Remus blinked at the hysterical woman in front of him. He couldn't help but think it was a bit unfair that he had just been hit by a car and now had to comfort a crazy woman. She was about his age, a small thin figure with a ridiculous amount of hair whipping wildly in the wind. She looked manic as she smiled at him and made grand proclamations. He felt on edge, a crazy witch could be dangerous, especially one shouting about the Wizarding world with no regard to the Statute. He slowly stood up and backed slightly away from her.
"Look, I'm sorry," he started, "Are you okay? I don't remember you but I think maybe you might have hit your head in the crash".

He tried to tread carefully not wanting to anger the woman. This seemed to upset her though as she sighed loudly and ran a hand through her dishevelled hair.

"Oh Remus Lupin, I'm not crazy. I'm from the future, 2012 to be exact and I'm close friends with Harry Potter and I know you!" she replied, walking closer towards him.

Remus started at hearing Harry's name. Maybe she was some crazy Boy Who Lived fangirl who knew him from Hogwarts and remembered his friendship with James Potter. If she thought Remus was her in with Harry she was sorely mistaken.

The woman seemed to sense his apprehension and backed off before saying in a defeated tone,

"Look, I know you don't owe me anything and it sounds hard to believe but I'm telling the truth. Even if you don't believe me I would appreciate you don't tell anyone we talked. In a few months, Dumbledore will approach you about being the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and Sirius Black will escape Azkaban. When these things happen, please please contact me."

She rummaged through a small bag he hadn't seen her remove and pulled out a muggle pen and scrap of paper and scrawled something on it. She turned and looked at him again, giving him such an intense stare Remus felt even more unnerved.

"If you don't believe me after that wait until you see me at Hogwarts", she said, giving him the scrap of paper and a smaller sad smile before returning to her car.

"I'm sorry again for hitting you" she called before closing the door.

Remus remained still as he watched her drive away. He didn't know what to think. Him Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher? Sirius Black escape? It seemed too fantastical to be true. He wasn't a naïve boy and he wasn't going to fall for anyone's games. He decided firmly she was just some girl from a few years below him at Hogwarts who remembered his friendship with Black and Potter and wanted to take him down a peg or two. He angrily shoved the note into his pocket and picked up his bike. It seemed undamaged and he had deliveries to complete. He didn't have the time or energy to worry about crazy witches.

Remus leaned his head against the seat and sighed. Everything ached. It had only been a few days since the full moon and he was in no state to apparate so was forced to take the train with the students. A younger Remus would have found the ordeal humiliating but now he was well aware of his limitations and was happy to take concessions where he could. He already couldn't believe he had got a job he was actually interested in. He had almost completely written off the wizarding world before Dumbledore's arrival at his small flat. The offer had just been too tempting though and even came with a chance of getting to know Harry. He carefully tried to not think of Sirius Black or the woman who had predicted the job offer and the escape. The guilt of not sharing Sirius' animagus form or the woman, threatened to be consuming when he dwelled on it. For all he knew the woman might be in league with Sirius and could have helped his escape, but somehow he doubted that was true. Remus managed to convince himself that the woman must have heard some rumour and merely repeated it and successfully squashed any wondering thoughts if she was telling the truth. When the shouts from the platform gradually rose to a dull roar as excitable kids began boarding the train, Remus allowed the noise to wash over him, closed his eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.

The train ride had left Remus drained. The emotional toll of the dementors combined with seeing Harry, who looked so much like his dear friend James had left him shaken. He barely had the energy to respond to Snape's digs and merely took the insults as he walked with him to the head table.

"So I hear you banished the Dementors, Lupin," Snape began, as they sat.

"Funny, as they may be our only defence against your dear friend," he continued as Remus attempted to ignore him.

"Oh Snape, he could hardly have left the dementors to continue their search of the cabins. Poppy told me poor Harry was quite disturbed," Professor Sprout interrupted, nodding towards the Gryffindor table.

"Yes poor Potter," sneered Snape, shooting Harry a look Remus had only ever seen directed at James Potter or Sirius Black.

Lupin watched Harry interact with his friends closely, glad to see he didn't seem permanently damaged from his encounter with the dementor. He appeared a bit quiet though, mainly listening as a gangly ginger boy beside him talked animatedly. As the sorting took place, Remus dutifully clapped every student who was sorted, even the Slytherins, which somehow caused Snape to glare harder at him. Remus glanced at Harry again and noticed a small girl had sat on Harry's other side, she had leaned her head against his shoulder and seemed to be trying to encourage him to eat more. She was skinny with an ridiculous amount of hair which seemed to overwhelm her small face. Remus continued to stare at her as she appeared oddly familiar.

"Who's that next to Harry?" he asked Sprout quietly.

"Oh that, that's Hermione Granger. Very bright girl I hear, Muggleborn too, not very much talent for Herbology but she does try very hard, bless her. She's very close with Harry of course, her Harry and Ronald Weasley form quite the little trio," she replied.

Remus nodded and carried on with his meal, realising he must have recognised her from the train.

Remus's week passed fairly quickly despite his nerves. He found teaching to be one of his favourite jobs of his varied career. However, Remus felt apprehensive about Friday and his first lesson with the third year Gryffindors. He felt a overwhelming pressure for Harry to like him and wanted to make a good impression. He thought if was courageous he would finally introduce himself to Harry and help ease some of the guilt he felt from not being part of his life, especially after he had heard some odd rumours involving Harry and a basilisk.

Watching the students filter in he saw Harry enter, flanked by Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, laughing about something before taking their seats.

The lesson on boggarts was a mixed bag. He knew it could be difficult for children to show their greatest fears in front of a class but in the wizarding world running into a boggart was fairly common and it would do them no good if they froze.

As he asked his first question and called on Granger to answer, the familiarity suddenly hit him. Her clipped received pronunciation accent, the wild hair, even her toothy smiles at Harry and Ron, he was struck by her similarities to the crazy car woman (as he had taken to referring to her in his head). He continued the lesson distractedly wondering what exactly this meant. Was she the woman's daughter – no she was a muggle born, some relative then? Or maybe she was telling him the truth he couldn't help but wonder. He remembered the scrap of paper she had given him and hoped it might contain some explanation. The staff had been informed Hermione Granger had a time turner this year – that was an odd enough coincidence and the woman had said she was close friends with Harry Potter. What if everything was true and she did need his help? Would he even want to get involved if it was?

The rest of the day passed quickly. After dismissing his final class, Remus hurried back to his rooms and began searching for his waterproof. Despite the clear food company logo on the side, Remus couldn't bring himself to throw away a perfectly good jacket. In the pocket he found the scrap of paper he had forgotten about. On it was written,

"Hello Moony, there was a time turner accident and I need your help. I have important info on Padfoot. I await your owl. Hermione Granger."

Remus stared for a moment before muttering to himself,

"What the actual fuck?"