A/N: This is a story idea that I have been really excited about for months and months and months, but I never seem to find time to write it. It is not currently complete and I don't have an update schedule planned. I just hope that by sharing it, I might motivate myself into working on it a little bit more. Definitely inspired by the movie Midnight in Paris. As I said, I don't have updates planned and chapter length could vary wildly. But yeah, I hope that you enjoy! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post updates, sneak peeks, and answer questions.
Please let me know what you think!
"Tell me again what we are doing here," Ron groused, flopping back against the bed she would be occupying over the summer in Gryffindor Tower.
Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes at Ron's petulant mood. He'd been acting this way since they got on the Hogwarts Express that morning, despite enthusiastically agreeing to return to their school just a week before.
"You know that it's important to me - to both of us - to assist with the clean up, because we likely did some of the damage," Hermione countered, knowing how helpful it would be to have so many former students assisting with the repair of the school after the explosive final battle. "At the very least, Harry did."
"But Harry's not here," Ron whined.
No, Harry was not with them.
Harry had needed a well deserved break after spending his entire life battling Lord Voldemort, and Hermione did not begrudge him for it. When he told the pair of them that he was going to be taking a several months trip, solo, before returning to join the auror academy in the fall, she had supported him.
Ron had been put out not to join him, but quickly agreed to join Hermione at Hogwarts instead, before they also returned to London in a few months.
"He isn't," she agreed. "But I am here, and so are Ginny and Lavender and Seamus and Neville. I am sure that we will do just fine for a few weeks without him." She waved her wand, sending her clothes from her trunk and into their respective places in the dresser at the side of her bed.
He stood up from the bed, coming to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "And they won't even let us share a bed," he continued to complain, clearly most upset about that.
Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Yes, she and Ron were finally exploring the possibility of a relationship with one another after years of dancing around each other, after they had shared an intense snog in the Chamber of Secrets. No, she was not going to share a bed with him when he hadn't even tried to take her out on a proper date yet.
"I think you'll live," she answered, before slipping out of his grasp. Sure that everything had been put away as she wanted it to be, Hermione offered to help Ron. "Do you need help unpacking?"
"I'll do it later," he assured her.
"Well, let's get going to the Great Hall then," Hermione said with a bright smile, wanting to get started on some repairs. Since the battle had been over, she had been feeling restless and, if she was honest with herself, a little bit useless. It would be good to have a purpose again.
They made their way down to the Gryffindor Common Room together and found Ginny and Lavender waiting for them. Ginny gave Hermione an apologetic look.
Lavender, who had been attacked by Greyback in the final battle, gave them a wide smile. "Hi, I hope you don't mind, but I sort of invited myself to walk with you guys," she said, sounding far too chipper.
Hermione returned Lavender's smile, even though she would rather that Lavender didn't do those sorts of things. She wasn't jealous of the blonde, but there was something about her that just rubbed Hermione the wrong way. Maybe she did feel a bit threatened by Lavender and Ron's former relationship.
And, it made Hermione feel utterly awful to think those sorts of things when Lavender had clearly been through a lot in the last few months, but she just couldn't help it.
"Of course," Hermione said. "The more the merrier."
Be nice, she scolded herself.
"Well, we really ought to get to the Great Hall," Ginny said, looking at her wristwatch. "I think McGonagall will start giving out assignments in just a few minutes."
The quartet made their way to the Great Hall in record time, saying their hellos to the assembled volunteers. McGonagall did not wait to get started once they showed up.
"Thank you all for giving your time," Minerva said in her highly recognizable voice, a bright smile on her face at seeing so many returning students. "We have a monumental task ahead of us to rebuild the school by the end of the summer, so students may return to their schooling. I'm afraid we have many hard days ahead of ourselves."
Behind her, she could hear the trio she'd come with snickering away over something. Turning, Hermione gave them a look that would hopefully shut them up. "Be a little more respectful, guys," she hissed.
Ron rolled his eyes at her, but did as he was instructed, listening to the rest of McGonagall's short speech.
Once she was done, Hermione was bustling forward towards the Head Table to sign up for her first assignment. Although she knew she would help out wherever she could, there was really only one place she wanted to be working in.
"The Library?" she heard Lavender ask with disappointment as she read over Hermione's shoulder.
"Yes, that's where I will be," Hermione said, placidly. "But, you are free to help out wherever you want to." Hopefully that would rid her of the blonde for a little bit. She knew it was uncharitable, but Hermione just found Lavender to be so annoying and she brought out the worst in Ron.
"Where are you going to work, Ron?" Lavender asked.
"I guess the Library," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, knowing that he had come here to spend time with Hermione. He would go where she went.
"I could work in the library," Lavender said, with a put out sigh. Obviously she was not thrilled about the idea, but she wanted to keep close with the other Gryffindors.
Hermione, uncharitably, could not say that she was excited to have Lavender's presence in her sanctuary. Her fellow witch was a bit too silly and flighty for Hermione's tastes. The brunette was sure that she would be complaining or goofing off not even a half hour into their work.
Once that was decided, the four of them made their way to the library where they would meet the repair coordinator. Eager as ever to help, Hermione was the first one into the room and was surprised to see that the Ministry appointed coordinator was none other than Adrian Pucey.
He'd been a few years ahead of them while they were in school and he was a Slytherin, so she didn't have much opportunity to know him, but she had read his research on magical archival methods. He seemed to have an excellent knowledge of preservation, so she was sure that he was more than suited to lead this job.
Ron, of course, thought otherwise. "What were they thinking, getting Pucey in here? His friends are the ones that did the damage to the library in the first place," he whispered unkindly.
"Pucey is very well respected in his field, Ronald," Hermione answered primly, hoping that the tall wizard didn't overhear. "I'm sure he is going to do a great job."
"He's a Slytherin," Ron hissed back. "He's probably going to try to...do something, I don't know."
Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes at Ron's assertion that he must be up to no good if he was a Slytherin. There was too much animosity between her boyfriend and the house of snakes to ever be forgotten, even if they had been the victors of the war.
"You are so right Ron," Lavender said, squeezing his arm a little bit too tightly. "He must be up to some sort of plot."
If Lavender wasn't so sincere, Hermione would have thought she was mocking poor Ronald. As it stood, it seemed that her former roommate might actually share similar theories about Slytherins.
Just as Hermione was about to argue back, Pucey got everyone's attention.
"There are several steps that need to be completed around here, so I'll be handing out assignments. Once you are done, you can ask me for another," he explained, looking tired. He surveyed the handful of people who had shown up, before dividing tasks. "Weasley, Weasley and Brown, you can help right the bookshelves. Make note of any that need repair. Granger, you can help in preserving the rare texts."
Ron put up a small argument about not getting to spend the day glued to her side, but Hermione pressed a kiss to his cheek and promised to see him at lunch. There was no way that she was going to pass up a chance to look at the rare texts - a collection that contained several of the Founder's original documents and works.
She worked alongside Pucey, until he was pulled off to help repair some of the large windows on the mezzanine after lunch. It felt like she'd barely blinked her eyes before Ginny, Ron and Lavender were collecting her for dinner.
"Oh, you guys go along without me," she insisted, knowing that it would be important to work fast on these particular books. Every second they were in the open was a chance that they might disintegrate.
"But, we were going to head out to Hogsmeade for a couple of pints at the Three Broomsticks," Ron whined, wrapping his arm around her waist, attempting to pull her away from her books. "It will be fun to catch up with everyone."
"No, it's okay," Hermione insisted. "You guys go without me. You'll have fun and you can tell me all about it in the morning. I'm just going to work a little bit longer."
Lavender and Ginny were convinced and quickly pulled Ron away, leaving Hermione to continue on her own.
She resumed sorting Godric Gryffindor's surviving correspondence.
Hermione didn't realize just how long she had been working until she heard the bell in the clock tower begin to toll, telling her it was the midnight hour. Looking around, she realized that she was the only one left in the library and it was certainly time for her to go back to Gryffindor Tower.
The library would be there tomorrow, after all.
She shuffled around the halls, thinking of how odd it would be to leave Hogwarts once and for all once the summer was over. She'd given so much of her life to this castle it would be odd to have to move on with her life. Her feet carried her in a familiar path, so familiar that she didn't even need to look where she was going.
Only...
When she did look up, Hermione was struck with the embarrassing thought that she was lost. She must have taken a wrong turn, because she was in a completely unrecognizable part of the castle. Up ahead, she heard some laughing.
"Thank Merlin," she whispered under her breath. "They'll be able to help me."
Hermione jogged a bit to catch up with them. "Um, excuse me, I wondered if you could help me. I got a little turned around..." she said only to have her words die on her lips when she realized that they were wearing very old fashioned robes.
The two witches looked impossibly beautiful. And Hermione was sure that she hadn't met them before...at least she didn't think.
The one with auburn hair and dark stained lips smiled at her. "Of course," she agreed, walking over to Hermione and tucking her arm into her's. "You must be headed to Helga's party as well."
"We will show you the way," the other said, her light brown hair pulled over one shoulder. "I always get turned around in this silly school."
"Helga's party?" Hermione asked. She didn't think that any of the volunteers were named Helga, but maybe she'd just missed it. "Is it a fancy dress?" she added, thinking that their costumes were wonderful.
"Fancy dress?" the first one asked with a laugh. "Oh, what a delightful phrase. Do tell us, what is your name?"
Hermione peered at them wondering what was exactly going on. There wasn't anyone in the wizarding world who didn't know who she was unfortunately. "I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger," she said, feeling silly introducing herself.
"Nimue," the second witch said, sublimely.
"And I'm Morgana," said the first witch with a grin.
"Morgana? Like Morgan le Fay?" Hermione asked, stunned that someone would name their child that.
"Yes, some people call me Morgan le Fay," she said with a sniff. "But I prefer Morgana."
"You are the Morgana?" the younger witch asked again, completely stunned at what was happening. How was it possible that she could be Morgnana? But then the other witch was Nimue. "And you're the Lady of the Lake?"
"Oh, I wish Arthur wouldn't embellish things so much," Nimue answered with an exasperated but fond look.
Before Hermione's mind could catch up with all the information that she'd just received, they were knocking on a door and being let into what Hermione surmised was the Hufflepuff common room.
"Helga!" Morgana greeted cheerfully. "Sorry we are late, but we found a straggler. This is Hermione."
Hermione was shoved forward into the room and face to face with an extremely familiar witch. She was much younger than she looked in her portraits, maybe only thirty years old, but she wore her long brown hair in two heavy looking plaits.
"Helga...Hufflepuff?" Hermione asked, feeling like she was losing her mind.
"Yes, that's me!" she said warmly. "Any friend of Morgana is a friend of mine. Do come in!"
Once the three witches were inside, Hermione immediately lost contact with Nimue and Morgana. Stumbling backwards, wondering if she'd actually lost her mind, she tried to stay on the outskirts of the party so as not to draw attention to herself.
She wasn't looking at where she was going and quickly found herself running into someone. "Oh, I am so sorry," Hermione apologized, although she had taken the brunt of the collision and now wore half a horn of meade on her shirt.
"Quite alright," the wizard said, clearly a bit irked that she had run into him.
"Can I ask you a question?" she asked the wizard, before waiting for a response. "Is this Helga Hufflepuff's party?"
"Yes, Helga Hufflepuff," he agreed, saying it like he didn't think it was very odd at all.
"And the two witches she is with - they are Morgana and Nimue?" she asked again, barely believing the words that were coming out of her own mouth.
"Who else would they be?" he asked, looking at her like she'd just said something peculiar.
Hermione looked around the room and quickly settled on two lovebirds sitting by the window. "Oh, and...I know this might sound crazy, but..." she trailed off. "Is that Helena Ravenclaw and the Bloody Baron by the window?"
"I don't think Baron MacDougal would appreciate being called that," the wizard in question answered. "But yes, that's him and Helena. Don't you see Rowena scowling away over there, not taking an eye off her daughter for a second?"
"Wow," Hermione whispered, very in awe of the legendary witch. "Rowena Ravenclaw."
Rowena looked a bit older than Helga did, but she was instantly recognizable. She wore her dark hair in a long plait over one shoulder and her intelligent blue eyes were only enhanced by the deep blue of her robes. Rowena was even wearing her silver diadem, which was now destroyed in Hermione's time.
In my time, Hermione thought to herself, the meaning of that statement slowly sinking in.
"Wow," she whispered again, deciding that she really must have lost her mind.
She turned to give the wizard she'd been talking with a better look. His hair was a light brown, nearly blond and he had grey eyes. He almost looked like he might be related to a Malfoy, but she didn't have the guts to ask him. He was average in height and wore no beard. He'd be attractive, if he didn't wear a permanent scowl on his face.
"I'm really sorry to bother you. My questions must seem so preposterous," she said, wanting to apologize for annoying him when she clearly had. "I just...I feel a little bit like I've hit my head. These people...these famous witches and wizards shouldn't be here."
Before he was able to formulate an answer to her apology, Hermione was grabbed from behind and lifted into the air.
"And just who is this little witch?" a booming voice asked.
"Oh Godric, you scared me!" Hermione said, pressing a hand to her chest to slow her rapidly beating heart.
"You don't say?" the wizard said with a great belly laugh, before lifting his mug to his lips. His great, red mustache rested in the foam of whatever ale he was drinking.
Hermione blinked at him, taking in every inch of him. He was barrel-chested and broad, with long ginger hair and beard. He seemed to be of an age with Rowena. It was with that thought that Hermione realized who he was. "Godric Gryffindor?" she stammered, wondering how it was true. "Hogwarts founder?"
"Ha, yes, the very same," he said, staring at her with twinkling green eyes. "Salazar, where did you find this delightful witch and why have you been hiding her away from everyone else?"
Salazar, Hermione said to herself, her eyes widening. Could it be that the wizard she'd run into was none other than Salazar Slytherin? Oh no, something really must have gone wrong.
"I've been trying to get rid of her," Salazar said, with an amused smirk. "But she was just telling me that Rowena and MacDougal and Morgana shouldn't be here."
Hermione felt bad to hear him phrase it that way. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that," she rushed to explain. "I just meant that...well, maybe I shouldn't be here. You see, I think I've somehow ended up in a different time. I must have gone through some sort of portal into the past."
That was really the only explanation for what had happened, wasn't it? It was too preposterous to imagine a group of very dedicated actors had decided to impersonate all the Founders and then shown up to put on a secret party for her to stumble into. Right?
"This must sound ridiculous." Hermione started to laugh uncontrollably. What else could she do?
Godric was not at all phased by the suggestion. "I see nothing funny about that," he said, his voice booming as usual. "We selected this site for the school because of its proximity to magical ley lines. A portal of that sort is a possibility."
"Although time travel is only theorized, not actually possible," Salazar added, sounding a bit like he thought he knew better than everyone else.
"And what did you say your name was?" Godric asked, leaning towards her to get her answer.
"I didn't," she answered, taking a step back. "I should...I should probably just go."
Not waiting to hear what either wizard had to say about it, Hermione turned tail and weaved her way through the party-goers. Then, she slipped out of the portrait hole and didn't stop until she made it back to her bed in Gryffindor tower.