Sorry it took so long to update, but here's the chapter I promised! Without further ado…
Hermione walked to the front of the train, wanting to get as far away from Sirius and James' hologram as possible. Hermione was confused and having them around helped nothing. Seeing two faces she knew so well, but weren't what she knew them to be, was mind-rattling.
"Hello dear, would you like something off the cart, you look hungry," the kind young stewardess asked, when Hermione reached the front of the train, about to go into the first compartment on the right.
"N
o thank you," she said in a sweet voice, before disappearing in the compartment. She felt beyond exhausted. All she wanted to do at this point was to curl up and go to sleep. She put a ward on the door, and a magical lock, before conjuring up a blanket, magically conjoining the two seats on either side of the compartment to a small bed, after which she curled up and fell asleep.
"Alaira!" she awoke to hear Sirius pounding on the door, shouting at her. She groaned and sat up, with the flick of her wand everything she had changed about the room was back to normal and she was sitting on one of the seats. She stood, removing the ward and magical lock.
Brushing her sleek black hair out of her face, she walked to the door and opened it, just as Sirius was about to continue his pounding.
"I take it we're here?" she asked, stepping out.
"It's about bloody time," Sirius said, irritated.
"Let's go. There's no use keeping the Leaky Cauldron waiting. Are you ready to apparate?" she asked.
"James and I don't apparate, not since we splinted a year ago," Sirius said.
"We'll be taking a taxi then?" she asked.
"A what?" Sirius frowned.
"Follow me as I do not have the desire to walk to Diagon Alley," Hermione said. She went to the stewardess and asked to have some wizarding money exchanged for muggle money.
"Of course," the stewardess said cheerfully. "I always carry around muggle money. You never know if you'll be staying in Hogsmeade of London when you're on the Hogwarts Express," the woman said, very friendly.
"Will it be all right?" the woman said, handing her just enough money.
"Of course. Thank you very much," Hermione said.
"Any time, oh and by the way. The conductor has something the headmaster wanted to give you," the woman said, going up to where the conductor sat. They spoke in the small room for a few minutes before the woman came back with a small pouch in hand. She gave it to Hermione and waved goodbye.
Sirius stayed at her heels as she started off the train. He was watching the pouch in her hand expectantly. "Aren't you going to open it?" he asked anxiously.
"No," Hermione stated simply, walking briskly through the wall into Kings Cross Station. It was very busy at Six o'clock so Hermione grabbed onto Sirius' sleeve and pulled him along through the station to the front doors. She dragged him out and to the street, calling for a taxi, which came immediately. She instructed him to get in and he did with much reluctance.
Hermione told the driver the street, and named the bookstore that was nearby and they arrived their in under ten minutes, Sirius fidgeting the entire way. Hermione paid the driver, and thanked him, before getting out. Sirius couldn't work out how to open the door and he fought with it all the time until Hermione walked around and opened it for him. He leapt out. "Sorry, he's claustrophobic," Hermione said to the driver, who was looking at Sirius like a he was a madman. The driver nodded in understanding and drove off.
"God, Sirius, are you trying to embarrass me?" Hermione rolled her eyes. "You can't handle a taxi?"
Sirius just glared at her, angrily. Hermione just smiled back.
"Oh, and by the way, James is meeting us at the leaky cauldron later tonight, when we do our shopping," he said.
"I'm doing my shopping now. You can do what you like," Hermione said, scanning the street for the leaky cauldron. She spotted it and walked directly towards it.
"Fine, I don't need you to be entertained," Sirius snapped.
"Good, I'll pay for our rooms, then I'll be gone into town to buy my supplies; you and James have fun," Hermione said, as she entered the Leaky Cauldron. Upon entering she immediately saw Lawson Malfoy of all people, Draco Malfoy's grandfather, about forty in this time, she supposed. He nodded to her, and she just glared back.
Hermione kept her hand on her wand which was in her pocket, as he stood to walk to her. She pulled out some money, and shoved it into Sirius' hands, her eyes not leaving those of Lawson Malfoy. "Go pay for the rooms, Sirius," she ordered.
"But…"
"I swear if you're not away in three seconds I will blast you with a curse that you will be seven and a half feet under by the time it's over," Hermione snapped. Sirius, slightly scared of Hermione, went to the innkeeper, keeping his eyes on her the whole time.
"Mr. Malfoy," she said in a cold courteous voice.
"Miss Howard. How very coincidental running into you here. You don't seem afraid," he said in a smooth, aristocratic voice, which his son had obviously inherited.
"Because I'm not afraid, Mr. Malfoy; I know enough of your family to know that you're too cunning to flat out attack me right now, even if I do pose the biggest direct threat to you right now," Hermione said, in a matter-of-fact voice.
"You know me too well, and I believe this is the first time we have seen each other is it not?" Lawson asked.
"I believe it is, sir," Hermione said, with mocking in her voice.
"That's too bad. You are quite a beautiful young woman. If you did not pose such a threat that even the dark lord respected you, I would take you where you stand," he said, in a low voice, that he much have thought seductive.
"Take me? What type of threat is that, Mr. Malfoy? If it is something other than on my life, but on my spirit, tell me now, because I would have no regrets killing you if such a threat were made," Hermione snapped, angrily, pointing her wand in the man's face. He cowered away from it, looking like a frightened mouse.
"I hold more power than you will ever dream, Mr. Malfoy. I would keep your words in check around me, sir," she said, dangerously. She knew it was a bluff, but she wanted terribly to play up this image, as he was already so afraid. "There are two things I will not stand for, those who threaten my friends, and those who threaten my honor. Threaten my life all you want and we will see how far that takes you, but threaten my friends or honor and we have a conflict," Hermione said. All eyes in the Leaky Cauldron were on her, and the effect she made upon the great Lawson Malfoy.
She waited until he nodded, slightly, almost unnoticeably, before she walked to Sirius. "I'll be in Diagon Alley if you need me and if any death eaters bother me just remind them that you are my friend," she said loud enough for Lawson to hear. He stalked out of the Leaky Cauldron quickly, with his head held high.
"Cocky bastard," she muttered, before walking out the back to the brick wall. She opened it and walked into Diagon Alley. People were bustling every which way. Hermione waved her wand and her green tank top and black jeans were covered by an emerald cloak. She fit right into the crowd and when she caught the eye of a death eater and he hurried away she began to think over what was happening in her life.
She had appeared, suddenly in the past and had all too quickly been thrown into the position of number one target of the Dark Lord Voldemort, who was at the height of his power. Everyone thought she was more powerful than she actually was and she had just frightened one of the most powerful wizards of the century, knocked out the most powerful wizard of the century a few days prior. Hermione Granger, the muggle-born witch always shadowed by her best friend, had become someone in the past more powerful than anyone could have imagined her to be in the future. She sat down outside Madame Malkins thinking about that for a long time.
She didn't know if she wanted to go back now. She didn't know if she could go back, knowing all she could be in this time and age. She could do anything, be anyone. She could make a potion to change the wizarding world, invent a spell that would tilt the scales in favor of the order, but if she did what would it do to the future. As wrong as the methods of Voldemort were, he had a point that the Muggle and Wizarding worlds couldn't mix and if she did something that changed time too much that could happen, and then where would they be?
Hermione sighed and stood up, going into Madame Malkins. She was quickly ushered by the seamstress herself to have her robes fitted.
When the woman asked what house she was to have her robes fitted for, she grudgingly muttered Slytherin. The welcome she had had at Madame Malkins all but fell away at that remark, which Hermione noted dryly. When she was finished, she quickly left, and went to Flourish and Blotts. She was taking all advanced classes this year, and had to get books that would show price for that fact. She felt horribly guilty spending Albus' money, and as she paid for the expensive books she swore to herself that she would pay him back.
After exiting Flourish and Blotts, and going to the Apothecary and the Cauldron shop, she levitated all her things back to the Leaky Cauldron. She went up to the room the innkeeper told her to go to, and found it was unlocked for her. The second she walked in, she saw the key on the dresser. "Very smart, let's just leave the key to Voldemort's main target on the dresser in her room," Hermione muttered, irritated. Piling all the things in the trunk at the end of the bed that had been left for her to take to Hogwarts, she locked it up and left the room, going back out into Diagon Alley.
She went directly to the Animal Emporium, a horrible name in her opinion. Hermione wanted to buy a cat to keep her company and possibly go back to her time with her when that time came. She walked in and looked around. It really was like a warehouse inside and that made her sick to her stomach.
Hermione began to look up and down the aisles of small cages. She hadn't found the cats, just having seen plenty of sad-looking puppies. She saw a small baby puppy shivering in the corner of its cage and her resolve to get a cat snapped. She went to it quickly and let it out, picking it up and stroking its fur comfortingly.
It was a skinny little guy, all black, and a mutt the sign read. She read further and found it was a black lab-German shepherd mix. She knew it would grow to be huge, but at that moment, she wanted to protect it and the only way she could do that was to buy it.
She quickly carried the dog to the front and was given a curious look when she wouldn't let go of the puppy. "How much," Hermione asked stiffly.
"For that runt mutt, only Five Galleons," the man at the counter said. He held out his hand and Hermione shoved the money in it.
"It's a magical dog, so it won't need training, but you do need to keep a collar on it as with all dogs. It's good to keep a barrier up so that the dogs can't leave your property," the man said. The dog comes with the collar it's already wearing. We need to make tags for it however. We make the tags the muggle way with one of these machines," he said. Hermione followed him to a machine. She held the puppy in one arm, and he nuzzled against her neck, clinging to her. She tapped the screen for the tag with one side having the Hogwarts crest. With one hand, she typed her house, her room in the castle and thought up a name for him, "Doyle." In seconds the little tag popped out and the man fastened it to a black collar and handed it to Hermione. She thanked him, and put it around the little puppy's neck. The little puppy licked her ear and she laughed, walking out and carrying the little dog in her arms.
What she saw when she walked out, however, changed her mood quickly. Her eyes narrowed, and she set Doyle down at her side. He stayed close. The alley was cleared and Sirius and James had their wands pointed at a wandless boy with pale skin, and black hair cut short and spiked up in the front. She studied his familiar face for a moment, before it hit her. This was Severus Snape. She drew her wand and walked briskly to Snape and as James cast a spell at him, she blocked and sent one at him. He fell to the ground in a full body-bind. "Sirius, put your wand away you arrogant bastard," she said, in an angry tone. Snape and Sirius looked at her, both in utter shock.
"Hermione, he's a death eater," Sirius cried, indignantly.
"Don't make me curse you, Sirius. I don't want to," Hermione said, her wand shaking in her hand.
A few order members stepped out of the crowds, their wands pointed at Hermione.
"Don't hurt her!" Sirius snapped at them. "This is Alaira Howard."
"Alaira? Then what the bloody hell is she protecting a death eater for?" the unmistakable voice of Alaster Moody fell on Hermione's ears.
"Do you have solid proof that he is a full-fledged Death Eater?" Hermione demanded, knowing very well that he was in this time.
"I am," Severus Snape's cool voice whispered.
"I'll talk to you later," Hermione gritted back. "Sirius, lower your wand," Hermione ordered again.
"No, not until you tell me what the bloody hell is going on," he snapped.
"Go," Hermione said to Severus, in a commanding tone.
"Why are you helping me?" he asked.
"We all have choices, and we all make the wrong ones sometimes, but in time you will see that. Until you do see it, no wand can help change you. You have to change yourself, as corny and stupid as that sounds," Hermione replied.
"Hermione, move," Sirius said, angrily. Hermione positioned herself fully in front of Severus, blocking any spell from any of the order members. "Now go," Hermione said. Severus disappeared with a crack, and left Hermione surrounded by three very angry Order Members: Sirius Black, Alaster Moody, and Arthur Weasley.
Now, if you'll please, I have just bought a pet that I'd like to get back to my room," Hermione stated, reversing the spell she had put on James, turning and scooping Doyle up into her arms and walking off towards the Leaky Cauldron, people stepping aside in the crowd to make way for her.
Hermione felt a hand grab her shoulder, and she was pulled around. It was Sirius. "Don't touch me," Hermione pulled away, clinging tightly to Doyle.
"Why did you protect him?" Sirius demanded.
"I am the one whose judgement we will follow as I know what is going to happen and every time you confront that man is going to make it worse on you in the future, Sirius Black," Hermione snapped, continuing ahead to the leakey cauldron.
She walked in nodding hello to the innkeeper, Jonah, who smiled back, broadly. He was a friendly sort of fellow, Hermione would come to find, and had only seen her when she made Lawson Malfoy back off, so she had in his eyes immediately become his friend, even if they hadn't ever spoken.
Hermione entered her room and set Doyle on the ground he ran up and jumped onto the bed, looking the exact opposite of the dog she had seen in the warehouse.
"You little actor," Hermione smiled at him, patting his head. He rolled over, and she scratched his belly.
"Good boy," Hermione smiled. She locked her door, and went over to her bed. She opened the trunk, and took out her Transfiguration book. None of the books for the seventh year advanced classes were different than they were in the future, other than the Transfiguration book, so that was the only book Hermione had to read and she was going to finish it, even if it took all night and all the train ride the next day. She had never, not read all the books before the school term in all her years at Hogwarts and even if this was technically a different time and year that would not change.
Hermione curled up in bed, with Doyle at her side, contently laying against her, and she began to read. She finished half the book surprisingly by midnight and decided that if it only took her four hours to read the first half, it wouldn't take her much longer to read the rest, so she would read it the next day on the train to Hogwarts. Sighing tiredly, she looked down at the little Doyle. He was all black except a light sprinkling of chocolate-brown across his forehead. He slept on his side, curled up against Hermione's stomach, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. Hermione smiled a patted him on the head, before wrapping an arm around him and falling asleep, remembering to set an alarm spell on her wand before she drifted off to sleep.
Hermione awoke, magically at Four-Thirty the next morning. She quickly dressed in black slacks, and a black tank top, then pulled her black robes over it. She felt sick to her stomach when she tightened the Slytherin tie around her neck, but swallowed hard and bore it. After, she carefully pinned her Head Girl badge onto her robes, and deemed herself ready to leave. She re-charmed her hair (charms wear off, I think) to its black state, having decided that she liked it. Her eyes she didn't change colors. They remained their soft toffee color and she liked it that way. She waited anxiously until five, reading from the transfiguration book.
At exactly five o'clock, she stood and walked across the hall to Sirius' room, and opened it with the key she had been given. She walked to his bed and told him to get up. He didn't move. James, who was on the floor on the other side of the bed was snoring. "James! Sirius! Get up or we'll be late!" she snapped.
"Five m-minutes," Sirius muttered, predictably. Hermione raised her wand and had ice-cold water spurt out of the end onto Sirius, who was nestled warmly in his blankets. "BLOODY HELL!" he shouted. That woke James up as well.
"That serves you right for not getting up when I told you to. You have wasted three minutes of my morning already. You have twelve minutes to get ready, Sirius. James, if you're coming with us to Kings Cross, then you have the same. I don't know about you, but I'm apparating," Hermione said. Hermione had waited and now she was going back to Hogwarts Magically. As ever she was eager to get to classes, and would not be held back by Sirius and James.
"It's FIVE AM! Are you insane!?" he shouted.
"If you want someone to apparate you to the train you'd better hurry your asses up. How will you get there without me?" Hermione asked.
"I'll bloody walk!" Sirius shouted.
"No, you won't. I'm going to make sure you're on that train with me, and you will go with me there," Hermione stated, before closing the door. "Ten minutes now."
Hermione pocketed her wand and walked into her room. She performed a simple shrinking spell on her trunk and pocketed it. She then scooped up Doyle and made for the door. "Are you two ready yet?" Hermione asked.
"Just a second!" Sirius snapped through the door. The door opened and they came out, pulling their large trunks behind them. They started to drag them down the corridor.
"Oh for heaven sake," Hermione rolled her eyes. She pointed her wand at Sirius and muttered, "Minamino." The trunk shrunk and Hermione picked it up. She tossed it to him. "Put it in your pocket," she instructed. He glared at her, but did as he was told. She did the same with James' trunk.
"There, now, can we eat breakfast and go?" she asked, annoyed. She walked quickly down the stairs ahead of them.
"Bloody snob," Sirius muttered.
"Snob? I'm a snob because I've already know spells that are at second year level, well possibly third?" Hermione asked.
"No, because you act superior and I still want an explanation for what happened last night," Sirius said.
"You'll get it when I say you'll get it," Hermione said. Doyle, whose little puppy face was just about Hermione's shoulder, his little paws on her shoulder, let out a little yip at Sirius, as if that would put him in his place. Hermione giggled, and patted his head.
"I told you that you'd get a dog," Sirius said.
"That has nothing to do with you. Have you been in that horrid animal warehouse?" Hermione asked. "Poor little Doyle was shaking and shivering in his cage."
"Doyle: dark foreigner? That's the best you could come up with?" Sirius asked.
"It suits just fine thank you," Hermione snapped.
"You know what a good name is: Snuffles," Sirius said.
"Figures," Hermione thought. "Good for you, but this is my little Doyle and that's not going to change."
"Isn't that a Saint Bernard? Those dogs don't stay little, if you didn't know Alaira," Sirius said.
"My name is Hermione, Sirius," Hermione stated, annoyed.
"Hermione Sirius… that's a good name," Sirius said.
"Damn you," Hermione muttered. "I'm going to teach Doyle to attack you and only you and I'll change his name to Killer, and have him eat you when he gets big," Hermione said, glowering.
"I'm sure you will," Sirius said.
They got downstairs and it was expectably empty, except the innkeeper, Jonah. He was eating his breakfast.
"Hello there," he said, cheerily. "Would you like to join me?" he asked. They did. Food appeared on the table when they sat down.
"House Elves?" Hermione asked, darkly.
"Yes, we have four house elves, very agreeable," Jonah said. Hermione sat down and pushed her plate away, not eating.
"What's with you?" Sirius asked.
"I am opposed to the use of house elves. You wouldn't understand," Hermione muttered.
"How can someone be opposed to House Elves?" James frowned.
"They are used viciously like slaves," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes.
Hermione was silent throughout the rest of breakfast. When Sirius stood up so did she. "Are we going now?" she asked, sounding annoyed.
"Don't get crabby with us because you didn't eat," Sirius muttered.
"Shut up," she muttered. She placed a hand on his arm, then one on James', when he stood. She focused her energy and the world began to swirl. Seconds later they were standing on platform nine-and-three-quarters, looking at the Hogwarts Express.
Hey yall I hope yall are liking my story. Reviews!!!
