Promise to the Past | 🐾 ᴍᴀʀᴀᴜᴅᴇʀs ✓

Golden Era 06 | One of the Gang

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-- HERMIONE GRANGER'S 5TH YEAR

"'Mione, come on! All the best tables will be gone if we wait any longer." 

"I'm coming!" Hermione called out as she rushed down the stairs from the girls' dormitories. 

Harry and Ron waited for her at the base of the stairs so they could all walk to the Three Broomsticks together. 

"Finally!" Harry whooped. "Let's go. I've been craving a butterbeer all week, and mum forbade Polly from sneaking me any." 

Hermione fixed him with a grim look. "She's right to. Polly is not a servant!" 

Ron rolled his eyes. Not this again. "She technically kind of is," he mumbled before shutting his mouth at the scathing glare from Hermione. 

"Don't start that now," Harry told her, unfazed. "Polly's practically my nanny. She helped raise me and Neville during the war and when mum and dad eventually came out of hiding and went back to work." 

"Can we please not do this today?" Ron groaned. "All the good tables will be gone!" 

"Fine," Hermione grumbled reluctantly, appeased by the sheepish grin on Harry's face. "Where are the others?" 

"Neville walked Bryony down earlier," Ron told her. "And Ginny's joining us later with her newest boyfriend," he said with a fake gagging voice. 

Hermione chuckled as they headed through the long, winding corridors of the castle. When she stopped to think about the past few years, the drastic change halfway through her Hogwarts years left her reeling sometimes. While she'd had her reservations about her uncomfortable week with the Black family back in her third year, that experience had been pivotal. 

For every break thereafter, she always received beautifully ornate letters of invitation to the Black family home from Hermione Black herself. At first, Hermione felt uncomfortable accepting them and had opted to skip out on their spring family events. But then Nova had cornered her in her own home, demanding to know why Hermione didn't come. Hermione sputtered in surprise, asking how she knew where she lived. Nova looked at her like she was stupid. Of course! Her mother knew where Hermione lived in her childhood. 

After that, Hermione started accepting the invitations. Partly, she didn't want to offend their generous offers. But partly, she was also curious about the magical world. Despite being at Hogwarts, she'd always felt like she was on the outskirts of some big club, and no one was willing to show her the entrance. 

Hermione Black confirmed as much during her fourth year at Hogwarts. 

"I was fortunate enough to have the Weasleys when I was trying to figure this all out. And I want to make sure you have every opportunity I did, if not more." 

Despite her initial wariness of her past self, she quickly realized that Hermione Black, much like herself, was stubborn to boot and would simply nag you into agreeing with her. Mini-Mione had tamped down her bossy tendencies since the first year when the boys in her house called her a nightmare for it. But as she spent more time with her older self, she realized she didn't need to hide. 

As the months passed by, Hermione could feel herself be enveloped into their world. She and Neville had always been friends, but their quiet camaraderie during the epic quidditch matches everyone seemed to take part in helped them bond. She found herself seeking him out whenever she wanted a moment of peace. He liked to work with the plants in the greenhouses in his spare time, and she found it was a very serene way to pass the time and give her eyes a rest from her books.