Drake, Nev and Ron left Hermione in the Headmistress' office after watching her mumble to herself, mostly about a man named Albus. Without any end to her verbal loop in sight, they felt she was in far more qualified hands than their own with the Headmistress. Ariana Dumbledore was well known as one of the greatest witches in this century, after all.
In the office, Hermione was trying to make sense of everything she had learned. She stared in disbelief at the Headmistress, her body slouched in a wingback chair opposite Ariana's desk. So far, it seemed that she was stuck in some alternate dimension where everything was wrong. So very wrong. She relayed her thoughts to the Headmistress, and after a moment of quiet contemplation, Ariana finally spoke.
"Well, Miss Granger, I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with you. You say that my brother, Albus, is the Headmaster of Hogwarts, but in this world, in our current reality, sadly Albus died many years ago. Are you familiar with a wizard named Grindlewald?"
Hermione nodded her head in affirmation.
"Yes, well, many years ago, my brother and Grindlewald devised a plan to make muggles more subservient to wizards and witches, who were, in their eyes, the more superior beings." She sighed and looked down at her hands. "Albus was a kind soul. He truly believed in doing everything in his power for the greater good. But, He was seduced by the dark arts, and by Grindlewald himself. Unfortunately in the end, it was the reason for his death. They were confronted by my other brother, Aberforth, who killed them both in a duel." At this, Ariana looked up and made eye contact with Hermione. There was no longer any twinkle in her eyes, instead it was replaced by gradually building tears. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket beneath the desk. "I'm sorry. Excuse me, it was 100 years ago, but I still miss him greatly." Hermione smiled sympathetically at her, and glanced out the window to give Ariana a moment to compose herself.
Ariana gave her eyes a final swipe and drew her shoulders back, as if to shake off the unpleasant memories. "Ah, yes. Well, while I loved Albus dearly, he has little to due with our current situation. We need to look to the future, do we not?" She gave Hermione a weary smile, some of the twinkle finding it's way back into her gaze.
"Yes, let's."
- - - - - - - - - - -
The headmistress decided that Hermione should stay within Hogwarts for the time being.
"I have a friend, shall we say, who enjoys researching extensively with time and space in the magical realm. I would like to discuss your situation with him, if you don't mind."
The fact that her friend was likely an unspeakable within the Department of Mysteries went without saying. Apparently Dumbledores in any timeline are prone to making connections with people in high places. After showing Hermione to a new set of rooms the castle made for her near the library, Hermione set out to the Great Hall to find Drake, Ron and Nev again. Ariana suggested she learn more about her current timeline and Hermione was inclined to agree. If she figured out the differences in this world, it might point her in the right direction to find her way back to her own.
Walking through Hogwarts was surreal. It all looked the same, except tiny differences that seemed insignificant. As she made her way to the Great Hall, she felt a ball of anxiety rest heavily in her stomach. Harry. Ron. Her chest ached with the grief of missing her friends. Sure, they might be in this timeline but they would likely not be her Harry, her Ron. Oh God, Ron. They had just begun to explore their new relationship. It was hardly a step above their normal friendship, with them both being distracted by working so hard on restoring the castle. But it had potential, and Hermione was really enjoying where it was headed. But now, she was lost in another dimension. Where do they think I've gone? She stopped walking and placed her hands on the nearest castle wall. She closed her eyes, took deep breaths and willed the nausea that had risen in her stomach away. Ariana said she would talk to her friend. It's not a lost cause. I might even find a way back home. She allowed herself a few more moments in her pity party, then took a deep breath and reminded herself of the facts. Ariana was one of the greatest witches in the century here, and she was helping Hermione. She would figure it out, and then Hermione would be out of here. Until then, it would be fortuitous to make the best of the situation, right? Right.
She regrouped herself just in time to make it to the Great Hall doors. As she opened them, she looked around for the boys. Luckily, the Great Hall appeared to be more-or-less the same as the one back home. Home. She felt a twinge in her chest, but pushed it down as she glanced around the Hall. She spotted them at the Gryffindor table, which was on the far left instead of the right. She gave a rather sheepish wave as she walked over, suddenly unsure of her welcome. Ron notices her first and elbows Drake while nodding his chin in Hermione's direction.
"Err… Hi." Nice. Smooth, very eloquent, Hermione. She winces at her own lack of finesse.
"Hey. Did you get it all figured out?" Drake answers first, although he seems to mostly out of politeness rather than genuine interest.
"Umm.. no. Well, kind of. Do you guys have a moment to talk? Alone?" She glances at the other students at the table, who have halted their own conversations to stare at the new girl. She notices a lot of familiar–but-not faces, and quickly moves her gaze back towards Drake.
"Um, yeah. Sure." Drake begins to stand, moving to follow her back outside the Great Hall doors. Hermione notices Ron and Nev having a quick, hushed discussion. Ron is openly reticent, but Nev seems to convince him to hear her out because soon all three are following her out of the Great Hall.
As the doors close behind them, the boys gather around her. She tries to figure out the best way to explain what's going on for a couple minutes before finally deciding to just go with the truth.
"I'm from another timeline."
"You're.. what?"
"I'm sorry, say again?"
"Like fuckin hell!"
Nev, Drake and Ron all talk over each other, rightfully confused. Hermione sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. Something tells her a massive headache is coming her way.
- - - - - - - - - - -
After filling them in on the events that had happened since they last saw her in the Headmistress' office, Ron seemed the most uncertain.
"Prove it." He crosses his arms across his chest and raises his chin, already in defiance against whatever she decides to say to him.
"What? No, she doesn't need to prove herself, Mate." Neville says in Hermione's defense.
"No, no. This is good. It's a brilliant idea. Obviously everything I say won't be true, since our timelines are slightly different. But it's bound to be enough to show you that I'm not making this up. " She looks in Ron's eyes, as painful as it is. After a weighted sigh, she starts sprouting off facts about him and his family.
"Ok, let's see. Um.. well. First, you're part of a big family. One of seven, actually. There's Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred & George, then you, and then Ginny. Um.. you live in a place called the Burrow. It's a giant, mismatched, beautiful home that I've stayed at frequently. It um.. it's actually where I was living, before I came here. I was staying there, um, with uh.. with you."
She breaks eye contact at this point, deciding to look at the floor instead while a light blush creeps up her neck. If Ron notices her reaction, he doesn't mention it.
"Ok, that's mostly right. I only have 5 siblings, and it's a mixture of brothers and sisters." His stance softens a bit, and he uncrosses his arms. "Can you.. do you mind continuing?"
"Oh, sure. Um.. let's see. You love the Chudley Cannons, even though they're absolute trash in my timeline. "
"Wh- trash? Trash?! I'll have you know that they are undefeated so far this season. AND, actually, they were first in the League last year. And, well, ok the year before that they were third but that's hardly trash. Honestly, how could you even say such a thing?"
Hermione smiled at him, despite the fact that he was turning red and huffy. It's nice to see that this Ron was just as passionate about Quidditch as her Ron.
"You said you have only 5 siblings? What are their names?"
Ron was still mumbling about Quidditch, listing off stats from various players that Hermione couldn't verify as the same ones from her timeline. Quidditch was barbaric, honestly the fact that students could play it in school was just insane.
Drake answered since Ron was still side tracked. "You got Bill right. Then there's Chelsea, the twins, Fred & Gwen. Then Ron, and his younger sister, Ginny. And they do live in the Burrow. " He said the last bit with a soft smile on his face.
"And you two, three really, you're all friends?"
At this Ron was finally brought out of his tangent. "Best mates!" He slung his arm around Nev and Drake's necks, which they didn't seem to appreciate considering he was slightly shorter than them both.
"You said I dyed my hair earlier, so what color is it where you're from?" At this point, all three boys seemed to silently agree that they believed her. Gone were the looks of apprehension and disinterest. Instead they looked eager to hear all about their alternate selves.
"Blonde. So blonde it's almost white, actually."
Drake crinkled his nose in distaste. "That doesn't even seem like it would look good."
"Oh, it did." Hermione muttered, without thinking. Unfortunately for her, Nev heard it.
"Oh, it did, did it? So were you and him an item where you're from?" Hermione and Drake both avoided eye contact at the suggestion. Hermione cleared her throat to avoid an awkward silence.
"Umm, no. No, actually. I was starting to get closer to, um.. to Ron." Hermione couldn't bear to look at this Ron at that point, but she did see his feet shuffle in discomfort a bit. Before he could form a response, the Great Hall doors opened and students started to pour out back to the dormitories.
"Do you want to go back to the Gryffindor Common Room with us? Wait, were you a Gryffindor back in your time?" Drake asked Hermione before the mass of students reached them. At her nod, he started to lead their little group towards the stairs. "Brilliant. Most of our friends are there and I think it would be fun to introduce you to everyone. Maybe they'll be familiar to you?"
Hermione shrugged as she followed the boys up the stairs, grateful for the change of subject. She was anxious and excited to meet everyone. Despite the fact that it was all slightly off from her home, it was rather fun to see the differences and similarities in her friends so far. She would have to make sure and find a pensieve back home so she could show everyone what their dimension-twins were like. The look on Draco's face when he found out Drake was a Gryffindor would be priceless.