69Note: Firt of all, I'm sorry for the long wait. I had a block and I'm so busy right know with my internship, my college and some works. I know I promised that I would post it two weeks ago, but life doesn't stop.
My English beta is a little busy right now. She's moving from her house and as I wanted to post it as soon as finished writing it, I'm posting it unbeta. Is this correct? I mean, the way o spelled it "unbeta". I don't know, really.
Anyways. I hope you will enjoy this chapter. Real action will happen when Hermione goes to fifth year.
Chapter 5 - Third Year
"I'm coming with you".
These words drummed in his head as his parents argued about a fight between two of their neighbors. The newspaper's gritty paper still rested on his hands, but Hermione was no longer looking at him.
"I'm coming with you".
The image of a black-haired boy lying on the ground filled her head, making Hermione take a deep breath. She muttered an apology to her parents and headed to the nearest bathroom. Her blurred vision made it impossible for her to see clearly, and as she closed the bathroom door behind her, the girl sat on the floor near the sink trying her best to contain her sobs.
"Oh my God. I came back". She realized. "I came back".
The little note in the daily prophet had made everything click in her head. It was like waking up in the middle of a car accident, she supposed. In a moment, the disorientation dominated the person and then the whole body began to ache with the sudden beat. However, even if the feeling of nausea and pain filled her, Hermione was relieved. Everything finally made sense.
Sighing, everything around her was summed up to nothing. She did not listen or feel anything around her. At that moment she could only concentrate on one thing: She had been chosen by the ritual.
Even though her head had begun to throb, she was no longer flooded with flashes. That was not necessary anymore. She just knew. From that moment, the young witch was sure who she was, or rather where she was.
That she had come from the future, she already knew. The sorting hat had made everything very clear. However, she did not realize how far away from her original line she was, or rather how bad her original timeline was.
Rising from the floor, the girl stopped in front of the mirror and analyzed her reflection. Touching her tear-stained cheek, she felt strange. While she knew the truth, Hermione wasn't yet the woman she had been when he realized the ritual. The memories were there, but in a distant way. Her older counterpart was inside her. She could feel it. The two witches were coexisting.
For a moment, she could only smile to herself in the mirror. A sense of security flooded to her body as she thought of her friends and everything she could do for them once the ritual had been a success. Everything was spinning and she felt like she was on a Pensieve. She was with her friends again.
Then, she remembered the real task and her smile turned into a grimace. Her mind was directed to death, destruction, and torture. The image of a burning Hogwarts and Voldemort's dirty feet leaning on her dead best friend's face as the Death Eaters cheered for victory filled his head. She would have to do whatever it took to keep the schedule from repeating, and even though her thirteen year old screamed that she should ignore the task and go on with her quiet life of study, the older Hermione could not ignore it.
Hermione remembered the pain, the sadness and especially, she remembered ritual and its consequences. Her hand had held Draco's hand tightly. She did not want to leave him, but she knew it was inevitable. From the moment someone was chosen, everything would change. Hermione just hadn't imagined that she would be this person.
Her parents had thought that she had some sort of panic attack, but since they had not seen her entrance into the bathroom, the girl managed to dismiss them by saying that she had remembered an unfinished work. Obviously, her parents had once believed that just like in her original time, in that timeline, Hermione Granger was the perfect synonym for library mouse.
When the Order had done the ritual the details were very scarce. Sets of runes did not form complete sentences. Only senses, and therefore everything was very confusing. Lying on her bed in her new (old?) room, Hermione watched the ceiling as she found herself deep in thought.
When the remaining members of the Order had prepared the ritual, they had not thought that it would create a life for the traveler. Hermione had thought that whoever it was that the ritual chose, that someone would simply appear between the 1960s and 1970s, and not have been there ever since. Magic was an intriguing thing, in fact.
Somehow, the young witch had been inserted into the current timeline, which was the best situation she could ask for. After all, she would never suffer the risk of someone finding out she was not from that timeline, since she has always been there.
Hermione's creation in 1960 until 1971 had not been different from her original time. Her parents were still the same ones she remembered and this time, she would spend as much time as possible with them. She could not believe they had been transferred to the 60's with her. It was incredible. The last time she had seen them had been in the summer after her sixth year. Would it be strange if she simply hugged them more regularly than before? Hermione hoped not.
She did not know how to deal in relation to the Marauders – she laughed inwardly, that nickname was horrible! – Lily, the Longbottoms, Dumbledore, Snape ... There were many lives for her to take care of. Her head was beginning to ache at the thought of Voldemort. How on Merlin's sake would she defeat him? She knew she had to kill him, otherwise, everything would be repeated. However, she could not help but feel terrified and her thirteen side kept creaming to her to ask some help from and "adult". She could not trust anyone with the information she had, at least not for now. All Hermione wanted most at that moment was to cry.
However, she could not cry. Hermione hadn't the right to cry. Many people would die again if the young witch did not act rationally, and while she wanted to curl up in her blanket and never leave her comfort zone again, she was the only person who possessed the knowledge necessary to take the wizarding world from the future without chaos and barbarism.
One issue that made her uncomfortable was Peter Pettigrew. As long as 29-year-old Hermione wanted to goes to his house and kill him - would she be able to apparate with a thirteen-year-old body? - Her other party would never leave she do that. After all, he was just a sweet boy who was afraid to question his friends. Peter had not killed anyone yet, and as much as she tried to hate him, these two years at Hogwarts had made the young witch consider him as a friend.
Sighing, Hermione turned sideways on her bed and stared at the window. The full moon was shining on the horizon, and she knew that at that moment a young blond-haired, sandy-colored wizard was suffering from a curse that she did not wish on anyone else - Well, perhaps to Voldemort, Bellatrix, Dolohov… Anyways, she felt bad for Remus and as much as she wanted to help him, she could not just invent the potion. In a few years Damocles Belby would invent the potion and she would help Remus produce it, after all, potions was not the boy's forte
Closing her eyes, Hermione tried to clear her mind just as she had learned from Draco as they were fleeing death eaters. She had to get her mind blank to stop herself from collapsing. Hermione could barely contain her tears when Draco's beautiful blue-gray eyes invaded her mind ...
No! Control Hermione. Clear your mind. She thought fervently. A new year would soon begin and she would have much to do if she wanted to end the war until 1981.
The rest of your summer vacation passed quickly. She had developed a routine with her parents extremely ... well, monotonous. However, she had absolutely loved it. They would wake up, have coffee, watch some movie and then have lunch. While her parents worked at their dental clinic, she spent the whole afternoon writing in her diary things she thought it was important to mention about the first and second war witch - Alice would laugh for a long time if she knew she had gotten a diary.
When her parents returned from their clinic, the three Grangers would dine together, watch the new color television that her parents had purchased, or play some old game that was gathering dust in the game room. Emma Granger was an extremely competitive woman and she definitely hated to lose. Her ridiculously small size - as Daniel put it - deceived people who thought Emma was just a small frail woman. While Daniel Granger was likely to win from his wife in some games, he usually lost on purpose because he loved the look of pure satisfaction and disdain on Emma's freckled face.
Looking at her parents, Hermione could not help smiling. They were adorable.
Her vacation was over and she soon found herself again at the Hogwarts Express with her friends. Lucius Malfoy had taken a brief tour of her compartment as usual. This time however, Hermione had remained quiet and unresponsive, receiving a slightly curious look from Lucius. He was in his seventh year, which meant that it was the last time she would be forced to witness such overbearing behavior from someone she'd grown to like.
Hermione had begun to play a role. While it was much easier for her to pretend to be just a thirteen-year-old witch since she sometimes still conflicted with her younger counterpart, it was strange being at Hogwarts again after the truth had been revealed.
To her friends she was still the Hermione they knew. James and Sirius kept looking for her to help in jokes, which for some reason she really could not deny.
"Let's go Mione, just one more time." They would say.
"Okay, just one more time." She would say back. However, it was never just one more time.
Remus and Hermione were still meeting for their daily study sessions. When she still did not remember her past (future?), Some things were still new. Sometimes the young witch would not remember a knowledge about a certain spell or potion, for example. So she had no problem studying with the werewolf. However, to resume sessions with Remus after her sudden recall, it had proved to be very boring.
She really hated repeating her studies at Hogwarts. Being with children, although rejoice that they were all so innocent, it was at least frustrating. Hermione had always been mature for her age, and so being surrounded by children that was between thirteen to seventeen was boring for her 29 years-old self.
Being back at Hogwarts as a student was much more than she could wish for. For the first time in many years, Hermione felt safe. Her nightmares still haunted her, of course, but she preferred to wake up in a warm bed at Hogwarts than on an old mattress inside a tent in a forest.
She missed her friends. Whenever a redhead passed by in the corridors, images of the Weasley family flooded his mind. Gina with her flaming hair and strong opinions. Ron with his crooked smile, his companionship, and his huge, awkward hands. Fred and George always trying to brighten everyone with their banter. The love of Molly and Arthur for their biological children and those of choice. Bill and Charlie with their sarcasm and intelligence ... She missed them so much. And it did not help that Gideon and Fabian had decided to "adopt" her. They were just like the Weasley twins.
Seeing Lucius Malfoy so alive and so full of prejudices toward people as she hurt her heart, after all, the patriarch of the Malfoy family had accepted her relationship with their only child relatively well. Draco's face flooded to her vision every time she saw Lucius, and Hermione knew that if she continued to swim through these waters, she would eventually cry in the middle of the main hall. Remembering him was like being hit by countless crucius curses at once. Every ounce of her body ached with memory.
Hermione had to focus on her mission. Destroy Horcruxes, save as many people as possible and of course, kill Voldemort. Instead of focusing on losses, she had to constantly remind herself that people hadn't died yet. She could save them.
She was surrounded by people she had known and loved in her other reality and was also surrounded by people who, though she had not met in person, had always admired.
The curriculum of her second, second and third years at Hogwarts had not changed at all. The same classes she had attended the first time were taught in the seventies. The result of this was that she went to sleep in her classes almost regularly, which had come as a shock to her classmates. After all, it was not the bookworm and the know-all of Hogwarts?
The teachers had reduced scores of them countless times and sometimes even tried to make her go through a little embarrassment, asking her to answer a certain question. Given their past knowledge, did they really think she would not be able to respond?
"If you find everything so easy, Miss Granger that you can't pay attention to a simple task, maybe you can show the whole class how to do the spell". McGonagall had said.
When she'd successfully transfigured her box of matches into a goblet of water, McGonagall had looked at her in surprise. Who would have thought so?
Of course, after this kind of incident repeated a few times in her first month back in her third year, Hermione started pretending to pay attention in class since she did not want to draw attention to herself.
Thinking of "attention," Hermione recalled a synonym for such a word: the Marauders. After everyone at Hogwarts started calling them that, the quartet lived up to their nickname. Each play that was a bit more elaborate than normal was attached to the boys. While they loved fame, McGonagall became increasingly exasperated. They were brilliant, of course, but the old schoolteacher could not give them stitches for transfiguring the Slytherin's clothes into pink pompoms, could she? It was funny, Hermione had to agree.
She knew that at some point they would grow to be responsible boys. Well, maybe Sirius was not so much and Peter would grow up to betray his friends, but James and Remus would grow up sometime, for sure! If it depended on her, in that timeline, the four would mature together.
After meeting James for two years she could say with certainty that he was nothing like Harry. Apart from his appearance, of course. In any case, the boy exuded confidence, and although his play and attitudes were still extremely childish - after all, he was only twelve - he was extremely intelligent.
Sirius was the most sloppy of the group. As an adult, he had always been flawless. Probably after spending so many years without a shower in Azkaban, he had always decided to be presentable. However the young Sirius was quite the opposite of his counterpart. His buttons were never fully closed and his shirt always hung out of his pants. Hermione was sure that if Walburga saw him, she would have a heart attack.
The first full moon of the month had passed less than two days and in front of her at the table in the main hall, Remus was lazily stirring his hot chocolate and staring with displeasure at the noise that James and Sirius made as they ate their breakfast. Remus looked awful. Hermione had seen him a few times - several actually - after the full moon. She supposed that by the fact that he was still a child, his wolf was still young and so he hurt himself more. Hermione was not sure. She really should go to the library to get some books about werewolves, he thought with a frown.
"Hey, Mione." James interrupted Hermione's thoughts as he spoke with his mouth full of food. Hermione looked at him in disgust. Really, he was nothing like Harry.
"It's Hermione, James."
"I was thinking-". He continued cheerfully ignoring her. "You could help me, Peter and Sirius-"
"Sirius, Peter and I!"
"Okay, okay. Sirius, Peter and i! "Corrected the boy. "Merlin, she looks like my mother." He commented on the other part to Sirius who shook his black curls in agreement.
"I heard that!"
"Anyway, you could help Sirius, Peter and I with our work of history!"
"And for helping you mean you pass all the answers?" Hermione asked narrowing her brown eyes accusingly.
"Of course!". Peter exclaimed as James and Sirius nudged the chubby boy's rib. "I mean, of course not ... We just want your help."
"Certainly". James and Sirius said in unison.
"No".
"Please Mione-". James started.
"Hermione!"
"Come on, Granger, help us!" Sirius asked.
"No". Hermione said again. "Why don't you ask Remus?" As soon as she finished her sentence, the grumpy boy in front of her looked at her with contempt.
"We already asked." Peter said rolling his eyes as he soaked his pancakes in a sea of chocolate syrup. "But he bewitched us and told us to" fall out of his sight". Peter finished as James and Sirius nodded in agreement.
"I help-".
"Yes!"
"I said she would help!"
"You're the best Hermione!"
"If you lend me your invisibility cloack, James." The young witch finished. The four boys stared at her.
"What?".
"Invisibility cloak?"
"Crazy, I'm telling you."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mione."
"It's Hermione, Peter!" She exclaimed and then lowered her voice in the way that only the four boys could listen. "Do you really think I'm an idiot? I know you move through the castle at night, and the only way that explains how you haven't been caught yet is if you had to hide from Filch and the prefects. Now, you have no ability to cast a concealing spell upon yourself. Oh, for the love of Merlin, Sirius, please! The way you are in spells I do not even know how you passed! Anyway, since you're not using a spell, you're wearing a cloak of invisibility". She ended with a smile. Of course she already knew they had the cover, after all Harry, Ron and her wore the same cloak for several years.
"OK". James started. "I'm not saying that you're right, but if I were to lend you such object, the price is higher."
"I'm listening".
"You have to help us with any task for two months!" The boy exclaimed as Sirius and Peter agreed. Remus watched the negotiation with mild interest.
"A month or nothing."
"Two! You need the cloak ". Sirius intruded. Hermione rolled her eyes at the Black family heir.
"I do not need the cloak. It would only make my life so much easier. Unlike you, I have full ability to cast a concealing spell". She said scornfully. "So James, do we have a deal?". Hermione asked, holding out her hand.
"When do you need the cover?"
"I'm not sure yet, but when I need it I'll let you know." The boy smiled at her and squeezed her hand.
"Deal closed, Granger." Hermione smiled back and stood up from the table when she saw Alice finish her conversation with Frank Longbottom with a silly grin on her face. Children, Hermione thought with an amused smile. As she headed for the large wooden door to the main hall, Sirius shouted her name.
"What?". She asked turning to him.
"Why do you need it for?" The quartet looked at her expectantly.
Remembering of the Weasley twins, Hermione replied with a smile:
"Don't ask me questions I will not tell you lies".
Obviously, she knew the whole theory behind delusion. She'd done it herself several times when Harry's cloak was gone after he'd turned himself in to Voldemort. However, she was not twenty-nine years older. Unfortunately, her body was still thirteen. As much as Hermione knew the whole theory, the young witch could not keep a spell like this for long.
The result was that she had to bribe James to lend her the cloak. The look on her face when she had commented on the existence of the cover had been invaluable. Hermione should move with a camera to times like these.
The rest of the year had passed smoothly. Christmas had come and her time with her family had been delicious. Hermione's parents were happier than usual and the young witch had really enjoyed her moment with them.
The return to Hogwarts, the beginning of a new year meant that the exams were approaching, and so the students were braying madly. Alice had asked for her transfiguration help and in some of her daily meetings with Remus, the rest of the Marauders would appear, since as always, they only studied days before the exams.
Lily Evans's contempt for the infamous quartet was becoming more and more frequent. The Bullying directed at Severus grew more and more and being the mother of her best friend, Evans did not tolerate this.
"You are such idiots! You are a bunch of immature pigs and I hate you! " The redheaded girl shouted at the boys in anger. "How could you let them do this to Severus, Remus?"
"Well I-". Remus started.
"Remus does not rule us, Evans." Sirius intervened for his friend, who was staring the floor. He just did not want to lose his friends by challenging them. Hermione more than anyone else understood about the insecurity of a new friendship, given that she had never been popular with children.
"What happened?". Marlene asked curiously as the red-haired girl glared at the four boys. Hermione could not help but feel curious too.
"They called Severus' clothes on the lake! He was ... naked! " Lily shouted, pulling out her wand.
"What?". Hermione asked scandalized looking at the marauders in surprise. The boys had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. Lily looked at her with contempt. "You told me you wanted the 'Accio' spell to impress McGonagall!"
"Well, at first it was, but then we wanted to see what would happen if we called someone's clothes ..." James tried to explain.
"And you tried it on Severus ?!" Hermione yelled getting up from her favorite chair. Frankly, this enmity between them was at least ridiculous.
"Well, yes ... But we did not think-" Sirius started.
"Yes, your precious friends made Severus be practically naked in the middle of the garden!" Lily shouted at Hermione. "And you're responsible for that, too!" Hermione wrinkled her nose. Lily's hatred for her was boring. Really, all this because of grades?
"What? How could I guess they were going to use the spell for that? "
"You know very well who they are." Lily sniffed.
"Calm down Evans, it was just a joke." James said with a laugh.
"And he was not naked!" Peter completed.
"He was with his boxers." Sirius finished.
"Oh, great, very different."
"Well, it's different." James said as the girl pointed her wand at the three pre-teenager, angrily
While Hermione liked the boys, she could not help but agree with Lily that she wanted to punish them. The jokes with the Slytherins, especially with Severus, were getting grosser and she needed to intervene. Hermione always considered herself a pacifist, but what the quartet was doing was purely evil and prejudice.
"I agree with Evans." Hermione said, to the surprise of the common room. "This quarrel between you and the Slytherins is at least ridiculous. There are many important things in the world and you can only think about hurting whom you consider unworthy. You should be ashamed! "
"What's going on in the world?" Peter asked. Hermione sighed irritably. While she was overjoyed by the general ignorance of Voldemort's powers and her guests, she was also annoyed by people's lack of observation. Did not they read the newspaper?
"It doesn't matter!". The girl screamed. "What I want to say is that violence breeds violence, and one day you will see that there are more important things than this fight between houses!"
"But they're Slytherins, Mione." James said. "They're bad!"
"Well, you guys are evil!" Lily shouted at the boys. "You are so immature and I disgust you!"
The moody young woman raised her wand again and was ready to curse the trio as a fifth-year prefect entered the common room with McGonagall at his heels. The stern witch looked at the scene in front of her in disgust and when Lily explained the events she looked at Peter, James and Sirius with disapproval and gave them an arrest.
"One month?".
"Yes, gentlemen. One month. And also twenty less points will be deducted from each of you- "
"Twenty points?" Sirius asked. "That will be sixty points!"
"I'm happy that your ability to do simple counts is better than your sense of composure, Mr. Black." Minerva said. "And Mr. Lupine will accompany you in your detention for two weeks for not having stopped this kind of behavior."
Remus nodded, acknowledging the punishment as he stared at the ground in anger at himself. Lily even tried to argue that Hermione should also receive an arrest since she who had taught the Marauders spell. How would she know the spell would be used for evil? However, McGonagall did not agree with the redhead.
The end of the term finally came and Hermione could not help feeling relieved. She could not wait to just do nothing. His fourth year would mark the definitive beginning of his task. She had written in her diary all her plans for action. It was time to formalize alliances.
Note: So, did you guys like it? I hope you did! I cant wait to see the reviews. Next chapter is coming in two-three weeks.
Xoxo!