Lost

Lost

Prologue

“Put your hand down, Miss Granger!  I have no tolerance for know-it-alls!” 

Hermione rolled her eyes and looked over at Harry and Ron.  She was used to Snape yelling at her for no good reason.  It had gotten to the point where she felt strangely unfulfilled if he didn’t yell at her at least once during a class. 

Hermione, Harry, and Ron were in their seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  Dark times had once again fallen over the wizarding world, Voldemort was gaining in power and hardly a week went by that there wasn’t news of a new disappearance or Muggle death.  Only Hogwarts managed to stay remotely the same, although after the death of Cedric Diggory two years ago was never far from the minds of the students.

No other students had been killed since the infamous Tri-Wizard Tournament although it seemed to be only pure luck that Hermione, Harry, and Ron had not been killed.  In both their fifth and sixth years they had managed to go up against Voldemort himself, narrowly avoiding death in the process.  In their sixth year they succeeded in capturing Peter Pettigrew, commonly known as Wormtail, and earned themselves places as aurors once they finished their schooling.

Hermione added adder’s sting to her potion, watching as it turned the desired shade of blue.  She had finally come to terms with her potions class, and had calmed down considerably because of it.  For years it had bothered her that Professor Snape never acknowledged the fact that she was the best potions student in the year, and probably in the school too.  She had gotten tired of going after praise from him, deciding that it was easier to just work for herself.

“Just think, only ten more months of this, and then we are free of him forever!”  She whispered to Ron, who was in the middle of cutting up his willow bark.

He laughed under his breath.  “Yeah, I can’t wait until potions is only a thing of the past.” 

Harry nodded in agreement, “Right, soon we’ll never have to see Snape again.”

As hard as Snape was on Hermione, it was nothing compared to how he treated Harry.  Snape had a grudge on Harry’s late father, and through some twisted logic hated Harry as well.  Not that Harry really minded.  After living with the Dursley’sfor so many years, he had gotten used to people hating him.  As long as he wasn’t getting detention, Harry really didn’t mind Snape’s nasty behavior.

Professor Snape watched with a sneer on his face as the three Gryffindor students whispered amongst themselves.  He would normally be giving them a nasty detention, but today he was lost in his thoughts. It was the first week of school, and he knew what that meant.  It would be happening soon.  The event that had changed his life, that had cost him so much pain, so many years of frustration, would be happening soon.  He watched the Granger girl with a mix of emotion that left him only with a headache.  It was all because of her… all because of her.

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“You wanted to see me sir?”  Hermione asked Snape after the class had drained of students.  She wasn’t sure why he had asked her to stay behind, but she was sure she wasn’t going to like it.  She noticed that he was clutching a small package in his hands. 

“Yes, Miss Granger.  Have a seat.”  He seemed to be in an increasingly foul mood.  Hermione walked to the nearest desk and sat down, looking at him in curiosity.

“This came for you today, Miss Granger, and for reasons unknown to me, Professor Dumbledore has asked me to give it to you.  I trust you know what it is.”  He walked over to the desk and placed the parcel on the desk with disdain. 

Despite his presence she smiled.  “My time turner!”  She opened the package and looked at the little hourglass on the silver chain.  It looked like a pretty charm, but it was even more beautiful to her since she knew how she could use it. 

Snape stared at it with disgust.  This was the cause of all his misery.  He thought, briefly, of snatching it away from her, not allowing it to happen.  However he knew that it would accomplish nothing.  The event would take place no matter what he did.  He eyed the girl thoughtfully.  She seemed so pleased to have this little device… she had no idea what it would truly bring her. 

She noticed his stare and looked up at him questioningly.  “Is there anything else professor?”  She was itching to get out of the door and show Harry and Ron. 

Snape could see how eager she was, ‘No doubt to get to Potter and Weasley,’ he thought angrily. It infuriated him, the fact that she was so ready to escape his presence.  “No, that is not all, Miss Granger.  You are to be here at seven o’clock tonight for a detention.”

Hermione stared at him in an unflattering way.  “What did I do?” She asked, running over the entire lesson in her mind, searching for something that would warrant this punishment.  Snape sneered evilly at her.  “I feel no need to explain my actions to you.  Now go, you are dismissed.”

Shutting her mouth, which moments before had been gaping open, Hermione packed up her things and headed to the door.  ‘Damn him!’  She thought, as she ascended the dungeon stairs, making her way to the Gryffindor common room.  Getting detention in the first week back was not something that would be taken lightly, seeing as she was Head Girl.

By the time she had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady she was thoroughly angered with Snape’s behavior towards her.  It seemed that he really had it out for her this year.  “It’s just not right!”  She groaned, waking the Fat Lady, who had been napping.

“Of course not, dear.”  The Lady yawned, and stretched across the canvas, “Password?”

“Wronski Feint.”  She said, shaking her head a little bit.  Ron, now a prefect, something that had shocked the entire school, was in charge of passwords this week, and it showed.

The portrait swung open and Hermione climbed through, looking around to see if Harry or Ron were there.  She spied them by the fire engaged in a game of chess.  She plopped down next to them and sighed heavily. 

“What happened Hermione?”  Ron asked, not looking up from the game.  He was only two moves away from a victory, and he wasn’t about to lose to Harry.

“It’s Snape.  He had me stay after to get my new time turner, and he gave me detention for no good reason!”  She pouted a little bit.  “And in the first week too!  What is McGonagall going to say?”

Harry looked at her with sympathy.  He was used to getting unfounded detentions from Snape.  “She’ll say he’s a stupid git and give you a cookie.”  McGonagall was known to have a soft spot for Hermione and tended to forgive her anything.  “I wouldn’t worry about it.  You did say that you got the time turner though, right?”

The trio had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of her new hourglass, as it would give them all some much needed extra time.  Although Harry and Ron weren’t supposed to know about it, Hermione had told them anyway.  It had been so helpful in the third year that she just had to share it with them.

“Yeah.  It’s a new model too, very powerful.  McGonagall said that it can take you years back in time, not just hours, although I don’t think anyone has actually ever done it.”  She smiled as Ron won the game.  He did a little dance in his chair before joining the conversation.

“Snape is just a greasy git.  It’s good about the time turner though.  I was wondering when the ministry was going to send it to you.”  He started cleaning up the chess game, and smiled at Hermione, blushing a little when she smiled back. 

Hermione shut her eyes, and moaned a little.  “I don’t want to do detention tonight!  It’s the first Friday of the year; I wanted to relax a little bit!  Stupid Snape.  I wonder what he’ll make me do.”

Harry stood up, and held out his hand, helping Hermione to her feet.  “I don’t know, but don’t dwell on it.  Let’s just go down to dinner.”

*****************************************************

Severus Snape could not bring himself to actually eat any dinner.  He could pick her voice out of the crowd.  She was laughing with those friends of hers.  He speared a carrot violently.  All he wanted to do was forget about her.  Just not think about Hermione Granger for one second.  But he couldn’t get her out of his head.  He kept wondering when it was going to happen.  If only it could be prevented… so much might not have happened.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Albus Dumbledore, who had noticed the look on Severus’ face.  “Not brooding, are we Severus?”  He asked lightly, trying to draw the man out of his foul mood.

“Of course I am.  She is in her seventh year.  You know what that means.”  He speared another carrot with gusto, causing it to fly from his plate and onto Dumbledore’s head.  Severus made a noise suspiciously like a growl, but Dumbledore simply laughed.

 “It happened long ago, Severus, you need to learn to let go.”  He took the carrot and transfigured it to a rose, handing it to Minerva McGonagall who was sitting to his left. 

“It is not just something I can forget, Albus.  It changed everything… my whole life changed because of that girl!”  He shook his head, and added softly.  “Even if I could move on, it will all be dredged up again when she returns.  What then, Albus?  We have no idea how she is going to react.  Have you given any thought as to what is going to happen?”

Dumbledore sighed.  “Yes, Severus, I have been giving it thought for twenty years.  We don’t know how she will react, but there is nothing we can do about it.  What will happen will happen.  All we can do is hope for the best and try to stay positive.”

Severus shook his head.  “Always the bloody optimist.”

Dumbledore could only laugh.

Across the hall Harry, Ron, and Hermione were doing the same thing.  Harry had just laid out a detailed plan on how to get back at Snape for giving Hermione a detention.

“Oh, Harry, it’s brilliant!  He will absolutely go crazy!”  Hermione had lightened up considerably in the past years on practical jokes.  She wasn’t as in love with them as they boys were, but she was always ready for a good one. 

“I think we ought to wait a week though.”  Ron said, between mouthfuls of food.  “We don’t want him to suspect us.”

Harry grinned.  “He is going to suspect you and me no matter what.  The trick is to have him not suspect Hermione.  We don’t want her in trouble again.”

Suddenly, Hermione’s eyes lit up.  “I know how we can do it, and there is no way he’ll be able to say it was us!”

The boys looked at her with great interest.  No matter how much they planned, there was never any absolute way that they could pull it off… but to have a guarantee that they wouldn’t be caught… it was like Christmas had come early.  “How?”  They both asked at the same time, practically drooling with anticipation. 

Hermione patted the spot where her time turner lay under her robes.  “We’ll use the hourglass to go back in time so we can do it while we’re in potions!  He would be watching us the entire time, there is no way he could suspect us, or that he could prove it anyway.  Even if he brought up the time turner, there is no way any of the other teachers would believed I would use it for non academic purposes!”  She was positively glowing.

“That is the best idea I think I have ever heard!”  Ron said, with look of deep respect for Hermione.  “When did you get to be so devious?”

She laughed, “I learned from the masters,” giving them a melodramatic nod of the head. 

After that the boys’ conversation turned to Quidditch, one which Hermione had no desire to participate in.  She got lost in thoughts of her latest Transfigurations class; it had been a particularly difficult one, turning a grain of sand into a bar of chocolate.  She had been the only one to do it right the first time.  Suddenly the little hairs on the back of Hermione’s neck stood straight on end.   She could feel someone’s eyes on her.  She quickly scanned the entire room, but did not catch anyone’s eye.  ‘That’s odd.’  She thought, before looking down again.  Seconds later the sensation returned. 

She looked up quickly this time, but she still could not find who had been staring.  She shivered a little bit.  She didn’t like the idea of someone watching her.  After it happened a third time she got a little angry. “This is ridiculous.” She whispered, pushing her chair away from the table.

“What’s wrong?”  Harry asked her as she got up from her seat.

“I don’t know… I keep getting the feeling that someone is watching me.  It’s creepy.  I think I am just going to go back to the common room.  I’m done eating anyway.”

Harry nodded.  “Okay.  We’ll be up in a bit… if Ron ever gets full!” 

“Mfph!” Ron snorted, with a mouth full of food.  Swallowing he gave Harry a dirty look and turned to Hermione.  “We’ll be up in a few minutes.  Do me a favor and set up my chessboard, okay?”

She nodded.  “Sure.  See you guys in a bit.”  She pushed in her chair, and made her way to the doors of the Great Hall, trying hard not to turn around.  She could feel eyes burning into her back.

Severus watched as she left the Hall.  He had watched with amusement as she had felt his eyes on her.  She never thought to check the High Table for the source of the stare.  He watched her now with the same mix of confusing emotions he had before.  As she left the Hall he stood up.  He could no longer stay here, listening to the hum of the students.  He needed to get to his office where he could be alone with his thoughts.

***********************************************************

Hermione pushed open the door to Snape’s classroom.  It was seven on the dot; she hadn’t wanted to be there a minute earlier.  She found the room to be empty, and took a seat in the front row.  The fury she had felt towards Snape earlier had now subsided into a small bout of terror.  She was sure he would have something horrible for her to do.

Ten minutes later Snape wandered into the classroom, and looked at Hermione with genuine confusion.  “What do you want, Miss Granger?”  He asked, puzzled.

“Um, I have detention sir.  You told me to be here at seven.”  She said timidly. 

He looked at her blankly for a minute before his lips curled into a sneer.  “That’s right.  I had forgotten.  I have not prepared anything in the way of a punishment…” Hermione let out a deep breath of air, “so I will have you assist me instead.”  She tensed up again at that.

He motioned for her to come, and she got up and followed him out of the room and into a small workroom that she had never seen before.  She assumed that it must be part of his private rooms.  He waived a hand at an empty stool and she sat down awaiting instructions.

“Right now I am working on some simple healing spells for Madam Pomfrey.  I trust you know how to make a Band-Adius potion?”  He didn’t look at her as she spoke, instead going through several stacks of papers that were on a desk.

“Yes sir.”  She answered, trying her hardest to have a steady voice. 

“Good.  You will find the ingredients you need on the table to your left.  Once you have completed the potion you may go.”  He was glad now that he had given her detention.  Now he wouldn’t have to waste his time doing favors for Poppy. 

Hermione got to work adding the long list of ingredients together.  She was so involved in her work that she didn’t notice Snape watching her. 

An hour later Hermione was satisfied that the potion was done.  She put it into ten small vials and then into a rack.  She was proud of the work she had done.  She knew that the potion was perfect; there was nothing Snape could say that would change that.

“Professor?  I’m done.”  She said, breaking him out of his train of thought.

He looked at her with a strange expression.  “Yes, thank you… just… you can go.”

She nodded and turned to the door wanting to run but forcing herself to walk slowly.  She had never seen that expression on Snape’s face before.  It was a mix of sadness and something else she couldn’t place.  She didn’t want to dwell on it though, and she slipped out of the room. 

For some reason, Snape decided to follow her.  He moved silently to make sure she didn’t notice him.  He stood at the door to the classroom watching as she made her way up the long staircase.  Suddenly, something went wrong.  She teetered backwards on the top stair before falling back. 

She fell quickly down the long staircase looking as if she were doing summersaults.  She could feel bones breaking and she tried to cry out, but the wind kept getting knocked out of her.  Finally, she hit the bottom with a thud. 

Snape stopped dead as she hit bottom.  He saw the hourglass fly from her neck landing many feet away from her body.  He watched as she seemed to flicker in the candle light before disappearing altogether.

Numbly he walked over and picked up the hourglass.  ‘So this is how it happened.’  He thought.  ‘If I hadn’t called her for detention…’   Pulling himself together he started towards the headmaster’s office to alert him, although now there was nothing they could do but await her return.

*********************************************************

Hermione could hear whispers around her, but she couldn’t open her eyes to see who was talking.  Her body felt as if it was on fire, and she could vaguely remember falling down the stairs leaving Snape’s dungeon.

She guessed it was because of the fall, but the voices she heard were not making any kind of sense.  They kept talking about where she had come from, and as if they didn’t know her.  She knew the voices were familiar, though she couldn’t place them.  She thought she must be delirious. 

“I’m telling you, sir, she just appeared out of no where.  I didn’t recognize her, but I saw that she was hurt.  I didn’t think to ask her name.”  The voice sounded very familiar.

“You did the right thing by bringing her here, Severus… but are you sure you can’t tell us anything more?  There is nothing else you can remember?”  This voice was familiar too, and soothing.  Although she didn’t understand what he was talking about, she wished he would talk more.

“No sir… wait, I think she is waking up.”

Hermione indeed was beginning to open her eyes.  She groaned softly, and tried to pull herself up.  “What happened,” she asked the voices, whose faces were blurry.

It seemed that they didn’t know what to say.  One of the faces came into focus.  It was a face she knew… although it seemed very different… younger…

“Professor Snape?  What’s going on?” She saw the startled look on the man’s face, and became very confused.  Suddenly the other face came into focus… it was Dumbledore; only different… he looked younger as well.  “Professor Dumbledore?  Please… what’s going on?”

Dumbledore turned to Snape and said softly, “I think you had better leave us alone, Severus.  You may return to the Slytherin common room, and twenty points to Slytherin for helping… her.”

Snape nodded and walked out the door, casting one last puzzled look at Hermione.  Dumbledore pulled up a chair and sat next to her, holding one of her hands. 

“I’m sorry, but you are going to have to tell me your name.”

Hermione looked at him with a furrowed brow.  “Hermione Granger… Professor, how could you forget my name?”

He looked at her with his twinkling blue eyes.  “Now, stay calm child… but we have never met.”

She looked at him with an unreadable mix of emotions.  Then, suddenly, her eyes went wide.  Her she flung her hand to her neck, and then to cover her mouth.

Dumbledore looked at her with concern.  “What is it child?”

“I… my… I had a time turner… when I fell… it… it’s gone…I…”  She turned to Dumbledore with a look of horror on her face.  “What year is it?”

 Dumbledore answered, understanding now what had happened, “It is 1977.”

Hermione gasped, before fainting back onto the bed.

Dumbledore sat there staring at her.  It was going to be an interesting year.

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(A/N)  Hi!  This is my first attempt at a S/Hr story.  I wasn’t sure what to put as the date, so I guessed.  I hope it makes some sense.  This is kind of the prologue to the story… in the next chapter she’ll get settled and all.  

I know that this isn’t too original as far as plots go… but whatever.  I just want it to be entertaining.  I hope you enjoy it.