Hello Everyone! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! Enjoy!!! Belinda
Harry and Ron were, of course, relieved and happy to hear that Professor Lupin was alive and couldn't wait to see him. Hermione, though glad of course, couldn't get what happened in the hospital wing out of her head. Everything buzzed around in her head for weeks, not knowing what to think of the developements. Once out of the hospital wing, Professor Lupin cornered her when she left the Great Hall after dinner.
"Miss. Granger, may I speak with you privately?" Hermione nodded and shooed the boys off. They waved to Lupin and left. She followed him to his room in the Hospital Wing silently.
"What did you need to talk to me about sir?" Lupin eyed her steadily. He sighed and looked away after a few minutes.
"I wish to apologize to you for my outburst a few weeks ago. Puella was a very dear friend of mine, as close as James and Sirius, closer than Peter, in school. I had thought that you were her as the two of you look similar." Hermione opened her mouth, then hesitated, glancing at him.
"Professor, what... what happened to her?" Lupin flinched. "I'm sorry. Forget I asked." Hermione mumbled.
"No, no it's fine. Ella meant a lot to me. She was a good friend. We had a lot in common. I saw her first. She had been hurt, and she only had enough strength to apparate to the station in Hogsmeade, then passed out. Luckily, The Marauders and I were there. We had just got off the train and she was there. She was a marvelous woman. I heard Poppy telling you about her. Poppy spent a bit of time with her, for one reason or another. It was mostly because of pranks we pulled, though we hardly ever surprised her. I swear, no one could surprise that girl." He shook himself out of the trance and glanced at her. "You remind me of her sometimes. Small things you do. But you wanted to know what happened to her. She left one night, leaving a note for each of us. We never did tell each other what she said. One thing was certain though. She said that she would see us all again and that she wished we had more time. We weren't the same afterwards. Peter drifted away, I was quieter, Sirius and James stopped playing pranks, not even an occasional one, Lily wasn't as enthusiastic in class, she meant a lot to all of us." Hermione sighed.
"You must miss her a lot." She said, not knowing what else to say. He sighed.
"Oh yes, every day. I'll miss her for the rest of my life." Hermione nodded.
"Thank you for sharing that with me, Professor." He nodded.
"You should get going, the boys will need help with their homework, if I'm not mistaken." She rolled her eyes, grinning.
"True, 'night Professor."
"Good night Hermione." Hermione headed towards the Gryffindor Tower, thinking as she went. This Puella Lupus looked similar to her, had her birthmark, and was very similar in character to her. She remembered what Madame Pomfrey said to Professor Snape.
"Miss. Granger has recieved a time turner from Minerva, do you understand?" Could it be that she, Hermione Granger, would go back in time and become Puella Lupus? It was crazy! She'd have to leave behind Harry and Ron and Ginny! It couldn't be her, it simply wasn't possible to go back that far. If it was, Voldemort could've done that and killed either of Harry's parents before he was born! That might have made Neville the Chosen One, but Voldemort wouldn't care about details like that! Neville, no offense to him, might've been an easier target than Harry! It wasn't possible.
No matter how much she denied it, the thought kept creeping into her head for the next few weeks. Finally, to soothe her nerves, she put things into her emergency bag on her neck just in case she did go back. She didn't tell them why, but Harry and Ron knew something was up. They let her be, knowing she'd tell them if they needed to know. Finally, Hermione had gathered everything but two items. The last two would be the hardest to get. She kept on with her studies, but her mind was forming a plan to get the Marauders Map and Harry Potter's invisibility cloak. She couldn't ask for them, because she knew he'd want to know why. She got her chance one night when Remus called the boys down to his office. She snuck into his room while they were gone and grabbed the two, leaving a note saying she needed them. When the boys got back, they saw the note, but didn't question her, for which she was thankful. How would she explain that she had a feeling that any day now she could be yanked back into the past to when Harry's parents were in school? She'd sound crazy. With that off her mind, she continued excelling in her classes. Finally, the day before the first Hogsmeade trip, she achieved her animagus form.
"Ok, Hermione. The way you've been working, you should be able to acheive your animagus form today. You won't be able to choose your form, so we'll be surprised. Are you ready?" Professor McGonagall asked. Hermione nodded, determined.
"What do you think I'll be, Professor?" McGonagall looked amused.
"No one can know that dear, your animagus form is who you are, underneath everything. Dogs show loyalty, Cats show detachment, Lions show strength and courage, stags show pride, swans show grace, owls show intellegence, it all depends on you major traits, and what shines through." Hermione looked thoughtful. Then she nodded eagerly.
"I'm ready, I want to see what I am." McGonagall laughed.
"You are a combination of several things, Hermione, but let's see what shines through." Hermione nodded again and began to concentrate. She pictured her body changing, into what she didn't know, but saw her body transforming. She felt nothing but when she opened her eyes, WOW! The colors, the sounds, the smells were all enhanced. She cocked her head as she heard a sound and turrned to find McGonagall staring down at her. She didn't know what she was, but she was big, she had four legs, and she was about the height of McGonagalls waist. She saw a flash of light and then heard the voice of her teacher. "Change back, Hermione." She nodded her head and concentrated on her human form. She changed back quickly, no hesistation. "Very good, Hermione! Wonderful! It takes some people ages to transform that gracefully!" Hermione nodded.
"What am I?" she asked curiously. McGonagall smiled.
"You have chosen the correct career path, Hermione. Your loyalty and your teaching ability exceed all else. You're a wolf." Hermione thought this over. Then she smiled. "Look at your eyes Hermione." Hermione looked in the mirror McGonagall had conjured and gasped. Her eyes, once chocolate brown, had lightened to a honey color and held amber flecks inside them. They were the eyes the Madame Pomfrey had discribed Puella Lupus having. Hermione transformed again quickly and looked into the mirror. Her fur was a slightly darker color than her hair, and her eyes were exactly the same. Her body was sleek and powerful. She ran around the classroom easily, then changed back. She easily movied in and out of her forms, sliding from one to the next as if she belonged in both. She hugged a surprised McGonagall.
"Thank you Professor!" McGonagall chuckled.
"Of course dear. Let's have a cup of tea, then you can go. You have the day off tomorrow for the Hogsmeade weekend after all."
Hogsmeade weekend and Hermione goes back next chapter! Hope you liked! Belinda