Hermione Jean Granger
Twenty One
Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Librarian
â You could claim that
anything's real
if the ONLY basis for
believing in it
is that nobody's proved it doesn't
e x i s t ! â
âWell Iâve been here for six months now and still havenât met anyone whoâs found a solution to get out of this place and Iâve met a lot of people.â Anya shrugged, though with each passing day she was becoming more settled in this town and in this world. âRussia.â She smiled, âWell Russia originally, recently moved to Paris and was about to travel the world before I was placed here.â
âYeah but someone is bound to eventually. If we stop looking, weâll never find it,â Hermione pointed out, âThatâs quite interesting. If you donât mind me asking, what year was it before you left? Iâve met a number of people here from different eras too. What would your modern day be?â
Connor moved to take cover under a nearby tree, not wanting to deprive the young lady from her umbrella. âI guess itâs raining a lot harder than expected. I donât think itâs so bad though,â he added, a little disappointed he could no longer dry immediately like he could when he wasnât deviant. Sometimes he suspected perhaps he was no longer an android even, but that was impossible. âAre you alright, miss?â
Hermione was startled by his question and the use of miss. It was so formal, âYes, Iâm fine. I was just worried for your health considering the downpour and your lack of a raincoat,â She smiled reassuringly, âWhy do you ask?â
âThatâs a total bummer, but it also explains why youâre still here when youâre obviously trying to get home,â she reasoned, everything making more sense. If Doreen originally had some sort of way to get out of here and suddenly didnât have it anymore, sheâd probably be as desperate for an answer as this brunette was. âUh, sort of? Nothing that would help us get out of here though.â
âYeah. If I still had my magic, Iâd have apparated out of here by now. Perhaps after a little bit of exploring but I wouldnât be here still,â Hermione replied. Her curiosity could get the best of her sometimes. If sheâd just landed in Wintervale after apparating instead of waking up, she might have explored a little before realizing she didnât have her magic, âSort of? What do you mean by sort of?â
âIâm sure it wonât,â Pamela replied. âYouâll have your chance to go to Toronto as well. This place canât be permanent. Weâre bound to get out of here soon.â
âThatâs the hope anyway, right? I mean, even if one of us does find a way out, would they share it with everyone in the town? Would everyone in the town even be able to leave? How would we know if they even managed to return to their own world or if they ended up in another random one?â Hermione took a deep breath as she realized she hadnât done that since she started speaking and then sighed, âItâs a lot of uncharted territory.â
âWitch? Oh my god are you magical?â Doreen echoed, automatically getting excited. Sheâd always been obsessed with magic. Both the stage kind and the real kind. âYou are so cool! Iâve always wanted to be magical!â
âI was. But I donât have my magic here unfortunately,â Hermione replied. She missed it and she wished she had it here. It could help her get home, âSo youâre human then?â She paused, âI mean, thatâs not what I meant. What I mean to say is, did you have any... supernatural abilities where youâre from?â
âItâs really nice. I actually think this place is a lot more peaceful than my place back home. Who knew Canada was actually so lovely?â Pamela replied, obviously agreeing with the other.
âIâd heard it was. This is the first time Iâve been. I hope it doesnât ruin Canada for me though. Iâve always wanted to go to Toronto.â
âI guess I stopped looking at it as being trapped here after my second month, itâs not like weâre in a cage, itâs just more of a dome situation.â She explained, though she did guess it would be nice to have the choice to be here and have the choice to leave. âI donât think Iâve experienced weather too warm, Iâve been used to the cold for so long.â
Hermione shook her head, âI canât imagine being here for that long, although I suppose I might be if I canât find a way home,â She paused and smiled, âWhere are you from?â
Alec scoffed. âLetâs home itâs not the calm before the storm.â He was a realist and knew that good things simply couldnât last for a longer period of time.
âAre you referring to a metaphorical storm or physical?â Hermione asked, âNeither one is good but if itâs physical then I should probably go home.â
Anya was sprawled out on her back, her eyes closed as the sun beat down on her skin, she loved the sun, something she didnât see a lot of back home. âI like it, where Iâm from there was a lot of people from the start of my life, or from what I remember-â Because there had been the orphanage and St Petersberg and then the palace in Paris there was always people about, she didnât have time to do this. âAlso Iâm a big fan of the sun, the warmth, itâs odd to be wearing so few layers.â
âPerhaps if werenât trapped here against, forced here against our will, it would actually be a nice place to live,â Hermione said, the humor she tried to put into her tone lacking any serious strength, âThe sun is never something to complain about where Iâm from. Unless it gets too warm.â
Having finally gotten some sleep, eaten some food and most important, had a shower, Hermione decided not to go straight back to looking for a way home. Instead, she went to the park and sat underneath a tree to read, âItâs actually kind of nice here, peaceful. I hadnât taken the time to notice.â
Rolling the quarter along his knuckles and occasionally flipping it to pass it through his fingers absentmindedly, Connor stood at the bus stop completely exposed to the rain that had decided to pour. He continued to fiddle with the coin, completely unfazed as he stood out in the rain without an umbrella. Noticing someone giving him a look, he stopped the coin between his thumb and forefinger before turning to them, âI am sorry, was I being distracting? I can stop,â he offered apologetically. Hank was always telling him off about it, so perhaps this person felt the same.Â
âCome under my umbrella quick!â Hermione exclaimed and gestured for him to come toward her as she stood under her umbrella, concern filling her tone, âYouâll catch your death of cold.â
Jack listened with genuine interest as Hermione talked about her world and what some of her life had been like as a witch. It all sounded different than what he knew of witches. Hunting witches was apart of what he had done while living in the bunker, but what Hermione was talking about wasnât like the cases he had investigated. He wanted to know more, but then he saw the tears forming in Hermioneâs eyes as she talked about her parents. He felt a pang of sadness in his chest as he remembered the video his mom had made for him before he was born and how tears had been streaming from her eyes. Jack brought himself out of his memories and focused his attention back to the question Hermione had just asked him. âI like coffee.â He answered her, giving her a thankful smile. âAre any of your friends from Hogwarts here? In Wintervale, i mean.â
âCoffee it is then,â Hermione said with a smile that she had to force a little through her sadness. She walked inside and ordered for them at the counter. Then she gestured to a free table and sat, âNope, itâs just me,â She shook her head, âPart of me would do anything to have Harry and Ron here but the other part doesnât want them here. Away from their home and away from their magic. What about you?â
âThatâs a pretty ballsy response, huh?â Doreen replying, not enjoying the young womanâs tone all of a sudden. Did she just assume she was smarter than anybody who had ever tried to get out of this place? Because how could she be sure? Doreen decided not to jump to conclusions and keep things neutral. Perhaps this woman would be the one to find a way out â Doreen would certainly be grateful. âI guess all I can say is good luck.â
âIâm supposed to be the brightest which of my age, thatâs what everyone tells me anyway. If I canât figure this out then it would all be for nothing,â Hermione was more speaking to herself now. She was a know-it-all and maybe she was full of herself sometimes but she was also determined. She needed to get home. Not only would her friends be worried about her but the longer she stayed away from her parents with their memories erased, the harder it would probably be to restore them to themselves. She could not stay here. Hermione ignored the girlâs second comment - or perhaps she just didnât hear it - as she turned the page of the book she was reading.
âI know you want to get home. We all do. But some people have been stuck here for a while now and they havenât found a way back yetâŠâ
âYeah but they werenât me,â Hermione replied. She was smart. She solved problems. That was her thing. She didnât normally do it without Harry and Ron but she had no choice. She needed to get back to them and to her parents who had no idea who she was.
why didnât this girl simply go to bed; it would have saved her from having to lie about being tired and saved everyone around from having to hear about it. luna pulled in a quiet breath and put her eyes back on threads she was braiding. âi didnât believe it was that complicated to understand.â because it wasnât, but this world was something slower than what luna was used to in some ways. the latter words luna ignored because she wasnât going to continue being on the receiving end of the mood the girlâs tone.
âYou could have just said that I didnât look like I was fine or that you didnât believe me. Thereâs no need to speak in riddles,â Hermione replied trying not to get too snippy with her. The lack of sleep was starting to get to her.