Yay! Chapter 2...this took me way to long to write because for some reason I felt the need to write the chapter out on paper...and then I had to type the whole thing. Something not to do again. Thanks go to those of you who reviewed...I hope this chapter meets your expectations :) ooo and please review
i don't own harry potter
Missing the Bulls-Eye
"It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny." Jean Nidetch
It was relatively warm for September. Classes were over for the day and most of Hogwart's students took this opportunity to enjoy the weather. The lake was most frequented, followed closely by the school's various courtyards. No one wanted to waste the sunshine in the murky depths of the Forbidden Forest. Because of this, no human observed the bizarre occurrence that was to take place that day.
At exactly 5 o'clock that evening, in a clearing not far from the edge of the forest a glitch in time occurred. A minuscule section of the fabric of space, roughly humanoid in shape, ripped open for a fraction of a second. The air wavered, sharpened, solidified. In its place stood a girl.
Hermione winced at the slight nausea that overcame her senses. Each time she time traveled she experienced the sensation, and like every other time it passed quickly. The brightness of her surroundings stung. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when they did she took in the view. There was no sign that she had traveled more than 50 years into the past. Everything was identical (minus the rain) to the clearing she had left.
Removing the time turner from around her neck, Hermione hiked towards the direction of the school. It took much less time to reach it than the original journey to the clearing. As she reached the edge of the clearing she was hit by déjà vu. The sharp torrents of Hogwart's pierced the sky. The sun shone high from atop the astronomy tower, basking the courtyards in a warm glow. Hermione panicked. What if she had only traveled back a few days in time? She had never heard of anyone jumping backwards more than a few weeks. Time turners were only meant for short trips. Upon closer examination however, Hermione realized she didn't recognize even one of the students flocking the grounds. That was a good sign.
People turned to look at her as she walked by. Most stared, a couple pointed and one or two laughed. "Right," Hermione groaned, realizing what a mess she was. Robes torn and bloodied from the battle, covered in mud from numerous falls, twigs in her hair and sopping wet. So much for blending in.
By the time Hermione reached the front steps, someone was waiting for her. He appeared about as shocked as she was. Sure, he looked a lot younger then she was used to but the resemblance was certainly there. His red-gold hair reached his waist and behind his half-moon spectacles his eyes twinkled with a familiar sparkle.
"Professor Dumbledore," Hermione choked out. She had hoped to avoid any teachers until she could come up with some reason for being at the school.
Dumbledore eyed her for a moment. "I don't believe we have met before." Hermione attempted to respond but the professor held up a hand, silencing her. "I feel it may be wise to acquaint ourselves, no? Please follow me."
The professor walked quickly and Hermione found herself running to catch up. He eventually stopped, leading her into a classroom she had never visited before. His office was hidden in the back. Entering it, Hermione felt the déjà vu return full force. The room was cluttered with trinkets, bits of this and pieces of that that Hermione recognized from the office of the Dumbledore she knew.
Said professor motioned for her to take a seat. "Let's start from the basics. What's your name?"
Hermione thought for a moment. Would it be dangerous to use her real name? Granger was a relatively common sir name, and she had seen a few students with that name on various trophies and awards. She decided throwing one more Granger into Hogwart's history wouldn't hurt. "I'm Hermione Granger."
"Well, Ms. Granger, as you already seem to know who I am there is no need to introduce myself. Lemon drop?" He offered her a bowl.
"No thank you."
"Now, which year are you from?" Dumbledore asked conversationally, putting the bowl behind him.
"7th year, sir." Hermione tried to look him in the eyes.
"Interesting," The professor pondered her answer briefly. "I happen to make an effort to know a little about each student who enters this school. Not to brag," he chuckled softly, "but I seem to memorize every student's name." He suddenly fixated all his attention on the girl in front of him. "I have never seen you before, Ms. Granger. Isn't that odd? Do you think you could explain to me why?"
Hermione gulped. She had been caught and now she'd be sent away. Her plan had failed before it even began. She only had one choice, really. It was desperate and crazy but just might work, knowing Dumbledore. "I do attend Hogwarts, but in the future."
This revelation did not seem to shock the professor. He actually looked rather amused. "And why is it that you have come to the past?"
"Something terrible has happened. In order to fix the problem I was sent back in time. You see, the solution didn't exist in the future." That part was true, but Hermione finished with a lie she hoped would convince him of her story. "You were the one who sent me back."
"Sounds like something I would do." Dumbledore smiled. "I've never favored the normal way to doing things. Got me into quite a bit of trouble in my youth. There was this one incident with a troublesome house elf in China..."
Hermione tuned him out. He believed her? That was...really quite amazing, considering the insanity of the whole story. She briefly considered telling him the plan, telling him about Riddle. With his help it should be easy to prevent the future. But even if Dumbledore believed her accusations about the boy, there would be others who would not. The boy would be made aware of her intentions and the plan would become difficult to execute. No, she would stay quiet about the boy for now.
"Well," Dumbledore caught her attention again. "How did you manage to transport yourself in the past? I'm really quite curious about the whole thing."
Hermione pulled the golden charm out from her pocket. She laid it on the desk before the professor. "It's called a time turner."
"Fascinating," Dumbledore murmured, examining the object. "The way the magic is intertwined-it's quite revolutionary you know. I don't believe we have invented these yet."
"Not until 1967." Hermione confirmed.
"Hmm..." Picking up the time turner, Dumbledore squinted. "It appears to be broken. See for yourself." He handed the charm over.
Hermione's heart dropped like a stone. Examining the object closely, she could see the inner wheel of the device was grotesquely twisted. "It was only meant for short trips. That last one must have been too much."
"Don't sound so glum." The professor's voice was much to upbeat for the situation, Hermione felt. "I'll take a good look at it. I've always been decent with magic-it should be fixed in no time."
She hoped so. Hermione had seen the soon-to-be Headmaster perform numerous miracles before and convinced herself this would be one of them. The alternative was overly depressing and didn't need to be considered unless necessary.
Dumbledore continued his interrogation. "So this task you need to complete- does it require you stay at Hogwarts?"
Hermione nodded. "It is absolutely critical."
"Then by all means you will have to stay. We'll enroll you in your classes immediately." With a flourish of his wand, Dumbledore procured a scroll from the air. He handed this over to the girl with a quill.
She noticed her name and grade were already inked at the top. Following were seven lines. Hermione filled these in with advanced courses she would have taken that year if she wasn't off hunting horcruxes with Harry and Ron. After she was finished she handed the parchment back to Dumbledore.
"Excellent. I will process this as soon as I can. Meanwhile, we need to get you settled in. I presume you have been sorted into a house before?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes. I'm a Gryffindor."
"I see." Dumbledore considered. "I'd like you to be sorted at breakfast again tomorrow. It will provide us with a way to introduce you to your fellow classmates. The only thing missing now is a cover story."
"I hope you have something." Hermione informed him. "Honestly, I haven't given it any thought." After Mcgonagall had explained the plan to her, things had moved very quickly.
"Your mother, Lily Granger, is a witch." Dumbledore responded immediately. "She is a reporter for the Daily Prophet- under an alias, you understand. For privacy reasons you can't tell your classmates her pen name. Your father is a wealthy muggle, heir to some vast fortune passed on to him when his grandfather died. He owns a couple banks around the country. Let's call him Jonathon Granger. You were sent to boarding school in America. I will make up some transcripts in case anyone snoops around your files. Lily wanted you to attend Hogwarts in your final year to insure your education was up to European standards."
"I think I got all that." Hermione was impressed. The story was pretty good for being spur-of-the-moment.
A knock interrupted them. "Ah, just in time." Dumbledore confided in Hermione before raising his voice. "Come in."
Hermione did not consider herself a shallow person. Tons of things were more important than a person's looks (mainly intelligence), and more than anyone she knew not to judge a book by its cover. However, the first thing Hermione noticed about the person who walked through the door was how absolutely beautiful he was.
Tall, he was built slim but toned. His robes fit him nicely, accentuating his extremely chiseled body. She forced her eyes to his face-a mistake. His skin was pale but seemed to glow from within. His lips-rosy and full and oh-so-sensuous. His jaw line was strong, cheek bones high, features angular. She eyed his dark hair, tousled like he had tried to make it sit pretty but it had broken free ever so slightly. And his eyes, they were the best (or worst, if you were a time traveling refugee with a mission who did not need to be distracted by amazing eyes).
They were the shade of green you would expect to see in some mythical forest. Brighter and much richer than any emerald, they caught Hermione and pulled her in until she found she couldn't look away. After a few brief seconds she realized she was staring. She broke her gaze, cheeks reddening.
The boy didn't seem to notice. He looked past her towards Dumbledore. "Who is that?" he asked, nodding towards her. His voice caused her stomach to flip. Clear, commanding, and at a pitch that was all at once masculine but not to low.
"Hermione Granger." Dumbledore explained. "She'll be transferring into the 7th year class." He turned to the girl in question. "This is the Head Boy. He'll show you were you can rest tonight. Good luck with the sorting tomorrow."
Without waiting to see if Hermione would follow, the Head Boy left the room. Hermione scrambled to her feet, hurrying after him. She caught up fairly quickly. "I'm sorry I don't have time to show you around the school today." He addressed her. "It's always busy first week back. Hopeful tomorrow I'll be able to give you a tour."
"You don't have to." Hermione put in. "I'm sure I'll figure it out on my own." After six years of attending Hogwarts, she had the layout down pat. Not that he could know that, of course.
"Up to you. The whole school's one big maze. You never know what you're going to stumble into." He responded. As he led her to her temporary quarters, he pointed out a few important land marks. The Head Boy finally stopped before a portrait of a quail. "This is one of our school's guest rooms. You'll stay here until tomorrow morning. After the sorting you'll move to the wing of your respective house. I'll come by in the morning to take you to the great hall."
"Thanks." Hermione responding after he unlocked the portrait/door.
"No problem. If you have any questions just ask for me." The Head Boy smiled and Hermione's brain stopped working for a moment. "My name's Tom Riddle."
Hermione's brain sped into hyper drive as he walked away. She stood frozen in the doorway as the future Dark Lord disappeared around the corner. "Shit." She muttered. It was the only way to describe the situation. She was supposed to have arrived when Riddle was young and vulnerable, new at magic. Instead, she had just met him fresh into 7th year and presumably very experienced at things like dueling and the dark arts. The time turner must have broken while her trip through time was incomplete, dumping her in the year 1944 instead of the intended 1938.
Floating dazedly into the room, she let the door slam shut. Hermione slid to the floor in a depressed heap. "This can't be happening." She shut her eyes for a few moments before opening them. Still in the same room. She tried pinching her arm. That defiantly hurt-she was awake. There was no getting out of this mess. She was trapped in the past with a seemingly impossible mission to destroy a very dangerous man.
She figured someone high up must hate her.
