Chapter One
Hermione jerked awake at the click of a lock as Madam Pince locked the library doors. She looked at the small wristwatch she had on, and she was startled to realize it was after midnight. "Bollocks I didn't mean to be here this long."
Luckily, she still had the time turner, she was supposed to give it back to Professor McGonagall tomorrow. She pulled it out of her shirt as she hid around the corner and spun it three times to go back three hours to just before curfew. Time spun around her for a few moments before it stopped, and she quickly left the library without being seen with the time turner still in her hand. She was in such a hurry that when the stairway began to move, she tripped and next thing she knew she was falling. Her hand clenched around the time turner, and she flinched as she felt it shatter the small glass and metal shards embedding into her hand. As she continued to fall the golden sand within the shattered magical object combined with her blood and before she hit the ground everything went black.
When she next opened her eyes, it was to a strange room she had never seen before. The walls were a soft cream with a large wooden wardrobe against the wall. The four-poster bed she was on was the largest and softest bed she had ever been on, and bedding was dark blue, similar to what she guessed would be in the Ravenclaw dorms. Pictures and drawing she didn't recognize lined the walls. On the bedside table was a first edition Hogwarts A History something she could never afford to own even with her parents making decent money. Underneath it was a potions book written by Fleamont Potter that she had never seen before.
Her body felt weird as if she had shrunk overnight to a little kid again. She shook her head and went to pinch her arm to see if she was dreaming but saw that her hand was not even close to the size it should be. Before she could even contemplate her weird dream the large door to her room flew open and a little boy with messy black hair and toffee brown eyes raced through the open doorway leaping onto her bed and jumping up and down in excitement. "Mia it's time to get up it's your birthday. I have so much planned, so you need to get up. Pocky is making your favorites."
At first Hermione thought the little boy was a young Harry Potter but the eyes were not the brilliant emerald green of her best friend. As she watched the boy jumping on her bed in confusion a name popped into her head, this was her older brother Jaime. Hermione was confused because this made no sense, she was an only child but soon memories that she never had went through her mind. Here in this dream or world her name was Hermione Potter.
She was around three or four years old sitting in a miraculous library next to her mother. Euphemia Potter had Hogwarts A History open and was reading it to her as she began to fall asleep with a smile on her face. It was her favorite book out of all the book she had read to her so far. She couldn't wait to go to Hogwarts and actually see the castle for herself instead of just hearing about it.
Hermione was hiding under the dining room table which had the long tablecloth on it in preparation for Christmas. She was doing her best to keep her giggles contained as Jaime ran around the house looking for her. They were playing hide and seek and normally Jaime could find her pretty quickly but today she found an amazing hiding spot. The Christmas tablecloth helped too. Father heard her quiet giggles and looked under the table. "What are you doing under here Princess?"
"Jaime and I are playing hide and seek. I'm winning for once."
"I think part of hiding is being quiet my little Princess."
"I know I just can't help it daddy."
"Well, we can't have you lose this time, can we? I'll make sure he can't hear you but next time you're on your own, ok?"
"Please and thank you Daddy! I Love you!"
"I love you too Princess."
Hermione felt the magic settle over the table from the silencing spell to hide her giggles from her older brother who came into the dining room not long after. "Dad, have you seen Mia?"
"No. Do you need her for something?"
"No, we are just playing a game and I can't find her."
"Isn't finding her part of the game? Would it really be a win if I helped you?"
"Ugh, fine dad I'll find her on my own."
Hermione heard James leave the dining room and she giggled loudly before crawling out from under the table onto her father's lap where she quickly fell asleep listening to her father's heartbeat.
Jaime had dared her that she couldn't fly his new broom to the top of the manor. She was scared but refused to show her brother that. Hermione wanted to show him that she could be brave even though she had never been more than a few feet off the ground on her own broom. She started out slow, but Jaime was urging her to go faster and higher. Wanting to be brave for her older brother she did but halfway up something happened, and the broom bucked underneath her. She tried to stay on but lost her balance and soon was falling with a loud scream from her and Jaime.
Her arm slammed against one of the windowsills and excruciating pain shot up her arm making her black out. Just as she was blacking out, she heard her fathers voice and the rushing wind slowed as he slowed down her rapid decent.
Later she woke up to Jaime crying his eyes out at her bedside. Once he saw that she was awake he made as if he was just rush forward and squeeze her to death only to be stopped by mother grabbing the collar of his shirt and yanking him back. "James Fleamont Potter, you have done enough damage to your sister today. I know you meant no harm, but your actions and words got her hurt. She has a broken arm at the moment you can tackle her with a hug in a few days when it has full healed."
Hermione's heart broke at the guilty look Jaime was giving her. "I still love you Jaime no matter what. Though I don't think I will be flying for a while unless I have to."
"I'm sooooo Sorry Mia. I'll never let anything happen to you again I promise. It was stupid of me to make that dare. My broom is not built for someone your size and I should have known that."
Euphemia pet Hermione's hair with a soft smile as James raced out of the room at top speed to make sure nothing was going to hurt his little sister again if he could help it. Even if it meant going to the library and reading anything he could on brooms and their safety features. "I think this scared your brother more then almost anything Mia. I don't think I have ever seen him cry that hard or apologize that quickly before. Your arm will be stiff for a few days so we will keep it in a sling for now. Your father already gave you some Skele-gro so it shouldn't take long to heal the break. I know you love your brother and look up to him but please let's not do something like that again. I think you about gave all of us a heart attack."
"Yes mommy. I don't think I want to fly for a while as I said. I know I will need to at Hogwarts, but I don't think I will outside of class. I don't like heights all that much."
It was only a few days later Hermione sat on a stool next to her father who was standing over a large cauldron. Her arm was still in a sling, but it was going to come off tonight as long as her arm did not cause her any pain. She had done a number to her arm, so it took an extra day to fully heal. "Daddy how did you get so good at potions? It looks kinda hard especially doing everything without the instructions."
"Well Princess it takes a lot of hard work and learning how to treat each ingredient and which ones cannot go with others. I can do most potions without a recipe at this point unless they are difficult though this one is one, I created so I know it by heart."
"That makes sense. Someday I want to be just like you daddy and help people with potions and other magic. You're so strong."
Fleamont almost teared up at his little girl's admiration it was one of the best gifts he could ever ask for. "How about this then? Once you are a little older, I can start teaching you all about different potions and their ingredients before you start school. Then you'll have a leg up on the other students and we can have fun learning about potions together."
"Really daddy, I would love that!"
Hermione was pulled from the memories has James's jumping caused him to fall on top of her knocking the breath out of her now little body. She had wanted to try and go back to sleep to see if all of this was a dream but with Jaime landing on her causing pain to radiate throughout her body, she realized it was not in fact a dream. Tears gathered in her eyes at the thought of not seeing her friends or family again. When James saw the tears in her eyes, he quickly scrambled off his sister. "I'm sorry Mia. I didn't mean to land on you. Did I hurt you?"
Hermione tried to answer her brother but with her breath being knocked out of her on top of realizing this was not in fact a dream she couldn't breathe. Black spots started to appear in her vision as James ran out of her room yelling for their mother, father, or Pokey. Euphemia and Fleamont ran into the room to see Hermione having a panic attack. "Pokey I need a calming draught now!" Fleamont called out urgently.
James looked at his little sister from behind his parents terrified that something was going to happen again, and it would be all his fault. He should have been more careful instead of jumping around her and landing on her. A pop signaled the appearance of Pokey the Potter house elf with the calming draught for Fleamont. Fleamont gave the little elf a nod in thanks before quickly getting his little girl to drink the potion before she passed out. As soon as the potion hit her system, she took a deep breath and started to cry. James rushed onto the bed and pulled his sister into his arms before even his mother or father could. Euphemia and Fleamont each laid on either side of their children and tried to give comfort to their daughter.
Hermione lay her head on her brother's chest and just cried for everyone she was not going to see again for years if even at all. The only upside was the fact that she could help change it so that if Harry was born, he still had a family that loved him more then anything unlike the Dursley's. Soon she cried herself to sleep determined to make the most of the opportunity she was being given. James just rested his chin on his sister's head and let her cry ready to hit whatever caused her turmoil even if it was himself. He felt his mother and father give them both kisses on the head as they slowly got out of the bed and left to get things ready for Hermione's birthday party. Today was the day where others in society would be able to meet Hermione for the first time and maybe she could make some friends.
An hour later Hermione woke up again still in her brother's arms. At some point he had fallen asleep as well and for once he actually looked innocent. "Jaime, we need to get up and get ready. The party is in not too long and we still need to have breakfast." Hermione said in a soft tone.
James slowly opened his eyes to see his little sister looking up at him with her innocent golden-brown eyes. He would do anything to protect that innocence so that she would not see how cruel the world outside could sometimes be. Even just going to Diagon Alley with his father or to the Ministry he saw things that just seemed wrong in general. "First, I need to give you, my present. For that you need to get dressed and we will have to go to Diagon Alley with mom and dad."
"Can we do that after breakfast Jaime? I'm starving."
"We can ask mom and dad if we can have food at the Leaky Cauldron after we get your present. With it being your first trip to the Alley we can't not have the food there. Maybe we can convince mom to let us have ice cream too."
A voice spoke up behind James at the end of his sentence. "Sadly, we don't have time to eat at the Leaky or get ice cream maybe on her next trip we will. We are already starting the day late as it is. We will let her pick your gift and then we will have to floo straight home and get ready for the party. I will let you eat some while we get ready Hermione but since you inherited the Potter hair it will take a minute to get perfect even with your fathers' potion." Euphemia said as she leaned against the doorway watching her children.
Both children gave their mother disappointed expressions trying to see if she will give into to their wants. When the only response was for her to raise an eyebrow both of them sighed and slowly got out of Hermione's bed to get ready for the day ahead. Hermione Potter was excited beyond believe though the Hermione Granger part of her didn't quite understand what was going on yet. Nothing she had read in any books had mentioned anything about female heirs staying home until their sixth birthday. The Hermione Potter part of her didn't question pureblood society rules the same way that she might have wanted to so she thought she might try and go with the flow of it and see how things go. Eventually she would have to figure out how to have the two personalities merge or have one take a back seat, so everything wasn't so confusing.
Within thirty minutes everyone was ready to go. James held a black blindfold so that everything could be a surprise to Hermione. She was gathered into her father's arms and soon felt as if she was being squeezed through a tube. She was disoriented and nauseated for a few moments but could not see anything due to the blindfold. They walked for a few minutes before they entered a store and Hermione grew excited as she heard various animal sounds. Fleamont could feel her bouncing in excitement in his arms and laughed slightly as he reached up and took off the blindfold. Hermione's assumption was correct when she saw that they were in the Magical Menagerie for a familiar she hoped.
Fleamont set his bouncing child on her feet "Look around and see if anything feels right. Don't pick anything just because you like how it looks. You should feel a pull at your core. You may not know which one it is if he or she is in a group they should come to you. It is rare but sometimes you have a connection with more than one."
Hermione nodded at her father and walked further into the store trying to not get too excited and follow his instructions. It did not take long for a tiny Kneazle kitten to paw at her dress. As she looked down into the icy blue eyes of a black full Kneazle with white spots she felt an immediate connection with him. The connection was stronger than she had ever felt with Crookshanks in her past or was it her future life. She had a connection with him, but it was not the same. She picked up the tiny kitten who immediately rubbed his head against her chin and let out a loud rumbling purr. The storekeeper saw the interaction and walked over to Fleamont with a smile. "That little angel is Nightshade. He is the last of his litter and is a full Kneazle with the papers to prove it. Since he is a full Kneazle I will need some extra paperwork from you, but I can see he is a strong match for your daughter."
"I can see that and of course we will get him. He chose my daughter and even I can feel their connection. He will be a wonderful addition to our family. If you want, I can get started on that paperwork so that we can move from here. It's her sixth birthday so she is being introduced to society today."
"Yes, right this way Mr. Potter. I'll be glad to get this all started with you. We can't have her late to her introduction party today."
It did not take Fleamont long to finish the paperwork for Nightshade to be able to go home with his little girl. He made his way back to the small family smiling as he saw Hermione snuggling the small black Kneazle while James and Euphemia looked on with their own smiles. Hermione set the kitten on her shoulder and looked at James with the largest smile yet and rushed at him knocking the older boy down with a hug. "Thank you so much Jaime! I love him and you!"
James let out a slight breath as she tackled him but went to the ground easily and hugged her tightly. As he lay on the ground under his sister he smiled and hugged her tightly back. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her or to protect her. He planned on becoming the best Auror he could be just to protect his little sister and others like her. "I love you too Mia! Now can we get off the floor now? We still have a party to get ready for. The house elves have been running around like chickens for days in preparation for today."
Hermione blushed as she listened to James and got off him. Her blush got deeper as she noticed her parents, the shop owner, and other customers staring at the spectacle they made. As soon as James stood up, she shuffled to hide behind him clutching Nightshade. James glared at the random customers for staring and stood straight to do his best to hide her from them. His glared was moved to his father when he chuckled at the two children. "It's time to go you two. Thank you, James, for bringing up this as a present for her and protecting her when she is embarrassed. As you said we do need to be going now though."
Fleamont picked up his suddenly shy daughter and got ready to apparate back to their home while Euphemia grabbed James's hand to do the same. Soon they were back at Potter Manor and Hermione could see the Potter Elves racing this way and that getting everything perfect for her first entrance into society. Once both children were free, they took off to their respective rooms to get ready for the party. Euphemia followed Hermione while Fleamont followed James with a smile. His son was going to be a Gryffindor for sure with how protective he was. Hermione on the other hand would with be a Ravenclaw or Gryffindor as well but he was betting his money on Ravenclaw for her.
When the party was ready to begin Hermione and James stood next to their parents so that they could greet their guests as they came into the ballroom. Hermione did her best to stand straight like a lady and not fidget though at six it was a hard thing to master. As people arrived Hermione say some children around her age that she wished she could just go play with to the point that she was almost bouncing in place. She was stopped by her mother's hand on her shoulder. "Calm down Mia, you will get to spend time with the other children soon. We are only waiting on the Crouch's to arrive, and I think they do have a son that is your age."
Hermione's eyes sparkled with how excited she was to be able to finally do something other then stand in one spot. She was ecstatic to see the last family finally showing up into the ballroom. A small boy her age was holding his mother's hand almost hiding behind her as they walked into the room. "Hello Mr. Crouch, welcome to our home. We are glad that you were able to make it out for our little Hermione's birthday celebration." Fleamont said as he shook Bartimus Crouch Sr.'s hand.
"Hello Mr. Potter, I was happy to see that we were invited to such an important celebration. A young girls first introduction to society is always an important event. As you already know this is my wife Ameila and son Bartimus."
Ameila Crouch pushed her son forward towards Hermione. He shyly blushed as he looked at the pretty little girl in front of him and said "Hello, Happy Birthday. As father said my name is Bartimus but you can call me Barty. I hope we can be friends?"
"I would love to be you friend Barty!"
She could hear James's grumbling on the other side of her father about "how she didn't need any boys as friends." All she did was glare at him then looked at Barty again with another magnificent smile that got his heart beating a mile a minute and making him blush even more. "Mom, can I go now?"
"Yes dear, don't forget to socialize at least a little bit with the other children and be polite to any of the adults that talk to you. Also try to dance when you are asked for one." Euphemia replied with a smile.
Hermione smiled at her mother and grabbed Barty's hand before taking off further into the ballroom where some of the other children had gathered. She put her hand forward and introduced herself "Hello, I'm Hermione Potter and this is my friend Barty Crouch!"
An older boy about ten years old with long white, blond hair stepped forward and kissed her hand gently. "Lucius Malfoy"
Another darker blond boy that looked to be James's age at seven stepped forward with a darker haired boy who was her age standing quietly next to him and followed Lucius's example. "Corban Yaxley and my friend Antonin Dolohov"
A girl around Lucius's age curtsied slightly. "Ameila Bones"
A group of three girls curtsied as well. The oldest a curly haired brunette introduced her and her sisters a girl with wild curly black hair and the youngest with long blond hair. "Andromeda, Bellatrix, and Narcissa Black"
Hermione looked at the group of children around her age with a smile still holding Barty's hand. She saw James walking up and waved at her brother happily finally letting go of Barty's hand. James hugged his sister jealous that she was paying attention to so many other children when he was used to having her attention on only him. He did not like her making friends because then she might leave him alone. Hermione smiled at her brother's obvious jealousy and hugged him tightly. "Jaime no matter what you will always be my brother. There is no reason for you to be jealous. You are in a different part of my heart then any friends I will make. I will always love you."
James sighed as his sister told him how she felt, and he understood what she was saying. He hugged her tighter for a moment before letting her go. "Hello everyone, James Potter older brother to Hermione. Make her cry and you will regret it."
Most of the males in the group scoffed at the older Potter while Barty looked at the ground in worry. He didn't want to ever make Hermione cry but knew that he might make stupid choices eventually especially if they stayed friends as he wanted too. He did not want to piss off her brother if he could help it. Hermione on the other hand glared at James "I can take care of myself you know that right Jaime?"
James glared back at his sister "Just because you can doesn't mean that I won't still try to protect you."
Hermione huffed in annoyance at James and turned her back to him grabbing Barty's hand again. As the night went on Hermione had a blast dancing with and talking to her new group of friends. At the end of the night, she said goodbye to the group as they were leaving and hugged Barty tightly as he turned bright red stuttering slightly at her affection. "I'm happy that you decided to try and be my friend Barty and I can't wait until I can see you again. I'll talk to mother and father about them talking to your parents to see if we can get together more often."
All Barty could do was nodded in agreement with a smile since he didn't trust that he could talk without stammering and sounding like an idiot. It seemed like he finally had a friend. All he could do was hope it would last.
