Chapter 2
It took much coaxing on Hermione's part to get her twin's spirits elevated. With Petunia's hurtful words in parting, Lily could find little excitement in journeying to Hogwarts and the little run-in with young James Potter and Sirius Black surely didn't help. They had to go and find a new, completely empty compartment because of it. Once settled, Severus could not help himself from complaining about the incident incessantly.
"Gryffindor," He scoffed, "Why would anyone want to be sorted into Gryffindor? It's full of half-wits who can hardly tell their left foot from their right."
"Ignore them, Sev," Hermione tried, but Severus took to ignoring her instead.
"They called me Snivellus," He grumbled, staring down at his fiddling hands. Lily reached for them, searching Severus with her worried eyes.
"Don't let them get to you. They're just a bunch of bullies, nothing more," Lily comforted him.
He offered her only a grimace before turning to look out the wide window that stretched against the side of their compartment. Outside, trees flew by as they chugged along on the tracks. The sky was only just beginning to darken, signaling it was only the beginning of their journey to the great school and it seemed Hermione was the only one in the compartment that was truly excited.
"It doesn't matter what houses we get sorted into in the long run, only that we remain friends, yeah? Hogwarts will still be as wonderful a place whichever house the sorting hat decides to place us," Hermione spoke up, breaking a moment of silence.
Severus sighed, "Slytherin is the best house, we should all be sorted into it."
"And we all want to be," Lily cut in and Hermione forced her lips together. It would do her no good in voicing her disapproval to that statement. "But Mione is right, whatever house we may be sorted into, we must always promise to remain the best of friends."
Severus nodded begrudgingly at Lily's words and gave a long, exasperated sigh in defeat. "Still Slytherin . . ." He began to argue, but quickly broke off once he caught sight of Lily's glare. "Fine. Fine. It doesn't matter," He gave in.
"Good," Lily said, positively proud of herself.
Before they could say anything else, they were interrupted by the trolley witch who was only beginning her rounds. "Anything from the trolley?" She asked, taping on their compartment door. They all got up to stare in wonder at the delicious treats arrayed on the trolley. Hermione felt her mouth begin to water when her eyes reached the cauldron cakes and couldn't help herself from buying quite a few. Lily and Hermione's parents made absolute certain their girls were well provided for with a good bag of money-each-before sending them off.
When the Evans twins had bought enough candies to fill their stomachs for months, they settled back in their seats with a new mountain of goodies. Upon seeing that Severus was without such a mountain, they immediately began supplying him with all the treats he could fit on his lap.
"There'll be a big feast when we get there, to welcome us and all. We shouldn't eat them all at once. We should wait and ration them out to save them for classes," He told them.
Hermione would rather drop dead than be caught with food in McGonagall's class, but did her best in hiding her thoughts. It wouldn't do well to divulge them in the fact that she even knew what a class with McGonagall was like. She had to be careful, extremely careful if she ever wished to take down Voldemort. The thought plagued her, tugging at the back of her mind when she only wanted to succumb to the true joy of returning to Hogwarts. No, she had to plan. The fate of the world, the fate of her twin sister, rested heavily on her shoulders. But there isn't much you can do in facing off against the darkest wizard in all history as an eleven year old so Hermione was going to have focus this time primarily on plotting and researching. And the thought caused a quiver of excitement to run down her neck. Researching, her absolute most favorite past time.
Time, the thought rung in her head shrill as a bell, I've got lots of time. It was something she never had back when her, Harry, and Ron were beginning their horcrux hunt. She felt a sharp pain in her heart when she thought of her lost friends. It had only been last night when she held Ron's body in her quacking arms. I'm going to save them, she reminded herself, I'm going to stop that battle from ever taking place. Hermione didn't have the slightest clue as to how or why she was sent back to this time, only that this was her only chance to rewrite history and fix everything. She would be damned if she let the opportunity pass her by.
So with that thought in mind, Hermione reached for an every flavor bean, relaxing in relief when she realized it was only a lemon one and turned to stare out the window. The scenery was changing rapidly, the landscape growing wilder and wilder by the minute. They would be at Hogwarts in only an hour or so and Hermione's worries began slowly melting away at the realization.
It was a flurry of hundreds of students piling out of the train when they had finally reached their stop. There were owls hooting, luggage getting knocked around as people pushed against each other, and the unmistakable atmosphere of pure glee. Each and every student was incredibly excited upon the arrival. Though of course the first years had a nervous energy buzzing around them as well. Lily, Hermione, and Severus all had to lock hands in order to ensure they wouldn't lose each other amongst the swarm of students. When they heard the unmistakable call of Hagrid's gruff voice- "Firs' years this way!"-Hermione felt her hand being pinched even tighter.
"Why are we getting separated from all the other students?" Lily asked, whipping her head around to Severus, voice slightly higher than usual.
"It's tradition," He answered, "The first years ride boats across the lake to get to the castle."
"Oh," Lily responded, voice returning to normal.
They began their walk with all the other first years, following Hagrid's instructions as they were led down a long, dark path until they finally reached the boats. Quietly, they climbed into a boat where a girl with dark hair and honey-flecked eyes was already sitting. Severus was rather flustered around the girl, but Hermione and Lily made easy conversation as they floated across the lake, darkened under the veil of night.
"What's your name?" Lily had asked when they first plopped down in the boat.
"Mary Macdonald," The girl had replied, voice soft and smile sweet.
"Well, I'm Lily Evans," She had introduced herself, "And this is my sister, Hermione-" Hermione offered a wave and a big smile "-and this is our friend Severus Snape," Severus could only manage an awkward nod.
Nonetheless, Mary had only smiled brighter and gave them a kind greeting, "It's a pleasure to meet all of you." From then on, Hermione and Lily began asking her questions like what house she wished to be sorted in (Gryffindor, she had said and Hermione had to elbow Severus in the side to keep him from commenting) and what she looked forward to most. She answered thoughtfully and asked questions in return. By the end of the boat ride, it seemed they had found a budding friendship in the girl and the group of three became become a group of four as they scurried their way up the stairs to the castle.
The nervous energy was well increased as the first years waited outside the entrance to the Great Hall. Murmurings of conversations were being kept, but all in all, it was relatively quiet. They could hear the great laughter from the Great Hall where they stood. It seemed the boys with whom Lily, Severus, and Hermione had met on the train where they only loud ones out of the whole group. A flash of dark hair and a gleam of glasses could be seen as the two boys talked animately to each other, using large hand motions as if acting something out.
"Whatever could they be on about?" Severus seethed from beside Lily.
"Does it matter?" Lily questioned in return, clearly having little cares about the two boys.
"What? Oh, James Potter and Sirius Black?" Mary asked as she turned her head to and fro trying to see what Lily and Severus were talking about before spotting the boys. "I met them on a train, we shared a compartment. Me and an other boy-Peter, I think his name was- anyway they seemed rather funny when I was talking to them, gave me a good laugh or two." Her mouth twitched, as she looked back on it, as if fighting off giggles.
Severus scoffed, "They seem like a couple of-"
But he was cut off as an older woman in fuchsia robes came gliding over towards them. It only took a moment for Hermione to realize it was Professor McGonagall, save a few wrinkles and worry lines upon her brow. Her entire presence demanded attention and that's what she got as everyone quieted down upon her arrival, even James and Sirius. She explained to them what was about to transpire, they would go into the great hall and once she called their names, the hat would be placed upon their heads and they would be sorted.
Hermione felt the slightest twinge of panic, what if she wasn't sorted into Gryffindor? But she quickly shook it away as the first years began making their way into the great hall. It didn't matter what house she was placed in, just as long as it didn't interfere with her plans in bringing upon the demise of the dark lord. But oh-it would be nice to be in the same house with Lily, it truly would be. The thought of being without her twin brought an ache into her heart.
Having who was lost in her own thoughts, completely unawares the sorting ceremony had even begun, was thoroughly shocked when she heard McGonagall's pristine voice calling out, "Evans, Hermione." Like a jolt of lightning, Hermione forced her way out of her head and up to the stool. Looking at her with expectant gazes was a hall full of boisterous students. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine she back in her original time period, sitting, waiting for the hat to make its choice, the hat wavering between Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. What it have trouble deciding again? Would it sit atop her for minutes upon minutes, knowing she didn't truly belong in this time?
But when the hat was placed upon her head, it hardly took a breath before shouting, "Gryffindor!" And Hermione felt a wave of glee wash over her. The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers as she walked over, unable to wipe her grin. Of course she desperately wanted to be placed in Gryffindor. It was her house. The one she found the best of friends in, the one she found herself in. She did not know what she was if she wasn't a Gryffindor. And when she took her place on the bench, staring around at the equally exuberant faces, she knew she belonged.
Lily sat atop the stool next and Hermione caught her terrified eyes, giving her a reassuring nod, before the hat fell over her face, obscuring the view. Just as it had done for the Hermione, the hat sorted Lily into the great house of the brave as the students began cheering all over again, but Hermione was the loudest of them all. Lily happily took her place beside her twin.
"We're together, Lils! We're together!" Was all Hermione could get out before the next student was called up to the stool and the room fell silent again.
More and more students were being sorted, each finding their way to their new table once their house was called. Hermione recognized a great more names than she had expected she would. Gryffindor earned its fair share of students with James Potter positively beaming as he made his way to sit beside Sirius, Mary MacDonald who took a spot on the other side of Hermione, shooting her a grin, Remus Lupin with his scarred face but bright smile, Peter Pettigrew (Hermione could hardly fight the bile rising), Marlene McKinnon who was a girl with bleached blonde hair and steely eyes who sat beside Lily offering them a rather confident "hello!", and another notable girl, Dorcas Meadowes, with thinker curls than Hermione's and who was a little less confident and a bit more timid than Marlene when she took a seat beside her.
There were barely any students left when Severus' name was called. He slowly stalked to the stool, catching sight of Lily and Hermione before the hat was placed over his eyes. To Lily's disappointment, the hat shouted a quick "Slytherin!" and Severus was off to the far right side of the great hall, not even bothering to spare a glance at Lily. Hermione could feel her sister crumbling beside her.
"Oh, Hermione, he's alone, he's all alone," She whispered frantically into Hermione's ear.
"It doesn't matter, remember?" Hermione swiftly reminded her, "We'll still be friends."
Hermione prayed that to be true, but still felt a dark foreboding pass over her heart. If he joined the death-eaters, if he got wind of the prophecy then both James and Lily would be dead, gone. But Hermione couldn't even think of it. She was going to fix it-she had to fix it. Her sister's life depended on it.
Hermione's first year began in a whirlwind. She made sure to try and act the part of an ignorant first year when she really knew her way around the school better than the rest. So, she would let Mary lead them astray on their way to their very first Potions' class. It came as a pleasant surprise when they came rushing into the class 10 minutes late and weren't met by the treacherous glare of Professor Snape who would have surely deducted a great number of house points for the tardiness. Instead, they were greeted by Professor Slughorn who was more than understanding and only asked that it did not happen again. It was a very odd shock, but very much appreciated. Hermione, who had gotten used to the cruel words of Snape, was having a difficult time growing accustomed to Severus' friendship rather than his animosity.
It took little time for Hermione to fall into an easy routine. In the morning, she would grab breakfast with the rest of the girls (Lily, Mary, Dorcas, and Marlene) before setting off for the first class of the day. In between classes she would find herself at the library. Studying was her excuse and this evoked a "Blimey, Hermione, what's there to study for? We've only just begun classes!" from Marlene, but Hermione would only shrug her off. She devoted all the time in the library to planning. She read books, upon book on basilisks. Seeing as that was the only method of destroying a horcrux that was somewhat accessible to Hermione. But Hermione was at a complete loss at how to extract the venom. She had been going over parseltongue at night, only needing to know one word: open. The Basilisk would be in a deep slumber if she were to go down there, but she trembled at the thought if it were to awake. Surely, the heir of Slytherin could be the only one to awaken the creature, but would it still awaken when she went to extract the venom?
Among Hermione's notes was the list of horcruxes. Tom Riddle's Diary, Marvel Gaunt's Ring, Salazar Slytherin's Locket, Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, Nagini, and finally Harry. Of course Nagini and Harry had been starred, marking that they hadn't yet been created . She wrote down all the information of each horcrux that she could remember. It seemed the easiest horcrux for Hermione to destroy would be the Diadem with its location being in the walls of Hogwarts itself. She knew the locket to be in Crystal Cave, but the question became were the defenses already up? If they hadn't been tested on Kreacher yet then was Voldemort still placing them? The locket would be the most dangerous of all to retrieve if Voldemort was still keeping a close eye on it. Hermione also had to be extremely careful with the ring. Although she knew the exact location of it and it would not be too dangerous trying to obtain, she was going to have to take extra care in making sure not to touch it. If she were to touch it before destroying it, then it would curse her and she would die, causing this whole quest of her to be for naught. But it wasn't even the possibly deadly horcuxes that worried her the most. It was the Cup and the diary that kept her up at night fidgeting with nerves. She hadn't the slightest clue where they were hidden. The only thing that she knew for certain was that they will later be placed in the care of Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. She couldn't just wait for them to be entrusted with the horcruxes, but she couldn't very well go up to Voldemort and ask him of the whereabouts of them either. With those, she realized, she would be in the same exact predicament as when it was her, Harry, and Ron on the run.
With all her time spent in the library and her receiving top marks in class, it seemed she was already gaining her old reputation of a total and complete smartaleck. Although, not as much as an insufferable know-it-all as before. Having already gone through Hogwarts, Hermione no longer felt the need to show case her knowledge to anyone who would listen. In fact, it worked more in her favor to keep her mouth shut; better to keep attention from being drawn to herself. But Hermione quickly came to the realization that spending every waking moment in the library was rather quite alarming and some students even began to whisper things about her. So, ever so reluctantly, Hermione began spending less time in the library and more time with Lily and getting to know the other girls from their year in Gryffindor. Hermione took a liking to Dorcas Meadowes who although at times was a bit shy and quiet, was rather funny when you got to know her. She also shared Hermione's love for books and knowledge so they quickly took to one another and would often be seen discussing their homework in the Gryffindor common room. Hermione had always liked Mary, but Lily and Mary had grown fond of each other and were closer than Hermione was to Mary. Although, it didn't bother her in the slightest. As for Marlene, Hermione didn't know what to think of her. She was a bit unpredictable and more out-going than the rest of them. She was funny too, really funny, but she made the types of jokes that caused Hermione to feel guilty for laughing. All in all, Hermione had found herself a great group of friends.
Of course there was always Severus, who Lily and Hermione would always meet every Thursday night in the library. He had much to say on Slytherin and how it was everything he hoped it to be. Lily and Hermione held their tongues, for they had quickly come to realize that not everyone in Slytherin was kind. In fact, Severus' new friends, Avery and Mulciber, were the worst of them all. But they never wanted to get into an argument during the little time they got to spend with Severus so they kept quiet. Although, it didn't particularly help that they were in the same house as Severus' two biggest rivals.
"I mean how can you even stand to be around them?" He had said one afternoon, "James Potter and Sirius black are the two most detestable, most vile people in the all of Hogwarts!"
"Really, Sev, you mustn't let them get to you," Was Hermione's immediate response. She knew Sirius, well future Sirius at least, and he showed Harry so much love and kindness, she could never despise him. He never deserved his terrible fate, in her opinion. As for James, he sacrificed his life to save his family and if Lily is sure to grow to love him (eventually) then he truly is a good man. It would only take them some time to find themselves and stop being so horrible to Severus. After all, they were only eleven.
"How am I supposed to do that? They're always tripping me up and they still call me Snivellus!" He cried.
"They truly are cruel," Lily agreed with Severus, "Have you considered telling a teacher?"
"What?!" Severus looked as though Lily had just admitted to murder, "That'll just make it worse!"
"Well, next time I see them say anything I'll stand up for you," Lily stated.
"No!" Severus exclaimed, earning pointed looks from everyone in the library causing Severus' cheeks to grow quite pink. The next thing he said was in such a low whisper, Hermione could barely hear him at all, "Don't you get it, Lily? They'll only laugh even harder if you defend me."
Lily's reaction was swift and immediate. She snapped her head away from Severus' face, which she had leaned into to hear his whisper, and crossed her arms over her chest. "And what would be so wrong with me helping my friend? Hmm Sev? Would it embarrass you because I'm a girl?" Lily's voice had taken on a dark tone.
Severus groaned. "I didn't mean it like that, Lily. I just meant that-that . . .oh forget it! I'll deal with it myself, okay? And I'll never complain about it ever again!" Of course he hadn't, and he had, in fact, complained about it numerous times after it.
And so that's how the rest of Hermione's first year went, she spent her time juggling classes while continuing her extensive planning and also trying to spare time to spend with her beloved group of friends. She came to truly enjoy the time where she could forget all the horrid and consuming visions that plagued her from her past life and could get lost in one of Marlene's jokes or Lily's laughter. It was her favorite time of all. And when exam time rolled around, the girls took to the library with books piled high, quizzing each other on the various important witches and wizards from medieval times or going over how to turn a piece of hair into a needle. Even Marlene managed to crack a book, but that was only after Hermione kept insisting so. By the end of the year, Hermione found herself truly despising the idea of having to leave her friends, similar to how she always felt when she left Harry and Ron for the summer holidays. After their deaths, she believed she would never, ever find a friendship like that ever again and although she would never forget Harry and Ron, could never, it made her cherish her newfound friendships all the more.
There was still so much to do, still so much to plan, but Hermione didn't see the harm in enjoying her friends' company even for the moment. She was doing this for them, for all of them, but the thought hardly made it any easier, worse in fact. If she messed up even the tiniest bit, they would all be gone and she would have failed again. She would be all on her own once more and she was certain there wasn't a new identity she could be thrown into this time. This was her only chance.