Hermione walked down the hall with a bit less confidence than usual. It was Hogwarts but it wasn't Hogwarts, at least not the one that she had known. As she passed, pictures she did not recognize stared at her strangely, or some even called out but most were asleep. At least one thing hadn't changed. She still knew her way to the common room. Hermione stopped abruptly at the painting of the fat lady, hearing a loud, mischievous laughter and… a voice. For a moment she thought it had been Harry but no, it couldn't be. That must mean… Realization suddenly dawned. "Oh god." Hermione said quietly. Then again, "Oh my God." A bit louder this time, but not yet fully voicing the limits of her distress. She was going to meet James Potter, her best friend's dead father, Harry's dad. This wasn't right. No. It couldn't be. Hermione didn't know if she could take it, seeing a ghost, most literally from the past. Her knees felt weak and all the blood rushed to her head as she started to panic. She felt as if she would faint but then-
"My, you seem to enjoying yourself here in the corridor. Are you going to go in or not? A painting needs to sleep too, you know." The fat lady said with a rather annoyed tone. Hermione, slightly flushed, gave the fat lady a sharp glance. Hermione whispered, "Scarlet Ibis." And the portrait whole swung open to reveal a scene of… quiet and peace. Only a lone boy leaned against the red leather couch, reading a large volume. From a distance, Hermione thought she could spy the words 'Hogwarts A History'. The boy looked up from his book at the creek from the portrait and with a look of surprise and interest greeted the still confounded Hermione. Then he noticed the reddish flush of her cheeks and asked quietly.
"Are you alright Miss Chanlier?"
"Please, call me Emily. No need for formality. And I'm fine." She smiled. After the little exchange there was an awkward silence for neither of them were conversation-ists. Finally,
"Do you enjoy reading, Emily?" Remus Lupin inquired to break the odd setting of the room. Of course this was the right thing to ask. She replied with a simple but meaningful "Yes." This of course sparked a whole discussion that could easily carry on for hours. It would have, had not James and Sirius came down the stairs, drunken with laughter. All she heard was "What's a Mormon?"(no offense to Mormons!) after which ensued a fit of snickering. Both stopped short when they spotted Hermione. Their countenance immediately changed. Sirius strutted down the remaining stairs with James following close behind. The raven haired teen stood in front of Hermione and made a very formal looking bow, extending his hand in courtesy, while simultaneously struggling to conceal his laughter.
"My Lady," He declared. Sirius remained in a bow but his blue-grey eyes moved up to meet hers, "And who might you be?"
"Emily Chanlier. I'm a transfer student from Beauxbatons." She answered with amusement. Remus prodded the still bowing Sirius with his foot.
"Stand up." He ordered. Sirius stood up slowly, gazes still locked. She absently noticed the figure that stood quietly behind him, waiting to introduce himself. She mouthed an 'Oh' and went rigid. A wow of general amazement escaped her lips. The only thing that registered in her mind let alone vision was that she was now looking at James Potter, in the flesh. What Hermione did not realize was that she was blatantly staring. The resemblance really was striking. It was just as everyone who had ever known James had said. They really did look like twins. She had always heard it and even seen pictures but this was just too much Sirius mumbled something about two other handsome gentlemen in the room but Hermione didn't catch on.
"Emily. Emily… Em-"Remus said politefully yet forcefully. You could tell he was a bit annoyed. 'Oh. That's my name, huh?' Hermione thought. She ripped her gaze from the now smiling James and looked at Remus.
"Have your… sleeping quarters been arranged already? Or…" Asked Remus, reverting to a formal mode for he did not yet now what to make of the situation.
"Or do you need… pillows and blankets?" Sirius interrupted with a dramatic swish of his head (which Hermione found quite comical actually). She swallowed back a giggle.
"Why, yes they have. I have a bed pre-made in the girl's dormitory. I think… it's about time I go to sleep now. It has been a long night." She glanced at the three friends.
"I'm glad I met all of you." Hermione said with a knowing smile. As she left the common room Remus threw both boys a look that said 'Discuss'. She was halfway up the stairs when James called.
"Emily, wait!" The note of urgency almost made it sound important.
"What is it?" she called back down and slowly descended a few steps.
"What is a Mormon?" The random stupidity of the question caught Hermione off guard for a second.
"It's a religion."
"Wait. So it's not a rare Armenian breed of flobberworm?"
"What in the world gave you that idea?"
"Ummm…" An exclamation of pain could be heard from Sirius.
"Oh." She continued walking up the stairs with a hint of a smile playing on her face. Hermione heard a muffled giggle come from under a door as she passed it, must not be too late she said. She walked down the hall and opened the 4th door on her left, the one Dumbledore told her to access. She walked in and her eyes quickly took the room in. they were different from her time and that was only a minor thing, though big enough to stand out. There were four big beds with hangings of bright crimson, held back with thick golden rope. The bed in the far left corner was hers, she knew because it was mad and empty. She swept across the room, making sure not to disturb her roomies. She glanced at them though, each in turn, wondering what they were going to be like. She saw a trunk at the end of her bed and opened it cautiously. It gave a small creak of protest but opened smoothly. There was a stack of cloaks to one side and uniforms on the other. Under these were day clothes, about two days worth. She closed it and made her way around the bed. Going to have to make a trip down to Hogsmeade for clothes. She thought bleakly to herself. She seldom went shopping. There was a bay window near her bed and had small pillows arranged orderly in one of its corners. One was a deep sapphire with gold swirls on it, the other was a purple and green paisley covered circular pillow. Cozy she thought slightly. She went to her bed and saw a bedside stand. It was fairly big and had three drawers, each getting bigger as it neared the bottom. They were empty and she realized that meant more shopping. Needed her "personal items", toothbrush hair brush perfume, etc. Finally she was at her bed. It had a comfortable feather down comforter that was a pal angelic gold color and white sheets, though they seemed to have a creamy color to them, she'd find out in the morning. After a thorough assessment of the room, she finally laid in the unfamiliar bed and started to feel a weird sensation. It took her a few minutes to realize this feeling. She missed Harry and Ron. A lot. Would she ever see them again? Were they now missing her? Would those angered words she had yelled be the last words she would ever to speak to her two best friends? Probably not. Hermione had no doubt of Dumbledore's abilities. He would get her back somehow. She was still a bit dumbstruck about her meeting with the marauders. It all seemed like a dream although she knew better. Hermione pinched her skin just in case. The pain was a welcome distraction. Eventually she was overtaken by a temporary respite, sleep.
The following morning she had awakened, and for a few brief moments, hadn't known where she was. It shook her awake though. Almost literally. She went through the trunk and looked at her options. It was a weekend, Saturday, Dumbledore had told her. There was a white light weight cotton poncho with a beige tank top to put under it. And a pair of dark wash pants that she later found out to be quite snug and screamed 70s with a small flair to the bottom. The other choice was a dark red t shirt with a boat neck and a short jean skirt which had a pair of leggings that were gunmetal grey. She preferred the first choice. Hermione then went into the bathroom and brushed out her hair until it curled lightly and pulled it into a ponytail. As she left the bathroom she saw that the two other girls she shared the room with were up and about, talking animatedly to each other about their plans this weekend. Apparently there was a planned trip to Hogsmeade. They slowed their conversation when they saw her
"So you're the unknown visitor who showed in the night." The one said that slept next to her. She had long pale brown hair and was relatively tall as she leaned to fix her sequined belt that was a bright turquoise. She could have sworn Parvarti had a matching belt at home. The other that slept across from her was petite and had a jagged haircut and her hair was ruby red with natural dark red highlights. She smiled kindly to them both and nodded.
"My name's Candis." The one with brown hair said as she leaned over to shake her hand. She replied promptly. The one with red hair was wearing a black dress and flip flops.
"Mine's Betty." She waved since she was on the other side of the room. Candis had finished adjusting her white halter top and was now leaving the room. It had been over 12 hours since she had last eaten and her stomach voiced its unease with a bout of growling. The common room was semi-crowded due to Hogsmeade and it was the weekend… she went into the common room and instantly noticed a crowd of people gathering around two people. A bored looking Remus was leaned against the wall just outside of the circle. She went over to him and leaned near him and whispered.
"They do this often don't they?" he nodded yes, then shortly after realized who it was and jumped back.
"H-hi. It's you, er, Emily." He said as he calmed down. He giggled at the fact that she had surprised him.
"Hello, what exactly are they doing?"
"They are playing "extreme exploding snap". Sirius is losing horribly…" she laughed inwardly, Harry always won when it was Ron and him. Ron was only good at wizard chess.
"Well, I'm going to eat breakfa-, lunch." She caught herself, forgetting for a moment that it was now past breakfast.
"How late were you up? You realize it is 3 in the afternoon" Lupin asked, now turning his attention to her. She made a face.
"Are you serious?"
"No I'm Remus." She laughed and continued her question.
"No, I'm being serious." She caught a movement to her right. Sirius' head had popped up in the crowd.
"Someone say my name?" before he could start to walk over Lupin replied.
"No. Continue your gameSirius." he sat back down and was once again covered.
"Like I was saying, I'm very hungry, but the time isn't right…" she stood in thought. Lupin grabbed her arm just above the elbow.
"Come with me." He said swiftly. He led her into the hallways and they turned right, they turned left. She knew this path quite well, they were headed towards the kitchens through the 'secret' passage. He stopped short at the portrait. Remus stood in front of it and explained that they could get all the food they wanted from the kitchens. Hermione tried to look "in the dark", and she managed, barely...