Disclaimer: All things belonging to the Harry Potter book belongs to J.K.R. All things unrecognisable are mine.

"So," began Sirius with a crooked smile as he turned to his friend who seemed to be the only one a bit put off with the teacher's tardiness, that is before he turned to look at Anne and noticed that she appeared to be equally. This only made his smile grow wider before he continued, "what do you think of our Mrs. Munchkin?"

Remus frowned in confusion and did not remove his eyes from the book while he answered, "well she's nice, I guess. A bit clumsy but a good teacher...' Sirius rolled at his poor ignorant friend before moving closer and speaking in what looked like a conspiratorial was, "I meant the younger, much cuter one who has only recently been staring at you..." Sirius laughed quietly as he noticed that that managed to get him to look away from his book, not that he had really seen if she was looking this way or not, he had been busy flirting with the lovely lady seated behind him.

Eyes quickly searching the room, Remus found that Anne was actually looking around the class, her eyes sweeping every corner, every face, some she would stop and look closer. It almost looked like she was reading a giant text before her eyes, he could tell she was studying her classmates, taking advantage of the fact they were unaware. He had done that many times himself. Anxiously he wondered if she had indeed been looking at him, like Sirius said, and if so, what had been going through her mind while she saw him there, with his head buried in a book, as it so often was.

Realising he still hadn't answered Sirius, he dragged his eyes away from her and shrugged in what he hoped was a nonchalant way, "Oh, she seems to be nice too, very smart, if the other lessons were any indication... And yes, I suppose she is much cuter than Mrs. Munchkin, the other Munchkin I mean... the teacher..."

Sirius knew his friend far too well to believe any of the indifference he tried to portray and of course, being the great friend he was, he could not miss the chance to humiliate his best friends of many years and when, with a huge smirk, he was about to say something, the door to the classroom opened and Mr. Boron walked in. The Boy Who Was Interrupted frowned, there was no use now, the Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson was about to begin and when the Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson began Remus forgot about anything that surrounded him.

---------------------------------------------

Remus knew that he wasn't the only one impressed with Anne, her intelligence was obvious and awe-inspiring. He had been amazed by her in their first lesson and this amazement only grew as he saw that she was this good in every subject they'd had so far. She'd constantly raise her hand and had not missed one question when called upon.

Right now she was dictating one of the many passages she seemed to have either memorized or understood so clearly she could explain it as well as a textbook. It was strange to think that the quite, quiet girl he had known so far was this outspoken, obviously sharp girl and as much as he enjoyed her shy smiles he knew that he preferred the bright girl he saw in classes.

Just as she had finished her answer her gaze became transfixed on a point in front of her and Remus witnessed the colour change in her face as she became paler by the second. As she left the room Remus couldn't help but wonder what had happened that would cause such change in the brown haired witch who had easily gained his respect in a few hours worth of lessons.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermione leaned against the wall forcing herself to calm down. She knew she'd just done something really stupid. Knowing Snape (and with the way the Golden trio had kept an eye on him throughout the years she could definitely say she knew well, better than most at any rate) Hermione was aware that he was not going to let this go. He'd want to know why some strange girl he had never seen before had that reaction to him. And that confrontation was just the type of thing she had wanted to avoid with anyone, especially someone like Severus Snape.

Not really knowing what to do now that she was out of the classroom Hermione decided turn her lie into a truth and made her way to the Hospital Wing, knowing that lessons were almost over and would probably end before she actually got there. Proving her accurate estimation, the bell signalling the end of the lesson rang before she turned the corner that would lead her to Madam Pomfrey. Moving slowly, so as not to be the first to arrive and prove that she had not gone to the nurse, Hermione began making her way to the Gryffindor common room, glad for the small break before her next two lessons.

Just as she entered through the portrait she came face to face with Remus.

"We were just going to see you, are you feeling better already?" The explanation and following question both came from behind the teenage boy that had stopped in his tracks, with apparently, his lips stuck together with spell-o-tape. Tilting her head Hermione saw that Remus was being followed by Lily.

"Yes... much better, it was just a momentary dizziness, I think my pressure dropped, nothing serious..." – Hermione was interrupted by the opening of the door of the seventh year boys' dormitory, she could see Sirius, Peter and James walking out of it, "You're still there, thought you would've been there by now..." Sirius started, obviously directing this to Remus but James cut him short as he noticed Anne's presence. "You're already back, feeling better then?"

Saying something for the first time since Hermione had entered the portrait hole and seen him Remus answered for her, "Yes, she said her pressure just dropped a little..."

"Well that's good then, not good that your pressure dropped... I mean I wouldn't want to see you feel any sort of dizziness but just good in general that it wasn't anything more serious... you know, like those awful floos that are around now and..." Hermione fought hard to stop the scowl from her face as she heard Peter rant, and even though she was half successful she still knew that her expression wasn't an entirely pleasant one.

Once again James cut off one of his friends, demonstrating more tact than she would've given him credit for, then again, Harry had always been the one to change the subject whenever a full blown fight threatened to breakout between Ron and her. "Yes, well, I can understand how one would feel sick when faced with Snivellus, quite a sickening site, I'd say" With that he successfully managed to lighten the mood, for others at least. His word left Hermione frowning a bit, Snape's dislike towards anyone was quite obvious, especially towards both Sirius and Remus (as she had personally seen) but she never actually thought of them giving him any reason to do so. She dismissed it as a bit of teasing and decided that between friends anything could be said, it's not like she had never called anyone anything when talking to Ron and Harry. She did though notice that Lily also sported a frown on her face, though hers had obviously nothing to do with thought. With a loud irritated sigh she went back to her room, making sure she'd glared at James before turning her back.

------------------------------------------------------

There weren't many things that managed to catch Severus Snape's attention. He had seen more that most boys his age had and came out of these experiences with what most people would call a superiority complex, he personally thought that was just what inferior people would say.

Still, the new girl, someone who he would usually never even notice, succeeded in capturing his interest. He knew many people like that, people who forced you to notice them, who had some sort of pull, and he'd always thought he was rather immune to it. Usually, after taking the first notice and carefully categorizing them into their respective files in his mind he would pay them no further mind, unless of course he had a reason to review his mental notes or add something to them.

He could tell that she was smart; anyone could tell that she was smart. As sharp as the Head Girl, perhaps even more. And that was the main reason for his interest.

For many a year had he seen that worthless girl being first in all the classes. It wasn't jealousy, not really, Severus Snape had always thought himself above such petty feelings, besides he wasn't competing with her for grades, that was never his problem. He was to haughty for that, any small competition between them always had that condescending air about it that made it seem as though Severus was simply indulging Lily by looking at her as competition. No he was now past that foolish faze. He looked at her as an annoyance. She was the one who blemished his logical world; Mudbloods were not smart, weren't worthy of attention, they weren't supposed to naturally fascinate.

And so far no one had managed to neutralize this ingredient that ruined Severus' perfect concept. Until Anne Munchkin showed up at school. The Munchkins weren't really seen as a respectable family among the higher wizarding class. But they were nevertheless a long line of purebloods, even if that seemed to be accidental seeing as how Severus knew that many in that family have dated Muggles and Mudbloods. 'They were like those Weasleys, an unreactive and completely dispensable component to a perfect potion, still,' he considered, 'the Munchkins have somehow been able to create a beautiful mind, one that might,' Severus couldn't help thinking, 'give his view wizard kind (and its flaws) some much needed evidence.'

And so it was that Anne Munchkin became admirable in Severus Snape's mind, somehow, much to his chagrin Severus Snape had made her his heroine of sorts.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"The door's open!"

Hermione shyly opened the door to the Head Girl's room as she heard Lily's consent to enter. Shortly after the redhead left Hermione was caught in a rather awkward silence with the Marauders (who weren't actually aware she thought of them as such since, as far as they knew, this secret little group, their names and adventures were a secret to all) before she excused herself to talk to Lily.

She had missed a class today after all, well not an entire class but half of it and Hermione Granger was not one to allow herself to miss half a lesson's worth of work. Especially when that work would put her mind off of her problems (what with being stuck in the past with people whose future she knew she could [and perhaps should] change and dealing with a possible Death Eater [two if she counted the possibility of Peter already being one] and the ever-growing feeling of yearning she felt when she thought of Harry, Ron and her family)

"I'm sorry Anne but Remus has my scrolls, he was a bit sick a while ago and has to catch up on many subjects and so he takes a few at a time, and Potions is his only bad subject so he keeps pushing it backwards, even though I tell him not to... and hanging around James Potter isn't helping at all, always up to something, never allowing the poor bloke to work..."

"That's okay Lily, thank you, I'll see if I can go to the library and catch up a bit." Hermione was never really one to interrupt but the girl had gone into a mumbling speech, which she couldn't quite make out and was probably not even meant for her ears.

"Why don't you ask Sirius where Remus is, maybe you two can work together, although by the looks of things earlier I don't really think you need it. I was going to ask you this before but how did you get so far ahead in the curriculum?" She couldn't be quite sure but it looked as though the taller girl was somewhat jealous, there didn't seem to be any ill intent or resent, just a natural feeling human protectiveness. Hermione thought it best not to say she had read ahead on her own and thought it best to appease her by telling her it was her old school's influence, "See my old school was much smaller so there were less people in the classes, particularly the advanced courses so it was much easier to speed things along as classes flowed a bit better..."

After appeasing Lily the smart little witch made her way towards the familiar territory where not too long ago (or perhaps way too far ahead) she had almost become one of the accessories. While walking down the halls she thought about her original plan, staying away from those she knew. It seemed like something much more sensible, not to mention easier, now that she found herself alone.

"Anne," swerving her head to the right Hermione sent an apologetic look at the librarian before making her way to the opposite direction and towards he boy that had called her name rather louder than he had intended.

"Remus, I was just looking for you," the sheepish look on his face was quickly wiped out as Hermione asked herself why she had said that, finally convincing herself she was just being polite and her real intent had been to stay as far away from anyone whose future she could change and to walk to the other side of the library, but then he had called her and she had to go towards him.

"Well I'm right here..." he had a small boyish smile now, "what do you need?"

"Um" she said "I – er – Sirius!"

He frowned, "you wanted to see if Sirius was with me, well no he-"

He was quickly interrupted by another less than eloquent statement, ""No! I mean--um--Lily?" She could talk, she knew she could actually form a coherent sentence... she was an articulate girl for Merlin's sake!

Remus tried again. "You just saw Lily and Sirius snogging and came hurrying here to tell me?" he now sounded vaguely amused and had an expression she wouldn't have connected with the Professor Lupin she knew.

She took a deep breath and organized her thoughts, cringing at how ridiculous she had sounded when what she wanted to say was so simple. "I wanted to borrow Lily's potions scrolls but she said you had them so Sirius told me you were here and I came to see if we could work together."

Hermione ignored his amused grin and overall brightening as she took a seat next to him, still wondering at her strange actions. They read in mostly silence for a while and as she answered some of his questions he wondered why she would need to study at all.

"... and Sirius was whining the whole way there..." How they had gone from discussing the properties of different types of flowers' stems in acidic substances to a story involving Sirius, a girl who fought kickboxing and finally the infirmary, Hermione had no idea.

They had been talking for quite a while and Hermione even shared a few of her stories with Harry and Ron (who for the moment were called John and Peter – she cringed at her own lack of creativity).

That smile she had come to appreciate was still on his face when a boy about her height with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes came up behind him. "I'm sorry to interrupt, I was told to look for Anne Munchkin, 7th year Gryffindor, I'm assuming that's you..." he looked at Hermione waiting for confirmation and she nodded while Remus spoke, "What's wrong Edgar?"

Edgar Bones, 5th year Ravenclaw turn to look at Remus and gave a small sigh before answering "Just came from a prefect meeting, they just keep getting longer and longer! And I've still got a huge essay to finish... Anyway professor Dumbledore showed up and asked if anyone was on their way to the library and when I said I was he asked me to call Anne Munchkin to see him."

Remus chuckled slightly and even Hermione smiled, she knew that sometimes prefect meetings could tire her too, "Thanks um... Edgar, I'll just go there then..." The younger boy gave her a quick smile and a nod before he made his way towards the back of the library, grumbling that he had to find "that ugly Slytherin guy."

"I'll come with you," she had just stood and was packing her things when Remus started doing the same, "In trouble already are you? Now I guess that officially makes you a Gryffindor!" He was grinning at her and Hermione couldn't help thinking 'if he only knew the type of trouble that she had gotten into with Harry and Ron...'

"So any idea why Professor Dumbledore wanted to see you? Don't think there are any trolls to fight here..."

Soon they were standing beside the large Gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office. Remus stopped right in front of her and there was a small rather awkward pause before he said his goodbye and told her he'd see her later. Making her way up after the Gargoyle moved aside Hermione asked herself what this could be about. It was obviously something to do with her... situation, though she wondered whether the news would be good or bad. 'Well, I'll soon find out,' were her thoughts as she came face to face with the Professor's cheerful eyes.

"Ah, Mrs. Munchkin, enjoying this Hogwarts so far?" Hermione smiled at the way he said 'this Hogwarts' which was actually a good way of putting it.

"Yes sir, but if you've found a way for me to go back... well you wouldn't find be objecting..." She couldn't and didn't even try to hide the hope in her voice and didn't know whether the Headmaster's answering chuckle was a good sign or not.

"Actually, that is more up to you then it is to me... After talking to Mr. Boron I have found the existence of a potion that could cause time-travelling, even if that is not its main purpose." Hermione was curious, her need to learn outgrowing the initial dread she felt when the Headmaster told her it was up to her.

"Like a side effect? I don't think I've ever heard of a potion with side effects like this... But what was the initial intent of the potion?" "We can't be quite sure yet but Mr. Boron suspects it was a self-cleaning potion that was developed centuries ago but that didn't really lat long because while the items were perfectly clean they would be clean in another time." The amused grin never left his face as he went on, "now this is a very complicated potion and because all records of it are so old, I'm afraid some pages with the ingredients and the instructions have been worn out so you'd have to experiment..."

"But wait sir, does Mr. Boron know about me?" Hermione couldn't help but be confused about this slight detail, it had been on her plans that no one else should know.

"Ah, no worries, I haven't told him, but that does raise a valid question," while Hermione frowned in worry at what could this question be the Professor's eyes were, as usually, twinkling, "who will make this potion?"

"I can do it sir, don't worry, I just need to read a bit about it and I can try!" Dumbledore didn't seem surprised that she had volunteered and was very confident that she could handle it but he knew he couldn't let her do it alone, "While I'm sure that is true Mrs. Munchkin I would prefer it if you didn't work by yourself since there will be a lot of experimentations going on a partner would not only help with safety but with speed as well."

The future Head Girl was just about to ask who when the Professor's eyes slid to a point behind her and his smile grew even larger, turning she realised that the door had opened, and that someone was quietly making their way in.

Her eyes widened.

"Sir, Edgar Bones said you wanted to see me...?"

Severus Snape sneered at her as he noticed her presence.

------------------------------------

A/N: Huge apologies!!!

Right, I guess there are just no excuses for how long that took... I'm just your average slacker and whenever I think I'm ready write I get lazy. Anyway I'm really sorry!!!

You'll notice that the small talk between Remus and Hermione is a complete rip off from a Draco/Hermione story (except that I can't remember the name, I've read it a while ago) that I thought was brilliant but if you own it or knows who does and are offended by it just tell me and I'll remove it since it's my stupid fault.

The thing is that when it comes to writing Hermione's and Remus' talks my mind just goes blank, I mean what gets them started in their conversations? They're not exactly friends (barely know each other so far) so it's really hard for me to get them closer, but I'll work on that.

HUGE THANKS TO ALL OF THOSE WHO REVIEWED!!!

And again sorry for the major delay!!!