the_debt_of_time

"Professor Dumbledore."
Mia gawked at her former self and shook her head incredulously. "Merlin, maybe
Ron was right all along. You are a bit of a nightmare."
"Letting Ronald control our sense of self-worth again?" Hermione rolled her eyes
and pursed her lips, her Gryffindor student uniform suddenly shifting to floaty dress robes
made of a soft periwinkle-blue material. Her hair was no longer bushy but pulled back into
a sleek and shiny knot at the back of her head. "I'd thought we'd gotten over that long
ago."
"Are we a we?" Mia asked, purposely ignoring the memories of the Yule Ball and
the ensuing fight with Ron over Viktor Krum as they crept up from her subconscious.
"Are we even the same person anymore? We don't even have the same name."
"Not entirely," Hermione replied. "But, then again, the 'Hermione Granger' I am is
certainly not the 'Hermione Granger' I was at eleven. Progression and growth are natural.
Although, repeating our teen years has thrown a bit of a loop in our overall development."
Mia narrowed her eyes, on the lookout for an insult. "And what's that supposed to
mean?"
"That going through hormonal upheavals twice probably wasn't the best plan,"
Hermione said. "Although I do have to admit, you're handling it quite a bit better than I
did. There appears to be a lot less weeping during our second bout of puberty."
Mia smirked, remembering so many nights crying in the dorm rooms, in the owlery,
in the library, and plenty of dark corridors. Crying over Ron being mean to her. Crying
over her worry for Harry. Crying over Draco calling her names.
"It helps having friends who don't constantly make you cry," she admitted.
"And yet, you're going to lose them," Hermione pointed out.
Mia growled and stood up, storming across the room. "That's exactly what I'm
trying not to do!"
Hermione turned to watch Mia's pacing. "It won't work, you know. The rules say
that―"
"I know the bloody rules!" Mia snapped.
"Language!" Hermione scowled.
"Oh, fuck you." Mia groaned and ran her hand down her face in frustration.