Have I ever mentioned how much i love the sound of screams in the morning? Well, i do, especially when said screams are being issued from the throats of bigoted idiots trying far too hard to emulate my childhood-by that i mean my first life-self. With a well-rested, satisfied grin, i sat up in my bed and stretched slowly. Hogwarts beds were the best in the world, in my humble opinion, and what could be better than waking up to worthless plebeians getting their just desserts? Never again would i doubt the lung capacity of an eleven year old boy if their cries of outrage could reach the girl's dorm from their own.
Hopping off my bed after pushing aside the emerald green curtains, I quickly set about getting ready for the day. It had amazed me at first, those first few years as a girl, just how much effort I was expected to put into my appearance, but at least i now knew why they always needed to take hours, just to get ready for the day. Thank Merlin and Morgana I still retained my fashion sensibilities from when I was a male, and could easily settle for a minimalist style that turned what would likely be an all-morning process into one that took only slightly longer than before i was reincarnated.
Despite my ease at getting ready for the day, i still suffered a nasty near-heart attack when I saw Hermione in one of the green four-poster beds, her ridiculous mane of hair mussed up in an unfairly cute manner. It took me several moments to calm myself, remembering that not only was i no longer in the boy's dorm and would have to deal with being in a room full of girls, but Hermione actually did belong here, ever since the world had decided to lose all semblance of sanity and put her and Harry bloody Potter in Slytherin.
Oh merlin, Harry! Suddenly, i was very glad that the other girls in the room were still asleep, as my face drained of all color at the thought that i would have to deal with a Slytherin Boy-Who-Lived. Thankfully, it seemed my brain had already sorted out the confusion and worry the previous night, much in the same manner i had worked through my surprise at being turned into a girl, albeit with less explosions and setting things on fire. Visibly at least. With a few calming breaths, I was back to my preparations, and by the time i headed up to the Slytherin common room, taking the stairs which placed our dorm even further underground, i was ready to face the light of day and all the wackiness of my new life.
Shiiiiiiit, I'm not ready to deal with this. It took all of my self-control, developed over two lifetimes, in order to keep my face carefully neutral as i came upon a scene of utter chaos the likes of which should never have been seen in the highly sophisticated Slytherin common room. Only a few short glances from side to side told me what I needed to know, and a slow smirk started to slip past my control.
Several of the older hogwarts students, more used to the timeclock that classes had forced them to adapt over the years, were watching with silent amusement what appeared to be the entirety of the first year boys bickered and argued in the middle of the room, and even Crabbe and Goyle were wrestling with each other, anger clear on their faces. Only one was conspicuously absent, and I didn't blame him. If they thought Harry was responsible for their current state, he wouldn't be the Boy-Who-Lived for much longer. After all, turning each of their hair into varying neon colors was perhaps a bit too much of a blow to the pride for most eleven-year-olds to handle tactfully.
"Well, I see you boys have decided to celebrate our first day of classes in a rather… unique manner." it was a fight not to burst out laughing as Nott, sporting a very fetching orange head of hair turned towards me, his face drawn tight in anger, but i managed, if only just.
"You! You had something to do with this, didn't you, Malfoy!?" the boy screamed, and i smirked inwardly. Much as i had anticipated this little prank being highly damaging to the brat's reputation, this was almost too easy. I hardly had to do anything at all to destroy him, and it was barely the first day of classes. Death must be having a fine time laughing his ass off, wherever the fuck he was.
"Why, how dare you accuse me of such things, Nott? However could i have had something to do with this? After all, I've been in the girl's dorm all this time." I replied with a coy smile, batting my eyelashes prettily at the boy and my voice dripping with sweetness. He glared at me some more, but it wasn't very threatening, and i allowed my eyes to wander over to where Crabbe and Goyle had stopped trying to strangle each other and seemed to be paying attention to the conversation, their matching lime green hair shining in the dim light. Huh, they'd never done that before. Maybe in this life they had a bit of intelligence to them. Behind them, Blaise Zabini seemed to be the only of the four who showed even the slightest bit of nobility normally expected of Slytherins, trying to look regal with his bright pink hair color, and actually coming somewhat close. With my short catologue done i turned my attention back to Nott, where he was ranting about something or other I didn't particularly care to bother with.
"Yes, well, as lovely as it was to speak with you, I really must be going. Breakfast awaits." i cut him off, a caustic smile twisting my lips. I'd already made my dislike for him known, and most of the House likely knew that i was behind the prank, but as long as they couldn't prove a thing, which i was almost completely certain was the case, I was off scot free. Hell, i'd probably be praised for the act, discreetly of course. So, with a pleasant heat satisfaction rising in me at the sight of seeing him stare at me with confusion written clear across his face, I turned on my heel away from him and made my way to the exit.
XXX
Breakfast in the Great Hall was a relatively simple affair, once I had gotten past the unnerving sight of the messy-haired boy with robes that matched his emerald green eyes, and pleasantly familiar. True, it had technically been eleven years since I had been to Hogwarts, almost twelve if you counted the time I spent in Azkaban, but somehow the intervening time felt almost as if it had never occurred in the first place, aside from the trip to Diagon Alley and the previous day. Really, I had spent most of my second life so far just… waiting to go back to Hogwarts. It was kind of sad, now that I think about it.
My pathetic dependence on the school aside though, I somehow made it through breakfast without my head exploding as I watched Professor Snape stare down his nose at Harry and Hermione while giving them their schedules. Of course, I also discreetly checked to make sure he hadn't put any harmful charms or curses on them, considering one was a muggleborn, which I'm fairly certain the man hated despite ultimately being on Dumbledore's side during the war, and the other looked almost exactly like his worst enemy and love rival, or so I had heard. It's amazing, really, how much prisoners can gossip when they're not surrounded by soul-sucking creatures meant to keep them docile. I'm pretty sure that's why the Ministry would have gladly put the Dementors back on guarding Azkaban if they hadn't scattered after Voldemort's defeat.
Eventually, me, Harry, and Hermione had all finished our breakfast, and were on our way to McGonagall's first Transfiguration class with the rest of the first years. Honestly, I don't know how Potter, as I had started to call the Gryffindor Harry, and Weasley had managed to get lost to that class. Since all the first years regardless of house shared Transfiguration periods, along with Charms and DADA, they could have just followed the crowd. At least that way, if they were late, they couldn't be punished for it, since everyone would have been in the same boat.
The class, of course, was quite simple. I could turn a match into a needle in my sleep, and I easily earned twenty points to Slytherin doing almost exactly that. A short wave of my wand, while muttering the incantation so no one grew suspicious about why I was capable of silent magic, and I had a sharp, shiny sewing implement. Too bad it earned me an annoyed glance from Hermione, who while making great progress for someone her age, was still having a bit of difficulty. Plus, she only earned five points for managing to make the match pointy, with a bit of silveriness.
"I mean, how did you do it? It was incredibly difficult, but you didn't seem to be trying at all! And don't try to tell me it's because you were raised in the Wizarding World. None of the other purebloods were nearly as good as you." I snorted at Hermione's nitpicking, glancing towards the girl out of the corner of my eye. Merlin, she really could be determined. I see now why she ended up in Gryffindor rather than Ravenclaw, the first time around. Even they wouldn't have the patience to deal with her. Still, I couldn't find it in myself to be annoyed. Somehow, it was actually endearing, and the thought that I was able to suffer through it because we were friends? Like really, honest to Merlin's knotted beard, friends? I was actually starting to feel warm and fuzzy inside.
"Would you believe me if I said it was natural talent?" I finally broke in, the novelty starting to wear a bit thin as we were already approaching our next class. The bushy-haired witch narrowed her eyes at me, probably wondering if I was mocking her, before turning away with a loud harrumph.
"Whatever, i can see you're not going to tell me. And don't think I've forgotten that comment about Death, either. Just wait until we're in the Common Room. I'll get you to spill yet." With that dire warning, Hermione stalked away from us, and I shot a bewildered look towards Harry. Sadly, it seemed he would be no help, as the young celebrity looked just as confused as I was. Girls, I thought, not caring that i technically fit into that category as well.
True to her word, as soon as we had completed our classes for the day and returned to the subterranean Slytherin Common Room, Hermione started badgering me yet again. To be honest, it was perhaps a bit my fault, as I hadn't bothered to hold back in any of my other classes either. I doubted it would fool her anyways, as sharp as the little bookworm was. Regardless, she somehow managed to question me as we worked on our homework, performing an impressive feat of multitasking I would have thought impossible if it weren't for long experience with the phenomenon that was Granger. I, for my part, wasn't even bothering really, instead watching with barely disguised glee as the Slytherin boys tried various methods of reverting their hair-colors back to normal. I didn't know where or how Harry had procured the potions responsible, but they must have been horrendously overpowered to have lasted all day with only the barest hint of fading. The boy himself was in the middle of it all, grinning widely as he dumped various magical solutions over his dorm-mates heads. Honestly, one day, and he had already turned the normally calm and proper Snake's Pit into a madhouse. I was surprised Snape hadn't stormed in to scold them all.
"-Either Time Travel, which is completely ridiculous, or you are a freak of nature in that your core is far more developed than ours- Ah, Artemis, are you even listening?" I jumped in surprise at my name, accidentally bumping over a pot of ink, which spread very quickly to smear all over the bottom half of Hermione's essay she was currently working on-why in the name of all that was holy and magical we had essays on the first day of school, I would never know. Without thinking, I slid my wand from its holster and waved it over the page, vanishing the ink while retaining her current work. Just as i was about to slide the wand away, however, my hand was caught by Hermione.
"See, that's exactly what I'm talking about! How did you do that?" i stared at the girl in shock, but she just returned the look with a level gaze, and suddenly her previous words filtered back to me. Oh, shit.
"Did you say Time travel?" i asked, my voice incredulous. Okay, obviously she didn't believe it, had said so herself in fact, but how on earth did she ever come to that conclusion. Curiously, instead of responding with a clearly-worded and completely logical response, she actually bit her lip and looked away, muttering something under her breath. "I apologize, I didn't hear that."
"I said it's from fanfiction, alright!?" I flinched at the sudden change in pitch, before staring at the bushy-haired witch in front of me. What the fuck was she going on about now?
"Excuse me?" I asked, my voice laced with confusion. With a last aggravated glare, Hermione let out a huff, before sitting back down.
"It's a muggle thing, Artemis. Fans of certain fictional works will sometimes create their own versions of the story, for a multitude of reasons. One of the biggest types of fanfiction is where a character somehow goes back in time with all their knowledge and skills to fix things that may or may not have gone wrong. I wasn't serious," She defended suddenly, seeing my disbelieving stare. "I know it's not possible that you actually went back in time. That would be ludicrous. I just had to consider all the options, and so far the only other one that sounds even remotely possible is that your magical core has developed far beyond what an eleven year old is supposed to have done. It wouldn't be so easy for you to control your magic otherwise, regardless of how much you may know." As the words of her lecture bounced through my brain, a thought occured to me, and I narrowed my eyes at the girl.
"You seem to know a lot about magical cores, one of the most advanced subjects of magic, for a muggleborn, not to mention first year." Hermione blushed suddenly, abashed at my accusation.
"I… may have picked up a few more 'advanced' books at the bookstore during my trip to Diagon Alley for school supplies. I already know the textbooks by heart anyways." Yep, that made sense. I smirked at the girl, which elicited even more blushing. Before I could say anything else, however, Harry suddenly plopped down beside us, and I stared at his hair. Somehow, it was now seperated into strips of colors, each of which were shifting every few seconds, and the boy had a very self-satisfied smirk across his face ashe toyed with one of his bangs, currently bouncingbetween grey and blue.
"And what are you lovely ladies talking about?" He asked, and I rolled my eyes as his smirk turned to a full blown grin.
"How I'm a Time-traveler, of course."
"Oh? How did that happen?" I tossed a glance towards Hermione, and she blushed even more.
"Well, Hermione here decided I have to have an overdeveloped core, and-"
"No, no that" He cut me off, and I tilted my head in questioning. "I mean, how did you time-travel?" For a moment, I stared at the boy, unsure of whether he was just screwing with my head or not. Then, I decided to play along. It might even feel good, telling someone, regardless of whether they actually believe me or not. At least then if they ever found out- and I'm certain Hermione at least would- then I can always claim I told them the truth.
"Well, I was shoved through the Veil of Death, an artifact hidden in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. But since Death has a horrible sense of humor, he decided to reincarnate me and force me to live my life all over again. I'm not even a girl, actually. My first life I was born as a boy, and was named Draco." Harry's eyes sparkled,even as Hermione Harrumphed, And he leaned back in his seat casually.
"Draco Malfoy," He said, testing the word on his tongue. "Sounds like a right prat kind of name, to me." I smiled.
"I definitely lived up to it, then. Trust me, you would not want to meet my original eleven year old self." Harry laughed,and suddenly there was a loud thud as Hermione slammed her book down on the table.
"Alright, that's enough. You don't have to make fun of me." I turnedtolook at her brightred face, flushed in fury, and sighed. My face turned serious, and I looked her straight in the eye, not wanting her to believe I was making fun of her.
"I'm not making fun of you Hermione."
"Yes you are!" She practically screamed, and I winced as my ears rang. "Just because I brought up the possibility of time travel, although that's a ridiculous notion anyways, You two are laughing at me about it." Once again I sighed, before standing up and walking the few steps around the table until I wasright next to Hermione, who had stood as well and looked to be about to run away. Desperate, I grabbed the bushy-haired witch's hands and pulled her around until we were face to face, so close our breath was mingling.
"Hermione, look me in the eye and tell me if I'm lying." She did, and when I was certain that there could be no hint of doubt to be seen, I spoke, the truest words I had said in my entire second life, my voice a bare whisper on the still air. "I am a time traveler." With a small gasp, Hermione let go of my hands and fell back into her chair, grasping at her heart.
"You're serious."
"Of course I am. I've always been a lousy liar."She stared at me, and I could see a thousand thoughts running through her head. Granger always had been so very intelligent, it didn't surprise me that she would be able to see the truth. I knew it was only a matter of time until she accepted it.
"But-but… how?" With a sigh, this time pleasant, I smiled, sitting in the nearest free chair.
"Exactly as I just said. Trust me, I have no clue how it works either."
"Well it is magic." Both me and Hermione jumped at the sudden voice, our heads snapping to look at Harry. Dear Merlin, I had forgotten he was there in the extraordinarily tense moment. "I mean, really. It can do practically anything, can't it? At least, if used right." I gaped at the boy, who was beaming at the both of us.
"You knew?" I asked, my voice shaky with disbelief. How the fuck was he not in a similar state as Hermione?
"Of course, it wasn't very hard to tell."
"Why not?"
"Well, the most obvious thing was how you acted at the Sorting Ceremony. It was like you knew exactly how it was supposed to turn out, and when it didn't you couldn't believe it. Then there's the way you act like you know us really well, despite only being our friend for a day or two, and yet you act really surprised when we do certain things, like Hermione suggesting how we dealt with Weasley. You also act a lot more mature than most people our age, know a lot more about magic that you couldn't even if you are a pureblood. The real clincher though? You know exactly where to go in the castle, as if you've lived here for years. Not even purebloods can do that." I stared at Harry, shocked by all the evidence he had presented. Never before had Potter been so observant, that I could tell at least. Had I really affected so much, or was it just him being in Slytherin which made him act more intelligent? Even Hermione looked surprised, gaping at the raven-haired boy in disbelief.
"Well, fuck me."
XXX
Alright, so that's that chapter done, and I am just on a roll today! Yeah, this chapter did not go in the way I expected, whatsoever. I was planning for there to be a few jokes, Artemis screwing with Hermione's head a bit, but then BAM! Harry decides to walk over and fuck it all up. Now if you have complaints, like that Artemis told Harry and Hermione far too early, remember this. I am writing this story with a very specific rule, in order to keep it as casual and stress-free as possible; If it comes off my keyboard, it stays. Trust me, I didn't plan this, since I don't plan anything for this story except what the next chapter starts off with, but it's staying as it is, and that's that.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to Review! See ya!