Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter related stuff, characters or anything else.

Hermione's Troubles:

Chapter Three:

Hermione jumped, realizing she'd just been sitting, staring dreamily out a window, for the past few minutes. "But he hugged me!" She thought ecstatically. The more intelligent, harsher part of her mind said, "So what, he just hugged you to cheer you up! It was totally platonic!" Then the joyful, happy part of her mind argued back, "Who cares, I hugged him and he hugged me back!" A blissful smile played across her face. Hermione stared around the hidden space she was in, in the Library. "And I stumbled across his secret student place. No-one but him, me, and that other Hermione have been here." She sat around idly for a few minutes, mind whirling in bliss, whirling like the golden leaves being swished around in an Autumn breeze. "Hang on!" She exclaimed out loud. "Other Hermione? There can't be another Hermione if she didn't register as a new person on the Ward memory!" She said loudly. "Maybe Remus was making her up? No…" She said slowly. "He couldn't fake that. He loved her…" Suddenly it dawned on her. A look of incredulity washed over her face. "But that's impossible." She stuttered softly, still talking out loud. "But… he never knew her surname…" The cogs in Hermione's brain were spinning overtime. Anyone who saw her could have told that, and been surprised there were no sparks from the friction. "Unless… unless it was… me." Jumping up, she began to pace the small enclosed area. "It is the only probable reason for her not appearing on the Ward memory, but…" She trailed off. "Surely I'd remember if it was… me." She whispered to herself. "Although… not if I haven't gone yet!" She concluded. "It's unlikely, but the only explanation I can think of…" Pacing around, she went to where the bookshelves shifted, and said "Moony." The bookshelves slid open and she darted through the gap.

Running a finger along the spines of hundreds of books, finally she came to the ones she was looking for. "Yearbooks!" She exclaimed. A girl further along the shelf of books gave her a weird look. "Right… year, year…." She muttered to herself. The girl threw her another look then walked away into the distance. "Er… if Lily and James got married in the year after they left Hogwarts, they would have been 17… Harry would have been born around one year later… they died when Harry was one year old. Well, if this year is the 16th year since Voldemort killed the Potters, except for Harry, then… er… um… Harry was 11 in 1999. That's the year we started here… so 10 years before that, Voldemort met Harry for the first time… that would be 1989… Harry was one year old, that makes Lily and James 19… so they would have graduated in… approximately… 1987!" She calculated. "1987! Now, to find that yearbook…" She ran her hand along the dusty book spines, just able to read the year numbers. "1985…" she muttered. "1986, 1988… Hey, it isn't here!" She exclaimed. Then hurriedly lowered her voice, remembering she was talking to herself in the middle of the Library. "Oh, it isn't here!" She though desperately. "I know, I'll ask Madame Pince!" She thought hurriedly. "If I'm nice enough, maybe she'll tell me who's got the book, and I can borrow it from them for a few days." Walking determinedly across the vast place of books, finally she reached Madame Pince's office. She knocked quietly on the big oak door, hoping against hope that she'd be in a good mood.

"What?" A voice barked harshly. A head appeared from around a corner in the office. "Oh, yes Miss Granger?" She said, voice softening slightly at the presence of her favourite student.

"Umm, Madame Pince, I was wondering if you could tell me who has a certain book out. I really need to see it, but it isn't in here."

"Completely out of the question. A person's book-borrowing isn't a matter for you students to be delving into." She snapped. Hermione's face fell.

"Please?" She said desperately, looking pitifully at the old librarian. "It's really important, and I only need to look at one page for a few minutes." She begged. "Please?"

"Oh, all right then." The librarian caved in, straightening her glasses. "It'll take a few minutes."

A few minutes later, Madame Pince returned with a list. "What book are you looking for?"

"The School Yearbook from 1987." She replied. "It's for an extra credit assignment I'm working on." She lied glibly.

"Okay…" The old lady said, scanning the list. "Professor Lupin," she said, her voice softening at the mention of her other favourite borrower, "has that book. But don't tell him I told you!" She added hurriedly, as Hermione tore out of the office.

"Thank you!" She called behind her. A number of people looked scandalized at the havoc Hermione was causing.

Hermione tore out of the office, glancing at her analogue gold watch. "This class is nearly finished." She thought as she rushed towards Professor Lupin's office. Halfway there she hit a road-block. Harry and Ron. She tried to simply bolt past them, hoping they wouldn't notice her, but no such luck.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled, grabbing onto her arm. "Hermione, wait!" Ron spun around.

"Harry, let me go, I'm in a hurry!" Hermione exclaimed, trying to shake him off.

"Not a chance Hermione." Ron said. "We want some answers. Where are you off to in such a hurry, anyway?" He inquired.

"Oh, um, Professor Lupin's office." Hermione replied, wincing inwardly. Ron took a step back, eyes wide, and Harry was so shocked he let go of her arm. "Gotta go, bye!" She said, taking her chance and pelting off down the hall as a bell rang out to signal the start of lunch. "Talk to you later!"

"Hermione!" Ron yelled indignantly. "Get back here!" But she was already out of sight.

Professor Lupin ran a hand through his light brown hair. He was sitting at his desk marking 3rd year assignments, in a way which he would call 'fair' and Snape would call 'unbelievably sentimental.' Suddenly he jumped in shock as a human whirlwind burst into his office.

"What-!" He exclaimed in surprise. "Oh, hello Miss Granger." He said, finally realizing who had appeared in his office.

"Hello Re- Professor Lupin." She corrected herself hurriedly. "Um, I wanted to ask a favour of you, if it isn't too much trouble." She asked politely, silently wishing she'd taken the time to fix her hair and her clothes, which were disarranged from running along the school.

"What is it you wanted to ask me?" He said gently.

"I was wondering," she began, "if I could borrow a book off you. You got it out of the library, and I wish to know if you'd let me borrow it from you for a few days, please."

"Which book?" He asked. "I'm reading lots of them at the moment." She smiled, he sounded so much like her.

"The, the yearbook from 1987, if you don't need it right now." She asked hesitantly. Professor Lupin looked a bit taken aback.

"Yes, sure, but may I ask why?" He said, a surprised look on his face.

"It - it -" Hermione stuttered. She just couldn't refuse to answer. Not after he'd been so kind to her before. "I wanted to look at the year information and photos and stuff." She explained. "I was interested in seeing what the School and students were like back then, and some of the students would be ones I've heard of, obviously." She smiled. "So I wanted to look at the yearbook, and it wasn't in the Library." An image of Madame Pince telling her not to tell Remus she'd told Hermione about the yearbook flashed through her mind. "I was disappointed until I realized I'd seen a yearbook on your desk during on of the Defense lessons." She lied, feeling a twinge of guilt. "And there was only one book missing, the one I was looking for." She concluded.

"Ah, okay." Professor Lupin replied. He brushed a piece of his light brown hair out of his eyes. Hermione tried hard not to sigh, or let the smile twitching at her lips actually appear. Once she'd regained a modicum of her normal compose, she spoke again.

"So, can I borrow it, please?" She asked politely.

"Of course you may." He replied. "Hang on; I'll go get it for you." He rose and left the room through an adjacent door. As soon as he left Hermione started strumming her fingers on his desk. Tippity-tap, tippity-tap. The formal politeness of their conversation bugged her, especially when she wanted to say so much more.

"Here you go." Remus announced, walking back into the room holding an old, leather-bound text. He sat back down and held it out over the desk to Hermione. She reached out her arm to grab the book, and as her hand almost closed around the volume, her fingers brushed against those of one very adorable Remus J. Lupin. Hermione gasped and pulled her hand away as the feeling of lightning running up her arm left her breathless. Remus jumped terribly and pulled his hand away, as fast as a striking snake. The book fell to the desk with a heavy 'thud.'

When Hermione dared to look up, she saw Professor Lupin, who was an amazing shade of crimson, simply staring at his hand, a shocked and embarrassed expression playing across his fine features. Realizing he was being stared at, and remembering the presence of Hermione, or 'Miss Granger,' as he was supposed to call her, he looked up. The eyes that met his were a deep shade of brown, the same one as his favourite food, chocolate. "They were misty, and in their depths he could see so many emotions… whirling, twirling… fear, shock, surprise, embarrassment… and-" The revelations of what he recognized stunned him deeply, his eyes widening in shock. Something akin to adoration… maybe even… love.

Hermione stared back at the man who was looking at her with such amazement, and, was it even possible, care?

Forgetting everything, forgetting who she was, and who he was, forgetting the fact that she was a 17-year-old student and he a 35-year-old man, her Professor, and a werewolf, and forgetting that they were sitting in his office at Hogwarts, she leant towards him.

Every instinct except for one traitor in Remus's mind screamed "NO! No, no, no, NO! This is WRONG! She's 17, you're 35! And you're her teacher! NO!" Remus had just decided to pull back when the teeny traitor part of his complicated mind decided to voice it's opinion. "Who cares? She's beautiful, smart, intelligent, loves books, she's perfect! And I already know she won't hate me for my secret!" Hermione was only a few inches now from him. "EXACTLY!" His conscience roared. "YOU'RE A WEREWOLF!" It was this trail of thought that caused him to decide. In the split second between the time he decided and the time he was going to pull away, the door to his office burst open.

(A/N: I LOVE cliffhangers. They are SO fun. giggles Sorry if the characters are a bit OOC, in the office scene Hermione is really not thinking what-so-ever. She is still slightly in shock from the meeting in the Library, and not thinking straight. Also, the dates and everything are approximated, so please don't send me angry reviews/messages saying I screwed them up. Remus is also not thinking well. He's been dwelling on the thought of the 'other' Hermione, and deep down he does have hidden feelings for Hermione, which just surfaced a bit. coughs Yes, 'other' Hermione. Take note of the ''.

I didn't want my story to be really clichéd, (I will try REALLY hard not to cliché any other aspects, especially when she is in the past) but I really felt Hermione needs to go back in time, at least for a short while. I just find it easier to write like that. So yes, Hermione will time travel. How? I will not tell you. laughs When? Soon. I want her to time travel because to me it doesn't feel right for her to fall in love (if it happens shrugs>) with Remus while he was old. Excuse me, older. Will try to update all my stories ASAP, but it will take some time, running out of free computer time. Thanks SO much to everyone who has reviewed!)