Hermione felt like she had been very patient wating for a response from Remus. She had foolishly hoped he would contact her as soon as he had taken the job or had heard about Sirius's escape but she knew that was unlikely. She wondered, not for the first time if she had been wrong to use their Marauder's nicknames in the note, she thought it might help prove her point but maybe it had freaked him out. But now, it was the first of September and surely after meeting her younger self and fully making the connection Remus would be in touch. Despite assuring herself, she couldn't help pacing her flat. Hermione decided if she didn't hear from him in the next two weeks she would sneak into Hogwarts and confront him. Freeing Sirius and trapping Pettigrew was a vital part of the plan she had been formed after deciding to change the future. A small part of her wondered if it was necessary to drag Lupin into her schemes but a ruthless side of her couldn't help but think if she didn't help he would be dead in the next five years so it couldn't hurt.

Since she had hit Remus with her car (which she did still feel quite guilty about) her small plain flat had undergone quite a transformation. Whilst the living room and kitchen remained the same, she had placed every ward she could think of outside the dusty second bedroom, inside which now resembled a serial killers lair. Whiteboards adorned the walls, showing timelines, death dates and key events as well as the list of horcruxes and their last known locations.

When taking in the mammoth task ahead of her, Hermione wanted to run and ask the "adults" for help but she knew it was up to her. She didn't dare ask Dumbledore as she thought he would probably be against changing the timeline as they had still won. He might even oblivate her or send her away to prevent her interfering. Hermione knew the job was up to her, but she would do it to save all those lives. She would do it for Harry who she knew still blamed himself for every single loss of the war no matter what anyone said. She remembered her third year fondly, it felt like the last year they got to be kids and she would do anything for younger her Harry and Ron to maintain that innocence a little longer.

She was interrupted out of her pacing by a tap tapping on her window and ran. She thanked the owl, handed him a knut and tore open the small piece of parchment attached.

"When and where? Moony." It read.

Remus tapped his knee idly as he waited. He was early but he wanted this whole thing over as soon as possible. He had already been waiting weeks for answers, as he could only get away from the castle during the Hogsmead weekend. The past few weeks had been spent covertly watching Hermione Granger during his lessons and asking his colleagues about her. The reports he received had been overwhelmingly positive but painted the picture of an obsessive rule follower, not someone who would break the fundamental laws of time travel. Remus fiddled with his jacket. It was worn but he didn't have the funds to replace it until his salary came in. As he sat on the park bench he coudn't help thinking of the coincidence of her choosing this area of London, he was only a few tube stops from the flat he shared with Peter. Remus felt like he couldn't escape the ghosts that surrounded him, it was worst at Hogwarts, everywhere he looked he saw his past and the friendship he had once had, before Sirius ripped it all apart.

"Hello there,"

Remus looked up and saw the woman claiming to be Hermione Granger. She stood shyly her arms hugging her midsection, only around 5ft 3, in a pair of blue jeans and a white blouse, her curls held elegantly in a clip. He was surprised to see she cut an attractive figure, having remembered her as some wild woman with bushy hair and a manic smile, not too far from Bellatrix Lestrange on the battlefield. Remus knew though that this was the Hermione Granger from his classroom, her face was instantly recognizable and he even spotted the same mole under her lip. The only major difference despite her aging was her teeth, this woman had perfect white teeth evenly sized whereas the Hermione Granger in Hogwarts suffered from two rather prominent front teeth.

She moved towards him and sat by him on the bench, tucking a curl behind her ear, wafting a faint smell of jasmine towards him.

"This is more awkward than I thought really and I don't know how to begin, but I was working in the Aurors office – I'm sort of a consultant, and I was handling a broken time turner, stupid of me I know, I somehow thought I knew better than procedure because I had used one for a year when I was 14, but anyway someone startled me and I dropped it and here I am, 19 years in the past." She rambled. Remus nodded for her to continue.

"Well I was going to just wait out the war," Remus started but she carried on,

"But then I saw you and I just knew I couldn't let it happen and I have a plan so that the second war doesn't happen again. Voldemort won't rise again next year. I can prevent all the deaths and suffering I just need your help." She finished triumphantly looking expectantly at him.

"Right." Remus replied. The woman looked at him almost disappointedly as he held up a hand for her to stop for a moment. While he was shocked by her mention of another war, Remus found he was not surprised by the return of Voldemort. There was never any body and Remus thought deep down he had expected it. That is if this Hermione Granger was telling the truth.

"And why should I believe you?" He asked plainly.

"Well, I can tell you some things I know about you? I know that in school you and your friends called yourself the Marauders, a group consisting of you, Peter Pettigrew, James Potter and Sirius Black. I know about the Marauder's map and the phrases to open it (I solemnly swear I'm up to no good) and to close it (Mischief Managed)." Remus was shocked but kept his expression neutral, wanting to see how much information this woman knew. He nodded again,

"I know that they became Animagi, Peter is a rat, Sirius is a dog, James was a stag and you, you…" she started then hesitated. Remus watched her closely waiting for her to finish the thought she had begun.

"You are a werewolf," she whispered then froze looking down at his hand. He saw he had taken his wand out and pointed it at her on instinct.

"How do you know all that?" He asked angrily. Who was she to come and out all of his secrets and bring up his dead friends? Why would some schoolgirl or crazy woman know any of this? Who exactly was she?

"Because… because you told me," she started but her voice faltered. Something told Remus she was lying.

He grunted, "Who told you." Eyeing her cautiously with his wand still pointed at her chest.

"Sirius did," she replied quietly, tears filling her eyes as she looked down at her lap.

"When have you been in contact with Sirius. Are you a death eater?" He demanded.

"No please, Remus stay calm. I promise you, Sirius is innocent, he was framed by Peter. Sirius is a good man I swear it." She began in a pleading tone.

Remus couldn't' help it he began to laugh. A dry pained laugh that cracked.

"Peter is dead." He felt like his wounded chest had been wrenched wide open, all the painful thoughts and memories he had tried to squash were out and swarming. He rubbed his hand over his stubble and counted to 10 as he tried to get his breathing under control. Hermione remained frozen on the bench as she stared back at him, her eyes pleading.

"Look maybe you're telling the truth about the time travel, you certainly look like Miss Granger, but I don't know what you think you know but you're wrong. You don't know Sirius as well as I do. I can't help you." Remus said finally, rising off the bench and moving to apparate.

"Wait, before you go, it's the rat, look at Ronald Weasleys rat, it's Pettigrew. They switched Secret-" but Remus left before she finished her sentence.

Remus was seriously considering putting up a mail ward. He scrunched the scroll of parchment up before angrily banishing it. It was the fourth in as many days from that crazy car woman. He refused to call her Miss Granger, even in his head. The sweet bookish girl from his classroom would never repeat the lies that woman had.

To think she had seemed relatively sane at first, before she had blamed poor Peter for his death and ranting about Ronald Weasley of all things. He'd kept an eye on the boy, though he'd deny it, but he hadn't seen anything particularly worrying. Ronald and Hermione had seemed to have some sort of falling out involving a pet cat but it didn't seem like cause for much concern.

He still felt angry about her blaming Peter for the betrayal, clearly Sirius had spilt their secrets but she didn't know them. Remus still saw Peter as the watery eyed boy from first year, when compared to the charismatic Sirius, how could she possibly think Peter had outsmarted him. Peter didn't carry the darkness Sirius did, he also didn't have Sirius's intellect or wit but he simply wasn't capable of such an act. Anyway, Sirius had killed him and 13 muggles and only left a finger. The whole argument was pointless. Peter was dead. Remus could hardly bear to keep turning the facts around his head. He promised himself he would focus on teaching and Harry and protecting Harry from Sirius and forget future wars and crazy women who smelt like jasmine.