A/N: I hadn't planned on having such a large gap in between this chapter and the last and I apologize for that. I won't go into too many details why but, long story short, I was going through a rough time due to the death of a friend and I just wasn't in the right mindset for writing. However, every summer I reread the Harry Potter books and something about them always makes things a little bit better. Reading them again inspired me to continue on this story and gave me new ideas to work with. So please bear with me…
Chapter 3 - The Side Effects of Time Travel
A tapping sound roused Hermione the next day. Peeking through her eyes, she saw that the dormitory was flooded with sunlight. Lifting her head up, she noticed one of the school's owls sitting on the ledge outside the dormitory window, quickly tapping on the glass. Confused, Hermione swung her feet off her bed and walked barefoot across the wooden floor and pulled the window open. The brown owl landed on the windowsill and placed a letter in Hermione's hand. After the owl flew away, Hermione shut the window and walked back to her bed and sat down. She opened the letter curiously and began to read:
Dear Miss Granger,
I hope your first night back at Hogwarts after all of these strange events was welcoming. As I stated yesterday, I request that you come see me in my office so we can further discuss what we shall do about your situation. I trust you know where to find my office. The current password is "Fawkes". I hope to see you soon, however, there is no rush.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Hermione read the letter a few times and then set it down. Not having anything else to do, she pulled on the robes Dumbledore had given her and silently exited the dormitory.
It was still an eerie feeling having the Common Room empty in the middle of the day. It was so quiet without a fellow student in sight that Hermione could clearly hear the crackle of the flames in the fireplace as she passed it. As she left the common room and started walking, she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. The portraits around her whispered to each other, obviously wondering what she was doing in the castle alone during the summer. Hermione kept her nose up high and did not make eye contact with any of them as she made her way to Dumbledore's office.
When she arrived in front of the large stone gargoyle that guarded his office, Hermione hesitated, having no idea what to expect. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the ugly gargoyle and, in the clearest voice she could muster, said, "Fawkes".
The gargoyle moved aside opening a pathway to a circular, moving, stone, staircase. Step by step, Hermione climbed the moving stairs until she reached two large wooden doors. Right as she was about to knock, the doors swung open, revealing the Headmaster's office.
It was a large circular room with spindly tables holding silver instruments whirring all around the tower. Books from Dumbledore's private library lined the walls. The walls themselves were covered in portraits of old Headmasters, and where there wasn't portraits, there were windows letting in beams of morning sunlight.
Albus Dumbledore was sitting in a large chair behind a grand rectangular desk. He smiled warmly as he spotted Hermione.
"Ah, Miss Granger, come in, come in," said Dumbledore waving her inside.
Hermione shuffled out of the doorway and made her way to the desk. She sat in the chair opposite Dumbledore and waited for him to speak again, not sure what to say herself.
"In my letter I stated that you did not have to rush over here if you did not wish to," he said with his eyes peering over his half-moon spectacles at Hermione.
"Yes sir, however, I didn't really have anything else to do…" she replied.
Dumbledore smiled, "I guess that is true. So why don't we get right down to business?"
Hermione nodded and Dumbledore continued, "You are starting your sixth year at Hogwarts, or you should be in your own timeline. I see no reason for you to not continue your studies while you are here. That is, if we cannot find a way to send to back before September comes."
"So you want me to be a student, Professor?" asked Hermione, raising her eyebrow.
"That is, if you are willing," replied Dumbledore. "To be very honest, the chances of finding a way for you to go back to your current time before September seems very slim. This is very tricky magic we are dealing with. Time is not something that is meant to be tampered with."
"Yes, I'm aware of that sir. During my third year I was given a Time-Turner to take more classes. I was made aware of the dangers of messing with time.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at this information. "You seem to be a very bright young witch, Miss. Granger. Not many thirteen-year-olds would be issued a Time-Turner. Then again, not many thirteen-year-olds would want to take extra classes."
Hermione flushed at the compliment, "Thank you, sir."
"You may be aware of the dangers of changing things in the past by using a Time-Turner but that is for events that happened only hours ago. This is twenty years and could have drastic outcomes if not handled with care. Have you ever heard of Eloise Mintumble?" asked Dumbledore.
"No sir, I haven't" frowned Hermione, annoyed with herself at her lack of knowledge.
"She was an unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries back in 1899. During that time, the Ministry was doing time traveling experiments. They believed that they could figure out a way to send people back in time for more than just a few hours, but to send people years into the past. Eloise Mintumble was the witch that they decided to send. They managed to send her back to the year 1402 where she became trapped; they had no way to bring her back. She spent a total of five days in 1402 but it was enough time for her to permanently damage parts of her timeline, and others," said Dumbledore with a grave voice.
"Permanently?" asked Hermione, wide-eyed.
"Yes. They finally managed to bring her back to her current time however, her body had aged the five centuries she had been gone. It also seemed that twenty-five people who were the descendants of the people she came in contact with became un-born. They vanished from the present into nothingness. That is when the Ministry decided to stop experimenting with time travel."
A cold chill made its way down her spine as Hermione processed what Dumbledore was telling her.
"So what you're saying, Professor, is that I might age twenty years if I get sent back to my normal time… and other people might vanish?" asked Hermione.
Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair and started stroking his beard. "It is a possibility. It is helpful that you only traveled twenty years and not five centuries. That way you would not die if you did age. In the case of people vanishing, the way I see it is that if you do not purposely do something, knowing it will change the future, it should not do too much damage. I believe that the things you do most likely will not have any real effect on the future and things will happen as they should. Think of it as a stream. One ripple in the water might change things temporarily but eventually things return to how they should be. I do not wish to keep you locked up to prevent time from being altered. You just need to use precaution while you are here."
Hermione nodded slowly.
"You said that they managed to bring her back. So that means it's possible to send me back to 1996, right?" asked Hermione.
"There should be a way to do it. It would be very difficult. I will spend as much time as I need to make sure you return safely to your timeline. The Department of Mysteries should have records on how they got Eloise Mintumble back from 1402… however, I want to discover a way to send you back without aging you."
"So until then I'll just be living here at Hogwarts? I'll be a student?"
"Yes. And I must urge you to not tell anyone that you are from the future. Do not give away any information about the future. Not to anyone, even myself."
"But sir," said Hermione remembering her conversation with Dumbledore the other day in St. Mungo's. Hadn't she explained why all of them had been in the Department of Mysteries in the first place? "I've already told you things that have happened in my timeline."
"That is fine, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore waving his hand. "Just try not to say anything from here on out. I'm the only one that knows you're from the future and it is imperative that it stays that way."
"Where will everyone think I came from then?" asked Hermione.
"Ah, that is another matter I wished to discuss with you. We'll have to create a cover story. One about who you are and why you are starting Hogwarts in your sixth year."
Hermione sat back in her chair and began to think. She was going to have to come up with an entire new backstory if she were to protect secrets from the future. A new name, a new life, a new history. Not to mention a reason to explain why she hasn't been attending Hogwarts for the last five years but still knowing a great deal of magic. But it couldn't be too convoluted, what if she were to forget her new story? After a few minutes of thinking, Hermione looked back up at Dumbledore.
"I think I should keep most of my personal details the same. For example, I should still say that I'm muggle born with two dentist parents. I think to change that and create an entirely new persona might be too difficult to keep up. I might slip and say the wrong thing," said Hermione.
Dumbledore smiled. "You have the chance to be anyone and yet you stay true to yourself. You are a remarkable young lady, Miss Granger. Now, the matter of you not going to Hogwarts until now. I originally was thinking we could say you did private wizarding studies at home and your family did not wish for you to attend Hogwarts however, that contradicts with the fact that you are muggle born. We could say you were raised in England yet moved before you started your education. That way, you attended another wizarding school instead of Hogwarts and your family has recently moved back."
"I think that might work, sir. I'd just have to do a lot of research on that school in case people question it," said Hermione.
"Since Durmstrang does not accept muggle born students I think your best bet would to say you're either from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Ilvermorny, or Castelobruxo. School. All are somewhat similar to our own school and curriculum," mused Dumbledore.
Relief flooded Hermione's head when Beauxbatons was mentioned. Suddenly everything she had learned about them her previous year seemed invaluable. She knew next to nothing about the American and the Brazilian school, and she certainly didn't speak a word of Portuguese. French was a language she was at least conversational in.
"Beauxbatons might be easier to get away with. I already know a great deal about them and it seems more believable to move to France and back rather than the States or Brazil."
"It is settled. You will be a transfer student from Beauxbatons," smiled Dumbledore with a nod.
"It's also a great reason for me to be here at Hogwarts over the summer. I can say I needed to take the O.W.L. since they don't take them until their sixth year!" beamed Hermione.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Speaking of the O.W.L, you must have just taken them in your time yet we'll never find out what your scores are for another twenty years."
It was as if someone had punched her in the gut. All that work… gone…
"That's terrible! I studied so hard! How will I know what classes to take?" said Hermione feeling horrified. "Could I take them again this summer?"
"If you'd like to I can arrange that to happen. Would a month's preparation be sufficient?"
"Yes, that's plenty of time, sir," replied Hermione
"On that note I think we should end this meeting. I'll have course syllabi made up for you in case the curriculum differs from the one you know in 1996. That way you can study and go over what you need to since you do not have your notes on you. I shall send for you at a later point."
"Thank you, professor," said Hermione as she stood up. "For everything".
She turned and started to leave the office. As she was approaching the doors something popped into her head and she whirled around.
"My wand!" she gasped.
"Miss Granger?"
"I haven't got a wand anymore," replied Hermione, feeling foolish having forgotten about her most important possession.
"I will see if your wand has already been made. If so, I will borrow it until you return to your old time. That way it will still be at Ollivander's when you go to purchase it when you are eleven. What wand is it?" asked Dumbledore.
"10 ¾", vine wood and dragon heartstring," said Hermione in a small voice.
"Very well," said Dumbledore. Hermione turned to leave when Dumbledore spoke again, "Oh and Miss Granger?"
Hermione stopped and looked back, "Yes, sir?"
"Try to come up with a different surname by the end of today. I'd like to know what to introduce you as to the professors and I think it would be better to use a different name in this time period than your own surname."
"Yes, sir. Thank you again for everything," said Hermione as she rushed out the door.
For the rest of that evening, Hermione spent her time looking through the course details and notes she had found waiting for her in the common room after she returned from Dumbledore's office. Most of the material was surprisingly and thankfully the same as it is in her time. Some of it actually seemed a bit simpler, but that might just have been because this was now her second time studying for the O.W.L.
Same as the day before, Dumbledore was sending food up to the Gryffindor common room. Shortly after dinner, an owl from Dumbledore came with a note reminding her to come up with a new surname so he could talk about her with the other professors. It took Hermione a couple minutes and a few good pecks from the owl to realize it was not leaving without a response.
After thinking about names for quite a while, Hermione finally came up with a last name she did not hate. From now on, she would be Hermione Dawson: The muggle born witch that spent the last five years at Beauxbatons Academy. She quickly scribbled the name down for Dumbledore and gave it to the owl. With a hoot, the owl swooped out the window and was out of sight.
Hermione closed the window and went back to sitting in her favorite chair by the fireplace. She was happy to have course work to throw herself into to distract herself from how lonely she was feeling. Unfortunately the coursework did not distract her from everything. Hermione could not stop thinking about Eloise Mintumble and how she had aged the amount of time she had been gone. Would she really age twenty years if Dumbledore found a way for her to return to 1996? She also couldn't help shake the feeling that she might be responsible for certain people being un-born. She would have to be extremely careful when it comes to the school year. Hopefully, by some miracle, Dumbledore would find a way for her to go back home before it even came to that.
After a few hours of studying, worrying, and a small amount of dozing by the fireplace, Hermione found that she was utterly exhausted. She went up to the dormitory and collapsed in her bed and quickly fell asleep, hoping that maybe tomorrow things will start to look brighter.
A/N: I guess I lied when I said things would speed up and more familiar characters would be introduced this chapter. I had planned on it but the conversation between Hermione and Dumbledore went waaaay longer than I planned on it going. Next chapter there definitely will be other familiar faces.