Chapter 2: New World

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She landed hard.

With a jarring groan, she kneeled on her hands and knees. Her head was pounding and her heart was pumping hard inside her chest. She curled her fingers and hung her head as blood filled her mouth. The fall had forced her to bite her tongue.

Her ears were ringing loudly and she desperately wanted to cry out in pain.

Death really hadn't held back.

She struggled to breathe and would have probably curled up on the hard floor in agony but something, probably due to her months on a run, caught her attention.

Without thought, she was on her feet, her limbs protesting but obeying her command. Wand at ready, she paused as she found herself staring at...

At Albus Dumbledore.

Her mind and heart began a war at the sight of the older wizard. One that should be dead. Thoughts and memories stung her mind as she tried to keep up with...what she was seeing. She had known she wasn't going back to...her world. Death hadn't deceived her. But she did understand one thing. The world she was in now wasn't her own. It was unknown. Familiar but not hers.

She also remembered everything that had led to her current position.

She needed to protect her mind at all costs.

Albus Dumbledore was the one person she had never really liked. She didn't know if she would like this version either. She summoned her Occlumency shields.

They settled over her mind in a mirage of shades and coils. But now they weren't the same.

She didn't have the time to inspect them now. She still held Dumbledore at wand point and the noise level around her finally reached her right before silence ensued. Yet, she felt eyes on her person. Stares that left her feeling vulnerable. She resented the feeling. She raised her chin, making sure to meet Dumbledore's eyes.

He was the first to speak, breaking the stillness.

"Miss Granger?"

So, she did exist in this world. She cast a quick glance around, noting her location. The Great Hall looked to be in the middle of breakfast. She glanced to her left, noting the red and black hair first.

But no curly-haired brunette was there.

She swallowed hard. "Yes, I'm Hermione Granger."

"Will you not lower your wand, Miss Granger?"

Her spine tingled with awareness. She didn't look back but did lift her left arm, suppressing a wince. Her body was a mess. Blood was still leaking from her wounds but she knew not to show weakness. Not in front of the unknown. She twisted her body and flexed her fingers.

"If whoever is behind me attacks...I will end them. Tell them to stand down or else."

Dumbledore didn't move. Didn't look away from her. But she felt the whisper of something touching her mind. She glared at the older wizard.

"Leave my mind alone."

Quiet words for his ears alone. He finally showed emotion as he narrowed his eyes. He carefully lifted one hand, waving aside whoever stood at her back. Yet, there was another shadow behind Dumbledore himself.

Severus Snape.

Hermione tightened her hand on her wand, calculating the odds. They wouldn't attack her outright. But she still felt too exposed. When the presence disappeared from behind her, she took a step back and fought the urge to run. Her body was getting weaker and weaker but she wasn't going to fall. She couldn't.

Not in front of so many.

"Albus! What are you waiting for? She's obviously feral! She's bleeding all over the place! I will inform the Minister of this at once!"

Hermione closed her eyes briefly. The bloody toad was here. She glared past Dumbledore's shoulder and skipped Snape to stare at the horrid woman.

"We obviously don't know the circumstances for this...scene, Dolores. Let me find out what is going on first." Dumbledore said with obvious authority.

Hermione slid back another step, making sure to keep her wand steady. She knew they were keeping track of her every movement. She blinked twice to clear her vision. She needed to hurry up.

She wasn't going to last much longer.

"Let her leave. She's not important." Hermione whispered.

Dumbledore leaned forward at that. "Is that so?"

A nod. The toad had always been a hindrance. She held no doubt it was true here too.

Something else alerted her of another presence. She swirled and cast a triple protection spell that exploded with a flash of blue light. She glared as a spell glanced off it. Dumbledore said something but she didn't care. She was being attacked.

Beyond the screams of the students and the glare of her shield, she saw Alastor Moody. Mad-Eye. She lurched forward and grinned suddenly. The man was alive! Hermione stood up from her crouch, making sure to drop the shield.

"Alastor."

That stomped the man. Hermione heard gasps and shouts of surprise. She also heard Dumbledore exhale sharply.

"Miss Granger! I'm not on first-"

"You're alive."

Silence once again. She realized her mistake too late. Fuck. She shut her eyes. "Headmaster, I would like to speak to you and Professor Moody. Alone. I will explain everything away from the audience."

"Very well."

Hermione tucked her wand away and forced herself to walk without a limp. Her hip was begging for help and her loss of blood was making her weaker. She ignored the calls that came from two individuals and slowly but surely made her way out of the Great Hall. She passed Alastor and when she felt the silent presence in the back she stopped.

"I only said, two people. Not three."

"Miss Granger, when have you ever held the power to-"

Dumbledore interrupted Snape. "I will call you if I need you. Help Minerva deal with Dolores and the students."

She felt the glare land between her shoulders. The man was just as unpleasant as he had been before.

But she knew what really lay behind those strong words and facade. That didn't mean that was true here either. She needed to find out all she could and fast. Word would spread fast and she didn't know what exactly Death had sent her to do.

She didn't even know if she was staying for long or if she was here forever.

They didn't make it far. She collapsed as her vision went blurry.

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But she wasn't out for long. It was probably only minutes because she was being laid upon a bed when she came around.

Hermione quivered as she tried to push herself up. They had brought her to the infirmary and both men were standing at the foot of her bed. Dumbledore was staring at her and Alastor was scowling. She tensed as Madam Pomfrey touched her arm.

Pain shot up her arm at the contact. The older woman had touched the cursed wound. The one that Bellatrix Lestrange had carved out onto her skin. It had never fully healed.

"What happened! What-"

Hermione shook her head and rolled off the bed. Or at least she tried to but Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey spoke at the same time.

"Don't get up."

"I have to get somewhere secure. I can't be here while others can hear or see."

No sooner had she spoken when Dumbledore used his wand to close the doors to the infirmary. She felt wards go up the next second and recognized them at once. Alastor had taught them to her before he had died. He grunted as he watched her face.

She also remembered something. She lurched forward, regretting it instantly. But it couldn't be helped.

"Show me your hands."

Dumbledore frowned but held them out. She looked at every finger and waved her hand across them to lift any concealment charms. None were present and she sighed in relief. No rotting was in sight. She closed her eyes and held herself up by planting her hands in front of her.

"What year is it? 1994? 95?"

"I'm not sure what game you're playing-"

Hermione shook her head, flinging one hand out, cutting off Alastor. "Just answer me. Please."

Dumbledore answered as he met her gaze. "May 2nd, 1997."

She stared at him in shock. It couldn't be. She looked at Alastor and back to Dumbledore. She closed her eyes and numbly took off her jean jacket. She left the red jumper on.

She ignored Pomfrey's distress and Dumbledore's concern. She looked down at her body with mild interest. Bruises and cuts were everywhere. Her left arm burned from the cursed wound, her hip wasn't bleeding anymore but screamed with every movement and her inner right thigh twinged.

She was a mess.

Reaching for the jean jacket, she pulled out the beaded purse from the inner pocket and pulled out a blood-replenishing potion and threw it back before the others could speak.

"That is illegal, Miss Granger." He pointedly looked at her purse.

"Yes, it is. But I can easily make you forget about it, Alastor."

"Miss Granger!"

She shrugged. She forgot she wasn't close to this version of Alastor. She had missed him terribly after his death and seeing him alive…

Wait.

She looked up at him and palmed her wand.

"I know your eye isn't any more legal than my purse, isn't that right, Professor."

Pomfrey cut him off just as he was about to reply and reached for the empty veil. "What did you drink? Where did you get this? Will somebody explain to me what is going on!"

Hermione pulled out a jar of paste and looked up at Dumbledore. The wizard had been silent for too long and now he was staring at her in wonderment. She looked away and lifted her jumper. With quick and careful movements, she cleaned and healed what she could before applying the paste.

Pomfrey was a case of nerves and it showed. Hermione finished patching up and dropped her jumper.

"I'm not from this world. It looks like I was dropped in a very different time than the one I come from. The question is, where is the other me? The other Hermione Granger."

…..o0o0o0o0o…...

The new story is up and running. I hope you all like this one as much as I do writing it. Chapters will get longer depending on the flow of the story. Updates will be once or twice a week.

Thank you for giving it a chance. Feedback is welcomed.

Vanee