Disclaimer: These characters all belong to J. K. Rowling. If they were
mine, I could retire from college and spend my life eating pizza, watching
movies and riding roller coasters.
Ch. 2: Days of Yore
Ron awoke that morning to a sudden yank at his covers, and the pitcher of ice water that was usually kept by the window being thrown on his head. It was Peeves, the poltergeist, in a usually festive mood.
"Wakey, wakey, Ronikins!!! Sleepy time is over!" Peeves sang as he zoomed out the door. Cursing Peeves with every breath, Ron got up, stumbled over to his dresser, and pulled out a fluffy bathrobe. Had he slept through breakfast?
On his way downstairs, he tripped over Crookshanks, who spat and hissed before tearing down the stairs, apparently in search of a quieter resting place.
Great, thought Ron. I'll have to have a word with Hermione when I find her. Grumbling and cursing, Ron entered into the Common Room, which was, not surprisingly for Christmas break, empty. He sat down at large table in the most comfortable chair, warming his frigid face by the fire.
Where are they? Ron thought. Hermione's probably following wherever Harry is, Ron chortled. She was so obviously smitten; he was surprised that Harry hadn't noticed her yet. And he was equally surprised that the two hadn't talked about the fact that they were always together. Well, give them time.
As Ron glanced around the room he noticed quite a large book lying on the table next to him. He grinned as he opened it and flipped through it.
This has to be Hermione's. Thick and no pictures. But then he realized that not only were there no pictures, but there were no words, either. Even I could read this one, Herm. You finally slowing down? But then he noticed, on the first page, a single line of typed script. "Harry and Hermione awoke, side by side, in the snow outside Camelot." He frowned. Could this be some sort of prank? He glanced around the room, confirming that it was empty, and turned back to the book.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hogwarts! How could this be Hogwarts!! We were just at Hogwarts! Look at the flags! None of them are from our houses, and even the snow is deeper." Hermione watched, torn between amusement at Harry's ranting, and bewilderment at the state of her own mind. Where are we?
"HARRY!!" Hermione shouted, bringing Harry out of his rant, gasping for breath. "Just calm down. Everything's fine." Is it?, she thought.
"Of course!!" Harry shouted. "Everything is just PEACHY!! Oh, except for the fact that it appears we were just sucked into a different Hogwarts through a book. A book that was, I might add, a history of CAMELOT! Really, Hermione, for someone so smart, you can be awfully thick sometimes!" Hermione stood, stunned for a moment.
"Thick! Was I supposed to have seen this coming! I was supposed to have known that the book I had gotten out of the library would suddenly transport us to a previously-unknown Hogwarts! Who's the one being thick Harry!"? They stood for a moment, staring daggers at each other. Suddenly, Harry began to laugh. Great rolls of laughter, to the point where tears were flowing down his face, and the plumes of breath above him made Hermione think of the Hogwarts Express in high gear.
"I-I-I can't believe you actually think I'm blaming you for this!!" He gasped between fits of laughter. Hermione grinned in an abashed way.
"Even I can be a little thick sometimes," she said, blushing round the ears.
Harry looked at her for a moment. She seems to blush a lot around me, he thought. Who knows, maybe I should tell her. No. Ron would never understand. Keep control, Harry. She and Ron are your best friends. Be happy with what you have.
There was an uncomfortable silence, brought to an end by Hermione's shivering. Harry suddenly realized he was cold, too. They were improperly dressed for the outside weather.
"Come on, Hermione, let's get going."
"Where?" Asked Hermione.
"Inside would be a good start, I think."
As they started walking, Hermione asked the question that had been on both their minds.
"Where or when the hell are we?"
"Could it have been a portkey?" Harry asked.
"But that would have taken us to somewhere besides Hogwarts. Besides, things about the castle have changed."
"Maybe it was a time turner."
"No," Hermione said, "That requires us to start off the chain of temporal movement, and we didn't to anything. Besides, they can only move a few hours, a day at the most. The time turner would have had to be about the size of the Eiffel Tower to move us back even to last winter."
"Well, what do you think," Harry asked.
"I don't know. I just don't know."
And for Hermione, that was a very unpleasant realization.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ron raced through the virtually empty hallways of the castle, until he reached the Main Hall on the ground floor, threw open the doors to the Great Hall, and ran up to the Headmaster's table, where Professor Dumbledore sat, finishing off a rather large plate of sausages.
As Ron reached the table, a look of concern crossed Dumbledore's normally cheery face, and he sat Ron down and gave him a large glass of ice water before letting him begin. "I-I-I need to speak with you. In private," Ron gasped, as nonchalantly as possible; there were still other people around. He looked pleadingly into Dumbledore's eyes.
"Professor Mc Gonigal, would you kindly excuse me for a moment?" The Deputy Headmistress looked quizzically at Dumbledore for a moment, before nodding curtly.
The entire trip to Dumbledore's office was unpleasant for Ron Weasley. How could he explain what was happening? That a book seemed to be telling the story of a lost Harry and Hermione. Would he believe him? The finally reached the stone gargoyle, to which Professor Dumbledore gave the password (Fizzing Wizzby) and they both went up the moving flights of stairs to Dumbledore's office, which was bedecked in mistletoe and full of candies, and surprisingly to Ron, quite a large number of thick, woolen socks.
"Now, my dear boy, what seems to be the matter?" Without really knowing how to explain it, Ron leapt into the story of his discovery , leading up to his arrival in the Great Hall.
"And now, it says that they are both entering the castle. But what is the book talking about? I already looked on Harry's map, and they're not on the grounds!!"
To Ron's surprise Dumbledore was smiling serenely. "Ronald, I have a vague idea of what happened, but I'm afraid I can't explain it to you that well. There are things in this book that pertain to both Harry and Hermione, and I'm afraid that if they are where I think they are, only the book can decide when the story is over."
"So what can I do?" Ron pleaded "What if they're in trouble?"
"There is nothing you can do, but have faith in the two of them. Trust me, the best thing you can do for them is continue to read. I'm sure you will find it quite an adventure. That is all, Mr. Weasley. Please have a nice day."
As Ron left the room, grumbling to himself, he heard Dumbledore comment:
"Besides, it is rude to give away the end of the story before someone is able to read the final chapter."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Please R&R!
Ch. 2: Days of Yore
Ron awoke that morning to a sudden yank at his covers, and the pitcher of ice water that was usually kept by the window being thrown on his head. It was Peeves, the poltergeist, in a usually festive mood.
"Wakey, wakey, Ronikins!!! Sleepy time is over!" Peeves sang as he zoomed out the door. Cursing Peeves with every breath, Ron got up, stumbled over to his dresser, and pulled out a fluffy bathrobe. Had he slept through breakfast?
On his way downstairs, he tripped over Crookshanks, who spat and hissed before tearing down the stairs, apparently in search of a quieter resting place.
Great, thought Ron. I'll have to have a word with Hermione when I find her. Grumbling and cursing, Ron entered into the Common Room, which was, not surprisingly for Christmas break, empty. He sat down at large table in the most comfortable chair, warming his frigid face by the fire.
Where are they? Ron thought. Hermione's probably following wherever Harry is, Ron chortled. She was so obviously smitten; he was surprised that Harry hadn't noticed her yet. And he was equally surprised that the two hadn't talked about the fact that they were always together. Well, give them time.
As Ron glanced around the room he noticed quite a large book lying on the table next to him. He grinned as he opened it and flipped through it.
This has to be Hermione's. Thick and no pictures. But then he realized that not only were there no pictures, but there were no words, either. Even I could read this one, Herm. You finally slowing down? But then he noticed, on the first page, a single line of typed script. "Harry and Hermione awoke, side by side, in the snow outside Camelot." He frowned. Could this be some sort of prank? He glanced around the room, confirming that it was empty, and turned back to the book.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hogwarts! How could this be Hogwarts!! We were just at Hogwarts! Look at the flags! None of them are from our houses, and even the snow is deeper." Hermione watched, torn between amusement at Harry's ranting, and bewilderment at the state of her own mind. Where are we?
"HARRY!!" Hermione shouted, bringing Harry out of his rant, gasping for breath. "Just calm down. Everything's fine." Is it?, she thought.
"Of course!!" Harry shouted. "Everything is just PEACHY!! Oh, except for the fact that it appears we were just sucked into a different Hogwarts through a book. A book that was, I might add, a history of CAMELOT! Really, Hermione, for someone so smart, you can be awfully thick sometimes!" Hermione stood, stunned for a moment.
"Thick! Was I supposed to have seen this coming! I was supposed to have known that the book I had gotten out of the library would suddenly transport us to a previously-unknown Hogwarts! Who's the one being thick Harry!"? They stood for a moment, staring daggers at each other. Suddenly, Harry began to laugh. Great rolls of laughter, to the point where tears were flowing down his face, and the plumes of breath above him made Hermione think of the Hogwarts Express in high gear.
"I-I-I can't believe you actually think I'm blaming you for this!!" He gasped between fits of laughter. Hermione grinned in an abashed way.
"Even I can be a little thick sometimes," she said, blushing round the ears.
Harry looked at her for a moment. She seems to blush a lot around me, he thought. Who knows, maybe I should tell her. No. Ron would never understand. Keep control, Harry. She and Ron are your best friends. Be happy with what you have.
There was an uncomfortable silence, brought to an end by Hermione's shivering. Harry suddenly realized he was cold, too. They were improperly dressed for the outside weather.
"Come on, Hermione, let's get going."
"Where?" Asked Hermione.
"Inside would be a good start, I think."
As they started walking, Hermione asked the question that had been on both their minds.
"Where or when the hell are we?"
"Could it have been a portkey?" Harry asked.
"But that would have taken us to somewhere besides Hogwarts. Besides, things about the castle have changed."
"Maybe it was a time turner."
"No," Hermione said, "That requires us to start off the chain of temporal movement, and we didn't to anything. Besides, they can only move a few hours, a day at the most. The time turner would have had to be about the size of the Eiffel Tower to move us back even to last winter."
"Well, what do you think," Harry asked.
"I don't know. I just don't know."
And for Hermione, that was a very unpleasant realization.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ron raced through the virtually empty hallways of the castle, until he reached the Main Hall on the ground floor, threw open the doors to the Great Hall, and ran up to the Headmaster's table, where Professor Dumbledore sat, finishing off a rather large plate of sausages.
As Ron reached the table, a look of concern crossed Dumbledore's normally cheery face, and he sat Ron down and gave him a large glass of ice water before letting him begin. "I-I-I need to speak with you. In private," Ron gasped, as nonchalantly as possible; there were still other people around. He looked pleadingly into Dumbledore's eyes.
"Professor Mc Gonigal, would you kindly excuse me for a moment?" The Deputy Headmistress looked quizzically at Dumbledore for a moment, before nodding curtly.
The entire trip to Dumbledore's office was unpleasant for Ron Weasley. How could he explain what was happening? That a book seemed to be telling the story of a lost Harry and Hermione. Would he believe him? The finally reached the stone gargoyle, to which Professor Dumbledore gave the password (Fizzing Wizzby) and they both went up the moving flights of stairs to Dumbledore's office, which was bedecked in mistletoe and full of candies, and surprisingly to Ron, quite a large number of thick, woolen socks.
"Now, my dear boy, what seems to be the matter?" Without really knowing how to explain it, Ron leapt into the story of his discovery , leading up to his arrival in the Great Hall.
"And now, it says that they are both entering the castle. But what is the book talking about? I already looked on Harry's map, and they're not on the grounds!!"
To Ron's surprise Dumbledore was smiling serenely. "Ronald, I have a vague idea of what happened, but I'm afraid I can't explain it to you that well. There are things in this book that pertain to both Harry and Hermione, and I'm afraid that if they are where I think they are, only the book can decide when the story is over."
"So what can I do?" Ron pleaded "What if they're in trouble?"
"There is nothing you can do, but have faith in the two of them. Trust me, the best thing you can do for them is continue to read. I'm sure you will find it quite an adventure. That is all, Mr. Weasley. Please have a nice day."
As Ron left the room, grumbling to himself, he heard Dumbledore comment:
"Besides, it is rude to give away the end of the story before someone is able to read the final chapter."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Please R&R!