186Voldemort would be rising in power thirty years ago. Dumbledore would still be alive, but none of her friends would exist yet. She knew she must convince Dumbledore to let her change their futures. Her only worry was that Dumbledore's kindness would not allow her to block herself from the world. The spinning stopped and the clever witch blinked and saw in the desk in front of her, Albus Dumbledore.
Hermione felt suddenly unsure of herself. She was standing in front of the headmaster in ripped robes, disheveled hair and war-hardened eyes.
"Good afternoon sir." Hermione mumbled almost inaudibly.
"Would you like a gumdrop?" Dumbledore inquired politely, looking for all the world like there was nothing unusual about an angry-looking teen appearing in his office in broad daylight.
"Err… no thanks." Hermione took a deep breath. "My name is Hermione Granger. Sir, I come from 1999, the future. Well, an alternate future. See, I used a Pheo-"she realized it had not been invented yet. She blushed and continued, "I need your help. I have come back to kill the Dark Lord and need a place to stay and train. I mustn't interfere with too many people. I want parts of the future to remain unchanged." Though Hermione felt embarrassed, she met the headmaster's piecing blue gaze, knowing he was searching for lies. Finding none, he smiled.
"I will have your quarters made immediately. Please proceed to the picture of the First Phoenix on the fifth floor. You will find instructions there. The password is Coca-Cola. Have a good day Miss Granger."
Hermione placed an Invisibility Charm on herself and strode down the corridors. Luckily, all of the students were in the Great Hal for their first lunch of the term, so no one interrupted her. Hermione was quite unsettled by the silence. After living the past month, in constant fighting and Death Eater attacks, the absence of the screams and shouts of spells was deafening. Hermione ran the last few steps and whispered the password. "Coca-Cola."
'Dumbledore is way too obsessed with Muggle sweets. She walked into a rich scarlet and gold Common Room. 'Dumbledore must have seen my scarf,' she grinned to herself. She saw a grand set of stairs leading to a hallway with three doors.
She snuck up the majestic stairs and entered the first room wand out. She had grown a habit of keeping her wand in front no her no matter what.
To her slight surprise, she saw the room was full of doors. It reminded her unexpectedly of the Department of Mysteries. She brushed away the thought and gazed at a map that was hanging on the wall next to her. It seemed to her that each of these doors was a passageway down to certain key rooms, such as the kitchen. She quickly read the note that was pinned to the bottom.
'I find that the Room of Requirement and the Quidditch Pitch are fine training areas. Seeing as the Room will not supply any restricted books, you have a free pass to the library.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
P.S—The trustworthy teachers who will tutor you from now on will join you for breakfast every morning in the Lounge. They have been informed of your situation and will keep you company when you need it.'
The teenager smiled slightly in gladness and slight worry of Dumbledore's consideration. Hermione went into the next room. It was a bathroom with a pool-sized bathtub, much like the Prefect's one. Leaving her inspection for another time, she walked into the last room. The room was obviously her bedroom, but it was huge. Hermione staggered over to the fluffy bed and was asleep before her head touched the pillow.
She awoke the next morning much later than usual. Dawn was in only one hour! She sat in her bed, contemplating what had happened. She had realized she had little time to practice because the prophesy would be made in only five years.
She walked into her decorative bathroom and glimpsed a stranger out of the corner of her eye. She whipped around, wand out quicker than the eye to follow, only to see it was her reflection. Her dark wavy hair was bushy and unkempt. She had quite a few small scars covering her body, including a new one on her shoulder. Hermione had a muscular and tall body. Her height had freaked Ron and Harry out when they had realized she had grown almost as tall as Ron's six feet in one summer. Her serious tan face was unblemished apart from a thin scar over her eyebrow. She stared into her own dark chocolate eyes and saw with a slight twinge of regret that they were as cold as Malfoy's own.
She ignored her mixed and jumbled feelings-this was no time to become emotional. She strode swiftly over to the bathtub, taking off her death stained robes as she did. She soon discovered that all of the perfume and scented soaps and shampoos were the scent of strawberry, Hermione's favorite. The scent also happened to keep her in constant reminder of her red-haired friend and green-eyed pal. She rinsed out her hair and climbed out of the relaxing tub to find her old robes were gone and they were replaced by plush gold towels and fresh robes.
She simply laughed at the towels and performed a quick Drying Spell on her body and sopping wet hair. She slipped quickly into her uniform and yawned. She grabbed a ponytail holder (she had just realized the room provided for her needs) and pulled her hair up into a messy bun. The resourceful young woman went through one of the passageways to meet her teachers in the Teacher's Lounge.
When Hermione climbed out of the passageway, she found a large breakfast laid out on the table and five teachers talking and eating. One noticed her and beckoned the girl over.
"My name," the strict looking professor said, "is Minerva McGonagall. You may call me whatever suits you." Hermione studied this younger teacher over, and realized she looked much the same as she did in the future. McGonagall had the same strict bun, caring eyes and sharply angled face. The Transfiguration Professor interpreted Hermione's gaze correctly and chuckled, "Have I changed a lot in the future?"
Hermione smiled, "Not much, Professor." McGonagall introduced the teen to the rest of the tutors. Of the five teachers, she recognized the small Flitwick and the mysterious Professor Sinistra. They would all teach her about two classes each. They informed her that she would take the NEWTs like everyone else. Hermione felt her spirits rise. Thinking of school often did that to her.
When they were almost finished with their meal, McGonagall informed her of some surprising news, "Now, Miss Granger, I know you came back from the future, and I would like to ask if there are any important dates of attacks that stand clearly in your mind. We would like to stop those attacks from happening." Hermione was glad that she could finally help.
"I could make a timeline if you'd like, Professor." McGonagall noticed the first smile of actual happiness on the witch's face that she had yet to see.
That day, Hermione amazed all her tutors of her outstanding skills in all her classes. She was past NEWT level in every class but Divination, but she didn't even take that course. Professor Jervin was blown away by the young girl's extensive knowledge in Defense Against the Dark Arts. When questioned on it, she simply looked down and said, "I've had experience." No one questioned further.
At four o'clock once all her classes had ended, Hermione went to her dormitories to make out a schedule for her life. She decided for training she would work out four hours on the Quidditch Pitch and six hours practicing spell work in the Room of Requirement. She would hopefully be able to squeeze a full three hours in of sleep a day. Her life went on the same schedule every day for two months until one day it all changed.