INFINIA

Title: Infinia

Author: AliceEnchanted

Summary: When a mysterious spell sends Hermione Granger a one-way ticket to the past, she begins to question if the past really is a nice place to visit only, and not a wonderful world to live in. Suddenly, she is spiraling into a completely new web of unfamiliar life, and she starts to wonder if being a Pureblood is all as cracked up as it seemed to be. Marauders AU

Rating: T

Pairings: [Hermione/Sirius], [Lily/James], slight [Marlene/Sirius]

PROLOGUE

So, the storm finally found me, and left me in the dark.

- Lights, Cactus in the Valley

Hogwarts Castle | September 1995

The sun has set early on the second dusk of September, and the angry grey clouds that first covered the horizon, which the wind carried over to the once peaceful skies dulled the golden hour. The autumn's icy breath froze the ground, tickling the leaves that has fallen and carrying them in its cradle. No stars twinkled as night fell nor did the moon peek behind the thick blanket of the incoming storm, hiding instead behind the darkness of the skies.

The stormy overcast loomed above the castle, washing the surroundings in angry gray color and enveloping the night in a dreary atmosphere. Flashes of lightning tore through the starless sky and roars of thunder shook the ground after every four seconds. The wind was blowing like a clangor of wails: loud, shrill and almost haunting. The trees in the forest swayed with the breeze, their thinner branches bending and foliage whipping harshly with its violent dance. A ribbon of fallen leaves flew in a swirling pattern, brushing the grassy lawn and weaving through the woods before dropping down to the frozen forest floor. It was almost a sorrowful music — the blowing of the wind — and it was only quiet for a moment as the sound left the ground and swam beneath the clouds, the dark cottons compressing even more with the cold breath touching them. It howled in the distance, lost among the chorus of thunders rolling above the grey clouds. Mist rose to the ground and rolled to the rippling waters of the large lake, lazily swamping the yards and the bare earth of the forest. Slowly, it crept up to the air before there was nothing but a thick veil of unending whiteness.

A silhouette ambled through the fog, a lamp illuminating a rough path that led to a large cabin by the mouth of the forest and slicing through the whiteness that enveloped them. Beside the figure, a black hound padded, sniffing the air every now and then, and letting out a small bark as claps of thunder pierced through the slumbering night. In the dark, the dog was almost invisible; though his eyes looked smoldering under the faint glare of the small light his companion carried. Like icy fingers of the frost, the mist slithered between their feet, barely scattering away with every step they took. Instead, it gripped their legs with phantomlike hands and condensed as they moved. A soft whine left the dog's mouth as a lightning flashed, splashing the skies with a purple glow before fading out as quickly as it came. It raised its muzzle to the sky, its beady eyes looking at the stars that stayed hidden behind the clouds. The tarpaulins that covered the vegetable beds flapped, the grass rustled, and the lamp the man was holding swung as a gale blew.

"Fang!" a deep voice bellowed, though his tone had been loud, the strong winds still muffled it, and it was only the dog's sharp senses that helped him pick up the call of his owner. "Come, boy!"

The half giant was mumbling about how the incoming storm was unexpected. The skies had been clear and bright that afternoon, so no one had really anticipated the angry weather that greeted them upon nightfall. He could not even see the moon behind all the dark clouds that hung above; Hagrid wondered if there were even stars hidden in the stormy sky. As soon as the thought left his mind, heavy rain started to pour, accompanied by lightning and thunder. The gatekeeper cursed under his breath, and hastened his steps, with Fang close on his heels and quickly opened the door of his cabin upon reaching it. He placed the lantern down the table and went to pull the curtains close.

Fang was shaking slightly as he followed him inside and started whining as he shook the water off his fur. Hagrid watched him walk — with his tail tucked between his legs — towards the fireplace and settle himself down the rug he has placed by the hearth. Not even a minute has passed when the large hound picked his head up, sniffed the air and started barking loudly, his eyes trained past his owner's hulking figure. As Hagrid turned to close the door, he thought he saw something move about the darkness and he squinted his eyes as if to take a closer look, but the rain made it hard to see, especially with the thick fog descending steadily in the ground. He soon dismissed it as a trick of the light left by the flashes of lightning and slammed the door shut.

Outside, the storm continued to rage on and the fog crept completely to veil the small house like the rest of the castle grounds. The sinister blanket hung in the air gloomily, its pale hue sinking the slumbering night further into the earth's frozen breath. Deep in the Forbidden Forest, all Centaurs but one had sought shelter from the storm, their hooves disturbing the forest floor and scattering the thick clouds that descended upon the ground. The growing thunder muffled the sound of their feet, and only their sharp senses helped them recognize the movement among them. Standing a few feet away from his bustling kin, Firenze gazed up at the dark clouds as if he could see past them and read the stars that was not there anymore.

His eyes glimmered under the dark skies, reflecting a quick gash of lightning that briefly tore through the night. A frown pulled on his lips, and with one last look on the direction where the castle stands, he galloped away to join the rest of his colony.

May the stars be more kind to you in your next adventure, child.

Inside the tower overlooking the courtyard, a clock tolled several times, the sound echoing around the room and down the halls – contesting against the angry noise of nature. The torches flickered out, leaving only a wisp of smoke rising from the upper end of the resinous woods and sinking the hallways in darkness. Even the castle's usual night lurkers made themselves scarce. The witching hour was quiet, if not eerily silent. The corridors that were usually walked by students slinking around past curfew were empty; even the portraits were behaving themselves and none of them so far has left their places to visit a friend.

The whole castle was slumbering save for two persons who were still wide-awake. One because of a heavy responsibility that would befall on one of his students and refused to leave his shoulders.

Headmaster Dumbledore stood by the window of his office, shoulders stiff and expression indiscernible. His blue eyes that normally glint with wisdom was dull and almost weary; it was as if his age was already catching up on him, though he still felt quite strong. His intelligent companion, Fawkes, was watching him from his perch, chirping now and then to pull the old man from his musings. "It's almost time, Fawkes," he whispered, his voice low but grave as if whatever was in his mind had been bothering him for a long time. Fawkes sang softly as if to console his friend and shifted slightly on his spot, eyes never leaving the back of the wizard's head.

He had always known that Voldemort never died that night, and it was stupid of him to think that it would not eventually come in to the light. He had been too negligent of the fact that he might come back anytime, and now that their waiting has robbed another life off them, he was finally beginning to see the fruits of the seed he had planted before; there had been no good in the common goal he himself established. He had been a fool for more times than he could count, which was very far from the wise wizard most of his students and their families painted him. And now, he was being a halfwit for thinking that the plan he's pulled an innocent student in would work in defeating the darkness threatening to destroy the magical world.

The wizard had worked on the plan many sleepless nights before he finally decided to set it in action. However, it was with a heavy heart and troubled mind that preyed upon him from that moment until now.

He knew that if Harry were aware of his plans, he would disagree with it and even tell him that it was not necessary, or perhaps even volunteer himself for this one-way ticket mission. While he convinced himself that it was the best plan he could put into action, the nagging feeling of guilt tearing him from the inside made breathing painful. He has already subjected the Potter heir into so much suffering, and now he is taking away from him one of the people he considered as a family.

"I know, but Harry won't have to suffer anymore after this," his voice was heavy with sadness as the words left his lips. He turned away from the window, his eyes seeking the dying embers on his fireplace. "I just hope he forgives me, that she forgives me."

The sinister music continued outside even as the lights on his quarters dimmed, the shadows of the storm swallowing the tower with hushed wails.

The flashes of lightning illuminated the sleeping quarters of the fifth year girl's dormitory inside the Gryffindor Tower, casting shadows on the corners of the room. A bushy-haired girl quietly opened the doors and tiptoed towards her bed, the soft clinking of her shoes muffled by the storm still raging outside. The night of their first weekend met a storm, which made it easier for her to pull an excuse of retiring early for the night. Her best friends didn't even cast her a second look when she excused herself shortly after the feast started, already knowing her habits of staying up late in the library studying or in her room doing some 'light reading's as she liked to call it. The truth was, however, the events of the last school year has been bothering her since last summer, and with the Headmaster's order about not contacting Harry has constantly set her on edge. Not to mention her best friend's knack for finding trouble whenever he went, Hermione was not exactly convinced that her gift year would be uneventful.

Besides, Professor Umbridge made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood on their ends whenever she is near.

Instead, she visited the library and spent most of her night there staring at the same page of the Arithmancy book she has been reading. In reality though, her thoughts had been distracting her since the moment she sat down on her usual table near the back of the library until Madame Pince shooed her out and back to their tower. She made her way back to their dormitories almost subconsciously, not even taking notice that she's already arrived by the portrait of the Fat Lady, who turned to her with raised eyebrows and a haughty huff which then pulled the brunette off her thoughts. Startled, the fifth-year was unable to speak the password for a few seconds until a snide remark from the portrait pulled a hasty mumble of Cor Fortium off her lips and prompted the student to climb inside the tower as soon as the door swung open.

Her two best friends have already retired to their own dorms by the time she came back, and their usually warm and buzzing Common Room was empty and dark. Not feeling quite tired nor sleepy yet, she took a seat by the fireplace, flicked her wand at the cold embers on the firebox and set them ablaze. She decided to finish the book she had been reading before in the library down here, since the warmth of the fire was more inviting than the comforts of her bed upstairs.

She has not been aware of the time passing, too immersed with the book that kept her late at night and the early morning, nor did she remember falling asleep from her curled position in the couch. It was only until a clap of thunder woke her up with a jump that she stood from her position, collected the books to her arms and climbed the stairs to the girls' dormitory. The fire had long gone cold, and no smoke rose from the pile of ashes it left. She slipped inside the room she shared with three other girls, careful not to drop the books as she pushed open the doors. Lightning and thunder continued to battle on the sky, and the heavy rain showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

As she made her way to her bed, a mysterious package greeted her, the glinting gold wrapping drawing her curiosity and pulling her attention away from the storm outside the windows. She looked around the room, eyes examining the closed curtains of her sleeping roommates, eyes lingering longer on the bed beside her than they did on the other two. Taking cautious steps towards her side of the room, she set down the books in her bed in favor of examining the wrapped package. She gingerly lifted it for a closer inspection; it was not signed, but there as a small note attached to it: No light, but rather darkness visible serv'd only to discover sights of woe.

Who would send her a present, she did not know; her birthday was still at least a fortnight away and she already received one from her parents. She raised the possibility of the twins pulling a prank on her, but she was certain their clever would not have been able to counter the spells placed on the stairs to the girl's dormitory; or perhaps they bribed another female student to do their dirty work instead. She laughed at the idea and dismissed it as she read the lines again.

Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace and rest can never dwell. Besides, whoever was this from quoted Milton, so it must be some muggleborn or at least someone who knows muggle literature?

Still, she could not help but wonder why they would attach such an interesting note to a gift. Casting some spells over the wrapped object to make sure it there was no curse or jinx hidden beneath the wrapping; Hermione sat on her bed and continued to stare curiously at it.

She nibbled on her lower lip, glancing at the closed windows of the room. They could not have sent it via an owl post. The strong winds and stormy sky would definitely make it hard for the little bird to travel, much less carry a heavy package, even if for a short distance. She was certain it had not been here this afternoon, so they might have placed it by nightfall. She threw one last suspicious look around the room, eyes narrowing as it fell to the parcel in her hands. 'Well, the worse it could do is kill me,' she thought to herself. With a sigh, she found herself shrugging as she tore the pretty wrapping, convincing herself that her curiosity will not pull her in any trouble this time. Unless someone has a personal vendetta against her and wanted her dead. She shook her head to push those thoughts off her mind; nimble fingers expertly opening the familiar title that peeked out from the torn paper draw an excited gasp from her. Completely forgetting her initial wariness about it, she tore the wrapping paper fully off the book and then hugged in to her chest, taking a moment to inhale the scent of the material and the thick, crispy pages sandwiched between the hardbound covers.

She traced the intricate lines carved in the book's spine, the vines reminding her of the almost same pattern in her wand. With an awed expression on her face, she opened the book and marveled at the runes written in the introduction. Her fingers hovered hesitantly above the text, almost afraid that they would vanish as soon as she touched them. She studied the ancient characters, some she was familiar with; and some she could not remember ever learning.

They seemed to emit a low hum, the sound strangely enchanting. It was as if they were singing to her, calling to her. She inspected them closer, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. None of the characters made sense to her, and while she was quick to transcribe them mentally, no word specifically made sense to her. It looked like a poem to her, or at least it was what it looked to her as they were in lines and stanzas. Perhaps it was supposed to be in another language, and not English. If so, then it was useless to give the book to her, as she did not have had the chance to learn another language other than French, nor did she remember seeing a book in the library about foreign tongue.

'Huh, what kind of poem is this?' she pulled the book closer to her face, eyes turning into slits as she peered at the characters. 'What if…?' She trailed off with pursed lips. Her thoughts spinning with questions as she stared at the page. 'An anagram?' Rummaging for a quill and a parchment paper inside her bag, Hermione quickly wrote down the first stanza and began decrypting it.

Atsin agmo eths trastgh noit

No leanad stoln ihwit hter kad sky;

He wheilt san gomon versitlisym pnyho

Danylmllude khatroenbotare reverie.

'It's definitely an anagram,' she thought to herself, the crease between her brows tightening even more. "But why in anagram?" she mumbled softly. 'It would have appealed better in Latin, or even appeared more exciting in Runes.'

Wrobehstiordo meao timetae nocnshd

Ykdeyaisla nstu tehnisto a vesirngie;

Hitnsi dorilla tyawoa adneb,

Ky hick bething I loacs khllac ydi beamvle.

Dsna hets filt foe shil eve bade hlaln air den,

Aver shehas urbe doten ith nis gathunig nag.

As soon as she finished transcribing the first page, or at least she hoped all that was written in the page, she quickly flipped the crisp leaf, expecting to find some clue or anything that would help her solve the mystery in her hands.

A blank page greeted her, the clean paper staring back almost mockingly at her.

"That's it?" she asked herself quietly, not really understanding the poem itself. "There should be more. It doesn't really make any sense," she continued whispering to herself, turning the book upside down and even looking at the margins for any footnotes, mumbling about a missing part as she did so. When she could not find anything, she flipped the page, only to cut her index finger along the sharp edge of the paper. She let out a quiet cry of pain and brought the finger to her lips, not taking notice of the drop of blood that fell on the page, exactly among the runic characters. "Ow," she sucked on the cut, tasting the coppery liquid and wincing as it touched her tongue, dropping the book to the cold floor instinctively.

The glowing page caught her attention, and her eyes widened as normal text began to materialize in the page, replacing the ancient letters as her blood seeped through the paper.

Fata viam invenient

Tempus edax rerum

Suddenly, the storm was gone as a deafening silence filled her ears, the absence of the howling wind slapping against their dormitory windows making her suddenly nervous. There was no other movement, no sound other than her slow breathing. Slowly, she felt a sudden shift in her surroundings, and she could only watch in shock and confusion as the room begin to warp in. It felt like she was dissolving with the darkness, as if someone was swirling a brush of black paint in an endless pattern. She was seeing things in a veil of water and she did not like how it felt. A jolt of magic had her panicking, but she had no time to think about what was happening as something pulled her, suspending her in the air for a moment before roughly pushing her down.

She screamed in fright as she began falling very fast, the coldness of the dark enveloping her shaking frame. Her voice was lost against the metallic screech echoing harshly on the empty space. Hermione tried desperately reaching for something, but her hand only met the even colder air. Help, she wanted to say, but her throat felt dry and her body tired as if she had been running for hours. There was a sudden stillness that she could feel her heart pound erratically against her chest and hear her blood rush to her ears.

Then there was a voice.

It was the softest yet the loudest voice she has ever heard, and it lulled her to sleep.

A witch lost, a life altered… fortuitously discovered…

Hermione fought it hard, though her eyelids were growing continuously heavier with each passing moment. …too soon unraveled… Discovered? Unraveled? Those questions ran through her mind as her eyes finally closed. Tired. She was tired.

Then:

Cast back in time the soul of the Heroine.

That was the last thing she found herself staring into darkness.

Outside, the storm dissipated as if it was never there in the first place; the dark clouds ebbing away to reveal a starry sky. The mist that was enveloping the castle grounds earlier fell softly and dissolved into the gentle evening breeze. Gone were the angry lightning and growling thunder, but strings of shooting stars illuminated the night sky instead.

Soon, one girl would awoke to the chilly gust of air flowing around their dormitory. She would close the window that has been mysteriously opened and arrange the books scattered around the floor in a neat stack, look around her slumbering friends and go back to sleep, dreaming of a happy school year with her classmates.

In the cloud around me, I don't know where you are.

Author's Note:

Hello, my lovely readers! I am so sorry it has taken me ages to update, and it is not even a new chapter! If you noticed, I am revamping Defying Gravity, which I now call Infinia! The story line would still be the same, however, I am deleting all the chapters and I will be starting from square one. I have been reading my previous work and I am not exactly happy with it so I decided it is time for an upgrade. Some of you might not want it, or maybe none of you will and I would understand if you would not want to follow the story after this.

*cries the sound of a dying whale*

In addition, work has been keeping me busy. That's why I haven't had the chance to update any of my stories and this has been sitting on my computer and saved documents for quite some time now and I thought that I should post it soon or I will forget about it.

Anyway, updates will be slow. Like very slow. I just wanted you to know that. Ugh, I hate gambling with life. It is a big cheater.

Oh! If anyone is ever interested, I made a playlist for this story on Spotify. The link is on my profile, if anyone wanted to listen to them.

'Til next time, my dearies.

xoxo, Alice

Updated: 28, May 2021