A/N: I have my hands up! I surrender! Please don't hurt me! I know this update is really, REALLY late, but life decided to take a gigantic crap all over me. I've had a lot of health problems (which really isn't unusual), and school has been pretty nuts. My dad was recently diagnosed with cancer for the third time, so my updates will probably be pretty far between. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the follows and reviews!

EDIT: This chapter has been edited form when it was originally posted, so if something seems different, it is. The author's notes have been kept the same. This is the last chapter to be revised, so everything from here on out is new material.

But Hermione couldn't stop herself from thinking that maybe, just maybe, she could prevent the future from ever happening and save her friends' lives in the process.

Hermione was jerked from her thought process when Dumbledore clapped his hands together and smiled. His eyes twinkled, causing his demeanor to change completely from his seriousness a moment ago. Hermione could have sworn he was bipolar.

"Well Hermione, now that I've sorted some of the more tedious details out you'd better start to get comfortable here. You can go to Diagon Alley today to get your things. You have your key now, so take as much money as you need. I'm going to send someone with you who can show you what to get, and perhaps help you 'get with the style' as they say."

Hermione gave him an odd look; Dumbledore really was a funny man sometimes.

Dumbledore continued before she could respond,

"Of course, you may also want to pick up some modern history books of this time period to study and learn what has not happened yet. I'm sure you have a good idea of big events, but some spells may not have been invented yet."

Hermione nodded, she had been just about to suggest the same thing, but she was curious,

"Who will be going with me to Diagon Alley? No offense, but I don't think Professor McGonagall will be a big help with 'getting with the style'."

Dumbledore chuckled, "No I suppose not, I thought I would have our head girl go with you. She will no doubt be able to show you around and help you get accustomed to things, as she is also a Gryffindor."

Hermione's heart skipped a beat; she knew where this was going. She had an idea who the head girl was, but she had to have her fears confirmed.

"Who, may I ask, is the head girl?"

Dumbledore smiled, causing the skin to wrinkle around his eyes, "Oh she is a lovely girl, her name is Lily Evans."

Hermione's breath caught in her chest, and she turned deathly pale. She was still coming to terms with the fact that she was in the future, but this made it too real. Her chest was constricting, and she began to feel like she couldn't breath. Oblivious to her panic attack, Dumbledore continued to speak.

"Of course as of now she has no idea, I've just sent a house elf for her and the head boy. I'll introduce you to both of them and they can fill you in on your classes."

Hermione already knew that the head boy would be Harry's dad. Hermione's brain was working furiously now. How she had forgotten they would be here, she would never know. From here on out she would be surrounded by dead people, many of which she watched die.

Dumbledore seemed to finally notice that something was wrong, as he stopped mid-sentence,

"Hermione, is there something wrong?"

Hermione could barely respond she was breathing so hard, "Harry…James, Lily, dead…all of them…dead-"

Dumbledore seemed confused, and then his eyes widened as he put two and two together.

"Are James and Lily your friend's parents?"

Hermione swallowed hard and just nodded and stared at the floor.

"Hermione look at me."

Hermione sniffed and slowly looked up at Dumbledore to find he had a resigned look on his face and his eyes were full of emotion.

"I know many of the people here you may know in your time, but I need you to be strong. Remember that here they may be simply teenagers, and they may not be the people you knew in your time."

Hermione nodded, she didn't bother to tell Dumbledore that she had never known James or Lily because they would be dead in a few years' time. But then again, maybe they didn't have to be. Maybe she could change that.

Hermione opened her mouth to respond when there came as knock at the door. Dumbledore paused and looked at Hermione before answering, asking with his eyes if she would be all right. Hermione nodded stiffly, reining in her emotions with the practice of a seasoned soldier.

Dumbledore asked them to come in and they both entered looking at Hermione curiously. But Hermione wasn't paying attention; she was watching the Harry Potter look-alike with wide eyes.

Everyone had been right; Harry really was a mirror image of his father. They had the same messy black hair, pale complexion, and even the same nose. James was a bit taller, and muscular with the air of someone who had been well taken care of growing up that Harry had never had.

James also seemed to radiate complete confidence, and Hermione could see how he may have been arrogant at some point. To Hermione's knowledge this was the year that began to change. It looked as though he would have a forever half-smile on his face, but it wasn't a smirk like Malfoy's. It was completely carefree, the complete opposite of his son's experience.

Hermione was still staring at James when Lily spoke,

"Hello Professor, I'm sorry to interrupt, Tilly said that you wanted to see us…?"

Hermione blinked and shifted her attention to Lily. When she spoke she had smiled warmly, and spoken gently and politely. It reminded her a lot of Harry. Now that she really focused on her, Hermione saw that Lily really was just as beautiful as everyone said she was. She had long red hair, and her curves allowed her to actually look good in a Hogwarts uniform.

Lily was still looking at Dumbledore, until she shifted her gaze to Hermione. Hermione took a sharp inhale of breath as she stared into Lily's eyes. They were green and almond shaped; they were Harry's. She didn't understand how such a perfect copy could exist. They even held the same warmth, and you could see all of Lily's emotions just in her eyes. Just like Harry.

Hermione was starting feel the beginnings of another panic attack, but she was brought back to attention when Dumbledore responded.

"Ah, James, Lily, come in! Take a seat, care for a lemon drop?" Dumbledore said, motioning towards the chairs and pushing a crystal bowl of lemon drops towards them."

James and Lily made their way to the chairs and sat down. Lily smiled and shook her head politely at the offer for a lemon drop, but James adopted a stupid grin and took two.

Dumbledore chuckled and continued, "I would like to introduce you to Hermione Dumbledore, my granddaughter. Hermione is now under my guardianship, so she will be finishing out her schooling here."

Hermione could see a million questions in Lily and James' eyes, but they both just smiled widely.

James took first initiative and jumped forward to introduce himself, sticking out his hand with a wide grin,

"Hello Hermione, I'm James, and this is Lily-flower. Are you going to be a Gryffindor?"

Lily shot James a glare and elbowed him in the ribs, "Don't worry about James, my name is Lily, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Hermione fought the urge to say, "I know", and instead just laughed, shook both of their hands, and replied, "It's nice to meet you, and yes I am in Gryffindor."

Dumbledore smiled, watching the exchange with twinkling eyes.

"Well it seems as though the three of you will get along well, so I was wondering if the two of you would be so kind as to go to Diagon Alley with Hermione today. I daresay she will be needing books and clothing if she is to go to school here."

Lily smiled warmly at Hermione and nodded, "Of course."

James' face lit up at the thought of leaving the school for the day, "Brilliant!"

Dumbledore smiled and James' enthusiasm before folding his hands in front on him,

"Now there is one other small matter I am hoping you could help me with Miss Evans."

Lily looked confused but nodded, "Anything Professor."

"I hate to ask this of you Lily, because this is a right that you have earned, but I was wondering if you would mind sharing your private dorm with Hermione. She has been through a great deal of stress recently and I would like her to be with someone she can trust," he then glanced briefly at Hermione, "I'm sure she will tell you as much about her situation as she sees fit."

Hermione nodded once in confirmation and Lily smiled, "It's no problem at all, it gets lonely in that dorm anyway."

Dumbledore chuckled lightly, "I believe that I have taken up enough of your time now. I daresay it will take you the entire day to shop, so you'd better go have breakfast and be on your way then!"

James and Lily seemed surprised by Dumbledore's sudden dismissal, but Hermione was used to it. Dumbledore changed directions so quickly that not many people could keep up with him.

At Dumbledore's urging, James and Lily stood up and Hermione followed them out of the office. Once outside, the three of them stared at the door as the gargoyle slid across it before looking at each other and laughing.

"He really is a funny man," Lily said.

Hermione laughed, "You get used to it, but he still never ceases to surprise me."

Lily was about to reply when James cut between them, still sucking merrily on a lemon drop.

"As interesting as this is, I'm hungry, so let's go to breakfast."

Before the girls could react in any way James hooked his arms through theirs and began quite literally marching them down to the Great Hall. Lily struggled to get away from him with a groan of distaste, but she finally gave up. Hermione was slightly surprised at how okay James was with grabbing onto and dragging around someone he had just met. His actions reminded her so much of Fred and George that she decided quickly hat she didn't care.

When they walked into the hall, nobody noticed the strange girl on James arm who certainly had not been at the school last year. Anyone who did glance up just saw James harassing Lily as per usual. It wasn't until Hermione sat down with them at the Gryffindor table that people started to take notice of her.

James and Lily were still fighting and not paying attention when a young first year boy who looked like he had gotten the short straw was shoved over by his friends.

He tapped Hermione on the shoulder, who started to reach for her wand before realizing where she was.

"Excuse me," the boy said timidly, "but who are you?"

Hermione smiled kindly at the boy's nervousness, "My name's Hermione. What's yours?"

"Alfie Corner. Why are you here?"

Hermione wondered briefly if the boy was related to Michael Corner, but did not linger on the thought because he died in the Battle of Hogwarts, "I'm a new student, I'm going to finishing school here."

"Oh."

With that, he scrambled away as quickly as he could. As soon as he reached his end of the table his friends surrounded him. Soon after, the entire hall was scattered with whispers of the new student in Gryffindor. Hogwarts has never had a transfer student before. Ever.

James and Lily finally stopped arguing when they finally noticed all of the attention that Hermione was attracting. People were now standing up and craning their necks to get a better look at the new student. It was about that time that two more people sat down across from them.

"What has Jamesie done to upset Lily-flower today?"

James grinned, "Morning, Padfoot."

Sirius Black was every bit as handsome as everyone said he was. With his wavy black hair, high cheekbones, and confident air, he looked the part of an aristocrat, even if his demeanor was far from it. He radiated happiness, and his eyes were bright with emotion, rather than dead and lifeless as they been in her time. This was a man who was still whole, who had not served ten years in Askaban, and who had not lost everyone dear to him. If anything, his carefree attitude and unrelenting charm was his most attractive feature.

When Hermione was done examining this young Sirius Black, her eyes fell on the man sitting next to him. To her surprise, he was already looking back at her with bright blue eyes.

At first, Hermione was hard-pressed to recognize him. Young Remus Lupin looked almost nothing like the older version of himself. His robes were not yet tattered and patched, as they had been when he was unable to find work, and his hair was not yet lank and prematurely grey. His hair was a nice light brown with just the right amount of wave that stopped near the tips of his ears. His skin was smooth with no wrinkles, and she could smell his light aftershave. She was enthralled with his light blue eyes with the little flecks of amber she knew came from his lycanthropy. Remus was, well, attractive. But the one thing that stood out the most, was that he looked for the first time since she had met him, he looked genuinely happy and content.

At Hogwarts Remus was accepted, he had friends who truly cared about him and didn't give his condition a second thought. While still quiet and thoughtful, he looked completely at ease.

Hermione shook herself out of her thoughts as she realized she was staring. She quickly drew her gaze away and looked up and down the table. A few faces she recognized, not because she knew them, but because they looked so much like their kids. It was easy to pick out the round face of Alice Prewett, who would later become Alice Longbottom. Hermione was brought out of her reverie when Sirius spoke to her.

"So, James, who is this beautiful woman and why have you not introduced me?"

James laughed and Lily rolled her eyes, "This is Hermione, she's finishing her seventh year here."

Hermione was about to say hello when Sirius ducked underneath that table, only to reappear on the other side in the seat next to her. He scooted as close to her as possible without being on her lap and slung his arm around her shoulder. Hermione couldn't help but notice a number of girls nearby look at her with jealousy.

"Hello Hermione, my name is Sirius Black," he said huskily into her ear, "do you believe in love at first sight?"

Hermione laughed out loud, and before he could say anything else Hermione hit him in the face with the pancake she had been eating. Sirius' cocky expression turned to one of shock before he burst out laughing.

"I like this one Prongs, she can stay."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Just as long as you don't give me any fleas, dog."

James', Remus', and Sirius' jaws all dropped in shock, before they regained composure, quick to disregard the completely accurate dog comment. Sirius then took the opportunity to toss some of his egg at Hermione in revenge for the pancake. Right before it landed in her hair though, it stopped midair and flew back towards Sirius' face. Sirius' looked shocked, and Hermione turned around in confusion. Everyone stared, until James brought his wand up from underneath the table and cracked a grin. Sirius broke the awkward moment by throwing a muffin at James' head.

A food battle between Sirius and James ensued, with Hermione caught in the crossfire. Hermione leaned back to avoid a piece bacon when she began to fall backwards. She came close to hitting her head when a pair of surprising agile hands caught her. She turned to see Dumbledore.

"Careful there, I see you are all getting acquainted. I would advise you to be more careful with my niece, Mr. Black." Dumbledore said, eyes full of mischief, he seemed to take great joy in calling her his niece.

Sirius spluttered, "N-niece?"

Hermione smiled cheekily, "Yep."

Dumbledore chuckled and walked away as Sirius gingerly plucked a piece of bacon out Hermione's hair and muttered, "You could have told me..."

James grinned, "Way to go Padfoot."

Sirius responded by flinging gravy at James, who ducked at the last second. The gravy hit the boy next to him, who looked up, startled.

James laughed, "Oops, sorry Wormtail."

Sirius grinned evilly and flung more gravy at him, "Yeah, sorry Pete."

Hermione felt her stomach drop out and her insides turn to lead.

Peter. Fucking. Pettigrew.

Hermione glared daggers at him as she burned with white-hot anger. This boy would be responsible for James and Lily's death, Sirius' imprisonment, and Remus' spending ten years alone in just a years' time. He looked like a younger version of how Hermione remembered him. Twitchy and weak.

Hermione realized her hair was sparking as it sometimes did when she was angry, so she quickly reeled in her emotion and dropped behind her 'happy mask'. She forced a laugh before anyone could notice her lack of reaction.

Hermione decided she might as well have a little fun with him.

"Wormtail, what is he, a rat?" Hermione said, eyes flashing.

Peter squeaked and the boys laughed nervously. Ordinarily, Hermione would have taken pity on them and changed the subject, but she wanted to make Peter squirm.

"Oh, you even squeak! Is that where you got the nickname?" Hermione laughed good-naturedly, so no one would think she meant to be cruel.

Lily laughed with her, and the boys continued to look nervous.

"Calm down, you look like you want to turn into a rat. Pete, was it?"

Peter stared down at his plate and mumbled, "It's Peter."

Hermione narrowed her eyes and set her jaw, "Nice to meet you, Peter." And then she flung a spoonful of gravy at his face.

The nervous tension among the boys broke and they all started laughing, and Peter still looked downright terrified.

"Aw, lighten up Pete, she was just kidding," Sirius said. He then flung a piece of bacon at Peter, which actually did hit James this time. Thus ensued a food war between Sirius, James, and Peter, who reluctantly joined in.

Hermione smiled and vowed, right then, that she would not allow this boy to ruin their lives.

A/N: So here is the long awaited Chapter 5, I'm sorry it took so long! I meant to get all the way to Diagon Alley, but I thought this was a good place to stop so I could post something. I hope you enjoyed!