Quintessential

Chapter 2

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Lily knocked on the ancient door to which led you Professor McGonagall's office. A moment later the elderly lady opened the door and gazed at the two girls in front of her.

"Oh, hello Lily," the woman said in her thick Scottish accent, "and who might you be?" Her attention now fixed on Hermoine.

"I'm Hermoine Granger. I need to speak with you about... something." The professor just nodded and ushered her inside the office. When Lily didn't follow McGonagall turned back and smiled before closing the door.

"Now, before you tell me what you need to speak about, I must ask, who are you and why have I never seen you before?"

"It's a long story, Professor. I am Hermoine Granger but, I'm not exactly from here."

"You will to explain more Ms. Granger I'm not exactly following."

"In my third year here at Hogwarts, well not here, I wanted to take more classes in than the hours of the day allowed, and well, you contacted the ministry and persuaded them to give me a time turner. Anyways I went through my years still using that but um, I guess yesterday before I went sleep I turned it back a few hours so I could sleep longer and when I woke up, I'm here."

"Well, I won't even ask about that, but why didn't you just turn the time turner back once you realized you were in the wrong time?"

"I don't know where it is. I usually keep it in my pocket but it's not there." The girl turned her pockets of her skirt inside out to emphasize.

"Well, this is highly peculiar. I must admit, it's not that far fetch but I can't imagine how you could have lost it if you're sure you put it your pocket."

"I did, I do it ever night because they told me if I didn't someone might see it and they would have to take it away."

"Well, I'm sure we can get this figured out. Let us go talk to Dumbledoor, I'm sure he'll know what to do." So the pair walked to Dumbledoor's office together, pretending to not notice the stares coming from students. Hermoine couldn't blame them for being confused, she was a random girl no one recognized and she was being escorted by Professor Minerva McGonagall to Dumbledoor's office. It was an unusual sight.

When they finally arrived the professor muttered something but Hermoine didn't hear what and the door swung open. They climbed the staircase and when they reached the top there was another door, this time McGonagall just knocked and waited.

"Oh, well hello Minerva," his eyes casted to the girl beside her, "and Hermoine. I've been awaiting you both. Have a seat shall you." You pointed to the seats before his desk before returning to his own. Hermoine sat down while McGonagall stayed standing.

"Albus, you know this girl?"

"Well yes Minerva. She attends school here in 1995. Good friends with the Weasley and Potter boy I must say."

Hermoine wasn't the only one shocked by this comment and she saw the professor was confused as well.

"Headmaster Dumbledoor, if I may, how do you know all those things?"

"See, we all exist in different timelines and realities but we just don't know it. Some play out the same, others differently. It just so happens you accidentally traveled to a different one, which had been playing out the same but there's no saying what will happen now with you here. In your reality, you're still there and everything is still happening the same."

"But, how did I get here? And how do I go back?"

"I'm not sure how you accidentally traveled here. The only thing I could of is if your subconscious is traveling without your knowing but, you seem to very much be here in the flesh. As far as going back, that I'm nit sure of."

"But, then how do you do it, if you exist in these realities?"

"Now Hermoine, it take years for the most powerful wizards to learn how to shift their beings to different realities. The time turner has helped over time with inter-timeline transformations but to do it on accident without intending to, that I've never seen."

"Albus, what do we do then? If she doesn't exist here, and she has been replaced by herself elsewhere, where does she belong?" McGonagall seemed confused and worried.

"Now that's where you're wrong, Professor. She is here, she belongs here obviously. I've heard of this happening where the universe calls upon someone to serve their duty elsewhere, but like I've said, I've never seen it," Dumbledoor had a large grin on his face, as if this was all just a science experiment to him.

To Hermoine, it was scary. She was in a completely different reality, with people she knew too much about. Not to mention a clone of her was back in her reality, and no one would realize she was even gone. Dumbledoor didn't seem to see how the girl felt as he went on to making plans where the girl would stay and her new class schedule.

"Hermoine," Dumbledoor's snapped her out of her trance, "I know this is confusing but you can't tell anyone. I know you know what happens to these people but you have a chance to fix it. I don't know what will happen when you do but I want you to try."

"But if you know, why can't you fix it?" Hermoine was slightly angry that she was forced into such a big responsibility.

"Because I learned how to do this, it would be against nature for me to do anything. I have lived through their lives thousands of times, and none of them I was able to do anything about. You were chosen, you aren't against nature, you can fix this."

McGonagall obviously wasn't informed on the future of the students as her confusion grew by the second.

"Now," the headmaster continued, "your class schedule from 1995 was tricky, here you cannot use a time turner. So, we'll give you different classes that will be of most interest to you. What would those classes be?"