Chapter Text
Sakura was frozen.
Things seemed to be happening too fast and too slow. Sasuke was frozen too, Naruto was going completely ballistic and oh– now he wasn’t. Now he’s curled up of the ground, his stomach steaming with a fresh seal, and the grass-nin was rushing towards Sasuke and–
Move. MOVE!
And she was running? It didn’t feel like running. One minute she was planted in one place and the next–
Her arm is pushing Sasuke. Not enough time. It’s all string saliva and four fleshy fangs and dislocated jaws and a pink gullet and then a single fang sinks into her arm.
First there’s pain.
Then there’s black.
#
Hermione should have known better.
No, screw that. This was all Draco’s fault…
But she still should have known better.
She heard the little crack when he retaliated from her punch, trying backhand her across the face. It had missed though, and somehow, the time turner had been damaged.
But there had been no time. They had needed to free Sirius, and it seemed to work fine! Really, the worst side effect was just a bit of nausea. And vertigo. And colors at the edge of her vision.
Okay, well, it worked fine, and she assumed it was from stress. She had been taking a double course load on top of saving a man for Merlin’s sake. And she had assumed—hoped—that the time turner was fine.
But apparently, the straw that broke the camel's back, the thing that jostled the time turner just enough, was when she had pulled it off to give to McGonagall, sick of the damned thing. Yes, that’s right. Hermione Granger was throwing in the towel. That kind of course load required a quantum impossibility for a reason, and she was only 14. She overestimated herself, sue her.
The last thing she remembered was her vision swirling, McGonagall looking horribly alarmed, and her knees hitting the stone floor.
#
Two girls drown in a river.
Except they don’t.
They claw their ways out.
They sit on the shore, panting. Look back at the river. They see only the void and a smear of color on the other side.
They look into the water and the person they see in their reflection is wrong.
#
Sakura gasped, trying her best to spit up water. Only to find herself dry, her lungs full of air.
She was on her hands and knees, someone patting her back. Blearily, she looked up.
The face of a stern looking woman, though it was marred with worry, stared back at her. Sakura scrambled back, not knowing who this person was. She glanced around frantically. This wasn’t the Forest of Death. This was a room. With lanterns. That had fire in them.
What?
“Ms. Granger!” The woman said, and Sakura’s brain felt like it melted a bit, because that wasn’t her language, but she was understanding it just fine. “Are you quite alright?”
“Wha– what?” Her head spun, her tongue felt funny, shaping words in a way she never even contemplated. “Where am I? What’s happening?”
The lines on the woman’s face became more severe. “We must go to Madam Pomfrey. Can you walk?”
Shakily, Sakura stood up. Another wave of vertigo hit her as she took in her surroundings.
She was taller.
She was taller.
“What’s going on?” Her voice was shaky.
“Do not panic, it was a little mishap with the time turner. You seem to be fine.”
“Time turner? Who– who are you?”
The woman paled. “Do not worry. Follow me.”
She rushed out of the room. Sakura, feeling a lot like a newborn deer on shaky legs, followed after the woman.
There were children in the hallways, children dressed in long robes and colored ties. They all glanced at her. Some smiled before it fell away to concern, others were just concerned. One boy with a swollen nose glared at her.
They arrived at some sort of corridor exit and Sakura could swear her stomach fully flipped when she saw staircases that were moving, flipping, everything.
The woman strode forwards confidently, but Sakura took a step back. The woman turned. Her face softened a bit. She held out a hand.
“It is alright, Ms. Granger. I will not let you fall. But we must make haste to the infirmary.”
Slowly, Sakura took the woman’s hand.
The woman gingerly led her down the weird staircases.
“Miss?” Sakura whispered, and she was now realizing her voice didn’t sound right either. Nothing was right here.
The woman frowned. “Professor, Ms. Granger.”
Professor. Sensei?
“R-right. Um… I don’t know who ‘Granger’ is.”
The woman stopped dead in her tracks. Inhaled sharply, exhaled.
“We really must get to the infirmary.”
#
They arrived at a sort of small, if outdated, clinic.
“Madam Pomfrey,” the woman barked. A woman dressed in red and white and some sort of head piece emerged from a little side office.
“Minerva?”
“I must speak with you. Ms. Granger, please sit down on one of the beds.”
Somewhat relieved, Sakura did so.
The two women spoke in hushed voices, and then the one named ‘Pomfrey’ strode up to her.
“I’m going to ask you some questions. Is that alright?”
“Was I in an accident? The last thing I remember–”
“Let’s not worry about that quite yet. What is your name?”
“Haru– Saku–” her brain seemed to short circuit. “Um. Sakura Haruno.”
The woman didn’t say anything, but she looked less than pleased. “Age?”
“13.”
“Parents’ names?”
Sakura shook her head. “I don’t know you. I’m not telling you that.”
“Do you know where you are?”
“No.”
Pomfrey drew back. “I’m going to tell you something. I need you not to panic, alright?”
“Okay…”
“This isn’t your body. This body is being possessed by you.”