DISCLAIMER: See first chapter

A/N: HPFanFicLuvr, as my wonderful, fantastic beta, deserve all the thanks in the world for her wonderful job with my story. Here it is. My wonderful, loyal reviewers, who feed my burning intent to write, also deserve all the thanks. Here it is.

BeCkY6: Yes, that's always a good advice to listen to.

arrow-card: Really? That's an… interesting idea. I'm not so sure I think so, but I pity him. I pity him deeply.

mi again again: Du lämande inte en review. Du mailade. Jag svarar bara på såna som revierar. Ha! Jag mobbar din stavning så mycket jag vill. Eller... din stavvning, rättare sagt. Gocha! And I wasn't insulting you, sweetie, I was ignoring you!

Samantha-1434: Thank you! It's almost finished, I just have a few more chapters to go.

"Peter! Peter wait!" Hermione screamed. She felt like hitting herself.. How could they have been so careless? Talking so loudly about him! She was out of breath, angry with herself and tearful. He shouldn't know. He didn't deserve to know. The Peter she had seen was sweet – weak, but sweet. He didn't deserve to know that he was a murderer.

He was racing out through the doors. Her heart plummeted as she realized where he was going. The lake.

"No Peter!" she screamed again. "Stop!"

He didn't listen to her.

He raced across the grounds. She followed. She searched the robes for her wand. It wasn't there. Her heart beat more than it had ever beaten before.. Partly because of the exercise, partly because of the excitement.

Peter was closing in on the lake.

She searched frantically. There it was! Peter dived. Hermione raised her wand and shouted the first spell that came into her mind:

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Peter soared up in the air.

"Let me down!" he yelled. She didn't listen. He floated in the air. It came as a surprise to her when she realized she had been holding her breath.

"I let you down if you promise that you won't do anything stupid."

He nodded.

"Promise that you won't do anything until I have explained."

He nodded again, and she placed him gently on the ground.

"I want you to tell me everything," he said quietly. "And don't pretty it up."

Hermione nodded and swallowed.

"I'll tell you on the way to the Great Hall."

"Do you hate me?" Peter asked as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.

Hermione was silent for a while before responding. He felt sure she was going to reject him. He knew he deserved it. Where had everything gone wrong? If – in the future – he remembered this period, he would have to answer that question. Hermione opened mouth. She was clearly finished brooding. He dreaded her answer.

"No Peter, I don't hate you. I hate what you become, I hate Wormtail. But I don't hate Peter Pettigrew, fifth year Gryffindor."

An uncomfortable silence ensued, until the other Marauders joined them.

"Why the glum faces?" asked Sirius cheerfully.

Neither graced him with an answer. He saw Ron shoot Hermione a reproachful glance.

How do you live with the knowledge that you'll kill your best friend? Peter wondered silently.

At that moment, a fourth year Ravenclaw hopped into the hall. He had been placed under the leg-locker curse. Nearly everyone burst out into laughter, except Hermione. She swiftly did the counter curse before turning grimly to James and Sirius.

"Explain yourselves," was all she needed for them both to turn beetroot red. They started stumbling over the words.

"Actually," said a voice to her right. She turned to look at Amos Diggory. "I found that prank very amusing. Who would have thought that that was Nora Perks' brother?"

Hermione left.

Sirius stood hidden under James invisibility cloak. He saw Nora stare into the fire. This was his last chance to find out what was up with the girl. Hermione was returning in two weeks.

Hermione and Lily climbed through the portrait hole. They spotted Nora in her chair and sat down with her. Sirius waited eagerly for what would happen.

"It does not do to dwell on dreams, Nora," said Hermione finally, quoting what Dumbledore said to Harry in her first year.

Nora turned to Hermione. Her eyes were misty.

"I can't, Hermione," she said. "I've tried and I can't."

Lily felt her heart plummet.

Please don't let her give up now. Not when Hermione's just leaving.

"Don't give up. You can, and you will make it."

"No I can't. I'm going to bed."

Lily and Hermione looked at each other. Now what do we do? Asked Hermione silently with her eyes. Lily turned to look at Nora's retreating back.

"I don't know," she mumbled. "I suppose it's my problem. You're leaving soon, and I should learn how to deal with Nora alone."

"It's amazing how fast two weeks flies," Hermione stated, watching the potion. It was now a very dark blue.

She took a vial and scooped a little of the potion into it.

"So. This is it," she said finally. "We're going home."

"I'll miss you," Lily hugged her friend. Presently, Mia joined the hug, and pulled Severus into it. They stood like that for a while.

"Look, guys," Peter told the other Marauders. "Ron, Neville and Hermione are returning tomorrow. They'll wipe our memories. Things will probably turn out no differently from what they told us. I just want you to know that I never wanted anything of what's going to happen."

The time-travelers came down the stairs, dragging their trunks behind them.

Hermione took out her wand.

"I'll do a memory wipe on you, but it will only erase memories of us. You'll still remember this time. You'll start remembering when we want you to."

Peter stepped forward.

"I guess this is the last time we'll meet as friends," he said solemnly. "The next time you'll hate me." She nodded silently and embraced him. He shook hands with Neville, but Ron refused to touch him. Sirius stepped forward so he was standing next to Peter.

"I'll see you again, wont I?" he asked.

"Yes. We'll see each other again," Ron replied. He wanted to say more, offer comfort for the twelve years in Azkaban but the words stuck in his throat. How did you say goodbye to one of your best friends, knowing that the next time you saw him, he'd be changed so much? And one of the goodbyes was forever.

Now it was Remus who said goodbye.

Ron shook his hand.

"I'll see you again, Professor Lupin," he smiled. Remus' eyes widened, and the other Marauders fell over laughing.

"Remus went Professor on us? The traitor!" It was Peter who said these words. Oh, the irony, Ron thought bitterly.

James. That was the hardest. Keep smiling, Neville told himself, but it was hard. He had grown close to all of the boys, and for the first time in his life, he had felt truly accepted.

Hermione mumbled some words, and a gray smoke filled the room. They took the potion and drank it.

"Ugh, that tasted horrible" Hermione said, as they landed in the now deserted common room. The remains of Ron's first potion was still lying on the floor.

"Beyond horrible, Hermione," Ron corrected.

There was a long pause.

"So what do we do now?" Ron asked at last. He meant the question more for Hermione, since she was the clever one, but it was Neville's voice that answered him

"We get on with our lives."

"Do we make them remember again?" asked Ron. Suddenly he felt very insecure. Messing with time was no light joke.

"In time, yes," Hermione answered.

"What do we tell Harry?"

"We don't," again, it was Neville who answered. When had Neville become so knowledgeable? Ron wondered stilly. "It would only upset him."

They stared at the remains of Ron's messed up truth potion.

"Did you say goodbye to Lily?" Neville realized.

"I said goodbye to Lily, Severus and Mia when I collected the finished potion." Hermione answered. "I don't know about you, but I'm dead tired," she added. "I'm going to bed."

Ron and Neville watched her retreating back for a few moments, until they both turned to walk up to the boys dormitory.

The End

A/N: I can't believe I finished a story! But "Time to Travel" is not quite over yet, I'll be posting two epilogues after this.