She opened her eyes with a hoarse, ragged breath, and her heart galloped at a furious rate. The Time-Turner was still clutched in her sweaty palm, and she quickly put the chain around her neck, hiding it from view under her clothes. It was dark and silent around her. What had happened? She felt as if she had screamed her way through time, as something was ripped apart from herself.

Hermione rose quietly, seeing that she was in a nicely decorated living room. Oh yes, this too would be 12 Grimmauld Place, but when was this? But it really didn't matter. If this was anytime before Sirius' return, this house would be positively dangerous.She had to get out quickly.

Counting herself lucky, she was relieved she hadn't landed herself in the middle of a cocktail party of Death Eaters. She crept towards the door, opening it carefully and quietly. The house seemed to be in its full splendor, well kept and clean. Moving slowly down the stairs, she fervently hoped that Sirius' mother was slumbering in her portrait. But the portrait wasn't there. Instead its space on the wall was bare, albeit with a rather beautiful, silken tapestry. When WAS this?

As she went through the front door, she took a deep, relieved breath. Outside. She made it. Hurrying along the pavement, she suddenly stopped as she almost stumbled on a great pile of rubble blocking the street. Looking around her, she saw several empty shells of burnt out houses, chimneys poking through fallen roofs pointing to the night skies. Suddenly the quiet was torn asunder by the piercing wail of a siren. War. She had landed herself in another war. Just lovely. As she heard a low rumble from an engine, a sudden whining, high-pitched sound and an almighty crash from a few blocks away, she Apparated on the spot.

Landing in Hogsmeade, she realized that she had to get some new clothes. If this indeed was wartime Britain, her jeans and sweater would stick out as decidedly odd, especially for such a warm summer night. She wandered the back alleys until she found a backyard where the washing was left outside. Nicking a dress, stockings and some unbelievable large knickers, she stole off to the lake, giving herself a quick wash before she put on the fresh clothes. The fit wasn't exactly premium, but at least it would stay on.

She sat down by the lake, leaning into a tree, enjoying the relative safety of being in the Hogwarts grounds again. The giant squid was waving its tentacles lazily somewhere in the middle of the lake, and the stars shone brightly overhead. Wartime Britain, she mused. She had never heard of anyone travelling so far back in time, but then as far as she knew no one had tested the spell she had used to power up the Time-Turner either.

Together with Ginny, she had researched an obscure theory after coming across one of the darker tomes in the Black family library earlier in the summer. They had discussed the idea of travelling to the distant past to change things, but Harry had put his foot down, saying the spell itself was immoral. She quite agreed, as Nasheegs theorem stated that by using the death of another, the time-traveler would be protected from the risks of travelling too far back in time. Like a human sacrifice. It probably worked out, then, as she was still alive. She shuddered.

Allowing herself a moment to grieve over Ginny, her friends, her own life, her own time, the emotions she should feel by any rights were curiously distant. It's the shock, she explained to herself. Dry-eyed, she relived the moments of horror, feeling an empty ache, like something had shattered inside her. Fiddling with the Time-Turner around her neck, she couldn't shake off a nagging sense of unease. Had she damaged her own soul, her ability to feel or her anchor in time itself by killing Ginny to use this spell?

After a long time, her thoughts turned to the present. Why wartime Britain? Did this mean that she would have the chance of killing Lord Voldemort before he came into his full strength? Maybe, if she was lucky, she had landed in a time before he had made his first Horcruxes? She'd kill him, even though it unraveled time itself and changed the future. He deserved that!

Xxxx

Come morning, she went up to the castle, asking to speak to Albus Dumbledore. A flustered House-elf by the name of Widdy showed her to the office belonging to the Transfiguration classroom. Oh yes, he held the position as Transfigurations teacher in the forties, she remembered. The office was full of books, but she noticed that it wasn't as cluttered by magical objects as his future office. Maybe he hadn't acquired so much stuff yet, or maybe the objects belonged to the Headmasters office?

"How may I help you, miss…?", the middle aged wizard said kindly, his blue eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Professor Dumbledore", she said formally, "I require your help. I'm Hermione Granger, and I am a Time traveler. I know you from the future, and I have come to this time to prevent a catastrophe from happening."

His eyebrows shot up, and shock permeated his features. "Miss Granger! You can't tell me anything, you must know the laws of time! Changing things may destroy… "

"I know," she cut him off, wearily. "I realize the dangers, but you must believe me. I am from the year 1997, and I have known you for years. I won't tell you details, but this should suffice: In the future there's war in the wizarding world too, all because one very evil and powerful wizard. We are losing – your side is losing, and so many people have died. I have come back to prevent this, and I know this may destroy everything or create an alternative timeline. But the thing is, you see, everything has been lost already. An alternate timeline would be better by far than what has actually happened. Will you allow me to show you a few memories?"

He stared at her sharply. "What's my favorite sweet?", he said suddenly.

She smiled. "Easy. Lemon drops. And your phoenix is named Fawkes. And you promised us: Help will always be given at Hogwarts for those who ask. Does it still apply in this day, this time?"

Dumbledore became very quiet, the only thing moving in his face was his eyes, blinking rapidly.

She concentrated on the memories she wanted to show him: her first day at Hogwarts and her Sorting, Fawkes in his office, Dumbledore as he locked them in to save Buckbeak, the fight at the Ministry, and some recent war memories, excluding all memories with the name Tom Riddle. Opening her mind to him, she said: "Will you please take a look?"

To feel him rummage through her memories was strange. His touch was featherlight and friendly, but his face became grave, as he saw the desperation of their war efforts.

Hiding his eyes for a moment behind his hand, he answered: "I will help you. But you must never tell me anything more than this. I don't even want to know who this dangerous wizard is, or why you think you can stop him at this particular point in time."

Nodding, she said: "What year is it, exactly? I only know it is somewhere in the forties."

Giving her a surprised look, he told her it was the 31. th of August, 1944. Blanching, she realized that it was too late. Voldemort had already created his first two Horcruxes. Still, it was only the two. Yes, she could still do this.

Gathering her thoughts, she said firmly: "I want to enroll for the seventh year. I have completed my sixth year, and my grades are better than most. I also want people to know that I'm from the future. I won't tell any details, but there is such a difference between my time and this, that I need to give some sort of explaining as to why I seem odd. I just want to tell them that I'm lost in time by an accident."

"No, this is breaking the laws of time, Miss Granger! It will be too dangerous!"

"I believe it's vital that people know. Then it will be easier for me to guard my secrets too. Some people will pry, but it will help me to be aware of the danger at all times. To create a believable story that I can manage to stick to will be very difficult. People will wonder about a girl no one has ever heard of joining Hogwarts in the seventh year. They will be curious as to why I have no family, and how I acquired my magic skills. I can't speak German, so I can't possibly fake a background from Durmstrang, and my French is not good enough to make anyone believe that I have completed six years at Beauxbaton. I know next to nothing about American wizards and their way of life. If I tried to pass off something like that, my behavior would raise suspicions and speculations quite quickly. I promise you, I won't tell anyone about the future." Yes, she had him, she could see his resolve slipping.

Continuing, she said: "Also, I want to be Sorted again. It may be that my mission requires another House, though I love Gryffindor."

He gave her a long, searching look, finally nodding. "I'll help you, Hemione Granger. You have my word. School is starting soon, and tomorrow we need to determine your N.E.W.T. studies."

Smiling, she proudly showed him the memories of her OWL tests and the results.

Xxxx

Later in the day, Dumbledore took her to see headmaster Dippet. The Headmaster's office was impeccable in its tidiness, with neatly organized folders on his clean desk, and all the books were sorted alphabetically in their shelves. Dippet himself was a portly, bald man, whose surprise at her story took no end.

"The future? So far in the future? 1997? How is this even possible?"

She tried to tell him it was an accident, but he just wouldn't stop talking.

"Albus, did you think such a thing possible? I guess many thing will be made possible by new discoveries, but how come we've never had time-travelers before? I just think it it's so odd".

His voice droned on and on, and Hermione felt herself involuntarily shutting out his voice. Looking around in the Headmasters office, she saw the Sorting Hat sitting on a stool in the corner. Oddly, she felt as if the Hat was looking at her.

Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly, and Dippet stopped himself.
"Excuse me, miss Granger, I must be rambling. I understand that you do want to attend Hogwarts to finish your seventh year? That's admirable of you, and I do want to encourage young people to seek knowledge. We will of course admit you, and I can understand the worry about your fellow students picking up on anything out of the ordinary. However, to tell everyone about this extraordinary feat of time travelling, I'm not so sure…"

Dumbledore replied in his deep voice: "Sometimes, the best place to hide is in plain truth. The students will be curious about the new student anyway. I believe it's better to tell the truth, than to make Hermione and us to weave herself into a web of complicated lies. This way, she will not be found out by accident."

"I suppose you're right as always, Albus," Dippet said. Smiling at Hermione, he continued, "I feel that Hogwarts will be proud of having you as a student. Why don't we get this Sorting over?"

As the Hat went over her head, it said with a fair amount of surprise: "Lost in time, are you? What brings you to the past, Hermione Granger?"
She immediately asked to be sorted into Slytherin.

"What? You have traces of a true Gryffindor, and the makings of an exceptionally bright Ravenclaw", the Hat said with amusement.

"Yes, I was in Gryffindor somewhere along in the future. But could you please, please put me in Slytherin instead? I have a very clear ambition, a strong mind, and I've learned more about politicking than I ever wanted to learn. Please? I have a mission, and I NEED Slytherin!"

"Well", the Hat said a little warily. "Your memories tell me that you have done a few things that only a Slytherin would consider. There's also something decidedly odd about your mind, a curious hole, like there is a small piece of you that's lacking, though I cannot see what it means. It makes it difficult to Sort you correctly. The cause might, of course, be your age, or the fact that you are a time traveler. But, when you're this sure," the Hat concluded, shouting: "I give you SLYTHERIN!"

Xxxx

In the evening, she relaxed in the library. It seemed unnaturally quiet without the usual whispering of students, but the thousands of books made her feel at home. The dusty smell of books and parchment, leather and polished wood comforted her. She was sipping at a cup of lovely, hot chocolate with whipped cream brought her by Widdy – delicious even though the very idea of House-elf enslavement made her cringe inside.

Curling up into her chair, she thought: Voldemort has already made two Horcruxes, the diary and the Gaunt ring. I will need to finish his Horcruxes before I can try to kill him, and to find them, I must get close to him. His interest will be picked by my time travelling, and my brains and academic prowess will show him that I'm useful. I will do whatever it takes, even become a pretend Death Eater if need be.

She squared her shoulders, steeling herself for what she had to do. But for now, she would just sit quietly, drinking her chocolate, and remember happier times at Hogwarts.

A/N: Tom Riddle will be in the next chapter, I promise.

As for the timeline before Hermione landed herself in the forties, it's slightly AU. I won't be writing this into the story, so: Hermione and the Order spent time in 12 Grimmauld Place during the summer, the Weasley wedding happened and the Ministry fell as in the books, but then the trio didn't go haring off alone. And then bad things happened to the Order in just a few weeks.