Chapter Six
The Sorting Hat
Hermione's POV
Hermione stepped out into the cool stairwell gently easing Minerva's bedroom door closed behind her. It seemed that the old stone staircase that spiraled around the girl's tower hadn't changed a bit. The female students had decorated the walls of the staircase with various odds and ends. Seeing that that little tradition was around even then was a comforting thought that Hermione clung to as she descended the stairs. Upon entering the Gryffindor common room, she found that not much had changed there either. The furniture was more suited for the forties, but had been arranged in the same manner she had remembered. No one was currently occupying the room—possibly due to the fact that classes were still in session—So Hermione took advantage of the empty room by conducting a small exploration. The same old red tapestries and portraits adorned the stone walls, the same ancient chest table with all its pieces sat between the two staircases that separated the boys and girls dormitories, and the same huge fireplace was crackling away with a continuous cozy little fire in its hearth. It eased Hermione's mind to have a sense of familiarity with the room.
Seeing as she had quite a bit of time before she could meet with Dumbledore, Hermione wandered over to the book case and pulled out 'A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration' by Emeric Switch. It was a book that she had studied cover to cover during her first year at Hogwarts. Now it seemed rather fitting that she should read it again since this was her first time being in Hogwarts fifty years earlier. With a half-hearted smile Hermione settled into the cloth, red couch sitting across from the fireplace, and cracked open the old text book.
She had just started the chapter about turning your familiar into a goblet when a few students drifted into the common room. Idly glancing up Hermione was surprised to recognize one of the students. He was a half-giant she had come to regard as a dear friend in the future, Rubeus Hagrid. The book that she had been holding in front of her face fell to her lap as she took in a very young Hagrid. Compared to the rest of the student's he certainly stood out. True to his giant heritage it seemed that he had managed a rather large growth spurt. He loomed a good two feet taller than the other boys he was talking to. He was a little heavy set, but not noticeably so, and his hair was still a unkept messy mop atop of his head. The only differences she noted was that he hadn't grown a beard yet. It was nice to see another familiar face, even if he didn't know who she was yet.
Not wanting to attract any attention to herself, Hermione turned her eyes away from the half-giant and back to her book. She continued reading until Minerva found her and relayed a summons from Dumbledore.
The travel to his office was sort as she knew an efficient short cut. Standing outside of his door Hermione knocked three times and waiting patiently. As predicted the door swung open, inviting her to come in "Good evening Miss Granger." Albus greeted from behind his desk as she walked through the threshold.
"Good evening." Hermione replied with a slight nod.
"Please take a seat." Dumbledore offered motioning to a high-back chair directly across from him. Hermione graciously took the chair with a soft smile to her beloved headmaster. Albus laced his fingers together and propped them on top of his desk scattered with various important papers "Shall we get started?" He asked. Hermione responded with a curt nod "Alright then. I have informed Headmaster Dippet of your arrival as Miss McGonagall's cousin. So that there will be no hairy questions to answer in the future, I have disclosed that you have recently lost both of your parents in a revolutionary raid in your village, Tinworth, and have come to live with your cousin's family." Hermione briefly remember that 1945 was the height of Grindelwald's makeshift revolution. Tinworth had been a village that he had attacked due to the fact that muggles and magical beings lived closely and peacefully together. He had sought to destroy the idea of coexistence, because he believed that muggles should be dominated by witches and wizards. The thought of Grindelwald made Hermione uneasy "It seems that his name has left a mark on our future history." Dumbledore inferred as he read the nervous look on Hermione's face.
She nodded "Yes, he most certainly did…" Hermione replied quietly. She had nearly forgotten how very different the wizarding world was fifty years in the past. How dangerous it was to be muggle born or a half blood. Though, with the rise of Voldemort in her generation, Hermione had once upon a time got a taste of that dangerous world, and it had left one hell of a bitter after taste.
Sensing her troubled mind Dumbledore refrained from pursuing any questions, and continued on "Now that you will be attending this school Miss Granger I must strongly advise that you avoid going into any details with your new classmates, or steering away from the original story. Above all else you mustn't reveal that you have time traveled. I'm afraid that in such a case I would be unable to help you. Are you clear on everything that we have discussed?" He asked firmly.
"Yes, I understand Professor." Hermione responded fully understanding the severity of her situation "I do have one question however," She began hesitantly "Have you any idea on how I might get back to my time?"
"Unfortunately, I haven't the slightest clue on how to return you to your time Miss Granger. Every time turner has been confiscated by the Ministry and destroyed. It would be very difficult to come across one. In fact, it may be next to impossible. The study of time is forbidden, and there hasn't been much progress made in the area. I think it may be a good idea for you to consider permeant residence in this time period." Hermione's stomach dropped as she thought about never being able to return home. A frown tugged at the edges of her lips as she realized that she would never be able to see Harry or Ginny again. How had she ended up in such a terrible mess? "Still I will do my best to try and find a way for you to go home."
Hermione nodded her head robotically "Thank you Professor."
A stiff silence settled between the two of them as the weight of his words weighed on both of their minds. To inform someone that they may never be able to go home was a hard thing to do, and an even harder thing for that person to accept. Honestly it didn't seem real. The thought of never again spending half the night talking to Ginny about any and everything. Of never again seeing Harry play in a Quidditch match, or hear him call her 'Mione' when she had lost him during their discussions. She couldn't imagine never going back to the Burrow or… or never seeing Ron again. She absently felt for the ring that wasn't on her finger. Even if he had broken her heart, she couldn't bare not ever seeing him again. They had all been through so much together. How could she possibly forget about that life? For a long while the silence stretched on until it was interrupted by a knock at the door. Glancing up Hermione caught sight of a man who had invited himself in.
Dumbledore rose up out of his seat with a joyless smile "Ah Headmaster Dippet, I hope you are well this evening."
"I'm doing well Albus." He responded simply. Armando Dippet was a feeble looking man. He was very tall with a slender, delicate build, long wavy white hair, and a neatly kept beard. His skin was pasty and paper thin, and was adorned by several thick midnight blue robes, with the outer layer lined in some sort of tawny animal fur.
Hermione stood up in respect for the Headmaster "Good evening Headmaster." Her greeting was sugary sweet and seemed to immediately warm him up.
His dark brown eyes lit up with his smile "And a good evening to you Miss Granger." Dippet replied as he adjusted his grip on the old, brown hat in his hand. Hermione recognized it as the sorting hat. The headmaster lifted it up "I'm sure that Albus has filled you in on the sorting process?"
She gave Dumbledore a sly glance as she nodded her head "Oh yes, and I believe that is the sorting hat, correct?" Hermione asked pointing to the suspected hat.
"Too right you are Miss Granger. Now then, shall we get you sorted?"
"Yes please." Replied Hermione politely, feigning excitement. Headmaster Dippet had her sit back down into her chair and placed the dusty old hat on her head.
The hat stretched its brim as it came to life atop of her head "Oh, what do we have here?" He asked standing to attention. Hermione imagined that folded smile he always wore "Ah yes you have some noble qualities. Loyalty, intelligence, bravery… I would quite like to see you in Gryffindor." Hermione felt a bead of sweat trail down the back of her neck as she waited for him to sort her, his chatty nature had always made her a bit nervous "Still you would also do well in Slytherin…" What! Hermione's heart pounded so hard against her chest that she was certain it would break one of her ribs. Then a thought came to her. Harry once mentioned that when he was being sorted that the hat was torn between to houses. Harry had asked the hat to put him in Gryffindor, and it had taken his request into consideration. Perhaps he would factor in her request as well.
"Not Slytherin." Hermione begged softly.
"Not Slytherin hey? Are you sure? Slytherin has provided a great deal of success for its students. It could lead you to greatness!"
"Not Slytherin." Hermione repeated.
"If you are sure… Well then, best go with… Gryffindor!"
Relief flooded Hermione's body as the hat was removed by an enthusiastic Armando Dippet. He extended his hand to her, and she shook it a bit timidly. Headmaster Dippet smiled happily "Congratulations Miss Granger, Gryffindor is a fine house. I was in Gryffindor at your age. I trust that you should make friends fairly easily." He then retracted his hand and turned to Dumbledore "How exciting, it seems you have a new student to look after Albus. I have a good feeling about this one."
Dumbledore faked another smile "Ah yes, it is nice to have another student join Gryffindor house." It appeared to Hermione that the young Albus Dumbledore was not the care free, fun-loving, lemon drop enthusiast that she had come to know in the future. In his youth Dumbledore seemed more refrained from silliness. He was more serious, and down to business. He remined her vaguely of Severus Snape. Perhaps that's why the two of them had gotten along so well, because they were just a bit similar. She repressed a giggle at the thought of Dumbledore playing the role of a cranky professor. Still even though she had tried to keep her thoughts private, it seemed that an amused crooked smile had worked its way across her lip. Albus noticed her humored state and lifted an inquisitive brow. Quickly Hermione wiped the smile off her face just as Headmaster Dippet excused himself from the room with mention of dinner approaching "I haven't the slightest idea who this professor Snape is, but I most certainly do not come off as 'cranky'." Blushing Hermione quickly realized that he had used legilimency to hear her thoughts on Severus. She found his intrusion strange. The Albus she had known wouldn't have invaded someone's privacy like that, but it was becoming obvious that this young Albus was a very different person.
Tom's POV
Everything is going as planned this week. The death eaters have been inaugurated and I have convinced the basilisk to help me in ridding this school of those pesky mudbloods. At this rate, I should have everything ready before the year comes to an end…
Tom allowed a devilish, crooked smirk to capture the side of his mouth as he returned his dark green quill to its ink well. Closing his diary, Tom slipped the old black book into his bag, and decided to try and act as though he was paying attention to a rather boring lesson on how to brew Polyjuice potion. It was a juvenile lecture that Tom had already been given during some private lessons with the feeble-minded potions professor: Horace Slughorn. Those extra lessons were necessary to get closer to the professor and win over a pass into the restricted section of the library. Naturally his plan had worked like a charm. Tom glanced to his book bag, his thoughts turning to that black diary. It was his first horcrux, his very first attempt at dark magic. The idea of creating such a thing came from one of those books in the restricted section, so he supposed that professor Slughorn—unknowing to him of course—aided in a great deal of Tom's interest in dark magic. That diary played as a sort of tip of to the man that made it possible. Of course, the bumbling professor was never the wiser to his dark endeavors, and that was just the way Tom preferred it.
At last potions class came to an end, and Tom was dismissed for the day. He was thankful that he didn't have any more classes today. As he was gathering his supplies into his bookbag Tom was bombarded by a girl from Slytherin House that he recognized as Margot Droope. Margot was a shameless, wanton kind of woman who was rumored to have pleasured almost every guy in the school. Tom had even heard that she had a secret cipher letter that could be used to have her meet you in private quarters. Of course, he wasn't sure how true any of those rumors were, but the way she dressed was definitely questionable. Margot never wore her outer black robe. She always pranced around the school in a very short skirt that just barely covered her back side, and a thin white button up with her top buttons undone indecently so. Sometimes she would wear her green striped tie as a choker, today was not one of those days. Margot walked up to Tom with a little sway to her hips "Hey Tom…" She greeted him in a low, breathy tone.
"Hello Miss Droope." Tom responded knowing that his formality would irritate her.
She hitched a perfectly thin eyebrow at him "Come now Tom." Margot paused as she leveled both palms on his desk and leaned forward in a seductive manner, with a good deal of her cleavage on display "I've told you that it is perfectly fine to call me Margot." She reminded him as her full, ruby red bottom lip jutted out "You know I'm not a fan of all that propriety non-sense." Her large green eyes looked up at him with feigned hurt. If he was being truthful with himself, Tom could admit that Margot was a very attractive woman. She had a voluptuous body. She was well endowed with both large breasts and a nice rounded butt. Her hips were seductively curved with a tiny waist to set them off, and her face was pretty easy on the eyes as well. She had evenly tanned skin and long shiny black hair, and unlike most girls her age she was well-practiced in the art of makeup.
"Forgive me Miss Droope, but I unfortunately am a fan of all that propriety non-sense." He watched with mild amusement as she became confounded. Boys never brushed her off. Margot was used to her male classmates falling at her feet and worshiping the ground she walked on. She was an object of desire and lust that most boys would kill to capture the attention of. One simply did not ignore Margot's advances. She was not the kind of girl that a boy lightly dismissed. So how dare him to push her away like she was a bad pumpkin pastry. It simply wasn't something that was done to Margot Droope, and yet he had. Taking advantage of her confused state Tom pulled the strap of his bag onto his shoulder and left the classroom. He had more pressing matters to attend to then stroking the ego of a slutty girl. For example, he had become quite famished since breakfast.
As usual the Great Hall was bustling with students waiting for dinner to start. Pointless, idle chatter filled the air as friends exchanged dull stories about their day, and girls aided in breathing life into scandalous rumors. It was your typical afternoon in Hogwarts. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary was going on. Tom took his seat next to Abraxas Malfoy—who had recently taking up to quite a bit of brown nosing. Abraxas had been making some nervous, flirty conversation with a blonde girl, who Tom hadn't bothered to learn the name of. However once Tom had sat down beside him the awkward conversation died, and Abraxas had shooed the girl away "Hey Tom, how are you today?" The sniveling Malfoy asked more out of fear than genuine curiosity.
Tom wasn't interested in small talk this evening, and had ignored Malfoy's question completely. Instead he had set his eyes on the Gryffindor table. There wedged between that insufferable Myrtle Warren, and sharped-tongue Minerva McGonagall was that strange girl he had encountered the other night "Who is that girl?" Tom asked flatly. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't trust her.
"What girl?" Abraxas asked with a puzzled look on his dumb face.
"The one sitting with McGonagall." Tom replied, nodding in her direction.
Abraxas shrugged "I don't know, but she's awfully cute isn't she?"
Tom rolled his eyes. He was absolutely useless. Honestly Abraxas would jump anything that moved. Tom decided to investigate for himself. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the small group of girls "Legilimens." Tom muttered under his breath. He was intending on taking a peek into that new girl's mind when bam! He hit a solid mind block. Immediately this rose a few red flags. This strange girl was using a mind blocking charm. If she was only a mere student, why would she need to protect herself from her thoughts being read? Who was that girl?
A/N: As always, thank you for reading! Please leave any comments in the box below. See you next chapter!
