Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own the sandbox the is the Harry Potter Universe. (If I did, I definitely wouldn't have student debt.) Said sandbox belongs to J. K. Rowling. I just building little castles in it. I also don't own any text underlined like this, it comes directly from Prisoner of Azkaban (aside from POV titles).

Chapter Two: Sometimes Seasons Change in The Best of Ways

September

Hermione

"We should change into our school robes, it won't be long before we reach the school," Hermione tells Harry as she closes her book and gently pushes her dog's head from her lap before rising from her seat, raising her hands above her head to stretch out her stiff muscles.

"Sure th—What the hell is that, Hermione?" Harry's serious tone snaps Hermione's attention to her best friend, all the color draining out of her face when she sees his gaze fixating on where her shirt had untucked from her skirt at some point during their train ride.

"It's nothing, Harry. Don't—." Harry's hand gripping her wrist stops her mid sentence as his hand stops her from tucking her shirt back in and once again covering up her nearly healed bruises. His calloused hands push her shirt up a little further, revealing even more of her still healing skin, before his molten gaze meets Hermione's own fierce glare. She hated not being in control.

"Don't lie to me, Hermione. What the hell is going on?" Harry doesn't flinch away from Hermione's icy glare like he normally would and that surprises her more than him finding out the secret she had tried so hard to hide but her pride keeps her from telling him the truth.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." She yanks her wrist from Harry's grip and roughly tucks her shirt back into her skirt before turning to grab her robes from her trunk. She had never been more glad that Ron couldn't seem to go twenty minutes without a snack than she was in that moment because she didn't know what she would have done if he had been there to see her bruises as well.

"We're best friends, Hermione. We're supposed to tell everything." Harry's voice is a mixture of fury and pain, like she'd somehow betrayed him, and that just adds to Hermione's own fire as she yanks on her robes and turns back to her supposed best friend.

"Because you've always been so honest about your home life." Harry flinches away from her icy tone, his eyes widening for a moment before flickering away from her knowing gaze.

The rattle of their compartment door saves Harry from answering Hermione as Ron returns, his arms full of snacks from the trolley. "What'd I miss?"

"Nothing," the two friends chime in unison, equally fake smiles plastered onto both of their faces.

The rest of their time together as they head to the castle is unlined with tension though their redheaded best friend doesn't seem to notice any difference as he prattles on about anything and everything on his mind. If asked later, Hermione wouldn't be able to tell you what had been said but she'd learned a long time ago that Ron didn't need a truly active participant to hold an ongoing conversation. You just needed to nod at all the right times and keep your eyes on him.

In all honesty, she doesn't really check back in until a familiar tall figure catches her gaze.

"Professor Lupin!" Hermione's entire face brightens when her eyes land on her favorite professor, all the irritation she had with Harry melting away as she sprinted toward him.

"Hello to you too, little cub." Remus smiles down at her as he catches her small frame in a tight hug. "You'd best head off to the Great Hall, I can hear Ron's stomach growling from over here and we'll have plenty of time to catch up tomorrow after classes."

"Ron's stomach is always growling, I don't know where he puts it all." Hermione pulls away from Remus, a wide grin stretching across her lips as she steps back in between her two best friends.

Both boys now had wide smiles stretching their faces, any tension that had been hanging around from the train ride having melted away the moment they saw their best friend bolt toward their DADA teacher.

"I can't wait to introduce you to my new pet, I'm sure he'll love you," Hermione tells him excitedly as more students pass, wishing Snuffles had been able to come to dinner with her so her favorite furry friend could meet her favorite professor.

"I look forward to it, little cub," the older man laughs.

The group of four broke apart as the Golden Trio entered the Great Hall and Professor Lupin went off to do whatever it was that had been keeping him outside the Great Hall. Hermione leads Harry and Ron toward the open seats Neville and Ginny had clearly saved for the three of them, grinning widely at her other friends as she sat down with Ron on her left and Harry on her right.

Hermione silently hoped that their fourth year would be just as calm as their third year had been as she reached for her favorite Hogwarts dishes but the pit in her stomach told her that that was a useless wish. But there was no use in thinking about that.

Hermione shakes her head in an attempt to clear away that sort of thinking then throws herself into reintegrating herself with her friends.

The conversation flows easily as the teens stuff themselves past the point of no return before making their way up to their common room and continuing their conversations until the frequency of their yawns forces them to turn in for the evening.

"Hermione?" The quiet query has Hermione's eyes snapping open and Snuffles on high alert but when both beings in Hermione's bed recognize the fiery redhead, they completely relax.

"Gin?" Hermione's voice is groggy with sleep as she raises the corner of her comforter for her friend to slide in next to her before even continuing to question why she was there. "Another nightmare?"

Gonny nods and tears begin streaming down her cheeks as Hermione wraps the younger girl in a tight hug that shows just how far their friendship had come since they'd roomed together last year. The first time Hermione had seen Ginyy cry, in the middle of Hermione's first night at the Weasley's, the redhead had almost immediately began apologizing for being such a sight. She'd tried to wipe her eyes and get Hermione to turn back in for the night but Hermione had sat down beside her on the bed instead. Hermione hadn't said anything or asked any questions, she just offered the silent for of comfort she had always wished to have when her own terrors had torn her away from her sleep. They'd fallen asleep together that night and then repeated the process for the rest of Hermione's stay with Ginny slowly opening up more and more each night…to say Hermione had been worried for the younger girl that first night at Hogwarts would have been an understatement but then Ginny had shown up at her bedside that night. And the next and continued the process until her dreams evened out and she started coming less and less.

"Was it Voldemort again?" Hermione doesn't even pause on the name many adult wizards struggle to say, Hermione had promised herself after being petrified her second year that she would never give that man the fear he craved by refusing to use his actual name.

The usually fiery redhead flinches, a sob escaping her lips as she tightens her grip around Hermione's waist and nods into the older girl's neck.

"He can only hurt you if you allow him to Ginny, you are so much stronger than you think and you have people who are willing to stand by you no matter what. You are my best girl friend Gin, nothing will happen to you while I'm around. I can promise you that," Hermione murmurs, rubbing circles on the redhead's back the way she'd seen Mrs. Weasley more times than she could count whenever someone younger needed comfort.

A broken chuckle escapes Ginny's lips as she pulls away from Hermione, a wobbly smile on her lips. "And nothing will happen to you as long as Harry's around."

Warmth spreads through Hermione's stomach at the mention of her best friend, her own smile tugging at her lips.

"Of course, without you, he and Ron wouldn't have survived past their first year and I would be dead in the Chamber of Secrets because they wouldn't have been able to figure out where the hell I had disappeared to or what had taken me in the first place," Ginny states flippantly, a mischievous light sparking in her warm eyes.

Hermione's soft laughter fills the air and she smacks the redhead with a pillow before both girls snuggle under the covers, a comfortable silence surrounding them as they begin to drift back to sleep.

"How are you so strong, Hermione?" Ginny's groggy voice breaks the silence after a few minutes.

There's a long beat of silence.

"I'm not," Hermione answers quietly after the other witch's breathing had completely evened out. Her words echo in Sirius's head long after his pup falls back asleep.

Sirius

"Hi, buddy. How was your day?" Hermione greets Sirius as she sets her bag down with a heavy thunk before squatting down in front of him and scratching him behind his ears.

"Classes went really well today, I'm really looking forward to continuing with Arithmancy this year especially considering we'll have the TriWizard Cup here for the majority of the year and Professor Vector told us we'd be able to study just how much its enchantments rely on Arithmancy. I can't wait for Ancient Runes tomorrow though, that's my favorite class. It's the closest thing Hogwarts has to learning a language and I have always loved learning languages. I'm fluent in French right now and I've been working on both Italian and Spanish. I've also be debating whether to learn Romanian or not since I would like to study dragons at some point and the majority of dragon reserves are in Romania. You're probably not interested in that though…"

The younger witch trails off for a moment, a frown tugging at her lips that has Sirius wishing he were in his human form so he could tell her that he loved listening to her talk about the things she was interested in and he wished more than anything that she had more people who did. She didn't deserve the disdainful responses he'd heard her receive from the redheaded menace and the lack of protection her other friends, even his godson, gave her from his hateful commentary.

His pup physically shakes her head and forces a smile onto her face before starting up again, "It's going to be strange not having Professor Lupin teaching us DADA this year though. He's only teaching the first through third years this year, a new professor is teaching the fourth through seventh years and apparently he's teaching us all the same lessons. Fred and George had his class today and they said it was incredibly intense…I don't have him until Thursday and I'm a little worried. I ran into him on my way to Arithmancy today and there's just something about him that doesn't seem right. I just can't put my finger on it. There's no use in worrying about it though." Hermione Presses a kiss to Sirius's head after one more scratch to his head then rises to her full height. "Come on, buddy. There's someone I want you to meet and Harry and I are going to visit him today."

Hermione rolls her eyes as she enters the Gryffindor common room with Sirius right beside her, only to see Harry sprawled across the love seat Sirius had seen the two of them normally share with Ron more than once since returning to Hogwarts.

Harry's hair was sticking out in every direction, not that that was unusual but it was worse than usual, almost like he'd stuck his finger into a light socket. His glasses were laying on his stomach while his right arm was draped across his face and his left arm was hanging off the couch.

Sirius snorted out a sort of canine laugh, his godson was definitely a cheeseball. Hermione hadn't even been in her dorm room for five minutes and Sirius knew the two of them had come up here together from their last class, they always did.

Hermione squats down in front of Harry and Sirius puts his face right next to Harry's on the couch.

"I know you're not asleep, Harry. Get up." Hermione attempts to command him but her voice lacks the heat it would need to be effective.

A grin tugs at Harry's lips but he doesn't move and Sirius can see Hermione fighting her own grin as she rolls her eyes for the second time in as many minutes.

"One year without mortal danger has really turned you into a huge joker. I can see you smiling, Harry James."

Harry doesn't even attempt to hide his smile now and Sirius snorts again.

"I guess I'll just leave you to deal with Lavender and Pavarti when they come in from classes, they've been dying to talk to you ever since I told them about the Yule Ball that's been held every year that the TriWizard Tournament is held. After all, who wouldn't want to go with The-Boy-Who-Lived?"

Harry was on his feet faster than Sirius thought possible, a look of absolute horror on his face. "You didn't."

Hermione grins back at him. "You're right, I didn't tell them about it but there is a ball."

Harry's face falls and Hermione's smile immediately softens.

"Of course, it's not required unless you're an actual competitor and, considering you're under aged and uninterested, you won't have to worry about it."

Harry grins at his best friend as she takes his arm and the two of them make their way out of their common room with Sirius right on their heels. "You, my brilliant friend, are quite evil."

"I've been told that's one of my best qualities." Hermione grins back and Harry laughs.

Sirius slows his pace as a familiar scent enters his airway but the expectant look on his pup's face keeps him from running away. It had been thirteen years since he had seen Remus and he honestly didn't know what to think. He'd wanted to have Pettigrew captured before this confrontation but it didn't look like his pup was going to give him much of a choice.

"Professor Lupin?" Hermione calls as the trio enters the room and Sirius scans the room for one of the few people he has left in this world.

"Come on back, Hermione! I'm just putting away some new books." Remus's voice sounds from an open door in the back corner of the classroom that Sirius can only assume leads to Remus's private quarters.

The trio makes their way toward the door, Harry and Hermione entering the room without hesitation while Sirius hesitates at the door. He could just make a run for it now and avoid the confrontation that is sure to happen.

"Snuffles? Come on, bud. It's alright, I promise Remus won't hurt you. He's very nice." His pup's sweet voice calls out to him and he knows he can't make a run for it, there's no way he can hurt that little girl.

Sirius takes a deep breath before entering the classroom with his head held high. His dark eyes connected with familiar mossy green eyes as they widened in recognition before narrowing in anger and flashing amber.

"Hermione, Harry. I need you to get behind me." Remus growls at the two teenagers as he steps in front of them, the glowing tip of his wand staring down at Sirius.

"Professor?" Sirius turns his attention to his pup, taking in her confusion and fear as his godson pushes her slightly behind him before Sirius takes a deep breath and begins to shift back into the form he hadn't taken in over a year. His pup's soft gasp pricks his heart painfully as she takes in his appearance, fear overtaking her confusion. "Snuffles?"

"Hermione, please—." Sirius takes a step toward her, only to be cut off by a very familiar voice.

"Don't take another step, Sirius," Remus growls, blocking Sirius's view of the two children. "I won't let you hurt them."

Sirius's hard gaze connects once more with Remus's. "I would never hurt them. If I had wanted to hurt them, I would have done it while I was staying with them at the Weasley's or after Hermione had mended me when I got hurt at the beginning of the summer."

Remus's wand begins to lower and Sirius begins to relax only to have his attention drawn to another wand pointed at him, this time by his godson.

"WOULDN'T HURT US? YOU KILLED MY PARENTS. YOU WERE THEIR FRIEND, THEY TRUSTED YOU TO KEEP THEM SAFE, AND YOU GOT THEM KILLED! YOU'RE NOT GETTING HERMIONE TOO!"

"Harry… I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me… I'm to blame, I know it… The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies… I realized what Peter must've done… what I'd done…" His voice broke. He turned away.

Sirius's godson opened his mouth with a spell no doubt about to leak out, the tip of his wand burning even more brightly from where it was still pointed at him, when a smaller hand covered Harry's and pushed the wand back to his side.

"Harry… I think we need to hear him out," His pup's voice was soft, clearly meaning for only Harry to hear her and not taking into account the two adults with enhanced hearing that were also in the room. Harry's eyes connected with Hermione's for a long moment before he nods and relaxes his stance.

Sirius watches his pup take a deep breath and square her shoulders before walking out in front of both Remus and Harry, ignoring the looks she received in two separate attempts to keep her as close to the other two males as possible.

"Er — Mr. Black — Sirius?" said Hermione.

A fond smile quirks at his lips as he stares down at the girl who had taken care of him for months now, warmth filling his being when he sees her eyes soften as they connect with his. He really hadn't seen anything quite like her before.

"If you don't mind me asking, how — how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"

"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me… but it kept me sane and knowing who I am… helped me keep my powers… so when it all became… too much… I could transform in my cell… become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know…" He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions… They could tell that my feelings were less — less human, less complex when I was a dog… but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away without a wand…" [Sirius took a deep breath before continuing,] "But then I saw Peter in that picture [the one from when the Weasleys won that trip to Egypt last year]… I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry… perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again… ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies… and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors… So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive…"

Harry remembered what Mr. Weasley had told Mrs. Weasley. "The guards say he's been talking in his sleep… always the same words… 'He's at Hogwarts.'"

"It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn't destroy it… It wasn't a happy feeling… it was an obsession… but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog… It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused… I was thin, very thin… thin enough to slip through the bars… I swam as a dog back to the mainland… But halfway to Hogwarts I was snatched by a dog catcher and placed into a pound. By the time I had managed to escape, I'd been placed in two other pounds and honestly had no idea where I was or what month it was… And then I was hit by this huge metal monstrosity and Hermione here nursed me back to health… I had no idea that she was Harry's friend at first or that she was even a witch. I just knew that she was the first kind person I'd seen in years and that she needed someone to look after her… So I decided to stay with her until Hogwarts started up so that I would know exactly where both Harry and Pettigrew would be… I was ecstatic when I found out she was not only a witch but friends with both Harry and Ron… It made both helping her and protecting Harry that much easier… Only when we got to the Weasley's, Pettigrew had already escaped. Months earlier."

Sirius's eyes stayed connected with Hermione's his entire speech. Hers was the only opinion that mattered to him… Which surprised him considering who the two other people in the room were… But she was his pup, she was all that mattered in that moment.

"Please believe me."

Hermione's eyes probed Sirius's for a few tense moments before she finally replied: "I do."

"HOW CAN YOU JUST BELIEVE HIM?!"

Hermione jumps slightly before she whirls around to face her best friend.

Sirius fully expects the young witch to yell back at her best friend but instead she speaks with unexpected softness, "Because it makes sense, Harry. If he really wanted to, he could have killed me at any time this summer. And if he had really wanted to kill you, he had plenty of chances before coming to Hogwarts. Instead, he has been nothing but comforting and helpful. Why would he go out of his way to be so nice when he could have left at any moment?"

"That's my point! Why now?! Why does he suddenly care now?! Why not thirteen years ago or five years ago?! Why does he only show up now that Voldemort is back?!" Sirius can see confusion war with anger and hurt in his godson's emerald eyes and suddenly Hermione's stance is relaxing completely.

The young witch steps forward, wrapping her arms tightly around her best friend in an attempt to comfort him. Harry buries his face in Hermione's neck and the salty tang of tears immediately flares through the air. "I think those are questions you need to ask him," she whispers in his ear but she doesn't let go of him and Sirius finally realizes what Harry is so angry about because it isn't anger exactly. It's hurt. Harry feels like he was abandoned, like he's had another chance at a family stolen away from him.

Harry nods against her neck but it's a few more minutes before he takes a deep breath and pulls away from her to face Sirius, his right arm remaining around Hermione's waist. Harry takes another deep breath as he meets his godfather's gaze.

"Why now?" His voice is low, dangerously so.

The breath Sirius takes is a lot more wobbly than the breath Harry had just taken and his voice is (unsurprisingly) hoarse as he begins to speak:

"There's really no good excuse for why I wasn't there, Harry… I was selfish and impulsive. I felt like I was invincible… That night when I got to the house, James and Lily were already dead. Hagrid had managed to beat me there somehow and he was holding you, he told me Dumbledore had sent him to bring you to him and that I wasn't to go anywhere near you… I could have fought for you, I should have fought for you, but I was so angry… I wanted to go after Peter and letting Hagrid take you to Dumbledore gave me that opportunity so I gave Hagrid my bike and told him to get you to Dumbledore safely… I didn't plan on leaving you permanently, I was just going to take care of Peter and then come back for you… You were my responsibility and I didn't plan on letting Dumbledore take you away from me… That's where things went screwy... I found Peter but he killed twelve muggles and then cut off his finger to frame me before I even noticed what was going on and then the Auroras were on me and I was in Azkaban without any sort of trial… It took me a long time to figure out that my animagus form wasn't as affected by dementors as my human form and by that point I had lost any drive I had to escape… I didn't have the drive to really do anything except wallow in self-pity… Until the day I saw that picture and I just knew that I had to protect you and you heard me tell you the rest of the story."

Harry stares at Sirius for a long moment before looking down at Hermione once again.

"Can we go now?" His voice cracks and Hermione nods.

The two teens make their way out of the room but when Sirius takes a step to follow them, Remus's voice cuts him off:

"I think you should stay here, Padfoot."

The slam of the door to the outside world echoes through the chamber before there is nothing else except breathing.

The silence drowns Sirius for a few moments before his grey eyes connect with familiar green eyes, "Hello, Moony." He inwardly flinches, what the hell kind of greeting was that?

Remus's eyes flash to amber. "Is that really how you want to start this conversation, Sirius?"

Sirius shrugs, avoiding Remus's eyes once again.

"Fine, I'll decide where we start then," Remus growls. "What do you want with Hermione?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sirius growls back, his gaze hardening as he glares into Remus's still amber eyes. "I told you I would never hurt her."

"That doesn't explain why you have stayed with her as long as you have."

Sirius hadn't realized that either of them had moved until that moment when Remus was staring down at him with guarded amber eyes, their chests almost brushing as they stood toe to toe. "I wanted to protect her."

A fierce growl rips through Remus's chest and Sirius attempts to take a step back but Remus doesn't give him a chance as he grips the other man's robes, pulling him close. "Protect her from what?"

Sirius's wide eyes widen even further when it finally clicks in his head just why Remus is so concerned with Hermione. "She's a part of your pack isn't she?"

Remus's amber eyes snap back to green before avoiding the other man's gaze and letting go of Sirius as he steps back. "Yes."

Sirius doesn't let Remus get far as he steps toward the werewolf, one of his hands gripping Remus's robes as the other forces the werewolf's gaze to once again meet his. "Am I still a part of your pack?"

"Yes." The word is barely more than a growl.

"Good." Sirius closes the distance between the two lovers, his lips connecting Remus's for the first time in thirteen years.

Hermione

Have Hermione flashback to last time she was in bed with Harry:

"Professor Lupin?" Hermione calls, a strong sense of dejavu flowing through her being as she and Harry make the same trip they had nearly a week ago today. She knew if she hadn't pushed it, he wouldn't have come but seeing Snuffles eyes in Sirius's body made Hermione realize that he had been there as much as he was able and Hermione knew that they both needed more adults in their lives who actually gave a damn about them.

*flashback*

"Where's your head, Mione?" Harry murmurs softly to Hermione, even though Hermione had been sure to put up silencing charms around his bed so that none of his roommates would know she was there (after all, her being here was an awful idea but she hadn't been able to say no when he'd asked her so pleadingly to stay), as he wraps one of her unruly curls around his finger.

"I think you should give him a chance," she whispers back, ignoring the way he stiffens under her for a moment as she uses her finger to doodle random designs over his heart.

"Why are you so hell bent on me forgiving him?"

Hermione pushes herself up so that she can glare down at Harry. "Because he clearly cares about you, Harry, and you deserve to have someone who cares about you. You deserve to have a loving family."

Harry's eyes soften as he smiles up at her. "I've got you, don't I?"

Hermione smiles softly back at him, ignoring the twinge of sorrow that tugs at her stomach at the thought of only ever being his sister. "That's different."

"I don't see how it is. I'd be dead without you, Mione. You've always been there, looking out for me. The way I see it, you're the only family I need."

A sigh escapes Hermione's lips as she settles back down on Harry's chest before an idea sparks in her head and a smirk tugs her lips. "You're right, I am always looking out for you. Which is why you should trust my advice and give Sirius a chance."

A chuckle rumbles through Harry's chest turning Hermione's smirk into a grin. "Turned that one back around on me didn't you?"

"I've got no idea what you could possibly mean, Harry."

"I'll talk to him on one condition: you come with me."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Harry."

*end flashback*

"In the back, Hermione!" Remus calls back, giving Sirius a reassuring smile and a squeeze on the shoulder before the two teens enter his quarters.

"Hello Professor Lupin, Sirius," Hermione greets both men, a genuine smile stretching across her lips, as she and Harry enter the room.

"Hello little cub, Harry," Remus replies, shooting the girl a wide smile. "I didn't know you were coming today, little cub."

"I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about and I figured now would be a good time since Harry's going to be talking with Sirius." Hermione's smile is still pasted across her face but the worry flaring in her eyes makes concern grip Sirius's stomach.

"Any time's a good time for you, cub. You didn't have to wait to come talk to me. Why don't we go into the classroom so Harry and Sirius can have my quarters?"

Hermione walks into Remus's classroom, worrying her bottom lip in between her teeth as she makes her way toward the desk at the front of the classroom she always shares with either Harry or Neville. She tosses her bag on one of the chairs and sits on top of the desk, twisting to face Remus who was leaning against his desk at the front of the classroom and watching her with a concerned gaze.

She takes a deep breath, her eyebrows pulling closer together than most would assume possible as she finally lets go of her now slightly swollen bottom lip. "I'm worried about Harry."

If Remus is surprised, he doesn't show it on his face though he does pull himself on top of his own desk as though he knows they're going to be there for a while. "Why's that, cub?"

"I've had a bad feeling all year and Harry's comment the other day really made me think. Voldemort showed up our first year through Professor Quirrel and he possessed Ginny through his old journal in our second year but last year was completely silent. Then Harry starts having these weird dreams all summer and his scar has been hurting, he doesn't tell me because he doesn't want to worry me but I can tell it's been bugging him. We've been thinking about it and both Harry and I think that he's back, we just don't know how he's doing it. Once someone dies they're supposed to stay dead but somehow Voldemort keeps coming back. It's not just a coincidence, I know it's not. Harry tried to bring it up to Dumbledore but all Dumbledore did was brush him aside and tell him that he would understand when he was older. We can't afford to wait until he's older though, professor. This is happening right now, Voldemort is back. I believe Harry when he says that. We need to start preparing ourselves and we need to figure out exactly how he keeps coming back so that when we kill him this time that he stays dead." Hermione's breath is uneven by the time she finishes and didn't know she had been shaking until one of Remus's large hands covers her own, steadying it.

"What do you need me to do?" Her wide eyes snap to his, shock coursing through her body at his belief in her before quickly turning to suspicion as her gaze narrows. The pure sincerity in his gaze though makes Hermione's stance relax and a mischievous smile quirks up her lips.

"Teach us like you did last year. Only teach us how to defend as well as protect. That's where we'll start because that is what matters most right now. Harry and I will also be studying spells on our own and I'll be finishing my animagus training with Professor McGonagall—."

"You've been learning to become an animagus?" The disbelief in his voice is almost insulting.

"Since the end of last year. Though, I didn't get to do much more than complete my meditative state over the summer since we aren't supposed to use magic and I didn't want to risk the ministry finding out about my form. You never know how useful being unregistered could be."

"That's amazing little cub, what's your form?" The look of pride Remus shoots Hermione makes Hermione's grin widen almost painfully.

"I'm a wolf." She waits for a moment, taking joy in the clearly shocked look on her favorite teacher's face before continuing: "But that doesn't really matter at the moment, Professor McGonagall has already promised to keep that training in between the two of us. She can feel the war coming and she wants me to have every advantage I can even if that means keeping what we are doing away from the Headmaster. Can I get the same promise from you?" Her gaze had become progressively more serious, a wary look stealing her eyes as she searches her favorite teacher's gaze for some sign that she can trust him.

"Of course you can. If what you're saying is true, which I have no doubt it is considering how much thought you and Harry have clearly put into this, then we need to be preparing you guys. Dumbledore has a knack for keeping information to himself and not wanting people to see the big picture. That hurt us in the last war and I'll be damned before I let it hurt us in this war." Remus's voice is almost a growl by the time he finishes speaking, his eyes now amber instead of green, and Hermione got the feeling that there was more to Remus's anger toward Dumbledore than what he had stated but that was something she would have to look into later.

"Then you should know that Harry and I have been looking into how exactly Voldemort could keep coming back. We've looked through the entire restricted section but have come up with nothing which leads me to believe that the magic is darker than anything Madam Pince would keep in our library. Do you have any idea where we could get a hold of darker materials?"

Remus is silent for a few moments, leaning against the desk beside Hermione as he thinks. "Maybe but I would have to speak with Sirius first."

Hermione cocks her head to the side, curiosity sparking brightly in her eyes. "Why?"

"Sirius was originally from a long line of purebloods, all of which had been sorted into Slytherin and all of whom were well versed in the Dark Arts. Even though he was disowned long before he finished Hogwarts, he'll most likely have a better idea of how to go about this than any of us would."

The rest of their discussion is lighthearted. Or as light hearted as discussing politics and obscure texts can get. It flows as easily as it always did and all too soon, Harry and Hermione are leaving Remus's quarters for the evening in their usual comfortable silence.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" Harry's soft voice breaks the silence minutes later, his eyes pleading with her the same way they had the last time they had made this trek. The way that Hermione couldn't say no to even if she wanted to.