Sea of Constellations
Rose_Quartz_Cloud
4. Regret
Hermione felt strongly against staying but she knew her reactions were a bit hormonal being back in her younger body and all of her decisions needed time to consider, otherwise she would be as pigheaded as the boys and she couldn't. This was still her only chance at figuring out how to change their destiny.
The new year had started roughly with the duo fighting each other about who knew what as they were already not talking to her but she guessed it had something to do with their suspicions of who was in league with Voldemort the 1.0 version from first year.
Plus she had given Snape a heads up with their mischief, not that they knew it came from her exactly… but it could have contributed to them not wanting to inform her of anything more for the time being.
She already knew nothing major would happen for at least two more months, as Easter was the next big event according to her memory.
After Christmas, Quidditch practice resumed and Harry in particular grew busy as they gained the chance to overtake Slytherin in the Quidditch cup this year and Wood was vying for the glory.
Hermione never understood everyone's obsession with the sport, she always thought it was rubbish and was amazed that no one died, plenty of injuries though.
Her new friends were just as excited as the old ones. The Slytherin's were cheering on Hufflepuff and well everyone she knew wanted Hufflepuff to was interesting because no one seemed to enjoy the fact that Harry was allowed to become Gryffindor's new seeker.
She kept telling herself that things here weren't exactly the same and little distinct changes were normal.
After Christmas, Hermione stopped caring what others thought of her unusual friendships and she then began taking turns sitting with various groups at lunch, dinner and breakfast.
The only thing she was careful about was not appearing to favor her Slytherin friends as it was still the thorn in her side when it came to her now fragile friendship with Ron and Harry.
At times like this she wished she could take off to Hogsmeade for a weekend and unwind… but she would have to wait two more years unless she decided it was worth going forward in time…
Only third years and over were allowed with parental/guardian consent to go to the village on planned weekends and now that she was in a position to be excluded, she wondered why the younger students were banned from there?
Thursdays, was the day of the week where she only had one class with the Gryffindor's, which was potions and the rest of the day she was alternating between the Slytherin's and Hufflepuff's.
She had been spending more time with new people she hasn't known as well in the original timeline… and it made her more at home than before which began to bother her as Harry and Ron had been good to her and she wouldn't change their friendship but there was something about other people and how they related to her in her schooling years as a Hogwarts student in the larger community.
Like at the beginning of the week she was struggling with a concept in herbology like before and she remembered that surprisingly Neville helped her out and she passed but not as high as she would have liked, being so aggressive in her studies.
This time around she struggled. She wasn't sure if she should ask for help as she was purposely trying to keep a low profile.
The Slytherins were taking the class with the Ravenclaw's and the girls offered their assistance but there was an odd number of them and Hermione was left out , incidentally before she found herself paired up with Theo.
"We meet again, fair witch" he joked as he offered her his hand shovel.
Hermione took it and began digging beside him opting to not talk.
Theodore pushed the issue of her not communicating with him, an hour into the lesson once they were allowed to handle the magical plant and write down and compare notes.
"...the point of being partners is to work together?" He gestured at her with his hands as he spoke.
Hermione sighed before launching into a dumbed down version of her observations and asked if he would like to borrow her notes.
On the other side of the class was Draco and Pansy who were paired and after catching him not paying attention to what they were supposed to be watching… Pansy spoke up.
"I understand how interesting Granger is but I really need some notes from you, Malfoy," Pansy remarked with a slight tone.
Catching his attention, Malfoy refocused on the assignment.
"Granger…. Should have been sorted into our house" he commented off-handedly.
"She's too smart for us and hardly any Muggleborns get sorted into our house…" Pansy deadpanned at his remark.
"You're right and that's what makes her interesting"
The Gryffindor's were in Transfiguration class as Harry stared out the window, debating on what to do… things were Ron were getting ridiculous and well he thought back to when things were peachy and it was because Hermione brought a sense of balance to the three of them and if he was being honest with himself. He missed her presence… even if she was friends with the sort he wasn't fond of…
He caught the redhead's eye across the classroom and Ron just glanced away from him, whispering something to Seamus who then glanced at Harry before snickering and staring at his books again.
Ok, he didn't know how to fix this and thought it was time to talk to Hermione, she would know what to do.
Minutes felt like hours, but eventually it was lunch hour and he ran down to the great hall.
Hermione planned on sitting with her Ravenclaw friends today when all of a sudden, Harry intercepted her.
"Can we talk, just the two of us?" he asked, while looking towards the hall outside.
Hermione was about to agree when she hesitated, she always gave in, even when wronged… and this time she couldn't do it…
"No, you have been moody and avoidant since Christmas and now you're fighting with Ron as well and want my help to bridge the gap? Sorry but he won't talk to me either… you will have to figure this one out on your own Harry…" She rebuked before walking towards the girls in blue, not looking behind her or she would apologize for her harsh words and cave.
When she heard the footsteps behind her, she cringed and glanced ahead of her only to catch Pansy and Daphne's gazes as they watched the exchange.
Steeling herself further, she sat down next to Mandy and Hannah, who had come over from the Hufflepuff table.
The two girls stared at Harry like they wanted to support Hermione's dismissal but they didn't know how stubborn Harry could be when he put his mind to it.
"I am sorry for pushing you away, it was stupid and I shouldn't have let Ron's option matter that much to me when in fact I was losing you as a friend too… and I have come to be grateful for you and your wisdom, compassion and company" he admitted, going a bit red, feeling like he was having to say all this in public with rather a large audience.
Hermione finally looked him dead in the eye and sighed.
"I forgive you, but from now on… remember I'm not a Gryffindor and I am friends with people from every house… whether you agree or not… and if your going to be mad at me, be mad at me for something between us and not because you have to hold solidarity to Ron. Let him be a prick on his own if that's what he is going to be." She chided.
Harry smiled a little and agreed with her. She was right, they were friends but she wasn't in the same house and well that didn't even matter anymore, she was still a member of their trio, now if only Ron would come to his senses…
"I was going to ask you… what should I do about him? He's not talking to me now" Harry asked quietly…
Hermione sighed again… even in this timeline, she was the glue that held those two hotheads together….
After talking with Harry, Dean, Seamus and Neville on the matter Hermione discovered that Harry focused way too much on the issue with her that he just figured she was root cause when in fact it had nothing to do with her but his jealousy over Harry's flying skills and making the youngest Gryffindor seeker in a century… and since coming back to the castle from holidays, Harry had spent so much time in quidditch practice that Ron felt abandoned and couldn't get past his pride to talk to her because of her Slytherin connections and he hated Malfoy….
Hermione thought of all the times the three of them bickered and how long it took for both boys to start to see the other's perspectives…
She spent a lot of time mediating and less time teaching them how to navigate the other one and maybe that's where she went wrong…. ?
She would have stepped in and bridged the gap between the two herself but that wasn't really possible now that she wasn't in the same house…
"Harry, let's eat outside today and I will teach you some things to consider when you begin having problems with Ron, or anyone else for that matter, I keep forgetting that you don't have the same amount of social skills as the rest of us and well that wasn't your fault…" she explains while leaving the Ravenclaw table and getting him to follow her out for an impromptu picnic.
For being halfway done her first year at Hogwarts, in an alternate universe, Hermione's favorite class had become Astronomy which was ironic because she didn't believe in the planets and distant stars having an effect on their world.
There was just something about the calm cool evenings where everyone would be working together and quietly and she had some time to really think.
Well, when she wasn't conversing with Malfoy who turned out to be the chatty type now that they weren't mortal enemies…
He was currently explaining that he was named with the traditional ways of the Black family whose members were given constellation names at birth.
"That's an unusual naming tradition?" Hermione commented quietly.
"Well I guess when you compare it to the muggles… no offense" he quipped back.
He was being nice about it but the Slytherin's were really prodigious towards blood status and honestly she only held their respect because of her high intelligence and being in Ravenclaw…
They had been bullies to her when she was in Gryffindor and the contrast difference was unsettling to see here…
Hermione brushed aside the comment before mapping out her latest assignment and handing it over for Malfoy to look over.
They had gotten into a routine as such. Being as efficient as possible before spending the rest of the evening in quiet reflection until Pansy and Daphne caught up and then they would come over and gossip with Hermione and Malfoy would slink away to his guy friends…
When he wasn't paying attention, Hermione looked over at him and gave him a sad smile for she knew what became of his future…
Lord Voldemort would return and his family would serve and he would become entangled in the dark arts at the whim of keeping his family alive and well.
Even tried to kill the headmaster, from what she remembered…
Those final moments after Harry died and she held tightly onto Ron for they wondered if they were next she caught Draco's gaze across the chasm of wizard and witches between them and his eyes showed pity towards her…
He held the potential for being a good wizard but had been born into an evil family… she was here to help Harry and Ron…. but could she unknowingly affect other's destinies, now as well?
