Edelgard hardly spoke at all as the two boys led her back to the Gryffindor Tower room. The boys, Harry and Ron, seemed somewhat wary of her. Although they explained some of the Castle's oddities to her as they walked through the castle, such as the Paintings and the Moving Staircases, there was a frigid atmosphere in the air.
Edelgard was deeply concerned. Far more so than she had let on to Dumbledore and the others. She had told them little more than the scant details of her personal life at the Academy and her observations about the Castle. She had not breathed a word about her heritage as the Imperial Princess, or her plans for the future. That, she thought, she would keep to herself.
Dumbledore had seemed like a pleasant enough sort, although she was politically savvy enough to know that there was much more to him than met the eye. She suspected that most who spoke to him would see nothing but an eccentric old man, but Edelgard saw something more behind those twinkling eyes and smile. He was taking in everything she said and did and registering it into his mind. For what purpose, however, she could not say.
Perhaps he truly meant to help her. Or perhaps he planned for something more sinister. Edelgard was prepared for either situation, but she grudgingly had to concede that it felt more likely that he genuinely wanted to help her. She found it very difficult to believe that a Headmaster of a School would pawn off a prisoner to a couple of young school boys immediately after arriving. No, for the time being she was more than willing to accept that her body swap with Miss Granger was nothing more than a freak accident.
"Excuse me." She said. "Mr. Weasley."
The red haired boy turned to look at her, open mouthed. Edelgard kept her face neutral, although she tried to hide her distaste. He was gaping at her, as if he had never seen her before. He and Miss Granger were supposedly very close friends, so this situation was possibly just as off putting to him as it was to her.
The look he was giving her made her uncomfortable, but Edelgard continued to address him anyway. "I truly am sorry that your friend has gone missing." She said. "I promise you that I will do everything in my power to get her back. No matter the cost."
He was gaping at her, somewhat stupidly. Edelgard was suddenly keenly aware that she had very little experience with conversing with commoners outside of the Academy. Even those in other houses tended to avoid her.
"It's fine." Harry Potter said, stepping in. "Dumbledore will get her back. Don't worry." He sounded somewhat unsure of himself, but Edelgard noted how willing he was to take charge of the situation. She suspected he might be the leader of their group.
"I certainly hope so." Edelgard said, placing a hand on her hip. Ron was still staring at her. "I take it that you have great faith in his abilities?" Harry too was now giving her a strange look. She had said something unusual, she was sure, but she couldn't place her finger on what.
"Everyone does." Harry said. "He's one of the most famous wizards of our time."
"Wizard…" She murmured. "You mean a Mage?" She shook her head before they could answer. "No, a Mage couldn't build a Castle like this." She murmured, bending her head downward. She stood back up, surprised. "Forgive my ignorance." She said quickly. "But I think my world is rather different than yours."
"I'll say." Ron said, finally finding his voice. "What's a Mage?"
Harry shrugged, but Edelgard was quick to answer.
"A Mage." She said. "Is a person who utilizes magic in war. They tend to manipulate the natural energies of the world as a method of attack."
Ron laughed. Edelgard gave her a look.
"What is so funny?"
"You actually sounded like Hermione for a moment!"
Harry laughed as well. Edelgard looked in between the two of them in confusion. And then she smiled.
"Well perhaps my being here won't change anything." She said. "It will be like she never left!"
She could infer quite a lot about Ron and Harry by the way they looked at acted. Ron, with his shabby clothes, demeanor, personality, and manners seemed to be the Hogwarts equivalent of a peasant. Harry was a bit more difficult to place. Although considerably better dressed, he seemed to regard Ron as an equal. That rather impressed her.
She wondered what the social hierarchy was like in this place, and where Hermione Granger herself had fit into it. She thought it rude to ask outright, so she decided to play it safe.
"I feel amiss by being in a body that does not belong to me." She confided in them. "Hermione is a bit taller than I am, and… quite a bit heavier." She had only just realized that once she had gotten moving that Hermione was quite pudgy. She was clearly not an athlete. Edelgard, who prided herself on her strength, found the extra weight to be unbearable.
Ron snorted. "Are you calling Hermione fat?"
Edelgard wasn't sure what to say. "…Yes?"
Ron laughed. Edelgard, a little sheepishly, offered him a small smile.
They reached the Portrait of the Fat Lady and they explained the password system to her before entering. Edelgard stared round at the empty common room, takin in the comfortable looking chairs and warm fire. She had not wanted to admit it to herself, but the Castle seemed full of the sort of luxuries she would love to have at Garreg Mach. There was no place to sit and socialize with her classmates like this at the Monastery, aside maybe from the Classroom.
"Your Dormitory is this way." Harry said, gesturing to the stairs. Edelgard frowned.
"Dormitory?" She repeated. "You mean I have to share?"
He looked back at her. "Is that a problem?"
She had never shared a room in her life before. She shook her head, not wanting to seem ungrateful. "No, no, that's fine." She said quickly. "No, I just… don't want to deal with the other girls, that's all."
Harry and Ron looked at each other, and then nodded. "That makes sense."
"Yeah."
"So…?"
"Just go straight to bed." Harry suggested. "And then come back down when the others are getting ready. We'll come find you then. Okay?"
She grimaced, but agreed. "Very well." She said. "And thank you."
She was alone in her new body for the very first time as she climbed the stairs. She bent her head, pressing her fingers against her forehead longingly. Hubert… Hubert would look after her body, she was sure of that. She simply needed to stay out of trouble until this situation was resolved.
But how long would it be?
…
Hermione had hoped that upon waking up she would find herself back in her bed at the Dormitory, or perhaps staring up at the ceiling of the Hospital Wing. But she was not so fortunate. She found herself in Edelgard's bed, in Edelgard's room, in Edelgard's body.
Scowling, she sat up out of bed, and having nothing better to do, found herself sitting in front of the mirror, taking in her features and appearance. Whenever Hermione rolled out of bed her hair looked like a tangled mess of Devil's Snare, but Edelgard's beautiful white strands seemed to naturally fall over her shoulders. Falling in a lake had done nothing to diminish her natural beauty.
A knock came at the door. Hermione got to her feet (Edelgard's feet, She thought to herself) and stepped towards the door. She expected it to be Professor Byleth here to give her instructions.
It was not.
"Greetings." The dour looking young man at her door drawled. He was staring at her rather intently, and Hermione shirked away shyly.
"I'm sorry." She said quickly. "Ah, who are-"
"Yes." The man said, his eyes narrowed. "You certainly are not Lady Edelgard." He spoke with a pompous, arrogant voice. "I had hoped it was a prank, or some kind of bad joke."
Hermione felt herself deflate. "I see." She said. "But who are-"
"I am Hubert." He said. "Lady Edelgard's attendant. And I suppose, for the time being, yours as well." He stared at her. "But understand that I am serving you on behalf of Lady Edelgard. I imagine she does not want her body to come to harm."
"I-I can understand that." Hermione stammered. "I-I'll-" He was very intimidating. He was scaring her.
"Now." Hubert said. "I have taken the liberty of calling the other members of our house together for Breakfast. We need to discuss this as a house."
"Byleth told me to wait for him-"
"The Professor will be in attendance." He said. "Now. Dress yourself and come."
Hermione had a difficult time figuring out Edelgard's outfits. She seemed rather fond of red leggings and elaborate tops. Hubert was looking impatient by the time she finally stepped out.
"Hmph." He said, observing her. "Acceptable. But I expect you to clean yourself up eventually. I will not have your actions reflect better on Edelgard's."
"Yes sir." She said. Hubert glared at her.
"Do not call me that. I am your loyal servant."
"Yes si-" She stopped herself mid sentence. Hubert sighed, shaking his head and led her onward.
Was everyone in the Black Eagle House like this? She thought to herself as they stepped past the small dock that she had climbed out of and up the stairs to the dining hall. She was supposed to be a Princess. Would they all be so disgusted with her un princess like behavior? Would they be put off by the fact that she was not at all like their liege? The thought agitated her. She couldn't even get along with her own dorm mates and her own best friends hated her for months after they first met. There was no way she would win them over.
They entered the Dining Hall. There were small scatterings of people sitting around, pecking at food. There was, however, a small group condensed on the other side of the hall.
"There they are." Hubert told her, as they approached. "Our House."
Hermione gulped.
Being a Military Academy she had expected the vast majority of the students to be male. Edelgard, she thought, must have been in attendance primarily due to being the heir apparent to the Empire. She was a little surprised to see that there were so many girls. All were younger too, then she had thought they must be.
The blue haired boy was the first to look up at them and then jump to his feet excitedly. "Oh-" he said. "Edelgard!"
The tall girl in the hat, looked up at them. She looked somewhat upset by something or other, but she still tried to smile at Hermione. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Caspar." She said gently. "That isn't Edie… remember?"
Caspar scowled at her as she giggled, pressing a hand against her face. An orange haired youth got to his feet and strode towards them.
"I am Ferdiand Von Aegir." He said, his voice pompous and haughty. Hermione was immediately reminded of Percy Weasley. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss…"
"Sit down, Ferdinand." Hubert said dryly. "She will hopefully not be with us long."
Ferdinand gave him a look. "That is a rather rude thing to say!" He said. "We can at least make the lady feel welcome."
Hermione found herself smiling, despite herself. "Thank you." She said quietly, her voice shy. "My name is Hermione. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ferdinand."
The girl in the hat pressed her finger against her cheek thoughtfully. "You really aren't Edie, are you?" She asked. "You look just like her, but…"
"It's like something out of a book…" The small, mousy purple haired girl that had escaped her notice until now murmured. She jumped as Hermione cast a glance her way.
…
A/N
Whew! I finally finished it! It's a little bit late, and I still need to finish some other routes in Three Houses, but I did get it done. I hope that my take on all of the characters is good. Please let me know in a review what you think about where the story is going!