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Preface
Welcome! This is my first venture into writing for the Harry Potter fandom. I've enjoyed so many incredible fics on FFN/AO3 that it's absolutely daunting to put my personal musings out there where all of the greats live, but I couldn't resist sharing the story I've wanted to see.
We'll begin at the end of PoA and slowly (ever so slowly) diverge from canon, eventually becoming a complete rewrite spanning the rest of the series. In the interest of trying to stay true to the characters and canon events already in motion, this will be slow build/slow burn. There are a lot of familiar events from Hermione's POV as we ramp up into new territory. The M rating will not be leaned into heavily until later chapters and any applicable warnings will be posted in the notes (I don't foresee many). It is worth noting that this story features a complete ensemble cast, and is meant to feel somewhat like the source material.
My goal is to update at least once a week. When I'm not reading/writing, I have an active toddler and foster kittens with various needs, but I'll try to give advance notice if there will be any extended breaks. My husband is my compulsory beta-reader, so blame any grammatical errors on him. ;)
This is all just for fun. Love to hear your thoughts if you care to share, and constructive feedback is always welcome.
Thanks for dropping in!
-SS
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Hermione lay in her four-poster bed and scrubbed at bleary eyes with the heels of her palms. By the sounds of soft snoring filling the dormitory, she was the first to wake. She sat up slowly, and a quick glance out of the tall window across the room told her the sun was just peeking over the distant mountainside. A soft dawn haze filled the room and sparkling dust motes caught the light where they floated across the window. Unsuccessfully attempting to suppress a yawn, Hermione grabbed her wand off of her nightstand and whispered a summoning spell for her toiletry bag. As she got out of bed, dressed, and tiptoed carefully towards the door, she began to mentally review her upcoming day. Thankfully, exams were over and it was the last day of classes before the end of term.
Transfiguration was first. And Arithmancy of course, courtesy of her time-turner. Defence Against the Dark Arts was a free period now that Professor Lupin had been outed as a werewolf and forced to resign. Her only other class was Astronomy later that evening. She was privately relieved that her last potions class had been yesterday, as Professor Snape had turned especially nasty towards Harry, and by extension, her and Ron, since he suspected them in helping Sirius escape.
Hermione pondered the events of a few weeks ago as she scrubbed her teeth and carefully brushed through tangled curls. Against impossible odds, she and Harry had been able to use the time-turner to save both Sirius and Buckbeak from a terrible fate. If only they had been able to stop Pettigrew from escaping in order to clear Sirius's name. She, Harry, and Ron still frequently discussed everything that had happened, both in wonderment and relief. They and Dumbledore were the only ones who knew what had really happened that night.
The time-turner Hermione currently had tucked into the front of her sweater had been an integral piece in allowing those events to happen, but she still found herself looking forward to handing it in. She had thought about this decision carefully over the past few weeks - perhaps months, if she were being honest - and this course load was not sustainable any longer. Her zeal to take every single elective offered had been satisfied, but she was still glad for the experience. Giving up Muggle Studies was regrettable - Hermione appreciated learning about the world she grew up in from the perspective of the magical community - but she would be able to have a normal course load without it. Giving up Divination was far easier. That subject was absolute rubbish. Well, she allowed after a moment, at least the class was. Trelawney may be only slightly less of a fraud than she originally suspected, but one or two real predictions over however many years hardly made her any more reliable in Hermione's opinion. Harry had eventually recounted what happened after his Divination exam, and he said even Dumbledore agreed it had probably been a foretelling. Regardless, Hermione was still a sceptic. The future was complicated, determined by an incalculable number of choices. Who could truly know it with any certainty?
Finishing her morning routine, Hermione walked back to her dormitory to switch out for her school bag, then went to the common room to wait for Harry and Ron to wake for breakfast. She settled in one of the squashy armchairs to read through a particularly difficult chapter in her Ancient Runes textbook with Crookshanks curled up in her lap.
As the morning went on, more students filled the common room. A low, excited hum was almost palpable in the air as friends eagerly chattered over the last day of classes before term ended.
"Hey, Hermione!" Ron said, dropping into a chair across from her.
"Morning, Hermione," Harry said cheerfully, perching on the arm of her chair and scratching Crookshanks behind the ears.
"Good morning, you two," Hermione replied with a smile. "Ready to head down for breakfast?"
"You know I am," Ron said. He looked pointedly at the textbook in her lap. "I'd say I'm surprised you're still studying on the last day of classes, but I'm really not," he teased.
She made a face at him and Harry chuckled.
"Let's go," Harry said. "I'm hungry and I wouldn't put it past McGonagall to take off a few points if we're late. Even today."
Hermione, Harry, and Ron climbed through the portrait hole and made their way to the Great Hall. They only took one small detour when one of the staircases refused to move; the castle could be temperamental about the end of the school year. As usual, a hearty breakfast awaited them at the Gryffindor table, and they didn't hesitate to tuck in.
"So Hermione," Ron started, his words muffled through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "Do you get to keep the… you know, the thing… over the summer until next year?" His throat bobbed as he managed to swallow.
Hermione shook her head. "Actually, I've been thinking…" she began, and she informed the boys about her decision to drop Muggle Studies and hand in the time-turner tomorrow morning. "It's driving me mad, and without those classes I'll be able to have a normal schedule again. I can't stand another year like this one."
Harry and Ron looked surprised. "At least we had it for Sirius and Buckbeak," Harry added after a moment.
"Yeah, although I still can't believe you didn't tell us about it, Hermione," Ron said grumpily.
"You know I couldn't, Ron," Hermione admonished. "Anyway, let's get going. I'm anxious to ask Professor McGonagall if she'll release exam results early."
As it turned out, Professor McGonagall would not release Hermione's scores before the next day, but Hermione supposed one more day of waiting wouldn't make a difference. Transfiguration and Arithmancy were over before she knew it, and Hermione spent her free period before lunch with Harry and Ron sitting near the lake and enjoying the sunshine. The rest of the day flew by after a final visit to Hagrid's that afternoon.
Hermione, Ron, and Harry made the long trek up to the Astronomy classroom after dinner. Everyone had their telescopes set up and their star charts out, but it was fairly obvious no one was really paying attention to their classwork. Lavender and Parvati were giggling over what appeared to be a copy of the latest Witch Weekly magazine peeking out from under their star charts. Across the tower, Dean and Seamus were managing to hide their game of Exploding Snap somewhat decently. Professor Sinistra was either oblivious to the students' inattention or didn't care, since it looked like the same issue of Witch Weekly lay open on her small folding desk.
Hermione talked quietly with Harry and Ron throughout class, joining their conversation in between pauses to make a careful notation on her chart or peer through her telescope. When she noticed Harry, Ron, and the others packing up, she labelled a final star and gathered her own materials.
"I'll be down in just a minute," she told Harry and Ron. "I need to return the orrery I borrowed to the store room."
They nodded their understanding and turned to follow the other students to the spiral staircase leading to the castle corridor, while Hermione hurried down the opposite staircase to the space underneath the main floor.
The area was littered with a jumble of old telescopes and other astronomy-related apparatus. With the model in hand, she crossed the floor and opened the iron-ringed door to the storage closet. She stretched on her toes to slide it into place on a dusty shelf, and turned to exit. Before she had taken her second step out of the room, the world was suddenly rent apart in a blaze of white light.
It felt like both a millisecond and a millennia, but for that time in between, Hermione felt as if every particle of her being was stretched impossibly far and, at the same time, crushed impossibly close. Despite the whiteness around her, she couldn't see, and the only sound was a great tearing that filled her ears. Before she could open her mouth to scream, everything around her was righted as suddenly as it had come apart.
Hermione stood stock-still, eyes closed, taking deep breaths. When she opened her eyes, her vision was doubled and she stumbled to her knees. The next thing she knew, she was on her back staring up at the wooden slatted floor above. Hermione carefully sat up, blinking rapidly to clear her vision. A flash of brown and gold caught the corner of her eye, but as she turned she noticed the time-turner lying on the ground ahead of her. The necklace chain had broken off from one of the two loops used to secure it. She wondered if the device was malfunctioning. Professor McGonagall had assured her it was safe if used properly, but time itself was no small thing to harness. She checked herself for injuries and found none, and her surroundings remained the same. Quiet. Surely if anyone else had experienced that, there would be an audible commotion.
Hermione reached out a hand to pick up the fallen time-turner, but hesitated halfway. Did the hourglass look sort of… misty? What if it wasn't safe? She considered leaving it there on the ground. She could always find Professor McGonagall in the morning and explain the situation. It seemed irresponsible to leave such a highly regulated object lying about, though. Suddenly Hermione chuckled at her own foolishness. She was nothing if not pragmatic, and she had used the time-turner all year without incident. She knew she was absolutely knackered thanks to her course load this year, not to mention exams and the whole Sirius-Buckbeak-helping-Harry-save-the-day-again business. Exhaustion had been her constant friend almost since day one of term, and she had finally let it get to her. She snatched at the time-turner and abruptly pitched forward. She caught herself with her other hand and gave it a stern look. Now more than ever Hermione was glad that she would be rid of the thing in less than a day.
Voices overhead gave her pause halfway back up the staircase. It sounded like Dumbledore had come up to the Astronomy Tower for some reason. And…Malfoy? She took a few more steps to peek up over the floor, and ducked her head back down immediately at the sight of Malfoy's face. He wasn't wearing his trademark smirk nor his oft-used sneer. He looked terrified. And different, somehow.
She positioned herself to see Malfoy and Dumbledore through the slats in the floor above. A greenish glare from somewhere overhead painted the scene. Malfoy had his wand pointed at Dumbledore. Dumbledore smiled.
"Draco, Draco, you are not a killer," Dumbledore said gently.
Hermione felt numb to her toes. What was happening? In her shock, she missed the next part of their conversation, but she thought she heard Ron's name mentioned. Dumbledore looked like he was struggling to stay upright, and if he had his wand, he didn't have it out. Hermione put a hand to her forehead to check for a fever. Maybe she ought to go to the hospital wing and allow Madam Pomfrey to look her over. She certainly felt dazed enough to be sick, and hallucinating this badly likely pointed to some magical malady. Realising both that she had no fever and did not want to be caught unaware by whatever was going on above her, she shook her head to clear it and focused on Dumbledore and Malfoy.
"I'm not afraid!" Malfoy snarled at Dumbledore, his wand arm trembling. "It's you who should be scared!"
"But why?" Dumbledore replied. "I don't think you will kill me, Draco. Killing is not nearly as easy as the innocent believe. So tell me, while we wait for your friends… how did you smuggle them in here? It seems to have taken you a long time to work out how to do it."
Hermione listened intently while Malfoy relayed his story about mending a vanishing cabinet and bringing Death Eaters into the school. Death Eaters? She had heard that term used to describe Sirius before. Voldemort supporters. Hermione's knuckles turned white as she gripped the railing of the spiral staircase. The conversation above turned to Malfoy's other attempts to murder their Headmaster this year, which Dumbledore apparently knew about the whole time. Hermione's focus drifted again as she studied Malfoy and Dumbledore. Both looked older, she realised. Malfoy's hair was different, shorter and styled more elegantly, and he was taller than she remembered. He had doffed his school robes for a crisp black suit. Dumbledore on the other hand looked disturbingly weak and frail, and one of his hands was entirely black and shriveled. He leaned against the ramparts for support. The sound of her own name jolted her harshly back to the conversation.
"- Mudblood Granger, as well, I heard her talking in the library about Filch not recognizing potions…" Malfoy said. The insult didn't even register. Hermione wracked her memory to recall herself saying any such thing. Suddenly it clicked. The disorienting sensation she had experienced, Malfoy's and Dumbledore's changed appearances… Had the time-turner taken her into the future? It was impossible. The future was not written like the past. She also knew that the power of the time-turner was limited - it could not go back more than a few hours at a time. She appeared to be years into the future.
Suddenly there was a loud bang followed by shouting on the far side of the tower, and Hermione could just make out faint flashing lights and the sounds of fighting. She huddled in on herself, hoping she was hidden well enough not to be spotted, and closed a fist around the handle of her wand in her robe pocket. She looked back up and her breath caught when she saw Malfoy's face. He was deathly pale and his eyes burned with desperation.
"I haven't got any options!" Malfoy spat, his voice breaking at the end. "I've got to do it! He'll kill me! He'll kill my whole family!"
If Hermione had felt numb before, she was ice now.
Dumbledore opened his mouth to reply, but before Hermione could hear his response, she felt a great force pulling on her. In the span of a blink, Malfoy and Dumbledore had disappeared as neatly as if by a vanishing spell.
Hermione sat down hard on the stairs to catch her breath. Had she just done the impossible and traveled forward in time, then come back? Wait... had she come back to the right time? She jumped up quickly, took the stairs two at a time, and ran hard for the corridor. Harry and Ron would be there. They would be.
She rounded the corner and nearly cried in relief.
"There you are, Hermione!" Harry said.
"What kept you?" Ron added. "We were just about to come looking to see if you'd decided to get a head start for next year!"
"You wouldn't believe what I…" Hermione began. "Wait, how long was I gone?"
"Oh, Ron's only joking," Harry answered with a grin, using a finger to slide his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You were only a few minutes more than we expected."
Harry's grin slid into a slight frown as he took in her disheveled appearance. "Is everything alright, Hermione?"
Ron gave her a concerned look, too, realising she had practically sprinted into the hallway.
"I -" Hermione trailed off. She needed time to think. She wasn't even sure what she had seen was real. "I'm alright," she finished. "Just exhausted. I think this year is really catching up to me. Let's get to bed." She gave a somewhat tremulous smile. "Tomorrow's the last day of term, and I want to enjoy the feast."
Harry and Ron didn't look quite convinced, but they voiced agreement and began planning out what they would do with their last day while making their way back to the Gryffindor common room.
As they walked, though, Hermione surreptitiously slipped the time-turner into her bag, determined not to handle it again until she was handing it over to McGonagall in the morning. When they reached the common room, she bade the boys goodnight and immediately made for bed. She truly did need sleep, but she had a shrewd suspicion she would have trouble finding it.