CHAPTER SIX:

"Sometimes I forget what you've lived through," Severus told her, the night before the students were scheduled to return to Hogwarts, a day after her Azkaban 'adventure'. "You seem so... well adjusted."

"Well adjusted?" Hermione asked incredulously, eyeing her lover like he'd just grown a second or third head. "Me? Well adjusted!?"

"Well, I didn't know you before the War, so I don't really know the differences." Severus pointed out reasonably which had her pausing.

"Would you... would you like to see?" She asked hesitantly and when Severus raised an eyebrow Hermione grasped his hands with her own, lifting them so they were cupping her face and met his eyes. It took Severus a moment to realise what she was offering and his expression turned to shock followed by awe.

"Legilimens." He said hoarsely.

Memories flittered through her mind, snapshots of her life shared willingly with the man she loved. And when she cried afterwards, he held her in his arms and rocked her until the tears slowed.

"I love you, Maia," he murmured to her as he pressed kisses to the top of her head, "I love who you are. I love everything about you. We both have our darkness, but together we can get through it to find the light. I know we can."

"I love you too, Severus." Hermione whispered back.

And it was true.

On the Hogwarts Express, all anyone could talk about were the murders she'd committed over the holidays, both the slaughter of the Death Eaters who had escaped conviction and what had become known as 'The Massacre of Azkaban'. Students chattered excitedly about how the person who'd done it had to be as powerful as Dumbledore was and Voldemort had been.

Hermione would have paid a small fortune in gold to have been able to witness how Voldemort had reacted to the news of the culling of his Death Eaters, both in and out of Azkaban— judging by Quirrell's new and seemingly permanent pallor, it would have been quite the entertainment and Hermione was finding a good deal of wicked amusement in the man's suffering.

Other then all the chatter about dead Death Eaters and the students mourning their now-dead parents and relatives, nothing had really changed at Hogwarts. The classes were just as mind-numbingly dull as before Christmas and the kids were just as infuriatingly moronic as she remembered.

She could really sympathise with Severus— dealing with her classmates alone was exhausting, and she didn't even have to teach the brainless dunderheads.

~

It was a few weeks after their return to Hogwarts that Severus and Hermione put into action a break-in that was possibly even more challenging and dangerous then her adventure in Azkaban— the robbing of Gringotts.

To both of their surprise, it went smoothly. With Hermione accompanying him disguised as Maia Wells, Severus had a goblin accompany them to his vault. Along the way, she used the Imperius Curse on the goblin and had him change paths and head down to the Lestrange vault instead.

When the goblin opened the vault, Severus levitated Hermione over to the Cup which she carefully knocked into a leather pouch. He then levitated her back and they put the second part of their plan into action, having the goblin take them back to the dragon they'd passed where Hermione hit its chains with several weakening charms, before setting off a multitude of sharp bangs.

The dragon roared its rage and fear, rearing up and causing the now-weakened chains to snap. A jet of boiling fire narrowly missed them and Hermione hastily obliviated the goblin then hit him in the head with a weak blasting curse, sending him flying from the cart over into the wall of the tunnel. To the best of the goblin's knowledge, when he woke up and couldn't recall the journey to 'Severus's' vault, he'd consider it the result of a head injury.

It didn't take long for a small army of goblins to arrive and when they did, they found Hermione, Severus and the unconscious goblin trapped in a corner, protected by several shield charms but pinned in place. The goblins subdued the dragon and then accompanied them back to the surface, apologising in their usual surly manner.

Horcrux safely procured and hidden away, Hermione and Severus made their way into Diagon Alley, their bank robbery successfully carried off.

"We should celebrate," Hermione told Severus. Her body was still shaking slightly with adrenaline, and she found she was smiling widely.

"Adrenaline junky," teased Severus, tugging the ends of her hair gently and she pouted up at him only to grimace at the sound of a voice that was not welcome.

"Severus!" Lily Potter called out, sounding surprised. Hermione felt Severus stiffen next to her, appearing about as uncomfortable as she felt when Lily and James Potter approached them. Hermione considered just apparating away, rudeness be damned, but instead resigned herself to the awkward interaction.

"Potter... Lily," Severus greeted them stiffly.

"Severus, it's such a surprise to see you out and about during the school term," Lily said brightly, beaming at him. "And who's your companion?"

"This is Maia Wells," Severus introduced her, wrapping his arm around her waist, "Maia is my fiancée."

"Your fiancée?" James sounded shocked. "She looks half your age!"

"James!" Lily elbowed her husband, looking scandalised at his poor manners, before shooting Hermione an apologetic look. "It's lovely to meet you, Maia." She said, politely.

"It's a pleasure," Hermione smiled stiffly back at the redhead. Severus squeezed her hip gently and she relaxed somewhat, leaning into him.

"So where did you two meet?" Lily asked, after shooting James a stern look when he went to open his mouth again, probably to stick his foot in it. Again.

"At the Apothecary, back when I was still working there." Severus answered Lily, who looked surprised by the answer.

"Oh," she said, startled, "you've been together for a while then!"

"Over nine years," Hermione said, turning her head slightly to press her lips against Severus's cheek. He seemed amused by her actions, but she ignored it, focusing instead on the way Lily's eyes narrowed slightly. She tried not to make her 'sweet' smile too obviously smug.

"So did you go to Hogwarts?" James asked, apparently oblivious to the strain between her and his wife, "I can't say I remember you."

"I would have been far past your time," Hermione said in a subtle reminder that Severus was dating a hot, younger woman (actually, she was technically the oldest one there, but she certainly looked younger, and she would for quite some time). "But no, I lived in America for a few years, and went to Salem Witches Academy."

"You don't sound American," Lily pointed out, her tone verging on antagonistic.

"I lived in England until I was ten, then moved back here after my parents passed away." Hermione said quietly.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Lily said stiffly.

"It was a long time ago." Hermione dismissed. "I'm awfully sorry, but we do need to go. We don't have much time left today for dinner until Severus has to return to Hogwarts."

"Why don't you have dinner with us?" Lily suggested, smiling brightly at Severus. "It would be wonderful catching up with you again, Severus, and to get to know your lovely fiancée."

Oh fuck no, Hermione mentally swore, though she worked to keep the fake smile on her face. She was about to concede with well-faked good grace, when Severus spoke up, reminding her why she loved him.

"We'll have to take a rain-check on that, I'm afraid," he said smoothly, "We already have reservations."

"Oh," Lily looked disappointed, "Another time then, Sev?"

"Another time," Severus answered for them, and Hermione let him lead them away, into the Apothecary so she could rant— like she said, her man knew her so well.

"That— that jealous shrew!" She hissed. "What the hell did she think she was playing at!? I—"

"Maia," Severus interrupted her and when she paused, looking over at him, and he spoke firmly. "I prefer brunettes."

Hermione felt herself perk up, the little bits of insecurity she had to admit she was feeling being chased away. "Really?" she said, hopefully.

"I was friends with Lily for a little under six years, and most of that time was when we were just young children," Severus said gently, "I've been in love with you for over nine years, as an adult. I love you, I've made love to you, and I want to marry and spend the rest of my life with you. There's no comparison, Maia. You are my one and only." Hermione couldn't help but beam.

"You're my one and only too," she told him before kissing him— hard.

"Good," Severus said breathlessly, when they broke apart, "because I don't think I can make myself say something so... Hufflepuff-ish again."

Hermione laughed. "Oh Severus," she said, with a smile, "I wouldn't dream of making you."

~

With the Cup now dealt with, the only Horcrux that remained was Harry. Hermione was fully confident about the removal process by this point— she'd practiced on the five other Horcruxes, after all, and had had complete success with all of them. With no reason to put it off any longer, she and Severus settled on completing the process before the easter holidays.

It was a simple enough matter to sneak into the Gryffindor Tower (as a Head of House Severus knew the passwords to all the Common Rooms) and kidnap Harry from his bed. Hermione kept him unconscious as she smuggled him back down to Severus's quarters and she was in the process of drawing out the runes on Harry's bare chest directly with her magic when the fireplace turned green and Albus bloody Dumbledore stuck his head out.

"Severus, I was—" Dumbledore's voice broke off as he took in the scene and stared at her in shock. Hermione could only imagine what it looked like from his perspective— Harry, his boy hero, unconscious with glowing runes blazing on his skin and an unknown threat (admittedly a 'threat' that looked like twelve-year-old, though all witches and wizards knew that appearances could be deceiving in the magical world) standing over him, holding a wand.

"Albus, wait—" Severus said hastily, as Dumbledore shook himself out of his state of shock and leapt through the floo in a surprisingly sprightly manner for such an old man, wand out and ready to curse her, to protect Harry. She slashed her wand through the air in an abrupt movement, conjuring a shimmering golden shield that she knew was capable of reflecting every spell other then an Unforgiveable but kept her wand trained warily on the powerful wizard in case he decided that the situation warranted an Unforgiveable.

"Step away from the boy!" roared Dumbledore and the look on his face was so terrifying, so fierce, that Hermione understood implicitly why Voldemort was so afraid by the ageing Headmaster.

"Albus!" Severus repeated louder this time, almost shouting. "Trust me, Albus! She is not a threat! She's saving him! She's taking the Horcrux out of his head!"

Dumbledore visibly froze at the word 'Horcrux', and his reaction was almost comical as he gaped at them. "What?" he finally managed to croak.

"The night Voldemort attacked Godric's Hollow and fired the Killing Curse at Harry, his already fractured soul tore further and a sliver broke off to latch onto the closest living being," Hermione said calmly, keeping the shield up between them.

"Harry," whispered Dumbledore, weakly. He slowly lowered his wand, a quick flick conjuring a chintz armchair for him to sit on, a wise choice considering how shaky he looked.

"Yes. Harry." Hermione agreed.

"I— I suspected, but... how could you possibly know this?" Dumbledore asked her.

"I'm from the future." She told him, deciding not to bother trying to hide it— the cat was already out of the bag, so to speak. Dumbledore blinked— twice.

"You're from the future." He repeated, almost blankly.

"Yes. I came back in time to defeat Voldemort before he could regain full power." Hermione lied smoothly. Well, it wasn't exactly a lie, more of an omission— she was intending to defeat Voldemort before he regained power, she just wasn't mentioning that he had already been defeated and the reasons for her return to the past were more of the selfish sort.

"She's already done so much good, Albus," Severus said strongly. "She saved the Lily and James Potter's lives, the night the Dark Lord tried to kill them and Harry— she created a rune array that nullifies that magic of the Unforgiveables."

"In my world, Harry Potter was raised an orphan and I wasn't going to let that happen again. This time he gets to grow up happy." She said fiercely and the passion in her voice seemed to pique Dumbledore's interest.

"You and Harry... you were friends?" he asked.

("You're my best friend too, Harry— I love you, I love you so much... say hello to Ron for me, okay? He'll be waiting up there for you— for us. Tell him that one day we'll be together again, the three of us reunited at last.")

"The very best of." Hermione whispered, voice thick with emotion. "I loved him, more then nearly anything else. And then I had to kill him."

"What?" Dumbledore's eyes widened, before understanding dawned on him. "Because he was a Horcrux."

"We didn't know it was possible to remove a Horcrux without destroying its container. I didn't find out how until some time later, years and years after his death." She murmured.

"I'm so very sorry, my dear girl." Dumbledore said sorrowfully and Hermione took a shaky breath.

"He gets to grow up happy this time." She repeated. "That's all that matters."

(You're happy, Harry, and even though you and Ron aren't up there waiting for me, you're down here and you're alive and that's worth it, even though I'll never see you again. If there's one thing your mum got right, Harry, it's that we sacrifice ourselves for those we love, and we do it with no hesitation and without a single regret)

"Harry is lucky to have a friend like you." Dumbledore said quietly. Hermione smiled weakly.

"Yes. And now I have to get the parasite out of his head."

"Just watch her work," Severus told Dumbledore, "I've seen her do this before, several times."

"Several?" Dumbledore asked in horror. "How many of those monstrosities did Tom create?"

"Six, including Pot-Harry." Severus told him.

It would have been seven, eight including the original soul, but Nagini hadn't been made a Horcrux yet— and she never would be.

Hermione tuned out their conversation as she turned back to the task at hand. It took nearly fifteen minutes to write out the runic array before she finally activated it, the runes all blazing to life as a malevolent smoke tore out of Harry's scar and rushed down into the new container she had provided.

She immediately turned her attention to the scroll of parchment she'd just transferred the soul-piece into and steeled herself. As if sensing the malevolent intent directed towards it, the malevolent smoke drifted up from the Horcrux and from it, two familiar gleaming scarlet eyes were revealed.

"Hermione Granger..." hissed the Horcrux, and Hermione immediately recognised the voice as Voldemort's, "I have seen your heart and it is mine... you selfish, foolish girl— you think that killing me will ever make up for what you did to Harry Potter? You're a murderer, and you'll burn in hell—"

"At least I'll have company there!" Hermione spat.

"You think you're so clever!" hissed the Horcrux angrily, clearly not pleased with being interrupted by a 'lowly Mudblood'. "Where was that cleverness, though, when it really mattered? What good was that famous brain of yours when it was needed most? You killed your best friend... you killed Harry, you killed the man you loved..." From out of the smoke, seventeen-year-old Harry formed. Hermione's breath hitched slightly, because although he looked otherworldly, with his glowing, luminescent skin and those hints of scarlet swimming in his vibrant, vibrant green eyes, it was still him, it was still HarryHarryHarry...

("There has to be another way! Harry, please! Please! You can't leave me too, Harry, I love you, please, there has to be another way!")

"I hate you," sneered fakeHarry, "you murderer— I never loved you! How could I have ever loved someone as insignificant and pathetic as you, Mudblood?" Hermione felt something shift inside her, the same dark rage boiling under her skin that she'd faced Bellatrix with.

§Oh Tom§ Hermione hissed, condescendingly, §you just made your last mistake. I will never believe Harry could say anything like that§

§Lord Voldemort doesn't make mistakes, you filthy mudblood whore§ hissed back the Horcrux, and Hermione hated how the foul abomination used Harry's mouth, Harry's face, Harry's voice, to spew its vile vitriol.

§You are pathetic, Tom. Your mother was a rapist, your father couldn't give a damn about his bastard, illegitimate son, and the so-called Noble line of Slytherin is nothing but inbred drunkards§ She hissed and, seeing that fakeHarry/the Horcrux was struck speechless with fury, she switched back to English. "I love you," she told fakeHarry, her voice low and aching with loss, "I'll always love you, Harry. I miss you— every day I miss you."

And then she raised her wand and sent a bolt of fiendfyre at the scroll of parchment. High-pitched screams echoed around the room, the fakeHarry writhing in pain, before fading into nothing.

Once she'd forced out the flames, Severus pulled her into his arms, and she buried her face in his chest, disregarding the fact her body was currently twelve. Severus rubbed soothing circles on her back, and she let her tears flow.

Both men gave her her time to mourn and recover and after a few minutes, her tears slowed and Hermione was able to move past her anger and grief for the moment, knowing she'd revisit all the old wounds made fresh later, in the privacy of the quarters she and Severus at this point basically shared between them.

She stepped back from Severus, giving him a sincere if shaky smile and vanished the mess of tears on her face with a quick flick of her wrist. "Horcruxes don't go quietly," she said, proud that her voice was steady, though hoarse, "though they do get repetitive over time, and you learn how to hit them where it hurts right back."

Both Dumbledore and Severus looked pale, obviously shaken by the Horcrux. "You speak Parseltongue?" Dumbledore finally asked and Hermione gave a quiet laugh.

"Yes, Harry taught me— the Horcrux in his head allowed him to speak it and we spent a year on the run, living in a tent with next to no human interaction other then each other. I asked Harry to teach me to pass the time."

"I hadn't realised that was even possible," admitted Dumbledore, looking intrigued.

"Oh my!" Hermione gasped, widening her eyes in faux-shock, "the great Albus Dumbledore didn't know something! Quick, Severus— call the Prophet!"

"Very amusing," Dumbledore chuckled and Hermione smiled back at him before both their expressions turned back to serious.

"Can I inquire as to why you felt you could not reach out to myself or the Order for help with the herculean task you set yourself?" He asked.

"I wasn't planning on telling anyone— not even Severus." Hermione admitted, "he only knows because I accidentally became well acquainted to him while under the influence of an Ageing Potion and using an alias. After I started to attend Hogwarts this year, he connected the alias to Hermione Granger."

"Ah, Lily and James did mention Severus's newly intended to me, a young lady who goes by the name of Maia Wells." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "They seemed to think that Miss Wells should be looked into."

"That's because Lily and James are still stuck on the preconceptions they built up around Severus during their Hogwarts years," Hermione said dismissively and with no shortage of impatience. "They can't correlate the image they had of him then to the reality of who he is now— to put it simply, they need to grow the hell up."

"Perhaps," chuckled Dumbledore, before he turned serious again. "I have to ask, was there any reason why you didn't feel you could approach me?" he asked. "Surely you must know that I would do everything in my power to assist you in hunting down Tom's Horcruxes."

Hermione hesitated for a moment then sighed. "For a very long time, I have been very angry with you," she told him quietly. "I needed someone to blame for Harry's death and his blood on my hands, and as the person responsible for Harry's revelation that he was a Horcrux, you became that someone. For many years I raged against you and your memory and I very nearly hated you."

"Ah," Dumbledore said softly, a nonjudgmental understanding in his gentle blue eyes. "I see. You appear to have done a wonderful job by yourself, anyhow."

"Severus did help me with two of them," Hermione admitted and Severus looked smug, prompting her to nudge him playfully with her elbow. Dumbledore chuckled at their antics before his laughter abruptly silenced, a realisation dawning on his aged face.

"You are the one responsible for the recent deaths of Tom's followers, aren't you?" He asked gravely. Hermione narrowed her eyes, her hands clenching into fists at her sides.

"Don't worry," she told him, her voice dark, "I only executed the ones beyond any sort of redemption, the ones who committed the most reprehensible and unforgivable of crimes after Voldemort was resurrected."

"I suppose that is the most I can ask for," Dumbledore said, after a tense pause, "and... I thank you for your leniency. Perhaps if I could have a list of lesser Death Eaters, the ones you believe are capable of being redeemed, I can do my best to ensure that they do not stray down the path of Darkness."

"I can do that," agreed Hermione, feeling suddenly of kilter, "though I admit I'm surprised you accepted the executions so easily." And she was— the Albus Dumbledore she'd once known had always been an advocate for forgiveness, redemption and second chances.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes meeting hers, "you have lived in the world created through my choices. I am old enough and wise enough to understand that if one path has proven to lead only to ruin and defeat, then we must choose a new path to tread."

"Thank you, Dumbledore," Hermione said, her voice thick with emotion— his support meant more to her then she'd ever have guessed it would and she was now fully decisive in her decsion to never reveal to a living soul that in the timeline she'd destroyed, the war against Voldemort had been won.

"No, thank you, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said as he rose to his feet with a surprising grace for a man so old, "and please— when we are in private or you are in your adult form, I would be honoured if you would call me Albus."

"Then please call me Hermione," she replied warmly, surprising herself with the pride she felt at his request— after all, not everyone got to call the famous ageing Headmaster by his first name.

"I believe I should return our young Mr. Potter to his bed. Please feel free to tell me if there is anything I can do to assist you in any way." Albus said, just as warmly.

"Actually," she said slowly, her mind starting to pencil out a plan, "there is something you can do to help— could you announce to the staff that the Philosopher's Stone will be moved from the castle the day after tomorrow, that it will be returned to Nicholas and Perenelle?"

"Of course, but may I ask why?" Albus questioned, looking puzzled.

"Oh, I thought you would have figured it out," she said in surprise, "Quirrell is currently playing the loyal host to Voldemort's current parasitic wraith form."

"What?" roared Albus, leaping to his feet. Feeling the magic crackling in the air, Hermione found herself suddenly very glad that that fury wasn't directed at her. "Tom is in my school?! With my students?!"

"I'm sorry, I thought you knew," she said, genuine in her apology. "Voldemort has been possessing Quirrell since he botched the attempted Gringotts robbery. I haven't revealed him because the more changes I make, the less useful my knowledge is and as far as I'm aware, he doesn't hurt anyone while possessing Quirrell and it's strategically better to know exactly where he was."

"Now that's something I'd like to rub into the Dark Lord's face," Severus said suddenly, a slow, dark smirk spreading across his face, "we succeeded in breaking into Gringotts where he failed."

"You broke into Gringotts?" Albus sounded impressed, appearing to calm slightly though his eyes were still hard as chips of ice.

"One of the Horcruxes was in the Lestrange vault," explained Severus.

"Oh Tom," Albus said, shaking his head again, looking genuinely sorrowful before he pulled himself out of his daze, focusing his attention back on her. "I assume you plan on tricking Tom, leading him into a trap." He stated and she nodded.

"Yes," she agreed, "Tom knows that his chances of getting his hands on the Stone decrease dramatically when it's in Flamel's possession and tomorrow will be his last chance to get his hands on it before it's out of his reach."

"And you think he will go for it?" Albus asked.

"Oh I know he will," Hermione's dark smile was sharp as a blade, "and I'll be waiting for him."

"We'll be waiting for him," corrected Severus.

"And Fawkes and I will be a flame away." Albus added.