Author's Note: Thank you all for the lovely reviews! I love hearing your thoughts on the story and on what might be in store. This chapter is one of my favorites from my old version of this, because it is Hermione's first introduction to the lovely Marauders.

"I wonder where she came from." Peter said, voicing his thoughts out loud.

The Marauders were in the Common Room, sitting around the blazing fire, and all wondering the same thing. When they sat down for the Welcoming Feast, they certainly didn't expect that a witch would fall from the sky, looking as if she had been through a war.

"Did you see her? I don't know how she got those injuries, but the way she was ready to defend herself despite them…" Sirius trailed off.

Remus, who was no stranger to pain, grimaced. The girl had looked half dead when she landed in front of him. She didn't even look much older than the Marauders. He knew that there were terrible things happening outside of the castle. James and Sirius had filled them in on the rumors and on the secretive group that some adults were forming and the Marauders had vowed to join the fight against this new Dark Lord once they graduated. But knowing that bad things were happening and seeing them literally fall from the sky were two very different things.

Something was bothering Remus. Besides the fact that the girl looked awful, obviously. "I wonder how she got through the wards."

His friends always called him a swot, but he had read Hogwarts: A History front to back at least ten times. He knew that no one could Apparate into Hogwarts, with the exception of the Headmaster. Doing so went against the protection wards built into the very foundation of the school by the Founders themselves. It must have taken extremely powerful magic for this witch to get there.

"Are you seriously thinking about the wards right now?" James questioned, a sharp look in his eye. James had been weirdly quiet since the witch had looked at him, called him 'Harry' and then promptly went unconscious. He couldn't get the image of her eyes, so fearful, and so relieved once she looked at him, out of his head. He didn't know who this Harry guy was, but James could guess that he was extremely important to this witch.

"I guess we'll have to wait until Dumbledore announces what happened." Peter said sadly. He stood up and stretched, feeling stiff from sitting in the same position for the past few hours. The feast had ended early, right after the first years had been sorted. The houses had been served dinner in their common rooms, the prefects left strict instructions to make sure no one left. James had hoped that he would be updated on what was going on as the Head Boy, but it seemed that Dumbledore had other things on his mind.

"Who says we have to wait?" Sirius said, eyebrows raised.

"We shouldn't." Remus said slowly. The girl needed her rest and privacy and certainly did not need random students that she did not know interrupting that.

"It's our duty as the gallant Marauders to make sure she's okay." Sirius insisted. James nodded and raced up to his room to get his Invisibility Cloak.

And that's how the four boys found themselves, squished together under the Invisibility Cloak, breaking into the Hospital Wing and awkwardly watching the sleeping witch.

Hermione Granger felt her consciousness returning to her, foggy and with a slight haze that told her she was fighting the Dreamless Sleep potion. She laid perfectly still, keeping her breathing even, and tried to take stock of her surroundings.

She ignored the aches and pains of her body and the way her stomach growled in protest at the lack of food in her system. What was the last thing she remembered? And better yet, where was she?

A faint memory, what felt like a dream, rose to the surface. Hermione felt panic flooding her body. The battle! Her struggle with Bellatrix and Greyback and…

A gasp of terror left her mouth and Hermione shot up in the bed she was in. Her tear filled eyes took in the familiar surroundings of the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts, the clean smell almost soothing after all the time she spent here. She felt her panic lessen slightly when she realized she wasn't in immediate danger if she was in the Hospital Wing.

She swung her feet off the bed, hissing as they came in contact with the cold floor. A faint whisper to her left had Hermione twisting and squinting in that direction. From her initial look around the room, Hermione had sworn she was alone in the space. The Hospital Wing was dark and empty. She furrowed her brow. A battle had just occurred. But the beds around her were empty. Why weren't there more people here, recovering like her?

A new thought hit Hermione. "How long was I out?" She spoke out loud, her voice carrying in the large room. She didn't know the extent of her injuries. Maybe she just needed additional time to recover. But if that was the case, why would she be in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts instead of St. Mungo's. None of this made any sense and Hermione knew she had to figure out what was going on. She needed to know who had won, who they lost, and if Harry was…

"Oh, gods," Hermione suddenly wailed, clutching her hand over her hurting chest. She had seen Harry die. "No, gods, please, no." This could have not been for nothing. Harry could not be dead. She didn't know how she would bear it.

A crash to her left and a muttered curse pulled her out of her grief. She definitely was not as alone as she had originally thought and if Harry was dead, who knew what situation she was about to find herself in.

"Who's there?" She called into the darkness. Silence.

Hermione instinctively reached for her wand, only to find that it wasn't in her holster. It wasn't on her at all and neither was her beaded bag. Frantically, Hermione searched around for something, anything, that she could use to defend herself. Ruling out the pillows and sheets on her bed, she found three glass vials on her bedside table. She grasped them close to her, planning to throw them if need be. She then shakily stood.

The world swayed for a second and one of the vials in her hand loudly crashed to the floor. Hermione flung out an arm to catch herself before she hit the ground. As her left arm harshly brushed against the bed post, Hermione shrieked. The could feel the cursed wound open from underneath the bandages it had been carefully wrapped in.

More movement, again from the left side of the room. But still, no one appeared.

"I know you're here," Hermione tried to use the annoying no nonsense tone that usually worked so well on Ron and Harry, her heart hurting as she imagined them rolling her eyes at her. "Show yourself and I won't attack."

A rustle and then, "As if she could attack us in that state," came a male's voice. A shuffle and then the same voice cursed, "Ow!"

Hermione yelped as four figured materialized at the other end of the room, from underneath a very familiar invisibility cloak.

"The Marauders at your service," Said a tall boy, with messy black hair, and glasses.

Hermione's eyes widened as she, for the second time, lost consciousness in front of these boys.

Sirius looked at James, eyebrows raised. "Normally I'm the one that the ladies swoon for, but you're two for two, mate".

"Maybe we shouldn't have come. Did you see how scared she looked?" Peter interjected, his voice solemn.

Remus didn't say anything. Instead he made his way over to the witch, who was now sprawled on the floor of the Hospital Wing. Without saying anything he placed her softly on the bed, tucking her back in, just as Madame Pomphrey did for him after a bad full moon.

Remus noticed that Madame Pomphrey had washed the girl. Without all the dirt and grime covering her, her was able to see the extent of her injuries. Remus was the last person to ever judge someone based on scars, but he was horrified and intrigued by the injuries scattered over the girl in front of him. He reached out, feeling drawn to a jagged gash that spanned down the side of her delicate looking face. Just as he was about to make contact with the cut, the girl's eyes flew open. She was alert instantly, which Remus found unusual, her eyes darting about frantically before settling on him.

"Hi," he said shakily, not moving his hand that hovered near her.

Hermione found herself staring into the face of the man who had just given his life for hers, not even a day earlier. She was overcome with emotion, seeing Remus' bright eyes full of concern, his mouth pulled into an uncomfortable smile. Her chest felt tight, as she pulled the hand hovering near her face to her cheek and leaned into it. Hermione did not where she was or what was going on, but she had to say something to her favorite professor, who had given his all for her.

"Thank you," She breathed, knowing this was inadequate but not being able to verbalize all she felt. Tears filled her eyes and spilled hotly down her cheeks.

"What happened to you?" He questioned softly, moving his hand to brush her tears away, and sitting on the bed next to her.

"Oi, budge over!" Came an energetic voice. The bed shifted slightly as a young man with long dark curly hair sat behind Remus. As Hermione's eyes found his, as brown met silver, hers widened in recognition. The last time she had seen those eyes, they were flashing with laughter before their owner tumbled into the Veil.

Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were sitting, alive and well, in front of her. That wasn't possible unless…

"Am I dead?"

"No, you're in Hogwarts. In the Hospital Wing." A low voice said. "You made quiet an entrance." Her eyes finally left Sirius' and glanced towards the owner of this new voice.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, forgetting all reason, and moving to get up from the bed. Only Remus' gentle hand at her shoulder kept her from flinging herself into her best friend's arms. He was alive! Harry was alive! Tears began to flow down her cheeks once more, but she ignored them, smiling so hard she thought her face might split into two.

"She keeps calling you that, James." Came a fourth voice from a boy with short blond hair and a toothy grin, who appeared over his shoulder.

"Promise me you won't faint again." Harry moved closer to Hermione's side, taking a seat on the bed across from Remus and her smile fell. Up close Hermione could tell that this man was not her best friend. While they had the same hair and glasses, this person was more built than Harry, took up more space. He had hazel eyes instead of Harry's striking green and he did not have the lightning scar that had tormented her best friend. No, this boy wasn't Harry.

"I'm James," He said slowly. "James Potter."

It was as if the world slowed down and sped up all at once.

Remus Lupin. Sirius Black. James Potter. And, Hermione peered at the last boy, Peter Pettigrew.

The Marauders. Alive and well. And young.

What the hell had happened at the battle?

Hermione knew she wasn't dead. And if she was, she had some complaints because she was in too much pain to be in a place that promised peace and rest for all eternity. So that only left three viable options.

1. She was hallucinating

2. This was a Death Eater's cruel idea of a joke or a front to get her to spill secrets about the Order

or

3. She had traveled through time.

Either way, she was royally screwed.

"Hey, she didn't faint this time!" The loud voice pulled her from her horrifying thoughts. "I'm proud of you, kitten."

Coming back to herself and reminding herself to stay calm, Hermione decided to just roll with the punches. If this was a hallucinating, it would eventually end. If this was a Death Eater's joke, it would eventually end when they realized that they weren't getting anything out of her. Although, Hermione paused, if this was a set up by Death Eaters, they really went above and beyond, and for what? If Harry was dead and they won the war, what use could she be to them? She was more likely to be given to Greyback then toyed with like this. Hermione ignored the shiver that went down her spine at the thought of the werewolf and the things he wanted to do to her.

But could she really have traveled back in time?

"I aim to please." She answered Sirius, realizing the Marauders were waiting for her to answer. Sirius barked a laugh at her attempt to be haughty, poor as it was. The sound transported her back to the late night chats her, Sirius, and Remus had in Grimmauld Place. The comfort they offered her as she prepared herself to give up everything to stand by her best friends against an evil maniac.

"Sirius Black, at your service, milady." He quipped, head bowed, hand on his heart. Dramatic, just as she remembered him.

"Remus Lupin," The younger version of her dear friend and mentor, introduced. He let go of her face, but did not abandon contact completely, shifting to draw comforting circles in the back of her hand.

"And last, but certainly not least, Peter Pettigrew!" The bubbly boy perched at the bottom of her bed and offered her a warm smile, that lit up his whole face. It was an expression she never could have imagined on the face of a rat and traitor. But, she supposed, if she really did travel back in time, Peter wasn't a traitor yet. She smiled weakly back and then turned away.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"