The day Hermione's Hogwarts letter came was bittersweet. It had been a similar letter that informed her she was not insane, that the coincidences and strange occurrences in her life did not make her a freak or a walking jinx. That letter had always meant that she was not alone in the world, especially after she had started pulling away from her parents and meeting up with Ron and Harry to do her shopping. It had been awhile since she had done the annual pre-Hogwarts shopping trip on her own, and she was not looking forward to it. Unlike Dorcas.

The curly-haired witch beamed excitedly over her coffee. "Oh, lovely! We haven't had a chance to take you shopping yet, darling."

"We haven't?" Gideon queried, taking a bit of toast. "Maybe I need to go to St. Mungo's…"

"If I've been hallucinating all those shopping bags and packages we've had to carry from Madam Malkin's and Flourish and Blott's." Fabian finished, as if he had started the sentence.

"Shush." Dorcas said, shaking her head. "That was different, that was establishment shopping, this is school shopping! We need to take Persephone to get her schoolbooks, uniforms, more quills and parchment, she goes through it so quickly, and potions' supplies, of course, and a broom…"

"Maybe not a broom." Hermione said weakly. "I'm not fond of flying."

"Cassie, love." Fabian said, placing a hand on Dorcas's shoulder. "Would you have wanted your parents following you around when we were going into fifth year? Let her do her school shopping on her own."

"Maybe she'll make some friends." Gideon agreed. "She's not an ickle firstie, after all."

Hermione snorted at that. "Unlikely." She said, with a shake of her head. "Unless there's going to be a mountain troll in the alley."

Fabian ruffled her hair, making her squeak as her curls fluffed up too-large again. "Baba!" She cried in protest, grumbling as she tried to smooth it down, even just a bit.

Dorcas let out a tearful laugh, but then shook her head, tone mournful. "But we never got to take her school shopping."

Hermione wondered, not for the first time, how much of her backstory was fact. Sometimes the way Dorcas looked at her, or the things she said, like now, made her wonder if the Unspeakable really had gotten pregnant at Hogwarts and not discovered it until after graduation, but instead of the bastard cloaking and locking curses that her story used, Dorcas' parents had used some dark spell or potion that had caused her to lose the baby and Hermione was her second chance at motherhood. "If you really want to…" She said, slowly. "It's not like I have friends to meet up with."

"No, no, the boys are right." Dorcas said, waving a hand. "I can't treat you like an ickle firstie. You should go, you're less likely to make friends with me following you around."

It was only because manners had been pounded into her head as a child, at least toward adults, that Hermione didn't roll her eyes or snort again, but only agreed with a sigh.

Since she often worked in the clock shop, Hermione didn't really feel ill-at-ease in the alley. She chatted with Tom at the Leaky Cauldron, and Cerise at Eeylops, and wandered along watching the excitement of the real ickle firsties. It was when she saw a group of two boys and a girl reunite that her heart hurt, reminding her that she wouldn't never have a moment like that with Ron and Harry ever again. Shaking her head, she pushed the morbid thought away and headed to the best haven the wizarding high street could offer: Flourish and Blott's.

Somehow, just the scent of new books could relax her, and mixed with the fragrant wood of the many shelves and the sweetgrass Mr. Flourish burned in the backroom, it cleared the anger and grief, and the knot in her stomach disappeared. She retrieved a basket from the corner, waved to Mr. Blott, and set off with her school list. Surprisingly, it took a fairly short time to stock herself for class, even including the manual for Divination that had her wrinkling her nose in the process. She still thought Divination was full of frauds taking advantage of the easily scared, but Dorcas had pleaded with her to take the class, claiming to be afraid of being left alone with idiot children who wanted to know who they would fall in love with or whether they would succeed. When that had failed, the Slytherin had instead suggested it as a cover if she ever slipped up with some knowledge of the future, and in the end, Hermione had given in, but not without grumbling.

Required texts retrieved, Hermione let herself fall into the more esoteric and advanced texts. She had been told to make friends, but no one said that those friends couldn't be in book form.

She was two chapters deep in an Arithmancy treatise, when Mr. Flourish's voice caught her attention. "Ah, Persephone! I've that book your father wanted me to pick up before the lot of you head to Hogwarts. Do you want it, or shall I send him an owl?"

Hermione's head came up in surprise, but she smiled. "I'll take it, Mr. Flourish, if you don't mind. I don't see any point in stressing your poor birds when I'm right here." She moved over to the counter with her basket, slipping the slim purple volume she had been reading into it, before placing it on the counter.

Mr. Flourish returned with a volume bound in what looked to be dragonhide, and placed it on the counter, before glancing into her basket. "Now, how many classes are you taking, Persephone?!" He said, startled.

Hermione blushed despite herself. "Arithmancy, Runes, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, History of Magic, and Divination." She wrinkled her nose a little at this last one, but Mr. Flourish just laughed, having borne witness to 'Persephone' grumbling behind her mother while Dorcas had eviscerated the Divination section to try and find textbooks she deemed acceptable.

Mr. Flourish shook his head. "Now, academics are important, Persephone, but this is your first year at Hogwarts, don't forget to try and make some friends." He advised. "As good as it might be for our bottom line, you can't live out of books."

Hermione grimaced. Why was everyone harping on making friends? Still, Mr. Flourish meant well. "I'll try my best." She said, as he totted up her purchases. "I've never been very good at introducing myself to people."

"Well then, perhaps I can help." A familiar voice said behind her, and Hermione stiffened, turning to see none other than Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. "Sirius Black, at your service."

Hermione swallowed hard, remembering the panic in Harry's eyes as he declared that Voldemort had Sirius. She remembered how angry she had been with him over his treatment of Kreacher, the way he made her second-guess the D.A. Then again, this Sirius hadn't done any of those things, and certainly didn't look like the man that had spent twelve years in Azkaban.

"I'm P...Persephone." Hermione murmured in turn, taking her package so she didn't have to shake hands with him.

"How come we've never seen you before?" Peter asked, looking at her, and for a moment all she could see was the rat-man begging her to show him mercy.

"I've...I've just come from Greece." She said, trying to remember the story she had rehearsed backwards and forwards, and trying to figure out when she had picked up a stutter. "I'm transferring to Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts doesn't do transfers." Another voice said, from behind her, and Hermione whirled around. She relaxed infinitesimally for a moment before she realised that she wasn't looking at Harry Potter, but James Potter. Everyone said they looked alike, and she could see it, but it only took her a moment to realise that this wasn't Harry. Harry was smaller, and didn't carry himself with his shoulders back like that, unless someone had made him angry. The suspicious look in the boy's eyes, though, that was pure Harry, looking at Malfoy or Professor Snape. It had never been turned on her before, and it made her take a step back, even though the eyes were hazel and not green. It reminded her too much of her best friend, one she would likely never see again. She knew he was right to be suspicious. Hogwarts hadn't had a transfer in decades, and the dark was growing, spreading it's blood red and sickening green shadow over the wizarding world. She was strange, and the strange could not afford to be trusted out of hand.

"Professor Dumbledore arranged it with my parents." Hermione said finally, tilting her head up a bit, in that way she used to do when people questioned her knowledge or abilities.

"Why?" James asked, eyes narrowing.

Hermione didn't have a good answer. Well, Hermione had a good answer that involved time travel and being stuck back in school before she was even born, but Persephone was struggling. She never expected her first encounter with the Marauders to be this intense. Frankly, ending up in Slytherin, she had kind of been hoping to avoid them altogether. It was strange to see Sirius and Remus like this, to see Peter and not think of the mangy man begging for her aid, or look at James and not see Harry. "I…"

"Bullying girls now, Potter?" A voice drawled, and for a moment, Hermione was glad to be Persephone, and to have Severus Snape coming to her defence instead of causing new wounds. The role reversal was a bit dizzying, but she turned her head to see the teenage Severus and that made it slightly better, especially since he had Lily at his side.

"Severus!" She said, happily, quickly moving to position herself by him, using him like a bit of a bodyguard. "There you and Lily are. I knew I should have waited."

Severus blinked at her, unused to a situation where a girl other than Lily would want to be so close to him, not to mention being unused to being seen as saving someone else from the bullies. "Yes, well…" He drawled. "Next time don't go on ahead."

"Snivellus." James sneered, even as Sirius Black closed in at his side. "Why am I not surprised.

"Maybe because everyone got their school letters, James, don't be such a toerag." Lily scoffed. "Come on, Persephone, don't let these pillocks bother you. We're off to the apothecary. Have you been yet?"

"No." Hermione answered, with a headshake. "Let me just pay for my books, and we can be on our way." She handed over most of her summer pay to the bookseller, and then skirted around a glaring James and Sirius to rejoin Severus and Lily.

The Marauders watched the new girl leave with Snape and Lily, and James leaned over to Sirius, speaking quietly. "There's something not right about this."

"We'll keep an eye on her." Sirius said with a nod. "If she's hanging out with Snivellus, she may be dark."

"But she said Dumbledore approved it." Peter pointed out. "Would he do that for a dark witch?"

"Dumbledore always gives people chances. Sometimes where they are not deserved or the risk is high." Sirius said after a moment.

Remus walked up, from where he had been listening to the entire encounter from a distance. "You mean like me?" He pointed out quietly, before going to the counter with his books for the year.

"Moony!" Sirius said, worriedly. "Come on, you know I didn't mean it like that!"

Severus Snape did not know what to think about the consequences of his snide comment at the bookshop. His barb at Potter had been exactly that, meant to humiliate the arrogant Gryffindor in front of Lily and point out to her, again, that he was a bastard who did not deserve her attention, picking on girls. More specifically, picking on the stray from the clock shop she had picked up the last time they had gone to Diagon together. Lily was always protective of 'her' people. He knew that better than anyone. He had been the first, after all. It had undoubtedly worked, she had spent the next fifteen minutes railing about 'the idiots,' to Persephone, telling the curly-haired witch that not everyone at Hogwarts would act like that.

What he had not anticipated was the strange reaction of Persephone Meadowes-Prewett. She had taken up at his other side, rather than Lily, which was strange enough. No one other than Lily deliberately sought out his company unless they had a purpose, and only blood purists of the highest calibre would prefer to walk beside him when Lily was an option. Persephone, however, had not so much as looked sideways at Lily or offered a backhanded compliment. She seemed sincere in her chatter to the Muggleborn, and yet, she had not left his side.

More than that, however, she had accepted his guidance in the apothecary without question, or even the kind of sideways glare Lily gave him when his comments were a little sharp. Instead, she had smiled at him, and thanked him. She had deliberately drawn him into a conversation with Lily about charms theory, and when he spoke, she looked at him without any seeming ulterior motive other than to hear his opinion. While she was not a particularly attractive witch: she certainly couldn't hold a candle to Lily, no girl other than Lily had cared about his opinions before.

When he and Lily had dropped her back off at Prewett Bros. Charming Clockwork, after a long day of shopping and a surprisingly interesting dinner at The Leaky Cauldron, she surprised him yet again.

"Hey, Severus?" She asked, a little nervously. "You'll spend time with me in Slytherin, won't you?" She asked, cautiously.

"Why?" Severus asked, eyes narrowing. He would have expected her to be a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff, not a Slytherin.

That question seemed to bring her up short. "Well..I mean...I thought...that is...I'd like to be friends?"

Severus was almost as dumbstruck as she seemed to be. Finally, after an elbow to the side from Lily, he nodded. "All right."

Persephone gave him a beaming smile that made him reassess his earlier conclusion. While she was no Lily, her bright smile, which certainly would not fit in among the Slytherins, lit up her face in a way that made her quite pretty.

"We'll see you on the train!" Lily trilled to her, and Severus was all to glad to nod his head to Persephone and return to the Leaky Cauldron, and then Spinner's end. It might be hell, but at least he knew what to expect.