Chapter 03: Adopting a new life

Monday, 1 August 1977

The next morning Hermione stepped into the fireplace in Dumbledore's office, arriving to the Leaky Cauldron moments after. She had breakfast there, while thinking over all the details she had to inform the Headmaster about in order to stop Voldemort. She also thought about her return to her own time.

She knew she had made a decision the previous day, that she had decided to change things even if it possibly meant that she wasn't able to return to her old life. She had stayed awake and thought about it for several hours. Hermione presumed it was the matter of how time worked. Either she was stuck in another timeline because of her arrival into this time, or...maybe, just maybe, it was possible to change the events in her past - like she and Harry had changed Sirius's and Buckbeak's fates - and return home, where her friends and family were. But what if what she was about to do, was just the factor that would cause her future to be entirely different? A future where she wasn't friends with Harry or Ron, because there wouldn't have been a troll and the constant fight against Voldemort. And whatever was going to happen, there was still the possibility of her ageing twenty years the moment she'd return. How could she then continue her life as it had been?

After breakfast Hermione left towards Flourish and Blotts in search of her new schoolbooks with a couple of other tomes she reckoned would be useful for her later on. She spent a good couple of hours in the bookshop, skimming through some of the books regarding Time Magic before she left to pick up the rest of the necessary items she needed for her seventh school year. She stopped by Madam Malkins, where she bought herself new school robes, and then visited the Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment for a new set of crystal phials and new silver scales.

Finally, it was way past lunch time as she arrived at the Ollivander's wand shop. Gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. Hermione took in a nervous breath before she entered the shop, feeling excitement course through her.

"Um...Hello?" She called to the empty shop and walked forward towards the counter.

"Good day," said a voice behind her, which made her jump. It was Mr Ollivander, smiling and eyeing her with curiosity. "What can I do for you, Miss?"

"Well, I'm in need of a new wand. I recently moved back to Britain from Australia and unfortunately lost my wand on the way here." She improvised, and hoped he didn't see right through her.

Ollivander nodded and said, "Very well then. Would you hold out your arm so that I can measure you?" He asked, and Hermione complied. It took some time as Mr Ollivander measured her from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round her head. Just like he had done when she had been eleven and she had gone to Diagon Alley with Minerva McGonagall to get her school supplies.

As he measured, he spoke to her. "As you have previously owned a wand, you must know all the basic information about them. But I am curious to know, what was the wand you used to have? It isn't every day you run into a foreign wandcraft," Ollivander said curiously.

Hermione was quite relieved at that moment that she was a bookworm. She had actually researched foreign wandcraft, interested of what components were used around the world. For fun and knowledge, of course.

"Oh…It was a Red Gum Wood with a Thunderbird tail feather." She said quickly.

Ollivander blinked and seemed to be surprised. "A powerful wand in Potions and Transfiguration, I presume?"

She gave him a tight smile. "Yes, it was."

Ollivander went to the shelves for a moment and returned with a stack of boxes he set on the counter. She nervously wondered if her old wand would be amongst the many other wands he'd brought to her.

He pulled out the first wand for her to try. It was an eleven-inch cherry wand with a dragon heartstring core and when Hermione gave it a swish, a massive fire torch emitted from its tip. Hermione blanched, not expecting that at all.

Ollivander chuckled and took the wand from her. "Definitely not this one. Let's try another, shall we?" And he handed her the next. Soon it was the fifth wand she was trying out, and Hermione started to feel a bit anxious. She wondered what would happen if none of these wands would choose her. She took the next wand Ollivander offered to her and instantly felt a surge of power course through her. It was nearly intoxicating feeling, and she knew this was it. This was the wand that had chosen her. But it wasn't her old wand…

Even so, she smiled at the feeling the wand had given her and swished the wand, which immediately sparked red and gold. Ollivander studied her and frowned as she let out a deep sigh of relief. The wand had indeed chosen her.

"Interesting," he muttered.

"What is?" Hermione asked hesitantly while giving the wand back to him to be wrapped in a box.

He eyed her with an unreadable expression. "This is a ten and one-quarter inch, Blackthorn wand with a Phoenix feather core. A very unusual wand wood with a very rare core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though the wands are always the hardest to tame and to personalise. Blackthorn wood is being best suited for a warrior." He said while studying her closely.

"Oh…" Was all Hermione managed to say. She handed him the money for the wand and left the shop quickly, feeling a bit confused.

Somehow she had ended up with a completely different wand she had used to have. Hermione wondered if the wand truly did reflect her intentions and needs. The thought made her feel like she was already letting her previous life go. She shook the melancholy thoughts from her head as she approached the Leaky Cauldron again and ordered a couple of sandwiches for an early dinner.

Once she was finished, Hermione apparated to Hogsmeade and made her way towards the Hog's Head. She was nervous to meet Aberforth. Her new father. Even the mere thought sounded ridiculous in her head. She didn't quite know what to expect as she entered the empty pub, finding an old, grumpy looking man behind the bar, staring at her suspiciously.

"Um…Hello." Hermione greeted awkwardly. "I'm Hermione."

Aberforth stared at her for a moment before he spoke. "Hello." He grunted. "Let's go upstairs." He said and after flicking his wand to the front door of the pub, he turned to walk through another door that led upstairs, expecting her to follow him.

Hermione did, and as she stepped into what seemed to be the sitting room, Aberforth gestured for her to sit in one of the armchairs near the fireplace, while he sat in the one opposite to her. She took in a deep breath and sat down.

"So…um…" She mumbled, when Aberforth interrupted her.

"Tea?" He asked, and Hermione nodded. He summoned a tray with two cups and a teapot, and as he filled both cups, Hermione glanced around the room. It wasn't very large; a seating area in front of the fire, a couple of bookshelves against one wall and a writing desk against the other. There were also two doors in the corner, one of them opposite to the one they had entered from downstairs and another one on the wall next to it. Aberforth cleared his throat and offered her a cup. Hermione took it and thanked him, chewing the inside of her cheek as she wondered what she should say to him.

"So. My brother informs me you are in need of a new home?" He asked, staring at her with a blank look in his blue eyes. As she looked at him, she could see the resemblance between the brothers. But something still bothered her. She had thought that Albus and Aberforth didn't get along very well, as Dumbledore had never mentioned his brother, and well, based on what she had read from Skeeter's book, the Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore she had sneaked from Bathilda's home in Godric's Hollow.

She wondered why would Aberforth take in a stranger, just because his brother had suggested so.

Hermione cleared her throat. "I don't really want to be a burden to anyone, Mr Dumbledore."

Aberforth grimaced at the name. "You're not. Although, I'm not going to lie to you…What my brother told me about you and asked me to do was a bit…mental, even for him." He grunted, taking a sip from his cup.

Hermione's brows lifted in surprise. "Sir? He told you about me? About my…"

"Circumstances? Yeah, he did." Aberforth said, eyeing her suspiciously.

"…But?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

Aberforth sighed. "It's a pretty damn much to ask for someone to believe…" He muttered.

Hermione nodded slowly. "I know. And, well, I don't really know you, since this is the first time I've met you, but… There are some things I know about you…" She said carefully, eyeing his expression.

He merely arched a brow at her.

Hermione felt like he was purposely making it difficult for her. She sighed. "I… I know about Ariana. About the attack and what happened to her after. About Grindelwald," she said quietly. She had read about the duel between the brothers and Grindelwald from the Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. Although, with Rita Skeeter writing it, you could never trust what was printed, but Hermione and Harry had assumed that at least some of it had to be correct, since Skeeter had obviously manipulated the information from Bathilda, who had been quite close to the Dumbledore family.

Aberforth stared at her with a blank look. After a short silence he spoke. "I suppose my brother was telling the truth." He said slowly. Hermione could see the pain and loss flashing in his eyes. "So you're going to save us all then?" He asked with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Hermione frowned, not really sure how to reply to him.

"I trust my brother has planned a great many things for you to accomplish. He has always enjoyed scheming things, using people as his pawns to reach his goals," Aberforth said simply.

Hermione's brows lifted in surprise. She was taken aback by how harshly he talked about his own brother. The Headmaster.

"Perhaps you need someone you can trust when all that becomes too much," he continued, more to himself than her.

"Um…" She was at a loss for words again. "Thank you Mr Dumbledore." She muttered.

He suddenly smirked. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "And seeing as you are going to be my…daughter – " He cringed a bit at the word, "I reckon we ought to be honest with each other, right?" He asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, of course, sir. And I just wanted to say that I'm okay with the option that we merely tell everyone we are related, and not make it official." She said with certainty.

Aberforth shook his head. "Don't bother to argue, I've already discussed this with Albus, and it's one of the rare occasions I agree with him. It would come to daylight sooner or later if someone wanted to check on it," he said simply.

"Oh. Well, thank you again. And it would be an honour to be part of your family, and to be your daughter, sir." She said politely.

He gave her a wry smile. "As long as you'll start calling me Ab or...even...dad, so I can stop glancing over my shoulder and looking for my brother every time you say 'sir' or 'Mr Dumbledore'."

Hermione felt her cheeks colour slightly. "Yes, of course...Ab."

Aberforth nodded at her. "I'll show you to your room, then. It is getting late. Have you eaten?" He asked as he stood up and vanished the tea tray and cups away.

"Oh, yes, I have actually. I had a bite in London after I was done with purchasing what I need for school."

"Then let's head up."

They went another set of stairs up from the door in the corner, ascending to the third floor of the pub, where there were three doors in a narrow hallway. "The room in the right is mine, middle one is the bathroom, room in the left is yours." He muttered, pointing the rooms. "I'll leave you to it then. Gotta finish with the pub downstairs."

"Thanks. Good night," Hermione said a bit awkwardly.

"Night." Aberforth replied, making his way down the stairs.

When Hermione entered her room, she was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't a shabby space, like she had expected for some reason. Although the pub in the downstairs was in a bit of decaying condition, neither the sitting room downstairs nor her room or the bathroom were even close to that. Her room had dark blue walls with white curtains, there were white bed textiles in a rather large four poster bed in the other end of the room, and a massive white cosy rug in the middle of the room against the dark wooden floors. On the other side there was a closet for her clothes and next to it a writing desk with a comfortable looking chair. The room was completed with a decent sized window in front of the bureau, with a view to the garden. The overall look in the room was calm and collected, instantly soothing her swirling mind.

She had been thinking about her time in this era and the people she already knew, people who didn't know her, all day long. It was overwhelming to think that she was supposed to act like she hadn't already studied at Hogwarts. It had been her home the last six years.

Hermione let out a frustrated sigh and lay down on her bed, closing her eyes. She wondered what Hogwarts would be like without Harry and Ron and everyone else she knew who hadn't even born yet. She remembered how it had felt when she had started Hogwarts, before she had befriended Harry and Ron. It had been the loneliest time in her life. After the Troll, the trio had been inseparable. It had always been the three of them from then on. Of course they had had their fair share of disagreements and silent treatment during the years of their friendship, but they had still worked them out. Thinking of her fiends made her heart ache painfully. She felt so alone.

What if she wouldn't make any friends this time? Would she even be here that long that it mattered?

She felt quite saddened by the thoughts in her head and tried to think of something else.

Hermione knew Sirius and Remus would be in Hogwarts, as well as Harry's parents. What was she going to do with them? She knew too much about them. Would she simply pretend she didn't know about Remus's affliction? Would she outright tell him she had figured it out, perhaps a bit more considerately than she had done the last time, when she had yelled it to his face in the Shrieking Shack?

She heaved a sigh and went to do her nightly routine. She had more than enough time to think about the rest of it before she actually had to meet everyone. Now she would focus on planning to destroy Voldemort and his Horcruxes with Dumbledore, as well as trying to find her way back home.

Home… The thought made her eyes well with tears and she didn't even try to suppress them. Hermione let herself cry for a good while and let herself feel utterly miserable, before she eventually fell asleep in her bed.

Tuesday, 2 August 1977

Hermione woke up early, tired after a night of tossing and turning in her new bed. She had been unable to stop herself of thinking about everyone she missed and everything she had to accomplish.

She went downstairs for breakfast and found Aberforth sitting at the table, a cup of tea in one hand and the morning paper in the other.

"Um…Good morning," Hermione said awkwardly.

Aberforth grunted a reply and gestured to the counter. "Didn't know what you are used to so I made up a bit of everything," he muttered, and Hermione followed his gaze.

"Oh. Wow." She said quietly and took in the full breakfast on the counter including tea, orange juice, cereals, fresh fruits, bacon and eggs, sausages, grilled tomato, mushrooms, potato scones, toast and marmalade.

Hermione could see Aberforth's mouth curve a bit when Hermione's stomach rumbled loudly. She made herself busy by filling her plate and pouring herself a cup of tea, before she sat down opposite to him.

"So...Ready to be a part of the infamous Dumbledore clan?" Aberforth asked as he took a sip from his tea and eyed her curiously as she shovelled in her breakfast with haste. "We have time in our hands," he added with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Hermione blushed and swallowed in embarrassment. "I apologise," she muttered and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I'm afraid my manners might have disappeared after a half a year spent in the woods and a couple of months of starvation," she said quietly, feeling ashamed.

Aberforth frowned but then waved his hand in dismissal. "Not to worry," he said kindly. "You've been in the Ministry before?"

Hermione nearly inhaled her orange juice in the wrong pipe. Coughing, she smiled. "You could say so..." The last time she had been in the Ministry, was when Harry, Hermione and Ron had polyjuiced themselves into Ministry workers and stolen the locket from Umbridge.

They chatted a bit about the day ahead during their breakfast, and after finishing and freshening up, they apparated to the Ministry to sort out her situation.

It took a large part of the day to establish her as a citizen of the Wizarding community in Britain and a scion to the House Dumbledore. They filled many forms and explained her story to a handful of clerks before the Ministry Officials finally let them go. Hermione had kept her first and middle name and changed only her last name. She was Hermione Jean Dumbledore now. It sounded so unreal. Hermione wondered what would Harry and Ron say about her new last name... She could almost hear their comments in her head. Almost.

Aberforth had been eager to go back to take care of the pub, which really didn't have a busy time, but Hermione reckoned he did like it there better than anywhere else. After they'd eaten lunch, he showed her the rest of the pub and their quarters, along with the little garden in the backyard.

"I would love to help you around the pub, if you are in need of extra hands?" Hermione asked when they were coming back from the gardens. She had thought about it a bit after Dumbledore had informed her that she was to be adopted by his brother; that she wanted to contribute somehow and not merely take an advantage of someone's money and hospitality.

Aberforth hummed. "Yeah, sure. You can help me out during lunch, but I want you to focus on your studies when you start at Hogwarts, okay?"

Hermione nodded and gave him a smile. "Okay."

When she retired to her bedroom later that evening, Hermione noticed a barn owl standing on the edge of her table with a parchment tied to its leg. The window was open so Hermione reckoned it must've flown through it. She took the parchment and summoned some owl treats from her beaded bag to the owl before it flew away. She sat down at her desk and opened the letter.

It was from Dumbledore.

Dear Hermione,

I would like to start our private lessons this Wednesday, as we discussed earlier.

Kindly come along to my office after lunch, at 1 p.m. I hope you have settled in nicely in your new home.

Yours sincerely, Albus Dumbledore

P.S. I enjoy Chocolate Frogs

Hermione let out a weary sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to gather her thoughts and form some plan for the next day. She contemplated the information for a while, forming lists in her mind before she took a brand new quill, ink pot and a parchment she had acquired from Diagon Alley the day before, and began writing a list of Horcruxes and their known and possible locations.

She wrote down the information about the five Horcruxes that she knew had been already created. There was the diary that had been created when Voldemort had still been in school, by the murder of Myrtle Warren. Then there was the ring, that had been created during Voldemort's last years in school, by the murder of his own father. The locket and Helga Hufflepuff's cup had both been created after Voldemort's schoolyears by the murder of Hepzibah Smith and an unknown muggle. And finally, there was the last Horcrux, which was an unknown object.

Hermione knew the ring was situated in the Gaunt Shack, and that the locket was situated in the cave by the sea. She assumed the diary was in the possession of Lucius Malfoy and suspected that Bellatrix Lestrange had also one Horcrux in safekeeping. But what was it? She wrote every single detail she knew and guessed into her list regarding the Horcruxes, as well as the ways to destroy them.

She took another parchment where she listed the Death Eaters in her time and those she knew of from this time. To the third parchment she listed all the casualties she knew of, and when they had occurred. In the final piece of parchment Hermione wrote down everything that needed to be accomplished – aside from finding and destroying the Horcruxes of course.

Hermione made a note about the importance of joining the Order, and researching time magic and possibly an alternate timeline. Those were mainly a reminder for her. The list continued with researching potions causing hallucinations and mental pain before acquiring the locket, a reminder about the Prophecy, the Chamber of Secrets, as well as the importance of certain Death Eaters who played a bigger role in the war. Regulus Black, who was possibly a key to some of the Horcruxes, and Peter Pettigrew and Severus Snape whom both were to be kept from joining the Death Eaters if possible.

Pleased with her written accomplishments, she put her things to the desk drawer and the parchments to an envelope which she stowed into her beaded bag. She carried the bag with her everywhere, not wanting to part with it after having it attached to her hip for almost a year. It held every essential book and item she could think of needing, including Harry's Marauder's map, which would probably be handy when she was going to be in Hogwarts again as well as his Invisibility cloak, which she reckoned she could use when heading to the nearly impossible task she was determined to take. Needless to say, the bag also held all the memories from her previous life she wanted to cherish and keep safe.

Her night went with the same pattern as the night before. Missing her friends and her loved ones.