Albus Dumbledore woke with a start, the sounds of the wards going off ringing in his ears. Minevera burst into the room wrapped in her robes with a panicked look on her face.

"Albus! What is going on?!"

Albus rose and reached for his own robes, a pensive look on his face.

"I'm not entirely sure Minevera, but something tells me we'll find out soon enough. I expect that we'll be having several unexpected guests arriving shortly. Let us go down and welcome them."

The two of them departed to the entrance hall only to run into Severus.

"Albus! Minevera! What in Merlin is going on?"

Albus sighed, "I know not Severus. All I know is that the castle feels...excited."

Minevera looked at him sharply. "The castle Albus?"

He sighed again, "I don't know how else to explain it. It's thruming through the wards to my very bones. We should hurry, whoever is coming is almost here."

The three of them reached the entrance all as the doors flew open and six children walked in. They walked straight past the professors and into the Great Hall as if in a tarnce.

Minevera gasped, "Albus... they look... they look like they're under a spell of some sort."

They hurried after the children into the Great Hall where a swirling ball of gold and blue light was floating in the center of the hall. The children drifted towards it while starting to form a circle around it.

"Albus! We know some of these children! What are they doing?!"

"I recognize Mr. Potter as well as Miss Granger and Mr. Longbottom. I also believe that is Mr. Diggery. The other two I'm afraid I don't recognize."

Severus spoke up, "One of them is mine, Blaise Zambini. As far as I know they have never spoken to one another, except of course the Gryfindors. I don't know who the blonde is."

They watched as Hermione stepped closer to the light and raised her hand. The light seemed drawn to her wrapping her up in shades of blues and golds and reds before drawing back and waiting. Hermione stood there looking hard in thought before she looked back at the light.

"This is the only way then?"

The light seemed to flare in response.

She seemed suprised at whatever the response was and looked around the room.

"Professors?"

Mcgonagall stepped closer, "Miss Granger! What is going on here?!"

"Well Professor.. it seems like that," she gestured towards the light, "is me. At least the future me. I...She...I... well she came back to this time to stop a war. The war apparently. It's complicated. I have a difficult choice to make, but if I came back once I probably will do it again."

Albus looked gently at her, "What sort of difficult choice Miss Granger?"

Hermione looked up at him, "From what I gather, my future self and I will become one. She will join with me, but I wont really be me anymore. I will be her. Well I will be me, future me."

"And the others?"

"They're here for after. She wont tell me what for, just after. They are important though."

The light seemed to flare brighter than before and Hermione turned back to it. The light seemed to swarm her again before she turned back to the onlookers. "I'm sorry professors, but I understand and I accept."

The light kept getting brighter until it became too intense for anyone to see anything. Just as it seemed to become too vivid the light went out. The three adults looked back to where Hermione last stood and found an older girl standing in her place.

Dumbledore stepped towards her, "Miss Granger?"

Her eyes seemed to snap towards him and a radiant smile lit up her face. "Headmaster! It worked it really truly worked!" She looked around and seemingly noticing the other students standing around her. "Oh! We'll have to wake them! Harry wake up! Luna are you awake yet?"

Snape gently shook Blaise on the shoulder, "You mean to tell me that five students found their way to Hogwarts while sleeping?"

Harry looked up at Hermione before taking in his surroundings. "Hogwarts? How.. I mean.. How did I get here?"

Hermione turned back to Luna while answering him, "In a minute Harry, we have to wake the others first. Luna? Luna wake up darling."

Luna blinked owlishly at Hermione, "Oh.. you seem older Hermione. Did you have a safe trip? Or were there heliopaths chasing after you?"

Hermione laughed, "No heliopaths Luna, it was a very safe trip." She turned to the rest of the now awake children and inquired, "I believe most of you should understand why you're here?"

There were a few mumbled yes's before Neville stumbled forward. "I understand the why but I don't know why we haven't heard of it before."

Hermione sighed, "There was a spell, a very old spell about five hundred years ago to stop the Awakening or whatever it may be called. Sorry professors, they are here because in one way or another we are the Founders heirs. Not that it really means anything, and not all of us are heirs by blood. Except for Harry, Neville and I. I assume the rest are here because they encompass the very best of their house. Blaise for example may not be extremely ambitious at the moment, but he's very cunning and smart. He's also very neutral when it comes to all the bigotry in Slytherin House. I thank you for that, but I will try to answer all your questions after. We have several rituals that we need to get done before I can answer those."

Hermione glided back to the center of the circle that rest of the students formed. They joined hands and started chanting words unknown under their breath. A pedestal ascended from the ground in front of her and she placed both her hands on it. She grimaced as two small blades rose up enough to draw blood. The air shimmered around her before the chanting stopped and the magic seemingly snapped into her body.

She looked up and grinned, "Well that was anti-climatic. Harry come over here please. Professor McGonagall can you get the rest of them back home? Make sure you floo call their guardians first. We will wait here for you to come back. Luna, I know you wish to stay but you know far more than the rest and your father is probably worried sick. You shouldn't worry him."

The girl in question nodded her head before grinning impishly at her, "I want to know all the details. You'll make sure to visit wont you?"

Hermione just smiled, "Of course I will, and school will be starting up soon enough that you'll be here with the rest of us. We take care of our own remember?"

Luna ducked her head, "I remember." she said before skipping out of the Great Hall.

Hermione turned towards Dumbledore and Snape with her arm on Harry's shoulder. "Alright this is what is going to happen right now, of course it is still Harry's decision in the end, but I plan on making him my blood brother. Reason number one is that it will get him out of his dreadful family's home. No offence Harry, and secondly it will get rid of that awful horcrux inside his head."

At the word 'horcrux' Dumbledore and Snape's eyes nearly bugged out of their heads.