Not Our World (Harry Potter Fanfic)

Luck of Ilk

"Why was I expecting anything different?"

Hermione wondered to herself, thinking over her interaction with Ron and Harry as she washed her hands in the bathroom. She looked up at herself in the mirror, noting how she looked like her mother with brown hair and brown eyes, the exception being how her brown-haired curled as her mother's hair was straight as a pin.

"I guess I get that from my dad, but that would explain why he always knew what to do with my hair growing up. But I guess I was expecting things to be different because one of them, I thought, had to be Seeker-ofthe-Future. Nor did I approach them the same way I did when we first met."

Neither of them was likely Seeker-ofthe-Future, although there was an off chance Harry might be avoiding standing out in any manner, as Harry had never liked standing out as the Boy-Who-Lived. And yet, as Hermione thought that, she held significant doubts regarding the person in their year she'd been speaking to being Harry, given how he noted never using computers unless video game systems counted.

"At least I know it's not Neville," Hermione thought to herself, remembering how Neville used his real name for the name he used on the forums. "That said, it's nice knowing Neville's still Neville."

She found herself concluding that Harry must still be Harry and Ron must still be Ron. Yet, it was Ron who, during their first year, snarked about her not having any friends because of her know-it-all attitude, only for her to become friends with Harry and Ron because of the incident with the troll, an event which didn't seem likely to happen this year.

"Unless, of course, Regulus Black decides to let a troll into the dungeons for some strange reason," Hermione thought to herself. "And Hagrid's not going to be vindicated our second year. There's absolutely no reason for me to become close to him this time around if I don't become friends with Harry. I've no connections to the Weasley family without Ron. But then, Harry's with his parents, Sirius doesn't have to escape Azkaban. There's just so much to take in—so many unknowns.

Hermione dried her hands before running them down her robes to straighten them out. She felt small at that moment, at odds with her adult self that should have been bringing back her parents' memories and apologizing for taking such an action in the first place, only for her to now be wondering where one of those parents happened to be, what so happened to them because of all of the changes—no differences between the two timelines.

"If I'm not careful, this world will drive me insane," Hermione thought. "But then, I never thought I'd have to recreate the connections I created in the other world somehow, and I don't know how to do that, given I know some of the circumstances that made it so we can be friends won't happen in this world. I mean, I love that Harry can grow up knowing his parents, but the cost in this world—I feel like I'm the one paying the cost."

Hermione let out a sigh before heading out of the small bathroom. Outside was someone waiting rather impatiently to use the bathroom. Yet, out of the corner of her eye, Hermione recognized the girl to be Pansy Parkinson, future Slytherin and not somebody she wanted to cross before even the first day. Yet, she didn't remember ever running into her while on the train in the back of her mind as she traveled to Hogwarts for the first time.

"About time. I will be you're one of those filthy Mudbloods," Pansy said. "Not knowing proper etiquette and all."

Hermione turned to walk away, hearing what Pansy called her stinging.

"Are you going to ignore me?" Pansy said.

Hermione froze, then turned to look at her, cursing her luck in this world. "First dad, then Crookshanks. Can't make friends with Harry or Ron, and now Parkinson wants to ruin my day further?" She again brushed her hands down her robes, not saying anything, which made Pansy flinch, eying her. "I thought you needed to use the loo?"