Welcome back, everybody! Thanks so much for all of the reviews and favorites and everything! It's all very appreciated.
Sorry this chapter took a bit to get out, I've been right busy.
"-bloody hell did you do to her?!"
"I didn't do anything! She just passed out!"
"Yeah, Like we'd trust a bloody Slytherin. A Malfoy nonetheless."
"My house has nothing to do with this. You're lucky I didn't just leave her there."
"Fuck you!"
"Why the hell would you even think something like that?! She's done nothing to you!"
"Exactly. So why would I harm her?"
"Because you're a bloody-"
"Please, stop shouting. You're making my head hurt worse."
Hermione rolled over in the hospital bed, keeping her eyes shut. She was content hearing their voices-she knew she was back. She also didn't want to listen to them argue with Lucius. Not to mention the terrible pounding in her head was becoming too much to handle.
"Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"
Hermione shook her head, "He didn't hurt me at all. He's right. We're lucky he didn't just leave me there." She said.
She opened her eyes and spotted her boys minus one. Sirius. Hermione sighed. She wasn't sure what to do about the situation.
"I brought this case with us when you fainted. I figured we should have Dumbledore take a look at it? See why it made you faint, yeah?" Lucius held the diadem case in one of his hands. He was holding it out to her. Hermione was scared she would get sent back if she touched it, but figured it was easier to come back to this time then to go back to that time.
Hermione wrapped her dainty fingers around it slowly, and took it from him.
"I agree, thank you, Lucius." She said, giving him a soft smile.
"Until later, Little Bird." Lucius smirked at her. He grabbed her free hand, and placed a soft kiss to it before walking away.
"Oh, so you let them call you by pet names? Wow, Granger, really? Two guys in two days? Is there an end to your whorish tendencies?" Sirius asked. It seemed he had walked up just to hear the tail end of their conversation.
"I bet that's why he brought you here, aye? You were having a little session like the slut you are and he used one too many charms on you, right? That's what really happened?" Sirius walked further into the room.
Hermione was actually stunned. She had no idea what Sirius was going on about. Of course she knew he would put things together and figure out she and James had slept together, but why was he so angry at her?
"Sirius stop. You don't even know what happened." James said, he stepped closer to Sirius, trying to get him to leave the room.
"Shut up! You're at fault just as much as she is, you prick!" Sirius yelled. He pushed James hard, and James stumbled back into the wall. James picked himself up quickly, and pushed Sirius back.
"She's such a whore! I hope you got STD's from-"
Hermione, in that moment, had absolutely no idea how she had gotten out of bed. She had no idea how she had gotten over near Sirius and James.
She had no idea why her hand was raised. She had no idea why Sirius was suddenly clutching his cheek.
"You have no right to tell me what I can and can't do, Sirius Black. You are not my superior. You are not my father. Get that through your thick head." Hermione said, her voice dark.
"Fuck you." Sirius spat, he then proceeded to stomp out, still clutching his cheek.
Hermione closed her eyes, and rubbed her fingers against her forehead, trying to rub out her headache. She felt bad for slapping him, but his words hurt her just the same. She had no idea why he was so angry about it, anyways.
"For the record, I'm also angry about you two sleeping around together. But I will not lose my wits. And I know you're going to do whatever you want, Hermione. But please, don't pull us all apart." Remus said. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, and pressed a kiss to her forehead, strangely enough right where her head was pounding.
He pulled back, his eyes were gold. "I'm going to go try to calm him down. Maybe everything will be okay by tomorrow. Don't stress about it too much. He'll get over it." Remus smiled softly at her.
"Thank you, Remus." Hermione smiled.
Remus let go of her, then grabbed his school bag and walked out of the room.
Hermione and James both looked at Peter, who just looked very confused.
"Anything you want to express, Pete?" James asked, his arms crossing playfully over his chest.
"I don't… I don't know, honestly. I'm a bit befuzzled." He said, scratching his cheek.
"About what?" Hermione asked, as she mimicked James' stance.
"Well, I just never thought that James would be the first one to get to you. I was sure it was going to be Sirius, then James. But I never thought-"
"Thanks for the confidence, Pete. I enjoy the fact that you think I was going to succumb to one of you." Hermione laughed, and walked over to give him a short hug.
"I didn't mean anything by it. I just meant if it were to happen I thought surely it was going to be Sirius."
James snorted.
"Yes, he certainly has a way with the ladies, aye, whore?" James asked.
Hermione chuckled, and moved away from Peter back to the hospital bed.
"You got that right, prick."
James grinned and shoved her a bit, to which Hermione gave him a light shove back.
"Alright, you two. I'll leave before the clothes come off again." Peter teased, then grabbed his things and left.
"For your information, no clothes are coming off!" Hermione called after him.
"'Mines, the kind of are. You need to change out of your hospital smock." James said. He handed her a stack of folded clothes.
"You're absolutely right. Now get out of here so I can change."
"It's nothing I haven't seen before." James teased, leaning back against the wall.
"Out, James Potter." She said, a grin wide on her face.
At dinner, they sat very strangely. Since Hermione had gotten there, they'd always sat with Sirius, herself, and Remus on one side, with James and Peter on the other, sitting somewhere near the middle. Tonight, they sat Sirius at the edge of the table, then Remus next to him, Peter, James, and herself. It seemed that Sirius was quite mad at the both of them, so Peter and Remus thought the barrier would make things easier. They were quite wrong.
Before dinner ended, Sirius had effectively slipped Hermione and James both a potion that made them very sick. How? Remus had absolutely no idea. Hermione and James spent the night in the hospital wing, refusing to tell Pomfrey how they had gotten sick.
The next morning, Hermione went to her room to freshen up, then went up to Dumbledore's office, diadem in her pocket. She said the password, and headed up. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk when she walked in, a faraway look on his face. Hermione set the diadem on his desk, and sat in the cushy chair opposite him.
"Hello, dear." He said, a twinkle in his eye.
"Good morning, Professor." Hermione greeted him.
"What have you brought me?" He asked, reaching across his desk to grab the blue case.
"The first horcrux, sir. Although I have no means to destroy it with." She told him, shifting in her chair.
"The Ravenclaw Diadem? This has been missing for years.." Dumbledore had a slight shock in his voice, his fingers tracing the stones. He shuddered. Hermione knew he could feel the magic that was coming from it.
"Dark magic, indeed." He mumbled to himself. He closed the case, and looked to her.
"What should we do, Professor?" She asked, chewing on her lip.
Dumbledore stayed silent for a moment, and leaned back in his chair, a hand coming up to stroke his beard.
"Keep the diadem hidden for now." He said. He placed a charm on it, and opened his desk drawer, setting the diadem in it. He then closed it, and locked it with his magic.
"You've talked before about basilisk venom, yes? I shall have something made for us, dear. Something that won't catch much attention. I'll call for you when it arrives." He nodded to himself.
"One more thing, Professor. I went back to the future." She stated.
Dumbledore sat up straight.
"You what?"
"I went back to the future, sir. I found the diadem and touched it. I got very overwhelmed, and passed out. I woke up and I was in the future. They gave me Draught of Living Death to bring me back here. But I think it's my key of going back and forth." She said, scooting to the edge of her seat.
"I see...Yes, I think you're right. Let me know if it happens again, okay?" Dumbledore asked her, lacing his hands together on top of his desk.
"Yes sir. Thank you for your time." Hermione stood, grabbed her satchel, and bowed her head to him shortly.
"Thank you for your time, dear." Dumbledore winked at her.
Hermione blushed, and headed out of the room.
A few days later, Sirius was still being petty. Although, the pranks had stopped. He still refused to talk to her or James. Hermione was done with it. Done. Absolutely fed up. After her classes, she stomped to the common room to wait for him to show up with Remus. The two were close before, but they seemed to be a bit closer now, since Sirius wasn't talking to her or James.
Today was the last day of classes for the week. They had five days until Winter Holiday started, only three of those being class days. Hermione still didn't know what she was going to do. It wouldn't be terrible to be alone, but it would be very upsetting. Hermione was thankful it was the weekend. She was going to try to get something that would give her a dreamless sleep. She hadn't been sleeping well, ever since she touched the Diadem. Her nightmares had came back full-force. She was happy she had her own room.
She heard Sirius and Remus walk into the room, joking back and forth, and stood from the couch. She didn't know if it was sleep deprivation, or what, but a sudden fire ignited in her. She stomped to the two boys, grabbed them both by their ears, and dragged them to her room. She practically tore her door down in the process.
She made sure her door was locked tight before turning to the two of them, ignoring Sirius' disgusted glares.
"Sirius Black, stop acting like a child this instant!" Hermione yelled at him, her wand clutched tightly in her hand.
"You can't tell me what to do, you bloody whore." He said, his arms crossed tightly across his chest.
"Sirius, stop." Remus said, turning to his friend and laying a hand on his shoulder.
"What? You been in bed with her too, ain't ya? Shouldn't she know she screwed a bloody-"
"Sirius. Just stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. Just because I slept with one person doesn't make me a bloody whore. You're making an arse out of yourself! Look at what you've done! You've cut ties with one of your best friends because he was doing what nature told him to do. I didn't sleep with Remus, and I didn't bloody sleep with Lucius Malfoy. Get it through your thick head that I'm a girl who has needs too! Don't act like you don't go around screwing everything in a skirt. Why'd you get your knickers in a twist over me sleeping with someone?" Hermione's big spiel included her pointing at him many times, and pacing quite a lot.
After a moments silence, Hermione crossed her arms over her chest.
"Well? I'm waiting. Tell me." She demanded.
Sirius rubbed a hand over his mouth, and sat down on her bed. He laid his head in his hands, rubbing his face furiously.
"I'm a right bloody git, aren't I." He said, his voice muffled by his hands.
"That you are, mate. That you are." Remus said, plopping down next to him, and slapping his back a few times.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean the things I said. I was just...jealous, I guess." Sirius said, looking up at her.
Hermione snorted.
"Why would you be jealous?" She asked.
"Because I thought we were getting close, you know? I thought you and I would go somewhere. I don't know. It's really stupid, Hermione. Don't worry about it." Sirius said, his face turning a light red.
Hermione pressed her lips together. She couldn't deny her attraction to Sirius, but until she knew what was going on, she didn't want to do anything too serious. Sleeping with someone and dating were two different things. Dating promised a future. Sex didn't.
"If you say so...Are we good now?" She asked him, coming over to sit on the other side of him.
"If you forgive me, then yeah." He grinned at her, and threw an arm over her shoulder, pulling her close to him. Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug.
Remus huffed.
"What? You want in on this too, Remus?" Sirius asked, grinning widely at the other male.
Remus rolled his eyes, but nodded.
The three of them spent the night in Hermione's bed, talking, laughing, and getting closer as a trio.
If only they knew what was in store for them in the future.
"Tell me where you got the sword from, Mudblood!"
Hermione wailed, as the Cruciatus curse hit her once more. Her back arching against the pain.
"Tell me! Now!"
Hermione sobbed silently, turning onto her back away from the crazy woman.
"That's it!"
Hermione felt the terrible weight on her, Bellatrix's knees digging into her elbows, holding her down. The glint of the knife caught Hermione's eye.
Bellatrix leaned over.
Hermione felt every letter of the word being carved into her arm.
M
U
D
B
L
"Circe, 'Mione! Wake up!"
"Get the fuck off of me!" Hermione wailed, pushing the arms away from her. She was here. Bellatrix was here.
Hermione grabbed around for her wand in the darkness as the hands came down on her again.
"Go away! Please, no more! Please!" She cried, pushing at the hands.
Suddenly she was pulled against a warm body. Hermione struggled against it, tears streaming down her face.
"Hermione, it's okay. It was only a bad dream." A soothing voice said to her.
Only it wasn't a bad dream.
Hermione felt a hand softly brush her face, and suddenly realized she was squashed between two warm bodies.
She let out a shuddery breath, her arm still burning from her dream.
"It's okay, 'Mione. We've got you.."
