"So you had a basilisk crawling around the castle and petrifying Muggle-born pupils too?" the displaced girl asked eagerly.
Two pairs of bewildered eyes stared back at her.
"What sort of madhouse is your school?" Richard gaped at the displaced girl in a decidedly unaristocratic fashion. "Our Hogwarts is hardly a picnic, but listening to you, I'm beginning to think ours isn't so bad after all."
"But you had a basilisk too!" the Granger from the parallel world said, now sounding rather uncertain.
"A basilisk?" the original Hermione asked.
"You did see it..." the second Hermione ventured, even less confidently.
"A gigantic snake as long as a couple of Hogwarts Express carriages?" Granger One continued. "With a head the size of a small car? And a body as thick around as a hundred-year-old oak?"
"Yes, yes!" The displaced girl nodded eagerly.
"Never heard of it!" the local Granger continued, then took obvious pleasure in admiring her double's lengthening face.
"Er..." Hermione Two looked around in confusion. "What else is different here?"
Richard raised his right eyebrow and said dryly:
"How should we know? Miss Granger, I rather think you're the one in a better position to tell us."
The displaced girl thoughtfully placed an index finger against her lips.
"Come to think of it," she began slowly, "I did find it strange that Professor Lupin and Professor Hagrid weren't at lunch."
"WHAT?!" Hermione One stared at her double with enormous eyes. "Hagrid is a professor in your world?! That stupid gamekeeper?"
"He's not stupid!" Hermione Two exclaimed indignantly.
"Miss Granger." Richard looked at the displaced girl. "We have neither of the professors you've just named. Lupin... You mean Remus Lupin?"
"Yes." She nodded. "You know him?"
"Miss, I don't know how matters stand in your world, but I'm afraid I must disappoint you—in our world, Mr Lupin is a werewolf, and therefore has no place teaching at a school. I recently employed Mr Lupin myself, on the recommendation of one of my managers."
The Granger from the other world frowned.
"A werewolf?" she drawled.
"Yes, miss." Richard gave a nod.
The original Hermione was bursting with curiosity. Unable to contain herself any longer, she turned to her double.
"What does Hagrid teach in your world?"
"Care of Magical Creatures," the displaced girl replied. "Wait! But if Hagrid isn't a professor, who teaches Care of Magical Creatures here?"
"Professor Kettleburn," the original Granger replied.
"Actually," Grosvenor cut in, taking over the explanation, "Professor Kettleburn submitted his resignation to the Headmaster last year. The old man wanted to take his well-earned retirement. The Ministry of Magic proposed a candidate to Dumbledore—Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, a specialist in magical creatures with many years of experience. But Headmaster Dumbledore dug his heels in. He didn't like the idea of having to appoint a Ministry creature to the post. So he persuaded Professor Kettleburn to stay on for another year while he looked for a replacement. Personally, I think it was a very ugly thing to do. Refusing to let an elderly disabled man retire simply because of his dislike of the Ministry of Magic... A dreadful thing to do!"
"Headmaster Dumbledore is a great wizard!" Hermione from the other world exclaimed indignantly.
"Why are you shouting, you idiot?" the original Hermione asked, looking at her double with dislike.
"Miss Granger," Richard said, looking at the displaced girl as though she were mentally unwell, "are you quite all right? You really are reacting rather excessively to a simple discussion."
The raised voices brought Poppy Pomfrey out of the back room and into the hospital wing.
"Out!"
The healer had seemingly spoken quietly, yet her tone sent shivers down their spines. Richard and Hermione's double had no choice but to leave the hospital wing.
The displaced Granger looked offended, though it wasn't entirely clear by what. She strode quickly along in silence, her lips pressed into a thin line, as though trying to leave Grosvenor behind. Richard had no intention of chasing after the girl, but until they reached the staircase, they had no choice but to go the same way.
***
As usual, the owls delivered the pupils' post during breakfast. Darth Vader brought Richard a shrunken parcel. Grosvenor hurriedly finished his breakfast and made his way over to the Gryffindor table. After greeting his acquaintances, he turned his attention to the Hermione from the parallel world, who was keeping her head down and making herself as inconspicuous as possible.
"Good morning, Miss Granger. Could I have a moment of your time?"
"Yes, Mr Grosvenor." Hermione put down her cutlery.
Harry Potter asked in surprise:
"Richie, have you and Hermione had a row?"
"No, Harry." Richard shook his head. "Hermione and I are perfectly fine. This lady, however, who appeared as the result of a magical mishap, is someone I barely know."
Silence descended over the Gryffindor table. The pupils' gazes converged on the shrinking Granger.
Harry turned a bewildered look on the girl with the bushy brown hair.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Hasn't Miss Granger told you?" Grosvenor asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No," the displaced girl replied sadly. "I'm sorry, Harry, but I'm not the Hermione you know."
Ron Weasley couldn't contain himself.
"Are you having us on?"
It was the blonde Lavender Brown, one of Hogwarts' most dedicated gossips, who answered him:
"What, you haven't heard? Parvati told me in confidence, and Padma told her. Apparently, this Hermione isn't the real one. She flew here from another world in a broken time machine."
Granger had no desire to sit there listening to gossip about herself. She hurriedly sprang up from the table under the stunned gazes of the Gryffindor pupils.
"Mr Grosvenor, I'm ready," she blurted out in one breath.
Richard and the Hermione from the other world walked away from the lions' table, while behind them an animated discussion about the new Granger was already under way, along with theories about where the real one had disappeared to.
In a secluded alcove, Richie enlarged the suitcase and handbag with a wave of his wand, then handed them to the girl.
"Everything you'll need while living at the castle is in there. I've also put in twenty Galleons and a hundred pounds for pocket money."
Hermione clutched the suitcase and handbag in a death grip. Her cheeks flushed with shame.
"You shouldn't have," she muttered.
"We'll be visiting Hogsmeade this autumn. Miss Granger, you shouldn't have to feel embarrassed about money. Buy whatever else you need. And the pounds will come in useful in the ordinary world. After all, you aren't going to live at Hogwarts for ever."
"Er..." Hermione was at a loss. Her pride rebelled against accepting handouts, but she understood that she had found herself in a difficult situation and couldn't manage without help. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Miss Granger. We have some time before lessons, so answer one question for me: would you like to return to your own world?"
(End of Chapter)
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