Hermione fell out of bed with a loud thump and uneasy groan. She had heard the things skittering around her and Ginny's room at Grimmauld place and she didn't want to be down on the floor for long, even the dust bunnies had teeth here. But she wasn't in Grimmauld Place and she wasn't anywhere near her bed and she didn't have her wand.
Instantly panicking, she noticed several things at once. She was somewhere equally as gross, but much more torn apart, surrounded by shocked faces and some sort of botched attempt at a ritual. Some of these faces were much younger versions of faces she had said goodnight to only hours ago.
The Shrieking Shack, Time Travel and the Marauders plus Snape, Lily, a stranger and Tonks. What a terrible game of Cluedo.
Then Tonks started screaming.
Hermione whirled around and stared at the girl who was pointing in horror at the young man who now stood behind her: Sirius Black.
Hermione pounced on her, knocking them both back to the ground and forcing the girl into silence. The girls hair had started turning various shades sickly green.
Thinking quickly Hermione arranged her knees on either side of Tonks's torso and leaned down to look her right in the eye.
"Tonks, I need you to take a deep breath okay? Don't scream and don't say anything. We have time travelled- I am assuming it's the seventies?" Hermione glanced at Remus and Lily who nodded in confirmation.
Tonks was hyperventilating so Hermione loosened her grip on the girl, who took a long gasping breath.
"S-S-S-Sirius Black!" she choked out around Hermione's fingers.
"I know-Tonks, listen! I need you to trust me okay? I know you, I literally just had dinner with you a few hours ago and you made your nose look like a ducks bill. Charlie calls you by your first name because you lost a bet in 3rd year about posing as McGonagall. I need you to believe me when I say Sirius Black didn't do it. He is innocent, okay? If I let you go do you promise not to scream?"
She waited for Tonks to nod before she slowly crawled off of her, gladly taking Sirius's offered hand as she rose from her knees.
"What year is it?" Hermione asked finally taking a moment to re orientate herself.
Sirius was still holding her hand and she shook him off and glanced around the group.
James Potter, who looked so much like Harry she wanted to cry, was hovering behind Lily Evans, who was in a set of terrible orange, flowered pajamas. Sirius was still twitching beside her and Professor Lupin had helped Tonks up off the floor and was examining her scraped elbow. The girl Hermione didn't know stood beside Professor Snape, who looked like he might be sick. Peter Pettigrew still sat, shell shocked, in his little circle of runes next to the obvious reason they were all here. The blood and potion he had smeared outside the containing runes.
"its December, 1975" Lily finally said.
Hermione pursed her lips. She didn't know as much about this time as she would have liked, only what she had memorized from Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Wizarding History of the 20th Century. She knew much of it was biased and not fact checked.
Determined, Hermione turned towards Peter Pettigrew, she would hold off judgement of him until she knew exactly what was going on and so she examined the mess around him. There was circles within circles of runes, some she knew and others she had never seen. She knelt down and dabbed her finger in the potion that coated the outer circle of runes, it was a bit tacky, and very sparkly.
She glanced up at her teenaged professor, unsure of how to address him "Snape, Is this scrying potion?"
The girl beside him perked up, and eyes widened in amazement when she realize who he was.
"Merlin's saggy left testicle, You're Professor Snape! This is so wicked! Would you sign my Potions book?!" She whipped around a tiny hand bag and to Hermione's utter amazement pulled out a giant copy of Moste Potente Potions.
Sirius and James seemed to be having fits, Lily and Remus were trying very hard not to laugh and Tonks was turning white in shock. Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to remain calm. She went back to examining the mess on the floor and glanced up at the very upset, very young Peter Pettigrew.
Hermione cleared her throat a bit and gently spoke to him, "Peter, did you break through the containing runes in the middle of the ritual?"
Peter took a long shuddering breath, tears welling up in the corner of his eyes "Ye-ye-yes! It just wasn't fair! I worked so hard and didn't get to see!"
He exploded into tears and Hermione tentatively patted him on the back trying to console him.
"I think its time to get Dumbledore, maybe the Runes Professor as well, I have no idea what happened, but I recognize a summoning and binding ritual when I see one." Hermione sighed, getting up off her knees once again.
Remus and Lily nodded in agreement, and the group filed out of the room and through the trap door and into the tunnel that led to Hogwarts grounds.
It was getting colder as they travelled down the tunnel and Hermione swore she could hear teeth chattering from some of the girls. Lily, Tonks and her were bare foot, and in their PJ's, the girl Hermione didn't know was in a set of black ankle boots with massive chunky heels, Hermione was almost jealous of her ability to wear them, she knew that she would probably fall over before she could even take a step.
After a while they neared the opening to the whomping willow and Peter, who led the pack, reached out and hit the knot on the trunk, pausing its flailing limbs. He scampered out and James and Lily followed him bickering loudly. Hermione watch as Tonks hopped from foot to foot and Remus offered to carry her through the snow. They both climbed out of the tunnel and from the giggle Hermione heard outside she assumed that Tonks was in Remus's arms.
Sirius turned to her with a grin, "Want a ride?"
"I-I- What?" But before she could stutter anything else out he had her by the hand and was pulling her up into the snow outside, and then he crouched so Hermione could piggy back up to the castle.
Blushing red to the roots of her voluminous hair, she climbed on, ignoring how broad his shoulders were and how warm his hands felt through the thin pajama pants she wore.
Snape let out a snort behind her and Hermione glanced back to see him and the girl- whom Hermione realized had been very quiet about her identity- climb out of the tunnel. Snape had given the girl his cloak and she seemed very grateful.
The group trudged through the snow and up to the castle. Hermione smiled to herself when she saw that Lily had demanded James' wand and transfigured her socks into a pair of winter boots. The couple argued all the way up to the castle, but were silenced by a quiet chuckle.
Professor Dumbledore in all his red velvet slippers and housecoat-ed glory was smiling genially at the castle entrance. He peeked over his half moon glasses and gently joked "It's a little cold outside for a late night jaunt."