If I could turn back time

Scurvy Cur

"Hope? Hope?" Hermione bellowed as she crawled into the shrieking shack with a tray of food hovering behind her. As she reached the end and peered through the crawl space, she noticed black combat boots a few inches away from her face. She looked up and saw an amused Hope with her arms crossed. With a slight huff, Hermione stood up and wiped the dirt off her robes before picking up the tray she had charmed to follow her. It had been nudging her throughout the crawl which annoyed her very much.

"You know, if you had listened to me, I wouldn't have to crawl through that passageway every day to bring you food." She complained as she walked into the closest room, tray in hand. Hope following behind her.

It was a dingy room, the windows boarded up like all the others in the house. In the middle of the room stood a dining table that was once slanted because one of its feet had broken off. But since Hope had settled in, she had had time to fix the place up. The dining room was no longer dusty, mouldy and the wallpaper was on the walls instead of in shreds on the floor. Out of the six chairs, only four were repaired. Hope knew she could have fixed the entire shack with a flick of her wrist, but she found the manual work therapeutic. She couldn't wolf out as much as before. She didn't know the place well enough and she didn't trust not attacking a creature in the forbidden forest.

Hope had been here for two weeks now and in that time, she had learnt a lot of things about this world. For instance, Hogwarts is as dangerous – if not more so – as the Salvatore Boarding School. What kind of school has a basilisk and a forest filled with different creatures including giant spiders and a three headed dog? Harry, Ron, and Hermione had told Hope all about their different classes and their school life in between looking for a way to get the tribrid home. Hope was too curious to not inquire about the boy Hermione had punched. It was some boy named Draco Malfoy who, after the three wizards vented about him to her, reminded the tribrid of Penelope Park.

"We talked about this. I can't risk people seeing me and asking questions." Hope said as she rolled her eyes. Hermione put the tray on the table and sat down. Hope jumped on the table, sitting next to the food. She picked up an apple and started eating it whilst Hermione rambled.

"We could pretend you're an exchange student from Illvermorny. It would be fine. No one would need to know. Dumbledore would help if we explained it to him. He has a soft spot for Harry, so as long as he's there I'm sure Dumbledore would agree."

"Mhmm and how can I be sure that I can trust Dumbledore?" Hope asked, taking another bite of her apple staring at the young teenager with her brow lifted.

"You trust me, no?"

"Barely." Hope retorted with a smirk.

With a roll of her eyes and a small smile Hermione said, "Well trust my judgment. Dumbledore would be an ally. He's the greatest wizard there is. He might know how to help you, better than us at least."

Hermione had a good point and Hope knew it, but she still felt uneasy revealing herself to someone else. But if this man was as powerful as Hermione let it seem, then maybe she might have to talk to this Dumbledore. So, with a deep sigh and one last bite of her apple she nodded.

"Great! Okay, now eat up. Tomorrow we will take you to meet Dumbledore. Good night Hope." And with that, Hermione left leaving an unenthusiastic Hope behind.

The next morning, Hope woke up from the four-poster bed dreading the day. It was a Saturday, so Harry, Ron and Hermione would be here after breakfast. Reluctantly, Hope threw her covers off of her and sat up. The cold floor against her feet helped to wake her up. With a yawn, she stood up and started walking her way to the bathroom. If she were to get through this day, she would be needing a shower.