Hermione had no time to say another word before she was promptly grabbed by the potions master and steered out of the Forbidden Forest. She had to hurry to keep up with his quick, rhythmic strides, and do her best not to trip upon his billowing black robes. Thankfully, there was no evidence of the snowstorm just a few days before, making traversing the grounds a far more simple endeavor, with no ice patches to slip upon.

The fresh scent of the Lady's Mantle wafted into her nose as a light, springtime breeze picked up, directly causing Severus to growl in front of her. This sent another flush onto Hermione's cheeks, as she quickly deduced that he must have smelled the pungent scent emitting from her as she felt herself growing wet. She then let out a soft shriek as Severus turned around and hauled her up into his arms and made a mad dash for a side door on the castle, which he threw open with a mere wave of his hand, and hurried inside.

Hermione looked around the corridor for the briefest of moments that they stood there, and was amazed to discover that the side door had brought them directly into the dungeons. She gripped tightly onto Severus's robes as he brought them down one final staircase, quite close to the potions classroom and Slytherin Common Room, until they turned around a corner and were greeted by a portrait of Salazar Slytherin himself. Hermione felt herself trembling as the thousand-year-old wizard stared at her, a serpent crawling around his form.

"Ah, Severus," Salazar said, scratching the head of his familiar as he appraised Hermione for a fleeting moment. "Found our mate, I see?"

"Indeed, Salazar," Severus declared, before uttering, "Semper."

Salazar parted his hands with a smile, before the portrait lifted, and the stone wall converted itself into a door.

Hermione gaped, never having considered that before. "Such magic," she breathed.

Severus, meanwhile, muttered a few incantations, and the door unlocked itself, prompting the potions master to all but fly in, Hermione still in his arms. The door shut automatically behind them, leading Severus to repeat the spells, before he set Hermione down on her feet and gently turned her around to face him. "Who are you?"

"My name is Hermione Granger," she said softly.

Severus stared at her thoughtfully for a moment. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen," she replied, doing her best not to add sir.

"You're clearly of English stock, and yet, I did not see you at Hogwarts. You would have been three years behind me..."

Hermione sighed, knowing that she had to be upfront with the man; he was an Alpha, her Alpha, and her one true mate. "You wouldn't have, Severus, for I was born in September of 1979. I came here via a Time-Turner from April of 1998, during the height of the Second Wizarding War, assisted by none other than Narcissa and Draco Malfoy."

Severus immediately looked stunned. "Draco Malfoy? He is but an infant," he replied, shaking his head. "And yet," he said, beginning to circle around her, "you are my true mate, my Omega; I can smell it on you," he declared.

Hermione trembled, although it was a delicious sensation, knowing that, based upon the tone of voice, she was pleasing her Alpha. "I cannot, will not, lie to you, Severus," she whispered.

Severus inclined his head at her words. "Good. I want an honest relationship between the two of us." He regarded her for a few moments. "Other than the scent of roses, vanilla, and strawberries, I can also smell your magic."

Hermione flushed; she knew about wixen feeling one another's magic, but for Severus Snape to tell her that he smelled her magic could only mean— "You can smell my core?"

"I can," Severus confirmed, stepping closer; he stood behind her now, and gently lifted a thick lock of her hair, moving it ever so slightly, before he leaned down and inhaled along her collar bone, towards her neck. "You are very powerful..."

Hermione leaned back her head, her eyes fluttering at his hot breath upon her bare skin, goosebumps being left in its wake. "So I have been told..."

Severus stopped his exploration for a moment. "By whom?"

Hermione bit her lip, hearing the jealousy laced within her mate's tone; she mustn't displease her Alpha, as she could feel the tendrils of her heat just begging to burst forth from just beneath her skin. "In my former timeline, by my Head of House, Minerva," she whispered, and she felt the jealous Alpha abating, albeit slowly. "My two closest friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, who were like my brothers in all but name..." She mentally let out a sigh of relief as Severus continued his exploration of her neck. "...as well as Ron's mother and father, and a few of the professors here..."

Severus, again, hesitated. "You did not mention your own parents."

Hermione's eyes snapped open; it was as if she had been drenched in cold water, as her eyes filled with tears. She wrapped her arms around herself, wanting to create a balm to the ache that was her shattered psyche, and she crumpled to the floor. Her dear, dear parents, who she likely would never see again...

"Hermione?" Severus asked, his tone filled with worry at the thought that he had devastated his one true mate, and so soon after meeting her. He promptly crouched beside her, wanting desperately to touch her, but also not wishing to upset her further if she had no wish to be touched. "What is it? What can I do? I apologize if I said anything untoward..."

Hermione shook her head, still rendered speechless.

"May I... May I touch you, Hermione?"

Hermione, still shaking, blindly reached out a hand, which Severus took, and she let out a soft sob as he pulled her to him, until she was cradled up against his muscular form, safe.

"Are they gone, Hermione?" Severus whispered.

"Not... Not in this timeline," she whispered back, though her voice shook. "I... I was on a mission with Harry and Ron, sanctioned by Dumbledore... He had us hunting down Horcruxes to destroy Tom Riddle."

Severus stiffened. "You know his true name?"

"Yes," Hermione said, her voice filled with sadness. "Harry was marked as his equal... Or, rather, will be marked as his equal, if we cannot put a stop to it, on Halloween of this year. As you know, he will have a choice between Harry and another boy, born the day before, called Neville, son of Frank and Alice Longbottom."

Severus became as stiff as marble in her arms.

Hermione slowly looked up at him. "I don't blame you, Severus," she whispered, and his eyes snapped to hers. "I know it was you who had to tell Dumbledore about the prophesy. He..." She sighed, the crushing burden of the secrets she'd had to keep from Harry and Ron threatening to spill out, but she couldn't lie to her Alpha, she couldn't. "Before we left, I summoned books from the Headmaster's Office to assist us on our journey to find the Horcruxes; I still have them in my bag. I also received a vial of memories, delivered to me just after I returned home for the last time, from the headmaster. In them... Well, they were conversations between the two of you, speaking about the prophesy, how you came into your employment at Hogwarts, as well as your vow to play double agent for the side of the Light."

Severus stared down at her, wide eyes. "Did anyone else know of these memories?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. I still have them in my bag. Other than an Undetectable Extension Charm, the bag is also equipped with Anti-Breaking Charms and various wards to keep anyone unauthorized from looking into it. I will, of course, amend the wards so that you can see into it."

Severus blinked. "You trust me so implicitly?"

Hermione sighed. "Not only are you my Alpha, but you were my professor for six years. The headmaster always put his trust in you, right until the very end, when he ordered you to..." She ducked her head then, the rage that hadn't come before suddenly consuming her full throttle, at the notion of what the headmaster had made her Alpha do, all for the greater good. "...when he ordered you to continue your spying for the side of the Light, thus proving yourself as a loyal ally towards Tom Riddle, by killing him."

"Killing him?" Severus demanded, his face awash with shock. "I could never! The man took me in when I had no one, when the prophecy decreed that it could have been Lily's son that Riddle wanted dead—"

Hermione placed a patient hand on Severus's arm. "He may have done, but it was all conditional, wasn't it?" she asked him patiently, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "I understand bargaining for something, especially when information is involved, but he took advantage of your vulnerability, Severus, and, in so doing, would set him upon a path which would involve treachery, lies, and other abominable acts, all in the name of the greater good."

Severus slowly looked down at his mate. "How?" he whispered, sounding utterly tortured at the notion that, the one man who had provided him with shelter from the storm, truly had taken advantage of him.

Hermione sighed. "In my timeline, Riddle is successful in hunting down Lily and James," she told him quietly.

Severus looked horrified. "No!"

She nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid so. I'm sure you are aware that, due to the secrecy of their location, they have a secret keeper."

Severus nodded. "Yes, of course. I would assume that they selected Black."

"You would be correct, but Sirius was under the impression that everyone would assume that, and so he decided to switch the position...with Peter Pettigrew," Hermione told him.

Severus narrowed his eyes. "Pettigrew is a rat, is he not?"

Hermione laughed darkly at that. "Yes, and it's rather fitting, given his second name of Wormtail when it comes to the Marauder's. Wormtail is currently feeding information to Riddle, through meetings in the Order of the Phoenix, and he will betray Lily and James' whereabouts in short order. In my timeline, Lily and James are killed on Halloween of this year, and Sirius is the one who is blamed for it."

Severus shook his head. "I may not like the man, but anyone who honestly believed that it was he who betrayed Lily and James was a dunderhead."

"Dumbledore led the charge, I'm afraid," Hermione said softly, "by ensuring that Sirius was locked up in Azkaban without even a trial."

"But that's..." Severus shook his head. "That's downright illegal! I was guilty of everything they accused me of when I was put on trial, but I was given a trial..."

"Well, considering that Sirius figured it out, he went to confront Pettigrew, and informed him that he would pay for what he had done. Pettigrew ensured that he was declared dead within wizarding society, by causing an explosion, and leaving his finger for evidence. This killed twelve Muggles, and made a crater in the ground... When the Aurors came, they found Sirius laughing hysterically, believing that he had inherited the Black family madness. That was when they arrested him and locked him away with no trial."

Severus sighed, likely downtrodden with the unexpected information. "And Pettigrew? He did not truly die, did he?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. He took his Animagus form, a rat, as I mentioned previously, and hid out with the Weasley family as Percy's rat for a number of years."

Severus wrinkled his nose. "Charming. I do not know Percy..."

"No, as Arthur and Molly's eldest, Bill, will only start here in September," Hermione explained patiently to him. "Their second son, Charlie, will join Hogwarts in 1983, then Percy in 1987, followed by the holy terrors themselves, Fred and George, the twins, in 1989. Ron, Harry, and myself join Hogwarts in 1991, and their final child, Ginny, will come in 1992."

"Final child?" Severus asked. "So, Molly is officially expecting their longed-for daughter as we speak, then?"

Hermione smiled. "Yes; Ginny comes in August, on the eleventh, eleven days after Percy's sixth birthday, as a matter of fact."

"Does Pettigrew remain Percy's rat, then?" Severus asked.

"No," Hermione said, growing serious again. "Percy is quite an overachiever, to the point where he is too pompous to even be around, and is made Prefect for his fifth-year. As a reward, Arthur and Molly purchase an owl for him, Hermes—"

Severus huffed. "So very imaginative."

Hermione grinned at him. "—and so Ron is given the rat, who is called Scabbers. What luck for him, given that the very person his master wants dead is the closest friend of his owner. Of course, when I adopted my Crookshanks, a half-Kneazle..." She broke off then, an ache in her heart, internally cursing herself for not thinking of him until now, given that she'd had quite a bit going on in her life...

"Hermione?"

She sighed, wondering if Ginny had taken care of Crookshanks. "Sorry. I just remembered that he was at the Burrow, but when we left there, in August of 1997. I haven't seen him since then, and all I know is, when I adopted him in August of 1993, he had been at the Magical Menagerie for quite a long time..."

Severus slowly leaned forward and held Hermione close. "Well, in that case, we will search there soon to find him," he said soothingly. "And, if he is not there, and if you're still keen on having a feline familiar, then we shall remedy that forthwith."

Hermione sighed; although it wasn't a perfect arrangement, the notion of bringing another feline into her care was certainly a balm to the hurt. "Thank you," she said softly. "Anyhow, Crookshanks knew that something was going on with Scabbers, to the point where Ron became convinced that dear Crooks had eaten him."

Severus smirked. "Sharp-witted cat, that."

Hermione preened at the praise for her beloved Crooks, hoping that, wherever he was, he was warm, comfortable, fed, and loved. "Ron only reluctantly apologized for his actions towards Crookshanks at the end of term. Sirius, in his own Animagus form, would lurk around the castle grounds—"

Severus held up his hand. "Sorry. I thought you said he'd been placed in Azkaban without a trial, and, for something as severe as fourteen counts of murder, it is an automatic life sentence."

Hermione shook her head. "Sorry, Severus. Sirius deliberately stopped eating, until his Animagus form could wedge itself between the bars of his cell. He then managed to get off the island and to the Hogwarts grounds."

Severus's eyes were wide. "That's... No one has ever successfully escaped Azkaban."

Hermione sighed. "It happened twice in my timeline, but that is a story for another time," she told him softly. "This happened in our third-year, by the way. I assume you are aware of the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position."

Severus's lip curled. "Very aware."

"We were currently on our third teacher," Hermione continued. "Professor Quirrell joined the school in 1985 to begin teaching Muggle Studies for a year, before he journeyed to Albania to find Riddle, thus cementing him as a devoted follower of his. He permitted Riddle to use his body when he returned to the school in 1991, and became our first Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He was killed when attempting to obtain the Sorcerer's Stone."

Severus inclined his head. "I remember Quirinus," he said softly. "A Ravenclaw, with a significant speech impediment. Nothing one would look twice at, unless he bumbled into you or someone beside you."

"Precisely," Hermione answered. "Oh, and you would love this... Our instructor in our second-year was Gilderoy Lockhart."

Severus looked apoplectic. "Did Albus go mad?" he demanded. "Who in their right mind would think that he, whose only honorific was Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award, would be suitable to teach children?"

Hermione smirked. "Ah, so you are aware of his fraudulent status?"

Severus huffed. "It doesn't take an ignoramus to know such things..."

"I knew you didn't like him," she said quietly. "Lockhart decided to start up the schools' Dueling Club again, and had you practice with him, thus showcasing what to do, as well as what not to do, while in a duel. You sent him flying; at the time, I believed myself to have quite the crush on him, embarrassingly, but, looking back, it was quite amusing."

Severus cocked his head. "Do you have a memory of that day?"

Hermione nodded. "Of course."

"Well, then I should like to see it at some point," he said softly. "What befell Lockhart to prevent him from teaching a second year?"

"Ron had a broken wand," Hermione said, "and, after Lockhart volunteered to go into the Chamber of Secrets with him and Harry—"

"Sorry, the Chamber of Secrets is not only real, but it was opened?" Severus demanded.

"Right, sorry," Hermione said. "It was indeed opened, and it is indeed real. Lockhart passed out at the sight of the Basilisk's skin, and took Ron's wand when he came to. He then attempted to Obliviate the pair of them, which is how he claimed credit for all his escapades, but it caused a rock side within the entryway of the chamber. Of course, Ron's wand was broken, so the spell also backfired, rendering him with the IQ of a koala."

"Thus preventing him from teaching," Severus said, nodding. "Who was your teacher during your third-year?"

Hermione sighed, knowing that this would be difficult. "Our third-year, our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was Remus Lupin."

Severus looked horrified. "What in Merlin's name was the old man thinking?!"

"Severus!" Hermione cried out. "Remus was gentle, kind, and considerate. Not to mention very knowledgeable in his field—"

"He would have to be, being part beast," Severus practically snarled.

Hermione blinked; she could smell that Severus was jealous of her admiration towards Remus, but he needn't have been worried. She certainly liked the man, of course, even considering him a friend, ally, and mentor, but she didn't have any feelings for him, especially given that Tonks was his one true mate. She positioned herself closer to the man, before she tilted her head back slowly, exposing her mating gland. "Bite me."

Severus stopped his jealous tirade and stared down at Hermione. "What?"

"I don't want you to fault me for having friends, Severus, even the male Alpha kind. I want to prove to you that I've been loyal, even if I had no idea that you were my mate. So, bite me," she repeated, keeping her head tilted back. "I want to wear your mark so that when we go out in public, people will know that I am taken. I want you to be secure, once we face the Wizarding World together, and I inevitably run into people from my past, as well as the future, you won't feel overly threatened. I may admire certain male Alphas, Severus Snape, but you are mine, just as much as I'm your Omega, and nothing will ever change that."

Severus's eyes were wide as he looked down at the mating gland of his one true mate; he felt a fair bit of self-loathing then. He knew entirely well that she had been loyal, despite not knowing that he was her mate. He could smell it on her, the loyalty, and, while it drove his Alpha wild, he knew that she deserved better than jealous rants. Instead, he cupped her cheek and tilted her head downwards, leading Hermione's eyes to widen at her actions.

You've displeased your Alpha! came her panicked thoughts. He'll never mate you now—!

"Do not panic, Hermione," Severus told her gently. "I must learn to curb my temper, as I know entirely well just how loyal you've been. And, as much as I long to bite you, mate you, you deserve it in better circumstances than this. I wish it to be during the moment we join together for the first time, but you clearly have much more to tell me now. I can calm myself and hold off a bit longer. If you cannot, if it grows too painful, I will, of course, take you immediately. But, if you can, I would very much like to learn all that you have to tell me."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "I can wait," she answered quietly. "As for Remus, you have nothing to worry about. I know who his one true mate is, though he cannot mate her yet, as she is a mere girl of nine."

Severus inclined his head. "Although I never got on well with Lupin, I know entirely well that he is not monstrous to take a young Omega... She is an Omega?"

"Tonks," she added quickly, "the daughter of Ted and Andromeda. She goes by her surname, or by Dora, as she isn't fond of her forename."

Severus chuckled. "Yes, I can see why that would be... So, Lupin became your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor during your third-year?"

"He did," Hermione confirmed, "and you made him Wolfsbane."

Severus huffed. "Yes, I suppose I would have, given that I'm to provide potions for any and all staff members, as well as students through the infirmary, at Hogwarts," he replied. "What did happen, then?"

Hermione reached outwards, her hand instinctively traveling up the sleeve of Severus's robe, and took ahold of his wand. She brought it outwards, his hand meeting her, before she took ahold of his arm, bringing his wand hand upwards, so that its tip pressed gently into her temple. "Perhaps this would make things easier," she said with a soft smile, inwardly chastising herself for not considering it before.

Severus's eyes widened. "You know I am a Legilimens?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yes. You were made, by Dumbledore, to teach Harry the art of Occlumency during our fifth-year. It didn't go well, due to the fact that you and his parents, as well as Sirius, Remus, and Pettigrew, have a past. Harry used Protego, and entered your mind," she said in a rush, and her mate looked tortured at her words, "and he saw what happened on the day that your friendship with Lily ended." She took his other hand in hers, and pressed a soft, loving kiss onto the back of it. "I will help you heal your friendship. Perhaps she will be more inclined to listen to the Muggleborn who was her son's best friend."

Severus's jaw tensed, likely to stave off his emotions. "You would truly do that?"

"Severus, you are my mate," she said simply, "my Alpha. I will be with you for the rest of my life, and have children with you. I will, one day soon, fall in love with you, although I have been attracted to you since I was sixteen."

"How could you be?" Severus whispered, voice shaking. "I was your professor—"

Hermione smiled. "Harry got his hands on your old potions textbook," she answered. "While he saw a friend in the Half-Blood Prince..." She shrugged. "I suppose I saw something far more than that."

Severus, who still held his wand to her temple, shook his head at her words. "You seem to know quite a bit about me, Hermione Granger... Do you have a middle name?"

"Jean," Hermione told him.

Severus nodded. "I do not have a middle name."

"Oh," Hermione said, her brows knitting together in confusion. "I suppose we all thought that it was Tobias... Not that you would seek it as a middle name—"

"You know about my childhood?" Severus asked.

Hermione sighed. "Harry saw flashes of it, and told us," she admitted.

Severus looked away, lowering his wand with dejection. "How can someone as intelligent, wonderful, beautiful, pure... What could you possibly want with me?"

"Severus, you are not damaged," Hermione said, her tone firm, as she reached outwards, took ahold of his cheeks, and gently turned his head so that he was looking at her again. "Terrible things have befallen you from the moment you were born—an abusive father, a neglectful mother, less-than-savory associates while in school, and those bloody Marauder's. But you need to know that they don't define you completely," she continued, her tone urgent. "Yes, they make up a part of who you are, and shouldn't be forgotten. Yes, you could have had better parents than Tobias Snape and Eileen Prince. Yes, you could have steered clear of the Death Eaters, but they made you feel important, valuable, as if you were worth something, which I completely understand, although the used manipulations so that you would bend to their will. Yes, you got into arguments with the Marauder's, and were the only one truly punished for your disagreements. Yes, you were failed by Dumbledore, someone who was sworn to protect you as Headmaster of Hogwarts, but instead ignored your ill-treatment by your family and fellow students, and, when you came to him on bended knee, took advantage of you when you were most vulnerable in your darkest hour..."

Severus shook his head. "I behaved so cowardly..."

"You were distraught, Severus," Hermione told him gently, "anyone would be, if their dearest friend had been marked for death by an associate of theirs. I know it couldn't have been easy, watching Lily marry your tormentor, but, I assure you, he truly loves her, and was a wonderful father to Harry, before they were killed."

Severus shuddered. "We are going to fix it, aren't we?"

Hermione nodded. "We are," she said. "I've gotten Minerva onto our side already. I know that you respect her, Severus, and, once we communicate to her what you have been through, she will know that your assistance in this will be invaluable."

Severus trembled, but nevertheless fingered his wand. "Showing me everything at once will likely drain you," he said at last. "I want you to push the most important things I should know to the forefront of your mind, and we shall start there."

Hermione smiled. "Of course, Severus. You know far more about mind magic than I could ever hope to."

Severus turned towards one of the many bookshelves, groaning under the weight of various tomes, varying in age. "I have a fair few books on the subject..."

"And I will want to read them," she assured him. "Might I peruse your library at my leisure at some point?"

Severus turned back to look upon her again. "You are my mate," he said softly, "and, when the time is right, I would hope you would consent to becoming my wife."

Hermione flushed at that; not every Alpha and Omega pair married, as mating was seen as just as good a commitment, but Hermione had always wanted to bond with her Alpha, so the notion was a heady one. "I would like that very much, Severus."

Severus smiled. "I am happy to hear it. I—"

Hermione leaned forward and pressed a short, soft kiss to Severus's lips. "Sorry," she said, as she quickly pulled back with a flush. "I should have asked you. Forgive me, Alpha," she said, and lowered her eyes, every inch the submissive Omega.

Severus tilted her chin up. "There is nothing to forgive, Hermione." He smoothed the pad of his thumb along her cheekbone, considering for a moment, before he, too leaned forward, and pressed a more lingering kiss onto her lips, feeling relieved at the soft mewl she let out, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He tested the waters by licking the seam of her lips, which parted slowly, and they tasted one another for the first time. Slowly, however, he pulled back, knowing entirely well that he would go into rut as soon as he mated her for the first time, and he couldn't allow himself to become distracted just yet.

"Sorry," she said again, though she appeared quite pleased now.

"Nothing to forgive," Severus assured her. "Now, I want you to think about something important I should know about. Bring it to the forefront of your mind, and allow me to see it."

Hermione nodded, thinking hard about the Horcruxes—what they were, the literature she had read about their history, how to destroy them, and where she knew them to be in 1981. She looked up at her mate, and slowly nodded at him. She was aware of him lifting his wand and pressing it to her temple again, fully prepared to look into her mind.

"Legilimens," Severus uttered.