Disclaimer: Nothing of Harry Potter is mine, unfortunately. I want to see Sirius and Draco irl tho :')
Special thanks to LuV3nZbLu-hIm3 for your encouragement the last time! :)
Chapter 3 : Amissa Anima Mea
Hermione felt like she was falling for an eternity, being sucked into that swirl of colours, when abruptly the world around her came into focus. She briefly glimpsed a ring of trees towering above her, when she crashed harshly into the ground, and was knocked out.
'That many impacts to my head can't be good,' were the first thoughts that came to mind when she next blearily opened her eyes. Squinting through the bright light that came streaming through the huge windows to her right, she sat up gingerly. Her body was aching all over, and felt extremely sore, even though she was lying on the softest bed she had ever felt. Her head was throbbing with an occasional sharp stabbing sensation behind her eyes that made her wince every time.
Groaning, she shifted herself carefully so she could lean against the headboard. Slowly surveying the room, she was surprised to see it was very well kept, with warm tones and grains of the pale wood furniture contrasting beautifully against the whitewashed walls and marble floor. Two sets of doors were placed on either side of the bed she was currently on, and the windows she had noted earlier were framed by translucent day curtains and soft, pale blue curtains that were all elegantly swept to either side of the windows. A bay window seat that was plump with cushions sat in front of the window, and to the left was a beautifully carved walnut writing desk, that had phoenixes with their wings aflame, each adorning the end of a leg.
Hermione marvelled at such extravagance. She was sure this room could rival any of that in Grimmauld Place while in its former glory. Still, she had absolutely no idea where she could be.
'I gotta find Harry and the others,' she thought anxiously. As quietly as she could, she slowly made to slip out of bed to try and find an exit.
She had just barely made it to the edge of the bed when the door to the left opened suddenly, and there was a small figure silhouetted against the doorway. Tumbling to the ground in shock, she realised belatedly that the bed was much higher off the ground than she thought.
"MUM! COME QUICK SHE'S AWAKE!" The small person bellowed with the voice of a young boy.
Hermione panicked then, and with her heart thundering, she scrambled off the ground, ignoring her aching body, and darted towards the windows to escape from the strangers. Estimating that she was on the second floor, she hoped the windows weren't too high off the ground.
She had just unlatched the windows and was about to leap out of them, when a pair of large strong arms firmly hooked around her waist and pulled her back into a very large and firm body. She gasped breathlessly as the air was knocked out of her with the impact.
"Hey hey, calm down, we aren't going to hurt you," a deep bass voice soothed her.
Hermione whipped around, figuring her chance of escaping was busted for now, and looked up at the man who had stopped her from leaping out of the window. He towered above her, with a fit physique and an expansive chest. His brunette hair stuck up every which way, his hazel eyes were gentle and had many laugh lines around them. His mouth was turned up slightly at the corners and smiling at her.
Behind him was a lady and the small figure she had seen earlier. The lady, Hermione decided, was elegance personified. She had a tall, willowy figure, and stood with such poise, as though she were born with it. Her skin looked so smooth and clear that Hermione wondered if she modelled for skincare products. Her curly, midnight black hair was piled artfully atop her head that it almost resembled a crown. Her eyebrows were perfectly arched, with gentle silver eyes were clear and light seemed to reflect brilliantly off them, and she had a slender nose and beautiful Cupid's bow lips.
Her left hand rested on the shoulder of a familiar boy who had wild jet black hair that seemed to defy gravity.
"Harry!" Hermione cried with relief and launched herself at the boy, hugging him tightly. But, it felt wrong. Different, somehow. It was the same sense of comfort, of belonging, that Harry always conveyed, but it was definitely different. The boy awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, but as her mind caught up with her actions, Hermione froze, realising several things at once. She leaned back slightly and scrutinised the boy. He had beautiful clear hazel eyes that sparkled with mischief and laughter, and his eyebrows were currently furrowed with obvious worry for her and his confusion as well. But above these, what befuddled Hermione the most, was that he looked to be about nine years of age. And yet, he was just slightly taller than her!
"Uh, I'm not sure who Harry is…but I'm James…" the boy trailed off awkwardly, but pulled up a hesitant smile for her.
Hermione did a double take. Her mind swirled with such confusion and her thoughts were racing a mile a minute.
The lady must have interpreted the look on Hermione's face, for she spoke gently, as if soothing a bewildered animal.
"Dear child, we're not sure what has happened to you, but we found you unconscious at the edge of our orchard. Do you…do you remember what happened before that?"
Hesitantly, because while her battle-honed mind screamed at her not to trust strangers, her instincts pushed her to relate, with barely much information, the circumstances which led her to where she currently was. With the recounting of her memories, Hermione was analysing all the information, and was beginning to have a terrible sinking feeling of understanding what had happened.
She had felt horribly uncomfortable in her body, and she realised that it was not due to her injuries but the fact that she had — as she noticed earlier in the grey space — shrunk. In age and size. And if the boy, who resembled so much like Harry, was indeed not Harry, but a boy named James, her mind could only come to one reasonable conclusion.
She had gone back in time.
And overwhelmed, Hermione felt like crying.
A/N: Sooooooo sorry I haven't updated in so long aaaaaaa. The last few (?) weeks have been filled with submissions and exams ugh. Also, small rant but I got paired up (the teacher randomly assigned us) with the worst guy in my class for pair-work oral test. Idk if my grades have been pulled down by him, I wanted to cry when I saw who I was paired with sigh :'(
But anyway! I'm excited for my upcoming exchange program to Japan in a few weeks time :) Really looking forward~ Also, yes, I will try to update as frequently as I can :)
Love you all~ thanks for reading my small nonsense haha