PART II

LEO INTRARE

Enter the Lion.

Chapter 9: Natura Nihil Frustra Facit*

"Fuck."

Hermione couldn't believe her eyes. She was standing in front of Hogwarts. Hogwarts. How the hell did she end up at Hogwarts? Hermione blinked up at the castle once, twice, three times before darting to the line of trees behind her that marked the beginning of the Forbidden Forest. She skidded to a stop just inside the forest and was about to apparate back to Grimmauld Place when she felt her instincts tell her to stay.

After a breath, Hermione took a moment to assess her surroundings. The sky darkened as the last drops of sunlight settled below the horizon. Odd. They'd planned to leave just after 10 o'clock in the morning. Something was wrong.

"Tempus," Hermione whispered the charm and watched as little gold numbers and letters sprung from her wand.

20:31:07

1 September 1977

Hermione waved away the shining numbers and then suddenly stared at the hand that held her wand. She cast the tempus charm three more times, each time wishing more and more that it was wrong.

1977. Not 1997, but 1977. Twenty years in the past. Hermione glanced back at the castle.

Wrong place. Wrong time. All wrong.

1977.

Hermione fainted.

1 September 1977

Just Outside the Forbidden Forest

She was lying in a bit of a rut just inside the forest. The longer grass swayed in the slight breeze, dancing across her arms. The younger boy held his breath as his companion approached the girl. He'd seen enough in his life already to assume she was dead. He winced as the older boy pulled hair from her face and slowly tucked it behind her ear, glancing back as if waiting for permission to touch her.

The younger boy waited in silence, confused as to what his companion was thinking as he bent down and gently picked her up, her body draped lifelessly across his arms. He walked past the younger boy out of the forest, eyes lowered. Setting the girl on the ground, he stepped back to look at her. Her head rolled to the side and her hair fell back in front of her face.

At that moment, the grey-eyed boy thought she was definitely dead. As his classmate checked for a pulse, he took a step back, wondering what the hell he was going to do with a dead body. He thought the whole situation could only lead to shit.

"Hey," the older boy said, practically whispering even though they were all alone.

The grey-eyed boy snapped back to attention and started to approach the girl. "Mate, I think she's gone." He lowered his head so he wouldn't have to look at the other boy's reaction. For a moment, neither said anything. The older boy crouched down by her side, his head fallen to her chest, eyes closed.

Another moment of silence.

"Listen," he began again. He spoke very slowly as if concentrating on every syllable. "I think she's still alive. I can hear her heart."

Heartbeat is good. You were still alive if you had a beat in your chest. The younger boy nudged his companion to the side. He was brilliant, a true genius sometimes, but he had yet to be in the position where he needed to save someone's life.

He pressed his ear to the girl's chest, eyebrows raised as a steady thrum echoed from her chest. Oh, she was definitely alive.

"She's okay. She'll be okay," he said, reassuring his companion and himself. "Stand back." He pushed the older boy back to give himself and the girl a bit more room. He pointed his wand at her as he had done so many times before. "Enervate."

The two boys froze and waited. Nothing.

"We should get Madame Trapner. She'll sort her out."

The two boys, rather reluctantly, took a few steps away from the girl before they heard a quiet gasp.

The younger boy turned around to see the girl staring up at them. The expression in her eyes, fearful and timid, seemed out of place on her face. One hand covered her mouth as the other grasped her side, arm wrapped around her stomach. She looked like a doe, caught but still attempting to hide. The two boys stepped toward her.

"You probably have a concussion," the younger one offered, taking one more step toward the girl, crouching down and reaching out to touch her arm. "Don't worry, you're safe now."

The second he touched her, she sprang to life, throwing him down with her. His back hit the ground and a cloud of dirt covered his face as she threw a leg over his waist. She straddled him before throwing her weight forward and holding her forearm across his neck.

Her left knee trapped his right hand while her right knee pinned his left arm to his leg. The grey-eyed boy was stuck with nowhere to move. This girl on top of him was clearly stronger than she looked, but he stared into her eyes unafraid. Pain was no longer an enemy of his. It was going to follow him forever after the choices that had been made for him. He had accepted that fact long ago.

But as he stared into her eyes, he recognized something he had often seen in his own—an intense survival instinct. She was serious, and he knew, in that moment, that she was capable of hurting him and much worse. He could see a faint thirst for blood in her eyes. He didn't know if she recognized it or even knew what it was, but he could see that hunger.

Neither one moved for a while. The younger boy was frozen in surprise and by the time he started to shift under her, Hermione was already moving. She jumped away from him, staring wide-eyed at her hands. She looked at him in fear, as if she had no idea what had just happened. The grey-eyed boy stood up and brushed himself off with an almost eerie calmness before turning back to her.

"Listen." His voice filled with irritation. "We found you passed out in the forest. Personally, I didn't want to pick you up, but my friend just had to help. I'm not going to hurt you, but unless you want me to, you might not want to threaten me."

"I-I-I don't know what just happened," Hermione stuttered, looking down away from his hardened gaze. "It was an accident."

"Oh, so you accidentally almost choked me to death?"

"Yes! I swear. I didn't mean it. When you touched me, I just—I just reacted."

The younger boy stared at the girl before him. She had moved like she knew exactly how to bring him to the ground. A normal person didn't react like that. A normal person couldn't get the best of him like that.

"Okay, whatever," he said in his oh-so-cool aristocratic way, the tone he took whenever he didn't know how to respond to something. A sort of defense mechanism that helped him keep out of trouble most times. "Listen, I'm not going to hurt you. And anyway, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't help you out at all. You're at Hogwarts. You really shouldn't attack another student."

He sighed and stepped backwards few steps, cursing his companion in his head. Here he was, trying to help this girl out of the goodness of his heart, and he just got bloody attacked.

"What's your name anyway?" he asked.

Hermione stared at him, her face the picture of calmness as her mind went running a million miles an hour. Who was this boy? Could she trust him? If she was really in 1977, she needed to find Professor Dumbledore and quick.

"Oh that, er, I don't know," she muttered.

"What? You don't have a name?"

"No, no, I think I do. Actually, I'm pretty sure I do. I just don't remember it. Right now." Hermione winced at her weak explanation and hoped the two boys wouldn't press too hard for information. The grey-eyed boy turned to his friend and then back to the girl.

"See, I told you. Concussion."

Hermione cocked her head to the side, staring at the two boys. There was something strangely familiar about these two, like she had seen then before, maybe from afar. "What are your names? If I may ask."

The two boys shared another look, then the younger one took a step forward and with a certain air of aristocracy, bowed slightly.

"Regulus Arcturus Black."

The older boy stepped forward but didn't bow.

"Severus. Severus Snape."

Hermione glanced between the two dark haired boys in front of her. Regulus Black and Severus—Professor Snape. And if Professor Snape was there, then…

And for the second time that night, Hermione fainted.

1 September 1977

The Hospital Wing

When Hermione woke up, she noticed two things. First, her head was throbbing. After fainting twice, it seemed as though she had grown a rather large lump on the back of her head. And second, something close by smelled really good. Like the woods just after rain, like old books and some kind of dark spice that she couldn't place. It smelled like security and safety.

Hermione's eyes sprung open. She instantly recognized the Hospital Wing and scanned every bed for the person she was looking for. And then, three beds away from her she saw him. Remus.

He was sitting up in a bed talking with the healer, laying on top of the sheets unlike Hermione. He looked so young to her, his sandy hair longer than she was used to, but she would have recognized him with her eyes closed. He was a bit pale, but compared to the Remus she knew, this boy seemed healthy, fit, and well fed. Unconsciously, she breathed in deeply, letting Remus' scent calm her nerves. Eyes closed, she let the feeling of warmth and safety envelope her.

When she opened her eyes, Remus was staring at her, head cocked to the side and eyebrow raised. She could tell he was sniffing slightly at the air. Hermione blinked and quickly busied herself with examining the sheets of her bed. She slid her eyes to the side to look back at Remus. He was still staring and opened his mouth as if to speak.

"Oh, you're awake." The healer at Remus' side quickly got up and walked briskly to Hermione's bed. "Remus, dear, take those potions and then you are free to go. You can tell Dumbledore I give you a clean bill of health."

The young wizard continued to stare at Hermione and made no move to leave. Hermione watched him pull a long piece of parchment from his pocket.

"Now then, dear, what is your name? It seems the two boys who found you didn't know, and I must admit I've never seen you here at Hogwarts before."

"My name…" Hermione looked up at the healer and then glanced at Remus, who was busying himself with his parchment. She watched as he unfolded the parchment at odd angles, turning it this way and that.

The map.

Remus held the infamous Marauder's Map in his hands. The Map that never lied and knew her name. She looked up at the healer who was waiting patiently for an answer.

"My name is Hermione Granger," she said, hoping this wasn't going to end up coming back to get her in the future. "And I need to see Albus immediately."

The force of her tone and the familiar use of Dumbledore's name seemed to startle the young healer. She nodded quickly, before speaking. "Well, I examined your head while you were asleep. Besides a bit of a headache, you are good to go. Mister Lupin was just going to see the Headmaster as well. Remus, if you would, please accompany Miss Granger."

"Oh no! I mean, er, I wouldn't want to inconvenience him."

"Nonsense, Mister Lupin is going anyway. Now off you two go, don't want to be out after curfew." The young healer collected her clipboard, turned on her heel, and disappeared into her office.

Hermione nervously looked back at Remus. "Right, well, shall we go then?" She threw back the crisp white sheets and pushed herself out of bed. Now standing she saw her beaded bag resting at the end of her bed, quickly snatched it up and held it to her chest. She took a deep breath and started to walk toward the door, her eyes fluttering a bit as Remus' scent flooded her system once more.

Hermione reached out to grab the door handle, not pausing to see if Remus was following. Her hearing told her he had scrambled after her pretty quickly. But before her hand reached the door, Remus' arm shot out and grabbed her. Hermione turned to face him, looking him directly in the eyes.

"Who are you?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Who are you?" Remus' voice was gruffer this time, still young but a bit rougher.

"Hermione Granger."

He stepped closer, not releasing her arm. "That's not what I mean."

Hermione felt her heart rate pick up and her mind was getting cloudy. Remus was barely a foot away. His scent was almost overwhelming and his touch was making her arm tingle.

"You need to unhand me now."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll do something we'll both regret."

"Oh really?"

Was he laughing at her? Hermione barely recognized the thought before she turned Remus around and pushed his back to the door. She moved in close and ran her free hand up his arm, resting on his bicep. She nuzzled her nose into his neck and breathed in deeply. Remus practically jumped out of his skin, jumping away and staring at her incredulously.

"Stop! What the hell are you doing?" While it wasn't Moony speaking, the wolf in Hermione recognized her creator all the same. Hermione's eyes cleared and she blushed. She took a few steps back from Remus.

"See! I told you! I'm sorry about that, by the way. Sometimes I can't—"

"Control yourself." Remus finished her sentence, his eyes wide. She could practically see the puzzle coming together in his mind. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. When he opened his eyes, Hermione saw burning gold for just a split second.

"You—You're…"

"Yeah."

"You're a werewolf."

"Yes, that I am. And so are you. Now, if you don't mind, I need to see Professor Dumbledore." Hermione reached behind Remus and pushed open the door. She waited for the shocked werewolf to lead her out before setting a brisk pace away from the hospital wing.

Remus looked completely shocked. He kept opening and closing his mouth, unsure of what to say to the witch walking beside him. Hermione decided to intervene before the poor boy strained himself.

"I have some important details to discuss with Professor Dumbledore, so I would prefer if we just walked in silence. I can answer your questions after I speak with him." When Remus looked into her eyes. Hermione was suddenly reminded of her Remus, the Remus of 1997. Her voice softened. She almost reached for his hand. "I promise."

Remus nodded, and the two continued on the rest of the way to Dumbledore's office in silence. Hermione was hoping she wasn't making the biggest mistake in the history of time, and Remus was just repeating the same sentence over and over in his mind.

She's a werewolf, too.

Chapter Title Translation: *Nature Does Nothing in Vain