A/N: Sorry guys! I meant to upload this last night but the site was down.
Hogwarts ~ 1977
Christmas holidays had finally arrived. The ceiling was charmed a powder blue the morning the Hogwarts Express was scheduled to leave the castle, snowflakes lightly falling on them as Hermione sat in the Great Hall for breakfast to see her friends off.
"What do you mean you're not going home?" Lily asked her. She sat next to Hermione, not in her usual spot next to James. She had been giving him the cold shoulder since his dramatic outburst in Hogsmeade and was taking her time warming back up to him. She'd spend the rest of the weekend sleeping in the girls' dormitory, which got the point across to him rather quickly. He finally apologized to her, seemingly more sincere about hurting Lily's feelings than Hermione's. But James had also caught Hermione after Ancient Runes this week, head hung low, offering a half-hearted apology towards her as well. She knew he was only doing it to satisfy Lily, but she accepted, nonetheless. She wanted to be on his good side, after all, and his behavior so resembled Harry's that she couldn't resist.
Hermione shrugged. "My aunt's travelling so I figured I'd just stay here and catch up on some reading."
Alice placed a comforting hand over hers. "I'm sorry, Hermione. It must be hard, your first Christmas without your parents."
She looked down. There was no need to fake the very real emotions bubbling up inside of her. While it wouldn't be the first Christmas she has spent without her parents, it would be the first one she spent alone, without them or Harry and Ron, since she started Hogwarts. Being here, alone for Christmas, somehow made it even more real that she really was stuck in this time indefinitely, nowhere closer to finding a way home.
"It's no big deal," she replied. The others didn't seem convinced. All except James, who didn't seem too concerned.
"You're welcome to come home with me," Lily offered. "As long as you don't mind putting up with my sister's wretched boyfriend." She wrinkled her nose.
"It's alright, really," Hermione said. "Hogwarts already feels like home. Plus, NEWTs are coming up, and I'm already dreadfully behind schedule."
The others laughed, but Remus and Lily nodded in agreement. Now that it had been over a month, Hermione wasn't sure how long she'd be stuck here. But if it were long enough to graduate Hogwarts, she'd need to have passable NEWT scores to get anywhere in the wizarding world.
With a gust of wind, the doors opened and owls swooped in from every direction. When a beige barn owl landed next to Hermione's porridge and stuck its leg stuck out, she couldn't think of who could have possibly sent it. Everyone she knew in 1977 lived in the castle. She carefully untied the note from the owl, leaving it free to fly out the window and towards the owlery. She unraveled the note and read its contents.
Miss Granger,
As I understand it, you will not be joining your fellow students beyond the castle walls for the holidays. I welcome you to use the floo in my office for your personal use this holiday break. I will be away from Hogwarts for these two weeks on business, so do not worry about disturbing me.
Wishing you a Happy Christmas,
Albus Dumbledore
P.S. My favorite Christmas treat is Peppermint Imps.
She looked to the front of the room where Professor Dumbledore was currently in conversation with Professor Flitwick. He turned his head slightly when he caught her staring, giving her a sly nod and wink. She smiled in return.
"You never get mail," James said, ever so tactfully.
Remus smacked him upside the head with a look of annoyance, before turning to address Hermione. "Who's it from?"
Hermione looked up, carefully rolling up the note and placing it in her bag. "My aunt. Just letting me know where I can reach her over the break."
She wasn't sure why she lied. Surely it wasn't out of the ordinary for Professor Dumbledore to offer a student access outside the castle for the holidays, but perhaps not a student so new to the school. Besides, she didn't want to give James another a reason to think her different than any other student, and surely getting special treatment from Dumbledore would raise some eyebrows.
Soon enough, the students rose from their seats and gathered their trunks for the train ride home. Their group waited longer than the others, stretching out the time they had together, but eventually rose from their seats.
"I can't wait for my mum's treacle tart. Better than Hogwarts by far," James said as he swung an arm around Lily. The Christmas spirit had apparently done wonders for their relationship, as Lily didn't shrug him off as she'd been doing all week.
"Lucky you. I've got to put up with my Aunt Flora's dreadful scones Christmas morning. We could use them as bludgers," Marlene scowled.
Everyone said their goodbyes to Hermione as she walked them to the front gates. Once the others started heading to the carriages, she discreetly pulled Sirius to the side.
"You can still get me those books, right?" Hermione asked him, hand still gripping his bicep.
He nodded. "Don't worry, I remember."
She let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you. I didn't know if, well, after what happened in Hogsmeade, I didn't know if…"
He rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about James, alright? He can be bullheaded sometimes."
"Sometimes?" she muttered.
"And don't worry. I'll get you those books. But, seriously, you know who my family is right? It's dark magic. Are you sure what you're looking for will be in there?" He looked more worried than suspicious.
"At this point, I'm out of options. Believe me if I had any other choice…" she trailed off.
He nodded. "I get it. Just be careful." He looked toward where the others were getting into the carriages, calling his name. "Those dinosaurs are really pulling the carriages, huh?"
She laughed. "Thestrals. You can reach out and touch them if you don't believe me."
He scrunched his nose. "Once was enough, I think." He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into a side hug. "Happy Christmas, Hermione."
"Happy Christmas, Sirius." She noticed Marlene giving her an odd look as Sirius joined them, but she just waved them all off, hoping it was nothing.
"What was that about?" James asked Sirius as he joined them in their carriage.
Sirius smiled slyly. "Nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about."
James rolled his eyes but returned his attentions to Lily.
Sirius joined in on Remus and Peter's conversation, completely oblivious to the odd look Marlene was directing his way.
xxx
Hermione spent the first few days of the holiday break reading. Without her dormmates presence and the curious eyes of the Marauders, she was able to conduct her research without fear of any prying eyes. If she couldn't make any progress getting back to her own time, she would become productive in other ways.
She started by making a list of possible horcruxes and their locations. Harry believed one must be at Hogwarts, and if she could identify it they'd be one step closer when she returned. If they hadn't already completed their mission by the time she did. She believed they were on the right track before they were captured. They destroyed Slytherin's locket and Helga Hufflepuff's cup was undoubtedly a horcrux thanks to the memory Dumbledore had procured.
She couldn't help but let her thoughts drift to Malfoy Manor. As awful as that experience had been, being that close to Death Eaters in Voldemort's inner circle had its advantages. Bellatrix was terrified at the idea of them being in her vault, as evidenced by the torture she had inflicted upon Hermione to drive out the truth. And it wasn't just about the sword. She wanted to know if they'd taken anything else. Hermione remembered the fear on her face, which only drove her to be even more sadistic
It made sense, of course. Bellatrix was as loyal to Voldemort as anyone had ever been. Who better to trust with a piece of your soul? And in one of the most protected buildings in Britain no less.
She wrote "Gringotts" down next to the cup in her notebook.
There was one left, and if they were thinking along the same lines, it had to be something related to Ravenclaw. It wouldn't be in a vault in Gringotts as well, that would be too dangerous. So this must be the one at Hogwarts. She still was hesitant to believe Voldemort would keep one hidden here, right under Dumbledore's nose, but she'd worry about that later. First would be figuring out what it was.
She found every book she could on Rowena Ravenclaw and the other founders, making a note of anything pertinent to her search. There was the ring she was gifted on her engagement, her wand that was laid to rest with her, a rattle gifted to her daughter upon her birth. Of course, there was her diadem, but that had been lost for centuries, much before Voldemort's time.
After days of research, she felt mildly better than before, but awfully burnt out. She figured now was as good a time as any to clear her head and take Dumbledore up on his offer. She grabbed her wand and bag before leaving the common room and making her way toward the Headmaster's office.
She wasn't paying attention as she rounded the corner, causing her to walk straight into an equally distracted Professor Goldhorn.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Professor!" she exclaimed, as she bent down to help him pick up the papers that had flown out of his hands.
He bent down with her. "Don't worry about it. I wasn't watching where I was going."
Hermione couldn't help but notice the papers he'd been carrying. "Are those our essays on nonverbal spells?" she asked eagerly.
"Yes, I was just finishing them in the library. It's a nice change of scenery when there aren't as many students lurking about." He smiled at her obviously curious expression, and pulled out a noticeably cleaner piece of parchment than the rest in the bunch. "Here. I'll let you have yours a bit early since you're stuck here for the holidays as well."
Hermione snatched it from him, devouring her grade and his comments in the margins.
"Quite a well-done paper, Miss Granger. You seem to grasp the technical and practical effects of the spells quite well."
She looked up at him as he eyed her, hearing the curious tone under the praising words. "Thank you. I hope we'll get to practice them after the holidays," she said carefully.
He nodded. "Indeed, we will." He gestured behind him in the direction she had been heading before they had collided. "If you were looking for the Headmaster, he's out of the castle, I'm afraid."
She carefully placed her essay in her bag. "Oh, yes, I know. He knew I was staying in the castle for the holidays so he offered me access to his floo."
Goldhorn raised his eyebrows. "You must be an exceptional student to warrant that kind of treatment from Albus Dumbledore."
She heard the underlying tone in the Auror's words and knew what he really meant was trust. She was suddenly grateful that she hadn't revealed this to the others when she'd received the letter.
She shifted her feet. "It was very generous of him," she said. "I'm just popping to Diagon Alley for the day."
He smiled disarmingly. "Well, don't let me stop you." He moved out of the way. "See you in class," he said before walking off.
The interaction left her, shaken wasn't the right word, but pensive. Goldhorn was a great auror, to be sure, with his interpersonal skills alone. He knew exactly what to say to throw you off or put you at ease. She'd only ever felt that way when under the magical eye of Moody, and that was for obvious reasons. He was in the Order, so it was his job to pick up on suspicious activity. At least she knew he was capable.
"Peppermint imps," she said once she reached the entrance to the Headmaster's office. Once inside, she grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped into the flames, determined to have a relaxing day.
xxx
Diagon Alley was filled with last minute Christmas shoppers as Hermione stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron and into its bustling streets. Though less crowded than the back to school rush, she still found herself having to push through groups of excited young witches and wizards and frantic gift-buyers. She spent her morning window-shopping, eyeing the owls and toads in the pet shop and the latest models of brooms in Broomstix, before she headed into Flourish and Blotts.
The journal she was using at the moment would suffice (especially given the amount of protection spells it was under), but she wanted something more secure. She didn't want anyone, particularly anyone already with suspicions about her, stumbling upon her writings.
After a good while comparing her options, she selected a red leather-bound journal, unopenable to anyone but her touch. If broken into by force, it would simply spout nonsense on its pages. Happy with her purchase, Hermione headed to Fortescue's to have some dessert before flooing back to Hogwarts.
While paying for a scoop of pistachio, she quickly added a box of chocolates to her purchase. Sirius was putting a lot of trust in her by giving her his family's books, and she didn't want to be empty-handed when he gave them to her. A nice, big box of chocolates would be enough for him to share with the boys, and maybe even be a way of getting James a little more on her side.
After paying, she took a seat on the patio out front of the store. She was nearly finished when a young boy came rushing by and knocked right into her chair, causing what was left of her ice cream to spill onto the ground. She had only begun to mourn her last bite when an intensely familiar voice ripped through the air.
"Bill Weasley!"
It was then that she noticed the vibrant red hair of her assailant, who stood with his head down and awaiting a tongue-lashing from his mother. Hermione looked up, not surprised in the least, to see a furious Mrs. Weasley marching toward them, one boy slung on her hip and a baby in the carriage charmed to roll beside her.
She immediately noticed the differences in the woman she had come to see as a second mother. There were no gray pieces streaking her hair, which was longer than she'd ever seen it. Her face had less lines, though her smile lines were peaking through, no doubt from the stress of being a young mother of three in a time of war. She couldn't be more than ten years older than Hermione at that moment.
"What did I say about running ahead of me?" she scolded the very young Bill Weasley, who was still pouting. "Look what you did! You spilled this nice girl's ice cream!"
"I didn't mean to!" Bill whined.
Mrs. Weasley shifted the boy, who Hermione presumed was Charlie, onto her other hip. "I don't care. You apologize to her this instant, or we're going straight home."
Bill looked up at Hermione through his long lashes. "I'm sorry."
She smiled. "That's okay. Accidents happen."
"I'm so sorry, dear. Please let me buy you another." Mrs. Weasley's tone shifted dramatically when she turned to address Hermione.
She shook her head. "It's really no problem. It was practically empty." She picked up the paper cup and tossed it in the trash to prove it.
She looked unsure but nodded. "Alright." She looked back at her children. "You get one scoop each. And I better see you on your best behavior in there."
"If you'd like, I can watch the boys while you go in and order," Hermione offered, taking in the picture of an overstressed young mother and eager to spend more time in their presence.
"Oh no, but that's very kind of you," she replied quickly, understandably wary of leaving her children in a stranger's hands.
"I'm sorry, I know you don't know me at all," she said, as she made what she might later decide was a rash decision and reached into her bag. "My name is Hermione. I'm a student at Hogwarts." She handed her the letter Dumbledore had given her at the beginning of the holidays, hoping to assure her that she was no threat.
Mrs. Weasley quickly read over the letter, and then looked up at her. "Albus mentioned there was a transfer student from Beauxbatons this year." By the look of pity she was giving her, it looked like Dumbledore also mentioned the reason she "transferred."
"That's me," she smiled. "Really, it's a bit crowded in there. I'd be happy to watch them."
She eyed the full shop. "Oh, alright," she relented, smiling at the young girl in front of her. "I'm sorry. You can never be too careful these days. I'm Molly, by the way."
"I understand. It's nice to meet you, Molly."
"Okay, Bill. What would you like?" Molly said as she turned to her oldest.
"Double chocolate frog fudge!" he exclaimed.
"Me too, mum!" Charlie said as he climbed down from his mother's arms and moved to sit next to his older brother in the chair across from Hermione.
"Alright. You be on your best behavior for Miss Hermione," she said, a familiar warning in her voice.
"Yes mum!" Charlie and Bill said, while Percy gargled happily.
She was happy that she had convinced Molly to let her watch the boys. With the limited interactions she'd had during the holidays, seeing someone so familiar to home was comforting when she had been feeling so lonely during the Christmas season. She turned her head when she felt a soft tug at her sleeve.
"Do you go to Hogwarts?" Bill asked, looking at her with wide eyes.
"Yes, I do," she smiled, shaking her head at how she had just attended this toddler's wedding not eight months ago.
"Do you know Mr. Dumb-dumley-dore? Dad says he's the most powerful wizard in the world!"
"Yes, I do. He's a great wizard." Hermione smiled, amused.
"I can't wait to go to Hogwarts!" Bill exclaimed while Charlie nodded eagerly.
Hermione was about to respond when Percy started fussing in his carriage. She moved to pick him up, settling him on her lap and bouncing him until he giggled.
"He's always crying," Bill grumbled.
"Yeah," Charlie chimed in.
After she had calmed Percy down, she looked at the older boys. "Babies cry a lot. I bet you cried a lot when you were a baby."
"Not as much as him."
"Sometimes, babies crying means it can be especially hard on mums. But do you want to know what special power you boys have?" she mock-whispered.
"What?" they asked, eagerly leaning in.
"You're big brothers. That means you can take care of each other. Help your mum out and be extra nice to her and your baby brothers. Because I'll you in on a secret." She looked around as if to make sure no one would hear her, before leaning in. "Only the best-behaved boys get letters to Hogwarts."
Their eyes widened.
"So, you'll be on your best behavior right?" she asked.
They nodded quickly.
"Good." She smiled.
Behind them. Molly walked out of the shop, ice cream in both hands. "Alright, here we are."
"Thanks mum!" the boys exclaimed once they received their cones.
She shot a confused and shocked look at Hermione, who only smiled in response.
"You're quite good with him," Molly said, motioning to the now sleeping Percy in her arms.
"I used to babysit my neighbors' baby when I was younger," Hermione explained.
"Where was that?" Molly asked, curiously.
"London, until we moved to Paris. I'm an only child so being around younger kids was a new experience."
"Do you wish you had siblings?"
She nodded. "Sometimes. I have some close friends that are like family, but I think I would've liked a sister."
Molly rested a hand on her stomach, which Hermione now noticed was slightly protruding. Of course. Fred and George would be born next year.
"I'm pregnant now, actually. Twins, if you'll believe it!" Molly said, disbelievingly. "We're hoping for at least one girl. But if it's not, we're not going to try again. We wanted a big family, but five's quite enough, I think."
Panic slowly rose within Hermione, causing her to straighten her spine. "No!" she said a little too loudly.
Molly's eyebrows rose.
"I mean," she said more calmly, "if you want a girl, you should keep trying until you get one."
"I don't know," Molly said, looking resigned. "Maybe it just wasn't meant to be."
She shoved the panic back down her throat. "I think you were meant to have a daughter. I can see it. Plus, a big family sounds nice. I would've loved to have that."
Molly eyed her curiously. "You aren't a seer are you?"
Hermione laughed. "No, no. Definitely not."
She sighed. "Well, alright. I'll think about it. I think a girl would be just lovely. Not that I don't love boys!" she said quickly.
"Trust me, I understand. My two best friends are boys." She gave her a knowing look.
Molly laughed. "Well, then you do understand. It's as if there's a curse upon the whole gender."
As soon as she said this, Charlie had managed to drip what looked like half his scoop of chocolate down his hand, as he tried to lick it up. With a stern look from Molly, he stopped. "Sorry mum."
"Alright boys, ready to go?"
Hermione rose and carefully placed Percy in his carriage.
"It was lovely to meet you. Thank you for watching them. I swear that was the most alone time I've had in five years."
She waved her off. "It was no problem, honestly."
Molly pulled her into a hug. Hermione let out a content sigh. She may be twenty years younger, but she still smelt the same. If she closed her eyes, she was back at the Burrow, enjoying a nice roast and laughing at something Ginny had whispered in her ear. She was broken out of her nostalgia when she felt a tug on her jumper.
Hermione unwrapped herself from Molly's arms and turned her sights on the small boy.
"Bye Miss Hermione," Bill said as he wrapped his small arms around her. Charlie came up beside him and joined in.
"Bye boys. Remember what I told you," she whispered.
They nodded emphatically at her.
She waved as the young family left the shop and wiped her eyes, surprised at the strong emotions she had at seeing them. A few months ago, she never would have even let herself think about seeing the Weasley's again, let alone out in the open in a Diagon Alley safe from Death Eater attacks.
Her warm feelings at seeing them turned sour as she thought about the conversation she'd had with Molly. Was their interaction the reason Molly had wanted to stop having kids? Had her presence really almost changed so much? She hoped she had done enough to convince her to keep trying for a girl. She shuddered to think about what would happen if she didn't. No Ron, no Ginny.
Today had been quite the head trip.
She headed toward the Leaky Cauldron, intent on getting back to Hogwarts without another run in from someone from her past, or well, future.
A/N: I'm back somewhat on schedule! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Originally this was going to encapsulate all of the Holiday break, but I decided to split it up and add some more scenes.
I'm envisioning a Michael Fassbender-type for Alaric Goldhorn for anyone who is curious, but would love to hear what you all think!
Thanks for reading! Please leave a review! Hope you are all staying happy and healthy.