A/N: Here is the next chapter! And it only took me a day, woo!
Hermione awoke slowly the following morning and it began much like the one before.
"Just a dream, merely a dream," she whispered, hoping that if she repeated it enough, she could persuade herself to believe it as she had earlier.
She cautiously opened her eyes, hoping against hope that she would be greeted by the familiar red and gold of her dormitory at Gryffindor. Or even the drab walls of her room inside their tent.
Her hope was in vain. Instead, she was met with the bleak, white walls of the infirmary and the intense sunlight streaming in through the room's windows.
Her gaze flitted around the room, finally landing on the copy of the Daily Prophet on her bedside table. The date left her speechless and her mind racing.
Suddenly, the pieces of the puzzle began falling into place - the unfamiliar nurse, the altered layout and décor of the hospital wing.
Time travel. But this should be impossible. The Time-Turners could only take one so far back, and there was no other known method of time travel.
Could a spell collision have caused this? She recalled the flurry of curses she, Ron, and possibly the Death Eater had cast. Despite the potential explanation, she remained incredulous; it was too far-fetched. She needed to consult a library immediately.
One side of Hermione's mouth quirked up at that, at least some things never change, she thought.
Glimpsing the tuft of red hair poking out from the blankets of the bed beside hers, she drew a sharp breath. The newspaper slipped from her trembling hand. The realization that Ron's fatal curse against Harry was not a dream hit her like a ton of bricks.
A cold sweat broke out across her forehead, but she forced herself out of bed anyways.
She slowly crossed over to his bed, her gaze trained on her best friend's peaceful face. Ron, a killer? Harry, gone? Her breathing became erratic as she tried to come to terms with the horrific reality.
He looked the same as he always had. It seemed to Hermione like such a heinous act should leave a mark on a person. The shaking in her hands intensified and she wiped her sweaty palms on her hospital robe.
Regaining her composure, she thought to herself, Ron was under the Imperius curse. It wasn't his fault. I can't blame him for this, can I?
A voice at the back of her head dared to whisper, maybe I can.
Shaking her head to dispel the thought, she took several deep breaths before gently poking Ron's shoulder. "R-Ron?" she stammered.
He groaned and rolled over. "Five more minutes," he muttered.
Hermione prodded him once more, a little more firmly this time.
He sat up, his eyes still heavy with sleep. "Yeah?" he grunted, shielding his eyes from the harsh, white light.
"We need to talk about what happened," Hermione said, her voice barely wavering.
"Where are we?" Ron squinted around the room, confusion etched on his face.
"Hogwarts. October 1943," she replied succinctly, not mincing words. 'Rip the bandage off,' as her Muggle parents would say.
Ron gaped at her, his mouth hanging open in his characteristically endearing manner. "H-how?"
"What do you remember about last night?" Hermione asked gently, her grip on her wand slowly relaxing.
"I..." He paused, his expression going blank for a second before crumbling. "Hermione, I couldn't—I don't know—I..." His grip on the sheet tightened, his knuckles turning white.
He shut his eyes tightly, biting his bottom lip so hard it turned white. "I think I was Imperiused. I'm so sorry, you, H-harry…" A tear escaped his closed eyelids, "I-I killed my best friend," he sobbed.
Seeing Ron in such a state, Hermione's own dam of emotions broke. They clung to each other, crying for their lost friend and for themselves, victims of that fateful battle.
A disgruntled voice echoed across the room, "I'm trying to sleep over here…"
Hermione and Ron sprang apart, their gaze landing on the annoyed and squinting face of Draco Malfoy.
"What in Merlin's name are you doing here Death Eater scum?" Ron roared, reaching for his wand and standing protectively in front of Hermione.
Malfoy yawned and stretched leisurely, flashing them that trademark smirk, "I could answer that if I knew exactly where 'here' is."
Fuming, Ron glanced at Hermione. She stepped out from behind him and addressed Malfoy, "Hogwarts. October 1943." she said baldly.
The smirk faded fast from Malfoy's face. "How is that possible? Is this your idea of a sick joke?"
"Were you the Death Eater who attacked Harry?" Ron demanded, ignoring Malfoy's questions.
Fury sparked in Malfoy's eyes. "And were you the Order member who murdered your precious 'Boy Who Lived'?" he snapped back.
Blinded by rage, Ron lunged at Malfoy, but Hermione quickly intervened. She glanced between the two boys, "Look, Malfoy, we need to put aside our differences. This is serious, we are not joking, we are in 1943. We have a common goal now – to return to our time."
She waved her wand and the Daily Propher copy sailed across the room from her bed and she thrust it in the blond's hands.
After a suspicious thumb through the newspaper, Malfoy sighed. "It appears this is for real. And as much as it pains me to admit it, you're right. We have bigger problems right now. Truce, until we return. Then all bets are off."
"No way in hell!" Ron interjected. The tips of his ears growing bright red to match his hair.
Hermione spun around sharply, her eyes flashing. "Ronald, knock it off," she ordered, her voice piercing the tense atmosphere. "We have matters of greater significance to attend to than your ridiculous animosity."
"Ridiculous?" Ron retorted, his face flushing a deep red. "He's a Death Eater, Hermione! He attacked Harry! He's responsible for Dumbledore's death!"
Hermione held up a calming hand. "Regardless of past actions, this is not the time to dwell on them. Our primary objective is returning home, and for that, we need to pool our resources and work together."
With her piece said, Hermione turned her attention to Draco Malfoy. His face was twisted into a sneer of contempt, his usual icy mask marred by the bitterness of their circumstances.
"Under normal circumstances, I would discourage any interaction with individuals from this timeline, but it seems unavoidable now. Our best chance lies with Dumbledore; he's still alive during this era. He's our best bet in understanding our situation and possibly assisting us."
Malfoy scoffed under his breath. "Naturally, you'd seek the guidance of that old fool."
Ron bristled at the comment, his hands balling into fists, but Hermione remained steadfastly focused on the task at hand. Ignoring both boys, she crossed the room and tapped lightly on the infirmary's office door.
"Madam?" she called softly, surprised their quarrelling hadn't already roused the hospital matron.
Madam Herow burst out of her office, her face a mask of worry. "What in the name of Merlin are you doing out of bed? We were terrified when we found the three of you, unconscious and reeking of dark magic, and on school grounds!"
"Dark Magic?" Hermione echoed, her heart skipping a beat.
"Indeed. You've been unconscious for nearly a week. The first couple of days were a frenzy of activity with MediWitches and Curse Breakers working around the clock. Every time they thought they had solved one issue, another, more severe problem would manifest itself. How on earth did—"
"We need to speak with Professor Dumbledore privately," Hermione interrupted hastily, eager to steer the conversation away from uncomfortable questions that she couldn't or wouldn't answer.
As if on cue, behind them, the infirmary doors creaked open.
Albus Dumbledore strode in, his eyes gleaming with their characteristic twinkle, his vibrant robes swirling around him.
"I heard that our unexpected guests have finally awakened," he greeted them, his voice filled with warmth.
Hermione felt an unexpected surge of emotion, seeing her old professor alive and well, and was momentarily lost for words.
Malfoy muttered something under his breath, Hermione was not quite able to make out what, but she couldn't imagine it was particularly kind.
"Sir," Hermione spoke after a beat, addressing Dumbledore, "We would greatly appreciate a private audience with you."
Dumbledore merely smiled, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Certainly. Follow me to my office. I've recently discovered a delightful new confectionery — lemon drops."
As the trio followed Dumbledore to his office, their minds whirled with uncertainty.
They took turns explaining their situation, careful to omit any crucial future events.
They all fell into their roles with an eerie familiarity: Hermione, the voice of reason, did most of the talking, while Ron alternated between glaring at Malfoy and offering supportive nods. Malfoy, on the other hand, maintained his usual air of arrogant disinterest.
After hearing their tale, Dumbledore fell into a contemplative silence. Finally, he broke the quiet. "You were midway through your seventh year, correct?"
Hermione nodded in affirmation.
"For now," he suggested, "you'll join our sixth years. It allows us more time to work on your predicament, and you might need additional time to adjust to curriculum differences. It will be much easier for you to blend in with the population of Hogwarts, then to have to make your own way out in the rather insular Wizarding community. We best get right to work on your cover stories, and you'll be resorted at tonight's dinner along with the first years."
"But sir," Hermione began, latching onto the last part of his statement, her brows furrowing in confusion, "We've already been sorted into our houses, why—"
"Appearances, Ms. Granger. Appearances," Dumbledore interrupted, his smile enigmatic. "Also, never underestimate the wisdom of the Sorting Hat."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Typical old man," he grumbled just loud enough for only Hermione to hear.
A/N: Well told you I would write a longer chapter, that was almost 1,800 words. I hope you enjoyed it and, as I'm sure many of you guessed, Draco is our mystery Death Eater.
I'd love if you'd leave a review, this is my first fanfic and I have no idea if it's terrible—I'm trying my best and I hope I kept them all in character.
Thanks for reading!
Edited Jun 11 2023