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Lily and the Marauders

Hermione hurried to Griffindor Tower eagerly. She couldn't wait to meet Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, and - she stopped. Peter Pettigrew would be there too. How in the world was she supposed to pretend that nothing was wrong with him, when she knew how many lives he was going to ruin? (Dumbledore warned me to be careful. I'll have to try and be nice to him, at least.)

She arrived at the portrait hole, noticing that the fat lady was, indeed, still guard of Griffindor Tower. "Lionheart," she said, gaining admittance. She walked in, gathering puzzled stares from the students in the common room. Ignoring them, she plopped down on the couch and gazed into the fire. (If this is September 20th, 1969, that means that I was born yesterday) she mused. (And my parents - they're still alive!) She wished there was some way she could see them, just for a moment, one last time. She glanced around anxiously. Hopefully Lily would arrive soon. The stares she was getting were making her uncomfortable.

Suddenly she felt someone thump down next to her. She turned, and bit her lip hard to keep from laughing. There sat Harry - but his eyes were all wrong! She almost started to say 'James' but caught herself in time.

"I don't believe we've met. I'm James." James smiled boldly at her, ruffling his hair a bit before reaching out for a handshake.

"I'm Her- I mean, I'm Katie," she said, shaking his hand. (This is SO odd.) "I'm an exchange student from - " she frantically tried to remember. "Elshire."

"Nice to have you here, HerKatie," he teased.

(Wow, he's nothing like Harry) "The name's Katie," she said pointedly.

"James! Leave her alone," said a female voice. Hermione turned, and her breath caught in her throat when she looked into the girl's eyes. They were Harry's eyes, like they'd been plucked off his face and put on hers! (It must be Lily!)

"You must be Katie. Welcome to Hogwarts. I'm Lily. That's James, and just so you know, he isn't always obnoxious," she explained, giving James a stern look.

"Hello Lily, nice to meet you," said Hermione politely. "Dumbledore said I've be rooming with you."

"Yes, he sent your things up. Come with me, I'll show you the way to our room." Lily started walking towards the girl's section, and Hermione followed. To her surprise, Lily's bed was exactly where Hermione's would be in eighteen years. Hermione, meanwhile, slept in about the spot where Ginny would sleep in the future. (This is REALLY getting odd.) She looked at the stuff on her bed. Evidently, Dumbledore had collected clothes, books and things she could borrow during her stay.

"Now that you know the way, how about you meet all my friends?" suggested Lily. Hermione nodded eagerly.

Lily and Hermione stepped down the stairs back into the common room. "Why, how about I introduce you to him first?" decided Lily. Hermione peered at him, and thought she recognized him. (I must NOT scowl, I must be nice) she reviewed.

"Katie, this is Peter, Peter, this is Katie," Lily introduced. Hermione put on a fake smile, and tried not to shudder as she shook his hand. (This is worse than shaking Snape's hand)

"A pleasure to meet you, Katie," said Peter.

Hermione opened and closed her mouth a couple times. "Quite, erm, the same," she managed. "I mean, great to meet you." She quickly followed Lily to the next person, hoping she wouldn't see much of Peter for however long she'd be here.

Next was a boy with a mess of black hair, frowning at the book in front of him. He appeared to be frustrated with something. (This could only be Sirius Black) realized Hermione. Yet she almost didn't recognize him. He seemed - healthier, in a way.

"Sirius, I'm glad to see you studying for once, and I hate to interrupt you, but I'd like to introduce you to someone," said Lily.

Sirius glanced up, appearing to be relieved, rather than annoyed, at the interruption. "Hello Lily, and hello, I'm Sirius," he said, reaching his hand out with a grin.

(Strange to be introduced to someone you not only already know, but is also dead.) She smiled slowly, shaking his hand. "I'm Katie," she said softly. "Nice to meet you, Sirius." She felt a pang of sadness. If only she could warn him of his horrible fate.

Lily moved on to the next person. Hermione turned towards him, and her mouth fell open slightly. There stood a boy who could only be Remus Lupin, a kindly yet tired smile on his face. (That's right, full moon is soon) realized Hermione. (Wow, he is a real heartbreaker! Or was. It's so confusing, Time.) "Remus, this is Katie. She's an exchange student from Elshire."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Katie," said Remus, reaching for her hand.

Hermione's brain whirled at the oddity of the situation. A couple hours ago, it seemed, she'd left detention with Lupin when he was about thirty-five years old. Now she was supposedly meeting him for the first time at seventeen years old. She gently took hold of his hand, feeling a jolt of electricity. (Am I - attracted to him? Well, nothing wrong with that, I'll be home and back to normal soon anyway) "I'm real happy to meet you, Remus," she said genuinely. In a way, it was quite reassuring to see him. He had been - or was going to be - such a great friend. She reluctantly let go of his hand, trying not to stare at him, feeling a bit awkward. She could even feel a bit of heat rising to her face.

Fortunately, a girl strode up and interrupted the exchange. "Remus, can you help me with my homework?" she asked.

"Sure thing Resda, but do me a favor and say hello to Katie here," Remus answered.

"Hello Katie," said Resda, smiling.

"Hello," said Hermione with an impish grin. Did Remus have a girlfriend? He'd never mentioned it. (Oh, all the things I'll be able to find out about him now!) she thought mischievously. "Nice to meet you. Are you his girlfriend?" she asked boldly.

"Yes," Resda said, turning pink. "We've been going out for about three weeks. He finally asked me out at the beginning of the school year."

Hermione was surprised to feel a twinge of jealousy, and found herself gloating about the fact that they didn't work out in the future. (Really, Hermione, that's mean) she chided herself. (Seriously, you're probably going back tomorrow. It wouldn't do to have a crush on young Remus) "That's wonderful," she congratulated, giving her second fake smile that night. "I'll leave you two to do your homework. I have loads to do." Hermione left the pair and strode up the stairs to her room. She read the list of assignments Dumbledore had left her, and started on them with enthusiasm, getting all she could done before falling asleep.

Meanwhile, in the present, Remus sat at this desk, minding his own business, when he was seized with an odd sensation that was so startling that he let go of his quill, and it slowly started its decent to the floor. As it drifted right, he remembered being introduced to a girl named Katie who looked strikingly like Hermione. The quill spun lightly to the left. Now Remus could see himself shaking her hand, and the electric shock that had startled him. The quill wisped right. He could hear her ask Resda if she was his girlfriend.

The quill landed on the floor. Remus stared at it, his eyes wide. The memory seemed so real, as if it'd just happened. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of his stunned feelings. This was quite ridiculous. He, regrettably, had remembered that night quite well. Resda had simply walked up to him and asked for help with her homework. He'd gladly done so, not knowing of the horrible experience he was to have a week later. So, whatever had just came into his mind couldn't be real. Hermione was safe and sound in Griffindor Tower, not eighteen years in the past. (Maybe Snape put a wrong ingredient in the Wolfsbane Potion, and it's making me go nutters) he decided, shrugging the whole experience off. Perhaps if this happened alot more, he'd say something. Right now, though, he had his papers to grade. He needed to get as much work done as he could before the full moon approached. Once it arrived, he would be quite useless to anyone.


Replies to Reviewers:

MoonyNZ: Thank you! Yes, I saw it once a couple weeks ago. It really kept me thinking all the way through! I liked it though, thought it had a cool ending. It had alot of complicated theories in it to play around with but I decided to mainly focus on the memory alteration and maybe a few physical changes in the environment. Thanks so much for reviewing!

Rane2920072: Thanks for your review! Oops, yeah, I thought I probably had the dates wrong. :)So I'll change it to Hermione's seventh year is 1997 and Remus's is 1979, with Harry being born in 1980. I want it to be eighteen years that she goes back, so I have to compromise a bit. :) Thanks for letting me know!

Preview of next chapter: Remus noticed her expression, and who she was looking at. "You must already have had a run in with him. He's hopelessly nasty."

"You have no idea," Hermione fumed.

Remus felt the urge to take her hand and try to cheer her up. But he couldn't, Resda would object, and if he waited much longer he would be late for class. "Ignore him, you can follow me to History of Magic."