Hi again!!!  Ok, now I can actually work on the good part of the story....it might be a little shaky because I only have a vague idea on how I'll write the next chapters, so enjoy I guess....

Time After Time

Fic by MuseQ

Chapter 6- Duties of the Head Girl

*****

Continued...

"Ms. Granger!"  McGonagall sighed and went to her side. 

"Why do you keep doing that?" said Remus annoyed, staring at himself.

"I didn't feel I was obligated to knock."  His older self shrugged.

Silence.  Deep thought.

"So..."  Remus looked at Lupin dejectedly.  "...I'm a professor, eh?"

"Don't get so exited," said Lupin, mocking his disappointment, "Even in the dawning twenty-first century it is difficult for us to find work."

"Only the people like Albus in the world try to amend that."  McGonagall mused.  She pulled off the cloth that was on the girl's head.  "Now that that is settled, we can all get back to our rooms.  Ms. Granger will be alright in her dormitory, I think."

"Absolutely not!"  Madam Pomphrey shrieked from the doorway.  "Head injuries require at least one night's tending to in the wing!"

McGonagall sighed and pulled the covers over the girl's chest and looked at Remus.

"I will speak to Albus about you attending classes for the time being.  And Remus," -He withdrew his gaze from the girl- "do refrain from speaking about this to anyone other than those who are involved."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"I'll take him to the vacant dormitory, Minerva."  Lupin piped up.  Remus paled.

"Alright then," said McGonagall, eyeing him suspiciously.  "I'll be here to pick up Ms. Granger in the morning.  Lord knows what questions she'll have for me."  She left, mumbling incoherently to no one in particular.

"Right."  Lupin clapped his hands together pleasantly.  "Remus and I should be getting back, so, good night, Poppy."  Remus scrambled for his belongings and followed himself out of the room, passing a very stressed and confused Madam Pomfrey.

They walked in silence, up the staircases and through the drafty corridors.  Remus had a million questions for his older self, but refrained from speaking for fear of altering anything that should happen.

"Don't be so tense, I'm as anxious as you are."  Lupin stated by Remus' stiff walk.

"Sorry... but, should we be even talking to each other?"  Said Remus, pointedly not looking at him.

"Why shouldn't we?"

"I remember reading about the effects of time travel when being confronted by yourself-"

"-as do I," Lupin added, "go on."

"Yeah...er, well I read it is really dangerous and should be avoided completely."

"Correct.  But that is only when surprised.  We already have an understanding.  And it will be less confusing if we refer to each other as separate people.  Perhaps a different first name?  I'll say that you're a relative intending to stay only a couple of weeks.  Sound good?"

"Mmm."  Remus muttered, thinking of a good fake name.

Lupin said the password to the Fat Lady and led Remus up to the top of the boy's staircase. 

"This is a spare room intended for guests, but apparently wasn't used in a while..."  Indeed, the air smelled musty with dust, and white sheets dimmed in color from age were lightly draped over the chair and end tables.  "...I will alert the house-elves in the morning, so tonight you'll have to cope with the surroundings."

"Right."

Silence.

"Goodnight, then."  Lupin turned to the door.

"How about Romulus?" 

He turned around.  "Pardon?"

Remus smiled at his own cheek.  "For my new name.  The roman brother of Remus."

"Yes, I know," Lupin said, smiling. "that would be fine.  Goodnight."  He left.

Remus took off the top sheet of the bed and collapsed on the feather mattress.  Ignoring the thick must the bed gave off, and the many other worries swimming through his head, he quickly fell asleep.

***

He slept very uneasily that night, and finally when the sleep was strong enough,  he felt someone shake him awake.  Not wanting to open his eyes, he turned over.

'This was all a dream', he thought lazily, 'I'll wake up and probably be late for Arithmancy again...'

"Remus?"  A voice whispered nervously.

'Damn, that's probably Sirius... can't he mind his own self for one damn morning?'

"Go away, Padfoot..."  He mumbled bitterly, "Let me be late for class...I'm getting top grades anyway..."

"Not Padfoot,"  The voice said uncertainly, "just me."

Remus opened his eyes.  Staring at a broken cob web from his position let him gather his thoughts.

Damn.

He turned to look at the girl hovering over him with a worried expression.

"Erm, hi..."  She said before blushing and staring at the wall.

Remus took this particular moment to study her a bit more.  She had slightly bushy brown hair, and bright hazel eyes that shimmered as she looked away.  He watched them dart slightly from one focus to another, before lowering his own eyes below her petite nose and stopping on her full, naturally tinted lips...

He mentally slapped himself.

"What are you doing in here?"  Among the many things he could have said to her.  He hardly ever talked to girls, and quickly regretted it.

"Oh, uh...well, I needed to fetch you for breakfast, and so we can get your things."  She smiled carefully.

"What do mean 'we'?  And what things?" 

"Your school supplies."  said she simply.  "I am Head Girl and it is my duty to aid new students into getting situated."

"Oh.  Hold on, then-" Remus stood up as the sheet he was wrapped in inched down his body.  If he wasn't completely awake, then he wouldn't have noticed he was half-naked.

"Oh- damn!"  He quickly grabbed the sheet before it revealed his boxers and the rest of his chest.  The girl had already turned around, now blushing much deeper than before. 

"Professor Lupin already brought up a change of clothes..."  She said while stifling a laugh. "They're in the bathroom."

"Oh really?"  Remus inched into the small bathroom and began to change.  "And I suppose he was also the one who sent you up here?"  He watched her head nod in the mirror, and her shoulders shake from giggling.  "I seem to develop a sense of humor after all."

"It's strange how the house-elves wanted to clean your clothes as well as the room, don't you think?"  said the girl, finding it hard to control her laughter.

"Yeah... it's a little unnerving... the thought of them undressing me."  He came into the bedroom fully dressed.  She turned around, and both were silent for a moment.

"So, knowing we'll be spending some time together," she said smoothly,  "anything you want to know before we head downstairs?"

"How about your name?"  If guts were galleons...

Her blush returned slightly, but she smiled.  "Hermione Granger."  They shook hands.

"Romulus Lupin."

She laughed.  "Romulus?"

"It'll be less confusing that way, but you can call me Remus when no one is listening."

"You never know," Hermione mused as they decended the saircase into the common room, "the walls can have ears if your not careful."

"I'll keep that in mind."  They stood in front of the portait hole.

"Oh, I almost forgot."  Hermione shuffled through her pockets, pulling out a draw-string bag and handed it to Remus.  "These are all the things that were in your pockets of your robe."

He looked through the bag expectantly:  a broken quill, muggle pencil, a couple of dungbombs, and a sealed envelope.  Curiously he pulled out the envelope, being that he had no memory of having it.  Hermione watched him intently.

His face paled at the name on the front.  He tore it open and pulled out a small parchment.

"Bloody hell."

"What is it?"  Hermione leaned in for a glimpse at the letter inside.

Remus breathed deep, the temperature rising in his cheeks and his mouth rigid with anger.  "It's a letter... from Sirius Black."

*****

YAY!!! Cliffhanger!! O.o I guess I like this chapter, but the lack of romance is pissing me off...I think the story will be longer than I intended, but who knows?  I'll try to speed it up hopefully... keep in mind this is my first chapter story...^_^

~~MuseQ