TWELVE
Saturday, 6 September 1944
In the Gryffindor Tower, the sun always filtered through the windows, illuminating the room in a golden hue. The first few rays of light were usually what woke her. She had always been a morning person anyway. Mostly due to the inability to shut her brain off and get more than a few hours sleep. Being on the run the past year hadn't helped either.
But in the Slytherin Dungeons, the sunlight never shone. It would light the water of the Black Lake, but the room was shroud in darkness. For the first time in a long time, when Hermione finally woke on Saturday, she discovered she had slept in. The charm she cast with her wand told her it was already after ten in the morning.
She leapt out of bed and cast magic on her clothes; the same ones she had had on under her borrowed robes since they'd found themselves back in time. She grabbed her bag and hurried out to the common room. Malfoy was there, huddled off to the side with Kerus, Riddle, and a few others of the inner circle. The moment he saw her, she saw a flicker of relief wash over him.
She made her way to him and stopped at his side. The others stopped their conversation. Some stared at her with animosity, wondering who she thought she might be to walk up to them without being invited to do so. A few didn't seem to care. Only Malfoy and Riddle were okay with her interruption.
"Sorry. Overslept," she mumbled, looking up at Malfoy. "We should probably get going."
"Where are you off to?" Riddle asked.
"Hopefully not the library, Draco. It's a Saturday," Kerus said, looking at them both with contempt.
"Not that it's any of your business, but we actually have a meeting with Dumbledore we need to prepare for and maybe some of us want to pass our last year and our NEWTS with more than just an acceptable grade," Hermione quipped.
Kerus' eyes flashed at her, but his lips quirked up in amusement. "Merlin," he snorted and looked at Riddle for a moment. "She's almost as bad as you are."
Riddle only glared at him for a moment before Kerus cleared his throat and looked down at the ground. "A meeting with Dumbledore?" he questioned, looking between her and Malfoy.
"Special project," she stated and looked up at Malfoy. "Ready?"
He nodded and reached for her bag. He pulled it from her shoulder and slung it over his own before reaching for her hand. "Will we see you tonight, Draco?" Riddle asked before they turned away.
"Yes," he replied tightly and nearly dragged Hermione out of the dungeons.
Once they were outside the common room, he let go of her hand, but kept the bag on his shoulder. "Sorry I overslept. I've been relying on the sun to wake me. Apparently you don't get to see the sun in the dungeons."
"Do you want to stop by the kitchens since you missed breakfast?"
She shook her head. "No. I would rather compile a list of questions and get the materials we need before we meet Dumbledore. We might not have enough time to go outside before lunch. When are you meeting them?" she asked, turning back to look at him when she realized she had gotten quite far ahead.
"After dinner."
"Okay, then tomorrow we should really try to get outside. Maybe a walk around the lake?"
"If you're trying to ask me out, I'm sure you can think of something better than a walk around the lake, Granger," he teased.
She rolled her eyes and turned her back to him again. "Well I'm going outside. The dungeons are driving me crazy." She paused before they entered the library. "Dippet did give us leave to go to Hogsmeade today."
"Yes, he also wanted a copy of our transcripts," he reminded her. "And what good would going there do? We don't have any money."
She bit her lip and sighed. "Right." She made a mental note to ask Dumbledore about their options. If he believed them, there was a chance that he could lend them some money. Possibly even help doctor up some transcripts.
They set out to gather all the books they had been looking at the past week and began compiling their lists of questions and references. It was mostly Hermione jotting things down, adding to her already pretty long parchment.
"What happened last night?" he asked, once they started putting all of the books back.
"Nothing really," she said. "Most of our discussion was assignment related. He invited me again to hang out with you, but I declined. Again."
He watched her intently. He knew that she was holding something back and after a moment of trying to pretend that she wasn't, she sighed and caved.
"And on Thursdays, while you're in Ancient Runes, we're meeting in the library to discuss our project."
His lips curled into a snarl and she rushed on before his anger burst forth.
"We'll be here with plenty of witnesses," she assured him. "He told me that he wasn't going to let me do all of the project by myself nor was he going to do it all on his own either. It will be fine."
His lips pressed into a thin line as he stared down at her. "He didn't try to get inside your head?"
"Not once," she replied. "And I'll have my book on the table in case anything happens."
"Do you have everything you need?" he asked, dropping the subject.
She nodded as she slipped the last tome into its place. She reached for her bag, but he was faster and slung it over his shoulder again. She eyed him for a moment and then turned. It was time for lunch and then soon, it would be their meeting with Dumbledore.
It had definitely been strange to see Dumbledore teaching, but it was even stranger to see him in an office that wasn't the Headmaster's. It was still uniquely Dumbledore, but it felt off. The space was smaller, but Hermione thought he had more things crammed into this room than he ever had in the Headmaster's office. She smiled over her teacup as she took a sip.
Dumbledore led the conversation for a few minutes. He asked them about their lessons and how they were getting along adjusting to the new environment. He asked if they had made friends and felt as though they were home. Malfoy spent the entire time nodding, but keeping his eyes focused on the undrunk contents of his teacup. Hermione did all of the talking.
After the conversation lapsed into silence, she took that as her cue to move past formalities and get down to the root of their problem. "Headmaster, I'm-"
"Professor," he corrected with a warm smile.
She nodded and tucked some loose curls behind her ear. "Professor, I'm not sure how much I can or should tell you about the time that we came from. Just…in my time you were heavily involved in a lot of what led us to this moment. I don't know anyone else."
He set his tea down on the desk and leaned forward, his hands tented under his nose. "I'm afraid I don't know very much on time travel. I have no first hand experience with it. I do however know a few people that might be able to help. I will owl them tonight. Perhaps they will be inclined to set up a meeting."
"That would be lovely," she said and then reached between her and Malfoy's chair for her bag. She pulled out her notes. "We did a little bit of preliminary research, but there aren't a whole lot of books in the library. There might be some in the Restricted section, but-"
A pass appeared on the desk in front of Hermione and she smiled. "This should help with that. Use it as often as you need while you are here."
"Thank you," she said, tucking it into her spelled book.
He gestured for her to continue. "What have you found so far?"
"Well, I have traveled backwards in time before, but I never went farther than a few hours at a time."
"You have?"
She nodded in earnest. "My third year. I took eleven classes. I ended up dropping Divination," she said, her lip curling just thinking about the subject. "But with special permission from the Ministry after recommendations from my head of house and yourself, they gave me a time turner."
Malfoy finally looked up, staring at her with awe. "I'd say that's pretty relevant to getting home," he said.
She shrugged and looked back at Dumbledore. "I am familiar with them."
She dug through the parchments until she came across a passage she had jotted down. "Like I said, there wasn't much, but this popped up a few times."
She pushed the parchment forward and Dumbledore peered over his spectacles to read it. "The Single Continuum Theory," he mumbled under his breath. "I am familiar with this one."
She nodded. "The name came up, but there wasn't really any definitions in the texts I found. Just references to books that the library does not have."
"Single Continuum," Dumbledore began, setting her notes down in front of him. "It states that time is linear. That we are exactly where we are supposed to be at any one given time. That no matter what we do, the past cannot be altered. The only thing that may change is the paths which we take to arrive at our predestined outcome. For instance, you have told me that I die. Should you tell me the nature of my death or the date, no matter what steps I take in effort to change the fact will be for naught. I could befriend my killer or go out of my way to never meet them, but they will still be the one to kill me."
Hermione scrambled for a blank piece of parchment and a quill, scribbling it all down furiously. "So by that theory, we were meant to come back when we did, to this time exactly because we have something to accomplish here?"
"Correct."
She tapped the feather of her quill against her chin as she thought. "How do we know what we're supposed to do?"
"Now that, Miss Granger, is one of life's age-old questions," Dumbledore said with a sad smile. "That is something I'm afraid you'll have to figure out on your own."
"So that's it?" Malfoy finally spoke, setting his tea down on the desk hard enough that it sloshed out the side. "We're just supposed to stay in this time twiddling our thumbs while Riddle-"
"If I had the answers, Mister Malfoy, I would give them to you. If it were within my power, I would absolutely send you home right this second," Dumbledore assured him. "But you were both sent here for a reason you will discover when the time is right." He looked at Hermione again. "Does Riddle accomplish what he wanted?"
"Unfortunately," she muttered. "But we almost have him defeated. We came here in the midst of battle. I'm not sure the outcome."
He nodded. "Then it goes without saying that you should watch yourself greatly. He has already done things that no wizard should ever do. It seems that both of you are aware of what he can and will do to get what he wants."
"We will be very careful," she promised.
He inclined his head and watched as she repacked her bag. "I will let you know the moment I hear from my contacts. As you know, the wizarding world is in a state of upset… It might take a bit longer for them to respond."
Malfoy looked up, puzzled, but Hermione grimaced. "Grindelwald," she said. "It will be over soon."
He stared at her for a moment, his eyes guarded. He gave a short nod and then inhaled deeply. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Yes, actually. Dippet is expecting transcripts from us or Durmstrang."
"Not a problem. I will make sure they get to him before class resumes on Monday," he said. His eyes softened as Hermione lowered her eyes and wrung her hands in her lap. "Please, Miss Granger, allow me to help you any way that I can."
"We need clothes," she blurted, unable to keep it to herself. "All of our money is tied up in the future. He cannot access the family vault without causing all sorts of uproar and I'm a Muggle-born. I have no vaults."
He smiled and waved his wand over the desk. Two satchels appeared and Hermione's eyes widened. "A hundred Galleons each." He held up his hands as her lips parted to protest. "I insist. Get what you need and keep the rest should you ever encounter something you need in the future."
"Headmaster Dippet said we could go to Hogsmeade today to get things we needed. Is it too late to do so?" she asked, throat dry from his gift.
"Just be back before curfew," he said with a smile. "Plenty of places for dinner there as well."
"Does-" Hermione stopped and pressed her lips together. She sighed and forced the question out. "Does Aberforth work at the Hog's Head?"
Dumbledore's eyes widened and a smirk tipped his lips. "You must have been very special to me, Miss Granger. Not many know of Aberforth." His eyes flickered to Malfoy.
"He… He was a great help when the time came for it."
"Do you know the full story?" he asked and she nodded. "Very special indeed," he muttered. "Yes, he does still work there. He'll keep an eye on you should you need something. I will send word."
"Thank you," she said and stood.
Malfoy shot out of his chair, inclined his head politely, and reached for her bag. "No need," Dumbledore said and waved his wand at her bag. "It will be in your dorm when you return. I would head to Hogsmeade now; enjoy the town. Curfew," he said sternly, an impish twinkle in his eye.
"Curfew," she promised and reached for the satchels. "Thank you, Professor," she added and then slipped out of his office with Malfoy.