This is an alternate universe where there was no Prophecy. Just good old-fashioned ingenuity and figuring out about the Horcruxes. Dumbledore sacrificed himself to save the wizarding world; fitting for him in a world without an answer. Unnecessary deaths were prevented, and the world was righted before damage could ruin so many lives. This leaves tons of room for different scenarios so if you are not a fan of non-canon content, I am sorry. Oh, and for you Wolfstar lovers… this one is for you. (First attempt at this pairing, don't hate me) I might throw in a few wrenches to ruin tradition for you, fair warning, don't get too attached to a typical love song.
Oh, Yes, the Overture...
A muscular arm was laying on his back when he slowly woke up to the morning light peering through the crack in the curtain. "Pads, what time does the alarm say?" The man groaned and buried his face in the crook of Sirius's neck.
"Half past eight, wanker," Sirius grumbled and tugged him closer.
"You know I have to get up and make breakfast for my son."
"Just lay here a bit longer, Moony. I don't want to be left in the cold so soon," Sirius muttered, and the werewolf laughed and patted his chest.
Remus stretched and kissed the lounging man, "A child waits for no one." He said softly after their lips parted.
"Get the fuck out of here then. I want more sleep," the dark-haired man growled and tossed an unused pillow at him.
Remus stood up and sleep a pair of boxers before rolling his neck. He was about to throw on his shirt when Sirius hemmed, "Happy Anniversary, Moony."
The werewolf tossed him a smirk and sighed, "Happy Anniversary, Padfoot."
Remus couldn't complain about life. He was remarkably lucky. The werewolf went through hell and back only to discover that friendship was just as crucial as companionship. He and Sirius were always friends, but he wasn't sure when everything changed. When the animagus made his heart knot in his chest; maybe after almost losing him. The werewolf was extraordinarily happy that Sirius felt similar, but there was one thing.
Something was missing. No, he wouldn't tell Sirius that. He couldn't bear to harm him with the concept that he wasn't enough. Remus, if he was honest with himself, missed his wife. Shagging Sirius had been fun and enjoyable, but a part of him missed feminine whims… especially when his wolf got grumbly for a screeching witch. He wasn't sure if that made him flexible or greedy, but he wasn't about to tell his partner about his wolf's feelings on the subject.
He walked into the kitchen and scratched his bare chest as he dug for breakfast and started the tea. As if summoned by the sounds, Teddy bounced into the kitchen with a broad smile. "Good morning dad!"
"Good morning, son. Happy Birthday, Mr. Eight-year-old. Did you have any wonderful dreams you want to tell me about?" Remus questioned as he poured the child a glass of juice.
"I had a dream about Ginny flying for the Quidditch World Cup! It was wicked," he exclaimed and accepted the cup handed to him.
Remus smiled and rustled his hair, "Sounds like a good show. I wish I could have been there."
"Dad, do you think we will see Harry and Ginny tonight?"
Remus padded back over to the fixings for breakfast and sighed, "Well, hopefully. Uncle James and Aunt Lily will be there."
The party was supposed to be a secret, but nothing ever got past his son. It was a birthday party for Teddy, and the boy was elated that it was at the Burrow. He could visit all his cousins and be the center of attention. Remus was more than happy to see his son getting spoiled by everyone they knew. His mother would have wanted that.
"Oh, maybe George and Fred will bring me more tongue-tied taffy."
"Maybe, you never know with those two."
"I am so excited!" Teddy cried while clapping and Remus couldn't help but chuckle; it wasn't every day that his son turned eight.
0o0o
She eyed the familiar building and let loose a large breath of air. Did she dare come back after this long? She knew it would only get worse the longer she waited and five years was probably more than enough time. Tapping her fingers on the fence, she debated what to say. There was no excuse that she had for running away after her and Ron's break up. It mortified her and sent her into a spiral, falling off the grid as far as her friends were concerned.
"You know the longer you stand here, the longer it is going to take to explain your lateness," a familiar accent sounded.
She did not turn to the wizard towering next to her, "I know, but I am not sure I want to go in there."
"You do. You are just worried about it. Come on; we will go in together. If you don't remember in my letters, I am a bit of outsider myself."
The dark-haired wizard took her hand and escorted the witch to the door, "Welcome home, Hermione." Harry murmured and invited her inside.
The rush of scents and sounds hit her like a bludger as she shuffled indoors. She wasn't sure if she would be recognized, after all, she did do some changes while she was away. "Not all that bad, wait until dad sees you again," Harry said merrily as he tugged her along.
There were a bustle and clatter nearby. "Oi, Harry, who is the hot date!" Hermione could tell it was one of the twins. It was a cringe-worthy moment because she was quite sure they would not be asking if they recognized her.
The pair traveled through the sitting room and into the warm kitchen where Molly was sitting at the table with the Potters. They did not seem to let time hold them captive because they had not aged since she left. Her nerves were getting the best of her as she gulped and let Harry lead her over.
"Guess who decided to show up before school starts," Harry sounded with a jovial tone and everyone's eyes gazed at the stranger.
She was wearing a simple black dress with small quaint heels, but that wasn't the distracting part about the witch. Her once honey spun hair was now an auburn with beautiful wavy locks. Her neck was marred with tattoos, as well as her arms and the portion of her legs that were revealed.
James and Lily glanced at each other before smiling at the young witch, "It is lovely to see you again, Hermione. You have changed quite a bit since your last visit…" Lily murmured, and Hermione smirked.
"Yes, I felt it was most appropriate. I was in America a long time, and it just seemed to fit."
Before the conversation could go any further, a dark-haired woman came rushing into the room and tackled the redhead, "Mione! Oh, Merlin, it has been too long. Look at what you did with your hair. Bloody hell, you got remarkably better looking if that was even possible!" The young Potter girl screamed with delight, and all the while hugged and doted on the witch.
"Dorea! Don't make the girl uncomfortable, darling," James growled, and the green-eyed witch sighed heavily.
"I am just so happy to see her. It has been ages since someone as witty and lovely as her has been around." Dorea whined pitifully, and Hermione hugged her before parting.
"We will have tons of time to catch up. I need a place to stay before school starts so maybe I will spend some time with you." Hermione declared, and her face paled. "Good evening, Professor." Hermione murmured without turning as Remus walked into the kitchen.
Remus was about to ask why everyone was shouting, but smelling the overpowering scent of the oh to familiar witch gave him the understanding. "Good evening, Hermione. How was teaching in Ilvermorny?"
She finally twisted toward him, and his cheeks flushed at her features. Something was completely different about her, and he wasn't sure what. It was on the tip of his tongue, but his mouth went dry at viewing the smirk she now wore.
"Very pleasant. I was told I would be missed, but when an opportunity arose to teach at Hogwarts, who am I to deny my guilty pleasure?"
"I never deny guilty pleasures!" Sirius's voice boomed as he pranced in and wrapped an arm around Remus's shoulder. "Your nose is working just fine, who is the witch?" Sirius teased his companion.
"It's Hermione, you wanker," Remus retorted with a smile at the animagus who's jaw dislocated.
"Hermione? Little bookish, never going to be a bad girl, Hermione?"
Her eyebrow arched, and lips tugged lopsided, "Never say never, Pads. You haven't changed at all, neither of you have."
Sirius kissed Remus's cheek before reaching for Hermione to hug her, "Too kind, but we indeed have."
She was about to ask for more information as to what he was eluding, but she was tackled and nearly fell to the floor when the animagus let her go. "Hermione, oh Hermione! I read all of your stories and Harry has all your books for me when I am old enough to read them! I missed you so much," Teddy was tugging on her hands as he spoke in a frantic manner.
The witch ducked down and ran a hand over his cheek, "I missed you more times infinity. I promise I won't live out of the country so long as I have you." The witch paused and riffled through the bag slung over her shoulder. "Happy Birthday, darling Teddy Bear." She said to him then kissed his cheeks before handing him a package.
The boy glowed with excitement as he gingerly opened the lid of the box and saw a book, "Is this…" he trailed off and gasped, "Hermione, you gave me a book on Ilvermorny! Oh, I cannot wait to read it!" He hugged her with his free arm, and she kissed his hair.
"I felt it was most appropriate for you to learn about other wizarding schools too. Mostly because I lived there so long," she said with a playful tone and the child gave her a nod.
"Most certainly," he agreed, and she beamed.
"Tell me something, do you avoid your friends on purpose or just out of habit now," A stern voice entered the room, and Hermione stood up.
"Ginny Potter, you have turned into a baby making crone," Hermione snickered and tugged the witch in for an embrace.
Dorea was slightly annoyed to be ignored by Hermione and hemmed, "Let's go have some wine and sit on the porch, Mione. I want catch you up on the latest goings-on."
"Are you still with that awful witch?" Hermione started as she tucked the two witches under her arms.
"No, that ended in a fizzled dud. She wasn't as intelligent as I thought she was…" Dorea murmured, and the ladies disappeared outside.
Lily chewed her lips and swiveled to her husband, "Do you think she and Dorea would be cute together?"
James gave her a sympathetic smile before answering, "No, Lily. I think that Dorea would get her heart crushed to know that Hermione Granger will never be interested in her."
Harry swayed his head in agreement. "No, Hermione is interested in wizards, mum. Lately, not so much, but she hasn't ever spoken about an interest in witches to me."
Molly folded her arms and huffed, "Alright, I did not say one thing the whole time, Harry. Are you happy now?"
Harry bobbed his head and sat down next to the matriarch, "Yes, thank you. It took plenty of courage for her even to show up. I promised her that no one would gripe at her for being gone so long and what she did with her appearance."
Sirius scratched his chin and ducked down to the child who was listening too much to the conversation, "Go find James outside, kid."
The boy placed the box down and stomped off, apparently put out that he wasn't going to hear more. When he left the room through the back door, Sirius shook his head, "He is more like Dora than you, Moony. Not a sulker that one."
Remus was still frowning slightly and sent Harry a scrunched grimace, "So, why did she change?"
Harry was visibly ready for the question, and his face released any strain. His eyes were the only tell signs that what he was about to say wasn't going to be an answer, "She changed because she changed, Remus. You out of anyone knows what that is like."
Sirius shook his head and turned to the werewolf, "Come on, let's go see what the twins have planned for our new investment."
Remus let it go and smiled before taking the animagus's hand, "Alright, Pads. I am curious about how a new branch would be beneficial."
The two marauders left, and Lily smiled, "You know it is their third anniversary today?" She asked her son who chuckled.
"No, I didn't. How funny to think that they took so long to get there."
James snorted and rubbed his face. "What you don't know, Harry is that your uncles have always been special to each other. When I had your mother, they had each other. At the end of the day, that's all that really matters."
Molly was rosy, and her lips were curled in a grin, "They are quite perfect together."
"Why don't they ever throw a party for it?" Harry mused, and Lily waved a finger.
"Because despite it all, that is the only thing they can keep private from the world, why share it? Remus told me something last year when I asked. He told me that regardless of how much he can find self-loathing in his darkest hour, Sirius will always be the one he finds that light. Some things are meant just to be shared with your partner."
Harry's eyes glazed slightly, and his smile turned soft, "Yes, like how Ginny and I feel. The world likes to watch in anticipation for what is to come, but sometimes it is important to save it a bit."
James took Lily's hand and rested his chin on her shoulder, "Most certainly, son."