Never All Together

Chapter 9: Chasing Rainbows in the Sky

Can it be true?
Could I be wrong?
That somewhere in my past
I fell in love with you.
Can it be true?
Could I be wrong?
That somewhere in my past
There was also me and you.

--- Mon del Rosario (Somewhere in the Past) ---

"Sirius, have you seen that bag of lacewing flies?" James asked, rummaging in his rucksack. "Didn't I give it to you last month? I can't find it anywhere."

Sirius stretched his legs out on the cold floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. "Of course you'll not," he answered in a bored voice. "I gave it to Peter and asked him to add the flies to the potion a month ago."

James looked expectantly at Peter, whose normally smallish eyes were wide with worry.

"I -- uh -- put it all in the potion."

James's hazel eyes widened. "You wh -- what?" he sputtered, aghast. "But Peter, that was too large a quantity to use! Now the potion's ruined!"

"I'm -- I'm sorry," Peter said, remorseful. "I didn't know how much to put in, and I thought a little extra wouldn't hurt."

"Why didn't you check the book?" Sirius asked, snorting. "Well, in any case, it isn't the first time."

"What isn't?" Remus asked curiously from a few feet away, coming up for air from the thick book he was reading.

"Peter messing up a potion after letting it stew for a month and spoiling another one of our plans."

Peter was looking at James with an expression of pitiful apology on his face. The bespectacled, black-haired youth narrowed his eyes warningly at Sirius, as if to remind him that he had entrusted the potion to him in the first place and not to Peter. "Never mind, Wormtail. We'll find a way to fix it." He sighed and stared morosely into the cauldron, trying to think.

Sounds of shuffling from the far end of the bathroom, eerily augmented by the tiled walls, reached Sirius' dog-sharp ears. He narrowed his eyes. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" James and Remus asked distractedly.

"I thought I heard somebody," Sirius said, his eyes straying to the end stall.

Peter started. "Wh -- what? There's a girl in there?"

"You're extremely jumpy today, aren't you?" Sirius commented snidely, receiving another cautioning look, this time from Remus.

"Well, this is a girls' bathroom, Wormtail," Remus said patiently, although he himself was biting back his own tongue that wanted to add, Just in case you didn't notice.

James was looking at them as though they were all daft. "Nobody uses this bathroom anymore, except for Moaning Myrtle," he said, stirring the potion and peering hopefully at it. "Maybe it was Myrtle you heard."

"I doubt it," Sirius insisted. "If she was here, she wouldn't be hiding in one of the cubicles. Myrtle would be sitting beside you, running her ghostly hands through your messy black hair..."

"Shut up, I'm trying to concentrate," James muttered.

Remus sniggered. "Oh, so now she's a distraction? Lily would be relieved to hear you've finally given up chasing after her."

"Or insulted, maybe," Sirius said. "Imagine having been substituted for by a colourless spectre living in a bathroom!"

Remus and Sirius laughed, and after a quick glance at James to check if it was okay, Peter joined in. James simply smiled arrogantly at them. "Just wait and see," he said with confidence. "Once this potion's done and we put the plan in action, Lily will be head over heels in love with me faster than any of you can flick your wands."

"Really?" Sirius asked, smirking. "Remind me again, Remus, what Operation Number are we on now?"

"Three hundred and seventy-eight, if I'm not mistaken," Remus answered light-heartedly. "I've been counting since we were in third year. That means he has said the same thing about Lily falling in love with him for the same number of times." The three other Marauders roared with laughter once more.

With the same smile on his face, James countered, "You've forgotten that bit about Lily and I getting married after we graduate." His three friends shook their heads in amusement.

"Well, mate, just in case Lily does not want to be your bride, at least you already have me, your best man," Sirius told his best friend good-naturedly, clapping James on the shoulder.

"Oh, but she will," James said, his hazel eyes gleaming. "At least after I set this potion right anyway."

The clicking metal noise of a door latch trying to be pulled open caught everybody's attention except James's, who was still looking into the cauldron. They turned their puzzled faces towards the cubicles.

"I told you there was somebody in there," Sirius said, his head jerking towards the end stall.

The three boys stared hard at the door of the end stall, breath held in suspension, waiting for somebody -- anybody -- to emerge.

* * * * * * *

Hermione stepped out of the cubicle, shielding her dazed eyes from the light. Still trying to refocus her sight, she looked around her. She immediately recognized the rather shabby surroundings. I'm still in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Despair weighed her heart down -- I failed -- until she glanced around and looked straight into Remus' warm blue eyes. Her own roved his face, marking the absence of lines that she knew were there. She blinked. That's not quite right. She looked at his two companions for confirmation. Sirius, she realised with a jolt, taking in the handsome young man with longish black hair and twinkling grey eyes. And this must be Peter, she thought, knowing the slightly pudgy blond-haired boy with them could not be anybody else. She let out an inaudible sigh of relief. I'm here! She had dared, and she had won. She was almost afraid she hadn't. Wait. Where's James?

"We -- we didn't see anything!" Peter exclaimed nervously, clamping one hand over his eyes.

"Pity we didn't," Sirius said, eyeing Hermione with interest. His expression of curiosity, however, rapidly changed into one of suspicion as he recognized the Hogwarts robes she wore. "I haven't seen you before."

I travelled nineteen years back in time for this kind of hospitality? Hermione's mind was still reeling from all the ideas she was trying to process, and she definitely wasn't in the mood to be polite. She scowled and raised one eyebrow. "Well, neither have I," she responded haughtily.

"But you're in Gryffindor," Remus observed mildly, having noted the red-and-gold lion House emblem on her robes.

Thank Merlin I had not pinned my Head Girl badge on. "Yes. I ... transferred."

Sirius looked at her sceptically. "So late in the year? I didn't know that was allowed."

"So that was why you didn't know the bathroom was out of order? Because you're new?" Remus inquired.

"No, wait, Moony," Sirius interjected before Hermione could answer. "We've been here for hours, and we only heard her now. She can't have been that long in the loo."

Remus paused. Sirius had a point. "What year are you in?" he asked instead.

"Seventh," Hermione answered, her voice barely above a whisper. "You?"

"The same," Peter said. A gold chain with an hourglass for a pendant glinted in the light and caught his attention. "What's that around your neck?"

Hermione hastily covered the hourglass with her hand and tucked it back inside her robes. "Just a necklace my mother gave me. So ... What year is it?"

Sirius frowned. This girl is crazy. "1979. January, in case you didn't know. Are you in a time warp or what?"

"Happy new year to you too," Hermione shot back, annoyed. "I was just asking."

"What's your name?" Remus asked, gently intervening before Sirius could think up a snide reply.

Hermione's expression softened somewhat. "Hermi--" A closed look tightened her face as she quickly came to a decision. "Regina. Regina Weisz." Now where did that name come from?

Remus' face broken into a warm, genuine smile that coaxed one out of her. "Pleased to meet you. My name's Remus."

I know, Hermione almost said out loud. She caught herself in time and replied instead, still smiling, "Odd place to make acquaintances with boys, in a girls' bathroom. The three of you are not supposed to be here."

Peter gave a nervous laugh. "Well, it's nice to meet you too. I'm Peter, and this is--"

Hermione wasn't listening; her nostrils just picked up the distinct smell of a potion she was very familiar with. "What's that you're brewing?" she asked, trying to walk past the three of them.

Sirius stretched his arms out and blocked her way, looking at her as though she was a nuisance. "It's none of your business."

Hermione simply grinned at him and smartly sidestepped him to see another young man, previously hidden from sight by the other three, mindlessly mixing a cauldron with his back to her. Her heart jumped. She would know him anywhere.

He turned, and Hermione's breath caught in her throat. He was just as handsome as she had imagined him to be: chiselled facial features and a strong jaw that was made arrogant by youth. His messy black hair was rugged on him, and yet his glasses offset it, imparting the aura of an intellectual. Hermione was swept away.

"Harry," she found herself saying.

The beautiful hazel eyes that stared at her, however, did not show any hint of emotion -- not even surprise. After one disinterested glance at her, seventeen-year-old James Potter returned his attention to the cauldron.

"Harry? What kind of sissy would want to be called that?" Sirius crowed in the most insulting voice he could muster. He, Remus and Peter had also turned and followed Hermione to where she was standing.

Hermione bit her lip hard, wondering why she had to remember Harry just now. Unruffled but refusing to show it, Hermione gingerly stepped closer to James, enough to peer down into the cauldron and see its contents. "That's Polyjuice Potion," she remarked with mild suspicion.

"Yes, we know," Sirius said.

"What is it for?"

Sirius exhaled noisily. "To transform into somebody else, obviously."

Was Sirius really such a jerk? Hermione thought irritably. "I know that, but under what circumstances are you going to use it for? If this is another prank--"

"James, why don't you just give this girl five points for Gryffindor so she could shut up?"

James sighed. "Stop talking to the girl, Sirius, and help me with this. The potion's far too runny."

"The girl has a name, James," Remus said, looking apologetically at Hermione as if to say that his friends weren't always as rude as they were right now. "It's Regina."

Wait a minute. Was that the Head Boy badge on his cloak? "You're Head Boy," Hermione told James with astonishment.

James looked at her pointedly. Very astute, isn't she? "What's it to you?"

"That means you're not supposed to be brewing Polyjuice Potion illegally."

"Yeah?" James smirked. "Why would they teach us then, if we weren't allowed to concoct it anyway? Besides, I'm of age, I didn't steal any of these ingredients from Old Sluggy's cupboard and--" His lips curved in another challenging smile. "You just said it. I'm Head Boy."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, all thoughts of her attraction to him vanishing. "All those excuses, and yet you couldn't even brew the potion correctly?"

James looked only a bit flustered. "It's just a tiny mistake I'm sure I can fix, if you would just keep quiet so I can concentrate. Somebody just added--" He fell silent, not wanting to blame Peter or Sirius.

"Too much of the lacewing flies," Hermione finished for him. His hazel eyes widened slightly and she stifled a smile. "And you still don't know how to fix it, do you?"

"I'll figure it out," James insisted stubbornly. He shifted his attention back to the cauldron.

"Maybe she can help," Remus suggested. All the other four glanced at him in surprise. "I mean, she was able to pinpoint the source of the problem. Maybe she also knows the solution."

Even Sirius was contemplating the same idea. "She does sound like she knows what she's talking about, mate."

"All girls sound like that," James mumbled. One Lily Evans was enough for him.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Well, if you're so certain you can handle it all by yourself, I guess I should leave." Concerns of how she would live without having brought anything from the present had already occurred to her, and she needed time alone to sort everything out. She shrugged one last time and turned her back to them.

She had advanced just a couple of steps when she heard James's voice call out, "No, wait!" Hermione continued walking towards the door, ignoring the thudding footsteps closing in on her.

"Wait," James repeated firmly, placing one large hand on her shoulder.

Hermione stilled, not daring to breathe. She slowly turned around. So close.

"Regina." Thank Merlin I remember her name. "I really need your help with the potion," he said seriously, his eyes drawing her in.

Hermione tilted her head to one side. "Just like that, no apologies whatsoever?"

James thought for a moment and smiled that small smile of his. "Just like that, yes."

Hermione did not really trust herself to look straight into his eyes, so she kept her head lowered as she shrugged his grip from her shoulder. She slowly walked back to where the cauldron, around which the three other Marauders were still standing, before turning to face James once more. From this distance, she felt more in control.

"Not until you tell me what it's for," Hermione said, her lips slightly curved upwards and her hands on her hips.

James groaned, running his hand through his hair as he joined them. "Aww, Regina. Do I have to beg?"

"No," Hermione replied amusedly. "Just tell me what it's for, and the potion's yours."

"Man, she's persistent," Sirius remarked, watching the scene unfold with a growing smile on his face.

"I don't see what's so funny," Hermione told him.

"Oh, you will," Sirius assured her, laughing. "Let me help you here, Prongs. You see, James has been asking this girl in school to go out with him for ages, but she has refused him each time."

Oh. Hermione's face fell. She should have known that everything James did had something to do with her. "What's her name?"

Sirius raised one brow in mockery. "Is that important?"

"Lily Evans," Hermione said softly, answering her own question.

Four faces of identical shock and renewed suspicion turned to her.

Hermione's own eyebrows jumped. "What?" she said defensively.

"Are you a Legilimens?" Peter asked, almost respectfully.

Hermione held back a laugh. "No. I just -- I've heard the name before. She's, uh--" Hermione whispered a little prayer in her head. "She's Head Girl, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is," Remus confirmed, somewhat relieved that was all there was to it.

"So what if she is?" Sirius asked.

"Well, Head Boys and Head Girls go together," Hermione answered with an odd, twisted smile. "It's a match made in heaven."

James smiled approvingly at her words. "See? That's what I said," he told his friends. "Lily and I are simply meant to be. It's just that sometimes, the circumstances have to be tweaked."

"So where does this potion come in?" Hermione asked, wanting to end all talk about Lily.

Sirius gave another laugh, and this time, embarrassment became apparent on James's face. "James was going to use it to change places with Remus. You see, Lily actually likes Remus--"

"You make it sound like that's a bad thing," Remus interrupted, sounding slightly hurt.

"As a friend, I mean. Of the four of us, Remus is the only one Lily talks to. So James thought that maybe if Remus talked to her about him, maybe she would see him in a different light."

"Correction," James said. "What Sirius means is that maybe she'd finally acknowledge that she really has feelings for me."

"Which at the moment aren't really pleasant," Sirius reminded him, leaving James to scowl in return. "With this plan, at least, James is finally going to get to spend some moments alone with Lily. Even that has always been impossible since Evans seems to dislike the mere presence of James's shadow."

Hermione frowned. "So basically, James-as-Remus will try to convince Lily that James really is a sensitive, caring guy?" It was the craziest matchmaking scheme she had ever heard.

"Despite hexing Snape every hour, yes," Sirius said. "Of course, since Remus is going to be James, no one will really be pranking anybody."

Now that the plan had been spoken out loud, Remus realised how stupid the whole setup sounded. "I honestly don't think Lily will fall for it -- she's not thick -- but at least there won't be too much work on my part."

"Thank you so much for your vote of confidence, Moony," James said. "I'm sure if you do what you're an expert at -- being sweet and warm and compassionate -- I'll have her as my date on the next Hogsmeade weekend. Just leave a little arrogance intact, though." He winked. "James Potter should not be without it."

How cavalier, Hermione thought, wrinkling her nose in distaste. No wonder Lily won't go out with him. I myself wouldn't want to.

James was still in full flow about his instructions to Remus. "Walk with your back straight, and with a confident stride. Don't forget to mess up your hair, play with this Snitch--" He reached into his pockets, fished it out and stuck it in Remus' hand. "Oh, and I hope you do know how to catch it in time before it slips beyond your reach--"

"Look, if you really want her to go out with you, why don't you--" Act a little more mature, maybe? She could not believe she was looking at the future Minister of Magic. Hermione sighed. "Why not Amortentia?"

James frowned, annoyed at being cut off in mid-speech. "That would be like forcing her to go out with me against her will. It's not any better than using the Imperius Curse. Besides, I don't really need that strong a potion." Again, there was that note of superciliousness.

"Felix Felicis?"

"It takes six months to brew," James countered.

"Why not nick some from the cauldrons in the dungeon?" Hermione persisted.

His frown deepened. "That's stealing."

Righteous, aren't you? Hermione thought, somewhat convinced that he really was good inside, despite his obnoxiousness. Glimpses of the man she knew he would become shone through. She shook her head and dispelled thoughts of the future. She sat down on the cold floor and after inspecting the cauldron once more, looked up at James. "Have you got any boomslang skin left?"

James sifted through the contents of his bag and handed her a package containing scaly, greenish layers shed from the poisonous tree snake.

"Thanks," Hermione said, pulling the flap open at once and carefully extracting one sheet.

"What do you need it for?"

Hermione looked pityingly at James. "It counteracts the effects of excess lacewing flies. You'll see," she said.

The Marauders watched her measure out an area of the reptile skin with her index finger, wave her wand over it so it was minced to pieces, scoop it all up and drop it into the cauldron. A blue steam issued momentarily from the potion, which vanished as soon as Hermione had stirred it several times, first with only one hand then with two.

When the potion thickened to its expected consistency, Hermione put the ladle down and looked expectantly at the Marauders. Sirius and James both wore dubious expressions on their faces, but Remus and Peter seemed fascinated with what she had just done. It was enough to make Hermione feel gratified.

"There," she said, standing up and brushing dirt off her robes. "Just add bits of the person you're changing into, and you're all set."

"Are you sure? Just like that?" James asked, misgivings still evident on his face, and his tone edging on derision.

That was the last straw. Hermione tossed her chin up at him and fixed him with his most piercing glare. "You know, you should never have asked me to help you if you didn't trust me completely," she said in a low, steely voice.

James blinked and instinctively stepped back as though she had just slapped him. "No, I -- uh --"

"I have to go see Dumbledore," Hermione interrupted in a bitter voice, swivelling around so suddenly that her robes swished behind her. She marched to the door, both angry and disappointed. One hour into the past and everything's already screwed up.

"Thank you," James said weakly.

She slammed the door behind her.

* * * * * * *

Hermione walked aimlessly along the corridors, wondering what to do next. Maybe I should just attend class. The question was what class she should go to. She pulled at her hair in frustration. On the other hand, maybe I should just go home. That thought had been hovering inside her mind since that incident in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and she had to admit that she had not yet found any good reason to remain in the past. James is very much in love with Lily, and Sirius seems to dislike me so much. Besides, she didn't really want to shake hands with Peter, someone she knew would betray James. As for Remus -- well, that was just him being him. He was always warm and welcoming, but she didn't think he would want to be in her company anyway. Not with his fellow Marauders around.

Hermione looked down the hallway and saw a girl with short blond hair walking several steps ahead of her.

"Excuse me," she called out.

The girl turned to her with a questioning smile on her round, pleasant face. "Yes?"

Hermione walked more quickly towards her, and as she moved closer, she recognized the Gryffindor lion stitched on her school robes. "May I know which class the Gryffindors have next?"

"You don't have a schedule?" the girl asked in surprise. "Everything depends on the O.W.L. results given almost two years back."

"Is that so?" Hermione asked. Of course. She had forgotten. The irony of the situation was not lost on her. I got all twelve O.W.L.s, eleven 'Outstandings' and one 'Exceeds Expectations', and yet here I am, officially unenrolled in any class. "Where's your next class then?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," she answered, gesturing vaguely towards a classroom several doors down. "Do you want to go with me?"

Hermione smiled, but she shook her head. "Thank you, but I have some matters to sort out first."

The girl looked at her as though she wanted to ask her something else, but changed her mind at the last moment. She shrugged. "Okay," she said, smiling one last time before turning around to go to her class.

Hermione watched her walk away, realising that she also looked familiar to her and regretting not having asked her name. She sighed and started making her way to Dumbledore's office. It now seemed like the logical thing to do, but how was she supposed to explain her situation to him? See, Professor, I made a Time-Turner to go back in time and be with somebody I could not be with in the present. She snorted. Fat chance that will happen anyway, she thought sadly, if my first hour back is any indication of things to come. She was lost in unpleasant thoughts of what awaited her when she finally became conscious of the stone gargoyle in front of her.

"Cockroach Cluster?" she told the gargoyle hopefully. "Sugar quills? Sherbet lemon? Bertie Botts' Every-Flavour Beans?" The statue still refused to move.

Hermione stuck out her bottom lip and pouted. It figured. She was having the worst time of her life. Maybe I should just wait until Dumbledore or one of the professors find out that they suddenly have a new student in class. She let out another sigh and retraced her steps to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She entered through the back door with her eyes on the floor, and yet felt the questioning glances being thrown at her as she stood somewhere in the back, dimly seeking out an empty seat. She finally chose one in the last row near the windows, slipped into it and cupped her face in her hands as she stared outside. She had never felt so alone.

"Hey, I saved you a seat."

She looked up, startled. James was smiling gently down at her, his hand extended as though to help her up. She took it without second thoughts, blushing as she did so. She stood up and followed him to a pair of empty desks in the middle of the third row.

Once they were seated, Hermione looked around and saw Sirius and Peter occupying another two escritoires in front of theirs.

"Where are your things?" James asked.

Hermione pursed her lips. "I -- uh -- don't have any."

"Not even books? Quills? Parchment?"

Hermione shook her head and, in answer to his questioning look, said, "I was such in a hurry to pack I didn't even bring clothes. All I brought with me was my wand. Besides, the books I was using in my old school were not the same as those used here." Not to mention the fact that I've already read them, of course. In a weird sense, she was telling the truth about the books, as she was almost sure her own books were already several editions ahead of what they had way back.

James's forehead wrinkled. "There's another Wizard school in Britain?"

Hermione nodded vigorously. "Yes. But it's much older." Another truth with a crooked connotation, as technically, Hogwarts was older in her day. "But I cannot speak its name. You know, secrecy and all that."

"How are you going to get by without anything?"

"Oh, I'll manage," Hermione replied breezily. Why was he suddenly so concerned about her?

James pushed his glasses up his nose. "Maybe I can ask Sirius to lend you some money."

"Thanks for the offer, but really, it's not a problem," she said, thinking of the many things she could do with her wand. Hermione smiled at him. "What's gotten into you? You weren't so nice a while ago."

He looked taken aback. "I wasn't?"

"Well -- no," Hermione responded hesitantly. "To tell you the truth, James, you were such an insufferable git, I could not even stand you."

James's hazel eyes gleamed with mischief as he placed a warm hand over hers. He bent his head to her ear and whispered, "It's Remus."

Hermione's lips parted in surprise, and she twisted around in her seat to get a better look at him. I was so stupid! "Oh."

"You look disappointed," Remus told her teasingly.

"No. No," Hermione stammered. Just disillusioned. To think she had believed that James was finally showing her some attention by some stroke of divine luck! She cast her mind around for something else to say. "So... the potion worked?"

Remus nodded. "James was very thankful for your help, you know." He smiled at the look of disbelief on Hermione's face. "Admittedly, he went overboard with it, but that was just because he was worried about the potion. He really is a good guy deep inside."

Hermione smiled wryly. "I'm not Lily Evans, Remus. I don't need to hear you extol James's characteristics." She patted his hand. "Besides, I'm glad that it's you who's with me now. You were really the only one who made me feel welcome since I came here."

Remus flushed with pleasure, and Hermione could not help but appreciate how good-looking James really was. If only he were as easy to get along with, Hermione lamented.

Both Remus and Hermione were taken aback when Sirius turned to look towards the back door and let out a sharp whistle. They followed his eyes and saw beautiful, red-haired Lily Evans enter the room. James -- disguised as Remus -- trailed behind her, carrying her books. He glanced at Sirius, and as soon as their eyes met, he gave him a conceited wink that matched the smug expression on his face, both of which did not quite fit in with Remus' gentle features.

Lily chose the pair of seats to Remus' right. James slid into the seat between Lily and Remus, caught the latter's eye, and discreetly gave him the thumbs-up sign.

"James really is a nutter," Remus muttered in a low voice. "He'd do anything to win Lily over."

"I can see that," Hermione said, trying to smile but failing dismally. Is this what I came back for? To see Lily and James get together?

The first door of the room opened, and a short, wiry man with stringy grey-blond hair entered, limping slightly with one leg.

"That's Alastor Moody," Remus whispered to her. "One of the best Aurors today."

"I noticed he still has two eyes intact," Hermione mused.

Remus considered her for a moment, speculating on her strange comment. He could not help but remember how Sirius commented on her peculiarity. "Yes, he does," he said instead, quite nonchalantly.

"Silence!" Moody thundered. The class fell quiet, attention now on him. His blue eyes warily surveyed the room and locked in on Hermione almost immediately.

"New student?" Moody growled.

Hermione sat up straighter in her chair. "Yes, sir."

Moody glowered down at her. "Dumbledore didn't tell me anything about a new student. Name?"

"Regina Weisz," she answered smartly.

Moody stared hard at her, and Hermione almost cried out loud from the excruciating pain caused by imaginary knives jabbing into her mind. She focused all her strength and will on countering it, her fists tightly clenched.

The pain stopped as suddenly as it hit her. Moody grimaced -- but then it also might have been a smile. "Very good defense, Miss Weisz." But it actually makes you more dangerous.

Everybody turned to Hermione, whose face was glowing red both with exhaustion and with delight at his compliment. "Thank you, sir."

Most of the class wore bemused expressions on their faces, not recognising what had just transpired. Remus, however, realised that Moody had just tried to break into her mind through Legilimency, probably to see if she was lying, and that she had effectively stopped him. Regina is no ordinary girl, Remus thought, smiling with admiration. He found himself more fascinated with her the more time he spent with her.

Four consecutive knocks on the front door startled them anew. Professor McGonagall's stern but less-lined face peered into the room, her eyes silently asking permission from Moody to enter. Once Moody acknowledged her presence, she stepped inside, and her eyes swept through the room as though in search of somebody. She blinked her large eyes when she saw Hermione. "You are the new student?" she asked.

Hermione looked up in surprise, wondering how the news had spread so quickly. She nodded and stood up.

"Miss Alice Clarke told me about you," Professor McGonagall said, her eyes flickering towards the blond, round-faced girl Hermione had encountered earlier. "Follow me, please."

"Don't worry, I'll take down notes for you," Remus told her.

There's no need, actually. Nevertheless, Hermione smiled at him gratefully and sailed out of the room after Professor McGonagall.

"Where are we going, Professor?" Hermione asked as she tried to keep in pace.

"To the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore. It seems that he has also been informed of your unexpected arrival."

Hermione fell silent, her heart pounding in fear. She had expected this, had even thought of approaching Dumbledore herself, but not now. Not when she was unprepared. What was she going to tell him? It wasn't advisable for her to tell the truth, but it didn't seem wise to lie either.

Professor McGonagall slowed down to allow the student to catch up with her so they could walk side by side. The young woman's step was not of somebody new to the castle. She didn't look up in awe at the moving portraits or the changing staircases, and even if she was accustomed to them in her old school, that didn't explain the assurance with which she made her way to Dumbledore's office. She didn't stumble, didn't look at her to ask for directions. It was as though she knew the way there herself.

Hermione stopped in front of the stone gargoyle and looked expectantly at Professor McGonagall, like she was waiting for her to say the password that would allow her access to the spiral stairs.

"What is your name?" Professor McGonagall asked her instead.

Hermione managed to steady both her voice and gaze. "Regina Weisz."

The old witch nodded, committing the name to memory, then turned to face the statue. "Chocolate Frog!" she declared. The gargoyle came to life and sprang aside to reveal the staircase.

"You may enter now. The stairs will take you to Dumbledore's office."

Hermione smiled and thanked her before stepping onto the first rung of the stairs. Her trepidation increased as the steps slowly whirled up, dizzying her. After several seconds, she found herself staring at a gleaming oak door with a brass knocker in the shape of a griffin. She hesitated only for a moment and decided to knock.

The door silently opened. Hermione stepped in to see Dumbledore sitting on his desk, relaxed, drumming his fingers on his table. She slowly approached him, careful not to break any of the silver, seemingly magical instruments that almost filled the room.

Dumbledore stood up just as Hermione neared his table. "Ah, the new student," he greeted with a smile, extending his hand for Hermione to shake. "Have a seat, please."

Hermione shook his hand and took the seat. "Good afternoon, Professor," she returned courteously. She watched as Dumbledore himself sat down and peered intently at her through his half-moon spectacles.

"I heard of your unexpected arrival at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said after a few seconds of silence. "The school register showed no sign of such, so your presence here demands an explanation, as I'm sure you expected. Do you have any?"

Here it is. Hermione took a deep breath. "I really don't know where to start, sir. Why don't you ask me questions, and I will try my best to answer them?"

Dumbledore considered her. It was a smart answer, and somehow, he knew it would reveal very little information about her. "Very well. Where did you come from?"

"I cannot say."

"If so, why are you here?"

Hermione bit her lower lip. "I'm very sorry, Professor, but I can't tell you that either."

Dumbledore's gaze grew more perceptive. He leaned forward in his seat. "Tell me what you can say then."

"I call myself Regina Weisz."

He noted her choice of words. "What else, Miss Weisz?"

"I want to finish my seventh year here, Professor. I believe you and your staff won't find any trouble with me as a student."

"You came here just to study?" Dumbledore asked, knowing the answer but wanting to hear it from her.

"No, and you know that, sir."

"If you do not have any real purpose here, then I suggest that you must leave at once."

Hermione met his intelligent blue eyes and stood her ground. "I made considerable effort to be here, Professor. I could have failed, but I succeeded. That means I should do what I came to do."

"I'm listening, Miss Weisz. What is that exactly?"

Hermione sighed. How she wished she knew. "I really don't know, Professor."

The headmaster regarded her for several more moments. Finally, his shoulders drooped slightly, as though in compromise. "When a man is in doubt, he must rely on his instincts. I do not think you mean any harm, Miss Weisz. Although essentially you have told me nothing, I accept you in this school in the belief that someday, you will tell me what this is all about."

Hermione's head jerked upward in surprise. Did he just give in that easily? "Professor--" She pursed her lips. "I told no lies, and of all the truth I could."

"I understand." Dumbledore smiled at her. "You may go now, Miss Weisz. I hope you enjoy your stay at Hogwarts."