Author's Note: this story has been in my head since I first read the Cursed Child. I really hope you enjoy. It is AU, but following the general premise of the play; in this, however, Hermione is not with Ron and, rather than being Minister of Magic, she is the transfiguration professor at Hogwarts. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own no characters from the Cursed Child

Scorpius paused outside. He had only been to Professor Granger's office a few times over the past four years, the most recent when he had a few questions about animagi in third year. That was before the whole time turner incident.

Scorpius took a breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in," she said, not looking up.

Scorpius opened the door, hesitating in the doorway, seemingly debating with himself whether or not to proceed. Hermione hadn't looked up yet, still grading papers. She had on glasses, which he had only seen her wear when reading from their textbook.

Hermione looked up, "Do you have a question, Scorpius? I would have thought this was an easy assignment for you… you've always had a knack for Switching Spells."

"No, Professor Granger..." Scorpius closed the door and sat down across the desk from Hermione. He looked down, wringing his hands, "It's about last month." The dreaded time turner incident.

Hermione set down her quill, took off her glasses, and pushed the essays she was grading to the side. "What about it?"

"Something happened that I hadn't mentioned before. Something Albus wasn't even aware of."

"Something happened…" Hermione repeated, and her eyes lit with recognition, "In the reality with Voldemort Day and Umbridge? That's the only thing Albus wasn't there for. "

Scorpius nodded, "I don't know where to begin. While I was there, I had a conversation with someone… and it changes things."

Scorpius could see frustration in Professor Granger's expression, "If it changes things why didn't you tell us a month ago? Scorpius, if this is important to what happened, we need to get Harry in here, and the minister, and-"

"-No." Scorpius interrupted. "It isn't imperative to the case. It only affects you." Hermione was silent, unsure of what to say, so Scorpius continued, "I don't know how to say this… if maybe you could use legilimency and see what I saw, hear what I-"

"No!" it was Hermione's turn to interrupt. "I would never use legilimency on a student. And besides, without proper Occlumency training it could go badly wrong. Why can't you just tell me what it is? I promise I'd believe you."

"I can't." Scorpius said simply. "This is too big."

Hermione nodded, resigned. Her eyes darting to a cupboard to her right, "hold on."

Hermione walked over, removed the wards on the cabinet, and pulled out a pensive. "This is my pensive, I used it after the war… maybe you could put your memory in here, if you really can't tell me."

Scorpius had never removed a memory before, but he'd read the theory of it. He placed his wand to his temple, pulling the memory to the surface of his mind. He felt a pull, like the memory was a magnet that instantly attached to his wand. He pulled his wand away from his head, and saw the glowing string of memory out of the corner of his eye.

As he moved his wand over the pensive, the memory fell in, and he could already begin to see the scene forming in the depths of the liquid inside.

"Go in alone," Scorpius said, "And I'll explain everything, any questions you have, once you come back."

Hermione nodded. Scorpius seemed so worried, whatever this memory was, it would change things. She placed her head into the pensive and allowed herself to fall into the memory.

Hermione took in her surroundings. She was next to Scorpius in the middle of a small, plain room. It had a large chalkboard on one wall, covered in her own handwriting. To her left was a rather shabby looking Ron, his wand at his side, though he looked about ready to use it if Scorpius moved even an inch. To her right, Hermione saw herself and Professor Snape, an unmistakable team, wearily trusting Scorpius.

Hermione remembered Scorpius recounting the tale a month ago, about how he had convinced Snape to trust him, and they all had died protecting him, allowing him to get back to the lake.

"And what of this other Hogwarts, then?" Ron asked. "You said Harry's alive, right? What else has changed?"

Scorpius explained, "Yes, Harry Potter survived. And the war was won. You got married to Luna Lovegood, though you haven't had any children. And Harry and Ginny have a son, my best friend Albus. Profe- I mean, Hermione, teaches transfiguration at Hogwarts."

"And Severus, what about him?" the other Hermione asked. Her hand was ever-so-lightly resting against Severus's sleeve.

Scorpius answered, looking down at his hands, "Well, Voldemort wanted mastery of the Elder Wand, and so he killed Professor Snape. It was through Nagini, though. The snake attacked him." He turned to look at Snape, "I'm sorry, you died that night."

Hermione's hand was now gripping Severus's, her eyes wide, "But, Severus, that happened here as well. Maybe you're alive there."

Scorpius shook his head, "Impossible," he breathed.

Severus patted Hermione's hand, then stepped forward towards Scorpius, "I had a contingency plan of sorts… I had an antidote I took that night. I doubt that Cedric's involvement as a Death Eater would have changed that fact."

No one said anything for a moment. Hermione thought back to after the battle. Was his body ever found? She remembered the service they had for him, for all of those who had fallen, but she never remembered them finding a body. Oh my, he really could be alive.

Then, there was a sound from the next room, a child crying. Ron was closes to the door and said, "I'll get her. You two should probably explain some things to him."

The other Hermione looked to Severus, silently communicating with him, then addressed Scorpius, "Right, well, since you're here and we'll be working to get you back, there's some things you should know. In this timeline, since we've been working together, Severus and I have gotten…close."

She turned to Severus, and he nodded for her to continue.

"We were married about a year ago in a small Muggle village we managed to sneak away to. We had to use polyjuice just to make sure no one would recognize us. A few months later, I got pregnant. I haven't left this place, the Whomping Willow, since. Our daughter, Serena… the three of us have been taking care of her down here. Severus brings as much as he can for her, but I'm worried for her. She can't grow up here, it's too dangerous to even walk outside."

As she listened to the other Hermione's story, Hermione fell against the back wall of the room, in disbelief. She didn't know what to think, how to process it all. Then, Ron came back into the room, holding a blanket in his arms.

Hermione walked towards him, peering at the child as he passed her to Severus. She had a thin layer of curly black hair, and her eyes were a warm brown. Though Hermione knew she was invisible in the memory, the baby smiled in Hermione's direction, as if she could sense her there. She was the most beautiful child Hermione had ever seen. Severus was so gentle, holding her in his arms.

"Severus," the other Hermione looked solemn. It was only then Hermione noticed the small band on her finger. "If he can get back, back to his timeline… if he can take her with him… she could have a real life." She was crying, barely whispering as she said it.

Severus looked at her, alarmed. But as he stared in to her eyes, he became resolved. "It doesn't seem like we have much of a chance here, does it?"

"We can keep trying, you know we can," Hermione said, "but if we can help Scorpius, and he can keep Serena safe, take her there…"

Severus looked at the baby in his arms. He brought her closer to his chest. "You're right. Here, hold her for a moment, I'll speak to Scorpius and then we can review the plan once more."

Severus led Scorpius into the next room over. This room had a small bed and a crib. As Hermione followed them, she supposed its where she… well, the other her… and Severus stayed with their daughter.

"Scorpius," he said, "I know this is a lot to ask, but would you be willing to take Serena back with you?"

Scorpius nodded at once, "yes, of course. But Albus couldn't come into this world because he never existed here, what if she can't come back with me?"

Severus thought about it, "I would expect that if you're holding her, she will stay with you. I have a potion here that will connect her magic to yours for a short time. It should keep you connected as a back up. Here, take this." Scorpius took the potion and drank it. Hermione wondered why he was so willing to do this.

"Right, well, I guess there are a few other things as well. First, I think I may be alive in your reality. If you're willing to, take Serena to Hermione, then explain it all to her. I hope she'd be willing to find me, at least so the other me can know that there's something worth coming back for."

"How would she find you?" Scorpius asked.

"My plan, if I needed it, was always to go to Australia, somewhere no one would look for me." He wrote down something and handed it to Scorpius, "My address, I already had a flat in Sydney in case."

"Why haven't you gone there?" Scorpius asked.

Severus answered, "The war is not won yet. We can't leave. Anyways, as soon as you get into the lake, place a bubblehead charm over the two of you. Then, when… if you get back, immediately take Serena to Madame Pomfrey. Make sure she's doing well. Then, when the time is right, go to Hermione. Show her this memory."

Hermione looked down at the ground, no longer feeling invisible.

"We don't have much time now. Is there anything else you need to know?" Severus asked.

Scorpius thought for a moment, "What's her full name? Her birthday?"

Severus smiled, "Serena Eileen Granger. Her birthday is October 1st, she's nearly a month old."

"I'll do my best to take care of her," Scorpius said.

Severus nodded, shakily, "I know." his voice was rich with feeling Hermione had never heard before.

The memory was starting to fade as Scorpius followed Severus back to the main room. The other Hermione handed her daughter to Scorpius, tearing up. Severus placed a light kiss on his daughter's forehead as the scene faded away. Suddenly, Hermione was back in her office.

She stepped back, falling into her chair, and brought a shaky hand to cover her mouth.

"I know, it's a lot," Scorpius said. He didn't know what else to say.

"I can't believe it," Hermione responded. She looked up suddenly at Scorpius, "What happened to her, Serena?"

"She made it back with me. As soon as I was able to leave the lake, I took her to Madame Pomfrey. The trip was difficult for a newborn, but she's doing better now. Only Madame Pomfrey knows about her, I had to explain things to her. But, I wanted to tell you first before anyone else."

"I see," Hermione said. Somehow knowing Serena had made it back… she knew what she had to do. "I'll go see her, then. Thank you, Scorpius."

"Wait," he said, fishing for something in his pocket. He pulled out a small piece of paper, and handed it to her.

It had an address written in spiky handwriting, handwriting that she knew too well, though she hadn't seen it in years.

"In case, you know, if you decide to go and look for him." Scorpius said, feeling a bit awkward giving his professor relationship advice of sorts.

"I think I will. If he is a-alive, he deserves to know. Thank you, again." Hermione tried to think of another thing to say, but she couldn't. With a small smile, she swept out of the room, nearly running to the hospital wing.

Please review and let me know if this is a story worth continuing! I really enjoyed writing this.