I might publish some more chapters in the next few hours or days. Don't get used to it, though.

Thanks for making it so far and for the reviews.

Bonne lecture !


Chapter 7

Awaking to someone watching over her seemed to become of an habit.

As she slowly opened her eyes, Hermione met the worried eyes of Miss Pomfrey, which brightened as she noticed the emergence of her patient.

"Good to see you're awake, dear!" She chattered, as she tried to organize the vials that stood on a tray, close to Hermione's bed. "Looks like you didn't need the Sleep potion in the end! I was even wondering if you were to wake up anytime soon."

The young witch remained silent, stretching her legs as she accepted the blue concoction that was held just in front of her.

"I'm not the only one you kept waiting, though…" Miss Pomfrey light voice trailed off.

Only then did Hermione take a look at her surroundings, to be met with the tight eyes of Dumbledore. Oops, she cringed in her head, as she held his pointed look. She couldn't let her attention down. Not being on the run any longer didn't meant that she was safe. She still had to look up for any sign of danger, from the outside or from herself. Not seeing that she was not alone when waking up, one of her most vulnerable moments, was a mistake she couldn't afford to make. Moreover, from the coldness emanating from the Headmaster, she guessed that he hadn't missed the movement from her legs, and had therefore understood the binds had somehow been removed. That would not help her case.

She sighed, and diverted her attention from the wizard, to the vials the nurse was holding out for her. She drank them, one by one, as she thankfully listened to the matron detailing each and everyone of theirs effects. Without her, the silence would be thick, as she felt the weigh of Dumbledore's eyes on her.

She knew Miss Pomfrey had left the room when Dumbledore's voice broke the silence.

"I see you're still with us." Dumbledore stated. "I must say I'm impressed."

"Miss Pomfrey didn't do anything." She assured as soon as she could, not wanting to get the nurse in trouble. "I did it."

She saw his eyes searching around. For her wand, without a doubt. But in vain, alas.

"Powerful indeed…" He murmured. "I take it you've been feeling better, Miss… Granger, if I'm not mistaken?"

She forced herself to meet his eyes.

"I guess so" She replied reluctantly.

"What would be your guess at?" He prompted after a while. "Your health improvement or your name?"

She rubbed her face, breathing loudly. She knew it would be complicated. Alas, he already knew her name. She would have prevented it, if only she had been able to. Maybe there was still time enough to persuade him of another name? She didn't know why she felt like giving her real name was a mistake. Well, she knew why. She had been pondering on this for a while.

It would be problematic to be known in this time by a real name if she were to be back some day in her real time. Which she still held hope for. Slim and fragile hope. But still.

"I don't need to get another look into your mind to know what's going on." He sighed in turn. "I don't think I was mistaken with your name. You're just wondering whether you should pretend I'm wrong, in order to give me a false name. But really, what good would that do?"

"At least it would be a danger not to worry about!" She exclaimed, trying to get him to see her point. Wouldn't it be easier if he could believe her, and not try and push his luck?

"I can see the logic you're trying to follow, and I can agree, to some extent, but don't you think it's too late already?"

Her lips quivered as she tried not to assimilate the eventuality she had been running from. He seemed to sense her distress, and went on.

"Let's not think about the future for now, let's just focus on your name, for instance." He tried to reason. "I need at the very least to know your name in order to trust you, I'm sure you can comprehend that."

"What if I come back?" She asked with a trembling voice. "What about the one I'll meet here, and join back later on? Terrible things happen to those who meddle with Time, Professor…"

"Yes, I already heard that one before." He acknowledged. "And did you considered the eventuality that you might not go back? Not to where you came from?"

"Of course I considered it!" She bit her lip as soon as she replied. "I'm not stupid! By merely being here, I might not go back! But I just can't…. I have to… "

He remained silent as her voice trailed off. Miss Pomfrey crossed the room a few minutes later, taking a look on the pair of them before disappearing behind the door, leaving the two of them alone in the Hospital Wing.

"I need answers, dear."

Dumbledore's voice was firm. And it was all too easy to comply. Anyway, what was there left to hide? He had seen it all, and beyond. Besides, she had to remind herself that she was still in a hostile territory, as far as she knew, and she was still to find allies, if she were to mingle with Hogwarts inhabitants, at the very least. Better have Dumbledore at her side that against her. Part of her couldn't help thinking that if she became too much of a burden, he could easily dispose of her, as she was pretty much nothing right now. And something told her he wouldn't hesitate resorting to such measures if he deemed it necessary.

She couldn't help the tightening of her throat, neither the shiver that went through her whole body.

"My name is Hermione Granger" She whispered, fear tainting her voice. "I was born september the nineteenth, of the year 1979…"

She stopped, unsure of how to continue.

"No need for you to get into the specifics, dear." He offered. "Tell me about how you got here. Approximately", he added as he saw the intake of air from the young witch.

"I was in Hogwarts's Great Hall" She started after a few seconds. "I was… There was…" She forced herself to breath, thinking carefully about what to say and what to conceal. He already had saw it all, but she didn't want to push her luck. "I got hit by a spell. The Time-Turner got hit by the spell, actually."

For good measures, she took the necklace from under her gown. She guessed he had already seen it, for when she had blacked out, Miss Pomfrey might have take a look at her, but she wanted to show her willingness.

"It was in my Seventh year. Theoretically, anyway". She added. "I didn't get to start my seventh year. There was a war going on. There's still a war. Maybe. I don't know."

He nodded, but didn't comment.

"I'm a Muggle-born. As you may have understood." Her eyes briefly flickered towards her arm, and went back on Dumbledore's face. "I was sorted in Gryffindor. You were our Headmaster."

"How did a Time-Turner went into your possession?"

"I got one in my Third year, as I took too many subjects." His eyes slightly widened as he seemed to analyze the situation, but she interrupted his train of thoughts. "But I didn't keep it. There was a fight… during my… Fifth year, I think… In the Ministry of Magic" She let out, her thoughts going on faster than her speech, as she tried to censure it. "I saved one as they came to crash. It was - it is the last one."

There was another silence, as both of them tried to decide of what to say and what to keep quiet.

"When… What…" Hermione stammered after a while, once she had summoned the necessary strength to face the reality.

"1977." He answered shortly. "October the 2nd".

She breathed out. Loudly. She had been right. Once again. Too right. Almost right. For once, it didn't please her.

"I believe you knew some of our students from your own time…" He prompted once again, trying to get her back to the present time.

"Yes. More or less…" She drifted off. "Is Remus Lupin…"

"Yes." He nodded. As shortly as before. "He is a Seventh Year student. Miss Pomfrey is attending him every month or so. And I suspect some of his friend, too. He left the yard yesterday, just before you arrival, actually."

She nodded. She didn't need more informations. She was to face the Marauders if she were to walk within Hogwarts walls. She was to face her past and her future. As in James and Lily Potter - well, to be Potter -, the ones who died facing Voldemort, a piece of her past, and the parents of her best friend, the Boy-Who-Lived. The future she was protecting.

She closed her eyes.

"May I inquire about your camp?" He interrupted her musing. "I suppose I don't take a risk by guessing you're the person who took some trips to Hogsmeade, right?"

"Oh… Right… The camp. Hogsmeade" She blushed a little on being caught. Not that she needed to. It had been a necessity. Hardly a choice. "I was… on the run, you could say. Before. For a long time. I was lucky I had my bag with me when I got, hum, sent here. I just carried on the runaway, I guess."

"Yes, quite a complete bag, I must say…" He nodded, a small smile on his lips.

"I'm sorry if I had anyone scared, or worried…" She went on, babbling as the embarrassment grew up. "But I couldn't been seen. And I didn't know where to go, or what to do. I wanted to do some researches, but I wasn't even sure where, or when, I was…"

Dumbledore held up his hand, getting Hermione to stop talking. Under his surprisingly non judgmental look, she tried and calmed down, breathing slowly in and out.

"Does anyone know about me?" She timidly asked after a few seconds.

"No." He sat up in his chair. "Well, some teachers, and some shopkeepers know that someone has been wandering around here. But no one knows that you're here, in the Hospital Wing. That's between Miss Pomfrey and myself" He winked. "And I didn't call the Ministry neither, if you were wondering."

She let the relief wash over her, although she already knew it.. She wasn't betrayed yet. She could still disappear. She could still spare the timeline…

"I'm afraid that'll be the only good news I can offer you today, though…"

She focused on his eyes again, her own eyes wide opened, as she feared what was to come.

"I can't exactly let you go, can I?"

She froze. Was he going to call the Ministry staff, in the end? That seemed quite unlikely, of that she was pretty sure of. He had said that he wasn't keeping her as a prisoner and yet he wouldn't let her go. She understood his reasons, even though she couldn't quite see how it was supposed to happen. Was she to stay hidden in some abandonned room of the castle?

"Now, believe me, I don't want to do that, but that would be too dangerous…" He went to explained. "For you, my dear, not for anyone else!"

She kept her eyes on him, disbelief crossing her face as she tried to understand what he meant. If anything, after all, she was dangerous to the world, not the other way around.

"See, for one, Miss Pomfrey would not allow you to leave her Wing without the assurance of you being in perfect health, which you clearly are not yet." He shot her a knowing look. "And then I can't possibly leave you out there on your own."

"I'm perfectly capable of handling myself, thank you very much!" She answered him shortly. She couldn't stay here. That was not even a possibility. In the Forest, she could bear. Not in the castle.

"I don't doubt that for one second, Miss Granger." He reassured her. Or tried to, anyway. Although a smile grazed his face, there was some coldness in his voice she didn't miss. "But, see, you're alone in this world. With no background, no family, no money, no history. No resources. No one to trust. I'm sure you could come up with something." He acknowledged, as she tried to interrupt him. "But in the meantime, how many thieves? How many months of hiding? If you were to be catch, with nothing but the food and the books you stole, and the Time-Turner, what do you think would happen? How long would it take for the Ministry to discover where you're from? And Voldemort? Do you really want to test out what they would do with the potential power you have in your hands? No, I don't think so" He continued as he saw Hermione's face fell. "The only protection I can offer you for now is Hogwarts. And you know it."

He was right. She had come to this conclusion long ago. Long before she came to cross his way. But still. She couldn't bring herself to accept it. She couldn't stay in Hogwarts. Not when there were some many people she would come across now and in her hypothetic future. She held on her future. On the future she knew. That was her life-belt. She was going to hold on it for as long as she could.

"I'm not going to lie, Miss Granger, I'm not really leaving you a choice." He admitted, not even looking close to remorseful, which infuriated the young witch. "But I'll leave you to your thoughts for now. Miss Pomfrey will soon come check on you, and she wouldn't be pleased if you were to be stressed out."

He stood up, and Hermione held in the sigh her body crave to exhale.

"Be assured that we'll talk about it as soon as she released you, though." He asserted, as he straightened his robe. "I wish you a swift recovery, Miss Granger!"

And with a last wink, he left her alone with her thoughts. Not for long, though, as Miss Pomfrey soon came back, as Dumbledore predicted. She didn't stop at her bed, however, and Hermione didn't see her until lunchtime, as the nurse brought her a tray of food. Her stomach rumbled at the sight.

"I hear someone is feeling ravenous!" Miss Pomfrey joked as she took in the blush that spread on the young witch's cheeks.

"I hope I didn't get you in trouble…" She apologized as she straightened up in her bed to accommodate the tray on her legs. "About… that!" she trailed off, showing her legs with her hand.

"Trouble?" the nurse answered, bewildered. "Of course not, dear! The only trouble you would cause me would be your health, but you seem to recovery faster than I originally thought!"

She left her side for a few seconds, bringing back with her more vials, an apologetic look on her face, mirroring Hermione's scowl.

"At that rate, you'll be leaving the yard soon!"

And indeed, Hermione soon left the Hospital Wing.

Was allowed to leave, anyway. She didn't want to, though.

A week had passed by since Dumbledore had caught her, a little less than a hundred potions had been drunk, but she wasn't ready yet to face the world. To face the past, more precisely. She didn't want to cross the door, to be thrown in the crowd, a crowd she had so desperately avoided. A crowd that would eat her. If not the other way around. No, she wasn't ready yet. She might never be, though.

Alright, she might been overdoing it, as she only had to go to Dumbledore's office for now. But that still meant walking in the hopefully empty, more plausibly crawling with students corridors.

"Oh dear, how indelicate from me!" The matron suddenly rushed to her side, after the few minutes Hermione had spend standing up, not moving, staring at the door with an apprehensive look in her eyes. "Of course you might not want to lose yourself in Hogwarts! Just wait here, Dumbledore will get you!"

The young witch didn't bother telling her that she actually knew where was the Headmaster's office. That would be bad idea, anyway, as she thought about it. Better not attract unwanted attention on where she was from. She wasn't from Hogwarts, for all the nurse knew. Not for the last few years, anyway. Not in this time.

Sooner than she had dare to expect, Dumbledore was holding open the door for her, a small smile on his lips. Tightening her hold on her bag, keeping it close against her chest, she shivered as she took a step outside. Her feet seemed heavy as she followed the wizard. She only slackened once in his office, to tense up again as she found herself wandering back through the castle, alone.

Only when the door closed itself behind her did she sigh.

At least.

In the safety of her bed, she allowed herself to relax. She was alone. For now. She would be able to rest in a casual environment. Her time at the Hospital Wing had been useful, and not that unpleasant. But it was the Hospital Wing. Isolated. In a sterile environment. Part of the time bound. As a criminal. Or an outcast.

Which she was, anyway.

Hermione had to admit that it felt good to be back in a real bed. In a real room. In a real dorm. Even if it was a huge mistake. Not that she had been able to convince the Headmaster of the accuracy of her point.

Truth to be told, she had been afraid. As when she was on the run, her eyes had kept on darting at her surroundings. She would froze at every laughter she would hear, and stiffen at each footstep she would detect. At her sides, Dumbledore had been calm, keeping an eye an her even though he didn't show it. He had swiftly led her to his office, choosing hallways he knew to be mostly empty at that time of the day, as she noticed he hadn't take the shorter way. She had threw him a thankful look, and he had curtly nodded. He had seen the constant watchfulness of his guest, and he had certainly wanted to keep her as at ease as he could, in order for her to be as responsive as she could when the time would come to answer to his questions. And she knew it.

The questioning hadn't taken long to get started.

"So, what can you tell me about yourself, Miss Granger? Let's see, now, young girl! I thought we had resolved the issue of you giving me some answers, hadn't we?" He had tried to reason.

"No, you decided so, if I remember well" She hadn't mean to be discourteous, but had decided to stand her ground as long as possible. "You don't seem to understand the consequences of such a mistake…"

"I believe you know better than question my understanding of the world, Miss Granger" He had stared into her eyes, making her squirm in discomfort, as she had feared he would try to invade her mind once more. "I already saw what I had to know, but you still have to help me if you want me to work on your predicament, dear!"

"Why bother, then?"

He had sighed.

"What am I to do with you, that I wonder…" he had murmured, idly looking at his pensieve, at the far end of his office.

And there she was. In the Gryffindor Girls' Dormitory. She couldn't believe she had agreed to this. Well, yes, she remembered having disagreed with it. But still, she had to comply. Dumbledore was her only protector for now on. And she knew it.

She looked around. There was four other beds. Identical to hers, from now, and from her future. Nothing more, nothing less. The Girls' Dormitory hadn't changed. That was a good thing. Maybe. It would help her. The more close the things were to the ones she knew, the easier for her it would be to blend in. Or to forget altogether her predicament. That, on the other end, was dangerous. She couldn't allow herself to the two eras to merge in in her mind.

At one point, Dumbledore had encouraged her to enroll herself in the Seventh year. It was more of an order than a suggestion, anyway. She had argued that there might be some complications du to the lack of identity in this present time. He had assured her that she had not to worry about that, as he had some friends that owed him. He hadn't explained much, though, and she had understood that it wasn't her place to ask. When he had offered to assign her to the Gryffindor House, she had argued. Once again. She couldn't be close to the Gryffindor Seventh Year students. He had argued in turn that if he was to follow her logic, she was to be close to no one in the school, to which she had agreed. Before he went to remind her that she had to be in an House. She had slumped in defeat. She had tried to negotiate another House. He only had stared at her.

"I might be young, but I'm not stupid, Professor" she had sharply "I see what you're trying to do!"

And indeed did she see. Assigning her to James Potter and Lily Evans' House. Wasn't he the one to warn her about the danger of meddling with time?

"Don't make me change the future, Professor" She had pleaded "As much as I yearn for it, I can't. We can't."

"Miss Granger, I'm merely suggesting you to be in a familiar place." He had lectured her, leaning above his desk towards her. "But since you're broaching the subject, let's clear it up. You seem to have a strong believe that your presence here will endanger the future, right?"

"Of course! A wizard should not be seen nor act while in the past, Sir, that much is pretty clear!"

"Don't you think you've already changed it?" He had studied her face, as it crumbled from his words. "Yes, you've thought about that, I can see it. Of course. You've been seen. I saw you. It will irremediably change the future, as I wasn't supposed to met you before a few decades. Do you really think your future, as you know it, still exist?"

He had sat back in his chair, and watched her, as she had tried to recompose herself.

"I understand your position, my dear." He had assured her. "And I would normally agree with your decisions. But it's too late now. Somehow you've already impacted on the future. You're still with us, so I guess everything is not that much disturbed. But who knows how it is? Now, tell me, are you really willing to waste your life that way without doing anything to prevent what you're running from when you're given the opportunity?"

She wasn't running from her future. Quite the contrary. She was overwhelmed by guilt from having leaving her time. And she was not given the opportunity to change the future. She was forcing it. Not willingly, but still. And it wasn't in any case a valid argument.

''Or maybe'', he added slowly, as his eyes made contact with her and didn't let go ''maybe you were expected to mingle the past? You did successfully change the past once, didn't you? No, you thought you changed the past, when in reality, you merely unfolded it. It was waiting at the treshold, and you all but opened the door. Maybe this is no different.''

As soon as it entered her mind, she discarded that one last possibility. She wouldn't accept the idea that what was happening at her time – what had been happening anyway – was her implications were too numerous. Although the theories tended to lead her that way, she couldn't agree with that. There must have been another way.

She hadn't told him that. She had thought it, she had showed it, with her eyes and her frown, but she had been dismissed, and she didn't want to challenge the Headmaster yet.

She had skipped the meal, and headed straight to the dorms. She didn't want to face the crowd. She wasn't ready for this. Okay, she was overdoing it again. No one would really realize she was there. There would be no public announce of her arrival. No general introduction, no fake sorting. Just her sitting among her new peers.

Dumbledore and her had briefly talked about the backup story. Because there had to be one. She couldn't just appear one day out of nowhere and become a regular Hogwarts student. Keep it simple, he had insisted. No overdoing it. Better let everyone assume than for her to assert anything. He had assured her that he would talk to the professors, explaining the bare minimum. Which was in reality, pretty close to null, as he didn't have to justify himself. A name was all they needed. The same thing she would be telling to other students if she was to tell them anything, she decided. She was strongly advised to try and make friend, though, as it was likely for her to be stuck in this era. Which had been decided to be discuss later on. Hermione couldn't just accept that idea. Not yet. There were still books to be read, and theories to be discovered. Many possibilities to find a way out, therefore.

Yes. Like a coward she had hidden in her bed. The Headmaster had intended to let her new dorm mates know of her arrival. They were to let her alone for the night. And to help her the day after. The less questions the better. What a way to lighten the mood, she had thought. That would really help her blend in. Not that it mattered to her right now.

She ducked under her sheets as she heard footsteps echoing in the stairway, and some muffled laughters. She listened as the door creaked opened, allowing the Seventh Year gryffindors to enter the room.

"Ssssh" A voice hushed, silence falling on the room. "Look, she's here."

There was another silence, during which you could hear laughters coming from the Common Room.

"She seemed asleep already" Another voice whispered, a little louder. "I guess we'll have to wait tomorrow…"

"Even though she might have been awake, Dumbledore asked us to wait for tomorrow, you know?" A third voice answered shortly.

"Right…Thanks Evans… Always the joy killer..."

Nothing more was said that night, as muffled noised could be heard, from the girls getting ready to go to bed. Hermione held her breath for some more time. Only when she heard the light snores did she allowed herself to relax, letting the darkness invade her.