A/N: You know the drill by now: MandaPandaAR, pottersgirl91, svelte, nehimasgift, tofuubeaver, san01, Silver Tears 11, Lizzy Evans, moonlights desire, keeper of the heart, litprincess, PapayaCrazy, Vera-Sabe, Reanne1102, and Alexathenle. Thanks, y'all. 40 reviews already. Sorry that this chapter wasn't up sooner; kept saying that there was a Timeout Request Error when I tried to upload it. Anyways, it's here now, enjoy!

Chapter 4 – Who's Princess Anastasia

"Get off!" Hermione felt herself being pushed off whatever she had landed on. She shook her head and staggered slowly to her feet as she opened her eyes to take in her surroundings for the first time.

She could hardly believe her eyes. There were cobblestone streets, horse drawn carriages, lamp posts with tiny fires glowing inside as a man walked along putting them out with a long pole. What shocked her more was the way people were dressed.

There were women in dresses that looked like they were from books Hermione used to read about princes and princesses from long ago. The men were in tailcoats and knickers that came to their knees with tights underneath. Their hair was worn much like Lucius Malfoy wore his, and what scared Hermione even more, was the sign she saw going up on a building.

"We're two hundred years in the past!" Hermione about fainted as she watched the men putting up the sign with the words Anderson & Allies and below this was the words Established 1792, Building finished in 1797.

Hermione turned to Tom to find him digging in trash cans.

"Where is it!" He was throwing things all over the alley that they were in. "What have you done with it?" Riddle rounded on Hermione who backed up in surprise.

"Done with what?"

"The diary! Where is it?"

"How should I know? I'm as lost as you," Hermione snapped.

"This is all your fault," Tom blamed as he continued searching.

"Oh, honestly," Hermione grouched as she turned on her heel and marched out into the street to look around. She hadn't even thought of how strange she must look to these people, but she didn't care. She needed to get out of there and back to her own time.

"Princess Anastasia! Princess Anastasia!" Hermione looked around to see who was yelling, and she was shocked when someone grabbed her up by the elbow. "Princess Anastasia," said an important looking man.

"Excuse me!" This outburst by Hermione caught Tom's attention, and he sneaked over to where she was. He leaned against a building in amusement as Hermione stared in alarm that the man speaking, apparently, to her.

"Come with me, Princess. Your father has been worried sick... it's time to go back to the castle," demanded the man who had seized Hermione.

"Let me go you fool. I'm no Princess. Do you have any idea of just who you're talking to? I mean, are you completely off your bloody rocker!"

"Princess, stop it! This is no time for foolish games. We must get you back to the castle before the King has my head for your absence," hissed the man.

"Let go," Hermione grunted as she tried to wrench her arm from the man's grasp while he began to drag her up the street to a carriage.

"Princess, please," pleaded the man. "I know you don't want to go back to the castle and take your lessons and things, but it is your blood duty... you must do it."

"Lessons? Blood duty? Just who do you think I am? And who are you anyways?"

"You are Princess Anastasia, and I am Lord Johnalin. Now, may we please go?"

"Well, Lord Johnalin, you can go, but I'm not going anywhere because I am not Princess Anastasia," Hermione said simply as though that would be the final word, and the man would listen to her.

"This is ridiculous. Guards!" Hermione's eyes widened when she saw two large man come forward and grab her by her arms. "The King is already unhappy with you. The later you are, the more unhappy he'll be."

"Let me go you great stupid goon!" Hermione began failing and kicking when someone yelled from down the street.

"Say you there! What's going on here?" A very decorated man, more important looking than Lord Johnalin, came walking down the street in a military uniform.

"Thank goodness," Hermione sighed in relief, but her savior didn't quite make it to her as he stopped in front of Tom.

"There you are, boy! Where have you been?" The man grabbed Tom up by the arm just as Lord Johnalin had grabbed Hermione.

"Get off you prat," Riddle hissed as the man tried to pull him in the opposite direction of which they were taking Hermione. Everyone stopped at these words though as the military man slapped Tom across the face.

"I am a high ranking officer of the military, boy... show respect, or there will be a severe beating in your future," the man growled. Tom looked anything but warned as he began popping off.

"I don't care who-," he stopped though as he saw Hermione frantically shaking her head to say no.

Silence fell over everyone then as the officer eyed Riddle before raising a hand and pointing down the street.

"Now, get to headquarters, boy!"

Tom glared and then looked to Hermione who shrugged a bit and cleared her throat. This caused the officer to turn around and begin to eye Lord Johnalin.

"What seems to be the trouble here?"

"General Mardon," Lord Johnalin said with a nod of his head. Hermione looked on the man's chest and finally saw up close the decorations he wore. Five stars pinned above an array of colored bars that were in striped formation.

"Lord Johnalin," the General greeted back. "Care to tell me what you're doing with this young la-"

Hermione became a bit uncomfortable as the General's gaze turned to her and then he stopped talking. He looked her up and down for a moment as though he recognized her, this only making her more nervous.

"Princess Anastasia," the General breathed. 'Oh, great another one!' Hermione thought sarcastically. 'Now, what am I going to do to get out of this?'

"Princess, the General is addressing you," Lord Johnalin hissed.

"General Mardon," Hermione said curtly with a nod. 'Might as well play along until I can get away from them.'

"Where have you been? We've been combing the city, the country side, and the neighboring villages for you for nearly two weeks now." Hermione looked to Tom who was still standing behind the General, he looked just as puzzled as she felt. "I'm glad that they finally found you, my dear, though it was very irresponsible of you to run off like that," the General added. "Who knows what could have happened to you! And you the only heir to your father's throne."

"Precisely," Lord Johnalin added. "Now, if you'll excuse us, General Mardon... We must be getting our precious Princess back to the castle."

"Certainly," the General said as he rounded on Tom. "Have you still not left yet, boy? Get moving!" The young Dark Lord gave a scornful look at the man and then to Hermione who was being ushered off to the carriage.

The ride in the carriage didn't take long, and when Hermione found herself in front of a sizable castle as big as Hogwarts, she felt she would faint. Who exactly did they think she was and why? And more importantly to her, what would happen when she got in here?

She didn't have to wait long to find that out as she was ushered from the carriage, into the enormous palace, and into a room where the King was working over a large table that was covered in hundreds of papers. She walked slowly up to him, not because she was afraid, but because she was examining the room.

It was long and each wall had banners of blue and silver draped on them. The banners were in between every window and tall as Hermione herself while being twice as wide. There was one lone table which was gigantic by her standards. The legs of the table were thrice the size of her own two legs.

The floor was stone, even, flat stones of gray. At the very end of the room was a seat draped in blue. It sat on a raised platform that was carpeted in silver and a little bit below on the left side, there was another chair draped in blue. This chair was not as large as the first nor was it as important-looking, but it still held a high air about it.

Hermione was soon snapped from her intake though. The King's advisers had begun to leave the room as she heard the clank of a metal instrument on wood. She looked up to see the King looking quite irate, and before she could say anything, yells filled the room.

"What were you thinking? Running off like that! You could have been kidnapped... murdered... raped... Lord knows what else could have happened to you!"

"But I'm not-"

"Don't interrupt me, girl! I will let you know when to speak. Why do you insist on making things hard for me? I know being princess is an overbearing bit of boredom for you, but you will soon be queen, and then you won't have so much time to be bored because you will be making important decisions."

Hermione opened her mouth at this, but the King gave her a look that screamed no, and she closed her mouth as he stood there observing her. He sighed and soon there was a knock at the doors. The King told them to enter, and a young boy of about twelve came in the room and whispered something to the King.

"Certainly, certainly, let them in." Hermione watched curiously as the boy left and then she turned back to the King as she heard marching feet heading down the stone floors of the hall outside.

"Whatever is that?" Hermione looked frantically from the door to the King as a group of about thirty military guards came into the room. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I'm sorry to inform you, my dear," the King began, "but we can't risk you running away again. You are suspended to the grounds unless you leave with an escort of four military guards and Johnalin."

"What?" Hermione's voice echoed in the hall, and she was about to protest, but she heard struggling coming from the hallway and soon someone was shoved into the room among the ranks of the guards. Hermione noticed that it was Tom and that the man who had shoved him in there was the military's general, Mardon.

"Castle guards, just as you ordered, my king," Mardon informed as he stepped forward and gave a small bow with a tilt of his shoulders. Hermione thought that if he leaned forward anymore, then he might fall over from all the medals and pins he had his suit adorned in.

Turning back to the guards, her eyes landed on a sulking Tom. He too was in a military uniform, though not as bedecked as the General's. Hermione had to admit that Tom looked powerful, and that's when she reminded herself that he still was. In their time or not, he was still a wizard and a seriously powerful and evil one at that, but for some reason, Hermione wasn't worried about this. She was more worried, at least at that point, about holding back the giggles she felt.

His look amused her in a way, but yet there was something handsome about him. 'Wait a minute!' she thought in sudden disgust. 'This guy is going to become hater of all Muggle-borns and Half-bloods, did I really just think that he was cute? How ridiculous of me!' Hermione shook the thought from her head and turned back to the King who was going back to work as the guards left the room to go be stationed outside the castle. She was about to address the King when Johnalin entered the room.

"Time for you to go bathe and get ready for your afternoon piano and violin lessons," Johnalin said as he grabbed her hand and elbow on that same arm and lead her from the room.

Hermione was soon pushed into a room with a large brass tub in the center of the floor. It was steaming and there were two girls waiting for her with pitchers of water. A towel was draped over the side of the tub, and Hermione looked around as she waited for the girls to leave.

"Would you like us to help you with your uh- clothing, your highness?" The girls looked at Hermione's attire like they had never seen stranger clothes. Her jeans definitely didn't fit in back at that time, and the shirt probably wouldn't have been invented for another goodness knew how many years.

"No! I would like you to leave though," Hermione administered quickly.

"But-"

"Really... I can manage on my own. Please, just go," Hermione commanded.

"Very well, then," said one of the girls before the both of them sat down their pitchers of water and left. Hermione slipped out of her jeans and shirt before slipping into the tub. The water was hot on her skin, but it felt relaxing after she took a few minutes to adjust to it.

She hadn't been in the tub for more than five minutes when there was a knock at the door. Hermione rolled her eyes and groaned, she was going to hate this for as long as she had to suffer it out if things were going to be like this the whole time. She wished more than ever now that she was back in her own time right at that moment. Or at least when she was done taking a bath.

"Yes?"

"Ma'am? Would you be requiring any help to wash your hair?" A little girl of about nine entered the room, and Hermione couldn't help but smile. The little girl had frizzy hair that was contained under a bonnet-like headpiece, and her face was round yet slightly fearful.

"No, thank you," Hermione sighed as she looked around for the soap. She would just have to hope that they had some at least because there was no way she was getting shampoo and conditioner. Goodness, if her hair was bushy now, she could just imagine it if she didn't get to use either of those haircare products.

Hermione finally found the soap, a small yellow bar that smelled like honey as she washed her hair and skin with it. She made only a small mess as she poured water from the pitchers onto herself to rinse off. When she got back to her own time, she would be more than happy to be able to take a proper bath or, better yet, a shower.

When she had finished, she wrapped a towel around her and looked for some clothes. There wasn't any in sight, and she yelled for someone, but no one came. Resorting to her last hope, Hermione cracked the door and peaked out to check and see if the coast was clear.

"Now's my chance," she breathed as she looked up and down the hall and then took off running for the next room. "Why do these rooms have to be so far apart? No wonder no one could hear me!" Suddenly, Hermione heard the sound of boots hitting the stone floor, and what was worse, they were heading her way. "Oh! No, no, no!"

"Princess?" Hermione stopped dead in the hall and turned around slowly to come face-to-face with three of the guards, three young guards at that. She frowned as she noticed one of them was Tom. "What are you doing?"

"Um... well, you see-"

"Princess Anastasia!"

"Not more people," Hermione groaned as she turned around in the other direction. There before her were the two girls that had been in the room where the tub was. One was holding a dress, and the other had a brush and comb along with some ribbon and a tiara. 'I am not wearing that,' Hermione thought as she looked at the half-moon crown.

"Well, Princess, it was nice uh... seeing you," said one of the guards as he passed by with Tom and another young man. Hermione flushed as Tom laughed, and they continued down the hall, each occasionally looking back over their shoulder at her.

"Oh, mistress... you shouldn't be out in the draft of the halls. You could catch cold," said one of the girls.

"Mary is right," said the other.

"Let's get you inside, and Janessa and I will tend to your corset and hair," said Mary as they ushered Hermione into the room.

"Corset!" Hermione was shoved back into the room with a tub and pushed back behind a tall folding divider while having a baggy, white jumper-like garment being tossed at her.

"Just put that on, and I'll tie the corset once you have it on," called Janessa.

Hermione slipped her legs into the cotton material and found that it was actually quite comfortable. She giggled inwardly as she pulled the tank top sleeves up over her shoulders. She could only imagine how silly she looked, and she thought how much Ron and Harry would laugh if they could see her.

She frowned now as she buttoned the buttons on her back. 'Harry and Ron,' she thought sadly. She was beginning to miss them, Ron especially. A tear spilled forward and trickled down her cheek as she recalled seeing him leaving for Hogsmeade with Luna. She hoped that he was having a good time with her now.

"M'lady, are you ready?"

"Just a moment, Mary," Hermione called back as she wiped her face on the back of her wrist and then walked out from behind the divider.

"Now, let's do something with your hair," Mary sighed as Hermione took a seat on a stool by the window. She stared out the glass while Mary brushed her hair, and Janessa hemmed a spot on the bottom of her dress.

"Ready to put on your dress, Princess?"

"Sure," Hermione sighed as she stood up and let Mary and Janessa slip the dress over her head.

"Time to do up your corset," Janessa said with a smile as she went behind Hermione and began to pull the strings that laced up the back of her undergarment. Hermione felt her ribs squeeze and her chest compress as Janessa continued to do up the corset.

"Um... I... can't... breathe," Hermione panted in a squeaky way.

"Don't worry... you should get used to it soon," Janessa said as she patted Hermione's shoulder while Mary put the tiara on Hermione's head.

"There you are, Princess," said Mary as they two of them stepped back to admire her. "It's no wonder she tried to run away with the baker's son," Mary added in a whisper to Janessa.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing, Princess. I'm sorry, that was really out of line for me to say that. Please forgive me," Mary begged.

"No, what did you say?"

"You and the baker's son... you two were wonderful together. Both so lovely and so in love... at least you were with him. I can't believe that he left you to come back all alone," Mary sighed.

"It's a good thing that Aramis went after you. Though he got in trouble for leaving. Everyone said he left because he was in love with you, but then there was those who said he left because he wanted to get away from military life," Janessa added.

"Well, I'm not in love with Tom, so that's that."

"Who?"

"Tom."

"Who's Tom?"

"I mean, Aramis...," Hermione soon realized that Aramis was the name of the boy that they had mistaken Riddle for.

"But his name is Aramis D'Artagnan... Where did you get the name Tom?"

"Um... it's just a nickname, that's all," Hermione dismissed as she smiled politely and hoped in a panicked way that they would believe her. She finally decided during that awkward silence that a change of subject would be good. "So, what about my lessons?"