Notes: Might contradict 'Divergent trilogy' canon in a few places; I'm not as familiar with Roth's world as Rowling's. No 'Divergent' characters appear here. From the Potterverse, it's mostly Hermione, but there are appearances by Remus Lupin and several Weasley brothers.

Bonus: Answers the burning question, 'Which faction has the best food?'

Chapter One: Divergent

Hermione Granger was never so grateful that Remus Lupin liked her than the day she discovered she was divergent. That was the day of the Aptitude Test, and luckily for Hermione, Lupin was one of the people who administered it.

Lupin hadn't always been sidelined to such a safe, dull job. The last of the surviving Marauders, he'd spent his youth on the front lines, defending the City against the Death Eaters that remained on this side of the wall (mostly, people said, hiding within Erudite). After his injury, he'd been relegated to aptitude testing and working on the fear simulations. He still wore Dauntless black, of course, which Hermione thought set off the premature greys in his hair nicely. She wasn't the only girl in Dauntless to think that.

He was also famously calm and easygoing, and Hermione was very grateful for that when he broke the news that she was divergent. Anyone else would probably have looked unsettled by the discovery, and that, in turn, would have scared Hermione.

Striving for calm, Hermione asked, "What was the majority result, though? Was it Erudite?" That was what everybody said about her, that she belonged in the faction of the intelligent. "Or was it mostly Dauntless?"

"Your results are pretty much a scatter pattern," Lupin said, thoughtfully, as though mentally he was still reviewing Hermione's results, like a doctor looking at an MRI film.

"What should I do?" she asked. Then: "I'll just choose Dauntless."

Ron and Harry were both already committed to their birth faction, and they were anxious – Ron more than Harry – to nail Hermione down, too. "So what if you've got a great brain?" Ron had demanded. "Dauntless needs strategists, you know."

Lupin, though, looked unpersuaded. "Why Dauntless? Your results mean you'll fit in anywhere."

"You're thinking of Erudite."

"Well, there's no denying you've got a fine mind."

"But Hagrid told us—" the words tumbled from her, spurred by nerves, "- Hagrid said that no witch or wizard went bad but they were from Erudite."

"Hermione." A wrinkle of annoyance appeared above Lupin's brow. "You're the cleverest witch of any faction that I've met. You, of all people, shouldn't just take the things people say at face value." He settled his hips against the cabinet where the serums were stored, resting his cane against it as well. "Erudite will be doomed if all the righteous and good initiates abandon it out of fear of its reputation."

"Then maybe it is where I belong," Hermione said, slowly. "I just wish the aptitude test had given me a little more direction than a 'scatter pattern.'"

The wrinkle eased out of Lupin's brow. "I think I might have something that could help you. Something I wish I'd had, when I was in your position."

Leaning slightly against his cane, Lupin walked out of the room, leaving her staring after him. I was in your position. Hermione felt stupid for not seeing it earlier. His shabby clothes and refusal to cover his greys: pure Abnegation. His courage, when he fought alongside James Potter and Sirius Black: Dauntless. His sharp mind: Erudite. The kindness that all of young Dauntless loved him for –

"Here." Lupin re-entered, interrupting her thoughts. He held out something that looked like a stopwatch. Hermione said, "Is that a –"

"Time-turner," Lupin confirmed. "Be careful not to be seen when you use it. We could both get in a lot of trouble for messing around with the Choosing Ceremony." He set the watch in Hermione's hand.

Hermione said, slowly, "You want me to test-drive all the factions? Coming back each time and picking a new one?"

"Exactly."

"How long should I stay?"

"As long as you need to get a feel for each faction. But I'd suggest a short time. There can be time-travel sickness and mental confusion if you travel for long periods." Lupin glanced toward the door. His next aptitude-test appointment was almost certainly waiting outside. "Pick a specific moment to return to each time, otherwise there'll be overlap."

"Two of me?"

"Yes. And that'd be trouble for both of us. I'm pretty sure fooling around with the faction-selection process is a criminal offense."

"I'll be careful," she assured him. She was nervous about the little time machine, but she was secretly thrilled, too. As someone knocked impatiently at the door, Hermione sprang onto tiptoe to kiss Lupin's cheek. She didn't look back before leaving, but was fairly sure that Dauntless black set off a blush nicely, too.

Under normal circumstances, Hermione would have found it comforting to be sandwiched between Ron and Harry. On this day, the Choosing Ceremony, it felt nerve-wracking. Ron was certain his girlfriend was going to stay in Dauntless with him. That was Ron: simple in the best possible way. He felt sure that Hermione would stay in Dauntless, and they'd be married, then Harry would marry Ginny – who of course would also pledge Dauntless – and the Weasleys would be one big family.

What Harry was thinking, Hermione was less certain. If he sensed that she was thinking of transferring, he wasn't the type to press her to tell him. It was an unspoken rule of the Choosing Ceremony that in the days and weeks leading up to it, initiates weren't supposed to be pressured: not by their faction, their family, or even their friends.

It was a rule that got broken a lot.

Ron, Hermione thought, shouldn't have been so sure about her decision. This ceremony had delivered shocks to him before. To all the Weasleys.

It shouldn't have surprised anyone that Percy had chosen Erudite. He was undeniably smart. But the Weasleys, a family with a long history in Dauntless, had wondered if they'd failed him. He'd always been the fragile, brainy one in a group of brawling, teasing brothers. Had they made him feel unwelcome, his brothers had asked themselves. Did he transfer to get away from them?

The bigger surprise, though, was Fred and George transferring to Candor. The twins were famous for their pranks, and how can you trick anyone if you can't deceive them? Besides, they'd always fit into Dauntless. They'd been adored there. The news that they'd transferred had run through Dauntless like fire following a trail of spilled gasoline.

After a while, though, it had made sense. Factions weren't just about being with people who were like you. Faction selection also opened certain career options. It closed off others. Dauntless were police and soldiers and emergency personnel. Abnegation ran the government. Candor was known for managing the court system, but that wasn't all. Writers and artists, playwrights and poets were in Candor, because they told truths through their work. Sometimes hard ones.

About a year after their transfer, Fred and George Weasley started making a name for themselves as the city's most popular comics. They made fun of the city government, the faction system, Stiffs, Noses … everyone. At that point, their secession to Candor made sense.

Discreetly, Hermione looked sidewise at Ron. If he was nervous, it didn't show on his face.

"Matthew Givens," the disembodied voice announced.

The black-clad boy rose and descended the center aisle. Hermione knew she'd be up soon afterward. Discreetly, she set the time-turner to return her to this moment. It'd give her a few minutes to reflect on the experience she'd just had before she had to walk up to the stage and do it again.

She had four time-trips ahead of her. Dauntless she didn't need to test-drive; she knew what the initiation was like. But with Erudite, Abnegation, Candor and Amity, Hermione had decided that she'd go through the early steps of their initiation rites and get a feel for what the people were like.

"Hermione Granger."

Ron squeezed her hand, and Harry nodded gravely. Hermione rose from her seat, and went down the aisle with their faces still in her mind. She didn't like to think of the shock they'd feel, even if she was certain to erase what she was about to do.

She reached the platform, took the knife, and stared down at the five bowls: dirt, glass, water, stones, and burning coals. Hermione slashed her palm and extended her arm over the bowl of stones.

"Abnegation!"

Hermione heard a gasps from Dauntless. Plenty of people had expected Hermione Granger to transfer out, but no one had expected this decision. She also heard muted clapping, the polite salutation of Abnegation, the least demonstrative of the five factions. Hermione turned and walked to her new chosen family, not looking up to where Ron and Harry sat, unwilling to torment herself with an image she knew she would probably erase. She'd chosen Abnegation first because it was the faction that least attracted her. Still, it offered interesting work, running the government. She wouldn't rule it out. Just maybe ...