Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters.

Note: I'm not exactly sure if Lucius Malfoy was in the same year as the Marauder's because he's 41, (OotP), and since Draco is about the Trio's age, either Lucius was a year or two ahead of the Marauder's or had graduated before they had reached 5th year. Anyhow, I'm going to have Mr. Evil Lucius Malfoy in here!

Let us begin!

Still So Close to You
By Darkwing731

((--Chapter Two--))
Living in the Past

-

Hermione shrieked as she flew through the air, and hit the ground, painfully bending her arm. Her head smacked against wood, and she went dizzy, a trickle of blood dripping down the side of her head. She groaned, rolling over, her head throbbing. She heard yelling, loud footsteps, and felt someone shaking her. She opened her eyes groggily, and realized that everything she saw seemed to be fogged over.

"Harry?" she said dimly as she blinked.

There was a boy on his knees, shaking her. She blinked, getting a better look. He was young, her age, his face handsome and clever, and his black hair swinging down into his face. His light grey eyes looked concerned as he called to her; she could hear him vaguely, almost as if he were across a field of some sort. Her mind was still very disoriented from the past events of getting sucked into a book, and she was extremely confused.

Suddenly, something in her mind snapped. She looked at the boy, horrified. This was Sirius Black! He had been dead for nearly two years. From the newly attained information, she felt dizzy, and her eyes rolled back and she passed out, her head falling back and hitting the floor with a clunk.

"Oi! Moony! Prongs! Wormtail! Get over here!" Sirius called over his shoulder.

He and his three best friends, Remus Lupin, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew had all gone to the library. Of course, Remus had forced them into it. Remus didn't want to be responsible for their bad grades when they handed in their essays. Sirius had been looking for a book when he heard a scream and a loud thump an isle or two over, and he had decided to investigate.

Suddenly there was pounding footsteps, and three boys came running down the aisle. They all stopped as they looked down at the girl passed out on the floor. It was uncharacteristic for Sirius to be, well, serious, but this was an exception. Her head was bleeding, and she looked oddly pale. Remus, James and Peter all stared at her.

"W-who is that?" Remus asked.

Remus Lupin, already eighteen, looked at the girl on the floor. She was simply beautiful. She had thick, black eyelashes, a full face and lips, and although her hair was a bit unruly, Remus thought it added to her appearance. He became aware of his friends staring at him, and he blushed and looked away from the girl.

"Dunno. We'd better bring her to the Infirmary, though. Madam Pomfrey'll have our heads if we don't," James said. They all murmured in agreement.

Unsure of what to do, they stood for a few more seconds staring at the strange girl, all wondering who she was, not using their common sense. Remus knew they were supposed to bring her to the Hospital Wing, but none of them were bending down to pick her up, so he decided to.

Her head rolled onto his shoulder as he stood, hair sticking to the blood. Remus looked carefully at her, sensing there was something extremely different about her. He could smell her blood; he knew instantly she was Muggle-born and how old as he was.

As the Marauder's made their way down, they kept voicing the girl's possible identity. It wasn't Michellyn of Ravenclaw, or Emmaline in Gryffindor, one of Lily's friends, and Sirius's girlfriend. They weren't exactly sure who she was and how she got to the Library.

Peter quickly pushed open the Hospital Wing doors, and the four boys quickly made their way in.

"Madam Pomfrey! Ooh Madam Pomfrey!" Sirius yelled in a sing-song voice. The boys grinned at his tone.

"Mr. Black! Contain yourself! I can hear you perfectly well," Madam Pomfrey snapped. She stopped in her tracks as she laid eyes on the mysterious girl in Remus' arms. "Who—?"

"It's alright, Poppy. I can clear everything up," Professor Dumbledore said, striding into the room. He was a great deal younger, his eyes holding more sparkle and mischief than they would in nineteen or so years. "Mr. Lupin, please put her down on the bed. And kindly, all of you leave. I need to speak with Poppy and Miss— well, this young lady, when she wakes," Dumbledore said. The Marauders exchanged glances, but Remus nevertheless put her down.

"Who is that?" James asked, trying to keep his curiosity down to a minimum in front of the Headmaster. James and Sirius were known to be extremely rebellious, but they were almost docile in front of Dumbledore. Dumbledore chuckled.

"In the morning, she will explain everything. Now kindly, all of you leave. Poppy, clean her up," Dumbledore instructed.

Madam Pomfrey nodded and immediately set to work on the mystery girl, and reluctantly, slowly, and with many exaggerated glances at the girl, they left. Remus was the last one to go, pausing in the doorframe and looking anxiously at the beautiful, pale girl. Dumbledore sensed his hesitation.

"Don't worry, Mr. Lupin, she shall be alright," Dumbledore said kindly. Remus nodded, and with a concerned frown, turned and left. There was no doubt in his mind that the girl would be haunting his dreams all night.

Madam Pomfrey immediately set to work on the girl. She cleaned and fixed her head wound, and then quickly repaired her arm. Then, holding open the girl's mouth, Madam Pomfrey tipped back a smoking blue potion and backed away. The girl started coughing, and after a minute or so groaned and opened her eyes. Professor Dumbledore walked quickly over to her, sitting down in the side chair.

"P-Professor!" Hermione gasped. Dumbledore held up a hand to silence her.

"It's all right. I'm aware of what happened to you, Miss Granger. There is no way to fix it until the future pulls you back," Dumbledore said. She swallowed, nodding. "Currently, you are in 1978, in your seventh year. Since the amount of time you'll be here is unknown, we need to make up an identity for you that no one can question."

"Yes sir," Hermione agreed timidly. He smiled.

"Please, what is your middle name?" he asked her.

"Jane."

"Alright then, your first name shall be Jane then. And your surname... your surname will be Lewis. Is that understood?" he asked firmly. Hermione, or rather Jane, nodded her head. "You will be a transfer student from Liverpool Witches Academy. Which house were you in?"

"Gryffindor, sir," Hermione answered. He nodded.

"Gryffindor it is, then. You're in your seventh year, just to inform you for reference. You'll be spending the night in here, and in the morning I shall send someone in to take you to your classes and show you around as if you were new. You are not to speak of any knowledge of the future that you posses to anyone, understood?" he asked sternly. She nodded again.

He smiled. "I will leave you to your rest then, Miss Lewis. Goodnight."

Dumbledore got off the bed and went to the doors. Hermione watched him go, confused and desperate to ask him something. "What do you mean until the future pulls me back?" she blurted out. He stopped and turned to look at her, sighing.

"Until the future truly needs you, you will remain here. Also, it is December third. Goodnight, Miss Lewis," he said, his tone ending their conversation.

Hermione nodded, and Dumbledore shut the doors. Madam Pomfrey hustled over, muttering under her breath.

"Drink this dear. It's a dreamless sleep potion. We need you ready for tomorrow," Madam Pomfrey said. Hermione took the flask from her and drained it. Her eyes felt instantly heavy, and in seconds, she dropped back against the pillow, asleep.

The next day was confusing for Hermione. When she woke, she had to remind herself who she was, where she was, what she knew and who she knew. It would be a lot to remember, but she knew she could handle it. She got out of bed and took a shower in the girls showers that was on the far left side of the infirmary, (Hermione had no idea there used to be showers) and then got dressed.

She sat down on her bed, and waited for someone to come in and get her. Around 8:30, the doors opened. A girl with dark red hair falling over her shoulders walked in, and bright green eyes. She had a curious smile on her face, but she looked nice enough. Hermione's heart gave a leap when she realized who it was.

"Hello. I'm Lily, Lily Evans. Professor Dumbledore said we had a new student, and I'm supposed to show you around," Lily said. She had a sweet voice, and her presence made Hermione feel like she was in company of Ginny.

"I'm Jane Lewis," Hermione said as she stood up. The two girls shook hands, and together walked out of the Hospital Wing.

"So where did you transfer from?" Lily asked.

"Oh...erm...Liverpool Witches Academy," Hermione said hesitantly. Lily nodded, and continued asking her questions until the got to the Great Hall doors.

"This is the great hall, well inside these doors, anyhow. You can sit with me at breakfast, and I can introduce you to my friends," Lily said kindly. Hermione nodded, and she pushed open the doors.

It looked just like it did in 1997, except there were different people at the tables, and different teachers. Hermione looked over at the Gryffindor table and locked eyes with a cute, shy looking boy. He had dark, sandy brown hair and amber eyes. The boy stared back at Hermione, and she couldn't move.

With a sharp intake of breath, she knew suddenly who it was.

-x-x-x-

"So Lily told me Dumbledore asked her to bring in the new girl," James said, stuffing pancakes into his mouth.

"Wonder if she has a boyfriend..." Sirius said dreamily, pretending to stare up at the ceiling like a lovesick boy. The girl next to him slapped him on the arm, and Sirius grinned at her.

"Oh, shut it, you, I'm only joking," Sirius said. The girl smiled and went back to her breakfast.

"I wonder where she's from. Maybe she's from America. I heard the girls there are saucy," James said with an impish grin.

"James Potter! I'm telling Lily you said that!" the girl next to Sirius said. James scowled.

"Emmaline, please stop acting like a goody. A man has his right to dream," James replied simply.

"You aren't a man, James, you're a little boy," Emmaline said smugly. Sirius, Remus and Peter snickered. "Honestly, I don't know what Lily was thinking, dating you. What did you slip into her pumpkin juice?"

"Nothing! But I might slip something into yours if you don't keep quiet. You'll have pink hair for a week," James threatened.

"Oi! Here comes Lily and the new girl. Wow..." Peter said.

All four of the boys stared at her standing nervously at the great hall doors. The girl looked over, and locked eyes with Remus. Remus suddenly couldn't breathe. Her curly brown hair fell into her fair, flushed face and her bright ginger eyes gazed into his. She bit her lip tensely, and Lily slowly pushed her forwards toward the table. Suddenly Remus felt a nudge in his side.

"Looks like the new girl caught your eye, eh, Moony?" Sirius teased.

"Shut up, Padfoot," Remus mumbled. He looked down at his breakfast. A moment later, he could see out of the corner of his eye that across the table, James and Peter pushed down to let the two girls sit.

"Guys, this is Jane Lewis. She's a transfer. Jane, this is James, Peter, Sirius, Emmaline and Remus," Lily said, pointing the people out to Jane.

Remus dared to look up. The girl was looking carefully at everyone, and when she looked at Remus she had a strange look on her face, staring at him curiously.

"Hello everyone," Jane said quietly. Her voice was soft and frightened, and Remus secretly knew how she felt.

"Hi," they all chorused together.

Then the meal started. Everyone started asking her questions, making jokes, telling stories and pointing out teachers. Then, they went back to their own conversations.

James put his arm around Lily and pulled her closer, and she grinned. He was whispering quietly into her ear, and she giggled every few seconds. Hermione let the smallest of grins slip onto her face as she watched them.

"So Jane," Sirius started.

Hermione looked at him. He was handsome, no doubt about that. He had an almost addictive smile on his face, his light eyes flashing suggestively. Hermione smiled.

"How did you get into the library without anyone noticing? Did you Apparate?" he asked.

"You can't Apparate inside of Hogwarts," Hermione and Remus said together. They looked at each other, and Hermione blushed and looked down at her plate. Remus accidentally dropped his fork and dove under the table to retrieve it. He came back up with an extremely red face.

"Err... no. I came in here, and I was looking for the Headmaster's office. And when I asked someone, they said to go find two big wooden doors. I found two doors, and entered, but found myself in the library instead," Hermione lied quickly. Sirius nodded.

Hermione looked around, but avoided Remus' gaze that darted back to her every few seconds. She looked around the hall, her eyes landing on the Slytherin table. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw someone who looked suspiciously like Draco Malfoy.

Except there was something different. The boy still had the platinum blonde hair, the sharp silver eyes and the pale, pointed face, but he seemed even more cruel and arrogant than Draco.

"Who's that?" Hermione asked, disgusted. Remus turned and followed her eyes quickly. He turned back around, a scowl on his face.

"That's Lucius Malfoy. He's a git. I wouldn't go near him if I were you, Jane. He's trouble," Remus warned. Hermione nodded grimly.

"He probably doesn't like Muggle-borns either," she muttered, glaring at Lucius.

"How did you know that?" Remus asked suspiciously. Hermione cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"Well, err..." Her voice was unusually high, "I don't know. He's in Slytherin. All of them are pureblooded biased prats, aren't they?" she asked. Remus nodded, still looking doubtfully at her. She gave him a half smile and went back to her breakfast.

The day went by fast. The four Marauders were in her class, as were Lily and Emmaline. But unfortunately, so were most of the Slytherins. When they set eyes on Hermione, they broke out in whispers.

Lucius Malfoy stared hungrily at her throughout every class that they shared. Hermione always got the creeps when she felt his gaze on her. It was worse than when Draco looked at her. However, she always planted herself in between Lily and Emmaline, so no harm came to her.

Lunch and dinner came and went quickly. Hermione and Lily were a bit late for dinner because they had to stay back to discuss the homework with the Potions Master, who wouldn't let Hermione off for not having her homework. However, since Hermione was new, the Potions Master agreed in the end to let her off. Lily went across the table to sit with James, and the only spot left was next to Remus.

"C-can I sit here?" Hermione asked as she approached the empty spot next to him. He looked up, surprised, and nodded, moving over. Hermione noticed the color in his cheeks tinge slightly pink.

Dinner was very awkward. Hermione accidentally spilled her pumpkin juice, and then put her elbow in the butter. This had the Marauder's in hysterical laughter, and even Remus had a sheepish grin. Hermione laughed along as well, still bright red in the face. Remus kept dropping his utensils, his hands shaking a little.

No one seemed to notice.

Sirius and Emmaline, Hermione had learned from Lily, were a couple. Sirius was flirting and making her laugh every few seconds. Lily and James were quiet close, still whispering to each other and chuckling. Peter had a glazed over look as he stared across the table through a gap of people at someone across the hall. Remus kept glancing at her every few seconds out of the corner of his eye, and a few times she glanced back.

It was unnerving for her to be sitting with people who were almost all dead. Hermione was quiet the entire meal, trying not to speak so much so she could conceal her embarrassment and nervousness, and thankfully, no one spoke directly to her.

They all left for the Common room afterwards, discussing the monstrous essay the Potions Master, Professor Hull, had set for them due in two days. Of course, Hermione had read enough of the library to easily do the essay. After dinner, Hermione, Lily and Emmaline set immediately on their essays. Hermione finished first and helped her fellow girls. In the corner, Remus quietly finished his, constantly glancing at Hermione.

"Merlin, Jane, how did you finish that so quickly?" Emmaline asked as she finally put down her quill. It was nearly nine o'clock. Lily was still working nonstop on hers, scribbling furiously; there was ink on her cheeks. Hermione shrugged.

"Dunno. I just know this stuff like the back of my hand," Hermione answered. Emmaline grinned.

Hermione and Emmaline decided to help Lily finish hers since she was having a hard time. Around a quarter past nine, Sirius, James and Peter all came down from the Boys' Dormitory. They all had mischievous grins on their faces.

"Moony," James whispered as they all sat down around him. Peter glanced over his shoulder at the three girls working, and looked back at Remus with an excited grin.

"What?" Remus asked cautiously. The three boys grinned, looking like they did before they planned their before-full-moon adventure or pulled a prank.

"We just got the greatest idea," Sirius started. "Let's pull something on Jane. She's the new girl. Let's give her a scare."

"No!" Remus said instantly. They looked curiously at him. Then, James split into a grin.

"Ooh, I see how it is, Moony," James said. He cleared his throat loudly, and the color in Remus' face drained. Remus knew exactly what James was going to do. He scrambled to get his stuff into his bag as James stood up and looked at the three girls.

"Remus and Jane, sittin' in a tree!" James started to sing. Remus darted for the staircase as James kept singing.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" he sang louder. Peter and Sirius were roaring with laughter, rolling on the floor. Emmaline, Hermione and Lily looked up, listening to him.

"First comes Lu-u-urve! Then comes marriage!"

Hermione turned a bright pink and muttered goodnight under her breath, grabbed her stuff and hightailed it for the girls' staircase. The three remaining Marauders pointed at her and bellowed with laughter and she sprinted up the staircase.

She ran into someone, and horrified, found Remus, white in the face, desperately trying to get into the Boys' Dormitory door, which was planted quite inconveniently before the split in the staircase to the Girls' Dormitory.

"Door won't open!" he squeaked. She stared at him, still in shock, before nodding quickly and scrambling up her own staircase one it had split away from the Boys'. By the time the door had shut, she could hear the entire common room ringing with laughter.

Hermione sat down on the bed, shaking. She rubbed her arms, trying to rid herself of the mortified and embarrassed feeling. That was extremely humiliating. Sure, she felt awkward and very self-conscious in front of Remus, and he seemed accident prone and embarrassed. And it was only her first day.

She put her head in her hands, taking a deep breath. It could be worse. But when she thought about it, she didn't know how it could be any worse.

"Jane?" said a soft voice. Hermione jumped. Lily and Emmaline came into the dorm, shutting the door behind them. There wasn't anymore laughter in the common room.

"We're so sorry about those gits," Emmaline said, jerking her head down towards the common room. Hermione smiled.

"It's all right," she said quietly. Emmaline and Lily exchanged glances.

"Good, because we told them off. Emma and I aren't going to talk to James and Sirius for a few days. Mortifying you like that, on your first day! We'll help get them back somehow," Lily said. Hermione looked up and giggled.

"That was funny though. I mean, after, when I thought about it," Hermione said. They all laughed.

The girls changed into their pajamas and got into bed. Slowly, as ten o'clock rolled in, all the girls came up and went to sleep. Lily, Emmaline and Hermione were the last ones to fall asleep. They were talking quietly back and forth.

"So how was your first day?" Lily asked from next to Hermione. She yawned.

"Fun. Very... very fun," Hermione answered, thinking a little bit about Remus. He was quiet, he was smart, and he was very ungraceful near her. She smiled to herself.

"And... how about Remus?" Emmaline asked cautiously.

"He's cute," Hermione answered without thinking. "Oh god, did I say that out loud!" she shrieked as the girls started giggling.

"Yes. But don't worry. We'll never tell," Lily said as the two girls giggled.

-
-x-x-x-
-

Author's Notes: Well, I hope you liked that either way. Please review! In the mean time, here is the Latin phrase from last chapter!

Please keep reading without further ado
For the gift that is in store for you
You will find that unless you are sure
The charm ahead has no cure
So cautiously, do uphold
Some reason now, truth be told
It is not money, nothing of the sort
But you will be stuck in a wicked time warp
Nineteen years backwards

Good luck to you!

Keep reading and please review!