Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
The Time Meddlers
Chapter Six - Hermione's Entrance
Hermione Granger pulled her bed curtains closed on the eve of her twelfth birthday. The last few weeks had been among the best of her life. For the first time, she had actual friends. In her other schools, sometimes someone would pretend to befriend her and then try to get her to do his or her homework. When she refused, they left her alone or began picking on her like most of the other kids, calling her a buck-toothed, bushy-haired bookworm and similar insults.
When she'd gotten her visit from Professor McGonagall, who brought her Hogwarts letter, she'd hoped that explained why she was different from all the other kids. She had hoped she'd be able to make friends with her new classmates who were also magical, and she had. Harry Potter had befriended her even before they got onto the platform, and had helped her gain other friends. She felt that she should be happy about how things had worked out, and she was. However, tonight she was sad and couldn't blame anyone but herself. Her birthday was tomorrow, and she knew that nobody would wish her a happy birthday or acknowledge it in any way, because she hadn't told anyone.
How could she expect her friends to remember information they'd never been exposed to? Everybody in the wizarding world knew Harry Potter's birthday, but she didn't know any of her other friends' birthdays. They'd never talked about them. The subject simply hadn't come up. She wouldn't feel right telling everyone that it's her birthday tomorrow, as though she were looking for attention. She almost laughed at herself, because whether she wanted to admit it or not, she did want a bit of attention on her birthday. She decided that the best birthday present she could have was true friendship, whether her friends knew it was her birthday or not. It was with these thoughts that the girl went to sleep, never to be the same again.
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At the stroke of midnight, a Hermione Granger woke up at Hogwarts, but it wasn't the one who went to sleep. Staring at the dark ceiling, the eighteen-year-old woman in a twelve-year-old body gasped as she felt information from the past nineteen days begin pouring into her head. Just when the process was beginning to give her a headache, it was over.
She could clearly remember her first time boarding the Hogwarts Express and helping Neville find his toad, meeting Harry and Ron in the process. However, she could also remember meeting Harry outside of Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. She could very clearly see what he'd changed in this timeline, and found herself wanting to snog Harry senseless for how wonderfully he'd treated her younger self this time around. She was a bit sad that they didn't get along as well with Ron this time, but realized that at this point in his life, he wasn't very mature and shouldn't be expected to be. She was glad that he was alive again, but realized that they didn't have much in common now.
She also wondered what changes Harry had made that he didn't tell anyone about. She remembered Harry's interest in Ravenclaw's Tiara, and now realized what that was about. She felt a bit foolish for accusing him of wanting to wear the Diadem, and fully believed that Harry had laughed at her for that once he was alone. She wondered if he'd made any progress with that. With a grin, she recalled his promise that she'd soon know everything about Voldemort that he did, and realized that he wasn't lying to her when he said that.
She realized that Professor Quirrel wasn't there and wondered how Harry had accomplished that. She also wondered if he'd been behind Professor Lupin getting the D.A.D.A. job. She loved Harry's idea about getting Snape fired. With the reasonable doubt brought on by Dumbledore in the `in-between place,' she wouldn't feel right executing the greasy git, but she agreed that he needed to get out of Hogwarts because he was doing a lot more harm than whatever good he did.
She realized the negative effect Snape's `teaching' was having on the wizarding world. With the way he acted, hardly any non-Slytherins continued Potions after O.W.L.s, even if they somehow got his required `O' in the subject despite his poor instruction. She remembered that even with Slughorn's lowered requirement, only twelve students were in their 6th year class. Consequently, there were a lot fewer Auror recruits every year that Snape taught at Hogwarts, which was part of the reason Voldemort had had such an easy time taking over the Ministry. She wondered just how many careers that single professor had stopped before they began - not only as Aurors, but as Healers and countless other occupations.
She had so many questions for Harry, and couldn't wait to talk to him. She smiled as she remembered how happy he'd been acting the day before, even after getting those unfair detentions, and realized that he knew it would be her birthday and she'd be back. She also wondered what it was like for him to get to know her younger self all over again. She giggled as she thought back to the way he'd introduced himself to her this time, claiming he didn't know how to get onto the platform. From previous conversations, she realized that the first time around, he hadn't known how to get there, and that had been how he'd met the Weasleys, and he'd worded his explanations so that they were technically true. She then remembered that his sorting took longer than before and wondered how he'd convinced the hat not to cause any problems. She just couldn't wait to interrogate him about everything he'd done since the 31st of July.
After tossing and turning for a few hours, she realized that she wasn't going back to sleep, so she quietly got a book out of her trunk and went down to the common room to read. She sat down on a comfortable chair facing the fireplace and read until sleep finally overtook her.
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"Do you think anybody lives there?" asked a seventeen-year-old Harry Potter as he and his only friend came across an obviously old cabin. He had his right arm around her shoulders. In the few days since Neville and Dobby died, they'd hardly been separated at all. They even slept on the ground next to each other, and woke up holding hands.
"It doesn't look like it," answered Hermione. She then performed a quick spell at the door, which briefly changed color to a light shade of orange. "It looks like this door hasn't been opened for over a hundred years."
"Maybe we can use it as a base," suggested Harry. "I don't know about you, but I'm tired of moving around all the time."
"But it wouldn't be safe…unless…" She walked forward, leaving Harry behind as she was in deep thought. "…I could try it…what do we have to lose…" she muttered to herself as Harry watched. He'd never before realized how cute she was when she had an idea. She suddenly turned around with a determined expression on her face. "I'd like to try putting this under the Fidelius Charm."
His eyes widened. "You know how to cast that? Sorry, stupid question." He shrugged his shoulders. "That's fine with me."
She grinned at him. "Good, because I want you to be Secret-Keeper."
"Why me? Why not you?"
"I'll be casting the charm. It's more difficult to make yourself Secret-Keeper. And besides, if I'm captured, I don't want to be able to betray you no matter…"
"I don't want to betray you, either!" he interrupted.
"But you're more important!" she argued.
"I am not!"
"The prophecy makes you more important!" She took a deep breath as she thought of a way to calm him down. "It won't matter anyway, because we'll look out for each other, right?" He nodded, still looking skeptical. "Then we should do the one that's easier for me, and that's having you being Secret-Keeper."
That was the end of the argument, and Harry did cooperate, mainly because he did want to stop traveling. When the charm had been cast, Hermione looked exhausted. "We should get you to bed."
"Not yet," she countered, looking a bit uncomfortable. "I need to do one more thing."
"What's that?"
Her ears were pink, but Harry couldn't figure out what was bothering her. "I need to make a lavatory."
"What?"
She looked at him, exasperated. "Surely you know what a…"
"I know what it is," he commented, "but there is an outhouse…"
"I'd also like a shower!" she snapped at him. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Look, it'll only take five minutes, and then finally we can start living like civilized people again."
"Okay," he said, backing away from her. "I'm sorry."
She sighed. "I'm sorry, too. I think the stress has been getting to both of us." He walked up and put his arms around her.
"I don't think I ever properly thanked you for coming with me." When she started to protest, he continued, "You could've gone with your parents to Australia, and no one, including me, would've thought lesser of you."
"I couldn't…"
"I know." He hugged her tightly for a moment before loosening her to separate just enough that he could look in her eyes. "For some reason I'll never understand, you've never abandoned me. I've always been able to count on you like no one else." He took a deep breath. "I'd never have made it this far without you, and I need you to know I do appreciate everything you've done and everything you've given up for me."
"You, you're important to me," she said, looking him straight in the eyes.
"And you mean more to me than anything else. I, I don't know what I'd do without you."
"You're not without me, and you mean more to me than anything else, too."
They were still gazing intently into each other's eyes as their breathing became a bit shallow. Harry finally spoke. "I need you. I…" Temporarily losing control of himself, he crossed a mental barrier he'd put up years before as his lips met Hermione's for the first time.
Harry woke up with a smile on his face as he recalled the memory of his first kiss with his Hermione. He remembered that it was over an hour before she got back to work. Checking his watch, Harry saw it was just after midnight. He figured that she was back already, but thought she'd sleep through the night and wake up a different person. He couldn't wait to see her again! He did his best to go back to sleep.
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Hermione got up with a start and grabbed her wand. She knew someone was in the room with her. She opened her eyes and turned just in time to see Harry, wearing a robe, jogging pants and trainers, groggily open the door. He looked half asleep as he stepped outside and closed it. She immediately got up and sprinted in that direction, hoping she could talk to him now. She pushed the door open, and to her astonishment, Harry was standing there facing her. Only now, he was full of sweat and panting like he'd run a mile. Not only that, but he looked wide awake.
"Hermione?" he asked, anticipation radiating from his lovely green eyes. "Is it…you?"
She smirked at him. "I feel like a new woman."
He gazed in her eyes for a few seconds before the biggest grin she'd ever seen on her boyfriend formed. "It is you! I've missed you so much!" Without another word, he threw his arms around her and brought his lips to hers. For a few moments, Hermione couldn't remember anything except for her beloved. While she hadn't been separated from him as long as he'd been separated from her, it was still so easy to get lost in his love. Then, her brain started functioning again.
Reluctantly, she pushed him away. She nearly cried when she saw his dejected look. "Harry, I love you, but we can't."
"But…" he began to argue.
"Remember," she whispered, just in case someone could hear, "We're supposed to be first-years. We can't risk being caught acting…older."
"Can't we even kiss?" he asked with the cutest expression she'd ever seen. She felt herself going weak at the knees.
"Only when no one could possibly see us. Maybe in the Room of Requirement."
He grinned, grabbed her arm and said, "Let's go."
"Not now, Harry," she said while starting to giggle like a school girl. It felt so good to be desired. "You're all sweaty. Speaking of which, how did you get like that. I saw you leave less than a minute ago."
"The same way you…"
"Hey, Harry," called Neville from the stairs. "If you want to beat Ron to the shower, you'd better hurry up."
Harry answered, "I'll be right there," before turning back to Hermione. "I've got to go. Ron takes forever in the shower. If I don't leave now, I won't be able to get cleaned up until tonight. We'll talk later." He took her hand and rubbed it affectionately with his thumb. He whispered, "I love you," as he let go and walked off with a spring in his step she distinctly remembered that he hadn't had before in this time. She decided it was time to take her own shower. She would have to make a note in her journal that her feelings were that of a teenager and not a little girl.
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After they both cleaned up, they walked down to breakfast side-by-side. For a moment, they'd held hands until they realized they were doing it. They sat next to each other, across from Neville, in silence for a few seconds. The Longbottom boy seemed to be acting nervous as he said, "Hap…Hermione, good morning."
"Good morning, Neville," replied Hermione.
"Hi, Neville," said Harry as he piled up his plate.
"Hi, Harry."
Breakfast went on, and Harry finished eating before Hermione. He silently sat and waited for her to finish her first decent meal in months as she heartily dug in. When she was done, Harry said, "Hermione, could you come with me? There's something I'd like to talk to you about before class."
She glanced at her watch before looking at her unofficial boyfriend. "I'm not sure we have time…"
He cut her off with a huge grin. "We have all the time we need. Trust me."
Looking down at the table and back at Harry, she decided, "I do trust you. You'd better not make me late to Transfiguration."
"I won't; I promise. Let's go." He took her hand and pulled her out of the Great Hall, through the Entrance Hall and into an empty classroom and set their school bags down on a desk.
After Harry closed the door, Hermione asked, "What is it that can't...oh." She just spotted the Time-Turner that he pulled out from under his robes. "Where did you…"
"Hold on," he said as he put the necklace around her neck as well. He turned the hour glass three times, sending them back that many hours. After tucking the Time-Turner back under his robes, he said, "Release wand," and his Hungarian Horntail Heartstring and Yew wand shot into his left hand, causing his girlfriend to gasp. He pointed the wand at the door and performed several privacy charms to make sure no one disturbed them. He then took off his watch and expanded it into a trunk, much to Hermione's surprise. He opened it to his apartment. Indicating for her to climb down the ladder, he said, "After you." She climbed down, looking in all directions, followed by him.
After she was comfortably seated across from her boyfriend, she grinned. "You certainly are full of surprises today. Tell me everything. How'd you get that Time…"
Putting his hands up, he calmly said, "Let me start from the beginning, and I'll answer any questions you have after that."
For the next two hours, the Boy-Who-Lived told the Girl-He-Loved everything he'd done from the time he got back on his birthday. She approved of his extra shopping, and his deal with the Dursleys. She loved how he let the goblins handle Quirrel. When he told her about his break-in at the Ministry, she said, "That was a brilliant idea to get the Time-Turner - I wish I'd thought of it - but it was very dangerous." However, when he mentioned how Umbridge had been arrested, she started laughing her head off. When he showed her the newspaper he'd kept with the picture of her passed out and dripping with liquor, she nearly fell off her chair.
When he explained his training, she easily understood what she'd witnessed earlier. Finally, she got to the point where she started telling him how foolish it was for him to duel Draco like he had. "You've shown everybody how powerful you are…"
"By using a few first-year charms and something from a basic book of hexes?" he retorted.
"Maybe so, but you've still brought attention to yourself, and that's not a good idea."
Putting his head in his hands, he said, "Look, I can't stand being on the same continent as that murderer, let alone the same castle." He looked into her eyes. "He's lucky I didn't kill him on the spot! You saw what he did to Neville!" He took a deep breath. "I thought I did a good job controlling my temper during the duel."
Sighing, Hermione said, "I understand, Harry. I'm sure I'll have a hard time dealing with him, too."
"Not if every time he bothers you I kick his…"
"Harry, language!"
"Sorry, dear," he said in mock penitence.
"Moving on," she said, ignoring him, "I know you were reading up on Ravenclaw's Tiara. Have you found out anything new about it? Like whether or not Riddle could have turned it into a Horcrux?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I haven't even found a picture of it. The thing disappeared a long time ago, and no one alive knows anything about it."
"Have you talked to the Ravenclaw ghost?"
He stared at her for a few moments before smiling. "Good idea! You don't know how much I've missed having you with me. From the time we met, I don't think I ever tried to muddle my way through anything without your help before. It's a wonder I haven't ruined everything yet."
"You've done a good job," she argued, "but thanks. I'm glad I can contribute."
"We should make sure to do that this week. You should also start training with me every morning."
She nodded in agreement before glancing around the room. Her eyes widened. "Harry, isn't that the vanishing cabinet that Draco…"
Slapping his forehead, Harry nodded. "Yeah, I forgot. I bought that my first da…" He stopped speaking when she planted her lips on his. He returned the kiss.
After about two minutes of snogging, she pulled back. "That was brilliant!"
"Uh, huh," he said in a daze, nodding his head lazily. "It sure was."
"I don't mean that; well, that was brilliant, too. I meant buying the cabinet before Draco could use it! We should collect the other one, and then we can use them. Maybe we could keep one at my house."
"Sure," he nodded absently. It had been awhile since he'd made out with his girlfriend, and had forgotten just how good it felt.
"We'll also have to set some ground rules for our relationship now. We should probably stop kissing."
That got him alert. "N-no, we don't need to do that."
She put her hands on his shoulders. "I know it feels really good, but I'm afraid that if we don't set limits, then we could…make mistakes. We're physically too young to be even dating. I don't think we should officially date until third year."
His eyes widened. "Third year? I barely made it seven weeks without you! Now…"
She put a hand over his mouth. "Just let me finish. We can kiss a bit in private, perhaps once a week, but we can't get too affectionate. It'll just make things harder."
"It sure will," he said suggestively, causing her to blush.
"Ignoring that statement," she said, "We need to begin making plans."
They discussed Horcrux ideas, as well as Death Eaters for awhile, and decided that they'd get Hermione a new wand the next time they left Hogwarts. They also decided that she wouldn't need a special trunk like Harry's. He simply keyed her into the wards so that she could use it if she needed. While they were talking, Harry remembered that the other vanishing cabinet had been above Filch's office during their second year, when Peeves broke it, so they decided to disillusion themselves and see if they could find it before their three extra hours were up.
Since they thought it might be risky to just go into the other cabinet, not knowing exactly where it was, they snuck out of the room and up the stairs with no problem, easily avoiding the students that were on their way to breakfast. They only had to look in three rooms before spotting the familiar large black-and-gold cabinet standing alone in an unused classroom. They quickly walked in and warded the room for privacy. After Harry had re-enlarged his trunk, they levitated the cabinet into his apartment next to the other one. They decided to test them, and found that working the two was very easy. "They're so easy to operate, even Death Eaters can use them," commented Harry, earning a light slap in the arm.
They made their way back to the room they started in, knowing they had only ten minutes left until their counterparts entered it. Staying disillusioned and leaving the door unwarded, they waited in silence until it opened, revealing themselves coming in. They watched the other Harry close the door before putting the Time-Turner around the other Hermione's neck, and watched both disappear backwards in time. The couple made themselves visible, picked up their schoolbags and walked out of the classroom just in time to find Neville looking for them.
"It's about time for McGonagall's class," he said. "Are you ready to go?"
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They easily made it through Transfiguration, History of Magic and Charms classes that day, and after dinner, Harry asked Hermione to talk to him in an unused classroom near Gryffindor Tower. She went along with it, but while Harry was opening the door she was saying, "If you need to talk to me alone, we should go to the Room of…"
"SURPRISE!!!"
Her eyes went wide as she processed the fact that all the Gryffindor first-years, along with a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, were in the room staring at her. She also noticed a table with cake that had twelve lit candles on it. "What?" she whispered. She'd never had a birthday party at Hogwarts before. Her close friends had given her gifts and wished her well, but never thrown a party for her.
As Harry ushered her inside, they all started singing, "Happy birthday to you!" and Hermione felt her eyes moisten, but she quickly blinked back the tears.
"Th-thanks, guys," she said. At that moment, she wasn't sure whether she felt 18 or 12 years old. All she knew is that Harry was the only one who knew it was her birthday, so he had to have been responsible for this. She really, really wished it would've been appropriate to snog him senseless right then and there.
The party passed in a blur. She blew out the candles and ate a piece of cake. She opened presents, all of which were small, inexpensive things (mostly candy), but that didn't matter. She was touched that everyone came to the party and gave her a gift. Harry had only given her a homework planner, but she knew that this gift was for show. He was planning on buying her a new wand and holster once they could get out of the castle.
When they got back to the Common Room, Hermione did give Harry a hug to thank him for the party and whispered, "I wish I could really show you how much I appreciate this."
"So do I," he responded before inconspicuously casting the Muffliato charm around them.
"I'll be down here just before seven to join you for training," said Hermione.
"If I can open my eyes long enough to notice you. I was so tired this morning that I had no idea anyone was in the Common Room."
"I'd think that by now you'd be used to getting up early and not be so tired."
"You have no idea how hard it is to go to sleep in a room with Wormtail," complained Harry, deciding not to mention his dream of their first kiss.
With a devious grin, Hermione said, "We'll take care of Pettigrew tomorrow morning."
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