***TRIGGER WARNING**** The war is starting to heat up which means things will become more difficult. I am warning you now there is a reason why this story is rated M. Please don't read if you think you can't handle it. I waited until I could post the next few chapters right after this because I wanted a quick finish to this issue. Again this is your last chance to skip this chapter.

Beta live to NetsirkElocin. And as always I do not own Harry Potter.

Hermione's fifth year started and true to James' prediction, Hermione was more to often than not to be found in the library. However, it was not studying for her OWLs that had her in there. Hermione was sure she would be able to pass those without any problems. After all, she already did once.

Hermione had found herself pulling book after book off the shelves that had to do with magical law. She was determined to find something to help Sirius.

Sirius had told Harry once that he ran away from his home, and his mother blasted him off the walls. But why did they let him go so quickly? Was it because Walburga and Orion Black knew about Pettigrew? Was he a traitor this early? Did they think that he would convince their son to return?

Hermione did not know the answers, and she was not going to take the chance that Sirius would not be able to get out of that house. She searched every book she could find and even asked for help from Madam Pince. However, the more Hermione searched, the more it seemed like she was never going to locate the answer.

She was studying one night in November and didn't realize how late it was until Madam Pince came and told her she was closing up for the evening and asked if Hermione wanted to check anything out.

"Oh no, I'm sorry. I didn't realize how late it was. I will put these back and then head out."

"Alright, Miss. Prewett," the librarian said as she turned and walked back to her desk.

Hermione put away the books quickly and grabbed her bag. As she walked out, her stomach growled at her reminding her that she had missed supper.

Hermione knew the boys would wondering where she was if she did not return to the tower soon. But, she reasoned, they had the map if they wanted to find her, so she decided to head down to the kitchens to find something to eat.

She walked in and was greeted by a happy house elf named Franny.

Franny quickly gathered up some food for Hermione to take back to the tower and even added some extra for her to share with the other Marauders.

Hermione thanked the small elf and grabbed the basket and left the kitchens.

She was making her way back, nibbling on a roll, and was thinking about where to look next when she turned a corner.

"Hello, beautiful," a voice said.

Hermione looked up and saw the seventh year Walden Macnair staring at her.

"What do you want, Macnair? I'm busy," she said as she tried to step around him.

"Oh, but you see I have wanted to talk to you for so long. You remember Lucius, don't you? He told you that he would speak to you soon. However, he's busy tonight and could not make it," Macnair said as he stepped to be once again directly in Hermione's path.

Hermione slowly started to back up. "Well, that is a shame. Too bad I don't care what you or he has to say to me!"

She slowly tried to move her hand to her wand, but suddenly her arms were being held by the elbows behind her back.

She turned her head and saw Travers holding her arms, smirking.

"Now now, that is no way of acting when I just want to talk, is it?" Macnair sneered.

Hermione looked around and saw more Slytherins surrounding her.

She could see Severus, Regulus, and Nott coming out of the shadows.

"Let. Me. Go!" Hermione said as she struggled to free her arms.

"I don't think so. You see, it seems you need to learn your place when your betters are around," Macnair said as he took a step forward. He was now toe-to-toe with Hermione.

Macnair drew his hand back and slapped Hermione's face. She could feel the sting of his handprint.

"I don't see anyone who is better than me here. All I see is a bunch of cowards who are willing to follow someone so blindly they do not know or care about the consequences!" Hermione said as she held her head up high.

"You little bitch! I will teach you better than to talk back to me!" Macnair said as he pulled Hermione's hair and threw her to the ground.

"Wait! We aren't supposed to do anything but rough her up a bit!" Regulus hissed as Macnair climbed on top of Hermione holding her hands above her head.

Hermione could see Regulus looking scared, and she saw Severus looking disgusted at what he was seeing.

"YOU COWARD! WOULD YOU LET THEM DO THIS TO LILY?" she screamed at him as Macnair tried to kiss her.

"Shut up!" Macnair yelled at her as he slapped her again across the face.

He pulled her shirt collar down and ripped the buttons clear off. He was about to kiss her again, when suddenly, he was flying off of her. Sirius lifted him and threw him against a wall where he was knocked out.

Hermione backed herself up against the wall. She looked around and saw Remus fighting Travers and James fighting Severus. She watched as Sirius turned and faced his brother. Sirius threw the first punch, and it landed on Regulus' face throwing him to the ground. As he tried to get away, Sirius fell on top of him and started punching him over and over.

"PADFOOT!" Hermione heard James cry out, "ENOUGH!"

Remus and James pulled Sirius off the beaten body of his brother.

"Hermione!" Sirius said as the rage lifted. He looked around and saw her up against the wall clenching her shirt closed. Tears were running down her face. He ran over to her and scooped her into his arms.

"Merlin, you are shaking like a leaf, Boots," he said as he raced back to Gryffindor tower after yelling at James to grab her things and for them to drag the Slytherins where no one would find them.

Sirius rushed Hermione up the stairs to the boys dorm and set her on his bed. He could see the marks that had been left on her pale skin and where the buttons on her shirt were ripped. He dug around in his trunk until he found an old jersey that was too small for him and handed it to Hermione.

"Here you go. Put this on."

Hermione quickly put the jersey on over the ruined shirt and then pulled her arms in to take the shirt off.

Sirius sat down next to her and held her as she cried in his lap.

Remus and James came in shortly after with Hermione's book bag, basket, and wand that Travers had taken.

"Hermione, are you okay?" James asked with concern for his friend.

Hermione looked up and saw her boys. All of them wore the same concerned and sorrowful expression as James.

Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes. "Yeah, I think so," she said still shaking.

"What happened? You were late getting back to the tower, so we checked the map and saw you surrounded by Slytherins," Remus said as he handed Hermione a blanket to wrap around her to try to stop the shakes.

Hermione pulled the blanket tightly around herself. "I was in the library. I didn't realize how late it was until I was told the library was closing. I was hungry, so I went to the kitchens to grab something for me to eat. I was coming back when they cornered me and… and…" Hermione couldn't get the words out.

But it did not matter. The Marauders could guess what happened next based on the way Hermione looked and what they ran in on. Remus and James were pissed. Sirius was murderous. If the guys had not pulled him off of his brother, he did not know if he would have stopped.

"Hermione, you have to tell Dumbledore," Remus said.

"NO!" Hermione exclaimed. She couldn't risk Regulus and Severus being expelled before it was time to move against the Horcruxes. If they were gone, Hermione wouldn't be able to finish her mission and stop the future she had lived.

The Marauders looked at her. "If I tell Dumbledore, what's to stop the entire Slytherin house from seeking revenge on me? It will only make things worse. Travers and Macnair are in their last year and then they will be gone. The only ones left after that are Snivellus and Regulus. I can handle those two."

"Hermione…" Sirius started to say.

"No, please respect my wishes this time. I don't want to tell Dumbledore, alright?" she said as she looked around. "Can we just please stop talking about this?" she asked as the tears started building up again.

The boys nodded, and they each sat down on Sirius' bed next to Hermione. They sat with her taking turns holding her while she cried until she fell asleep. Not wanting to wake her up, Sirius pulled the covers back on his bed and tucked her in. Her grabbed a pillow from his bed that she was not using and his extra blanket. He made himself a place to sleep on the floor next to his bed and was soon asleep replaying the images of Hermione pinned on the ground, scaring him to death.

This was a very hard chapter to write and I am sure it was hard to read for some. But that's the reality of war. I did not just put this in here to be mean but rather to bring to light some issues.

Till next time lots of love from the Bookworm