V. She's the Mystery Woman
September 6, 1975; Saturday
Hermione
Hermione stared at the broken form of Sirius Black for a moment, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. When he had initially seen the body, he expected it to be Pettigrew, or a helpless first year. Never did it cross his mind that it could've been him.
Why?
Because he's Sirius Black, Gryffindor's resident—dare he say it?—bad-ass. As much as Hermione didn't want to compliment Sirius, he was rather adept at DADA and at Charms. If Hermione was able to drive all of them off, why couldn't he?
"Black," Hermione called out to Sirius, giving him a slight shake. When he didn't stir, Hermione pointed his wand at him. "Ennervate."
Sirius gave a barely discernible groan, raised his head by a fraction, then slumped back into a dead faint. Hermione looked at him worriedly. What could have caused him to suffer from extreme magical exhaustion?
Better bring him to the Infirmary.
He levitated Sirius and started to make his way to the Hospital Wing when he saw Goyle still sprawled on the floor. He looked at him in disgust before shaking his head and levitating him as well. Hermione was quite sure that if it were the other way around, Goyle would have left him on the floor.
Curse his Gryffindor tendencies.
He imagined what Ron would say when he found out:
"Bloody hell, 'Mione! Just leave him there! He deserves it!"
She'd reply, "Language, Ron! Besides, it's just wrong to leave him here!"
"But 'Mione!" he'd whine. "He's a Slytherin."
"Honestly, Ronald! Your house prejudice is going too far!"
Hermione smiled wistfully as he remembered Ron. They always did love bickering with each other. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he rather enjoyed their verbal sparring; though they would always end up ignoring each other after their fight. Then Harry would try to get them talking. He'd speak about random topics, mixing Quidditch and their Transfiguration Essay together, just to draw them into a conversation. Ginny would roll her eyes and laugh at his attempt, telling him that there was no hope for the "old married, couple" to start talking any time soon. That comment would start a whole new argument for him and Ron.
He sighed, wondering when he'd be able to go back to the future.
Or get my gender back, for that matter. He thought with a grimace. Hermione did not want to be known as the "Brightest Wizard of His Age".
"Goodness! Not again!" a frantic Madam Pomfrey clad in her sleeping attire greeted him as he entered the Hospital Wing.
Hermione dropped the two of them into separate beds and slumped down onto the seat next to where Sirius lay. He watched Madam Pomfrey 'tsk' and 'tut' at Sirius' state and proceed to change him into his hospital robes.
"What did you mean by 'not again', Ma'am?" he asked after she finished dressing him.
"Oh, it's just this whole Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry, dear. Happens all the time." She said dismissively. Hermione had the idea that that wasn't what she meant by 'not again', but he knew better than to pry.
"Well, you best go back to bed, dear, you've done enough for tonight." Madam Pomfrey gave him a small smile.
"No, it's okay." Hermione said quickly. "I can help, Ma'am." The thought of going back to the Gryffindor Tower and staying in the same room with the rest of the Marauders was not appealing to him at all. Aside from the fact that they greatly dislike him and made his life a living hell, seeing them happy together seemed to hammer in the fact that he was truly alone in this time period, and made him realize just how much he missed Ron and Harry.
Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and scrutinized him for a moment before sighing and relenting. "Take this," she handed him a basin and wash cloth. "And go clean up the blood on Mr. Black's face. If he ever wakes up, call me at once. I have to ask Professor Slughorn for some more bruise salve and pepper-up potion. You can use the floo." She pointed to the fireplace, then turned around and walked briskly out of the room.
Hermione went about his task eagerly, happy for the distraction. He took a seat at the edge of the bed and brushed away the hair from his patient's face. He grimaced at what he saw.
There was a bruise forming on his right eye, and his lip was split. He had a huge bump on his forehead and both of his cheeks were littered with cuts and scratches. It wasn't anything serious that Madam Pomfrey couldn't fix, but it looked painful.
He took the cloth, squeezed out the excess water and gingerly patted it on Sirius' face. Hermione still couldn't understand why he wasn't able to take all of them on. Two of them—Crabbe and Goyle—probably didn't even know how to use their wands, and Parkinson and Avery were rather clumsy. Nott was probably the only one who would pose as a challenge.
Hermione placed the cloth back into the basin when he finished wiping the blood off. He then sat on the chair by Sirius' side and stared at him; it was the first time he had an opportunity to do so. His skin was still pale, like it still would be twenty years from now, but it wasn't waxy. His hair was always neat and tidy, even after he had been ambushed by Slytherins. It was a great contrast to the usually unkempt hair and unshaven face Hermione had gotten used to over the summer. His body was toned, a far cry from the skinny form he was left with after Azkaban. His face wasn't gaunt or haunted-looking, and his expression wasn't set into a permanent mask of sullenness.
It then occurred to Hermione that he had never actually seen Sirius' grin become full-blown or his smile ever reach his eyes. There were times—especially when Harry was there—that Sirius allowed himself to laugh, but Azkaban had already left him scarred.
He didn't know how much change Sirius had undergone until he saw him in this time. Hermione thought Remus had been exaggerating when he said that the girls used to flock around Sirius. But that was probably an understatement.
In the looks department, Sirius Black was most definitely not lacking.
He was still a bloody prick, but he was a very handsome prick.
Hermione's musings were cut short when he heard a moan coming from Sirius' direction.
"Black, I'm going to go call Madam Pomfrey, okay?"
Sirius' only response was another groan. Hermione shrugged and made his way to the fireplace. He threw some floo powder and said. "Hogwarts, Potions Classroom!" Dizziness swept over him after poking his head through the fireplace.
"My dear boy—erm—girl!" Slughorn quickly corrected himself. "Was there anything you needed?"
"Good evening, sir." Hermione replied after the initial nausea had passed. "Is Madame Pomfrey there? Her patient just woke up."
"Alas! You just missed her. Fret not, though, my child. She's on her way there."
"Thank you, sir. Good night." Hermione cut the floo connection and made his way to where Sirius lay. "Well, Black, Madam Pomfrey's on her way, so just stay there. I know you probably hurt all over, but you just hang in there okay?"
There was no response from Sirius, and he kept his back turned on him. Hermione blew hair from his face and rolled his eyes at him. A whimper from Sirius caught his attention.
"Black?"
Another whimper.
Hermione stood up and leaned towards Sirius. "Black? Are you all right?""
No response.
"Black?" Hermione made the mistake of grabbing his shoulders.
All hell broke loose.
Though that wasn't the only thing that got broken.
Hermione clutched his bleeding nose as he attempted to stop Sirius from thrashing on his bed. It was as if he was being hit by the Cruciatus, or his mind was being invaded by Voldemort. Harry had similar attacks. But Hermione knew it couldn't be either of them.
"Black!" he hissed at him as he tightened his grip on Sirius' wrists, trying to pin him to the bed to stop him from lashing out. To his utter surprise, he found Sirius' eyes closed.
He wasn't hallucinating; he was dreaming.
Sirius shifted in bed and this time, his foot collided with Hermione's lip, causing him to fall flat on his back. As Hermione staggered to an upright position, Sirius let out a scream. He ran over to him quickly and began shaking him. Sirius needed to wake up from whatever nightmare was going on in his mind.
"Black!"
More screaming.
"Black!"
More thrashing.
"Sirius!" Hermione shouted desperately. To his surprise, Sirius' eyes snapped open.
Sirius
Memories of what had happened the previous summer had been manifesting themselves in his dreams lately and, try as he might, he could not stop himself from screaming whenever he relived them in the dreamworld.
His vision was blurry as he awoke, and his breathing was shallow. He couldn't stop the sob that tore from his throat. It had been horrible. Last summer was, perhaps the worst months of his life. The only way he survived was getting letters of encouragement from James, Remus and Peter.
"Sirius?" a voice spoke hesitantly.
His head snapped up and his eyes stormy grey eyes met warm brown ones.
Oh my wizard god! This is so embarrassing! I didn't know there was somebody else in this room but me.
He quickly looked down and scrubbed his tears away. The voice was familiar, as was the pair of eyes, but he couldn't put his finger on who it was.
A hand touched his shoulder and he glanced back up to meet the same eyes. The other hand came up and brushed his tears away.
"It's okay to cry." The voice said softly. Sirius couldn't even identify if the speaker was a girl or a guy. In the end, he concluded that the speaker was a girl; no guy could have had hands as soft as hers.
"You should go back to sleep." She said. He allowed her to push him back to the bed and tuck him in. He had closed his eyes at this point. His right eye had the makings of a blackeye and his body hurt all over. A tear escaped his eye, and the warm hand wiped it away.
"You'll be all right." She whispered. "We've got you." She continued caressing his head like a mother did to a child. He found himself leaning to her touch. Mrs. Potter always did that for him whenever he was around.
"Oh, Madam Pomfrey's here. I should go." Sirius could hear rustling of clothes, and the warm hand disappeared. His own hand immediately shot out and tried to grab for her hand.
"Please…stay…." he croaked. Sirius didn't care if he sounded pathetic and needy; he only knew he needed the comfort at the moment.
"Okay, okay, Sirius." The hand returned and continued to stroke his hairline.
"Drink this, Mr. Black." Another voice entered the conversation. He reckoned it was Madam Pomfrey. A vial was pressed to his lips and cool liquid washed into his mouth. "You're supposed to swallow it, Mr. Black." She said wryly, and he complied.
He suddenly felt very sleepy. He felt himself calm, and his breathing even out. The last thing he remembered before falling asleep was the gentle touch at his forehead by the still unknown girl.
Hermione
Sirius was probably not lucid and could not even form a coherent thought. Why else would he ask him to stay? Hermione stopped stroking Sirius as soon as he was sure he was asleep.
"My dear, what happened to your face?" Madam Pomfrey asked in concern.
That was then he remembered his broken nose and split lip. "Sirius happened to it." He grimaced.
She pulled out her wand and healed his nose and his lip. "There, all better." She smiled. "You should probably go to sleep now, Mr. Chronos. You have class tomorrow."
Hermione glanced back at Sirius and remembered his words.
Please…stay…
"Maybe I should stay with Sirius, Ma'am. He sounded really lonely a while ago, and I think he needs some reassurance of some sort…" he trailed off when he saw tears on her eyes. "A-are you all right, Madam Pomfrey?"
She chuckled. "Yes, dear. It's just that…never mind." She gave him a smile. "You can stay on the bed beside his. He's out like a light, and I suggest you follow his footsteps."
"Yes, ma'am." Hermione grinned and flopped onto the bed she was pointing at. In a few minutes, he fell asleep.
September 7, 1975; Sunday
"Is Sirius going to be all right, Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione asked the matron before heading to breakfast. Madam Pomfrey had brought him a uniform and ordered him to the showers upon waking up.
"He'll be fine, dear."
"Can I ask a favor ma'am? Can you…not tell Sirius it was me who stayed with him last night?"
"Whyever not?" she raised an eyebrow.
Hermione sighed. "He—I—we aren't really that fond of each other."
"I see." She replied. "Very well, I won't tell him. Now you go off to breakfast, or I'll have you bedridden for a week."
It proved to be a very effective threat, seeing how Hermione all but ran out the Hospital Wing and into the Great Hall. As soon as his foot entered the premises, something red appeared out of nowhere and hugged him rather fiercely.
Looking down, he realized it was Lily. "Hey, what's up?"
"What's up? Is that all you can say after disappearing?" Lily placed both her hands on her hips in a gesture that was so reminiscent of Mrs. Weasley.
"I didn't 'disappear'. I was at the Hospital Wing." He replied simply.
"What happened to you?" she asked rather worriedly.
Hermione scanned the hall and saw James and to his surprise, Remus glaring daggers at him. Peter just looked confused.
"Got a broken nose." He answered shortly. "C'mon, I'm starving."
Lily, thankfully, dropped the subject and chattered on about Transfiguration, Potions, and just how much she hated James Potter.
"Merlin! Did you know he asked me out again? Can't he take a hint? Doesn't he know how annoying—what are you smiling about?" she asked irately.
Hermione tried, and failed to hide a grin. "Sounds to me like someone's got a crush." He watched gleefully as Lily spluttered in indignation.
"Excuse me?" she said, absolutely outraged.
"I mean, it's pretty obvious. You always talk about him."
"I do not fancy James Potter!" she cried.
Hermione threw his head back and laughed. "Relax. I'm just pushing your buttons, Lily."
"You're mean." She stuck her tongue out at him. He merely chuckled, and Lily started to talk about her hometown, carefully avoiding the topic of James Potter.
Hermione chanced a glance at the Marauders, and they were still giving him a death glare. He wondered what he could've done this time to make even Remus hostile. He focused his attention back to Lily, who was telling the story of her first displays of accidental magic.
"I always levitated off the ground when I was little." She said. "I wish I could still do it till now."
"That's an impressive case of accidental magic." Hermione mused. "The first time I did it, I kept turning all our faucets on and off."
Lily laughed. "That must've been annoying for your parents."
"I imagine it must have." He agreed. "Well, I have to go to the dormitory. I have to read that Charms text Professor Flitwick assigned."
"Okay. It's basic stuff, though. See you later, Daniel."
"I'll see you later, Lily." And with that, Hermione dashed out of the room. He felt increasingly uncomfortable with the looks James and Remus have been sending him. A few minutes after reaching the abandoned Transfiguration corridor, the rest of the Marauders cornered him.
"Morning." He drawled. "Was there anything you needed?"
"Stop playing dumb, Chronos." James spat. "What did you do to Sirius?"
"Excuse me?"
Remus leveled his wand at Hermione's chest. "We know you did something to him. Now tell us. What. Did. You. Do."
"I didn't do anything to him." He sneered at them.
"So you're telling me," Remus continued on calmly. "That Sirius just happened to disappear at the same time you were missing?"
"Wha—You guys don't know where Si—Black is?"
"Aha! So you do know where he is." James said in triumph.
"Of course I do. Any idiot would have thought to look for him there first." The brunette rolled his eyes. "He's at the Infirmary."
"You attacked him?" Remus accused.
Hermione looked at his future-DADA-professor. What was wrong with him? How could he accuse him of doing anything of that sort to Sirius? They didn't like each other, but really, was he that stupid to think he ambushed Sirius?
"I did not attack him. I didn't do anything to him." He gritted his teeth. "If you want to know what happened, I suggest you ask the Slytherins."
"So you attacked him with them?" James asked.
"Oh my god, Potter! Are you really as moronic as you sound?" Hermione couldn't stop himself from saying. "I didn't attack your boyfriend, I didn't ambush him, and I did not injure him! What part of that is so difficult to understand?"
Remus looked uncertain at this point. "James, maybe we should go check on Sirius first. Maybe then, he can explain to us what happened."
"No, Remus. I'm sure this pathetic little house traitor had something to do with it." And James raised his wand.
"I see, now." Hermione said quietly.
"See what?"
"You're just looking for an excuse to hex me; not that you needed that before."
"What?"
Hermione growled at him. "You've hated me the moment I befriended Lily. You became more vicious in pranking me whenever you see us together. You," he pointed at him. "are jealous of me and Lily. And you need an outlet to your emotions. You want to hit me, but have not yet found a decent excuse to do so…until now."
"I—I—Shut up!"
"Admit it, Potter! You're just a jealous little idiot! Well, I have news for you!" Hermione, for some reason, could not stop the flow of his words. "Lily does not like you! Lily will never like you! She will never go out with you. Not until you stop being a self-absorbed, big-headed—"
Hermione never got to finish his sentence, because he was cut off by a fist to his face. He fell to the ground and clutched his face in pain. He looked up just in time to see Peter give him an apologetic glance before running to go and follow James and Remus to the Infirmary. He shook his head and made his way to the Gryffindor Tower. He was stopped by McGonagall, to give him a letter to head to the Headmaster's office.
"You called for me, sir?" Hermione entered the room. Both Dumbledore and Slughorn were there. They were probably going to discuss the potion.
"Take a seat, Mr. Chronos." Dumbledore said, all the while popping some Skittles into his mouth. "Professor Slughorn here will be explaining his theory of your arrival here based on his analysis of the ingredients in the potion."
Hermione sat down on the chair as Slughorn started to speak.
"First, I should explain your transformation. I am sure you are not quite familiar with the Ambrosia plant? No? Well, the Ambrosia is a very powerful aphrodisiac, I'm quite sure you know what that is. Basically, it increases the level of testosterone in the body of the one who eats it. This, coupled with the Boomslang Skin, used for transformation in Polyjuice, is what triggered your change. The catalyst, I presume was most probably the Syrup of Hellbore. Do you follow so far?"
Hermione nodded. He had read the whole Moste Potent Potions when he was a third year.
"Excellent, excellent. As for your time-travel, I have come up with a theory. I believe this is caused by the Fluxweed. From the name itself, it is easy to deduce that it is an incredibly volatile substance. This, mixed with yet more unstable substances, Newt Skin and Sunbeetle eyes, and the explosion it created, probably caused the ripping of the space-time continuum. The peppermint leaves, I believe, neutralized the effects of the Scorpion Sting. Thank heavens—or you'd have ended up disfigured.
"The only ingredient I have yet to discover the significance would be the aconite, or monkshood."
"Or Wolfsbane, sir?" Hermione remembered Snape's first lecture to the class.
"Yes. Usually, wolfsbane is usually used to nullify the effects of some of the ingredients in a potion, making it a student's best friend when it comes to making mistakes in his potions. But I have yet to understand what role it plays in this potion…"
"Does this mean, sir, that you can also find a way for me to get back, since you've already analyzed the potion?" he asked hopefully.
"Based on my calculations, my child, it seems as if you may have to wait for the potion to wear off."
"To wear…off?"
"Until it's been expelled from your system, you are going to remain here, in this time."
"But sir, isn't there a potion to help in these kinds of situations?"
Slughorn shook his head. "I reviewed the ingredients for the expelling solution, and if you take it, you'd most likely end up poisoned."
Hermione sighed. "Do you have any idea how long I have to stay here, sir?"
"I estimated it to be two to three years, but that's just speculation."
Bloody brilliant.
"Well that's…disheartening." He admitted. It had been difficult to stay optimistic about the situation.
Dumbledore patted his hand lightly. "Fret not, my dear. The Hogwarts staff will attempt to help you with whatever you need, to make your stay in this time a bit more tolerable."
"Thank you, sir." He smiled at them.
It felt nice knowing there were people he could count on.
September 29, 1975; Monday
(see the time pass by whooooooosh)
For some strange reason, Hermione knew it was going to be an awful day that day. He didn't know why; probably just because he woke up at the wrong side of the bed.
He'd even snapped at Lily once today.
"That James Potter is just so annoying!"
"You two would be perfect for each other."
"What makes you say that?" she asked irritably.
"Because you're just as annoying." He deadpanned. "Excuse me, I need to get to class."
Needless to say, it was most definitely not his day. It was like he was PMSing.
The past weeks had been relatively quiet. The only highlight of his week, perhaps, was Peter apologizing for James' actions, and James looking indignant while he did.
As soon as night had fallen, Hermione drew the curtain around his bed and flopped on it. He felt like he was coming down with flu. He was extremely sore all over, and his temperature was just above normal. Perhaps he just needed some sleep.
Sirius
"Guys, what're we doing for the full moon tonight?" James asked them as they lounged in the common room.
"I don't know." Remus admitted. "One of you has got to stay in the dorms to keep an eye out for Chronos, and also to make up an excuse as to why the rest of us areout of bed."
"Definitely not me." Peter squeaked. "I have to be the one to press the knot on the Whomping Willow."
"Well, not me. I need to go and run tonight." James piped up.
"So that leaves…" All of them glanced at Sirius and he lifted his arms in surrender.
"Fine, you win, I'll do it. But the next full moon, you're doing it Prongs."
That night, after the three had left, Sirius busied himself with sitting on his bed and attempting to read the muggle romance novel Mary McDonald had pushed him into reading. After the first few pages, he found his mind wandering to the night he ended up in the Hospital Wing.
He still wondered who the girl was.
Ever since he met her, whenever he panicked after a nightmare, he'd just imagine her hand on his head and he'd calm down. He tried asking Madam Pomfrey who she was, but she merely evaded the question and forced potions down his throat.
For the past few months, he looked every girl he met in the eye, but he didn't find the eyes that belonged to his mystery girl.
His eyes focused on the black band wrapped around his right hand, and he grimaced at the sight of it. If only he didn't have that stupid contraption on, he wouldn't have been overpowered by those Slytherins.
Whatever. I should do something fun while the three are out.
He glanced around the room for something to do, and he smirked as his eyes landed on closed curtains.
Chronos.
Granted, he was starting to get less annoying now that he'd become nicer to Peter. But he still wanted to prank him.
Stealthily, he made his way towards Chronos' bed. Swiftly, but silently, he pulled back the curtains and raised his wand to implant the jinxes. He, however, froze at the sight of the person sleeping there.
Because the person who was slumbering there, was most definitely not Daniel Chronos.
Heck, it wasn't even a guy.
As the person's eyes fluttered open, Sirius' gaped in surprise.
Well, he thought, at least I found the eyes I was looking for.
A/N: Am I eeeeeeeeeevil for leaving this chapter here? Are you curious as to what happens next? Well, you just have to wait. Moohoohahahahaha! XD Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter! I had fun writing it.
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