Chapter 2
“Alright.” Hermione said, not sounding confident at all. She could barely believe she had agreed to fly into a muggle town, if it was Harry and Ron she would have said definitely not. The door swung open and Peter walked in and over to his bed without looking at them. But then he spun around and immediately spotted Hermione.
"What is she doing here!" he exclaimed, his annoyance evident in his voice. James, who was sitting on the bed next to Hermione, looked up in surprise at his sudden outburst.
"Calm down Pete, she didn't do anything wrong," James said, trying to placate Peter's frustration. "We're just trying to help her."
Sirius nodded in agreement from his spot on the edge of his desk, his expression serious as he added, "Yeah, mate. She's in a bit of a bind, and we said we'd lend a hand."
Peter huffed, clearly unconvinced as he eyed Hermione, looking somewhat sheepish.
"I don't care," Peter muttered, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I just want some peace and quiet." James exchanged a knowing look with Sirius before standing up and placing a reassuring hand on Peter's shoulder.
"We understand, Pete," James said softly. "But she needs us. We'll make sure she doesn't bother you, alright?" Peter sighed, relenting slightly as he nodded in resignation. Despite his annoyance, he knew that James and Sirius wouldn't let him down.
"Fine," Peter muttered, his irritation fading slightly. "But she better not make a mess of my part of the room."
James and Sirius grinned, relieved to see Peter's mood improving as they returned to their conversation with Hermione, determined to find a solution to her predicament.
Hermione had to hold back her scoff, as if she could make his part of the room any messier than it already was. She couldn’t believe they trusted that traitorous rat for so long. She glared at Peter as he grabbed some things and then left the room again.
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The three of them found themselves faced with a pressing dilemma though, Hermione needed a bed and food until they could sneak off to the nearby village. With the students leaving for the holidays after breakfast tomorrow, they needed to keep her hidden until they were all gone.
James paced back and forth across the room, his brow furrowed in thought, while Sirius leaned against his bedpost, tapping his wand against his chin as he contemplated their options. Hermione was still sitting on the edge of the bed, her expression a mix of concern and anticipation.
"You could always sneak some food from the Great Hall, and if that doesn’t work we could always use your Invisibility Cloak and sneak me into the kitchen for food," Hermione suggested, breaking the silence and both the boys turned to look at her, shocked. James moved to sit next to Hermione again and Sirius took over the pacing.
“I keep forgetting you’re from the future.” James smiled, "That could work, but what about sleeping arrangements?" He asked, eyeing the room.
Sirius stopped pacing and turned to face them, a spark of inspiration in his eyes. "What if we conjure a makeshift bed in here? We can charm it to be undetectable from the outside, so no one will suspect a thing."
James grinned at the suggestion, recognizing the potential of Sirius’ plan. "Brilliant idea!"
Hermione smiled gratefully, feeling a wave of relief wash over her at the prospect of having a safe place to rest. "That’s perfect! I knew you guys were quick thinkers but it's so strange to see just how adaptable you are." she smiled and James winked at her, causing her to blush slightly, she had rarely been winked at before and now it seemed to be happening every few minutes.
With their plan in place, James and Sirius set to work conjuring the bed in the space between their beds, while Hermione gathered the belongings she had had on her, and realised just how little she had brought back from her time.
“We have to get to our next class now, but we’ll come back with food.” James said, as he walked to the door, Sirius followed him out and then Hermione was left alone in their room.
She couldn’t help but think of all the things that could possibly be changed just by her existence here in the past. She found a piece of paper and quickly charmed it so only she could see what was written on it.
She began to write down everything she could think of from the past that she was about to live. She was grateful to have studied all the history books thoroughly over the years. She wouldn’t have access to the same books for a long time.
As the hours passed and the sun began to set outside, the boys came back and they all shared a meal together. The food was still the same in her time, so it made her feel at home.
Much to Hermione's relief, she had settled into a sort of comfortable friendship with James and Sirius in the few hours they had spent together.
Remus was with them now, and he seemed to have calmed down since Hermione had brought up his secret, deciding to join in on the action. He was still the same as when she met him, always looking for an adventure.
“I think you’ll need to find someone who looks quite different from you. If you pick someone too similar it could still have the same effect as if those people from your time just see you.” Remus said, and they all nodded in agreement.
“Maybe someone with lighter coloured eyes,” James said, looking directly into Hermione’s eyes.
“And I don’t mean to offend you, but maybe with straight hair too?” Sirius said, looking at her hair.
“I’m not offended, it is a very telling trait.” Hermione shrugged. She knew that her appearance was very noticeable and she had already decided to find a muggle with blonde hair, since she had always wanted to see what it was like to be a blonde.
“I don’t mind it. I think it looks nice, but I do agree. Anyone who sees your hair would recognise you right away.” James smiled softly. Hermione could feel a slight flutter in her chest at the sight of it. James Potter was very charismatic, she never had the chance to meet him, but she knew that he would have been the same charming man he was now.
“I won’t be coming with you, I’ll get a head start on stealing the ingredients. I’ll just tell Slughorn that I want to practise potions over the holiday. He’ll probably be happy to let me, and I think he has already done most of the hard work so it will just be about putting it together quickly.” Remus' brow furrowed as he thought out loud about it.
“You’re just afraid to fly! Hermione is scared of heights and she is coming with us.” Sirius narrowed his eyes playfully at him and Remus just shook his head.
“We definitely need to change your name, and we also need to come up with a believable story, so that you’ll be able to be here without questions.” Remus said thoughtfully, laying back on his bed.
“Well, maybe I could say I was muggleborn, and that my parents had been trying to keep my life as normal as possible but that my magical ability was getting too much for them to handle now?” Hermione offered,
“No, you’d need to know things about the muggle world then, that's too difficult.” Sirius replied.
“I know plenty, because I am a muggleborn.” Hermione retorted, she wasn’t sure how the news would be taken, considering it was a different time. Were all wizards prejudiced back in this time? Or was it still just the Slytehrins?
“Well that can be an option then. What about being one of our cousins?” Sirius suggested. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully they were not prejudiced against muggleborns.
“That could work, maybe she could be my cousin. Your families are too well known. If she was on my mothers side that could make sense. I could forge some documents.” Remus said getting up then and striding over to his trunk at the end of his bed.
“Great! That’s sorted then, now we just need a new name.” James said cheerfully as he started to pace around the room.
“Mary was a popular name when you were born?” Hermione suggested thoughtfully, but they all shook their heads,
“There is a Mary here already, that's just confusing.” Remus explained and Hermione shrunk down a little.
“Maybe you three should come up with the name then.” She suggested and brought her knees to her chest. She was feeling very out of her league here, 20 years hadn’t seemed like very much time, but it was starting to feel like there was a lot of difference. What if the curriculum was completely foreign to her?
“What about Lily?” James offered, and Hermione’s eyebrows knit together, Why would he suggest that name? Wasn’t that his girlfriend's name? Harry’s mum went to school here too, didn’t she?
“Lily?” Hermione asked, to clarify, maybe he was just suggesting to ask Lily for a girl's name.
“That will work!” Sirius replied, “It sounds muggle enough to me.” A mischievous smile spread across his face and Hermione's heart dropped into her stomach.
Had coming back in time somehow erased Lily Evans from history? She specifically remembers Harry had a photo album with pictures of his parents. She felt like she was going to throw up. She had somehow ruined the future already.
“Do you not like that name?” Remus asked, a concerned look on his face as Hermione got up and sprinted to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her before aiming straight for the toilet. How could this have happened just by travelling back in time?
Then the thought hit her harder than a rock, maybe the entire world had come crumbling down upon her. If Lily didn’t exist, then how could Harry exist? And then if Harry didn’t exist, then who would kill Voldemort?
“Hermione, are you alright?” James called through the door, Hermione ignored him, the entire future had changed and it was all Hermione’s fault.
No, she couldn’t think like this. There must be another explanation. She walked over to the sink and splashed her face.
She had to calm down, she couldn’t let them know until she was absolutely certain that the future had already changed. Until then she had to assume that everything was still on track.
“I’m okay.” Hermione said, opening the door slowly. James’ concerned face made her heart skip a beat, maybe he would find another girl called Lily after she left.
Yes, that must be it.
Though she could have sworn they went to school together, maybe she was in a different class, or a different year at school and they just hadn’t crossed paths yet. Maybe she will transfer here next year?
Hermione forced a smile onto her face, trying to make it look as natural as possible. It seemed to work because James smiled at her. I can’t mention Lily to them, I don’t want to ruin the future anymore than I have already.
“I just feel a little strange being here.” She managed to say “It doesn’t feel real yet.” She admitted, it was all true, true enough that James nodded, believing her words, and walked back to his trunk with Hermione following close behind. He pulled some clothes out and handed them to her.
“Here, you don’t want to sleep in your uniform, do you?” He smiled,
“Thank you.” Hermione said as she took them and walked back to the bathroom. The same scent of mahogany and leather from before engulfed her and she suddenly felt calmer. Somehow this smell was comforting to her and she didn’t mind it at all; it reminded her a little bit of Harry. If something could help her feel calmer, she was glad to have found it now.
She exited the bathroom, feeling slightly self conscious in James’ oversized shirt and shorts. She tried not to think about it too much, since she didn't have any options but she noticed all the boys had turned to face away from her.
“What’s wrong?” She asked, as she crawled into bed and got under the covers.
“Nothing.” James said, standing ridiculously close to the wall, like he was trying to find something engraved in it. Remus had his nose so tightly in the book he was reading, she was sure he wasn’t able to read it and Sirius was looking out the window with his hands cupped around his face.
“We had better get a good sleep for tomorrow.” James announced before pointing his wand at the room and casting nox. The room went pitch black, only the light from the moon was shining in, barely illuminating the room.
“Alright, Goodnight.” Hermione said and then listened as the boys all started to move to their beds, catching glimpses of their shadows moving in the dark.
“Goodnight, Her—Lily.” James said, stumbling over her name.
“That’s going to be difficult to get used to.” Sirius admitted with a slight chuckle.
“We need to get used to it before classes start up again.” Remus said, “Lily is my cousin afterall.” He said, the sound of it was strange.
They all broke out into a laughter that was only quieted by Peter, “Will you be quiet, please.” He said, and Hermione couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever come around or if they would just dislike each other the entire time she was here.
Hermione woke the next morning to the sound of boys talking, what on earth were boys doing in her room? But when she opened her eyes, everything came flooding back to her—She was 20 years in the past.
“Oh you’re awake!” Someone said as she sat up, she turned to see it was Remus, sitting at his desk with papers and books all around him. His hair was a mess and it looked like he hadn’t slept at all.
“I stayed up all night making fake documents. I think they look legitimate.” He said, confirming her thoughts, now she just felt horrible. She had come here and asked for their help and so far she hadn’t done anything to help herself. All she had done was sleep comfortably while Remus had stressed all night.
“Sorry, I should have stayed up to help you.” Hermione said, getting up and walking over to him, “Can I see what you’ve come up with so far?” She leant over him and he slid the papers towards her.
Lily Evans.
That was the name he had come up with for her. She told herself it just had to be a coincidence and she read down further, she was a distant cousin who was going to be staying with his mother. She was born on January 30th, 1960. There was also a family tree with no pictures.
“This is a lot of work. Thank you.” Hermione said, she couldn't seem to keep her eyes off of her new name.
“Here, I also wrote this letter from my mother,” he said, handing a very nicely written letter.
Professor Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Dear Professor Dumbledore,
I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirits. I am writing to inform you of a matter regarding my ward, Miss Lily Evans. I understand that the school year has already started, and I apologise for the haste of this correspondence.
Miss Evans is under my care, and I have made the decision to enrol her at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She is a bright and talented young witch who I believe will benefit greatly from the education and opportunities provided at your esteemed institution.
I regret the short notice, but due to unforeseen circumstances, Miss Evans will be arriving at Hogwarts later today. I kindly request that arrangements be made for her to be sorted into the appropriate house upon her arrival. I assure you that she is eager to begin her studies and integrate into the Hogwarts community.
I understand that this may pose an inconvenience, and for that, I sincerely apologise. I assure you that every effort will be made to minimise any disruption and ensure a smooth transition for Miss Evans.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this matter. I appreciate your assistance in facilitating Miss Evans's enrollment at Hogwarts.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs. Lupin
Guardian of Miss Lily Evans
“This might actually work, as long as they don’t talk to your parents about this.” Hermione was impressed with the effort he had put into this, it rivalled her own attention to detail.
“I already sent a letter to her explaining things.” He said, “I was very vague, so don’t worry.” He added when he noticed that Hermione had paled slightly.
She realised it wouldn’t matter too much, if things had already changed with her just existing here then his parents knowing a small detail surely couldn’t mess anything up too much more.
“So you're happy with everything, then?” James asked, making her jump and turn around, he wasn’t looking at her, he was facing the other way and stretching.
“Yes. It all seems good to me, very well thought out. I’d almost be convinced if you said you’d done this before.” Hermione joked and Remus laughed,
“We do a lot of things we shouldn’t, so this wasn’t too far out of reach.” He smirked looking over his shoulder at her. Then a thought hit her, if she could use the map she could make sure no one sees her, especially those she doesn’t want to run into.
“Where is the map?” she asked and a silence fell over the room before James started laughing, “What?” she asked, had they also not made the map yet?
“It’s just strange to have no secrets. I forget that you know more than we have told you.” James said as he scratched the back of his neck,
“Or maybe she's a spy.” Peter spoke up, turning over in his bed and covering his head with his blanket.
“Actually, how do you know about the map?” Remus asked, and Hermione had to think about how to explain it without giving any details away.
“Well—my friend got the map from—two boys, and they had stolen the map from Filch's office.” Hermione explained.
“Damn, I guess it gets confiscated eventually.” James says and then Sirius bursted into the room.
“Here, I got this for you.” Sirius said, waving something in the air and handing it to her. She held it out and took a good look at it, Sirius had somehow gotten hold of jeans and a shirt.
“Where did you get this from?” Hermione asked, and he pointed out the door,
“Went and asked the girls if they had any spare clothes and promised I’d give it back to them later.” He grinned triumphantly.
“They just gave you clothes? How much did you tell them?” Hermione was concerned that Sirius had gone and blabbed his mouth, her cover already blown in the few hours she had been here.
“He probably didn't have to say anything. The girls tend to do whatever he says without question.” Remus rolled his eyes,
“Right you are, Moony! The girls love me!” He did a dramatic spin and everyone just shook their heads.
Hermione had to admit, the three boys were quite attractive in their youth. She could imagine that most of the girls would be swooning over them, probably hanging off their every word.
She shook the thought from her head and went into the bathroom to get changed. She made minor adjustments to the fit of the clothing and then stepped out to find the boys ready to go. Fit and flare jeans must be popular.
“When do we leave?” Hermione asked, looking between the three boys.
“The train should leave in an hour, I think.” Remus was looking at his pocket watch while he gathered papers. “I’m going to go and start gathering the potion ingredients.” He smiled, placing the paperwork in his bag as he walked out.
“That just leaves us three.” Sirius said, grinning again. Did he ever stop smiling? Hermione didn’t mind, but the Sirius she knew didn’t smile like this.
She hadn’t known he was so cheerful before, and she couldn’t help but silently curse that rat that changed these smiling boys into sorrowful men.