Hermione was mildly startled when Harry, Ron and Remus disappeared from around her, and the room she was in looked less like Sirius' unused bedroom and much more like a used one. However, her intoxicated state made things rather more difficult to understand, and she could only find everything rather amusing as she drunkenly stumbled to the door. She had almost succeeded in opening the door, which had proved a rather difficult task as the handle seemed rather uncooperative with her hand. She had made her way half-way down the stairs, quietly switching off between silent laughter and mumbling Harry and Ron's names, when a small house elf appeared before her.
"Kreacher?" she exclaimed, "Oh Kreacher, I've missed you!" And she reached out to give the dirty creature a hug.
"Master Black will not be pleased with this intrusion, although the intruder somehow knows Kreacher's name, but Kreacher must notify his master," and the grimy elf disappeared with a crack.
Through the fog of inebriation, Hermione still was conscious enough to be aware that something was wrong with where she was— although it wouldn't matter if Sirius was notified of her presence, the reverence the elf had for this member of the Black family, and the fact that all the Blacks were dead gave her enough clues to make her think she should leave.
"Oh dear, oh dear…" Hermione wailed, morphing from giddiness to fear, but as she ran about, trying to think of a quick escape, smiled when she happened upon a small burning fire. Grabbing a heaping handful of Floo Powder from a basin right next to the fireplace, she tossed it in wildly, and as she cried out "Hogwarts," the first place that came to mind, she could hear behind her a loud crack signifying an apparition, and loud cries as two bodies dived for her, and as she traveled her emotions could only transform back into giddiness again, cackling about her risky escape from Grimmauld Place.
As she tumbled out of the fireplace, she looked around and found herself on the fourth floor in an unused corridor. After glancing at the portraits and armor to get her bearings, she checked her watch, only to affirm "dinner time," and hummed to herself as she set off towards the Great Hall.
"Feeling drunk really isn't as bad as I thought it would be," Hermione thought out loud, "I really shouldn't have been so hard on Ron and Harry."
She laughed out loud once again, picturing their silly faces as they walked in on her after having touched the book. She was so caught up in her laughter that she didn't notice several students staring at her as she passed them on their way out of the Great Hall. She headed over to the Gryffindor table, and sat down next to a messy haired boy of Harry's stature.
"I'm glad to see you here too, Harry. I had quite the turn at Grimmauld Place, and when Kreacher told me he was 'notifying Master Black', well, I'm sure you can imagine, and this was the first place I thought of," she said, and started shoveling food onto her plate, "Ronald, I'm sorry for ever criticizing your eating habits, simply despicable of me, wasn't it, when you are starving, you are starving, am I right?"
At this point, to emphasize her point, she looked up, expecting to see Ron's knowing smirk, and instead for four pairs of stranger eyes staring at her with open confusion. She screeched in shock, and promptly fell backwards off the bench.
------------------------------------------------------------
"She's coming to," noticed one of the four boys clustered around her, "give her some room to breathe."
"Don't know why we aren't bringing her directly to Dumbledore, you said yourself Sirius, she's probably a Death Eater," whimpered another, this one looking the distinctly out-of-place among the good looking teenagers, with his mousy features and drippy personality, "she was talking about Kreacher and Grimmauld Place. Your dad must've sent her, you said—"
"I know what I said," interrupted the one called Sirius, "and that is exactly why we are keeping her here. So we can deal with her without adults in the way that would stop us from finding out the truth."
The other teens looked uncomfortable at the prospect of hurting this girl, but knowing how strongly Sirius felt about his family, and particularly hurt by his father, they stepped back to allow him to ask the questions.
Hermione lay on the cold ground a moment without opening her eyes, adjusting to the loud noises around her. Her head was throbbing from where she had hit it, and she still felt dizzy—whether the effect were from her unconsciousness or the 'Booze Book' were yet to be determined. As she listened to the boys argue, she once again let slip an involuntary giggle—it seems the 'Booze Book' was the cause of the dizziness after all.
"What is everyone fighting about?" she asked as she slowly sat up. When she opened her eyes and saw what she recognized as the Marauders sitting around her, she broke into a fit of giggles once more. They all looked much younger, most photos that had been taken that she had seen were once they had been in the Order, so the teenagers around her were at least five years younger than she had ever seen them.
"You are all… You're all babies!" she laughed. Once again she was met by blank stares, even Sirius, who had been all riled up was off put by this giggly girl.
"Mate— I don't think you can hurt her," said James, "I think she is drunk."
At this point, the gang decided it would be a better idea to set off towards Dumbledore's office, asking her a few questions along the way. They tried to convince the girl to walk on her own, but as she fell down every few steps, and stopped often to have conversations with the portraits, Sirius eventually decided carrying her would be easier, and picked her up and held her bridal style.
"What is your name?" he asked, enunciating his words, "Why did my father send you here?"
"You, Sirius Black, are surprisingly good looking for an ex-convict," said Hermione, and ignoring his questioning, reached up to pull him into a kiss. Shocked, he pulled away rapidly.
"This bird is mental!" he exclaimed.
"That was a first," said James, "Never seen Sirius pull out of a decent snog, and more importantly, not taking advantage of a drunken young woman?"
Sirius gave him a withering glare, and passed Hermione off to Remus, who struggled under the new weight, but quickly readjusted.
"Try a Sobering Spell," Remus suggested, "I expect you should be an expert on them by now."
As Sirius pulled out his wand to try out the spell, the group rounded a corner, and ran into a red-headed girl.
"What on earth's name do you boys think you are doing?" she screeched, "Is she drunk? And you were going to cast a spell on her— does she even go to this school? I don't recognize her!"
Upon sight of her hair, Hermione hopped out of Remus' sagging arms and threw herself onto the red-head, "LILY!"
"Wha—how does she know my name? Answer me, I demand it. Remus, you are a prefect, you should know better," Lily shrieked.
"Bugger off Evans, we're going to Dumbledore," sneered Sirius.
This seemed to appease Lily, who reluctantly decided she would let the boys proceed onwards, but she would accompany them.
"What are you even doing out in the halls at this time of night? Right near the Astronomy Tower were you? Out for a quickie with Hamford?" James asked.
"Well, I don't deem that any of your business," she said, her cheeks turning a dark shade of red.
"Ooh, you made her blush, that means she was with him… Who's Hamford, your boyfriend?" mumbled Hermione.
James, realizing that what Hermione had said was most likely true, and Lily's blush had confirmed her earlier actions, tightened his fists and held back a few well-chosen words, knowing Lily would find them anything but well-chosen. Fortunately, it was at this moment that they had reached their destination, and the arrival distracted James from his Lily filled thoughts.
"Acid Pops," he said, explaining to the others that "I got sent here this afternoon." And with the correct password, the gargoyle had opened to allow the group to enter.
"Enter," said Dumbledore at the top of the stairs, mentioning the group upwards, and with a flourish of a wand creating more chairs.
"Sir, this girl came and sat next to us at dinner," started James.
"And she started talking to us about my dad and my house," continued Sirius.
"And she is visibly intoxicated, does not attend this school, and they were going to cast a spell on her!" interrupted Lily.
"Ah, thank you all, well shall we see what the girl has to say for herself?" the old wizard asked, making out that she should be placed in the chair in front of him.
"Yes, we were going to cast a Sober Spell, sir, but we didn't get the chance," said Remus, "Otherwise she may continue on in her rather unresponsive state."
"Yes, feel free," gestured Dumbledore, but when Remus' attempt only elicited more giggles from Hermione, he abashedly sat back down, and Dumbledore stepped forwards, "Ah, I rather suspected it was not just a case of alcohol, otherwise I sense the effects would be slowing down instead of building up. She has been magically intoxicated— but perhaps…" He opened a small cabinet and picked out a vial, "Professor Slughorn made this for me just a few weeks ago, a few drops on her tongue should do… Ah, very good."
Dumbledore's potion seemed to do the trick, and Hermione felt as if she had just been woken up. Looking straight ahead of her, not noticing the teens behind her, she stood up slowly, and lent forwards towards Dumbledore.
"Sir, I'm not sure what happened to me, but I feel as if the weirdest dream…" Hermione said, and rubbed her eyes, exhausted.
"See, she is acting as if she knows you as well, sir!" exclaimed Sirius.
Upon hearing the new voice, Hermione slowly turned around, checking to see if the people she thought were in the room with her really were, and upon confirmation, staggered back, shocked.
"Oh dear, oh dear… Professor, perhaps…" she stammered, "Perhaps some privacy?"
"Yes, of course my dear," mentioning the stairs to the rest, who dutifully exited, and after stepping out past the gargoyle, proceeded to sit down outside the office.
"Aren't you going back to the dormitories? It is well past curfew," reminded Lily.
"You aren't in the least bit curious to find out about the mysterious girl?" asked James.
"Well," hesitated Lily, "I supposed he didn't ask us to go to our beds…"
"Atta girl," praised James, smiling as his long time crush sat down next to him.
Back in the office, Hermione was trying to comprehend the new situation that had just been thrown at her. The possibility that she had gone back in time to when Harry's parents were at Hogwarts was startling, to say the least.
"Sir, I don't know how much I should say, but…" Hermione hesitated, her voice catching, "I believe I have traveled back in time. Nearly twenty-five years, I believe."
"Ah. Yes, revealing to much would indeed be unwise, Miss--?"
"Miss Granger. Hermione Granger," she said, "Will it be safe to keep my name?"
"Oh, yes," Dumbledore replied, "your name and appearance won't have to be changed. But I presume you were being schooled at—"
"Hogwarts, sir, I was entering my sixth year," she confirmed.
"Miss Granger, perhaps we should tell the students that you have been homeschooled, up until now, by a pair of rather reclusive parents. This should make up for any discrepancies between curriculums and such… Perhaps they have had to go into hiding, from Lord Voldemort, after an unfortunate accident?"
"Sir, you don't mean to expect that I will be staying here long, do you? I won't be able to go home?"
"Miss Granger, time travel is unheard of in this era, and time travel of over twenty years seems nearly impossible at this time. I will, however, do my best to send you back, and in the mean time, please, it is late, perhaps you should sleep in the Gryffindor dormitories tonight, Miss Evans will accompany you. We will meet again tomorrow to discuss further plans," said Dumbledore, letting Hermione know that it was time to go. She opened the door, and proceeded down the stairs, Dumbledore following shortly behind her. One he reached the group of students downstairs, he proceeded to make a short announcement.
"Students, this is Miss Granger. She was homeschooled, but due to unfortunate circumstances, she will be staying with us for the near future. Miss Evans, I believe there is an extra bed in your room where Miss Pickett slept, please, escort Miss Granger, and I expect you will all make her feel most welcome. She is very exhausted tonight, so shall we leave any and all questions for the morning? Thank you all, and sleep well," he said.
Everyone's jaws dropped at the cavalier attitude their Headmaster was giving the situation. Sirius, who had thought only minutes before that she might be a Death Eater, was particularly astonished.
"That's it? You trust her?" he demanded.
"Yes, Mister Black, I trust her," Dumbledore replied sternly, "and I expect everyone to extend similar courtesy. Good night."
And so the hesitant group headed back to the Gryffindor dormitories, one astonished, one reproachful, three indifferent, and one about to cry out of shock and worry, and they all slept a rather fitful sleep.
Hope you all liked it, review please!