Edelgard found herself staring intently into the page, struggling somewhat with the implications. Her mind, as ever, was racing with possibilities and ideas for the future.

The Future Empress of Fodlan had been working night and day as of late. She was somewhat exhausted, very much so in fact, but refused to give in to sleep. There were plans to be made, training to be done, and enemies to kill.

Besides, she did not much fancy giving into her nightmares.

The Academy was dead silent this time of night. She had spent her evening sitting up and reading history books on Crests. She bit down the distaste in her throat as she perused them, trying to rationalize just how her ideal world was going to work. It was a lot to take in. She had more enemies than she possibly even fathom. Not just within the other two countries or the Church, but her own Empire as well.

It was overwhelming, but she did not let it intimidate her. She could not.

And so she decided to take a break. She closed the book to a snap and got to her feet. She wasted no time in crossing her room and into the outside. The cool winds of early winter hit her face, and she found herself enjoying the sensation somewhat.

It was dead quiet this time of night. She found herself walking in circles around the Monastery, staying just out of sight of the guards on duty. She had been doing this enough that it had become second habit. And, she thought to herself wryly, knowing the guard's patrol patterns would be very useful information for an invading army….

She stopped by the dock and stared out over the water, considering the current state of her plan. Success still seemed so far away, and yet deep down inside she felt extremely confident about what was to come. The Black Eagles were by far the most successful House of the Three at the Monastery. A large part of that was due to her own influence and leadership.

However another large part belonged to Professor Byleth. She felt her heart flutter a little bit as she thought of him. Ah, the students were hers to command, but he, the one who could likely be her greatest asset, was not.

But someday she WOULD be Empress. And then maybe he could see her as more than a student. Someone that he would be willing to fight and die for. If she could just persuade him, then maybe….

…

Hermione coughed violently as she waved her hand in front of her face. Snape sneered at her from across the room.

"Watch what you're doing, Weasley." He snarled. "And you, Granger… correct him, will you?"

He stomped off to harass poor Neville.

"Git." Ron snorted, as he raised the knife in front of him. "What did I do?"

"You put in just a tad bit too much blood." She hissed, as she turned away from him. "It shouldn't ruin it, just don't put any more in."

He nodded and turned away from her, already busying himself with his task. Hermione was growing increasingly frantic. If Snape kept this up, she may lose a whole point on her assignment. The thought horrified her.

"Ron, please don't-"

"Oooh needing to ask Weasley for help Granger?"

She ignored Malfoy, who was sitting behind her, and irritably took the liquid into her hand. "Okay, Ron." She said. "We need to pour this in simultaneously, we have a very small margin of error…!"

"I can't wait until I drop potions." Ron grumbled, as he did what he was told. Hermione nodded along, smiling, as their potion glowed a bright, shining white.

"Okay good job." She said. "Now we just need to-"

"Oops!"

She shrieked as something flew from behind them and landed neatly into the cauldron. She stared horrified at it for a moment before it started to hizz and sizzle. Ron yelled out in panic as he ducked under the table, but unfortunately Hermione did not react fast enough.

BOOM

…

Edelgard felt herself give a slight lurch. Before she knew it, she was falling headfirst into the water!

Her mind was almost a complete blank. She vaguely wondered to herself whether she was unconscious, or dead, but quickly realized that she should not be able to wonder these things if it were so.

She felt as if she floating through a void. She felt light and detached, unrestrained by gravity or the weight of her own body. It was a bizarre feeling. One that she struggled to describe to herself.

In a matter of moments, however, she could feel herself coming too. She felt weight in her body and arms, and she flickered her eyes open.

She knew immediately that something was wrong. Not just with her surroundings, but with the strands of hair falling across her face. They were a messy brown- completely unlike her own white.

"Miss Granger, are you able to stand?"

There were a number of people staring down at her. Edelgarde tried twitching her foot, and to her pleasant surprise it did move. But it felt different. Her entire body was-

"Miss Granger?"

She sat up, staring down at her hands. They were similar in size, but clearly not her own.

"answer me, Miss Granger."

She looked up to the man questioning her, her gaze hard and icy.

"I am not Miss Granger." She proclaimed. "I am Edelgard Von Hresvelg. And you may not speak to me that way."

The people around her stared as she slowly got to her feet, staring around at the room, taking in her surrounding. It was a dark, dank dungeon, but not one used for keeping prisoners. The small intimate setting seemed surrounded by all manner of unusual ingredients and smells. The desks too, and the way the younger people were arranged.

"A classroom?" Edelgard inquired, hand on her hip. "Where exactly-?"

The red haired boy who was closest to her was staring at her awestruck. She shook her head, trying to placate the shocked room.

"I am not your enemy." She said. "I have no idea what-"

"Miss Hresvelg." The greasy haired man said, stepping forward. "Perhaps you should come with me."

She could tell at a glance that she did not much care for this man.

"Identify yourself." She said firmly, standing her ground. "If you would."

"I am Professor Severus Snape." He said, staring at her calculatingly. "And you are in my classroom."

"Professor?" She repeated, bemused. She thought immediately of Byleth. "Very well then." She said. "Perhaps you could explain just how I ended up in Miss Granger's body."

"I know someone who may." Snape said. "Please follow me. Class dismissed."

He stepped past the desks and students to the door. Without a second word to the rest of the class Edelgard followed closely behind him. Before she stepped out of the door she stopped and turned around.

"My apologies." She said to the class. "I hope that I can return Miss Granger to you post haste."

She bowed formally and stepped out of the classroom to where Snape was waiting.

…

It was some time later that they found themselves standing outside the Headmaster's office. Snape knocked formally on the door and was bade to enter. Edelgard followed closely behind him.

She found herself intrigued by her surroundings. The fine looking instruments, the countless books, and the beautiful red bird staring down at her.

"Ah Professor…"

Edelgard looked up to find an old man standing on the balcony above them, staring down at them. She was not sure what to make of him at first glance. He seemed somewhat eccentric. Very much unlike her calm and collected Byleth.

"And Miss Granger." The man said, surprised, as he descended the stairs before them. "To what do I owe this pleasure…?"

He was looking at Snape, and Snape opened his mouth to answer, but Edelgard was quick to cut him off.

"Headmaster." She said formally. "I am not Miss Granger."

He gave a startled look at her, and she nodded sympathetically. "My name is Edelgard Von Hresvelg." She said. "I seem to have…. Ah, I'm not sure, exactly. But I seem to resemble Miss Granger rather than myself…"

She wondered how he would handle this situation. She expected him to be somewhat skeptical, but he seemed to readily accept her explanation.

"Very well, Miss Hresvelg." He said. "Do you have any idea what cause this?"

"I have no idea." She confessed. "I was standing just outside, next to the water, and then I was here."

She shuddered. "My body… could I have fallen in and drowned?" She seemed somewhat troubled by the thought.

"There's no need to jump to conclusions at this stage." Dumbledore said gently. "We still do not know what has happened to you, after all. And in fact we still know very little about you."

She nodded, brushing the hair out of her face. It really was somewhat unkempt, she thought distastefully. She imagined Hermione to be somewhat like Bernadetta.

"Yes." She said. "Well, it may amuse you to learn that I was studying at a school somewhat like this."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Well, we focus on Military Strategy and conquest." She amended. "Rather than what you do here." She cast a look at Snape. "Ah, what is this school for, exactly…?"

"Perhaps we should focus on your situation first, Miss Hresvelg." Snape said. Edelgard stared at him deeply.

"Do not dodge my questions." She said. "I have every right to know-"

"Please forgive him, Miss Hresvelg." Dumbledore said. "Our school has a very unusual policy. We are very exclusive and knowledge of our existence is not to shared with the outside world."

She turned to face him. "Oh?" She asked coyly. She was not stupid. She could see that he was trying to win her trust by letting her in on mild tidbits like that. She could see that he was somewhat of a manipulative personality. Whether that was for good or ill though, she could not say. "I hope I am not overstepping my bounds, merely being here then."

"No, no, your presence is an accident." Dumbledore said smoothly. "We have every intention of resolving your problem as quickly as possible." He looked upward at Snape. "Professor? Do you know what happened?"

He pursed his lips. "Miss Granger." He said. "Possibly made a large error in her potion making. The nature of the explosion seems to have caused her to switch minds with Miss Hresvelg."

"Switch minds?" Edelgard repeated, bemused. "How is that even possible?"

"I do not know." Snape told her. "And it will take an extraordinary amount of time and effort to resolve the situation."

Edelgard glared at him.

"I do not have an extraordinary amount of time." She said. "I must return to the Monastery, my House-"She stopped, and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "Forgive me." She said. "I am trying not to panic."

"Yes, I can understand your feelings." Dumbledore said. "I assure you that Professor Snape is an extraordinary Potions Master, and there is no one better to return you to your proper form:. We merely ask that you be patient as we try to resolve this issue."

She hated being reliant on anyone. She looked in between the two of them, her eyes narrowed, weighing her options. She understood that there was far more going on here than she was being told, but there was nothing more she could do than go along with their plan. For now.

"You have my greatest thanks." She said, bowing to them formally. "I only hope that Miss Granger is safe."

After all, it was her own body that was at risk.

….

Hermione felt the water surround her almost completely. She panicked, flailing about like a fish in the water.

No don't panic. It was only water.

Water entered her mouth and nostrils, but she could see that she was not far from the surface, and the water was calm. She kicked upwards, weighed down slightly by her shoes and clothes, and broke the surface of the water.

She gasped as she reached the surface, coughing and spluttering. Instinctively she made her way to the pier and clutched to it, trying to regain the sense in her body. She had been underwater for quite a long time. Longer than she had thought possible. She barely even registered the fact that she had no idea where she was. She certainly did not immediately notice that she was not herself.

As she became more oriented though, and began to think of how to get out of the water, she increasingly became aware of these things and felt her mind going somewhat wild. What had happened? Where was she?

And above all…. Who was she?

Hermione struggled to pull herself out of the water for several minutes. Her fingers and body were numb. She was barely treading water now.

"Someone…" She cried out. "Someone help…"