Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, they all belong to J.K. Rowling although I do own the plot of this story.
Summary: A female figure appears in the Marauders' time suddenly with no explanation of how she got there and no background whatsoever…that fits in that time. She appears to them in a batter state of mind and throughout their seventh year, struggles to find a way to her original self and back to her original time. A seventeen year old Sirius Black takes it upon himself to help her.
WARNING: There will be a rape scene in the second chapter and then torture scenes in the later chapters! There will also be sex scenes later on in the chapters too, that is why it is rated R. Just wanted to let you know.
Light The Way
By FallenCeleste
Chapter One
Swimming through a mixture of colors that all blended together to form a camoflauge, that's where he was. He was swimming through a sea of colors. He felt at peace and content, no thoughts trespassed his mind that weren't welcome and no emotions were felt as he swam through the callauge. But yet there was an unnerving feeling about this colorful mixture he slowly floated through and his heart knew it but his mind would not register the thought and when it did he found himself falling, falling down through what seemed to be a never ending darkness.
Memories swarmed all around him suddenly, the pictures flashing about him in circles, drawing his attention to where they would be but then they were gone the second his eyes fell upon them, replaced by another memory. The days when he was a child, the countless mutters about deaths, the beatings, the torture. Then the day his letter arrived. First day in Diagon Alley. The Sorting. Meeting James, Remus, and Peter. Halloween feast. The list went on and on. All of his memories swirling about him, faster and faster till they were nothing but a blur and then he saw a blinding light.
The light grew in size, becoming larger, slowly engulfing the swirl of memories about him. With the light came the soft murmur of voices until it was a roar. It was deafening as it grew closer and closer to him and then it was touching him. It slowly swallowed him and then, just as he was about to disappear...
Sirius was wrenched back to reality by a smack on the head rewarded to him courtesy of James. There was a twinkle in the teen's eyes as he sat back in his seat, watching his best friend. "You didn't hear us yelling at you to wake up so I took things into my own hands." Sirius scowled at him as he shut his eyes and rubbed the sleep from them. Prongs tilted his head to the side as he looked at him. "Whatever you were dreaming about must have been good though. Normally we have no trouble waking you up." This comment resulted in Sirius scowling at James once again and smacking him upside the head. Remus and Peter could be heard chuckling as James returned the smack heartily.
"Now, now you two. Knock it off. We're almost to Hogwarts and I don't believe that either of you wants to be coming off the train with a concussion." Remus grinned at the two scowls that were sent his direction. "You know it's the truth. Need I remind you of last year?" The question was enough to wipe the scowls from their faces and Remus stifled a snicker at the blush that now ripened James's cheeks.
"That was not my fault. Sirius was the one who caused that incident although Malfoy did play a role in it too." Sirius let out a growl and smacked his friend playfully although there was a grin on the Marauder's face. "Hey! Don't hit me just because I was stating a fact."
"An untrue fact, my dear Prongs." Sirius leaned back in seat as he stretched, thoughts of the female gone from his mind as the memory of last year's train ride to Hogwarts came to mind. "If I recall correctly, both of us were as much involved in that particular incident as the other. Am I right, Mr. Moony?" At the nod that Remus gave to him, Sirius turned with a smirk on his face to the scowling James. "And as Remus has approved that fact, I do believe that you have been beaten." Peter and Remus started laughing as James began to mock cry before tackling Sirius and whapping him over the head. The two boys joined in the laughter as James was shoved back into his seat by Sirius.
"You're right, I've been beaten. I confess." After their laughter died away, a silence fell upon the group and Peter, Sirius, and James shared an uneasy glance as thoughts of the girl once again resurfaced to the tops of their minds.
Remus unfortunately caught these glances and his eyes narrowed in suspicion but he did not say anything in hopes that the other three would fill him in. When it became obvious that the three were going to remain silent, he gave a sigh and he asked, "All right, what is it?" At their confused expressions he asked once more, "What's on your minds?" This too was met with confused yet anxious expressions and Remus scowled as he said, "Don't play dumb. I saw the secret glances. Now what's on your minds?"
Sirius and James both opened their mouths to say that they didn't know what the Head Boy was talking about but Peter beat them to it and the words that spilled forth from his mouth was what neither wanted to tell him. "After you left with Lily to go to the meeting, we were talking when there was a flash of light and a girl fell on Sirius. She was really beaten up and we didn't know where she had come from or anything but she did wake up at one point according to Sirius and James and I went to go get the headmaster. He came and created a portkey and took her back to the castle after telling us to come straight from the train to the hospital wing. And that's it." The little Gryffindor sixth year let out a breath of relief before chancing a glance at Sirius and James. Upon seeing their glares he blushed crimson and allowed his gaze to fall back to the floor.
Remus stared in shock at Peter for a minute before shaking his head in disbelief and giving a small chuckle. "Wow...now I understand why Dumbledore had to leave the head meeting. Professor McGonagall was slightly worried and she almost sent one of us to make sure everything was all right but then she got an owl and she went on with the meeting." After a moment of silence, he cleared his throat and asked, "So...what did the girl look like?"
But before Remus could have his question answered the door of the compartment slid open and all four eyes shifted to it. In the doorway stood Lucius Malfoy with his two bodyguards flanking his sides. A smirk was on his face as he looked in on the four with gray blue eyes. Sirius was already on his feet growling with wand drawn. "What do you want, Malfoy?" James joined him and they both stood facing Malfoy as he stepped into the compartment.
"Well, well, well, it seems as if you had a surprise visitor that no one had seen before. Am I correct?" None of the boys answered the question but the growl that came from Sirius and the scowl that was present on James's face was answer enough for him. "Ah, so it is true then. I thought for a moment that maybe you two had planted another tale in Pettigrew's mind but now I know it isn't." The blonde haired Slytherin smirked at the two Gryffindors.
"Get out of here, Malfoy. You aren't welcomed here or wanted here." The remark did not come from either Sirius and James and it was with wand drawn that Remus stepped through the two. His Head Boy badge glinted in the light and Malfoy's eyes flickered down to it for a moment. The teen scowled and in that small amount of time a flicker of doubt dashed through his normally confident eyes and Remus smirked. "Get out, Malfoy. Go haunt some other compartment." With that said, he pushed Malfoy out of the compartment and shut the door.
Sirius and James stared at their friend in surprise. They both shared a glance before Sirius cleared his throat and asked, "What brought that on, Moony?" The seventh year Gryffindor, who had already taken his seat, looked up at them with arched brows and peered at them for a second before giving a shrug and attending back to his reading. But Sirius didn't miss the twinkle in his friend's eye.
Neither did James. Both boys gave a grin before taking their seat and resuming their quiet discussion over who the girl could be. After a while, James and Peter were the only ones participating as Sirius had once again fallen into his brooding manner. He was contemplating everything that had happened before Dumbledore had taken the girl. Who was she? Where did she come from? Those were two of the questions that were bothering him. The above all one though was, Why did she say my name?
The train sped onwards toward Hogwarts, the sky slowly darkening as afternoon became evening and evening became night. Hermione Granger was oblivious to it all though as she lay cuddled underneath the blankets of the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey had settled her in and given her a Draught of Sleep potion as when Professor Dumbledore had arrived with her, she had once again been screaming from a nightmare that she dwelled in at the time. The Draught of Sleep potion had driven away all dreams and slipped her into a sleep where she saw, felt, heard, and smelt nothing. Now as the professor watched her, he puzzled over the curiousness of this event.
The girl had had no defining features about her to tell who she was or where she had come from. The way she was dressed did not signify anything as many of the young ladies of their time dressed close to what she wore. The nurse had cleaned her cuts and had managed to heal quite a bit of them but there were still some that remained upon her face marring the true beauty that hid beneath. She was a beautiful young woman, Dumbledore had to admit, with dark chocolate brown locks and a creamy complexion but that was not what bothered him. It was the fact that nothing about the girl seemed perculiar that bugged the headmaster.
He did not understand how the girl had come to end up on the train. The story the three Gryffindors had conveyed to him had been rather unique. All had said the same thing but the headmaster knew that Sirius had failed to mention one thing to him. He knew that the seventh year Gryffindor had been distraught over the young woman and puzzled about something about her but he did not say a thing as he had told him the story. But it was the fact that he had not told Dumbledore what had confused him over the woman that might have made a difference in the way that Dumbldore now puzzled over where she had originated from and who she was.
The wizened wizard closed his eyes and rubbed them. For the first time since Tom Riddle had attended the school, he was unsure of what to do and what to look for. The only thing that he had been able to do was look over the witch time and time again hoping that he might have missed something and that through his search he would be able to recognize some particular trait but each search proved fruitless. Giving a sigh Dumbledore leaned forward and once again observed her and once again he found nothing.
The sun had long since set and the students would be arriving soon meaning he would have to leave her side to attend the welcoming feast. Which meant he did not have the time that he had had earlier. Slowly he observed her and now as the bright lights of the hospital wing clicked on he noticed a glint of gold. If he had been someone with a lesser eye for unique things, he would not have caught the glint but he was Dumbledore. With furrowed brows, he pulled back the sheets of the hospital bed and saw, tucked inside the leather jacket that she wore, the unmistakable badge of a head girl. Slowly as to not disturb the girl, he unattached the badge and held it in the palm of his hand.
Now his brows rose upward as he observed this curious find. Etched on the Head Girl badge was the name Hermione Granger and the years 1990-1997 and beneath that the word Gryffindor with the symbol for that particular house showed the words Head Girl across the symbol. He weighed it in the palm of his hand as he turned surprised eyes on the girl. As if feeling his gaze on her, the girl stirred.
As if in a trance, she opened her eyes slowly and blinked before pulling herself upward into a sitting position. She cradled her head in one hand while supporting herself with the other before looking up and turning to observe her surroundings. Her face became one of confusion as she glanced about the Hospital Wing as if she were befuddled as to how she had ended up there. Then her eyes fell on Dumbledore and they widened in surprise as she stared at him. "Professor...what am I doing here?" she asked.
The headmaster chuckled and her brows knitted together as if that were the last thing she expected him to do. "Well...Ms. Granger, I could ask you the same thing as I am also confused as to how you ended up here...in this time." The girl once again looked at him with a confused expression. She opened her mouth to ask what he meant and he held up a hand to silence her. "Do not ask, Ms. Granger. I am unsure if you recall the peculiar events that brought you here or the strange scene that happened on the train. And with that, I shall remind you of them..."
He recalled the events to her and Hermione's face slowly became slack as she looked at him. When he had finished telling her what had happened, they sat in silence. Finally Hermione spoke, her voice thick as she broke the silence. "Professor, I am truly unsure of how I ended up here but all I know is that I have no way of returning to my time. I truly do not know. All I can remember is a few things and then I do remember awaking on the train for a brief amount of time but that is all. I do not recall anything else that might help you or I in trying to figure out what brought me here." She said this slowly and afterward dropped her gaze to the sheets where her hands now lay clasped fidgeting occasionally.
Another silence stretched between the Gryffindor and Dumbledore and it was only after a long train of thought that the professor stood. The student's eyes followed him as he moved to the door of the Hospital Wing. It was there that the headmaster paused and turned back to regard the girl with twinkling blue eyes. "Well...Hermione, I must say, welcome to Hogwarts of 1977. We welcome you until the time comes in which you find a way to return home. You shall be placed in Gryffindor, the house from which you come from in the future so that you may at least have some common scenery." The girl opened her mouth to object but once again Dumbledore raised his hand to silence her. "But...you shall act as if you are new to the school so as not to raise suspicion while Professor McGonagall and I search for some way to return you home. The students shall not be alerted of this situation but the teachers shall. We will try to find some way for you to return home but I am unable to promise you that we shall find a way. You shall help us in the meantime that you have outside of your studies but your studies will come first."
Hermione sat in shock as she slowly swallowed these words. After a moment she gave a nod and Dumbledore smiled brightly as he said, "Then, I shall ask Madame Pomfrey to provide you with the proper attire and to help you clean yourself up for the Welcoming feast. You shall be sorted with the other first years except you shall be sorted as seventh year. I shall ask Sirius, James, and Peter, some of your fellow Gryffindors, to take you under their wing at least until you are accustomed to your new surroundings." He turned to leave and as he walked out the door he called over his shoulder, "I suggest that you hurry, Ms. Granger, as the train will be arriving in round bout half an hour. Be prepared. And good day to you. I shall see you at the feast." With those words he disappeared toward his office, leaving a shocked Hermione Granger behind him.
Slowly the Hogwarts pulled into Hogsmeade Station and it was in silence Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus exited the train. They slowly made their way across the station toward where the carriages sat waiting. James, Peter, and Remus saw a group of fellow Gryffindors ahead and rushed to join them but Sirius hung back. For the first time in a long while he did not feel like socializing. His thoughts still dwelled upon the girl that had fallen into their midst unexplained. His gaze was on his feet as he headed toward the front carriage that would take them to the castle ahead of the others. It was with surprise that he turned to see James staring at him with serious eyes.
"Sirius, the headmaster just sent me and owl saying that Hermione as she is called has awoken and although she is slightly disoriented she is perfectly fine and she'll be all right. Apparently, she's going to be sorted with the first years into a house and she'll be joining us for seventh year. We're supposed to report to the Great Hall instead of the Hospital Wing." A sigh of relief escaped Sirius and James chuckled. "You were worried about her, weren't you?" The Gryffindor gave a small smile as he nodded and James smiled. "Well, you can stop worrying. She'll be all right and if that still doesn't help you, we'll talk to her about it and you can make sure for yourself that she's all right."
Sirius brightened at this and joined Peter, Remus, Lily, and James in the same carriage. They all chatted merrily on the way to the castle and although Sirius participated, he still could not help but wonder about the girl. His mind dwelled on her until the carriages came to a stop in front of the castle and they climbed out to once again enter Hogwarts and attend the welcoming feast. As they climbed the steps, the boy once again fell silent as he wondered which house the girl would be sorted into. Even though he had only studied her, had not spoken to her, something about her told him that she was a Gryffindor at heart. He hoped that she would be sorted into his house so that he could talk to her easily and not into another house such as Slytherin for then it would be nearly impossible for him to speak to her.
He was drawn out of his thoughts though upon entering the Entrance Hall by Peeves once again greeting the older students with balloons filled with some unknown substance. He barely dodged a few that were thrown at him but he managed to make it into the Great Hall unscathed although some were not as lucky. James, Peter, Remus and Sirius all shared a laugh at hearing the shriek that came from Lily and then her telling the poltergeist off. Things were the same as usual at the school. They took their regular seats at the Gryffindor table and Sirius's mind was drawn away from the girl as he listened to their fellow Gryffindor Maggie Trenchworth share her tale of the summer. They were all laughing greatly when Dumbledore stood and the hall fell into silence.
"Welcome, once again to a new year at Hogwarts. We shall now have our Sorting Ceremony. Let it commence!" The headmaster took his seat as the Great Hall doors were thrown wide and Professor McGonagall strode down the center aisle with a line of scared first years staring about. Three in particular walked with a sense of confidence about them though and one with bright blonde hair and mischeivous brown eyes reminded Sirius greatly of himself in his first year. The professor disappeared briefly through a side door of the Great Hall and returned moments later with a stool and hat.
The hall fell silent as they all turned their gaze on the worn hat and one black haired first year let out a squeak as the brim of the hat opened and reedy voice bellowed from it.
"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hand (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
The hat fell silent and for a minute the hall was silent before it burst into applause. Whistles echoed off the magnificent walls and so did cheers and shouts. Finally the hall fell silent and Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a tied parchment. She undid the ribbon with a flourish and slowly unraveled the parchment before beggining to call out the names.
"Aadvar, Thomas!" The blonde haired boy rushed forward and placed the cap on his head, the hat falling over his eyes. For a moment he sat there before the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"
There was a large burst of joy from the Gryffindor table and the Sorting continued in this fashion, the crowd of wide eyed frightened first years slowly thinning until none were left. But still the professor made no move to roll the scroll up. After a minute the headmaster stood and all eyes focused on him, the whispers that had broken out across the hall falling silent as he gazed about. His eyes met Sirius's for a split second before he called out, "This year, we have a rather extraordinary event. We shall be welcoming a new student but she is not a first year. She shall be joining us for her seventh year. Please welcome Hermione Granger."
All eyes turned to the doors of the Great Hall as they slowly swung open to reveal the witch. She strode down the aisle with an air of confidence in her eyes but Sirius caught the uneasiness in her eyes. Whispers broke out once more as all eyes were focused on her. Slowly she took a seat on the stool and placed the hat on her head.
"Ah, Ms. Granger. I am glad to see you again although I must say I am rather shocked. Well, what shall it be this time? The same house? I daresay yes...you are fit for no other. Well, in that case...better be..."
The hat was silent for a minute before it called out, "GRYFFINDOR!" The explosion was extraordinary as the witch climbed shakily off the stool and handed the hat to Professor McGonagall who gave her a kind smile and said, "Welcome to Hogwarts, Ms. Granger."
Hermione gave a shaky smile in reply and turned to face the Gryffindor table. A small smile broke out across her face as she saw James and Sirius motioning her over to sit with them. Maybe this won't be so bad after all, she thought briefly before walking to where they sat and taking a seat beside them.
A/N: All right there is the first chapter of this story! Thank you for the reviews and I know I said I would wait till I got five but I just couldn't! Thank you to those who did review though, it made me smile brightly and gave me what I needed to continue the story. Well, just to let you know, there will be a rape scene next chapter so for those with weak stomachs, ummm….don't read it! Hee hee, anyway, hope you enjoy! Don't forget to review sweets and chow for now!
