Chapter 9: Another visit to Dumbledore
Hermione was confused; nobody knew her and she didn't have anywhere to go. She decided to go to the only place she could think of: Dumbledore's office. She quickly went to the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to his office and began to name every candy she could think of. Just when she thought she exhausted her knowledge of sweets, Dumbledore stepped out of the office. He glanced at her in surprise, took in her Gryffindor robes and Head Girl badge and said quietly "Maybe we should go up to my office."
Hermione followed him up the revolving stairs and collapsed on a squishy chair in front of Dumbledore's desk. Dumbledore also sat down and rested his chin on his steepled fingers.
"Are you also from 1997?" asked Dumbledore
"Yes I am" replied Hermione "I came to find my friend Ron Weasley"
"Ah yes, Mr Weasley" murmured Dumbledore "He's been here for some weeks now and seems to be settling in very nicely"
"Yes he does, doesn't he" muttered Hermione bitterly, remembering the scene in the bedroom. Then what Dumbledore said sunk in "WEEKS??"
"Yes, weeks. Hasn't it been that long in your time?" asked Dumbledore curiously
"No sir. It has only been a few hours. I went out to do my Head Girl rounds and when I came back, he was gone."
"Hmmmm. Yes, I suppose that time must move differently…it was only three hours you said? It's been three weeks here, so it must be roughly one hour to one week. Interesting."
"Yes, very" said Hermione impatiently. "What are we going to do about me, sir?"
"You have no way to get home again?" asked Dumbledore, leaning forward in his chair.
"No sir. I-I smashed it earlier" murmured Hermione, ducking her head in shame.
Dumbledore nodded kindly "Ah, we do some strange things when we are upset. It is only human nature. Now, as we have no direct means of sending you home at the moment, you will need to stay here until we can find away. This may take some time, so I suggest that you give me your Gryffindor robes and Head Girl badge, so that there will be no confusion. I'll give you a set of plain black robes until you are introduced and sorted on Sunday night. Over the weekend you can stay in a set of guest rooms, located just down this corridor behind a painting of Uric the Oddball. The password is 'hullmondaris'"
Dumbledore stood, exited through a door at the back of his office and returned with a set of plain black robes. "They will adjust to fit you."
Hermione took the robes and slipped them on.
Dumbledore smiled gently at her "I suggest you go and take some time to assess the situation. I will have a house elf send your dinner to your rooms."
Normally Hermione would have wrinkled her nose at the thought of a house elf, but no she felt too numb to care. She nodded and exited Dumbledore's office, heading to the library.