DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K. does, and she has every right to do whatever she thinks is best for Harry Potter. I just love writing. So sue me. Wait, seriously… don't.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"And for the record, my name's not Harry."
Hermione felt shivers run up her spine as the meaning of his words reached her brain and concluded something alarming. "What do you mean you're not Harry?" She asked, thoroughly aware of the goosebumps that were rapidly making their way all over her body.
"That's not who I am." He repeated nonchalantly, sounding as if he didn't care that she called him by a different name.
"What do you mean you're not him? The nurse just called you `Mr. Potter'." Hermione pointed out. Because only able to see his form, not his face, Hermione couldn't tell if he was telling the truth. However, she found it a bit puzzling and mystifying that Harry's built was clearly outlined on the person.
"Well, I do have that last name," She heard the guy say. "Just not the name."
Hermione could tell, by the sound of his voice, that he was annoyed and was clearly stating that he wanted to be somewhere else, not caring if there was a hint of bewilderment in her tone. She kept quiet for a moment, trying to think of reasons why the nurse called him Mr. Potter when according to this guy he wasn't.
It was an absurd and ironic matter and she couldn't think of anybody else, who could pretend such a thing but Harry--or Ron--but there was no way her red-headed friend could be in this, and if he was, then where was he?
Hence, the real question was, why was Harry doing this?
Hermione inhaled deeply and balled her fists at her side wanting to get out of bed and haul the hell out of him to make him stop playing tricks on her. But as of the moment, she didn't have the strength to do it, so she just decided to humor him. "If you're not Harry, then who are you?"
"My friends call me Cole." He said tonelessly.
"Cole? What kind of a name is that?" Hermione scoffed, not being able to stop herself from doing so.
"It's short for Nicholas." He finally supplied.
Nicholas? Hermione thought. I don't remember anyone named Nicholas from last year. Hermione doubled back. She can't believe Harry was doing this while she's helpless and immobilized to get back at him. She was about to say something irksome when another voice wafted in.
"Are you all right now?"
Hermione immediately searched for another form and saw that the nurse from a while ago had returned.
"Yes, I'm fine, miss…?" She hanged politely, obviously acquiring for her name.
"Raeford." The nurse supplied helpfully.
"Nurse Raeford." She finished, and then she added. "But I still can't see clearly."
"Maybe taking a short nap would do wonders." Miss Raeford suggested, then Hermione indistinctly saw her look at Cole who refused to call himself Harry and said, "Don't you have classes today, Mr. Potter?"
`Classes? It should be Friday, shouldn't it?' Hermione contrasted.
Cole shrugged and stood up. "I don't mind missing one, but I guess I should go."
"Will you come back later?" Nurse Raeford asked hopefully before he could go out.
Cole shrugged and with one last sentence, went outside. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."
"That silly boy." Nurse Raeford said crossly, but with a slight chuckle full of admiration, when Cole had left. "Always saving people."
Hermione frowned slightly then looked up, "Um, excuse me?" she asked, suddenly feeling the need to know something. "But what do you mean by `always saving people?'"
"Why, don't you remember? He was the one who caught you when you fainted and carried you here." Ms. Raeford explained with a dreamy smile. "That boy has a knack of rescuing damsels in distress, hasn't he? Takes after his ancestors, he does." She said with a clap of her hand, but then she realized that she had strayed from the important matters and said, "Goodness! Never mind all that, you'll find out soon enough after taking a rest. You should get some sleep. Your eyesight may come back after you do."
It wasn't what she was trying to find out but Hermione was too tired to carry on more of the conversation. She closed her eyes and did an imitation of drifting off to sleep. But her mockery didn't last even for 5 full minutes because sooner than she thought, the burdens of the past couple of days suddenly weighed down on her and all the emotions she has been feeling crumbled all over her, causing her pretend rest to turn into a deep, actual slumber.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What do you mean?" Harry asked; his eyes suddenly bloodshot.
"She's…she's lost." Ron answered meekly, not knowing what to say.
"Lost? What do you mean? Lost where?" Harry asked, his voice echoing as it hit the ceiling and boomed back at them.
"I don't know." Ron said simply.
"What do you mean you don't know?" He shouted as he gripped the boy's shoulders and held on tightly. "Ron, you were with her!"
"I don't know!" Ron shouted back, his voice breaking. "We were talking, and then I went to see if anybody was near enough to hear us. And I stayed outside for a while because I didn't want to see her hovering over that potion. But then you came, and…and…" He broke off, not being able to continue.
"And now she's gone!" Harry snapped at him impatiently. "Why is she lost?"
"She must have taken the potion a minute before the right time."
"How do you know that?"
"She should be just taking it now," Ron explained looking at his watch. "She didn't have any watch with her so I reckoned she just assumed it was all right to drink it and she did--without waiting for me.
"Assumed?" Harry spitted out venomously. "Hermione doesn't assume. She's always sure of what she does!"
"She usually is whenever she's patient." Ron pointed out. "But this time she wasn't because it was something she's been waiting for all day."
Harry's eyes glimmered knowingly and then surprisingly, his voice softened. "D-do you know how we can find her?"
Ron shook his head.
Harry raked his hand through his hair and looked up.
It was his fault.
It was his damn fault! If he had noticed earlier how he felt for her, Hermione wouldn't have thought of this idea. And to think that he even didn't want her to find out he knew about her feelings for him. And it was too late to realize that it would have made a difference if he told her he knew.
And now, she's lost somewhere. No contact with them, no knowledge of where she was--no nothing. Will she be able to get back? What would he tell her parents and the professors when she doesn't appear in their commencement day? He couldn't lie to them. He knew that even if he did, they'd be able to see right through him, especially Dumbledore.
Harry blinked.
Professor Dumbeldore!
"Ron!" Harry exclaimed.
Ron suddenly looked up from where he was staring at and bore his eyes into his. "What?" He asked solemnly.
"We can ask for Prof. Dumbeldore's help."
"But--but--he'll know we've sneaked into Snape's and his office and--and--gone out in the middle of the night and--put our lives in danger…" Ron stuttered, his face shockingly white.
"He won't get mad. Disappointed, maybe…" Harry admitted, nevertheless continued. "But not mad. He won't hold it against us. And it's better than doing nothing, isn't it?"
Ron looked at Harry who was gaping at him expectantly. There was something different from the way he was looking at him. Why was he here? He wanted to ask. Why was he looking for Hermione? How come he knew where to find them? And if Hermione would have still been here when he had arrived, what would have taken place?
Before he could even muster the courage to ask these questions to Harry, he caught a glimpse of Tome Aloc Lution still lying askew on the floor where he had dropped it a moment ago and was constantly reminded that Hermione was in some other place she may not know, making him realize it was not the time to ask such things.
With a look of hesitance, he began arranging the ingredients and the materials on the floor. Once he was done, he cast a spell onto them to make them return to their proper place in Hermione's trunk in the Girls' Dormitory and with a small puff, the equipments vanished, leaving no trace that the stall had been used for potion making. As he finished that task, he stood up and held out a shrug. "I don't have a choice, do I? Let's go."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hermione stirred and then yawned. Somehow, she felt more energetic now and more alive. She opened her eyes and felt relief seep through her as soon as she found out that her clear vision had returned. She could see very plainly now. Nurse Raeford had been right; her nap had done wonders.
Nurse Raeford.
Who is she?
And where was Madame Pomfrey?
Hermione hadn't been in the Hospital Wing the year before except for the time when Harry had been confined in it (because of the battle with Voldemort) and she was certain that Madame Pomfrey was there.
Maybe Miss Raeford was just a replacement for the school's nurse because she's just gone out for a while. But even as she thought of it as a possibility, she was in no way convinced it would turn out that way. Madame Pomfrey never left while classes were still going on and there wasn't a time that she ever left while on duty.
And who was that boy from a while ago? How come he was so much like Harry in built and voice? She wasn't sure if she believed that he was not really Harry because who else would have the courage to play a trick on her but him, aside from Ron?
She tossed her head to the right and nearly cried out in surprise as she saw the boy, from a while ago, resting while sitting on a chair beside her bed.
She was certain that he was `Cole' because she heard him say to Nurse Raeford earlier that he'd probably be back and who else would know she was there? And as she continued to let her eyes travel over him, she found herself almost hearing that raven-black disheveled hair of his screaming his identity as a Potter. And although he was sitting down, Hermione could estimate that he was the same height of Harry's.
His face bore the same distinct jaws that had been constantly clenching lately. And as her eyes moved lower, it passed and then settled on the mouth that was shaped to bear a very childish grin, and, at times, a very charming pout.
Hermione soon found herself fuming as she realized that Harry had certainly played a joke on her saying he wasn't himself because he was every bit a Harry Potter could be.
She was about to say something when a wave of dizziness passed her, causing her to close her eyes and groan in surprise. While eyes still shut, there was a sudden movement from the chair beside her and she presumed that Harry had heard her and had woken up.
Thinking to give him a piece of her mind, she immediately opened her eyes to surprise him, but only to be the one astonished as she found herself staring at the coldest pair of brown eyes she had ever laid eyes on.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"And that's what happened." Ron concluded, facedown on the floor, not able to look at Prof. Dumbledore's straight in the eye. He was, after all, ashamed that he had been an accomplice of breaking the rules. It wasn't as if he hasn't ever broken any before, but it was different this time, having to confess all of it to him.
But even as Ron had finished, Dumbledore still remained quiet and immobile, his half-moon spectacles glinting as he arranged them on the crook of his nose
Harry, meanwhile, was busy staring off into space, with a feeling of mixed nervousness and annoyance as Dumbledore took his time in probing Ron with his nerve-wrecking gaze. He wanted to point out that as he was doing this, Hermione could be crying at the moment with no idea on where she was and was desperate to return to her own time. This thought brought churns in his stomach and somehow, it was sensed by the old professor because he had suddenly cleared his throat.
"I have no doubt that you know what you've done is extremely serious, Mr. Weasley." He began, and then he folded his hands together and laid it on his desk. "However, I have a suspicion that you weren't thinking when you helped Ms. Granger get hold of that potion." He paused and watched as Ron nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"I do not need to express how I feel about this, as you knew that I wouldn't be pleased with what has happened. But having to deal with such--incidences--for the past decades taught me that brooding over what happened in the past is not worthwhile for what had taken place had already ensued, and there is no way we could change it." He stopped once more to weigh the next meaning of his following words. "This is something Ms. Granger should have comprehended initially before she made that certain move."
After a long pause, he continued. "And now, you come here, asking for my help, hoping that somehow, I would know how to bring her back. Although I want to correct the mistake she did as much as you do, I'm afraid I am not the right one to do that."
Ron's eyes suddenly went wide and his face suddenly lost what's left of its color. "Y-you're…you're not? What do you mean?"
Dumbledore sighed and shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid that I can't do anything since I am not to meddle with another time that is not mine."
"So what happens to Hermione? How will she be able to return without our help?" Ron suddenly asked.
Dumbledore smiled feebly at him and held up one finger. "Just a moment, Mr. Weasley. I didn't fully say I don't know how to help her."
Ron suddenly felt lightheaded and relief swept through him. "So you do know a way to locate her!"
"More or less," Dumbledore opposed. "But I only know how to reach her."
"But how would we get her back?"
"That is not something we can do."
"How come? And what if she doesn't know how to help herself?"
"She's a smart girl. She'll know a way out of the hole she has dug up."
Having heard this, Ron suddenly turned to the nearly lifeless figure of the staring-into-empty-space Harry, who had been seated mutely beside him for a while. "What about you, Harry?"
Harry snapped out of his senses and looked at Ron with questioning eyes. "What about me?"
"Aren't you going to help her?"
"Why--I mean--how? Prof. Dumbledore told you she has to get out of the hole she has dug up herself."
"So?" Ron asked.
"What do you mean `so'?" Harry asked. "As much as I want to find her as badly as you do, I can't. I didn't dig the hole, she did."
"Yes, well," Ron muttered numbly before slouching back on the chair. "You handed her the shovel."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-->