Chapter 02: Hospital wing
Hermione stirred from her sleep, her head throbbing. She wondered what had happened... Where she was... and... and if she still was alive.
Her nostrils filled with a familiar scent of potions and something else. She knew the smell from her memory, for she had smelled it quite a few times before. It was the smell of a hospital. More specifically the hospital wing in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Slowly opening her eyes, Hermione blinked in the dimly lit room. There was only a faint light of the rising sun coming through the windows. The dawn was just about to break the sky outside. It was quiet. There was no yelling or fighting, and no maniac werewolves or psychopath witches threatening her. It was the same safe and comfortable room she had visited so many times during her years in the school.
But the school wasn't safe anymore. It had been taken over by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Panic started to rise inside her, and she hissed in pain as she tried to sit up quickly. There was movement next to her and only then she noticed that she wasn't alone in the room. Hermione turned towards the figure, a man, and she let out a loud gasp when she realised who he was.
Albus Dumbledore.
Her previous Headmaster, who was…dead. But now he wasn't. He in fact was sitting next to her bed, studying her closely over his half-moon spectacles, the familiar twinkle in his eyes. She briefly wondered, what in the name of Merlin was happening.
"Professor Dumbledore," Hermione croaked, still gaping at him. She tried to gather her thoughts to answer the questions thrumming in her head. Clearly, she had managed to travel to the past, since Dumbledore was alive and sitting right in front of her, but how far back in time had she gone? What should she say to him? What could she say to him?
Dumbledore studied her with his bright blue eyes that sparkled with delight, mischief and curiosity.
"You know who I am, Miss…?" he asked kindly, giving her a searching look.
Hermione stared at him in shock. "Y-You don't know who I am?" She whispered, trying to figure out what was happening and why he didn't recognise her.
A small frown appeared between the Headmaster's brows. "I'm afraid I haven't met you," he said steadily.
Hermione blinked, utterly confused by his answer. He didn't know who she was? How far in the past had she travelled if Dumbledore hadn't even met her?
Knowing she had to say something, Hermione cleared her throat before she spoke, her voice wavering. "Um…I'm Hermione Granger, sir."
"Pleased to meet you, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said and smiled at her. "I have to say, I am rather curious to hear your story and how you came to be in the castle. Firstly, I should tell you, that there are wards to prevent apparition, and secondly, if the wards are somehow breached, I will be notified immediately. For some reason, I was not notified of your arrival earlier this week." He said thoughtfully. "And imagine my surprise when opening my office door in the morning, and instead of finding everything like I left them, I stumbled on you." He added with a chuckle.
Hermione swallowed deeply. Apparently she had landed into Dumbledore's office.
"I…I didn't exactly apparate, sir…" She muttered and tried not to think about her appearance during her arrival. Her dirty, ripped clothes. A shiver of nausea went through her spine as she remembered who had torn them.
"Oh?" Dumbledore asked with an intrigued expression in his eyes.
Hermione worried her lip. She wondered what exactly she could tell him about her arrival. She had obviously travelled a long way back, if Dumbledore didn't know who she was. She remembered when she'd used a Time-Turner in her third year, and the rules regarding its use. The most important of them was not to be seen by anyone. With irony, she thought that that was certainly out of the question now.
"I'm not sure if I can tell you how was it that I came here, sir." Hermione said pointedly, studying the Headmaster's reaction to her words, wondering if he would understand the true meaning behind them.
Dumbledore eyed her for a moment before he spoke. "I presume you are not from this time?"
Hermione's eyes widened with relief and surprise, but she said nothing. If there was one person who wouldn't be fazed by a sudden arrival of a time-traveller, it was Dumbledore.
Dumbledore hummed. "That would certainly explain why I do not know you, but you obviously have met me, correct?" He asked kindly, and Hermione gave him a hesitant nod.
She knew she could trust Dumbledore, and she needed someone's – his – help to get her back to where she had come from. In order to make progress with that, she had to tell him something.
"It…It was April, 1998 for me the last time I was awake. I was in a situation where I had to use a Time-Turner, only to get a couple of hours back in time. But apparently that didn't happen…"
Dumbledore's brows lifted in surprise and then he frowned. "I'm afraid not, my dear. You have come a long way back. Far longer than you intended." He muttered.
"Sir? What...what year is it?" She asked, bracing herself.
Dumbledore let out a weary sigh and gave her a sympathetic look. "It is 1977, dear."
Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "W-What? How? Oh Godric!" She cried anxiously, her insides twisting with nausea. "How? How is that even possible?" She continued, her voice and body trembling with shock.
Dumbledore eyed her carefully before he spoke. "Why don't you start from the beginning? …The situation you were in? Perhaps we can solve this matter together." He said reassuringly.
Hermione fought against the numbness that had started to spread in her stomach. How was she ever going to get back? She rubbed her face, trying to think where to start. She wasn't actually eager to explain the events at the Malfoy Manor.
"I - we were captured by the Death Eaters and…some of them, they...they tortured me to find out how we had acquired a certain item. They thought it had been in their possession and so they must've assumed we had stolen it, but we hadn't really, we had found it…" She explained vaguely, her mind whirling a bit as she remembered Bellatrix's frightened expression when she had thought that they had been inside her vault. She briefly wondered what Bellatrix's reaction actually meant. Had she been frightened because there was something else in her vault?
Dumbledore's eyes widened slightly. "You were tortured… By Voldemort's followers?" He asked gravely.
Hermione nodded and looked down, not able to face the hint of pity that was flickering into the Headmaster's eyes.
"And the item was?" Dumbledore asked after a short moment.
Hermione winced inwardly. "The sword of Gryffindor," she said, looking back at him as the Headmaster stiffened. She wondered how she was going to explain the sword and everything else to him.
"You had the sword of Gryffindor in your possession?" He asked quietly, his blue eyes moving quickly across her face.
Hermione nodded.
"And you escaped your captors with the help of a Time-Turner?" He asked, continuing their conversation.
She nodded again. "Yes, I did. Someone sent a curse towards me and it must've had collided with the Time-Turner, that I had just set to turn back. But I'm not sure why it brought me here though..." She said uncertainly, eyeing the Headmaster.
He nodded slowly and stared at the floor thoughtfully. "You and I are acquainted where you came from?" He asked and Hermione nodded.
"Yes. I've studied in Hogwarts. I started my first year on September, 1991," Hermione said quickly.
Dumbledore looked contemplative before he spoke. "And has the future me ever come across of this Time-Turner you had in your use?" He asked slowly.
Hermione felt her cheeks colour with embarrassment. "I...might've borrowed it from your office..." She said quietly, expecting the Headmaster to be shocked by her actions. But instead Dumbledore's mouth twisted into a small smile and he seemed to be rather amused by the thought of her sneaking into his office. But then, this past Dumbledore didn't know how dire the situation had been, and he didn't know her - that she would only do that when there was no other choice.
"Perhaps it is possible I myself have placed a spell into your Time-Turner, which allowed you to breach the wards to the school." He said logically.
"That makes sense." Hermione muttered. She thought that that actually would've been a very Dumbledorish thing to do…To charm the Time-Turner to come back to him.
"So…what now?" Hermione asked hesitantly. "How do I go back?" She asked and worried her lip.
Dumbledore eyed her for a moment. "I'm afraid I do not know a way to send you back." He said solemnly.
Hermione's breath caught in her throat. She had been certain that Dumbledore would've had a way to help her, seeing as he was the most powerful wizard she knew. She had thought that there could've been something.
"...And even if there was a way, it would be highly risky to take action. Have you studied Time magic, Miss Granger? Are you aware of Eloise Mintumble and her experiments with time travel?" Dumbledore continued, giving her a questioning look.
Hermione had read about the attempts to travel back in time further than a few hours. They had all resulted in catastrophic harm to the time-traveller. All experiments of time travelling over great distances were abandoned after Eloise Mintumble, an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries' Time Room, had travelled five centuries back in time, and had been trapped for five days in the year 1402. When she was finally retrieved to the present, her body had aged five centuries and she had died. She had also altered the life paths of the people she had met, changing the course of their lives in a way that caused many of their descendants to vanish in the present.
Hermione swallowed hard and stared at the Headmaster in shock. "So…If I'd go back to my own time, I would age twenty years?"
Dumbledore hummed. "There is a good chance of that happening. Or, the future you know might not even be the same anymore if you would return, since your mere presence might have had changed the history already, creating an alternate timeline." He concluded.
"An alternate timeline..." She whispered, frowning in confusion. She wondered how would she even know if another timeline had been created? She wondered how one could return from something like that. Hermione swallowed deeply. "If another timeline is created by changing history, wouldn't that mean..." She muttered, her voice trailing off as she thought about the events during her third year, when she and Harry had travelled back in time and had been able to change Sirius's and Buckbeak's fates. Had they created another timeline then? Was there a timeline in which Sirius had received the Dementor's Kiss in her third year and in which Buckbeak had been executed?
Hermione shook her head slightly, trying to focus on the present...or, well...past. "If I wanted to go back to my original timeline - if that even is a possibility - I wouldn't be able to change anything...?" She whispered, her voice giving away how uneasy she felt by the thought. How would she know if she accidentally caused something to change just by discussing now with Dumbledore? How would she know if her actions affected her future and destroyed her chances of returning to where she came from?
And then there was the other side of the coin, the possibility to actually change something, make something better, to save people. The most horrible thoughts seemed to surge into the forefront of her mind just then. Harry losing his parents, losing his godfather, fighting against Voldemort year after year. Cedric Diggory, unmoving on the soft grass after the third triwizard task. Mad-Eye, killed during their diversion to get Harry into safety, and Dumbledore... Dumbledore lying motionless in the courtyard, while Death Eaters were slowly taking over Hogwarts.
But even if she had the ability to make things better, wouldn't it still mean that everyone in that original timeline was going to continue their lives as they were?
"Would you be able to not change anything?" Dumbledore asked quietly, staring straight into her eyes, a questioning look in his. "May I?"
She knew what he was asking, what he was about to do. She gave him a small nod of acceptance and immediately felt an uncomfortable sensation when her memories started swirling inside her head. He was looking into her mind, looking through the memories most forefront in there. Hermione had studied a bit of Occlumency during their time on the run, but she knew she had no chance of closing her mind from him. Not that she necessarily wanted to close her mind from him.
A moment later, Dumbledore looked away, tired and overwhelmed. "I'm afraid I do not know the answer to your question, Miss Granger," he said quietly and moved his gaze back to her. "I can only guess, and I would assume that time were to behave so that if you are indeed in an alternate timeline, it might seem like you are changing the events from your original timeline - from your past - but in fact you are not, since the new timeline would act as your future. And on the other hand, if your actions haven't yet caused the creation of another timeline, you wouldn't be able to change anything since it has already happened," Dumbledore explained steadily.
Hermione felt stunned by the explanation and closed her eyes, leaning back to the bed. Her head had started to ache, as her mind was trying to solve this complex question of timelines for her. Did Dumbledore mean that she couldn't stop another timeline from creating by choosing not to change anything, because it had already been created to this time by her arrival?
Dumbledore studied her features for a while before he cleared his throat and stood up. "I can see we could use a small break in this discussion, to let everything sink in before we continue. You should rest now, Miss Granger. I will come see you later on," he said and turned to leave.
Hermione gave him a tired nod, grateful to be able to close her eyes for a moment. Still, there was a small detail she wanted to know. "Sir?"
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"What day is today?" She asked, stifling a yawn.
"It is the 31st of July, my dear." The Headmaster smiled and with a final nod to her, he left the hospital wing.
"Harry's birthday," Hermione whispered to the empty hospital wing. Although he wasn't even born yet, the day still brought her best friend into her mind. There had to be a way for her to go back, she was sure of it. Dumbledore would figure it out. As she was drifting off to sleep, the last thought she had was, that perhaps this was all a horrible nightmare and soon she was going to wake up beside her best friends.
Hermione woke up to a shuffling noise next to her bed. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Madam Pomfrey adjusting a collection of potions on the nightstand next to her bed.
"Oh, good afternoon, Miss Granger," Madam Pomfrey said with a kind smile. "Feeling better?" She asked, already waving her wand over Hermione's body, performing diagnostic charms on her.
Hermione blinked rapidly, taking in her surroundings. She was instantly disappointed as she realised she was still in the wrong era, by merely looking around the room.
"I'm…Okay, I guess." She muttered, taking a Vitamix potion Madam Pomfrey handed to her and gulping it down.
Madam Pomfrey smiled. "Good. Your internal injuries have healed up nicely, as well as the after-effects of the…um…curses you endured." She said carefully.
Hermione swallowed hard.
"What happened to you?" Madam Pomfrey asked sombrely, her previous smile vanished.
Hermione cringed a bit. "I… Don't really want to talk about it. At least not yet." She said hesitantly.
Madam Pomfrey gave her an understanding nod. "Hungry?" She asked, eyeing her searchingly.
Hermione's stomach rumbled from the mere suggestion. "Yes, I suppose I am," she said with a small smile.
"I'll bring you something right away," Pomfrey said briskly and left to her office.
A moment later Hermione had a bowl of chicken soup and a piece of bread on a tray that was placed next to her on the table. She started eating as Pomfrey made another set of spells to check her health.
"How long was I out?" Hermione asked after she took a sip of water. She grimaced inwardly as she realised she had ingested all of her soup in a couple of minutes. She hoped her stomach wouldn't hurt afterwards, as it wasn't used to large amounts of food due to them being on the run for the past months.
"Two days," Pomfrey replied grimly, flicking her wand to fill her bowl again with steaming chicken soup. "The Headmaster found you in his study on Friday morning, covered in bruises and shaking from the after-effects of dark curses," Madam Pomfrey said with concern in her eyes.
Hermione said nothing and resumed to her meal. Madam Pomfrey didn't press any more information. She did tell Hermione where she could freshen up and brought Hermione's things in a small box, leaving it to the foot of her bed before heading back to her office.
The box contained her ripped and dirty clothes and her beaded bag she had disillusioned to her hip, under her shirt just before they had been attacked by the snatchers. The only thing she truly missed that wasn't there, was her wand. She sighed heavily, and even though she knew she was able to obtain a new wand in this time, she still felt disappointed for losing her first one.
After she had finished her meal, Hermione went to the bathroom and grabbed a fresh set of clothes from her beaded bag, grateful that the bag had survived the encounter with the Snatchers, as well as her trip to the past. After a long and relaxing shower she dressed up and felt considerably better.
When she returned to her hospital bed, Dumbledore was waiting for her at the ward.
"Good to see you again, Miss Granger. I hope you are feeling well?" Dumbledore asked from Hermione, glancing at Madam Pomfrey who came to make another set of diagnostic spells on Hermione.
"I'm feeling fine," Hermione said and smiled reassuringly.
"Poppy? Is she ready to be discharged?" Dumbledore asked from Madam Pomfrey, who nodded.
"Yes, I have surveyed her health and it seems she is recovering rather nicely," she replied to the Headmaster before turning to Hermione. "You may leave, Miss Granger." She said kindly. "And please come see me if you experience any pain, or if you need anything else, is that clear?"
Hermione nodded. "I will."
"Now, would you kindly join me in my office, Miss Granger, so we can continue our discussion from earlier?" Dumbledore asked and smiled at her.
Hermione nodded and gave him a strained smile back. "Yes, of course, sir."
She followed him out of the hospital wing and they walked through the familiar corridors, passing several familiar paintings before they reached the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's study.
As they walked into his office, Dumbledore gestured for her to sit opposite to him, in front of his desk as he took his place behind it. Hermione glanced at the wall that was covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were eyeing her curiously from their frames.
"So," Dumbledore started, crossing his fingers on the table. "Where did we leave off?" He asked kindly.
Hermione sighed and fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "To the point where we do not know how to send me back to the future and to the correct timeline," she said dejectedly. It was problematic enough to send her back to the future without a Time-Turner, but then there was the question of timelines. How could she be sure? Or was it even something she should have to worry, if there wasn't anything she could do to change that?
Dumbledore hummed in acknowledgement. "Yes, unfortunately I do not have the information you seek. I have no experience of travelling in time, and I do not know if it is indeed possible to travel back to the future or even change the events in one's past without severe consequences. But that doesn't mean there's nothing we can do about it." He said simply.
Hermione lifted her brows. "Oh?"
Dumbledore stared at her silently for a moment. "I suggest we research your situation and then we try to find a suitable solution for all of us," he said obscurely.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked with a hint of suspicion.
Dumbledore smiled. "I trust you are aware of what I saw when I looked into your mind earlier today?" He asked, and Hermione nodded.
"I may not hold the exact information about the future you have, but what I saw, was a place and time without light. The things I saw made me do a great bit of reflective thinking," Dumbledore said carefully.
Hermione frowned. If only he knew about the horrors… And perhaps he did. "So…what are you suggesting? That I try to change things?" Hermione asked finally, her voice trembling slightly.
Dumbledore nodded seriously.
Hermione wanted to scoff at the careless way this past Dumbledore was thinking.
"You would intentionally want to take a risk of creating an alternate timeline? And with that, take away the possibility for me to return to my own time?" She asked sharply, her mind in turmoil, drawn by the idea of destroying Voldemort before he could rise again, and horrified by the thought of not seeing her friends and family again.
Dumbledore gave her a thoughtful look. "Miss Granger...have you travelled in time before?" He asked lightly.
Hermione frowned at his question. "Yes, I have," she said slowly.
"I assumed you had. Well then, could you tell me, Miss Granger, has there been a time, during your trips in the past, when you might have changed something?" He asked, a scrutinising look in his blue eyes.
Hermione chewed her bottom lip. Of course there had been the possibility that she had unintentionally changed something. But there certainly was the one time when she and Harry had intentionally changed the events in the past. But what confused her the most, was Harry's explanation to her then, that at least some of the events had already happened, suggesting that they in fact hadn't changed everything they originally had thought.
She let out a long sigh. "Yes...there was an occurrence..." She muttered, not sure if she could give him any details about it.
Dumbledore lifted his brows at her. "Oh? And were you actually able to change something, with everything else staying as it had been?"
Hermione shook her head in frustration. "No. Yes. I don't know! I mean, it was only a couple of hours, not...not twenty years!" She said desperately. "And...and what we changed...I'm not sure if everything changed after all, or was some of it just...happening like it should have..." She muttered, her ramblings not really making sense even to her.
Dumbledore nodded and tapped his fingertips together as he studied her.
"So you might say that regardless of your attempts, at least some of the events came to pass because...they had already happened? And by your actions, you still stayed in that same timeline?" He asked curiously.
Hermione sighed. "I...I don't know. I think so," She said, feeling helpless.
"If that would be the case, regardless what your actions are now, everything would stay the same, if you were to return back to your time, yes?" He questioned calmly.
But...but what if it wasn't like that? What if another timeline would be created because of her actions? That would depend on the theory of time travel. Was it impossible to actually reshape the future by travelling into the past? Was it impossible to change anything for the better for her friends and family? Even though she had changed something with Harry.
If she was able to return, would there be any of her friends and family left? Their situation had been hopeless the moment before she had left from the Malfoy Manor. Voldemort had been summoned, the place had been crawling with Death Eaters and the Order hadn't been there to save them this time.
If this was in fact an alternate timeline, the people in this timeline would face the same horrors as had happened in her time. And if there wasn't an alternate timeline and she had the possibility to change the events of her past, was she truly not going to do that?
Did Dumbledore even realise how much he was asking from her?
"I have a life out there, somewhere. Waiting for me. I have friends and family waiting for me!" She exclaimed quietly. "…What if I lose them if I change something? What if I don't exist anymore if I change something?" She asked, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. What was also at the forefront of her mind, was the question that even if she were to return to the same time she had originally been, what would happen then? Would there be anything but death and suffering left for her?
Dumbledore gave her a sympathetic smile. "What if you could change something to make someone's life better? To make someone suffer less?" He asked softly. "Would you take the risk?"
Hermione took a deep breath. Would she? This time Harry could have his parents and his godfather. He and Ron would never have to bear the burden what all three of them did when they were on the run, trying to find Voldemort's Horcruxes. Ginny would never be compelled by Voldemort.
This was her chance to make the world she knew better. But was she really ready to sacrifice her own life for it? For everyone else? For the greater good.
And what if she didn't do anything? She'd have to stay unseen by everyone, she couldn't talk to anyone, and it could take weeks, months, even years before she'd find a way to return to her time. The Time-Turner was destroyed, and Dumbledore had outright told her that he didn't know a way for her to return. If it was even a possibility anymore. All she knew, this could now be the alternate timeline, as Dumbledore had suggested, that it had already been created. Was she able to just stand back and let everything bad happen while she waited to get home? Was she able to let her loved ones in this time suffer once again?
Would she take the risk of losing her chances to get back home if there were so many lives she could save? If there was so much good she could do? If there was a war, or, perhaps two wars, she could prevent?
She sighed. "Yes. I would." She whispered quietly, staring numbly at the table.
Dumbledore nodded and they stayed silent for a long time before he spoke again. "Miss Granger?" He asked hesitantly.
Hermione swallowed, knowing where she ought to start. "He, um…Voldemort...split his soul into seven pieces," she said steadily, looking at the Headmaster. "He's made Horcruxes."
Dumbledore's eyes widened a bit. After a long moment, he spoke. "That…is definitely worrisome news."
"I agree." She said quietly and frowned. "…I know what most of them are and where a few of them are situated. We destroyed three of them, before we got captured. At this point, I think he has created only five."
They were both silent for a while, until Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Will you help me to destroy them?"
Hermione chewed the corner of her lips. "I…" She hesitated. This was her chance to make things better. "Yes, I will." She said unsteadily, feeling hollow and hopeful at the same time.
Dumbledore gave her a warm smile. "And I'm grateful for that, Miss Granger."
Hermione didn't know how to reply to him, so she merely glanced outside from the large windows in the Headmaster's office. It was a beautiful summer day. Almost evening already. She saw a flock of birds to cross her line of vision as the sun was descending slowly, still giving a bright golden light to the grounds.
"I suggest we continue to make our plans in a couple of days, after you have settled down, and from there we could meet regularly, perhaps twice a month? We need to go through every bit of information you have and as you said, the Horcruxes are hidden, so we can assume that they will be in the same places even after we have formed a plan."
Hermione was astonished how easily the past Dumbledore was making plans to change the future. This certainly was not what she had expected.
"Sure. But, um…settled down? I don't actually have anywhere I could go…" She said with bewilderment.
Dumbledore smiled and eyed her thoughtfully. "Have you finished your schooling in Hogwarts?"
Hermione shook her head. "No. I didn't return for my seventh year since we were on the run, hunting for the Horcruxes."
Dumbledore looked intrigued but he merely nodded. "Then I suggest that you attend Hogwarts for your seventh year, starting the 1st of September," he said casually.
Hermione was startled by his proposition. Of course, it was tempting, and the more she thought of it, the more necessary it came to be. If she was trying to change the future, she had to befriend or at least influence on certain people, and the best place was to be amongst them. Not to mention that she actually enjoyed the studying part.
"Yes, I would like that, sir." She answered with a small smile. Now that it was decided, that she would try to change the events in the past, it was easier to feel happy for smaller things. Things she wasn't expecting to receive anymore.
"Splendid!" Dumbledore said and beamed at her. "Now we should decide how we are going to explain your presence in this time."
"Sir?" She asked, frowning at him.
"We need to make up something to explain the reason why you are here and attending Hogwarts only for the seventh year. I think it would be beneficial to say that you are a relative of a wizarding family in Britain and have recently moved from abroad. That could diminish some curiosity from the others and the likelihood of anyone examining your origins," Dumbledore explained, steepling his hands and eyeing to the distance in thought.
"But who would agree to that? Who can I trust in here?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
Dumbledore smiled. "There is an obvious solution to this. Have you met my brother Aberforth?"
Hermione shook her head cautiously. "No, I haven't," She responded slowly.
"He lives in the Hogsmeade village and owns the Hog's Head pub there," Dumbledore explained. "Aberforth can offer you a place to live, as well as adopt you as his daughter." He said steadily.
Hermione spluttered. "I'm sorry?" She asked, gaping at the Headmaster. "Adopting me…?"
Dumbledore frowned. "I understand it might be a bit too much, but I assure you, it is best if done officially. Fewer questions and fewer possibilities for anyone to investigate you." He explained.
Hermione stared at him with her brows lifted. She didn't know what to say.
"We could say that until recently, you lived with your mother in Australia and studied there at The Australian Wizarding School. But, because your mother recently passed away, you decided to return to Britain, to be with your remaining family. With your arrival, you took your father's surname again." He said, eyeing her reaction carefully, before asking, "how does that sound?"
Hermione still stared at him in shock, trying to swallow the lump from her throat. She could only think of her real parents, of whom she had sent to Australia. She shook the depressing thoughts away and concentrated on the now. "Does Aberforth agree to this? I mean…we haven't even met each other and he's willing to adopt a stranger?" She asked in disbelief.
Dumbledore smiled tightly. "He will do it. Even if he didn't jump for joy at the opportunity, he still wants the same thing as we all do. To stop Voldemort. But…I think you'll find that out once you get to know him."
"Oh. Okay." Hermione said, still unsure how to continue. "So… What now? Where do I go?" She asked, her thoughts becoming splintered.
Dumbledore beamed at her. "You should stay in the castle tonight and perhaps tomorrow, you could visit Diagon Alley, to purchase a new wand and some of your other school supplies?" He asked kindly.
Hermione frowned. "I, um… I don't think I have enough money left…" She muttered, feeling embarrassed. Before they had gone on the run with Harry and Ron, Hermione had gathered her savings for them, but the money had slowly got spent. In the end, they had been starving, living off with mushrooms and berries.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Well, as you are going to be a part of the Dumbledore family, I think it is only appropriate we take care of you," he said lightly and pulled a bag of galleons from his desk drawer, handing it to her.
Hermione took it hesitantly, thanking him. She was stunned by everything they had agreed. She tried to understand how Dumbledore had managed to sort out all of that during the few hours after meeting her in the first place.
They agreed that she would go to Diagon Alley the next day, using the Headmaster's floo and she would go straight to Hog's Head after purchasing the necessary items. Dumbledore then escorted her to the guest quarters of the castle, and after bidding her good night, he left her alone, his purple and yellow robes swishing quietly as he walked along the corridor.