She was in the woods, and she was running. So if she was running, something was likely chasing her, since that was how she'd spent most of the previous year. But now the war was over, which left her wondering what was chasing her, and as she went to grab her wand out of her beaded handbag as a precautionary measure (another anomaly, as she wouldn't have kept her wand in her bag and really, what would she need a bag with a seemingly limitless Extension Charm for anyway, now that the war was over?), she glanced behind her.
Death Eaters in the distance. Lots and lots of Death Eaters.
Well. That certainly explained the bright flashes of green that seemed to be exploding everywhere. Now all that was left was for Hermione not to get herself struck by a Killing Curse so late in the game.
But wait. This was a dream. It had to be. And she couldn't die in a dream.
... but then, she also shouldn't feel cold damp snow soaking through her shoes and her jeans. Especially since it hadn't been snowing a moment ago.
And that was when she realized that she was "dreaming" about a completely unfamiliar spot of woodland, and somehow, it didn't feel as though she was dreaming anymore.
1.
Hermione had never seen bears up close before.
Oh, she'd certainly seen them in zoos, and they had seemed very nice - if a bit sad - when they were locked away from the general public. But she was fairly certain that brown bears were extinct in the U.K., and she'd been in no hurry to go out and find any other kinds of bears in the wild. She was, after all, the smart one of her group.
Granted, the smart one also happened to be an animal lover, and seeing what looked like a family of bears appear out of nowhere and traipsing about the woods was just a little distracting. Especially when one of the younger ones made eye contact with her before surprising her by approaching closer.
Bears weren't like cats. With cats, you stuck your hand out and let them sniff at it and at worst they might ignore you. With bears, sticking your hand out was an open invitation for them to try and take a bite. Hermione learned that the hard way. She also learned that Mama and Papa Bear don't much like it when witches shout, "Stupefy!" at their cub in self-defense. She also learned that the bright red Stupefying Charm apparently doesn't work on larger bears.
Hermione was learning many things today, and she was also doing a lot more running than she'd done since the war ended. She just never imagined it would be because of bears.
3.
She didn't know where she was, and she knew that the easiest way to fix that would be to ask a local. But there didn't seem to be many of those out in the wilderness. There were just wild animals (she'd learned to avoid the bears, thank you), which couldn't very well tell her how to get back to Hogwarts.
Or could they?
Hermione noticed the small group of ravens scrounging for food, pecking away at the snow. If not for all her time in the wizarding world, she would have missed the small letter attached to one of their legs. Well! It might not be an owl, but at least she could be fairly confident that there were other witches and wizards about!
She didn't want to intercept someone else's mail, but maybe if she could attract the attention of one of the other ravens, she could get a message off to the Headmistress or someone at the Burrow. Digging into her bag, she got out a package of trail mix, which should serve ravens much better than owls.
... perhaps it served a little too well, really, considering that she'd only been attempting to get one raven over to her, but it seemed that none among the flock of them had been having much luck finding food. So when the curly-haired girl stuck out a hand filled with seeds and raisins and berries, they all flooded the scene en masse, driving her back a few steps as she tried (with no success) to avoid beaks and claws.
"Ow! There's enough for all of you, just.... Wait your turn!"
5. - (Feel free to interact with her as you'd like!)
For some strange reason, Hermione Granger wasn't as much of an animal lover as she had once been. She was still picking raven feathers out of her hair and trying not to rub at a myriad of scratches, even if she'd managed to take care of the worst of her injuries with her wand. There had to be civilization somewhere, but she was either going around in circles or she was just tired and hungry after having thrown her trail mix at the conspiracy of ravens (what an appropriate collective noun) to keep them at bay.
At least she found a jar in her bag inside which she could cast a Bluebell Flame, keeping her warm for long stretches at a time. If anyone came by and saw a grumpy-looking witch sitting by a small blue fire, she would at least be less grumpy at the sight of sentient life and be willing to share the warmth as she fished for information.
Hermione Granger | Harry Potter
Death Eaters in the distance. Lots and lots of Death Eaters.
Well. That certainly explained the bright flashes of green that seemed to be exploding everywhere. Now all that was left was for Hermione not to get herself struck by a Killing Curse so late in the game.
But wait. This was a dream. It had to be. And she couldn't die in a dream.
... but then, she also shouldn't feel cold damp snow soaking through her shoes and her jeans. Especially since it hadn't been snowing a moment ago.
And that was when she realized that she was "dreaming" about a completely unfamiliar spot of woodland, and somehow, it didn't feel as though she was dreaming anymore.
1.
Hermione had never seen bears up close before.
Oh, she'd certainly seen them in zoos, and they had seemed very nice - if a bit sad - when they were locked away from the general public. But she was fairly certain that brown bears were extinct in the U.K., and she'd been in no hurry to go out and find any other kinds of bears in the wild. She was, after all, the smart one of her group.
Granted, the smart one also happened to be an animal lover, and seeing what looked like a family of bears appear out of nowhere and traipsing about the woods was just a little distracting. Especially when one of the younger ones made eye contact with her before surprising her by approaching closer.
Bears weren't like cats. With cats, you stuck your hand out and let them sniff at it and at worst they might ignore you. With bears, sticking your hand out was an open invitation for them to try and take a bite. Hermione learned that the hard way. She also learned that Mama and Papa Bear don't much like it when witches shout, "Stupefy!" at their cub in self-defense. She also learned that the bright red Stupefying Charm apparently doesn't work on larger bears.
Hermione was learning many things today, and she was also doing a lot more running than she'd done since the war ended. She just never imagined it would be because of bears.
3.
She didn't know where she was, and she knew that the easiest way to fix that would be to ask a local. But there didn't seem to be many of those out in the wilderness. There were just wild animals (she'd learned to avoid the bears, thank you), which couldn't very well tell her how to get back to Hogwarts.
Or could they?
Hermione noticed the small group of ravens scrounging for food, pecking away at the snow. If not for all her time in the wizarding world, she would have missed the small letter attached to one of their legs. Well! It might not be an owl, but at least she could be fairly confident that there were other witches and wizards about!
She didn't want to intercept someone else's mail, but maybe if she could attract the attention of one of the other ravens, she could get a message off to the Headmistress or someone at the Burrow. Digging into her bag, she got out a package of trail mix, which should serve ravens much better than owls.
... perhaps it served a little too well, really, considering that she'd only been attempting to get one raven over to her, but it seemed that none among the flock of them had been having much luck finding food. So when the curly-haired girl stuck out a hand filled with seeds and raisins and berries, they all flooded the scene en masse, driving her back a few steps as she tried (with no success) to avoid beaks and claws.
"Ow! There's enough for all of you, just.... Wait your turn!"
5. - (Feel free to interact with her as you'd like!)
For some strange reason, Hermione Granger wasn't as much of an animal lover as she had once been. She was still picking raven feathers out of her hair and trying not to rub at a myriad of scratches, even if she'd managed to take care of the worst of her injuries with her wand. There had to be civilization somewhere, but she was either going around in circles or she was just tired and hungry after having thrown her trail mix at the conspiracy of ravens (what an appropriate collective noun) to keep them at bay.
At least she found a jar in her bag inside which she could cast a Bluebell Flame, keeping her warm for long stretches at a time. If anyone came by and saw a grumpy-looking witch sitting by a small blue fire, she would at least be less grumpy at the sight of sentient life and be willing to share the warmth as she fished for information.