June 13th 1976

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut; holding tightly onto the bed post hoping to merlin this was just a very vivid dream.
"What do we do? Do we pat her on the back?" James asked, eyes flickering between Remus and Sirius.

"She's not a dog, James." Remus covered his ears, wincing at her pitched screams.

Sirius grinned. "Bet she would be in the sack."
Remus and James looked at him in a mix of shock and disgust.

"Now is not the time Sirius!"

"It's just a dream, this isn't real." Hermione whispered to herself, pacing back and forth in a tight square.

The three boys looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
"I know what to do boys." Sirius said taking a step away from James and Remus and walked towards Hermione.
Sirius made his way towards Hermione, curiosity etched upon his face as he watched her.

"Oh no, what do you think he's up to?" James whispered to Remus.

"I have no idea, but knowing Sirius, he has not thought this through."

Sirius stopped directly in front of Hermione, grasping her shoulders so she became still.

"There is only one sure way that I know Padfoot uses to shut up girls." James said watching Sirius with curious eyes. Remus rolled his eyes. "God help us."

With wide eyes Hermione watched in horror as Sirius stepped up close to her, letting his hands run down her shoulders to her arms. Tugging on her arms he pulled her close to him and wound his own around her shaking shoulders, embracing her in a hug.

"Shh, it's going to be ok." He soothed her, stroking her hair. Hermione's stiffened posture began to relax slightly after the moment of shock wore off.

"Well, I was definitely not expecting that to happen." James said in astonishment watching the gentle gesture.

Hermione pulled away and rubbed her eyes. "I cannot believe this has happened."

Remus took a hesitant step towards her, careful not to impose too much. "May I ask, what exactly did happen?"
Hermione took a seat on the ground, dusting away the loose clothes and books around her. Pulling her legs close to her chest she looked up at the three expectant boys.
"I don't know. I thought it only showed a memory, at least that's what Harry told me. I never even thought of the possibility it would take me here better still to you lot." She glanced over at the sleeping Peter and grimaced. Her eyes caught the diary sitting on the floor next to his bed.

"Where did you get that book?" she asked hesitantly. James looked over at the diary lying flat on the ground. He walked over and picked it up, flipping through the pages.

"Pete found it, got it from Snivellus."

Hermione frowned. "You mean Snape?"

Sirius nodded "Yeah Snape." As an afterthought mumbling 'that git'.
Hermione's eyebrows furrowed muttering to herself. "Why on earth would he have Tom Riddles diary?"

"Whose?" All three boys asked in confusion. Hermione glanced up at them all, unsure of the limit of how much she can give away without disastrous effects.

"I'm sorry, this must be terribly confusing for you all. Heck, I'm even confused! Could I take a look at that diary James?"
James handed her the diary, still curious as to how he knows any of their names. Hermione gave a small smile taking the diary from James grasp. She looked around on the ground, finding a quill and a bottle of ink. She opened the diary to the middle page and began writing.

Harry? Ron? It's Hermione, are you there?

Moving from his place, Remus walked over to Hermione and sat down next to her.
"You're the one we have been writing to."

Hermione looked up and smiled. "Always the observant one." She gave a small pause "Yes, it was me. However there were also two others, just as much of trouble makers as you three," she looked over at Peter again. "Well, four."

"Do we come off as trouble makers then?" James grinned, walking over to the two and sitting down on Hermione's other side. Hermione laughed "You two definitely." She pointed towards James and Sirius, "You not so much." She finished with Remus.

"But despite first impressions, you seem to already know us. Care to elaborate?" Sirius had finally moved from his stance to sit directly opposite Hermione, his eyes never leaving her which became a bit unnerving for Hermione.

She bit her lip. "I'm not exactly sure, I don't feel as if I have permission to say anything. I may have to go see Professor McGonagall first off."
Sirius frowned, unsure of her reasoning. He looked at the other two who seemed just as confused but knowing each of them was determined to find out.

"Well," Sirius broke the silence with a grin "Can we at least know your name? Or is that also forbidden?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes you may. It's Hermione." She picked up the quill from the floor and twirled it around aimlessly in between her fingers. "I'm sorry for acting the way I did; it was just an incredible shock. I honestly thought I would be used to these kind of surprises."

James waved her off. "It's fine, really." A mischievous look fell upon his face "However, as you had intruded into our personal headquarters, I believe it's only fair you tell us everything. I'm still at loss as to how you know my name. Or Lily's. Oh no, what if Lily walks in right now and sees a girl in our room, she may think I'm cheating on her!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Prongs, first of all it would only be considered cheating if you were actually dating her in the first place. Secondly, I doubt she would step anywhere near this room since she goes to all effort to avoid you." James huffed loudly.
The two began to bicker as Remus shook his head. Hermione glanced at him. "They do this a lot?"
He laughed. "You have no idea."


July 13th 1996

Harry walked into the common room, book bag slung over his shoulder. He fell onto the couch in front of the fire, removing his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. The days seem to be getting longer.

"Harry?"

Harry sat up, looking over the couch he saw Neville holding two bags and a large pile of books.

"Hermione left these in the library, I can't find her anywhere." He put the stack of books down on the small table as well as placing the bag on the ground next to it.

"Thanks Neville, I'll make sure she gets them."

Neville smiled before walking up the staircase leading to the boy's dormitory. Harry sighed, looking at the large group of books sitting on the table. How Hermione does it he will never know. Harry spotted Tom Riddles diary sitting among them. Why did Hermione have it?
Harry pulled it off the pile and opened it, flicking through the pages until he reached the middle. He was startled up when he saw a neat scrawl of writing set on the left hand page.

Harry? Ron? It's Hermione, are you there?