A/N: Happy Halloween! I dressed up as a flamenco dancer this year, a costume that I put together myself. I've always hated store-bought costumes. They itch and they're super cheap.

Did you dress up? If so, what as?


Remus had implicated that Myna had either left or been taken. He had not said, 'when she died,' leading Hermione to hope that the witch Remus loved was still alive.


September 15th, 1995

Hermione woke early the next day feeling refreshed and ready for a new day being stuck in the house. Apparently, they weren't supposed to leave. Well, actually, Sirius wasn't supposed to leave, so Remus, Harry, Ron, Hermione, the twins, and Ginny (who was only staying because Harry was) had declared that they would keep the poor guy company.

She quickly dressed in jeans and a shirt with cut-out shoulders, trying not to wake Ginny. She grabbed a jacket and tiptoed down the creaky old steps and into the kitchen, where she found Sirius sitting at the table, staring at the wall as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Good morning," she greeted him quietly.

Sirius had heard her come in with his canine hearing, so he didn't jump when she spoke. "Morning, 'Mione," he said with a large yawn. "How are you?" He didn't give her a chance to respond before going on. "I'm fine. Well, okay, I'm not fine. I'm bored out of my freakin' mind being stuck in this damp, grimy house again."

Hermione set the kettle on with a flick of her wand and sat down beside Sirius. "How would you like to get out?" She asked. "We've been stuck in this house for nearly a week and I'm going crazy trying to keep Ron and Harry from bouncing off the walls from sheer frustration and boredom."

Sirius looked at her. Myna. Hermione was so much like her, but, at the same time, she wasn't. Not yet.

"I would enjoy getting out," he admitted slowly, "but won't you get in trouble for encouraging me?"

Hermione grinned. "That's the great part. When you're a 'know-it-all, goody-two-shoes who never breaks the rules,' it's a piece of cake. When you do break them, people assume it's for a good reason."

Sirius laughed aloud. "That's diabolical! I love it!" He could see how Myna got away with things even James had never accomplished.

"Let's go," Hermione said. She rose and, after a minute's hesitation, Sirius followed her. "I'm going to have to change your appearance. I can glamour you so well, you don't have to worry about it coming off. Only the caster can."

She waved her wand in a complex pattern that Sirius could barely follow. "Mutata specie ad me inrita!" She cried, pointing her wand at Sirius. He still felt like himself, but when Hermione conjured a mirror, he gasped at the sight of himself.

He looked to be around twenty, with short, brown hair that was pointy at the tips with a bit of gel. His light-grey eyes had turned to dark blue ones, and his skin had turned slightly darker. Other than that, he looked normal. If any wizard looked closely, they could tell who he was.

Hermione quickly repeated the spell, ending with her pointing her wand at herself. He stifled a sob when he saw what she looked like. Her hair had turned to wild curls that fell down her back in a cascade of black, her eyes light-grey and mischievous, with flecks of the hazel her brother's had been, and pale skin. She was a female version of James.

Myna.

His Myna.

"Let's go, Sirius," Hermione said. "Before everyone else wakes up. I want to show you my favorite spot."

"Should we have pseudo-names?" he asked. "So no one recognizes us?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "You can be...um, what do you want to be called?"

"James," he said without thinking about it at all. "And you...I'll call you Myna." He nearly choked on the name, as it hadn't passed his lips for several years.

"Oh, Sirius. Remus told me about her. You don't have to call me that; I can be something else if you want."

"No," Sirius insisted. "It's alright. It's good practice for me." Seeing her puzzled look, he explained, "I haven't said her name for years."

Hermione watched him closely. "Remus told me that you were all close to her, even Peter."

"Let's go," Sirius said. "I'll tell you more on the way."


Sirius held onto Hermione's arm as she (illegally) apparated them. They landed behind a building, and as he peeked around the corner, he realized they were at a beach. A Muggle beach.

"Let's find someplace to sit," he suggested, leading her to a low sea-wall. They sat down, and Sirius began to talk. "I don't know how much Remus told you about Myna, but words alone can't describe her.

"She was our guardian angel, always protecting us, always helping us, always covering for us. Dorea was the boss of the house and another Slytherin, and Myna was her favorite, so we got away with a lot of tricks and pranks that we wouldn't have been able to without her.

"Myna was friendly and helpful. She spent hours at a time in the library. Midway through her first year, she started offering free help with homework to anyone of all ages. At first, people didn't believe that a little girl could help them, especially the older kids, but they learned after she helped Narcissa Black, who was a prefect, with DADA. Cissa got her highest grade of all the years she'd been in the class. People started flocking to Myna, and she helped them all, for free.

"I was out of business. I used to sell my notes and talents —" here Hermione stifled a snort "— for money, but when Myna started her free tutoring, the kids asked Myna for help, not me. I was very mad, and for revenge, I jinxed Myna's wand during her fight in DADA. She got three broken ribs, and a severely bruised ego. James gave me a broken nose for that. We were stuck in the hospital wing in adjacent beds, and we got to know one another better because there was no one else to talk to. When I was let out, I realized that some Slytherins weren't so bad.

"The other girls looked up to her, even the older ones. Not just because she was pretty, or a Potter, but because she was smart, kind, generous, helpful, and gracious. She didn't act like a normal Slytherin, but she had several qualities that we knew must have been what Sorted her into Slytherin.

"She was loyal to her friends, no matter how big of prats we were and no matter how much we pissed her off. During our fourth year, Moony kissed her and then didn't speak to her for two whole weeks. He was nervous, and scared that he might hurt her, but Myna didn't know that. When the full moon came around, a goblet of Wolfsbane potion was sitting on his beside table. She'd made it for him despite his behavior.

"In our fifth year, Myna spent an increasing amount of time with McGonagall and Snape. She called him Severus. We cornered her about it and she said that she spent time with him because he was her friend, and she was with McGonagall because she was McGonagall's apprentice. I hated Snape for that, and ended up doing something so stupid and dangerous Myna didn't speak to me for weeks." He laughed hollowly. Hermione could see his haunted eyes. Now that she knew the story, she could tell that the lurking sadness wasn't just from Azkaban. It was from losing Myna. And, oh, how she despised her, just for causing Sirius pain. "And guess what? She had been McGonagall's apprentice for years. Pretty much ever since first year, I guess.

"Dumbledore, the old fool, didn't see Myna's worth for several years. It was only after she became McGonagall's apprentice that he realized that, despite being a Slytherin, she had gained every teachers' love, trust, and respect.

"She made the best of us come out," Sirius finished. "She was ours. Ours to love, ours to protect, ours to keep safe. And we lost her." A salty drop of water slipped out of his eye, and he closed them as if ashamed of his tears. He turned and buried his face in a surprised Hermione's shoulder.

Hermione patted him on the back and asked, "How did you lose her? Did she die, or was she taken by Death Eaters?"

Sirius sniffed. "She just...disappeared. It was a few months after our graduation. We never saw her again. We searched everywhere. Moony was beside himself, and Lily tried to comfort James. She had never been as close to Myna as we had, although they were the best of friends, but she still knew what it was like to lose a family member and a friend." He sat up and scrubbed his eyes. "Sorry for crying on you," he said sheepishly.

"It's fine," Hermione replied. "I have just one question: why does the Marauders' Map say 'Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs'? Remus told me that Myna was the fifth Marauder and her nickname was Myna-bird."

"Her name disappeared when she did," Sirius answered. "It was like she'd been wiped off the face of the Earth. The only things we had left were our memories. All of our photos vanished. Except for one. Remus has it. Out of all of us, poor Moony took Myna's disappearance the hardest. He locked himself in his room — we shared a flat — for days.

"Her name even faded from the Black and Potter family tapestries. Her parents were devastated. Myna was always her parent's girl. Teachers' pet."

Sirius started crying again, and Hermione quickly took him around the back of the building and apparated directly to the front step of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.


"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Molly shrieked when they entered the kitchen, where the entire Order was sitting around the table or leaning against the wall. "WE GOT UP AND YOU WERE GONE! NOT A NOTE, NOT A SINGLE WORD TO ANYONE! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED WE WERE?!" She said all of this in a single breath, leaving her quite winded when she calmed down. "Sirius Orion Black, you have corrupted our Hermione! You took her away and —"

Hermione held up a hand. Sirius had never seen her look so angry, and she looked so much like Myna, it was painful. When she spoke, it was with a forced calm. "Mrs. Weasley, with all due respect, it was actually I who took Sirius away."

"Nonsense!" Moody growled. "Black's have been a terrible influence on these students from Day One."

Cries of agreement sounded from everyone except Snape, who stood silently in the corner, looking like a black shadow, Remus, Harry, Ron, the twins, and Ginny.

Hermione's magic started spiraling out of control. Around her, inanimate objects rose from the counters and the table.

She took a deep breath as if steeling herself for a tirade. "Do you have any idea what being cooped up in a house with annoying teenagers and even more annoying and condescending adults is like? Do you ever think about the singular people who might not like sitting around doing nothing? Sirius has been nothing but a good role-model for Harry, Ginny, Ron, and myself. You know, I'm even thinking he might be a good influence on all of you stuffy, meddlesome old coots!" No one seemed to notice the insult.

Molly tried to interrupt, but Hermione barreled on. "This man is a kind person who has been misunderstood ever since he was wrongfully imprisoned. He is innocent and I doubt he could hurt a fly! Just a little while after being locked up for twelve fucking years for something he didn't even do, he has been shut away in this horrible house of his childhood. If you've had a terrible childhood and can't stand the house you grew up in, raise your hand."

Moody, Dumbledore, Remus, Harry, Sirius, and, to Sirius's surprise, Snape raised their hands.

"Good. Now imagine being stuck in that house for days on end while everyone else gets to go out. How would you feel? Would you feel neglected? Would you feel unwanted? Or would you feel nothing, because you don't have any feelings?"

By the time Hermione had finished her rant, everyone in the room was staring at her.

Remus stared at her, his eyes giving away his true feelings. Hunger, sadness...lust. He stood up and crossed the kitchen, his soft footsteps the only noise in the silence. He stopped in front of her, grabbed her face in his calloused hands, and kissed her hard on the mouth. Hermione was so surprised, she dropped all the objects floating in midair, causing them to fall to the floor. There were a few crashes that meant there had been a few dishes, but she didn't care.

Remus had kissed her.

And she had enjoyed it.


A/N: How are you enjoying the story? I hope I didn't plagiarize anything...If I did, I apologize. Please don't hesitate to let me know.

Ok, for those of you who bother looking this stuff up, I apologize for making James and Myna's mother Dorea Potter (née Black). I know that his real parents are named Fleamont and Euphemia, but I decided against making it as such. It would ruin too many things in the story.

Leave a review. They make me update faster!

~ Via

P.S. If you're looking for something to read between chapters, check these fics out. You can find more of my favorites in my community, Best of the Wizarding World. Here are some of the best I've found:

Fanfic Recs:

• The Arithmancer - White Squirrel (and the sequel, Lady Archimedes)

• Debt of Time - ShayaLonnie

• anything by Kittenshift17

• Chasing the Sun - Loten (and anything else by this author)

• The Third Time is the Charm - Secret Nom de Plume

• Looking for Magic - Hypnobarb

• One Step Forward, Two Decades Back - corvusdraconis (to be honest, anything by this author is bound to be awesome)

• The Twenty - Leyna Rountree