Hermione missed her TARDIS. She missed her "parents," and her endless closet, and her access to anywhere, and anywhen, in the universe. After nearly three TARDIS-free, technology-free months, Hermione was finally going back.
She pretended to climb onto the train. Then, when nobody was looking, she ran around the train and straight into the lake. A few seconds later, freezing and soaked, Hermione fell into the TARDIS. She lay, gasping and shivering, on the floor.
Her faithful time machine produced a towel and several heaters. Before long, Hermione was dry again. "Thank you," she said in the child's voice that still occasionally startled her. "Dad," she added, "Next time, please try not to land in the middle of a lake."
"Sorry!" he called. A moment later he emerged, smiling, and hugged her. "How was school, Hermione?"
"Fantastic," Hermione answered. "So much more than I expected. But I missed all of you," she added, looking around her TARDIS's familiar interior. "I'm glad to see she's still in one piece."
After a few more hugs and greetings, Hermione ran to her expansive wardrobe. She tried on numerous outfits, missing the freedom of picking out her clothes, before settling on black jeans, a black-and-white striped shirt, and purple beret. Just because she appeared eleven didn't mean she couldn't have style.
Skipping back to the console, Hermione cried, "Rings of Akhatan, here I come!"
The two Flesh figures laughed as Hermione strained and stretched to reach the controls. She was finally successful, and the TARDIS began its smooth, silent travel.
Hermione exited when it came to a stop. She found her self engulfed in the hustle and bustle of the crowd... a sensation she'd always adored. She began browsing through the enormous market.
She traded a ring for a necklace and a letter for shoes, ones her TARDIS didn't have but would be perfect with her school uniform. Then Hermione returned to the TARDIS.
"I think we should go to..." Hermione thought for a while. "How does medieval Europe sound? On Earth?" She smirked. "I'm sure the ministry can't detect me when I'm doing magic hundreds of years before they exist."
Her parental figures gave assent. They traveled to the outskirts of a small village. Grinning broadly, Hermione ran to change into something a little more suitable.
Emerging a few minutes later in a long brown dress, Hermione picked up her wand. "Villagers, prepare to meet the great Hermione Granger."
"Are you sure this is a good-" her "mother" began, but she was too late. Hermione was already gone.
Hermione stepped out of what appeared to be an enormous old tree. Her TARDIS certainly tended to become a tree, she observed. This wasn't her main focus, though, because there were already several people staring at her.
"That girl appeared," a boy who barely looked younger than Hermione said, pointing. "She came out of the tree! And that tree wasn't there before!"
Hermione grinned and waved, dropping her wand accidentally-on-purpose. There were gasps from the assembled children. "What's that?" one small girl asked.
"A magic wand," Hermione said dramatically. The girl dropped her basket and ran. Hermione laughed.
"You shouldn't joke about such things," the boy said seriously. "I've seen people get taken and burned because people thought they were witches."
"But I am a witch," Hermione said, causing another chorus of gasps. A second little girl ran after the first.
"They're going to tell their parents, you know," the boy said, looking over his shoulder at the fleeing girls. "And the parents are going to catch you. They might even kill you."
Hermione looked at the boy, then said, "allow me to demonstrate." She raised her wand, pointing it at a fallen branch. "Wingardium leviosa."
The branch, to the shock of the remaining children, began to rise. Hermione kept her attention focused on the floating branch, so she didn't notice the girl running at her until it was too late. Hermione fell, as did the branch. It hit the boy on the head. He crumpled.
Horrified, Hermione pushed the girl off and looked up. Figures were running toward them, carrying torches and pitchforks and everything. How cliche. Still, Hermione was scared, and ran into her TARDIS. "We've got to go," she exclaimed. "They're after me!"
A/N: Is this an improvement? I know, I made her really, really OOC before. Sorry for the late update, I've been super busy with school and stuff.