DISCLAIMER: Still don't own it...

LET'S GOOOOO MOUNTAINEERS! This chapter is basically for my lovely little team: WVU. Since most of you probably don't give a flying monkey about WVU, they're currently playing (literally playing right now as I post this) for a position in the national bowl game. We're ranked number 2 and COULD move up to number 1... score is 7 to 3... LET'S GOOOO MOUNTAINEERS...

Yeah, I know you don't care so here's the chapter... CHEERS!!

Tekau Ma Wha

Hermione Granger was released from St. Mungo's on the twenty-first day of August. By then, Sirius had already been sent out by the Ministry to capture rogue Death Eaters. He had promised her, though, that he would be back and that he would write. She doubted very much that he would write judging by his efforts in their past but knew that he would move heaven and earth to get back to her.

Minerva McGonagall had come to visit her around five times while she was in the hospital and even went school shopping for her. She loved having the older woman there since she remembered their connection in the past. She even got to call her Aunt Minerva again.

When she was released, Harry and the others threw her a little party. Only close family members were invited, though, as they didn't want to overtax her. Hermione felt a bit odd, though, being there alone. She hadn't told the others everything and, even though she knew Harry had the general gist of it, she didn't know quite how to go about telling them everything.

And so she found herself on the twenty-sixth at Hogwarts in front of McGonagall's door. She stood there for a second or two in thought before raising her hand and knocking twice.

"Hermione?" The older woman frowned a bit, not knowing why the younger woman was there. "What brings you here? I was going to come over…"

"I know," Hermione interrupted, "but I wanted to see you before we came over. I was wondering whether if you still had the small cottage in Scotland."

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do." She studied the younger woman. "Am I right in assuming that you wish to get away for a week or so?"

Hermione nibbled on her lower lip. "Do you think it's awful of me to feel that way?"

Minerva smiled and drew Hermione into her quarters. "Of course not, darling. We all understand how much you've been through. It might take a while for your friends to completely understand but they will with time. Right now, you have to look out for yourself."

"So may I stay there?"

"As a matter of fact, you can. Of course I'll need to do some shopping for food supplies before you completely settle in." A wistful look appeared on her face. "I haven't been up there in so long. Everything has just been too hectic."

"Would you like to go with me?" Hermione asked hesitantly. "I mean, if you're not busy. I figure you have a lot to do what with becoming the new Headmistress and all."

Minerva smiled. "Heard about that, have you? I expect Dumbledore told you himself." She sighed. "I don't want to impose on you, darling. I would love to come but I'll understand if you need some time by yourself."

"Funny thing, I want to be by myself without actually being by myself." Hermione grinned. "I remember the time that we spent in Scotland in my past and it was so peaceful. I want you to come, really I do."

"Then we'll head up first thing tomorrow morning. We'll tell everyone we're getting away for a while tonight and then go do some shopping. You can stay here if you like tonight so we can leave. I can have the elves fix up your old room."

"That would be lovely," Hermione replied with a smile. "I miss Falco."

"And he misses you if his minutely rants are anything to go by." Minerva walked over to a portrait and said something to the lady within and watching as she left the portrait. "He's always popping up in here and going on and on about how I should be ashamed for not telling you, but I suspect that he only wanted me to tell you so that you would drop my more often and see him."

"Too true," drawled a new voice from the picture and Hermione grinned. "It was wrong for you lot to keep her away from me. Why, I guarded her and kept her company for a long period of her life and she actually paid me a bit of attention. You lot just keep walking right on by, ignoring lonely ol' me in my frame."

Hermione laughed, remembering the number of times he had entered the one portrait in her room to keep the buxom company. "I doubt you've ever been lonely, Falco." She added a wink, causing him to blush slightly.

"Well, it still isn't the same without you around," he responded, slightly flustered.

"I missed you too."

"So, after you two return from this little holiday you are taking, am I to assume that you will return here?" he asked, cocking a brow. "More importantly, will you return to your old rooms?"

"Yes, for a period at least." She watched Minerva moving around out of the corner of her eye. "I'm still coming to terms with everything and I think the others will need time to deal with it on their own."

"You do realize that you can't put off telling them forever. It's better to do it and get it over with," he responded logically. "Do you really want to wait and only cause them to get angrier at you for holding out on you?"

She stuck her lower lip out in a pout of sorts and crossed her arms over her chest. "No," she answered slowly, her eyes downcast, "I don't think so."

"Of course you don't," he said in a dismissive manner. "That is why you shall tell them tonight when you tell them that you are going away, informing them that you know it might take them some time to get used to the idea which is why you're letting them consider it in peace without you there."

"What if they don't want to be my friend after I tell them?"

He smiled at her, his hand rising to lay flat against the portrait. "I doubt that very much."

"But you can't guarantee it?"

He chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "I thought you have learnt by now that nothing is a guarantee. You must make what you will of life and, if you don't like it, then change it. You make your own fate; you are the one in control of the weave."

She nodded slowly, thinking back to her encounter with the Fates when they allowed her to choose whether her future was to live or die right then and there. "They let me choose," she muttered softly, almost to herself but she knew Falco had heard.

"They always let you choose, most just don't realize it until it is too late. Life is our own story, Hermione. It is we that fill in the pages to our life, they just hold the inkpot."

She smiled at him, taking a step back. "Thank you," she said softly so that only he would hear. Then, louder, "I guess I'll see you when we get back."

He bowed slightly at the waist, folding one arm in front of him and the other to the back like a gentleman's bow. "I will be looking forward to it, Hermione Granger. Have fun and relax before you are forced to come back and repeat your seventh year all over again."

"Will do," she replied before going to join up with Minerva.

AmAyAtHeGrEaTlOvEsHeRmAkEsHiFtClOtHeSlInE

Hermione was immediately engulfed into the embrace of Molly Weasley as soon as she set foot out of the grate into the Potter's residence. She sputtered a little, having inhaled a bit of soot when she was forced to gulp for air by having hers squeezed out of her.

"Easy on her, mum," one of the twins, she thought it to be Fred but she wasn't too sure at the moment, said as he entered the room. "She's wounded, that one."

"Yeah," said the counterpart of the twin as he, too, entered the kitchen, only from the stairs, "wouldn't want to send her back to the hospital after just getting out."

Molly immediately released her, brushing the soot from her shoulders with a motherly smile brightening her face as she did so. "It's so good to have you back here, dear."

Hermione drew in a breath and looked around at all the room's occupants. "You have no idea how good it feels to be out. I've decided that my hospital record is going to be just as long, if not longer, than my Hogwarts' record."

The twins laughed good-heartedly and replied simultaneously, "But not longer than ours."

Hermione snorted. "I doubt anyone could ever beat your record. Well, the Marauders gave you a run for your money. I don't which one I would declare the winner…"

At this point, James happened to swoop into the room with Remus behind him. "Why us of course," he answered with a cocky grin. "Remember the time.." His voice stopped after receiving a not-so-subtle elbow to the side from Remus. "Oh, never mind."

"Remember what?" Fred pressed, for she had finally decided that the first one who had entered had been Fred.

"Nothing," James replied, a little flustered now. His cheeks started to get a bit pink. "I mean, there's no way any of you would know, except for Remus who was the only one there that is present in this room at the moment and…"

"James, you're babbling," Hermione said, cocking her brow. "Maybe you should just, you know, go find your wife and tell her you're home from work."

James looked extremely grateful for the opportunity to leave. "Right, of course. I should go do that. Bye all!"

Fred and George stared after him, speculative looks in their eyes. "That was weird," George commented softly before swinging around and staring intently at Hermione. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that now, would you Hermione?"

She shrugged and took a lesson she had learnt both from the Marauders and Harry in lying. "Not at all. Did you understand it, Remus?"

He shrugged as well as he took his place beside her. "Not at all, Hermione, but then again, so few people can understand James' babbling."

"True," she agreed. The twins were still staring at her intently. "Now, if you guys will excuse me, there's a certain best friend of mine that I have to find."

And before they could say another word, she brushed past them and headed directly towards the stairs that would lead her to Harry's room. She smiled at some of the portraits that she had gotten to know as she passed, even greeting a few with pleasantries as she steadily made the climb.

She finally arrived on the third story of the large house and turned right, knocking on the fine wood frame of the first door on the left. She heard someone shuffling about and the door opened a second later.

Harry caught her up in his arms as soon as he saw her, spinning her around and around a few times before setting her on her feet. She laughed at his behaviour, squeezing him tight. "I am so happy to see you."

"I'm just happy to see you standing on your feet again," he replied, kissing her cheek in a brotherly sort of way. "So, Miss Granger, how does it feel to be out of the hospital?"

She leaned back her head and let out a groan, then smiled. "You have no idea how good it feels. I didn't think they were ever going to let me out. Everyday they wanted to run a new test."

"It was for your own good," he responded as he put a hand on her back and guided her into his Quidditch decorated room. "We didn't know exactly what happened so they wanted to make sure that the spell didn't leave any lasting damage."

"I know, I know," she huffed playfully as she collapsed on his bed. She had always envied his bed. It had to be the most comfortable thing in the world. She wondered what it was stuffed with…

Harry grinned knowingly as he flopped down beside her. "It actually has a variety of feathers inside to give it this cushy feel but hippogriff feathers is the main feather type in it." He turned his head to smile at her. "I had to beg mum to let me get it. She kept ranting about how the feathers would be everywhere."

"What finally convinced her to let you have it?"

"Dad reminded her that she was a witch and could cast a spell so that none of the feathers would come out of it." Harry chuckled to himself at the memory.

"Whenever I stay over, I just might kick you out so I can hog it."

Harry's chuckle died in his throat as he rolled over onto his side to stare at her. "What do you mean when you come to visit? Aren't you staying here till school starts?"

Hermione bit her lip and shut her eyes at the slip of tongue. She hadn't meant to tell him yet. "Um…no, I'm going to Scotland and then I'm going to stay at Hogwarts."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you tonight when we're with everyone else."

Harry picked up her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Hermione, you know you can tell me anything, right?" He smiled at her. "I'll always be your friend. Nothing will change that."

She patted his knee. "Thanks Harry, but I think it'll be for the best to tell you with everyone else so that I don't have to explain the whole sordid affair twice."

"Alright then." Harry opened his mouth to say something else, but the door burst open suddenly and Hermione ducked as a five foot one body came hurling at her. She wasn't fast enough as the body crashed into her, knocking her back onto the bed.

"Hello to you too, Rachel," Hermione said, chuckling as the younger girl hugged her tightly. "Er…would you mind letting me up?"

Rachel continued to hug her. "I thought you were going to die, Hermione. You were so white and icky looking when they first took you into the hospital and they wanted to keep running those tests on you. I was sure that something was wrong with you and they just were telling any of us."

"Rachel," Harry interrupted.

"Oh yes, sorry," she muttered as she rolled off Hermione. "I really am glad you're back."

"So am I," Declan said as he came into the room and hugged Hermione loosely so as not to hurt her. "You're looking a lot better."

Hermione chuckled. "You are your father made over, Declan Lupin. Ever so polite even in weird situations." Harry laughed in agreement as Declan blushed slightly. "So, how about we go downstairs for that chat?"

"What chat?" Rachel asked curiously.

"The one that is either going to make me or break me," Hermione muttered as she stood up and walked out of the room with the others following behind.

AmAyAtHeGrEaTiSeXcItEdAbOuTtHeNeWbOnJoViCd

Hermione chose the chair in front of the fire while everyone else spread out in front of her. Lily and Lauri came to sit near her, though, while Remus and James took supportive stances behind her.

"Okay, so I guess I should just tell you and get it over with, but first I just want to say that tonight I'll be leaving for Scotland and then back to Hogwarts until the start of the term. I need to get away to think for a while and I think that you guys will need time to come to terms with what I'm about to tell you."

"Hermione, you don't have to leave," Harry inserted.

She smiled at him sadly. "I think I do, Harry, but for me more than anything. I have a lot of things I need to accept." She drew in a deep breath and muttered, "Here goes…"

Hermione glanced over at Lily and Lauri, encouraged by their smiles. "Okay, so you've all heard the tale about the woman who died that night at Godric's Hollow…"

"You mean the woman Sirius was with?" Rachel interrupted.

Hermione grimaced. Okay, so this was going to be a bit harder to explain than she originally thought. "Yes. I can't think of any way to say this delicately so I'll just say it: I'm her. I'm the woman that died that night."

Rachel sat there with a confused expression, Declan was silently regarding her, while Harry didn't look a bit surprised. Finally, Rachel said, "Hermione, that's impossible."

Hermione shook her head. "With magic, nothing is impossible, Rachel. I am that woman. I was transported back in time on the ninth day of August after the war and ended up at Hogwarts where I was taken in by Dumbledore and McGonagall. I attended my seventh year with your parents and we became friends. I was involved with Sirius and I died for you, Harry."

She was waiting for some sort of explosive reaction, but none came. Rachel still looked dumbfounded like she simply couldn't comprehend any of it. Declan was still quietly staring at her, his hand propping his chin up. Harry smiled at her when she met his eyes.

He knew, she realized as soon as that slow grin started to appear on his face. She stared straight back at him through wide eyes before smiling and shaking her head disbelievingly. Of course he knew. Despite popular belief, Harry could be extremely observant when he wished to be.

"You don't have to go to Scotland, Hermione," he said, reaching out to grab her hand.

"Yes I do." She smiled at him. "I need to think on my own for a while."

"I still don't understand," Rachel pouted.

Lily chuckled softly and went over to her daughter, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I'll explain it to you better, pumpkin."

Hermione smiled at the youngest Potter for a second before looking back to her best friend. "Are you alright with everything, Harry? Really?"

Harry squeezed her hand. "Hermione, you're happy and Sirius is happy again for the first time in a long time." His grin turned to a teasing one. "Do you realize how long it's been since we've even heard him sing a Christmas tune? Too long I tell you."

"Hear hear," James cried from his place.

Hermione chuckled along with the others. "He's a rather bad singer, though, isn't he?"

James made a loud scoffing noise. "He's gotten better over the years, that's for sure."

"Yeah, I can definitely agree that the deeper voice has improved his singing," Hermione said, followed by a chuckle. She turned to Remus. "Remember the time he serenaded you?"

"Oh Merlin," Remus said with a groan.

"I want to hear," Rachel said, beaming.

"Well, Sirius wanted Remus to try out this spell that he had made to make you block out all sound. Well, past experience taught Remus not to trust any spell that Sirius made without testing it out on something else first so he said no. Sirius, as you all know, doesn't like to be told no."

Lauri paused in her story telling and gripped her husband's hand, smiling at him. "Well, Sirius started belting out this horrible song that was popular then and it was bad. We all plugged our ears and headed out of the room, but- and I swear that I'm telling you the truth- Sirius straddled Remus and held his arms down so he would have to listen."

"Did you try out the spell, dad?" Declan questioned.

"Unfortunately, yes, and I ended up in the Hospital Wing for a week while they fixed my ear drum," Remus answered with a grimace. "Sirius maintained that he was only serenading me and there was no need for me to get in such a hissy."

Hermione laughed along with the others as they continued to share stories from school days. She realized then that, despite everything, it was going to be alright. Now all she had to do was get through her seventh year- again- and wait for Sirius to get back.

FINAL NOTE: LET'S GOOOO MOUNTAINEERS!!