Greetings Everyone! I have a new chapter for you, I hope you enjoy! How do you guy overall like this fic? I know it's a long one, and it's my first ever, but I hope it's satisfactory. Also I was thinking, if anyone wants, or knows of a beta who wouldn't mind fixing my past chapters up a bit more, please let me know! I've never used a beta before, and I'm sure my chapters could use one. Thank you all so much for reading! You don't understand how much it means to me that people like what I'm writing! Thank you!

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the Harry Potter series, I do not.

Hermione's POV

It had been a fairly long day, but Hermione wasn't at all tired. She sat in her bed facing the other girls; it had been too long since they had last seen each other and Hermione was greatly enjoying their presence. It was still odd having such close friends that were girls. Back in her own time, Hermione often clashed with Parvati and Lavender, and much rather preferred the company of Ron and Harry. It wasn't that she thought she was too good for her old dorm mates, quite the opposite in fact. It was just that Hermione didn't seem to have a thing in common with them. While Hermione was interested in books and studying, Lavender and Parvati seemed to thrive off of talking about boys in their year. Hermione also lacked the attentive sympathy that the two girls often craved in their companionship. The three girls were never necessarily on bad terms, but they soon found out that they'd much rather stay out of each other's way.

Being locked up in this room all summer surprisingly had no effect on Hermione now. The castle was full of life, and Hermione was thrilled to see students swarming its halls. She never thought Hogwarts could be capable of being so miserable—omit when Umbridge was involved— but she soon found out it could be completely awful when you were alone. But now Hogwarts was crowded with children of all different ages, and Hermione was thriving off of the sudden business of its corridors. Even her dorm room did a complete 180. It felt more comfortable now that it was full, and Hermione couldn't wipe the grin off of her face if she tried.

"Tell us more about you and Frank!" Marlene pressed Alice once all the girls gathered on their own beds. For once in her life, Hermione was excited to have a little "girl talk" with her friends. She was just happy that she was surrounded by people again.

"What do you want to know?" Alice wondered with a mischievous smile.

"Everything!" Lily and Marlene gasped at the same time, which sent all of the girls into hysterics. Hermione gasped slightly as Khons' found his place on Hermione's bed and began purring loudly. None of the girls had taken much notice of the large white cat; they had seen him sulking around in the common room multiple times before.

"I really love him," Alice admitted. "I think we're planning on moving in together after I leave Hogwarts." Alice confessed to the other girls. "Frank wants me to join him in the Auror program, but I'm not sure yet." Alice told the girls.

"You'd do well as an Auror," Lily noted from her bed across the room. Marlene and Hermione nodded in agreement.

Fabian and Gideon's words repeated themselves in Hermione's ears. They had both said she'd make a worthy Auror, but she wasn't sure if that's what she wanted. If Hermione was being honest, she often avoided the topic of future plans as long as she could. She didn't like the constant violence that Auror's had to put up with or the great amount of physical work that came with the career. Hermione had already faced enough conflict in her life, she wasn't sure she'd like to pursue a career that often dealt with it. She knew that she would have to make a decision soon enough, but Hermione wasn't sure how much of a future she would even have.

"I'm scared to commit to something," Marlene said in nearly a whisper. "I just—I just don't know how this war is going to go. He's getting stronger day by day, I don't want to get excited about a future I won't even have." Marlene said quietly, she ran a hand through her dark brown hair and sighed. Her normally bright blue eyes were dull, and Hermione could see them watering at the inner corner.

The words were like a slap in the face to Hermione. She quickly walked over to Marlene's bed and grabbed her hands tightly in her own. Lily and Alice followed suit and sat down on Marlene's bed to comfort her.

"I won't let anything happen to you," Hermione promised as she squeezed Marlene's hands in her own. "I promise I won't let anyone harm you," Hermione comforted her, and then she turned to the other two girls.

"We're a family; we're going to make it out of this alive. I promise we'll make it out." Hermione whispered to the other girls. Lily's bright green eyes were littered with tears, and Alice was smiling appreciatively. The girls laid like that for a while, cuddled up on Marlene's bed; just enjoying the presence of each other. None of them knew what their future had in store, and Hermione thought that that was perfectly okay.

The next morning Hermione woke up before all of her dorm mates. She found herself wandering down to the common room with a book in her hand and her bag in the other. When she reached the last few steps, she was surprised to see Sirius already awake, sitting in front of the fireplace, staring into the low burning fire.

"Are you alright?" Hermione cleared her throat and awkwardly asked. She felt like Sirius might have wanted to be left alone, but Hermione couldn't leave without asking. Sirius turned around at her words, and then smiled slightly. He gave her a look and then motioned towards the spot next to him. Taking it as an invitation, Hermione walked over to him and sat down in front of the fire, barely feeling any heat radiating off of it.

"What are you doing awake so early?" Sirius questioned. Hermione pondered the question for a moment, and then gently nudged him.

"What are you doing up so early? Isn't this like, against everything you stand for?" Hermione teased him again with another nudge.

"Ha-ha, you're so funny Hermione. So extraordinarily funny." Sirius said sarcastically, and then let out a loud barking laugh. "And just so you're aware, your boyfriend is the one who sleeps in. He's threatened me with death for waking him up early before." Sirius said with a grin and Hermione rolled her eyes. Sighing, Hermione changed the subject.

"I can't believe we are in our seventh year," Hermione noted as she stared down at the burning coals before her. She stuck her arms out in a weak attempt to warm them, but the coals hardly let off any heat.

"I know," Sirius said in awe. "Have any big plans for the future?" he wondered curiously.

"Oh you know…Nothing too big. Just defeating a tyrannical, radical, pureblood-mania Dark Lord." Hermione sighed. The two shared a look, and then burst into laughter. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder, and then after a moment or two, Sirius sighed.

"I was thinking about my family, by the way." Sirius said suddenly. It took Hermione a moment to realize what he was talking about, but she figured it out quickly. "Why they're so awful." Hermione remained quiet, unsure of what to say.

"They aren't all awful," Hermione reminded him, thinking of Regulus. Sirius obviously took this in another way and nodded his head knowingly.

"I know that Andromeda is fine," He paused for a moment, and then shook his head. "But the rest are so cruel. Black's are known for being cruel, did you know that? Do you know how awful it feels to be known for being cruel?" He asked and shook his head in disgust. "Being known for being awful?" Sirius took another deep breath. "They're so wrapped up in being better than everyone else; they don't care if they're horrible people."

Hermione pursed her lips, not knowing what she should say. She was never very good in situations like this. She was more logic than feeling, and usually ended up making the other person feel worse off. However, this time, remaining silent was surprisingly the right thing to do.

"And the worst thing," Sirius laughed bitterly, "The worst thing is that they believe what they think is right. They actually believe they're better than other people." Sirius swallowed hard. "And Regulus had a chance, and I failed him. I should've got him out while I had the chance," Sirius finished.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably. She wanted to tell Sirius everything she knew about Regulus, but she knew she couldn't. Instead Hermione cleared her throat and turned to face Sirius.

"We're your family Sirius," Hermione said and grabbed Sirius' hand tightly. It seemed as though she was comforting a lot more people recently. "It's rough now, but it'll get better. I promise." She whispered and he nodded his head. Footsteps behind them alerted Hermione, and soon she heard a voice and felt a familiar tingling sensation in her body.

"Morning," Remus croaked from behind them. Hermione's head snapped around and she couldn't help but smirk at Remus. He had gotten dressed, but didn't put much effort into it. His curly mop of hair was as messy as James' usually was, and his voice was still sleepy. Hermione stood up quickly and walked over to Remus followed by Sirius. Hermione stuck a hand up and ruffled it through Remus' dark blonde hair, letting out a giggle as she did so. He groaned in protest but didn't stop her, a satisfied smile rested on his tired looking face.

"Sleep well?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow and Remus snorted.

"I could've kept sleeping well, but Peter snores. Loud." Remus said dryly and Hermione laughed. She went to run her hand through his hair again, but this time Remus' hand shot up and caught hers. Hermione jerked her hand back but Remus held onto it tight and gave her a sleepy smile. His hand darted out towards her quick and pulled her close, tickling her as he wrapped her up into a tight hug. Hermione squirmed against him, giggling loudly and waffling against him. Next to them Sirius loudly cleared his throat.

"Anyone care for breakfast? I'm starving." Sirius announced. Hermione felt herself blush as she nodded her head and pulled away from Remus.

"Should we see if the others are awake?" Hermione wondered as they headed towards the door.

"They'll come when they come," Sirius shrugged grumpily. Hermione nodded her head and dismissed Sirius' sudden mood change, but didn't comment on it. Instead, she led the two boys out of the common room and towards the Great Hall.

Once they reached the Great Hall, the trio sat down at the Gryffindor table. It wasn't long before more Gryffindor's started filing their way into the Great Hall and sitting down for Breakfast. Soon, Lily took her place next to Hermione and schedules began mixing.

Hermione's eyes couldn't help but drift over towards the Slytherin table. She wasn't looking for anyone in specific, but when her eyes found Regulus she felt suddenly relieved. For some reason, she wouldn't believe that Regulus or Severus were alright until she saw him. Her mind replayed Regulus' screams and she felt herself go frigid.

Regulus' eyes met Hermione, and he gave her a weak nod, but nothing else. Being acknowledged was enough for Hermione. Regulus was surrounded by either Death Eaters, or Death Eaters in the making, Hermione was just thrilled that he noticed her at all.

Hermione's eyes fell down the table a bit more, and soon they found Snape. He was surrounded by people, but he kept his head down and wasn't speaking. Hermione bit the inside of her cheek and willed Snape to look up at her, just so she knew he was okay, but he remained looking down at his oatmeal.

"Are you okay?" Remus wondered next to her. Hermione's head snapped over to him and she nodded quickly.

"Yeah, it's just weird being around so many people again." Hermione lied, hoping that it was at least a bit believable.

Remus didn't look entirely convinced, but he remained quiet. A few moments later, Severus got up from the table and walked towards Regulus. Hermione stretched her neck so she could follow Snape's movements. The greasy haired wizard leaned down towards Regulus and murmured something in his ear. Regulus put down his fork and nodded his head, then stood up and followed Snape out of the Great Hall.

Seeing her chance, Hermione quickly looked around the Gryffindor table.

"I'm going to the bathroom, I'll see you in potions, okay?" Hermione quickly told Remus before pecking him on the cheek and following the two Slytherins out of the Great Hall.

Hermione didn't care how suspicious she looked as she followed the two boys out of the hall. Regulus' screams had haunted her for the past several nights. Although she saw and knew that Regulus was alright, she couldn't help but worry about his and Severus' well being.

Hermione turned down an empty corridor, passing by a few lost first years as she struggled to keep up with the Slytherins. Regulus and Severus leaned into each other, whispering as they passed by Professor McGonagall. As Hermione rounded the next corner, she lost sight of them and cursed to herself under her breath.

"What..?" Hermione whispered in confusion, she had just seen them a moment ago; they couldn't have gotten very far in front of her…

Just as Hermione stomped past the corner, she her a clicking noise to her right and then was jerked in the same direction.

"Oof!" Hermione gasped as she stumbled onto her knees and into an abandoned classroom. Hermione slowly looked up and found a disconcerted Severus and Regulus. The two Slytherin's stood over her, but each of their expression varied greatly. Snape stared down at her with his regular sneer; he was radiating a certain annoyance that Hermione was used too. Regulus however was smirking slightly; his gray eyes were smiling down at her and Hermione instantly remembered his screams.

"What was the sneak attack for?" She hissed as she stood up and brushed her hands off on her pleated skirt. Severus snorted and rolled his eyes, an action Hermione was all too familiar with.

"Don't act like you don't know," He spat at her. "Why were you following us?" He raised a questioning eyebrow. Hermione inhaled sharply at the question. She hadn't thought she had been so obvious, she felt herself go bright red.

"I wasn't aware I was," Hermione lied. Next to her, Regulus let out a barking laugh that was reminiscent of Sirius'.

"Granger, it was completely obvious. If you're going to follow us, maybe you should learn how to do it unnoticed. Our Slytherin friends wouldn't take kindly to knowing we are skiving around with a Gryffindor. Especially one of your variety." The words flowed easily off of Regulus' tongue, and for once Hermione wasn't sure how to reply without sounding stupid.

"My variety?" Hermione repeated slowly. "And what exactly does that entitle?" Hermione was the one who crossed her arms now.

Regulus let out a nervous laugh, and then promptly cleared his throat. "What I meant was—"

"What he means," Snape cut Regulus off before he had a chance to finish. "Is that you probably shouldn't try to contact us during school. He has eyes and ears everywhere, and I would prefer to survive another year," Snape drawled on. The way he spat out survive made Hermione shiver, it made Hermione feel like they weren't living, that they were just struggling to keep themselves from dying. It made her nauseas.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright," Hermione admitted as she bit her lip. The whole conversation had gone more awkward than she had expected.

"You knew we were fine," Regulus countered and Hermione felt herself shrug.

"I know." Hermione threw her hands up defensively. "But I just can't get the sound of you screaming out of my mind." Hermione confessed; just the thought of his screams made Hermione pale.

"Oh, yes well, that was pretty brutal." Regulus nodded his head, remembering the awful events that took place this summer. Hermione nodded her head slightly agreeing.

"He's fine." Snape snapped quickly. "We're all fine. But your insistent worrying is going to get us killed one day, so please stop." Snape demanded. Hermione blinked at him but slowly nodded her head.

"If it makes you feel better, I don't really remember the pain anymore. It sort of faded away." Regulus shrugged awkwardly as he messed up his usually neat dark hair. When Hermione remained silent, Regulus cleared his throat. "If I can forget it, so can you."

"Okay," Hermione said after a few moments. "Thanks. And I won't try to talk to you guys again, or at least I won't do it so obviously." Hermione said with a shrug as she headed for the door. Once she placed her hand on it she paused and turned around.

"Please," Hermione pleaded with the two Slytherin's. "Try and stay alive." She told them, then walked out of the room.

~Until Next Time~

Thank you so much for reading! All of you guys are so wonderful and magical and amazing! Please please please review and let me know what you think! I have exciting plans for this story and I can't wait for you guys to see them!(: