Sirius watched the bathroom door, waiting for it to open. He didn't know what he'd feel once he'd see Hermione come through. How dare she! He was so angry at her — and for reasons he didn't even understand!

He hazarded a glance at his brother, who wasn't looking back at him, but was instead staring at the floor with a look of uncertainty.

It had been a long time since they had spoken to one another, years. There was such strong antipathy from Sirius's side that Regulus was almost afraid to say anything, but he couldn't help but feel angered by the judgmental looks his sibling was throwing his way. "Are you going to say something or continue to stare at me like you want to kill me?" Regulus finally said in a low tone.

Taken aback, but unsurprised by the animosity, Sirius couldn't find his voice to say anything. It wasn't like him to lower his eyes from an enemy. Everything happened so fast that he couldn't properly process what exactly was going on, what to do, or what to even say. He tried to listen to what Narcissa and Hermione were saying behind the door, but their voices were muffled.

He leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms. Married? Married to Hermione? What the bleeding hell was going on? Had his family procured a marriage agreement before he was born and just not got tell him since he was cut from the family tree? No. That agreement would have been broken once he broke ties. He began to feel faint and threw his hand out to the wall to hold himself up, but even it began to feel wobbly.

"Sirius?"

The man swallowed the thick, sour taste hard down his throat and glanced over to Regulus.

"What?" he asked coldly.

"You look as if you're about to fall over. Do you need some help, man?" Regulus answered in the same demeanor as his brother.

"No. Why the fuck would I want help from you?"

Regulus scoffed. "Right. Why would you want help? Why are you even here?"

Sirius jolted upright, "Oh, I don't know, perhaps it's because I was enjoying myself a smoke after a fucked up morning...something you may know all about, as Hermione was discharged from Mungo's due to being related to you, but somehow not to me?" He shrugged dramatically, "When all of a sudden my chest was struck out of nowhere with a blue light." He thumped himself hard with his palm. "So instead of letting it go, curiosity got the best of me and I decided to follow it, and good bloody thing I did, because it led me to apparently my backstabbing wife, cunt of a cousin, and lowlife of a brother."

Anger boiled within Regulus. Normally he wouldn't care if Sirius talked shit toward him or about him, but when he heard him malign Hermione's character, he felt the urge to strike. He knew it wouldn't make matters better, though it'd make him feel better, but it would anger Hermione. Aside from consideration for her, he also needed answers. Without Sirius, that wouldn't happen.

Rubbing the stubble on his chin, Sirius finally asked, "Are you going to tell me what is going on?"

"Your question is just the same as mine, brother."

"You're no brother to me," Sirius spat.

Gritting his teeth, Regulus thought back to what Hermione had said about Sirius really loving him and how he was killing himself over not forgiving Regulus when he had the chance. He started to wonder if it were all a lie…but he knew better. Hermione had been under the Vow: she couldn't lie.

"That's fine. I am no brother to you." He shrugged then pointed to the bathroom, "But that woman in there is a dear friend to me and obviously someone to you. So if you want answers to your questions, man the fuck up. We will know what is going on once she is ready to come out here and tell us," Regulus said, with a lot more courage than he was feeling. He noticed Sirius's eyes widen and was surprised that the man didn't come back with a rebuttal. Instead, Sirius leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, his expression cold and hard.

….

Inside the bathroom, Hermione's head hung within the rim of the porcelain bowl, intermittently spewing what little her stomach contained. Yellow bile bubbled in the water, mixing with the snot that dropped from her nose. She shook, her body covered in goosebumps, as if she were freezing. Her mind was forcing itself into a state of shock as her thoughts crammed together.

Please wake up, please wake up… please… let this all be a dream. I'm going to wake up in my bed at my home under my warm baby blue comforter. The sun is going to peek through the shades, my mother is going to call for me any moment to tell me that breakfast is ready. Harry and Ron are alive… it's all going to be okay. Everything is going to be o— Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a calming hand on her shoulder bringing her forth to reality.

She opened her eyes to find Narcissa kneeling beside her, and she fell back to the heels of her feet, settling her elbows into her knees as she cupped her chin into her hands and whispered. "What the hell is happening? What am I going to do?"

"Maybe you can tell me what is going on so I can help you…" the blonde said softly.

Hermione rubbed her eyes until they were bloodshot, then turned to Narcissa with her index fingers pressing hard into her temples, "Oh, Narcissa… oh my God…" she started to cry.

The latter's face was gentle, but held fear, "What is it? You're starting to scare me." Which meant a lot-Narcissa was a hard one to frighten.

"I need to tell the both of you. Sirius and you, I mean. He deserves to know as well." He was supposed to be the only one to know.

The women rose to their feet, taking each other's hands, but before the left the room, Narcissa pulled Hermione into a hug, "As I said before, I don't judge you, Hermione Granger. I am your friend and I am so happy to have met you." Hermione fell into Narcissa's chest with deep heavy cries, her arms were weak, but she pressed her hands into the blonde's back to pull her closer. Sobbing, she remembered the day she left the woman in 1998.

"Please, don't ever leave me, okay?" Hermione whispered. "Please, no matter what happens, don't ever leave our friendship."

Narcissa nodded against the woman's hair and whispered, "No matter what, I promise I won't leave."

After a few moments of just them hugging, Hermione finally found the strength to step away from their embrace. Narcissa pushed back tendrils of her friend's hair to behind her ear, "I'm ready when you are."

….

Sirius and Regulus looked up to the bathroom door to first see their cousin exiting, then the woman they both were so enamoured with.

Regulus wanted to go to her, to hold her, and brush the remains of her tears away.

Sirius felt the overwhelming urge to take her by her hand and get the hell out of there. No matter what she had done, they could get past it. Sure, he was angry right now, but seeing her so sad… that hurt worse.

Hermione held herself a little taller than she was feeling. She first looked to Regulus and gave him a nod, telling him it was time to reveal the secret. In return, he glanced to his brother, who was now glaring at the exchange between them.

Hermione caught the envy in Sirius's gaze. He turned to her and everything fell into slow motion. Is this the right thing to do? Will this change the course of history? Will too many people know? Pressure rose on her chest, Will this change her future — their futures?

"Sirius…" she began quietly. "As you may be aware, I haven't been quite honest with you."

"I'll say," he interrupted dispassionately.

Hermione sighed, "Please," she spoke before Regulus could, holding a lowered hand toward him. "It's all right, Reg."

Sirius rolled his eyes condescendingly.

"Could you sit… please. We would all feel a lot more comfortable — I would fee—"

"Comfort?!" Sirius laughed. "Comfort? You think I fucking care about bloody comfort, Hermione?! Do you see me? Who I am around right now?" He hadn't quite told her everything yet, but since she was dear friends with these people, she probably had his life story.

She ignored that. She cleared her throat and began, "Sirius Orion Black… first born to Orion and Walburga."

Exactly. Just what I thought. He recrossed his arms and chuckled darkly. "This is information you can find in the public records at the Ministry, Hermione."

Ugh. She really hated it when he called her by her name now. She was Ace to him… not the harsh Hermione that dropped from his tongue like a swear. "You're absolutely right. Allow me to begin again, Mr. Black." Inwardly she couldn't help but smile at Sirius's face at her use of his surname. "My name is Hermione Jean Granger. I am nineteen years of age. I am from the year 1998."

A clattering from Hermione's right dispersed the silence. Narcissa had lost grip of her tea cup, a hand now placed over her mouth in shock.

Sirius dropped his arms and removed himself from the wall angrily, a look of pure terror and outrage covered his features.

Regulus gripped his wand, ready to battle his brother if the need arose.

Coughing, trying to gather her breath, Narcissa was able to ask, "What… what exactly do you mean?"

Hermione turned her head slightly toward her shoulder, "Exactly as I said it. I am from 1998. I was sent back to change things."

"What needs to be changed?" Narcissa asked, "Who sent you back?"

Before Hermione could answer, Sirius started speaking again, his voice laced with hurt and betrayal. "I let you into my home."

"You begged me to stay," she countered. "I told you I was looking for a place. I tried to say no. You insisted."

"I let you meet my friends, people who are my family. You went into their home—"

"You asked me," Hermione said. "I didn't want to go. I never asked!"

Then Hermione's heart broke into pieces when Sirius's voice cracked, so emotion filled his words. "I slept with you."

"I didn't—" she started.

"I fell in love with you!" he finished. The air was thick with remorse, awkward silences, envy.

Tears formed over Hermione's lashline, "I never asked you to." She had to look away from him. The hurt in his eyes was breaking her.

She almost didn't hear him when he said, "You didn't have to, Ace." He said it so calmly, it was eerie.

In her peripheral, she saw Regulus's head drop, then heard Narcissa clear her throat.

"I don't know what you want me to say to that, Sirius." Hermione's voice was just above a whisper.

"You know Hermione, you can't say anything… because I can't believe a word that comes from your mouth. You're a liar."

"That is not true, Sirius," Narcissa spoke up finally. "She did what she had to do to keep herself safe — to find out if she could trust you."

"Oh, so she can trust the likes of you two then?" he countered.

"No. I am only just now finding this all out like you."

He scowled, "Wow, the Ancient and Noble House of Black must've really stooped in its beliefs if you're so willingly to believe this rubbish." He pointed at Hermione as he faced his cousin, "You're telling me that you believe this woman travelled in time, in the amount of nineteen years, no less… from the future? It's impossible."

Regulus had stood on the sideline long enough. He hated how much Sirius was doubting Hermione when he knew with all his heart that she wasn't lying. He hated seeing how sad and guilty she looked and knew how she was feeling. He wanted to hold her, press his lips against her forehead, and whisper that everything would be okay. "It is possible," he said.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Really? You the one who sent her back then? You watch it happen?"

"No. However, Hermione and I made an Unbreakable," Regulus said, with a little more smugness than he intended, but the way his brother squirmed at that bit of information was quite satisfying.

Flabbergasted at this, Sirius turned back to Hermione, "Why him? Why couldn't you come to me?"

"I was going to, Sirius!" she choked, "You were supposed to be the only one to know. Circumstances changed, Reg got to me first."

"How?"

Damn him! Hermione just wanted to hug him and tell him how sorry she was. Her chest was tight, her airways felt restricted; much like when she awoke in his arms the other morning. This was too much. She wasn't here to feel this way. She was here to fix things, not cause bigger problems! She knew there were feelings that needed to be discussed, now more than ever after this. But they needed to focus on the task at hand for now — not the love that now felt lost between them.

"Sirius, you mean the world to me and I want to talk about everything that pertains to us, and if you will allow it, after I explain everything here, I will discuss whatever you want to later. No lies, I will be honest with you from every aspect… if you're willing to listen." The bubbles of emotion were clawing their way out. She tried so hard to keep those sobs locked inside of her, but when he looked at her with pure disappointment and resentment, it fell from her mouth, and she was too slow to cover it with her hand.

Narcissa placed her hands on both of Hermione's shoulders from behind and whispered, "Reg and I can go…"

Hermione shook her head, "No: absolutely not. You deserve to hear what I need to say. He and I can wait until later." At that moment, she didn't realize that she had internally been avoiding Regulus. She looked over to him, into eyes that held a look of discomfort.

"Just say it, Hermione," Sirius said.

"I was about to be killed when I was rescued." She grabbed one of Narcissa's hands and brought her close to her. "Then I was sent back here by Narcissa." She didn't want to mention the fact that she was married to Lucius yet, as that would steer the discussion into a completely different direction.

Sirius gaped at the blonde. Where had she developed such power and knowledge to do such a thing? And better yet, why? "What was going on in the first place for that to even be necessary?"

"I told you before Sirius. I may have lied about names and twisted my tales to fit this timeline, but I never lied about what happened. Voldemort is still very much alive in 1998. He's won. Narcissa sent me here to try and fix things. To defeat him." The anger boiled inside of her, the thought of Voldemort made her blood run hot.

Sirius scoffed, "And how exactly can a one-woman-show like yourself take on one of the darkest wizards of our time all alone? The fucking Auror teams from all over have been trying to take him down and can't even do it. So, why are you so special?"

Hermione tried her best to ignore the animosity that seeped from Sirius's lips. She really wanted to waltz over to him and smack the shit out of him, but with the way he was acting, things could escalate in an entirely different way. She knew that Sirius wouldn't lay a hand on a woman out of anger… but she wasn't just any woman anymore. "I'm not special. I need help, of course. Which is why I am here. I was going to come to you. The night you met me, I knew exactly who you were." And just for that moment, you made me the happiest I'd been in a long time, she wanted to say. "But I needed you to trust me, I needed to know that I could trust you. Like I could then… in 1998. I wanted to build a friendship with you… however, I didn't take the right precautions when I was doing my research. I gave myself away and Regulus got to me before I could get to you. However, I knew I could trust him because of what I knew from the future. I knew where his true loyalties lay."

Sirius threw his hands into the air, "You're not completely answering my question, Hermione. Why you? What do you have to defeat him? If you couldn't defeat him in your time, what makes you think you can do it in this timeline? And why the hell are the good guys fighting him now?! How many lives do we have to continue to lose and risk for this to just keep on nineteen fucking years later?"

"Because, now, I know his weaknesses, where as then, I was still learning! We were too late then! Now we can hit him and he wouldn't even know it."

Sirius laughed, his laughter held such malice, it frightened her. "Well to put it plainly, these two here are your enemy. They are loyal to no one but the fucked up lineage of The Ancient and Noble House of Fucking Black."

"Then I guess they are loyal to me, aren't they?" Hermione spat. "Since apparently I am one. Since apparently I am married to you, and since my next of kin is Regulus."

Regulus sniggered catching Sirius's attention, they challenged each other with a stare down until Narcissa spoke up, "Okay gentleman, lower your testosterone. Hermione," she turned to the younger witch, "how did I send you back?"

This was a question she had been dreading. "The Black Family Time-Turner," she answered.

Narcissa's and Sirius's brows furrowed, nearly identical lines creasing their foreheads, showing that they were indeed kin. When it became apparent that Hermione knew what she was talking about, Sirius turned to his cousin and asked, "How'd you manage that?"

She rubbed her temples in circles, "I really have no idea, Sirius. Obviously." She then rolled her eyes and huffed, "I know the same amount of information that you do. Do you have any idea, Hermione?"

The woman shrugged, "I haven't an idea. It was just handed over to me and I was given instructions."

"I need a cigarette," Sirius started toward the door.

"Okay," Hermione said cautiously. "But, please. I am begging you, don't tell anyone what you know, Sirius. If anyone outside of us found out… it could be catastrophic."

"It goes without saying, Hermione…," Narcissa began, "but I swore to you and on my magic… your secret is safe with me."

Sirius didn't turn back around to face any of them, but with a low growl he murmured, "I still have questions. I won't say anything."

"Make a vow," Regulus began.

"No," Hermione said. "I trust him."

Then Sirius walked out the door, slamming it behind him.