September 2nd, 1992

Nikki was officially done with her sixth year of Hogwarts. And it was only the first day of classes.

Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests definitely had the right acronym. Her shoulder ached from the book bag she had slung over her left shoulder, homework absentmindedly shoved deep into the bag.

Faceplanting into her bed and screaming into her pillow sounded particularly appealing. In fact, that was just what Nikki Weasley was going to do.

Until she saw a golden necklace with an hourglass emblem in the middle of it. Lying right on her dorm mate's nightstand. It seemed to vibrate on the table, shifting the nightstand back and forth by only millimeters.

Let it be known about Nicole Muriel Weasley, she was a Gryffindor at heart. Which sometimes meant being too curious about things that looked to be out of place for her own good.

'Curiosity killed the cat and all,' a voice sounding suspiciously like her father's rang through her head.

Nikki mumbled to herself, "But satisfaction brought it back..."

She was surprised in the fact that she had been able to complete the Muggle phrase, but she assumed it had something to do with the fact that Penelope Clearwater had been inducted into the study group the sixth year NEWT students had formed the year prior, when they were all cramming for their OWLs.

Picking up the necklace, she shifted it between her hands, studying the words emblazoned on the pure gold circlet.

The room began to spin, colors blending together until Nikki swore that she couldn't see anything but black.

"Bugger."

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September 2nd, 1976

James Fleamont Potter's arms windmilled as he skidded around the corner of the sixth floor corridor, glancing over his shoulder and gesturing towards his three best friends.

"Hurry up, we're gonna get caught!" He huffed out, side-stepping a Hufflepuff first or second year and barreling forwards.

Sirius Black rolled his eyes as he matched James stride by stride. "You're such a mother hen, Jamie."

"Mum-only nickname."

"Okay, Merlin! Still though, can you even remember the last time ol' Filchy caught us?"

"Stop bickering about what Effie can call you and find a broom closet or something so that we can hide!" Remus Lupin groaned, a few steps behind the two dark haired teenagers as he and Peter Pettigrew ran after their friends.

Sirius barked out a laugh. "Damn, Moons, never thought you were that type of bloke."

"NOT LIKE THAT!"

The sharp exclamation was enough to send Peter, Sirius, and James into laughing fits.

"This way!" Peter's head snapped up, recognizing where they were. "There's an abandoned classroom down that corridor; we can hide from Filch there."

"Wormy, you've been holding out on us," James teased as the four Marauders took the turn down the aforementioned corridor, sliding into the classroom and carefully closing the door behind them.

It made no sound, the teenagers well versed in the art of sneaking around and hiding. Hell, three of the four were illegal Animagi, and they had a map that showed everyone in Hogwarts and their locations.

"Who the bloody fuck are you lot?" A woman's voice dryly asked from behind them.

The Marauders spun on their heels in near-unison, met with a wand to their faces.

"I thought you said this was abandoned, Pete," Sirius murmured under his breath, one eyebrow arched.

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Are you lot deaf or...?"

"James Potter," the "ringleader" of the group blurted immediately, hands up in a joking gesture universally recognized as surrendering. "Also known as Prongs occasionally."

Nikki's eyebrows shot up at the last name. There were no other Potters other than Harry. They had all died out on Halloween 1981, when Harry's parents, Lily and...

'Damn it all to hell.' She thought to herself.

"Sirius Black," the tallest member of the group introduced himself energetically, jet black hair falling down to his shoulders. His grey eyes sparkled with mischief, hinting at the pranksters they were.

"Remus Lupin, and I wish I wasn't associated with these two prats," Remus added, smiling good-naturedly at Sirius and James.

James pouted over dramatically. "C'mon Moony."

"Yeah, you know you love us."

"Peter Pettigrew!" Peter smiled, shifting awkwardly on his feet.

"And you?" Sirius asked, tilting his head to the side in a mannerism oddly reminiscent of a dog.

"Nikki..." She cast her mind about desperately, trying to land on a last name, "Granger!"

She all but yelped the last word. Maybe she wasn't exactly the best liar. This was going to be very, very difficult.

"The hair reminds me of Molly Prewett," Remus muttered to the rest of the group. "And the Weasley bloke she married - Arthur, I think."

"Oh, Molly's amazing," Sirius whispered. "And she makes damn good jumpers, too."

"Question, would any of you happen to know the password to the Headmaster's office?" Nikki asked slowly. "It's kind of important."

"Probably some candy," Peter shrugged. "We're men after the same heart, me and Dumbledore!"

"His brother is heavily implied to have fucked a goat," Sirius said, snorting. "I wouldn't exactly call you and Dumbledore like-minded. More like what Bella would think is kinky."

James mock-gagged. "Whatever Bellatrix thinks is kinky is something that immediately goes on my 'let's not think about that' list."

Nikki shuddered. "I... don't want to know."

"Good. Shows you're sane," Remus immediately responded. "Avoid thinking about Bellatrix Lestrange's kinks at all costs. I would Obliviate that from my own brain if there wasn't a risk that I would bugger it up and accidentally wipe my memory."

Sirius tugged idly on the end of his tie, the red and gold striped fabric lazily draped over his broad shoulders. The rest of the Marauders could count on one hand the number of times they had seen his tie properly adhering to uniform policies. "Voldemort. Plain and simple. It's Bella; she's always been the most unhinged Black."

"Your parents are second cousins who married each other," James dryly retorted, hazel eyes glinting with mirth.

Peter laughed. "Doesn't that make you your own third cousin?"

"Merlin I hate you both... Mooooony you're my favorite!"

"I know that's a lie," Remus sighed long-sufferingly. "But an O for effort."

"Moving the conversation away from Bellatrix Lestrange's kinks - bloody hell that's a sentence I never thought I would say - and pureblood intermingling," Nikki waved her hand to draw attention to herself. She needed to figure out this whole time travel situation. And fast. "Am I just chucking random candy names at the griffin guarding the Headmaster office?"

"Probably a Muggle candy," Peter advised. "I don't think he's much of a fan of straight chocolate, though... it's rare to see Dumbledore with a Hershey's."

Three pairs of eyes stared blankly at the short, mousy-haired boy. "A what?"

Remus groaned. "Pete, we have to educate them in the glory that is Muggle candy. Honestly, we've failed as friends if, after six years of being best friends and dorm mates, they don't know what a bloody Hershey's bar is."

Nikki smiled slightly. "As long as it's some kind of chocolate, I'm in."

The redhead left the abandoned classroom, a woman on a mission. She needed at least one other person to know her time travel predicament.

Or was conundrum a better word?

She shook her head, forcibly kicking out the debate over which synonym would fit better to describe her situation. Coming to the Headmaster's office, she glanced up at the golden statue of a griffin.

He - she - it? - looked imperiously down at Nikki. She stared back unflinchingly.

"Lemon drops?"

No movement.

She huffed. "The password better not be 'lemon drop' and you're just fucking with me because I made it plural."

Again, no motion. Although it looked like the griffin might have smirked mischievously before smoothing out its facial expression.

Nikki pinched the bridge of her nose. "Hershey's. Chocoballs. Acid Pops. Cockroach Clusters."

No. No. No. And, you guessed it, no.

A stifled scream rose out of her throat as she slapped her palm against her forehead. This was the most infuriating password she had ever had to guess, as she was going in blind.

At least the Fat Lady gave advance warning of when she was changing the password and what it was going to be changed to...

The redheaded Prefect drew a deep breath in through her nose, releasing it through her mouth as she anxiously tapped her foot on the floor, thinking.

"What's that fruity candy Hermione liked?" She mumbled to herself, straining for the name of the candy. "Skittles?"

The griffin moved to the side, revealing a spiral staircase up towards Professor Dumbledore's office.

"Thank Merlin," Nikki breathed a sigh of relief as she began to climb the staircase. Now to find a way to explain the fact that she had time traveled without sounding like a raving, deranged lunatic.

Being seen as barking mad was no way to get back to her time. And given the fact that this was the year she was born... yeah, going back to her time is probably the best bet.

She knocked on the door to the headmaster's office, being greeted inside by a soft "Come in" barely ten seconds after knocking.

The heavy wooden door creaked open, Nikki stepping into the office and nervously wringing her hands.

"Is there an issue I can help you with, Ms...?" Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore - Albus or Professor Dumbledore for convenience - trailed off, unsure of the young woman's last name.

"My name is Nikki - Nicole - Weasley, and I accidentally time traveled."

Dumbledore blinked once, twice, a third time. His light blue eyes twinkled from behind his fragile-looking half-moon glasses. "...I'm sorry?"

"I'm from the year 1992. And there was this necklace, with an hourglass, and I don't know what to do." Her voice shook slightly at the end of her sentence, words gradually beginning to run together. Nikki was no idiot. She had heard the horror stories of what could happen when you meddle with time. Nicole Muriel Weasley had no interest in getting murdered by her future self, no thank you.

But then again, normally these stories only feature people going back a couple hours or so. Going back in time nearly two decades was unheard of. Nikki Weasley was in some deep shit.

"Dear, you have to breathe. I can help send you back; the necklace was a Time Turner, historically only used to go back an hour or two. I'm going to have to research Time Turners that send people back further, such as yourself," Dumbledore soothed, voice a calming balm to the redheaded teenager who had been previously freaking out.

"I'll keep this our secret for as long as I can. But, for now, you need a cover story. You could, possibly, be a student from Ilvermorny. I already know you're a Gryffindor, from the absolutely marvelous crest on your robes."

He winked, attempting to bring less stress to the girl.

"What year of school are you?"

"I'm a sixth year," Nikki answered, breathing a little better than she had previously. "Thank you so much, Professor."

"Anything for a student, regardless of the time they came from. Now, I must insist, that you return to the Gryffindor dormitory and act as if everything is normal. Hogwarts gossip is notoriously fast, and I will do what I can to spread the rumor that you have transferred from America."

He paused. "Could you, perchance, study up on an American accent?"

To really sell the ruse, of course. It couldn't possibly be because Albus Dumbledore, at his core, thrived on chaos and the drama. He should have started a theater club at Hogwarts.

Nikki could have practiced her American accent before she was thrown into the belly of the beasts.

'Time to put on my game face and bullshit like I've never bullshitted before,' the brown-eyed teenager thought dryly to herself, partially wishing that this was all just a strange dream caused from inhaling too much dust from the back corners of the library.

Word Count: 2,011