Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. Everything belongs to JK Rowling, and I'm merely allowed to play around with them. No copyright infringement is intended.

This chapter has been updated as of October 2015, to fix my multiple mistakes. I'm being my own beta. Please enjoy and leave a review! :)

Chapter 2

-o-O-o-

As Hermione slowly regained consciousness, she heard a couple of noises around her. Outside, a bird was chirping, and inside, she could hear dull chatter that seemed to come from far away. Stretching, she let her memory slowly come back and the pieces of her brain came together. She inhaled deeply. OK, she thought, so I'm stuck in school with Harry's parents with no hope of ever getting home. What's more, I can't change the timeline because it could have disastrous effects and destroy the world altogether. Brilliant. How did I get myself into this mess anyway? She stretched again and began to sit up, slowly opening her eyes.

"Oh, you're awake!" she heard a small feminine voice say. She ran her hand through her bushy mane of hair and examined her surroundings. Gryffindor Tower was much the same as she remembered it, all covered in red and gold banners, albeit with cleaner windows. She shook her head slightly, hoping to get rid of the headache that was settling in, and came upon a rather strange sight. A small girl with short, light brown hair and deep, dark blue eyes was sitting on the bed just opposite hers, and staring at her with interest. She was smiling.

"Hello." Hermione said, still slightly disoriented. "Who are you?" she added, pulling her covers off. She was wearing a night gown, at the very least, though she couldn't quite remember where she had had it. In fact, she couldn't remember anything about yesterday night at all after the group hug in the Common Room.

"Oh, how rude of me!" the girl exclaimed, smoothing her skirt. "My name's Mary. Mary McDonald. Professor Dumbledore told me to keep an eye on you today, and to help you around the castle… to see if you needed any help." she explained, smiling reassuringly. She obviously wanted Hermione to feel welcomed and loved, which touched the Muggleborn's heart greatly.

Hermione stared as something came to her. "Why couldn't Lily do it?" she asked, then blushed and looked down, ashamed by the rudeness of her answer. It had seemed as if she had not wanted Mary's help for a second there, which was totally untrue.

Mary's smile didn't waver, and, for that, Hermione was grateful. "She's a prefect, see?" she explained. "She has more duties than the most of us. Besides, she's in sixth year, she has a different timetable. If you're wondering why me and not someone else, no, I am not aspiring to take Lily's place, it is simply because all the others are passing their Divination O.W.L.'s right now." She scrunched up her nose. "I hate Divination. Pure rubbish, that subject."

Hermione smiled. "I know right, supposedly reading the future in tea leaves and seeing omens in fog. When I studied Divination, I used to be accused of not having a good aura, so I told the teacher that it was preposterous and I stopped taking the class."

Mary stared at her for a while. At first, Hermione thought it might have been because of her use of language. She rarely insulted teachers, but she couldn't miss an opportunity to insult Loony Professor Trelawney. That was, at least, until Mary asked, rather carefully: "You've studied Divination before?"

Hermione internally face palmed herself. "Erm… Yes, in my old school." she tried to come up with an excuse, but Mary cut her.

"It's okay," she said. "You don't have to talk about it. I won't force you to." She looked up and tried her best to look reassuring, but Hermione could see the pity shining in her eyes. "Dumbledore told us." Hermione remembered now: the Professor had told them a cover story that Hermione wasn't aware of and therefore couldn't back up. She needed to find out what he had decided on.

"What exactly did Dumbledore tell you?" she asked carefully. She stood up, pretending to be interested in what she was going to wear today so that Mary would answer nonchalantly.

"Not much." Mary admitted fleetingly. "Just that you came from the south, that your name was Hermione Granger, that you were Muggleborn and that your school had been burnt down and your parents… killed." she looked up to judge the other girl's reaction and see if she had gone too far.

Hermione was holding up two skirts, one navy and one deep burgundy, but was really hanging on to each word Mary said. "It's okay," she told the worried looking girl. "I'm tough." she added with a wink. Although she did have half a mind to cry a little at the thought of Hogwarts burning down and having to lose her parents. That would have been horrible.

Looking marginally reassured, Mary continued. "He said you came here to pass your O.W.L.'s, as there is no other wizarding school in Great Britain, and to continue your scholarship."

Hermione gulped down, deciding on the burgundy skirt. "Well," she said, trying to smile and, despite her best efforts, failing miserably. "He got that right." She dashed to the bathroom to change and, thankfully, Mary didn't follow. She probably thought she wanted to cry in peace anyway, which she partly wanted to do.

As Hermione dressed, she thought over her situation. It wasn't the best, being stuck in a time when James' body and Lily's eyes will haunt her, reminding her of her best friend, who had maybe died in the Ministry. And all those people who had died and she couldn't save, all those traitors she could not even turn in, those innocents she couldn't stray from the Dark Side…

She shook her head and proceeded to button her shirt. It could have been worse… she resolved. And it was true: she could have ended up in the Middle Ages, to be hanged or burnt or drowned for witchcraft, or during the Second World War, to be bombed relentlessly day and night, or 70 million years ago, to be stepped on by a dinosaur. Although, technically, I would be swimming by now. she figured. Since Great Britain emerged less than 10 million years ago.

She got out of the bathroom to find Mary on her bed, leafing through a book. When she looked up and saw the newly dressed Hermione, she smiled and stood up, book in hand. "This is my favourite book." she declared, before handing it over. "It's called Hogwarts, a History. With it, you could find your way through just about the whole castle. Although, if you want secret passages, you could always ask the boys." she added after a second thought. "Here," she said, pressing the large volume in the other girl's hand. "Take it."

"I… I…" Hermione stuttered, overwhelmed by the girl's kindness and generosity. "I couldn't possibly-" she tried, but the other girl cut her.

Mary shook her head. "You can have it for as long as you like." she declared. "Besides, I've read it so much I practically know it off by heart." she smiled gently.

"I… Thank you." Hermione said genuinely, throwing herself in the other girl's arms. The other Gryffindor was caught off guard, but once the shock had worn off, she returned the embrace wholeheartedly. Maybe the time she would spend here while searching for a way back wouldn't be so horrible after all, if she at least had Mary to be her friend. It might not be pleasant, but at least she wouldn't be alone. It broke her heart to see this generation of children, for they were all naught but children, so sweet and innocent, being forced into a war they had never asked for.

It was a couple of minutes before they broke apart. "Well," Mary said, a huge smile on her face. "We've got to hurry up if we don't want to miss lunch."

With that, Hermione's eyebrows shot up. Lunch? Already? At that time? Then again, Hermione realised, I don't know what time it is. As Mary moved to the door, she asked timidly: "Erm... Mary?" The other girl looked around, a curious expression on her face as the door stood half-open behind her. "Would you be as kind as to tell me what time it is?" she tried. She was desperate to not ask too much of the gentle Mary, but she desperately wanted to know how long she had been here. "I… I kind of lost my watch in my precipitated leave and-"

"No need to say more," Mary said sweetly. "I'll ask Professor McGonagall to lend you one for the time being. Right now it is…" She pulled out a silver pocket watch and started at it for a couple of seconds. "Around half past twelve." she concluded.

Hermione nodded. "Thank you." she said earnestly. The other smiled and they headed downstairs. The Common Room was empty, except for a pair of second years playing Exploding Snap. Mary guided Hermione out and into the many twisting and turning corridors and moving staircases of Hogwarts. Hermione was glad to see that, like the dormitories, not much had changed from here to her own timeline. They headed down the familiar steps that Hermione had walked a mere day ago and nostalgia began to settle in again. She felt tears come, but stopped them with all her might, deciding that, while she was here, she would enjoy this timeline as much as she possibly could.

The girls entered the Great Hall and, all over sudden, all chatting stopped. Suddenly, Hermione felt very shy and only continued to walk when Mary tugged insistently at her hand. The other girl was trying to be encouraging, but Hermione was petrified with fear. She practically dragged her to the Gryffindor table, the furthest away from the door, which gave the whole of its inhabitants a look at her blush, blush that would have made a Weasley proud.

She sat down between Mary and another girl she didn't know, and the chatter resumed as quickly as it had stopped. The girl on Hermione's left nudged her side. "Hey," she said, smiling excitedly. "My name's Alice."

Hermione looked up and shook Alice's hand. The girl was about her height with long dark brown hair and a round face. Her eyes were a very light hue of blue, almost white, with long lashes around them. Where Mary was calm and sweet, Alice seemed full of life and energy, always eager to do something exciting. Her eyes glinted with a twinkle similar to Dumbledore's, which made the other girl smile. "I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger." she said.

Alice's smile widened. "Yes, I heard all about you." she admitted, before turning to the rest of the table. "In fact, we've all heard all about you, haven't we people?" The echo of "Yes!" that went round made Hermione wonder whether they had been listening all along or not. Not that it mattered, of course, they hadn't said much yet. She gave a slight laugh at this Gryffindor unity, that seemed to be lacking in her own time, and started helping herself to chicken breast. Alice poked her in the side and started pointing. "That, on my left, is Lily Evans." Lily waved, her auburn curls bouncing about and her green eyes so very much alive.

"I know her." Hermione said. Lily beamed. "She introduced me to the whole house yesterday."

"You remember!" Lily sounded very excited that the other witch should remember her name.

Hermione gave a cheeky grin. "I haven't forgotten what happened yesterday yet, my memory is not that bad." A girl on Lily's left snorted.

Alice rolled her eyes. "The girl who just practically inhaled her soup is Marlene McKinnon." Hermione got another small wave. "On Marlene's left is Frank Longbottom." Hermione gave a shy smile towards the boy, who promptly blushed and looked back down. "In front of her is Peter Pettigrew." Hermione's smile nearly faltered at the mention of his name, but she regained composure just a second after, sending a polite nod in his direction. So he was the traitor. Was he a Death Eater then or not yet? It didn't matter, of course, since he would betray the Potters in five years anyway. "In front of Lily is-"

"No!" a voice came from where Alice was pointing. "Let me do the rest of the introduction!" it said. Hermione turned and saw a vivid image of her best friend sending a dazzling smile her way. "I," he said, gesturing towards his chest in a regal manner. "Am James Charlus Potter," he winked. "The second." Hermione rolled her eyes. "To serve you, miss Hermione." he shot out to grab her hand and kiss her knuckles, while she giggled and blushed at the mere absurdity of it all. He let go of her hand and gestured to the person sitting on his left. "This is my not-so-noble squire-"

"Squire?" the boy shouted, although on a joking tone. "You're the squire! In fact no, you'll be my horse!" James snorted and the boy turned to her. "I am Sirius Orion Black the Third, of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black, to your service milady." He kissed her knuckles too. This Sirius had nothing to do with the Sirius from her timeline. The one from her timeline was thin, with sunken cheekbone and a gaunt face, always serious and never laughing in earnest. This one was muscular, with a handsome face and curls of raven black hair that fell carelessly into his soft silver grey eyes that seemed to constantly be ready for a joke or two. If she was honest with herself, Hermione would admit she liked this Sirius much more than his elder counterpart; he seemed more carefree and less like the man who had been imprisoned for twelve years. Then again, she felt a surge of pity towards the poor boy that, in a few years' time, would have his best friends murdered and be thrown in Azkaban for a crime he hadn't committed.

"Whatever." James said. "Don't listen to him, Hermione, he's totally lame." Sirius slapped him behind the head for that, and his glasses nearly fell into his pudding. Both boys were chortling. "This," James pointed to a tall boy on Sirius' other side. "Is Remus Lupin, the First, I think…?"

Remus shook his head. He had short sandy blond hair and happy blue eyes, although the shadows under them were pretty visible. Small and pale scars marred his face, even in his young age. He gave her a half smile, highlighting one on the side of his ear. "Is it alright if I just shake hands with you? I personally think all this kissing knuckles things as impersonal and improper." he told her, he eyes twinkling with mischief as he made fun of his friends' pompous ways.

His voice was surprisingly soft, and Hermione took a while to answer. "Erm… Yeah sure." She mentally scolded herself for the impolite response and held out her hand, which he shook softly, his eyes never leaving hers. She noticed how Sirius and James were staring at the both of them, and decided to make a joke to lighten the atmosphere up a little. "Do you know if their over-inflated heads will fit in their silver helmets or not?" she jested.

Remus chuckled at this, but Sirius was quick to retort. "I don't know, but I can tell you about something else that is over-inflated around you." Hermione blushed crimson, and Sirius' laughter echoed around the room. A few other Gryffindors joined in too, and Hermione wandered whether Sirius had always had such a dirty mind and she had never realised it, or if he had simply grown out of this stupid behaviour after a couple of years.

Suddenly a cold voice sounded from behind her. "It's not that I don't enjoy watching other people torture Mudbloods, Sirius, but I need to talk to you." Hermione turned to find herself faced with an almost carbon-copy of Sirius in front of her. He was tall and had silver eyes, but his seemed slightly lighter than the Animagus' and he was less bulky and more sinewy, although he did look still muscular.

"Regulus." Sirius said coldly, all traces of joking gone from his voice, his features hardening and his jaw setting at if he was biting back a mean remark. It was rather creepy watching him look so much like his older self, Hermione thought. There was a long silence in which the two boys had a staring contest, until Sirius lost his patience. "What do you want?" he barked.

Regulus rolled his eyes. They were definitely a shade of grey lighter than Sirius', Hermione noted, and sparkling with malice and taunt rather than cheekiness and life. "No need to sound so impatient, dear brother." he spat out, as if he was definitely upset that he should be Sirius' brother. Come to think of it, she remembered that he had had a brother just now; Harry had told her after looking at the tapestry with Sirius.

"You are no brother of mine." Sirius warned coldly. "I left and that bitch you call your mother blasted me off the family tree, may I remind you." Hermione was surprised at his choice of language, but at least she could understand him; Mrs. Black really was a very mean personage.

Regulus arched a delicate eyebrow at him. "I recall introducing yourself to the Mudblood as belonging to the Most Famous and Most Ancient House Of Black, did you not?" he sneered, and the other boy blushed in anger.

"Don't call her that!" Sirius stormed. He would have stood up and hexed the little bugger's backside if James and Remus hadn't been holding both his arms down, for they knew it was something he did whenever someone riled him up.

"It's okay, Sirius." Hermione whispered. She stood up and faced Regulus. She stared into his eyes defiantly, even though he was well over a head taller than her. His haughty look annoyed her to no end. "He's not worth it." she added, before shoving him away.

He looked disgusted beyond words. He was wiping the front of his robes, as if trying to get rid of germs. He looked back up at her, his face twisted in pure hatred. "You'll soon find that, in this castle, I'm the one who rules, Mudblood, and certainly not you." he hissed, before storming away, his cloak billowing after him in a slightly Snape-ish way.

Hermione sat back down and proceeded with eating her lunch, deciding to dismiss the whole incident. "Hermione?" She looked up at Sirius who was eyeing her carefully, as if determining whether or not she was upset. "Are you alright?"

She looked to him and felt a rush of affection towards the boy. Underneath his hard shell of arrogance, he was really sweet. She smiled reassuringly. "Of course I am." she soothed him. "You would be able to tell if I wasn't. I've been called worse."

"Oh…" he mumbled, before his cheerful grin went back into place. "That," he gushed, "Was bloody awesome." She winced at his choice of language and he held up his hand, which se slapped to make him happy. "I mean," he continued. "No-one apart from me has ever stood up to Regulus; especially not a girl. You should see how they all fawn over him!" he chortled. "It's ridiculous."

Hermione swallowed. "You mean, as ridiculous as all the girls who fawn over you?" she asked, only half joking.

A loud peal of laughter went around the table and people clutched their mouths and shook their hands, trying to hold their giggles in. Sirius ignored them. "No, because I give them what they want, and Regulus ignores them." he explained with a wink. "He's as stupid as he is an arse. Mind you, Slytherin girls aren't exactly lookers, but he can't do better."

Hermione had to chuckle at this. They continued lunch uninterrupted, at least until desert, when a shy third year came up to her and tapped her shoulder. "Miss Hermione?" the girl asked.

Hermione wiped her mouth on her napkin and turned. "Yes?" she asked sweetly.

The girl blushed. "Professor Dumbledore would like you to come to his office." she said with a soft voice, as if she was afraid of what Hermione would say to her. "He said that you would know the password and wishes to see you as soon as you finished eating, if possible."

Hermione nodded. "Thank you." she told the girl, who scampered off without anything else. She ate the rest of her cherry pudding and stood up. "Well, I better be off now." she said. "I don't want to keep Professor Dumbledore waiting."

Sirius stood up too. "I'll come with you. You never know when my brother might want to corner you."

She smiled. "I appreciate your offer, Sirius, but I think I can hold my own against him and don't need your help or protection. Besides, don't you have to give a group of girls 'what they want'?" she asked, miming quotation marks as she said those last words. And as another round of laughter went around the table, Hermione smoothed her skirt and walked out the Great Hall, numerous pairs of eyes trailing her every move.

-o-O-o-

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