Time After Time

Chapter Four: I Fall Behind, The Second Hand Unwinds

Hermione was yanked up unexpectedly, with Severus casting a Disillusionment spell upon her in less than three seconds, before she was promptly pulled from Minerva's inner rooms. She said nothing as she was dragged down the hallway and towards Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, although she did wonder if Severus always had harvesting tools with him. Given how devoted he was to potions, Hermione would gladly wager a great many Galleons that he did.

Once they stepped into the bathroom, Hermione threw the spell off herself, while Severus stared at her in an expectant manner. Shaking her head and rolling her eyes good naturedly, she made her way over to the sink, with the tap, like all the others, which boasted the serpent carved upon it. "We'll have go to by hearing, as we cannot look at it," she reminded him.

Severus made a sound of impatience from behind her. "I am not completely inept, you know," he said, slightly annoyed, but it was a tone that friends would use with one another.

Hermione, pleased by the development, bent down until she was eye-level with the snake. Given that she was in the hospital wing at the time, she hadn't joined Harry and Ron upon their first trip down to the chamber. However, during the Battle of Hogwarts, she and Ron had destroyed Helga Hufflepuff's Cup within its depths, and although Ron had thought he'd charmed her with his, albeit limited, knowledge of Parseltongue, she herself had been secretly studying it for years, and she and Harry would frequently whisper it to one another, so as he could assist her when it came to the rather complex pronunciation of the hissing.

"Open," she whispered in the language of serpents, and the sink itself clicked. Standing back, she smirked as Severus watched in awe as the sinks all systematically sank into the ground, revealing the dark cavern. "There are a few options here," she explained, as Severus peered downwards, but, of course, could spot nothing. "We could merely free-fall—there is a slide there to catch us, just so you know. Or we could summon brooms, although I think Madam Hooch would likely follow them. Or..."

Severus turned to Hermione, arching his brow. "Yes?"

"Well, you could fly us down," she said softly, blushing a deep red.

Severus crossed his arms. "And you truly trust me enough for that?"

Hermione scoffed. "Please. I've trusted you for nearly a decade. Just because you're not completely the same man, doesn't mean you aren't any of him."

Severus gave a stiff nod. "Very well," he replied and, without waiting another moment, made a grab for Hermione, wrapping his arms around her so that they were mutually pressed against one another. Taking his aim, he jumped, pulling Hermione with him, and they glided easily down the darkness of the tunnel.

"Um..." Hermione began. "Prepare for a crunch."

"A crunch?" Severus asked, and she could feel his eyes upon hers in the darkness.

"Yes," she said softly and, when they landed, there was indeed a crunch. Hermione gently extracted herself from his arms, finding she felt less warm without them around her, and pulled her wand from her robes. "Lumos Maxima," she whispered, watching as Severus did the same, and watched as he drew back at the sight of various bones around them. "See anything you've any desire to keep?"

Severus wrinkled his nose. "I do not."

"Very well. Evanesco," she said, pointing her wand directly at the bone fragments, and they all vanished. "Scourgify," she said next, which took care of the dust, cobwebs, and the smell of lingering death in the air. "Come on. Just don't speak too loudly. When Harry and Ron came down here, let's just say there was an ill-fated Memory Charm, which caused a cave-in."

Severus blinked. "Which year did they come down here?"

"Our second," Hermione told him, picking her way down the path.