A/N: For those of you that don't read my user page for update information: My computer completely died on January 3rd. Thankfully I had just backed up my files earlier that day. I'm currently using an old half-broken laptop. It took me a while to borrow my sister's computer to read my backup disks and email my fanfiction information to myself... That's why this update came out so much later than I had wanted it to. Hopefully I'll have a new computer by the end of February and things will be less of a hassle.
Once Harry had worn out his burst of emotion, which took perhaps an hour or so, he and Hermione both pulled themselves together. Concealing the signs of emotional outbursts, the duo headed down the empty corridor. The silence between the two was comfortable and relaxed when they reached the door that would take them into Dumbledore's office. Sharing one last look, Harry opened the door only to find that Albus must have known of their impending arrival. For why else would his girlfriend Ginevra Weasley and her twin older brothers Fred and George, the two that just happened to be engaged to Hermione, have been waiting there with the aging Headmaster?
Delighted smiles broke out all around and somehow or another a massive tangle of limbs ended up on the floor of Dumbledore's office as the Weasleys gave in to their enthusiasm at seeing the safe return of their partners. Amidst laughter and the occasional yelp as good-natured, yet unintentionally painful pokes and squishes occurred, the fivesome managed to untangle themselves and take up seats before Dumbledore's desk.
Hermione was squished on a small couch by the twins in a way that seemed painful yet had been pefected by the trio of feline Animalities back in her seventh year at Hogwarts. George was fussing with her wild brown curls and Fred murmured soft words into her shoulder as she watched Albus expectactantly.
Ginny had taken up residence in Harry's lap as he sat comfortably in a soft armchair. He nuzzled against her neck as he whispered about having loads to tell her as soon as they were back at Grimmauld Place.
"First of all, welcome back and well done on a successful mission." Albus smiled warmly at the two. "Secondly, I'm not sure exactly how long you were gone on your end of the mission, but here you were gone perhaps..." Albus glanced at his clock. "Six hours."
"What?" Both the newly returned stared at Albus in shocked surprise.
"But we were gone at least three weeks..."
In truth, neither had really bothered to keep track of exactly how long they had been on their mission to the past. All they knew was that they had left the night before the students had gone home for the Christmas Holidays.
"Oh dear... It must have slipped my mind to tell you. None of the missions take longer than six hours on this end of the portal. Now... Since there isn't really much to say about the details, I'm sure you would like to head off and tell your loved ones about what happened." His blue eyes twinkling, Albus waved the younger wizards and witches out of his office.
As they untangled themselves and headed toward the door, Albus added a last message. "Miss Granger, your next mission will be next Saturday morning. Feel free to come and go about your business until then."
Heading back to Hermione's suite of rooms in the castle, the five friends soon called Ron to the group meeting and, once he arrived via Floo, they told them what had happened on the mission. The reactions from the group of listeners was delightful, from the happiness that Harry had gotten to spend time with his parents to the amusement at Hermione nearly decapitating one of the students during class.
Sometime during the telling, Ginny sensed that her boyfriend needed to head home and she soon dragged Harry away and into the fireplace where they used Floo Powder to reach Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Ron stayed a while longer, taking advantage of being back in Hogwarts to visit the kitchens before heading back to Grimmauld as well. When not on assignment or training, Hermione lived at Number 12 with the rest of the original Animalities.
And what happened once Harry, Ginny and finally Ron left is better left unsaid...
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Hermione spent the next several days between Hogwarts and Grimmauld Place. Occasionally she would venture to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, either at the book stores, picking up a few necessary items, or visiting the twins while they were at work. On Thursday, she helped Ron and Harry with an Auror assignment. While she wasn't on active duty while attending her apprenticeship, she liked helping her best friends and knew that the public felt better when spotting the Golden Trio working together.
Eventually, the time had come for her to once more arrive in Dumbledore's office for her next mission. After giving the password to the Gargoyle, which was current Fruit Gushers, she headed inside to find one of her fiances, George Weasley waiting with Albus.
"You're coming this time, George?" Hermione didn't even try to hide her delighted expression. "Is Fred here too?" She looked around for another ginger-haired twin only to have her search interrupted by the door once more opening.
"No such luck... You two are stuck with me for this mission. I'm positive Dumbledore hates me..."
The lazy male drawl was familiar and Hermione smiled in greeting before giving the new arrival a warm hug. "But what would we ever do without you?" She pinched his pale cheeks enough to turn them rosy and was rewarded with having her hands swatted away.
"Now, now Mr Malfoy... I most certainly do not hate you." Albus twinkled over the rims of his half-moon spectacles at the scowling face of Draco Malfoy.
Draco hadn't changed much since the last time Hermione had seen him. Though it would be strange if he had since she had only seen him a few days prior to this mission. He was nearly six feet in height, toned with muscle from both Quidditch and Auror training, his short hair was still that silvery white-blonde shade and his pale grey eyes were still a mixture of amusement and annoyance that he had held for most of the last three years. About the only real change from the way he had looked in school was that his features were less pointed. He claimed it was because he was a wolf, not a ferret, and that his features were conforming accordingly. This merely earned him laughs from his fellow Animalities.
What none of the Animalities knew was that Draco's joking comment had been true. His Animality form had always been more feral than the others and, as such, the changes were noticable on him first. In time, all the Animalities would show minor physical changes to represent their animal form. Hermione Granger herself had started showing signs, but it was easily overlooked as her change, the increase in muscle mass, had developed during her Auror training. Not to mention that there were times when the black and silver pegasus of the group, Harry Potter, seemed to have silver highlights in the raven locks of his human form...
Draco snorted at Albus' reassurance. "If you don't hate me, why are you assigning me a mission with the pack Alphas? How am I supposed to have fun?" He gave an exaggerated pout, crossing his arms and leaning back into his chair.
Hurrying to ward off a patented Malfoy Sulk Session™, Hermione was quick to bring the focus back to the matter at hand. "So what can you tell us about this mission, Albus?"
"Ahh, yes... The mission." Albus stood, taking three pieces of parchment from his desk and handing one to each of the Animalities. "Firstly, I need you to sign these contracts. I'm sure you will find them quite similar to the contract you had the Marauders sign on your last mission, Miss Granger."
Looking over the parchment, Hermione saw that Albus was correct. The contract merely wanted her to be incapable of saying or doing something that would alter the present timeline.
"Let's see... I, George Weasley, shall refrain from altering the timeline as I currently know it... Blah-blah-blah... Yackity-schmackity." George mumbled as he read over the contract. Upon reaching the end, and blatantly checking for any fine print, he pulled a quill from his ear. Ignoring the startled looks directed his way, he signed the parchment and tucked the quill back into his ear.
"I should have known... Nothing but feathers in the heads of Weasleys." Draco rolled his eyes and took a quill from a more traditional pocket and signed his own contract.
Giving a slight shake of her head, Hermione signed her own parchment and soon Albus was in possession of all three signed contracts.
"Good, now that we have that out of the way... This mission will be one that will no doubt infuriate all of you. But you must be aware that you are on a strict observation mission. While you can interact with the people and items to a certain degree, the power of the magical contracts you have signed will prevent any unintentional mistakes." Albus stood and gestured for the trio to follow him into the portal corridor.
"You will notice that you do not need any luggage on this trip, the answer to that situation will be made clear as soon as you arrive. Now, no need to seek anyone out for further instructions, though Nicholas will gladly offer assistance if needed... Try not to let things you can't change get under your skin and have fun! Remember to check back often, for when the portal once more opens, you will only have twenty-four hours to return..."
Albus' little speech reached it's conclusion as they arrived at the currently active second portal. "Try to have some fun with the experience, I'm sure it is one you will enjoy." He winked and stepped aside for them to enter the portal.
Having experienced the portal usage before, not to mention the fact that they were her missions to begin with, Hermione was the first to step into the shimmering arch. As before, she felt as if she were walking through mist. Unlike before, there was a strange freezing sensation and the feeling that she had lost something when she stepped through. She looked around before she heard George's voice as he joined her in the empty corridor.
"If it felt that way last time, I'm surprised you wanted to enter one of those again..."
"It wasn't. Last time it just felt like walking into thi-..."
"What the Hell!"
At the sound of Malfoy's stunned entrance, both Hermione and George whirled in place to look at him. As soon as they did, their eyes grew to the size of saucers.
Draco wore a matching expression as he stared at his pack Alphas.. Seeing their expressions, he raised up his hands and looked through his palms! "Is it just me... Or are we dead!"
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Three impromptu panic attacks and an hour later...
"So I think we've figured out just who Albus meant when he said Nicholas would help us if we needed it." George was floating back and forth in an approximation of pacing. "Nearly Headless Nick is the type to offer help to anyone in need." He paused. "Well, as much as a ghost can help..."
Hermione was, strangely enough, amusing herself by sticking her head into the walls and seeing what was on the other side. The corridor that held the portals should not have structurally been able to exist and she wasn't too surprised to find that the scenery changed almost every time she peered out.
"Figures, even in death Gryffindors are too nice for their own good..." Draco wasn't too impressed. He was sitting in a strange meditation pose on the ceiling, his clothes and hair defying gravity as he remained in place.
A yelp from Hermione's direction distracted them and they turned to look at the silvery-white spectral form of the female. Her cheeks were extra silvery as she blushed. "Er... The other side of the wall changed to the Quidditch locker room..." She averted her gaze.
George snorted a laugh. Surprisingly though, he was the one taking this mission seriously... For the moment, at any rate! "Well, what we need to do is stop floating around in the corridor and observe. I doubt we were sent here to spend however long just waiting here!"
Draco sprang away from the ceiling, twisting right side up and landing on all four paws in his wolf form. The ghostly wolf looked similar in color to his living wolf form. The only real difference was that he was now transparent. After trotting around on all fours for a moment, he shifted to his hybrid form and from there to his normal body. "Well, now we know we can change."
"Not that it would really do any good. Let's see if we can find Sir Nicholas." Hermione cautiously peered through the wall again before waving them to follow and stepping all the way through.
Shrugging, George and Draco followed.
It wasn't until they were through that they realized their error... The ever changing location of the portal corridor had deposited them each into a different part of the castle!
In three different places, three new ghosts in Hogwarts Castle all said the same thing:
"Bugger!"
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Noticing that he was currently free of his Alphas, Draco strolled along the corridor at a leisurely rate and whistled to himself, assuming you call walking near the ceiling strolling... He had emerged from the portal corridor into one that he knew was near the classrooms with no sign of Hermione or George anywhere. As he turned a corner, he saw a familiar girl walking along the corridor. Her hair was in pig tails and she had glasses. Her head was bowed as she entered a classroom behind several other students.
As Draco tried to decide where he had seen the girl before, his attention was diverted to a very pretty ghost quietly helping a first year head in the appropriate direction. Smirking, Draco straightened his shirt and strolled over to the ghost. Might as well have some fun!
Giving a bow, Draco took the ghost lady's hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it as he greeted her in flawless French.
"Why thank you, kind sir.. I haven't been greeted thus since the last Death Day party I attended..." The ghost woman's voice was soft and sweet.
Smiling, it wasn't until Draco finally raised from his impromptu bow and looked into her eyes that he realized he had just kissed the hand of The Grey Lady!
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It didn't take long for Hermione to realize that perhaps they should have held hands walking through the wall. Especially since she had already observed how easily the position of the corridor changed. As it was, she found herself alone in the Library. Surprisingly, Hermione felt no desire to linger and headed out of the familiar room to search for her fiance and friend.
Perhaps twenty minutes into her wandering Hermione came across the first familiar face... Peeves the Poltergeist was harassing some second year Hufflepuffs that were running late for class. Eyes narrowing, Hermione watched the scene for perhaps a full minute before realizing that there must be a reason Peeves was scared of the Bloody Baron. A sly grin formed on her face.
Two seconds later, three second years were startled when a silver ghost wearing odd clothes suddenly tackled the colorful Poltergeist from the side. Both spirits were soon out of sight, leaving the Hufflepuffs to flee to class with the sounds of some strange scuffle going on behind the wall where Peeves and the strange ghost had vanished.
"Don't pick on the students!" Hermione was in her ghostly hybrid form, shaking Peeves so hard that his head created an outrageous rattling sound. After a few minutes of abusing the Poltergeist, Hermione finally allowed him to slip from her grasp.
Peeves glared at the strange feline ghost and almost went to pounce her in return... Right up until she unsheathed some wicked looking claws from her fingertips and growled.
"I dare you... I've been wanting to give you some payback for a long time..."
Looking uncertain for a moment, Peeves finally decided she wasn't as threatening as she looked at went to tackle the unfamiliar ghost. The two went tumbling through several walls and floors as they tussled. It seemed pretty evenly matched, at least as far as Peeves would later admit. Though it seemed to anyone else that the colorful spectre was running away from the silver spirit.
Eventually, Hermione had Peeves pinned to the floor, her clawed hands holding his throat as her tail lashd. "Now, I'm not sure how long I'll be visiting, but you had better," here she bonked his head on the floor in a manner that ghosts should not have been able, "behave yourself! If I see you doing anything that I don't like, I will string you up by your underwear to the tallest goal on the Quidditch Pitch and leave you there for a hundred years!"
"I'll be good, Mistress!" Peeves was quick to turn coward, especially since he actually felt that bonk! He couldn't remember the last time that had happened!
Giving him another bonk, Hermione picked herself up, her tail vanishing in a puff as she shrank to her normal size and form. She glared at Peeves until he scrambled up and vanished through the nearest wall. When the poltergeist vanished, Hermione was suddenly made aware of the fact that she was not alone. She turned, eyes wide to see an entire class of fifth year Slytherins and Gryffindors attending potions... And applauding!
Seeing the annoyed look on the Professor's face, Hermione blushed and gave an apologetic wave. "And that concludes this demonstration of how to keep pesky poltergeists in line..."
As she made her get away from the now giggling class, Hermione's attention was drawn to one Slytherin that was glaring coldly in her direction. She only had time to give the boy a confused look before she was drifting through the ceiling.
"That, my dear... Is a trick I would much like to learn."
Hermione shivered as the cold, slightly raspy voice came from behind her and she whirled in place to find herself facing The Bloody Baron!
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George arrived in the one place he would have loved to be when he was in school... The Gryffindor Girls' Dormitory! What he didn't appreciate was that he had been deposited in the First year girls' dorm! He wasn't there long before an invisible force pushed him out of the room and the air near the ceiling of the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Just great... Not even dead guys can go in there!" He turned and shook his fist at the wall he had just been pushed through.
George's antics did not go unnoticed as a boy sitting down on the couch snickered. "That's good to know... My dorm mates were wondering."
Looking down, George shared a grin with the boy before willing himself to float down. As he drifted closer to the couch, he observed the boy. He was tall and bulky, easily large enough to have graduated a year or two ago, and had bushy dark hair that looked coarser than Hermione's ever had. There was something familiar about the black eyes though and George's own narrowed in confusion as he saw the title of the book the boy was working from: Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3.
The boy blushed at the new ghost's scrutiny, turning back to his homework. "Are you new?" He tried to sound as casual as possible. "I haven't seen you around before..."
"Relatively... Not sure how I got here." George was referring more to Gryffindor Tower than he was to the castle in general. "Shouldn't you be in class?" Not that George would ever try to make someone go to class, he was just curious.
"Well..." The blush still staining the large boy's chubby cheeks grew. "I was in class... But then I ... Blew up my cauldron. The nurse told me to come back to the common room after she fixed me up!"
Easily accepting that answer, George sat down on the table. Or at least he tried to sit down on the table. He wasn't focusing properly and ended up falling through both the table and the floor beneath!
Popping back up, George was met with the oversized third year's renewed snickers. "New to being a ghost, I see..." There wasn't really a delicate way to ask how long someone had been dead.
"Yeah, something like that." George was reminded of his manners. "I'm George, by the way." He held a translucent silvery-white hand out and grinned.
The Gryffindor boy looked at the hand for a moment before miming a polite handshake. His large hand would probably have crushed George's if it hadn't gone through the ethereal form of the ghost. "Rubeus..." He smiled shyly. "But you can call me Hagrid, everyone else does."
A/N: How many didn't see that coming?