Trapped in a dreamless sleep, Hermione lay still in her bed, not knowing that she was the only one in the room. The curtains could barely shut out the pressing sunlight from entering. This sunny Saturday morning was almost as gorgeous as its Friday counterpart, but it wasn't the light of the early sun that woke Hermione from her short slumber.
A blast of confetti jolted Hermione from her sleep, and she felt more startled than when she spun her time turner for the first time. Confusion hit her like a truck as she sat up in her bed, trying to comprehend why small pieces of confetti were now scattered all over her bed. Hermione groaned, as usual.
Eyes squinting due to the bright light, Hermione pulled herself out of bed, and soon realized that she was alone, raising even more confusion for the new girl. It was just Hermione and Pickles, the cat, in the dorm. So much for a surprise, Hermione thought.
The cool stone floor caused her toes to curl as she finally stood up, and soon her eyes caught sight of a note with her alias' name boldly written across the top. She held the note in one hand, and tried to comb her hair with her other, but what was written on the note caused Hermione to stop and think. It read:
Harper Slughorn,
Ever since the first day that you stepped on to Hogwarts' grounds, the nine of us knew that you would fit in and be a great addition to the school. It only seemed fitting that we put your knowledge of the past two-ish weeks to the test. So, Harper, welcome to your official initiation.
Hermione paused for a moment and removed her fingers from her tangled hair. An initiation? she thought, this sure will be interesting. Reading as intently as she could, Hermione continued with the letter, hoping that this initiation wouldn't bring out the side that she was trying to keep hidden.
Today, you will receive a series of clues leading you to several places across the Hogwarts grounds. Some will be easier than others, depending on how much you've been paying attention these past few weeks. Once you arrive at each spot, one of us will instruct you to complete a task, and you can't move on to the next clue until you complete the task.
There's a cloak in front of you. It'll make you invisible so you're not seen going from task to task. Make sure you don't damage it, I swear James will likely kill you if you do, (just trust me). We hope that we don't drive you back to Beauxbatons after this.
Best, Sirius
(p.s. Here's your first clue. Good luck, little Sluggy)
Be careful of its branches,
For it won't hesitate to kill.
Don't make it mad,
Otherwise it'll spin you like a windmill.
Having just finished the letter, Hermione's eyes danced over the parchment, making sure she had read everything correctly. This had never happened to her before, something that wasn't a life or death situation that still somehow made her nervous. Would they not want to be friends with her if she screwed part of this initiation up? Would some part of her true self get revealed in the process? The endless what if's took over Hermione's brain as she stood motionless in the near-empty dormitory.
Soon enough she picked up the cloak belonging to James, identical to the one that she snatched from his son before traveling away from her own time. Although the cloak she would be using wasn't technically belonging to her best friend, wearing it reminder her more of Harry than she ever could have expected. The little reminders, like James' cloak, helped keep Hermione sane in a time period where the couldn't fully open up to anyone—even if she wanted to.
Now with the cloak in hand, Hermione analyzed the clue that Sirius had messily written out for her and figured it out within no time. It was without a doubt the Whomping Willow.
Even the exchange student who had "never" been to Hogwarts ever before was aware of the Whomping Willow. Hermione recalled a moment earlier in the week where she pretended to be curious and ask Lily about the "large tree with flowing branches" that she could see clearly from one of the Great Hall's windows. Almost instantly, Lily warned Hermione with a cautionary tale about Snape's history with the tree in his first year as a result.
Reading the clue about the branches that wouldn't hesitate to kill would always remind Hermione of when she and Harry fought for their lives in order to save Ron's during her third year. It was also when she got to know Remus and Sirius for more than just a teacher with a life-threatening secret and an Azkaban escapee.
Although the time was early, Hermione had a feeling that this initiation would last longer than just a few clues across a couple hours. With that in mind, she tamed her hair and dressed in flexible clothes, as she didn't know whether she would have to get moving for the tasks or not.
Now fully awake, Hermione grabbed James' invisibility cloak and tossed it over her head to avoid being seen. Even though more students were still asleep rather than awake at this time of morning, Hermione kept herself invisible for good measure.
Luckily Hermione wasn't seen as she walked through the corridors underneath the cloak, but it wasn't being seen that she was worried about. The same worries as before began to fill her head until she reached the monstrous tree next to Hogwarts.
To no surprise, Hermione spotted Lily sitting on a larger boulder a safe distance away from the tree. To Hermione, it seemed fitting to have Lily, the one who told Harper about the Whomping Willow itself, there with her. After removing the invisibility cloak and setting it off to the side, Lily's soft smile warmed Hermione as she finally caught sight of the new girl.
"Good morning Harper! Glad you found your first clue," she spoke eagerly, unaffected by the early morning hour and bright sun.
"I'm a little surprised," Hermione replied nervously, "but I'm excited!"
"Great!"
"So, what, um," Hermione stumbled, "what exactly do I have to do?"
Even though Hermione had seen more of the Whomping Willow than most Hogwarts students, she still feared for her safety. This tree put her through hell, and she had no interest in battling it again.
"For starters, do you remember when I told you about this tree last week?" Lily started.
"Yes, how it bested Snape in the past," Hermione chuckled.
"Yeah, this tree is awfully dangerous, so I'm here if anything goes wrong," Lily paused for a moment, before stammering into a long tangent about how she wasn't planning to hurt Harper or anything, just that she was present for safety reasons. Hermione simply chuckled again; she knew that Lily meant well.
Lily eventually continued with, "do you see that hole underneath the stump of the tree?"
"Yeah?"
"You have to get into the hole by avoiding the Whomping Willow. The next clue is waiting for you inside the trunk."
Hermione paused for a moment and recalled the first time she used a time turner: during her third year. With Harry, she saw Snape touch a certain root of the Whomping Willow that stunned it.
For a moment, Hermione thought she was set. Just touch the root, no problem. But then it dawned upon her that Harper was not Hermione; she had no knowledge of that special root.
However, any person with a brain could simply toss James' invisibility cloak over their head and parade through the willow's territory without it raising a branch. So while Lily watched, Hermione disappeared before her eyes, and only moments later, reappeared in the hole underneath the willow's trunk.
"Wow, Harper, you're rather smart!" Lily said with a smile across her face once she could see Hermione underneath the tree.
Hermione flashed a thumbs-up in Lily's direction before disappearing again into the hole, now turning into a tunnel. At her feet she spotted a piece of parchment relatively the same size and color as the first letter and clue that Hermione had received, only covered in dirt.
Now holding the cloak in one hand and the newest clue in the other, Hermione unfolded the parchment and gazed upon a note written in handwriting that she recognized to be Remus'.
This house is not a home,
No one enters without screaming,
And if you don't think it's terrible,
You must be dreaming.
Within seconds, Hermione connected the pieces and figured out that she needed to go to the Shrieking Shack for the next part of her initiation. After all, it was aligned perfectly: this tunnel leads right to it.
Hermione remembered earlier this week when James and Sirius showed her some of the school's secret passage ways. They took her through the One Eyed Witch passage along with the one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy, but only mentioned the passageway from the Whomping Willow to the Skrieking Shack. Although this was the first time Harper had travel through this tunnel, Hermione was no stranger to this passageway.
The next half hour was filled of walking through the small and dirty tunnel, the only light coming from the tip of Hermione's wand. But shortly, she found herself climbing a flight of wooden stairs, the same ones she had climbed during her third year. She was on the right track.
The creaking floorboards lead Remus to believe that Harper had finally arrived to her second clue, but he grabbed his wand for defense, just in case.
"Oh, hello, Harper," Remus started as she walked into the main room of the old house, "I see you've succeeded in you first task?" he asked.
Hermione caught sight of Remus and, yet again, tried to stop herself from finding him attractive. But the way that he spoke to her eased her, and a part of him reminded her of home. But, yet again, Hermione had to remind herself that getting attached to anyone was a bad idea. It wasn't what she was here for.
Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Hermione responded back, "Yeah, I found Lily at that horrible tree. The bloody thing's a nightmare," she spoke truthfully. Remus chuckled, and Hermione smiled and blushed in response.
Although she tried to focus on what Remus was saying, she found herself getting distracted. The way that he spoke, the way his hair moved when he ran his fingers through it, anything about him Hermione found herself attracted to. He would be the perfect guy for her, if only they were from the same time. She had better things to worry about than trying to impress a man that would be her teacher less than twenty years down the line. Her thoughts were a battlefield; Hermione even tuned out the boy she couldn't stop thinking about.
"Could you repeat that?" Hermione said, distracted.
"Of course," Remus chuckled, "basically, your next task is to walk down to Hogsmeade Village and steal twenty galleons worth of candy from Honeyduke's Sweet Shop," he said, "Come back to me when you've got the candy, and then I'll give you your next clue."
Even though she had never really stolen anything from a shop before, Hermione wasn't anxious because she would be stealing something. She grew anxious because she was afraid of how Remus was starting to give her butterflies. It was not something she wanted, these butterflies, but Hermione found herself acting off of them. She got nervous around Remus, distracted by his looks, and taken over by his personality.
Just go and get the candy, it's that simple, Hermione told herself as she tossed James' cloak over her head and walked out the door of the shack. But she couldn't help but take one more look at Remus as she departed for Honeyduke's Candy Shop.
A/N: i woke up with 170 views and am going to sleep with 300! that's amazing, i cannot thank all you readers enough!
A/N UPDATE (7/3/20): it's been over a week since i last updated a chapter, whelp. i'm on a family trip right now so i might still be slow with updating, especially since the next few chapters are super long (2k+ words). anyways, have a good day, stay home if you're sick, and wear black tomorrow instead of red white and blue in support of the blm movement. love you all, hope you enjoyed this chapter. - callahan.