The War of the Stories

Cade's Arrival

Image of Hermione by NionnienSturdivan on the side!

*Hermione's POV*

I woke up in my dormitory, anticipating the lessons I would have today. I do need to ace all my homework. I quickly made myself look somewhat presentable before hurrying down to the Great Hall for breakfast. I settled down in my usual spot at the Gryffindor table. As usual, Harry and Ron hadn't shown up yet... They're so lazy.

I finished breakfast, a scrumptious meal of eggs and french toast, before hurrying off to Transfiguration. I arrived a bit early and I caught Professor McGonagall finishing up what appeared to be a letter.

"Take this Hermione," she said, handing me what she had been working on. "Read it silently, and please don't tell anyone what it says," she whisper urgently before leaving the room.

I opened up the letter.

Dear Hermione Granger,

As you know, all the villains are planning to come back to this time period and fix what ruined them. After your twin, Cade, left yesterday, he ran into a little trouble at the airport, so he hasn't arrived yet. We contacted him and told him to keep silent to avoid startling you. He should be arriving soon, so please report to Dumbledore's office directly after my class ends. The password is 'oddment'.

-Minerva McGonagall

I carefully read the letter, and memorized the information before entering Professor McGonagall's office. There, I tossed it into the fire. The fire flared up with a flash of light, and then the letter blackened and crumbled into a fine black ash with faint popping noises.

Satisfied that no one would read it, I went back into the classroom, most of the class had arrived by this point, including Harry and Ron. Professor McGonagall herself was still absent.

"Hermione! Where were you?" Harry shouted.

"I was just outside the classroom!" I replied.

He narrowed his eyes, he obviously didn't believe me. Ron, who wasn't as bright, believed it.

"Oh, all right then." Ron said, turning back around to face the front of the room.

Professor McGonagall entered the room a few moments later. "Mr. Potter," she said sternly, glaring at him through her glasses. "Didn't I tell you at the beginning of first year not to shout in this room? 2 points from Gryffindor."

The assorted Gryffindors groaned, while the Slytherins, who filled the rest of the room, snickered. After that little incident, the class sped along quickly. I found myself frequently checking the time, excited for when I got to see Cade for the first time.

Class finally ended, and I hurried to where I believes Dumbledore's Office to be. "Oddment," I whispered, and the gold eagle spiraled up, forming a rotating staircase.

I climbed the stairs, then pushed open the doors that led inside. I entered his office and examined all the strange silver contraptions he has lining the room. The portraits of old Hogwarts headmasters watched me. I had read about all of them of course.

Dumbledore entered through a side room and said "Ah, Ms. Granger. I do believe your twin has arrived." And just as suddenly as he had entered he left the room. I had to hurry after him.

We strode through the castle and out the heavy front doors. The doors slammed behind us as we stopped in the courtyard, waiting for Cade to show up. While waiting I wondered how Cade would feel upon seeing Hogwarts for the first time. Most likely shocked and awed. He's been completely obsessed with getting a letter ever since he first finished the series.

I felt his presence approaching and ran up to the gates, eager to catch my first sight of him. He was wearing inconspicuous grey jeans, a black shirt, and a light grey jacket, which he had left unzipped. He caught sight of me and hurried forward. He wore a simple black knapsack, which I believe was the one I had helped put an undetectable extension charm on. The gates opened up with a wave of Dumbledore's wand, and he skipped into Hogwarts. As soon as he was in, the gates quickly closed again. His brown eyes were excited at the moment, but he still emitted an air of calm, as he always had over our mental chats.

"Hermione! You have no idea how great it is to see you in real life." Cade shouted to me, his brown hair blowing slightly in the wind.

"It's great isn't it?" I replied.

Then he caught sight of Dumbledore. He had that famous twinkle in his blue eyes. "Nice to meet you Cade. Hermione's told me so much about you." He said.

Cade smiled awkwardly then said "It's nice to see you to, Professor."

Dumbledore smiled in reply. Suddenly, a short woman dressed all in pink randomly appeared in front of us. My first though was that she looked like a toad.

"I'm here... To help." She gasped.

"Doroles? What exactly are you doing here?" Dumbledore asked.

"I did some... Terrible things. Absolutely terrible. I'm here to redeem myself in this war."

"Wait a second. You know about what's going on? And who said there's going to be a war?" Cade demanded.

"I'm from the future. Everyone knows that the villains are going to make a comeback. And it's common knowledge that this will result in a war." She replied.

"Fascinating..." Dumbledore mused.

We all stood there in an awkward silence for a few seconds before Dumbledore spoke up again. "I lost track of myself for a minute there... Now Doroles, you may pick a room in the castle to stay in. You two as well of course. And Hermione, you needn't bother about staying in your dormitory."

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I led Cade to The Room of Requirement where I had decided we would be staying. I'd accidentally discovered it last year while looking for a homework sheet. This time, instead of a room full of lost things, it was a lovely flat. When you first enter, there was a living room. It had couches, a flat screen TV, (I honestly had no idea something like that would work at Hogwarts.) and a table, for dining. Four other rooms existed. There was a small kitchen, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. The whole home had a dark blue color scheme.

Cade and I went into our separate bedrooms. I sat there, pondering how this could all work out. Thunder and lightning crashed outside, which occasionally illuminated the room with light. We somehow had to work out a way to convince all the protagonists of separate stores to join our cause and fight in this war. It sounds hard. But we will definitely try. As I drifted off, I could almost swear that I heard some dark laughter out in the storm.