This is only my second story and came to me mid sentence as I was focusing on something else (does that happen to everyone or just me?). I wanted to experiment with a time travel story with Hermione, but not as an intentional move or as fate/a higher power sending her back but a freak accident.

Anything you recognise I do not own and I am not making any money by publishing my writing. Please let me know what you think.

Hermione sighed audibly in the cavernous space that was the Department of Mysteries. The small sound she made was echoed back at her ten-fold making her start from her thoughts.

Today is not a good day to be Hermione Granger, she decided.

The day had started well, she had awoken feeling well rested and refreshed. She had prepared for work and was eating breakfast when the post owl delivered her paper.

WONDERFUL WEASLEY WEDDING screamed the headline. Just great, thought Hermione, another reminder that Ron is an immature prat! While Hermione had known her and Ron's relationship would not work long term he had not. When they had their eighteenth row in one month Hermione had suggested they take a break and spend some time apart. He, in all his tactless wonder, had been seen with Daphne Greengrass not three days later. Hermione was glad in a way as it meant she didn't have to tell him she was happier without him, but she did wish he'd been more sensitive about the whole situation. Frustrated that work was eluding her Hermione removed her bun and retied her hair. It was still as unmanageable as it had been in school, Harry told her it was characterful. She told him he was crazy.

"Granger!" Came a loud shout.

"Mr Winn"

"I need assistance in the time room, there's something wrong with the time turners and you are the best arithmancer and rune reader we have" Mr Winn the Department Head disembodied voice echoed around the room.

"Of course sir, I'll be right there" she replied immediately.

"NOW Granger – this is an emergency!"

Hermione ran from the room she was in and through the spinning entrance way into the time room. She bypassed security so she wouldn't have to stop and check out a protection cuff.

"What's the matter?"

"We don't know yet Granger," Winn barked at her, "the cabinet started shaking, then the bird in the dome stopped being reborn. All we know is it's big"

"OK, I need to check the stabilising runes in the cabinet base. Higgs, Jenson, you two check the wards. Whatever this is we don't want the whole place down on us." Hermione snapped into command mode and the others jumped to follow her orders.

"Granger, we need to stop this as quickly as we can" Hermione rolled her eyes, some days she wasn't sure how Winn had ever made department head.

"I am fully aware sir, now if you'll let me…" she let the end of the sentence hang between them.

"Right well, get on with it then," Winn blustered at her.

While they were conferring the cabinet gave one last, huge shudder and then was still.

"The problem seems to have passed sir. However, I still want to check those stabilising runes."

"Go ahead Granger, better safe than sorry."

Hermione approached the cabinet. She was confident nothing further would happen, but then you could never be too careful in the magical world. As she opened the panel at the base of the cabinet that covered and protected the runes horror spread over her features. The runes were in smoking ruins. She glanced at Winn and saw her own terror reflected in his features. As she went to back away she felt the room start to shake again.

"Granger MOVE!" Winn bellowed.

His warning came too late as the cabinet exploded, violently flinging the occupants across the room.

Winn was the first to recover consciousness. He checked the others for injuries and helped them to their feet.

"Jenson, where is Granger?"

"I'm not sure sir, sorry" replied Jenson who was a wards expert.

"Sir," Higgs, their resident jack of all trades, piped up, "she came in so fast she didn't put on a cuff"

"What?! That girl! I'll…"

"It is partly you fault sir, you requested her immediate presence and the cuffs take nearly five minutes to check out after that one went missing six years ago. Granger probably thought the risk was minimal"
"Minimal, we are dealing with time!" Winn lost some of his righteous anger. "We'll need to deal with this internally. We can't bring her back as we don't know when she landed and if we did there's no telling what change she caused just by arriving."

"What do we do then sir?"

"We alter the records and create her a story so if she does appear she can at least live her life. I won't leave one of our own stranded and helpless"

"I know sir"

When Hermione woke she felt like death warmed over. Her head ponded and her mouth felt fuzzy. She sat up and regretted it instantly as the room spun. Groaning she propped herself in the pillows on the bed. Maybe she'd gotten drunk last night because of the wedding. No that didn't feel right.

Then what in seven hells happened to me? She thought.

At that moment the door to the room opened and a witch walked in with a tray.

"Here you are dear, breakfast and a headache potion as requested last night." The witch started bustling around the room straightening the already immaculate space.

"I'm sorry to trouble you," Hermione started timidly, "but what did I say last night. I'm so woozy I can't seem to remember" While she was woozy, the pain was starting to fade but Hermione did not want to say something to contradict her story from the night before.

"You came in from the Muggle side, said you'd had a near miss with a car. I checked you didn't need St Mungos then Tom and I brought you up here. You asked for breakfast and a headache potion to be delivered in the morning."

"The last thing I remember is….well it's…actually I'm not sure what it is" Hermione frowned her usually perfect memory was failing her now when she needed it most?

"This will help clear your head. Drink it all."

"Thank you…."

"Anne dear, Anne Wood of the Leaky Cauldron. My husband Tom and I run the place."

Huh, thought Hermione, I never knew Tom was married, I suppose she stayed hidden during the war.

"I thought I recognised the place. Have you redecorated Mrs Wood?"

"No dear, not for years, we keep meaning to though."

"I don't suppose you have a paper I could borrow do you?"

"Here you go, just arrived five minutes ago."

Hermione looked down expecting to see a picture of Ron and Daphne splashed across the front page, or at least a mention of them. Instead she saw the dark mark hanging over a muggle building, evil seemed to ooze around the snake and skull motif. Hermione glanced at the date and promptly fainted.

It read 5th May 1978.