A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks to all who read and reviewed the last chapter. This is my first time publishing a fanfiction, so I am excited and encouraged by the positive response!

I can't promise any sort of consistent posting schedule - I have a busy life, so I will write and publish when I have the time (and when inspiration strikes)! I have this entire story planned out, though. I do like to write daily, so you may see updates frequently! It will not be an extremely long fic, probably less than 15 chapters in total.

On with the story! Enjoy!

1997

"HARRY!" Ron bellowed as he watched his best friend vanish into thin air. Three spells had hit him at once, and Ron had expected him to fall, but not to disappear in a flash of light.

Hermione crouched over him, breathing heavily in shock. The snatchers, too, seemed shocked at Harry's disappearance, but only for a moment. The malicious wizards turned towards Ron and Hermione, alerted by Ron's scream.

Hermione gasped and began hurriedly muttering the counter-curse for Ron's jelly-legs jinx. He stopped twitching and laid still on the ground, staring in shock at the place where Harry had stood.

"We've got to move, Ron!" Hermione yelled at him.

"But Harry...didn't you see Hermione…" he stammered. But he took Hermione's extended hand and stumbled to his feet.

Hermione prided herself on being calm under pressure, but inside she was shaking. "I saw, Ron. But if we don't move right now we'll be next!"

She grabbed his hand and they began to sprint together for the nearest tree, shooting spells at snatchers as they ran for cover. "Besides," said Hermione as they dove behind a wide trunk, "maybe he just apparated."

"That didn't look like any apparation I've ever seen!"

Hermione bit her lip and jabbed her hand around the tree to shoot a stunner. "It doesn't look like any I've seen either but I hope it is!" she shouted at Ron.

"What if the snatchers just did something to him on purpose? Sent him somewhere...or...or killed him?" Ron disarmed a wizard who was creeping up behind them and caught the stray wand. His hand shook as he pocketed it.

"They don't seem bright enough for that," said Hermione, conjuring ropes to bind the wandless snatcher. "Those spells collided on accident."

Another snatcher leapt from behind the tree and Ron trapped him in a full-body bind. "Okay. Say Harry apparated out of here. Shouldn't we do the same?"

Hermione caught another snatcher and hexed him into oblivion, panic pouring into every spell. "If Harry apparated and we leave, then he won't be able to find us again!"

"Right," said Ron, pocketing another stolen wand and causing it's owner's face to erupt into boils just for good measure. "He doesn't have a deluminator."

Eight snatchers had attacked them and they had just taken down five or six, by Hermione's count. She and Ron lunged out from behind the tree in unison and each stunned one more snatcher. They snapped back to each other's sides, breathing heavily.

"Do you think that's all of them?" Hermione asked.

Ron simply pointed.

Ten yards away the snatcher with boils over his face was rolling up his sleeve, his movements slow with pain. Before Ron or Hermione could stop him, he pressed a finger to the Dark Mark hidden there.

"That's not good," said Ron.

The forest air around them was filled with the cracks of apparation. Hermione's hair stood on end as if each of those cracks had been the strike of a lightning bolt. The sudden pounding of Death Eater feet toward them was as loud as thunder, and far more deadly.

For there, in the midst of dozens of eyes, Lord Voldemort's gleamed with triumph.

"Hermione?"

"Yes Ron?"

"Can we leave now?"

Hermione grasped Ron's arm like a life preserver and apparated them both away.

I'm sorry Harry, she thought to herself. We'll find you. We promise.

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1993

Harry was laying in his bed facing the ceiling, thinking. What were the chances that this was all a dream, and that he would wake up in the tent in the woods and Ron and Hermione would laugh with him about how weird this one was? He let out a long breath and ran his hands through his hair. This wasn't some fantasy his mind had created, and he knew that. It was time to accept the truth and start figuring out what to do from there.

He needed Ron and Hermione. Any victory he had ever had was in direct result of their help. He needed to prove his story to them. As of now Ron didn't seem to want to have anything to do with him. His promise to come later that night hadn't been fulfilled yet, and Harry was getting anxious. Wasn't it just the last time they had been together that they said nothing could pull them apart? Maybe they had finally found the thing that would. So he was in his thirteen year old body in 1993, with no explanation, no obvious way back, no guarantee that he would ever solve the problem, and no friends to lean on. A tear rolled down his cheek. He had defeated Voldemort six times only to be brought to his knees by a freak accident.

He was roused from his thoughts by the creak of the heavy wooden door. Two familiar voices muttered from out of the darkness.

"Hey, is he crying?" was followed by a thud and a groan.

"Tact, Ronald."

"That didn't mean you had to hit me!"

A wide grin broke across Harry's face and he sat up to greet his friends. With a flutter of cloth a sweet faced Hermione and a sullen-looking Ron appeared out of thin air. Hermione came to sit beside Harry while Ron sauntered to his other side. "Wait just a minute," Harry whispered, pulling out his wand and whispering a quick "muffliato."

Hermione's eyebrows raised. "Harry, that was a silencing charm you just cast."

"Yeah? It just helps keep Pomfrey off our tails."

"It's fifth year content, Harry." Hermione leaned in as Harry cursed. "Ron told me what you were saying earlier."

"And what exactly was that?" Harry asked with a sharp look toward Ron.

"I just told her that you claimed to have time travelled," Ron scoffed. "I wasn't sure if you would be sticking to that story or not. Or if you would be trying to attack me again."

Harry paled. He had forgotten about that. "Sorry, Ron. I thought you were Voldemort in disguise."

Ron couldn't come up with a good response, so Harry turned back to Hermione. "What Ron told you was true. Do you believe me?"

"Harry…" she said nervously. "It just seems odd."

"And time travel doesn't exist," stated Ron as if it would be the final statement in the matter. Harry could see the blood drain from Hermione's face even in the darkness of the room. She bit her lip and reached up to finger a chain that hung around her neck before disappearing into the front of her robes. She was itching to say something to them, and Harry knew exactly what it was.

"Hermione it's fine. I know all about it," Harry said in the most unalarming voice he could manage. Hermione still jumped, clenching the chain more tightly between her fingers.

"Know all about what?" Ron asked. "Hermione, what is he on about?"

Hermione continued to stare at Harry. "How? Did you figure it out? Did McGonagall tell you? No one else was supposed to know it existed." She spoke a mile a minute, and any fool could tell that she was panicking. Harry had forgotten how "goody-two-shoes" Hermione had been. Was it third year that she had started to change?

"Don't worry, Hermione. You haven't given anything away yet. I'm from the future, remember? You told us at the end of this year. With Dumbledore's permission," he added hastily at the look of horror on her face.

"Told us what?" Ron asked, the tips of his ears turning red.

Harry turned back to Hermione with an encouraging smile. "We won't tell anyone, Hermione. Who can you trust if not us?"

Hermione nodded slowly and pulled the hourglass from the front of her robes. Ron stared at it bemusedly. "Nice...necklace?" he commented.

"It's not just a necklace, Ron," Hermione said, snatching it out of his reach. "It's called a time-turner."

"It's how she's been getting to all of her classes," Harry added to an increasingly confused Ron.

Hermione eyed Harry nervously as she launched into an explanation of her crazy schedule for third year. Harry noticed that her shoulders seemed to relax a bit, her eyes brightening, simply by getting the secret out in the open.

"...so yes, time travel is possible," Hermione concluded. "I've been doing it all year."

Ron opened his mouth to give some response, but before he could Harry turned endearingly to Hermione. "So you believe me, right? Since you know time travel is a thing?"

Hermione tucked the time turner back under her shirt. "I don't know, Harry...this only goes back hours, not years…"

"Hold up." Ron finally managed to form words. "What are you both on about? Are you both in on this weird prank?"

Hermione sighed. "It's not a prank, Ronald." She looked at Harry. "At least my part isn't. But I think…"

Harry perked up. "Yes?"

"I think that you must be telling the truth," said Hermione timidly. "What reason would you have for lying to us?"

Harry was amazed by young Hermione's lack of wartime paranoia, but he certainly wasn't complaining. "Thank you," he said in a relieved breath of air, resisting the urge to hug her.

"What do we do? How is this possible?" she said, concern clear in her voice. Her eyes lit up suddenly, and she stood from her chair.

"Hermione, don't go to the library yet!" Harry shouted at her. "It's already midnight and I haven't even told you my full story yet."

Hermione looked torn but nodded and sunk back down into her chair. "Okay. Tell me everything. Did you use a time turner? What happened? How did you get here? What happened to the other you?"

Ron had been sitting in his chair with a disbelieving expression and bright red ears. He finally found his words though, and exclaimed, "you're saying that someone's just replaced our Harry?!"

"No, Ron -" Hermioje started automatically, but she trailed off, unable to counter his point.

"So wait, you believe me now?" Harry asked Ron.

Ron crossed his arms and burrowed back into his chair. "I think you're both mental," he said, glaring daggers at Harry. "But if somehow you're not then I want to know what you did with my best friend!"

Harry was hit with a new wave of panic. He had lived through this before, but was back in his younger body, so did that mean his younger self was dead? Or maybe in the future, in his older body? Or did his younger self exist at all? Was he his younger self now?

Argh. Harry wasn't smart enough to wrap his mind around time travel. If Hermione were the time traveller she would probably know exactly what was going on.

Instead of showing his panic to Ron, though, he calmed his face and turned to the boy. "I'm still Harry," he said sincerely. "I'm still your best friend. Just...four years older."

Ron just shook his head in disbelief. He turned to Hermione, as if expecting her to have the answers to everything. Harry wished that she had all the answers, too.

"You know what, Hermione?" said Harry. "Go to the library. I'm sure you'll figure this out much sooner than I can."

Hermione looked eager to jump to her feet again. Harry had finally realized why Hermione ran to the library so much; it wasn't just to find answers, but to cope with problems. When something got rough Hermione ran to the library to escape from her problems. During the horcrux hunt she had seemed antsy so often, and had finally confided in the two boys that she missed having a library to hide in.

But now, in 1993, Hermione restrained herself. Instead of running and hiding in the stacks of books, she shook her head and locked her eyes on Harry.

"You're right," she said. "I need more details. Tell me the full story."

In the dark hospital wing, Harry explained about the attack, and the three spells that he crashed into. The explanation went on and on; Hermione wanted to know why they were in the forest, why they weren't at school, and Harry felt obliged to tell her. Ron asked no questions but his face grew more and more pale as the story went on.

"The spells," Hermione said suddenly, urgently. She had just asked dozens of questions about horcruxes and Voldemort, but finally turned her focus back to the time travel issue. "What were they? Did you see?"

"One was the killing curse, I think," Harry said slowly. Ron looked ready to puke. "And maybe...there was a stunner? Or hexes? I don't know, Hermione." He groaned in frustration and sank back onto the pillows.

While Ron had grown more terrified Hermione had grown more anxious. "I'll research, Harry," she said. "I promise. But-but this seems like too much. We need to tell Dumbledore, Harry!"

Harry stiffened. It wasn't that he hated Dumbledore. No, he still trusted him as much as he ever had. He knew that, if they went to Dumbledore, the old headmaster would be able to help, if not fix the problem altogether. But Dumbledore's death was still too fresh on Harry's mind, even after months had passed. Seeing the man again would open raw wounds. And with Skeeter's book, Harry was afraid that seeing Dumbledore again would be too much stress to handle right now.

"I don't want…" Harry started uncertainly. He met Hermione's eyes. "Not Dumbledore. Not yet."

Ron's eyes widened in surprise. "Why not Dumbledore? You always trust him." He spun to Hermione, pointing an accusing finger at Harry. "What if he's with You-Know-Who? What if that's why Harry's acting weird?"

"He's not with You-Know-Who, Ronald," Hermione said softly. She was looking at Harry's eyes, her expression soft. "Dumbledore's dead in your future, isn't he?"

Harry turned his face away. That was all the answer Hermione needed.

"Wait," said Ron. "What d'you mean, Dumbledore's dead? How can Dumbledore be dead?"

"We all thought the same thing when it happened," Harry responded simply.

Hermione whimpered a little. "Okay. We don't have to tell Dumbledore. Not yet. But I want to tell an adult, Harry. We need help. Maybe McGonagall?"

Harry could've reminded her that he was of age. He was an adult, so they didn't need to go running to the grown-ups anymore. But that would've been lying. Harry was of age, but he couldn't do this on his own.

"Remus is Defense professor now, right?" he asked with sudden realization.

"Why are you calling Lupin by his first name?" Ron asked.

"Yes, he is," Hermione said. She leapt to her feet again. "You want to tell him? Should I go get him?" She froze. "Do you trust him?"

Harry recalled that Hermione had known that Remus was a werewolf long before his secret was revealed. "I know his secret, too," Harry told her, avoiding eye contact with Ron, "and yes, I would trust him with my life."

Hermione measured his words, then decided to trust him. "I'll bring him here," she said, turning toward the door.

But as soon as she passed the barrier of their silencing spell, the door to Madame Pomfrey's office opened. Hermione froze, looking petrified.

Madame Pomfrey marched out of her office, already dressed in her uniform. Through the tall windows the sky was beginning to brighten; the nighttime had turned to morning without any of them realizing it.

"How many times have I told you students that the hospital wing is OFF LIMITS at night?" the matron shouted. Harry quickly dropped the silencing wards.

"I'm so sorry Madame Pomfrey, we won't do it again -" started Hermione.

"You'd better not," said the woman, fixing Hermione with a glare. She turned it on Ron, however, then Harry, and marched to his bedside to begin running diagnostic spells on him.

Harry felt the need to defend his friends. "I asked them to come," he said quickly. "So don't blame them, blame me."

"I'm blaming all of you," Madame Pomfrey muttered as she waves her wand around Harry. "And if there's another offense I'll be forced to tell the headmaster."

Hermione once again looked horrified. Ron continued to stare at Harry as he had all night, as if he was barely processing anything that was happening.

"But," Madame Pomfrey grumbled, casting one last spell and making a satisfied expression. "We won't have to worry about another offense, because I am releasing Mister Potter."

Harry's eyes went wide. The mediwitch never gave up a patient without a fight. "Really? I'm free to go?"

Madame Pomfrey made him a face like soured milk. "Don't act so pleased, Mister Potter. I'm only releasing you now because I'm sick of dealing with you and your friends at all hours of the night. If only you lot would respect hospital rules…"

Harry didn't wait for her to finish and leapt out of the bed. He scooped up his wand and glasses from the bedside table, as Ron grabbed all the chocolate frogs, and made his escape. "Thank you Madame Pomfrey!" he called back over his shoulder.

"That goes for school rules, too, Mister Potter!" the witch shouted back. "I'd better not see you in here injured again anytime soon!"

Once Harry, Ron, and Hermione were through the heavy wooden doors, they turned to each other. Harry knew adrenaline was pumping through his veins, as was fear. He knew he had travelled back in time, but what now? Laying in the hospital wing was one thing, walking around the castle in his younger body was a different challenge all together. Hermione looked at him in concern, and Ron eyed him as if expecting him to tell, "gotcha!" at any moment.

"We should go to Professor Lupin," said Hermione.

Harry caught his breath and nodded. "Professor Lupin. Right."

And together with his thirteen year old best friends, Harry set off down the stone corridors of Hogwarts, hoping that maybe, just maybe, they could find some meaning in this chaos.

A/N: Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! If you have the time please click the review button - I'd love to see what you thought!