Title: Destiny's Embers
Rating: PG-13 at the moment, but it will go up – what you thought I could write something that had NO smut? You give me WAY too much credit!
Warnings: If I listed them it would give everything away. Although if people falling in love regardless of gender bothers you – you might want to skip this. To spell it out. Slash and three-way pairings abound. Deal with it.
Summary: Hermione has graduated and after a trip with her two lovers gets postponed is translating some scrolls. After rushing ahead she finds herself falling back through time. Looking into the eyes of a Seventh Year Sirius Black – who is involved with a Seventh Year James Potter. Suddenly her life isn't so smooth…
Author's Note: I am glad someone asked how Harry is going to exist if James and Sirius are in a relationship. TO that person I tip my hat! Or I would if I was not deathly afraid of hat hair. All I can say to them to keep your eyes open. AS to what will happen next….well. Only I know that. Well and Katzy generally does because she pokes me with a stick until I tell her. Or bribes me with snippets of TR. Evil wench of a weather anomaly…
"Professor Dumbledore, I am requesting a room change." James said as calmly as he could under the circumstances. His eyes were wide and his fingers were drumming listlessly on the chair handles. Albus couldn't remember ever seeing his head boy quite this unsettled.
"Mind if I ask why Mr. Potter?"
"Evidently there is some new order that odd people are allowed to just pop into my room when they apartate here. I don't understand and I don't care why I just want a room where that doesn't happen please."
"Mr. Potter I am afraid I do not understand. Who is appearing in your room?"
James pointed to the group of people standing off to the side of the room, "That would be them."
Ron waved, "Hello there Professor."
Albus massaged his temples, "I am thinking maybe being the Minister of Magic would have been easier than being Headmaster this year…"
Sirius looked at Hermione with a mix of horror and glee in his eyes, "Miss Granger I – "
"It was a mistake pure and simple Mr. Black I will just have to remember not to lean so far forward from now on. Now I think you might want to –"
Her words were drowned out by a persistent mouth on hers. He tasted like sugar, tea and cinnamon. Hermione reached up to push him away, but she couldn't quite manage it for several moments.
"Mr. Black! I am sorry, but that was highly inappropriate behavior on your part. Please refrain from doing it again. Now if you want my assistance with this paper I must request you sit and behave yourself." Hermione said, with less vigor that she would have liked. What was she thinking letting Sirius Black kiss her? This was insane; preposterous…he tasted so good…
'Bad Hermione! Bad, bad, bad!'
"This is getting ridiculous. All right we will just have to pair you all up. I do wish they would send all of our student teachers at once and learn to make a portkey that works here. Mr. Potter that will the last of the student teachers arriving I promise. I will also send a letter telling the Institute how displeased we are with the lack of detail to their portkeys. Now off to dinner with you…" Dumbledore said with a slightly off smile. His eyes danced behind his glasses. James missed the worried line between his eyes and the way his eyes kept flying back to the group off to the side.
Once the young man was gone he turned to the others, "Let me guess, you are here from the future like our lovely Miss Granger. You came after her to take her back."
Ginny smiled uneasily, "More like find her. We really hadn't thought about much after that."
"Well, until further notice you are all student teachers. I will pair you all up later. For now please just go to the Great Hall and find Miss Granger." Ginny started to speak again, but then noticed the lines of frazzledness on the aging face in front of her and she nodded slowly. Her eyes lowered she nodded and started shooing the boys out the door. She thought it best to stay out of the nice man's way till he calmed down and wasn't so eager to hex them into next week.
James was furious. He was beyond that. He was….whatever the sodding hell was past furious! His hazel eyes narrowed at his lover and his lips sneered, "You fucking kissed her?"
"I didn't mean for it to happen. She was leaning over my paper and I turned my head. Her lips were right there and it just happened." Sirius said running his hands wearily over his face. They had been fighting over this for at least an hour. He was sick to death of talking about this.
"Well, then fuck you." And with that James stormed out of his room and out into the school. Sirius watched him go and then flopped back onto the bed.
"That went – pretty damn decent," he muttered, and then his eyes went wide. It was dinner time. Time for everyone to be in the Great Hall – even Miss Granger, "OH SHIT!" he moaned and rolled off of the bed and onto his feet.
"HEY HERMIOOOONEEEE!"
Hermione let her head whip around until she saw who was calling her name. Then she blinked several times before a knowing smirk curved her lips.
"So you all are running late to the student teaching gig too eh?" She teased before going and hugging Ginny who was the first one she saw, and then came Ron and Harry, and finally Draco and Blaise. They held her tightly and she felt safe. But it didn't pass her unnoticed that she didn't get the zing as she usually did…then she shrugged mentally and chalked it up to surprise at seeing them there in front of her.
"Granger you are an idiot."
"I know Malfoy."
"But at least you are OUR idiot." Teased Blaise kissing the top of her head.
Not one of them noticed two pairs of eyes narrow at the scene. They all just trooped up to the main table like old times and never paid any mind to the two students who were glaring at Hermione. Neither of them really understanding why they were so upset.
"So, Hermione, care to share with us why you are an absolute idiot?" Ginny asked conversationally after dinner, her eyes flashing with amused annoyance at her oldest friend.
Hermione looked at her friends. People she had fought for, with, and side by side. She had loved and hated all of them at one point or another. Her eyes softened and she felt the warm strength of Draco and Blaise encompass her, "The scrolls said they had to be done by midnight. It was a quarter till before I got then decoded. I had to hurry if I wanted to find out if they worked."
"So waiting for back up in case you blew up from a magical backlash – that was too much to ask?" Draco bit off, letting his arm tighten around her waist slightly. She shook her head.
"No time. You would have done the same damn thing Draco Malfoy. Do not try and fool me. I know you too well." Blaise laughed at the look on the blonde's face.
Ron snorted, "Moving on – how are we supposed to get back?"
Hermione looked at them all as if they were insane, "You all just did the ritual? You didn't read the things first?"
There was an en masse shaking of the heads that had Hermione rolling her eyes exasperatedly, "So? What did we miss, 'Mione?" Harry asked softly.
"They send you back to a time when you are needed. You aren't allowed to move on till you are no longer needed. If then. I hope you all like 1976, I think we are going to be here for a bit." She said leaning over to rest her head on Blaise. The others all shared looks and then sighed.
"Well, it could be worse. We still have electricity, indoor plumbing and Quidditch." Ron said brightly.
James was furious. First, people start falling out of nowhere and landing on his bed. In his own private room. That he can deal with. Then his lover of FOUR sodding years goes and kisses the -- admittedly – hot student teacher. That just drove him crazy. Sure in the beginning his eyes had wandered. I mean Lily Evans was gorgeous – even Sirius had to give him that one. But to have kissed someone else...
His eyes narrowed; maybe it was time to talk to Miss Granger…
Hermione loved her friends, she loved her lovers, and she just needed to not be with them; to get her thoughts in order, to get her emotions in check. "No, I promise! I will only be forty five minutes. Maybe an hour. That is all I swear."
James was waiting in the classroom when she arrived. Her eyes widened and then she smiled, "Is there something I can help you with Mr. Potter?"
"You can not kiss my boyfriend any more for starters." he bit off. For a moment she thought she was dealing with Harry during one of his more spectacular drama queen moments, and then she realized she was. In a way.
"Excuse me, Mr. Potter – perhaps we should move this conversation into the office." Hermione said shooting him a slightly worried look. Once they were inside of McGonagall's office she sat behind the desk and motioned for him to sit across from her. She waited till he was seated and glaring at her before speaking again, "Mr. Potter, I assure you I have no intention of allowing what happened to occur again. It was a mistake and an accident. I am sure Mr. Black told you the same thing."
"He did, but I know him better than he thinks. He ENJOYED kissing you. So, I want to know what he knows." James said losing some of his steam. He looked fixedly at her desk as if that was going to save him from utter disgrace in front of his teacher.
Hermione blinked owlishly at the young man in front of her. This was insane! Utterly insane! First she ACCIDENTALLY kisses Sirius Black, and then her best friend's DEAD father wants to kiss her in some sort of revenge tactic. This was all so other worldly to her –- and she had TWO live in lovers in her time… She closed her eyes and shook her head, "I am afraid that isn't possible Mr. Potter, as I am sure you are aware.—"
The rest was cut off by a cool mouth on hers from the other side of the desk. He tentatively licked her lower lip with his tongue and her shocked gasp allowed him entry to her mouth.
James was surprised he was this excited to be kissing this person. This person who wasn't Sirius. She tasted like chocolate, wine, and some other flavors he couldn't put his finger on. He felt his eyes drift closed and he sighed into the kiss.
Hermione was shocked. James Potter was kissing her. JAMES BLOODY POTTER WAS KISSING HER. Why wasn't she stopping him? Why wasn't she screaming bloody murder? Why did he have to taste almost better than Sirius? Why wasn't she thinking of her own lovers at the moment?
"JAMES! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"
They leapt apart as if they were on fire and met the furious blue eyes of one Sirius Black.
Oh shit...
So all he had to do was calmly and rationally explain to this very nice student teacher his boyfriend was more than likely going to make an attempt on her life because he couldn't lie to him. That was all. Sirius snorted and stalked down to the professor's office – intending to make an appointment on the enchanted appointment book for his free period the next day.
Once he got there however he noticed the light was on in McGonagall's office and went to knock on the door. It swung open and there in front of him was his crazy lover kissing the same teacher he had gotten into trouble for kissing just that morning. Yeah life was fair. Wait a minute!
James was kissing Miss Granger?
"JAMES! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"
Dumbledore looked at the scrolls in front of him, his eyes squinting in the fading candlelight. Then he nodded sagely and rolled them up again. So this is how it was supposed to have played out. This was the reasoning for the sudden barrage of time travelers. It was to fix what had not yet happened and to correct things that not yet were.
"I think all this has earned me a cookie…" He muttered getting up and straightening his robes, "After all this was amazingly brilliant – even for me. I get two cookies…"
Hermione pulled Sirius into the room and closed the door while muttering a sound proofing charm. This was going to be a hell of a night. She pointed to a chair and then sat at her desk again, "Okay, I think we have a situation here." At Sirius' snort she raised a brow at him, "That should be fixable if we all talk this out."
James rolled his eyes, "Please this never would have started if you hadn't kissed Sirius. This is your entire fault."
Hermione groaned and closed her eyes, "I didn't kiss him. He didn't kiss me. Our lips touched MINUTELY and that was that. No harm no foul."
Sirius glared at her, "It was more than minutely and there was something there. Something I have not felt except when I am kissing James. So you do NOT get to write it off as nothing."
Hermione looked at him, "You can't think there would be anything else? I am a student teacher here. I am older than you."
"You can't be more than nineteen and I am about to turn eighteen. James here already is. So if you are looking to make this illegal. No go. Remember teach – sixteen is legal here in our lovely land of Magic."
James nodded, "I felt something too when I kissed her. Something I never felt – even when I kissed Lily."
"You kissed Lily Evans? When the hell were you planning on telling me about this?"
"Shove off Sirius it was when I was trying to figure out which side I was on. I liked kissing her, but you made my blood boil. No one else ever has – till you showed up." James finished with a glare over the desk at the now thoroughly amused Hermione.
"Let me get this straight. You two think you are in love with me because neither of you has kissed a girl since you were what? Thirteen? Kiss some others if that is all you are basing this off of and then you will see that this happens..."she said standing up, "Now if you two don't mind I have…"
"We do mind." They said at the same time. She quirked a brow but retook her seat all the same.
"Well, then gentlemen by all means make your case."
Blaise was annoyed. First he can't go on his longed for vacation. Then his lover goes missing through time of all things. He follows her only to be informed that they weren't allowed to room together because of propriety. Yeah. Because not one of these students had ever roomed with their significant other. He was very sure of that….
He came to the teachers' offices and noticed that there were three heads in McGonagall's office. Then he noticed the lavender glow of a sound proofing charm and his curiosity rose. What did Hermione want to stay hidden? This was too juicy not too find out…
"All we want to do is see where this goes. No commitments no strings." James said after a long eye conversation with Sirius.
The other boy nodded and Hermione shook her head, "Even if I was single that wouldn't be possible. I am a student teacher, a temporary member of the staff. This means it is wrong and I could be in trouble if someone were to find out."
Sirius tried, "Have you ever reached a point in time when you know it's all or nothing? That you know if you walk away you will spend the rest of you life with regrets. This is one of those times for us. I think all three of us will regret it if we…"
He was hushed by Hermione who had seen Blaise outside her office, "Tell you what boys – let's table this discussion till tomorrow after we have all had a good night's rest. I promise to seriously consider what you are saying. Do we have a deal?"
They nodded just as Blaise broke the charm, "Found you love." He teased poking his head in the door, "You ready to come to bed yet?"
She nodded and smiled at the boys in front of her, "Almost curfew for you all anyway isn't it? We will work on this more tomorrow."
James and Sirius nodded at Hermione and sending icy glares at Blaise they walked out the door, he winked at them and then sent a quizzical look at Hermione, "They don't seem to like me much."
She shrugged and let herself be pulled into a kiss that warmed her to her toes. But one thought nagged at the back of her mind, was this passion or comfort?
Later that night as she lay naked and sated with a lover on either side behind her lids she could see James and Sirius looking at her like she had betrayed them. Like she was abusing some sort of greater plan.
That night she dreamed, of a little boy with Sirius' hair, her eyes, and Jame's glasses chasing after a big black dog. Her eyes flew open and she sat straight up, breathing hard and fast.
"Hermione, what's the matter love?" came Draco's sleepy voice and he blinked up at her from his spot on the bed. She just shook her head and smiled weakly, letting herself be pulled back into his comfortable embrace, "Then sleep love, we will all figure this out in time. I promise. Just sleep and be safe."
She curled herself up into a ball in his arms and let his heart lull her into a dreamless sleep. Meanwhile her heart was screaming at her.
Passion or comfort? Which is more important? Destiny or the embers of what was supposed to be? You must choose!
Four people slept restlessly that night while everyone else slept blissfully unaware of the days coming. That all order was about to be lost and chaos would reign. Because only in chaos can order truly take root….