Hey guys! Sorry for the delay on this chapter, my classes this semester have really been picking up. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I had a fun time writing it! I love writing the marauders although it is a bit difficult trying to capture their individual personalities, but I hope you guys like how I started it! I pretty much have one more chapter already written, but as I finished writing it I realized I want to put one other chapter inbetween this one and the other one I have written so I'll try to get those posted soon!
thank you so, SO much to everyone that has commented so far! I absolutely adore reading your comments and I really appreciate any feedback I get!
Welp here it is i hope you enjoy !
"Oi Prongsie! Look, it's Remus!" An excitable, teenaged boy shouted before hurling himself down the street, dodging people and benches as he went.
Quick on his feet, James Potter matched the pace of his best friend in no time and watched as Sirius Black reached the other, scrawnier boy and tackled him to the ground. James quickly flung himself onto the dogpile forming on the side of the street, ignoring both the stares of passersby and the string of curses coming from his friends as he flopped on top.
The thin, sandy haired boy that was originally tackled was, somehow, the first to escape from the bottom of the pile. As he stood, he brushed his hair out of his face and looked down at the two boys still wrestling on the ground.
"C'mon you two, get up." He managed to say through his laughter, "You're causing a scene."
"Oh come on, Remmie," Sirius said as he too rose to his feet with a smirk, "When have we ever been afraid of a little attention."
As Remus watched Sirius wink at a girl passing by, he realized that might have been the wrong thing to say. Because it was true, Sirius Black, the boy standing in front of him running his hand through his hair as strangers blatantly stared, wasn't afraid of a little attention. In fact, he thrived off it.
And so, Sirius Black, dressed in his punk rock denim and leather, smiled a wolfish grin as he hoisted the last boy up to his feet.
"We're just excited to see you, Moony." James said as he straightened out his ruffled clothes.
"It has been far too long indeed, Mr. Moony. Really, I don't know how we survived without you." Sirius said grinning.
Rolling his eyes, Remus said, "Oh yes, far too long, this whole week you two have gone without seeing me must have been so tragic."
"A tragedy it was!" James exclaimed, flinging his arms around the shoulders of the two boys as he led them down the alley. "Truly, I thought we would perish without you!"
"So, where are we meeting Peter?" Remus asked as the boys approached a small looking shop tucked into the alley.
Remus entered the store first, letting a bell chime gently above his head as he took a deep breath and smelt ages old parchment, fresh ink, and something unrecognizable, yet still comforting.
The two boys following him entered much less gracefully. The door closed behind them with a thud and a snicker could be heard as James tripped over the uneven ground.
"Oh, he actually owled us this morning, said something came up with his parents." Sirius answered distractedly as he lazily flipped through a Quidditch magazine.
"That's odd, I hope everything's alright. Does he want us to get his books for him?"
"He said he'd come back later on in the week to get them." James said snatching the magazine out of Sirius' hands as Remus shrugged and wandered off into the shelves.
"Come on," Sirius huffed, "Let's get out of here fast so we can go down the alley."
A little over an hour later, thanks to Remus, the three boys exited the shop, one holding a stack of books significantly larger than the others.
The group walked down Diagon Alley as the sun began to set with plans of getting a quick drink at the Leaky Cauldron before heading to Quality Quidditch Supplies. As the sun hung low in the sky and incoming first years scrambled around the street excitedly, the air was filled with a sense of tranquility.
The rambunctious group could be heard laughing and joking all throughout the alley, putting smiles on the faces of those that observed as they approached the pub.
Just as they were about to enter, James Potter began, "I wonder when Evans-"
But a crisp, white light filled the alley cutting off his sentence and blinding the boys.
As they tried to squint through the light, the air opened up right before them and a girl fell, seemingly out of nowhere, and slammed onto the ground. Immediately the peacefulness of the alley was disturbed and people were filled with panic. Bystanders rushed away from the girl and the potential danger she brought, small kids screamed and cried at the sight of her before being dragged away by their parents.
Never ones to shy away from danger, all three members of the previously boisterous group were by her side in a matter of seconds. As they looked down at the girl on the ground each one of them was filled with an immediate sense of panic and dread.
The girl was no older than they were, yet looked like she had just been through a war. Blood dripped down her head and poured out of her chest. The cuts, bruises, and slashes on her body were innumerable. Every inch of her visible skin was covered with bruises and fresh blood, as her clothing was rapidly being stained red.
The girl shifted slightly from her spot on the ground, appearing to attempt to sit up. Trying to prevent her further injury, James reached down and gently put a hand on her shoulder keeping her still. The second his hand made contact, the girls eyes fluttered open.
As she looked up at James, her blood-covered face was immediately filled with an expression of relief and she said through bated breath, "Harry. Hogwarts. Get the Order."
About ten minutes later, after some frantic healing spells from Remus, Sirius sprinting through the Leaky Cauldron and flooing to Hogwarts, and James continuously insisting that everyone stay calm, the three boys waited nervously outside the doors to the Hogwarts hospital wing.
Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore were able to move the girl into the infirmary quickly and without trouble. However, despite the protests of the two adults, the three teenage boys followed them back to Hogwarts to wait for an update on the girl. So, as they waited anxiously outside the hospital doors, Madam Pomfrey was at hard work, attempting to restore the girl back to proper health.
After hours of vigilant work, Madam Pomfrey finally gained control of the situation. Many of the wounds this girl suffered seemed to be the work of dark curses and wouldn't heal magically by spell or potion, so she had to resort to the muggle method of stitches. Once the major injuries stopped bleeding, she gave the girl a blood replenishing potion and a few other miscellaneous potions she thought might help and she set to heal many of the smaller scrapes and bruises.
With perfect timing, just as she finished her work and closed the curtain to the hospital bed, the doors burst open and in came two restless dark haired boys.
"I'm sorry, Madame Pomfrey," Remus said as he trailed behind the other two, "I tried to stop them."
"What's going on, Poppy? It never takes you this long to heal us up. And we have our fair share of injuries. The summer made you slow?" Sirius teased as he approached the witch.
Ignoring his comment, Madame Pomfrey said, "I know you boys are curious about this girl, but the injuries she sustained were very severe. It's likely that she will not be awake for another couple days. It's best that you boys head home."
"A couple days?" James asked, voice filled with concern. "Do you know what happened to her?"
Seeing the worry etched into the faces of the boys standing before her, her stern resolve began to falter slightly. These boys are young and there is a war approaching. Even though she didn't know for certain, Madame Pomfrey was fairly convinced this girl's injuries were war related. Her entire body was littered with scars already healed that even someone as experienced as Madam Pomfrey couldn't bear to see. But how do you say this to teenagers? To children? What could you possibly say to prepare them for what is to come?
"I don't know, boys." She finally conceded, "All I know, is that there was some very dark magic involved. Anything past that I cannot say for certain until after she wakes up."
The sudden, serious tension was cut as a low groan escaped the curtained bed. Madame Pomfrey quickly rushed to the bedside and threw the curtain open to see the girl shifting where she lay.
Hermione awoke to the sound of voices and a pounding in her head. As she shifted slightly she attempted to open her eyes, only to be blinded by the bright white lights of the all too familiar Hogwarts hospital wing.
As she tried to sit up her memories pressed against the forefront of her mind. Diagon Alley. The Death Eaters. The Battle. The Weasleys. Harry. Ron. Greyback.
Flinging her eyes open in shock at her own memories, her eyes fell on Madame Pomfrey at her bedside, seemingly waiting for her to speak. She shifted her gaze and her eyes landed on Harry, standing nervously at the foot of her bed.
"Oh, Harry, thank Merlin you're okay." She croaked out despite her burning throat. Looking around at the empty beds surrounding her through blurry vision, she turned back to her best friend, "Where's Ron? Is everyone else alright?"
Harry didn't say anything in response, but simply continued to stare back at Hermione in silence.
Madame Pomfrey pushed a glass of water into her hands, and said "Come on dear, drink this. You need some more rest."
But Hermione couldn't focus on anything but Harry and getting the answers to her questions.
"Come on, Harry, what happened? You're making me nervous."
At his frightened gaze, Hermione felt her heart stop. She was a killer now. The only other time a member of the trio killed someone was when Harry defeated Lord Voldemort. But that situation was a bit different. This was unexplored territory and Hermione wondered if it would change things.
"I didn't mean to do it, really… I don't know-" She muttered, unsure if she was trying to justify it for herself or for her best friend. As another sharp pain pushed against her forehead she raised her hand to rub the bridge of her nose. Blinking away the pain her vision began to clear.
Once again looking up towards Harry searching for answers, Hermione's eyes were met not with the emerald green she was expecting, but rather a light hazel.
She felt a shiver pass through her body, as time seemed to still. "Wait… Harry… Your eyes… What happened to them… " She mumbled as her already clouded mind attempted to make some sense out of the situation.
As she looked past the boy she thought was Harry, she noticed for the first time the other two figures in the room. First making eye contact with a thin, sandy haired, oddly familiar looking boy she attempted, to no avail, to put a name to the face, feeling like she was missing the answer that rested on the tip of her tongue.
But as she shifted her gaze once more, she met intense silver eyes she used to know far too well. As she desperately searched the face belonging to those eyes she pleaded with every deity her mind could think of; this was just a trick of the eye. The resemblances of the boys in front of her were merely pure coincidence.
But just as she was beginning to believe she had mistaken the situation, the door to the hospital wing creaked open once again and in strode an unmistakable silver haired, bearded man.
"Ah, Miss, I had the feeling you would be awake." Dumbledore said and as Hermione searched his face, his twinkling blue eyes stared back at her.
There was no way of mistaking the man in front of her and that look in his eye. And so as she stared back at the man she knew to have died years ago, looking younger and more alive than she had ever seen him, Hermione once again felt the blood drain from her face as darkness crept into the sides of her vision and she was asleep yet again.
A day later Hermione sat cross legged on her hospital bed staring once again, speechless, into pale blue eyes.
"Perhaps we should start with a simple introduction." Dumbledore said calmly as Hermione sat frozen. "I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Hermione was shaken out of her stupor at his silent prompt for her to speak.
"Professor," Hermione finally began, "I seem to be in a bit of a predicament that I could use some assistance with. And I believe that you would be the person best suited to help me."
If Dumbledore was shocked at her sudden request he did not show it. He replied simply with, "Very well, how can I be of assistance to you?"
"Well, I don't necessarily know where to begin…" Hermione said, playing lightly with the sleeves on her robe. At his small smile, she continued, "I know, the best place to start is typically at the beginning, but I'm not quite sure exactly where the beginning is, in this particular instance, you see."
Dumbledore let out a small chuckle and said, "Ah, I see we have another mind that thinks just a tad too much. How about for now, you begin with telling me your name and how you arrived in Diagon Alley."
"My name is Hermione Granger, Sir." She said after a brief pause in which she decided that knowing her name couldn't cause too much trouble. Besides, the Headmaster was a smart man, he was bound to figure out who she was eventually. "And how I got here, well, I suppose that is the real question."
At Dumbledore's interested expression she continued. "You see, Sir, I am under the strong impression that this time is different from my own."
Dumbledore's expression of interest deepened, as he said, "Today's date is August 24th. 1977."
As Dumbledore's words ran through her mind Hermione was filled with an intense shock. Nothing she had ever done before frightened her so much as this. Always in her past experiences she had Harry and Ron by her side to help her through everything, from fighting the troll in their first year to hunting horcruxes, she was never alone. But now, here she was, over twenty years in the past. Alone for the first time.
At that moment she felt the slight prodding at the forefront of her mind that accompanied legilimency.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she pushed Dumbledore out of her mind and glanced back up at him.
"I understand you're curious, Sir, perhaps even worried, but I'm sure you know as well as I do that I must be very wary of the aspects of the future I choose to share with you. Bad things happen to those that meddle with time. But I assure you, I am not an enemy to you."
Although said calmly, Hermione was stern with her words. While Dumbledore was someone Hermione would trust with her life, she knew that he was not the infallible man many perceived him to be. He was curious and cunning and deceptive, and Hermione knew she needed to be careful with what she shared with him. At least, until she fully understood her situation.
"My apologies, Miss Granger, I could not help my own curiosity." He said, "But you are correct in saying the knowledge you have should be protected at all costs. You might be aware that in this time period we are about to enter into a war."
At Hermione's nod he continued, "It is vital that no one else learn of your situation. For if they do, I can assure you many people would attempt to gain the knowledge you hold. That is, I believe you know the outcome of the war, correct?"
"Yes, Sir." Hermione said, fully aware of Dumbledore's intense stare as she attempted to mask her expression.
"Well for now, I think it would be most beneficial for you to tell me exactly how you came here. Perhaps then, we could better understand the possibility of returning you to your own time." He continued, leaning back into his seat, as Hermione attempted not to cringe at his implication that her return might not be possible.
"Yes, Professor. I think I could safely tell you that the time I come from is many years in the future, although, I assume you already figured as much." At the tilt of Dumbledore's head she continued. "I went to Diagon Alley with my two best friends and family to prepare for my final return to Hogwarts this year."
She paused. How much information was safe to tell him? Was telling him Death Eaters caused the attack too much? Surely then he would know Voldemort was still present far into the future. What about her moment of weakness? Her break? But then he would think of her as a killer. And her appearance in this time is already suspicious enough without the knowledge that she is a murderer. Hermione eventually came to the conclusion that it was best to keep the information vague and minimal. She can always tell him more later, but once the words leave her mouth she cannot get them back.
And so she said simply, "When a battle took place in Diagon Alley, I was hit with an unknown spell, was engulfed in a flash of light, and woke up here."
"I see. Did you have any experience with time travel prior to this?" He asked, looking pensive.
"I did. My third year at Hogwarts I used a Time-Turner in order to fit more classes into my schedule." Hermione responded.
"Would I be correct to assume a student who used a Time-Turner to take more classes, occasionally used a Time-Turner for other purposes as well?" He asked, twinkle never fading.
Hermione sheepishly thought back to all the extra study hours in the library and common room she got from using the Time-Turner. She certainly used it more than the ministry intended her to, but in her mind, all those hours of extra studying and sleep the Time-Turner gave her were hours well spent.
At her light chuckle, Dumbledore continued.
"Well, I know nothing of the spell that may have brought you here. However, it is possible that the spell combined with the magical residue in your body from continued use of the Time-Turner is what sent you so far back in time. And no. It is not because you used it a tad more often than prescribed. The residue would have remained regardless."
Hermione paused; it wasn't often that Dumbledore didn't know something.
"So, what does this mean?" She asked.
"For the time being, I am unaware of a way for you to return to your original time." He said solemnly. "I will research the situation, but for now, this is your new present."
Hermione's entire body went numb and her heart sank. She was hoping that the seemingly all-knowing Dumbledore would have a solution to her problem. Upon hearing this news, her mind began racing a mile a minute she couldn't think straight.
"I'm stuck here? Professor, I can't stay here. I know too much. I've seen too much. My being in this time surely can't be good. What if I change something? Or, if I can't get back, should I try to change it?" Hermione asked aimlessly, mind reeling with the possibilities.
"I understand it is shocking but please try to stay calm. I am sure you were told a fair amount when you were first granted the time turner. Did anyone speak to you about the long term effects of time travel?"
When Hermione shook her head no, he continued.
"You see, time is, essentially, a loop. It is likely that in the time you came, this has already happened." He said simply.
"I'm sorry, Professor, I'm not following." Hermione said, her mind clouded with the new information.
"Of course. Think about it in terms of your past experiences with time travel. You may recall specific instances in which an event has happened in the initial timeline. You may have then discovered later, after you traveled using the Time-Turner, that you were in fact the cause of that event."
Attempting to calm her racing mind Hermione thought back to her third year. Her most memorable use of the Time-Turner was when she and Harry used it to save Sirius from the dementors.
Her mind flashed back to Harry's patronus soaring above the black lake ridding Hogwarts of the dementors. That was what Dumbledore was talking about. Harry saw his own patronus before he had ever gone back in time to cast it. And suddenly she understood.
She understood Remus' shock at first meeting her. She understood all the lingering, wavering glances of Sirius. Did they remember this day? Did they remember meeting her in the past? If she stays here like Dumbledore is suggesting, does that mean she'll continue to know them in this new time?
"Now Miss Granger, when I say that time is a loop, I mean, it is a loop, for the most part."
"For the most part? But not all the time?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
"No, my dear. Time is nearly always a loop, naturally. But there are certain moments that define the future and if you actively attempt to change those moments, time itself may change. In those instances if you change time, the timeline you come from will cease to exist and you will create a new timeline, a new future."
Hermione sat shell-shocked. Her future is still a reality, but she single handedly had the power to change the future if she so chose.
"Now let me ask you, Miss Granger. You know well that there is a war going on. It will be bad and there will be a lot of death. Without going into much detail with me right now, I want you to think, is the outcome of the war favorable? If it is, you need not worry about changing the future. You can simply continue on living in this time until we can determine how to send you home. However, if it is not, it may be something to consider."
Hermione's heart was beating out of her chest. The entire future lay in her hands. She had the option to either keep things as they were or to go in and change everything.
And Hermione thought about Harry, growing up without parents without a family, the whole world resting on his shoulders. She thought about Neville, whose parents were tortured into insanity. She thought about Sirius, imprisoned for thirteen years for a crime he didn't commit. She thought about everyone she knew and loved and lost to the war. She thought about Fred, Tonks, Remus, Lavender, Dobby, Moody, Colin. She thought about all those she had never met that had lost their lives anyways. She had a chance to prevent that loss. She had a chance to change the future.
But then she thought that despite the loss, they had won the war. It was hard and it came with a price, but they had won and things were looking up. And if she changed anything, no matter how small, the entire future would become unpredictable.
Her mind immediately went to the night Harry's parents were killed. The best way to prevent that was by telling the marauders that Peter would betray them. If they kept Sirius as their secret keeper instead of Peter, James and Lily would have survived. But then Harry would have never become The-Boy-Who-Lived and Voldemort would have never been killed in 1981. He would still reign and Harry would still be prophesied to kill him. So how much longer would Voldemort have continued to live before Harry could finally stop him? And what other destruction and terror could he cause if he lived past Halloween 1981.
The more Hermione began to think the more she realized that changing the past could potentially be even more disastrous and harmful than the present she came from. As difficult as it may be, Hermione came to the realization that she could not make any attempt to change the future. It is a long and torturous path, but the end is good. Harry won. Voldemort was killed. The future was looking bright. Hermione couldn't risk putting that in jeopardy.
At some point during Hermione's musings Dumbledore left the hospital wing, leaving her alone to her thoughts and she fell asleep with her head spinning with possibilities.