A/N: Just noticed that the Sunday chapters almost always end up with cliffhangers and the Wednesday chapters barely ever do. A coincidence? Maybe...

Hermione's body was killing her. Her senses were oversensitive, her body was aching all over and her head – Merlin, her head was pounding so hard she was certain something would barge out of it soon.

Random bursts of magic were flowing out of her whenever she felt a strong emotion, so she was taking time to meditate every evening and she didn't sleep so that the nightmares wouldn't cause troubles.

She was sitting at the library, trying to finish her Charms essay but mostly just staring at the parchment. It shouldn't be that hard! She already covered that material! Yet the words didn't come out.

She heard footsteps coming in her direction and smelled the familiar scent of Remus, not bothering to look up. From the corner of her eye, she saw he had a piece of parchment in his hand so he was probably just joining her for homework making. Only when he spoke, she realized how mistaken she was.

"Hermione Granger?"

Without warning, the inkwell Hermione was using exploded, sending ink on her clothes, face and essay. She looked up at Remus, not bothering to clean herself.

"What?" she asked, afraid.

"Hermione?" Remus asked again.

"I…" she stuttered. "I don't know wh- what you're talking ab- about."

But the damage was already done. Hermione could smell her own fear and she knew that if she could, then Remus could also. Her eyes darted to the parchment in his hand and she cursed under her breath.

The bloody map!

"I should go," she said carefully, pulling herself to her feet and using the table as suppuration. Her feet barely held her standing. "I'm not feeling so well, I better go to the infirmary," she mumbled. "Or to take a shower, I have ink all over."

"Tergeo," Remus said, and the ink siphoned itself into the tip of his wand.

A ping of pain crossed her heart as she remembered how Ron did the exact same thing to a napkin right before they headed out after the Horcruxes. What fools had they been, thinking they could defeat Voldemort on their own – three seventeen year olds? Yes, Voldemort had been defeated, but the price was too big. The price of war is always too big.

"We need to talk," Remus said, sucking her back to the present.

"I need to go," she repeated, passing him and heading towards the exit.

"If you will, I would only bring it up again tonight," he called. "And this time, it would be with James, Sirius and Peter, and in front the whole of Gryffindor tower."

She paused and turned to look at him, shocked. "Why is it so important to you?" she asked.

"Because you lied to us about your name, and Merlin knows about what else," he said. "And I don't trust you."

"Dumbledore trusts me," Hermione said.

"Do you trust him?" Remus asked.

She looked down in shame. "No," she admitted. "And, honestly, when I think about it, neither should you. That doesn't make you trust me, does it? But for Dumbledore, we're nothing but pawns on the board and he'll be willing to sacrifice us for the bigger picture."

"Because that's a part of war," Remus said. "Sacrifices should be made. Tell me, what sacrifices were you planning to make?"

"Other than my long-gone sanity?" she asked mockingly.

"I mean it," he said harshly.

"Me too."

"Why did you lie about your name?"

"Dumbledore knows my real name, if it worries you," she said.

"What worries me is the reason you lied to us, Hermione."

The way he said her name sent daggers into her heart. "I just wanted a fresh start," she said.

"I don't believe you," he replied.

"Believe it or not, that is the truth," she said angrily.

"Are you really a transfer from France?" he questioned.

"That is none of your damn business," she said stubbornly.

"Hermione –"

"Stop calling me Hermione!"

Two candles at their surrounding blew themselves out and three books fell from the shelves. Hermione fell down on the floor, curling into a ball and covering her head in her hands.

"Deep breaths," she told herself. "Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Deep breaths."

Tears started streaming down her face as she calmed herself down. Nobody has called her Hermione in such a long time and hearing Remus say it only brought her back to her third year. It brought her back to late nights at the headquarters, to Bill and Fluer's wedding and to the last time she saw him, back at Grimmauld Place.

The list of names she had been called since the Snatchers caught them in the woods rolled in her head.

Pretty Thing, Beautiful, Mudblood, Filth, Mine, Grey, and Emerald.

That is who I am. That is what's left of me. No more, no less.

And not Hermione.

She raised her head to see him staring at her with shock and realized she was mumbling the names aloud repeatedly. She was barely whispering, but with his hearing, especially so close to the full moon, she knew he heard every word she said.

"Pretty Thing. Beautiful. Mudblood. Filth. Mine. Grey. Emerald."

She stumbled away from him and ran away, not even bothering to pick up her bag as she disappeared.

Remus didn't know what to think about the display of power and insanity Emerald – Hermione – had just shown in the library. The list she was saying repeatedly was now stuck in his head as he thought about every single title there.

Pretty Thing, he was afraid to find out what would cause someone to call her that way.

Beautiful, but the way it was said told him that it wasn't an ordinary compliment, but something else entirely.

Mudblood, so she was a muggle born. That meant she wasn't working for You-Know-Who. Maybe it was one of his supporters that hurt her so much?

Filth, his heart was aching to find out who said that to that beautiful, talented witch. Who broke her so much that she seemed beyond repair. Then he remembered she managed to repair herself, even if only partially, until he ruined it all today.

Mine, possessive. Stripping her from everything else, stripping her from who she was.

Grey, probably the first nickname given after she was nameless.

And finally, Emerald. The first time she had an identity again. Could he really blame her for wanting to stick with that name?

The whole ordeal just made Remus feel like a terrible person.

When Hermione stopped running, Hermione looked up to see where she was. Curiously, she found herself standing in front of the gargoyle that marked the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Raspberry Jam," she said and the gargoyle moved aside, showing her the spiral staircase to the office.

Hesitantly, she walked upstairs and knocked the door.

"Come in," Dumbledore called and she peeked inside to see him sitting next to the table with two twins that resembled Fred and George so much she felt like her heart is going to break all over again.

"The Prewett twins," she whispered as she realized who was standing in front of her.

"Gideon and Fabian, at your service," one of them, whom Hermione noticed had slightly rounder face, said with a mock bow.

"How may we assist the fair lady today?" the other asked.

"And, if I may," the first said, "why does the fair lady seems as if she had been crying?"

"Miss Grey?" Dumbledore asked. "Is everything alright?"

Hermione slowly shook her head.

"Do you want us to leave?" one of the twins asked and she shook her head again.

"You just look so much like them," she said.

"Like who?"

"Like the twins," she said.

"We are the twins," the one with the rounder face said. "I am Gideon, this is Fabian. The ones and only."

"The other twins," Hermione mumbled, tears streaming down her face again. "They aren't even born yet, are they?"

"I must admit that I am utterly and entirely confused," Fabian said.

"I will explain it all, to the best of my ability," Dumbledore said, eyeing Hermione worryingly. "But you must promise that all you hear will never leave this room."

"As much as I would love that explanation, Albus, I'd rather deal with the crying girl first," Gideon said. "What happened?"

"It's all just too much," she said. "I didn't remember the map, and now Remus found out I was lying. I… I can't do it anymore. I can't stay in class with dead people."

She started sobbing and then Gideon was by her side, holding her as she cried while Dumbledore explained the whole thing. How Hagrid found her in the Forbidden Forest, injured and hurt. How she woke up a couple of days later and how he found out she was from the future. How they decided she would be safest in Hogwarts and how she enrolled to her sixth year since she had never gotten to finish it in her own time.

When he was over, the only sound that was heard in the room was Hermione's sobs as she covered her events in the last couple of days.

"And now Remus saw my real name at the map, and he knows," she cried. "I can't do it. I just can't. I know everything that is going to happen to them and it's killing me. And to hear him say my name… the last person who said my real name was Harry, and it was right before the Snatchers arrived."

"You're safe now," Gideon said, whispering in her ear soothingly. "They can't hurt you anymore. I will kill anybody who tried."

"We'll protect you," Fabian agreed. "We'll not let anybody get to you."

"I'm not safe," she said darkly. "I'm never safe."

"You're at Hogwarts," Gideon said. "Safest place in Britain. Surely you know that, even in the future."

Their words started sinking in. she was at Hogwarts – the only place safe from Voldemort, even if only relatively. Dumbledore was here, as he would be for the next twenty years, and he was the only one Voldemort ever truly feared. She might still be in danger here, but she would be in even more danger anywhere else.

She sank into Gideon's hug and took in his smell. He smelt like a campfire.

"And as for your real name," he added, "so Remus knows. So what? Who could he possibly tell?"

The traitor, Hermione thought but didn't say.

"Just because the last time someone said your name, something bad happened, doesn't mean the name is bad," Fabian said.

"I, for one, think Hermione Granger is a truly beautiful name," Gideon smiled. "And so should you."

"So, is it settled?" Dumbledore asked. "Would you stay at Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "I'll stay."

"That's my girl," Fabian said with a smile. "And just so you know, if you ever need something, anything at all –"

"– we are closer than you think we are," Gideon finished. "Now, curfew is soon, and it's a school day tomorrow. I believe it would be best if you go back to the common room."

"And if that Remus guy does you any trouble, just tell us," Fabian said. "We'll take care of him."

"Thank you," Hermione said, walking towards the door. "For everything. And sorry for interrupting."

"Don't mention it," Dumbledore waved it off. "My door is always open for you."

She nodded and walked away, heading straight to Gryffindor tower and entered through the portrait hole. She saw Remus sitting on one of the couches and he raised his head when he saw her coming in, but she ran to her room before he could say anything and cast silencing charms around her bed.

She had a feeling the nightmares tonight would be worse than usual.