InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "To infinity - and beyond!"

Hermione Granger (studious_gryff) wrote in snapthread,
@ 2019-08-23 10:42:00

Entry tags:

carol danvers (mcu), hermione granger

WHO: Hermione Granger & OTA
WHAT: Hermione arrives in Starklandia!
WHERE: Around town centre.
WHEN: Early afternoon.
RATING: Low.

Hermione had exhausted all magical options she knew of. Of course, apparition had been her first go to. And just as she expected, the world started to warp and spin as it always did, but a second later she appeared - after getting her bearings - still within the boundaries of ..wherever it was she’d arrived. She’d tried again, and the picture of a particularly street corner in London was so clear in her mind, it couldn’t go awry. Her apparition never went awry.

Yet again. And the third time, she didn’t arrive in London. She remained here, wherever here was. With a heavy sigh, she thought through what to do next. She followed the Four-Point spell as far as it would take her - which wasn’t so far at all there was a forest but it only took her so far. Part of her early training within the Ministry had included using one’s Patronus as a messenger - a way of ensuring the speed, delivery, and authenticity of the message. Unfortunately the wispy, blue otter merely gambolled about her until it faded, as if there was nowhere else for it to go.

But she hadn’t apparated here by accident, nor had she touched a Portkey, so how was it possible? She’d stepped out of a cafe, and now she was here. She’d arrived what was easily established as the town square and before her there was a table, with what she’d found after she’d inspected it, was a communication type device, more advanced than what she owned back home, certainly, but there were similarities.

When she finally admitted defeat, for the time being, Hermione returned to the town and took a seat in the town square, turning her attention to the phone.

(Post a new comment)

cpt_marvel
2019-08-23 01:59 am UTC (link)

New faces were always a thing around Starklandia, so Carol wasn't at all surprised to see some poor girl sitting on a bench in the middle of town as she came back from rounding up flamingos by the water (Goose had taken to trying to hunt them instead of porgs, and she figured she was responsible for keeping them safe until she figured out a better place for them). Carrying the infamous flerken in her arms, he seemed content enough to come along until Carol stopped and smiled at the new kid, offering what she hoped was a friendly smile as she approached.

"Hey," she started and immediately realized they had another young one. The poor woman looked lost and maybe a little scared. Carol set Goose down, who immediately walked over to rub between Hermione's legs, purring. Carol wouldn't warn her about the cat just yet. It was obvious he was just trying to comfort her.

"You're new. Did you just get here?" She was tempted to check her phone. She hadn't noticed any new messages on the network lately, but maybe she missed it.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

studious_gryff
2019-08-26 03:22 pm UTC (link)

It'd been over a year now since the war had passed, and life had settled such that it only grew easier to feel the world around them was more stable, that they didn't have to look over their shoulder, wherever they went. When Hermione returned to Hogwarts to take her final year, it was the most uneventful she'd ever had, and she'd gotten her N.E.W.Ts

That combined with her approach, made it a little easier to prevent Hermione from drawing her wand on the first person that approached her. The fact this stranger had a cat in her arms helped, just a bit. It brought the girl to smile, at least.

"I did, actually-” Hermione hesitated, with a measured tone as her smile faded. Experience had taught her caution. But the woman before seemed reassuring, friendly even and given nothing she’d tried thus far had gotten her any closer to finding any answers, talking to the first person who she’d come across. All in all the other woman's manner was enough to make her feel a little more comfortable.

“Only I don't-” Hermione clearly felt some amount of incredulity saying it, reluctant. “I have no idea how I've arrived here." Hermione's expression had an appeal of sorts, brows furrowed as she seemed somewhere between confused, and exasperated; aware it sounded completely insane. But, it happened to be all she had to offer the woman.

Dire as all these things were, there was one thing she couldn't resist; she'd noticed the cat winding about her legs, and despite her utter confusion, and slight fear of the circumstances, she crouched slowly, offering a hand for the cat to sniff.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

cpt_marvel
2019-08-27 12:51 am UTC (link)

Yes, it was clear Goose liked Hermione. He had a thing for girls in distress. Or maybe blonds. Carol hadn't quite put her finger on it, but she shook her head and almost warned the girl about the tentacles. But she looked distraught enough, so it was probably best to save that for later.

"Right. It's a little disorienting at first," Carol studied the kid and realized she wasn't much older than Miles. "Mind if I ask how old you are?" It wasn't judgemental, but it helped to know. They'd been seeing a lot of younger ones come and go lately.

"I'm Carol, by the way. Danvers." She stepped closer and held out a hand to the girl with a soft smile.. "That's Goose."

After shaking the girl's hand, she let out a sigh and started to explain. "I'm going to take a guess and say you found yourself here suddenly with no idea how you got here or where you are, right? Well...welcome to Starklandia. The story's the same for all of us. I can help you get settled, though. Answer your questions the best I can."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

studious_gryff
2019-08-27 03:22 am UTC (link)

“You’re a handsome fellow- aren’t you.” Yes, cats certainly had a way of distracting anyone who had a fondness for them. Didn’t they? His coat was almost the same colour as Crookshanks’ too, which only helped endear Hermione to him almost immediately.

But, it was the woman in front of her Hermione needed to focus on and finding out what had only just happened to her, she stood again. And still, though she still kept a measure of wariness, Hermione felt she wasn’t divulging anything she oughtn’t. “Twenty-” To someone who’d more recently left their teens, yet worked in the company of older mentors, Hermione felt both young, and rather a lot older than the students she’d left behind in June.

“Carol, nice to meet you.” Feeling more at ease by the minute. “You too Goose.” She warmly told the cat, toward her feet. She’d lied about her name before, she’d made efforts to conceal her personality. She didn’t feel the need at this point. “Hermione Granger.”

She nodded rather emphatically. No idea how she got here, and no clue how to return home. She wasn’t even certain she could mention magic. “The same- everyone? And you’ve really no idea.” How could an entire town be comprised of ...whatever it was that’d happened to her. Perhaps Carol had made a mistake, opening up the questioning, Hermione didn’t deal with confusion particularly well. “How many people are there here?”

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

cpt_marvel
2019-08-27 03:54 am UTC (link)

Twenty. Better than 16, at least. Or 12. Not that the girl looked 12, but Carol was pretty sure that the town's population in teenagers had doubled over the last few weeks. "Hermione. Interesting name." Carol wasn't sure where she'd heard it before, but she figured it wasn't the point.

Not like it was any stranger than some of the others around here.

"We're....working on it." That was the best Carol could over, knowing it wasn't much at all. "We have some pretty brilliant minds trying to figure it out, but so far they haven't gotten much to go on. Something about this possibly being a pocket universe or dimension." Carol seemed casual about it. "Before you ask, you can't just walk out of here or even fly out....the town just brings you back here... Most of us have sort of..settled in..."

She figured that was the best way to explain it.

"It depends. At least a few dozen..." Carol wished she could give her a real number. "People come and go- we don't know why that happens, either. Sometimes people might be here a few weeks... A lot of us for months." Carol could see the poor girl was thinking.

"Need a drink? C'mon." She was going to lead her toward Pancho's either way. Might as well. Then she stopped and grabbed a phone off the nearby table, handing it to Hermione. "Before you forget it, this is yours."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

studious_gryff
2019-08-27 02:44 pm UTC (link)

“That’s-” There wasn’t a word for it particularly, but for once Hermione couldn’t find it, she let out a long breath instead, which she thought was adequate enough at articulating her current state of being. Worst still, it was all delivered in such a relaxed state, that Hermione assumed that’s how it must be, for anyone here, or for anyone who’d been stuck here for long enough. “I can’t imagine how you must feel.” Trapped, in short - the apprehension in her tone suggesting she was all too soon to find out, as the newest resident.

Knowing the very same thing that had just happened to every other person here wasn’t nearly as reassuring as it ..could be? For some. If anything it gave grounds to Hermione’s fears that, as impossible as it all seemed to be, it was likely permanent, and had been accepted. All she could do was ..try to learn what she could at this point, perhaps aid those finding a solution; but that did little to reassure her either.

The woman suggested they drink, and whilst she wasn’t exactly sure if she meant as Hermione assumed, something alcoholic her first inclination was to accept. “Thanks-” She said a little quietly, accepting the phone. “I’d appreciate that.” In truth she rarely drank, and never in excess. Though it had been more available to her recently, though Ministry gatherings, events. Hermione reasoned the more she was likely to learn, if she and Carol took on a relaxed conversation, and she was smart enough to keep her wits about her. "Did you say ..Starklandia?" she queried as they walked on.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

cpt_marvel
2019-08-28 03:37 am UTC (link)

Carol could read the girl's body language pretty easily. As calm as she tried to appear, it was obvious she was agitated at the news. Carol couldn't blame her. It was obvious she was trying to process everything that had just been told to her, and Carol didn't mind giving the young woman the space or time she needed. But she also didn't seem like the sort that wanted to be alone just yet.

"I did," the older woman shrugged. "I didn't name it."

She led Hermione to a place just a few buildings down, who's storefront faced the town square they'd been standing in. The large Pancho's sign had recently been repainted by Miles so it stood out a little, a strange sort of cactus graffiti painting above it. Opening the door to the dim bar, she stepped in first and nodded for Hermione to have a seat at the counter.

Wordlessly, Carol went around to the other end, pulling out two glasses and grabbing a bottle of brown liquid. She poured a shot for the girl and a larger glass for herself, leaning on her elbows and taking a drink before setting it down and asking.

"So....where to start? You're going to need a place here to settle in. Most things you need can be found through the doors- I'll explain those, but just know we have to scavenge for anything we have here. But um, most of us get by with help from each other. Seems to make the situation more livable."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

studious_gryff
2019-08-28 01:41 pm UTC (link)

Hermione followed, taking in her surroundings best as she could, landmarks and such - it had the makings of suburbia, but smaller, perhaps. She felt it important to at least tuck some of that information away - as resigned to her fate, thus far as the woman had sounded, she wasn’t so sure she was yet willing to just accept it. She had no idea of who was here exactly; for all she knew she might be the only magic user- not that magic had provided her with any help thus far.

Lead to what seemed a sort of homey establishment - not quite like a pub; she admired the sign a moment. It definitely had the air of something one might encounter in the United States - which had reminded her to ask a little more about Carol, as she sat down. Hermione sat in silence as she watched the drinks being served and whilst the amount she had in comparison to Carol was meagre, it wasn’t exactly what she had pictured either - the last shot she’d taken was at an event Ron had organised for Harry’s birthday - and a late sort of celebration for herself, Ginny and Luna finishing their education - well whatever it’d been for Hermione had thrown back Firewhisky, and still ended up with a better picture of the entire evening than most.

She contemplated sipping at the shot, but gave in and swallowed it down - managing to suppress a cough or two, but her eyes might’ve watered a little.

Scavenge. She could pick up rapidly enough what that meant - more or less, and she'd had to resort to it. "It’s just as well. Most people do tend to look to help one another in these situations." Certainly there'd been untrustworthy people, and those aligned with Voldemort, but they had found adults willing to help them, and those on their side banding together against the adversity of the war. “The doors lead to places you can scavange- but that’s it?” Indeed, Carol had promised to explain, but well - there was a lot to know. "They can't take you home." An assessment. Otherwise, well - Hermione would likely have found herself alone, wouldn't she? "I'm starting to think arriving here by no logical means possible, is the least puzzling aspect of this place?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

cpt_marvel
2019-08-28 09:47 pm UTC (link)

Carol was paying close attention to the girl's body language all the while, noticing the little things. Like how she gripped the glassware, and how her shoulders were set. Carol was better at people watching than she sometimes let on. It game with dealing with so many different species. Sometimes communication wasn't exactly universal, but a lot of the time it was. Certain muscles tensed. Eyes usually spoke volumes.

Then the girl took the shot and Carol smirked and poured her another.

"You don't have to go fast, you know. Water?" She didn't really wait for an answer, reaching to the mini-fridge under the bar and grabbing a bottle, setting it down in front of Hermione.

"They haven't led to anywhere that the people here know or recognize- well, they lead to places we might know, but either in the wrong time or in a different universe. We went to Las Vegas last week," she actually smirked at the memory, taking another long drink and trying to push past the shit that had come from that trip. Fuck.

"But it wasn't a Vegas any of us from Earth knew....little differences, ya know? You are from Earth, aren't you?" She took in the girl's clothes and her accent, then cocked her head to the side.

"You wouldn't happen to be a magic user?"

Most of the wizards they had so far were British and dressed in a similar matter. Carol had a hunch...

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

studious_gryff
2019-08-29 01:34 pm UTC (link)

She finally let herself give a small cough or two, and looked highly appreciative of the water as it was offered without waiting for her to answer, the girl taking a decent drink from the bottle. “Thank you.” She said somewhat sheepishly. The newly poured shot sat untouched for the time being - it might stay that way for a little longer than the last. Carol seemed relaxed, as far as Hermione could tell, a strange middle ground between encouraging and, well she seemed to care, simply put. Like she still knew very well how disorienting the entire experience was, but Hermione imagined it was hard to forget.

The heat of whatever the brown alcohol was, still left a faint burn. Not quite as bad as Firewhisky, as the name suggested.

“Bizarre-” Hermione breathed, her brows furrowing - that look of confusion having near been glued to her expression since she’d arrived. There wasn’t room for much else, was here? In turn Hermione was making her own observations of the woman who had greeted her; Vegas, perhaps had been an experience, but she couldn’t quite tell if it was good or bad. “So what they say about Las Vegas isn’t just a terrible cliche after all?” Hermione queried, finally a smile or sorts starting to surface.

But it didn’t linger, it wasn’t fear or upset though, just a momentary consideration, once again if there was any need to be more cautious about what she said, or did. As genuine, and even relaxing as Carol’s company was. “-Yes.” She answered after only a brief pause. “Why do you ask?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

cpt_marvel
2019-08-30 12:42 am UTC (link)

Carol laughed. "I wish....I think I lived up to most of the cliche's while I was there." That was why there were flamingos running around here. Probably best to leave that out for now. And the part about getting married. And definitely the part about Sonny and Cher.

"We were attacked by aliens." She said it so matter-of-factly, taking a drink and shrugging. "Another day around here, though."

Magic. Right. Carol was getting good at spotting them. "Accent. Clothes. The boys dress a lot like you do." She wondered if Hermione would know them. What were the odds? Well, a lot of Avengers seemed to end up here, so maybe it wasn't so far fetched?

"James, Remus, and Sirius? Oh, and Bill something- starts with a W, I think.. Any of those names ring a bell?" Carol was leaning on her elbow, slightly forward on the bar as she watched Hermione.

"A lot of people who end up here end up somehow knowing other people. We can't figure out how it works, though. Or why we're coming together like this."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

studious_gryff
2019-08-30 02:37 pm UTC (link)

“They exist for a reason, I suppose.” She mused, with a small smile, cliches were generally built upon some amount of truth. The majority of travelling she’d done had always been with her parents, but she wasn’t entirely certain she could’ve kept up with a location like Las Vegas, even in the wizarding world, it had a reputation. “Attacked?” Hermione only repeated it, because Carol had, indeed passed over it, and even voiced it was just another day. “So- it’s not always entirely safe here?” It wasn’t quite fear in her voice, she’d lived through a state of constant alert, having to keep on moving - more it was simply one more thing she needed to understand about Starklandia.

But, she moved on, still choosing to drink from the water she’d been given. Perhaps she was working her way up to another shot?

When Carol and mentioned she’d encountered other magic users and they all bore unmistakable similarities to Hermione’s accent and dress; that was a decent observation, really - though her eyes widened to the list of names, all of which were very familiar to her.

“Bill Weasley. Yes- I’ve met all of them.” Her surprise was visible as she gawked a moment or two. “What a strange coincidence-” And for a moment, there was a slight fear in the pit of her stomach as to what James, Sirius and Remus ..all happened to unfortunately have in common, but Bill was the exception- and she supposed if this had something to do with the afterlife, surely might’ve been figured out by now. “I ..can’t believe they’re here- how-” But she didn’t really want to go too far as to why.

She nodded a little, the connection was currently a mystery. Right. That made sense? “I couldn’t think of any particular correlation, not off the top of my head. It wasn’t as if myself or any of the wizards you just mentioned were recently in the same vicinity- It’s been a while since I’ve seen ..any of them.” Particularly the ones who had died. "I was actually going to ask you about your accent-" Hermione added, as if to turn the focus, purposely. "Are there many here from your home?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

cpt_marvel
2019-08-31 01:57 am UTC (link)

"Oh, no. Here is safe," Carol indicated the bar. "Starklandia- this place. It's safe enough here so far. Except for a pretty wild heatwave we had. And the flu." She refilled her glass. "The flu wasn't so good for a lot of us, but nobody died. It's through the doors things get a little stranger."

Danvers wasn't really sure how else to explain it, especially to someone as new as Hermione. But she also could tell the girl was intelligent and probably going to ask questions, so it was best to explain everything.

So she did know them. That was interesting, especially given how her reaction changed. She was tempted to ask about how hse knew the boys but realized it was probably better to leave that question unsaid for now. Instead, she leaned once more on her elbows. "Time doesn't mean a lot here... Some of us come from the same universe from different times..."

Case in point, Carol's universe. "You mean America or my universe?" She grinned. "There are some...I think. It's hard for me to tell. I wasn't on Earth for 20 years before I wound up in this place, but some of residents say they knew me from my future- well, their past. Other people here knew another version of me- and some people here are duplicates from multiple universes. Did I mention it was complicated?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

studious_gryff
2019-09-01 02:29 pm UTC (link)

It was a relief at least to know that things here were safer, or at least something a community was more adept at dealing with together and without likely causalities, non-lethal viruses and heat.

“Interesting- absurd or not, the fact it is a possibility makes some amount of sense-” Yes. That was a particularly strange sentence, wasn’t it? “Only, because you called, James, Sirius and Remus- boys.” She hadn’t been certain if that was merely an affectionate term, or it seemed not. “They’re in their mid thirties- or thereabouts where I’m from. Remus Lupin was a professor at my school.” She figured that wasn’t information that could cause any damage, it was something to be proud of, anyway - she already wondered how it would be to speak with them, know them when they were closer to her age. “So- they’re from a different time, than I am.” Not technically her past, but the past?

“I’d never known real magic existed until I got my letter to Hogwarts-” She paused, thinking she ought to add. “A school for witchcraft and wizardry.” Knowing it existed wouldn’t do much for a Muggle, anyway. She was going somewhere with this- really she was, though maybe even one shot was starting to relax her a little. “I’d always thought that was always going to be the most impossible thing I’d ever see turn out to be reality.” It wasn’t the first time she’d let out a sort of sighing sort of laugh, propping on an elbow to look at the other women, genuinely curious “But- you’ve lived somewhere other than Earth?”

(Reply to this) (Parent)