This is my first attempt at a Harry Potter time travel fic, so hopefully it goes well! As you can tell, the beginning will be a little slow since it's an AU from Hermione's perspective of the beginning of their third year. It's important to note that this story also will mostly be information only found in the original seven books, but if I stumble across information via wiki or Pottermore, I may use it to justify my timeline. Let me know in a review/PM what you think!
As usual, Hermione Granger was ecstatic to be going back to Hogwarts. Of course, she loved her parents, and she would miss them terribly, but the opportunity to see her friends, learn more about magic, and explore magical Britain was always too amazing to turn down. She was excited to see her best friends, Harry and Ron, and spend the last night of summer with them in the Leaky Cauldron before the beginning of their third year. Ron had written her, explaining Harry's predicament with his Aunt Marge (who he was of no relation to) and staying in the Leaky after meeting the Minister of Magic. That was a story Hermione was worried would result in his expulsion from school—something she had only been worried about since their first day.
Hermione was just about finished packing her things when a large barn owl swooped into her room, and dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet on her nightstand. She didn't have a subscription, so this was an odd occurrence. The owl didn't fly off, but waited patiently for a reply. Unrolling the newspaper revealed a note on the front page, reading
Hermione, thought you would be interested to see what's happened in the wizarding world. See you in a few, and stay safe! Love, Molly
Hermione quickly read over the cover story, seeing that the first Azkaban escapee ever was on the loose in Britain somewhere. The mugshot of Sirius Black was screaming from the side, and he looked as deranged as a mass murderer could, especially with his story of murdering thirteen people in broad daylight. She penned a reply to Mrs. Weasley promising her safety, and sent it with the owl, which she assumed had to be borrowed, as Errol hadn't looked that healthy since she had seen the bird.
"Hermione! Are you about ready to go?" her father called from the other room.
"Yes, Dad! I'll be out in a moment!" she yelled back, scrambling to put away her writing materials and newspaper.
She finished her packing and took her trunk to her car, and soon she and her parents were off to the divide between the muggle and magical world.
She arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and was immediately greeted by Ron running out the door to give her a hug, followed quickly by the Weasley women for a much stronger embrace. The group made their way inside, and Hermione was checked in for the night.
"What do you kids think about going out for a snack? I'd love to get to know your parents," Mr. Weasley said, eying the muggles with deep curiosity. Hermione wanted to laugh; she knew it was not just her parents that had the man interested. Ron quickly agreed, and his dad gave him a few coins to pay for their adventure.
"It sure is nice having some pocket change, for once," Ron sighed. "It'll be a shame when we've used it all up. But I think Mum stored some away in savings. And look! I've got a new wand, too!"
Ron eagerly showed Hermione his new wand, willow with unicorn hair, and she enthusiastically replied, "Well don't break this one on a tree then!" That shut Ron up, and they walked most of the way through Diagon Alley in silence.
"How about we see if Harry is in any of the shops, since he isn't in the Leaky Cauldron?" Ron suggested, which Hermione agreed to, as long as they could get their shopping done, and they stopped by both Flourish and Blotts, and Madam Malkin's, and they even considered going to Gringotts before giving up and settling at Florean Fortescue's for ice cream. Soon enough, though, Harry walked by, looking as if he were searching for something and had no idea where to look.
"Harry! HARRY!" Ron called, and Harry turned around, and Hermione joined in waving him over. They had a pleasant conversation about their summers, mostly Harry and his debacle with his Aunt, and their upcoming courses—to which Hermione had to justify her extra bags of books for her extra classes. Their ice cream trip ended with a trip to the Magical Menagerie, where they could find all sorts of animals, including the owl Hermione was looking for.
The trio waited for assistance for Ron to get something for Scabbers, and when the witch in the store began talking to Ron about a new rat, Hermione wandered off in search of a pet of her own. She looked at the owls, but none of them appealed to her. They all seemed grumpy and uninterested in her affections. The cats, however, were all very affectionate, and she decided to choose one of those instead. In the back of a cage was a large, orange cat that was batting at the owls across the way. Hermione opened the cage, and the cat immediately leaped out. It attacked Scabbers, who was sitting on the counter, rather than the owls as Hermione had expected him to do, and the rat ran out the door, with Ron and Harry calling after him.
"I'm terribly sorry about that, Miss. Crookshanks has a mind of his own and he won't allow anyone to care for him. I think he's part kneazle," the witch explained, as she wrestled the cat, attempting to stay out of range of his claws.
"Well, actually, I think he's handsome. How much would he be?" Hermione asked politely, and reached for the cat. He eagerly went to her, much to the distaste of the store owner.
"He's been here for ages, the mad cat. No one else would ever consider taking him. If you could pay four galleons, I wouldn't mind at all. Quite handsome, indeed," she huffed. Hermione and the witch gathered the supplies she would need for proper cat care, and Hermione paid the witch, with still two galleons left of her birthday money. She made her way to the door, just as Ron and Harry were walking back towards the shop. She and Ron quickly got into an argument about the cat, but Hermione couldn't understand why Ron would think that would happen again. She felt sorry for the poor kitty—it was probably a lack of affection from the shoppers that made him so upset. Of course, Hermione had tamed him with her own caring and understanding nature, and if Ron would do the same, then perhaps Crookshanks would respond in kind!
They made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron, where Mr. Weasley was reading the same edition of the paper she saw that morning. Ron made a stupid joke about reward money for catching a murderer, which Mr. Weasley understandably shut down quickly. The rest of the Weasleys joined them soon after, and all greeted Harry very affectionately. Hermione couldn't help but frown at Fred and George's antics. It was rude of them to mock their brother, especially since Percy had achieved such a great thing by being Head Boy. It wasn't his fault the twins had no respect for anything worth accomplishing.
Dinner that night passed too quickly for Hermione's taste. She enjoyed sitting at the large table with the Weasleys; it made her feel as if she had her own siblings. Fred, George, and Percy were still arguing, although the topic seemed to have changed, and Hermione was having pleasant conversation with Mr. Weasley about her muggle holiday and the different ways she travelled around, and what she used to get ready in the mornings, and televisions, and all sorts of muggle devices. She left after dessert, packed the rest of her new school equipment, and went to bed early to not miss their cars in the morning.
The trip to King's Cross was uneventful, as far as anything with the Weasleys went, but once they were on the train, and seated in a compartment with Professor R. J. Lupin (as Hermione so cleverly could read), Harry's explanation of the argument between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley quickly had Hermione worried for his safety. She didn't know what she would do if she lost one of her best friends because he thought he could take out a murderer. Yes, he had defeated Voldemort, but that wasn't really him at all, and she didn't think he would be stupid enough to actively find Sirius Black, but he would be stupid enough to start looking at the clues that led him to Black if he found any, just like with the Philosopher's Stone and the Basilisk, and-
"Oh, Harry... you'll have to be really, really careful. Don't go looking for trouble, Harry-" She was so worried, but he interrupted her to say that trouble found him, and though she disagreed, she was confident he really wouldn't go look for an escaped convict. They continued to discuss Sirius Black until Hermione's fears were sedated, but then a faint whistle was heard, and Harry pulled out a Sneakoscope, glowing, spinning, and making all sorts of noise. Harry quickly stuffed it back in his socks and in his trunk, so as to not wake Professor Lupin, and they began discussing Hogsmeade, until Harry bitterly admitted he wouldn't be going, and that Black on the loose would prevent his getting special permission to leave the castle. Hermione let Crookshanks out of his basket, and the cat immediately began trying to get to Scabbers. Of course, Ron should have known that cats chasing rats was the natural order of things, and Crookshanks was smart and could sense the weakness in Ron's pet.
When the trolley came, Harry grabbed a load of cauldron cakes for them, but Professor Lupin still didn't stir. However, he had given a snort later on when Malfoy stopped by to insult Ron's family—again. The sky was getting darker the further the train rattled up north, and the train began to slow. They were still not close to Hogwarts, and as the train halted, the rain and wind seemed to get louder. Suddenly, the lamps went out, and Ron stepped on Hermione's foot, much to her annoyance.
As Ron was investigating the outside, and what looked to be people boarding, Neville quite literally fell into their compartment. As Hermione was leaving to go check with the driver, she ran into Ginny, who was trying to get in. The confusion of everyone trying to find a place to sit (and not sit on each other or Crookshanks) was what finally woke the professor.
"Quiet!" he said in sharp, hoarse voice. He lit a bluebell flame in his hand (Hermione was familiar with the spell, having used it in numerous ways, such as lighting Professor Snape on fire) and he said, "Stay where you are," as he got to his feet. Before he could leave the compartment, though, a cloaked figure opened the door and blocked their passage out. Hermione couldn't see under the hood, but saw the decaying and slimy hand that held the door open. She thought she was going to be sick, and not just from the dead flesh of this creature. As it took a breath, she felt cold. Not just the shivers of a thin coat in the snow, but truly cold in the pit of her stomach, as if she had been hungry her whole life, and she would never be warm again. Her mind was full of fear, and not just of this creature in front of her, but for Harry being attacked by Sirius Black, and the memory of seeing the Basilisk's eyes last year, and for Ron, when he was attacked by the chess pieces two years ago. Over and over, her mind was replaying the horrible moments she had feared for her life, and for the life of her friends, and she was terrified she would never see them happy or healthy again. She wasn't sure if she wanted to cry or vomit. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Professor Lupin point his wand at the monster, and banish it with a white wisp.
After the monster fled, Hermione was still shaken by her terrors and the feeling of death surrounding her heart, and stomach, and mind. She saw that Harry was in worse shape; he had actually passed out, and Hermione couldn't imagine what he had seen for that to occur. Professor Lupin gave them all chocolate before going to talk to the driver, and she ate some, and felt much better. Hermione and Ron began to tell Harry what had happened to him, much to his chagrin. She could tell he was feeling uncomfortable with seeming so weak, and she moved to comfort him with a friendly hug. Harry hadn't touched his chocolate yet, and she was about to tell him it would make him feel warm again, until Professor Lupin came back and joked that it was, in fact, safe to eat.
They continued on to Hogwarts, and though Hermione was still worried Harry might relapse or be sick, he appeared to be on the mend. At least, he was until the dementors at the gates. He had a bite of chocolate again, and was able to sit up, despite looking horribly sick, still. Of course, Malfoy was outside their carriage the moment they disembarked, to mock Harry for having such a strong reaction to the dementors. Luckily, Professor Lupin appeared before the confrontation could escalate, and Hermione and her friends were able to enter the castle. Once inside, Professor McGonagall sought both Hermione and Harry out. Harry looked worried he was already in trouble, but Hermione hoped she would be able to ask her head of house about her schedule for the term.
Madam Promfrey showed up shortly after, to examine Harry and determine him fit for the feast. She seemed happy to know that Professor Lupin had given Harry chocolate, and that he would be fine.
"Kindly wait outside while I have a quick word with Miss Granger about her course schedule, then we can go down to the feast together," she said, and Harry left the room.
Hermione was nervous; she hoped Professor McGonagall wouldn't tell her that it was impossible to take more than just three electives, and that she would have to cut some out. However, she needn't have worried. Professor McGonagall almost had a smile on her face as she took a small box out from her desk drawer.
"Now Miss Granger, I hope I have your understanding that what I am about to tell you is something you may never discuss with anyone other than myself or Professor Dumbledore, no matter how much they claim they already know about your situation," she said, waiting for Hermione's nod of confirmation before continuing, "This is what the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic calls a time-turner, and it is the only way you will be able to achieve the greatness you have set out for this term."
For all recognized text/events in this chapter, refer to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, chapters 4 and 5.