I'm only following the instructions of someone who understood time better than I ever did.
You needed to go back.
Remus had sent her back because she already had been back. If Remus and
Dumbledore were right, and time was a loop, then sometime in his past, Remus had met
Hermione and discovered her secret about the Time-Turner. She must have told him how
she had arrived in 1971. Remus had likely been torn over his orders—this mission—and
Hermione figured out that it must have been her who begged him long ago to make sure
she was eventually sent back.
But why? If not to end the war early, if not to destroy Voldemort before he grew
into power, if not to save so many lives... then what?
Live your life. Enjoy your life.Was that the reason? Was Remus somehow giving her a second chance at life? Was
this her reward for all her efforts in the war? A normal childhood with a chance to grow up
in the Wizarding world without being knocked aside due to prejudice? She had been gone
less than a full day, and somehow she already had been gifted with a family and a brother
and a chance to experience Hogwarts without the need to fight trolls, three-headed dogs,
basilisks, Death Eaters, and Voldemort.
Dumbledore told her that Remus's letter was her guide now—her new rules to abide
by. As much as it pained her to agree with him, she did. She was good at following rules.
Especially when Harry and Ron were not there to convince her otherwise.
Thinking of them hurt. Thinking of everyone back home in 1998 hurt. But hurting
was against her new rules.
Live your life. Enjoy your life.
Hermione sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out. She could do this. She would
use the letter as her guide. She would live her life as instructed by Remus and Dumbledore.
She would try to enjoy her life. But Hermione Granger's life came with baggage. Baggage
that she could not carry here in 1971. So she would do the only thing she could do.
Her attention was drawn to a mirror that hung on the wall, and she examined her
reflection with a nod of acceptance. She would leave the baggage with Hermione Granger
and start fresh—as Mia Potter.