Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I don't make money from this fic.
October 30, 1980 Hogwarts, Scotland - Headmaster's Office
"So you saw a book, and you thought it might be relevant to the horcrux hunt because…?" James asked, looking over at Regulus from his perch on the arm of Hermione's chair. Lily was at home with Harry, but Hermione knew he'd fill her in when he got home. Hermione looked between the two men, then at the others. Sirius, Remus, Peter, Frank, Moody, McGonagall, and Dumbledore sat in a rough circle. While this meeting wasn't important enough to call in the entire Order, Hermione wanted the major players there, at the very least.
"He didn't think it was important." Hermione said. "I did."
"What?" James asked.
"There's some things we need to talk about." Hermione sighed. "And I asked Dumbledore to gather all of you so that we're all on the same page." she said, looking to Dumbledore to see if she should continue. When he nodded, she took a deep breath, pulling herself up in her seat.
"For those of you who don't know, I'm not from this time. I was sent back in time via an attack on the Ministry when a time turner fell on my head."
"Well, that clears things up a bit." Moody grumbled. "Been wondering where Dumbledore got all of his information about attacks he shouldn't've known about. S'pose you've been helping us longer than we realized, then."
"Indeed. Because of the incident, I started having visions. It took me a while to learn to control them, but I've gotten fairly good at it. But this meeting isn't about my visions. It's about my past.
"I've told Dumbledore what I could remember about Voldemort's activity in the future, but there were things that happened that I didn't connect the dots to until just now. So I wanted to tell you all in hopes that one of you might catch something that I missed."
"That sounds like an excellent idea," Dumbledore said, leaning forward.
"First year, Voldemort was after the Philosopher's Stone, which was hidden in the castle. We had no way of knowing until after, but Quirinus Quirrell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, went out in search of Voldemort after his fall from power. We now know that the reason he was still alive was his horcruxes. Quirrell did, indeed, find Voldemort, and when he did, Voldemort possessed the man, sharing a body and a life force with the man. To strengthen himself, Voldemort compelled Quirrell to go into the forest and drink unicorn blood. It wasn't until the end of the year, when Quirrell made an attempt at the Stone, and my friends and I went after him, that he was stopped. There was some sort of strange magic bound to Harry, your son, James, that allowed him to defeat Quirrell merely by touching him. But still, Voldemort lived on.
"In second year, the Chamber of Secrets was reopened. I was Petrified, but not before I discovered what the monster hidden within the Chamber was: it's a basilisk. I heard later that a student was taken into the Chamber, but it turned out she was the one who had opened it in the first place. Lucius Malfoy had slipped her a little black diary before the start of school, and the book had compelled her to open the Chamber. Harry went after her, I was convinced he had a thing for saving people, and he killed the basilisk with Gryffindor's sword. A fang embedded itself in his arm, and while he was writhing in pain, he went on instinct and pulled the fang from his arm and stabbed the book with it. According to him, a projection of Tom Riddle, which was feeding off the life force of the girl, had appeared. When he stabbed the book, the projection seemed to die, and the girl's life force returned."
"That seems to line up with most everything I've read about horcruxes." Dumbledore said, thoughtfully.
"Third year, I met Sirius, Remus, and Peter, but there was no activity from Voldemort. That is, until it came to light that it was Peter, not Sirius, who betrayed James and Lily, getting them killed. In the end, Sirius went free, but so did Peter. He returned to Voldemort, claiming that he was always loyal to his master. Then, fourth year the Triwizard Tournament came around. A Death Eater got the jump on you, Moody. Kidnapped you and Polyjuiced as you for an entire school year. Between him and Peter, they set up an elaborate plot to lead Harry to Voldemort. According to Harry, there was a complex ritual that lead to Voldemort being reborn into a corporeal body. And that's when we knew he was back." Hermione finished.
"So this diary is more than likely a horcrux." Dumbledore concluded. "Do you know anything about the age of the projection the horcrux cast, Hermione? That could tell us a bit about the order in which he created the horcruxes."
"Harry said he looked young. Sixteen or seventeen." She said.
"If he knew about the Chamber," McGonagall said, "And the horcrux was indeed made when he was that young- Albus, do you think the death of Myrtle Warren was Riddle's doing?"
"I think the evidence suggests exactly that, Minerva." Dumbledore said. "The diary is likely his first horcrux. I have been looking into Riddle's past, examining memories. Regulus, does he wear a ring? Gold, with a black setting?"
"No, sir." Regulus frowned. "I've never seen him wear any sort of jewelry. He's been holed up with the Notts, that's been headquarters for the time being."
"How about trophies? Is there anything you've seen that should be on display, but isn't?" he asked.
"He recently mentioned that he had a very special task for Bellatrix Lestrange. He said he needed her to take care of something, which wouldn't be out of place if I didn't see her leaving later that evening carrying something. She was cradling it like a baby, as though her life depended on it. Which, I suppose, probably isn't far from the truth." he said, looking up at Dumbledore.
"Do you think it's possible that she's been tasked to guard a horcrux?" Frank asked.
"She proved to be one of Voldemort's most loyal servants, I think it's entirely possible." Hermione said.
"What about the locket, sir?" Remus asked Dumbledore. "Did you get any clues from it?"
"During my research on Riddle's life, I discovered that he became fascinated with his heritage in his later years at school. He is a half blood, his father was a Muggle, and he was conceived with the help of love potion. However, his mother's side of the family is a very old, pure line. He is, in fact, descended of Salazar Slytherin. This locket, if my sources are correct were once heirlooms belonging to his grandfather and partial namesake, Marvolo Gaunt, a wizard proud of his connection to Slytherin."
"So a locket that belonged to Slytherin, and his diary. Something is telling me there's more to this." Hermione said, frowning.
"I believe you're right, Hermione." Dumbledore said. "I haven't been able to figure out the pattern yet, but we will keep looking. Until then, I must ask: you said a basilisk fang was able to destroy the horcrux?"
"Yes, Harry stabbed the diary with it and I suppose it killed the younger version of Voldemort trapped within it."
"I suppose we could always repeat history. Do you know how to open the Chamber?" He asked thoughtfully.
"Yes, sir, but you have to be Parselmouth to open it." she said. "I think Ginny, the girl who opened it in my time, got the ability when she was possessed by Voldemort."
"I see. We'll just have to search our options, then. If my research is correct, you must destroy the vessel beyond magical repair. We will simply have to use the process of elimination." he said.
"I'm just glad we're one step closer to ending this damned war." Regulus sighed. "I'm tired of it."
"You and I both, boy," Moody said, clapping him on the back. Hermione smiled at the exchange. They were all ready for the end of the war. But it seemed it would only get worse before it got better.
November 21, 1980 Rye, England - Black Cottage
Hermione paced the floors nervously, looking out the window every time she passed them. It was nearly midnight and Sirius wasn't home yet. She cursed, turning away from the window once again.
She was supposed to have a relaxing girls' night with Lily. The boys had offered to take care of Harry for the evening so the girls could hang out and have a night off. Sirius even fixed them dinner before heading out to meet up with James. He'd told her he'd be returning on his motorbike, finally bringing it home. He and James had been working on it for months,and they'd finally enchanted the damn thing to fly. So naturally, Sirius wanted to test it out. He'd promised to be careful, using a disillusionment charm and promising not to push the bike to the max, but that didn't stop Hermione from worrying.
She heard the rumble of the engine in front of the house and ran to the window to make sure it was her husband, and when she saw him dismounting the bike in the driveway, she ran to the door, unlocking it and throwing it open as he strode up to the door. She threw herself into his arms, glad he was home safe.
"Hello to you, too." He chuckled, hugging her back. She pulled away from him, smacking his shoulder.
"Do you have any idea the state I've been in, Sirius Orion Black?" she asked, ushering him in and shutting the door behind him.
"I'm sorry, love, we ran into some...unforeseen circumstances." he said, sheepishly.
"We?" She asked.
"James and I, and before you ask, we didn't leave Harry alone, Remus was watching him." He said.
"Well, what happened?" She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Well, James and I needed to make a run to the store, and of course we didn't want to walk, so we hopped on the bike." he said with a sigh, sinking into the nearest chair.. "Apparently, I wasn't paying attention to the speed limit, and a police car started tailing us." He shook his head. "Muggle police officers aren't really a problem, but when we went to pull over, we noticed two people on brooms, tailing the police. I wasn't risking it and we went on, turning into an alley and getting off the bikes. The policemen thought they had us cornered, but James and I were more concerned with the Death Eaters. We humored the police officers, but when the wizards caught up, we went into duel mode."
"You did magic in front of Muggles?" Hermione asked.
"Not like we had much choice." He said. "Besides, we got rid of the two Death Eaters without a problem, then got away from the cops."
"What did you even go into town for in the first place?" Hermione asked. "What was that important?"
"Um. Well, you see-"
"It was something stupid, wasn't it?" She asked, glaring at him.
"No! It wasn't something stupid!"
"Then what was it?" She asked. He looked down, mumbling something under his breath. "What was that? I can't hear you, Sirius."
"It was ice cream, okay?" he said, his face turning red. "James ate the last of it and refused to go alone to get more. So we went together."
"You risked your lives," Hermione said slowly, "For ice cream?!" her voice shrilled through two octaves and Sirius flinched.
"I'm sleeping on the couch tonight, aren't I?" he asked.
"Is this little escapade why you're three hours later than you said you'd be?" She asked, ignoring his question.
"Yes and no. Ran into a rough patch of air on the way home, had to take a detour that took me about an hour longer than I'd originally planned. I didn't send you a patronus to let you know because I was having a bit of a time navigating. First time on the bike, and all." he said.
"Is James okay?" She asked, calming down a bit.
"Yes, he's just fine, and so am I. I'm sorry I worried you, Hermione. I shouldn't have been so stupid." he said. Hermione moving to him and settling herself on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist instinctively. Hermione tapped his chest, tracing the outline of his tattoo over his shirt. He nuzzled his head into her neck, kissing her there.
"Nauthiz." She murmured. "Think before acting. I thought this was a lesson you already learned?" He chuckled.
"Hermione, every day is a new lesson for me. You know that. I don't regret going out with James in search of ice cream tonight. I do regret not being more careful, though. I should have watched my speed. The police car is what drew the attention of the Death Eaters, I'm sure of it." He said, looking up at her. "And I regret breaking my promise to you. I told you I'd be home, and I wasn't. I'm sorry." She sighed. She couldn't stay mad at him for very long these days. Not when he really did seem to feel bad about his reckless behavior.
"I forgive you." She said. "Just- don't worry me like that again." she said. He leaned down and kissed her slowly, his hand cupping her face.
"I'll try my best, love." He said, grey eyes meeting brown. He held her gaze for an intense moment before he smiled down at her.
"But really, couch or no couch? I kinda need to know." He said. She laughed, shoving him playfully.
"You don't have to sleep on the couch." She said. "This time." He grinned at her and kissed her again, and she let the happiness she felt from knowing her husband was safe overrule all the stress and worry of the past few hours. For a time, she let herself be content.