do what I think should be done to return Hermione to her timeline will take a great deal of forethought and hard work to make it come to pass.

"Bode and Croaker, the two wizards who would speak with me, told me they are indeed discovering that the Time-Turners are adjusting themselves without wizarding interference. They do not know how much longer it will be, but in the meantime, Hermione must remain here and continue making a life for herself. You could help the professors, even take on an apprenticeship if that suits you. All I ask is that you not interfere or interact with the students. We still must keep the timeline from getting out-of-hand."

"What are you proposing, Albus?" Severus asked as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

Dumbledore looked at Hermione. "We have an Aging Potion that Severus could create in his sleep. However, we do not have a Potion of Youth. From what I have been told, something akin to an elixir or substance of youthful properties exists in the Department of Mysteries that it is possible to examine."

Hermione had until this point remained silent and had kept an open mind, but this was too much. "Wait! Wait one damned minute!" Hermione bellowed as she jumped up from her chair. "You mean to take me and make me nearly fourteen again?"

Dumbledore spread his hands in resignation. "It seems to be the only way. The night you left will be the target date to send you back, or forward as the case would be," he said as his blue eyes twinkled. "As soon as your other self disappears, you will be there in the common room to take her place."

"So we create a paradox?" she asked angrily.

"Do you want to return never having anyone know the life you have led? Do you want to see Severus, knowing he will never recall all that you have shared over the years? I think that would be terribly cruel, but that is what could happen if you return to the time before the mishap. This way, you will have a support system of people who will understand you and a fiancé who will be waiting for you to come of age. I know it will be difficult having to go through your adolescence all over again, but I think it is the best way."

Hermione snorted as she looked over at Severus. "Do you think you can handle me at thirteen again?" she asked with a faint smile.

Severus smirked. "Three weeks from fourteen, Hermione. I shall be keeping track of the calendar," he said lowly.

He turned to Dumbledore and said in all seriousness, "Albus, the day Hermione turns sixteen, I don't want any interference. I will not wait once she reaches the age of consent."

Severus looked at Hermione. "What do you think?"

Hermione felt very warm, as if she were blushing violently from the roots of her curly head to the bottom of her pink-colored toes. "I don't know. We don't even know when the Time-Turner will be ready! And Severus," she leaned in and whispered to him, "my mind will be your age, my mid-thirties, but my body will be that of a girl. I may, not at sixteen, be prepared to engage a grown man. We shouldn't make any rash decisions."

***

Later, in bed, Severus looked into his lover's eyes as he laid over her, urging her legs apart. "I think I will like the idea of you being a virgin again," he teased.

She smacked his chest. "You're just excited because you'll finally get to have me when you couldn't, when I was sixteen and seventeen! Good gracious! This is just eerie," she said with a shiver.

Severus kissed her hungrily. "Let's not dwell on it. I just want to enjoy you now."

He toyed with her, nipping and stroking her nipples with his tongue until she whimpered with delight.

He growled deep in his throat and lifted himself up to capture her full lips. His fingers found their way to her wetness, and he whispered against her lips, "I remember you telling me when we were young and unable to make love how you fantasized about how you wanted it to be. Do you remember what you told me?"

Hermione was far too gone to answer. All she could do was moan as he continued to stroke his fingers inside her.

"'I think of your pushing yourself inside me to make me mold you. I think of you panting and groaning as you rock inside me,'" Severus repeated against her mouth.

"That's what you told me, my love. I will make you mold yourself around me as I push into your sweet wetness. I will slowly rock inside you until I fulfill my own promise. Do you remember what I promised, Hermione?"

He had slowly pushed his way into her tight warmth and now was rocking into her with deliberate thrusts.

"I-I can't...ungh...Severus!" she groaned.

"I'll remind you," he continued to whisper as he took her moans into his mouth. "'One day, I shall take you into my arms, and I will never release you until you are ready to pass out from the pleasure I want to give you. I swear...I shall never touch another woman. Until you and I can be together, I will save myself for you.'

And I have, my sweet girl, you've been the only. My one and only." He pressed his lips against hers as he continued to make love to her. She gripped his back urgently as she succumbed to him. Severus continued to thrust into her, making them both release together.

"I'm not done yet," he panted against her neck.

He slid his hand down and pressed his fingers against her nubbin, triggering another orgasm. Hermione clutched and writhed as she cried out her love's name again and again. She was exhausted, yet he didn't stop. Again and again he played her like a Stradivarius. Finally, all she could do was cry feebly as another orgasm washed over her.

"That's right, sweet girl, I love hearing your cries," he said softly.

Severus released her as he hovered over her; Hermione's eyes were so heavy, and she was so exhausted, she didn't know if she could even move to touch him.

"My sweet girl," he whispered as he reached underneath her curly hair to hold the back of her head. Hermione felt his long black hair brush against her cheeks. He kissed her near her mouth just like that night years ago when he had stolen into her room in the night to beg for a kiss. She felt her body slip into slumber, only to be revived by the touch of him. He took her again, and she watched him take his pleasure from her body. He was beautiful as his face relaxed into peaceful joy. She felt the telltale movements that he was nearing his limit, and she reached up with both hands to touch his face, turned upward, eyes closed in bliss. She stroked his cheeks and turned his face down, his eyes blazing fire as he came. He collapsed onto her, whispering his love for her.

"I love you, Hermione," he whispered.

"I love you, Severus," she replied.

Then they slept.

***

In the morning, Dumbledore took Severus and Hermione to the Ministry of Magic. They made their way directly into the Department of Mysteries. Bodrick Bode, a tall, congenial man, who had expressed his interest in meeting Hermione, met them at the entrance.

"My word!" he exclaimed. "So this is our time traveler. So exciting to meet you, Miss Granger," he replied as he shook her hand.

Hermione smiled at him as he pumped her hand vigorously. "We are so fascinated to see how we can help this young woman," he said to Dumbledore.

"Well then," Mr. Bode continued after he had bowed to Severus in recognition. "I thought since we've already let the kneazle out of bag, so to say, we might as well show you some of the more interesting things we have here, although I can only give you limited information not pertaining to the Time Room.

Hermione was excited. Here were the deepest reaches of magic within these walls. Being an Unspeakable had to be intriguing work. On a daily basis, these witches and wizards experimented and handled forces that were nearly impossible to harness and control. To a Muggle-born like Hermione, they were modern day explorers, like Ferdinand Magellan, Vasco de Gama, or Amerigo Vespucci.

The Department of Mysteries was an eerie place. A simple, bare corridor led to a black door that, when opened, led into a circular room surrounded by identical black doors. In the center of the room was a candelabrum with cobalt blue colored candles. The room had a calming effect on Hermione immediately. Probably due to the cobalt, Hermione thought.

She looked down at the polished floor. It was nearly transparent; it shone so perfectly. Hermione felt like Alice, deciding whether or not it had been a good idea to go down the rabbit-hole. That was how strange the circular room looked.

Hermione examined the twelve doors curiously. "Sir," she asked Mr. Bode. "The doors have no handles. How do you access the rooms?" she asked curiously.

Mr. Bode smiled. "We Unspeakables have our ways," he answered cryptically. "We have here the most interesting magical powers at our disposal that are nearly impossible for the wizarding mind to contemplate! That is why we are called 'Unspeakables.' We simply do not have the language to fully describe the mysteries we are surrounded by in order to do them justice. We do not hope to dare fathom their depths. We simply go as far as they lead us, and we guard their secrets closely. It is, in fact, your situation that has deemed you worthy to even be allowed this far into our realm. The most extraordinary things have been occurring in the Time Room, and the wizard in charge, the Time-keeper, is most anxious to meet you!" he said excitedly.

"Oh, I wish we could see all the rooms!" said Hermione as she gazed around.

"Ah, my dear," the wizard said apologetically. "That is quite impossible, not to mention highly dangerous. I have only received permission to allow you limited access into the Time Room. Now, let's not keep the Time-keeper waiting!" he said with a smile.

He waved his hand, and the unmarked doors began to spin around and finally stopped. Another wave and the black door in front of them opened for them. Mr. Bode gestured them to walk inside.

Hermione's eyes went wide with surprise and sheer delight. It was...dazzling! The calming, cobalt blue light from the circular room was forgotten as the shimmering light around them overcame Hermione's senses. It looked as if a million prisms had been let loose and were flying around, sparkling away.

The room was full of thousands of clocks, all shapes and sizes on various counter tops and shelves. Small, simple, wooden clocks were placed alongside golden, ornate timepieces. Anniversary clocks with their spinning and whirling balls that sparkled as the light caught their movement mesmerized her. The clocks were all in unison, ticking away in perfect precision. The length of the hall seemed endless, but finally they reached a gigantic curio that held the most intricate timepieces, so delicate that it seemed the slightest breath would send them crashing down. The curio was even more ornate than the most impressive clocks that stood in the room. It was of heavy-set gold. The glass doors were gleaming, as if it was not real glass, but water shimmering on the surface, just as the floor in the circular room had been. Flanking the sides of the curio were the most beautiful grandfather clocks Hermione had ever seen. She peered closer to the face of one of the clocks. The roman numerals seemed to be fashioned from some sort of gemstone.

"That would ruby," said a kind, elderly voice beside her.

Hermione jumped back and collided with Severus. He set her upright and softly stroked her arm as if to soothe her.

The old man smiled and stroked his beard which was long, although not as long as Professor Dumbledore's. His hair was wild; it reminded her of what Harry might look like in his dotage with his hair all askew. The man wore a three-piece suit made of dark crimson velvet. It was ornate, just as many of the clocks in this room, and he wore thick-rimmed spectacles that reminded Hermione of Percy Weasley. He had, though, warm brown eyes and pink cheeks. Hermione rather liked him. He seemed warm and welcoming.

"My name is Horatius Daglish," he said with a clear voice. "I am the Time-keeper." He waved his hand around gracefully. "All these clocks, timepieces, what-have-you, are all my responsibility. Time is a mystery. I have been Time-keeper for two-hundred-years! In all that time, I have seen great things happen in this room," he said as he looked around appreciatively. His eyes rested back upon Hermione. "Although I must say, I have never seen what has been occurring recently in this very room in all the years I have spent here. It is most exciting, and I would be a damned liar if I said I wasn't interested in meeting the young witch responsible for such a happening!" he said as he hooked his thumbs in his small vest pockets where a delicate gold chain was dangling from between the two.

Dumbledore spoke up first. "Horatius, I am so happy to see you again, old friend!" he said as he shook the wizard's hand.

"Albus!" he said as he waggled his finger at him. "I should have known you would have your hand in this. You have always wanted to know the secrets in the Department of Mysteries. Well, consider yourself welcome!" he said with open arms.

"Now, to the business at hand." He conjured a book from nowhere and thumbed through it on the table in front of him. "Ah-ha!" he said as he adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses. "A young witch had a mishap with one of our Time-Turners. Extraordinary!" He took off his glasses and said, "My dear, we here in the Time Room have no control over the magic here. All we do is observe the magical changes and adjustments. It seems that in your time of 1993," he said as he glanced back at his book, "you were given permission to use a Time-Turner that was powerful enough for you to travel long distances in time. Twenty years!" he said as he gazed off into space. "Extraordinary!"

Albus spoke up and broke Mr. Daglish from his wool-gathering. "You said, Horatius, that the clocks and timepieces have the ability to morph by themselves into what is needed. Miss Granger has waited many years...nine to be exact. Is there any hope that she might be able to return to her own time?"

Horatius sighed as he took off his glasses. "Albus, Time-Turners are for going backward in time, not forward. Although that has been the constant, there has been a strange abnormality in one of our Turners that has been most remarkable. It also is one of our most delicate pieces. We do not wish to examine it while it is still morphing. I would say in a few months, I will let you know; however, I do have hope that this may be the piece you need to help Miss Granger."

Albus looked cautiously at Severus and Hermione and said, "We have another concern, Horatius. Miss Granger not only needs to return back to her own time in 1993, but we need to find a way to de-age her."

Horatius was silent for a couple of minutes as he stroked his beard. Finally he spoke with grave concern in his tone. "A highly talented and dedicated Potions master would have to undertake this type of sensitive challenge," he said mysteriously. "I have theorized and dreamt of such a creation. However, I am not a Potions master, but one of us in this room is."

His brown eyes shifted over to Severus, and his smile widened. "If I were to give you a unique ingredient that has never been used in any potion, but has been used by itself to de-age anyone who comes in contact with it, do you think you could create such a potion to bring Miss Granger her youth back to her?"

Severus crossed his arms and looked seriously at the older wizard. He spoke slowly. "I would need to examine the research notes taken on how the substance has worked before. I would need a sample to take back to my lab and would need to know exactly how it must be handled."

"That would be no problem!" Horatius exclaimed happily. He took a key from his breast pocket and unlocked the curio cabinet. The glass rippled as he slowly opened the doors. He took out a crystal bell jar that shone light from it as a diamond would.

Horatius smiled. "It is what is contained in this jar that makes the light shine so brilliantly," he whispered to them.

It was the most spectacular thing Hermione had ever seen! Horatius conjured a pouch and a silver spoon. He turned to Severus and said, "Now this will last you until you return to Hogwarts. Take the ingredient from the pouch, and place it into a velvet lined bag of your own and use only silver in contact with it."

He spooned out a generous amount of what looked like silver glitter and poured it into the scarlet pouch. He handed it to Severus and then opened another door that came from nothing inside the curio. He handed Severus a leather bound journal that Hermione supposed had the research on the strange, glittery substance. Severus placed the book and the velvet pouch in one of his many pockets in his traveling cloak, and Horatio ushered them from the room.

As they went to rejoin Bode in the circular room, he called out to them, "Good fortune to you, Miss Granger! Remember that love knows no time." With that, the door closed and the rooms began to move around until Hermione could not remember which had been the Time Room.

***

Back in Dumbledore's office, the three sat exhausted in mind and spirit. Severus had already transferred the glittering substance into one of his own green velvet pouches. They were now trying to process what had occurred and where to go from there.

Severus was staring off into the fire, silent and looking sad and forlorn. "I will begin tonight on analyzing the ingredient," he said in a far-off hollow voice.

"How long do you think before Horatius will know when the Time-Turner will be ready to analyze?" asked Hermione. She saw out of the corner of her eye Severus turn his face towards her sharply.

"So eager to leave, my dear?" he said icily.

Hermione looked at him painfully. "Don't ever accuse me of wanting to run off on you, Severus," she said angrily.

"Children," said Albus calmly as he folded his hands on top of his desk. "We must focus on what can be done and place our efforts towards it. Severus will work on a De-aging Potion. Hermione, you shall assist him. I will continue to correspond with Horatius and will keep the both of you informed."

Severus jumped up from his chair, his rage finally getting the better of him. "I can't believe that after everything that has happened these past nine years, I must endure placing my life on hold indefinitely! I can't marry the woman I love; she doesn't even exist...although I have seen in the Hogwarts register for a Hermione Jane Granger, born 19 September, 1979: Muggle-born. She will be coming here for the fall term of 1991! I can't wrap my mind around this. It's like you aren't even real!" he roared as he strode out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

Hermione looked at Dumbledore with her eyes full of bitter tears. She wanted to tell Albus she just couldn't imagine staying while time closed in on them all. It was August of 1982 now. How long would they be kept waiting? 1983? 1984? 1985? Her mind reeled at the thought she could be stuck here in limbo, waiting for a piece of magic melding onto metal to determine when she could claim her life as her own.

"I'll go to him," she whispered softly as she slowly eased out of her chair. She walked the halls towards their rooms in the dungeons, recalling how happy they had been when she had returned from hiding in the Muggle world. Voldemort seemed to be the worst thing that stood in the way of their happiness. Now it seemed so cruel and ironic that it was being together that hurt the most. Every time he touched her, she was sure he was thinking of a little toddler, somewhere in England, just shy of her third birthday.

She walked into their bedroom and found him lying on their bed. Their small bed that only fit them as long as they stayed intertwined in sleep. Never before has it ever been a problem. The passion that had burned for so long ignited that first night, even though they had been apart for three years.

Horatius was right. Love knows no time. She went and sat next to him, forcing him to budge over as he kept an arm across his face.

"Severus," she heard herself saying, "Do you want me to return to the Muggle world? Would it make things easier?"

He moved his arm from his face, and she saw the pain and hurt in his eyes. She fairly shuddered at what she found in their depths. A hollow, empty, fathomless gaze met her.

"Don't close down, Severus. Please. I am here. I have always been here. The dark days when your mum was gone and when Lily left you, I was there for you to cling to, to remember that somewhere someone loved and cared about you. Don't stop loving me; don't stop now. We will get through this. One day it will end, and when it does, we will be together for all the world to know and see that I am yours, and you are mine!" she pleaded.

"I don't know how I will be able to handle seeing you as a little girl in my classroom in nine years. You won't know, you realize," he said.

"I know," she admitted painfully. "But the day will come that I will know you. The day after the Welcoming Feast, 2 September 1993, when you see me at breakfast, it will be me. But until then, let us love each other and forget about what is years away. The longer the time passes that the Time-Turner remains unable to help us, the less time we will have apart."

She slipped off her clothes and slid into bed. "Come and hold me, Severus. Love me."

A/N: Horatius means "keeper of time"

Daglish is an old name of watchmakers in Britain.