Chapter 7: Suspicion
"So what do you think?" he asked with all of his teeth gleaming perfectly against the light.
Hermione had to stop from laughing at the story. She both hated and loved that they could easily fall out of this world raging with war and strife and into their own little world. This little world was becoming too precious to Hermione.
"This is obviously Romeo and Juliet" the brunette said scoffing at the piece of literature before them. "I mean it's even got the girls name being Juliet"
"It's a well-known wizarding tale" he said smirking and tracing patterns on her wrist. "But some say that it didn't end with them dying, but him finding a way to leave their bodies and into another space or time to love each other without anything getting in the way"
"But how?" Hermione asked "That doesn't make any sense"
"He was a powerful wizard it was said he created their marriage binding that bound couples life, magic and souls together" Sirius said matter of factly. "I've read about a type of marriage ceremony where they do this, but it's rarely done because no one knows how to do it right"
Hermione scoffed at his unnecessary speech "Why did you ask me to read it?"
"I thought Hermione Granger welcomed all forms of knowledge" he said scandalised that she would say something like this.
"Not when it's irrelevant to anything that I was previously working on" she said. He then kissed her before returning to trying to decipher code on the Potterwatch.
-8-
Hermione was tired of faking being asleep. Ever since Remus had found that she couldn't die, he always seemed to want to start a conversation. She didn't need him getting close.
She couldn't sleep properly due to the pain. Her leg wasn't healing that great because apparently when Mulciber crushed her femur, he had also torn all of her nerves and muscle tissue as well. This meant that she had to grow back every single one of them. This coupled with the after-effects of the Crutiatus curse and her still mending cuts, she was in much pain.
She wanted those Slytherins heads on pikes. But then again, when had she not?
She needed to get to the library to get her plan into action. There lay the spells that she needed to learn and potions she had to brew. Dumbledore had come to her earlier to tell her that he was going to expel those students. She hated herself with all that she had because she wanted those motherfuckers to pay.
Yes, she wanted them expelled. But she knew that they would just join Voldemort's ranks faster and she couldn't let that happen. She had to grit her teeth and stop Dumbledore from dishing out that part of her revenge.
But she was confidant in getting her part of the revenge, she had to smirk at that. She had to plan it out carefully because she herself knew that revenge was a dish best served cold.
With this much time away from books, she had nothing to stop her thoughts from straying to the Black-haired man. He constantly flittered to her mind and she hated it.
She could remember when she first got to this time, she had been dropped right before a broom cupboard and out came a messy looking Sirius Black and some random Hufflepuff. They looked to be doing more than studying the inside of the broom cupboard if their messy robes had anything to say about it.
Neither of them saw Hermione and the brunette from the future thought that her heart was going to come jumping up her throat. At the scene Hermione broke down and cried. She recognised that the man was the younger Sirius and not her own Sirius. But that scene would forever be tattooed on the backs of her eyelids.
She tried to shake away that feeling of hate that rolled through her system at Sirius. She felt that hate more than any Slytherin in her time.
He did this to her.
She willed her brain to give her sleep, she didn't want to think about him more than she had to.
-8-
The days past and when Hermione was back in her dormitory, her roommates didn't even think her missing. Which was a good thing. The last thing she wanted was everybody else finding out.
The first thing she did when she was released was finish off the Wolfsbane potion. Then she could fully focus on revenge.
She researched what she needed to do and was surprised to find that what she needed was something that she could acquire. She needed to do some exploring of the Forbidden Forest again, and she hated the thought of that alone.
Hermione still had trouble walking as her new nerves and muscles weren't working as good as before so she had to sometimes stop herself from wincing at sudden sharp pains. She had to keep a straight face around Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore or she's be sentenced to more time in that hell.
Hermione went about her daily business and noticed that the Marauders kept their word. In classes, they wouldn't look at her. Peter had bumped into her the other day but just blushed red and avoided contact when he zoomed off. She glared at the boy before walking away smiling at how they seemed to follow out with her order. At least that could make it easier.
The brunette finally brought herself to walk into the Forbidden Forest again. She sighed as she reached the border and she looked out to Hagrid's hut once before entering the forest. It was so strange not to pop in for a cup of tea. But then again, she didn't want her heart to fill with ache if she decided to befriend him again.
-8-
Sirius was again filled with thoughts of only Hermione. He could see her limping around the school and just that alone stirred guilt down in his stomach. James had made them keep their promise. They couldn't even discuss anything about that night. Sirius felt so many questions fill his mind and little did he know that questions also burned in James and Remus too.
They all kept watchful eyes on Hermione whenever she was around but keeping with their promises they did nothing about it. All their classes seemed to be consumed with Hermione watching. This was a distracting matter.
Sirius had felt the weight of the situation upon him again as he walked with his Quidditch team. They were practising harder than ever with the upcoming game against Hufflepuff. Since they had lost by default to the Ravenclaws in the last game, James was training them harder than he had ever remembered. Sirius could feel sweat reach places he had never thought it could before because of this. Sirius was tired, he was done for today. At least she couldn't plague his thoughts when he slept like a rock.
Sirius walked and didn't recognise his brother walking toward them. He had a glare that perfectly articulated every Black feature about his face. Sirius tried hard to match it. Both gripped their broomsticks tightly as they strode past each other.
Regulus muttered "Fucking disgusting blood traitor" as he past.
Sirius' knuckles turned white as he whipped around to give as much as he got from the boy. As he turned, Regulus had already kicked off the ground and was in the air.
The Marauder already had a bad week and this was just a tipping point. He turned to mount his broom when a hand grasped his arm.
"It's not worth it" James said, trying to calm him down. But Sirius just shook off his hand and kicked off the ground. He then shot after his unsuspecting brother. He apparently was going for a casual ride, was he? Sirius couldn't tell, all he could see was red.
He zoomed past and aimed a punch at his jaw smacking the younger boy quite hard. Regulus caught his bearings quite fast before flying over to try and knock his older brother off his broom.
Both boys stayed at this, throwing punches and shoves and violent shaking in mid-air. Both were giving as good as they got. For entirely different reasons. Before either had known this, they both made their way far from Hogwarts and somewhere over the Forbidden forest.
-8-
Hermione found some Alcide in the forest. It's magical property of blending was what she needed and she pocketed it. She was in a part of the forest that she had never seen before and THAT was saying something. She had been to so many other parts and this part was so dense that some times she couldn't see her path because it was that dark.
Out of nowhere the tree above her parted and-
SMACK!
Sirius had fallen directly onto Hermione. They did this pretty hard as all Hermione could feel was wounds reopen and her leg gave bouts of piercing pain searing pain throughout her body. Her eyes opened to find the dark-haired wizard fully pressed upon her. She could feel that she had re cracked a rib. With the remaining strength in her previous breath she pushed the wizard off her.
She definately cracked a rib by the feel of it and she tried to sit up.
Sirius had seemed to come to his senses and his eyes widened as they came into focus. Did he really just fall on her?
He stuttered to begin a sentence "I- umm" he never stuttered in front of girls. This wasn't right. But then again, he had never fallen on one either.
Her head turned away from him and her eyes widened as she eyed the second body before her. Regulus' body lay mangled with his neck turning in an awfully wrong direction. Blood splattered around his temple and Hermione choked on her next thought.
She reacted quickly, pulling herself up and quickly over to him. Hermione cast loco costa before feeling the pain stop and her rib snap back into place.
She then turned to Regulus and spelled Renrervate she quickly revived him and he took in one big breath. Hermione had to thank heavens he was still alive. She then turned to fully inspect the damage his body had come to.
"What the fuck Sirius?" she screeched turning to glare daggers at the boy. "What the fuck did you do?"
He seemed to just scoff at her insinuation that he had anything to do with it. "He started it"
"I didn't, you fil-" Regulus started before he was cut off by ripping scream as she turned his neck to the right angle. She then muttered a round of numbing spells to various parts of his neck. Now she could clearly see that he had dislocated his shoulder as well.
"I'm sorry, but it hurts less if your taken by surprise" she said wiping the new tears that formed around his eyes. She seemed to then coo him gently. "It's ok, everything's going to be alright"
"Well, tell me the next time you try something like that" he said viciously. He was embarrassed that she was wiping away his tears. She didn't seem to hear him as moved to then run diagnostic spells all over his body. She was relieved that the main problem lay in his snapped neck. She then mended his neck correctly before looking at his awkwardly twisted robe.
Hermione then made to set his elbow so she straddled him gingerly hoping to not injure anything else further. Sirius seemed to be slightly shocked and entirely against the idea of her on top of his brother. The very same ungrateful brother who denounced him as a blood traitor.
She then vanished his robes and shirt and Sirius couldn't help speaking out. "I'll do that" he said moving forward to take over from Hermione.
"NO!" Regulus instantly cried "You aren't touching me".
Hermione just screeched "Shut up!" she then turned back to work. She found and noted the 7 major things that needed her attention right now. "I can't concentrate"
The brunette then picked up his awkwardly placed elbow and as she readied her wand in the other hand to snap it back into place her eye caught something.
She turned to it and felt her heart stop. Right before her on his forearm was the Dark Mark. She turned to quickly conjure a bandage around it to shield it from Sirius' view. She looked to him and found that he hadn't noticed anything perculiar about Regulus yet.
The very same Mark that brought pain to her and every person she loved was already on him. She turned to see that Regulus had screwed his eyes shut from the new pain he knew he was sure to experience.
Hermione had to steady her grip on him as her sanity was wavering. He was just a boy.
She cast the spell that reset his shoulder and sent a shuddering scream into the forest. She wanted to punish this boy, but she also wanted to collect him in a ball and lock him away somewhere safe.
"I told you to fucking warn me" Regulus cried.
Sirius seemed immune to this because he knew for a fact that Regulus had been through worse. Sirius had made sure of that.
"Do I look like I take orders from pompous purebloods?" Hermione spat with more venom than she could have ever thought.
Regulus then quietened down and seemed to just heave peacefully. Hermione turned to the older Black and tried to bring some heat into her speech. "Why don't you go find someone to help your brother instead of sitting there like an idiot?"
"He's no brother of mine" Regulus spat venomously. Sirius didn't pay any heed to Regulus but was taken aback by the girl's offensive tone. He hesitated before he stood and made his way over to where he assumed Hogwarts was.
Once he was out of their line of sight, Hermione turned back to look at the boy before her. He was merely 15 years old. He hadn't even sat his OWLS and Voldemort had recruited him. She stared at his chest for a long time with emotion welling up in her heart at the sight. He didn't even have hair on his chest, he was a boy.
"Stop staring at me like that" Regulus said trying to sound authoritative but ending up sounding awkward. It was all embarrassment. Hermione's eyes snapped to his face where she could see was a faint blush around his cheeks.
She just smiled at him, tearing the crack in her heart a few inches more. She eyed the mark and realised now why he wasn't trying to hide it. It was because Voldemort wasn't widely known and neither were his Dark Marks. The only trace of him around was his small muggle killings in this time.
Hermione then ran her fingers up his chest, she then felt him wince and at that point she mended his rib. They fell into a nice silence as this happened. Hermione didn't realise but she had taken a seat on his lap as she did this.
"Why do you hate muggleborns so much?" Hermione asked finally as she finished and decided to run an extra check down his chest.
He looked confused "Why do you want to know?" he asked finally having the courage to look her directly in the eye. She then finished her work on his chest and trailed her fingers down to his forearm. There lay the bane of Hermione's existance.
They both turned to look at it and realisation hit Regulus. He then pulled his hand back and he tried to sit up but that brought him into an uncomfortable closeness with the witch.
"This is none of your fucking business" he made to push her off but she held his wrists. She knew he was much weaker right now so she just pulled his hands to stick them together. He struggled against her hold as he couldn't get it off.
"Do you want to kill them?" she asked looking closely into his eyes. He was the one that seemed to be taken aback by her question for a millisecond. Being that close to each other afforded her the opportunity to catch the expression.
He struggled to answer with a response that would give it the effect he wanted. He stuttered before falling into a momentary flash of anger.
"You don't know anything about anything" he growled. It was so childish it reminded Hermione that she dealt with a boy.
Hermione sighed, not feeling tired, but knowing she couldn't win an argument with him. Not when he was finding almost any reason to stay away from her. She had to remember that Regulus didn't want to like her. But she'd at least get him to trust her.
"You're right" she said quietly "I don't know anything about anything". She was true in her words at least. He went through a familial pressure that she had never known. He was almost destined to be a death eater from birth. That in itself was why she didn't know what that was like.
"I know you're smart enough to make your own decisions" she said softly. "I just hope you make the right one"
"I'm not betraying my family, mudblood" he said biting with as much venom as his voice could muster. He knew exactly what decision she was talking about.
"I'm not asking you to" she pleaded looking him straight in the eye to let him know she wasn't trying to sway him. She wanted him to come with his own two feet.
"But in exchange for not telling Dumbledore about what I know today" she glanced toward his mark then back up to him she poured all sincerity into her words. "I want one thing in return"
"And what's that?" he asked full of suspicion.
"I want you to meet me on the seventh floor, east corridor. The last abandoned classroom just before curfew tomorrow" she said clearly.
She then climbed off his lap before rummaging through her bag and pulling out a vial. She tossed it at him before standing up straight. "It's a pepper-up potion"
He downed it without questioning and Hermione thought at least that was progress.
She then turned and walked on toward the special rose bush she knew was around here somewhere. She knew that she had to do something about Regulus if she wanted to give him the chance to defect without dying. Like last time.
Just as she turned to leave, Sirius slumped against the ground gobsmacked at what he had heard.
-8-
Sirius Black sat in the Gryffindor common room with an intoxicated Diana Olen on his lap. The room was filled with lively music and so much food and alcohol that Sirius himself felt claustrophobic. This had been because he was looking out for Hermione who had disappeared up the girl's dormitory and was sure to come down soon. It was the next day and Gryffindor had won their game against Hufflepuff.
The dark-haired man looked over to his best mate and he had just dropped out of their world and into his own with Lily Evans. He looked like every word out of her mouth was pure gold. Sirius snorted before training his eyes directly at the girl's staircase. He had positioned himself directly here for that purpose.
"So Sirius, do you wanna go somewhere private?" Diana asked seductively. Sirius could only cringe at the level of alcohol present in her breath. This was very odd for Sirius that never turned down a lass because of this. In fact, had Hermione not been on his mind, he'd be celebrating in some broom cupboard somewhere with Diana.
He was awfully lucky that Hermione hadn't distorted his game that much. James Potter as Captain didn't allow shit like that.
He looked at the time and right there it read 9:48pm. He turned to the stairs and finally he spotted her as she came down.
Hermione weaved her way through the crowd and Sirius thanked fuck as he pulled himself out of Diana's hold with a "Sorry, love".
He then got to a inconspicuous place and covered himself with James' invisibility cloak. He followed the brunette out of the Gryffindor common room and instead of climbing higher toward the seventh floor like he knew she would, she descended a floor. Before he knew it, he found himself staring at the entrance to the Headmasters office.
"Lemon drops" Hermione said softly before the Gargoyles moved. Sirius kept close to her so he could pass with her. Was that old spice he smelled? Why did she have a man's scent?
She walked into the office that held one Albus Dumbledore.
"Ah, Miss Conte d'Hiver" he said straying his eyes toward the space behind her for a second. If Sirius wasn't mistaken, he thought Dumbledore made eye contact with him. "Just the person I was expecting"
"Professor" she greeted before walking forward and pulling out 7 vials with a clear blue colour. She placed them on the desk. "There is no particular order for him to drink it in. The only requirement is that he not miss a single day of it"
"That is all very good" he said as he eyed the vials. "So you sure you do not wish Mr Lupin to know his real saviour?"
"I'm not his saviour, I haven't cured him yet" Hermione said stating the facts like the good little girl she was.
"But you have helped him control it and that is all he can ask of right now, dear" he said softly before reaching over to pick one vial up.
She nodded before speaking again "No, Professor. I'd rather you reveal yourself as the potion-maker. It will make more sense" Hermione said as she made to turn back.
"Very well, if it is your wish" he said understanding the wish of his student. "Now I have happened across the most curious thing in the Department of Mysteries today"
"So, Professor you took care of the Prophecy?" she asked now getting straight down to business.
"Yes, child. I have taken Trelawney off the Seer's list though I know she will be terribly distraught" he continued on. "Anyway, as I was saying. I came across a list of purebloods that had no house to claim. It was interesting to see your name there"
Hermione stopped to make sure she heard right. The information sunk in and she burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Once again in this time, she had found herself unable to control the laughter that rung from her stomach. She doubled over and had to clutch the nearest seat to steady herself. She had never heard something so funny in her life. In all of her life, nothing would ever bypass this as the best of moment of her life.
"Could I get that in writing please?" Hermione asked.
She then heard Dumbledore join her in her mirth before she broke out into more uncontrollable guffaws. She literally had to force the bubbling humour down as it hurt her sides and were probably opening her wounds again. Hermione finally stopped and turned to the Headmaster who had the twinkle in his eye as he looked at her. The question was clear in her eyes How?
"Well, it seems that when your husband sealed your lives together, he did so your blood. He entered you as his wife in blood, but seeing as you haven't officially received his parent's approval you remain to be without a house"
Hermione couldn't help but scowl "That sounds just like him. To act without concern or regard for anyone else beside himself. I mean look at where I am right now, a pureblood with a house to belong to" she said trying to stop the sob that choked her throat. She tried to keep the humour in her voice "What use is that?"
She then made to stand before he saw her poor excuse for crying. Sirius Black, her husband rocked her emotions hard and she hated it . Hermione had reached the door and was about to exit it when Dumbledore called.
"Don't underestimate his knowledge of love, Miss Conte d'H-" he said softly.
"He was a selfish bastard that knew I didn't want him to die for me, but did it anyways. That's not love, Professor, that's stupidity at it's finest" Hermione said before turning back toward the door "Goodnight, Professor" she said as she walked out past the Gargoyles.
Sirius tried to sneak out with her processing all this information when he felt a barrier between him and the door. The gargoyle had then moved back into place sealing his fate.
"Good evening, Mr Black" Dumbledore said still with the twinkling in his eye.
-8-
A/N: Alrighty guys. I'm sorry about the day late update, but this was because of my jam-packed week. I don't think I'll be able to update until Sunday. I swear revenge will come. It will be sweet. Just after this week I might even be able to update every single day.
Just so everyone knows, this story will probably be a long one. I'm sorry if the waiting business is not your cup of tea, (as a fanfic reader, it's for sure not mine). I hope you'll stick with me.
***IMPORTANT NOTE****I should probably put a warning at the beginning of my fics that I love to keep the reader in suspense. I honestly will answer your questions all throughout the fic but my explanation for that is that I hate, hate, hate when authors load me with heaps of information in the first chapter. I have a very small storage capacity for information so I'm hoping for people like me out there that I'm giving you bird sized bits of information by chapter. :D
Thank you to all of those that listed this as a favourite and put it on story alert: Ceralyn, Elnora-17, Nothorse, Technology, Becklag, GlowingMoon12, shannco, bch1993, bookinspired, Mrs. Regulus Arcturus Black, Angel Girl5, ashley4948, PeaceLoveUnicorns94, SoChibi, xxIllyriaxx, julsey.
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Until next week then...