The next morning, Hermione was visited by Dumbledore, and she explained everything to him. At first she was unsure of exactly how much she should reveal to him – should she tell him of James' future death, and the friend he would make at Hogwarts who would later be the cause of this? Of the student who had been and gone at Hogwarts, but would soon rise to be the most powerful Dark Wizard the world had seen? But in the end, she told him everything. It was best, she felt, to have someone who knew all her reasons for being here, and to whom she could turn when she had questions that needed answering. She trusted whole heartedly that Dumbledore would keep her secrets, lest they fell upon the ears of Dorea, Charlus (James' father) or even James himself. And perhaps, just perhaps, there was a way in which Hermione, with the help of the professor, could change the fates that awaited the innocent children. Perhaps she could ensure that Harry could live a normal life, without the shadow of his parents' deaths and the threat of Voldemort constantly looming over him. Perhaps she could make everything right.
At the end of his visit, Dumbledore stood up to leave, but not before reassuring Hermione that she would have a place at Hogwarts, where James would also be going in just over a month's time. He had also made arrangements with the Potters, and Hermione would be staying with them every holiday for as long as she liked.
"Of course! I cannot let her stay anywhere else!" had been Dorea's response when the question had been posed. Hermione felt a rush of affection towards the family of the friend she had left in the future, although it was tinted with angst at the thought of once again having to come face to face with James, and anyone else she knew only as adults in her own time. But she was unbelievably grateful to the Potters for taking her in when she was at her most vulnerable, even though they had not been told exactly what her situation was, and probably never would be.
It was gone midday by the time Dumbledore had left, and Hermione suddenly realised that she was famished. Standing up and stretching her limbs, she made her way over to the wardrobe, and opened it to be greeted by a somewhat interesting collection of clothes. 'Of course,' she thought to herself, 'It's 1971'. The clothes all looked like they would fit her, however, and Hermione managed to find a plain pair of jeans and a flowery top. Making her way downstairs, she followed her nose to the kitchen, where she found Dorea sat reading the Daily Prophet as a house elf prepared lunch. She looked up as Hermione entered the room and beamed.
"Hermione, my dear, good morning! Or should I say good afternoon? Would you like something to eat? Reemey here is just making us some omelette and the boys should be coming in any minute."
"The boys?"
"Oh yes, my two boys. My son James and my husband Charlus – I don't believe you've met him yet, have you?"
Hermione shook her head and took a seat at the table. She poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice from the jug in the middle of the table. Just as she raised it to her lips, a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders from behind and a voice yelled 'Boo!', making her spill the drink everywhere. Hermione turned to find James doubled over laughing, and then, horrified, back to the mess she had created to find Dorea simply waving her wand and making it disappear with a hint of a smile playing on her lips.
"James Charlus Potter, that is no way to treat our guest." Dorea said in a stern voice, "Apologise immediately."
James took a break from his laughter just long enough to splutter a sorry before resuming his snickering and moving on to pester the house elf Reemey.
"Once again, my dear, I'm afraid I must apologise for my son's behaviour. We have grown used to the pranks and mischievousness, but whenever we have guests I remember how cheeky he really is. Perhaps a lovely, mature friend such as yourself will tone him down while he is at Hogwarts."
"I doubt it," Charlus Potter chimed in, "It never did much good with me." He winked at Hermione, just like his son had done the previous day.
"Oh shush you, I was a very good influence on you, and you know it" retorted Dorea. Hermione giggled at how love-struck the pair were as the cheerful conversation continued effortlessly between all four of them over lunch. It felt almost like they were Hermione's real family.
Before she knew it, there were only a few weeks until the two children would be boarding the Hogwarts Express, and it was time for a trip to Diagon Alley. The group gathered before the largest fireplace in the Potter mansion and each took a handful of Floo powder. Hermione, having travelled this way before, assured Dorea that she knew what she was doing, followed Charlus who had gone first into the fireplace, spoke the words clearly and arrived promptly at the Leaky Cauldron. She clambered out and was quickly joined by James and Dorea. James was extremely excited today, after all, today was the day he would be purchasing his wand. The family had already agreed that Hermione should steer clear of Ollivander's, in case any questions were raised about her own wand. As the group made their way into Diagon Alley, Hermione took a moment to admire the place. She was looking forward to visiting Flourish and Blotts, where she could purchase some extra reading, she could see Madam Malkin's, and the Magical Menagerie where she had found dear old Crookshanks. Finally, her eyes rested on the largest building in the street, towering over the rest – Gringotts Bank. Then it hit her. How could she have been so stupid?
"Mrs Potter- I mean, Dorea- I mean, mum. I don't have any money! All of it is in the future!" Since she was muggle born, there would be no family vault which she could raid.
"Nonsense Hermione! You're our daughter now! We'll make sure you have everything you need, my dear." Hermione felt relieved and almost silly that she had worried for a moment.
"Now, come. The boys are going to go to Ollivander's, it's always busy, while we go to Flourish and Blotts. Then we'll meet up at Madam Malkin's, then visit the Magical Menagerie, and we may even have time for a trip to Florean Fortescue's. How does that sound?" Hermione and James looked at each other and grinned, before each dragging their respective parent off excitedly.
A few hours later, the family sat in the ice cream parlour, all wondering how in the name of Merlin they would be able to devour the huge sundaes in front of them (well, maybe not James). James was admiring his new wand, proudly stating that it was mahogany and 'excellent for transfiguration'. Hermione, meanwhile was desperate to get stuck into her new book, 'Quintessence: A Quest' (had she remained in her own time, she knew she would have had to read this in her next school year). They had both also acquired new pets for their journey to Hogwarts – James had an owl which he had, in Hermione's opinion, stupidly named Bigglesworth, while Hermione now had a beautiful snowy white cat named Athena after the Greek goddess of wisdom, courage and justice.
After a long, gruelling, but enjoyable day, the new family made their way back home. The next few weeks flew by in a blur of days spent either curled up in the Potters' library or playing out in the sun with James, who seemed happy to finally have someone his own age to play his pranks on. Soon Hermione found herself packing her trunk with her new belongings, ready to board the train to Hogwarts the next morning. Eventually, she clambered into bed and lay for a while thinking. She had to admit, she was nervous of who she would meet. Obviously there would be Sirius, Remus, Peter Pettigrew, Lily Potter (no, Evans, Hermione would force herself to remember) and even Snape. But who else? How many future parents of her friends would she meet? How many future Death Eaters? After what seemed like an age listing all the possibilities in her head, Hermione finally fell asleep with a smile on her face, thinking simply that she was happy to be returning to somewhere she knew and loved.