Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.


Chapter 4: A Little Souvenir

"The year 1998?" asked Dumbledore.

"Yes, sir. I had this time-turner that I got from Professor McGonagall."

"From Minerva?"

"Yes, she's the Head of my House and she gave the permission to use it to arrange my class schedule this year."

"Ah ha, so you're a Gryffindor."

"And I was the Head Girl," said Hermione with a little bit of pride in her voice.

"And what has caused you to come to 1976, Miss Grandel?"

"Uh, well, it's all because of Malfoy—I mean, not Lucius Malfoy but his son Draco—oops."

Hermione quickly covered her mouth but it was too late.

'Shoot! I'm not supposed to reveal anything about the future!'

"Mr. Malfoy's son?" asked Dumbledore, with curiosity in his eyes.

"Yes...sir..." anwered Hermione, frowning at her own stupidity.

"And what did Mr. Drao Malfoy do?"

"He...well, I was in an empty corridor trying to use the time-turner, but Malfoy caught me. Of course I hid it because I promised Professor McGonagall that I'd keep it a secret. And when Malfoy saw that I hid something, he naturally wanted to see what it was because he was the Head Boy—" Hermione bit her bottom lip when she realized that she slipped another information about the future, but decided to continue. "And when he found my time-turner, he started to play with it, obviously not knowing what he was doing. Then I found myself with Malfoy—Lucius Malfoy, this time— and we collided, which caused my time-turner to shatter."

Hermione's face darkened as she looked down at the half-fixed time-turner on Dumbledor'e desk.

"Lucius Malfoy tried to fix it but since the damage was so severe—"

Tears flooded Hermione's eyes as she thought of her being stuck in the past forever. Dumbledore got up to his feet and patted on her back.

"Oh, don't be so worried, Miss Grandel. I'm sure we'll be able to find some way to send you back to your time."

Hermione jerked up at Dumbledore's words.

"What do you mean, Professor? You, you don't how to get me back?"

Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, Miss Grandel. A case like yours is not very common; in fact, it is very, very rare."

"Then what should I do until we figure the way out? I can't possibly waste my time here— I have NEWT coming up and—"

"Maybe you could pretend that you're a new student at Hogwart and continue your study, while I search for the solution to send you back."

Dark shadow cast over Hermione's face. She let out a heavy sigh but knew that there was no other way.

"Okay, that sounds the best. I can't afford to lose any more time. The reason Professor McGonagall allowed me to use the time-turner was so that I could take all the classes I needed."

"Calm down, calm down, Miss Grandel. maybe you could think it as a vacation of some sort. Just relax and try not to stress yourself over this matter or NEWT."

"But—"

Hermione tried to protest but Dumbledore cut across.

"Now, it is the time for dinner. Why don't you go down to the Great Hall and join the Gryffindor table? I will inform Professor McGonagall that she has a new student in her House."

When Hermione heard the word "dinner," she suddenly realized that how hungry she had been. It was past eight. She hasn't eaten anything since lunch.

"Professor Dumbledore?" asked Hermione as she turned around to leave.

"Yes, Miss Grandel?"

"Er...do you want me to take the time-turner or should I leave it here?"

"Ah, that is a good question. Hmm, let me think... I will keep the time-turner but you may take the gold chain— as a little souvenir, perhaps." Dumbledore smiled softly.

'Like I want to be reminded that I'm stuck in the past for God knows how long,' thought Hermione but didn't say anything to Dumbledore; instead, she politely said "Thank You" and left the room quietly.

She came down from Dumbledore's office and started walking toward the Great Hall. She stared down at the gold chain in her hand.

'Malfoy grabbed the chain before I disappeared. Does it mean he has the broken half?'

Deep in thought, Hermione didn't notice the loud footsteps behind her.

"Oi, James! Wait for me!"

"Shut up and just run, Sirius! I'm starving! I had Quidditch practice for over two hours—hey, watch out!"

CLASH!

'Oh my—this sure is a rough day,' though Hermione, cursing under her breath. Then she felt someone's hand on her left shoulder.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Hermione looked up and gasped.

"Harry!"

The black-haired guy with glasses grinned.

"No, this is James, beautiful."

"Oi, James, I'm gonna tell Lily about that, you know." said the other guy.

"Oh, you gotta be joking! This is just courtesy!"

Hermione's jaw dropped. She was starting to believe that she was just having a huge nightmare, for she was now facing young James Potter and Sirius Black.

"Hey, are you alright?" James asked again. "Did you hit your head on the floor?"

"I'm quite alright!" replied Hermione, hurriedly getting up from the floor.

She stared at the two guys in front of her: one looked exactly like one of her best friend, Harry, except for his eyes; the other looked extremly handsome and youthful, so much unlike from Sirius Black she knew. As she thought of dead Sirius in her time, tears started to fill in her eyes.

"Er...are you crying?" asked Sirius, looking at Hermione worriedly.

Before Hermione could make a reply, another voice behind them turned away their attention from her.

"James Potter, I can't believe you! You choose food over me?!"

Hermione gasped again; there was young Lily Potter in front of her eyes. James put his arms around Lily playfully and kissed her on cheek.

"No, of course not! I was just extremely hungry, that's all. How can I choose anything over you, love?"

Lily giggled and kissed James softly; then, she noticed that there was another person in the party, whom she has never seen before.

"Who's this?" asked Lily, looking at Hermione's direction.

"We don't know." shrugged James. "I bumped into her, and when I asked if she was alright, she just stared at Sirius and started crying."

"Are you hurt?" asked Lily, stepping closer to Hermione. Hermione wiped tears out from her eyes and shook her head.

"Oh no, I'm fine. It's just...never mind. I'm alright."

"Have I seen you before at Hogwart?"

"Er...I'm a new student. I've just arrived."

"Oh, really?" Lily held out her hand to Hermione. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lily Evans. If you have any question about our school, just ask me. I'm the Head Girl."

"Thank you, Lily. I'm Hermione Grandel." said Hermione, shaking Lily's hand.

"Have you been sorted to a House already?"

"Yes, I'm in Gryffindor."

"Oh, that's great! I'm in Gryffindor, too. All of us are, actually."

Sirius and James, sensing that it was about the time to introduce themselves, stepped forward and held out their hands.

"Hi, I'm James Potter and this is Sirius Black."

"Hi, James. Hi, Sirius." Hermione shook their hands, too.

After their introduction to each other was done, James looked at his watch and said loudly,

"Okay, are we all settled? Then let's go and eat!"

James and Sirius started running, and Lily walked fast to catch up with them, dragging Hermione with her. As Hermione entered Great Hall, she wished that her new school would be as good as her old one.