Falling into 1976

Marauders

Sirius Black was confused. Yesterday, the marauders were sneaking to the kitchens to get the elves to slip a potion in the eggs, but before they got even three floors down, Peter tripped.

Over a body.

The body of a girl, who looked like a third year, laying in a pool of her own blood.

He panicked. James yelled for Peter to run and get Pomfrey, and for Remus to get Dumbledore, all while Sirius stood frozen in the same spot.

As soon as Remus turned the corner, Sirius snapped out of his self-induced panic and slid to his knees, his hands pressing on her stomach to stop the blood flow. James sat next to him, and he checked the rest of the small girl for injuries, conjuring a splint for her leg and arm and repairing small cuts over her body - neither of them knew the spell to heal the gaping wound on her stomach, and they didn't try, for fear of making it worse.

Then Pomfrey arrived, sweeping the girl away, and Dumbledore left the marauders in his office, shaking at the image they had seen.

When Dumbledore came back in, nearly twenty minutes later, he smiled at them, and told them that they had saved her life. He said her name was Hermione Granger, and she was supposed to get transferred to Hogwarts at the start of this term, but got captured by Death Eaters, and landed here after making a portkey into Hogwarts. The wards had let her in, but Dumbledore did not know where in the school she was.

Sirius was reeling in the information, the fact that someone had escaped the Death Eaters and lived to tell the tale. He was shocked by the casual smile of the girl introduced to the rest of Hogwarts in the morning, looking good as new. He could tell James and Remus were shocked too, by how casually she had talked with Lily and Alice. Peter was just staring, unblinking, or at least he was, until Remus slapped the back of his head.

That night, all four marauders sat awake on their beds, discussing Hermione Granger.

"She just walked in the Great Hall, and smiled like absolutely nothing was wrong!" Sirius grumbled, still confused by the new girl's actions.

"Padfoot, haven't you ever heard of acting? You do it often enough, you should know!" James exclaimed, and Remus stifled a snort of laughter.

"I do not act, I perform, it's completely different!" Sirius retorted.

"Did you notice her eyes? Every once in a while she would just space out, or stare at the floor like it had offended her," Remus mentioned. The other three boys paused.

"It's bound to happen every once in a while, I mean, she had probably been tortured while she was there." Peter remarked.

Sirius stared at him in disbelief. How could you say that like it's normal? He wanted to scream, but he kept himself quiet, letting his thoughts simmer. Peter wasn't wrong, after all.

"She probably doesn't want everyone knowing she was kidnapped- We're the only ones that know she was attacked by Death Eaters," Remus said, saying the words as if they were uncomfortable in his mouth.

Sirius turned over the thought of the girl in his head. She had looked younger, but not bad looking. Her skin was pale, though that may have been because of blood loss. She had a few freckles dotting her face, and she had a small nose and hazel eyes. She was very petite, but already filling in a bit. The most notable thing about her appearance, however, was her hair. It was a chocolate brown and came down in thick waves, but not bushy. She was actually quite pretty, now that he thought about it.

Yet she just didn't seem right. She stood straight and confident, yet Dumbledore claimed she had just escaped death herself. Her eyes were right for it - she had definitely gone through some shit, he could see that in her eyes, but it was almost like she was used to it.

"We'll look out for her, yeah?" James said. Sirius nodded, voicing his thoughts, "She's been through enough shit,"