A/N: I had so much fun writing this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for all your lovely reviews!
Disclaimer: I still own nothing. Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J. K. Rowling.
Chapter 5 - Unexpected Classmates
Hermione woke up with a start. She pulled her head up and for a second was confused by her surroundings. She was in bed at home.
It must have all been a nightmare, she thought with relief. Taking a deep breath, she tried to laugh the nightmare off. Then she got a glimpse of the calendar hanging above her desk and turned back to the little blue clock on her nightstand and she sat up with a start. It was 10:00am on September 1st. She was going to miss the Hogwarts Express.
With a small yelp, Hermione threw herself out of bed, grabbed her wand, and yanked her slippers on. She didn't bother changing from her pajamas, she could change on the train. Her trunk sat packed at the foot of her bed and she grabbed it and ran out of the room. Thank goodness she was already packed and ready to go. Why hadn't her parents woken her up? Surely they knew what day it was.
"Mum! Dad! I'm going to miss the train!" Hermione yelled as she ran from her room and entered the sitting room, but she was surprised to see that it was empty.
Hermione put down her trunk and ran into the kitchen but found it empty as well.
"MUM! DAD?" called Hermione yet, they were nowhere to be seen.
Hermione's heart hammered in her chest. Where could they have gone? On the granite kitchen counter she saw a notepad. She took a pen and ripped off a slip of paper and quickly scribbled a note:
Dear Mum and Dad,
I woke up late for the train and I have no idea where either of you are. I need to hurry to King's Cross Station, there's no time for me to wait for you (wherever you may be). I wish I could have said goodbye in person. I love you both loads and I'll write as soon as I get to Hogwarts. I'll see you for Christmas Holiday.
Much love,
Hermione.
With the note in hand, she stuck it to the refrigerator with a magnet and then ran back into the living room and grabbed her trunk. Behind her, the old grandfather clock chimed signaling that it was quarter past.
"Bloody hell…" moaned Hermione. Oh great, now she was starting to sound like Ron.
If she moved quickly enough, she might be able to take the London Underground to King's Cross Station and make the train… if she was lucky. Forty-five minutes was definitely not a lot of time. How could she have been so stupid not to wake up early enough? And where on earth were her parents?
With her heart still pounding, she ran to the front door of her home, while tugging her trunk behind her, and swung it open and hurried through it. That's when her trunk vanished.
Hermione looked down at her hand in astonishment and then looked up. Around her were stone walls with large windows letting in sunlight, not the small, quiet, London street she had grown up on. She was standing in the seventh-floor corridor outside of the Room of Requirement.
She turned around with just enough time to see the front door of her house disappear back into the wall. At first, Hermione was frozen where she stood with shock. Slowly, she sunk down to the floor and the shock turned into grief.
How could she have forgotten she was in the Room of Requirement? It was terrifying how real everything had felt in there. It explains why the trunk disappeared; it didn't exist outside of the room. Her house didn't even exist like that yet. None of it did.
The dream she thought she was having wasn't a dream at all. The real dream was her believing, just for a few minutes, that she was home, safe and sound.
Her nightmare was still happening.
~o~
The rest of the day was spent with Hermione tidying up the common room and girls' dormitory. Books were piled everywhere and some of her clothes were scattered around. She had let herself get a little too comfortable staying there alone. The thought of having to now share it with entirely new housemates was a drastically increasing fear.
Initially, Hermione wanted to stay away from the feast to not draw much attention to herself, but Dumbledore insisted. They came to the conclusion that Hermione would blend in with the students as they entered the castle instead of making an awkward and unnecessary grand entrance.
When the time came, Hermione left the common room in her school robes and made her way outside of the Great Hall. She stood behind a large suit of armor, out of sight, and waited.
After a few minutes, she could hear the echo of voices off the stone walls as students poured into the room and made their way through the large doors of the Great Hall. Hermione took a deep breath and walked right into the herd of students, completely unnoticed.
The Great Hall looked breathtaking for the feast. The ceiling, which was bewitched to resemble the sky, was a dark navy with streaks of purple. It was a cloudless night and the quarter moon was giving off a ghostly light. The stars twinkled above her with each step she took. Right below the sky, hundreds of candles floated around in midair giving the feeling that the Hall was glowing. Even after all the years Hermione spent at Hogwarts, its beauty never failed to fill her with wonder.
Not many people were there yet and Hermione wished she had waited a bit longer to enter so she didn't look so obvious standing alone. A few people were looking at her with quizzical looks, so she quickly made her way close to the back of the Gryffindor table and sat down. More and more people came into the Great Hall and it started to fill up quickly.
"Do you mind if I sit next to you?" asked a kind voice from behind Hermione.
She looked around and saw a pretty girl about her age with dark red hair smiling at her.
"Of course, you can sit wherever you'd like to," replied Hermione. Something about this girl seemed very familiar but she couldn't place her.
The girl's smile widened and she sat down to Hermione's right. Around them, the seats began to fill up but no one seemed to notice the two of them. The other students seemed too preoccupied with seeing their friends again.
"You're Hermione, aren't you?" asked the red-haired girl.
Hermione's mouth fell open and she looked at the girl in shock before quickly closing her mouth.
"Don't worry," laughed the girl, seeing Hermione's expression. "Professor Dumbledore pointed you out to me and told me you were a new transfer student. I'm one of the Gryffindor Prefects."
"Oh!" said Hermione, "It's nice to meet you." She got a better look at the girl and noticed her bright green eyes. They were shaped like almonds, just like Harry's—Oh!
"My name is Lily Evans," she smiled and held out her hand.
Hermione's heart was now beating very fast. She tried to hide her surprise as she shook Lily's hand. She was talking to Harry's mother! This could not be happening… The thought that there could be people she had heard of or knew in the future had foolishly never even crossed her mind.
"Hermione Dawson," Hermione replied weakly. This was too much to take in and her head was spinning.
"So, you're coming from Beauxbatons, right?" asked Lily.
Hermione just nodded.
"This must seem so strange to you," sighed Lily. "We don't normally get transfers here at Hogwarts. Occasionally an exchange student will come but we never permanently get a new student. Why did you transfer?"
"Erm— well, I grew up in England… But when I was ten my parents and I moved to Paris and so I received a letter to attend Beauxbatons instead of Hogwarts." Hermione paused and Lily politely nodded, encouraging Hermione to continue. "At the end of last term my family moved back to England and I was given the option to either stay at Beauxbatons or to come to Hogwarts, and I've read so many great things about Hogwarts, so I decided that it was the best school for me to be at. It's also a plus that everyone here seems to speak perfect English…" Hermione told her the story she had invented and hoped Lily wouldn't be suspicious.
Lily just seemed to be in awe. "It was very brave of you to just up and switch school like that. That must be why you're in Gryffindor." Lily smiled and playfully nudged Hermione. To Hermione's surprised, she actually smiled back at Lily.
Hermione was about to thank her when—
"Oi, Evans! It's a new year, maybe now you'll go out with me?" called a voice.
Lily groaned and rolled her eyes. Hermione turned to see a boy with untidy black hair and rectangular glasses sitting further up the table, grinning at them with his friends. Hermione's mouth, once again, fell open. Even if she hadn't already predicted who had spoken, Hermione would have known who he was in a heartbeat.
James Potter looked exactly like Harry. His hair stuck up in the back just as Harry's did but, of course the biggest difference was the lack of green eyes and scar, but everything else was the same. Everyone always said Harry looked like his father but Hermione never really knew how much they did look alike. It was startling.
James saw Hermione gaping at him and he raised his eyebrow. "Evans, who's your new friend?" he asked, the smile leaving his lips.
"Oh, leave me alone, James. You already bothered me on the train, do you really have to bother me now? We haven't even been back for ten minutes yet," replied Lily in a drained voice.
The boy next to James howled with laughter and James frowned. Hermione had a good idea who the laughing boy was. She craned to get a better look and saw that he had long thick black hair, which contrasted with his pale skin, and an extremely handsome face.
It had to be Sirius. He had a rugged charm about him and he looked fit and healthy with no signs of the gaunt looking man she had known in her time. The years he spent in Azkaban must have taken a bigger toll on his appearance than she thought. He looked so… so alive. That's when Hermione remembered what had happened to Sirius right before she fell through time. She thought she was going to be sick.
"That's James Potter and his best friend Sirius Black. They're in our year. Practically inseparable, those two. I wouldn't be surprised if they married each other once we leave Hogwarts," snorted Lily. "They can be royal arses if you ask me. Remus is the only half decent one in their little group. He's a Prefect, like me. Well, Peter isn't so bad…"
Lupin and Peter! She turned back to Lily who was giving Hermione a half smile which soon dropped to a look of concerned when she saw Hermione's face.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" she asked quietly, leaning in towards Hermione.
What's wrong? Well for one, she was stuck twenty years in the past with no way to go back. Now, to make matters worse, she was surrounded by people who she knew to be dead, emotionally wounded beyond repair, or a future Death Eater responsible for the previous two things. Why did she think she'd be able to do this?
But of course Hermione couldn't tell Lily this. Instead, she just shook her head and tried to smile.
"It's nothing, Lily. I'm just—everything is just so different… It's a lot to take in. New school, new faces and names. I guess I'm feeling a little overwhelmed is all…"
Lily put her hand on Hermione's shoulder and gave her a comforting smile. She looked like she wanted to say something else but was cut off when the doors of the Great Hall swung open.
Professor McGonagall lead a line of terrified looking first years into the room. Their eyes took in the beauty of the Hall with all of its torches and floating candles. They were all looking around in wonder. Hermione could see some of them mouthing "wow!" as they walked down the middle of the room. Many of them were pointing towards the bewitched ceiling that showed the clear night sky and all of its stars, taking in the magnificent sight for the first time.
As the first year students walked across the floor, Hermione used it as an opportunity to look back towards James. She was glad that he and Sirius were sitting closer to the front of the hall so it wasn't obvious that she was trying to get a good look at them. Sitting across from James and Sirius was a smaller boy with mousy brown hair. He was round around the middle and had a pointed nose and his bulging eyes seemed to shift around nervously. Anger boiled within Hermione as she looked upon the younger Peter Pettigrew.
Applause exploded around the room, snapping Hermione's attention back to the front of the hall. She looked up and saw the Sorting Hat bow to each of the four tables. She had been so far into her own head that she missed the Sorting Hat's song. The first year sorting was about to begin. She looked around hoping that no one had seen her glaring at Peter and was relieved to see that no one seemed to pay her any attention. Everyone was focused on the sorting ceremony.
Professor McGonagall pulled out a roll of parchment and called out a name. A small, nervous looking, blonde boy walked up to McGonagall and sat on the stool. She placed the old brown Hat on his head and after a few moments it roared, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The Hufflepuffs broke into a cheer as the boy leapt off of the stool and walked quickly towards the Hufflepuff table with a relieved smile on his face.
Hermione tuned out the rest of the applause throughout the sorting as she looked back at the boys. Next to Peter was a quiet looking boy with green eyes and sand colored hair. Remus Lupin looked far less shaggy than he did in her time. His face was youthful and lacked the lines and scars it would have in twenty years. His green eyes weren't nearly as dull and pained looking. Hermione's heart hurt as she looked at this boy that would grow up to be so wounded and alone. She remembered the distraught look on his face when he had found and woken her in the Department of Mysteries. He had just seen his only friend left die and yet his first concern had been to make sure she, Harry, and the rest of them were safe. This was a boy that would lose all of his friends in the world and yet become a man who strived to do the right thing and help others.
Her thought process was broken again when the entire Hall broke into an even louder applause. The sorting had ended and Professor Dumbledore had risen to his feet. There was a twinkle in his eyes as he looked out at all the students with a beaming smile.
"I would like to welcome back all of our returning student and, of course, welcome our newcomers to a fantastic year at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore smiled as he scanned the crowd. His gaze stopped briefly at Hermione and she could have sworn she saw him give her a small wink.
"Now, before I bore all of you about what is expected of you this year, let's get down to something far more important!"
As if on cue, the tables filled up with delicious foods. Gasps could be heard by the first years and chatter broke out around the room. The feast had begun.
Hermione stared at the Marauders as they chatted and laughed while filling their plates.
"Don't worry about them, Hermione. They aren't really as bad as I said they are," said Lily, misunderstanding Hermione's curious gaze. She took a sip of pumpkin juice and smiled. "Just focus on how great the food is here!"
Hermione forced a smile back and started to spoon mashed potatoes onto her plate. She had to agree. The feast was wonderful. It felt nice to be back eating in the Great Hall instead of having food sent up to her while she was alone over the summer.
Lily was probably the friendliest person Hermione had ever met. She didn't push Hermione for details on her transfer but instead spent the rest of the feast telling her what to expect out of Hogwarts and trying to get her to relax. Every now and then, Hermione would steal glances back at the boys and always found James staring at her and Lily with a look of confusion and curiosity.
When everyone had eaten until they couldn't eat another bite, Dumbledore stood up.
"Ah, I hope all of you enjoyed our feast," smiled Dumbledore, "but now we have to discuss a few things before your Prefects lead you back to your Common Rooms.
"Firstly, for all of you newcomers, I must warn you that the forest on the grounds is strictly forbidden. That goes for our returning students as well." Hermione watched as Sirius grinned and nudged James who laughed. Remus smiled faintly at the two of them and slightly shook his head while Peter laughed nervously under his breath.
Dumbledore continued, "I need also remind you that magic is not permitted between classes in the corridors. I am also pleased to introduce Professor Felicia Warbeck who has graciously accepted to take over the Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons."
There was a polite round of applause as an unfamiliar, short, middle-aged witch stood up. She had dark skin had curly brown hair with hints of grey in it. Her face looked kind but also gave the impression that she was not someone you would want to cross. She gave a small wave and smiled before sitting back down.
Lily leaned over to Hermione while she clapped. "It seems that every year we get a new Defense professor. It's like the job is cursed or something," whisper Lily while shaking her head slightly.
Hermione stayed quiet. She knew far too well how cursed the position was.
Dumbledore then spoke about Quidditch tryouts and how first years were not allowed their own broomstick. After that, he dismissed the school and everyone around Hermione started talking at once as they slowly began to climb out of their seats.
"Gotta go, Hermione," said Lily who was already standing. She was making her way down the table. "Prefect duties!" she called back before she seemed to be swallowed up by the crowd of students.
She could hear Lily yelling "Gryffindor first years, follow me!"
Hermione was grateful for sitting at the end of the table. It meant that she was one of the first ones out of the Great Hall and into the stairwell. There was no one else in sight when she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Arcanam Tempus," said Hermione to the portrait.
"Not anymore it isn't," scoffed the Fat Lady.
The password must have changed when term began. Now she'd have to wait for someone else to come by.
"Need help?" asked a voice from behind her.
Startled, she jumped and turned around. She was staring into the green eyes of sixteen-year-old Remus Lupin. He was giving her a shy but friendly smile.
"I was— the— the password changed," said Hermione pointing back at the Fat Lady. "I don't know the new one."
"Yes, it tends to do that," replied Lupin in all seriousness. He smiled and walked past her and stopped in front of the entrance to the Common Room and said, "Owl Feathers."
"Correct," stated the Fat Lady and the portrait swung open for them.
"Ladies first," said Lupin with a mock bow.
Hermione smiled and climbed through the portrait hole and into the warm and cozy Gryffindor Common Room. No one appeared to be there yet. She moved aside as Lupin climbed into the room behind her.
"Thanks for letting me in," said Hermione. "While I was here over the summer the password was Arcanum Tempus. I guess I wasn't fully aware it would change…"
"Ah, you must be Hermione Dawson then. I didn't know that you had stayed over the summer," said Lupin. "No wonder I hadn't recognized you."
"Yes, I stayed here to catch up on the Hogwarts curriculum before I started. Let me guess, Professor Dumbledore told you who I was?" said Hermione and young Lupin nodded, the corner of his mouth twitching. His face was actually quite pleasant to look at. She never really noticed what was under all of the scars and lines that he had. "You're the other Prefect, right? Remus Lupin?"
"That's right. I'm also a sixth year, like yourself."
"Lily pointed you out to me at dinner."
"Yes, I saw her sitting with you. She's probably the best person for you to meet at Hogwarts. She's unbelievably kind."
"That must be why your friend likes her," said Hermione.
At that, he started to laugh.
"Where is everyone anyway?" asked Hermione, looking around. The other Gryffindors weren't that far behind her when she left.
"They probably got stuck behind all the first years. They're usually fascinated by the castle so on the first night they tend to walk extremely slow," replied Lupin with a shrug.
"Shouldn't you be with the first year students?" asked Hermione all of a sudden. Her inner Prefect seemed to be coming out.
"Lily and I had a deal that she'd bring them up here and I'd show them around the common room," said Lupin. He turned towards the portrait hole as if waiting for it to open. "In fact, they should be here any moment…"
"Well in that case, I'll just show myself up to the girls' dormitory."
Lupin turned back to Hermione and frowned. "You don't want to be here when the rest of the house gets here? I could introduce you to a lot of people."
"No really, it's fine. I'm exhausted anyway. This was a lot to take in all at once. It's so different from what I'm used to," said Hermione, not even having to lie.
"Oh, well if you need anything Lily and I are here…"
"Thanks," said Hermione quickly and she started towards the stairs before turning around again. "Oh, Remus?" It felt odd calling him by his first name
He had sat down in an armchair by the fire, waiting for the students but his head shot up when she called his name. "Yeah?"
"Thanks again for letting me into the Common Room," smiled Hermione. She hurried up the stairs and closed the dormitory door behind her.
~o~
Hermione was sitting on her bed going through her class books to make sure she had all of them together for when classes started tomorrow. She had the dormitory to herself for about twenty minutes before the door opened. Lily walked in along with a girl with dirty blonde hair braided down her back. When Lily saw her she smiled and waved, pulling the girl over to Hermione.
"Hey Hermione! This is Mary Macdonald. Mary meet Hermione Dawson," said Lily.
"Nice to meet you, Hermione," said Mary politely.
"Same to you, Mary," replied Hermione.
There was an awkward pause and Mary gave Lily a confused look before returning her gaze to Hermione.
"Oh, right! Mary, Hermione just transferred here from Beauxbatons Academy. She's been sorted into Gryffindor and is in our year," explained Lily.
"Ah, I was wondering why there was a strange girl in our dormitory," said Mary, smirking.
Lily turned back to Hermione and smiled. "For the past five years it's just been Mary and me in this room. It'll be nice to have another girl around."
"It was just the two of you?" asked Hermione. She thought back to her own time when there had been five girls in her dormitory. It must have been a little strange only having two.
"Yeah, it was very quiet," laughed Mary. She seemed friendly enough.
"Well, I just came up here to introduce Mary to you. We're heading back downstairs for a little while. There's always a little party the first night back," said Lily. "You should come with us. I can introduce you to a bunch of other Gryffindors. I'm sure they'll love you."
"Thanks, but I think I'll head to bed early. Today's been a strange day for me…" Hermione smiled apologetically. "I'll meet more people tomorrow."
Lily tried to hide her disappointment. "Alright, I understand. We'll be back up later to unpack our things. If you do decide you want to come, we'll be right downstairs."
Hermione waved as Mary and Lily left the room.
It sure had been a strange day… None of it seemed real. How could she be in school with Harry's parents, Sirius, Peter, and Lupin? Well, she guessed she'd have to get used to referring to him as Remus. It would take a while for her to start feeling comfortable doing that. Before that day, she had only called him by his given name once, and that was when he was grieving in the Department of Mysteries. She shook the memory from her head.
If all of these people were here as students with her that must mean… no… Snape must be a student here as well…
Hermione groaned and rolled over, stuffing her face in her pillow. She had no idea how she was going to get through tomorrow with her unexpected classmates. It would have been hard enough to have to explain herself to the students here, but she never expected to be explaining herself to people she will know in the future.
She moved off her bed and put her books away before changing into her pajamas and pulling her curtains shut before hopping back into bed. Sighing, she leaned over and blew out the candle next to her and slowly drifted off to sleep.
A/N: If you have a spare moment I'd love any reviews. Your input is very important to me. Is there anything in particular that you liked? Anything you want to happen? Anything you think should be different? Let me know!