Title: Anachronistic
Category: Angst/Drama
Rated: PG-13
Authors: Muse Calliope
Summary: Due to tragic circumstances, Hermione decides to go back to the past. She knows it's dangerous but now she's extremely desperate. She knows there are some serious repercussions but they can't be as bad as things are now…
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
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"O'er rough and smooth she trips along,
And never looks behind;
And sings a solitary song
That whistles in the wind."
- Lucy Gray, William Wordsworth
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Chapter Two: First Impressions
Hermione waited next to the gargoyles silently for Professor McGonagall. She was nervous, and extremely scared, tightly clenching her cloak with her sweaty hands.
Maybe I should rethink this whole thing. Maybe this is wrong. What if I make the whole situation even worse, even more complicated? Hermione was confused. She was having doubts about the whole plan, but a part of her knew that once it was done, it was done, and there was no turning back. I am here to save Ron and Harry, not to mention maybe the whole Wizarding World. I have to do this, it will work, and plus, it's not like I have another time turner to go back home with anyway, she reassured herself.
Loud, quick footsteps were heard, definitely belonging to someone with a clear head and plenty of determination. As they echoed through the empty hallway, they became louder. A woman with black hair, pulled tightly into a bun and without a trace of grey, came into view. It was Professor McGonagall, albeit a younger version, but still the same inside, Hermione was sure.
Hermione's first instinct, upon seeing Minerva (as she became to be known to Hermione seeing that each fighter in the war called each other by his first name – out of respect for the individual, not the family name that stereotyped him) for the first time, was to go up to her and hug her favorite teacher to death.
The truth was, during one of the many battles before Voldemort's defeat, Minerva McGonagall was captured and tortured, very much like Neville's parents. After the Dark Lord's defeat, all prisoners of war held by the Death Eaters were rescued. Hermione, however, was very reluctant to visit her: she was certain that after all the tortured her mentor had endure, her mind would have broken. Eventually Hermione did visit her at St. Mungo's, after being urged by Molly Weasley, who had taken care of her after her parents' death.
Her prediction was right, of course. Minerva was a broken person, a mere shell of her previous self, whose only purpose was to highlight how far she had fallen from her former days. It seemed, in Hermione's opinion, almost profane for anyone to see her like that, which was why she was always so reluctant to visit Hogwarts' former Deputy Headmistress.
Yet, there stood the Transfiguration teacher, healthy as ever, even if she was not in a good mood. It was almost too hard to believe that the Professor McGonagall of her care-free days at Hogwarts was standing in front of her.
Though McGonagall had an annoyed look on, Hermione still smiled pleasantly at her. She tried very hard to not show the anticipation and the excitement she felt bubbling inside. She did not want to disturb her mentor with her unreasonable delight. After all, McGonagall was to her what Dumbledore was to Harry.
"You would be Miss Granger I presume?" asked the Professor in her most stern voice, indicating her irritation.
"Yes, Professor," Hermione answered, looking at the professor. Some part of her hoped for some kind of recognition to flash in McGonagall's eyes, but she knew that would not happen.
"Well then Miss Granger, welcome to Hogwarts. I have heard from the Headmaster that you were home schooled. Therefore you may need a tutor to keep up with Hogwarts' current syllabus. Am I correct?" The Professor seemed to emphasis the term 'home schooled', while giving her a penetrating look.
"I don't believe I shall need a tutor, but Professor, do you know that-"
"That you really come from another time? Yes, though when I am not sure and I would rather keep it that way. But since the students cannot be told as to your origin or why you are here, you shall use the excuse of having been home schooled. The same applies to the teachers. The only people who are to know the truth are myself, the Headmaster, and you, of course. Is that understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," Hermione replied instantly. She had planned to something similar anyway. At least now her lies would be consistent to those of the Headmaster.
"Alright then. Follow me, Miss Granger. I shall escort you to the Gryffindor common room, which I assume you already know all about." Hermione nodded and the two departed from their place in front of the gargoyle.
On the way, McGonagall informed Hermione of the classes she would be taking. Since the curriculum had changed very little from when Hermione attended sixth year classes, she tuned the Professor out.
Inwardly, she complained about having to repeat sixth year. When she had left Hogwarts, the Easter break had finished two weeks ago and students were preparing for final exams, and OWLs and NEWTs. But maybe having to learn all the material again, without the pressure and sorrow marking Voldemort's second rise to power, would allow her absorb everything at her own rate. In all honesty, she did not remember much, if anything, from her classes during the first few months after her parents' death.
The duo eventually came to stand in front of the Fat Lady, who still was wearing her characteristic pink dress. Hermione vaguely noticed that she seemed to be skinner than her future self. It seemed that the Fat Lady from her time had not only kept her figure, but added so much more to it (1).
"The password this week is 'hippogriff'. Here, the password changes weekly and a prefect will inform you and the rest of the students when that happens. The prefects for sixth year are Lily Evans and Remus Lupin. If you have any questions, you can always ask them."
Hermione nearly choked on her own saliva (having no drink in her mouth) from shock.Lily Evans, Harry's mother, was here. Here as in only a hundred steps away. Harry would have loved to be in my shoes now, she thought sadly.
Professor McGonagall was giving her odd looks now, obviously wondering why she was reeling from the mention of prefects; they were never that exciting. Hermione took several large gulps of air before pulling herself together. It did not matter that Harry would have loved to be here because Hermione was going to make sure that he knew his parents this time around.
As they stepped into the common room, she noticed that very few changes had been made to the room over the years. The sofas and chairs, even the cushions, were in the same place, but the whole atmosphere was different. It is calm and peaceful, unlike back home, where everyone was afraid of something: news that some loved one was dead, news that another village had been destroyed, news that more homeless wizards were entering the school looking for sanctuary, even the one day that news came that Hogwarts was under attack. This place was different. It was way it was supposed to be: a haven for laughing faces after long day of classes. Hermione had not realized it before but she felt the peaceful atmosphere seep further into her, relaxing her, a feeling she had been feeling since she got here.
Looking at the familiar common room, and the corner where she, Harry, and Ron used sit and discuss all manner of things, she felt a surge of grief, while images flashed before her eyes. This was where their happiest moments were, talking about Quidditch, playing wizard chess, doing homework. In all of her painful nostalgia, she hardly heard a word McGonagall said. She was far too lost in her own thoughts, as tears began to prick her eyes.
"Now, I want you to welcome our newest student. This is Hermione Granger, she will be staying here for a while, and since she is here, I want all of you to show respect to our new student. I hope all of you will help and befriend her. Make her feel comfortable and at home. Do all of you under-" McGonagall never had the opportunity to finish her sentence. Hermione rushed past her, heading towards the dormitories, running up the stairs two at a time, and finally locking herself in the girl's dormitory.
Hermione could not take it anymore, being in that room. Yet, she could not cry in front of all those people. They were probably all starring at me, and now they must think I'm mental. I… I can't… I'm such a coward. I'm not strong like Harry, Ron, Sirius, Ginny, Neville, Luna… They'd all be able to do this just fine…
She sat down on what she presumed was her bed, as it was the only one that was not personalized or littered with clothes. It was located in the corner, the same position it was in back home. She closed the curtains around the bed and buried her face in the pillows.
Everything seems so strange and different here. No, everything is perfectly normal here except me. I don't fit in. I don't belong. She knew it was wrong to cry like this when she had such a great chance, but everything in Hogwarts was soaked with memories, and brought back too much heartache to just let go of or repress.
Not to mention how beautiful life was here. There was no talk of Voldemort taking over Hogwarts, no chaos, not debris left by the Death Eaters. The bubble of happiness around Hogwarts had yet to be touched by the malevolent hand of Voldemort. The children were innocent, and the days were carefree. Right now, she hated these students, or rather, she envied them, and their perfect lives, where they did not have to worry about tomorrow being the day when they were killed, they killed someone or they watched helplessly as someone was killed.
Hermione was so lost in her thought that she did not hear the door click open.
"Hello? Are you alright?" asked a nervous yet concerned voice, which definitely belonged to a young girl. The speaker gulped, and continued, "Professor McGonagall was worried. Why did you just run up the stairs? And how did you know where the dormitory is if you are new?"
Hermione had heard enough. She was in no mood to talk to these perfectly happy people. She did not even bother to open the curtains and acknowledge the girl. Instead, she allowed her temper to take control of her. "Go away! I don't want to talk to any of you. You sicken me," Hermione snapped through the curtain. She did not care right now if she was being unreasonable, or rude, because all she wanted to do was to release her anger and escape.
"Please, I just want to help!" begged the other girl, sounding more scared than nervous now.
"You think you can just walk in and understand everything? Huh, Miss Perfect? Because you know what you can't! You will never understand, so why don't you just fuck off, and go annoy someone else!" Hermione winced. That was cruel and uncalled for, especially directed at someone who was only trying to help her. But she could not bring herself to feel bad about it. Who does she think she is anyway? These stupid people try to understand everything, but they will never understand anything unless they experience it. If only they knew what it was like to lose everything that was dear to them… Then they would know. With that thought, she cried herself to sleep.
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Meanwhile, in the common room…
Lily ran down the stairs, sobbing. She did not understand why that Hermione Granger girl had yelled at her or felt the need to use such strong language. As resilient as her spirit was, those remarks stung her, particularly because she knew she did not deserved it. It was one of those things that upset Lily terribly – to be hated, especially by a person that knew nothing about her.
Charlotte looked up to see her best friend crying after returning from the dormitory. She narrowed her eyes as she searched for a reason behind the tears. That girl must've said something that upset Lily. The bitch, I'll get her for it, she thought.
Amelia, also noticing that her friend has been crying, put down her romance novel and turned her attention to Lily.
Charlotte Turner and Amelia Fronster were Lily's roommates, and her best friends. How those three became friends was still a mystery at Hogwarts. Lily has always been the pretty red head, with stunning emerald green eyes. She was extremely smart, and every teachers' favorite.
Charlotte on the other hand was wild, crazy girl with a boyish personality. While not the pristine doll that Lily was, she had an exotic beauty, with long shiny black hair and eyes such a rare shade of blue, Lily called them indigo. Boys, however, did not usually go after Charlotte; her easygoing personality caused them to treat her like another one of the guys.
Amelia Fronster, the third member of the trio, was never noticed much, like Peter Pettigrew. Being extremely shy, she was almost never associated with anyone other than Lily and Charlotte. She was a fair blonde with shoulder length hair, and pale eyes. Though not beautiful, she was known by many to be rather cute looking. The boys that would occasionally try to get her attention soon gave up; a combination of her extremely shy nature around people she did not know and of her having read too many romance novels, led to very awkward conversations.
Those were the Gryffindor girls.
"Lily, what happened? Did she hurt you, because if she did, I would kill that son of a…" Charlotte began ranting, attracting attention from her various housemates.
"No, no… She didn't hurt me. She just… she was crying… and I tried to comfort her… and she didn't even give me a chance. She started to say how I don't understand anything. Said I had a perfect life and… oh… she used some really mean words, and she swore…"
"She didn't! It is not lady like to swear," Amelia added, seemingly appalled at what she heard. Charlotte, being used to Amelia's rather old fashioned view of women, snorted, and then laughed. "Amelia, Amelia, Amelia… It is perfectly normal to swear. I do it all the time!"
"Well, that explains why no one treats you like a young lady," Lily remarked, backing Amelia up. "I don't think that young ladies should swear either."
"Whatever, but do you want me to get her back for you? We can set her hair on fire or something. Though, I don't see the difference since it's seems like she tried it already herself." Charlotte snorted again.
While most of the common room had lost interest and resumed their own actives, James Potter and Sirius Black decided to stop eavesdropping and start participating in a subject they knew best: pranking. Following them, were Remus Lupin, who brought his book with him as if he did not want to join in the conversation but did not want to be left alone; and Peter Pettigrew, who seemed to be looking for a way to relieve his boredom.
"I see that new girl, what's her name again, Harmony Gran-" James did not get to finish his sentence.
"It's Hermione Granger, and I did not remember inviting you to join this conversation," Lily answered with a more than a little bit of distain.
"I'm sorry Evans, but I couldn't ignore Turner's snorts. She sounded too much like a rabid horse." This comment earned him a hateful glare from Charlotte, but he continued anyway. "How about if you go on a date with me, and I will get you your revenge." James raised an eyebrow in challenge.
However, this only made Lily even angrier. "I do not need your help Potter, and I will never go out with you!" Lily finished and stormed up the stairs, closely followed by Charlotte, who was shooting daggers at the boys. Amelia then closed her book, gave James a sympathetic look and joined her friends.
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When the girls entered the dormitory, Charlotte moved towards Hermione's bed, obviously planning to dish out some justly deserved, in her opinion, revenge. But as she approached the bed, and heard the pitiful whimpers and sobs coming from it, she changed her mind. Revenge was best served cold, not while the victim tugs at your heartstrings so pitifully.
The girls silently agreed to not bother her, at least for this night. They quickly changed, showered, and went into their bed without making a sound. But before they fell asleep, a single, yet identical, thought entered their minds: who is this Hermione Granger?
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The next day, Hermione managed to get to the Great Hall without having to stop and speak with anyone. She entered and briefly wondered where she should sit but eventually decided to follow the old pattern. The students sat at their seat by order of what year they were in, with first years near the Head Table and the seventh years all the way at the end, close to the doors to the Great Hall. It was a tradition that she suspected dated farther back than Dumbledore's days as a student here. Sitting down quickly, she noticed hardly any of the upper classmen had arrived for breakfast yet. What she did not notice were the looks she was receiving, choosing to focus intently on the dream she had experienced last night.
She had been having the same dream since she had woken up after the final battle. In this dream, Ron, Harry, Ginny and her parents were being tortured by Voldemort, as they screamed out her name, begging her to save them, while she stood there unable to move. That dream came to her almost every night and left her feeling exhausted, as if she had not bothered to even go to bed at all. Hermione shook her head, trying to get rid of the images.
A few seats down, after having arrived and finding a seat, Lily was having a debate with herself. On one hand, she wanted to approach Hermione and see if she was alright, but on the other, she did not want to upset the girl or get snapped at. Finally, she came to a conclusion as Professor McGonagall gave her the schedules to hand out to all the sixth year Gryffindors. Gathering her courage, she stood up and walked over to Gryffindor's newest addition. On the way, she tried to reassure herself. After all, she was a prefect and this girl was probably a cocky student with nothing more than a bad attitude, one that she hoped to change.
Before she took her first step, Charlotte grabbed her sleeve and stood up. "Hey Lily, wait up. I'll come with you just in case," said Charlotte. "Come on Amelia, put that stupid book down. We need to stand up for Lily." Charlotte dragged Amelia out of her seat, and the two girls followed Lily.
Lily felt more confident now that her friends were with her. She took a deep breath and tried to speak with a cool and confident voice. "Hello, we met yesterday…"
"What do you what?" Hermione snapped. She hated it when people disrupted her train of thought. "Can't you go bother someone else for awhile?" she added rudely, not bothering to look up from her newly acquired book, Was, Is, and Will Be: the Time Continuum by Chronos Smith. She was trying to find a way to make a Time Turner of her own, since waiting for the Headmaster to go through all the legal papers required at the Ministry took too long.
"Hey, who do you think you are… you stupid cow! You better apology to my friend right now, or I will show you what real pain is like!" shouted Charlotte, trying to jump on Hermione, who remained fascinated in her book, while Lily and Amelia attempted to hold Charlotte back.
Lily, sensing things would get worse if they lingered there, quickly put the schedule on the table. "Er… here's your schedule. Professor McGonagall told me to give it to you. I'm sorry to trouble you again." As soon as she finished talking, she and Amelia dragged a furious Charlotte out of the Great Hall with much difficulty.
Hermione took her schedule, and cast a glance at the three girls. By now all she saw was an enraged brunette being dragged around the corner. She rolled her eyes, and went back to her schedule (2).
Monday
9:00 Potions with Slytherins
10:00 Potions with Slytherins
11:00 Transfiguration
12:00 Lunch
No classes this afternoon
A small, almost inaudible groan escaped Hermione's mouth – Double Potions with the Slytherins and on her first day. A smile crept on to her face as she remembered that at least now Snape would not be teaching the class but it quickly disappeared when she also remembered that Snape would be in her class anyway.
She continued to muse about the current Potions Professor and the other teachers she did not know until the sound of a person clearing his voice importantly behind her broke her thoughts. Well then, she decided to not turn around and acknowledge this person. It would be good for his ego.
"Hey, you're the new girl that's giving Evans a hard time, right?"
Hermione turned around swiftly, intent on giving the rude person a good telling off. Her annoyed expression, however, soon changed into one of shock, and her mouth moved to form the shape of an "o", as she sat gaping like a goldfish.
"Harry!" she yelled, unable to control herself. Here standing right front of her was her best friend, but how was that possible? Upon closer inspection she realized that it was not possible. This person looked very much like Harry but had hazel eyes instead of green and no scar on his forehead.
"Who? I'm not some Harry. It looks like you are not only unsociable but dense too!" The boy laughed, while exchanging a glance with a boy behind him.
Hermione gave him a dirty look. This was definitely not Harry. Harry was not such an obnoxious bastard. But that meant that this was…Her hunch was confirmed when the boy spoke again.
"I'm James, James Potter. I don't know who this Harry is, but please don't get me mixed up with your other loser friends." James gave her one of his infamous smirks. "Now, leave Evans alone, or else you will hear from me. Come on Moony, Wormtail. Let's go find old Sirius. I bet you anything that he's snogging some girl in a broom closest." He left without casting a second glance at Hermione. 'Moony' and 'Wormtail' gave her sympathetic looks, as if to say 'Sorry, James can get like this sometimes.'
Oh my… Hermione was in shock.Was that Harry's dad – the James Potter? How could anyone as nice as Harry have a father like that? Maybe the apple does fall far from the tree.
Then another thought occurred to her. In order for her to discreetly change the past without anyone knowing the truth and messing everything up she would have to befriend the sixth year Gryffindors and manipulate them from within their own circles. But how any I suppose to make friends with a person like that? She thought intently again before looking up and noticing that the hall was mostly empty. Cursing slightly, she threw her toast back onto the plate and left for Potions, promising herself that she would figure it out later.
End Chapter Two. To be continued.
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Authors' Notes:
(1) A quote by Bob Fosse taken from Amelia's Insult-A-Day calendar for February 6, 2004.
(2) Hermione's schooling in the past has officially begun on Oct. 13, 1975, which, by the way, really was a Monday (and the 12th, the day she arrived, was a Sunday, duh). Since no set schedule was ever given in the Harry Potter books, we shall create one of our own following a standard pattern of classes for most Muggles. Obviously, there are more classes and more days; this is just an excerpt.
Hope you enjoy the story! Thanks for the reviews!
Much love for Hallie Walker, Lady Prongs, jade, harryp/charmedfreak, and DM-san!