Night Changes

Chapter 1

The fact that spending her nights in the Forbidden Forest was preferable to her day job was a testament to just how terrible her day job was.

Working in the Department of Magical Creatures was just as tedious as expected, but much less rewarding. Rarely were her ideas considered, hell, it was a miracle if they were even passed.

Yet she kept pushing along. At first, she chalked it up to lack of seniority, but as she climbed the ranks of the department, she realized that wasn't true at all. The system in itself was corrupt. It allowed for stagnancy and lack of change.

Frustrations pilling up, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

In tribute to Remus Lupin, she decided to work on improving the Wolfsbane potion. As one of the last times they talked, they discussed its efficacy. As he stressed to reiterate his gratitude for the current product, he did manage to express certain faults with potion: occasional loss of self, wolffish influence on said self, etc.

Being more than proficient in potions but exceptional at Arithmancy, she first used calculations to aid in her potions making. After weeks of careful deducting, she came to the possible conclusion that a lengthier, yet more potent version of the potion required the gathering, preparing, and brewing of the potion to all be done on full moons.

She set to work right away, taking a month and half of unused vacation time and sick leave to focus solely on the potion. She was currently on day number three of that time- which happened to be a full moon. As she had been planning for a while, she already knew where to go and how to collect them.

Luckily some ingredients just sat at the edge of the forest, easy to spot and collect. Others were more elusive and required a deeper trek and more tedious collecting ritual. No wonder this potion was so expensive.

The journey was so bad. She hadn't brought much- well, she hadn't carried much- she brought her beaded bag which carried her food, shelter, tools, and other miscellaneous items (some as old as when she had first used the bag during the war). So there was no real physical stress, she also enjoyed the view. Some would say it looked ominous, Hermione would say it looked hauntingly beautiful.

At the moment, she had her beaded bag hanging from wrist and her wand which was still casting a light Lumos between her teeth as she measured the amount of Aconite she could put in a jar. Satisfied with the amount, she put the full jar back in her beaded bag, held her wand and went on searching for the next ingredient.

She blew a stray curl from her face, this bun will just not hold.

She should've taken up Angelina's offer of giving her a protective style, but frankly, Hermione did not have 6 hours to waste not working. Though, in retrospect, she did kind of need it. She was working herself to the bone...

Even now on her vacation time, she was working. She sighed. Potion first, work on your obsessive habits later.

As she walked, she made a mental map of where she needed to stop and turn to go back, but as she kept walking, the Forbidden Forest lost its usual vegetation and almost started looking like... a different forest?

When she noticed the moon had suddenly vanished from its previous spot, she made the decision to turn around and head back. Though, the more she walked, the less she recognized. For once- just once, can something go as planned?

At last, she spotted something different, blue toned lights coming from the distance. Hagrid perhaps, come to help me?

The thought only reassured her safety so she confidently strode out, Lumos in full blaze, when she realized- these people were not Hagrid.