Hello lovely readers! Have a good read! See ya in two weeks!


Hermione woke to someone shaking her shoulder and wand light in her face. She squinted her eyes open and groaned at the sight of Lily standing over her bed.

"Lily? What is it?" Hermione sat up and rubbed at her eyes. When she took her hands away and focused on the other girl's face, she stilled. "Lily, what's happened?""

"You have to come down to the common room with me. It's important." She pulled Hermione up and out of bed, and down the stairs. The fire was dim, and three people stood anxiously in front of it, and Hermione's heart nearly stopped.

"Where's Harry? And James?" She strode toward the three Marauders and reached out to grab onto Sirius' arm. "Please tell me he didn't."

"I'm sorry, Hermione I can't. Harry-"

"Went to get Ron. That...arsehole." She cursed. "He waited until I fell asleep too, the jerk. Does he think I don't want to save Ron? I have as much in this as he does!" Hermione's eyes were on fire, and she started pacing. "I swear, when he gets back, I'm going to kill him myself. The selfish jerk. Ginny was right he is a selfish jerk."

"Hermione-" Remus tried, but she cut him off.

"And what were you three thinking? Letting him go?" Hermione's voice was a harsh whisper, as she was still aware they were in the common room and it was the middle of the night. She didn't want others to be alerted that they were down there and come investigate.

"We were asleep, Hermione. He tried to leave without telling anyone." Remus said.

"But James apparently woke up and went with him, because he's not here, and we can't see him on the Map." Sirius said, and Hermione's eyes went right to him.

"Give it to me." She held out her hand.

"Hermione-"

"Now, Sirius."

Her voice brokered no argument, and Sirius handed the blank sheaf of parchment to her.

"You have to say-"

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Hermione tapped her wand against the parchment and ignored the Marauder's stunned looks. She waved her wand in a complicated motion again, and sighed angrily. "He's not here, you're right."

She looked up and noticed the boys staring at her with open mouths. "What?"

They all spoke at once.

"You know about the map?"

"How did you know the password?"

"What is that spell you did over the map?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows and looked at Lily. "What part about 'the future' do they not understand?" Lily giggled despite the tense atmosphere, and Hermione lost all her anger at once.

Her idiot Harry. Always being the reckless Gryffindor. One would think he would've grown out of that, given all of the things he's gone through. But, Hermione sighed, being in a seventeen year old body surely doesn't help his decision making process.

She couldn't believe he just went off on his own like that. Well, no, she could believe it.

He's Harry Potter. It's in his blood.

Literally, given the fact that James went with him.

Hermione's breath caught in her throat.

Lily hurriedly ushered her over to a chair where she promptly collapsed. He had to come back. He had to.

Hermione couldn't lose both Harry and Ron at the same time. She wouldn't survive it.

"They'll be back, Hermione. I know it." Lily comforted her. Sirius, Remus, and Peter came and sat around her and gave her pats on the back.

"They have to." Hermione murmured.

The other prisoners had already fled by the time Harry supported Ron out of his cell, James coming up to grab his other arm. Harry hoped they all got out safely, just as he hoped they would.

He shouldn't have even let the thought cross his mind.

A spell flew past his head, and Harry heard the deep chuckle of Lucius Malfoy from farther down the hall.

"Well well well, if it isn't James Potter." The Death Eater drawled. "No Sirius Black tonight? And here I thought all blood traitors were attached at the hip."

"Shove off, Malfoy. At least I don't kiss the feet of some megalomaniac who would kill me just as easily as he would any muggleborn." James scowled, his hand tightening over the handle of his wand.

Malfoy laughed again, and Harry tensed as more Death Eaters came around the corner.

"Come now, Potter. We all know the Dark Lord values pure blood over all else." Malfoy raised his wand as a sickly smile played over his face. "You could always join us, and then we wouldn't have to spill any today."

James raised his wand. "When flobberworms fly, Malfoy. Now let us go."

"You're not leaving here with your mudblood friends, Potter. To think, we only had one and you've so kindly gifted us with the other."

James dropped Ron's arm and stepped in front of them, pointing his wand directly at Malfoy. "You will not hurt my friends. Let us go." Harry felt Ron lean over, and helped right him, tighting his grip.

"I don't take orders from you, Potter." Malfoy motioned to the other Death Eaters, and they all raised their wands.

No one was expecting the stunner that flew from behind James and struck Malfoy in the center of the forehead. Everyone watched him collapse to the floor, and Harry looked to Ron.

Ron, with a dead Death Eater's wand in his hand, and a hard look on his face. He looked back at Harry and he could see it in his eyes. Ron wasn't going to let anyone get away with what they'd done to him.

And Harry couldn't blame him. He wasn't going to let them get away with it either.

Together, Harry and Ron lifted their wands and stunned the rest of the Death Eaters in quick succession, leaving James with his wand pointed at nothing. He turned and looked at the two of them.

"Why didn't you do that before?" James asked, his wand arm dropping to his side.

Ron shrugged. "Give 'em a false sense of security, and they can't react fast enough."

James gave a disbelieving laugh. "We've missed you, Ron."

Ron looked to Harry and smiled.

"I missed you guys too."

"You have to go to the Infirmary." James said, attempting to pull Ron in that direction. "You've just spent a solid two months in a Death Eater prison. You need medical attention."

"What I need is to see Hermione, before she marches down here and rips my head off." Ron replied, gently pulling his arm back from James and leaning further into Harry.

"Hermione is probably asleep." James replied and looked to Harry for help.

Harry shrugged. "I agree with Ron. Hermione will be upset if we keep her waiting any longer. And she'll have woken Sirius and gotten the Map from him too, so she knows we're here."

James blanched. "You know about the Map?"

"James we're from the future." Harry said by way of explanation.

Ron gaped at Harry and stumbled when he pulled him towards the staircase. "Harry! I thought we were waiting?"

Harry paused and looked back at James. "They all know, Ron. We had to tell them so they'd help us find you."

The redhead seemed to deflate. "I've missed a lot, huh." Harry turned back to him and reached up, gently cupping Ron's face.

"You're here now. That's all that matters."

The sound of footsteps reached their ears, interrupting their conversation, and all three boys tensed, hands going to their wands.

Regulus Black rounded the corner and stopped short at the sight of them. He took in Ron and the bruises that covered his body, before turning to look at Harry.

"You found him, then." Regulus said, very matter of factly.

"Only because of you, Regulus. Thank you." Harry said softly. Ron inclined his head in acknowledgment, while James stood silently to the side.

The Slytherin looked uncomfortable with the thanks, and nodded stiffly. "Right. Well. Goodnight." He turned on his heel and walked quickly away. Ron and Harry exchanged looks.

"He's an odd one, isn't he?" James said. "You'd hardly know he and Sirius are brothers, bar the physical resemblance."

Harry hummed in agreement, and adjusted Ron's arm over his shoulder. That was the boy who helped bring down Voldemort. And he was only sixteen.

Harry shook his head and started towards the stairs. "Are you coming, James?"

The other boy scrambled to catch up, and took Ron's other arm. Together they made their way toward the Gryffindor Common Room, and the ire of Hermione Granger.

The room was dark, and Lucius couldn't see much, as his gaze was trained on the floor, on which he knelt before the Dark Lord. He could see the swish of his cloak as Voldemort paced in front of him.

Lucius tensed as he heard the ruffle of Voldemort's sleeve as he lifted his wand, and braced himself for the pain of the Cruciatus curse.

Nothing came.

Lucius chanced a glance up, and saw the Dark Lord staring at him contemplatively.

"Potter, you say?"