(A/N): yeah! Here's your promised second chapter for today! I do have some bad news for all of my readers, however. I will be leaving for the beach this weekend, and I won't be back until the following weekend, so I won't be able to put any more new chapters up. In its place, however, I will try to have a REALLY long chapter up tomorrow, to hopefully make up for it. That being said, at the end of the last chapter I promised you a 'twist,' well, here it is…

tigress12 – hehehe – thanks for pointing out the error, although I did find it highly amusing :D – PS – I'm glad you like my story!

Raspberri13 – BIG smile – thanks!

seamermaiden – thanks! I'm really glad that you liked it! Yeah, I'm glad that she's back in Gryffindor, too, I just couldn't do that to poor Hermione… As for the whole kicking Malfoy's arse thing – you ain't seen nothing yet!

Disclaimer: I own nothing belonging to JKR, and I am making no money off of her ideas or creations.


A woman, who looked to be in her late thirties, was staring at her. They were sitting at a coffee table, each in a comfortable, red chair, and they both had cups of tea. The woman was wearing a pair of black pants, which looked liked bell-bottoms, and a soft pink shirt, with short sleeves. She had a black cloak on, and had her hood pulled up – successfully covering all of her hair, except for a few strands, which were a dark blue. She was wearing a pair of sunglasses, which were tinted, not allowing anyone to see the color of her eyes.

Hermione sat across from the strange woman, wondering what in the hell was going on. The last thing she remembered was looking at Sirius, and hoping that she would sleep for a few days. Now, she was sitting at a table, across from someone who she didn't know, drinking tea. She knew that she had never met this woman before, but a part of her was screaming at her to remember something… but she just couldn't do it… she couldn't figure out what it was her body was trying to tell her.

The woman stopped Hermione's train of thought when she set down her tea and looked at her. Hermione felt that there was something wrong about not being able to see her eyes – something just didn't feel right, knowing that she was being looked at, but not being able to see the eyes that were doing the looking.

"Hermione," the woman said, not exactly sternly, but with a bit of authority in her voice, "Hermione – I need you to pay very close attention to what I'm about to tell you. It is of vital importance." The woman stopped until she had received a slow nod from the young witch sitting across from her. "My name is Reamion Magner Gheri, but you may call me 'Ray.' I understand that you have found yourself back in time – and my job is to protect you."

Ray's words took Hermione by surprise – why would anyone want to protect her? "To keep you safe, of course," Ray said suddenly, giving Hermione a look she could feel through the glasses. A sudden thought struck Hermione – she can read my mind! Is she using – "No, Hermione, I'm not using Legilimency – I can, however, hear and feel your thoughts – only when we are connected."

"Connected?"

"When you are relaxed, such as when you are sleeping, I am able to 'connect' with you. Every person gives of certain 'brain waves' when they are doing something, even if it's only breathing. By concentrating, I am able to make my brain waves cross the path of yours, causing a type of interference, which creates the connection."

"And," Hermione said suddenly, thinking that she understood, "because they are brain waves, you can then hear my thoughts… so… does that mean – "

"Yes. You should be able to hear my thoughts, too," replied Ray, only Hermione noticed that her lips weren't moving. Weird, thought Hermione, only to be replied with yes, but it's useful.

"So," Hermione asked, preferring to use her voice, "why do I need to be protected? Who sent you to protect me?"

"Well, for starters, Professor Dumbledore sent me, but it was I who suggested it."

"Which Professor Dumbledore?"

"The one from your time – your real time. Now, as for the second question, I can't tell you – not all of it anyway. Let's just say that there may be some people who would think that having you 'lost in time' is not such a bad idea… but not as good of one as having you dead."

Hermione gave Ray a look of pure confusion. "Dead…? DEAD? Why? What for? Have I done something? Is something going to happen? DEAD?"

"Yes, Hermione," Ray replied gravely, "dead. That is all that I can tell you, for the moment, but at least you are prepared. I don't think that you should be too worried about it right now, not unless you make it known to the world that you have somehow appeared in the past. Now – I think you should return to sleep – you're supposed to be having a dreamless sleep, after all. If you find that you ever need me, all you have to do is relax your body, and think of me. I know how to find you."

Hermione nodded her head at her 'protector,' and stood up. "Before you go," Ray said to Hermione, "I want to let you know that I'll be giving you a gift – you'll know what it is when you find it. Sleep well." Ray pulled out her wand and gave it a flick, and Hermione found herself sleeping peacefully.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"…that bastard! Oh my god – I feel horrible! I'm the one that left her there! Oh my god – it's all my fault!"

"Calm down, Lily, or you're going to wake Hermione."

"You're right… but THAT BASTARD! He's lucky I didn't know when we first came in, or I would have pound that creep into a pulp – A PULP!"

Hermione opened her eyes to see the Head Girl pacing back and forth, in front of Hermione's bed. Smiling, Hermione tried to sit up, when she felt a pair of arms help her, so that she was leaning against a large stack of pillows. Hermione turned to her left to see who the arms belonged to, and was relieved to see Sirius smiling at her.

"You're awake! How do you feel?" Sirius' words caused the pacing girl to stop her rant and run over to the side of the bed. Ignoring Sirius' protests, Lily flung her arms around Hermione, and gave her a big hug.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione! I should have never left you alone with those… things! I'm so sorry!" Lily appeared distraught with herself, and she wouldn't stop hugging Hermione until Sirius pulled her off, mumbling something about 'time of the month.' Once Lily was off, she noticed that what she had been mistaking as sobbing, was Hermione laughing so hard, that her entire body was shaking. One look at the laughing girl, and Lily couldn't help but giggle as well. Hermione stopped laughing, however, when a few more people started laughing… people who's voices she didn't recognize.

Hermione looked around the room to find the source of the laughter, and she found two other men sitting in the chairs on the other side of the room. Seeing Hermione looking at them, they got up from their seets and walked over to the other side of the room, and stood next to the bed.

A man with unruly black hair, and light brown eyes stuck out his hand to Hermione. "Hello, Hermione. My name's James. James Potter." James said, once Hermione had taken his hand. Hermione was trying her best not to blurt out that she was best friends with his future son, and she felt she was doing a pretty good job. She returned the smile James had given her, and tried not to sound too surprised when Lily told him to not be such an arrogant and big headed git, and to give Hermione room to breath. I guess they still haven't gotten together yet… Hermione thought to herself, as James gave Lily a wink, and replied that he would deflate his 'big head' if she would go out with him at some point. Lily simply snorted.

"Their always like that, don't worry," a man with a calm voice assured her, as he noticed Hermione giving the two a skeptical look. "Remus Lupin," the man said, shaking Hermione's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Padfoot, here," Remus said, nodding to Sirius on the other side of the bed, "didn't return from getting a midnight snack last night from the kitchens, so we thought we'd come and find him."

"We were surprised to find out that he was in the infirmary, so we came running down here to see what he'd done this time," James put in, retuning from his 'conversation' with Lily. "We tried to get him to come downstairs to have some dinner in the Great Hall with us, but he refused to leave your side. So, we decided to stay with him!" James finished, giving Hermione another smile.

"You never answered my question, Hermione," Sirius said, drawing her attention away from her best friend's parents ad her future Professor. "How are you feeling?" he asked, concern written all over his face.

"Well," Hermione started, blushing slightly from the attention she was receiving, "my legs still hurt a bit, but I'm not dizzy anymore, and I don't feel as if lead has been poured into my stomach… in fact, I'm rather hungry," Hermione added rather impishly, as her stomach started to rumble.

The others in the room started to laugh, and it took them a minute to calm down. When the amusement had subsided a bit, James pulled out his wand and said quite clearly: "Help." A second later, a House Elf appeared, and looked around the room. Hermione nearly yelped when she realized that the Elf was none other than Kooky; when Kooky found the person who had made the call for help, she gave a small bow.

"How can Is help you today, Master Potter?" Kooky asked in a cheerful voice.

"Hmm, lets see, can I get 5 small dinners to be brought up here, please," he asked after quickly counting the people in the room.

"Of course, sirs!" With a snap of her fingers, Kooky disappeared.

"You guys haven't eaten yet?" Hermione asked, with a slight frown.

"No, when they got here," Sirius replied, nodding to the other three, "all thoughts on dinner vanished when they saw you lying there, asleep. They asked me what had happened, and I had just finished telling them the story, when Lily woke you up," Sirius added, shooting a glare at Lily, who had the decency to blush.

Hermione was not one to be vain, but she had picked up on the fact that she still looked like a wreck. "Do I really look that bad?" she asked no one in particular, wondering why it suddenly mattered to her. She was surprised, yet grateful, when she found Lily hugging her again, this time a bit gentler.

"You look just fine," Lily assured her, while Remus patted her leg. "I'm sorry again, Hermione, not for leaving you, but for Malfoy," Lily said as she pulled away from the embrace. "You know, I think that today is your lucky day! You happen to be surrounded by the school's biggest pranksters! I'm sure that we could find some way of repaying the 'favor' to Malfoy, What do you think, boys?" She turned to look at the three boys, to find them all nodding – and all of their jaws hanging open.

"Lily Evans just suggested breaking the rules!" James said with awe. "What is the world coming to?" Thankfully, before Lily could retort, Kooky returned balancing a giant tray, loaded down with food.

About 15 minutes later, everyone was eating and talking happily. Hermione was finishing her third helping of mashed potatoes, when James opened his mouth and burped richly.

"JAMES ISSAC POTTER!" Lily screeched, hitting James aside the head, while everyone else in the room laughed.

"I can do you one better," Sirius challenged, as he downed a glass of orange soda. He then opened his mouth wide and burped twice as loudly as James. Within two seconds, the two mischief makers had an all out burping contest, which lasted a good 20 minutes. Lily, Hermione, and Remus all tried to stop the two, but to now avail.

Deciding to give up, Hermione sat back in her bed, and opened her mouth to yawn, when a thunderous, rich burp escaped her lips. The other four people in the room all turned to Hermione who looked just as shocked as they did. After seeing Hermione turn from pale to beet red faster than a traffic light, the other four burst out laughing.

Hermione buried her face in her hands, just as Sirius said with admiration: "Well, James, I think we've found our winner!"


(A/N): - jumps up and down pointing – look, look, NO CLIFF HANGER! – hehehe – well, that's all for now! ;)