Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I don't make money from this fic.
November 13, 1978 London, England - Sirius and Hermione's Flat
Hermione plopped down into her favorite chair after a long day at St. Mungo's. She was exhausted, and she was sure Sirius was faring no better, especially as this was the week of the full moon, and Remus had been more irritable than normal lately. This would be his last transformation with the boys before beginning his trip to meet up with Fenrir's pack in the north. He wasn't sure how long he'd be gone, so he wanted to make the most of the time he had left. Hermione heard the door behind her slam open just then and she jumped up, reaching for her wand before seeing it was just Sirius.
Just a very grumpy Sirius. Hermione frowned at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "What's wrong?" Hermione asked. "Did someone-" Hermione went pale. There were only two reasons he'd be so upset that he came in like that. Someone died, or he had a fight with one of the guys.
"No. It's Remus." Sirius spat, slamming the door closed and pacing. Hermione sighed.
"Again? You know it's just the moon-" She said.
"He didn't show. Again. James said he had something important to do. Said he left him in Diagon out of the blue." He said, pacing back and forth. "But I saw him in Diagon Alley, Hermione. Or rather, leaving Diagon Alley. Going into Knockturn Alley."he said darkly.
"What are you saying, Sirius?" Hermione asked incredulously.
"He's been sneaking off without us, Hermione." Sirius said, hands in his hair. "I don't want to believe it, either, but the evidence is all there. Maybe some of his contacts- some of his werewolf contacts-"
"No." Hermione said, firmly.
"What do you mean, 'no'?" Sirius said, turning to her. That one word had gotten him to stop pacing.
"I mean, no. You're wrong. Remus is loyal to the Order, but more importantly, he's loyal to you. You, James, Peter. Lily and I. He'd protect us with his life. There is no way in hell that he would betray you." Hermione said, enunciating very carefully, her eyes locked on his. He had a fire in his eyes, one that she was sure was reflected in her own.
"But how can you be sure? How do you know that he won't run off with Greyback during this mission of his?" Sirius said.
"I-" Hermione realized she only had one way to placate him. "Fuck."
Sirius frowned, looking her over. She normally didn't swear, so she was sure he took note of was her turn to pace the floor. She had to tell him. There was no way around it in her mind.
"Sirius, I need you to get the others. James and Lily, Remus, and Peter. I need to tell you all something, and I'd prefer to do it all at once." Hermione said, trying to remain calm.
"Hermione?" he asked, taking a step toward her. He was worried, she could tell by the tone in his voice.
"I'm fine, Sirius. There's just something that I really need to tell everyone." She said, taking deep breaths to try and calm down.
"I'm not leaving you like this." He said, crossing to her and wrapping his arms around her securely. "You look like you're about to have a panic attack." He murmured. She barked a laugh.
"Not far from it." She murmured into his chest, curling in on herself and allowing him to support her. "But I need the others here to hear this." Sirius pulled his wand out of his back pocket.
"Expecto Patronum." He muttered, and Hermione looked up as three silvery dogs sprang from his wand. "Hermione needs us all together. We're at the flat. Come as soon as you can." he told them, then they trotted off, bound out of the window towards their friends.
"I don't know what has you this upset," He murmured to Hermione. "But if it's something I did-"
"It's nothing you did." Hermione said, looking up at him. "It's something I did, and I'm afraid you'll hate me for it."
"I could never hate you." He said, frowning.
"I'll believe that after I tell you this." Hermione said, with a small smile. There was a knock on the door just then, but before Sirius could move to open in, James came bustling through, followed closely by Lily, Remus, and Peter.
"Sirius, I wanted to apologize for not making lunch today-" Remus started, but Sirius held up a hand, releasing Hermione.
"We'll talk about it after we hear what Hermione has to say, take a seat." they followed his instructions with a nod. Hermione took a deep breath, and felt herself starting to panic again. She felt Sirius slide his hand into hers, and that calmed her a bit. She brushed her hair out of her face and began.
"I lied to all of you." Hermione said shakily. "On Dumbledore's orders, but it's still a lie. I need you to know the truth. You're my best friends, the closest I have to family. You need to know." She took a deep breath. "I don't belong to this time."
"You-" Sirius frowned. "You what?" He sat down on the couch next to James.
"An accident during a fight in the Department of Mysteries sent me back in time twenty years. That's what really happened the summer after fifth year. I was attacked by Death Eaters. But my parents weren't killed. I just wasn't born yet." Hermione said, quickly, her eyes on the floor.
"So, you're not a Potter then?" James said, and Hermione could hear the hurt in his voice.
"My real name is Hermione Granger. I'm a Muggleborn. My birthday is September 19, 1979."
"You're not even born until next year?" Sirius asked. "But isn't time travel, you know, very illegal?"
"When it's intentional, yes." Hermione said. "A Time Turner, a fairly old one, if my suspicions are correct, fell on my head with some force. Shattered on impact, sending me back in time, twenty years." She said.
"Did you know us? In the future? Or at least know of us?" Lily asked.
"Before I answer that, let me make it known: the visions I have are from the accident. My past has already been changed, and thus, your futures will be, as well." Hermione said, then took a deep breath. "Remus, you were my Defense Against the Dark Arts professor third year."
"I-I was?" He said, looking shocked. "How- was I any good at it?" Hermione smiled.
"Best Defense teacher I ever had. I met Sirius and Peter that year, too, but under different… circumstances." Hermione sighed.
"Such as?" Sirius asked, leaning forward in his seat and bracing his forearms on his knees.
"I want you to know, I've done what I can to prevent this situation happening already." Hermione said, pacing again.
"You had a child, James. With Lily. And there was this prophecy about a baby born at the same time being able to defeat the Dark Lord. There were two children it could be, but he chose yours. He came after you. There was a Fidelius Charm placed on the house, but your secret keeper was...compromised."
"Who was it?" Sirius asked.
"Initially, they wanted you, Sirius. But you felt that was too obvious. So you suggested, in secret, someone you knew would never betray you." Hermione said.
"Peter?" Sirius murmured. Hermione nodded.
"Remus was in the north, on Order business. He didn't know the secret keeper had been changed, no one had. But you grew weary of Remus, didn't trust him. You left him out of the plans specifically because of that. So when Voldemort confronted Peter, and he cracked under the pressure- everyone, even Remus, thought it was you that sold out James and Lily, Sirius. You went after him, you were going to kill him. But before you could, he cut off his finger and transformed, running away. Everyone assumed you killed him, blasted him to shreds, and so you were taken to Azkaban."
"I was in prison?" He asked, his voice hollow. "Because of Peter?"
"For twelve years. In my third year, you escaped. You went to Hogwarts, trying to protect James's child. Remus still didn't know you were innocent, until you told him the story. My friend had a pet rat he called Scabbers, and when Remus repossessed the Marauder's map from James's son- yes, I know it exists, Filch confiscated it last year- he saw Peter's name on the map and knew that's why Sirius was there."
"Because the Map doesn't lie." Remus muttered.
"Exactly." Hermione said, feeling exhausted. "Peter went free, joining the Dark Lord because if he came back to the Order, he'd be sent to Azkaban. I helped Sirius escape, and he went back to Grimmauld Place to lay low, his house becoming Order headquarters for a bit. Remus stayed there, too, for the most part."
"The Order was still around?"James asked.
"The Dark Lord was defeated for a time, so we thought. But he eventually arose again, and the Order reformed as well."
"This is all… how did you know all of this at sixteen, Hermione?" Sirius asked. She shrugged.
"My best friend was something of a celebrity. The child destined to defeat the Dark Lord. I got more inside information than most." she said.
"So this is real." Sirius said. "This is how you know Remus isn't going to betray us." Sirius asked, and Remus shot him a look.
"Yes. It's how I know Peter isn't going to betray you, as well." Hermione said. "We've already had this talk, haven't we Pete?"
"Well, not the time travel bit, but the rest… Yeah, rings a bell." he said, softly. "I can't lose you lot."
"So," Hermione said, turning away from them. "How much do you hate me?"
"Hate you?" Sirius asked, standing and crossing to her, taking her into his arms once again. "Hermione, you've been protecting us, and we didn't even know it. You've been hiding this from us, yes, but I, for one, know that I wouldn't have believed you if you had told me this two years ago."
"He's right, Hermione." James said. "It wasn't like this is something that should have been common knowledge. I'm sure Dumbledore knows, but you did right by not telling us until it was necessary."
"Besides," Sirius grinned down at her. "This means I'm not fucking my cousin. And I can't begin to tell you how much better I feel knowing that." Hermione cracked a grin at that.
"I can't help but wonder, though, Hermione." Lily said. "Is there a way for you to get back to your own time?"
"Theoretically, yes." Hermione sighed. "Practically, I'm unsure. According to Dumbledore, I exist outside of time. This is my time as much as the one I was born into. There's a couple problems with going back, though. Firstly, I left in 1976, and I was sixteen. I'm eighteen now, and going back to 1996 having aged two years would cause quite a bit of confusion to the general public. Second, I'm not really sure how to go about actually travelling through time without a Time Turner, though Dumbledore believes it is possible. And third," Hermione looked around the room, to each of her friends, and then to her boyfriend. "I'm not sure I want to leave."
"So now that we know," James said, standing beginning to pace himself. It was a nervous habit he'd picked up from Sirius. "How do we stop it from happening?"
"Well," Hermione said, a small smile in place. "For starters, you all know what to avoid. You know the signs to look for, and you know how to keep history from repeating itself. Failing that, you still have one thing now that you didn't have then."
"What's that?" James frowned, looking over at her. She grinned at him.
"Me."