{7-Idiotic, Babbling, Coot}

Hermione looked blankly at Severus, who was impatient at best, and breathed in heavily.

Nothing in her right mind prepared her to answer a question like the one he'd posed. In all honesty, she probably should have had a safety in place for this, but of course it was not to be.

"The subject of time travel interests me quite thoroughly."

"That's risky business," he retorted immediately, his worry abating slightly, but not to a great degree of calm.

"I know," Hermione sighed, pushing the books away from them, feeling like the incriminating things should not be so close to either of them.

"You don't plan on... oh, I don't know, but you're not doing anything bad, correct?"

It was a complete lack of eloquence on his part, and Hermione found it appealing how his cheeks burned with embarrassment from his outburst. She hated to be caught in such thoughts, but they wouldn't leave her alone since Mary had made such a possibility apparent.

No, she hadn't butchered time yet, and she wasn't going to now.

"The quite opposite, I hope. I merely want to be careful. When I was in school before, I actually used a time-turner to attend double classes. No one was supposed to know, so keep it on the low, if you will," she joked lightly, hoping he would ease off and see she wasn't bothered by his mishap.

"That's quite a privilege. I reckon you were drowning in work though?"

Hermione laughed, remembering the evening he stepped in front of her and her boys to protect them from Remus, feeling quite the daring one to have called him away from herself. Time was sturdy, and if she didn't muck things up too bad, she supposed that maybe she could get away with being around for twenty years, merely wasting time. That of which was still the final option.

"I... certainly had taken a bite of something I struggled to chew."

The muggle reference only made Severus weary of her, but he left the topic after that, and Hermione was very thankful for it.

The day progressed, and she continued to read her books of time-travel, accompanied by her black-attired companion. It was nice, to read and not ever be bothered, for when Severus completed his Ancient Ruins work, he moved on to a novel pulled from his bag and sat down to it. The damnable thing was no less various potion's recipes and theories, but she was not one to comment.

Before dinner was ready, Hermione received an urgent letter that seemed so important, McGonagall had delivered it herself to her.

Severus merely stuck his nose further into his book, trying very hard to act like he wasn't hanging off of every word that was being said between a Head of House and her student.

"This is from the Headmaster, I suggest you do not take it lightly, as he seemed mildly displeased to have me contact you. I hope you have not upset anything, Mr.Granger, I was very happy to see your studies going so well."

She extended her hand, and Hermione took the letter with little happiness. Usually any problems were dealt with by McGonagall misconduct wise, but it seemed Hermione was not afforded the luxury.

"What's it say?" Severus asked the moment the Transfiguration professor was gone from the aisle.

"I haven't opened it yet, Merlin," she huffed, pushing her fingers under the seal and carefully reading over the words. "It's just an... invitation per se, to his office."

"Odd, don't students usually answer to their Heads of House?"

"He likes to watch me closely because I transferred in so late. I didn't think I was causing any problems, but apparently, he must."

Severus gave her a pitiful shrug and wished her luck as she packed her things. Surely she didn't actually do anything to warrant this? Her whole time at Hogwarts so far had been painless, very much unlike her other six years here.

Wishing she didn't have to be doing this, Hermione whispered the password to the office, written into her note, and took the path up, feeling quite nervous. It wasn't as if she'd actually done anything bad or broken any rules, but there were many other possibilities she had come up with for him to be worried over. If he had discovered who she really was, then that wouldn't be good at all, especially since it would be obvious that time-travelling had been involved. He would probably try to press secrets from her and get her to help them win the war faster and more efficiently. And as much as Hermione may have enjoyed that, she knew it wasn't a possibility, and she wouldn't let him make her tell. She would die before time was changed irreparably.

She knocked upon the door and waited patiently for Dumbledore to allow her in.

The office was as she remembered it being, and her heart hammered in her chest as she walked through the room, right up to where Dumbledore had indicated.

"Please, sit, Miss Granger. I would hate to have this conversation with you in such a capable position of running."

They both knew if Hermione even tried to run, he would be able to keep her still with barely the raise of his wand.

He offered her a strange candy even she had never seen before and then smiled before leaning back, his fingers touching and forming a smooth peak.

"So you have befriended Severus Snape, then?"

Hermione didn't quite think this was small talk if that's what he was getting at.

"I suppose. We're quite the same."

His eyes creased for a moment in either amusement or suspicion, but he spoke before Hermione could decide.

"I would beg to differ, I think. You, are very much a good, young girl, Miss Granger."

Hermione agreed, but what in Merlin's name did he have against Severus?

"Thank you, sir, but-"

"Mister Snape-" Oh how wrong that sounded, and Hermione tried to suppress her shudder, "is involved in something I don't think you wish to be involved in. I've found I quite approve of your dedication to your knowledge. As the muggles say, it is power."

Surely he couldn't be serious? Dumbledore, however, had never looked more sure in his life, his mouth pinned in a straight line.

"Sir, I respectfully doubt that-"

"There are no doubts in my mind, Miss Granger. I will not have you being corrupted by will of the boy, for I think he is already lost to us. I have not seen anything yet to tell me otherwise. He bonded with you merely for your mutual loneliness, and wouldn't you find it in better interest to keep up your relations with the Gryffindor clan you seemed to have gotten to welcome you in?"

Lost? Severus? He... well, Professor Snape was certainly not lost. He would make a mistake, but that was the extent of it. And he would turn into an unbearably tyrannical man... yet Hermione still found herself defending him. No matter the humility and pain he'd caused her, he'd probably saved her and Harry's life more than she knew. Didn't Dumbledore pride himself on having a goodness about him? A love for things that were broken, like Harry?

Hermione was thoroughly puzzled, for she felt like if anyone had potential but was being cast in the shadow of their house, then it had to be Severus Snape! He loved Lily Potter, and while that wasn't his only redeeming quality since that was barely one at all, it did mean he was capable of love. And if he was, then he wasn't all bad, was he? Why wouldn't Dumbledore try to save him earlier instead of just giving up? He was a man who ended up being caught in the middle loved by...

She realized with a harsh breath that no one had ever loved Severus Snape, besides, she hoped with great strength, his mother.

Dumbledore was analyzing her reactions as she breathed in and out, growing red with anger and purple from how horrified she was at this man. Harry had idolized him, and they'd all cared for him as students, but she suddenly felt her loyalties changing.

"Isn't each student worth the time it takes to bring them back before they do something wrong?"

Unfortunately, when Dumbledore didn't want to do something, it meant he wasn't doing it. Answering her sudden inquiry just so happened to be on the list of things he did not wish to do.

"I asked you if you are enjoying the company of your fellow housemates?"

Hermione knew she wasn't going to get what she wanted, so she conceded fitfully and tried to remain polite.

"They're pleasant enough... far more educated than I imagined them all to be."

"Yes, I do pride myself in knowing that the whole group has a head on their shoulders now."

She snorted, and it couldn't have been helped, because Peter was a spineless fool, and no one but her knew it.

This piqued Dumbledore's interest, "Is there something you aren't telling me, Miss Granger? Something you may find important to divulge?"

His eyes had hardened, and it was then she realized how intimidating the man really was. He could be a fierce wizard if he wanted, and Hermione felt the pressure to tell the truth, despite her animosity.

"No, but I mean... Sirius is loose at best, James is cocky, Remus misses class a lot, and Peter just seems the odd sort."

"Ah," Dumbledore eased, nodding his head, "The first impression never does seem quite true to frame."

Says he who cared no less for Severus Snape than he did Voldemort.

"Why does Remus miss so many classes then?" Hermione challenged, trying to sound naive, but Dumbledore was no fool.

"You have a guess, I imagine. Though, people do have their secrets, don't they, Florizel?"

Hermione never imagined she would hear the name out of his lips, and it startled her into a more malleable attitude. He did not approve of her questioning him, and obviously wasn't going to take it lying down. She hated how so few words and tones out of Dumbledore's mouth made people willing to bend over backwards for him.

She wanted to leave.

"Why don't we adjourn for the evening, I wouldn't want to keep you from supper."

She'd never been more thankful to be dismissed by a professor before, and with a mumbled thank you, she was gone from the office.

Never did she want to return. Her head was full of curious things, and she wondered where on this planet she had ever gotten the idea that Dumbledore cared about anyone or anything. It made sense, really, about why he'd kept Harry in the dark about his condition for so many years, and why he'd manipulated Severus into the position he would one day be in. It hurt her heart to know what that man would do in the future to harm those around her.

Dumbledore only cared if it benefited him, she thought harshly, giving Harry up to the Dursley's and... letting Sirius rot in Azkaban like an unused potato for stew! She seethed at the old wizard, wishing she'd set fire to his robes in First Year instead of Severus'. The thought brought her brief amusement before she thought back to how horrible those around Dumbledore ended up! Even Aberforth had warned her, but she hadn't listened.

Of course, he'd been bias, thinking he'd killed Ariana, when really, no one would ever be sure who actually threw the curse that killed her.

Still, Hermione wasn't sure what to think anymore.

She thought about Severus... praying that he wasn't lost to her, and that he still loved Lily enough to change for the better one day, to give up the true life of a Death Eater and give himself over to Dumbledore, though Hermione wasn't sure how she felt about that any longer either.

A rippling shiver ran through her body as she entered the cacophonous Great Hall, the noise overwhelming her. Hermione knew the curse was doing it's trick now, and she would only have to fight that much harder as the days went on so that she didn't change time as everyone knew it... and so she kept from going insane.

A/N

*Looks at the camera like I'm a youtuber* SO OBVIOUSLY I put a bit of my hatred for Dumbledore into this chapter, but it happens, and he won't entirely be a good character throughout the story anyways... so I don't mind dragging his name through the dirtiest of muds. Hope you're enjoying!