January, 1976.

"Sirius," she hollered uncharacteristically loud. Like the Marauder's Map had informed her, she found her twin across the hallway, hands stuck in the pockets of his jeans as he walked away.

His back was to her, but she would recognize that long, black hair almost anywhere. She wondered if people often looked for her with the image of her unruly curls in their mind.

Probably.

Almost tripping on her feet, she sped up to catch up to him. When he finally turned around, she began, "Where have you—"

He looked pale, sweaty and all meaning of absolutely exhausted. Not to mention the deep, twisted feeling of panic that she felt from the twin bond. Something was wrong. "Where have you been? Sirius, are you okay?"

She made to grab his arm, but he pushed her hand away. His dark brows were drawn together, a narrowed gaze fixed on her. "Why? Have you finally decided to care?"

Hermione breathed out a nervous laugh, heart stuck in the back of her heart at the wonder of what was going on. Her hands shot up once again and this time, he let her fingers wrap around his forearm. Her chest warmed as the bond recognized his presence. "What are you talking about?"

His lips curled down, resembling a bit more like their father, who often wore that expression when he felt—well, she wasn't sure anymore.

"I barely see you anymore—Prongs, I can understand because he has just started dating Evans—but you, have you forgotten that you have a brother? Or two, but of course, that one doesn't want shit to do with either of us."

Knots began to form in her stomach, twisting painfully as she clenched her hands into fists. She needed to restrain her emotions, realize that Sirius was probably having some nervous breakdown.

He still hasn't said where he's been, Granger reminded her but she didn't care about that. She needed to set some things straight.

"You know I've been busy—" she tried to explain, but he shrugged himself off her hold and took a step back.

"That's the thing, Cub. You're starting to keep things from me, yet again. Did that for five years already, didn't you?"

Hermione took a deep, shuddering breath, hopes still held onto not choking up on her words due to the deep despair that was starting to build inside of her.

"Sirius . . . I can't tell you. It's for your own safety," she said, admittedly realizing that it wouldn't do any good to lie, especially at this moment.

Sirius stepped forward and wrapped his large hands around hers, giving her a little tilt of his head. She was baffled by his behaviour.

"Fine, then. I don't have to tell you where I have been. But remember, my baby sister, if you decide to do anything for the greater good that could harm you, I will also do anything to keep you safe."

Under the faint light of the candles that hung around the walls on each side, she noticed the hard clench of his jaw and she started to wonder if he had heard something - perhaps, from Professor Dumbledore.

Hermione opened her mouth, intent on questioning where that had come from but before she could get a word out, a blur of sounds rang from the end of the hallway. Both of them gave the empty space a suspicious look and simultaneously decided to drag each other behind an alcove.

She noticed a glimmer coming out of his pockets and she rolled her eyes. After a light smack on the back of his head, she said, "You have the Invisibility Cloak, you idiot."

He sucked in a breath, chancing a glance towards her before muttering, "Oh, right."

Now hidden under the Cloak, they didn't hesitate once from looking at the two shadowed figures. As they were close enough, she immediately recognized their faces. Strangely enough, she again thought she'd heard Regulus's name come from their mouth.

Before she could throw the thought in the back of her mind, she caught Sirius looking at her with wide eyes.

"What?" she mouthed, but he shushed her with a finger on his lips, leaning closer to the Slytherins. She copied him, staring intently until she could focus on their distinctive voices.

"The Dark Lord has been waiting for too long. We need to get him to come with us."

"Think he'll care if we drag the boy by force?"

The taller boy let out a slimy laugh. "He would enjoy marking Black even more."

Sirius began to move on his own and she didn't think twice before following him because - fuck, fuck, fuck - they were talking about her little brother.

Her heart beat slammed in her ears and thankfully, Sirius had decided in time to silence their footsteps as she could barely focus on any other sound. Her ears were desperate to catch anything else from the two boys.

By the time they were led to the dungeons, the door was slammed shut and there was no way for them to enter the dormitory along with the two boys.

"Fuck!" Sirius roared and his fist hit the wall, quick and harsh. She could barely make anything out of the additional pain in her chest, every inch of her body already trembling in fear. Her brother turned around to face her, hands on her shoulders as he pushed her against his chest in a tight hug.

Hermione didn't want to cry, she wanted to do something, but his black shirt was soaked with her tears anyways and she could do nothing about it. Only when she heard Sirius hiss in pain, did she spring back to look at him. They needed to get going.

Seated on a sofa provided by the Room of Requirement, the tip of her wand grazed against Sirius's bloodied knuckles. She had Granger's assistance, so this could work like it did for Madam Pomfrey. "Episkey."

He groaned, retreating his hand back and clutching it against his chest. "You'd be a shite Healer."

Settling back against a small, purple cushion, she gave him an annoyed look. "You should be grateful I can perform the spell."

"You or Granger?" It was a poor attempt at teasing, but she gave him a small smile anyways. She knew that he wanted to address it, that he was hesitating for the sake of her, when he really shouldn't.

"I think I saw Flint and Avery talking about Regulus before, too. A few days ago . . . I," she cleared her throat because yet again, she'd forgotten to mention this to him, "I saw Regulus on the Quidditch Pitch."

There was a beat of silence, where he searched her face for something - like why would she hide this from him. As awful as it sounded, she'd just forgotten. "Did he talk to you?" he asked quietly.

"He asked me if I was okay," she answered, tone bleeding with a nostalgia that made no sense; it hadn't been that long, but it felt far different. "And I asked for forgiveness, for whatever I may have done to hurt him."

His head dropped in his hands, fingers gripped his hair tightly. "I want to talk to him, too," she heard him admit and she took a hold of his hand, making him look at her again.

"You will," she told him in a firm voice. "We need to stop them, Sirius. We can't let them hurt him."

He nodded, rubbing his jaw absentmindedly. "Do you have a plan in mind?"

She hesitated. "It may be stupid—"

Sirius let out a scoff, ruffling her hair like she was a puppy. "You're Hermione Black - the smartest witch I know, in fact."

Her nose up in the air, she relished the fact that he was no longer mad at her and said, "Right. As I was saying, we should . . ."

Never did she think that this would end up really happening, but she was truly planning on being stuck in a room with Regulus and Sirius until they all figured out their shit — forgive her language.

Granger tsked. Being Sirius's sister has changed you.

Or maybe not being Sirius's sister has changed Granger in her other universe. She liked her brother just fine, no matter how confusing their fight—if it could even be called that—had been.

Chancing a glance at Sirius, she noticed the nervous bouncing of his leg and when he caught her eyes, he gave her a knowing look. There were only five minutes left of Transfiguration, then they were off to find their little brother.

If Remus and Peter noticed anything, they didn't bother calling them out. The latter kept trying to get Sirius's attention, probably making funny drawings of Professor Mcgonagall - something Hermione disapproved of, for the sake of her favourite Professor.

The drawings though, they were fantastic in their own artistic sense. She'll encourage him to draw more, when she'll see him later that day.

Speaking of mentors, she really needed to catch Professor Dumbledore before he got a chance to get away from her again. He wasn't avoiding her per se, but she hadn't learned anything else about Riddle. She also needed to start her training . . .

Slow down, little one, Granger cautioned, sounding extremely sad for filling her shoulders with burden. What's done was done, Hermione would rather focus her attention on things that had yet to be done: ultimately defeating Voldemort.

For her father, for everyone's lives that must be at risk. While panicked warnings were written at the beginning of the year, they had eventually stopped with no other mention of You-Know-Who, but she knew. Hermione knew perfectly that it was the calm before the storm.

"Miss Black, if you're done daydreaming."

Hermione startled, looking up to see Professor Mcgonagall standing much closer than earlier, and her face burned with disappointment. She'd never been like that in any class — except that one time in History of Magic.

"I'm sorry, Professor," she said, her voice pitched up as an unfortunate reaction to the embarrassment she felt.

As the woman walked away, muttering something along the lines of bad influence, she looked away with a frown. She really didn't mean to do anything bad.

Eventually, her gaze landed on the left, where Lily sat. By her side, her best friend had his hand clasped with the redhead's and he seemed to be trying to write on his parchment with his left one.

He seemed to be failing miserably, but she hoped the thought counted for Lily.

Her eyes flickered back to the girl, whose emerald eyes were now turned towards her. The Prefect looked towards their Professor, then back towards Hermione, managing to judge her in silence.

James turned to his girlfriend to say something—quickly giving Hermione a brilliant smile—and caught Lily's attention, who finally looked away from her.

"Are you okay?" Remus asked as he nudged her arm. He handed her a Sugar Quill, waving away her grateful smile and letting her chew on it for a while before she replied.

"You are the best friend I could ever have," she said, not caring to be loud once she sighed in content.

Pursing his lips in a pout, he muttered, "And my best friend is very good at avoiding questions. You and Sirius both, really - is it a Black thing?"

"Is being my wise, caring Moony a Lupin thing?"

He rolled his eyes, giving her a slow clap. "Wow, Hermione. You just did it again."

Oops, I did it again, Granger sang in a strange tune and Hermione threw her head back, continuing to laugh quietly at every random thing that was happening all at once. She might be going hysterical. At least, Remus joined her in good companionship.

—

Once the bell rang, she allowed Lily to drag her best friends away, excluding Sirius. Her brother had moved further down the corner of the room, arms crossed as he watched everyone walk out of the room.

He only moved when she stood up with her bag over her shoulder, giving her a small smile as they started to walk away from the seats. Just as they stood at the doorway, she heard Professor Mcgonagall ask, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Hermione swirled around, allowing her lips to quirk up at the memory of the brief encounter they had outside the woman's office. "I won't, Professor."

The Professor then looked at Sirius, arching a perfect, grey brow at him. She continued to stare at him for a couple more beats, until his lips split into a grin and he saluted her. "You need to trust me, Minnie."

Once they received a reluctant nod from the woman, she grabbed Sirius's arm and dragged him to the dungeons. She hoped that being on the front would help her keep up with his tall legs and large steps.

"Severus told me Regulus had Potions class right now," she told him and he grunted at the mention of his first name. She could only be grateful for the Slytherin, who suspiciously enough, didn't question her when she stopped him during DADA, to ask him what classes the Second-Year Slytherins had at the time.

She guessed that he was strangely trusting of his friends. But was she his friend?

Shaking her head, she continued to move in hurry, before halting on her steps when she found Regulus walking down towards them in tiny steps.

The corridor was empty by now, as the second bell had already rang and for some reason, Reggie looked like he really did not want to go to his next class.

His wish would be fulfilled.

"Pull out the Cloak," she whispered to Sirius and once they were close enough, she gathered her senses and pointed her wand precisely towards Regulus.

She was about to do a N.E.W.T.-level Conjuration, so she wasn't sure for how long her thin ropes would last, but she still casted, "Incarcerous!"

Moving past her, Sirius hurried to put the Invisibility Cloak over the trio. Their tall figures walked awkwardly under it, especially as Regulus continued to struggle against the restrainment.

"What are you doing?" he asked in the typical icy, cold Pureblood tone, but they would be mad to fall for it now. Sirius has agreed that he would not lose his calm, no matter what their little brother said.

So, her twin put his arm around Reg's shoulders and said, "We're about to have a little family time."

They decided to take the secret staircase to the Seventh Floor, now moving towards Barnabas's portrait as though it was by habit. Casting a Room-sealing Spell, she made sure that Regulus won't be able to leave it until she decided that it was fine.

Rolling her eyes at all the additions that Sirius had made—Muggle models' posters, Quidditch equipment, Zonko's toys—it struck to her how familiar the image in front of her felt; Sirius and Regulus both sat on the couch.

Though, it wasn't usual for Regulus to have ropes around his body. So, being the good sister she was, she finally Vanished the bindings. Hermione wished she could show Professor Mcgonagall that she was learning what was being taught this year.

"I'll get you expelled," he warned them as she joined them on the red, Gryffindor couch.

Giving him a doubtful stare, she shrugged as Sirius snorted. "What are you going to do? Wait till your Mother hears about it?"

"She's yours too," Regulus spat out, looking away from them and staring at the ground.

"I'd rather not have a bitch for a mother."

"Sirius, honestly. She's not a bitch . . ." she said, waiting for Regulus's head to shoot up and as she'd expected, he did just that. Finally having his attention, she continued, "She's a murderer."

"What are you talking about?" Regulus glared at her, eyes turned into slits and his face was red.

"The day this happened," she showed him the scar, the reminder of being a blood traitor—she felt awfully proud of it now, it made strength thrum in her veins—and continued, "I noticed something strange about Father. I'm sure you did too - he was showing some weird emotions, ones that he hadn't showed in a while. Didn't you see how he smiled at me during dinner?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat. She'd never really thought about those moments again and now, her eyes began to water - so, so frustratingly.

"He tried to - no, he saved me, Regulus. Instead of joining Walburga as she watched me get tortured, he distracted everyone so that you could come get me. But before that, do you know what happened? I called out that vile woman for whatever she might've done, and she right out admitted that she had been poisoning him for Merlin knows how long! Five years or longer. He didn't die of an illness, Reg. Tom fucking Riddle probably found out what Father was doing and killed him!"

"You're lying!" Regulus stood up, walking towards the door without a glance back. She could see him taking deep breaths, keeping whatever love was left for Walburga alive, but that loyalty was dangerous for him. Hermione needed to get it removed before he could get hurt, as well.

"Do you think I'd lie to you?" her voice began to get rise, even as he stopped to listen to her - his back still towards her. "Do you really think I'd lie about anything relating to our Father's death?!"

The silence that followed could break her heart in a million pieces and she would eventually feel each one of the cracks.

She hadn't expected to see him turn around, an accusing finger pointed at her and Sirius. "You two didn't care about anyone in our family. You two left me!"

"They were using the Cruciatus Curse on us like usual. What did you expect us to do?" Sirius questioned. He glanced at Hermione before looking back at him. "They were forcing me to marry Bellatrix and forcing our sister to become a Death Eater!"

"And you were the one who told me to leave that day," she pointed out quietly, staring into his eyes in hopes that he'll try to listen to her once again.

"I . . ." His eyes flickered towards the door, his foot raised to where he'd planned to go after all, but just then - he stopped. He did a one-eighty and approached them cautiously, like two lions in their den waiting for their prey.

"Why are you telling me all this now?"

He was, after all, a Slytherin through and through. He had every right to be suspicious, as they had waited so long to talk to him properly.

"We heard Flint and Avery talk about how they're planning on forcing the Dark Mark on you, as per the orders of Voldemort."

He flinched at the name, probably remembering the fear that the Daily Prophet had filled their minds with, through just a name. Let alone the fact that the three had dined with the man. He'd even admired his beliefs, back then and . . .

"You don't want it, do you?" she asked, walking up to him slowly. She stopped to caress a hand through his hair and he let her, just like when they were kids, when everything was so much easier.

Sirius stood between them, watching his reaction carefully. She allowed a few moments to pass as Regulus looked at his older siblings carefully.

"I don't want to be a killer," he admitted quietly and rightfully so. He was just fourteen years old, and they will do anything to forever protect their baby brother.

"We'll make sure they don't even lay a finger on you," she told him in a firm tone, nodding at Sirius with a determined look.

"And I'm sorry - for acting like an asshole from the moment you were Sorted," Sirius added, his eyes pleading for Regulus to forgive him.

The younger Black's lips trembled and before tears could spill from his eyes, they gathered him in a tight hug, reveling in the warm comfort that could only come from a true family.

A/N: I would love to tell you of how a smile remains on my face for the rest of the day whenever I read a review! It makes me so glad to know that you are enjoying the story. Thank you for all the sweet support and please fav this story, if you haven't already.