"You awake?"

Hermione jumped up suddenly, colliding with whoever had just spoken.

"Bloody hell!"

The other three boys in the compartment were laughing. Hermione looked around, her eyes wide in shock. She had seen their faces before. This isn't good…no, no, no.! How could I have messed up this badly?

The skinny blonde haired boy sitting to her left was the first to address her. "Hi…my name is Remus Lupin. And you are?"

Hermione stared at him, her fear being affirmed. "I…my…." Hermione breathed in deep and closed her eyes. "My name is Hermione Granger."

"Why have we never see you before?" the dark haired boy she collided with and knew to be Sirius Black questioned. "I mean, you're wearing Gryffindor colors, even if the uniform is a bit off."

She looked around the compartment at the four boys in front of her; Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. They can't find out who I really am. "I…I can't tell you that." She blurted out. "At least not yet."

"What do you mean you can't tell us?" The boy that could have been Harry's twin practically shouted.

I'm sorry James; I can't say any thing more until I have talked to Dumbledore." Hermione resounded.

"What does Dumbledore have…" James paused to look at her incredulously. "How'd you know my name was James?"

"I…I'm sure that someone mentioned it."

"Yeah," James said, not sounding entirely convinced.

Hermione couldn't help but to stare at Sirius. His face was so full of life. His laugh rang out through the train compartment as he, James and Peter played a game of exploding snap.

When she turned her head to the left, she was startled to find Remus staring at her.

She took in his pale completion and smiled sadly. Speaking softly so the other three wouldn't hear she asked, "full moon soon?"

Hermione knew that she shouldn't have said anything in her given circumstance, but at Remus' reaction she thought it was well worth it. His eyes grew large and the man she knew to be profound in rhetoric could not put two words together.

She was just about to speak when Sirius noticed his friend's expression.

"You alright there Moony?" he asked, looking skeptical at Remus.

Remus looked at him quickly and snapped out of his reaction to Hermione's question. "Yeah Siri, I'm fine." He replied, glancing at Hermione still.

Sirius nodded. "We're almost at the castle," he said looking out the window. "We should probably change.'

When the train stopped, Hermione followed the four boys, trying to remain under the radar of the rest of Hogwarts' student body.

James claimed an empty horseless carriage and the rest followed. Hermione, however, stopped outside of it, staring in front of it, where only last year was empty air.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Sirius asked over her shoulder.

Hermione spun around to look at him, startled by his nearness.

"Threshals I mean," he continued. "The first time I saw them I thought I was going insane, but really they're quite beautiful, huh?"

Hermione nodded slowly. "I-it's just, I've never seen them before," she said in barely a whisper.

Sirius looked at her sadly and put his arm around her shoulders, leading her into the carriage. "Come on, don't think on it."

Their ride came to a stop and Hermione jumped down out of the carriage, glad that the other students around her seemed too occupied with seeing their friends again to notice her.

As they entered the school, Hermione noticed that not much had changed within the castle form this time, to the twenty years in the future that she was accustomed to. The five of them were the last to arrive at the Great Hall, and Hermione stopped outside of it.

James was about to question her when she cut him off. "I-I can't go in there. I need to see Dumbledore."

He looked at her skeptically. "Well, he's in there…you can talk to him when you go inside."

"No," Hermione said. "I can't. I'm just going to wait out here…can one of you just tell him that I need to talk to him? Go enjoy the feast."

The boys could see that there was no need to argue with her and that she had her mind set. Remus, however, was looking at her. "I'm going to stay with her guys, I have to talk to him anyway."

James nodded at him and went into the Hall. Peter followed him, eager at the prospect of food. Sirius paused at the entrance, debating on saying something, and followed James and Peter.

"You didn't need to stay with me," Hermione said glaring at Remus. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Remus studied her. "I don't doubt that," he stated sternly. "How did you know I was a werewolf?"

Hermione was surprised to see Remus looking angrily at her. "Remus. . . I can't tell you that."

"I don't want to hear that," he said, his voice rising. "Not many people here know and I don't need some new girl telling others my secret!"

"Remus," she pleaded. "I'm not going to tell anyone I swear. I just can't tell you how I know."

"That's bull-…"

Remus was cut off from finishing his statement by the door behind them swinging open, and Dumbledore's great presence filled the air around them.

The door shut behind him, and he looked down at Hermione.

"Mr. Lupin, you may rejoin your house," He stated, not taking his eyes off Hermione. "You may follow me," he said and started walking down the hall to where Hermione knew his office to be.