September 12th, 1976

Mia woke up the next morning feeling oddly… well rested. She'd been waking with nightmares lately, but she hadn't that night. So, with a small smile, she sat up. She couldn't help but feel excited among the mixture of anxiety.

Her eyes drifted to the end of the bed where she found a trunk with a green S on it and scooted down, opening it with a rush of excitement. Inside, she found robes as well as plenty of muggle clothes, shoes, some random things she'd need like a hairbrush and shower supplies. It was packed full and Mia was fairly certain it had an undetectable extension charm on it. She smiled brightly and picked up some robes, trying to ignore the color, and made her way to the bathroom.

All of the boys were still dead asleep, so she had no issue showering and changing clothes. After that, she shrunk down the trunk and put it in her beaded bag before heading down the stairs to the common room.

She plopped herself down onto the couch, ready to relax a little bit longer before she had to leave the sanctuary she'd known for so many years. She'd have stayed up with the boys, but she didn't really want to be there while they showered and changed, so she laid down and closed her eyes, hoping to rid herself of a small headache she already had.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Moony, get up!" Sirius grinned, pulling the blanket away from his friend with a wave of his wand.

"Fuck off, Padfoot."

"Isn't it a little early in the month for you to have claws?" he joked, ducking as the other Marauder threw a pillow that barely missed his head, instead slamming into James's side behind him and jolting him awake.

"Wake up Wormtail, too!" he yelled back, running for the first shower.

With a deep sigh and after counting to ten, Remus hopped out of bed and retrieved his blanket, which Sirius had thrown on the floor. After a stinging hex to Peter and Fred, he gathered his things to wait for the shower.

"What was that for?" Fred grumbled, pulling himself out of bed. Remus shrugged lamely, nodding at the door to indicate it was Sirius's fault. It seemed none of them, except for a smug Sirius, were very awake.

Ten minutes later, Sirius was out of the bathroom and ready for the day. He sped down the stairs, ready to look for Mia who, halfway through his shower, he'd realized was missing. The search didn't last long as his eyes fell on a figure curled up on the couch, sleeping restlessly. He'd cast an old dreamless sleep spell on her the night before, the potion having been inspired by the spell. It seemed to have worked, and he made a mental note to teach it to her later that day. It was a wonder because it didn't run the risk of poisoning you if you took too much the way the potion did.

He walked over and picked her feet up gently, settling them onto his lap. The movement woke her, and she blinked, confused. "Morning, kitten."

Grumble.

"Little sleepy there?"

Louder, distinctly annoyed grumble.

"Well, you're about to be invaded by a horde of Marauders, so I think it'd be best if you woke up, love."

She grumbled again as she sat up… just before rolling over and settling her head in his lap and closing her eyes again.

"Mia, love, you need to wake up," he said firmly, and she rolled over so he could look at his face and opened her eyes, pouting. He grinned brightly. "Oh, you're not pouting at me right now, are you?"

She screwed up her face and leaned over, waving her hand sleepily. "Tempus." A small clock appeared above her empty hand and she scowled, waving it again to get rid of it. Her loose curls fell into her face as she scooted into a sitting position, and she brushed them away absently. "Sirius, I wanted to sleep. I still have another half hour." He didn't respond but only stared at her with wide eyes. "What?"

"Was that wandless, kitten?"

"What?"

"Your charm," he raised an eyebrow. "I don't see your wand."

She looked away, blushing. It was well known that only powerful witches and wizards could use wandless magic, and she'd just casually done it. "It's nothing."

"Mia-,"

"Don't tell anyone, yeah?" she asked, her eyes pleading. "I really don't want any… unnecessary attention." He had only begun to nod when Fred came barrelling down the stairs, his particularly mischievous grin on his lips as he slammed onto the couch next to Mia.

"Morning!"

"Fred…"

"FRED GET BACK HERE AND FIX THIS!"

"Sorry dear," the redhead joked, yelling back up the stairs. "Didn't catch that. Maybe be a little louder."

"Fred, what did you do?" Mia's eyes widened. "Tell me it wasn't a puking pastille."

"Nothing of the sort," the boy promised, which did not calm her nerves one bit. "Just a small charm or two." He glanced at Sirius, laughing. "Sorry, mate. Hope you don't need anything from up there till tonight." He grinned at the other boy brightly as James came barreling down the stairs with a hairbrush stuck to his hand and his glasses lying crookedly on his face.

Remus was next to follow with one shoe on his foot, a sock on the other, and a toothbrush stuck in his teeth. He looked like a confused mixture between amused and heavily annoyed.

Then, to Mia's horror, another boy came down the stairs, albeit slower this time. He seemed to have been sleeping when… whatever happened. There was a pillow stuck to the left side of his face and a blanket was draped along his side and most of his front. The best part, in Mia's opinion, was the tip of his thumb stuck in his mouth.

At the sight of the three of them, Mia, Fred, and Sirius burst into laughter, Sirius leaning on Mia as he stared at his friend's pathetic states. "That's bloody brilliant!" He praised, patting Fred on the back.

A curious thought popped into Mia's head and she stood, moving over to James. She reached up a little - he was very tall - and pulled gently on the hairbrush. It didn't seem to hurt him, but it looked very stuck. She pulled out her wand - Sirius eyeing her the entire time - and silently waved it over James before turning to Remus and finally Peter. When she was done, she grinned brightly at Fred.

"A modified and time activated sticking charm? That is… actually brilliant." Fred's eyes widened at the praise, used to her scolding him for his pranks, but he recovered quickly and nodded.

"Set to my magical signature for release, too! Pretty good, if I do say so myself. Which I do. Pretty good, Freddie!"

Peter silently trudged over to a couched and flopped over on it, apparently deciding sleep would be the best option for the day. Mia didn't blame him for not going back upstairs - she had a feeling the charm was on the room and not the people.

"So, what would happen if I touched someone or… hugged them?" James grinned evilly, eying Mia before he ran after her, enveloping her in a warm hug that just radiated Harry. He felt like Harry. She stiffened at the hug, holding her breath.

"Nothing," Fred shrugged. "Nothing more will stick to you guys."

With a sigh of defeat, James moved to release Mia, and she stood there, willing her lungs to work normally, and her smile to fall over her lips again, but they didn't.

"Mia?" Sirius whispered, touching her arm. She forced herself to relax and gave him a small smile.

"I'm… gonna get to class," she breathed. "I need to talk to the Professor first, anyway."

And then she ran out of the common room and flew down the stairs, making her way to DADA as fast as she could. It was her first class - she'd received her schedule while she was getting ready for the day.

She stopped outside of the room to take a few deep breaths and forced herself to smile as she entered the room.

She was glad to see no one was there yet and managed to relax a little. She knew she'd have most of her classes with the Marauders - something she was grateful for - and she didn't want her first class to be one on her own.

"You're a bit early," Mia's wand was out in a second as she turned, but forced herself to put it down immediately. She was at Hogwarts. It wasn't the war. It wasn't the same.

"I'm so sorry," she gasped. "I guess I'm a little jumpy." The man gave her a soft smile as she took in his face and messy, bright red hair.

Of course.

"That's alright," he moved over to her, setting his papers down. "I didn't mean to startle you."

She shifted uncomfortably. "I wanted to get here early and meet you," she explained. "I suppose I'm just a little on edge, being at a new school and all."

"That's perfectly understandable," he promised, smiling at her kindly. "I'm Auror Prewett. Fabian Prewett, that is." She nodded. That made sense. Ginny had told her that she'd had uncles that had died during the war.

"Mia," she offered. "Mia Potter." It was the name they'd all agreed she'd use after she was unwilling to use her own.

"Lovely to meet you, Miss Potter. There's a James Potter here, any relation?"

"I'm a ward of the family," she explained. He nodded slowly. "It was… unsafe to use my last name, so they kindly offered me theirs."

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that," he gave her a kind smile, one that made her heart twist painfully. He was offering his condolences. Still, she thought, they'd have to do something about Fred's hair or it'd be much too obvious.

"Merlin, Mia!" James panted as he ran in the door, nearly slamming into her. Sirius and Remus were just behind him, but Sirius didn't look to be bothered by the running while Remus looked absolutely exhausted.

"Yes, well, I do track," she replied dryly.

"You do what?" James frowned at her, confused. She rolled her eyes.

"Why'd you guys run? You've got plenty of time."

Remus frowned at her as Sirius moved next to her, touching her arm gently. "Well, kitten, we thought you had no clue where you were going. Figured you'd get lost."

Mia cursed herself silently. They were right. She shouldn't have known where to go. "Yes, well… I have an incredible sense of direction. I usually just figure things out." She worried her lip between her teeth and cut off any responses as she turned to Fabian again. "Sir, could I see you after class? I have a few questions about the coursework for the year and the week before I got here."

She successfully turned the attention from her slip - aside from Remus, who was still eyeing her warily - as James and Sirius rolled their eyes. Fabian agreed easily, and the boys talked quietly to each other as Mia pulled open her beaded bag and reached her arm in as far as she could, trying to find her books.

"Advanced Potions and Botony…" she frowned, setting it on the table. "No. Where'd they go? I know I put them in here earlier…"

"Mia, what is that?" James asked, nudging her with his arm. He'd sat next to her and had turned around to talk to his friends but was distracted by the growing pile of books on the table.

"My… bag…" she muttered, pulling it open further and going to stick her head in. James grabbed her gently and pulled her away.

"Why don't you just accio whatever you're looking for?" he suggested kindly, and she paused, remembering the time Harry did just that to find the dittany.

"Oh." She did as he said and ducked as three large books flew out of the bag, James grabbed them before they could hit her. He chuckled as he handed them back to her and she set to work on putting her other books away.

"Dark Artifacts of the Soul?" he read, frowning. Mia's head shot up.

"I still have that?" she frowned. "I thought I gave it back to..." Sirius.

"Why do you have it in the first place?" Sirius asked, plucking it from her hands. "Mother has this in the library. It's pretty dark, Mia."

"I know, I just…" she sighed. "I'd heard a rumor about Voldemort-," the boys gasped, and she rolled her eyes. "Fear of a name increases fear of a thing itself. I'd suggest you begin using his name, or even just calling him Riddle-,"

"Why Riddle?" Remus wondered. She paused. Would it hurt to tell them?

"Because his name is Tom Marvolo Riddle," she answered. "He was born to a witch and a muggle father. She died giving birth, and he didn't want him. He grew up in an orphanage."

The three boys stared at her.

"You're fucking kidding," Sirius accused, and she shook her head, grabbing another book from the pile to show him. It was a journal, but it detailed the Marvolo/Gaunt family lines from nearly a hundred years before Voldemort and ended with him. She handed it over, and the boys flipped through it, staring with wide eyes. "You're not kidding."

"Why do you have all of this research on him?" Remus asked curiously. She bit her lip softly as she considered the question.

"It's… got to do with how we got here," she admitted. "But I really can't say."

"But… you're a kid, like us," James commented. "You're still in school."

She shrugged. "It's always been like this. School was always dangerous, ever since I was eleven. We just sorta… got used to it."

"You and Fred?" James wondered. She shrugged, looking away to put the last book away.

"Sure."

Soon, other students began filtering in, and the conversation moved back to Quidditch as Mia sat, pondering the conversation. Sirius, though, slipped his hand under his desk and quietly shoved the book in his bag.

Five minutes later, the bell rang, and Fabian stepped in front of the class, giving them all a big smile. Mia felt the stares of the other Slytherins, who had placed themselves firmly across the room from the Gryffindors, but she ignored it. "Alright, everyone! Pair up. We're going to dive right in. One of the most important things if you find yourself facing a Death Eater," James snorted, likely because they were sitting in a room filled with future Death Eaters. "Is to make sure they don't know what you're sending at them. So, we will be working on silent casting today. Only use Expelliarmus and shields. Please find your partners and stand across the room from each other."

James seemed to falter in having chosen Mia as his partner. She gave him a soft smile and nodded at him before glancing at Sirius, who was making a show - however silent - of asking her to be his partner. She laughed brightly. "Okay!" He pumped his fist in the air triumphantly.

Ten minutes later and the entire class had found their places and gotten their roles - who cast which spell - and they were ready to start. Fabian gave them a little more instruction on how to cast silently before he let them be and everyone began.

Some people disarmed quickly, while some shields went up immediately, but Mia knew they were whispering the words. Still, she cast her shield silently and let Sirius work on her, having already agreed to this with him. He was stood next to James while she was across from them, next to Sirius and a Slytherin that she didn't recognize, but they seemed to like, which was… odd to her.

She could see Fabian staring at her oddly out of the corner of her eye, but she ignored it as she cast the shield again. She could really only hold it for so long, and she didn't feel like tiring out her core.

The class was over pretty quickly through the endless casting. She thanked whatever deity she could that there were no run-ins with the Slytherins. She did not want to be an outcast on her first day. Still, she knew some of them had been watching her joke with the Marauders, and she wondered if that alone made her an outcast. Probably.

With a deep sigh, she gathered her books and knocked on the door to Fabian's office, ready to get what she needed and go quickly. He answered the door and waved her in, and she sat with a smile.

"So, you had some questions for me?"

"Yes, well, I had a bit of an… erratic syllabus back home," she winced. It was a good enough way of saying she had a new teacher every year that cared different amounts about them actually learning anything. "I was wondering what you've covered so far and what you'd cover in the next few months? I'm usually pretty ahead, but everything has moved so quickly that I didn't get to read my books like I usually do, and so I'm a little lost."

"You didn't look lost," he commented as he copied some papers with his wand. "You've done silent casting before, I take it?"

She shrugged. "I had to learn."

"Why's that?" he looked up at her, a kind but curious smile on his face. She shrugged lightly.

"It's been a long few years," was all she said.

"This is what I've planned so far. But Mia, if you don't mind me saying, you're already leagues ahead of everyone in your class. I'm not sure why you'd need any of this," he spoke softly as he moved in front of his desk and leaned against it. "May I ask you a question?"

"Sure," she said, though she wasn't sure if she wanted him to. He was an Auror and she thought Ginny had said he'd been a damn good one, too.

"Are you in trouble?" he asked. She blinked. "Is that why you're here?"

"No… I'm fine."

"Mia, I hope you know you're a very bad liar," he answered, and she breathed out heavily.

"I'm safe when I'm here," she tried. "I'm fine."

He tried to reply, but someone knocked on the door, and they both looked up.

"Mione?"

Fred.

"Fred! No, I'll be-," she cut off as he entered the room, and his smile fell as his eyes landed on his uncle.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

He'd seen pictures of his uncles plenty of times. He remembered one in particular, one in Hogsmeade when Fabian had been playing Professor during the war. He remembered his Uncle Fabian holding Percy in his arms as he laughed at Bill and Charlie's antics. He remembered that it was the happiest picture he'd ever seen. He'd never seen someone look more content than his Uncle had at that moment in the picture.

But now… Now his uncle looked worried, he looked like he was trying and failing to save a lost puppy.

Which led his gaze to Hermione, who looked frustrated. With him.

There was a moment of silence that lasted way too long, a silence that hurt his ears and made him want to scream if only to end it. Finally, Fabian cleared his throat, looking at Fred in confusion, though he addressed Hermione… or Mia, apparently.

"Miss Potter, do you know him?"

"Um… yes, yes, I do. This is… Fred," she finished lamely.

"Would you care to explain…" he waved his hand at Fred, and the point was made. The hair.

"I'm… not sure that'd be a good idea, sir," Mia said, rubbing her face with her hand. "I'm not sure we're allowed to." They had, of course, spoken to Dumbledore about telling people. He'd discouraged it, but he hadn't outright demanded they didn't. It gave them some leeway, but Mia rather agreed with Dumbledore - it was a bad idea.

"Uncle Fabian," Fred breathed. Mia glared at him.

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Uncle?" Fabian's eyes widened as he looked between the two of them.

Fred shot Mia a pleading look, but she merely shrugged and sat down again, crossing her arms over her chest. "You messed this up. Fix it."

Fabian glanced at Mia, but he quickly noticed the severity she held in regards to the situation and blinked. After a moment, his wand was raised, albeit hesitantly.

"Look, Fred, now he's pointing his wand at us. Because I couldn't have guessed that."

"Who are you?" Fabian demanded loudly.

"I'm… Fred." He took a deep breath, plastering on the same happy go lucky smile he always wore, a fact that only annoyed Mia more. "Fred Weasley, twin brother of my dearest George, but the wanker was too lazy to take a stroll through the seventies, so he stayed home. I'll tell ya, it's pretty cozy here, aside from Voldepants first reign of terror."

"Frederick!" Mia snapped. He winced a little.

"...what?"

Mia gave the man a strained smile. His wand had fallen to his side again, and he looked utterly lost. "We weren't really meant to say anything. It's not… safe."

There was another long moment of awkward silence before Fabian set his wand on his desk and sighed. "What are you saying? Who are you?"

Mia saw the pleading look on Fred's face and considered it for a moment. "Only if he takes an Unbreakable Vow first."

Fred turned to his uncle, who was already considering the request. After a few moments, he nodded, to Mia's surprise.

"Really?" He nodded shortly and wiped the uncertain look off of his face, and Mia pulled out her wand, waving Fred over so he could seal the Vow. She'd make it short and simple.

She grasped Fabian's forearm, and he held hers. Fred raised his wand above them as she began speaking. "Do you, Fabian George Prewett, promise to never reveal the secrets told you in confidence today without clear permission from myself?"

"I do."

Mia nodded, and the pair felt silver tongues of flame shoot from the wand and into their arms, sinking into their skin as the Vow accepted his promise. Mia sighed in relief. She was desperate for someone to talk to, even though it'd only been a day.

"We're from the future."

"Fred!" Mia gasped. "Couldn't we have eased him into this?" she berated, but he simply shrugged at her.

"You're… what?" He waited as if waiting for them to finish the joke, but the ending never came. "The future," he said slowly. "And you said your name was… Fred?"

"Frederick Gideon Weasley. "My brother is George Fabian Weasley, but like I said, he stayed behind."

"You two… meant to come here?"

"Well, no," Mia shook her head.

"Mione and I were in a small accident, and we ended up here."

"Would you stop calling me that?" she sighed. "It's not my name anymore, and I hate that nickname anyways."

"It's not my fault," Fred shot back, rolling his eyes. "You just up and picked a new name? Who does that? And you didn't even warn me, so how am I supposed to get used to that? Mia is so close to Mione!"

"By two letters, Fred!"

"It's close enough for me to forget, though! I thought you hated nicknames, Mia just sounds like a nickname."

"Would you two stop yelling?" Fabian cut in, taking a deep breath. Mia flushed and gave him an apologetic smile while Fred calmed down, his temper matching that of his younger brother.

"I'm sorry," she offered. "But like he so bluntly said, we're from a different time. Er, 1998, to be exact. It was an accident, really. I'd gotten rid of my time turner years ago, but then we had to go on the run and I stole it back from McGonagall, and really it did come in handy, but time is tricky, so it's not like I used it constantly, but I liked it, and then after I got hurt, it was just so comforting to touch it, you see. But then I got a little too close to a game of exploding snap, and Fred lost and he tried to push me out of the way, or get himself out of the way, I don't know, but it blew up and the time turner got hit and it exploded and we ended up here."

Fabian was quiet as he took in her rambling speech for a moment before he spoke again, confusion on his face. "Exploding snap blew up your time turner?"

"Yes, I was confused by it, too," she admitted, having put plenty of thought into it during class. "But I think when I fell in…" she paused, unable to say Malfoy Manor. "I think there was a crack in the glass that I didn't notice. I didn't really… I wasn't able to inspect it afterward, either. I usually have wards around it to protect it in case something happens to me, but I was… temporarily unable to do magic," she shuddered. "And so I think it got hurt, and then the small explosion was just enough to break through the glass, and when the glass broke, the sands of time falling everywhere was just as explosive. I'm pretty sure that's why the trip hurt so bad, aside from previous injuries. It was all just a bunch of accidents, really."

"How'd you get hurt?"

Mia froze. "We… got captured, by some death eaters. I'm fine now."

"How long ago was that?"

"I don't really know?" she sighed. "Maybe a week ago. I was in a coma for a few days. I've only been up for maybe three days."

Fabian stared at her. "Shouldn't you go see Madame Pomfrey?"

"I did," she assured him. "She cleared me."

Fred snorted but said nothing to correct her.

"So… what questions do you have?" Mia asked, trying to shift the conversation off of her. It was still incredibly hard for her to think about, much less talk about.

Fabian turned to Fred. "You said I'm your uncle."

"Yep," he replied, popping the p. "You're mum's brother. Me and Georgie, we're not born yet here, that's all… next year."

"George and I, Fred."

"You and George what?"

"No, your grammar."

"What about it?"

"It's wrong."

"Oi! My grammar is perfect!"

"Do you two ever stop?" Fabian sighed, looking between them.

"Not really."

"No."

"Okay, say I believe you," the professor said, turning back to the conversation. "You're my nephew, I get that. But who are you?" he nodded at Mia.

"I'm a friend of the family," she shrugged. "I met your youngest nephew, Ron, in school and he's one of my best friends. Ginny, the youngest, is probably my only girl friend. I became friends with Fred and George in school, too. Bill wrote me letters in my third year, and I met Charlie in my fourth. But Percy's a bit of a prat."

"A bit of a prat?" Fred asked, eyes wide. "Have you met him?"

"So, why'd he call you Hermione?" Fabian interrupted, smiling warmly at them.

"It's my real name," she shrugged. "But I took the name Mia because I'll be born in a couple of years, and on the Hogwarts list. I thought it'd be a good idea if I changed it."

Fabian thought for a couple moments. "So, there's an accident, you get checked out by Madame Pomfrey, talk to Dumbledore, find a family and enroll in school and… what? What'll you do now?"

Mia and Fred exchanged uncertain looks before Mia began speaking, slowly and very carefully, as if she had to pick the exact right words. "Time… is fickle. Things happen because they've already happened. So us being here, it's already happened in our time. So… we do what we have to do to make sure that our time," she pointed to Fred and herself, "happens."

"So, you're saying… everything is inevitable?" Fred's eyes widened as he turned on her. "Hermione, why didn't you tell me this before?" Fred's anger was evident, and Mia winced. Fabian looked between them, suddenly very lost. He didn't understand it, not unless…

"There's a war." Suddenly it made a little more sense to Fabian. "There's a war going on, and you," he spoke gently. "You seem to be leagues ahead of everyone else. Is… is the war still going on in twenty years?" His voice was a whisper now, and it seemed that his question was more of a statement, like he knew the answer but was afraid of it. Mia gave a small, jerky nod, and Fabian swore loudly, his hands going behind his head in frustration.

"It… it stops, for thirteen years, but he comes back. Harry - he's my best friend, my brother - and Ron and I, we were… looking for something, something we need before we can end the war. We left after Bill's wedding. The ministry is overrun. It's… I think it's almost over. We're just missing three of these objects, and then we can end it forever."

"And do I die?" Fabian asked, staring straight at her.

She shook her head. "Dumbledore sent you on a mission for the Order, and we haven't seen you in months. He said… he said it'd be that way, but everyone worries, you know. He was just surprised." She felt sick lying to him, but she couldn't tell him the truth.

"Well, it hasn't happened yet, so I'm right here. Still, my next class is about to begin. We'll talk another time, yeah?" He stood and walked behind his desk, handing her the papers he'd gotten for her earlier. "If you need anything else, just come to my office after class and I'll see what I can do."

They accepted the obvious dismissal and left quietly, Mia thanking him for the material. They walked together silently, Mia grateful for her free period, and made their way to the Gryffindor common room to talk, a place they knew would be empty at this time of day. When they got there, the room was empty, and they sat down to talk. Peter was nowhere to be seen, likely back in his room.

Fred turned to her with confusion and hurt written across his face. "What the fuck Hermione?" He shouted at her, ignoring her wince. They were sat close enough that the volume hurt, but he didn't care. "We could have told him and saved both of them!"

"No, we couldn't! Weren't you listening to me? It doesn't matter what we do. Nothing will change. I experienced it third year with the time turner. Sirius was meant to be saved, or it wouldn't have worked - he'd have been Kissed. I… I know who they are, and I am so sorry, Fred, but… they have to die."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Remus paused as he pushed past the Fat Lady, entering the common room slowly. He heard someone shouting angrily. At the volume, he turned to leave until he heard another voice, this one sounding… broken.

"...don't you understand?... experienced it third year…. Sirius was meant to be saved… Kissed… I am so sorry… have to die."

Remus's eyes widened as he recognized the voice, having spoken to her only a little bit ago. Mia.

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