Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

The Choice

"I'm going to change the future. Or, more accurately, I'm going to save it."

Dumbledore sat in his chair for a few moments before he said anything.

"Before I say anything more I believe you should tell me exactly how fargone things are in your time."

So Hermione told him. She told him that even though her parents had had their memories altered so that they could not recall her, Voldemort still managed to find them in Australia. She told him of how her parents' bodies had been displayed by the Death Eaters when they had attacked Hogwarts, before the battle had even begun. She told him how the Ministry had been infiltrated by Voldemort's followers and they did not know who they could trust. She told him about how Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody had been killed. She told him about the Horcruxes. She told him about the intense training she, Harry, and Ron had gone through over the summer before they went Horcrux-hunting. She told him everything.

Throughout the entire thing Professor Dumbledore merely sat there and listened. If Hermione had not known any better she would have thought that he wasn't paying any attention to what she was saying. It was only when her emotions were beginning to get the better of her and tears were pouring out of her eyes as she was telling him about all the people that had died that he finally spoke.

"All right."

Those two words stopped both Hermione's story and tears. She waited for him to elaborate.

"If what you tell me is true, then I will agree to assist you in your endeavor to 'save the future' as you so eloquently put it."

Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock. She had expected that there would be a lot more convincing involved. "Really?"

"Yes. But before we do anything I think we should decide what you shall be doing in the meantime."

"Oh. Right."

"Since you most likely will not be returning to your own time, and have readily accepted staying here, I think it would be best if you continued your education here at Hogwarts."

Hermione smiled brightly, but it soon faded. She would be in her Seventh Year, but had always imagined that she would graduate with Harry and Ron. Instead she would be saving the world from Voldemort. I'm doing this for them. So that they won't die. So that Harry won't grow up without his parents. That's when the thought first occurred to her. Even when Professor Dumbledore had mentioned James Potter she had been too caught up in the fact that she had traveled twenty years through time to process who he actually was and what would become of him.

"Ummm... Professor? You mentioned a James Potter earlier... so would I be correct in assuming that he is the the one that hangs around with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew?"

Dumbledore gave her an odd look, one that she couldn't identify. "Yes, that would be him. Would I be correct in assuming that you know him in the future?"

Hermione had a far away look in her eyes as she stared at a point somewhere above the professor's head. "Sort of." And she didn't go into any more detail than that. The Headmaster got the hint and didn't probe, and then wisely changed the subject.

"If you are going to continue your education here, then you will need to be sorted once again, and we must come up with a plausible story as to why you have transferred so late in your educational career. What year would you be in, if I may ask?"

Hermione managed to shake her head of the thoughts of being with the Marauders and Lily Potter- no, Evans- so that she could concentrate on the task at hand.

"Oh, I would be in my Seventh Year. Hmmm... We could say that I was attending a small private school and my parents were killed recently, and my new guardian lives closer to here."

"I think that the story I present to the school should be a little less... shall we say, personal. If you really did just lose your parents would you want me to announce it to the entire student body?"

Hermione frowned. "Point taken. Okay, how about you tell the school that I transferred due to some personal problems and if people pester me too much about it that could be my excuse."

Dumbledore smiled. "That sounds excellent. Now, as I said you will need to be sorted."

Hermione cringed, memories of her own sorting in her First Year coming back to haunt her. A different time, a different person, one who was innocent... She blinked as tears formed in her eyes from where her thought path would have eventually led.

"Please, Professor." Hermione pleaded in a soft voice. "I would like to remain in Gryffindor if you don't mind."

"If it were between the two of us, Miss Granger, I would be more than willing to place you in that house with no qualms whatsoever. However, the students will feel otherwise. They will want to see you be sorted, and I think that we would prefer to avoid as much scrutiny as possible, don't you?"

Hermione sighed. Again. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "You're right, of course, Professor. I guess I'm just afraid that I won't be Sorted into Gryffindor and I don't think I will be able to handle that much change in such a short amount of time. That and I don't feel completely comfortable with being sorted with the First Years in front of the entire student body."

Dumbledore sighed himself. Both were doing it with some amount of regularity. "I wish I could do more to help you. If it can help ease your mind, the Sorting Hat will not place you in a House you do not want to enter. You can converse with it and choose, so the chances that you will not end up in Gryffindor are minimal. And as for being sorted with the First Years, I can arrange it so that you are sorted separately before or after them if you wish."

Hermione's spirits were lifted. Slightly. "Thank you sir. That does help my mind a bit. I would like to be sorted after the First Years if that would be alright sir."

"That would be perfectly fine Miss Granger."

Curiosity finally caught up with Hermione, so she asked, "Professor, what is today's date?"

"Sunday, August 25th, 1976. The new school term starts in exactly one week."

"And... James Potter... this would be his..."

"Seventh Year. He and Miss Lily Evans have been made Head Boy and Head Girl this year."

Another pang went through Hermione. She would have been made Head Girl in her time, she was sure of it. She wouldn't be graduating with her best friends, and she wouldn't even have what she had aspired to be all these years. Suddenly another thought occurred to her. "Professor, I don't have any money in this time, nor do I have any clothes, books, or, well, anything."

Dumbledore gave a small chuckle. "Miss Granger, we have a fund for students, such as yourself, that would not be able to afford the necessities otherwise. Rest assured, your needs will be taken care of."

"Thank you, sir."

"Now," the Headmaster said as he leaned back in his chair, "it is very late, and we have much more to discuss. But for now, I believe it is time to get some rest. Until the new term starts you can stay in the Gryffindor tower if you wish."

"Thank you, sir. I would like that very much."

"The password is 'password.' I have yet to set new ones for any entrances or doorways, so they are all the same. The new passwords will most likely be put into place in a day or so, and I will inform you of the change as soon as it is made. And now, I say good night."

Understanding this as a dismissal, Hermione got up and left the office. As she stepped onto the revolving staircase, her mind began to analyze her entire situation. She knew that she was making the right choice, right? She stepped off the staircase and walked past the stone gargoyle as she began to tread the familiar path to Gryffindor Tower.

I made the right choice. There is nothing left in my time for me to go back to. The Weasleys will be worried for me, but if I succeed then there will be nothing for them to worry about.

What do you mean, the right choice? You're messing with time! Do you know how many laws you are violating just by letting yourself be seen by Dumbledore?!

So what? There's another life I can save! If I can destroy all of the Horcruxes in this time, which shouldn't be a problem because I know where they are and how to get past their defenses already, then the future I know won't happen!

Exactly! You don't know what future you will be creating! For all you know, by doing this something worse could happen!

That future can't be any worse than the one I just came from! In case you didn't notice, Harry's dead. Ron's dead. Mum's dead. Dad's dead. EVERYONE'S DEAD. Voldemort won! If I can stop that from happening, I know it's the right choice!

And what happens when you do destroy all of the Horcruxes? Are you going to duel with Voldemort?

If I have to, yes! And if not, then someone else can do it! One Killing Curse is all it would take. Anyone that hates him enough could do it! I would gladly tear my soul up to kill him, and I certainly hate him more than needed to do so!

How do you know? Have you ever killed before? Ever said 'Avada Kedavra' and seen the light leave someone's eyes?

Of course not! But that is besides the point!

Then what is the point?

The point is, I can save them. I can save my entire family. I can save all my friends. I can give Harry what he always wanted, a family. He won't have to live without his parents and maybe even grow up with a sibling or two! He won't ever have to even see his aunt and uncle.

Unknown to Hermione were the small tears that slowly slid down her cheeks.

And as for Ron, well, he and the rest of the Wizarding World won't have to live in fear that their families will be killed! They won't have to ask stupid questions to make sure the person they are talking to is the person they say they are. They won't have to wonder when they say goodbye to someone going to work or school if that is the last time they will see them! How can that not be better for everyone?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're going to save the future. What about the now? Will you be able to look Wormtail in the eye when you meet him, after everything he's done?

I have very good self-control, unlike most of the population. I can handle it. I won't be able to look at him very often, but I can avoid him when needed.

So you say. What about Sirius, and Professor Lupin, and Lily and James? You know that they are all going to die, so what are you going to do when you see them?

Well, they WON'T die, for one. If Voldemort is defeated in this time, then we won't go into the Department of Mysteries. Sirius won't fall through the veil. Lupin won't die in the battle because there won't be a battle. James won't have to protect his wife and son from Voldemort because there won't be a Voldemort to protect them from. Lily won't have to die to save her child if the man who would kill them is gone. And by knowing that, why would I be affected by any emotions when I see them?

Fine. What happens after alls said and done? When Harry and Ron are born, and they go to school? You won't be able to be the friend to them that you were. Your eleven-year old self will be their friend. And wait, since Voldemort will be defeated then Quirrell won't let the troll in. You won't be saved by them. You won't be friends with them. You will go your entire Hogwarts career alone and friendless. Just like Primary school.

Well... then... I don't know! But one friendship isn't enough to stop me. At least my younger self will be alive. That's more than I can say for others if Voldemort sticks around.

Yeah, that'll be very comforting for your eleven-year old self. "Hey don't worry if you're all alone and everyone makes fun of you. It doesn't matter if people think you're just an annoying know-it-all. At least you're alive to experience all that pain!"

Well, then I'll just have to become friends with Lily and James. I meant to anyways. That way, when Harry is born I can somehow tell him to give the mini me a chance. Or maybe I can even get to know the little me and introduce her to Harry and Ron when they are young. But either way that's years from now. I have time to come up with other ideas.

The voice in her head that was arguing with her was silent. That was when Hermione realized that she had arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady. This time, she was in her frame, and was also awake. Hermione said the password, and walked into the Common Room.

It was the exact same. Except for the absence of a few burn marks on the carpet from Fred and George's experiments and the fact that a few couches were slightly out of place. The rest was just as she remembered it. The couches in front of the fireplace were still there. The table that she would always claim as her own when she had a lot of homework to do was near the wall, just the way she liked it. The staircases to the Girl's and Boy's Dormitories were where she remembered them.

Tears began to form more quickly and in greater size and quantity that filled Hermione's eyes as she slowly made her way up the Girl's staircase. She found herself at the door of the dorm she had shared with Parvati and Lavender for six years. There was no plaque on the door stating which year occupied the room, though. She pushed the door open and walked in. The beds were in their proper places, and she made her way over to her own. Hermione managed to collapse on it and curl up into a ball before huge sobs overwhelmed her, all while clutching her wand to her chest

As sleep gradually overtook her, all she could see behind her closed eyelids were the faces of Harry and Ron, whom she would never be able to see as best friends ever again.


A/N: I'm considering updating more often. I probably won't update twice a week, because I don't want to give you guys everything and then have to stop for a while because I don't have anything written. It will probably be more along the lines of once every four or five days. I'm not really sure. Leave your thoughts in your reviews please.