Hello everyone!
Here I am with a new chapter. Sorry for being late but as English is not my mother tongue, it takes some time to translate. Sorry in advance for all the mistakes.
Thank you and enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 3 – Back in time
Hermione remained astonished for some seconds, she started to understand. Well, she started to realize the unfortunate truth: she was in front of (actually, above…) Sirius Black, a handsome seventeen-year-old guy. He had the same features as the Sirius she used to know (from the future?) but he was younger and above all, he wasn't tired and shadowed by his long years of imprisonment at Azkaban.
So, I guess the boy with tousle-hair may be James, Harry's father and the sickly blond boy would be Peter Pettigrew… But why am I here and how did it happen?
However, she was stopped in her thoughts by a light cough.
"Hum… I know you're thankful to me," Sirius said in a cold and pretentious tone, "but you're on top of me and above all, your shameless behaviour embarrasses me, we are in front of the Headmaster."
"My what?" Hermione replied, offended. But she stopped talking at once.
She understood the situation. She became red and got up very rapidly. All the people in the office looked at her weirdly. She tried to style her hair, feeling unsettled. An awkward silence fell upon them: Sirius was giving a wink to James, Peter was looking at Sirius with admiration, Filch was staring at the couple with a nasty look and a younger Dumbledore was smiling, as if he was entertained. Hermione, redder than a cooked lobster, didn't know how to get out of this situation: first, she didn't belong to this time and above all, she was in the Headmaster's office. How could you she avoid any explanations?
As a response, she only looked at her feet and discovered pieces of wood on the floor. The cupboard's door was broken in two pieces. Without thinking, she raised her wand and said
"Reparo!" with concentration.
When the cupboard was repaired, she turned toward the five other persons who were staring at her with round eyes. She lost a bit her composure but she gathered her courage and started to walk toward the Headmaster.
"Headmaster," she said with a confident voice. "May I talk to you? Alone?"
They were all surprise by her request, except Dumbledore who was still smiling. After a few seconds, he said to the four men:
"Gentlemen, may you wait outside, please?"
"But Headmaster," Filch tried in a plaintive voice. "We need to take care of what happened!"
"Please, Argus!"
The caretaker tightened his lips but head towards the corridor. The three other boys followed him. Black took more time to leave: he gave her an awkward look and winked at her. Hermione wanted to jump at his throat but only answered with indifference, the best attitude toward this kind of arrogant men.
When the door was closed, Dumbledore headed to his desk to sit down and proposed a chair to Hermione in front of him.
"So, young lady, may you tell me what your name is? Because I am not sure I have ever seen you. And even if I am old," Dumbledore started to laugh, "I remember very well all the students that are currently in my school."
"My name is Hermione…" she hesitated.
Should she reveal her real name? She looked at Dumbledore and saw wisdom and kindness on his face. She took a decision…
"Hermione Granger," she said more firmly.
"And from which school do you come from? Even if I have an idea, looking at your uniform. And you look a bit young to work!"
"Indeed…" she answered. "I am in seventh grade at… Hogwarts!"
Dumbledore felt suddenly silent. He was lost in his thoughts, but Hermione didn't know how to read his silence. However, he broke it after a few seconds.
"I think you need to give me more explanations, Miss Granger," he said with a kind smile.
As she already started, Hermione couldn't back off. She decided to tell him the truth. And if there was only one person to be trusted in this time, it was Dumbledore! He might find a solution to help her.
"So… it may seem weird to you… you may think I am crazy but I come from the future!"
No reaction. Hermione was unsettled but didn't lose courage and went on.
"I need to explain. I come from 1997 and I think I went back in time… I don't know how it happened. And don't think I attempted to go back in time! Not at all! Unfortunately, a spell was cast on me. I don't know which spell, I only know it was white… And then, I fainted and woke up in… your cupboard!"
Still there wasn't any reaction from the Headmaster.
"I was trapped and fortunately, or… fortune is a kind word, I guess," Hermione said bitterly. "Sirius Black was in the office and helped me to get out of the cupboard. I fell upon him because of my violent fall. And this is how you found me. Here is my story…"
Hermione became red. Her story seemed unreal. She looked at the Headmaster with pleading eyes. She needed him to believe her. Finally, Dumbledore smiled. And Hermione felt suddenly relieved.
"I think you don't lie to me, Miss Granger!" He said with a quiet voice. "And I think your story is quite real: you are wearing a uniform from Gryffindor, you seemed to be a talented witch, you story seems coherent and above all…"
Dumbledore pointed at the necklace around Hermione's neck. She took a look at it and saw the Time Turner. She was astonished by what she was seeing: when she put it around her neck this morning, the sand wasn't dropping anymore, it didn't work but now, the sand was dropping in the sandglass. Her stomach became tight…
"But I don't understand!" She cried out. "It shouldn't work…"
"Well… I think the spell that you received made it work again. Moreover, I know very well this kind of Time Turner and normally, you should only be able to go back in time for a few hours, not more!"
"But we are in…"
"1977! This is it, Miss Granger!"
Hermione felt numb.
"I don't understand at all…"
"I only see one solution!"
Hermione felt relieved. Of course, Dumbledore knew how to go back to the future. She didn't want to remain one more minute in this unknown time. Moreover, the farther she was from that Black, the better she would feel. She didn't know why but as soon as if she laid eyes on him, she felt attracted to him as if…
No, no, she thought. Sirius is dead! He's Harry's godfather! He is only part of the past! And you, you're not from here!
"I think you will need to remain here for a few days, or a few weeks…" Dumbledore started to say.
"What?" Hermione briskly cried out, coming back to reality. "But it's not possible, I…"
"For the moment, I don't know how to help you to go back to the future. I need some pieces of advice and I know some friends who would be able to help me but it may take some time. Moreover, we need to know which spell was casted and I think it will be more complicated than you think…
"But I can't! My studies…"
"And you will attend the courses here, of course!"
Hermione couldn't believe it, it was absurd! She didn't want to attend any courses! However, when she saw the firm look on Dumbledore's face, she accepted.
"I agree" she answered finally, bowing her head. "But I don't know how I should introduce myself… Well, it will be weird for a student to arrive in the middle of the schoolyear, in seventh grade…"
"Oh, don't worry!" The Headmaster was laughing. "We will tell a lie! And I am sure that you will perfectly play your part like a confirmed actress!"
Hermione smiled faintly. She suddenly felt discouraged, as if the truth hit her badly or… was it the counterstruck of the spell she received…?
After ten minutes of a long talk and negotiation on her new identity, Hermione left Dumbledore's office, feeling depressed.
