Trouble Ahead

"Hermione, what the hell happened to you last night?!" The whole of the Gryffindor table seemed eager for an answer as I took a seat at breakfast. Harry had asked the question, but I hardly heard him, as I was scanning my surroundings desperately for Ron. Had he gone looking for his lost undergarments? It's not like he'd find them- unless he checked which ones I was wearing…

"I took an early night." I replied archly, "And some of you would do good to follow my example! Exams are less than nine months away!"

Everyone rolled their eyes at this- this was obviously not the answer they were hoping for.

"You disappeared into thin air at the Quidditch Tryouts," Ginny pointed out.
Ah. The Quidditch Tryouts. The blood in my veins turned to ice. I hadn't thought about the humiliating events of yesterday since waking, and it felt like I had returned to a nightmare. Yes…deciding to time travel whilst attracting quite a lot of attention....not the smartest move, there, Hermione...

A cover story would be useful at this point. Or perhaps a simple diversion. I decided to use a line that never failed to avert attention from myself.

"Well," I huffed condescendingly, "Have you ever bothered reading Hogwarts: A History? It clearly states that one cannot apparate or disapparate within the school grounds."
But they had already all switched off at the title 'Hogwarts: A History'. Perfect. Sometimes I scare myself!

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," Harry said impatiently, "Haven't you heard about Ron?"

My heart flutters like a startled bird as I regard his grave expression. I hadn't even thought to scan my surroundings for my little gingerbread man.

"…Where's the body?" I choke.

Harry looked at me for a second as if I had just suggested forcing Buckbeak into a tutu, before shaking his head, "Uh, Hermione he's not dead."

"Although he could've been." Ginny contradicts, sounding very upset.

Why's she feeling sorry for herself? What about me?

"What happened!?" I demanded, a little shrilly, clutching my heart. People in the near vicinity edged away, taking their food with them and leaving Harry to deliver the frightful news alone. He looked as though he wished he'd never said anything.

"Well last night, Sirius Black found Neville's list of the Common Room passwords," Neville leapt out of his seat and headed for the door at a brisk pace, "And he came into our dorm, mistook Ron's bed for mine, and came at him with a knife-"

My stunning spell soared down the hall and hit Neville square in the back as he lunged for the door handle. With a strangled yelp he fell, and hit the ground in silence. A hush fell over the hall, as I lowered my wand hand and turned back to Harry as if nothing had happened.

"Was he hurt?"

Harry averted my eyes.

"HARRY!" I screeched, the window panes rattling from the howling winds pummelling the walls.

"Well he's lost his appetite." Harry replied gravely, "He hasn't even come down for breakfast yet."

Terror caused what was left of my composure to completely cave in. "Have you called for St. Mungos?! What's the protocol?! Isn't there some sort of procedure for this?! PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE I HAVE TO SEE YO-"

"Hermione, sit." Ginny interrupted, pulling me by my sleeve so I would sit down again. In my blinding flash of anguish I had not noticed leaping onto my stool and pointing violently at the headmaster, who was busying himself with his scrambled egg so as to give the impression he had not heard me. Well at least he's got his appetite, the selfish bastard!

"Sirius Black." I spat through my clenched teeth, "Did they catch him? What imbecile painting doesn't recognise a most-wanted mass murderer?!"

"He legged it as soon as he realised he had the wrong person." Harry replied, looking slightly pale. He can be such a drama queen sometimes.

"You mean he still walks the corridors of Hogwarts?!" I demand, clutching my chest, "Thirsting for the blood of my- uh, our Ronald?!"

"No, he's still after Harry," said Parvati. Her and her exasperating friend Lavender had decided to join the conversation upon realising I wasn't quite carnivorous yet, "What would he want with Ron?"

What wouldn't he want? Ron was the very pinnacle of…well he looks good in maroon. I decided to ignore Parvati and her criminal underestimation of my redheaded love.

"So many bad things have been happening lately..." Ginny said, still holding the facial expression of a violated puppy as she sniffled slightly, "Sirius Black at Hogwarts, Katie's still missing..."

Whoops.

Now don't you think for a minute I was just going to leave her as a rabbit forever. What with the Quidditch Tryouts and Ron's surprisingly comfortable underwear, surely you understand that I became distracted!

"Excuse me." I said sweetly, rising swiftly from my chair and setting off down the hall at a brisk pace, which turned into a trot, which turned into a run.

Now where did I leave that little rabbit...

However, my pace slackened considerably as suddenly the doors opened, and he stepped through. Flanked...by two harlots. No doubt he was telling his story of the Attack of Black, as their eyelids were batting furiously and he looked positively gleeful. Trust Ron to see the bumbling mistake of the most calculating criminal in Britain as a thrilling conquest on his part.

"Are those first years?" I spat, outraged, as they took a seat further down the table, "They don't even know what a swelling solution is yet! I'd like to see them make a polyjuice pot-" But then I realised that I wasn't even talking to anyone. Summoning a huge amount of effort, I tore my eyes away from Ron, jumped over Neville's unconscious form and threw myself through the doors.

*

I found Katie the Rabbit under my bed, right where I'd left her. She hadn't ventured out from underneath- the leash I had secured around her neck had worked wonders! I cooed at her as I drew her out from under the bed by her hind leg. Even if she was really human, I had always had a rather unique touch with animals.

"Now, now, Katie," I said coaxingly, as she scrabbled against the wood desperately, leaving ugly grooves in the floorboards, "I have a carrot for you!"

It was a fib, but animal instincts seemed to overcome her- her ears twitched in interest and her nose wriggled in delight. I scooped her up into my arms, and at this point she seemed to realise that there was no carrot in my waiting arms. Once again she used her little claws to gain control. I shrieked as she raked through my skin and threw her in the air...by accident!

"Wretched creature!!!" I shrieked, as she hit the floor bounding, heading for the door. Before I could stop her- I was hardly going to stun a cute little bunny- she slipped through and disappeared down the steps.

"Oh...no I didn't mean it!" I cooed as lovingly as possible, setting off after her. As I charged down the steps, I noticed that the Common Room was no longer empty, as it had been as I had entered it. A group of people were gathered around the noticeboard. I had heard Oliver Wood notifying some at the table this morning that the results of the Quidditch Tryouts yesterday would be up after breakfast. What a perfect little plot device for this HORROR story!!

The crowd of interested Quidditch Fans and hopefuls were completely unaware of the little rabbit bounding towards them, obviously overcome with relief that she had found fellow Gryffindors to come to her aid. But I never let her reach them- I launched myself down the stairs after her, still running as I grabbed her from the floor and stuffed her down my robes. Needless to say, she fought valiantly, giving the illusion that I had rather an active bosom.

"Hey...Hermione." Ron was amongst the crowd, and was now looking in awe at my chest. Mortified, I flung my arms over myself, wrestling with it, before squeaking: "I have a stomach ache!"

"I don't think it's your stomach-"

"PERVERT!!!" I howled, now inconsolable with humiliation. I leapt through the portrait hole and ripped the rabbit from my robes, holding her by its back legs so she hung upside down before me, stunned into immobility and looking positively bewildered as she swayed slightly to and fro. Obviously she hadn't enjoyed her little escapade down the front of my clothes.

I needed to obliviate her memory before I could restore her to her original form, but would it have a different effect on a bunny rabbit? I mean, of course I know that. But...in such stressful times...oh dear lord I'm losing myself! I've cursed a fellow housemate who has never shown me any dislike, in order to steal her position to play chase on the Quidditch team, when I've no natural talent in it at all, as I clearly demonstrated in front of my peers who had once thought that I was faultless, before disappearing into thin air in front of the said witnesses and stealing a pair of Ron's boxers!

And now I'm slumped against a wall around the corner from the portrait hole, holding a rabbit upside down wondering if I should wipe its memory or give it a cuddle.

"Hermione?"

"IT'S A PET!" I shrieked, lobbing Katie away from myself once more. Startled, she set off down the corridor, little white tail bobbing up and down as she skidded around the corner and out of sight.

That's surely going to come back and bite me in the backside. But I watched her go helplessly, before turning to see who called my name. It was Professor Lupin, looking rather shabby as usual, completely unprofessional for a teacher as he walked towards me.

"Good morning Professor!" I trilled, trying valiantly to remain hinged. He smiled slightly.

"Is that your rabbit?" He asked, pointing after Katie.

"....I have that essay for you!" I smiled widely, and I swear I saw him flinch, "But we don't have a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson today, so when can I give it to you?"

"Perhaps...on a day when we do in fact have a lesson?" He suggested, looking rather confused.

"That sounds logical." I nodded solemnly.

"Yes...but that rabbi-?"

"Oh,but now I think about it... I really think I should give it to you a little early." I interrupted, beads of sweat forming between my shoulder blades, "It's rather long, so it might take you longer and I wouldn't want to hold you back in giving everyone their marks!"

"Well, I'm sure I'll be able to-"

"Great, I'll drop it off at your office after dinner!" I chirruped, already setting off after the wretched rabbit.

"No, wait, Hermione, that really won't be ne-"

"See you at eight!" I called over my shoulder, stumbling as I take the corner too fast. I think Professor Lupin tried calling after me again, but I was already on the chase, even as the bell rang for the first lesson of the day.

However, soon enough the corridors were too jampacked with students to find a little white bunny. For a moment I hoped that the rabbit would be crushed underfoot in the stampede between lessons, which would certainly make it easier to find once the corridors cleared, but then realised I actually had to stop and remind myself that this was an actual human being.

Although since she was currently a rabbit she would be a lot easier to dispose of quickly and efficie-

HERMIONE! STOP IT!

I decided, after getting a hold of myself, that maybe I should pursue the problem of the escaped rabbit that could out my terrible crime later, and should attend Divination, instead of having to go all the way back in time one more time than necessary so that I wouldn't miss it.

After all, Divination was one of my most favoured subjects…!

*

"Miss Granger…I was expecting you." Came a weak and trembling voice, one that I had grown to loathe.

"I'm on your register aren't I?" I snapped, as I scrambled through the trapdoor. Professor Trelawney, the one teacher that I really have difficulty showing good manners to, was slumped like a pathetic rag doll in her smelly old throne. Her spindly fingers were stuck to her temples as her bug like eyes rolled. I waited for the prediction as I marched over to my 'chair', a little pouffe, a disgustingly inappropriate piece of furniture for a learning environment, and tried to sit down in it elegantly, but at the same time, show my irritation.

I missed and fell.

"Ah, Miss Granger, forgive me for not warning you about that," Professor Trelawney said dreamily as my fellow classmates failed to hide their laughter, "But I really do feel strongly about letting the events of time take its course."

Oh, but she was just FINE with saving her precious pink cups from Neville's clumsy grasp! I made a furious mental note to drop one later.

"And you too should steer clear from my pink cups toda-"

"I WASN'T GOING TO TOUCH YOUR FOUL CUPS-!" I began to scream, but she continued to talk over me.

"Observe," She addressed the class, and putting her gnarled fingers, laden with tacky rings, in her ears, she pulled out two cotton buds, "I knew I would need these today- I knew this because of the vibrations calling me from the future, they were the vibrations of Miss Granger's rather distinctive warble."

"There is nothing," I cried, ripping my divination book out of my bag and jabbing it violently with my finger so hard I heard a crack, "In this book that talks of 'vibrations calling' for a little chat!"

"The mysterious workings of fortune telling cannot be condensed into a school textbook." She replied defensively, her dreamy manner slipping slightly.

"Textbooks," I seethed, "Are the only things keeping me coming to this excuse for a class."

"I thought you might say that." She replied, sickeningly smug as Lavender and Parvati clutched each other with delight at her fraud.

"Well I thought you might say that." I countered, my grip tightening on my textbook. Harry and Ron, who were beginning to get used to my temper, were edging themselves further and further away from where I was sitting. Another Trelawney vs Granger fight was clearly about to ensue.

Professor Trelawney gave a slippery giggle. It sounded alien coming from her buglike head.

"My dear, if you could even cope to swish your tea leaves, I would question my predictions of your poor school work in the years to come."

An eerie hush settled over the classroom like dust on a corpse. Never before had any of my peers heard such an inflammatory description being used for my school work. The word poor to me was pathetic, weak, filthy.

I'd seen the word written a thousand times, but only on Ron's essays, even after I tried to correct them for him. Although Ron was my darling, my intelligence was not comprisable to his.

"Take that back." I hissed, through teeth clenched so hard I could feel my molars flexing. Professor Trelawney blinked behind her huge lenses, and Lavender and Parvati looked disapproving. Those crystal ball loving suck-ups could stick their noses back in that washed out old prune's backside!!!

"I would, Miss Granger," The wrinkled old witch sighed dramatically, "Perhaps if you gave to me just one little prediction."

I refuse to admit that I lack skill in one subject. I am an all rounder, and proud of it! It is just that I am adjusting to this new topic area, a more obscure branch of magic! It takes more than a term to develop confidence and sure footedness in such an iffy area of the curriculum.

I refuse to be bad at this.

I refuse!

The thing is…what if I am? And to regain the respect of my peers...I would have to understand the complex and unpredictable workings of...time...

Click.

Oh ho, oh Hermione, GENIUS!!! The PERFECT plan, why did you never think of this BEFORE?! All of those endured Divination lessons, hiding you're imperfect grades from Ron when getting a terrible essay handed back with that smug 4/10 printed boldly upon the top, weeping over fortune telling textbooks and extra studying just to keep up.

"I accept your challenge, Professor." I drew myself up to my full heigh on my pouffe, and putting a trembling hand to my chest. She blinked, not sure if I was serious or not. But as soon as the bell rang, I was the first down the trap door, behind a tapestry before the others had even risen out of their seats, the time turner warm and spinning in my palms.

*