Hermione and Lily watched Sirius fly off, the stolen book under his arm, the invisibility cloak discarded on the floor.
Lily turned to Hermione, "Lets get you to the hospital wing." she said, tucking the clock inside her pocket.
She helped Hermione up, supporting most of her weight and they started (very slowly) up to the hospital wing.
Once they got a few feet the classes let out and they were now going against the flow of students making their way to the great hall for supper.
Remus saw them and flung Hermione's other arm around him.
"What happened Hermione?" he asked, clearly very worried.
"Shes hurt, I'm getting her to the hospital wing." Lily stated
"I'll help." Remus volunteered, although really he was already supporting the remainder of her weight.
"Remus, actually could you go get the rest of the Marauders and Harry and Ron and meet us up at the hospital wing?" Hermione asked, groaning as her ankle bent the wrong way.
"Sure." Remus said gently replacing her arm and joining the horde of students going the other way.
"Remus! Don't bother with Sirius, hes not here!" Lily called after him.
"Where is he?" Remus asked getting dragged along with the crowd
"never mind." Lily started
"I'll explain in a few minutes." Hermione corrected.
Then Remus disappeared into throng of students.
Once Lily and Hermione had managed to limp up the hospital wing the others were already there.
James and Harry were talking and looking worried, Remus trying to calm Peter down and Ron, who was standing by a window, looking very distant.
Madam Pomphrey snatched Hermione away and onto a cot before some even knew she was there. Then, she began working on mending her leg.
"My dear, what happened to you?" she asked.
"I ran into a suit of armor." said Hermione, realising now how dumb that must sound.
"I'm always telling students no running in the halls but do they listen, over my petrified body!" Madam Pomphrey muttered more to herself than anyone else in the room.
When she had left to get some more supplies Hermione beckoned them all over.
"Harry, I think we should tell them." Hermione said, seeing as Harry was there son and Ron hadn't moved from the window.
Harry nodded but looked down.
Hermione sighed,
'Why do I always have to do the dirty work.' she thought taking a deep breath.
"The reason I was running, therefore knocking into the bloody armor." Hermione started, she noticed Harry glance up at her, apparently because she swore.
"Well, the reason I was running was because, I found a book, well actually I stole a book, using James' invisibility cloak." Hermione saw James tilt his head as if mentally asking how does she know about that?
"And I know about that because Harry" Hermione motioned to him "inherited it, because, we're from the future, and Harry... Harry is your son."
There where shocked faces all around, minus Lily, and Ron who still hadn't moved.
"Malfoy...er... Draco, he put something in our potion and we got transported back here."
"You can't tell anybody." Hermione added.
"Well, this book was in the restricted section, thats why I took your cloak James, and it told me about the potion, and it told me that we would die tonight if an antidote wasn't made." Hermione took another deep breath
"Well, since nobody else, really trustworthy, or living, or of age, was around I had to get the book to Hagrid, so he could give it to Dumbledore in the future." Hermione stopped as Madam Pomphrey came back in to finish healing her ankle.
"I want you to stay here overnight." She said glancing at the large crowd then returning to her office.
"Well, problem is, Hagrid's cabin isn't where I remembered it to be, and I couldn't get there in time and i ran into Sirius, after of course Lily started to help me with my ankle." Hermione said. At this Ron looked up at her, anger in his eyes.
"Well, thats where he is, he flew the book to Hagrid, and Lily had your cloak, James." finished Hermione, nodding towards the elder of the two Potters.
"I'm sorry." said Hermione, turning away so they wouldn't see the tears she had to wipe on her sleave.
"What about Sirius and you snogging by the three broomsticks, sorry about that!" said Ron sarcastically.
"Ron.." Hermione started but just then Sirius came in, looking windblown.
"That would be my fault."said Sirius, leaning against the door.
Everybody turned to look at him.
"I'm not really used to getting turned down, and Hermione, well, she did turn me down. Twice actually. Said she didn't like me like that, said that she didn't fall for cheap lines and she said she was taken." Sirius looked over at Ron.
"If I was that guy thats 'taken' her, I wouldn't give her back." Sirius didn't move his gaze from Ron.
"I don't care if she is from the future, she deserves a good man. She thinks that shes got one, but I don't know, does she Ron?" Sirius looked from Ron to Hermione and back to Ron.
"She does." Ron murmured, then he looked at her.
Hermione was still crying, silent tears running down her cheeks and dripping onto her lap.
James went over and sat on the bed beside Hermione and beckoned Harry over.
James put his arms around them both then squeezed Lily in as well, then Remus, Peter and Sirius went beside them, smiling, then Ron came and sat down beside Hermione, who had stopped crying. Ron wiped away her tears with the palm of his hand.
So there they were all sitting on the cot, when Lily's cat came trotting in.
"Oh, skittles, I forgot to feed you today." Lily remarked as the cat jumped up on the cot.
The cot buckled, then
Crunch
The cot landed on the floor.
They all started to laugh.
Ron leaned over to Hermione and kissed her gently on the lips, she wrapped her arms around him and then they heard Peter remark...
"Look, the half moon." They all looked up through the window, sure enough there was a red, half moon.
Harry, Ron and Hermione tingled, feeling as though a million tiny needles were sticking into them.
Hermione looked over at Ron, then at Harry, this was it, they would die, they would 'disappear' .
Ron was staring at her and Harry was laughing with Sirius and James. James with his arms wrapped around Lily, who was stroking her cat, and then Peter an Remus who where talking about something.
Harry, Ron and Hermione, (Harry not noticing until now that something was happening) heard no sound anymore, then there was a tearing sound, like fabric, then a shattering, like glass. They could actually feel glass raining down on them, leaving small but deep scratches upon them.
The others were gone, the cot was still there, except it wasn't on the floor. There were blurry figures buzzing back and forth, that the trio where just barely able to make out.
Harry closed his eyes, the shattered and tearing sounds getting louder.
Hermione reached over and grabbed both Harry's and then Ron's hands.
There was a final sickening crunching sound, and the blurry figures where no more, just one blinding light.
When they woke up there was a purple fog that covered everything.
There was loud coughing that didn't just come from the trio, it sounded ... older.
There came a figure, waving her hands wildly around through the cloud of purple substance.
"Goodness." She wheezed taking out her wand and muttering something. The fog was siphoned away into her wand.
Madam Pomphrey (much older than seen minutes ago) finished clearing away the fog then looked them up and down.
"Merlin." she whispered,
"Albus! Menerva! Severus! Rubius! Filch Anybody!" she yelled, running towards the door. When she came back, although hesitantly, she started to heal them. They had cuts, as if glass had sliced through some of their skin.
She levitated them each into there own cot.
Albus Dumbledore, closely followed by Minerva Magonigal, Severus Snape and Rubius Hagrid.
"Thank heavens, your alright." Professor Magonigal said, tears streaming down her face, came over to each of them.
"Thanks to a certain book, stolen from the Library years ago, three certain students where able to get back safely." Dumbledore said, an all knowing twinkle in his eye.
"Now, I believe these students should have some privacy, except for mister Potter, there is a girl out here who says that if I do not let her see you she will put a quite frightening Bat Bogey hex on me." Dumbledore said smiling.
Harry got up and followed him out of the room.
The rest followed, until Ron and Hermione were left alone in the hospital wing, battered and bruised, tear stained and blood stained both.
Ron looked over at Hermione and went over to her.
"Hermione, I love you, and I'm sorry." said Ron, in one big, quick breath.
"You don't have to be." Hermione said.
Then they kissed, when they pulled apart Hermione said ...
"I love you to, Ronald. Obviously. But, why did you tell me now?" she seemed curios as to his sudden boldness.
"Because." he explained. "Before we left, I swore that if I made it out of this alive, that I would tell you." He blushed, and looked down at his hands.
Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out a moving photograph, it had been taken at Hogsmead.
Hermione and Ron holding hands and smiling, Lily and James kissing, Peter waving, Harry wrinkling his nose at his parents, Remus reading and Sirius Lee Black smiling up at the photographer, a man who was payed 12 sicles to take the picture.
Ron smiled up at Hermione as Ginny and Harry entered the room, holding hands, just the way it should be.
'Perfection.' Hermione thought
The End...