Chapter Seventeen
Young Miss Learns Fast
You don't know about my past, and
I don't have a future figured out.
And maybe this is going too fast.
And maybe it's not meant to last
(Taking Chances - Celine Dion)August 1st, 1971Hermione slowly made her way down the corridor leading toward the hospital wing.
It was so familiar and yet so different from all the many nights she had spent there. Nights
recovering from accidentally turning herself into a cat and then, shortly thereafter, the time
she spent after being petrified by the basilisk, or the days of recovery after the battle at the
Department of Mysteries. The last time she had seen the hospital wing of Hogwarts had
been directly after the end of the war when she had offered to assist Madam Pomfrey with
the seriously wounded.
As she walked through the door to the infirmary, Hermione was surprised to see it
empty and quiet. Just another reminder that she was, in fact, in 1971 and not 1998.
This was not home.
A younger-looking Madam Pomfrey approached, and the soft eyes of the mediwitch
made Hermione smile. "Hello, dear. How may I help you?"
It had been jarring to see a living Professor Dumbledore, but this familiar face made
her feel closer to her actual life. "Umm. The headmaster asked me to give you these," she
said, holding out the rolled parchment in one hand and the bottle of De-Ageing Potion in
the other.
Madam Pomfrey took the letter first, mulling the words over for a bit before eyeing
the potion curiously, her brow raised. Eventually, she lifted her gaze once again to
Hermione. "And have you decided what you want to do?"
"I... I'm not sure," Hermione admitted sadly, letting out a quiet sob as she covered
her face with her hands. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do."