Disclaimer: I do not, and will not, own Harry Potter... Although there are some fuzzy pink handcuffs in my room ;)

Note: All three of the golden trio are animagus. They were studying while on the run and Hermione had the idea in case they were ever captured... :)

And this starts just after the trio have left the Shrieking Shack.

The three teenagers ran across the quiet grounds towards the entrance of the castle, not noticing the stillness or the suddenly-resurrected buildings. Assuming that everyone would be congregating in the Great Hall, the trio hurried onwards up the (rebuilt) stairs. Only one of the three looked confused at her surroundings; surely that wall over there fell and collapsed this staircase?

The three, used to the shortcuts of the huge castle, weaved through the stairs, aiming for the gargoyle that was the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Wait, not Dumbledore's, it was Snape's office now. Well, technically it was just a room now, as the three had only recently witnessed Snape's death.

As they rounded a corner three tall figures stepped out, blocking the pathway.

"Move, or I won't hesitate to hex your sorry a-" Harry started, angry that someone was between him and the answers he'd been waiting for.

"Harry!" Hermione reprimanded.

"Really, Hermione? Now?" Harry shot back, his brows furrowing over his emerald green eyes.

The three figures standing in front of the trio looked at each other, before slowly moving to the edge of the corridor. Hermione, Harry and Ron immediately ran forward towards the gargoyle which, if Hermione remembered correctly, someone had blasted off while the battle had just started.

She stopped, pulling on the boys' arms, "Something's wrong."

Both looked at her in confusion, before noticing the drastic changes around them. For instance, this side of the castle was almost completely destroyed. The trio glanced at each other, before rounding on the three figures that were, incidentally, watching the trio with interest.

The one on the left, the shortest of the three (but still taller that Hermione), was wearing tattered old robes and looked hunched compared to the other two. His eyes continually darted towards the window, where clouds forced the moonlight away from the castle. With a jolt, Hermione recognised Remus Lupin. That meant that the two standing (quite proudly) beside him could only be Sirius Black and... a small dark-haired five year old boy?

Hermione looked at her two peers, amused at the expressions on their faces. Harry seemed to have forgotten that his mouth could close, as it seemed to hang about three inches off the floor. Ron, on the other hand, couldn't stop grinning. It was disconcerting to see him smiling so wildly at someone, he'd never been that happy to see her before. Figures.

"And what do we have here?" A voice drawled from behind the trio.

Hermione whipped around, her hair slapping both Harry and Ron on their cheeks, waking them from their stupor. Another tall figure (why did she feel so short all of a sudden?) stood in the space where the gargoyle should have been. Snape.

Grabbing the vial of tears that Harry had yet to look at, Hermione sprinted forward, pushing past Snape, and up the stairs as if her life depended on it. Fortunately, the gargoyle closed behind her, sealing her into the small space. Claustrophobia was quite scary, Hermione decided, as the walls slowly closed in on her. Hurrying up the last couple of steps, Hermione stood in front of a door, unsure how to go from here and address her dilemma.

Gathering all her courage, she threw open the door, shocked to find the room empty for once. Quickly, she ran to the cupboard that housed the pensieve and poured the tears in. Hermione's finger, taking the initiative, lightly touched the surface, gasping as it pulled her under.

Thank you for reading. As you can probably tell, I need a beta... Someone to make sure that I do the submit my stories on time and don't stray from the plot... Talking about plots, I'm not exactly sure who to pair up Hermione with. So leave a review if you want to make that decision...

Or leave a review if you want to tell me how awesome *coughcrapcough* this story is... Flames welcome... ;)

xxLeprechaunxx

PS. By the way, I have the next chapter written.. ;D

PPS. AND everything, if not most, will be explained next chapter... Including the child with Remus and Sirius... Though it should be pretty obvious who it is.

xxLittleMidgetLeprechaunxx