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.
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Hermione shifted uncomfortably as her eyes fluttered open.
`Where am I?' she asked no one in particular as she sat upright. As she did so, her back ached, presumably, from having lain on the floor for what seemed like hours, and her head was in no better condition either as it began to pound heavily, her sight becoming unclear.
As she waited for her vision to return to its normal state, Hermione tried to remember the very last thing that happened the last time she was awake. But, just like her eyesight, her memory was in no hurry to return either. Because all she could think of was the throbbing pain in her head. Slowly, she stood up, clutching the wall beside her for support.
She took a step forward and glanced around.
From what she could make out from the blurry images in front of her, she knew, even certain of it, that she was at Hogwarts. There was no mistaking that stone wall lining the passage that stretched across the floor. And on that same edge hung familiar torches, blazing with fire.
But there was something a bit bothersome about the place…
She couldn't put her finger into it at first, but as she took another fleeting look, she realized it was the hallway being empty…
Now that she had noticed it…where were the students?
Where were…
Cole…Erin…Shawn…Alex…
In the blink of an eye, everything came back to her….
The book…Harry's wedding picture…his bride--her…Dumbledore's explanation…his solution…her next move…
Her next move…
Wait…
Had Prof. Dumbledore succeeded in sending her back? There could be no other explanation for her situation right now, could there? She had just woken up on the floor, and the setting she was in now was the very same one she had left a few days ago.
There was one way she could find out. And that would be to look for her other self. But accomplishing the task would be too risky. She couldn't let herself be found by anybody, especially her self.
But she just couldn't stay put. She should think of what to do. But, she would have to be very careful so she wouldn't run into her other self. Although that would be something she'd welcome completely because one explanation could change her life forever. However, it couldn't be as simple as that, or else Prof. Dumbledore would have mentioned it already.
She'd just have to think of something else to let Ron or Hermione find out she should not take that potion. As Hermione thought about that, she grimaced as she realized another potentially problematic situation she had to face.
How was she going to stop herself from taking that potion without actually revealing herself to anybody? She couldn't just walk up to Ron, or Harry, even, without sounding so ridiculous…
And, what would she say?
"Ron, would you do me a favor and stop me from taking the time-traveling potion? Thanks."
The thought was so stupid it wasn't even funny. Thought admittedly, Hermione would have laughed if she weren't so worried about it. As she began walking toward the west wing of the hallway, she found herself asking questions which she had no idea how to answer.
How much time did she have before she fails to do her mission?
Would she know whether she'd succeeded or not?
Would she be able to pull this off?
`You wouldn't solve anything if you keep worrying.' Her conscience told her. But even as her vision returned, she couldn't find it in herself to feel optimistic. Instead, she felt desperate and not an inch hopeful.
Hermione trudged the next few steps, trying to think of what happened the day she drank that potion. But all she could come up with were a few hazy moments before that moment.
Of the few things she remembered, Ron had not been there to see her drink it. She was too impatient to wait for him. And she took the potion, probably a minute before she should have taken it. That had probably been the reason she ended up in the future instead of the past…
But that thought didn't help her at all. She was still in the stage where she didn't know what to do. Prof. Dumbledore had mentioned that once she failed, she would never be able to go back here nor would she see her descendants again.
She looked around and found herself near the stairs of the 2nd floor. She vaguely reminded herself again that if it were that easy, she could just hide in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, which was two corners away, and wait for the other Hermione and Ron to arrive so she could stop herself from taking that potion when Ron walks out.
Yet, her she was, still. Trying to find another way, but not close to succeeding at all. Despite all her uncertainties, she was sure of this. She wouldn't solve anything if she kept on thinking that way.
`Come on, Hermione.' Her conscience urged her. Surely she could figure this one out. She'd always been terrific when it comes to solving puzzles. And she thought some more, despite the continuous pounding going on in her head and the extreme exhaustion she felt.
When nothing came in her mind that was even remotely close to solving her problem, she shuddered. Had she lost her touch? Could she be no closer to finding out her way out than she being sure of the future she had with Harry? Wasn't it important or was it just because more than her grades were at stake?
She laughed scornfully at the irony of that idea. It didn't make sense at all…
Shouldn't she be even more efficient now…knowing that more than her life itself was on the line here? Hermione was so lost in her thoughts that she failed to see a boy behind her, running and then stopping in front of her.
"Ms. Granger." He panted, slightly clutching his midsection.
Hermione snapped out of her trance to focus on the boy standing in front of her, who looked quite annoyed and irritated. "Yes?" She answered, momentarily forgetting that she shouldn't have been seen by the boy, much more be talking to him.
"You are needed for the meeting." He said.
Hermione frowned genuinely. "Meeting? What meeting?"
"The meeting of the prefects with the head boy and head girl." He clarified, looking quite smug and impatient. Hermione could only roll her eyes at him mentally for his arrogance. "It's in the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom. It's already 1:25. The meeting should have started 10 minutes ago. You and Harry Potter are already late. And I was asked to look for you."
"Oh, that meeting." Hermione remembered, realizing Peter Bland, a 6th year prefect, whose expression kept on changing. She didn't have to ask to know what's on his mind. He was actually angry. She, on the other hand, didn't know what to think. But she was also starting to get impatient, especially now that the brat was rolling his eyes at her. Was he gay or something? "I'll be right there."
How come this came up right now? She complained. She couldn't be saddled with a stupid meeting when she had more important matters at hand. She only hoped he would not drag her to that meeting himself. If she got lucky, he might even go away and find someone else to bother and roll his eyes at.
"Okay." He nodded, hesitantly, almost disbelieving. "But that is not very good of you to appear late. You should set a good example to the next…" His next words trailed off as he realized she wasn't paying attention to him (as if he was worth her while) and was focused on something else. He decided to satisfy his curiosity and kept quiet, raising his brows at her when all he heard was a door creaking open, and then slamming shut a few seconds later. The sound came from just around the corner.
"Anyway, do you know where Harry Potter is?" He asked when everything was quiet again.
"No." Hermione shook her head. And that was before she realized that standing there talking nonsense with a boy whom she didn't like one bit was eating her time out. After that, she grabbed a hold of Peter's shoulders and turned him towards the stairs. "Listen, I'll be right there. I just have to go check on something I left in the bathroom." She practically shoved him down the flight. "You go ahead and inform Harry. He's probably down there in the Greenhouses…"
Looking goaded, Peter scratched his head and proceeded down the steps, leaving Hermione with her original thoughts and dilemma.
Now that she was alone again, what should she do? The bathroom was two corners away, and now that she knew it was 5 minutes to the time she should drink the potion, she was certain the other Hermione and Ron were already there, preparing. Maybe she could take a peek…try to get a clue on what she could do.
It wouldn't hurt, would it? Just a peep to know how far along they were with that potion…and besides, she couldn't just stand there, waiting for lightning to strike.
Hermione bit her lip as she neared the entrance and sudden flashes of memories from that very same day came back to her. And from the many things she abruptly recalled, she found these thoughts more important:
1. Ron went out six minutes to half past one o'clock before she drank the potion…
2. He didn't come back even until the moment she had drunk it, which she now remembered, was a minute too early…
3. And the reason that he didn't come back right away was probably because he saw somebody who shouldn't have been there…somebody who had post as a threat of hearing them from outside the bathroom.
If that was the case, who was that person? He could have been anyone. And why was he there anyway? Everybody had been down in the Great Hall for the feast. She and Ron were the only ones who had not attended. And Harry, too, if you would count him, since he was not in the Great Hall, but was with Cho. So, aside from the two of them, who had been on that floor?
Dazed, Hermione stopped in front of Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom, the door facing her squarely. She could hear voices from within. Momentarily, she forgot what she was thinking of as she heard herself and Ron having a conversation, a conversation, she suddenly recognized, they never had before.
And if that wasn't a shock enough, what happened next made her literally lose her breath. New images rapidly flashed in her mind. Brand new memories that are yet to happen to the two people inside the bathroom, but she, as a person who had gone past that time, miraculously knew even though these thoughts had begun to exist only then.
And the next memory that flashed through her mind almost sent her down to her knees. It was a memory of her and Ron in Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom, having the conversation she could hear them having right that moment. And then after a few moments, in her mind, Harry comes barging in looking cross and out of breath.
Hermione stopped thinking about that remembrance and instead focused on a general thought. There was no way any of that could take place. She had disappeared from that time even before Ron could come back to Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom. But she had suddenly gained recollections of him having come back to talk with. And she even had a memory of Harry coming out of nowhere. But she never saw him at all since he had saved her from her fall…
So where did these memories come from?
And another thing…what was going with Ron? Shouldn't he have gone outside already? It was presumably a couple of minutes to 1:30. And that person who had stalled Ron from coming back, where was he anyway? Shouldn't he have appeared by now to stop Ron from returning to Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom?
Among the many questions in her mind, Hermione suddenly found one that bothered her more than anything else…
Where did she fit in any of these scenes?
Nowhere…
But somebody did fit perfectly, somebody who could answer every question she couldn't answer for herself…
But who?
It took Hermione a full second before the name ricocheted in her mind with the strength of a two-hundred pound burden.
Peter Bland.
Replaying the scene she had with him a few minutes ago, Hermione slowly grasped what had been supposed to happen had she not been there. Peter Bland had been looking for her for the meeting and if it weren't for her crossing paths with him a while ago, he'd have turned around the corner at the exact moment Ron had come out and take a look around. They would have probably met and talked and she would have taken the potion without Ron looking on.
It all made sense.
She had done it! She had prevented herself from taking that potion.
But then, shouldn't she have gone already and arrived at this moment, without her other self, of course. What was going on? She had done it, right? But something about the way she was still there bothered her.
Then, she froze…
She had stopped Ron from staying out longer than necessary, but that wasn't assurance enough that he would be able to stop her from taking that potion. It was close to 1:30 and Hermione panicked. This was not going well…and she had no other plan.
She could see it now as if she were inside the bathroom herself. Hermione, picking up the glass, drinking that potion, and going back…disarranging all that has happened in the past year.
No…
She shouldn't let it happen.
She couldn't.
She won't allow herself to.
Without a moment's hesitation, without even pausing to consider what would happen once she's seen, she pushed open the bathroom door and, with her mahogany tresses flying behind her, she charged freely inside and shouted as everything else that mattered became a total blur…
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