Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. All characters, places, descriptions, etc (unless original and created by me) belong to her.

Summary: It was a small pack, of course, just the five of them, but together they were something wild. Hermione finds herself in the Marauders' Era with four new best friends.

A/N: So fair warning, arsehole Snape ahead. He kinda took control for a second...

Chapter 45: Compos Mentis*

17 May 1978

The Great Hall

As the school sat down for lunch, the Seventh Years across the houses were all focused on the list of visiting professionals. Afternoon classes were canceled for the day so that the students could listen to and speak with the visitors. Hermione took a cursory glance at the list before shuffling away so others could see. Despite Sirius' promise to help Hermione and Remus after graduation, the thought of not being able to take her NEWTs or start her career weighed heavily on Hermione's mind.

Nonetheless, Dumbledore's list of visitors was impressive. Amongst the names of ministry personnel, several academics, and a curse breaker were a few Hermione recognized. Mad-Eye Moody, of course, had James and Sirius excited. Although, Hermione thought, he would be just Regular-Eye Moody in this time. Remus and Lily were huddled together talking about Olivander. Hermione felt a burst of jealousy at the look of excitement on Remus' face.

Hermione knew Remus was looking forward to hearing Olivander because he was purely interested in the theories behind wand making, but part of her wanted him to feel just as poorly as she did. Shoving that part of her aside, she decided she needed to get out of the Great Hall before she ruined anyone else's mood.

Catching a moment in which everyone was distracted, Hermione slipped away to the library.

Pushing open the doors, Hermione let out a sigh as she stepped into the comfortable solace of the Hogwarts library. Letting her feet guide her, she passed through the stacks without direction. Lost in her thoughts, Hermione didn't realize anyone else was around until she ran smack into a black wall.

As her eyes moved up the solid wall of black fabric, Hermione could feel the tension mounting around her. Severus Snape. Hermione had never been the biggest fan of Snape, but at least as a professor he had had her respect. Well, that is until he killed the greatest hope the Light had in the fight against Voldemort. No, now Hermione hated Professor Snape, and this younger version wasn't much better in her books.

"What are you doing here?" As he spoke, Hermione could see the disgust dripping from his crooked teeth. "Shouldn't you be hanging off the Marauders?" He raked his eyes up and down her form. "Frankly, I don't see it, but hey, one man's trash…"

"Shove off, Snape. I'm not in the mood." Snape laughed. Well, Hermione could only assume it was supposed to be a laugh, but she had never heard the sound come from him before.

"Oh ho, that's not very nice, Granger."

"Seriously, Snape. Go away."

"No, I want to know why you're not at the lectures."

"I could ask you the same question."

"I already have a job after school." Hermione wanted to smack the self-satisfied grin right off his face.

"Does it involve sulking around a castle in Transylvania?"

"No," he said, sharper than he must have intended. Hermione could tell she hit a nerve. "I'm to begin an apprenticeship for my Mastery in potions."

"Huh, how much did that cost Lucius?"

"Shut your mouth." This time Hermione laughed.

"Oh ho, that's not very nice, Snape."

"At least I'm doing something after this shithole. No need to ask what you're doing." As Hermione turned away, Snape's eyes flashed wicked before he called out to her. "Tell me, do they at least take turns at you?"

Hermione whipped around, her wand sliding from her sleeve to her palm to Snape's neck. A growl was forming in the back of her throat, and she was starting to pant. Red spots popped across her vision. Snape laughed.

"Oh please, like you'd curse me."

"You don't know me." Her lip curled, her teeth bared.

"Of course, I do." Snape's lips smacked with each consonant. "You're Lupin's bitch."

"At least I'm not a Death Eater," Hermione spat. This time Snape's arm shot out, and Hermione felt the cold touch of wood against her neck. Pup started to rumble against the walls of her chest.

"You shouldn't speak about things you don't understand."

"Oh, but I do." Hermione barked out a laugh, exhilarated. Sarcasm foamed at the edges of her grin. "Tell me, is it hard being in Slytherin while you're just a lowly half-blood. Surely they don't treat you as the Prince you so clearly are. Huh, the Half-Blood Prince."

Snape's walls dropped for the smallest of seconds. He glanced a look at his forgotten book bag before casting his eyes back on the witch before him.

"I know all about you, Snape." Gold specks sparked in Hermione's eyes like two electrical wires touching behind her irises. Her voice suddenly dropped and quieted as an uneasy calm settled over her. "Even your worst memory."

"You don't know shit," Severus spat despite taking a step back.

"Oh really? It was your spell they used, wasn't it? What was it? Oh, that's right—" Hermione arm jerked as she shouted the spell. "Levicorpus."

As soon as the word took root in the back of Hermione's mouth, Snape had a protective shield in place. The jinx flashed against the shield before dissipating. And then before Hermione could make her next move, Snape spoke.

"Legilimens."

Fog sat low on the ground. The air was still and quiet. The great willow stood frozen, its powerful arms extended mid-motion in a warrior's cry. Not a leaf twitched or shook.

Hermione watched as a figure concealed by the dark cover of night moved toward the hidden entrance to the tunnel. Despite the eerie feeling of detachment one experiences when viewing a memory, Hermione could still remember the earthy scent of the Whomping Willow. As the ground of Hogwarts started to fray into silver wisps, Hermione crawled forward, following the figure down into the darkness.

He was moving quickly in front of her, but his gait was off, as if he was unsure of his own footing or what the earth held in front of him. Hermione, having taken this tunnel before, started to gain on him. She reached his side just as the ground began to slope upward.

Suddenly, a growl shook the tunnel. Dirt fell in clumps from the ceiling. Hermione shuddered along with her unknown companion. Rays of light stretched desperate from further up the path, and Hermione moved around to try to see the face of her host.

A hand flew to her mouth as Hermione recognized the face of the seventeen-year-old version of her potions professor. This was his memory. And then it all came flooding back—the argument in the library, the growing tension, the spell. She was in his memory.

Hermione's heart rate picked up as she looked for a way to escape Snape's mind. The growling continued, and Hermione could hear wet panting and heavy thuds. The look on Snape's face showed absolute terror.

"SNAPE!"

Hermione and Snape spun around as a voice echoed from behind them. They stood, squinting into the darkness, as an out of breath James Potter ran into view.

"Snape," he panted. "You've—You've got to get out of here."

"Not a chance, Potter," Snape spat out angrily even as his voice cracked. "I'm finding out the truth. Tonight."

"You don't get it." James grabbed both of Snape's shoulders. "You need to get out of here. It's not safe."

Another crash sounded from above them. James' eyes widened at the sound of breaking wood and a dog's whimper. Hermione was already backing away from the entrance to the Shrieking Shack when James moved around Snape and shoved him back.

"You need to leave! Now!"

Finally sensing the gravity of the situation, Snape started to step backward. His pace, however, earned him another shove from James, who was trying to maintain an eye on Snape and an eye on the entrance.

"Oi, stop shoving me!"

"Leave!"

There was a terrible snarl… entirely too close. Everyone froze.

Time started to move again as the three students turned and ran back into the tunnel. James and Hermione jumped and scuttled along as Snape once again picked up an awkward stride, falling behind.

They had almost reached the Whomping Willow entrance when a howl surged through the tunnel behind them. Severus looked back and screamed.

There in the darkness stood an enormous over-grown wolf. Eyes flashed gold; spit dripped from protruding fangs. And then it started to move.

Snape stood frozen as the werewolf stalked forward. James reappeared, his face blocking Snape's view of the creature.

"MOVE!"

James shoved Snape, manhandling him up the tunnel entrance. Hermione took one last look at Moony before following. As she exited the tunnel and shuffled away from the tree, Hermione's felt a hot, white pressure burst against her chest, and she was standing in the library, face-to-face with Severus Snape once more.

"How did you do that?" Snape's voice was breathy. "What the hell are you?"

Hermione stared at him, still in shock over the memory she had just experienced.

"He finally did it." Snape had gone pale, and his eyes were glassy like he too hadn't recovered from the experience.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione stammered out. Snape's eyes cleared as he came back to reality, but the hidden fear remained.

"He bit you. Lupin bit you. You're like him now, aren't you." It wasn't a question. Hermione tried to shush him, but he shoved her hand away. "You're not denying it."

"I'm not even going to acknowledge your insane assumptions." She looked around wildly for anyone who might overhear.

"Oh, please."

"Why would you even think that?"

"Legilimency didn't work."

"What?" Hermione blinked at the unexpected answer.

"You didn't know?" Snape laughed. The second time in just a few minutes. Hermione shuddered. "Ah, seems like the insufferable know-it-all doesn't know as much as she thinks."

"That doesn't mean anything," she rambled off, trying to regain composure. "Maybe I'm just a good occlumens."

"Please, you're not even a good liar." Snape sneered. "Seems like you need to do some more research on your species, Mutt." And with that, Snape threw one last disgusted look and turned away, leaving Hermione to her own thoughts.

Werewolves. Legilimency. Where is the cross-over? She searched her inner library of knowledge, and her third-year essay started to come back to her.

"…During the monthly transformation, the werewolf loses all sense of self…"

No, no, something else.

"…In addition to the reasons explained above, werewolves are also considered dangerous members of wizarding society because they are immune to several of the tactics of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement…"

Yes, something there. What was it? What was it?

"…they are immune to several of the tactics of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including legilimency, veritaserum, and basic forms of pain-focused torture. The immunity is believed to be a result of the inner wolf's dominating presence over the witch or wizard. For example, it is well documented that legilimency does not work on animals…"

Holy shit.

He knows.

Hermione blinked once. Twice. Three times before grabbing for her bag and sprinting from the library. Panic and rage clouded her vision, and before she knew it she was bursting into Dumbledore's office.

"He knows!" She was shouting, throwing her hands around. "Professor Dumbledore, he knows. He knows, and you have to stop him. I don't know who he's going to tell, but he knows. He knows!"

Hermione ended her tirade and looked around. Her face flamed red as she realized the Headmaster wasn't alone. Two men stood behind Dumbledore wearing looks of shock, one speckled with amusement and one with annoyance.

"Just what do you think you're doing, missy?" Hermione couldn't help but stare at this younger version of Moody. It was disarming to say the least. She cocked her head to the side as she quite blatantly gawked at him. Shaking herself a bit, Hermione turned her eyes toward Dumbledore's other guest.

It was the man from Tomes and Scrolls, the one she had met almost a month prior. His mouth was quirked up in a half smile. What was his name again?

Dumbledore coughed, and Hermione looked into his twinkling eyes.

"Oh, sorry," she stuttered. "I'm sorry. I'll just—" She looked around herself before walking sideways toward the door. "Yeah, I'll just go wait outside. Sorry. Uh, sorry about that."

The bookkeeper smiled, and Moody frowned at her. Hermione hesitated in her movements before finally fully leaving the office. As she closed the door behind her, she caught the beginnings of a conversation.

"Who was that, Albus?"

Hermione strained her ears, trying to use her werewolf super hearing to hear into the office, but of course, Dumbledore had heavy-duty silencing charms already in place. She huffed and leaned against the door. As she waited for Dumbledore to dismiss his guests, Hermione counted out her breaths in an attempt to find calm again.

The door opened, and Hermione fell into the arms of the person behind her. Blushing furiously, Hermione pushed out of the arms to regain her footing.

"Sorry," she muttered, turning to face the trio emerging from Dumbledore's office. The bookkeeper, who must have been the one to catch her, held up his hands, smiling.

"You keep doing that," he teased. "Apologizing."

"Sorry," she blurted, immediately shutting her eyes and grimacing.

"Gentlemen, Hermione Granger," Dumbledore interrupted, motioning toward her to introduce her. "Miss Granger, Auror Moody and Ben Goldstein."

Hermione nodded at the two. Moody glanced at her before turning to Dumbledore.

"Albus, there is one more thing."

"Of course, of course," the Headmaster nodded. "I'll walk you down. Miss Granger, I won't be but a moment."

The two wizards walked to the stairway, leaving Hermione in the presence of the bookkeeper. She busied herself with a loose thread on her sleeve.

"I didn't see you at the talks," the bookkeeper, Ben Goldstein apparently, interrupted the awkward silence.

"I wasn't there."

"Oh, not a Seventh Year?"

"No, I am." He seemed to be waiting for her to explain more. She didn't. Silence fell again. Hermione shifted on her feet. "How was it? Your talk, I mean."

"Surprisingly well," he grinned.

"Why was it surprising?"

"Well, I only just graduated a few years ago. I still know some of the students fairly well. I was a prefect after all." He chuckled. "I dunno, I guess I expected at least a few of them to give me a hard time."

"I can imagine some people would think they could get away with teasing a bookkeeper," Hermione agreed.

"Bookkeeper?" He looked confused. "I'm not a—oh, well, yes. Yes, I am a bookkeeper now."

"Now? What were you before?"

"An Acquirer." This time Hermione looked confused.

"What's an acquirer?"

"Muggleborn?" Ben asked, his tone of voice kind. Hermione nodded. "Well, really I was a curse-breaker, but if you want to get technical, my official title was Acquirer. Basically, I was responsible for locating and procuring certain items."

"Oh." Hermione's mind spun out questions, but she refrained from bombarding the poor man with all of them. "So what made you stop?"

"There was a, uh, an expedition in Bermuda." His smile dropped, and Hermione suddenly felt she was intruding.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. You don't have to tell me."

"There you go apologizing again." His smile returned partway at her blush. "No, it's okay. The expedition didn't go as planned, and I almost died. I'm not afraid of death, but I figured if I was going to die, I didn't want to do it alone on an island. So I came back, quit my job, and moved to Hogsmeade."

"And started working as a bookkeeper?"

"And started working as a bookkeeper, yeah." His smile was back. Hermione found herself smiling as well.

"Why bookkeeping?"

"Seemed logical. I've always been the academic type. Ravenclaw, in case you haven't guessed yet." He nudged her. "Plus it's a good way to meet like-minded people."

Hermione blushed again, but before she could respond, Dumbledore returned.

"Miss Granger," he opened the door to his office. "I believe there was something you needed to tell me."

The intense urgency Hermione had felt before in the library came rushing back. She hurried into Dumbledore's office leaving Ben looking after her.

The door shut, and Dumbledore grew serious.

"What happened, Miss Granger?"

"It's Snape, sir," Hermione began. "I ran into him in the library, and we got into an argument. One thing led to another and our wands were out. I'll admit I fired first, but he shielded himself."

She looked straight at Dumbledore, trying to impress upon him the gravity of the situation.

"He cast legilimens on me, sir."

"Ah," was all Dumbledore said for a minute. Hermione grew frustrated.

"Yes, ah! Except it didn't work. He didn't go inside my mind; I went inside his!"

"Ah." Hermione growled at Dumbledore. "So now he knows the truth of your condition."

"Yes, now he knows because legilimency doesn't work on werewolves," Hermione noticed Dumbledore's calm. "Which you already knew. Of course, you already knew."

"Yes, I already knew. Quite convenient in fact for you, to hide the events of your coming here, to this time."

"Is that–" Hermione furrowed her brow. "Is that how you knew I was a werewolf when I first arrived? Did you try to read my mind?"

"I confirmed my suspicions, yes."

Hermione sank into a chair, defeated.

"What are we going to do?" she whispered. "What is Snape going to do? What if he tells Voldemort?"

"He will do no such thing," Dumbledore stated.

"But how do you know?" Hermione was desperate.

"He is under vow."

"But that only applies to Remus," Hermione protested.

"Not necessarily. I believe the exact phrasing required Severus' silence in exposing not just Remus but those who spend the full moons with him." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with collusion behind his half-moon glasses. "This now includes you."

"I see."

"You need not fear Mr. Snape exposing you just yet," Dumbledore warned. "But I would suggest avoiding any unnecessary contact with the young man. For all our sakes."

"Yes, sir," Hermione mumbled.

"Now then, I believe it is almost time for dinner. If you'll excuse me, Miss Granger." Dumbledore flicked a hand, and the doors to his office opened with a clang. Hermione nodded to the headmaster and walked back to Gryffindor tower in a daze.

Snape knew. He wasn't going to be able to tell, but he knew now. That was dangerous. Hermione thought back to their encounter. He had guessed, as well, that Remus had been the one to bite her. That was even more dangerous. If Remus found out he was responsible for her lycanthropy… all could be lost.

The Great Hall

"How were the talks?" Hermione said as she settled into her seat beside the boys.

"Brilliant, actually," James perked up. "You should have heard Moody's stories, Pup. The man's a proper legend."

"And Olivander?" Hermione asked, turning to Remus. The poor boy looked sick, but attempted a smile.

"Fascinating, of course. Still completely barmy, but fascinating."

"Are we to expect any more outbursts from you tonight, Granger?" A voice sounded from behind her. "I do enjoy a good show with my dinner."

Hermione turned to look up at Ben Goldstein. She blushed and he grinned.

"Enjoy your dinner, Granger." Hermione and the boys watched as Ben left to join the rest of the visitors at the head table.

"Hermione, you didn't tell us you knew Ben Goldstein," Peter said in awe. "His talk today was wicked!"

"I don't really," Hermione shrugged, her eyes still on Ben as he took a seat next to Professor Novikov. "We've only met once before today. I ran into him in Dumbledore's office."

"Still," Peter gushed. "He's amazing. Graduated top of the class his year, went straight into curse-breaker training. He was the youngest acquirer in years."

"Huh," Hermione mumbled, distracted. Peter sensed he had lost her attention and turned to reengage James.

Throughout dinner, Hermione continued to glance toward the head table, all the while a certain Animagus kept glancing between her and where her gaze pointed.

A/N: *In Control of the Mind