Chapter 30

A/N: Well, here we are, the last chapter before Hermione is back in her original time line. Soon she will be back in school with Ron and Harry. But first, she has to see if the De-Aging potion Severus made will work or not. Thanks to my betas, luvsev and WriterMerrin for their hard work.

***

The fateful day finally came, and Severus and Hermione found themselves unable to speak, let alone pack and ready themselves to Apparate back to Hogwarts. Hermione declared she couldn't eat a bite, so Severus grumbled that they should just get on with things.

As Severus placed his arm around her waist, she said to him, "I wish we could make love just one more time."

He smiled weakly. "You said that early this morning. It will never be enough, Hermione. Let's not prolong the pain," he said quietly.

They Apparated to the boundary line and began to walk towards the castle. The snow was beautiful, hanging richly from each limb of the Whomping Willow. She slipped her hand into Severus', and they ambled on slowly, savoring the moment.

It was all over too soon. Before Hermione knew it, she was in Dumbledore's office. Severus went directly to the dungeons to retrieve the potion he had placed in stasis during their holiday.

Hermione turned to Dumbledore. The anxiety was eating away at her. "So," she said, "are we doing this here?"

Dumbledore smiled as he placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "You, Severus, and I are going to the Department of Mysteries. Horatius is waiting for us there. He is most anxious to witness the transformation and see how Severus was able to concoct the potion!" he said with an excited gleam in his eyes.

He sobered and continued with a sigh, "Horatius is also most concerned how the Time-Turner will work. He wants to make sure he does his best to ensure your safe travel back to 1993."

Hermione numbly nodded. She felt so strange, like she should feel something...panic, or fear...but she just felt numb and strangely detached from the situation. Perhaps my brain just cannot handle the process and is protecting my mind from falling apart, she mused to herself.

They waited in silence until Severus returned with his potions kit. They were ready.

"Before we go, Hermione, you need to leave everything from this time behind. It will be returned to you by Severus in due course."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Severus placed his arms around her from behind and whispered, "It's better this way...don't worry."

It hurt. She went from being comfortably numb to being so hurt she could scarcely breathe. Giving her engagement ring back to Severus felt as if she had broken both their hearts. She placed it in his outstretched palm and burst into tears. Severus drew her into his arms as she whispered, "I feel I'm abandoning you, and I will never get you back. I love you. I don't want to go!"

"It's okay," he murmured. He reached inside his robes and drew out a chain with the golden wedding band Hermione had given him for Christmas. He opened the clasp and placed her engagement ring with his own and refastened the clasp. Hermione smiled through her tears as he placed them back inside his robes, patting the place where they rested.

She embraced him and held him tight. "Okay, I am ready," she said.

Albus had made an adjustment with the Floo Network through Bodrick Bode to Floo directly into the Ministry of Magic. Soon, they were there, amongst the hustle and bustle of the Ministry, silently making their way down to the Department of Mysteries where Albus reassured them that Mr. Bode and Horatius would be waiting to assist them.

Before Hermione knew it, she was back in that circular, cobalt blue-colored room. She looked at Severus and noticed how the blue shining in his black hair made it look alive, instead of lank and lifeless. No, Severus Snape had never grown to become conventionally handsome, but he had grown into his face, and his demeanor and posture had given him a regal air. He commanded respect although he had never asked for it. He was intelligent, calm, poised, and keenly aware of the motives of the people around him.

Hermione realized she had, over time, fallen deeply in love with a man who had terrorized her in her previous life. She knew he was a terror to his students, she'd seen and heard it first-hand in this timeline. It didn't matter. He loved her, and he was hers. At least that was what she hoped when she reached the other side of whatever was waiting for her there.

Horatius was nearly jumping for joy at their arrival. He was wearing his dark crimson suit with his delicate timepiece chain in the waistcoat pocket. His white hair was as disheveled as ever, and his huge, brown eyes were shining brightly behind his severe horn-rimmed glasses. He welcomed them all and shook their hands enthusiastically.

"So, today is the day! I can't tell you all how exciting this is for me to witness. Never in all my years have I seen such a powerful display of magic."

He gestured for them to come closer to the enormous golden curio where, indeed, something awesome was changing inside. The glass cabinet doors that looked like water were shimmering and trembling, causing ripples on the delicate surface. The Time-Turners were all turning various colors of the rainbow, melting and molding before their eyes. Hermione was awestruck. She had never seen such beauty.

Horatius smiled as he watched Hermione's expression. She became aware of his gaze, and she shifted her eyes to him.

"What is happening, sir?" she whispered.

The Timekeeper's hands spread as he raised them above his head. "They are all morphing! They have finally answered the call of their purpose!" He turned swiftly to the nearby table and, with his wand, opened a drawer and levitated a delicate golden Time-Turner from the drawer to the hard marble top. He slipped a velvet cushion underneath to protect the piece and then carefully lowered his wand and stood back.

"Miss Granger," he said as he placed his wand in his pocket and took her hands into his own. "Do you know the mystery of the Time-Turner, the real reason for their being?"

"No," she said, confused.

Horatius' eyes beamed. "The writing on every Time-Turner that has come into existence has the same wording. It says,

"I mark the hours every one,

Are gauged by what you have to do."

He looked intently into Hermione's eyes for a hint of recognition. She thought hard about the words and finally said slowly, "The use and value of this particular Time-Turner is dependent on what I must accomplish? Is that right?" she asked doubtfully.

"Yes!" he exclaimed as he clapped his hands together. "All of this, my dear Miss Granger," he said as his hands swept around the vast curio, "is because of you. You have called into the mystery of magical time, and it has returned its answer. You will return, for you must. It is imperative that you return. Now, does that make you feel more assured and at peace?" he asked with a pleasant smile on his face.

Hermione looked at Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling while he smiled happily, and Severus, as his face relaxed into acceptance. They now understood, and it had made all the difference. She flung her arms around Horatius, and he laughed in delight.

"Oh, my goodness! It has been fifty years since I have been given such a gift! Dear girl, you will turn my head," he chided as he blushed.

"Now, as to the changes in the glass bell jar, it has been nothing less than phenomenal!" Horatius continued. He opened the curio and removed the bell jar. They all peeked into it, and the glittering substance Severus had used to make the De-Aging Potion was now spinning and swirling around the edges in a never-ending spiral. At the bottom was an egg that began to hatch. It was a sweet little hummingbird, all the colors of the rainbow. As it rose, it matured into a full-grown bird, descending and dying before it reached the top. The bird and its hatched shell disappeared and another intact egg reappeared. The cycle was never-ending.

"How extraordinary!" whispered Dumbledore.

"It's lovely," murmured Hermione, entranced by the cycle of life in the bell jar that never ceased to emit light and glittering magic.

Horatius closed the lid and put it away carefully inside the curio. "I really felt you should see that, how so much has changed! I can't wait to see what the next years will bring me, but alas, I must remain focused on the present!" he said with a finger pointing up to make his point.

Dumbledore spoke. "I have here a replica of the uniform Miss Granger was wearing the day she came to us plus some unmentionables and shoes fit for a girl." He placed the bundle in her hands, and Severus slowly removed a phial from under his cloak. "This is the potion I have worked on and perfected. You should de-age precisely back to age thirteen years, 11 months and fourteen days."

Horatius spoke gravely to her. "My dear, when we take you back, you must remain hidden until you are absolutely certain that your other self is gone. You must not see yourself, so mind the space around you. Just in case, we will turn this one-hour less from the time you said you had disappeared. Do you understand what I have told you?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered firmly.

Horatius gestured towards a door. "Go through the door and take the potion. Put on your new clothes and come out to us, so we can see how it all worked...but don't lock the door, just in case!" he said, smiling.

Hermione nodded and turned to Severus, taking the phial from his hands, letting her fingers linger on his.

"One last kiss?" she whispered as she felt the tears stinging in the back of her eyes.

Severus placed his hands on her upper arms and drew her in for a lingering kiss. Hermione's mind flashed through all the happy memories, the lazy, summer days spent holding hands. The comforting night in the Astronomy Tower as she held his head in her lap, the first kiss in the record booth, and the passionate kisses under the owlery steps, to finally the first time they made love after being apart so long. They separated, and she walked slowly from him into the other room and quietly shut the door.

***

She went into a bathroom and took off all her clothes. She looked at the body she had grown into: the rounded hips, long legs with her thick thighs, her breasts that were full and firm. Her hair had grown so much from when she had been a girl. Her hair fell long and thick down to her waist in heavy curls. It had been the only way to tame the bushiness that had plagued her adolescence. Now she was going back to it all. She took one last look and turned her back to the mirror and unstoppered the phial. She slammed it down in one gulp and felt her stomach roll. She felt as though she had taken Polyjuice Potion again, just without the horrible taste. The effect however was the same. She fell to the floor in the fetal position and curled into herself. She focused on breathing as every bone in her body ached. She felt she was being crushed. Finally, she fell asleep, and when she woke, she was giddy and light-headed.

There was banging on the door. It was Severus. "Hermione! Can I come in? Are you alright?" he asked, sounding rather desperate.

Hermione jumped up, spun around and saw the girl she had been. She touched her hair in all its uncontrolled bushiness and her clear, youthful skin of a girl growing into a young woman. She looked at her minuscule breasts and narrow hips. She looked at her face and opened her mouth.

"Oh, Judas Priest!" she shrieked angrily.

"Hermione? Hermione!" bellowed Severus.

"I'm all right. Let me finished getting dressed," she called out.

"What happened?" he asked, sounding worried.

"Oh, nothing...I just remembered with the De-Aging came my horrid buck-teeth!"

Hermione scowled as she heard raucous laughing from the other side of the door.

She finished putting on her uniform and pinned a part of her hair back in a clip. She opened the door and looked up at Professor Snape. He was taller, much taller. Everything was taller. She didn't like it.

"I feel strange," she said. "My voice...there's something wrong!" she said fearfully.

Horatius smiled. "You are thirteen, Hermione. Your voice is higher because you are younger. You will find yourself used to it in time," he reassured her.

He placed the Time-Turner around her neck, and as per their agreement, she gave him the remnants of the broken one she had arrived with. He gave her some friendly advice on Time-Turner care as she would have to use it as she had planned for her third year.

"Now, keep in mind, you will have your teachers and perhaps some other adults who will remember you. Just in case you feel sad and alone, know you aren't," he said as he patted her shoulder.

"Of course, Miss Granger!" said Dumbledore. "And also you will be reunited with Messrs. Potter and Weasley."

"Oh, and Crookshanks!" she exclaimed. "My familiar...I had just gotten him the day before!"

She turned and looked at Severus. He looked down at her with expressionless eyes. He kept his distance.

"Severus?" she asked.

"Do not call me that," he said painfully. "It's Professor Snape."

"You don't want me anymore?" she whispered.

He looked down at her with a well-trained sneer. "You are thirteen. I must keep things contained. You know my feelings. Remember them, and know it will never change, but do not expect me to ever express them to you until you are of age," he replied in the icy tone she remembered from a lifetime ago...a lifetime to which she was returning.

Horatius helped her with the number of turns and stepped back as she blinked and faded from sight.