Eternal Love

Chapter 5

1978

Hermione stepped into the room, inspecting the desk and ornaments and weighing out the differences between this era and the one she knew so well before realizing who she was stood opposite to.

The atmosphere that surrounded the pair was one she had never quite experienced before, maybe it was the fact that Hermione had the upper hand at knowing the future where her teacher did not which was rather unusual since this was in fact the greatest wizard of all time. It felt uncomfortable and different, she didn't like it very much.

Breathe hitched, nails clawing into her own skin from the compression of her balling her hands into fists and her curls probably frizzed from anxiety she managed to yelp "Professor Dumbledor."

"Good afternoon"

She released her breathe that she didn't know she had been holding. Her body was in her old teachers office but her mind was somewhere else. Somewhere dark and deeply buried inside her mind, purposely.

As her eyes locked onto the old mans she could only feel a cold lifeless stare. The one she had witnessed after he was thrown from the astronomy tower, she hadn't been able to go up there since but that was irrelevant.

That stare pierced through her soul and any hope she had at defeating the villain who also savagely killed Harry's parents and multiple more innocent wizards, witches and muggles.

Those grey eyes destroyed her childhood memories of hogwarts, a realisation that there wouldn't be anymore grand feasts in the great hall or lectures from the teacher after they had managed to get themselves into trouble and as her mind was racing with memories that she was desperately trying to crawl out of, she heard a muffled collection of questions.

"Miss granger are you okay? Hermione?"

The weight of her situation crashed down on her and she clung onto the wall for support.

"Brilliant"

Dumbledor was now gesturing to his student to sit at the desk that held multiple scrolls, quills and his famous jar of black tar sweets that Harry had warned her to never take.

She followed his request, bringing her trembling hands to her lap, rubbing over the raw red marks her nails had left.

"If you don't mind me asking professor, how do you know me?" Her mouth felt dry like sandpaper which made it harder for her to get her words out. She had never been this scared to confront a teacher, not even snape, let alone her beloved headmaster.

"You don't honestly believe I would allow a random stranger roam my halls without me noticing Hermione"

"Well no of course not sir, but how do you know me? I understand you could research me like any wizard but excuse me if I sound abit odd, but... I don't quite exist yet"

"Mmm, well this is hogwarts and far more peculiar stuff has happened or might I say, will happen" he was now wrapping his robes around him, whilst smiling as if this whole conversation was normal.

"So uhm, what do you know?"

"That you would probably be of better use in a proper bed"

She managed to crack a smile because the sound of being able to sleep in a proper bed did sound extremely advertising.

"Of better use?"

"Well i did expect you to come to me faster since you arrived but there's no more time to waste"

"Time to waste sir?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, I had assumed a smart girl such as yourself had returned to a previous date to assist with the wizarding war"

"Not quite sir, I mean you did give me this time turner in third year but if I am being honest I did not plan to time travel, I just...did."

"I see, well then it must be fate. If I am quite honest with you I managed to contact a seer of mine and the snippets I saw of the future were not quite what I had expected. Maybe the smartest witch of her age would be of more use here"

"Well, that makes sense"

"I am glad, now hermione. I will enroll you to gryffindor, you may create whatever story you would like but I advise you see miss pomfrey, you do seem abit under the weather."

"But sir I still have quite a few more questions"

"In all due time Hermione, in all due time"

She left with less information than she had expected to receive still unanswered but that could wait. She replayed her previous conversation with Dumbledor and was rather uncertain as to if the professor had explained the whole truth, knowing he had a tendency to always have a plan being the wise wizard he was.

Harry was always oblivious to how Dumbledor had been using him from such a young age but Hermione was observant. She kept quiet for the sake of her friend and how much she knew the brown scruffy haired boy craved an elderly figure to show him the way. This didn't falter the fact that she still, of course, trusted the rather ancient man.

Hermione felt a little at ease knowing she would be legally at hogwarts and although the trio had broken many rules at their school it was usually for the greater good. A sense of hope welcomed her as she took a deep breathe through her lungs and releasing a sigh that gave her some peace and motivation to contact Sirius, wherever that man might be.