Changes Can Be Made
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and by the time you finish reading this you would have figured out that you didn't need to read after 'and' in this sentence, for you know what a disclaimer is.
A/N: Hey guys! OMG! Sorry you had to wait a while, I was busy enrolling in a school here and OMG there's a lot that needs to be done, so I thought I'd update before I get more stuff to finish doing with my parents…. Anyways! I did read the reviews and I'm happy you guys like this! It means so much to me… THANK-YOU GUYS! Also, I do apologize to those who like Hermione x Remus better, but I'm gonna stick with Hermione x Sirius… I'm so sorry guys… BUT! I am listening to requests and will give them great thought so feel free to suggest stuff. I'm also going to try my best and make Sirius a changed guy (So, not a jerk… sorry, I'm not very experienced with guys since I'm antisocial and don't talk to many guys so I don't have any idea what they think like and… yeah… sorry…). I am sorry guys… anyway….
Tigersky7: Thanks so so so so much for the review, I really appreciate it and I'm super happy you enjoy reading this!
Chapter 15: Hogsmeade Bonding
Hermione, as usual, took a deep breath in upon their arrival in Hogsmeade. It was almost exactly the way she remembered it. Paved streets, white cottage like stores, streets not so busy but with horse-and-cart's as well as the famous three broomsticks. The only difference was some shops from her time were not open yet. For example, Hermione's favourite bookstore 'Spines of Pages' that stood next to the famous '_' candy store was non-existent. But all in all Hogsmeade brought back good memories.
Hermione smiled silently as the best times here with Ron and Harry replayed in her mind. Her favourite time was in third year when she and Ron went to see the Shrieking Shack and when Draco Malfoy continued to bully the both of them with his two dimwitted sidekicks he got a good scare from Harry, who was hidden in the invisibility cloak. The look on Draco's face was priceless. The three ran off screaming! Harry truly was devious… She let a small giggle escape her lips and sighed contentedly as she returned to reality.
Hermione noticed Dumbledore smiling at her, obviously he knew she was reliving a happy memory he didn't interrupt.
'That was awfully nice of him,' Hermione thought with great gratitude. She never realised till now how precious those simple memories were.
Hermione turned 90 degrees to the left so she was facing the old Professor. She smiled happily at him and asked, "Where to first Sir?"
"You tell me, what is it you need, dear child?" he asked gently.
What did she need? She never thought a great deal about it. What didn't she have?
'That's right! Casual clothes!' Hermione reminded herself.
Hermione smiled sheepishly before answering Dumbledore's question, "Clothes sir… Casual clothes."
Dumbledore chuckled, "Alright then, Madame MacCarth's it is then."
Hermione was familiar with the shop. Madame MacCarth's was the place for clothes. She has everything! Literally from gowns to swimsuits! You name the style, she's got it. For the first time in two days Hermione was unimaginably joyful. Who knew someone could be THIS excited to go shopping? Well… plenty of girls actually since it's usually class after class after class every day… but this was definitely a first for Hermione. Hermione actually enjoyed learning rather than shopping but this time she would prefer to shop than anything else after the year she's had (referring to 1997). They kept walking down streets until they came to the most extravagant looking store.
Hermione shook her head, 'She's as extravagant as always… well, at least it hasn't changed much… except for the pixie lights she uses for the sign in the 1990s.'
The sign above the door read, in humungous letters with shimmering glitter, Madame MacCarth's Exquisite Wizard & Witch Wear. The doors were already opened and inviting. Hermione smiled to herself as they entered the store.
Hermione was shocked the store. She wasn't shocked at how there was no one in it, well that's because it wasn't Hogsmeade weekend, but the silence and emtiness wasn't the shocking fact of the store it was the clothing merchandise. Rows and piles of clothes were everywhere. Literally EVERYWHERE! It had clothes in rows on racks and piled on tables but clothes were also hanging everywhere else. Clothes hung down from the ceiling, floating in isles of more clothing, hanging off the railings of the twisting staircase and on the chandelier in the middle of the room clothing were hanging from it. In the 1990s the shop was more organised so it was easier for streams of girls to find what they were looking for. But here, it was…
'This isn't a store! This is a cyclone catastrophe of clothes!' Hermione yelled shockingly inside.
Hermione stared dumbstruck at the 'mess' of merchandise. Dumbledore chuckled and called out, "There's a customer here Madame!"
Hermione suddenly heard a loud yelp coming from behind the cashier counter, but the only thing behind it was a solid white wall. Hermione watched as the wall behind the counter faded away and was replaced by, what looked like, a big store room only it was filled with material. She could see nothing but a room full of material. Then two piles of material started to move. Curious, Hermione moved towards the counter to see what was happening to the material piles. When Hermione came to the counter she noticed how that the clothing materials touched the counter itself.
'How can someone get to the back of the room if they can't even get behind the counter?' Hermione questioned. The mysterious material shifted again and Hermione edged closer. She could see nothing but shimmering colours…
"HI!" popped out a head.
Hermione screamed in fright. She fell to the floor, hands pulled over her heart area on her chest. She could feel her heart beating against her chest and took lots of deep breaths.
"Sorry dear," a white haired woman apologised. The woman had shoulder length white hair and twinkling blue eyes. She looked at Hermione happily and held out a slim hand. She had smooth porcelain white skin. Her face held a broad smile and a beauty spot under her left eye. She was beautiful. No flaw touched her face… well, other than the big puffy bags under her eyes. She looked about 20 but had snow coloured hair. Hermione accepted the outstretched hand and was helped to her feet. As soon as Hermione was steady, the woman let go and bounced towards Dumbledore.
'Yup, it's definitely Madame MacCarth… she's as energetic as ever,' Hermione sighed to herself.
"Ah Albus! It's been a while!" she exclaimed as she beamed up at him.
"Yes it has Miranda," he said, "but I'm not here to reminisce about your troublemaking years-"
"Troublemaking years?" Hermione cut in curiously. Hermione knew Miranda MacCarth after the many visits she made to this very shop in her own time, but she never once questioned how old MacCarth really was.
"Yes, dear, I'm an old student of Dumbledore's… He was my transfiguration professor," MaCarth explained.
"Oh..." Hermione understood; until another question dawned on her, "Transfiguration Professor? How old are you?"
Miranda MacCarth giggled.
"Well I'm older than 'you-know-who' I can tell you that," she said with a wink, "Pixie fig lotion potions and a couple of spells here and there do wonders, sweetheart."
Hermione was gobsmacked! 'How can someone who looks that young be older than Voldemort?!' Hermione screamed inside.
"Well, moving on now," Dumbledore interrupted, "We're just here to look around and purchase some clothes for this young lady."
"Oh! Alright then," MacCarth cheered, "Look around sweetheart and try on anything you like. Oh and with the clothes that are floating around, you've got to be a little sneaky to catch those piles, okay?"
Hermione was slightly confused as to what she meant but nodded anyway in understanding. Then just as surprisingly as she appeared, MacCarth was gone in an instance.
'Apparition…' Hermione sighed.
Dumbledore turned to Hermione and smiled. He handed her a small, brown pouch. Hermione was confused. She tried shaking it but there was no sound and when she looked in it, it was empty. Dumbledore observed her as she checked the pouch.
"I've got the money, that is for you to take your shopping back to Hogwarts without suspicion," he explained briefly.
Hermione finally understood. She was upset that she didn't realise the obvious earlier. "The Undetectable Extension Charm! Of course! Why didn't I think of that!" she exclaimed deeply disappointed with herself.
Dumbledore chuckled, "Alright, now get to your shopping," he shooed.
Hermione smiled in response and bolted for the nearest clothes rack.
'Poor girl needs this after the future she's been through,' Albus thought sympathetically, though he was happy to see the girl darting from rack to table and pouncing on floating piles that speed up in the presence of someone.
Half an hour had passed and Hermione had piled a 'decent' amount of clothes onto the front desk. She had some cute short-sleeved tees and a few woolly sweaters. She had nagged herself a few breezy long-sleeved shirts that wouldn't exactly keep her warm but would cover her scar on the left; plus she loved the breathable material. She also got herself some actually warm long-sleeved shirts and some lovely denim jeans. She had three or four denim shorts, as well as lots of gorgeous skirts. The skirts were all mid-thigh length and were either high waisted or the usual hipster ones.
Hermione was satisfied with her casual wear. She smiled contentedly at the pile, but she felt that something was missing.
Dumbledore smiled tiredly at her pile, "Anything else child?"
Hermione realised what was missing and blushed furiously. "W-well, I need some undergarments…" she whispered. Though it was quiet Dumbledore heard her. He nodded and Hermione dashed up the twisting staircase yelling "THANK-YOU SIR!"
Hermione picked out the usual plain panties and tossed them onto the pile directly under the railing she was near. She was glad that the shopping was coming to an end. All she needed was some stockings and a few bras. Hermione easily located the stockings since they were one of the items of clothing hanging from the chandelier.
Hermione took out her wand and pointed at the chandelier, "Accio stockings," she said. Soon enough all the stockings hanging on the chandelier launched at her. Hermione ducked as grey, black, nude coloured stockings came towards her. The landed around her and she picked up onlya couple of black and nude coloured stockings. She levitated the other 10 stockings back onto the chandelier and tossed HER stockings onto her pile. Now she headed to the back of the second level to find the last item of shopping she needed. It wasn't long before she found a few bras her size and taste and so she headed down the twisty staircase to the large pile on the counter.
Hermione smiled sheepishly at Dumbledore. "Sorry Professor…" she mumbled.
"No need to worry child, now do you have everything you need?"
"Yes, thank-you sir!" She cheered.
Dumbledore smiled and turned to MacCarth as she suddenly appeared, again, from behind all those materials.
"Alright! Let's see…" she said as she calculated the total cost of this pile.
Dumbledore paid for the pile as promised while Hermione stood there stunned, staring up at the floating number.
'OH MY MERLIN! D-DID I REALLY JUST SPEND-!' she couldn't even say the number in her head.
Hermione looked at Dumbledore as he began to stuff her clothes into the pouch that he removed from her frozen hand. She followed Dumbledore out of the store and started her profuse apologies.
"It's alright Miss Grace! It's fine! You deserve this treat…" he said exasperated from her irritating amount of apologies.
"O-okay…" Hermione sighed.
"Good… Now, shall we get you something to eat?" he asked. Clearly he knew that Hermione skipped lunch.
Hermione opened her mouth the answer but her stomach beat her to it.
GRUMBLE~
Hermione blushed as Dumbledore chuckled.
"The Three Broomsticks it is," Dumbledore announced.
They found themselves a nice two person table near the door of the Three Broomsticks. Dumbledore ordered them each butterbeers and Hermione got a simple ham sandwich.
Hermione ate merrily as Dumbledore chatted to a nearby wizard. Once Hermione was done, Dumbledore ended his conversation and started one with Hermione.
"How's 1977 Hogwarts treating you Miss Grace?" Dumbledore asked.
"It's alright… I'm mostly enjoying the time I spend with my new found friends but at the same time… I miss my old ones…"
"Things will get better, you are doing this for them," he reminded her.
Hermione smiled sadly at him.
"Now, Miss Grace, what is your plan?"
"Well, I know of 'the order' that you're currently thinking of creating and now I'm trying to get two specific people to change themselves for the better and to join me and the definite others in your organisation," Hermione explained.
"Those specific two people are?"
"Peter Pettigrew and Severus Snape," she answered.
"Is that the plan?" Dumbledore asked clearly not impressed.
"No, well… not just that… I know of three horcruxes…" Hermione whispered.
"W-what?" Dumbledore gasped in surprise.
"I know of three horcruxes," Hermione repeated and continued, "Harry, my best friend and the chosen one, told me all he knew of them…"
Dumbledore leaned in to hear her out.
"Harry told me of the first Horcrux he happened upon, Tom Riddle's diary. Harry destroyed it with a basilisk fang after he killed the Basilisk with the sword of Gryffindor in the chamber of secrets. He said that future you also destroyed one… A ring… I think it was Voldemort's mother's ring… anyway, the last one I know of is the Salazar Slytherin's Locket. Ron, my other best friend, destroyed that with the Sword of Gryffindor. I found that the sword can destroy Horcruxes since the sword 'absorbs what makes it powerful' so since Harry used it to kill the Basilisk, the sword absorbed basilisk venom."
Dumbledore nodded to make sure Hermione knew he understood her so far and so Hermione continued.
"And since Harry told me that Voldemort," she whispered the name lower than she was already speak, "was interested in making SEVEN horcruxes, however I don't know if he succeeded… My plan is to find out how many horcruxes there are, where they are, destroy them and help kill Voldemort."
"Do you know where some of the horcruxes are at the moment?" Dumbledore asked anxiously.
"Well, not entirely… Harry told me that future Lucius Malfoy had the diary in his possession before handing it to G- I mean, before giving it to a student before its destruction…" She waited to see if Dumbledore was keeping up.
Dumbledore nodded, "So you think Lucius in this time will have it?"
"I'm not sure. Harry didn't even know WHEN Lucius had it in his possession to begin with but Lucius of this time is a start. Anyway, Harry also said that YOU never told him where it was… the ring that is… but do you know its whereabouts?" Hermione questioned.
Dumbledore took a long pause before answering, "I do have an idea, but I'll retrieve it myself."
Hermione nodded before continuing, "And lastly, Harry told me that the locket is located in a cave … He called it 'Horcrux Cave' and said that it had a potion guarding it…"
"A potion guarding it?" Dumbledore repeated.
"Yes, it was a potion that makes the drinker thirsty… He said that the only way to get the locket was to drink it and that there are evil creatures lurking in the water around the horcrux. When the drinker goes for water, they pull them in… anyway, that's the only place I'm sure of at the moment."
"Alright," said Dumbledore, "I'll help you whenever you need it… though I think you could have more help from others as well," he hinted.
"N-no," Hermione blurted, "I couldn't possibly put them in danger…"
"But what good does it do the future if you do it all by yourself?"
Hermione thought for a long while before, "None…"
"Then help is what you're in dire need of," Dumbledore advised.
"But, then I'd have to tell them of the future and put them in danger and who knows if they'll even believe me?!"
"Have faith in the people you surround yourself with my dear… they'll always surprise you!"
Hermione smiled. Dumbledore was right. She did need the help, but that didn't make it easier for her… what should she do?
Hermione sighed, "I'll think about it…" She downed the rest of her butterbeer as Dumbledore smiled triumphantly and pushed his empty mug aside.
"Well, I believe it's almost time for classes to start," Dumbledore said as they exited the bar, "Time to get you back."
Dumbledore outstretched his arm for her to take. She checked herself to make sure she had her wand, bag and pouch. Once she was set to go she grabbed onto Dumbledore's arm.
They arrived inside Dumbledore's office. Hermione took deep breaths before bidding Dumbledore farewell.
"Thank-you for everything Dumbledore sir," Hermione said, "And I'll keep you updated in anything I find out about the horcruxes."
Dumbledore nodded, "and I the same Miss Grace."
Hermione waved at him from his study door before she left. The corridors were busy with students as they hurried to their next class.
'Speaking about next class, what do I have now?' Hermione thought.
She took out her schedule from her bag and searched.
'And I was just talking about dark magic stuff…' Hermione thought as she remembered the Horcrux conversation she just had with Dumbledore.
'Well I better get to DADA now then…' she sighed. Hermione began to walk down the corridors.
She was glad to have DADA now. She was in the mood to kick some Dark Arts ass… as well as see Lily.
'I wonder how she coped with lover boy at lunch,' she giggled to herself.
She was going to have a fun class next, she just knew it.
A/N: sorry it's so late! Anyway, I'm gonna be busy this week again so I might update next week… I'm so sorry guys! Anyway, Hope you liked it!