A/N: As promised here in the second chapter, hope you enjoy!
Hermione startled awake from her dream in a cold sweat. She had just had the worst nightmare. She rolled over in her bed and pulled the blankets over her head, as if they could shield her from remembering the dream.
Harry. Ron. Ginny. So many deaths. The battle had seemed so real, it had all seemed so real.
"It was just a dream, it was just a dream" She repeated to herself, trying to calm her still racing heart.
The temptation to Occlude surged within her, relentless and insistent. She resisted the urge, knowing all too well that burying emotions deep only intensified their eventual release.
A few deep, measured breaths followed, and gradually she began to regain composure.
Her surroundings, blanketed in darkness, were unfamiliar. The room bore some resemblance to the Hogwarts hospital wing, albeit off-kilter, as if every piece of furniture had been shuffled and the décor drawn from a different era.
Hermione moved to quickly examine herself for injuries but found nothing save for a faint tingling that hinted at recent magical healing.
Puzzled and perturbed, she contemplated the circumstances that could have led her to this strange place.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to investigate and rose from the bed. But the sudden movement led to a dizzy spell, and she staggered, bumping into the bedside table. Its loud crash against the wall reverberated through the silent room.
A familiar voice jolted to life at the disturbance, and another followed with a groan.
"Ron?" she whispered, her voice barely a breath.
Her collision had summoned the nurse, who entered, casting the room into harsh light.
Hermione blinked as her eyes tried to adjust and her head continued spin from her abupt standing up. Hermione saw a woman that had a young, round, friendly face. She glanced around the room, now lit up by the nurse. It certainly looked very similar to the Hogwarts infirmary, but it couldn't be, everything was all wrong.
An uneasy feeling was building up in her chest; something weird was going on here.
"Who are you?" blurted Hermione, forgetting any of the manners her parents had drilled into her from a young age.
"I'm Madame Herow, the school nurse!" She responded cheerfully as she whipped out her wand and started to run some diagnostic spells on Hermione without missing a beat.
"What school am I at?" she questioned, getting more confused by the minute, certain she couldn't be at Hogwarts. There were so many similarities, but it just couldn't be.
"You are at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry along with your red headed and blonde friends over there."
Hermione almost laughed out loud, feeling on the verge of hysteria. Something was very wrong here, that couldn't be possible. Either this woman was nuts or this was all some kind of practical joke. Or, a wave of dread came over her, or she was telling the truth. If she was telling the truth then something was very very wrong and Hermione was in deep deep shit.
The room started to spin.
Overwhelmed by all the thoughts racing through her mind, Hermione was overcome with a wave of exhaustion; she could barely keep her eyes open.
"Oh, ok…I need to lay down now." she continued muttering nonsensically, as the nurse helped her back into bed. She must be safe if she was at Hogwarts the other questions could be dealt with when she didn't feel so dead. The MediWitch continued to poke and prod her with her wand as Hermione quietly giggled, unfazed by the unhinged behavior of her patient.
Madam Herow handed Hermione a potion and she downed it mechanically without thinking twice.
Hermione was now even more tired and could feel the potion forcing her back to sleep.
As she drifted off she placed the newspaper that she'd knocked onto her bed back onto the bedside table.
For a split second her brain registered the date on the newspaper:
August 31st 1943.
But the potion was too powerful and she was fast asleep before she could react to it.
A/N: It would be lovely if you would leave a review!
*Edited Jun 10 2023