Chapter 6

Before she noticed how fast the time has passed, Hermione was sat on the Hogwarts' train, on the way to Scotland.

Earlier during the summer, she received a letter from Dumbledore informing her that he has not managed to fix her time tuner yet and is still looking for a replacement. He also confirmed her earlier invitation to return to Hogwarts for her 4th year. She would be joining Gryffindor with no formal announcement for her own safety, and was free to tell her housemates whatever she felt comfortable with, yet in his own roundabout way he suggested she didn't mention she was from the future.

Hermione was fine with that as she didn't plan on revealing that particular information to anyone anyway. She decided to continue her white lie she told Sirius, James and Remus during summer. She could only hope others would buy it.

There was quite a lot of quiet students that nobody ever payed attention to. Hermione suspected that if it wasn't for her friendship with Harry and Ron, she would probably end up being one of those students.

After arriving at Hogwarts, she blended into the crowd and sat at the Gryffindor table like everyone else during the welcoming feast. Nobody bothered her so far. She sat through the sorting ceremony and Dumbledore's speech that really didn't change that much every year.

She scanned the Slytherin table in search of her prejudiced friend with flexible morals. She smirked as she remembered how he enjoyed himself watching the TV with her father and uncle. After a minute she found him among the crowd of snakes. He sat with other 4th years, but she couldn't help but notice they kept some distance from him.

It puzzled her, but what caught her eye was how cold and hostile he looked. It reminded her of the confrontation between him and Sirius in the Black's library. He looked scary to her, who he let see through the tough front he put on, and knew of his other personality he hid from the world. She could only imagine how scary he looked to all the first years.

"He's scary, isn't he? Makes you want to stay away. Especially now with You-know-who and his death eaters roaming around and killing muggles" Said a timid looking girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes who sat next to Hermione. She must have noticed her looking at Regulus.

"Why do you say that?" She asked her new acquaintance.

"Well everyone thinks he's going to join them. He certainly looks like he could. Besides he's dangerous, especially to muggleborn witches like me. Have you not heard what he did to that Hufflepuff girl in second year?" She said looking at Hermione with big eyes.

"She accidentally spilled something on him in potions and on the next day she was found barely alive. She had all sorts of cuts on her and other stuff that was obviously from some heavy dark curses. They couldn't punish him though because she was oblivated and couldn't remember who did it to her but there was no one else who could have done it, you know. I'm Jane by the way, Jane Collins"

"I'm Hermione Granger. I'm muggleborn too. I'm surprised I haven't seen you around before" She said putting up the entire 'I've been here this entire time' pretence on.

"Yeah I try to avoid any attention. Keeping quiet serves, me well, I haven't had any trouble with Slytherins since the first year. I'm so glad those bullies graduated then because I wouldn't be able to take it for another year"

"Actually I have been keeping to myself as well, I don't think anyone even knows my name" Hermione said with a smile.

A loud "Hermione!" Came from behind her.

Oh, no…. she thought and clenched her fists wondering if Sirius always has such bad timing.

She saw how surprised Jane looked when Sirius sodding Black and James Potter slid onto the spaces around her, with their backs lying on the side of the table. Sirius between her and Jane, and James on her other side.

"You didn't lie after all! You are a Gryffindor!" Exclaimed Harry's dad.

"Well spotted James" She gave him a sarcastic smile. His comment was pretty stupid considering she wore Gryffindor robes and sat at the Gryffindor table. But her reply made both older boys laugh.

"How was your summer?" Sirius asked with a big grin.

"It was good, thank you, I read books. You should try it sometime" She said with a small smile dancing on her lips.

"She got you there, mate" James laughed earning himself a smack on the arm.

After a short exchange, they got up and left to bother the first years. They called it some fancy made up word but in essence they went to check out the newbies. Hermione noticed Jane fell quiet. She must have felt uncomfortable in such close proximity to the two popular 6th years.

"I don't really know them; I ran into them during summer" She told her new friend.

They ended up talking through the rest of the feast, and were positively surprised upon finding out that they were placed in the same room this year.

Hermione felt glad to be back at Hogwarts, but being back in the Gryffindor Common room was an entirely different kind of joy. Hermione and Jane began to unpack when the three other girls that occupied the same dormitory came in.

They introduced themselves as Emily Cresswell, Brennan Doyle and Elora Haywood.

Emily and Brennan were half-bloods while Elora was a pureblood. It turned out that none of the girls knew each other very well, as they all had friends in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, which made it all easier for Hermione to blend in.

"But don't you think that Remus Lupin is very good looking? Am I the only one?" Emily said all giggly, to which Brennan assured her that she in fact was not the only one. Hermione knew that the trio wasn't ugly, but she didn't pay enough attention to notice they really were good looking, and it looked like they were quite popular amongst the female population of the Gryffindor house.

But she couldn't help but feel slightly strange since in her time they were old enough to be her fathers. In fact, one of them was a father of her best friend and the other one was his god-father. The additional knowledge of his future stay and escape from Azkaban didn't make it any better. And Professor Lupin! Seeing first-hand what he was in his younger years… she would never look at him the same way every again.

"I don't know, I think Eddie McLaggen is a cutie" Said timid Jane.

"That Ravenclaw? Isn't he going out with Lizabeth Wood?" Elora asked suddenly very interested.

"No, they broke up during the summer"

"You know all the gossip don't you Bren" Emily laughed and threw a pillow at her, but it landed on Hermione. The girls quickly apologised but she assured them it was all okay.

"Speaking of gossip, Diana heard from Lukas that Terry said to Hannah that Tulip told Penny she heard from a Slytherin 3rd year that was at the same summer ball as someone who found out all about what Regulus Black was doing this summer." Brennan said in one breath with a glint in her eyes, and Hermione couldn't tell if it was the excitement or just the light reflection from the candles.

"Why does it matter what Regulus Black does in his free time?" Elora asked rolling her eyes.

"Because apparently, at the start of the summer, he attended all formal events you posh purebloods have to go to, but then he suddenly stopped coming and only his parents made an appearance." Brennan said to Elora and stuck a tongue out at her, earning a pillow to her face.

"But someone overheard Mrs. Black talking to the Malfoys and it sounded like Black spend the summer running with death eaters torturing muggles"

"It really is a wonder that Sirius Black is related to that creepy family" One of the girls commented but Hermione was too busy feeling relieved. From what Jane told her earlier about Regulus did chill her bones a little, but hearing of his supposed activities during the summer made her relax as it seemed most of the gossip was just that, a gossip.

She knew all too well where Regulus has been and what Regulus has been doing all summer, and he certainly wasn't torturing the muggles, if anything the muggles have been torturing him with their horrid muggle cars and spooky muggle television.

"Alright, time to go to bed and get our beauty sleep. Some of us have potions first thing in the morning and brewing up half asleep never ends well in Slughorn's class" Elora clapped her hands together.

"Well I'm exhausted! Goodnight all" Brennan jumped under the covers of her bed.

"Sleep well girls" Hermione said and put the lights out.

The following week has gone in a blink of an eye. Hermione forgot her real goal and got too much into the fun of being back at school. Her focus was purely on the lessons, homework, books, assignments and further reading.

She wasn't avoiding Regulus but she hasn't met him outside the lessons they shared with Slytherin, during which they exchanged only glances and nods. It was the same during meals. She was always spending time with Jane or Elora because apparently, that's what girls did.

The first week at Hogwarts was always a disarray, with all the first years getting lost there was not a single corridor without them running around trying to find their way. Hermione took it upon herself to take each one that ran into her, straight to their classes. That took a lot of time and effort on her part but it didn't hurt to practice before getting her prefect badge in a few years' time.

If it wasn't for Dumbledore calling them to his office, she probably wouldn't find time to speak to Regulus that week, or month. When she ran in Regulus was already sitting and waiting for her with Dumbledore and McGonagall. She was out of breath, but managed to choke out an excuse for her being late.

Regulus rolled his eyes when he heard of her little project of attending to the lost first years. She heard him mutter 'typical Gryffindor'. She sent him a glare but he only replied with a smirk.

They discussed with the professors some of what they found during the summer, which was not a lot. Hermione agreed to slow down on her further reading, on which she was already behind as it was, and instead shift her focus back to the time travel research.

Dumbledore revealed he found someone who may be able to fix Hermione's time tuner, which was the only promising piece of information they had so far. After being dismissed, Hermione and Regulus left the office and walked down the empty corridor. It was already late and everyone apart from the prefects was already in their common rooms.

They decided to start at the Hogwarts library early morning on the next day, which conveniently was a Saturday.

Very much like for the past week, Hermione found herself running down the corridors. The girls stayed up late to talk and Hermione couldn't help but join in. She has grown to like them. But they made her sleep in and now she was late.

Thankfully there wasn't a lot of people around so she managed to get there pretty fast. Running into the library she made it to the spot they planned to meet at. Regulus was already there, flipping through some books and making notes. Looking impeccable as always.

"You're late" He stated.

"I know I'm so sorry" She whispered still trying to catch her breath. He looked at her and sighted in resignation.

"If your Great aunt Amelia saw you right now she would have a heart attack"

"Unlikely. She would lock me up in the dungeons for a week" Hermione said as she sat down.

There were very few students in the library, one because it was early and two, because it was a Saturday. But Hermione did notice all the strange looks she got the minute she sat down next to Regulus.

At first she dismissed it, thinking it was due to her running in and being sort of, new. But as the day progressed and there was more people coming in, they still gave her odd looks.

"Am I going crazy or are they all staring at me?" She whispered to the boy next to her, trying to hide behind her book.

"It's because you're sitting next to me. Nobody ever does that, they're all too scared. Don't mind them. They are probably trying to remember your face so if they don't see you around tomorrow, they can say that I killed you" He said calmly in a husky voice, not looking up from his book.

"Right now you are a just a Gryffindor girl to them, wait until they find out you're a mud-blood too" He smirked.

"You must stop using that word, it is impolite" She scolded him.

They finished in the late afternoon, agreeing to meet there, again on a Monday evening. They packed up and left. There weren't many people around but everyone they passed stared.

Regulus paid them no attention. He began telling her about something to do with Alchemy that he has come across in one of the books and how he was going to write to Claudius about it when a first year Ravenclaw tripped running, she ended up falling right into the tall and scary form of Regulus Black.

Regulus and his seductive reflexes caught her before she hit the ground and helped steady her back on her feet. She thanked him but when she looked up and recognised who he was, her eyes opened wide in fear and she walked away quickly after apologising with tears forming in her eyes.

"I suppose my reputation precedes me" He smirked at Hermione, but she could see it did annoy him a little.

It must have been hard for him, being treated like a dangerous criminal when he wasn't even close to being one. Or was he? She didn't know anymore but she knew that he never killed anyone and wasn't after muggles. She was upset with the way everyone treated him at Hogwarts, justifying it with groundless rumours. Her feelings must have shown on her face because he sighted and said:

"Don't worry about it. It's not their fault they can't see past the rumours, with Voldemort and the death eaters on a rampage. You might not know much about it but Voldemort is pretty powerful now. The Ministry is in disarray, they don't know what to do, they don't know who his supporters are or who's working for him and who isn't.

All they know is that he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. Pure-bloods, Half-bloods and Muggleborns. They are all scared, for themselves and their family, and their friends. Every week, news comes of more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing.

My family has a vast history of being involved with the dark arts and I don't make it my priority to hide my personal feelings on the matter."

"They would have a field day if they knew you have a collection of photos and articles about the Dark Lord and his followers cut out from the Daily Prophet, which are hung in your bedroom near a painting of your family crest" Hermione said recalling the display of Voldemort's achievements she got a glimpse of when passing by his bedroom during summer. "But are your personal feelings really your own, or are they encouraged by your family's wishes and expectations?"

"I don't support killing for the purpose of entertainment, but he is a great and a very powerful wizard. I'm not against his cause either, in fact I've been quite a fan of his since I was 12. The fact that it always made my mother proud is a bonus" He sent her a faked half smile.

"In moments like this I do wonder if I should be talking to you" Hermione said in opposition to his blind devotion. "Riddle is a madman, and your faith in him is well misplaced"

They walked together in silence, each thinking about the gravity of the situation and how ridiculous their unlikely friendship appeared to the world and themselves. Because at the end of the day, druid or not Hermione still barely scrapped the half-blood bracket, her relatives were somewhat magical but by no means they were wizards. Not with the curse placed upon them.

Regulus made his support of Voldemort very clear on multiple occasions. Yes, he spent time with her and her family but she suspected it was because he knew that they were druids with some meaningful ancestry and came from old money. She had no doubt that if this wasn't the case and she was just an ordinary, poor muggle born witch, he would probably be much more reluctant to find himself in her company, regardless of his own academic interests in the subject of time travel.

Little did she know that walking beside her, Regulus was not contemplating the significance of his academic interests against her heritage, nor was he deciding between helping her and killing her. In fact, his considerations were more close to home and his own family.

He has been openly walking around with Hermione, and in their world one must not only be a pureblood supremacist, but also be seen as one.

He wondered what consequences would his sudden consorting with a muggleborn bring on him and his family. He had ears, he knew what they all said about him. He would have to make sure those rumours kept on circling for both his and Hermione's good.

Coming up to the main corridor, they parted their ways with a simple 'goodnight' and left for their common rooms that were so far apart.

Long overdue note from the writer,

Greetings,

I have written a lot of fanfics over the last few years but have not added any of them because I never finished. Usually it's because I get another idea and start writing something else before I finish the previous one, or I simply have no time because of school, and then I forget about them or loose commitment.

For this exact reason, I've been rushing through this lengthy plot so I don't lose my focus, and because I don't have much time to write.

This story is pretty much about; what if Hermione had some strong magical ancestry and if her family played a bigger role in the franchise. Being a descendant of Morgana, and with her family leaning towards the old magic, which is portrayed as the darkest ancient magic, even darker than the Dark Arts Wizards are familiar with. I thought she would naturally be a Slytherin but I wanted to emphasise how much her Gryffindor friendships influenced her and how she is trying to dismiss her Druidic ties and be different from her family, whom she sees as dark.

But her heritage is attracting the characters who grew up in a similar environment as her. The presence of Slytherins in this story is super important for Hermione's growth as the main character.

I wanted her relationship with Draco be complex. He has no idea about her family, he only knows her as a muggle-born, Gryffindor, Potter's friend, yet there is something there that attracts him to her, he can't quite put his finger on it, but the reality is they are quite similar, except Hermione doesn't have that pressure from her family to pick a side, because to them there is no sides, it's just magic, nor they want to take any part in the war.

Regulus has a much clearer reason for his attraction. He is seen through the social expectations of him being another Black, another Dark wizard from one of the darkest families, and like most pureblood Slytherins he has nothing to hold him back from leaning into that, in fact he does it quite so well that he has everyone believe, he could be the next dark lord.

Regulus is not someone talked about very often and he is definitely one of my favourite characters. I wanted to portray him as very clever and powerful, someone who would not give into the expectations if he didn't have a very good reason, and he does have very good reasons to do it.

Primarily, he wants to protect his family. The 1975 is the middle of the war and whether you live or die depends on where your alliances lie, and his older brother, Sirius the rebel, choses to go against his family and everything they stand for, and Regulus in a way is trying to make up for that in the public eye.

Regulus of course also grew up with the idea of blood supremacy and it's not something he is unfamiliar with. So, when he encounters Hermione, a muggle born witch, who time travelled this far back, which is incredibly difficult and dangerous to do, and she is from the future! That alone overshadows the argument of whether or not he should interact with her.

Her personality is another thing which he grabs onto pretty quickly, but his prime interest in her was purely scientific. Then after finding out about her family, he becomes even more fascinated with her and starts to see her more as a witch rather than a muggle. There's also the fact that he found out about his own long lost Druid ties, so it almost makes him feel closer to Hermione with all similarities they share.

So I think Regulus should be able to quickly get over his pure blood believes because they aren't his own believes, and he is smart enough to look and think past them, but there's also the external factors which make him almost linger on his default views.

Anyways, that's all from me,

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoy!

Livxoxo

PS. I have no one to read through anything I write so do forgive any mistakes.