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?