Saving the Future
Chapter 7: Meeting and Order
Two days later the Marauders and Lily were making their ways to the Black Lake, which is where they agreed to meet Severus and Regulus. Despite it being early September it was relatively warm, and it was dry. The five of them stood under an oak tree waiting for the two Slytherin's to arrive, and they did, five minutes after themselves, both looking nervous. Lily hugged Severus and he hugged her back, Hermione noticed a slightly jealous look in James' eyes.
"Remember James, remember that she will end up with you, they are just friends." Hermione whispered to him. And soon the jealous look was gone, replaced by a small smile.
"What did you want to speak to us about?" Severus asked nervously, probably expecting another prank to be pulled on him.
"We wanted to say sorry, for all the pranks we pulled on you, and for being horrible in general." James started, causing Severus to look shocked.
"Yes, we're sorry, for everything. And we promise not to pull a prank on you, or be horrible to you again." Sirius continued.
"We also wanted to apologise, to both of you, for what Peter did to you over the summer." Remus added.
Now Severus and Regulus both looked shocked, and scared.
"How did you know about that?" Regulus asked.
"He admitted to torturing you both, killing someone, and poisoning Hermione, whilst under the influence of Veritaserum. We didn't know that he was a Death Eater, and we're sorry he hurt you. But he has been expelled now, and we hope he never hurts you again." Remus explained.
"And we hope that we can at least be civil to one another, and maybe, work our way up to being friends. We know it will probably take a while for you to forgive us but we are sorry for being horrible to you, Severus. And Reg, you're my brother, and I love you. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you this summer, but mum and dad, they don't make it easy for me to stay there. But I promise that I will try and be there for you more, and if you need anything then all you have to do is ask and I will do whatever you need me to do. And I want you both to know that there are people who are working on destroying Voldemort, and they know how to now, and soon He won't be a problem, and he won't be able to hurt you much more."
"Well, it depends how long it takes us to find and destroy the Horcruxes, then to kill Voldemort himself. But it shouldn't take too long. And if you two want to help then you can, but I won't allow you to physically fight, just come up with some ideas on how to get the items, destroy them, and then to kill Voldemort. If you want to know more, and help us, then you're going to have to not tell anyone about it, and we're going to have to meet somewhere private. Do you to know where the Room of Requirement is?" Severus and Regulus shake their heads. "Okay, well, you know on the seventh floor there is a tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy?" They nod. "Stand opposite the tapestry and pace in front of it three times, thinking about meeting us, a door will appear and you will enter and find us waiting for you. Meet us in there tomorrow at eleven in the morning if you want to help, and there may be ways that we can help you escape the Death Eaters as well. I will also have to explain a few things to you. But I will explain more tomorrow, if you come. You don't have to come, of course. But the more people we have to help us, the sooner we bring Him to an end, the sooner everyone will be safe." Hermione said, taking in the Slytherin's shocked faces.
"How do you know you can trust us to help you?" Severus questioned.
"Because you haven't given me a reason not to trust you. And I need the help. You both seem smart, and as the boys have said, we would like to be friends with you both. So, what better way to make friends than allowing them to help us with what we have to do? Also, Peter almost killed me because I know how to destroy his master, and Voldemort knows that I know how to destroy him, I need help. He may move all or some of the objects we need, but I don't think he knows if I know where they are or not, so he may not have done so. But, either way, I need help. As I said, I will explain to you tomorrow, if you come to the Room of Requirement."
They just nodded.
"Could I… could I have some time alone with Regulus, please?" Sirius asked.
Everyone nodded and left the two boys alone.
"I will meet you all at the common room." Lily said before leaving with Severus.
Hermione, James and Remus walked back up to the entrance of the school.
"I have my first Order meeting tonight. I won't be in the common room until late tonight, I have to leave pretty much straight after dinner." She informed the two boys.
"Oh, good luck. Are you going to tell Severus and Regulus the truth about you?" James pondered.
"Yes. I need more help, sure, the Order can help me, and I have you four as well. But, I think they deserve to know. That way I can make sure they don't become Death Eaters and live to regret it. And I'll have two extra people to help me figure out where the items are and how to get them, as well as destroy them. I also think it will help them see that you aren't really that bad, and maybe forgive you sooner, and maybe be friends as well. Then I know that I'm making another change that will help me feel like I can save you all from your fates. If they don't become Death Eaters I have saved them, I have saved Lily the pain of losing her best friend, and I have done more to save Harry from having to go to his relatives. It also might help Lily and you get together sooner, which means I have made more of a difference, and I will believe that I really can save you. If possible, I need you to get married and have Harry sooner as well, or later than when you do have them. But we can work on that. And if we get rid of Him soon, then there won't be an issue and I have saved you. Then you can have children whenever you want to and you will all be safe."
"And what about yourself, Hermione?" Remus asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you're working so hard to save all of us that you're not thinking about yourself. We can all tell that you like Sirius, and that Sirius likes you. But you're so focused on us that you don't think about yourself and what you want. I know this is war, and that you're working to defeat the darkest wizard in the world, but surely you can be happy as well? You deserve to be happy, Hermione. And you don't deserve to wait until He is gone and we're all safe." Remus argued as they walked into the Entrance Hall and started heading for the common room.
"Remus has a point, you know, when are you and Sirius going to get together? A blind person could see that you two like each other. I mean, he was the one out of the three of us that cried the most when Peter poisoned you, and he was so worried about you that he didn't sleep at all that night, and he was the first of us to go and be with you. And he's been highly protective of you ever since. Before you say that you haven't noticed that, he has checked all of your drinks for poisons, he is very adept at wordless and wandless spells, he taught himself how to do them. He has also made sure that the house elves check the food in our area for poisons before sending it up, they do it because they love us so much. He also makes sure to have you close to him in case something happens. He likes you Hermione, and I can see that you like him, too. So instead of worrying about when Lily and I are going to get together, or when Remus is going to find someone to fall in love with, and yes, I know you want Remus to find someone so that you know he will be okay if you can't save us, and so that you know you are making a real change in our lives, you need to get together with Sirius to make a real change in his life, and to make sure you can save him. You deserve to be happy too Hermione." James told her as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. Remus spoke the password, shocked at what James had said also, and the door swung open. They entered and made their ways up to the boys' bedroom. Hermione sat on Sirius' bed and the boys sat on theirs. "You're even sitting on Sirius' bed, and you have done since we started coming up here to discuss the future, and other stuff."
Hermione blushed causing her two friends to laugh.
"I need to concentrate on why I'm here." Hermione whispered, but they both heard it as their animal senses kicked in.
"You can do that and date Sirius at the same time, you know. And Sirius needs some more love in his life. I mean, we love him like he's our brother, but his family all hate him for being placed into Gryffindor, and for liking Muggles. He needs a family, and you can provide him with that, and the love and care he needs. And he can help you with what you need to do, we all will. But you both deserve to be happy, and you don't need to wait for Voldemort to die before you can be together." James argued.
"And, I'm curious as to why you think I need to fall in love. I can't… I'm a monster, no girl would love me."
"Remus, you're not a monster. You haven't killed anyone, or hurt anyone. Just because you turn into a wolf once a month doesn't mean you are a monster. And you're so smart, and brave, and kind, and caring, any girl would be lucky to have you." Hermione replied.
"Yeah, and what if we have a child? What if I pass my lycanthropy onto them? Then my child would be in pain because of me. I couldn't live with myself if I did that."
"Remus, I've done some research, the only way a werewolf can pass on lycanthropy is through biting someone at the time of the full moon. You can't pass the wolf down to any child you may have because it's not a hereditary disease. Also, there may be a way to find a cure for lycanthropy."
"How?" He asked, shocked.
"Well, I have the recipe for the wolfsbane potion. That, in a way, cures the mind of a werewolf by allowing them to keep their own mind instead of becoming someone that would kill their best friend if they weren't in an animal form. So, I was thinking, if we study that recipe, and look into different plants and potions, etcetera, then maybe, we may be able to make a cure. It may take a while, but some of the ingredients in the potion might work in a cure, then if we study other things and their healing properties, then we may be able to fix something up to cure you, and other werewolves, of course. I'll just have to ask Slughorn if I can have a copy of the recipe, and since I'm the one who gave it to him I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
"You are a genius, Hermione! Remus, we will find you a cure, no matter how long it takes." James exclaimed.
"And what if we can't find a cure?" Remus questioned.
"Then you still won't be a monster and any girl will be lucky to have you." Hermione told him.
Sirius walked into the room and smiled at his friends before moving to sit next to Hermione on his bed.
"What were you and Regulus talking about?" Hermione asked him.
"Oh, just home and stuff. I promised that he could talk to me whenever he wants, and stuff. I think I have my brother back. What were you three talking about?" He responded, smiling.
"We're going to try and find a cure for Remus." James stated excitedly.
"What? How?"
"Well, I have the recipe for wolfsbane potion. I figured we could use that, study it and other plants and things to find out their healing abilities, and maybe, one day, we could come up with a cure for him. I mean, the potion cures the mind of a wolf if it is taken properly. So maybe, if we use some or all of those ingredients, with some others that have other healing properties, we might be able to make a cure. It might take a while, but we should be able to do it if we work together. We could get Lily, Severus and Regulus to help as well. That is, if you don't mind me telling the other two about your lycanthropy, and you two being illegal Animagi, it's a lot harder to explain the truth without those details. Also, the more minds we have working on it, the better. Also, in my previous time Severus was the Potions Professor here, he had a mastery in the subject as well, so he might be a good person to help us with it if he is as adept at potions now as he is in the future." Hermione explained.
"I don't mind." Remus said. "Thank you, for wanting to try."
"You're very welcome, Remus."
…
After dinner Hermione said goodbye to her friends and walked to her new mothers' office. She found both of her new parents in there, waiting for her, talking about the meeting.
"Hermione, just in time. Have you used the floo network before?" Albus asked, smiling gently at her with twinkling eyes.
"Yes, where is Headquarters? I'm guessing you're Secret Keeper again?"
"Yes, I am. It's at McGonagall Manor. Do you want to go first?"
"Sure."
"Okay, you will come out in the living room, just wait there for us and we will take you to the meeting room." Minerva told her.
She nodded and took a handful of floo powder before stepping into the fireplace and doing what she had to do.
The living room was beautiful, the main colours being red and cream. There were two large, dark red sofas, and a dark red armchair. There was a mahogany bookshelf full of books lining one wall. A cream carpet. A mahogany coffee table. She didn't have much more time to study her surroundings as Minerva and Albus came through the fireplace, smiling at her. Minerva used a charm to clean them and the floor, getting rid of the soot successfully.
They led her through the double, mahogany doors and through the double doors on the opposite side of the wide hallway. In the room was a large square mahogany table with roughly thirty mahogany chairs. The three of them sat in three chairs next to each other on the far end of the table, opposite the door, waiting for everyone else to arrive.
"How many Order members are there?" Hermione asked, curious.
"Including us three, thirty-one. All of us working in different places and doing different things to help stop Voldemort and his Death Eaters. We have a squib, too, she keeps us informed on the goings on in the Muggle world and helps us to disguise ourselves if need be. She's also quite clever and comes in very handy." Minerva explained.
"Do the boys know about this group?" Albus asked her.
"Yes, but only so they can help us figure out where the Horcruxes are. They have figured out some stuff already…" She broke off as a large group of people entered the room. Some of whom looked familiar to her, and some didn't.
When everyone arrived Albus introduced her to everyone and everyone told them their names. There were: Alastor Moody, Poppy Pomfrey, Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, Rolanda Hooch, Rubeus Hagrid, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Andromeda Tonks, Ted Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Aberforth Dumbledore, Fleamont Potter, Euphemia Potter, Edgar Bones, Gideon Prewett, Fabian Prewett, Benjy Fenwick, Caradoc Dearborn, Elphias Doge, Arabella Figg, Dedalus Diggle, Hestia Jones, Dorcas Meadowes, Emmeline Vance, Mundungus Fletcher, Sturgis Podmore and Augusta Longbottom.
"So, as you all know, Hermione is a Seer, and she came to me towards the end of the summer holidays informing me that she knew how to destroy Voldemort." Most of them looked shocked. "It appears that Voldemort has created Horcruxes. These are objects, either living or inanimate, that holds a part of a persons' soul, and therefore makes it hard for people to kill you because your soul is still attached to the earth. So, in order to kill him we need to destroy the Horcruxes, which will destroy the pieces of soul inside them, and then he can die." Albus explained.
"What are these objects? Where are they? And how do we destroy them?" Aberforth asked.
"There are five of them. One is a diary that he had whilst at school, we believe it is in Malfoy Manor currently. Another is Hufflepuff's cup, we believe this to be with the Lestrange's or in the vault at Gringotts. Slytherin's locket is another, but we don't know where that is. We believe something of Ravenclaw's is one as well, most probably the diadem, we don't know where that is either. There is also his grandfathers' ring, which is at the Gaunt home. To destroy a Horcrux you need to damage it beyond repair using something such as basilisk venom."
"Where are we supposed to get basilisk venom?" Augusta chimed in.
"There's a basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets at the school. We will need to use the diary to get Him to open it and call the snake, then someone will have to kill it with the sword of Gryffindor, which means the sword will be impregnated with the venom and it takes in whatever makes it stronger, then we can destroy all the Horcruxes with the sword because it has basilisk venom in it. Or take a few of the fangs and that will work just as well. But other methods may work as well, such as Fiendfyre." Hermione explained.
"How do you know that?" Moody questioned.
"I'm a seer."
"Where are we supposed to find the ones we don't know the position of? And how are we supposed to get into Malfoy Manor?" Filius asked.
"Actually, my friends had some ideas. Sirius said he can get us into Malfoy Manor. His cousin, Narcissa, is marrying Lucius Malfoy there during the summer holidays and because he is her cousin he has to attend, he also knows the layout and can help us get around. A few of us could get in using disillusionment charms or something and search the place whilst the ceremony and reception is happening. We should have a few hours. And my friend Remus suggested asking the Grey Lady where the diadem is, just in case she knows where it is and what may have happened to it. She is Rowena's daughter after all, so she might know something." Hermione suggested, she noticed that Andromeda looked slightly sad at the thought of her sister getting married and not being allowed to attend and Hermione smiled slightly at her.
"Those are some good ideas. But I'm sure the wards around the manor will catch us out with the disillusionment charms. Are there any other charms we can use?" Aberforth replied.
"We have until the summer to come up with a plan. Hermione, do you know the exact date of the wedding?" Albus asked her.
"No, I will have to ask Sirius and get back to you."
"Okay. Filius, I would like you to speak to the Grey Lady, since she listens and talks to you far more than she does with any of us. Ask if she knows what happened to the diadem and where it is then report back to me." Filius nodded in understanding. "I know where the Gaunt House is. Alastor, Kingsley, Fleamont and Aberforth, could you accompany me to the place to get the ring, I believe there will be protections and maybe even curses surrounding the house and the ring." The four men nodded. "I will write to you with a time and date. Does anyone have any other ideas on how to get to the other Horcruxes?"
"If we try checking the Lestrange vault for the cup we could use Polyjuice potion to get in." Ted suggested.
"The Lestrange vault would be deep below Gringotts, there would be maximum protection on it, including something that would pick up the use of Polyjuice potion." Augusta remarked.
"The goblins trust you, Albus. And they hate Him, they want to bring Him down. Maybe, if you went to them and asked to go into the vault in search of a Horcrux that is keeping Him alive they might be able to help." Euphemia said.
"I'll ask a few of my most trusted goblins if they will help us. But if not then we'll have to come up with another plan. Does anyone have anything else they would like to say?" Everyone shook their heads. "Okay, then I will end this meeting here. Keep doing what you've all been doing anyway. I will contact you all with the next meeting time and date soon. If you find anything come straight to me."
Everyone nodded and they all, except Minerva, Albus and Hermione, stood and left the room, chatting about whatever came to mind.
When everyone had gone the two adults looked at their daughter with smiles on their faces, and she smiled at them, too.
"Dad, do you think you could get me a copy of the recipe for wolfsbane from Professor Slughorn?" Hermione asked.
"Why?"
"Uh, well, I figured that maybe I could study it, and some other plants and things to see if I can find a cure for lycanthropy. A proper cure, not just one that allows them to keep their minds. With the help of my friends of course."
Her parents smiled brightly at her.
"I'm sure I can get you a copy. I'm also sure that if anyone can find a cure for lycanthropy it would be you. But, may I ask why you want to do this?"
"Well, Remus thinks he's a monster. But he isn't, and we all know he isn't. He just doesn't see it himself. And he thinks that no girl could ever love him because of what he is, and that he doesn't deserve to be with anyone. He's also scared that if he were to get with someone and they had a child that he would pass on the disease to them and he would hate himself more than he already does if that happens, I did tell him that it isn't hereditary, and that the only way to pass it on is to bite someone whilst there is a full moon, but he's so scared. I want life to be better for him. I want to help him. So, we're going to try and find a cure. It might take a while, but if we do find one then he won't have to suffer every month, and he can be happy, and feel better about himself. We could also cure other werewolves as well. Then Dolores Umbridge won't put an anti-werewolf legislation in place that makes it hard for them to find and keep jobs."
"Well, if you need help then you can come to us, but I'm sure you'll do okay. You're such a good girl, Hermione." Minerva told her daughter with a bright smile on her face.
"Thank you. I am also making progress with Severus and Regulus, the boys have apologised to them both for what Peter did to them, and to Severus for bullying him. Sirius and Regulus also spent some time together, talking things through. So, hopefully, they won't become Death Eaters and therefore ruin their lives. I am going to tell them the truth about me, I have already told Lily because she is involved as well, but I think them two need to hear the truth to make sure they don't take the paths they did before, and because I figured that the more help we had, the better. I also need their help with the cure. They're both pretty good at potions. James and Lily are getting closer as well, when I told Lily the truth about me, and about Harry, James had to comfort her and ever since they have been getting closer. I think they might start dating sooner than they did in my previous timeline. She's also already protective of Harry, even though he isn't close to being conceived or born yet. James is getting quite protective as well."
"Hermione, we have told you that you can tell whoever you want, so long as they promise not to tell anyone else, and you have to trust them. But it is good that you have made some progress with all of them. However, your mother and I have something we need to tell you."
Hermione looked intrigued.
"We thought about what you said the other day, and you were right. So… we decided to try for a baby, and I won't be going on any missions for the Order at all, unless I need to that is." Minerva said, smiling.
"Really?" Hermione asked. Minerva and Albus nodded, smiling as Hermione's smile grew. "Thank you!" Hermione exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around them, they wrapped their around her, too. "I promise that I will help out whenever you need me to, and I'll be the best big sister in the world, and I will try and save you…"
"Hermione, everything will be okay. And I'm sure you will be the best big sister in the world, but I'm not pregnant yet, so you will have to wait." Minerva laughed.
"Though, you will have to tell us about those charms and things you researched when Minerva does get pregnant."
"I will."
…
When she arrived in the common room Sirius ran over to her and hugged her happily, she hugged him back. She noticed that it was only the Marauders and Lily in the room, everyone else was probably in bed considering it was rather late.
"James and Lily are together!" Sirius exclaimed. Hermione pulled back, shocked.
"What? Really?" She beamed and James and Lily, who were sitting next to each other, holding hands. The couple nodded and Hermione ran over to them, embracing them both as they hugged her back. "Congratulations!" She said as she let go of them. "When? How?"
"Well, when Lily got back to the common room I asked if she wanted to go to the next Hogsmeade trip with me and she said yes before kissing me. I kissed back, of course. So, now we're together." James explained with a goofy smile on his face.
"Now all that's left for you two to do is get married and have little baby Harry." Sirius joked.
"Sirius, you do realise we're only fifteen, right? I don't think we're going to get married and have a baby just yet." Lily responded, smiling.
They laughed and joked for a few more hours before going to their separate rooms to sleep.
Hello, I hope you all had a great Christmas and got all you wished for and deserved. This is my Christmas present to you, even if it is a day late! Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
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