Hermione did not stay on her bed for long. A proper look around the room told her a little more about her situation, well, she hoped it did anyway. There were no family portraits on the walls, letting her know that they were either dead or absent. A door to her left led to a small bathroom, which was hers alone to use, which told her that the wealth of the family must have been considerable. Opening the wardrobe revealed a large collection of dresses not too dissimilar to the one she was wearing now. A quick glance in the overly large mirror reminded her that she was indeed, still the same person. Dismissing the thought, she turned and spotted that there was a large writing desk, which she went to sit at. Looking through the papers it contained, she was able to learn a few things that would come in handy that evening, and in getting accustomed to her new location and time period.
The first letter that was half written was addressed to Luna Lovegood, congratulating her on her engagement to Neville Longbottom. That made Hermione snort somewhat, the thought of them actually being together was rather cute. She knew the dotty blonde would give the stammering boy a good run and keep him from getting into too much trouble. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
It was then that she noticed the congratulatory letters on her desk that were addressed to her. In fact, the one she picked up was from Luna! As she read it through, the colour began to drain from her face and her hands started trembling. No! There had to be some sort of mistake. There was no way that she would have ever agreed to a match such as this. Yet, there it was, written on the parchment for her to see. Krum. She as going to marry Vicktor? Sure, he was a friend and they had spent rather a lot of time chatting together… or had they? It was more than a little confusing now that he had gone back in time.
That caught her attention, moreso than being engaged to her friend. If she had gone back in time, how on earth was everyone else there as well? It was definitely her friends she had sat with in the carriage and it was definitely Molly who had helped her back, so how were they here as well? Unless the time turner wasn't a time turner at all and had taken her to some sort of different world; she took it from her bag again and looked at the pieces. Had this happened because that gem had fallen from it before she tried to use it? She didn't think so. When she looked over it again, she realised that she had no way of finding out in her current situation, not until she knew a whole lot more about it at any rate. For the moment, she was stuck and there was not a lot she could do about it. She did know one thing however; she was not going to be marrying Vicktor Krum, not if she had anything to say about it.
A knock at her door turned her head, "Come in," she called as evenly as she could. The door opened a fraction and in crept Ginny. The pale girl had a stunning green dress on and her eyes sparkled with excitement.
"What do you think?" she asked.
For a moment, Hermione was unable to speak. Her friend looked far more beautiful than she ever had but she was far from envious. She felt nothing but cheer for her friend, knowing that it would help find her a decent match over the next few weeks and months, "Oh Gin," she gasped, "It's perfect."
"Do you think he'll like it?" she asked. She brought a hand up to her lips and dropped her gaze to the floor.
"Who couldn't like you in this?" Hermione replied. She rose from her stool and walked around her friend, wanting to see the dress from all angles.
"I don't want just anyone to like me though," she said, "I want Harry to like me."
Hermione covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a laugh, "Oh Ginny, he'll love it!" she said, knowing that it was true even as she said it. That made the younger girl smile and she flushed, her cheeks turning a lovely red and Hermione couldn't help smile back. She also noticed that she was wearing a lovely set of sparkling earrings that matched the gleam in her eye, a gleam that appeared when she spoke about Harry.
"But what are you wearing?" Ginny asked, "Not that day dress surely?"
Hermione shook her head slowly and stepped over to the wardrobe. "I wasn't sure," she said under her breath. Was she supposed to get changed for these things? She opened the doors and the first thing that caught her eye was a powder blue dress. The soft shine of the fabric stood out against the others and she pulled it out, "This perhaps?" she said. Ginny gave an enthusiastic nod.
"Perfect." Ginny moved a little closer towards her before speaking again, "Do you want some help with it?"
She nodded and let the younger woman unfasten the dress. When she felt the fabric loosen, she stepped from it. She found that she was wearing the most intricate sort of underwear she had ever seen. It was as though she had stepped right out of a classic novel, right down to the white bloomers and elaborate stays. They didn't seem overly tight however and so she allowed Ginny to pull on the blue dress.
It didn't take long for them both to be ready for the evening. Ginny even managed to fix her hair so that it fell in soft waves rather than tatty curls. When they descended the stairs, Molly and Lavender were waiting for them. Molly began to fuss over her pretty young daughter the moment she laid eyes on her, leaving Hermione to speak with Lavender for the moment; who agreed that she looked amazing. It took Molly a good few minutes to get over her daughter's loveliness, leaving Hermione wondering if there was any more that went on in the witch's head. In fact, all they had spoken about since she had arrived was being married to wizards and making good matches. If this was all there was to her new world, she would be looking for a way out very quickly.
The journey to the house holding the ball was a short one. Hermione was convinced that they could have walked it but didn't dare suggest the idea, not yet anyway. Instead, she spent the next few minutes watching the pretty streets go by. The large quantities of pink blossoms told her that it was spring time, for which she was glad. Winter would have been far more depressing!
When they arrived, their carriage was opened for them and they were once more helped out of it, as if they were unable to do so themselves. Hermione found that she was quickly going to become irritated by this world if it wasn't careful. Still, she accepted the help like a good lady should and waited for the others. Approaching the door, she realised that they had to be announced before they could walk in. This was done swiftly, which was a relief, she was beginning to get hungry! Hermione noted that she was introduced as Ms Granger and gave a nod when she stepped forwards.
Thankfully, all eyes were on Ginny as she was announced for the first time. The hall fell silent as the pretty girl stepped forwards. An audible intake of breath was heard and a smattering of applause, as was the custom, sounded around the hall. After that, the hubbub began once more. Hermione was practically dragged to one of the tables at the side of the room and forced into a seat. Lavender popped down next to her, Molly stayed with Ginny as she was approached by several young wizards, including her brothers. Where they had been earlier, Hermione had no idea.
"I suppose you're going to be chaperoning me now," Lavender said with a slight huff.
"Merlin, that does sound boring," Hermione said with a fake yawn. The look on Lavender's face said more than words could and she laughed.
"Really? Whatever happened to finding a good man and leaving it there," she said. Hermione gave a little shrug. It didn't sound like something she would say but then again, she was new here. He scanned the room and tried to see if there was anyone she knew here, other than Ron and his plague of brothers. Harry was also standing with her, his eyes practically on stalks at the sight of her. It was all rather comical when she thought about it.
Her eyes spotted a few people she knew, mostly older wizards chatting amongst themselves. Remus was drinking something that looked a lot like brandy while chatting to a very dapper looking Sirius Black. Dumbledore was there, deep in conversation with Minerva about something, as well as Flitwick and Sybil. There seemed to be plenty of younger people around as well, Neville and Luna were talking quietly about something, though kept a very respectable distance between them. Dean was chatting away to a young woman whom she did not recognise. In fact, there were several people she didn't know, or thought she didn't know.
One of them was a tall gentleman who had his back to them. He appeared to be deep in conversation with a slender young woman who she thought she had seen before. Was it one of the De La Cours? She couldn't be sure about it, anyway, she wasn't interested in her, it was him. The shape of his shoulders sloped in a most pleasing manner and a shock of black hair was pulled in at the nape of his neck, revealing white skin underneath. He appeared very upright and proper in his mannerisms and kept a very respectable distance between them. She thought about asking Lavender who this fellow was but then stopped herself from speaking; she should know who it was and asking would make her look a little bit silly.
"I'm not so sure about that anymore," she said when she realised she had not given her companion a response. Lavender's eyes followed hers and she rolled them.
"You need to stop staring at him now," Lavender said, "Especially now you're engaged!" she added. Hermione tore her eyes away from the stranger's back and onto the table again. She let out a small sigh and shook her head.
"I don't even know why I did that," she whispered. Lavender's eyes widened and she shook her head.
"The contract had been accepted, there's no backing out of it," she said. Hermione didn't know too much about that idea. If there was a way out of it, she would find it. Perhaps she could say she wasn't herself when she agreed to it. Shaking her head, she pushed the idea to the back of her head and looked over at the man once more.
"Why did I not pursue him?" she said before she even realised she had spoken out loud.
Lavender had the audacity to giggle at that before shaking her head, "Oh Hermione, you as much as everyone else know that Severus Snape is already engaged to Ms De La Cour, you've been nothing but respectful about it, despite the puppy eyes when he isn't watching. Why the sudden change?"
Hermione felt as though she had been slapped in the face. Twice. Once to find out that she had a rather large crush on Severus Snape. She felt that unmistakeable rush on her cheeks and the urge to giggle well enough to understand what it was. To find out that he was engaged to another was also a bit of a blow. Never mind, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind and resolved to dwell on it later – there was so much she didn't know yet.
"I'll try," she said, making a grand theatrical gesture. It wasn't very much like herself but it did sound like something someone would do in one of the classics she had enjoyed reading. Lavender rolled her eyes but laughed all the same. "Perhaps we should find something to eat," she suggested. Her companion nodded enthusiastically at the idea and they both left the table.