Just Too Tempting

By Avadne

Chapter 17: A Truth

The next morning, Hermione got up early especially. She got ready before all of the other girls, before breakfast and everything. Walking down the stairs, she spotted who she was searching for. James, the early bird form the boy's dormitory, was seated comfortably in his favourite armchair, looking absentmindedly out of the window.

Hermione, feeling bold sneaked up behind him and showed herself to him with a 'boo!' and a wide smile. James grinned and pulled her onto his lap. Hermione rested her head against his shoulder and smiled.

"James... last night was amazing," Hermione whispered. "The most beautiful event I've ever been to."

"It's because I was there, wasn't it?" James joked, casually looping his arms around Hermione and pulling her in a bit closer to him.

"Actually, yeah," Hermione admitted honestly. James smiled down at her and Hermione leaned in and impulsively hugged him tighter, as if he was going to disappear any second. As if he was going to leave… or as if she was going to leave. Because she would have to and soon, even though she really didn't want to; now Hermione was depressing herself.

She could already feel the tears well up in her eyes, her gaze turn to need as she looked at James. She could feel the tension that would be here if she were to break away, to run away. In that moment, every thing was suddenly so much clearer; especially the realization of how much she loved James now, she knew she loved him. And how untruthful she was being to him and to the others. But she hugged James tightly anyway, not wanting to ever let go.

And they sat like that there, for a good half hour, just enjoying each other's essence. But this perfect bonding moment of emotion value was, as they always are, ruined. This time, none other than Sirius Black was the ruiner in question; freshly coming out of the boys' dormitory. He urgently gestured for her to come over to him. Hermione shook her head strongly.

"We have to talk," Sirius mouthed even more urgently. Hermione shook her head again, signaling to him later and that now was not a good time. But Sirius was persistent, motioning her over here.

"I better head up, I still have one other thing to do. See you at breakfast, I think," Hermione whispered to James. He nodded, kissing her cheek. Hermione then walked over to the other black haired boy angrily.

"Can it wait?" she asked, annoyed. Sirius shook his head, grabbed her arm and dragged Hermione off, rather uncomfortably, to the nearest empty room.

--

"Who are you?" asked Sirius. Hermione squirmed slightly, but Sirius held her tightly. Screw breakfast; I have bigger problems, Hermione thought to herself. She cringed, remembering that she told James she's see him at breakfast. And first lesson, DADA… well, that was probably also down the drain.

Hermione loomed around desperately. Sirius let go of her and she immediately ran for the door of this strange room. It wouldn't budge. No trouble; Alohomora was always a handy little spell. But at the moment, it wasn't working.

"Let me out, Sirius," she demanded. Sirius shook his head, determination evident in his eyes.

"Not until I know who or what you are and why you're here," Sirius replied stubbornly.

"You don't understand; I can't!" Hermione yelled out. She realized her mistake too late. Sirius's eyes widened.

"So we were right!" Hermione whimpered slightly, but Sirius pressed on. "Is that what you really look like? Why did Hunter call you Granger and why did you call him Malfoy? And what's your connection with Hunter… if that's his name, which I highly doubt. Tell me, damnit! You won't get out of here until you do," Sirius warned her, his eyes narrowing. Hermione sighed. She knew what had to be done… but hopefully, she wouldn't have to reveal everything just yet.

"My name is Hermione Jane Granger. I was born in 1980 and started at Hogwarts 11 years later. Hunter, who is actually Draco Hunter Malfoy, and I were the Head Boy and Girl of 1997. I'm a Gryffindor and he's a Slytherin," Hermione reluctantly told him. Sirius's eyes were round with surprise.

"You-you-you," Sirius began, but Hermione cut him off.

"We had no choice. An accident sent us back 20 years. And we know you," Hermione said urgently. A cloud of confusion settled upon his handsome face.

"What do you mean, you know us?" he asked.

"In the future, we know you. That's why it's so hard, because we know what happens and we can't save you…" Hermione was horrified. Had she really said that? Her earlier resolution not to reveal too much just yet was officially out of the window.

"Save me from what, Mi-Hermione?" he asked, his voice dangerously low. Hermione couldn't take it anymore; she broke down, sobbing. Sirius looked at her in horror; did he really overstep the mark like that? He grabbed Hermione and hugged her tightly, comforting her as best as he could.

"I think I'm in love with James," Hermione admitted. This brought a fresh wave of tears. "But I can't love James, because if I do, he wont love her and he won't be born," she rambled on. Sirius shook his head.

"Come on, Hermione, just tell me everything. You can trust me," he whispered soothingly. Hermione sighed; she was just about to do the very thing Dumbledore had told her not to do at all costs. But she just had to; there was no way Hermione could go on with this secret-double agent type life. It was driving her and Draco both insane.

"On July 31, 1980, a boy was born. His name was Harry James Potter. His father was James. And his mother… was Lily," Sirius's eyes widened again. Lily? "And Harry, he's… important. Without him, the wizarding world of the future; well, it would be gone,"

"Wait; is this Harry, your best friend Harry?" Sirius asked. Hermione nodded. "Harry, I-used-to-have-a-crush-on, Harry?" Hermione nodded again. She remembered telling Sirius a bit about her two friends she had, Harry and Ron. And Sirius kind of put two and two together, figured out a bit of Hermione's feelings.

"Maybe that's why I like James so much; they're practically twins, but James… he's more energetic, brighter. Harry's gone through so much and I can't really blame him for being kind of gloomy and depressed. But James…" Sirius was beyond shocked. He had suspected that Hermione had feelings for James, deeper than what she was showing. But in love? And this Harry…

"So what do you mean, save us?" he asked. Save us… it sounded like they died or something. But how would that happen?

"I can't, Sirius. If I do, you'll prevent it. They might be saved, but thousands of other lives will be gone," Hermione sobbed. This was just too hard; no person should have to go through this type of thing.

"Hermione, you're talking in riddles. Just start at the beginning. I won't let it affect the future," Sirius whispered. Hermione was broken; should she get this weight of her chest or stay silent like she was meant to? Hermione had always been one for rules, but lately that tolerance was getting smaller and smaller. Now was one of those times.

"Ok, but you can't tell. I don't know if you realize what's at stake here; more than you can ever imagine. Harry was born. But a year later, on October 31, 1981, something terrible happened. Voldemort, who had steadily been gaining power found the Potters. He killed James immediately and Lily a few minutes later. They were, of course, against him and very prominent in the battle. And he turned his wand on Harry. But he couldn't do it; the spell backfired and hit Voldemort instead. Barely alive, he fled. Harry ridded the world of Voldemort for more years," Hermione's voice was cracking and changing pitches frequently. It was too hard; Lily and James dead, Harry…

"They-they-they… died?" Sirius asked, horrified. Hermione nodded sadly. "NO! They wouldn't have! They can't have!" Sirius yelled. But then a though struck him; something here was missing. "How did Voldemort find them?" he asked in a very controlled voice.

"They were b-betrayed," Hermione quivered. The look on Sirius's face was murderous; anyone who had wasn't sure about Sirius dying for his friends would have had their doubts disappear at that moment.

"WHO?" Sirius yelled out.

"Their Secret Kee-" Hermione started nervously, but Sirius cut her off.

"WHO WAS IT?" He screamed, jumping up, wand out. Hermione gave a cry; she should have known this would happen.

"NO, Sirius! You can't, you promised you wouldn't tell!" She yelled out, grabbing him and forcing him down with much difficulty.

"But they're dead. They were killed!" Sirius protested fiercely. Suddenly, as if the news really hit him that his best friend would die, he collapsed.

"Sirius, they're not dead. Not yet. And I can't, I won't, tell you who the Secret-Keeper was. Don't you see? The death of Lily and James saves the world!" Hermione screeched. She knew it would be hard for Sirius, but he had to accept it.

"Why couldn't it be me?" he mumbled desperately. "Anyone but them."

"Sirius, it had to happen. I know how you feel; I've seen Harry go through the same thing from the first time I met him. He should have had the chance to be normal, to be happy! Instead he's got the fame he doesn't want, people staring at him everywhere he goes. And he's faced things that no-one should, especially not boys like him. He was still a boy, only 11 at his second ever encounter with Voldemort. But Harry thwarted his plans again, delaying Voldemort's return even more. And in second year, he saved us again. In fourth year he witnessed Voldemort's return. And he saw another boy die at Voldemort's hands. He dueled with the Dark Lord. Fifth year too, he saw so many things, too many things that a 15 year old should not be going through. He should have been worrying about girls or exams. Instead he was worrying about the whole world. And he saw his godfather die. You have no idea how long he blames himself for that. He's not innocent or carefree like boys should be; he's got so many burdens on his shoulders, so much power, so much darkness." Hermione burst out, not stopping until the end. Sirius was amazed; she spoke with such passion that Sirius was beginning to understand.

"But you love James. And James… he loves you too. So what about Lily?" Sirius was mainly talking to himself, but he did catch the strangled noise Hermione made. A dreamy expression crept onto her face.

"He loves me?" she asked in a trance like state.

"Of course he does. But if he loves you, he won't marry Lily," Sirius told her. Even talking hurt; his best friend was going to die. For the greater good, of course, but James was going to die.

"Oh, this is such a mess," Hermione mumbled. What was she going to do? She had screwed up Lily and James's chances forever; even if she left, they wouldn't forget. Sirius only stood up, unlocked the door and then sat back down.

"You can leave whenever you want. But you can tell me everything too; I won't break your trust,"

--

Sirius had avoided Hermione like the plague after he left the room; against her own will, Hermione had stayed, told him everything. And now, she too wasn't overly keen to see him. But no such luck; as Hermione sat in an armchair, 'reading' a book, Sirius drew nearer and nearer. There was a glint of comprehension in his grey eyes, one that worried Hermione a lot.

"It was Pettigrew," Sirius said gravely, more of a statement, making sure no one was too close or overhearing. Hermione gave him a strange look inside praying that he didn't mean what she thought he meant.

"What are you talking about, Sirius?" she asked, faking confusion. Please don't let him have figured out that the killer of Lily and James Potter was Peter Pettigrew, Hermione silently begged.

"He was their Secret-Keeper. He killed them," Sirius's voice held zero emotion; apparently, this was his Slytherin side, his Black family side. There was nothing on his face, in his eyes, through his voice or body language. It was like a mask had slipped over all of Sirius's emotions and, frankly, it was creeping Hermione out.

"Sirius…" Hermione began tentatively, not wanting to suddenly startle him out of his disturbing funk.

"I didn't come for confirmation. I came because I thought you should know that I know," Sirius said in the same flat, empty tone. One that was, frankly, freaking Hermione out; she wanted the other Sirius, hyper, cheerful and charming.

"You cannot let this change anything, Sirius. No matter what," Hermione said urgently, nodding her head to signal that Sirius was right in his assumption. Sirius also nodded in agreement, although his eyes were raging a storm.

"No change. I get it," he said, unusually solemn. Hermione hated this; Sirius was not meant to be so… serious, so silent and grave. It just wasn't right. And it was all Hermione's fault.

She had to find Draco. Urgently

--

End Chapter 17

There's still a few more days till Annie comes back and I have some computer access through her, but I did brave it and walked into the public library… only to walk right out. It was not a pretty sight; the library's only computer was taken by this fat guy looking at porn. I'm pretty sure that's illegal in a public library, but I wasn't about to argue with him, the librarian was already going off at him and he was looking murderous.

But I did stumble across an internet café; took a bus to a better part of the state. The ride took over an hour, mind you, and it cost a helluva lot of money, but I'm here and I managed an update. Look out for another one in about a week, hopefully.

I briefly got the chance to check my emails and found over 50 new items in my inbox. Sorting through them was quite hellish and I haven't had the chance to read up & review on any of the author alerts. Sorry. To all my e-friends, I don't have the time or money to write at the moment, sorry about that. I will be sending you guys all some emails eventually though.

For this chapter, I imagine Sirius could come to the conclusion of the whole traitor deal. As much as Hermione tried, she didn't QUITE act normal around Peter.

In my current situation, I don't really have the time to do review replies, nor am I in the right place, as this is costing me major bucks for every minute. I'm really sorry, I will reply to the reviews next chapter. I do distinctly remember a few things I was meant to mention though:

- The site of my C2 staff. Easy; just go to my user lookup (there's a link at the top of this page) and click on the C2 Communities link. Looking for more staff members… (My memory has failed me; I'm sorry, but I just can't remember who asked about this)

- The whipped cream scene was very fun to write. I love my magical food… (that was for Blade-Caven)

- I have kept writing so there are a few pre-written chapters for this to come, I'm just perfecting them. AND I'm tentatively working on a maybe-sequel… (I'm pretty sure that was megafreak)

- Kris-tina4, your comment was one of the ones that stood out the most; Harry James Potter will most definitely be born. You'll see it all in the end!

- I think it was Victoria-something (some numbers or letters. Mind blank) I know I got the Weasley ages wrong, someone else pointed that out too. Sorry. I guess since this whole story is defiantly AU (you'll see in the end), that little fact can just fall under the AU part also

- Mac, you made the largest impression on me. Although I found your review a bit funny, at the same time I am deeply impressed and in total admiration of you for having such perfect grammar skills. Thanks for pointing all that out and the brief praise at the end; I may later go back and change all the title stuff. I'll just have to stay grammatically incorrect for now, so sorry about that. By the way, 'Just shoot me!' is a great show.

Avadne