Falling into 1976

Downwards Spiral

Hermione Granger stared at the man in front of her. He was supposed to be dead; she had seen his body! Harry had watched Albus Dumbledore get killed last year! Suddenly, Madam Pomfrey came out, holding a tray of potions - but she looked considerably younger than Hermione remembered.

"Oh shit!"

One minute she was fighting Death Eaters at Diagon Alley, then she got hit by a few spells - at the same time - and suddenly, no death eaters, no destruction, and dead people that were younger than she remembered them. Dumbledore said once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. She wasn't dead; she was in way too much pain to be dead. Nobody would be stupid enough to attempt to impersonate dead people, especially their younger counterparts. That left very few theories left, each as unlikely as the next.

Glancing at her surroundings, she realized that she was in the Hogwarts hospital wing, which further helped her theory. The hospital wing would hardly be empty when the battle of Hogwarts was a week ago. Her injuries, from both the battle and her time on the run, were healed (those that were capable of magical healing, anyway). As she shifted her feet, she realized she was shorter than she remembered - could she have deaged as well?

Dumbledore seemed to be waiting for her to process things, as he remained silent.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, what year is it?"

The twinkle in his eye seemed to only grow at her question, and he smiled as he answered. "September 8th, 1976, if I remember correctly. Were you expecting a different answer, perhaps?"

She looked at him skeptically, not fully believing it. It was, after all, pretty far-fetched. "Can I ask you a question to confirm you are who you say you are?"

He popped a lemon drop in his mouth and gestured for her to continue.

Hermione smiled - that was just something that was so Dumbledore - and prepared her question.

"What is your favorite flavor of jam?"

Dumbledore didn't even hesitate at her choice of question, nor how she knew it. "Raspberry,"

"And what is the name of your sister?"

Dumbledore's eyes widened fractionally and his eyebrows rose slightly in surprise - you wouldn't have noticed it if you didn't know his tells, but he also showed pain and guilt in his face. His eyes shifted up a fraction, looking slightly over her head and out the window, and the edges of his mouth drew inwards by the smallest amount. After a small pause, he recollected himself and answered, "Ariana,"

She nodded her head, confirming that his answer was the one she wanted.

"Now, if I may ask a question in turn?" After Hermione's nod of consent, he continued. "How did you come to be at this time?"

"I was fighting death eaters, and hit by a few too many spells," She swallowed, then continued, "Time turners were invented in 1982, and can only go back up to 5 hours in time. Supporting the time travel theory, one cannot go further than 5 hours without permanently changing the timeline; no one has been able to go beyond five hours, yet I seem to have gone back years - my presence here has likely already affected the timeline. Has anyone besides Madam Pomphrey and yourself seen me?"

"Yes, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew were the ones that found you. They are currently waiting in my office for an explanation. Assuming you are correct, of course, you would not be able to go back to your own time."

Hermione's breath caught. Knowing she could never see Harry or Ron again, at least not as she knew them, made her want to break down, but she reined in her emotion. "If I cannot go back, I will change everything,"