A/N: I don't own HP. If I had, Remus wouldn't have died.

Chapter One: Where?

The last thing one wants to regain consciousness to is pain and for Hermione, there was a lot of it. It seemed to strangle her, crushing her lungs and her throat. She let out a pained gasp for air which caused something on the edge of the bed she was laying on to jump up. She froze, fearing that whoever had been sitting next to her was a death eater and that if she opened her eyes she'd see Bellatrix still grinning like the lunatic she was. She tried to ignore the fear that began to build in her stomach and lungs, but it was suffocating her worse than the pain.

'Okay, Hermione, calm down and think this through…' she thought to herself. She forced herself to block out the pain and to remember what she had seen before passing out. Surely whatever she had seen before passing out had been a dream…there was no way that she could have gone from Malfoy Manor to the Hogwarts Quidditch field. It wasn't possible. If she had the strength to move, she would have pinched herself when she realized she was on a soft bed. The cotton sheets covering her were softer than the ones she had packed in her beaded bag for the tent her, Harry, and Ron had shared. The bed was obviously not the cot she had gotten used to sleeping on.

"Padfoot, get Madam Pomfrey! I think she's waking up!" Hermione heard a soft and somewhat hoarse voice call from beside her and feet pounding away from her. That voice had a somewhat familiar sound to it but Hermione couldn't place where she had heard it from before and what the difference between what she felt she knew it from and what it sounded like now. She couldn't help the frown that formed on her face as she thought about the name she had heard.

'Wait…Padfoot was what Remus said they called Sirius when he was younger…I must be in some form of hallucination or intense dream…Sirius is gone…' Hermione thought to herself. She let out a groan as her body throbbed in pain. 'Come on, Hermione, you're a Gryffindor! Open your damn eyes…' she thought to herself and finally decided to open her eyes. What greeted her was one heck of a surprise. At the foot of her bed stood one teenage boy and she noticed that he looked a lot like Harry, except for the eyes. The boy in front of her had blue eyes behind the glasses. With a slight turn of her head-one that caused her more pain than the movement was probably worth-she noticed another teenager standing next to the Harry-look-a-like. She didn't recognize him; he had a mousey, somewhat pathetic look to him. Turning her head the other way with another groan of pain revealed who she figured had been sitting on the bed next to her. He had slightly long sandy-blonde hair and his blue eyes held a tired, yet mischievious look.

Hermione's brain suddenly realized who she was surrounded by and shock registered on her face. She was looking at a younger Remus Lupin. Ignoring her pain, she sat up abruptly causing the three teens to jump and stare at her. The Harry-look-alike was James Potter and since she remembered being told Sirius had been a charming and confident young man, she had to venture a guess that the mousey boy was Peter Pettigrew. Not to mention that she had heard Padfoot run to get Madam Pomfrey before she had opened her eyes. She glanced back at Remus and studied him closely. His face held a youthful look that she would have longed to see on his future self, no scars, no signs of the dark future he had ahead of him. She thought he was quite handsome and had to physically shake her head to clear that ridiculous thought out. She leaned back on her arms and nearly screamed when her muscles and open wounds cried out from their injuries. She whimpered loudly, wrapping her arms around herself gingerly. Remus stepped towards her then with a look of concern on his face. He opened his mouth to say something to her but was interrupted as Sirius came jogging back with Madam Pomfrey a step behind him. She shooed the boys out of her way, which caused a look to pass over Remus' face, something Hermione noticed. She also noticed how he cautiously walked around to the other side of the bed and studied her with a curious look on his face.

When Madam Pomfrey moved her arm to inspect the bandages and Hermione gave another whimper, he reached cautiously out towards her, like he was going to hold her hand. He stopped before he touched her though, the bandages running down her arm and around her hand probably scared him she figured. Maybe he was worried he'd hurt her by touching her.

(Remus's views)

Remus couldn't get the injured girl out of his head. The entire time she had been asleep in the Hospital Wing, he had a rough time leaving her. Something about her and her injuries puzzled him. He couldn't seem to get her out of his head, which had never happened before. He went to classes and tried to focus on the lessons, but he couldn't get her bandaged face out of his mind. Of course his friends had noticed his lack of attention and quickly put two and two together. They had been teasing him nonstop since. When he had heard her give a small gasp for air, he felt his stomach tighten. If she truly was waking up, he could finally try and figure out the puzzle. He hated not understanding what was going on in his head.

He found himself trying to glance at her injuries when he was alone, to try and figure out how bad they were and how she could have gotten them. James had been the one to save her during her fall and from what James had told him, it appeared that she had some form of deep gash on almost every limb of her body. Judging by the number of bandages she was wrapped in, he wouldn't be surprised if that were true.

When she woke up, Remus couldn't help but feel startled by it. She hadn't woken up in a few days and he suppose he had gotten to used to her being unconscious and unmoving on the bed next to him. Remus had been standing beside her bed trying to formulate the best way to ask her the questions the four Marauders were desperately wanting answers to, but all form of thought had died the minute she had turned her chocolate eyes on him.

He had found himself oddly lost in their darkness for a moment and when she seemed shocked to see him he wondered if they had met before. She seemed to recognize him in some way, although he had never seen her before. Aside from the bruising and bandages, she was really pretty and Remus felt his cheeks warm slightly at the thought.

'Stop it, Moony, you just met the girl! Well, actually, you haven't fully met her yet…but anyways. She's injured, the last thing she'll want is some monster crushing on her…'

'I am NOT crushing on her!' He argued with himself before sighing. Remus was extremely tempted to offer his hand for her to hold, though he wasn't too sure on why. He liked standing close to her, it allowed him to get a whiff of her scent. 'Vanilla…' he closed his eyes briefly as the smell wafted in to his nose and his stomach knotted again.

When Madam Pomfrey ushed him out of the way he lost her scent and frowned. He found himself irritated by the lack of her scent. He cautiously walked around James, who he could feel was watching his every move with that stupid smirk on his face, and stood on her other side. Hearing the girl in front of him give another small whimper in pain made him reach out to her, to comfort her. 'With all those bandages on her hand, it may hurt her if you touch them…Besides, why would she want a monster like you to comfort her?' he thought to himself and quickly pulled his hand back.

(Hermione)

"Good morning, Dear. How are you feeling?" Madam Pomfrey asked and she continued to check bandages. It was at that moment that Hermione noticed how many bandages she really had on. Her forehead was wrapped, both her arms were all the way to her fingers, one ankle, and around her ribs. She thought she was the beginning of a mummy and almost grinned at the thought of it. It seemed the very act of grinning was painful, so she quickly stopped and answered the medi-witch.

"Sore…very sore."

"What on earth happened to you that you're so cut up?" Madam Pomfrey had been astonished to see all the wounds and their severity, add to that that this injured girl just fell out of the sky during a quidditch match made the case even more suspicious. Hermione glanced at the four teens around her and finally took in Sirius. There was no doubt that the confident and charming young man beside James was Sirius Black and her heart sank at the memories of his future self. However, the young man in front of her was very full of life and freedom. He gave her a smirk and winked at her, causing her cheeks to redden slightly. Hermione shook her head and thought about how to reply to the Healer beside her.

'I can't exactly tell her "oh I'm from the future and was sent here by some crazy ass lunatic, becoming incredibly injured in the process. Say can I have some tea?' Hermione thought to herself before shaking her head at Madam Pomfrey

"I'm afraid I can't answer that right now, would it be possible for me to speak to the Headmaster?" Madam Pomfrey nodded her head and offered three potions to Hermione, who drank them quickly without caring what they did.

"Those potions will help heal the last of the wounds, numb the pain, and speed your recovery. I expect you will be fully healed by tonight or tomorrow morning. I must warn you though…there appears to be some form of dark magic on the…um…wound on your arm. It will most likely leave a scar…" Hermione looked at her right arm, knowing the 'wound' Pomfrey was talking about was the word Mudblood Bellatrix had carved into her skin. She couldn't help the tears that formed at the thought of walking around the rest of her life with that scar.

Remus saw the tears and gently placed his hand on hers, ignoring his inner thoughts and the sound of Sirius and James snickering. Hermione met his eyes and they stared at each other for what seemed like a long while, but was most likely only a short moment, both lost in their own thoughts.

"Alright boys, leave her be so that she can rest. They haven't left your side since Mr. Potter here caught you during the quidditch game three days ago," Madam Pomfrey said as she walked away, presumably to get Dumbledore as Hermione asked.

"Three days? I was out for three days?" 'I have to get to Dumbledore and have him send me home! Harry needs my help!' Hermione shot off the bed with the intentions of getting to Dumbledore's office but her bandaged ankle did not permit her to get far. Her knees buckled from lack of use and her injured ankle pained under her weight causing her to collapse forward into Remus, who caught her and eased her back on to the bed.

"With the wounds you had, we thought you were dead or soon to be. Our curiosity is has been peaked by your sudden appearance in the sky and your injuries. You can tell us what happened," James said as he leaned close to her from where he stood.

"Yeah, we won't tell anyone." Peter piped up from beside Hermione.

"You looked like you had been in a battle from how dirty and bloody you were! Were you in a fight?" Sirius asked while flashing her a charming smile that she supposed was to make her gush about everything at the sight of. She gave a sigh at Sirius's charm. 'I've missed that smile…' She could feel Remus tense and back away from her when she sighed and she looked up at him curiously. He had a brief look of jealousy to Sirius before he blinked and his eyes filled with concern for her again.

"I did save your life, you know? Telling us what happened would even up the playing field," James suggested with a grin. Hermione sat silently on the bed doing her best to ignore the Marauders around her.

"Boys, I said to leave her be!" Madam Pomfrey yelled from across the room. James, Sirius, and Peter groaned and left Hermione with Remus. She looked curiously at Remus as he sat beside her on the bed.

"I'm sorry about my friends, I promise they mean well…" Remus mumbled, avoiding her eyes. Hermione smiled and lightly touched his hand.

"I understand. I can't thank you or your friends enough for saving me and staying by me while I was out of it…Thank you so much," Hermione almost said his name but quickly caught herself as she realized no one had said it in front of her yet.

"Ah, sorry I'm Remus. Remus Lupin, and those three are James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew," he smiled sheepishly. Hermione quickly thought of what to tell him her name was, whether or not to come up with one or if using her real name would be okay. Problem with coming up with a new name is that if he used the Marauders map when she was around, it would tell him her real name. Not to mention that she'd have to remember that name and respond to it. He'd find out regardless thanks to his blasted map, she assumed so she went ahead and replied:

"I'm Hermione Granger…Um, if you don't mind me asking this silly question…what year is it?" Remus smiled at her name and found himself thinking it was a rather pretty name and it fit her very well; he found her to be rather…beautiful, strange, but beautiful…and thinking so made him blush and look away from her. When she asked the year, he looked at her oddly.

"It's September, 1977." Hermione's eyes widened. She hadn't even been born yet, maybe not even thought of.

"Oh right, of c…" Hermione began, trying to hide the fact that she hadn't a clue about it before she was interrupted.

"Mr. Lupin, if you don't mind…I'd like to speak with our new guest for a moment. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey would allow you to come back after I leave to continue chatting with your new friend. She might even let you stay with Miss Granger for the night if she needs to. However, if I may have a few moments of her time," Remus shot off the bed and spun to look at Dumbledore who had approached silently behind them. A twinkle in his eye made Remus think the Headmaster had many things up his sleeve, which Remus knew was true the number of times Dumbledore had known things without asking.

"Of course, Professor Dumbledore! I'll come back, Hermione…that is, if you…don't mind of course…?" Remus felt himself nervous while asking this and felt a flutter in his chest as the girl in front of him smiled brightly.

"I'll see you then, Remus." Remus smiled back at her and almost jumped for joy at her response, instead he quickly dashed out of the Hospital Wing.

"Miss Granger, it would appear that the future is not very bright now, is it?" Dumbledore asked as he sat on the bed beside her.

"I'm afraid not, Professor. Should…Should I tell you what is going on or…no, that's against the law isn't it?"

"I only care to know how you got here, is all." Dumbledore asked, although the look on his face told Hermione that he already knew.

"It was a spell, Professor. One I've never seen…or felt, for that matter, ever before. How is it possible that she, the caster, was able to send me back twenty years?" Hermione asked, a hint of fear at the memories of the torture and the pain she had experienced lacing through her voice as she asked it.

"I fear that it was a very strong piece of dark magic. To be honest, Miss Granger, I believe you are the first person to have survived through the spell. There is no telling how long it may last or where it will send you when you return…but until then, I'm afraid there isn't a way to counter act it. There is a bunk set up for you in Gryffindor Tower. Until the time comes, just carry on as if everything is normal."

"But Professor, how will I return? Will I just disappear and will it be painful? How did the spell take me from Ma…from where I was and bring me here, to Hogwarts? Logically speaking, it should have only taken me back to this time but the same place I was, correct? So why here? And for how long I will be here, what is my cover story on how I arrived and how I was injured?"

"I cannot say how you will return. Most likely you'll just disappear, much like disapparating and I don't believe it would be painful. As far as why you're here, perhaps the spell used a place you longed to be or a place you spent most of your time. I'm sure you're clever enough, Miss Granger, to figure out a story of your own. Just remember, telling people what may come would alter the future. However painful it may be to grow close to people who may or may not be living in your time, you must not tell them when or how they die and who is to blame. If you did so, it may very well keep you from meeting your friends…" Dumbledore replied before turning and walking away. Madam Pomfrey opened the Hospital Wing doors and Remus walked back in.

"Oh and one more thing, Miss Granger, fate has an odd way of putting the people we love in our paths. Just because the circumstances are…extremely different and the future is, as you know, unpredictable, don't turn away the one emotion that could very well save you. If it comes into your life, no matter the age or time difference, accept it." Dumbledore said, turning back to face her and Remus. His eyes twinkled at the two of them and he nodded, "just the ramblings of an old man. Welcome to the Gryffindor family and Hogwarts, Miss Granger," he added with a smile and walked away.

After a moment of silence, Remus turned to look at her with a bright smile.

"You're staying? And in Gryffindor?" Hermione nodded and couldn't help but smile when she saw his. Not to mention the flutter of butterflies in her stomach at the sight of his handsome face and the smile he was giving her.

"I am."

"That's great! I'm in Gryffindor also!"

"Alright, Miss Granger. Those potions should have kicked in long before now. Let's remove those bandages and get you off to bed," Madam Pomfrey interrupted. Remus stepped back and watched as Hermione's arm was unwrapped to reveal the scar Hermione had been upset about it. He gasped in shock when his eyes saw the word Mudblood carved into her skin.

'Who would carve that word in to anybody's skin?' he thought.