A Dance Through Thyme (Harry Potter)

Vereint

Hermione's head immediately shot up, face turning towards the door as she heard the click of the door handle. It was such a small sound that she was sure that she would not have heard it if the room had not been so quiet.

Heart hammering in her chest, her eyes darted around the room for something which she might be able to use as a weapon in the event that the person on the other side of the door was an attacker of some description.

A jet-haired head quickly popped in through the small gap that had now been made, and Hermione felt her shoulders relax and drop.

"James! You scared the he...never mind. Come on in."

James laughed and practically bounded over to where Hermione was curled up on the sofa. He plonked himself down next to her, making himself comfortable by taking his shoes off and placing his feet on the coffee table in front of him.

"So, how has everything been since the last time I saw you?" he asked, helping himself to one of the apples in the fruit bowl on a rickety table beside him. The table rocked slightly as he took the fruit, threatening to topple over as the missing weight changed its centre of gravity.

Hermione shrugged at him, and closed the book that was sitting on her lap.

"The last time you saw me? You know, as well as I, that you came by this morning before class, and not much has changed since then. I am still doing fine. Speaking of which, aren't you meant to be in class now?"

"Nope, we have a break for lunch now. It might be a good idea if I started to head down there now... I just wanted to check that you were alright, and that no one had tried sneaking in or anything like that. How's your study going?"

Hermione had let a small smile escape her lips when James had said he was just checking up on her, but it soon turned to a frown with his question about her research.

"It's not going well so far, but, I've only really started reading the books today, and I haven't had the chance to get very far."

"That's alright. You're safe here, and you've got plenty of time to go through everything and find your answer," replied James as he leant in closer to give her a one-armed hug with his free hand.

"I'll be back later tonight, after dinner. Sirius might want to come along too, ok?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Just make sure you get your homework done first."

James rolled his eyes at Hermione before slipping his shoes back on and trudging his way back to the door. Turning, he gave Hermione a wave goodbye, and quickly disappeared back into the school hallways.

Hermione let out a sigh and continued to allow herself to be absorbed into the world of knowledge.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

She had been reading all day and yet still come across nothing. Not one thing was even close to hinting at how she could have time travelled without the use of a time-turner. Setting the book down on the coffee table, she let her head rest in her hands as she rubbed at her tired eyes.

A loud popping sound gave her the second fright of the night, and she instantly snapped her head back up to see the source of the noise.

"Toppy is here, Miss. I is bringing you some dinner," said the squeaky voice belonging to what appeared to be one of the Hogwarts house-elves.

Hermione's mouth watered at the sight of the hot beef stew, and she felt her nostrils enlarge slightly so that more of the rich smell of the meat would be able to enter her nose.

"Thank you, Toppy. Please set it down on the table here. It is very kind of you to bring me some."

"I is only doing my job, Miss," said the house-elf, although Hermione could see the merriment in Toppy's eyes as she said it.