Ch. 2
Where
am I?
Suddenly, everything became
sickeningly clear to Hermione. Her feeling of vertigo, Snape's
disappearance, and now-she swallowed- James Potter. She had traveled
in time. She was in the year 1977!
Hermione then did something
she would usually scorn; she swooned and was swiftly caught by two
warm arms.
"What do we have here? A damsel in distress?"
joked her savior.
In her subconscious, Hermione could vaguely
register the talking around her. One of the voices was very familiar,
but she couldn't quite put her finger on who it belonged to.
"I
think there might be something seriously wrong with her," the
other voice mumbled.
She could tell who that voice belonged
to, James Potter.
"Should we take her to the hospital
wing?"
It was the voice again. Wait a minute, she knew
who that voice belonged to! Could it really be? Hermione's eyes
snapped open, and she gasped. She had been caught by a boy with long,
shaggy black hair. She recognized him immediately as a younger
version of Sirius Black.
Sirius steadied her gently and then
let go. He looked her up and down for a minute. He looked
suspicious.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"I'm-uh-not
sure," she responded quickly.
What would happen if she
told Sirius and James who she was? Could it really affect the future?
She highly doubted it, but that was an awfully big risk to take.
He
shot her a distrustful look. "And why do you have Gryffindor
robes on? You're not in our house."
"I-er- just
transferred."
"Oh," he said somewhat
apologetically.
"So Sirius, do you think you could take
me to the headmaster's office?"
"Yeah. I'll meet you
in the common room later James."
Then, the two took the
familiar path to the Headmaster's office. Of course, Sirius had no
idea it was so familiar to her; so it had been necessary to take him
along. The last thing she needed was to arouse suspicion. Plus, she
didn't really mind the company.
A few minutes later, Hermione
found herself in the circular office of the Headmaster. She found him
reclining precariously in his desk chair, popping a lemon drop into
his mouth. The sight of him brought an overwhelming feeling of hope
to her heart. If anyone could help her, Dumbledore could.
He
twirled around at the sound of their footsteps, eyeing the girl in
the Gryffindor robes curiously.
"I don't believe we've
met."
"I believe you may be mistaken,
Headmaster."
"Is that so?" he said
kindly.
"Yes, but I'm afraid it is a rather long story,"
she said shooting nervous glances at Sirius.
Dumbledore seemed
to get the hint.
"Mr. Black, would you be so kind as to
wait outside?"
Sirius nodded grudgingly.
"Have
a seat, Ms.-" he broke off looking at her questioningly.
"I'd
rather not say, Sir."
"Lemon drop?" he
offered.
She had a strong urge to roll her eyes which she
barely kept at bay. Some things would never change.
"Um-
yes. Thank you," she mumbled. popping one in her mouth.
"Ah,
you must be of muggle origin. Most people just look at me like I am a
crazy old man when I offer them a lemon drop. Yet, perhaps that is
precisely what I am." he said, eyes twinkling.
She smiled
feebly.
"So how might I be of service to you?" he
asked politely.
She took a deep breath. How to begin?
"Well
you see Sir, I had an accident with time travel. I'm a Hogwarts
student in the year 1994 and-" she broke off, words failing
her.
"I see," he said contemplatively. "And is
time travel common in your time?"
"I'm afraid not.
Sir."
"Then, I don't suppose you know how to return
home do you?"
"No, Sir," she said, tears
brimming her eyes. She blinked them back furiously. She was a
Gryffindor! She was stronger than this! She had to keep a level head
if she wanted to get out of this nightmare.
"Don't cry
child. I will do what I can for you, and in the mean time you will
stay with the other Gryffindors. It is best that you tell people as
little as possible. Do not mention future events or time
travel."
She nodded.
"In that case, I will
inform Minerva McGonagall that we have a new transfer student. She is
the head of Gryffindor and will see that you are comfortable during
your stay here. Do you have any questions?"
"Yes.
May I go by my first name, but change the last?"
"I
suppose that would be all right-" he trailed off.
"Hermione,"
she filled in.
"Well then Hermione, I wish you the best
of luck. If there is anything else I can do-"
"Actually,
the boy outside, Sirius."
"It will be taken care
of."
"Thank you, Sir."
"You are
more than welcome."
When Sirius finally returned from the
headmaster's office, the marauders were already in their dormitory
getting ready for bed. Remus was brushing his teeth. Peter was
jumping up and down on one foot trying to put on a wooly sock. And
James was sitting on his bed, looking on in amusement.
They
looked up as Sirius walked in.
"You've been gone an
awfully long time," James commented.
"Yeah, had to
talk to Dumbledore afterwards."
"So what gives? Who
is that girl?" James prodded.
Peter plunked down on his
four poster.
"What girl?" he squeaked
excitedly.
Sirius rolled his eyes.
"May as well
wait until Remus is finished brushing his teeth. I don't want to have
to start the whole story over."
They nodded, waiting
impatiently. Remus brushed faster. Finally, he sat down on his bed
looking curious.
"James you should start."
James
shrugged. "Well, I had just left dinner and was heading to the
dungeons to-er- finish some business when this girl comes out of
nowhere and runs dead into me."
"Was she
pretty?"Peter asked.
"It's hard to say. She was kind
of hysterical, crying and everything. Then, she started apologizing
and calling me Harry. Then, she asked me what year it was and that
was when I knew she was a nutter," he finished.
Sirius
interjected indignantly. "She isn't a nutter! You see, I took
her to Dumbledore's office, and he explained the whole
thing."
"Wait. How did you end up taking her there?"
Remus asked.
"She kind of fell over, and I caught her. I
asked her name, and she told me she didn't know. I thought she might
be a spy so I asked her a bunch of questions. She told me she was a
transfer student. Then, she asked me to take her to Dumbledore's
office." Sirius said quickly.
"Oh okay," Remus
responded.
James's face was screwed up in
concentration.
"Wait a minute! How did she know your
name? I never told her. Did you?" James burst.
Sirius
gaped slightly. "No, I didn't."
"Maybe she is a
spy!" Peter said excitedly.
"She can't be.
Dumbledore cleared her. Said she was a new student, had a trace of
amnesia. Said she had a tragic background, to make her feel at home,"
Sirius said quickly.
The boys looked skeptical.
"Maybe,
she just heard it from some one else," Remus said
logically.
"Couldn't have. She didn't come to dinner,"
Sirius said.
The boys shrugged.
"So what's her
name?" Remus asked.
"Hermione," Sirius
answered.
"Well, I want to see her," Peter said
decidedly.
"Don't you mean you want to meet her Pete?"
Remus said with a wolfish grin.
Peter blushed.
"Well
Marauders, I believe this is a job for my old invisibility cloak,"
James said slyly.
AN: Thanks for all the lovely reviews. As
for the ship, I still haven't decided yet. All I know is it will
definitely not be Hermione/James. I am leaning towards Remus ship as
there are few out there. Feel free to give me your opinion on the
matter. Thanks for reading! Review?
