Why We Fight

Part 12:
How to Deal
(Tuesday, September 2, 1996)

Severus Snape paced his office as he waited for Weasley and Potter to return with the Headmaster. With a deep sigh, he slumped into the leather-upholstered chair behind his desk. He took a deep breath and focused on the memories that he'd just glimpsed, pulling them through the past nineteen years. He mulled them about in his mind, working them over as he waited for Hogwarts's illustrious headmaster.

Slowly, Snape's obsidian eyes became focused on the pink mess in the back of the room. A simple Scourgify would take care of it but the potion needed to be tested to see what had gone wrong and what had happened to the two prefects.

Snape chuckled hollowly as he glared at the spilled potion, his long, pallid fingers tapping the battered wood of his desk in his annoyance. He didn't need the potion tested; he knew exactly what had become of Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy.

Snape had seen them in Professor Agnosco's Arithmancy classroom. He had seen Granger talking to the blasted Marauders. Then she and Draco had left, "Miss de Lioncourt" had suddenly felt ill. Black had raised his hand to probably get out of class, staring hungrily after the brunette girl. It was the kind of look that Potter reserved for Evans. Snape smirked, imagine that...Sirius Black in lust with his godson's young friend, Hermione Granger.

His mind left the thoughts of Black's embarrassment when Snape realized that Sirius Black was dead. He focused on the potion again, examining it. How they had gotten to 1977 was an entirely different question and was still a mystery to the Potions professor, however. The potion had been relatively easy for talented students like Draco and Granger; simply a memory-sharing potion.

The person who brewed it would create a link to their memories and anyone who drank it would see a glimpse of the other's memories. It was a useful in times like this. When the Houses were at war but an even bigger war was brewing in the outside world, one that was much more important than whoever got the most House Points, won the most Quidditch games, got the House Cup, or the Quidditch Cup. The least that could be done was to have the Hogwarts students work together. The best way to breed a friendship was to share experiences.

That's why he had paired the students with members of opposing Houses. Goyle and Potter, Weasley and Crabbe could share memories, although Snape doubted that Vincent Crabbe or Gregory Goyle would ever produce a usable potion. With a frown, Snape wondered how Crabbe and Goyle had even gotten into Advanced Potions. They must have cheated somehow.

A smirk passed over the potions master's lips as he thought of a way to ensure that no one would ever cheat on his tests again. Granger had been ingenious with that little hex she'd put on the Dumbledore's Army roster. It would work quite well with his tests and he wondered why he'd never thought of it before. He sighed grumpily as he realized that a fifteen-year-old girl had come up with the idea before he had.

The man scowled darkly as his mind left the stupidity of Draco's lackeys and returned to mull over the brown-haired girl and blonde boy from N.E.W.T. Arithmancy. The memories surfaced through the past nineteen years but they felt brand new to him. He could still remember the same day but without Granger and Draco. He had to talk to the headmaster. He wanted to know exactly how everything had happened and why they had ended up in 1977 of all years.

---

Harry and Ron walked silently through the halls of Hogwarts toward the Headmaster's office. "Did you see Hermione after the cauldron exploded?" Ron asked, breaking the silence.

"No...but she could be in Advanced Arithmancy," Harry said. "She could have left the room before we saw? I would...I mean, she had to partner with Malfoy..." he frowned and then shuddered. "And I had to work with Goyle..." he trailed off. He was still unsatisfied with his idea that Hermione was in Advanced Arithmancy. It didn't seem right...something was off.

Ron frowned thoughtfully. "With all those books, there's no way that Hermione could leave the dungeons so quickly. There's no way she could have gotten to Arithmancy without us seeing her somehow. She'd have had to go this way. The Arithmancy Tower isn't far from Professor Dumbledore's office. Unless there's a shortcut that we didn't think of."

"It would've been listed on the Marauder's Map. I haven't seen any listing of a secret passageway from the dungeons to anywhere near the Arithmancy Tower," Harry sighed.

"Well...maybe the Marauders didn't find all of the passageways?" Ron suggested.

Harry's eyes widened in sudden enlightenment. "The Marauder's Map!" he said.

"Er...what?" Ron asked.

"When we're done visiting Professor Dumbledore's office, we can look at the Marauder's Map and see if Hermione's on it," Harry replied.

Ron let out a relieved breath and they finally reached Dumbledore's office. The gargoyle sprang aside, the spiral staircase going down with the wizened headmaster on it. "Ah, yes, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley. On Professor Snape's order, I presume?" the man asked genially.

Ron nodded slowly. "Yes, sir, something happened in Potions and he wanted us to get you," Harry said.

Dumbledore nodded, momentarily lost in thought. "Yes, yes, you'd best get to your common room, boys. I'm quite certain that you have quite a bit of homework to work on.

The two boys walked to Gryffindor Tower. "Password?" the Fat Lady inquired.

"Veritas," Harry said automatically. The portrait swung open, revealing the opening to the Gryffindor common room. Most of the fifth, sixth, and seventh years were gathered there, studying. Curriculum had gotten harder for everyone this year.

The two boys went to their dorm to find it mercifully empty. Harry opened his trunk and rescued the Marauder's Map. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said as he tapped his wand to the blank piece of parchment. Ink sprawled over the page forming an intricate map of Hogwarts complete with named dots. Harry saw Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley in the sixth year boys' dorm.

Harry tapped his wand on the far side of the map where the Arithmancy Tower was located. The map zoomed in on the tower and the two Gryffindors could make out several names but there were two conspicuously absent names: Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. The boys knew that Malfoy took Arithmancy because Hermione was always talking about what an insufferable git he was. He was the second in the class, very close to Hermione and it annoyed her greatly.

The zooming in was a trick that Lupin had taught him about the Marauder's Map over the summer. They'd spent a lot of time together talking about Sirius and the Marauders' time at Hogwarts. Harry had grown close to the werewolf as they bonded over memories of good ol' Snuffles. "Hermione isn't there," Ron stated the obvious.

"Locate Hermione Granger," Harry ordered the map, another trick that Lupin had taught him. The map went blank. "It's not working."

"Or she's not at Hogwarts," Ron said. "But...where is she? You can't Apparate on school grounds. There are too many charms." Believe it or not, Ronald Weasley had learned from Hermione's constant preaching of facts from Hogwarts, A History throughout the past five years. Although, he'd never admit it to his friend.

Harry glared at the map in accusation. "Then where is she?" he demanded.

---

Dumbledore made his way through the halls of Hogwarts. Most of the classes were over by now with the exception of Professor Belinda Vector's Arithmancy and Professor O'Brien's Muggle Studies classes. Luckily enough for Dumbledore, Lupin's classes were done for the day and Dumbledore needed to talk to him and Snape.

After the Ministry admitted that Lord Voldemort was indeed back, there was an outcry from concerned parents for a skilled Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. They didn't care who the teacher was just as long as the teacher knew Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The best choice had clearly been Remus Lupin, the only Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that had taught the students anything of use. The parents no longer cared if Remus was a werewolf as long as he taught their children. With much cajoling from Dumbledore, Lupin had accepted the position.

The wizened wizard glanced at the prematurely grayed man. Lupin's blue eyes were wide as he stared at a corner of the room. "Remus?" the headmaster's voice drew him from his reverie.

"Headmaster," Lupin said with a quick nod.

"I suppose you're having trouble with the new memories you've received?" the man asked.

Lupin's eyes widened and he didn't bother asking how the man knew. Dumbledore seemed to know everything. "I suggest you come with me to see Severus," Dumbledore said.

Lupin swallowed hard. There were many, many different things he'd rather endure than have to spend more time than was absolutely required with the man he had formerly mistreated in his youth. Lupin nodded slowly and followed the headmaster to the dungeons.

When they arrived in Snape's dungeon classroom, Snape was staring absently at a puddle of pink that added a cheerful color to the dank gray of the dungeon. "Severus?" Dumbledore asked.

Snape looked up to see the headmaster and the werewolf. "Albus, Remus," he said with a curt nod and Lupin nodded in return.

"I suppose Potter and Weasley told you about the little incident in class today?" Snape asked.

"Yes, they did," Dumbledore said. "And the strangest thing is that I happen to remember a teenaged girl in her sixth year named Hermione Granger that came to my office with a story of coming from the future...nineteen years ago."

Lupin nodded. "I remember her, N.E.W.T.-level Arithmancy, we met her," Lupin said.

"Did she manage to tell you how it had happened?" Snape inquired.

"A doubled amount of wolfbane and hellebore," Dumbledore said.

Snape's eyes widened. "Hellebore and wolfbane? Twice as much? How could they have been so stupid? I instructed them carefully about hellebore, wolfbane, and thistledown," Snape stated. "It makes the potion unstable, there's no telling how they managed to end up in 1977...or how they'll ever get back."

Lupin's eyes widened at Snape's comment. "They can't stay in the past, Severus!" Lupin cried. "Do you have any idea how much will change? Sirius was practically drooling over the girl. You actually think that she won't try to save Lily and James?"

"I had a discussion with Miss Granger when she was given the Time-Turner in third year, Remus; I don't think it's necessary to worry," Dumbledore said.

"The Time-Turner only goes back a few hours, this is nineteen years, Albus," Lupin said.

"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you," the Headmaster stated.

"I'll worry about it all right," Lupin murmured. Dumbledore didn't hear Lupin's last comment and the two professors watched the headmaster walk off.

After his conversation with Lupin and Dumbledore, Snape retreated to his apartment. Snape's quarters weren't as dark and dank as someone would expect from a sallow-faced man who taught his classes in a dungeon. It was almost homey, recurring colors were shades of green (as expected from a former-Slytherin) and rich, warm wood paneling.

With sufficient dread, the man changed into his nightclothes and fell asleep, wondering what memories the next morning would bring.