A/N Forgot to mention, by the way. I own Eric, Chase, Kyle, and Devan simply because I don't know any of Oliver's best friends. XD So, enjoy!
ALSO! BANNER FOR THIS STORY! Link in my profile! Soliloquy did an awesome job! X3
"Vita speak," "Fati speak," thoughts, "talking", and Sorting Hat.
-Fate and Soul-
Chapter Three
The hat seemed to be waiting for something, and everyone in the Great Hall began to clap. Hermione steeled herself to look neutral, all while calming her racing heart.
Okay, this is not good!
McGonagall cleared her throat and stepped up beside the hat, the roll of parchment in her hand.
"Now, when I call your name you will step up here, and I will place the hat upon your head, so you may be sorted. Hannah Abbott!" She said.
Hermione paid no mind to the names, readying herself for whether her last name would have changed or not. When she heard Seamus' name, she knew that this moment was make or break.
"Hermione Granger!"
Thank Fati and Vita!
Hermione walked up to the hat slowly, waiting for the mental tirade she was sure to get. She sat on the stool as McGonagall placed the hat on her head.
Did you miss me that much, Miss Granger? Or is it Mrs. Wood?
Hermione grimaced.
You know very well it's Granger!
What are you doing back here? Do not lie, I could just pick it from your mind, but I choose not to.
Fati and Vita are with me. I uh...kind of died.
The Sorting Hat laughed in her ear.
Those two? You must be joking...hm. I guess not.
So...where to put me, huh?
My line, Mrs. Wood. My line. Hm...You would do rather excellent in Ravenclaw
How much of the timeline is already corrupted by me being here? No thanks. I think I want to stay in Gryffindor, with my closest friends and my husband. Well, soon to be anyway.
Are you sure? Ravenclaw would be excited to have you...
After that little song you spouted, I think I'll be staying out of the spotlight for a while.
Well alright then.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
McGonagall removed the hat from her head as she smiled and headed to the Gryffindor table.
"Pay up Kyle," Eric said when Hermione sat down next to him.
Kyle grumbled, but handed over a few sickles.
"Did you make a bet on me?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrow.
"Yup!" Eric exclaimed, unashamed at having did so. "I knew you'd end up in Gryffindor. Kyle over here thought Ravenclaw."
"I am smart," Hermione said. "But surely not smart enough to be in Ravenclaw."
I have to keep a low profile. That prophecy is really going to cut into my library time!
"So," Chase whispered, leaning close to everyone. "What did you all think of that sorting song?"
Oliver snorted. "Well tha' has surely never happened before. It was...different."
"Have there been others?" Hermione questioned.
Oliver nodded. "Yah, but none tha' have been so...detailed I suppose."
Hermione turned back to the front when Harry was sorted into Gryffindor. To her delight, he sat next to her, thanking her once again for the boat incident. She waved him off, laughing slightly, saying that it was her pleasure to help out a fellow friend. When every last one was sorted, Professor McGonagall took the sorting hat and the name scroll away, before taking her place at the head table.
She called attention to Dumbledore, who stood up, waving his hands over everything.
"Let the feast begin."
Hermione watched smugly as all the younger students gasped as food appeared in front of them. Ron looked like Christmas had come early. Rolling her eyes, Hermione grabbed some of her favorite things. Roast beef with some bacon, boiled potatoes, and some vegetables of course, mainly carrots. Unlike Ron, or even Harry for that matter, she ate as much as they did; only she did it in a way that was more...clean. However, unlike Harry and Ron, she didn't eat much food since she was after the real delicacy.
Desserts.
She placed her silverware down, slightly wishing that Vita and Fati were here to tell her what to expect. She easily conversed with the fifth year boys she met on the train, talking about Quidditch of all things.
If future Harry saw me now... Hermione mused, laughing inwardly.
Then again, she knew what she was getting into by agreeing to date Oliver when he rather nervously asked her. He was Puddlemere's champion Keeper by that time, and she had to support him by going to at least all of his games. There were some things, like her Auror business, and not to mention her Healing, that got in the way, but they made it work.
She showed Oliver a life beyond Quidditch, and he showed her the joys and happiness of what he did for a living. Needless to say, they were in a happy relationship, and they were married more than a year later.
Damn time...Damn death...Damn Hardings...
"Hermione?" Harry asked quietly.
"Huh?" She replied.
"You've been glaring at your plate for a little while. Do you not like dessert?"
Ron sniggered behind his hand, and Hermione cast a wandless and silent leg-locked jinx that would cause him to fall the next time he got up.
"It's nothing like that, Harry," Hermione said. "I'm particularly fond of dessert, but the excitement is getting to me."
To calm Harry down slightly, she grabbed some vanilla ice cream and a piece of apple pie, along with a few strawberries of course. She wished she could take some food up for Vita and Fati, but she knew that maybe they wanted to go hunting. For a certain rat.
"There ya go again."
"What Harry?"
"Glaring."
"Memories," Hermione said, waving her hand at him to dismiss the thought.
He looked skeptic for a few moments, before turning back to chat with Seamus and Neville, who were explaining their parents or guardians.
"So, Hermione, any takers on whom the sorting song might be about?" Kyle asked, grinning. "Obviously, it's a first year since it didn't happen last year."
"Maybe you should be looking into Ravenclaw," Hermione answered smoothly. "After all, they are talking about a bright witch."
"Now, ya canna say that, lass," Oliver interjected. "It could verra well be any of the students who jus' came in."
"I see your point, but no Kyle, I'm afraid that I have no idea who the song is talking about," Hermione said.
"What if it's you?" Eric asked softly.
Hermione scoffed. "A song like that will need to be analyzed swiftly and quickly for one to understand it. Obviously, it's a first year witch, smart, and something about Golden. That's all I got from it."
Eric and Devan nodded, but Oliver still watched her with a peculiar expression on his face. He resumed his conversation on Quidditch, out of it just slightly, and he had a little inkling that it had to do with the mysterious witch sitting next to his best friends.
[-]
Hermione collapsed on her bed, pulling her curtains around her and casting a silent silencing charm. Fati and Vita hopped on the bed as Hermione leaned against the back of it.
"You've heard right?" Hermione asked.
"The song? Oh yes, Mr. Hat made a mention to us through a telepathic link. Cheeky piece of clothing."
"It is most curious, my Golden child. Things are changing all around, and you are powerless to stop it. I wonder what's next."
"Swear to Merlin if Snape turns out to be nice, I'm killing myself," Hermione sighed, pulling out a banana for the cats to share.
She had nicked the banana from the kitchens. She followed the others up until she heard Percy say the password, before casting a small charm on herself and heading down to the kitchens. When she went back up to the portrait, she had to wake the Lady up quietly and give her the password, which was 'Fairy Lights.'
"Calm, child. We can assure you that he will be a greasy git like always."
"Yes. Now that you know of what is to come, it is up to you to stand by and let nature run its course, or to change it-for better or worse."
"The questions that Snape asks Harry...I think I'll just let him alone for those. Those questions were advanced material, and I don't want to draw attention to myself for the time being."
"What is your schedule for the week?"
"Hm...Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I have Herbology in the mornings, Transfiguration, Charms, and then History of Magic. I also have Astronomy at midnight on Wednesday. Thursday I have double DADA, Charms, and then Transfiguration. Friday I have double Potions, followed by Charms, History of Magic, and DADA."
"Memorizing already? That makes such a Golden child, doesn't it Fati?" Vita teased.
"Indeed it does, my dear Vita."
Hermione scowled. "Stop it you two."
She settled down in her bed, sighing as she closed her eyes. Fati and Vita curled up next to each other on Hermione's stomach.
I really missed Hogwarts...
[-]
Late to bed, still early to rise...
Hermione nudged Vita and Fati, and they both crawled off her stomach to plop down on the bed again.
"Those cats definitely don't like to wake up in the mornings," she muttered to herself, heading into the bathroom for a shower.
Fati yawned, stretching and rising as she watched Hermione leave her bed.
"Get up sister mine," Fati said, flicking her sister's nose with her tail.
"What is it, Fati? Sleep is what I need." Vita murmured, yawning.
"Yeah, yeah, complain later dear sister. I have forseen something."
"Was it food?" Vita laughed.
Fati scowled and batted at her sister. "No. The Ron boy will be increasingly difficult because Hermione gets along with Harry so well now. However, there is one slight problem."
"Halloween?"
"Indeed. How are we to take care of it?"
"I say we follow that Quirrell character. Make sure he can't let the troll in."
"We're cats, Vita. How will we stop him?"
"Good point. What I wouldn't give for my wings again..."
"Stop complaining. We'll lend our powers to Hermione and have her stop the troll."
"Sister, if no one stops the troll in time, who dies?"
Fatis eyes flashed. "If the troll is not stopped by Hermione, then Eric Just will die."
Vita winced, looking up as Hermione came back from the bathroom, dressed in her uniform. Her hair was still wet, but her silky curls were still manageable.
"Oh how I love magic," Hermione sighed, grinning at her cats. "Is anything wrong?"
"Golden child, Halloween is what's wrong," Vita whispered.
"Oh the troll...must I?" Hermione asked.
"If you do not, someone will die."
She narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to tell me are you?"
Both cats remained silent, and Hermione sighed.
"Do not take it as offense, Golden child. We mean to help you, just...not that much."
"On Halloween night, you will not attend dinner. We will be with you when you face the troll, and we will lend you our power and strength. It is then that we must disappear quickly, if you do not want attention drawn to yourself."
Hermione threw her hair up in a messy bun and sighed once again.
"Alright."
Hermione grabbed her bag and headed down the stairs. She looked around the common room, noting that it was empty. She grabbed her favorite armchair by the fire, with each cat jumping up on one of the arms.
"Maybe it would have been better if I just remained dead," Hermione muttered.
"You know you don't mean that, child."
"You wanted kids of your own. We know this."
Both cats nuzzled her face, and Hermione chuckled.
"Alright, alright. So maybe that was a lie. What'll you do in your spare time?"
"Prowl the grounds of course," Fati said. "We're cats. We can't be holed up in here."
"Besides, if we want to get into the common room, all we have to do is follow someone up. Or even scratch at the Fat Lady's painting until she opens." Vita murmured, grinning at her sister.
"Well, come on you both. Ride the shoulders. It's breakfast time."
Hermione stood when Vita and Fati were curled up on her shoulders, exiting the common room and out into the castle. She headed down the stairs, trying to seem lost, without actually getting lost. There weren't that many people out so early in the morning, and she smiled when she made it to the Great Hall.
Food already adorned the tables, so she grabbed a chair near the end. Vita and Fati sat on the bench near her, as Hermione made up a plate for them. She grinned when they began eating, fighting slightly over who would get what.
"Oh...good morning, Hermione," someone said, sitting next to her.
"Neville, good morning."
"Morning to you as well, Vita, Fati."
Both cats looked up at him and meowed, before resuming their breakfast.
"Should they be out and about?" Neville wondered. "Trevor would get lost if I let him out."
"They know their way. Besides, cats seem to have a good sense of direction. I couldn't just leave them in the Gryffindor tower all day. When classes are over for the night, I know they'll be where they should be."
"Fine bred cats then," Neville said, smiling.
Hermione nodded. "They weren't cheap either. Trust me."
"Where did you come up with their names?"
"Well, the names just...came to me. Has that ever happened to you before? I just knew what I wanted to name them. They seem just fine with their names as well."
Neville nodded. "Trevor was a gift for me, but I knew what I wanted to name him."
"What's your first class, Neville?"
"Herbology."
"Wonderful. We'll head to class together then."
"Good morning, Hermione!" Eric and Devan chorused, sitting down across from her.
Raising an eyebrow, she smiled. "Yes. Good morning."
"So," Eric said, looking at the cats. "The black one is Fati then?"
Hermione nodded. "Vita and Fati."
"What are they doing here?" Devan asked.
"Eating."
Eric laughed.
"Well, shouldn't they eat up in the tower?"
"Of course not," Hermione snorted. "They will be roaming the castle. I can't just let them stay in Gryffindor tower forever."
"What if they get hurt?" Eric asked.
Hermione smiled inwardly. "My cats are smart. They know better. Plus, they have each other."
Finished with their food, Vita and Fati looked up at Hermione. She grabbed their plate, placing it under hers. Leading her head down close to them, they whispered.
"We must prowl now. We will be looking out for information."
"Do not draw attention to yourself, Golden child."
Hermione straightened up, nodding to her cats, who jumped off the bench and ran down to the doors, exiting the Great Hall. She turned back to the boys, who were getting along easy with Neville, to Hermione's delight. Their conversation ranged from classes, to Quidditch, to teachers...and then back to Quidditch.
"Yes, another one," Eric cheered, shaking Neville's hand and laughing.
"Another Puddlemere supporter. Now if we could only convince Kyle and Chase..." Devan trailed off.
Fat chance, Kyle said snorting, taking his place beside Devan.
"Not in a million years," Chase said, sitting beside Eric.
"Where's Ollie boy?" Devan asked.
"Uhm...Quidditch plays I think," Kyle said, blinking slightly to try and remember.
"Neville, I'm going to head to the greenhouses alright?" Hermione asked.
Neville nodded. "I'll meet you there when I finish my breakfast."
Hermione smiled and rose, bidding goodbye to the fifth year Gryffindors, before making her way out of the Great Hall. Hermione had almost gotten outside, when a voice stopped her.
"Miss Granger, a word if you will?"
Hermione turned around, scrunching her nose in confusion. "Sir Nicholas?"
[-]
Haha Ninja strikes again with the cliffies! Pwned. Anyway, uhm yeah. I would like to thank all my reviewers! Some of the best people I know! Well, you know what to do, just read and review!
-Ninja
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