Sorry about the massive delay in updating, I was suffering form chronic writer's block!
As Hermione port-keyed away from the Veil and entered a whirlpool of magic, there were only two thoughts in her mind: firstly that of her safety of her whom she had left in that terrible place, with only their quick wits to fall back on should the plan, which seemed so flawed now that it was being executed, fail; secondly, and of more immediate concern to Hermione, how exactly was she going to explain this to the Order!
Hermione and her three stunned and bound companions arrived in the library of Number 12 Grimmauld Place in a muted fashion, with only a small flash of dull, pale light to signal their entrance. Hermione thanked all the gods (and goddesses, angels and any other beings who may be listening) that the inhabitants of Number 12 where, with a few exceptions, decidedly not bibliophiles. After catching her breath Hermione glanced up and noticed that the library doors were ajar. Acting instinctively, Hermione dropped the rope she was still holding and hurriedly moved to shut the door. As she did this Hermione heard voices form downstairs, more so than was normal for the usual inhabitants of the house: there must be an Order meeting in progress. Hermione shut the door with a snap. She desperately needed to think about what she was going to do with these complications. Moving over to a chair she sank down into it, grateful for the support it offered. Running through the people to whom she could go to in her mind Hermione became increasing desperate, dismissing all manner of individuals until, finally, alighting on: Harry Potter, he was perfect! Beaming from her epiphany, inside and out, Hermione now had the beginnings of a plan.
Find Harry
Bring him to the library
Explain the situation
Hope her best friend can both forgive her and come up with some good ideas
Wait nervously for her three partners in madness to arrive (preferably soon and in one piece)
After taking the precautions of looking in a mirror, casting silencing and disillusionment charms on the Potters and Sirius and locking the door with a locking spell which she had learned from Lucius (so it was slightly unpleasant for anyone attempting to break it while simultaneously alerting the caster that someone was trying to break the lock, thus making it ideal for her purposes), Hermione made her way to the room where the meeting had been taking place. Hermione arrived just as the meeting was breaking up. Fortunately for Hermione, Harry was among the first to exit the room, thanking her lucky stars Hermione hurried over to her best friend.
"Harry! Harry!" Hermione called. Harry, who had been walking away from where Hermione was standing, turned and looked at his best friend, smiling.
"What's up, Hermione?"
"I was hoping that you'd come to the library with me, I have something really interesting in their.
Harry shrugged and agreed to come with her. Observing Hermione's complicated wand movements with quirked lips Harry wondered what it was that Hermione wanted to show him, for some reason he didn't think that it was a book.
When the two teenagers entered the library Hermione was thankful that she had cast a disillusionment charm, somehow she thought that Harry would prefer some preparation instead of being plunged straight into this situation.
"Hermione, what do you want to show me?" asked Harry, a little hoarsely, she was standing very close to him.
"Oh. Sorry Harry." She darted over to a cabinet and retrieved a stone basin and placed it on a table that she pulled over to where Harry was standing by a sofa.
Hermione pushed him 'til he sat on the sofa, sat next to him and said, "Harry, do you trust me."
He was frozen; looking into her rich chocolate eyes he gave the only answer possible, "Yes."
"Good. Hold on." With that she sized his hand and lowered her face into the pensieve.
The two fell down and landed, unruffled, in the same library they had just left. Hermione was sitting on one of the sofas, poring over a large tome resting in her lap. Suddenly Hermione stood up, sprinted to the door and could be heard running downstairs to the kitchen. There was a brief silence before two pairs of feet could be heard approaching the library at a run. Hermione and Remus Lupin entered. Hermione grabbed the book she had been studying so intently and opened it on the page she had been reading.
"Here it is!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Here is what? Hermione I don't know what you're talking about! Replied Remus in exasperation.
Hermione sighed and pushed Remus on to the sofa and sate beside him, holding the book on her lap again.
"I've been working my way through the Black library and today I found a wonderful piece of information which has the potential to be incredible for our cause."
"Harry has been wondering where you have been disappearing off to in the evenings."
"It thought he was too busy with Ginny to bother with me," muttered Hermione under her breath.
"What was that?" Remus had missed most of what she said, only hearing her snarl "too busy" and "Ginny".
"Nothing, I was just reading under my breath."
Remus didn't believe her and was poised to question her further when Hermione suddenly shoved the book on to his lap and pointed out the section he should read.
As she waited for Remus to read the book Hermione shifted nervously.
"Hermione, you truly are a genius!"
Remus pushed the book off his lap and on to the sofa on his other side and seized Hermione's hands, pulling her up with him and into a celebratory dance.
When they finally stopped twirling Hermione looked up at him and asked, "So what do you think we should do now?"
"We need a second opinion, and if it's the same as our then we need a plan."
Hermione opened her mouth but was prevented from speaking a Severus Snape cut across her, "If you have quite finished with your immature antics there are some people who intent to use this room for its original purpose, which was not, I may add, that of a ballroom." Hermione glowered at the intimidating potions master, noticing that Lucius Malfoy was standing behind him, "Heavy book, Lupin are you sure it belongs in this library?"
Ignoring the vexatious individual in front of her, Hermione turned to Remus and asked, "Second?" Without waiting for his reply Hermione picked the book up from the sofa and placed it on a table near Severus.
"Professor, please will you read this, we think that it could be helpful."
His curiosity piqued, Severus walked over and read the section to which Hermione gestured, Lucius, also curious, followed him.
"By Merlin you could have actually found something useful!" Severus was so astonished that all previous animosity he had felt towards Hermione and Remus was set aside momentarily.
"A truly intriguing discovery," commented Lucius.
"This is the evening after." Hermione explained to Harry as the scene before them changed.
Hermione and Remus entered the library first, found the correct page in the book, and sat down to await the arrivals of Lucius and Severus. Lucius arrived first, as impeccably groomed as ever. Several minutes later Severus arrived, looking even more wrathful than he had in the aftermath of the Neville-and-the-boggart episode of Third year.
"I would be grateful, Lucius, if you refrained from leaving me to face anything so serious as that harridan alone," sniffed Severus.
"I'm sure that you would be, however the fact remains that I have an extremely well honed sense of self preservation," replied Lucius.
Remus interrupted their articulate bickering with a well placed cough. "Perhaps we could move on to our purpose for being her with each other", he suggested, giving the other men an amused glance, Hermione has read further in the book and discovered some interesting details." Remus nodded at Hermione for her to elaborate.
"In order to bring someone back from the Veil they must be summoned," began Hermione
"By whom?" asked Lucius seriously.
"Their soul mate."
"Who are we trying to bring back?" inquired Severus.
"Sirius Black." answered Remus.
Harry inhaled audibly.
"And how exactly are we supposed to discover the identity of Black's soul mate? The mutt didn't do anything more than one night fucks, the very idea of him remaining with someone long enough to discover a soul mate is positively hilarious." argued Severus, his words laced with a bitterness that only Lucius seemed to pick up on.
"He does have a point," said Remus reluctantly.
"There is a spell in the book," Hermione looked vexed by the negative attitudes of the men around her.
"And how does it work?" asked Remus in an attempt to keep on Hermione's good side.
"You simply speak an incantation over a mirror, rub something belonging to the subject over the mirror and the face of the soul mate will appear." explained Hermione.
"But why do we want Black back?" asked Severus.
"A most pertinent question," came Lucius' voice.
"Because he's my best friend, Harry's godfather and a valuable asset to the Order," argued Remus passionately.
"In that order?" Severus baited Remus.
Before he could respond Hermione spoke up, "Because we have a chance to bring a bit of light and hope back into the life of a boy who has lost all of his family, because it's the right thing to do, and because this is the sort of thing that could win the war for us.
"Having Black on our side again will hardly result in our winning this war!" jeered Severus.
"Much though it pains me to admit it, I agree with the girl," drawled Lucius.
Remus looked at the blonde aristocrat in surprise, "Now I can almost believe that you have changed!"
The scene shifted once more. "This is the final one." Hermione told a blushing Harry.
The library contained, once more, Hermione, Remus, Sever and Lucius. On the table the 4 were standing around was a mirror and beside it a shirt which was easily recognizable as one of Sirius'
Hermione began to speak. "Volo video amor animus illae vir!" and rubbed the shirt smoothly over the surface of the mirror. She stared down at the mirror in amazement.
"I don't think that this spell has worked, I can see only my own face." Said Severus in an, almost, gentle voice. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but closed it when she saw Remus and Lucius nodding in agreement.
"So I am the only one who can see a different face in this mirror?"
"Yes."
"Oh."
"Who is it?" Remus asked, beyond curious.
"Oh yes, I'm desperate to know the identity of the poor sod who has been condemned to the fates to be soul mate to that buffoon."
Hermione let out a peal of slightly hysterical laughter, eyes fixed on the mirror before her.
"Is it someone we know?" Remus enquired.
Hermione nodded.
"Someone in this room?"
Hermione nodded again.
"Will you tell us who it is?"
Hermione finally regained use of her vocal chords, "I think that we should respect their privacy and leave it at that, we just have to make sure that we are all present when we try to bring him back."
"Miss Granger, I do believe that I am finally able to understand why you have beaten my son academically all these year," commented Lucius, "I agree with you."
Hermione looked relieved at having support.
Now that we know that, how will we get into the ministry?" asked Remus.
"Severus and I will arrange that." said Lucius, certainty clear in his tone.
Hermione and Harry withdrew from the pensieve.
"So that's where you were this evening!" Harry looked delighted at having solved this mystery, "And it also explains why you and Remus kept disappearing off together."
"Yes." Now Hermione looked nervous. "Harry, please understand that this wasn't meant to happen."
"Hermione, what are you talking about? Did you manage to bring Sirius back?"
"Yes, we did. But there was, a , complication." Hermione was extremely nervous and looked almost scared.
"What do you mean?" Harry had stopped beaming at the prospect of having his godfather back with him.
Hermione didn't answer; instead she moved over and removed the disillusionment charm.
Before Harry could react there was an audible "pop" in the middle of the room.
Tbc