(A/N): Ooh, this is a quick update for me! And such a response to the first chapter, oh my! I really hope that this chapter lives up to your expectations, but there is a lot of scene setting taking place and I haven't yet finished with the setting of the scenes, so you have that to either look forward to, or dread completely. Your choice haha. Anyway, I hope you catch who I mention in this chapter that is in the Harry Potter books and films, though I've taken scant information and twisted it to suit me. I love everyone that has followed, favourited, and especially reviewed. It's an amazing feeling to know your work is so appreciated, and I can't change, or emphasise, or disregard, anything unless I know what you guys think, so please, keep those reviews coming! As always, I own nothing you recognise, and I hope to have the next chapter with you as soon as I write it. So read on and enjoy!

Bonds of Time

Chapter 2

Stardust Institution, or rather, The Stardust Institution for the Gifted, was a remote country home set nestled into the heart of Derbyshire, in the north of England. It had been styled by its former owner, who had wanted his own version of some of the stately homes in the area, Chatsworth and Lyme being just two of those houses he took inspiration form. The owner had left it to the local government upon his death, who had turned it into a hospital during the second world war, before it was then utilised as a school for the average child. Thanks to the owner's desire of building his own stately home, the country house looked like a smaller version of Chatsworth, with the middle section of beige stonework slightly protruding in comparison to either side of it, high arches over the ground floor windows, false columns etched into the walls with finesse. Another high archway was present where the door should have been, placed in the centre of the property. At least an acre of land surrounded the elaborate property, with only a sign at the beginning of the winding driveway an indication of the function the house held.

Harry and Hermione read the simple sign as Lex turned into the driveway, storing the scant information the board provided. As with any school, state or otherwise, the sign must proclaim the full school title, and the name of the current headteacher, which Hermione had noted as being one Dr Simon Clearwater. "Excuse me, Miss, but I thought you said this was an institution," Hermione piped up from the backseat of the beat up cortina Lex was driving.

"Hermione, you can call me Lex. And I did tell you that, yes." Lex glanced in the rearview mirror, glad she'd fitted the older model of car with seatbelts in both the front and back, making the children wear them despite the law only proclaiming that she had to. She didn't want anything bad to happen to her newest charges. She'd only ever had one charge before, who had recently returned to their home and their parents, meaning that she had no children personally under her care. Well, not until they'd gotten the call about two children in the same school, the first occurrence they'd ever heard of in that category. Usually they were handed lone cases of 'abnormalities', so two together was not just rare, but unheard of before. As Lex had been the only member of staff without a charge, she'd put herself forward to be guardian of both of them. It was a maximum of three children to a staff member, to try and keep communication and wellbeing as a top priority.

"Then why does that sign look like a school one?" Hermione asked, jabbing her thumb at the sign they'd passed.

"Well, we wouldn't be doing much good if we didn't teach you anything now, would we? To answer your question fully, this is technically a boarding school to the outside world, a very exclusive boarding school for the elite and genius. Only ourselves, your parents, and the government know that it's an institution for you and your 'abnormalities', though we do prefer to consider those same 'abnormalities' as gifts, hence why it's an Institution for the Gifted. Does that help you any?"

Hermione nodded, lapsing back into silence as the car made its way down the worn path, the edges lined with the occasional tree, though they were sparse and did nothing to block the view of the institution. Those trees petered out as the car trundled up towards the front of the house and the garage in a separate building to the right of the main one. Lex parked up right outside the middle archway, killing the engine and unbuckling her seatbelt to turn and smile at the two apprehensive children. She had personally been to visit the pair's respective parents/guardians before she'd met them, and had felt for both of them. Harry's aunt and uncle had wanted nothing more than to be rid of the young boy, whilst denying their own child had a history of brutally bullying their nephew. They'd signed over guardianship to Lex without a moment of hesitation, claiming that she could 'keep that freak for as long as possible', saying that they would never want to see him back either. Hermione's parents hadn't seemed surprised when informed of what their little girl had done, and in a rather resigned tone had told her that though they loved their daughter, they didn't understand her, even before she started doing things they couldn't explain, those events having started at the tender age of two for the child, making books and toys fly around her room at her whim. They too had signed over guardianship to Lex, though they did hesitate, asking if they could have their daughter back if they could sort out the things they couldn't understand and make it go away. Personally, Lex disliked that more, that the girl's parents wanted the 'problem' to 'go away', rather than seeing that it was part of what made their daughter so special. However, in contrast to Harry's aunt and uncle, Lex felt that Hermione's parents could be worked with to eventually accept Hermione exactly as she was. It had to be a bit of a shock for some people, after all. "Okay guys," Lex forced her tone to sound cheerful and light, "Here's Stardust. Through that archway is the main courtyard where we'll meet one of the founders, and then I'll show you two to where you'll be sleeping and playing and everything like that, alright?"

Both Harry and Hermione nodded and slid out of the car, Harry closing the door quietly after they'd vacated the vehicle, standing near the boot as Lex produced two small identical black duffel bags and her briefcase. She checked the labels on the bags before handing one to each of the five year olds. "I placed your things in these bags. We've found it's easier if everyone has the same kind of bag to cart their things around in." When she'd received two more nods of understanding, she led them through the large stone archway to a large courtyard with corridors surrounding it on three sides, propped up with columns at regular intervals. The fourth side had three wide steps leading to a set of double doors with half made of wooden panels, with the other panels made of glass, allowing one to look into the top half of the arched doors. On the middle step stood a tall man in his late thirties with short dark hair and thick rimmed glasses, wearing navy blue suit pants and a white shirt with a baby blue tie, smart black shoes on his feet. As he spotted the trio walking into the courtyard, he stepped down to meet them in the middle. They stopped steps apart from each other, Lex stepping to the side of the children as they reached for each other, gripping hands in an attempt at comfort for both of them. The imposing man made sure to offer them a reassuring smile, though it didn't do much to calm them down. Neither he nor Lex were surprised by the lack of reaction. It wasn't a new experience for either of them.

"Hello there. You two must be Harry and Hermione. I'm Dr Simon Clearwater. My name is down as Headteacher, and I'm one of the founders of the Stardust Institution. You two go ahead and call me Simon though." Simon motioned to his right, the children's left. "This wing is reserved for classrooms and visiting rooms. Behind you is the research rooms and store rooms, which includes the infirmary." He pointed to his left, their right. "This is the sleeping area, play area, and other general activity. Behind me is the main foyer and office, and the kitchens and dining rooms. We all eat together, unless you're in the infirmary for whatever reason.

"We have eleven students here, including you two, all of different ages, including my daughter, Penelope, who's nine. There's David, who's ten, my Penny, twins called Freya and Fred, they're also nine, Ellie, she's eight, as is Thomas, Jeremy is seven, Mya and Verity are six. You two are our youngest at five. We did have another charge, who was ten years old, Sarah, but she went home just yesterday, just in time to celebrate her eleventh birthday with her parents this weekend.

"Now, it's the beginning of August, and classes won't start up again until September. We're actually not sure why your school hadn't broken up for the summer yet, as all other schools did so last week, but that's a subject for another time. Before I hand you back over to Lex, I'll just give you a run down of the adults here.

"You have Lex, who'll be your guardian here, legally and otherwise. There's me, Dr Wyatt and Dr Francis who all founded this Institution, and we lead the research team into your 'abnormalities'. We have four full-time teachers, but you won't see them until September, as we always give them the whole summer off. Mrs Creevey is the head cook here, though she lives five minutes up the road with her family, and Dr Jeffrey is the nurse for our whole project here, and she lives in a room off the infirmary. I'm sure you have many questions, and I am more than happy to answer them once you're settled in. Lex, if you would be so kind as to show them to their rooms?"

"Of course, Simon." Lex led them up the steps and into the foyer. It had three office desks for different enquiries, but Lex led them past and up a grand staircase, leading them to the left once they'd reached the top onto a long corridor that was sparsely decorated. Whilst the outside displayed an ancient grandeur to the two children, the inside felt more akin to a school or a more modern, if spartan, home. Three doors down the corridor, Lex stopped and opened it to reveal a smaller corridor with five doors. "This one at the end is mine," Lex pointed straight ahead, "so this can be your room, Harry," she gestured to the room closest to the outer door on the right, "and this one can be yours, Hermione," she motioned to the door closest to the outer door on the left. "Now, the doors beside the ones to your rooms are your own bathrooms. With there not being many children here, and no more than three to any one adult, you usually get your own room and bathroom, close to your adult, as you would if you were at home with a parent, if that makes sense. It's not conventional, but it seems to have the most effect."

Lex directed them both to their rooms, assuring them that she'd be in her own room waiting on them before leaving them to it.

…

Harry took a deep breath and let himself into his room, mentally preparing himself for something resembling his room at the Dursleys', the cupboard under the stairs. He wasn't even used to everyone calling him Harry. He'd only known that he was called Harry and not Boy, for just under a week, and for some reason, he couldn't quite get used to it just yet. Opening his eyes, not realising he'd shut them in the first place, he gasped in surprise. Surely, the nice lady had gotten it wrong. This room was at least ten times the size of his cupboard, with a large (to him) bed, with a duvet instead of a threadbare blanket, and fluffy looking pillows, along with a wardrobe as well as a set of drawers, a small desk accompanied by a wooden chair, and a small bookshelf. The walls were white, and the carpet was a grey-ish colour, but everything was clean and clearly cared for, and Harry was convinced that Lex couldn't possibly have meant this room for him.

Slowly, he backed out of the room, but kept going even once he'd left the room, so much so that he actually walked backwards into Hermione's room, the occupant of which was sat quietly upon her bed, just content with watching everything around her. Her startled gasp at Harry's strange entrance saw the boy turn around in surprise, his eyes cataloguing the room Lex had pointed out for Hermione.

It looked fairly like his own room, though the floor was a faded purple, rather than grey, and part of her desk contained a mirror and a draw underneath the mirror, as part desk-part dresser. The beds in both rooms were the same, as was everything else, including the small bookshelf and wardrobe. Harry's brain went into overdrive. If they thought that he and Hermione were the same in terms of freakishness, then it would make sense that they had the same kind of room. Hermione didn't seem surprised by her room, so the room he'd been in first of all must actually be his room.

"Are you okay?"

Harry pulled out of his thoughts at the repeat of the first words she'd ever spoken to him. "Yes, I think so. The room Lex pointed out for me is just like yours." He shrugged, but Hermione jumped off the bed, leaving her bag atop it as she made her way to him and fixed him with a knowing look.

"Can I see it?"

"Sure." Harry led the way back over the hallway and into his own room, where Hermione looked around with the same sense of wonder she'd regarded her own room with. It wasn't that she didn't have her own room at the house she shared with her parents. It was more that she'd gotten so much from people that didn't have to do anything for her. She loved her parents, but her sharp mind and eyes had caught more than one occasion where her parents had felt obligated to do things for her, or with her, and she'd catalogued each and every one of those moments. They had seemed to happen more and more when she'd been doing things they couldn't explain, and that had upset her, because she couldn't help it, those things just happened to her. To her young mind, it felt like they were rejecting her, not just the things she could do that were beyond the explanations of modern science to the dentists. She jumped slightly as Harry slipped his hand into hers and squeezed it gently. "You felt sad," Harry offered by way of explanation, "and this felt right to make you feel better."

Hermione nodded. That made sense. She'd felt Harry's confusion over the rooms, and somehow just known that her looking over his room and assuring him it was meant to be like that would help him. It wasn't something she could explain, but it felt right. Apparently, that went both ways. "Thank you, Harry."

"Her-h- Miony?" Harry shrugged. "I can't say your name right."

"It's Her-Mi-Ow-Nee." Hermione pronounced slowly for him. After a few tries, Harry finally got his tongue around the big word, though it took a bit of concentration on his part, and gentle guiding from the girl in question. "Can we go ask Lex some questions now?"

Harry shrugged his agreement and the pair left Harry's room to knock on the door Lex had indicated as her own. The blonde woman opened the door after a couple of moments and gestured them in with a smile. Inside was a small sitting area adjoining a smaller kitchenette. The two children sat on a small loveseat as Lex sat in the armchair. "How did you like your rooms? They can be decorated somewhat, but not right now."

"They're nice." Hermione answered for both of them. "Do we have a ufinorm? Uniform?" She corrected herself, motioning between herself and Harry, who were still wearing the St James' uniforms from earlier. Even some words still tripped her up, though they were few and far between. Lex nodded, getting up and moving over to a counter, picking up the items there and returning to them.

"Yes. These are worn every weekday, and on weekends you can wear whatever you want. I got these from our spare supplies before I came to pick you up." She handed them over to Harry and Hermione.

Harry lifted his up to find a white polo shirt with a small purple shooting star over the left breast and grey school trousers. Plain black trainer-like school shoes completed the look. Hermione held hers up for the same inspection. She had the same polo shirt as Harry, but she had a grey pinafore dress with a purple shooting star on the left breast as well, with trainer-like school shoes for her as well, though they came further down her foot than Harry's, with a strap covering the ankle so the shoes couldn't fall off her feet. They both had white socks; Hermione's were knee length whilst Harry's were ankle length. They were more informal than St James' uniform had been a navy blue school logo jumper with a white shirt and navy blue tie striped with yellow, black pants for Harry with a black skirt for Hermione, and even the hint of trainers would have the child in question sent straight back home with their parents to change.

They thanked Lex for the clothes and settle them on their laps. They had a couple more questions about the place, that Lex answered for them, before it was time to head down to the dinner hall for tea time. Lex smiled and led them through the large building with ease, something both children doubted they'd ever manage to do, holding hands the entire way. They didn't know what was coming, but somehow, they were certain that as long as they were together, they'd get through anything.