Friday, 23rd September 1977

"Prongs, mate, who's this?" Sirius asked James, elbowing his friend in the ribs while shoving the Marauders' Map under his nose.

"Oi!" whined James, wincing and rubbing his side, "I don't bloody know Padfoot. Can't you put that away for 5 minutes and help me with this Potions essay? I still need two more inches and it's curfew soon and -"

"And Evans finally agreed to go to Hogsmeade with you tomorrow, but won't if she knows you've still got homework?" guessed Sirius with an eye roll and a smirk.

"Exactly," replied James, pointing the feathered end of his quill at Sirius, knowing that his friend wouldn't purposely ruin his date with Lily now that she had finally agreed to go out with him.

Sirius glanced down at the map as James returned to his essay, frowning at the name 'Hermione Granger' on the 7th floor. He watched as the stranger stood still against the wall and couldn't curb his curiosity, interrupting James again.

"Prongs, someone named Hermione Granger just appeared randomly on the 7th floor near the dancing troll portrait and isn't moving," he said, getting to his feet, "I'm going to investigate, and I'm not going alone."

James huffed and looked up at his best mate, searching his eyes and finding not a trace of humour.

"Alright fine," he grumbled in a low tone, looking towards the large clock on the wall over Madam Pince's desk while he packed up his things. "But we have to get back before curfew because Lily knows I haven't got rounds tonight and I have no intentions of stuffing up our date tomorrow."

Sirius was already nodding and hopping impatiently from foot to foot when James continued, "And you can proof this essay and finish the conclusion. And make sure it meets the 10-inch requirement or Old Sluggy will never let me hear the end of it."

He grinned smugly when Sirius stopped his fidgeting, looking from the map to James and back again.

"Deal."

The two boys walked quickly and quietly to the 7th floor, taking shortcuts and avoiding other students in a way only they could do. It took only a few minutes to get to the 7th floor, but as soon as they rounded the corridor, both James and Sirius knew that their night was far from over.

The girl that stood there looked like she'd stepped straight out of a war zone. Bloody and dirty, she was unhealthily skinny and smelt of fire and fear, trembling visibly against the wall. Her wide brown eyes were flicking rapidly between the two boys, her jaw tightening on the wand sticking out of her mouth. James noticed the odd way she held her left hand, recognising the redness and blisters as burns, and the way her uneven hair was smoking slightly. Sirius was more concerned with her hidden arm, not knowing what she was going to pull out of the bag, and raised his wand in defence, right before she collapsed.

James jerked forwards as though to try and catch her with his bare hands, while Sirius used his raised wand to cushion her fall onto the hard ground. The boys were by her side in seconds, Sirius kicking her wand and bag away while James flicked his wand and checked for a pulse. She was alive but her breathing was strained, and her body twitched slightly even in unconsciousness. James caught Sirius' eye as he moved to pick up the girl, while his friend collected her belongings, shoving the wand inside the small bag before casting a disillusionment charm on it and tucking it into his pocket.

"Padfoot," hissed James, "what are you doing!?"

"What?" he shrugged, pale but with a determined gleam in his eye. "We're going to need some leverage. I'll bet she won't be going anywhere without her bag or wand. If we give it back right away, we might never get answers."

James just nodded in understanding and agreement, adjusting the girl in his arms as he turned towards the hospital wing.

The walk was quick, with Sirius checking the map every few seconds. Neither boy thought it smart to be seen right now, especially while carrying an unconscious girl who looked half dead and may or may not have appeared out of nowhere.

The two Gryffindors barged into the infirmary, knowing - thanks to the map - that only Madam Pomfrey was in there. The matron came rushing out from her office at the noise, wand out and eyes stern, ready to berate whoever it was making such a ruckus right before curfew.

Madam Pomfrey sucked in a deep breath at the sight of James and Sirius, their pale faces standing out against dark hair and robes, the strange girl in James' arms limp and bloody. With a quick flick of her wand she had the lanterns lit by one of the beds, a curtain summoned around it, and was levitating the young woman out of James' arms and onto the bed, all while ordering Sirius to fetch the headmaster.

"No, no, Mr Black! Use the floo! The floo! Quickly now," urged Pomfrey. "Mr. Potter, step out now while I examine the poor girl. You can either wait by the doors or head back to your dormitory."

"But -"

"No 'but's Potter, now shoo!" she insisted, bumping James backwards with a privacy charm and swishing the curtain around the bed simultaneously.

James scowled at the closed curtain, knowing the girl's health was none of his business but wanting to know anyway. He was still mumbling under his breath when Sirius appeared back at his side, followed by Professors Dumbledore & McGonagall. Neither professor paid any attention to the two boys, but announced themselves to the matron before slipping behind the privacy ward.

Sirius turned to look at James, wide eyed and still pale, when Lily Evans popped into the room, held by a small house elf who popped straight back out.

"James? What's going on? Professor McGonagall just sent an elf to bring me here but didn't say why," she began, not letting him answer before she continued, "Black? What are you doing here? Is it Remus? Peter? Is that why you're both here? Oh no -"

"Relax Evans, just take a breath yeah? We don't know what's going on either really," explained Sirius.

"It's not any of the boys, Lily, or girls for that matter. We found someone, a girl, hurt on the 7th floor. We don't know who she is, she looks about our age but definitely isn't a student, and we brought her straight here. That's all we know."

Sirius was nodding his head in agreement of James' more thorough explanation.

"Yeah, as soon as we got here Poppy sent me to the floo to get Dumbledore, and Minnie was in his office when I called so she came through too. Must've thought you might be able to help, being Head Girl, and, well, a girl," Sirius grinned.

Lily relaxed a little, managing to roll her eyes at Sirius while still looking concerned that a strange girl had been found hurt in the school.

"It's Madam Pomfrey, Sirius. And Professor Dumbledore. And Merlin forbid Professor McGonagall hear you call her Minnie again. I'm surprised you have enough nerve left after the last time."

"I'm not", James grinned at Lily, "Surprised, that is."

"Hey! I'll have you know that -", Sirius began, trailing off when the two Professors and Mediwitch stepped back out of the privacy ward.

"Mr Black, Mr Potter, Miss Evans, will you please join me in Poppy's office for a moment? I know it's getting late but it is of high importance that we discuss tonight's events immediately," Dumbledore said, looking at the three students over the top of his half moon spectacles.

Lily nodded immediately and fell into step behind the Headmaster as he turned towards the office, pulling James along by his sleeve as she passed him, leaving Sirius to bring up the rear as he glanced at the curtain around the bed one last time.

As they entered the office, they noticed that Professor McGonagall had already left, as well as Madam Pomfrey, both likely retiring to their chambers. The three students sat tensely on the conjured chairs in front of the desk, as Dumbledore moved to sit behind it, sighing tiredly as he did.

"Do any of you know what this is?" he asked, placing a broken, melted time-turner on the table.

One moment of complete and utter silence was followed by three teenage voices speaking loudly over the top of one another.

"What the he-"

"What on earth is th-"

"Don't touch it!"

"Sir, do you know what this mea-"

"But, how? And where?"

"More like when?"

"It is kinda cool th-"

"Black!"

Dumbledore cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses as he looked between the three of them, hiding a smile as though he'd known exactly what their reactions would be.

"Yes, indeed, it seems we have a time traveller in our midst," he sighed tiredly, "However judging by the results of her examination, I think I can be confident in saying it was unintentional on our travellers' part. I'm sure the three of you have been reading The Prophet?"

The three students nodded in sync, stunned into silence once more.

"I will be in contact with the Unspeakables in the coming days to discuss our visitor of whom I'm sure they're already aware. However if the press is to be believed, the study of time has not yet progressed to actually making time-turners. Which means -"

"She can't go back," interrupted Lily.

Both boys looked at her aghast. Lily never interrupted a Professor, least of all the Headmaster.

"No, Miss. Evans," Dumbledore agreed sadly. "She can't go back."

"Which means she needs a cover story -" began Sirius.

"- and somewhere safe to stay," finished James, nodding his head once with determination.

Professor Dumbledore looked proudly between the boys and Lily before continuing.

"We, Poppy and I, expect our guest to wake in the next day or so. Without breaching her medical confidentiality, I can tell you that she is extremely malnourished and has been victim to dark magic," he paused as Lily gasped in shock, Sirius hissed, and James cursed under his breath. "Hogwarts has already provided some private rooms nearby the Heads dormitory, and I ask you Mr. Potter and Miss. Evans to make her feel welcome. I have considered a few potential cover stories; however they vary in how believable they are, and depend on the friendliness -" he shared a meaningful look at the students, "- of our guest. I will discuss things with our visitor when she wakes and keep the three of you informed."

James and Lily nodded their agreement with quiet yes sir's, while Sirius fidgeted uncomfortably, unsure of how he of all people was supposed to help.

Dumbledore, noticing Sirius' discomfort, addressed him directly.

"Young Mr Black," he began, twinkling over his glasses at Sirius, "I am very grateful to you and Mr Potter on your bravery and quick thinking this evening. I am including you in our further discussions, not only because of your direct role in the discovery of our guest, but also because I know you're not going to give up that disillusioned bag without some answers."

Sirius and James' jaws dropped in shock, while the headmaster chuckled at their surprised faces. Lily, confused and slightly concerned, was about to ask what on earth was going on when the professor stood from his seat, prompting the students to rise with him. He led the students from the office and back into the now-dark hospital wing, where he bid them goodnight before leaving towards his chambers on foot.

James and Sirius, still looking at each other in shock, allowed themselves to be pulled along by Lily ("come on you two, it's already past midnight!"), back to the head dorms where Sirius would undoubtedly stay for the night.

The three students clambered through the portrait hole just in time to avoid Mrs Norris, and with tired nods and quiet goodnight's the boys split from Lily, heading into James' room where they fell side by side onto the double bed, fully dressed and already asleep.