Chapter 7: Phase One
Albus Dumbledore jumped in surprise when he felt a sudden gust of wind in his otherwise cosy office, accompanied by a strange buzzing sound that filled his head and made him think of impossibly engorged mosquitos buzzing right by his ears.
It was a sound he'd become accustomed to and he narrowed his eyes, pulling out his wand in preparation, expecting another Niffler to pop into existence on this timeline from his future self.
He had been sitting at his desk pondering whether or not he ought to make his way to the Great Hall for lunch or if he should eat in his office. Now it seemed he would have to deal with another of those blasted Nifflers bursting into existence and rampaging around his office. He grumbled under his breath in annoyance at his future self, wondering what on earth was going on in the future that he kept sending himself these sodding Nifflers.
He blinked in surprise when the fabric of the universe tore with a high pitch ripping sound akin to the sound of tearing denim, and a young woman appeared in his office. She didn't move for several long minutes and he didn't dare approach her, lest he upset some kind of post-time-travel practice. From what he could tell she was breathing heavily and when she began to sway where she stood, Albus hurried forwards, his wand still in his hand, just in case.
"Excuse me, Miss?" Albus asked politely as he moved rapidly around his desk.
"Professor?" she asked, lifting her head slowly.
The young woman blinked at him looking a little disoriented, though he noticed she had intelligent brown eyes. She clutched a purple beaded bag in her hand and had the string of it tied around her wrist as a precaution so she wouldn't lose it. Around her neck hung two long gold chains, one of which looked to have a small hour glass on it filled with sand and the other identical though it was filled with some kind of pale blue liquid.
"Professor Dumbledore?" she asked, her voice a little thick as though she was dizzy.
"Yes, that's me." He answered her, mildly alarmed that she knew his name when he'd never met her before but supposing based on her approximate age that it was reasonable he might not have met her. Especially when she'd just appeared on this timeline. "And who might you be, my dear?"
"My name is Hermione Granger, sir. I'm here from the year 1997… oh what did I do with those papers?"
Albus watched her, intrigued and concerned when she dug into the beaded bag she clutched, her entire arm disappearing inside a bag much too small to fit so much of her anatomy, before she pulled out a fistful of parchment scrolls.
"Here they are," She announced. "You asked me to give this to you. You told me you'd sent yourself things in the past, Nifflers and things…. Do you mind if I sit down? I'm terribly dizzy."
"Not at all, my dear," He said, hurrying to move forward and help her to one of the chairs in front of his desk when she stumbled slightly, realising that she clearly knew him and did not intend him harm of any kind. "Would you care for a glass of water or a spot of tea?"
He asked politely, taking the scroll of parchment she was proffering towards him.
"Water please…. Oh goodness, that was a long one." She murmured and Albus wondered silently if she travelled through time often.
Rather than asking her when she gave a little whimper and clutched her head as though it was spinning, Albus conjured her a glass of water and pressed it into her hand before rounding his desk and sitting down to read the letter to himself, wondering how on Earth his future self had just sent back a living person.
Hermione felt a little better after she drank the glass of water Dumbledore gave her. It had been a long and disorienting journey back through time, one that left her light-headed. She waited in silence for the spinning to stop while Dumbledore read the letter he'd sent to himself.
"You have travelled a long way my dear," he said finally, watching her over his half-moon spectacles. He looked exactly the same as he had almost thirty years into the future, Hermione noticed idly.
"I understand that you elected to return in time in order to persuade several individuals not to join the dark side, and to provide me with vital information to prevent many tragedies?"
"Yes Professor," Hermione confirmed, "You told me you would need to extract some information from me that you stored in my head…."
"Ah yes, would you like to do so now or wait until you are feeling a little better?"
"I feel alright Professor. I'd just forgotten that time-travel can be a little disorienting. And previously I had only used in for a time period of less than twenty four hours," Hermione assured him with a smile, "You can extract it now if you like, it might help with the headache."
"Very well, give me a moment to prepare my mind and we will begin."
Hermione waited patiently while Dumbledore got himself sorted out, before he moved around his desk and pressed his wand to his temple. He shuddered as those memories and images flickered through her mind before disappearing into his. When it was over he sat heavily beside her, looking weighed down with the information.
"Are you alright, sir?" Hermione asked kindly, feeling a little fuzzy now.
"Yes, Yes…. Just mildly disturbed by the amount of information."
"I know some of it's very sad, sir. I'm sorry. I've been sent back to help fix as much of it as I can," Hermione sympathised.
"As I understand it you intend to take a De-Aging potion and attend school again as a first year come September?"
"That's right Professor. Though in the meantime I need to organise somewhere for myself to live when I'm not attending school. Since the holidays will be vital to changing the perspective of the people I've been sent here to influence I was hoping to find a family willing to 'adopt' me….."
"I know just the couple," Dumbledore said, rubbing his temple absently "Miranda and Eugene Lyall are a young couple who have recently suffered the news of discovering they are incapable of having children. I'm sure that while they may go on to adopt other children whom they can raise as they're own, they would not object to the idea of 'adopting' you and giving you a place to live when you are away from Hogwarts."
"Are they nice people? My task here relies heavily on the concept of creating a safe, happy, loving environment for those I've been sent to befriend that will provide them an escape from their own unhappy home lives," Hermione told Professor Dumbledore seriously.
"They are some of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Eugene works for the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Magical Transport office and Miranda is a healer at St. Mungo's. Both are in their late twenties, and Eugene parent's recently passed, leaving the pair a substantial fortune. I will owl them and ask them to join us here in order to meet you," Dumbledore said, nodding to himself, "I have cautioned myself in my letter to keep the knowledge of you returning from the future very quiet, so I think it would be for the best if we were to have you take that De-Aging Potion you brought with you, in order to return you to the age of twelve as quickly as possible to allow you the time to adjust and to get you settled with the Lyalls as soon as we can."
"Before we do, I'd like to take a trip to somewhere like Diagon Alley to ensure I have everything I might need. It will be easier for me to do that while I'm still of age, rather than as a twelve year old. I have a few outfits, but I'd like to stock up just in case," Hermione said quickly, wanting to make sure she'd have a chance to get herself some knickers to fit the twelve year old version of herself rather than the seventeen year old version. She also needed some other clothing, cloaks and things that she'd given to goodwill and other such places when she'd outgrown them during her own time.
"Of course. Do you have money for such things?" Dumbledore asked seriously, a small smile on his face and that familiar twinkle in his blue eyes.
"Yes, I brought plenty with me. If you'd like to arrange to have the Lyalls visit to meet me on Monday, that will give us sufficient time to gather everything we need and to fabricate a story about where I have come from and why I need adopting. My own parents in my time were muggles, and so I think it would be wise to tell them that I am muggle-born and that my parents recently died in a car crash. We can explain that with me being magical, it's not so easy to place me in an orphanage or a foster home with muggle parents because we would have to explain to those people why I'm always going off to Hogwarts," Hermione said, her mind already spinning with the amount of information she needed to memorise.
"That's a wise idea indeed," Dumbledore replied and Hermione caught the way his hand lifted briefly to his temple as though it pained him, making her suspect that he must be suffering a headache similar to the one she'd suffered after he'd extracted those memories into himself.
"I also think I ought to take the De-Aging Potion this evening when I return from London to allow us a few days to have me adjust before meeting this couple you have in mind," Hermione said.
"An excellent idea." Dumbledore smiled. "Would you like me to accompany you to Diagon Alley Miss Granger?"
"You need not trouble yourself, sir." Hermione said "You have quite the headache after absorbing those memories and information from your future self, and I imagine you have better things to do than accompany me on a shopping trip to purchase some knickers and things."
He chuckled at her blunt honesty and nodded.
"Very well. If you require anything, send word to me immediately. I think that until you take the De-Aging potion it's very important that you do your best to avoid being seen any more than necessary and that you don't meddle too much with the way of things just yet," Dumbledore cautioned seriously.
"I agree completely. I'm sure I can escape the castle unseen. Oh, and before I forget" Hermione said, suddenly recalling the potion recipe she'd had Snape concoct for her before being sent back, "I understand that come September a dear friend of mine will be attending Hogwarts, one who suffers werewolfry."
"You are acquainted with Mr Lupin?" Dumbledore asked, surprised.
"Yes, in the future he was a teacher of mine, and a friend. Before returning, I had a Potions Master provide me a copy of a potion that has yet to be invented here, that allows for individuals suffering the werewolf curse to retain their minds during the transformation. It does nothing for the pain, and I've been told it tastes positively disgusting, but it does allow the person to curl up as a harmless wolf to wait out the full moon, rather than losing their minds and their humanity to the curse. I thought that if there was some way the school could provide it to Remus it would make his time here easier on everyone, especially on him."
"How will that effect the timeline of events?" Dumbledore asked, looking curious as he reached for the scrap of paper with the recipe written on it in Snape's cramped, spiky handwriting.
"I've been considering that. It is likely that Remus will befriend James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew during his time at Hogwarts, all of whom will eventually learn of his curse. In my time the three boys managed to become unregistered Animagi during their fifth year and spent the remainder of their schooling sneaking around on the full moon, breaking Remus loose of the Shrieking Shack and running around the grounds and Hogsmeade every month. I think that as long as Remus still has to spend the evenings of the full moon in the Shrieking Shack, what with still having to suffer the painful transformation, they will still become Animagi to assist him. The only other real change it might have is to allow Remus to feel a little less like a monster."
Dumbledore pondered it for a moment, reading over the recipe carefully.
"Very well. We will brew this potion for Remus every month. I understand from this parchment that it must be consumed in the lead up to the full moon every evening?"
"That's right," Hermione nodded "Obviously it will have to be kept a secret, otherwise the information might get out and the potion won't be properly accredited to the inventor. But I think that since it won't harm anyone and will only be being given to Remus, it will be easy enough to keep a secret. Especially if you tell him that he mustn't mention it to anyone."
"You truly are a very bright witch, Miss Granger." Dumbledore said then, smiling widely now with delight at the prospect of allowing Remus to take the potion and thereby improving his life monumentally.
"Thank you sir," Hermione blushed, "I'd best get off to Diagon Alley and get my supplies. Is there somewhere here that I can stay until I meet the Lyalls on Monday?"
"I think the Hospital Wing might be the easiest choice, Miss Granger. That way we can keep your presence a secret a little longer, and if there are any complications with the potion, or any latent issues that arise after such a long journey through time, our matron, Madame Pomfrey will be able to tend to you," He suggested wisely.
Hermione nodded in agreement, getting to her feet and ignoring the niggling feeling of light-headedness that plagued her for a moment at the sudden change in altitude. She made her way hurriedly out of the castle being sure to keep from being seen whenever she could and apparating away the minute she was outside the gates of the school. She landed with a crack in one of the upstairs rooms at The Leaky Cauldron before hurrying down into the pub and into Diagon Alley.
Her first stop was to collect all the Hogwarts first year textbooks again, followed by a stop at the clothing store where she purchased several different outfits, enough knickers to last her a month without doing laundry and all the other knickknacks she could think of. She chose to ignore the way the sales assistant in the clothing store eyed the oversized blouse she'd taken from Snape with distaste, preferring to revel in the feel of the fabric against her skin.
As she shopped, Hermione did what she could to avoid having to think too hard about the fact that it had worked. She had left everything behind to come here, and Hermione was nervous about how it would all go for her. What if she couldn't sway the lives of those she'd been sent here to save? What if she couldn't get Snape to be her friend in this time? What if the people Dumbledore wanted her to meet weren't what she needed in a family outside of Hogwarts in order to effectively provide a happier environment than what the people she hoped to befriend would require.
She tried not to think about the fact that she was already missing Harry, Ron and Ginny. That she missed walking the alley with them by her side. That she missed her parents and the security they'd provided her. It didn't help very much, but she tried not to just the same.
She was surprised when she didn't see anyone she knew, and yet entirely unsurprised at the same time. She had hoped she might run into a young Remus or James, a young Lily. Maybe even a young Snape. But she didn't. She didn't recognise a single face in the crowds of Diagon Alley and when Hermione left, returning to Hogwarts, she felt even sadder to know that she was, for the very first time in her life, utterly alone.
"Your excursion went well, I trust?" Dumbledore asked her when Hermione re-joined him in his office later that afternoon.
"It was uneventful, Professor," Hermione admitted, the toll of traveling so far back in time had begun to take their toll on her and she felt as though she needed a long sleep.
"You seem troubled, Miss Granger," he commented when she didn't elaborate.
"Just tired, sir. Tired and saddened to realise just how much I've given up to return here to complete this task. I find myself despairing over the loss of any kind of friendship or support system that I previously knew," Hermione admitted, slumping a little in the chair in front of his desk.
"You are not without support, Miss Granger. Should you ever require anything I am at your disposal. You need only come to me and I will do whatever is in my power to assist you, my dear. You have made a great sacrifice to the Greater Good of the wizarding world today, and for that I will always be eternally grateful. Others may not know to express their gratitude to you for your act, Miss Granger, but you must seek it out in other ways. In the survival of a friend who might otherwise have perished, in the happiness of a person destined for a life of bitterness without your intervention. These are the things you must accept as the small victories that contribute to the overall satisfaction of your successful mission here."
Hermione smiled sadly as the headmaster's words, but in that moment she was too wrung out to really muster any enthusiasm for her mission. Mostly she wanted to go to bed and maybe wake up tomorrow to it all being a crazy dream.
"Perhaps you ought to take your potion and then we can get you a bed. You look exhausted, my dear." Dumbledore suggested when she didn't say anything and continued to look wistful.
Hermione nodded her agreement before she began digging about in the beaded bag she carried until she located the De-Aging potion she'd been given by Dumbledore from the future she'd left behind. She stood up and moved to the middle of the room in order to take the potion, just in case there were any ill effects. With a nod at the headmaster, Hermione unstoppered the phial and swallowed down the contents of the potion, gagging at the bad taste of it, and clutching her throat as the potion began its work immediately.
The transition back to being a twelve year old was painful, like growing pains in reverse, and Hermione could feel herself shrinking. Her arms, legs and torso shortened. Her curves melted away, she height lowered until she was suddenly four foot six again and had to look up to look the Headmaster in the eyes, She felt very strange in her body now, as though it no longer fit when she was used to having so much more room. The bra wrapped around her torso where her breasts used to be hung in a way that was irritating and uncomfortable.
The shirt she wore that Snape had given her was now like a dress on her and almost reached her knees. Her slacks had slipped down her legs to puddle at her feet, no longer clinging to her frame now that she was a scrawny twelve year old once more.
"How do you feel?" Dumbledore asked her, smiling at her as though he thought her rather adorable returned to such a younger age and smaller stature.
"Cramped, like there's not enough room in my body for my soul anymore," Hermione admitted.
"It will pass," he assured her, "That is a common complaint of people who use De-Aging Potions. It will probably take a day or two for you to adjust, but you'll get used to it, I assure you."
"I hope so," Hermione said, wriggling a little, "I suppose I should try to get some sleep."
"Indeed. If you would like to change into some clothing that better fits you, I will escort you to the Hospital Wing. We'll tell Poppy you're the daughter of some family friends and have been placed in my care until your guardians can be notified after the death of your parents. If you go on through that door there, you'll have some privacy to change."
He pointed to a door along the wall to her left and Hermione nodded, going over to it and stepping inside, noting that it was a luxurious bathroom. Once there she quickly stripped out of the clothes that were too big for her, folding them all and putting them back in her beaded bag. She pulled out some fresh-bought pyjamas and a sports-style bra that better fitted her twelve year old body, donning them quickly before she went to a mirror on the wall and studying her reflection.
It was mildly unnerving to see herself. The height she had gained was gone, and she had to stand on her toes to see more of her body. The curves she had developed were long gone, leaving a straight up and done torso with protruding ribs in their place. Her chest was flat too, but for the tiniest lumps that she's have more cleavage from mosquito bites. The only mercy was that her curls were still tamed, though she could just tell her hair was going to be more prone to frizzing than she'd become accustomed to. She was grateful that she at least got to keep her mental age, allowing her to recall the spells and tricks she'd learned for taming the beast that was her hair. Her teeth too stayed at their altered state, though Hermione couldn't help but chuckle when she counted them and realise her twelve-year old molars had shrunk back into her jaw once more, as had the two wisdom teeth she'd had come through.
All in all, Hermione knew she would need to take some time to get used to being this size once more, and to seeing herself looking this young again. She supposed though, that this would at least make it easier to befriend the child Snape whom she expected to meet come September. As she looked at herself one last time before re-joining Dumbledore and allowing him to escort her to the Hospital wing, Hermione found herself hoping that it was all going to be worth it.