Author's Note: Thanks to Rane2920072, Moon, EnchantingFreak, SilentConfession, and BlackPaintedWhite for giving a review. I'm sorry for not updating for so long. Things have been rather… demanding for me. But anyway, I made the chapter long and I'm off to tend to the other stories. Thanks again to the reviewers.

Disclaimer: JKR owns the characters and I am not making money out of this.

Summary: When they discovered a supposed murder in Hogwarts some twenty years ago while searching for a link to Sirius, Hermione, plagued by weird dreams, never expected to end up in the past, dealing with many things like prejudice and love. (SiriusHermione)

(1) - By the will of my heart, By the blood of my ancestors, I call upon all forces, To show me what I desire

(2) - What do you wish to see?

Chapter 3: Seeing the Truth

Late July 1995

"Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed with wide eyes full of fear.

Hermione closed her eyes tightly and prepared herself for the dreadful impact she was sure to make on the floor. After all, falling from a ladder was not exactly painless. But someone caught her and she felt her thumping heart give a start from relief. She heard someone mumbling something under his breath and when she opened her eyes, she realized that it was Sirius.

He was still holding her and he looked rather out of thought, his eyes elsewhere as it was fixed at the ladder.

She couldn't help it but she stared at him; she had never come this close to him to actually see his features too clearly. Truthfully, she was fascinated by how he looked and she wondered briefly how he looked before he was sent to Azkaban, because even when he had that somewhat diminished look expected of an ex-inmate to that scary place, he had this somewhat aristocratic – haughty even – good looks even when it was faded enough to be overlooked at some distance. But at this close of a space, it couldn't be denied; it was there all along. She felt sorry for him. The pain that he must've endured–

"Are you alright?" He asked, suddenly looking at her that she found herself extremely embarrassed at having been caught staring.

"I am, thanks," she said, avoiding his eyes and finally feeling uncomfortable at the fact that he still had his arms around her. When he did not say anything else, she began unconsciously squirming.

"Hermione!" Someone exclaimed.

She looked up and smiled at the redheaded Ginny, who was not standing near them looking very much relieved.

"I think we need a break from all this cleaning."

They all looked at the door in surprise, where Mrs. Weasley stood, looking at them strangely.

"Sirius, someone's come to visit you," Mrs. Weasley said, waiting. "Remus Lupin?"

Sirius seemed to snap into focus as he nodded and released Hermione slowly. He looked at the brunette as if contemplating before he walked out of the room, followed by Mrs. Weasley.

"You frightened me!" Ginny said suddenly. "It's a good thing that Sirius caught you!"

"Er, yeah, it's a good thing." Not to mention embarrassing… She added in her mind silently, wondering if Sirius thought of her as someone who constantly needed to be watched.

She can remember that when she first arrived in 12 Grimmauld Place, his eyes were so unreadable and were always following her around that she wondered if there was something she did that made him suspicious of something. And every time she would speak in his presence, he would look at her steadily that she would trail off in self-consciousness. There were times too, when she became accident-prone that he seemed to be always rescuing her. Truth be told, it was making her think if Sirius felt the need to be a big brother.

Did he see my reaction when his mother shouted insults at me? She shuddered then, remembering the horrible things Mrs. Black kept on screeching when she first arrived in the house. It unnerved her that even a painting found her so repulsive.

Is it really so bad to have a muggleborn around?

The door opened and Ron came inside. "Aren't you going to join us?"

Oh of course! Professor Lupin just came. I really should ask him about some things about this house… She though, glancing around the room and getting a strange feeling about it.

"Let's go," Ron said with a grin. "We'd never know when they would slip about something. It's best we're around when they do."

-a-

Present Time

"Please, wake up."

"Come on, Hermione!"

When she saw a pair of green eyes, she bolted upright, lunging at her friend and hugging him with all her might. "Harry!"

He hugged her back. "You're alright."

"We thought—"

"Ron!" She partially detached herself from Harry and grabbed her redhead friend in a tight hug and they ended up in group hug. Her tears came then; she though… by Merlin she truly thought…

"Thank goodness you're awake," Madam Pomfrey's voice interrupted her thoughts, coming closer to them and beginning to pull her away from her friends in an attempt to check on her. "Boys, it is best that you two leave now and let me do my job."

"But—"

A stern expression graced Madam Pomfrey's face and the two boys ceased their protests, sending her a very anxious and yet promising look before leaving. It was then that Hermione noticed that she was in the Hospital Wing being fussed around with. A look of curiosity engulfed her face, forgetting the silent message of her friends that they would sneak in later.

"What am I doing here?"

The nurse gave her a piercing look, clearly trying to see whether the question was meant as a joke or not. But after a while, Madam Pomfrey's face was filled with warring emotions. "Miss Granger, are you sure you have no recollection whatsoever of why you are here?"

"No…" she answered, now beginning to get scared. What happened? "I was just in the library and I must've fallen asleep." She did fall asleep right? And had that awful, awful dream about… Her fear escalated. Was it possible? Was it possible even in the smallest bit that she saw the future?

"You look pale, Miss Granger. I think I shall keep you here for observation," the nurse said immediately, giving her a glance that said she would accept no argument. Suddenly, some Slytherins entered the Hospital Wing, making Madam Pomfrey sigh with exasperation. "I shall leave you for a moment, Miss Granger. Really, Quidditch practices should be banned!"

She hardly even paid attention as Madam Pomfrey left her side. What really happened? Why was she in the Hospital Wing? Did that dream mean something at all? Did she suddenly develop a miniscule of talent in Divination? – She had shuddered violently at the question.

No! Harry is alive! Ron is alive! I am alive!

By the time a few hours had passed, Madam Pomfrey allowed her to go but was seemingly reluctant about it. Hermione could not help but be puzzled though when she spied a note in the nurse's grasps – a note that looked as if it came from the Headmaster himself.

Is there something she's not telling me? She wondered as she walked along an empty corridor that night on her way to the Gryffindor Tower. When she reached the Fat Lady, the woman in the painting was looking at her oddly even after she had said the password.

"Would you please open up?" Hermione asked tiredly.

The Fat Lady seemed to have been startled by her request and smiled at her. "Oh of course, dearie."

Did the Headmaster say something to Madam Pomfrey and the Fat Lady? They're acting… strangely. It's almost as if…

"Hermione."

She nearly jumped at being startled out of her thoughts and she looked around in an attempt to discover who could possibly be talking to her at this time when everyone was supposedly having their dinner in the Great Hall. When her eyes stopped on the fireplace, she noticed her former DADA professor's head there.

"Professor," she said, walking towards the fireplace with her brows furrowed in question.

"Are you alright? I was informed that–"

"Whatever they said – the Headmaster, Harry, Ron, or whoever – I am alright. I don't even understand why every one is acting strangely!" She finished, her irritation evident in her voice. Then suddenly remembering something, "Professor, there's something very important that I need to ask about. It's something... strange." She looked nervous then. "Something that might seem crazy but..."

Lupin looked at her steadily before sighing wearily – too wearily. "I think I have an idea on what you're going to ask about." He looked back behind him as if someone was calling him elsewhere before looking at her apologetically. "There is something I need to attend to at the moment. Perhaps we could talk of this personally."

"How? Send a letter to the Headmaster to allow me to Hogsmeade tomorrow?"

His face broke into a smile. "You have saved me from further thoughts. I shall see you tomorrow then."

And with that, the conversation ended and Hermione was forced to retreat to the girls' dorm before everyone came back. She needed to sleep if she was to be ready tomorrow.

-a-

There was a nagging feeling in her that urged her mind to grapple for some information, some solid facts that could possibly put her fear to rest. She had to ask someone who might possibly know of what she was dreaming about. They were only dreams perhaps but they were beginning to give her a feeling that something was just so wrong. There was something amiss that she couldn't put her finger on.

Perhaps something was wrong with her; she needed help. And at that moment, she decided that no matter how silly she would sound, she had to tell someone, ask for help.

"Hermione."

She spun around and stared at the shabbily dressed Remus Lupin. Somehow, she still wondered how it was that he seemed so familiar in a way she couldn't describe. It was as if she had seen him even before her third year. He was just so–

"Hermione?"

"Oh hi, Professor," she said belatedly, shaking herself out of her musing and looking back behind her at the Shrieking Shack.

"Familiar, isn't it?"

She looked back at him and finally noticed that he seemed so tired, like he had never even slept a wink. "Are you alright? Do you want us to talk inside the Shack?"

He shook his head and regarded her with an air that gave her the impression that he knew something important, something so heavy that it was eating him inside. Suddenly, she found that she wanted to be back in Hogwarts to forget about everything.

"You kept telling me about a feeling in Grimmauld Place," he said without any warning.

"Yes, but I meant to ask you about another thing." The nervousness she felt didn't seem to want to leave and somehow, she had the inkling that whatever direction their talk would take, it was bound to make her want to wish she never ever found out whatever he was trying to say. "I'm having dreams," she blurted out, partially to sway the topic, and partially to end this conversation as soon as possible. She felt so nervous for a reason that she was actually getting scared.

"Dreams?" He did not sound surprised, not in the least bit. "How do you feel about them? When you're in there?"

His unreadable gaze was chipping away at her. "Many things actually. It's almost real... the familiarity… pain… fear…" She shuddered at a sudden image of green-eyes looking so... empty.

"Was there a feeling of loss?"

Her eyes widened and her heart hammered so hard in her chest that she was sure everyone could hear every beat. No…Harry… Ron… "I-I… I have to go," she said suddenly and before Lupin could put in another word, she ran away, ran faster than she had ever had in her entire life.

-a-

She ran through the corridors, her lungs burning so painfully. The dream couldn't be true; she was not in the least bit gifted in Divination. It was just as impossible as saying that she was a pureblood.

Pureblood. Right. And the Slytherins would go about asking me if I wanted to be a Death Eater, she thought sarcastically.

She knew that she was trying to elude something, her feelings on the concept of her dreams actually meaning something. Never in her life has she wished that dreams were just that; nothing but figment of someone's imagination, of someone's brain too tired to actually form something coherent and plausible.

No…

It was getting harder and harder to breathe and her vision was growing blurry. Perhaps it had something to do with her tears, her mind thought distractedly.

Tears? No… I'm not going to cry over something so… so rubbish as Divination! She thought savagely. Divination is nothing but a fraudulent field with silly people groping about blindly in hopes of knowing whatever demented things their unimportant future holds!

But she cried still, harder and harder till she knew no more.

-a-

She was floating in the darkness when suddenly, she felt herself drop into wakefulness. There was someone holding her hand…

"Hermione," someone whispered.

In the darkness, she squinted her eyes and was soon accosted with sight of her two best friends as they appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"Ron… Harry…"

"How are you feeling?" Ron whispered a bit too loudly.

Her face twisted to reveal her bemusement. "What?"

Both boys looked at each other.

"First, some Hufflepuff found you in the library writhing in pain," Ron muttered in an annoyed tone. "And then we find you passed out near the Gryffindor common room with the Fat Lady screeching at us to bring you to the Hospital Wing. Really, Hermione, you're bloody mental!"

Harry watched her brows meet in the middle.

"But I… I always just study in the library… I never writhed in… Well, have any of you found anything about the murder?" She asked in a desperate attempt to change the topic; she absolutely did not need them to fuss around her and get them all in trouble with Madam Pomfrey.

It didn't work but Harry seemed to have read the desperation on her face as he followed her lead in changing the topic with a shake of his head.

She bit her lip and remembered the parchment. An idea suddenly struck her; maybe she could find something about it that could help her find out whether her dream was true or not. Hopefully, it would put her at ease. "Harry, may I borrow your Invisibility Cloak?"

Ron frowned. "What for? You can't be thinking about—"

"I don't even know why I'm here. And it's not like the both of you enjoy researching," she said defensively. "Harry, please?"

He didn't like the idea but when she kept on giving him her pleading look, he relented and handed her the Invisibility Cloak, bidding her good night thereafter and pulling Ron away to begin their trek back to the Gryffindor Tower before they got caught. After all, with the Invisibility Cloak in Hermione's possession, their stealth was compromised.

When they had left, Hermione waited only for a few minutes before sneaking out of the Hospital Wing and into the Restricted Section, casting a silencing charm and beginning her research.

-a-

"And Snape was glaring at your seat all the while," Ron finished, his face red with annoyance. "If I didn't know any better, he's mad at us for something else even before we actually did something!"

Harry remained silent. He knew Snape was angry at him firstly because he looked like his father, someone that reminded Snape of rather painful and degrading memories. But what about Ron and Hermione?

"I know," the redhead continued. "Maybe he never has had a love life that he's looking for someone to blame. Maybe you have his old crush's eyes or something and you remind him of how he got rejected over and over again!"

"Oh don't be silly, Ron," Hermione admonished, shifting on the bed slightly to look at Harry. "What do you think, Harry?"

He shrugged, deciding that talking about Snape brought back memories of him losing his godfather. He wished suddenly that Madam Pomfrey would usher them out now. Maybe when they come back later, Snape wouldn't be the topic.

"Are you alright?" Hermione suddenly asked. "You look sick. Perhaps—"

"Time's up," Madam Pomfrey interrupted, looking impatiently at the three of them.

Ron opened his mouth to protest but when Harry bade Hermione goodbye, he was forced to follow. Fighting Madam Pomfrey alone didn't seem like a good idea.

-a-

Come on!

She walked past the section of blank wall found on the seventh floor three times, thinking of the mystery potion's important information that she needed and the ingredients she would need to brew it. Her mind hurt from concentrating hard on what she needed that it was nearly unbearable to know that just opposite of her was an enormous tapestry of Barnabas the Balmy trying to teach trolls, of all creatures, to dance the ballet.

Suddenly, a door appeared and she sighed with relief, opening the door and darting inside, finding a table in the middle with a thick, moldy tome on it. Her eyes scanned the smaller table on the farthest right corner and found some things on it. They were what she would need to brew the potion no doubt.

She sighed and removed the Invisibility Cloak that Harry lent her the previous night, thinking that she should not have borrowed it in the first place to go research. All she needed was the concentration to will the Room of Requirement to give her what she needed.

Walking to the middle, she approached her destination and saw that on it a black book with strange-looking markings all over it – be it on the back cover or on the front. As she turned it, she noticed one symbol and from memory, remembered seeing it in one of the books in the Restricted Section of the Library last night.

A binding charm? She began to feel her insides clench with apprehension. This can't be good. Whatever is inside this book is not just some ordinary Dark Arts.

She tried to open the book with shaky hands but it wouldn't unclose and she was both relieved and frustrated at the turn of events. But a while later and she was getting annoyed. She didn't have time to dillydally for heaven's sake! For all she knew, someone could be out sneaking off and needing something in the Room of Requirement.

I need the key to open it.

A dagger appeared on the table and curiously, she placed the book down beside it to raise the weapon and examine it. Strangely, the blade had the same markings as the book and its hilt were embedded with some sort of jewels by the color of red, blue, yellow, and black.

No green? She thought sarcastically.

On closer inspection, she guessed that the gemstones, embedded quite abundantly on the hilt that the gold holding them in seemed almost invisible, were like binding charms too.

Let's see… red… this is a bloodstone! The blue is… hm… She turned the dagger again and again. Sapphire? The yellow is a topaz? And the black is… an onyx.

"Fire, water, wind, and earth," she murmured absently and noticed that when the light hit the black stone, there were hints of green inside it. She stared at the book and then at the dagger, finally understanding what she had to do to open it.

Biting her lower lip nervously, she held out her finger on top of the black book and pricked it with the tip of the dagger, waiting with restrained breath as the blood trickled to the book.

The moment the blood dropped on it, the writings on the book's cover glinted an angry gold before they returned to the normal silver color. The book then opened on its own accord and turned to a page where she noticed that what she had deciphered from the parchment was there.

She dropped the knife in shock. Oh no! Oh no! She thought with panic when she realized that now she'd have to do dark magic. Her thoughts had been focused on the research, never really sure that she would get to the point where she actually will do the brewing, that now she found herself growing weaker with apprehension.

"I can't do this!" Her voice trembled and she sought out excuses. "I mean the 'Blood of my Sires'? I don't have Seer blood!" She took in nervous breaths and her eyes darted around the room as if someone was watching her. "I don't have Seer blood," she repeated to no one, trying to convince herself that this was not happening.

What was I thinking? I can't…

Frantically, she read the page and tried to find more reason for her not to do the blasted thing but when her eyes caught the part of it saying that it can show her the future, her dream of Harry dying flashed inside her mind.

She shuddered then, remembering that there were so many dead bodies… she could now remember that she vaguely saw Ron's dead body a few feet away from Harry and Voldemort.

I can't… let them die. She shook with fear. I can't let them die!

With a new-found determination, she set about trying to do the spell that covered not only Divination but Potions as well. It would've been a fantastic feeling doing such a complicated thing if it weren't for the fact that it was deeply and completely Ancient Dark Arts.

Carefully, she made a cauldron-full of the potion, adding only the exact amounts specified in the book. It wasn't hard come to think of it if one were to follow everything. But when she came to reading the end parts, she began to feel uncertain again.

This wouldn't work…

Looking at the cauldron, she bit her lip and spilled drops of her blood into it using the dagger. It was supposed to change from a murky green to a solid black but nothing was happening. She bit her lip harder and something at the bottom of the page caught her eyes. The writing was so small, almost insignificant. But when she looked closer, it was a warning.

Her heart raced. There was barely any survivor in this particular type of spell. Only those who succeeded would live through the process because—

There was an audible pop and she almost dropped the book in surprise. When she turned her attention to the cauldron, the murky water was turning a strange grayish white.

I'm going to die…

But the thought of everyone she loved dying scared her more.

In for a knut, in for a galleon…

In a shaky voice, she dropped the book on the floor and placed some myrrh and spider legs on the mixture. Swallowing, she held the knife above the cauldron.

"Per mos of meus pectus pectoris, Per cruor of meus Genitor," and here she cut her wrist, wincing at the pain and the sight of blood pouring into the cauldron. "EGO dico super totus copiae copie, Exhibeo mihi quis EGO votum."(1)

Her words seemed to echo its meaning all over the room.

Then, she felt it – her strength draining so fast that she found herself sprawled on the floor, breathing hard and feeling her heart about to burst with an extreme pain. She never felt anything like it before, even when she had that dream where Harry… The pain was different, not caused by intense negative emotion; it was just pain. Black spots began dancing in front of her eyes and she knew she was on the verge of passing out.

But a female voice much like that of a singing siren echoed in the room in a haunting way and for a moment, the pain disappeared. It was as if the voice had a potent hypnotic effect on her and she briefly recalled that sirens were sea nymphs that caused many sailors to drown as they sailed, lulled by the enchanting voices, towards the cliff of the island Sirenum Scopuli where the nymphs lived.

"Quis operor vos votum video vidi visum?" (2)

She looked up and saw that at the top of the cauldron, a mist was forming the image of a woman's body though it was too vague that there really wasn't any clear feature.

The pain was gone but her mind seemed blank and her throat too dry. A flash of red from the dagger on the floor reminded her. "Future… posterus…" She choked out.

The nymph mist glowed and all of a sudden, she found herself lying in the middle of so many dead bodies, her body in pain. But it was not only her chest and she sat up, noticing that she had so many bruises and cuts covering her. When she looked at what was beside her, her eyes widened and she couldn't believe it.

Ron…

His eyes were looking up at her; they were empty, devoid of any sign of life.

"I would die first…"

She looked up and was frightened beyond belief. There, just a few feet away, was her other best friend and their worst enemy.

"No…" She yelled as she struggled to stand up, running towards Harry before the killing spell she knew Voldemort would cast was said. Just as she had reached Harry, she felt the curse hit her.

"No…" Harry whispered, his eyes wide with shock, fear, and anguish as he caught her. "Don't…"

"Pathetic," Voldemort mocked.

She saw anger take over Harry and she wasn't sure how; she was supposed to be dead. Perhaps she was and she was merely seeing like a ghost bystander but to her horror, Harry slowly placed her body down and stood up.

She just knew what would happen and when Harry fell, she felt the world darken around her with a suffocating swiftness.