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Every person had their own weaknesses and strengths. That wasn't much of a realisation to be honest, but it’s sometimes important to remind oneself about the simple facts. Something Hermione Granger always tried to do. Still, as every other human being she had a weakness - a very typical Gryffindor weakness - and her friends knew it.
“Scared, Potter?” Was the safest way to get Harry to do something stupid - besides people in need of being saved, but that was a whole other can of worms.
“Your brothers all did it and you will never be as good as them, that’s why you shouldn’t even try.” Was the easiest way to get Ron doing something he wouldn’t do otherwise.
The same sentence worked with Ginny, but a shorter way was usually. “You’re just a girl.”
They all had this one sentence that pushed their normal boundaries, including Hermione. And that was why she could be found sitting crossed-legged on the floor of the twins’ room at Grimmauld Place, a stolen bottle of firewhisky in one hand, awaiting Fred's dare.
“If you were as smart as everyone said, then nothing could go wrong, could it?” Simple words that seemed like they had gotten to her once more. And as much as she knew that her friends were pressing her buttons, as much as she would curse herself for it later, she just couldn’t resist the challenge. The boys wanted to play? Let them try!
“I dare you... to hit on the most attractive person in the house.”
Fred’s voice forced her out of her musings. She noticed the redhead smirking at her like the cat that got the cream. What was he expecting? That she was going to hit on one of her best friends? Did he think they would be miffed if she didn’t hit on them? Or was he expecting her to choose him or George? Honestly, all these options were ridiculous. She was sixteen - nearly seventeen - years old and had eyes in her head. There was only one option that was worth the effort in this house.
Fred’s face, when she got up without a word and walked to the door, was by itself worth the purchase of a pensive and she decided she had to put one on her birthday wishlist. Not that it would be anywhere near affordable for any of her friends. But telling Fred why it was on there sounded like a fun thing to do. Following an impulse, she turned around as she reached the door and tossed the bottle still in her hand over to Ginny, with a glance at Fred: “Don’t wait up for me, I’m going to make the best out of this.” She gave Ginny a wink and turned to leave four gobsmacked boys and a knowingly smiling girl behind.
There was only one way to go now, and that was up - up to the master bedroom. Sirius had fascinated her from the moment they had met. Sure, for the first hour or so, it was the fascination of the mouse in front of a snake, but it was fascination nevertheless. And the more she learned, the further she had been intrigued. This handsome, haunted man, who had endured so much - because the wizarding world was a prejudiced bunch of idiots - resonated with her on a level that no one else ever did. So why not give it a chance? She was old enough, and this excuse was as good as any other.
Deep in her own thoughts she hadn't noticed that someone was sitting on the window seat she just passed, so she nearly lost her footage when she ran into an invisible barrier while trying to climb the next flight of stairs.
“Sorry sunshine, but I can’t let you go up there.”
The weirdly familiar and yet unfamiliar voice next to her didn’t help Hermione to calm her racing heart.
“You -? Who -? What?” Her mind was spinning and her tongue seemed incapable of keeping up.
“Merlin, I thought I was more eloquent than this.”
With that, the mysterious woman stepped out of the shadows and Hermione was reminded of the Carnival mirrors she had loved so much as a child. This woman looked exactly like her - only a few things were off. Her curves were a bit more pronounced, her hair a bit tamer and her laugh lines seemed to be edged just that much deeper into her skin.
“What the hell?” At least words hadn’t deserted her completely. But that was still a far cry from her usual eloquence.
“Let’s make this short.” The woman interrupted her train of thought once more. “We both know that you want to go up these stairs and throw yourself at Sirius. And don’t get me wrong, I still appreciate that idea, but it’s horrible timing. I should know. No, he won't send you packing, mind you. But girl, you are sixteen still. The guilt will not work in your favour. All you will get is a little fling, a broken heart, and standards no one will ever live up to. And yes, I’m sure about it because I tried!”
Hermione stared at this woman. At a loss for words, she just gulped, took a deep breath, and waited for her to go on.
“You know, there is a need to do some stupid stuff in life, to learn from it. But you have to be careful to make the right stupid mistakes so that they won’t haunt you later. This, sadly, would be something of the latter category. So as I said, I can’t let you go up there. It’s in our best interest. And concerning your little dare: Third door on the right is Charlie's room. No one would question that decision and he is so occupied with his dragons, he won’t worry all that much.”
“But, -”
“No buts, and I know how your brain works, you are trying to figure out what sort of figment I am of your imagination or some thing like that, so to prove I am you: Our favourite book as a child was Lord of the Rings, even though we told everyone it was Sofie’s World. The stuffed groundhog our aunt gifted us had evil eyes, oh, and we told the Hat not to send us into Ravenclaw because we wanted to be one of the cool kids. Which, in hindsight, turned out okay, but was honestly the most stupid reason to want to be a Gryffindor. Not very logical of us. So yes, I’m you.
“This barrier will keep you out of the upper floor until you make the right decision and it is our own invention. Quite amazing, isn’t it?”
~*~
Finishing her monologue, Hermione winked at her younger self and stepped back through the shadows of time, climbing the exact same steps she had just prevented herself to climb eleven years prior. Chuckling to herself while revisiting their encounter, she bumped her foot against a step and stumbled. Looking down, she saw a new, faded dolphin tattoo plastered over her left ankle. Well, that was a stupid mistake she was more than okay with. Reaching the top of the forbidden stairs, she smiled.
This time, it would be more than just a fling.