CHAPTER TWO

Hermione opened her eyes to a harsh white light, her heart racing and her fight or flight instinct still present from the battle. She blinked a few times to adjust to the brightness and began to take in the room around her. Where she was she wasn't quite sure, but it most certainly wasn't Hogwarts. It also wasn't the Time Room. There was a man in dark robes standing near her and she fully intended on asking him what was going on and where exactly she was. He must have anticipated her question because the moment she began to open her mouth, he raised a hand to stop her and began to speak.

'It would be for the best if you allowed me to speak, Miss Granger. You are currently in an anteroom located near the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic in London, England. The date today is Wednesday the eleventh of August in the year nineteen hundred and seventy-one. It is currently half-ten in the morning. My name is Jenkins and I am an Unspeakable, which means I work here in the Department of Mysteries. No one is certain how you came about being here, but the speculation is that you are from another time. Your attire would lead one to believe that you are from the future. When you appeared in the Time Room, there were three broken Time-Turners on your person along with a broken Vine wand. You have been here, unconscious, for almost two hours. Your clothes were a bit tattered and you had some scrapes on the back of your head, but I've healed those. We have also sent for Headmaster Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as you appear to be around Hogwarts age and we are unsure how long it will take to reverse the magic that brought you here. He is an extraordinarily intelligent wizard and should be able to come up with a solution as to what to do with you until we find a way to send you back from whence you came. Now, I know that it is a lot to take in, but do you have any questions for me at this time?'

She stared at him for a moment completely dumbfounded. Sure, it was a lot of information, but she wasn't called the brightest witch of her age for nothing. She had taken in and understood each word Jenkins had said, even if she hadn't seen his face while he was speaking. Though his hooded robe obscured his features, his voice rang loud and clear. Especially the bit about being in the year 1971… There were a million questions she could have asked, but one sprang from her lips unbidden.

'How did you know my name?' Jenkins paused only a moment before reaching into his right pocket and producing a visitor's badge. 'Oh. Right,' was her only reply.

'I will not ask who it was you were trying to save on your little rescue mission nor will I enquire as to how you came into possession of three Time-Turners. The only piece of information I need from you is the date you came from so that we can work to send you back.'

'The twelfth of June, 1996,' she replied. 'It's also a Wednesday.'

Jenkins was motionless, most likely stunned by her proclamation, but he was saved having to respond when the door swung open and admitted a much younger version of her headmaster. He was dressed in violet robes sprinkled with tiny golden stars. Behind his half-moon glasses were piercing blue eyes that twinkled kindly at Hermione. She had no thought other than to return his smile and greet him like a friend when he offered a hello. The two sat across from each other, Hermione having moved from the sofa she had woken up on over to a seat by the small table across the small room. Jenkins remained standing but initiated the conversation between them.

'Professor Dumbledore, sir, thank you for coming. It is worse than I had initially feared. If the girl is to be believed, then she comes from almost twenty-five years into the future. This task was a daunting one without the measure of so many years. I fear that this will take us months to work out, if not longer.'

'I was afraid of that,' came Albus's reply. 'Miss Granger was it? There are a few questions that I need to ask you and I believe that the Unspeakable will also have a few for you.'

Hermione sat up a little straighter in her chair and addressed Jenkins. 'If this is about Time-Turners and the rules for when you use one, you need not worry. I was entrusted with one during my third year in order to take more classes. I know the rules, but to be frank, I don't really think I have to worry about running into another version of myself. In fact, I would be more concerned with someone from this time recognizing me in my time.'

Dumbledore smiled at her. 'While that can be a problem, there are ways around it. We will discuss that at a later time, though. First, I need some basic information from you.'

Hermione answered all his questions as truthfully as she could. He had asked her age, where she had gone to school, what year she was in when she left her time, and what classes she had taken. Never once did he inquire about her House affiliations or who she may know in this era from her own. They then discussed her options and decided that since no one was certain she would be able to get back to her own time, she would continue with her education in this time. The beginning of the new term was a few short weeks away and Hermione would enter as a sixth-year student, having run the gamut of magical testing with the current headmaster. Even her cover story was created, conveniently backed by her frequent trips to France as a youth. The other students would be told that she was a transfer, having been home-schooled under the watchful eye of Olympe Maxime before her parent's divorce. Dumbledore even sent an owl to the French half-giantess to corroborate the story. It was then that Jenkins spoke up and not only reminded Hermione about the laws of Time-Turners, but also to have her make a vow similar to the Unbreakable Vow stating that she wouldn't speak of the future with anyone. While the consequences wouldn't be as severe as the Unbreakable Vow, there would still be major repercussions.

With all the details worked out, Hermione left the Ministry under the supervision of Albus Dumbledore. The two went immediately to Diagon Alley where they withdrew money from the Special Care Fund of Hogwarts. From there they went around to all the different shops to procure all the items she would need to start school on September the first. It was strange for her to be making the basic Hogwarts purchases again. She was to get the basic cauldron, scale, and potions ingredients. She also needed robes and books, as well as a new wand. As they walked past Magical Menagerie, she felt a pang for her half-kneazle, Crookshanks, not knowing what he was doing while she was stranded decades before he was even born.

Before she could fall too deep into the sadness threatening to overtake her, Dumbledore guided her into their first store. Madam Malkin's provided not only school robes, but also a few key pieces of clothing so that she had things to wear during Hogsmeade weekends and the like. Flourish and Blotts left her pining for money of her own to purchase books that were rare and collectable in her time. It was Ollivander's, though, which provided the most excitement for the trip.

Mr. Ollivander took one look at the witch before him and immediately retreated back into the stacks of long, slender boxes. Hermione was perplexed, remembering her first trip into the wandmaker's shop and the magical tape that had measured everything from her height to the distance between her eyes. This trip was different. When Ollivander returned, he carried a few boxes with him. He first presented her with a wand made of oak with a phoenix feather core. It was stiff and unyielding, and he took it back from her almost as soon as it touched her palm. The second was a rather springy walnut wand with a dragon heartstring core that felt good enough in her hand but emitted angry red sparks when she tried to use it. Third time was most certainly the charm as when the wand-maker handed over a vine wand with dragon heartstring at its core, she fairly pulsed with magic. It was a match that left her not the least bit confused; her old wand had been of the same composition. This wand was just slightly different, the wood a shade lighter and the wand itself a full inch longer. Other than that, it felt just as good, if not a bit better than her old wand.

With little more than a few kind words from the shop owner, Hermione and Dumbledore paid for the wand and left the shop, making their way to the Leaky Cauldron. As the hour had grown rather late, the two decided that supper was in order and sat down together to eat. They went over some last-minute details before Dumbledore took his leave. Hermione then retired to Room Nine of the Leaky where she would be spending her days before boarding the Hogwarts Express on September the first. She fell asleep, still fully clothed, not even three minutes after entering the room.

Her dreams that night were a jumbled mix of images and sounds.

~*~*~*LMHG*~*~*~

One of the nicer things about the Special Care Fund that she was able to enjoy was the small bit of pocket money that was left for her use prior to going to school. When she woke the next morning and assured herself that the previous day's activities weren't some wild dream brought about by too much Butterbeer, she sat down and made up a plan. The money she was bequeathed would allow her to eat plenty and even pick up some personal items for her bathroom use, but she knew that if she worked it just right, she could get so much more from it. Therefore, her first stop after her shower was to Gringotts to change a few of her Galleons into Muggle money. From there she made her way back down the Alley, through the Leaky Cauldron and out into Muggle London. She only hoped that it hadn't changed too much in twenty-five years.