The Year Before Tomorrow

Chapter Three- Year I- Crumbled Foundations

"Miss Granger, the Welcoming Feast was mandatory for all students." Minerva stood in front of her, seeming more exasperated than annoyed.

Hermione squinted up at her, trying to banish the last remnants of sleep from her mind. She pushed herself up onto one elbow, feeling her weight sink into the well-worn couch. "Why? The schedules are handed out at breakfast, right?" She looked around the dimly-lit Common Room, realizing that they weren't alone. She'd completely missed the arrival of the other students, which had been the plan. Wait, if it was their first night back, and they were just now coming back from the Welcoming Feast, then why was Minerva there at all? Hermione remembered from reading Hogwarts, a History that the prefects always led the students back to their respective Common Rooms. This was to cement the idea from day one that the prefects were a benevolent authority. Having a teacher, and especially the Head of House, break that tradition surely lessened the effect. As curious as she was, asking questions weren't feasible. Allowing the others to become aware that she had intimate knowledge of the inner workings of Hogwarts and the psychological effects of aforementioned machinations would lead to queries about her background. It was far too early to err so colossally and unnecessarily.

Minerva raised one eyebrow and the side of her pinched mouth curved upwards, an expression that Hermione had come to recognize as well-concealed amusement. She did have a reputation to uphold as lacking completely in any sense of humor. "That is correct. However, you would have been presented, as every student is on their first day."

"It's too late for that now," Hermione said, sitting up. She rubbed at the side of her calf where the pattern of the couch cushions had been imprinted in her skin. "I'll go next year." The last two words were stretched out into a yawn, becoming nearly unintelligible.

Minerva seemed to get the gist. "I will hold you to that, Miss Granger. Have you eaten?"

Oh. The truth was, Hermione hadn't eaten at all since the day before. She knew it wasn't healthy, and it definitely didn't provide necessary brainpower. Her childhood, it had occurred to her in the past, had prepared her for the war. When she was younger, she skipped countless meals because she just had to finish reading. When she became involved in the war, she skipped meals because there just wasn't enough food. Hunger was a staple of the times. Even having been in safer times for several months, old habits were hard to do away with. Still, she'd been asleep until just then, so she supposed it didn't matter all that much in the long run. "No, but I'm fine. I'll just go to breakfast in the morning."

The Transfiguration professor did not seem at all satisfied by that, but she still allowed it. "Go sleep in your dormitory, Miss Granger. It can get noisy down here, especially on the first night back."

Hermione knew all that, of course, and was struggling not to allow memories to overlay the image in front of her. It was safer to go up to her dorm; there were fewer memories, fewer distractions, and fewer questions up there. "Goodnight, Mi- Professor."

Classes began the next day, and Hermione forced herself into a sort of waking-dream state. That way, she would not be overwhelmed with the emotions that came with the memories. It also happened to be the easiest way to avoid the people she'd once known in the future, although that was an unintentional, if happy, outcome. Turning off her emotions was a coping mechanism that she used whenever a situation threatened to overwhelm her. She'd used it many times over the years. The downside was that when she decided it was safe to allow her emotions to come back, she would overload and spend several weeks struggling to rediscover her equilibrium. It wouldn't be uncommon for her to break down in tears or laughter over seemingly insignificant things. Constant irritation and intolerance strove to find balance with empathy and guilt. Hermione knew that during these times she was difficult to be around, and that that fact only gave her mind material to latch onto in order to cut away at her self-esteem. However, being a practical and level-headed person, she could usually counter such negativity with recollections of situations in which she'd helped others.