Chapter 1

Back to the Future

"Come in!"

Hermione opened the large door and slipped inside the headmaster's office. The inhabited portraits on the wall ceased their chatter and all turned to stare at her as she entered. They seemed anticipatory. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. What was this meeting for? Her eyes moved around the ornate and brightly lit room, catching on various magical objects, before finally landing on Fawkes- cawing in welcome- and Professor Dumbledore seated behind his desk, hands folded together. He smiled, eyes twinkling kindly.

"Miss Granger, a pleasure as always. Please have a seat." He unfolded his hands and reached for a bowl on his desk, picking it up and offering it towards her. "I am out of lemon drops, but I have some Every Flavor Beans if you would like some."

Hermione sat gingerly and shook her head slightly, smiling politely. "No thank you, Professor." What is this all about, she wanted to ask. She resisted firmly the temptation to fidget and bounce around on the chair in anticipation. If there is anything Hermione Granger had difficulty doing, it was being patient when there was vital information waiting to be devoured.

Dumbledore's smile widened slightly at the ends of his mouth and his eyes glinted sharply. He replaced the bowl on his desk, leaning back and pushing his chair away so he could stand. "I see you are immune to my bumbling pleasantries," he commented amusedly. "No doubt you are wondering why I called you here tonight." He moved around the desk, coming to stand next to Fawkes, perched on his stand, and he stroked his beak and head gently. "Did you follow all of my instructions exactly?"

"Yes, Professor." She took a breath and straightened in her chair, shoulders back, head up and tried her best to look prepared. She replied after smoothing down her skirt. "I am in full uniform, I told my friends that I had detention with Professor Snape, and I made sure that I was seen headed to the Defense classroom. I made sure I wasn't followed here, and no one will be waiting up for me tonight." She paused, looking up at him enquiringly. "Professor Snape knows that…"

"Oh yes, Professor Snape is aware that you should be in detention." He continued to stroke Fawkes' feathers. She waited for the 'but I have let him know you will not be', but it never came.

Dumbledore sighed and removed his hands from Fawkes. "I called you here tonight, Miss Granger, for a task that is vitally important for the fight against Voldemort." He turned to look at her with those piercing, twinkling eyes and she forced herself to continue to sit up and to look much braver than she felt. "You are not technically of age for another week or so," he continued, gazing at her pointedly before chuckling slightly, "but I believe some time turner usage a few years ago may have moved your true birthday up a bit. Therefore, I will not worry too much about the legalities or implications of giving you such a dangerous task now. That is," he paused, looking at her with a serious expression, "if you are amenable to completing it."

"I understand how important defeating You-Know-Who is, sir." She replied. "Of course, I would do anything to help." Hermione decided to stand at this moment, showing respect for the gravity of the conversation. She met his eyes and held his gaze. "I am ready."

"Well, Miss Granger, I appreciate your Gryffindor spirit." He said this quietly, unsmiling and without his usual twinkling eyes. "But let us get a further explanation before we begin. Come." He stretched out his hand to her and she took it cautiously, not yet understanding. "I'm sure you have read about the sensation of side-along apparition before. Be sure to hold tight to my hand and try not to succumb to dizziness." Then, with a crack, they left the headmaster's office.

With another crack, they arrived in the empty seventh-floor corridor, Hermione's head pulsing. She released Dumbledore's hand and raised it to rub the side of her head through her thick, wild curls.

"Apparition in Hogwarts, Professor?" She asked, looking up at him. She was thinking she knew the answer already but wanting to be sure.

"Ah, yes. One of the few benefits of being the Headmaster." Professor Dumbledore stepped forward, towards the blank wall, pausing. Before them both, the wall flowed, shimmered, and morphed in front of them as a wooden, unassuming door appeared.

Hermione frowned, puzzled. "The Room of Requirement."

"Yes, Miss Granger. It has what you will require for the task ahead." And with that, he stepped forward and opened the door, gesturing with his hand for her to step through ahead of him.

Hermione entered the room and as Professor Dumbledore quietly shut the door behind them, she gasped. It wasn't that the room looked abnormal or extraordinary, it was that it looked so familiar. She was standing in an exact replica of the sixth-year Gryffindor girls' suite, or at least, her side of it. There were her four-poster bed, her dresser and nightstand, her trunk filled with books and other belongings, even the same Gryffindor scarf tied around one of the posts. As for the rest of the room, where the beds and belongings of the other girls should have been, there was empty floor and wall space. The one difference was in front of the wall directly opposite her bed. Against the wall stood a marble pedestal with a small leather-bound journal on top of it. On top of the journal rested a…

"A Time-Turner?" Hermione turned back to Professor Dumbledore. "I thought they were all destroyed this past summer."

"The ones at the Ministry were," he answered, finally smiling and twinkling again, "but this one was not at the Ministry. It was here, waiting for this task." He gestured for her to move forward into the room. She was somewhat unsure which way to go. To the bed, to sit down and listen to him explain? No, of course she couldn't. Hermione Granger had to find out for herself.

She walked calmly towards the marble pedestal and examined the Time-Turner. It looked a little different than the one she had used in her third year. That was only to get to all the classes she had signed up for, at least that was the original intention. She thought grimly about her last venture through time and how it had only bought Sirius two extra years. What could this time turner be for?

The Time-Turner contained the normal hourglass shape encompassed in a rotatable sphere; however, unlike her previous one, this one had markings on it for the day, month, year, and on the other side, the second, minute, hour.

"It is an adapted Time-Turner that has been modified for these purposes. The only one like it, in fact." Professor Dumbledore seemed to enjoy explaining without explaining.

Hermione lifted the Time-Turner and swiveled slightly to look at Dumbledore for permission. He gave a small nod, and she placed this time turner over her head and around her neck. The chain was cool against her skin, and the time turner fell perfectly between the beginning swell of her breasts, easily hidden under her shirt.

"Now, Miss Granger, I know you are familiar with the use of a Time-Turner. I am glad of it, for that experience will guide you during your use of this one. You should be careful not to be seen unless you can verify the whereabouts of any counterparts you have in that time." Right, she thought, remembering the many near misses she had had when she and Harry had rescued Sirius and Buckbeak. Can't see myself or risk being seen by anyone else.

"The notebook," Dumbledore continued, gesturing back towards the pedestal and the leatherbound journal, "will be a necessity. It is charmed for only you to use and read. You should take meticulous notes to ensure you do not disrupt the timeline. As I mentioned already, this particular Time-Turner is unique. Not only can you travel backward or forwards across years, but you may also stay in those times for long periods."

Dumbledore kept the same gentle smile, but his eyes flashed now, the twinkle suddenly becoming almost dangerous. "However, there is always a danger in overstaying one's welcome in a foreign time, even with this specific Time-Turner. I know you will not misuse this great trust we all place in you by…lingering." His tone of voice was stern and cold. 'You better not,' was left unsaid.

"Absolutely, Professor." Fear, excitement, anticipation filled her.

"Ah, good."

The tension in the air at his almost threat dissipated. "And Hermione," he said gently now, his face shifting so that he looked almost regretful, "this conversation will serve as sufficient evidence to absolve you if anyone is inclined to place blame for your actions."

"Blame, Professor? Do you mean for meddling with time?" She asked quizzically.

"No, Hermione, I mean for not meddling even more. For doing the very thing you should and returning to your own time. You will have to return in the long run, and the least I can do for that sacrifice is to absolve you from the weight of that decision."

He looked at her pointedly. "You must return."

His tone left no room for disagreement.

She nodded, heart in her throat. Waiting.

"Here," Dumbledore reached into the pocket of his billowing magenta robes and pulled out a piece of parchment, "is the task."

She took the scrap from his hands and read it breathlessly.

It said,

8th of September, 1996 to 1st of May, 1998

Room of Requirement to Shrieking Shack

Take what you need to save a life.

She read it through a few times, absorbing the information. The future? She'd be going to the future?

"Professor," Hermione said slowly. "I wrote this, didn't I? This is my handwriting."

If that's true, why wasn't I more specific with what I needed to take? I should have written an organized list of necessities. She grumbled, slightly angry at her future self. What do you need to save a life? She thought. Let's see, she began making up an organized list in her own head. Food, water, maybe a change of clothes, bandages, gauze, bezoar, blood replenishing potion, dittany…

"Well, Miss Granger, that would certainly make sense." Dumbledore answered her, beginning to move around the room. He walked over to the trunk at the foot of her replica bed and opened it up. "It appears that everything you need will be in here. Simply think of it and the room will provide it." He moved towards the door.

"Wait, Professor! A few more questions, please." She bit her lip and looked at the scrap of parchment again. "This doesn't list any time of day, only dates. Also, should I go to the Shrieking Shack now or should I wait until…then?"

"Ah yes, well as for the time of day in 1998, I have no idea. Perhaps to be safest, choose to arrive at midnight on the 1st of May so as not to miss anything. As for the time today," he raised his wand and cast a Tempus charm. "It is 9:32 pm. You arrived at my office at 9 pm, just as requested. Coincidentally, that was also the time you were expected for detention with Professor Snape." He smiled and raised his eyebrows pointedly, so she understood the implication. "Also, I am not sure about the location, but I will hazard a guess that it is better for you to not venture back through the hallways at this time since you should be in detention." He smiled. "Goodnight, Miss Granger." And with that, he opened the door and exited quickly.

Well, Hermione thought to herself. I suppose I should gather up my life-saving kit and get going.

She refused to think of the one question she hadn't asked.

If she was going to the future and coming right back, then how did Dumbledore already have the note in her handwriting?