A/N: Next chapter and I feel like it's a supersized! I would like to take this time to address something mentioned in a review! It was mentioned that the corridor was forbidden in Hermione's first year due to fluffy. Do not worry or over think about it! It does come into play later on, I made it that room for a reason so don't fret! I would also like to say thank you for the reviews so far and ask, that if you're so inclined, please leave more! They really do motivate and encourage! Thank you!
Hermione's eyes opened slowly. They adjusted to of onslaught of light coming through the window to her left. For a moment, Hermione thought she was waking up in her dorm. She half expected to sit up and see the other 4 beds adorned with Gryffindor red curtains. It was then she noticed that she wasn't surrounded by those curtains. The events of yesterday came crashing back and she sighed.
She got up and walked over to the small bathroom attached to the room. She paused to summon her toothbrush and paste out of her bag. Once she was done in the bathroom she went back to her bag and summoned some of her casual clothing. She went to start getting dressed but she had a thought. These clothes would look out of place in this time.
She laid out each piece of clothing and got to work transfiguring them into something more appropriate. She started with her socks. She waved her wand several times, first lengthening them then changing their colour before joining them together. She held them up for inspection and was happy with her makeshift tights.
Hermione then set to work on her pants. They were classic plain yoga pants. These would be simpler to make appropriate. She waved her wand again, unweaving the inseam and connecting both sides then slightly shortening is so the skirt fell to just under her knees.
Her eyes fell to her shirt and she was relieved she wouldn't have to transfigure her top, having been fairly conservative already, it was a long sleeve white shirt. She got dressed and put in her school shoes, fitting in the time period as well. She looked herself over in the mirror and frowned at her hair. The outfit looked a bit mad with her wild curls. She made a mental note to get some potion ingredients so calm her hair down as she wasn't sure is sleekeazy had been invented as of yet. She settled on braiding her hair and securing it with an elastic for now to calm it down. With one more look, she nodded and acceptance, grabbed her bag and cloak before heading to meet Dumbledore in his office.
Hermione didn't see a student on her way and she thought it odd. She wasn't expecting loads of students mind you, it was a Sunday morning, but she thought she'd see at least one. She rounded on the office door and knocked on the large wooden door. She immediately heard Dumbledore call for her to come in so she did.
She walked quickly up the line of desks to meet him. He smiled at her in greeting, "Are you ready to go Miss Granger?" She nodded in affirmative and followed him out of the office and down to the front of the school. Outside a carriage was just pulling up, not unlike a Hogsmeade weekend. He noticed her looking at the carriage, "I arranged to have one take up to the village to make the trip easier." She nodded again, agreeing that it would and walked towards it.
She reached her hand out to stroke the Thestral on the nose, at first it seemed surprised but quickly nuzzled into her hand. She figured that not many people in this time could seem them, let alone pay attention to the frightening yet beautiful creatures. As she stroked its nose she missed the shocked and sad look the professor sent her because of her actions. He knew, of course, that you had to have seen death in order to see them. He was true to his word and only read the letter addressed to him last night but it didn't stop him from being curious about the young girl.
Both climbed into the carriage and it took off as soon as Dumbledore sat down. The rode was smooth with minimal bumping. Dumbledore took out a list of supplies and copied it. He gave one of the papers to Hermione to look over.
Dumbledore addressed her, "These are the items that are needed for the school year. I know you will probably need to gather a few more essentials as well." When she nodded in agreement he went one, "once we get there I say we go to each store and cross items off as we get them as not to forget anything." She smiled and nodded again. Dumbledore planned just as she did and she felt a small piece of her brain relax.
The carriage came to a stop and both exited. Hermione took in the village of this time. Not much has changed but yet it had an entirely different feel. She didn't have much time to sightsee and Dumbledore was already walking towards the first shop.
This shop happened to be the clothing shop. She had caught up to Dumbledore and entered just behind him. Inside the shop looked like most clothing shops did, men's clothing on one side and women's in the other. Uniforms looked to have a place along the back walls on their own. Dumbledore approached the front till and got the attention of an older female. He seemed to know her as she smiled at seeing it was him and launched into a conversation, seemingly to catch up. Hermione took this chance to walk around the women's section to select a few casual pieces. She noticed a distinct lack of pants which frustrated her. She grabbed a few skirts and pairs of tights along with matching shirts. She looked over towards Dumbledore who was still in conversation with the woman. She grabbed some underthings at the same time, never can have enough.
Dumbledore waved her over and introduced Hermione to the woman, "Miss Granger this is Mrs. Tatters. Emilia this is our new student she is in need of a complete set of Slytherin school robes."
The woman smiled at Hermione, "Now Miss Granger leave those items on the desk I'll take you back to get your measurements." Hermione followed the lady, which frankly, reminded her of a duller Professor Trelawney, which by regular standards was still quite eccentric.
She stood on the small raised platform as the witch waved her wand and the measuring tape flew towards her at rapid speed. It was over in a matter of moments. She stepped down and followed the woman back to the desk. The witch rang everything in and announce the total, "that will be a total of 5 galleons and 5 sickles" Hermione looked surprised, to the witch she must have thought the total seemed high but Hermione couldn't get over how little she spent vs how much she got. She opened her bag and handed the money to the witch gleefully. The witch bagged the casual items and told they could come back for the uniforms in an hour. With a wave goodbye, Dumbledore and Hermione exited the shop and walked next door.
Hermione walked in and stopped, it was the bookshop. Hermione had to take a few calming breaths. She had to remind herself that she needed to get her school books first, no matter how many other books were drawing her in.
As it turns out, in this time, the bookstore sold all the textbooks on the list in a bundle. As Hermione handed over the Galleons and took the large box of books, quills, and parchment she smiled. It wasn't recreational reading but they were still new books. Hermione didn't leave without any light reading material, however, as she walked out and placed her purchases into her bag she gleefully packed her new copy of Hogwarts a history- 1940 edition. Dumbledore told her about Bathilda Bagshot and Hermione felt she could listen to him all day. History was coming alive for her and she almost forgot why she was here in the first place.
Across the lane, held the apothecary. They walked in and just like the bookshop the required ingredients in a bundle. She also remembered to grab the items for her hair. AS she looked around she also spotted some of the items needed to polyjuice and decided on a whim to also grab them. She had saved a lot of money on her purchases and knew it just may come in handy in the future. She handed her money over and chuckled inside her head that yes technically would come in handy in the future but not for 50 years.
She looked at her list and all the items she checked off. She had gotten everything she needed but still needed to wait for her uniform. She and Dumbledore decided to head to the three broomsticks for a quick lunch.
They walked in and seated themselves. Hermione looked around and smiled, nothing had changed here at all. A woman walked towards their table and loudly greeted Dumbledore.
Dumbledore smiled, "Hello Madam Rosmerta, this is my new ward, Miss Granger. Hermione this is Madam Ella Rosmerta she owns the tavern"
Hermione looked her over, this must have been her times Rosmerta's mom. She nodded in hello. They ordered food and sat in comfortable silence until Dumbledore asked, "Miss Granger, how are you feeling?"
Hermione sighed, "This morning I forgot for a second. I woke up and when I remembered I couldn't feel anything either way. I had talked myself into doing what needs to be done last night but it doesn't make it any less a daunting task I suppose."
Dumbledore nodded in understanding, "Well if I know myself, and I think I do" He paused for a chuckle, "I wouldn't have sent you if I didn't think you could handle it."
Hermione smiled and say a quiet thank you. She was thinking, however, that she wasn't sent. She was cleaning and things just happened. She internalized it however, she needed Dumbledore to believe in her, and she needed someone to believe she could do this.
Their food came and they ate, passing the time with surface chit-chat, not wanting to get too deep in public. Once done the walked back to the clothing shop to pick up her uniform. Once done and all her purchases safely tucked into her beaded bag, they got back into the carriage and made their way up to the castle.
Dumbledore spoke as they rode, "Miss Granger, would you like to go to your house dorm today or stay in the same room until Monday night?"
Hermione thought about it. She decided she wanted to stay in the private room for the night, it gave her a chance to sort through her items and create a plan for the school year. She told this to Dumbledore who nodded in agreement.
"In the morning Dippet will introduce you to the school and you can start staying with your house from then on" Dumbledore informed her.
She nodded just as the carriage came to a stop. They both got out and walked back into the castle. This time however it was well past noon and there was a small scattering of students around the castle. They looked at Hermione with curiosity as she walked with Dumbledore back up to the third floor. He bade her goodbye until tomorrow and Hermione walked into her room, closing the door behind her.
Hermione let out a large sigh. She took her cloak off and fell backward on to her bed. She laid there for several minutes just decompressing from the outing. She was not a fan of shopping no matter the era.
Hermione set out to work. She unpacked all her new items and sorted them. She got her uniform ready for the next day and set to opening and reading her new textbooks.
Hermione lost track of time. The pop of the house elves sending dinner to her room jarred her out of her book. She was pleased to find out that she wasn't going to be missing any lessons as they seemed to be learning things that she learned mostly in third and fourth year. It was an odd feeling for Hermione, not worrying about the upcoming year's lessons. She actually felt totally confident going into lessons. She thought about it and she supposed it was a good thing, she would have time to devote to her task.
Hermione ate quickly, still reading from her books. Once done, the plates disappeared as quickly as they appeared. Hermione looked outside and noticed how dark it was. She walked over to the window and gazed out, completely tranquil. The lake completely still. With a heavy sigh, she turned around and made sure everything was set for the morning before changing into her sleeping clothes and getting under the covers. As Hermione drifted off to sleep she couldn't help but wonder what else could happen.
Hermione opened her eyes in the morning. It was the second time she had woken up in this room but this time it wasn't the sun that woke her up. She looked out the window and noticed it was still dark. She signed and swung her legs out of bed. She shed her sleeping clothes and took a quick shower. Once done that she got ready for the day. She dressed in her uniform and made sure she had everything she would need for the day in her book bag. She again thanked herself for remembering to place basics in her expanded bag. Of course, basics to Hermione was an extensive assortment of items needed in random scenarios.
Once she was sure she was all packed up, she placed the bag into her school bag and headed to meet with Dumbledore. He met her at the staircase this time and they walked towards the great hall together.
Once at the large doors, Dumbledore looked down at her. A silent question in his eyes. She took a deep breath and nodded. With a small smile, he opened the doors and she followed him in.
The great hall wasn't full but a good number of students witnessed her entrance. She tried not to pay any attention to the stares as she followed Dumbledore to the front of the hall towards Professor Dippet.
They reached the table and Hermione greeted the Professor. He smiled in return before standing up. Dumbledore gave her one last encouraging nod before circling the table and taking his seat beside Professor Dippet.
Dippet cleared his throat before raising his wand, making his voice louder, "Good morning students! You may be wondering who this lovely lady beside me is. This is Miss Hermione Granger. She is a transfer student and has been sorted into Slytherin house. I trust you all to make her feel welcome and help her out as the upstanding Hogwarts students I know you to be!" He lowered his wand and sent her another encouraging smile towards her and sat down and she walked towards the sea of green and sneers.
As she sat down it took all of two minutes before she felt someone slide beside her. She didn't look up right away as she was buttering her toast. The person beside her cleared their throat.
They opened their mouth and Hermione's blood ran cold.
"Good morning, my name is Tom Riddle."