Open RP - Hermione is unpopped

[curlybrain.livejournal.com]

There were things everyone in Hermione Granger's world knew for a fact. Everyone knew that Slytherins were racist Muggle-hating xenophobes, for example. Everyone knew, too, that You-Know-Who had been a cruel, sadistic torturer, and not, say, a poor, mistaken soul who really wanted to be loved. And Hogwarts... Well, it was a place of higher learning. It had its quirks, but ultimately, it was the sort of place she'd always wanted to go back to after seventh year, maybe to teach Charms or Arithmancy, because she was proud of its long and varied history.

In the Hogwarts of Hermione's experience, there was not a room full of giant popcorn kernels in glass cases. Nor was it appropriate for her to find herself in said room after a night poring over advanced arithmantic equations. Yet here she was.

Sighing, Hermione stood up and absently performed a scourgify spell, cleaning her robes of the residue of salt and grease that had accumulated.

The presence of so many giant popcorn kernels was actually quite ominous, if she thought about it, and so Hermione picked her way through the room to the door.

Once outside, she looked around, spying the familliar corridors of Hogwarts. She didn't know if this was some dream she was having, or if some spell had gone awry, but she reasoned it wouldn't be too hard to find McGonnagall or Flitwick or... Well, no, she wouldn't find Dumbledore here, she thought, feeling unaccountably empty at the thought.

But she didn't find either of them, and she found her steps moving toward Gryffindor. The portrait at the door of the common room eyed her askance as she approached.

"You're supposed to be in Ravenclaw," the image informed her.

"You're mistaken," said Hermione briskly. "And where's the Fat Lady?"

"Dunno," the portrait responded unhelpfully, and swung open to admit her into the common room, never again to have a part in this RP.

One glance at the common room, with its workout equipment had Hermione turning briskly around and heading back out into the hall. How could anyone study in that environment? She most definitely did not approve.

Still looking for a familliar face, she kept wandering. As she passed students in the hall, she became aware that none of them looked familliar. Most of them were older than they should have been, and in the case of one gentleman, who was wearing a suit and carrying a box of parchments, they didn't all look like wizards.

The real highlight, though, she had to admit, was the sight of a naked woman kneeling in a convenient alcove doing... Oh, sweet Merlin... Hermione wasn't going to think of the things the woman was doing to that poor house elf. Sure, there was S.P.E.W, and then there was... that.

"Everything's gone mad," Hermione stated to nobody in particular as she hurried in the opposite direction from the naked woman.

She pinched herself experimentally, but did not immediately wake up to discover she'd been dreaming.

With a sigh, Hermione found a wall to lean against outside the Great Hall. She folded her arms across her chest and frowned, looking for someone familliar who could explain what all this nonsense was about.

Comments

[soggynotecards.livejournal.com]

Demyx was wandering around the castle for lack of anything better to do and in the vague hope that he'd run into someone familiar. Instead he came across a bushy-haired girl a couple years younger than his own apparent appearance leaning against the wall outside the Great Hall and looking dejected.

He stopped. "Hey. Something wrong?"

[curlybrain.livejournal.com]

"I'm just fine," Hermione said through clenched teeth. "It's Hogwarts that's gone completely nutters." And that was saying something, considering that was an expression Ron was more likely to use than she.

[gourmetchairman.livejournal.com]

"Mad is an apt description. Yet many of us thrive on such madness." The Chairman had been coming back to Gryffindor, after sending a letter to an acquaintance.

[curlybrain.livejournal.com]

"And who are you, exactly?" Hermione demanded, a tad beligerently.

[omg-sunflora.livejournal.com]

"Who's mad?"

[curlybrain.livejournal.com]

Hermione stared down at the sunflower. "Shouldn't... Shouldn't you be back in the greenhouses?" she asked.

[ringo-raver.livejournal.com]

Ryuk didn't actually say anything, just leered at her while eating an apple.

[curlybrain.livejournal.com]

"What do you want?" Hermione snapped, fighting an urge to reach for her wand.

[fields-4ever.livejournal.com]

Fields was, rather unsuccessfully, looking for Gryffindor after her sorting. She'd found the Great Hall, at least. Truthfully, she'd found the Great Hall twice before, too. She always seemed to end up back there, no matter which way she went.

"I'm terribly sorry," she said to the girl, who also looked confused. Maybe birds of a feather should stick together? "Do you happen to know where Gryffindor is?"

[curlybrain.livejournal.com]

"Oh, yes," said Hermione with abject bitterness. "I know right where it is. Not that I'd recommend staying there since it smells like a bloody Quidditch locker room at the moment." She realized that she should try to be nicer, but found herself unable to care all that much. "Here, I'll walk there with you," she added in a kinder tone, the one she'd used on lost first-years. "The castle can be a bit difficult to get used to." And that was before it had gone 'round the bend.

[lemondrop-party.livejournal.com]

Undead former headmaster, I choose you!

Near the Gryffindor common room, Dumbledore spied a familiar frizzy mop.

"Miss Granger!"

[curlybrain.livejournal.com]

Hermione whirled around at her name and found herself wondering, for the second time, if she should get out her wand. Thankfully, her better nature prevailed and she stared at Dumbledore incredulously.

"Professor... How can you be here? You're supposed to be..." But she couldn't get out the last word without her voice shaking in a betraying sort of way.

[hannibal-sefton.livejournal.com]

Hannibal was strolling, cheerfully lost after a trip to the library, a long thick Ravenclaw scarf proudly wrapped around his neck and crossed over his chest. He was hoping optimistically for the hall or the kitchens and a nice evening snack.

A young student he didn't recognise. "Good evening, miss, how do you do? Hannibal Sefton, at your sevice." He doffed his hat politely with a small bow. She was wearing a student's robes, as he had long ago when he had been at school. It was refreshing to see here, and he was kindly disposed and a little curious.

[curlybrain.livejournal.com]

Hermione managed some semblance of a respectful nod. "I'm fine, sir," she said. "I'm Hermione Granger. Are you a new professor?"

[dungbombsrule.livejournal.com]

Ron Weasley had entered adulthood somewhere between Nelson County and Ulsan (the early 20th century naval battle, not the city. He had never actually been to the city, having had such a bad experience with the battle. He would have been fine, he decided, if it hadn't been so naval).

His stoic endurance of the puppet (http://community.livejournal.com/hogwarts_hocus/442447.html#cutid1) grafted to his left hand could have been a mark of maturity, but he went from that to hiding from Primavera's stuffed giraffe (http://community.livejournal.com/hogwarts_hocus/555113.html#cutid1). So it was an up-down, up-down transition. Ron was fairly certain, however, that he was certainly adult now. For instance, he had a job, which wasn't true of even most of the other adults here. He also was now referred to as 'Mister Weasley' fairly frequently, and not only by professors. And while he still lived in the school of his youth, the house, friends, and troubles he faced in it no longer remained with him.

So while he did not pile vegetables (outside of taters) next to his beef, gravy, and Yorkshire pudding, he still felt himself a grown-up. Which was well ahead of many nineteen-year-olds.

The redhead had taken to eating his less formal meals on the student tables, as he was less likely to run into some of the madder professors that way. Therefore with his Slytherin colours and taller build disguised, the figure crouching over his plate while eating with such wolfish delight did not seem too different from who he once was.

He didn't notice a certain girl hanging out near the Great Hall's entrance.

[curlybrain.livejournal.com]

Hermione might not have recognized Ron either, if it hadn't been for the trademark Weasley hair. The Slytherin robes were all wrong, for instance. And he was even taller than she remembered.

S's pang. Her studies had kept her busy, too busy to write to Harry or Ron. And now, here she was, and even if it was likely the man walking briskly past her wasn't Ron, she so wanted a familliar face, and she was willing to make a fool of herself in the process of figuring out if she was right.

"Ron!" she called, raising a hand and waving vigorously to further catch his attention.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

Since Kurama had unwisely not grabbed clothes suitable for winter on his ill-fated London adventure with Mello, (http://community.livejournal.com/hogwarts_hocus/1647535.html) he was dressed instead in the Very Official-Looking Slytherin robes that had been provided him when he usurped the Herbology Professor title. He was headed to the Great Hall now to finally put up the sign-up sheet for the class he'd taken far too long preparing for.

He noticed Hermione outside the Hall and decided that the signing-up could wait another few minutes.
"Having a bit of bad luck?" he inquired.

[curlybrain.livejournal.com]

"You could say that," Hermione said dryly. "I... used to be here before Hogwarts went strange." At least Kurama looked like someone who more or less belonged at the school.

[righteous-pen.livejournal.com]

"Can I help you?"

The young woman looked rather lost. Mikami assumed she'd unpopped recently, because he was sure he'd seen the name 'Hermione Granger' on the popcorn plaque.

[curlybrain.livejournal.com]

Hermione looked up at Mikami. He had nice hair, she thought absently.

"I'm not lost," she said. "I know exactly where I am. But this place isn't... how it's supposed to be." At least this bloke looked like a relatively normal person.

[big-wee-hag.livejournal.com]

Hurrying along from the library with her arm full of books to study in order to make up for her absence visiting Roland over the summer (the fact that hardly anyone else here seemed to study was no reason for her not to!), Tiffany forgot that she really had meant to hem her Ravenclaw robes until she caught her foot in them and went crashing down near the entrance to the Great Hall - right in front of an annoyed-looking girl who looked about 5 or 6 years older than her, who wound up with Tiffany's books scattered around her.

"Oh!" Tiffany scrambled to her feet, snatching her witches hat and jamming it back on her head. "Oh, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean that. None of the books hit you, did they?"

[curlybrain.livejournal.com]

Here was someone else who looked like she actually belonged at Hogwarts. For what it was worth, Hermione approved.

She bent and began to help gather the books. "Oh, it's all right,' she said kindly, handing them back. "That sort of thing used to happen to me all the time. I'm Hermione. I used to be a prefect here."

[elegantsamurai.livejournal.com]

Yukimura was exploring the castle. It was a bit cold for him to really want to go outside, though he probably would find a warmer kimono soon and go out to practice. He was too restless to really be trapped inside all winter.

"Is something wrong?" he asked of the girl, who somehow seemed familiar, but not quite. "You look as gloomy as the sky outside," he said, leaning on the wall next to her.

((OOC: sorry so late, was moving...))

[curlybrain.livejournal.com]

Hermione managed just barely not to stare at Yukimura. His gender definitely struck her as ambiguous.


"It's Hogwarts," she said. "It's apparently changed since last I was here. Most of the students here seem to be *adults!*"
((OOC: No worries. I was taking finals and I'm still recovering.))

[edomedpeddler.livejournal.com]

"It seems to be the way of things, that they are mad here," Kusuriyuri said solemnly as he overheard the girl's remark on his way to his office to study. A or Kurama would know his comment for teasing.

[curlybrain.livejournal.com]

"Well, it shouldn't be," Hermione said darkly. "Hogwarts, at least, should make sense, or it fails as an educational institution."