If I Could Turn Back Time…
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters; I own naught but the plot.
Summary: Hermione Granger thinks she is in for another ordinary year of Hogwarts. But as she soon finds out, she's in for a year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that she might never be able to leave…
Hermione blearily opened her eyes, recoiling as a lined old face peered down from above her. The old man chuckled at her reaction, moving out of her view. She noticed she was in a round room, and that she was lying down. She wanted to sit up, but couldn't find the energy to do so. "Miss Evans, are you sure that she's a Muggle?" He asked Lily, who was evidently somewhere in the room.
"Yes, sir. She doesn't know a thing about magic, and she freaked when I repaired Potter's glasses" Lily replied. The old man nodded thoughtfully.
"Hmm… I see your point. But would it hurt to let her try some magic, just to see if she truly is a Muggle?" He asked her, moving again to look over Hermione.
"I don't think so, sir. But would you like my wand?"
"Yes, please, Miss Evans" Lily crossed the room, handing it to the man. Hermione suddenly felt her energy rush back, and shot up like a rocket. She saw a tall, white-haired man standing next to Lily Evans. The man looked at her and smiled.
"I am Professor Dumbledore, Miss Granger." He said, walking over to her. Hermione eyed him suspiciously. "I want to ask a favor of you." He continued.
"What is it?" She replied, a scared expression crossing her face as he held up Lily's 'wand'.
"I want you to take this wand and repeat after me, Wingaurdium Leviosa, flicking the wand like so," Dumbledore showed her. Hermione nodded, and took the wand in her hand.
"Wingaurdium Leviosa" She repeated, flicking the wand at nothing in particular. A small vase rose from the side table, starling Hermione into screaming and dropping the wand in fright. The vase crashed to the floor.
"I think we have established that Miss Granger is indeed a witch, Miss Evans." Dumbledore said to Lily. She nodded. Hermione shook her head.
"You've got to be joking. I can't be a witch! I'm a normal girl, with normal friends, and a normal life!" She protested, getting of the couch on which she had been resting on. Dumbledore sighed.
"Miss Granger, would you please like to tell me where you have been going to school for the past six years?" He asked. Hermione thought, and thought… but nothing came to her.
"I don't know, sir. I can't remember" She eventually said.
"I thought as much." Dumbledore smiled. "You are suffering from a case amnesia, Miss Granger. I believe you are a which, and a student at my school, at that. I think something happened to you, an incident that perhaps altered your memory? Perhaps you were thrown backwards in time? That would certainly explain why no-one saw you on the train, why your name is not and has never been registered on my list, and why Mister Potter, Black, Pettigrew and Lupin suddenly found you outside their compartment."
Hermione blinked, slumping back onto the couch.
"Are you saying that…? I went through time?" She whispered.
"I am, Miss Granger. But now, I think it's time for you to go to the Hospital Wing; Madam Pomfrey'll fix you up. I think it would be better for you if you had a good nights sleep, and tried to remember the spells you were taught at future Hogwarts. If that fails, that I have no doubt that I shall have to teach them to you, one at a time."
Hermione nodded slowly. "But what if I get lost? It's a big school, after all. And should I start to call you sir?"
"Yes, Miss Granger, that would be much appreciated. As for the question about getting lost… I shall pair you with Lily Evans, here. I daresay you and her will get along fine, as you are undoubtedly a very fine witch. All settled? Then I shall ask Miss Evans to take you to the Infirmary. Miss Evans?" Dumbledore said, helping Hermione to her feet. Lily nodded and motioned Hermione to follow her lead, and walked outside Dumbledore's office.
Lily walked quickly down the corridors. Hermione, having a hard enough time keeping in pace with her, kept getting distracted by the moving pictures that adorned the walls and continuously fell behind to girl in front of her.
"Here we are," Lily came to an abrupt halt in front of two glass doors. Hermione came up behind her.
"Lily… are you angry at me for some reason?" Hermione asked tentatively.
"Look, Hermione. I really don't care about what happens to you, I care about what I have to do to look after you. I'm a Prefect, and I've been asked to baby-sit. So yes, I am angry at you." Lily snapped; turning on her heel and marching away, leaving Hermione stunned behind her. A tap of the glass door brought Hermione's attention back to the Hospital Wing. A small woman was looking curiously at the girl, and motioned for her to come inside.
"I'm Hermione Granger… Professor Dumbledore sent me, he said you'd 'fix me up'" Hermione explained. The Matron nodded.
"Well, come along Miss Granger, let's get you settled in." She said, pushing Hermione in the direction of a hospital bed. Madam Pomfrey hurried off and returned with a pair of pajamas, and a bottle of liquid. "Here you go, dear. Get changed into these and I'll give you a dose of Headache-B-Gone, the potion here." She chattered away, conjuring up a curtain out of thin air. Hermione slipped inside the curtain and quickly changed while Madam Pomfrey waited patiently outside. When she was done, the Matron measured out a dose of the potion while Hermione slipped between the sheets. "Here you go, dear. Give me a shout if you need anything." She said, walking away. Hermione smiled and closed her eyes, willing sleep to come.
Hermione could tell it was morning even with her eyes closed; she could always since thing like that. Hermione slowly opened one eye, recoiling at the strange and unfamiliar face. He grinned, his face transforming into handsome picture.
"Am I that horrible to look at?" He asked jokingly. Hermione laughed a little.
"It's Sirius, right?" She said, sitting up in the bed. Sirius leaned back in his chair, a content grin on his face.
"The one and only," He answered. "So how are you feeling? I heard that you're not a Muggle after all…" Sirius said, looking at her through one eye, the other closed.
Hermione frowned.
"What's a Muggle?" She asked. "People keep saying it around me… and I have no idea what it is"
"Muggle's another word for non-magic folk. Like Lily's parents – she's Muggle-born, you know. Some people; families really, seem to think that Muggle-born people can't do any magic, that they're basically a Squib… But Lily's the best witch in our year, so that can't be true."
"Squid, did you say?"
"No, Squib… it's a word for… how do you explain it? Some people – magic people I mean, can't do magic. They just can't… So Squib's a word for them"
"You have a lot of weird names…" Hermione muttered. Sirius laughed.
"You're right about that one… Hey Hermione… do you wanna to Hogsmead today with me, Prongs, Moony and Wormtail?" He asked, looking as though this was a very important question.
"Who… Where?" Hermione inquired, feeling incredibly stupid.
"Hogsmead… It's a Wizarding town, with shops and stuff like that."
"But who did you say you were going with? Moony?"
"Oh… Just some nick-names for James, Remus and Peter… So you wanna come?"
"I guess… But am I allowed to go?"
"Sure you are, I just have to tell Pomfrey that you're going on a little adventure." Sirius said, getting up and leaving her alone. She heard him muttering something, and then he re-appeared at the curtain opening. "All clear, Hermione. You can go with us."
"As long as you take care of her!" the Matron's voice wafted though the air. Hermione's male companion grinned broadly.
"Get dressed, I'll take you down to the Great Hall for breakfast and then we'll meet up with the others." He said, handing her her clothes. Hermione nodded, waiting for him to leave. Sirius gave her a cheeky grin and turned away, leaving Hermione with a slight blush on her cheekbones.
When Hermione was dressed in her pair of faded jeans, white blouse and a powder blue vest, Sirius led her down the hallway, chattering to her all the time. When they reached the Entrance Doors, Hermione was stunned to see just how big they were.
"How big is this Hall?" She asked in awe.
"It's a lot bigger then you think. And Hermione, there will be a lot of owls this morning…Don't freak, okay? It's normal." Sirius said, pushing the huge doors open and leading Hermione through. He smirked when he hard her gasp, and he took her elbow and guided her towards the Gryffindor Table, and towards his best mates.
"Hey Padfoot… took you a while" James muttered, barely looking up from his toast. Sirius rolled his eyes and invited Hermione to sit next to him. She did, and he began piling food onto her plate.
"You're not a vegetarian, are you?" He asked, a sausage hovering inches from her plate. Hermione shook her head and the sausage was promptly dropped next to the eggs, closely followed by bacon. Hermione looked around her, noticing that James was looking at her. She flashed him a smile, and he looked down, scratching at the back of his neck. Hermione looked at Sirius with a confused expression on her face, and he shook his head, indicating that this was not the time to talk about it. She ate her breakfast, the hunch that she was going to have the time of her life with these boys on her mind, Hermione didn't even notice the owls flock into the Hall until one dropped onto the plate of James, seated across from her. She gave a muffled scream, earning her a light punch in the arm from Sirius. She glared at him, and he glared back at her, holding her gaze just long enough for her to notice what a colour his eyes were, a stunning blue-grey colour, before grinning at him and returning to her breakfast.
"You look like you had a bit of a scare there, Hermione…" Peter smirked. Sirius punched him. Hard.
"What was that for, Padfoot? I was just teasing…" Peter whined, rubbing his arm. James laughed, running his hand through his thick black hair. Sirius' eyes flashed, and he caught a handful of James' sleeve, jerking him to a standstill.
"What?" James snapped, aware of watching eyes.
"Don't make me look like an idiot!" Sirius snarled, "Remember the pact we made last year? 'If one of us likes someone, the other male shall not interfere unless the circumstance calls for it'?"
James fixed his best friend with a cold stare. "I remember, old friend."
"Good, so stay out of it!" Sirius released James' sleeve, and hurried up to the waiting group, slotting himself in next to Hermione.
James narrowed his eyes, a cold feeling boiling inside of him. The emotion was something he never though he'd ever towards his friends, Sirius especially. The emotion was a mixture between jealously and hate.
Ta-da! Finished! Well, tell me what you think of this chapter, and any ideas are welcome, because I'm writing this story as it comes… that is to say, I had no plot oir anything.
Well, love yas all,
Flowerpot Munchkin
xxx