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Don't say you're too tired to fight
It's just a matter of time- Taylor Swift
Two months after her crash arrival in 1976, Hermione Granger was no closer to getting home than she’d been the day she was dragged by the wrist to the headmaster's office by Filch. Realizing she had somehow been sent backward in time would have been terrifying enough under the best of circumstances; being roommates with Harry's mother during one of the most pivotal eras in Wizarding History was hardly the best of circumstances.
The official story was that she had been homeschooled by her parents until their untimely deaths when a distant aunt took over her care and placed her at Hogwarts. There were no records of her schooling, OWL scores, or even a birth certificate so Dumbledore had gotten creative with the back story he gave her.
But beyond an altered family history and an unbreakable vow to not share that she was from the future she had been given no restrictions. That could have been a blessing, she was able to live freely until she was sent back to her own time. However, it also meant constant fear of changing anything. Albus was the only one who knew the truth and he couldn’t say with any real certainty if she was capable of changing the course of the history she had already lived.
It was common knowledge that terrible things happened to wizards who meddle with time, but that had only been observed within the parameters of people trying to change the past or people who created multiple versions of themselves in one time stream. There was equal research stating that history could not be changed. Whatever one did while in the past was already a part of the timeline. He’d offered her those perspectives and a lemon drop before leaving her alone in front of the portrait of the fat lady.
At first, she’d resigned to spend her free time in the library, terrified of changing the course of fate. Sitting in the common room watching James casually play with a snitch talking to the man who would betray them made her ill and sitting in her room listening to two women plan for their future when she knew it would never come was unbearable.
The library provided safety and solitude. Sitting in her usual chair with a book, waiting for Dumbledore's foreign contacts to get back to him with their advice on the predicament seemed relatively harmless. The first time she felt eyes on the back of her neck while she tried to read she brushed it off. However, as weeks wore on and the glare from the other side of the room became consistent it was harder to ignore.
January brought colder weather, the realization that they probably would not be able to return her to her own time, and the loss of the little composure she’d been holding onto. What had started as her continuing her fifth year in the past with the hopes of going home before the end of it had turned into her worst nightmare.
When she heard a bag fall onto a nearby table she didn’t move. Nor did she react when the chair legs scraped upon the floor. But moments later when she heard an obvious scoff she’d decided she’d had enough.
If she was never getting home it didn’t matter if she messed things up and she’d be damned if she was run off from the one place in the world she currently had that felt safe. Closing her book carefully she stood, setting the book in the center of the seat before walking over to the teenage Severus Snape who’d been staring daggers at her for weeks.
“We haven’t officially met. I’m Hermione Granger.” Her voice was level and held more patience than she felt.
“I know who you are.” His drawl was cold and uninterested as he looked up for a brief moment before returning his eyes to his book.
“I assumed, as Slughorn insisted on that little show, my first day here. But it seemed like a more polite course of action than glaring at you from the corner.” With eyes fixed on him, he shifted uncomfortably, the intention behind her words not lost on him.
One of the more humiliating moments on her first day of classes had been being forced to stand in front of everyone and introduce herself, however being paired with her future potions professor who refused to even speak to her was a close second. She didn’t know what his issue was with her and frankly, she didn’t care.
“That was my spot.” He mumbled, not looking up from his hands.
“I’m sorry?”
“The chair you’ve been sitting in. It's the spot I’ve sat to study for the past five years.”
“Oh,” It had been the chair she sat in since her first week at Hogwarts. Away from the noisy central tables but close enough to select books, a window nearby but not enough seating for a crowd to congregate. She suddenly remembered Professor Snape from her time giving her a curious look when he’d seen her in the seat during first year but thinking about the implications of it now made her head hurt.
That day, after sitting down across the table from him, had been the very start of their friendship. At first, they strictly spoke about potions assignments, homework, and whatever petty gossip was making its rounds. Him largely ignoring the petty gossip. But after weeks of finding each other and studying in relative solitude, they’d begun opening up to one another. She didn’t know if she was at risk for changing anything, but the more she got to know Seveurs the less she cared.
It wasn’t fair that he was despised when all he’d ever tried to do was help them. It wasn’t right that no one trusted him. So as she told him what she could about the family and friends that she missed she prompted him to open up as well.
As May began Dumbledore shared the plans he’d made for her future in this timeline. She’d stay with Minerva through the summer and when she graduated next spring they would help her get set up on her own. She grieved the loss of the people she loved in private and in public resigned to just getting through each day.
During the last Hogsmeade weekend of term, while every other student was either in the village or on the grounds enjoying the sunshine, she sat on the floor against a bookshelf in the library. She didn’t look up upon hearing his footsteps, she didn’t need to.
“You’re not going to Hogsmeade?”
She glanced up briefly, shaking her head slightly before returning to her book. “The boys were being extra obnoxious. I didn’t want to get roped into whatever trouble they were making.”
“I don’t know why you spend so much time with them, Hermione.” When he sat down next to her she was surprised by his closeness. He used to refuse to even sit on the same side of the table as her, now if she moved her fingers an inch to the left she’d be touching his.
“They really aren’t that bad.” It had been a sore spot since she’d started spending more time with them after the Easter holidays. “James has gotten a lot better recently, and Remus is really if you get to know him.”
He responded in a dark and fearful tone. “Don’t trust him”
“Funny, that’s exactly what he said about you.” She knew there was rivalry, but
Sitting in heavy silence she pretended to continue reading the book she was holding while he picked at a hole in his robes but after a few minutes gave up.
“Lily invited me to spend a week with her this summer.” She felt his body stiffen as his finger stilled at the mention of the girl's name. “I haven’t spoken with Professor McGonagall yet. But I was thinking if I did I could visit you.”
If she’d expected any sort of positive response from the suggestion she’d been mistaken. Without warning he stood and left the library without a backward glance. He was often short and impatient. He was no warmer as a classmate than he’d been as a teacher, but he’d never flatly ignored her before. Staring towards the door he just departed she tried to control her tears as she gathered her things, and left the room.
Halfway down the hall on her way back to the Gryffindor tower she couldn’t control herself any longer and slipped into the nearest empty classroom. She didn’t know what had caused his response or how he could seem to be her friend one moment and hate him the next. Leaning with her forehead against the door she took controlled breaths thinking that it was going to be a very long summer if this was only the start.