On the day that she and James were to leave for Hogwarts, Hermione was neatly packing her trunk again with the possessions that the Potters had bought for her. She was very grateful; in fact, they had constantly told her to stop thanking them. But she really couldn't thank them enough, in her opinion. She had just finished re-packing the trunk as James came bouncing into the room.

"Hey, 'Mione! Are you ready?!" He asked excitedly. It was obvious how excited he was. He had been going on and on about Hogwarts ever since since she'd gotten there, and he didn't even seem at all nervous, just confident. Sometimes it annoyed her how sure of himself he was, something she didn't have at that age. He acted like he knew everything.

Hermione, on the other hand, did know everything. She knew the future, although she was still insecure. She felt even more nervous than her first time going to Hogwarts, and even in her current situation, some things hadn't changed. She'd still be going to school with people who didn't know her and who would judge and torment her. She still wasn't sure which house she'd be in; nothing was a certainty. The positive difference was that she already knew James and she felt like she could trust him- but only time would tell.

She smiled at him. "Yes, I'm all packed," She answered.

James grinned as he grabbed her trunk and started pulling it for her. "Let's go, then! Mum and Dad are waiting downstairs!" He exclaimed, dragging the trunk out the door and expecting her to follow.

However, she didn't. She briefly looked around the room, knowing that the chances the Potters would have her over again for a long while were very slim; she would have to stay with another family instead. With a small sigh, she followed James downstairs to where his parents were waiting.

With giant smiles and hugs, they all said an informal goodbye, with cookies being passed around with promises to write letters. It was confusing, considering they weren't at King's Cross yet, but she went along with it anyway. After even more sweets and money being given to both Hermione and James, they apparated to King's Cross to see them off.

It was here that the long goodbye at the house made sense. This goodbye was so formal, with a small hug and a rehashing of the basic rules, such as to behave. It was rather surreal to see the difference between how they acted at home and how they acted in public. Hermione had never considered that people would act differently. She supposed you really didn't know what was going on within somebody's home.

Hermione looked around, noting who she recognised and who she didn't, the children who would grow up to kill and the ones who would protect. She saw Remus Lupin, her eyes widening as she recognised him- it was hard at first, since he looked so different and young. There was no visible scarring that she could see, and he had an innocent yet shy smile on his face. She couldn't help but smile as well at seeing him so young and healthy. She hardly realised she was being pulled to the train until she almost fell onto it. James didn't seem to notice as he continued pulling her until they were in a compartment.

They both sat down for a second before James jumped up and looked out the window, waving at his parents. Hermione smiled, loving seeing James so innocent.

Hermione's heart nearly stopped as the doors opened and who she imagined was a young Sirius Black walked in. He looked so healthy, groomed, well-looked-after, and nothing at all like she'd imagined. She was so shocked that she couldn't help but stare at him, not even hearing the words he was saying. It must have been friendly, because he sat down and James instantly started up a conversation with him. It was like they were instant friends. When she zoned into the conversation, she realised they were talking about Quidditch and zoned back out, leaning against the chair.

Thank you for reading!

This is the shortest chapter I believe!

Edited: 05/04/16

Beta'ed by ThisVioletofMine